Chapter Five

Different

A/N: Much love to cutecrazyice for beta-ing this chapter for me.

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"Will you focus? I'm sick of hearing about Pakkun."

"Psh. You focus. Your little mutt, and I say that word fondly, is always rubbing the fact that we use the same shampoo in my face. I have a good mind to—"

Kakashi reached out and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Go home, Saku. Pretend everything is normal like the Hokage said."

She pouted.

"I can't go home. Someone is living there now...wait. Did you just call me Saku?"

"I didn't. And your home is with Itachi."

She growled. "The hell it is! I am not going there so he can kill me in my sleep. I'm going home with you."

He frowned. "No."

"When did you become such a bastard?"

"When did you become such a bi—"

His words were cut off when they were joined by a third member.

"There you are, Sakura. I've been searching for you."

Sakura tossed Kakashi a panic-stricken look—which, of course, he basically ignored. His attention was focused on the one who had interrupted their spat.

"Hatake."

"Uchiha."

The two men glared at one another with an animosity that was almost palpable. Sakura glanced back and forth between the two men. She briefly wondered about the anger that was so obviously between them—but she realized that she was momentarily forgotten, so she took that opportunity to ease her way out from in between the two men and sneak off.

"Why is Sakura with you?" Itachi demanded.

"She currently finds my company preferable," Kakashi retorted almost lazily, smirking beneath his mask.

"We both know how Sakura feels about you. I think it would be best if you remembered that and stayed away from her."

"Maybe she feels differently now. Maybe she finally realizes what an asshole you are. Maybe she now knows that you aren't worth the dirt her delicate feet touch," Kakashi said harshly.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Tch. Sakura, come on. We're leaving." He lowered his gaze to where Sakura was once—only to find her missing. His eyes narrowed further. "What did you do with her?"

Kakashi, too, was surprised to find Sakura missing. This Sakura certainly was stealthy.

But before he could react, Itachi immediately disappeared in pursuit of his fiancé, leaving the Copy-Nin alone.

And thinking.

He found her sitting alone in the forest. Her brow was furrowed, her mind a million miles away.

"Sakura."

Her head snapped towards his direction and he watched as panic filled her features.

"Sakura, why are you afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid of you." She raised her chin defiantly. Itachi then moved closer, causing Sakura to scramble to her feet and take a few steps back.

"You're afraid."

Realizing what she had done, she took a few steps forward. "I am not."

"Fine. Let's go home, then."

He watched as her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. She muttered something under her breath and walked towards him. She reached his side and looked up at him, but he continued to stare down at her. He reached forward and brushed a stray lock of her hair out of her face. "Sakura, I'm sorry."

His touch wasn't something that she abhorred. Actually, to be honest, the light touch of his hand felt...good. She tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously. "For what?"

He chuckled. "It seems that you've forgotten yourself. I'm sorry for forgetting our anniversary. I know how important it is to you."

He immediately recognized that he had said the wrong thing because her eye began to twitch.

Sakura's fear of Itachi Uchiha disappeared at his words. How could another her have been attracted to him? He was a jerk. This is what she expected Itachi Uchiha to be like. Not only was he a murderer, he was an insensitive jerk as well. "Important to me? Oh, so it's not important to you."

Sakura's mind began to work fast and furiously. She could use this situation to her advantage if she played her cards right. "You know what, Itachi? Let's just go home. Be aware that you're sleeping on the couch tonight." She stormed off in not-completely-feigned righteous indignation.

He stared.

"Sakura—" he started.

"I don't want to hear it," she interrupted scathingly.

"But Sakura, we were supposed to go to my parents' house for dinner tonight."

Sakura muttered a long string of curses under her breath. "What time?" she asked after she had finished.

"...now, actually."

She didn't want to go. She didn't want to share a house with him. She didn't want to pretend that they were a happy little couple. She didn't want to pretend that she was his fiancé. She wanted to stay the hell away from him.

But she couldn't.

Her Hokage had ordered her to keep her current situation under wraps. The last thing the people of this village needed to know was that there was another world out there. This situation could prove to be a very dangerous thing.

Her irritation growing at every thought, Sakura poked him in the chest. "If we had to go to your parents' house, why did you say we could go home?"

"We had time before," he said simply.

Sakura's mouth hung open for a second.

"Something could fly in there," Itachi commented emotionlessly. Sakura snapped her mouth shut.

"I am not happy. Let's just go."

And she stormed off, leaving a kind-of confused Uchiha in her wake.

Dinner was not a happy affair. Sakura was in for a few rude awakenings when it came to the Uchiha household.

It started immediately after she entered their home.

"So you're still with her," Fugaku said, eyeing her distastefully. "She's weak. There are better women out there for my son."

Sakura unthinkingly took a step forward with chakra enhanced fists. She had heard enough of that word to last her a lifetime, but being suddenly engulfed in a hug threw her off. Unthinkingly, her arms went around the person that was bear-hugging her.

He stepped back and gave her a breathtaking smile. "Sakura, it's been a while."

At the sight, unbidden tears sprang to her eyes.

"Sasuke?" she choked out.

"Are those tears, Sakura? It really hasn't been that long. Come on, I'll tell you about my training."

Sasuke grabbed her by the arm and led her off. He immediately launched into a conversation about the year of training that he had been through. He smiled frequently, which fascinated her—she couldn't ever remember seeing anything but a smirk on her Sasuke-kun's face...nor had he ever hugged her. She was the one that always showed affection towards him, while he was an unmovable brick wall. Throughout their whole conversation, she found herself fighting back tears. All she could think of was this was how her Sasuke should have turned out.

