Reverse Psychology

A little ItaSaku AU one-shot. I was interested to see how far I could go with this topic – reverse psychology. It all began, I believe, when I was asleep. XD Sleep is amazing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own My Chemical Romance, or any of their songs. The song Itachi sings is my own lyrics. …Sigh. Witty just isn't my thing.

"Yeah, yeah, the show was bad, you don't have to clap, un," Deidara, the blond drummer said, grinning cheekily. The audience laughed at the impossibility of that statement and burst into loud applause just to prove how much they loved the concert. It could be considered criminal to label their performance as 'bad'. More like 'loved like hell' and the band knew it. Oh well – reverse psychology almost always works. Excuse the pun, if you get it.

"Reverse Psychology will be touring Europe by September," he continued. Get it now? If not, well, I suppose it's time for your monthly mental check-up, now isn't it?

But I digress. Someone's speaking now, so shut up.

"We're lucky to have guys like you!" he said, his voice ringing with audible pride. "You're the best fans in the whole universe." The audience roared, stomped, whooped, clapped, agreeing totally with the lead singer. The gorgeous lead singer, the beautiful lead singer, the awesome, the glorious…

Oh yes. I cannot deny it. I am in love with Uchiha Itachi. Can't you tell? Isn't it obvious?

I probably sound like some kind of desperate lovesick fangirl who takes one look at a band, seeks out the hottest member, and then starts crushing on him, building closet shrines, sending letters that are never answered…and that's because I am one. Except for the building closet shrines, sending letters thing. I don't do that. I don't have to do that. Because we live under the same roof.

Yes, you heard correctly. We live together. In the same house. I know, right? Anybody would commit murder just to be in the same condition as me. I can't believe my luck.

My awful luck.

Itachi and I are fiancées, forced into a marriage by our clans. You can scoff – I suppose it's ancient. Whatever. Finally, Itachi and I…together forever! I practically soared with joy when I heard the news. Only to be dragged down mercilessly by reality.

It hurts to remember our first meeting. His family had visited my home, the Haruno estate. Fugaku, Mikoto, Sasuke, and Itachi – I knew all their names from reading an inordinate amount of magazines concerning the famous band member. I greeted Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha and Sasuke-san politely, albeit a little impatiently. I had my eyes on the prize. Said prize was Uchiha Itachi.

Who. Was. In. My. House. Looking. Like. A. Friggin'. Adonis. Dammit!

I blushed and ducked my head.

In my mind: OMG, it's UCHIHA ITACHI! Fangirl-isms ensue! No wait! Look cool. Look COOL.

Outside: "Good afternoon, Itachi-kun." I said formally, and then I looked back up as my mother nudged me. Mikoto-san – she'd insisted me to call her that way – smiled at me encouragingly. Sasuke and Mr. Uchiha – he'd asked me to call him Fugaku-san, but it didn't sound right– looked expressionless. Well, Mr. Uchiha did. Sasuke seemed bored with the proceedings, and shifted impatiently from foot to foot.

Then I saw Itachi again. Leaning on the doorway. Looking like a fallen angel. Looking at me.

I silently waited for him to return my salutation. He made a show of standing up straight, brushing imaginary dust off his black polo. Slowly, like it pained him (though I didn't realize it was like that – in my star-struck state, I thought the action was deliberately tantalizing), he met my eyes and opened his mouth to speak.

I leaned forward eagerly.

"Firstly," he began. I was sort of intimidated by his steely tone, and confused by his choice of words to start his return-greeting, but I composed myself by reasoning that this was Uchiha Itachi, and he did things his way.

"Firstly," he repeated, "there is absolutely nothing 'good' about this afternoon. Youapparently think otherwise." He glared at me, his eyes, beautiful even in anger, burning a hole right through me, and continued. "Secondly, I did not give you permission to call me Itachi-kun. You will address me as Uchiha-san." Catching his mother's reproving look, he amended his statement. "Or Itachi-san, if you must. Thirdly-"

"How does continuing our little gathering inside sound, Kaede-san?" Mikoto addressed my mother, interrupting Itachi's tirade, her voice carefully calm, but I could tell she was straining to salvage the meeting. Itachi looked a tad affronted at being interrupted, although respect for his mother probably won out over his annoyance and he relented. My mother quickly seconded the motion and ushered me and the Uchihas into our living room, calling the maids to bring in the snacks for afternoon tea.

