HEEEELLLLLO EVERYONE! Last chapter I realized that I had forgotten to thank all of my new followers and my people who have favorited this story so here it is. Thank you to the following people:
DankMemeQueen, beckamill05, Chibchub, Marie901, bellae, bemine8, coco4life, hellchan93, and meilily.
I am so glad that you all loved my story so much. I hope that this story is everything that you guys would have liked. Please let me know about the new chapter.
Without further ado, and not too many chapters left, onward to the story we go. Also, I do not own Naruto.
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Sakura slept for several hours after Itachi stripped her of her clothes and placed her in a sleeping shirt of his. He padded off into the kitchen to cook up a late-night snack. Making the only thing he really wanted he sat down with scrambled eggs and tomatoes. He looked around the halls that he had not seen since he was a child and noticed things. Sakura had taken the time to repaint. Instead of the dreary color that his father had kept the house, Sakura had chosen lively and warming colors. The kitchen which had been a scar of black and blue was now a warm yellow. The backslash had been changed from the Uchiha symbol to nice cream color tiles. As he finished up and washed his dishes, he walked through the rest of the house. Many things had been changed by Sakura. She would make a wonderful new head of the Uchiha family, her great taste already showing through.
New furniture here and there, made by Yamato's wood-style since there were no real crafters in the village right now that anyone on a ninja's salary could afford. He looked as the rugs had been switched out for ones with lighter colors, the floor had been polished and fixed up. When they had arrived, it had been clear to them that both termites, as well as animals, had made their home in several of the rooms. Sakura had painstakingly cleaned every nook and cranny of the house. Until he reached one room. He could see that this room had not been touched. It was the room he had killed his mother and father and had sent a shuriken at Sasuke.
He opened the door and watched the dust on the floor flow into a low cloud at the breeze the door created. The lines where his mother and father had fallen after he slew them remained. The blood-stained floor around them shone out under the heavy layer of dust in the room. Looking to the left as he walked into the room, the shuriken he had thrown at Sasuke still lay embedded in the wall. A small piece of black fabric hanging from it and a small spray of blood on the wall near it as well. Sakura had remained out of this room. He walked over to the other set of doors that led to the outside of this room and threw them open. Dust flying everywhere in the moonlight of the night. He grabbed the broom swept up the years of dust and went about cleaning the room. He was unsure of what it was he wanted to do with this room yet. It was on the edge of the house and was not part of it they used now.
"Itachi? What are you still doing up?" Sakura asked as she leaned against the doorway.
"I guess I am still not used to being home. You changed some things." He said quietly as he sat on the edge of the outside wood path.
"I thought it may make you more comfortable here. I kept everything in case you did not like it." Sakura hurriedly said.
"No. No. I like it. It's warmer here. More like a home than a meeting ground. More like what it should have been. What are you doing up? We have quite a few more hours before it's time." Itachi asked as he grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap since she had walked close to him.
"I am not used to sleeping so much. Before I met you, I would sleep maybe 3 hours a week. I was the head of the hospital. Not a lot of downtime in that for me. Any time not spent there was spent training or away on missions. I also want to go over my notes on Sasuke's condition. I need him to get better so I can subsequently never see him again." Sakura said as she flipped through the clipboard.
"He is my brother. I do intend to have a relationship with him as soon as all of this is over. You are going to need to get on some sort of good terms with him." Itachi said as he looked at the stars.
"I will not even remotely consider that. You know very well what he did to me." Sakura screeched.
"It's not much different than what I did to you. I am in no way saying to be his best friend, but he will be in our lives quite a bit. Work into it. If you do this for me" Itachi smirked and grabbed Sakura's clipboard from her hand and nuzzled her neck "there will be several rewards in it for you. Would that work for you?"
He listened to her whine and pulled her closer to him. Kissing up and down her neck her whines turned into moans.
"I suppose I could be convinced to not poison his food on holidays." Sakura giggled and arched to give better access.
"We shall see. For now, you will just have to wait and see. Biased on your performance today, I will determine what reward you deserve and give it to you tonight. How does that sound?" Itachi drawled into her neck as he grabbed her breast under her shirt and then pushed her away from him playfully.
"Fine. I'm going to train with Kakashi and Naruto to blow off some energy. You really are mean to me. Get me all started up and not going to finish me off." Sakura pouted playfully as she pulled her shirt up and over her head and dropped it on the floor.
"I want you to behave and I refuse to use the mark on you," Itachi growled as he grabbed her shirt off the floor and ran after her.
He pinned her to the wall and attacked her neck again. She threaded her hands into his hair and pulled on it. The growl that he gave off sent shivers down her spine.
"Sakura. Itachi. Tsunade is calling for both of you." An Anbu member said startling the two people.
"Good lord! Shiori! For the love of god knock. I don't live alone anymore!" Sakura said as she covered herself up.
"Sorry. I didn't see anything. Tsunade is moving up the time table for Sasuke Uchiha's procedure. Be at the hospital by 8 am. It's 5 now so plenty of time to uh…finish up before you get there." Shiori giggled and poofed out.
"Finish up my ass. It's as dry as the desert down there now." Sakura groaned and grabbed her shirt from Itachi.
"We need to talk to Tsunade about our privacy problems. I'm gonna start the shower. Will you be joining me?" Itachi said as he pulled his shirt off.
