~Chapter 12~

Sakura had no idea how much time had passed since she last saw the older Uchiha, but she knew it had to of been hours. He hadn't returned since her initial examination and she began to worry that he decided to just leave her, which if he did, she knew she'd feel dumb for having remained in that tiny, dirty room for so long.

At some point she had fallen back asleep, making herself as comfortable as she could on that warn out sleeping bag. Her wrists and ankles retained a dull ache from being bound tightly for who knew how long but at least he had removed them. If they were still on she had no doubt that she would have lost all function of her appendages.

The candle that Itachi had lit had since burned out, leaving the room in complete darkness. She really wished she knew what time it was currently but there was just no way of knowing. Sakura hated the darkness or more like she hated the utter darkness that accompanied closed in spaces.

She wasn't a Closterphobic but she was close enough to one to know that being in this dark, tiny room wasn't productive to a healthy state of mind.

Her eyes had been open for the past several minutes as she stared out into the room, not seeing anything in particular.

'What if he abandoned me?'

'Only you would be worried about abandonment in a time like this!' Inner retorted, choosing to finally pipe up and comment on her current predicament.

'Hey it's a valid worry… if he just walked away because he deemed me useless, I could die in here!'

'I doubt we are going to die here, our Sasuke is probably out searching for us at this moment!'

'I doubt that…'

Inner didn't respond, instead just vanishing into the inner recesses of her mind while Sakura just lay on the bed in the fetal position, waiting for someone to come get her.

Much to her disappointment and delight, she heard the distant sound of someone approaching after another few minutes of just staring into space. She sat up and looked at the general direction of the door, or at least she hoped it was, waiting for it to open.

She didn't have to wait long before she heard the handle twist before the door creaked open on rusty hinges. It was a slow, almost screeching sound that caused a shiver to run down the pinkettes spine, followed soon by the hushed steps of her captor entering her room, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

Neither of them uttered a word as he replaced the candle beside her makeshift bed and lit it, filling her vicinity with the soft glow before he once again drug the chair over close to her corner, and sat in it.

The otherwise silence in the room became deafening as the two observed each other, all the while the tension between them building. Sakura returned the Uchiha's unrelenting stare, her eyes unwavering as she tried to prove she was not one to back down easily, regardless of the situation.

She had no concept of how long they had been staring at each other, waiting for the other to do or say something before she heard the slightest sound of a light sigh escape from the Uchiha.

"You will begin to heal my eyes immediately, Haruno-san." His voice was quiet as he spoke but enough for her to hear him; after all, it wasn't like there was much noise around them warranting louder tones. Sakura just narrowed her eyes slightly as a response, choosing to remain silent otherwise.

Her obvious defiance in her particular situation appeared to amuse the Uchiha. She watched as the ghost of a smirk bloomed at the corner of his mouth caused her general irritation with being a captive grow into disdain for the older man. Her eyes narrowed more as the corners of her mouth pulled down into a frown.

"It's pointless to even try! It will take way too long and even then I can't guarantee that it will even work! I can't just assist a criminal you know…" She said her voice clear with exasperation with the situation she was in. She so wished she could just leave and go back home but even she knew that was pretty much impossible unless the criminal got what he wanted.

The Uchiha, though, did not take her statement the way she had imagined he would. Instead he simply just smirked at her in a knowing way.

"I never do something without a point." He replied, his smirk remaining the same, causing a new wave of irritation to wash over Sakura.

Sakura didn't have the slightest idea of where to start when it came to healing his eyes. Sure Tsunade had ran over the typical ocular treatments when she was still training but nothing prepared her for what she was now being commanded to do by the Uchiha who was once again sitting on her makeshift bed, waiting for her to begin.

Her hands shook slightly in her lap as she ran through every bit of knowledge she had acquired from the Hokage and yet she couldn't think of anything that would come close to doing what he wanted. He was talking about a full chakra system restore in his eyes, one of the most complicated organs in the human body and his was nearly gone. This was just madness.

