With Time
*
We are all strangers in this world. But most of all, we are strangers to ourselves.
*
Adjusting
Sakura dreamed that night. It was always the same dream. The same god damn dream.
Rain was beating down her back relentlessly. Her feet made heavy splashes with every pace she took and they sunk into the thickening mud. Tree branches and brushes scraped at her exposed skin as she laboriously breathed in with every pant.
She could almost see them. Feel them. Hear them. Willing her legs to run faster, she flung through the dense forest blindly in the spotted direction.
Until she really did hear them.
Screams.
Blood curling screams of the familiar voices.
"No!" Sakura shouted as she saw a small clearing about two hundred feet away.
He was trying to protect her, flinging her out of the way before two heavy slashes connected with his torso. Gasping, he tumbled and lay in a heap of seeping blood.
"Stop!" One hundred feet.
She watched the woman cry out, still trying to battle in her weakened state.
"Please", Sakura chocked out a sob, running, "hold on okaa-san! Please!" Fifty feet.
The woman stumbled and as if in slow motion, the sharp blade of a katana pierced flesh straight through the heart.
Sakura screamed, racing towards her parents.
"NO! I'll be right there! Don't leave me!" Sakura screamed.
Eyes flying open, Sakura bolted upright on the couch, disoriented and gasping for breath. Regaining her breath, Sakura calmed her continuous trembling before letting the past few hours sink in. Uchiha. Healing. Village. Mission. And with his memories flooding back, Sakura's eyes snapped towards the Uchiha.
Startled, she had found herself staring into a pair of deep crimson eyes. Itachi had woken up and was now calmly facing her, back propped up against the headboard.
They remained silent for a moment as Sakura ran her fingers self-consciously through her hair.
"…How are you feeling?" She asked in a small, hoarse voice.
"Better than you by my observations." Itachi responded in a quiet voice.
So he had been watching her during her fit of nightmarish dreams.
"It's nothing." Sakura quickly responded, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"We have to relocate." Sakura muttered detachedly while she rummaged through the room's cabinets in search of useful medicines and soldier pills.
"I was convinced with the thought that I no longer required your assistance."
Sakura continued to fill her bag absent mindedly.
Snorting, she responded.
"Even though you're healed, doesn't mean the poisonous cells are all completely eliminated. Therefore, I need to run ah-", Sakura lost her train of thought, turning to look at him, "need to run daily checkups on you so as to make sure the cells don't reappear." Strange, now that she thought about it. Even though she was facing the Uchiha Itachi, she didn't feel as terrified as she thought she would be. Just him talking made him all the more human. Yea, he was like a robot with his expressions, but even the smallest of actions made him that much more human.
"We should move now actually." Sakura peered out the window. Dawn was approaching.
Itachi just watched her with a slight frown.
Sighing, the kunoichi paused in her actions for a second, concentrating so she wouldn't constantly fidget.
"You don't have enough chakra to perform a genjutsu and conceal your chakra at the same time. So it's better to leave when nobody's awake."
Nodding, Itachi began to carefully slide out of the covers.
"Be careful with those stitches, I don't want to heal them again if they break open." Sakura mumbled.
Quickly jotting down a note for Keiko and leaving the antidote, Itachi nodded as he slipped out of the window with Sakura close behind.
The cold sting of the air bit her face as her hair slapped about her neck. Glancing at Itachi, though injured, seemed unresponsive to the weather's cold harshness.
"Ah, Uchiha-san." Sakura called out against the noisy wind.
Itachi paused on the rooftop and turned slightly to acknowledge her.
"There's a hotel on the other side of town. Do you think that'd be ok?..." Sakura trailed off, leaving it an open-ended question.
Slightly inclining his head, the Uchiha led them towards Sakura's said-destination.
____
The hotel room was small and simple. Not run down but nothing too extravagant.
Notice how it was the hotel room. One.
In all of Sakura's defense, she had tried!
Putting on a sweet smile, Sakura approached the counter
"Hello there Miss, how may I be of assistance?" The old man seemed bored.
