Hey, where the hell did you come from?
You're a different different kind of fun
And I'm so used to feeling numb
They stood in front of the gate of the Uchiha residency, which appeared more of a fortress than a family home.
Sakura remembered Kurenai initiating a program when they were little, that would have financed school trips to visit the bigger clans' homes, of those who played important role in the funding of Konoha; but the idea was quickly shut down by the Uchihas. They were notoriously isolated, only giving bits and pieces of information about themselves, just enough to maintain buisness ties with the rest of Konoha.
'This is so bizarre,' Ino murmured next to her. She was back for a few weeks from a mission and was quickly assigned to the quickmade team Tsunade set up, which also included Sakura and Kakashi.
'You have never been here?' Kakashi looked at them baffled.
'Our boyfriend doesn't live here, sensei,' Ino rolled her eyes.
'You girls still could make that happen,' Kakashi grinned at them,' Their genes are insane, there a lot of shy Adonises hiding in there.'
'I think am going to pass,' Sakura said just when Ino asked 'Like who?'
Obito walked out of the building, immediately pulling Kakashi to him.
' You did not tell us that you are going to drop by. Who are they? Wait, I know you. You're the little cherry girl Sasuke used to go on missions.'
Sakura did not bother to answer.
' Come on in, all of you.'
' This is so awkward, 'Sakura whispered in a low voice to Ino, walking behind the chatting Kakashi and Obito.
' I know, what are we even doing here? I hate when Kakashi drags us into his messy personal life.'
' You are aware that we can still hear you?' Obito peaked out of the kitchen.
' And what do you mean by messy?' Kakashi shouted from the kitchen and Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance.
'Let's look around if we're already here,' Sakura stood up and quickly found herself outside, enchanted by the wild garden that surrounded the building. There were shadows out here moving on their own, parted from celestial bodies. There was power here that felt foreign and achingly familiar.
Sasuke.
She closed her eyes, his name for the first time in months twanging a bitter-sweet string in her heart. She wanted to forgive him because forgiveness meant that it didn't matter anymore, that she can forget.
' What are you doing here?' asked a cold voice and she slowly opened her eyes, could feel the warmth of her tears instantly cooling off on her skin.
' Itachi.'
She barely recognized him.
There was none of his collected, presentable self she met at the Hokage's office. His upper body was bare, his pale, long torso crisscrossed with deep cuts, and he was fixing a bandage around his arm. His Sharingan was active, flashing red, pulsing with his physical pain. His long, straight black hair was loose, sticking to his back.
' Kakashi wanted to visit Obito. We are on a mission. Don't you have people for this?' she nodded with her chin and Itachi looked down at his bleeding arm.
' It is quicker if I do it myself.'
There was a high chance that she was bothering him, but it was too late, her medical training kicking into gear.
' Allow me to help?'
Sakura didn't know how to present as submissive or beg for the opportunity to help, but there was an aura around Itachi that made it easier. His presence commanded to ask.
He nodded, more out of curiosity than need and she approached him, cautiously, like one does a wounded animal.
When she got near him, he smelled of blood and hyacinth. He held out his injured arm and Sakura tapped his artery, his chakra point flaring up at her touch.
His chakra had a distinctive taste on her palate. She wasn't sure she was supposed to react to him this way. She has never been this susceptible to Sasuke's chakra.
' This feels really nice,' Itachi's eyes closed in a wavering flatter, his head tilted back, his neck cords clearly seen.
Desire was a punch in Sakura's stomach and she had to oppress a hiss, her body in its lumbering state not prepared to handle this violent rush of lust, tearing up her veins.
' Uhm, yes,' she cleared her throat, 'I am supposed to be really good at this.'
He opened his eyes, watching her work, his eyes cooling into black pools.
' Could you fix up my back too? I tore a muscle in it a week ago and I didn't have time to get it fixed.'
He was talking of his body as it were a mere device designed to damage in battle. Sakura guessed it was a common enough attitude but she still disapprovingly frowned at him. His body was a work of art, he should have taken better care of it.
She just nodded without a word, enjoying the way his back muscles relaxed, releasing the pain they withhold under her touch. Her chakra was more or less inexhaustible, but there was a buzzing pleasure in connecting with Itachi's, which left her head reeling.
'Thank you,' Itachi sighed and gently grabbed her chin and kissed her softly, unceremoniously, offering nothing more than his gratitude.
Sakura froze in place, not knowing what to feel. He looked up from her lips, his own lips parting and closing again, tasting her lingering breath on his lips. His eyes were wondering, confused, quickly replaced by hunger; his need a blade cutting through the dark, separating sky and water.
His hand curled around her neck, his thumbs caressing the point where her lips met and she fell apart under his touch. This kiss now did not offer anything, it had no meaning; it was pure, physical need. Sakura was trembling to touch him, to cling to him, rake her fingers through his hair, but she simply didn't have the courage to do so.
'You taste so fucking good,' he purred, and it occurred to Sakura that she is seeing Itachi in a way that not a lot of people can tell they did; his one hundred percent focus on her, without killing as a reason behind it.
'Sakura? Are you trying to nurse Itachi back to health?' Kakashi's voice sounded behind her back, and she closed her eyes, Itachi comfortingly caressing her face, as if he knew how much more she wanted him. He looked at Kakashi with poorly concealed antipathy, and Sakura needed a few seconds to realize that the feeling was mutual.
' We are ready to go.'
' I am too,' Sakura nodded, her skin burning where Itachi touched her and they left, neither Kakashi nor Sakura mentioning the incident during the mission.