~Chapter 25~

Sakura had spent the rest of her evening beginning to repair Itachi's damaged nerves and organs. She didn't get very far but it was enough to kill the virus but now she would have to spend weeks trying to reverse the damage that had been done.

She had spent nearly six hours pouring her chakra into him and by the time she finally extracted her hands from his body she noticed he had fallen into a deep sleep. She felt satisfied that she had eased the symptoms and now it was her chance to rest. She carefully laid down on Itachi's bed since he was still in hers and closed her eyes, allowing herself to lose consciousness.

Now the following morning Sakura was the only one awake, or at least she figured she was. When she had woken up she noticed that Itachi was still asleep so she checked him as quietly as she could before leaving the room. She had expected Sasuke to either be up or to get up soon but neither of those conclusions happened.

So here she was just lounging on her couch after having spent the majority of the morning tidying up the apartment. Sakura couldn't deny that she was beginning to experience cabin fever and silently cursed Tsunade for not hurrying up but at the same time she wanted the Hokage to take her time so that she could be thorough with investigating the order.

As much as she enjoyed having the time to herself she couldn't just sit anymore. She wanted something to do or more like she wanted to pester someone. Since Itachi wasn't well that left only one person to do just that and it was Sasuke.

With a deep breath, Sakura got up from the couch and slowly walked down the hall, stopping just outside of Sasuke's door. She knocked softly but only heard an angry grunt, causing her to smirk slightly. He was still asleep.

Sakura twisted the knob on his door and found it to be unlocked. Good, that would make her task much easier. She stepped into the room as quietly as she could and walked over to his window. He hadn't opened the curtains since he had arrived and she felt it was long overdue. With a slight smirk she yanked the curtains open quickly sending sunlight into the room. The younger Uchiha groaned and cursed at her, covering his head with his pillow.

'If that's how you want to play, Sasuke…' she said mentally as she stepped over to his bed, not taking care to be silent anymore. He already knew she was in there so what was the point in trying to hide.

With another quick motion, she pulled the blankets off of him before grabbing his pillow and running from the room before he could get his barring's. The distant growling of the young Uchiha sent her into a fit of giggles as she pushed her door open and ran inside before closing the door and locking it, forgetting all about Itachi who was now wide away and smirking with amusement.

Rapid knocking came at her door along with a very irritated voice.

"Sakura! Open this door now! I need to have a word with you!" Sasuke seethed as he tried to break the handle on the door. Sakura suddenly began to think her prank wasn't such a good idea after all. What had she been thinking? She must have gotten a little too comfortable with him and forgot his unpredictable nature.

"I take it those belong to Sasuke?" A voice said from behind Sakura, startling her. She spun around and collided with Itachi's chest, unaware at how close he was to her.

"Maybe…" Sakura mumbled as she stepped away from the older Uchiha, eyeing the rattling door.

"He won't hurt you Sakura don't worry." Itachi said, his smirk growing wider. He stepped up to the door and unlocked it before stepping back quickly just as Sasuke swung the door open and stepped in, glaring wildly.

"Where is she!" Sasuke growled as his eyes darted around the room, looking for the pink haired girl in question. Finally his eyes caught the shimmer of pink behind Itachi's back and he lunged, only to be caught by his older brother.

"Sasuke, calm yourself." Itachi ordered as he held him by his shoulders. Sakura stepped away from them, trying to get as far away as she could from Sasuke's wrath.

"You're still annoying Sakura!" Sasuke hissed before taking a step back away from Itachi and glaring at him.

"Why are you protecting her?" He asked, his face returning to the emotionless expression that he was known for. Itachi regarded his brother for a moment before deciding to reply.

"It's simple, foolish little brother. The Hokage wouldn't appreciate either of us injuring her apprentice." He said a slight smirk on his lips. His velvety tone reflected slight amusement, causing Sakura to shudder slightly.

"Hn." Sasuke said before turning on his heel and disappearing into his bedroom, slamming the door shut.

"Well, that wasn't quite the reaction I was hoping for…" Sakura said slowly as she released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Itachi let out a slight chuckle as he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest.

