This is rated M due to language and mild sexual situations. Also rated for content in future chapters.
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then Sasuke would've felt the end of Sakura's fist quite some time ago. ;)
A/N: This is meant for some fun reading. It's my first go at a completely AU fic, so I'd really like to know how you feel about it.
Chapter One: Band-aids and Phone Calls
I'll kill it, was the first thought to cross Sakura's mind as she woke up to insistent knocking on her apartment's door. She had arrived home well after dusk once finishing a double shift at St. Fire's Hospital, completely spent and emotionally in the dumps. Of course, with the way her luck was lately, it made morbid sense that her good-for-nothing neighbor would be hosting a party. True, she could afford a better apartment complex, but she'd lived in the same place since graduating Konoha University. It was a nice building complex near her childhood subdivision and it also wasn't too far from her current work. An elderly man named Frank lived to her right, and a promiscuous, drama queen named Karin lived to her left. Sakura finally was able to fall asleep due to said drama queen's obnoxious party music turning off.
Giving up on mentally assassinating whoever it was at her door, Sakura threw off her blanket and sheets to march ungracefully through her one-bedroom apartment. Too tired to be able to successfully ignore the fact that she really needed to clean up her place, she decided to take it out on the insistent door-knocker.
"What do you want?" Her hoarse voice demanded after she unbolted and wrenched her apartment door open. She glared up at who dared to disturb her slumber. The man was only taller than her by a few inches, but he gave off an aura that very clearly stated not to mess with him or it'd be concrete shoes. The mix of his angular features and his dark hair and intense eyes reminded her of someone. Unfortunately, her sleep muddled mind wasn't cooperating. He really was nice on the eyes in that dark mysterious way, she decided. Then she noticed that she had been staring. Then she realized he had been too. About then was when she followed his lowered gaze to find that she had answered the door in her panties and wrinkled t-shirt.
A cool breeze washed through the doorway and her body reacted. Slowly the man's dark gaze raised and met Sakura's, which was abruptly followed by a most unladylike squawk as she slammed the door closed. Thoroughly mortified she threw the bolt for good measure.
"Miss Haruno, please open the door." His calm, velvet voice floated through the white door that she was currently leaning against for support. Nice to know he was unfazed. Wait... how did he know who she was?
"I'm sorry, but Miss Haruno lives one over to the left." She fibbed quickly. He was probably just trouble anyway.
"I'm inclined to disagree." His voice replied.
"And why is that, Stranger?" Her voice was less hoarse and more impatient. She was imagining crawling back into her warm, cozy bed.
"I believe long, pink hair is a rare physical feature, Miss Haruno." If she knew better she'd say he sounded slightly amused. She twisted to look out of the peep-hole and choked on her gasp. He had not only been smirking, but he was staring straight into the peep-hole. Shit. Why did her parents' genes have to make her a freak? Somewhere in the Scottish and German heritage she received, her hair became a special kind of strawberry-blonde. Pink, some people called it.
"I prefer 'light red' in all honesty." She told the man flatly. "Now, why are you looking for me this early?"
"It wasn't you specifically, so do not worry. I was informed of you when I asked for a local doctor."
"Not a local hospital?"
Silence. And then, "I'd rather speak about such things inside."
"And I'd rather protect myself against a stranger who doesn't want a paper trail." She sighed and wished herself a warm mug of green tea. "No offense," she offered after a moment.
"None taken, but you have nothing to worry about from me. I intend you no harm, Miss Haruno." His voice had a tired edge to it now, so she peeked through the peep-hole again. The man's skin was too pale, she noticed. He was also clutching at his side and favoring one leg. It didn't take a genius to put it together. Damn my big heart, Sakura thought while she pinched the bridge of her nose.
She ran into her bedroom and pulled on a pair of blue jeans from the floor that passed the sniff-test. Then she tugged on a clean sports bra that was conveniently on the back of her desk's chair. Running back to the door she called out, "make one remark on the mess and I'll kick you out!" She re-opened the door to be greeted with the sight of the same exotically attractive man, but now that she was up and her brain was working she took in his stubbornly stoic facade.
