Chapter 5 - Dirty Dancing
You and me together
We can do anything baby
- Dave Matthews Bad "You & Me"
It was a sunny day in Konoha.
Actually, dark clouds were blocking the sun in Konoha, threatening to unleash heavy rains any second. It created an ominous feeling throughout village. Ino pushed her oversized dark sunglasses further up her nose as she inconspicuously walked down the street in all black. It was rare for the Yamanaka to be caught wearing an outfit that did not have a hint of purple, but her low-profile attire was required. This was all for Sakura anyway.
Ino had given Sakura sound advice during the festival. Her input on the situation, however, ran right past the pinkette's head. Had Ino been any other person not used to Sakura's stupidity, she would have been insulted at her airhead friend. It was not everyday Ino's advice did not contain any sexual innuendos. But this was Sakura she was talking about. Sakura, the most stubborn and oblivious person Ino had ever the pleasure of knowing, did not know how to follow romantic advice even if someone spelled it out for her.
Ino gave Sakura a week to get herself together and do something about those jammed feelings of hers for Itachi. A whole week! That was more time than she gave to Tenten before Ino would be forced to intercept. Luckily in the weapon's mistress's case, Ino did not have to intervene. Although both Tenten and Neji were single in the public, it was only matter of time before they came out with their secret relationship to the general eye. Ino suspected the two waited to announce their status due to Neji's part in the clan. That was a reasonable excuse for the couple to keep their relationship hidden. At least her two friends were happily together.
Sakura, on the other hand, did not have such excuse. Ino knew that the Uchiha clan played a large role in Itachi's relationship status, but did not know the specifics. She did not know how the clan, especially those old geezers in the council, would react to their heir dating someone from outside the clan. They probably would not encourage the Uchiha and plot to break it up. If Neji had trouble dating outside the clan, Ino knew that getting Itachi to date outside the clan would be near impossible. That was not the point of her operation though. She was not scheming to get Sakura and Itachi together. She was scheming to get Sakura and Itachi to realize their feelings for each other, which would eventually lead to a possible relationship.
After Ino had found Shikamaru during the festival, when he magically disappeared, she scolded him for a good minute – which he swore was actually five. Ino demanded that her lazy boyfriend do something to make it up, which he promptly took her to a 'Pop the Balloon' stand. It was unbelievable. After all time the two spent together as a couple, even longer if you included their Academy and genin days, her boyfriend had taken her to a childish game stand that did not even offer oversized stuffed animals as prizes.
She was about to give him an earful but she spotted the infamous Uchiha heir across the street. He was in a group with six other Uchiha, judging from the flamboyant red and white fan adorned on their backs. She was not aware Itachi had friends, or enjoyed going to festivals. What struck her the most unusual from the scene was the Uchiha chick who was hanging onto Itachi's arms. Ino had examined the girl with narrowed, suspicious eyes. The girl was clutched onto his arm like some sort of clingy girlfriend. Ino automatically did not like whoever the mystery chick was. She was probably some fan girl. She was not even that pretty. So what if her kimono was on the nicer side and she was blessed with fabulous Uchiha hair and her face kind of sort of looked appealing. She was nowhere near Itachi's taste.
Then it hit her. Ino had no idea what Itachi's tastes were and type of girls he preferred. She never pegged him to be attracted to whiny, little civilians. This realization made her job much harder. If she was going to push Sakura to come to grip with her feelings, she had to know Itachi's preferences. There was no way she could accomplish this task on her own.
She needed an accomplice.
There was no way Shikamaru was going to get involved. He did have a high IQ but intelligence was not something that Ino was looking for in a partner. Her collaborator needed to be just as enthusiastic and persistent about the common goal as she was. Knowing Sakura and judging Itachi, Ino knew that this was not going to be an easy task. Both were difficult people who needed to be talked some sense into. She did not know Itachi well, which meant her henchman must be close to the Uchiha. But she did not know any of Itachi's close friends or acquaintances. She could ask Sasuke but the younger Uchiha would get an aneurysm at the thought of his brother and his teammate involved in anything along the lines of romantic.
That was when she got a message sent straight from kami-sama.
We need to get them together.
Meet me at Miro's at 10 tomorrow.
-S
Ino almost died of happiness. There was someone out there who was equally scheming for Sakura and Itachi to get to together… err, realize their feelings for another. Ino was elated that she was not the only one who was rooting for the two. She finally had an accomplice who seemed just as eager as her. She could finally move to the next steps of her schemes.
Ino almost giggled at the thought of her sweet Sakura and the dark Itachi together. They would make the cutest couple, not as cute as her and Shikamaru, but still pretty cute. She pushed those thoughts away as she approached the meeting spot and swiftly took a seat at one of the tables outside. Ino grabbed a menu and pretended to examine the options.
A figure slide into one of the seats across from her but she made no move to look up from the menu. She noticed them discreetly grab a menu and look over it, expertly hiding their face from her view. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Ino broke the silence.
"So," she started in a low tone, "I hear we may have similar goals in mind."
Her accomplice cleared their throat before they responded in an equally discreet, hushed tone. "Regarding our two favorite shinobi."
"Who are you?"
"It does not matter who I am. We share the same purpose." Ino's curiosity only increased but pushed it aside. She was here to help forehead girl and not satisfy her own inquiry,
Ino leaned back in her chair, still absentmindedly scanning her menu. Whoever she was dealing with knew what they were doing. They seemed like they had experience in area. Ino, however, refused to believe anyone could be a better matchmaker than her. She was the queen in that discipline and received many gold medals for her efforts. "I take it that you have a plan in your mind about how we should precede to accomplish this purpose."
The Yamanaka heard them sniffle behind their menu. There was a cold going around the village. The same cold that went around everytime the weather dropped in temperature. Shikamaru was suffering from said cold and according to him, he had to sleep for longer periods of time to recuperate. "I assume you have heard of Genma's Halloween bashes."
Ino rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. Of course she heard of Genma's infamous Halloween parties. She was not a fan of the pervert and his over flirtatious personality but she's been to every single one of the bashes ever since puberty blessed her bra size to increase. "I've been to Genma's Halloween bashes."
"Good. Now all you have to do is make sure our dear Sakura shows up."
Ino could feel their glee radiating from across the table. How could she be so stupid? Genma's annual Halloween party was the best way to get Sakura and Itachi together. Why didn't she think of this before? Her accomplice was a genius. She could not have thought of a better plan herself. Scratch that. She probably could have. "Any costume preferences?"
Her matchmaking partner sneezed before sniffling a few times. She imagined them tapping on their chin a few times before answering. "Itachi has a thing for nurses."
Ino grinned. She could work with that information. She so happened to know several places that sold wonderful nurse costumes. If worse came to worse, Ino would just have to make the costume, but that was not a problem. It would give her a chance to practice one of her other many talents that she did not get many chances performing – sewing.
"We will meet again in three days after the party."
With that, her henchman disappeared in smoke as Ino peaked a glimpse of their face before disappearing. Her partner was sporting the same dark, oversized sunglasses as her. Great minds did think alike. That was why Ino was in a wonderful, stable relationship and Sakura was bored and lonely.
Now all she had to do was convince forehead to go to the party.
Sakura sighed for the umpteenth time.
She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. She was bored. She was actually bored. Never in her entire career of working at the hospital was she ever bored.
