Chapter 12: Blood Ties and Lies

The next morning, Sakura fought Itachi so that it would look more like she had been fighting. The stab wound from Sasori was still there, but had stopped ripping itself open. Just when Itachi would've been able to kill her, he stopped and ordered her to leave. With one final look at Naruto, Gaara, Deidara, and Sasuke, she left them.

Itachi had broken her ribs and popped her shoulder blades out of their sockets - she couldn't move her arms, and wouldn't be able to for a while. She was nearly out of Chakra, and had cuts and bruises everywhere. She also had several kunai and shruiken embedded into her. Overall, it looked as though she had been in a terrible battle with a terrible person. And that person was Pein.

As she limped toward Konoha, Sakura contemplated. Itachi had figured out that Sasuke had given her his blood - she had allowed the Sharingans to activate. Itachi was surprised at first, but quickly put two and two together. He was a genius, after all. He didn't say anything to her about it, but she knew he would ask Sasuke. But Itachi was the last person Sasuke would answer to - Itachi would just have to figure everything out on his own.

She was sick, too. Throwing up a lot. She knew what it was, but decided not to tell Sasuke until she returned to the base again in a few days.

Sakura made it to Konoha by noon. She stumbled into the Hokage's room, explained her feint story to Tsunade, who healed her major wounds. Tsunade then ordered her to go home and rest. Tomorrow, her training would pick up again. Sakura agreed and left for her house.

Her mother greeted her happily, and she was forced to retell the story. Her mother seemed genuinely worried, but deep down inside, Sakura wanted to strangle her, torture her in the worst manner imaginable, and kill her slowly. She hated the woman, although her mother had always been oblivious to it. Idiot.

Limping up to her room, Sakura collapsed onto her bed, fighting back the nausea. Itachi had popped her wrists, elbows, and shoulders out of their sockets again. Only, rhis time the whole of the Akatsuki saw him do it, heard her scream and beg him to stop. She had seen Sasuke's eyes widen, and that was what had hurt her the most. Sometimes, it seemed, Itachi hated her, despised her for existing. He had muttered, "Why? Because you had it easy." When she asked him why he was doing that to her arms. Then, it didn't make any sense. But now, she understood. Itachi was jealous of her because she had gotten into the Akatsuki without striving, without working. He had worked his hardest all his life - fought against his family, killed everyone he probably loved a little - and she had been weaseled in by Gaara.

Bad pun, she scolded herself. But, I suppose I'll have to find out everything I can, and work up as high as I can, to earn Itachi's blessings. Because, without them, Sasuke and I will never be able to marry, according to Uchiha tradition. The Uchiha in question must get a blessing from either the older siblings or the parents. And since all of Sasuke's relatives are dead, the only hope we have is Itachi. We have to convince him we're good for each other and deserve his blessings. That was just one of many things she and Sasuke had discussed. He had also told her that the blood he had put in her veins would only work for a few weeks, and that it would stay within her permanently when Itachi told either she or Sasuke he gave his blessings. If Itachi never gave his blessings, Sakura's Sharingan would leave her before the month was over. And she didn't want to loose the Sharingan - she was finally able to see through the eyes of an Uchiha, she was finally able to fight well. Although Itachi had severely beaten her with his advanced three-pronged Sharingan, she was able to see a bit with her one-pronged version. She liked this newer, stronger version of herself. She felt more confident in herself then she ever had before.

Tomorrow, she thought to herself, tomorrow Tsunade will catch me up on everything, tell me about the latest news and latest criminals and their actions. Pein told me to try and find out what they know about the Akatsuki - whether it's worth considering or not.

Sakura's mind wandered to the keys Sasuke had given her - the keys to his house. He had told her to enter only if she suspected something or if she had absolutely nowhere else to hide. She agreed, mentally promising him that she wouldn't need to enter the Uchiha manor. Not without him, she wouldn't. If she never needed to, she could not go. Not until they were married and Sasuke brought her in himself.

With those thoughts in mind, Sakura quickly fell into a deep slumber.

(Sasuke)

Itachi had agreed to supervise he and Naruto as they carved out their room. He didn't have any explosive attacks, and so he couldn't help. But the mere fact that Itachi was finally supervising him was enough to make Chibi Sasuke inside squeal. He allowed Naruto to go first, who continuously attacked with Rasengan, the topped the attack with Double Rasengan.

