Ummm… Yeah. So Kishi's just getting worse and worse. If this keeps going like, this, I may just stop reading altogether. Don't worry, I wouldn't abandon the fandom, though. I'd just… read fanfictions all day and not worry about the actual manga storyline. Bleh.
On a side note, I'm sure you've already figured out who the mysterious escort is going to be. Yes?
- - -
Sakura discovered the reason behind Tenten's wardrobe advice the next day. When she was ushered into the parlour by a maid, only the genteel upbringing that was ingrained into her stopped her from reeling back from the green that flooded her eyes.
"This is the youthful young lady you wish me to escort tomorrow night?" he exclaimed, leaping up and bowing to her with a flourish and gleaming teeth.
Sakura tried not to think about his slight redundancy as she absorbed the sight of his bright green breeches, vest, and shirt.
"It – it is nice to meet you," she stammered, a bit overwhelmed. He gave even more attention to her hand than Kabuto had, but with none of the silver-haired marquess' slimy utterance. He seemed painfully aware of his limits and was doing his best not to overstep them.
Tenten sighed, rolling her chocolaty eyes in annoyance. "Lee, give her some breathing room, will you?" she demanded, briskly tugging him away. "Sakura, may I present Rock Lee? Lee, this is Sakura, daughter of the earl Haruno."
"It is a pleasure to make your youthful acquaintance!" Lee nearly shouted, though he seemed not much older than she. "I will do my best to make you comfortably at the party!" His strange, round eyes shone with determination.
"Lee, calm down," Neji stressed as he entered the room. "Lady Hinata does not wish to be disturbed today; she is entertaining a guest."
Sakura did not miss the significant glance he and his fiancée exchanged, though she had no idea what it meant.
She was brought back to the present when Lee shifted, having lowered his voice sufficiently. "I will come to escort you tomorrow at six of the clock," he told her, causing her to notice his strangely polite way of speaking.
"I will be waiting," she replied, hiding a smile politely behind a hand. Tenten caught her friend's expression and stifled a giggle; Neji only rolled his eyes.
"Lee, your master will be impatient if you keep him any longer," he warned, adding, for Sakura's benefit, "Lee is the apprentice of the Master of the Smiths' Guild. He and his master create metalwork that is the envy of all other metalworkers."
Lee beamed at the compliment to his master and his trade. "You are correct, Neji! I shall be off – farewell, Lady Sakura!" With a quick hug from Tenten, he scampered off.
"So?" Tenten finally broke the silence in the wake of Lee's departure. "What do you think of Lee?"
"He is… different," Sakura admitted, "but he is so polite; it will be an interesting evening tomorrow."
Neji snorted. "You will not need to move a finger; Lee is one of the most efficient people alive, and he is unusually dedicated to you."
Tenten looked anxiously at Sakura. "Just – don't lead him on too much, please? I told him he is strictly to be a distant escort tomorrow, but Lee hears only what he wants to hear sometimes."
"I will do my best," Sakura promised solemnly. "I only hope that Sasuke and Kabuto will take the hint."
"Unlikely," a deep, masculine voice interjected. Sakura, Tenten, and Neji spun as a familiar figure stepped into the room.
Jade eyes flew wide open. "Itachi!"
Hinata slipped in behind him, stormy eyes severe. "A gentleman should not eavesdrop," she admonished sternly.
Sakura sighed as Itachi gave a small smirk. "But you are no gentleman, are you?" she echoed what he had said in the past.
He inclined his head affirmatively. "That is correct. You know me well, Lady Haruno."
Neji fixed his gaze on Sakura. "I was not aware that you two were so… well acquainted."
She flushed uncomfortably under his intense scrutiny. "Erm…"
Itachi came to her rescue, smoothly cutting into the conversation. "We have spoken a few times," he acknowledged, dark eyes flickering across the room from Neji's face to Hinata's face and back, "regarding my brother."
At those words, Neji relaxed somewhat. "Damn that man," he muttered under his breath.
"Sasuke Uchiha will stay away from Sakura," Hinata said firmly. "Lord Itachi has agreed to keep his brother's attention away from our friend."
"I will try." Itachi's eyes narrowed. "However, I cannot ensure that he will stay away, what with your stunning beauty and all." He smiled wryly at Sakura.
