The first thing Sakura distinctly remembers is staring into beautiful black eyes, similar to Itachi's but oh so different. More, soft and wise beyond Itachi's years.
She can't quite understand what the woman is murmuring, something about food perhaps. All Sakura wants is to fall asleep again and for the pounding in her head to go away.
The next time she comes around she can clearly see the woman from earlier. She has long silky black hair and has a book in her hand, a hot cup of what Sakura assumes is tea. There's a small smile on the woman's face as her eyes sweep side to side, consuming the words on the book with eagerness Sakura can only relate to.
Those black eyes look up and connect with green ones.
"Oh! Hello dear, how are you feeling?" She rose from the chair with such elegance that
Sakura could only dream to achieve some day. "You've been out for a whole day you know? We've barely been able to get you to eat anything." The unknown woman placed the back of her hand on Sakura's forehead. "Your fever seems to have gone down now. Do you think you can eat?"
Sakura could only nod, barely gathering the energy to do that.
"Very well dear, bathrooms right through that doorway if you need it. There's fresh clothes in the dresser already if you'd like to freshen up while I bring some food. I'll send Itachi up soon, he's been worried about you and I just had to shoo him away," the woman chuckled, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I'll be right back dear."
All Sakura could do was blink in utter confusion. Here was this strange woman (in the sense that Sakura didn't know her not that the woman was weird) who was being utterly friendly but not once introduce herself. All she knows is that Itachi would be coming up soon and hopefully with some answers.
/
At some point that beautiful woman introduced herself as Mikoto, Itachi's mother. She was amazing in Sakura's opinion and was a lovely conversationalist. She liked to read a lot and enjoyed a cup of tea, green tea typically but sometimes black tea was fine. She also loved to garden and spend time with her sons. She helped ease the pounding in Sakura's head and told her to rest, her body was still fighting that nasty cold.
Every time Sakura opened her eyes Mikoto would be in that chair, eyes sweeping across the pages of the thick book.
The pinkette had gotten so used to the sight that when she first saw a little boy in the chair she hadn't registered the difference. It wasn't until the boy looked up that Sakura blinked in confusion.
"Hi!" The black haired boy said in a soft squeaky voice, face slowly getting read the more she stayed silent.
"Hi," Sakura croaked and immediately felt her face heat up.
"Oh sorry! Here drink some water, Kaa-san said you might need it." He must be Itachi's younger brother then. "My name is Sasuke, kaa-san said to keep you company while she went grocery shopping. Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, my head doesn't feel too heavy now."
The young boy beamed at her and nodded. "Kaa-san has been giving you soup, well, whenever you were kinda awake. She said you might be fully awake and with more energy tomorrow."
Sakura could tell the difference in her body too. Her head didn't feel too heavy and the moments she was awake were getting longer each time. Maybe by tomorrow night she could get up and out of bed rest.
"Wanna color with me?"
/
Sasuke's book was mostly heroes and animals but there were a few scenery pages that he carefully tore out for her when he found out she liked to draw nature. He had brought her blank pages and was currently in his mothers garden carefully gathering flowers to bring to her for inspiration.
She had taken the moment to doze off but a commotion at her door stirred her awake.
"Go away Shisui! You're gonna wake her up!"
"Baby cousin, she's not going to wake up if I sit by you. Are you afraid she'll like me better than you?"
"No way!" But the small hitch in his voice insinuated something else, something the pinkette was unaware to name.
"Sasuke?" Sakura muttered sleepily but the narrow deep black eyes most certainly did not belong to the adorable younger brother of Itachi. "Hello?"
Shisui let out a low whistle. "Why hello there gorgeous," he said with raised eyebrows, a devious smirk briefly lit his face. "My, my, my. I thought you were cute while sleeping but awake you are simply stunning."
Sakura blinked at him and stole a quick glance at Sasuke's irritated face before turning back to the spiky haired boy. A quick sweep of his face told her everything she needed to know about the boy.
"Oh I see! You're one of those perverts my kaa-san always mentions."
/
Sakura knew that monsters existed. She knew this because her Kaa-san made sure to tell her that the worst monsters were humans, not the ghosts or myths. No, humans could hurt you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Her Kaa-san made sure to drive these points into Sakura from the moment she was able to understand speech.
For many years Sakura would peer at the faces of strangers and family members alike. Looking for the tell tale sign of the horrors hidden beneath the warm mask and persona they chose. Throughout the years there have been a few instances were she would catch a glimpse or shimmer of what she perceived to be ill intent. Fortunately she was always surrounded by someone she trusted to protect and save her.
Unfortunately, this was not the case at the moment.
Sitting in front of his desk, blank dark eyes boring into her own, Sakura was able to clearly see the devil dancing in Fugaku's eyes. If she concentrated hard enough she was sure to feel the heat of what she could only assume to be hell caressing her arms. The green dinosaur Sasuke had lent her was the only thing close to a shield she had (and she wasn't quite ok with using it either).
For his part, Fugaku had been sitting in his office scowling at a green pen on the dark wood table. He had been contemplating how to deal with what he has dubbed "pink haired demon".
The young girl from the night before was a creature with the manners of a civilian brat and the smell of pure evil. The little demon brat had the damn audacity to look him straight in the eye and say "Please don't be so loud, we're trying to sleep."
As if he had made any noise what so ever. Obviously being the patriarch of the Uchiha clan he did the only sensible thing and glared at her with such hatred he was sure his ancestors were proud of him.
Unfortunately, Mikoto had chosen that moment to wake up and scolded him for glaring at the "cute little girl" who had the nerve to fall back "asleep". Fugaku was positive the damn brat was just messing with him now.
Which is why when she came stumbling into his office he didn't get angry or kill her. No, he wanted to make sure she understood everything perfectly clear.
This was a declaration of war and he would not lose.
/
A/n: Done with the semester, so I can fully focus on these stories again! Depending on how things go I may release the next chapter on the 15th or 16th.
Thank you for being patient! Let me know what you think :)
Until next time