"Look… Uchiha, this is like really complicated to do and I just don't have the experience or references here in this crap shack that you are holding me in to fix your eyes. At the very least I need to have something to look at that explains the Sharingan in more detail!" She said as she looked up at the man, not missing his clear frustration at her resistance. Surely he would know how difficult a task like this would be; even Tsunade would have a hard time repairing the damage.

"You already said you could so just start it already." Impatience was clear within his tone as he eyed her disapprovingly. Sakura could now understand a bit of Sasuke's hatred for him, if this is how he was treated before the massacre, she could only imagine what hell he had been put through afterwards knowing he had to kill this bastard.

"Fine but if I screw it up and you lose your sight completely don't blame me!" Sakura snapped as she lifted her hands up and carefully placed them against Itachi's eyes, her own closing as she began to concentrate.

Neither of them spoke afterwards as her chakra began to flow into his eyes. She decided it would be best to find the nerves that were the least damaged since they would be the easiest to repair so that was what she focused on.

Her green chakra attached itself to every nerve within his eyes, locating the newer damaged ones and began the daunting task of repairing them. For Sakura it was like threading a very thin piece of thread through a needle and then having to stich the most delicate piece of lace without ruining its previous pattern and not leaving any evidence behind. It was difficult and stressful, and took time. Lots of time.

She slowly began to feel her chakra drain from her own system as she continued to seek and repair any and every nerve that she could, knowing full well that she would likely end up collapsing from chakra exhaustion before fixing the least damaged nerves. There were just so many of them.

Through all of the concentration however, she couldn't stop wondering why he had survived Sasuke's attack. It wasn't that she doubted this man's abilities but Sasuke was so sure that Itachi was dead and yet here he was, contradicting that very thing.

Her brow furrowed as her mind continued to contemplate this exact question and here she was, working on repairing the eyes of the very man who her question pertained to. If she wanted answers she knew that the only way to get them was to ask so she decided to do just that. Sakura had been skilled quite thoroughly in healing that she could hold a decent conversation throughout, so the pinkette took in a deep breath before presenting her curiosity.

"Uchiha, I was just wondering… ho-" She began slowly, unsure of how to begin but before she could find her thoughts, he cut her off by saying a simple word, catching her by surprise.

"Itachi." He said easily, confusing her.

"Huh?" Sakura asked so intelligently, her brow raised in question though he couldn't see it, but from the amused smirk that appeared on his lips, she wondered if he guessed her reaction, which if he did, he was right. Instantly her cheeks reddened from embarrassment just before he spoke again.

"You may call me Itachi instead of referring to me by my last name. Such formalities aren't needed." He explained, receiving a dazed look in return, though it went unnoticed by him. Sakura in turn relaxed slightly before replying.

"Uh ok, well in that case you can just call me Sakura."

"What was it you were wondering about Sakura?" He asked in his velvety soft voice, her name rolling off his tongue with such finesse. Sakura's cheeks bloomed with another blush though he once again missed it, much to her relief. After a moment she cleared her throat and continued on with her previous thoughts.

"Well… don't take this the wrong way or anything but why are you alive?" There was no good way to ask someone who was supposed to be dead why they weren't but she did her best to try and find as good a way as she could. Luckily for her, the older Uchiha took it light heartedly, allowing a slight chuckle to erupt from him before he explained.

"The day Sasuke came to kill me, I was prepared and willing to die by his hand. He fought valiantly and defeated me fairly. When the final fatal attack came, it struck me down and I fell unconscious. It should have killed me then and there but it didn't, for some reason he failed to end my life but with the damage he had caused during the battle I would have died anyway from my injuries. Unfortunately he mistook me for dead and left me there instead of verifying my defeat, and left with his Sound team.

"Not long after, my partner retrieved my body to burn and then bury as I had instructed but he discovered I was still alive so he took me to a nearby village to be healed. I woke up soon after and he informed me that Zetsu, the spy within Akatsuki had witnessed the battle and informed the leader that I had perished so they marked me down as dead then ordered Kisame to return to the base.

