Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, now, on to the second! This is so much fun!
Chapter Two; Elevator Irony
Sakura continued to lead the way to her home, repetitively she had to stop and pry Itachi's form off of a tree, him exclaiming to the world that he was born to be a tree hugger. After that she had thought, more like to be born a killer, and had snickered at the comparison. He would bend over, pick a flower, and compare it to her unnatural hair, shouting at the top of his lungs; " Your hair is pinker than this flower!!" and she would be forced to remove him from the flower bed.
He had also stopped to observe the neighborhood deer and point wildly at that. He stopped to look at a bird's nest and try and catch the little chicks that resided within it, but Sakura had to haul him away from that as well. Itachi even went as far as to follow a woodpecker into its little hole within the tree and watch it go by its ecological niche.
This little stunt had been going on since she began tugging him toward Konoha, and she was growing a bit irritated with his abnormal attitude. She'd prefer it now if he would snap back to reality and end her suffering, but he only managed to grow it ten-fold. She almost got down on her knees and kissed the ground eagerly when she saw the gates of Konoha emerge from the depths of the forest, but it probably wouldn't have mattered, he was more likely to bow down and join her than slaughter her right then and there.
Now, getting past the guards would be tricky, especially when she's bringing home an S-class criminal to come join her for dinner. How would she cover him up when that was the only way to get into the village without being noticed publicly? A jutsu? No, the guards would see through that in a heartbeat. Maybe taking off his cloak and pinning his hair into another style may help. Though the first option was more plausible, the hair was not going to go over quite well.
Turning to face Itachi who was chasing a monarch butterfly, she reached for his hand and dragged him over, telling him to remove his cloak. He gave her a puzzled look but complied nonetheless, grabbing the bottom of the cloak and throwing it over his head. Now for the rest of his appearance, but, not all shinobi saw what exactly was under the cloak unless they were about to become sushi. So, taking her kunai, she started ripping and tearing through his mesh shirt, making it seem less noticeable and make him look like a peasant or something. Had he the brains of his former self he would have torn her head off for that little stunt.
Sighing, she decided to drop the attempt at making him look like someone else and come forth with an important message for the Hokage. They knew her well enough not to stop her from advancing and to not get involved with issues that does not include themselves personally. So, with that comforting thought in mind, she began tugging him along to the gates, awaiting her personal entourage that would most likely be Naruto wondering where she had been and why hadn't she come for training.
Same old same old.
Her lips defied her and turned into a half smile at the thought. The guards turned wary when they approached the door, and their mouths were open for the usual greeting/interrogation. But all she heard was silence as they're eyes bulged from their sockets and landed upon the oblivious Uchiha, who was waving at them enthusiastically.
In the best authoritative voice Sakura could manage despite the rising laughter at their expressions, Sakura addressed them." Allow us to enter, I have urgent news for the Hokage personally that involves Uchiha Itachi," she demanded sternly, fighting back the urge to giggle. Man, she did not sound like herself at all right then.
The guards eyed her suspiciously, but no doubt about it that it was in fact Sakura, but their eyes traveled toward her unusual and highly energetic traveling companion, and they began contemplating their decision.
" I need to see the Hokage at once," she hollered angrily, fists raising." It concerns this man right here," she repeated, gesturing toward Itachi, who, at the sound of his name, began waving again. The guards remained still, conversing amongst each other whether or not to let them in. So, Sakura tried a different approach." Let us enter or I'll break down the gates myself,"
At that, they began turning the wheels and letting inside, and a vinidictive smile spread over her lips.
Itachi, fondling a piece of string that hung from the cloak, was about to speak his mind when again he was being tugged along by the girl with strange pink hair. It seemed natural enough, but he wondered maybe she'd gotten into a dying accident at the beauty parlor, and the term strawberry blond had taken a on a whole new meaning. At this he had to start laughing.
Startled, she turned around and gave him a curious but slightly cautious eyebrow raise, and in fact she did just hear Uchiha Itachi laughing at nothing in particular. Slightly turning to face him but not letting go of his wrist, she gave him a look that told him to explain his random outburst, but he merely tilted his head to the side, studying her hair, and then laughed again.
The laugh was natural, as every laugh should be, but somehow, she had a hard time piecing together how it sounded and what he sounded like when he was an emotionless killing machine. She thought he'd lost all sense of humor, and losing his memory would not change that in the slightest. Guess you learn something every day, Sakura thought mildly.
