Just like Sakura had asked, Itachi had set the table and prepared four dishes by the time she had bathed both Yamato and Sachi. They had not fought her so much this time, probably exhausted from a day of pulling weeds. Sakura, too, was feeling exhausted.

Itachi was standing in the kitchen near the sink, watching Sakura with undiluted attention. She had expected that Sachi would receive the warmest welcome from the missing-nin, but he seemed to have saved that privilege for her. He continued to watch as she took her seat and began eating.

"Thank you for bathing the children, Sakura-san," Itachi said. He remained standing in the kitchen with no obvious intention of joining them at the table.

Sakura glanced up at him from her food. She didn't like the way he was watching her. His expression was as neutral as ever, as if he were regarding a speck of dirt underneath his fingernail. It was infuriating and unnerving.

"It needed to be done and I did it," she said. "No need to thank me."

Itachi remained silent, watching as she ate her food. If he was trying to provoke a reaction from her, she hated to admit it was working. She wished that for once he could just be accommodating and sit down and eat in silence so that she could go back to working on the cure.

"Itachi-san, come sit and eat with us," Yamato said, patting the chair next to him with a tiny flourish.

"Yeah," agreed Sachi, reaching over to pat the chair but coming up short and patting wildly at the air.

The corner of Itachi's mouth quirked up in an amused smile. It reminded Sakura so much of Sasuke that she felt all the breath leave her body in a shudder. She gasped, sucking in a quick, deep breath.

He looked sharply at her, worry evident in his eyes – definitely not like Sasuke. In that moment she realized that what really pissed her off about Itachi being so nice was that it left Sasuke with no excuse. If his psychopathic older brother could be pleasant and polite, damn it, he could, too.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked. She hated how sincere he sounded.

"I'm fine," she said, "Just come sit down and eat."

Itachi complied and sat down across from her. He turned his attention to his plate – away from her, thank god.

Sakura was in tune enough with herself to admit that she was in a bad mood. She couldn't entirely blame Itachi for this, though he was certainly a big part of it. She was tired and hungry (which she was currently rectifying and could strike from the list, but decided to keep it anyway), and her mission was more wildly complicated than she could have predicted. All together, Sakura felt cranky. She was a mature adult (sort of) who was entirely capable of controlling her emotions, though.

So, she supposed that if Itachi could be nice to her, she could be nice to him, too.

"Thank you for the food, Itachi-san," she said, "Where did you learn to cook? You're very good at it."

That might have been too much, she thought.

"My mother taught me."

Yeah, way too much. Sakura cleared her throat and kept her eyes on her plate. It wouldn't do any good to snap at him in front of Sachi and Yamato, but a sickening mixture of fear and hatred had bubbled up to the surface and she could feel the pressure building. She wouldn't let herself snap, though. Because she was almost a mature adult.

"And I use my Sharingan to watch cooking shows," the continued casually, "It helps me quickly memorize recipes and techniques."

In that instant, the shock of such a statement converted her hatred into a wild cackle that ripped through her body and out of her mouth so loud that Sachi and Yamato both flinched. She continued to laugh for much longer than was appropriate, until tears had streaked down her cheeks and her sides hurt.

Itachi was watching her again, not so unnervingly this time – more with amusement, a smile just beginning to stretch across his lips.

"Itachi-san," Yamato piped up after it was clear that Sakura's laughter was under control, "What's a Sharingan?"

She watched him falter, maybe not prepared to answer such a question. He swallowed the mouthful of food he had been chewing and rubbed the back of his neck, considering what his answer would be.

"It's a bloodline limit," he answered – vague to be sure, but he didn't seem to want to offer any more information.

"What does that mean?" Yamato asked.

"A bloodline limit is a special ability that is passed down genetically with specific clans," Sakura answered for him, "Kind of like you and Sachi both have brown hair because one of your parents had brown hair."

"Our hair is a bloodline limit?"

"Not quite," Sakura said with a smile, "It's just an example of genetics. A bloodline limit is a specific ability. Usually a person who has one is a shinobi."

"You're a shinobi, aren't you, Sakura-san?" Yamato asked, "Do you have a bloodline limit?"

"No," Sakura said, and it was a little too difficult to keep the wistfulness out of her tone. Itachi was looking at her again, something between concern and curiosity in his gaze. "And I don't have a tailed-best inside me either. I'm just plain ole Sakura."

