Title: Moments in Time: A Close Up

Author: AppleL0V3R

Beta-reader: SymphoniaFreak

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Uchiha Itachi and Haruno Sakura

Chapter: Thirty-Five – #46 Life: Safe

Rating: T

Type: One-shot – Complete

Summary: Prompts from Moments inTime that I was requested to expand on. 35. 46 – Life: Safe. She should never had tried to save him, should have known better. She did it anyway.

Word Count: 3,485

Disclaimer: If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

Note: As the summary states these were skits I was asked to turn into actually works. I will always put which one it was and the skit just before the chapter. They won't be in numerical order because I'm doing them as I'm requested. They won't be any more than one-shots though they may become two to five –shots (I will forewarn when that happens) but they won't become stories unless I choose to.

There is a sequel to this one, however it isn't directly after. Chapter 51: 94 Shorts is the next in this verse

Request by: Anime Freak456

Edited on: December 14, 2011

46. Life (Sakura)

She cherished life.

She did her best save each and every one that she could; she was a doctor after all. If she turned a blind eye to the dying, then who would help them? She couldn't bear to watch someone die and do nothing because there was so much to live for. Everyone deserved a second chance and most needed a first one. And she wanted to be the person to start them on the way to getting it.

So when she came across his body, torn and to most a waste of energy to try to save, she bent down and started at the beginning. He wasn't savable in so many ways, but in so many others he didn't need to be.

One of the main reasons Sakura became a medic was to help those she could not protect. She hated being helpless and she especially hated to see people dying, knowing she couldn't do anything about it. The side reason had been that Naruto was forever getting himself hospitalized. And the final reason was because it was something she was good at, something she excelled at. Without the ability and knowledge, she didn't know where she would be.

And being a medic – not to mention the Fifth Hokage's former apprentice and current assistant – had opened many doors for her.

When she wasn't working at the hospital or doing paperwork or away on a mission, she was attending to foreign affairs. She was pretty much the unofficial ambassador between any other village and Konoha, but that had more to do with the fact that she had so many connections all over the Five Great Shinobi Nations than anything else.

But because she was a medic, it had been a little easier to allow her soft heart to remain unhardened. Being a shinobi required a mask of cold professionalism at all times, and she always hated to wear it. Being an ambassador required complete unbiased opinions and viewpoints no matter what. But being a medic allowed her to get involved, to put her heart in it.

Because she cherished life.

She did her best save each and every one that she could; she was a doctor after all, and to her it didn't matter who the patient was. There was supposed to be equality in medicine because it was not something to be used for political gain. If she turned a blind eye to the dying, then who would help them? She couldn't bear to watch someone die and do nothing because there was so much to live for. Everyone deserved a second chance and most needed a first one. And she wanted to be the person to start them on the way to getting it.

So when she came across his body, torn and to most a waste of energy to try to save, she bent down and started at the beginning.

He wasn't savable in so many ways, she would come to realize - through one too many hardships - but that was okay, because in so many others he didn't need to be.

She'd come across him on her way home from Kiri; a request from the Mizukage herself had brought Sakura there in the first place. Apparently both Choujirou had caught some kind of virus and Kiri was still far from adept in all things cures. That was probably a reason why they had never been too embedded in any wars or disputes that had nothing to do with them. And so Mei had sent a letter to Tsunade asking for assistance, and the blonde-haired Hokage had wasted no time in shoving her granddaughter of sorts out the village gates.

It hadn't been all that vexing of a virus, but had been very stubborn and hard to kill off. However, within a week she had managed to do so. After writing down a few instructions and handing them over to the medics that were already there, Sakura had visited Mei to tell her that she would have her body guard back in a few days or so and that she was heading home.

The Fifth had blinked and then smiled hugely as she thanked the younger woman for her immediate help and wished her a safe trip home.

And somewhere between Kiri and the border, a rain storm had started and got bad enough that Sakura was forced to find shelter and wait it out.

She happened to have the luck of entering a cave that Uchiha Itachi was strewn in. She could tell that he'd gotten himself there, but hadn't had enough energy to do anything more than fall backwards against the cave wall and black out. She'd frozen at the sight of him, more on instinct than anything else, but once she realized that his chest hadn't even risen after a moment of watching him intently, she let her stance loosen only slightly as she edged forward a bit. The cave was cold, and she knew immediately a fire would be a good idea.

But the medic in her wanted to place him first. Wanted to see to him, make sure he wasn't dying. If he was dead that would be one thing, but she was fairly certain that there was no way she was simply going to let him die in her presence with her knowing that she could at least try to help. She'd pulled ninja back from the brink multiple times and didn't think there was anything that could truly stop her from at least stabilizing them. She didn't have many herbs on her anymore, and she was tired as well, her reserves already halved. Still, doing a once-over would at least ease her mind. If she could do something, she would, but something told her that if she wanted to make him better it was going to take a lot of days, patience and resources.