"So he did and left me in the village where I remained until I was healed enough for travel. That's when I came back here to abduct you for the purpose of healing my eyes then I would once again face Sasuke in battle and with luck this time he will finish the job."

Throughout his explanation Sakura just listened, her brows drawing together. It wasn't that she felt sorry for this man but the fact that he stated he was ready for Sasuke to kill him and he wanted him to finish the job seemed odd to her. Why would someone who wiped out his entire clan for no reason wish to die so badly? Was he finally feeling guilty about it or was it a last living way to torture his brother? None of it made sense to Sakura.

"If you want to die so badly why didn't you just turn yourself in to Konoha. They would have executed you and you wouldn't have to put Sasuke through that crap again! Do you have any idea how much you ruined his life? He was obsessed with killing you and you aren't even going to fight it? My god you are so fucked up in the head." Sakura ranted, not realizing that she had pulled her hands away from his eyes and was now standing in front of him shaking with restrained anger. If it hadn't been for Itachi, Sasuke could have lived a normal life.

"There is much you do not understand Sakura, though none of it matters. I will make Sasuke fulfill his duty to avenge the clan." Itachi's eyes had narrowed as he spoke, though Sakura wasn't paying attention to it. Even she wanted to kill this man now for the torment he had inflicted on someone she had cared so much about.

"I doubt there is anything to understand other then you being a psycho freak who loves to torture your only remaining flesh and blood! Ever since Sasuke 'killed' you, he has become someone who deserves a second chance at a happy life! All that hate, all that craziness is gone! It died with you and it has to stay that way! I won't let you throw him back into the fires of revenge like before!" She seethed, the index finger of her right hand pointing threateningly at the Uchiha. At this moment she really didn't care about his rogue status or the fact that he was so deadly. Right now all she saw in front of her was…

"You are such a pathetic excuse for a man! You are a coward! If you had any decent bones in your body you would grow up and face your punishment instead of hiding and waiting for Sasuke to kill you! I should drag your sorry ass right back to Konoha right now and throw you at the Hokage's feet for the shit you have done! You are nothing but a useless traitor and you deserve to sit in a prison cell for the rest of your life!" Sakura's voice rose as she continued to yell at the man in front of her who had since stood up from the bed and closed the distance between them.

"You foolish naïve girl! There are far more things in this world that you know absolutely nothing about! How dare you judge and condemn someone you do not know and make assumptions on things you didn't see! You know nothing!" He loomed over her, using his height advantage to try and intimidate her.

"You! Why you little…!" Before she could finish her thought she became blinded with her rage at this man. Every emotion she had felt since the day she first saw Sasuke, had been placed on his team and watched him in his torment, all that time until he left the village, breaking her heart and then trying to kill her and Naruto boiled to the surface and this man in front of her was going to be on the receiving end.

The pinkette stepped closer to him, her emerald eyes narrowing dangerously as she set her jaw and raised her hands, roughly placing them on his chest and shoving him back. If Itachi hadn't underestimated her, he would have prepared for this but in the end he didn't so when he felt himself falling backwards, his back hitting with a dull thunk against the wall behind he couldn't stop the expression of pure shock and concern for himself passing across his face. He didn't know how close this little slip of a girl had gotten with his brother but in that one action he realized how much she did care for him and suddenly his whole plan had gotten much harder.

"YOU PATHETIC BASTARD! I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!" She shouted at him as she appeared in front of him again, grabbing him by his shirt collar and yanking him down to eye level. It had stopped mattering to Sakura just who she was yelling at, all she cared about was releasing her pent up rage and he was just so perfect for the job. She hated this man for what he had done to Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha even though she never knew them.