"Tailed-beast…?" Yamato asked, but it was muttered under his breath and Sakura didn't want to elaborate. She probably shouldn't have even mentioned it in the first place.

Itachi cleared his throat and when Sakura looked up at him she saw that his eyes were crimson. She ripped her eyes away, settling them back down in her lap as a cold lump of fear twisted in her stomach. He promised not to hurt me.

"Woah!" Yamato exclaimed. Sakura didn't have the courage to look away from her lap just yet to see what all the fuss was about.

"Is that your bloodline limit?" she heard Yamato ask, "What does it do?"

"Maybe I will show you some other time, Yamato-chan," Itachi said, "But this is what it looks like. If you ever meet someone who has eyes like this, do not look at them. They are very dangerous."

Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably. The only other person he could have been referring to was Sasuke. Did he really think that Sasuke would want to hurt a couple of kids? Ironic, really, because if Sakura had to choose between Itachi and Sasuke as caretakers Sasuke would obviously be her pick. Now, though, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Will you show me tomorrow?" Yamato asked.

"If it's alright with Sakura-san."

Sakura swallowed, keeping her eyes squeezed shut and her head down. If he was asking if she would allow him to use his Sharingan on Yamato he should have expected that she would not agree to that.

But maybe that was what he wanted. He didn't seem to want to share information about his Sharingan. This way he could pin the blame on Sakura.

"Sakura-san?" she heard Yamato say. His voice was pleading, a little bit over the top. She imagined he had busted out his wavering lower lip and was giving her puppy dog eyes.

"It's okay, Sakura-san," Itachi said, "I've deactivated my Sharingan."

She cracked one eye open and stole a highly conspicuous peek at the famed killer to find that, true to his word, he had deactivated his Sharingan and his eyes were once again coal black. He was regarding her with pity, and little bit of concern, which was a combination Sakura didn't much care for.

He turned back to Yamato. "If you or Sachi ever come across someone with eyes like mine, do exactly what Sakura-san did and keep your eyes closed."

Yamato nodded enthusiastically. Sachi, on the other hand, seemed entirely disinterested in the entire conversation and was pushing her food around her plate.

"Do you understand, Sachi?" Itachi asked. The girl cocked her head to the side, pausing for a moment and then nodding.

Satisfied with her answer, Itachi took another bite of his food.

"Do you think Sasuke would hurt them?" Sakura asked. She knew she shouldn't have. There was no possible answer he could give that wouldn't anger her in some way, but the curiosity got the better of her.

"Of course not," he answered, "But I think you'd know better than I would."

"Then why warn them about the Sharingan?"

"Because…"

"Sakura-san," Yamato interjected.

"Because what, Itachi-san?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura-san," Yamato said again.

"Never mind," Itachi said. He'd spoken with finality. The subject was now closed. He turned to his food and took another bite.

"No," Sakura said, pounding her fist on the table, "If you aren't warning them about Sasuke, then who is it? I thought you two were the only Uchihas left."

"That information is beyond the scope of our bargain," Itachi said. His tone was cold now – a harsh juxtaposition against his usual warmth.

"What information?" Sakura asked, "So there is another Uchiha?"

"Sakura-san!"

"What, Yamato?" Sakura snapped.

He flinched back away from her. "Can Itachi-san show me his Sharingan tomorrow?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," she replied.

"Why not?" Yamato asked.

"Who is it?" Sakura asked, "Who is the other Uchiha?"

A wail came from the lobby then – a pained, sickening cry that could only have come from someone in an excruciating amount of pain. Sakura didn't hesitate before she was off after the sound. The medic in her took control.

The screaming was louder as she approached the lobby – one voice backed by the sounds of lots of people talking, moaning, sobbing.

She found herself back in the lobby, kneeling down near a cot that had been recently filled by a portly looking civilian man. He was screaming loudly for no outwardly apparent reason.

"I need you to calm down," Sakura said, green chakra gathering in her palms.

Behind her, Sakura realized that many more people were being shuffled into the lobby and onto beds. Rokuda and Amika were directing the swarm of new patients into rooms and cots as they filtered in, but it was apparent that the inn would not be able to contain the crowd.

Sakura didn't think about that as she channeled her chakra into the man. He was sick with the infection. He couldn't have been in any more pain that those around him. His screaming didn't cease, even after Sakura had cut off the infection and relieved his pain.

