Sakura hummed a scattered tune as she walked. She was on her way to Itachi's room to confirm his release from the hospital. It was bittersweet that he would be leaving. Sakura was (of course) happy that Itachi had healed properly, but she would not be able to see him as often. At the hospital, she was able to see him multiple times a day, even if it was only for a brief minute. But once Itachi was released, he would be placed back on the mission roster, and she might not see him for weeks at a time. Sakura approached the door to his room and knocked gently. A muffled, "Come in," was heard. Sakura entered, her hair and coat flowing out behind her.
"Well, Itachi." she said, sitting down in a chair directly next to his bed. "I will need to run a quick scan of your body before you can be released."
"Hn."
Sakura rolled her eyes as she scooched the chair closer to where he sat on the edge of the bed. She raised her hands up to his chest and channeled her healing chakra to her palms. Sakura tried not to think about how much she would miss spending time with Itachi as she scanned his body for any signs of weakness. She tilted her head down a little bit farther so Itachi would not see her storm of emotions, emotions she couldn't label.
Finding his body without weaknesses, Sakura retracted her chakra and slowly stood up, keeping her eyes downcast. "You're good to go, Itachi." A silence stretched between them as Sakura fumbled for words. Itachi slowly reached up and gently lifted her chin until Sakura made eye contact with him.
"What are you so troubled about?" he asked after a moment. Sakura blushed as she realized that Itachi had not moved his hand from her face.
"I- It's nothing!" she stuttered. Itachi's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. Sakura knew the man enough to know that he was not convinced by her reply.
Itachi brought his hand higher up onto Sakura's cheek in a soft caress. The pink-haired girl unconsciously leaned into his familiar touch. "I'll miss you." she said without thinking. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. Itachi seemed unfazed by her confession, his thumb continued to soothingly stroke her cheek.
"I am not leaving you." he said. "I am merely moving to another location in the village."
Sakura sighed. "I know that, but I won't be able to see you as often as I do now."
Itachi paused, in thought. "Do you wish to see me more often?" he asked after a beat.
"Yes." Sakura blurted. Itachi gave her a small smile, one that was only seen when he was with her. It caused a storm of butterflies to burst within Sakura.
"Will you have dinner with my family and I, tonight?" he asked, his eyes never straying from Sakura's face. Sakura stood there, flustered, as she considered Itachi's offer. Was she making it more than it was meant to be? No, no. He had said with his family. Get your head straight, Sakura! Coming out of her thoughts, Sakura realized that Itachi was still waiting for an answer from her. She flushed again, embarrassed to have left him waiting for her.
"Yes, I'll have dinner with you and your family." she said after another moment. Itachi smiled again. God, he had to stop doing that, Sakura didn't know how much she could take before bursting. She pressed a light kiss to his forehead before gathering her things for the last time. "I'll see you tonight, Itachi." She walked towards the door but paused when she rested her hand on the doorknob. She looked back over her shoulder at the man on the bed behind her. "Uhh, what time do you want me to be there?" she asked sheepishly.
"I will pick you up at your apartment at six-thirty." Itachi replied. Sakura sent him one last smile before leaving the room. After she had left, Itachi rose and gathered his belongings. He would have to let his mother know that they were to have a guest at the dinner table later that night.
{O}
{O}
"I am going to head home now, Shizune-sempai!"
"All right." Shizune replied, "Enjoy your night, Sakura." Sakura shot her one last smile as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the hospital's exit. She had an hour and a half until Itachi would pick her up at her apartment. That gave her time to shower and get ready. As she walked towards her apartment, Sakura pondered her relationship with Itachi once again.
'I don't see why you keep coming back to this.' Inner spoke. 'Itachi said he loves you, you know you love him. Just tell the man.'
'I know.' Sakura sighed. 'It just hasn't seemed like the right moment has come yet.'
'Pssh, right moment. Just tell him tonight!'
Sakura blushed. 'We-we'll see.' she stuttered. 'I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.'
Inner scoffed at this. 'Whatever you say.' she said before retreating. Sakura rolled her eyes as she approached her apartment building. She climbed the flight of stairs until she reached her floor. As she placed her key in the keyhole, Sakura sensed another presence in her apartment. Recognizing the chakra signature, she relaxed...somewhat. She pushed the door open and noticed the lights had already been flicked on in the hallway and the kitchen. Sakura walked into the kitchen area with her hands on her hips.
"Uzumaki Naruto." she spat. "What in Kami's name are you doing in my kitchen?" Naruto sheepishly looked up from his bowl of- cheese?