She carefully helped him inside. Well, it was more like she anxiously circled him while he determinedly strode in on his own. Once the door was shut and locked back up Sakura was able to focus on getting him situated. She was getting her couch slightly straightened up when he cleared his throat softly.
"Yes?"
"I think your bathroom or kitchen would be best." He didn't blink when she stood up and glared openly at him. He looked back at her blankly, obviously not feeling like expounding.
"Something you'd like to tell me, Stranger?" Her hands were on her hips and she was still glaring. In response he simply shrugged out of his long, dark jacket. She gasped, and then went right back to glaring at the idiot of a man. "Why the hell didn't you tell me? Get into my kitchen!" The light red-headed woman pointed toward her kitchen and stomped off into another direction.
When Sakura came out of her bedroom and entered the kitchen with her large first aid pack in her arms, she saw the dark-haired man had brought over a chair from her small dinning table to sit on. He had his right foot resting on the counter, his leg intelligently elevated. Dark hair fell over his shoulders when he leaned forward to apply pressure. He didn't even flinch.
She set her detailed first aid kit down on the kitchen counter and turned back to face the man while tying up her long hair. Blood had soaked through the right side of his button-up shirt. The shirt itself seemed to be slashed through the same area. Some kind of knife wound, Sakura figured. It was hard to tell exactly how much blood soaked through his pant leg considering his jeans were black.
"What on earth happened?" She asked, not sure how irritated to be.
He gave her a look.
"You're right," she said raising both hands in surrender, "I don't want to know. Let's get started, Stranger."
"Itachi." He said softly.
"Hm?"
"My name is Itachi."
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Itachi. Now take off your shirt." She felt more comfortable now that she could get down to business. Just patch him up and send him on his way. Then she could sleep and he could live. Win-win. Itachi didn't seem to mind.
He met her gaze and lifted his bloodied hands to undo the first button on his shirt. He kept her gaze until he reached for the forth button. The doctor turned her dilated eyes to her first aid kit. There was a sound that could have been a soft chuckle. The gall, she fumed as she picked out what she'd need from the kit. She washed her hands in the sink thoroughly before snapping on a pair of gloves and turning back around, sterilized wipes in hand.
He'd put his ruined shirt to good use on his leg. His skin was pale and his side was covered in dried blood. Doing her best not to cause him any pain, she began cleaning around the wound. The smell of antiseptic and copper tickled her nose. It would definitely need stitches, but it didn't look to be horribly deep. He must have been too busy out-running whatever happened to take time to deal with his wounds correctly, she supposed. She did her best to not notice how broad Itachi's shoulders were, or how his lean physique radiated pure masculinity while working so close to him.
She needed five butterfly bandages to temporarily close the gash. Making small talk with her 'patient' to make sure he was doing alright, Sakura returned to her kit to root around for her sterile scissors. She felt a little like Marry Popins while she dug through her unorganized, large medical kit. Truly, it was out of character for her to be this disorganized. Maybe she'd ask Tsunade, her boss, for a couple days off to catch up with her life. Ah ha! Finally locating her seemingly runaway scissors, the woman turned her focus back to her would-be patient.
"I'm going to need to cut your pant leg off to access the wound." She waited for him to say no, but no objections were made.
He removed his blood soaked shirt from his leg and she cut through his jeans with ease. She set the scissors on the counter to be cleaned before turning back and carefully lowering his pant leg. The wound wasn't pretty, but at least it missed anything major. The bullet hadn't left an exit wound. Dammit, she mentally cursed. Outwardly, she sighed.
"Itachi, you need hospital care. I can't tell what the bullet has damaged-"
"I was able to move. It should be fine."
"Removing the bullet alone will cause damage! Not to mention you running around doing whatever it was you were doing!" Her inner time-bomb finally exploded. Woken up, embarrassed, morally persuaded, and then interrupted. Hell, no. "You, sir, are an idiot." She concluded hotly with crossed arms and pursed lips.
"I'd like to be a bulletless idiot, if you don't mind." There was an edge to his voice.
She glared at him, her green eyes spitting fire.
"I understand that there may be risks. I'll not blame you, Miss Haruno." Itachi stated, voice back to the usual velvety calmness.
