Hi people, exams are over, the professors somehow liked my papers and I am closer to this adulting thing. With all of that, writing has been a good distraction for me, so let me present the chapter that has been written by exam stress and way too much wine: chapter 6

Once again, thanks to all those who follow and favorite this story, and extra thanks to those who take the time to leave a review. I have gotten some extremely kind reviews - I can handle constructive criticism, so if you have some, please let me know too.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, if it was, Danzo would have suffered more.

Word count: 6.683

Chapter 6

Sakura

"Sakura, can we please slow down?" the panting words came from her friend, who in the last two hours, Sakura nearly forgot. They were so close to Kumogakure and if they kept their current pace, would be there within the hour. Quickly, her head turned to assess her team and she bit her lip in frustration. None of them had been trained like she had been for the last six months, and it was clear to her now.

"I know you're excited to see them, but you're being troublesome," the tired voice of her friend rang out and she gave him a stiff nod, "sorry, I was being a bad captain," she said honestly and ignored the look her oldest friend gave her. Ino knew something was wrong and Sakura could tell she knew what happened to her parents. Even if she had not told Ino directly, their parents had been friends and Ino could also have learned about their status from working at the hospital.

With their tempo slowed, another question came her way, "seriously, how come you're fitter than me? Is Tsunade-sama making you run all day?" Kiba had never been as observant as some of the others, but he had noticed. Sakura cursed internally; this was something she should have considered earlier when she sped up, but being so close to her teammates made her miscalculate.

"She's been training hard," the comment from Neji made Sakura stiffen. She knew he had seen her tattoo some days ago when he checked their route and although he had kept it to himself, she did not expect the stoic Hyuga to divert attention for her sake. "Yeah, I can't let Naruto and Sasuke get too far ahead," she said, building on her lie with a cheerful grin. To her dismay, the look Shikamaru sent her knew he was not going to fall for it.

The new tempo annoyed Sakura, but they were close now and just when the sound of the ocean rustled in her ears, she felt it. The warm familiar chakra signature she had grown so accustomed to. "SAKURA-CHAAAN!" the shout came before she could see him, but the blur of yellow and green that came towards her in high speed was welcomed.

Being enveloped and lifted into the hug, Sakura felt something inside of her crack a little. For the first time in two weeks, since she had lost her parents, she felt happy. It took everything she had to not break down right there on the road, she would not cry, she could not falter.

"Dope, you're crushing her," the voice made Sakura push against her blonde teammate and focus on the other newcomer. His hair had grown a little, but his dark calm eyes were the same. Without hesitation, she strode to him and pulled him into a hug. Although he did not hug her back, he did put one hand on her shoulder and held it there for a few seconds.

"It's so good to see familiar faces," Naruto had turned to the four others with a grin, "come on, let's get back and I'll introduce you guys!" and with that, Sakura led her team into Kumogakure.

…

A watchful gaze had followed her all day and when they all departed into their separate rooms, Sakura did not go to the room she was supposed to share with Ino. Instead, she gave her friend an excuse and went to knock on the door of the only man she could be fully honest with.

"Sensei," she muttered when he opened the door, not giving him the false smile, she had worn most of the day. Their eyes met and for nearly a full minute, he was just staring at her. "You're not okay, are you?" he said and stepped aside, allowing her to come inside.

"No, I'm not," she whispered and took a seat by the desk. Kakashi leaned against the wall, even closing his book, and putting it away. "I haven't told them about your parents," this was not news to her, she had figured that out from the way Naruto greeted her.

"Don't, Naruto doesn't need to worry about me right now," she did not meet his eye, but she could feel him observing her. "Mah, Sakura… How would you feel if they kept something like that from you, for your sake? Do not use his training as an excuse, he can handle it," the words made it hard to argue with him, but she still felt it would be damaging to Naruto if he knew. Perha-

"If you're telling Sasuke, he will tell Naruto and then Naruto will just be sad that you did not tell him yourself," as if he had read her mind, he stopped the idea before it had formed fully. Sighing to herself, Sakura leaned back in the chair and looked up "fair point, Sensei". Sakura stood and swept her braid over her shoulder, "they are probably on the roof," he said as he opened the door to her. Sakura looked at the door and gave him a small smile, "Kakashi-Sensei, what kind of Shinobi uses a door?" and she was out the window before he could answer.

Walking on the side of the building, Sakura reached the roof in a matter of seconds, and true enough, the two boys- no, young men, were lounging, their eyes upon the stars.

