Chapter 3 – Poison
Refuse to feel anything at all, refuse to slip, refuse to fall
You can't be weak, can't stand still
You watch your back 'cause no one will
You don't know why they had to go this far
Traded your worth for these scars, for your only company
Don't believe the lies that they have told to you
Yeah, not one word was true
You're alright, you're alright, you're alright
- Lifehouse "Simon"
Itachi was avoiding the clan elders.
He was at the point where he would gladly and shamelessly accept his rude actions. It was quite a difficult task actually. He was stuck in the village again, after Sakura somehow persuaded the Sandaime that he should receive the remaining two weeks off after interrupting his assigned vacation time with a mission. So here he was, stuck in the village he vowed to protect because of a pink haired medic with a big heart.
Boredom was consuming him. He could find the elders and catch up on all the details he missed in previous meetings, but he could be that much of an honest man. He, however, would not let his restlessness consume him and take control of his action, like his Otouto and his blond haired teammate who always would cause some unseen mischief – in which Sasuke did not know Itachi knew – if they were stuck in the village for too long. Sasuke would die from sulking if he found out Itachi kept tabs on him.
Itachi recalled a time when Sasuke was a genin, his Otouto and Naruto decided to relocate their father's most prized katana. His Otousan and Okaasan were out for the evening and Itachi had just returned from training. The two genin had made so much noise in their failed attempt to play a prank by their continuous bickering. They had not noticed Itachi's presence, as the two gave up their brilliant idea of a prank when Sasuke chickened out when he realized that Otousan would not be pleased. It was during time when Sasuke strived to gain their father's attention and Sasuke concluded that relocating his Otousan's katana was not going to get put him on his good graces.
Itachi took a sip of his tea. He had found a new café in Konoha and decided to hide out there. After his daily morning routine, Itachi had snuck out and wandered aimlessly for a while before finding a flyer for a new café. He grabbed reading materials and made his way to 'Iro's Café'. It was rather small, but it boasted to have 'Konoha's best selection of tea'. It was located in the neighborhood Sakura resided in, as Itachi mindlessly wondered what Sakura was doing at the current moment and if he would run into her. He decided to sit at a table outside and enjoy the dwindling warm weather and ignore the waitress's outrageous flirtly glances.
It had been a week since his last mission in Yugakure that had gone flawless, except for the rain that continuously fell from the sky throughout the duration of their whole mission. His team located the merchant's daughter, captured the head of the captives, and safely returned the daughter back to her family. The merchant had been so pleased with the team that he urged them to stay a few more days. Itachi had politely refused, saying that Konoha expected them back as soon as possible.
After Sakura's apology he did not have a reason to avoid her gaze. Her intuition had been correct; he was avoiding her, but not because he was mad at her actions like she thought. It had made him feel rather insulted that Sakura thought that he would be mad at her action. He was actually quite proud. It took a lot of grit to challenge him – as he found out that Sasuke had spread the label 'Prince of Darkness' around Konoha thus intimidating his reputation. He silently appraised Sakura's determination as a medic fighting for her patient's health.
The reason he had been evading her presence had nothing to her failing his psyche exam, at least at first. When the clan elders heard about Itachi's failed assessment, they had been furious. They even threatened to go to the hokage to force the Sandaime to punish the ones responsible for failing the assessment. The Uchiha clan heir could not be embarrassed with such a failing. He knew that if the clan elders continued to push, they would figure out that the failing was all a sham. If they came to that discovery, Itachi knew that Sakura's medic career and most likely her kunoichi career would come to an abrupt end. Sakura did not deserve that. She deserved a shiny medal stating 'Konoha's best medic', in Itachi's opinion, for her actions. So he distracted the clan from his assessment's shortcoming with himself. He lured them into a clan meeting using himself as bait.
It was a sacrifice that Itachi was fully willing to commit.
Everything that had happened after, however, Itachi somewhat blamed Sakura for his atypical actions. Shisui had taken notice that Sakura had not been present at the last team eleven training. He knew Shisui had probably figured Sakura was behind his failed assessment from the obvious teasing remarks Shisui taunted. Shisui was convinced that Itachi was avoiding their sweet medic teammate and forced Itachi to summon her to their next training. Itachi had kindly told Shisui he was not avoiding Sakura and she probably was at the hospital.
Shisui had mocked Itachi. His mocking was the last straw, and to make his cousin stop talking, Itachi agreed to go inform Sakura about team eleven's spontaneous training session that mid-afternoon. Itachi made his way to Sakura's home. He sensed her inside her bathroom, and decided to wait for her, instead of fleeting the scene that a part of him urged to do.
She was taking her jolly time. He wondered if she was doing that on purpose or not. He concluded that it was her way of retaliation for his faultless avoidance. She probably thought he would leave after waiting for at least ten minutes, but he did not. He would not let her childish tactics overpower him – even if he was tired and annoyed of waiting. Itachi knew that he would get an earful from Shisui if Sakura did not show up to the training. Shisui's mockery and smugness was something Itachi was avoiding.
It was a good twenty minutes when Itachi heard the shower water turn off, not that he was impatiently counting. Sakura made her way out only moments after – wearing nothing but a pair of pink skimpy panties. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He did not think Sakura was the type of girl to wear such racy clothing even if this little article of clothing would hide underneath actual clothing. He tried not to let the heat running up his neck to reach his face as he tried to figure out what the pinkette was aiming at walking out like that.
She looked up at him with those wide, expressive eyes that had no business in a shinobi lifestyle. Her eyes had stared back at him with curiousness and no emotion related to shame or discomfort at her current state of dress. He tried to keep his eyes on her face but failed miserably as he had looked down. Her skin was still wet from her shower, as little droplets of water slid down her slender neck and into the valley of her breasts. They were firm, average sized with erect nipples. His gaze fell to the slender curves of her hips and flat stomach to those frivolous garments that hid– Itachi quickly looked up to her face, ending his train of thoughts.
Sakura did not even notice her lack of clothing as she opened her mouth to say something but realized the predicament she was in. She had let out a mortified shriek and turned to run into the bathroom. Itachi almost felt bad for the medic, as she tripped and fell with a thud before he could reach her. He knew he could have broken her fall but his current state of mind had hindered his fast reflexes. When he made his way to Sakura, she was blinking with unconsciousness as a trail of blood seeped from her head.
