Shades of Grey

Chapter 81

"Itachi." Sakura slowly blinked her eyes open.

"I am here." He assured her and his arm tightened around her waist.

"I was afraid I might have lost you." She sighed in relief as she looked around and noted they were in an unfamiliar room. Are Kisame and Hidan alright?"

"Thanks to you." Itachi turned her so that he could place a light kiss on her brow. "You are like a force of nature."

"Not exactly." Sakura smiled at him as she took in his form. She saw that he had some injuries that had been wrapped and started to call her healing chakra to her hands.

"Not until you have healed yourself." Itachi insisted. "The fox has handled most of your wounds, but you still need to tend to a few."

"Alright." She relented and placed her hand over a bandage that Itachi must have put on her stomach. She watched as he stared at her hand.

"Unbelievable." He whispered when the flow of chakra stopped, and he gently took her hand into his. "Your hands are the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. They are capable of such gentle care, yet ruthless enough to bring down a demon."

"I am a medic and a shinobi." Sakura smiled at the man she loved still not believing that they had managed to bring down Akatsuki.

She then turned her attention to healing him and he relished the sensation that her chakra coursing through his system caused him. When she looked up, she was surprised to see his sharingan.

"Sakura." Her name sounded as smooth as velvet coming from his lips. "What did the two tails say before he left?"

"He told me that I am not human like the rest of you." She admitted while looking without fear into his deadly gaze. "He said that the beasts would hunt me and that you would all abandon me one by one."

"I shall never leave you, and you are far more human than any of us. You did not have to come, and yet you did knowing that it could cost your life. Thank you, Sakura." Itachi declared before leaning down to capture her lips and pouring all of his feelings into a tender kiss.

"I would go anywhere for you." Sakura told him when they parted. "I want nothing more than to fight every battle from here on out at your side."

"And I yours." He replied. "I love you my Sakura, my kunoichi."

"I love you with all of my heart." She whispered.

She could not believe that Itachi Uchiha had just told her he loved her. When they first met, they had been enemies. She knew that his mission had been to hand her over to the Akatsuki, but something had drawn them together. Somehow, she just knew that from day one Itachi, no matter how dangerous a shinobi, had been no threat to her. True he had been infuriating, but he had never wished her any harm.

Instead Itachi had reached out to her when she was on the verge of losing herself. He had saved her from becoming a monster simply by reaching his hand out to her in that cemetery on that night that felt like it had been years ago. Then miraculously enough he had opened up to her. He allowed her to see the real Itachi, the broken man, who lived inside the perfect shinobi. Itachi had shown Sakura how to survive in the grey world they lived in, and Sakura had shown Itachi what it meant to truly live.

For the first time ever Itachi, the shinobi, had failed his mission to deliver the nine tails. But Sakura, the woman, had completed hers to mend a broken heart. They needed each other from the start for reasons that they had been too blind to see, but now they knew they could never be complete without each other. Itachi needed Sakura to exist, and Sakura needed Itachi to be her anchor in world they knew would never be a peaceful one.

They had both made costly decisions that led them down this path. Choices that had left them both damaged creatures. Itachi doubted that he would ever forget the sight of his clans' blood both innocent and guilty on his hands, but Sakura cleansed his soul. Sakura would always have a piece of her that missed her former team, but Itachi filled her heart. In the end the love they found was worth it all.

"There are things that must be done." Itachi finally said as his eyes faded to their natural ebony.

"Hn." Sakura smirked at him as he helped her from the bed. "Where are we?"

"Headquarters." He informed her. "Or at least it used to be."

He led her through a winding hall to a dining room with a large window that overlooked a village. She saw their other partners arguing as she looked at the rain which she knew would never cease to fall.

"You brought Hidan?" She questioned when she turned her eyes away from the gloom.

"Well you are the one who invited him to join the team." Kisame defended from where he stood leaning against a counter.

"Come over here." Sakura ordered the large blue man once she had taken a moment to look him over.

Once he took a seat at the table Sakura began healing his various injuries while Itachi started them a meal. He had a few nasty wounds, but to Sakura's delight all her team seemed healthy. She started to go to Hidan as Itachi brought some food to the table.

"Don't bother." Hidan stopped her. "I don't do the healing thing."

"The little zombie freak enjoys pain too much." Kisame informed her as she took a seat next to Itachi.

"So, did you find out what that damn cat said to her?" Hidan asked the Uchiha.

"He and the other Bijuu have vowed to seek their vengeance for her betrayal." Itachi informed the two men at the table.

"That's what we figured." Kisame solemnly nodded his head. "They could cause a hell of a lot of trouble running around out there."

"Sure, as hell could." Hidan was quick to agree. "So, what are we going to do about it?"

"We?" Sakura felt all three sets of eyes turn to her.

"Yes we." Kisame nodded as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "In case you did not notice you are setting here with three Akatsuki members. Kid, you killed Pein. You set out to destroy Akatsuki, but you let all three of us live. Since you knocked out our leader guess who inherited the position."

"This is yours." Hidan reached into his pocket and slid a ring across the table.

"You agree with this?" Sakura looked at Itachi curious as to what his thoughts were.

"We have already discussed it." Itachi told her as he picked up the ring and took her right hand into his. He slid the ring onto her ring finger and she was surprised to feel a warming sensation as it seemed to shrink down to size, not only that but once it was on her nails turned black.

"But you guys hated Akatsuki and Pein." The kunoichi was confused. "Why would you stay, and follow me of all people?"

"You earned it." Hidan spoke up. "You are a little too fucking nice for my taste, but you can turn into one nasty bitch when you need to. I don't give a shit what kind of missions you chose for me or what your reasons are. As long as I get to keep making high quality sacrifices to Jashin I am in."

"You did not destroy Akatsuki Kid." Kisame smirked. "You thinned out the herd and kept the strongest. Now you have yourself a group of the most powerful shinobi in the world. Akatsuki is instantly recognizable and feared, and now it is yours. Freak over there already told you his reasons and you had to know that I wouldn't leave you and Itachi just because the mess was over."

"It is your decision." Itachi told her when she turned her eyes to him again. "You can disband Akatsuki right now if you so desire, or you can use it to fulfill your goals."

"Our goals." Sakura finally nodded her head. "No, Akatsuki is not going to disband, it is simply being reborn."