Chapter ten I do not own Naruto

Thank you to everyone! I'm so glad you like it.

Here's the next chapter! Italics is flashback, bold is thought.

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Sakura Studied Itachi as he ate his breakfast. She had noticed his, "idiosyncrasies" from the time they had been together, but it was lately that she realized what she was seeing. She had noticed that when he walked he touched the objects around him and, at first; it had seemed that he was memorizing the layout of the house and village out of nostalgia. But on this day, Sakura realized that Itachi was reaching out to actually see. Was he having trouble with his eyes? Sakura thought, Could he be going blind? This thought disturbed her as she dwelled on it. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she lost her eyesight.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

He turned to face her, and Sakura saw his gaze search before landing on her.

"Why do you ask?" He said in a slightly guarded tone.

Sakura took a deep breath before uttering her thoughts on his behavior.

Itachi seemed surprised, but then closed his eyes and spoke. "You're right. My eyes are failing me." When he opened them, Sakura met the red blaze of his sharingan. "It's because of this, well, the monykegou sharingan. It came at a price to obtain it, and it seems, that there's a price to use it as well. My eyesight has been slowly going since the first time I used it."

"Can you do anything? I mean, is there anything I could do?"

Itachi retracted the Sharingan and smiled in a sad sort of way. "I don't know, I never really thought about it. I suppose there may be a way to reverse it."

Sakura sat straight up. "Well, I could do an eye exam, I'm sure between me and Tsunade-sama we could heal your eyes."

Itachi seemed apprehensive, but then nodded. "Alright, I suppose it won't be any harm to have an eye exam."

Sakura got up and walked around to Itachi's side of the table. She sat before him and put her hands on his face as she gazed intently into his eyes. Itachi felt his face grow a bit warmer as she turned his head slightly.

"Itachi, I'll need to add some of my chakra to your eye in order to see any contusions or lesions." She moved one hand from his face and brought it to his eyelids. He could feel chakra move through his eyes and was surprised at how pleasant it felt. Usually, when someone else's chakra goes into your body it feels as if the strange chakra is intruding. With Sakura's chakra, Itachi felt as if she was comforting him, inside and out. He opened his eyes. She was giving directions on which way he should look as she examined his eyes.

"Now I'll need you to use your sharingan while I repeat the process."

He did as he was told and subjected himself to a few more minutes of probing. After she had finished, Sakura stood up and walked to the counter, muttering to herself. She scribbled furiously at a notepad for a few minutes before pausing. Itachi knew that she was all business at the moment he didn't interrupt her. A few moments later Sakura looked at him.

"I think I may be able to reverse the damage."

Itachi was entirely surprised.

"What?"

Sakura seemed sheepish. "Well, it actually won't be that hard. It seems your body reacts well to my chakra, in case you hadn't noticed, and the damage seems pretty standard, almost like it was from natural causes. It should take about half a day to heal your eyes, and then if you continue to lose your eyesight, we can repeat the process as necessary. I mean, you've been using the monykegou sharingan for years and your eyesight hasn't been damaged beyond repair. Though, I wouldn't use it very often in order to prevent the symptoms from returning."

"I expected you would say that. Well," He said looking at her. "When will we be able to do this? I mean, no rush, when you've got time."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Itachi, I said it wasn't serious but that doesn't mean we put this off. We'll do it today."

"So soon?"

"Yeah, I'll head into the office and get what I need." She seemed lost in her preparations. "I should be back by noon; we can do it here, and then be done by nightfall." She said, heading for the door. "Well, assuming all goes according to plan."

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It was almost time for her to heal Itachi's eyes. Sakura placed bowls of medicinal herbs and water beside the bed and placed a chair next to them. Everything seems to be okay. She thought. Tsunade-sama gave me everything, and I'm ready. The only thing missing now is…the patient! Sakura got up and stuck her head out of the doorway.

"Itachi?" She called.

