Thank you for your interest in my dumb little story, guys, really appreciated. Just an FYI - the law qualification process Sakura is going through is a mix (different countries and old and new fashioned) to give me a better timeline to work with for story purposes, so it's not completely accurate.
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The first message came from Kisame, naturally, about half an hour later.
Sakura had already text Ino about the whole matter, but she hadn't had a reply yet. Ino was interning at a fashion brand, and worked harder than anyone else Sakura knew. On her off-hours, though, no one was more attached to their phone than her best friend, so it wouldn't be much longer.
"Boys, I want you to behave yourselves now there's a lady present," the text said, Kisame always gave off an older brother vibe and it looked like group conversations were no exception.
"Kisame, I'm wounded!" the next text read, "I always behave myself – especially around Sakura-chan!"
"Like the time you threw up on her bed when she was staying at the compound, Shisui?" Itachi was always the first to shoot down his cousin, but woe betide anyone else who tried to do the same.
"That was a one-time occurrence!" Shisui rattled off the reply so fast she could almost hear the outraged squawk from here, "Can't a man put his past behind him?"
"How is a man supposed to get in front of so much past?" one of the unknown numbers replied, with a confused smiley face and one crying with laughter. Sakura would have to work out how to get those on her phone.
"Shut up, Deidara – you just work on making sure we don't have to fish your drunk, naked ass out of the fountain this time," Shisui had never pulled a punch, and wouldn't start now.
Sakura remembered that event – another of Mikoto's fund-raising fetes for the police force – and the look of absolute mortification on Fugaku's face. If it hadn't been for the fact that Deidara had just opened his first international exhibition and was the current toast of the city Fugaku might have strangled him in front of all the guests. Sakura, Naruto and Shisui had been helpless with laughter, and even Itachi had cracked a grin. The only downside to the whole thing was that Kisame was there to manhandle Deidara into a robe before she even had a chance to peek.
"How long were you banned from the compound again?"
"He wasn't technically banned, Sasori, just not allowed in father's sight," Itachi replied.
"Same fuckin' thing."
"Anything's possible when Mikoto loves you," Deidara said, with a scattering of heart emojis, "If you didn't keep going on about your fucking boring religion shit she'd love you too, Hidan."
"You heathens will get yours. Won't they, Sakura?"
Sakura shook her head. Hidan was clinically insane, but he really was charming as hell. In the few times they'd spent any time together he'd made her laugh until her cheeks actually hurt. Kisame had complained that was it inflating Hidan's already oversized head. With that in mind she decided to play it cool – after all, she wanted to make a good impression now she was being invited more into this clique.
"As long as Mikoto still loves me be the end of the night that's all that matters," she typed, still slowly but definitely better than when she'd first gotten the phone. She had been such a pro at the old style 1-9 buttons for typing.
"I don't think there's anything that can jeopardise that," Itachi assured her.
"You put up with both the asshole brothers, and their asshole cousin, yeah? She recognises that, and you should get a medal," Deidara said.
"That ban can be re-enforced you know," Shisui griped, "Sakura is lucky to have a man like me in her life. Not so sure on those other two, to be fair."
"No one is lucky to know Sasuke," Deidara replied. Sakura wasn't sure when the animosity between Deidara and Sasuke had started, but it had grown into something big and ugly over the years. It left Itachi in an awkward position; stuck between his brother and one of his best friends. The rest of his friends didn't much care for Sasuke either, but either their feelings didn't have the same depths or they concealed them better.
"Everyone is lucky to know me though," Shisui butted back in, veering the conversation back onto himself. Shisui was a natural peacemaker – something sorely needed in the prickly Uchiha family and Kisame was probably right on just how much good he'd been for Itachi's development.
A whole tranche of good-natured ridicule followed, and Sakura kept an eye on it as she re-drafted her latest essay again. The texting only drew to a close when Kisame reminded them that half of them were at dinner, and they were in serious danger of looking like teenagers.
