AN: I have been told over the course of this story that Itachi is a little OC. I will kindly remind you that this is my fanfic, and so I am allowed to change him a little. *pouts* I guess I should explain this though. I always saw Itachi as being a somewhat quiet, gentle sort of person, which when comparing to Sasuke's harsh, demanding and cold character, makes him a good match for Sakura. I wanted him to be caring and supportive of Sakura in this story, which is why he may seem a little out of character. Still, keep in mind that during his life, he actually was (in his strange way) a caring person, he just was not allowed to show it. Now that he is dead, he has no reason to hide who he really is anymore. If you read this note, thanks, if not... well, I guess that is your problem. On with the story!
Itachi stared at her in shock, disbelief written all over his face. He threw his blanket off, sitting up and preparing to stand so he could get her covered again. She apparently thought that if they had sex, she would feel better. He understood her desperation, but also knew that what she wanted was wrong. If he let himself take advantage of her, even if Sakura was the one to tell him to, he would hate himself in the morning, and she would hate him even more.
This was not how it was supposed to be; surely she realized this as well. He stood, then taking a step closer, only to have himself pushed back onto the bed. Itachi watched in shell-shocked amazement as Sakura pressed his shoulders down, until he was laying fully on the bed. Sakura swung a leg on either side of him, straddling him effectively while running sultry hands over the taut muscles of his bare chest. It was a lie to say he was not tempted to do as she wished, and take her right then and there, but Itachi knew he had to remain impervious to her actions.
"I know this is what you want, Itachi. Just do it already. Make love to me." She whispered, her voice shaky. Despite her apparent nervousness and clear pain, she ground herself into his crotch determinedly. Itachi would have to have been lying if he said he did not enjoy it. It was because of the pleasure it gave him that he glared up at her for a second, but after seeing the brokenness in her eyes, he could not remain angry with her. She was confused, so he had to set her straight.
"I most certainly do not want this, Sakura. This would not be making love, it would be a bad excuse to fuck." He said with as much indifference as he could muster. She stilled for a second, letting his words sink in, before taking both of his hands, and continuing to twist her hips in lithe motions. She pulled them both up, until placing them on either breast. Sakura pressed them harshly against herself, her nipples perking from both his chilled hands and anticipation.
"I need this, Itachi. Do this for me, please?" She begged, holding his hands in place and leaning down to take his lips. She was so desperate, so in need, but he had to resist the temptation. He promised her that when she allowed him to, he would help her, would fix her, but this was not what he had meant. Taking control of the situation, Itachi flipped them over, so she was on her back and he was looming over her. She gasped, no doubt surprised by his forward actions.
"Is this what you really wish for, Sakura? For me to fuck you as hard as I can?" He asked, pressing their bodies together. Somehow to prove a point, he rubbed back, and then squeezed the soft breasts she had already filled his hands with. She was almost certain he would give in, with his roaring hormones. It was sad how little it took to get something from a man. Sakura had to tell herself it did not matter whatever the case. Eyes filling with tears, she answered him.
"You want this as much as I require it. Call it whatever you want; making love, having sex, or even simply fucking, it is all the same medically."
Itachi shook his head to disagree. It was not the same, and this was something she needed to comprehend. "It is not the same, Sakura. When two people make love to each other, it should be something sacred, something pure. It is a way that people connect with one another, not only on a physical level, but emotional. When two people fuck, there is no attachment, no feeling for one another, just pent up frustration. I do not want that for you, I will not taint you, koishii."
"Frustration is all that I have, Itachi! I cannot stand to feel so empty, so hollow. Fill me, make me feel alive again, that is all I ask for. I do not care what you want to call it, but take me!" Sakura retorted, pulling him down for a second kiss. He, having the advantage of strength, pulled upward away from her lips. The temptation to do as she pleaded was hard enough to ignore with the skin on skin contact they held at that moment. If he allowed her to kiss him, he might actually give into her demands. If that happened, their relationship would never progress into something more substantial.
