Title: silk kimono
Author: pawsbells
Characters/Pairing: Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi
Type: Continuous (InComplete)
Genre: General/Romance
Word Count: 7463
Theme: LJ Community, 50shinobi theme #39, silk kimono
Rating: M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.
Summary: AU. She was one of the youngest Neurosurgeons in Tokyo, sweet, innocent and extremely good in what she does. He was the youngest ever to assume the role of Superintendent-General, a coldly emotionless genius who was taught from birth to take anything he wanted—one of the most influential men in Japan. They were never supposed to meet; their worlds so vastly different that it was a literal head on collision when their paths crossed and that left them both shaken and wanting for more. She had always been oblivious and wary of the opposite sex, he simply would not take 'no' for an answer. This Christmas holidays was going to be something neither would forget.
A/N: This is probably the longest one-shot in the history of one-shots. It had simply gotten out of hand and had taken me an entire week to complete it. I was like a speed demon typing away on the laptop, trust me. My classmates thought that I was insane. I think I am, in a way. Again, enjoy if you can, folks.
Chapter Last Revised on: 16/12/07
Chapter 4
Morning came all too soon and saw Sakura deeply entwined with her lover amongst tangled silk sheets and smooth expanse of naked skin.
It was barely eight a.m. but the raven-haired male had finally allowed them to rest only two hours ago, when the sun was beginning to rise. He had been voracious in his appetite for the petite pink-haired female and it was only when her fatigue became evident in the way the intervals between her orgasms were becoming longer and longer that he decided to let her rest and recover from their exhausting bed activities. And even then he had insisted on staying within her, keeping her firmly joined to him and curled against his taut, lanky form as his warmth lulled her to a light doze.
For Sakura, most of the acts that she had willingly performed with him felt almost surreal. He had taken her in every sort of position imaginable and some were so very exotic that Sakura had not known that it was possible to make love thusly until he proved her wrong. And gods, the amount of pleasure he gave her was nothing short of amazing. His skilled mouth, clever hands and enduring stamina brought her to completion so many times that she had clearly lost count and each aftermath were just as special to her. He was always there to catch her every time she recovered from an earth shattering orgasm and his touch was so unbearably tender that she had felt so very cherished—and very much like a well-loved woman.
Never in her wildest fantasies would she have imagined a night like the one she had just spent with her mystery man. This Christmas was definitely something she was never going to forget and a most secret part of Sakura's heart hoped that he would find her as special as she evidently found him.
The pretty petal-haired doctor was quick to bury her foolish thoughts, of course. This was just a one-night stand. Even though he had never spoken anything about it she had been astute enough to understand that the way he had behaved had all but implied that their relationship was only short termed, namely a night. Last night. Expecting too much was going to hurt her and she knew it, not to mention that Sakura didn't think that she would have the gumption to shamelessly cling on to someone who was expecting nothing else from her other than one night of pleasure.
And alas, all good things must come to an end and it was well past time for her to go.
Sakura really did not like the way her heart was squeezing most painfully in her chest. She closed her eyes and curled into the overwhelming source of heat beside her, turning her face into the crook of his shoulder and inhaling his clean, rainwater scent for the briefest of moments.
Maybe she was still inexperienced in the protocols of casual relationships, but the delicate little female felt tears gathering in the backs of her eyes, beginning to clog up her nose and affect her soft breathing. By sheer force of will, she kept her upset at bay.
The repercussions of last night had finally caught up to her tender sensibilities this morning.
And it was not regret that she was feeling. Regret was the least of her problems and she almost hoped that she had regretted last night instead but no, her time spent with him was something that she knew she would never bring herself to resent. The pain in her heart was due to something else entirely, and it scared Sakura completely.
How on earth was it possible to fall in love with somebody whose name she didn't even know?
When she walked out of this hotel suite Sakura knew that she would probably never see him again, and even though she could go down to the reception area to enquire about the identity of the VIP staying at the presidential suite she knew that she would not do it. Putting a name on her unknown lover would make the heartache all the more real to her, and Sakura did not want that.
She had her one night.
It was enough for her. It had to be.
Swallowing her misery and inwardly telling herself to suck it up, Sakura took a deep shaky breath before opening her eyes. Beside her, her raven-haired lover was sleeping deeply and the fact that he looked so remotely beautiful even in peaceful repose made tears fill her eyes again.
