(A\N: I am terribly sorry that this chapter is so late. I hadn't planned on having it take this long, but we can't control some things now can we? I've been dealing with school and several personal problems these past few weeks, so I ask for your forgiveness. I had planned on having more ItaSaku moments in this chapter, but because I wanted to get this chapter out to you as soon as possible that will happen in the next chapter. So, bear with me, ok? By the way, this chapter is dedicated to lovebunnyofanime. I'm sorry I couldn't get the chapter out to you by the 30th, I tried really hard…I just hope you feel better and everything is ok. :) Alright, onto the chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!)

Chapter 24

Rebuilding the Uchiha Clan?

"Ino, Shizune, I'm low on chakra. It's going to take all three of us to save her."

"Save who?" Came Naruto's voice through the silence.

…

…

…

"The baby."

The silence that followed made Sakura's shaky intakes of breath echo throughout the clearing. The wind whistled softly through the clearing.

"…b-baby…?" Kakashi swallowed, throat dry. Sakura…was pregnant? And suddenly everything began to make sense.

"Dammit! Ino, Shizune, stop staring and help me! If we don't do something soon the baby will die!" Tsunade roared, breaking everyone from their reverie. Ino and Shizune both flinched at Tsunade's voice before hurrying to comply, still looking dazed.

Naruto nodded, recovering enough to remember that: one, there were still Stone-nin to deal with and two, the apparent father—by the looks of it—hadn't known about this either. He knew who it was without even looking up at his face for recognition.

Sakura-chan…

…you really loved him didn't you?

He turned his gaze towards the Stone-nin who were looking from Naruto to their fallen leaders.

"If you leave now…" Naruto began, voice low and dark, "We will spare your lives."

"Ha! There are still more of us than there are of you." One of them began confidently.

Anko grinned maliciously. "You wanna try something? Tough guys like you always end up drowning in their own blood." She took a step forward, kunai in hand.

"Enough." Came a gruff voice from the left. Everyone turned to see two people standing at the edge of the area, surrounded by a multitude of vest-laden shinobi. One was extremely recognizable, with pale green eyes and soft rust-colored hair.

"Gaara!" Naruto couldn't help but let his shoulders sag with relief. He had never been so happy to have the Kazekage as one of his best friends before this. Gaara gave a small half smile in his direction, before turning his attention to the Stone-nin once more.

The man standing beside Gaara was tall and willowy, with piercing green eyes and a shock of wheat-blonde hair. A large scar ran down the majority of the left side of his face. Around his arm was a shinobi band for the Cloud village.

Naruto blinked, just then realizing that half of the large group of shinobi sported cloud-nin vests rather than sand-nin ones. …why were the Cloud-nin coming to the rescue of Konoha? They weren't allies. In fact, they were about as close to blood enemies as two nations could get. The unspoken tenseness and threat of war had lasted between the two countries since Cloud's attempt to kidnap Hinata.

"On behalf of our treaty with the Akatsuki, the Cloud village will not allow any of you to attack Konoha." The scarred Cloud-nin leader answered, voice surprisingly smooth compared to his rough exterior.

The Stone-nin who seemed to be the highest in command sneered. "So…Konoha has to rely on alliances to protect itself…" He looked back at his shinobi. "This isn't the end." Then he nodded at his shinobi who disappeared behind him.

Gaara began walking over to Naruto and the others. He gave the Akatsuki members a wide berth—shooting a rather vindictive glare in the direction of Sasori and Deidara, which was to be expected. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out what Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino were doing as they crowded around Sakura, who had gone silent from shock.

"My shinobi as well as Isamu-san's Cloud-nin will patrol the borders and deal with any rogue Stone-nin who might happen to attack." Gaara murmured, motioning to the tall blonde-haired Cloud-nin who was making his way towards them.

"It makes sense, I suppose, that Cloud-nin would side with the Akatsuki." Neji spoke sharply, his piercing gaze directed at Isamu. "After all, those who kill needlessly and merely for blood lust must stick together, ne?"