"What reaction were you hoping for, Sakura?" Itachi asked as he watched her drop the blankets and pillow that she had been holding onto this whole time.

"Honestly?" Sakura asked, meeting the older Uchiha's eyes, noticing finally just how amused he was by what had happened.

"That would be preferable." He said quirking an eyebrow at her.

"I have no idea." Sakura deadpanned, her face paling again. She realized how dumb that sounded and when Itachi chuckled at her statement, it was confirmed.

"Well you don't need to laugh at me, Uchiha." She said sarcastically before walking towards the door and walking past him vanishing through the door.

-:-

It was later in the day when Sakura began to pace around the living room while mumbling to herself. She didn't like confinement and it was really getting to her. If she wasn't so afraid of Itachi being thrown in prison if she ventured outside she would have ran out days ago.

"Sakura, sit down." Sasuke ordered her, getting tired of the pinkettes incessant pacing. He was sitting in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. Itachi had remained silent for the most part as he also watched the pink haired Kunoichi pace, finding her actions to be rather entertaining.

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Sakura spat out at him, turning enough to shoot a deathly glare in his direction. He scoffed as he averted his eyes to look out the window, trying to ignore her.

"Sakura, please sit down." Itachi finally decided to speak up, feeling the tension grow in the room. The last thing that needed to happen was a fight between them. Sakura turned to look at him, eye twitching slightly.

"Ugh, fine." Sakura relented after a moment. She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something about Itachi that seemed to calm her. She chalked it up to his general calmness. It was rather contagious.

She walked over to the couch he was sitting on and took a seat on the other side, her back against the arm. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them before resting her chin between her knees then closed her eyes. Sasuke looked over at her from the corner of his eye, feeling a pang of irritation that she had listened to his murderous older brother but not him.

The room fell into a deafening silence as the three of them drifted off into their own thoughts, all equally irritated with being confined for so long.

"I. Am. Bored!" Sakura bit out after having grown more irritated with the silence. She really wanted to go to the training grounds and unleash her pent up energy but that was out of the question until further notice.

"Then do something." Sasuke scoffed from his chair. He was sitting on one side, legs crossed in a very unmanly way as he read a fantasy book of Sakura's. She shot him a glare even though he couldn't see it since her head was buried in her arms.

"I'm not used to being cooped up like this. What did you do when you were with Orochimaru?" Sakura asked, not caring if the subject was sensitive. She heard Sasuke close the book in his hand rather exaggeratedly.

"I trained." He replied, his tone returning to the normal stoic one she had gotten used to so many years ago.

"Well we can't train in here, Oh Obsessed One." Sakura said sarcastically, drawing out the nickname in a mocking fashion, her tone lowering on octave. Regardless of their… whatever they were, has improved since his return, Sakura still held onto the hurt and hatred she felt for the younger Uchiha for the way he once treated her and made her feel lower then dirt.

Itachi was sitting in his usual spot on the couch just watching the two interact. Up until now he had tried his best to remain silent so he could see how they treated each other, how they reacted to one another. He knew from his time living with them that their relationship was volatile. Sasuke was jealous and impulsive while Sakura was hesitant and reluctant to trust. To Itachi it really didn't seem like they fit together.

"You're still annoying." Sasuke bit out opening the book again as he tried to ignore Sakura. He knew what she was trying to do and wouldn't play into her games.

"Annoying is better than looking like a chicken's ass." She said rather seriously, not lifting her head from her arms. She knew she would get to him at some point with the names and comments but wanted to see how far she could really push him.

"Hn." He said simply, his knuckles turning white from his grip intensifying on the book. Itachi let a smirk appear on his face.

"Can you do the chicken dance, Sasuke?" Sakura asked after a few moments, wanting to push a little further. By now she had lifted her head up and was staring intently at the younger Uchiha who was failing to maintain an indifferent mask on his face.

"Sakura. Stop." Sasuke replied his teeth grinding together as he tried to restrain himself from attacking her. She must have learned this from Naruto.

"Cluck." She watched Sasuke shudder slightly before his head spun around, his Sharingan activated.

"Not another word, woman." He warned her, the tomoes in his eyes spinning wildly as he chucked the book aside.

