Sakura clutched the five video cassettes protectively to her chest, feeling a sense of accomplishment for successfully getting the tapes from Karin. It was certainly something that would please Itachi, and that was her only purpose for her to seize property of them. She wondered if she should leave them in his room, for him to destroy the evidence himself, or give them to him in person, already demolished entirely.
Then again, it was possible that he wanted to check the videos, to see what exactly Orochimaru and Karin had watched him doing. Perhaps she should give them to him unharmed, so he could make a full inspection of the footage. Besides, he may get some strange sort of satisfaction from utterly pulverizing the cassettes she held against her chest.
Much to her embarrassment, she came across Orochimaru on her way to Itachi, who was walking in the opposite direction as she. He gave her a strange look when seeing her overly discomforted expression, but then noticed the tapes she had in arms, and recognized them instantly. Orochimaru smirked smugly, but said nothing, continuing down the hall wordlessly.
Once she was out of view, he cackled to himself at this new circumstance, rather pleased by it. His secret plan was already set into action, and this made him simply ecstatic. This was almost as exciting as when he had given Sasuke the curse mark during the chunin exams, and this time, he knew his plan was going to be much more effective then last time. He would get his precious sharingan soon enough, as soon as Sakura was impregnated by the unknowing Uchiha.
He had done all the research; Orochimaru had checked every scroll and textbook on purgatory, and he knew it was not permanent. The pawns he was surrounded with were ignorant, thinking that they were stuck in the afterlife for all eternity, with no chance of escape. He knew better though, he knew just how he could get back into the world of the living; Sakura and Itachi were unconsciously helping him achieve his goals.
Sakura sighed once Orochimaru had turned into another hall, still feeling the familiar burn on her cheeks that came with embarrassment. He, being the one to tape them, knew what the videos were, and no doubt thought she was acting like a sick, lowly pervert, stealing the tapes from Karin to keep them to herself. She did not know why she bothered caring, his opinion of her should not have mattered. Sakura had not stolen the videos from Karin, nor had she any intention in watching them. She had been perfectly polite when asking for Karin to relinquish them to her, and she had passed the shower-spying stage when she was a genin. On top of that, she was not curious enough to see if what Karin said about Itachi was true by watching them. A small, mostly mute part of her said she was eager enough to look, but Sakura ignored it as a passing thought.
Itachi was unmoved when she returned to the living room, still holding the black, blank covered book in his lap, his eyes scanning across the pages with a lazy haze hanging over them. He looked so peaceful just then, so much so that she did not want to interrupt his reading to give him the tapes. However, she did not want to be caught still possessing them later on, or she really would be perceived as a pervert. Ruefully, she walked to stand behind him, following him along the lines in the book for a second, before he snapped it shut then looked up at her.
Her interest piqued for a second with the suspicious look he gave her, but it passed as quickly as it came. Under his calm and collected stare, she felt her mind draw blank, even if the look he gave her was rather soft for someone like him. She could already feel her lips quivering as a stutter sounded from her lips. Her weakness made her face flush deeply, which earned her a near-invisible smile from Itachi.
"I got-t the tap-pes from-m K-karin."
Itachi wanted to full out laugh. Her naivete was something he enjoyed, but not in a way that was at all cynical. He found her refreshing, and amusing in ways kunoichi like Karin never could be. Sakura had been desperate that night she came to him, willing to give up her virginity just to sooth her frustration. Generally, Sakura was modest and even shy. This sort of innocence was what made him want to throw his head back and let loose a series of heavy laughs. That, or pull her into his arms just for the sake of cuddling. She was just too damn cute for her own good.
He was not familiar with this unusual, new sensation, but knew there was not much he could do about it. It would scare her if he did either of the things he wished he could, as it was so against his outward character, and be completely unexpected. She was not completely innocent, like he wanted to think, she was still a kunoichi, no matter how modest she could be, Itachi told himself. Kunoichi had originally had one, sole purpose; the job of a female ninja was to go on seduction missions. For Sakura to be exemplar to these sort of assignments was highly unlikely.
"Thank you, koishii. It was unnecessary for you to confiscate them for me, but I cannot say how grateful I am that you did." He murmured, slipping the small book into his pocket, and then taking the small collection she had in her arms. It was slightly disturbing to see how many times Orochimaru had gotten a camera into his shower without his noticing it. It was shameful, that much was certain, if he could not sense such a simple genjutsu that had been hiding it.
