Chapter Eleven
Itachi walked into the room, his presence every bit as intimidating as his piercing gaze.
Sakura couldn't seem to look away.
"We have not officially met," he segued. "I am Itachi Uchiha."
He held his hand out, waiting for her to make a move and accept it.
She had to move around Around Sasuke to get to him. Sasuke didn't move out of her way in the slightest, if anything he still tried to remain near her as she shook Itachi's hand.
"Sakura," she said, unsure of what to say to this man. Part of her was even afraid of blabbing away Sasuke's secret mission out of her shere uncomfortableness.
Itachi gave her a slow smile and let her hand go, as if the simple brush of their fingers was all he needed to read her every thought.
"I'm off then," he said while looking at her, though she somehow knew that he was actually talking to Sasuke.
As he exited the room, Sakura could see a visible difference in the way Sasuke held himself. He was more relaxed in his stance, not so straight up and down, at full attention. His shoulder eased down a bit, and his eyes had lost their razor like edge.
"What the hell was that about?" She whispered, afraid her voice would carry out the door and down the hall if it were any louder.
Sasuke shook his head. "Itachi," he ground out.
Okayyyyyy.
"What's up with you two?" She asked. "I've seen sibling rivalry, but that was like...some kind of bizarre extreme."
Rather than answering her question, he changed the topic. "You wanted to go down to the water?"
She perked up and sped to the door, turning around as she got there. "Lead the way."
No way was Sakura letting him off so easily, but she wanted to get him out of the house. Maybe being away from Itachi would get him to open up a bit.
Sasuke remained pensive, but still led her through the house and out the back door. The lawn was expansive, a few hills breaking up the landscaping as it shepherded them down to the water's edge naturally.
The water rippled gently, tugging this way and that with the breeze. Sakura smiled down at her reflection and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh air.
"It's nice to get out of the city. I haven't gone anywhere in a long time," she admitted, silently leading the way out onto the dock.
The wooden path was steady below their feet, not even a tiny Creek was heard as they walked onto it. Sakura held out her hand to hover over the railing, every so often she would dip her hand and tap the surface happily.
Sasuke stayed silent, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. Sakura couldn't help but wonder at how he got through things. Did he have any way of coping with his feelings?
"You know," she began. "It's a little hypocritical of you to tell me how to live my life with no worrying, when you're worrying right now."
"I never said not to worry," he pointed out. "I told you not to worry about figuring your life out right now."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you also said that you stopped worrying because you're so confident in the fact that you will overcome your brother, step out from behind his shadow." She tucked her hair behind her ear after a gust of wind blew it in front of her face. "Didn't exactly look like you're over that shadow yourself."
His eyes narrowed. "Don't speak about things as if you understand."
"As if I…?" Sakura bristled at both his tone and his words. "What makes you think I don't understand?"
He looked her up and down, and then settled on her face. He gave her a look that said she was crazy for not understanding his train of thought.
She didn't understand what was happening. She thought they were on some sort of level leading to friendship, that he would be a good support for her, but maybe she was wrong. So completely wrong.
"Say it, Sasuke."
He looked annoyed that he had to explain himself aloud. "You don't know what it's like to have to compete all the time."
Sakura's ears burned in her rage. "You're the one who doesn't understand!" She found her arm out back to the gorgeous lake house. "You grew up with everything, and I grew up with nothing. Everything I have, I've had to earn it. I grew up in a box, Sasuke, in a box!"
He looked absolutely confused.
"So you're right, I don't understand what it's like to have to compete with an older sibling. I just had to learn how to compete with everyone else," she shouted.
She didn't wait for his reply,but rather she wrapped her jacket around her tighter, holding her elbows in her hands as she stormed off the dock. She held it together until she got to a big Willow tree on the outskirts of the property. She got to the opposite side of the trunk before she said to the ground and cried. She pulled her knees close to her chest as she set her eyes down on her jeans.
It wasn't a hard cry, but a silent one. Tears slid down her face as she sat there quietly thinking about her outburst.
It felt like a decent amount of time had passed before she lifted her head. It was getting dark out, the sun dipping lower and lower behind the treeline. The last flickers of light danced across the water, making it glimmer off it's surface.
She took a last swipe of her eyes on her sleeve before sniffling. Okay, one more swipe with the other sleeve just to be safe she was done crying.
Putting her hand to the tree's bark, she walked around it, ready to go back.
But she came up short, surprised to find Sasuke sitting on the ground and leaning his back against the tree, opposite from where she'd been huddled.
His eyes were closed, his head tilted back. It almost was as if he was asleep, but then his eyes slowly blinked open.
They were low at first, but then he saw her standing beside him and he looked at her with a wide and worried expression.
"Sakura," he broke the silence, but then didn't know what else to say apparently.
She stood there looking down at him. Even though she had just done this very same thing just a little while ago, she told him, "We shouldn't be comparing our hardships."
And Sakura knew then what she should've known all along. Comparing herself to others didn't do any good, most certainly not for her. She couldn't fix her past, couldn't change what she had gone through. She just needed to focus on the now, be present in the everyday life she had carved out for herself.
He remained sitting on the ground, leaning against the tree, his head angled up to look at her.
She could tell by his expression that he was searching for the right thing to say, or maybe for anything to say at all. And she couldn't help herself, but she had to speak before he did.
