Review:

As soon as Sakura and Sasuke got in the room, Sakura frowned at Hinata's sleeping form. "Hinata! What did I say before I left? Get up!"

Almost an hour later

The team had finally left the hot springs, and it seemed just as they got out of the small village, Sakura stopped her team. Dropping her bag on the ground. It was faint, but she could hear the taps in her ears again. She knelt down, and pressed her hand to the ground. Feeling the taps better. "Looks like whoever you guys were fighting with yesterday is back."

Everyone was confused at first because they couldn't sense anything. "What are you tal-" Naruto was going to ask, but Hinata touched his arm, and shook her head.

"Trust her Naruto." Neji explained for Hinata.

Sakura just nodded in approval. Knowing that her team was getting prepared, she didn't have time to hurry them because the first of the large group of enemy ninja came speeding towards her throwing four kunai ahead of him to her. Making her react fast, and pull out her katana to deflect them, then smirked at the attacker. This was going to be fun.

Only ten minutes later, several dead bodies were laying around, and her team was putting the weapons they used away after making sure no one else was coming. Sakura had been looking around to see if anyone was hurt, and her eyes stopped at Naruto. Since he was wearing a short sleeve shirt it was obvious to see he had a slice down his arm. She picked up her bag, and walked over to him. "Sit down, and let me look at that." She told him, pointing at the slice.

Naruto just shook his head. "I'm fine Sakura, the nine tails chakra heals me bett-"

"Obviously you're not fine!" Sakura exclaimed, pushing him down so he was sitting on the ground. "Your breathing is getting heavier, and your pupils are starting to dilate. You've obviously been poisoned baka!" She growled, and sat down next to him, taking his arm to observe the slice.

"What?" Hinata asked, alarmed. Coming closer, to sit on the other side of Naruto. "They had poison on their weapons?"

"Most likely all of them did." Sakura retorted, before going through her bag.

Naruto shook his head. "You're honestly making a big deal of thi-"

"No she's not!" Hinata, Tenten, and Ino chorused. Making the three girls smirk.

Ino squatted down next to Sakura, and looked at Naruto's wound. Lighting her fingers with medical chakra, she placed a hand over Naruto's wound. She only had it on it for a second before pulling back. "That's a tricky poison Sakura. It's not only metal based, but it's got a few mystery herbs in there."

"Wait it's metal based?" Tenten asked. When Ino nodded, she frowned. "You better find out the anecdote fast, it'll attack his heart if it spreads farther."

"Wait! What?" Naruto asked, now completely freaked out.

"Leave it to the dobe to get poisoned." Sasuke muttered, a smirk on his face.

Naruto ignored Sasuke's jab, and raised a hand to his face. "I'm going to die!"

Sakura bonked Naruto on the head. "You're not going to die baka! I have the anecdote already. Just stop yelling!" She pulled the bag that Tsunade gave her before they left on the mission.

"How in the he-" Tenten started, but Sakura stopped her.

"I was on a mission with Ibiki, Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu. Someone how everyone except for myself and Ibiki had been slipped poison some how." Sakura started. "We were literally in all forest, and there was no civilization for miles. They had it really bad, and I had to figure out the anecdote fast. Thankfully I was able to figure it out just in time. Ibiki watched over Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu. Then I went to go get the stuff for the anecdote." She frowned, pulling out a few small containers of separate things, mixing them together, before she got out a syringe. After filling the syringe, she turned back to Naruto, and injected it into him quickly.

Naruto yelled. "Ow Sakura! Thanks for the warning!"

Sakura just laughed, when he was pouting. "Jeez, you big baby!" She looked to Hinata. "Can you heal the actual wound?"

Hinata nodded, and went to work healing Naruto. Sakura just put the bag back into her pack. Her eyes grazed over the scrolls, and she paused. She reached in to take out the gold scroll. Her eyes traveling over the pink engravings on it. Then her eyes went to the bottom of her bag, where the wooden box was just waiting to be opened.

"Have you opened it yet Sakura?" Ino whispered to her, noticing she was looking at the scroll. Keeping quite to avoid confrontation with their friends.

