A/N: What is sleep? I don't need sleep. All I need is writing and my lovely fandom ;D
Digressions aside, I hope I'm not too late. I think I will try to do at least two more prompts for ItaSaku Fest 2014 (a glorious tumblr event that is taking place this week). They're all very inspiring, but sadly I have too many things started to do more… :/
Anyway I'm actually planning to write a sort of sequel to this story (maybe for day 2, idk), so if you'll like it, stay tuned for more!
Enjoy! ;)

ITASAKU FESTIVAL 2014
Day 1 – Meeting

Summary: "Obviously she wasn't the only one affected by the early hour."
Genre: Romance/Humor
Rating: K+
Other info: non-massacre AU

IN A DAZE

It started with a bang.

A literal bang, because Sakura apparently could simply meet people like a regular person. In this twisted world where Kami-sama hated her guts and had no problem whatsoever with expressing it, she needed to embarrass herself profusely before she even got a chance to introduce herself.

She had just stopped by her office in the hospital at the end of her thirty-hour shift to take some long-overdue paperwork back home and was heading out of the building, when she ran head first into someone with enough force to send them both onto the ground. She landed on her arse with an undignified yelp of surprise, sending the stacks of papers she had been carrying into the air. Too tired to actually attempt to stand up and way too mortified to look at the victim of her complete lack of attention, she observed in morbid fascination as the pages of various medical files swayed gently in the cold morning air. To be honest, they did so for an astounding amount of time. Either that or her sleep-deprived mind was playing stupid tricks on her, which was also fairly possible. When the last piece of paper landed on the ground, she finally dared to glance in the direction of her companion.

Her eyes widened comically when they met the deep obsidian gaze of her teammate's aniki, Uchiha Itachi himself.

The man didn't seem bothered by what was probably the strangest situation of his life. In fact he looked completely at ease, sitting in front of her and observing her with something akin to curiosity. Sasuke often commented that his brother, while certainly a genius, was also a very peculiar person, but Sakura had never quite believed him. However now she was starting to, because the way Itachi was looking at her, intense smoulder and all, was actually more than a little bit creepy.

They continued to sit there like two complete morons for another few minutes, even though it was the middle of a very frosty December and doing so wasn't probably the wisest choice. Thankfully it was only four in the morning, so no one was there to witness it. Not that it made it any less awkward.

"I'm afraid I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings." Itachi was the first one to break the silence. He didn't move from his spot though, apparently content to stay where he was for the time being. "I apologize."

"Um, it's okay," she responded with a small nervous smile. "I'm sorry as well."

She moved onto her knees shortly afterwards and started collecting the papers, which were littering the ground around them like autumn leaves. Surprisingly enough, Itachi decided to help her and, after a moment of crawling around like toddlers, they managed to pick up all of them.

Then Itachi helped her up, offering his hand even before she had started to raise, which clearly indicated that at least one of the Uchiha brothers was a gentleman.

Back on her feet and with a handful of messy wrinkled papers that she now would also need to sort back into some semblance of order, Sakura looked up at Itachi, who was standing in front of her as if he was waiting for something. He was staring at her again, which mde her feel very self-conscious. She wasn't by any means the type of girl who was constantly worried about her looks, but who could really blame her for being a bit concerned with her appearance when such a handsome man had his gaze practically glued to her person.

She cleared her throat in an attempt to get his attention, but it didn't help much. He glanced briefly into her eyes before continuing what she could only refer to as a thoughtful assessment.

Obviously she wasn't the only one affected by the early hour.

"Uchiha-san," she said quietly to get his attention when he didn't stop staring after what must have been a few solid five minutes.

"Yes?" He asked, blinking at her slowly as if he wasn't even aware that what he had been doing could be considered impolite or simply not caring in the slightest.

"What are you doing here?"

It wasn't a question she really needed an answer to right now. She should have been on her way home or, even better, already in bed, but her curiosity was as per usual getting the better of her.

His only answer was a lifted eyebrow which clearly indicated what he thought of her rather stupid inquiry. Considering where they were, it was pretty obvious why he was here.

Sakura, not for the first time this morning, felt the need to smack herself on the forehead.

"Yes. Right. That was stupid," she said rather sheepishly, shifting a bit to accommodate the weight of the papers which were surprisingly heavy. "I'll just go now. Sorry once again."

She moved to the left with every intention of side-stepping him and hightailing as fast as her legs could carry her, but Itachi had other plans. He caught her elbow just as she was about to pass him, successfully stopping her in her tracks.

Surprised yet again by his behaviour, she looked at him with a questioning look on her face.

"I will accompany you," he stated. He then took the papers from her before she could properly process what he had said and started to move at a leisurely pace in what Sakura realized was actually the proper direction to her apartment building. A bit dazed, she followed him without a word.

Konoha was quiet and seemingly devoid of life at this time. It was still too early for anyone but some shinobi to be up and about, though they usually preferred rooftops over streets, so the two of them were completely alone. Since they were both exhausted, Sakura didn't even attempt to strike up a conversation. Then again, what could they really talk about? They have never met before, although they have probably seen each other in passing a few times and they knew some things about each other, like names and such. Being on a team with Sasuke, who idolized his older brother to the point where it bordered on obsession, made Sakura acutely aware of who exactly was walking beside her and it actually made her rather apprehensive when it came down to doing anything other than following Itachi's orders.

When they arrived at her apartment and it was time to bid each other goodbye, Sakura finally took notice of something that she should have seen earlier. Itachi wasn't dressed for the weather outside at all and was suffering because of it. She was actually surprised he wasn't shaking like a leaf where he stood, because the light ANBU gear he was wearing certainly didn't provide him with enough protection from the biting winter air. The visible skin of his upper arms was slowly changing colour from red to purple. His lips had an unhealthy bluish hue to them, which worried her just as much as his cheeks, nose and the tips of his ears which were scarlet.

"Oh for Kami's sake, Uchiha-san! What were you thinking? Do you want to die of hypothermia or something?" She scolded him with a frown as she ushered him inside her apartment, completely unperturbed by the fact that he was basically a stranger and rather unwilling to cooperate. Then again Sakura had years-worth of experience with difficult patients under her belt, so she was able to deal with him just fine.

She took the papers from him and disposed of them on the small table near the genkan after they removed their shoes. Her bone-deep exhaustion almost completely forgotten, she herded him into the living room where she sat him down on a couch, wrapped him in three blankets and ordered him to stay where he was while she went to the kitchen to prepare them some tea.

When she walked back into the room ten minutes later, Itachi was laying on his side fast asleep. Unwilling to disturb what was probably a well-deserved moment of rest, she left one of the cups on the table near the couch and decided to simply let him sleep.

Ten hours later, when Sakura finally woke up, Itachi was already gone. The blankets had been folded neatly and laid on the couch near one of the armrests, and the cup of tea she had left for him was now empty. In the middle of the table laid a single piece of paper which simply read "Thank you".

Sakura smiled.

It started with a bang and it kind of ended with one as well.