Hey everyone, I'm back! I'm writing this a little more seriously to clarify some things, so, enjoy! There is still OOCness to be enjoyed!

Chapter Four; On Fruitless Occassions

It was the perfect morning.

The sun was streaming milky warm rays into her curtained windows. The birds were chirping in a nearby branch to greet the new morning. The covers were pulled up to her nose as she curled comfortably within her little cocoon. It was beautiful, not a sound within the house, all was quiet. . .

Than her alarm rang 5:00 am.

Groaning, Sakura slammed her fist onto the machine, a little too hard, and ended up smashing it into bits. The machine fell to the floor with a thud and began malfunctioning, the ringer on the alarm buzzing and dying endlessly. Grumbling, she reached over and unplugged it from the wall, enjoying the silence as it quietly died on the carpeted floor. She grabbed the covers and pulled it over her head, hiding the light and hoping she'd be able to call in sick.

A knock suddenly lurched her form from under the covers and her head swung to the window, where a figure rested on her window sill. How come he couldn't use the door like other human beings? Sighing, she swung her legs off the futon and onto the floor, heading to her dresser drawer and throwing on a white overly large T-shirt over her almost nude self. She didn't care whether or not he saw, he'd seen her in worse shape before, why cover up now?

Drawing the curtains and opening the window, she let out a huge yawn," Morning, Kakashi—senpai," she greeted.

" Good morning to you too, Sakura," Kakashi waved, his eye crinkled happily. She'd come to know whether or not the crinkle was fake or genuine, and she hadn't seen him in weeks due to overloaded hospital shifts, so she knew he was just as happy to see her as she was him. In his hand he held a basket of fruit and vegetables; the usual." I needed to see if my star pupil had her veggies and fruits this morning," he chuckled, handing her the basket.

She took it halfheartedly and set it on top of the light stand, turning back to him." So, what brings you here? And why can't you ever just go threw the damn door like any other human being?" she sneered playfully, already used to his morning tactics and sticking to windows.

He simply shrugged, unperturbed." Just force of habit I presume," his lone eye drifted around her room for a second before he looked back at her." So, have any visitors lately?"

He had turned from being playful and sarcastic to curious and somewhat serious. She hadn't a clue as to what he was referring too, so she simply raised her eyebrow and answered, bewildered." No, why?"

His eye remained fixated on her, testing," Oh, I don't know. I was just thinking maybe Tsunade—sama had assigned any house guests for a time being," he said nonchalantly, placating, trying to drop a hint her way, but she couldn't quite pick it up.

House guest? What did that mean. . .Uh-oh. . .

Sakura gulped audibly, suddenly remembering the S-class criminal bunking in her home. He had to know, or he wouldn't be wracking her brain and reminding her that people can clearly sense his presence across the street. She was supposed to be hiding him and keeping him away from everyone! Not flaunting him about in front of the entire village to see, and cause everyone to be in an uproar and a sea of panic!

She wasn't really sure what to say to this. . .but she knew she had to say something, or it would make her look very suspicious and definitely the one to blame. Trying to be as casual as she could with her outer appearance, she asked in the most controlled voice she could muster," Have you seen Tsunade—shishou lately, and gotten the message from her?"

She knew that he knew that she knew she was only trying to distract it from the main subject, but even that made her head spin in confusion. Slowly, albeit not hesitantly, he shrugged and stared her in the eyes." No, I have not seen Tsunade—sama this morning, or last night, I just sort of felt. . .and saw something. . .or someone. . ."

" Oh God," she groaned in agony. He knew! He knew! And he was slowly and tortuously putting the blame upon her shoulders with deadly and precise hints that he knew that Itachi was in her living room as they conversed! It was not her morning, screw the nice day and the happy chirping, this was a nightmare.

Or maybe she was blowing everything out of porportion. Maybe he had already visited the Godaime and wanted to test her ability to handle an on—the—spot crisis. Well, she definitely failed. So, throwing caution to the wind, she let out a breathy sigh and stared back at him, calm and composed." So you know of my little house guest, don't you?"

He nodded in assent.

" And you know he is a major threat to Konoha, correct?"

He nodded again.

" And you haven't visited Tsunade—shishou this morning, you found this out for yourself. Now you're going to waltz into my house and exterminate the problem, correct?"

