Having done with my Kim Possible story "Black Pearl", I'm back to this as well as a couple others. :D
Named for one of the newest pieces by the Fiechter brothers on YouTube - and the first date of the main couple.
Chapter Three
Red Blossom Lake
It had been three weeks since he saw her, and he was on the verge of assuming it would be a much longer time IF he heard from her again. In his mind, if she were going to be the one to make the first move, he'd hoped it was because she wasn't interested in his help again - that form of usage that he hated amongst other things.
He was coming out of his office to bring the latest shipments to Uncle Izuna when said uncle pulled him to the side and slyly whispered to him that "the lady fair has arrived". Scowling, Itachi looked in the direction of the front doors and started in his tracks when she stood there, looking like a shy mouse scampering about, trying to steer clear of cats or snakes. She was sweet and tender, confident - but now he saw her attempts to keep it that way slowly coming apart.
Itachi wasn't sure what came over him, but he moved to stand behind the counter and looked down, pretending to work with Izuna while occasionally looking up and watching as she walked about, looking for...the music section. This did pique his interest.
His opportunity arrived.
How should I approach her?
Wasn't the obvious answer in front of him?
Before he knew it, he was right behind her. He watched closely; she seemed unaware that she was being watched. While she perused the classical world section for the newest releases, he took in her long yellow hair streaked with tomato red, which he found interesting enough that it was uncertain to be natural or hand-highlighted. Her skin looked like it was soft to the touch, ivory and illuminated with honey...
Itachi was surprised to discover that she fancied renowned fantasy composers Derek and Brandon Fiechter, whose pieces could rarely be found anywhere in the world - and Itachi Uchiha was one of the known few to possess EVERY one of their collections. Enough to cover half a wall in his apartment. "Found what you are looking for, hn?" he asked finally, making her whirl and look at him in surprise.
"Yes, I have."
"I happened to fancy those two myself, and their solo masterpieces. I'm impressed to know I'm not the only one."
She shrugged, lifting one shoulder. "Not everyone cherishes classic and modern combinations - or music that has every culture in the world by one person, or two who share it." She was making her way towards one of the currently empty registers. Was she purposefully avoiding him suddenly? Mildly annoyed, Itachi took the advantage to scan her finding for her.
While he watched her, he couldn't help but think maybe she was worth the trouble. He was a good judge of people, and he knew it, and he did have her checked out in the last three weeks after pulling a few strings with Inoichi Yamanaka. Hanaru Uzumaki was the elder sister of Naruto, marking her as the daughter of Minato and Kushina Uzumaki - the lawyer and his wife who dared to try the man who ordered the deaths of Fugaku and Mikoto. She and her brother were raised by their grandparents, but while Naruto strived to be just like their father, she had less ambitious plans and instead pursued the writing career just like she told Itachi. Currently, she had no employment, which made him furrow his brows.
She's not going to last in that manner.
"Uchiha-san?"
Her speaking his name made him come out of his thoughts, the price on the screen above him. He cleared his throat. "Please...Itachi will do. Formalities are not so fun after a while." And mark me as the prodigy, not a man. I sometimes don't know if I really am human, inside the shell I've created for the world...
"Okay, then, Itachi. I know I saw you a couple times, and thank you for saving my life's work..." He raised an eyebrow; she was back to her nervous stutter again, bordering on Hyuuga-san, Naruto's girlfriend, whom Itachi learned only through Sasuke once. "This is too straightforward, but can we see each other again sometime? Like...outside any 'business' I would ask you for?"
Right then and there, Itachi Uchiha's world turned upside down. He almost dropped the compact disc before he shoved it into the small plastic bag and gave it to her, chuckling in his throat. She...she'd...asked him if they could see each other. After only three weeks and two meetings having to do with "saving her life", as she so innocently put it. Oh, she was indeed as she called herself: straightforward - and so was he.
"I-Itachi?"
He frowned then, discovering that he had leaned over and nearly touched her nose with his. "Hn, Uzumaki-san?"
