It is summer where I live. It is hot and sunny and it makes me want to plant my face in the snow. So I'm sorry, Sakura, but you'll have to suffer through the heat like I have to.

Fancy Footwork

Chapter 4: Technically a Crime

Sakura pulled Itachi's hoodie over her head to hide her face as she felt her cheeks burn. Deidara was undoubtedly basking in the glow of his selfless heroism as she wallowed in the general shame that usually came with unwanted attention. When the applause stopped, she cautiously peered out from her fortress and everyone's eyes were on her. She groaned as she pulled the hood back over her face, making Kisame laugh.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. Be more enthusiastic when two awesomely fashionable guys offer to help you get revenge on your crush," Deidara joked.

Maybe it was the way he was laughing at her situation or the way he assumed she wanted help. Maybe it was the accumulated horror of being stripped and publicly humiliated all in one day. It was also probably because she had referred to Sasuke as her crush. But something in her snapped. And the good-girl persona she had so carefully constructed cracked in half. An anger that startled her bubbled inside of her chest, churning violently until it exploded outwards. She flung the hood off her head and rose from her seat.

"Listen, you perverted womanizer! Didn't you just hear me pour out my life story and clearly explain that I had an obligatory crush on him that lasted for maybe a week? So stop saying I have a crush on him when I OBVIOUSLY DON'T!" she exclaimed, jabbing her finger into his chest for emphasis. She blew out an exasperated breath as she collapsed back in her seat. The restaurant was silent as she sat for a moment. Then, the odd anger in her chest settled and the reality of her situation hit her full in the face like a baseball bat. She was too ashamed to face Deidara. Instead, she put her face in her hands and ventured a peek at Itachi.

Although she had only known Itachi for less than a week, she had the feeling that he was rarely surprised. So the fact that he was staring at her made her feel oddly mortified yet triumphant. She heaved a sigh as she looked down at the table. The complete silence only weighed heavier on her shoulders each second until laughter exploded from beside her. Her head flew up and she was met with Deidara beating the table with his fists as he roared with laughter. Tears welled up in his eyes as he threw his head back.

"Haha! 'Perverted womanizer'!" he exclaimed, hooting. This triggered a series of quiet snickers from Kisame that progressed to full-blown peals of laughter. The big man threw his arm over Deidara's shoulder as they shook with mirth.

"How can something so mean come out of a mouth that cute?" Sasori quietly wondered aloud through the noise. Sakura glanced over at him and there was a wry smile on his lips.

It took a while for the two to calm down enough to quiet their laughter. Every few seconds, one of them would snort and purse his lips, trying to hold in the noise. When Sakura finally worked up the courage, she took a deep breath.

"Um… sorry," she quietly said, attracting curious stares.

"That was pretty rude of me," she clarified when Sasori arched an eyebrow at her. All she received were increasingly blank looks until Deidara spoke up.

"Wait. Why are you apologizing for saying what you feel, yeah? It's super-refreshing to finally hear what you have to say, Sakura-chan," Deidara replied with an easy grin. To her surprise, the three other men at the table nodded. Kisame leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table and blocking Deidara from view.

"Do that more often, Kitten. You shouldn't worry about trying to look good around us. We're pretty weird ourselves," he chuckled over Deidara's protests.

It was strangely comforting to hear that from people she had just recently met. But it was the next few words that would always stick with her.

"You're perfect the way you are, Sakura-san," Itachi added with a serious expression.

A strange constriction in her chest started to come loose. The funny thing was that she had started not to notice it had ever been there, like an old bruise. But his words settled in her with a pleasant tingle that spread up to her mouth and stretching it up into a smile.

"Thank you," she whispered, meeting his dark eyes.

"Anyway, I don't care if you don't want my help 'cuz I've been dying to mess with your hair since we first met, yeah," Deidara continued with a smirk. Sakura carefully sidled away from him, her fingers slowly reaching up to cover her head. Kisame chortled as he reached over to pinch Deidara's nose hard.

"Don't talk, Deidara," he laughed.

"Sakura-chan," Sasori cut in through the noise. Sakura's head automatically turned to the left when she heard the red-head's soft voice. The scowl on her face melted away when she saw the apologetic smile tilting his lips.

