CHAPTER 6- Tag
"Damn Haruno, red really suits you."
Sakura couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at her lips and gazed at her reflection, inwardly agreeing with Temari. The blood red Kimono that she was wearing fit her body in all the right places and enhanced the feminine curves that she had gained over the years. She run her hand over the soft cherry-blossom-colored obi that was wrapped around her waist and savored the feeling that it left under the skin of her palm. The long and broad sleeves were decorated with blossoms that were the same color as her obi and created a beautiful pattern that run along the edge of the material.
Sakura couldn't remember the last time that she received the opportunity to dress up for such an event, and she couldn't deny that it was a nice change from her usual attire that usually consisted of either training outfits or her everyday clothes.
Her long bubblegum-colored hair was skilfully tied back in a braid, two loose strands framing her glowing face and she knew that Ino would be proud of her if she were to see her like this, if not even a little jealous.
"It's beautiful Temari, thank you." She said as she averted her eyes from her reflection and instead settled them onto the blonde girl that was sitting on her bed, dressed in a dark purple kimono herself. Temari simply looked stunning; confident yet dangerously beautiful.
"Don't mention it Sakura. Consider it a thank you gift for taking care of all the drunkards with me because trust me, even though it doesn't sound that bad you'll get what I mean later." Temari shook her head with a grim expression, the bitterness in her voice not escaping Sakura.
The pinkette however knew that she would have to be careful, especially since she was going to attend as Itachi's advisor, what meant that many people would want to talk to her. She hoped that Itachi didn't have as many foes as she believed him to because if that were the case, she would be an easy target tonight.
It wasn't like she didn't know how to defend herself, all the years of training under Kakashi and Tsunade's supervision had taught her more than enough, the only thing that bothered her about a possible attack was that more people would get wind of what was going on and that was something that she would like to avoid.
She always liked a good exercise every once in a while, though this time she doubted that she would manage to spare her beautiful kimono and that itself would be a bigger tragedy than Romeo and Juliet's love.
"When does the gathering begin?" Sakura inquired as she turned around to fully face Temari. As far as she was concerned, all she knew was that it would start at noon, but no one ever bothered to tell her a concrete time.
Temari merely smiled smugly at her question and examined her nails. "It started a few minutes ago already, but no one expects you and Itachi-sama to arrive for another fifteen minutes or so. After all, they're pleasantly surprised that the two of you are joining us in the first place." She reminded Sakura, who in return gave her a curt nod as she evened out the lower part of her kimono.
"Alright then, I'm ready."
Temari gave her an encouraging smile before she dusted her kimono off and rose from where she was seated on the bed that belonged to Sakura during their stay before the duo headed into the corridors that lead downstairs to the great hall where the gathering would take place at, completely unaware of the withered lily that was resting on Sakura's windowsill.
"Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama," A young woman timidly called as she entered the conference room that Itachi and Gaara were currently seated in, not daring to meet their eyes as she made a sharp stop at the entrance and bowed low. "Sakura-san and Temari-sama are ready to leave for the gathering."
Gaara curtly nodded as his blank eyes drifted over to Itachi, whose onyx eyes clashed with his own.
The girls had perfect timing.
According to Itachi's men, their last guests on the list just arrived together with his wife and so far, everything was going according to plan. The number of guests arriving, their slightly belated appearance thanks to Sakura and Temari and the amount of security that Gaara had posted in the entire village in case any of them got any ideas.
The soft voiced kunoichi left the room the instant Gaara inclined his head, getting the hint and leaving the two males on their own. Itachi was the first one to stand up, closely followed by Gaara who followed the Uchiha heir out of the door without a word.
As soon as Itachi left the room and entered the hot corridors of the Kazekage Tower, his eyes caught sight of his little brothers pink haired teammate. She was oblivious to his arrival, laughing at something the Kazekage's sister has said and he used that moment to allow his onyx eyes to roam her petite form.
The first thing he noticed was that the kimono that she had chosen complimented both her figure and her long hair, the dark color perfectly highlighting her pale skin. Her hair that held the color of the soft cherry blossoms on a fresh summer day was tied back into a french braid and yet, it did nothing to dim the bright fire that her emerald eyes held.
