Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; cuz if I did, Kakashi sensei would stop reading those perverted books!

narutofan4ever

Heartless Ghost Hehehe. You'll just have to keep reading and find out! lol!

Shinobi DarkbeakArigatou!

susakuru xD

JennyKim319 Yeah, I know it was. I'm sorry if its too much for you all to handle. But most of the blood and gore parts are over and done with.

Mezumi lol, ok!

unyield-wish 813 Come on babes, this is a SASUSAKU fic! hehehe! Of COURSE there's more SasuSaku fluff to come! I just didn't want to overdo it, ya know?

Blood Stained Sorceress Thank you for staying with me still!

BlackAngelBlood Nani "Ja mata Airy" desu ka? xD I know "Ja ne" is see you later, or "Ja mata ne" but never heard of this one before! xD Forgive my ignorance.

Broken and Fallen Angel of Death You'll see! I don't know if "Hell itself" will freeze over, but it will come damn close!

agent-doo hehehe. Sure! He's turning from being that cold-hearted bastard into an actual caring human being.

Dances With The Wind (GASP!) Keep reading! Lol!

ying yang dragons mmhm! Itachi and Ino. xD But you'll just have to wait to find out what happens! This story isn't over yet!

Reviewers, you all seriously are awesome. I really appreciate you all reviewing and giving me feedback! The questions too help me to make sure my story is detailed enough so you all won't get confused. xD Anyways, here's chapter 7!

Chapter 7:

Recovery

The cool night air was chilly as he raced through the forest, the young kunoichi in his arms. Her wounds were deep, and she was losing blood at a rapid rate. She was scared, as Itachi felt her heart pounding. Quickly deciding what to do, Itachi stopped, dropping from the trees by a hot spring. He gently laid Ino on the ground kneeling next to her.

"You must calm down Ino. You will die of blood loss if you do not."

Ino's eyes were squeezed shut in pain, but she nodded slightly to show that she did hear him. She felt him pull the fabric away from her skin, trying to get a closer look at her wounds. She cried out in pain as she felt his fingers probe the area on her lower back. Itachi frowned. The wound from Kabuto's kunai was deep, and had just missed her spinal cord by a centimeter.
"Here." Itachi muttered quietly, pulling out a piece of cloth from his robe. He wadded it up and put it in her mouth. "Bite down on that. This is going to hurt a little."

Tears were streaming down Ino's face as she felt him start to wipe the blood away. "I've got to get this closed before you lose any more blood." She heard him say. Itachi took some bandages from his pouch, dipping another cloth into the water. Coming back to her side, he carefully wiped the blood away before he started to clean the wound. Ino screamed into the cloth in her mouth, the pain almost too much for her to bear. Itachi hated seeing her like this, but he knew that if he didn't stop the blood flow that he would lose her forever. He concentrated his chakra to his right hand, placing it over the wound on her back. The process was long and excruciating, but before long the deep, almost fatal gash was slowly closed up, the blood flow stopping and the skin beginning to heal. Itachi bandaged the rest of the wound, as well as the one from the shuriken on her shoulder.

Once it was over, Itachi looked at Ino's face. Her cheeks were tear-streaked, and her eyes were glazed over. He gently rolled her over, pulling her closer to him. Ino weakly looked up at him, the cloth hanging slightly from her mouth. Itachi took the cloth from her, brushing strands of blonde from her eyes. "Sleep." He said quietly, his eyes changing to Mangekyou. Ino's eyes widened in horror at first, but after a minute she was trapped in his tsyikumoi. Her eyelids drooped, and a second later she slumped against his chest, sound asleep.

Ino opened her eyes, looking around her but seeing nothing but red and white around her. She was in a room, but she didn't recognize where she was. She backed herself into the corner of the room, her feet shuffling before she dropped to her knees. She'd heard from Sakura what had happened to Kakashi sensei when Itachi had trapped him in a doujutsu like this. But Itachi wouldn't do that to her, would he?

"N-no." she whispered.

"Relax." A voice said from behind. Ino froze. "I-Itachi-san?" she whispered, fearing what would happen if she looked him in the eyes again. She felt her body being lifted, and she closed her eyes tight. She felt herself being laid on something soft and a hand gently brushing her cheek.

"It's okay Ino. Just relax. You were badly hurt. I brought you here so you can recover. I'm in charge of time here. I will make sure that you will be okay physically before I allow you to wake up." Itachi spoke in a soft tone, his fingers gently stroking her hair.

Ino slowly opened her eyes. He smiled slightly down at her before his hand brushed over her eyes, closing them. "Rest." He said.

Suddenly Ino felt very tired. A strong reassuring sense of safety washed over her and she allowed herself to succumb to darkness.

Several hours passed. The clock on the wall showed that it was already after three in the morning. But the ANBU captain hardly showed any sign of fatigue, just extreme worry.

