SakuIta Chapter 7 The Jealous Boyfriend pt2

Hehe. Sorry I haven't been updating that often. I love writing but I don't really have a routine for it. I just do it when I feel like it or feel inspired.

Anyhow, because you've been awesome here's part two! And here's a treat: there are three parts in total, plus a few more chapters after that.

AND I LOVE REVIEWS! More reviews = me more happy = more inspiration = more writing = more chapters = more frequent updates!

Enjoy!

*RECAP*

"I-I," Sakura stammered, flushed. "I forgot. But it's not my fault, I haven't celebrated his birthday in years! Not that we celebrated each other's birthdays that often, anyway…"

Sasuke smirked. "Well, now you know and you have five days to get him something."

"Thanks Sasuke, you're a lifesaver!" Sakura gave him a bone-crushing hug and a friendly peck on the cheek before rushing off. Where she went, Sasuke didn't know, but he felt good about helping out his friend. He felt like Cupid, in a way.

Wait. He did not just think that. Aww, man! He groaned inwardly. I gotta stop poking around Sakura's library.

*END RECAP*

Books…shoes…t-shirts… a gift card for the weapons shop…movies…music…salami…wait, what? Sakura sighed. Konoha had just about everything a shinobi village could offer and more, yet she was frustrated that despite everything that was available she was unable to find Itachi a descent birthday present. Not to mention that she was under even more stress because this was the first birthday they celebrated as a couple – and Itachi had already done so much for her! She'd feel stupid, inferior and come across as uncaring if she didn't give him something outstanding.

Shaking her head trying to push away the negative thoughts, Sakura walked across the market, half-looking at things while she tried to think about a good gift for Itachi. Although her boyfriend was warm and kind, she really didn't know about his preferences. Sure, they talked a lot, but they talked mostly about what was going on around them or in their lives, not that much about themselves. Well, except for Sakura. Itachi always somehow managed to turn the conversation from talking about himself to talking about her.

He was just shy that way. Most people would say secretive, but that was definitely shy. Not to mention that it could also be his ninja training kicking in unconsciously. Shinobis had to learn how to turn a conversation around to take suspicion and interest off themselves.

Returning to the problem at hand, Sakura also didn't know what to get a guy that she hadn't talked to in years, who even before then hadn't had much to do with her. She knew what to get the other guys because she grew up with them. They weren't Siamese twins, but they went to school and on missions together, as well as they were the same age so they hung out more.

Take Naruto, for example. A gift certificate for an all-you-can-eat ramen restaurant for a month just about had him over the moon one year. Another year, she had given him three scrolls which taught new very powerful jutsus that Tsunade believed were safe enough to learn. That had him training for months, all the while grinning like a loon.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was a little harder to shop for, but knowing him like she did, it wasn't that hard. She gave him a history book she had bought while on a mission to the Village Hidden in the Water, which explained the different types of chakra and eye Kenken Genkai. That made him smile a lot. It was nearly impossible to get him to put down the book until he had finished it and nearly memorized it. Plus a new sheath for his bran-new katana that sharpened it every time it was taken out didn't get such a bad reaction.

The list went on and on. Perfume for Ino. A picture of Naruto for Hinata. A beehive for Shino. Colored sand for Gaara. A guide for tsobu points for Neji. Etcetera, etcetera. It was so easy with everyone, but Sakura had to show how much she cared for Itachi. She couldn't just give him any little thing.

"Think, think," she murmured to herself. "Think. What does a guy like, and then from there what could Itachi like? Hmm."

As she kept walking, head down deep in thought, she didn't notice Itachi catch up to her. When she didn't look up in acknowledgement to him, Itachi frowned. She knew when he was nearby and was always ready to welcome him with that beautiful smile of hers, even if she was very busy, tired, or if he was out of sight. Itachi decided to stay beside her for a little longer and wait until she noticed him by herself.

As they kept on walking, Itachi right behind her, Sakura only seemed to think more deeply and ignore the outside world more. Itachi decided to walk beside her; maybe like that she would notice him not by his chakra as she usually did, but by her peripheral vision. He smoothly sped up his pace and effortlessly stepped in line with the pink-haired girl. She didn't notice.

Now Itachi was worried. What could she be thinking of that she didn't even seem to realize that he had been within less than an arm's reach from her for the past five minutes? He leaned his head closer to hers, arching his back slightly because of their difference in height, and was about to whisper a greeting in her ear when he stopped as he heard her speak. It was so low that even he, with his finely tuned ears, had to focus and strain to understand what she was saying.

"Maybe…nah, that won't do. But perhaps a new sound system? No, he'd never accept that…he doesn't seem to listen to music that much anyways…hmm." Who was she talking about? They turned a corner into a dirt path that led to the outskirts of the village, into the farming portion. Itachi took advantage of the lack of noise to pull back and listen to her from a little more distance. He was simply to curious to interrupt her now.

Sakura, oblivious, kept on walking and talking to herself. "But he already has one…no, scratch that, he has three…hmm…but a book is kinda lame…That could work, but is it even worth his interest? It could be worth a try…But how about…maybe…No, not possible…" Now Itachi's curiosity sky-rocketed. It was clear that she was thinking and struggling with what to give to someone, but to whom? Who could cause the genius Cherry Blossom, Konoha's top medic-nin, to struggle so hard for an answer? He edged closer.

"Come on, Sakura," she kept on murmuring. "Think like a guy! What can they possibly like?"

A guy! Sakura was struggling to find a gift for a guy! But who? Itachi was about to reach out and tap her shoulder to get her attention when Sakura suddenly stopped in her tracks and her head snapped up, her eyes blazing with new found inspiration and relief. "Why didn't I think of that before? Gosh, I'm so dumb sometimes!"

Never, thought Itachi. He opened his mouth to speak to her, when she suddenly turned and bolted right past him back into the village with an "oh, hey Itachi!" And she was gone.

Never, not in a million years had an Uchiha been left with a loss for words and open-mouthed, but that was how Itachi had been left. Sakura had acknowledged him, but just barely. And she just bolted past him without even smiling or looking him in the eye like she usually did! Something was definitely up.

And Itachi was determined to find out what.