The communications continued throughout the week on and off, interspersed with texts from Ino filled with hearts and exclamation marks. The guys were definitely a close group, and Sakura was lucky she had easy access to Itachi at work so he could explain all the in-jokes. She only interjected every so often to keep her hand in, but all the other members of the group had taken her number and contacted her directly. Tobi was especially keen to get to know her, and Deidara had privately assured her that if his assistant was bothering her to let him know and he'd sort him out.
To have Deidara speaking to just her – completely casual as it was – was making her feel like the giddy twelve year old finding out she'd been put into the same form class as Sasuke. She had to sternly remind herself that she was no longer that little idiot, and there were much more important things in her life to worry about.
Right now it was getting herself and Tsunade ready on time for Mikoto's evening.
Tsunade had somehow wangled herself an early finish at the hospital, and had come to meet Sakura at the firm. Sakura's little flat was a lot closer to the compound, and Tsunade usually stayed over rather than head across the city back to their home whenever one of these shindigs was on. Tsunade had cracked open the sake, the good stuff, and they'd been catching up while making an effort at doing their hair and make-up.
Her adoptive mother was a complicated person, but there was no one who made Sakura feel more like she could do anything she set her mind to. Every achievement, no matter how minor, was treated to unsubtle crowing about how it was her influence that had made Sakura the capable young woman she was. Sakura agreed whole-heartedly, but made sure to mention Kakashi every so often just to rile her.
"Sai says he'll be about ten minutes!" Sakura hollered through to the bedroom where Tsunade was making herself presentable.
When Mikoto was entertaining it was serious business, and that meant full-on formal wear. Tsunade was a gambler, and it veered perilously close to an addiction what seemed like most of the time. People who didn't know her very well thought that was where all her money went. If she let you in, however, you would discover that her other real passion was collecting kimono.
It had reached the point where she was actually renting storage space to keep them all in. Even then several wooden boxes filled to bursting had made their way into Sakura's attic. She was pretty sure this was why Tsunade had suggested renting this particular flat as in-house storage in this city was like hen's teeth. It meant Sakura was never short of a kimono no matter the occasion. It also meant she didn't have to stretch her meagre budget to accommodate new ones of her own for all the events Mikoto held.
Tsunade was an expert on particular fabrics and designs that should be worn in each season, and she'd picked a wonderful lined ensemble in a mossy green and purple colour combination. Anyone else dressing Sakura always tried to match her hair in the spring and summer months, but Tsunade scoffed at them for being unoriginal. It hung loosely around her now, with the obi draped over the back of the sofa.
Sakura had picked up some of the experience required for tying one, but she had nothing on Tsunade's level of skill. So while her own was always in capable hands, to return the favour for her mother she usually roped in Sai to help. He was an art student and, while painting was his main focus, he'd taken a year's worth of classes in studying, making, and wearing traditional dress. Sakura, who had no artistic ability whatsoever, hated him just a little bit when he made it look so easy.
They'd met in their last year of high school when he'd transferred from a private academy. No one was quite sure what kind of life he'd had, but he was a strange, quiet boy that struggled with the human interaction the rest of them took for granted. If he'd met Sakura earlier, when she'd be so insecure and so concerned with what people thought, then they would never have been friends. Luckily she'd managed to pull her head out of her ass by then, and she and Naruto had immediately taken Sai under their wing.
Not that he made it easy. Getting a rise out of people was the easiest way to get them to show him attention, and it had taken a lot of patience to get him out of that phase. Actually having people who cared about him, and who he could care about in return, had transformed him into the semi-normal young man he was now. He still had issues, but then none of them were without their own. He was a close friend, and Sakura wouldn't trade him for anything.
As if on cue the buzzer rang and she wandered over, trying not to trip on the trailing hem of her kimono.
"Hey, Sai, come on up," she said into the phone, listening to make sure he'd made it through the main door.