"I think you called me...Hana-chan," she said with a swallow, taking her purchase from him and having her credit card in the other hand, yet to be swiped. He felt his cheeks burn; Itachi Uchiha never blushed, not even in front of a woman. Could this get any more embarrassing...?
"Maybe I should go."
He straightened up. "No, don't leave yet," he insisted, taking a few breaths. "Forgive me." Just what AM I apologizing for? Calling her an honorific of affection! If he had to admit one weakness to himself, he would say this young woman was bringing the mighty Uchiha heir down with her. "Thank you for considering me a...savior of yours, but I'm afraid that won't be satisfactory on either of our parts. You hardly know me as I hardly know you -" Other than your family and current history. "- but I wish to take your hand in the near future for a proper courting, but only if you are willing." The last thing he wanted was to come onto her so suddenly. It had been so long since he was with a woman, and never did he anticipate it would happen any time soon.
Her eyes sparkled, the shy glisten vanishing as if it was never there. "Itachi Uchiha...are you asking me on a date?"
~o~
Itachi Uchiha asked me out...
Itachi Uchiha...
She couldn't stop thinking, feeling like she was going to pass out. She left the store in a rush after paying for her CD, excited to add to her selection - and excited because the sexiest man she'd met in years had asked her out. Her heart had never been so rapid in her life since high school...
When she fell onto her bed in the sanctuary of her room, Hanaru looked up at the ceiling, sweating in every pore. Oh, God, what do I do...!
She considered calling her grandmother because Tsunade, the tough cookie she always was, would know what to do, like she had with her granddaughter's past relationships. And what if this one would end just like the others? She swore if this ended like that, no more men. She might as well end up a spinster the rest of her life.
After about the fifth ring, she heard the slur of her grandmother's husky, baritone accent. "H-H-Hana-chan?"
"Grandma!" She creased her brows in a frown, sitting up on the jewel-toned quilt in dismay. "Were you...drinking again?!"
After thirty years in the emergency ward, Tsunade retired from the hospital and spent a lot of time drinking out with old friends and colleagues, but it wasn't like she'd ever been in any trouble - except twice getting a DUI in younger days before she married Jiraiya and getting pregnant. It seemed tonight she must have overdone it again, and it was only Thursday. She received a throaty laugh on the other end. Who knew how poor Naruto must be taking it. "I assure you -" A cough. "- it's nothing compared to last time." And last time involved poor Grandpa getting a blow to the head for his joke on the "shaking of the bust" to the club, celebrating his newest book sold.
Hanaru scoffed. "Like last time when you nearly killed Grandpa over that crack?" she pointed out, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing the skin of her thigh out of habit.
There was a cough and clearing of the throat. "He said it first in front of all those people when we were supposed to be having fun over that new book of his -"
A second voice arrived. "Aw, knock it off before you say something that will traumatize your granddaughter," Jiraiya joked before speaking to her directly. "Don't mind her, honey; she's crazier than usual."
"You old pervert, you're calling me crazy tonight! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CALL ME NAMES?!" Hanaru slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting into a fit of giggles, forgetting for the moment why she was even calling.
"You guys," she interrupted, "it's about the fact that I met someone. But since Grandma isn't in her right state of mind at the present -" On the other line, Tsunade exclaimed in outrage while Jiraiya bellowed with laughter. "- I guess I have no choice but to come out and say it. I've met someone."
Silence, before it was broken by none other than Jiraiya.
"Wh-what? You mean, you found a nice-looking guy after you promised you'd swear off men until you finish college?" he asked once he'd calmed himself down. "I thought you said that!"
"I did...but I met this guy recently. My baby crashed, and I called the tech company nearby; they'd sent him out here, and he saved my life," Hanaru answered triumphantly, flopping back and squealing once, feeling like she was on cloud nine - without going TOO far.
Now Tsunade had her turn. "You mean to tell us that you met this new boyfriend of yours when he saved that laptop we got you a long time ago?!" she exclaimed. "And it happens to be a member of the Uchiha family?! Hanaru, you've gotten too high this time! You might go down for sure!" Her cheeks turned red, especially when her grandmother HAD to use that word.
