Begrudgingly Sakura opened her eyes. It was comfortable and cozy in bed. And sleep; oh sleep was the absolute best thing to ever be invented… possibly since chocolate.
Sakura did not want to get up but her mind told her that it was about time to start getting dressed; she did not want to miss the qualifiers.
But by God was it comfy in that bed. Sakura never found it that hard to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe the extra difficulty was added by the fact that she fell asleep right next to Itachi and that sometime during the night he had once again snaked an arm around her waist and drew her back against him before resting his face against her head.
The girl tried to object, but he simply said, "I'm sleeping, Sakura," in a raspy, sleep boggled tone that made her mind reel.
So she resisted the urge to ask, "how come you're talking then?" and instead valiantly struggled to steady her beating heart.
Waking up now, Sakura was still wrapped in Itachi's arms. She was thankful to at least be facing away from him.
She willed herself to move, but her body disobeyed. It felt nice.
"Sakura," she heard Itachi's calm whisper in her ear. "Are you awake?"
"No," she replied.
"I see," he said.
"Do you ever get the feeling like you just want to stay in bed all day?" she questioned, mind still heavy with sleep. "It's just that the moment I move life starts happening."
"Well, if you want, you can stay here with me all day," Itachi offered, dropping his voice and leaning even closer.
Sakura's eyes widened, her mind finally kicking into gear.
"I'm good," she said, attempting to get up.
Itachi's arm, however, trapped her in place.
"What is worrying you? Why are you avoiding getting up?" he questioned.
Sakura gave it some thought. "I don't know. Nothing really… actually, that's a lie… a lot. But the thing that I am dreading most right now is this round of the qualifiers."
"Strategy?"
"Yes… and the next one: espionage. I don't know if I can cut it."
"Yesterday, while following Sasuke around you displayed abysmal tracking skills," Itachi declared.
"I…"
"That is what I initially thought. However, it does seem like you have potential. You have managed to keep such a careful hold on your chakra to the point that even Sasuke could not detect your presence behind him," he said.
"Well, I tried to be stealthy."
"Darting from one side to the other seemed like an idiotic move though," the Uchiha accused.
She frowned even though she was facing away from him. "I was goofing around a bit," she admitted, "but he didn't notice me."
"Why is that?" Itachi questioned.
"Because when I darted around I made it a point to bump into people and steer them so that they obstructed his view of me or at least stood between us," the girl said thoughtfully.
"So it was intentional," Itachi said/concluded.
"Kinda," she said. "I learned it from Naruto. When we went on stakeouts, and had to follow someone, he always ran haphazardly around the place and I always thought he was an idiot, until I realized that he never got detected. I asked him and he said that he is normally easily noticeable with the hair and the orange jumpsuit, so he just walks around between the people really fast and bumps into them so that they would create enough of a commotion that would distract whoever he is perusing and stop them from detecting him."
"So instead of trying to avoid drawing their attention to his position behind them, he creates a commotion that gets them to look behind them but notice the wrong thing," Itachi concluded.
"Yah, so I just tweaked his moves a bit. I create a smaller commotion than he does, while…"
"While positioning people so that they stand between you and the person you're pursuing. You also made sure that you were close to the stands so that you can hide behind them if he looks back and you are not covered," Itachi finished for her.
"Yup," the girl nodded, still in Itachi's arms with her back pressed against his chest. *What a bizarre life this is.*
"This is strategy, Sakura," Itachi said. "At first it seems like you are acting in a chaotic, unplanned manner, but once one pays closer attention it becomes clear that you do have a system albeit a chaotic one. That is primarily what strategy is: creating order out of chaos, but disguising it enough so that it is not easily discernible."
"That makes a lot of sense," she said. "So you think I can do it?"
"You will not know until you try," Itachi said. "However, if you do not wish to try you can stay here. After all, you just admitted that this is where you would rather be."
"I'll take my chances on Anbu," she declared. "I am now kinda looking forward to the challenge of the strategy round," she gave a nervous laugh, now willing to do anything to get herself out of her current situation, "and there is no need to stay in bed all day, I just remembered that I do like danger."
Behind her Itachi smirked. And before she knew it he used his arm to move her around so that she was lying on her back, with him hovering above her.
Sakura's heart thumped in her ears, "what are you…?"
