A little note before you read: this actually took place at night, not during the daytime. Just thought I'd clarify. 8) Also, I apologize in advance for the LAMEST chapter title ever. I just couldn't think of a good one. Well, sorry for the long ass delay, but chapter 3 is finally up! Please enjoy~
Chapter 3 – The Beginning
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It didn't take long for Sakura to fall into a routine. Her days now consisted of teaching Itachi the basics to everyday life as well as making sure he gets fed at the right times. That, and she also has to juggle her hospital shifts as well, leaving Itachi at home for several hours at a time.
At first, she shrugged it off. When she smelled it again, she ignored it and continued to do her paperwork. But when her sensitive nose picked up that strange, slightly unpleasant scent for the third time, Sakura just had to find out what the hell it was.
So, she did…
… and sure enough, she instantly regretted it.
She doesn't know how, or why for God's sake this is happening to her, but… man, does she wish her cheeks would just explode and kill her already. But unfortunately, instead she's stuck twiddling around with the hem of her customary red vest whilst desperately trying not to think about the ridiculous (but every other fangirl's dream) situation she's in.
"Okay, Itachi," she began hesitantly. "T-this is how you do it…" Oh how dirty that would sound to an outsider. And more unfortunately for Sakura, Itachi apparently didn't even know how to take his clothes off… which was strange, considering he was awake and conscious when she, uh, clothed him on that first day.
Anyways, it's been several days since Itachi came under Sakura's care. Naturally she would leave the hygiene area up to him, but she should've known better than that. The guy's practically a newborn, what with his amnesia and all. So… naturally, he wouldn't know anything about those types of things. And unfortunately it was reflected with that strange odor he's been giving off since this morning.
Sakura latches her fingers from behind the hem of Itachi's shirt this time and painstakingly lifts it up as though it were a ticking time bomb. The picture of the bunny on his shirt stared back at her with those huge, sparkling eyes and if it were any other day, Sakura would've found it cute. But now she just finds it incredibly disturbing as she continues lifting his shirt high enough to expose the smooth, rose-tinted skin of his chest…
… Not that she's looking, anyway.
"Lift up your arms!" and he complied. The fabric easily slipped past his shoulders and over his head.
'Okay, now what?' Her fingers, as though they had a mind of their own, began twiddling with each other in a way that reflected her nervousness. A voice resounded deep in the back of Sakura's mind, answering her rather rhetorical question.
'Uhhh, his pants, duh! This is where the good part starts~!' squealed Inner Sakura. Outer Sakura's body instantly tensed, her emerald eyes zipping down to wearily view Itachi's pants (or to an outside observer, his crotch) in a horrified manner. 'Oh, I can hardly wait~!' But Outer Sakura didn't hear the last part of Inner's thoughts. Instead she just sat there, horror-struck, and continued to stare at his pants… because really, that was all she could do at the moment; her body wouldn't allow her to do so otherwise. And Itachi, despite all the unnecessary emphasis about how innocent he was, also sat there oh-so-innocently with those shiny, dark, gray eyes of his.
After what seemed like an eternity (which in reality was actually five minutes of intense gazing at those cursed pants), Sakura blinked. As if he was on cue, Itachi took that exact moment to poke her squarely between her eyes, stating her name like it was a password. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel her eyes sting from behind her eyelids, and for more reasons than one.
'I can't do this,' she thought.
~ Meanwhile… ~
Riiiiiing! Riiiiiiing! I'm gonna be Hokage someday, believe it! Riiiiing! Riiiing!
A lonely phone embedded in the middle of the wall rang with its customized ring tone. Boxes of takeout and ramen were strewn all over the room, its owner never bothering to clean after himself. He knows his pink-haired friend would kill him if she found out, but hey, since when has a death threat ever stopped him? He wasn't known as the Konoha's number one surprising ninja for nothing, after all. Naruto stumbled out of his slumber and drowsily picked up the phone. His eyes weren't even open to acknowledge it… poor thing.
Riiiing! Riiiing! I'm gonna be—
"Hello? Future hokage speaking…" he mumbled, half asleep. On the other end of the line, nothing was heard save for a… sniffle? "… Hello?" He repeated.
"Naruto?" It was Sakura. She sounded as though she just caught the flu… "I… I can't do this."
"Do what? What are you talking about?"
"I dunno, just this! I can't do it, seriously! You're a guy so you can do it, I mean guys go the hot springs all the time right? And based off of Kakashi-sensei's wacky stories you guys do queer things to each other all the time, right?"
"… Did you just imply what I think you implied, Sakura?"
"I dunno, and I dun care," she replied. Her speech was slightly slurred in her desperation, but her tone suddenly took a clear, menacing edge, "Just get your ass over here, ASAFP!!" And the line went dead.
Gee. What was that all about, Naruto wonders…
~ Back at Sakura's place ~
"Oh God, Naruto, I'm so glad you're finally here!"
"Uh-huh. Now about those 'queer things' you mentioned earlier…"
"Forget about that, just get over here!" Sakura grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards the bathroom door. Naruto smirked.
