I apologize for the delay but I was having a lot of issues with the website's server. So here's chapter 11 in all it's glory.
Fancy Footwork
Chapter 11: The Blush
Haruno Sakura was currently lost. Actually, if there was a level beyond lost, that was what she was.
This was a rather unusual occurrence since she always made sure to find directions before she went anywhere new. It wasn't that she hadn't marked out her journey on a map beforehand. The trip to the Hyuuga estate itself had been uneventful and rather nice actually.
She had woken up around 8 am. Since it had snowed heavily the past couple days, the usual morning run was out of the question. Instead, she had sat on the floor of her bedroom doing stretches and a few yoga poses before taking a shower and having a quick breakfast. But when she had taken the train and followed the directions perfectly, she had ended up in a neighborhood with identical houses lining every block.
"Haruno?" The sound of the voice coming from behind her made her shoulders automatically stiffen. Eyes wide, she slowly turned to face the president of the student council. Hyuuga Neji, his dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, was evidently in the middle of a morning run. The collar of his white tracksuit was pulled up high, zipped up all the way to the top. Sweat dotted his forehead and he wiped his face with the back of his hand. A furrow appeared between his eyebrows as he looked her up and down. Sakura tried her best not to feel too self-conscious when what should have been a quick scan turned into an awkwardly long stare.
Sakura hadn't paid too much attention to her clothing that morning. So after breakfast, she had thrown on a dark blue sweater over black leggings. Over her fuzzy grey boots were knitted white leg warmers accented by large buttons in the shape of cats running up the side. This, matched with her white pea coat and red scarf, wasn't such an outlandish outfit that Hyuuga Neji would need to stare at.
But he was staring.
And staring.
She cleared her throat while trying her best not to blush.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, pretending that he hadn't just been gawking at her like she had grown another head. She sniffed, seriously considering pulling out a few of the meanest words in her growing vocabulary of swears (thanks to Deidara and Kisame). But then she thrust the piece of paper Hinata had given her into his face and let him read.
"The main house? No wonder you're lost. This is the eastern entrance. You should have gone through the western entrance," Neji explained in a surprisingly non-condescending tone. Sakura looked at the map again and she tried her best not to be too embarrassed when she saw that he was right.
"I was on my way back anyway. Follow me," he said and began walking in the direction he had come from. Confused, Sakura stuffed the paper into her pocket as she ran to catch up with him.
"So I guess you live close to Hinata-chan, huh?" Sakura nervously began after a few minutes of complete silence. For the first time, she caught a glimpse of his smile as he glanced her way.
"Where do you think you are, Haruno?" he scoffed, pointing to the nameplate on a house they walked past. Although she bristled at his patronizing tone, her curiosity overcame everything else. She followed his direction and read the bold black kanji painted onto the front door of the luxurious house.
"Hyuuga," she read out loud.
"Is this it?" Sakura inquired but Neji had already continued walking. Even more puzzled than before, she began reading the signs put up in front of every house. Each home had the same two characters out front. At first, she wondered if some relatives had decided to buy houses close to one another. But when she peered around the corner of a connecting street, she found that all the buildings had the same markings. It took a moment for her mind to process and Neji patiently stood next to her, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her to finish thinking.
"Just… how much of this place belongs to the Hyuuga family, Kaichou?" she slowly asked.
"Pretty much anything enclosed between those walls. We're here," he said with a shrug. Sakura pulled herself out of her stupor just in time to see him pointing to a large house at the end of the street. With her mouth hanging open with surprise, Sakura watched a figure run out of the house in their direction. As she drew closer, she could see that it was Hinata in just a purple sweater and jeans hurrying over to them.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I was just about to call you. I forgot to warn you not to go through the eastern entrance. It's the exact opposite of the direction you…" Hinata trailed off as she noticed her older cousin standing next to her friend. She tilted her head to the side and Sakura knew that she was trying to make sense of the situation.
"I got lost and he led me here," Sakura explained and Hinata immediately looked relieved.