"Took you long enough," Sasuke said, turning to look at her. His smirk vanished when he took in her expression and as if Naruto had felt something off, he quickly got to his feet.

"What's wrong? Did something happen back home? Is Baa-chan sick?" he had reached her now, his large hands gripping her shoulders. Sakura realized he had grown in the half year they had been apart, both of them were nearly a head taller than her now.

"Shishou is fine, it's…" she trailed off, looking from one teammate to the other before her gaze landed on her worn-out sandals. "My parents," the two words had been a whisper, but she knew they had heard it. For a moment, nothing happened, and then she was back in the warm embrace of her teammate. This hug was different from the one he gave her earlier, this one was truly for comfort and nothing else than to show her he cared.

They stood there, on the roof of a building in Kumogakure, silent and sorrowful.

After several minutes of just leaning against Naruto, Sakura allowed Sasuke to pull her down into a sitting position on the roof. He sat close enough for her to lean against, and she did, knowing this was his way of showing her comfort. It was strange for her to admit that had he done this two years ago, she would probably have fainted. Now, while she still cared deeply for him, the comfort of his caring did not make her heart race or send irrational thoughts through her head.

For the next fifteen minutes, Sakura filled them in about her last two weeks. "I'm glad Mikoto took good care of you," Naruto said, fully believing how she had changed the story slightly. She had neglected to tell them how she attacked Itachi when she was late and instead told them she confided in Shisui because heard the news. Sakura could find no rational way to explain to Sasuke that she saw his brother every day when she had a better relationship with Shisui which they already knew.

"Yeah, she's helping me find an apartment and sell the house, I can't live there without them," and this was the truth, she had felt uncomfortable the few times she did return to the empty house. "We could be neighbors!" the sudden idea from Naruto made Sakura smile sheepishly. While she loved the blonde, having him as her neighbor was not the dream. He would in all likelihood just come and go as it pleased him.

"There are apartments near the Uchiha compound," Sasuke said, not phrasing it like a full question, but Sakura sensed he knew she did not want to become a caretaker for Naruto. "I'm going to look at one there when we go back to Konoha," she said and turned to look up at the sky, "I'll make sure to have you over when you get home,".

"Neh, Sakura-chan, how is fuinjutsu training going?" the change in subject allowed a mischievous smirk to settle on her face. While she had trained hard with the Anbu team and Tsunade, she had not wanted to let Naruto down. All the evenings she had energy left had been spent going over the scrolls Naruto had given her and books she had found in the library. She had even used her Anbu position to get access to some restricted material.

"I have two surprises, one, try and hit my palm," she slipped on a glove and lifted her hand, opening it, showing him the seal on the palm. Even though they were sitting and not in a full spar, Naruto did give her open palm a hard punch. While the smack of his skin hitting leather did cut through the still night, nothing else happened.

"What the fuck?" Naruto was utterly confused and immediately took off her glove, inspecting the seal. "It's a storage seal for chakra-based entities, if activated at the right time, it absorbs the impact of a hit," she explained and Naruto whistled, "so because of your control you can actually use this in combat to block?" he asked and she nodded. "While nowhere near perfect, and it does not work against blades," she winced at the memory, "it is still good in a taijutsu match,".

Naruto was clutching her glove tightly, a smile on his face as he stared down at it, "I knew you'd figure out something amazing," he gave her back the glove and then put a finger to his chin, "what was the second thing?" he wondered out loud and Sakura chuckled, reaching into her weapons pouch to retrieve a small scroll. It was the one where she kept her most prized possessions.

Unsealing the right one, a book materialized, "I got permission to take this to you," she handed him the slim book, "This is…" he trailed off and she nodded, "You know I am still here, right?" and while Naruto stared down at the precious book, Sakura turned to Sasuke, sticking her tongue out. "As I could ever forget," she nudged his shoulder, "I have some stuff for you too" Mikoto had made sure she packed gifts for them both.

…

Jumping through the trees, Sakura took note of the sudden pulse in her tattoo. Being this far from Konoha, she knew it had to be her Captain who was signaling her. In her possession was a scroll with valuable information concerning Naruto and the progress of his training. They had purposefully made the mission a B rank and open to the archives, hoping to lure some enemy towards Kumogakure. While she knew that, her allotted team did not. In truth, she had been on this mission to summon Katsuyu, giving Tsunade a direct communication link to their comrades in Kumo. The scroll she had in her possession was full of false information.

