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.

21. Genjutsu

CHAPTER 21- Genjutsu

"You know, seeing you in a white coat is a huge turn on."

Sakura rolled her eyes, unable to fight the smile that took over her lips as she continued to inspect Kiba's arm.

"Coming from the one who somehow managed to break his arm and his little toe at the same time." Sakura huffed in amusement. "Now how did that happen anyway?"

"Well, it's a pretty fun story actually." Kiba chuckled as he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck with his good arm. "But for the sake of my dignity I'd rather keep it to myself."

Sakura rolled her emerald eyes as she shook her head and motioned the nurse over to finish bandaging his arm while she went over to the desk to prepare his prescription.

"It can't be worse than the time when you and Naruto slid down the Hokage Monument and you somehow managed to get part of the Sandaime's nose stuck in your-"

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura couldn't contain her laugh as she took in the nurse's horrified expression and Kiba's now fully flushed cheeks. The pinkette picked up the paper and handed it to Kiba who was grumbling a string of curses under his breath as the nurse stepped aside, pointedly avoiding the brunettes eyes who now shot Sakura a dark glare.

"Just wait 'til your girls punishment for losing the Tournament." Kiba told her, lips curled into a pout as he watched his pink-haired friend grin. "I'll make sure to tell the boys to not hold back this time."

"I'm sure that the boys won't have anything against that."

Sakura's eyes snapped upwards to be greeted by the amused face of her teacher, his smirk hidden behind his blue mask as leaned against the door frame.

"Kakashi-sensei." She greeted him in surprise, clearly not having expected him as she arched a brow. "What are you doing at the hospital? Willingly, nonetheless."

Kakashi's aversion of hospitals was no secret, especially to her. She couldn't even remember all the times she had to force him inside to properly patch him up after some rather extreme missions, so to see him here without being at the brink of death was enough to surprise Sakura.

"You wound me, Sakura-chan." Kakashi placed a hand over his chest in mock hurt. "Can't I just pay you a visit because I missed you?"

At that, Kiba snorted as he leaned with his back against the wall, legs dangling from the examination table that he was still seated on. "You old geezers never visit us because you miss us. Your visits either means bad news or a mission and judging by the way you seem to be in a good mood, my bet is on the latter."

At that, Kakashi's eyes fell on the young Inuzuka as if he had only noticed him now. "Now, Kiba, isn't Hinata-chan downstairs waiting for you? Maybe I should call her up and ask her to remind this old geezer just how exactly you got the Sandaime's nose stuck in your-"

"Can't you guys just drop it already? It's been two years!"

Sakura laughed as she watched a grumbling Kiba stomp out of the room and past a visibly amused Kakashi, the nurse following after him shuddering at the mental image as Kakashi's expression turned smug.

"You mean, old man." Sakura chuckled as she crossed her arms above her chest, watching Kakashi arch a silver brow from the doorway.

"Want me to bring up one of your old accidents?" Kakashi warned, the playful tone not matching his stern expression as he looked down at his student who merely shook her head.

"No need to get all grouchy." Sakura waved her hand as she tilted her head aside and fixed her teacher with a questioning stare. "So, what's up?"

Kakashi eyed his student, a small smile hidden beneath his mask as he took in her curious expression."I am here to capture you."

At that, Sakura lifted a curious brow. "Capture me?"

"Capture you." Kakashi confirmed as he held out a gloved hand, his crinkled eye glowing as he took in Sakura's now suspicious expression. "Shall we?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment, not liking the way Kakashi obviously held back on some details but knowing that there was no sense in arguing with the infamous copy-nin, she reluctantly placed her smaller hand in his and allowed herself to get pulled forwards so that she was standing in front of Kakashi, the silver-haired nin gently placing her hand on the crook of his elbow before he escorted her outside, their arms interlaced as they exited the Hospital.

"How have you been?" Kakashi lightly asked as they entered the busy streets of the village. Even though his tone gave none of his actual concern away, Sakura easily caught the hidden meaning behind his words and sighed.

"Busy." Sakura truthfully answered as her mind drifted back to the events of the past days. "But work is a rather welcomed distraction from everything that's currently going on."

Kakashi hummed, silently agreeing with her as they strolled through the streets. Sakura inhaled the crisp afternoon air and closed her eyes with a smile, enjoying the way the sun rays softly caressed her face as she allowed Kakashi to lead her towards wherever they were headed to.

Judging by the directed they took, Sakura could tell that they were headed towards the heart of the village, the opposite direction of the training grounds and the Hokage Tower.

Sakura's heart jumped as the image of a certain raven haired male suddenly entered her mind, the memory of their last meeting causing her cheeks to flush lightly as she opened her eyes and lightly shook her head, forcing the memory into the back of her mind.

Today marked the second day since that incident, as Sakura liked to call it, and ever since, the pinkette drowned herself in work so that she wouldn't have to think about it.

Fortunately for her, Itachi didn't seek her out for the past two days either and she figured that he probably wanted to give her some time to herself so that she could clear her head and come to terms with what had happened.

Yes, she had actually made out with Itachi.

She knew that it would only be a matter of time until she would see him again and even though she wasn't avoiding him per se, she needed some time for herself to actually process it and figure out what that kiss meant for not only her, but their relationship.

It was bound to change, that much was for sure and even though Itachi had already made it more than clear what exactly he wanted it to change into, Sakura was a little overwhelmed by everything.

She was obviously not as set on telling Itachi off as she had previously thought, if one considered that she told him that she wouldn't give into his attempts in the morning just for her to do exactly that in the evening of the very same day.

Sakura groaned as she rested her forehead against Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm screwed."

Kakashi, having watched her expression change from serene to suddenly thoughtful and eventually to one filled with horror, had a nagging suspicion as to who exactly was responsible for her mood swings and thus, merely settled on patting her small hand that was still resting in the crook of his elbow.

"There, there, it'll be fine." Were the words of comfort he offered her, causing Sakura to shake her head against his shoulder.

"You don't understand, sensei." She insisted, groaning once more when the image of Itachi's bright crimson eyes flashed her vision. "I am so, so screwed."

Kakashi turned his head to look down at the pinkette, the helpless expression on her face causing the corner of his lips to quirk upwards as he fought to keep his voice neutral and void of amusement.

"Enlighten me, then."

Sakura once more shook her head before she lifted it to look at her teacher with hopeless eyes.

"Trust me, you wouldn't be able to help me with that one. I've been thinking about it for the past two days and still didn't come up with a solution to this problem." She sighed, averting her eyes from Kakashi to fix them on the road they were walking on.

Her teacher, however, wasn't about to let it go that easily. "Maybe your problem isn't the situation itself, but the way you approach it."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she shot Kakashi a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that maybe you're making whatever is bothering you into a problem without it actually being one." Kakashi explained, firmly holding his students gaze. "Was whatever happened something bad?"

Sakura frowned as she thought over his question. "Not really, but its consequences may be."

"May being the key-word here." Kakashi firmly reminded her. "The Sakura I know wouldn't break her pretty little head over any maybe's and just trust her gut."

Sakura carefully took in his words and allowed them to fully sink in. She knew that he was right, and she would usually not even stress herself over it, but for the first time in her life, she felt at a loss of what to do.

"If only it'd be that easy." Sakura muttered under her breath, the bitterness that laced her words not going unnoticed by Kakashi who gently squeezed her hand.

"Nothing is easy if it matters."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the irony his words held. If Itachi didn't matter to her, she wouldn't have found herself in such a situation in the first place. Who would have thought that she would ever find herself in such a dilemma, because of Itachi nonetheless.