"Stop, please," Sakura said, running a hand through her hair, "You aren't the only patient here. Tell me why you're screaming."

His screaming faltered when he saw Sakura's face, probably for the first time since he'd had his eyes closed since he arrived.

"Tell me why you're screaming so I can help you," Sakura said with a calmness that she definitely didn't feel.

"My wife – " he said. He didn't finish his sentence before he passed out.

Sakura sighed deeply and spun around to survey the rest of the damage. It appeared that every room and cot was now filled, and the cries of the sick brought back memories of her first few nights in Toyeiki.

"Sakura-san," Amika spoke. She looked ragged and nervous, "We need the two extra rooms upstairs. We're already over capacity."

"Okay, clear out the kids room and move their stuff into my office," she said, "They aren't sick, so they can stay with me."

"What about the man?" Amika asked.

Sakura paused. "I don't know."

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura spun around to see Rokuda carrying a small child in each arm, both looking pale and sweaty.

"Rokuda-san," Sakura said, "Where did all these people come from?"

"A caravan," she said, "I'm not sure if we can handle all of this without Kira."

"We'll be fine," Sakura said, "I'm close to a cure. If you can handle getting everyone situated for now, I will go work on it. I need Itachi and I need a couple of hours uninterrupted. You don't need to work on curing anyone for now. Just make sure they're comfortable."

Rokuda and Amika nodded and dispersed. Amika disappeared up the stairs and Rokuda found suitable cots for the children in her hands and began going from cot to cot to help out where she could.

Sakura ran back to the kitchens. Everything was the way she had left it – the trio still eating at the table. Itachi's posture was more rigid now. He seemed to understand what had happened and was looking at Sakura expectantly.

"How can I help?" he asked, rising from his seat.

Help? What help was he offering?

"I need you in my office," she answered, "Now."

Itachi nodded, but cast a questioning glance at the children who were both watching Sakura with a mixture of confusion and fear. They had probably never heard someone scream the way that man had. It certainly hadn't been pleasant for Sakura, so she imagined it must have been terrifying for them.

"Yamato, take your sister and go play outside in the garden," Sakura commanded, "Do not leave the garden no matter what. And keep an eye on Sachi. Don't let anything happen to her."

Itachi looked like he wanted to protest, but he said nothing.

Sakura crouched down in front of Yamato. "This is your chance to prove that you can be a ninja like Itachi-san," she said, "Your mission is to protect your sister. Can you do it?"

Yamato nodded vigorously and took his sister's hand.

Sakura didn't need any more affirmation before she had grabbed Itachi's arm and was dragging him up to her office. Nothing was likely to happen to them in the gardens. No one in their right mind would come anywhere near the inn right now, and the garden was hidden from view. They would be fine.

"What's going on?" Itachi asked, gently pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"Massive influx of patients," she said, running about her office, grabbing her journals, syringes, and bottles of medicines from her cabinets. She indicated to Itachi that he should sit on the bed, "I'm very close to a cure. I was certain I'd have it finished by the end of the day. I hadn't expected all of this."

Outside the door, groans of pain floated to them - a symphony of pain and sickness. Sakura ignored it and rolled up the sleeve on Itachi's cloak.

"Did you consolidate our rooms?" Itachi asked, gesturing to the toys and books that had been moved into the office.

"Just the kids," Sakura said, plunging the needle into the pale skin of his arm, "I know it's not the most favorable of situations, but you'll probably be getting some roommates."

Itachi nodded, complacent. He was far too gracious, Sakura thought.

"What can I do to help?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, "Do you have some secret medical ninjustu knowledge you've been hiding?"

"No," he said, cocking his head to the side, "I can help you feed and bathe the sick. I can change the bed linens or help you move cots. Whatever you need."

Sakura felt her mouth fall open, gaping like a fish. She realized how dumb she must have looked, but she was in no condition to be too concerned with her appearance, and she could have sworn that Itachi Uchiha had just offered to do grunt work for her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Regaining her composure, Sakura placed her emptied syringe on the tray next to the bed and pulled out her medical journal, handing it to Itachi.

"I really wish Sasuke was more like you," she said as she flipped through the pages that were now upside down to her. She located the page she needed – a chart mapping out chakra points.

"Rokuda and Amika can handle the grunt work for now," she continued, "If you really want to help, memorize that chart. I'll show you how to burn off the infection at the chakra points and you can help me get these people out of here."

