1. Thornless Rose
Dedications : To Cygnea, who always manages to create meaningful one-shots that I thoroughly and utterly take pleasure in reading, and is so decent as to reply to my incessant babbling reviews. Thanks. ;)
.
...
"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into."– Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts
...
It was early in the morning, a few hours after daybreak, and a rare moment of lull settled over Konoha that created the false impression that all was right with the world. Nature's very own genjutsu, in a manner of speaking.
That day, Itachi had wanted nothing more than to be alone and away from the responsibilities and certainty that he was tied to his Clan like a supposedly devoted dog. He liked to avoid the feeling of bitter, bitter disdain for his own family as often as he could. Very frequently he was fed so much propaganda by his sensei and his own conflicting judgment, that it was becoming more and more insufferable.
One would say he was playing hooky, but he preferred the term postponing current duties for an understandable moment of leisure. Which was exactly why he had chose to enter the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Itachi was certain no one would've ever suspected him there, of all places.
A cozy jingle sounded when he pushed open the door to the relatively empty shop, and a soothingly cool air-conditioned draft pressed against him. It had been summer at the time, so whatever form of cooling was appreciated.
He entered cautiously, surrounded by colorful sweet-smelling flowers of many elaborate shapes and sizes. The femininity of his surroundings made him vaguely disgruntled, and he instinctively placed his ANBU mask over his face for fear that he may be recognized.
"Good morning, welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop!"
He was only somewhat mildly surprised, but his catlike mask remained stoic as he turned to face the stranger.
The first feature he immediately noticed about the florist was that she was a girl, obviously. The second startling discovery was her large blue eyes, which stared at him with more perky delight than he'd expected from a person he hardly even knew. She was blonde, flowing knee-length pigtails dangling from two perfectly spherical buns at either side of her head, and she was small, nearly a head shorter than him.
Itachi narrowed his eyes as he regarded her.
She smiled up at him, didn't seem deterred at all by his appearance and obvious ninja rank, wearing a purple apron (which, upon closer inspection, had tiny rabbits decorated around the hem) over a peach yellow sundress with an empire waistline.
"May I help you?" She offered accommodatingly, putting away the bouquet of florescent yellow buttercups she had been arranging to give him her full attention. She stepped out of the reception desk and made a motion to go to him.
"No," he responded flatly. The tone of his voice made her stop, looking disappointingly unwanted. For some reason, he felt the need to explain, "I'll just be looking around, if you don't mind…" He paused, and then briefly added, as an afterthought, "Thank you."
She smiled genuinely, small and sweet, "Okay."
Itachi wandered the flower shop uselessly, for the most part feeling completely out of place since he didn't have any particular interests in flowers. However, he couldn't help noticing the Yamanaka florist (he wasn't going to just stare at flowers, surely).
She busied herself with tending to the highly structured collection of flora coating the aisles and dangling over the ceiling. She worked with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. Her genial act may have only been a front because a customer was present, but she seemed startlingly genuine and he was curious as to what made her so energetic at such an inadequate occupation.
Itachi may have been a shinobi of extraordinary genjutsu and prodigious insight, but he was decidedly ignorant when it came to artistic talent. He had no particular eye for art, whether it was floral arrangement or something as simple as paintings. The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai only manipulated precise imitation, there was no regard for beauty or creativity in that particular skill.
The blonde florist, however, seemed to have possessed an innovative talent for floral art. She arranged bouquets and floral decoration in a way that was attractive and elaborate, and even he was aware of their uniqueness in spite of his utter lack of interest for artistic capacity and flowers in general.
Itachi knew her professionally; she was a year older or so than him, eldest daughter of Inoichi Yamanaka and, for this reason, heiress to the Yamanaka Clan. She was an elder sister to Ino, whom was a schoolmate of his own little brother, Sasuke. He had vaguely acknowledged her because of that, and was perceptive enough to know that she practically stalked the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. But that was as far as their association with each other went. Because he was the future head of the Uchiha Clan, and therefore would supposedly turn out to be head of the Leaf Police, it was to be expected that a young man of his stature would be well-informed about the society he protected.
Personally, however, he knew nothing about her. Itachi wondered if this was because she may not have been particularly spectacular, otherwise he may have taken a little notice if she had had any honed skill. But he was jumping to conclusions—it was a habit of his, being so naturally perceptive.
He did not know her name. But, once conscious of that particular problem, he intended to find out. After a moment of debating, Itachi decided that outright asking her about it would be less troublesome.
"What's your name?" He asked her.
The reaction he got could have been amusing to anyone, but it was different for him. Her back had been turned to him, and she had been carrying a round terracotta pot of autumn blush coreopsis. The moment he had spoken, she had let out a startled "Meep!" and flung the pot in the air. She would have fallen in a heap if not for his quick reflexes.
He caught her almost at once, one arm firmly around her waist and propping her up. Her head was on his shoulder and she had flinched when he calculatingly caught the pot of coreopsis with his other hand inches before it could hit the floor. It occurred to him then that maybe he should have approached her in a less unexpected manner.
"Wow! That was amazing!" She blurted, unable to reserve her astonishment. When he glanced down at her, she looked away, visibly blushing, and apologized sheepishly, "S-sorry! Ugh, I'm such a klutz…t-thank you very much though!"