She heard a noise behind her and turned to see him shutting the window.

"Have you been in here the whole time?" She asked, puzzled. Maybe I'm the one who needs their eyes checked!

He flashed a smile. "No, I was outside. I came in through the window."

"Oh," She said relieved. "Let's get started."

Sakura sat next to the bed as Itachi lay down. She mixed several of her herbs into a bowl and placed water, as well as her chakra, into the bowl. She let the chakra flow over her hands as she placed one hand on his chest and the other over his eyes.

"Okay, here we go…"

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A few hours later, Sakura moved her hands from Itachi's face and breathes a sigh of relief. Night had fallen outside, it had taken more time and energy than she had expected but, finally, she was done.

Itachi lay still with his eyes closed. That his healing was finished was incredible. He almost didn't dare to open his eyes. He could hear Sakura's tired breathe, and sat up, still keeping his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he noticed how his vision was no longer unfocused or grainy. He looked at his hands, I can't remember the last time I could see this clearly. He brought his hands up to Sakura's tired face as he turned his gaze toward her. Sakura leaned into his touch.

"Thank you, Sakura."

Sakura smiled. "Don't thank me. I only wanted to help."

"No, you gave me back my eyes. Because of you I can finally see you." He leaned forward and began to caress her cheek. "I can see you and your eyes…" His voice began to drop as his thumb grazed over her lips. "And your lips." He gently pressed his mouth over hers.

Several moments later, Sakura and Itachi broke apart, drawing in a deep breath. Sakura felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she quickly gathered the bowls and herbs before mumbling something about being right back and dashing out of the room. Sakura leaned against the wall once she was out of sight. I can't believe he just…! She thought, mind racing. I don't know what to do. I mean, not that I didn't enjoy it. She leaned over to glance into the room. Itachi was staring out the widow, his back to her. I just don't know what to do!

Itachi glanced out the window, thinking about what had happened. He wondered if Sakura would regret the kiss, but seemed to think otherwise. The kiss was short, but not short enough that she couldn't have pulled away if she wanted to. Itachi smiled remembering how flustered she looked as she had escaped from the room. He assumed that she was overwhelmed and maybe a little confused but he was somewhat excited at how she had reacted to his touch. He stretched and began to get into bed. Let's see how long it takes her to come to bed. He thought with a chuckle. No matter how embarrassed she is, she has to come to bed. Itachi rolled over to face the wall.

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After putting away everything she had used, Sakura walked into the bedroom. Itachi was lying facing the wall, and Sakura took advantage of this by quickly changing and slipping into bed. I'm so tired, she thought, facing the ceiling. She looked at the back of Itachi's head. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to admit that I liked kissing him. That maybe I am falling in love. But only to myself. Sakura closed her eyes and drifted into a heavy sleep.

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Itachi rolled over to face Sakura only after he was sure she was fast asleep. Itachi propped his head up on his elbow and smiled as he watched his wife breathe. She looked so peaceful with her head to the side, her mouth slightly open. Itachi moved her hair out Sakura's face with the back of his hand. Maybe it would be okay to admit that he was starting to love her. He bent down and planted a soft kiss on her large forehead.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she found herself gazing up at Itachi. It was still dark outside so she assumed he hadn't been up long.

"Hi." She said as he smiled.

"Hi, yourself." He said as she blushed.

"What time is it?"

"It's late, go back to sleep. I am." As if to convince her, he slunk back under the covers, still facing her.

"Alright."

Sakura settled back into the bed, when, surprisingly, Itachi reached over and brought her closer to him. He put his face next to hers and closed his eyes, his arm still across her waist. Sakura wanted instinctively to pull away, but soon found she was comfortable. She settled into his chest and closed her eyes as well. Yeah, thought both Sakura and Itachi.

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Woo! I finally let the ball start rolling in this story! I now it took forever! I hope you guys like it. Next time: Akatsuki begins their plan and Sasuke reveals himself!