Note to the reader: Thank you for reading Confessions. A note before I proceed: I love you Maggie! I do! And your friends know that fact as well (actually, even more than you know)!

By the way, since this is AU, I'd be getting names of places from Naruto. They're not filled with ninjas but with urban people.

Same goes for Sarutobi-sama—he's the principal and administrator, not the Hokage.

I beg all readers, please give me reviews for Christmas! Thanks!

Summary: That cool morning dated February fourteen, a man knocked at the vacation house where the Uchiha and Haruno stayed. And the guest, who was practically more reserved than the Uchiha found an expression in the Uchiha's face far more than mere surprise.

CHAPTER VII- Uninvited Guest

The morning light shed its glory on the placid face of the young Uchiha. He was still asleep with his eyes not anymore squeezed tight like they usually did before. His raven hair fell over his forehead and the breeze did not much care to blow it off his face. Valentine's Day seemed more interesting hours before. It was quite more eventful than what both parties expected. Haruno Sakura was also asleep though more deeply than her bed mate. She was a steady sleeper as well; she didn't shift much unlike Sasuke who had to change positions every fifteen minutes or so. But he felt, at last, comfortable, inducing a long rest.

The day was also special because of a certain person who walked in front of the rest house by the beach. That man, in particular, wore a handsome yet grave face concealing deep emotions no one had ever stirred. He looked at the house and muttered something like, "Father Luis was right". He walked up the three step wooden staircase and ended up in front of the front door. He raised his fist and knocked.

Sasuke's eyes bolted open. A light sleeper as he was, he heard the knock well even though the room's door was closed. His senses were sharpened because of the tedious trainings he underwent. And since he had improved that much, it was not a wonder why Kakashi had him as his favorite. Sasuke's eyes twitched and began lowering because of the need of rest when another three consecutive knocks were heard. Dammit. Sasuke cursed inwardly and raised himself upright. He stretched his arms for seconds before he slid off the bed while fixing his shirt. And to think of it, he had been nice to Sakura since he still had his shirt on.

The young Uchiha went out of the room and opened the front door lazily.

He stared.

It took about a quarter of a second to make him fully sober.

"Sasuke, I thought I'd find you here." It was the cool Itachi with his red eyes gleaming with authority.

Sasuke didn't realize for the first few seconds that he was actually being talked to by his older brother. He just stared at him, totally baffled by the unusual reappearance of Itachi. After being possessed by the air of idiocy, his lips partially moved to say a word. "What?"

"I was looking for you." Itachi didn't seem to mind that his brother actually expressed that he didn't want to see even his shadow.

"What do you want now?" the younger crossed his arms.

At that moment, Itachi pulled out a letter and read its contents:

Dear Mr. Uchiha Itachi,

We would just like to inform you that Uchiha Sasuke is one of the army students who are chosen to participate in an upcoming civil war in the southern part of the Snow Country. As his legal guardian, we would just like to hear from you if he's to be allowed. They will depart at four a.m. on February 20. The student's life is based on his skill and your decision.

We would like to hear from you soon. Once again, thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Sarutobi

Principal and Administrator

Sasuke was startled. He didn't know that he was picked.

"I know you're surprised but don't be. You should have known this if you didn't cut classes. They announced this yesterday." Itachi folded the paper and stuffed it in his side pocket. "I know you'd be fine and I know you want to test your skills in real battle so I have no problem with that."

"You are still not answering my question Itachi." Sasuke hissed.

"I came over since you'd be going away soon. It's just normal for a brother to become skeptical about the danger you'll be facing soon."

Sasuke almost gaped upon hearing the next most ridiculous words in the world. (Curious about the most ridiculous ones? Sasuke, don't worry, you're still a virgin.) "What the hell are you talking about? Leave now. I don't want you lurking in this territory—my territory."

On the other hand, Sakura heard voices outside the room. It seemed like Sasuke had forgotten to close the door of the room and so the argument between Itachi and Sasuke was faint yet heard. Her eyes twitched due to irritation to the noise and then they slowly opened to adjust to the morning. She slid off the bed and, out of curiosity, went to the front door with one strap of her night gown sliding down from her shoulder. She stopped behind Sasuke and looked at Itachi with drowsy eyes.

