On a rainy day
Please note that this is a non-massacre verse, and as such, Itachi is still a famous ninja of Konoha and the pride of his clan. Enjoy.
Itachi Uchiha, Anbu captain and prestigious heir of his clan, was making his way back to the Uchiha district. It was a hot summer day, even though it was raining abundantly. The rain did not bother the stoic young man, even as it ran down his face, sticking his raven bangs to his forehead. His deep obsidian eyes were unfocussed and dull, as if lost in thought. The streets of Konoha were empty, and through the falling rain, he appeared to be a ghost wandering aimlessly.
He was passing by the park when he noticed from the corner of his eyes the outline of a figure. He briefly stopped, wondering who in their right mind would stay outside under this pouring rain if given the choice. All he could make out were the feminine curves of the body, standing motionlessly under a tree by the river. He would have to get closer to identify the person. He briefly debated over it, part of him demanding he ignored it, the other demanding he went to take a look. He had a nagging feeling that he knew that person.
As he approached, the person's hair flashed pink and he raised an eyebrow. There weren't many people with that unusual hair color. Yes, he definitely knew who it was, but he couldn't remember the name. As he came closer, he distinguished her profile, large soft green eyes, a small nose and full pouty lips. He knew her face, and suddenly, it came back to him. That woman was Sakura Haruno, the infamous Head Healer of Konoha's hospital and the Godaime's apprentice. And his brother's teammate too, if he remembered well. Why was she standing in the rain with that faraway look was beyond him though, and his habit of always wanting to know everything demanded he discovered it.
If she noticed his presence, she didn't show it. She continued to stare at nothingness, and he had no choice but to make the first step, quite reluctantly. He wasn't used to making conversation, let alone starting one.
"Do you have a particular reason to be standing under such rain or is it just to your liking?"
Her eyes shifted towards him at the sound of his deep velvet voice. She remained silent a few moments before indulging him with an answer.
"It would be the former," she said softly. "Do you mind if I return the question Uchiha-san?"
"You merely stirred my curiosity."
She raised an eyebrow, looking at him with surprise. "Your curiosity?" She repeated. "Because I was standing there, alone, in the rain? Well, I guess it does seem unusual."
She turned her attention to the river, gazing at the ripples made by the drops of rain.
"What could have compelled you to stay here?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, his face perfectly blank.
"Why do you ask?" Was her reply, and he detected a hint of amusement in her voice.
He contemplated her question, discovering that he did not have an answer. He furrowed his brow imperceptibly. That was not right. He always did things for a reason. He always had an answer.
"You don't know?" She answered for him, trying to guess his thoughts.
He looked at her and found her eyes on him. Her emerald orbs were showing curiosity and a slight mirth. She was obviously enjoying the oddity of their conversation.
"I wanted to." He finally said. "Are you going to answer my previous question?"
She looked skyward, her finger posed on her chin as if in deep thought.
"Well, I guess it won't hurt telling you," she shrugged. "I kind of like the rain. It's… refreshing. Like it makes all my problems, my worries and my fears go away. It cleans my mind. I had quite an exhausting day today, and I wanted to get away from the world for a bit. Does this satisfy your… curiosity?" Her tone was slightly ironic when she said the last part.
He pondered over what she said, and found himself agreeing with her, in a way. She had an interesting way of thinking. Not one of those brainless women who ardently sought his company, much to his displeasure. He had met this kunoichi from time to time when she came to see his brother with her other teammate, but had never gotten to know her. He had never really cared much about her, until today. Maybe he ought to change that.
"Coming back from a mission?" Her soft voice brought him back to the present.
He nodded wordlessly. He was still clad in his Anbu uniform, so it wasn't too hard to guess.
"What was it about?" She seemed genuinely interested, which made him raise an eyebrow. People generally didn't care what the mission had been about. They only cared about the ranking of said mission.
"Nothing much," he replied. "Escorting a nobleman."
