A/N: Hello! Please note this is the sequel to my other one-shot, Seasons of Sakura. If you haven't read it yet, do so now! =P
Warnings: A slight OOC Itachi and… fluff. Lots of it =D
Disclaimer: I don't own!
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BLOOMING OF THE SAKURA
Sakura Haruno stared at the wall. Her head felt like it was going to explode.
She could still hear his sultry tone invading every pore of her body. Even now it made her legs jelly-like, causing them to buckle under her.
"Because Sakura… You are mine."
A shiver passed through her as more thoughts relentlessly invaded her brain.
Why her?
Why her after all these years?
The ANBU Captain had taken interest in her of all people, confessing his attraction towards her and then he'd suddenly vanished for some highly confidential mission that could take months to complete.
Sakura glared at the wall and clenched her fists.
"Err… Miss? You're breaking the chair… And we are done."
The pinkette glanced at the chair and apologized to the man. She then gazed into the mirror he presented to her and stared at the ANBU tattoo adorning her right arm and sighed.
She'd been so busy thinking about Itachi Uchiha that she had not even felt the needle pierce her skin repeatedly.
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It had been two months.
In those two months the pinkette had had sleepless nights with Itachi's voice plaguing her conscience, resulting in moments of her staring into "another universe" as Naruto put it.
She'd also completed the ANBU exams and one solo assassination mission.
"Seriously Sakura-chan," said Naruto through a mouthful of ramen. "You've been visiting this universe of yours far too often!"
Sakura shook herself out of her reverie and sighed. "I'm sorry Naruto. I've just been really confused."
Naruto put down his chopsticks and turned to face her. "For two months? The last time I was that confused was when I figured Sasuke-teme was straight and crushing on you."
Jade eyes widened and Sakura swung around to face Naruto, nearly breaking the chair in the process. "Pardon me, what?"
Naruto let out a nervous laugh sensing the killer intent radiating off the girl next to him. "D-dattebayo…"
The pinkette hissed and threw some notes on the counter. "This is the last thing I need…"
Turning on her heel, she made a beeline for the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
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-Ting ting ting-
"Welcome to the – oh Forehead it's you!" Ino Yamanaka put down the flowers she was sorting and ran a hand through her long, platinum pony tail. "Gosh, who stole your favourite kunai?"
Sakura looked around the flower shop and made sure there were no customers before switching the sign on the door to 'closed'.
"Itachi Freaking Uchiha"
Ino's baby blue orbs widened and her lips formed a tiny 'o'. She pulled two chairs from behind the counter and placed them near her best friend who was pacing the room. "Sit. Now spill."
Sakura collapsed into the chair and let a long growl leave her lips. "Okay Ino-Pig. Suppose that when you were younger, whatever others told you mattered more to you than what you told yourself."
Ino bit her lip and nodded, urging her to continue.
"You're beaten, bullied and belittled. You've lost all hope and suddenly someone appears and gives you the motivation with enough power to shake the very ground you stand on."
Ino grinned. "Itachi did all of this?"
Sakura sighed and nodded. She couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips or how her heart fluttered a bit. "So, you start afresh. You grow stronger. You prove all those who doubted you wrong. You grow up."
Ino suddenly smiled. 'Itachi caused her to become who she is today…'
The pinkette then stared at the ceiling and shut her eyes. "Itachi more or less confessed to me."
The platinum blonde jumped out of her seat and began squealing. Sakura stared at Ino like she had grown two heads. Ino coughed and sat back down. "When? And what's the problem then?"
"Two months back. See Ino-Pig, he confessed and yes it was lovely. But as soon as he said 'you are mine' in that deep seductive tone of his he…"
"He…?"
"He disappeared in a swirl of leaves."
Ino stared at her best friend for a second, processing each word. "Well, he is an Uchiha."
"Ino!"
"Hey, I'm surprised he has hormones."
"…And so does his brother apparently…" mumbled Sakura half heartedly.
"Wait. Sasuke…"
Sakura nodded.
"Oh hell"
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Sakura could not sleep.
She had tossed and turned. She had tried sleeping on the other side of the bed. Hell, she had even tried counting sheep.
But to no avail.
The healing jutsu she used every morning to lessen the bags around her eyes wasn't having much of an effect anymore. She needed sleep and…
She needed Itachi.
She needed to talk to him…
…After she finished pummeling him to the ground with her pinky.
Grabbing her favourite fuzzy blanky, the pinkette made her way to the roof of her apartment.
Konoha was silent. There was the occasional ANBU hopping from rooftop to rooftop but what was one supposed to see at 2am?
Sakura wrapped herself in her blanket and ignored the breeze which chilled her bones, urging her to go back inside.
A beat passed and Sakura's body suddenly became rigid. The blanket fell to the roof tiles as she was no longer there.
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Adrenaline surged through Sakura's veins as she bounced from roof to roof, missing her prey by millimeters each time.
"Why won't you stay still?" she exclaimed.
The pinkette was sure she'd woken up quite a few residents by now but she didn't care.
"It's the thrill of the chase that makes it more exciting"
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Sharingan narrowed as yet another chakra infused fist missed his back.
She'd definitely gotten much faster.
"Come now Sakura-chan, your aim is a bit off," Itachi smirked hearing a deep growl from the pinkette behind him. Just to add fuel to the fire, he turned around to face her while continuing to hop backwards. "Getting a bit rusty?"
The Uchiha grinned seeing her face flush in annoyance and Sakura added more chakra to her fist and the balls of her feet.
"Screw you! Bloody Uchiha!"
Itachi felt he had led her far enough from the residential area. In a few seconds they would be in one of the training grounds.