Itachi was about to leave when he caught sight of the sleepy damsel standing behind the heated Uchiha. "Good morning lady."

Sakura slightly jolted upon hearing her name. Her senses were still waking up from slumber.

Sasuke, without the gift of telepathy, certainly knew what ran straight into Itachi's head. "No," he bellowed, "go away."

It was too late. Itachi had swept past Sasuke and went forward to Sakura whose hand was gently taken by him. "Haruno Sakura… I presume?"

Sakura's eyes were pretty glistening emeralds depicting the sense of being flattered. She nodded slightly to show that Itachi was right. He looks handsome and he seems a gentleman. She smiled thoughtfully. She definitely did not need water to wake her up.

Sasuke was muttering curses under his breath as he turned the omelet roughly from one side to another. He was in the kitchen while Itachi, who apparently had no intention of leaving, was talking with Sakura. It even surprised the young Uchiha how he managed to cook. As someone learning to be a soldier and as someone who was busy in bars, he didn't have time to learn culinary arts—specifically, cooking. But he didn't have time to ponder on that thought. After finishing the omelet, he almost slammed the plate on the table and sat beside his brother. Who knows what he'd do next. It's safer to be near to counter whatever he'd do.

"As I was saying," Sakura managed to continue after noticing Sasuke's action, "it isn't right at all to prohibit such exchange. Medical technology will be limited if the country would close its doors to foreign influence. Influence is different from control."

Itachi slightly nodded in comprehension.

Sasuke suddenly gulped one glass of milk in a flash and grumbled. "Now you've finished talking about politics, why don't you leave Itachi?"

"Leave?" the older Uchiha shifted from his position and faced Sasuke with a sly smile. "I'd miss you." Itachi ran his finger against the chin of the younger and kissed him.

Sakura almost bounced off her seat upon seeing the incestuous approach. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her lips parted as if she was going to scream.

Sasuke blushed red and turned away from his brother's lips. He muttered something which sounded like "I'll kill you for this Itachi" and then left the table. Itachi averted his gaze from his younger brother and returned to the startled Sakura. "Now where were we?"

"I think—I should—take a bath—first." Haruno found herself flying to their room and shutting the door through a slam as if her life was indeed at stake.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was walking outside his rest house, kicking the sand in the most pathetic way. What did he do that for? Why can't he just leave? Sasuke's eyes closed for a moment and they opened in an abrupt fashion. Don't tell me…

And he heard a scream.

If Sasuke was in a race, he might had won and reached a hundred laps more judging from his speed. He basically hauled himself through the window and dropped in their room. It took him a second to realize what scene he was actually seeing: Sakura was on the bed, her hair wetting the blankets, and Itachi, who was supported by his arms, was on top of her. Their skins were not in contact at least… at least.

Sasuke was not accustomed to shouting, but he did nonetheless. "ITACHI! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

Itachi tossed his head in a reserved way he usually did and just looked at the infuriated Uchiha. "What do you think?"

"What do I think? What do I think?" Sasuke repeated the question almost foolishly. "I think you know what I'm thinking!"

Itachi laughed gently—still keeping his handsome poise over Sakura who lied speechless, worse, motionless. "Then what's the use asking what I'm doing?"

Sasuke did not have the patience to have a debate about questions already answered. "Get off her." He managed to lower his voice.

Itachi's eyebrow went up. Honestly, Sasuke was scarier when he's serious and not yelling.

"Fuck you Itachi. Get off her." There was pure threat of death in his icy tone.

"Fuck me?" Itachi leered.

Sasuke blushed redder than blood. "DAMMIT ITACHI! GET OFF SAKURA!" That was the limit. Sasuke jumped on the bed to push Itachi off but the cunning Uchiha flawlessly slid off the bed and evaded the attack. Sasuke charged at Itachi again with his fist but the older simply cocked his head to the left to avoid the punch. The endless attack-evasion cycle went on until Sakura stood up and cried out, "Would you two please stop!"