"Well thank goodness. Come inside, Sakura-chan. It's cold out here," Hinata said.
"That's only because you're not wearing a coat," Sakura replied and they laughed together. They walked up the stone pathway to the building. As they drew closer, Sakura realized that she had misjudged the scale of the home. It was less of a house and more of a mansion. The inside was toasty and smelled faintly of candles when they stepped into the foyer. Sakura twisted around when she noticed Neji was not with them. She caught a glimpse of him walking straight past the house.
"So… your cousin lives nearby?" she asked as she slipped out of her shoes. Beside her, Hinata was doing the same. At the question, Hinata looked a little sad as she looked out into the street too.
"Nii-san lives right next door to us. Uncle Hizashi passed away a few years ago so he's been living all alone ever since," Hinata explained in a hushed voice. Puzzled, Sakura turned back to her friend with a frown.
"But can't he just move in with one of his other relatives? I mean you all live right here," Sakura pointed out as Hinata led her up the stairs. They walked down the wide hallway, their feet tapping against the polished wood floor.
"I'm not very sure of the reason, but apparently my father and uncle didn't have a very good relationship. No one says why, but I think that's the reason Nii-san chooses to keep his distance from the rest of the clan," Hinata said. She suddenly stopped and pointed at a door. Her serious expression immediately morphed into a smile.
"This is my room," she explained as she pushed the door open.
A large bed swathed in airy white canopy sat in the middle of the room. The two wide windows on either side of it were draped in floor-length purple fabric tied back with glossy ribbons. There was a white vanity matched with tall mirrors pushed against one of the walls. Directly opposite from that were white double doors that were ajar, revealing a walk-in closet. Sakura dug her toes into the soft purple rug underfoot as she slowly made her way across the floor. She turned around to see Hinata following her with a shy expression.
"Um… I've never had a friend over before… so… I'm not really sure what I should do…" Hinata admitted when Sakura walked over to poke her in the arm. Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura surveyed the room once more.
"Well… we're here to have girl-talk. So we'll need food," Sakura began as she thought back to all the times Ino had dragged her over to her house in middle school. Back then, anything Ino wanted was what they ended up doing. So she had spent countless hours watching Ino paint her nails while she talked about boys and complained about her figure. Sometimes Ino would stand in front of the mirror, pinching angrily at fat that didn't exist. Although those hours had been filled with a certain sense of frustration that Ino never listened, it was thanks to her that Sakura immediately knew what to do.
"Do you have our yearbook from middle school?" Sakura suddenly asked as she forced herself to recall all of Ino's usual rituals. Although she looked surprised, Hinata nodded.
"Okay. I'll go get snacks then. My yearbook's over there," Hinata said, pointing to the bookcase in the corner of the room. There were two identical purple armchairs arranged near it along with a little glass coffee table.
"Do you mind looking for it?"
It didn't take much digging. Hinata was a neat person, which meant that everything was arranged in alphabetical order, making it a simple task to pull out the thin black book. Sakura sat cross-legged on the floor as she cracked open the glossy pages to a group photo of all the kids they had graduated middle school with. She easily located herself, wedged in between Ino and Naruto, with Sasuke standing sullenly on the other side of his blond friend. Even here, she could see the hunch of her own shoulders, the feeble smile, like she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. The picture had been taken just a few months after she had quit dance and she recalled being absolutely miserable. She flipped through a few more pages, laughing at the picture of Naruto and Kiba being dragged by the ears by one of their teachers. There was another of Naruto, Chouji and Shikamaru eating lunch (well, Shikamaru was taking a nap while Chouji stole food from him). So many smiles were frozen in the pages, chubby cheeks and baby fat still lingering in some of the faces.
"Did you manage to find it, Sakura-chan?" Hinata inquired as she entered the room bearing a large tray. She set it down on the coffee table before she settled on the floor next to Sakura, tucking her legs neatly underneath her.
"Do you remember this?" Sakura asked, laughing as she pointed. It was of a boy named Sai who had moved to their town around their second year of middle school. Although he had instantly become popular with the girls, he and Naruto had not gotten along too well. Sai stood in the middle of the frame with his usual polite smile while Naruto was an angry yellow blur in the background as he jumped up and down.