"Word." She said in a testing voice, her face showing no emotion. He would have been impressed with this in any other circumstance but his patience was thinning. Itachi continued to watch in silence from his spot, smirking even more. He had never seen someone, let alone a woman try so hard to annoy his little brother. He was beginning to like her more then he already did.

"Sakura I'm warning you." Sasuke said slowly, drawing out his words as he swallowed his irritation. The last thing he needed was to get thrown into jail over a fight with the Hokage's apprentice.

"I can't help it. I'm bored and you are just so easy to annoy." She said as she looked at him, a pout forming on her lips. Sasuke began to wonder what happened to the unhappy, grown woman he had found while upon his return.

"Then annoy Itachi, not me." Sasuke spat out as he stared her down. Sakura's face flickered with annoyance before a new emotion melted into her eyes and a smirk appeared on her lips. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her wondering what she was planning as she moved so she was on her hands and knees.

Seconds later she began crawling towards his older brother.

Itachi watched Sakura approach him in a very odd manor after she apparently took Sasuke's advice to annoy him, although he doubted what she had in mind would be very annoying. He wasn't as volatile as his little brother after all. Sakura continued to crawl towards him until they were a few inches apart. She sat up on her knees and rested her palms on her thighs before scooting closer so her knees touched his legs that were currently crossed Indian style.

Sasuke remained in his chair just watching Sakura intently, wondering what she was going to do. He didn't think she would actually take his advice and go annoy Itachi but the fact that she had the guts to do it was a whole new story. He half wanted to see his brother put her in her place while another part of him wanted to watch him suffer under Sakura's annoyances.

Sakura remained silent as she locked her eyes with Itachi, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited to see what she was going to do. They sat like that for a few minutes, just staring at each other, causing the anticipation Sasuke was feeling to rise to an unbearable level. Itachi wouldn't say he was growing annoyed with her silence, just feeling his patience wan slightly. Her emerald hues never moved, she didn't blink, just stared. Was she starting to look creepy?

Maybe slightly.

"Can I help you?" Itachi finally asked into the silence, his voice cutting into the thick silence around the three of them. The question caught Sakura off guard but it didn't show on her face as she finally blinked.

"Nope. Just waiting." She replied lamely, moving her hands into her lap. The look Sasuke shot her behind her back went unseen by her but Itachi caught it. Sasuke looked like he couldn't believe any of their interaction, like it was the most alien thing imaginable.

"Waiting for what, Sakura?" He asked, wishing to know what she found so interesting all of a sudden. Was she trying to pull something over on Sasuke or was she truly waiting for something else to happen.

"Just for something interesting to happen." She stated matter-of-factly, allowing herself to blink again. She truly had no idea why she was doing what she was doing, it just felt like a good idea at the time and there was no getting out of this now.

"I see." Itachi said as his eyes narrowed, a smirk playing at his lips again. His eyes darted momentarily to his silent brother who was peering over the couch at him, staring at them owlishly, giving him the look of a child seeing something he shouldn't be seeing.

The room fell silent again as Sakura and Itachi continued the staring contest. Inner decided to pipe up then.

'You should poke him!' Inner cried with glee at the idea.

'Excuse me?! What?' Sakura shrieked, not sure she heard her inner self right.

'Poke him. Y'know like how he used to do with Sasuke.' Inner said slowly, rolling her eyes as if it was the most simple thing in the world and ants could figure it out.

'And just how do you know what Itachi used to do to Sasuke?' Sakura questioned, slightly unnerved by her inner self knowing something that she herself had never known.

'I've been around.' Inner replied before vanishing in a cloud of metaphorical smoke leaving Sakura feeling confused. After a moment she began to wonder what they would do if she did poke him like that.

A memory flooded her mind out of nowhere from her childhood, back when they were very young. Before Itachi was ordered to slaughter the clan. They were at a park and Sasuke was there with Itachi. They had been talking and Itachi poked Sasuke in the forehead for no reason. That must be what Inner meant.

With an inward shrug, Sakura raised her right hand, folding her fingers into a loose fist except for her outstretched index and middle fingers. She moved her hand closer and closer to Itachi's forehead, his eyes still trained on hers with an unreadable expression. She wondered if he would actually let her get away with this or if it was even a good idea but her hand kept moving until she felt her fingers touch his forehead lightly, the skin warm against her fingertips.