There were no major surgeries scheduled today and Sakura did not want to be a bully and steal another doctor's surgery. No injured shinobi or teams came in with serious wounds and inflictions. There were no classes scheduled at the medic school and Sakura could not spontaneously create a lesson and expect students to attend. Sakura went over to the civilian half of the hospital, which was also unnaturally quiet. She went to her lab only to realize that the current poison research she was conducting needed ten hours to process the toxin information. The pinkette had made her way back to her office to finish her paperwork only to realize that she had already diligently finished all her paperwork yesterday.
It was eerie quiet at the hospital, a complete reverse from how it was a few days ago during the festival week. According to Tsunade's superstitions, quiet days were a bad omen. Something big was going to happen, it was only a matter of time when. Last time when the hospital was as quiet as today, the Kyubi ran rampant around the village.
The weather only made her shishou more wary. Dark clouds covered the sky. They threatened to drop waterfalls down onto the village any moment. Her shishou did not like the rain but Sakura loved the dreary weather. She loved when the rain would pour and the lightning illuminate the sky for a second before releasing loud thunders.
Sakura groaned and dropped her face into her palms. She had just finished all of Tsunade's paperwork and she was stuck with nothing to do. Tsunade was at home. The blonde did not want to be at the hospital when the bad omen struck. The Senju knew that if anything bad did happen, she would immediately be called down to the hospital. There was nothing for her to do at the hospital at the moment. Sakura wondered how the Director of the Hospital and Head Medic could just stay home. Sakura stared at her impeccably neat desk. Then again, she did not blame her shishou for leaving. The hospital was dead. It was not even noon yet.
Sakura's thoughts absentmindedly made their way to her favorite tall, dark, mysterious fellow. She wondered what Itachi was doing at the moment. Team eleven did not have a mission at the moment, as Sakura checked mission statuses earlier in the morning. Was he training? Maybe he was training Sasuke. Sasuke would never admit it but the younger Uchiha followed his Onii everywhere. Maybe Itachi was working at the Intelligence Department. Or maybe he was just chilling.
Sakura snorted at the thought. The Uchiha heir did not know how to 'chill'. The realistic part of her knew that she did not know to chill either but she ignored that part. At least she had people who forced her to relax if she was overworking herself. Itachi was stuck with her failing his psyche exam and lying about groin injuries to get him some time off.
Her thoughts wandered back to the festival. She was tired of lying to herself about the feelings she experienced at the celebration. Sakura did not exactly know what she felt for Itachi but she definitely liked him a little more than a simple friendship. The jealousy she felt when she saw another woman with him who apparently could make him laugh was unexpected. She could make him laugh too. He laughed at her jokes before. Sakura painstakingly tried to think of the times she did. She could not think of any, but she did joke with him. She accused him of killing bunnies and he responded to her banter. That was a good sign. That was a really good sign.
Sakura decided to come clean about her feelings, at least to herself. She felt raging jealousy that she concluded was a result for her deeper feelings for the Uchiha. She was not going to lie to herself about those emotions anymore. It was time to come clean and stop hiding behind whatever was holding her back. She fully accepted the fact that she kind of sort of liked Itachi.
The stupid fortuneteller told her that her feelings for Itachi were pure. The old lady had stated Sakura held deep love for someone, which Sakura knew was Itachi because there was no other man she was attracted to. She doubted it was love but it was definitely something deep. The old lady had ruined Sakura's night. The pinkette barely got any sleep that night because she was too busy thinking about the black card. Sakura found a newfound despise for fortunetellers.
With arms crossed, Sakura marched her way to the hospital. The streets became more crowded since she and Ino first made their way onto them. The people around her were starting to make her feel claustrophobic. She needed fresh air and being surrounded by loud, happy, laughing people was starting to make her feel physically sick.
Sakura wanted nothing more than to take off the annoying, hindering kimono and put on some scrubs and find a really long surgery. Seeing all the colorful, cheery outfits around her made her gag. There was nothing to be cheery about. The pinkette had a sudden desire to burn the kimono she was wearing once she took it off.
The medic did not know why she was in such a foul mood. She should be happy. Everyone around her was happy. They were laughing and enjoying the carefree environment. She, on the other hand, was sulking her way to the hospital. She could give Sasuke a run for his money. A part of her knew what was making her feel horrid. It was Itachi. It was the Uchiha's entire fault. She did not understand why the normally distant Uchiha was having more fun than her during one of her favorite times of the year.
Another part of her knew that she had no right feeling this way. Itachi could have as much fun as he desired. He owed her nothing, especially his company. If he chose to spend his free time with an absolutely striking woman, who was not Sakura, it was his decision. Sakura knew that he was with a group of people and not just that pretty woman but the bitter part of her refused to acknowledge the rest of the group. Itachi was enjoying the festival.
Another traitorous part of her liked seeing Itachi so untroubled. He was always on missions, always overworking himself, always having to worry about something. Sakura appreciated that he was relaxing and enjoying the festival, even if it meant he was laughing at that woman's jokes. She wanted to see him carefree and unworried. She did not want to see his shoulders tense all the time or the bags under eyes grow deeper.
Sakura almost slapped herself at her thoughts. She was thinking like a jealous, scorned girlfriend. She was most definitely not Itachi's girlfriend and she most definitely did not have the right to be jealous of who he hung out with. She was his teammate, his subordinate. They had a professional relationship, not a personal one. He trusted her with his life and all Sakura could do was stomp away like a resentful ex.
"Aye pinky!"
Sakura stopped her tracks and searched for the voice who called her that annoying nickname. If her mood was not foul enough before, it definitely was pure rotten now. Nothing positive could happen in the night that could make her horrid emotions disappear. Nobody called her pinky and got away with without an earful. Sakura's eyes landed on a smirking old woman who had a raised eyebrow at Sakura's unpleasant expression.
"Yeah you," the old woman nodded, "You're the only one with pink hair around here."
Sakura bit her tongue from the snarky comment that was urging to escape her mouth. She would not get into an argument with an old lady. She had too much respect for the crippled and elderly – well, not every crippled and elderly, the old geezers in the council were proof enough. But something told her that this old woman could beat her with a single strike.
"Come here child," she instructed, her voice raspy yet strong. It held weight and knowledge, revealing decade's worth of intelligence.
She held out her wrinkled hand that Sakura felt inclined to grab. The pinkette slowly walked over to the lady and sat down on the stool across the woman. The old lady made no move to release Sakura's hand. Her grip on the medic's hand tightened as Sakura let out a surprise wince. For her age, the old lady apparently had some strength behind her wrinkled façade. Sakura watched the woman observe her hands, her strong grip slowly loosening. She carefully examined each finger as Sakura tried not to feel uncomfortable.
"You are a shinobi," the raspy voice filled Sakura's ear once again, "but you hands are soft. Shinobi do not have soft hands." Sakura had to give the woman credit for her observance. Sakura was not revealing any indications that she was a shinobi. The woman must have sharp eyes. "A medic. You are a very good medic. Explains your hands."
"I'm sorry, what are you doing," Sakura asked, effectively breaking her company's concentration. Two dark, annoyed eyes bored holes into Sakura's forehead.
"Reading your future! What do you think I'm doing?" the woman sharply cut.
Sakura could not stop her mouth from slightly falling. It was then when Sakura realized she was sitting at a fortune telling booth. To say Sakura was disbelieved was an understatement. Sakura did not believe in predicting-the-future-with-some-kind-of-juju façade. Team seven had gone on a mission a few years back and Naruto had begged for the team to get their fortunes told when they discovered a famous fortune telling shop. To make Naruto stop talking, the team had agreed. She begrudgingly walked into the shop and got her fortune told. 'You will be emotionally constipated in the coming months and if you do not confront those feelings, you will regret it for the rest of your life. And you will be getting a recent promotion' the fortuneteller predicted.