"I would have you know, Sakura, that I am much more dangerous than Anbu," the Uchiha said in a slow hypnotizing tenor, his eyes boring into Sakura's as he held her arms by her sides.
"Ah, I misspoke… I don't like danger, danger is…" before she could finish, Itachi pressed his lips to hers.
Sakura's eyes widened before instinctively closing. This was not the first time he kissed her. He had kissed her in the temple and he had pressed a quick kiss to her lips once before. But this one was different; it was more intimate, more intense. Itachi's lips were warm and the way they moved against hers was hypnotizing. As he kissed her, Itachi moved her hands so that he was holding them above her head with one of his. He then brought his other hand to her waist.
Sakura's breath hitched as he slowly pushed her shirt upwards, his hands caressing bare skin…
The girl's eyes fluttered open and she immediately moved, almost on impulse, she pushed against the bed with her leg and channeled her chakra to her arms, effectively breaking out of Itachi's grip and flipping them over so that she was the one on top.
Sitting on top of Itachi with both hands on his chest holding him down, Sakura had the almost imponderable joy of looking down at Itachi's shocked face.
He recovered quickly though and the two of them exchanged a wordless look as they both struggled to steady their ragged breathing.
Itachi's eyes darkened as he watched the girl looking down on him with a look that was a rather peculiar mix of victorious, shy, and mischievous.
"What do you think you're doing?" She questioned after regaining her breath.
Itachi lay back on the bed, completely relaxed, "I was kissing you…" he said matter of fact-ly.
As he expected, the girl almost faltered, yet fought back her embarrassment and glared at him defiantly.
"Why would you do that?"
"Because you are my wife," he declared. "That is what married people do, Sakura."
She glared harder, "it is not…"
"Yes it is; have you never played house?"
"You!" she hissed at the man who was so obviously having fun at her expense. "We…"
"Are married," he finished the sentence.
"But…"
"It is a real marriage: it is an assignment, so I get to kiss you,"
"No you don't."
"Why?" he questioned.
"People don't just kiss because they are on assignment, or because it is what married people do."
"Why?"
"Because… because… because marriage is not just about a piece of paper, it is about people who know each other."
"We do know each other," Itachi reasoned. "I have gathered detailed Intel about you and I suppose that by now you have done your own research."
Sakura twitched, "this is not the kind of knowledge that I am talking about. It is a deeper more intimate knowledge."
"I was trying to know you more intimately but you stopped me," the Uchiha said evenly.
Sakura resisted the urge to strangle him, reasoning with that man seemed impossible. Thus, the girl decided that assertiveness was called for, "this is not what I meant. Anyway you don't get to do that, not without my permission, is that understood?"
"No." he said with a smirk.
"You're worse than Shisui, aren't you?" she concluded.
His smirk only grew, "you have no idea," he said, dropping his voice just an octave and the girl was sure that the man knew exactly what he was doing when he did that.
"If you ever do that again, I am going to punch you in the face," Sakura declared, she was the Hokage's apprentice damn it, she wasn't about to be cowed by a raspy voice.
"I will be looking forward to it then," Itachi said with ease, "also, Sakura…"
"What?" she snapped at him.
"You're late for the qualifiers…"
.
"Damn him… damn him… damn him straight to the depths of hell where he came from!" Sakura grumbled as she rushed past the Anbu gates with almost a fraction of a second to spare. "I am so sorry," the girl said, addressing a masked Anbu.
The man only gestured to her to move fast, and she did, arriving in her place in line just in time before Commander S. started walking to the front of the rows of Anbu trainees.
In front of her, Sasuke gave her a brief sidelong glance that indicated just how close she was cutting it.
"Good morning to the resilient little maggots who survived this far," Commander S. declared. "This week is all about strategy. Actually it is about both strategy and espionage. Think about it like this: this week is about theory and the next week you put it into practice. You present us with a project that proves that you have understood everything that you were taught during the first week. So for this week we will be teaching you the basis of strategy and espionage. And the next week you will have to demonstrate your knowledge in practice. Is that clear?"
No one replied because: first, it was risky to reply to that man, second, it was not clear. Not at all.
"Good, now head to class."
And with that, the man transported himself away and the lines of recruits started moving to the barracks.