"Neji, do a perimeter sweep," she stopped on a branch, waiting for the Hyuga to do as told. His pale eyes darted around before landing on something north of their current location. "Two men wearing long traveling cloaks, their chakra is immense," this told Sakura what she needed.

"We are changing our course," and she turned to lead them away from the possible Akatsuki members. If they pursued, it would mean they knew a team from Konoha was traveling with information. And within minutes, her worries were confirmed.

"They are coming straight towards us, they will catch up in approximately seven minutes," Neji spoke in a rushed voice and as the captain of her team, she knew she would have to make a decision. "Shikamaru, you stay with me, you three hide and prepare for the worst. Our only way to deal with this is the element of surprise," she turned to the Nara, "I need you to catch them, I have a few questions."

Sakura could see that Shikamaru did not agree with her plan, but Sakura ignored the look and the protest from Kiba, "I am the captain of this mission, and I will prioritize as I see fit," her voice had raised an octave, now was not the time for the others to question her. Of course, they did not know four Anbu was waiting nearby, should anything go amiss.

In one swoop, Sakura jumped down from the tree she had been standing in and positioned herself in the covers of shadows. Shikamaru's attack would be harder to dodge if the entire ground was covered in shadows. The trees gave her a good cover and holding her head high, Sakura stood and waited.

Three minutes passed before she could sense them and another two went by before they were there, right in front of her.

"Stopped running, eh, little girl?" he was a tall man, a large sword strapped to his back. From the unusual blade, Sakura instantly knew who he was, "I thought I should greet you properly, Hoshigake-san" she said, inclining her head in greeting. The Akatsuki member laughed at this, "I see, my fame knows no bounds if even little girls know my name. Now, where did your friends go?" he was looking around, but Sakura ignored him to analyze the other man.

Sakura had spent many days and nights pouring over bingo books in preparation for her position on the active Anbu team. Knowing who their target was on sight would be beneficial, but within thousands of names and faces, this man was unfamiliar.

Pushing her braid over her shoulder to signal Shikamaru, Sakura pulled on her gloves, "why would you be interested in five Konoha chunin?" she asked, "we're not, it is you and the scroll we are interested in," the stranger said, his orange spiked hair reminding her of Naruto. She inwardly prayed that Ino used her family jutsu to store the memory of this man, his image might help find his name.

"Kisame, it seems this was a trap for us," the man was looking down at his feet, testing his ability to move. Shikamaru had managed to catch them unaware. However, something about them felt strange to her, their smell and chakra were off. A memory of Shizune standing over a corpse and funneling chakra through it rose in her head and she bit her lip in frustration.

"It is cruel to use corpses as clones, is it not?" she asked and with a quick shunshin, she stood in front of the man with orange hair, his brown eyes staring calculatedly at her. She knew he was surprised by how she utilized the jutsu. There were inconsistencies in the skin and the eyes had less of a shine than they should. "Pinky is a brainy one," she saw him move and had it not been because Shikamaru attempting to hold them, his sword would have hit her. In that instant, Sakura knew she was no match for the tall shark-featured man.

"There is no need to keep up the charade," and then slowly but steadily, the man with orange hair made a ram sign, the shadow possession jutsu not holding him back as much as it should. A puff of smoke filled the shadowy clearing and left behind were two corpses of Suna shinobi. "Neji," she called out, not taking her eyes off the two bodies, "there is no sign of them," his voice was now close behind her. Ino and Kiba landed on the ground by her as Shikamaru casually came back from his hiding spot, "troublesome,".

Kiba moved, but her hand shot out to stop him, "Kiba, these bodies are not normal. Under no circumstance should we go near them," she turned to look over her shoulder when her tattoo pulsed. Suddenly, but not surprising Sakura, four Anbu stood between them and the two bodies on the ground.

"So this was why they ran," Shikamaru muttered, shaking his head. "Nara-san, you are correct. Return to Konoha, Haruno-san will fill you in on the way,". Not wanting to disobey the order, Sakura motioned for her team to head out.

Not many hours passed before they crossed the border to Hi no Kuni, giving Sakura the chance to inform her team of what had occurred. Although leaving several details out, she told them the entire mission had been a trap to see how the Akatsuki monitored what was going on in Kumogakure and how much intel they would have about their mission. A team of Anbu had followed them since they left Konoha and would be close by on their way back.