It was all bullshit. Fortunetellers made their living off reading body languages and any signs the poor victim was giving off. Her prediction was absolutely ridiculous. She was not emotionally constipated and she did not plan to live the rest of her life regretting something that did not even happen. Sakura smiled and walked away from the fortuneteller, not believing a word that came out of their mouth. Sure, she was emotionally constipated – it was the after effects of her stubbornness. A few days after team seven returned from the mission, Sakura was requested to join the infamous ANBU team eleven on a mission. Sakura refused to believe the fortuneteller predicted this.
Judging from the incredulous look Sakura must have been emitting, the old lady snorted and released Sakura's hand. "You don't believe in this."
Sakura slowly shook her head. "No, I don't. I'm sorry."
"Ha! You can be sorry for yourself when your lover walks into the arms of another woman. You'll only have yourself to blame."
Sakura did not like the knowing look the woman was gleaming with. She did not have a lover. She was 'boring and lonely' according to Ino. Sakura was not even planning to have lover any day soon. She was far to busy and independent to be held down by some lover. She was perfectly fine by herself.
But the other fortuneteller was right. Sakura did get a promotion. She got a promotion into the ANBU. There was no way that the predictor could have guessed that. Maybe they were making up lies but they were right. Sakura was promoted into the most elite group of shinobi in Konoha. The skeptic part of Sakura's mind urged her to hear out the lady.
Grumping at her lack of restraint, Sakura crossed her arms and relented. "Fine, you can tell me my fortune. But just you know, I don't believe that you can tell me what's going to happen in my future."
The old woman smiled at Sakura with traces of dry humor and wickedness. A deck of cards slipped out of her long sleeves as Sakura wondered how the woman managed to store them in the loose sleeve. The fortuneteller quickly shuffled the cards before loudly slapping them onto the table. She glanced at Sakura, making sure the pinkette was ready for her fortune. She slowly slid the top card and peeked at it before placing it on the table to let the pink haired girl look.
Sakura scrunched her brows in confusion. The picture on the card made no sense. There was a lonely, high tower that looked like it was made of gray cobblestone. It would have looked dark and dreary if it were not for the beautiful flowers wrapped around the tower. Sakura carefully observed every detail of the picture, trying to decipher the symbolic meaning that would somehow link to her future but came up blank. She noted that there were only three specific flowers that encircled the tall tower.
"This card, my child, reveals a lot about your state of mind and self," the fortuneteller started, "These three flowers each represent three different things. The white flower, Gardenias, symbolize purity and secret love. You have these strong emotions of admiration for someone. Your admiration is completely pure and free of any blemishes and contamination. The love you have for this person strings from a deeper level than the artificialness of appearance and status. But because it is so pure, there is doubt if your love is even real.
"The second flower, the slightly pinkish and purplish one, do you see them?" Sakura nodded, "They are Gladiolus. They represent honor and strength of character. You have a strong bond to your morals and integrity. But some Gladiolus flowers, especially purple ones, are known to be poisonous. There will be obstacles you face that will try to taint your principals and your character. And the last flower, the bright red one, Anemones, symbolizes anticipation. But it also represents fading hope."
"And what does that one mean for me?" Sakura asked, completely entrapped within the fortunetelling.
The old woman laughed. "Pinky, anticipation and fading hope are two antithetical meanings. You are torn between something. You don't know what to follow – the part of you that is waiting for something to happen or the part of you that is stating that whatever it is you're waiting for will not happen."
Sakura narrowed her eyes at the vague explanation. This was all bogus. She was about to stand up and leave but the woman grabbed Sakura's hand and stared dangerously into her. "The tower represents you, my child. You are locking yourself away. You are locking your emotions, your morals, your constitution away. These flowers are the truths that wrap around you but you do not let them in. The longer you wait, the faster these flowers will enwrap around you and before you know it, these truths will suffocated you until you die."
The woman let go of Sakura's hand roughly before moving her attention to the next card. Sakura stared at her throbbing hand. How did the old hag have so much strength? She looked like she could be at least a hundred years old. The pinkette resisted the urge to heal her bruised hand in front of the woman.
The fortuneteller flipped the second card over which revealed a simple white, smiling mask. "Ah the mask. This represents deceit. You see the mask is smiling but you do not know what is behind it. You are being lied to," Sakura almost face palmed at the statement. Of course she was being lied to. Everyone lies. "Child, from the look of your face, you do not understand the great depths of this telling. Everybody lies, that is true. There are two parts to a mask – what the mask portrays and what is behind it. You see and observe and learn to believe what the mask portrays, but you do not question what is behind the façade because you an entrapped with the exterior portrayal. Be careful, child. Remember that a mask is worn to protect the truth, and usually, the truth is grotesque and vile. That is why an elegant mask is worn. Do not fall prey to the lustrous and beautiful mask."
Sakura suddenly felt hollow with the information. Everyone had some sham and two-facedness to his or herself. She was equally as guilty of wearing a mask. How was she supposed to beware of deceitful people when she was deceitful herself?
The fortuneteller slid another card and placed it on the table. Her loud gasp broke Sakura out of her thoughts and straighten her posture while alerting her senses as if an attack were to happen. Sakura looked confused, and lowered her eyes to examine the card. It was all black. There were no pictures or any other colorings.
Sakura quickly glanced up at the old woman waiting for an explanation. The fortuneteller's expression wore signs of disbelief, shock, and fear. The women was clutching onto her hand as if the card burned her. She was slightly shaking with fright as her breathing started to increase. She looked like she was going to have a breakdown.
"This card is useless. It's a sham," the old woman muttered before jumping to her feet and gathering her cards and throwing them into a small bag, "This booth is closed now. Child, you should leave."
"But wait," Sakura started but paused her sentence from the sharp look she received from the old woman. She took out some money to hand to the fortuneteller but the old woman swatted the medic's hand away."
"Free of charge." Sakura made no move to leave her spot as she stared at the old woman who was quickly gathering her stuff. "Do I need to ask you one more time to leave pinky?"
Sakura scrunched her nose at the annoying nickname as she slowly put distance between herself and the old woman. That was unexpected. Sakura predicted it would have been her who would stand up and leave the fortunetelling early. She did not like the idea of telling ones fortunes but she had sat down for one. The woman looked like she was an expert at the talent. It would be a lie if Sakura said the lady did not hypnotize her. But the old hag's confident personality quickly turned downwards. What was so scary about the black card?
There was nothing special about the black card. It was stupid. Fortunetelling was stupid. It put stupid ideas into people making them believe that some cards controlled their futures. Sakura refused to believe that her fate was already decided. She was the one who controlled her of her own fate. She decided her destiny, not some stupid predictions forecasted by a stranger. But even with her realistic approach, Sakura could not help but to feel a little dread over the card and the old lady's reaction. The woman was definitely scared. Sakura was no stranger to frightful expressions.
It was obvious that the black card represented something negative. Maybe it represented her love life – Ino would agree. Maybe Sakura would wake up tomorrow morning in the underworld. If Sakura had to guess, she would envision the black card symbolizing death. But death was inevitable. Sakura knew that she was going to die. She did not know when but death was waiting for her. Especially since she was a kunoichi, Sakura had to be somewhat comfortable with the idea that she could die anytime she accepted a mission. But why would that freak the old lady out?
Sakura snorted. Maybe she did inherit Tsunade's unfortunate luck after all.
