There will be something different about this chapter and I'll give you a hint; it's how I write. I've been back to reading fan fictions lately and I'm done will elle6778's The Lost One and The Return of the Heir. *claps* A round of applause for elle6778, everybody. Anyway, I know you've all been itching to read some ItaSaku goodness so here you go!

Also, I am in need of:
-Beta Readers
-Illustrators
-Fan Fiction recommendations (ItaSaku, DeiSaku or KakaSaku; somewhere between 70,000-200,000 words. I like long fics.)
-Inspiring or Critical Reviews (whichever floats your boat)

Enjoy~

Chapter V
Finding the Trigger and Her Sanctuary

This is just great, Sakura thought to herself as she stood against the wall in the alleyway just beside the restaurant. She held Itachi's cap in one hand and her forehead in the other.

She felt the rain upon her skin and when she looked up, it was dark and cloudy. The tears she'd been holding in the last few minutes were finally let out. In one quick move, she had her back against the wall and slowly moved down until her knees hit the ground. Her head, she kept rested on the wall as she turned to face the entrance of the alleyway. Keeping her head high, she prayed to the gods that she would get over this soon enough. She prayed that someone would be there for her and help her through this.

The hardest part of it all was accepting that she'd been dumb enough to take the chance with Uchiha Sasuke. After several years with him, watching him and memorizing him, she should have known better. Just because someone endured pain for another doesn't mean that the other had to repay it. Sasuke never asked her to love him, anyway. How foolish of her to think that she could change Sasuke. How stupid of her to think that Sasuke would actually develop real feelings for her—his gratitude towards her because she was always there for him was not enough grounds for him to go into a relationship with her. She should have seen the conclusion before this even began.

It just pained her to realize that she let her feelings get the best of her. It was as if reality slapped her really hard, telling her that she was foolish to believe in some miracle.

She was soaking wet. Her hair and clothes from the rain and her face from her tears. Naruto told her a million times that going out with Sasuke was going to be a mistake. She didn't listen and wanted to prove him wrong. She'd been successful in rubbing it in Naruto's face for a few months… Until now.

The rain washed mercilessly over the streets and over the buildings but she couldn't seem to care that she was getting soaked as well. All that occupied her mind at the moment was her naivety and the fact that any minute now, Itachi would come looking for her and tell her that this was just what she deserved—that this was her karma for almost cheating on his little brother.

"Sakura," she heard from the entrance of the alley.

And here comes that one person she'd been expecting.

Unmoving and still, her eyes remained fixed on the dark figure who stood under an umbrella. He rushed closer and bent down on one knee until he was face-to-face with her, making sure that they both were sheltered by the small umbrella and that there was enough space for them to breathe in their personal space.

He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. But then again, she didn't really have any choice. When she prayed for someone to talk to, Kami didn't have any other option but Uchiha Itachi.

"I know," she whispered. Itachi inclined his head in curiosity but his face remaining impassive. "I deserve this for being such a douche bag." She buried her face into the palm of her hands, the shame finally sinking in. "Who better to find out than Sasuke's older brother, of course."

"Save your eyes from your tears," he said simply, catching her off guard.

There was nothing else for him to say, mostly because for the first time since they met, he had nothing to say to her. But it was more than that. This wasn't the first time he'd heard of such a problematic situation of a person but this was definitely the first time he wanted to say something about it. It was definitely the first time he wanted to comfort somebody else. One problem seemed to bother him though: He had no knowledge on how to comfort anyone—especially not a certain emotional and naïve teenager.

He reached for her hand, passing the umbrella for her to hold as he pushed his hand in his pocket, digging for her phone. When he finally got hold of it, he took her hand and placed the phone on her palm, closing her fingers around it for her. They stayed like that for a brief moment, her eyes never ceasing to look at his dark orbs. His face was impassive and so was his look but the tiny sense of concern that accompanied his look was not ignored.

Still, her posture remained but the emotion that was there previously had completely been replaced by a sense of gratitude. There was a list of the people she wanted to be with right now and Itachi's name had not been written on it. Everyone else on the list was back in Konoha but she was now thanking the heavens that Itachi was right in front of her, his hand on hers.

