Flowers.
"What?" A little voice called out into the open air. The small five-year-old gingerly bent down and picked up the small bouquet of yellow-pink flowers.
"Sakura," an older voice called from inside the house. "Who's at the door?" Haruno Sakura slowly turned and made her way back into the house.
"Nobody is at the door, Mama." The young girl paused. "I found flowers outside."
Sakura's mother, Mebuki, wiped her hands on a towel and headed towards where her daughter was standing. "Sakura, do you know what kind of flowers these are?"
The pink-haired girl nodded her head. "They're called al-alstro-"
"Alstroemerias. And what do they symbolize?"
"Oh!" Sakura hopped. "They mean 'friendship'!"
"Is there a note?"
Sakura fumbled with the bouquet until she found a small, white slip of paper hidden among the petals. Her face fell when she opened it. "Oh, there's nothing written on it."
Mebuki smiled. "Do you recognize that symbol?" Sakura shook her head slowly. "This," Mebuki began explaining, "is the Uchiha clan's crest. Do you have any children from the Uchiha clan in your class at the academy?" Sakura beamed at this.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Sasuke-kun is in my class!"
" Then maybe it was Sasuke who sent these to you."
"Really?"
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Thirteen-year-old Sakura was walking down her street, sweaty and tired from a grueling training session with her teacher, the fifth Hokage. As she reached her front gate, she noticed a bouquet of flowers in front of her door. The closer she got, the more detailed the flowers became.
"Yellow alstroemerias." she said aloud. Sakura's eyes widened as she remembered a time when she had gotten the exact same gift eight years ago. She frantically grabbed the bundle and brought it inside the house, all the while searching for a slip of paper among the flowers.
"Ha!" she cried, triumphantly. "I found it!" She quickly unfolded the paper and read the short note on it.
"I would enjoy getting to know you in person" Sakura read out loud. She sat down in a nearby chair.
'So, it's not Sasuke-kun who has been sending these to me?' she thought, dejectedly. Sakura left the flowers on the kitchen table and climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
{O}
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"Sakura, dear! Someone is waiting at the door for you!"
"Coming, Mama." the fifteen-year-old called. Sakura gracefully glided down the stairs and towards the front door. She paused when she opened the door and saw who was there.
"Hello, I am Haruno Sakura. And you are?" she asked. The man on her porch looked to be around twenty. He had raven-black hair and dark eyes. His cheekbones were emphasized by two long creases from the top to the bottom of his nose.
"I am well aware of who you are, Haruno-san."
'Oh really now?'
The man continued. "I have wanted to meet you in person for a while now. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Uchiha Itachi."
Where had Sakura heard that first sentence before? Sakura pondered the man's name for a moment. "You're Sasuke-kun's brother, right?" The man nodded politely. "How may I help you Uchiha-san?"
"I came to take you to lunch." Itachi said. His face remained calm and expressionless, meanwhile Sakura was sputtering in confusion.
"Take me to lunch?" she asked incredulously. "For what reason?"
"I would like to get to know you." That phrase again. Where had she heard it before?
After a long -it was only thirty-seconds- silence, Sakura spoke again. "I will go to lunch with you. It's, what, eleven-thirty? Yeah." She held up her index finger. "Give me just a minute to grab my things." Itachi nodded as Sakura quietly closed the door.
"Mama!" she called. Mebuki came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
"What did that young man want, Sakura?" she asked her daughter.
Sakura sighed. "I've never met him before; his name is Uchiha Itachi and-"
"What? Did you say Uchiha Itachi?"
Sakura gave her mother a bewildered look. "Yes," she began slowly, "he wants to take me to lunch. So I'll be gone for a little while." Mebuki grabbed Sakura's hands with a blinding smile on her face.
"You go enjoy yourself, dear! I'll see you later. Now shoo! Go get your things." Mebuki bossed as she practically shoved her daughter towards the stairs.
"A tempura stand? My favorite one too!" Sakura squealed. Itachi allowed the smallest smile to cross his face, but the girl never knew it had happened. "Come on, come on!" she encouraged her companion.
