A/N: I will not be updating A Girl? Not in this Anime (Free!ES) this week. Simply bc after I updated this, it received overwhelmingly more views in a single chapter than all 7 chapters of my Free! story LOL. Obviously, the Naruto fanbase is much stronger than a swimming anime's so, I'll be focusing more here.
I'll say this world is weird a mixture of everything
naruto world (healing abilities and chakra lmao) + our own = plot no jutsu
Sakura took the hand willingly and was guided to the middle of the dancefloor. Deciding to put her worries of a certain male (with blond hair and blue eyes despite his Asian heritage) away, she sighed into Itachi's touch and let him take complete control over the next few minutes. Noticing this, he kept a firm grasp of her hand in one and a comforting hold on the small of her back in the other.
The song that was playing was one that Sakura recognized as romantic and she blushed once she realized that no one else was on the dance floor but them. All eyes were on the couple.
"Itachi, they're all watching." She whispered beneath him, her height falling far below his shoulder, even with heels on.
"Don't worry about them. It's just us right now." He comforted, guiding her along.
Shikamaru and Neji were egging the two on, complimenting how well the two looked together. Ino and Tenten joyfully agreed, Tenten certainly approved of him since he was her knight and shining armor from before. Ino, however, took it in a different direction and added how just how beautiful their horde of children would be.
They would go at it like bunnies! Ino voiced, making the group, including Shisui, laugh. (As quiet natured his cousin may be, Shisui mused, Itachi was still a man and a man had needs.)
Naruto's hand made a fist beneath the table at this comment, which Hinata took a silent note of. She gazed at the only other woman that elicited a response from Naruto.
Shisui continued to sip his cocktail knowingly. There was no doubt that people would be talking about this for weeks, every pair of eyes drawn to the couple on the dance floor. And if everyone knew, that meant this knowledge would reach the top, very fast. A predominantly Uchiha owned school populated by Uchiha students who all had Uchiha clansmen on their social media networks, most notably Instabook.
Phones and eyes were up and at attention, capturing the intimate moment and spreading it via the internet, there was no doubt. Shisui could not recall a time that a female had Itachi so lighthearted so the rest of the general student populace must have been just as surprised.
Shisui walked over to the bar, ordering something stronger since there was no doubt in his mind that Itachi felt something for the pinkette.
It was a cause of celebration, he thought with a smirk.
Meanwhile, Sasuke averted his eyes.
Of course his brother liked Sakura, Sasuke thought, not appreciating the irony. Sakura was in his home, whisked away by his secretly conspiring brother. Sasuke inwardly seethed, many of Konoha High found his brother attractive. Sakura showed only clear disdain for Sasuke (and for good reason too, he would admit), he only hoped that she would not develop romantic feelings for his brother.
It seemed all eyes really were on them and Sasuke had to restrain himself from commanding all the male people in the room to stop looking at her. She was absolutely stunning. But she was supposed to be like this for him and only him.
With a twirl, Sakura fell back into Itachi's arms. Instead of the usual smirk, he gave a small smile that made the girl weak in the knees. Her thought spread to her cheeks, the color being as red as wine. Itachi's smile morphed back into a smirk and the hand on her back started to rub teasingly. Seeing this, Sasuke stormed out of the ballroom and onto the deck.
Sitting on a pool chair, Sasuke held his head in his hands, wondering where it all went wrong. He should have stopped her from leaving the pool area earlier. He should have asked her to be his date, instead of his brother's. He should have invited her to dance together first, letting everyone else watch them two of them instead of the situation now.
In a fit of anger, Sasuke got up and kicked the chair across the pool area. He settled down on a different one and continued his irritating thought process. That was, until he was angered again and found the need for a violent outlet. Sasuke kicked the chair, however in the process got his foot stuck and fell into the pool.
Gasping for air, he made a large ruckus for someone to hear.
Sakura gazed at the beautiful dance of Naruto and Hinata. The woman saw Sakura starting intently, causing Sakura to avert her eyes in an attempt not to be seen. Hinata turned the dance around, hoping instead that Naruto would see the now sad pink-haired girl. Itachi saw this display and put a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulders.
"Him?"
Knowing she was found out, Sakura turned her entire body toward the older Uchiha standing next to her. "A crush, nothing serious."
"Maybe I can help." Itachi suggested, placing a light hand on her waist and gaining a look of obvious shock through surprised eyes. Naruto, observing silently at the two's interactions, felt anger in his veins and was half-tempted to stalk over to the pair.
That was until a startled student threw the double-doors open and yelled, "Does anyone know CPR?! It's Sasuke!"
