Unusually

Chapter 2: In a very unusual way, you never fail to make me smile

Sakura arrived at team 7's meeting place, unusually late.

"Oi! Sakura-chan!!!" yelled Naruto as he waved at her in his usual cheerful tone

"Is sensei here already?" she asked as she looked around for the silver-haired Jounin.

"Not yet, Sakura-chan. Don't worry" replied Naruto as he gave her a cheerful smile.

Sakura sighed in relief. She couldn't believe that she slept in! She was usually the second to arrive next to Sasuke.

"Sakura" she turned to Sasuke and saw a tiny glint of worry in his expression

"Hm?" she asked. Over the years, team 7's bond became stronger and stronger. The team became more like a family, each standing by one another. The boys of team 7 also grew protective of their only female member, especially when it comes to her love life. They wouldn't even allow a man to stand too close to her (with the exception of Itachi, of course). If someone wants to court Sakura, he must go through them first. Sometimes it's somewhat unhealthy, Sakura thought. But she understands. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi weren't blessed to have a sister .That's why they're showering her with that friendly affection. But she's glad, because it's one of the many ways on how they show how much they care for her.

"Your chakra level is low" Sasuke stated in his usual serious tone. Sakura smirked inwardly, just like his older brother.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. Did something went wrong?" asked Naruto worriedly

"Aside from healing you dorks yesterday, shishou asked me to help out at the hospital because they were short on medics and there were a lot of patients who needed immediate treatment"

"Yeah. Iruka-sensei told me yesterday that a group of chuunins who were scouting the area outside the village got attacked and were sent to the hospital" said Naruto

"It's been going on for almost three days. Some of the medics were forced to take double shifts. I wonder what's going on…" Sakura trailed off as she looked up at the sky as if searching for the answer

"Yo!" greeted Kakashi as he appeared in a puff of smoke.

"What's with the faces?" asked their sensei as he saw the look on his students' faces who look like they were thinking deeply to themselves

"Don't mind us, sensei. Let's get going!" she said hastily as she dragged the whole team to the Konoha Gates.

~~~*~~~

The sun's rays entered the dark room, bathing it in soft light. The lone occupant of the room turned on his side, avoiding the sun's rays from hitting his gentle face. Lazily, he opened his eyes and stared outside the window. Judging from the sun's brightness, he infered that it's already mid morning.

He lied on his back and stared at the white ceiling. He slept so soundly that he didn't even sense Sakura leaving. He found it somewhat alarming since he's a light sleeper.

But it seems that he's always relaxed whenever he's here.

The atmosphere feels really unwinding, compared to his house back at the Uchiha Compound.

Swiftly, he got out of bed and made his way downstairs.

He was a greeted with breakfast and a note when he entered the kitchen.

Sakura prepared him breakfast before leaving earlier. The said breakfast composed of bacon, an egg and fried rice.

Itachi smiled down at the food on the table. Even in her tired state, she still managed to make him breakfast.

He picked up the note and it read:

Good morning, Itachi!

I'll be away on a mission and will be back tonight. You can have the place to yourself, as usual. So just relax, okay?

Love,

Sakura

Without futher ado, he sat on a chair and ate his breakfast. He started planning what he'll do for today. First, he must submit the mission report to the Hokage and check if she has a mission for his team. Then he'll go back to the Uchiha compound and spend the night there.

But before anything else, he must clean the whole house. It became a habit ever since he started sleeping there. It's because his home back at the Uchiha Compound is always spotless clean, courtesy of his mother. So he found it somewhat irritating that Sakura's house has a lot of dust. But he can't really blame her though, she's a very busy lady and she doesn't have enough time to clean the entire house.

Itachi made several bunshins to help him in cleaning. Two bunshins went to clean the two bathrooms, two were told to get the laundry done, one was stationed to clean the bedrooms and another was given the task of cleaning the living room while Itachi worked on the kitchen.

He actually liked what he's doing. He must admit that cleaning the house is not an easy task. It made him appreciate what he's mother is doing everyday.

It took him and his bunshins an hour to clean the whole house. He smiled at his work then went to water Sakura's plants. After that he took a bath and proceeded with his plan for the day.

~~~*~~~

Itachi stood in front of the famale Hokage while she scanned through his mission report with piles of paperwork on her desk, the usual site in her office.

"Nicely done, Uchiha"

Itachi merely nodded his head in response as Tsunade looked up at him from the scroll she's reading.

"I suppose you want another mission" she said as she eyed the Uchiha

"Yes"

"Well then, here" she said as she handed a scroll to him. Itachi swiftly opened it and read through it carefully

"You'll need a medic for that mission" said Tsunade as Itachi slid the scroll closed and nodded in understanding.

"I assume you already have someone in mind?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama"

"You'll be leaving in three days. If you have no more questions, you can leave"

With a last bow, the young Anbu captain turned on his heel and exited the room.