"We must get you some place warm." With a hand, he took the umbrella away from her clutches and pulled her to her feet with the other. "I know of a place nearby." He bent over and retrieved the cap—his cap—that she dropped and asked her to put it back on before they left the alleyway.

He was without a jacket or anything to keep the young woman warm. He could just let her rub her arms but that just would be such an un-gentleman thing to do, wasn't it? With slight reluctance, he put an arm around her and allowed her petite soaked body make direct contact with his. As they walked to the other block, Itachi could feel the dampness of her clothes seep through the fabric of his shirt… And curves that he never saw on her—not that he was examining her when she was occupied with something else.

Sakura, on the other hand, was tense under his arm. He could feel it too, she knew. Not that she was complaining about his arm around her—which felt sort of nice in an awkward way—but they were way too close for her liking.

They passed about three shops total on the second block when Itachi led her into an inn. It was small but the ambiance was definitely that of a decent inn—one that many were not afraid of staying in. When he withdrew his arm from her to close his umbrella, she felt a bit of disappointment wash over her and soon enough, she started to feel cool under the damp of her clothes without his body warmth.

Without a word, he walked to the counter, silently telling her to stay right where she was.

"Itachi-kun," she heard the woman behind the counter greet him in a cheery way. "Long time, no see. What brings you here? And where's Kisame?" She leaned over the tabletop, exposing just an inch of her cleavage to him but it appeared from Sakura's view that he paid no mind, if he noticed at all, to her attempt to notice her well-developed bosom.

He turned to Sakura just before he answered to the woman. "I'm here on personal business, Erika," she seemed to pick up the cold tone in his voice and stood straight again. "We merely wish to stay here until the rain lets up. And also, may I request a towel for my companion?"

Erika looked near the doorway and found the teenage girl practically shivering where she stood. "What were you two doing out in that weather, anyway?" She turned her attention to Itachi in an attempt to question their purpose of walking outside in such weather but Itachi never gave the right answer so she gestured to Sakura. "Take a seat, please. I'll go fetch a towel for you. And a hot drink, too."

In less than a minute, she was back with a neatly folded towel and offered it to Sakura who was now sitting on the bar chair. On the other side of the room, Itachi watched intently as his companion wrapped the towel around her back. Her shivering reduced but he could see that chills ran down her back occasionally. If he recalled correctly, they'd passed by a clothing shop before they entered the inn. If he was lucky, he could find a cheap shirt the teenage girl could wear for the night.

"Erika, I will return in a few minutes," he said, opening his umbrella. "Please keep my friend entertained."

And with that, he was gone with a light slam of the door behind him. Erika moved to sit next to Sakura. "So, what's your name?" She asked, reaching out a hand. "I'm Matsumoto Erika, by the way. My parents own this place."

The pink-haired lady shook Erika's hand. "I'm Sakura," answered the younger.

"I'm sorry we don't have any coffee or hot chocolate left," she said grimly as she hung her head. "But if there's anything else you need, just say so. Itachi-kun and her friend visit this place often when on a break from their gang business. Kisame is Itachi-kun's partner. He drinks a lot and always ends up staying in here for the night—Kisame, I mean. Itachi-kun never stays with him. Says he's never worth or the stress the effort because Kisame never learns."

Sakura smiled at the information. She knew Erika had told her much more than she should have but Sakura didn't mind. She didn't find any of the information useful, anyway. She just pondered upon the fact that Itachi had never been one for alcoholic beverages. He either consumed it occasionally or never at all.

And speaking of drinking.

"Erika-san," she addressed her for the first time. "Can I get some alcohol to drink? I just need something to warm me up." And something to drown myself in.

Both eyes of the older creased as she jumped off and excused herself to get Sakura just what she asked for in the far back. While Erika searched for an appropriate one to drink, like she said before hopping of the stool, Sakura unlocked her phone and texted Naruto. But then she deleted the message and decided to call him instead.

It didn't take long before he answered. "Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto," she answered back with a stoic voice. "What were you going to tell me about Sasuke the last time I called?"