"N-Neji…" Hinata began fearfully, as Isamu turned to regard Neji with about as much interest as one gives to a piece of dust on their sleeve.

"You're the Hyuga boy, aren't you?" Isamu gave a small twitch of his lips, the most of a smile he seemed able to come up with. It was more of a snarl than anything else, giving everyone a good view of an overly sharp canine. "Still angry about your father?"

Neji growled deep in the back of his throat, taking a step forward. Tenten and Hinata both grabbed one of his arms, stopping him from advancing. Isamu merely tilted his head to the side, peering at Neji from beneath half-lidded eyes.

"If you wish to condemn Cloud for the unnecessary death of innocents…" And with this his gaze turned to Sakura, who was watching the exchange through pained eyes. "Then perhaps you should reevaluate your own standards on shinobi. If you wish to exterminate vermin, it is best to begin with the ones closest to you." And his eyes flashed black, a deadly glare, before resuming their normal color.

He gave a nod at Naruto and Gaara. "If you will excuse me, I will continue with my patrols."

As soon as the Isamu left, the others turned to Sakura once more. She was staring down at her stomach as Shizune, Ino, and Tsunade placed their glowing hands on it. Her eyes were desperate and pleading as Sasuke continued to hold her, whispering in her ear. She was nodding to what he said, but she didn't seem as if she really heard him at all.

"Sakura—" Naruto began as he took a step forward, but stopped as a soft whine and labored breathing echoed throughout the tensely silent area.

They all turned, Sakura included, to look at the intruder.

"Chigiri!" Sakura gasped out as the crimson-stained dog staggered across the clearing.

Chigiri gave a soft whine, hobbling over towards Sakura as best as he could. Blood dripped from the large wound in his stomach, and the matted white fur around his neck was speckled with crimson. He managed to make it over to Sakura, and licked her cheek softly.

She scratched him behind the ear, eyes glistening with tears as his legs gave out from under him and he fell onto her lap, his blood-soaked fur brushing against Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino's hands, staining them as they continued to work.

"Chigiri…" She whispered. "Don't leave me…please…" She hugged him close; trying not to cry as his ragged, labored breaths slowly became few and far in-between. Why was this happening to her? Why? He couldn't die...not Chigiri...

"Just hold on…just a little longer…then when I get enough chakra I can…heal…you…" She grimaced a bit as the blood continued to drip from her chest. "…please don't go…"

He let out a soft whine.

"I'll be alone again…please don't go…you and Sasuke…only ones…" She coughed a bit, fingers digging into his coarse fur. His glazed over eyes fixated on her for a moment and she swore he smiled at her, before his entire body relaxed and his chest no longer rose.

"NO!" It was a sharp cry, before she doubled over him, sobbing.

"Sakura! We can't reach your stomach!" Tsunade pushed against Sakura's shoulder, trying to get her to straighten. Sakura breathed in a few ragged breaths, stilling. They resumed their healing.

"…Sasuke…later….bury him…k?" Sakura mumbled.

"Of course." Sasuke answered without hesitation.

"Good dog…he was…good…" Her gaze was unfocused and pained as fat tears rolled down her cheeks, making clean paths on her dirt-smeared face. She seemed to be feeling the after-effects of Masako's jutsu and her chest injury, as well as severe chakra loss.

"A very good dog," Sasuke agreed. It was best to just let her ramble right now. Anything else would be too much, too draining on her. He gave the others warning glares, as if daring them to ask her a question. In his opinion they didn't really have a right to speak to her at all at the moment.

Sakura merely continued to watch Tsunade and the others heal her through weary eyes.

"She's stable, Sakura. She'll pull through." Tsunade smiled down at her former student. "She's from good stock, after all." Sakura's eyes flickered in recognition as she nodded slowly. Tsunade saw her eyes closing involuntarily.

"She still needs to be healed completely." Ino whispered worriedly, leaning against Shizune and breathing in deep, ragged breaths. "But we don't have enough chakra, Tsunade-sama. What are we going to do? The wound in her chest has to be fixed soon."

"We'll bandage it right now until we can get her to the hospital." Tsunade murmured.