Since the explanation, Ino had been casting glances her way and Sakura knew the girl wanted to talk to her in private. Too much happened, Ino would not let it go without them having a proper conversation. About her change in demeanor and the fact that her parents had died.

…

Itachi

From the bar he was seated in with his cousin, Genma, and Raido, they could all see the small celebratory party for their medic. Across the street at the barbecue restaurant, she and her friends from the academy were gathered to celebrate her promotion. "Becoming Tokubetsu Jōnin is a big deal, even if it is not a full promotion, she's only fifteen," Raido said, lifting his cup to an imaginary toast to the group across the street.

"She's ready for it," his cousin said, even though Itachi knew Shisui worried about their upcoming full active status. At the slightest word of Akatsuki movement, they would mobilize. Seven months had passed since Sakura joined them and the missions would be coming soon.

"She's training with you tomorrow, right?" it was Genma who addressed him, and Itachi nodded. He had promised his mother he would help her train, now that her teammates were out Konoha. Which meant that he would have to train with her as Itachi and not as an Anbu operative.

Shisui let out a small laugh, "just don't let her hit you, last week she-", "we were there, we know," Raido said, a grimace on his face. In the second he had disarmed Sakura, she had punched the tree they were in, shattering it completely. The fact that she had done that instead of yielding like they normally did when disarmed had surprised Raido enough for her to use their fall to land a kick to his shoulder.

As a medic, Sakura was to train harder than anyone in evasive skills, which Itachi had to admit, she was proficient at. Raido had become stagnant and left a glaring opening for her, which she used to her advantage.

Itachi mused quietly over how much they talked about the young woman when she was elsewhere, but he could understand. The growth she had shown was impressive and after she had gotten more comfortable with them, it was hard to ignore the fact that they cared for her.

…

Itachi Uchiha had a reputation, for almost three years, he had avoided medics and their annoying attempts to do a full body check-up. A medic had once given him medication for his cough, and it had kept it under control most days. It had gotten worse, but the medicine helped enough to keep it at bay, and the longer he went between hospital visits, the easier it was to hide the irritating symptom.

He was sure his cousin suspected something, but Shisui trusted him to fix it himself and as long as the medication did its job, Itachi did not need to seek any help. That was until today when the pills were unable to stop his cough.

Right as the chakra-laded fist came towards him, the painful pull in his lungs pushed him forward, releasing three rough coughs. In the two seconds it took, Itachi did not know whether he should be annoyed or impressed that the girl had managed to stop her punch right in front of his face. The metallic taste in his mouth told him he would have to move away without her seeing any blood.

"Itachi," she had dropped all polite honorifics, "remove your hand from your mouth," the words were given as an order, but the Uchiha did not move. For a moment, he considered using his Sharingan to make her forget what she had just seen.

"Show me or I will file an inquiry and have you pulled from active duty," he knew she had the power to do that. Irritatingly, he outranked her in every decision, except when it came to his health. "If you drop dead on a mission, how would I ever look Sasuke or your mother in the eye again?" her hand reached out and landed on the one covering his mouth. Itachi allowed the gloved hand to pull his own away.

Dark eyes met green and the amount of emotion in her eyes made his stomach lurch, she was deeply worried about him.

Itachi did not say anything as she pushed him down onto the grass in a sitting position, kneeling beside him. With her teeth, she pulled off her gloves and softly placed them against his chest. Her hands glowed green as she moved them over his body, at first, the chakra invading deep into his system felt strange, but after a second, it felt warm. Her brows were knitted together in concentration, her eyes closed, but there was something about the image that Itachi stored in his mind. She may not be as strong as several other shinobi, but she was a true genius when it came to medicine.

"How could I have missed this?" she whispered, and although Itachi knew she was speaking to herself, he handed her the pills. Whatever he had expected, it had not been the quick and intense slap to the back of his head, "you idiot!" she got to her feet in anger, "you are not supposed to take these for more than two weeks! I bet you knew that," she was pointing down at him, admonishing his behavior.

"Never had I imagined you would be so irresponsible!" the lecture continued for another three minutes before she finally calmed down a little. "What is the diagnosis?" he asked, slightly worried about how strong her reaction had been. The question changed her eyes, from angry green fires, worried pools now met his.

"It's bad," she said, reaching out her hand to his. Normally, Itachi would get to his feet without help, but the young woman in front of him was genuinely worried. Itachi took her warm hand and allowed her to pull him up from the ground. "We're going to Tsuna-" "no" he interrupted her and pulled his hand away from hers.

