~Chapter 26~

There was only so long Sakura could sleep before it became annoying in itself. With a heavy sigh, she stood up and walked to her closet opening it up. There was a box on the top shelf where she kept a lot of the stuff her friends and family had given her over the years that would normally be useless to her, but today there was one in particular that she figured would be useful. The top shelf was just out of her reach, meaning that the box was annoyingly out of reach as well.

She groaned before walking to her desk and dragging the small chair across her room and placing it just inside the closet before standing on it and snatching the box off the shelf. With a satisfied smile, she turned around and stepped off the chair, instantly forgetting that she was so far off the ground.

'AHHHHHHHHH!'

'THUD'

Her shriek of surprise echoed throughout the apartment as she hit the floor rather hard, her face smacking directly into that box she worked so hard to get. Her body pulsed with adrenaline from the fall as she faintly tasted metallic in her mouth indicating she had hit down hard enough on her cheek causing it to bleed, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

"Sakura!" A moment later the bedroom door flew open and Itachi stepped into the room, taking in the scene before him. Sakura lying on the floor in front of the closet on her stomach, the desk chair toppled over with her right leg propped up on it, her face smashed into a small box. He walked over to her and removed the chair from where it was lying before kneeling down and sliding his hands around her shoulders, pulling her up.

At first she looked dazed from the fall before her eyes focused on his obsidian, an embarrassed smile appearing on her lips.

"Ow?" She said a little unsure. This was the first time she opened her mouth since her fall and the accumulated blood ran down the corner of her mouth, leaving a bright red trail down her chin that dropped onto her shirt.

"You're bleeding." He said matter-of-factly before pulling the sleeve of his shirt over his hand and ever so carefully wiping her chin clean. Sakura watched him silently as she felt the soft fabric touch her face, his eyes trained on what he was doing.

"Thank you, Itachi." Sakura whispered while her eyes remained locked on his face, taking in how smooth his features were. She noticed that his brows drew together in concentration slightly, not enough to notice from far away but since she was close enough, she caught it.

"No need to thank me, Sakura." He spoke as he lowered his hand and looking up at her eyes again. At that moment when obsidian met emerald, Sakura felt a deep down feeling of want she had suppressed so many years ago when she finally came to terms with whatever she had felt for Sasuke. It scared her at that moment, wondering if she was just simply looking for something that wasn't there… again.

"Itachi…" She didn't know why she said his name but it just flowed from her lips. She felt herself wanting to move closer to him, shorten the distance between their bodies. She wondered slightly how he would react if she did just that. She absentmindedly slid her closest hand towards his, resting it lightly on top, feeling how warm it felt. Sakura let herself lean forward, their noses only mere inches apart, her eyes never breaking contact with his.

A throat cleared some distance away causing both Sakura and Itachi to jump, her more so than him. The force of her reaction drove her forward crashing her forehead into his with a dull clapping sound. She felt his hands once again on her shoulders as he steadied her, her hand moving to her now throbbing head, covering the visible red mark.

"I heard Sakura scream." Sasuke's voice broke the otherwise silence in the room drawing both of their eyes towards where he was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at them disapprovingly.

"I'm fine." Sakura spat out as she got to her feet, hand still on her forehead. She wasn't sure what she was madder about; Sasuke ruining the moment or herself for wanting a moment like that with Itachi.

"Hn. Whatever." He scoffed before walking back into his room, closing the door a little too firmly than need be.

"Are you sure you are alright, Sakura?" Itachi asked from behind her. She turned to look at him, seeing that he was now standing. She nodded before walking over to her box and digging in it, retrieving what looked like a book. The cover was made of some sort of soft material that was colored white. It was decorated with intricate pink and gold cherry blossom petals along the edges. The paper itself along the edges were tinted gold, giving the book a classy feel. After taking the book from the box, she crossed to her desk and found a pen, ignoring Itachi's curious gaze as he watched her movements.

When she had gathered what she had originally wanted, she walked out of her room, into the living room where she grabbed a throw pillow off the couch and tossed it on the floor where she laid down on her stomach before opening the book in front of her, pen in hand.