"Your welcome, Itachi." She replied, briefly smiling for him and then disappearing. He watched her as she left, and then looked down at the cassettes in his hands. A large part of him wanted t o know exactly what was put onto the tape, but he had the feeling that he was better off not knowing. As long as the production of the videos did not continue, it did not matter.
He sighed softly, then left Danzo alone in the living room, not that the man cared much himself. Danzo made a point to not say anything to anyone, and no one bothered to be social with the hateful, old man. Itachi carried the pile of tapes to his room, tossing them in a heap on his bed to deal with later. When reentering the hall, Orochimaru was just passing, undoubtedly on the way to the kitchen for some sort of sustenance. The snake-like man gave him a knowing look, which he was suspicious about, but did not have time, nor inclination to address. He was much better off not knowing what the sick, twisted sannin was thinking.
Sakura was already sitting in the kitchen, nursing a cup of hot tea when Itachi entered, and he saw there were only two seats open; one beside Karin, and his koishii. It was obvious where he was going to sit, but the redhead had set herself up for disappointment when she saw him calmly take the place next to Sakura, and not-so-subtly glared at both of them.
While Sakura, too consumed in her hot tea to notice this, Itachi sensed it immediately, and sent her a warning look. Karin gulped, and tried her very best to turn invisible. Danzo, being the last to join them, took the remaining seat next to her, and Karin sank into her chair, until just her head was showing. No one bothered to give her the satisfaction of attention, and she remained this way all through breakfast.
Karin left before anyone was finished, and feeling as self-pitying and disconcerted as always, she headed straight to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut loudly enough for everyone in the kitchen to hear, and locked it violently. She was tempted take another shower, or to draw a bath, but did not feel like going through the trouble. Strangely enough, there was a CD player in the bathroom, which suited her needs. Karin turned it on, blasting The Black-eyed Peas to drown in the hip beats.
Sakura finished her scrambled eggs and link sausage soon after Karin's disappearance, and excused herself from the table. She sighed, heading directly to the bathroom, both to try taking a shower, and to understand what was wrong with Karin. She got to the door, and could hear the hip-hop music before even knocking the door. Her face scrunched up in disgust at the music, but she did not say anything about her opinion when her knuckles met the wood of the door.
"Karin, can I come in? I need to take a shower." Sakura asked over the music. She heard the volume go up after her simple question. She sighed, seeing Karin was going to be difficult about the situation they were given. The redhead said nothing in response, and Sakura had the sudden urge to kick the door in.
"How can I make things better if I do not know what I did wrong?" Sakura asked with a forced calm. Karin did not reply to Sakura, and remained in the bathroom. Sakura pounded her fist on the door, not adding chakra in fear of breaking it down. Neither said anything for a minute, and Sakura then realized that the girl was crying.
Suddenly, it struck her. Karin was upset about Itachi, and felt rejected. Sakura did not know what to do for this; she was pretty certain that there was nothing she could do for the crying girl. The least Sakura could do was leave the girl in peace, so she could have some time to recollect herself.
With this in mind, Sakura headed down the hall to where she knew Itachi's bathroom was. She was positive that he would not mind if she took a shower in his facilities, in light of her current standing. He may knock on the door to see who was in his restroom, but nothing more than that.
Sakura did not feel that it was right for her to lock the door, it was not her bathroom after all, and so she hoped anyone who bothered her had the decency to knock. Her white kimono fell to the ground, and she turned the water on, letting it heat up beforehand. She took a few seconds to find a spare towel in a cabinet, and placed it on the toilet so she could reach for it when she finished
Puffs of steam wafted overhead, and Sakura knew that the water was to her liking. She opened the glass door into the shower, closing it behind her. The water scalded her as it trickled down her face, chest, and toned stomach. She sighed in a way that if it were taken out of context, would be deemed as inappropriate. She was too relaxed, too pleased with the warmth running down her back to care, though.
Itachi sat alone at the kitchen table, him being the last to finish. He had the tendency to eat rather slowly; he much preferred to take everything in slowly, whether it be his meal, or a good book. Itachi rushed for nothing, unless it was the most urgent of matters. He took the last sip of his now lukewarm green tea, savoring the bitter taste as it flowed down his throat. His comfort hooded eyes skimmed the empty room before he got to his feet.