"Itachi, I am going to Tsunade. If you don't want to…" she trailed off, "you could die if I don't". Itachi stood frozen as the redness in her eyes pushed forward a tear and her words settled in. Not sure why her single tear pushed him to do it, Itachi reached out and took her hand, "come then," he said, resigning himself to the wrath of his Hokage.

…

True to his worries, Tsunade had spent almost an hour about how irresponsible he had been, and how he should be kissing the ground Sakura walked on for catching him before it was too late. Apparently, what had started out small three years ago was not a simple infection. Malignant cells had started to grow near his lungs and with shinobi often inhaling dust, smoke, and other dangerous substances, the cells had started eating away at the tissue.

"Four more months and you would be forced to live as a civilian," Tsunade had said in a grim voice, before telling him that for the next two weeks, she and Sakura would perform three operations to remove the malignant cells

…

Most of his body hurt, but the feeling of dread in him forced his body to move. They had made the wrong call. He knew that if she was dead, it would be their fault. Even with his lungs better than they had been in years, Itachi knew he was late.

They had heard the rumble of the cave, but the hidden trap in the five-pronged seal had delayed their return. They had seen one of the Akatsuki members fly over them, Raido and Shisui were already in pursuit. It had taken them nearly twenty minutes to gather and switch off with each other, Itachi fighting Shisui's remake. After that, it had been quick, but they had still been gone for too long. Sakura had been left with the Akatsuki member and Itachi knew it was unlikely they would let her flee.

The Sanbi had been taken three days ago and when they reached the hideout, Shisui had ordered Sakura to punch down the entrance as soon as the seal was removed. She had been tasked with the one at the entrance. At first, shadow clones had been in position, but they did not work and were dispelled when attempting to pull off the seal.

Itachi felt like a genin again, it was such a stupid mistake to forgo planning for a hidden trap in the elaborate sealing that had been done.

"Can you see her?" Genma sounded winded and he had a large gash on his shoulder from his match against the fake Raido. "She's alive," he said, but he could see her chakra fluctuating on a dangerous level.

The scene they arrived at made Itachi block out any emotion he may have felt. On the ground, Sakura was twitching, a katana piercing through her abdomen. Her mask was cracked, revealing a headwound and half her face. Hundreds of puppets were smashed around her and against the wall, a red-haired puppet was hanging with her tanto through the kanji, 'scorpion'.

When he reached her, he could hear her shallow breathing, "You need to pull it out," she said, "I think I can heal it," but she did not sound sure, and his eyes told him she was lying. Genma was trying to contact the others, but they were out of range for the radios to work.

Very gently, he took off her mask, "that girl, she'll go to the grave with me," the voice was low, but both Anbu looked up at the doll. "Her death will be my last piece of art," and Itachi realized that the puppet was the Akatsuki member. "Tora," he said, but the other had already moved, leaving him with Sakura.

"What can I do?" he did not know why his voice sounded so desperate, but when she smiled at him, blood running from her lips, he knew she was dying. "You need to pull it out. Do it precisely and quickly," her voice was low and from the position of the weapon in her, Itachi concluded it had pierced more than just her lung. "When I pass out, you need to place this on the wound," a cold hand found his, and the feel of a thick piece of paper made him look down at it. A seal he had not seen before was written in blood, and he wondered what exactly she had been keeping from them.

He was hesitating, but her hands found his again and when she squeezed them, he knew there was nothing else he could do than follow her medical advice. And so, Itachi moved and pulled out the katana, her blood covering his hands. If she died now, right there, he knew he could never live with it. His brother had made him promise to keep an eye on her.

Throwing the weapon aside, Itachi assisted her with moving her hands to the gushing wound, green chakra already covering them. The wound had not even begun to close when her chakra wavered and Itachi did the first thing that came to mind, he placed his hands on top of hers and read her chakra, easing his own into it. It was rare for shinobi to do this, giving one's chakra was intimate and even family members rarely did it. But the Uchiha did not care, she was dying in front of him.

Itachi had used up half of his chakra dealing with Shisui's clone, and he did not care that he was slowly starting to lose most of his chakra. Sakura needed it, the wound needed to close. But when her fingers under his went limp and her chakra ebbed away, the wound was still open.

