Next chapter! This one is on the light side, so don't expect it to last, but I knew you guys would like a little taster here.

"Uchiha-san, wake up." A warm hand shook his shoulder gently. He winced, shifting around.

"Where am I?" He struggled to focus on the faces above him.

"The hospital, Uchiha-san." The first voice spoke. "You've been asleep for quite a while." He rubbed his eyes with heavy, unfamiliar hands.

"I'm not dead." It was somewhere between a statement and a question. The fog cleared and he could see their smiling faces. "Shizune?"

"Yes. And you remember Hinata? She saved your life."

He could vaguely remember such a person, from a long time ago, like a dream. His hands felt at his head, finding a long braid of charcoal hair. His hair. So many pieces missing…. A name came to mind. "Tsunade?"

Shizune's smile slipped a little. "She didn't survive the attack on Konoha."

Another name. "Naruto?"

The purple haired doctor smiled wider and blushed. "It's Naruto-sama now. He's Hokage." Everything was swirling in his mind. He pushed himself up to sitting, feeling his hair, staring at his body. It was thin and pale, in white pajamas. His name…..

Uchiha Itachi.

"Sasuke? What about him?" The two women looked uneasily at each other. "Is he still recovering? Shouldn't Naruto be recovering as well?"

"Um, Uchiha-san, you've been in a coma for five years. A lot has changed." It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on him.

"Five years?" Hinata nodded. Itachi shifted so his feet hung off the edge of the bed. "How did I survive? If the Nabe's didn't, then surely Sasuke would have-"

"Shizune-senpai took you to the hospital. We kept you in a coma while we-" Hinata looked uneasy.

"We tried some experimental treatments for your Nabe's," Shizune took over. "Since you were legally dead, we thought it a good time to try and save you without political repercussions. It took a long time, and we almost lost you, but you are cured. You no longer have Nabe's."

Itachi's eyes widened. "How-"

"Radiation treatments, mostly. We destroyed the bone marrow that was making defective blood cells and replaced it with donor marrow."

"So, I'm healthy?" he asked slowly, one final thought swirling around and around in his head, growing until it consumed him.

"Well, we need to monitor your condition, but yes, I-" As soon as he heard "yes" he was off the bed, bolting for the door. "Wait!"

Itachi ignored the shouts, dashing down the halls wildly. He stumbled, but didn't let himself slow. Before anyone could stop him, he slammed open the main doors and was out into the crisp night air. He inhaled deeply, relishing his ability to do so, feeling free. His goal snapped him to attention, taking him off in the opposite direction.

Itachi noted his discoordination, the way he tripped and wobbled as he ran into the back alleys. He didn't want to be seen, most especially not like this. His bare feet pounded the rocky ground in rhythm with his heart. Internally, he swore at himself for his clumsiness. It slowed him enough to frustrate. He remembered when he could cross this distance within seconds, but he didn't trust his traitorous body to cooperate enough to shunshin.

Itachi even try to turn his Sharingan on. He didn't need it. Her scent hung heavy in the district. He surmised she must have been living in the Uchiha compound for some time. He stuck to the side streets as he searched, wandering the rows of housing.

There.

He came to a stop in the garden by a shrine. Her back was to him. She still wore the same clothes as she did when Itachi had seen her last. She was touching the sakura blossoms. Itachi didn't know what to do, so he practiced what had always worked: he waited.

Then, slowly, she turned. Itachi forgot to breathe. Even though her face was different, drawn, tired, resigned, it was still…. "Sakura."

She looked him up and down. "So now you're going to haunt me during waking hours? My nightmares weren't enough for you? That, or I'm hallucinating. I'm not sure which is worse." Needless to say, this was not the reception Itachi was expecting. Sakura sighed heavily, frowning. "Yeah, great timing. As if I needed reminding." Itachi stood still, thinking of what to do. "And this time you're not talking. Had enough of telling me that you're alive somewhere? Can I give up hope now?" she spat bitterly. He could tell his presence was unraveling her calm. Slowly he approached her. "Your hair's longer this time. And you're paler. Guess the ghost thing is really working out for you." He reached for her hand. "Oh will you just go the fuck away before I-"

His fingers coiled around her palm. Sakura's eyes shot open wide, gasping. He looked deep into her eyes as he lifted her hand to touch his lips. "You're dead, I saw you. You're-you're-" Tears pooled in the eyes Itachi fell in love with years ago. "Itachi." He guided her hand around his cheeks, feeling the softness of those perfect fingers.