"No, koishii. If we ever do this, it will not be now, and not how you think you want it. It is not supposed to be like this." Itachi said, getting off her. Sakura was somewhat surprised by what he said, and for a second, missed the warmth he provided. She looked up at him, begging for him to give in, for him to make her feel things she had never experienced. He met her eyes with his own dark ones, his expression unrelenting. For the second time in Sakura's existence, she felt utterly rejected.
Sakura knew that this was not what Itachi had intended her to feel, but she did. She felt that he did not want to touch her, did not want to even look in her direction. In this case, she could not blame him; she was a complete mess. Sakura herself would not want to even look in the mirror.
Itachi watched as she completely broke down, crying her heart out into his chest, clutching him with no immediate intention in letting go. He did not object, he had just confused her more than Sasuke ever had, and she needed some type of consultation. His brother had failed in this part, and he refused to do the same. Sasuke had ignored her, had left her behind when what she truly needed was for someone to stay next to her, whisper sweet words softly into her hair as she lay torn apart.
Her strength subsided, and Itachi pulled Sakura to her feet, then led her to the middle of the room, where her kimono lay on the floor. He stooped down to pick it up, and seeing her disconnected facial expression, Itachi wrapped the material around her naked form, and then retied her obi. They both stood there for a few moments, neither of them sure of what to say.
"Do not make me leave, Itachi. I cannot go back to that room alone." She whimpered, crossing arms over her chest protectively. Sakura felt so ashamed, so dirty, considering what she had just done. It was so wrong of her to go to Itachi and demand sex. Her gratitude for him overflowed; she was glad he had not done as she begged. Sakura would not have regretted it that night, but in the morning, she would have felt it with full force.
She should have disregarded what she learned as a kunoichi when she was younger, ever since she got here. From a young age, all the girls had been taught that sex was just something they could use against men to complete missions, or to find some sort of self satisfaction. For some reason, she had grouped Itachi with every other man in existence, something she obviously should not have done. It was clear that he did not have such a skewed view of sex, and apparently, she did instead.
For one reason or another, Sakura had always thought that if it was not with Sasuke, then it would not be real. She did not know how she had not tripped and fallen on her face before this, with how bad her vision of everything was. Now she realized, sex, no matter who it was with, should be a thing of beauty, almost a work of art. Sasuke surely was not the only one capable of making something like sex magnificent.
"I would not dare think of it. Come here, koishii." He said, holding his arms out for her. Still hugging herself, Sakura took the short steps between them and let Itachi hold her in his arms. Slowly, he leaned into her, resting his cheek on her crown of her head. Her head found its place in the crook of his neck, and he hummed to her softly as tears trailed down her face, rocking them back and forth in a comforting rhythm.
She tired soon enough, and Itachi lightly tugged her to the bed. Sakura did not resist his actions as he laid her down, and then as he crawled under the covers next to her. Itachi was careful to keep a defined distance between them. Sakura silently turned to the side away from him, trying to find the most relaxing position she could, but with Itachi giving her an accommodating amount of room, she felt anxious.
"Hold me, Itachi." He heard her whisper. Itachi did not answer to her request, but instead did as she wished. This much he could give her, and not be overcome by whatever desire he held for the woman. In tentatively slow motions, Itachi placed an arm in the dipping curve of her side, his hand meeting her stomach and then pulling her into him. Sakura's tense body set itself at ease with the feeling of his protective warmth encircle her in all of his entirety. Sleep overtook her, and dreams did not wake her.
"Goodnight, koishii." Itachi breathed, kissing her shoulder cautiously, as to not wake her. For a long time he laid next to Sakura, listening to her quiet breathing, and staring at her tired form. It was so foreign, having someone asleep in his arms, being so close to someone that he could hear her heart beating. He welcomed it, and once familiarized with the new sensation, he let himself nod off.
It was too early, Itachi wanted to complain, when he woke. He froze for a moment, feeling the soft figure in his arms, until he recalled the night, and how Sakura had stayed with him. More to himself than anyone else, Itachi smiled down at her mess of pink hair, now creating a halo around her head on his pillow. He slipped his arm out from under her warily, then sat up silently. She was more exhausted than ever, it seemed, and so he left her to sleep.