It was embarrassing, Itachi admitted, for her and him. He could not let her bleed to death on her bedroom floor and he did not know any medical ninjutsu to aid her bleeding head. If Itachi were anyone else, he would have taken this perfect opportunity to slide his eyes down his attractive teammate's body, but he did not do such a thing. He had honor.
She needed an actual medic. Itachi ruffled through a few drawers trying to find clothing he could quickly dress her in before taking her to the hospital. He had accidentally found her underwear drawer as he quickly shut it, ignoring the colorful garments and the heat in his cheeks.
Dressing Sakura was the most awkward situation he was ever in. The only person he ever dressed was himself, and Sasuke was he was a little child. When he had tried to slip Sakura's arm into the shirt, he accidently dropped her as her head made a loud thump on the floor, probably exacerbating her head injury. He had taken a quick deep breath to clear the awkwardness before reaching for her other arm, which resulted him grabbing her right breast. It was an unfortunate situation, Itachi mulled. Receiving Tsunade's questioning gaze was another ordeal he did not wish to suffer from again. The blond Sannin did not ask any questions relating to the situation – other than how Sakura retained her head injury in which Itachi quickly stated Sakura had slipped and fell. It was the truth. He knew that Tsunade must have been thinking at the whole scenario wrongly but choose to ignore the devious smile that played on her lips.
When he made his way back to the training grounds, Shisui gave him curious look with an eyebrow raised. Itachi merely stated that Sakura was in the hospital, which was not a lie, per say.
He did not mean to let out his vexation with the Sakura situation on Shisui during their spar. But it was hard to control the nameless feelings that bottled out of Itachi when he was dealing with Sakura. When he took Shisui to the hospital, after Shisui's incessant complaints of pain, Sakura had walked in wearing a nurse's uniform. At least Shisui was having fun with her appearance. Itachi just stood silently in the corner of room, trying not to notice her outfit or the fact that she was not wearing a bra.
Sure, she was attractive. She was really attractive. He would have been a blind fool not to notice her alluring charisma and sweet personality. She was a formidable kunoichi and an exceptional medic with a big heart. But he was not attracted to her, Itachi concluded, though the realistic part of his mind begged to differ. She was his subordinate, his Otouto's teammate and friend. It was wrong. So he buried that realistic part of his mind.
Team eleven had been assigned to a mission not even halfway into his break, although Itachi happily accepted the mission – anything that would let him get away from the clan and his restlessness. The meeting with the Sandaime had gone horribly unpredictable. The whole situation reeked with Sakura's meddling. Although he never asked exactly how Sakura had managed to fail his assessment and convince the hokage to let him have a break, he was certainly curious now. A groin injury? Itachi almost wanted to scoff. He was certainly entertained at Sakura's strategy, but a little abused at tactics she used.
It was not his intention, but Itachi admitted he had been avoiding her afterwards on the mission, as the bedroom and hospital incidents – as Itachi referred to – clouded his mind. It was a mission they were on and he had to focus. That was until she apologized. The medic thought he was mad at her. It almost insulted him that she was so convinced that he would be mad at her. He was the furthest thing from mad. He was grateful at her actions. His actions were not fair to her, he knew that. She was affecting him like nobody had before and Itachi did not know how to handle it.
She had softly stated that she would fight for him. It had surprised Itachi at first. He knew her words had a double meaning behind them, but he did not care to analyze her words at the moment. Her words had provided some comfort and he gladly accepted the warm feeling that had consumed his stomach. He could not help but to smile at her retreating figure.
It was, as Shisui would put it, one hell of a week since the mission. He hadn't seen Sakura since then. She was probably working at the hospital and training with Tsunade as he remembered Sasuke grumble something along the lines of 'she was my teammate first' and 'stop requesting her on missions' and 'haven't seen her in two weeks'. He was busy himself, as he helped out at the Intelligence department when he was in Konoha.
He took a sip of his 'buba buba mango herbal tea'. The waitress had recommended that it was the best new tea flavor and did not seek his approval as she jotted it down on her little notepad before striding away. It was rather good, he admitted.
Clouds blocked the sun as Itachi unconsciously nuzzled into his long sleeved shirt. It was late September. Fall was arriving in Konoha far quicker than usual. Soon, the leaves would start changing colors before plummeting from their branches.
Itachi sensed a familiar chakra presence heading his way and looked up. He met ivy eyes. He could see her inner turbulence of approaching him or not. Itachi was glad she smiled and walked over to his table. She was holding several files to her chest. She was wearing a standard Konoha black shirt with a grass-green haori with the word 'medic' written in kanji on the back, similar to Tsunade. Itachi ruled the black skirt she wore was too short and too tight, and wondered how she could walk properly in it. But it did perfectly display her slender legs that–
"Good morning," Sakura greet with a bright smile that Itachi reciprocated to the best of his abilities.
"Would you care to join me," Itachi asked, as words came out faster from his mouth before his brain could stop and analyze them.
She looked uncertain at first before she nodded and sat down across from him and put her files on the table. She stared the scroll in Itachi's hands, probably noticing the Intelligence Department seal. "What are you reading?"
"Current events in the Land of Lightning."
She nodded in understanding. Her hair gently flew as the wind picked up for a quick second. Itachi tried to ignore how lovely it made her look. "What are you reading?" Itachi indicted the files Sakura put on the table with his eyes.
"Oh these?" Sakura pointed to the files, "These are just patient files. I was heading to the hospital. Shishou said she wanted to see me at nine."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You're early."
"I wanted to finish my morning checkups and rounds before I met her." Sakura shrugged like it was a normal occurrence for her to attend meetings an hour and half early.
Itachi admired her dedication as a medic. She was extremely hardworking and diligently carried out her work as a healer – a part of him scoffed at the thought of her recent actions. He almost felt that she was good that made up for all the bad he committed. His whole life Itachi was trained to be the best shinobi, the best fighter, the better opponent, the stronger adversary. He was a killer. But Sakura was a healer. Whereas he trained to kill, she trained to save. She lodged just as many hours in the hospital as he did on the training field. He held the utmost respect for not only Sakura, but also every medic in general.
