Chapters 34-36
XXX
Chapter 34
Sakura sighed against Itachi's shoulder. She squirmed in his arms, trying to get more of his warmth. Letting out a sleepy moan, Itachi squeezed her tightly in return and allowed her to get closer. When he started trace his thumbs in soothing circles on her back, Sakura mewled and arched into the touch. However, when she finally opened her eyes, she shot straight up.
"Oh my God!" she shrilled, jumping out of the bed frantically. "I'm late for work!" Slowly, Itachi propped himself up on one elbow, causing the covers to pool at his waist.
"What's the hurry?" he drawled, unaware of the eyes wandering about his pectorals.
"You're late, too." Sakura was brief and curt, trying to hide the blush blooming on her face whilst getting dressed. Finally noticing, a smirk played on Itachi's face.
"You are free to stare at my body all you like, Sakura. I might hold it against you."
Face red at the implication, Sakura gasped and grabbed a pillow. Tossing it at his head, she cried, "As if, you pervert!"
She then promptly walked out and slammed the door.
Chuckling to himself, Itachi got ready for work.
XXX
As Sakura walked swiftly to work, she was interrupted by Kakashi.
"Yo, Sakura!" he droned lazily, waving a floppy hand at her. His nose was in his book again.
"Kakashi-sensei," she acknowledged. "How's that porn?"
"It's good, it's good. It says, 'Junko, I must have you now-'"
Sakura put a hand up. "That's wonderful. Was there something you needed?"
Kakashi smiled at her. "Well, yes. Technically, it's not me. Morino Ibiki would like you in his interrogation chambers." Sakura narrowed her eyes at her sensei.
"Why me?" she asked quizzically. Kakashi's eye widened a fraction.
"You mean you didn't know?" he inquired incredulously, snapping his book shut with one hand.
"Know what?"
"You've met Daru and Sotche, right?"
XXX
Morino Ibiki grunted as Sakura and Sotche rushed into the interrogation chambers. Took them long enough.
"What is the meaning of this?" Sakura shrilled, grasping the bars that separated her from Ibiki and the rest.
"Why is my brother being held here?" Sotche roared, shaking the bars. "Release him!"
"Stop!" Daru commanded. The two of them went silent. "I came here of my own will; they didn't force me."
"Well," an ANBU operative started, "Technically, we had to arrest you before you willingly came along-"
"Silence."
The cell contained Ino, Shikamaru, Daru, three ANBU operatives, and Ibiki. Daru was tied up to a chair, not allowing any leeway. "Sotche and Sakura, seeing as you are close to the offender," Ibiki pointed at Daru, "you must convince him to give us information."
Sotche huffed. "What do you mean he's not giving you information? He came along willingly, didn't he?"
"I can't," choked out Daru. "I just can't. I can't remember. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember it."
"He's been saying that to us ever since he got in here," Ibiki growled. "We think there's something wrong with him."
"Like, amnesia?" Sotche asked.
Sakura furrowed her brows. "I don't think so," she said. She let go of the bars. "Can I come in?" Ibiki nodded, and one ANBU came to open the door. Heels clacking, Sakura strode over to a limp Daru, head hung. "Daru, can you lift your head?" He slowly did so, and Sakura held it up with one two fingers. Placing her other hand on the back of his head, she sent her chakra in, searching for any abnormalities.
She hit one.
"There's a block," she said grimly, pulling her fingers back. "It's only a little one, but it's clogging up the chakra. Whoever did this, obviously planned ahead."
"Can't you fix it?" Sotche demanded. Sakura looked him straight in the eyes.
"Ino might."
XXX
Itachi stared at that shiny, glimmering thing.
It was so expensive.
He calculated silently. It would take him five years to earn that much money if he continued to work at the same rate he was now. Was it worth it? After all, he didn't want to use his mother's...that belonged to Sasuke. Typically, it was tradition for the eldest son to receive it and give it to his wife, but Itachi did not deserve that honor.