Loud banging interrupted Sakura from her thoughts as she blinked back to reality. It was banging number three – Ino. Sakura had memorized every type of knock on her door – Sasuke's was quick and stern, Shizune's was gentle and robotic, Naruto just barged in without knocking, Kakashi always used the window.
Ino walked in a second later with a big smile on her face. Sakura knew that smile. The pig was up to something. "Sakura-chan," Ino greeted.
Sakura raised her brows with appall at the honorific. "Sakura-chan? What's wrong pig, did Shikamaru finally break up with you?"
Sakura smirked as she saw Ino's smile crack but still plastered firmly on her face. The pig needed something. "Shikamaru did not break up with me," Ino stated, a little dangerously through her gritted teeth, "I've noticed that you've been working super hard. I think you need a break. You know, do something to relax."
"The hospital is really busy today, I don't know."
"Yeah with all your imaginative patients?" Ino crossed her arms. The nice friend attitude was not working. Sakura needed to be bossed around for her to listen. "But now that you've expressed interest, you're coming to Genma's Halloween bash Friday night."
Sakura scoffed. "Why would I do that?"
"Because Genma is your teammate, and you should support him by going the parties he throws. It's good companionship forehead."
Sakura stared incredulously at the blonde. Good companionship? Last time she remembered, Ino promised to never go to his parties ever again after Genma mistook her for his girlfriend and groped her. That was three years ago. The pig shamelessly went every year.
"Are you going costume shopping?"
Ino eyed at Sakura. This was a trick question. Forehead was testing her. Ino knew from previous experience that Sakura highly disapproved of the costumes Ino would pick out for her. They were not her style, the forehead would always say. Ino would roll her eyes at her prude friend. Plus, the pinkette hated going shopping with her. Ino did admit she took their shopping experiences to the next level but that was no excuse for forehead to test her. Ino stared at Sakura, who was waiting for an answer. She would just have to take her chances.
"Yup, I'm going right now. I have the afternoon off from the dungeon. What else am I supposed to do on this dreary day?"
Sakura stood up and took off her white doctor's coat and approached Ino. "Ok, lets go."
Sakura laughed at her friend's incredulous look. Ino was definitely prepared for a tougher battle from Sakura. Ino could have asked her to go to the dungeon for the rest of the day and Sakura would have gladly agreed. There was absolutely nothing she could do at the hospital. Her boredom was killing her enough that Sakura would voluntarily go shopping with her neurotic, frustrating friend.
"Forehead, am I hallucinating?" Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino's teasing.
"Come on, let's go before I change my mind."
Ino smiled wickedly behind Sakura's back. Forehead was making this too easy. She was expecting much more struggle from the stubborn medic. Ino was not complaining. If Sakura happily agreed it would make her life easier. She could not wait until she dressed Sakura in a little nurse's costume. Maybe considering Sakura's somewhat easygoing demeanor, it would not be such a difficult task.
Everything was going according to plan.
Sakura's eye twitched as she stared at her reflection. Common sense finally caught up with her.
There was no way she was walking out of her house in this. She was practically walking around naked. This costume did not count as clothes. How could she agree to wear such racy clothing in public? What was going through her mind when she bought the outfit? Sakura marked her as delusional. She was not in the right state of mind when she purchased the costume. Naruto and Sasuke would have a stroke if they saw her like this. Luckily for her, they were on a mission far, far away.
Sakura winced at the memory. She agreed to go shopping with Ino because of the eerie quiet hospital two days ago. Ino knew this wonderful place that sold 'the best costumes in all of Konoha'. When the two were scanning through the racks of colorful costumes, Ino found a nurse costume that was made to be worn by the pinkette. Sakura did not know where her common sense was at the moment but when she stared at the costume, she blurted that she walked into a room that Itachi was in wearing a nurse uniform without a bra on. It was the braless incident that Sakura so desperately tried to forget.
Ino had smirked and did not even allow Sakura to try the costume before pushing the pinkette to the register. The pig demanded why Sakura had not told her sooner. The Yamanaka was in utter bliss at the story, claiming that her dear Sakura old finally grown up. Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino's reaction to the mortifying experience was the exact reason why Sakura chose not the tell her.
A small part of Sakura knew why she let Ino drag her to the shop and why she relented on buying the sultry nurse costume. She wanted Itachi to see her in the costume and weep. A fraction of her was still a little jealous at the woman Itachi was with and that small fraction overpowered her to buy the outfit.
But the thought of Itachi seeing her in such clothing made Sakura feel faint. He was not going to see her in the outfit because he did not go to loud, crazy parties, even if it was one of his comrades throwing the party. Sakura was only going because it would make the pig shut up and the hospital was still strangely quiet.
Genma's annual Halloween bash apparently was notorious around the Konoha shinobi. Genma lived in house near the village border. It was a rather quiet and isolated area. The house was passed down from his parents, who died years before on missions. It was the perfect spot of throwing a noisy party in the night. There was no official guest list, but it was a party usually shinobi attended. Over the years, his annual bash gained popularity and civilians started coming to the party, as Sakura remembered Genma boosting to Shisui during a mission once.
Sakura was not a party type. She did not enjoy deafening music and drunken people. Maybe she was a prude like Ino kept exclaiming. The pig was shameless when it came to parties like these. She absolutely loved attending parties, no matter how many times she would tell Sakura she was cutting back on her party ways. To Ino's defense, the Yamanaka heir did cut back her partying ways after she started working at Interrogations and dating Shikamaru. Shikamaru's laziness was contagious.
She definitely did not enjoy wearing racy clothing around a house full of people. Sakura knew that girls wore even more sultry costumes than this one. It was that one time of year they could get away wearing revealing costumes. The costumes were just one of the many reasons Sakura stopped escorting Ino to the Halloween party.
Sakura did another glance-over at her reflection. The white a-size-too-small tight dress hugged Sakura's slender figure. The buttons came to her breast, which left it open for Sakura to show a considerable amount of cleavage. She could hardly find a bra she could wear under this costume without her bra hanging out. If she was going to wear a nurse costume, she was at least going to wear a bra underneath. Sakura did not want to repeat the braless nurse uniform incident. Ino had insisted Sakura wear red thigh highs. Sakura sighed. If she was going to this party, she might as well go all out. The pinkette tried to pull down her dress before giving up.
"Ughh, I don't want to go out like this," Sakura groaned. This nurse costume was demeaning to actual nurses, who spent their time and energy saving lives.
"Oh don't worry forehead. No one will remember what you wore," Ino halfheartedly comforted. "Plus, you look hot."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I guess you look hot too pig." Ino had decided to dress up as bunny this year. She was wearing a pink strapless one piece with white tights. "We are teleporting ourselves to Genma's. I'm not walking down the street." Ino nodded in agreement. "Shikamaru's not coming?"
Ino snickered. "Pft, like he would go to a loud, troublesome party. The meeting at Intelligence is running longer than expected. Plus, the lazy idiot would not go to the party even when I told him Genma would be continuously hitting on me, remember what happened last time he went to the party," Ino explained with a laugh.
Sakura recalled the memory vividly. Shikamaru had just been promoted to jounin a few days before Genma's party some years ago. Ino had the perfect idea of celebrating the promotion at the Halloween bash. Knowing that Shikamaru did not have a choice in the matter, he let himself be dragged to the troublesome party. He sat on one couch for the entire night. Shikamaru somehow fell asleep – which was an accomplishment on its own, considering how loud the music was – and woke up to find a strange male on his lap sitting rather comfortably and sucking on the Nara's neck. Shikamaru swore he would never return.