"…thank you…for saving my baby…" Sakura whispered softly, before she fell unconscious, slumping fully against Sasuke. He held her weight easily, of course.

"I guess…that explains her nausea, yeah." Deidara whispered. He felt a deep pain in his chest and resisted the urge to place his hand over his heart. She's having Itachi's kid, yeah…his kid…not mine…

"But it doesn't explain a few things." Kisame pointed out gruffly. "If she was using her chakra this entire time to keep away her nausea she wouldn't have had enough to fight Masako. She would have been completely drained before this."

"Yes. Her chakra coils are directly linked with the child. Thus, any fluctuation or overuse of her own chakra would be detrimental to the child's health." Shizune put in. "Sakura was keeping a constant flow of medical chakra throughout her body for what looks like months. That, although a minimal amount, would lessen her chakra supply for battle significantly. If she had been using her own chakra to keep the morning sickness at bay as well she wouldn't have been able to defeat Masako."

"Where has Sakura-senpai been leaving to?" Tobi piped in, his face twisted in confusion—a face that Kakashi was still staring at in disbelief—"Sakura-senpai runs off at night and doesn't come back for days." He waved his hands around for emphasis.

"No shit, Tobi. We aren't blind." Kisame growled beneath his breath.

"Perhaps we could help with that." Came a soft reply from behind them all.

Everyone whirled around to see two shinobi standing in the middle of the ravaged clearing. One was a rather old man, with a myriad of wrinkles and scars covering his face. He still had all his hair, and his beard was cut short. He walked slowly towards them, leaning on his cane.

The other was a young girl, perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She had grayish-black hair held back in a braid and a shy smile on her face. She walked behind the man—who they could tell was related to her by their resemblance—and fiddled with the shinobi band that hung around her neck.

The old man wore his band around his arm.

They were shinobi from Cloud.

"…who are you…?" Asuma finally asked, since no one else seemed able to speak.

"My name is Jun, and this is my granddaughter, Kotone." The man answered in a gravelly voice. He coughed, clearing his throat. "And that woman," He inclined his head towards Sakura. "Is my patient. So I would suggest you let me do my job and heal her."

"Excuse me?" Tsunade stepped defensively in front of her student, glaring.

The man chuckled, though his granddaughter didn't seem to find it as amusing as he did. She looked angrily at Tsunade, "Sakura-san is going to bleed to death if you don't let us heal her. We've been doing it for months now, you know!"
…

…

…

"…months?" Shikamaru finally voiced confusedly.

"To keep the morning sickness at bay, as I'm sure you've guessed." Jun drawled, slowly lowering himself down to the ground on shaking legs. "It's a rather common practice among kunoichi. They can't fight efficiently while throwing up," At this he shot Tsunade a rather contemptuous look, "so they go to a medic-nin for healings throughout the pregnancy until the woman is around her fourth or fifth month."

"What month is Sakura?" Naruto asked softly.

"Fourth." Kotone piped in. "She's so lucky…she hasn't even started to show yet!" It wasn't uncommon for some women to keep from showing until late in the pregnancy, however.

"Why would she go to two missing-nin instead of me?" Tsunade asked, inwardly hurt.

The man gave her a rather insulting look, as if he couldn't understand her stupidity. "My guess is that she did not wish for you to know who the father was."

There was another moment of silence as they all suddenly remembered that they had no idea who the baby's father could be—save for a select few. A select few who were avoiding eye contact with the 'father' as best as they could.

"…who…?" Ino immediately looked at the Akatsuki members. They were the only ones who had been with her during that time. Or was it some missing-nin they didn't know of? A one-night fling?

"Who is the father?" Kakashi demanded, voice hard.

There was another long moment of silence before Sasuke spoke from his seat on the ground, still holding Sakura as Kotone and Jun healed her chest.

"My brother."

Those two words struck Itachi like a physical blow. Sakura was carrying a child.

His child.

Sasuke's words had solidified the fact, and a part of Itachi was angry. Angry with the fact that Sasuke had known before he had. That Sakura had trusted his brother with such precious information and not himself. And another part of him…a little, miniscule, insignificant part of him…was afraid.