To his bad luck, the wife of the Hokage was picking up her child from daycare and saw him at the window. She excitedly sprinted up to him. Blanching immediately, Itachi tried to discreetly hide the thing he had been looking at with his body, but it was too late. She knew.
Eyes glimmering in awe, she breathed, "Is that a ring?"
Chapter 35
Ino hated doing this, probing information out of someone's head. In this one's, she had to destroy a barrier, of sorts. It was extremely difficult, and it physically and mentally exhausted her.
She shifted her arms and hands into the unique position for her kekkei genkai, and she quickly found herself in a dark, dark place.
Screams erupted from every side of her. Voices were begging her to help them, to save them. Eerie laughter broke out, a deep voice. The worst part was that she couldn't even see.
That's when a heavy liquid splattered all over Ino. Her vision immediately restored, she lifted her arms and hands slowly, only to find them covered in blood. Thick, sticky, chartreuse droplets separated at an excruciatingly lazy pace, but Ino could hear them hit the ground with an audible "poing."
She heard a young man's voice moaning. Repeating itself like a mantra, it kept playing, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault..." Images flashed before her eyes, each one increasing in the level of horrifying things.
Then an eardrum-piercing scream put all her sense on high alert. The last thing she saw was a little girl with white hair, ripping a heart out of someone's chest.
She was forced back into reality. Usually, she was groggy when she was rejected back into her own body, but this time she was wide awake. Frightened beyond words.
It took a few seconds to register that she was gasping for breath, her stiff arms out in front of her, trembling uncontrollably. Sweat dripped from her brow, and she tried to relax but to no avail.
"Ino, try to relax. Sorry, we had to pull you out of there early," one of the ANBU apologized. "Daru started having a seizure so we didn't want you to get involved." Ino nodded, feeling unusually timid.
Shikamaru swung an arm around her shoulders. Carefully, of course. "Troublesome woman, you're out now. You're not in there anymore. Stop quaking in your boots." Ino would have snapped at him, but the event had scarred her so much that she couldn't even speak. Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Ino, what the hell did you see?"
Ino now knew what happened, but did she really want to tell anyone?
XXX
Sakura came into the hospital room Daru had been hospitalized in and let out a breath, exasperated. The boy had fallen into a seizure shortly before Ino was expelled to her real body, and the girl would not talk about what happened. Sakura wasn't sure that she ever would. She kept trembling and shaking her head, tears pouring out her eyes. It had either been sad or terrifying. Or both.
Pulling up a stool, she sat next to Daru's bedside. With a sharp eye, she examined his body, any motions that would indicate that he was awake.
Sakura couldn't believe that she was so stupid. Torino and Sotche had even told her. He had tried to kill both of them. They both made it seem like it was no big deal, but it was. There was something they both hadn't told her, or anybody else for that matter. They just wanted to keep it under control, and they obviously knew it mattered, but family took precedence. Sakura could understand that. If her family's life was in danger, she would help them in any way she could, regardless of the consequences, without a second thought. She could sympathize with them...
...but a Mizukage had greater responsibilities. They had to protect their people, no matter the cost. Sakura could not understand why Daru had not gone to jail. No matter how genial he seemed, if he was willing to kill his brother AND sister...
...she just couldn't understand it. Why did they forgive him? Even family had limits...
...but then again, she could see similarities in their family and Sasuke and Itachi.
Sasuke had forgiven Itachi, and Itachi had forgiven Sasuke. The brothers seemed to have come to an understanding. Why, just the other day, they had gone out sparring. Itachi had told her that he lost this one, on purpose, of course. Besides, he was out of shape, showing her his thin flab growing over his stomach. Sakura responded by guffawing, falling to the floor. He, in return, kissed her with such a passion that her toes curled in reflex. Feeling her face warm, she quickly redirected her thoughts.
Anyway, someone was coming in the room. "Shishou," Sakura greeted. Tsunade gave her a curt nod before pulling up a stool as well. "How is everything?"
"Everything's good," she hummed noncommittally. The women sat in silence before Tsunade broke it with, "I heard you're screwing Itachi."