"What, did you clog the toilet or something—oh." There, sitting beneath the sink was the infamous Uchiha Itachi, who turned and gazed at the blonde, his knees drawn up to his chest. His ponytail was undone, leaving stray strands of ebony hair draped all over his shoulders. He was still shirtless. "Um… so what is this all about again?" his eyes narrowed upon noticing that the weasel was half-naked whilst not missing a beat to shoot a healthy dose of loathing towards him.
"Well, you see…" Sakura began. She twiddled her fingers, suddenly finding the bathtub that was filled with warm water extremely interesting in anticipation of the reaction she'd receive. "I kinda sorta need you to… um… take off his pants?"
~ One moment please ~
"WHAT?!"
"Naruto, calm down—"
"This is those 'queer things' you were referring to?!—"
"NO—well, maybe—but that's not the point! Well, actually it is… look, just let me explain myself—"
"I'M NOT GAY—"
"I SAID CALM DOWN, DAMMIT!" she smoothed a lock of hair behind an ear and released a heavy sigh laced with an already-growing headache because for God's sake, this situation is just so… so… well there isn't a word that can accurately describe it at the moment. Sakura just can't emphasize that enough in her mind. She could only imagine the horrid fear one of her most closest friends must be feeling right now. Actually, she doesn't think fear is really the correct word; more like disgust, perhaps?
"Just listen, alright?" she began. "As you know, Itachi is currently a complete amnesiac. That said, that also implies that he wouldn't know about things like… like," the very thought of the word scraped against her throat, but she swallowed it down, "hygiene? Of course he wouldn't, haha… "
Silence, unless you counted the incredulous look that's now burning two perfectly symmetrical holes where Sakura's eyes are.
Feeling the sweat seeping out through her very pores, she barely manages to squeeze the next sentence out without grimacing. The words left her lips in a high-pitched almost-whimper-whisper, "And that's where you come in… maybe?"
Silence again, unless you counted the two perfectly symmetrical holes that are rapidly developing into two flaming pits of Hell…
She totally knew that Naruto wasn't going to relent anytime soon. But she wouldn't give up, she couldn't! Who else can she call on for things like this? Ino? Hell no! She'd most likely rape him the moment her eyes catch sight of him— any other hormonal female would (like the author… maybe…), for that matter, and the last thing she needs is one traumatized weasel on her hands. She mustn't give up, she mustn't!
"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but HIM? I got two words for you: FUCK NO!" With that, he spun on his heels and stomped out the bathroom door.
Shit! She can't let this pass, good God no, she couldn't— "Naruto, wait!" His head turned a fraction of an inch to look at her. You know what they all say: Drastic situations call for drastic measures.
She flung her arms around his shoulders, "I'll um… um," Naruto raised a bushy eyebrow in question. She nervously sucked in a deep breath and let it all out in one go, "I'll loveyouforeverandeverandtreatyoulikeaGODifyoujustdothisonetinythingformePLEASE?" Okay, so it wasn't as drastic as one would have thought. He stood there for a moment, cutting the verbal string into understandable words. Upon understanding what Sakura had just said to him, his imagination was kindled and soon images of her feeding him while saying, "Ahhhhh~" were burning from behind his sapphire eyes. Visions of her making him some home-made lunch (made of love~!), massaging his shoulders, and of her saying, "I love you, Naruto!" with that charming smile of hers swam in his make-believe sea of the future…
"Well," he said, rubbing his chin. Sakura was still hugging him while Itachi looked on in confusion. What on earth are they doing? She never hugged him like that… Naruto's features then became smug. "I guess it can't be that bad after all…" But he still hated Itachi as much as he hated vegetables. And that's saying a lot! However those fluffy visions of his dream Sakura made his way into his mind once more, effectively muting his loathing. After about two terribly nervous minutes of pondering, he finally gave her his answer, "Okay, but just this once… and ONLY because you're my friend. You better teach him better next time." Instantly, gratitude flooded Sakura's eyes, lighting them up like Christmas lights.
Drastic be damned!
"Phew," he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I'm glad that's finally over with." But contrary to what one might think, in reality it only took a grand total of thirty-four seconds to wrap a towel around Itachi's hips and allow Naruto to do the rest, including getting him to actually sit in the bathtub via pushing down on his shoulders. Despite how much Naruto disliked him, he had to smirk; the thought of the weasel not liking to get wet amused him greatly. "You can take it from here right?"
"Yeah, thanks Naruto. I owe you one!" Sakura smiled the smile of all her smiles.
He laughed, "I know you do. I'll remember this, Sakura-chan~!" And on that note he practically skipped out her apartment, apparently re-living the future with Sakura he painted for himself. His humming could be heard all the way from the bathroom for a couple seconds before it faded away completely.
Turning to face Itachi, Sakura moved her hands to her hips. "Alright 'Tachi. Pay close attention to what I'm about to do to you, 'cause I'm only doing this once…" ACK. She should've slapped herself for that. Oh how dirty it sounded… Sakura could hear her Inner persona snickering at the sentence. Her cheeks once again flushed into a bright red color, while she shook her head at Itachi's adorably confused face. "I mean, like, uh—y-you know what? Just forget what I said."