They were led to a new area of the barracks. They had to take a flight of stairs down to get to the ground floor of the building where they were greeted by a very familiar sight.
"Classes?" the word was whispered over and again as rows upon rows of recruits were led into the classrooms.
The classrooms were very ordinary: desks, chairs and a white board. The classes also opened to a garden where seats were organized around wooden tables so that the recruits could have their breaks.
On their desks, the recruits each found seven humongous books stacked one on top of the other.
"This is an actual classroom," Naruto said as he entered, the future Hokage looked like he was about to faint. "I thought… I thought I was done with classrooms, why? Why? JUST WHY?!" he screamed dropping to his knees in the doorway.
The recruits filtered past him and Sakura and Sasuke who were already in the classroom proceeded to take the books off of the desks before assuming their seats. They chose two rows in the very middle of the classroom with Sakura sitting behind Sasuke.
After he recovered from his shock, Naruto made his way over and plopped himself into the seat in front of Sasuke, his despair preventing him from saying anything further.
Ino sat next to Sasuke in the same row. And Hinata positioned herself so she was sitting in front of her on Naruto's left. Meanwhile Tenten and Lee sat on the other side with Tenten sitting next to Sakura and Lee on Sasuke's other side.
All in all, it seemed very familiar to everyone involved.
"A classroom hah?" Ino said reflectively. "Somehow it feels like we're screwed."
Sakura nodded, "we really are."
A second later, a masked Anbu walked in and not bothering to take off his mask he spoke, "I am your teacher, you may call me Captain Z. I will be teaching you the basics of strategy and espionage. But it will be up to you to further research the techniques that you will be using in your projects. Any questions…"
Sakura's hand shot up.
"Yes, miss Haruno… my apologies, Mrs. Uchiha…" the man said before correcting himself. Sakura's face went bright red.
She resisted the urge to tell him that Ms. Haruno was fine.
Ignoring Tenten and Ino's smirks she asked, "the projects that we are supposed to do for the second week, what are they? What is it that is required?"
"You will be asked to demonstrate the knowledge that you have acquired during the first week. Espionage and strategy are vast fields. You will be taught not only battle strategy but policy level strategy, team building strategy, information gathering strategy and the basics of espionage, that is: how to infiltrate enemy organizations, how to construct a new persona for yourself, how to disguise your identity and protect your cover and how to reach the information you need and communicate it successfully to your team without getting detected. You need to find a way to demonstrate what you have learned in a practical manner," the man said, his voice was calm and without much inflection. He seemed like he had a lot of patience.
"But, captain Z. how do we do that?" a male recruit asked from the back of the class.
"That would be up to you to figure out," the man said. "Now we will start the first strategy lesson. Please open the 'basic stratagems' book, that is the big red book, and let us start."
The students obliged, Naruto cried, and the first lesson started.
.
Three hours later the four girls sat around a table in the garden while the recruits around them talked and socialized. Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke and Lee headed for the cafeteria to get them all a snack and something to drink.
"That was intense," Sakura commented.
"And that's something coming from you miss straight As," Ino teased.
Sakura sighed, even with her careful note-taking and hawk like attention in class, in the last three hours a challenging amount of information was covered, a lot of new terms about strategy and maneuvers and even chess. She needed to familiarize herself with these topics and soon.
"Let's change the subject, my mind hurts," Tenten said.
"Agreed, we need to talk about something more fun," Ino said, "how about my and Sasuke-kun's date yesterday?
"You went on a date?" Hinata questioned and Sakura had to bite her tongue and feign surprise.
"Yah, and it was amazing!" Ino flaunted. "You know what, I wanna help you get a date with Naruto. I am feeling generous today."
Hinata blushed. "Naruto-kun and I, it's not like that."
"Yes it is," Tenten said. "It's just that that guy is too dense to understand that you like him. You might actually need to tell him."
Hinata blushed even harder, "I… I can't do that," she muttered.
"Oh, woman up, Hinata," Ino said crossly, slapping a hand across the girl's shoulder, "how many years have you been stuck in the friend-zone with that guy. It is unfair and even unnatural: someone as hot as you should never be friend-zoned. This is not how the game works."
"I…" Hinata started before faltering. "I just don't know how to get his attention. Naruto-kun is always nice to everyone, including me. But I don't think he even notices me as a girl," she paused, "what do I do?"