"This isn't for him. It's for you. Won't you let us try a little?" he quietly pleaded.

That did it.

His gold eyes, so innocent and clear, framed by thick, dark lashes… and the gentle, soft voice asking for her approval…. They broke her. She pulled Itachi's hood tighter over her head as she grumbled a vague "yes". She could have sworn she heard Itachi chuckle but when she looked up, he was looking away so she couldn't be sure.

"Yay! I get to dress up Sakura-chan!" Deidara exclaimed, receiving several strange looks from the restaurant's other patrons. The table jolted as Sasori's foot connected with Deidara's shin.

"How do you manage to make everything sound perverted, Blondie?" Kisame laughed as tears of pain sprang up in Deidara's eyes. The artist opened his mouth, obviously ready to make a witty retort, but his eyes drifted elsewhere. In fact, his jaw hung slack as his eyes zeroed in on the door. Curious, Sakura turned to follow his gaze.

There was a voluptuous woman walking through the open door. Her dark blue hair was twisted into a loose bun and decorated with a white origami flower. She had a pale, small face and heavy-lidded grey eyes. A piercing glinted from under her lip as she spoke. The man who had been holding the door open entered the restaurant, easily sliding his hand around her waist. His high cheek bones and bright red hair were striking, but it was the proud tilt of his head that commanded attention. His silvery eyes roved around the room, eventually locking with Sakura's wide gaze. She felt a sudden chill run down her body and quickly turned her head to hide her face against her shoulder.

"Fuck," she heard Deidara hiss under his breath as footsteps approached their table.

"Nagato-senpai, Konan-senpai," Itachi smoothly said. But as he spoke, she felt Kisame slide closer and wrap an arm around her shoulders. With a physical barrier between her and the strangers, she felt safe enough to at least look. She slowly lifted her head, one centimeter at a time, until she could barely see the two people's faces over Kisame's blue arm. The woman stared back at her, her eyebrows knitting with either irritation or confusion.

"Ah, there you are, Uchiha-kun," the red-head said and Itachi politely bowed his head.

"I was wondering if you would mind doing me a favor," the man began in what sounded like a request. But Sakura glanced over at Itachi's tight-lipped smile and immediately realized that he had no choice. Spooked by the idea that someone was frightening enough to order Uchiha Itachi around, she looked around the table. When she looked up, Kisame's expression was stiff and grim as he kept his eyes trained on the red-head like he might spring and rip Itachi's throat out at any moment. Beside him, Sasori was seemingly engrossed in a magazine, but his eyes periodically flickered up to the two visitors with visible suspicion. And across the table, his expression frozen with horror, Deidara still sat staring at the blue-haired woman. After a few minutes of talking that Sakura completely missed, the man shook Itachi's hand and then left the restaurant with the woman silently trailing after him.

All at once, every person at the table let out a deep breath. Sakura lightly tugged on Kisame's sleeve and he started, almost forgetting that there was a little girl squished in his grasp. He muttered an apology as he lifted his arm, freeing her.

"Itachi-san?" Sakura quietly asked as she tapped on Itachi's shoulder. He seemed incredibly weary as he turned his attention to her. At the unvoiced question in her eyes, Itachi sighed.

"That was Nagato-senpai and Konan-senpai," the Uchiha began. But he caught Deidara's gaze from across the table and he hesitated.

"I'll tell you another time," he softly said. For an instant, his eyes lingered on Deidara's anxious expression and Sakura nodded, signaling that she understood.

The rest of dinner passed uneventfully, although it was marred by Deidara's uncharacteristic silence. Each time Sakura looked up, his gaze was fixed off into the distance, as if reaching for some far-off memory. Kisame's booming laughter did help alleviate most of the tension and by the time dessert was served, she was full and happy. The waitress dropped off a small bowl of anmitsu in front of everyone and Sakura's eyes widened. She immediately dug in, letting out a squeal of delight as the icy, sweet treat melted on her tongue. When the rest of her table was silent, she hesitantly opened her eyes and found four pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Uh… Pinkie?" Kisame hesitantly said. Sakura turned to him, confused as to why everyone was watching her with such interest. It took her an extra moment to process that he had come up with yet another stupid nickname for her.