Sakura choked on her saliva.
"I mean, I know you have sexual desires and all, but you two aren't married. It'll be pesky if you get pregnant. You'll have to feed and support the little bugger..."
"Shishou!" Sakura interjected, her face blooming all sorts of red. She suddenly went quiet. "We...we've never done anything like that."
Tsunade's eyes widened, almost popping out of her sockets. "You mean you've never..."
"No, we've never had sex." She would admit that there were some pretty steamy kissing sessions, where they were literally eating each other's faces off.
Tsunade harrumphed in contentment. "Hoooo... so what have you done?"
Sakura slapped a hand to her head.
XXX
Sakura stared at her friend, who was rocking herself back and forth. "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered. Ino simply shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and quickly opening them again.
"Every time I close them..." she started but trailed off, looking at the corner of the room like it was the most interesting thing she had seen in her entire life. Sakura sighed, feeling her friend's depression, slowly but surely, transferring over to her.
"Ino, trust me. It'll get better if you talk about it." Silence. "Please."
Ino sniffled once more.
"Okay." She began describing, in detail, all the horrible things she had seen, heard, or felt. She saw children and adults being slaughtered. Being drowned in blood. How she had felt suffocated and still did. "Sakura, it was terrifying. I can only assume that the little girl with white hair was the Mizukage. I heard stories about it, but it...was just unimaginable. Who would make a little girl do that?"
Mist was notorious for little prodigies, aka killing machines. Sakura remembered that boy, Haku. He was only two years older than them, but he was stronger than Kakashi. She remembered those words Zabuza said to them, that Haku was a born killer, and he was proud of it. Those words still made chills go down her spine. How children, classmates, were forced into a one on one battle to the death, and that was how they passed the academy. They killed teammates, friends. It was no wonder there were so many missing ninja from that village. It was awful. Sakura could also see that an adult would make a tiny child kill, well, everyone.
Sakura encircled Ino's body with her arms, pulling her close. "Do you know what happened? Did you find out what you needed to?" Ino nodded.
"I broke the barrier, but it's probably best if he says it. I don't really understand their whole situation." Sakura nodded in understanding, stroking her friend's hair.
"Ino-pig, you are going to be okay. Now let's eat some chocolate."
XXX
The interrogation unit was in Daru's hospital room. The boy had woken up, and it seemed that his head was clearer now, that he could remember everything. However, his breathing was ragged, and he had been vomiting every hour. Blood. Morino Ibiki set up a recorder and turned it on. "Now, Daru. Tell us what happened."
Daru took a deep breath and started. "My clan leader ordered me to kill my sister in return for not killing my brother. I agreed, but I failed multiple times. When Sotche found out what I was doing, I had to beat him into submission. My clan leader was not pleased. It was then that I realized that he was acting strangely. He didn't know how to use his eyes. It turned out he was Madara, and I found out a few more disturbing facts. When I realized this, I disowned the clan and came here underneath the Mizukage's orders, so as to keep me safe. However, Madara intercepted me and blocked my memory." Ibiki pressed the end button.
"Can I ask you why you valued your brother's life more?"
Daru chose to ignore this, and he said, "Check Sasuke's eyes."
He then lied down and didn't get up.
XXX
Itachi placed one reassuring hand on Sakura's knee. "It is not your fault that Daru-kun fell into a coma." Sakura just shook her head. The couch underneath her squeaked when she shifted to put her head on his shoulder.
"Maybe if I had just watched him more..."
"No." Itachi interjected. "When someone has a mental taxation, they often fall into periods of deep sleep to rejuvenate their body and mind or worse, if they are simply stressed enough.. It is not your fault. If anyone, it is Madara's. Not yours." Sakura just sniffed a glob of green that threatened to fall.
"I don't know. I just can't help but feel responsible. Y'know?" If only she were a better medic...