"I was wondering if I could have two of your finest rooms?" Sakura practically purred in a soothing voice.
Immediately she saw the man's eyes light up.
Sakura suppressed the urge to shiver.
Face flushed, the man regained some composure. Some.
" Ah-I'm sorry miss, we only have one room available." He smiled apologetically.
Pouting, Sakura leaned in closer.
"Aw, really? No more available?" Sakura inwardly laughed at the man's sweat gleaming forehead.
"Sorry Miss, only one. But ah-if you want company…" He winked. Sakura mentally gagged, already planning up just how she was going to slowly torture the living daylights out of the old man.
"Oh, thank you for the offer, but I'm quite alright." Sakura pushed some coins over the gruesome counter and held out her palm for the keys.
"Really? Are you sure? Room 316…I could, you know-" The man was cut off as Sakura felt a warm presence press lightly against the left side of her back.
"I am quite sure she does not require your company." Itachi had spoken in a soft but warning tone.
Once retrieving in fright, Sakura smiled at the old man.
"Thank you." Sakura clipped before heading down the hall with the Uchiha, feeling the old man's gaze on their retrieving forms.
Now biting her lip, Sakura glanced around. One armchair, a small table beside the window. Across the room was the nicely tiled bathroom and against the side of the east wall was on big queen sized bed. For two.
Noticing her discomfort, Itachi swiftly strode around her.
"It is merely a bed Haruno-san." He rested on the foot of the right side nearest the bathroom, leaving the window side to her.
"Ah, right." Sakura murmured.
Awkwardly shuffling to the other side, she leaned against the headboard as Itachi mimicked his position of the right side.
"You can call me Sakura…if you'd like." Sakura said softly after a few moments, as if afraid to break the silence.
She didn't dare sneak a peek to see the Uchiha's reaction.
"I do not believe we are on the terms of those generalizations." He spoke quietly.
Looking at him, she traced his gaze to the wall opposite the bed.
"Ah…right. Okay then." She muttered, feeling mortally embarrassed as she turned her head to look out the window. If it had been anyone else, she probably would have told them the reason to this. But this was Uchiha Itachi. And in Sakura's mind, he did not accept weakness.
Containing her expressions, Sakura nodded and coughed to fill the stretching silence in.
"I need to ah, check up on you again."
The day seemed to rise slowly, as if not wanting to approach. As Sakura's hands glowed green, she began to trail off in thought. Truthfully, she hated Sasuke. If given the chance, she would fight against him until one of them died. He was the reason for all of her pain and misery. Not directly, but through Naruto. The constant pain established in his deep blue eyes were a reminder of their genin days. Of the days where she was just a naïve fan girl who knew nothing about him or the real world.
He was the cause of everything. She had lied to Itachi. It wasn't for Sasuke that she had healed him. But she doesn't know why else she had done it. Maybe it was because of the small expressions of his face. Or the slight furrow of his eyebrows. Or the consistent breathing motions of his chest. All signals of a human somewhere there inside. And Sakura, without knowing, intended to find him.
____
It had been a few days since the two had moved into the hotel room as their permanent location. It was a raining evening with an empty village. Sakura had ordered Itachi to stay in bed due to his injuries and recovering body, threatening to give him hell if he tore his stitches open. She had only intended to run out to grab some food and necessary supplies but while in the forest gathering herbs for Itachi's wounds, rogue ninjas had appeared. And by the smell of their repulsive breath, they were drunk.
They hadn't been too much of a hassle, really only a few minutes to take them out. But one of the rogue's had managed to clip her across the upper back to her hipbone.
Stomping into the hotel room, she glared at Itachi on the bed with a book in hand. He merely raised an eyebrow at her.
Tossing the bags onto the table, she twisted the excess water out of her pink tresses.
"Drunk idiotic rogues." Sakura seethed. Wincing as her injury stretched. She pulled out a set of new lounge clothes from among the supplies she had bought. The blood was starting to stick to her clothing and Sakura was in dire need for a shower.
