A/N: Hey guys! so i have updated again! i hope that this chapter is longer than last chapter, just like i promised! haha, ummm finals are over so this is week for me has been pretty chill...although i know that next week is getting get pretty busy with a bunch of tests, but no worries! even amongst all the chaos, i'll still try to find some time and write and continue through! i also want to thank all of you guys soooo much and for all of those who reviewed! your comments make my day so much brighter and make me want to write even more. i was actually really surprised by how many reviews i got for the last chapter and it made me so excited that i just wanted to post the next chapter up as soon as i could! hahaha so please read and enjoy!


Chapter 4


The first snow cascaded down in gentle sheets of white wonder as Sakura's world was soon encompassed in a light sheen on frost. The days were extremely cold, and the nights were even colder. It was one of these days that she awoke to on a Sunday morning that made her curl up even deeper into her bed sheets and wish that someone was next to her to provide some warmth.

But there wasn't.

Groaning softly at the realization of her situation, the pink-haired doctor stuck half of her face out of the confines of her blankets, wincing as the coldness hit her exposed skin.

Don't get her wrong or anything. She absolutely loved the snow and everything about the winter. All except for the penetrating ice cold weather that always hit her part of the city particularly hard. And she knew she had to go get groceries today since she hasn't had a decent meal in quite a while with all the extra shifts in the hospital taking up her meal times.

00

"I need milk." Sakura mumbled as she awkwardly shouldered her bag while carrying her basket full of items.

"And jasmine tea…or should I try something new? Lemon tea?...maybe lavender…" Rummaging through the selection of teas, Sakura started slightly when she heard her name being called. Turning her head, Sakura smiled widely with a small expression of surprise.

"Sensei! Long time no see!" Giving a shoulder hug, Sakura pulled back and laughed.

"I know I know! I heard around town that you're now a doctor at the Konoha Hospital! Congratulations! It must have been my amazing teaching skills." Her sensei exclaimed with a hint of sarcasm while laughing.

"Haha, of course sensei. Of course."

Then hearing a small jingle of laughter, Sakura turned her head to finally notice the woman that stood beside her teacher.

Oh kami was she beautiful.

Long black hair, friendly deep onyx eyes, and a tall slender figure stood slightly behind her teacher.

"Oh! Sakura, you did that extra credit assignment didn't you?"

Finally pulling her eyes away from the woman, Sakura looked up.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I did actually."

"That's great actually! Because this is the mother of the man you wrote to. Sakura, this is Mikoto Uchiha. Mikoto, this is my student Sakura. You know the extra credit assignment I was telling you about? She's one of the students that wrote to him!"

Mikoto's eyes shined brightly as she smiled widely.

"Oh my! So you are the great Sakura! I've heard so much about you! Itachi-chan actually wrote home exclaiming about how heartful it was that you still keep in contact with him even though it was originally just for an extra credit assignment!"

Laughing, Sakura was startled when Mikoto suddenly pulled her into a tight motherly hug that almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Your son is a very nice and intelligent man, I couldn't possibly have stopped on just the first letter!" Laughing lightly, Sakura scratched the back of her head. Itachi told his mom about her? Dampening down the bubble of hope that was starting to form in her mind, Sakura smiled.

"Oh! How kind of you to say. He mentioned to me how you were very kind with your words."

"Actually, Itachi may be back for the holidays in a month and I'm sure he'd be delighted to see you!"

"…Itachi's going to be here? In this city?" Laughing at Sakura's confused expression, Mikoto patted her shoulder.

"Haha, yes of course. He told me he may or may not. It depends on the active duty roster."

"Oh wow…that's great…."

Excusing herself after a few more minutes of conversation, Sakura rushed back home with her groceries, forgetting all about her tea.


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11/7/10

Dear Itachi-san,

Sorry for my late response to your last letter, the hospital has seemingly gotten much busier since the last time I wrote to you. Oh! And I met your mother today at the market! My teacher was out shopping with her and I got the great chance to meet her. She's such a lively and kind person that it startled me at first haha. But she told me that you might be coming back for the holidays! Is it true? But for now everything in my life seems to have just been put on fast forward with no stop button. Even though I've only been in my new career for a couple of months, it feels tiring. Sometimes when I really think about my work, I get scared. I'm frightened with knowing that there really is no pause button in my hospital shifts. I can't exactly tell death to 'come back in another week or so'. And on top of that, my best friend is getting married! My joy for her is radiating off of my pen as I write because of her new found happiness in life. We used to grow up as rivals actually because of this stupid thing. But when we grew up…I guess nothing else mattered anymore except that we were happy.

