Notes:
How you doing? Did u like Itachi's return? I know many of you waited for this.
Mysterious guess: Thank you!
Malyss64: Thank you 3
Emika Tongnate: There he is! We missed you, Itachi!
Thymoondragon: Itachi is back!
Lets go to another chapter!
Sakura closed her eyes, laying her face on the palm of his cold hand. They were both silent, standing there like that for some minutes.
Itachi lifted his other hand and carried it across her face, holding it with both hands. She opened her eyes again, feeling the gentle touch of the older Uchiha on her cheeks, caressing them.
"How are you doing?" He asked, his voice hoarse and drawn, failing at his lack of use.
Sakura took her hand to his, which was on her face, and covered his. Caressing the same.
"It's me who should ask that." She said with a smile playing in the corners of her lips." How are you?"
She felt the older Uchiha hesitate.
She brought the other hand up to her face, now holding both his hands, feeling them cold. She concentrated her chakra on her hands, the green glow wrapped both his hands and hers, his green glow illuminating the room, taking Itachi's face from the shadows that hid him.
He had the same old-fashioned expression that many confused with indifference, but Sakura learned to interpret it as a mask that Itachi used to hide what he really felt. The sadness and emptiness in his onyx eyes, the same as his brother's, now she could see clearly.
"I feel the same."
She released one of his hands and brought it to his pale face, lighting it.
"I should have come back sooner." She said in an anguished voice when she saw Itachi's condition.
Her throat tightened as she saw the onyx eyes were now almost frosted.
"How's he doing?"
Itachi didn't have to name the person, Sakura knew very well who he meant.
She looked down at the floor, remembering the moments she'd spent by Sasuke's side. It was like throwing salt into an open wound on her chest, but she kept no tear or expression of pain from reaching her face.
She didn't want to disappoint Itachi, even though he, more than anyone else, would understand her dilemma with Sasuke.
"The same." She answered his question. "Okay, healthy, getting stronger by the minute, you would be proud of how strong his Sharingan is." She smiled as she remembered how Sasuke controlled Juugo when he was out of control.
"You think he's ready?"
Sakura sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Sasuke believes that the only way to become strong, to have his revenge, is by severing his ties with everyone."
Itachi lowered his face, his hair forming a black curtain, hiding his expression.
She could see in the way he acted that the Uchiha felt guilty about his brother's behavior and, in a way, it was, but after so many years of seeing him as a villain when Sakura finally knew his side of the story, she saw him as another victim of the massacre of the Uchiha clan.
Like Atlas carrying the weight of the world, a victim who carried too much weight to his shoulders.
His hands dripped the blood of the people he loved and the person he had done all this, hated him.
Feeling her muscles throb, she forced herself into motion and sat down next to Itachi on the bed.
"I have to give you something back."
He raised his eyebrows together.
Sakura brought her hands up to her neck, pulling out the lanyard she had hidden as much as she could in the last few days.
"Here". She lifted the cord, leaving the ring of Itachi's Akatsuki at the level of his face.
Itachi joined his eyebrows, a small wrinkle formed.
"You should have thrown it out if he had seen-"
"He didn't see." She assured him. "You gave it to me, I couldn't just throw it away." She smiled, taking the ring from the cord and replacing it in its place of origin, on the ring finger of Itachi's right hand.
"You risked yourself too much." He hesitated. "I don't care about the ring, you should have put your safety first."
Sakura smiled and tilted her head to the side.
"But I care." Shee said slowly, squeezing his hand once more before releasing her.
Itachi sighed, shaking his head. He raised his hand up the girl's arm, lifting it up to eye level, noticing the band that covered her arm.
Sakura tried to pull her arm back, but Itachi held it tighter, holding her back.
"What ..." He touched the banners hesitantly. "Sasuke did that?" Itachi asked, his voice dark.
"No," she replied quickly, wanting to clear things up as quickly as possible. Itachi turned his gaze to her face with a hidden request for explanation." When Deidara and Sasori were behind me, they ended up coming into conflict with Sasuke and I ended up being hit by a clay bomb."
" Baka." He spat the curse on Akatsuki's mate.
Sakura grimaced, spinning her wrist, took his hand.
"Don"t worry." She assured . "I just need some time and I'm going to be brand-new."
He was still frowning at her, probably even cursing the blond with thoughts.
"You need to rest."
"But you..."
"When you're rested, we think about it." he said as an order.
Sakura gave a lazy smile, nodding slightly.
She didn't object, her whole body ached. For her, she would lie anywhere and sleep the rest of the week, both her body and her mind were exhausted.
"Do I still have a room, or have they turned into some Deidara and Sasori atelier yet?" She teased.