To start, Sakura took the showerhead and thoroughly rinsed Itachi's hair to prepare him for the shampoo. Squeezing a generous amount of it onto her palm, she began to massage his scalp… and since Sakura couldn't complete her task without looking at him, she couldn't help but notice how long Itachi's hair was. And to put it simply, it was a lot longer than what she had thought at first; it fell to his lower back in like a waterfall of glossy, jet-black ink.
A fountain of water gushed from the showerhead and fell onto Itachi's head, dragging the white shampoo bubbles down into the main body of water below him. Having finished washing his hair, Sakura continued by rubbing a bar of soap between her hands, the cotton-soft foam covering them like a glove. Next up: rubbing Itachi down with some soap… Yeah, easier said than done (or was it?). Sakura suddenly had the urge to call Naruto up again, but she knew just what kind of hell would ensue if he had heard her next request. Her hands trembled with anxiety as she took a deep breath: she knew what she was about to do next was down rightviolating and nosebleed inducing, but… what other choice did she have?
She slapped her hands on his shoulders, but nothing could've prepared her for the electrical signals her hands sent back to her brain.
'My God!' she marveled, 'He's… soft!" Sakura had expected his shoulders to be hard and rough but instead they were soft and slightly squishy; the exact opposite! She couldn't help but squeeze his shoulders a couple times (which made Itachi tense up with an inaudible mewl) before exploring his arms, which were just as soft—but firm—as his shoulders. This mesmerized her; male shinobi normally have a calloused texture to their skin due to training and innumerable battles, but Itachi's was baby-soft.
"Sakura…?"
Next up she started lathering his chest while looking at his face, and Sakura made yet another observation:
Not only was Itachi's skin soft and smooth, but it was also flawless as well. His face showed no traces of acne and his lips were a gentle pink.
'Damn it…' she mused inwardly.
"Sakura…"
Her eyes narrowed in amusement. 'He's girlier than me—'
"Sakura!" Itachi finally yelped and poked her hard in her cheeks to try and get her attention.
"H-huh? What's wrong?" she asked, still dazed from being abruptly pulled from her thoughts. Sakura gave a questioning glance and saw that his cheeks were rosily flushed. Was he… blushing?
"You're… touchy me strange…" his voice dropped to nothing towards the end of the sentence as he looked down in confusion and embarrassment. Sakura looked down to see what he meant only to find that she was, indeed, touching him strangely, and any further elaboration is not necessary.
In that exact moment, Sakura made a mental note to never, ever, let Inner Sakura take control of her like that again.
Finally, she finished giving Itachi a bath and luckily for her, she found another pair of pants and a large T-shirt for him to wear.
'Mental Note Number Two: Buy him some decent clothing so I won't have to resort to digging through my closet,' she reminded herself.
After an awkward session of drying him off, she excused herself to allow him to dress and strangely enough, though, he actually knew how to dress himself this time. Leaning against the cold wood of the door, she closed her eyes in exhaustion and listened to the soft pitter-patter of the rain that barely began. An infinite amount of teardrops could be seen playfully sliding down the glass of her window, eliciting a silver ethereal reflection all over her department. Sakura recalled that there was a large chance a thunderstorm would pass by according to the local weather forecast. Too tired to really care about it, however, she turned off the lamplight by her bed and waited for Itachi to come out. She glanced at the clock, which read 10:24 PM.
At last, he came out tugging his shirt down over his naval, his hair entangling as a result.
"Itachi," she mumbled. The rain was beginning to make her a little sleepy. "It's time to sleep."
"Eh? Ah… Mm." The bathroom incident was still floating around in his mind. Itachi made his way to the other side of the bed as Sakura slipped in comfortably, but then…
He tripped. Clumsily.
"Mmph!" His face landed flat into the bed sheet, sending a miniature shockwave that woke Sakura from her doze. She gave him "The Look" that said nothing but, 'What the hell!' Sighing, she helped him up as well as tucked him in ("I'm sorry!" he apologized.). They lay on opposite ends of the bed for quite some time, quietly waiting for sleep to claim them, but just as Sakura was about to fall asleep again, lightning boomed somewhere in the distance, scaring Itachi into jolting to wrap his arms around Sakura from behind in a crushing hug for comfort.
"GAH! Hey, do you mind?!" Sakura attempted to pry his hands free, but to no avail. If anything, it only made his hold even tighter. Itachi nuzzled into the crook of her neck. Sakura could smell the fresh scent of strawberry coming his hair and, after a while she gave up trying to wriggle herself loose; it was pointless trying to wrestle with one of the world's most powerful shinobi, after all. Soon she could feel his body heat warming her up from through the clothing.
"Sheesh," she whispered to herself more than to Itachi. Sakura added one last remark before she slipped into the dreamworld. "You're more trouble than what you're worth, you know that?" And with that, she fell asleep for the rest of the night.
While Itachi snuggled closer, Sakura didn't realize just how right she was at that time.
Chapter 3 End
Please read and review~! Thank you. :)