Immersion

by SaraNero

With Uchiha Itachi being named the Rokudaime Hokage Sakura Haruno has been assigned to be his right-hand-man and advisor. Now, the pinkette had not only to deal with Tsunade at the Hospital, but an Uchiha who obviously took joy out of driving her insane and messing with her mind. Non-Massacre.

11. Storytime

CHAPTER 11- Story Time

Kakashi Hatake, a name that was known to every citizen of Konoha and was always associated with his love for Jiraya's Icha Icha Series, his incomparable ninja skills or his habit of being late to, well, almost anything.

The ones who did know him well enough knew that he never showed up on time, regardless of how important the appointment was but so far, not one of them left before the Copy-Nin belatedly made his dramatic entrance followed by the most ridiculous excuses he could think of either.

So one can imagine Kakashi's surprise when he finally reached training ground three around two and a half hours late just to find that his team, the people that came closest to what he would consider family, had cruelly abandoned him for the first time ever since he took them under his wing.

Safe to say, Kakashi didn't know how to react.

At first, he simply stood there, unsure of what to do but after some moments have passed and he finally realized that his team was absent, he moved.

After he had roamed the entire training ground to ensure that they really weren't there, Kakashi, still confused, made his way towards the only place he could think of them being at this early hour.

Sakura's apartment.

Being the sneaky ninja he was, Kakashi masked his chakra and broke the seal that Sakura used to prevent outsiders from entering within a matter of seconds before he silently made his way inside.

Once inside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Her living room looked just like it always did and he didn't feel any foreign chakra signature either, indicating that there was no intruder or possible threat in her apartment. One thing what his keen ears instantly picked up however, was the sound of rather loud snoring coming from the door to his left, where Sakura's bedroom was located at.

Kakashi didn't need to go in there to know what, or rather who caused this rather beastly sound. He liked to believe that after all the years that he spent with his team, he would manage to pick up Naruto's snoring between all of Konoha's snores combined.

Still, Kakashi never passed a chance to see his kids in their most vulnerable state and thus, gently and whilst trying not to make any sound, pushed the door of Sakura's bedroom open.

Ah yes, the sight that greeted him was a familiar one that he had encountered many times before and yet, it was one of his favorites. There they were, all three of them sprawled across Sakura's bed, sound asleep and oblivious to their teachers presence.

Or to the fact that they overslept.

A smile tugged at the corner of his masked lips as he leaned sideways against the doorway and took in the scene before him.

Sakura was laying in the middle of her bed, her head leaning on Sasuke's shoulder, loose pink strands of hair framed her sleeping face that was scrunched up into a small frown.

Half of Sakura's ridiculously large blanket covered Sakura and Sasuke up until their waist, the usually broody Uchiha's expression relaxed. His arm was lazily thrown over his eyes while Naruto was laying on his back to Sakura's right, mouth wide open and sprawled across the remaining part of the bed with the other half of the blankets tangled around his body.

Kakashi's expression softened at the sight and a small sigh escaped his lips. The memories of the days when the three of them were training in the academy were still fresh in his mind and it was one of the rare times when his former students and current teammates face held a look of pure innocence- innocence that Kakashi wanted to protect but eventually, failed to do so.

He and his team were often praised for their excellent bond and close friendship but what all of these people didn't know was what every single one of them went through, be it alone or together as a team.

The life of a shinobi was a very cold and harsh one, Kakashi knew this best, but he and his team still never failed to move on and motivate each other to keep on going, regardless of what happened.

As adorable a they looked, Kakashi knew that they had to wake them and pushed himself off of the doorway before he moved to stand next to the bed.

He then crossed his arms above his chest and within the split of a second, allowed the mask that concealed his chakra to fade into thin air.

The instant he did, he felt every three of them tense in their sleep.

Naruto was the first one to react and abruptly stopped his snoring with a grunt, which was swiftly followed by a groan before he turned around to lay on his side, inwardly praying that he was still sleeping and that the Kakashi standing there wasn't real.

In vain, so it seemed.

The blonde yanked the blanket with him in the process of turning, causing it to slide off of Sakura and Sasuke, what caused the former to let out a small – and in Kakashi's opinion rather pathetic- whine while Sasuke let out a deep breath, unmoving.

Kakashi lifted a brow.

It seemed like his students really did get lazy after all.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that." Kakashi drawled, tapping his feet on the wooden ground of Sakura's apartment. "Here I was, worried sick and thinking that my beloved students have once more gotten themselves into trouble just to find them snuggled up to each in this big and cozy bed while they should be sweating and cursing me for making them train at this early hour instead. Funny how life goes sometimes, don't you think?"

Sakura let out a muffled groan as she reluctantly forced herself to sit up, exhausted emerald eyes falling onto the form of her teacher before she run a hand over her face and stood up, wordlessly walking straight past him towards the washroom before she locked herself in.

A grumpy Sakura was no news to Kakashi but when the silver haired copy-nin caught sight of the dark rings under Sasuke's eyes who, by now, also managed to sit up and pushed Naruto off the bed as an attempt to wake him, he already had a feeling that something rather unpleasant had happened prior to his arrival.

"Oi! You damn son of-"

"Naruto, no cursing your teammate this early in the morning."

Naruto's attention snapped to Kakashi the instant his voice echoed through the room and a sheepish grin made its way on his lips.

Sasuke merely huffed as he as well moved to stand up and straightened his clothes that consisted of a black Shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back and knee-length loose black shorts.

He and Naruto dressed into more comfortable clothes last night after they decided to stay with their teammate and since they always left a spare case of clothes at Sakura's for days like this one, it came especially convenient.

"Now, mind telling me why you three ditched our training session?" Kakashi inquired, slowly starting to grow annoyed. They didn't seem the least bit sorry about ditching him nor did it look like they actually cared, and that was very unlike them.

Naruto's blue eyes shot to Sasuke, what the Uchiha didn't fail to notice, and thus he decided to do the explaining.

Sasuke moved to Sakura's nightstand, Kakashi's eyes following his every move as the raven-haired boy suddenly held a white Kiku in his hand.

"Someone broke into Sakura's home last night and left this." Sasuke curtly explained, and Kakashi's eyes instantly narrowed.

Kakashi wordlessly extended his hand to take it from Sasuke in order to properly examine the little gift that was left for Sakura. Sasuke handed it to his teacher without any hesitation and once in his hand, the silver-haired Nin eyed it carefully for any sign of jutsu or poison.

"I also looked for poison or any sign of a jutsu on it, but there is none." Sasuke told him as he crossed his arms above his chest. "Whoever it was that placed it on her bed did it as a warning."

"Hm." Kakashi hummed, eyes still fixed on the flower. He knew that Sakura had gained quite a reputation for herself and that now with being Itachi's right-hand man, she would be a very desired target for both Konoha's enemies and the ones who held a grudge against Itachi, if the Suna incident was anything to go by.

Just then they heard the bathroom door open and mere seconds later, Sakura, now all freshened up and dressed into a fresh set of clothes, came walking into the bedroom where the team was still gathered in. The pinkette offered Kakashi a smile as she once more walked past him to do the bed, her eyes falling onto the flower in her sensei's hand as she moved to hold the blankets.

"Looks like they already told you about the gift that I received last night." Sakura said before she continued to make the bed, seemingly not the least bit bothered about it.

Kakashi moved to place the flower back on her nightstand while Sasuke left to wash up next. "They did. Is that the only reason you ditched training?"

Naruto snorted from where he was seated on the floor next to Sakura's bed. "Wow sensei, are you sulking?"

Kakashi rolled his visible eye. Leave it to Naruto to take things out of context.

He was so not sulking.

A light chuckle escaped Sakura's lips as she made the last finishing touches to her bed before she left her bedroom, Kakashi and Naruto following behind.

"Sasuke was summoned for some Uchiha meeting and Tsunade send a messenger for me because I will be needed in the hospital in-" Her eyes slid to the clock that was hanging on the wall of her living-room. "-one hour."

Kakashi hummed as they entered the kitchen, his eyes falling onto the blonde boy next to him who deliberately tried not to catch his eye.

"And what's your excuse?" Kakashi asked, causing Naruto to instantly scratch his neck as he met his teachers eyes.

"I, uh, have a very important meeting with this guy named Tama! He wants me to babysit his cat while he is out of town looking for, eh, herbs?" Naruto weakly improvised but the moment he ended his sentence and he caught sight of Kakashi's blank face, he knew that it was of no use.

