Yo. Here's the chapter before the epilogue. Ha! Don't worry, it's not another cliffhanger, though this and the epilogue will be kinda short.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Heck, I don't even own my brother's brain! …That would be true, if he had one…

- - -

Sasuke froze, barely able to believe what he'd heard. "Y-you?" he asked in disbelief, obsidian eyes narrowing. On instinct, his Sharingan activated. "Who are you?!"
His question was unheard as Inner Sakura clutched Itachi's sleeve. "Really? Really?" she cried in relief. "Really, Itachi-san?!"

"Itachi?!" Sasuke's voice cut through the room. All eyes locked on his rage-filled pale face, and Ino held onto his hand, squeezing in warning.

"Sasuke – " Tsunade tried to calm him down, but he only glared at his brothe,r who had finally pushed back his hat to reveal his face.

"Itachi!" the teen spat. "What are you doing here?" Suddenly, Sakura collapsed; Itachi caught her before she touched the ground.

"Hokage-sama," the older Uchiha said tensely. "She needs my blood right now. Can we do it here? She shouldn't be moved around too much, or the poison will spread."
"I need everyone to leave," Tsunade ordered. When nobody moved, she barked, "Out! Sasuke, Ino can explain everything. Please. For Sakura's sake."

Ino tugged urgently at her crush's sleeve. "Sasuke-kun, please! I'll explain it to you outside. Come one… That's it." Pitching her voice lower, she managed to coax him to the door.

He gave a curt nod. "For now. Tsunade-sama… Don't let her die." Ino led him down the stairs, with Naruto and Kakashi following close behind.

"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade roared. The brunette medic came to the office in a hurry. She stopped short at the sight of Sakura's limp body, her pretty face registering shock.

"Tsunade-sama, what – " She broke off, staring at the pale body in Itachi's arms. "What do you need?" She seemed to understand the urgency of the situation. She would ask her questions later.

Tsunade smiled weakly at the young woman. "Put her down on my desk," she told Itachi. He obeyed but held her slender hand, face tightly closed. He seemed to become the man he'd been before teaching Sakura again; cold – but this time the coldness was to keep his pain at bay.

Tsunade watched with a sad, remembering smile. She hesitated, and reached out a hand to touch Itachi's shoulder in understanding. When he looked up with stony eyes, she said, "She'll be fine, Itachi-san. Sakura's a strong girl."

Gratitude flickered in his – suddenly, she realized – onyx eyes; then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He bowed over Sakura's hand again. Shizune came in with the medical equipment and began the process, with Tsunade guiding her.

A long silence, and then Itachi spoke as he watched his blood being transferred to his student. "I didn't tell her, but… there is a forty percent chance that her body will reject my blood and the poison will continue its course undisturbed. If she doesn't make it, I'll be the one who killed her." A single tear slipped down his alabaster cheek, and he clutched Sakura's hand.

- - -

"Why is he here?" Sasuke demanded once they were seated on a wooden bench outside the Hokage's Tower. "Who knows?"

Ino let out a bitter laugh. "The whole village knows," she muttered, not meeting his eyes. "They didn't care after a few weeks."

"But why?" Kakashi put in. "Why come here in the first place?"

"He came here to train Sakura," Ino replied. "Said she showed promise. Tsunade-sama agreed, and… they just happened to pick me up."

"He trained her – and you? Why didn't she say no?" Sasuke asked angrily. "She can't just say yes to any criminal who walks by! Why didn't she ask for training from someone like him?" He pointed at the Copycat nin.

Ino shrugged, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. "Maybe she got tired of being called weak," she whispered. Sasuke and Kakashi winced.

"She never asked – " Ino cut Kakashi off, blue eyes stormy.

"You wouldn't even teach her a new jutsu! How could she ask for special training?" she raged. At this point, Naruto got up and said he would find Hinata, adding that she would tell him the story. Then he fled. (A/N: Smart Naruto.)

Ino turned back to the two Sharingan wielders, eyes ablaze. "So basically, he trained us both until we made chuunin and, eventually, jounin," she continued. "And I do believe she loves him."

Sasuke leapt up. "She can't love him!" he cried. "He'll just hurt her and – " He stopped. Ino finished for him, a smoldering expression on her face.

"He'll just hurt her and leave her alone, hm?" she sneered. "Leave her for power, perhaps? Leave her just like you did?"
"I came back eventually," Sasuke defended. Ino snorted.

"You came back after there was nothing left to do," she spat. "And you acted like she was some kind of burden. Too late, Sasuke-kun. Too late! At least give her this. She deserves it."

He hung his head. "I will," he murmured. "Now I'm all alone again. I can't kill Itachi, so there's no point in life anymore."

To his and Kakashi's surprise, Ino enveloped him in a hug. "I'm still here," she mumbled into his shoulder. "I was always here." His eyes widened, and he awkwardly embraced her back.

"Arigato."

- - -

Tsunade stared at the monitor, checking to make sure that Sakura's heart was going at the same steady rate. They had long finished the blood transfusion and moved her to the hospital, so it should take effect soon. It was now or never. And as she watched with growing dread, Sakura's pulse slowed.

Itachi stroked her bright pink locks, repeating her name with growing urgency. The kunoichi's heart stopped. Tsunade closed her eyes – and opened them in shock as the faint beeps began again. Sakura's emerald orbs fluttered open, to land on Itachi's drawn face.

"I-Itachi-san…?" she mumbled. Then it registered, and she flew into his outstretched arms, sobbing. "I – I think I died, Itachi-san, but then I heard you saying my name, and I followed you back here – " She soaked his clothes, but he didn't seem to mind; he stroked her back tenderly, speechless.

"Sakura." Tsunade felt guilty for interrupting the happy moment, but drew breath to speak. "When you feel better, send someone to me." And she left.

Itachi lifted Sakura out of the cold white bed and placed her carefully on his lap, as if she might break if he handled her too roughly. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent deeply.

"Sakura." Her breath caught at the way he said her name. "Sakura…"

"Yes?" she encouraged softly. His arms encircled her, and pulled her closer to him. "What is it, Itachi-san?"

"Sakura… I love you."

Smiling gently, she kissed him. "I love you too… Itachi." Pulling away briefly and giggling when he sighed in protest, she asked, "Why did you help me?"

Now, and then…

He knew how to answer that one. "You showed promise."

And once more – "Thank you."

- - -

And the epilogue will be here soon enough! I'm typing and eating and watching t.v. and listening to Evanescence and Within Temptation, so sorry for any mistakes.