It was as if Itachi had read her mind. His lips ghosted over her forehead, and he brought her into his lap, causing her to squeak. "You are a fantastic medic," he assured her, nudging her cheek with his. Trembling, Sakura dragged her lips across his cheek. While this was happening, Itachi had reached into his pocket. He fingered a small object and contemplated taking it out.
I don't think this is the right time, he sighed mentally, and he shoved it back in ruefully. That would just have to wait.
XXX
Sasuke was bored.
He had settled into a normal routine. He woke up at six, took a shower, then went to train with the old geezer. He then took another shower, ate, and went to pick up Chimi from her house. Then he went to the academy for six hours. Then he went home and paced until he was hungry, and then he ate again. Then he went to bed, stared at the wall for two hours, and then fell asleep. There was no variety, not like it had been with her...
He turned over in his bed, cursing. He just could not get to sleep. His hair was starting to bother him. Grumpy, he got up and went to the bathroom, pulled out a kunai, and lopped off whatever he could. Yes, this was why his hair was spiky. He never went to a barbershop or such because the girls would always flirt with him. They liked to invade his personal space, and it was annoying AND creepy.
His displeasure increased when someone decide to barge into his house. Kakashi, the pedo.
"Kakashi," he grunted. His old sensei merely smiled at him. Him and the four ANBU who were with him.
"No hard feelings, okay?" the porn-reading man chirped, immersed in his book. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"You think you'd get your nose out of your porn while you were arresting me." Kakashi laughed at this, but Sasuke grimaced. Putting his hands out willingly, he nodded, and the ANBU cuffed him. "Under what charges?" he asked.
"Espionage," a deep, masculine voice answered. Although he was dreadfully confused, he went along with them to the interrogation chambers. He didn't even complain until he saw the interrogator.
"What the hell is going on?" he finally asked. Ibiki growled at him and shoved him toward a chair.
"Sit, trash."
"I'd rather not," Sasuke answered darkly. "I know how interrogation works; I'm not stupid. You're trying to make me feel smaller than you so I'll reveal information, but I don't have any information to reveal. Why? I already gave all of it to you. Are you idiots? So back off. Where's Saobi?"
Ibiki smiled menacingly. "You seem to think you're the interrogator, asking so many questions. Sit down."
"No."
"Do it before I make you." Sasuke, knowing he could probably kill this man even with his hands cuffed, sighed in submission. Arguing like this was getting them nowhere. However, he would not do it like this.
"I refuse to say anything unless in the presence of the Hokage." Silence. "Does he even know I'm here?" Nothing. "He doesn't, does he?"
"Brat, shut up! In times of war, a Hokage's permission is not needed."
"...war?" What the hell was going on? Why wasn't he informed of this?
"That's right, brat! The rebellion in Mist has basically declared war on Konoha. They've captured some of our ANBU, and they sent us back some of their fingers and even some ears and noses. Plus, Madara is leading them." Sasuke's determination did not falter. "It looks bad. You're one of the prime suspects of a spy. They seem to know almost everything inconsequential of what's happening in this village." Sasuke almost started snarling. What did they want him to do to prove that he wasn't a spy? This was ridiculous!
"I refuse to say anything unless in the presence of the Hokage," he repeated. Ibiki grunted, obviously displeased.
"Then I suppose you will be spending your nights here, Uchiha, until you get your priorities straight."
Sasuke's lips curled into a snarl. "If that's the way you want it," he replied, taking on a snarky attitude. "I'll be here forever, and I still won't have my priorities "straight."" He spat sarcastically. "Have fun."
He now thanked his ever unchanging schedule because at least two people would notice he was gone tomorrow.
XXX
Sakura, after filling out a report for the Hokage, went to seek him out. She found him easily. He was humming, and he had an extra bounce in his step. She eyed him weirdly.
"Saobi," she started.
He finally noticed her out of his good cheer. "Hey!" he half-shouted. "How is my favorite medic doing today?" Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but her jaw dropped after a while.
"Why are you so happy?" she boomed. Saobi beamed at her.
"Oh, just some adult stuff." Sakura, wanting to know the secret to this happiness, urged him to go on.