One of the things she loved about having her own place was that her friends knew to just let themselves in. Ino even had her own set of keys and Sakura would sometimes come home to find her already inside. Sai always lingered by the door just to check he wasn't overstepping his bounds. For all the things that came out of his mouth, he was still weirdly polite.
"Sakura," he said, and bent down to allow her to hug him with one arm while keeping her kimono closed with the other.
The shock of just how much he looked like Sasuke had worn off over the years. At first everyone assumed she'd taken an interest in him for that very reason, and she'd told him very sternly to ignore them. Sasuke didn't like Sai, but Sasuke didn't like many people, and both Naruto and Sakura had just told him to deal with it. So had Mikoto, who had immediately added Sai to her extended brood of lost ducklings. She was the only one he had never been rude to. Well, her and Tsunade. He wasn't suicidal.
"I love that haori, Sai, you just come to these things to show me up!" she accused, making sure that her expression showed she was just teasing him.
"You always look lovely, Sakura," he replied, with the bland smile and carefully constructed tone of a man who'd been smacked in the head over the years for saying anything else.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, thanks for coming over, Sai, you know how much I appreciate it. There's some food in the kitchen, and Shishou's brought over the good sake, you know, the one with the black label." Sakura had always called Tsunade 'Shishou' – Tsunade complained that being called 'mother' made her feel old, but the idea of being a mentor figure wasn't so bad.
"I do, and I like to come here," he said, mostly for the brilliant smile she always sent his way when he said things like that, "Where is the food from?"
It was a supposedly innocent question, but the intent was clear. 'You didn't make this, did you?' was what he really meant. She knew her cooking was bad, and Tsunade's was worse, but she still stuck her tongue out at him.
"It's just from Ichiraku. I made sure to get some of the fried tofu you like – they'd run out of the sweet chilli sauce though, so I got barbecue?"
"Thank you, Sakura," he smiled at her again, and obediently fetched himself some chopsticks. He really did suit that dark green haori; he'd been listening to Ino.
If left to his own devices he would wear nothing but black and grey. Ino, lover of all clothes and electric purple, couldn't stand for it and was working colour into his wardrobe slowly but surely. Sakura's love life might not be anything to write home about, but she didn't envy Ino's task of trying to alert Sai that she was interested in him when he was so oblivious. She'd told Sakura not to interfere, and Sakura was managing. Just about.
"Shame Ino-pig couldn't make tonight," she said casually, settling beside him and finishing off the shrimp tempura. Just about managing was good enough – she just wanted them to be happy.
"She overworks," he said, reaching over to snatch a bit of her food, "She has asked me to help her with her designs for the show."
"That makes sense – when do you guys get started?" she asked.
"Next week. I have been researching her fashion house, and I think I can be of use."
Sakura wanted to clap her hands together and swoon. Or lock the two of them in a room together and let nature take its course. Instead she did neither, "Of course you can, Sai, you never give yourself enough credit."
He smiled bashfully down at his food, "That is very kind, Sakura."
"It's the truth! Think how well your last display went – no one else got a write up in the arts section of the Shimbun, did they?" she grinned at him.
Sai went a little pink across the cheeks and the smile widened, "I was fortunate to have your help, and that of Sasori-san."
Sakura and Ino had helped him set up his works for the display, getting Lee and one of Ino's fellow interns in to do the heavy lifting. She'd mentioned they were helping out to Itachi at work the week before, and Sasori had come to see them in the gallery with some advice. Sasori was more like Itachi than exuberant Deidara, and his sense of style meshed well with Sai's bold pieces. Sai had credited him on the introductory passage, and Sakura thought Sasori had been quite touched.
"You kids had better not drunk all of that sake," Tsunade griped as she came into the living room.
Lots of people had told Sakura she was pretty, especially after she stopped being so loud and obnoxious, but she never thought of herself as beautiful. Not like Tsunade was beautiful. She'd tamed her long golden hair into an elegant up-do, and hidden the dark circles the hospital left her under her glowing make-up. As much as she hated to admit her age, she obeyed the unspoken rules and wore a more muted kimono with a similar pattern to Sakura's.