Ino applied her last coat of lip-gloss before turning to Sakura and smirking. Everything was going according to plan. Tonight was going to be an interesting night. "Alright forehead. Let's go before you chicken out."
Itachi did not know exactly why he came to the absurd party. Shisui had mentioned something along the lines of being supportive teammates to Genma. Itachi was a perfectly supportive teammate. He did not need to go to a ridiculous Halloween party to show his support. Shisui had mentioned that their dear Sakura-chan was going to be there and it would have been rude not to leave their lovely blossom alone at Genma's party. Itachi almost snorted at the comment. Sakura did not go to such parties – at least he did not think she was the type to like loud, crowed parties. Itachi relented only so Shisui would stop from continuing to bother him.
His plans for a quiet night in were ruined. He was going to brief himself on current events in the Land of Wind but Shisui had effectively wrecked his intentions. Now he was wearing a ridiculous mask and a foolish cape for Genma's party. The mask only covered the upper half of his face. What was the function of a mask that did not cover your entire face? He did not even know what he was dressed as. At least his entire attire was all black; he could easily blend in with the crowd and not stand out. He had no intentions of staying long. He was merely going for a few minutes, half an hour tops, to make Shisui happy and 'support' Genma.
Itachi did not try to hide his foul mood as Shisui practically dragged him around the noisy house. Genma's house was rather big, as both his parents were shinobi and made a decent amount of money. It was only a little past ten but his house was already overcrowded with both shinobi and civilians alike in outlandish and skimpy costumes. His ears were filled with loud music and nose filled with alcoholic drinks and outrageous perfumes. There were different colored flashing lights, which provided the only light source.
Shisui picked up his pace in front of Itachi, as Itachi struggled to push past people to keep up with his cousin. "Genma!"
Said Genma turned from the group of girls he was chatting with to face his teammate. "Shisui!" The two men enveloped in a hug, as if they had not seen each other in years. Genma looked behind at the sulking Uchiha and snickered. "What are you doing here Taichou?" Genma joked.
Itachi tried not to roll his eyes and walk right out the house. "Hn."
"Why don't you introduce us to your friends?" one of the girls Genma was chatting with interrupted the small team eleven reunion in a high-pitched, cheery voice.
Genma smiled. "This is Shisui and that is–" Genma glared at the empty spot Itachi stood at merely seconds ago. He sighed. Itachi was probably on his way out. The Uchiha did not do parties or loud music or alcohol or girls. "Gone. Well, you get more of me then," Genma flirted, as the girls' giggles boosted his ego.
Itachi did not know why he came. He did not like parties and crowded spaces and loud music and definitely not all three combined. He did not like the way Genma shamelessly flirted with those strangers. He did not like the way the girls wore tight, revealing clothing. He did not like the smell of alcohol and sweat in the air or the flashing lights that was starting to give him a headache
His job here was done. Shisui was happy and Genma was supported. He could finally go back home where it was nice and quiet and debrief himself on current events. Itachi made his way through the crowded floor, ignoring hungry stares of a few women, who some had the audacity to grab him which he smoothly avoided. He was getting out of here as fast as possible.
A bob of pink in his peripheral vision caught his attention as Itachi halted in his tracks. The flash of pink quickly disappeared behind a crowd, as Itachi pondered if that could have really been Sakura. There was no way Sakura would come to a place like this, but then again, neither would he. Itachi sighed. He needed to go home, but his feet started heading towards the direction he thought he saw Sakura. He already regretted his decision to follow the pink and continue to spend any more time at the party.
Itachi walked into the kitchen. Sakura was here and cheerfully chatting with Genma. He noticed a flash on anger cross her face as she barked something probably witty back the Shiranui. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as she crossed her arms. That was when Itachi noticed what she was wearing. It was his turn to flush as the tips of ears turned red.
Sakura was dressed as a nurse. Itachi felt the sudden need to look away or cover her with his ridiculous cape. The white nurse outfit tightly covered her form. Covered was an overstatement. It did not cover anything in his opinion. It barely came mid thigh. His eyes continued to drop as he took in red thigh highs that had a white cross designed at the top. The red garter belt that obviously connected with whatever she wore underneath was clearly visible in the small space that the dress and tights met. His eyes ran back upwards, briefly stopped an extra second at the ample cleavage, before setting on her face.
Her rose hair was in perfected in soft waves. Itachi felt a need to run his hands through her hair to feel if her hair really was as silky as it looked. Her big eyes expressed every emotion she was feeling. Her lips were colored fiery red, as they were currently enwrapped around a kabob stick. Itachi watched as she slowly chewed before swallowing. His gaze moved down to her neck and down to chest. She fit the perfect description of an naughty nurse.
Itachi almost groaned at how effortlessly the pinkette captured his attention. He never shamelessly appreciated women, let alone any females that he held high regards for. But he literally could not take his eyes off from Sakura's form. She let out a laugh. Itachi could almost feel the warmth of her laugh from his distance.
Her ivy eyes suddenly clashed with his as a small smile grew on her full lips. He did not know if he should approach her or turn the other way. His voice of reason told him to walk away but he continued to stand there. She waved him to come over. It seemed he did not have a choice anymore. He was spotted. His legs made their way towards her before he could even command them to move. Shisui apparently appeared next to Sakura, smiling at Itachi.
"What are you supposed to be?" Sakura asked, her voice faint under the over music, as he approached his team but his expert ears caught her euphonious voice.
Shisui wrapped an arm over his shoulders and smiled. "We have no idea. He would only come if his identity were kept a secret. Ita-chan is so boring."
"What are you supposed to be?" Genma teased, winking at Sakura.
Sakura rubbed her chin with her fingers, feigning confusion. Her big, expressive eyes captivated her exact actions. "I dunno. Something seductive I guess."
Sakura and Genma broke out in fits of giggles as the two exchanged childish fit bumps. Itachi thought the foolish fist contact was unnecessary. There was nothing funny about her answer. He looked over to Shisui who a grin on his face. Did the joke only go over his head?
"We finally have our first team eleven outing," Shisui excitedly exclaimed as he looked at Sakura, "tell your other team to watch out." There was no doubt that team seven had strong bonds. They were a rare breed of shinobi who had stuck together in their originally assigned genin team.
Sakura snickered. "Don't tell that to Naruto or Sasuke," Sakura warned as she crossed her arms, pushing her breasts together. "They might not like that I'm here." They might not like her in that costume, Itachi thought to himself. There was no way her overprotective teammates would let her walk out of the house wearing a sultry nurse outfit.
"Where are the two idiots?" Genma asked.
"They have a mission in Iwa. They left yesterday and should be back in a week. Shishou wanted me at the hospital," Sakura explained.
Itachi knew that Sasuke was sent on a mission. His Okaasan was appalled that when Itachi was finally home and not assigned to any missions, Sasuke, who was usually in the village, was sent out on a mission. It indeed was unfortunate. Itachi had hoped to train with Sasuke during this rare moment when he was not away from the village. He knew that the hokage did not like team eleven to be idly stationed within the village for long periods of time when they could be benefiting the village while on missions.
"So, team seven zero, team eleven one," Shisui joked as Sakura stuck out her tongue in response.
"Here Sakura-chan, drink this," Genma handed Sakura the cup from his hands, "I made it myself."
Sakura looked suspiciously at the drink before taking a tentative sip as her face clenched together. "Genma, this is really strong." Genma grinned at the apparent compliment.