She rolled her eyes, flushing at his careless compliment. "You flatterer," she retorted exasperatedly.
"No – " he shook his head " – it is true."
She shrugged. "Even if it was true, it wouldn't make you any less of a flatterer."
A smirk played around the corners of his lips as he observed her. "It is true indeed, and you would do well to remember it. Now, I believe that I have imposed upon the Hyuugas' welcome for too long, so I shall be making my farewells. Lady Hinata, Lady Tenten, Lord Neji, and of course Lady Sakura; we will meet again." Tipping his hat, he strode confidently out the gilded wooden doors.
Still staring after him, Sakura completely missed the cautious, warning looks that passed between all three Hyuugas.
"I shall keep an eye on him," Hinata murmured as she slid past Neji and Tenten on her way back into the rest of the Hyuuga household.
Tenten nodded imperceptibly. "We will keep her near us," she muttered in reply, Neji agreeing silently.
His quicksilver eyes narrowed. "I do not like the way Uchiha is so close to Sakura."
"Poor Lee," his fiancée added quietly. "To be caught in the middle of all this, unable to do anything to help himself or Sakura…" Then suddenly, she grinned. "But Sakura is one lucky woman – to have four bachelors unable to look away from her!"
"Even if one is not really interested in her, one is completely unsuitable for her, one is infatuated, and the last is Itachi?" Neji raised an eyebrow.
Tenten blushed. "Oh, right. Well, anybody else would be perfectly overjoyed," she defended.
"So?" he shrugged. "She is not anyone else, and all they are is a nuisance. It would be so much easier if they would go chase someone else."
"I'm sorry," a small apologetic voice spoke up from beside Neji. Sakura had snapped out of her daze and heard the last bit of their conversation.
Tenten looked down at the younger girl, her eyes softening at the utterly miserable expression on her face.
"It's all right," she hastened to assure her. "You are our friend, after all. Mind not our grumbling; 'tis merely for our own benefit."
When Sakura continued to look uncertain, Neji stepped in to help convince her and Tenten rang for tea.
Over said tea and a tray of biscuits brought by a dutiful servant, Sakura managed to accept what Tenten had said and Neji repeated. Knowing by now that profuse thanks would make the two uncomfortable, she merely sat in grateful silence until the topic was changed.
Sure enough, Tenten soon spoke up. "So how will you tell Uchiha that you're not going with him?" she wanted to know.
Neji eyed Sakura curiously as well, causing the pink-haired girl to shift uncomfortably.
"We-ell…" She shrugged uncertainly. "I'm not quite sure; I suppose I shall improvise as I go. Speak from the heart so that he knows I'm telling the truth, so to speak." She shrugged again.
Tenten chuckled as Neji's lips twitched upward. "You do that," she said cheerfully. "And then describe his expression to me afterwards."
"You are horrible," Neji sighed, but did nothing to counter his fiancée's words. She merely snickered, looking at Sakura, who nodded.
"I shall," she promised obediently.
- - -
And so, when she found herself accosted by one Sasuke Uchiha on her way back from the Hyuugas', she took care to study his pale, patrician features carefully.
Thus, she noted the slight, arrogant smirk on his face that she might have overlooked otherwise. Was he really so sure of her answer? Well, small wonder Tenten wanted to be told of his expression after she declined!
"So, Sakura," the Uchiha began smugly, "when would you like me to appear at your door?"
She widened her eyes, feigning dismay. "Oh, I do apologize, but I must inform you that I cannot accept your generous offer," she told him, flashing him a charming smile and looking demurely at the ground. "I have an escort already."
His brow furrowed. "And is my brother to be your escort, my lady?" He spat the word "brother" out like it was a curse.
"Of course not," she giggled. "Why would he? I barely know the man. No, Lady Tenten and Lord Neji introduced me to one of their friends." She kept her eyes glued to the ground.
Sasuke suppressed a snarl. "Would it not," he growled, "be more proper for a woman to be escorted by the man who is courting her?"
Here she peered up at him through her lashes. "Are you courting me, sir? You have said nothing about courtship, after all."
He paled as she – unwittingly, it seemed – echoed his words to Karin in the gardens that day but managed to counter, "Do you wish me to court you?"
