.

Nine|Neuf

There was a hustle of life in the street; vendors, shoppers, children, shinobi going and coming. It was a clear day, as it had been for days on end before. Although, there was a slight nipping chill in the air; it was in the breeze now and then, indicating fall was slowly approaching.

It swept by then, upsetting the paper sign flaps hanging from Ichiraku Ramen and ruffling the sole two occupants' hair and clothes.

Chopsticks twirled betwixt Sasuke's fingers as he gathered some noodles onto them; he stuffed the bundle into his mouth, biting off the excess and then chewing. Next to him, he could hear Naruto slurping; he was already on his second bowl.

There were just some things that never really changed.

He glanced at his noisy friend before going back to his meal, staring at its contents.

"Man, what's up with you today? You're more quiet than usual," Naruto garbled between bites.

"Nothing," he muttered, forcing himself to stir. His chopstick scrapped the bottom.

"You know there's no point in lying to me, bastard. I can sense it."

He had a point; one he'd conveniently forgotten about. Since obtaining sage mode and perfecting it over the years Naruto had reached a point where—if he were actually paying attention—he could naturally tell certain truths from people. He wasn't much different from Kakashi or Kiba and their nose; but, that didn't make it any less annoying.

"And if I am? Take it as my way of saying I don't want to talk about it."

Naruto made a noise he couldn't really figure out. "You'd feel better if you talked about it."

"What would make me feel better is for you to shut up, dead last." He took another bite of his noodles finally, if for nothing else than to occupy his mouth so he wouldn't have to speak. He wasn't even really sure he was hungry anymore.

"Is this about Sakura coming over to your place late last night?"

"Naruto…" his voice came out low and warningly. How had he found out anyway?

"What?" he replied, looking at him with a blank expression. "I was on my way home around eleven when I saw her go up to your door and go in." He blinked. "Did something happen? You guys aren't fighting again are you…?"

Sasuke's only response was a narrowed look before going back to his meal.

"Wait…" he trailed off as he frowned. "…Are you guys back together or something?"

This time Sasuke slammed his fists on the counter, in the process the counter shook and bowls bounced just barely. "Naruto," he snapped, "leave it alone."

His blonde friend was still blinking at him owlishly. "You're not one of those guys who get's bitchy after sex, are you?"

And…. that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sasuke placed several ryo on the counter and slid out of his stool. He slipped out of the shop as Naruto cried out for him to wait up. He ignored the loud mouth and stuffed his hands in his pockets; at the same time, he did his best to find a route that would get him off his trail—at the very least—for five minutes.

This wasn't the kind of thing you talked to Naruto about. And quite frankly, he didn't want to talk to anyone about it. The one person he could have was the person he couldn't talk to.

She'd been the one good thing when he came back; something unexpected and good that he could hold on to. Things had been good for a long while between them; however, the closer Sasuke tried to get to her the father she felt from him. Some part of him realized maybe there were just things she'd seen or experienced he had, or maybe didn't see with the same eyes. It was disconcerting and he'd found himself walking away from her.

But then time went by; in the end it just seemed more painful without her than with her, emotional distance or not. It was something he could overcome—they both could. And that's what he'd been hoping last night… they could start fresh.

There was… this part of him that wondered if something more was going on between his brother and her; he'd been suspicious the day he'd seen her with him on the street. Then there were numerous other days as well when he caught sight of them and neither had any idea he was watching.

Still, he'd told himself, Sakura was just kind. He couldn't speak for Itachi, not when there were so many years between them. He didn't have the faintest what type of woman would interest his brother.

Sasuke stopped and let his back fall against a brick alleyway wall. Shadows descended around him and he closed his eyes, exhaling.

"You know, you're making it hard to focus with all that sighing."

Sasuke looked up, narrowing his eyes slightly as the figure perched on a stack of old crates; it was elevated just high enough that he wouldn't have seen him coming in.

"Kakashi…" he murmured mutely.

The silver-haired Jounin raised a brow as he glanced up from his book.

Sasuke hesitated a moment—smiled—and then said, "Can I talk to you?"

…

It was a bright day; warm. He could tell because of heat brushing over where is his skin was bare. What breeze was present cooled him at the same time; thus, the combination left him feeling relaxed. Not too hot and not too cool.