She really should leave now. It was no use lingering and the faster she left the faster she could crawl home and have a good cry and put everything behind her as quickly as she could. Sakura really could not understand how on earth some people could embark on one night, 'no string attached' type of relationships as often as they did. She was hurting so terribly right now and there was no one to blame but her own curiosity.
Sakura knew one thing for sure; she was never going to do this again. She had learnt her lesson well.
Steeling her resolve, the petite female started to navigate her way out of the huge bed. It took her a good five minutes before she could accomplish the normally easy maneuver; most of her long hair had been entangled around him and it hadn't been easy gathering back all of her pink strands. Her one time lover was also an extremely light sleeper; three times he had stirred as she slowly made her way to the edge of the bed before falling back into deeper slumber again, much to her extreme relief. She must have exhausted him as much as she did him, if not she probably would not have been able to slip by him unnoticed as easily as she had.
Somehow, it was most important to her that he would not wake up to see her leave.
Sakura had always hated goodbyes, and the fact that she had no idea what to expect from him prompted her to be as silent as possible as she went about gathering her enormous amount of clothing—and his as well, though she had carefully set his tuxedo neatly folded on the large dresser. Sakura realized that she had quite a bit of pride in her when it came to him; she didn't think that she would be able to stand it if the man he was last night was different from the man he might be this morning now that he had gotten what he wanted from her.
She didn't think she would be able to stand it if he was coolly indifferent and could not wait to see her out of the door and out of his life.
The rare sense of fierce pride that she was experiencing right now would simply not allow it—and it would break her heart.
Ino was right; she was such a tender-hearted little fool, and though the blonde had meant it as the highest form of compliment Sakura clearly did not feel the same way.
Still, the pink-haired female could not help but take one last look at his face; slim, slender fingers gently pushing the hair from his closed eyelids as she committed this moment to memory.
Goodbye.
Silently, she turned away from the bed, from the sight of him. Emerald eyes darkened as she methodically and noiselessly slipped on her undergarments as well as the hakama and two layers of uchigi. The rest of her clothing she draped across her arm and without looking back, she slipped out of his room and suite.
Sakura took the elevator down and swiftly exited the hotel with no trouble whatsoever. It was still too early for most of the participants of last night's party to be up and about, and the discreet bellboy easily hailed a taxi for her within minutes of her request.
It took only half an hour to reach her residence and Sakura felt both mentally and physically drained by the time she climbed up the steps and stopped at the entrance to her apartment. The keys in her hands jingled merrily but before she could push the correct key into the lock the door flew open in a most familiar manner.
"Gods, Sakura!! Where were you?!"
Ino's voice was sharp with worry but the concern that Sakura detected almost immediately made the pink-haired female cringe. She had been so selfish and irresponsible.
"I'm sorry." Her own whisper was so low and dejected that the blonde paused and eyed her best friend closely. What she saw stunned her.
Sakura's Juni-Hito was rumpled and looked as if it had been thrown on in a hurry, her well-groomed mane of silky pink hair was carelessly tousled and looked slept in and the most telling piece of evidence of them all was her reddened, obviously kiss-swollen lips and the many faint marks on her neck that would soon bruise and darken to what most would easily identify as love bites. Her best friend was also literally drooping with exhaustion, and coupled with that heavy-lidded, slightly bewildered look in her eyes…
Sapphire blue eyes widened with shock.
Ino pointed at Sakura almost disbelievingly. Of all the people in the world, innocent, men-shy, virginal Sakura would probably be the last person on earth in her estimate to participate in a one-night-stand.
"You finally went and got laid, didn't you?"
Sakura's eyes darkened, and Ino knew immediately that something was wrong. Her fiercely protective instincts flared to life.
"What happened?" Ino's voice was noticeably softer as she reached out and guided her friend into her own apartment. Shikamaru was dozing on the sofa, and he awoke abruptly with a startled grunt when his girlfriend gave him a sharp kick.
"Wha-" Sleepy, chocolate eyes focused slowly upon the scene before him. "Sakura, you are back. We have been waiting the whole night for you. Just where were you?"
Before Sakura could answer, Ino spoke.
"Shika," The tone in her voice brooked for no arguments. "Go sleep in the guestroom or something. I want to talk to Sakura first."
Almost immediately, Shikamaru was aware of two things. One; something had happened to their pink-haired friend and it was probably a rather sensitive matter that he had no business asking until it was willingly divulged to him. Two; Ino, who had insisted on him staying up the entire night to accompany her to await for Sakura's return, was finally allowing him to have his first decent rest in three days, thanks to the case that he had been put on as well as the utter waste of time that was also known as The Christmas Party.
