Authors notes: Wow, too long, it's been too long! You guys have been waiting for years huh? Finally here is the official first chapter of the squeal to Sakura's admire! It's a continuation of the last chapter. Anyway I know this is going to be a slow start, but please stick with me on this, it's really gonna get good. I'm just excited that I'm finally starting a squeal to something that was really popular. Anyway, please read and review. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Trust me if I owned Naruto, it would have been over a long time ago. Deidara and Itachi wouldn't have died. Sasuke would be back in the village and Sakura and Naruto would be an item. It's too much of a demand so I suppose that's why I don't own Naruto. But I do own the stories I write and could create what ever plot I want. Ha Ha Ha! :p
Dedication: I have to give a shout out to all of my faithful fans of the original. All of you pushed me to continue even at times when I had no idea what to write! So this goes out to all of you who waited forever! I hope I won't disappoint.
Recap!
He took to heart the last thing the doctor said to him. He was right. He had to remain strong for Sakura...somehow. He sighed deeply...for the time being...he'd just have to start over. At least she didn't remember that she was going out with Sasuke...so maybe he still had a chance and by the way...he did promise himself that for the rest of his life, no matter if she returned to normal or not...he'd stay by her side. He never stopped loving her and he never would stop loving her. With his mind made up, he stood up and walked out of the waiting room. About a minute or two later, he returned to Sakura's room. She turned her head to the sound of the door opening. Her eyes widen when she saw Itachi walk into the room.
"Ita...Itachi-san!" She said happily with a warm smile.
A small smile came across his face was he walked towards her bed side. "Hello again...Sakura-san."
At hearing the change to the suffix, her eyes narrowed in confusion and she tilted her head slightly. Itachi took notice of this look. "Ano...Itachi-san...before, didn't you call me Sakura-chan?" She stressed on the word 'Chan'.
"Hai.." He said as he nodded his head. The smile on his face widen slightly as he continued to look at her. "Please...accept my apology about earlier. I didn't intend to be rude to you."
"Rude? I didn't think you were rude at all. If anything..."She laughed a little thus causing his heart to jump...oh how he missed her laughter. "...I think you were just as shocked as I was. I wouldn't blame you."
For a second he laughed too. There was once again another pause before he spoke again."Can we start over? On a clean plate?" he asked her suddenly with a serious look on his face.
Sakura was slightly taken back by this question, but she dismissed it and slowly nodded her head. A warm smile once again coming across her face. "I think that would be nice." She paused as she reached out her hand. "My name is Sakura Haruno...but if you'd like to...you could call me Sakura-chan."
A smile of his own came across his face as he likewise shook her hand. "The pleasure is mine...Sakura-chan." He said politely as he bowed respectfully thus causing Sakura to laugh whole heartily. "My name is Itachi Uchiha...but you may call me Itachi-kun."
Sakura's Admire 2: The Proposal
"Uchiha...Itachi?" Sakura asked as she tilted her head to the side slightly. A thoughtful look came across her face, "Hummm...that name sounds familiar..."
"It does?" Itachi asked, unable to hide his surprise.
For a moment, Sakura remained silent as she continued to think. "Uchiha..." She repeated once more to herself. Another moment later and a smile spread across her face as she looked at him. "Ah!You must be related to my boyfriend, Sasuke-kun. You wouldn't happen to be his father...or uncle maybe?"
It took a moment for him to process what she had just said and once he did his eyes widen and his mouth hung wide open in shock. One of two things, the first, that he knew that her memories stopped to before they dated but he didn't realize she still remembered dating Sasuke, the second, did he look THAT old? It's true that the men in the Uchiha family tend to look older then what they really were however; he didn't think it was possible for him to be mistaken as his brother's father! Sakura was pretty quick on catching Itachi's reaction, despite him trying horribly to hide it.
"Ah...um..." She started to fidget around a bit feeling embarrassed for her misunderstanding. "I...uh..." She said quietly as she looked down. "I didn't mean to be rude Itachi-san..." Just then she looked back up at him with her eyes widen slightly. "No...I mean...Itachi-kun..." She looked slightly embarrassed after changing the suffix. For a moment he looked down and didn't say a word.
"If you don't feel comfortable calling me that..." He began but was quickly interrupted by Sakura.
