-Dreaming of Petals-
By: ApplesofWrath
Chapter 14
Disclaimer: Naruto is property belonging to Masashi Kishimoto. Neither am I claiming any of Naruto's content nor writing a fanfic for profit. Please don't sue me and support the actual release.
His face seemed too familiar... Almost like... Sakura turned to Sasuke, who stood there with his fists clenched and eyes willed with anger.
"You got balls to show your face here..." Sasuke spat in a low, bitter voice. Sakura's eyes widened, she turned back to the stranger. At first, she didn't seem to understand how they two men were already acquainted with each other, but her mind pieced things together—The stranger was definitely related to Sasuke, for they shared the same eyes and face. And who else did Sakura knew Sasuke absolutely hated? His older brother, someone Sakura never imagined herself to meet so soon.
Uchiha Itachi.
"Why have you returned?" Sasuke interrogated, "Did you want to see for yourself, the damage you caused? To mom and dad? Grandfather?" Itachi's face was unhindered by Sasuke's apparent anger. He looked straight at his brother, giving him an emotionless face, but underneath that, there was an element of condescension, apathy, and cruelty.
"My reasons for returning to Konoha do not concern you, little brother. As for family, I have no interest in seeing mother or father. In fact, they were dead to me the moment I left the house years ago," Itachi gave a cruel smile which only instigated Sasuke to clench his fist harder, he wanted to punch Itachi badly, but right now the first thing of concern to Sasuke was getting Sakura away from him. He can deal with Itachi later.
"What interest would you have in coming back to St. Arabellas? Out of all places and events, why here?" Sasuke continued. Itachi's cruel smile turned into a bemused one, he coolly replied,
"I decided to walk down memory lane—the ones that aren't dead to me," Itachi added, "I was the Valedictorian of this school when I graduated here. I'm just simply stopping by, while attending some business matters. I wanted to see what event was going on, and..." He stopped and looked at Sakura, who just blushed and looked at the floor, unable to handle Itachi's interested gaze. "... I thought, why not bid? Especially when you don't see a pinked-haired woman every day," Itachi finished. His response just added more fuel to Sasuke's anger.
"Well, you can't have her," Sasuke viciously stated, he wanted to add in 'because she is my girlfriend,' but he realized he couldn't say that anymore. Still, he wasn't going to back down without a fight. He couldn't bear the idea and fear of Sakura moving on to other men—especially his brother, out of all people on this planet.
Shikamaru didn't intend on getting involved in any troublesome situation (or any situation like this period) but he couldn't let Sasuke have false ideas about the event. He had to correct him. He sighed,
"Well, he did win the bid on her..." Shikamaru noted. Sasuke turned to him,
"But he isn't even a student! Therefore, he can't participate in bids," Sasuke reasoned. Shikamaru just folded his arms behind his head.
"Actually in the guidelines, Alumni are allowed to bid..." Shikamaru pointed out nonchalantly. This earned him a glare from Sasuke, who looked like he was stumbled in his argument.
"Yeah? Well, what about criminals?" Sasuke glared at Itachi, who just stood composed and poker faced. "I hope you don't plan on throwing Sakura at some criminal," Sasuke turned to Tsunade, who had got up from her chair and just stood there with arms crossed, at the sideline, witnessing the confrontation of the Uchiha brothers. She knew she had to handle the situation—the last thing the event needed was a world war III... Over a girl.
"Under my authority over this event, Uchiha Itachi, who is a former alumni of this school is allowed to bid and therefore win Sakura," Tsunade confirmed. Sasuke looked like he was about to interpose, but Tsunade stopped him again,
"That's final, Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade affirmed again. She turned her heel to leave, but gave a final comment, "...I think the real criminal here is your father..." which only engaged Sasuke.
"What do you know about my family's personal life? Sasuke spat at Tsunade, who just turned her body to face him, and responded with a serious face.
"A lot more than you do, boy... Everyone knows except you," with that Tsunade turned and walked off. Shikamaru just stuck his hands in his pockets and followed Tsunade's actions, not wanting to further get involved in the troublesome situation.
Tsunade knew clearly what Itachi had done, but like she said before, she was more intimate with the situation than Sasuke was. It's a shame that Sasuke didn't know, but something inside Tsunade told her that he would be finding out soon.