She gazed levelly at him, now having raised her head to meet his eyes straight on, and shook her head. "No. I do not wish for you to court me. Please leave me alone, Lord Uchiha. Good day."
With that, she spun and strode away; the look of disbelief on his face would be etched into her mind forever. Recovering quickly, he caught her by the arm, spinning her around to face him.
"I will not leave you alone now," he told her quietly, anger evident in his voice. She involuntarily shivered, and he noticed, smirking cruelly. "I will see you around, Sakura."
Abruptly, she shook him off and whirled, not deigning to grace him with her words.
Her confrontation with Kabuto, in front of her bewildered parents, was somewhat similar.
"Your answer, my lady?" He held out a hand. "And at what time should I come with my carriage, please?"
"You presume too much," she told him coldly, pointedly ignoring his hand.
"Of course. I apologize; may I know your answer?"
"No."
"Pardon?" He looked thunderstruck; sighing, she repeated her reply.
"I am afraid that I already have an escort for tomorrow night," she said quite unapologetically.
"I see. May I ask the name of your escort?"
She shrugged fluidly. "A gentleman by the name of Rock Lee."
Kabuto cocked his head. "Rock Lee… Apprenticed to the Smiths' Guildmaster?" From behind his spectacles, his eyes met hers.
"Yes."
A smile tugged at his lips. "A metalsmith is no husband for you, Lady Sakura."
She lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"You would do well to accept me," he told her.
At this, she sniffed and whirled around. "Farewell, Lord Kabuto. I shall not pay any more heed to your offer." With her chin proudly in the air, she ascended the stairs to her room.
Behind her, she could hear her parents apologizing for her behaviour, but found that what she had told Kabuto was completely true.
"The nerve of the man!" she muttered ferociously under her breath. Snatching an unfinished piece of embroidery off of her bedside table, she sank down onto her bed to calm herself.
She continued working even after the light had faded, reaching out and absently ringing for a maid to light the lamp when she began squinting.
Without meaning to, she fell asleep with the needle halfway through the cloth.
The maid who was sent to wake her in the morning found her in a sitting position with the embroidery at her feet, having fallen from limp hands.
Quickly, she roused Sakura and hastened to redress her into a cleaner white gown; the wrinkled dress she whisked away to be cleaned and ironed.
The messenger she sent to the Hyuuga household came back reporting that everyone was busily preparing for the ball that night; instead of bothering Neji and Tenten, she opted to finish her embroidery at the window in her room.
An iris had just finished blooming on the linen cloth when a shadow fell over her. She looked up into eyes of onyx.
"Itachi!" she gasped, tying the knot on the back of her embroidery.
He inclined his head. "Good morning," he greeted her.
She cocked an eyebrow. "It is midday by now," she corrected primly, folding her embroidery and her hands in her lap. "Almost evening, in fact."
"Ah…" He nodded. "My apologies, then. Good afternoon, my lady." Unexpectedly, he swept a flourishing bow.
"Such extravagance," she remarked quite audibly, her tone gently teasing.
His eyes twinkled as he smirked. "Only for you."
"Now…" She pushed one hip out to the side saucily. "Is there a reason for your visiting me, or did you just miss me that much?"
He chuckled, drawing closer to her until he loomed over her. Taking her hands in his, he leaned down and murmured, "As a matter of fact, there is. As I will not be able to compliment you on your fashion tonight, I thought that I should come and see you beforehand. Now, get dressed for tonight."
Sighing, she grinned shyly. "Very well. Turn around and I will put the dress on. Why not just appreciate my clothing silently?"
He stroked the embroidery as he obliged with her request. "Not just the clothing, you know." Pausing in the middle of sliding the dress over her head, she shivered at his intense tone. Then he added with his usual arrogance, "But also the dress, yes. After all, you and my mother are the only ones to wear my handiwork."
"Well, don't I feel special," she said wryly. "You may turn around now." He spun and caught her in his arms, stiffening as he caught sight of her. "…Itachi?"
His fathomless eyes had widened in shock. "Sakura – you are beautiful!"
Looking up at him, she huffed in mock indignation. "Oh, I like that!" she exclaimed. "Is it really that much of a shock, that I can be pretty?"
