Chapter 17

To talk

It was unnerving, to stand in front of the infamous Uchiha Itachi. The way his red, spinning eyes were staring her down made her want to gulp, she could feel the hairs behind her neck stand up as she dared to stare right back at him, red eyes and all. Even if she knew the truth about the massacre, it didn't wipe away what she had learned of Itachi while growing up.

This man was dangerous.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Sakura crossed her arms defiantly and hoped that Itachi didn't hear the slight quiver in her voice. She was holding up quite well in her own opinion. At least she thought so until she saw him smirk. She tried to tell herself that her knees didn't just almost give out from under her.

"Aa," Itachi said, the slight smirk still on his lips. He found her bravery to be quite flattering, shaky knees and all, not many dared to gaze into his Sharingan eyes. But since scaring her away was counterproductive for his plans, he slowly let red fade into charcoal. This was his way of showing her not to be afraid of him. He sat down onto a fallen tree and gestured for her to do the same. He was pleased to see that she didn't sit quite as far as the tree would have allowed her to.

He ignored the way she kept glancing at him every now and again, that was to be expected. Yet his eyes never strayed from her face.

"It has come to my attention, that you know the truth of my past, and-" he said, not one to beat around the bush. He saw her flinch, clearly expecting a more violent reaction from his end. "-I am… rarely impressed. You are the first to figure it out, as far as I am aware," he finished quietly.

"And… what are you going to do about this… knowledge of mine?" Sakura asked warily, risking a glance at his face, his smirk caught her off guard again.

"Absolutely nothing."

Sakura stared for a moment, quite rudely, but he decided not to comment on it.

"You don't want Sasuke to know," Sakura gasped finally, more of a realization than a question.

"Aa," Itachi hummed in agreement. There were things that Sasuke needed to do before learning the truth about their family, killing Orochimaru was high on that list of priorities.

"And Danzō?"

"Will be dealt with, in time."

Sakura was left staring at him dumbly. Meeting the famous Uchiha was going nothing like she had expected. He was soft-spoken, with build in Uchiha heir manners and handsome beyond his rights with that bloody smirk of his. She imagined he'd had things way worse than Sasuke did when he was young.

The thought almost made her giggle, almost.

"I'm... quite at a loss for words, really," she admitted sheepishly and rubbed at the back of her neck awkwardly, manner that she had unfortunately picked up from Naruto of all people. He chuckled quietly, a soft yet raspy sounds that did nothing good to her insides.

"Understandable, given the situation," he agreed quietly, the smirk still in place. His charcoal eyes were alit with amusement, Sakura noticed that his eyes were very expressive of his feelings, a fact that she found quite surprising.

Considering who she was talking to.

His eyes were quite familiar, now that Sakura gazed into them more closely.

They were nothing like Sasukes, she noted, Sasukes eyes were more on the ebony side. Itachi had eyes made from charcoal that were framed with lashes so long that they should be illegal. Any woman would literally kill for lashes like that, they framed his eyes in a way that could almost be called feminine. But to call Uchiha Itachi feminine in any way was a death wish, none would survive to tell that tale. Besides, Itachi was giving of such an aura of maleness, that it more than made up for those long lashes and pretty eyes.

Sakura delved deeper into her brain for an explanation, vaguely aware of his piercing gaze or the way he lowered those sinful lashes of his, as if aware of her thoughts.

The way he held himself, the length of his hair, the quiet way he had hummed in agreement, the faint, yet pleasant scent of smoke, how he spoke of her well-kept secret and the warmth that seemed to radiate from him because of his attunement to fire-

Suddenly, it clicked.

"You-!"

"Aa," Itachi agreed with a sound that could almost be called a laugh. He was impressed, something that he seemed to be quite often with this slip of a woman named Haruno Sakura. She was gaping like a fish and it didn't quite add to her features in a flattering way, but it made him chuckle, which was a feat all on its own.

"Why did you- but the Hyūgas- are we- "Sakura stammered, unable to form a clear sentence even in her head.

All the things that "Tachi" had done kept flashing before her eyes, the dango, the almost kiss, the ENGAGEMENT! She rebuked herself for not noticing right away, it wasn't like he had even tried to keep it a secret. Only thing that he had really done to stay hidden in Konoha had been his ANBU mask and a change in hairdo! Everything else had been all him and she'd had absolutely no fucking idea! Yet not knowing absolutely anything of the real Itachi had done all the hiding for him, quite genius of him, she had to give him credit for that.

Let's not even start on the name! "Tachi", really? He just removed a letter and waltzed into their village like he owned it, and no one noticed? She had to admit that she was kind of ashamed of their defenses.