Ino (my best friend) really deserves being so happy with her soon-to-be husband. His name is Shikamaru and he is such a lazy ass. But in a good way. He definitely isn't one of those guys that wear their hearts on their sleeves, but his intentions are good. When she was pining after another guy, it was always Shikamaru that would be there to comfort her whenever she broke up with a guy. And then one day, I guess everything just clicked. Haha, even though I know that Shikamaru would never hurt her intentionally, I remember pulling him away for a moment and threatening to do horrible things to him if he ever did. But I know I'll never have to. Oh! And, they're about to have a baby! I just found out yesterday; she's four weeks along already! She promised me that I would be the one to do her first ultrasound.

As for my childhood…I'm not really sure it's anything that exciting. I've been raised in Konoha my entire life. My family for most of my life mainly consisted of just my dad and me. Mom passed away when I was four. But even though she died when I was so young, I still remember practically every day spent with her. She, my dad, and I would used to hold picnics during cherry blossom season every single day. I still do that know even though my dad's gone-he passed away a couple of years ago due to kidney cancer, but it gives me solace to know that my mom and dad are together again in heaven and watching over me. I lived with my best guy friend Naruto until I was 18 and then moved out. His parents left him in front of the hospital doorsteps when he was a baby so he's also been on his own too, much more so than myself. But I think we all turned out quite all right! Haha, sort of.

As the years pass, I do have to admit that sometimes it gets really lonely. But it's especially tough in the winter time when it's cold and empty in my apartment. Naruto's currently apprenticing under Jiraiya-san to become a weapon maker so I don't get the opportunity to see him that often. The winter time is always a tough time to go through because there's no one really here to talk to. But i'm starting to make a few friends in the hospital (I sound like I'm in kindergarten trying to find friends in school haha). Sometimes I wish I could just be like a bear and hibernate through the winter and wake up in the beautiful spring air. But winter time is nice-the scenery is absolutely stunning with the pure white snow everywhere and all of the holiday lights are up.

What about your winter? How is everything there in Amekagure? I know it won't be as comfortable as it is at home, but is it at least bearable? How's your health right now? Remember to always wear a lot during the winter and wear socks to bed to keep your feet warm! The worst thing would be to catch a cold especially in the winter and especially while your training! I hope that you and your friends there can celebrate the holidays and that all is well over there. Tell me everything about your winters. Everyone's experience with this season is different and it's always so interesting to see how they spend it. I'm not sure when I'm going to get your next letter and when I'm going to send my next one, but if I don't catch your letter before Christmas, then I hope you a very wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. (hopefully you'll be back for the holidays though!) My present to you- a kiss on the cheek from under a mistletoe haha. It's very lame, I know, but I hope it's the thought that counts!

Always,

Haruno Sakura

00

The long letter was carefully folded and sealed into her usual white envelope with a tiny cherry sticker on the flap.

Though it took some time to comprehend, but Sakura finally realized how much comfort she took in writing out to Itachi. In her current world with everyone gone, it felt like he was the only one that she could go to…or wanted to go to. Just his seeing his letters filled with words, any words at all, was a relief to her. And just in the past few months, she was already wanting to write him a letter everyday to tell him what interesting things happened down at the hospital. But quickly shaking off the odd thought, Sakura quickly took a shower before getting into the shelter of warm covers in her bed.


00

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"Doctor Haruno, you have a call for you on line one"

"Thank you Ami, I'll take it from here." Picking up the receiver , the busy doctor fiddled with her notepad.

"Sakura Haruno here."

"Hey Sak! It's me Naruto!"

Nearly choking on her own spit, Sakura stood up straighter, clutching the phone to her ear closer.

"…Naruto! Oh my kami, haha. What…where are you!" Smiling, Sakura looked around to make sure nobody was looking at her currently goofy manners.

"I got in town just now. Jiraiya let me have a vacation for a week before getting back to training! Where are you?"

"I'm in the hospital right now actually."

"WHAT! OHMYGOD, are you ok! Fuck! I need to…."

Sakura laughed heartily at her friend's incessant cursing as she let him panic for a minute before cutting him off.

"I'm a doctor here you idiot!" Laughing, she thanked Naruto as he congratulated her at least five times in a row.

Hearing her beeper go off, they made quick plans to meet for dinner before hanging up and returning to work.

This day was turning out to be brighter already.


00

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"Damn Itachi, why do you even need this much paper to write?"

"…I assume that it is in your knowledge that in order to send a letter, one must first have paper to write on."