"Show more cleavage," Ino suggested.
"Don't listen to her," Sakura intervened. "Hinata, Naruto is very single minded. For the last three years his only focus has been on proving himself and taking strides towards becoming Hokage. I don't think he thinks about anything else. I agree that you might need to attract his attention. Maybe not through showing cleavage, though."
"Are you kidding me, cleavage is always the way to go. That is how I attracted my Sasuke-kun's attention to start with,"Ino declared.
"Speaking of him, how did that date go anyway?" Tenten questioned.
Ino smiled, wide, "we went to dinner, and we watched a movie."
"What movie?" Tenten questioned.
"No idea," Ino replied. "We made out the whole time," she said with a wink, "we then went for a walk and he bought me a cactus and then we went to a hotel."
"Wo…wo… wo… hold on a second," Tenten started, "what? What cactus? why a hotel?"
"He doesn't like flowers, and what do you mean why a hotel? Did you skip sex-ed the last time we were in school?"
"Why would you sleep with him?" Tenten questioned. "The guy has been leading you on for a while now; what with a date every two months and absolutely no commitment to calling you his girlfriend or seeing only you."
Ino blinked, "you're being too harsh on him, Tenten, I mean Sasuke-kun is…"
"An asshole," Sakura interrupted.
"A huge asshole," Tenten seconded.
Hinata nodded before blushing.
Ino glared at them, "I can't believe you three are being this unsupportive."
"It's not…" Sakura attempted.
"Listen, I know where you're coming from but Sasuke-kun has commitment issues and you know it. He finds it really hard to trust anyone which is why he has never seen anyone more than once. He only went on one time dates with people. But with me it is different. Yes we go out only every two months but it is a commitment nonetheless. It is a step in the right direction."
"Ino, I think you're being too lenient on him," Sakura declared.
"Yes. And don't forget that his plan was to just sleep with you at the beginning. It was you who insisted on going out again."
"And he agreed. He could have said no," Ino argued.
"We're just saying that Ino-san deserves better," Hinata pitched in, with a kind smile.
"I don't want better, I want him," Ino said defiantly. "I love him," she added earnestly. "And it has been hell for me getting to date him in the first place and then getting him to commit to going out with me every couple of months. This is an improvement. I know he is starting to fall for me. And soon he will stop seeing all the other girls and we will become a real couple. I would really appreciate your support. You are supposed to be my friends, you know."
"We are your friends, Ino. That's why we're worried," Sakura reasoned.
"Worry about your own love life why don't you 'Mrs. Uchiha?' Or do you wish to be the only Mrs. Uchiha," the blonde accused.
"You know that is not true," Sakura said.
"Well then support me until I become the second non-Uchiha to marry into the clan. That is your duty as my friend."
"For Kami's sakes Ino," Sakura hissed. "Reasoning with you about this has always been impossible."
"Alright, then let's talk about you, how is the hubby?" Ino questioned.
"He's…" Sakura started before her treacherous mind flashed an image of Itachi kissing her, "he's… umm…"
"Wow," Ino grinned, "never seen you speechless before."
"Well, he's a lot," Sakura declared. "Anyway, how about Hinata?" Sakura said, an obvious attempt at shifting attention away from her. "How do we get her together with Naruto?"
"That's gonna be tough, the guy is certifiably dense," Tenten declared.
"She's been trying to get his attention for years now. It's impossible," Ino reasoned.
"How about we consult a pro then," Sakura offered. "Be at my house tonight."
.
Sakura's day at the qualifiers was surprisingly short. They were allowed to leave three hours early in order for them to be able to study.
Sakura didn't have time to study though as Akira, Ena, and Akemi came over for practice. And so did Tenten who Sakura had previously invited over to help them with the bows and arrows. As expected, now that she could concentrate better, Sakura was doing great. And the savvy weapon's master was a great help with the children, assisting them when it comes to learning the basics of utilizing a bow and arrow.
Their training lasted for over an hour and a half before Sakura saw it fit to bring it to an end.
"Alright guys, that was great, now how about we call it a day and meet tomorrow at the same time for practice," she declared.
The kids nodded.
"Alright, we will see you tomorrow Sakura-sama," Ena said.