She got a small surge of pleasure at catching him momentarily off guard. "That – I – damn it, woman, that's not what I meant!"
"Language, Lord Uchiha. Gentlemen must mind their mouths." Her eyes sparkled up at him from within his arms – strong arms, she noted absently.
He bent gently over her. "I am not a gentleman, dear. A gentleman would not dare to do this." Quietly, he looked into her eyes before capturing her mouth in a long, mind-numbing kiss.
As she spluttered, at a loss for words, he smirked at her. "I will see you tonight, then." Before she could recover fully, he took his leave.
It was only after he was long gone that she realized that he had taken her embroidery and spirited it away.
"That scoundrel!"
- - -
Sakura strained her eyes over Lee's shoulder, searching for any sign of Tenten and Neji. It was rather difficult, considering that almost all of the Hyuuga family members had the same distinct eyes as Neji, not to mention the speed at which they were dancing, and –
Well. The gaze that a certain onyx-eyed man with long, black hair was leveling upon her might be a little distracting. He kept glancing down at her dark green gown, and absently she was reminded yet again that he had been the one to sew it.
Cautiously meeting his eyes and making sure to keep an eye on her chaperoning mother, she wondered about the risk he was taking. His stare was painfully obvious.
As if sensing her worries, he smirked and beckoned to one of the servants hovering about the edges of the room. He whispered something in the servant's ear, and then the servant finished a few random tasks before he finally scurried over the Sakura, ignoring her mother's startled look and speaking softly so she might not overhear.
"Milord wishes to express his delight in your beautiful gown," he told her with a sniff that said clearly that he believed that Itachi had no business noticing the dress of a woman who already had an escort. "He realizes your concern, and would like to inform you that the foolish little lord has not yet arrived." He frowned, adding, "Milord seemed to expect you to know which lord he meant."
When he looked expectantly at her, she managed to stammer a reply in the affirmative. Satisfied, he bowed and withdrew.
"I could not help but overhear," Lee said quietly. "I do apologize, but Lord Uchiha really is someone from whom a lady like you should stay away. He is…" here he leaned in conspiratorially and lowered his voice "…a womanizer."
"Thank you for your advice," she replied, touched by his concern but completely and fully prepared to ignore it. "I – 'Tis sweet of you. I will make sure to avoid him tonight."
They danced for a few more minutes, until suddenly someone tapped Sakura's shoulder. She whirled gracefully, wondering at her mother's glare, to find herself staring into Sasuke Uchiha's eyes – she noted absently that his eyes were glassy and held less warmth than those of his brother.
His voice also lacked sincerity when he spoke. "Good evening, Lady Haruno, Sakura," he greeted them. "This would be your escort, then?" He turned to Lee, stuck out a hand. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, son of the duke of Fanshire. You must be Rock Lee."
"I am!" Lee answered, shaking Sasuke's hand politely. "Lady Sakura has graciously allowed me to accompany her tonight! And her lady mother has agreed to chaperone!"
Sasuke dropped Lee's hand and immediately turned to Sakura. "Have you seen my brother?" he inquired casually. His eyes watched her closely, gauging her reaction.
She shrugged. "I am afraid that I cannot help you. I have been searching for Tenten, myself."
"Ah." He nodded politely. "I see. Well, I was merely wondering if perhaps you had spotted him. Itachi has a cursed gift in subterfuge." Still he lingered, as if waiting for Itachi to appear.
I am not that obvious, Sakura thought irritably to herself as she forced a falsely vivacious smile onto her face. "Well, I'm sure you'll find him." Simpering emptily, she added, "You are so good at finding people!"
He smirked arrogantly, condescendingly, at her seemingly mindless behaviour and nodded. Satisfied that there was nothing but fluff in her head, he left to seek out his brother. Halfway across the room, Hinata caught his arm and said something in her soft voice.
Wrinkling her nose in his direction, Sakura was about to snap at the next person who tapped her shoulder until she noticed who it was. Her mother had disappeared sometime recently, sensing her black mood.
"Lord Uchiha has you in a rage, doesn't he?" Tenten remarked dryly. "I think we can rely on Lady Hinata to keep him busy for a while, but there are still those who act as his eyes, not to mention your mother; you will need to avoid Lord Itachi."