"At least that's more interesting than message delivery," she said in response to his apparently bored tone. "I hope there was at least one attempt on the guy's life. If not, it must have been very dull."
He almost smiled at her way of thinking. Almost. But he wasn't used to smiling, so he didn't.
"There were three," he said, slightly amused. "But they were amateurs."
"Ah, then I guess that nobleman wasn't that important if the assassins weren't good. And they actually made you, of all people, protect him? Must have been a blow to your pride, I'm sure."
From her tone, he could tell she was half joking. He decided not to take offense. That kind of light reaction was refreshing.
"I guess it was," he said to humor her. "Not that I cared much in the first place."
"You don't like going on mission? I mean, you don't enjoy it?"
She sounded genuinely curious, and her eyes showed no hiding meaning. But he wasn't quite sure as to how to answer to the question. He thought about it a few moments. He never did think about it. Did he enjoy doing his work as a ninja? He had become one to follow the wishes of his family. No one ever expected him to do it for the fun of it. It was his duty as the heir of the clan.
"I don't know." He answered truthfully.
She considered him with surprise. "You don't know? You've been a ninja since forever and you never asked yourself that question? I'm really surprised there, Uchiha-san. You are supposed to be a genius after all. I guess geniuses can't think of everything."
"No, they can't," he agreed, not taking offense even though her words could have been interpreted the wrong way. "Do you enjoy being a ninja?"
A smile appeared on her face at the question. "Of course I do!" She answered readily. "Being a medic makes me feel useful. I can help people and bring them a little happiness, and I can care for them all I want. Thanks to my training I've become strong enough to be independent and able to defend myself. I love being a ninja."
He was quite puzzled by her sincere reply. He hadn't known there were such passionate people out there. Then again, his brother always spoke fondly of his female teammate, saying she had a big heart and unique kindness. Maybe it wasn't that surprising after all.
"You know, you seem quite cold and distant, but you're actually a real human being," she suddenly said. "I'm telling you things I've never told anyone before."
He gave her a puzzled look, and she grinned. "I rarely get to have such an interesting conversation," she added. "Usually, my partners say silly things or keep complaining about stuff. It's nice to talk with an intelligent person."
This time he smirked. He never smiled, but he could smirk perfectly, that Uchiha trademark smirk. "I can return the compliment," he said, his velvet voice sounding amused. "I assumed that because of your… company, you weren't very bright. My mistake. I should have guessed you weren't Head Healer for nothing."
"You actually thought I was stupid?" She laughed, apparently not offended by his words. "Well, I did think you were a cold fish. So I guess we're even. You're actually an interesting person Uchiha-san."
She then shuddered and rubbed her wet arms. Her clothes, soaked, were clinging to her skin. The usually stoic Uchiha couldn't help but notice, as she unintentionally drew attention to her body, that she was quite nicely shaped. She was small, but extremely well proportioned. It seemed that she was taking after her Master, if her generous chest was any indication.
"I'm gonna head home," she said. "The rain is nice and all, but I don't want to catch a cold in the middle of summer. My friends wouldn't let me live it down. I had a nice chat Uchiha-san. I hope we can do that again sometime."
He found himself nodding before even thinking. "That would be an interesting idea," he said. "I look forward to seeing you again, Haruno-san."
She flashed him a smile, and was gone in the blink of an eye. He stayed a few more minutes, staring at the river. Indeed, he looked forward to their next meeting. He had found himself quite an interesting little female there. He blamed himself for not noticing her sooner, and made a silent promise to himself to correct that mistake, before taking off toward the Uchiha district.
A/N: Well, I really wanted to write a little something about those two, since I'm a huge fan of the pairing. However, I can't make them fall in love head over heels like that, I need them to actually get to know each other before developing such feelings. I will probably make a follow-up to this one-shot, so if you are interested, stay alert.
If you liked it, please review! It's always nice to get some feedback.