"I'll go too," Tenten declared. "I've to get some studying in before I come over tonight for our meeting with the pro…" she paused, "who exactly is that pro?"
"You'll find out tonight," Sakura said enigmatically before escorting her guests out.
The girl spent the next few hours studying before her lesson with Eri started. As always, it was dry and to the point.
By the end of it, and when Anko and Shisui arrived for Sakura's next lesson, the girl had almost forgotten how to use facial expressions having done without them for the last two hours.
"Hello Kitten, Eri-chan," Shisui greeted, walking in the room.
"Shisui-san," Eri said. "I will take my leave then."
"We'll see you soon then," Anko said as she followed Shisui through the door.
Eri paused, and the three people in the room shifted their attention to her, Eri was not in the habit of pausing. "May I stay?" she said in her formal voice, "I have to ask Itachi-sama for something. I would like to wait for him here if you do not mind," she said, addressing Sakura.
"Su… sure," Sakura said confusedly.
And just like that, Eri took a seat.
"Alright then Kitten, since we are in this room how about we get you started on the piano," Shisui offered.
"No!" Sakura declared.
"Just grin and bear it you pest, you knew this moment was coming," Anko said supportively, as she plopped herself on the couch next to Eri.
Shisui headed for the piano and gestured for Sakura to follow suit.
The girl did, standing next to the piano as the Uchiha started playing. It sounded great, a tune she did not recognize but found appealing and serene.
"Don't zone out, Kitten, I know my playing is magical. But keep your eyes on my fingers," Shisui said.
It took him three minutes to finish the song.
Shisui then stood up and turned around and curtseyed. Sakura clapped obligingly and much to her surprise, so did Eri.
"Thank you Kitten, Thank you Eri-chan," He said happily, before shifting his attention to Anko, "you're being very mean Neko-chan. Why won't you clap for me? Maybe you require a private audience…" the compulsive flirt said with a wink.
"Just focus on what you're doing," Anko advised. "Why are you playing in the first place, you're supposed to be teaching her."
"I am showing her the standard she must aspire to," Shisui reasoned. "Now kitten, watch closely, this is how you play the piano. There are 8 notes and you only have 5 fingers, so what you do is…"
"My God this is boring, I'm gonna go get a drink," Anko said getting to her feet. "Wanna join me, Eri-san?"
"I do not need anything," Eri said, without looking at the woman.
"Suit yourself," Anko said as she headed out of the room.
"Alright now kitten your turn… Wo! Wait a minute, what do you think you're doing?"
"Playing the piano," she said, confused.
"Absolutely not, at least not before you have mastered your finger movements. It is all in the fingers my little kitten," he added, dropping his voice and smirking, "now go sit next to Eri-chan on the couch and tap your fingers the way I showed you, once you've mastered that you get to use the piano."
"Fine," Sakura said, heading for the couch and proceeding to tap her fingers on the table in the succession that Shisui showed her.
"That is wrong," Eri said from beside her.
"Well, it's very tricky," Sakura reasoned, "I mean I am supposed to move my fingers…"
Sakura stopped when Eri gracefully leaned forward and tapped the fingers on both her hands synchronously on the table at triple the awkward speed at which Sakura was going, and with perfect accuracy.
"It is perfectly simple," Eri said, fixing Sakura with a haughty look, "if you cannot do something that simple then maybe…"
"Yare, yare," Shisui's voice echoed as he made his way towards the two girls. "Don't mind Eri-chan, Kitten," he said leaning down and grabbing Eri's hand. "Please continue to work hard. This is a process that would take some time to master. Eri-chan just does not remember how hard it is because she learned at such an early age."
"I did, but…" Eri started.
"Come on Eri-chan," Shisui said, guiding her towards the piano, "play something for us as the Kitten practices. Show her what lots of practice could do," he added pulling the piano stool out for her.
Eri paused for a second in front of the piano, "will you join me?" she offered.
"Sure," Shisui said excitedly, "let's play that ballad we used to play together when Eri-chan was younger."
And with that, the two started playing together.
Sakura gawked at Eri.
*So she is capable of being friendly,* she pondered.
*I thought she was horrible to everyone but I guess she just dislikes you,* Inner declared.