"Tell me," she demanded.
"Nah," he droned. "I'm good."
"Tell me!" she bit out, grabbing on to his sleeve. Saobi stopped, look around, then broke out into a goofy grin.
"I had sex last night!" he whispered in her ear. "The first time in two years!" He then walked away, grabbing the report, and leaving behind a very stunned Sakura.
Her face turned a tomato red, her mouth agape, and her eyes wide. Realizing this, she squeezed her eyes shut and snapped her mouth closed. She then put a hand to her face. Warm. Very warm.
Thankfully, her stomach started growling, demanding for sustenance. Fanning herself with both hands, she went to tell Shizune she was taking her lunch break. She promptly walked to a random restaurant close to the hospital and ordered the fattiest, most unhealthy thing on the menu. In other words, Tonkatsu and tempura. While she was waiting at the sushi bar, someone sat next to her. Someone female. Sakura could tell because they smelled good.
She knew she would regret turning to see who it was, but she did anyway.
Damn it. It was Karin.
The stupid bitch.
Now, Karin and Sakura actually got along okay. Back when Karin had come to Konoha, Sakura showed her the ropes in the hospital. Karin only dealt with the psychotic men now, so they didn't see each other much. But Karin was crazy about boys, and she really was not what Sakura needed at the moment. She was trying to get her mind pure, clean. "Long time no see," Sakura greeted.
"Hey, I heard that you were banging the Uchiha."
Sakura banged her head on the table. "I am not 'banging' Sasuke!" Karin scoffed.
"I didn't mean that Uchiha. Stupid." Sakura's eyes widened.
"You mean, you know?"
Karin shrugged and took a sip of water. "Saobi's been letting it slip, little by little. I'd say half the Jounin population knows by now. And we all know you're going at it like bunnies." Sakura just snarled at this.
"Why is EVERYONE talking about sex all of a sudden? Why? Is it mating season? Huh? Love is just in the air? Why does everyone decide to fall in love during spring and have sex during spring?"
"Bitch, you're rambling," she calmly commented, pointing with a finger. "Sex isn't such a big deal, you know. I mean, everyone's doing it. You're not a virgin, I'm not a virgin."
Sakura was oddly silent. Karin's eyes bugged out of her head.
"You mean, you've never..."
"No!" Sakura seethed. "I'm a virgin," she enunciated shyly.
Karin started guffawing, holding her stomach with her arms. "Oh, that's precious! Sakura has yet to be deflowered. Hoo, boy." She wiped a tear from her eye comically, but Sakura just resorted to glaring at Karin.
"It's not that funny," she pouted.
"Uh, yeah, it is," Karin informed her. "Seriously, why do you still have it?"
"Well," Sakura started, "At first, I was saving myself for Sasuke-" Karin made a gagging noise "-now, well...I just don't know. STDs?"
"That's lame," Karin said.
"You're lame," Sakura grumbled. "I just...I just don't think I'm ready."
"Oh, once you feel IT, you're ready." Sakura was tempted to ask what "IT" was, but she didn't. "But seriously, the ones with no strings attached are great."
"You mean one-night stands?" Sakura asked incredulously. How raunchy!
"Yeah, they don't really care what you do or stuff. You get to be totally selfish of what you want to do and-"
"Please. I'll lose my appetite."
"Oh. Sorry."
Sakura and Karin received their food, and the pink-haired medic proceeded to dig in quickly, trying to get away from this situation as fast as possible. Stuffing food in her mouth in a most ladylike fashion, Sakura wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stood up. "See ya," she said quickly. Karin gave her a little wave and a sly smile.
"You know, you should ask Itachi. Ask him what he thinks. Before he leaves you for being a prude, of course."
Sakura could not hide her blush as she walked away from the restaurant.
XXX
"Sakura, Daru-sama's awake!" Michi breathed. "Isn't it so exciting?"
Sakura nodded. "Sure," she said blandly. "I'll go check up on him now."
Slowly, she strolled to the room, stiff and tense. This was a man who was willing to kill family, friends...