"Aw come on Kakashi-sensei that's not fair!" Naruto protested as he sat down on the table, a pout on his lips. "Why am I the only one who has to go when all three of us were supposed to?"

A sigh escaped Kakashi's lips and in the next moment, Naruto was smacked upside his head.

The blonde yelped out of surprise and Sakura snorted out of amusement while she prepared breakfast.

"You should have seen it coming Naruto. What are you, a genin that you have to babysit some weird man's cat?" She teased, causing Naruto to groan.

"Come on Sakura-chan, whose side are you on?"

"Obviously not on yours, dobe." Sasuke stated as he as well made his way into the kitchen. Sakura rolled her eyes as she placed some sliced tomatoes on the table, followed by some more small dishes.

"What sides are there to take in a team?" Sakura asked as she sat down next to Kakashi and shot her teammates a stern glance as she picked up her chopsticks and pointed at the two of them. "It's going to be a long day for all of us so eat."

Naruto instantly dug in whereas Sasuke started off his breakfast by plopping a piece of sliced tomato into his mouth. Kakashi glanced at the petite yet dangerous pinkette next to him out of the corner of his eye before he affectionately rested his right hand on top of her head.

"Ah, looks like I really did teach you well." Kakashi stated, his visible eye crinkling. His heart warmed at the proud smile that Sakura offered him in return as she looked up at her old teacher and for a moment, Kakashi could have sworn that he saw the ten-year old Sakura look up at him.

"You should teach Naruto a thing or two as well. If his excuse is anything to go by, he really needs some training from you." She teased and Kakashi removed his hand from her head to scratch his masked chin in wonder.

"I'll have to consider it. Can't have him taint my spotless reputation with his lame excused now can I?" He returned and Naruto, who happened to overhear him as his bicker with Sasuke came to an end, instantly protested.

Sakura merely shook her head with a smile as she looked at her boys with an affectionate smile. These moments were the ones she treasured the most and felt most at ease at.

With them at her side, she had a feeling that she could take on everyone and everything that life may throw at her.

Although, She thought as a pair of red Sharingan eyes flashed in front of her eyes. I still have to figure out what to make of him.

Sakura took a sip of the herbal tea that she previously prepared and all of sudden, last nights events flashed in front of her eyes.

"I want you to have it healed until tomorrow."

Sakura suddenly choked on her tea, resulting in her falling into a coughing fit and the rest of her team members to wonder what was up with their pink-haired teammate.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Naruto's concerned yet surprised call echoed through the kitchen while Kakashi and Sasuke gently patted her back as an effort to stop her coughing.

Sakura merely waved her hand, trying to get enough air into her lungs as she placed her cup back on the table.

"I'm fine." Sakura croaked out, feeling the heat rise into her face. Whether it was because of the hot tea that she nearly choked on or the realization that the Uchiha Itachi had actually caressed her cheek last night, that she could only guess.

Sasuke and Kakashi shared a silent look, neither of the two having even the smallest guess as to what could possible cause Sakura to choke on her tea but the duo eventually agreed to just let it slide.

Much to her relief.

Sakura, of course, already healed her bruised eye the night before and as she settled back to eating inwardly wondered just how her meeting with Itachi would go tonight.

He was unpredictable, and that was something that constantly set Sakura on edge. One day, he was cold and rude whereas the other, he seemed like his polite and reserved self.

It seemed like every Uchiha was odd in their own way, and Itachi didn't seem to be an exception.

"Weirdo." Sakura muttered under her breath as she took another sip of her tea, unaware of the three pair of eyes that were fixed on her.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, his expression crunched up in a frown as he looked at his teammate in wonder. "Weirdo."

---

"I should personally break another rib of yours for not seeking medical treatment earlier, Uchiha."

Itachi's lips curled downwards. He was not in a good mood to begin with and it seemed like this would not change anytime soon.

It all started this morning when his mother caught him changing the bandage that was neatly wrapped around his ribs. The moment her dark eyes fell on the rather ugly looking bruise that covered his lower rib-cage all hell broke loose and not even an hour later he suddenly found himself in one of the Hospital's VIP rooms together with Tsunade and his mother, who insisted on accompanying him to ensure that he was actually going to get treated.

"You should consider yourself lucky, your broken rib didn't cause any major damage to your internal organs." Tsunade told him as she removed the stethoscope from his chest and scribbled something onto her clipboard. "Though I have to admit that I am curious as to who managed to break one of the great Uchiha Itachi's ribs."

"I totally forgot about that." Mikoto said, shooting her son a curious look. "Did you train with Kakashi-sensei?"

Tsunade snorted as she took in the way Itachi's expression turned the slightest bit bitter and instantly put two and two together. Looks like not only Itachi's rib but also his pride received quite the blow from one and the same person.

"I doubt that it was Kakashi, the two of them use similar fighting techniques. I believe that it was someone whom our dear Itachi may have underestimated a little for them to land such a hit on him.

Itachi didn't like the amused twinkle in Tsunade's eyes nor the way his mother shot her blonde-haired friend a questioning look.

He pursed his lips into an even thinner line. And once again he found himself stuck in such an annoying situation because of his advisor. It seemed like all the bad things that happened to him ever since she was assigned to be his advisor and right hand man were either caused by her or resulted in her getting tangled up in them.

Safe to say, he was anything but pleased by that.

"I can assure you that I am very well aware of when I need to seek medical treatment and when I am able to handle things myself." Itachi spoke, trying his best to keep his annoyance out of his voice.

Mikoto slapped Itachi on the shoulder, her expression turning stern. "Stop being sulky and consider yourself lucky that I am still being this calm young man."

Itachi's eyes fell on his mothers stern expression and he wordlessly lifted a brow. Itachi did not sulk.

Just when he was about to open his mouth to question his mothers intentions, a knock on the door prevented him from doing so.

If only he looked at Tsunade instead of the door the second before it opened, he would have been able to catch the devilish smirk that pulled on her lips.

"Come in." Tsunade called, and the moment the door opened Itachi wondered just what he had ever done in his life to be put in such a situation.

In walked Sakura, dressed in her white coat and usual attire. Her emerald eyes were fixed on the folder in her hand as it seemed, the pinkette hadn't bothered to check just who the patient that Tsunade treated was because if she did, he was certain that she would have made a straight U-Turn.

"Tsunade-shishou, Mai told me that you wanted to see-" Her emerald eyes snapped upwards to catch his annoyed onyx ones, and she instantly stopped dead in her tracks. "-me."

Confusion flashed in her eyes as she caught sight of a shirtless Itachi sitting on top of the examination table before they fell on his mother and her former teacher.

Whereas the first one seemed pleasantly surprised, the latter one pretended to innocently scribble something down onto her clipboard.

Safe to say, she was confused.

"Sakura-chan!" Mikoto exclaimed in delight, obviously pleased to see her and Sakura instantly mirrored her smile. "It's so good to see you again, dear!"

Sakura didn't miss the way Itachi's annoyance became even more evident in his eyes after his mothers warm greeting and Sakura shot him a questioning glance out of the corner of her eyes before she went on to properly greet Mikoto.

"Mikoto-san, what a pleasant surprise." Sakura said, genuinely pleased to see the Uchiha matriarch, though slightly suspicious of the circumstances that they met under. "What brings you here?"

Mikoto laid a hand on her sounds bare shoulder and Itachi unwillingly tensed under her touch, eyes never leaving Sakura's mildly curious expression.

"You see, my dear son over here thought that it would be a nice idea to hide his broken rib and almost got away with it if it weren't for me catching him while he was changing his bandage." Mikoto explained, tightening her grip on Itachi's shoulder.

Sakura, mildly amused, allowed her eyes to roam Itachi's uncovered torso until they fell on the ugly looking bruise that Mikoto had mentioned. It seemed as if whoever managed to land a hit on him managed really did manage to break a rib and even bruise another one or two and due to Itachi not getting them treated earlier, it looked even worse than it usually did.

He should be in greater pain that he seemed to be in, she knew that out of her own experience and yet he didn't even bat an eye.

"It looks quite painful." Sakura commented as she lifted her eyes and offered Itachi a curious look. "It's a surprise that you managed to hide it this well, Hokage-sama. Others would have probably already fainted after a couple of hours but judging by the discoloration, it's probably been a day or two ever since you got it broken."

Itachi didn't know whether she purposefully acted clueless or if she really didn't know that his broken rib was her own doing. She couldn't have possibly not noticed that she broke his rib during their little training session, especially since she was a high-level medic but judging by the way her curious eyes were still locked with his, it seemed like she really wasn't aware of what she had done.