Itachi closed the door behind him as he snuck out of the room, and made his way to the bathroom for a shower. No one else was up, which he was thankful for, he needed the peace if he was ever going to mull over the previous evening's events.
Sakura woke up alone, though she still could detect Itachi's warmth in the sheets next to her. Heat rushed to her face at remembering what she had done the night before. Unable to look around the room, to tell herself that she was a whore for the actions she took last night, Sakura shifted onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.
She had only been right about one thing that night, she needed Itachi there. After falling asleep in his arms, the torturous dreams had not come back to torment her. She had so much to thank him for, though she doubted her pride would ever allow her to voice what she needed to tell him.
Without her noticing it, Itachi's door slid open. "Good morning, koishii. How did you sleep?" A velvety smooth tenor called to Sakura, and she shot up into a sitting position in surprise, then her head whipped around to look at the owner of the voice. She swallowed dryly at what she saw.
Itachi stood calmly, almost flaunting his bare chest. He was wearing another pair of black sweatpants, and Sakura gulped at seeing how lowly they hung on his hips. Her eyes followed the trail of small black hairs leading from below his pants line up to his navel. There was so much pale skin, with muscles faintly rippling underneath, and she sensed her cheeks reddening at the sight of him. It was ridiculous how she was acting, she had seen him with only a towel on before, and she had not reacted like this. As a medic, she had seen plenty of good looking men without shirts on, but it was somehow different this time.
"I-I slept better this time, thank y-you." She stuttered, turning her head away. Pretending not to understand why she was so embarrassed, Itachi took out a tee from his dresser, and pulled it on over his head. Inwardly, he was rather pleased by her modesty. It was somewhat paradoxical of her, considering what she had demanded of him the night previous.
"I am glad to hear it. Is it safe to assume you are in want of a shower?" He asked, his voice flowing. Her face still tinted pink, she turned back to look at him, and she nodded her head in affirmation. Sure that her kimono was still covering her properly, Sakura tumbled out of his bed, then bowed her head to him. He clicked his tongue in disapproval, and she faced him fully.
"I suppose I will see you later." She mumbled, kissing his cheek. She silently prayed he got her message, that she had somehow relayed to him how grateful she was for what he did for her. He seemed to understand, because when she looked back up into his face, she saw the corners of his mouth slightly upturning. With that, Sakura left his room.
Not five minutes after she had left, there was a knock on Itachi's door. He assumed that it was Sakura, and that she had somehow forgotten something, and so he went to answer it. He was slightly disappointed to see Karin standing there instead, though he did not let this show on his face.
"Have you seen Sakura? I cannot find her anywhere." She whined in her high pitched voice. The very sound grounded on Itachi's ears. A glare immediately set in, and for a moment, he said nothing at all. When he was certain that he was not irritated enough with the annoying female to dislodge her head from her shoulders, he replied.
"She just left a moment ago." Itachi grunted in response. She blinked up at him for a moment, attempting to comprehend what exactly that meant. When she discovered its meaning, she had to hold back a shocked gasp. If Sakura had been with Itachi so early in the morning, then that must have meant that she had spent the night in his bedroom. Karin was certain that their night had not been spent innocently with each other.
"Sakura spent the night." She uttered unthinkingly. Itachi's eye twitched, a dangerous sign to be sure, but it went unnoticed by the redhead kunoichi. She was too consumed in her own world to feel the aggravation rolling off Itachi in thick enough waves to be cut with a knife. She also failed to see how tightly his fists were clenched, wishing emmencely to grasp her frail, unprotected neck.
"I do not see how that is any of your business." Itachi stated coldly. He was naturally not a violent person, but it seemed that Karin brought the worst out of him. Normally, he did not even think of killing people, and he preferred peaceful solutions to problems, but this was not so with the infuriating kunoichi.
