Love Bite.

Chapter 25

He kissed her cheek,
But with her knife in his hand,
He plunged it in deep.

- Karen Elson

The next day, they were talking over coffee by a two-seat table next to a window. As they peacefully people-watched, Sasuke out-of-the-blue said something that Sakura didn't quite catch the first time.

"What?" she asked, hoping that what she thought she heard wasn't actually what he said.

He spoke up a bit more clearly this time, but Sakura still didn't like what she heard.

"I'm going to visit Itachi at the psychiatric hospital," is what he said.

Sakura's mouth kind of involuntarily dropped open. "What? Why?" Her voice was completely incredulous, but for all good reasons: Itachi nearly tried to kill her and Sakura knew that Sasuke hated him with passion.

"I know what you're thinking," he reassured, "but it's my mum's wish. She says that Itachi's still my brother and apparently, he asked to see me. It seems that my mum still does anything he says." Sasuke gave a disapproving look, aimed at nothing in particular.

"So, you're actually going?" Sakura still couldn't quite believe his stupidity.

"Of course. I'm a mummy's boy at heart," he added half-jokingly (but half-serious).

Despite the light-hearted tone of Sasuke's voice, Sakura still couldn't quite grasp the idea. However, as she was staring into her coffee mug intently, she was silently thinking of a way to dissuade Sasuke. She was frightened of Itachi and what he would do to Sasuke, which is why Sakura said what she said:

"If you insist on going, I insist on coming with you." Okay, so she was internally kicking herself at saying something even more stupid than his idea. But in a way, Sakura felt like she would be Sasuke's safety net if anything were to go wrong.

It was Sasuke's turn to look incredulous. "Bullshit. You aren't coming and that's that."

Sakura's face contorted to disbelief. "I have as much right to visit as you do!"

"But you might get hurt… again," he said, as his teeth gritted in anger. Whether he was getting angry at Sakura or at Itachi for what he did, she had no idea. But it didn't give her a reason to back down.

"I can look after myself if that's what you're worried about." Her voice held a semblance of venom in its undertones.

"We both know what Itachi is like and we both know that he's completely capable of crossing the line between human morals – he's a sociopath." His voice was resolute and steely but Sakura couldn't let it go without a fight.

"He won't be able to hurt me if there are security guards and orderlies in the same visiting room as us." This last point persuaded Sasuke but Sakura kept going. "And plus, you said you'd do anything for me," she smiled triumphantly when her statement drew a defeated look on Sasuke's face. "So do this for me: let me go with you to visit Itachi."

And that was that. The next day, Sasuke drove up to the psychiatric hospital's car park with Sakura in his passenger seat. She had remained cheerful throughout the journey, but once he had pulled up in front of the crusting white building, the nerves took over and she fell silent beneath the looming presence of the hospital.

Sasuke stepped out of his black convertible, Sakura following his lead.

"Are you not taking that with you?" Sakura asked, as he watched him pull out his wallet and his mobile from his back pocket and reach over to store them in the glove box.

"We're only allowed our keys in the visiting room," he said simply. Then as an afterthought, he said, "You better do the same."

She frowned in displeasure but pulled her mobile out of her pocket and into the glove box.

"You ready?" he asked comfortingly. She nodded unsurely, but nevertheless, they entered the reception of the hospital and were courteously led through many locked doors by a security guard.

The place was dressed in white, just like the psychiatric wards portrayed in movies. They were taken into a room with no windows, only two doors and about ten tables in the centre. The two of them, along with other visitors, sat down at a separate table, whilst the second door, which they hadn't entered from, was opened and the patients came in.

Sakura's stomach churned as she saw the emotionless eyes of Itachi walk into the room. The temperature seemingly lowered to about ten degrees, and Sakura couldn't help but to grasp Sasuke's hand with her own underneath the table.

Itachi spotted them from across the room and stoically walked over, his head dipped. He sat down opposite the two of them without making eye-contact, but as soon as he looked up, his eyes connected with Sasuke's.

"What's she doing here?" His tone had prominent signs of hatred in it and Sakura internally winced at his coldness. He spoke as if Sakura wasn't in the room.

"You'll be nice, Itachi, or else I'll leave here and never visit you again," said Sasuke in a rather maternal voice, like he was talking to a small child.

Even so, the sleek, sophisticated façade that Sakura had seen in Itachi had disappeared and left underneath it was a childish, vulnerable exterior. She could tell that Itachi doted on his little brother, like he looked up to him. Obviously, time in the "loony bin" had changed him.

