Sakura placed shaky hands on Itachi's eyes, beginning the healing process. She had finally studied up enough on the Sharingan to feel comfortable in progressing with curing his eyes. The sickness to her stomach had not eased in the time that her companion had been gone; it came and went as it pleased.
"Sakura, your hands are uneasy. Are you still feeling unwell?" In just the few moments that Sakura had begun the healing process, Itachi must have noticed how troubled she was.
"I'm really trying to focus on your eyes, but yes… I'm still feeling a little under the weather."
At his lover's words, the raven-haired man frowned. "As a medical kunoichi, you may not be keen on this idea, but I feel like it may be best if I asked Konan to examine you. She is admittedly not as skilled as yourself in the art of medical ninjutsu, but she has acquired an impressive amount of knowledge of it throughout her life. It may just be a simple flu or something of that nature; however, it would be best to alleviate the ailment as soon as possible."
"Well… you might be right. Plus, it might be nice to have a bit of girl time, even if she is technically an S-ranked criminal!"
Itachi let a slight smile grace his lips; since he had met the green-eyed girl, she always seemed to strive to see the best in people.
"It is settled, then. As soon as this first session is completed, I will contact Konan."
"Itachi tells me that you are ill," the origami angel stated as she guided Sakura in lying back on her bed.
"Yes, ma'am. It's a little embarrassing to admit as a medical ninja, but for some reason, I feel uneasy about being sick. It's like I can't pinpoint what's wrong. I really appreciate you checking me over." Sakura felt a little nervous being alone in the presence of one of the Akatsuki members other than Itachi, but Konan gave off no ill will.
"No need for the formalities," Konan said as she began running her hand from Sakura's forehead to her feet. "While I have the chance, I'd like to let you know that I think you're a rather remarkable young lady. You were able to bring all of us Akatsuki members together in a way that we had never been brought together before, and from what Itachi has said, your medical ninjutsu is second to none—not even the great Lady Tsunade herself."
"I think he's giving me more credit than I deserve, but thank you." Sakura giggled and blushed a bit.
"Forgive me if I'm stepping over any boundaries, but would you mind me asking what type of relationship you and Itachi share? I am questioning you out of my own curiosity, as I've noticed a sudden change in the Uchiha since you arrived."
The red on the rosette-haired girl's cheeks deepened at Konan's inquiry; she found herself unsure as to whether or not sharing the intimacy of her and Itachi's relationship would be wise. She loved Itachi, and she would have loved to express that to those around them; however, she feared that explaining the depth of their bond may end in negative consequences for both of them...
Sakura quickly examined Konan's face, and she could have sworn that she saw sincerity in her eyes. "The thing is, Itachi and I are… Well, we love each other, I think. I don't mean to sound iffy about our relationship; it's just that, well, I thought I was in love with his younger brother—you know about Sasuke, right?—but Itachi has been making me question that because my feelings for him are so different from what my feelings for Sasuke ever were. Like, I always wanted to be strong for Sasuke so he would acknowledge me, but I want to be strong for Itachi because I want to be able to stand at his side. I feel a level of intimacy with him that I was never able to achieve with his younger brother, despite being on a team with him for all of that time. Itachi gives me a comfort that no one's ever brought to me, so much so that he ended up taking my virginity, and—"
The green-eyed kunoichi slapped her hands over her mouth and flushed at her last words. When she finally felt like she had someone she could talk to, everything just started pouring out before she could do anything about it. Her eyes made their way over to the blue-haired woman's face, and surprisingly, she seemed to be rather unfazed by Sakura's unwarranted confession. In fact, her only reaction was removing her hand from running it over Sakura.
"Love can blossom in the strangest of times, can't it?" Konan smiled lightly at her new acquaintance. "I am glad that you told me all of this, for two reasons: I'm happy that you feel as though you can trust me, and I think that your rambling might have actually given me some insight as to why you are feeling so ill."
As Konan finished speaking, she placed her hand over Sakura's lower stomach and pressed down, sending her chakra flowing into the sick young woman. "Ah, just as I suspected…"
"What is it…?" Sakura questioned, unsure of how to take Konan's sudden change in behavior.
"Well, Sakura… I am not sure how to ease you into this, so I guess the only thing I can do is be blunt with you, from one female to another. With my current knowledge of the medical field, I am almost positive that you're… You're pregnant, Sakura."
Sakura's eyes widened at the female Akatsuki member's words. Her body went numb as she attempted to process the words of truth that seemed so hard to grasp. Her mind flashed back to her little brother, her family, and the fate that they all had met, causing her heart to nearly stop; she couldn't possibly be strong enough to protect a child, and she feared he or she would meet the same end as her late family. Pregnant…? She repeated to herself. I'm going to be a…
"I'm going to be a mom?!" Sakura jumped up, panicked. "I don't know how to take this news! And… how will Itachi react? I'm sure this is the last thing he needs on his plate! How do I tell him?!"