Itachi followed her and sat on the couch, watching her with interest. She stared at the page for a long time before her hand started working furiously sketching something that had yet to take form.

He watched her for quite some time, surprised by the fact that she knew how to draw. She didn't strike him as the kind to do art, maybe this was something nobody else knew about. As the time drew on the object of her concentration began to take form though he still couldn't quite see what it was.

"What are you drawing?" Curiosity got the better of him so he decided to ask. Sakura was intently concentrating, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth with her brows slightly furrowed. When she heard him speak she looked up at him for a moment before returning to the picture and looking it over.

"Hmm, I'm not sure yet." She said in a thoughtful voice, looking over what she had completed so far. It was a simple nature scene with grass lining the bottom of the page and cherry blossom trees all over. In the center she drew a fountain. Now that she looked at the image, she had no idea why she thought about it. Itachi remained silent as he watched her more, silence descending upon the room.

-:-

When Sakura was done with her picture she closed the book that was no longer empty and stashed it in the bedside table where her journal was currently lying. After the initial invasions of privacy, she noticed that they no longer looked through it.

The silence of her room was nice, she rarely got to have a few minutes to herself since being ordered to share her home with the two remaining Uchiha's. Sasuke had yet to come out of his room and Itachi had decided to fall asleep on the couch so she had some time to do what she wanted.

'I think I'll take a bath!' She said to herself as she got up from where she was sitting on her bed. That actually sounded like a good idea so she gathered fresh clothes and walked to the bathroom, locking the door behind her just in case.

She ran the water, letting it run as hot as it could and added her strawberry scented bubble bath, watching as it foamed into a pink foam floating above the water. With a smile, she peeled off her clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket in the linin closet and stepped into the hot water. The first initial touch was scalding until she got used to it, feeling as the warmth soothed her aching muscles from lying on the floor for so long.

"Mmmm." She moaned as she sunk even lower into the water, submerging so that the only thing seen peeking out of the bubbles was her head. She closed her eyes and let herself forget about everything that had happened over the past couple weeks. She let her thoughts travel to nonsense but was unfortunately interrupted by a knocking on the bathroom door.

"What's so important that you need to interrupt my bath?!" She grumbled out loud enough for whoever was disturbing her would hear. There was no response for a few minutes until she heard a voice.

"We need to talk." It was Sasuke. Great, he would choose now of all times to want to talk to her. She sighed and rubbed her temples, the water splashing slightly.

"Can it wait? I am too comfortable to get out." She said with a bit of annoyance in her voice, hoping it would deter him enough to let her be.

"No. Now." He said as he tried to turn the knob only to find out it was locked. She heard him breathe out a long sigh before sending chakra into the lock and popping it open. Sakura heard it click and dove back under the water before pulling the shower curtain closed, blocking any view of her nakedness. She barely got it done before Sasuke stepped in and re-locked the door.

Sakura couldn't see him but she could feel him looking in her direction. She could hear him breathing impatiently, leaning against the door.

"Will you get out?!" Sakura squeaked out as she peaked out of the curtain, making sure she kept it closed as not to reveal anything she didn't want him to see.

"No. I don't like how comfortable you are getting with Itachi." He said as he locked his eyes with hers, crossing his arms over his chest. Sakura felt the heat rise in her face but she wasn't sure if it was from him being in the bathroom with her or him being clearly agitated by her becoming friendly with his brother.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Get out!" She spat out at him as she closed the curtain again, glaring daggers in the general direction of Sasuke.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You shouldn't trust him; you belong to me anyway, not him." Sasuke ground out through clenched teeth.

"Are you serious, Sasuke?!" Sakura asked as she whipped the curtain open, staring at him with round eyes. She didn't realize that she opened it too far and that the bubbles were no longer covering her as they should have been. Sasuke now had a clear view of her chest, and she didn't even notice.

His eyes widened from both the proclamation of her asking if he was in fact jealous and the shock of seeing more of Sakura then he should of at this moment.

"Hn. He grunted as he averted his eyes, fumbling with the door knob as he unlocked it before slipping out of the bathroom.