"I am scared, Kakashi." Sakura admitted after some moments of silence, her voice low as she kept her eyes fixed on the ground once more. "What if I end up losing myself and everything I have worked so hard for during the past year again?"

At that, Kakashi abruptly stopped walking, causing Sakura to stop as well. She turned her head and eyed him in confusion before he turned his head to look down at the pinkette with a stern expression.

"If it feels right and makes you happy, it's worth the risk." Kakashi told her, voice hard as his eyes darkened with something that gave Sakura the impression that he knew exactly what she was talking about. "Don't ruin your own happiness out of fear of what may be. You're a smart girl Sakura, as long as you trust your gut and do what feels right to you, you'll be fine."

Sakura held his gaze for some moments before she allowed her shoulders to go slack and a sigh escaped her lips. "You're right. I think I really needed to hear that."

Kakashi's stern expression fell as his eyes softened and he reached his free hand out to ruffle her pink hair. "I know. You'll be fine, so stop breaking your little head over something like that and let's go, I am sure that we're already running late."

Sakura frowned as they continued to walk, eyes glowing with suspicion as she looked up at Kakashi. "Where exactly are we going anyways?"

Kakashi's eyes glistened in a way she didn't like as he hummed lowly, thinking of the best way to explain without giving too much away. "There's someone who wants to see you, so I am bringing you to him."

At that, Sakura rolled her emerald eyes. "Wow, way to state the obvious."

Kakashi chuckled as they continued to walk for some more minutes until they reached the heart of Konoha that was filled with bars, pubs and restaurants of all kind.

The familiar smell of ramen filled her nostrils and when Kakashi led her into one of the smaller alleys, she couldn't help but frown. Whoever wanted to talk to her seemed to really want to keep it on the low and even though Sakura couldn't think of anyone needing to discuss anything with her, she knew that Kakashi wouldn't lead her into the lions den.

"We're here."

Sakura's frown deepened as she snapped out of her thoughts and noticed that they had stopped in front of a wooden door.

"Not sketchy at all, Hatake." Sakura muttered as she removed herself from her teacher and shot him a questioning look. "Are you going to wait outside?"

Kakashi gave her a firm nod and made a shooing motion at her, causing Sakura to sigh before she turned to face the door. With one last glance at Kakashi she eventually pushed it open and stepped inside the dimly lit room, silently closing the door behind her as her eyes scanned the room.

It was a restaurant, that she could instantly tell by the many chairs that were aligned along the food counter. There were also a few wooden tables, each accompanied by four chairs that were amiss of any customers claiming them and when Sakura tentatively stepped inside to look for the one who summoned her, a voice from the far right broke the silence of the empty restaurant.

"Sakura Haruno."

Sakura's eyes snapped to the right and fell on the one who spoke her name, the familiar white hair a striking contrast to the dark brown colored walls behind him.

The dim lightning was enough to illuminate his tall frame that was lounging in a seat at a table in the far corner of the room, an arm slung around the empty chair next to him as he shot her a broad smile that eerily reminded her of her teammate.

Sakura relaxed as she recognized him, her expression displaying her surprise as she looked at the person she'd least expected to see in Konoha.

"Jiraya-sama."

Jiraya's smile brightened into an amiable grin as the pinkette recognized him before he motioned towards the empty seat opposite of him. "Take a seat, dear."

Sakura did as told, knowing that she could fully trust him considering his ties to both her mentor and her blonde-haired teammate but didn't bother to hide her curious expression as she looked at the legendary sanin in front of her with a small, yet affable smile.

Jiraya openly eyed her for a few moments, clearly analyzing her at what she couldn't help but arch a brow, causing Jiraya to chuckle at her expression before exhaled loudly.

"So you are Tsuna's famous little apprentice that is rumored to hold skills that may even surpass hers." Jiraya started, tone not unkind as he tilted his head lightly aside. "Not to mention that you're the Hokage's current advisor. You have quite the reputation, girl."

Sakura gave him a slight nod, her smile not faltering. "I am aware, but I wouldn't put myself as Tsunade-sama's equal in strength. There is still much more I have yet to learn to reach the level of a legendary sanin."

At that, Jiraya arched a disbelieving brow. "Don't be modest, Sakura-chan. Naruto has already surpassed me, and I have no doubt that you are close to surpassing Tsunade as well, if you've not already done that."

Sakura's expression softened as she lowered her head in gratitude at the high praise from the legendary sanin. To hear such a compliment coming from none other than him after years of being insecure warmed her heart and filled her with pride. It seemed like her hard work and training had paid off after all.

"Thank you, Jiraya-sama, I highly appreciate it." Sakura returned, before her expression turned to hold a slight frown. "I hope I am not too forward, but I know that you wouldn't have summoned me here without having a good reason to do so. Is there anything that I can help you with?"

Jiraya eyed her with a curious glint in his eyes. "What makes you think that I didn't just want to know what happened during my absence?"

Sakura lifted a disbelieving brow. "You could have easily asked either Kakashi, Naruto or the Hokage himself."

"What if I wanted to get to know my teammates infamous student? Especially now that you've become the Hokage's apprentice." Jiraya innocently continued, and Sakura's frown deepened.

"Considering that we are sitting in a deserted restaurant and that Kakashi is keeping watch outside, I doubt that that's the case." Sakura stated as she leaned back in her seat, arms crossed above her chest, expression calm. "I may be younger than you, but I am still a kunoichi and most certainly not stupid, Jiraya-sama. You can't fool me."

"Well then, why do you think did I wish to speak to you?" Jiraya challenged with a smirk, already liking the young woman seated in front of him. Yes, he could easily see that she shared some traits with a certain blonde teammate of his and yet, he could also tell that Sakura was slightly different from Tsunade.

He was more than delighted that he was going to find out just what differences and similarities the two shared.

"It's important enough to bring me to a place where you'd be sure no one could overhear us and given all the secrecy, not many are supposed to know that we are having this secret rendez-vous." Sakura swiftly analyzed, before her eyes sharpened as a thought hit her. "Or for anyone to know that you are in Konoha in the first place."

Jiraya had to admit that he was impressed. He knew that she would figure it out in due time, but he didn't expect her to immediately catch on.

"Sure that I didn't simply visited to get some inspiration for a new character of my Icha-Icha series?" He tried one last time, but Sakura merely snorted out of disbelief.

"Oh come on, I doubt that I would be much of an inspiration for your dirty novels." Sakura returned, at which she could see Jiraya's gaze turn mischievous.

"Well if you'd grant me the chance to get to know you a little better and maybe even get to eat some ramen later on-"

"Don't even get there."

Jiraya pouted, clearly disappointed at her flat out refusal. "Heartless women."

At that, Sakura flashed him a knowing smile. "Guess Tsunade-shishou and I do share some similarities after all."

"Unfortunately." Jiraya muttered before he let out an exaggerated sigh. "Though, if you do get interested some day-"

"Jiraya-sama."

Jiraya's fox-like grin reappeared as he let out a light chuckle. "I guess we should get back to business, then. Though I will have you know that we will continue our discussion regarding you being a possible muse for me one day."

At that, Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes, a smile on her lips nonetheless. "We'll see about that."

Jiraya's smile stayed for another long moment before his expression eventually turned serious, all traces of humor gone. "You are right. No one with the exception of Kakashi and you know that I am in Konoha, and I plan to keep it this way."

Upon hearing her suspicions getting confirmed, Sakura's expression turned to hold a light frown. "The Hokage hasn't been notified of your return?"

"Not yet." Jiraya confirmed as he leaned forwards to place his elbows on the table, hands interlaced in front of his face. "The Hokage is in a meeting with the Council as we speak. You may tell him after my departure but only when you are sure that no one may overhear you."