"Sakura, calm down," Konan calmly reassured, placing a comforting hand on the flustered girl's shoulder. "Do you remember how I said that I believe you are a remarkable young woman? Well, that could not come into play more than it does at this very moment. You will cope with this, and you will decide what the best way to tell Itachi is. I have faith in that."
Sakura wrapped her arms around Konan in a tight embrace and allowed tears to run down her face. She had never felt so weak and so confused. In her moments of blinding passion with Itachi, she had let her usual responsibility take a back seat to overwhelming desire; her lover had been no more responsible. The thought of telling Itachi of the news caused the young kunoichi to feel even sicker to her stomach than she had previously. She had finally found someone she loved—someone who loved her in return—and she was sure that it would all fall apart when she relayed the news she had just received. Konan's presence and understanding were the only things keeping Sakura from completely blacking out.
Itachi opened the bedroom door to find Sakura back in their room and sound asleep. She was on her side—her back to his side of the bed. As he shut the door behind him, the emerald-eyed girl jerked awake, as if she had been having a bad dream.
"I did not mean to frighten you or to wake you from your sleep. I was actually glad to see that you were getting some rest, seeing as you were feeling so ill earlier." Itachi spoke with a slight smile on his face until realizing that his lover seemed more tired than she had before she took her nap. "Sakura, what is it?"
"Itachi... I… We…" Sakura could not compose herself long enough to explain her fatigued appearance. She had not broken down so completely since she had begged Sasuke not to leave the village. The tears that she could not hold back pooled in her hands, and her sudden breakdown took the Uchiha brother by complete surprise.
"Sakura, has something happened to you? Are you hurt? Please, I need to know what is wrong," Itachi explained softly as he bent down next to her side of the bed.
"Itachi… A baby…" Sakura mumbled, and the Sharingan wielder could not understand what she was trying to relay.
"A… What? What is this about?"
"I'm pregnant!" the distraught girl blurted out, finally composing herself enough to allow the two heavy words to escape from her throat. For the first time since getting to know him, she saw Itachi lose his normally cool and collected expression as his face went pale and his eyes widened.
The room was frighteningly silent, save for Sakura's soft sobbing. Once the initial shock wore off, Itachi slammed his lips into hers, catching her by surprise.
"I-Itachi…" Sakura struggled out before succumbing to his kiss. Pulling away, he explained himself.
"I cannot stand to see you cry, especially tears that are not from happiness…" The rosette-haired young woman watched as tears began making their way down her lover's face before he finished. "…as mine are right now."
Itachi's words echoed in Sakura's mind. This was not the reaction that she had been expecting—the one that she had been agonizing over since getting the news. She had not even stopped to consider that he would have positive feelings towards the situation.
"You mean… you're not… mad?" Sakura asked in a hushed voice.
"I am many things right now, Sakura. I am admittedly shocked. I am confused. I am unsure, but one thing I am not and could never be is mad. Despite all of the feelings manifesting inside of me at this moment, I am happy—I am happy to learn that I will be a father, and I am even more joyous to know that you are the mother."
Fresh tears made their way to the surprised kunoichi's eyes. He's… genuinely happy… I'm so glad! She thought to herself before wrapping her arms around the man whose baby she was now carrying.
"Sakura…" Itachi began, stroking her pink hair. "There are two things in this world that I am certain of: One is that I love you, and the other is that regardless of the suddenness of the situation, I will love our child too."
A/N: And the dramatic story continues! With new inspirations in my life, I think that I am ready to begin drawing this fanfic into its climax! I am hoping to throw in a few surprises along the way, so that the story is not tooooo predicable. I mean, how many of you saw the whole "Sakura is pregnant" thing coming? Probably most of you. Haha! I have tried to keep my fanfiction in as much correspondence with the actual Naruto story-line as possible (like the characters' personalities, the settings, relationships, etc), and with Naruto having come to a close, I feel like I have a lot more to work with to make a worthwhile read for those of you willing to put the time into it. I definitely want to get this fanfiction finished; it is something that I am very proud of, and I know how dissatisfying it is to start getting into a story and then it never being completed. My goal is to have "Love Holds No Boundaries" completed within the next few months. Thank you so much to all of the readers that have followed my story and been patient for an extended period of time, and I would like to welcome any new readers and say ahead of time that I appreciate your interest in my fanfiction! If you have the time, please do leave a review or message me with feedback. I love hearing from you all, and I get a lot of inspiration and an abundance of ideas from what you all have to say to me! Be looking forward to the next chapter very soon!