Sakura looked at the door in confusion, trying to figure out why he had left so quickly. She shook her head slightly before looking down at the now cooling water and noticed how she appeared at that moment. Shower curtain pulled back enough to show her upper body which was peeking out of the water, nothing covering the pale flesh of her breasts. Her face paled as she realized that this was why he had all but ran from the room.

She shrieked before jumping out of the water and drying off, throwing her clothes on as quickly as she could while the water drained. She felt her face flush with new embarrassment as she opened the door and dashed to her room, closing it behind her.

She wasn't even safe in her own bathroom anymore, how depressing. She walked over to her bed and flopped down on it, her face buried in her pillows. She felt like she needed to apologize to Sasuke for exposing herself but then again it was his fault, he did force his way into the bathroom.

She faintly heard the door open then close and the shuffle of feet against the carpet as someone made their way to her. She groaned but didn't look up, wondering if it was Sasuke again. She tried to think of something to say to him but nothing came to mind, instead, she just remained silent and pretended that she was asleep.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" It was Itachi. She felt relieved that it was him and not Sasuke. She moved her head so that she could look at him while she remained in contact with the pillow, wondering if she should tell him or not.

"Well, I was trying to take a bath but Sasuke wouldn't leave me alone. He came in anyway and saw me…" She trailed off as she motioned to her chest, feeling her cheeks heat up from a new wave of embarrassment. She looked at Itachi after speaking, catching a hint of a smirk on his lips before he replied.

"I see, so my foolish little brother invaded your privacy again." He said slowly as he folded his hands in his lap.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep my sanity if I can't get time to myself! I can't even be naked in my own home while taking a bath anymore." She said in an exasperated tone, looking away from him as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Sasuke doesn't usually think about the outcome of the choices that he makes." Itachi said as he tried to cheer her up but it didn't have any effect. Sakura already knew this much but it still didn't make it any better.

"I'm going to have to talk to Tsunade about having Sasuke move out. I understand why you have to live here but I really don't see why he has to…" Sakura said slowly, more to herself than anything else. This whole situation seemed unneeded and pointless and she was ready for them to get out, though for different reasons.

"Do what you need to do Sakura, but for the time being, just ignore him. I know he is infuriating but try to let it go." He said, trying to help. He honestly didn't know what to say that would make her feel better about this situation.

"Itachi, the whole reason he came into the bathroom was because he told me that he didn't like how comfortable I am becoming around you. I think he is jealous that I am no longer obsessing over him. He is really confusing." Sakura sighed as she spoke, deciding to tell Itachi the full extent of Sasuke's invasion. She looked at him and watched something flicker in his eyes before he looked towards the door.

"Sasuke is afraid we are growing too close and he will lose any claim he has over you." Itachi said finally, knowing that must have been why Sasuke felt threatened enough to say something when he normally wouldn't.

Sakura sat up and looked towards the older Uchiha, confusion on her face. "He has no claim over me! He ruined that the day he left the village! If I chose to get close to you he has no right to say anything!" She practically yelled as she glared in the general direction of the door. The memories of Sasuke kissing her for the first time only weeks ago flashed through her mind and she found herself becoming angry. That must have been it; he wanted to claim her like an object.

"You know I'm here Sakura. He will not do anything stupid while I'm around." Itachi offered as he looked back at the clearly angry pinkette, watching as she turned her head to look at him, her eyes softening slightly.

"I know but I can't let you be my protector forever." She said her tone just as soft as her eyes looked.

"I will for however long you need me, I already owe you so much Sakura. It's the least I can do." He stated his face completely serious. He remembered how she had fallen earlier that morning and he was almost instantly at her side. Feeling the need to rescue the woman almost came natural.

"Thank you, Itachi." She said softly as she moved closer to him and embraced him. Much to her surprise he no longer tensed when she touched him, instead he now relaxed slightly at her contact. Almost as soon as she hugged him though she let go and moved away, her face growing a shade of pink again. He smiled at her before pushing her back down so she could rest and got up, leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him.