"Oh, that," he said. The tone suggested that she didn't need to ask anymore because it didn't sound like he was going to follow up his answer soon. He was waiting for her to say it herself but when he found she wasn't speaking anytime soon, he spoke in her stead. "Sasuke's been seeing Hinata. I only found out the morning of the last time I called you. I was going to tell you, Sakura-chan. I really was. But Sasuke came in, asking me to bring him to Hinata's place. I left early because I had a thing with Kiba and the other guys. I haven't seen him since and it turns out that he'd been seeing her in secret. Even when you were still here. Neji said Hinata had been really down lately and he could feel a guilty aura around her because she was always so jumpy the past few weeks." No one could blame Hinata for feeling guilty, though. If Sakura were to be the third party, she'd run straight to the girl and say exactly what was going on regardless of the consequences she would face.

She didn't bother analyzing how the hell he found time to meet her right under her nose but then again, she recalled, he was hardly ever around. If he wasn't too busy accomplishing school works or anything else that he deemed to matter, it was always another commitment.

"So, all this time," she sighed. "Stupid of me, huh?"

A sigh was audible from the other end. "Sakura-chan, if I could be there for you right now, I would be. Do you want me to go there? Right now?"

As much as she wished for him to be by her side, it was highly improbable that he would be able to locate her in a city so big. The most predictable outcome of his coming to Central City was that he would get lost during his first five minutes, considering his absence of a sense of direction. "No thanks, Naruto. I appreciate it but I'll be fine. I'll be home in less than a week. See you until then, I guess."

"You take care over there, okay? Don't try anything stupid," warned Naruto. His concern made her lips tug at the side for a second.

With a sound of affirmation, Naruto said his goodbye and she did so as well. When he hung up, she sighed, leaving her phone on the counter. Her answer to his warning was an empty promise, of course. It was at that moment when Erika walked out of the kitchen with a big bottle and a couple of cups.

Sorry, Naruto, she thought as she eyed the bottle. Drinking was not something she used to engage in back in Konoha. When Ino invited them to her usually wild and rowdy parties, Sakura hardly ever looked at the table of alcohol. Naruto would ask her occasionally though he always knew just what she was going to say about his offer. The blonde was a good friend and when he'd always tempt her to drink, it was only for laughs and to make conversation with her. That, she very well knew. What kind of person would want their best friend to learn to do one of the non-sensible vices ever?

Non-sensible was what she used to describe it seeing there clearly was no reason to consume such troublesome beverages. But now was her chance to see what everyone else in school liked about it and why it was addictive.

"Here we go," Erika announced as she poured sake into one cup. "Not too strong so that Itachi won't leave you here like he does to Kisame." A chuckle escaped her when she pushed the small cup across the wooden surface to Sakura. She then poured herself some and immediately took it all down without even setting the bottle down.

Contrary to what Erika assumed, Sakura had this feeling in her gut that even if she passed out right here and now, Itachi still wouldn't abandon her here. She didn't really know. She wasn't really sure but there was something inside her, telling her that it was highly unlikely for that to happen.

The both of them continued to drink their way to the bottom of the bottle. Erika was more talkative now that she'd had almost a dozen cups down her throat and Sakura only nodded and smiled at her stories about Itachi and Kisame's stay in here. While she babbled on about another event, she let her mind drift away to Itachi's whereabouts. He said he'd come back but it'd been almost half an hour already since he left.

Speak of the devil, she thought as Itachi entered the inn with a bag in the hand that wasn't clutching the umbrella. He slid the bag on his forearm and shut the umbrella with both hands, leaving it on the rack to dry with the umbrellas of the other customers.

When he casted a look on the reddened faces of the girls and the bottle on the counter, he frowned. And it had nothing to do with Erika. With the way Sakura was bracing herself on the top of the bar, he knew right then that she was not that experienced when it came down to handling her alcohol intake and resistance. He marched right up to her and put the cup away from her.

"There was nothing else to drink," he heard her say, hearing a slight slur in her manner of speaking. "And I needed to heat myself up, y'know." She was partly drunk already. He could see it on her face. But it was surprising that her voice did not sound as drunk as her reddened face seemed nor did her actions give away her state of intoxication—except for her lack of control to keep her head from swaying. Maybe she was more in control than he'd first thought.