She was having his child. An Uchiha child…a child that would have the Sharingan.

Sasuke looked up over Sakura's head and their eyes met for a few brief moments.

Sasuke had never seen his brother with such a look on his face. To anyone else it wouldn't have looked any different than normal. But Sasuke knew how to read his brother.

Was she afraid of me? Was that the reason she did not tell me? Itachi thought with a twinge of annoyance. Did she think I would kill my own child?

Yes.

…why?

Because you do not care for anyone. Caring is a weakness.

He let out a slow breath, something that went unnoticed by most of the group as they continued to stare at him in shock.

She was always my weakness. Not emotion. Her.

And the child.

My child.

"You…" Kakashi whispered harshly, ignoring the large wound in his side as he glared at Itachi. "You…are the father…?" Why him Sakura…? Why him?

"It would seem that my brother knows more on this subject than I do, Hatake. Perhaps you should ask him." Itachi answered coldly.

"It isn't possible." Tsunade whispered gruffly, rushing forward and grabbing the edge of Itachi's collar, hoisting him into the air. Everyone tensed, waiting for him to retaliate. He merely regarded her with indifference, or perhaps shock. "Sakura cannot have children. She used the Genesis of Rebirth technique, didn't she?"

"Hai." Kisame answered.

"Then she can't have children! It's impossible!" Tsunade hissed. She shook Itachi roughly. "What the hell did you do to my student Uchiha!?!?!"

"Let him go." Jun grunted from his place beside Sakura. He and Kotone had finished, and Sakura's breathing was easy and her face was pain-free. "You're as rash as ever."

"Don't patronize me!" Tsunade roared back at the aged Cloud-nin. "Who the hell do you think you are!?!?"

Jun merely leaned on his cane, peering at all of them from behind his grey-white hair. "Sakura-san's chakra highways have been ravaged by something far greater than the Genesis of Rebirth technique. I do not know what could have possible made this kind of damage only that it reversed the Genesis of Rebirth technique's effects."

"That isn't possible." Tsunade said tersely.

"Stop being so stubborn, child." Jun spat, making Tsunade's eyes widen, before narrowing in anger.

"Child!?!?!" She let go of Itachi—who had watched all of this with his same emotionless gaze, while on the inside his mind was racing. "I am no child! I am the Third Hokage's student. I am the former fifth Hokage. I am—"

"A little girl who needs to realize that she should speak to her elders with more respect." Jun answered coolly, before turning to the others and leaving Tsunade to gape openly at him in fury.

"Only someone who can see different types and levels of chakra could use a technique like the one used on Sakura-san. Such a kind of jutsu…" His eyes flashed in recognition, before he shrugged it off. "Well, no one with that kind of technique is alive. Therefore, I can offer little in the way of an explanation."

"We still need to get Sakura-san to the hospital." Kotone finally spoke up. "She's stable, but we need to do a few examinations of her chakra passageways to make sure that the healing won't cause any complications for her child."

Her child.

It was insulting and embarrassing in the way Kotone had spoken, as if Sakura's child didn't even have a father.

Did she not wish for the child to be an Uchiha?

Or perhaps…she is just afraid of the title her daughter would carry…

…was this the reason Sakura had been so emotional when her father had disowned her? Because now her child would not be a Haruno? He was angered with the fact that she would rather their child be a Haruno than an Uchiha. And then…his anger began to subside as he realized that Sakura, of all people, would believe that he would never want another Uchiha to be born.

They think that because I killed my clan I will kill any other Uchiha that I meet. He thought, annoyed, how absurd. But it wasn't absurd, not really, and he knew that too.

The hospital was the equivalent of a madhouse when they arrived. Tsunade, Shizune, and Ino were running around like madwomen, yelling at all the medic-nin in their wake. Although they were drained of medical chakra themselves it didn't mean that they couldn't direct the other medical shinobi in their jobs, berating them for sloppiness or excessive use of chakra on simple healings.