Of course, I expected her to be a bit ballistic on the fact it's an Uchiha - but she's gonna find out who now.
"Grandma, please, he's not my boyfriend. We just met and we barely know each other yet - and if you both want to know, it's Itachi."
"Wait, wait - wait, ITACHI UCHIHA?!" they both burst, making her flinch at the raised volume.
"Yes, both of you. Sasuke's older brother."
"I don't need to ask if the emo kid himself knows about this, right?" Jiraiya had to ask before his wife audibly whacked him on the back of the head, making him shout that she was going to kill him again.
Hanaru was tempted to hang up then and there, but she really needed help. "You two can kill each other after you help me out with this. He asked me out today, and it's next Friday night, but I don't know if this will get serious after that, and Naruto as well as Sasuke can't know about this just yet since you know them both..."
~o~
He found himself outside Hanaru's door, forcing himself to stay together. Romance and flowers...they are nothing but for fools. He looked down at the small bouquet of purple violets in his hand. They were not from the store, but instead plucked from the field. They might not last, but he considered it worth the effort. He had his reasons for choosing this particular flower rather than the silly red rose that was expected.
Delicate love.
Itachi frowned again. He wasn't sure if he would go THAT far to use the word love just yet.
Affection.
The frown slipped, replaced by a slight smile. Perhaps I'll let myself have this exception to assume she might make my dreary days brighter than they used to be. And that was as far as he was going.
Modesty.
Who could forget the blush on her skin - a clear sign that she didn't willingly pursue him for obvious reasons?
Faith.
He sighed sharply, reaching for the doorbell and ringing. Sasuke knew nothing about this, and he would keep it that way - for now. But did she tell her own younger brother about him?
Dignity.
Just what he drew up when the door opened, and there she stood in front of him. He was stricken by the simple elegance before him. She was in a dress the color of the flowers in his hands, which she suddenly looked down upon with some surprise. She was the sweetest thing he'd ever seen - but somehow, it wasn't enough. He wanted to know more about her; he also wanted to know if he could trust her with his own dark secrets. But if he got everything out in a single night, who knew what would happen afterwards. Take it one day at a time...
"I didn't expect you to...get me these," she said, taking them and smiling. "Thanks?"
Itachi looked into her wide, honest eyes. "Hn."
"So, where are we heading?" She closed and locked the door behind her before following him down the stairs. He looked back at her and smiled as soon as they were at the bottom of the stairs.
"You'll see."
What he had in mind was the great spot that his parents used to sneak off to for their romantic getaways, and when he and Sasuke were children, it was one of their favorite play spots. The sun hadn't all the way gone down, but he did set up a few paper lanterns in the area just for them. Beyond, the great lake was covered for the majority with red water lilies. A soft gasp was audible in his ears; Hanaru had never seen anything like this with her own two eyes.
"It looks like something I would bring to life in a book..."
During the drive, she opened up to him about her life in college, about her brother and grandparents, and the fact that her brother wanted to heatedly and passionately pick up the torch and make damned sure their parents' unjust sacrifices were not in vain. They'd been butchered by the unproven hand of the man who had ordered the same deed done to his and Sasuke's parents - and that was when the air had gotten tense by the time he parked his expensive heirloom just outside the spot; she had yet to see where he brought her.
"I was eleven," she'd said, looking him in the eyes, glazing, "and Naruto had only been eight. They loved this town so much as they loved us, they were willing to do anything for it. That was what we always loved most about Konoha."
Itachi had closed his eyes, keeping his fingers around the steering wheel. They cared enough to serve justice for my parents...why does the world have to be so full of "happy for now" and then being ripped away from you? There never was "happily ever after" as some people still believed, and he had yet to ask his new date this - in the event of time, not tonight.
"I've met your brother a couple times. He and Sasuke are polar opposites."