It was when Gaara joined them that she seemingly noticed their arrival and her her bright eyes snapped to his, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the sight of them.
He was surprised to find that a part of him, however small it was, found comfort in the fact that his arrival, for a change, didn't cause any looks of discomfort, fear or frowns of disgust being shot his way. No, this time it seemed to actually please others for a change, and he found that this tiny part of him actually made him relax to a certain degree.
"Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama." Sakura spoke, her soft voice steady as she gave them a bow, Temari following suit. Itachi lifted a brow at his assistants behavior, slightly taken off guard by the formal way she addressed the both of them.
Sakura's smile turned secretive whereas Temari's smirk spoke volumes. Sakura was very much aware of the Uchiha's questioning stare and as much as she wanted to challenge it with a lifted brow of her own, she had a plan to stick to.
"Well then brother, why don't we lead the way?" The blonde sand-kunoichi suggested as she clapped her hands in delight, earning a less enthusiastic nod from Gaara in return as she moved next to him and the small group of four began to walk, Itachi and Sakura trailing behind.
It was mostly silent during the walk, the only exception being Sakura and Temari's soft chatter that Gaara every once in a while joined in with short one-worded comments.
Itachi didn't bother to comment at all.
Now, as they rounded the last corner and entered the final corridor the voices became louder, the soft music clearer and the air hotter due to the many people in the hall. Sakura was interested to see how such a gathering would go and what would happen since she never actually attended one thanks to Tsunade always dragging Shizune to such events.
Who would have thought that not too many months later she would be accompanying the great Hokage who was no other than the Uchiha heir to such an event, as his advisor nonetheless?
Hell, she most certainly didn't.
"Ready to face the people of power in our countries, Haruno?"
Frankly, Sakura didn't have an answer to that. Was she ready to see in what dirty and incapable hands the fate of their countries laid in? Probably not. Did she have a choice in that matter? Not at all.
So the only thing she could think of saying was.
"Readier than I'll ever be."
The instant these words have left her lips she knew that she would regret them and judging by the feeling of being watched from her right, she guessed that he knew it just as well.
Oh to hell with it.
The group entered the large hall that seemed eerily similar to a ballroom and Sakura was surprised to find it packed with the most different kind of people.
The bright lights that filled the location illuminated the darkness of the night, the soft tune that played in the background eased the mood and thanks to the broad and open windows the air was surprisingly cool as well.
The first thing Sakura did after entering, however, was to subtly scan the people around her.
Rule number one when being in a foreign location: Memorize the faces around you.
It happened every once in a while that people somehow managed to sneak into events such as these thanks to some jutsus and cause trouble, so Sakura would make sure to remember as many faces as she could.
"My sister and I will now proceed to greet some of the guests. Feel free to dine, converse and entertain yourself to your hearts content. If you need anything, you know how to find us."
Sakura turned to look at Itachi and watched him incline his head. He uttered a small "Hn." before she felt the light weight of a hand on her spine as Itachi gently guided her into the opposite direction.
She barely caught Temari's wink before Itachi guided into a more crowded are of the hall, people's curious gazes lingering on them for longer than she liked.
Despite of the way she suddenly felt more aware of Itachi's body next to her, Sakura kept her expression bright and returned every smile that was being sent her way. It seemed that they were a duo that was easily recognized, not that it surprised her, but as a ninja she preferred to be on the low.
She glanced at Itachi out of the corner of her eye, instantly noticing the way his eyes hardened and his expression was blank. He was a master at these kind of things, she quickly realized. A master at locking his thoughts and emotions far away from others, and maybe even himself.
"However flattering it is, it would be of more use if you would keep an eye on the others, Haruno-san, instead of me."
Sakura's eyes narrowed for the smallest of seconds before she averted her eyes from his face and instead settled them on the crowd of people around them. "Don't flatter yourself, Uchiha-san." She muttered, knowing that he would hear her still before she shot an elder woman a sugar-dripping smile. "Someone has to keep an eye on you as well, it's not like I have a choice."
She could distinctly hear him huff out of amusement as they wordlessly passed some other unfamiliar faces that she tried her best of catching a glimpse from. When they finally made it halfway through the crowded hall, a voice called for Itachi, causing him to slow down.