"Hi, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed after swallowing. He set down the bowl and leapt towards his friend to give her a hug.
"Why are you eating all my shredded cheese?" Sakura asked while prying her friend off of her. Naruto scratched the back of his head, much like he did when he was younger.
"You didn't have any normal cheese, so I poured some shredded stuff in a bowl." he grinned. "Tastes just as good though!" Sakura sighed.
"Well, you're lucky I didn't need that for dinner tonight." Sakura grumbled. "I'm going to go shower." She ambled over to her bedroom door. "Enjoy your cheese." she shot over her shoulder before closing the door behind her. As soon as the door clicked, Naruto dashed to his forgotten bowl of shredded cheese; eagerly scooping a handful into his mouth.
"Mmph. So good."
{O}
{O}
Sakura turned on the water in her shower and let it heat up as she chose her outfit for the night. Choosing to go with something casual, she grabbed a cobalt blue, peplum top and a pair of dark skinny jeans. Walking back into her bathroom, she pulled her hair up onto her head with a clip and got undressed. Sakura audibly sighed when she slid into the warm stream of water. Her muscles were sore from her shift at the hospital and the hot water was a relief. You would think that she would've been used to her job by now.
Not wanting to waste time, Sakura quickly lathered her body in suds and rinsed them all off. She could wash her hair later. She wrapped a towel around herself as she stepped out. She quickly toweled her body and slipped into her outfit. Her hair was clean and the brush easily slipped through the strands. She applied a small amount of make up, just enough to highlight her eyes. She glanced at the clock as she pulled her hair into a neat ponytail. Only six-o'clock, Sakura thought. Still some time. She sighed as she opened the bathroom door, Naruto was still in her apartment, probably eating more shredded cheese. Sakura walked out into her kitchen area once more.
As she entered, Naruto looked up from his almost-empty bowl of crackers. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "Who you goin' on a date with tonight?" he teased. Sakura blushed against her will, at his words. Naruto's face morphed into one of disbelief. "Holy-" Sakura held up a hand to stop his sentence. "-cheese!" he finished. "You really are going on a date, aren't you?"
Sakura reached over to give him a light slap on the arm. "No, I'm not." she huffed. "I'm having dinner with Itachi and his family tonight."
Naruto relaxed...somewhat. "Why are you going over there for dinner?" he asked, setting down his empty bowl.
Sakura leaned her hip against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. "Itachi invited me earlier today." she answered, not wanting to elaborate on the conversation they had before he had asked her to dinner.
"Well, make sure Sasuke isn't too much of a jerk without me, 'kay?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course."
Naruto leaned over to give her a sort of side-hug before giving her a small wave. "Thanks for the cheese and crackers, Sakura-chan!" he shouted before opening her back door and leaping off of the balcony. Sakura could only shake her head at her friend's antics. After Naruto had left, Sakura went onto the balcony herself. A gentle breeze played with her rose-colored locks as she leaned against the balcony railing. She didn't have enough time to herself, Sakura was always, always busy. She was either at the hospital, training, or sleeping. She hadn't felt the need for anything else until Itachi had landed in the hospital. He seemed to give her more...purpose.
Sakura didn't realize how long she had been on the balcony until she felt a familiar chakra signature approaching. She turned towards the man on her balcony with a smile. "Hello, Itachi." she said. Itachi gave his own small smile in reply. "Stop that!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"Stop what?" he asked, oh-too-innocently, smile ever-present.
"That! You're smile, it- agh!"
Itachi chuckled at her flustered expression. "We should be on our way now." he said, softly. Sakura could only shyly nod in reply. Her eyes widened and she let out a small eep! when Itachi gently grabbed her and pulled her towards his chest. Her hands automatically latched onto his shoulders for support. Without any warning, Itachi teleported them to the entrance to the Uchiha compound.
Sakura quickly stepped back, her face flushed, and placed her hands on her hips. "You could have given me some kind of warning, you know!"
"You're a kunoichi, Sakura." Itachi smiled. "You should be prepared for anything."
"So you're saying I can't feel protected or safe when I'm with you?" Sakura asked. But she did not get a reply. Itachi had taken a step back, his eyes a fraction wider. She felt...protected around him? Mentally shaking himself out of his daze, Itachi stepped closer to Sakura.
"May I?" he asked, reaching for Sakura's hand. Sakura blushed and timidly slipped her hand into his. She smiled faintly when Itachi turned his hand around to lace their fingers together as they walked down the road leading to the main house. She could get used to this.
'Tell him!' Inner-Sakura insisted.
