So this is late. And it's not even the fault of my computer. I didn't have access to a computer this weekend to finish this chapter, for one, and last week, I had a huge headache because during my kendo practice, I received a shinai (bamboo sword) in the face. Not actually severe, but the blow did split my eyebrow open. Try spending a week without making any facial expressions. Torture.
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The bathhouse was bustling at this hour, people going in and out intermittently. Old and young, all had a smile on their face; those who came out looked like they were ten years younger, the old gossipers recounted their day on a bench outside the crowded building or inside, while they washed off slowly, enjoying the hot water. Sakura and Itachi approached the bathhouse calmly, enjoying the last rays of the sun and discussing amicably about the theory behind a new jutsu Itachi was learning. They attracted many stares as they walked, for Sakura was clearly blind and Itachi was never seen with females other than his mother and a few prominent members of his clan.
Thus Sakura felt her skin crawling under the weight of the numerous stares, and even more so as Itachi and she went their separate ways in the bathhouse. After promising to wait for each other at the entrance, they went to their respective changing rooms. As she undressed, the medic heard various females whispering to one another about her and blatantly ogling her, thinking she couldn't see them. Well, she was used to it, mostly, so she mentally shrugged in indifference and wrapped a towel around her body.
"What does Itachi-kun see in her anyway?" asked a girl loudly enough for her to hear clearly as she headed for the bathing area. "She's not even that pretty! And pink hair? Please!"
"I bet she only pretends to be blind so that he has to take care of her!" replied another girl with an emphatic nod, sounding just as condescending as the first.
She didn't react, knowing they were just out to get a rise out of her. People like them just needed an outlet for their frustration and she refused to play the part. If they had delusions about Itachi and could not go past them, it was certainly not her problem. She hoped one day they would grow out of their fangirl tendencies, as she had done with Sasuke. For their own good.
She set her bathing supplies down next to the small bench she was going to use, still lost in thoughts as she remembered her own days as a fan, following Sasuke around in blind admiration. Maybe, if she had tried to see past his aloof exterior that she found so appealing at the time, she would have been able to become a real friend to him and have become someone he could count on and confide in. she had been so self-centered back then…
She would berate herself for this later, but she was so caught up in her old memories that she didn't give any thought to her surroundings and was thus surprised when someone snatched her blindfold with a victorious "Aha!"
She did feel acutely when the warm, moist air touched her now bare face and whirled around, eyes snapping open in shock.
For an eternity but what could only have been a second or two, absolute silence reigned. Then a loud-pitched cry of horror pierced the air.
And she was freezing, and all the gazes had become stares and were weighing her down, and she was drowning, there was no more air, but so much pressure, and it was so hard to breathe…
Her grasp was lost on her sensory technique and she was lost in her darkness; she didn't see Itachi jump over the wall delimiting the male and female sides, but his warmth suddenly engulfed her.
Touch was the first sense to come back to her as she realized that his arms were wrapped around her protectively, and her shivering was slowly abating. Then, in a torrential rush, hearing came back to her and she was able to hear squeals and gasps, giggles and cries, and she came to realize that Itachi had just landed in a room full of females. How…surprising.
"This is the women's bathing room."
She could hear the slight smile in his voice as he answered, "Hai, it is."
"You're not supposed to be here."
"Hn."
Ah, the "You're right" hn. It almost made her smile.
She felt his warmth leave her and heard his quiet footsteps leave her vicinity.
"You won't mind if I take that, will you?" came his voice somewhere to her right, followed by a meek "I-Iie, Itachi-kun."
Soon enough, his footfalls came back to her, and she felt him tie her blindfold snugly back around her head.
"Better, sensei?"
"Hai…Thank you. It was all my fault, I should have been more aware of my surroundings…I…didn't want to horrify anyone."
"I know, sensei. You wear that blindfold as much for others as for yourself. You didn't need it in here, but you're too good-hearted."
She chuckled dryly. Apparently, wearing the blindfold to not make people afraid or horrified at her had not worked as well as she had hoped it would.
"So you did see beneath the underneath…" she murmured thoughtfully.
"Hn. I knew I should have taken us straight to the mixed baths in the first place," murmured Itachi as he gently helped her up. "Unlike ninja, civilians didn't know what to expect from you. I should have anticipated this. It is my mistake, sensei."
He lead her to the mixed section slowly, somehow managing not to trample her ego by making her feel weak—which was pretty much a miracle in itself. Sakura, though, shook her head at his words.
"Iie. Do not blame yourself, please. I should do something about my eyes. I have thought that for a while now, but with my workload, I don't have time and energy to spend on myself. I have five years to heal Satsuki-san's congenital disease or else I'll lose my respectability and chance to create a medical village with the approval of my country's daimyo. I can't waste time on anything not related to that prospect."