Naruto and the others were seated in a waiting room, gazes drawn and apprehensive. Jun was finishing Sakura's healing in an empty room at a far end of the hospital.

Kotone had offered to help the medical staff and was currently sitting in one of the high emergency rooms working on a high-risk patient—Kurenai. She'd been mortally injured while fighting off a group of rogue stone-nin. Asuma was currently sitting outside her room, his head in his hands.

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were quiet, and Hinata was gripping Naruto's hand tightly, face pale and worried. Kiba was scratching Akamaru behind his ears, mumbling something to himself that was discernable to the others. Shino was silent like always, wearing his Anbu outfit. He was one of the less injured of the group and so was being sent back out to scout the border in a few hours.

Naruto was surprised that anyone was able-bodied enough to actually go out and help the Sand-nin and Cloud-nin. As he looked at all his friends, not one of them wasn't sporting some kind of bandage or splint.

The Akatsuki were standing off to one side of the waiting room, eyes roving over the others as if waiting for them to attack. Even injured, none of them had asked for a healing. Perhaps it was because they really didn't need it. Or perhaps they merely knew that the medic wouldn't help them anyway.

They also hadn't offered to help eliminate any of the Stone-nin stragglers. Instead they merely stood to the side, talking softly with one another. None of them, however, spoke to Itachi.

He was even isolated from the Akatsuki. He was sitting up against the wall, head bowed. He seemed deep in thought. Naruto couldn't blame him, really. Ever since they had learned he was the father of Sakura's child, everyone had avoided him like the plague. He was ignoring their glares with skill, but Naruto wondered if it was finally getting to him.

He hadn't spoken, hadn't even protested when Sasuke had been the only one allowed into the room with Sakura for her healing.

Naruto supposed that he was currently trying to digest the fact that he was going to be a father. If it had been anyone else, Naruto probably would have killed them for everything they'd done to Sakura. For even dreaming of having sex with his little cherry blossom.

But he couldn't do that.

Because she loved him, didn't she?

He remembered Sakura's letter, remembered how she'd described that Itachi wasn't all bad. No, he was human…and she loved him.

Oh Sakura…what has happened to us? He thought sadly.

"Hokage-sama."

Naruto looked up at the voice, only to see Jiraiya. Jiraiya never called Naruto Hokage-sama…but judging by Jiraiya's stern gaze—and the clay cat perched on his shoulder smiling down at him—he knew something was wrong.

"Yes?"

"The Leader of the Akatsuki wants his members back." Jiraiya grunted. At this, the Akatsuki tuned into their conversation.

"He regrets his judgment of my mistress." The cat chimed in. "He was very busy with other things and so he didn't look into the matter fully." He gave a soft purr. "Leader-sama has been very distracted as of late…"

Jiraiya looked from the cat back to Naruto. "They are wanted back at their base in two days. From what this cat tells me that means they'll need to leave tonight."

"No."

Everyone turned with surprised to Itachi. He looked up from his spot on the ground, his eyes meeting Naruto's. There was a flicker of something there that Naruto couldn't identify as Itachi spoke. "I will not allow Sakura to be healed by anyone of lesser caliber than the shinobi here. She stays in Konoha." And so do I. The unspoken statement hung over all of them.

It made Naruto want to smile a bit. Perhaps Itachi wasn't as bad as he had originally thought…

…perhaps…

"We aren't leaving Sakura-chan, yeah." Deidara finally muttered. "Itachi isn't the only one staying."

"Please give our message to Leader-sama. I am sure he will understand our small delay. Haruno-san will be healed enough to leave in three days, I am sure." Sasori spoke with a cool finality. "If he does not find this to be acceptable then Deidara, Kisame, Tobi, and I will head back to the base as soon as possible."

"But—" Deidara began.

Sasori's dark look silenced him. "Don't forget where your loyalties lie, Deidara. She is not our leader, he is."

Deidara's mouth clamped shut as he nodded slowly.

"Got it, Sasori-san." The cat smiled slyly, as if this were all a big joke. "I'll get the message to him as soon as possible." He echoed Sasori's earlier words with a small grin before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto." Jiraiya addressed his former student once more. "You are needed to meet with The Kazekage and the Cloud leader in your office. I know that Sakura is your former teammate but at this point in time you must act like the Hokage. It is your duty to see to Konoha."