Rather, he was cold and aloof. Never letting anyone in. In fact, even after he had killed his brother, she could still see that the rage that he had held on for years was still inside of him. He had never let it go.

He would never let it go.

She suddenly found herself jealous. The Sakura of this world had everything. It seemed that her life had been sunshine and rainbows while she had to struggle to keep her friendships strong. She loved her team, but there always seemed to be so much drama with them. Nothing was ever simple.

Not like this.

"Sakura? Are you listening?"

"Of course, Sasuke."

"Oh? What did I just say?"

Sakura's mind went blank. She wasn't listening. Her mind was too busy dwelling on things that she couldn't change.

"I'll tell you after you tell me what I said."

"But you didn't say anything."

"Or did I?" Sakura retorted mysteriously, causing Sasuke to erupt in laughter. Itachi entered the room and strode over to Sasuke. He extended two fingers and poked him on the forehead.

"Trying to steal my woman, little brother?" Itachi asked, smirking slightly.

"It was a thought," Sasuke replied shamelessly, winking at Sakura. Sakura giggled. She liked this playful Sasuke.

Itachi threw him a mock irritated look and reached for Sakura's hand. "Come on, Sakura. Dinner is ready. Mother and Father are waiting on us."

"Am I required to attend tonight's battle?" Sasuke asked his older brother.

"Yes," Sakura and Itachi said simultaneously, then looked at each other.

Sasuke sighed exaggeratedly and stood. "Fine."

Then he followed the couple into the dining room.

Sakura walked home furiously, muttering under her breath.

"Sakura," Itachi called out.

Sakura stopped abruptly and turned to face Itachi. "What?" she asked, hands on her hips, disgust clearly written in her eyes.

"He didn't mean it."

She made a very annoyed sound in her throat. "Yes, he did and yes, she did. You said nothing to defend me. Am I wrong or am I not your fiancé?"

"You are."

"Do you not love me?"

"Sakura...you know how I feel."

That was the good thing about being from another dimension. She truly didn't know how he felt.

"No, I don't. You forget our anniversary. You dragged me into a house where I'm obviously hated—"

"They're my parents—"

"And I am soon to be your wife! I come first. I will not be treated as if I am trash. I—"

"You never had a problem before."

That cut her little speech short.

Dumbfounded, Sakura stared at him. It had never once crossed her mind that Saku, as she had begun to call her other self thanks to Kakashi, would be accepting of this situation. Saku must not be as much like her as she originally thought. It would actually explain a lot.

"Well, I do now," Sakura said and turned to walk on. She marched on until she heard Itachi call out.

"Where are you going, Sakura?"

Sakura glanced over her shoulder to see Itachi about to walk in a completely different direction. She remembered then that she didn't know where they lived. "Just go," she said and let him lead her 'home'.

She gasped when they made it home.

They walked through the lavish gardens full of flowers. She immediately identified the Clerodendrum Trichotomum growing on a tree. She walked over to it—but suddenly, the Winter Flowering Cherry Tree caught her eye. She turned her head towards Itachi to find him leaning against a tree, staring at her. She decided to not let him distract her and turned in a circle looking at the beauty that surrounded her.

Awe filled her heart.

"It's beautiful."

"So are you."

He turned abruptly and headed towards the house. Sakura followed behind him, thinking about the night's events, refusing to let her heart warm at his words.

Mikoto Uchiha was bringing out plates of food and setting them before the men in her family. Sakura had offered to help her but she waved her off, stating that she had everything under control.

Mikoto sat a green leafy salad in front of Sakura. She immediately thought that it was the first course but she looked around the table and realized that she was the only one with the salad.

"Mrs. Uchiha?" she said questioningly.

"Fugaku said you're looking rather portly, Sakura. You should take better care of yourself."

Sakura sat momentarily stunned at the table. The delicious aroma from everyone else's food drifted to her nose and she was stuck with…a salad because she was portly?!

Sakura turned her head and looked at Itachi, expecting him to say something, anything, to protest—but the guy was obviously too busy eating his delicious dinner.

And that was just how the evening began.

Sakura entered their home now, too tired to do any looking around. It wasn't hard to find the master bedroom. It was where Itachi went first. Sakura sat down on the bed and slipped out of her boots. Wiggling her toes in relief to be free, she glanced to her right just as Itachi had slipped his shirt over his head.

Her mouth went dry.

Her pulse sped up.

And she suddenly knew why Saku was not like her.

He was an Adonis. It should've been illegal to be that beautiful, that sexy. His hair tie had slipped out of his hair as he removed his shirt. It was then that Sakura realized that she had a thing for men with long hair. It was some kind of wonderful and she found that she was slowly losing her sanity.

Inner Sakura was telling her to have her wicked way with him.

Repeatedly.

She was staring and it wasn't long before she realized he was staring back.

And there was something akin to suspicion in his obsidian eyes.

"Why are you different?" he asked.

Sakura gasped.

A/N 2: I asked someone for help in order to keep the two Sakura's separated. From now on the Sakura w/Itachi will be Sakura. The Sakura w/Kakashi will Saku. I don't remember who helped me. I think maybe it was the Goddess Psyche or Jiriya's Girl. I'm not sure. PM me so I can give you your credit. Thanks so much for helping me.