He coughed into his gloved hand and fixed her with a stern look." Two out of three is correct, the third, however, is not my job to fulfill,"

Her heart sank at his words; and she knew what he meant." I was supposed to keep him in hiding, until something of a memory came back, than I would take him to Tsunade—shishou to examine him once more. But I guess I didn't do such a good job. He's harmless, he doesn't know how to use his chakra—doesn't even know its there! He cannot deactivate his Sharingan or use it, and by my estimation they should be gone within a few hours of today. But you cannot! Absolutely NOT let Sasuke and/or Naruto know about him being here! You have to help me keep him a secret!"

Kakashi took in her pleading words and accepted them. If this was the Hokage's orders, he would strictly abide by them. He gave her a fake eye crinkle, and didn't care whether or not she knew it wasn't real." I understand, Sakura. I will keep him away Naruto—especially Sasuke—until something further more happens. You have my word."

" Eeeek! Thank you Kakashi—senpai!" With that she wrapped her arms around her old sensei, nearly knocking him off her window perch. Tentatively, he patted her on the back and secretly wished she would release him before all of his oxygen would dissipate. Sensing his discomfort, she pulled away and gave him a cheesy grin.

" Now, eat your veggies and fruit young lady," he ordered playfully, though his words were not to be disobeyed." I have important meetings to attend too, so, if you can, keep him inside or fix him with a suitable jutsu. If anyone is to interrogate you on his presence, tell them to talk to the Hokage for more answers. Do not let him go near any other familiar faces that may hold a grudge or two against his person. Understood?"

" Perfectly," she answered, relieved he was willing to help. No way could she keep him a secret forever by herself, so she was glad to have a higher authority speak for her as well. With a salute, he vanished from her window in a cloud of smoke, leaving her coughing hoarsely until she was able to shut the glass window. Sighing in content, she moved to her dresser drawer and removed a light blue halter top and white shorts, quickly throwing them on and rushing out the door, fruit basket in hand.

She entered the kitchen and placed the basket on the kitchen table, searching around for her mischievous little house guest. But she couldn't find him within the living room or in the bathroom, so she began to panic over the thought of him miraculously jumping threw the window and into the hands of the villager's of Konoha. That thought caused her to spiral into hysteria, made her search the entire house top to bottom until one area remained undisturbed.

Cautiously, she moved over to the hall closet and gripped the handles, opening the squeaky doors until it revealed a grinning Itachi behind a heap of clothing.

" !!"

He was wearing her beige leather jacket with the matching belt and her mother's high heeled mahogany shoes, complete with the top hat to boot. Breathing erratically, she held in the laughter that was bubbling to the surface at how ridiculous he looked. She all but failed when she had to release the handles and cover her mouth when the first squeak of betrayal came through her lips. Curiously, Itachi tilted his head to the side and tried to decipher her complex looking expression. Her eyes were squinted closed while her hands were clasped around her mouth, her body hunched over.

He thought she was in pain, so he attempted to step out of the closet—but wound up tripping over his own feet and landed right on her. With a startled gasp, Sakura pushed chakra from her back and somewhat cushioned the blow as Itachi landed full force onto her front, causing her to blush madly. His head was just below her jugular while his hands were held at her sides, trying to brace himself for the fall as well, she thought. He didn't seem to notice just how they were positioned on each other, because his head lifted and look directly at her.

Her breath hitched nervously as she took in the deep set of onyx colored eyes that infiltrated her barriers. They were like Sasuke's eyes, almost indentical, though the only difference was—they had emotion behind them. All her life she had been staring into the emotionless black depths of Sasuke's eyes, and never stopped to ponder if all Uchiha's eyes were of this same cold and bitterness. But, looking into Itachi, she could definitely concur that some Uchiha kept their emotions wide open for everyone else to see and enjoy.

But how exactly was he able to reactivate them when they were in the Hokage's office anyway? As she had theorized, he was holding a certain degree of chakra to keep them activated periodically, and they would eventually fail and he would be back to his normal eyes. But, the question remained; how was he able to reactivate them?

Slowly, she moved her hand and gently pushed on his ribcage, signaling for him to step off of her without hurting him. He got the hint and pushed himself off of her form, and she couldn't help but miss the warmth he provided, and deeply resented the cold that settled in. He kicked off the hanus shoes back into the closet and disposed of the leather jacket and hat, stepping over to her and offering his hand. At first she hadn't known what he was doing, thought that that foreign object was meant to crush her hand in the instant she took it.

