So, someone commented and compared Itachi to a stalker… fu fu fu… as I had been typing it, I was thinking the same thing! Knowing Itachi though, he wouldn't even see it that way, but rather a strategy to get something he decided he wanted. In essence, the things I might have him do may come across as stalker-esque, but I hope it will be more humorous than creepy!
She was hiding something.
Itachi was positive. He'd only been watching a couple of hours, but it was apparent that Sakura was hiding something. He would find out what it was, he just wasn't sure when. His eyes narrowed and he tapped the cover of the magazine he was pretending to read contemplatively. She was standing with Kakashi and Naruto on the other side of the room, talking in low tones. Every couple of seconds, she would send a furtive glance to the lounge door that opened into the foyer that housed the elevator. Who was she looking for? Her gaze slid around the room, landing on him for a fraction of a second before darting back to the door. In less than a second, her gaze was back on him, and then a frown darkened her features, only making her look a bit more sexy than she had several seconds before. Itachi raised one brow in anticipation of whatever her next reaction would be.
"It's rude to stare," she snapped, stalking over to him and planting her hands on her black jeans encased hips, her legs slightly parted. Itachi lowered the magazine and his eyes flickered from her stormy green eyes to her black fingernails. He allowed his gaze to slide very slowly down her legs and to her white heeled converse-clad feet. Damn, she had great legs. He smirked when he looked back into her eyes which were narrowed in annoyance.
"Afraid I will see something you're trying to hide?" Itachi asked, staring blankly at her, while he was carefully watching for her response, and forcing his eyes to stay on her face. Her eyes narrowed and she pressed her lips together. She was going to deny hiding anything and of course that was not true… blah blah blah… Itachi was already rolling his eyes inwardly.
"Of course I'm hiding something, you dolt. Who isn't? Not that I'm going to be letting you find out anytime soon. Not until it would serve a purpose anyway," she snapped, her defensive stance changing to one of confidence. Itachi was, needless to say, surprised. Well this was different to what he expected! "I know back in Iwa you must have needed to stare things down all the time, but this is the civilian world now, and it's rude… so don't do it," she muttered after a huff, running her fingers through her pink hair.
'She really has a lovely physique,' he thought, inwardly appreciating her stature. She was just short enough to be cute, but tall enough and curvy enough to be recognized as a woman; even though her chest was not large, not even the size of Hinata's, she was by no means flat-chested… and besides, she more than made up for it with her legs. Itachi liked legs… which meant that her outfit today was making it a bit hard for his concentration, but he supposed he could make up for it at a later date when she wore something a bit more concealing than those tight black jeans shorts and black tube top.
"Hn," was all he said, and watched with a small inward grin of satisfaction when her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He wondered how fun it would be to get her all riled up, but figured that right here, right now was probably not the best time. After all, he wanted no spectators to that scene. "Besides," he continued, "I was not staring… merely pondering the information in this very interesting article on the Eiffel Tower. Did you know that the tower is six inches shorter in the wintertime?" he asked as if speaking about the weather. Sakura frowned and rolled her eyes in exasperation.
She was about to walk off when Kakashi sidled up to them, his eyes sliding over her behind.
"Nice," he murmured, one eyebrow raised and his eyes dark with pure masculine appreciation, and something else. Itachi felt his forehead tighten with a frown. Apparently Sakura was not the only one that had to be watched, since this Kakashi guy seemed to be interested in the drummer as well. Itachi was by no means going to rush in his pursuit of Sakura, but that didn't mean he wanted some other guy to be infringing on his territory either. Right, his territory, because sooner or later, she would be his… he was going to make it so. Itachi was not so presumptuous as to think he would or could ever force her to be interested in him, because that would be pathetic, and besides, his pride as a man alone demanded that she be interested in her by her own choice, hence the watching. He would know her so well, she would be drawn to him… if he could manage to hold out long enough, his plan would be flawless.
'I need to know her reactions to everyone around her,' Itachi thought, watching as she grinned at the band leader's blatant flirtation. Itachi frowned when she leaned back to check out the rear of the silver-haired guitarist.
"Yours ain't too bad either," she returned, grinning in amusement.