I could think of nothing but my fiancée's obvious dislike of me, even as I bit into our chef's famous double-chocolate cookies. One of my maids shot me a concerned look. I suppose I looked awful. I certainly felt awful, at that time.

I was brought out of my reverie by the crowd's thunderous applause. Pulling myself back into the present, I offered a few claps of my own.

"Right, well, we've got one last song for you all," their talented guitarist, Sasori said. The listeners quieted instantly, waiting. "It's written by that dude," he pointed at Itachi, who raised his hand lazily as the crowd chuckled. "Hope you like it. The song's called 'I'll Do What I Want.' This is for you."

He played the first few chords of the song. The opening melody had completely captured the audience, and they were even more enraptured as Itachi began singing. Everyone was listening to the ensnaring music. It was a magical performance, easily the best one, though the others were spectacular as well.

He was singing the last part now:

"Now's your time to look up and see me
Laughing at the world, and laughing at you
'Cause you know, right here right now I've decided
That I don't care what you have to say
And I'll do what I want
Yeah I'll do what I want!"

The following cheers exploded and filled the entire stadium. Reverse Psychology waved and grinned and slapped some of their fans high-fives as they strolled to the exit.

Then it was all over.

I was dreading this part. The silence on the ride back home was deafening, giving me a lot to think about. And stupid gravitational force directed that all thoughts be centered on one Uchiha Itachi.

Contrary to popular belief, Haruno Sakura is not stupid. I'd guessed why Itachi-kun (-san, I mean, sorry) Itachi-san hated me so much. I reminded him of his clan's obvious power over his decisions. Call it prehistoric or what, but arranged (forced, really) marriages that widen the clan's jurisdiction still happen. And Itachi hated his clan's pressure on him, but since there was nothing that could be done with it, he directed his hatred towards me. Which is so totally unfair, by the way, but life sucks and there's nothing I can do about it.

Yeah. You can tell that Sasuke's rubbing off on me.

The Vanquish halted smoothly in front of the mansion's main entrance. Itachi stepped out of the car and disappeared behind the heavy mahogany door. I sighed heavily and followed him out.

I dropped on my bed immediately, trying to find some comfort in the soft sheets but to no avail. There was no escape from him. Even the pillows reminded me of Itachi.

And his hatred of me.

Making me feel even more terrible.

Why did my mother have to insist on me staying with the Uchihas? So whatif it would build "stronger ties between you and that nice Uchiha boy"? Why was I only allowed to visit my own turf during weekends only? Staying on the Uchiha property required me to bear with Itachi's glares and pointed anger, not to mention ride in the same car with him every day to school, his concerts, and back home.

Mr. Uchiha was as bad, if not worse. Sasuke was all right, although he usually goes on his own emo ways, which is to lock himself in his room and headbang to My Chemical Romance. Mikoto-san was my only saving grace, but she's always attending some social gathering or some other thing, and so I am stuck alone with nothing to do, and certainly not making any progress with "building stronger ties between me and that nice Uchiha boy".

The door was swung open, hitting the wall in the process. I turned my head lazily to face the violent entrance, then sat up quickly, combing my hair with my fingers and smoothing my skirt in an effort to look post-mope presentable. What was Itachi doing here? He hadn't entered my room ever since I first set foot in this house.

There was a long awkward silence, during the time of which I observed that Itachi had let his hair down instead of the usual ponytail (and looked gorgeous). It was also not hidden from my notice the way his shirt clung to his toned form and how his beautiful eyes pierced me and…

"My mother instructed me to give you this," he said, his voice clearly implying that a struggle had occurred before his compliance. "It's for the formal dinner tonight." He walked in the room stiffly, handing me the package.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," I said quietly, setting the clothes on my bed. Though I thought of him as Itachi-san, I made it a point to address him as 'Uchiha-san' as he initially requested (cough-commanded-cough). The first time I called him 'Itachi' was the last time I ever called him by his first name (cough-emotional trauma-cough). I'm sorry; I seem to be experiencing quite a serious cough right now.

"I'll go prepare now-" he halted his speech as the door suddenly closed of its own accord, making a loud thud. Most likely the wind. I raced to the door and turned the doorknob to open it again. It turned just fine. Good. This was not going to be one of those soap opera-esque stuff where two people get locked in a room and make friends (not that I watch soap operas...of course not!).

I pushed at it.

And pushed.