Growing up, if Itachi had a choice, he would have liked to train under Tsunade to become a medic. He knew, however, the clan elders would rather stab themselves than let the Uchiha heir become a healer, after Itachi had demonstrated his prodigious talents as a shinobi.
"What are you drinking?" Sakura asked, staring at his drink.
"Buba buba mango herbal tea, the waitress recommended it," Itachi answered ignoring Sakura's light laugh.
"Can I try?" Sakura reached for his fruity drink and took a sip before he could answer. Itachi tried to ignore the way her lush lips enclosed around the straw and the gulp that ran down her throat. "This is really good. I didn't know you like girly drinks." Sakura laughed again disregarding the glare Itachi threw at her.
On cue, the waitress appeared in front of the two nin with a smile on her face. "Would you like to order anything?"
"Yes please, can I have what he's having?" Sakura smiled at the brunette girl.
"Coming right up."
Sakura leaned closer and put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands as she gleamed at Itachi. "So, why are you running away from your clan's elders? Isn't it against some Uchiha law to disobey the elder's wishes or something?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes at the medic who had twinkle of jibe in her eyes. "Or something."
Sakura pouted at the lack of information and leaned back against her chair. "Sasuke mentioned something about you failing to show up to clan meetings. It's quite irresponsible on your side, if you ask me."
Itachi tried to stop the smirk that forming on his lips but failed miserably at the irony. "I think it's quite irresponsible to purposely fail a shinobi's psyche evaluation." The adorable pout returned to her lips.
"That's not fair. I was looking out for you," Sakura crossed her arms, "Besides, it wasn't an easy feat to accomplish."
"If I may ask, how did you do it?"
A smug smile replaced the pout. "I'm not telling you. Besides, I don't know what you're talking about."
Itachi let out a rare laugh. She was denying the whole situation. At least they were at a point where they could joke about the ordeal. Itachi felt relaxed. There were very sparse moments when he could sit with his shoulders down and sparser moments with whom he could do it with. It was usually Shisui or Sasuke, when the latter was not brooding, or his Okaasan.
"So, what's you're favorite season?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at her randomness in which she shrugged in response. "I'm trying to get to know you better."
"I like winter."
"You look like a winter kind of person, although I would've guessed you like spring. You look like a spring kind of person too. My favorite season is fall," Sakura rambled, "The leaves changing colors, the rain, the smell of autumn. I love it all."
Itachi scrunched his nose. "I have allergies during spring."
Sakura's face lighted up, as Itachi thought she won some kind of jackpot. "Me too! My eyes get really watery and itchy. Dealing with spring became easier after I started training under Tsunade though. She taught me a trick to make your eyes itch a little less. I actually don't like spring that much, other than my birthday is in the spring." Itachi did not know anyone else who could have been as bouncy as Sakura was when talking about allergies.
The brunette waitress came with Sakura's drink. Sakura smiled and paid for her drink as her lips quickly attached to the straw and gulped, completely unaware of the effect it was having on the Uchiha sitting across from her.
"My birthday is also in spring."
"I know, June 9th right?" Itachi slightly tilted his head and gave her a questioning look. She had his birthday memorized. It sent unknown feelings down his throat. "I have your whole file memorized. I have Naruto's and Sasuke's too. Mostly all my teammates, and rookie nine."
"Ah."
Sakura took a long sip of the drink before pursuing the conversation with the quiet Uchiha. "So, are you going to be hiding in this café for the rest of the day?"
"I will be devising a plan to skip the clan meeting scheduled for tomorrow."
Sakura laughed at his unusual sarcastic remark. She took another sip of her buba buba mango herbal tea before standing up and grabbing her files. "I should go now. I don't want to be late doing rounds. And if you want to avoid the elders, or really anyone, there's a room in the library, on the fifth floor by the medical section. There's a certain pattern of chakra you have to send in the doorknob to open the door, but once you do, the walls are chakra sealed. No one will be able to sense you in there. Goodbye Itachi," she sent him smile and a wave goodbye before heading off.
Itachi smiled to himself. She was quite the schemer. Sakura had called him by his first name. He could feel his Okaasan smile and giggle at the scenario. Itachi did not care what Sakura called him, although he rather enjoyed she calling him by his first name, his Okaasan pushed Sakura to call him 'Itachi', much to Sakura's chagrin. It was nice to hear Sakura say his name without his Okaasan passive aggressively forcing her.
Itachi closed his scroll. Maybe he would visit the room Sakura mentioned. He started to stand up as Shisui jumped in front him, wearing a face full of worry. Itachi immediately became alert.
"The elders called an emergency meeting," Shisui started. Itachi's Sharingan automatically activated to what Shisui said next. "Mikoto-san was poisoned."
It took every fiber in his body and all his might not to storm out of the room and to the hospital, where his Okaasan was being treated. The only reason he was sitting with the pestering elders was the comfort of knowing Sasuke was with their Okaasan and that Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune, the best medics the world had to offer, were treating her. He still felt that as her son, he had a duty to be by her side. Itachi felt a ball of anger form in his stomach, as he tried to focus on the conversation before him.
"This is a act of betrayal! We must act now!"
Itachi took a deep breath in to calm his nerves before finally adding his notion to the mix. "This is not an act of betrayal by Konoha."
"And how would you know that son? This is not the first time the village has pointed their fingers at the Uchiha. You were too young then to remember anything."
After Shisui had informed him of the crisis that just unfolded, the two cousins sprinted to the emergency meeting. His Okaasan had woken up and started her usual morning routine of preparing breakfast for her family. She had made tea with the usual ingredients found in the cabinets in their kitchen. When she took a sip, she fell to the ground within minutes throwing up blood. It was Sasuke that had found her unconscious in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor with blood stained on her clothing and dripping down her mouth. It took him three seconds to register what happened, after ruling out that this was not a genjutsu, and noticing the broken teacup by his mother's body before he alerted his Otousan. His Otousan instructed Sasuke to take his mother to the hospital as he was going to call a meeting with the elders.