"Nice to see you, Tsunade-sama, you look lovely," Sai stood to bow before Tsunade waved him back into his seat.
"Boy, what have I told you about being so formal with me?" Tsunade said, pouring herself a cup of sake and pointing at him with it, "You do clean up well; I almost didn't recognise you not covered in paint."
Sai was always quietly pleased to be treated the same as Sakura's other friends, "Thank you, would you like me to get started? I believe we'll have to leave soon to be on time."
"Good idea, I've already booked a taxi but you know they don't wait around. I think someone is trying to reach you, Sakura, your phone's been vibrating," Tsunade said as she downed her cup and began arranging the fabric around her.
Sakura left them to it to retrieve her phone from where she'd left it charging. Her old phone had a battery that would last days, but she supposed it wouldn't have been able to handle a group chat without shutting down. Itachi had sent the group a text checking they were all still coming on Mikoto's behalf. For as much as she loved entertaining, she was surprisingly anxious about how everything went off.
All the replies were in the affirmative, except for Tobi who'd come down with food poisoning. This was followed by them all telling him he needed to clean his flat and the biological hazard that was his fridge.
"Tsunade, Sai, and are heading over soon, Itachi. Tell her not to worry so much. If you can manage it try to drink ginger tea, Tobi, it'll help with the nausea and the cramps," she typed out.
On the way back to the living room she grabbed her fanciest handbag, and shoved a few things into it. It had been a birthday present from Mikoto, and even if it wasn't totally Sakura's style she always tried to wear it where she would see. Her phone buzzed a couple more times; mostly the guys telling her she was too soft on Tobi and he deserved everything he got.
"Come on, Sakura, you're getting as bad as that Yamanaka girl with that phone," Tsunade said.
"I don't think that's possible, Shishou," she laughed, and held her arms out so Tsunade could start winding the obi around her.
Sai had done an excellent job with Tsunade's as usual, and from the colour in his cheeks he'd been on the end of some of her rare praise.
"Won't be too long before you have to lose the sleeves, Sakura," Tsunade teased.
Sakura rolled her eyes, and told Sai to shut up: she didn't even need to look at him to know he was smirking. Ever since she'd turned twenty this has been Tsunade's go to line about her increasing age. She still had a couple of years at least before she'd have to give up the long sleeves and change to the more mature shorter ones. Maybe when she fully qualified as a lawyer.
The taxi called just as they were finishing up, and not soon enough for Sai to avoid getting himself accidentally covered in perfume. At least Tsunade favoured a more masculine citrus scent than Sakura's ridiculously girly florals. The driver seemed quite taken aback to have the head of the hospital, and one of the most respected doctors in the city, in the back of her cab. By the time they reached the Uchiha compound Sakura was convinced the woman was going to ask for Tsunade's autograph.
The poor woman would have fainted if she'd been allowed into the compound itself. Mikoto knew everyone who was anyone in the city, and they never missed a chance to show face in front of each other. It was mostly law enforcement with Fugaku and his senior officers making up a good proportion, but there were plenty of lawyers there too under Madara's watchful eye. In addition there were plenty of government officials, academics, and medical staff who had a night off and didn't immediately go to bed.
Everyone was immaculately dressed, and Sakura was again eternally thankful for her mother and her close friend. She would have turned up looking like a scarecrow if it wasn't for them. Mikoto greeted them near the gates and motioned for a waiter to bring over some champagne.
"Have I told you you're an angel recently?" Tsunade asked as she picked up two flutes off the tray.
"Only when you've been drinking," Mikoto giggled, "Oh don't you two look wonderful!"
Sakura accepted the hug gladly, and even Sai managed not to be completely wooden when faced with her affections.
"Only the best for you," Sakura smiled warmly at her.