Hair fell in his eyes, brushing his cheeks and nose ever so slightly; he didn't really mind however. It's not like the dark strands would block his vision. Although, when he did choose to use the technique to measure his location… well, it did become a little obstructive image-wise.

"It's nice out today."

"It is," he agreed with Noin.

"Were we going any place particular?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, honestly." He was kind of wandering. The walking was good for him though; sitting around all day in a semi-lit house wasn't beneficial for building muscle. It was also good after his morning workout as a way of warming down his body.

"You know, it's nearly lunch. Maybe we should stop somewhere and eat."

He was a little inclined to agree. But the weather was too nice to sit inside anywhere.

He dug his hands into his pant pockets and quietly activated the ability again, reaching much farther than he generally tested. His range was getting wider now, he noted with some satisfaction. Coupled with the way he was gradually building up his chakra pool again, he could use it a lot more often.

"How does ramen sound to you?" he offered.

He could imagine her nose wrinkling up as she looked up at him. "I guess. What am I supposed to eat, mutt?"

"I'm sure they've got some meat on hand; it's a ramen shop."

"We'll see. If not, you can take me somewhere after."

He wouldn't complain about her being hospitable today; especially when Noin had a tendency to be bitchy most mornings and early afternoons. He could only surmise her former partner worked a lot of night missions.

"You'd feel better if you talked about it," he heard a voice say; one that distinctly sounded like… Naruto. Yes.

"What would make me feel better is for you to shut up, dead last."

Ah… Sasuke. Maybe going to the ramen shop wasn't such a good idea. He forgot that Naruto tended to eat there all the time; with him usually came Sasuke.

He opened his mouth to tell Noin they'd have to go somewhere else.

"Is this about Sakura coming over to your place late last night?"

…and stilled.

"Itachi?" Noin whispered, her voice curious and a little worried.

"Naruto…" he heard his brother say next, attention rapt as he just listened and nothing more.

"What? ….I was on my way home around eleven when I saw her go up to your door and go in. Did something happen? You guys aren't fighting again are you…?" There was silence and his brother didn't say anything. "Wait… …Are you guys back together or something?"

There was a slam and some rattling… glass? "Naruto," he heard him snap, "leave it alone."

A distinct pause came after that, and then, "You're not one of those guys who get's bitchy after sex, are you?"

This was when Itachi came back to his senses; he could feel Sasuke's chakra flare loudly as he got up. Part of that movement he heard in just enough time to dip into a small alley between the ramen shop and another. His listened as his brother's footsteps faded in the other direction. Not long after Naruto was shouting and following in much the same way. But, by then Sasuke had shrouded his chakra so that not even Itachi could feel him anymore.

"Itachi?" he heard Noin ask him again, this time sounding much more concerned.

He didn't answer her though; he barely heard her. Somewhere… in his chest there was this… burning. He kept hearing Naruto's words over and over again in his mind as he leaned back into the wooden frame of the ramen shop behind him.

By nature, Itachi was a logical-minded individual. He tackled everything with a mathematical and calculated efficiency. That wasn't to say emotions were never apart of that process; however, that was other people and this was him. He was never involved in the emotional equation that he used to systematically figure people out; he was the outsider, the one working the problem as he assessed the situation and figured people out. When you were in the equation… well, there was a certain level of bias and he just couldn't process it very well. Just like that night he and Sakura…

He closed his eyes and covered his face with a sprawled hand; fingers strung through his bangs. He only then realized he was just barely bordering on hyperventilating; which—in truth—was ridiculous.

What the hell was wrong with him?

"Itachi…?" he barely heard Noin's voice again.

"I'm alright," he whispered, lying. "Just… I need a moment to think."

She frowned, but said nothing as she stared up at him.

Had… had Sakura slept with Sasuke?

He didn't want to think of it. Jealousy was not an emotion he was well acquainted with. If this is what it felt like then he really wanted no part of it.

Had she though…? It sure sounded like she had. Why else would she go see his brother that late at night? Why didn't she tell him she was going to see Sasuke last night? It's not like she needed to hide such a thing. Unless…

…Why hadn't she told him?

He swallowed.