Itachi turned to Sakura, and held out his hand, as if telling her to come with him,
"Well, then Haruno-san, shall we be on our way to our date?" Itachi suggested with his silky voice. As conflicted as she, to join a man on a date who is Sasuke's infamous older brother, she agreed to these terms for this event—she couldn't back down. It would not look good on her, to refuse a date when a great sum of money has been donated for the event's cause. Besides, her and Sasuke are broken up, why should she concern herself with how Sasuke would feel about this? He obviously didn't care since he was just using her to steal her rank... But still... This issue was not as simple for her, it didn't feel right.
Sasuke's voice broke her out of her thoughts,
"Sakura! you don't have to go with him… You don't want to go with him-He's dangerous." His face was very serious, warning Sakura of potential danger, his eyes pleading as well. Sakura didn't know what to do.
"Sakura! He's a liar! Do you know how many people he has hurt? You have no reason to trust him!" Sasuke argued. At this, Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sasuke. Did he not realize the hypocrisy of his words?
"You're being a hypocrite, Sasuke..." Sakura said in a low voice. She turned away from Sasuke, feeling her insides hurt again. She still wasn't ready to face him, deal with him, and not look directly at him without feeling some urge to cry. These recent days have been painful-for experiencing her first heartbreak. She wanted the pain to go away, but had no idea how to deal with it, except getting her day over with at school, avoiding Sasuke as much as she can, and locking herself in her room, trying to keep herself busy.
She didn't really have much good choices at this point—she could either not go with Itachi, and possibly deal with a persistent Sasuke who won't leave her alone or she could take a chance and go with Itachi—with absolutely no idea how one date with him could unfold.
Itachi observed the argument between his younger brother and the pink-haired beauty—they obviously had some sort of past. The girl looked like she had no desire to be within the same room as Sasuke. She looked like she was going to break any second. The girl obviously meant something to Sasuke—for he isn't the type to get worked up over any girl. They probably dated, and most likely broke up. Itachi's inner demon was really tempting him, he enjoyed seeing Sasuke frustrated and decided to be evil.
The elder Uchiha turned to Sakura, grabbed her hand, and began heading for the exit of the room. Sakura, who was too upset to care where she was headed—she just wanted to be away from Sasuke. After what he had done, how can she not go with Itachi, whom she didn't know personally. Maybe all those scandalous things about Itachi were more lies from Sasuke.
Sasuke noticed his brother take his girl by the hand and lead her somewhere. He yelled out her name,
"Sakura!-" But stopped when he noticed a large hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a large man with sharp teeth in a black suit grinning at him, with two other men surrounding him. His yelling attracted the attention of the students in the crowd amongst him, but they started to distance themselves from area. Now Sasuke understood it was because of the suspicious looking men.
The two men behind the sharp-toothed man just smirked at the younger Uchiha. One of them was blond, with their hair grown long and held up in a half-pony tail. The other was baby-faced man with copper hair. The giant man showed his teeth at Sasuke,
"I don't care if you are Itachi's bastard younger brother... If you want to stay in one piece, then don't interfere with our leader's business," he taunted. Sasuke cursed under his breath. He turned to face the direction of Sakura and Itachi.
Sakura who reacted to Sasuke calling her name, turned and gave him a pleading look before disappearing into the crowd of people,
"...Just please leave me alone," Sakura spoke, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori just walked passed him, following after Itachi. Sasuke just stood there, dazed and hurt, in the middle of the crowd.
Sakura quickly wiped her eyes, as the limo she was in came to a stop. She looked outside the limo window and saw that they had stopped at some restaurant in downtown. The restaurant had a second floor balcony with tables outside, they were covered with white table clothes and had candle center pieces. She saw that the entrance was on the first floor, the lights attached to the building were antique looking. The placed looked like some expensive Italian place.
She turned to Itachi, who sat next to her. She had realized that during the entire car ride, she was very quiet and too consumed with thinking about Sasuke. She immediately felt bad for neglecting her date, even if she didn't exactly wanted to be with him at the moment.
"Umm... Sorry I'm boring you with silence... I'm just very..." She felt a bit embarrassed trying to explain the confrontation at the event and was at a loss of words. Itachi just looked at her with an understanding facial expression,
"...Sad? He was boyfriend, wasn't he?" Itachi finished her sentence. Sakura just nodded, and started fidgeting with the edge of her skirt.