"I told them the same." Tsunade commented as she offered Sakura the clipboard with Itachi's medical data, that Sakura wordlessly accepted. "If he waited some more days, our dear Hokage would have started to get problems with his breathing, if not even worse."

Sakura hummed as she skimmed through his file. Tsunade, of course, was right and even though she was already used to this kind of behavior from Kakashi, she never thought that Itachi held a similar aversion towards hospitals.

"I've experienced worse than a broken rib." Itachi stated, eyes moving from Sakura to Tsunade who in return lifted a daring brow at the young Uchiha heir.

"It doesn't matter. You'll have to get this treated and there is no way around it." Tsunade told him as she crossed her eyes over her chest. "Unfortunately, I have a rather tight schedule and an emergency poison extraction that I have to take care of, so Sakura is going to take care of your broken rib."

Both Sakura and Itachi's eyes snapped to Tsunade the moment she finished her sentence and Itachi could have sworn that he saw his mother's smile of approval out of the corner of his eye.

Great, just what he needed.

Tsunade's eyes moved from Sakura to Itachi, silently daring them to object and even though none of the two seemed too pleased by their current predicament, none of them dared to refuse.

The Godaime clapped her hands. "It's settled then. Mikoto-san, I'll have one of my Anbu escort you home while Sakura takes care of your stubborn son. Sakura, I trust you to take care of him and if you need anything, send Suki or Mai."

Mikoto gave Tsunade a nod and patted her sons shoulder before she moved to follow Tsunade out of the room. When she passed Sakura however, the dark-haired Uchiha rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder and offered her a grateful smile.

"Thank you." Mikoto said, her smile never fading. "If he misbehaves, you have my permission to break another rib or two."

Sakura couldn't help but smile upon hearing Mikoto's words and gave her a curt nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Have a safe trip home Mikoto-san."

Mikoto shot Itachi one last glare over her shoulder before she followed Tsunade out of the room, leaving Sakura and Itachi on their own.

A thick silence filled the room the moment Mikoto left the room and shut the door close. Sakura, aware of the way Itachi's displeased gaze was fixed on her, decided to simply get it over with so that she could get out of his hair as soon as possible.

She walked over to the desk to place the clipboard onto it before she pushed a button on the desk.

"Suki, I need you to prepare some anesthetics and a bandage." Sakura spoke before she released the button and turned around to put on a pair of rubber gloves.

As soon as she was ready, she turned around just in time to catch Itachi putting on his shirt. The pinkette, clearly not having expected that, shot the unbothered Uchiha a look of sheer disbelief.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Itachi, who just put on his shirt, considered to simply straight out ignore her presence and march right out of the room but in the end, he knew that they would have to see each other later that day so he decided against doing so.

"I'm leaving." He deadpanned as he stood up, ready to leave but Sakura was faster and moved to block his way with her own body.

"You're not going anywhere Uchiha." Sakura returned, expression hard as she lifted her head to properly glare at Itachi. Due to the height difference, she slightly needed to tilt her head upwards to meet his gaze but that didn't stop her from doing so. She knew that it probably made her look less intimidating since he was the one looking down at her but at that moment, she couldn't care less.

As long as he was the patient and she the medic, he would have to listen to her, whether he liked it or not.

Itachi glanced down at the pinkette, mildly irritated at Sakura's stubbornness. She obviously didn't plan on letting him go this easily and whereas he knew that he could simply use one of his jutsu, he knew that he wouldn't get too far considering the state that he was currently in.

He lifted a dark brow, lips pursed and expression blank as he caught Sakura's challenging eyes with his onyx ones. "If you know what's best for you, I would advise you to step aside Haruno."

Sakura frowned, her expression hardening as she huffed upon hearing Itachi's words. "If you know what's best for you Uchiha, I would advise you to stop your childish antics and to do as your doctor says."

Itachi's eyes suddenly flashed red and not a heartbeat later, Sakura was staring into a pair of crimson eyes that she was all too familiar with.

She could have sworn that the air around them gradually turned colder, the look in his eyes chilly enough to freeze her to death as he stared her down.

"Move."

His tone was low and yet deep enough to cause a shiver to run down Sakura's spine. His command was loud and clear and yet, Sakura knew that he was testing her and thus kept her eyes locked with his.

She wouldn't let herself be intimidated by Uchiha Itachi, not anymore.

"This is your last warning Uchiha." Sakura spoke, her voice having dropped a few octaves lower. "Sit down."

She knew that it took more than her rather weak warning to get Itachi to back down but what else was she to do? She couldn't possibly call his mother, nor could she chain him to the examination table so she was left with little choices.

Itachi kept his eyes locked with hers and looked for any sign of fear, the smallest waver in her guard or the tiniest hint of regret, but it seemed that it was in vain.

Sakura seemingly didn't plan on letting him go and even though he as well knew that he should let himself get treated now that he was at the hospital already, he didn't feel like giving in this easily.

In the end, he saw what he wanted to see and ever so slowly allowed the Sharingan fade out of existence. Itachi took one more look at Sakura's face, making sure that she took note of his displeasure before he moved to sit back down onto the examination table.

Sakura, clearly satisfied, tried her best to hide her triumphant smile as she pulled her rolling chair in front of the examination table so that she was the same height as Itachi, who by now already managed to take his shirt off without her having to tell him to do so.

Well, it seemed like they were making some sort of progress.

Sakura sat down in front of him and gently brushed her hand over the purple colored bruise, instantly feeling the muscle beneath her palm twitch out of protest.

Sakura pursed her lips as her eyes filled with compassion. "It's in a pretty bad state. It'll take some time to heal and may hurt a little bit, so please be prepared." She warned as she made herself more comfortable and gently placed both of her palms over the broken rib.

"I'll start now."

"Hn." Was all that Itachi offered her in return before she started to pour her chakra into his body. Itachi was used to feel foreign chakra enter his body as were most shinobi that were on active duty and went on missions but this was the first time that he didn't have the urge to overpower it with his own.

The moment that Sakura's chakra filled him, it felt as if someone poured warm water over his skin. It was comfortable and not as cold and sharp as most of the others were. Hers was delicate yet firm and warmed his entire body from the inside, instantly soothing the pain that had plagued him for the past days.

Sakura instantly sensed that some of the tension that had previously filled Itachi's body left his body and, much to her surprise, felt him relax under her touch. She didn't need to lift her eyes to know that he was looking at her but, being the professional medic she was, she didn't allow it to distract her.

"You may feel nauseous or slightly dizzy after the treatment but even if you don't, don't train for the remainder of the day until your body has fully recovered from the healing procedure."

"I don't think that it's going to be a problem, given that we do have an appointment this evening." Itachi reminded her, his velvet voice having lost a small part of its rough edge.

Sakura was surprised that she he brought up their meeting that was scheduled for this evening first and offered him a small smile.

"True." She agreed, not looking up from his rib-cage. "Though I have to admit that I am curious as to how you got this broken rib. Did you spar with Shisui or Kakashi?"

Itachi kept his eyes fixed on Sakura, sparks of curiosity brightening his onyx orbs as he took a moment to contemplate whether he should tell her that it was actually her doing or not.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, of course." Sakura told him after some moments of silence. She didn't want to force him into telling her anything that he didn't want to but much to her surprise, his voice reached her ears once more.

"I got my rib broken during a training session two days ago."

Sakura hummed as she nodded to herself. Just as she and Tsunade expected, he got it broken two days ago and that it happened during a training session made sense as well. Admittedly, her curiosity was piqued but knowing Itachi, he didn't just spar with anyone so it had to be with someone close to him like Kakashi or Shisui, for example.

Then again, as far as she knew Shisui was on a mission and wouldn't return until tomorrow and Kakashi was on a reunion with Kurenai and the others, so that left very little others.

Two days ago, hm?

Well, it was Sakura's first day back at the hospital two days ago, but nothing special-

Sakura's eyes considerably widened before they snapped up to look at Itachi, who calmly caught her surprised orbs with his own mildly amused ones.

So she had finally figured it out.

"Wait, I was the one who broke your rib during our training session?" She asked, clearly surprised by the outcome of this. Whereas she could recall landing a hit on Itachi somewhere close to his ribs, she didn't think that she actually managed to break one of them.

At least that explained why he was in such a bad mood upon seeing her this morning. As if his ego didn't take quite the blow already because Mikoto dragged him to the hospital and caused a big fuss in front of Tsunade and his advisor who, coincidentally, was the one who broke his rib and didn't even remember until now.