In his general experience, especially with Sakura, shinobi rarely—if ever—did something without a real purpose. And keeping information from someone was one of those things.

Noin sighed. "Let's just go home. We can eat there. Alright?"

"…Yeah," he agreed as he placed a hand on her neck and let her lead him out of the alley and back in that direction.

Why hadn't she told him where she was going?

This question repeated itself several times over as Noin took him home.

Why?

…

"What a day," Sakura murmured as she wiped sweat from her brow. The pack on her shoulder was readjusted; the weight of it wasn't too bad, but she didn't want to use chakra to assist.

A smile ghosted her features.

No, she wouldn't want to; not when Tsunade had drilled within her the importance of always having chakra on hand. One never knew when she would be needed. She could just hear her voice now, warning her to not use it for such a trifle matter.

But damnit, that strap was biting into her skin.

Ah well.

At least it wasn't sweltering out; she only felt the effects because of the sun directly over head. There weren't many trees along the dirt path to Itachi's house.

Itachi…

She sighed and shut her eyes briefly. She still needed to talk to him. Tsunade had asked her about it this morning when she'd stopped by the report in on how he was doing. At least she'd gotten around to speaking with Sasuke about it. The blonde was a little surprised she'd gotten a yes out of him.

This has prompted Sakura to ask Tsunade how both Kakashi and Sasuke knew there was… something more going on between her and her patient. She'd looked right at Sakura and told her, 'Are you really so surprised? Sasuke's very astute and he spends a lot of time with you. It would be odd if he didn't notice something. As for Kakashi… well, you could say he shares guardianship of Itachi with me. I needed someone besides Shizune to talk to about it whom I knew understood him and I could bounce ideas off of for his recovery.

'So, if course I told him about what I thought was going on between you two.'

She'd resisted the urge to grumble. But, at least Sakura knew there wasn't a rumor going on. She'd have Ino to blame if that were true.

As she stepped through the broken little gate to Itachi's lawn she came back to her original dilemma. She still needed to tell Itachi about the surgery; because honestly, the sooner it was done—the better.

She took a deep breath as she opened the door, shut it behind her, and slid off her sandals.

"Itachi?" She set her bag down on the kitchen counter, blinking once or twice as she looked around. She then sought him out with her chakra; however, just as she turned around he was right there, coming down the staircase.

She smiled. "Afternoon." But then… there was nothing. She frowned when he didn't smile back, didn't crack a sarcastic remark, didn't say anything to her. He just stopped, looked in her direction, and then walked past her to the table to sit down.

Her gaze followed him, watching him carefully.

A moment passed before she picked up her bag and went to the kitchen to unload groceries.

What was that about?

She decided to test the waters a little. Maybe he hadn't heard her? Doubtful. "Did you sleep good last night?"

Nothing.

She reached into the bag and set a few bottles of juice down. Some fruit, bread, and frozen dinners followed shortly after.

"Have you eaten anything this morning?" Was he not feeling well?

"….Yes," he said—finally.

"And lunch?"

"No," he muttered, his back still facing her.

"Well, it's almost two, but I'll make you a late lunch."

"No thank you."

She found herself blinking again as she started at the back of his head. Her eyes were scrutinizing and eventually narrowed as she stood there, evaluating him. There was something wrong with him. He hadn't been so put off by anybody since… She crossed her arms over her chest.

Maybe he was sick.

She walked the distance from the kitchen to the open dining room and moved to place a hand on his forehead. Shock erupted within her, stilling her, as he slapped her hand away. It wasn't that hard, but the action and the sound echoed, pronouncing itself to her.

She hesitated and stared at him.

Her lips were slightly parted; her brow was knit; her eyes were focused on his unseeing depths. They stared ahead as he moved to rest his chin under his interlaced fingers; his elbows rested on the table.

Somehow, she managed to pull herself together; she found her voice. "What's the matter with you?" she said, voice serious but not loud.

"Nothing."

"Then why won't you let me run a check up on you?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but then quickly snapped it shut.

She stood there for a while, perhaps a full minute. The whole while he said nothing. She sighed and looked away from him. "You need to eat. I'm going to fix your something. Then we'll try again." With that, she moved back into the kitchen and went to work. Hopefully, whatever his problem was would be done with by then.