Erika continued on with her story, not seeming to notice that Itachi had returned. It didn't surprise him. One time, he'd left an unconscious Kisame beside this same young lady who was just as drunk as the brute man. Even when he was at the doorway to exit the inn, he could hear Erika laughing at her own tales, continuing to tell stories to a man who had passed out an hour ago.

He pulled away the towel from her and handed to her the bag. "I bought a shirt for you to change in and a jacket for our trip back to my residence," said Itachi, helping Sakura off of the chair. The shirt was easy to find but he'd found a thick and weather-appropriate jacket two blocks away and that's what took him longer. "Let me assist you to the bathroom."

Itachi was wrong to think that Sakura was not as intoxicated as she looked. In fact, it was the voice and her actions that seemed to mask her intoxication even though her face seemed to give her away.

When Itachi guided Sakura to turn to a narrow hall with two doors, one door on each side, and a sink just in the end of the hall, the pink-haired lady went straight for the sink and propped herself up to take a seat on the edge of it. She let her head against the wall and her eyes slowly closed.

He groaned inwardly and his eyes rolled subtly. Even with his companion unconscious, he still could not let any form of emotion or expressions escape him. When he approached her nearly-asleep form, he took her hand in his and shook her shoulder with the other. "Sakura, I will not allow you to sleep wearing your soaked wardrobe," he said. "Change. Now."

Fluttering her eyes open, she smiled weakly when she noted that Itachi's face was just inches away from her. "It sucks really bad," she started and giggled a little afterwards. "I really don't find alcohol pleasing at all but it sure was nice to forget for a little while." Itachi inclined his head, not seeming like he followed her. "I can't forget about Sasuke like this," groaned Sakura. "Not with someone who looks so much like him inches away from me. But then again, there's nothing to forget in the first place, is there? Can I even say that I loved him?"

Not knowing how to respond to such a dilemma without stomping on her teenage perspective about relationships and the current situation, he only averted his eyes, in hope that she would snap out of it soon because if not, he'd be forced to do things he did not wish to do. Like change her clothes for her.

"What's that you got there?" Sakura asked, pulling the bag away from him. He took a step back as Sakura descended from the sink and peered into the small bag. "Oh, right," she chuckled sheepishly. "Gotta go change my clothes then!" She opened the door to the ladies' comfort room and switched the lights on. She grimaced at the sight of the bathroom. "I can't put my clothes anywhere here! The sink is wet and there's soap all over the top of the toilet!"

If he weren't so impassive, Itachi would have given himself an exaggerated facepalm the minute she complained about the sink being wet; seemingly forgetting that she was soaked in rainwater so it didn't really matter. But before he could protest, Sakura had pulled him in the bathroom and locked the door without thinking. It was probably the alcohol finally taking effect in the last part of her brain that was functioning according to her will. When all this was over, he had to lecture her into not taking in anymore of that stuff.

Her hands reached for the light switch and when it was finally dark, Itachi heard her clothes rustle. He felt uncomfortable at the moment. Even a man of his caliber when it came to self-control could still commit such a fault when the circumstances are against him. A man could only handle so much, after all. Like right now. A young woman whose beauty was as exotic as they could get was in front of him, taking off her top in the dark. It took everything in him not to reach out and pull her closer when she tossed him the wet shirt.

He heard the bag drop and even felt it on his foot. Another sound of rustling accompanied by Sakura's frustrated groans sounded in the dark and Itachi could not make out why she sounded so irritated. Much to his surprise, a topless Sakura came into vision again. Her arm was stretched to the light switch.

"Just a minute, Itachi," she said in a slur. "I can't see the right side of the shirt."

Finding it very hard to avert his gaze from her well-developed body and the lacy pink bra that covered up the part that he subconsciously wanted his eyes upon most, he dropped his head and wrung the wet article of clothing in his hands to his side.

Despite what she looked like with clothes on, she had a very nice form underneath the layer of loose clothing she chose to wear that made her look more petite than she already was. Her curves were placed in all the right places and he wondered if Sasuke had ever seen her like this. But then again, if Sasuke ever did, his foolish little brother wouldn't have given her up so easily. Itachi knew that he, himself, wouldn't give her up so easily if she ever became his even if he had not laid his eyes on her figure yet.