"Yes?"

"You're so cute… it's almost repulsive…"

"…..Thanks…. I think."

When the check came around, Sakura automatically reached for her bag, mentally calculating how much she would have to pay for her portion. As she laid down her money on the table, she was met with Sasori's blank stare.

"What are you doing?" he asked, drawing everyone else's attention. She turned red as the other men watched her with equal confusion.

"Um… paying for my meal?" she slowly replied. For a moment, everything was silent. And then, snorting, Kisame shoved her money back into her hands and laid down his own wad of cash. When Sakura opened her mouth, ready to protest, Sasori reached across the table to nudge her arm.

"No gentlemen in their right minds would make a pretty lady pay. This one's on us," the red-head smoothly said. That helped take the bite off of her anger, but still, she didn't like the idea of not paying for food she ate. As everyone stood, she quietly counted off a few dollars and shoved them under a plate for tip. She quickly looked around and saw that Itachi had seen her. With a pleading expression, she held up a finger to her lips, silently begging for him not to say anything. After a pause, Itachi simply inclined his head and returned the gesture, promising to keep her secret.

"What time is it, yeah?" Deidara asked as he stretched his arms over his head. He grinned like usual, but the expression seemed a little strained. Sakura watched him with concern as he mock-punched Sasori in the shoulder and earned the usual smack to the back of the head. Rubbing his sore skull, Deidara turned to face her, probably to whine about how violent his friend was. His smile slowly melted when he realized that he wasn't fooling her.

"You're too smart, Sakura-chan, yeah," he sighed, shaking his head. When she continued to look worried, he pulled her into a one-armed hug. He let out another deep breath as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You're a good kid, Sakura-chan. I'll be fine tomorrow so just… Don't say anything tonight, okay?" he said as he pulled away. Sakura looked up into his face and relaxed her tight expression. She nodded mutely and she could see the relief spread through him.

"Ah, it's almost 10. We should get Sakura-chan home," Kisame remarked, breaking through the moment before it grew awkward. For once, Deidara didn't eagerly volunteer to escort her home while smiling in a suggestive manner. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and jerked his chin toward Itachi, telling him to go as usual.

After a light hug from Kisame and a solemn hand-shake from Sasori (coupled with another quiet apology for the earlier fiasco), Sakura skipped out of the restaurant with Itachi just a few steps behind her. She took a moment to peer into the bag filled with the beautiful clothes Sasori and Deidara had given to her from the photo shoot. A sigh left her as she ran her finger over the silky fabric of the white dress.

"You really like that dress," Itachi observed and Sakura looked up at him. She smiled shyly.

"It doesn't seem like I would, right?" she said as she slowly began walking towards his car. But to her surprise, Itachi shook his head.

"A cute girl liking cute things seems normal to me," he replied as he fell into step beside her. She stumbled as she forgot how to walk for a moment. His words stunned her so much that she gaped dumbly at his back as he continued on. After a few steps, he noticed she was no longer beside him and he stopped.

"Sakura-san?" he called over his shoulder with unmistakable amusement coloring his tone.

"Sorry!" Sakura replied as she hurried to catch up to him. And she could have sworn that just before she reached him, she saw his shoulders shaking with laughter.

The first half of the spring semester went by quickly. In between student council duties, picking up Ino's slack and finishing all her homework, the days seemed to meld into one big blur of paperwork and note-taking. It was tedious, blocking out the insufferable Hyuuga Neji whenever he made a jab at her and implied that she was incompetent simply because she wasn't from a prestigious family like he was.

Finals weren't a pleasant affair either. For the last two weeks of June, she did nothing but go to school, go to dance practice and study. Sometimes, she forgot meals altogether and caught quick naps on the subway or in between classes. Instead of using water-breaks to chat happily with Itachi and laugh at Kisame and Deidara's daily squabbles, she curled up in a corner with a giant textbook and read with a frightening intensity. But the days of torment had pulled off and finals ended without much of a problem, save for Naruto bawling to her in the middle of the hallway that he had probably failed pre-calculus.

But more than the stress, it was the sheer day-to-day boredom that nearly drove her insane.

