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Chapter 11

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Oh For Kami's Sake, Mikoto- ASS! SAY ASS!

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Thank you all for your awesome reviews last chapter, love them all~!

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Previously, the night before, Itachi sped walk down the corridor and through the doors where the crowd of people leaving the meeting converged at. He avoided all those who spoke to him and maneuvered his way through the thicken crowd and passed over the arching bridge that stretched above a large river that was aglow with underwater lights, highlighting the scales of beautiful, colorful koi fishes that glided through the gentle waters. His armor was heavily weighing down his body but his legs moved as if he was as light as a feather.

Lavender eyes watched as Itachi's figure hastily retreated towards the main house gates. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly before enclosing her thin lips around the black cigarette holder and inhaling deeply. The smoke puffed out her nostrils and leisurely curled from her mouth when she opened it to speak. "So he's really in love with this Sakura girl?" She asked skeptically, raising her delicate brow in amusement.

Fugaku followed her gaze, watching his own son make his way through the gates and up the stone hill with an angry stride in his step. He emitted a low, heavy chuckle, knowing his own son's intentions on finding the young medic. "I believe so. She's really changed him and my nephew in a way I never thought was possible."

An oblique smirk curled the corner of her lips. "Well, well, this is some interesting news. Due to all the commotion, I know we weren't able to get down to great business but I do believe this interferes with our plans." She cast a glance his way and saw the tightness in his neck as he clenched his jaw.

Fugaku frown with distaste. "Violet, I truly believe Itachi will never marry any of his cousins, he simply isn't interested in any of those girls, not even his once betrothed whom we just found out isn't even fit to become the next matriarch." His dark eyes cut towards her accusingly, his piercing gaze enough to rival the Arctic tundras.

Violet fought the uneasy shiver that slithered down her spine. "I see, but what the old man said was true, and the others agree with him as well, if we have one more spoil in the pot, this damages the strong Uchiha lineage." She stated honestly. She really didn't care about the Uchiha lineage since she was never an Uchiha to begin with. Her mother married into the clan and forced her to marry her first cousin who a high nobleman in the Uchiha family. When she became a widow, she claimed everything and rose in status. She had everything she wanted so she cared less about anyone who didn't directly affect her.

"What do you suppose Itachi do?"

"He could possibly make her his concubine." She suggested without hesitation. For many decades Uchiha men placed numerous concubines in a harem to bear their children but the practice stopped altogether when Fugaku took on the role as head of the clan. Although for the longest he remained monogamous to his wife, it didn't last and as much as that pitiful wife of his fought him for his actions, she couldn't stop him from leaving their bed and coming to warm her own. The thought made another haughty smirk curl her ruby lips in satisfaction of hurting the woman she despised so much.

"Preposterous, he would never agree, his is too traumatized by my own doing with other women behind his mother's back." He sighed with a shake of his head.

"Hm, the boy is too weak minded; too paralyzed by his mother's soft upbringing. And that wife of yours, if she was never so unfulfilling, then you wouldn't be warming other female's beds, including mine." She threw out with an air of arrogance and a haughty look in her eyes.

The older Uchiha fought the urge to roll his eyes at the arrogant female. "Silence, Violet do not speak ill of Mikoto if you cannot back up your words when she rains down her wrath on you." The thought made him chuckle.

Violet's cheeks were now redden in anger and embarrassment. That lady wasn't even present and already making a fool out of her! "That damn wife of yours is not the way she use to be! She doesn't play around in the dirt like some uneducated and ill mannered peasant boy anymore. Instead, she cries like a broken hearted pussy." She spurted indignantly but still, fear hinted her words. She's seen the old ruthless Mikoto in action and would rather keep that side of her dormant.

"If you continue to speak like that then I won't hesitate to allow you to see the wrath you are insistent that she doesn't possess anymore." He warned in an icy tone but held an amused expression as he watched the woman's face discolor and fear plague her usually pleasant features.

However, she twisted her painted lips in disbelief and scoffed at the idea of a prim and proper Mikoto turning back to her tomboy ways."Spare me, I don't want to be crocheted to death. But back to your son. We want a full blooded heir. It is your choice if you will allow this relationship but your son has less than four months left to take a woman and whomever this Sakura character is, had better make her move before then or else we will make ours."

"We'll do,"

"Now on to lighter subjects. The Spring Uchiha bash is coming up, I hope to see you, the whole head family and this girl who's cause quite a buzz at our meeting." She grinned with a mischievous look in her eye that told of something brewing in the midst. This intrigued the patriarch to want to know just want she was planning.

