14th of February – Valentine's Day, and it certainly wasn't something he would have been expecting to celebrate. But hey, everyone needs some love some time, right? And it turns out he found it in someone he least expected, or maybe, what the world least expected.

Haruno Sakura, five years younger than he was, hot-tempered, warm, bubbly, kind-hearted, loud, rather boyish, his younger brother's best friend, one of the brightest students in school, with short pink hair and a pair of gorgeous, sparkling emerald eyes.

Yeah, nobody expected Uchiha Itachi, five years older than she was, calm, kind of detached, quiet, graceful, protective, the brightest student in school, with long, silky dark hair and a pair of unreadable onyx orbs, to go out with her.

But then, there he was, standing beside his younger brother, Sasuke, in front of a flower shop which belonged to Sakura's best friend, Yamanaka Ino's family. "Okay, listen, I know you're her boyfriend and all, but you've only been dating her for three months, and this is your first actual Valentine's Day in your entire life. And I've been her best friend for years, so just trust me this time, okay?" Sasuke huffed, glancing up to look at his older brother. The fact that he looked so tense and awkward was enough to put a little smirk on the younger Uchiha's face. Obviously, that didn't go unnoticed.

"And you were saying?" Itachi asked calmly, glancing at the various types of flowers in the flower shop. Sasuke could hardly stop himself from chuckling. Itachi simply sent a glare at him. "You know, I actually wondered why I had asked for your advice and opinion when I could have gone to Pein."

"It's because Pein also has Konan to think about, nii-san. And besides, he hasn't even met Sakura yet." He glanced at the expensive black watch on his wrist. "But if you don't hurry up and get a gift, you're going to miss the double-date." The spiky-haired Uchiha cracked his knuckles and walked into the store. "Alright, this is going to be a little contradicting, but Sakura hates cherry blossoms. So, you can't buy that for her. She hates roses; she claims it's too normal. Oh, and no daffodils or anything because that's what she got me all those years ago. It sucks. You can't buy sunflowers for her either; the largeness of it annoys her. And –"

Itachi didn't stay to hear whatever it was that his younger brother would say. Heck, he hadn't even realized he was such a flower expert. He sighed and walked out of the flower shop, letting his younger brother ramble on and on about how daisies were too white for her liking – or, it could be for his liking. He whipped his mobile phone out and punched in a few numbers before holding it to his ear. The telephone beeped for ages, until; finally, someone picked it up. "Pein," Itachi greeted his friend. "I don't think Sakura wants flowers. What else does a girl want?"

"Aren't you the smartest kid in school with an 'A' in every subject and always emerging top with the most beautiful results the school has ever seen that it makes the teachers want to cry and laugh at the same time?" That was Pein's sarcastic reply. "You're not the only one with a girlfriend, Itachi. I'm sure you can figure something out yourself."

Itachi allowed the side of his lips to curl upwards into a knowing Uchiha smirk. "You seem rather busy," He mused. "You haven't even bothered to give me a little idea, and that's certainly not you." Almost on cue, he heard the shuffling of sheets on the other end of the line. "Tell Konan I said hi. I'll see you two tonight."

"Itachi –" Pein growled, but said boy had already hung up on him. Brushing a strand of dark hair to the side, Itachi continued walking around the shopping complex, determined to find a gift for his pink-haired friend – girlfriend, he reminded himself. He should have known better that Sakura certainly wouldn't be fancying flowers anytime soon, judging by her very boyish attitude. How had he even gotten into a relationship with her anyway? Both their personalities clashed horribly, and yet they had ended up like this.

Itachi had stayed in the school library to devour a very interesting book he had discovered until late in the evening, when all the other students had gone somewhere to enjoy the beginning of the weekend. He had been so absorbed in the brilliant mind of the author that he did not realize anyone's presence, until…

"Hey, the librarian says she needs to close the school library. Sorry, but you've got to leave." And that was when he put down his very interesting book, looking up and locking his onyx eyes with a pair of green ones. He immediately took in her appearance – rather short, pale porcelain skin, gorgeous emerald eyes, short pink hair and a rather irritated look on her face. But that look didn't last for long, though, her eyes widened and she raised an eyebrow. "Eh, it's you, Itachi."