Sasuke, excited to be able to show his aniki what he could do, called up Chidori and struck the wall with all the force he had. Already panting, he forced himself to call it up one more time, pulling his arm back and punching the wall.

When the dust cleared, Sasuke growled when he realized his fist was embedded in the wall. He put a foot up, pushed against the wall. Nothing but the feeling of the joints popping out of their sockets. Angrily throwing his head back, Sasuke looked over to Itachi and Naruto. The latter was collapsed, but the former was just staring at Sasuke as though curious as to what he was going to do. Sasuke felt his face turn scarlet, and he was embarrassed at that. "Umm, aniki, I uh..." he pushed against the wall again, trying to animate his being stuck.

Itachi, who had seemed to have been having a good time contemplating, walked over to Sasuke, examined the hand, and sighed as he turned to leave. "Aniki?" Sasuke called after him.

"I'll be back," he said simply.

Sasuke growled, turning his attention back to his stuck hand. He tried to pry his hand out whilst simultaneously waking Naruto, but his attempts were in vain. Neither seemed to budge. Sasuke turned his attention back to his hand, watching the blood pool around it, and run down the wall. He put both feet against the wall and pushed, only to cry out in pain. The hand wasn't moving, and would probably move only if the wall around was cut away or his hand was cut off...Sasuke tried flexing his fingers, and found that all but the thumb had been broken from the impact. Cringing at the feeling, Sasuke tried to unclench his fingers. But that didn't help either - his fingers had no room to flex. They had cramped together, and the joints had shattered. Sasuke cringed at the tiny shocks of pain in each finger hit every time his heart beat.

Itachi returned, Deidara at tow, who taunted him, saying, "Stuck your hand in a wall, un? Pathetic."

Sasuke looked over, scowled. "Just blow my hand out, girly."

"Girly?!" Deidara yelled, clenching his fists and running up close to Sasuke. He whispered, "How 'bout we just cut your arms off? Starting at the base." He ran a kunai up Sasuke's length - Sasuke shuddered at the cold touch.

"Deidara," Itachi's whisper-like voice was dreadfully close. If Deidara was to look over, he would've hit Itachi's face. "I did not call you here to rape my little brother."

He backed off, and Deidara smirked. He brought out some clay, molded them into spiders. He created four, placing each one around the sides of Sasuke's hand. He and Itachi stepped back - Sasuke closed his eyes and looked away, covered his face as well as he could with his free arm.

He heard Deidara mutter something, and the spiders exploded. Sasuke flew back, coughed as dust forcefully entered his mouth. His hand fell back, colliding with the ground. Sasuke cried out at the feeling, rolled over and held his broken hand in his unbroken one. He looked down to it, nearly in tears. If only Sakura were here to heal it...But without her, the only person that could splint fingers was...

Sasuke looked up, trembled at the fight of Itachi standing over him. Itachi waved his hand, and Deidara departed.Itachi then bent down to Sasuke, studied his hand. "You've broken the knuckles to your four main fingers. I'll splint them, but without Sakura, they might not heal right." Sasuke mechanically sat up, mentally preparing himself for the pain that was to come. Itachi sat beside him, crudely pulling Sasuke's arm under his, and grabbed the pointer finger.

Sasuke closed his eyes and screamed, "Aniki, don't! Please don't!" His eyes were watering already, and Itachi was barely touching him.

He could feel his aniki's eyes on him. "I haven't done anything yet." He seemed confused that Sasuke was nearly in tears already.

"Just touching it hurts! Please, don't!"

"Sasuke," Itachi began, and Sasuke looked at him. "Sleep." All of a sudden, Sasuke felt himself loosing consciousness. He fell, fell...And was out, cold, on Itachi's shoulder.

(Itachi)

He grabbed his pathetic otouto and brought him to his room. He laid Sasuke down on his bed, delt with his fingers there. Although he would be unconscious for the next six hours, Sasuke still cried out as Itachi pulled the fingers straight. Slowly, one by one, blood and Chakra made their way to his fingers, and they started to return to their normal hue. Itachi rubbed Sasuke's knuckles gently, in a way that promoted blood flow and quicker healing. He then splinted the fingers, looking down to Sasuke as he slept. Can't stand pain, can you, otouto? Itachi thought to Sasuke. Too bad Sakura's not here to help you...