*Yah, she was an absolute jerk to me one second and the next she's all 'will you join me.'* The medic mentally mocked, glaring at Eri's back. *I'm gonna master this piano crap damn it and I will show her up. I am going to play a concert and invite her just to gloat.*
*You're doing it wrong again,* Inner said helpfully.
*Damn it.*
.
A couple of hours later, Sakura had become a bit better at tapping her fingers the way Shisui had shown her.
The Uchiha commended her on the quick improvement and even allowed her to try it once on the piano. But when she messed up, it was back on the couch with her.
Halfway through their lesson, Hana informed Eri that Itachi had arrived and much to Sakura's relief, Eri took off, leaving her and Shisui and Anko, who had come back with a lot of booze, to end their lesson on a high note.
"That's enough, I can't listen to this screeching anymore," Anko had said after Shisui allowed Sakura to play the piano one more time. "My cat dragging her tail across the piano creates better music."
"You… don't… have…a cat…" Sakura jeered.
"Nonetheless, it's about time we end this lesson. I am so bored I could cry," the woman said, getting to her feet. "Good night humans," she said as she headed for the door.
"Good night Neko-chan," Shisui chanted.
"Night evil-incarnate," Sakura declared.
He grinned at her, "you are horrible though," Shisui said honestly, fixing the girl who was sitting next to him on the piano stool with a meaningful look.
"I know," Sakura said earnestly. "Anyway, would you mind staying for a few minutes?"
Shisui grinned, "oh, so the moment has finally come… should I lock the door? Dim the lights? Would you like me to do a little striptease for you first my little Kitten?"
Sakura gave him an incredulous look, "this is not what I want," she protested. "I just invited a few friends over. We need to consult you on something… you know… a sensitive matter."
"Well, normally a bit of ointment should take care of it right away," the playboy said thoughtfully.
"That's not the kind of sensitive matter we want to ask you about… And ewww," Sakura declared.
"My lady, your friends are here," Hana said, appearing in the doorway.
"Please let them in Hana," Sakura said, getting to her feet.
Ino, Hinata and Tenten walked in.
"So much beauty in one room," Shisui said with a wink that made it abundantly clear why he was such a lady killer, he then proceeded to greet each girl by kissing her hand.
"Please have a seat everyone," Sakura offered. "Now this is the pro I was telling you guys about."
"Oh, you've picked right, Forehead," Ino declared.
"This could actually work," Tenten agreed.
"Are you guys sure? I mean I am not sure I am very comfortable…" Hinata started.
"What other choice do we have?" Ino questioned. "It has been over ten years of this and you've made absolutely no progress. We need to take drastic measures before they name a road in the friend-zone after you."
"Oh… the friend-zone. A place I have never been," Shisui said proudly. "And who's the idiot who would friend-zone someone so beautiful?"
The three girls looked at Hinata.
She blushed, "he's not an idiot, he's just… umm…" she struggled.
"Not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree," Tenten said.
"Not the brightest star in the sky," Ino declared.
"Not the sharpest knife in the drawer," Sakura said, before the three girls exchanged appreciative looks.
"So you're saying he's about as sharp as a marble," Shisui pitched in, "the light's on but no one's home."
The three girls nodded.
"He's a few peas short of casserole," Tenten said.
"A hamburger short of picnic," Ino said.
"One plate short of a tea set," Sakura said.
"He just doesn't pay attention," Hinata intervened, glaring respectfully at her three friends.
"I take it we're describing Sasuke's blonde significant other," Shisui concluded.
"I am Sasuke's blonde significant other," Ino said angrily.
"Really?" Shisui questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Well done, baby cousin," he added. "You'd be his mistress though, Ino-chan. I think Sasuke's first love will always be Naruto-kun."
Ino was about to argue but shrugged instead, "yah, you're right."
"Can we get to the point," Sakura advised. "We need to find a way to get Naruto to make a move."
"Well then ladies you have come to the right person. You may call me the love doctor," Shisui said puffing his chest out.
"We're not gonna do that," Sakura said.
He ignored her, "Kitten, bring me a pen and a paper, some sort of wine, and a thong?"
"Got it," she said, getting to her feet excitedly. "Wait… why a thong?"
"I haven't seen a thong all day; I'm having withdrawal symptoms, now go quickly so you could hear the plan… now listen up ladies…"
.