He'd dried his tears and taken to pacing through the waiting room. He'd declined the countless offers for coffee that the receptionist nurse offered.

"Sir, I think it would be best if you went home and got some—"

"I'm not leaving until I know that she's ok." He interrupted sharply, cutting off her statement before she could finish her sentence. She sighed as she watched the young Shinobi complete another pace. Standing up, she walked towards the head medic's office. Opening the door, she entered to find a medic Nin passed out, her head on the desk.

"Shizune-san?" the receptionist nurse asked. Shizune's head shot up, looking horrified for a second before she calmed down enough to take a deep breath and wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"Hai?" Shizune asked, standing. "Does Tsunade-sama need me to take over for her?"

The nurse shook her head, but a ghost of a smile had crossed her face. "I was just wondering if you could perhaps talk a certain stubborn ANBU captain into going home and getting some rest."

Shizune froze for a moment, before she smiled as well. "I do not think that is possible Kaori. This ANBU captain you're talking about is none other than Uchiha Sasuke. That boy hardly listens to anybody." Kaori smiled. "Very well Shizune-san." She said, moving to exit the room.

"Kaori-san?" Shizune asked, heading out from around the desk. "Please inform Tsunade-sama that I will be joining her. I'm sure that by now the most of the damage has been repaired, but Tsunade-sama must be growing weary at this point."

Kaori nodded as Shizune went to prepare to enter the operating room where Sakura was being treated.

As she came out, however, Sasuke was waiting for her. "What's going on?" He demanded, the ferocity in his voice betraying his worry. Kaori smiled. "It's ok Uchiha-san. Shizune is now taking over for Tsunade-sama."

Sasuke's eyes softened and he dropped his gaze to the floor. He grudgingly walked back towards the bench and sat down once again, his head in his hands.

Kaori smiled as she looked over at him. "Would you now like some coffee Uchiha-san?"

Tsunade looked up from her work as soon as Shizune entered. "Hurry, I need you to help me close up these arteries. I've got the majority of the damage taken care of, but I'm almost out of chakra." Tsunade said urgently. Shizune nodded as she gathered her chakra to her hand. With a quick glance at Sakura's face, her heart melted. The girl's face was pale with loss of blood. She walked over to where Tsunade was, and healed each artery that Tsunade pointed to. This continued on for another hour or so before Sakura's heart stabilized, and her breathing grew slowly back to normal. Stitching the last deep wound back together on Sakura's side, Tsunade exhaled deeply. As soon as the bandages were wrapped tightly over the wound, Tsunade smiled and gave a huge whoop of delight. She grabbed Shizune in a tight hug, tears springing to her eyes. "Sakura's going to be ok!" She cried happily before she dropped to her knees next to the operating table.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed, dropping to Tsunade's side. She smiled. "I'll be ok Shizune. Let me get up. I've got a certain ANBU captain to send home."

Shizune smiled. "Hai Tsunade-sama!" She said, pulling the Hokage to her feet. Tsunade took one more glance at her apprentice, and couldn't help but smile. "You did it Sakura." She whispered softly before walking out of the O.R.

Sasuke looked up when he saw a tired Tsunade come out of the O.R. where the nurses had taken Sakura almost seven hours ago. His heart jumped into his throat as he saw the weary look on the Hokage's face. But his heart melted with relief when he saw Tsunade smile warmly at him. "The surgery was successful. She had a lot of internal damage thanks to Kabuto's chakra scalpel. I'm not really sure how she managed to stay alive. She should have died from the internal bleeding, but she pulled through. You did a good job getting to her in time. Good work Uchiha." Tsunade said tiredly. She sat down on the bench. "Sakura is being moved to the recovery wing." Sasuke nodded slightly, still dazed in relief that his former teammate wouldn't be leaving him alone for good. He fought the tears of relief that threatened to come. He usually didn't have this problem, but his emotions always seemed to show more when it came to his pink-haired teammate.

"Get some rest Uchiha." Tsunade said, clasping his shoulder. "Before we began, Sakura whispered, 'Thank you Sasuke-kun.' " Sasuke saw Tsunade wink. "She'll be ok, but you won't be able to be there when she wakes up later on if you don't go home and get some rest." Tsunade admonished gently. She squeezed his shoulder before turning to go.

Sasuke bowed his head for a moment. Just before Tsunade was out of ear-shot, however, did he mutter, "Thank you."

She smiled but didn't turn around. "Get some rest Uchiha. Don't make me tell you again, otherwise I'll take it as a direct defiance of my order." Sasuke nodded, picking up his mask which had fallen onto the bench. But he didn't listen.

Instead, the minute Tsunade was out of sight, and Kaori wasn't at the front desk, he stealthily snuck to the recovery area and hid himself in the shadows, waiting.