"I'll make it my business to see to it that she attends." He promised with a knowing look of his own.

"Perfect," She purred wickedly with a matching smile.

When Fugaku move to leave, he was suddenly stopped. "Oh, one more thing you forgot to mention, Fugaku."

"What?"

"You never mentioned her last name."

"..."

"Fine, don't talk. We all know who she was, there aren't many Sakura's in Konoha who so happens to be a doctor under the tutelage of the Hokage herself. My real question is, does Itachi know about her?" His fist clenched hard until his knuckles were white.

"Violet," he growled warningly.

That didn't deter the vindictive woman. "I wonder what he'll think. Her family was indeed more of a pain in Konoha's ass than we were back in the day, it was nice of them to eradicate that-"

That was the last straw. "Silence! Violet, you have overstepped your boundaries. Elder or not, I am still head of this family and I can make an executive decision to stop any of your plans if I so choose to. You forget that I don't care for whatever you elders plan and I won't hesitate to overrule it. So I advise you to choose your words wisely when speaking to me if you do not wish for all you old fools' plans to be thwarted."

A pesky vein throbbed beneath her left twitching eye. She pursed her lips into a hard line, squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes threateningly as she whispered. "That may be true, but are you sure about all the power you possess?"

.\\.

A gentle wind rustled the trees in the spring day. Morning dew twinkled the delicate petals of flowers and coaxed open one late blooming bud. The flower beds around the park glistened in the mild day and the trees above hung the droplets of moisture like tiny crystal tear drop stones. Beneath a shady tree three women stood but two of them with an air of nobility dancing through their tresses. One of the ladies who pocketed her hands in her bright yellow billowy sundress was currently scowling at the bleachers across the field from them that seated tens to hundreds of young girls who by them selves made ample noise in the otherwise calm day. She absently dug the heel of her sandal in the dirt while chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. However, one hand instinctively reached up to grip the pristine white woven sunhat from the threatening wind, her dark pink locks flowing away in the breeze.

"Did Shisui have to bring all these young ladies with him?" Kushina thought out loud.

Next to her stood a slightly shorter woman who wore a sundress similar to her friend's, but it was a sleeveless white and navy polka-dot dress with a thin white belt clasped around her waist, separating the form fitting top from the billowy bottom. Her hair was pulled up into a regal twist with tiny diamond stones nestled around the braids and twists. A light frown marred her delicate features as she listened to her friend. Shisui sure knew how to bring an entourage to a private event.

"Well you know my nephew, just like his father when he was his age." Mikoto laughed, her voice gentle and warm like the spring day.

"That's true," Kushina nodded her head. "What type of falling out did he have with Itachi this time?" She asked, her tone hinting this isn't new to neither of them.

On the very left of both women, a younger lady stood with emerald eyes filled with genuine curiosity. She donned a coral sleeveless halter neck sundress. The bottom was striped with coral and white only it wasn't as billowy as the other ladies' but it held its own light puffy feel while complementing her statuesque figure. A loose white ribbon held it together in the back with a big luscious bow. Sakura's hair was up and twisted with locks of hair framing her delicate face along with her symmetrical Chinese bangs. A hint of makeup touched her skin but Mikoto made sure it was very light to avoid cakeface. Pink lipcolor painted her succulent lips, a light blush fanned her cheeks and a thin lining of eyeliner shaped her wide lambent eyes with a tiny clef at the end. Mascara coated her thick lashes and her eyebrows were freshly plucked that morning but was carefully filled in as to look more natural than drawn on. Despite all this, she still felt a little insecure standing next to such beautiful ladies and often found a sense of comfort and familiarity in her white pristine shoes when her insecurity got too much.

Her gaze would shift to the blue cooler from the left of her and idly wondered would they mind if she sat on it. Her shoes were actually beginning to pinch her feet but she dismissed the thought when she saw Mikoto and Kushina beginning to move towards the field, words still floating over them as they walked.

"Sakura, can you grab that tray for me? The boys must be exhausted by now." Called Mikoto sweetly before she went back to speaking with Kushina. Sakura hurriedly grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and filled the cups on her tray before balancing them all on the tray without a spill. She quickly toed across the field but found it an even greater task with the tray. 'How can Mikoto and Kushina just leisurely stroll without their heels digging into the dirt like that in higher heels than mine?!' Mikoto had picked out her ensemble that morning from old clothes the matriarch couldn't wear anymore. All her dresses were nearly brand new and worn at least once for fitting. Some still carried the price tag on them.