It didn't take Shikamaru long to decide what to do. With a single nod at the girls that somehow managed to convey to Sakura his quiet support for her, the lazy Nara unfolded himself sluggishly from the couch and shuffled into the confines of the nearest room, closing the door silently behind him to give the women privacy.
Ino turned on her friend the moment the door clicked shut. Deciding to busy herself so as to prevent from shooting out too many questions at once, the blonde started to help Sakura out of her many layers of uchigi. She has got to be feeling uncomfortable in all that heavy silk and Sakura helped as best as she could when she realized Ino's intent. Once the traditional attire had been completely removed, effectively leaving the petite doctor clad in her underwear, Ino gaped.
The love marks on Sakura didn't just stop at her slender neck; they were all over her body as well.
Stunned blue met painfully embarrassed emerald.
"…alright." Ino's voice was soft but demanding. "Tell me what happened. Were you…willing?"
Sakura's eyes widened. Did Ino think that she had been forced?
"Yes! I was a fully consenting party!" For some reason, she simply would not allow her best friend to think badly of her raven-haired lover. "I wasn't raped, or anything…"
The look of relief on Ino's face was painfully blatant. The blonde really didn't know what she would do if something bad had happened to her best friend. Ino had really meant to return to Sakura as quickly as possible but Shikamaru hadn't been easy to find. By the time she caught hold of her lazy boyfriend and made it back to where she last left Sakura to her own devices the genius Neurologist was no longer there. Ino had thought at first that Sakura had taken advantage of her absence and hightailed it back home but when Shika and herself went over to Sakura's apartment just after midnight only to realize that their friend hadn't even been in, they had began to worry.
Where on earth could Sakura have been?
"Who was he?" Ino asked.
Sakura bit her lips as she started to make her way into her room to get some clothes to put on. Ino trailed behind her. This was going to sound really bad.
"I met him at the party."
Ino waited for a good half a minute before she realized that Sakura was done describing this mystery fellow.
"And? His name? If he's at the party Shika might know him."
Sakura started to turn a dull red. She ducked into her bedroom and made a straight beeline to her closet. Unfortunately her insistent blonde friend followed her in. Sakura pretended to busy herself as she looked for her clothing and when she knew she had dallied too long the pink-haired female resigned herself to her fate. Pulling on a comfortable shirt and a short pair of shorts on, she finally decided to answer her impatient friend.
"I don't know his name." Her admission was so unbelievable to Ino that she stared at her best friend for the longest of time.
"You don't know his name?!"
Ino's incredulity was so great that Sakura winced. Ino could only gape. This was Sakura; sensible, highly intelligent Sakura who wasn't acting at all sensible—or intelligent at the moment, so as to speak.
"You don't know his name?!"
Sakura nodded slightly as she went to sit on the edge of her bed. Ino followed suit, blue eyes burning with a mixture of disbelief and shock.
"He never told me." Sakura's voice was small.
"And it never occurred to you to ask?" Ino was getting highly upset on behalf of her best friend. Sakura had just been taken advantaged of! The blonde was very convinced that Sakura, who could never say no to anyone even when she very well should, had probably been coerced into something she never truly wanted in the first place. She was going to make that bastard pay for he did, and wait till she told the rest of the gang! They were going to be howling for blood!
Angry, protective sapphire eyes must have conveyed to Sakura Ino's exact thoughts. The smaller female shook her head quickly at Ino.
"I…I didn't want to know."
Ino really did not understand what Sakura was thinking. She was so very smart, so much smarter than herself but then once in awhile she would go and do something so stupid like now.
"For gods' sake, why?!"
Tears started to fill large, emerald eyes.
"If this was supposed to be only a one night stand, I don't want to know his name."
Something was really wrong with the way Sakura sounded. Ino frowned.
"Did he hurt you or anything?"
Sakura immediately shook her head. "…no. He was very gentle…" Emerald eyes darkened with sadness, and it finally occurred to Ino what was going on. The blonde started to curse. This was really unbelievable—
And so very like Sakura.
"You-"
The waterworks really started then. Sakura burst into tears.
"Ino, I think I love him."
His pink-haired enchantress had cleaned up after herself so well that he would have thought her an extremely vivid dream last night if not for fact that she had left her calling card in the form of a set of deep crescent nail marks embedded firmly on the back of his shoulders.
All her clothing that had been previously strewn all over the floor were gone, and what irritated him more was the fact that she had even been considerate enough to pick and fold his for him as well.