Mikoto looped her arm through both hers and Sai's to lead them further into the compound. Tsunade, with both hands full of champagne, had been collared by one of the minor city officials and had given them a stern look to come rescue her sooner rather than later.
"Tsunade-hime did such a good job with you, Sakura-chan. I wanted to raise you with the boys you know. Lord knows I could have used a feminine ally around here."
Sakura did know: Mikoto mentioned it nearly every time they saw each other with the same wistful fondness. She also knew that Mikoto was woman enough to handle all the men in this compound single-handedly. Tsunade could be scary, but Mikoto was worse in many ways; no one wielded guilt with such keen precision as Uchiha Mikoto.
"And there would definitely have been room for you, Sai-kun," she continued, "You would have fit right in as another of my sons."
Sai was having a very nice evening already with the people he cared for saying nice things about him. Sakura was watching him, and resolved to do it more often. Sai rarely sought out other people for company. The two of them and Naruto had gotten drunk and emotional once – there was no better bonding experience according to Tsunade – and he'd admitted he was never sure he was wanted. Naruto had bawled and demanded that Sai never, ever thought that way again because he had both of them and they always wanted him around.
Sakura found herself getting a little misty about it even now, but thankfully Itachi was walking over to stop her embarrassing either herself, or Sai for that matter.
"Isn't my son handsome?" Mikoto cooed as Itachi bowed in greeting. Said handsome son managed not to roll his eyes at the calculating look his mother was giving Sakura. He was currently occupying the 'most likely to make Sakura-chan my daughter-in-law' spot with Sasuke out of the country. Taking her on as his assistant had almost made her break out the wedding magazines.
"I've seen better," Shisui interjected, appearing at Itachi's elbow as if out of nowhere. The man seemed to be able to move with supernatural speed to be in the right place to embarrass his cousin.
"Shisui!" Mikoto barked, but they could all see the twitching beginnings of a smile on her face.
"Mah, Obachan, I have! I own a mirror after all," he said with an outrageous wink in Sakura's direction.
Mikoto shook her head, arguing with Shisui was a futile pastime, and disentangled herself from Sakura and Sai, "You kids behave yourselves now. I'm relying on you to keep them in line, Sai-kun," she added, gifting him one of her winning smiles before nipping off to mingle some more.
Sai looked rather alarmed by this impossible responsibility, so Sakura reassured him that she'd take the fall for any nonsense they managed to come up with.
"Nonsense? You have such an imagination, Sakura-chan," Shisui smirked at her as they walked towards the edge of the main plaza. Towards the back of the central area was where Itachi and Shisui stayed, so that's where his friends tended to congregate. If it was more out of the way to spare Fugaku's blushes then that was just an added benefit.
"You do still have that karaoke machine, don't you?" Sakura found herself whispering the question as if it was a drug deal.
Thankfully Shisui was always willing to conspire and dropped his voice to a whisper too, "Of course. Kisame told me about your little wager – still think you're up to it?"
Sakura scoffed, "Of course, he doesn't know what he's gotten himself into."
Shisui looked a bit skeptical, "I haven't heard you sing in years."
"She can actually sing," Sai said blandly, suppressing the smirk as she narrowed her eyes at his tone.
"Thanks, Sai, it's the one creative thing I'm actually good at so, you know, have some faith!"
"I bet you're good at lots of things," Shisui said, managing a wink so over the top it looked like he was trying to signal a passing ship.
Sakura laughed in his face, as she always did, "Well that's for me to know, but don't let Mikoto hear you say that. She'll think you're disrupting the steamy love affair I'm totally having with either one of her sons."
Itachi nodded sagely, "You know better than to disrupt kaa-san's plans, Shisui."
Shisui and Sai both made identical faces and Sakura laughed out loud. For a moment there she'd wondered if she'd overstepped her bounds with Itachi. Joking about his mother's ridiculous ideas to have her married into the family was fair game among her friends, but he was still her boss after all. Maybe she should slow down on the drinks. Now if Sasuke could just develop a sense of humour like his big brother's they'd all be a lot happier.