A wave of contempt rushed through Itachi at the thought of Sakura. The girl you shared your Bloodline Limit with. He recalled back to the fake match. And just when did you give her your blood, otouto? Have you propose already? You won't be able to marry without my blessing. And why should I give that? I've done nothing but take from you all your life, and I am most certainly not going to give now.

An idea struck Itachi just then. Since he wanted to ruin Sasuke, and he always took from him, why not crush both Sasuke and Sakura by taking Sakura for himself? He knew from Deidara that she had slept with him, and it was likely she slep with Sasuke last night, which would've explained when Sasuke propose to her and gave her some of his Bloodline Limit. Now that's an evil idea, Itachi thought to himself with a smirk. And who knows? Maybe it'll tear the both of them away from one another for good. Go back to Deidara, whelp. You're not good enough for Sasuke to even consider. Itachi nodded, stood, and thought as he left Sasuke, Haruno Sakura must be eliminated - she's much to weak for this world. And he began the bases of his plans for Sakura.


Sasuke woke a few hours later and asked if he could talk to Itachi in private. Itachi nodded and brought his brother back to his room. Itachi took a seat on his bed, Sasuke across from him, on Gaara's. "Otouto," Itachi began in that emotionless whisper of his, "you wanted to speak to me?"

Sasuke looked down, avoiding his aniki's unforgiving eyes. Itachi was careful not to let any emotion slip onto his face - Sasuke was the only person that could read him like a book. "As you know, I gave Sakura her own Sharingan."

"Did you propose?" Itachi asked. He wanted to get this over quickly - he had more interesting things to do then talk to Sasuke. Sasuke looked up to him and nodded. "So you want my blessing." Aniki was a genius after all - he could figure things out.

"Please, nii-san. Sakura loves me and I love her. It would mean the world to me if - "

"Did you give yourself to her?" Itachi cut him off. He didn't need any of that love nonsense - he needed facts, to gather everything together. Loose ends and unknown happenings annoyed Itachi.

Sasuke blushed, looked away, and asked, "Why do you care?"

"Do you want my blessing or not?" Although you're not going to get it today...Itachi thought to himself.

"A few days ago." Sasuke answered gruffly.

"Not last night?" Interesting...

Sasuke shook his head. "Last night was when I proposed and gave her my blood. A few days before was when I gave myself to her." Very interesting indeed...Does he actually love her, or does he love the sex?

"Sasuke," Itachi changed the subject, "do you know what the Akatsuki are planning?" He reclined on his bed, resting his hands on his stomach. When Sasuke didn't answer, he prodded, "Do you?"

"No."

"Well, then. I'll tell you." And so he told his otouto about why he had spared him and why he had let one escape. He told Sasuke why the Akatsuki needed the nine Jinchuuriki sacrifices, and why three Uchihas were needed. He told Sasuke everything he had concocted in his mind long ago - the plain he had sold to the Akatsuki in exchange for his guaranteed, lifetime membership. Everything the Akatsuki were scheming, Itachi told Sasuke. And, although he had never been one with words, Itachi found himself quite the chatterbox. He was excited to tell his little brother about the reason of the Akatsuki, why they were so evil. He didn't believe he had ever talked more in his life.

He finished with his eyes closed and awaited Sasuke's answer to all this. He expected Sasuke to lash out, to protest, to hate himself, Naruto, and Sakura for joining, to run away and tell as many people as he could, to anything. But instead, Sasuke stood and hovered over him. Annoyed, Itachi asked him, "What are you doing, Sasuke?" He opened his eyes to see Sasuke's only a few inches from his.

"All my life, nii-san, I've wanted to beat you, surpass you. I wanted to prove to father I could be as great as you. I just wanted to be noticed. And when you destroyed the clan, I thought my soul ambition was to kill you, to avenge the clan, and resurrect it. But I see now. I didn't want to surpass you when I was young, nor did I want to kill you two years ago. I just wanted you to acknowledge me, to see my existence was worth something. That I was worth your time. That was all I've ever wanted. "

Itachi stared into Sasuke's eyes, full of suspicion. There wasn't one muscle on his body that wasn't tense - he was ready for any tricks Sasuke was going to try and pull. "I suppose you're going to kill me, now that you've caught me unawares and cornered." He forced his voice to remain steady. He closed his eyes.