"Did you really think death could keep us apart, Sakura?" He leaned down, pressing a sweet kiss onto her mouth. When he pulled back, she was still staring at him in disbelief. There was a long pause as her tears dried, biting her lip the way she did when she was thinking. A split second later, she made up her mind.

Her hand flipped around his, seizing his palm, yanking him forward as she ran. Itachi followed obediently, his wobbly legs barely keeping up with her. She rounded a corner, opening a door, jerking him inside. As soon as the door was shut, Sakura slammed him into it, holding him there with a fierce kiss.

Itachi parted his lips without hesitation, their tongues tangling together in a long forgotten dance. He curled his fingers into her back as she moaned passionately. Sakura grabbed the zip on her top, pulling off the bandages binding her chest. She forced Itachi's hands from her waist to grab her breasts. Itachi groaned. Her breasts were larger than he remembered, her ass rounder, her stomach supple and fleshy. She appeared much more womanly now, with a glow he couldn't place.

Her nails scrabbled at the waistband of his pants. "Slow down Sakura," he murmured against her hungry lips.

"I don't want to," she breathed back. "I want you inside me, now." Her words sent a delicious chill up his spine. He crushed his mouth to hers, enjoying the ways she writhed against him. He slipped his fingers under her skirt to start pulling her little black shorts off. She finished the job, kicking them off. Before he knew what was happening, she had him out in her hand, grasping with a skill she hadn't had before.

Itachi took his turn to push her into the wall, cupping her legs with his arms, lifting them so she was open and inviting to him. Sakura reached down to guide him into place, the other hand around his neck. He brushed past her entrance and shivered.

"Please, Itachi," she moaned into his ear. That did it. He plunged in.

Sakura's head snapped back, letting out a long husky sound of pleasure. Itachi put his face to her neck, biting his lip as he moaned. She was so unbelievably tight and wet, swollen and rippling on his shaft. He shifted his hips a little and a spasm shot though Sakura, causing her to buck against him and clutch at his braided hair. She rotated her hips, wriggling her legs to be freed. Obligingly, Itachi let go of her knees so she could lock her ankles around his waist. He felt her slipping. In response, Itachi gave a forceful push into the wall. She cried out again, yanking on his braid to make him look up. "More," she moaned against his lips. Itachi picked up a moderate, but powerful pace. He didn't tease, but with each thrust, he went deep before pulling almost all the way out.

Itachi couldn't resist looking at her while he pleasured her. At this moment, he could care less about his own enjoyment, deriving all his pleasure from hers. Sakura undulated her back in time with his movements, lending a fluidity to their dance.

Sakura started whispering under her breath, first with her eyes closed, barely audible. Her shoulders shook. Itachi nosed her cheek. "Sakura, what's wrong?" He slowed, but she clutched him harder, willing him to keep going.

Her eyes finally connected with his. "Please don't let this be goodbye. Not like last time. Stay with me, please! Stay!" To Itachi's eternal sadness, she began to cry.

"Never. I'm never leaving again." He crushed his mouth to hers, willing her pain and loneliness to disappear, willing it inside himself. He never wanted to see her suffer ever again.

Their bodies molded together, forms fitting to the other's shape. Itachi could feel that ball of fire within himself, growing and building, reaching critical mass. He did his best to hold off, trying to fulfill her first. Sakura must have felt him holding back.

"I want it," she said breathily, still moist eyes boring deep into his. "Please, give it to me." At her request, Itachi let go, letting her have what she wanted. It must have set her off, because he felt her ripple around him, panting. It was all too much.

He found himself screaming her name, hard. It was almost involuntary. With every repetition, Sakura convulsed and groaned, seemingly enjoying it as much as he was. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura," he couldn't stop saying it over and over.

Itachi felt as though he would faint. He leaned heavily into her, their foreheads touching. Maybe it was a bit much for him to do this so soon after waking up. Sakura traced her fingers over Itachi's cheeks and neck delicately.

"Thank you…..thank you…." Itachi didn't need to ask what she was thanking him for. If he had the breath, he would be thanking right back.

A childlike wail echoed through the empty house. Itachi and Sakura jumped.

Sakura smacked the back of her head against the wall. "Fuck."

Alright, lovelies, here it is! Enjoy and please review!