A while after seeing her friends out, Sakura headed upstairs for some more studying.
The girl did not have enough time to get through a lot though as her very long day was still ongoing.
"My lady, Sasuke-sama and Naruto-san are here," Hana said, stepping into Sakura/Itachi's bedroom. "I have shown them to the first floor living room as you requested."
"Thank you Hana," Sakura said, getting off the bed and stalking towards the door.
Walking over to said living-room, Sakura drew in a deep breath, before opening the door.
"Hey guys," she greeted, walking in.
"Evening Sakura-chan," Naruto said.
"Hn," Sasuke said. "Why are we here?" he added, getting straight to the point.
"To help me win over someone impossible," Sakura said, equally as direct. "I want you to tell me everything about your father."
Sasuke gave her a look of mild bewilderment, "you want to win my father over?" he parroted.
"Yes," Sakura said, not really understanding his confusion. "I know he disapproves of the marriage and I think it is about time I put some serious effort into getting him to like me."
"I am sorry," Naruto started, walking towards the girl, "you want Fugaku-sama to like you?"
"Yes… what's the big deal? Isn't it only natural for me to want to win him over?"
"My father does not like a lot of people," Sasuke declared.
"More like he doesn't like anyone. He doesn't even like the Teme over here," Naruto said.
After briefly glaring at Naruto, Sasuke spoke, "he is a very strict man. I do not think it is possible for you or anyone else to win him over. All you can do is conduct yourself according to his wishes and he might not despise you as much as he would have otherwise," Sasuke advised.
Sakura pursed her lips, "I understand that, but I want to try nonetheless."
"He is going to kill you if you get close to him," Sasuke declared. "Especially after what happened at the orphanage the other day."
"What happened at the orphanage the…" Naruto started.
"None of your concern," Sasuke said. "The important thing is that this is not a good idea."
Naruto gave his friend a dirty look, "Sakura-chan, this is not the kind of person you take chances with," Naruto warned. "He really hates you."
"I know," Sakura hissed. "But the success of my assignment depends on this. Obviously his approval means a lot when it comes to helping Itachi with what he wants to accomplish. He would not have agreed to his orphanage condition otherwise. He obviously really wanted his father to reconsider his opposition."
"What happened at the orphanage…?"
"Not important," Sakura said, "it's just important for me to win him over."
"You can't," Sasuke declared.
"I have to. And all I want is for you to give me some information about him."
"Why don't you ask your husband?"
"Because I already screwed up, I want to make it up to him, without asking for his assistance."
"No you won't ask him because you know he will think it is stupid and will stop you," Sasuke shot back. "After what happened at the orphanage, you should be more careful."
"I need to do this because of what happened at the orphanage. Why won't you help me? Why are you such an asshole?"
"I am an asshole?" Sasuke questioned, eyeing her venomously, "How about you?"
"Me?"
"You brought Itachi along and followed me yesterday. Because of you I was reproached for acting irresponsibly."
"So this is why you're being so difficult about this! Well, excuse me for taking an interest in your life. Plus, someone who goes to love motels doesn't get to act all high and mighty."
"You went to a love motel…" Naruto started but was cut off.
"How is that any of your business?" Sasuke asked Sakura.
"Why did you go to a love motel…?" Naruto attempted again.
"Not now!" Sakura and Sasuke snapped at Naruto.
"Agreed, it is not my business, now how about you just help me go about my business and supply me with some information about your father."
"I refuse to assist you," Sasuke declared.
Sakura and Sasuke eyed each other crossly. Sasuke's eyes flashed crimson and Sakura channeled her Chakra to her fists, but before any of them could do anything, they had to duck down, since the couch came flying at them.
"What the hell happened at the orphanage?! And who went to a love motel? And why? And with who? And why am I the last person to find out about all of this?!" Naruto screamed at his ex-teammates, chakra flaring all around him.
A second passed where the trio eyed each other murderously. This happened so many times before that they all knew exactly where it was heading.
Sakura launched herself at Sasuke with every intention of punching him in the face, Naruto took the chance to launch himself at the two of them and the three fell to the floor, taking down a table with a loud crash.
Rolling on the ground, team seven became a growling, grumbling, mass of pink, orange and blue.
"You are such a jerk," Sakura snarled, punching Sasuke in the face.