Way to hurt an Uchiha's pride.

"You should have told me yesterday." Sakura told him, averting her eyes from his to once more look at the familiar green light that engulfed her hands. "If you did, it would already be healed by now, you would have been in less pain and your mother wouldn't have dragged you here in the first place."

Itachi knew that she was right and whereas he actually considered to bring it up yesterday when she surprisingly appeared at his office, one look at her bruised eye was enough to prevent him from doing so. She was exhausted enough as it was and healing a broken rib would have only worsened her condition to the point where she would have troubles walking home on her own. He didn't want to burden her with something that could be taken care of the following day.

"You were exhausted and in need of rest. Your chakra was already low and you needed the reserves that you had left for your own treatment." Itachi calmly explained as he turned his head to the right to look out of the window, eyes locked on the clear blue sky. "It didn't seem right to request medical attention from you when you needed it yourself."

Sakura felt her heart warm upon hearing his words and kept her gaze fixed on his rib-cage, expression softening. So he didn't ask her to heal his rib the day before because he wanted her to heal herself and rest first? If Sakura didn't know it any better, she would dare to believe that Itachi was actually concerned for her well being and put her needs over his but since it was Itachi they were talking about, it seemed highly out-of character.

Then again, it was the same Itachi that run all the way back from Suna to Konoha just to safe his advisers life so it wasn't that far fetched.

"Careful Hokage-sama, or I may start to believe that you are actually more considerate than everyone makes you out to be." Sakura warned, lips curving up into a teasing smile as she pushed slightly more chakra into Itachi. His rib was almost fully healed and the discoloration of his skin also slightly faded but she would still need to inject the anesthesia in order for the nerves to to numb the nerves around it.

She dared to glance up at Itachi just in time to catch the ghost of a smirk on his lips, head still turned away from her. Despite of his previous bad mood he now seemed more at ease in her company, the tension having long left his body.

A knock suddenly filled the silence of the room before Sakura heard the door to Itachi's room open. Whereas Itachi didn't even bother to turn his head towards the door to acknowledge whoever entered the room, Sakura glanced over her shoulder to verify that it was indeed Suki who entered.

"Sakura-san, I got you the anesthetics and bandages." Suki's familiar voice reached her ears and Sakura couldn't help but notice that her voice was slightly higher pitched than usual.

Sakura refrained from snorting out of amusement. Sakura knew that most of Konoha's high-ranked shinobi were the talk of the hospital staff and that her boss was no exception, but she never realized just how different they acted around them.

Then again, Suki always volunteered to assist Sakura or Tsunade whenever they were treating one of her teammates or other shinobi of high rank. She was known to target the higher ranks and judging by the way she added an additional swing to her hips, Itachi was her latest target.

Suki was a pretty decent girl that did a good job at the hospital and she never caused much trouble either, but she was famous for being Konoha's hospitals gossip queen.

She and some of the other nurses liked to spend their free time exchanging the latest news and gossip and Sakura would bet her life that the rest of them were probably dying of envy because Suki got to be the one to see the Uchiha Itachi shirtless.

Sakura couldn't even count the times when she was involved in some sort of rumor, whether it was with one of her teammates that she had to treat or some random stranger. Hell, she even heard Tsunade's name being mentioned every once in a while but Sakura was already used to it and paid it no mind.

There were these rare times when she needed to personally take care of some rumors, like that one time when someone said that she was pregnant with Kakashi's child or that she only had two more weeks to live, but these were some rare exceptions.

She also had to say that not every nurse or medic liked to gossip and that there were many exceptions, like Kiko and some others that she knew, but Sakura didn't look down on someone as a person or their skills because they liked to spend their time gossiping either.

She couldn't care less, as long as they properly did their job.

"Suki, please prepare the injections. As soon as I am done, you can wrap him up and give him the prescribed painkillers and vitamins." Sakura told her as she pushed some more chakra into Itachi, brows furrowed out of concentration.

"Will do, Sakura-san." Suki returned as she placed the tray with the utensils down onto the examination table next to Itachi, who didn't even bother to spare her a glance.

Suki pulled her long hazelnut-colored hair back into a low ponytail before she picked up one of the empty syringes and started to fill them with the anesthetics.

"Did Yura take care of the patient in room 198?"

"Yes, Sakura-san. Yura-chan and Takemi-sama are preparing her for surgery." Suki replied, her eyes once more straying to Itachi, who was very well aware of the brunettes eyes on him.

He eventually turned his head back to look at the pinkette in front of him who was seemingly absorbed in the task of healing his broken bone. He barely felt any pain and judging by the way her chakra continued to evenly flow into his body, Sakura did her best to continue until it was fully healed.

"Sakura-san, do we have some spare needles? I think that the packaging this one has already been opened." Suki suddenly asked, causing Sakura to look up from Itachi's torso and at the needle in question.

"We should have some in the second drawer." Sakura returned before she shifted her attention back to healing Itachi while Suki took the syringe and walked over to the drawer.

Itachi kept a close eye on the girl and watched her rummage through the every drawer of the desk but the one that Sakura mentioned.

Whereas Itachi's face remained impassive, his eyes sharpened for the smallest of bits when Suki's elbow brushed over one of the buttons on the desk's right and not even a second later, the sprinklers in the room came to life and countless of water drops rained down on them.

Sakura, clearly caught of guard, jumped in place as the icy water droplets hit her skin, causing her to loose her concentration for the split of a second and to pour a bit too much chakra into Itachi.

The Uchiha involuntarily flinched under her touch and Sakura's head whipped to her right to shoot a seemingly surprised Suki that was frozen in place in front of the desk an annoyed glare.

"I'm so sorry Sakura-chan! I didn't mean to-" Suki started, intending to ramble on but Sakura instantly cut her off.

"Just turn it off and get the needle." She curtly returned, her hands still resting on Itachi's torso before she looked at the Uchiha heir with apologetic emerald eyes.

She could tell that he was just as pleased about Suki's little mistake as she was but unbeknownst to her, the reason for his displeasure was the knowledge that it was anything but a mistake and instead, an intended action.

Itachi merely returned Sakura's gaze with a calm one of his own as he tried to ignore the way Sakura's skin seemed to glow due to droplets of water that reflected the sunlight and cascaded down her face.

He removed his eyes from his advisors face and instead decided to keep an eye on Suki, who by now managed to turn the sprinklers off.

Itachi found that it wouldn't have made a difference if she turned them off now or an hour later because he as well as Sakura and the bandages were drenched in water. He knew that Sakura was trying her hardest not to loose her calm in front of him and so far, she succeeded in doing so.

When Itachi caught sight of Suki walking towards them with the fresh needle on top of the syringe in her hand whilst taking rather sloppy steps, however, he knew that this was going to change very soon.

It all happened in a heartbeat.

Suki somehow managed to slip on the wet ground and tripped forwards, the syringe flying out of her hand as a small yelp escaped her.

Itachi instantly acted and wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist, gently pulled her closer to him and extended his other free arm to catch the syringe that was just about to bury itself into her neck.

Sakura sharply inhaled as she suddenly felt herself getting pulled against Itachi as she tried her best not to interrupt the flow of her chakra. Her eyes widened out of surprise when she suddenly found herself just an inch away from his face, their noses brushing and his arm firmly wrapped around her waist to keep her in place.

Itachi was looking straight back at her, his eyes narrowed instead of wide and orbs crimson instead of onyx and Sakura didn't dare move.

He was close, too close and Sakura desperately tried to get her heart to stop furiously hammering against her chest at the sudden close proximity between her and the Uchiha heir.

Itachi gently lowered his free arm in order not to startle Sakura, who was seemingly still trying to figure out what had just happened and placed the syringe back onto the tray next to him.

"You should keep a tighter leash on your staff." Itachi mumbled, causing Sakura to snap back into reality. It took her a moment to process his words and what had just happened but when the realization that Itachi had just saved her again settled in,from her own staff nonetheless, she felt the blood in her veins boil.

Sakura carefully leaned back so that she could create some space between her and Itachi before she clenched her jaw and shut her eyes close.

"I'm so sorry Sakura-san!" Suki called from behind her, her voice sounding less apologetic than it should as she rushed to stand next to Sakura and made a perfect 90 degree bow. "I'll take care of the mess and take over so that you can-"

"Get out."

Suki, clearly not having expected Sakura's command, needed a moment to recover and process Sakura's words. "But Sakura-san-"

"If you don't leave this room within the next two seconds I'll personally make sure that you'll be sitting behind the reception desk for the next three months and won't ever get this close to a patient again. Now get of my sight and wait in my office until I am done here." Sakura snapped, her patience having run thin.