Obviously it was a gesture for her to take it and for him to help her up. Dubiously, she reached for it and magically she was on her feet again, a little close to the Uchiha in question.

" Um. . ." Itachi mumbled, awkwardly scratching at his cheek." Sorry about that,"

Sakura absently ran a hand over her stomach." Its okay, I'm fine. How about you? My clothes must have damaged your ego gargantuanly," she joked playfully, but in return he gave her a quizzical look." Um. . .never mind about that," she said gently, walking out of the hallway and into the kitchen." I'm hungry anyway,"

He followed her into the kitchen and sat himself at her table, watching as she grabbed an apple from the basket and took a large bite out of the red flesh. Tilting his head to the side, as if examining it, he pointed to the fruit." Where did you get a fruit basket?" she paused in her second bite and looked at him, placed the apple on the counter next to her elbow.

" I got this from Kakashi—senpai this morning," she said nonchalantly, picking the apple back up and taking another bite. He nodded, but stopped and fixed her with a dubious look.

" Kakashi? Isn't he you're old sensei?"

" Yup,"

" What was he doing here this morning?"

" He does this routinely whenever he thinks his star pupils aren't getting enough fruits and vegetables every week."

" But. . .I didn't hear him come threw the door. . ."

" He never uses the door, its too overrated for him. He always uses our windows as doors, too lazy to knock and stuff,"

Itachi nodded and grabbed a peach from the basket, taking a bite, the juice running down his arm slowly." I see, he sounds like a good person,"

Sakura laughed while taking a bite, and had to choke down the piece of apple down her throat. Coughing, she slapped her chest and signaled to him that she was fine and was not in need of CPR. She wiped away tears as she answered." Yes, he is a good person. Not the most responsible in the world though, always made us wait for him whenever we had training and stuff,"

Itachi's brow raised curiously," Really? How long did he make you wait?"

" Hours. One morning he told us to be there 7:30 am sharp. He comes and greets us at 11:45 and says that he had gotten held up by an old lady; helping her across the street with her many bags of groceries. And then that same lady had lost her kitten in the woods, and he had to go and find it for her, then he had to come back and pile her wood for the winter."

" But that seems likely to happen,"

" Not when you've heard it over a million times, same story, same old lady, same crossroad, same pile of wood. . ."

The two laughed easily within the kitchen before Sakura realized that she had abandoned her apple. Picking it up, she took another bite.

The room was filled with a couple of comfortable moments of silence, each eating their respective fruits with care. Suddenly, Itachi began rubbing his eyes frivolously and looking at his fruit, startled. He attempted again, rubbing the heels of his palms over his eyes and trying to see the fruit clearly. What was wrong with his vision? He could barely see the little green fruit, it was just a green blur on top of yellow fuzz.

Sakura looked at him questionably. What was he doing? Repeatedly rubbing your eyes and staring at the fruit in bewilderment was not usual behavior. Snapping her fingers in front of his face, she fixed him with a concerned look, but he wasn't looking at her." Itachi?" she asked, snapping her fingers again. He looked at her fingers and poked them abruptly, making her eyebrow raise in curiosity." Itachi, whats wrong?"

" I. . .can't see clearly. . .everything's fuzzy. . ."

Her mouth opened with an audible pop. She hadn't factored on the fact that once his Sharingan were to deactivate he would most likely be semi blind from over use. But what was she to do? She couldn't just heal them, he was the enemy! It would be like handing an enemy soldier a gun and yelling " Shoot me!" It just wasn't right. But, in taking in Tsunade—shishou's words and the fact that she wanted him to be safe, keeping him safe would include making sure he could see properly, lest he fall off the front porch.

Sighing, she jumped off the chair and fled to the phone, dialing her shishou's private line for some helpful advice. The phone rang three times before Shizune—san picked up the phone.

" Hello?" she asked breathlessly—she must have ran toward the phone from the other end of the hall.

" Hi, Shizune—san, is Tsunade—shishou there?"

" Hai, one moment Sakura,"

The phone was silent for about one second before she could hear Shizune yell on the other end of the phone to her Hokage, who most likely was sleeping on the job once again. She was greeted with silence again until Tsunade decided to the phone.

" H-Hello?" Tsunade asked groggily. Sakura could distinctivley hear the thud of her head fall against the wooden desk on the other end.

" Hi, Tsunade—shishou, I have a question concering you know who,"

" No, I don't know who. Who is it?"

Sakura scowled into the phone." You know who I'm talking about. The person who I'm trying to keep in hiding. . ."