Her eyes widened as he made no effort to avoid it, just simply smirking at her boldness.

"Well that was interesting." Sakura said bemused as she lowered her hand and raising one eyebrow slightly. She couldn't figure out why anyone would be afraid of the infamous Uchiha Itachi.

"Indeed." He replied, the smirk growing wider.

'THUD'

They both jerked back to reality as something large and heavy collided with the floor. Shooting to their feet, they walked over to the couch and looked over the side, only to find Sasuke on the floor, his eyes glazed over.

-:-

Sasuke had recovered from the shock of seeing someone actually poke his brother but claimed it was nothing more than exhaustion induced dizziness. Sakura offered to heal him but he brushed her attempts aside and went to his room, locking the door behind him.

Sakura simply shrugged and went about tidying the already spotless apartment as she tried to occupy herself with something while being stuck inside all day. She so wished that Tsunade would let her out of the apartment but knew that it wouldn't happen. What's more is that she expected Naruto or even Ino to show up and demand to know why she has been acting like a hermit but nobody arrived. Maybe Tsunade's lie about them being contagious had worked after all.

After a few more minutes of busy work she decided to go take a nap. Yes, that would pass some time and it's not like she had anything else that she needed to do right now anyway.

"I'm going to take a nap, Itachi." Sakura told him as she walked by the couch, yawning as if to state the point.

"Aa, alright Sakura." He said as he looked up from the magazine he was currently looking through. It was a medical magazine which drew Itachi's attention when he had come across it while looking through one of the baskets beside her table.

Sakura walked down the hall towards her room and entered, skirting Itachi's temporary bed. She began to wonder where he would stay if Tsunade was able to verify their story and accept him back into Konoha. Maybe she would have the Uchiha compound fixed up, but then again, she doubted he would even want to step foot back in that place. She wouldn't if she was in his position.

Lying down, she rolled onto her side facing the window. With a light sigh, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift off into thoughts, wondering when she would finally be allowed to partake in a mission again. She began to miss going on them and working with Team Kakashi before Sasuke returned. Sure, Sai pissed her off to no end as well as Naruto, but they were her team. Damn Uchiha's and their need to ruin things.

A soft knock came at the door before it creaked open. She rolled over just enough to look and see who had entered only to find Itachi. She smiled slightly at him before returning to her previous position and closing her eyes again. By now she had gotten used to him being in her room, he hadn't tried anything whatsoever with her and much to her surprise, she was comfortable around him while she slept.

"Sakura?" He spoke quietly as he approached her bed, drawing her attention back to him. She turned over again and raised a questioning eyebrow at him, silently urging him to state what he wanted to ask.

"When will my treatments start?" He asked in a conversational tone that surprised her. She was reminded of all those stories she heard about this man being uncaring and unapproachable but she was seeing something completely different.

"Oh, well since I am not really doing anything, how about now?" She sat up quickly and crossed her legs Indian style so that she could make room for him to sit down. He nodded and walked over to her, sitting in front of her calmly, his hands folded loosely in his lap as he waited. Sakura wasted no time as she placed her hands on his chest, infusing her hands with the green medic chakra.

It began to seep into his body with a steady, warm pace, trailing through his veins and arties, finding all of the illness and attacking it. For the first round of treatment she figured she would at least find the newest cells and kill them off before attacking the older, more ingrained ones that were going the real damage.

Itachi sat perfectly still for her, almost relaxing under the care of her chakra. It was surprisingly soothing when he first had it running through him while she worked on his eyes. So far he felt no discomfort from her efforts but began to wonder if it would become painful as the treatments progressed. He would have to ask her later on.

They remained silent for about an hour as she concentrated on her task but a question kept plaguing her mind and she decided it was a good time to ask.

"Itachi?" She spoke slowly, her voice barely audible. She was leaning slightly forward, her pink bangs covering her eyes that were narrowed in concentration. He didn't move in the slightest as she spoke, causing her to wonder if he even heard her until he 'hned' as a sign for her to continue with her question.