"I'm sorry about him, he was being a bad sport over our break-up... I didn't realize he would bother bidding on me..." Sakura felt her explanation jumble a bit. Her head was all over the place. A part of her wondered what happened to Sasuke after wards, and the other part began to become self-conscious in front of Itachi.
His presence was making her nervous. Itachi had this aura of mystery around him, a dark and alluring presence. She had been on a date before, but never expected to be on a date Sasuke's older brother. She could help but stare at him—he was very handsome and he could compete with Sasuke in looks. Itachi nodded,
"I understand," he said as he stepped out of the limo. He walked over to the other side and opened the door for Sakura. He held out a hand, which Sakura took and lifted herself off the chair and onto the concrete pavement. Itachi still held onto her hand, and gave Sakura a charming smile before planting a kiss on her hand. At this, Sakura's cheeks flushed.
Itachi looked up at his date,
"Forget about him. I'll make sure tonight will be memorable for you," his silky voice assured. Sakura's face heated up, as she gave him a nervous, but sincere smile.
Though his criminal status made her a bit nervous, she couldn't deny the seductive temptation surrounding Itachi and this date.
"You glued Sasuke's legos together?" Sakura laughed. Itachi just shrugged,
"What? It's fun frustrating Sasuke," deep down, Sakura knew he was right.
Sakura felt leaves crush under her shoes as she walked through an old carnival ground with Itachi walking next to her. The night was dark, and the old carnival ground gave the place an old time setting. All the rides were shut down, with paint chipping off. Sakura remembered this place when she was in elementary school, when it was thriving with lights, laughter, and music. Now the place was desolate and long forgotten. There was caution tape all over the merry-go-rounds, broken bottles on the grass, and signs claiming to stay out of the area. Sakura looked up at Itachi,
"So... What made you want to come here?" She asked curiously.
After the dinner, which the two had starting walking in the parks, until they went far enough through the land and came across the old Konoha carnival ground that had been out of business for years.
"There is an old nostalgic feeling I have attached to these places... I came here often as a young boy," Itachi stopped and looked at Sakura,
"Why? Are you scared?" He smirked, "Where is your sense of adventure? C'mon," Itachi ushered as he held onto Sakura's hand. Sakura's heart beated a bit faster, feeling his hand over hers. They conversed as they walked,
"So what bad things has Sasuke told you about me?" Itachi inquired with an amused look on his face, as if it was all a joke to him,
"Well... Apparently you stole money from your family," Sakura explained, hoping that Itachi would explain why without her asking.
"Ahh, yes. I won't deny that," Itachi simply stated, looking into the distance. Sakura asked,
"Can I ask you why?" She hoped she didn't sound noisy or anything. Itachi's tone went from carefree to a bit serious,
"There was someone special to me... And my father and grandfather took that away," he said simply. Sakura looked confused,
"I don't understand..." Was all Sakura could say after some silence. They went over to a nearby bench, Itachi just leaned his elbows on his knees with his face looking like he was in a deep thought. Sakura just sat next to him and decided to listen,
"Right after high school, I introduced my family—Mom, dad, grandfather, to a woman I had fallen in love with since my junior year. I had kept the relationship a secret for a while, just out of personal privacy, and after a year I decided it was time to introduce her to my family..." Itachi trailed off. He looked at Sakura,
"Her name was Shiori..." Itachi stated,
"And, when the time came for her first dinner at the mansion. It was the first time my family met her. When she arrived, my father had a clearly disappointed look on his face, and my grandfather had an even more disappointed look on his face. They are usually tactful about it, but this time, they couldn't hide it. My mother welcomed her like any other guest, and Sasuke was just Sasuke and stayed quiet the entire time..."
"Why did they not like her?" Sakura inquired, feeling empathy and pity for the girl.
"They didn't like the fact that Shiori came from a low-class family. She was very poor, a scholarship student at St. Arabellas..." Sakura felt a nerve being bit.
"And because of that, they found her unfit to be their daughter-in-law, and the wife of the future heir of Uchiha Corp," Itachi looked at the ground.
"My father and grandfather didn't give her a chance. Whenever she was over, they never acknowledged her. I fought with them about it, and they wouldn't budge. I thought eventually, they would stop being stubborn and accept her one day... I was a fool to think that..." Sakura felt the story being turned into a tragic ending.