" What are you laughing at?" she asked, hopeful that her voice didn't portray her agitation, for it was clear that the source of the laughter had been centered around her.
Itachi muffled his laughter by covering his hand over his lips and turned away from her, shaking his head vigorously. Had he been his normal, slaughtering self, Sakura would've never done what she did than. Her hand found its way to his shoulder and the other, spinning him around while she pinned him with a stern look, deadly close to his handsome face, and he remained unperturbed by the contact and the proximity of their bodies, even more amused now that he'd gotten her riled up.
" I said," she gritted through her clenched teeth." What are you laughing at?"
" You," was his plain and simple answer behind his hand, and his eyes squinted as he chuckled more.
Masking some of her annoyance, she asked more levelly." What about me?"
Twitching from trying to contain his laughter toward her, he let the rest of it calm itself in the middle of his stomach as he tried to remain impassive to her bright pink hair. But, alas, he failed to do so." Your hair," he squeaked out, something that made her stomach churn. Had the mighty Uchiha Itachi just squeaked!?
Eyes ablaze, she asked him again." What about my hair?"
He snorted and snickered until he could take it no more. His hand formed one finger and it pointed directly at her head." Its pink."
Her angry expression faded with one of confusion. Surely she'd been thinking that he would saw how unruly or how poorly looked after it appeared compared to his outrageously gorgeous and flowing hair, but instead he decided to mock the color of it. Well, it was not like she hadn't heard it before, but it was surely a turn of events to have an S-class criminal making fun of it. No doubt about it that by the end of the day she'd go to the drugstore and pick up some natural hair dye.
It hadn't occurred to her that the guards had been standing there watching what they were doing, and were on the verge of passing out when they heard the infamous Uchiha Itachi laughing at her. Growling, she ignored any further snorts and snickers and chuckles while she dragged him along conspicuously toward the Hokage Tower, planning on getting Tsunade to give him a nice little tap on the head.
As she plowed through the crowd with Itachi behind her, the villager's all gasped and screamed like they had been coregraphing it from the start, hiding their children behind themselves or throwing them inside the nearest house/cafe. And, to her amazement, instead of pondering why they exactly were running away and hiding from his site, he decided to wave and give them a friendly smile, which, the results were quite disasterous.
Before he could draw any more attention to himself, she gripped his wrist tighter and began speed walking to the Tower, repeatedly thinking in her mind that as soon as she walked through those doors it was home base from there on. They reached it in no time at all, but that didn't stop the villager's from gossiping and screaming and running around in circles out of fear.
Scowling when he continued to smile and wave, she pulled him through the doors and turned to the receptionist, who was all smiles and what-not until her eyes came upon Itachi's face. Her tanned skin turned pale white and Sakura had to make it out there quickly before she started screaming for help.
" I'm going to see Tsunade, don't worry, you have nothing to panic over," Sakura assured hastily, dragging Itachi along without her further permission and up the small stairs to the elevator.
Once inside, she shoved him inside and pressed the last botton on the dial, and Itachi's face lit up in excitement." What is this?" He asked, awestruck when it began blinking.
" Its called a button, and this is the elevator; you press the buttons to get to the floor you want," Sakura explained rigidly, running a hand through her pink hair.
He began examining it, like it was a complicated set of text, and than asked equally astounded." Why did they skip the number thirteen?"
" Because, for superstitious reasons, thirteen is an unlucky number, so they don't have a thirteenth floor or a thirteenth room,"
" But that's highly unfair to the number, don't you think?" the way he asked it made it sound like it was a serious question, and it made her role her eyes to avoid smiling.
She didn't answer his question, and he soon forgot about it. Instead, when the floor flashed to twelve, he began chanting the word thirteen repeatedly, in hopes that the floor number would appear magically from thin air and imagination alone and there would be a thirteenth floor. But when his hopes were numbered, he sighed in defeat.
Then, his attention shifted elsewhere when the numbers began to stop blinking." Why has it stopped blinking?"
" It means there's someone else coming on with us," she replied, trying to contain her laughter. Boy was he ever amusing whenever he was curious and unsure.
" Oh,"
The elevator came to a slow halt, and the doors began to open. He stood there, astonished, and watched as the lone female passenger boarded the elevator and hit the number beside him. Obviously she hadn't taken a good look at Itachi, for she had yet to scream and shout and demand that the doors open for her to make a quick escape. Itachi moved to the side of the elevator to where the dial was stationed, and nonchalantly pressed a button on the dial.