"There's nothing for you to see here, Itachi," she exclaimed weakly at him. With slight difficulty, Sakura slipped the shirt on and faced him. "Sooooo?"

He shook his head subtly and placed her shirt on the sink for a moment to take off Sakura's shirt again. He'd had enough of this torture and the sooner he put the shirt on right for her, the sooner he could get her home and lock her in his room for her to rest and forget about this—if she could forget about this—because he sure as hell wouldn't be able to.

His knuckles grazed against the skin of her sides and she practically moaned at the sensation of his warm hands running up her sides. She held her arms up and allowed Itachi to pull the shirt completely off of her. Once it was off, she ran a finger through her hair to comb it and then held her arms in the air again, waiting for him to slip it on her again. As he did, he did it slower this time, taking his time to savor her body with his eyes as the fabric of the shirt passed over her eyes.

She slipped her arms through the sleeves and straightened the hem of the shirt whilst Itachi reached for the hair caught under the shirt in an attempt to fix it for her. When his hands reached the back of her neck, instead of pushing the hair out of the shirt, he felt his palm on her neck and he pulled her in closer for a brief touch of their lips.

It was only for a few seconds before he pulled back. And, surprisingly, he had no regrets. Bewilderment at the fact that what he did was of his own free will, he felt somewhere. But no trace of regret. He felt a bit anxious about what was to happen if Sakura snapped out of her intoxicated state of mind but he had no problem with hiding that underneath his usual impassive look.

Meanwhile, Sakura was too busy looking at Itachi's thin and beautiful lips to even see the shock in Itachi's eye even if it did only remain for a second or two. "Itachi..." She whispered barely over a whisper. She placed a hand on his defined chest and moved in closer, aiming for another kiss. Seeing that Itachi had withdrawn because of what he had done earlier, she said quietly as her lips brushed over the corner of his, "Please."

Screw it, he thought. He hated that word. Actually, he only hated how she looked at him with those puppy eyes and that pout. She was truly irresistible even without her begging. He pulled her body closer with his other arm that snaked its way around her waist and to her back the minute his lips crashed on hers.

Sakura allowed him access in her mouth as her hand found itself in his raven locks, tangling into them wildly as she stood on her toes to meet him halfway.

Itachi strode one foot forward causing her to move backward by instinct. He kept moving forward slowly until he had her pinned on the cold tiled wall of the bathroom. The hand previously placed on her neck was now against the wall, trapping her in from one side and his other hand never left her back. He felt both her hands thread behind his neck. His hands were on autopilot, he realized, when he felt them on her hips. Effortlessly, he lifted her up, letting her legs wrap around his waist.

His hot mouth was on her neck in an instant and Sakura made no effort to hide her moan. It was new. It was sensational. Bliss was the only word she could think of right now. She could get used to this. The feeling was addictive—much similar to a drug or alcohol. But this… This strange craving for more of him felt right.

Her hands slid into the collar of his shirt and he gripped her thighs tighter as he ravished her collarbone with hungry yet passionate kisses. Her evident need for him was beginning to get to him as he pushed his pelvis in the clothed heat between her legs. He wanted to take her home. He longed to lock themselves and have her tangled in the sheets of his bed as he placed kisses all over her body. If she weren't so drunk, would she still have accepted his first kiss? Would she still initiate what had brought them right where they were? Or would she simply retreat at the first sign of advance he would give her?

His movements halted and she seemed to notice it too. Slowly retreating, her hands found their way back to his chest. He'd buried his face in her neck as did her face in his. He was aware that she did not know why he had stopped all of a sudden and she was most likely thinking that he was only exhausted or contemplating whether he should continue or not.

The latter of the possible assumptions was closer to the truth. He was thinking very seriously. The first was chaste and quick. It was completely innocent and he was the one to initiate it. However, this that they had just ceased to continue, it was something more. It was hungry and intense—both which were not characteristics of the both of them in their normal condition.

His thoughts were cut short when footsteps sounded from outside. Gently, he set Sakura on her foot. Her arms never left his chest and he was a little grateful for that for some unknown reason.

There was a short rap on the door and Sakura pushed Itachi aside to the back of the door just before she answered it.

