Hi Guys. I know it has been quite some time since you have heard from me. I would really like to thank this new reviewer that I have had recently. MisatoNara. Thank you so much for your reviews and for the well wishes on my new life. You have reminded me of I love to write and I am dedicating this chapter to you. I will answer your questions in this chapter. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Ps: Long note at the bottom about my life if you want to read. If not, enjoy the story and let me know you all think. As always. I don't own Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On their way to the compound for the first time, Itachi had told her that he could only give a temporary reprieve from the mark for the rest of her life. The jutsu only allowed for the release of power once. When he had reclaimed her when given back by the council that was the one and only time. He'd had plans to let her go once she had fixed his medical issues but Sasuke had screwed that to hell.

"Can you forgive me? I never meant to screw everything up for you." Itachi asked as he walked through the gate to the Uchiha compound.

"I don't need to. I found a life that is far more worth living with you than I had before. Just because we had a rocky beginning, it doesn't mean that I regret it. I am grateful to have you." Sakura answered as she looked at the building's time had long forgotten.

"Are you sure? I could put you up in one of the other homes near mine. I can expand the range for a bit. You wouldn't have to live with me. Just see me occasionally." Itachi lamented.

"I am very sure. Which one will be ours?" Sakura beamed as she continued to look around.

She had seen the district when she was little. Back when it was full of Uchiha's, before the massacre. She had also seen it many times after, many years later on trips in with her family. They had been part of a maintenance project to keep the district up in the absence of the Uchiha. Her family was not a family full of ninja and was actually a family that dealt mostly with buildings and their upkeep so she had to help them. Even though she had been in the district a few times she did not know much of anything about the layout of it. She had no idea where the house that Itachi had grown up in was.

"Over there. The big one. My father was the head of the Uchiha forces and thus we got the biggest house. Do you want to live there?" Itachi said as he pointed to the house with many roof peaks.

"I want to be with you. I don't care where." She said as she looked around more.

"There it is. Let's go home. I am sure there is work to do." Itachi said as he walked toward the home he had abandoned any thought of returning to long ago.

Sakura had spent the next few days going through the rooms of Itachi's family home cleaning and removing trash. It had long since been vandalized and there was much trash that needed to be removed. The walls were covered in paint and many of the floorboards were cracked and rotted. The amount of dust that covered every inch of the house could have killed someone. The place should have long been condemned. Itachi had been taken into the council's chambers to recollect all of his missions as well as everything he knew of the Akatsuki which he had infiltrated. He had been able to give temporary leeway to the mark so that it would not harm her while he was away but she knew it was getting to the end of that and he would be coming home. She wanted everything to be cleaned up and look perfect when he got home. There would need to be some major shopping done as all of the electronics and half of the furniture had either been stolen or broken, but she had made do with what had placed into storage after the house had been destroyed. Though there hadn't been much that had been able to salvage in the aftermath of Sasuke's attack.

"Sakura. We need to talk." Tsunade said as she walked up behind Sakura.

"What's up shisu?"

"We need help. We can't get into Sasuke's head to figure out what's going on. I hate to ask it but can you help? Between you and Ino you should be able to get to the root of his problem. We have determined that someone, pretty sure it was Orochimaru, has done some work in his head and his memories are warping. I know it's a lot to ask." Tsunade said as she sat on the newly cleaned floor.

"Sure. I'd love to pick that assholes brain apart." Sakura said with a smile.

"Are you sure? I know you guys aren't on the best of terms. I don't need you killing him from inside his head." Tsunade asked her.

"I won't. I hate him for what he has done, but if there is any way for him to get better, I would like to help. Itachi misses his brother and I want to give him back to him. I will help. I will be at the hospital at 8 am sharp. Have Ceil meet me at Sasuke's room. He will know what to prepare as my assistant. I will fix this for you. After that, I don't want to see him." Sakura said as she threw her rag into the soapy bucket and looked at Tsunade.

"I understand. You have my word. Ceil will be waiting for you when you get there. Thank you for your help. I know this is hard on you." Tsunade said as she stood and left.

As Tsunade left, Sakura could see Itachi returning home in the distance. He looked very tired and a little worse for wear, but happy. He was smiling as he walked. Sakura sad on the porch and smiled at him.

"Welcome home"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura woke the next day and got dressed. She had laid her clothes out the day before on the chair near her side of the bed. Black combat boots that she had worn since she had finally come into her own understanding. They had been a gift from her mother when she had made chunin. They were battered and war-torn, but they were what she felt most comfortable in. She had a green v-neck shirt that she had picked out long ago for work. It was comfortable and functional. She put on a pair of black shorts and grabbed her medical coat. Itachi was still sleeping when she left. Making her way through a quiet village that had not yet woken up, she remembered all of the missions that team 7 had been on. From their first mission to catch some old woman's cat, to the Naruto bridge escapade, to the last mission they had been on. Naruto had been sent to get Sasuke. Sakura had stayed behind because she couldn't handle that Sasuke had left. Now he was back, and she had to do her part to fix him. The hospital went silent when she walked in, it usually did. She was the head of Surgery at the hospital. Most people did not want to be on her bad side.