"Then one day, I had to tell my father and grandfather that Shiori was pregnant with my child and that I wanted to marry her... Father was ashamed of me, he went lengths to make sure no one knew of Shiori's pregnancy... But my grandfather however, was beyond angry for having a child with a woman he considered not worthy of joining the family..."
"I had already proposed to her, promising her to take care of her and our child, regardless of what my family had said. They knew nothing would change my mind or stop me, so they did something unforgivable..." Sakura held her breath, afraid of what had happened to Shiori.
"My grandfather, Madara ordered my father to 'get rid' of her," At this, Sakura placed her fingers over her mouth, unable to believe her ears.
"I wanted to kill grandfather for having such a sick idea in his head, but I thought my father wouldn't actually go through with it... So I didn't worry as much... But I guess I had too much faith in my father... I came home one day from work to find that Shiori had disappeared. I looked everywhere for her, and when I finally confronted my father, he told me he order his men to dispose of Shiori..." Sakura gulped, fear shook her, knowing that the Uchiha family had the will to do this.
"They told me it was for my own good and that they will never tell me where they buried the body..." Sakura felt the words stuck to her throat,
"I'm... very sorry," Sakura said as she scooted closer to Itachi and placed a gentle hand over his, he then placed his other hand over hers and stroked her fingers with his thumb.
"I was enraged, and became illogical and rebellious... Then I finally decided to leave them, and steal their money as well..." Sakura looked at Itachi with pity,
"Stealing the money was the least my family deserved," Itachi stated, "No amount of money atones for their sin..."
Sakura felt her heart cry for Itachi. She couldn't imagine the suffering he went through... There was no crime in Itachi and Shiori to be in love, and yet... His own father decided to take the one thing Itachi loved more than anything else away. He lost his mate, and is living in a bitter and angry revenge towards the family who betrayed him. Sakura spoke,
"Does Sasuke know?"
"He was told what was told to everyone: Shiori had a miscarriage and left me... No, he does not know this," Itachi stated. Itachi blinked before standing up and facing Sakura,
"I will take down my family, for what they have done..." Itachi smiled at Sakura, as if he was completely content with the idea. His hatred ran deep, and it was obvious in his words. He pulled Sakura to her feet,
"One last thing before I take you home," Itachi suggested, Sakura just nodded and held onto his hand.
Itachi led her into a building containing a maze of mirrors. Dust still covered the mirrors, but Itachi found a switch that turned on the lights in the room. Sakura laughed as she saw wide and thin reflections of herself. Itachi just lead her through the maze, but eventually Sakura became lost. All that surrounded her were her reflections, she called out for Itachi who didn't respond. A bit worried that she was completely lost, he kept walking through, trying to find her way out. A pair of arm surrounded her waist and pulled her closer to him. Itachi spun Sakura around and held her close to him. Looking intensely into her green orbs, he closed the gap between them and kissed her. Feeling herself sinking deep into the kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The mirrors began to fog, and the two were kissing more passionately and aggressively. Sakura began to unbutton the first buttons of Itachi's shirt as Itachi removed the sweater off Sakura, revealing her shoulders and lacy tank top.
Sakura finished readjusting her clothes. She could see from the limo window that she was closely approaching her house. Though the two removed some clothing in the mirrored room in the heat of their passion, they didn't have sex, knowing Sakura was not over Sasuke and Itachi was not over Shiori's death. It was just a friendly date that ended up a bit more heated than expected. When they arrived at Sakura's house, Itachi walked Sakura to her door.
When they reached the front door, Sakura turned to Itachi,
"Thank you, Itachi-san... I had a wonderful night," Sakura smiled. Itachi leaned in and gave Sakura another kiss,
"I should thanking you," Itachi said as he stepped off Sakura's porch. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and turned to Sakura for a second,
"Sasuke is a real fool for letting you go," Itachi gave Sakura one last smile before walking away,
"Goodnight... Sakura..."
Author's note: Did you guys like it? I have a guilty pleasure of SakuraxItachi, even if it's kind of a crack couple. Itachi's long gone so no possible romance for him and Sakura in the future of Naruto. RIP Itachi :'( My favorite Naruto character ever.