"Come on, let's go inside. Dinners probably ready by now." She held out her hand for him to take.
He eyed it for a second before slowly connecting his palm to hers. The feeling of his strong, warm hand holding hers was enrapturing. The feeling seemed to run through her the longer he held on, and it even lingered after he let go.
Walking back to the house was quiet. Rather than feeling awkward in the silence, Sakura's mind was a complete hush. It was strange for her to feel filled to the brim with such turmoil, and now feel relaxed.
Sasuke brought out the crazy in her, but he also called the storms. Never before had she found someone who was capable of making her feel this way.
They just made it to the door when Sasuke tugged on her jacket sleeve. The action surprised her, stopping her foot before her toes hit the ground.
He looked unsure of himself still, but then he set his jaw, angling his shoulders confidently towards her.
"You should be able to talk about anything with me." He took his hand back and put it in his pocket, his trademark look that Sakura came to expect from him. "I'll listen."
Sakura slowly nodded. She didn't know when she'd be able to talk with Sasuke about her past, but she knew that it would happen. It was just a feeling she had, something in those eyes of his always pulled her in, making her feel safe, secure.
But she's felt this way before, with Sai. Just for a little bit in the beginning of their relationship, and look where that got her.
Sasuke pushed the glass door open and waited for her to walk in before he stepped in and shut the door.
Sakura took her boots off and set them against the wall, and as she stood up her nose was overcome with such a delicious aroma.
"What is that?" she said dreamily, sniffing a few more times while she followed the smell into the kitchen.
A couple of chefs were busy setting plates, and Sakura's mouth watered at the sight. The chicken breasts were browned to perfection, mashed potatoes were always a welcome sight, and the steamed vegetables glistened with a hint of butter.
Mikoto walked into the kitchen through the door on the opposite end of the room, which Sakura could see was the dining room, set and ready to go. She saw Sakura hovering.
"Come and sit, dear. DInner's ready." Her warm smile enticed Sakura to walk through the kitchen and meet her.
"It all looks so good, I can't wait," Sakura blurted, her eyes no doubt widening with her excitement at finally getting to eat.
Mikoto stared at her in surprise. Not the kind of surprise like she didn't expect something so nice to come out of Sakura's mouth, but more like she was amused instead. Sakura would take it.
Thankfully Sasuke was close behind her when she made her way to the table. He pulled out a chair for her to take, which she was grateful for as she didn't want to pick out a wrong seat. Heaven forbid that she take the chair that Itachi always sat at. He was scary, and she didn't want to deal with another showdown between the Uchiha brothers.
Naruto came racing in with Hinata not too far behind. He eagerly took up a seat on the other side of Sakura, patting the seat beside him. "Sit by me, Hinata."
She smiled and quietly took her seat, folding her hands in her lap. Sakura leaned across Naruto to whisper, "Isn't this place crazy? I've never seen anything like it!"
Hinata nodded, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. "It's incredible."
From the hallway, Sakura could hear it. Oh boy, could she ever hear it. The sound cascaded against the walls, reverberating enticingly in Sakura's ears. Ino's voice.
This was it. Sakura straightened in her chair, eagerly awaiting the moment when Ino would see her, the moment when she would shriek or pull on her hair in agitation at the sight of Sakura's pink head anywhere near the Uchihas.
Itachi appeared first, followed by Ino. She wore a different look than usual. No longer sporting an irritated expression, nor was there a look in her eyes that always made Sakura shut her mouth, lest another rumor about her be spread around the office.
No, she looked...sweet, bright eyes and happy. Her hair was down, braided over her left shoulder in a loose, casual way. Her smile was uninhibited by the stress she usually carried around with her. She was utterly free, no sign of the Ino that Sakura had grown to despise, to hate even.
It felt like time stood still in that moment, in which Sakura thought for the slightest of seconds that this was a completely different girl.
But then her cerulean blue eyes took in the rest of the room's inhabitants, and when her eyes landed on Sakura, she stopped smiling.
There she is! Sakura couldn't help but do a victory dance in her head when Ino's face went from totally angelic to demonic in less than a second.
And then in walked the CEO, Fugaku Uchiha. He was smiling a fraction as he took his seat at the head of the table. Mikoto took up the chair opposite him.
Sakura smirked at her rival as she took a seat beside Itachi, and directly across from her, not daring to even utter a single word in front of Fugaku.
"Sakura," Itachi drawled, his dusky voice cutting through the tension in the room. "I'm happy that you'll be staying with us for the weekend."
Ino looked ready to explode. Her face was becoming more red with each passing breath. And Sakura loved every bit of it.
"I am too," she said, not looking away from Ino while she answered Itachi.
But then, Sasuke visibly tensed beside her, and that brought her out of her victorious inner monologue. Itachi's words were odd, now that she was dissecting them. Why would he only point her out while there were six other people in the room.
She glanced sideways at Sasuke and then at Itachi head on. He was looking directly at her, completely unabashed.
Uh oh. Sakura was so excited in her revenge plans against Ino and then Naruto that nothing else had even been on her radar. But now, with Itachi staring at her like that, she couldn't help but wonder what was in store for her during this trip. She had been busy laying out her web, but had she already been caught in another?