Sakura instantly followed suit, looking into the direction where the voice came from before she spotted two men that were around Ibiki's age walking towards them, both holding a glass of sake that was, judging by their stern expressions, still full.
"Yaruzen-san, Hiroto-san." Itachi's velvet voice acknowledged, his eyes firmly set on them as they drew closer. Sakura offered them a polite smile, instantly memorizing their faces and their names. The moment they stopped in front of them she didn't fail to notice how the right one's -Hiroto, as she just found out his name was- gaze drifted to her for the smallest of seconds, his dull grey eyes lightning up in curiosity at the sight of her before they settled back on Itachi.
"Itachi-san, it's a pleasure to see you again." Yaruzen spoke, his rough voice fitting his sharp features. He was a lean build man who seemed to have spent most of his life as a shinobi, judging by the way the skin of his palms were bruised and as rough as his voice. His short black hair was a stark contrast to his bright brown eyes and she could easily tell that in his younger years he must have been quite the heartthrob.
"The pleasure is all mine, Yaruzen-san." Itachi smoothly returned, instantly noting the way the elder male's eyes lightened up in content, clearly pleased at Itachi's current position and ever so short-bound self.
The brown haired male, Hiroto, cleared his throat and shot Itachi a bright grin, all traces of his former stern expression having vanished in a second. Hiroto was more on the chubbier side and slightly shorter than Yaruzen, his dark blue eyes sparkling in the bright light.
"You really did manage to climb up the ladder pretty fast, Itachi-san. I remember last seeing you at your academy graduation and I remember thinking – knowing that an indeed very promising future was waiting for you and would you look at that, I was right. You even got yourself a sweet assistant!"
Rule number two: Avoid questions about oneself.
Sakura maintained her smile even though she didn't particularly like the way Yaruzen's eyes drifted to her as soon as Hiroto ended his sentence. Even though she didn't look at him, she still knew that Itachi's expression showed a hint of the amusement that he was most certainly feeling upon hearing his words.
She would show them sweet little assistant.
Their eyes stayed on her and Sakura took it as her silent queue to give them her best sugar-dripping smile that would even put Tsunade's to shame and gave a small bow as soon as she felt Itachi retreat his hand from her back to give her some space.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yaruzen-san, Hiroto-san." She greeted as she straightened once again, her glossy lips quirking for the tiniest of bits. "My name is Sakura Haruno and I am the Hokage's advisor."
Formally introducing herself instantly did the trick because as soon as her name slipped past her lips she could have sworn that their eyes brightened up a considerable amount, finally recognizing her.
Hiroto was the first one to react and hummed, clearly impressed. "So you are Tsunade-hime's infamous prodigy student. Believe it or not Haruno-san, we have heard a lot of great stories about you and whenever your name is mentioned it is followed by nothing but the highest praise for both your work and skill."
Sakura was slightly taken aback, her green eyes flashing in surprise for a brief moment before her smile brightened. She knew that some people recognized her as Tsunade's apprentice and that word got around, but she never realized just how many people actually knew of her and her work. It made her unbelievably proud that her efforts were finally being acknowledged and yet, the small nagging voice in the back of her head kept on warning her that as a ninja, being as known as she seemingly was also had it's downsides.
"I never realized that word spread this fast." Sakura admitted, her smile dimming the slightest of bits. "It's an honor to be Tsunade-sama's apprentice and as the Hokage's advisor, I will do my best to be of help and to fully support him."
Hiroto clearly seemed content with her answer and judging by the way she could practically feel Itachi's eyes burning through the back of her head, he was as well.
Yaruzen, however, was a different story.
"There is no doubt that you excel in the medical field and since you are a member of the infamous team seven, gaining the villagers trust and approval seems to have been no problem either. However, do you think that despite of that, you are qualified enough to be the Hokage's advisor?" He asked, a thin brow raised.
Sakura, having already expected someone to question her position beforehand, met his analyzing gaze with her own calm one. She knew that someone would sooner or later question her capability and whereas she would be lying if she said that it didn't somewhat affect her, she didn't take offense to his question either.
"Yaruzen, don't you think that you're being rude to the poor girl? I think that she has done a splendid job in advising the Hokage so far!" Hiroto remarked, clearly displeased at his fellow friends rude behavior.