Itachi curled his lips in a kind of smile.
"Rest here today, if you go to your room, you won't have peace with so many visitors."
She shrugged, suddenly shy.
"Don't want to disrupt."
Itachi smiled from the corner of his mouth, he pushed Sakura by the shoulder until she lay on the bed.
"Take a rest." he ordered.
Sakura let out a low laugh and nodded, bringing her legs up onto the bed, but leaving the shoes out.
Itachi took off his cloak and laid it on the girl.
"Take a rest." He said, smoothed the cloak with red clouds, ran a hand through her pink hair.
Sakura gave a weak smile, closing her eyes, settled herself in bed.
"Thank you, Itachi-kun." She whispered before falling asleep.
She didn't had dream, she was too tired for that. It simply erased and gave a little rest to her precious mind.
She woke up a few hours later with voices in the background.
"For Kami, if you open your mouth again I'll punch you in the face."
"Dei-kun, you're too dense." She heard Tobi say in a moan.
She heard a crash, something like metal banging on something. Deidara had probably beaten Tobi with a silver cane that Sakura used to pour tea.
She moaned as she stretched, her muscles complaining, asking for a few more hours of rest, but she knew that if she heard her lazy side she wouldn't get out of bed anytime soon.
The weather had turned and now it was colder than it was before, she searched for something blanket, but only found the cover of Itachi. Not thinking he would mind, she put on the black cloak.
Still a little lazy, she left the room. She walked down the corridor, following the voices, reached the living room where some of Akatsuki's most wanted and feared members were.
They were scattered around the room, Hidan was sitting in an armchair, isolated reading a book, Sasori and Deidara was on the big couch, the blonde growled angrily as he kicked Tobi away from him, the redhead looked indifferently at their confusion.
Kisame and Itachi were sitting on another couch, Kisame laughed openly every time Tobi was kicked.
"You finally woke up, pinky". Hidan said mockingly.
All attention was drawn to the girl, who leaned against the doorway that divided the hallway. She shrugged, stunned by so many glances.
"Sakura-chan!" Tobi shouted excitedly, seeming to forget Deidara's foot in his face.
She smiled and went to the sofa where Itachi and Kisame were, sitting on the arm of the sofa on the side where Itachi was. The Uchiha put his arm around her.
"I thought Itachi had joined the Uchiha fashions and made you a prisoner in his bedroom." Deidara pinned him.
Itachi narrowed his eyes at him.
"Stop being a dick, you're just jealous that she didn't talk to you when she arrived." Hidan scoffed at him and threw a pack of food at the blond.
"Asshole." Deidara spat the words, releasing Tobi to advance on Hidan, but Sasori's next speech stopped him.
"What happened to your arm?"
Itachi lightly shook the kunoichi's waist.
"She burned herself with one of your teammate's clay bombs." He said menacing and Sakura felt the chakra change in him.
Itachi didn't look at her, but Sakura could see from the corner of her eye that his Sharingan was on.
She put her hand over his.
Deidara knit his brows, swallowing dry.
"Sakura ..." He looked down. "When we saw you falling, we wanted to turn, but the baby Uchiha ..."
"It wasn't your fault." She interrupted him. "I set myself up so that Sasuke didn't suspect anything, it was nothing, no need to worry." She gave a small smile.
"Ah, Sakura-chan! Get well soon!" Tobi ran to her, tried to pull her into a hug, but Itachi with one look made Tobi pull away.
"We want improvements, blah-blah-blah." Hidan rolled his eyes, impatient with the conversation.
Sakura laughed, mentally thanking for Hidan to break the mood that had formed.
She didn't want Deidara to blame herself for what had happened, when she had planned for it to happen.
"Thinking of joining the squad?" Kisame commented by calling attention to the fact that she is wearing the Akatsuki's clothers.
Sakura widened her eyes a little, crossing her arms trying to hide the huge cloud that was printed right in front of her. Which was very ridiculous since the cover had several prints.
"Stop talking shit, fish." Kisame glared at Hidan. "Look at her, do you think she would wear the cloak one day? One thing is it here, with us, another is to be hunt every time you hit the street."
"Hidan ..." Sakura interrupted what Deidara was going to say.
"No, he's right." She said with a smile that seemed forced. "I'm here to help Itachi, I'm fully aware that I don't belong to Akatsuki, my job is to save lives and I have no intention of changing to join you." She let out the hint. She wasn't naive to forget why they were criminals with just a few kind words. "If you'll excuse me." She bowed slightly and stood up.
She lowered the zipper completely, taking off her cloak and dropping it onto the sofa where she had sat before. Regardless of whether her clothing was completely ripped, or if she was almost naked, she left the room.