"No, you misunderstood..." She corrected him as the look on her face softened a bit. He silently looked at her as she continued. Her face twisted into a confused thoughtful look. "I just can't put a finger on it...but calling you Itachi-kun..." She shook her head. He continued to look at her wondering if she somehow was remembering about their past and he felt eager to ask, but remembering what the doctor said gave him doubts in questioning all together.
She smiled as she continued and this of course peeked Itachi's interest."Well, you see I did feel a bit weird calling you by that suffix cause even though I don't know you well enough I've always been taught to show proper respect to strangers." She paused as her smile widened. "Yet...you...aren't a stranger to me. You're the nice young man who would always come to visit me, so says the nurses and doctors. Since I've been awake, everyday I've seen you and you were always encouraging me. You've already become a friend to me...so then it would be appropriate to call you Itachi-kun right?"
A smile of his own appeared and he couldn't help but to chuckle a little. This of course earned him a confused look. He shook his head as he spoke. "You're right Sakura-chan...you're right" He smiled as he looked at her and she like wise smiled back at him. They were silent, just like that for a moment.
He had made a promise right? Even if life threw an unfair curve ball at him, he promised to stay by her side. Without another word, he walked up to her bed side and gave her a hug. For her that was the first time he hugged her and although she was taken by surprise, it soon subsided and she returned the hug.
"So..." Sakura started after they parted from their hug. "If you aren't Saskue-kun's Father or Uncle, then you must be his brother right?" She asked with her head tilted slightly.
He nodded his head as he took a seat next to her bed. "Yep, I'm his older brother." He said with a small smile.
"Ah...I see. Sasuke-kun doesn't talk much about you, so I didn't even know he had a brother. But now that I think about it, you two look very much a like, almost like twins." She giggled softly. "You probably go to school with us right? I don't remember seeing you around...are you a senior?" She asked innocently.
For a moment Itachi remained silent. Honestly, he wasn't 100% used to talking to her in pretense. As if they were still living in the past. He was so nervous that he might slip and say something that would cause her to realize the difference in time. "Yea. We do go to the same school. I'm a senor there. But I've seen you a few times around the school, guess you didn't notice me." He finally said. He paused for a second before he asked another question. "Sakura-chan, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you and my brother been going out?"
A thoughtful look came across her face before she answered. "Humm...about 2 months." She said with a huge smile. "Gosh, I've known him for so long, when he finally asked me out, I swear I was floating on cloud nine." She paused for a moment and when she did, her smile was replaced with a frown. Itachi caught this and began to wonder.
"What's wrong?" He asked, concern etched in his voice.
"About Sasuke-kun, I've just realized something." She paused as she turned her head to look at him. "Your his brother so you should know. But as I said before, I always hear about you coming to visit. And I've always seen you when you come to visit. But what about Sasuke-kun? Doesn't he know that I'm hear? Why hasn't he come to see me?"
He looked down as a frown came across his face. He was honestly afraid of this, but he didn't think she'd ask so soon. He still wasn't sure what to say but he tried his best to come up with something believable. "Um...our parents sent him away to a boarding school but he should be coming back soon."
Her eyebrows rose in suspicion. "Boarding school?" The tone of her voice told that she barely believed it.
He looked back at her and gave her a serious look which took her back. "Please know, that I would never lie to you. You even said that we were friends right? So friends don't lie to each other. It's a boarding school that all Uchiha's eventually go to. We don't stay for long, but it's to teach the males of the clan how to run the household and family business...it's a formal thing." He added the last part nonchalantly.
Sakura nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, I see. Well I can kinda understand now, the Uchiha clan really is a prominent clan. It's expected that you should learn how to run the family business or head the household."
"Yea. And being that this is a family secret, please don't inform Sasuke that I told you." He instructed kindly yet firmly.
"Ok, I won't. But if you get to talk to him soon, please tell him that I still love him very much and I can't wait to see him again." She said with a smile.
His stomach did flips at hearing that. He really would have to bit down his tongue and just try to do the best to deal and mange. Even thought he was still very much in love with her, he decided once and for all to set aside his own feelings for the sake of both of them.
"I promise, I'll tell him that." He found himself saying. He then sighed deeply as he got up. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Anyway, I really should go now. I'll come again to see you tomorrow ok? Until then I hope you rest well." Without thinking much, he walked over to her, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. He realized all too late and pulled back in time to see her give him the most shocked look.