"I merely asked her a question, I have no intention of disrespecting the Hokage's choice regarding his advisor." He smoothly returned, eyes falling on the silent Uchiha. "I am just concerned since she is still inexperienced in the field of politics."
Itachi kept his eyes fixed on the person in front of him, the corner of his lips curled downwards in clear displeasure. He knew that Yaruzen was not one to question him without a reason and whereas it was true that his words could come off as rude, he was the kind of person that simply spoke his mind.
If there was something that Itachi didn't like, however, was others sticking their nose into business that didn't concern him.
"There is no reason for you to be concerned, Yaruzen-san. Haruno-san is more than qualified for the position, I can assure you." Itachi curtly, the tone of finality in his voice clearly audible.
Yaruzen, however, didn't seem too content with Itachi's answer and continued. "I am merely wondering why you decided to chose her when you could have just as well chosen someone more suitable. Whereas I don't question Haruno's combat and medical skills, I don't think that she meets the positions requirements."
Rule number three: Don't let them get under your skin
Now that Sakura took offense to.
She glanced at Itachi out of the corner of her eye and found him frowning as well, obviously sharing his displeasure regarding Yaruzen's more than obvious disapproval of her. Sakura swiftly glanced at Hiroto who by now seemed more than embarrassed and uneasy and forced herself not to shoot daggers at Yaruzen. She was very well aware of the fact that if this were to continue, things would get ugly real quick and thus, she forced herself to swallow the bitter lump in her throat and forced her lips into a smile.
In the end, she chose the safest answer."I am aware that there are many others who would be more qualified for this position and understand your concerns, but I am confident that I hold more than enough political knowledge to properly advise the Hokage."
Yaruzen's eyes locked with hers as soon as she finished. She knew that her words changed very little and that he was hard to convince, but if she were to convince every person in this room that opposed to her being the Hokage's advisor she would never get to leave this place.
In the end Yaruzen yielded, even though reluctantly. "Very well then, Haruno-san. I only have Konoha's best interest at heart, so I hope that you won't disappoint us."
"If you truly have Konoha's best interest at heart, you should know better than to question my choice and cease this sort of behavior." Itachi remarked as he placed his hand on Sakura's back, obviously ready to end this conversation. "Now if you would please excuse us, I am afraid that we have yet to greet the other guests."
"Of course Hokage-sama!" Hiroto hastily agreed, more than eager to finally put an end to the conversation as well. "I wish you all the best and hope that the both of you enjoy the rest of this evening. It was a great pleasure to meet you as well, Haruno-san."
Sakura offered him a weak smile in return before she gave them a small bow. "The pleasure was all mine Hiroto-san," Her emerald eyes then slid over to his partner. "Yaruzen-san."
The latter merely inclined his head before Itachi gently applied pressure to her back, silently urging her forwards and away from the duo. Sakura maintained her smile even though she wanted to do nothing more than to punch the nearest wall with all her might.
Talk about enjoying the gathering, that nerve of the guy!
"Damn politicians." She muttered under her breath, at this point not even caring whether Itachi hear her or not.
The Uchiha, of course, heard her comment just fine. He knew that his companion preferred to stand up for herself and liked to speak her mind, but she would have to get used to situations like this. "If that's all that it takes to ruin your mood Haruno, it may be better if you were to return to your chambers."
Sakura lifted a pink brow and turned her head to look at him, her smile brightened whereas her eyes held deadly intent. "I will have you know that it takes way more than that to ruin my mood, Uchiha. You won't be able to get rid of me that easily."
They have reached the buffet by now and Itachi retreated his hand from Sakura's back to hand her a glass of sake which she wordlessly accepted. She turned to scan the hall and so far, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. People were talking, laughing, drinking and some even dancing to the soft melody that played in the background.
Her eyes softened as she placed her lips onto the rim of her glass and took a small sip. "Why do people always have to ruin such events?"
The answer was directed at her companion but when moments of silence passed and she turned her head to look at where he stood next to her mere moments ago, she found him gone.
She rolled her eyes and took another sip, clearly annoyed that he left her on her own already. Then again, she shouldn't have expected any less from the Uchiha heir.