Two girls dressed in matching sailor outfits approached the group, calling for Genma who easily walked away with the pretty ladies. Shisui mentioned something along the lines of meeting someone and quickly disappeared behind the crowd of people. Itachi looked at the medic who gulped another sip of the drink before setting it down on the table.
Her big eyes made its way to his as she stared at him for a few moments before breaking out in a fit of melodic giggles. "I never pegged you as a person to come to house parties."
Itachi smirked. "Ah." He was not a person that went to house parties. How observant of her. Maybe it was his sulking attitude or the obvious fact that Uchiha Itachi did not attend loud parties. His brooding was exacerbated by the very giggling kunoichi in front of him.
A new song commenced throughout the house as Sakura instantly jumped with a wide grin on her face. "I love this song." Her face expressed genuine gaiety. He wondered how someone could achieve such perfectly conveyed emotions. It seemed like nothing bothered the pinkette at the moment as she was sitting on a cloud that was playing her favorite tune. She subtly bounced up and down and swayed to the beat. "Let's go dance."
Itachi raised his brow. He wondered if he heard her right. She just asked him to dance. Itachi had attended so few house parties in his entire life that he could count the times with his fingers in one hand. And never in those times had he ever been asked to dance. Half of the song must have passed as he looked at Sakura incredulously.
The thought of her dancing alone in that outfit around a bunch of horny, drunken men made his throat dry. There was no way he was going to allow her to go out to the dance floor, which was unofficially in Genma's living room. Before Itachi could continue to mull over his thoughts, Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. Her grasp was soft, but firmly secured his hand, making sure he would not slip out and run the other way. She pulled him through the crowd to the middle of the packed floor.
She quickly spun around to face him. Small hands grabbed his larger calloused ones and placed them on slender hips. Itachi sucked in air as he felt the warmth from her hips escape into his hands. Sakura triumphantly smiled, avoiding his questioning dark gaze. She slowly started swaying her hips to the beat.
He stared confused at the pinkette, not knowing what to do. He was in the kitchen only seconds before and now he found himself in the middle of the dancing crowd. He watched, captivated by how the pinkette sensuously oscillated between the beat. She moved her hips back and forth, dancing in sync with the low bass. Her eyes were closed as she let the music guide her movements. She clutched onto his forearms before throwing her arms above her head and her head back.
Itachi let out the breath he forgot he was holding in, as Sakura grew more confident in her actions and moved her hips closer to his form. Their bodies still did not touch but he could feel the radiating warmth coming from her petite body. He grasped his hands a little bit firmer onto her hips but made no other obvious motions. His grip must have sent a positive signal to the pinkette because she moved a little closer to him. He noticed a quick twinkle in her eyes at his motion before her lids covered her eyes again.
A floral aroma with hints of apples and mangos filled his nose. He could smell her shampoo. She was so close without actually touching him. Her arms or chest would briefly graze his torso or her legs her quickly slip between his before leaving as fast as they appeared. He found himself anxiously waiting for the next moment when Sakura would fleetingly press a body part against him. He completely underestimated how much affect her simple touches had on him.
He wondered where her newfound confidence came from. Sakura was a composed individual, minus her random outbursts of anger. Itachi never saw the pinkette act so coquettishly. She would teasingly flirt back to Genma's trifling but those were her charming witty comments.
Was it the drink Genma gave her? It could not be. Even though Sakura was acting more assertively, she did not show any signs of inebriation. If she was drunk, she was still a medic with exceptional chakra control. She could easily send chakra to her liver to quicken the metabolism of alcohol and remain sober. Sakura cheekily mentioned once that was why Tsunade could consume excess amounts of sake without permanently damaging her liver.
Itachi was completely spellbound by the pinkette within his grip. Her eyes were still completely shut which let him indulge in her raw facial expressions. The ANBU captain did not realize his Sharingan had activated, memorizing Sakura's every movement and expression and storing it for future purposes. The dark setting of the room easily hid his kekkei genkai, and Itachi completely took advantage of the dark room. He let his eyes wander. Her red lips were slight parted, letting out slow sighs of satisfaction. Her bare neck looked enticing as Itachi felt the sudden strong urge to run small kisses down her chin to the base of her neck.
His breath hitched everytime her hips rolled and twisted in his grasp. Her swift moments left him speechless and almost made him ache for more. Itachi found himself at loss of what to do. He was never in this situation before. Heck, he was never this closely intimate with a woman. This was all out of his control. But he found himself allured nonetheless. He was completely absorbed with the rose haired woman in his arms and said woman was engrossed in the music.
Her face expressed emotions ranging around utter bliss. She was beautiful. Itachi came to that conclusion months ago but watching her behave so freely without the extra weight of stress and worry of her everyday duties made him reinforce his conclusion of her beauty. She was enjoying this, Itachi mused. He never categorized Sakura as the party type. From his earlier observations, he noted she did not enjoy the loud, crowed atmosphere of the house party. But the little minx liked to dance. And she was rather good at it.
The cold space between them made Itachi suddenly feel as if she was in Sunagakure and he was in Yukigakure. He did not like the feeling. He did not know what intangible force controlled him to roughly pull Sakura closer to his form. Her eyes quickly opened in bewilderment as she clumsily fell into his strong arms. Itachi saw her eyes drop several shades to a dark forest green as it searched his licorice black eyes for something. A small smile slowly ran across her face as she lethargically stared at him through half lidded eyes. She steadily moved her hips against his, finally bringing physical friction between the two.
Itachi wrapped one arm around her waist as his other hand continued to grip onto her hip. He did not know when he gently started responding to her slow grind. Her hands tantalizingly ran up and down his chest. She would grip onto his shirt before slowly moving to another spot and soothingly rubbing it. Her hands crawled up his torso to his neck, as she gently stroked his base of his nape. Itachi's hands followed suit, and slowly traveled downwards. He stopped at her lower back. Even in his bewitched state, he did not allow his hands to travel further down out of courtesy. Instead, his hand traveled downward on her side, tracing Sakura's curves.
Itachi felt one of Sakura's leg wrap around him, bring their two bodies closer. He could precisely feel the soft curves of her chest against his. He instinctively pushed her body towards his, wanting to feel more of her flesh. Her hips dangerously rolled against his. He felt a wave of warmth run downward towards his pelvis.
Sakura abruptly untangled herself from his arms. Her eyes bore into his for a quick second before she grabbed his hand and slowly spun around, bringing her back against his chest. She guided one of his arms to her hip and his other hand to her flat stomach. Itachi latched onto the spots she directed his hands to.
Her bottom slowly moved against his groin. Itachi refused to let his thoughts linger at the action no matter how good it felt but he could not let himself stop Sakura from her movements. Her hips slowly swayed from side to side, creating a small pool of warmth bundle in Itachi's stomach as a response.
Itachi took another rough intake of air and traitorously relished at Sakura's sinfully rotating hips. This was wrong on so many levels. She was his subordinate. He was responsible for her life when they went on missions. She was his Otouto's best friend. Sasuke would not be pleased if he found out that his sweet, innocent teammate was promiscuously dancing with his dark, evil older brother. She was five years younger than him for kami's sake. He knew five years meant nothing to an ordinary civilian but in shinobi comparison, five years translated to more than a decade. He was breaking Konoha law, his Otouto's trust, and his own moral ethics by dancing with Sakura.
But he could not stop. Itachi's darker side, however, ignored all the pathetic excuses he came up with and reminded Itachi to feel the warm, seductive body against his. She rolled her hips once more, as his body treacherously grinded back against her. He was on the losing side of this battle. Sakura would undoubtedly win. She had already won.