She nodded to the man in question, who glanced at his companion and nodded. She glided over to Tenten, placing a paper-white hand with purple-stained nails delicately on Tenten's sleeve.
Heavy-lidded eyes looked Sakura over, flickering once in what seemed to be approval, and then were back on Tenten's face before anyone else could tell that they'd moved.
"Lady Tenten, please introduce me to your friend," she requested in a placid, emotionless tone. "We have never met."
Tenten raised an eyebrow but clasped the elegantly dressed, cadaverously pale woman's hand in greeting nonetheless. "It is nice to see you again," she replied. "This is Sakura Haruno, daughter of the earl of Springfield. Sakura, this is Lady Konan, the duchess of Sixwood, wife to the duke, Pein."
Konan inclined her head in greeting. "Itachi needed a partner and my husband had business to which he needed to attend, so I came with him. Come, let me see the face of the woman who has captivated him so."
When Sakura's face jerked up in surprise, she nodded and took a hold of Sakura's chin with two slender, deceptively frail-looking fingers. "Yes," she sighed when her own flat gaze met Sakura's. "Such youth, such beauty. Chose your pieces and play your moves correctly, and our subordinate will serve you well."
"S-subordinate?"
Rearranging the flower in her hair, which seemed to be made of a very pale blue paper, she nodded once. "He works for Pein and I, Itachi does. He is a good man, but very perceptive; it would take an exceptionally clever woman to play with him."
"Manipulate him, you mean?" Sakura returned wryly, half-expecting the duchess to be angered.
Konan merely shrugged. "Call it what you like," she said bluntly. "A woman needs to be able to utilize all of the tools available to her in order to survive. There are exceptions, of course, but very rarely. Now, before the younger Uchiha returns, I would like to announce that Itachi and I quite match; I am wearing a flower and so is he."
With a silent, mysterious half-smile, she returned to Itachi's side just as Sasuke entered the room.
"Itachi!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to his brother. Stopping short, he snorted in contempt. "Is there a reason for that flower, brother?"
"There is," Itachi agreed amiably as Sakura recognized the flower on the cloth in his pocket in shock. "Lady Sixwood and I match. You see?"
Sakura worked hard to keep her expression blank as she smiled inside. Of course he would do something quite like this; boasting without alerting Sasuke. He'd taken her flower embroidery and arranged it so that all could see it.
The nerve of the man! She shook her head, returned Lady Konan's knowing gaze, and followed Tenten out of the room.
"Sakura," Tenten sighed, shaking her head but not elaborating on what it was that caused her to sigh. She shrugged and snuggled up against Neji as her fiancé wrapped his arms around her.
He looked disgruntled. "Damn Uchiha and his cursed gift in subterfuge," he growled, unknowingly echoing the very words of said Uchiha. "Lady Hinata tried to distract him by drawing him into conversation with her father, but he has a silver tongue on him and got away politely." Shaking himself out of his mutterings, he added, "I heard you met Lady Konan. What did you think of Her Grace?"
"She was very polite," Sakura allowed, thinking the pale duchess over in her mind. "But… the way she spoke…"
"Oh, yes." Tenten let out a dry laugh. "The duchess has a peculiar habit of regarding people as chess pieces and manipulating them thusly. I must say, she is rather good at it."
"It is to be expected," Neji interjected, having calmed down somewhat. "The duke of Sixwood is the master of manipulation, and she has learned from him. Luckily, we seem to be in their good graces yet. Heaven help those who are not."
Sakura turned away as Tenten reached up to caress Neji's face, reflecting on the duchess. Internally, she shuddered at the memory of the older woman's blank, calculation gaze and vowed never to become that.
Manipulation might be necessary when one was politically important – she'd heard all sorts of stories about the roiling intrigues of politics – but she was merely an earl's daughter. There would be no need for manipulation in her life.
Would there?
- - -
Yay, done! And I'm so happy because we actually saw someone other than Sasuke and Taka in the newest chapter… And I've discovered that I like listening to NEWS. Yesh. Also, paws-bells (the BEST ItaSaku writer out there!!) has written another ItaSaku. So yeah.