" You're trying to hide a boyfriend in your house?"

" No! You know who I'm talking about!"

" Sakura, I really don't know who or what you are talking about,"

" Tsunade!"—It was rare that Sakura ever used her name without a suffix—" I can't say his name on the phone! It would ruin everything!"

There was a moment of silence before Tsunade decided to speak again, quieter." Whisper it,"

Sakura felt like beating her head off the wall.

" His name is. . ." Sakura whispered, until she felt a presence behind her. Whirling around, she saw Itachi looming over her figure attentively. How long had he been there? Shooing him away and signaling him to be quiet, she gripped the phone harder." Itachi."

She heard what sounded like water being squirted out of one's mouth on the other end of the phone, followed by hoarse coughing and gaging.

" Ack!"

" Tsunade—shishou! Are you alright?"

A couple more minutes went by before her breathing evened and her coughing settled." Sakura, what are you doing with an S-class criminal in your house?"

- - - - - - -

After about an hour of trying to convince her own mentor that it was her idea in the first place to have Itachi stay in her apartment, the conversation went back on track. It was harder than Sakura thought to convince her, but with the help of her faithful assistant, Shizune, they were able to tell her that yes it was her idea to have an S-class criminal in her home and yes she was indeed intoxicated with too much sake.

" Okay, now that we've got everything all cleared up, what was it that you called for?" Tsunade asked professionally, trying to mask the embarrassment.

Sakura smirked on the other end of the phone and proceeded to tell her the rest." I wanted to know if it would be alright if I could fix his eyesight,"

Another silent moment went by before she replied." Absolutely not," she said in a stern tone.

" Tsunade—shishou, you yourself told me not to put him in harms way and to keep him safe. How am I supposed to do that when he can barely see? Next thing you know I'll leave the door to the balcony open and there he goes! Falling off of the balcony onto the hard concrete that awaits below!"

She hadn't counted on being very dramatic, but it was necessary. Tsunade sighed on the other end of the phone, digesting her words and tossing and turning her answer in her head.

Finally, she spoke." I suppose that's a reasonable answer and excuse. . .but I only want you to heal them enough so that he can at least see shapes and figures, no more, is that clear?"

" Crystal,"

" Good, I trust you will not let him fall off any balconies then, am I right?"

" Yes, shishou, he won't be falling off of any balconies, not while I'm here anyway,"

" Oh, and Tsunade—shishou," Sakura said again, a little more tentative." Kakashi—senpai knows about him. He said he'd do his best to make sure his whereabouts are strictly confidential and a secret. And I want to know if I can take today off to work on his sight, if you don't mind."

" That is fine, Sakura," Tsunade replied back lightly." I have to go now,"

" Big meeting?"

" Yup," she sighed.

" Goodbye,"

With that Sakura hung up the phone and turned to Itachi, examining his behavior toward what he could and couldn't see. It seemed he was near sighted, but she wasn't quite sure if it was because of his semi blindness or if that was how he had lived his whole life. No matter, Sakura thought with a shrug, I can fix both.

Stepping up to him carefully so she wouldn't startle him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and spun him around in her direction, inspecting his eyes. They were the deep onyx like she'd recently seen, but a bit more hazier, as if someone drew gray crayon on black. Gently, she raised her hand in front of his face and slowly moved it back and forth, but he wasn't following it it, just staring straight at her face.

Pursing her lips in frustration, she snapped chakra to her fingertips and touched them lightly on his temple. He flinched at first, but slowly relaxed to the feeling of having someone's chakra probe inside your anatomy at an inhuman speed. He knew it had to have been chakra that came to her fingertips, for there was no other explanation, and he just knew what it was without knowing what it was.

It felt like a rush of hot water was splashing onto his body when she retreated her chakra and accessed him outwardly. It didn't feel the same when the blond haired girl had done it, it felt more intruding and more forceful. His eyesight was being clogged in the line of chakra vessels, all of it jammed and disturbing his natural sight. She guessed it was because of the extended use of his Sharingan and the overly used tsukiyomi and mangekyou that caused the chakra to build and clog.

But, the question remained, how was she to unclog most of the chakra build up without completely giving him his sight back? She figured that the way he could see with his Sharingan when his eyesight was already this horrible was because of his chakra that had heightened his eyesight just enough for him to make out figures and shapes and to sense out approaching danger. She felt a whole new wave of appreciation for him just then.