When Itachi walked into the large clan meeting chambers, the elders had stared at him suspiciously and demanded to know where the heir was at the time of the incident. They were covering every track, but it still felt acidic to Itachi that he would be a suspect of poisoning his own mother. He would be just at thorough if he were the elders. Itachi smoothly informed them he was with Sakura at Iro's Café, and they could ask her if they were still suspicious. He ignored the way they looked disapprovingly at Itachi's answer; probably assuming he was pursuing the medic. Itachi knew that the elders did not support the Uchiha heir courting anyone out of the clan but that was irrelevant at the moment. He was not even courting Sakura.
Itachi sat next to his father as the elders started the assembly. He could see from the corners of his eye that his father mirrored his anxiety. The creases below his Otousan's eyes seemed deeper and longer as his body was tense with stress. His whole life, his father was stern and uncaring. But at the moment, Itachi saw the love his father had for his mother. His Otousan never looked so shaken up.
His mother was poisoned from the tea she drank. She had been preparing that tea for the whole family. Whoever was responsible was targeting the whole Uchiha main family. Itachi shut his eyes, as his Sharingan subconsciously activated at his thoughts, trying to deactivate the dojutsu. The thought of his family falling prey to such devious acts infuriated him. The thought of Sasuke poisoned spiked his breathing. His Okaasan was unfortunately the one who intercepted the mysterious executioner's plan.
An image of his family laying dead on ground brought a wave of sorrow and gloom to Itachi. Itachi pushed the image and feelings it brought to some dark corner of his mind. He did not have to commit those acts and he felt grateful to the Sandaime. He still had his family. He still had Sasuke. He still had all the pressure.
Tension between the Uchiha clan and the village grew stronger with each day. The two parties were in unison in cooperation before the Nine-Tail's attack on Konoha. After the Konoha council suspected the Uchiha clan to be behind the attack that took the lives of many civilians and shinobis including the Yondaime hokage, the Konoha council had slowly started isolating the great clan. Itachi was just a child then, but after the attack, Itachi lost all of the very little innocence that remained within him.
His prodigious skills were put under great scrutiny under the clan. He was forced to train every day. He was put on a genin team by his Okaasan's pleading, but the clan grew impatient and moved Itachi up the ladder. Such gifted abilities could not be wasted on D-ranked missions. Itachi realized that every step he grew stronger, he lost a little part of himself. He hated the life of a shinobi. He loathed the tension between his blood family and his people that shared the Will of Fire. He especially abhorred that he was the bridge between the two factions. But he stood sturdy as a bridge. He was serving the village.
The elders sent Itachi into the ANBU instead of him pursuing a path into the Konoha Police Force in hopes of spying within the inner circle that ran the village. Instead, Itachi spied for the village. The tension had been so thick that his clan had started planning blueprints of a coup d'état against the village. Itachi had taken the information to the hokage, knowing that a coup d'état would weaken the village, allowing room open for another village to attack. It would lead to a Fourth Shinobi World War. Seeing the damage the Third Shinobi World War brought, Itachi hated the idea of warfare and conflict. It was that moment when he concluded that he would never forgive himself for being a shinobi.
The Konoha council had wanted to take drastic measures regarding the clan. The Sandaime was completely against any adverse actions and firmly shut down any of the council's notions. The Sandaime had gone to his father to come up with some kind of resolution. He had not informed about Itachi's role in the matter. Fugaku had agreed that peace between the two groups was the better option. The Uchiha clan was given more freedom and the scrutiny upon the clan was removed.
Danzo who had been leading the council's radical endeavors was extremely displeased with how the Sandaime had handled the situation. He stated that no matter how much negotiating the hokage and the Uchiha could do, the Uchiha would always end up betraying the village. Danzo officially resigned from the council and went to create an underground black ops division controlled solely by him. To appease Danzo from doing anything rash, the Sandaime had recognized Root as an official unit within Konoha whose purpose was to provide domestic security.
The clan elders, like Danzo, felt unresolved with the ceasefire. They knew that the village would still look upon the clan with distrustful eyes. They had happily shook the Sandaime's hands in public but felt great antipathy towards the village in private. The clan elders also started looking at Itachi with wariness.
He had been acting strange – accepting mission that would require him to stay away from the village for vast amounts of time, starting to skip clan meetings. The elders had assigned Shisui to spy on Itachi. His cousin had told Itachi about the elder's wishes out of the loyalty he had for his cousin. The elder's skepticism doubled when Itachi and Shisui's both awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan suspiciously after the death of Shisui's parents. Despite their caution and wary, Itachi was still the Uchiha heir nonetheless. He was still expected to bring glory to their clan. Most of the elders had been delighted that Itachi activated the Mangekyo, as it would make him a stronger shinobi.
They had started focusing on Itachi more intently afterwards and it had been getting harder to avoid them. For years, they had started pushing Itachi into politics. Some of them even wanted the Uchiha heir to be titled the next hokage, considering the Sandaime's age. It was a position of power that Itachi had outwardly denied wanting. When their efforts for hokage had gone southwards, they had pushed Itachi to marry. He was twenty-three when they first suggested marriage. They had given him the liberty to choose a wife but grew impatient and started planning an arranged marriage. His father had been married at that age and they wished for Itachi to continue that trend. Matrimony was still the kunai that Itachi was dodging from.
"We should consult with the Sandaime," one elder stated.
Another elder stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "We've been consulting with the Sandaime for years! We have achieved nothing. The Sandaime has expressed willingness for a ceasefire but his followers have not. Do we really expect to come winning if we continue this way of thinking? They will shove us to the edges of this village until we no longer are a part of it!"
A few nodded in agreement was heard throughout the room.
"Don't be stupid Isamu," a stern, feminine voice broke, "We can't go marching out with our Sharingan blazing."
"Then what should we do, Nori, I suppose you have solution planned out," said Isamu mockingly.
Itachi frowned at Isamu's tone. Nori was the only female in the Uchiha council. She was the only elder that he admired and respected, not because she was not power-hungry like the rest but because of her possession of the Will of Fire. She too, like Itachi, believed in peace between the groups and was a secret pacifist. She did not endorse the radical ideas of some of the clansmen.