But her consideration certainly had not extended to waking him up and properly announcing her departure.
No, she had crept off silently like a wraith, leaving behind no traces of her existence as well as no form of contact. And Itachi knew because he had actually taken the trouble to look.
This was not something that he had expected. He seldom went out of his way to chase after women; more often than not it was the other way around and on the rare occasions that he chose to indulge in physical affairs, the enthralled females simply do not leave his side until he was done with them and even then he might encounter some trouble ending the liaison.
Of course, it made sense that the one woman he wouldn't mind having remained by his side would run off the very moment his guard was down and the sun was up.
Waking up all alone on the huge bed with no addictive little female in sight or anywhere in the vicinity was certainly not part of his plan. It had been his complete intention to continue where he had left off with her today morning; a long languid lovemaking session in bed for a start, then maybe a quick and furious romp in the shower followed by breakfast and then he would coax her back to bed for another round of intense, carnal activities that she would not be forgetting anytime soon. Itachi was not ashamed to admit that he couldn't seem to get enough of her no matter how much he tried; in fact the more times he took her the more he craved her sweet, eager response and husky, passionate cries. She was such a beguiling mix of long graceful limbs and small curvy physique and he was simply mesmerized by her personality. Shy yet innocently sensual, seemingly passive but yet unafraid to be demanding when she had to, and so very, very irresistible to him.
He still wanted her, and with a fierce intensity that he had never encountered before despite their many repeated unions last night.
But obviously she had not felt the same way, judging by her glaring absence.
And he did not even have a name.
Thin lips flattened into a grim line.
The handsome raven-haired male had no idea what annoyed him more; the fact that she had actually managed to sneak off without even waking someone who slept as lightly as he normally did or the fact that she had just went on her merry way with no thought whatsoever about him.
Noiselessly, the powerful Uchiha unfolded his lean, gloriously naked form from the bed. Sinuous muscles shifted under taut skin as he strode unashamedly towards the dresser to retrieve his cell phone. Itachi started to make some calls.
Onyx eyes narrowed.
By hook or by crook, he was definitely going to find her again.
And this time, he was going to keep her tied to his bed until she understood that she was not going to escape him that easily.
By the time Ino got the entire story from Sakura the blonde was not sure whether to reprimand her best friend for giving up her heart—and virginity to a complete stranger or to squeal with amazement when she extracted all the juicy little details from the blushing pink-haired female. From what she heard this mysteriously handsome raven-haired male had been the perfect lover; exciting, passionate, tender and very, very eager for her best friend.
"You shouldn't have left." Ino commented at last when Sakura finished relating last night's adventure. "It doesn't sound like he couldn't wait to get rid of you if he's still so affectionate during the aftermath."
Sakura merely ducked her head down. The two girls were reclining side by side on her bed, both staring at the ceiling as they talked and listened to each other. Sakura had calmed down a lot after her initial flood of tears and was slowly starting to feel better now that she had her best friend by her side to share her woes with.
"...I didn't want to get my hopes up. Oh Ino," Sakura sighed. "I felt so special whenever he looked at me with those dark eyes of his. But what if he didn't mean it? What if he behaves the exact same way with other women as well? I'd rather leave first. Isn't that the way these things work? Start at dusk and end at dawn?"
The young Neurologist sounded so utterly miserable that Ino felt a little sorry for her. Sakura was simply too tender-hearted to ever embark on casual relationships like the one she just had and hope to escape unscathed. The blonde patted Sakura's arm comfortingly.
"Do you regret it?"
To Ino's surprise, Sakura's answer was immediate.
"No." The pink-haired female turned to look at her friend. Biting her lips softly, she shook her head once. "I don't regret at all. He showed me a lot of things, Ino, and he made me feel so loved that even if it was only for one night and he probably didn't mean it, I really have no regrets. It could have been a lot worse."
Trust Sakura to think of the bright side of things even now. It could be a lot worse, indeed. Ino rolled her eyes exasperatedly.
"It could have been a lot better as well, you know that right?" The blonde remarked dryly. "You wouldn't be crying here now if it wasn't."
A soft, wry smile appeared on pink, rosebud lips. "This is entirely my own fault." Sakura admitted freely. "I was inexperienced and I think I expected too much."
Ino arched a golden brow.
"So you want to gain more experience now?"
Sakura was quick to shake her head immediately. "No way. I'm not…I'm never going to do this again. It hurts…"
The darkened emerald in her eyes made Ino's heart twinge in pity.