And pushed again.

Nothing.

"What the hell is freaking wrong with this freaking door?" I shouted in annoyance. It was as if someone put a heavy chair against the door. Then I shut up, looking hesitantly at Itachi. He didn't seem to mind my outburst.

In the silence, I could hear an emo-ish yet still amused chuckle. And the only one who could achieve that perfect blend of amusedly emo was…

"Good work, Sasuke," Mikoto-san's voice flowed from behind the door. "You did well barricading that door. I forgot that we couldn't lock them inside. It would have been more romantic, though. Oh well."

I could understand Mikoto-san doing this, but Sasuke? What was he doing here? What happened to locking himself in his room? And headbanging to My Chemical Romance? But more importantly, what happened to locking himself in his room?

"Of course, honey. We'll get that new My Chemical Romance album you wanted right now." (I should've known. Even My Chemical Romance was in on the conspiracy to annoy the living hell out of me.) Their footsteps got fainter until I couldn't hear them anymore.

This is just great. I was not even locked in my room with Itachi. No. Not even that blessing was given to me. I was barricaded in my room with a person who really, really hates me. How cliché.

Life. Sucks.

I pounded a few more times on the door.

"You can stop hitting the door now. My foolish little brother and my conniving mother-" I had to suppress a giggle at his strange adjectives – "will not decide to suddenly turn around, feel unusually kind, smile at each other, and remove the barricade in front of the door. It will not happen. The best way to get through this is to stay here and not do anything that will give them satisfaction."

…what exactly gives them satisfaction?

Itachi seemed to read the question on my face. "Pounding on the door and begging, of course," he said like it was obvious. With that, he abruptly turned and headed for my bookshelf.

Headed for my bookshelf.

"Wait, stop! Don't look at my book-" I faltered as he raised an aristocratic eyebrow at me and scanned the tomes in my collection. He raised his eyebrows again.

"You aspire to become a doctor someday?" he asked me, sounding insultingly surprised. I guessed I should have felt irritated at his belittlement of me, but all I could feel at that time was embarrassment. He'd discovered my secret.

"…yes," I whispered, staring at the floor and blushing bright red. I expected him to laugh at me or tell me I couldn't do it. It quieted down for a while.

"…my aunt was a doctor. It's…an honorable profession," he said embarrassedly, obviously unused to complimenting people. And complimenting me, most especially.

Then his voice turned snappy. "Why are you looking at the floor?"

"You're not going to insult me?"

"Why must I waste my breath insulting you?" That was a bit cutting, but better than I anticipated. It was more Itachi, anyway. I wouldn't think (or want) him to start hurrah-ing like a cheerleader.

In my mind: "If you can't do it, no one can! Goooo, SAKURA!"

…damn. Bad mental images.

Outside: "Thank you, Uchiha-san." He nodded and took a seat in my armchair, staring out the window. The room fell into a deep hush again.

The soundlessness was beginning to bother me, so I tried to make small talk to fill up the emptiness.

"Er, where is this formal dinner going to be held anyway?"

"KH."

"Kingdom Hearts?"

"Konoha Pearl Hotel."

"Oh. Um, what's your favorite color?"

"I have none."

"Movie?"

"None."

"Book?"

"Too many to list."

"…I liked the song you played at the end of your concert."

His face was still blank, but I could tell he was pleased.

I'd been itching to ask him something about his composition, but I'd been too chicken to actually speak up. Overreacting? Not really.

"Um…the song you played. I was thinking." He turned his head to face me. I began worrying that I was pushing my luck, asking him questions out of the blue like this. "When you sang that song, I wondered if…if it had anything to do with your clan's pressure on you?" I bit my lip and prepared for what might be the last minutes of my life.

Whatever I was expecting, it was not Itachi looking surprised (once again) and a tad amused.

"You are more intelligent than I initially thought," he murmured.

That was insulting.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry if this sounds conceited, but I'm actually kind of smart," I said indignantly.

"I can see that," he nodded, and I felt my anger dissipate. He leaned back comfortably on the chair. "What else have you noticed?"

I wanted to chicken out and say, "Oh, nothing. Don't mind old little me." I wanted to jump out the window to avoid him. Anything to evade the question. Unfortunately, his eyes seemed to root me to the floor and forced me to talk.