"Just Sakura, please. And as long as you know you're being an idiot, then I guess I'll help you out." She knew she should ask for it in paper. She could tell he was in pain though, whether he wanted her to know or not. He had enough willpower to light the city, she had to give him that, but you learn to read people when your job is to fix them. "Are you allergic to anything I should know about before I continue?"
"No." Itachi watched her clean his thigh near the wound before she withdrew a needle and very small bottle of sorts. She stuck the needle through the top, before mumbling something and turning around. When the light-red headed woman faced him again she was eyeing the tip of the needle. She seemed satisfied after a small amount of liquid shot out.
"This is a local anesthetic. You don't seem squeamish, but this'll hurt all the same, Itachi. Prepare yourself." Her voice was professional and warm. Taking a silent intake of breath he did as she said. Itachi was used to pain by now, he knew how to escape the mass majority of it. Letting himself be drawn in by Sakura's purposeful rambling, his mind drifted away from the stinging hot pain spreading through his body.
She smelt of quiet determination and soft vanilla. He felt that the odd mix went well with what he knew of the woman before him. Given, he didn't know a great lot, but her personality was so open that it was hard not to see. It was most refreshing.
He let himself study Sakura while she continued working on his leg. Starting with her uncommon hair color, he found himself curious if her parents had to change her name after they realized. Itachi noticed that with her long hair pulled back, her forehead became more prominent. For some reason her large forehead seemed to suit her, perhaps as a physical acknowledgment of her obvious intelligence? He didn't know. Her vibrant eyes, utterly focused on her task, were a mix of vivid greens. The closer to her pupils, the lighter the hues. She had a straight nose and full lips that were pulled into a frown at the moment. Her jaw line and cheekbones were strong, yet feminine. He found the woman before him rather attractive.
"I'm going to take the bullet out now, please don't swallow your tongue." Sakura said, interrupting his analyzation of her features. Her tone wasn't playful. He guessed she didn't appreciate his close examination.
He watched Sakura produce an instrument from the kit on the counter that he wasn't familiar with. It looked something like a mix between tweezers and scissors. Giving him a quick glance she knelt back down and settled herself partly over his right leg. She hadn't done anything threatening besides yell a little, so he felt he could give her some leeway when it came to handling his person. The warm metal settled against his lower back offered him some protection, just in case.
Even with the shots of the local anesthetic, he could feel some vague discomfort as she probed his wound. When Sakura's left hand drummed its fingers high on his thigh, he found himself highly distracted for a second before his vague discomfort turned into actual pain.
"Relax," she told him. "It's almost out." Remembering an incident where she had said the same thing to a three year-old with a fireman's truck in his nostril, Sakura couldn't help the smile that forced itself on her lips. She wasn't able to squash the smile before Itachi noticed though, but his glare made it much easier to stop smiling. "There we go!" Out came the bloody bullet. "Do you want to keep it?"
A silent pause while Itachi considered. "Yes, thank you."
After setting the remains of the bullet on the counter, she turned back to face the injured man in her kitchen. She still had a lot of work to do on him, and they were both going to need food and sleep. He didn't interrupt as she meticulously organized how she'd fit everything in. It only took a few minutes, and then he sat and watched as Sakura threw away his shirt only to walk back with a small, clean towel for his leg.
"Now that the bullet is out, I want to finish up on your side before starting the process with your leg. We'll take a break in a couple hours, but I should be able to finish your leg within a few hours or so after that. Sound good?" She was smiling again.
"Very." His face was blank again, though his eyes seemed to draw everything in.
"Great, let me go get another chair."
Returning with a matching chair, Sakura got herself settled with fresh gloves and a gave Itachi few shots of the local anesthetic around his side wound. Grabbing a sterile needle and wire from her kit, she prepared for the first suture. She pressed gently against the wound with her palm to gage how well the anesthetic was working. Happy with the result of his curious glance, she began stitching the wound together with precise movements. When she'd reach a butterfly bandage she would carefully remove it and stick it to her pants before continuing.
Three failed attempts at conversation and thirty-seven stitches later, Sakura finished her last suture on his side. She stood and stretched before cleaning up the side wound again and then fishing out a large, square band-aid. He seemed to have been miraculously grazed with whatever caught him, so he escaped any rib injuries and didn't need to be wrapped. His leg however - her thought process was disrupted at the bright sound of her cell phone ringing in her bedroom. Arg.