"You can always try to find him again, you know."
Sakura shook her head.
"No." Her voice wavered a little, then steadied. "It's over. I'm going to try my best to put this behind me and get on with my life. I'm not going to pine. I'm not."
Blue eyes warmed at the soft determination in her voice. If this was the way Sakura wanted then Ino was going to support her friend's decision.
"Alright." Ino attempted to lighten to situation. "It's going to be impossible to look for your mystery lover anyway. Almost all the men in Japan have black hair and dark eyes; you could probably walk past him on a busy street and not even see him."
That was not true. He had such a distinct aura; that sheer confidence and impassive arrogance that were always gathered around him would ensure that she recognize him on sight. Still, Sakura smiled softly but didn't refute her friend's comment.
"Thank you, Ino."
Her gratitude was utterly sincere and sapphire eyes softened.
"Anytime, forehead." A pause. "Rest awhile now. We will go out later for some good old retail therapy, then food therapy, then to a spa to pamper ourselves the way we deserve. My treat. I did promise a girls' outing, after all."
"But what about Shikamaru?" The pink-haired beauty enquired immediately. It was Christmas after all and she had no wish to come in between her two friends. In response Ino rolled her eyes.
"Don't remind me." The blonde muttered with the slightest tint of pink on her own face. Last night had been the only time that the Nara could spare to spend with her but he had more than made up for it. "There are some new leads on the investigation that he's leading so he's heading back to the precinct later. It's just you and me today, so don't you try to sneak off to work! I will tell your Dean!"
Ino wagged her finger at her friend even as Sakura shook her head obediently.
"I won't; I think I will need today's break more than I know."
Ino tightened her other hand over Sakura's shoulder.
"Forget him, Sakura. He doesn't deserve you if he hasn't realized yet how special you are. Always remember that you deserve someone who would treat you like a queen and nothing less."
Those words were so very Ino-esque that Sakura could not help but nod in agreement, unsuccessfully stifling a tired yawn as she did so. Ino got up from the bed and covered her drowsy friend with a comforter.
"Go to sleep now."
Sakura obeyed almost immediately, just too exhausted to do otherwise and wanting to sink desperately into the dark emptiness of sleep to escape the ache in her heart. It didn't work completely though.
Despite her best efforts her dreams were still plagued by visions of dark, glittering onyx and long, silky raven hair.
By the time evening rolled by, Itachi was still nowhere near to locating his pink-haired hime.
There wasn't even a name matched to his petite lover yet and he was getting highly impatient with the general ineptitude of his people. Standing at the highest floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police HQ, the twenty-seven year old genius stared blindly out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that encompassed an entire wall of his office. The night view of Tokyo was more magnificent than ever tonight, the landscape filled with glittering Christmas lights and covered with a soft layer of snow. Itachi was in no mood to appreciate the scenery, however.
The Uchiha turned around to regard his Captain with narrowed onyx eyes.
"Report." His cold, clipped tone, though rare in appearance, was nothing unfamiliar to any of his officers. Uchiha Itachi was normally a good man to work under; he was fair, just and very impartial. The youngest Superintendent-General in the history of the force was generally soft-spoken and polite to all around him but there were special occasions when all that ice hidden within him would make an appearance every now and then. The frosty displeasure normally occurred when things like incompetence and stupidity were involved, and no one wanted to get in the line of fire of the Uchiha whenever it happened.
No one within the HQ was ever foolish enough to think that the Superintendent-General could be easily influenced or any less powerful than any of his predecessors just because of his age.
Captain Mokuren winced inwardly.
The unfortunate man had been the one in charge of security details for last night's Christmas bash. He had remembered feeling very honored to be chosen for the job though at the moment he was understandably not so thrilled.
"Yes, sir!" The uniformed officer saluted smartly before opening the folder he had brought in with him. It contained all the pertinent details of everyone who had been formally invited to the extravagant party last night.
"I have personally gone over the thousand over names who had been invited last night, as well as their corresponding photos. There were none whose descriptions matched the one you gave, Uchiha-sama."
Itachi looked at the Captain with cold impassivity.
"There were definitely a lot more than just a thousand guests who had attended last night. Your figures are inaccurate."
Mokuren nodded immediately.
"My statistics consists only of the formal invites issued internally within the department as well as to the various VIPs within Tokyo, Uchiha-sama. All police personnel from ranking Detective and above had been specifically told to attend, but they were also allowed to bring a companion along to the party. We do not have formal records for those abovementioned people, though I assure you that security last night had been most thorough in ensuring that no weapons or dangerous objects had been allowed into the premises of the hotel."