"Good evening, Sakura." He greeted her, closing his book. He knows her, of course. She often popped by his house with the other loud, blonde-haired boy named Uzumaki Naruto because they were best friends with his younger brother. "What are you doing in school so late? Is my brother with you? Or is Naruto here, too?"

She gave him a puzzled look. "No, I thought he'd gone home with you a few hours ago. Naruto just got dragged home by his mom." She smirked at that. "And I was going to spend some time in the library too, until the librarian told me she was going to close it." She glanced at the book he was reading. "I never knew you read books including magic and fantasy and all that. You just seem so…logical."

"Yes, well, just because I'm 'logical' doesn't mean I can't read something that defies all possible logic." He placed the book on one of the shelves and grabbed his messenger bag. He turned to face her. "Are you heading home? I can drop you off, since it's not too far from mine." Sakura nodded and left the library with him. They got into his car, and drove off, passing by many shops, since the town they were living in was famous for a large variety of items imported from all across the world.

"Hey, wow, look at that – it's a rainbow colored balloon!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly, pointing out the window where a clown was folding balloons for kids. One of the balloons tied to his wrist was rainbow colored. Itachi simply raised an eyebrow at her antics. She was so…childish. "I've never seen a rainbow colored balloon in my whole life! That is so cool. Can you pull over? I totally want it!"

"Sakura, you're fifteen," Itachi answered. He chanced a glance at his watch. It was ten minutes to seven. He would be late for dinner if he didn't hurry up, and his dear mother, Mikoto, wouldn't be pleased. She'd give him a long lecture on punctuality, and his father, Fugaku would simply sigh all the way while reading his newspaper. And Sasuke…well, Sasuke would always get magically dragged into the lecture, leaving the two boys to sulk and make funny jokes in their rooms later on. "I don't have time either. My mother wouldn't be pleased if I was late for dinner."

The pink-haired girl in the passenger's seat let out a laugh. "Wow, Itachi, I never knew that you were such a good boy!" She smirked. He was going to retort, but she beat him to it. "Itachi, you're twenty." And then she paused. "Oh yeah…Sasuke told me that you might be moving to another town because you were offered a place in one of the good schools. So, when are you leaving?"

He hesitated. He had been pondering on that. "If I were to accept, I would be leaving next Saturday."

Sakura nodded and stared down at her hands. Silence hung in the air. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, and he did not miss the rather sad look that crossed her face. "You know," She huffed. "Although we were never really close, I think I'll miss you when you go." She looked up to lock eyes with him, and gave him such a sweet, genuine smile that it won part of the Uchiha's heart.

He had noticed her before, of course. She had an interesting appearance – what with pink hair and all. But he, even with all the pride of his family filling him to the brim, cannot deny that his younger brother's best friend was very beautiful. From what Sasuke had told him, she had a number of boys after her. And he could see exactly why. She was pretty, intelligent, sporty and confident, unlike the other girls. She was rougher, not shy at all. But she cared for her friends, and she was very kind. "Hn," Itachi murmured. "I suppose I'll miss you too." The rest of the journey to Sakura's house was silent. When they got there, however, it was a whole different story. She got out of the car, walked around to the window on the driver's seat and knocked twice. Itachi rolled the window down and raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you forget something?"

She simply smirked. "Yeah, actually, I did." And then she leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the side of his cheek. "Thanks, Itachi." He didn't reply. He couldn't reply. So he just watched her skip up the stairs to her home before driving off. He couldn't think straight. But he had gotten home in time for dinner, on the bright side.

And over the next week, it was all the same. He would stay on late at school in the library, reading and reading until she came along to chase him out. He would drive her home, but on two occasions they had stopped by a café to get a snack because her friend, Naruto had been there. He would watch as she entered her house with a wave after giving him his usual goodbye kiss. He would return home and go to his room after dinner, to just sit there and stare at all his unpacked items.