'She is the most unpredictable specimen of a woman I have ever come across,' Itachi thought, frowning. Was that what women were like nowadays? Had he been at war too long to realize the changes? War. Itachi grit his teeth at the unwelcome thought that threatened to push even Sakura from his mind. War. The things he had done while at war haunted him. Giving himself an inward shake away from his thoughts, Itachi forced himself to peruse his newfound competition.
Hatake Kakashi was not a threat, he decided. The man had the worst hair Itachi had ever seen, quite unlike his admittedly beautiful black hair, and was high ranked in Itachi's list of people with extremely bad postures. Kakashi was nowhere near as well built as Itachi was, and hid the lower half of his face with a black mesh half mask that extended from his chest to neck. Itachi surmised that the man was most likely scarred or deformed, and wore the mask to look even half decent for the public. Itachi couldn't fault the man, since it was a smart approach to take. One of the most pathetic things about Kakashi that Itachi had noted previously was his disgusting attachment to porn.
'Anyone that engrossed by photographs of naked women is just pathetic,' Itachi thought with a hint of pride. Of course, it would take much more than a picture of a woman on a glossed page to induce any reaction in himself… and he knew this because he had already tried it. It had become obvious to him years ago that his sensual side was activated by touch, rather than sight, unlike the majority of the masculine population. Sure, it made a difference if the woman was attractive or not, because, well, he had standards, but a bombshell that couldn't excite him by touch was of no use whatsoever. Similarly, someone with no good looks whatsoever might be good at touching him, but the lack of attraction to her physically would decrease the excitement considerably. He was close, but he wasn't perfect. It displeased him a small bit that someone with no good looks would have no luck with him at all, but really, what he sought was some sort of balance between looks and ability to excite via touch. In his defense, he would take a plain girl with a plain body and nice legs rather than a gorgeous woman plastered over a magazine page any day. He would also take a plain girl, with nice legs and some fire rather than a gorgeous woman with no personality. That would just bore him. Fortunately for him, Sakura was very attractive, though he had yet to experience her touch, though he surmised that his attraction to her would aid the effects of the imminent touch very much.
"So, you free tonight?" Kakashi asked, slinging his arm over Sakura's shoulder. The move dragged Itachi from his mental ramblings. It did not please him at all. She had better not be free tonight.
"Sure, I'm free," Sakura returned, grinning. Itachi frowned.
"Actually, Sakura, we have plans," Itachi said, rising from the sofa he had been sitting on and removing Kakashi's arm from Sakura's shoulders with his thumb and index finger. He leveled a blank stare at Kakashi whose eyes darted from Sakura to Itachi, and back again. Sakura stiffened beside Itachi and spun to face him, her eyes blazing. He was not quite sure what possessed him to say what he'd said, since there was no such plan for the night, but Kakashi's attentions to his target were very much unwanted by him.
"What the hell, Uchiha?" she snapped, pressing her palm to his chest and giving a shove. She used tremendous force, but Itachi's body did not move any at all. He stared down at her, eyes slightly narrowed. He was about to reply when the lounge door swished open and Sai stormed into the room, a patch of bruised skin over his eye. His hands were shoved into his pockets and he had a glower of frustration and torment on his face. He stalked right through the lounge without looking or speaking to anyone. Sakura's hand fell from Itachi's chest, her fingertips brushing lightly down his front. Itachi stiffened at the rush of pleasure the light touch brought.
'Not good,' Itachi thought, frowning slightly at the reaction her touch had caused. It had been unplanned for that the warm pressure of her hand on his chest, or the feathery touch of her fingertips as her hand fell from his body would have sent small shivers of pleasure rippling down his spine… enough to make his back jerk if even only slightly. He wanted more. He had no problem wanting more, really, it was just it was unprecedented that he would want so much more so soon.