As they reached the red turf, Sakura released a sigh when she could shift her weight back to her heels without the fear of them sinking into the Earth. Kakashi instantly spotted the three ladies and gruffly barked out an order. All the men collapsed onto the Earth, some sighing as if the Kami's were looking out for them, others like Naruto groaned in response.

"Awww c'mon, I was just getting ener-"

"If you utter one more word, I may be forced to kill you, Naruto." Growled Sasuke who clobbered the blond haired idiot upside his head, eliciting a cry of pain and protest as he rubbed his head soothingly and grabbed Sasuke by the neck of his shirt, daring him to repeat his actions.

"Yea, Shut the fuck up, dumbass!" Groaned Shisui who seemed to have taken a harder beaten than the rest of the group judging from his position face-down against the ground. Kakashi chuckled before setting his eyes back to the two ladies and like the gentlemen he was, he ushered them to a nearby bench.

"It's always a pleasure to be in the company of such beautiful women. Did you enjoy our little show?" He shot them an eye crinkle and a smile behind his mask, causing the married women to detract their fans in a bashful manner before fanning themselves. Kushina has heard these lines before and so has Mikoto but it felt good to hear them again after such a long time.

However, Shisui was not amused. "Damn, Kakashi knows he be spitting some hard game."

"Yea, and he's spitting it to my wife too!" Minato raised up from his sitting position to give his pupil a thing or to about respect but quickly took a knee when his legs turned to gelatin and threatened to give out beneath him. That Kakashi also sure knew how to work a man to his grave.

Sakura rolled her eyes towards her father as she handed glasses of lemonade out. After giving Minato and Naruto a refreshing glass of lemonade and receiving a bear hug from both men, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watch. Mindful of her surroundings, she slowly dropped to sit on her knees to assist Shisui with his broken nose and busted lip. She could hear it now; there were murmurs coming from the girls on the bleachers. Sakura tried her hardest to ignore their jealous remarks but one made her distaste heard.

"That ugly wench next to Shisui-sama, I heard she's nothing but a gold-digging, status hungry, trollop that's probably sleeping with the 1st heir Itachi-sama and Sasuke-sama too. Look at her getting all chummy with the Hokage and the former Hokage, oh Kami, the woman sure does get around. Itachi would never marry a lowly commoner or even cast her more than a sideways glance and if that ugly thing thinks she's gonna become matriarch one day-" The noble girl then burst out in laughter as if her next words were too absurd to utter, fanning herself as she laughed arrogantly and without a care of who heard her. Her words cut through Sakura like steely knives and her hands promptly stopped their ministrations, a sudden uncontrollable tremble taking over them that she couldn't shake off.

Mikoto didn't miss that comment either. The matriarch's dark eyes darted to the bleachers like a hawk, a dark expression plaguing her beautiful face. Her eyes landed on the woman with a Nara fan and an arrogant smirk and narrowed her eyes warningly in her direction. The young girl paled under her icy scrutiny and emitted an uncomfortable coughed before breaking eye contact, fanning herself vigorously with an embarrassed blush.

Her expression softened the slightest when she turned her gaze back to Sakura's direction but found her gone.

Sakura burst through the door, running straight for the sink. Her hands gripped the counter as her knees shook. After a moment, the medic stared at her reflection with intrigue, confusion, insecurity, and sudden disgust. Who did that girl think she is? Saying those cruel things and just laughing about it! Sakura had the right mind to go back out there and show her what her left fist tasted like.

However, her fists were still shaking against the cool counter, betraying her brave front. Why was she so affected by her words? Why did they hurt her so much? Was it because they were true?

Of course not! Sakura wasn't capable of using someone for status and wealth! Let alone have relations with anyone, especially Naruto. 'Ewwww' she inwardly cringed. It's like sleeping with your brother. And Sasuke? He's attempted and failed many times in the past and is still nursing his bruised ego. Besides, they were some of her closest friends, if not, her only close friends besides Ino, that's been with her every step of the way throughout her life.

She glared down at her shaking hands, her mind wandering even deeper. It wasn't the fact that the girl accused her of sleeping with Naruto and Sasuke- she's been accused of that many times in highschool and college since they all crashed in the same bed most of the time in college and the two seldom used their own highly lavished apartments to sleep in. It was the thought that she would use Itachi- a guy who never even looked at her the way a man does a woman he likes! She assumed he thought of her as 'one of the guys' like she's always been, not the girly-girl who is marriage material.