Shisui looked up over their shoulders and grimaced, "Speaking of plans, Madara's heading this way and he's got that look on his face."
"Itachi, Sakura-san, may I steal a moment of your time?" Madara called over to them. Madara was not the sort of man you said no to.
"You guys go on, the rest of them should be here any minute. Me and Sai will get more drinks in," Shisui waved them off.
Madara wasn't alone, but Sakura only vaguely recognised the Uchiha beside him. She and Itachi both bowed low in greeting, and Madara was more than willing to take control of the conversation.
"I won't keep you both too long, I'm sure your friends will soon be here to liven up this affair," Madara said, looking pointedly at Itachi who chose to focus on a spot somewhere over his uncle's shoulder, "I just want to be the first to introduce my colleague, and cousin, to you, Sakura-san. Uchiha Izuna, Haruno Sakura."
Sakura recognised the name immediately; he was the country's current leading authority on medical lawsuits. She could feel her palms getting sweaty on being face to face with the Uchiha Izuna, but she knew she couldn't just gush to him about how talented he was. She wouldn't even dream of embarrassing Itachi, or Madara, like that.
"It's an honour to meet you, Uchiha-san," she said, keeping her voice level and managing not to tack on how she dreamed of formulating an argument as well put together as the one that had won him the Harada case.
Izuna was older than Madara, but definitely seemed to be more easy-going, "No need to be so formal, Sakura-san, we're at a party after all," he said with a smile.
Itachi was probably smirking at the pure excitement she was radiating, but he could smirk all he wanted – he wasn't the one meeting his hero.
"Madara seems quite taken with you; he's mentioned you at least twice this evening, and in the same breath as his nephew no less," Izuna continued, watching the uncontrollable blush spreading over her face with amused interest.
"Oh, thank you, I'm just Itachi's assistant," she immediately demurred, "I am so grateful to both of them for the opportunity to work for the firm."
"From what I hear they're grateful you haven't given up on Itachi," Izuna chuckled, "He has a reputation as something of a handful."
Sakura brought a sleeve up to giggle behind it, like Hinata had shown her when she'd first started wearing kimono semi-regularly, "He's a genius, Izuna-san, it's a privilege to help where I can."
She didn't look at Itachi as she said it, but she hoped she wasn't embarrassing him too much. She wasn't lying, she wasn't even exaggerating to: she genuinely loved working for Itachi and it showed on her face. Madara smirked a little smugly just out of Izuna's line of sight; he dearly loved being proven right in public.
Izuna watched her response with interest, "I suppose you wouldn't have lasted as long as you have otherwise," he said, obviously enjoying Itachi's discomfort over his people-management skills, "It's been nearly a year, hasn't it? When do you finish your studies?"
"I only have another few months to go, and then the Bar exam in just less than a year," she replied, trying to ignore the dread that settled in her stomach whenever she thought about it. The bar exam had a pass rate of 3%; not exactly a statistic that filled her with confidence.
"Madara tells me you want to work in the medical lawsuit field," Izuna said casually, and Sakura tried to tamp down the fear and elation on hearing him talking about her and his field in the same sentence, "but he didn't say why – could I get you to indulge me?"
Now this was stable ground. Sakura had been rehearsing this speech in her head since she was about fifteen and decided that the hard, tedious, long hours of being a lawyer was what she wanted to dedicate her life to. She'd used it in her university entrance interviews, and tweaked it with every learning experience she'd had over the past two years.
"I'm sure you know Senju Tsunade?" Sakura started, waiting for him to nod, "She adopted me when I was young, and I've grown up watching just how hard she works to keep people healthy, not just her patients, but her colleagues as well."
She continued outlining her reasoning with well thought-out arguments, and balancing the needs of patients versus those of the medical professionals. Essentially her main goal was to expedite the whole process to ensure that more of everyone's time could be focussed on what mattered: saving lives.