Nori sighed and stood up. She gracefully walked out of the room as other elders watched her retreating form in disbelief. Itachi could almost feel the words Isamu was going spat out. Itachi stood up from his seat and retreated out of the room in the same manner, much to the pique of the remaining elders.
The meeting now ran a little under three hours and they had come to no agreement. They had congregated to discuss the failed act of poisoning but babbled on about reigniting the coup d'état. Itachi was not partaking in that discussion. He was going to the hospital.
Itachi darted to the medical center and sensed Sasuke's chakra on the fourth floor. He made his way to his Otouto. Sasuke was pacing up and down the hallway. His body language screamed concern and unease with tension that plagued the younger Uchiha. Itachi controlled the emotions that were burning inside him for the sake of Sasuke. Sasuke looked up to his approaching brother.
The look on Sasuke's face nearly broke Itachi's heart. Sasuke displayed emotions that Itachi never wanted his younger brother to experience. It was a bit selfish of Itachi to wish that, let alone foolish. Sasuke was not a child anymore. As a child, Sasuke had always been animated and cheery. It was agonizing to his brother display such pain. Itachi looked over Sasuke's shoulder to the sleeping blond teammate.
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as Itachi's unspoken question. "He wanted to come."
Mikoto loved Naruto, 'more than she loves me' Itachi remembered Sasuke complaining when he was younger. She had always pestered Sasuke to bring his team to their home more often. Itachi admired the strong bond that Sasuke shared with his teammates and was actually quite jealous of it. It was quite rare for a genin team to continue working together after they were promoted to chunin. It seemed that the younger generations were sticking together, he mused.
"How's Mikoto-san?" Shisui asked, as he appeared behind Itachi, no doubt that he left the meeting right after Itachi.
"Shizune-san informed that they should be done within the hour," Sasuke replied.
The three Uchiha waited for news about the Uchiha matriarch. Two hours passed before Tsunade walked out of the operation room. She looked exhausted. She was still wearing her scrubs that were covered in blood, which sent anxious waves down the Itachi's spine. She opened her mouth before noticing the laying blond on the floor. She kicked Naruto's leg as he jerked awake.
"Owwww, what was that for Baa-chan?" Naruto pouted as he grabbed his leg in pain.
"Don't lay on the floor brat! You're blocking the way for doctors and medics to get around!" Tsunade scowled, a vein throbbing on forehead. She looked back to the three Uchiha, "Mikoto is fine. We've extracted all the poison from her body, but she is unconscious at the moment. She'll need to stay in the hospital for at least two more days until we create an antidote for the poison."
"Can we go see her?" Shisui asked.
Tsunade nodded and gave them Mikoto's room number Mikoto was assigned to before heading away. Itachi saw a flash of pink exit from the OR and quickly streak in the opposite direction. A part of him wanted to chase her and thank her for saving his Okaasan but Itachi walked away with the others to wait for the nurses to bring his mother.
The room was already guarded with two ANBU members. The matriarch of the Uchiha clan would be held in a top secured room with twenty-four seven surveillance. He knew the clan would want nothing less. Two nurses pushed a gurney with an unconscious Mikoto on it. Itachi fisted his hands. Someone had done this to his sweet Okaasan.
Sasuke turned to him with a hard face. "We're going to find who did this," he stated. Itachi nodded it response. Yes, they would bring justice to whoever committed this act.
"Mikoto-sama will wake in a few hours. She'll be highly drugged due to the extant of the internal damage she suffered," one of the nurses explained.
The two nurses quickly left, leaving the three Uchiha plus Naruto alone in the room. They did not leave the room for several hours, until Shisui and Naruto left to bring back food for the group after the noises Naruto's stomach was making started bothering Sasuke. The two brothers sat on the chairs across their Okaasan in silence. Shisui and Naruto returned with food as the four ate in silence before the two left again as the sun started setting.
It was almost ten at night before Mikoto started shifting. The two brothers jumped out of their seats and leap to their mother's side as she blinked several times, registering her surroundings. A wave of relief ran through Itachi as Sasuke mirrored his relieved state. Their Okaasan was fine.
A wide, unnatural smile graced Mikoto's mouth as she stared at her two sons. "Tachi, Sasucakes, my two beloved kids."
A faint smile adorned Itachi's lips and he noticed Sasuke's brows scrunch at the nickname that would never escape him. Mikoto was ok.
"I had the loveliest dream," Mikoto started with a wide grin before she frowned at her two boys, "Then I realized that I birthed two goofs." Sasuke visibly started choking as Itachi resisted the urge to mirror his brother's appalled expression. His mother had been awake for no more than a minute and she was already scolding them.
Her upset frown quickly turned into another smile. "I have the greatest idea." Oh, his Okaasan was highly medicated, Itachi realized. "Sasucake," Mikoto pointed, "you and Sakura get married." Sasuke started choking again. "Oh, she has the most exquisite eyes. She's a great medic, she told me I was going to be all ok."
Mikoto closed her eyes for a few moments. Itachi opened his mouth to ask how she was feeling but his Okaasan cut him. "You know what, if Sasucake and Sakura get married, the two would bite each other's heads off. Sasucakes wouldn't be a caring husband. He has no social skills. Sakura would need someone that talks to her."
Sasuke looked at Itachi with bewildered eyes that showed emotions ranging from shock to wounded. It was not everyday when their Okaasan insulted Sasuke's social skills. Itachi smiled at Sasuke, indicating that Sasuke should close his jaw and focus on their Okaasan's health. "I talk to her," Sasuke grumbled under his breath.
Mikoto looked at her eldest son with a grin and pointed at him. "You." Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Marry Sakura," Mikoto ordered.
"But Itachi has no social skills," Sasuke unnaturally complained as he pointed an accusing finger at Itachi.
"Tachi is gentle and sensitive. Sakura needs that."
Itachi rubbed his neck. His Okaasan was very heavily drugged. "Oh look, it's Tsunade-san, lets ask her about Sakura."