He watched as Sakura was brought in a few moments later by the medics. Once they were done tucking her in and hooking her up to an IV drip, they left the room.

Sasuke walked to her side. The blood was gone, as was the grime of battle. Her porcelain skin looked angelic in the moonlight coming through the window. He gently, yet hesitantly reached forward and brushed a few strands of her pastel pink hair from her closed eyes.

Thank you Sasuke-kun.

He smiled. With one last look at Sakura, Sasuke sat down in the chair next to the bed. He moved it closer so he would be next to her. Taking her hand in his own, he laid his head down on the bed, closing his eyes. I will protect you Sakura, I promise. He thought as he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

The sunlight shone brightly through the window, splaying warm rays on her face. Her brows furrowed as she squinted, trying to block the sunlight from getting in her eyes. Finally giving up on the hopeless attempt, she rolled over; wincing in pain as her senses slowly became fully awake.

"Kuso." she whispered. Opening her eyes, she allowed herself to take in her surroundings. She was lying on an extremely comfortable futon in the center of a stonewalled room. Her memory came back as soon as she saw the black and red clouded cloak resting over the chair in the corner of the room.

Her eyes widened and her heart beat faster as she tried hard to sit up.

"You shouldn't be trying that just yet." A smooth voice said from behind.

Ino jerked her head around, wide blue eyes meeting crimson red ones.

"Itachi-san…" she breathed. He smirked.

FLASHBACK

15-year old Yamanaka Ino tore through the forest. She was chasing down one of the criminals of a nearby village along with Sakura and Naruto. They were getting closer as she could feel the enemy's chakra getting closer. Suddenly, a volley of kunai shot through the trees at the pursuers. Ino barely dodged them, taking minor hits as the rest of the Konoha Nin moved safely out of the way.

"Ano! Daisyoobu Ino-chan?" Sakura called from her place on a branch not so far away. Ino nodded, looking ahead to see the criminal take his place amongst the large group of Nin he seemed to be a part of.

"Ja…You guys seem to want to fight me, ne?" He called from his group. Naruto's eyes narrowed on him. "I will make you pay for your crimes against those people back there in that village!" He cried, jumping from his hiding place in the higher branches. His hands formed a cross seal as he shouted, "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Several clones of himself appeared, and all at once they attacked the group that the criminal Nin had been hiding in. Sakura rolled her eyes as she too joined the battle.

Ino grabbed several kunai in between her fingers. "SAKURA!" She shouted. Her best friend caught her eye, and the look that was sent got the message through as Sakura nodded almost nondescriptly.

Ino jumped into the air, positioning herself to strike, while Sakura did the same. Her best friend mirrored her movements, both meeting together before they descended upon the group of criminal Nin. Sakura threw the shuriken she'd armed herself with while Ino threw her kunai. "KUNOICHI...SHI SHI RENDAN!" Both girls screamed as they performed round-house kicks into the heads of the Nin closest to them. A few more well-placed kicks and stabs were delivered before the criminal Nin had been taken out.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura screamed, thrusting her fist in the air in victory. But a sudden scream to her right tore her attention back to her best friend, now in a choke hold by the original Nin that they'd been hunting. Ino struggled hard against the Nin's restraint, and consequently, the kunai he held dangerously close to her throat pierced her skin. She cried out in pain and terror as the blade dug deeper into her skin.

"LEAVE ME! Or she dies!" The man screamed at Sakura and Naruto. Naruto growled and started to stalk towards the guy. Sakura immediately stopped him. "Yamete, Naruto. We need a plan—" She was cut off by the sound of metal crashing into something. Her eyes darted back to where the man was standing; only to find the spot deserted, save for his body, which was sliced by what appeared to be a katana wound to the back.

Ino was nowhere to be found.

"INO-CHAN!" Sakura screamed, tears springing to her eyes as she fearfully looked around for her best friend.

Ino groaned a little, her body feeling numb at first as she slowly woke up. Her eyes opened and she looked around at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

"Safe, for now." A deep voice said from behind her. Her head jerked in the direction of the voice, only to yelp in pain as the bandages covering the wound on her neck pulled on the sensitive skin. "I would take it easy for a while, Ino-chan." The owner of the voice said smoothly. He came to stand in her view. Ino studied him closely for a minute. This person was familiar to her in a way, but she just couldn't place him. His dark, raven hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and the lines beneath his eyes showed that he hardly ever slept.

He smirked.

Her heart jolted.

"I-Itachi-kun?" She whispered.