Sakura shook her head, and shoved the scroll bag into her bag, swinging the bag back onto her back. "No." She simply replied, not bothering to whisper, walking back to the path they were taking. "If your done being over dramatic, it's time to go home." She called over her shoulder to Naruto. Then her mind went back to the scroll again, ignoring Naruto's protest to her.

Saku Inner: Why don't you want to open the scroll?

Sakura: To answer your question. Yes, I want to open the scroll. But, no, not here. I don't feel safe opening it now.

Sakura sighed, as her team caught up behind her. She switched to jumping up to the trees. "Same formation that we came here in." She called back. She could feel her team move around to the formation, and when she felt Sasuke come beside her she felt more relaxed. Her mind going back to the scroll once more.

Later on that evening

They had made good travel since they left. They would be in Konoha tomorrow, and everyone was looking forward to that. "Oh damn." Sakura muttered, after they had dinner, and were lounging about.

"What's up?" Ino asked from across the fire they built. The blonde was laying on her stomach next to Shikamaru. She had been casually tracing his fingers for a bit in the sand. "Did you finally realize that you get on everyone's nerves?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "No Ino. That's you." She crossed her arms, and sighed. "When I get back there's going to be so much to do. I'm going to have to look through reports in the hospital, then I'm going have to organize the reports for the village that Tsunade leaves around, once if finish that I'll have to start working on the deal with Karin, Jugo, and Sui." Sakura sighed.

"What about me?" Sasuke asked. "Am I going back to restriction?"

Sakura looked up at Sasuke. "I'm pretty sure your going to be off the hook, but I don't know yet. I'll have to talk to the council, and do a whole new set of paper work. It's my number one priority to make sure you, Jugo, Karin, and Sui will get out of restriction. I know that Jugo, Karin, and Sui would like to start new lives, and it's hard to do that when your restricted."

"You would know what that's like." Tenten mumbled to Sakura.

"What?" Sakura asked sharply, an eyebrow raised. Then she remembered what Tenten was talking about, and gasped. "Tenten that's no one's business."

Tenten laughed, and before anyone could ask she spoke. "Tsunade had to ban Sakura from the library for a week because Sakura had been there three days straight trying to research this new medical technique. She didn't get any sleep, and barely ate anything."

"And it was pure torture." Sakura mumbled, making everyone laugh. She giggled herself, and when she stopped she sighed, looking to her bag. "Most importantly I'll have to find out what's in that box."

"You sound so depressed." Shikamaru noted.

"Well more confused." Tenten said nodding slightly.

Sakura shrugged. "It's because I am. I want to open it, and find out why in the hell this mark is on me, and what the mark is. But, at the same time, it's dangerous to find out what it is." She sat up. "So many people have already came after me, and it makes me wonder what will happen when I figure out what it is. Even more people could come, and I don't want to be sheltered my whole life." She sighed, and stood up. "I'm going for a walk." Her eyes connected with Neji's, then Hinata's before turning with a sharp nod of her head.

"You're not going by yourself." Neji had seen Sakura's look, and knew it was time. "I'll go with you." He said before standing up.

"That's great and all, but I'm going to go by myself." Sakura retorted, adding a bit of spice to her tone to make sure it sounded like she was getting slightly irritated.

Neji was suddenly in front of Sakura. "What's really great is that you want to go off by yourself right when you just said people were after you." He said sarcastically, as he had to hide the smirk that was coming onto his face. "So I'm going to go with you."

Sasuke, didn't like how Neji kept insisting to go with her. Of course he wasn't usually so over protective, but ever since Neji had punched Sakura he had been extra observant towards Neji.

Hinata knew Sasuke was going to intervene, so she stood up. "He's right Sakura." She commented. "You really don't need to go anywhere by yourself, it's dangerous. If it makes you feel better, then I'll go with you."

"It's really not necessary." Sakura said through gritted teeth.

"Why do you insist that it's not necessary?" Neji countered.

"Because it's not!" Sakura snapped, shoving past Neji, to start going into the forest, going on a paced run.

Hinata just scowled, and walked forward. "Good job Neji. You made her run away." She took off in a run after Sakura.

Neji growled. "How is it my fault? You didn't have to intervene!" He called after Hinata, and started running after her.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked, as they were left in silence.