Naruto nodded solemnly, giving Hinata's hand a squeeze and a small 'I'll be back as soon as I can' look. "Alright. Let's go, Jiraiya." He started to walk away with the toad Sannin before he turned around to Kakashi, "Hey Kakashi-sensei…send Pakkun to tell me when Sakura's ok, alright?"

Kakashi nodded. "Hai."

With Naruto gone, the air of the room became more hostile. It was as if Naruto was the only person keeping the Akatsuki and Konoha-nin from going at each other's throats.

No one moved, but the glares they sent each other were like well-aimed kunais. The only one who seemed indifferent to it all was Itachi, who was once again staring down at the floor.

"So, because Sakura isn't your leader you would have just let her die, is that it?" Temari asked angrily, reverting back to Sasori's words, holding Karura. She had come as soon as she'd heard about what had happened. She was currently waiting to speak with her brother.

Sasori looked at her with an indifferent gaze. "She is merely an Akatsuki member…while it is difficult to replace shinobi of such caliber, she is not indispensable."

"You bastard." Kiba hissed, while Akamaru gave a low, threatening growl.

"Stop it, Sasori." Kisame grunted. "We all know you're worried about Sakura too. You don't have to be an ass about it."

"I am merely telling the truth, Kisame." Sasori commented offhandedly. "Shinobi die all the time. It is of no use to be emotionally attached to any of them."

"Yeah. Shinobi die all the time." Shikamaru answered back levelly. "So I suppose if you died no one would care or notice…right?"

"Is that a threat?"

"It could be taken as one." Shikamaru drawled.

"That's enough, Shikamaru." Kakashi reprimanded him angrily. 'There are more important matters at hand." He couldn't help the fact that his gaze kept drifting to Obito—Tobi. His face was scrunched up in worry as he continually asked the others what was wrong with his Sakura-senpai.

"No, it isn't enough." Neji answered back, standing. "It is about time we get this straightened out."

"There is nothing to straighten out." Sasori countered. "You should not be so emotional, Hyuga. You'll never make it in the shinobi world with the way you're acting."

"Don't reprimand me, sand bastard." Neji snarled.

"N-neji…" Hinata began fearfully.

"Everyone should just shut the hell up. I'm getting a headache." Kisame grunted.

"No one has to listen to you." Tenten snapped, coming to Neji's defense.

Sai looked from one group of angry shinobi to the other, his face emotionless. His hand—or rather, skeletal appendage—didn't even hurt at the moment. Perhaps he was just too caught up in other things—like the growing schism between Sakura's aquaintences. The Konoha-nin and Akatsuki were not getting along well. That was understandable, of course, but the small alliance that had formed between them was dissipating quickly. And from what Sai could see, it was all due to Sakura's current state.

He wasn't the best with emotions, but the most logical thing to him was for all of them to admit that they were worried about Sakura. Because they were, no matter how much the Akatsuki hid it.

But more than that…they were all worried that she'd hate them.

Sai supposed he'd have to take it in stride if she decided to curse all of them for their betrayal. He remembered the first time he had betrayed Konoha. He remembered the wounded look in her eyes and the way she hadn't spoken to him for days after that.

He had pretended it hadn't mattered back then. But realistically he knew that it had, just a little. She had gotten under his skin and started to make him feel emotions and because of that it hurt when she was disappointed in him.

But it didn't hurt as bad right now. It didn't hurt because Sai knew that it was well deserved and he would have to suffer through it—would gladly suffer through it if it meant she'd forgive him in the end. Because she was his teammate. A precious person. One of the few people he could honestly say he trusted. And she had trusted him…and he had ruined that.

It was his fault, and like a good little shinobi he was going to take responsibility for his actions.

The others didn't seem to agree with his point-of-view. At the moment it looked as if a fight was going to break out. The only Akatsuki members who weren't currently involved in the little verbal fight were Tobi and Itachi. Tobi was looking around in confusion, as if he couldn't understand what was going on, and Itachi continued to stare down at the floor, deep in thought.