"Sakura-san! Welcome back! I hear that you will be working again starting today. I have a few surgeries that I need consults on. Do you have time?" One of the other doctors that work underneath her asked.

"I will later. I will have you notified when I am available. For now, I am busy. Which room is the Uchiha in?" Sakura said as she looked through the files of surgeries real quickly to ensure she would not be underestimating the needs of the surgeries at hand.

"Room 405. Psych ward. He's got the whole floor to himself. Here is the key. We had to move everyone out from the floor since you could hear his screams from across the floor. We are evacuating the floor below and above him for the same reason. He won't stop screaming that we were keeping him from his property. Wouldn't say what it was that we were keeping him from though." The receptionist said as she tossed Sakura a chakra encoded key.

"I know exactly what he is talking about. Tsunade brought me here to fix him up. I will talk with you guys later. Oh, has Ino arrived yet? I am early but I wanted to look over his charts before I began treatment."

"Came in about an hour ago. She is also new to the case. Her father was trying to fix him before her. Now I understand the change of personnel. You meld better with Ino than her father. Think he still thinks you are a bad influence on her. Head on up. She is waiting for you." The receptionist said as she handed Sakura Sasuke Uchiha's medical charts.

"Thanks. Also, Sarah, do a laparoscopic appendectomy instead of an open one on this case. I know it's a little more difficult but it is less invasive and would leave a big scar. She's 8. It'll help boost her confidence when she gets older to not have so much a scar. I know your new, but I have faith in you. Have Shizune supervise you. Your gonna do great." Sakura said as she grabbed the forms and walked past her.

She walked up the stairs to the 3rd floor and she could already hear his yells and screams. They were violent and strangled. As though he was losing his voice from it. Like he had been screaming for days. Which he likely had. As she reached the 4th floor, his voice got louder. Following down the hall to his room, his howls got even louder until it sounded like she was right next to him. As though there wasn't a wall 4 feet thick separating them. Ino already stood there next to both Ciel and Tsunade. Ciel with his hands holding another clipboard. His navy blue dyed at the ends with ice blue fell over his amethyst colored eyes. They were looking through the window that was also 4 feet thick and watching him. As she drew close to the window she could see in. She could see Sasuke.

He was chained to the wall with at least a dozen connection points holding him to it. The room glowed with blue light from the rings on both the floor underneath him and the wall he was attached to. Seals to prevent him from being able to use his chakra or his

Sharingon. He had a fabric bandage around his eyes as well. More seals to make sure that he could not use his eyes. He was frantic. Pulling at his chains and the cuffs that held him. Screaming at the top of his lungs about how he was going to kill everyone and get his property back. Screaming that he could not be held here. That he would get out.

Sakura looked over his chart. Everything seemed to be off the charts. His adrenalin was through the roof. Looking a the time of the tests done she could see that his vitals have bee this high as long as he was awake. They sedated him to sleep once and his vital returned to normal while asleep.

"Sakura. Are you ready? We can sedate him for you. Might make things easier to get into." Ciel asked her as he grabbed her trey and handed her the medical gloves.

"No. I want to see what it's like in his head while he is awake first. If I don't fix it today then we will sedate tomorrow. For now, let me go first." She answered and grabbed the black gloves from her assistant.

"Okay. Be careful. He's been going insane on everyone who walks in there. He broke Celests nose with his elbow. He is still very dangerous." Ciel said as he inputs the code to open the door.

Immediately Sakura watched as Sasuke's whole demeanor changed. The moment that he could smell her chakra he went from a raging lunatic that was screaming non-stop to a very calm and silent man.

"Sasuke. Can you hear me?" Sakura said as she walked into the room.

"Sakura. You're here. Get over here." Sasuke growled.

"She has to nothing she tells you. You hold no power here. I hope you will learn to understand that little brother." Itachi's voice made Sakura jump.

She spun around and sure enough. Itachi was there. He was leaning against the wall.

"Itachi. I'm trying to help him get better." Sakura told him quickly.

"I know. I am here to make sure he can't hurt you. I know that you harbor no love for my brother anymore. I just want to make sure you are safe. I won't interfere otherwise. Go on." Itachi said supportively.

"Thank you. Ino. Let's get on with this. Ciel, my examination kit, please. Itachi will you actually assist me? I need to examine him before I can get anything else done. I don't take others work into consideration at this level. Will you remove his bandages so I can see his eyes?"

"Sure. Whatever you need." He answered as he began to remove the bandages.

As they fell away Sakura could see that Sasuke was absolutely pissed. Livid. The anger he held in his eyes was something, unlike anything she had ever seen. He was breathing hard and struggling against his restraints. Ciel made the mistake of getting to close to Sasuke and was rewarded with a headbutt to the face which resulted in a very broken nose.