"Obviously, Hinata and Neji are going to go apologize to Sakura." Ino retorted. "So you don't have to go after them Sasuke." She chuckled as the Uchiha sat back irritated.

Sasuke just growled, and sat back down. Rolling his eyes at Naruto's laughing, and punched him hard on the shoulder.

In the forest

Hinata and Neji were running side by side. Finally reaching Sakura, who was standing with her arms crossed, waiting for them. "I thought we said that you two were going to stay behind to prevent them from coming after me. Then you pull that stunt." Sakura growled.

Neji smirked. "Hinata and I really do think it's better for us to be there. Just in case another Akatsuki member was to come along or some of those people after you."

"Yeah." Hinata agreed. "If it's one of the people after you, we could get rid of them while you are still healing Itachi's eyes. And if it's an Akatsuki member, we'll pretend that we were confronted by Itachi, and then we'll leave."

"If that happens, you'll just have to plan to meet Itachi later on in the night." Neji added.

Sakura sighed. She wanted to be angry, but she had to admit that it was a logical idea. They were truly worried for her, and she wouldn't have thought about all that if they hadn't done what they did. "Alright, but the whole time I'm doing the healing keep watch with your byakugan. I can't risk getting interrupted right in the middle of healing. It would be nice to have a warning."

As the three started running towards where Sakura was supposed to meet Itachi, Hinata looked to Sakura. "We'll do whatever you need us to Sakura. Don't worry about it."

They finally arrived along side a river. A silver kunai marked that spot as the spot where Itachi wanted to meet. Meaning he was already here. Sakura picked up the kunai, and looked at the tree's around them. "It's okay Itachi. They're here to look out for anyone."

A shadow appeared on the other side of the river. Under the branches of the tree's. When the figure walked closer to the bank Itachi's features began getting more noticeable, till his whole figure was visible. "I don't have a problem with them being here. I was meditating, when you called."

Sakura tossed the kunai to Itachi, and it landed in the dirt by his feet. "Well I'm ready to heal your eyes."

Itachi was suddenly standing beside Sakura making her jump slightly. "Very well."

"Geez Itachi. You and your brother are the same, you two enjoy scaring me any chance you get." Sakura muttered, feeling her heart calm after he scared her.

Just barely, the corners of Itachi's mouth lifted in a smirk. Only noticeable to her. "You're an easy target."

The look on Sakura's face showed her irritation at his comment, however she bit back any remark because she did manage to get him to slightly smile. Instead she tried hiding her smirk as she looked to Hinata and Neji, even though she was sure he saw it. The two Hyuga's had their byakugan's activated, and had moved to spread out around the Uchiha and Haruno. To start keeping watch.

Sakura hesitated, then turned to Itachi. "Sit down." She kneeled down herself. Reaching in her pouch to take out a scroll. "I took notes when I was healing Sasuke's and Kakashi's sharingan's. If you see me jot something down, don't think I'm going to write about you, and share it with the world." She moved to sit on her knee's close to Itachi. "Close your eyes." She murmured.

Itachi didn't hesitate to close them. "You're not nervous." He was surprised she wasn't afraid to be close to him, but of course she was strange.

Sakura sighed, and placed a hand gently over his closed eyes. "Because I've spent like the last week or so near you, and I know your not a bad person." She coated her hand with medical chakra. She began breaking down his eyes. Learning the way his eyes work, and where the damage was. "Will you deactivate your sharingan please?"

Itachi opened his eyes, reached up, and took her hand off his eyes. His eyes bore into her, still red.

Sakura knew he didn't want to deactivate his sharingan because he used it to protect himself. She chuckled softly. "You and your brother are more alike that I thought. Always making sure that no one is going to try and hurt you." She smiled. "Hinata and Neji are going to protect the both of us. You need to trust me."

Itachi hesitated before deactivating his sharingan. Suddenly the strain his eyes had been holding on him, was gone. He no longer had that constant headache.

"Feels better, doesn't it?" Sakura asked with a giggle. "Now close your eyes, I'm going to start the healing process now." Once Itachi closed his eyes, Sakura placed both hands over his closed eyes. In her mind she imagined bringing life to the damaged and dead nerves in his eyes. Already improvement was showing.

