Chapter 8
Accidents
'Shit shit shit!' Sakura thought as she ran towards the training grounds.
She wasn't supposed to be so late, she had everything ready for the evening. Well she did, until a certain Hyūga decided to step in, ruin her plans for Sunday –not that she had any- and spoil her earlier good mood while he was at it.
'Damn those Hyūgas! If they think that they can waltz into MY life, make me marry into their uptight, arrogant, over the top and inbreeding clan AND expect me to behave like a good little Hyūga Wife, they got another thing coming!' Sakura seethed and jumped from roof top to roof top.
She knew that it wasn't only Nejis fault, he was, after all, only a branch member. Hiashi-Samas word was his law and as the clan head, he could marry Neji off as he pleased and when he pleased. And because he was the clan head, it was within his mind to make the clan stronger and more powerful. Sakura couldn't blame him for that, if she had a clan, she would want to look after it as well, to make sure that it would prosper.
"But why me?" Sakura groaned to herself.
Fortunately, her more than sour mood didn't affect her cooking skills and she was still able to make Tachi the 'best damn dango of his whole damn life' and she was quite happy with the results. She would have eaten them all by herself if they weren't meant as an apology.
The number of them just wasn't as great as it was when she left home, she had no idea why. She shrugged her shoulders as she threw away another empty stick, the training grounds in her sight as she ran.
The recipe she used was found while going through Sasukes stuff after he left the village. She and Naruto tried to save some of his stuff in case he ever came back, but over the years they threw away some of it, his home coming was getting more and more unlikely as the years went by.
'But damn if that recipe isn't heavenly. His mother must have been an amazing cook!' Sakura wondered as she thought about the hand written cooking book she saved from Sasukes old apartment before the Anbus came to search it for evidence. Almost all of Sasukes stuff was burned later on, that being the reason why she and Naruto sneaked in before the Anbu to save some of his personal belongings and heirlooms. As she saw the book, it was love at first sight. She didn't want such lovingly and well written book go to waste!
Naruto took some of Sasukes weapons and clothes he hadn't taken with him while Sakura took what heirlooms, pictures and personal items she could find. Over the years, Naruto threw away most of the clothes, it wasn't like they would fit him anymore even if he did come back.
'As if, it has been so long already,' Sakura sighed and took a step into the clearing, hoping that Tachi would forgive her lateness.
…
She. Was. Late.
Itachi has been waiting rather patiently, but as the minutes went by, he was starting to get annoyed. He was not one to accept tardiness of any kind. At first, when he first got into the clearing a little early –to do his katas-, he was almost… anxious as he waited for her arrival.
Now how could that be?
Sure, it has been a few years since he last dated and he was not one to use women for pleasure only like his fellow Akatsukis, but this was hardly a reason to fret. He had had his own share of dating when his father tried to marry him off to another Uchiha. One of them was Rika or something similar to that.
She was a typical clan bred female, quiet, plain and well mannered, nothing like Sakura and her fiery temper, lively personality and eyes that seemed to sparkle mischievously, when she was planning something.
He was tempted to sigh.
Here he goes again; thinking about the medic, who was, by the way, still. not. here. He denied himself the pleasure to sigh, but took one calming breath to sooth his nerves. Sakura was a woman he was interested in, for now at least, nothing was set on stone at the moment. It wasn't like he was going to ask her hand in marriage just yet, she hasn't even agreed to his courting!
With this firmly in mind, he looked around the clearing.
It was quiet around this part of the village, the trees gave the area a good cover and not many used there grounds. This was, of course, one of the reasons he chose this training ground. There would –hopefully- not be any interruptions this time.
The weather was still warm, but not overly so, just ideal for a session, or two. He was about to envision said session that could include a few… accidents on his part, when he felt the object of his thought enter the clearing.
She seemed a little out of breath, like she had been running to get here, her cheeks were flushed and her hair was sticking up in every direction and there seemed to be a few leaves stuck somewhere in there as well. She was wearing her standard red sleeveless shirt and pink skirt with black leggings.
"I'm so sorry Tachi! I was going to be here on time, but a black cat was crossing the road and I was going to take another street, but then the poor guy got himself stuck into a tree and it turned out to be my neighbor's cat, Taki, So after rescuing him, I took little Taki home," Sakura said –with one breath too- and smiled innocently at him.
Itachi had the urge to chuckle, she had no idea how much she sounded like a certain Copy Nin at the moment. He was pretty sure that there was no cat included in her reasons for being late, but he was not one to pry.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are acquaintances with Hatake-san," smirking slightly, surely it was ok to tease her a little for making him wait so. The blush that rose onto her cheeks sure was worth it.
"I do not know what you are talking about," she said, smiling brightly and dropped down her back.
"Now, Sakura-San, care to let me know why you asked for me to meet you here, only to end up being late, hn?" Itachi asked, the Uchiha trademark grunt slipping by without his notice. He already knew the reason, that Hyūga clan, he just wanted to see if she would be honest with him.
"I… uhh… wanted to meet you?" Sakura flinched, that came out little bit too much like a question.
At his stare, he clearly wasn't buying it, she sighed.
"Okay okay, there might be someone I'm trying to avoid. But I really did want to see you too!" Sakura said, quickly adding the last part at the dry look he was sending her way.
"Clad to be of use, Sakura-San," Itachi said dryly. He wasn't angry with her, he just wanted to see that guilty blush.
'Ah, there it is,' Itachi thought, smirking.
It was then that he noticed the box in her hands. Even though curiosity killed the cat, he found himself walking closer to the pinkette. Sakura seemed to notice where his gaze was pointed as she looked down at the box in her hands.
"Umn, this is for you," she said quietly and handed over the wooden bento box. He took it carefully and opened the lid enough to see that it was filled with dango.
"I hope you like them. It was kind of rude of me to leave you like that without any explanation and to be late," Sakura mumbled and smiled shyly. Itachi closed the lid as a dumfounded expression crossed his face. It has been years since he last received a gift.
You simply did not receive chocolate or roses from another missing nin, even less so from an Akatsuki!
"I… thank you, Sakura," Itachi said, truly grateful.
"Oh, it was nothing! Don't go thanking me before tasting, I'm not the best at cooking!" Sakura said, embarrassed. It wasn't often that she received such a heartfelt thanks. The fact that he didn't use any honorific didn't bother her at all.
Itachi nodded and sat down against the tree, Sakura did so too, eager look on her face. She was clearly waiting to see if he would enjoy her gift. With a quiet chuckle, he lifted his mask just enough and took one dango stick from the box, also handing Sakura one. She took it without complain.
It was when he took the first, skeptical bite that he found himself freezing over.
They were his mothers' dango.
…
In the next chappie, Sakura will be visiting the Hyūga!
At least I'm pretty sure she will…
And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:
R&R
TY
-Hana