When she reached the room, it was locked.
With no hesitation, she looked inside. Daru WAS up, but it was obvious that he was having a private moment with his sister. One that involved lots of sobbing. With hesitation, she slowly unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Daru was hunched over, his sister supporting his head, his hands grabbing her shirt tightly, as if he was afraid to ever let go.
Did people ever grow up to not need their family.
No, you never stopped needing your siblings. Never. What had happened? What had really happened? This was just uncharacteristic of the kind boy she had met.
Sakura had to know.
The two had noticed her presence by now, and an awkward silence settled over them.
"Hello," Daru squeaked.
"Hi," Sakura said back. "How are you feeling? Dizzy, nauseous, cold?"
"Nah, he's just got a bad case of the sniffles," Haruna said smoothly, and Sakura had to bite on her cheek to keep from laughing. "I'm going to let you two talk for a sex."
Sakura choked on her spit. "Um...what?"
"I said I'm going to let you two talk for a sec?" Trying to calm her racing heart, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay." As Haruna left the room, Sakura pulled up a stool.
The two sat in silence, besides the beeping of all the machines. Sakura just waited for him to start.
"She's going to die."
Sakura stiffened. "What?"
"My sister. She's going to die."
Sakura scoffed. "Please. She's strong. " Daru shook his head.
"She's going to die because she wants to die." Sakura's eyes widened. She wasn't a big fan of Jin/whatever anymore, but...
"I was going to kill her, but I knew her body would be too strong for normal poisons. I couldn't do it." He paused and broke apart. "I was going to kill her because I loved her."
Sakura just sat in shock as he started bawling again.
XXX
Sakura entered Saobi's office, carrying with her another report. "Daru's awake," she informed him.
Saobi nodded, carrying on with his paperwork. Sakura quirked a brow. "Too busy to talk?"
"Oh, you know," Saobi whined. "I've got to finish all this by tonight so don't bother me."
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Tonight? Why?"
Saobi stopped and looked her in the eyes. "You mean Itachi hasn't told you?" he said.
Sakura felt panic set in. "Told me what?"
"We're leaving tomorrow for Madara's hideout to stop the rebellion."
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Her throat started constricting. "No..." she choked. "Why didn't he tell me?" Was this an indirect way of telling her that he did not want her anymore? That she was a prude?
Saobi sighed. "Knowing Itachi, he just didn't want to hurt you."
"Didn't want to hurt me?" she shrilled. "He never talks to me anymore..." Saobi just slapped his hands on his knees.
"Well, now that you know, you should say your goodbyes tonight." Sakura just shook her head.
"You're going too? Who's going to take care of Konoha?"
"Tsunade will for the time being. If we don't come back-"
"Don't talk like that!" Sakura snapped.
Saobi sighed. "It's the truth, Sakura. We are shinobi. Dying on missions is what we do. The council is lucky they're still alive. Every mission we take, there's always the chance of dying. And this one is S-rank. So. Say goodbye. Just in case."
Sakura left his office with a heavy heart.
She went to tell Shizune that she didn't feel well and was going home. Shizune, of course, understood. She patted her on the back sympathetically and told her to feel better. Sakura doubted it would happen but said thank you anyway.
With a turn of the heal, she walked out of the hospital, slowly and wearily. She already decided that she was going to eat a tub of chocolate ice cream when she got home. That amongst other things.
She sat on her bed, practically chugging the ice cream down her throat, sobbing as she watched the season finale of My Master and I. Why'd they have to make it so dramatic? When it was over, she turned the television off with a click and just lied on the couch for a minute, closing her eyes and trying to feel peaceful. It didn't work.
"Fuck," she swore, cracking her knuckles angrily. She threw away the empty ice cream carton and proceeded to walk to a training ground to burn it off. And beat the shit out of trees.
And that she did.
"GRAH!" she yelled as she pulled a tree from its roots and threw it to the ground fifty meters away.