He likewise gave her a shocked look and said the first thing that came to his mind. "It's a french thing. Friends in France always kiss each other goodbye. Bye!" And without another word he almost ran out of the room. Sakura's eyes remained on the door way of where he left.
"But we're not in France, we're in Japan." She whispered to herself as she touched her cheek and soon realized she was blushing.
About 30 minutes later he returned home. Before he did anything else, as usual he would go to his brother's room to check on him.
Both Sasuke and Sakura were making about the same progress. By this time, Sasuke was up and walking about a little more then Sakura however he was not talking yet...or so Itachi thought...
"Itachi-sama!" One of the housekeepers ran up to him as he was heading towards Sasuke's room. He stopped and looked back giving the young lady a tired look.
"Amai-san," He began with a voice to match the look he gave her. "If it's not important, I would rather check on Sasuke and then go straight to bed. It's been a long day and I'm tired."
"But Itachi-sama, it is important! It's about Sasuke-sama!"
As tired as he was, the look on his face became more alert. "What's wrong?" He demanded in a calm voice despite the worry look spread across his face.
"Wrong?" She asked as she tilted her head to the side giving him a confused look. "Sir, there is nothing wrong. Quite the opposite actually." She added with a smile.
It was now his turn to be confused but rather then ask anymore questions he just went stright to his brother's room. He saw Sasuke sitting by the window looking outside. While still looking outside, his ear picked up the sound of someone coming in and he thought that it was Amai.
"Amai, what took you so long? I thought..." His voice trailed off when he turned and saw that it wasn't Amai at the door. Rather it was...
"Itachi? You just got home?" He asked. "How was your day at work?"
Itachi stood at the door and simply looked at his brother in shock. Sasuke noticed this and give his brother a plan look.
"If you're wondering, I just discovered earlier today that I could talk. Thank goodness, now I don't have to write down everything that I want. That was starting to get annoying." He rolled his eyes as he got up and walked towards his older brother.
"Uh..really? Is that so?" Itachi finally asked, still surprised that his brother was talking.
Sasuke looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Dude, you're acting rather strange you know?" He said bluntly.
Itachi remained silent for a moment before he spoke. "Nah, it's nothing. Just um...this...feels like the first time you've ever talked this much to me, I figured..." His voice drifted off as he remembered that just like Sakura, he needed to be careful about not bring up the past. It was true they had their hardships and was slowly acting like brothers again. With all that had happen, he couldn't remember if before all of it started if him and Sasuke even spoke normally.
"You figured?" Sasuke echoed his last words, looking at his brother like he'd gone crazy.
He chuckled as he shook his head thus making Sasuke think he really did go mad. "I figured that you were more of the quite type. You usually don't talk so much." He finally said.
Sasuke gave him an unimpressed look. "You're such a liar." He said as he shook his head. For a moment both of them stood still not saying a word.
Sasuke turned back and walked towards the window. Following his brother further into the room, Itachi took the seat where his brother sat before. For a moment, he continued to look out the window without saying a word. Itachi continued to look at him and could tell just by looking that something was wrong.
"What's up?" He asked casually. "Looks like you've got something on your mind."
Being snapped out of his thoughts Sasuke turned to look at his brother. He gave him a blank look before he started. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He said before looking back out the window.
His eyebrow rose as he gave his brother an unsure look. "Are you sure? If you have a problem, I don't mind hearing you out." He said honestly.
Once again Sasuke looked at his brother. His face scrunched together. "You really seem interested in my personal life huh?" He sighed deeply as he decided to express what was on his mind. He looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact with his brother as he spoke.
"Well, it's just that I see friends and family all the time. But there's one person who I haven't seen and I don't know why. You don't know her, I only started going out with her about 2 months ago."
"Ah? Little bro has a new girl?" Itachi asked with a playful smirk, unknown by Sasuke that he already knew who she was.
Sasuke looked at his brother with an annoyed look. "Do you want me to tell you what's wrong or do you wanna guess?"
"Oh no, you could tell me. I'll be quite." He said with a knowing smile
He rolled his eyes as he continued. "Anyway, I can't understand why I haven't seen her. I wonder if she's ok." He looked down for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face.
