It was official. Itachi hated Nurse Ino.

"Come on, slowpoke. One foot in front of another."

Itachi clung to the rails. He said nothing, but he was frowning deeply. "I know how to walk," he shot back, but truth be told, his legs were weak. They were more banged up than he remembered from his fight with Sasuke.

"That's it," Ino cooed. "Come on, handsome. Itachi rolled his eyes but obeyed, staggering forward. He reached the end of the railing, and Nurse Ino clapped enthusiastically. "Okay, big boy. Time to go the other way."

Itachi held back a groan and shifted his body.

Sakura looked through the archives. "Shinohara… Shinohara… Shinohara… Aha!" She pulled out a file labeled "Shinohara, Takei" and flipped through it. It was an alias, just as she thought, but it was an alias Uchiha Itachi, a dead man, had used. There were, however, no details about the alias. It was wholly possible that she was being overly paranoid. After all, this was a common name across the nations.

She'd just keep an eye on her patient for now…

She hopped on over back to the hospital. She passed Ino and pulled her aside. "Ino, I'll take care of Shinohara's rehab."

Ino raised her eyebrows. "Why? It's not really customary for doctors to do it."

Sakura shrugged. "I don't have any more patients." Which wasn't a lie. She had hoisted all of her other patients onto Doctor Daru. "It'll keep me busy."

Ino wasn't buying it. "Uh-huh, sure. Whatever you say, Sakura." Sakura ignored her friend and knocked on "Takei's" room. Takei was sitting up and reading a newspaper.

"Mr. Shinohara, are you up?"

Takei put down the newspaper. "Please, just Takei."

Sakura forced a smile. "Sure thing, Takei. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be handling your rehabilitation from now on. Carry on."

Itachi's jaw almost dropped; not like it could anyway, though. Something in Sakura's eye was off – she was suspicious. Itachi muttered obscenities under his breath. She was too damn smart. "Wait!" he called out. Sakura paused in her step. "Could you tell me what's going on outside?"

"You have a newspaper," Sakura responded, pointing at the offending paper.

"It only tells part of the story."

Sakura sighed and pulled up a stool next to Itachi's bed.

"There's nothing I can tell you besides about Uchiha Itachi's death?"

Itachi feigned ignorance. "Who was he killed by?"

"Sasuke-ku – Uchiha Sasuke."

The one he was really interested in. "What happened to him?"

"No one knows." Sakura's said sullenly, her head dropping. "He's just…gone."

Itachi felt his heart start to pound wildly in his chest. Though he was worried about Sasuke, there was nothing he could do about it now. This was his chance to try and gain Sakura's trust.

"Did you know him?"

"Eh, Sasuke?"

"Yes."

Sakura took a beat and nodded. "He was my teammate."

"That's all?"

Sakura giggled nervously. "Well, I did have a pretty big crush on him, but you know, life goes on."

"So it does."

Sakura, embarrassed at disclosing so much, cleared her throat. "I'm going to be taking care of healing your face and the rest of the wounds on your body during your stay here. I'll, uh, leave you to rest."

Itachi was almost startled at the harsh open of the door, signaling Sakura's arrival. "Are you ready for your healing session?"

Itachi coughed. "Do I have to remove the bandages?"

Sakura gave him an inquisitive look. "No, but it's standard to remove them."

Itachi put up a hand. "Please, just…leave them."

Sakura rolled her eyes subtly, but she acquiesced. She put her hands on Itachi's face. He jerked back slightly but calmed himself, allowing her to begin the process. Her hands were cool on his hot face, and Itachi found himself leaning onto her cold hands.

"Are you sure you don't want to take the bandages off?"

"I'm sure."

Sakura huffed while directing chakra to her hands. "You're stubborn."

Itachi smiled ever so slightly. "So I've been told."

They fell into an awkward silence. Sakura had had enough of it. "So you have any siblings, Takei?"

