A/N: Pein's gonna get mad XD

"I-Itachi...?" Sakura whispered softly, reaching forward to place a hand on his shoulder, "Itachi... what are you doing? Don't be stupid."

"Shut up," he growled, shrugging out from under her hand and stepping forward to get closer to Pein. "I will withdraw from the Akatsuki and I'll find myself somewhere to go. I will have nothing to do with Konoha or any of its people from today onward. I will cause problems for neither you nor Konoha... and I will do absolutely nothing to cause pain to the girl behind me. I refuse."

Pein's face twisted into a look of anger and his eyes blazed with fury. His once lax position tensed and his lips, which had once been an amused smirk, were once again pulled back into a ferocious snarl. He looked like a wild animal then and the sight scared Sakura because all of that anger was pointed toward Itachi. Toward the man she loved. Toward the man who was planning to give his life for her.

"Impudent wretch," he ground out between clenched teeth, "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"To you, Sir."

The sarcasm in Itachi's voice as he said the word "Sir" sent Pein further into a fit of rage, but he still said, "Do as I say and I'll make your death quick." Then, his lips pulled into a twisted, smirk as he added, "If not... I will rip every fingernail from its place on your fingers. I'll gouge your eyes out with hot iron. I'll sew your mouth shut and I will break every bone in your feet. Only then will I do you the favor of cutting off your head. Now hurry up and kill her!"

Itachi only stood firm and said unwaveringly, "No."

"Bastard!"

She turned pleading eyes to Tsunade, silently begging her for help in keeping the two from fighting. "Please," she whispered desperately and her heart nearly broke in two when the blond looked away.

Tsunade sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then turned to the shinobi lined against the wall. Almost reluctantly, she ordered, "Kill them. Both of them." And, as quick as lightning, the shinobi disappeared.

"No!" Sakura hissed, whirling around just in time to see that the room was now in complete chaos.

Pein had been about to attack Itachi, but half the shinobi had caught him from behind and held him fast. Pein roared angrily and struggled to get free, but the rest of the shinobi tackled him and forced him to the ground. Itachi simply nodded and turned toward Sakura and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

Sakura smiled at him and had started toward him when most of the shinobi flew through the air and Pein stood, his chest heaving with anger. He stormed forward, taking Itachi by his cloak and pulling him forward. He hissed into the Uchiha's face, "So much for wasted effort, huh?"

Itachi forced the Akatsuki leader to lose his hold on the cloak and backed up a little. "Everything happens for a reason," he told Pein and fell into stance just as the other did, as well. He didn't take out a single weapon, only stood there, seemingly ready for any attack.

Pein seemed offended by this show of strength and immediately lunged for the rogue Uchiha.

Itachi only smirked. He waited for the precise moment and, when it came, Itachi ducked only to appear right in front of Pein. He grabbed the man by the front of his cloak and pulled him forward so that their noses were touching. Glaring triumphantly into the leader's eyes, he activated Mangekyou and swept Pein off into the world of Tsukuyomi.

Sakura smirked happily and rushed forward, aiming a direct blow to Pein's chest with a chakra-enforced punch. Pein went flying through a wall, Sakura did a victory dance and Itachi... fell to the ground?

"I-Itachi?" she called, stooping down to place a hand to his back. "Itachi, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he whispered, his breathing labored, "Mangekyou just... uses a lot of chakra. I've used it too much today."

"Let me see," she demanded, turning him onto his back before he could refuse and placed chakra to his temples. "You're low on chakra."

"That's... what I said," he said with a breathy chuckle.

Biting her lower lip, she said, "We have to get you out of here. You need to be taken care of and I don't have any supplies with me." She turned to Tsunade and told her, "I have the proof; I'll show it to you after. Right now, please... I can't let him die."

Tsunade set her jaw into a grim line as she looked between the two; a pleading Sakura and a close-to-dying Itachi. Then, she sighed and looked away. "Take him to the infirmary, give him some food pills and let him get some sleep. After he wakes up, give him some food and water and he should be better by tomorrow."

Sakura smiled, whispered a "Thank you" and immediately hefted Itachi over her shoulder, carrying him toward the infirmary.

As Sakura carried Itachi out to the infirmary, he could only feel rather darkly amused. Here he was, inside Konoha, at the mercy of a Kunoichi who could easily decide to just leave him to die. How had it come to this?

He would have thought further on this matter, but his mind was spinning and his eyes felt heavy. As his consciousness drifted away, he could've sworn he heard Sakura say, "Welcome home."

Welcome home? What the hell did she mean by "Welcome home"?

A/N: It's pretty straight forward. You're home and she is welcoming you there. I thought you were smarter than that, Dude...