She was once again alone in her room but this time she had no need to leave, knowing that Itachi would stop Sasuke from bothering her more. That thought comforted her more then she would have imagined as she closed her eyes and let her mind drift off. The last thing she thought about before sleep took her was Itachi and how it would feel for him to hold her protectively.

It was strange that she was feeling the wanting to be close to him, she never would have imagined wanting to feel that way. Especially with Itachi, but after her first meeting with him, she somehow couldn't help but feel at peace when he was around, even when he had first kidnapped her. Thinking back on that day, sure she was afraid for her life but it didn't take long for him to convince her otherwise.

-:-

Tsunade was in her office looking over the scroll she had gotten from Itachi Uchiha for the hundredth time. She had yet to make a decision regarding what she had learned but knew she needed to have a plan in place before she could confront the elders and Danzo.

A knock came at her office door, alerting her to the presence of two other people waiting for her to allow them to enter.

"Enter." She spoke gruffly as she rolled up the scroll and tucked it away in her desk, watching as the door opened, Inoichi Yamanaka and Shikaku Nara stepped in. She grunted as she realized why they were there.

"Lady Tsunade, we have news regarding the latest Rogues to be interrogated. They know nothing on the Akatsuki. I probed the two men's minds to verify this. What do we do with them now?" Inoichi was the one to speak first, Shikaku standing next to him with a bored expression on his face.

"Lock them away in the prison; we will transfer them to their own countries later on." Tsunade said as she still thought about how to broach the tender subject with the ones at fault for the Uchiha massacre. She was about to dismiss them when the idea hit her.

"Inoichi, Shikaku, I am in need of your assistance. Meet me at Sakura Haruno's apartment this evening at 7pm sharp. Tell no one. This is an S-rank subject." She ordered before dismissing them, feeling satisfied with her method of verifying the information.

She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a note on it before summoning a slug to take the message to her apprentice.

"Make sure Sakura gets this immediately." Tsunade ordered before the slug vanished from her desk. If she could verify what she was told while in the process gaining more witnesses, two of the most loyal Shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, she would have no problem with facing the elders. This just may work.

-:-

Sakura was pleasantly sleeping in her bed when the sound of a pop right next to her startled her out of her dream. She squeaked before noticing the small blue and white slug staring at her from her bedside table with a note attached.

"Lady Sakura, Lady Tsunade asked me to deliver a message. No reply is needed." She said before Sakura removed the paper and vanished. Sakura looked at it with a puzzled expression before opening it and reading.

'Sakura, I will be arriving tonight with two of our top interrogators. Make sure both Uchiha's know so they do not attack.

-Tsunade.'

She sighed and began to wonder what she was going to do and if it would cause pain. She hated the interrogation division even though it was necessary.

She scooted off her bed and walked to her door, opening it and walking out into the hall. Without looking at his door, Sakura rapped on it loudly before walking out into the living room and sitting next to Itachi who was reading quietly. He looked at her with a questioning glance before hearing Sasuke step out of his room and walk towards them.

"I just got a note from Tsunade; she said she will be arriving tonight at 7pm with two interrogators. I don't know what her plans are but I am assuming they have something to do with the orders Itachi was given." Sakura said when Sasuke came into view, wasting no time in telling them. It was at the point where she no longer felt like sugar coating anything or delaying the inevitable.

She sensed Itachi tense slightly as she spoke but relaxed almost immediately. There was nothing any of them could do to prevent the interrogation when in fact it would end up helping them prove his innocence.

"What does that have to do with me?" Sasuke asked as he sat down in a chair close to Sakura, shooting a look at his brother.

"You will most likely be asked questions." She said slowly as she thought about all of the ways that the meeting tonight could go.

"Well we will just have to wait and see." Itachi said in a cool voice, sounding as if it didn't faze him in the least.

"Mhm. Nothing to do not but wait. We have four hours." Sakura added as she watched Sasuke stand up and walk silently back to his room as if this conversation was the most uninteresting thing in the world, which it just might have been.

Sakura and Itachi fell into a comfortable silence as they sat back into the couch and began their wait.