"And yet you have come at my request."
"And yet I've come," she agreed softly. No more needed to be said.
-:-
There was a strange thumping in his chest. It was unnatural. Why was his heart beating faster? That pale slate was just the creamy expanse of Sakura-sensei's back. He had bathed numerous times with his mother in the past, so it could not be because he was lathering a female's back. Was it because that one was his age? Somehow, he had a feeling that wasn't it. There was something different about the pink-haired girl.
Sakura, sensing his unease, turned her head slightly to the side, as if to look at him.
"I'm sorry. Um…I can't see anything. I'm not using my technique to sense my surroundings, so, well, don't feel embarrassed. I can't see anything."
But I can, thought the young Uchiha. Instead, he said, "Why don't you?"
As a ninja, it was suicide not to know your surroundings, and she knew that just as much as him. It was quite a show of trust on her part to accept to be so vulnerable in his presence. But she just couldn't bring herself to use her technique. As it was, if she couldn't sense the people looking at her and whispering behind her back, she could pretend they didn't exist.
"Who knows…" she answered with a small, secretive smile.
All the tension left her body as she relaxed, losing herself in his ministrations and the repetitive circles he drew on her back with the bar of soap. His fingers lingered longer on her scars and she found herself wanting to tell him the story behind each of them. She bit down harshly on her lower leg to prevent herself from doing so, and it was almost painful to refrain herself from spilling her past to him.
"You have had a difficult life," he murmured as he rubbed his thumb across the scar Sasori had made when he had plunged his weapon straight through her stomach.
He found himself biting the inside of his cheek before whispering, "I wish I could provide for you so you would not be hurt anymore."
Sakura took her bucket of water and dumped its contents over her head to stall for a moment before she shook her head of the excess water and stood up.
"I don't regret any of these scars. They are proof that I was strong enough to live," she murmured, turning around to cup his cheek. "You are a good person, Itachi-san, but I fear your ideals will hurt you one day. You and I are not meant to be. There is something much more important to you than me or even your family, and that's your village. It is what should be for any ninja, but I fear for you, Itachi-san. I fear one day you will end up sacrificing yourself for this ideal, for you love peace more than anything."
Her hand trailed off his face and she hung her head.
"My life has crossed with yours, and I am grateful to have been able to know you, for you are one of the greatest persons I know. But I cannot be with someone who would sacrifice me for his ideals, no matter how much I may understand that decision, for I, too, work for something greater than me, and it is something that cannot exist as of yet without me. Please don't hate me for this."
His skin felt cold where her fingers had left him and that cold only spread as he watched her walk unsteadily to the bath.
He knew in the deepest confines of his soul that she was right about him; he didn't ask himself how she had managed to understand him so thoroughly. He did however swear to himself that he would never let her go. He could let go of anyone else, minus maybe his younger brother, but even he didn't understand him. Not like she did. And that made her all the more precious.
-:-
Sakura waited outside the building. The night was cool on her still damp skin, and she shivered lightly. Still, she did not wrap her arms around her body but left them dangling at her sides, palms flat against the cool wall. Somehow, it helped grounding her to reality. Her head felt hot. Her whole body felt hot. More than that, she felt feverish.
Damn it, get a hold of yourself! You're so pathetic right now!
She punched the wall with a fist as she hung her head.
You're completely pathetic, Haruno Sakura. To actually want to be first in a person's heart…Haven't you learned by now that you're destined to be last in everything but medicine? Why don't you just stick to that?
Wow, she really was good at putting herself down. Waaay pathetic.
She snorted, biting down harshly on her lower lip. The metallic tang of blood flooded her mouth.
Pathetic.
She grimaced bitterly, ignoring the bustle of people entering and leaving the bathhouse.
"Sakura-nee-chaaaaaan!"
And then, a bright ray of sun.
Naruto.
-:-
Naruto stiffened at first, unused to physical contact and, furthermore, engulfing hugs. He actually floundered for a while before tentatively wrapping his arms around the form of the pink-haired medic. She was trembling ever-so-slightly; how fragile it made her seem.
"You smell good, Naruto-kun. Comforting," she mumbled into his hair after a long while of silence.
"What? I don'! I smell like dirt or something!" exclaimed the young boy, somewhat insulted but even more embarrassed. He knew that his hygiene was not the best.
"Nah…You smell like sunshine," she whispered, tucking him a little closer to her. "Like home."
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Gah! You wouldn't believe how hard it was to write this! It feels too angsty for my tastes, and it wasn't originally intended that way, but in retrospect, I actually like it. Go figure. Maybe I'm a gloomy person. Still, some important points were introduced here, hehehe. Do review, I'm always happy to know what you think of what I write!