But since she only had one of those three key things, she would settle for at least checking if it would be worth the energy spent.

So she took tentative and cautious steps towards the body of the Uchiha, never once removing her sharp eyes from his person. She didn't need to walk straight into a trap, especially not if someone knew she would be coming through here and could have waited. It was pretty well known that though she was a formidable opponent, almost as strong as any one of her powerful teammates, she was also quite softhearted. And for that reason alone, she would not charge into a situation like this because her life and services were still important to her village, and honestly, she didn't want to die just yet. Besides, if it was a trap and the Akatsuki was behind it, she knew there was the possibility they could use her for multiple things.

So caution was absolutely necessary until she was completely sure that this was indeed the body of Uchiha Itachi and that he was in dire circumstances before she even thought about letting her rigidness relax. And by that point, his life would be in her hands anyway. Provided he wasn't already dead, of course.

When he still hadn't even so much as breathed by the time she got to his side, she dropped to her knees and settled on his left side. Parts of a cold wind blew through the cave, strong enough to whip her long pink hair and rustle his cloak, but it was gone as soon as it came. Shivering slightly, she bent forward, reaching for his neck with two gloved hands. He didn't react in the slightest when she settled them at the base of it. Now she was so close she could see the unhealthy pasty color covering every inch of his visible skin and she wondered idly how long he'd been in the frigid cold. But she pushed it aside in favor of concentrating on the tendrils of chakra she sent into his system, probing about for the extent of his damage.

It was horrifying to say the least. He was alive, unconscious and on the brink, but alive all the same. And it was definitely Uchiha Itachi, the buildup of chakra in his eyes enough of a testament to that.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled her chakra back and fell on her hunches, watching him with thoughtful green eyes for what seemed like eternity. Should she even try? Could she do it? There wasn't much poison in his system, but it was the slow and deadly kind, still gradually leeching the tattered remains of his life from him. If she wanted to even try to make a difference, she would have to start in right this second, and she would have to plan for using up pretty much all of her reserves to even get him half way to stable.

Was it worth it?

Another few moments ticked by. She took another deep breath and ultimately reached out. She knew he wouldn't be grateful for this; she knew this was an idiotic move to make. He'd caused so much pain and suffering to not only her and her loved ones, but everyone he'd ever come in contact with. Every village had him at pretty much the top of their ten most wanted lists, and they all wanted him dead.

All logic dictated she shouldn't do anything; she should let him die.

But she was a medic, and if she didn't at least give him the chance to fight should he want to, then what kind of healer was she? The kind she hated most. The biased kind. Because she'd always held the morals that medicine was not picky; it did not choose sides and therefore she shouldn't either. And she also held true to her vow that she would always do whatever she could to help. She wouldn't break that now. Not for this one man, it wasn't worth it.

So she started at the beginning, with every intention to at least try to help. To do whatever she could.

It took hours before she finally decided she was almost too low on chakra to be good for her. But she'd stabilized him, and that was all that mattered. She would have to stay the night, get a few solid hours of sleep, and she would be good enough to travel home without problem. A glance outside told her that the storm hadn't let up at all so she was stuck anyway.

She glanced back down at the man who had just become her patient; he seemed to be a little more comfortable as she had gotten rid of the major gashes and even started breaking down the poison. But that didn't mean he'd be waking anytime soon; it would be at least twenty-four hours before he woke which gave her ample time to rest, do one last check up, and then be on her way.

Honestly, the fact that she'd given Uchiha Itachi the chance to live - as slim as that chance was - didn't rub her too wrong. He'd been steadily fading out of news and sightings and all around importance. She figured allowing him to live the rest of his life the way he wanted to, should he stay stabilized and lived past this wouldn't do anymore harm.

Satisfied with her knowledge, she settled back on her haunches and started arranging her things so as to create a make-shift bed, and then she made herself comfortable not too far from him. She didn't want to be too far, just in case something happened.

It didn't take long to fall asleep; she was tired and exhausted enough to slip into a light sleep.

Not long after – no more than a few hours – Itachi stirred. It hurt slightly to breath, but not nearly as much as it had before it. And his first thought was 'why?', and then that while he wasn't on the brink, he wasn't out of the woods. But logically he should be dead; there was no way he could still be alive after the damage he'd sustained. But the fact of the matter was - he was at least stable. Which brought forth the next question, 'who?'

Slowly, he opened his eyes, finding his vision clearer than it had been in a while. A skilled medic. He knew by experience that it took a healer who knew what they were doing to even be able to so much as assess the damage without making it worse, especially with eyes like his.

He frowned slightly. Who would be skilled enough, but willing to help him, and why?

The thought sifted through him for a moment, and though he decided he was more curious and cautious towards whoever had chosen to help him, he wasn't sure he was grateful. Not until he found out why.