Sasuke was passive when Itachi threw an immature pout at him.

"But I can't talk to you in private," Itachi whispered, leaning forward towards his brother and cupping his mouth with both his hands, scared that Sakura would be able to lip-read what he was saying, even though his whispers were audible from where she sat.

Sakura looked slightly disturbed, but Sasuke took it all calmly. "Sakura will be a part of our private talks, whether you like it or not."

Itachi frowned deeply, carving in lines around his forehead and more around his eyes. Now that Sakura looked, she could see how sallow his cheeks had become and how empty his eyes looked. However, when he turned to her, a feeling of ferocity returned.

He looked deeply into her, glaring at her doll face. He knew that he couldn't persuade Sasuke about his girl, so all he had to rely on now was himself. "Please leave me and Sasuke alone for a minute." His addressing voice sent a troop of shivers down her spine. The way he was looking at her was dangerous and she had to break eye-contact; she felt like she was strangled of all her breath just looking into his abyss eyes.

"Itachi," Sasuke scolded, bringing his brother's attention back. "Sakura will not leave this table-"

"It's all right, Sasuke," Sakura said, trying to put on a smile to cover her frightened features. She pushed her chair back and walked quickly over to the opposite side of the room and sat down on an empty table. 'Anything to get away from him,' she silently thought to herself. She hadn't realized it before but her palms were sweating with the uneasy feelings she got from Itachi.

She couldn't hear anything they said over the buzzing conversations of all the other patients and their families, but from their expressions and gestures, she guessed it was only small talk. From where she sat, she could see how delighted Itachi was at being able to talk to his brother, but Sasuke obviously felt differently and the hatred that Sasuke had always felt for Itachi was still present.

They exchanged a few nods and the like between them before Sasuke turned around and gestured to her to come back to the table.

She sat down calmly in her previous seat, although she could feel dread at being in the same proximity as Itachi.

"Sasuke," Itachi said authoritatively, "It's your turn to go; I want to speak to Sakura now."

"Oh no you don't," Sasuke said immediately after. "I'm not going anywhere."

At those words, Itachi looked up at him with a frighteningly haunting expression, like he was trying to extract pity from Sasuke. When he got no response, Itachi's gaze turned to Sakura's and she could see a little twinkle in his gaze, as if to taunt 'I know something you don't know.'

No matter how much she was afraid of Itachi, she couldn't keep all of the curiosity that plagued her conscience away.

"Sasuke, it's okay. I'll be fine." She wasn't 100% certain that everything was going to be dandy, but she wanted to take the risk and see if she could unveil anything more about the enigmatic character of Itachi.

Sasuke looked skeptically on, as Sakura tried to connect with him using only her eyes. She was trying to assure him that she wanted badly to see what Itachi had to say to her in private.

Sasuke more or less got the message, but nevertheless, he only took two steps back from the table, where he stood looming over them, barely in hearing range of their conversation. When they started talking lowly, he couldn't hear a word.

Itachi leaned forward to grab Sakura's full attention. "How's life been?"

His casualness put Sakura on edge and she narrowed her eyes before replying with a simple, "Fine."

"Are you scared, Sakura?" his voice was low and quiet, as to not aware Sasuke that something in the air had stirred.

"No," she said, as she was gritting her teeth and lying blatantly. He could sense the fear in her, clear as day, but he wanted to play with her.

"How are you and Sasuke doing?" he asked passively, trying to look like he really wasn't very interested even though he was hanging on to every word that she said.

"Lovely, thanks for asking," she said. If he wanted to play, she would play. She leaned forward, like he was doing previously, except Itachi felt the need to back away slightly in surprise. There was something in her eye that spelled out she now had the upper hand. "The little charade you pulled – you know, trying to kill me – it really brought me and Sasuke closer. I'm ever grateful for that."

She smiled an infamous 'Itachi' smile. It was dripping with fakeness.

"How does that make you feel?" Sakura asked, a sleek eyebrow raised. She made sure that Sasuke couldn't hear, as she didn't know what was coming over her. This new, manipulative female, who was leading Itachi into the biggest trap of his life, was invigorating and foreign, and Sakura felt a new sense of supremacy. "How does it make you feel that I'm beating you at your own game?"

Sakura swore she saw a spark of anger in Itachi that made his eyes flash crimson.