She spend the next minutes doing nothing but standing there, watching others as they enjoyed themselves and keeping an eye on anything that may seem out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately for her, everything seemed to go as planned.
How boring.
Eventually deciding that she should enjoy herself as well instead of just standing there, she put her now empty glass back onto the table and took off to look for the Sand Siblings. Before she could take as much as two steps forward she felt herself almost getting knocked over by two small children that collided with her legs with full force.
Her arms shot out to steady the two that barely even reached her waist before they could fall on the ground. "Woah, careful you two." She said, offering them a gentle smile as she suddenly found two pair of wide eyes staring up at her.
The boy seemed to be older than the small girl that had followed him on shaky legs, his dark brown eyes wide as a pink hue covered his cheeks. Sakura tried her best not to squeal at his obvious and rather cute embarrassed face.
The small girl that was currently trying her best not to fall onto her tiny little backside offered her a toothless grin, the bright blonde curls that reached her lower back a beautiful contrast to her dark brown, almost black innocent orbs.
"S-Sorry!" The boy squeaked as he released Sakura's kimono as if it was on fire, brows furrowing as he avoided her gaze. Sakura merely chuckled as she knelt down in front of the two and wrapped an arm around the small girl so that she wouldn't fall over.
"It's alright, but you are lucky that it was just me that you bumped into." She spoke, eyes glistening with amusement. "I am sure that others would have been way more rude if you would have run into them so try to be more careful from now on you two, 'kay?"
The small girl pouted, having clearly understood her but she seemingly was unable to speak yet. The older boy who seemed to be around five years old however turned around to glare at Sakura.
"It wasn't our fault!" He started, clearly feeling wronged by Sakura. "Mei-chan and I were playing hide and seek when we found two sleeping guards in a room next door. We didn't want to wake them 'cuz that's rude and just left but then these big men found us and suddenly played tag with us!"
Sakura felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing the boy's words and tightened her hold on the little girl that suddenly started to giggle.
"You played tag?" She asked, emerald eyes darkening as the boy in return nodded.
"Yeah!" He grinned smugly. "But we were faster and they couldn't catch us 'cuz Mei and I are a waaaaay better team!"
Sakura couldn't help but mirror his smug smile as she tapped his nose and gave him a wink. "Well done. Why don't we look for them so that I can play along? I would love to play tag with them!"
The boy eagerly nodded and Sakura ruffled his hair before she stood up once more and picked Mei up so that she could carry her.
Mei squealed in delight and threw her arms around Sakura's neck whilst the kunoichi grabbed the little boy's hand, ready to find whoever tried to harm the children. There was no way that she would let them run off on their own now that she knew for sure that someone was indeed trying to cause trouble.
"Well, may I know your name?" Sakura asked the little boy as they begun to walk through the crowd of people.
The little boy in return nodded again as he squeezed himself through two conversing males. "My name is Takumi." He revealed as he shot her a grin over his small shoulder that instantly melted her heart.
Adorable.
"That's a nice name!" She suddenly felt a tug on her hair and turned to look at Mei who pouted, clearly wanting Sakura to pay attention to her as well. Sakura offered the small girl a bright grin. "Of course you also have a nice name! My name is Sakura, by the way."
"That's a pretty cool name!" Takumi piped up from below as he continued to eagerly look for his former teammates.
Sakura merely tightened her hold on Mei and allowed herself to be dragged through the crowd by an overly enthusiastic little boy, occasionally apologizing to strangers that she bumped into.
After five more minutes Takumi suddenly stopped and tugged at her hand, his eyes visibly brightening as he pointed into the crowd.
"There! There! I found them!" He cheered, instantly gaining Sakura's attention. Sakura's eyes followed the length of his arm before she found the person that Takumi was pointing at.
It was a chubby man, probably in his late forties who was talking to a woman who seemingly wanted to be anywhere but close to him.
He didn't seem to have noticed them yet and thus, Sakura gently tugged at Takumi's hand and pulled him into a different direction.
"Well done Takumi! Now, where did you say the others were?" She asked, memorizing the chubby one's face and location so that she could keep an eye on him.
"Another one is over there, the one with the cool red hair next to the entrance!" He exclaimed, but as soon as Sakura lifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes locked with his blue ones. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him narrow his eyes.
Damn.