Shifting a bit, he tried to sit up. Pain flared to life, but he didn't feel anything rip and nothing was broken - though he was sure he'd sustained multiple broken bones and numerous gashes - so he ignored the screaming nerves as best he could. When he was at least to his elbows - hadn't he been crumpled against the cave wall? They moved him - he let his eyes rove over everything he could see.

The entrance was to his left and there was a heavy rain storm pounding outside, and he knew instinctively it would be several hours before it could be traveled through. His eyes shifted further to the right; nothing about the cave stood out, not really.

Not until his gaze landed on her.

His vision was just good enough to see that she had something like pink or red hair; though it was probably red because pink was hardly an ideal hair color for a traveler going through Kiri and there was only one person that he could think of that had -

Haruno Sakura.

She fit the profile. Softhearted, skilled and had pink hair. There was no other explanation as to why she would be resting so soundly next to one of the most wanted criminals of their time. But why she had helped him, he couldn't figure out. Certainly, she was one of the most naive kunoichi he'd ever heard of, but surely she wouldn't think that she could simply heal someone like him and walk away like nothing happened. Unless, she didn't plan to.

He was curious now, and was more than willing to take advantage of the situation. He couldn't feel her chakra signature, and even when his shifting caused rocks to scrap against each other she didn't stir. Which meant she was exhausted enough that she was in a deep sleep and couldn't hide her signature. Which, by way of thinking, meant she was extremely low.

A cold wind blew through the cave, but it was mostly buffered by his cloak that she'd taken care to rebutton after having tended to him. But she didn't have the kind of clothing for this weather and so her slightly curled body twisted further in on itself as she shivered and her subconscious mind tried to conserve heat and keep out the cold.

Clearly the girl was either too dense to know what was good for her, or had a complete and utter lack of self-preservation. Neither one boded well for her.

But he could most certainly use either to his advantage as well.

Resolve established, he shifted in an almost crawl until he was beside her, careful not to touch her with any part of his body, not even the cloak. There was still the possibility that even the smallest and lightest of brushes could wake her in an instant. She wasn't a well known and accomplished shinobi for nothing.

He took only a split second to ready himself, bunching muscles and steadying his breath to the rate and way he wanted it, and even less time to pounce.

She came awake with a start, but didn't move fast enough. By the time her body reacted, just a fraction of a second slower than his, she was already securely beneath him.

Before he could even say anything though, even make a move to do anything, she already had her mouth open. And much to his consternation, all he could see was irritation on her countenance. "What the hell are you doing? I spent hours stitching you up and I'm sure you just ripped over half of them."

As if to prove her point, he felt a warm liquid began to soak his clothes all over again. But he ignored it in favor of a different fact.

She was scolding him? She was scolding him? She was scolding him?

It had to be a mix of her infamously short temper and complete lack of self-preservation. Which answered one question. But that didn't mean he was going to calmly take such heated and irritated words. Especially not when she was under him.

"Can't you tell you're at my mercy?" His voice was purposely quiet and he added a dangerous undertone with biting steel to it. She was mistaken if she thought she could get away with acting in such a manner. And she was also mistaken if she thought he would have simply done nothing while he had the knowledge that she'd helped him.

Again the 'why' question rang through his head. It dimly occurred to him that the horrible migraines he was constantly dealing with nowadays were not currently present. Her doing no doubt.

She met his eyes with determined - if still slightly sleepy - green ones as she kept her chin up. She had guts, too, it seemed. Not a common trait in people like her. He would have expected a strong and skilled kunoichi that was quiet and without a backbone. As many Konoha female medics were. At least all the ones he'd ever dealt with.

"You're barely even stable, and by pouncing on me, I bet you're less than stable health-wise. If you kill me, then you'll most likely die before you can find someone with enough experience to even stabilize you again. So at your mercy or not, you're at mine too."

He narrowed his eyes dangerously at her and tightened his hold. He was straddling her waist with his thighs as his knees were pressed firmly into the ground on the sides of her hips. He held both of her arms above her head with one hand and had his other nestled at the base of her throat.

But the fact of the matter was she had a point. If he wanted to live longer than the next twelve or so hours, he couldn't kill her now.

That didn't mean he couldn't use her. Didn't mean he wouldn't either.

He leaned down until there was barely a centimeter between their noses, but she didn't shy away; she kept her steady gaze without even so much as slightly squirming. Oh he definitely liked this one.

"I don't plan to kill you, Sakura." Her eyes widened slightly at the sound of her name; he smirked. Her entire body was tense and her breath had hitched a little. Not so tough after all, how amusing. He would enjoy playing with her. Using her. "I plan to make sure you're always at my fingertips to use whenever and however I please." Thunder sounded in the background. How uncommon for Kiri, but it accented his words quite well.

It didn't seem her pretty green eyes could go any wider as she seemed to stop breathing completely.

What a foolish girl, to think that he wouldn't take advantage of her, to think that he wouldn't make her life his. But she would learn, oh she would learn.