"What was up with that?" Sakura continued, her annoyance with Itachi obviously forgotten for the moment, while turning to look at the door Sai had just disappeared into. In turning, her shoulder bumped into Itachi's chest, the contact warming him a bit. 'This is bloody ridiculous,' Itachi thought in self disgust. It stood to reason the touch of the woman he was interested in would affect him more than that of other women, but so much more was bordering on ludicrousness… if the touch of somewhere as un-erogenous as her shoulder… Itachi paused mid thought to look at the bare shoulder in question…
'Ugh… that is definitely a nice shoulder,' he found himself thinking. His eyes were suddenly glued to the curve of her tanned shoulder, where wisps of her pink hair lay in choppy layers. He could even see tiny freckles on the very edge of the otherwise even toned skin of her shoulder… he could imagine himself kissing each and every one of them- 'What the hell is wrong with me? This is supposed to be gradual, damn it!' Itachi thought with a frown. 'I will have to either avoid touching her at all, or take an early break from observing her tendencies and reactions until I can get myself under control,' he mused in annoyance at the way this was turning out. It peeved him to think of not touching her at all, because now that he knew he shouldn't, he wanted to more than ever.
Itachi was pulled out of his thoughts by the distinct feeling that he was alone. How long had he stood there thinking about touching or not touching Sakura? Itachi looked around to the lounge to see that he was indeed alone. Itachi moved to the recording room, since that was where the other occupants of the room had most likely gone to. He was right, the strains of instruments being tuned caught his attention, and he entered the recording room, taking a quiet post at the corner of the room where Sakura was in full view. 'Where is Sasuke?' Itachi wondered randomly, noticing his brother's absence. He slid his gaze to his watch and noticed that his usually punctual brother was over an hour late.
"We'll just have to start practicing without him," Kakashi moaned, totally unused to being there before any of the other band members; he was usually the last one, or so Naruto had told Itachi earlier. That, fortunately for Itachi, was another bad feature of the silver-haired band leader… no one liked someone who was always tardy. He smirked. "He knows the majority of the chords already," Kakashi groused, reluctantly tucking his miniature porn book into his back pocket. Itachi grimaced in disgust… the man was seriously pathetic.
Sai took his place at the piano, and ran through some warm up scales. Since he was the vocalist for the song they were doing the upcoming Saturday, Sasuke wasn't needed at the moment anyway. Sakura began slapping the sticks together for the count-off. Itachi frowned at the expression on her face. She looked worried about something, but what? Nevertheless, the group started the song, and after several false starts and restarts, they had a pretty good sound, minus Sasuke's guitar. Itachi kept running possible scenarios that could explain Sasuke's tardiness in his mind, but none that came to mind stuck. Sasuke was never late. The thought had just run through Itachi's mind when the door burst open and Sasuke entered.
Itachi was slightly baffled at his brother's appearance. Though well dressed as usual, his brother's skin was not as pristine as it usually was, that is, he had been beaten! His eyes were dark and purple from bruising, and there were several cuts to his cheeks. Then, there were red marks dotting his neck and as large a smile as could be expected of him on his face. In his eyes, however, was a mixture of satisfaction, annoyance, and impatience… a curious mixture in Itachi's estimation.
"I got… caught up," Sasuke explained in his usual soft tone while pulling his guitar over his shoulder, and joining in mid song, with flawless timing. Itachi felt pride slide through him at his brother's obvious expertise with the guitar. A mixture of concern and surprise showed in the faces of the Team 7 members, but Sai barely looked up… rather, he avoided looking up. Itachi felt his eyes narrow. Had they had a fight? Over what? Before he even asked himself the question, he knew the answer. Hinata, obviously. Itachi frowned again. 'Why the hell does Sasuke look more beaten up than Sai does?' Itachi looked toward the derby-wearing pianist with new eyes, attempting to appraise the usually silent man. Sure enough, Sai's body language and build, though barely discernible or noticeable, told him that Sai was capable of much more than he looked like he was. It wasn't like Sasuke to underestimate an opponent, but had he in this case? Itachi stayed silent, however, containing his thoughts. He would find out later.
Itachi swallowed uncomfortably when Sakura shifted at his side in the back of Sai's convertible. She was pressing against him in an attempt to make space for Kakashi to fit beside her in the already full car. She turned to face him, and rolled her eyes impatiently.