In a second, she felt his hot breath behind her right ear. She looked up in alarm at his seat, but it was empty and a sudden panic swept across her like a fever.

She sprang from her chair in terror, like there were hot coals on it. She could feel him pressing up against her back, and in that moment she was transported back to the morning of Matsuri's party, when she had a nightmare of someone chasing her. She hadn't paid much heed to it, but feeling Itachi so close to her reminded her that the screaming man sounded exactly like his maddened cries.

In her obviousness, Itachi managed to instantly twist her arm around behind her back. She winced in pain, but nothing compared to when he twisted it too far back. She heard a haunting crack and then it came on like a thunderstorm. All she felt was pain flooding up her arm. She screamed and grabbed the attention of Sasuke and the orderlies. They instantly came rushing to help her and tried to pry Itachi off, but before they could get him off, she felt him whisper malicious words into her ear.

"If you want to play, I'll play." His words resonated in her head, even after they had pulled him off her. She could see orderlies sedating Itachi from his erratic high, before dragging him through the doors that he initially came through.

.&.

She awoke in a bland white room, feeling light-headed, and then she noticed the slight pain which resided in her right arm. She looked around her in alarm, and noticed she was in hospital attire in a single room with a flower bouquet next to her bed. She looked down at her arm, and noticed it was in a cast and sling. That's when the whole incident with Itachi came flooding back to her memory.

The door suddenly slid open and in walked Sasuke carefully carrying a cup of coffee. When he looked up, his face lit up.

"Sakura, you're awake," he said considerately, placing his coffee cup on her bedside table.

She cheekily took a sip before smiling up at him. "Yeah, my arm's starting to hurt again though."

"It's broken," Sasuke informed her, but Sakura could sense anger rising behind his jet black eyes.

However, she didn't have time to tell him to calm down. At that moment, the door slid open again and in rushed a figure abruptly.

"Oh my god, Sakura, honey." It was her mother, obviously distressed at her current state. "What in God's name happened?" She touched her casted arm carefully, scared to hurt her anymore.

Sakura looked up again and saw her father walk in to the room, more calmly than his wife. "Sakura are you alright? Are they giving you the right painkillers?" Sakura had forgotten that her father was a doctor at a small clinic on the other side of town. Of course it was his job to make sure everything was working out just fine in this hospital.

"Hi, mum, hi, dad," she addressed both of them, giving them a light hug.

"How are you feeling?" her mother asked, to which Sakura just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "How did this happen," she waved to the broken arm.

Before Sakura could say anything, Sasuke, who had before resided at the back of the room, made himself known. "I'm extremely sorry, but it wasn't Sakura's fault. I take full responsibility."

"It was your doing?" her mother cried, looking incredulous.

"No!" Sakura cried, "It wasn't Sasuke's fault at all."

"Sasuke?" Her father had decided to join in the crazy conversation. "Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sasuke looked abash for a moment, scratching his head nervously. He wondered what his girlfriend's father had read about him in the papers. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Haruno." He held out a hand for him to shake, like they were dealing with business.

"The pleasure's all mine," Sakura's dad said humbly.

"I'm sorry, but could we cut the introductions out until later. I just want to know what happened, honey," her mother said, looking at her husband reproachfully.

Sakura took a guilty swallow, readying herself mentally to how her parents would react. "I went to visit Sasuke's older brother at the psychiatric hospital. I angered Itachi, so he broke my arm," she goofily replied.

Her mum looked confused, "I didn't think you were such good friends with the Uchiha family. Did he talk you into going?" Her mum pointed a sharp glare towards Sasuke.

"Mum!" Sakura replied, offended that her mum had said something so humiliating with Sasuke in the same room. "Don't even try to blame it on my boyfriend!"

Sakura bit her lip immediately after she had made the slip-up and both her parents looked utterly shocked. A deathly silence resonated throughout the room, before her mum finally broke it.

"Sasuke's your boyfriend?"

Oh, Hi!

Yes, Itachi returned again, I lied when I said he was gone, although I didn't know at the time that I was going to put him back into the story... My mind just adores to conjure up a load of dramatic (bordering on cliche) twists.

As I practically share my whole life with you guys, just going to put it out there that I went to my prom on Saturday night. So good! I loved it. And I won best female hair. Which was such a joke because I honestly have the most disgusting hair ever. I want Mischa Barton's hair when it was sosososo gorgeous at one point in her life.

Useless Babble... Again. Sorry.