Sakura's frown deepened as she realized what he was getting at. "You don't want them to grow wary of you because then, Root would keep an eye on you."

Jiraya nodded. "Exactly. What I am about to tell you will make things a lot more complicated than they previously were and in order to keep things on the low, it's important that as little people as possible know about what's going on."

Sakura felt herself tense at the news, heart skipping a beat. "So you know of Orochimaru and his plans regarding the Tailed beasts?"

Jiraya's expression grew grim and let out a heavy sigh, suddenly looking considerably older. "I do. It was only a matter of time until these fools would try to put their plan into motion and even though none of us expected us to happen so fast, Orochimaru's involvement clearly complicated things. Though, he is purposefully leading you on regarding his role in all of this."

The pinkette could feel a shiver run down the length of her spine as her eyes lips thinned in concern. Jiraya's indication was more than audible to her and if what he said were to be true, they would be in real trouble.

"So, you mean to say that he isn't the master mind behind all of this?" Sakura asked, voice firm as she bravely held Jiraya's gaze.

And what she found in it was answer enough.

She thought that fighting against a legendary sanin and Konoha's rogue was already really bad, but now that she knew that there was someone that held even more power than Orochimaru was enough to make her stomach churn in apprehension.

"There is someone even more powerful than Orochimaru who's pulling the strings. Orochimaru and Konoha's rogues are mere puppets in his plan to obtain the greatest power there is-"

"-The tailed beasts." Sakura breathed, eyes widening as she looked at Jiraya in concern. "Do you know who the one behind this is?"

The moment she had voiced her question and saw Jiraya's expression darken, she knew that his answer would make things a thousand times more complicated than they already were, but nothing could have prepared her for the absolute shock that she felt when Jiraya spoke.

"Madara. Uchiha Madara."

X

Itachi rubbed his temples as the hall cleared, only leaving him and his cousin. This meeting has gone quite well and just when they were about to close it, Danzo had to comment on what happened with Sakura, causing another rather lengthy and, admittedly, annoying discussion.

"How can you willingly put up with them?" He heard Shisui mutter from where he was walking beside him, causing him to shake his head.

"If it were up to me, I would rather not put up with them at all." Itachi returned, expression grim as they made his way through the floors and back up towards his office. It's been a long day and ever since the incident at Sakura's apartment, he wasn't feeling too well. He didn't know what it was but for some reason, he felt even more exhausted than he usually did.

As always, he blamed it on his rather busy schedule and paid it not too much mind but when he noticed Shisui shooting him a rather strange look, he narrowed his eyes.

"Something's bothering you." Itachi observed and Shisui's gaze grew more intense as he pursed his lips.

"You look pretty tired, you should really go home and take the rest of the day off." Shisui advised him but as expected, his cousin merely shook his head.

"There are still some things that I need to take care of." Itachi returned, the finality in his voice loud and clear. "Where's Sakura?"

Shisui, although clearly not liking that Itachi still insisted to keep on working, answered nonetheless. "The hospital said that she went out to grab lunch with Kakashi half an hour ago."

Itachi nodded, glad that she was seemingly having a good day as his mind drifted back to the last time he had seen her. Ever since, he was trying his hardest to keep himself from seeking her out. He knew that she needed some time to think about what happened and even though Itachi was more than willing to give her some time, even his patience had limits. He would see her soon, very soon, but first he had to take care of a few minor things that required his attention.

Besides, if Shisui was thinking that he didn't look too good, Sakura would undoubtedly notice that he wasn't in his best condition as well.

And that discussion was one that he would rather not have.

The ghost of a smirk curled Itachi's lips upwards as he entered his office, Shisui following him like a shadow as Itachi moved to stand by his windows.

"You can go." Itachi told his cousin, though he knew that his words would most likely fall on deaf ears and if he were to be honest, he was too exhausted to fight with him.

"Usually I wouldn't even bother trying to get you to change your mind but have you looked at yourself?" Shisui asked, a deep frown marring his face as he looked at his cousins back in disapproval. "You look like a walking corpse and if you don't get some rest, I'm going to tell Sakura-chan that you're being difficult again."

Itachi closed his eyes and frowned, his annoyance growing by the second before he suddenly felt a chill run through his body. "I will as soon as I am done."

Of course, his answer wasn't enough to satisfy his bigger cousin as he heard him take a step forward. "Itachi, we both know that you're going to spend the next hours in here and most likely not get more than an hour of sleep, and that's not enough."

Itachi felt a hot sensation in his neck and clenched his jaw, his cousins voice growing more faint as he felt a rush of adrenaline run through his veins at a speed that made his skin tingle in all the wrong ways.

He flexed his fingers that suddenly felt numb and foreign, the cold that previously chilled him to the bone followed by a wave of heat that suffocated him. His mind was growing hazy and it was then that Itachi suddenly felt a sharp sting in his eyes.

"Shisui."

After he had uttered his cousins name another wave of dizziness overcame him and he reached out to place his palm against the window to support his weight.

He didn't even hear Shisui move as he suddenly felt him wrap his arm around his waist to steady him, concerned eyes looking up at Itachi who clenched his teeth as the hot pain in his shoulder grew worse.

"Shit, Itachi, what's wrong?" He faintly heard Shisui call but Itachi was unable to answer for as he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at his own reflection in the window.

Just that he was not looking in a pair of onyx eyes, but a pair of familiar crimson and black ones that refused to stop spinning.

Shisui was next to notice and let out a string of curses as he slung Itachi's arm around his neck, hissing as his skin came in contact with Itachi's burning one.

His gaze once more fell on his now barely conscious cousin, his heart clenching painfully in his chest as he took in his exhausted state.

He knew that something was wrong with Itachi and that he needed some rest, but he hadn't expected it to actually get to this. In all the years he knew Itachi, he had never seen him in such a bad state and that was reason enough for him to kick the window open and rush back to the Uchiha manor at a speed that matched the Yondaime's, all the way praying that whatever was wrong with Itachi a certain pinkette could fix before it'd be too late.

X

Sakura listened intently to everything Jiraya was willing to share and when he was finally done, the young kunoichi didn't know whether she should cry out of frustration or curse out of anger so instead of doing any of these two, she merely remained silent.

It was a lot to take in and she knew that she would have to seek Itachi out as soon as she could to inform him about everything she just learned. If they didn't act fast enough, they may loose more lives to this psycho and his obsession with the tailed beasts. The only good thing was that they knew who they were up against and maybe, just maybe, they could use it to their advantage and against him if the time was right.

Jiraya carefully took in her expression and couldn't help but pity the young girl in front of him. It was a lot to take in, especially for a young kunoichi as herself that had just found out about Konoha's dark past and the secrets it held, but as much as he wanted to spare her, he knew that by telling her, he was giving her a choice.

She could either use her knowledge and use it to her advantage or allow this knowledge to slowly destroy the bonds she held with the village.

Judging by the way her eyes gleamed in determination though, he knew that it wouldn't be the latter.

"That means Naruto is in greater danger than we thought." Sakura mumbled, her frown deepening as she looked back up at Jiraya. "Shouldn't he know?"

Jiraya shook his head. "He may unknowingly place himself in more danger if he slips up and people get wind of who's after him, so the only thing we can do to keep him safe is to keep him in the unknown. The lesser he knows, the safer he is."

Though Sakura hated to keep something like this from her friend, she knew that Jiraya was right and that it was a matter that they needed to take care of on the low, with as little people knowing as possible.

Besides, she knew of the bond Jiraya and Naruto shared and was aware of the fact that Jiraya would only have Naruto's best intention at heart.

Sakura finally nodded, but before she was able to ask any more, the door opened to reveal a grim looking Kakashi.