Soon, everyone was bounding out of the ballroom, a worried Itachi running outside with Sakura beside him. "What's happening?" She asked.
"Sasuke is afraid of water." (A/N: I know this isn't in-character but it's so crucial to BOF xD)
Shisui fell to his knees next to Sasuke and the crowd around them was blocking her point of view. Sakura had to shake off Itachi's hand around her own, giving him a reassuring smile first, and pushed through the rest of the crowd.
Dropping next to Shisui, Sakura surveyed his pulse as she brought her head down against his chest. Then, pushed down on Sasuke's chest about thirty times before taking a deep breathe. "You better not die you idiot, I was just starting to like you."
Not hesitating, she blew into Sasuke's mouth. However, this was nothing like the reaction her medical books told her about. She was supposed to feel like the air was filling him, but she could feel his warm breathe fanning back at her. Instead, his mouth started to move against hers.
Surprised, Sakura attempted to pull back, but he held onto her waist. Before she could yell at Kami-sama, his tongue was in her mouth and she could not pull away.
It was her last savior, Itachi, that ended up saving her again. He pushed Sasuke down via his foot and pulled Sakura back up so she can hover above Sasuke. Scowling away, Itachi commented, "You are an idiot, Sasuke."
Sakura, feeling slightly violated, punched the duck-haired man right in the face and proceeded to help herself up. Ino was dying of laughter while Tenten looked just as mortified as Sakura. The two girls led their friend back to their room while Itachi and Shisui retreated back to the ballroom, the latter Uchiha laughing at how far Sasuke was willing to go.
Shikamaru held out an open hand for Sasuke to take, asking, "Really, dude? So troublesome."
Neji clapped him on the back once he was standing, "At least you were her first kiss."
Sasuke gave a small smile, "It definitely won't be the last."
The rest of the cruise had Sakura avoiding any semblance of the F4 and Itachi. Whenever she was in their presence, something terrible was bound to happen! The next morning, she headed over to the pool early before anyone else would. Sakura could not resist the prospects of swimming, even if that included being assaulted by one of the Uchiha's. Taking her chances, Sakura watched orange break the horizon as she started stripping down to her bathing suit. It would be a pleasant morning alone in the water.
Or at least that was what she thought. Once Sakura jumped into the pool, a familiar person voiced their thoughts, "You must really love the water," Shisui commented from his spot sitting next to the pool, his body previously covered by a large decorative plant.
"It's a place of solace." Sakura replied while leisurely floating around.
"You truly are strange."
"Why do you say that?"
Shisui gave an all-too-familiar smirk, that is definitely genetic, Sakura thought. He said, "Don't tell me you don't know of all the guys interested in you."
Sakura felt a growing blush and covered her cheeks, "That's a very flattering notion you have there, but I assure you I am neitherz interesting nor pretty enough for one to care about."
Shisui sat-up and looked her right in the eyes, "I think you're lying."
"What?"
"Who is it that you really like?"
"No one!"
"No way." Shisui looked up in amusement and disbelief, "You have the two Uchiha prodigies clamoring after you and you're not interested at all."
"Not at all." Sakura emphasized every syllable.
Shisui paused before asking, "You like Sasuke-chan, don't you?"
"What?!" It was Sakura's turn to be unbelieving.
"Why else were you so eager to kiss him?"
Sakura's face contorted in the exact look of anger and incredulity, "You mean CPR? I thought he was going to die!"
Shisui pursued his lips in thought and nodded in concession, "Fine. But don't look at me when you guys get married." He added before getting up to walk away.
Sakura gasped in horror before swimming away, trying not to think about his accusations. But was it true? Why was the universe pushing them together so much?!
Ugggggh, I just want to be a doctor. Boys be crazy.
Speaking of the devil, Sasuke was already wandering around this early in the morning. Just something about last night definitely made his entire weekend great already and he could not help but admire the beautiful sunrise. Sakura attempted to escape his view by diving further into the water and clinging to the wall.
Sasuke, however, knew she would be here and waited for her to resurface.
"Hello, monkey." He greeted. Sakura only narrowed her eyes and climbed out of the pool. He quickly sauntered over to her and wrapped a towel for her to warm up. He massaged his arms over her shoulders, hoping to get her dry.
"I can do this myself." Sakura attempted to brush off his hands, but he simply ignored her and continued wrapping the towel more firmly like a burrito. "Why are you being nice to me?" Sakura asked.
"Because you are mine." Sasuke explained.
"What?!" He leaned his forehead against hers and quickly withdrew before she could recognize what happened.
"Stay safe. Don't get hurt, monkey." He decided to add an insult, he did not want to look like he was getting soft. With this comment and a small flick on her forehead, Sasuke walked away.