"You will get no information from me," the Uchiha said, pushing her at Naruto who parried and lunged at him.
"You never tell me anything!" Naruto screamed as Sakura roundhouse kicked both of them to the ground.
Getting to their feet in a flash the two of them turned towards the girl and a moment of agreement passed between them.
They launched themselves at Sakura, but she saw it coming. Instead of moving away, she ran at them at the last second before they reached her, snuck into the space between them and clotheslined them to the floor before getting to her feet.
Grabbing her by both her ankles, Naruto and Sasuke brought her to the ground.
Sakura fell down and Sasuke attempted to put her in a submission hold with her arm behind her back, but Naruto took the chance to put him in a submission hold.
Moving fast, Sakura turned around, jumped backwards and put Naruto in a chokehold.
"Who went to a love motel?"
"Get him to tell me about his father or I am not letting you breathe again," Sakura threatened from her perch on Naruto's back.
"I am not telling any of you morons anything," Sasuke declared.
"If you do not tell me I will make you regret it!" Sakura threatened Sasuke.
"You two are ignoring me again and I am right in the middle of you," Naruto complained, tightening his hold on Sasuke's arm.
"How are you going to do that?" Sasuke challenged, once again ignoring Naruto and addressing Sakura. "Are you going to complain to your husband again?"
"No but I will tell him that your first kiss was with Naruto," Sakura threatened. "Better yet, I am going to share this juicy tidbit with Shisui," she added teasingly.
A second later, the girl realized what she had done as she watched Naruto's grip loosen on Sasuke's arm.
Sakura's eyes widened.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto started, now completely calm, dead serious, "I can't let you do that. It is a secret that must never be shared."
And just like that Naruto released Sasuke who launched himself at Sakura forcing her to release her hold on Naruto.
"Get her," the blond yelled.
Running around the room in a blur, with both Naruto and Sasuke chasing after her, Sakura sang, "Naruto and Sasuke sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G….AHHH"
"Got her!" Naruto declared triumphantly as both him and Sasuke tackled the girl to the floor, landing on top of her.
"You must never speak of this to anyone," Sasuke said to the struggling Sakura.
"First kisses are an off limits subject! No one must know that we kissed!" Naruto threatened heatedly.
"You sure are a very tightly knit team," Shisui said, bringing the trio's attention to the now open door.
"Get off my wife," Itachi ordered from Shisui's side.
Naruto and Sasuke got to their feet lifting Sakura up along with them.
"Just a second little cousin, we need to investigate this, who kissed who exactly? Or did the three of you have a make-out session as your first kiss?"
"Mmmff… mmmfff…mmmfff…." Sakura said as both Naruto and Sasuke's hands were holding her mouth tightly shut.
"I am going to help you,"Sasuke whispered in her ear.
"Me too… I will do anything. I won't even ask any questions about anything ever again. Just don't tell," Naruto seconded.
"I said… let go of my wife…" Itachi said, slow and menacing.
"Hey," Naruto exclaimed, "she was our teammate before she became your wife. We get to do whatever we want with her," he said, too hotheaded to weigh his words.
"I see," Itachi said.
"He's gonna kill you," Shisui sang happily.
"I am just saying….ouch! God damn it!" Naruto doubled over.
"Aniki why?" Sasuke questioned as Itachi turned his attention to him. The young Uchiha crouched on the floor next to his friend.
Sakura laughed victoriously, putting her hands on her waist and grinning down at her two friends who were writhing in pain on the floor, "serves you right for messing with me!"
"Sakura," Itachi said, bringing her attention to him.
"Yes, Ita….ouch! why me… ? Why? Just why!" She questioned as she fell on the floor next to her teammates.
"You ruined my living room," Itachi said, stepping into the room with slow predatory steps.
"You married Satan," Naruto said, squirming on the floor. "Oh Kami-sama make it stop!"
For the next few minutes team seven's cries of pain were rivaled only by Shisui's roars of laughter.
"But you must admit, little cousin, life is much more interesting when you're married."
Ouch!
Shisui has a plan and team seven's in pain.
Now what do you think Shisui's plan for Hinata is? Any guesses?
Let me know what you think of this chapter and how this story is progressing so far.
A few more chapters to go.
Please Review.