After rinsing off the dirty cup, Itachi left it in the sink. It would be back in the cupboard, clean and unused before anyone returned to the kitchen for lunch. Hands shoved into the pockets to his sweatpants, Itachi made his way back to his room. He intended to inspect the footage Orochimaru made of him immediately after returning to his private quarters, and depending on what he saw, he might just have to castrate the pervert. Besides, they would be back, fully functional in the morning.
Turning past his bathroom, he paused curiously. There was water running, meaning someone was in his shower. His eyes widened in absolute horror. Orochimaru must have known that his precious videos had been confiscated by Sakura, and now had decided to film more. His jaw hardened, the only indication of his anger besides the slight twitch of his eyebrows. Itachi could not allow for this to happen; he would not let Orochimaru set up another camera.
Itachi threw open the door, expecting to find a scheming Orochimaru, chortling to himself, and rose his voice angrily. "Orochimaru, you had better have a good explanation for-
Instead, he caught Sakura under the stream of hot water, her hands reaching into her pink hair, lathering his shampoo into its wet, slightly-red tinted locks. He watched in amazement as the water rolled over the flushed skin of her breasts and then her flat stomach, and he swallowed dryly.
Sakura's eyes shot open a second after his entering, hearing his shout in shock, and did the only thing she could think of. She screamed bloody murder.
Itachi shut the door, cursing under his breath. Everyone in the complex must have heard her shriek, and would come to see what had gone amiss. He dragged his eyes away from her bare, wet form, and rubbed the bridge of his nose in distress. Sakura stumbled back in the shower, covering herself as much as she could with both hands.
She was honestly not sure why she even bothered. Itachi had seen her fully naked, just the night before, when she had made that clumsy attempt at seducing him. Now she was making feeble efforts to be sure he did not see her nude, which was impossible, after what she had done last night. He had seen everything there was to look at, had even felt her. She had nothing to hide from him now.
Sakura quietly shut the water off and stood in the shower stall, shivering. Itachi looked at her without letting his eyes wander, his onyx meeting her emerald. He said nothing, but sighed softly, opening the glass door. She stood utterly still, too shocked to react to his actions. Her arms stayed crossed against her chest protectively, never moving when his hand slowly grasped her shoulder and smoothly pulled her out of the stall.
Never once letting his eyes drift down from those bright, doe-like orbs, he lifted her arms away from her chest. Itachi grabbed the spare towel set out for her, and wrapped it around her shaking, cold body. It was somewhat awkward to have someone dry her off, but she was all right with it, knowing he would not look anywhere but into her eyes.
"I apologize for intruding. I had thought it was Orochimaru in here, scheming again." Itachi muttered in embarrassment. He stepped away from her, and observed the blush donning her cheeks. Their relationship had been complicated before, because of his confession and her seducing, but now it was even more tense.
Sakura shook her head. "Karin would not let me into our bathroom. I should have asked you before using yours, instead of just doing it." She mumbled back, her eyes falling to the floor. Neither of them knowing what to say to each other, a deafening silence hung over them, thickening with every moment that passed without them talking.
With nothing to say to her, Itachi bent down to pick up the clothes she had abandoned on the floor. He handed it to her, and with a shy, uncertain smile, she accepted his kind gesture, and took it from him. He returned the smile with the same hesitance, his lips only just tilting upwards. Sakura knew for him to smile was something of a rarity, and could not help but to grin up at him, all her pearly teeth being shown off.
She should have been angry with him for getting a free peek at her when she was wet and nakedly vulnerable. Yet, she was not. He was not to blame for this, after all, it was her that was using his shower without permission. She was using his towel, his shower, his shampoo. She had not thought about it before, but now that she did, Sakura realized how intimate it was to be sharing something as personal as shampoo.
"Thank you, Itachi. I am the one who should be apologizing." Sakura said quietly. Itachi said nothing, and once she was covered enough to leave the bathroom with her kimono back on, he opened the door. As she walked through the archway into the hall, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and closed the door behind her.
Sakura flushed and her eyes widened in surprise as the door shut. A smirk spread across her face, and she made her way down the hall to her room. In the privacy of her own accommodations, Sakura let the kimono slip to the floor and she went to her closet, picking out the usual red vest, tan skirt and black spandex shorts. Brushing her unruly, pink mane, she brought a few strands that were falling into her face to her nose and sniffed. Sure enough, it smelt just like Itachi; musk, fresh rainfall, and smoky wood.