Sasuke threw his fist down on Itachi's chest. Itachi opened his eyes, winded, and Sasuke said to him, "I'm tired of fighting, Aniki. I don't care if I don't have enough hate or I'm weak. Killing you or Naruto is no longer of the least importance."

He's grown, Itachi thought to himself. No longer the young boy trying to prove himself, or the vengeful pre-teen living only to taste the blood of his brother on his kunai. Now...he's the mellow adolescent who just wants to be acknowledged by those he loves. He's finally learned. Itachi sat upright, Sasuke let him. He studied his otouto a moment before saying, "You've really gown, haven't you? Yes, now you're worth my time."

Sasuke's face lit up. He closed his eyes, let his head gracefully fall to the ground. "Thank you, Itachi." he muttered the name for the first time in fifteen years.

Itachi nodded, stood. He was tempted to, but he wasn't going to give Sasuke his blessings. Not yet.

(Sakura)

She woke the next morning feeling better. Overnight, her arms had healed to where she could move them. She didn't feel as pounded on, didn't feel so utterly beaten.

But she was still sick.

The first thing she did when she was on her feet was run to the bathroom, gripping the rim of the toilet as she emptied her stomach of all its contents. Damn it, she thought to herself, pregnant, aren't I? She leaned over the toilet limply. I'm going back to the base tonight, so I guess I'll tell Sasuke then. But I could see if he can figure it out on his own...

Wiping the side of her mouth with the back of her hand, Sakura decided against her last thought. I'll tell him, she decided. She stood and went downstairs to find her mother cooking in the kitchen. "Ohiyo, Sakura." her mother greeted her.

"Ohiyo, mother. Do you have some medicine for stomachaches?"

"Upset stomach, Sakura?" Sakura nodded. "I believe there's something for it in the bathroom cupboard." Sakura thanked her mother, then wobbled back upstairs to the bathroom, where she downed a few of her mother's hangover pills. Same symptoms, she thought to herself, so it should work. She downed two, as the bottle instructed. She decided she's have breakfast, then leave for Tsunade's. The quicker this day goes by, she thought to herself, the better. She felt alone and desperate, knowing both Sasuke and Naruto were not in Konoha. She was completely and utterly alone.

Until tonight, she reminded herself. Once night falls, I'll go back to the base, talk with Pein, and then with Sasuke and Itachi. She felt a painful yearning for the day to pass, and knew it wouldn't go by quickly.

Sakura returned to her mother, who handed her a plate of full food. "Eat up, chibi." Sakura growled. She hated being referred to as 'chibi', but her mother made it a habit to call her that. "After all you went through, you must be exhausted." Sakura nodded, and her Inner Self said to her mother, Yes, I'm very tired. Now shut the hell up! Every time her chatterbox of a mother opened her mouth, Sakura wanted to impale her. Her mother's very presence was annoying her. She ate quickly and left silently, ignoring the cheerful goodbyes her mother had tried to send her.

As she walked to Tsunade's, Sakura's passed Ino's house, when Ino came out and began her chattering. "Where have you been, Sakura? And Sasuke-kun? I haven't seen him, either. Hinata reported Naruto gone, and Temari's going to loose her baby if she keeps worrying about Gaara."

A red flag went up at this. "Wait, Temari, pregnant?"

Ino nodded. "Umhm. With Shikamaru's baby. They're getting married soon."

Sakura nodded. "I think I'll go see them later. What's new with you, Ino?" It's so easy to switch planes with a gossip girl. Sakura thought to herself.

Ino sighed. "Nothing really. No boyfriends, no crushes, no anything. Just Ino."

I bet Deidara would be a nice match for her, Sakura thought to herself. "What kind of guy are you looking for?"

"Long blonde hair and blue eyes!" She squealed hapilly, imagining her man.

Sakura smirked. "Well, Ino, I have to go. I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye!"

"Bye!" She heard Ino shout, her voice telling Sakura she was fantasizing about the man of her dreams.