Sakura felt herself tense as Kakashi's eye's instantly found hers, the firmness they held making her heart skip a beat as she felt her stomach churn.

That look meant no good.

"Sakura, we need to go." Was all he said and Sakura instantly moved to stand, Jiraya following suit as he looked at Kakashi with questioning eyes.

"What's the matter?" Jiraya asked, beating Sakura to it as the pinkette watched Kakashi's frown deepen as he looked at his student, hesitating for the split of a second before he spoke.

"Itachi needs you at the manor." Kakashi said, and Sakura could have sworn that her heart stopped when she saw the concern that filled his eyes. "Now."

Sakura instantly nodded and turned to look at Jiraya, whose expression instantly softened in understanding.

"It's fine, we were done here anyways." He assured her, the concern in his voice betraying his solemn expression. "I will also take my leave then. I will return once I find out more but until then, stay safe."

Sakura curtly nodded as her own expression softened, eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Jiraya-sama. I hope to see you soon and in good health."

The legendary sanin shot her one last smile that she easily returned before she turned around and followed Kakashi outside, not once looking back as they hurried towards the Uchiha manor.

"What's going on?" Sakura called over the wind, her heart beating twice its usual speed as Kakashi's expression once more turned grim.

"Something's wrong with Itachi. Shisui sought me out and told me to get you, that's all I know." He told her, causing the bad feeling that loomed over her to worsen tenfold.

It took them less than five minutes to finally reach the familiar gates but to Sakura, it felt like an eternity. When the duo landed on the ground, both Mikoto and Fugaku were already approaching them, the Uchiha matriarch's teary eyes catching Sakura's in an instant.

"Sakura-chan!" Mikoto called as she flung herself at the pinkette, her embrace tight and desperate. "I am so glad you made it."

Sakura returned Mikoto's embrace as she held Fugaku's gaze and offered him a curt nod in greeting that he returned, expression hard.

"We thank you for escorting her, Hatake-san. You may leave now." Fugaku told the Copy-nin and Kakashi nodded, knowing better than to interfere with Uchiha business.

He threw Sakura one last reassuring glance and gave her shoulder a soft pat as he passed her by before he finally left, leaving Sakura alone with her teammate's parents.

"What happened?" Sakura gently inquired as she pulled away from Mikoto, the older woman merely shaking her head in return as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"We don't know. Shisui suddenly barged in with Itachi on his back and barely breathing." Mikoto swiftly explained before she grabbed Sakura's hand, her grip tight."Please help him, Sakura-chan."

Sakura didn't trust her voice and gave Mikoto a curt nod, allowing herself to get led inside by the matriarch, followed by a silent Fugaku as they made their way through the familiar home and straight to Itachi's room.

Sakura prepared herself for the worst and knew that for both Itachi's as well as her own sake she needed to have a clear head, but that turned out to be harder than she thought because the moment she stepped into his room, she felt her heart clench painfully in her chest.

It was a sight that would forever haunt her.

There, laying on a futon in the middle of the room was Itachi, his skin sickly pale as his chest rose and fell in an unsteady rhythm. Shisui and Sasuke were both seated next to him and when they noticed her presence, Shisui visibly relaxed whereas Sasuke tensed even further. He was at home when Shisui brought Itachi home and ever since they laid him down, his eyes never once left those of his brothers. For as long as he could remember, he has never seen Itachi in such a bad condition and thus, the concern and uneasiness he felt directed at his brother was beyond foreign to him.

"Sakura-chan." Shisui called in relief, his voice ripping Sakura out of her thoughts as she hurried forwards and knelt down next to Sasuke, eyes not leaving Itachi's face even once.

His forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat, his eyes open wide as the Sharingan spun endlessly in his eyes, causing Sakura to frown.

"When did it start?" She asked as she gently rested a hand against Itachi's forehead, wincing at the heat that met her palm. "He's burning up."

"Around ten minutes ago." Shisui told her as Sakura gently grabbed Itachi's chin and moved his head to take a closer look at his eyes.

They were unfocused, the Sharingan completely out of control as she slowly let go of his face and moved on to further examine him when something in the corner of her eyes caught her attention.

Her eyes traveled further downwards along the length of his throat until they finally rested on his neck, the familiar sight that greeted her enough to freeze the blood in her veins.

Staring right back at her was the exact same wound that she had healed back when they met up with Kisame when Itachi was struck by a scalpel only that this time, it looked even worse.

"Damn." Sakura cursed as she looked at Sasuke, whose eyes were already fixed on her. "I need to heal this wound on his neck and maybe even seal it, depending on how bad it is. I can only tell once my chakra entered his body but it's not going to be easy."

Sasuke and Shisui both nodded and Sakura was vaguely aware of both Fugaku and Mikoto's eyes on her before she turned around to look the Uchiha patriarch straight in the eye.

"I need to be absolutely focused. Even the smallest mistake could leave some serious damage, so it would be best to leave him with me." Sakura told them, the medic in her taking over as she noticed Fugaku's expression of disapproval.

Silence followed her words and for a moment, she thought that he'd actually refuse to do as she said but when Mikoto gently placed a hand on his shoulder, he gave her a curt nod.

"Very well then." Fugaku eventually yielded, his gaze hard. "But Sasuke will stay here in case anything happens.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, knowing that Fugaku only wanted Sasuke to stay so that there would be a witness in case anything were to go wrong. "There is no need, I don't want Sasuke to see Itachi in such a condition."

Fugaku's frown deepened even further if possible. "He will stay. "

Sakura stubbornly held Fugaku's gaze, her anger clearly visible as she mirrored his frown with one of her own. "I will not put Itachi's health at risk just because you want Sasuke to bodyguard me. Itachi needs me to heal him and I can't do that if you won't let me do my job properly."

A heavy silence followed Sakura's words as the temperature in the room palpably dropped and even though she knew that it was probably not a good idea to speak up against the elder Uchiha, she couldn't help it.

Itachi's life was at risk and she was not going to further endanger it because of his stubborn refusal of giving her space to work properly.

Fugaku eyed the pinkette that was sitting next to both her sons with open disapproval and when she didn't break their gaze, he yielded, although visibly reluctantly.

"You will be held responsible if anything happens." Fugaku sternly reminded her, clearly not too fond of leaving Itachi in her care. "I will personally make sure of it."

His threat was loud and clear, but Sakura knew better than to get intimidated by it and merely narrowed her eyes. "I won't let it get that far."

Fugaku eyed her for another moment, the determination on her face leading him to trust her words as he turned to look at Sasuke and Shisui. "Get up, let's leave Itachi to her."

Sasuke and Shisui did as told, both shooting Sakura a rather concerned look that she returned with a light smile that was meant to reassure, but rather seemed like a grimace.

"One call and we're here." Shisui sternly reminded her, his concern directed at both his cousin and the pinkette. He knew that Sakura would fix Itachi again, no matter how far she had to go and that was exactly what he was worried about.

"I know." Sakura softly returned, shooting Shisui one last smile before she watched them all leave the room, leaving her alone with Itachi.

Sakura sighed softly before she turned her head back to look at him, heart heavy. He looked horrible, much worse than when they had escaped Orochimaru's hideout and that was enough to unsettle her.

The pinkette reached out to gently caress his cheek and turned his head so that his swirling eyes were fixed on her.

She didn't know if he was able to actually recognize her, but she took the chance and allowed her eyes to soften and display the concern that she felt.

"Itachi," She firmly called, her heart breaking at the sight of his spinning orbs as she brushed a drop of blood that leaked his eyes away with her thumb. "I am going to heal you with my chakra, so don't try to fight it. It'll hurt, but you need to stay awake, alright?"