Itachi nodded. Security had indeed done their job well last night.
Captain Mokuren looked at the mildly preoccupied look on the face of the Superintendent-General before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"If I may, Sir? I believe it is highly possible that the one whom you are looking for might have come last night with one of our officers. Should I put up a notice of enquiry within the HQ…?"
The fact that she might belong to someone else had never occurred to him and now that it had Itachi was quickly finding that the notion did not sit well with him at all. If possible, the aristocratic Uchiha looked even more forbidding than ever. The temperature within the office fell. Mokuren gulped inwardly and wondered if he had overstepped his bounds.
Then almost as if nothing had happened, the highest ranking officer in the Keishicho flicked an almost bored glance at the anxious Captain.
"No, that will not be necessary." Itachi stated at last, his voice deceptively calm and sedate. "You are dismissed, Captain, and last night had been a job well done. Please pass my regards to your officers."
"Yes, Sir! The boys would be glad to hear your praise, Uchiha-sama!"
Mokuren puffed out his chest with pride. He closed his folder with a smart snap before tucking it under his arm. Then he saluted sharply before turning to exit the office.
Itachi waited for the door to close behind the Captain before he allowed himself to show his agitation. Onyx eyes were darkened and pale, arrogant face sharp with edginess and impatience. He ran his hand through his mass of tousled raven hair and allowed himself to sigh softly.
Finding her was a lot harder than he had first thought. She was clearly not within his wide circle of influence and not working in the same field as he did. It was as if she had fallen from the face of this earth and if he considered the sheer amount of people that made up of Tokyo's population, she might as well have disappeared completely as far as he was concerned.
Logic dictated that she shouldn't matter this much to him. He hardly knew her and their relationship had been strictly confined to the bedroom and limited to a single night but there was just something about her that drew his attention like no one had. There was an unexplored potential with her that he had never felt with anyone else before and he simply had no intention of letting her go until he knew what it was.
He was most well known for his ironclad tenacity and he would not let her be the one who got away. He was not going to stop looking for her just like that.
There must be other ways.
The Uchiha closed his eyes and leaned back against his chair in thought. For once in his life, his mind drew a complete blank. This dilemma had never happened to him before and none had ever mattered enough for him to try to track them down again once they left. The fact that his pink-haired lover could affect him this much just with her absence made him furious but above everything else he just wanted to find her, drag her to the nearest bed and keep her close to him for the rest of tonight.
Christmas.
Weary onyx eyes opened to regard the discreet digital clock sitting on his writing desk. It was almost eight p.m. and the HQ was extraordinarily quiet tonight. Most of the members of the force were off today because of the holiday and only a skeleton crew of officers and civilian personnel were present in case of an emergency. As for himself, there was no longer any reason to remain here tonight. His paperwork was immaculately filed and completed as usual and it was time to leave the office.
Mikoto had been subtly nagging for him to visit the clan's main house for quite awhile already. Maybe he would stop by for a short while to pay his respects to his parents.
It took him about five minutes to gather the necessary documents and other official papers that he wished to take home to peruse. Then collecting his coat, he strode out of the large office and took an elevator down to the basement car park. The lift doors opened at the ground floor of the Keishicho though, and Itachi lifted his eyes briefly from the folder in his hand to peruse the newcomers.
"Good evening, Sir." It was a small group of rookies and Itachi nodded civilly at them before turning his attention back to the sheaf of papers that he was holding.
Then, from the corner of his eyes he saw the flash of pink.
Despite himself, the powerful Uchiha lifted his head so quickly that the new occupants of the lift were mildly startled. Itachi did not care.
She was here.
She was walking towards the far corner of the normally chaotic but now completely empty first-floor lobby with a rather familiar blonde companion and a non-uniformed officer, dressed in sensible winter apparel that did nothing to hide the shape of her body and long waist length hair unbound and fluttering behind her like a candy pink flag. She looked very much liked a teenager in that getup, her youthful face glowing slightly from the cold as her brilliant eyes smiled softly at something her friends were saying. She didn't see him.
He did. For a split second, Itachi froze.
Then the elevator doors started to slide shut again and the Uchiha jumped into action. Swiftly shouldering the surprised rookies aside and making no apologies while he was at it, the lean raven-haired male slipped out from the elevator before the doors closed completely. Dark eyes trained on the petite form of his woman, the Uchiha started to make his way towards her in long, ground-eating strides. Her group was almost reaching the exit of the building when he caught to them.