Sakura leaned over slightly to see what he was doing exactly, for she kept hearing little beeps coming from the dial. Her mouth was agape when she saw him press yet another button, and another, and then drag his hands over the dials to make a pizza shaped white triangle. He smiled in satisfaction, and turned toward Sakura to display his art work.
" Look! I made a Christmas tree!" he squealed, and the lady next to him shot a wary glance his way.
" Itachi!" Sakura groaned, than her hands clapped over her mouth. The lady next to Itachi gave him a double-take, than opened her mouth to scream. Quickly, Sakura covered her mouth and drew her away from the laughing S-class criminal, and whispered in her ear." He is absolutely harmless, please do not scream and call the operator on the dial, everything will be fine," Sakura assured calmly, effectively quieting the lady.
" B-but! He's Akatsuki! Why is he on this elevator and why haven't you called for help from the Hokage!" The lady let out a shrill scream from behind Sakura's hand, panicking and swinging her purse about.
Sakura settled her down and held the purse at her side, afraid that she'd try and hit Itachi on the head and he'd somehow regain his memories." Believe it or not, he's lost his memory. But its me, Haruno Sakura, its all going to be fine ma'am."
At the sound of the Hokage's apprentices name, the lady relaxed and put most of her trust into her hands, and grew quiet and still.
Hesitantly, Sakura removed her hand away from the lady's mouth and waited for the scream to come, but thankfully it didn't. She seemed to have calmed down enough and moved over to the far corner, taking deep even breaths and not glancing in the well known enemies direction. The elevator rocked loudly, and it soon came to a halt. Sighing in content, Sakura glanced up at the meter above the dial, but it hadn't come close to the floor she was aiming too.
So, with the thought that someone else was boarding upon the elevator, she reached for Itachi and pulled him to the side to make way for the upcoming visitors. But the doors never opened, nor did the elevator continued to descend. She checked the dial, and the pizza formation was still in effect, but they were not blinking either. Brows furrowing, she moved over and checked the system, and found that one particular button was fading in and out. She checked the meter, and noted that it was the same as the button. Putting two and two together, she groaned in frustration as she came to a conclusion.
They had gotten stuck.
Itachi clapped his hands together and turned to Sakura, hopping up and down in one spot and almost putting the lady in the corner into cardiac arrest. Furious, Sakura moved Itachi away from the elevator dials." Look what you did!" she silently yelled at him, and she couldn't believe she was scolding a shinobi leagues away from herself." You've stopped the elevator!"
" Yay!" He exclaimed victoriously.
" No, not yay! This is bad! Now we're stuck!" Sakura chided, smacking her hand to her forehead loudly. Taking matters into her hands and ignoring the way Itachi seemed to pout about being the one to blame, she reached for the emergency phone and dialed nine-one-one, hearing the phone starting to ring. After the first half ring the phone picked up, and she almost thanked the inventors of the elevator for installing a phone.
" Hi, um, yeah, we're kind of stuck, can you give us some help buddy?"
" Sure, no problem, we'll be there in a jiffy, just sit back and try not to move about too much,"
" Certainly,"
Hanging up the phone, Sakura awaited for the mechanics to come and get her out of this hellish nightmare.
- - - - - - -
After they had escaped the elevator and Sakura pried Itachi away from the woman whom he was giving a new hairdo, she made her way to the Hokage's office tiredly. Not only was Itachi insisting upon finishing his job, but he was having a hard time taking his eyes off of the vending machine located behind the receptionist's desk. Sakura approached the door, and knocked three times, loudly. A grunt for an answer allowed her entrance and Sakura pulled Itachi inside, seeing no one but a desk and a stack of paper on top.
With a screech, the chair Tsunade was sitting in slid out from the desk. Tiredly, Tsunade bundled up the messily signed documents and held them within her hands, not looking at Sakura as she spoke." Ah, I've been meaning to talk to you today," Tsunade started morbidly agitated. She moved to the table and dropped the documents carelessly on top." Theres been a disturbance in the streets and I wanted to know if—"
Her words were cut short when she looked up at Sakura and than looked at Itachi, her face paling and adrenaline rushing through her system. But when she noticed that Itachi was standing behind Sakura with his two fingers behind her head, she had to blink three times before she could begin to comprehend that he was not in any way shape or form trying to slit her throat.