"Because I wanted to," he answered with a smirk while leaning towards her daringly, challenging her to stay still with his eyes. She was near enough that he merely had to lean in to touch her, a fact that she seemed to notice as well as her eyes darted from the distance between their bodies back to his eyes in alarm. Her eyes widened a fraction more, and she honestly looked like she was about to flee for her virtue at any second now, he noted with amusement.

But clearly, she had a stubborn side to her as she accepted his challenge with a glare.

She squinted her eyes angrily in a way that Itachi found quite alluring, the anger sparking in those green pools almost made them glow with inner fire. He was quite close to her face by the time he stopped his approach, greedily burning every small detail of her into his memory. She had a beautiful face, he decided. Not in a classical sort of way, yet there was something simply and marvelously alive about her features.

He felt the puff of air on his face as she gasped, the familiar scent of dango hit him with a wave of nostalgia and hunger.

"The Hyūgas are no longer your concern," he whispered finally with a possessive growl, no one would dare to touch what was Uchiha Itachis, and that was what she was going to be. He could see the fight in her eyes even if there was a blush rising to her cheeks from their proximity.

"And lastly… yes," he finished against her lips, guessing what her last question had been about, even if the whole sentence had been nothing but a stutter of alarmed half thoughts on her part. She opened her lips, clearly to argue her point, if the fire in her eyes was anything to go by-

"You can't just-!"

-but he stopped her by gently pressing his lips against hers, almost growling in delight at the soft texture and the faint taste of dango, silencing her quite efficiently in the process. Her startled gasp quickly turned into a quiet moan as he licked the side of her lips teasingly, before pulling away slowly to gauge at her reaction.

She was left gaping, again, Itachi noted with inner mirth, but the blush on her cheeks was quite lovely. It was also spreading quite fast down her neck to disappear below her shirt. Her pupils were dilated and her breath game in small puffs. Now that Itachi thought about it, his breath was a bit heavier as well, understandably.

"You were saying?" Itachi asked teasingly, sitting upright at last to put some distance between their faces, in case he was tempted to interrupt her again. It seemed like quite an effective way to do so and he made sure to remember it, in case he needed to shut her up later.

"I- you can't just-! Why would you!?- "Sakura stammered, too angry to form a complete sentence.

She jumped up from the fallen tree, desperate to get some distance between their bodies. Enraged, yet flustered, she tried to calm her breathing and get the blush on her face under control. How dared he to just lean in and steal her first real kiss like he had every right to! And to make matters even worse, he even had the guts to look smug about it. Her eyes darted towards his lips against her will when his tongue darted out to taste them, as if savoring the taste.

She tried to tell herself that the blush on her face was only there because of her anger.

It wasn't.

"Surely I can kiss my fiancé, if I so wish," Itachi teased, the word fiancé was said in an almost mocking tone. He watched, amused, as she stomped her foot down in anger. The smirk on his face widened as a few fissures stared to form under her feet. So much untamed and raw power in such a delicate little package, all his.

He had chosen well.

"Listen here, Uchiha Itachi! You can't go kissing people without their permission! A- and don't you even dare to come any closer or so help me! I'm gonna hit those teeth so deep down your throat that they're never going to see the light again!" Sakura ranted, hardly seeming to care at that point who it was that she was yelling to, as she angrily pointed a finger at him.

Her eyes were ablaze as her chakra gathered around her fists in warning.

"I mean it, Uchiha, don't take another step!" Sakura threatened as he smoothly rose to his full height and stalked towards her. He was less intimidating without his Akatsuki cloak, yet lesser men would have run as his eyes slowly turned to their signature color, the tomoes spinning lazily in his eyes as he gazed at her thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he took another step, never one to shield away from such an enticing challenge.

He never saw the fist coming, yet his body automatically dodged to the side to evade her hit. The next fist he did saw and jumped a few meters back with a flip and a smooth landing. She was panting, mostly so from sheer rage, yet the sigh still made him want to lick his lips.

Quite a sight she made, angrily defending her virtue.

"Stay still, damnit! SHANNARO!" Sakura shrieked angrily and jumped up high with her flaming fist poised threateningly towards him. She flew towards the ground with her teeth bared in a snarl. Itachi already knew from experience that letting that fist anywhere near him would prove to be quite painful indeed, so he saw it wise to get the hell out of the way.

Her fist connected with the ground with an explosion that shook the ground in a few miles' radius, trees and rocks flew up from the force of her power as a crater was formed below her tiny form. Itachi had to dodge quite an impressive amount of debris before he could land a safe distance away from her. He could do nothing but stare at her panting form in stunned silence as her chakra flared around her.