Tsunade walked into the room with a clipboard in her hand, taking note of Sasuke's grumpy face and Itachi's uneasy expression. Her eyes shifted to the Uchiha matriarch who had a wide grin on her face. The drugs were working, Tsunade noted.
"Want to know a secret, Tsunade-san," Mikoto taunted as Tsunade walked over, "Tachi and Sakura are getting married."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and looked at the two Uchiha brothers. Even in Mikoto's dopy state, the two brothers took their Okaasan's teasing without complaint. Her eyes observed Sasuke first. He looked thoroughly disturbed but his stance revealed he would was not going anywhere. She observed the older Uchiha next. He was a puzzle but his stance was rather stiff. Tsunade smiled.
"I know, Sakura mentioned a wedding before," Tsunade entertained. She knew Mikoto would most likely not remember anything. This gave her a great opportunity to tease the prodigy and his brother.
Mikoto's eyes widened. "A wedding?" She clapped her hands in delight. "Oh, I've always wanted a daughter, but I got stuck with these two buffoons."
Tsunade snickered before checking her stats. "Look, it's Fuga." Itachi slightly turned to see his father walk into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and scanned his wife's form. Itachi nudged Sasuke as the two brothers said their goodbyes to Mikoto before walking out the room. Sasuke paused as the door closed behind him.
"My social skills are better than yours."
Itachi snorted at Sasuke's statement and glared at his younger brother as the two started walking. Sasuke was the most stubborn person he knew. Itachi admitted that Sasuke had a closer group of friends than he did. The rookie nine were famous for being a tight-nit group. Though, Itachi highly doubted Sasuke enjoyed going to group outings.
As the two brother walked outside the hospital, Nori had been sitting on a bench as she got up and walked over to the two brothers. Her presence unsettled Itachi. Nori, like most clan elders, did not like leaving the clan compound. She did not really enjoy strolling around the clan compounds either. "Itachi, how is Mikoto-san?"
"She is fine."
Nori had a soft spot for Mikoto, as she was Mikoto aunt. She smiled at the two brothers before making her way inside the hospital. Itachi observed her retreating figure with narrowed eyes. She waited for the two brothers to leave his Okaasan's room before making her way into the hospital. Itachi tried to come to conclusions, but it was hard considering the clan meeting earlier in the day. Exhaustion started consuming Itachi. He did not know how tired he was. But he could not sleep knowing that his Okaasan's health was not ideal.
"Whoever poisoned Okaasan meant to poison all of us," Sasuke stated. Sasuke was more observant than Itachi gave him credit for. In Itachi's head, Sasuke was still the innocent little child who would always ask him to train. It always startled Itachi every time he realized that his baby brother was not a baby anymore.
"Ah."
The two shared silence once more on their way back to the compound. It was a hectic day. It had started rather nice, as he enjoyed his morning run-in with Sakura and the buba buba mango herbal tea. From there, his Okaasan was poisoned, a possible assassination attempt on the Uchiha main family, and the clan elders had expressed an inkling for retaliation against the village. They did not even know if the village ordered such an assignment. Itachi knew that the Sandaime would never order such a thing.
His head started to hurt as Itachi felt a migraine forming. He looked at Sasuke. "I have to complete a task." Sasuke nodded in understanding. He knew Itachi would not be able to sleep tonight. It was better to let his brother settle out his troubles on his own than tell him what to do. Sasuke bid farewell as the two brother parted ways.
He needed silence. Itachi knew the second he entered the Uchiha compound he would be swarmed with the elders.
Itachi walked down the empty street, truly feeling ill at the day's events. Shisui had always joked that Itachi was frail and gentle behind his superior, prodigy complex. Itachi avoided conflict and to know that his clan was starting consider brining their resentment to life unsettled him just as much the poisoning of his Okaasan. He would have to inform the Sandaime about this, no doubt, but he could not predict how the Sandaime was going to react to this news. If he were in the hokage's shoes, Itachi did not know how he would handle the situation. He did want to think about the situation anymore.
Lost in his thoughts, Itachi found in front of Konoha library. It was one of the biggest buildings in Konoha, after the hospital and hokage building. The large range of books made it one of the most extensive libraries in all the villages. The library was broken into many parts and sections, ranging from civilian to shinobi books. It was eight stories high, designed in traditionally Konoha architecture. Itachi remembered his Okaasan bringing a grumpy Sasuke to the library when he was younger. Sasuke hated reading.
Before Itachi could ponder why he was at the library, his legs pushed forward through the doors and he found himself on the fifth floor. A faint smirk adorned his lips. Maybe he would take Sakura's offer about getting away from everybody. The fifth floor majorly stored medic textbooks. Itachi sighed. Sakura said a door by the medic section. It was not helpful information, but then again, she probably did not think he would take her advice. Itachi activated his Sharingan and scanned the floor. A room that was shielded by a light covering of chakra popped out. It would be nearly impossible to sense the chakra by ordinary eyesight. Itachi made his way to the room and stared at the doorknob, which almost gave him a headache. Even with his heightened eyesight, it would take hours for him to open the door.
Sakura's chakra control was something extraordinary. Maybe the chakra pattern was the same as the one as her office in the hospital. It was worth the shot. Itachi had copied her chakra pattern when she opened the hospital room connecting to her office about a year ago. He inserted his chakra into the doorknob, using the same pattern Sakura used.
He twisted the doorknob and entered the room. He inspected the room. There was a table in the middle with six chairs tucked under. Rows of shelves filled with books adorned the room. A window let across Itachi let moonlight in. This would be a place Sakura would hide out in.
His head throbbed, cutting Itachi short from his thoughts. He rubbed his forehead. He made his way to a bookshelf and sat down on the floor leaning against the books. It had been a while since he got migraines this bad. Itachi did hear the door creek open as a figure walked inside.
"Itachi?"
Itachi's eyes snapped open with the Sharingan as he stared at the visitor. It was only Sakura, who harbored a concerned look. She was carrying stacks of books and scrolls, which she gently put on the table and walked towards him.
"Are you feeling ok?" she asked, her voice laced with worry. He was not the one she should be worried about. It was his Okaasan that she should be focusing on.
"Ah."