She broke all the training dummies and had felled twenty-five percent of the trees. It was a good thing nobody came to disturb her. She kept it up for one and a half hours, and it still did nothing to quell her anger. Grinding her teeth together, she stomped her way home, set the shower on the coldest setting, and contemplated punching through the wall. She screamed instead. She then thought of a plan. A devious plan. A plan so naughty, it would rock your world. Seriously.
She was tired of no communication, of no real benefits of the relationship. She wanted...more. More than what they already had. She wanted to feel intimately connected.
With this in mind, she started cooking the best dinner she had ever made. Miso soup, Napa cabbage casserole (his favorite), sushi rolls, tempura, and yakisoba. Sure, it was a bit extravagant, but he was leaving the next day. This would be a night he'd remember. All in all, it took her two hours for all of it. There was a click of the door.
Whiffing the air, she smiled and breathed, "Perfect."
Itachi came in, slightly confused. He saw the table and wondered why there was so much food. Were they having guests? There was no way he and Sakura could finish all the food. Opening his mouth, he began to ask, "Why-" but he was cut off by Sakura's lips. They sucked on his quite sensually, and it was different than all the rest of their kisses. It was very...
They broke away from each other, breathless. "Hi." A sly smile sent his way and Itachi felt a chill go up his spine.
"Hello," he greeted. "Why is there so much to eat?" he asked cheerfully. Well, not really. To everyone else, he looked the same, but Sakura could tell that he was happy.
"Well, I heard it was your last night here so I just wanted to make it special." Itachi's blood froze. How had she found out? He was going to... "Well, let's start. Itadakimasu!" she chirped.
"Itadakimasu," he echoed mellowly, picking up his chopsticks and wiping them off with his napkin. Secretly, Sakura smiled. It was so cute how he was discreetly OCD.
Everything was extravagant. Even the taste of the food. It was all rich and overly delicious. Fattening, too. Didn't mean Itachi didn't like it, but it was just...too much. Too much for it to be normal. "This is delicious," he complimented Sakura. She blushed and smiled shyly.
"Thank you, Itachi...kun." His eye twitched. Itachi-kun?
He shook the thought and concentrated on his food and lightly conversed with Sakura. It was pleasant, or it at least took up the pretence. Itachi was feeling very uncomfortable because he could sense sadness coming off of Sakura. When he was done, they watched a bit of T.V. before Sakura politely informed him that he smelled like a pig and needed to shower. He obliged willingly.
Meanwhile, Sakura hurried to their room and searched the drawers. When she found it, she smirked and threw off her clothes. She would do this right.
Itachi eventually stepped out of the shower and blew dry his hair. It was so long, and it took too long to possibly think of letting it air dry. Then he brushed his teeth and flossed three times. Hey, you never knew when you'd get a cavity. When he was done examining his teeth, he opened the door of the bathroom, walking out. He immediately wished he hadn't.
His breath caught in his throat, and time seemed to stand still.
There Sakura was, leaning against the wall in the sexiest pair of lingerie he had ever seen. His mouth ran dry, and he felt a healthy flush rise to his cheeks.
Sakura strolled over to him like a cat and snaked her arms over his shoulders, pressing her body flush to his. Lifting her head a bit, she whispered in his ear.
"I want to make love to you."
Chapter 36
Itachi felt his heart pounding in his chest, threatening to burst out.
What was this woman thinking?
"Sakura... what on earth?"
"Make me yours!" she whispered, her petal soft lips skimming the shell of his ear. Itachi failed to suppress a shudder, and Sakura took immense pleasure in that. However, Itachi backed away, his face flushed and hot. How could she even think of doing this? This was...this was... torture! Pure torture! "What's wrong, Itachi?" she husked. "Feeling scared?"
"Yes," he choked out. "Very, very scared." He took two steps back, but that didn't matter to Sakura. She stomped forward and laced her arms around his neck. She could feel through the flimsy fabrics of their clothing that his heart was beating very fast.
"Please," she implored. Her lips ghosted over his, and Itachi had to use all of his self restraint not to close the distance.