"Um… I think it was that time Sai-kun asked Naruto-kun if he actually had a… you know…" Hinata blushed, unable to say the word.
"Wow. I'd never seen him that mad before," Sakura remarked and they both giggled. They went through the pages together, recalling stories and reliving the happy times together. But Sakura stopped when she got to a picture of Sasuke standing at his locker. He had clearly just opened the door and he was staring at his feet as a mountain of chocolate and cards spilled onto the floor. Sakura sniffed angrily as she drilled her finger into his face.
"I heard part of it from Ino-san… but…. What happened that day, Sakura-chan?" Hinata timidly asked. Sakura scowled for an extra second before she looked up at her friend. She could see how pink Hinata's cheeks were and she knew it took a lot of courage for the shy girl to ask such a thing. So, taking a deep breath, Sakura snatched a cookie from the tray and stuffed it into her mouth while she thought.
"Good morning, Ino-chan!" Sakura called out as she saw her friend's long blonde hair. Ino turned around, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. She smiled as she waved and waited for Sakura to catch up. Sakura ran, a pink paper bag dangling from her right hand.
"I thought you weren't getting Sasuke-kun anything," Ino said as Sakura paused to catch her breath.
"Well, I wasn't going to, but I figured he might like bitter chocolate. So I stayed up all night making these," Sakura proudly announced as she held up the bag. Ino hummed noncommittally as they continued on their way to school. After a moment, Sakura nudged Ino in the shoulder.
"Don't you have anything for Shikamaru-kun?" Sakura asked and she watched Ino's cheeks flushed faintly. Clearing her throat loudly, the blonde pretended to be surprised.
"What are you talking about? Why would I get that lazy bum anything?" Ino loudly said. Knowing it was pointless to pry any further, Sakura simply shrugged and they walked the rest of the way to school, Ino chattering about whatever juicy gossip she had found out. Throughout the rest of the day, girls from other classes and grades had crowded around Sasuke's locker to secretly shove in their chocolates. Some of the braver ones had handed theirs over to Sasuke himself, earning nothing more than a disinterested "hnh" from Sasuke. Too quickly, the school day ended and Sakura eyed her bag as she watched Sasuke pack his bag to go home.
"Wait! Sasuke-kun!" she called out just as Sasuke casually slung his bag over his shoulder. He glanced in her direction, the familiar line of irritation appearing on his forehead.
"Yeah?"
Sucking in a deep breath, Sakura thrust the bag into Sasuke's face. As she tried her best not to hyperventilate, she waited for him to accept it.
"This is for you!" she squeaked out when he didn't move. Sighing in the usual aggravated manner, he snatched it from her.
"There's a card too," Sakura added.
"Shut up, Sakura," he muttered as he grabbed the rest of the gifts on his desk and strode out of the room. It was only until after she had finished packing her own things that she managed to leave the empty classroom. As she crossed the courtyard, she caught a glimpse of Sasuke's spiky hair. Curious, she quietly tiptoed up to a nearby bush for cover and peered out between the bright green leaves. Muttering angrily to himself, Sasuke shoved all of his gifts into the incinerator.
"Annoying," she heard him grumble as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stomp off. To her horror, the bright pink sparkle of her gift bag sat on top of the pile before the hourly cycle started and all the sweet-smelling presents went up in flames.
When she finished her story, Sakura looked over to find Hinata sniffling into her handkerchief.
"Poor Sakura-chan. That's horrible!" Hinata sniffed as she wiped her nose. Despite that, Sakura only felt the need to laugh.
"You know, I'm sort of glad it happened. Because it let me know just what kind of jerk he really was. That's not the kind of person I'd want to like me anyway," Sakura assured her. Still dabbing at her eyes, Hinata nodded.
"Thank you, Hinata," Sakura suddenly said and the dark-haired girl looked confused.
"For listening, I mean," Sakura clarified. A smile immediately lit up Hinata's teary expression.