Sakura continued on her route, no longer running in to anyone. She checked in with Tsunade, who was glad to inform her that they were getting closer to the Akatsuki base, albeit there hadn't been any further progress. She also reported that the Sound Village had found a new leader and were quickly becoming a threat again. The new leader's name was Kabuto of Konoha. Little was known about his plans of peacefulness. They spoke briefly about the two Leaf nin and one Sand nin that had gone missing, and Tsunade had asked if they had been connected with her disappearance. Sakura pretended to think about it, then shook her head and told Tsunade there was no way they could be connected.

After that, the two of them trained for a while, in which Tsunade explained the diamond on her forehead and began teaching Sakura how to use it. By the end of the day, Sakura had a diamond of her own. But she was left feeling weaker and more drained then she had ever felt before. The diamond glowed on her forehead, but until tomorrow, it would be unusable. Tomorrow she would learn the entire jutsu, and why she must only use it in dire situations where there was no other choice. Sakura promised with her life she would only use it when all else failed.

Tsunade then sent her home, telling her that they would complete and perfect the new jutsu tomorrow, where her strengths would also be tested. Sakura thanked her and headed back to her house.

When Tsunade had gone as well, Sakura walked a minute, then doubled back, suppressing all traces of Chakra she carried on her. She snuck into the S-class criminal records, which she quickly skimmed through. There was information every Akatsuki member, to which she read. But Pein's information was the one that struck at her the most. There was mug shots of him, followed by vague descriptions. Caucasian male, orange spiky hair, red eyes, about 5'6"...In the picture, there were no piercings riddling his face. He looked better, a little more attractive and a little less vicious.

He took out the Rain Village single-handedly?! She thought to herself. Looks like that village wanted him to, was proud of him when he did...But single-handedly? And he killed the leader's affiliates, everyone who knew him personally. That way, there would be no one left to oppose him. I suppose that entire village is run by Akatsuki now...Also, this data, this picture, was taken five years ago. So, somewhere between now and then, he got them. Or maybe he took them out when captured? Either way, the Akatsuki were established more then five years ago - although this sheet claims only five years. It had to have been earlier then this information, because Itachi joined at fifteen, and he's twenty-one now. That's six years. I didn't know Konoha's information was so flawed...She carefully put the documents back, exactly where they were, and created a Shadow Replication of herself that was sent back to her house. She left the S-class records room and quickly made for the cliff overlooking Konoha. There, she dispelled any tracks Tsunade might have put on her. She left.

Sakura made it to the Akatsuki base by midnight. Relief rushing through her, she limped to the entrance, throwing her hand on the boulder. It opened without hesitation, and Sakura thankfully entered.

There was a few people at the table, but none she really spoke to. Sakura nodded a bit at them, continued on to Pein's room. She was stopped by Sasuke, Naruto, Deidara, and Itachi, who were carving out Sasuke and Naruto's room. Sasuke and Naruto warmly greeted her, Deidara just nodded when she looked to him, and Itachi didn't care, as always. "Sakura-chan," Naruto began, "you can punch through walls, right?"

Sakura nodded, stepped up to the eight-foot-deep depression in the wall, and called up come Chakra. She pulled her fist back, then punched the wall with all her force, leaning into it a bit. As usual, the rock broke about twenty feet back, in a rectangular shape. She panted - that had seriously dented her already-low Chakra. "Nice, Sakura." She heard Sasuke say. She looked over to him, spotted his splinted hand.

"What happened?" She asked him, pointing onto his hand.

"Oh, this?" Sasuke as as he held it up, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand and smiling. "I broke it from Chidori - the impact."

She gently took his hand, used her Chakra to look inside. "You broke it, alright. Shattered the knuckles completely. I can't heal this know, though - not enough Chakra. But don't hit or use that hand at all - the slightest slip could inject bone fragments into the blood system. Drink plenty of milk."

"How long will it take to heal?"

"Without me to heal them, you'd never be able to bend these fingers again." She returned to her normal vision, looked to Sasuke, who's eyes had widened. "I have to heal them as soon as possible, but it can't be tonight."

He nodded, and she gave him his hand back. With a wave, she left to Pein's room, knocked on his door, and entered. Itachi followed her inside.

Pein, in the chair behind the deck, had his back to her. "Sakura," he began. She nodded. "What have you gathered?"

Sakura discussed with the both of them what she had been told and what she had figured out. She told him of her suspicions, her worries. She reminded him how three missing nin had aroused suspicion within Konoha. She told he and Itachi everything, save for her suspicions and self-gatherings about Pein himself. But he didn't need to know that.