She truly was a kunoichi worth the name.

"Such power," he growled, already imagining how she would protect their children with the ferocity of a mother lion, snarling and growling at anyone who dared to threaten their cubs, their family, as her pink mane flared around her.

And all he had to do was claim this little lioness as. His. Own.

"Sa-ku-ra," Itachi drawled slowly, caressing each syllable. He was taking long strides, eager to reach her frame that was slowly turning towards him. He was beyond aroused, such a show of power was enough to drive him mad with need, something that he would not easily admit, if asked. He had always preferred strong-willed and able-bodied women, as his own mother had been. Mikoto would have approved whole heartedly of his choice after seeing the strength within her. As would his father have, as well, after given a moment to sulk over the fact that she was not an Uchiha, yet.

There must have been enough raw need shining within his Sharingan since she took a wary step back from him when their eyes met. The snarl was still on her lips as she grouched, ready to bounce. He gave her time to do no such thing before he was right in front of her, his hand grasping her hair as his lips hungrily searched hers.

This kiss was far from gentle.

She growled and pushed against his chest, yet her lips yielded below his in a way that made him groan, a deep throaty sound that seemed to make her shiver. The shock had luckily taken the chakra away from her hands, he noted absentmindedly, pulling her body against his warmer one with the arm that wasn't grasping her mane.

Then, she was kissing him back with just as much hunger, tangling her fingers into his hair and totally ruining his neat ponytail, not that he minded too much. She bit his lip with a growl, making him bleed, yet he hardly noticed as he pushed her against the first boulder that he could find, the fallen trees around them were no help in this instance.

He pushed her against the rock and pulled her head to the side since he still had a hold on her hair. After her slender neck was exposed to his hungry gaze, he kissed his way down from her lips to her shoulder. He bit down, hard, as if to mark her, making her whimper in a way that send another wave of blood down his body. To have this powerful woman fully at his mercy was doing pleasant things to his insides.

"Mine," he all but growled against her neck as he pushed his hardness against her.

"Itachi," Sakura gasped, her face, that was already blushing, turning a deeper shade of red as she felt him pushed so intimately against her. She was probably only a shade or two away from his Sharingan, Sakura thought in mortification-

-but then he was kissing her again and all thought was lost.

…

Surprisingly, it had been Itachi who had first pulled his lips away from hers with great reluctance.

Apparently, no matter how much he wanted to, -and there had been no need to question said want- the manners that had been bred into the Uchiha heir clearly demanded better, than a quick romp against an upturned boulder. No matter how much they both had wanted that said romp.

They had detangled themselves with some difficulty.

Her fingers had become quite tangled in his soft hair, and she was a tad bit disappointed to let it go. His eyes burned when he looked at her bruised and swollen lips, yet his didn't look any better as Sakura found the bite mark on his lower lips.

Her fingers itched to heal that bite, yet a bigger part of her was quite smug to have marked him in such a primitive manner. He didn't seem to mind, and he had returned the favor quite eagerly as her neck and shoulder was still throbbing slightly from his attentions.

Itachi hadn't given her much time to gather her wits as she was pulled along in what she guessed was the direction their target was located in. Sakura didn't want to admit that the mission had been the last thing on her mind a few minutes ago. Itachi was awfully distracting, she noted to herself, and she wasn't sure if it was in a good way or not.

"We have a mission to finish," he muttered, and Sakura got the impression that the mission had been the last thing on his mind as well, which kind of gave a big boost to her self-esteem. To be distracting enough that even the Uchiha Itachi forgot about a mission, now that was something else entirely.

She cleared her throat and quickened her steps to walk next to him.

"The target- "

"-I'll find them," Itachi interrupted with a growl, the red spinning within his eyes in a way that made Sakura gulp. Boy was she glad that those eyes weren't aimed at her, sexually frustrated Itachi was not going to be a pleasant opponent.

She almost felt sorry for their target, almost.

…

Let's not even start on the lateness, it has been years, I know.

Life has a funny way of getting in the way of hobbies and some things are just more important than the others…

It was difficult to get back on track and there probably are quite a few mistakes in this, but I'm gonna try and get back to regular updates again. My writing style might have changed as well since I've done so much other stuff between then and now, but I really hope you guys like this anyway!

There are only a few more chapters to go, so I'm hoping that it's not going to take me months to finally finish this story once and for all!

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&R

TY

-Hana

P.S I really hope all of you are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic, I wish you all the best!