One moment Sakura was listening amusedly as Ino tore into Shikamaru for making them wait for an entire hour and a half, the next there were long fingers wrapped around her wrist and spinning her around so fast that she was slightly bewildered.
Then she looked straight into burning onyx eyes and could not move.
He was here.
Ino and Shikamaru had stopped the moment they saw their friend being accosted by someone.
"Hey! Get your hands of her!" Ino's fierce demand was rather standard but Shikamaru's reaction was more surprising. His eyes widened when he realized the identity of the mystery man.
Itachi ignored the blonde's brash command. He fixed his entire attention on the beautiful, pale-faced female standing in shock before him.
"You left without a word this morning." His normally lilting voice was hard and unyielding. "Why?"
Ino, who had been about to march over to physically remove the tall, dangerously handsome man from her best friend, immediately stuttered to a quick halt. The blonde gaped at him.
This was Sakura's intense, passionate lover?!
Shikamaru had no idea what was going on. No one had bothered to tell him what had happened earlier and all he knew was that the coldest, most powerful man in the police force was manhandling their friend with a familiarity that made the Nara frown with suspicion.
"Superintendent-General Uchiha." The Detective Lieutenant greeted almost politely. "Sakura would probably respond better if you aren't holding on to her like this."
Glittering obsidian orbs slid over immediately to focus upon the Detective. The mildly protective tone that surfaced in the normally indolent Nara made Itachi's hackles rise quietly. His countenance began to change subtly, lean body shifting slightly more towards Sakura in a purely possessive gesture that most would not have noticed.
Shikamaru was not most people.
And he could not help but notice that the raven-haired Uchiha wasn't letting the pink-haired female go either. Starting to get a little concerned now, Shikamaru was about to open his mouth to phrase his earlier request in a less polite manner when Sakura beat him to it.
"Superintendent-General Uchiha?" Her soft voice was filled with so much bewilderment that both males turned to stare at her immediately.
Onyx eyes narrowed imperceptibly at what she had revealed most unwittingly.
"You do not know who I am?" There was an odd tone at the end of his question that Shikamaru could not help but raise a brow at.
Ino answered for her best friend, who was looking as though she had just been hit on the head by something hard.
"You didn't even bother to tell her your name last night! How was she supposed to know who you were? Psychic powers?!"
Itachi did not move his gaze from Sakura.
"You never told me yours as well, Sakura."
Her name fitted her perfectly. He should have guessed.
The way his tongue curled around her name made it sound so sensual and exotic that Sakura trembled finely. Even Ino was eying the tall man with shock in her eyes. The pink-haired beauty quickly looked away in a futile effort to conceal the heated look that flashed across her own emerald gaze but he had already seen it.
Shikamaru stared at the petite doctor who was still being held by his superior. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together and come to four. Sakura's sudden disappearance last night, her disheveled appearance this morning, and now this… Everything was suddenly very clear to the Nara.
He started to curse softly.
Uchiha Itachi was the prodigy of the great Uchiha clan, a prestigious family who was most famous for producing exceptional leaders within the police force. In fact the current Uchiha patriarch, Uchiha Fugaku, had been the previous Superintendent-General before his son had taken over and then proceeded to quickly exceed his own father in terms of abilities within the force. Highly intelligent and craftily powerful, Itachi was not a man to be reckoned with and evidently women found that sort of power most seductive.
It was probably the most well-known secret among the police force that their most eligible bachelor was also a rather fickle playboy outside of his important duties as head of the TMPD.
And evidently, he had gotten to Sakura. Innocent, cheerful Sakura who had always been more than a little wary of men. Shikamaru wondered how on earth he had managed it, and what on earth he could do now to separate the dangerous man from his good friend.
This was such a mess.
"Mendoukusai…" Shikamaru's trademark comment escaped his mouth before he could stop it. Ino promptly delivered a swift kick to her boyfriend's shin. The Nara winced inwardly.
Sakura really did not know what to say.
She had slept with one of the most powerful men in the whole Japan.
The newest knowledge served to stun and momentarily distract her from the renewed ache in her heart at seeing him again. Ino's 'therapy' had worked rather well today and Sakura had really believed that she would be able to sooth and at least conceal her pain from the rest of the world by tomorrow but then he just had to come and destroy all the other tranquilizing emotions that were helping to numb her temporarily.
She had to get away from here.