"I should get that."
When he didn't respond Sakura turned around quickly.
"...Did you fall asleep?" The incredulous look he received when he made eye contact was so comical he momentarily forget that he'd wanted to glare at the woman. When he didn't react at first she went off on a tirade. Itachi caught harsh mumbles of "typical male," "what did I expect," and, "you do all the work for them to take it for granted." All the while her cell phone continued to complain noisily in the background. His eye twitched.
"I did not fall asleep." Itachi's calm voice caught Sakura's attention.
"Uh huh." Her hands were firmly on her hips, the ringing had finally stopped. Itachi's eye twitched again.
"And I appreciate your time."
"Really, you do?" The change in her demeanor happened too quickly for any sane person. Then her cell phone began to ring again. Another twitch.
"You should get that."
"Oh, right." She murmured, a blush staining her cheeks. Turning smartly on her heel, she headed off to her bedroom. Soon after the ringing stopped and a slightly muffled conversation began.
"Hello?" He heard her ask. "Oh, hi sensei. How are-" He heard her muffled gasp. "What? When? How could that be?"
Oddly perturbed by the worry in her voice, Itachi glanced around her kitchen for a nice distraction, his attention stopped short at her white fridge. It was covered in buttons, magnets, and pictures. Scanning the pictures his eyes settled over one in particular. There were three children gathered together with an older man behind them. All dressed in their black gi, for what martial arts Itachi didn't know. He spotted Sakura easily, all smile and enthusiasm. A boy was on each side, one bright and unfamiliar, the other- shit.
He'd never imagined how far luck was against him. Had he known this doctor was a member of his little brother's close knit dojo he would have looked else where. Never one for taking chances, he stood and untucked his .40 cal from the back of his jeans. Flicking the safety off with his thumb, he quietly cocked the pistol and focused intently on the other presence in the apartment.
"Tell me, Kakashi." He heard Sakura demand. Then a sharp intake of breath and a pause. "I... I need to go. No, just some things I have to clarify. Keep him safe, I'll call you back soon. Yes - yes, sensei. I promise."
A heavy silence set in. He lifted his arms, pistol ready.
The fact that she remained able to function mentally was quite amazing, Sakura felt. Honestly now, how many people get a cautionary phone call about a major suspect for murder, who just recently escaped the police near their home, only to receive an epiphany that said suspect happened to have found their way into your home? Not to mention the daunting connection between the suspect and her childhood crush. She knew his features reminded her of someone!
Why me? I don't beat kids and I swear I recycle. Hell, I even let that old lady have the parking spot I wanted at work. It can't be for nothing! I don't want to die, Sakura thought sullenly.
She had to calm down. Panicking had never helped in previous crappy situations. What she needed was a plan. Playing innocent wasn't quite appealing, so if she could find something... of course! Sakura kept an aluminum baseball bat under her bed for emergencies. Her inner self felt anything but pleased at the idea of finally having to use said emergency weapon.
A girl has got to do what a girl's got to do, she told herself sternly. She could feel time slowing to a crawl and knew that she needed to ground herself and think clearly. There was no room for hesitation in the next few moments.
Where is that woman? I don't hear her at all, Itachi continued to wonder. It had only been a few minutes since he heard her supposedly end the conversation on the phone. Maybe he should have just left quietly? That would surely end unpleasantly. He hated loose ends.
"Give me a second, Itachi. I just need to make a quick phone call." Sakura's voice called out from her bedroom. His brow furrowed when he didn't hear the expected quiver of fear in her voice. He really had expected her to merely approach him with a weapon and then he'd be forced to end her life unless she submitted. By nature Itachi was speculative, some said paranoid even; so when he made the assumption that whomever called Sakura gave her enough information to connect the dots as to who he was, he readily adjusted to the situation. Truthfully, he had not thought that she would cope so well.
The thought of who'd she call at such a time left only one plausible answer: the police. The exact opposite of what Itachi wanted at the moment. Do I take the ball out of her court, or do I play along? Time's running out. As much as Itachi was surprised by the doctor's bold actions, he was quite angry that he'd been forced into a corner.