She wound up and watched anxiously as Izuna and Madara shared a significant look. Itachi looked rather touched that she checked with him for reassurance after such a passionate performance, and he nodded quickly before they noticed.
"I really should just start listening to you straight away, shouldn't I, Madara?" Izuna asked ruefully, shaking his head when Madara just nodded serenely.
"Sakura-san, which days do you work at the firm?" Izuna continued.
"Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and all day on a Friday?" Sakura said as casually as she could manage when her heart was thudding against her ribs.
Izuna nodded, pulling out his phone to check his calendar, "I'm sure Itachi can spare you on Monday for a little while?"
"Of course, Izuna-san," Itachi replied without hesitation.
"Come along to my office around four, Sakura-san?" Izuna suggested, looking up to check that was ok with her.
Sakura nodded as quickly as her neck would let her, "Definitely, which part of the building are you in? Do you need me to bring anything?"
Izuna smiled at the eagerness she was completely failing to conceal, "My office is just around the corner from Madara's, and I don't think you'll need anything. It's just a quick meeting so we can work out the details of your traineeship for when you qualify."
"My traineeship?" Sakura asked, just about managing to stay on her feet.
Madara outright laughed, "You think I'm going to let you get away and work for some other firm? You've got real potential, Sakura-san, and I'm not a man to waste potential."
Izuna nodded, "I've been convincing one of my main lawyers not to retire for the last two years. If you come on board I should be able to let him get to work on that garden he's always talking about. This will just be to sketch out a few angles, it'll take some balancing to fit a trainee in but we'll be able to manage it."
"I – I don't know what to say," Sakura beamed, and then blushed, and then tried to look them in the eyes while controlling the beaming smile, "Thank you so much. I can't tell you what this means to me."
Madara and Izuna chuckled, her enthusiasm was obviously contagious. "You understand the expectations the firm has of you," Madara reminded her, "I do not want to find that my time and resources have been wasted."
Madara had what could euphemistically be described as a 'forceful personality', and had cowed many people from suspects to judges. The threat was implicit, but Sakura had been dealing with the Uchiha clan since she was a child.
She tipped her chin up and made direct eye contact, "You wouldn't have employed me if you thought that was a possibility."
Izuna smirked, "I like this one, Madara. Do not do whatever it is you did to scare off all your other assistants, Itachi."
Itachi looked rather offended, but he knew when to pick his battles and didn't even bother opening his mouth. He still wasn't strictly on speaking terms with one of the younger Uchiha who'd had a go at the role.
"We'll let you go," Madara said, "If we don't keep moving we risk Fugaku cornering us."
Izuna pulled a face like he smelled off meat, "If I have to hear about that Zabuza case one more time, Madara, I swear it'll be grounds for justifiable homicide."
"You'll have to wait in line," Madara muttered as they made a swift beeline for the opposite corner of the plaza.
Itachi watched in amusement as Sakura processed the last few minutes. The smile on her face wasn't even conscious by this point. He tried to remember if he'd felt the same when he'd been granted his traineeship. He supposed his had been more of a formality – he was a clan heir after all, even if he hadn't shown the promise he had.
"Itachi, I don't know what to say, other – other than thank you," she said, and she swallowed hard as she teared up a little. She'd been expecting a fun night, but this, this was beyond anything she could have dreamed of.
Itachi waved a hand dismissively, "You've proven yourself more than capable, Sakura-chan, I had very little to do with it."
She could tell he was a little off-kilter on being faced with such naked emotion. Naruto had always complained the Uchiha had some sort of genetic issue that left them all with something stuck up their asses. She was able to restrain the urge to go in for a hug; she wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle it.
"I wouldn't say that, if you hadn't burned through so many assistants I would never have gotten a chance," she teased, ignoring his unimpressed face, "Hey, will you do me a favour?"
"Depends on the favour," he replied.