"Ciel! Have Tsunade heal you and get back here. Itachi holds his head still. We are gonna need to get into his head anyway." Sakura ordered and went into medic mode.

Ciel ran out and Sakura began her exam. Checking blood pressure, eyes, ext. Everything was more under control with her in the room than it was when she left. Soon it was time to begin trying to find the cause of the problem. By then, with just her in his view, Sasuke would calm down long enough for her look in his head. When she was finally able to she could see that he had a few problems. There were several nodes with invasive chakra that was leaching into his brain and creating this very hostile persona. Sakura soothed as much as she could as Ino slipped herself inside of Sasuke's head. She soothed what she could so Ino would have the least amount of resistance slipping in. For a few hours, they alternated with attempting to fix his head and going over the results. Soon, they had a game plan.

"We need to talk about a few things as well Sakura and Itachi can you stay? Ino, Ceil, thank you for your help. Be back here at 5pm tomorrow to finish the treatment with Sasuke. We should have him back to what hopefully is normal by midnight. Go get something to eat." Tsunade said as she sat down in the soundproof breakroom of the ward.

Sakura and Itachi sat with her and they began to talk as the food was brought out to them.

"Itachi. You said you would tell me about the Akatsuki with Sakura present. She is present. What is going on." Tsunade said as soon she sat down to eat.

"They are all gone. Except for Kisame and Konen. I left them alive. Kisame has instructions to figure things out on his own for a while. After Sakura was returned to me I took the time to take out the threats since I knew that Kakashi had the scroll. I have their heads if you want them." Itachi said as he looked at Sakura.

"Why did you leave two of them alive?" Tsunade asked as she poured a glass of Sake for her and Sakura.

"Konan helped Sakura and was more like a mother to the group than an actual bad person. That scar on Sakura's back was able to heal up so well because of her. As for Kisame, I did not see merit in killing him. He is only a threat when provoked. He actually agreed to retire here in Kohona as soon as he returns Samheda. After getting his ass kicked the other day he's decided he is too old for this stuff. Konan I think wants to turn over a new leaf here as well. Any other questions?" Itachi explained calmy.

"How did it happen?" Sakura asked as she shared a look with Tsunade.

"I took out Kakuzu first. He has 4 hearts and it was not as easy as anticipated. Took a little longer than anticipated. Sasori was already killed in the line of duty but it had not been reported. Deidara was the fun one. I took care with him. He hurt Sakura in a way that will forever have marker her. So I cut off his hands and then his head after some…..uh….extra things. The others all went in a way that was uneventful as they were not much of a threat. The leader will die off on his own in a hole I dropped him into. He is already very sick. If you want any specifics on them I would be happy to write it down for you. I wanted Sakura to know that Deidara died a very painful death due to what he did to her." Itachi said as he looked at her.

"Thank you for avenging me. Tsunade, what will happen to Sasuke when he is fixed?"

"He will be remanded to custody pending a trial for all of his actions. We will take into account what he has to say once he is back up from under the influence of that menacing chakra that is in his brain. Go home and take a break. Come back at 5 pm tomorrow to finish this. I would like my ward back." Tsunade ordered as she downed the rest of the sake.

"Sounds good. I'm really tired of figuring all this out. Itachi, take me home." Sakura said as she stood.

Itachi silently got up as well and picked her up. Pulling her close to him and began walking away. Sakura already snoring lightly in his arms.

"Itachi. Take care of her. She's been through nothing but hell for the last few years. If you hurt her, more than you already have, I can promise you that you will not live it down. That girl is the closest thing I have ever had as a daughter. She is the heart of the ninja community here and I will not hesitate to take you out if you hurt her. I won't even have to lift a finger and you will go down. I am glad you are home and that you are making her happy. But mark my words, you hurt her, it will be the last thing you do." Tsunade threatened him lightly.

"You do not have to worry. The moment she is unhappy is the moment I will willingly submit to your wrath. When I first took her, I had every intention of having her heal me and then killing her. I told her she would be able to go home, but I was lying. Then slowly, as I spent time with her, she began to warm a heart that I had long turned cold. I began to fall for her, in a way I thought no longer possible. Her fiery temper and her fight have been an interesting turn of things with me. I never realized how much I had changed until I was killing the other members of this group I had infiltrated. I had long forgotten I was not part of them and was just watching them. I had changed and I no longer liked who I was. I fell in love with her long ago. I think that is why I came back for her that time." Itachi explained as he turned to look at the still sitting Tsunade.

"Glad we could settle that. Get her home for some rest. She has a very long day ahead of her tomorrow." Tsunade smiled as she watched Itachi walk away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That is all for now. I know it was a very long wait for this chapter and I had intended to put it out on my honeymoon for you guys but I had to cancel most of everything and move it all out 6 months because of the pandemic. I am getting married today though so I at least have that. Thank you to all of the people who have been so supportive of my story and I really enjoy reading all of the comments. With that said please be safe everyone and stay healthy! Have a great day too!

Naeura.