Itachi did not notice the songs change or the people in the crowd. He was completely hypnotized by the kunoichi who was flirting with his sanity. Sakura flushed her back against his chest and slowly slid down before sliding back up and continuing her sensual dance against him. Itachi found his body responding to Sakura's rotating hips.
He could clearly smell Sakura's shampoo. He was entirely overwhelmed by her floral scent. She smelled so enticing, just like her dancing. Itachi wanted to grab her hair and show her the real extant of his temptation. She was moving against him like a sexually starved girl. How did she even know how to dance like this? The thought of her dancing so lustfully against someone else darkened Itachi's mood as he involuntarily pushed his pelvis against her backside rather roughly.
Sakura threw her head back on his shoulders. Itachi swore he heard his name softly roll out her lips but could not confirm due to the music. He peeked at her lips quickly and slightly regretted it. It took all of his self-restraint and control not to push Sakura against a wall and have his way with her. He was holding himself together by a very thin string, which Sakura was effectively toying with. He was Uchiha Itachi, but he was still human. He tried but could not control every reaction of his body. The little minx in his arms was not making it any easier. He held back a silent groan, as Sakura's grinded again.
Sakura's eyelids opened to reveal dark forest irises that were instantly captured by his dark ones. Her head rested on his shoulders. Normally, the pinkette's forehead barely reached his chin but the added height of her heels made it possible. The eye contact between them brought added intimacy. Itachi felt more heat run to his groin under the added weight of her gaze. She held his gaze as he stubbornly refused to be the first one to break their eye contact.
Her dark forest eyes slowly lightened. The deep, seductive gaze melted into something lighter. Her lips slowly turned upwards. The slow smile quickly turned into a grin. Itachi raised his brows in question. The medic broke out in small fits of giggles before fully engulfing in laughter.
She was laughing at a time like this. Itachi's head spun. They just engaged in a rather intimately promiscuous dance and the medic was laughing uncontrollably as if she was told the joke of the year. He did not understand what was going through Sakura's head. How could she be laughing? What was so funny? Itachi almost felt the need to ask her to explain the joke. She started laughing harder, probably reading his thoughts. A few people around them looked over at the laughing nurse.
Itachi gently pushed Sakura away, instantly missing the warmth of his body against his, before grabbing her hand and pulling her off the dance floor. He led he out the room into another room as she obediently followed. Itachi did not let his fingers escape hers and pulled her closer to his form, hoping that would somewhat dwindle the attention she received from prying, vulgar eyes. He pulled her up the stairs. He was heading to the roof, desperately in need of fresh air. He knew what he actually needed was to get away from the minx but he refused to leave Sakura at the party with other men that would no doubtlessly hit on her.
Sakura's laughing subsided a while back as she aimlessly let Itachi guide her to wherever he was going. It seemed Itachi was leading them to the rooftop. That was good. She could use the cool air to relax her heated body. Her extremely overheated body. Her traitorous mind wander to back to their erotic dance.
The pig had abandoned her. Sakura spent a good ten minutes searching for her blonde friend before running into Genma. He was definitely excited to see her but she quickly shut down his failing flirtatious remarks. He was dressed as a genie and apparently he could 'make her every wish come true' if he let her. Sakura scoffed at him. When was he ever going to learn to stop? Shisui had found the two before she spotted Itachi. It was a team eleven outing that Shisui so desperately wanted.
Sakura would be a liar if she said Itachi's appearance did not spark a pool of heat in her stomach. She did not know what he was dressed as but it did not matter. The guy would look good in a potato sack. Genma and Shisui had quickly vanished. Sakura could not help herself to care. Her attention was focused on Itachi the whole conversation with the team.
Her favorite song had started playing and she refused to leave the party without dancing. Ino was her dance buddy but was nowhere in sight. Sakura substituted her crazy blonde for Itachi. She did not know what came over her but she pulled him onto the floor. Normal Sakura would do no such thing but she was not normal Sakura at the moment. What she thought was innocent dancing at first quickly escalated to something more provocative and sensual. She did not know who was more appalled – her or him. Sure she was going to regret it the next morning, but she could not bring herself to care at the moment. Her body moved on its own and she let herself get lost in the music.
Crisp, cold air splashed against Sakura's face as the two walked onto the roof. Sakura took a seat on the tiles, hugging her knees against her chest. Tomorrow was going to be the first day of November. She could no longer walk around in skirts, although that was what Sakura kept telling herself every year when the colder season rolled in.
A warm cloak was gently placed on her shoulders as warmth immediately engulfed her. She watched Itachi sit next to her now cape-less. He stared out at the trees. She did not know if he was avoiding her gaze or simply interested in the boring trees before him. She took in his dark appearance. Never in a million years would she have guessed Itachi was such a good dancer. Sakura could now push Ino aside and name Itachi her official dancing partner. The thought made Sakura break out in another fit of giggles.
"You," Sakura answered his silent question while pointing a finger at him. He genuinely looked confused and a little bit insulted. She swore behind the cold, hardened exterior, Itachi was the most sensitive human being on the planet. His obvious ignorance to her giggles only made her start laughing.
Sakura felt Itachi cross his arms and 'hn'. Her little nurse cap was still secured on her head. "So where did you learn how to dance like that?" Sakura heard Itachi silently cough at her question. She could see him searching for an answer, but before he could reply, an ANBU jumped on the roof across the two.
"Haruno Sakura, you are needed at the hospital," they blankly stated behind their mask.
Sakura raised an eyebrow, her whole body alert and ready to move. She looked up at the ANBU and asked, "What happened?"
"Two patrolling teams came in with serious injures."
That explanation was enough for Sakura to quickly jump up and start making her way towards the hospital. Itachi thoughtlessly stood up and chased the medic to the hospital. He did not know why he followed her, he was obviously not a needed personnel but he needed to know she safely reached the hospital.
Sakura reached the hospital in record time. She did not mean to leave Itachi alone back on the rooftop but she sensed him following her to the hospital. His chakra completely disappeared when she reached the hospital though. Sakura did not know if he stopped chasing her because she switched to her medic mode. Sakura quickly made her way to the OR when she saw the real extant of injures.
A nurse informed Sakura of the OR that Tsunade was occupying as Sakura ran into an OR that her shishou was not occupying. Sakura glanced through the window and examined the heavily injured shinobi while she quickly washed her hands in the scrub room. A few nurses and medics eyed Sakura's outfit after she took off the cape Itachi gave her and kicked her heels off. She threw on a surgical gown and tied her hair quickly before walking into the operating room. There was no time for her to change into more surgical-appropriate attire.
Tsunade was right once again. A quiet hospital was a bad omen. Sakura spent at least two hours on her first patient before she had to move onto their teammate. Time flew past the pinkette as she worked on her patients. Another team with the same devastating injures had come in sometime before the sun started rising. Shizune had quickly informed Sakura that there were two more shinobi who needed her assistance.
Sakura loved her staff but they really needed more trained medics. They had more than enough nurses and civilian doctors but there was only so much those two could do for shinobi patients. The medic school was a start in a positive direction for medical-nin but it would take at least several years for the first wave of those students to be sent out on missions.
Sakura was just glad that all her patients survived this horrible attack. The pinkette had overheard one of the nurses saying that there was a supposedly attack against Konoha and those team intercepted before the enemy could infiltrate the village. She wanted to ask if they knew any more information but reminded herself that her responsibility lied to the bleeding shinobi. It was only a matter of time when she would hear about the attack. Twelve Konoha shinobi were brutally attacked on the Land of Fire's borders, of course the hokage would arrange a meeting to discuss the assaults.