"According to my jutsu," Pein began, "everything you've reported is relevant to what you were told. So maybe we can trust you." He wheeled around in his chair, put his hands on the deck like Sasuke used to, covering his mouth. "However, my jutsu also reports that you're suspicious of me." Sakura's eyes widened. That jutsu, she thought, does it read my mind? "Yes, it does." Pein answered her thought question. "While you're here, at the base, at least. Once you step outside, it's dispelled. But when you step inside again, it clings to you. This is how I know you're telling the truth. Now, what about me don't you like?"

Your face, Inner Sakura sneered, and Sakura slapped her palm to her forehead.

"What was that?" Pein asked menacingly.

I said your - "Nothing! That wasn't me. Anyway, I was looking through Tsunade's S-class records, and you were there. But you looked younger - and no piercings, either. It was dated five years ago, but that can't be right because Itachi joined six years ago. But on the paper, it said you'd just been established..."

"That they knew of." Pein said simply. "Before Itachi, we could hardly call ourselves an organization. We did out first 'stunt' when that record had been made." Sakura nodded, now understanding. "And yes, I took the Village of Rain single-handedly. They work for us now, as you've assumed." There was a pause before he finished, "Since that's all you have to report, leave me." Sakura nodded and left.

Sakura stopped by Naruto and Sasuke's new room and saw them carving inside, a smaller room. She entered and asked, "What are you doing now?"

"We need a working bathroom," Sasuke explained.

"Running water and everything!" Naruto added.

"I can knock out the basics for you." Sakura offered, watching Naruto as he attacked the wall with Rasengan. "You guys won't get very far without Chirdori."

Sasuke nodded. "But do you have the Chakra? You were panting before."

"I have enough to do some damage." Sasuke nodded and took a step back. Naruto stepped to the side. Inwardly sighing, Sakura collected some Chakra to her fist and swung at the wall as hard as she could, earning the two teammates a fairly-large sized bath. She collapsed to her knees, panting. Too much Chakra, she thought to herself, I don't have enough to get home before dawn...

Sasuke bent down to her, wrapping an arm around her. "You okay, Sakura?"

"Used...too much Chakra," she explained between pants. She let her head drop, and in Sasuke's arms, she felt stronger. Eventually, she was able to catch her breath, and stood. Sasuke allowed her to lean on him, and she took the offer greedily. Naruto and Deidara began work on the bathroom's outlets. Sasuke held her in his arms, and she felt there was no safer place in the world. She could've fallen asleep just then, and it wouldn't matter. She broke herself out of her trance when she whispered, "Sasuke, we have to - "

She was cut off by Itachi's voice. "Sasuke, Sakura." The emotionless voice washe dover her like ice water. She shuddered, trying to keep it from echoing through her thoughts. Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "Come. We have many things to talk about."

Sakura's feet felt like lead, but, in the arms of Sasuke, she was a little more confident. Sasuke, who's arm was still draped over her shoulder, guided her along behind Itachi.

Itachi led the both of them to the training area, sat on a boulder by the lake, motioned for Sakura and Sasuke to do the same. The two of them sat behind him, looking to the meadow. "Why should I?" Itachi asked them, his voice telling Sakura he was in deep thought.

Sasuke did the talking. "Because I love her."

"You don't know what love is." Itachi said simply. "You were so ready to give yourself to her. You're so ready to give her your name. But you don't know what love really is."

"It comes naturally." Sasuke explained it. "You can't stop it or ignore it. Not forever."

"You're very naive, otouto. Do you really believe I hated our family all my life? No. I truly learned hatred a few days before I killed them all. Before then I loved them. I even loved you, Sasuke." An air of nervousness cascaded from Sasuke. He speaks of the murders so simply...Sakura thought to herself, As thought it was nothing more then squishing a bug. "So, Sasuke, are you sure you love her?"

"With all my heart." Sasuke remained bold. "And I'm ready to spend my life with her." Sakura smiled at this.

"Hmm." Itachi said simply. "Here." His arm spread out, and in his clenched fist were two necklaces, one of the shared half-pendent kinds. As they clinked in the breeze, they connected, then pushed away. They were little Yin and Yang replicas.

"Mother and Father's pendents," Sasuke breathed as he took them, studying them in his hand. "Y-you kept them?"