"W-well, I noticed," I stumbled over my words in my hurry. As if how fast I said it would make him happy to hear my response, but I was nervous, darn it! "That…you don't like me. And I hypothesized that you dislike me because I represent a big fraction of what the clan makes you do. A.k.a., marry me."

He stared at me for a long time, and I began to fidget under his gaze.

"You're correct, actually," he said. I jolted at his sudden response. I'd expected the silence to last longer. "The clan forces me to do many things, some quite unpleasant. It is a wonder that I was able to start my band at all. Anything against the corporate reputation of the family is heavily discouraged. Of course, it was only a matter of time before my father instructed me to discontinue my band."

"Discontinue your band?" I half-shouted, half-whispered in horror.

"Yes. The Europe tour in September will be the last one Reverse Psychology will perform."

"Are you kidding me?"

He looked at me indifferently. "I do not kid."

Despite his cool front, I could sense a methodical breaking ongoing inside him, and I felt the pain and hurt and anger that he had been bottling up all these years. Human-Itachi was less of an unachievable dream, and more of a…friend? It was hard to perceive friendship with the person who, from the onset, resented me, but it was a refreshing thought. This new bit of information was unexpected, but kind of cool.

For the first time, I saw Itachi in a new light – not as a god, not as some pinnacle of awesomeness, but as a person. A person who tried to keep everything in, and everyone out.

The abomination that was the was the unfairness of the world could be compared to taking a child's favorite stuffed toy away, or an athlete's first gold medal. It wasn't right.

"So you're just going to sit there and wait around? Sasuke says you're the heir to the Uchiha. Do something!"

"I can't."

The hopelessness, the sense of giving in and giving up, it was so apparent in his voice that I had to stop and consider my next plan of action. Aha!

"I thought Uchiha Itachi could do more than that. I suppose I thought wrong. Oh well. Just stay in the shadows and let the clan do all their dirty work. You don't have to do anything at all." I jutted my chin out arrogantly, a clear challenge, but then faltered. I saw a fire in his eyes, and I was afraid that I had gone too far in spurring him to take action.

He stood up abruptly, and I shrank back, but he did not advance. "I will do something. It is too late for the band, of course, but for other concerns, and for my little brother…" his lips forming rapid strings of words that were too low to hear, but I could tell he was considering the idea. I smiled smugly. What a headline that would make – Uchiha Itachi, Duped by Reverse Psychology (er, not the band.)

Then he spoke loud enough for the human ear to hear again. "Wipe that smile off your face. I know that you're using reverse psychology against me. I'm sorry if this sounds conceited," he smirked at me, "but I'm actually kind of smart."

…whatever. It helped, didn't it? I continued smiling. He looked amused.

"You're more talkative than usual today." Then, out of the blue: "Thank you, by the way, and…I'm sorry." I stood there, grinning, and he did something even more surprising. He walked over and hugged me and whispered something in my ear.

"I think I'm really going to enjoy having you as my fiancée. Sakura."

I stood there, shell-shocked. He said my name for the first time. And that seemed to make the moment even more special than it already was. I memorized the experience so I could replay it later on.

He smirked at my stunned face and strolled to the door, stopping in front of it, and then looking back over his shoulder at me.

"I'll see you at the Konoha Pearl. Sakura." What was up with the one-sentence name thing? In any case, it was pleasant. He said it nicely. Sakura. Sa-kura. Sa-ku-ra. Saku-ra.

Okay, I'll stop now.

Sakura. Sakura. Sakura.

He turned the doorknob and walked out the door.

Wait, did he just walk out the door that was supposedly barricaded?

I concentrated enough to hear the faint, muted sounds of a metal safe being dragged along the hallway of the mansion. I shook myself out of my daze and focused on cataloguing the day's events.

Mr. Uchiha was in his office, avoiding me. Mikoto-san was in the kitchen, helping the chefs cook something that smelled delicious. And Sasuke was in his room, headbanging to his new My Chemical Romance album. Everything was normal, yet not normal. Because I was in my room, giddily happy for the first time since I began living in the Uchiha manor. And Itachi was going to go to his father and demand a refund.

…rather, some respect around this place.

Reverse psychology really works.

Hmm. First person narrative was surprisingly challenging to write. Authors like Stephenie Meyer make it look so easy.

There are probably some grammatical errors that the spellcheck and my own two eyes haven't been able to catch. I apologize for that. I also have a sinking feeling that the pace was too fast and that I overused the poor Italics button.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

-DS.