"Wha-?" Itachi managed before she reached over and lifted his arm, sliding easily beneath it and freeing up a couple more inches of car seat for Kakashi to fit into. Team 7 had decided they were going to go to grab some beers and batter-fried chicken at one of their favorite pubs after the practice. Sasuke had not come along with them, because he had left the KIS mid-practice with no explanation and had not yet returned. Itachi felt a shiver of warm, electric pleasure slide down his stomach at the sensation of her pressed so closely against his side. Kakashi slid in next to Sakura and flung his arm over the back of the seat. Itachi would have taken the front seat had Naruto not already seated himself there. Unfortunately for his self control, he was stuck in the back with Sakura, who was pressed up against his side with Kakashi on her other side. He turned his face to the other side, facing the road so she wouldn't see how disconcerted he was by how close she was to him. Still, his heartbeat had accelerated. Something bumped his leg, and even as he was telling himself not to look… he looked, and his stomach dropped at the sight of her long tanned leg rubbing against his. 'Damn those legs,' Itachi cursed inwardly. He needed to take a break from her… he needed to get himself in order and under control. She felt so warm and soft and female next to him, and Itachi knew he enjoyed the feeling too much to be his usual impervious self if it continued for too long. This would only mess up his plan by putting him in a position where he was likely to say something he shouldn't or act too fast and wreck his plan altogether.
"Sai," he said, proud that he managed to keep his voice flat and even. "Drop me off at my place. I have something I need to take care of." Itachi knew himself, and so he knew that the way he was feeling now would weaken his resolve the longer he subjected himself to it… which meant he had to escape the situation as soon as was possible without doing serious damage to his image. He didn't miss how Kakashi didn't seem to mind sliding his leg alongside Sakura's… There was no way he was going home after seeing that!
"Eh… Scratch that, Sai," he said, frowning inwardly, while he knew his face was its usual impassive mask.
Twenty minutes later, Itachi was beginning to regret his decision. Did she have to eat like that? Really, the chicken and the sauce that had come along with it were really good, but was all that moaning necessary? He accidentally swallowed a particularly large bite of chicken when she stuck her sauce covered middle finger into her mouth and sucked the sauce off with an appreciative groan. Itachi, whose mind had fled to another scene where she was making the same sounds for an altogether different reason, felt heat shoot to his lower stomach and the chicken leg in his hand wobbled as the muscles in his forearm went a bit weak.
'Kami, that sound,' Itachi sighed inwardly, a shiver going through him, even as he noticed that he was not the only one affected by Sakura's eating habits, for Kakashi looked like he had swallowed his tongue. As if he wasn't in enough torment, Naruto decided he needed to get out of the booth to go to get more beer, and Sakura shifted to allow him passage. The action caused her knees to bump against the insides of Itachi's, sending warmth slithering up and down his leg. He barely avoided choking on the meat in his throat. The act of skill in keeping his need to choke at bay was short lived, for Sakura chose that moment to put a beer bottle to her lips, toss her head back and guzzle the amber liquid down. Itachi choked then, his eyes glued to her throat; the way it moved as she swallowed. It was suddenly hard to breathe.
Three days had passed since Itachi had seen Sakura last, and he was going crazy. He was craving seeing her… craving so bad it made him restless and easily annoyed. 'I need to see her, but if I want to get past the withdrawal syndrome I seem to be experiencing, I need to hold off,' he admitted grudgingly to himself. It was supposed to be her that was addicted to him, not the other way around, and Itachi cursed himself for getting attracted first. Her body language didn't suggest that she even found him attractive, which was not at all the norm for Itachi, and was strangely disheartening… and made him want her more. It was not only that that bothered him, but not knowing how receptive she was to Kakashi was annoying him more than he liked to admit. The man, for all his faults, was very good with people, which he, Itachi, was most definitely not.
He sat at the computer, the internet page opened to a movie-watching site, but nothing was grabbing his interest since there was only one thing, one person he really wanted to see, and Itachi found himself helplessly drawn to the Team 7 website. He needed to see her. He watched all the videos on the site, and it assuaged his need slightly, but not enough. Therefore it was no surprise that he readily accepted Sasuke's invitation to join Team 7 for karaoke the next night. He wanted to see her again; wanted to feel the pleasure that came with her touch again, however dangerous it was. What he had thought of was an addiction had been plain attraction, and now Itachi was feeling the real manifestation of the addiction he had thought he had. All he could think of was seeing her again. He scowled at the thought of Kakashi joining them, even though the man was not a threat to him.