"She's stable." Came a gravelly voice from the hallway. Everyone went silent, turning to look at the old Cloud-nin, Jun. He gave a small grunt, "She just needs to rest now. She's awake, if you want to see her."

There was another moment of silence as everyone looked at one another and then, as one, ran for the door. They hadn't seemed to notice that Itachi had disappeared the moment Jun had opened the waiting room door.

The sight of a large group of Konoha shinobi plus half of the Akatsuki organization running pell-mell down the hospital's surgical ward would have been humorous if the situation had been any different.

Instead the group of running shinobi—with Kisame and Sasori walked behind slowly, of course—was watched through solemn, surprised gazes from the other hospital occupants.

"You can't go in, Uchiha." Came Tsunade's voice, clear and concise through the hospital's background noises.

"I am going to speak with her." Itachi's voice was implacable and unrelenting.

"No."

That was how the others found them, Itachi standing in front of the door they guessed was Sakura's, Tsunade blocking the doorway with a deadly glare and clenched fists.

"Let me pass."

"Get the hell out of here, Uchiha!"

"She is carrying my child. It is my right to speak with her."

It was the first time he had acknowledged the fact out loud…and it made everyone within hearing distance go silent as they waited for Tsunade's answer

She looked defeated and angry, as her jaw tightened and her hands clenched. Her fingernails bit into her palm, drawing blood. It dripped down onto the pristine tile floor, making a soft pitter-patter, like rain.

"…very well, Uchiha. Go in."

Itachi nodded his head at her as she moved aside.

"Hold on!" Naruto yelled, running down the hallway, his Hokage robe billowing around him. He breathed in deeply, "Just…got here…sorry I…took…so…long…" He started forward. "I am going to see Sakura-chan—"

"No." Tsunade snapped. "There is only one visitor allowed at a time. You are all going to stay out here—HEY!" She was ignored as they others rushed forward towards the open doorway.

"Get back out here! All of you—dammit this is my hospital! Get OUT!!!!"

Completely discerning Tsunade's protests, they all filed into Sakura's cramped hospital room. She was lying on the bed, looking pale and more fragile than any of them had ever seen her. Her jade eyes seemed darker as she looked out the window on her left, face tilted up to the sunlight.

She had yet to acknowledge their presences. When they'd opened the door she had stiffened a bit. Sasuke was seated in the chair to the right of her bed. He looked up when they entered—he'd been reading a book by the looks of it. His eyes narrowed a bit at the appearance of his brother. The other Konoha-nin didn't seem too pleased with it either.

"…Sakura…?" Kakashi broached, the bravest of them all.

He was met with silence.

"Sakura-chan…we're really sorry. We didn't mean…" Naruto began. Sakura merely looked down at her hands—which had been resting on her stomach. It was as if she were unconsciously trying to make up for what Masako had done. She had been unable to protect her little girl then.

"All of the facts pointed to you being Master-sama." Sasori commented lightly, seemingly unfazed. Out of all of them he was the only one who wasn't clamoring for her forgiveness. Well, that wasn't right. Itachi still seemed to be in shock and was as emotionless as ever, leaning against the wall and watching Sakura intently from his vantage point. His eyes never left her stomach. Deidara looked guilty and stricken, but he didn't move to her side. He was doing better than Sasori had originally thought.

Well, he is Akatsuki, Sasori mused. At least he still has some sort of backbone.

Kisame looked disgruntled, but more annoyed with the situation than regretful. As much as he called her kitten and acted like her father sometimes he was still an s-class criminal, and he wasn't going to feel guilty for betrayal. He was a missing-nin. Betrayal was something they had all dealt with more than a few times in their lives.

"Sakura. The baby is doing fine." Temari smiled cheerfully at her. "I was told she's really healthy. Guess she's a fighter like you, huh?"

At the mention of her child Sakura's face seemed to soften a bit. She nodded, but still said nothing.

"Why did you not tell me?"