END FLASHBACK

"Ah, so I see you do remember me." He said, coming around the futon to sit next to her. Ino's heart was pounding with anticipation. She hadn't seen him in almost three years, but that didn't change the way that she felt about him. She froze when she felt his hand underneath her chin.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking deep into her eyes. "I-I'm o-ok Itachi-san." She whispered, her stomach filled with butterflies. He smirked. "It's been a while, hasn't it Ino-chan?" He asked softly. Ino nodded, not quite believing the sight in front of her. A long moment of silence passed between them before she knew what had happened, she'd thrown her arms around him, pulling him close to her. "I missed you so much!" She squealed, tears springing to her eyes as she hugged him tighter.

Itachi looked down at her, slightly surprised. He didn't expect her to react this way, but it made him glad that she did. He pulled her closer to him, hugging her back and burying his face in her hair. "I almost lost you." He said, not letting go. Ino cried softly, her tears wetting his shirt.

They stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity. When Itachi finally pulled away, Ino had snuggled against him, playing gently with his shirt. He smirked and ran his hand through her hair, making sure she had stopped crying.

"You fought hard." He said, eyeing the wound on her shoulder. "You've gotten stronger since the last time I saw you."

Ino smiled. "Well, I had to. I couldn't let my best friend get stronger than I." Itachi smirked. "That so?" He asked, pulling her closer to him. "Uh huh." Ino said, playing with his hair. "I'm curious to see how much you've changed." He commented, not taking his eyes off of her.

Ino smiled, and grabbed him by his collar. She pulled him to her and pressed her lips to his. Itachi responded immediately, running his tongue over her lower lip. Ino opened her mouth slowly, allowing him to take control. She smiled slightly as Itachi deepened the kiss, pulling her against him so that they both fell to the bed. His weight pinned her to the bed as they kissed passionately.

When they broke apart, Ino looked up into his eyes. "That's different." He whispered, smirking. Ino smiled. "It has been a long time Itachi-san." She said, running her fingers through his hair like she'd dreamed of doing for years. Itachi caught her hands with one of his own.

"Don't be so formal with me." He admonished playfully before capturing her lips again with his own. Ino melted into his chest, her heart filling with happiness as Itachi pulled her closer.

It really had been too long…

Just when she'd gotten comfortable again, the door to the room opened, and another Akatsuki member walked in. His beady black eyes focused on them for a moment before he smirked.

"Glad to see you got her back Itachi." Kisame said, picking up a scroll from the desk and heading out again.

Ino's eyes had widened and her heart pounded hard against her chest. What's gonna happen now that they know I'm here? She thought fearfully.

Itachi looked down at her and smiled at the look on her face.

"He won't say anything unless I say it's ok to." He said softly, reassuring her. His hand stroked her shoulder before it slid up her neck and to her chin. Ino nodded, not taking her eyes off of his face. Itachi smirked again as he pulled her into a hug. "You should rest. Your wounds are no longer life-threatening, but your body is still weak." He said upon releasing her. He pulled the comforter up to her chin before planting a kiss on top of her forehead.

Ino smiled slightly. She still couldn't begin to fathom how a man like Itachi could be so gentle and kind. This man was a cold-blooded murderer and tormentor of her best friend's love. Ino wondered to herself, as Itachi picked up his cloak and exited the room, if he would not want to kill her once he found out about her true mission.

Tsunade was up early the next morning, racing to the hospital to check up on her apprentice. She'd only gotten about five hours of sleep, but the coffee was doing its job and she was more than motivated to get moving quickly in the morning.

She reached the front desk and picked up her medic coat which she'd tossed on the rack earlier that morning.

"Ohayo Gozaimasu Tsunade-sama!" The two nurses on duty said. Tsunade smiled at them, muttering a quick, "Ohayo!" before racing to the elevator.

Once on Sakura's level she brusquely walked to her apprentice's room, only to stop dead as she sensed another Nin's chakra in the room. She frowned as she eased the door open, not making a sound. Who could be in here with her? Visiting hours haven't started yet!

The sight before her made her heart nearly stop, and it leapt into her throat as her eyes brimmed with tears.

Uchiha Sasuke, ANBU captain and known to many in the village as Konoha's icy bastard, was sound asleep by Sakura's side. His hand encircled hers, and his head lay next to her shoulder.

Tsunade clapped a hand to her mouth as she stepped back, already closing the door. Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks as she returned to the front desk.

"Hokage-sama is Sakura-san ok?" one of the nurses asked worriedly, eyeing Tsunade's face.

Tsunade looked back in the direction of the elevator.

"Don't worry. She's in good hands." She said, smiling at the nurses' ignorance to Sasuke's presence. Damn Uchiha. Leave it to him to follow orders like that… She smiled again as she went to go find Shizune.

A/N: hehehe. So what did you all think? xD What do you all think Sakura's gonna do when she wakes up? contemplates You all will just have to wait and find out! Oh yeah, PLEASE feel free to post suggestions as to what you all think should be added in this story! I'm open to all ideas! I would LOVE your input as you all are obviously taking the time to read!

ARIGATOU!
Uchiha Sakura