Sakura sat down across from him on her knees as she drew chakra to her hands as she brought them to his temples. Itachi instantly sighed in relief. Her chakra seeped into his head, leaving a trail of coolness. The first time Sakura inserted her chakra into him to heal, Itachi almost panicked at how calm and soothing her chakra felt. It was a ripple of tranquil and alleviation. Every shinobi had a unique chakra signature. Sakura's chakra was quite fitting as her occupation as a medic.
Itachi opened his eyes and glanced at the medic. She had changed out of the scrubs he last saw her in and into her usual attire, minus the haori. Her eyes were tired, as she had spent hours in the OR saving Mikoto and probably hours in a lab analyzing the poison to create a antidote. She bit her lip as Itachi's gaze instantly fell downward at the moment before quickly closing them as he realized his actions.
"You need to rest," Sakura softly stated.
Itachi opened his eyes and looked into her eyes challengingly. "You are the one who is tired."
Sakura pouted before releasing her hold of his head as she moved and sat next to him. "I'm not tired."
Itachi understood. Physically, she was worn out and almost drained of chakra. But mentally, he knew that she was just as bothered at the day's events as him. He knew Sakura deeply cared for his Okaasan and his Okaasan completely adored Sakura – if his Okaasan's exclamations earlier weren't proof enough.
"Okaasan woke up," Itachi started, not knowing is Sakura knew the recent information.
"Really?" Sakura sighed in relief, "That's good. The poison we extracted took much longer than we expected. It did a lot of damage to her organs. The poison almost acted like acid, it burned everything in its way."
Itachi clenched his jaw. His stomach churned at the thought of his sweet Okaasan swallowing acid. He saw Sakura turn to look at him from the corner of his eye.
"Mikoto-san is going to be alright. I promise."
Itachi smiled at her promise that had already came true. "I know. She called Sasuke socially inept."
Sakura laughed and Itachi decided he rather liked the sound. "At least her reasoning skills weren't damaged."
"She told Sasuke to marry you."
Sakura laughed harder at his statement as she grabbed her stomach and almost turned over. "We would end up killing each other." Sakura loved Sasuke. But she was not in love with him. She loved him like a brother she never had and Itachi knew that Sasuke, as well as Naruto, had over protective tendencies when it came to Sakura. When Sakura first started joining team eleven on missions, Sasuke had tried to cryptically convince Itachi that Sakura was not a good enough medic to go on ANBU missions. Itachi just nodded, as he knew Sasuke would receive reprisal from his 'not good enough medic'. Sasuke came home the next day for dinner with a black eye.
The two shared silence for several minutes before Sakura turned her body to Itachi. "You didn't eat anything since morning."
"Ah." Itachi did not know if Sakura was asking or stating. He watched her get up from her spot, ignoring that short skirt, and walked over to where she placed her stacks of books. She grabbed a bento box that went unnoticed by Itachi before she walked back over and sat across from him.
"You're lucky I brought two pairs of chopsticks," Sakura smiled before handing him a pair and opening the bento box.
Itachi blinked several times to himself. He never shared food with anyone before; it was usually Shisui trying to steal the last sushi roll whenever they went to Shisui's favorite sushi restaurant. That did not count though. Hunger was the last thing on his mind. His Okaasan's life was in jeopardy. The very thought made his hunger disappear, but staring at the fresh food before him, Itachi remembered the emptiness in his stomach. He grabbed the chopsticks from Sakura's hand and gave a quiet thanks.
"I'd say you should take better care of yourself, but that would be hypocritical of me," Sakura laughed as she plopped an origiri in her mouth.
Silence quickly enveloped the room, before Sakura started laughing. Itachi threw a questioning look. "I just had a thought," Itachi inwardly grimaced. His Okaasan had a thought too. He silently braced himself for words to come out of her mouth, "If you and Sasuke were fruits, you would be a cucumber because you're always cool and collected and Sasuke would be a chili pepper because he's hot headed."
Itachi smirked at her randomness. It was an apropos comparison. Sasuke was a hot head and he himself was composed. Sakura shifted her legs, as Itachi refused to acknowledge the quick flash of blue that hid under her skirt or how smooth her legs looked in the dim lighting.
"I have question," Sakura asked, as Itachi motioned for her to continue with his eyebrows, "how are operations different between hunter-nin and ANBU?"
Itachi turned to face Sakura. Hunter-nin? Was she considering becoming a part of Konoha's hunter-nin? The thought unsettled Itachi. Sakura was also a kunoichi. He had to keep reminding himself that. She was a kunoichi as well as a medic.
"Shishou mentioned earlier that I should consider joining that organization for a few months," Sakura explained, "I don't know much about it, I thought you might have some understandings of their managements."
Itachi closed his eyes, not liking the thought of Sakura becoming a hunter-nin. "They operate solely for the village, where ANBU team may get assignments commissioned from other villages," Itachi started, "Hunter-nin usually work independently or in a group of two. They target missing nin from the village and the Land of Fire."
They also have a higher mortality rate than ANBU members, but Itachi did not mention that fact. They committed the dirty work for the village. It was simple in all honesty. They hunted down threats to the village and brought back their dead body as proof of completion of the task. Hunter-nins were usually hardened, older shinobis who had years experience under their belt. It was not a lifestyle that many nin wanted to follow, as every mission for hunter-nins was an assassination.
Itachi wondered why Tsunade would want Sakura to join such an organization. Her skills concentrated around the hospital and being the medical-nin on missions. She would not benefit the village by being a hunter-nin. He did not want to be a hunter-nin. Sakura was a medic, not an assassin. The very thought of her going on continuous slaying missions did not sit well in his stomach.
A soft giggle pulled Itachi out of his thoughts. She was observing him as he ate. Her expressive eyes held a mixture of mischief and humor. Her lips turned into a sly smirk. "When we were younger, Sasuke claimed that you ate little bunnies and drank their blood," she rubbed her chin with her finger, recalling the memory, "he also mentioned you drank your victims blood from missions."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Did he now." Sasuke was always an emotional child, for an Uchiha at least. Itachi thoroughly underestimated Sasuke's imagination. "What if I told you he tells the truth?"