"Oh don't get sassy with me! I'm the one buying you the stamps!"

"And for that I am eternally grateful for."

"Ugh, don't give me any of your fancy schmancy crap. Who are you writing to anyways? A woman?"

"…"

"…perhaps."

"HAH. You! The great and almighty Uchiha Itachi. Writing to a girl? You never keep fan girl letters, what makes this girl any different?"

"….she is not a fan girl."

"Well she better be worth it for all of the stationery you've been stealing from the general's office."

Sighing, Itachi stealthily slipped out of the general's office with a small stack of paper and envelopes, looking up at his friend.

"She most certainly is Shisui….she certainly is…" Trailing off, the weasel carefully tucked his stolen materials under his coat before walking back to the quarters in the cold snow with Shisui silently chuckling beside him.

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"Hey, Uchiha! You've got mail"

Pausing in their footsteps, the cousins looked up at the man approaching them.

"Which one Genma?" Shisui asked.

"Pahaha, like you'd get any mail with that face of yours" Ducking said-man's half-hearted punch, Genma laughed as he handed Itachi a small white envelope. Giving him a pat on the back, Genma winked at him.

"Looks like you've been sending some love letters or something?"

"….Thank you Genma." Itachi said courteously before walking away, noting the two men's snickering as he went to the confines of his bunk.

Turning the letter over, Itachi let a small smile grace his lips as he caught sight of the small red cherry sticker posted at the top right hand corner. Just like always.

It seemed like through all the painful training and tiring drills, Sakura's letters were the only things keeping his life sane at the moment. The winters were cold and they were even colder in Amegakure. The generals were all very strict in this section and drilled them even through snowstorms. He already knew his shoulder was in bad shape ever since he caught it on the climbing poles one day, but there was no reason to tell his pen pal of this little situation for it would only raise her stress levels.

It was just the thought of her that kept his stay here better. It was currently the first day of December. Thinking more optimistically, it was less than a year before Itachi could return back to Konoha. He would count the days until he was able to meet his friend.


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12/1/10

Dear Sakura-san,

I am glad to hear that your friend is a bride-to-be. Please send her my note of congratulations. The winters in Amegakure are even colder than Konoha if you can imagine that. The generals seem to love this weather because I find myself training even more during this season. I'm waiting for the day of spring when I am able to lay my eyes on the first blooming of a cherry blossom. But before I continue, I have recently come to the realization that I do not have the knowledge of your appearance even though I have been writing to you. It would give me great pleasure to be able to picture you in my memory for when we meet.

It is true that winter can indeed become a most lonesome season, but the weather is still appreciable. My winters as a child were not the most exciting but I remember it as a time of happiness. My family, the Uchiha's, is a very large clan and we are all housed in the same compound so our community of family is closely knit. My mother has always been fragile to the cold and because of that, my father had always restricted our holiday festivities to the confines of the inside warmth. My little brother and I would always build a snowman outside of our compound even though I insist that we are growing much too old for these activities.

The days are shorter and nights colder during the winter, but the view in this city is most beautiful. The snow has draped over the city like a pure white blanket of amazement. I feel that you are more fortunate to wake up to quietness. In my current quarters, many of the men here do not exactly have the most pristine of sleeping manners, but I understand your views. Sometimes it is just a loved one's presence in the house that fulfills your needs. My heart goes out to you in your times of loss and I do wish you can find peace and happiness in the company of your loved ones. It seems that there is a possibility that I will be released for the holidays to travel back to Konoha. If I am given the chance, I most certainly would like to have dinner with you one night. The winters are always cold and lonely, but your letters help make my stay here in Amegakure more bearable.

Sincerely,

Uchiha Itachi


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Saturday mornings were always the best. A nice hot cup of coffee and a slice of toast with the newspapers under the warm covers of her bed was the best. Currently stretched out like a lithe cat, Sakura lifted up the first pages of her newspaper to-

Cursing as the phone rang, Sakura sighed and set down her paper angrily. Deep breath.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Sakura?"

"…Yes, who is this?"

A quiet laugh sounded from the receiver end and Sakura's heart stopped.

"Oh! Mikoto-san! Hi, oh wow…" Coffee and paper totally forgotten, Sakura sat up in bed, running a hand absently through her pink tresses.

"Yes, I received a letter from Itachi-chan saying that he'll be able to visit us for the holidays and I was just wondering if you'd like to join us for a Christmas dinner."

"Oh! That's such a gracious offer Mikoto-san, but I wouldn't want to barge in on a family dinner."

Psh. Yea you do.