She casually averted her eyes from his and smiled at Takumi before she turned around and walked into the opposite direction, making sure to fasten her pace.
"And the third one?" She inquired, eyes scanning the crowd in hope of finding a familiar face.
Mei buried her face into Sakura's shoulder as Takumi gently tugged at her hand and pointed to a tall white haired man that was standing mere steps in front of them, his dark eyes settled on the trio.
Sakura abruptly halted and kept the smile on her face as she hummed. "Ah." Was all she said before she gave the man a curt nod and moved to walk past him.
He seemingly guessed what was going on however and gently grabbed Sakura's upper arm, causing her to stop and look at him with questioning eyes.
"Looking for me?" He asked, eyebrow raised and voice rough despite of him not looking much older than Sakura herself. Sakura's body stiffened as she tightened her hold on the children as she moved her body to properly face him.
"I actually am." She admitted as she offered him a dazzling smile. "I heard that you played with my little nephew and niece while I was occupied and couldn't do so myself and wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on them." She swiftly lied, knowing that she couldn't start anything while the children were with her.
"Is that so?" He mumbled as he first looked at Mei and then gazed down at Takumi, unsure whether he should believe her. "If that's the case then I am glad that I was of help."
Takumi decided that it was his turn to speak up. "Yeah! Sakura-chan even said that she wanted to play along!" He told him before he looked back at Sakura, who didn't know whether she should be glad that he didn't comment on the nephew thing or should inwardly curse herself for offering to play with them.
The silver haired male now curiously eyed Sakura, a glint entering his dark eyes that she didn't quite like. "Is that so?" He drawled as he stepped closer, lips curling upwards into an amused smirk. "I would love to play with you Sakura-chan."
Yeah, definitely a bad idea.
"I am afraid that I have no time to spare." She said as she took a step back and forced an apologetic smile on her lips. "It is already pretty late as it is and the two of them have to get to bed soon, you see."
Just as the last word left her lips did her eyes lock with a pair of familiar and rather welcomed pair of onyx ones. Sakura's smile considerably brightened all of sudden as she carefully shifted her weight onto the right and turned so that the silver haired male couldn't see her face as she looked at Takumi. "Or do you want to go play with your uncle over there while I'll go and play with our dear friend over here?"
Takumi instantly caught his supposed uncle's eye and gave Sakura a small nod although his brown eyes were filled with confusion. When she shot the little boy a wink and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze though, he got the hint and instantly brightened.
"Sure thing Sakura-chan!" He saluted as she gently put Mei back on the ground. Takumi instantly grabbed his little sisters hand and with one last glance at Sakura took off without turning back.
Sakura straightened and turned so that she was blocking the children from his sight. It would do her no good if he were to find out just who she had sent the children off to, but now that she knew that they were safe, it was time to take care of the issue at hand.
She lifted her eyes to meet his clearly delighted own and when he still didn't let go of her, she knew how this night would end.
Mister Mysterious then leaned over so that his breath brushed the shell of her ear that earned him a disgusted shiver from Sakura who instantly tensed.
"Shall we?"
Oh boy if only you knew.
Sakura didn't even have time to answer as she suddenly found herself getting subtly dragged through the crowd and right towards the exit. She tried to keep up with his pace without stumbling over her kimono in the process but unfortunately this was harder than she expected.
As soon as they exited the hall, however, Sakura noticed that a certain someone was following them.
She frowned but decided against asking. He obviously had the wrong idea about what exactly she meant when she agreed to play his little game with him, that much she knew, but the more isolated they were, the lesser attention they would get.
She would have already taken care of them herself but she couldn't have done so without gaining any attention from other guests and it would cause quite a scene if she were to take care of them her way.
Thus, she would have to trust him to take care of the rest.
He dragged her up one of the countless staircases and by now, they have already entered a more isolated part of the building.
The only sound that filled the empty corridors was the sound of their hurried footsteps and by now, Sakura had memorized her surroundings well enough to know where exactly she was and how exactly she could get back to the hall as soon as she was done with them.
When they turned a corner for what felt like the hundredth time, she was relieved when he finally stopped in front of a closed door that he effortless kicked open.
Sakura didn't even bother to hide her disgust as she was dragged into the room before he finally released her upper arm and roughly pushed her inside, closing the door right after.