She felt her neck tighten in sadness, foreign emotions twisting painfully in her chest. She raised her head and saw tears collecting in her eyes, her mascara gathering with it. She tapped her foot anxiously to expel some energy as she dropped her head again and a sob tore through her.

She quelled her cries with a hand over her mouth but her shoulders betrayed her as they shook with each shaky breath. Why is she suddenly feeling so vulnerable to their words?

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"Knock-Knock, I'm coming in! Sakura? Are you in here-oh honey!" Cried Mikoto when she saw Sakura hunched over the sink in tears. The Uzumaki and Uchiha matriarchs threw themselves against Sakura in a tight group hug.

Sakura took comfort in their warm hugs and faintly smelled Mikoto's firelily perfume she adored. She listened as Mikoto cooed and rubbed her back just as Kushina went to fetch some tissues. She absently thought of her mother and how she never held her or comforted her like this. She also thought how she's never felt so insecure about a boy to warrant these feelings in her.

"You heard what those mean girls said, didn't you?" Asked Kushina as she emerged from a stall with damn near the whole roll of tissue wrapped around her hand and began dabbing Sakura's eyes with a few squares.

Sakura wordlessly nodded her head, allowing Kushina to clean up around her eyes.

"What they said were total lies!" The woman defended with a stomp of her heel. "You're too much of a sweetheart, Sakura!"

With a gentle push, Sakura broke away from Mikoto's embrace, her face red and puffy from her tears. "But they're right about one thing, Itachi would never look at me in such a way. I'm not his type, he just thinks of me like one of the guys." She was saying more to herself despite the little voice that protested her words.

Mikoto smacked her lips and smiled, lifting Sakura's chin in the mirror so she could get a good look at at her beautiful reflection before resting her hands approvingly on her shoulders."You most definitely do not look like one of the guys. And as for Itachi...Honey, let me tell you a story. Uchiha men usually marry...erm...dim-witted, shallow, emotionally detached, and arrogant women who cannot provide for themselves without a man and women who are afraid to speak their minds to their spouse. That's how it's been for years. However, two men- brothers, may I add- decided that they didn't want their women stupid, or self absorbed. They didn't want a woman who they had to think for and constantly be responsible for. They wanted strong, independent, modest, and humble women who weren't afraid to speak their minds.

"So don't let those not-so-nice, mean, judgmental..." she fumbled for the right insult, shaking her head and mind for a word.

"BITCHES," Kushina chimed it.

"Yes, of course- BITCHES steal your joy and your man from you. Those girls out there were bred and raised to kiss the backsid-"

"Oh for Kami's sake, Mikoto- ASS! SAY ASS!"

"Alright, alright!- ASS of every lord and lady out there to get their selves in good with the head family. You, my dear, as a woman with dignity shall not allow women with none to stomp her in the ground and put out her flame."

Sakura glanced up in the mirror with dismay still shining her eyes."B-But, they're right. Even if Itachi does have feelings for me, he cannot marry anyone outside of his family, right?"

Kushina laughed at that. "Darling, Mikoto is only 75% Uchiha. She's 25% Senju. They're mortal enemies. If they allowed a Senju woman into their clan, you have almost nothing to fear." Kushina smiled sweetly, rubbing soothing circles in Sakura's back.

At hearing that, it actually made Sakura feel a little relieved. She smiled gratefully towards the older women before pulling them both into another hug in which they all held each other for a long moment before any of them thought to pull apart.

"Now. Go back out there and show that they don't faze you. Don't feed into those- those- floozies!" Mikoto encouraged as she pushed Sakura out the door. With a new pep in her walk, Sakura courageously strode back across the turf, ready to rearrange faces if she needed to. The matriarch watched like a proud mother from the door frame. Kushina laughed as she walked up behind her.

"For fucks sake, Mikoto, for a woman who use to have a sailor's mouth, it's hard to believe that you just struggled for a swear word." Kushina shook her head with her arms folded against her chest with a laugh wracking through her chest.

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Sakura carelessly kicked off her heels and welcomed the plush carpet that comforted her aching feet. Dragging herself up the step stool to the high sitting bed, she plopped face-down onto the plush comforter and curled in the sheets. Sakura didn't even remove her dress before she made herself comfortable in Itachi's bed.