Suki instantly did as told and reluctantly left the room without uttering as much as another word, leaving Sakura to take care of patching Itachi up on her own.

Itachi didn't bother to hide his amusement upon seeing Sakura loose her cool, just as he predicted, and slowly removed his arm from Sakura's waist when he was sure that she was steadily sitting on her rolling chair once more. Her face was slightly flushed out of anger, her hair was damp due to the water and her rosy lips were thinned into a straight line.

He couldn't help but keep his eyes locked on her face as he took in the way her emerald eyes were still burning out of anger, creating a strong contrast to her pale skin and rosy locks.

Sakura never failed to bore him, it was quite the opposite as it seemed. The pinkette kept on piquing his interest in ways no one else ever managed to, leaving Itachi to wonder just what it was that caused his gradually growing desire to learn everything about her.

He knew that he was approaching dangerous territory, but once something caught Itachi's attention there was no turning back. He needed to figure out just what made her different from the rest and in order to do that and until he managed to do that, he would make sure to keep a close eye on her.

Sakura, unaware of Itachi's intense gaze and occupied with the task of controlling her still evident anger, gradually lessened the amount of chakra that she poured into his body until she fully stopped and removed her hands with a sigh.

"Well, your rib is healed. I'll inject you the anesthetics and apply some cooling gel before I'll bandage it so don't you dare get any weird ideas and leave before I'm done." Sakura told him without looking up before she grabbed the syringe that Suki prepared and pointed it at Itachi's skin. Her brows furrowed out of concentration as she looked for the right place to inject the anesthetics and when she found the place she was looking for, she placed a cool hand against his lean torso.

"It may burn slightly." She gently warned before she pushed the needle into his flesh and carefully injected the liquid into his body.

Itachi, of course, didn't even flinch when the needle broke his skin and kept his unwavering gaze on Sakura as he watched her injecting the anesthetics before she gently removed the needle and placed the syringe aside.

She briefly glanced up at Itachi and was surprised to find him already looking at her. Sakura, though mildly surprised by the intensity of his gaze decided to brush it off pointed a warning finger at him.

"You better not move." She warned as she stood up, earning a raised brow from Itachi as she turned around and grabbed some towels that were neatly placed in one of the cabinets in the room.

She tossed one at Itachi, who easily caught in one hand before he dried his upper body with it while Sakura used one to dry her hair. As soon as she was done, she walked back to the desk and opened the third drawer to get out a fresh bandage before she made her way back to Itachi who, by now, also finished to dry himself off.

"I don't think that I'll have to tell you how to change your bandage, do I?" Sakura asked, risking a look at Itachi whose blank face was answer enough. "Figures."

Sakura sat back down onto the chair and gently applied some of the cooling gel over his freshly healed ribs whilst trying to ignore the way his muscles flexed beneath her palm. As soon as she was done with applying the gel, she started to wrap the bandage around his torso and pointedly focused on anything but the feeling of his eyes boring into the back of her head.

"So, all done." She announced and gave his freshly bandaged ribs one last gentle pat before she offered him one of her small yet genuine smiles. "Next time I accidentally break your rib, please seek me out right after. This way, you'll be in less pain and I'll feel less guilty."

Itachi regarded her for one long moment before he tilted his head ever so slightly to the right, eyes shining with concealed curiosity. Why would she feel guilty instead of proud for managing to land a hit on him?

Upon looking closer at her face, he realized that she did heal her bruised eye and neck like he told her to and a wave of content washed over him.

"You healed it." He observed, catching her off guard. Sakura's hand instantly flew up to touch her formerly bruised eye, resting there for a moment before she gave him a curt nod.

"Yeah." She confirmed, trying her best to keep her smile on her lips as she remembered last night. "It wasn't that much of a big deal though."

Sakura could have sworn that Itachi's eyes narrowed for the smallest of bits as he hummed lowly, eyes never leaving hers. "I assume that you have taken proper care of him after his attempted escape."

Sakura huffed out of amusement and pushed her rolling chair slightly back before she grabbed the tray next to Itachi and walked over to place it on the desk. "Well, let's say that he won't get to punch me a second time."

A comfortable silence filled the room as Itachi moved to put his shirt back on while Sakura tried to make out whether she could still save some of the wet papers or if she would have to throw them away.

A sigh passed her lips as she looked at the messy room. All of this because Suki wanted to treat Itachi on her own. Whereas she did pity the girl to some degree for having to use such drastic measures to get what she wanted, it was a very immature act that not only endangered Itachi, the Hokage but also Sakura.

If it wasn't for him she would be in big trouble.

"I expect you to be on time." Itachi suddenly spoke, his rich voice ripping her out of her musings as she shifted her attention to a now fully dressed, still slightly wet Itachi.

Sakura nodded as she run a hand through her long hair and heaved a heavy sigh. "I'll be there on time." She promised, already feeling the upcoming headache as she remembered that Suki was probably waiting for her in Sakura's office.

As if she didn't have enough to deal with already.

Itachi curtly inclined his head and with one last look at Sakura, disappeared into thin air right in front of her eyes just like he did many times before.

Sakura waited for some moments to ensure that Itachi really left before she plopped back down onto her rolling chair and run a hand over her face out of exhaustion. This was so not going to be a good day.

---

"You better have a good explanation for only returning now young man."

Judging by the angry voice that reached his ears as Itachi entered his home, it seemed like his mother had already found her next target for the day.

Itachi followed the voices and made his way into the kitchen where Sasuke was sitting on one of the cushions, enjoying his meal while his mother was standing on the opposite side of it with a wooden spoon pointed at Sasuke.

"Naruto and I had to take care of something." Was the only explanation that his brother offered their mother before Itachi entered.

Mikoto's eyes snapped to Itachi who gave her a small nod before he as well sat down at the table, her eyes filled with surprise upon seeing her sons wet clothes. "What happened to you?"

Sasuke also turned to look at Itachi, whose eyes were fixed on the food on the table in front of him. "The fire sprinkler went off." He calmly explained as he plopped one of his mothers rice balls into his mouth.

Mikoto's eyes narrowed before they traveled down to rest on his covered chest.

"Ribs?"

"Taken care of."

Mikoto let out a sound of content before she turned her attention back to Sasuke, who wisely remained silent during his mothers interrogation. "And what was that something that you had to take care of?" Mikoto questioned, clearly mad that her son didn't give her a heads-up before he decided to leave to do god knows what.

Sasuke remained silent and Itachi could tell that he contemplated whether he should tell his mother the truth or only half of the story but since Sasuke was a mamma's boy, Itachi knew that he would end up telling her the truth.

"We were at Sakura's."

Now that had Itachi's full attention.

"Sakura's?" Mikoto echoed, slowly lowering her wooden spoon as she looked at Sasuke in surprise. "If the two of you slept over at Sakura's why didn't you just tell me?"

Sasuke one more hesitated and whereas Itachi feigned disinterest and continued to silently eat, he found himself strangely compelled to listen. Whereas he knew that his brother and Naruto slept over at his pink haired advisors apartment every once in a while, Sasuke always told his mother beforehand so that she wouldn't worry.

The mere fact that this time he didn't tell his mother meant that it must have been a spontaneous decision of theirs to do so.

"Someone broke into her apartment while she was at work yesterday. Whoever it was didn't take anything and only left her a flower on her bed so Naruto and I stayed with her." Sasuke reluctantly elaborated and Itachi stilled.

"What?" Mikoto exclaimed, clearly unsettled as her expression softened. "How could someone break into her apartment?"

Sasuke shrugged as he tightened his hold on his chopsticks. " Kakashi personally created a high level jutsu that sealed Sakura's apartment so whoever it was must have been of high-rank."

Silence filled the room and for a moment no one spoke, each deep in their own thoughts.

As Itachi thought back to the pinkette, he realized that she didn't mention it during his healing session and even acted like nothing happened. Whereas he knew that they weren't what one could call close, he couldn't help but feel somewhat displeased that his advisor kept such a thing from him.

She was his advisor and therefore his responsibility. After the incident in Suna it should have been self-explanatory that she should report something like this to him, especially if the two incidents could be connected to each other.

Then again, why would someone break into her apartment just to leave a flower?

"What kind of flower?"

Sasuke's hand froze mid-air and his posture visibly tensed as Itachi's question reached his ears. He clearly didn't expect his brother to further question him regarding yesterdays incident and somehow, the mere fact that he did didn't sit right with him.