"I bought some clothes for you also, sorry if the sizes are a little off though….but you're about the same size as Naruto…just a bit wider in the shoulder blades…" Sakura trailed off as she entered the bathroom, closing it softly with her foot. She had been like this ever since arriving to their current location, detached and absent-minded.
Itachi merely just followed with his eyes as the medic made her way to the bathroom, in a state of oblivion. Slightly amused, Itachi returned to his novel. He had deliberately bought a book with no front cover so as not to spark the young kunoichi's eye towards the object. But even if she managed to catch a glimpse of it, there was probably nothing interesting about it. The novel was mainly of battle scenes and intense terror rather than the more feminine plots that his companion probably preferred. Maybe the medic preferred romance…
And if so, what maturity level of romance?
Realizing his own wandering thoughts, Itachi glared at himself for even having the remotest thoughts concerning that subject. Glaring at the bathroom door, he quickly washed his face of all expressions as the bathroom door opened hesitantly and Sakura's flushed face peeped out.
"I uh…I'm sorry, but could you help me?" Sakura spoke timidly, a complete 180 degree turn from her previous mood.
Itachi raised a slender eyebrow.
Really, she had tried to separate the clothing, but it was just so damn hard. She had really contemplated the pro's and con's in asking for the S-class missing nin's help. But sucking down her fear and banging her head on the wall several times, she sucked in a breath of air, pushed away her thoughts and asked.
"The-the blood kinda got stuck to my shirt and it won't come off…"
Itachi merely observed her for a few quiet seconds.
"I thought they were drunk rogue ninja's."
Sakura felt like glaring. He made it sound as if she was weak. Like she couldn't even handle a few drunks. And to think she had been picking herb medicinal leaves for him!
Sighing softly, Itachi moved off the bed and approached the door as Sakura's head disappeared back in. Pushing open the door, he found her facing the mirror. Noticing her back, he took in the soaked shirt with dark crimson material dripping off liquid.
"Was the injury that unsustainable?" Itachi murmured at the wonder of the continuous blood flow.
"I'm a bit short on blood platelets." Sakura softly said.
Taking a cloth and soaking it in warm water, Itachi slowly began peeling away the clumped up fabric starting at his hip.
"It is dangerous to pursue this occupation then." Itachi was mildly surprised with her condition. Every mission for her was like a life or death situation then. He remembered a cousin of his having a similar condition to Sakura's. He had been disposed of because he was deemed unfit for shinobi life.
Returning to the present when he heard Sakura whimper in pain, he realized he had given a slightly rougher pull of the fabric. Her back had arched away from his hand in the process.
"I apologize." Itachi murmured. Without though, he gently took her waist and pulled her back into her previous standing position, feeling the surprisingly soft skin unmarred by scars.
The skin that Itachi had just touched left tingling sensations.
"No, no, it's fine." Sakura replied softly.
If anyone stranger to the two had somehow seen a window to this scene, they would have thought the two were very close companions, if not, lovers. The way he was gently helping her with an injury and the slight blush on her face said anything but the truth of their relationship. In, upon standing in the room, they would have been able to feel the intense awkwardness that laid thick between them and the faintly tensed muscles of both their shoulders.
Itachi had worked his way up towards her upper back and it wasn't until two more inches that he realized how much skin was exposed on Sakura's back.
Soft. That was the first thing that came to mind as his hand accidentally brushed against her smooth skin. He noticed how Sakura had clasped her hands to her chest loosely so as to not let her shirt ride up and reveal anything more than necessary. In one accidental glance in the mirror, Itachi had caught a glimpse of the medic's smooth and toned stomach with a small 'x' shaped scar on the right side of her waist.
With the last peel of the shirt, Itachi pressed the cloth over her upper back to stop the blood flow temporarily and healed the places she wouldn't be able to reach. Sakura was extremely surprised when she felt Itachi's warm chakra healing her.
