For BlueArcticWolf
Pairings:
ItaSaku, NaruIno
Word count: 2747
Prompt:
kissing booth, non-massacre
Notes: Sorry for the crazy long wait, guys. I kept trying to update, but I'm out of funny. I really wanted to write something darker, actually.
Anyway, this one isn't great – particularly the end; the whole things kind of makes no sense. But whatever. Hopefully it gets me back into the swing of things.

-x-

"I still say we should do a kissing booth."

"And I still say that's disgusting." Ino uncapped her bottle of water and glared at Naruto over the rim. "It's demeaning, and only perverts like you go for them."

Naruto hid a grin. Beside him, Sakura sighed. She knew Naruto wouldn't ever really be interested in a kissing booth – if he was going to kiss Ino, he always told Sakura, he wanted it to be because she wanted it. He just liked getting under her skin. Naruto was like that. Some boys moved on from their need to pull their crush's pigtails or call them names. Naruto hadn't.

"I don't know why I have to help," Sakura said, getting to her feet. "I wasn't the one who smashed off Tsunade-shishou's nose."

Sasuke leveled her a very flat look. "You're the one who always says teammates should stick together."

"Yeah? And where were you when I had to weed that massive garden for our last D-rank mission?" When Sasuke didn't reply, she turned up her nose. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Sakura-chaaaan," Naruto began in that whine that always made her crumble, "Don't be mean to me. Look, even Ino's helping! She's not even part of this team!"

"She was refereeing the match between you and Sasuke," Sakura pointed out. She shook her head. She had to leave before she completely gave in to Naruto. "You know, if you need money, you could just sell Sasuke's old pillows, or something. I have to get back to work. I'll see you for dinner."

Before anyone could stop her, she was gone. Ino turned back to the boys, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. Sasuke shot her the dirtiest look he could muster.

"Not happening."

"Of course it isn't," Ino said. "You wouldn't get us nearly enough money."

Sasuke didn't know whether to be offended or not.

Ino slid a smile at Naruto. He blinked back at her for a moment – then grinned. "Oh. Ohohoho. You're good."

Ino nodded. "I know."

"What do you mean I wouldn't get enough money?"

"Not hot enough." Ino appraised Sasuke for a moment, as he sputtered indignantly before remembering he wasn't supposed to care. "So. Where's your brother?"

-x-

From the window, Sakura could see the Hokage monument – and the Godaime's smashed face. She winced, recalling Tsunade's furious shrieks when she saw. She would have beaten Naruto (the others had been smart enough to run when she approached) black and blue if Uchiha Itachi hadn't stepped in. Thus, he had suffered the broken jaw and bruised cheekbone.

Tsunade had healed him, of course, and Itachi had returned home while Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto brainstormed ways to raise enough money to get the monument fixed. And even though Itachi hadn't really suffered anything – he dodged the full brunt of the hit, and Tsunade had mended the broken bones with a sweep of her hand – Sakura still wanted to thank him.

So she knocked.

Mikoto opened the door and smiled at her. Mikoto always had a smile for everyone, and while she particularly liked Sasuke's teammates, she had a soft spot for Sakura, who her son had long had feelings for.

"Hello, Mikoto-san. Is Itachi home?" She held up a tube of ointment. "Shishou wanted me to drop this off." Not quite true; Sakura had made the decision – and the cream – herself. Still, it sounded much more impressive coming from Tsunade. Sakura may have been talented, but she was young, and people tended to doubt her abilities. She used Tsunade's name a lot.

"He just returned from a mission." Mikoto's smile dropped a bit; she didn't know what Itachi did on his missions, but he always returned looking worn and haunted. It worried her. She stepped back so Sakura could enter. "He's in his room right now."

"Thank you." Sakura slipped in, smiled at Mikoto, and shuffled down the halls to Itachi's room. It was across from Sasuke's, and she peeked in on the younger Uchiha's surprisingly untidy room, before knocking on Itachi's door.