Still, he knew that if he were to lie to his brother he would most likely notice and leave to ask Sakura about it herself.

"It was a Kiku."

This time, Itachi turned to look at Sasuke just to find that his dark eyes were already fixed on him and judging by the displeased expression on his little brothers face, he probably thought along the same lines as he currently did.

So someone really targeted Sakura because of her connection to Itachi, it seemed.

"Didn't she mention anything at the hospital, Itachi?" Mikoto asked, expression hard as she turned to look at her eldest son.

However, it was her youngest son that replied instead. "The hospital?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowing out of suspicion as he turned to look at Itachi as well.

"Sakura healed Itachi's rib at the hospital earlier today." Mikoto explained, knowing that when it came to Sakura her youngest son became a little over-protective after he got wind of Itachi locking Sakura in his office to do some of his paper-work.

"They're not close enough for her to tell him something like that." Sasuke huffed, plopping another cherry tomato into his mouth.

Whereas he wasn't too fond of the idea of his big brother working together with his teammate, he wasn't particularly against it either. Even though Itachi wasn't what one would call the friendliest person, he took care of what was his and Sakura, though he didn't like to admit it, fell into this category as well due to being his advisor.

At least he knew that she was out of harms way whilst being with Itachi and that was what was most important to him.

His teammates safety.

"She didn't." Itachi clarified, pointedly ignoring Sasuke's comment as he watched his mother frown out of disappointment.

"She probably didn't want to make a big deal out of something like that." Mikoto assumed as she turned back around to take care of the remaining dishes.

Itachi remained silent, not agreeing nor disagreeing with his mother as he fell back into his thoughts. It seemed like there was more to Sakura than he had previously thought.

Well, looked like he needed to keep an ever closer eye on the little pinkette from now on.

---

Sakura was exhausted.

It's been a long day at the hospital and right now Sakura wanted to do nothing more than to drop dead into her bed and sleep though the next week. Unfortunately, she still had a meeting to attend with a certain Uchiha that she couldn't possibly postpone now so her bed would have to wait for a couple of more hours until she could lend it some company.

The sound of Sakura's heels clacking against the marble floor echoed through the empty hallways of the hospital as she made her way back to her office to grab her stuff and leave for the meeting. She took a glance at her wristwatch and felt like throwing it out of the window the instant she did.

If she wouldn't hurry now she would never be able to make it before dawn and she knew that Itachi wouldn't appreciate it if she would keep him waiting again.

Sakura fastened her pace and pulled her hair-tie out of her hair as she rounded the corner. Her long, slightly messy rosy locks fell freely over her shoulders as she hurried to her office that was located at the end of the hallway.

As soon as she reached it, she entered her pass code into the lock and upon hearing the familiar melody, pushed the door open.

Sakura entered her office with a deep sigh, glad that her shift was finally over but the moment she closed the door and the lock fell back into place, she stilled.

She wasn't alone.

Even though she couldn't make out a foreign chakra signature, the warning bells in her mind caused her guard to instantly shoot up.

The first thing she did was to turn on the lights. As soon as she did and the room brightened, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary but strangely, she felt a sense of deja-vu overtake her as she took a step forwards into the room.

Sakura scanned the room for anything that may seem out of place and the moment her eyes fell onto her desk, she froze.

Laying innocently on her desk was a white Kiku that looked exactly like the one that laid on her bed yesterday night.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she walked towards her desk with a uneasy feeling in her stomach. She stopped when she was standing right in front of her desk and suspiciously eyed the beautiful flower.

Sakura slowly extended her arm, intending to pick the flower up but the moment her fingers brushed against it's white petals, he flower faded into nothingness.

It was then that she realized her mistake and that her office once more turned dark, the only source of light being the orange light of the sunset that shone through her window.

Sheer silence filled the office and Sakura tried her best to stay calm. Even though she now knew the intruders identity, she somehow found herself unable to fully relax just yet.

Sakura didn't need to look around in order to know that he was standing right behind her, the slight shift in the air gave it away and an involuntary shiver run down the length of her spine.

"You broke into my office." She stated, eyes fixed on the wall opposite of her as she kept her back straight. Sakura wouldn't give in this easily, especially after he pulled this little mind-game on her with the help of his genjutsu.

"I believe that I warned you to not let being late become a habit, Haruno." Came the familiar deep voice from behind her and Sakura fought the urge to take a step forwards out of surprise.

Damn, he was closer than she expected him to be.

Sakura huffed as she took a few steps to the right and took of her white coat, tossing it onto the clothing rack in the corner of her room.

"Seeing as the sun is just now setting and that you are at my office instead of the library, you technically are just as late as I am, Uchiha-san." Sakura returned as she finally turned around to sideways lean against the desk, her arms crossed against her chest as she looked straight at the silhouette of her boss.

Itachi was standing right in front of her, his expression impassive even though his eyes were shining with the tiniest amount of satisfaction upon hearing her response.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances our previously arranged location will have to be moved to a more isolated place." Itachi announced, his eyes not failing to pick up the dark circles under her piercingly green eyes.

Sakura tilted her head to the right as she eyed him with a knowing gaze, her lips pursed. "Do these unforeseen circumstances have anything to do with what you showed me in your genjutsu, by any chance?" She asked, despite of already knowing the answer.

Crimson bled into onyx and within the blink of an eye, Sakura suddenly found herself gazing into the Sharingan for the second time this day. Itachi took a step closer before he extended his hand towards Sakura, expression not giving any of his thoughts or intentions away as he kept his gaze locked with her own. His eyes were glowing with a challenging spark as he watched Sakura eye his hand in suspicion, just as he had expected her to.

"It seems like there are more questions that we'd like to get answers to than we both originally thought, Haruno."

Sakura carefully considered her options for some moments, her gaze flickering from Itachi's face to his hand as she tried to make out what the Uchiha had in mind. He was right, she couldn't deny that. It seemed like with each day, the amount of questions that plagued her mind only increased and apparently, he found himself in a similar predicament if she understood correctly.

Then again, what if she didn't like the answers that she would get from him?

There was only one way to find out.

After some moments of carefully considering her options and the possible consequences, Sakura cautiously slipped her delicate hand into his bigger, strong one and the moment she did, she could have sworn that she felt an electric shock cursing through her body.

Unbeknownst to her, Itachi felt the exact same jolt curse though his vein as she slipped her hand into his and somehow, he had a feeling that it was anything but a good sign.

He gently tugged her closer until she was standing right in front of him, her emerald eyes gazing up at him in a mixture of determination and anticipation as he activated his Sharingan.

Sakura, already used to the Sharingan's transporting jutsu was prepared for the sudden wave of nausea as her surroundings faded before they stabilized once more and she suddenly found herself standing on top of the Hokage monument.

The instant she felt the ground beneath her feet materialize, Sakura took a step backwards and let go of his hand, still not used to be so close to him.

"The Hokage Monument?" She asked, surprised that out of all the places in Konoha he choose this one. Itachi lead her to one of the flatter stones of the Monument and motioned for her to sit down, the pinkette instantly doing as told.

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, trying to shield herself from the chilly breeze while Itachi moved to stand next to her, facing the village.

A comfortable silence engulfed them as the two enjoyed the scenery that laid below. It was a refreshing change from the usual busy and crowded places in Konoha and despite of the chilly air, Sakura found herself quite enjoying it.

"It's a beautiful sight." Sakura commented, her emerald eyes reflecting the village's lights as she gazed down onto the place she called home her entire life. If she had glanced to her right after she spoke these words she would have caught the way Itachi's eyes softened for the smallest of bits upon hearing her words.

"It hasn't always been." Itachi returned, instantly catching Sakura's attention. There was something to his voice that caused goosebumps to cover her skin and if the sudden hardening of his eyes was anything to go by, she had a feeling where this was going.

"When did it start?"

Her voice was just about a whisper but Itachi heard her just fine. He took his time replying, memories that he had long tried to forget resurfacing and vividly flashing in front of his eyes as he thought back to the time when it all started.

The day Konoha slowly begun to break.

Itachi was running as fast as he could, slicing his kunai through as many bodies as he could without batting an eye. His eyes were burning, hands were shaking and yet, he knew that there was no turning back.

"It started with the Third Shinobi World War." Itachi eventually replied, feeling like he was about to recover a dark part of his past that he had sworn to never bring up again.

That was, until she got herself involved.

