Miranda's Note: It's been a long time since I've published anything here *sobs*. I missed writing fiction; college has occupied all - I do mean all - of my time. Instead of writing stories on my spare time, all I write are term papers for my major. Don't get me wrong, I love my course, but sometimes it just pulls me too far away from the things I like doing most. This has actually been sitting around in my evernote account for ages, and I just remembered to finish and edit it this week. It's my first attempt at my otp, and I hope you guys don't find it that awful. Any and all feedback will be very much appreciated.

Intrigue

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The first thought that came through Itachi's mind was that of deep loathing and dissatisfaction, as the medic had stated the findings of his recent evaluation. His lips were set in a fine line, and his eyes were blank as ever as the nurse expanded the discussion with regards to his case, glancing at the clipboard every few paragraphs to view what must be discussed further, blushing and ogling him as much as she could in the process.

If he were a lesser shinobi, his brows would have furrowed at the mere recollection of the events that had led him straight into those peroxide-scented halls. But he was an Uchiha; the flawless masks of nonchalance came naturally.

He had recently accomplished a surveillance mission to Kumogakure to investigate a potential threat. It had taken a month of flawless espionage and skillful spying to extract the necessary details the village needed to weave a flawless retaliation plan.

The mission itself had gone smoothly, up until the point of completion; a few dozen Kumo-nin were sent his way as he neared the borders of the Fire Country in hopes of extinguishing the threat he posed to their carefully constructed scheme. Blades clashed and blood stained the forest floor. The echoes of clashing metal were the only sounds that resounded through the isolated forest as he disposed of his enemies one by one. What the stealthy ANBU Captain had not anticipated during the battle was being nicked by an enemy's kunai, which happened to be laden with an advanced type of poison, one that wouldn't have been expected from a village who produced such pathetic excuses for shinobi.

He sped back to Konoha once the fray was over, feeling his muscles stiffen slowly and his eyesight blur, as the poison slowly started taking effect. The Uchiha Heir had deduced that it would take merely a little more than 24 hours for the poison to devour him from the inside out, and leapt through the foliage with the speed that even a seasoned shinobi could not match.

The events that followed were a hazy blur; his conciousness betrayed him the moment he had sat down and let his eyes drift shut. All that was discernable then were the panicked sounds of heels clicking on the floor and the beep of the hospital machinary.

He was brought back to reality when the blushing nurse had informed him of her leave, and asked if he was in need of anything. He gave her an impassive glance before voicing out his query.

"When might I receive my discharge slip?" He questioned, his voice like smooth as silk.

The medic appeared to have begun hyperventilating and could not formulate a response. The action, or lack thereof, had only managed to aggravate him even more.

"Uhm...I'm afraid Sakura-sama has failed to inform us the details regarding your discharge, Uchiha-sama." She faltered under his scrutinizing gaze.

It was all Itachi could do not to roll his eyes in exhasperation. The matter must be dealt with immediately, he thinks. The putrid scent of his sterile confines and the limited amount of freedom was something that he wanted to avoid as much as possible. If given the choice, he would not enter the premises of the hospital at any, non-life-threatening cause. The atmosphere of looming death was something he'd had enough of in the battlefields, the scent of peroxide and disinfectant clogs up his well-tuned senses and the myriad of people openly staring at him (more of the nurses than the actual patients) was enough to rile his temper through the proverbial roof and he was considered a very patient man.

"May I request for an audience with Haruno-san?"

The medic nearly fainted. She was being addressed directly by the Itachi Uchiha! She could not wait to tell the other medics. They will be green with absolute envy!

She flashed him a bright smile, which she hoped would be attractive, and nodded his way before exiting the room as gracefully as she could muster.

Haruno Sakura had been having a pretty decent shift so far - that of which included her rounds, a few genin who did not know the pointy side of the kunai was the potentially lethal part and a chunin who had broke his leg while sparring. She leaned back in her swivel chair, watching the sun dip down the horizon from wide window, as the sight of the colors melding into one another eased her senses. Her muscles were slowly unwinding themselves as she sank further into the black leather, as her eyes lids slowly drooped down, unconciously thanking Budha for the slow day at the hospital. Heaven knew how much she needed it after the events two days prior.

She had begun to fall into a relaxed state of conciousness when she was suddenly jarred by a light tapping on her office door.

"Come in!" She drawled out, annoyed. It was impossible to get some peace in this place when everyone's looking for her to keep their shit together, she thought.

"Haruno-sama?" Called a familiar voice. She turned around to see one of the new trainees, Meiko, gazing at her with a mixture of bashfulness and determination. Mentally recalling who the aspiring medic was assigned to, she frowned.

"Is there a problem with Uchiha-san?" Meiko gulped at the steel in her superior's tenor.

"N-none at all Haruno-sama. He had just requested your presence so that you might clear up his queries." She answered, as dignified as she could in such a situation. Pissing off her superior was not something any sane person would want to do. She's heard a lot about the head medic's temper -or lack of it- and her legendary fists. They say that she not only inherited her unfathomable healing skills from her mentor, but also her ferocious temper and brute strength. If she didn't tread lightly, she might just find herself punted to the other side of Konoha.

Sakura stood up and strode towards the door, grabbing her clipboard along the way and muttering a small thank you to Meiko before exiting her office. Said young medic thanked her lucky stars that Sakura was feeling less violent than usual and left the pristine white office with a smile. It was finally time to brag about her awesome patient assignment.