"Come in."

Sakura pulled open the door and poked her head in. Itachi sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor, winding a bandage around his bicep.

"Oh, you're hurt," Sakura exclaimed, scuttling in and thumping to her knees in front of him. She batted his hands away. "Let me. You really should come to the hospital for these things, you know."

"I have some medic training," Itachi said. "I don't need the hospital for such small injuries."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Sasuke always said the same thing. Even better: so did their father. In the exact same tone, too.

She finished with the bandage and rocked back on her heels. "If you're too embarrassed to go to the hospital, just call me," Sakura said. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you," Itachi said dryly. Sakura didn't expect him to take her up on her offer, but she wouldn't be surprised if he did. Maybe it was because Sakura was Sasuke's teammates, but Itachi didn't underestimate her because of her age. He was the same with Naruto. Sakura liked that.

"So I wanted to thank you for yesterday," Sakura said, holding up the cream. "You saved Naruto a hole in his head and—" She shrugged, embarrassed. "You didn't have to do that. You probably shouldn't have."

Itachi fought back a smile in the way every Uchiha but Mikoto seemed to, but his eyes were gentle when he looked at her. Sakura tugged at a lock of hair, feeling awkward.

"So, anyway, um—"

She stopped, and as one, Sakura and Itachi turned towards the noise in the hallway – shuffling, shouting, and something that sounded a lot like: "You cannot have my brother's underwear!" – before the door shot open and Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke spilled in.

Silence. Then Sasuke looked from Sakura to Itachi and back again suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

Before Sakura could reply, Ino beamed, getting up off the floor and dusting herself off. "Good job, Sakura! Getting a head start on obtaining Itachi's old shirts? Remember: the more worn, the better!"

Sakura's mouth fell open. "Wha—" She shot Itachi a glance out of the corner of her eye, and her heart sunk.

He was staring back at her, expression blank, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

Seriously. Why her?

-x-

"How many times do I have to say it, Sasuke?" Sakura asked tiredly. "I wasn't trying to knock out your brother and steal his clothes."

Sasuke didn't look convinced. He remained stationed in front of Itachi, who barely looked up from the bloody kunai he was cleaning.

Naruto piped in, sounding entirely too amused: "And if you thought she could, what makes you think you could stop her, you pansy?"

"Shut up, Naruto."

Meanwhile, Ino wandered around Itachi's room, examining the bare walls critically. "Do you own anything, Itachi-san?"

Naruto broke off his snickers to turn to her. "No, Ino. It's either Itachi or Itachi-sama."

Itachi held his clean kunai up to the light. It gleamed and he looked at Naruto. He didn't answer.

Ino clicked her tongue. "Closet, then."

Enough was enough.

Itachi pushed to his feet in one smooth motion. "Exactly what," he began, "are you planning to do with my closet?"

Ino didn't look fazed. She was a brave one, Itachi decided. "We're trying to make some fast money. We're going to sell your stuff to your fan club."

"No. Why don't you complete some missions?"

"Takes too long," Sasuke said, not looking away from Sakura, who rolled her eyes.

"Plus, Sakura-chan doesn't want to help us." Naruto scratched his cheek, yawning. "And Ino shot down my kissing booth id—" He broke off, brightening. "Hey! Why doesn't Itachi—"

"No," Sasuke all but snarled.

Naruto frowned. "You know, you're really creepy."

"Why exactly should Itachi help?" Sakura demanded. "You guys messed up. You should do the work."

"But imagine all the money we could make!" Naruto said. "Enough to pay the old hag back, and pay my ramen tab and buy presents! We could buy a puppy, Sakura-chan!"

"Why do we need a puppy?"

"They are cute and cuddly."

"You're an idiot."

"We're not whoring out my brother so we can buy you a dog with a bigger brain than you," Sasuke said. By now his eyes had bled red. Sakura understood that; if she had Sharingan, Naruto would set hers off, too.