" S-S-Saku-ura...?" Tsunade stuttered, tilting her head to the side and angling her body for defense." W-what is Uchiha Itachi d-doing in m-m-my o-office...?" she questioned cautiously, stuttering and stammering more than Hinata on a regular basis. She grunted when her hip came in contact with the sharp end of the table as she maneuvered herself for battle.
" Uh..." Sakura started out lamely, adding a cheesy grin to try and lighten the tension." Well...to put it plainly, Itachi lost his memory somehow, and I needed to see if you can figure out whether or not it was a head injury or if he's just finally gone crazy,"
Tsunade digested her words and gulped audibly, hating the fact that she wasn't taking the any action toward an enemy who was standing there playing with her apprentices hair with an interested look upon his face. But, the way Sakura was acting toward their number one enemy, she believed her words, and noticed that he must have hit his head pretty hard to be fascinated by her hair and not be impassive.
Swallowing a lump that formed within her throat, Tsunade replied tentatively," W-well I'll have to check."
" Thank you shishou," Sakura said," I'm not so sure as of what to do with him. You see, I found him in the forest, and back than he had already lost his memory. I had to remind him what his name was and what mine was as well. But it does not surprise me that he wasn't able to recall mine either. He had no further memory of the past, but can remember what exactly happened on the elevator ride up here pretty well."
She shot an accusing look his way, and his hands raised in surrender." I said I wouldn't make any more Christmas trees!" Itachi assured, his voice cracking a bit with the way she scolded him like a mother. He crossed his well toned arms and pouted, turning away from the two women childishly.
Tsunade was at a loss of words." Um...Sakura..." she started unsurely," I'll check and see now,"
" Thank you, shishou,"
With that, Sakura encouraged Itachi to come and sit in the comfy green chair, and he obliged enthusiastically. Cracking her fingers, Tsunade positioned herself behind the Uchiha and placed her fingers tentatively to his temple, surging her chakra into his skull and probing for any injuries. Her brow creased as she searched and searched fruitlessly, and after a few moments she gave up and removed her fingers.
" Wow, that felt cool," Itachi remarked.
Tsunade responded with a monotonous." Hn,"
She turned to Sakura and shrugged." I can't find anything wrong, it all seems a-okay. As a-okay as any criminal's mind is,"
Sakura hummed her acknowlegement and turned to see that Itachi was demanding that she'd do it again. Sighing, she regarded her shishou pleadingly." What are we going to do with him?"
" I think it would be best to keep him with you," Tsunade started uncertainly, but when Sakura started to glower she quickly explained herself." I mean, we obviously can't keep him with Sasuke, or he'd claw his eyes out within a moments notice. And we cannot under any circumstances keep him with Naruto, for he may have a mental lapse and remember his duty and try to claim the kyuubi once again. And we can't keep him with Kakashi, either, for he still is holding a grudge against that tsukiyomi deal. You're the best solution, Sakura."
Sakura's breath hitched, and she turned toward Itachi, who was paying no attention to them what-so-ever. He was staring at the large grandfather clock, watching as the second hand continued to circle the larger hand on the roman numeral tablet. It was the look of pure interest and concentration. It was hard not to laugh at a sight so rare and phenomenal.
" Alright," Sakura sighed in assent." I'll take him."
" I knew you would," Tsunade said.
Sakura gave her a reproving look to her shishou, one that read in plain black," You didnt know what I was going to say either," against white papering. In turn, Tsunade gave a little impish and guilty smile before shooing Itachi away from the clock, who'd attempted at opening the glass casing and snaring the golden symbol that repeatedly swung back and forth.
" Now, I want you to make sure neither Sasuke nor Naruto find out about him being here. There's already been a big commotion around the city when you dragged him in here, and I've already settled and taken care of that predicimant. However, I want you to keep an eye on him 24/7 and make sure he doesn't do anything to disturb or harm the villagers and buildings. I want him to stay inconspicuous throughout the entire village, including keeping him from Jounin like Hatake Kakashi and Gai, got it?"
" Hai, shishou,"
" Good. And another thing. I do not want you telling him what he really is, that may trigger something in his memory long enough to have the entire village slaughtered and put you in danger as well. So, from now on, keep his identity a secret from him and do not let anyone, I repeat, anyone ruin this. Is that clear?"