'What? Not yet!' Sakura thought-said?- back. Inner scoffed. Itachi sensed the slight change in Sakura's form.
"Is everything all right?" he asked.
Sakura looked up into his dark eyes. "Y-yes." she stuttered. "I'm fine." Itachi gave her hand a small squeeze, causing Sakura's heart to beat wildly in her chest. The rest of the short walk was made in a comfortable silence. As the two entered the main house, Itachi only released Sakura's hand to take off his sandals. As soon as Sakura had hers off as well, Itachi had latched his hand back onto hers. Sakura was confused by his behavior. Was Itachi being... affectionate? Sakura would later admit that she was enjoying his affections very much.
She followed Itachi into the dining room where Fugaku and Sasuke already sat. Sakura could smell the cooking food from where she sat next to Itachi. "Hello, Fugaku-san, Sasuke." she said, inclining her head.
Fugaku spoke first. "Hello, Sakura. Thank you for joining us."
Sakura smiled. "Of course."
"Tell me," the patriarch began, "How are things at the hospital?"
Sakura beamed, she enjoyed speaking about her work. "Things are very good right now! There haven't been any major surgeries in the past couple of weeks. Itachi was probably the worst case in a while."
Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said his condition was not fatal?"
Sakura's eyes widened at what the man before her was saying. "No, no!" Sakura quickly attempted to amend her mistake. "He was not in a fatal condition when he came in. If he had waited any longer, Itachi could've caused permanent damage to his body, but he had made it home on time." She looked to her side and met Itachi's gaze with her own. The interaction did not go unnoticed by the other occupants of the table, as Fugaku and Sasuke shared a look of their own.
Sasuke cleared his throat deliberately. "Sakura." he began.
Sakura turned away from Itachi, completely oblivious to the thoughts running through Sasuke and Fugaku's minds. "Yes?"
"You haven't been slacking off in your training, have you? It's been a while since we last sparred."
Sakura gave him a smile. "I have been training when I have the time. I try not to spar as often. I usually cause too much damage to the training grounds."
Itachi nodded at this. He had sparred with her once, and the entire training field had been broken apart, and at some point, lifted into the air. Itachi had to use an earth-style jutsu to fix the ground afterwards.
Conversation flowed smoothly for a little wile longer, before the Uchiha matriarch appeared in the dining room, her hands filled with plates of different foods. Sakura promptly stood to assist the woman with the dishes.
"Thank you, dear." Mikoto spoke with a smile as she took her place at the table. After everybody was comfortable, Mikoto decided to join in on the conversation.
"Sakura," she started. The young woman looked up. "Was Itachi good during his stay in the hospital?"
Sakura stuttered, throwing uneasy glances at Itachi. "W-what do you mean by that, Mikoto-san?"
The older woman smiled. "Did he behave? Did you ever have to put him back in line?"
At the word behave, Sakura flushed as she remembered all of the intimate moments she had shared with Itachi. Well, he hadn't been doing anything bad. "Yes, he was perfectly fine. I'm surprised he didn't try to escape." Sakura heard Sasuke snort quietly and mutter something indiscernible under his breath. She pointedly ignored him. Soon, another conversation had started about missions and work. Sakura found herself relaxing in her company. It was hard not to with Itachi by her side. He was like a support for her, someone she could lean on.
The night wore on, and Sakura was preparing to leave when Itachi went serious. Sakura looked around to find everyone else at the table glance at her before turning their eyes to Itachi. Did they know something that she didn't? The man beside her turned to Sakura and locked eyes with her. Her breath caught as she saw the intensity in them. He looked away first to level his eyes with everyone else in the room.
"I have an announcement to make." Itachi spoke, his voice clear and unwavering. Sakura remained silent, but nodded her head to show that he had her attention. He locked his eyes back on her, Sakura being his primary focus.
"I would like to make it known, that I am determined to court Sakura."
Sakura's eyes widened dramatically. She felt the weight of four sets of eyes on her. She turned her face up towards Itachi's. "You- you are?"
Itachi only nodded, his signature small smile on his face.
Frankly, Sakura was overwhelmed. Itachi had just told her that he planned to court her! It didn't help that she was practically suffocating underneath the stares of the other Uchiha clan members. Gosh, why was this family so quiet and un-emotional? After what felt like hours in the awkward silence, Sakura reached down and brushed Itachi's hand with her own. She pulled him down so that she could whisper in his ear, "Can you walk me home?" Itachi nodded and excused the both of them from the table.
When they made it out of the house, Sakura took a deep breath. She reached for Itachi's hand as they started their walk to her house. The man stayed silent, giving Sakura time to sort out her thoughts.