Itachi gave no response, the only indication that he had actually heard her being that she felt his body slightly relax under her touch.

Sakura smiled as she gently brushed her hand over his forehead before she rested it against the wound on his neck, the purple bruise pulsating under her feathery touch.

She wouldn't let him die, and if saving him meant pushing all of her chakra into him to free him from the foreign chakra signature, then so be it.

She was ready.

And with that thought in mind, she channeled her chakra into her hands and with one final look at Itachi, pushed it into his body.

The reaction was almost instant. The moment her chakra entered his body his entire body stiffened, Sharingan glowing brightly as Itachi let out a pained grunt.

Sakura tried her best to focus at the task at hand and kept her palm firmly pressed against his neck, using her free hand to brush the blood that leaked from his eyes away.

As expected, his chakra was stubbornly fighting against her own, trying to prevent it from spreading in his body but Sakura would not yield.

She hissed as she felt his wound burn the skin of her palm, the foreign chakra eating away at her skin but Sakura knew that if she were to remove her hand now, the sudden withdrawal of chakra would put Itachi into a shock, what would only make matters worse.

Itachi needed to stop fighting her or else, she wasn't going to make any progress. Sakura's eyes once more met his, emerald clashing with onyx as she allowed her free hand to travel from his forehead to gently rest on his chest, right above his heart, a gentle glow engulfing it that she hoped he would recognize.

"It's me, Sakura." Sakura softly whispered, praying to whoever was willing to listen that he could actually hear her. "It's okay, stop fighting it."

A few moments passed without anything happening but then, ever so slowly she could feel Itachi's chakra yield and submit to hers, causing Sakura to smile out of relief.

She was in.

Now, all she had to do was to locate the foreign chakra, rid his body of it and seal the wound so that she could have a look at his eyes next.

The pinkette narrowed her eyes as she pushed more of her chakra into him, watching how his breathing slowly went back to normal.

She would do anything in her power to fully heal him, no matter what it would take and this time, she would make sure that something like this wouldn't happen again.

X

There was darkness.

Absolute and utter darkness.

Something was wrong. The last thing he remembered was being at his office before everything suddenly went black and ever since, he found himself stuck in this limbo of darkness and silence.

"Itachi Uchiha."

That was, until now.

Itachi blinked as the voice echoed from the darkness that engulfed him, a cold shiver running down the length of his spine as he narrowed his eyes.

All of sudden the darkness that previously engulfed him vanished and within the split of a second, Itachi found himself standing in the middle of an all too familiar battlefield, the rain hitting his body like a million tiny stones as his eyes fell on the countless dead bodies laying by his feet.

Bodies of people that he killed.

He was vaguely aware of the weight in his right hand and lifted his hands to find them covered in warm blood, the tip of the kunai that was tightly held in his right fist also covered in the crimson liquid.

His frown deepened. Something was not right.

"Their blood is on your hands." Came the very same voice from before only this time, it sounded directly in front of him.

Itachi lifted his onyx eyes to find a man standing several meters in front of him, his face hidden beneath an orange mask and body hidden away beneath a black coat.

The Uchiha heir's eyes narrowed at the male in front of him, his hold on the Kunai tightening as he felt the air around him shift.

"What business do you have with me?" Itachi coolly asked, not allowing the scenery to fully affect him. He could feel the chakra around him and instantly realized that he was in a genjutsu that was, most likely, created by the masked male.

He couldn't remember how he got himself captured in it but he did know that he would make him pay for doing so.

"I am here to get to know you better." The stranger replied, his deep voice causing Itachi to tense. "And I figured that here, no one would interrupt our little chat."

Something about him felt more familiar than he'd liked to admit and even though he knew that he was caught in a genjutsu, he couldn't recognize any chakra signature other than his own.

"I am afraid that I can't allow that." Itachi calmly returned, mind spinning as he tried to think of a way to break the illusion. It wouldn't pose to be a difficult task, considering that he himself was skilled in genjutsu but for some reason, he felt alarmingly low on chakra.

"It's not like you have much of a choice, considering that you will be stuck in here until I deem it fit to free you." The mask reminded him, causing Itachi's eyes to sharpen.

He could tell that this genjutsu was no normal one and that the male in front of him knew that as well. It was impossible for it to be his own for if it were, Itachi would have had full control over it and yet, there was no other signature present.

It was possible for the orange-masked male to mask his own chakra signature, but not for him to mask the chakra that created the illusion, so there had to be more to it.

"You intend to study your me for your own benefit." Itachi returned, flexing his free fingers as he heard the roar of a thunder in the distance. "So I take that you are one of his men."

Contrary to what Itachi expected, the masked male actually chuckled darkly upon hearing his words, the sound echoing loudly around them over the heavy rain and chilling him to the bone.

"I hate to disappoint you, but that's not quite correct." He smoothly returned and Itachi could easily hear the smirk in his voice. "I wouldn't put myself as low as them."

It was then that Itachi finally understood, his calculating gaze never leaving his opponent as he realized whom he was facing.

"You are the one behind it."

The rain suddenly intensified, the temperature palpably dropping as the masked male chuckled lowly.

"Bingo." He called, clapping his hands together in glee. "Took you long enough to realize."

Itachi flexed his fingers as a thunder roared in the distance, a flash of light following right behind as he eyed the man with an impassive expression. His joyous act made him not the less dangerous and the Uchiha heir knew better than to underestimate him for it, especially since he was the one in control of the genjutsu.

And yet, it was the perfect opportunity to gain some insight of whom they were up against.

Itachi then smirked, his onyx eyes lightening up with a feral glint that promised nothing less than doom as he flexed his fingers.

He would find out what he needed to know and then make sure to rile him up enough to use his weakest moment to get out of there.

The tables have turned, and the one who has believed to hold the upper hand would soon realized why Itachi Uchiha was the most feared Uchiha to exist.

X

It's been two hours ever since Sakura managed to finally get through Itachi's chakra and so far, she managed to rid his body of all the foreign chakra and seal his wound. At first she thought that by sealing the wound she would be able to get the Sharingan back under control but whenever she tried to push her chakra through the chakra paths in his eyes, something blocked her.

Sakura frowned as she removed her hand from his neck and gently took Itachi's head in her hands and turned it so that he was looking straight at her, the Sharingan never slowing down.

It was weird, really. The foreign chakra signature that stemmed from the wound that the chakra scalpel left seemed to be what set the Sharingan off in the first place and with it gone, the Sharingan should have faded by now.

Itachi's body was still too weak to fully function without her chakra so she didn't get how the Sharingan worked without using either his or her chakra.

It seemed to be feeding off from something else, and that something seemed to be the same thing that prevented Sakura from reaching the Sharingan.

Itachi's breathing had calmed by then, his shivers having stopped but the fever was still present and refused to go down. It seemed like he was in a state between unconscious and consciousness, awake yet asleep as his body was working and reacting to what was going on around him while his mind was seemingly asleep.

To her, it looked as if he was having a nightmare.

At that thought, Sakura's eyes suddenly widened, realization hitting her like a ton of bricks as her expression darkened.

"Shisui!" She instantly called, adrenaline rushing through her veins as excitement filled her. She knew what she had to do, but she couldn't do it without some help.

Not even a second after her call the door opened to reveal her rather concerned looking friend, his eyes instantly finding hers as he gently closed the door behind him.

"Everything okay?" He asked, the worry that laced his voice evident as he moved to take a seat on Itachi's left, opposite of Sakura whose face was set into a firm frown.

"I managed to rid his body of the foreign chakra and sealed his wounds, but something's preventing me from getting to his Sharingan." She explained, her palm still gently caressing Itachi's cheek as she carefully tilted his face towards Shisui so that he could take a look at it. "The Sharingan won't stop spinning because it's been activated by the foreign chakra signature and even though it's gone now, the actual source of it isn't."