It was after school that she felt the color flood back into her life. On Mondays, Deidara came to pick her up on his motorcycle (which, he secretly told her, was named Akane-chan). Tuesdays, Thursdays and the weekends were when she took the subway to KU by herself.

But it was Wednesday and Friday she always looked forward to. Because on those days, since Itachi was an intern at a law firm just two blocks away from her high school, he picked her up in his car and drove them to KU. On those days, she prayed for traffic just so that she could spend more time unraveling the mystery that was Uchiha Itachi. After a few weeks of knowing him, she had discovered that his gorgeous face and deep voice weren't the only good things about him.

Like the first time she sat in his car, she had realized what song his stereo was playing and bolted straight up in the leather seat.

"UVERworld?" she gasped. The corner of his lips tilted upward but he kept his eyes trained on the road.

"You know them?" he inquired. Sakura couldn't control the excitement she felt and all the girly adoration gush out of her at once.

"Know them? I own every album! I really wanted to go to their live in Tokyo last year but I was too busy. I heard it was amazing!" she babbled, her face glowing with excitement. When her words finally stopped, the car felt oddly silent, even with the song playing in the background. She half-expected him to tell her that she was annoying when he didn't say anything for a long time. But when he finally did glance her way, there was a small but kind smile on his face.

"They are a good band. What other music do you like?" he replied.

He listened.

And he held doors open, carried heavy things for her and didn't seem to mind when she rambled about random little topics that didn't really matter.

So that was why, when July rolled around, she found herself jiggling her foot impatiently on Wednesdays and Fridays and rushing to finish her duties a little earlier. But on those rare days when she was bogged down by work, she listened for the quiet tap of his footsteps in the corridor. When the door slid open, like the first time she had met him, her heart beat just a little faster and she couldn't help the smile that slid across her face, no matter how terrible her day had been. And he would sit beside her, patiently waiting for her to finish her work and offering comments to fill in the gaps between her words.

On the last day of the first half of the spring semester, Sakura sat in the passenger seat of Itachi's car with her arms hanging out of the open windows. She closed her eyes and leaned her head out, letting the warm, balmy wind tangle in her long hair.

"Sakura-san?" Itachi called over the hum of music on the radio. Sakura turned around to face him. His dark hair fluttered around his face as he looked in her direction.

"What are your plans after high school?" he suddenly asked. Sakura was startled since it was usually her chatter that initiated their conversations. But she was oddly flattered that Itachi cared enough to ask. She twisted her body around so that she was facing him and crossed her legs in the seat. She still felt the pleasant pull of the wind on the tips of her hair as she thought.

"I want to be a pediatrician," she declared with a hint of pride. To her surprise, Itachi chuckled.

"Of course. You'd be good at that," he simply commented.

Sakura smiled as warmth tinged her cheeks. She sat quietly for the rest of the ride with her head tucked up against her shoulder. The soothing croon of music from the radio washed over her, lulling her into a deep sense of peace. Itachi leaned back in his seat, his right arm draped over the back of her seat and his left hand lightly resting against the steering wheel. Every few minutes, he would look over at her. It felt oddly reassuring; it was like he was checking to make sure she was okay. She felt safe, like she had always belonged there, sitting next to Itachi and watching the dark city whiz past outside.

It was only when she felt Itachi gently shaking her shoulder that she realized that she had fallen asleep.

"Sakura-san, we're here," he murmured. His deep voice reached in through the haze of sleep clouding her mind. A tired sigh left her as she rubbed her eyes and slowly cracked them open. The dome light was on. She squinted against the bright light as she automatically swiveled her head to the left and found Itachi's seat empty. Before she could get too confused, there was a warm hand touching the top of her head. To her right, she found the car door open and Itachi with his right arm resting on top of the car. He leaned over her, blocking out to the warm glow of the streetlight above.

"I'm tired," she groaned as she rubbed her eyes again.

"Well, you can go up to your apartment and sleep there," he replied rather indulgently. Her mind was too exhausted to process the fact that she probably sounded like a cranky 5 year-old after a nap. With Itachi patiently hovering over her, she slung her bag over her shoulder and swung her legs over the edge of the seat.

"Sakura?" Itachi said when she swayed a little, ready to fall back asleep.