"Thank you," it was a mere whisper as her mind closed and Itachi moved her hands to check the wound more closely. "Shit, shit, shit," Genma was standing with a scroll, the body of the Akatsuki member in it. "He was covered in poison, we don't know how she'll react," the older said and Itachi looked down at the small paper with a seal Sakura had given him. Without hesitating for even a second, the Uchiha placed the paper over the bloody wound and activated it with his chakra. Both surprised and wary, Itachi felt the seal suck away his chakra and glowed blue. Almost like a tattoo, it embedded itself in the pale skin of her stomach, and in wonder, his red eyes watched as the seal changed to pull the open flesh together, stopping the bleeding.

"What the hell was that?" asked Genma, however, Itachi knew he had no time to waste, quickly, he took the vile of poison Genma had collected and picked up the pink-haired young woman. "I'll go, report to Taicho," and he set off, running with her, his ears trained on her heartbeat.

…

Itachi had changed out of his blood-soaked uniform and then gone straight back to the hospital, hanging around as an Anbu would be questionable. When he arrived only an hour ago, Tsunade had been waiting with a prepped OR, and Shizune was ready to take the poison sample Genma had given him. Had Sakura not been as injured as she was, he knew the Hokage would have tried to kill him right then and there.

Shisui had sent a summon ahead, informing her that Itachi was on his way with Sakura. He had been running for sixteen hours without a break, but his mind would not allow him to relax. In many situations, the Anbu would be expected to use their dying light, erasing themselves before death. But Sakura had been informed she was not to do it, her position as a medic in the village was too important. He wondered if that was why she carried the seal he knew nothing about.

Almost five hours passed before Tsunade came out of the room, angry and tired "she'll live," the words lifted the heavy feeling in his stomach. "Just what the hell happened, Uchiha, what was that seal?" she was keeping her voice low, but the menacing hint in it was uncomfortable. In the abandoned hallway by the operating room, it was unlikely for anyone to overhear them.

"An unexpected trap, Sakura was left with a member of the Akatsuki. The seal I cannot explain, it was her own," at this revelation, the Kage huffed in exasperation, "and the Akatsuki members?" and Itachi felt a tug in the side of his mouth, "she killed him,". For a long moment, Tsunade regarded him before she herself had a small smile playing on her lips, "she is my student after all,". The irony of the whole thing was not lost on the Hokage, who now sighed and ran a hand over her face, "Uchiha, you're dismissed, you need some rest and a checkup" but Itachi did not move.

A silence passed between the two shinobi and the Kage realized why he was staying, "you care for her," he did not deny or affirm her statement. "She's in room 4 on the second floor," and Itachi left, finding the room quickly.

It was first when he saw her, alive, her heart beating, that he allowed his body to collapse into a chair.

…

Sakura

The air in the room had grown cold as night claimed the daylight, the hospital had grown quiet now and the silence calmed her. An hour had passed since she woke, blinking and looking around the familiar scene. She was back home, in a hospital bed, her captain sleeping in a chair beside the bed dressed in his civilian clothes.

Sakura had been quiet, watching him sleep. He looked much younger and less guarded, even though the position he slept in looked uncomfortable. Shisui had been overworked and it was the reason she stayed quiet. She had evaluated her injuries instead of calling a medic, she could do it on her own.

"You're awake," her head snapped to the side, his voice surprising her. Sakura had been so focused on her injuries that she had not heard him get up. "Yeah," she muttered, glad he was not dressed for work. His short black hair looked disheveled, and she wondered if he had been there long "how long was I out?".

"Two days," he frowned at her, "Itachi got you back in time and stayed until we got back," there was an edge to his voice, and Sakura knew he was angry with her. "Did you get the blonde?" she asked instead, hoping to distract him. "No, being airborne was something we had not prepared for" her eyes widened, she truly thought they would have caught him.

"Now, what the fuck made you disobey my orders? Whenever possible, you were told to flee" he had never looked at her like he did now, but Sakura did not waver under the dark glare. "Do you think he would have allowed me to flee?" she met his eyes, he seemed much taller now that she was sitting in a bed. When he did not answer, Sakura shook her head, he was a stupid man.

"The blonde didn't leave before his partner had already graced me with poison, he wanted to make sure I was as good as dead," her words led them into a long silence. Taking a deep breath, Shisui pulled the chair over to the bed and took a seat once more.

"You nearly died," he put his head in his hands, angry with himself and the entire stupid situation. "I can't die, Naruto and Sasuke would never forgive me," she said, a smile tugging on her lips at the memory of her teammates.