"I'm not giving my blessings yet." Itachi said instead. "But you can have those. Do with them what you will." Sasuke gently put the white - Yin - on Sakura and gave himself the black - Yang. Hers radiated a warm, peaceful heat. She wondered if Sasuke's was cold and chaotic. "And what will I receive if I give you my blessings?"

Sasuke studied Itachi's back. "What are you asking for?"

Itachi smirked. "Almost a week ago, you gave yourself to her. Your first time. But it was her second."

"So?"

"Don't you want to know who she gave herself to?" When Sasuke didn't answer, he finished, "Deidara."

"That's a past relationship. Why should I care?"

"I wasn't expecting you to. I just figured a couple shouldn't keep secrets." There was a pause before he finished, "Oh, and she's pregnant."

Sasuke looked over to her scarlet face. "I was going to tell you tonight." She explained weakly. She felt bad for keeping it a secret for those few minutes. "When we were alone."

Sasuke held her close to him. Her pendent seemed to glow warmer at his close proximity. She wondered if his got colder. "Don't feel bad, okay?" He must've sensed an air around me, she thought to herself. "I'm not upset or anything. It was my fault in the first place," he joked. Sakura didn't feel any better.

"Do we keep it?"

"Of course we keep it." He seemed offended by the question. Stupid question, she scolded herself. Of course he wants it.

But do you want it? Inner Sakura asked her.

Of course I do. She actually answered.

Then why do we feel so bad? Her Inner Self asked. Sakura didn't know the answer to that, but she attempted:

Maybe we feel so bad because we know we're not ready. At fifteen, I don't feel very confident. She could feel her Inner Self nod at this.

Sakura cuddled up against Sasuke. She was cold, and the warm 'glow' of the pendent made her sleepy. Sasuke rested his head on hers, sharing his warmth. Almost mechanically, Sakura closed her eyes and said, "What do you want, Itachi?" Her voice had a dreamy tone to it, which didn't help with staying awake.

"What are you prepared to give?" His cold voice almost completely shattered her feeling of warmth.

"I can heal your eyes. If you let me, I can also find the abilities you didn't know about. I can make them better, stronger."

Itachi was silent at this. "If you can heal my eyes completely, and accomplish what you're suggesting, I will give my blessing."

"Very well, then. I'll meet with you next time I return. Until then, you should try deactivating the Sharingan unless you're fighting. That in itself might do you good." Itachi nodded and disappeared. After a minute, Sakura said to Sasuke, "Are we ready for this?"

Sasuke wrapped one arm around her stomach. She held his arm with one of hers. "No," he answered with a sigh, and her heart fell. "But we'll be ready when it comes." She felt better, more confident, at this. "So, what to name it?"

"I think it's going to be a girl."

"Of course," Sasuke teased.

"No, really. Something's telling me it's a girl."

"Then what do we call her? Yue is nice. Umm, but Misha's cute, too. Uh, Ishizu? No, I don't like that much. How about - ?"

"I like Ita."

"Ita? Like short for - "

"No. Just Ita."

"Uchiha Ita. Has a cute ring to it. But what if it is a boy?"

"Noriaki?"

"Noriaki?" Sasuke repeated, his face squinching. "I don't like the sound of that. Uchiha Noriaki. Just doesn't sound right."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Madara?"

Sasuke shook his head vigorously. "Not Madara."

"What do you have against it?"

"Just no, Sakura."

She studied him a moment before she continued on, "How about Yuri?"

"Umm, no. Misha's a good boy's name. Uchiha Misha. See? It flows."

Sakura nodded, liking both the names they have chosen. "Uchiha Ita and Uchiha Misha." She nodded again. "I like the ring they have. So it's settled. Misha or Ita."

Sasuke nodded dreamily. "What do you think she'll look like?"

"Pale. Onyx orbs for eyes, bloodstained with Sharingan. By five, long, flowing, pink hair. Sort of like Itachi's. Your eyes and complexion. But I think she'll have Itachi's love of training."

"Really? Wow, Sakura, are you physic?" They both chuckled weakly. Sasuke looked up to the midnight black sky littered with white speckles and said, "So, I guess you'll be leaving soon."

"I have a few hours." So, the two of them spent the night together in each other's arms. They had each other, and they knew, at that very moment, that all they needed was one another.