The pink-haired medic strolled tiredly down the long hallway with a sluggish pace. Her limbs were heavy as lead and her brain cells felt like fried bacon, what with the unusually large amounts of caffeine consumption. She'd had roughly two hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, creating an antidote for the poison that had been running rampant inside one Itachi Uchiha. Segregating the elements in the poison had proven easy, but creating the non-lethal counteracting antidote for the base elements had been a difficult task.

Once she reached his door, the pink-haired medic straightened her spine and plastered a smile on her face. Better get this over with as soon as possible, she thought.

She opened the door and was greeted by the scrutinizing gaze of one Uchiha Itachi.

"Kombanwa Uchiha-san." Her voice was saccharine, and her smile was in place.

Itachi observed for a few seconds before responding, noticing the slight droop of her shoulders, suggesting tiredness, and the slight twitch of her lips, in an attempt to smile convincingly. He had decided to make this little interrogation of his brief, so as not to fatigue her further.

"Good evening, Haruno-san."

"Okay. Let's see what's the matter." Her graceful strides as she neared him were effortless. She looked him in the eye for some moments, asking silent permission to examine him, in which he responded to by leaning back.

She flashed him a genuine smile before putting her small hands onto his chest and letting rivulets of chakra flow through his body, probing for any signs of damage or injury.

He relaxed at the feeling of her warm chakra and the perforating scent of strawberries and cherry blossoms wafted off of her. It had calmed him more than he would've expected, but he would not say that the laxness was unwanted. It was exactly what he needed after long months of little sleep and constant vigilance.

Contrary to popular belief, he was not a machine who revelled at the mere idea of constant tuning. He was human, like any other. One who would much prefer unwinding with a good scroll and dango over afternoon tea. But the life of a high caliber shinobi such as himself allowed little time for those luxuries, as he would always be on life-threatening missions. He was not complaining about his lifestyle - since it had been his strict routine since he had been promoted to ANBU all those years ago - but if given the choice, he would much rather be stationed as the head tactician, trading in the adrenaline pumping assignments to more placid, mentally-stimulating environments.

He opened his eyes when he felt the warmth of her chakra retreated completely from his form.

"Relax Uchiha-san." She whispered. The softness in her tone made him close his eyes again, causing her to smile.

She moved the tips of her fingers to his temple with feather light touches. He snatched both her wrists on impulse.

He could feel her body go stiff and he opened his eyes to see her started doe-like eyes.

"Gomen. I was just going to examine your eyes." He merely let go of her wrists and nodded. She smiled at him returned her fingers to his temples, unconciously brushing his forelocks out of his closed lids. His shoulders relaxed visibly. Her chakra probed along his optic nerves and she hummed slowly, pinpointing the exact extent of damage that the prolonged usage of the Sharingan has caused him.

She sent waves of soothing chakra to alleviate the dull throb. He sighed in audible relief.

"Nothing seems to be the problem with the poison, as the antidote is slowly eliminating the remaining traces in your body, but there is a slight trace of wear and tear in your optic nerves. When did you last have a medic check-up your eyes Uchiha-san?" He opened his eyes and was met with glimmering emeralds. The curious glint in her doe-like eyes and the sincerity in her soft tone was not lost to him.

"Hn."

What is with Uchiha's and monosyllabic answers? She thought. If she wasn't Sasuke's teammate, she would've frowned at the lack of answer, but from the cadence of those two letters, she had deduced that it was just as good as a 'never'. She rolled her eyes, and completely missed the glint of amusement that flickered momentarily in his own obsidian depths.

"Well that would explain the damage." Her tone was that of mild irritation, and her brows creased in annoyance. Where was the soft-spoken doctor he had encountered moments ago? He wondered vaguely.

She sighed and proceeded to write her findings on a clipboard, her ire completely being replaced with concentration as she began scribbling in her notes. Obsidian orbs scrutinized her as she scribbled furiously on the piece of paper, chewing the end of the pen every once in a while, immersed deep in thought.

Somehow, she began to pique his curiousity with her sincerity. She was genuine with her emotions, very easy to decipher. Her bright eyes mirrored her emotions perfectly; emotions that change at the slight push of a button. Never has he encountered such a kunoichi. One who wore her heart on her sleeve as if it was not made out of paper, and one so soft and hardened with her tone at the same time.

Seemingly satisfied with her work, she tore her gaze from her clipboard to meet his.

"It seems as though your vision has deteriorated from frequent usage of your bloodline limit over the past few years. It is a common anomaly, since the immense flow of chakra causes a large amount of strain to the optic nerves. I have assessed the damage in yours, and found that it would take a few weeks of sessions to heal properly, depending on your cooperation."

He nodded for her to continue.

"However, the effects of the sessions will not be permanent, since you will constantly be using your Sharingan during your missions. For this, I would advise you to have a check-up every month, or so to avoid damage accumulation."

"That is understandable." He answered, unamused by the idea of returning to the hospital every single month, just for an eye check-up.

"Would you like for me to recommend medical specialists?"

The cogs inside the prodigy's mind began to turn, and in a sudden lapse of his iron-clad control - most likely due to the fact that the filter between his subconcious and concious mind had been lax - he had uttered the next few words;

"I would like to request for you, Haruno-san." Her being the only female that could treat him without ogling or mauling him remained unsaid, he assumed.

"Of course Uchiha-san." She responded, standing up. "Feel free to drop by my office at least once a month." She beamed from ear to ear - but the ominous aura surrounding her suggested the exact opposite - before waving a small goodbye and leaving the room, unaware of the deep pools of obsidian fixated on her figure.

Unbeknownst to the pink haired medic, the young heir had finally found a way to occupy his time whenever he'd be in Konoha.