He can't wait to see Sakura's face when he tells her about her upcoming mission with his Anbu team.

~~~*~~~

The next night…

There was no doubt that Sakura Haruno loves her job as a medic whether if it is in the hospital or in the field. It made her feel useful, it made her feel needed. It made her feel like she wasn't a burden to anyone anymore.

She gives her best, heart and soul, to her job.

Itachi, being the closest person to her, knew that fact more than anyone else. He had been her tear bucket back then when people called her weak.

That's why she gives her best in everything she does. Because she wants to prove to everyone that she's not that weak little girl anymore.

"But overworking herself doesn't help at all" Itachi said to himself as he approached the Konoha Hospital. Sakura's shift should've ended at 1:00 in the afternoon. But it's already sundown and she's still there.

People stopped and turned towards him as he entered the hospital and approached the front desk.

"G-good e-evening, Uchiha-san" greeted the nurse on the front desk nervously.

"Is Sakura Haruno there?" he asked in his usual stoic tone

The nurse just stared at him dreamily.

Itachi grunted irritably which made the nurse snap out of her reverie

"Oh, you're looking for Sakura-sama, right? She's at her office at the third floor, room 319" said the nurse as she smiled nervously.

Without anything said, Itachi left the front desk and up to the stairs to Sakura's office. He never understood why females would give him that look. But anyway, he doesn't want to dwelve further in that matter.

Promptly, he made his way to her office. He knocked on the door a few times and opened it when he heard no response inside.

The appearance of the room didn't catch his attention, but the occupant who was slumped on her desk, sleeping. The dark circles under her eyes told him that she was probably working since last night.

This is not the first time that Sakura overworked herself and he had to come all the way to the hospital just to get her.

He shook her gently and watched as her eyes fluttered open. She sat up suddenly and stared up at him.

"Mmm… Itachi?" she asked drowsily

"I'll take you home now"

Sakura stared blankly at him for a while before the cascading moon told her why he's here.

"I'm so sorry for making you worry, Itachi. I didn't notice the time" she said as she stood up and followed Itachi out of the room.

People kept on giving them odd looks when they pass through the corridor. But the both of them are used to those. Though it makes them wonder why they keep on receiving those after all these years of their friendship.

Sakura and Itachi's friendship was something that didn't go unnoticed by the villagers of Konoha. At first, they thought that what they have was something else. You don't normally see an Uchiha (especially the impassive Uchiha Itachi) hanging out with a girl. But what really intrigues the villagers is how did their friendship start?

They were complete opposites. Itachi was the anti-social type of person while Sakura is a very cheerful girl.

Many people already asked Sakura (since they're too scared to approach Itachi) that intriguing question. But she just shrugs it off and says that it's a long story. Even her teammates asked her that question once. But she always replies with her usual answer.

What happened 8 years ago which resulted to their unbreakable friendship will remain with just the two of them.

"Here" said Itachi as he stooped down on his knees and offered his back to her for a piggy back ride. They were outside the hospital now.

Itachi's offer didn't surprise Sakura at all, not from all the times he's done that. He's been giving her piggy back rides ever since they were young.

"Okay" came her response as she gripped his shoulders firmly and let him carry her.

"You overworked yourself, again" he stated in a displeased tone, stressing the last word

"I'm so sorry, Itachi. I wasn't supposed to help out at the hospital since I just came back from a mission last night. But there were a lot of patients who were rushed in, most of them were shinobi who just came back from a mission" she said, hoping that he won't be mad at her anymore. But she was glad from the bottom of her heart at her bestfriend's concern.

"Hn"

"Uhm… Anyway, is there something you want to talk about?" she asked as she noticed that he took the long route to her house. If he simply wanted to take her home, he should've just used a teleportation jutsu or used the shortcut like he always did.

"Yes" he said as he looked over his shoulder to look at her

"You will be joining my Anbu team in a mission"

Surprise washed all over Sakura as her face lit up in excitement.

"Really? That's great!!!" she exclaimed in glee

"We'll be setting off tomorrow morning"

"But…" she trailed off, thoughts running through her head

"What is it?" he said casually, noting that something is bothering the girl on his back.

What if I won't be able to help them succeed in the mission at all? What if I'll just be a burden to them?

She shrugged those thoughts out of her head. She's a jounin now and many people bore witness to her talents as a shinobi.

"Stop doubting yourself" said the male who is currently carrying her, snapping her out of her thoughts

"And besides…" he said as he looked over at his shoulder again to her

"I'll be there" he said as his lips twitched upwards, almost like a smile.

"You're the best, Itachi" she said happily as she leaned closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Yes, she might not make it on her own.

But Itachi will always be there for her.


Author's Notes: First of all, I would like to thank all the people who reviewed, subscribed to story and author alerts and included my story in their favorites. I'm really at a lost for words. I really didn't expect those hehehe... XD

Anyway, I got a little delayed in publishing this chapter. I've been away with my family for a little summer vacation in our province. And the summer heat is killing me...

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, okay?

I'm really using this summer vacation to write as much as I can because when school comes back I don't think I'll have enough free time to write at all.

And the room 319 is a significant number for me. It used to be the room where have our rehearsals for the Sophomores Musical Play at school hehehe... College stuff...

Thanks again for the reviews and for subscribing to story alerts!!! You all deserve a big hug from me!!! *HUGS*

See you on the next chapter!!!

(*^o^*) Peace out! (*^o^*)

Kaycee