Itachi finished wiping down the rest of his kunai, staying silent. There were things one learned, living in Konoha. The art of ignoring Uzumaki Naruto was one of them.

"I bet you Anko would be first in line," Naruto said, turning to Ino.

"Then Kurenai."

"You?"

"Duh. Sakura."

Too bad he hadn't yet learned to handle Uzumaki Naruto with Yamanaka Ino.

"Okay! We're going now," Sakura said hastily.

Naruto – who had drooped somewhat after Ino's unabashed agreement – mumbled, "My neighbours."

"The Hokage."

"Ew. Ayame."

"Sakura again."

"Out, guys!" Sakura roared, shoving them through the doorway so hard they smacked into the floor.

"Hey!"

"Ow!"

Sakura rubbed her temples. "C'mon, Sasuke," she said, avoiding Itachi's eyes.

"You first."

"What?" She took in Sasuke's stubbornly folded arms, his suspicious glare, and threw up her hands. "For God's sake! I am not trying to knock out, steal from, or seduce your brother!" Who did Sasuke think she was, anyway? Forget not being Ino and insane – like Itachi would ever let Sakura close enough to do any of the above?

Sasuke continued to glower.

Fed-up, Sakura stormed out, taking care to step on both Ino and Naruto in the process.

"Hey!"

"Ow!"

-x-

Sakura yawned, finger-combing her tangles. She had woken up late and barely had time to get ready. She just hoped she wouldn't run into—

Sakura cut herself off, but not quickly enough, and cursed inwardly as she caught sight of Itachi. Neji was always going on about things like fate and karma and self-fulfilling prophecies. She could almost hear him now: "It's always the things you want least that have a way of finding you." Then Naruto, snickering and trying to hide it: Bad luck senses your fear, Sakura-chan."

Well. It couldn't get any worse from here.

Itachi walked across the road to meet her, and Sakura wanted to smack herself. Sasuke's voice rang in her head now: "Idiot."

"Hello, Itachi," she said as he approached. "How are you?"

"Quite well," Itachi said, holding out his palm. Her ointment sat in the center. "Thank you for this."

"Oh, oops, I totally forgot." She took the tube from him and fiddled with it for a moment. "Did it help?"

"Yes, thank you." Itachi began walking, and Sakura tottered after him. She was headed in the same way, anyway, and besides, there was just something about Itachi. You couldn't help but want to follow him, wherever he might go.

They walked on in silence for several minutes. Then:

"About yesterday."

Sakura groaned. "It wasn't my idea."

"I didn't think so."

"And I wasn't there to steal your shampoo or towels or anything."

Itachi turned his face, unable to fully smother a smile. "I would hope not."

Sakura flamed red and made a mental note to throttle Naruto and Ino. She really hoped they never actually got together.

"As I was saying. I would like to help you raise the money."

"We are not selling your stuff," Sakura said hotly.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. When she flushed, mumbling something about how it was "creepy," he continued: "I meant using Naruto's idea."

"Huh?" Sakura's gaze shot to Itachi, and her heart sank. "Kissing booth?" She'd never thought Itachi would go for something like that…

"Something like that." Itachi's eyes gleamed, but Sakura had cast her eyes down to her shoes and missed it. "Something everyone we know would pay money for. Hokage-sama, Kurenai-san, Sasuke…" His lips twitched. "You, especially."

Sakura slanted him a curious look. "What?"

-x-

"Think of it this way," Ino said, dropping a few coins into the glass jar on the table beside her, and handing Tsunade a wet sponge. "At this rate, we'll make enough money to buy you a puppy."

Naruto scowled as the bright yellow sponge smacked him in the face so hard he fell off the stool he was perched on. "You're cruel and I hate you."

"Nah," Ino said, beaming at him. Naruto burned red and ducked his head ("Look up, brat!" Tsunade jeered, reaching for another sponge). "You really don't."