Unable to understand what was happening, Sakura dropped the towel around her and looked to the skies. "What the hell is happening?!"
Thankfully, the rest of the yacht trip went with relatively less drama. Sakura was finally able to spend time with her friends and the ever-present problem of Uchiha Sasuke only occasionally presented itself. The one constant was that he offered her a friendly good night at her door every single day, seemingly waiting for her. Sakura thought his efforts were obvious and sweet, but he was still a giant jerk to her sometimes. For example, did he still find it necessary to insult her?
Itachi tended to keep his presence near the Shogi boards which made it easier for her to ignore him. But, that was not entirely fair, Sakura reasoned after she turned tail at just the sound of his voice.
One afternoon, she was returning to the pool to meet-up with her friends, just to see Itachi playing the aforementioned game with Shikamaru. Donned only with swimming trunks, shirt completely forgotten even though his hair was unreservedly dry, Itachi sat upright in a lounge chair as he pondered his next move.
Neji was seriously watching the game, sensing the hidden amount of pride on both members of the game. Ino was watching the game as well, eyes not at all wandering to the incredibly fit bod of the older Uchiha. Nope, her blue eyes never strayed to his toned abs or toned biceps. Not at all.
And Naruto hated ramen.
Sakura watched Ino and Tenten openly ogle at the fine specimen of man that Uchiha Itachi exhumed to be. They were not the only ones, she noted, seeing various other female classmates take second, third, fourth looks back at the member of the main Uchiha house.
The pinkette knew for a damn fact that that particular Shogi board was not there before, meaning either Itachi or Shikamaru had moved it to a spot that undoubtedly would be in a more high-traffic spot. A spot that Sakura would surely pass through to get to a pool she could not resist.
Shikamaru avoided the troublesome and Sakura narrowed her eyes in disbelief, making sure to look out to the water rather than on the Uchiha himself.
Shisui creeped behind her as he asked, "See something you like?"
Sakura pretended to seriously ponder the situation, "I wonder if I should just... jump off the boat."
Shisui laughed at her reaction, but jumped to attention when the pinkette turned on her heel toward a different section of the boat. "Woah, where are you going? Your friends are over there."
"I'm going to go swim." Sakura lazily explained, diving into the deeper section of the pool before Shisui could say anything else.
Less than ten minutes later, the group from earlier found their way into the pooling, causing the previously calm water to move at their actions. Sakura now related to the lazy member of the F4, life really is troublesome. Then decided on leaving the pool while the lounge chairs were free, taking the spot that Ino previously inhabited.
Shisui laughed from his lounger, only a few away from Sakura.
Sakura had a good few minutes of time to herself before she felt the dip in weight. "Are you avoiding me, Sakura-chan?"
She knew that teasing voice from a mile away. The pinkette tried to muster the words in her mind before saying anything, then opened her eyes against the blazing sun, only to be rendered speechless instantly.
"Are you against wearing shirts, Itachi-kun?"
He laughed at her lack of response to his question, then laid out on the lounger next to her. Sakura expected something more, just anything, but the older Uchiha simply laid down with his eyes closed next to her. It was strangely calming, to know that she could bask in the presence of someone in complete silence, and they were okay with it as well.
Maybe, just maybe, she was warming up to gentleman that is Uchiha Itachi.
Naruto, for some reason, never approached her for the rest of the trip.
Sakura could actually chalk up this trip as relaxing and thanked the heavens for such a great friend like Ino. Said woman, however, was relentless in her teasing and absolutely loved all the attention the pink-haired girl was receiving. Tenten was ever the traitor, standing alongside Ino and mocking Sakura's predicament.
Sakura was not amused and returned to school feeling relaxed, but somewhat empty. Her closest friend in the F4 was consistently missing. Her usual place of comfort at school was the pool, but a visit earlier showed that a certain idiot filled it with swans. Not wanting to even attempt to shoo them out, Sakura immediately high-tailed out of there and changed back into her regular clothes.
Knowing exactly where Naruto would be before school started, Sakura retreated to the gardens. There Naruto was, meditating and practicing his tai-chi in the cold, drizzling, daylight.
"Hey there." She greeted, but the blonde opened one eye and then immediately shut it closed. This was obviously not an invitation to join him, but quite the opposite. Sakura originally had the intention of amending whatever happened between them, but it was clear the wounds were still deep. Taking out an umbrella, she placed it to hang-over him before walking away.
Naruto looked at the offending object before knocking it away.
