Shades of Grey

Chapter 31

Kisame and Sakura spent most of their day blowing off some steam. He had been impressed watching the little kunoichi wield her blade, but where she was good, Kisame was a master. He walked her through several katas until she was able to flow through them fluidly and without mistake.

Once he was satisfied with her practice they moved on and sparred. Where Itachi had taken it easy on her, he had not. Both of them had a few scrapes and a lot of dust on them when they finally made their way towards their temporary home.

They were surprised to detect the aroma of freshly cooked food in the air. Itachi stepped to the door of the living room and raised a brow at their state. His eyes quickly scanning them for any severe injuries.

"I have prepared a meal." The Uchiha told them as they both entered and started cleaning up.

They ate mostly in silence each lost in their own thoughts. Sakura was wondering how to help someone who did not want her help. Kisame wondered how long it would take the two to get over their little spat. Itachi still struggled with the fact that Kisame had been correct, he would not harm her.

"Kisame, if you do not mind cleaning up, I would like to get started on Itachi's eyes." Sakura finally broke the silence.

"No problem." The large blue man started gathering dishes as his companions left the room.

"If you would please lay down like last night I will get started." Sakura pulled the chair back over to the bed.

Itachi complied and laid down to allow her to begin. It was just a moment later when he felt her hands touch him and her chakra beginning to soothe his aching eyes. He was again reminded that her warning had been oh so very wrong, nothing about this was uncomfortable, it felt wonderful. He was certain that a weaker man could become addicted to the intoxicating feel.

Sakura's chakra had a way of way of not just soothing the area that she was tending to, but one's entire being. The Uchiha had never experienced such an intimate feeling with another living creature. Finally, the desire to at least return something to her was so overwhelming that he decided to act.

"The katana that you wield was one of Father's courting gifts to mother." Itachi began.

"Did she ever use it in battle?" Sakura was genuinely curious, but more importantly she wanted to grasp the olive branch that Itachi was extending.

"Yes." He replied. "But not for long. As soon as they were married, she was forced to cease her life as a kunoichi. Father insisted the life had no room in the duties that he laid out to her as matriarch of the clan. It was not a life that she would have chosen for herself, but she did it out of love. It was a love that she would soon realize was unrequited. By the time that I was born she was a broken woman, a mere shell of what she once had been."

"That is so sad." She whispered. She could not help but to remember the love she once held for a Uchiha that had been just as one sided; at least it had been until it was far too late.

"She held true to her duties and as you know bore two sons, but she was so damaged that she was unable to show love even to them." Itachi continued. "Father saw his offspring as nothing more than tools to further his ambitions, and ambitious he was, almost all Uchiha were. I learned fast as a child that emotional attachment served only to weaken you. By the time that I entered the academy I was already Father's perfect emotionless tool. However, that was all soon to change."

"What changed it?" Sakura softly asked.

"The birth of Sasuke." Itachi almost whispered with a ghost of a smile. "I had been taught not to feel, but there was something about seeing him lying there, with his cries going unanswered, that touched me in a way I was never touched before. From the first moment that I tried to comfort him, and he wrapped his tiny fingers around my own, I vowed to protect him from the world that we had been born into. I became the shield protecting him from Father's wrath even if I could not save him from the apathy that filled our home. I gave him all of the support that one as stunted as I could provide."