Chapter 2: Sakura Blossomed

"Itachi. I'm Uchiha, Itachi."

"Oh.. It's uh.. It's n-nice to meet you, Uchiha-san." She nervously said.

"Right.. It's nice to meet you to Sakura. Thanks again for the meal. I'll get going." He stood up then walked to the door. Sakura was behind him. Itachi opened the door then stepped out. He turned to her then waved goodbye.

"Bye Uchiha-san. Be careful on your way home!" Sakura smiled then closed the door.

"I will. For you.." He mumbled behind Sakura's door. That very moment, he told himself that Sakura was an interesting girl. That she almost made him laugh for so many times but he was succesful at holding it in. And at that very moment, he felt that he wanted to see her again. He felt a little sad hearing her call him by his last name while he calls her with her first name. But he understood that it was normal since they just met. He soon left and went home, still thinking about Sakura.

Right when she closed the door, she sighed of relief and thought back on that short time they were together. How she wounded his index finger, how she put a band-aid arounf his wound, when he and the other guy with him helped her up and... Her eyes suddenly widened after realizing something. She ran to her room then let herself fall on her bed, telling herself that what she was thinking isn't true.

"U-uchiha... Sounds.. Sounds so familiar.. Could it be... 'That' other guy was... H-how come I didn't notice that he vanished suddenly?! Baka! That... That guy is.. SASUKE UCHIHA?!" She spoke to herself like a crazy person, rubbing her head and rolling around her bed. She sat at the end of her bed and quickly opened her drawer and looked for something. She was throwing the things she didn't need without even caring where it went and just continued finding it. When she did, she gasped and grabbed her picture frame of her and her friends when they were still young..

The old Team 7.. Their perverted and mysterious teacher, Hatake, Kakashi, Their loud, funny and kind friend, Uzumaki, Naruto and.. Uchiha, Sasuke. The quiet, smart, 'mean' and the one she 'loved'. how could she not recognize him? But she understood that Sasuke wouldn't recognize her immediately because of her long hair and.. 'not that flat' chest.

"It is really him.. It's been.. 6 years? Right. 6 years since we graduated high school. 6 years since I got over him. He didn't change that much.. Still quiet and all that. He just looked more.. More mature than he was. And to think that I'd meet him and his brother today.. That's just.. Crazy coincidence huh?" She smiled as she looked at their picture. She displayed the picture frame on her small table then fixed the things she threw around her room. After that, she took a shower, washed the dishes then went to sleep.
Next morning, she woke up, got ready and went to work.

"Ohayo!" She greeted as she entered the hospital.

"Oh! Haruno-san! You received a letter!" The woman at the counter told her. Sakura raised stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"A letter? From who?" She walked towards the counter then the woman handed the letter to her.

"I don't know the name but he had blonde hair and had three lines on both of his cheeks. He's very handsome! You know him, Haruno-san?" Hearing the description, she thought she knew who that was. Knowing that, she quickly opened the letter given to her as she walked to her office. She sat on her chair and rested her elbows on her desk as she slowly took the letter out of the white envelope.

To Sakura-chan

Hey there Sakura-chan! It's me! Naruto! It's been 6 years since we saw each other. I really miss you guys! So I wrote this letter because the day before yesterday, guess what? I saw Kakashi-sensei! And it was a disappointment. He still had his mask on.. I mean, when would he take that mask off, right? When he dies? Or did he tell somebody that if he dies, 'tell the guy who's going to bury me leave my mask on' something like that. So we, Kakashi-sensei and me, talked and then decided to have a reunion! It's next week at Konoha High school! I guess it starts at 8 am? Well, something around that time. I hope you'd come! I really miss you guys!

-Uzumaki, Naruto

"A reunion?!" Her eyes widened as she read the letter. She was very surprised. She was feeling nervous, scared, confused, excited and happy at the same time. She never expected Naruto of all people plan a reunion! But minutes later, she let herself breathe and work for the day. But deep inside, she was thinking about getting ready for the reunion. She wanted to go to the spa, buy clothes and shoes so she'd surprise her old friends. Luckily, there were only few patients so Tsunade allowed her to go early. She also received Naruto's letter so she understands if Sakura is getting all excited.

Right after getting home from work, she grabbed a bag and put her wallet, umbrella and keys in it. She changed her clothes, wearing a plain white shirt, denim shorts and sandals. She thought that this way, she'd find it easier trying out clothes and shoes. She stood in front of the mirror and thought, 'Woah, I look like a high schooler in these clothes.'

So she went out of her apartment and walked to the mall. As she did, she was thinking about what outfit would fit her. Would she go for a dress? Simple and formal top and slacks? She didn't know. Right when she stepped in the mall, she entered the first store that caught her eye. They were selling dresses. Then she decided, she'd wear a dress for the reunion. She tried more than ten dresses and finally picked one. She was very happy with what she picked. Next was her shoes. of course, she picked shoes that fit her dress perfectly. Lastly, she bought make up. She can't remember when she last used her old make up. She was so busy in work that she didn't care about that anymore. And she doesn't need much make up just in going to a hospital.

After getting her dress, shoes and make up, she sat down on a bench to rest. As she did, she thought of getting beauty products so she could prepare her skin before next week. She suddenly smiled, realizing that she was getting too worked up about the coming event. She missed everyone. Her school, her teachers, her friends... Then her mind shifted to the two Uchihas.

'I wonder.. Will Sasuke bring his brother along with him? Or did Naruto invite the Akatsuki too? Wait.. Why am I even thinking about that Uchiha? Strange. It's such a coincidence. How I met Sasuke and Itachi yesterday..' She thought. Coincidentally, Uchiha, Itachi was just around the mall that time.