"You want to go back to them when they get home, right?" he asked, a strained expression on his face. Sakura moved on the bed and winced at the pain in her side. "Ideally, but I can understand if Tsunade-Shishou has a different plan," she pondered this, her two favorite people were due back in two months and the day could not come fast enough.

Sakura crumbled when she got to Kumo and saw them again, telling them about her parents and about how Mikoto made her stay with the Uchiha family until she knew what to do. Her solution had been to sell the house and move into an apartment, she did not want to live in the house alone.

"We can work something out," he gave her hand a squeeze, "I'll go get Shizune for you and then see Itachi," he stood, "Itachi? Did he get injured?" and for a moment, Shisui looked like he did not know exactly what to say. "He exhausted all his chakra getting you here and refused to leave the hospital, Tsunade-sama had to order him out earlier today," his voice and eyes tried to convey something to her, but Sakura was unable to grasp precisely what it was.

"Can you tell him I am okay and thank him for me?" she felt strange, Itachi Uchiha did not seem like the type to act the way Shisui had described. "Sure thing, little Sakura-chan," he patted her head and left the room.

…

Sakura had to stay in the hospital for five days and when she finally got home, Ino was waiting for her in front of her new apartment. "Your fridge is stocked, and my mother is coming over to get your laundry," the pink-haired shinobi opened her door, her friend trailing close behind her.

"I read something strange in an incident report," Ino started, walking to the kitchen, and setting some water over the heat. Sakura took a seat by her kitchen table, waiting for the blonde to speak. "Six days ago, on the night of Tuesday, two Konoha Anbu arrived, one with a very distinct injury, even though it wasn't described,". Sakura watched her friend, she had grown up to become very beautiful, and being a newly promoted chunin suited her.

"What do you mean?" Sakura said, knowing full well what her friend was trying to get her to say. "The Anbu was admitted with a stab wound to the abdomen and poisoned," Ino paused, "and then I investigated the mission you said you were hurt on. It didn't exist". Their eyes met and Sakura knew the blonde had figured it out. Even though she was not cleared to heal Anbu, Ino still helped with some of the work at the hospital, and what had been on file, had been available to her.

"Pig, I'm okay," she tried to give a convincing smile and the blonde sighed, "you, Naruto, and Sasuke a far away from us, aren't you?" and Sakura bit her lip. It was true she had become much stronger than she ever expected to become in just eight months, but she had seen how Naruto and Sasuke had grown. They were far ahead of her.

"I won't tell anyone, but I hope you know you can talk to me, you must have a lot on your mind behind that big forehead of yours," there was a lot of comfort in the words and Sakura had never felt more thankful for her childhood friend. She understood not to pry and just wanted to make sure she was safe.

After a cup of tea, Ino helped her shower and braided her hair, they talked for hours before the blonde went home.

…

"You can come in, you know?" Sakura was almost back to normal after her injury, she had healed herself much faster when she got home, no pesty medic to try and make her rest her chakra. She was pretty sure she had sensed him the day before, but this evening, she was sure of it.

"You look better," he was in her kitchen, and it was a strange sight. A year ago, Sakura could never have imagined Itachi Uchiha being in her home. For not to talk about her own private small apartment. "Mmm" she got him a cup and poured him some of the tea she had made. "Thank you," was all he said, and Sakura stood there, feeling awkward.

Making up her mind, she smiled at him, "I should be saying that. You saved my life," she paused and could not help the small heat that rose in her cheeks, "you saved mine" was his reply, but Sakura continued, ignoring how her pulse had changed. "You gave me chakra," his eyes met hers and Sakura felt her stomach jump, a strange weightless sensation settling in.

"You were dying," he finished his tea and put down the cup, "my mother wants to know if you need any assistance," he broke the eye contact and Sakura took in a breath, realizing she had been unable to do so while looking at him. "I'm fine, Ino has everything under control," he nodded slightly and walked to the door, "get well," and then he was out the door.

…

To explain before I get another PM about their relationship: Sakura is fifteen, Itachi is twenty, and they are starting to move towards an age gap where the difference is easier to accept - I am not going to make their relationship suddenly appear, they might sound young, but these are characters that are supposed to kill from the age of 12, to find and write the passage from child to adult while considering their mental age and situation is not easy.

Also, where is the fun in just pushing them together and not making it a bit hard on them?

If you need more ItaSaku, I have some oneshots available (also Shisui x Sakura - wink wink).