"Sakura-chan~" If it hadn't been for the suffix at the end of her name, Itachi never would have understood what she'd said. "Have you seen Itachi?" Her words were barely understandable but Itachi guessed in the back of his mind that the drunk understood each other in a very strange manner.

"He's upstairs, I think," she said. Itachi's head snapped back to her when it dawned upon him that she didn't even stutter and was speaking clearly. "Didn't you see him?" She hid her face at the back of the door, pretending to scratch her nose when she, in fact, gave Itachi a wink. His confusion was cleared when he saw her face practically half-asleep.

She was still very drunk but she knew what was happening and hid the fact that Itachi was in the bathroom with her. If that was so and she still could correct her way of speaking, then she was still aware of what had happened just a minute ago?

Erika looked puzzled when Sakura met her eyes again. But as if a light loomed above her head, Erika smiled at Sakura widely before trotting happily to look for Itachi upstairs.

When she was certain that the small hallway had been cleared, she and Itachi stepped out of the small space and tiptoed back to the main area of the inn. Sighting her unfinished cup of sake on the countertop, she made a beeline for it, almost tripping along the way as she dragged her feet sluggishly, but the dark man made it first and pushed it away from her. She pouted, hoping that it would work on him again like it had earlier in the bathroom.

Itachi narrowed his eyes down on her, telling her silently that it was going to be the only warning she was getting. Her shoulders slumped in defeat, walking away from the countertop. Itachi followed after, handing her the tightly twisted shirt she'd worn earlier when they arrived and the other bag which, she assumed, contained the jacket he'd been talking about. He unfolded the umbrella and was about to take Sakura to make a run for it before Erika discovered that he was actually not upstairs.

He found Erika a troublesome, frankly. When she was drunk, her already-obvious desire for him intensified and she would pine over him unless she would pass out due to light-headedness or if he found an excuse to leave early, which was what he did about most of the time they visited this place. When she regained consciousness and found Itachi gone, she settled for Kisame and gigantic partner almost had no problems with being just a second choice. It got him to bed, didn't it?

When he tugged on Sakura, almost fell flat on her face if it weren't for his reflexes. She wouldn't be able to travel across this block without his support. Finally making up his mind, he pulled out the winter green jacket he bought from several blocks down and replaced it with the umbrella he folded just now. With one swift movement, he draped it over Sakura's torso and scooped her in his arms bridal style with ease.

The rain had lightened a bit but that didn't mean it was still not brutal over his head. He had walked over two blocks when he felt Sakura shift in his hands. He didn't know when she did it, but when he noticed, Sakura had opened the umbrella and held it for him as he carried her under the pouring rain.

She nudged her head a bit more into his chest. With him carrying her like this, like a babe, she felt so little, so vulnerable in his arms against his strong chest. He was a dangerous man, Sakura acknowledged. But when it came down to it, she learned that he was genuinely reliable. Like right now. It might be the alcohol speaking but it was a very comforting thing to keep in mind that despite his mysterious character, he was actually very protective. She could tell so just by the feel of him carrying her close to his chest.

His chest… She felt like she was safe right here, with her head pressed against him. This was probably the safest she'd ever felt since she arrived in the city and she wished to prolong the feeling. There was his heartbeat to distract her from all those gunshots that soon would be aimed to her and there was the warmth that replaced the warmth Sasuke supposedly wrapped her around in. Supposedly. She wanted this to last. Would he allow it, if she asked him?

What was she thinking? Tomorrow, when she finally snapped out from all of this, he would probably go back to normal as well. This could all just be a play. He could merely be taking advantage of her vulnerable state to get under her skin. But maybe it wasn't. Maybe she was plainly overthinking this whole situation. Maybe he actually cared. Maybe.

She shouldn't be thinking of this. Right now, all she wanted to do was embrace the feeling of security she felt in his arms.

()

At long last, they reached his place. Sakura hitched off of him as he searched his pockets for his keys. When the door opened, Itachi turned on the lights while Sakura dragged herself with difficulty to the couch.