"Language Sakura-chan"
He had slowed down until they were in the centre of the training grounds and he covered his body in chakra to lessen the impact of Sakura's attack. The pinkette was hot on his heals and still charged at him at full force.
Itachi heard the buzzing of her chakra as it whizzed towards his face. Summoning extra chakra to his hand, he caught her right fist and smirked.
The force of the hit caused no damage to the Uchiha, but imploded the earth around them and the trees in the vicinity threatened to rip themselves from where they were rooted.
The Uchiha and Haruno stared into each others eyes, breathing heavily.
Sharingan melted into black pools and scanned his partner. She was in her sleep wear – a dark tank top, booty shorts and barefoot. Both clothing and hair were disheveled. Her face was a lovely pink to match her hair and her breaths were coming out in short, quick puffs.
"You're cute when you are angry."
Itachi's other hand shot up to catch Sakura's left hand before she could shatter his face.
The Sharingan wielder held both of her hands as the pinkette squirmed in his grasp.
He smiled.
Sakura felt her insides begin to flutter and her body relaxed.
Slowly, Itachi changed the way he held her hands until Sakura felt his fingers slide into the spaces in between hers.
"I'm sorry"
Sakura brought their hands down to their sides. As she did so, she noticed for the first time the condition he was actually in.
Itachi's ANBU chest plate had been shattered and only the right half of it remained. His left side was exposed and a rather infected looking gash made its way down his pec and across his stomach. His left arm was covered in cuts and bruises and the left pant leg was ripped open.
Sakura fought away the pink hue that threatened to dance across her skin and let her medic mode kick in.
She gently grabbed his good arm and they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
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Itachi woke up to the smell of disinfectant and stuffy air. He opened one eye and was met with the bleak walls of the Konoha Hospital.
His left side hurt like hell.
The Uchiha tried to move and grunted when a wave of pain and nausea passed through him. He then noticed the pink object asleep on his right shoulder and smiled when it stirred and yawned.
"'Tachi-kun?" she slurred as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "How do you feel?"
"I have felt better…" he replied in a coarse tone.
Sakura rolled off him and went to fetch some water. Itachi immediately missed the warmth that was pressed against him.
The pinkette, who was no longer in her sleep wear, returned and placed the glass to his lips. She softly smiled as she watched Itachi gulp down the water.
Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Itachi Tsunade. "Uchiha. Glad to see you're awake. We need to talk now. Sakura, outside."
Sakura nodded and handed the glass to Itachi before leaving.
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Jade eyes scanned the waiting room of the medical ward and landed on the dark hair of one of her best medics… and the blonde next to it.
"Naruto. What are you doing behind the counter?" asked Sakura with a raised eyebrow.
Naruto grinned. "Just spending some time with Hina-chan!" seeing the pinkette's suspicious stare, he continued. "…With paperwork! I intend on taking her out tonight you know."
Sakura smiled. "Well, in that case, I hope you have fun"
As Sakura turned around to leave, she came face to face with Sasuke.
"Listen Sakura," he said in a rather forceful tone. "We need to talk about… us."
Naruto, Hinata and Sakura all stared at the younger Uchiha.
Jade eyes sparkled mischievously and Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder. "Indeed we do, seeing as you're going to be my brother-in-law one day."
Obsidian orbs widened and Sasuke paled.
Sakura walked back to Itachi's room, her laugh dancing throughout the halls.
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"…So there's this organization called Akatsuki who are after the Bijuu? And you defeated the traitor Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand?"
Itachi nodded. "With the help of my team of course"
Sakura scoffed. "Please, you're Itachi Uchiha. Like you need a team! You're a one man freaking army!"
A chuckle left the Uchiha's lips followed by a spasm of pain in his left side. He felt Sakura's chakra numb the area and the pain disappeared.
"Sasori's poison really took its toll on you hey…" mumbled the pinkette. She then grinned. "Good thing I'm your medic!"
Itachi smiled and traced her jaw line with his thumb, humming with approval. "Sakura… about that night… I am sorry for just leaving."
Sakura took the hand on her jaw and entwined her fingers with it. "You had a really important mission to get to. If it wasn't for you Naruto may not have been going out with Hinata tonight…"
Itachi exhaled and looked outside the hospital room window, staring into the moon. "It is not over though. There are more of them."
Sakura also stared at the moon. "Guess I'll be there to help you then."
The pinkette shifted slightly to the left and showed Itachi her right shoulder. A single digit of Itachi's traced Sakura's ANBU tattoo and Sakura shivered.
Her eyelids fluttered closed and she smiled. "… About that night … Were you serious?"
Itachi nodded and was about to speak when Sakura placed a finger to his lips. "You gave your speech already. It's my turn now, 'kay?" Her grasp on Itachi's hand tightened and she exhaled. "At first, I was really confused and honestly I still am now. I mean you reappear after so many years… But from all of my sleepless night spent on my rooftop, I had a lot of time to think," she paused. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have bloomed into the Sakura I am today."
Sakura sighed seeing the smile pull at Itachi's lips.
"So… if you are willing, I'd like to see where this can go. Where we can go because…" the pinkette moved closer to Itachi until their noses bumped. "You Itachi… You are also mine."
And with a slant to his head, Itachi complied with her request by sealing the deal, placing a chaste kiss upon her cheek.
"Forever"
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Fin
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A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated! I am looking for ways to improve my writing before my final year at high school (next year!) So if you can, please drop some suggestions and stuff =) but please, no flaming!
A big thanks goes out to everybody who fav/alerted/reviewed Seasons of Sakura! And to my Beta Cyanbubbles!
Thank you!