Shisui's eyes snapped from Itachi to Sakura as he slowly caught on to what she was saying. "So that means that the chakra signature is out of his body but not out of his eyes?"

Sakura nodded, expression softening as she turned to look at Itachi once more. "Someone must have activated the foreign chakra that was left in his system from the last time and used it as a catalyst to activate his Sharingan and get into his mind."

"So, you mean that Itachi is stuck in his own genjutsu with whoever activated it?" Shisui asked, earning another nod from Sakura as she lifted her eyes from his cousin to look him dead in the eye.

"He doesn't have it under control because the Sharingan isn't using his chakra, so he can't get out of it by himself. If I force my chakra into his chakra pathways when the owner of the foreign chakra is weakened however, he can break out." Sakura explained, and Shisui instantly got what she was hinting at.

"So you want to go in there." Shisui clarified, frowning. He obviously wasn't too fond of the idea, but he knew that they had little other options. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"I need to channel all of my chakra into one of the smaller pathways of his optical nerves to be able to control the Sharingan for the split of a second." She explained. "That second will be enough to pull me in and to get me to him."

Shisui remained silent, weighting their options as he realized that it may be the only way to get Itachi out of there and permanently banning the foreign chakra signature from his system because if they would wait until Itachi would wake up by his own, if he ever would in the first place, he would always be at a risk of getting attacked again.

And that was something that they couldn't allow.

"Alright, what do I have to do?"

Sakura smiled at Shisui's words, grateful for his instant cooperation as she looked back at Itachi's spinning eyes.

"Keep an eye on Itachi's body. If his condition worsens or his wound reopens, call Tsunade but until then, I need you to trust me and stop anyone from interfering. " She told him, emerald orbs shining with determination. "I will get him out of there, but I don't know how long it may take."

Shisui nodded. "Got it. Don't worry, I won't let anyone get to you two."

Sakura threw him a grateful smile as Shisui moved to sit next to her. "He will most likely try to resist, so don't be surprised."

Shisui sighed, inwardly wondering just how his cousin managed to get himself into this mess as he looked at Sakura with a stern face. "You better not take too long, Sakura-chan, or else I'll get you out of his mind myself."

"I'll try my best to hurry," Sakura promised as she gently placed her fingers on Itachi's temples and inhaled deeply. She didn't know what would expect her there and even though going there with almost all of her chakra drained was most likely a really stupid idea, she had no other choice.

One look at Itachi was enough to boost her energy and after taking a moment to mentally prepare herself for the inevitable, she glanced to her left.

"Ready?" She asked, voice hard as Shisui nodded, hands placed on Itachi's forearms.

"Ready."

With that, Sakura channeled all of her chakra into her fingers and pushed.

X

"You are a skilled shinobi." The masked man praised, sounding genuinely pleased as he began to circle the Uchiha prodigy. "The Uchiha Clan's most prized possession, I take."

Itachi neither moved nor gave any signs that his words have actually reached him, expression expertly blank.

"You are familiar with my Clan." Itachi coolly observed, seemingly not the least bit bothered by his own assumption as the other scoffed.

"I know more of the Uchiha Clan than you'd like to think." Came the curt reply, the hint of bitterness in his voice not going unnoticed as Itachi's suspicion grew.

It seemed like this masked stranger was not too fond of the Uchiha, but if he knew them as well as he claimed to, why would he want to study him?

"And yet you want to study me in order to gain knowledge of your enemy." Itachi taunted, voice hard as his eyes followed the silhouette. "It's foolish of you to believe that you will gain insight of anything that may help you defeat me."

He could feel the air around him shift once more and Itachi instantly realized that his opponent was anything but pleased by his words.

"Arrogance is a trait that has been the downfall of many Uchiha's before, and it seems like you will be no exception." The masked man drawled, the warning in his voice clear and yet, Itachi couldn't stop the ghost of a smirk that passed over his lips.

"It's a trait that you, as an Uchiha yourself, should be more than familiar with."

The masked man came to an halt behind Itachi and he could feel his gaze bore holes into the back of his skull. The only sound that broke through the heavy silence was the now soft patter of rain that hit the metal of the uniforms that the bodies of the fallen shinobi at their feet wore.

"It is, unfortunately, a trait that is most prominent in our Clan." His voice echoed from behind him, and Itachi held back his triumphant smirk. "Though I have come to learn that it is also a trait that is connected to its failure in achieving greater goals."

"Goals that you have now taken to yourself to achieve?" Itachi inquired, clearly unimpressed. If he really was an Uchiha as he claimed to be, it would prove to be harder for him to get out of there. At first, he thought that someone else may have cast a genjutsu on him and that they send him to invade his mind but now that it seemed like he was facing a member of his own Clan, it may come to both his advantage and disadvantage.

Advantage because he knew exactly which buttons to push, and disadvantage because he was being low on chakra.

"I am just doing what should have been done ages ago." The male lowly returned. "The Uchiha's were gifted with the chance to change the entire shinobi system and yet, they passed upon the perfect opportunity out of fear - without realizing that it's the only way to maintain peace, so I took it upon myself to do it."

Itachi pursed his lips, the displeasure he felt clearly showing as the Kunai in his hand suddenly felt heavier than before.

"It would only bring chaos." Itachi spoke, his voice hard. "The tailed beats have been sealed for a reason, so freeing them would go against everything we stand for. It's our duty to prevent something like that from happening."

At that, a bitter laugh escaped the masked male as he threw his head back in amusement. "Our duty as shinobi, huh? This peace that you try to protect is nothing but an illusion that is meant to cover up the horrible reality that we actually live in. This shinobi system is nothing but a huge failure, and your eyes are its proof."

The Uchiha heir was about to speak when all of sudden, a shift in the air around him caused his senses to sharpen. He felt a wave of adrenaline run through his veins, a familiar tingle washing over him that caused a shiver to run down the length of his spine.

He could feel his exhaustion slowly fade away, a familiar warmth spreading through his body that he was all too familiar with.

Itachi would recognize it anywhere.

His eyes darkened as he tightened the hold on the weapon in his hand, his face not giving anything away as he felt the cool metal in his stony grip.

"I owe these eyes to the likes of you and your twisted ideals and beliefs." Itachi coolly returned. "They are a gift to those who know how to see past good and bad, and a curse to those whose perception has been clouded by hatred."

"Enlighten me then." The mask drawled, amusement evident in his voice. "Are they your curse or or gift?"

Itachi's expression hardened as he remained silent, the question he has asked himself countless of times during the past years of his life thrown back into his own face. He had always believed his eyes to be a curse, the horrors he had to witness intensified by his blood trait costing him many nights of sleep and yet, he knew that it would be foolish to consider them a curse.

People would pointedly avoid his eyes out of fear of what they may see, the feared crimson color that resembled the blood that they have witnessed in order to obtain them a remainder of how deadly they were.

A picture then flashed in front of his eyes, pink tresses sprawled on the vibrant green grass as she laid beneath him, lips curled upwards into a breath taking smile as she looked up into his crimson eyes, no traces of fear to be found in those glowing emerald orbs. The thin layer of sweat that covered her forehead made her skin shine in the sun as he held the Kunai against her neck.

He felt his skin tingle once more, the familiar sensation soothing the burn of the scars that he carried as his expression turned resolute.

"They are my reward."

The masked male hummed lowly, clearly not having expected Itachi's answer as he shifted his weight onto his other foot. "Spoken like a true Uchiha. I had believed you to be wiser than the rest of the Clan, but it seems like I have been mistaken."