Sasuke lost his balance on the bed and hit Sakura by at the back. Sakura jerked forward and lost her hold of her towel—which was protectively surrounding her porcelain flesh. Itachi stood by the door, partly amused, partly sorry that the Haruno had to undergo the embarrassment. Sasuke recovered from the futile battle and unconsciously looked at Sakura. Sakura was standing near the bed with her body almost fully exposed. Good thing her hands were fast—she had grabbed the towel and covered her "core" (and her chest remained uncovered) before it fell on the floor.

Sasuke wanted to look away. He was used to seeing nude people and he could have simply averted his gaze only that his onyx eyes didn't want to do so. He stayed staring at Sakura from head to foot.

Sakura needed seconds to realize that two men were actually checking her body out—intentionally or unconsciously. The demure Haruno lost herself again. "PERVERRRRRRRRTTTTTTTT!" In a flash possibly faster than lightning, she had covered herself with the same towel and had grabbed a large pillow. Because Sasuke was the more reachable of the two, she raised the pillow and began pounding the Uchiha with it—almost mercilessly.

Sasuke was shouting himself and it was a wonder how come he could not defend himself from Sakura, worse, a pillow. He was holding his hands against the attack but Sakura made sure he'd suffer. The pounding lasted for minutes and Itachi, who was just watching the two, smiled and went out of the room. Cute. He thought.

Lunch was silent. Sasuke was sipping soup from his spoon; Itachi was slicing pork chop and silently placing the slice in his mouth; and Sakura was drinking water rather than eating. This went on for minutes before Sakura finally stood up and excused herself from the table. She immediately went to the kitchen to clean the used dishes and glasses. When she had gone, Itachi placed his utensils down and called Sasuke's attention with a motion of his finger. The younger looked up and rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're sorry because I don't want to hear it." Sasuke said in a form of muttering.

"What makes you think I'm going to apologize?" Itachi replied coolly.

"What do you want then?"

Itachi looked at Sakura who was in the kitchen, busy with the dishes. "She's handling it well."

Sasuke did not answer but he looked at Sakura as well.

"Remember the incident?"

The younger Uchiha's eyes showed irritation and alarm as he looked at Itachi. "What do you know about that? Why can't you forget about—?"

"And do nothing?" the older asked.

Sasuke pursed his lips and remained listening to Itachi.

"I know what happened to Neji and I could tell you that he should not have died." Itachi looked at Sakura again and then turned to Sasuke who paused eating. "Haruno is still chaste."

Sasuke dropped his spoon but caught it right away. "What the hell are you talking about Itachi?" He hissed and cautiously looked at Sakura. She was still washing some bowls. "The doctor already reported that—"

"He's wrong." Itachi easily supported his chin with the back of his palm.

"What?"

"The results were wrong. She was untouched."

Sasuke couldn't find the right words to nag Itachi out of his fantasy. He resumed eating when Sakura passed the dining table and went to the room. When she was out of sight, he spoke. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you happy at all to know that she's still a virgin?" Itachi placed a question in the air.

"Just…tell me." Sasuke said solemnly.

"Sakura was harassed, yes, but her core was not touched." Itachi took out a note from his side pocket. He handed the note to Sasuke and the receiver read the words silently.

Mr. Uchiha Sasuke,

I would like to inform you of an error in my analysis. I am hoping that you'd help me break the news to Ms. Haruno Sakura that she's still chaste. It is I to blame because I have told her that the tests showed that she was certainly touched. But when I checked the results further, I discovered that what her body showed was psychological rather than physical.

If you want to ask me, please set an appointment with my Secretary. I will be out of the country for days. I hope you understand.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Haust

"Psychological?" Sasuke folded the paper and handed it to Itachi. "What does he mean?"

"Have you heard of a test scientists conducted years ago?"

"Just get to the point."