Sakura and Sasuke stood farther off, watching the proceedings with interest.

"You don't want a turn?" Sasuke asked her.

"Why pay for something I can do for free every day?" She glanced sidelong at him, then back towards Naruto. "I refuse to help you guys raise money."

"You're probably the worst teammate in Konoha."

Sakura waved him off. "Your brother's not here?"

"No."

Sakura frowned. "Are you still being ridiculous?"

"I'm never ridiculous. Stay away from him."

"Naruto's right: You're creepy. What do you honestly think I would – could – do to your brother?"

"That's not what I'm worried about," Sasuke muttered.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Not this again." Itachi was wonderful, of course he was, but Sakura couldn't believe he had any feelings for her. She tried to be realistic: Itachi was a prodigy; Sakura was not. She was too young, too inexperienced, too below him. In her eyes, no one could compare to Uchiha Itachi. He was—"Your brother's just nice."

Sasuke snorted. He glanced over at Naruto again, and fished in his pocket for a bill.

"I need to go throw stuff at Naruto," he said. "…It might be a while."

Sakura waved him off and watched him go. The sun warmed her skin and made her sleepy, and she trotted off, yawning. Maybe she should go home, take a nap…

"Oh, Sakura."

Sakura glanced up, mid-yawn, and waved. "Hi, Kakashi-sensei, Itachi."

"Naruto's doing quite well," Kakashi observed.

"Have you taken a turn at him yet?"

"Gai's holding our place in line," Kakashi said.

Sakura laughed. She would have to see their latest competition. she turned to Itachi. "And you? it was your idea."

Itachi shook his head. "I was just leaving for a mission."

"He was looking for you," Kakashi said.

"Oh? What for?"

"I just wanted to know," Itachi said, "If you are doing anything tonight."

"What?" Sakura sputtered, glancing at Kakashi. He shrugged innocently, and she turned her gaze back to Itachi, looking as unaffected as usual. "I, um, why?"

"You offered I come to you after a mission," Itachi reminded her, still calm.

"Oh." Sakura felt her face warm. Damn that Sasuke. "Right. Sure, come on by whenever."

"Thank you," Itachi said, and the corner of his lips lifted, just for a second. Then he turned back to Kakashi, smile gone, "I should be leaving."

"Sure," Kakashi said easily. "Be careful."

Itachi nodded and left. Kakashi continued, to her now: "He won't be careful."

"Huh?"

"He needs some injury to come see you," Kakashi pointed out.

"Have you been talking to Sasuke?"

"Maybe a little," Kakashi said. "And to Itachi. I told him you're not allowed to date until you're thirty, so it's a good thing he's patient."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"What?"

"Why does no one ever ask me if I like him? Maybe I don't."

"Maybe you think you're more subtle than you are," Kakashi said. "Why don't you ever bring medicine to your poor sensei? I'm getting old, you know."

Sakura passed a hand over her eyes, frustrated. How did Kakashi-sensei even know about the cream? She dropped her hand and turned away, fisting her hands at her sides. Forget napping. She had to blow off some steam.

"Where are you going?"

"To throw things at Naruto." Not that she would pay. She figured she could convince Ino to give her a few free throws.

-x-

"Sakura-chan, you look, um, angry."

"Stop moving, Naruto!"

"Ino, help me!"

"Sorry, buddy, but when Forehead's angry, I try to stay out of her way. Just try not to fly too far."

"What—ARGH!" Naruto skidded back no less than fifteen feet, and Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Nice throw, Sakura."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun. Your turn."

"What."

"Get up there."

"What."

"I'm not asking, Sasuke-kun. Go." Sakura's voice was like ice.

"Yeah, Sasuke. listen to your future sister-in-law!"

Together, Sasuke and Sakura turned to Ino: "What."

In the back of the crowd, unseen by the rest, Itachi smirked.