If his sight was terrible, even with his chakra infused to make his retina work harder, than it must have been rather difficult to fight and maintain a superior ego and an advanced line of defense when you could barely see. He must have just been using instinct and his senses alone while fighting with one or more enemies, since he could have easily developed a blind spot with his one weakness.

But she was going to give him the advantage of sight for a little while so he wouldn't end up as a human pancake on her concrete walkway in the morning.

She took his hand gingerly and lead him to the couch and sat him down, cracking her knuckles and preparing for a major headache. This type of medical area wasn't her best approach, but she'd give it a shot.

" I want you to lie down and get comfortable," she ordered authoritatively.

Itachi raised an eyebrow." Why?"

" Because we may be here a while," she said, exasperated." And because I'm not particularly familiar with this area of medical experience so it may take a while for me to adapt to the process and chakra stability,"

" Alright," he said, which clearly meant; whatever that means.

She smiled secretly and ordered for him to close his eyes. This may prove to be a bit difficult, because she was counting on examining the Sharingan closer while he had his guard down, but he hadn't any chakra to activate or control it. Who knows, he may accidentally suck her into the tsukiyomi without meaning to. But she remembered what she was thinking about before she began to heal his eyes and eat the fruit, she was thinking of how he had activated his Sharingan by himself.

She tried to approach it casually, but managed to sound small." Um. . .how exactly were you able to reactivate your Sharingan, anyway?"

His brow raised, but his eyes remained obediently closed." Sharingan? What is that?"

She figured it would come up, so she had to work her way around her answer." Its a special ability you possess, you had deactivated it when we were in Tsunade—shishou's office, remember?"

His face scrunched up in confusion.

" The Hokage office," he still looked lost." The room with the big clock in it. . ."

" Oh! Yeah, I remember now!"

Sakura sighed.

" What did you want to know about it?" Itachi inquired.

" I wanted to know how you deactivated your Sharingan, and got it back again later."

" Um. . .I donno,"

" You. . .don't know. . .? How?"

Itachi shrugged, careful not to move his face." Mmm, I remember not being able to see clearly, and I was internally complaining about it. I just thought about seeing better and BAM! I could see clearer!" He exclaimed, empathizing his words with his hands.

Sakura thought about his deduction before she answered." So, you thought about it, and it just happened?"

" Yeah, I guess,"

" Interesting." Carefully, she removed her hands from his temple and thought about how she would go about telling him this. It wasn't as if the chakra flow would magically start to fluctuate, but it was sort of worth a try." Itachi," she said lightly, and he nodded his head in assent." Sit up for me, and you can open your eyes now,"

He did as he was told, a bit childishly, sighing in frustration and sitting himself up, propping his arms on his upraised knees. He slowly began opening his eyes, almost dramatically, but snapped them open quick when they were halfway revealed. Sakura scoffed, hiding her laughter, and assessed him critically. She had to put it in some kind of form where he would be able to follow along without a hitch.

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye, but quickly looked at something else, lest she start staring again." Okay, I want you to imagine a river flowing threw you're body, and try and stimulate the same with your chakra,"

He nodded his head hesitantly, unsure of her words, and began his imagining. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, he huffed in annoyance." It isn't working," he sulked.

" Keep trying," she encouraged, watching him repeat the same motion with more concentration. She'd guessed that he would be a bit stubborn and impatient since the beginning, but she was willing to remain impassive and attentive when he needed praising. It sounded like she was teaching a kid how to ride a bike.

He shook his head vigorously and opened his eyes, huffing." Its not working," he repeated.

A thought hit her." Do you remember what it felt like when your Sharingan was activated?"

He tossed the question within his mind and shook his head." Yes, somewhat, but not quite,"

" That's fine," she assured." Can you describe what it felt like?"

" It kind of felt like a heavy brick was being placed on my skull, and being bathed in water," he said, unsure as how he would relate the feeling to something similar.

It sounded like an effect a kekki genkai trait would cause, so she opted on that." Can you focus that feeling again?"

" I can try,"

Another few moments passed and eventually he grew tired and impatient. He opened his eyes and stared back at her." I don't feel anything!"

Sakura sighed in frustration, clearly he would need to see, so she set about examining and fixing his eyesight with a clear and focused mind.

She worked on his eyes for four hours before passing out of exhaustion.

Feedback is most appreciated. If you spot any errors, please make them known so I may proceed to fix them. Review on your way out please.