"Tell me about it; you sometimes have to ask yourself how and why Naruto still makes it to the top despite the fact he goofs off," Hanaru had said, bursting out laughing when she told him about one such prank her otouto pulled off: he'd replaced his sensei Iruka's teaching notes with some smut he'd found in Kakashi Hatake's stash. He and Sasuke had both been in third grade at the time.
He never saw the blond boy often, though Itachi confessed his internal amusement at the boy's shenanigans. But a human being like Naruto hoping to live up to his parents' legacy? He will be put to the test. If he continues his antics in any way, I doubt he will be taken seriously. "It's a wonder how on earth anyone will keep him on his toes and not go off on a rampage," he told her half-jokingly.
"Well, I am the one who's done the majority of watching his little back all his life. That's what a big sister is for." Her eyes glittered. "You could say I have an attitude that our mother had, but our grandmother -" She threw her head back and laughed. "Her temper is as legendary. You gotta wonder how Grandpa is still alive after all this time."
Itachi couldn't keep the slightest hint of a chuckle from escaping. Wasn't this how the majority of the women in the world were today? And then he remembered what she said about being there for her little brother: That's what a big sister is for...and that is also what a big brother is for.
Sasuke...he must envy Naruto and his sister's relationship...
He'd decided then to bring himself and Hanaru out of the car, taking her to the spot he set up. Where she continued to tell him about herself. Another would say that this was selfish, to her face, but Itachi wanted to hear her life. He wanted to tell her his side, but he wasn't ready.
Besides her passion for mythology, fantasy and art, she shocked him when she accidentally let it slip that she had relationship issues.
She didn't seem to realize it, but she leaned against him. Itachi swallowed; no one had done that to him before, and the few who had were the attention-grabbers. "I've had bad experiences with boys and men; I'm more for serious relationships, but they never seemed to be. And they also look at me like the domestic type instead of a person with dreams to accomplish...and I feel like if I kept this up, I'm gonna die old and alone."
She thought she loved, too, but it was all hormones, and she is unable to let...this...transpire again. I see it in her eyes; she takes commitment seriously.
Something tugged his hardened heartstrings and made him lower his guard further. Now he would safely say he did not regret bringing her out here in the slightest.
"I feel like I've said too much about myself. Tell me about you."
~o~
Naruto was livid when his nee-chan called him, over a month later after apparently, she had begun dating a certain Uchiha. Nope, it wasn't Sasuke, because Sasuke was married to one Sakura. It was the Ice Prince himself. Which was why he found himself marching over to her apartment just before his classes on Monday. She didn't have hers until tomorrow, so today was as good as any day. Anything he'd do, he'd do for his big sister.
She answered the door with a frown. "Naruto, today isn't a good day to fight -"
"No, Hanaru, I agree," he said brusquely, slipping in when she stepped back. Just like him today, she was in a sweatshirt and jeans; his, however, was bright orange while hers was light gray. "But take it from your protective baby brother: that man is bound to break your heart like he did to Sasuke." And if he does that to my aneki, he's gonna face the wrath of the Uzumaki. Me, Grandma and Pervy Sage together.
Hanaru sighed and shook her head, her high ponytail swishing from her shoulder to behind her back. "I know what I am doing, otouto. I know enough about him and his brother, and putting you and me in the mix, but that's not the only reason. I don't know how to explain it. This was just our third date last weekend, and I haven't felt so happy in a long time." Now her eyes were shining, something Naruto hadn't seen since she got out of high school. Had it really been that long ago? He never liked any of her previous boyfriends, and he was sure Itachi Uchiha would be no exception, because of him and his little brother who happened to be Naruto's best friend.
But looking at his sister, seeing that bright glaze in her eyes, it was just what he knew he had when he looked at Hinata, and she would look at him the same way. Same for Sakura when she fell over for her hubby-kun, the mini Ice Prince. But Hanaru did not know what she might be getting herself into with the man who never showed up for his own little brother's wedding...
Sighing dejectedly, Naruto walked over to hug her. "Hana-chan...I just hope you don't end up regretting this later. You're my sister, and I want to look out for you like you always looked out for me." She returned the gesture without a word.