"Hmm?" she hummed, not really paying attention. Her eyes slid shut as her head drooped against her right shoulder. Itachi took her hand, helping her to her feet. She took a few fumbling steps and collapsed against Itachi's arm. Had she actually been awake, she would have been extremely embarrassed to be hanging all over him. But she was too sleepy to actually care.

"How did you do on your finals?" he asked as he guided her up the three flights of stairs up to her apartment. He hovered just a step below her, ready to catch her if she wobbled.

"Five," she vaguely mumbled as she shuffled, zombie-like to her door.

"The top 5%?" Itachi inquired as she dug in the bottom of her bag.

"No," she replied as she stuck her key in the lock and turned it with a loud snap. One foot in the door, she paused to look up at him with a sleepy smile.

"Top 5 scores. Good night, Itachi-san."

The door swung shut on his slightly stunned expression. Sakura sighed blissfully as she kicked off her shoes and shed her socks, tossing them in a hamper as she walked past. Her fingers automatically unbuttoned her blouse and unzipped her skirt, throwing her summer uniform in a pile on top of her dresser. She barely managed to pull on an oversized t-shirt and shorts before she collapsed face-down on her bed and fell into what was more of a coma than sleep.

It seemed just as she closed her eyes, a thunderous pounding filled her ears.

"Go away," she groaned as she pulled her pillow over her ears. But when the obnoxious noise continued, she reluctantly got to her feet and made her way to the front door. She didn't even bother to check the peephole before she opened the door, only to be met with an intolerably enthusiastic grin.

"Get ready, Kitten!" Kisame exclaimed a little too happily. Sakura rubbed the back of her hand over her eye, squinting up at him through the sunlight.

"For what?" she inquired, her voice scratchy with sleep. Deidara's head popped in the doorway, under Kisame's arm. His gold hair was damp and held back in a lopsided ponytail. Sakura was startled by his disheveled appearance since Deidara usually took great care to look his best. While she eyed him with confusion, he winked and then spoke.

"We're going for our 45-minute morning run around Konoha. C-"

"Goodbye," she interrupted, slamming the door shut on their faces.

"But Sakura-chan!" Deidara called from outside.

"I'm going back to bed! It's too early!" she shouted back as she turned around.

"We're meeting up with Itachi afterwards," Sasori's voice flatly chimed in. She froze mid-step. Very slowly and quietly, she crept up to the door and just barely pried it open to peek out at the three men standing on her doorstep.

"….Give me a minute," she whispered and then shut the door again.

From outside, she heard Deidara and Kisame explode with laughter. With a blush staining her cheeks, she hurried to her bedroom to change into running shorts and a tank top. As she sat on the edge of her bed, pulling on socks, she listened to the duo's laughter slowly die down. Still yanking her long hair into a ponytail, she swung the front door open. Kisame choked on his laugh when he saw the blush still blooming across her face and Deidara thumped him on the back. She tried her best to ignore the pair's poorly concealed guffaws as she locked her door and turned to face Sasori. Despite his usual expression of boredom, he patted her head sympathetically and took off at a light jog down the stairs. Sakura followed, leaving Deidara and Kisame behind. It was only when they had gone nearly a block that she heard their shouts of indignation from above. She glanced sideways and saw that Sasori was smiling.

Sasori ran at a moderate pace, not too fast and not too slow. But by the end of the 45 minutes, Sakura was wheezing and straining every muscle in her body to keep up with him. To her shame, Deidara and Kisame ran alongside with ease. She puffed out her cheeks, trying to take deep, even breaths like everyone else. But when they finally made it up to the dance studio, Sakura flopped onto the cool floor and remained motionless except for her heaving chest.

"You've killed her," she heard Itachi mildly say as his shadow fell across her face.

"We're doing this every day for the rest of the summer, kiddo. Call it training," she heard Kisame chuckle from across the room. Still gasping for breath, she raised her head enough to shoot a glare at him before collapsing again. The room echoed with the sounds of Kisame's boisterous laughter.

True to Kisame's word, her summers, that had previously been filled with studying and lazing around at home, were now exploding with "training".