" No worries Sakura! It would be our pleasure to have you join us for dinner. I'm sure Itachi will be ecstatic once he hears of this!"

"Well…if it's really no trouble, then it'd be my pleasure to join you…when will dinner be?"

"Itachi gets back this Thursday and I was thinking of dinner on Saturday at six, how does that sound?"

"That's perfect, thank you so much Mikoto-san"

"Oh, thank you Sakura-chan. It's been so long since Itachi's been able to make a friend…a girl in that case." Hearing her laugh, they quickly said their goodbyes before hanging up.

For a few minutes, Sakura stared limply at the wall.

I'm going to see Itachi in a week.

Oh my kami.

Finally realizing this, Sakura suddenly let out a loud high pitched squeal before throwing the blankets over her head and thrashing about wildly in excitement. This weekend was the best weekend ever.


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"So you've been writing to this random guy…fine, you're teacher's friend's son", Naruto exclaimed in an exasperate voice when Sakura shot him a glare, "…that was originally just for extra credit?" Naruto nodded his head sarcastically, taking a gulp of his drink.

"Naruto! He's not random. I don't know…he's just so different. He's so polite and kind, and there's so much more to him than just what's on the outside…unlike some people I know."

"Hey!"

"Hay is for horses Naruto." Sakura chimed in idly, taking a sip of her cosmo.

"And you're joining them for Christmas dinner...that's quite a far jump. Meeting the parents before meeting the guy…new strategy." Cracking up, the blonde quickly fell into silence with a smack on his head.

"For your information, Itachi's going to be there also! He gets back Thursday."

"…Itachi?...as in Uchiha?"

"…Yea…how'd you know?"

"Don't you remember Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha? He's our age…we went to the same academy."

A sinking feeling deposited itself inside of Sakura's stomach as she began to put two and two together.

"Oh kami…why didn't you ever tell me that Sasuke had an older brother!"

"Everyone knows about Itachi"

"Well obviously I didn't!" Sakura hissed, inching her face closer to her friend. Heart pounding, Sakura groaned, rubbing her temples in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain already forming.

"Kami, this is going to be awkward. I-I haven't even spoken to Sasuke in years ever since highschool…oh my …"

Sasuke Uchiha.

The man that ruined her friendship with Ino. The man that she pined after her entire high school career. The man that rejected her confession. But now that she was older and had time to look back, it seemed reasonable. She had to admit, she was freaking annoying in high school- a boy obsessed nerd that bordered on the point of stalking sometimes too. But that was long gone and over and her habits were different now. Just don't make it awkward during dinner. That's all.

Hah. Yea right.

Moping even further, Sakura mumbled a quick goodbye and a promise to meet up later with Naruto before hastily leaving the small café.


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"Black. Green….Black…Green…..Black."

Tossing the emerald green dress onto her bed, Sakura began to slip into the chosen black dress before throwing on her cardigan and shoes. She was so nervous that she'd finally be able to meet Itachi that it was mind numbing.

What does he even look like?

Since he's Sasuke's brother…he must have some sort of resemblance to him, right? Maybe really tall and lean…or shorter and stalky. Is his hairstyle the same as Sasuke's?...hopefully different.

Snickering quietly to herself, Sakura glanced at herself once more in the mirror before going down her hallway.

She's finally going to see him. How would she greet him? Maybe with a hug? Or a kiss on the cheek?

It didn't really matter because all Sakura could think of was how she was saved. He had finally come to pull her out of the confined bubble in her life that was slowly suffocating her. The bland and boring life that she's been living in for the past year will finally be lifted off when she sees him. He's her savior; the key to out of this life.

Just a few more minutes-

Interrupting her thoughts, her phone gave out a quiet ring. Hopping over a stack of magazines, Sakura excitedly answered the phone.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura speaking!"

"Sakura-chan dear? Hi, it's Mikoto!"

"Oh, Mikoto-san! Hello there, I was just almost on my way over."

"Actually Sakura, I'm so sorry to tell you that I'm afraid that Itachi won't be able to make it back for Christmas holiday. He called me just now saying that his general has decided to extend his quarter's training period and they have been deployed to another city for this training."

It was then that her world seemed to crash back down.

"Oh.."

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Limply hanging up the receiver, Sakura slowly, dazedly, slid to the floor in a heap.

In the cold winter of her house, Sakura curled up on the carpet and cried until all she could hear was the pounding of her desperate heart and the sound of bitter Christmas carols.


Sooo that was it! i really hoped you guys liked it and i hope the story line went...somewhere at least! haha, please comment if you have the time! thank you everyone for all of your support!

-chicken