Whispers in the Dark

Chapter Six

Akito arched a curious eyebrow as he sat down on the porch placing two mugs of hot cocoa by his side. He directed his gaze at the pink-haired girl. He was curious to know what the cause of her good-mood was. Lately, the pink-haired girl did nothing else but to sing to herself and collect special herbs. That wasn't all. It was the look in her eyes. There was this unknown sparkle that he could not read. She was up to something and he had no idea what and that was highly intriguing him. A playful smile decorated his handsome features as he watched Sakura run a tired hand through her pink-hair. If there was something he loved the most was to play the detective role.

As if detecting his presence, Sakura turned around and offered him a small tired smile.

"Ne Akito-san are those-?"

"Hai. Come and take a small break,"

Sakura small smile widened at the suggestion. She nodded lightly and abandoned the small hamper filled with herbs. Sighing, she picked up her mug and sat down next to Akito inhaling the nice hot cocoa scent, "Mmmh,"

"How is Itachi healing coming along?" Akito asked as he too picked his mug.

Sakura chugged the cocoa down and licked her lips before she answered, "It's coming nicely. I reckon he will be ready in two weeks,"she placed the mug down and tilted her head to look at him, "What will happen then? How will you bring him back?"

Akito looked up at her suddenly. Grinning, he said, "There are things that should remain in the dark, my dear." It amused him to see the wrinkles forming in her forehead as she pushed her pink eyebrows together in sheer frustration.

Sakura pressed her lips together. She refrained herself from snapping at him. Akito cunning and mysterious personality contrasted greatly with her curious nature. Not having the answers to her questions was probably worse than natural catastrophes. Shrugging her shoulders, she looked upwards to the bright blue sky. She knew there was a lot that she was not being told. Still it didn't really matter. For the very first time in years she was feeling in peace. It was kind of ironic that she would come to feel this way under the enemy wings.

It had been one week since she arrived to only Kami knows where. Akito was rarely at home and that offered her a satisfying feeling of freedom and trust. And whenever he was present, he always insisted to stay near Sakura. They usual spoke about political matters and she managed to sketch a small profile about him. Akito seemed to be very intelligent and with great knowledge about past politics and wars. He also possessed a bright humor, making her laugh a few times. Either way, she never forgot for one second that he was still a complete stranger and was probably only letting out false information about his own person.

What intrigued her most was Itachi's silence when she questioned him about Akito. He never confirmed whether he knew Akito or not and it seemed as though she was not going to find out any soon. Not even his emotions gave the answer away. His face was like a closed book and only those with the master key could open it. Unfortunately she did not have a master key and knew that she would never have one. Itachi would never open his pages to anyone and it was something she needed to be careful with. Who knew what his next page was preparing next? She would have to make sure that he was going to bring Sasuke back.

Akito yawn interrupted Sakura's thoughts. The pinkette smiled softly as she pushed herself upwards, "It is getting late," she observed as the sun was beginning to cower away.

"Bring your things inside;" said Akito, also standing up, "meet me in Itachi's room,"

Sakura shot him a wondering look but said nothing. She made her way towards the little basket filled with specific healing herbs. She picked it up and stood there listening to Akito's retreating footsteps.

Taking in a deep breath, she finally turned around and stepped inside the small house. The now familiar scent of lavender incent did not bother her at all as she walked through the slight dark corridor. Taking a small turn to the left she came to a stop in front of an opened door. Knocking lightly, she walked in and gave the dark-haired man a lighthearted smile.

Akito patted the empty chair next to him, gesturing for her to sit down. Sakura placed the hamper next to Itachi's feet and took the seat. She arched an impatient brow. His golden-cat like eyes possessed glint of mischief that made her want to punch it away.

"Sakura-san… I'm afraid that we don't have a week," said Akito as he slowly looked away towards the Uchiha sleeping form.

The pink-haired girl blinked quietly as his words echoed inside her brain. Her neurons struggled to understand but in vain, "What? But I-"

"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do it but I am afraid that time is running out," said Akito, holding out his hands and pressing his palms together, "We will have to risk it. This is where his life depends solemnly on you."

Her eyes were wide with dread. Akito looked at her, irritated by such expression, "Tell me that you can do it. Give me your word."

Sakura wanted to tell him that she was able to do it but her voice abandoned her. In fact, she was starting to think that every nerve of her body left her to her own luck.

"Give me your word." Akito insisted. His voice became lower and deeper.

She swallowed dry and nodded, "I can do it," she whispered, hiding her trembling hands on her lap. She gave him a final nod and watched in awe at what happened next.

Akito hands started to glow an extreme green color, somewhat different to her green healing chakra. She concluded that his chakra was much more concentrated and powerful than hers and perhaps… no… it was definitely powerful than Tsunade-sama chakra as well. Just who was this guy?

Mouth-opened, Sakura could only watch as his green chakra started to disperse away. Small particles floated in the air and concentrated around Itachi's body. All of a sudden there was a flash that almost blinded her. The green particles were now sticking to Itachi's skin and acted like worms crawling up and down. She leaned forward in the chair completely breathless. She focused her gaze on the Uchiha's chest which was now heaving more strongly and rapidly. Her green eyes moved on to his dry now parted lips. He was trying to suck in the maximum quantity of air as possible but it looked as though he was not able to breathe.