For the entire half an hour she cooked he said nothing; he barely moved. She really didn't know what to make of it. He didn't have a fever from what she could tell when she had touched him. He didn't look sick. He wasn't coughing and he didn't appear in pain.

So what then?

Was he pissed off?

She ran a hand through her unbound strands a she watched the stir fry sizzle in the pan. She gave it one more scrape before pilling it onto a plate. She grabbed the glass of juice she'd made for him and walked the distance to where he was sitting. Both items were placed in front him as usual.

She took a seat where she always sat to his right and watched him. Her own drink was there already, so she took it in her hand sipped from it. She sat there for what seemed like ten minutes, waiting for him to say something, eat, or do something. He did nothing however.

It's like they were back to page one and she didn't understand at all. Had she done something wrong? The last time they'd spoken he'd said he missed her; he'd kissed her.

"Are you going to eat?" she asked.

He closed his eyes and turned his head to the left slightly.

"You should—."

"Leave me be, Sakura," he muttered.

She sighed, growing frustrated. "Seeing as how it's my job to make sure you take of yourself, I can't really do that." She frowned. "Are we going to do what we use to do?"

"I don't know," he said, still not really facing her. "Are you going to keep bugging me to eat?"

"Yes."

She watched as his jaw visibly flexed.

"Itachi—."

The loud crash interrupted her. Glass shattered against the wall as rice, peppers, and slivers of meat stuck and fell to the floor. She watched it for a while, almost uncertain if it was just her imagination or if Itachi had actually thrown his plate.

"There, no need to bother me anymore."

"… Are you… kidding me?" she snapped, standing immediately. "What the hell has gotten into you?" she said next, her voice well beyond just yelling as she slammed a hand onto the table.

He didn't reply and it took everything in her to not turn the table over to get his attention. She wanted to throw things; but, somehow, she reigned in her temper. Seething, she found the back door, went outside, and slammed it shut. The action rattled the house.

He didn't jump as the crack bounced off in the interior. He registered a hairline break in the door near the handle. Normally, it would have bothered; now, it just irritated him.

"Kami, is this what you acted like before Sakura?"

Itachi ignored Noin completely; he shut his eyes to emphasize that he did not want her opinion—not right now.

"You're jealous, you know that, right?"

"I am not." His response was tightlipped. Well, so much for ignoring her. Then again, it was hard to ignore someone who was bleeding her own feelings into your chakra.

She snorted. "I'm old enough to know what jealousy is, Uchiha. Maybe you aren't though. Maybe you've never had to deal with it. But, that's what it is; you are.

"You're jealous of the brat brother of yours because you seem to think Sakura slept with him."

"Shut up, Noin," he bit off.

"What I want to know is if makes it harder that it's your brother, or easier. After all, you've given up so much for Sasuke already. What's one more thing to add to the pile? You almost died for him, were labeled a traitor for him… now you might even be willing to give Sakura to him.

"Will you? I think—."

"I'm not giving her up!"

Noin didn't say anything; she smiled in that way only a dog can smile.

"…" He shut his eyes again, pulling his death glare away from her. "…Alright… maybe I'm a little jealous."

"That's something at least," she muttered, moving closer to him. "You idiot, did you ever think in all your rage, to talk to her? To ask her why in the hell she was at his place last night?"

He sighed. "Maybe…"

"You know, love makes you—specifically—do the stupidest things. And do you know why?"

"Noin…"

"No, I'm going to tell you because you need to hear it. Love," she started again, "makes you do stupid things because you've locked your damn self up for so long. You've avoid your brother; you avoided feeling anything growing up because of your idiot father and his need for vengeance; and now—as an adult—you don't know how to handle being in love with a woman.

"You could tell me in a million ways how to solve someone else's relationship because you know people so damn well; you though? Forget it. You're a mess, Itachi.

"You're head over heels for that girl and you can't handle the idea of Sasuke taking one more thing, even if you gave everything else up willingly."

With that, she turned to walk away and towards the stairs; he listened to paws pattering on the wood until he couldn't hear her anymore. He drew his hands through his hair along the sides of his head; the action loosened the hold his hair tie had on his strands.