"Sorry, Itachi. I will go." She bowed quickly, then turned down the hall in record speed. It appeared that she finally sensed his aversion, and had decided to run for the hills, Itachi mused. All for the better, he concluded. Karin was nothing but a sore in anyone's side.
Karin was rash, violent, and generally, had a bad attitude. Itachi, of course, failed to remember that Sakura often times had these attributes as well, though in his vantage point, her other qualities made up for that. She had a certain elegance about her that Karin clearly lacked, and unlike most shinobi, she cared. She was a very caring person, even if she herself was utterly miserable.
Karin, after getting over the initial shock of discovering what Sakura had done with Itachi the night previous, stormed down the halls into the open living room. She huffed to herself, and then splayed across one of the couches, her arms still crossed. She noticed that, just as she had told Deidara it would, there was a new lamp in the living room, and the glass was gone, though she knew no one bothered to clean it.
Unfortunately, she was soon joined by both Deidara and Sakura, who were snickering back and forth about something she could not hear. Wonderful, she thought exasperatedly, just the two people she wanted to see. Not. Deidara she could not care less about, but it irritated her that as soon as Sakura had fooled around with Itachi, and was now moving on to the next potential man.
"Hey, Deidara, what do you know? The lamp is back, just as I told you it would be. Everything is fine." Karin sneered, getting the blond's attention. His eyebrows furrowed at what she said, still not appeased. His opinion stayed the same, whether or not the lamp was back.
"It still could have killed me, or something." He grumbled. Karin smirked; there was nothing she loved more than grating on Deidara's nerves, since there was nothing else worthwhile to do.
"No, I could not have. I bet that if I did 'kill' you, you would be back again in the morning." Karin claimed haughtily. He gave her a dangerous glare, that gave Sakura the impression that he wanted to blow her up in a large explosion.
"What is wrong, Deidara? Are you scared to die a second time?" Sakura laughed, her teasing bringing his attention back to her, and away from Karin. He puffed up his chest in masculine pride.
"Who told you that, un? I practically killed myself fighting that Sasuke. I am not scared to die again." He boasted. Sakura keeled over with laughter, which Deidara tried to understand. Karin watched this unfold, not liking that she had lost the center stage to another girl.
"Personally, Deidara, I do not think it is medically possible to die twice. Otherwise, Danzo would not be here. He would have succeeded with suicide long ago, and be in some other unfortunate place." Sakura said, trying to keep a straight face. Deidara snorted at her observation, which set off her laughter. He soon joined in, and the two collapsed on opposite couches. A minute or so later, Danzo himself entered the room, which caused a whole other laughing fit.
Karin sat silently, her arms tightly crossed against her chest still, and her lips pursed. Sakura seemed to have a much better mood than the day before, which she could only guess was triggered by one thing. Anyone who had been fucked so hard by Uchiha Itachi that the foundation shook would be emmencely happy the next day. As subtly as Karin could, she glared at Sakura. This was hardly conspicuous, and so Sakura caught on quickly enough.
"Are you angry with me for something, Karin?" Sakura asked curiously, feeling slightly confused. She could think of nothing she did to enrage Karin, so she wondered what was upsetting the girl.
"I am disgusted. Itachi fucks your brains out last night, and here you are, flirting with Deidara. It is sickening!" She replied with a shrill. Both Sakura and Deidara gasped in shock, and Sakura feels her face go red. She wondered if Karin had somehow been going past Itachi's room the night previous, and heard her demands.
"Uchiha got laid? I was sure he was asexual, un!" Deidara half-yelled. Karin gave him a pointed look, that said that the argument was between her and Sakura, and that he should not butt in.
"First off, Itachi and I never had sex! Second, just because I am talking with someone of the opposite gender, does not mean I am flirting with them!" Sakura wailed. Karin looked unconvinced.
"Then what were you doing in his bedroom last night? Having a nice little conversation?" Karin retorted, still feeling hurt. Sakura sucked in quickly. What she had done was not nice, nor was it innocent, but they certainly did not have sex.