"This was not supposed to happen." She tried to make herself sound as harsh as possible, she really tried but all that came out was an oddly flat tone. Itachi stared at her as she attempted to shake his hand off hers but to no avail. He was not letting go.
"What was not supposed to happen?" His voice was calm in contrast to her rising panic. Oddly calm. Too calm. Shikamaru was downright scowling now, trying his best to figure out just what the Uchiha was thinking.
Sakura really did not want to answer his question but his insistent stare was not giving her any choices.
"It was only one night! We were not supposed to see each other again." She blurted out quickly.
The Uchiha stilled suddenly and almost immediately the temperature around them dropped drastically. Onyx eyes froze, then narrowed and darkened.
It became rather obvious to Ino that this was certainly not a man who looked as if he could not wait to boot Sakura out of his life.
She was right.
Itachi was getting highly irritated. He did not like what Sakura was implying at all. It did not sit well with him that his lovely pink-haired female had actually hoped never to see him again after giving him a little sample of herself.
Like he could let her go after last night.
"You are wrong." His normally smooth, tenor was grim. "I would find you no matter how hard you try to avoid me."
He sounded so very sure of himself that Sakura frowned slightly at him though tearing emerald eyes. Why did he have to go and say things like this? Can't he see that she was only trying her best to protect herself?
Evidently, he did not see it that way. Obsidian orbs glittered with a dark rage as a possible scenario occurred to him.
"Why?" His voice was so soft that it was nearly inaudible, but the ominous tone was so obvious to Sakura that she shivered as his hard eyes pinned her to her spot and refused to let her go. "Was I supposed to be your one night of guilty pleasure before you hightailed it back to your oblivious boyfriend here?"
Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura froze as he turned his gaze from her and stared coldly at the nonplussed Nara.
Emerald eyes darkened with pure hurt when the full implications of his words registered in her mind. Sakura did not know where she had gotten the strength to suddenly shake his hold off her but she had and before she knew it she was backing away quickly from the Uchiha.
This was the reason why she had wanted to leave today morning without ever seeing him again. His hurtful accusations were going to kill her. That he actually thought her capable of such underhandedness and disloyalty ate at her and after giving him a completely wounded stare Sakura turned her back to him and hugged herself tightly.
"Of course. You are completely right." Her sweet voice was oddly blank and he did not see the tears that were leaking pitifully from her eyes. "Now that you know what kind of person I am, please leave me alone from now on."
She started to walk away at a fast clip. Ino immediately cast a hard glare at the powerful Uchiha.
"You know, for an officer of the law you sure as hell can be a gigantic asshole." Without another word, the angry blonde turned and ran after her best friend, and upon catching up to the distraught female immediately wrapped a consoling arm around her distressed shoulders as they both quickly walked out of the large building and out of sight.
Shikamaru sighed loudly. This was so troublesome, and as usual Ino had been most inconsiderate in leaving him behind to wrap up everything.
But this time the Nara didn't mind as much.
Normally passive chocolate eyes were hard as Shikamaru lifted his head to stare at the other male.
"Sakura is not my girlfriend. Ino, that fierce blonde one, is."
He did not allow the Uchiha to react, and continued speaking in that seemingly casual but oddly uncompromising tone that none of the girls had heard him use before. "You of all people should be aware of just how innocent Sakura had been prior to last night. We are all very good friends; I have known her my entire life and have never seen her in any sort of relationship before until now. Sakura's a good girl, sweet and loyal and cheerful and I hope you are happy now that you have probably scarred her for life when it comes to men."
Itachi didn't flinch at Shikamaru's condemning words, at least not outwardly that is. Onyx eyes turned carefully blank.
But Shikamaru was not done yet. Tucking his gloveless fingers into his own great coat, the Nara delivered one last parting sentence to his superior before slouching and shuffling away in his usual lazy gait.
"If you have any shred of conscience left within you, Superintendent-General Uchiha, please refrain from approaching her again."
::tsuzuku::
Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:
I'm not really very happy with this chapter, to be honest. It felt a little off to me, and I think Itachi is majorly OOC when he acted without thinking and started to accuse Sakura during the confrontation. But then again, people do stupid things when faced with something they had never expected and I can only hope that Itachi's behavior in this chapter does not deviate too much from the norm.
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I don't believe in love at first sight but I do believe that it is entirely possible for someone to fall in love with another person as long as some form of communication had been shared and established. I have always felt that Sakura would be the type to give her heart away and not be fully aware of it until it is too late and in this fic her personality fit my hypothesis completely.
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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.
--paws