"The Third Shinobi World War." Sakura echoed, her eyes getting a far away look as she tried to recall everything that she knew about it. Yellow hair and blue eyes flashed in her vision and Sakura's eyes snapped to Itachi. "During this war the fourth Hokage lost his life, didn't he?"

"Well done Itachi-kun." A blonde haired man in his late twenties praised from where he was seated behind the old wooden desk, a bright smile on his lip."You and the rest of your team did exceptionally well on this mission, I am proud of the three of you."

Itachi could still remember how proud he felt upon hearing the Yondaime Hokage's praises and felt the bitter taste on his tongue return.

"He did." Itachi curtly confirmed. "He was one of the most honorable and strongest shinobi that I have ever encountered."

Sakura's heart painfully clenched beneath her chest. She was very well aware of the fact that whenever Minato's name was mentioned, all kind of praises followed and to hear Itachi speak this highly of him as well only spoke volumes.

"It seemed like you looked up to him a lot." Sakura spoke, voice laced with regret as she regarded Itachi with sad eyes. He must have only been a child, not much older than eight when the Third Shinobi world war broke out.

"I did." Itachi confirmed, eyes flashing with regret for the briefest of moments before it faded back out of existence. "As did most. If it weren't for him and Kushina-sama, Konoha would have fallen during the Third Shinobi World War."

Silence followed his words as Sakura took a moment to let the weight that his words carried properly settle in. If this were the case, the Konoha that as she knew it would have never existed and that mere thought was enough to unsettle her.

"I can only imagine what it must have been like to witness a war at such a young age." Sakura muttered as she pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on top of them. "It must have been horrible."

Itachi felt the strange urge to scoff at her words. Horrible didn't even come close to how it was but then again, he didn't think that there was a proper word that would have been able describe all the pain, terror and fear that it caused.

"Please!" He heard a woman's shrill wail as she held the bloody body of a young child that didn't seem much older than him in her arms, tears streaming down her blood-covered face as she rocked back and forth. "Please save my child!"

Itachi's steps faltered as he took in the sight of the distraught mother in the middle of the battlefield crying for her lost boy who became a victim during this cold war and for a moment, he actually felt sick.

"What they tell young children at the academy does not even get close to how it actually was." Itachi told her, trying to get the images out of his vision. "It was a sight that no one should be forced to witness."

"Itachi! To your left!" One screamed and Itachi's body moved before he could even properly process the mans words. He swiftly moved to the right, narrowly avoiding a kunai that was aimed for his shoulder before he buried his own into the strangers neck.

Sakura kept her pity filled eyes locked on Itachi, her heart going out for the man next to her. She knew best that the Third Shinobi World War war was a horrible one that left deep traces in every one of Konoha's citizens life, but now that she heard it from Itachi himself, she wondered just how traumatized he must have been after witnessing and even fighting in such a war.

"What happened after the war ended?"

Her whisper was so soft that he barely missed it, but Itachi's keen hearing managed to make it out nonetheless. This time, Itachi's expression actually softened as he recalled the time when the Sandaime Hokage announced that the war was finally over.

Itachi was still standing in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by pools of bloods and piles of corpses, unable to move while the Shinobi around him loudly cheered upon hearing the announcement that the war was won and officially over.

His eyes were locked on the ground beneath him as he remained standing on the field, paralyzed as silent tears streamed down his pale face.

It was over. It was finally over. He should be happy and celebrate, run back to his family to tell them that he was alright and well but strangely, he couldn't bring himself to move.

He was safe. His family was safe and the war was over. But why did it feel like the real war had actually just begun?

Itachi sighed. "Konoha had a hard time recovering. With the death of the Yondaime as well as thousands of others, Konoha was at it's weakest point and many wanted to make use of that. There have been countless of attempted coups that various clans attempted, the Uchiha's being one of them." He revealed, much to Sakura's surprise.

"Your family attempted a coup?" Sakura asked, voice laced with surprise. Since most of Konoha's Police Force consisted of Uchiha and Itachi even became Hokage, she assumed that the Uchiha Clan would be the last to turn against Konoha but apparently, she had been very wrong.

Itachi, not surprised by her reaction, merely nodded. "Aa. After the war ended, the Uchiha Clan did not receive any praise for their work. Many expected my father to be named the next Hokage, especially after his work during the war so when he didn't become the Godaime Hokage, many of the Uchiha Clan members, including my father, were beyond angered and eventually planned a coup."

"This is unacceptable." One of his uncles spoke, his rough voice booming through the room as he slammed his fists onto the table. "How dare they disrespect us to such an extend?"

Itachi turned to look at his father who was sitting at the head of the table, his jaw clenched and eyes shut. He could easily tell that his father was displeased about the outcome of events and judging by his uncles reaction, most of the clan was as well.

"We have to do something, we can't just let it pass like that." Another one called from the far back, his words followed by a chorus of agreement.

It was when Fugaku opened his dark eyes and Itachi caught sight of the familiar glint in them that he knew that there would be trouble.

"Why did they fail?"

There it was, the question that Itachi knew she would ask but hoped she wouldn't. It wasn't something that he was ashamed of, he knew that he did the right thing, but it wasn't something that he was proud of either. Many Clan members still despised him for ratting them out and even though he didn't care about their twisted ideals and rotten grudged, Itachi was the one responsible for the Clan and therefore, also responsible for the ones that disliked him.

"I told the council about their plan and they left me with two choices. To either wipe out the Uchiha Clan or to fight alongside my Clan and start a civil war."

At that Sakura's head sharply snapped upwards and her green eyes widened out of shock, the blood in her body freezing. "They ordered you to kill your entire family?"

Sakura suddenly felt sick. What else was there that she didn't know?

Itachi offered her a curt nod before he continued. "In the end, the Sandaime Hokage dismissed the councils suggestions and summoned my father to the Hokage tower in order to take care of this matter on his own and without shedding any more blood. They managed to come to an agreement and even though my father tried to keep it on the low, the rest of the Clan eventually realized that it must have been me who leaked the information to the Hokage."

The pinkette had a hard time trusting her ears as she furiously bit down on her lip to keep herself from cursing at both his Clan and the Council. She couldn't understand how someone could even consider such an inhumane thing and had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that it was only one of many things that she wasn't aware of.

"Disgusting." Sakura eventually muttered, and Itachi couldn't agree more. "How could they order a young boy to kill his entire clan?That's just sick." Sakura wondered out loud, still unable to believe it.

For the first time ever since they arrived, Itachi turned his head to look at her. Sakura was sitting on the stone with her arms wrapped around her legs and chin resting on top of her knees. Her burning green eyes were fixed onto the village that laid beneath them and even though she was slightly shivering because of the cold, she didn't complain about it.

Itachi found himself strangely at ease as he looked at her. He had imagined it to be harder for him to tell his brothers teammate about what happened but contrary to his expectations, it felt unexpectedly relieving now that he was able to share it with someone after all these years of keeping it to himself.

It wasn't like he wanted to share it. Rather than that, he needed to share it in order for Sakura to survive in her current position. It was something that Itachi didn't necessarily wanted to do either but in the end, he found himself compelled to do so, especially after the most recent threats that were aimed at his advisor.

The Uchiha heir regarded the pinkette for some more moments until he turned to face the sleeping village once more. "For the following years, Konoha had a hard time recovering while trying to keep all of the Clans satisfied at once. Anbu of course continued to carry out Konoha's dirty work but in the councils eyes, that was not enough, so they created Root, a special force under Danzo's command."

"Root?" Sakura echoed, brows furrowing as she tried to figure out where she had heard this name before. "I think that I heard Tsunade mention it some time ago."

"They carry out missions that Danzo believes would benefit Konoha." Itachi explained. "Root's members are trained to loose their emotions and carry out missions such as killing individuals that pose a potential threat to Konoha or simply expressed their detestation towards our village without them having actually done anything."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief, her expression scrunched up in a mixture of sheer incredulity and anger. She couldn't believe that such a special force actually existed and carried out such missions in the name of Konoha and, on top of that, under the command of the council.

"Tsunade-sama as well as I already tried to rid the world of Root but in order to do that, the clan elders have to agree and until now, more than seventy percent are against it." Itachi revealed, much to Sakura's horror.

Just what the hell was wrong with them?

"How could they possibly be against it?" Sakura asked, eyes wide out of confusion. "This is against everything that Konoha stands for!"

Itachi merely huffed upon hearing Sakura's words. She was right, of course. He as well thought along the same lines but unfortunately, not everyone shared their mindset.