The rest of the day was still empty, not facing the wrath of Sasuke or the happy atmosphere of Naruto. Ino even picked up on her gloominess. "Missing a certain someone?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Sakura shook her head and replied, "Nope, nope, nah."
Tenten remained unconvinced and stated, "You know I heard Sasuke wanted to visit the pool sometime soon."
"Why? So he can pretend drown again?" Sakura asked, uninterested, "Let him do it for real, I don't care." Tenten amusedly scoffed while Ino was still wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Her backpack and mind were similar in the sense that they were vacant. No homework meant nothing to do meaning she had only things to think about. It was quite ironic that Naruto was her friend while Sasuke was persecuting her. And now that Sasuke was attempting to flirt with her, the blonde wanted nothing to do with her.
This thought made Sakura unsure. Did she want really want Sasuke's attention?
Unknown to Sakura, said man was listening to the urgings of Karin and Ami. Both girls were showing a video to Sasuke, of Sakura's earlier show of compassion toward Naruto. The recording was only images and had no sound, so it was up to Sasuke to guess what they were saying. He assumed the worst. That Naruto rejected Sakura's declaration. Outraged, Sasuke smashed the phone. Of all the girls, Sasuke thought, It wasn't Itachi. She wanted Naruto all along. One of my very friends.
His heart was not broken or pained. It was surging with unbelievable anger and disbelief.
Not too far away, a fed-up Sakura ran to the gardens again to see her friend. Hoping to demand answers from Naruto for such a quick change in attitude. Instead, she was met with an empty garden. At least, at the start. Footsteps behind her signaled a presence and she turned to see a certain Uchiha.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Sasuke demanded.
"What are you doing here—"
"Why? Aren't I allowed to be here?" Sasuke did not falter in keeping eye-contact, "Does this space belong to the two of you?"
Unable to respond, Sakura attempted to walk around him. Sasuke immediately grabbed her wrist and forced Sakura to face him. "Where are you going?" He asked.
Sakura was not about to falter under his gaze. She responded saying, "I'm going home. I have nothing to say to you."
"Well I do."
"Let me go." Sakura looked away before requesting.
"How dare you ridicule me?" Confused, Sakura urged him to let her go. He conceded, but continued to keep their close quarters, "I tried to be nice. Do I seem easy? Well you know what. I don't just pay people back. It just doesn't satisfy me."
Sakura's befuddlement only increased when Sasuke grabbed at her collar, hoisting her up to reach his own visage. Once realizing what he was trying to do, Sakura squirmed away from his face.
"Don't! Stop!" She yelled, fear and absolute dread evident in her eyes.
Sasuke quickly let go, if anything he shoved her away. The expression that Sakura gave, simply because he wanted to express his dominance, broke his heart. He simply wanted her to return his feelings. It was known that bantering could be a form of flirting. And Sakura definitely engaged in this with Sasuke. But it seemed that her intentions weren't a mischievous teasing. That look on her face was not affection. It was fear.
Looking away to shield himself from his broken expression, Sasuke wavered before asking, "You hate me that much?"
Sakura was unable to answer and only held herself with crossed arms, crying.
To: Sakura
From: Ino
Where the hell have you been?
To: Sakura
From: Tenten
We're coming right now ): you better explain yo self.
Sakura missed two entire days of school, unwilling to show hide nor hair at a place where she was a constant target. She snuggled into the comforts of her bed, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. That was until it was pulled away and revealed her two best friends.
"Alright forehead, you have two seconds before I shove you out of that bed."
Sitting up, Sakura yelled/asked, "How the hell did you guys get into my house?!"
"Come on, your parents love me." Ino explained, flipping her hair.
"What about school?"
"Have you left your house recently? It's a holiday." Tenten stated matter-oh-factly. "We're worried about you, Sakura." Tenten sat onto the bed and rubbed her leg, "What happened?"
"Sasuke, that idiot."
"What did he do? Steal your heart?" Ino teased.
Sakura hesitated before trusting in her friends, "He tried to force me into kissing him."
Ino immediately turned serious and whipped out snacks from her backpack, "I knew this was a code red. We are here for you. Do you need me to kick his ass?" She offered, plopping down onto the bed next to her friend.
"That's not the worse part." Sakura brought the blanket to her chin.
"OH my kami do not tell me you guys…" Ino drew out.
"No!" Sakura instantly shut down what she was implying, "The worst part is that, maybe. Just maybe, I wanted to kiss him back."
"What?!" It was Tenten's turn to question. "We joke around a lot, but are you seriously considering Sasuke?"
"I don't understand him. I'm waiting for the his personality to just snap, for us to go back to how we were at the beginning of the semester."