Itachi's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits but before he was able to do as much as blink, the masked male was suddenly thrown to the right, landing a couple of meters away from them with a surprised grunt.

Itachi's eyes snapped up to see his attacker tighten her gloves around her wrist, expression smug as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms above her chest.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same about you."

The raindrops that hit her skin glistened in the light that the distant lightening created and when her emerald eyes caught his, Itachi felt the blood that rushed through his veins grow hot.

Sakura's heart was skipping a treacherous beat as she set eyes on Itachi, his stoic expression betraying the intensity that his gaze held as he looked at her.

He was standing tall and proud on the battle field, eyes burning with intensity as his skin was drenched in a mixture of blood that she had no doubt belonged to the ones that laid dead by his feet and rain.

It was then that Sakura could understand why Itachi was as feared as he was.

He looked beyond intimidating, power radiating off of him in waves as his powerful aura filled the air and chilled her skin.

And yet, she now knew better than anyone else that there was more to him than the ruthless and merciless Uchiha heir and Hokage.

That was exactly why she felt all of the tension, concerns and worries she previously had fade into thin air the moment his eyes met hers and before she knew, she spoke.

"Hope that I am not interrupting anything important?" Sakura asked, the amusement that flickered in her eyes visible as her lips curled upwards.

The ghost of a smirk briefly passed Itachi's lips as he pointedly glanced at the masked male that was picking himself up, black cloak soaked in red as the rain intensified.

"Haruno Sakura." He drawled, the venom in his voice enough for Itachi to shoot him a warning growl. "What an unexpected surprise."

Sakura remained standing where she was, senses on high alert as she bravely held her opponents gaze with a frown. "Likewise. Even though I have heard that you liked to play dirty, I have expected slightly better from the infamous Madara Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes narrowed sharply as he glanced at Sakura, his surprise at her knowledge not showing as his calculating eyes slid back to their opponent.

Despite of having already known that he was a member of his Clan, he hadn't expected him to be the infamous Madara Uchiha whose stories were still being told to the younger ones of his Clan.

That would certainly complicate things, and only served as a reminder as to why they should not underestimate him, regardless of how harmless he might seem.

"So you have managed to get into my genjutsu, quite impressive." Madara admitted as the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to shake, the loud grumble filling their ears as Madara's voice boomed. "But don't think that you'll be getting out of here anytime soon!"

The ground beneath Sakura's feet suddenly parted and the pinkette jumped away just in time before the now gaping hole swallowed her whole.

Itachi instantly moved, jumping towards her instead of Madara. He knew that in there, it was practically useless to attack Madara and if Sakura managed to get inside, chances were high that she also knew how to break out of the genjutsu.

The Uchiha heir was by her side in a second, his body instinctively moving to cover from Madara's sight as he glanced over his shoulder to ensure that she was alright.

Sakura shot him a small smile, instantly easing his concerns before her expression turned serious. "I know how to get us out of here, but I need you to listen carefully."

Itachi nodded when he suddenly felt the air around him shift, his eyes snapping back to Madara just to see the corpses that had previously covered the ground stand behind him, their dead eyes unblinking as they were fixed on the Konoha duo.

"Now, show me what you got." Madara spoke and with a mere motion of his hand, the undead charged at them with a roar.

Sakura inwardly cursed as she moved from behind Itachi and sped towards then, jumping into the air a second before the first would meet her and slammed her fist into the ground with, the earth instantly shattering as it parted, swallowing the first dozen of undead shinobi as she jumped back to stand next to Itachi.

"Madara used the foreign chakra to activate your Sharingan and the genjutsu." Sakura swiftly explained, expression grim as she looked at the new set of approaching corpses, their unnerving empty eyes enough to send a shiver down her spine. "I managed to extract most of it but there is still some left in your optical nerves that keeps mine from fully entering it."

Itachi frowned, clearly disliking what he heard as he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "So this genjutsu has been created by my Sharingan, but not my chakra."

Sakura nodded and swiftly dodged a kunai that came flying at her, lips curling downwards as she finally charged towards the first undead with a glowing fist and slammed it square into his face. She then dodged another's foot that almost hit her temple, extending her own to hit him straight into his already broken ribs, kicking him backwards while Itachi took care of five at once, Sakura's chakra that was mixed his own lending him the strength he needed to effortlessly take them out.

They were no real challenge to them, and Itachi instantly realized that they were merely attacking them so that Madara could evaluate their fighting skills, much to Itachi's annoyance.

Now that he knew how he got caught up in this genjutsu in the first place, he understood why he couldn't access his Sharingan and had been low on chakra. It also explained why he felt Sakura's chakra enter his body.

Itachi's eyes instantly found Sakura fighting off three at the same time and after delivering one final punch to his last attacker, he darted towards her and grabbed one of the dead by his neck, effortlessly tossing him a couple of feet away as he moved to stand behind her.

They were now back to back as they waited for the defeated to once more rise, Sakura's breathing heavy as she felt the aftermaths of her being low on chakra slowly making themselves noticeable.

"Their chakra still keeps me from giving you back your control over the Sharingan, but his chakra is no longer in full control over the genjutsu." Sakura swiftly continued to explain, breath heavy as she narrowed her eyes at the approaching shinobi. "Since my chakra is in your body and I already managed to get to your Sharingan for the split of a second before, you may be able to fully break down the blockade and flush the remaining chakra out in the process so that you can get us out of here."

Itachi nodded, finding sense in her words but as he looked down at her, he could easily see that she was almost fully drained of chakra. If they wouldn't hurry, the fight would fully drain her of it and even though Itachi could easily continue to fight them off while she would recharge her chakra, he would end up being the one low on chakra just for her to give him a chakra boost once more.

It was a vicious cycle that they could not allow themselves to fall into, that he wouldn't allow themselves to fall into.

If he could really gain control over the genjutsu, he would do so to buy them some time to break out of it.

Sakura suddenly felt a hand encircle itself around her wrist and when she turned her head to look at Itachi, she found herself pulled flush against him as he closed his eyes.

He focused on his chakra signature that the genjutsu was made of and allowed his own to leave his body, mind set as his chakra surrounded them like protective walls that shielded them from the illusion.

Sakura instantly realized what he was doing when she felt the atmosphere around them shift and watched the battlefield around them blur until everything suddenly went dark.

And then, not even a heartbeat later, she found herself standing on top of the Hokage Monument.

As the ground beneath her feet steadied, Sakura turned her head upwards to see Itachi scan their surroundings with a scrutinizing eye and when he was sure that no one had followed them here, he loosened his hold on her, not fully letting go.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced over his broad shoulder to look at the beautiful and yet familiar night sky, relief flooding her as she realized that her plan had worked.

"Seems like we're rid of them for now." Sakura said, her lips curling upwards into a relieved smile as her eyes moved back to look at the male that was holding her just to find him already looking down at her.

"You're unharmed?" He asked, voice softening as Sakura nodded, lips curling upwards into a smile as she looked up at him.

"I'm fine." She assured him, voice gentle as she felt herself relax in his hold. "We should probably hurry before he finds us."

Itachi nodded in agreement and Sakura lifted her hands to gently rest her fingers against his temples, the tips of her fingers glowing as she channeled her chakra into them.

"I need you to do the same thing I did when I entered the genjutsu." Sakura calmly explained, expression serious as she looked Itachi straight in the eye, the weight of his arm around her waist soothing her nerves. "On my command, I need you to channel all of the chakra in your body towards your eyes to flood out the remaining chakra and once it's out, I am going to push what's left of my own to help you activate your Sharingan to get us out of here."

"It should work." Itachi eventually agreed, although he still wasn't too fond of the idea of her using her remaining chakra on him, his eyes telling her as much.