Itachi felt very blessed that his brother was Sakura's teammate. Sasuke was the only reason that Itachi had chosen this restaurant to dine at. His younger brother had looked at him strangely when Itachi had asked where him and his teammates usually ate, but nevertheless, Itachi had gotten the answer he wanted. As Sakura led Itachi into the restaurant, she inhaled the smell of frying shrimp through her nose.
"Come on." she said, turning to Itachi. She unconsciously grabbed his hand and pulled him towards an empty set of stools. Itachi didn't pull his hand away. Instead, he reveled in the feeling of his hand in Sakura's warm one, though the moment was over all too soon.
"I say we get just a single, large dish to share." the girl spoke. Itachi silently nodded in reply. Sakura sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to get very many words out of the man before her. One of the women behind the counter took their order, and the two lapsed back into silence when she left. Sakura inwardly sighed. Itachi seemed so calm and collected, while she was practically drowning in the thick silence. After another quiet moment, she cleared her throat nervously.
"What made you want to get to know me more, Uchiha-san?" she asked. Itachi slowly turned on his stool to face her more.
"I've heard a lot about you from my little brother." he began. "Your skills as a kunoichi also intrigue me." Sakura hmphed.
"You know, you could've just asked me sooner." she replied. Itachi nodded.
"I could have, but I was not as interested in you then as I am now."
At his words, a gentle blush graced Sakura's cheeks. The way Itachi had said he was interested in her both confused her and flattered her. She tilted her head down and away from him to try and hide her flushed cheeks, but Itachi had caught it. He smirked at her reaction, but Sakura once again missed the small crack of emotion on Itachi's face.
After just a few more minutes of quiet conversation, a large plate of fried shrimp (among other things) was set in front of the two of them. Sakura quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks and smiled gleefully. "Itadakimasu!" she exclaimed. Itachi only nodded his head.
After their meal finished, Sakura realized how relaxed she had become in the quiet man's company. It was easy for her to laugh with him, (or at him) and be able to carry out a decent conversation. Lunch was over much too soon in her opinion.
"I will walk you to your house." Itachi said as he extended his hand to help Sakura out of her seat. There it was again, that buzzing feeling of her hand against his and Itachi wondered if his companion felt it too. The walk to Sakura's house wasn't very long, and they both morosely noted that their time together had ended for the day. Sakura turned towards Itachi with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Thank you for lunch," she started. "I enjoyed it very much." She paused, unsure of herself. "Maybe we could go out again sometime?" She flushed and rocked back and forth on her feet. Itachi smiled slightly and Sakura's mouth dropped when she noticed the crack in his cool facade.
"I would enjoy that very much, Haruno-san." he replied, resisting a chuckle at Sakura's reaction.
"Oh please," the girl scoffed, "You can call me Sakura." Itachi nodded. (Seriously, what is with the nodding?)
"Then you may call me Itachi." Sakura beamed.
"Then I will see you later, Itachi-san!"
Itachi paused for just a moment. He was surprised at the way his name sounded when Sakura said it. It seemed to just roll off her tongue. "Goodbye, Sakura-san." Itachi replied as the pink haired girl opened her front door. When she closed the door, he slowly turned around and made his way back to the Uchiha compound.
Once inside her house, Sakura slid out of her sandals and went in the kitchen for a glass of water. Her mother was at one of the counters preparing a dessert of some kind. Mebuki looked up when Sakura walked in. "How was it?" she asked.
Sakura smiled. "It was lots of fun, Mama. It was refreshing to meet someone new. I really enjoyed Itachi-san's company." Mebuki quirked an eyebrow.
"First-name basis, I see." she stated, a sly look on her face. Sakura blushed.
"Yes, Mama. We are on a first-name basis."
Mebuki laughed. "I was only teasing, Sakura. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Sakura walked over to her mother and gave her a big hug around her waist.
"I'm headed up to my room now, Mama." Sakura said as she grabbed her glass of water and strode out of the kitchen. When she got to her bedroom she walked towards her bed and flopped onto her stomach on the soft mattress. "That was the most fun I've had in a few months."
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I'm so excited! This is my first chapter to ever post. Don't worry, I am planning on writing another chapter; it's currently in the making! Reviews would be much appreciated. Tell me what you really think of the story! If you think it is written poorly, or you think a certain aspect is missing, go ahead and tell me. I enjoy getting honest thoughts from people.
~Rus