Twelve was a large number. Never in Sakura's lifetime could she remember such a large amount of shinobi be admitted to the hospital under the same attack. An assault like this was not going to be overlooked. Sakura pushed those thoughts away as she focused on repairing the shinobi's kidney. Her job was to heal. The man's live depended on her.
Sakura lost track of time. The only indication of how long she was the OR was the changing staff and her slowly depleting chakra. She was going to run out of chakra any second. The stubborn medic, however, pushed through her exhaustion and continued pouring healing chakra into the shinobi. She was going to at least heal his organs before she would pass out. When she concluded the shinobi's wounds were stabilized and organs fixed, Sakura finally exited the OR.
The second she walked out, the symptoms of chakra depletion finally hit. Her head starting pounding and her stomach unhappily rolled. Her arms felt heavy and weak. Sakura briefly waved off the nurse who asked her if she was alright. Sakura just had to make it to her office, which was two floors up. She resisted the urge to groan. Her eyes felt heavy and her vision blurred. She felt a strong grip on her arm steadying her swaying body. Her eyes clashed with dark ones as she smiled at the familiar frown.
Itachi disapproved of Sakura's state. It was almost sixteen hours since he last saw her. He followed her to the hospital, making sure she safely reached there before he went home and got some sleep after taking a really long cold shower. He was wakened by an ANBU messenger stating that the hokage wished for his presence. Itachi had spent the remainder of his morning with the hokage and other high-ranking shinobi and officials discussing the attack. The assailants were apparently the Akatsuki. The normally discreet S-class criminal organization was starting to make more aggressive strikes. The Konoha patrol teams were proof.
He spent his early afternoon at the Intelligence department. Itachi knew team eleven was going to be sent out soon on a mission. He was surprised that he Sandaime had not sent the team out last night. He probably wanted Sakura to join them but knew Sakura's first responsibility was to the hospital. Itachi decided to check on the pinkette. He pushed last night's event deep in his head and focused on the present. He checked her apartment but she was not there. That only meant she was at the hospital.
When he reached the hospital, Itachi could not help but to frown at the sight. Sakura was just leaving the OR. She looked completely exhausted, as she could barely keep her eyes open or stand straight. Her chakra levels were dangerously low. He could not help but to scowl.
She worked herself to the very brink of her capability. Again. He always thought Sasuke was exaggerating when his Otouto described Sakura pulling long shifts at the hospital and barely being able to keep herself awake at the end. Itachi did not think Sakura would so carelessly play with her well-being. But he was wrong – it was an occurring theme in life when it came to the medic. He picked her up and transported her to her home. There was no more she could do at the hospital without endangering her health.
A part of him felt guilty as he looked down at the barely conscious pinkette who was still wearing that naughty nurse costume minus the cap and stockings. He had a good night worth of sleep while she was saving lives at the hospital. It made him feel useless. His fellow shinobis were severely injured and he could not do anything about it.
Sakura's eyes opened suddenly as they reached her home. She tossed in his arms as he gently put her down but still held onto her shoulders. She needed rest. Not trusting the pinkette to make her way to her bed, Itachi slowly guided her there. She stopped mid track with a frown.
"I want to brush my teeth," Sakura claimed, her eyes half closed. Itachi started helping her to the bathroom but she stubbornly pulled her arm out of his grip and quickly walked to the bathroom. She was unbelievable. He was only trying to help her but she was stubbornly refusing his help even when she could barely stay awake. Not wanting to irritate her, Itachi waited outside.
She walked out of the bathroom five minutes later as Itachi soundlessly followed behind. He did not want her to snap at him for helping her. Sakura flopped on her bed and groaned. "Itachi help," she whimpered. He looked at the medic whose eyes were closed but the expression on her face revealed agony. He searched her body for any signs of injures but found none. "This dress is choking me."
Unbelievable. That was the only word he could use to describe her at the moment. He watched her hand unsuccessfully unbutton her dress. After several failed attempts she groaned once more and threw her head back and 'ughh-ed' for several seconds before pouting. Itachi silently smiled at her childish expression. He knew the sensible part of him urged him to leave the premises but he threw that part out of his mind last night when he dirty danced with Sakura.
He reached over to her dress and unbuttoned it carefully, not wanting any skin contact. Itachi controlled his perfect self-resistance and ignored her flat stomach and her toned, smooth-looking legs. He pretended not to see her lacy panties that seemed see-through and stood up straight and stared at Sakura for a response. He got a groan and an outstretched hand. Itachi looked questioningly at her hand before grabbing it and pulling her up. With her eyes still closed, Sakura took off the white costume and threw it at his head. He barely had enough time to catch it before peeking at Sakura quickly slipping under her covers. He caught a quick glimpse of lavender colored lace and creamy skin.
He should be given an award for what he just dealt with. No one played with his control as much as Sakura did in the past twenty-four hours. He almost thought it unfair that the responsibility of helping Sakura out of her costume somehow fell on him. Then again, he did not want anyone else helping Sakura out of her dress either. Itachi stared at the peaceful expression on her face. Her rose hair contracted beautifully against her white blanket. He quickly turned to make his way out of her house before he did something that he would regret. Her tired voice interrupted the quietness.
"Itachi," he heard a small groan as he stopped his pace and slightly turned his head, "I can't sleep with a bra on."
He stared incredulously at the girl whose eyes were still shut tight. How exactly was that his problem? She was hugging one of the many pillows that adorned her bed. If he left now, he hardly thought Sakura would remember asking him such a request. But if he did leave, he would feel guilty. What harm could come from helping Sakura? They were in the eye of the hurricane that represented their relationship. He made his way back over to the bed and gently unclasped her bra. Thankfully Sakura was sleeping on her side and hugging the pillow against her chest. He would not accidently see extra skin.
Itachi started walking towards the balcony that connected to her bedroom. He felt a piece of clothing land on his head. He picked it up and observed the scanty see through, lavender colored bra. The tips of his ears turned red as he tried really hard not to imagine Sakura wearing it. Itachi placed her bra on a chair before finally leaving her house.
But you've got what it takes to set me free
Oh you could mean everything to me
-Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Lovely readers! It's been barely a week and I present you with another chapter :) I absolutely thank you all for your kind comments and encouragements. I got a lot of really great critiques for last chapter and I encourage you guys to continue letting me know what you guys like and how I can improve this story. This chapter was originally going to be posted tomorrow so I had a whole day to actually edit the chapter but I've decided to post it today because I'm super excited, so I apologize (like always) for any mistakes.
When I finished the last chapter, I had a completely different plan of how this chapter was going to be about. But the idea of a Halloween party popped into my head and I just had to get it out.
I'm much more satisfied with this chapter than I want with the last one. I feel like I didn't rush when writing and carefully described each scene, especially the one with the dirty dancing. I don't know where that idea came from. I don't want to push Itachi and Sakura's relationship too quickly but I felt it was the right time. If not now, when? Haha. I didn't mean for that scene to be so long. It was just a few paragraphs at first but I went back and added more.
I found out that surprisingly, Ino is the easiest character to write and I actually really enjoy writing about her. Itachi is the hardest but I feel a lot of people might have problems with him.
I didn't write about what Shisui was dressed as because I want to know what you guys think his costume should've been. Let me know.
Thanks again for all your lovely comments, favorites, and follows.
Until next time.
~im-rite-here