"How did you receive that scar?" Sakura's temporary doze was snapped when his quiet question rang throughout the bathroom, breaking the silence. It took Sakura a few seconds to realize what he was talking about.
"Huh? …Oh, this", Sakura's thumb automatically began to trace the bumped skin, "nothing big actually. When I was smaller, a friend of mine didn't know I was behind him during a mission. Thought I was the enemy. Two shuriken. At least he didn't manage to get my heart." Sakura stated lightly, though Itachi knew better by the way she played with the indents of her collarbone. He had realized over the past several days of her habits. And this one showed signs of unwanted memories.
There were many other scars on Sakura's back that she had been self conscious to show Itachi, knowing that he would take notice of them. But she had been slightly taken back when he had asked a question about herself for the first time.
"It was lucky." Sakura laughed softly.
"It was skill." Itachi stated as he glanced at her through the mirror, locking eyes with her. Her mouth opened slightly before she gave a small smile.
"Thanks…maybe it was a bit of both."
"My otouto believed it was skill." Itachi stated, much to Sakura's shock, in a barely audible voice.
Attempting to twist around to face the Uchiha, she was stopped by firm hands on her shoulders to restrict movement to further injure her back.
Sakura settled for looking into Itachi's reflection.
"How did you…" She whispered. Sakura was positive Sasuke wouldn't have told anyone of that incident because he thought it showed his incapability to detect familiar chakra.
"That day, my otouto had come running to me in a fit of tears. He had thought he had permanently injured you." Itachi's eyes turned to a small glint of amusement as he seemed to be recalling the incident.
Sakura just stared at him in wonder.
"Really?...The next day, he had come back to the Academy with no remorse at all…didn't even say sorry." Sakura chuckled at the thought, eyes drifted to stare at the faint silver shape forever etched into her skin.
"Well then", Itachi finished up healing the last of her wound, "I apologize on my otouto's behalf."
Sakura was petrified stiff was a glimpsing moment before recovering from the shock of having the great ex-heir to the Uchiha clan apologize to her.
"…Thank you Uchiha-san…" Sakura mumbled, quite flustered already.
'And not just for apologizing for Sasuke' Sakura thought.
Nodding to her, he stepped back outside to allow her privacy, shutting the door softly behind him. Standing by the bedside, he waited until he could hear the kunoichi recovering from the shock and shuffling to turn on the shower. Smirking slightly in pleasure, he settled back onto the bed, hand clenching and unclenching with the sensation of her skin still lingering on his fingertips.
____
Once Itachi emerged from the bathroom, Sakura was already under the bed covers, shivering to gain warmth. She had never been that tolerant of temperature changes, especially colder changes.
Sliding under the covers next to her, he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling; waiting for Sakura's trembling to yield. But when they didn't, he glanced over to her huddled form. She had edged herself all the way to the farthest corner of the queen size bed, creating at least a three foot gap between the two of them.
"…Haruno-san, there is no reason to remain on such an exaggerated position. I will not bite." Itachi's voice broke into the darkness. Sakura's teeth chattering ceased temporarily. Then, without responding, she nudged herself away from the edge and more fully onto the mattress before her chattering continued.
"Do you require an extra covering?" The Uchiha asked, unable to rest with the vibrations of the bed.
It was a few minutes before she answered, making Itachi believe she had fallen asleep in those few minutes.
"No…I'm fine. You should get some rest; your injuries will heal faster." Sakura's voice wavered.
"We both cannot acquire rest with your shivering." Itachi murmured, seemingly drowsy, but actually fully alert. Even while resting, he was always still slightly conscious. This is what living after the massacre had done to him.
"Oh…sorry. I'll try to keep my shivering to a minimum." Itachi could hear the slight sarcasm in her voice.
"That would be appreciated." Itachi, with a rare occasion, played along.
"Goodnight Uchiha-san." Sakura stressed, rolling her eyes.
Itachi made a slight sound at the back of his throat in acknowledgment before the two of them fell asleep, all silent except the slight rushes of wind shaking the windows.