Twenty minutes later

Sakura smiled when she fixed the last damaged nerve. "I'm finished." She probably sounded more excited than she meant to show, but she didn't care. When she moved her hands away from his eyes, she smiled when he opened them. A little surprised that he hadn't immediately activated his sharingan.

Itachi could tell there was an improvement in his vision over all. He could see every detail like he used too when he was younger. When his eyes went to Sakura he took in her appearance that was no longer fuzzy looking. Her features were sharp, and her eyes sparkled. "I can see better."

Sakura nodded with a grin on her face. "Do me a favor and activate your sharingan. I want to make sure it's better."

Itachi didn't hesitate, and soon his eyes were red again. He didn't feel the strain his eyes had been causing him for a while. "I don't feel anything, there's no strain like there was before."

"There shouldn't be for a long while." Sakura sighed. "I know you probably will ignore what I'm about to say, but it might be a good idea to give your eyes a break from your sharingan every once and a while. I'm assuming you constantly keep your sharingan activated to intimidate those around you. But, if you ask me, I don't think it's necessary. You excelled really quickly when you were younger, I don't think you need to depend on your sharingan as much as you think you do." She smiled. "I think you are even more strong without your sharingan, but that's just my opinion." To her surprise Itachi deactivated his sharingan as he stood up.

"I'll keep that in mind." Itachi said nodding once. "I should expect to hear from you soon, correct?"

Sakura nodded, but before she could say anything, both Neji and Hinata were suddenly beside them. "Sasuke and Naruto are heading this way." Neji told them.

Itachi turned away, and jumped back across the river to leave. But, he stopped, and looked over his shoulder at Sakura. His sharingan still deactivated. "Haruno." He nodded once.

Sakura nodded, and he left. She turned to Hinata and Neji. "They'll be here any second. Just like pretend you've already apologized, and we're just talking."

"How did it go?" Hinata asked.

"Very well." Sakura replied, grinning. "I was able to heal all the damaged nerves, and I didn't tell him, but I strengthened them as well. So they will be able to stay strong for longer time." She crossed her arms. "When we get back to Konoha, I'm going to have to start thinking of the plan to get him and Deidara out of the Akatsuki." She could sense Sasuke and Naruto about to come into the clearing, and stopped from saying anything more.

Neji sensed them next, and smirked at Sakura. "Don't run off like that again." He said as Naruto and Sasuke came through the trees. Making sure they thought that's what they have been doing the whole time.

Sakura playfully punched Neji's shoulder, catching on to his act. "You already know I like messing with you two. It's very easy to piss the both of you off."

"Believe me we know." Hinata retorted. Turning towards Naruto and Sasuke, like she just realized they were there. "Naruto." She greeted with a smile.

Sakura turned around, and looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke came out here just for me. I'm touched." She spoke dramatically, making everyone laugh. She skipped over to Sasuke, and dramatically hugged him. "I haven't seen you in forever Sasuke!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Drama queen."

Sakura grinned. "Carry me back!"

"Or I can drop you in the river." Sasuke countered with a smirk on his face.

Sakura pretended to pout. "I don't like that idea, I like mine better."

Sasuke felt himself rolling his eyes again, as he turned. "Fine."

"Yay!" Sakura exclaimed, and jumped on his back. She stuck out her tongue at Hinata. "This is why I have the best boyfriend in the world."

Hinata rolled her eyes, and grinned. "I'll keep my boyfriend. He's perfect for me."

Sasuke and Sakura had slowed letting the others continue forward and they kept a slow pace. Sakura had her arms wrapped around Sasuke to keep herself up, and she had her chin resting on his shoulder. "We are finally getting to go home."

Sasuke smirked when he felt Sakura start playing with his hair. "Where I'll get to spend a lot of much needed alone time with you."

"Aren't you forgetting Sui, Karin, and Jugo?" Sakura asked.

"Damn it." Sasuke said as if he was really disappointed.

Sakura laughed, and kissed Sasuke's neck. "I love you." She laughed, and went back to playing with his hair. "I really do." She sighed, and closed her eyes. Feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Just before she dozed off she could faintly hear Sasuke whisper back to her that he loved her too. Making her smile as she faded to darkness.

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I took a break from writing over summer because it was too stressful for me :)