He was strolling along in the mall, hands in pocket, head down, then suddenly, Sakura's long and pink straight hair caught his attention. He stopped for a while, thinking about what she's doing. He also thought about approaching her or just ignore her like he didn't see her. But he ended up approaching the girl.

"Sakura?" He said in a low and calm voice. Her head turned to him. She looked very surprised that Itachi was there.

"U-uchiha!? What are you doing here? I mean.. There's nothing wrong in going to the mall, but.. Nevermind.." She scratched her head. Once again, she was acting silly and weird.

"Can I take a seat?" He looked at the vacant space beside Sakura. In response, she just nodded and moved a little to the side to give him more space.

"Um.. If I'm not wrong... You are Sasuke's brother right?" She asked Nervously.

"Yeah." He answered. Since she had nothing else to say, she remained quiet.

"Haruno, Sakura.. You're one of Team 7, am I right?" He said.

"R-right."

"And I assume you're going to the reunion too." He continued, making Sakura feel tense.

"Y-yeah! How do you know about that?" She said, making a forced smile.

"From Sasuke."

"R-right.. Silly me.. Y-you're not gonna come right?" She said.

"Don't you want me to?" She made a light gasp hearing his words. She felt her face turn hot and her heart beat fast. Her legs were shaky and feeling weak.

"Are you alright?" He turned, noticing her exposed legs shaking. Sakura felt more nervous, seeing that he was looking at her legs.

"Kuso! I shouldn't have worn these shorts! And why did he have to ask me if I didn't want him to come!?' She thought.

"I-I'm fine! And it's not like I don't want you come! It's just.. Uh.. It's fine! I want you to go anyway!" She gasped and covered her mouth immediately, realizing her last sentence. But Itachi didn't say anything. He just turned away like he didn't hear anything. But she was sure he heard her. He just didn't mind. She stood up then picked up her bags, deciding to continue shopping.

"Um, It's nice to see you here again uchiha-san! I'll get going. Take care!" She smiled then left immediately.

"I will." Itachi mumbled again.

The day of the reunion...

Sakura slowly opened her eyes as she woke up. She sat up, stretched and yawned. After removing a bit of her sleepiness, she checked the time.

7: 20 am

"SEVEN TWENTY AM!? I MIGHT GET LATE!" She shouted then rushed to the bathroom. She quickly washed her body, her hair and brushed her teeth. She wrapped her hair in a towel then put her dress on her bed. She put all the things she needed in one place then started to dress up. Her dress was white and flowy. Her shoes were simple yet elegant white high heels and she'll put red lipstick and pink eye shadow for her make up. She was planning on curling her hair for a change but she woke up late. She remembered the time they were in first year highschool. She was also late on the first day.

She finished about 8: 40 am. She took her black shoulder back then went outside. She didn't even look at the mirror before she left. She was walking fast as she left the apartment. But she was still careful so she won't fall. Just a few minutes later, a black fancy car stopped where she was and honked. She gasped and stepped back as she heard the sound of the car. She stopped walking and turned to the black porche 911. She looked carefully as the window slowly went down.

"Do you need a ride?" It was Itachi. Sakura's heart raised. Her face was hot and She was so nervous. Why was Itachi there? How come he had a fancy car like that? Should she accept his offer? She didn't know what to do. She stayed silent, until the other window at the back opened, showing Sasuke.

"Will you get in or just walk?" He said. Sakura rolled her eyes, grunted then walked to the other side of the car. She was going to sit at the back but when she walked to the other side of the car, she saw that the door to the front seat was already open. She held her breathe as she realized that Itachi was letting her sit in front. So she got in and closed the door. She buckled her seatbelt and sat comfortably as they made their way to their old school. She felt weird because they were just silent the whole time. After a few minutes, they reached the school. There were already a few familiar faces around.

Sasuke immediately got off the car and walked in the school without a word. Sakura just looked at him from her seat then focused back to where she was. Itachi got out too as she was trying to remove her seat belt. She was trying to figure out how to unbuckle it but she really didn't have a clue. She only knew how to buckle it but didn't know how to remove it. Then suddenly, the door opened. She bobbed her head to that direction and saw Itachi. He bent over and looked inside.

"Uh.. Hi?" She was humiliated again. Why did she say that? Why didn't she know how to remove her seatbelt? And worse, she was humiliated again in front of Itachi.

"Need help?" He asked.

"Y-yeah.. Sorta.." She leaned back and waited for Itachi. He put his hand on the side of Sakura's seat, almost like pinning her and his other hand across her, removing the seatbelt. Sakura held her breathe as he was unbuckling her seatbelt. They were very close to each other. Strands of his hair were covering his face. She could smell the nice scent of his cologne. After unbuckling her seatbelt, he went out and stepped aside. Sakura sighed then slowly made her way out of the car. As she did, she saw Itachi offering his hand to her. She unconsciously smiled at him and reached his hand. When she was already standing up, she immediately turned at quickly pulled her hand away from Itachi's. but she was happy that he was such a gentleman.

"Thanks for the ride, Uchiha-san. Sorry if I'm always acting weird and clumsy.. I don't know why this happens to me.." She Said. When she looked at Itachi, she noticed he was just staring at her. She raised an eyebrow and nervously clenched her bag tight.

"Is there a problem?" She asked Then he looked directly at her eyes.

"Nothing. I just think that you're.."

"Ooooi! Hey Sakura-chan! You really look different!" She heard a low voice calling her. She turned to see who it was.

"Beautiful.." Her eyes widened, hearing Itachi mumble. His voice was deep and calm. Her attention shifted back to him. She turned to him again and looked at him.

"S-sorry, what?" She asked, telling herself that she was just hearing things.

"You look beautiful, Sakura." He repeated.