Jealousy…

Noin had effectively burned the anger right out of him; and she did so just by making him see his feelings for what they were.

He was afraid; he hated admitting that. He was afraid of losing Sakura. He couldn't have fathomed being jealous; he never had been before. So, he'd pushed the idea down; it'd reared its ugly head in a way he couldn't control. However, had he been willing to admit he was, he might have analyzed his own feelings better and talked to her instead of being an ass.

Then again, maybe he'd also been afraid of her confirming his fear. How was it possible that ignorance was more appealing to him?

He sighed and smiled bitterly.

Noin was right. Love made him an idiot. A stupid, misguided, vulnerable idiot.

Suddenly the back door opened and he jerked—literally.

"I'm leaving," he heard her say with what sounded like tight lips. He could hear her packing up and cleaning the kitchen behind him all of a sudden. Dishes clanked and cabinet doors slammed with resounding clarity. "Maybe when I come back you'll be in a better mood. Maybe you'll even want to talk about it," she went on.

He stood up.

"I'm going to leave that mess on the floor though. Actually, you can clean it up."

He felt her brush past him in the kitchen as he stopped next to the sink. Another dish clattered and knew where she was. He reached out to stop her, grabbing onto the edge of her shirt.

She moved again and he tugged her to a stop. "Sakura…"

"Will you—!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She stilled and he knew he had her attention.

He directed his unseeing gaze downward and to the side, resisting the urge to sigh. "Look… earlier today I overheard Sasuke and Naruto talking. There were some things… said. I know you went over to Sasuke's late last night and…" He did sighed then. "You didn't tell me. It's only natural you wouldn't keep it from me. I assumed you…" he trailed off. "Well, it didn't help that Naruto suggested you might have done…"

He could feel her confusion.

"Naruto saw you stopping by Sasuke's last night and he drew his own conclusions."

"Oh…"

"Yeah."

Sakura frowned at him; the anger washed away from her almost immediately. "So you thought…"

"Yes."

"You were jealous."

He sighed again, met her gaze as best as he imagined he could and nodded.

She smiled. "Well, I didn't."

"Then why did you go over there so late?" He realized it was the jealously talking again, but he had to know.

It was her turn to sigh. She set the dish down she'd been holding. It clattered in the sink lightly. "I needed to talk to Sasuke about something… something delicate."

He raised a brow at her.

She frowned again. "It has to do with you and Sasuke. I needed to speak with him first; I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"About?"

She bit her lower lip. "About…" she trailed off, gaining her strength. "Itachi… I figured out how to cure your breathing problem, and… I believe I can give you your sight back.

"Completely.

"But," she went on hurriedly, as she'd done with Sasuke, "I needed Sasuke's consent first because I'll be performing a transplant."

His eyes narrowed and it was his turn to still at the information he was trying to process. "You can't—."

"I can," she replied. "I can repair the birth defect that causes you to cough blood; I can reconstruct your eyes; and I can perform a transplant between you and Sasuke to ensure he never loses his sight and you regain your own.

"To the point that, if you wanted to, you could go back on full duty."

He was…stunned, to put it mildly.

"But, I wasn't sure how you would react. And I didn't want to get your hopes up if Sasuke refused. So, I had to talk to him first and—."

"Sasuke agreed to this?"

"He did…"

Itachi swallowed. "I'll be able to see again…"

"Yes," she said, a smile in her voice.

He stepped forward and touched her face; his thumbs rolled down her cheeks.

Sakura shut her eyes.

"Your face… I'll be able to see…"

"Yes," she whispered as she took his wrists in her hands. She shut her eyes again as his forehead dropped to hers.

"God I'm an idiot," he said next.

She chuckled. "It's alright. You're forgiven. But just so you know… I'm not cleaning this up."

He smiled.

AN :: Blah, blah… I've been busy, normal school stuff… blah, blah, blah. I'm not going to bore you with the details…blah.

Anyway, chapter is up now -smiles-. Hope your happy and the like. Should be a new chapter out for Rose Red on wattpad in a week or two if I play my cards right. However, finals are around the corner, so don't hold your breath.

If you want up to day information about my writing, fanfic and original works, please look me up on facebook under my pen name: Kit Roe.

Thanks.

—Blade