Now it was only the two of them.
Just peachy.
The two of them were facing each other in the dark and whereas he was smirking, Sakura's face was blank. Her senses were on high alert, hoping to catch a flicker of his chakra and the second he took a step towards her, she automatically moved backwards.
"Scared?" He taunted, eyes shining with lust as his eyes roamed her body.
She closed her eyes for the split of a second and as she heard a soft thud coming from outside, she felt how the weight was instantly lifted from her heart.
"Nope."
He didn't even see it coming.
Sakura channeled her chakra into her fist before she swung it right at his face with all her might, the rewarding sound of his nose breaking being music to her ears.
He flew right through the door and collided against the wall of the corridor before his now unconscious body slumped onto the ground right next to his companion who also seemed to be out cold.
"What's with you attracting danger wherever you go?"
Sakura shot Temari a grateful smile as she dusted off her hands and straightened her kimono. "I don't know either. Are the boys taking care of the rest?"
Temari merely rolled her eyes in return as she pushed herself off of the wall. "Of course they are. After seeing you wandering around with your two little friends, Uchiha instantly got the hint and took care of the troublemakers together with Gaara. Fortunately no one else noticed what was going on."
Sakura shot her friend a relieved smile. "Great. Though I admittedly hoped for more action, but I guess you can't have everything."
Temari shot Sakura a grin as the two of them begun to make their way back. "I honestly didn't expect them to back down this easily either but I guess that it's a good thing considering that we are currently housing a large amount of international politicians."
Sakura nodded in agreement. "True. They plan on staying overnight, right?" She asked, remembering that Kankuro told her something along these lines when they last saw each other.
"Unfortunately. Guess we'll have to survive breakfast with a group of hungover politicians tomorrow before we're finally free." Temari muttered as they rounded a corner and Sakura spotted the familiar staircase.
The pinkette narrowed her eyes as she suddenly remembered something. "Where are Takumi and Mei?"
"Back with their mother." Temari replied with a wave of her hand. "That woman didn't even notice that they disappeared in the first place."
As they made their way down the staircase Sakura merely shook her head, pitying the two children. She was glad that she saw Itachi in time so that she was able to get Mei and Takumi away from trouble and didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if Takumi and Mei didn't run into her. When would their mother have noticed their absence? What would have happened until she did?
"Stop breaking your head over something that didn't even happen Sakura." Temari scolded as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Just be happy that everything turned out alright."
Sakura knew that Temari was right but she still couldn't help but sigh. "I know, I know, you're right." She said, earning a smile from her friend in return.
"Of course I am, now why don't we enjoy ourselves for the rest of the evening while we let the boys take care of the bad guys? In the end, someone has to excuse their absence anyways and guess who this lucky someone is?" Temari asked with feigned enthusiasm as she linked her arm through Sakura's own.
Sakura groaned as she allowed herself to get dragged back inside by the blonde. "Remind me to quit after today."
"Tch, you wish."
"Try not to get killed in your sleep. Wouldn't get it past you to achieve that after everything that happened."
Sakura rolled her eyes at Temari's comment and shot her a halfhearted glare. "Very funny Temari, Goodnight."
And with that, she shut the door right in front of Temari's face. A heavy sigh escaped the pinkette's lips as she leaned her forehead against the cool door. It was well past midnight and most of the guests either left or moved to their sleeping chambers. Temari and Sakura personally had to see every single guest off in both the Kazekage and Hokage's name since the two of them have been absent for the rest of the night.
It was exhausting.
Sakura closed her eyes and tried to fight the headache that made itself apparent an hour ago. She really needed some sleep and preferably, now.
She pushed herself off of the door, changed into some more comfortable clothes and dropped her exhausted body onto the bed.
As she silently stared at the ceiling she wondered what Itachi and Gaara had done to the rest of the attackers troupe that kept them from returning to the gathering if only for some minutes.
She knew that she didn't need to worry about them since they were very well capable of taking care of some troublemakers, but that didn't stop her from wondering nonetheless.
And all the while she wondered, she didn't even notice when she drifted into a deep, dreamless slumber.
Sakura woke up feeling even worse than she did the night before. Her eyelids felt heavier than they usually did and as she finally managed to force her eyes open her sight was blurred.