Everyone grew silent at Itachi's question. Sakura turned to look at him, gaze angered, pained, and dull before she turned back to the window, seemingly ignoring him.

"I think everyone should leave." Sasuke stood slowly.

"Why did you not tell me?" Itachi repeated, his gaze dark and…was that a bit of hurt?

"Well, you did murder your entire clan, Uchiha. You don't exactly value family." Kiba muttered from the background. "I don't exactly blame Sakura for not wanting to tell you."

At the mention of the murder Sasuke visibly flinched, and Itachi's eyes flickered.

Sakura's hand tightened on the white sheet, before her fingers relaxed.

"I thought you said we were family, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered. "And you always forgive family, don't you?"

They saw a tear slide down her cheek and land on her hand, which was trembling. "I hate you all so much right now…" It was a harsh whisper, and it caused everyone to fall into stunned silence.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…" It was a broken mantra as her shoulders shook and she wrapped her arms around herself, head bent. Sasuke lifted a hand to put on her shoulder but stopped as she jerked away from his touch, before relaxing a little.

"I said I'd forgive you…" She finally hissed out. "But you have to earn my trust. You betrayed me."

"Sakura, all the facts pointed to—"

"You should have known that I would never do that!"

They all flinched, shrinking away at her scream. She was breathing harshly now, and she finally turned to look at them, tears streaming down her face.

"Those facts mean nothing!" She whispered. "Because of all people, you should have known that even if all of the evidence was against me…I would never do something like that. My ninja way is to protect the ones I love…I would never…I…" She stared down at her stomach. "I have killed and almost been killed so many times just to keep all of you safe." She clenched her teeth, jaw tightening.

"Get out."

They all blinked at the sound of Itachi's voice. He was staring at the Konoha-nin and the other members of the Akatsuki, his gaze level.

Sasuke stood, jaw clenched in anger as his hand formed a fist. "Don't you dare…" He was stopped, however, as Sakura placed a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her and she gave him a meaningful glance, and a nod.

Sasuke stared into Sakura's eyes, shaking his head. Itachi didn't deserve to be in the same room with her. Not now. Maybe never, no matter Sasuke's noble words from earlier. At seeing Sakura so broken and hurt and knowing that it was Itachi's fault…

"…it's about time that Itachi and I straightened this out…" Sakura finally whispered. Sasuke's eyes flickered, a little in hurt, as Sakura gave a soft smile.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sasuke nodded, walking towards the door. "Come on." He glared angrily at Naruto and the others. "Let's go."

"Sasuke—" Naruto began.

"She wants you out!" Sasuke snapped, almost a yell.

There was another moment of tense silence, before Naruto slowly nodded, his gaze hurt but understanding. "Alright…" He looked at everyone else, "Sasuke's right. Let's give them a few minutes."

The others reluctantly agreed, filing out of the room one by one. Sasuke was the last to leave, and as he closed the door behind him he locked eyes with Itachi, conveying a simple message that he understood perfectly.

Hurt her and I will kill you.

Itachi would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if he were the type of person who laughed. But he wasn't, and so he merely returned Sasuke's glare before the door shut, cutting him off from view.

Silence reigned in the room for several minutes as Itachi watched Sakura and she watched her hands, her gaze lowered.

"How long have you known?"

Sakura flinched at the sound of his voice. They way he spoke made it sound like an accusation. The anger in his voice was apparent to her though she doubted if anyone else would have heard it.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, ignoring the small twinge of pain in her chest, before she opened her eyes and began.

(A\N: Once again, sorry for the lateness of the chapter. But OMG…have any of you read the last few chapters of the manga? What is Kishimoto DOING to Itachi's character!?!?! We all know he's insane…but he isn't the laugh-manically-like-a-crazed-clown insane! I mean…COME ON!!!! And then…omg…is he actually going to take out Sasuke's eyes? At this point in time I think Sasuke has it coming to hime because he's an ass…but I love him, and I know he's going to win somehow and then my baby is going to die and…-sniffles-. Ok, enough ranting. I'd better go write the next chapter to keep you all appeased, lol.

Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)