Itachi held the journal limply in his lap, staring at her with the most pained expression she had seen on his face so far.

"You wish Sasuke was more like me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sakura waved a dismissive hand in the air, "Yeah, yeah, we can delve deeper into that later," she said, "Just study that chart while I run a couple of tests with my chakra."

She watched his eyes bleed from red to black with morbid fascination before she gasped and screwed her eyes shut. "What the hell?" she asked.

She felt a hand reach out and lock around her wrist, pulling her closer to the bed, "It's okay, Sakura-san," he said. His voice was close and quiet, "I'm just using it to memorize the chart."

Sakura felt her heartbeat increasing, but the fear she had felt down in the kitchen wasn't present now. Regardless, she still kept her eyes shut and tried to quell the trembling in her hands.

She had never been subjected to the Sharingan before. She knew what it could do – the powerful genjustu he could place her under with hardly any effort. She had watched Naruto fight wildly against thin air after Gaara's rescue while fighting against Itachi. She had seen both Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei in comas after coming in contact with Itachi's Tsukiyomi. He was a powerful shinobi – one she didn't stand a chance against.

This was the only way she knew to protect herself. If she ever got caught in his genjustu, it was already over.

"I promised I wouldn't hurt you," he said, his grip still firm around her arm, "It wouldn't make sense for me to try to hurt you."

Sakura was inclined to agree, given the situation, but it also hadn't made sense for him to kill his entire family, so it was only fair that she hesitated.

"Do you want to make another deal with me?" he asked. Sakura could feel the warmth of his hand spreading through her arm.

"What kind of deal?"

He released her arm. She immediately took a step back away from the bed and rubbed the spot where his hand had been, eyes still closed.

"I promise I will not use my Sharingan on you without permission," he said, "If you open your eyes."

"Ever?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Ever," he finally said.

"So," she said cautiously, "If we ever meet again, like, in battle, you won't use your Sharingan against me?"

"Right," he confirmed, "But only if you open your eyes."

Slowly, Sakura opened her eyes. Itachi was still sitting right where he had been on the bed (her bed, she realized). His eyes were still red and his gaze was focused on her, but it appeared that he had not been lying. She couldn't help the jolt of fear that tingled through her spine at the sight of his eyes, but she trusted that he would keep his promise.

"I can't promise that I won't use it against your comrades," he said, "But I will never use it against you without permission."

She didn't know what to say to that, or exactly why she felt heat flare up in her cheeks, so she busied herself with collecting the used syringe and tossing it in a nearby container.

Seeming to sense her discomfort, Itachi dropped his eyes to the journal in his lap and began to flip the pages. Sakura took the opportunity to place her hands on his chest (an act that seemed almost inappropriate now) and funneled her chakra into him.

She was back in her element now, and she had a job to do. She had all but stopped the infection in Itachi when she had found him outside yesterday. He had hardly showed any symptoms since then, save for an occasional dizzy spell. Going through his chakra system now, Sakura could see that the infection was still there, fusing with his chakra in a way she hadn't noticed before.

"How is your chakra control, Itachi-san?" she asked, suddenly all too aware that their faces were very close together.

"What do you need?"

"Can you concentrate some chakra in your hands like you were going to use them to walk on water?" she asked.

He nodded, setting aside the journal and holding both hands in his lap with his palms facing up. A glow of chakra settled in his open hands. Sakura slid her hands underneath his, probing with her own chakra.

She noticed immediately that the infection burned in the emitted chakra – not weakening it or strengthening it. It was just there.

"Don't move," she said. She snatched her microscope from her desk and returned to the bed, placing it on Itachi's lap. She arranged his hands under the scope so that she could see the skin of his palms.

She looked through the scope and saw nothing but blurriness. She pulled her eye away to see where she needed to readjust when she noticed that Itachi's hands were trembling.

"Are you feeling alright, Itachi-san?" she asked, pressing a hand to his forehead. He felt warm, but no warmer than he should. "Are you dizzy? Nauseous?"

"I'm fine," he said in a whisper.

She looked up at his face. Again, he looked pained.

"Itachi…?"

"I'm sorry," he said. He placed his hand back under the microscope and waited, watching Sakura expectantly.

Sakura gave him a suspicious glance, but turned her attention back to the microscope. His hands were steadier this time. Sakura stared for a long time, not quite sure what she was seeing.