She loved the smell of his sheets. They reminded her of him. She nestled her face and deeply inhaled the pillow where his scent was prominent and found comfort in it. Now tangled in his sheets, her body relaxed and sleep soon threatened to take hold of her but before she could relinquish her hold on reality, she heard his door open.

Itachi was equally tired as he pulled off his T-shirt when he entered his room. Not noticing the huge puffy mix of his gray and black bedsheets and Sakura's coral dress, he simply eased to his dresser to fetch a pair of pajama pants, his unmentionables and a towel before slipping into the bathroom.

Sakura peeked an eye from beneath her pillow after he closed the door to his bathroom. He didn't even say his usual complaint about her sleeping his bed or the fact that she takes up 98% of his blanket when she does.

A half an hour later(the longest shower Sakura's ever seen him take)Itachi stepped out the bathroom now dressed in his pajama bottoms and a towel draped over his head as he dried his hair before putting the towel over his shoulders. He wordlessly climbed into his bed and grabbed what little cover Sakura provided him and turned his back to her.

Feeling a little hurt and apprehensive about bothering him, she had given him a good amount of the blanket but that didn't satisfy her curiosity as to what was wrong.

After a moment, she mustered up the courage. "You're just going to crawl in bed and not say anything?" She asked carefully.

"And you're going to fall asleep in that dress and take all my cover? Even make yourself comfortable in my own bed without my permission?" He countered with a bit of edge in his voice that Sakura didn't miss.

"Yes," She replied with her own edge, sitting up in the bed. She was getting angry and quickly.

"Well so am I, goodnight, Sakura." He finished with an air of finality but Sakura still wasn't satisfied.

"What's bothering you?" She suddenly asked, getting down to the point.

"Nothing,"

"Yes there is something, you waltz in here looking like you lost your favorite blankie and don't even talk or say hi to me."

"I assumed you were sleep." He answered lamely.

"Well I wasn't. I was up then and I'm up now and I want to know what's bothering yo-"

"Sakura," his voice was sharp, grabbing her attention. "I am just very tired and I want to rest now. If you cannot respect that, then leave. Goodnight." He ended with little room for argument. He settled back into his spot with his back towards her.

Sakura was stunned and even more hurt by his words but she said nothing more on the subject. His words and actions just this moment confirmed her suspicions despite Mikoto's earlier reassuring words.

She reached over to turn off the lamp on her side of the bed and cocooned herself in the covers before staring into the night in thought before sleep claimed her an hour later.

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Sakura was tip-toeing down the stairs to get to the kitchen when she stopped upon hearing the sound of yelling coming from that direction.

"Who is she?!" She recognized as Mikoto's voice. "Who is she, Fuagku?! Who is the woman you are sleeping with?! I want to know now!" She yelled angrily. The kitchen suddenly went silent but it didn't last long when she heard the scraping of a chair and heavy footsteps.

"No, you're not leaving until you tell me! You come back here!" Sakura heard her frantic footsteps following behind his. She's never heard Mikoto so angry...ever. The woman was a complete lady and the utter epitome of poise and placid.

Sakura jumped at the sharp sound of a smack and glass shattering. Sakura gasped as her mind began to race. She needed to get Itachi. When she turned to run up the stairs, her limbs stopped her from making a step.

No.

She couldn't. Something like this would surely stress him out and all her work would become undone. Memories of the night before then resurfaced in her mind and shushed any further thought of bothering him. But she refused to leave the woman downstairs by herself.

She heard a door slam and knew Fugaku was the one to leave. With the green light, she raced down the stairs but tentatively walked into the kitchen. The sight before her wrung her heart out.

Mikoto laid on the floor, quietly sobbing as she slowly lifted herself enough to see the mess around her. Shards of glass littered around her and she took to lightly picking the large chunks of crystal. Her hands shook violently and tears blurred her vision. She lifted her heavy head and her eyes widen when she spotted Sakura standing in the doorway, tears glazing over her own eyes. The medic looked horrified but didn't say a word as she slowly padded close to the matriarch, not caring of the shards that dug into her skin, her eyes fixated solely on Mikoto.

"S-Saku-" She was cut off when Sakura dropped to her knees in front of Mikoto and pulled her into a tight hug, her whole body shook as silent tears wept down Sakura's face.

"I heard everything," She whispered. "I-I'm...-Mikoto...I'm just...So sorry for what you're going through. You must be in so much pain." Sakura weakly spoke, her own words shaking with sadness. She felt Mikoto's grip on the back of her shirt tightened as warm tears dampened her shoulder.