"They are steering Konoha into the wrong direction and threaten to destroy everything that the Yondaime and Godaime Hokage have worked on for the past years." Itachi told her, finally turning around to fully look at her. His eyes were shining in the darkness, his jaw set and face blank as he looked down at her. "And that's exactly why I was named the Rokudaime Hokage."

"So that you prevent history from repeating itself." Sakura eventually concluded, her eyes softening as she looked up at Itachi with a heavy heart. She slowly started to understand the reason for his aloofness and the decisions that he has made so far.

Itachi shouldered a heavy burden that others would have never been able to carry without breaking under its weight. Standing in front of her wasn't a cold, self-centered Uchiha as she always believed him to be, but a man that tried to save his home with all his might.

And Sakura couldn't have possibly felt more guilty for not realizing earlier. Itachi kept his distance from everyone because he knew that they wouldn't understand even if he tried to tell them. He also tried not to get too involved with others out of fear of being vulnerable but now that she was assigned to be his advisor, she unknowingly became the perfect way for Itachi's enemies to get to him.

Sakura's heart clenched painfully in her chest as she realized just what Itachi had gone through and suddenly, she saw him in an entirely different light. He didn't deserve anything of what he was forced to witness and go through both as a child and now. It was no wonder that he always tried to keep her as far away from him as possible and treated her the way he did, it all made sense now.

Itachi could already guess her thoughts by the way the light in her eyes suddenly dimmed and her expression fell but also knew that there was nothing that he could do to change it. It was useless to sugarcoat the way things were and she would have to get used to the idea that Konoha wasn't what she believed made it out to be.

And that would take some time.

He watched her stand up and walk towards the railing of the monument before she grabbed the cool iron bar into her hand, knuckles turning white due to the pressure she applied to it. She was confused, surprised and disappointed all at once but most of all, Sakura was mad. Mad at the Council for ordering a young boy to kill his Clan, mad at Itachi and Tsunade for not telling her sooner and mad at the Clan elders for allowing something like Root to continue to exist.

It was ridiculous just how blind she actually was all the time.

She still loved Konoha and would continue to stay a loyal kunoichi that would go as far as to die for her village, but with her recently gained knowledge of what was happening behind the curtains, she would be even more careful when taking on orders from anyone that was Itachi or Tsunade.

Itachi also moved to walk over to the railing and took in Sakura's troubled expression with calculating eyes. She seemed shocked but not to the point where Itachi would have to worry about her going on a rampage or killing spree. Rather than that she mostly looked hurt and concerned, much to his surprise.

She really was an unpredictable woman indeed.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Sakura sighed as she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "I have to say that I did expect Konoha to be involved in some dirty work, but I would have never guessed that it was this messed up." She then turned her head to the right, looking at Itachi in wonder. "Wasn't it hard to keep it to yourself for so long?"

"It was necessary." Itachi instantly returned, this time turning around to fully face her. "Konoha's safety is a shinobi's and especially the Hokage's first and foremost priority. The more people get involved in Konoha's business, the more they want to take matters into their own hand without taking time to consider if it would actually benefit the village or simply fulfill their own wishes. It was the same with Danzo, who eventually created Root because of this reason and my Clan who planned the coup."

He watched how Sakura's expression fell as she realized that his words made sense, and she suddenly seemed even more exhausted.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked, clearly frustrated. "Now that I know what's going on, I certainly won't let you do all of this on your own, Uchiha. I hope that this much is clear."

The right corner of Itachi's lips curled upwards into a smirk, amusement flickering in his eyes upon hearing her words. Itachi, of course, expected no less from her and sideways leaned against the railing, crossing his arms above his lean chest.

"We'll continue your training." He announced, much to her surprise. "Our agreement from before still stands, you knowing this doesn't change anything. What we do have to change, however, are some of your habits."

Well that was certainly something that she didn't expect to hear.

"Habits?" Sakura echoed as she arched a pink brow. "What kind of habits?"

Itachi's eyes darkened as he pushed himself off the railing and took a step closer to Sakura so that he was standing right in front of her, his entire body practically screaming authority.

"In order to properly work together, whether we like it or not, we'll have to properly function together." He declared, voice low yet clear. "This means no more withholding of information, regardless of the reason or circumstances."

Sakura stilled, knowing that he was referring to the flower incident. The pinkette huffed, a look of incredulity washing over her face as she looked at Itachi with a disbelieving smile playing on her lips. That one time that she didn't instantly report something to him he caused a big scene out of it but all the times when he had kept things from her, his advisor, she was supposed to just let it be?

Typical Uchiha logic. It seemed like Sasuke and Itachi did share some similarities after all.

"Fine, but the same goes for you." Sakura reluctantly yielded, knowing that arguing with him would get them nowhere. "If we want to make this work, we'll have to learn how to trust each other first."

Trust.

Itachi rarely trusted others, especially people that he just recently got to know. Itachi's trust was a luxury that not many received and even the few people whom Itachi did trust knew that he still kept many things to himself for his own personal reasons.

It would take some time for them to properly trust each other and Itachi was certain that she was aware of that as well.

However,

Itachi took in the way Sakura's bright green eyes were still fixed on his face as she expectantly waited for an answer, her usually pale cheeks flushed due to the chilly wind. Itachi couldn't put his finger on it but somehow, he had a feeling that this task may not be as hard as he originally thought it would be.

"Hn."

Sakura suspiciously eyed Itachi, not liking the way his eyes seemingly bore through her as she shifted her weight from one foot onto the other. She was glad that they finally got this taken care of but she already knew that she would probably spend the rest of the night thinking about his words. Now that there were no more big secrets between them, Sakura liked to think that they could finally start to concentrate on working together without wanting to bite each others head off.

"Well then, now that everything is taken care of we should probably go home." Sakura suggested as she expectantly looked at Itachi, who gave her a curt nod in return.

"We should." He agreed, and a strange sense of deja-vu came over Sakura as he continued. "I expect you to be at my office at dawn sharp."

Confusion radiated off Sakura in waves as she watched the Sharingan come to live once more and when the realization of what he was about to do overcame her, her eyes widened out of alarm.

He wouldn't.

"Oh no don't you dare-!" Sakura started,taking one step forward in order to grab his shoulder but it was too late.

Itachi had already left, leaving her on top of the Hokage monument in the middle of the freezing night all on her own.

Sakura couldn't believe that he had once more stranded her just like that, this far away from her home nonetheless as she stared at the now empty space in front of her with disbelieving eyes.

"Damn you Itachi!" She called as she stubbornly stomped her foot on the ground, fuming as another gust of wind hit her and forced her to wrap her arms tighter around herself in order not to freeze to death.

She couldn't believe the audacity of that Uchiha. First he put a genjutsu on her, then he dragged her to the most isolated place he could think of and in the end he abandoned her without giving her as much as a warning.

What a gentleman.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she turned around and reluctantly started her way back home, knowing that the chances of Itachi returning to fetch her were as high as Orochimaru being named the next Hokage.

Little did she know that the very same Uchiha that she was cursing as she walked through the deserted streets of Konoha was walking mere meters behind her, eyes not once straying off her form. The sight of her fuming amused him whereas the way her eyes blared up out of anger got him mesmerized. Despite of what Sakura was thinking, Itachi wasn't as thoughtless as she believed him to be and wouldn't let her walk home all on her own in the middle of the night, especially after he found out that he wasn't the only one who kept an eye on the pinkette.

Though his intentions were different.

Yes, his most recent fascination of the pinkette was gradually increasing with every moment that he spent in her present and that it wouldn't allow him to rest until he found out what exactly it was about her that kept him hooked on her.

Itachi's red eyes flashed dangerously in the darkness.

He would solve that enigma that went by the name of Sakura Haruno, no matter how long it may take him.

---

A/N: BOY! That was by far one of the longest chapter I have probably written and right now I want nothing more than to take a nap:(

I'm sorry that it took me some time to update, life has kept me beyond busy lately and to say that it was annoying the hell out of me would be the understatement of the century!

Anyways, now that I am back and somewhat got a grip on my life, I'll try to update more frequently and will also try to increase the length of the chapters.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and would be beyond grateful if you could tell me if you liked this chapter and what your favorite part was by leaving a review.

Now that Itachi told her most of the things that Konoha tried to keep hidden away, Itachi and Sakura will finally have time to properly focus on bonding!

Even though this is going to be one hell of a ride-

Anyways, as always, a big fat thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, read and reviewed this story so far! I love you all and can't thank you enough for your support.

Until next chapter!

Love you all,

Sara.