"If anyone asks, will you pretend I played that totally cool?"
"Sakura-chan, I read your paper on Izuna's cases, remember? Compared to that exercise in hero-worship you were purely professional," he said, smirking down at her.
With Itachi on side she finally gave in to happy giggles, pressing her hands to her face.
"Everything alright over here?" Shisui asked, taking in the strange scene as he balanced several bottles on a tray, "Madara been causing chaos again?"
Sakura might have been able to restrain herself around the man who was technically her employer, but Sai had no such protection. He managed to juggle the two large flasks of sake out the way as she crashed into him to hug him fiercely. The top of her head only came up to his shoulder so he was forced to bend down under her weight.
He looked helplessly at Itachi as Sakura bounced and screeched in his ear about the last ten minutes – making no sense at all and cutting off the circulation to his brain with her arms so tight around his neck. Itachi just reached over to take a bottle off Shisui's tray and shrugged.
"She was just joking about the steamy love affair thing, wasn't she?" Shisui asked, his eyebrow firmly raised as Sakura released Sai only to shake him with two hands fisted in his collar with excitement, "You didn't just propose or anything, did you?"
Itachi scoffed, "If I had that would be kaa-san shaking that boy to death right now. Sakura-chan, I know you're excited, but you're going to give him brain damage."
Sakura beamed up at Sai, but did manage to stop shaking him long enough for Shisui to push a drink into her hands, "I'm sorry, Sai, too much time with Naruto obviously."
Sai had managed to piece together something about a traineeship, and the last time she'd been this excited she'd just received her unconditional university acceptance. She'd barrelled into his pokey studio, nearly upsetting everything and dragging Naruto behind her to do exactly this: fuss for half a day before lapsing straight into panicking about being good enough. He returned her embrace as well as he could manage with both hands full of alcohol.
"Congratulations, Sakura, you deserve this," he murmured quietly.
Itachi quickly filled Shisui in and he was the next to offer his congratulations, "Guess you're stuck with us for another few years, Sakura-chan, hope you're up for it!"
"You haven't scared me off yet -" Sakura cut herself off with a gasp, "I have to go find Shishou!"
"Good idea," Shisui said, "We passed her a while ago and it looked like she was going to kill that idiot professor from the academy, you know the one who always looks like he's licked a nettle?"
Sakura managed a laugh before rushing off in the direction Shisui had nodded to.
"Are you sure the firm can handle employing someone with, you know, an actual personality?" Shisui asked, nodding after her.
Itachi chose not to rise to the bait, instead looking critically at the tray, "You know Kisame is coming, don't you? We'll need more than that."
Shisui rolled his eyes, "As if Kisame drinks anything but his own stash -"
Sai ignored their restrained bickering as they walked towards their rooms to drop off the drink. Mikoto wouldn't allow them to escape just yet, but there was no harm in being prepared for later. He'd been to enough of Shisui's after-parties to know they were never just a quiet nightcap and then home.
As it turned out Tsunade was just as close to losing her temper as Shisui suspected. A lifetime of irritating the women in his life had obviously left him with a sixth sense for these matters. As soon as Sakura appeared Tsunade used her as an excuse to get out of the conversation without having to resort to physical violence.
"You look happy," she said, looking Sakura up and down critically, "Mikoto hasn't gotten Itachi to propose has she?"
"Seriously?" Sakura stopped short, "She's not still angling for that is she?"
Tsunade nodded serenely, "Well, him or the other one, I don't think it matters which. Now, tell me everything."
Sakura rattled through what had happened in the last ten minutes, still practically vibrating with the excitement of it all. Tsunade attempted to play it cool, telling her that of course the firm would keep her, but the bone-crushing hug she found herself wrapped in showed just how happy her mother was. As Tsunade demanded more champagne be brought over Sakura realised nothing could hurt her buoyant mood.
Not even Deidara entering the party with yet another beautiful woman on his arm.
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