"Please...Please Sakura. I beg of you to not utter a word of this to Itachi or Sasuke. I can't have them hating Fugaku even more." Sakura bit her lip. She wanted to tell Itachi, knew she needed to but she honored the matriarch's request.

"I won't," She felt Mikoto's body relax for a moment.

Mikoto quickly dried her eyes as if she's done this a million times with a grave look in her eyes and helped Sakura to her feet. After retrieving a first-aid kit and ushering a protesting Sakura to a tall bar stool, Mikoto gingerly began to pick the shards out of Sakura's bloody knees. Sakura winced every so often from the pain but otherwise kept a calm facade but she was fuming on the inside about Fugaku hurting Mikoto. All this woman ever does is love and attend to her ungrateful husband and for him to lift a hand at her was simply unforgivable!

"He's just confused, Sakura." Mikoto said as if reading her mind.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That doesn't give him the right to beat you!"

"Sakura. Fugaku has never laid a hand on me like that before this day. Never. This was the first time he has ever struck me." Sakura could tell this still stunned the older woman. Her hands were still shaking and her eyes had a look of terror hidden beneath her usually gentle orbs.

Mikoto stared down at her own hands and willed them to stop shaking, to stop showing her weakness. Of all the training she's done to prepare herself for this role, no book ever taught her what to do in a situation like this. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled to calm her racing heart and found her hands to be encompassed by warmer ones. Her eyes shot open to see Sakura holding both her hands between her own. Her emerald eyes shone with glistening tears and her heart was visible behind them.

Mikoto was taken aback by such a raw look in her eyes.

"Mikoto," Sakura quietly uttered. Just that one name held so much more words behind it than the medic could say. Mikoto smiled weakly and struggled off her knees to stand before smiling one more time reassuringly to Sakura.

"I'm going to go freshen up and get to making breakfast, the boys should be up soon." She simply said before leaving the dining room.

Sakura stared at her patched up knees before her gaze traveled to the ground where shards dotted the ground. A familiar feeling of hate ignited in Sakura. A feeling of hate that she hasn't experience in a long time. Her fingers clenched the edge of her seat until her knuckles turned white with a promise to herself and Mikoto.

After a moment, she released her grip and sighed, lolling her head downward, not hearing the footsteps coming down the stairs.

"What happened in here?" Sakura's head snapped up at the sound of his voice and saw Itachi standing in the doorway with his gaze fixated on her, then it traveled lower to her patched up knees that was stained with a large red bloody circle. Sakura couldn't hide it before his eyes landed on it. She had to think of something and quick.

Before he could even ask, she blurted "I-I tripped on something while holding some glass and I ended up dropping the glass and when I bend down to pick it up, I landed in the glass!" She lied smoothly, catching Mikoto's eye from the opening of the kitchen, her expression was grateful.

Itachi's face once filled with concern, dropped to disbeleif as he made his way into the dining room."Wow, and here I was beginning to doubt that you will trip over a flat surface." He stated stoically although his words betrayed his actions as he examined her sore legs, sitting down next to her to put her legs across his lap. "You're such a klutz."

"Hey! I am not a klutz!"She protested with a childish pout that made a tug at the corner of his lips but sudden his face grew somber.

"You should be more careful, next time. You're suppose to be my medic, not the other way around." His tone was now serious and stern. Sakura felt her cheeks redden at his words. They may have been harsh but they were also a sense of caring in Itachi's book and that was enough to make Sakura's heart beat a little faster than normal.

"I'm sorry..." She found herself saying to him, her head down and staring at her hands that rested in her lap.

Itachi's expression softened a bit with a hint of regret. He knew she shouldn't be the one apologizing. "Please forgive me for last night." His frown deepened. "Something earlier that day had me upset and I took my anger out on you. It was uncalled for."

Sakura smiled sincerely and rested her smaller hand against his large one, causing him to look up to meet her warm gaze. "I forgive you, and I understand." She whispered. "I understand completely."

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Hey everyone! Thank you all, as usual, you make me smile with your epic responses to my work!

I'm a bit iffy about my Sakura in this chapter but she won't be like this for long since these are new feelings to her. And it looks like she isn't so in the dark anymore about the Main house and finally after long rubbing of two flint rocks together, we have ignited a spark! What you guys think, hate, like, or is curious about in this chapter? Love to hear from you all so don't forget to drop me a lovely review~!