But it was that Friday evening that would forever be embedded in his mind. He had driven her home, as usual, but she didn't get out of the car when they pulled up in front of her house. She simply sat there, in the passenger's seat, staring at him. "Sakura, we're here." He had told her. But then, just all of a sudden, she started tearing up, and that kind of gave him a panic attack. He didn't know what to say, but he wasn't exactly given the chance to say anything. She had flung her arms around his neck and kissed him – on the lips. It left him stunned to the core, even as she pulled away.

"I love you, Itachi." She spoke, wiping the tears from her eyes. And then she got out of the car hastily. "I'll miss you. B-Bye…" She dashed into her house without another word, leaving Itachi driving back home with wide eyes, and those few words she had spoken rolling over and over again in his mind. Was that the last goodbye kiss he'll ever get from her? Was that the last time he'll ever see her? Was that the last time he'll ever hear her say those three words? Well, it was his choice…so, did he still want her to kiss him goodbye? Did he still want to see her? Did he still want to hear her say those three words?

Itachi whipped out his phone and scrolled through his list of contacts, finally landing his eyes on the name – ANBU. He pressed dial and held the phone to his ear. A soft click was the only indication that someone had picked up his call. "Hello, is this Danzou, principal of the ANBU School?"

"Yes, it is. May I know who's speaking?"

"This is Uchiha Itachi, the student from Konoha you offered a place to." He explained, and the other end of the line was silent, probably waiting for him to elaborate. "I know it's a bit late, but I'm withdrawing. Thank you for giving me the opportunity, but I'm not going to your school. I have found something else to pursue here…"

And so, on Saturday morning, he had appeared in front of Sakura's house, greeting the shocked pink-haired girl with a kiss. And everything had just taken off smooth from then onwards.

Wait... He had the perfect gift in mind for her. Itachi waited until seven o'clock to buy his gift. Sasuke seemed to have made a small fuss about how he wasn't going shopping until five minutes before his date. But he bought his gift, and that was what mattered anyway. Slipping on a red hoodie, a pair of black jeans and red Converse sneakers, Itachi waited at one of the cafés for his girlfriend. After a few moments, he spotted her; looking…well, gorgeous had to be an understatement.

Haruno Sakura dressed in a simple white blouse, a pair of red shorts and green Vans sneakers, walked into the café. He gracefully walked up towards her, and greeted her with a kiss, just like that Saturday morning. She smiled and kissed him back, before he showed his special gift to her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sakura." Tied to his wrist by a long, thin string was a rainbow colored balloon. She gaped at him, and just laughed.

"Itachi, you're twenty-one." She smiled, taking the rainbow colored balloon from him. She stood on her toes, mentally cursing herself for being short, before planting a kiss on his lips. "Happy Valentine's Day to you too, though."

He smirked, and just then, there was a small cough. The couple turned to see a very amused, orange-haired Pein holding hand with a blue-haired Konan. "So, this is Sakura?" Pein asked Itachi, whom nodded. "Yeah, she totally doesn't look like a flower kind of girl, but I never expected a fascination in…balloons."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and cracked her knuckles. "You must be Pein, it's such a pleasure to meet you." She smirked. "I bet all those piercings must have been very Peinful." It was a lame pun, but said boy sent a glare at her while Konan bit back her laughter.

"You've got a lovely girlfriend, Itachi." She smiled.

Itachi allowed a smirk to grace his face as he wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist. "I know."

There you go, my very first fan fic! :) I know, it's just a short story, really. I hope you liked it! I'll be writing/publishing short stories once in a while, until I'm halfway done through my first proper, longer fan fiction. I'll give you a hint - yes, it's Itasaku, it's AU, and boy...is it going to be fun writing it. ;) Until then!

Do review and give me comments. I'll try my best to improve my writing! Thank you 3

Kyoso-no-Umarekawari