"Wow, I did not think that Uchiha had it in him, un." Deidara commented offhandedly. Both kunoichi glared at him this time.
"I had those dreams again. Instead of going to the kitchen, I went to Itachi. I ended up falling asleep there." What Sakura said was not a lie, but it was not the whole entire story either. Karin did not need to know how Sakura had failed at seducing Itachi, and how she had pathetically cried into his chest for a good hour.
"Never would have thought of Itachi for comfort, un. I guess Uchiha really is asexual." Deidara snickered.
"A common misconception." They heard from entrance. Everyone in the group turned to see Itachi there, and they watched as he took a seat near Sakura. She wondered how much of the conversation he had heard. She hoped that Itachi had not heard about Karin's accusation. "I am a human male, and despite popular belief, I possess a healthy number of hormones." He continued tiredly, sending Karin a warning glance.
"Fine, Uchiha must be gay then." Deidara said without thinking. He recieved a well deserved smack from Karin for his unwanted comment. Everyone knew he had only said it to rile up Itachi, and he was not one to fall for the taunting.
"Deidara, is it not your morning to prepare breakfast?" Itachi finally asked smoothly as the room quieted. He seemed to bring a calming aura with him wherever he went, Sakura thought. Deidara grumbled something under his breath, but left to cook something to eat. Karin left as well, saying something about needing a shower. This left Sakura alone with Itachi, besides Danzo.
"I want to thank you again, Itachi, for stopping me last night. It was really stupid, what I tried to pull." Sakura whispered, somewhat afraid to look in his direction. She felt even more gratitude after the talk with Karin. If she really had sex with Itachi the night previous, her guilt for lying would have been immeasurable.
"Think nothing of it, koishii." He answered softly, pulling out a blank covered, black bound book, and opening it to somewhere in the middle. Sakura smiled at the endearment. It appeared that she was getting used to being called that by him, unthinkable as it was. She did not even imagine Sasuke calling her by such a nickname.
After visiting Itachi last night, she had slept so much easier, and because of that she felt much better during the day, but Sakura was slightly concerned over what would happen when evening drew near again. It was awkward to ask Itachi if she could sleep with him again, but a part of her already knew that she would not be able to sleep properly unless she did. Based on how kind he had been the night previous, Sakura had the impression that he would allow it again.
Sighing, she stood. Sakura had to do something to thank Itachi, more than just doing so verbally. She thought back to things she knew about him, trying to think of things he would like, until she got an appropriate idea. With this in mind, she went to find Karin.
Sakura knew that Karin was probably still in the shower by the time she thought of what she needed to do for Itachi, and so she headed straight to her room to wait. She stood like a sentinel, not even moving until Karin came into view. She grimaced as soon as she saw Sakura standing in front of her room, but continued anyway.
"Karin, I need something." Sakura said simply. Karin frowned, hoping that it was not something too difficult. She said nothing more, and waited for Karin to say something in response.
"What is it?" She finally replied moodily. Sakura sighed, seeing she was going to be as difficult as she could.
"I know you still have those tapes of Itachi. I need you to give me them." Sakura said slowly, waiting for the eruption. Sure enough, Karin burst with fury at the very request.
"Why the hell should I give those to you? Those are mine, and I am not giving them to you just so you can watch Itachi!" She shrieked, her face turning nearly purple with anger. Sakura paled; she had not thought of that interpretation for her actions. She had only intended to destroy them, or give Itachi the tapes, so he could do it himself.
"I do not want them to watch! I am doing this for Itachi's benefit, not my own!" Sakura replied indignantly. Karin blinked for a moment, then it made sense. Sakura was starting to care for Itachi, so much that she was doing 'thoughtful things' for him. For that alone, she gave up the tapes, for the sweet thought behind it. She knew that Sakura was more caring than she was, and for that, she let defeat wash over her, though she had known it would end like this from the very beginning.
AN: Sorry, some of you thought that there was going to be a lemon in this chapter, but no. Not yet. Please review anyway! (Stop throwing those keyboards at me!)