Sakura's sly smirk grew more cunning, as Itachi braced himself for a crafty comeback. "Then I would ask you if would be willing to share," she leaned a little closer, as if she was telling him a secret and did not want anyone else to hear. Itachi tried to ignore her floral scented hair and her full lips. "I hear drinking blood is good for your complexion."
Sakura started laughing at his expression. Itachi felt himself frown, but did not realize the extent of how repellent and humorous his expression must have been. The pinkette in front of him was grabbing her stomach as she tried not to fall over from laughing too hard. He pressed his lips in a grim, hard line as he grabbed the last origiri. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. At least someone found him hilarious.
"I didn't know you were capable of banter," Sakura teased. Itachi ignored her remark. He was fully capable of banter. He just did not find the use of meaningless chit-chat. Sakura rubbed her chin again as her teasing smirk appeared, "No wonder you have such skin."
Itachi did not know if he should scold her for the comment or thank her for the compliment. So he relied on his usual grunt, and went back to the food Sakura shared with him.
Their relationship changed. It was not the same as it was when she first joined team eleven on missions. It was less businesslike and more convivial. Itachi would not have believed that he and Sakura would be sharing banter if you told him two years ago. She definitely would not be teasingly accusing him of drinking human blood and eating bunnies either. He liked the new companionship. Itachi started admiring Sakura the kunoichi to Sakura the individual. He did not know exactly when or how it happened, but he accepted it.
Itachi watched Sakura stand up again and grab the books and file she put on the table before sitting down next to Itachi in her original spot. She opened a particular file and handed it to him.
"This is Mikoto-san's file. It's all the information we garnered from the poisoning today," she explained. Itachi grabbed the file and began reading the material, "the poison must have been blended in one of the ingredients Mikoto-san uses to make tea. If we figure out where the ingredients were bought from, we'll narrow our search," Sakura paused as she peaked a glance at Itachi, "But that's not my job. My job is to find an antidote."
She was a medic at heart. Itachi watched her pull another file and hand it to him. "This is all the information we collected from analyzing the extracted poison."
"Why are you sharing this information?"
Sakura stopped flipping through a medical textbook and looked at Itachi with a small smile. "I won't be sleeping tonight, and I doubt you'll be able to either. Why not put our restlessness to good use?"
Her answer was simple but Itachi knew there was more behind it. She was providing him comfort in a way that she knew that he would appreciate it. From the numerous missions and interactions with him, Sakura knew that Itachi hated not being in control. He had extreme self-restraint and the situation that unfolded today pushed him out of his comfort-zone. She knew that Itachi loved his Okaasan just as much he loved Sasuke. Itachi was capable of killing hundreds of opponents with minimal effort but he was not capable of walking into the OR and saving his Okaasan. It made him feel vulnerable. He despised that feeling so Sakura decided to involve him in her research.
"Two heads are better than one, right?" Sakura smiled up at the dark eyes that observed her.
"Ah."
Itachi noticed the way her smiled faltered at his response as she resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes. She was a ball of emotional reactions. Her face became neutral before gave him a comforting smile as he felt Sakura grab his hand.
"We'll find antidote," she assured and gave his hand a squeeze before slipping her hand out of his and focusing on the textbook on her lap.
Itachi's hand felt empty. It was a cold feeling. He threw a glance at the pinkette before continuing to read the files she handed him. She was, once again, looking out for him and it sat perfectly well in his stomach.
They did not know how long they stayed in that room studying the files and textbooks. They had gone from sitting on the floor to on the chairs to back on the floor. The table was filled with scattered papers and open books. Hours passed before Itachi ordered that Sakura go home and rest. She protested but he had none of her objections before she stated she would leave only if he left also. Itachi voiced his disapproval in the glare he gave her but she stubbornly held her ground.
He conceded after a long staring contest as the both of them left the room to get some rest for the remainder of morning. She won the unacknowledged battle. She felt rather proud to beat the mighty Prince of Darkness in a staring contest. The two decided that they would meet again tomorrow afternoon in the same room, as Sakura would spend her morning in her lab at the hospital with Tsunade. The two parted ways early in the morning.
Sakura walked home, hugging the books in her arms tighter. Her haori would have been useful in the chilly morning weather but she left it in her office back at the hospital. The streets were quiet and empty. Sakura pondered if she liked the peaceful lonely streets better than the usual noisy streets.
She decided that she liked the open, more-than-usual communicative Itachi. She did not like the schoolgirl butterflies she got in her stomach when he observed her with his dark eyes or his playful responses. Her inner begged to differ. It was rather nice working alongside him in her field of expertise, not that she held his hands and took baby steps with him as she researched to find a remedy for the poison. He was helpful and provided a new perspective in finding an antidote.
I'm sure he could provide many new perspectives.
Sakura almost tripped as she slapped her inner. Sakura sighed in defeat. There was no way her inner could be this outrageous. She huffed at her inner battle. She did not need any new perspectives from Itachi. She was perfectly fine on her own. Her inner was crazy.
Really crazy.
Now if the cold, pale, light in your eyes
Reaches those horizon lines
You know not to leave her
Fever
- The Black Keys "Fever"
Hello all! Three chapters in less than two weeks! I'm on a roll! This chapter was actually very easy to write (please ignore the mistakes, as I haven't edited it), it only took me a few days.
I'm aiming to write a story when Sakura and Itachi already have some foundation of a relationship. It might seem a little unusual for Itachi to be this chatty with Sakura, but I imagine that since the two have been working together for almost two years, he must be kind of comfortable with her presence in his life.
There was a lot of Itachi-Sakura interaction this chapter and surprisingly I loved writing it – especially when Itachi was drinking his buba buba mango herbal tea (I have no idea where I got that idea from). I especially love writing about grumpy Sasuke. The events in this chapter may seem confusing and random but everything will make sense in future chapters, especially up to the climax where I swear I'll have you guys shitting in your pants.
To 'ABRIEL' – Yes I watched the last season of Greys, so good, so sad. The show is a roller coaster ride for my emotional stability. I'm on a Suits and Covert Affairs binge at the moment.
Thank you again for all your lovely comments, favorites, and follows. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far. Hopefully it's getting better.
Until next time :)
~im-rite-here