Ouch, she just went for the kicker. "Just one. A brother."

"Yeah? How old is he?"

"He should be 18 now." Itachi took a deep breath. "Had a bit of a falling out with him."

Sakura grimaced. This turned awkward again. "I'm sorry about that."

Itachi shrugged. "It happens. How about you?" he asked, desperate for a subject change.

"I'm an only child."

"Must have been nice."

Sakura laughed. "I guess. It could be lonely, but my parents really spoiled me. Though that wasn't all too much of a good thing either."

Itachi gave her a half-smile. "I can understand that."

Sakura shook her head. "I remember saying some really cruel things to my teammates when I was younger just because I didn't understand. I wish I could take it back, but it's too late now."

"It's never too late," Itachi replied.

Sakura went silent and finished up the healing. They said their goodbyes, and Sakura exited the room.

There was something about that man that made him so uncomfortable. Something about him just made her open up and tell him things. She felt like she was twelve again, getting flustered over some dumb boy.

She was still certain that he wasn't who he said he was. Either way, her blabbering had a purpose – both to purge her feelings and to build his trust.

Itachi sighed. Though Sakura's suspicion was well-deserved, it was exhausting. He laid back and touched his face. He winced. It still hurt, badly. That spirit really had pulled no punches. It felt like his face had been stripped raw.

He was however, enjoying the perfect eyesight. It had been so long since the world was more than a blur. Now everything was more vivid than he remembered. After being so blind for so long, everything felt so new.

It was more than he deserved.

Sakura had trouble sleeping. Thoughts of Takei plagued her mind, and she felt uneasy. Everything had been so stressful lately.

She turned onto her side and squeezed her eyes shut. She was really stretching herself thin, watching Takei. She could barely sleep; he made her that on edge.

Before she knew it, her alarm clock was going off, and she groaned. A start to another exhausting day.

Tobi couldn't believe it.

Itachi's body was gone.

He knew he hadn't moved it and neither had any members of Akatsuki. Since his body was gone, that meant those precious eyes he had been saving were gone also.

How would he trap Sasuke now?

And more importantly, what had happened to the body? It wasn't like it could just walk away…right?

After a restless night and a long, shitty day, Sakura wandered into Itachi's room, exhausted and miserable. He could already tell that she was in a mood, and he was one hundred percent sure he shouldn't be here to experience it. However, there was no escape.

Sakura looked at Takei, just sitting there. That prick. "How are we doing today?" she said flatly.

"I've been doing well," he responded. "Dr. Haruno, are you all right?" he asked as Sakura put her hands on his face, ready to begin the healing session. Ever so gently, he took her hands in his and removed them from his face, and Sakura was surprised at how her heart stuttered in her chest. "You're tired," he said, and Sakura didn't bother denying it.

"I didn't sleep last night," she said truthfully. "Too much on my mind."

"Dr. Haruno, you should take a rest."

"Where?" she chuckled. "I'm still on call for two more hours."

"Here."

Sakura blinked. "Here?" What was Takei offering? "I'm not sure that's appropriate."

Takei shrugged. "I won't say anything. I can keep a secret."

Another sign that Takei was a shinobi in disguise, Sakura mused. However, the offer was tempting. "I should heal you first," she mumbled, the call of sleep already laced in her voice.

"I don't know if I trust you to heal me in your state," Takei teased, and Sakura snorted. "I'll let you know if your pager goes off."

"All right then," Sakura said. "No funny business," she commanded softly, lying her head down on the white sheets, Takei moving slightly to accommodate her.

"No funny business," Takei echoed, his voice a soft lilt. Sakura inhaled deeply. What the actual fuck? Even though he was in a hospital, Takei still had such a relaxing smell…When was the last time he even had a bath?

"Good night," she murmured, letting sleep overtake her.

"Good night, Dr. Haruno."

Words: 1449

Sorry for the long wait guys. I've had a long crazy year.