Every weekday at exactly 7 am, Kisame and some of the other guys would show up, depending on who had work that morning. Most of the time, though, it was just her and Kisame, jogging through the empty streets of Konoha. By the second week of August, she was easily keeping up with his pace. Her legs were stronger and her lungs breathing without a hitch. After the run, they would drink water and have breakfast at the dance studio before stretching and exercising at the university's gym until noon. It took Sakura a while to realize that she had gone from watching on the sides to dancing without anyone asking her to. At first, it bothered her, until she brought it up in front of Itachi who had assured her that they wouldn't keep someone they didn't want.

At noon, there was usually take-out from one of the nearby restaurants and then rehearsal until five.

Sakura was the only one there all day and ended up collapsing in bed each day as soon as she got home. Sasori, who had a summer job at a famous designer's studio, was only there for the morning run and usually stopped in around 2. Deidara worked at a salon in uptown Konoha so he left just after 1. Kisame had the night shift at a research lab so he left around 4 to get a quick nap before work. And Itachi only made it after 3 on Wednesdays and Fridays. But the rest of the week… she spent all day with him.

At first, it was impossibly nerve-wracking to be exercising and doing things together with the calm and cool Uchiha Itachi. But they fell into an easy rhythm. She found that Itachi did karate on the side to keep in shape but that at the gym, he liked to work mostly on his core and his arms. And after he was done, he had to shower; Uchiha Itachi was a very tidy person, she noted. Sakura, on the other hand, spent most of her time on the treadmill and doing stretches.

It was one particularly sweltering day in mid-August that something had changed. She sat, exhausted from her own exercise routine and sipping from a huge bottle of water. Too tired to do anything else, she watched Itachi doing a set of graceful karate kata in the middle of the room. Deidara was lying on the floor beside her, playing a game on his phone. Very suddenly, Itachi was crouching in front of her, making her yelp.

"Do you like the beach?" he inquired. Sakura looked up at him with wide eyes, as confused as she was surprised.

"Um…. Yes?" she hesitantly replied. Immediately, Deidara sprang to his feet, letting out a loud whoop.

"We're going to the beach then, yeah!" he exclaimed, seizing both of Sakura's hands and yanking her to her feet. She shot Itachi a bewildered look as Deidara ran around the room gathering his stuff while yanking her along like a rag doll.

"Um… Deidara-san… what are you doing?" Sakura asked as she was pulled to the door. When the blonde turned around, he gave her an exasperated look, like she was asking the most obvious question in the world.

"Buying you a bikini… duh…"

Before she could protest, she was pulled from the safety of the dance studio and speeding down the highway on the back of Deidara's motorcycle. Four boutiques and a quick stop to her home, she was deposited into the passenger seat of Itachi's car along with a small suitcase and heading to the sea. Baffled, tired and completely opposed to the two-piece she was wearing under her t-shirt and shorts, she hugged her knees to her chest, mumbling darkly under her breath.

"Itachi-san, what about everyone else?" she asked, suddenly remembering Kisame and Sasori.

"We called them. They're heading down right now," Itachi replied.

"…. Don't you all have work?"

"We called in sick…"

"How long are we staying there?"

"Three days."

"Is this technically kidnapping?"

At her last question, Itachi glanced over at her, a smile quirking at his lips. He pulled on a pair of dark sunglasses before turning back to the road.

"Perhaps," he replied with a shrug.

"...I've been abducted," she sighed as she turned on the stereo and let the soothing croon of music wash over them. After about an hour, she stood in front of an enormous beach-front hotel complete with a doorman and valet. She stuttered with protest as Kisame and Deidara dragged her into the gilded lobby. The woman at the front desk fluttered her eyelashes at Itachi when he stepped forward. Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from saying something nasty to the woman who was obviously showing too much cleavage.

"Three rooms under Uchiha," Itachi smoothly said. The room cards were passed into his hand and they continued to the elevators like a well-oiled machine.

"Why... are we here?" Sakura asked as the elevator began climbing upwards. At the same time, all four men answered.

"Training."

"For fun."

"To relax."

"To dress you up," Deidara answered with a cheeky grin, receiving a slap on the back of the head from Kisame. Sakura tugged uncomfortably at the light green strap peeking out from the top of her shirt.

"To bother me," she sighed under her breath. Four pairs of eyes stared at her, shocked. It was only when she smiled up at them did everyone relax into laughter.