The three gossiped throughout the morning, mostly the two teasing their pink-haired friend about her newfound feelings. Or were they really feelings? If anything, mass amount of confusion for the sudden appearance of something within her, that was probably a better definition. Even then, Sakura was still unsure.
Naruto was the first person she felt any musings of feelings for. He made an effort to actually be nice to her when only one other person in the entire school did so. But what if he was only doing that because he felt bad? Now, he had no reason to even make her acquaintance. And it certainly seemed like he wanted nothing to do with her.
And Sasuke, he was never the one to immediately gain your attention. Sure, he commanded an entire room, but that was out of fear. Sure, he still bullied her, but what about all that flirting, or whatever he was trying to do?
And Itachi, oh boy. The older man was definitely more experienced, Sakura mused. He never hesitated in putting a hand on her waist, taking her hand in his, or teasing her with words that could get her to instantly flush. What was even happening? How did this happen?
Sakura kept pondering these thoughts out loud to her friends. That was until there was a knock at the door.
"For Sakura-san, from Hinata-senpai." The man in the suit offered, before walking away.
Ino took the package and brought it back to the room. "Damn girl, does Hinata like you too?"
"What are you talking about?"
"She invited you to her birthday!" Ino explained, handing her the letter and nosily opening the large package that came with it. "And she sent a dress along with it!" Tenten eyed the contents enviously.
"Why?" Sakura asked incredulously, "I met her once, just a few days ago."
"Looks like Hinata liked what she saw when you were changing." Ino teased, it seemed she continually had jokes about pairing Sakura with every person she knew.
"It's tonight." Tenten remarked, reading the invitation.
"Well, we have to get you ready, silly." Ino offered.
"Wow, she must really want you at this party." Tenten noted, a distant look in her eyes.
"So popular already, huh, forehead girl?" Ino teased.
Tenten held the box containing the dress in her hands, examining how beautiful and expensive the contents were. She hesitated, getting off the bed and grabbing her bag, "I forgot I have something to do for my parents. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Sakura called out to the brunette, unsure of her sudden departure. Ino was faster and grabbed Tenten's wrist. "Are you sure?" Taking a final look around the room, Tenten nodded her head before twisting her hand around and quickly running out of the apartment.
"What the hell was that?" Sakura asked the blonde.
"I don't know, forehead." Ino was gazing at the door. "She'll come to us when she wants to." Sakura nodded in agreement before taking out her phone, texting a brief message to Tenten.
Ino continued, "Well, let's bring this dress and go to my house. I have to get ready too, so we can do it together."
Sakura paused before getting out of bed. She deliberated adding a comment, but decided for it, "Are you sure you won't fall for me also?" She winked.
"Look at you, Yamanaka." Shikamaru noted, eyeing the blonde up and down.
"Nara." Ino greeted before looking away.
What the hell did I ever see in him? He's such a lazy ass. Shikamaru, ever the genius, was able to guess her thought process and smirked. Ino was so easy to read.
"You here alone?" Shikamaru asked. The two were standing around a table, joined by Neji and Sasuke. Several women were trying to gain their attention, but the two men were ignoring their surroundings.
"No, Sakura is checking her coat."
"And you left her?" Neji asked.
"I wanted her to make a grand appearance," Ino reasoned, "If we came in together I would only be taking away from her and her beautiful dress."
Sasuke was actually worried, did this blonde seriously abandon Sakura? He knew of the Ino's background and his anxiousness only increased, thinking that she exacted revenge on the object of his affections. He tried to deny his feelings for her and her emerald eyes, but it seemed that Sakura would not leave his mind. She made her feelings clear, but Sasuke decided that a simple rejection was not enough to keep him away. Several minutes rolled by, and Sasuke's concern was evident on his outward appearance. What if Ino left her out in the street?
However, his worries were quickly mollified by the entrance of Sakura.
She did exactly that, have a grand appearance with a dress that Sasuke was sure that Sakura could not have possibly paid for herself. He inwardly noted how genuine Ino seemed to be, since she seemed to have paid for both the yatcht trip and the dress before him.
Ino motioned for the pink-haired girl to join them, but their short friend was having problems gazing around the room for them. Neji, in an effort to ward off the women, suddenly exclaimed, "Look my date is finally here." Sasuke watched as another man, again, took Sakura's arm. However, instead of a dance floor it was over to their table.
"Hello, beautiful." Neji greeted, taking Sakura's arm in his and making rounds around them, sort of a warning for those hoes to back off for the rest of the night.
A/N: This feels so rushed. It's all moving so fast ;-; but in the show it moves even faster LMAO! This is chapter 7 and I'm covering what was in episode 3 I think. Yoooooo.