Itachi sighed. First he lied to Sakura and now to Sasuke? How would he explain Sakura's abstance to him? Especially if he's not suppose to know her?
"Actually, you're mistaken." He found himself speaking once again. "I do know her."
Immediately Sasuke looked up at his brother with a questioning look. "What do you mean? I was sure I never introduced her to you."
"You didn't, but she's been to the house before right? I guess you never noticed I was home at the time. It was twice I saw her, but I can't remember her name." Mentally he was kicking his self. Why the hell was he saying such things?
An understanding look crossed Sasuke's face as he nodded. "Oh. Well that still doesn't answer why I haven't seen her. I miss her so much. It feels like forever since I last saw her."
"Well, I don't think there's anything to worry about. Maybe she went out of town or something." He said with a shrug of his shoulder. It really was the most lamest excuse he could utter.
"Somehow I doubt it. But I'll find out the next time I see her." He said as he returned his gaze out the window. For a moment both of them were quite.
"I'm sure about that bro." Itachi said in a low voice as he slowly stood up.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked as he turned to look at his brother.
"Work. Long day. Dead tired." Was all Itachi said as he headed towards the door. When he reached the door, he turned to look at his brother and for a long moment just looked at him.
"You're staring at me because?" Sasuke asked as he gave his brother a confused look.
A smirk came across Itachi's face as he shook his head. "It's nothing really. I'm just glad we were able to talk to day. It's been a long time. Let's do this again tomorrow ok?" He said with a sincere smile.
For a moment Sasuke looked at him before he just nodded his head without a word. Without another word on his part, Itachi left to go to his room. Once he reached his room he fell back onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling. As he looked up, a tear rolled down his cheek. Another followed after another. Before he knew it he was silently sobbing. He got both of them back, but at the same time he lost them. He gained a relationship he never had with his brother but at the same time he lost the love of his life to his brother. And through all of it, he knew something the neither of them knew and that he couldn't tell him. He felt like he was drowning. Like he was helplessly drowning. He didn't know who to reach out to, he didn't know how to handle the stress. He felt so alone and lost. However, despite how he felt, he had to keep it together. Because if Sasuke or Sakura saw him break down now, they would eventually find out what's really wrong and that would very well cause more harm to them. He closed his eyes as he continued lost in his thoughts until he eventually fell asleep.
Several weeks passed and Sakura was finally released from the hospital. As always everyday Itachi came to help her. Even when she was at home, he continued to come to help her. The two became really good friends quickly. Despite all the heartache, to him, that was the most precious thing he could ever ask for. Shortly before her release though, the doctors informed her of the current time and her current age. She was also told about Sasuke, but was also told not to tell him anything of her hospital stay. As expected from the doctors, waiting to tell her proved to be the right thing to do. She took the news hard but was able to slowly bounce back and take things as they really were.
The same was true for Sasuke. Eventually he had more freedom to roam around the house and even outside. He wasn't told about Sakura's hospital stay, but he was told about the current time and his current age. It was a shock to him, but he to was able to take the information as it was and he grew to accept it. Gradually, both Itachi and Sasuke grew closer. To Itachi it was a rather touching thing. Before the accident neither spoke to each other and there were many misunderstandings. However now, the two were like really good friends.
As Sasuke sat in his room, a knock came to his door. "Come in." He called out without looking. The door slowly opened. He waited to hear foot steps entering the room but he didn't hear any. He was about to ask who it was but once he turned around he was met with a pleasant surprise. Standing by the door was his brother with a smile on his face. standing next to him however was the very person who he dreamed about seeing again.
"Sakura!" His eyes widen in surprise and a smile came across his face as he walked towards her.
"Sasuke-kun!" She cried out happily as she ran into the room towards him, nearly knocking him over as she leaped into his open arms.
"I missed you so much! I thought about you everyday!" She said as tears started to roll down her cheeks.
"shhh...shhh...it's ok, don't cry." He said as he held her tightly. He lifted one of his hands to wipe away her tears. "I love you so much Sakura." He whispered softly in her ear.
Crying even harder, she held on tightly to him as if he'd disappear any second. "I love you too. I love you so much." She whispered back to him. They continued to stay that way for awhile and Itachi felt it was best to give them their space. He sighed deeply as he walked away. That was the moment he knew for sure that he lost the love of his life...forever.