When she attempted to withdraw herself away from his arm, Itachi made no move to help her up, but he did not try to stop her either. She quickly took the terracotta pot out of his hand and cradled it in her arms, against her chest, bowing to him in gratitude.
"Thank you again," she said, straightening up to shoot him a coy smile.
Itachi responded with a curt nod.
"I thought you were gone," she admitted, giggling sheepishly, "It was so quiet in here! I thought that, being a shinobi and all, you were able to leave without me noticing. Sorry again!"
She wasn't particularly observant, he discovered, which was uncanny for a shinobi. He was beginning to question if she was even a ninja at all. "There's no need to apologize," He ordered tonelessly, a little bothered by her incessant need to behave contritely, "I had startled you, after all."
She snapped her fingers together, a look of realization dawning on her. "That's right, you had asked me a question! What was it again?"
Itachi wondered if this blonde florist was even worth knowing. She didn't seem particularly special, with the exception of her moderate attractiveness and obviously kind heart, but such things were considered trivial and hardly ever useful amongst shinobi. "Your name…" he admitted, even though grudgingly.
"Oh…" She blinked, a strawberry red flush blossoming from her cheeks, "It's Usagi."
Itachi almost snorted. Almost. He had managed to restrain himself with little effort. "Thank you," he told her, purely out of courtesy.
"Thank you, too," She replied, biting the plump crescent of her bottom lip. She looked like she was contemplating something, and then, "What's your name?"
It seemed absurd for her to ask something like that of him. He wore the signature ANBU mask and flowing hooded cloak, artifacts of his jounin apparel which signified the imperative value of discretion. "Uchiha Itachi," he informed noncommittally, after a rather lengthy moment of silence. She was being bold, and he decided there was no harm in humoring her.
The effect was rather embarrassing on her part. Somehow, the pot in her hands slipped right through her fingers, and it shattered loudly as it hit the floor. Shards of terracotta, coreopsis and black soil exploded everywhere. "AH!" She wailed and unceremoniously dropped to her knees in attempt to salvage the plant, "Papa will be so mad!"
Itachi observed her for a moment, it was almost revolting how childish and easily upset she had gotten over such meager plant life. With a noncommittal grunt, he kneeled down and began to assist her.
She flinched at his proximity, and sniffled, letting out a mortified whimper. "I'm s…so s-sorry, Uchiha-san!" She stammered, peering up at him as flickering tears fringed the corner of her all-encompassing blue eyes and gave the illusion that they were trembling.
Itachi raised his eyebrow in a sharp arch, wondering just why this girl acted as if he'd take her into custody and throw her into prison for no good reason. She was being irrational, as far as he could tell. He simply grunted, and she bowed her head again in despair.
His fingertips abruptly brushed over her quivering knuckles. He had initially been reaching for a crushed coreopsis that had separated from the disorderly cluster, but was a second later than Usagi, whom apparently had had similar intentions. As it happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment…
And then, the moment was gone.
Usagi withdrew her hand as if she had nearly been burnt, apologizing profusely in a meek voice, hurriedly gathering the cluster of flowers into her arms in an attempt to avoid what had happened. Itachi slowly recoiled his hand into a fist, as if just coming out of a reverie, pursing his lips together into a thin frown. His eyes shifted up to stare at her. She was red in the face, and there was dirt all over the length of her arms, hands, and apron.
She roused herself off the floor and fled, disappearing behind a door at the back of the shop. Itachi did not expect her to return and clean up the mess she'd made.
..
...
Disclaimer: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto, whereas Sailor Moon © Naoko Takeuchi
Author's Babbling:
For you, Cygnea! Because I couldn't give you a hug, and that displeased me. So I wrote you this:D I couldn't help it. I had had this idea for a while, but it was only until I read "Nine Talents" that I became truly inspired. If it wasn't for that, I'd have never had the will to continue… I hope I don't sound creepy or the stalker-type! x)
I'm not particularly familiar with Itachi, so if he seems glaringly out of character then I truly apologize. Obviously I still have ways to go before I could write things short yet meaningful like Cygnea-sama. . There are few episodes of Naruto in which Itachi is featured in, and some UsagixItachi fanfics here that seem to make him friendly or affectionate from the start. But he strikes me as the type to be supercilious (coolly and patronizingly haughty) and yet very subtle, almost graceful in characteristic, and he isn't quick to judge either. But, hey, that's just me.
Why Itachi x Usagi? Other authors have tried it, I just wanted to be popular… XD Hah! I'm just kidding. To be honest, the real reason is because the Uchiha brothers have peaked my interests lately, and having Itachi meet Usagi I just couldn't resist. :d
Acknowledgements:
The flowers that are mentioned in this story serve a purpose. They imply certain characteristics that identify Usagi's personality, hence the title "The Language of Flowers" (boooo Moony is uncreative D:). The colors of her clothing also signify parts of her personality.
Coreopsis – Always Cheerful
Buttercups – Childishness
Purple – magic and mystery, as well as royalty (referring to her history as Princess Serenity, the fact that Itachi knows little about her and, of course, the magical girl anime genre lol)
Yellow – Joy and happiness
I couldn't find a flower or color that symbolized "boy-crazy" and "clumsy". Hah. At least I tried to stay true to Usagi's character!
Also, there's a quote wedged in there that came from the TV series One Tree Hill. I don't watch soap opera, but that show DOES have awesome dialogue.