"I got to get something to eat. I will be showering after anyway. I have a feeling I will be getting plenty sweaty during both Sasuke's procedure as well during my reward tonight." Sakura smirked as she wandered off.
"That you will."
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Sakura and Itachi arrived just as Tsunade had finished the preliminary work on Sasuke. Ciel had yet to arrive and Ino was yawning and drinking her coffee. She rattled a second cup at Sakura who was grateful to accept it. She had burned the food and had no time after the re-cook to get coffee from her favorite place. Sakura sucked it down as fast as she was able to as she went over her notes from the previous night. Itachi sat in the corner and watched his brother though the glass. He was panting and his eyes looked like murder lived in them. He had a hand in creating this problem. He would have a hand in fixing it. Soon enough everyone had shown up. From Naruto to some weird bug dude named Shino as Itachi would soon find out. Sakura spent a few minutes arranging everyone and telling them to remain quiet. Naruto being the loudest.
"Sakura. Let me be in there with you. He needs me in there with you." Naruto objected.
"Naruto. This is a painstaking procedure. I need to be able to focus on him. You are not in there because I need you out here." Sakura responded as she pulled on her medical coat and walked to the sink to wash up.
"Fine. I want to be the first one to visit him after you fix him."
"Fine by me. Are we ready Ciel?" Sakura asked her assistant.
"Everything is set Sakura. Let's fix this bastard." Ciel smirked and walked into the room.
Sakura followed him in and Itachi followed her. Sasuke growled though his teeth as soon as Ciel walked in. His eyes slid over the forms of the three people who had just entered into the room. Slowly roaming over Sakura more so than the rest. She stepped forward and motioned for Itachi to grab his head and hold it. Ino stood next to her on the left. Ciel on her right. Soon they began. Sakura's green chakra slowly leaching into Sasuke's head and working its way toward the first set of chakras. It was red and angry and full of malicious intent. It took several hours of Sakura alternating between drilling with her chakra into the red entity and Ino taking over his mind so that Sakura could see how she was doing for her to break through the patch. As soon as she did, Sasuke went ridged and his head hung down from where he was chained.
"Sa…Sakura…" Sasuke whispered as he inclined his head in her general direction.
"Yes, Sasuke. I'm right here. What is it?" Sakura said as she felt his aura bleed through the one, he's had previously.
"Keep going. Do…. Do not stop." He said quickly as the evil aura enveloped him again and he began to struggle and scream.
Sakura looked at the others to get a confirmation of go status and everyone nodded. She began again and working through the next few days, she and her team had broken all but one of them. As she reached the last one, there was a whirlwind of chakra that came flying at her as she used Ino's mind transfer jutsu in conjunction with her healing. It enveloped her and dragged her into Sasuke's brain. A bright flash of light blinded her and the next thing, she was in a meadow. She looked around for a way out only to have her hands land on Sasuke's body. He was hunched over and breathing hard. She could see that there were marks on his wrists and his neck.
"Sasuke?" She approached apprehensively.
"Sakura. You…. after all, I did to you…...You're saving me. Why?" Sasuke asked as he sat up panting.
"As soon as I found out it wasn't the real you that had been hurting me, I decided to help. Everyone deserves a second chance. Even you. Let me heal up these injuries so you can fight back too. I am very sure this last hurdle is going to be the hardest. Okay?" Sakura simply said as she began healing his inner self.
"Thanks… I know this has to be hard for you…. I'm sorry."
"I know. You'll pay for it later. Let's get you patched up."
"Sakura?!" She heard Itachi's voice cry out as she came out from the void.
"I'm here. Sasuke is okay in there. One final push and he will be free. Is everyone ready?" Sakura checked.
"Yes" was the resounding reply from everyone.
They had all long since snuck into the room and now lined the walls. Sakura looked at Itachi and gave him a quick kiss and began her work. It took her a little over 8 hours of meticulous work to break the final block. Naruto made sure that everyone ate and got water, her team included. Sakura refused the food but drank the water. When the final barrier of chakra broke, the scream that resonated from Sasuke could not have been human. It sounded more like it should have come from a tailed beast it was so loud. She felt the chakra dissipate and Sasuke's aura return to one similar to what it had been as a child. Smiling she fell to her knees and held onto Itachi as he caught her.
"You did it. You brought my brother back to me. Well done love. You have earned a good rest." He picked her up princess style and began to leave.
"Itachi. Wait a minute." Sasuke's voice broke through the silence of the room
"What do you want little brother?"
"Is she still awake?"
"I am. What do you need Sasuke?" Sakura responded for Itachi.
"Thank you. I know…. I know that these last few months have been hard on you. And I know it will take a while…. if ever, for you to trust me again. I won't even ask for you to forgive me because I won't forgive myself. Please know… I am so sorry for what I put you through. No one should ever have had to deal with what you have. Especially not from someone they trusted as a teammate at one time." Sasuke said as he looked at Itachi's back.
"Thank you, Sasuke. When all of this is done…. Come have dinner with us. I'll cook your favorite food." Sakura said as she faded to sleep.
Itachi left with her in his arms and took her home.
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That's all for now folks. We are nearing the end of the story. Probably only 3 or 4 more chapters left. Please let me know what you think. Everyone be safe! I know it is hard during this time, but we will make it through! We will be better for it as well. Until next time!
Naeura.