"Let me say it in my way Ototou." Itachi smiled and it made Sasuke blush. "The test was made to prove that most of the patients who are complaining of a certain illness are actually complaining about nothing." He raised a spoonful of soup and continued. "There was a patient who confined himself in a hospital. The doctor gave him a capsule saying that he'd recover immediately. The patient took it and yes, he actually recovered immediately." Itachi sipped the soup and said. "Now let me ask you: what is the medicine the doctor gave?"

Sasuke shrugged innocently.

"Sugar. It was only pure sugar with no trace of medication." Itachi smiled. "The illness was all in the patient's head. And because he was made to believe that the capsule was a medicine, he recovered fast from his made-believe sickness."

Sasuke was just silent.

"Do you believe that the brain of humans is one of the most powerful creations, if not the most powerful?"

"Yes."

"Now if you made yourself to believe that you have a defect, your brain would show symptoms and effects even if they are not induced by a real disease."

"So Sakura's body showed—"

"You got it." Itachi nodded slightly. "Sakura made herself to believe that she was raped. She concluded right away that she was indeed deflowered because of the traumatic experience. That's also the reason why the doctor became confused of the results."

Sasuke just nodded and drank water, perhaps to calm himself down.

"I'm going now. And by the way," Itachi stood up and fixed his winter coat, "that's the reason why I came. You tell her what you heard and give this if she does not believe." He handed the letter of Dr. Haust to Sasuke. "See you if you survive the civil war."

Sasuke stood up as well and followed Itachi to the door. "You know what Itachi," he suddenly said before the older brother left, "what you did now… I think you deserve to hear a 'thank you' from me."

Itachi smiled—a smile which was sweet and handsome. "Don't thank me, Ototou." He brushed his fingers against Sasuke's cheek and kissed him passionately. His hands traveled to hold on Sasuke's shoulders and his lips parted to let his tongue in but the door of their room suddenly opened.

Sasuke immediately moved away and slightly blushed. Itachi chuckled and went out of the rest house. Sakura, on the other hand, poked her head out of the opened door and asked, "Itachi left already?"

Sasuke just nodded and sighed heavily.

The church was dimly lit that night because it was soon to close. Sasuke went up stairs and found the church empty. Well, it looked empty for a while before he entered the confession box. He found Father Luis there, sitting patiently as he waited for Sasuke.

"Father, Happy Valentine's Day." Sasuke smiled.

Father Luis smiled as well and proceeded. "How are you Sasuke?"

Sasuke thought for a while before answering sincerely, "I think I'm good."

"Better I presume?" the priest said thoughtfully. "Would you want to know my opinion?"

"Sure."

"I think you're changing."

There was a meaningful silence which followed. "You think so Father?"

"And I believe I know one of the reasons as well." Father Luis crossed his arms. "Is it…her?"

Sasuke decided not to reply for a moment before saying, "I would like to find that out myself."

"So," the priest smiled, "let me hear them."

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned…" the raven head tossed his head back in a way unique in him. "I find my brother attractive—and somehow I just noticed it now. And, I cut classes, well, I told you about it yesterday already." Sasuke grinned. "And lastly, I confess that I'm neglecting my job."

"Well, I believe you should really neglect that." The priest replied.

"I can't…" he muttered.

"You did for a couple of days."

Sasuke sighed. "Thank you Father."

When Sasuke got home after confessing, he found Sakura sleeping on the wide couch. He carefully placed a pillow under her head and sat on the space available. He looked at her fatigued face—maybe she cleaned the house to get her mind off the perverted event. He brushed her pink hair of her face and lied closely beside her. They did fit… Sakura being slim and all. How could I explain it to her? He thought and took her hand to his lips. And then he realized that he was actually cuddling someone. He looked at her closed eyes and smiled. How could I explain to myself that I'm attracted to her? Sasuke continued to kiss her hand until he heard her speak his name solemnly. She was dreaming… and all she could say was 'Sasuke…'

END

I know it's long so sorry! I'm sorry if this is boring. Just a note: the test of the scientists is based on fact. The test about the patient having sugar as medicine is real. This is a season of giving so please… give me reviews… I implore all readers…aw…

Thank you and Merry Christmas!