" Hai, shishou,"
Sakura looked over to Itachi and watched as he stood and went to Tsunade's side, making a face behind her head and bringing up bunny ears. It was hard to keep a straight and composed face when he was mocking the Hokage without any concern or any respect. Confused by her apprentice's obvious lack of control, she knew Itachi was standing behind her, felt it her obligation never to let her guard slip, especially when there was an enemy in the room.
But what could he be doing that was causing Sakura to act so out of character? Testing the theory, she turned around to see that Itachi stood impassive behind her, his eyes looking at Sakura, and it was than that Tsunade noticed that the elder Uchiha had deactivated his kekki genkai in their presence, and his onyx eyes portrayed amusement.
Confused, Tsunade turned to look at Sakura, who was again fighting back laughter toward her shishou's person. Agitated, Tsunade turned back to Itachi, who again was standing the same way as he had been those couple of seconds ago. Shaking her head, she dismissed herself to her paperwork and shooed them from the room, her mind running a mile a minute with the reports that needed to be completed and sent and the missions that needed to be carried out.
" Come on, lets go before we give her a migraine," Sakura said, and her voice cracked and gave away her hidden laughter.
Itachi agreed and walked outside with Sakura and down the steps. Her mind started to think as to when she started being so comfortable around Itachi, her enemy, who currently was suffering from amnesia. Maybe it was because he was a lot more open and more entertaining and less threatening? Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn't sensed any chakra immerse from his body? She didn't know, but what she did know was when Itachi started making a beeline to the elevator, she tugged him along toward the safe and none breakable stairs.
" Why did that old lady look like I was about to murder her?"
The question caught Sakura off guard, and especially the fact that he addressed her as 'old lady', something only Naruto ever dared to do. She caught her footing and faced him exasperatingly, wondering if she, for a moment, had heard wrong. But there was obvious confusion upon his features and to her dismay she had heard correct. Hanging on to the red railing, she sucked in a breath of air.
" Well, you see, its because of who you are," Sakura explained tentatively. She sighed when he gave her an expression that would only resemble a child's as he's first learning of the bird's and the bee's.
" Well, who am I? Uchiha Itachi, correct?" he asked, thinking nothing of it other than the fact that he was by what his name stands for. Sakura tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and laughed nervously.
" Yes, you are Uchiha Itachi, no mistake in that,"
" Than what seems to be the problem with who I am? She looked as though she knew who I was."
" Y-yes, Itachi, that's the problem,"
" A problem with who I am?"
Sakura was at a loss as of what to do, and she settled for biting her lip nervously and trying to contain the pent up emotions that wanted to flood her system and tell him who he really was exactly. She couldn't tell him, her shishou had already dictacted what that may lead too, but she didn't want him to be confused and go on a rampage.
" Sakura? Is something the matter?" Itachi asked warily, and she felt a flutter of some kind of emotion race through her veins when his hand lightly touched her forearm." Is it because I was asking too much?"
A light hue of pink spread across her cheeks and she fought back the laughter that was bubbling inside her. Sakura was always known to laugh hysterically whenever she was emotionally nervous. She coughed a bit into her fist and gave him the best composed look she could temporarily muster.
" Some of it, but I'm not feeling to well anyway," she lied. He seemed to believe her, dropped his arm by his side." Come on, we're taking you to. . .my house," Sakura said reluctantly, and she could only imagine the look upon Naruto's face when he would come barging into her house early the next morning and see the almighty and dangerous Uchiha Itachi sleeping on her black couch. Oh, the irony.
" Good, because I am hungry," Itachi informed, patting his well muscled chest. But Sakura tried to avoid steering her gaze in that general direction, or in any direction other than his perfectly defined and handsome face.
Already she could hear her brain sizzling as she worked wonders with her betraying imagination. Taking a hold of his wrist, and careful to avoid taking his hand, she began guiding him down the stairs and out of the main lobby, casting a henge jutsu to transform him into a suitably looking villager.
" Um, Sakura. . ." Itachi asked, looking himself over and the new appearance." Two questions. One; how did I get looking like this. And two; how did you do that?"
Those were the questions she'd hoped for him to ignore. But, sadly, he had to go and ask anyway." I'll. . .explain when we get to my apartment," she assured hastily, jogging through the crowd with a disguised S-class criminal walking beside her. She could only pray to whatever lord there was that she would not run into any of her friends and or former sensei's. But, of course, she wasn't about to be let off the hook so easily.
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