She shook her head in disbelief, wondering just when she had started to recognize how Itachi smelt. Her face reddened at the realization that as far as men went, Itachi had a very appealing scent to him. She had never smelt armpit or sweat on him before. He had a spicy, masculine aroma, and was clean. And he did not stare at her when she was naked.
If Sasuke had seen her naked like that, he would have acted on bodily instinct, whether she wanted him to or not. Itachi was kind enough to pull her frozen with shock body out of the stall and help her dry off. Sakura inwardly gaped at herself. What was she thinking? That Itachi was better than Sasuke? That could not be. Sakura had to be losing her very mind, she was certain of it.
She had loved Sasuke, only thought of how he smelled, and how he looked. She had promised herself she would not think of him, but that did not mean that it was acceptable to be thinking about Itachi instead. Though she had tried to use Itachi for sex, so she could forget Sasuke, did not mean that it was tolerable. She should not be allowed to think of him as she was.
Sakura put down the brush after one last stroke through her hair, and sighed. She took a look into the full length mirror, and satisfied with her appearance, she left her room.
Itachi was most displeased with what he found on the five tapes. He was not sure which was more disturbing, the fact that Orochimaru had decided to video him as he had, or that Karin had taken possession of the film after for her own enjoyment. While it would be very satisfying to kill the two of them, Itachi knew it would only be a waste of time. The perverted duo would be back, safe and sound, in the morning.
He stared at the pile of tapes for a moment, unsure of how exactly he should destroy the evidence. It would be so simple to just crush them and burn the plastic left over, but at the same time, he did not want his room to be set on fire. He breathed out tiredly, taking one and bending it in one direction until it snapped. He grabbed another cassette and repeated, until there were a pile of mangled film and black plastic. Glaring, his anger for the videos still not quenched, a smirk crossed his features.
Itachi picked up the pile of plastic, and carried it into the kitchen, and he set the mess of tapes onto the counter next to the sink. Ignoring the strange look Deidara was giving him, Itachi reached over and flipped the switched to the garbage disposal. It roared to life, and Itachi snatched the first broken piece of tape, pushing it down the drain and listening as it ground into black dust.
A terrifying, sadistic smile spread across his face as Itachi fed the disposal another chunk of plastic. Deidara blinked a few times at him, quickly deciding that the Uchiha was having way too much fun for his own good. He could not recall ever having seen Itachi smile at anything, and sot the very idea was disturbing. He glanced at the diminishing pile of trash, and realized it was tapes that Itachi was so happily pulverizing.
"Uchiha, what are you doing, un?" Deidara finally asked hesitantly. Itachi looked up from the drain, his out-of-place grin still plastered on his face. Deidara shivered in slight fear, almost saying that it was fine, that it was better not knowing, when Itachi answered.
"Abolishing the evidence." He said lightly. Deidara's skin crawled at the joyful tone Itachi had. He thought it best to leave, for his own, personal safety, and went into the living room. Apparently, Karin had gotten out of her hiding place in the bathroom, because the redhead was sitting on an armchair, her legs tucked underneath her. She was reading what looked to be a disgustingly sappy romance novel, a box of tissues set on the side in precaution. Deidara snorted; he had been so certain that Karin was illiterate, but clearly he was wrong.
"Uchiha was acting really strange, un. He was smiling, but it was not an I-am-happy sort of smile, but an I-am-going-to-fucking-kill-you smile." He shuddered, flopping himself on the couch adjacent to her, his feet propped up onto the armrest. She curiously looked up from her book, wondering what had made Itachi smile, until figuring it must have been his beloved Sakura. She frowned, then turned back to the depressingly mushy novel.
"It was really weird, un. He was shoving broken video cassettes down the garbage disposal. I swear, I thought he was about to start laughing manically." Deidara continued. Karin shrieked in surprised at hearing how abused her wonderful tapes were. Deidara gave her a strange, confused look, and she covered her mouth in embarrassment. She should have known that Sakura would turn them to Itachi. Based on what he was doing to them, Itachi was not pleased by what he found on them.
"What was that, un?" He asked in bewilderment. She shook her head, standing up and leaving the living room to hide in her room. If Itachi was grinding the tapes into oblivion, she did not want to know what he would do to her, should they cross paths. She snuck past the kitchen, listening in horror as he destroyed her precious videos, and then dashed down the hall, ignoring Sakura as she went.