Sakura exhaled softly as she offered him a gentle smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Ready?"

Itachi reluctantly nodded and gathered his chakra, Sakura's own warm one instantly fusing with what was left of his own as he waited.

"Now."

The instant the gentle command has left her lips Itachi used all of his strength to channel his chakra towards his eyes, the force of it leaving a burning trail as he felt it push against the resistance that Sakura had mentioned.

The blockade crumbled beneath the pressure of their combined chakra and Itachi felt all of his chakra pour into his eyes, nullifying the foreign one as a blinding light overcame his eyes.

His eyes burned from the sudden flood of chakra, temporarily blinding him as his hold on Sakura tightened painfully but just as soon as the pain came, he felt Sakura's chakra cool the burn and allowed it to take away the pain.

The blinding light faded, leaving nothing but darkness as all that was left was the small amount of chakra that Sakura was now channeling into him. Itachi could feel the adrenaline pump through his veins at full speed as he allowed her chakra to enter his eyes, the familiar sensation enough for his body to react on its own.

When he reopened his eyes, he found Sakura expectantly looking at him, every detail of her a thousand times more vibrant as her eyes filled with visible relief upon seeing the familiar crimson return to his eyes.

It was something that he had never expected to find in one's eyes when they would see his crimson orbs but as always, Sakura never ceased to amaze him.

The medic then closed her eyes, expression scrunching up into a deep frown as she pushed the last bit of chakra into him. Itachi kept his eyes fixed on her expression, immersed by the sight as they used all of the energy they had left to call their last command and break free from the illusion.

"Kai!"

X

Sasuke watched over the unconscious bodies of his brother and teammate from where he was seated against the wall with concern.

It's been half an hour ever since Shisui had filled him in on what happened and left to get some sleep, his exhaustion of watching over Sakura and Itachi for the better part of the night evident as he asked Sasuke to keep an eye on them for the next hour.

Even though Sasuke didn't take the news of what Sakura did too well, his concern masked by his disapproval of his teammate's action, he agreed to look over them.

It's been seven hours ever since Sakura went after Itachi and by now, it was already well past midnight. Shisui and Sasuke both agreed that if the two wouldn't return by sunrise, what would be in an hour, Shisui would go after Sakura.

Seeing Itachi and Sakura like this was really taking a toll on Sasuke, the feeling of helplessness driving him crazy as his eyes never left their bodies. He hated to know that they were in trouble and that there was nothing else to do for him than to wait.

If there was one thing that Sasuke hated more than his fan girls, it was waiting.

Ten more minutes passed and just before Sasuke was about to finally give up hope of either of them waking up before Shisui did, he suddenly felt Sakura's chakra signature drop dangerously low, causing his eyes to sharpen as he looked at her body.

Before he was able to do as much as move however, he felt Itachi's signature suddenly rise and not even a second later, his Sharingan that hadn't stopped turning ever since he arrived at the manor stopped, before it finally fully faded and left nothing but onyx behind.

Sasuke frowned, the surprise clearly evident in his own dark eyes as he watched Itachi blink, obviously adjusting to his now most likely sore eyes before he turned his head to the right to catch Sasuke's narrowed ones.

"Nii-san."

Itachi could barely make out the silhouette of his little brother, his surroundings a mere blur as his sore eyes burned at a painful rate. He was beyond exhausted and closed his eyes in hope of getting the pain to die down but unfortunately, it didn't seem to help too much.

"Aa." Itachi softly returned, his head turning back so that he was once more facing the ceiling. He could feel the heat of a body to his left and even though he could barely sense his own chakra, he would manage to pick up her chakra signature anywhere, although it seemed to be very faint. "Sakura?"

Sasuke nodded, but upon realizing that his brother couldn't see it offered a curt hum. "She is very low on chakra but other than that, she seems to be fine."

Itachi nodded once more, his body relaxing as he turned his head to the left and forced his eyes open despite of the pain they held.

This time, his vision was slightly clearer as he looked at the sleeping pink-haired woman next to him. Her hair was sprawled on the pillow, her skin a sickly pale shade and stark contrast to the dark circles under her eyes. She looked beyond exhausted and knowing that her current state was his fault, he felt a wave of guilt overcome him.

Without a second thought, he wrapped an arm around her waist and carefully pulled her closer so that her head rested on his chest, his arm tightly secured around her waist as her heartbeat aligned with his own.

He instantly felt the tension leave her body the moment she subconsciously seemed to recognize him, the gesture filling him with deep content as he once more closed his eyes, aware of his brothers scrutinizing eyes on him.

Sasuke had to say that the sight of his teammate in his brothers arms spoke volumes. It seemed like his suspicions were true and that Itachi had indeed decided to claim his teammate as his and as disturbing the sight should have been to him, it surprisingly wasn't.

He knew that Itachi was aware of his presence and obviously wasn't concerned by Sasuke witnessing such an intimate moment between the two. It seemed like he was not going to stop pursuing Sakura and even though he was anything but fond of the idea that Itachi obviously planned to make Sakura his, the way he saw her body relax the instant she felt him told him enough.

He had known that Sakura would sooner or later come to care for his brother. As stubborn as she was, Sakura's heart cared too fast too much for others, though he couldn't recall a time when he had actually seen her care for someone in this way.

The panic he had seen in her eyes when they first caught sight of Itachi's state had been more than evident and even though Sasuke knew that Sakura was neither naive nor an idiot, he still worried for her.

Contrary to what one may think, it wasn't because of his brother- he knew that he would never do anything to hurt her. Once Itachi cared for someone, he would do anything to keep them safe and ensure their happiness, so he knew that with Sakura it would be no different- especially since Sakura was the first who managed to gain his attention in such a way.

It was the position that his brother was in as well as his family that he was worried about. It was no secret that his mother already loved Sakura like her own daughter, and Shisui had always been very fond of her. His father would most likely approve of her after this day and probably accept an union given her reputation, but he didn't know whether the rest of his Clan would be as welcoming.

Besides, as much as Itachi was the Hokage, he was also the next head of the Uchiha Clan, making Sakura the future wife of the Uchiha Clan head.

And he doubted that they wanted the future leaders of the Uchiha Clan to be on active shinobi duty- what would certainly not sit well with Sakura.

Sasuke took another long look at his brother and eventually averted his eyes. He knew that Itachi was most likely aware of all of this but for some reason, he didn't look the least bit concerned. Thus, Sasuke guessed that Itachi either had a plan to get rid of all of these problems, or was currently working on one that would.

Either way was acceptable, as long as once he figured one out it would work.

The younger Uchiha then moved to stand, eyes never once straying back to his teammate in the arms of his brother as he silently made his way to the door.

Just as his hand touched it however, he hesitated.

"Brother or not, if you hurt her, I won't hesitate to kill you."

With that final warning being spoken, he left the room without waiting for an answer, already knowing it.

Itachi smirked as he heard Sasuke's warning and tightened his hold on Sakura, clearly content. He knew that it was his brother's way of giving him his approval and yet, he knew that Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to fulfill his promise if he were to mess up.

What, of course, he wouldn't.

He buried his nose into Sakura's hair, the familiar scent of the pinkette soothing his pain as he allowed his exhaustion to finally take over and follow Sakura into a deep slumber.

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A/N: After what feels like ages, I have returned to present you a new chapter!

You won't believe how hard this chapter was to write. I had a major writers block and a pretty hard time turning my ideas into reality but in the end, I am pretty satisfied with how this chapter turned out so I hope that you really like it as much as I do!

As always, thanks for all the nice feedback! I take it to heart so as always, be as kind as to leave a review and tell me if you liked this chapter;)

See ya soon, loves!

Kisses,

Sara