He promptly made up his mind on his course of action. The man wasn't called a genius for nothing.
For some unknown, idiotic reason, Sakura could not finish the call to the police. The bright white numbers 9 1 1 glared up at the doctor, yet she couldn't press the last button on her cell phone. She knew he was most definitely Sasuke's older brother, but did he truly commit the crime that was being pinned on him? Maybe she should just go out and confront him...
And do what? Ask him if he fell off the deep end and slaughtered his family? How quaint, her inner sceptic scoffed.
In black and white it made so much sense, but she could tell there was more to it than she knew. Sakura had a knack for having good gut responses to people, and although his presence was incredibly intense, she felt no danger emanating from the man.
A movement caught her eyes and she swung her bat more out of reflex than anything else. As luck would have it, the baseball bat collided with Itachi's arm and his pistol sailed into the hall. She winced at the venomous look Itachi was giving her.
So, about those "good gut responses," her inner doubter joked.
Ugh. Now was not the time for an inner argument. The man in front of her was waiting for something, and she didn't know what. Sakura held onto the bat with a white-knuckled grip as she brought her nearly forgotten cell phone to her ear. Before she could raise the phone two inches Itachi seemed to twitch and then there was another reflex swing which barely hit him before he crashed into Sakura. In a tangle of limbs the two fell to the floor.
The light-red head struggled desperately to keep her cell phone in her hands, giving up her grip on her emergency weapon in the struggle. The bat rolled off uselessly to the side of her bedroom. Itachi fought hard to keep the crazy, wriggling woman beneath him while he attempted to pry the cell phone out Sakura's deceivingly feminine hands. He should just kill the unpredictable woman and be done with it, but something kept his priority to get the communicating device away from her.
Nothing she tried doing seemed to work. Her eyes watered with the mix of panic and frustration. In one last effort, Sakura shoved at Itachi to get enough free space to turn onto her stomach. Strong hands gripped her crawling form and pulled her backwards. She kicked and screamed, but muscular arms wound their way around her torso quickly squeezing the air out of her lungs and locking her arms to her side.
"Sakura, stop this." Itachi's voice sounded rough and labored. His warm breath fanned unevenly against her cheek and ear. "I was being honest when I told you that I intend you no harm."
"Is that why you were going to shoot me?" Her voice came out gruff and demanding. When she didn't get an immediate answer she turned to the side but stopped when his lips grazed her ear. Surely it was an accident, she knew, yet the realization of their bodies' proximity of each other was irreversible. His firm body pressed wonderfully against hers. She could still feel his warm breath tickle her sensitive skin and fought to control herself. She was not that deprived, dammit!
"I cannot have the police on my back any more than they already are. I will kill you if you leave me no choice."
"You've murdered before." Sakura stated more than asked.
"Hn." Itachi's response brushed against her ear.
"Then... you killed them, didn't you?"
"My parents?"
She nodded, stubbornly ignoring the skin in contact with her own.
"I did not kill them." His voice wasn't rough anymore, nor was it his usual velvety tone. He sounded very tired and something deep within Sakura contracted.
"I believe you." She felt him tighten his grip on her, but forced herself to relax instead of panicking. "I'm an idiot for it, but I prefer to be as honest as possible."
"Ah, that explains why Miss Haruno lives one to the left of you." His voice held an underlying amusement that could only be found at the expense of someone else.
"Gah!" Sakura huffed. "I promise I won't call the cops if you don't try anything I deem as suspicious, alright?"
"Acceptable, though if you break this agreement then your person is forfeit."
"Fine, deal. Now let go of me or I'll call the cops." Sakura knew she was pushing her luck, but the light red-head couldn't help it. If it wasn't for the humor laced into her demand, Itachi most likely would have reacted violently. Instead he allowed her to gain some personal space while he located his pistol.
What else could go wrong today, she questioned the universe as she watched Itachi tuck his gun back into his pants.
Suddenly her cell phone came to life. Itachi and she exchanged a meaningful look before she picked up the phone to see who was trying to get in touch with her. The number calling was very well known to the young woman.
It was her mother.