Itachi pushed open the door to the KIS floor 7 lounge, taking a deep breath to calm his heart which was beating double time in anticipation of seeing Sakura again. His gaze had just connected with her, and he was just taking in how completely amazing she looked in the short green dress she was wearing when a familiar voice chafed across his ears. Mitarashi Anko. Damn it.
"Itachi," the woman called in her loud, somewhat unrefined voice. Itachi shut his eyes and sighed in annoyance, attempting to mentally prepare himself for the woman while turning to face her. When he opened his eyes, he realized he had not prepared himself well enough. Anko… She was wearing a mesh top that failed to adequately conceal her ample assets, having only a small black patch to cover certain areas to avoid getting thrown into jail for indecent exposure.
"Anko," he groaned. He'd hoped he would never have to see her again, what with their history. He tried not to notice how her… assets moved when she walked over to him, a large smirk on her face. "I had not thought I would see you a-" His statement was cut off when Anko flung her arms round his shoulders and smashed her mouth into his. They had parted amicably two years ago; he had been the one to initiate it, but he had denied Anko the parting kiss she had demanded because he knew she would only try to drug or seduce him back to her with it. In the end, she had made him promise that if she ever saw him again, he would allow her that one kiss, else she would chase him down for the rest of his life. His mouth remembered hers, they had been together all of six years, after all, and It wasn't until Itachi's hands instinctively pulled her closer and she was pressed up against him that he remembered…
'Shit, Sakura… Anko… what the hell?' Itachi thought, jerking himself away from her, their mouths separating with a damp pop. Her lazy gaze met his and he could see the satisfaction his discomfort caused her.
"Even better than I remembered, Itachi-kun," she purred, and Itachi hated the shiver that ran down his back… he was over Anko, but she always did know what he liked, and she was gorgeous. Regardless, they had differences he wasn't willing to change his views on, and it would have made it impossible for coexistence between them to be happy in the long run. Itachi only grunted in reply before pushing her a safe distance away from him. He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back, with half a smile on his lips. He should be finally free of the woman now.
"I trust you will leave me alone now, Anko? Now that you have gotten that last taste of me that you wanted so badly…" He raised an eyebrow to peer at her. She shifted, and Itachi actually had to struggle to keep his eyes on her face. He knew what she was doing; she always used intercourse and seduction to get what she wanted and avoid confrontations or discussions she did not want to address, and Itachi was not going to be pulled into that again.
"That depends, Itachi," she mumbled, peering up at him through lowered eyelashes. "Do you still get a little excited by me?" she asked, clearly insinuating that if he did she would not be leaving him be any time soon. Itachi groaned inwardly deciding that he had to avoid this question.
"Ludicrous. I initiated our parting, didn't I?" he stated in a flat tone. She smirked.
"Avoiding the question, Uchiha-sama?" she asked knowingly, grinning at the heat that rose to his neck at the honorific… she was the one that had discovered Itachi's liking of cosplay, as embarrassing as it was, and the honorific brought back very distinct memories. "You forget how long we were together, Itachi. You only avoid questions you don't want to answer." Itachi glowered. It did not faze her in the least. Instead, she walked up to him and stroked a slow path down his stomach, smiling at the way his abdominal muscles instinctively tightened in response. Itachi barely managed to squelch the rumble in his throat. "You know I wouldn't walk away from us," Anko continued. "Expect to see me around," she whispered, brushing past him. Itachi clenched his teeth… this was not good. He was over Anko… but she still had an effect on him it seemed, and she could potentially disrupt his current plans.
Itachi was so deep in thought he did not see the look Sakura gave him or the glint of respect in Kakashi's eyes. He had no time to either, for the door swished open behind him. Sasuke and Hinata walked in, their attraction to each other extremely obvious.
"Hello everyone, Itachi-san," Hinata said in her usual soft voice. Itachi smiled at her with his eyes; he liked what little he had seen of Hinata and was comfortable in her presence. The others greeted her, and Itachi noted with slight annoyance that Sakura seemed a bit cooler towards Hinata than she was with others. It was barely noticeable, but Itachi picked up on it.
They had just begun to converse, when the door opened again, and a slightly shorter than average red-haired man entered the lounge. His eyes were kohl darkened, and he had no eyebrows. He was very well dressed; more so than the average person. His eyes slowly swept over the occupants of the room and he quietly moved over to the rest of them.