She once more shut her eyes close and groaned at the sudden pain that shot through her head. It was an ever stronger headache than the one she had the night before and whereas she would usually play it cool, she knew that this time something was off.
Her sleeping gown was drenched in cold sweet, sticking to her body like glue and even though she was feeling hot all over she found herself shivering.
"What the-" The croaked whisper that left her dry lips was cut off by her own pained whimper as she once more opened her eyes and forced them to stay open. Her pulse was loudly echoing in her own ears, leaving her mute to her surroundings.
Sakura rolled over onto her side and took deep, shallow breaths, dilated pupils scanning the empty room in hope of finding the answer written somewhere on the walls.
She inwardly forced herself to remain as calm as she could, even though she found it to be harder than she expected it to, and inwardly went through everything that could be the cause of her current situation.
She felt drowsy and it was beyond hard to keep herself from passing out again but as soon as she realized just what exactly was going on, she knew that it was too late.
Poison.
She had to find someone, quickly.
Sakura gritted her teeth and shut her eyes close as she mentally prepared herself for what would probably become the worst minutes of her life.
Forcing herself onto her forearms, Sakura clenched her teeth as she moved her legs over the edge of her bed and pushed herself off of it with all the strength that she was able to gather.
The moment she was standing on her feet she already felt like collapsing. She felt dizzy, cold yet hot and her entire throat was burning due to its dryness.
Sakura took sluggish steps towards where she remembered the door to be at and grabbed its handle with shaking hands before she pulled it open.
Another wave of dizziness overcame her, forcing her to lean against the wall of the hall in support. She clutched her head, praying that someone would take her pain away as she forced herself to move on. Sakura didn't even know where she was going but she couldn't say that she cared either as long as she would stumble across someone.
She went on and on for what felt like years without encountering a single soul. She was at her strengths end and just about to give up as the sound of low voices suddenly reached her deafened ears.
She opened her emerald eyes to see that she was walking towards an opened door that was seemingly filled with people. How many? She couldn't tell.
Her vision was worsening with each second that passed and her breathing grew quicker. She forced herself to walk towards where the noise came from, step for step trying not to trip over her own feed at a murderously slow pace.
It was when she finally reached the door and leaned against it's frame that she noticed that there were more people than she anticipated.
Not that it mattered.
She heard her name being called. First in delight, some offering her to join them whereas others wished her a good morning.
She was barely able to make it out, however, because in the next moment she suddenly felt all the strength that she's had left leave her body at once.
All Sakura knew was that she was falling. All around her people suddenly shouted her name, screamed out of alarm or called for help upon seeing her collapse. The voice in her head was screaming at her to stay awake, to hold onto something to prevent herself from hitting the ground, but she found herself unable to do so.
Her eyes fluttered close and darkness took over as she prepared herself for the pain that would expect her but much to her surprise, it never came.
Instead, she found herself hitting something solid yet soft. She was too exhausted to open her eyes and it wasn't until the moment that the scent of wood and ginger clouded her senses that she drowsily realized who it was that was holding her.
"Itachi." She breathed, now knowing that she wasn't alone and that it would be alright to give into the tempting darkness that lulled her into a deep slumber.
A/N: I know that it's been ages and I deeply apologize for my rather long absence. Whereas I deeply regret that I didn't tell you about my hiatus beforehand, I have to admit that it was rather spontaneous. I had an enormous writers block that I struggled to overcome and there were moments when I asked myself if I should keep on writing at all but in the end, I decided to get my life back in order, to pull myself back together and to focus on what I enjoyed the most before my entire life was turned upsite down-writing!
Honestly guys, in the end you and your constant support, be it your reviews, your follows or you favoring this story, were one of the main reasons as to why I was able to return with a light heart. I truly thank all of you for your support. Please know that everything that you do keeps me going, so please keep on supporting this story because I don't plan on abandoning it, no matter what happens.
I hope that you liked this slightly longer chapter and would be delighted if you would tell me what your favorite part of this chapter was, what you think of the plot and the characters so far as well as what you think will happen next!
I love you guys and can't thank you enough for reading, reviewing, etc.
Thank you and see you very soon!
Love, Sara