"Please stop," Itachi said unevenly, voice quivering. He forced his hands to stay still at his sides. The way her breast pressed against his chest was forcing all those years of practicing self control to crumble into dust. "Please stop," he repeated. "You're not thinking clearly." And I won't be either if you keep doing that.
"Don't you love me?" Sakura asked.
"Of course I love you, it's just-"
"Then hurry up and fuck me," she hissed, mashing their lips together. At this point in time, Itachi just could not resist. He closed his eyes and violently kissed back, despite preferring gentle ones. All the temptation had just about killed him. Sakura tongue curled around his and pulled.
Itachi moaned, a euphonious sound to Sakura's ears. Before, while kissing, he would be terribly reserved about his own physical pleasures, and this was a treat to her. She dragged her hands down his chest, and her mouth moved to his neck and sucked on the underside of his jaw. A gasp that could not be stifled escaped his mouth. The next kiss went to his chest. The next to his stomach. Her lips then trailed a bath down to the waistband of his pants, and when she tried to unfasten them, a hand clutched her wrist.
Itachi had become lucid. "No," he said softly. "No."
Sakura snatched her wrist away from his old and tried again, but Itachi simply shook his head. He bent over and cupped her face in his hands. "You don't really want to do this. You want reassurance that I love you, and this is not the way to do it." He paused and looked into Sakura's tear glistening eyes. "I want to do this right." He coaxed her to stand up.
Then he bent down on one knee and pulled out a felt box from his pocket.
Sakura's heart stopped.
"Sakura, I haven't had proficient time to practice this, but here goes everything. Sakura, I met you almost one year ago. Well, not exactly. I had met you before, but we were enemies. No, never mind. It has been such a short time, but I am sure that you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with." Sakura started sobbing. Itachi slowly opened the box. There in the box was a gleaming, diamond ring. Sakura choked and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sakura, will you marry me?" Then the most surprising thing happened.
Sakura slapped Itachi. His eyes widened questioningly.
"You idiot! Why didn't you do this earlier?"
"Um...is that a no?"
"Of course it's a yes! I just tried to sleep with you, what do you think? Though you have already done this before," she reminded him, and he just scoffed, blushing. She pulled him up by the collar and threw her arms around his neck. "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!" she squealed, hugging him so tightly he was afraid he might pass out. A smile came to his face instead.
"I love you too," he whispered.
OOO
"Let's go to bed," Sakura said, taking his hands in hers. "It's way past bedtime."
"Erm..." Itachi said, blushing. "I'll take the couch today."
Sakura cocked her head to the side, confused. "Just the other day-"
"I know what I said," Itachi said, blush deepening. "It's just that...y'know."
"Oh," Sakura said flatly. Then she got it. "Oh... okay. Um, I'm going to bed then. Uh. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Itachi murmured, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
OOO
"Saobi, Saobi! Get up, you lazy fool!" said man's wife shrilled, kicking him in the stomach. Saobi groaned.
"Haruna, I'm trying to sleep. I have a big day coming up!"
"Well, you're going to have to postpone it."
"Haruna-"
"Don't you "Haruna" me," the woman snapped. "Someone's been kidnapped!" That caught the Hokage's attention. He bolted out of bed.
"Who?" he asked.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
He nodded thoughtfully, scratching the back of his neck calmly. "Well, that's a problem."
OOO
Someone knocked the door in the middle of the night. Itachi surprisingly slept through it. That made Sakura grumpy. She slammed the door open. She blinked a couple of time, finding no one there. Then she looked down. She frowned. "Oh, it's you."
Hapinara let himself in. "I need to speak to Itachi." The medic rolled her eyes.
Sakura grumbled, "Oh, don't let me stop you."
The little old man shook his former student awake. "Itachi. Itachi."
Itachi groaned and slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Hapinara's face, his eyes widened even more. "You...you're so old."
Hapinara scoffed. "That's the first thing you say to me after all these years? Now, get up! Sasuke has gone missing. "
Itachi blanched.