"Sabaku no Gaara," Sasuke said, a slight grin on his face. "What brings you here?" Gaara blinked, his eyes passing over Sasuke, Naruto and Sai, and pausing for a moment on Sakura, before jerking to Kakashi and Hinata. However, when his eyes landed on Itachi, he stared at him for several awkward seconds. Itachi felt the frown on his face before he realized he was frowning. Who was this man?
"I need your presence in another of my shows, Uchiha-san," Gaara said absently to Sasuke, as if just remembering his purpose in coming. "I also think Hatake-san would fit the runway very well, if he keeps that mask on," the designer continued, his tone insinuating that he was not expecting either man to refuse. Itachi found the man's attitude lacking. His eyes drifted back to Itachi. "Who is this man?" he asked of Sasuke. Sasuke smirked as if knowing what Gaara's intent was.
"This is my brother, Uchiha Itachi," Sasuke said through a small smile. "Itachi, meet Sabaku no Gaara." Itachi leveled a blank look on the designer.
"Hn," he responded, knowing he was being rude, but not caring. The man had looked too long on Sakura.
"I presume you could lead the show, Itachi-san," Gaara said without bothering to acknowledge the introduction. Itachi was about to refuse when he caught a choked curse from Sakura. His eyes flitted to her and he noticed the look of barely veiled jealousy on her face. 'She wants to be in the show…' Itachi thought with a smirk.
"I presume so," Itachi agreed, enjoying the look of fury on the face of the pink haired drummer. This could be to his advantage.
Itachi was a lot less pleased half hour later when the group got to the karaoke lounge. Apparently, Kakashi was not his only competition to consider, for this Gaara person seemed to have an unhealthy attraction to Sakura. It pissed him off. Why was it that there were two men so far that he had to think of as competition in some sense? He was superior to both, but Kakashi was great with people and also Sakura's band leader, and Gaara had a strange charisma and Sakura wanted to be in his fashion show… then there was Anko, threatening to mess with his plans and that secret Sakura was holding up. It was far from Itachi to run from a challenge, but he liked to know the odds, and there was no telling how many more obstacles there would be.
"We will only laugh a little if you suck," Itachi heard Naruto say. They were trying to convince Sakura to sing. Now that he wanted to hear. He had a feeling she would sing adorably off tune. Itachi watched Naruto flinch and chuckle as Sakura sent the microphone sailing mere inches past his head.
"Give it a go, Sakura-chan, or are you scared?" Kakashi taunted, winking at her. Itachi bristled slightly. 'I wish he wouldn't do that,' Itachi groused inwardly. It was just the type of thing that people comfortable around other people did, and therefore not the sort of thing Itachi would do. It would just feel stupid. He would interact though, in order to hear her sing.
"She's scared," he deadpanned, watching her to gauge her reaction. As expected, her back stiffened and she grabbed the microphone from Kakashi. Itachi watched her toss her pink hair over her shoulder as she stomped on stage and approached the computerized panel for song selections. His eyes travelled down her gorgeous legs as she moved… oh that he would be in contact with those in the near future…
Itachi was so caught up with her legs that the soft voice coming from the karaoke lounge speakers surprised him. 'She can sing?' Itachi thought, with one eyebrow raised. He was impressed, because her voice was controlled and soft and breathy… and she was singing a very … ahem… amorous love song that voiced the sexual desires the singer wanted to be acted out. Itachi swallowed, all thoughts of Kakashi, Gaara and most importantly, Anko, going from his mind. He wanted this girl, and he wanted to do all the things she was singing in the song. He knew he would hear that voice in his dreams but he also knew that it would only spur his determination. He could only hold out for so long, and already the small sightings of Sakura here and there were not enough. He needed more. He was going to ask her out.
So, the hint from the SasuHina chapter 10 was that there are more contenders for Sakura than Itachi originally thought… Kakashi and Gaara so far. Whatever will Itachi do? Fu fu fu! I am not particularly in love with this chapter (Admittedly it is below the level of my usual stuff), but it was more of a stepping stone into the rest of it, sort of… he needed to get serious, ne? Nevertheless, I would LOVE to know your thoughts, and I am soo sorry that I posted this up late!