Sakura stared at Karin's quickly disappearing figure in bemusement. She shrugged, deciding that the girl was too unstable to talk to. She continued down the hall, in the direction Karin had been running from, until reaching the kitchen. She stood in the archway for a few moments, observing Itachi as he fed the garbage disposal.
Sakura stood there silently, Itachi still oblivious to her presence there. When he started to chuckle to himself, however, she could not help but to laugh at his antics. She entered the kitchen entirely, and jumped up onto the counter to sit next to his mostly diminished pile. He glanced at her for a second, but then turned back to the sink drain.
"Are you having fun, Itachi?" She teased with good humor, watching with amusement as he tossed in the last of his abolished pile. He did not answer at first, waiting for the blades to clear before switching off the disposal. Somewhat out of character, he hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter opposite to her. He shook his head and sighed.
"Most definitely not." He replied calmly. Again, she laughed. Itachi tilted his head and rose a delicate brow in confusion, not understanding what exactly she found about his actions to be so entertaining.
"It 'most definitely' looked like you were having fun." She said, her tone mocking his lightly. Sakura found his actions to be completely ridiculous, a little over he top. She had imagined him smashing them, or perhaps burning them, but for him to grind them into absolutely nothing; the thought made her laugh.
"What makes you think I enjoyed utterly demolishing the evidence?"
"You were laughing." She giggled, covering her mouth with her hands to hold back the full-blown laughter threatening to come out.
"I was not laughing. I was chuckling darkly. There is a difference, koishii." He grumbled back. Itachi was certain he had not laughed ever in his existence, and that he never would. He would have to be so out of his comfort zone, that it was not even funny.
"Whatever you say, Itachi." She responded airily. He rolled his eyes, and silence fell between them. Sakura's eyes drifted to her dangling feet, and she subconsciously started to twiddle her thumbs, then bite her lips. This, he had discovered previously, was one of her few nervous habits. His brows knitted together, receiving the impression that she had initially come to tell him something, though was now too uncomfortable to do so. Closing his dark eyes, he slowly breathed out, his eyebrows relaxing. They flashed open again, and a second later, a smirk crossed his smooth features.
He slid from the countertop, and with a mischievous smirk still in place, Itachi took the few steps between them, and stopped in the small gap between her legs. He reached past her head, opening a cabinet behind her to grab a glass. She looked up, shocked to find two, startling dark eyes staring back at her. She gulped, seeing the dares in their depths.
"Do you have something you need to say, koishii?" He asked, his velvety tenor at ease, but somehow taunting. She blushed, wondering how he knew what she was really there for, but then remembered a vital fact. This was Uchiha Itachi. He knew everything. She sighed, and without realizing it, pressed her broad forehead onto his cool one. Sakura rested it there for a few seconds, with her eyes shut, before answering him.
"I noticed that I got better sleep last night than I have in weeks. I may be wrong, but I cannot help but to think that was because of you. I am afraid to go back to my room tonight, to sleep alone, to be haunted by my dreams again. I know it is awkward, and I understand if you say no, but I was hoping you would let me let me spend the night in your room again." She whispered softly, too anxious to keep eye contact with him, her eyes drifted to her hands, which lay in her lap.
"Koishii," Itachi murmured, "sleep with me."
Her eyes shot up in surprise at what he said. His dark, consuming orbs were soft and caring, and it was then that she truly noticed their proximity. For some reason, she did not care that he was so close. She sucked in, breathing his scent, smelling his breath. It was intoxicating, and she felt her mind go numb.
"Thank you, Itachi." She breathed, and before she knew just what she was doing her lips reached for his.
To say that he was surprised by her actions was an understatement, but Itachi was wholly pleased but what she did. His lips moved against hers like satin, drinking in her heady scent. It remained chaste, and Itachi was fine with this, and he was still content when she finally pulled away in confusion.
Sakura could not believe what she had just done. She had instigated a kiss with Uchiha Itachi, of all people. What was even more unbelievable was that she had enjoyed it. What had she been thinking? She already knew the answer; Sakura had put no thought into the kiss at all. It was his fault, for smelling so goddamned good. She sighed, knowing that was a lie. She was to blame, her and her confused mind.
Itachi looked at her with no small amount of pride. He had known this would happen eventually, but by that small interaction, she had shown him what she kept deep in her heart. He was winning the war, not that he was shocked by it. Uchiha Itachi always got what he wanted.
AN: Please review!