After a few minutes, Sakura formed a sentence. "Are you serious?"
Itachi glanced down at her, his eyes soft. "Yes. I am very serious about this, Sakura." The young woman's face morphed into one of slight astonishment.
"Wh-when did you decide this?" she asked, timidly.
Itachi thought for a moment. "The day," he spoke, "I got home from my mission." Sakura's eyes widened.
"Really?" Itachi nodded.
She took a moment to process this. Had he really been that in love with her at that point? He really was serious.
As they neared her house, Sakura stopped walking, causing Itachi to stop as well. He turned towards her questioningly. Sakura was looking down at her feet and biting her lip nervously. She then glanced at their joined hands before lifting her eyes to his face.
"Yes." she spoke. Before Itachi could comprehend what she meant, Sakura had stepped forward and sealed her lips with his. His arms snaked around her waist and tugged her closer. Sakura hummed contentedly into his mouth before bringing her hands up to tangle in his long ponytail. They eventually broke for air, their foreheads resting against each other. Sakura summoned all the courage she could and gazed into Itachi's dark eyes.
"I love you, Itachi." she whispered.
Oh, the reaction she got out of him, she would forever be proud of it.
Itachi's eyes had widened before he smiled. And it wasn't just one of his small smiles. Itachi was beaming. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the uncharacteristic action. Itachi leaned down to give her a hard, passionate kiss that practically blew Sakura away.
The rest of the walk to Sakura's house was filled with open conversation and laughter. Sakura persuaded Itachi to come inside with her, to tell her parents the news. To say her parents were surprised at the way their daughter was positively radiating happiness, not to mention Itachi as well, would be an understatement.
Mebuki had them sit in the living room as she prepared some tea. Kizashi sat across from the couple, noticing their joined hands, but not commenting. After the tea had been prepared and everyone had settled, Mebuki broke the quiet.
"What had you two so excited earlier?" she asked, cautiously. The look Itachi and Sakura shared did not go unnoticed. Itachi spoke first, knowing that Sakura wouldn't be able to speak clearly in her excitement.
"I am officially courting Sakura."
"That is wonderful!" Mebuki exclaimed. "I am so happy for you two."
Kizashi only grumbled "Finally." under his breath. His smile broke through his gruff facade anyways.
Mebuki was gushing. "You should have seen Sakura when you were gone on you mission, Itachi." she said leaning forward. "She was worried sick! The only people who could comfort her were Naruto-kun and your brother." She smiled fondly at the memory. "They checked on her everyday to see how she was doing. I could tell they were worried for your sake as well." She put a hand over her heart and gave a content sigh. "I am so happy for you. This is such wonderful news!"
Itachi looked to Sakura with a look of concern when he heard of how distraught she had been.
"Oh, don't look at me like that!" Sakura admonished him, a pout on her face. "You should have been worried about yourself, you idiot!"
Her parents watched the interaction with looks of fondness. They knew that Itachi would take care of their daughter, even through all the hardships of their relationship. People were destined to talk, considering the fact that Sakura was only sixteen and Itachi was six years older. But Itachi wouldn't let anything harm Sakura, he would make sure of that.
A little while later, Itachi had to return to his home. Sakura walked him to the door with a smile. "Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked, biting her lip.
Itachi smiled, (he had to stop doing that!) "Of course." he said, leaning down to leave a quick kiss on the corner of Sakura's mouth.
Before he could slip out of the door, Sakura grabbed his wrist. She cupped his face between her hands and brought him down to her eye level.
"I love you." she whispered. Itachi closed his eyes before leaning his forehead against Sakura's.
"I love you more."
{O}
{O}
Sakura was absolutely delighted with the bouquet of yellow flowers she found on her desk in her office the next day.
Alstroemerias, to be specific.
{O}
{O}
I DID IT...OH MY. I FINISHED THIS STORY. This was by far the most fun chapter to write, and I hit over three-thousand words! I am so proud of myself right now. I really hope that y'all enjoyed this, I know I enjoyed writing it. Sorry for the long wait, I was caught up with things, and then I was not in a good mood to write for a while. But I finished it!
Now I can get to writing a new story! Don't worry, I am not abandoning Inner Selves. I had only postponed updating because I couldn't focus on more than one story at a time. I will get to work on the next chapter as soon as I can!
Please be honest with your opinions about this story. I will take any criticism and implement it into any upcoming works.
Thank you all so, so much for taking your time to read my story. Every single favorite, follow, or review made my day.
~Rus