At her threat of death, Itachi realized that she wasn't just saying it. The promise of a very painful death rolling off her was more than he could have imagined from the pinkette and he knew at that moment she would fulfill her promise. Never in his life had Itachi ever been placed in this position, even when facing Sasuke. Itachi was used to always being the one who was feared, even within the Akatsuki the only person who could stand to be around him was his partner and even then there were limits. Now here he was being held in a death grip by a girl half his size and he genuinely felt afraid. He was afraid because he was still healing from his battle with Sasuke and his eyes weren't in any condition to use. He truly couldn't defend himself and if she was intent on ending his life, he knew she could do it easily right here, right now.

As if in slow motion he watched as Sakura's right hand released his shirt and pulled back into a fist, visible blue chakra surrounding it. Her muscles coiled and tensed under her skin. Oh yes he had heard about her, she had defeated Sasori after all, so he knew that she possessed monstrous strength. He had witnessed the damage in the past she had caused from these fists and knew at that moment if she hit him with that, she would break his neck if not tear his head clear off.

Time almost stood still as her fist began to close the distance between it and his face. In an act of weakness that no other person could ever attest to witnessing in their lives, Itachi did the unthinkable, at least it was unthinkable when it came to dangerous, deadly rogues. He cowered.

His head ducked as he tried to avoid her fist while his hands shot up in a surrender motion. Sakura's eyes widened considerably at the clear sign of weakness, causing her to lose her motivation to end him right then and there. Before her fist could connect with his jaw she halted her movements, her fist freezing not even an inch before it would have struck.

By now Itachi had squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the impact but when it didn't come, he cracked his eyes open slightly and looked between her still raised fist that had since lost its blue glow and her widened eyes.

"You really are pathetic…" She whispered as she lowered her fist and released her other hand, backing away from him a few steps, her expression a mixture of confusion and disgust.

She watched silently as Itachi just closed his eyes and slid down the wall into a sitting position, his knees drawn up slightly with his forearms resting on them, his head bowed.

Sakura had never expected she would see the greatest Uchiha looking so… vulnerable and beaten.

Slowly but surely the anger she had felt a few moments ago dissipated from her, only being replaced with exhaustion, worry for the older Uchiha and curiosity at his behavior. He was acting so unlike himself, at least she assumed so since it was how he was portrayed.

"Itachi…" She didn't know what else to say, or how to say it. All she knew was that she was seeing something that she probably had no business seeing. With a deep intake of breath which she then let out slowly, she walked over to him and sat on her knees in front of him, though he didn't move or say a thing to state he was paying attention.

Sakura leaned forward slightly so that she was more eye level with him and slowly, carefully outstretched her right hand until she touched his cheek with as much gentleness as she could and coaxed him to look up at her.

When he gave in and opened his eyes, Sakura's breath caught in her throat. Deep within his obsidian orbs she could see the dark hurt and suffering he felt. Her heart thudded in her chest as she raised her other hand and placed it on his, curling her fingers about his limp ones. She stared into his eyes, debating what she should do about him, wondering if she should just leave, or try to help him. Her compassionate side was threatening to win against the logical side, though she didn't care. What she saw at that moment was a man who needed someone to be on his side and she decided it should be her, even if it could get her thrown in prison in Konoha. Logic just wasn't going to win this time.

"Itachi… I'm sorry I snapped at you and you're right, I don't know a lot of things but from the way you are acting right now… that look in your eyes, there is something major going on and if you truly want help, you have to tell me what it is." She pleaded with him as she squeezed his hand reassuringly while her thumb on her other hand stroked soothing slow circles on his cheek just beside his mouth.

"You know if you wanted to escape, now would be the best time." His tone was gruff and mocking but it did nothing to hide what he really felt internally. Sakura in turn just looked at him for a moment.

"I know that but I'm not going to. You have my full attention right now and I happen to be more involved in this whole thing then you are aware of so please just tell me what it is that you are clearly hiding."

Itachi regarded her for a long moment before he closed his eyes again and nodded, causing Sakura to inwardly sigh with relief. She didn't know what it was but she had a deep subconscious feeling that she needed to listen to him and try to help him.

Before she could think more on it, he began to tell the story of his life.