As the Infinite Tsukiyomi was cast, they all felt the hoplessness wash over them. Emerald eyes glanced into the clear blue ones of her friend as she squeezed his hand. The only thing she could do to comfort herself and him. His gaze was focused on the man in the air who, only minutes earlier, stabbed her through the gut with a metal rod. Then her sad eyes trailed over to the man she had so long loved. His body was stiff, eyes analytical. He was trying so hard to find a way to keep himself from being sucked into the genjutsu that would suck them up in only seconds. As the red light of the moon was about to sweep over them, she caught his gaze, only for a second, look over at her and Naruto.
In that moment she saw his mouth form those words she could never forget.
"Thank you."
That was all she heard before she saw the red light and then nothing. Then she felt herself slip away...
Today was the day, she decided. She looked in the mirror and said to herself,
"I am Sakura Haruno. I was trained by the best doctor in all the nations. I am not scared of asking some guy on a date! He will say yes." She said her affirmations over and over to herself. Then her eyes softened at her reflection and she gave a soft sigh. "Stupid Ino-pig. Sasuke is never going to agree to go on a date with me. He's the most sought after bachelor in the Fire country." She plopped onto her bed and laid on her side, frowning. She thought about the dark haired man she had been infatuated with so long. After their long history together on Team 7, she knew him well. He loved his family and wanted nothing more than to make his father and older brother proud. Because of that, he spent countless hours training to become an ANBU and follow in the footsteps of Itachi. The lack of time that Itachi was home though, pushed Sasuke into a lonely solitude. Always trying harder and harder so he could go with his brother on missions.
Itachi thought highly of Sasuke. That, she knew well, because Itachi and her had grabbed a cup of tea together once a month for the last two years, since she was 18. He wanted to know the progress Sasuke was making not in his ninjutsu but in his social life. Since Sasuke had secluded himself from his friends to get stronger as a child, Itachi had worried about him. He used to sit down with Kakashi-sensei, after he became Team 7s teacher, about these things but with Kakashi-sensei helping Tsunade-sama train Naruto to become Hokage, he had his hands full.
Now, Sasuke never used to be like this. It was strange how he suddenly became that way one day. He was so happy and cheerful as a child and then one day, he had a seizure. Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru-sama, being the best in the village when it came to medicine and science, spent countless hours and days monitoring him. They never did figure out what happened. All the signs pointed to something psychologically causing the issues but he wouldn't talk about what happened. No one could figure out what happened to the cheerful child. That's when the constant training started. He only smiled when he was with his mom or Itachi. Even then, they were small and sad smiles. She pondered this momentarily until her thoughts were interrupted by the time on her clock.
"Oh crap! I'm going to be late!" Sakura jumped off her bed and grabbed her nin sandals, which were more like boots, and jumped out her window after throwing them on her feet. It was quicker than running through her apartment to use her front door.
"Glad you could make it, Sakura-san." The man smiled with a hint of humor in his eyes.
"Sorry, Itachi-san." She huffed, a little out of breath from her quick, morning sprint. "I was caught in my thoughts." She said giving a coy smile. He motioned for her to sit down. The waitress came over to immediately serve the new guest.
"The usual, Sakura-san?" The waitress smiled.
"Yes, please." She smiled and gave a slight nod. Itachi waited to speak until after the waitress left, so as not to embarrass the young medic.
"Would these thoughts have to do with asking Sasuke on a date?" He smirked. The shocked expression and bright blush gracing her entire face amused the ANBU officer. He sometimes felt like he had a sick sense of humor but brushed it off when she cleared her throat to speak.
"Ho-how? I uhh..." He put a hand up to stop her.
"Ino has been spreading the word that you're 'finally'", he used his fingers to do air quotes "going to ask my little brother out." The look on her face turned from shock to seething anger, not at Itachi but her so called 'best friend'.
"I can't believe her..." she muttered as she looked down at her fiddling hands. She bit her lip thinking about all the absurd things Sasuke must have heard people gossiping about in town.
"Well?" He said expectantly with a raised eye brow. "Were you planning on asking out my foolish little brother on a date?"
"Erm...well...how do I say..." She gave up with a sigh. "Ino has been trying to convince me to ask him out. But I...I don't think I can." She admitted with defeat. In the time she has spent with Itachi, though it hasn't been much, she has learned she could trust him wholeheartedly. He was kind as he was strong. He placed his arms on the table, his fingers interlaced, and rested his chin on them.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well, I just don't have the confidence to take the rejection." She said with a sullen look on her face. He looked at her seriously and slowly sat straight up.
"What makes you think he'll say no?"
"Come on, Itachi. You know Sasuke. It's been train, train, train ever since the accident. He doesn't have time to date; even if he did, it wouldn't be with me. He's made that pretty clear." An image of a mission failed long passed flashed through her head.
"You're weak." He glared down at her tear filled eyes with dark, hateful obsidian.
She shook the memory out of her head and saw Itachi's disappointed face. He didn't like when people talked so negatively. Especially when it was those he cared about. Though he didn't voice it, he probably rooted for the young girls love to succeed more than she did. At that time the waitress returned with their order.
"Green tea for you." She said as she gently placed the steaming cup in front of Itachi. "No sugar. And Oolong tea for you with a cup of ice." She placed the cold cup with a spoon next to her own steaming cup of tea.
"Thank you. You always know what I want." She smiled at the middle aged woman who always served them during their monthly meetings.
"It's no problem, Sakura-chan. Enjoy yourselves." She bowed slightly before she turned away. Sakura began to place a couple ice cubes in her hot tea to cool it down. She took great care stirring her tea so she wouldn't have to face Itachi.
Sweat slid off his smooth face as he practiced his taijutsu on a wooden dummy. His mouth was set in a stern line and his eyes hard, but distant. What was in front of him though was not a dummy but a man that he loathed. He tried hard not to let his thoughts slip away into the past because he knew it would only be a distraction to him, and he knew what he would see. His teeth clenched as he fought off the surfacing memories and hit the doll harder and harder until it snapped under the strength of his fists.
He looked down at the doll with a hateful glare. He let his control slip for one moment and he saw the mans face he so loathed, clearly in front of him. He saw his evil eyes and the smirk on his face as he looked into Sasukes eyes. Then he saw red light that washed over the world. He threw down a kunai into the face of the training dummy and turned away. He pushed the images from his mind and walked away from the training grounds to pay the Hokage a visit. He was going to seek out a mission to keep his mind focused.
A/N: Sorry if the end of that got sloppy. Sasuke's part was a bit harder to write. I just felt a little inspired to write this. I don't know what I'm going to do about Sakura Viewings, I didn't plan it out well and its plot is a bit messed up. I won't promise to update this new story often but I hope that I can at least once a month. I'd like to hear thoughts on it. Update 7/1/14: I just changed a couple words here and there to make the reading flow better. No need to reread it if you've already read this chapter.