"Sakura! What are you waiting for!?" Akito angry voice reached her ears, startling her.

Shaking her head, Sakura jumped off the chair and launched herself towards the bed as soon as Itachi body started to convulse. Instantly, her hands glowed green and she pressed them on his chest. She fought the urge to pull her hands away as she listened to his whole body system. He was breaking down. Sakura bit back a sob as she realized that the tissue of one of his heart valves was not properly healed, which kept the valve from closing as it should be, letting blood to back up into his lungs. That's why he couldn't breathe.

Pushing her eyebrows together and barely breathing, Sakura forced her chakra in as much as she could. It took a while but she finally sighed in relief when her chakra started to rebuild the damaged tissue. She remained still as chakra flowed through her, trying to ignore her mind and heart as they started to conflict with each other. Her mind kept telling her that this needed to be done in order to save Sasuke while her heart strongly opposed. It was telling her that what she was doing was nothing more than treachery. Sasuke would never forgive her.

Small locks of pink-hair started to fall down covering her teary eyes to an extent. She bit her lower lip and anxiously hoped that everything would come to an end soon. Returning home with Sasuke was the end that she was hoping for. All she had to do now was to endure.

"Endure," she muttered under her breathe as a single tear caressed her pale cold features, "Endure it dammit," she repeated more strongly pushing the last bit of chakra into his body, closing the now brand new heart valve.

Akito closed his eyes as soon as Sakura chakra vanished. His lips were decorated with that usual shrewdness and mystifying smile, "You did it," he whispered softly.

Her whole body trembled with the tremendous effort. She could feel her pulse throbbing in her own throat. Her heartbeat sounded like one thousand of drums echoing close to her ears. She nodded and smiled in pure satisfaction, "Of course I fucking did it," she replied as her vision started to get hazy, "I learned with the best."

Akito smirked and opened his eyes; he quickly stood up to hold the pink-haired medic-nin just before her consciousness abandoned her.

"Well done little one," Akito whispered into Sakura's ear, cuddling her into his arms, "stage number one is now complete."

There were noises coming from outside. She could hear something break in the distance but found it hard to move. She stayed in the bed merely listening while she struggled to open her eyes. After some miserable minutes, her ears caught the noise of footsteps. Groggily, she rolled over, blinking at the intense daylight.

Well, Akito had not killed her in the night, then, Sakura mused to herself. That was a definite plus.

What time was it? Her back was killing her and her head was throbbing. That must have been the worst night's sleep she had ever had. She had kept expecting to find him leering over her with a knife to her throat. Added to which on several occasions in the night her shoulder, arms and legs suffered from painful spasms. Thus while she had slept, admittedly, it was for no more than a few hours maximum and even that had been fitful.

Sakura groaned again just for good measure and sat up.

He was staring down at her, arms folded.

Sakura blinked. He was still there, leaning against the door, arms folded, red eyes staring back at her.

She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. Obviously, she was seeing things.

Itachi raised an unimpressed brow as he stared at the tired dazed pink-haired girl. She looked exactly like she did in their odd encounters, only now he had a better perception. Her hair looked pinker than ever. He wondered if his eyes were going to take more damage just from looking at it. Smirking inwardly at his own thought, he crouched down and picked up a backpack and threw it at her.

"We are leaving,"

She felt dreadful. Her legs were throbbing, her head felt like it was wrapped in a plastic bag and she ached all over and as if that wasn't enough, Itachi was standing in her room completely healed. Eyes widening, she quickly stood up and attempted to run her fingers through her hair but gave up after a while. Pointless. She just smoothed it down as best she could and left it at that.

"Wha- What!" she shook her head in blatant confusion, "B-but you… how is that… you should be resting!" she pointed out ignoring the backpack he had just thrown at her.

"I'm good to go," Itachi replied ever so subtly. He glanced at the bag and arched his eyebrows, telling her to pick it up.

"Good to go…" Sakura repeated in sheer incredulity. The Uchiha was clearly not good to go. Even though he was a master at hiding his expressions he was forgetting that she was the best when it came to reading bodies. And his body barely could stand up on his own.

"You are not good to go," she added quietly, wriggling her toes as she begun to feel rather nervous.

The Uchiha snorted at such words. Who was she mistaking him for? If he was telling her that he was good to go then it was because he was good to go, "I am leaving this instant. You can stay or you can come along. It is your choice, kunoichi."

Sakura grimaced at his strong tone of voice, "Of course… I…" she picked the backpack and started to shove anything that looked useful; a lantern, her notebook, a small bag with herbs. Closing the backpack, she reached for her kunai holster and then attached it to her waist. She pressed her lips together, turned around and was surprised to see that Itachi was not there anymore. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm down her erratic heartbeat.

A/N: Yeah... short chappie... I know. Still hope it was satisfying. Thanks alot for reading. Don't forget to review.