"How come you are so different than what I've heard about you?" She measured her words carefully so that she wouldn't sound as uncertain with the prying as she felt inwardly. He didn't answer right away and after a few minutes Sakura mentally kicked herself. When he spoke, it startled her.

"What have you heard about me?" He asked carefully, eyeing the pink haired girl who still had her small, soft hands pressed against his chest. She thought about it for a moment before replying.

"Well, I was told that you were a prodigy, the highlight of the Uchiha clan. You graduated fairly young and joined ANBU at a young age as well. I was told that you showed a lack of emotion towards anything in life and you killed easily without even batting an eye. After the massacre, it became a known fact around Konoha that you were a cold, heartless monster and even I ended up hating you from how Sasuke acted." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the day that Kakashi had asked them what their goals were as new Shinobi. Itachi didn't reply for a long time but when he did, his voice was soft.

"That is half true. The facts that I was an accomplished Shinobi at a young age is correct but as for everything else, I do not enjoy killing. I just hid my contempt for it easier than most others could. I actually loved my family. When I had to slaughter them, it nearly broke me. I shed many tears that night and for many nights afterwards."

Sakura didn't say anything as she let his words sink in. Slowly she withdrew her chakra until her hands no longer glowed and let them fall into her lap.

They sat in silence for a little while, not making eye contact. The thought of her opinions being completely wrong even though she had never met him until recently made her feel guilty. She was no better than any other gossiping citizen for basing an opinion off of something she knew nothing about. She began to chew on her lower lip, not realizing the action. It was one of her nervous habits that slipped out when she wasn't paying attention to it.

"Sakura." Itachi's voice startled her out of her thoughts, her head shooting up. Her eyes connected with his, her guilt and inner turmoil clearly visible on her face. "Don't fret over it; I wanted the village to think those things. They needed someone to blame and they couldn't know that their elders were the ones who ordered it." He said in a low tone so that only she could hear it. Her eyes left his as she suddenly found her sheets interesting.

"I understand that, but after getting to know you the village has it so wrong. Hopefully Tsunade can fix that." She said slowly as she returned her eyes to his, catching a flicker of hope in them before the usual stoic amusement replaced it.

"Just one person at a time is all I can ask for. It started with you, then my little brother and now the Hokage. I don't need everyone's acceptance, nor could I expect it but I'd like to be able to live here again in peace." He said as he reached his hands out towards hers and grasped them firmly. This was a very new form of human contact that he wasn't used to but felt like it was needed, deciding to act upon it.

As soon as Sakura felt her hands in his she could feel a blush creeping into her face. She averted her eyes again as she tried to hide it, failing miserably. Itachi watched her, a small smile appearing on his lips. He reiterated that she was very entertaining and enjoyable to be around.

"I'm glad I could help!" Sakura squeaked out, reminding herself of Hinata. Her heart pounded a little harder in her chest when she felt him tracing small circles on the backs of her hands with his thumbs, eliciting another blush to creep out.

"Sakura, do I make you uncomfortable?" He asked with a hint of teasing in his voice as he noticed her blush intensify. Immediately after his words were spoken her head shot up and she shook her head 'no' quickly, her eyes growing wide.

"No! Of course not!" She replied a little too quickly, pulling her hands away from his in hopes of calming herself. The last thing she needed to do was draw attention from Sasuke in the room across from hers.

Itachi let out a chuckle as he stood up from her bed and headed to the door. Just before walking out he heard her call his name.

"Itachi?" He turned towards her, a questioning look on his face before he walked half way back to her.

Before he could react Sakura launched herself off of her bed and cleared the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck in a rather tight but warm embrace.

"I am really happy I got to know the real you, Itachi." She whispered to him as she felt his arms embrace her in return, her face growing slightly warm from the contact.

Itachi surprised her by smiling genuinely at her before they released each other and she returned to her bed, Itachi walking back to the door.

"Get some rest Sakura." He said before stepping out and closing the door behind him, leaving Sakura alone. She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding before letting herself sink down into her bed. The exhaustion from the healing session swept over her as she closed her eyes, letting sleep take over her mind.