It looked like the infection had morphed the chakra into a more solid state than it should have been. It wasn't just a color, a cloud, or an amorphous force. It had an almost gelatinous texture on a microscopic level. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she were to amass a large portion of infected chakra in one location, that it would have a near solid consistency.

Curious, Sakura pushed Itachi's hand away from the microscope and replaced it with her own, pulling a chakra scalpel through the tip of her finger. The chakra there was normal, as expected. The microscopic perspective didn't offer much on her regular, uninfected chakra, but it did confirm that the infection was slowly changing the chakra's state of matter.

"That's a chakra scalpel," Itachi said. Sakura pulled herself away from him, just realizing that she'd practically had her hand in his lap. His eyes were still red, and watching her with renewed interest. "That's impressive."

Sakura hummed politely in agreement because, well, it was impressive and she appreciated that someone had acknowledged it. She just chose not to dwell on the fact that it was Itachi Uchiha.

"I've discovered something interesting about the infection," Sakura said, "It's manifesting itself within your chakra, not just your body."

She waited for his reaction, but he merely watched her with interest.

"Does your chakra feel different since you've been sick?" she asked. He hadn't been sick for very long, so the effect might not have set in, Sakura thought, and Itachi hadn't been using his chakra very much these past couple of days – at least not to her knowledge. The only thing she knew for sure is that he had activated his Sharingan twice today. "What about your vision? Is it normal?"

"My chakra feels… sticky," he said, "It's difficult to describe."

He deactivated his Sharingan, much to Sakura's relief.

"My vision is no worse than normal."

"No worse than normal?"

Itachi looked down at his feet. She had known that the effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan could cause damage to the eyes. She had worked on Kakashi's in the past and was quite familiar with it. For whatever reason, Sakura had assumed that the damage was happening to Kakashi because it was an implant. Now she wasn't so sure.

"May I take a look at your eyes?"

"No."

"You don't trust me."

"You understand why I wouldn't want you to touch my eyes," Itachi said, "It isn't personal."

"You understand why I wouldn't want to look into your Sharingan, but I did it anyway," Sakura retorted, "at your request."

Itachi gave her an annoyed look. Now that was a look that reminded her of Sasuke.

"Besides," Sakura continued, "You made me a promise. It wouldn't make sense for me to try to damage your eyes. They pose no threat to me now."

"Unless they're in someone else's head."

"Are you talking about Orochimaru?"

Itachi shook his head, "Never mind."

"That's really annoying, you know," Sakura said, "I mean, I don't expect you to tell me all of your secrets. I suppose that even though it doesn't really feel like it anymore, we are still enemies. But you're the one who brought it up."

"You aren't my enemy, Sakura-san," he said.

She rolled her eyes. Of course he would say some shit like that. It was almost believable, because it felt true. Itachi didn't act like her enemy, and if she thought about it hard enough, she would probably start to question his motives. That required a lot more effort and brainpower than she was prepared to spend today, so she just glared at him instead.

"Of course I am," she replied, "You're an enemy of Konoha. We're de facto enemies."

"I suppose," he said in the most unconvincing manner ever.

"But I'll just let you know, against my better judgment," Sakura began, "that I'm suspicious of you. If I didn't know any better, I'd believe that Sasuke is the megalomaniac and you are the victim of whatever the fuck went on with that disaster of a family you have. Had."

"I guess I really messed up, then," he said, letting the slight slide, "by letting you see the kinder side of me."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that."

"But you aren't going to tell anyone," he said, "Are you?"

"What would I tell them? That I met the infamous, cold-hearted clan-killer Itachi Uchiha and he really wasn't that bad?" she said, using a tone that was light-hearted yet still accusing.

"You're right," he said, the corners of his mouth quirking up in what Sakura determined was not a charming smile, "They'd never believe you."

She sent a glare in his direction and crossed her arms. They had gotten way too far off track.

"Anyway," she said, "As I was saying, your chakra has been infected and the bacteria has caused its state to become more viscous. I'm not sure what that means for you long term. I'd love to study the effects, but so far you are the only person I've seen infected who is capable of controlling chakra. And unfortunately, I promised I would heal you up and send you on your way, so I guess I'll never know."

"Unfortunately," he repeated.

"Now, I have a lot of work to do," she said, "So I'm going to show you how to burn off the infection and take you up on your offer to help me. And then I'm going to work out a fucking cure for this thing so I can go home."