"Do not lie on the couch with those clothes," he instructed her. "I will get you a new change of clothes and a towel to wipe yourself with." He disappeared for a moment in his own room, zipping Sakura's bags open to find her sleeping clothes. Before he left the room, he noticed his compositions on the top of the bed. He had almost forgotten about these. He could continue to work on them now but he was merely too tired to carry on. He had done enough carrying for today, anyway.

She was bracing herself on the wall when he exited his room. Handing her the clothes and towel he had retrieved, he marched back in the bedroom and found a change of clothes for himself before making a beeline for the bathroom, instructing Sakura to change her clothes in the bedroom and proceed immediately to rest. Before she could answer, however, Itachi had closed the door on her.

Uncomfortably, Itachi slipped out of his wet attire and wiped himself with the towel he kept in the cabinet. He was far too tired for a quick shower so after drying himself up, he put on the new clothes and left the bathroom only to find the pink-haired lady lying on the couch half-naked.

No, it was not her top this time. He shook his head. Really, this girl was really a pain at certain times. With a shake of his head, he walked back in his bedroom and grabbed the blanket neatly folded above his pillows.

Her figure seemed so fragile, he thought, as she lay on his couch. She was facing the television, one unclothed leg over the other. Lucky for him, she was not the type to don lingerie and skimpy underwear—not counting her bra in, of course. She seemed to have a thing for lace, noting from earlier when he was searching for something for her to wear. Sakura seemed to collect them, in fact, when he realized she did not carry any simple bras with her.

He felt like a pervert, picturing Sakura's underwear bag in his head.

He knelt beside her, keeping his eyes on her sleeping features, appreciating how she looked so peaceful and serene under the dim light of his living room. Which reminded him that he should probably turn off the lights now, too.

When he sat back on the floor in front of the couch, he watched her sleep. Her breathing was steady and she seemed so comfortable, considering her head was now on the pillow Itachi had been using the past several days. His scent, surely, stayed on the pillowcase and she must have caught a whiff of it, doubtlessly.

The moonlight that penetrated through the thin curtains of his apartment was the only source of light that night. Of course, the lunar light from the satellite disappeared from time to time considering that it was quite cloudy outside and it was threatening to rain again, he saw. The light crawled from Sakura's hair to her eyes, stopping there to emphasize her eyelids.

What would it look like if she were to open her eyes right now as the moonlight illuminated her eyes and hair? Angelic, he thought. Simply angelic.

The longer he pondered on the word, the more he recollected of what had happened earlier in the restroom. That little occurrence and her mood during that moment were far from what she seemed to be right now. She seemed possessed, like a different person, but at the same time, she seemed like she was the real Sakura. She was the Sakura who had been caged in and let out just tonight. Caged in by no one other than his brother, he thought.

By ignoring what Sakura had longed for so long, that part of Sakura chose to reserve herself, knowing that he was not going to see it anytime soon, or at worst, ever. But what had triggered Sakura to let that emotion out.

Could it be? His brother had not kissed this lovely young woman who was now sleeping soundly on his couch, had he? If he had, Sakura wouldn't have been so aggressive… So desperate and longing earlier. She had been locking up so much passion in her that when he initiated a move, that part of her must have awakened and pounced at the opportunity to vent.

There was a pang in his chest, telling him that it was wrong in both ways. First, Sakura had used him as a sponge for all the passion she'd been holding. Now that she had let it all out, would she even dare to hold his hand or kiss him as heatedly as she did? He sure didn't mind. Second, he shouldn't be taking such advantage of the teenager's pent up feelings. Not that he was, anyway. While they exchanged heat, something inside him broke free as well. He brushed the thought aside with a huff.

No, it was only a false alarm, he convinced himself. It couldn't have been what he thought it was. It was impossible for him.

He felt his eyes get heavier by the minute. He decided to rest his eyes momentarily on the couch seats, just in front of Sakura's face, before he would fetch a couple of blankets to sleep on the floor. However, he never woke up that night, falling asleep seated on the floor with his side against the couch.

And then he'd heard a melody.

Thank you again so much, all you! If you want to get to talk to me more or if you're interested in role playing, I have one here:

www . fanfiction myforums / demoNiko / 2090297 /

It's new so I want my readers to join in the OC fun!

God Bless, ya'll.