"You're my best friend, Sakura-chan. Of course I'll listen to you," Hinata replied before she cheerfully blew her nose.
"Speaking of which!" Hinata suddenly said, grabbing onto Sakura's arm, "What happened yesterday?"
It was Sakura's turn to blush as she remembered the feel of Itachi's warm lips against her forehead. She pressed her hands to her mouth, staring at Hinata's expression glowing with anticipation. Finally, she cleared her throat.
"Um… well… ever since a few months ago, I've been feeling really nervous around him and I guess it was pretty obvious. So he was walking me home last night after dinner and…." Sakura trailed off, her expression thoughtful.
"He thought that I was angry with him so I was avoiding him. But then I got mad and blurted out that it was because I liked him. So…" As her words drifted in an unfinished thought, Sakura took a moment to think very carefully. She clearly remembered all the events of the previous night, almost as if it was a scene from a movie she had watched a million times. The solid warmth of his hand, the brittle crunch of their feet in the fresh snow, and the lingering touch of his lips against her brow all played black in her mind.
"Hinata-chan," Sakura suddenly gasped, turning to her friend. Eyes wide with alarm that must have been reflected in her own eyes, Hinata reached out to grab her friend's hands, fearing the worst.
"Hinata-chan, I feel like an idiot. I confessed. But he never said anything back," she moaned. Hinata's mouth opened in a silent 'o' of surprise. Together they sat, motionless, round eyes fixed on one another.
"What if he was humoring me because I'm like a little sister to him?" Sakura wondered as she flopped onto her back, throwing her arm over her eyes. After a moment, she used her other hand to grope around in the direction of the coffee table until her fingers closed over one of the cookies. She crunched loudly on the treat as she stewed.
"I mean, older brothers hold hands with their sisters. Older brothers kiss their sisters' foreheads, right?" she continued as she hunted for her third cookie.
"He ki-ki-ki-kissed you?" Hinata stuttered out.
"On the forehead," Sakura corrected glumly while chewing, "My own father used to do that. It doesn't mean anything." They let out simultaneous sighs. But after a moment, Hinata tapped Sakura's leg.
"But from what you described, he's not an extremely affectionate person by nature, right?" Hinata pointed out. At this, Sakura peered out from under her arm. Slowly, she nodded. Swallowing her last mouthful of cookie, she sat up and wiped the crumbs from her cheeks.
"I mean… he's polite and friendly to everyone… but sometimes he'll touch my hair. And yesterday, he held my hand while we walked," Sakura recalled, her expression brightening a little. However, Hinata looked positively jubilant at this revelation.
"That's wonderful! I think this person really does like you, Sakura-chan!" Hinata brightly concluded. At this, Sakura looked over at her friend.
"You really think so, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked and Hinata nodded vigorously, sending her straight bangs bouncing against her forehead. Feeling a lot more hopeful, the girls proceeded to flip through the rest of their middle school yearbook while polishing off the rest of the cookies and hot chocolate. Sakura also took the time to ask when her friend had started liking Naruto, making the girl erupt into a fit of blushing stutters.
"Um… I've liked Naruto-kun since middle school… But I feel like he'll never notice me. Besides, he has a crush on you, Sakura-chan," Hinata quietly said, nervously poking the tips of her pointer fingers together. Rolling her eyes, Sakura leaned back on her hands.
"Hinata-chan, Naruto might have really liked me in middle school, but by now it's nothing more than a habit. I'm sure all he needs is a little attention from a pretty girl like you and he'll forget all about me," Sakura explained, rolling her eyes. Hinata looked at her strangely as she spoke.
"You know, Sakura-chan…. You're really smart when it comes to other people, but you always seem so unsure when it comes to yourself," Hinata pointed out. Sakura sat for a moment, frozen, as she tried to figure out what that meant. But when she looked back at Hinata's usual friendly smile, she shrugged it off.
They chatted for a little while longer until a maid knocked on the door to ask if Sakura would be staying for lunch. She was about to accept when she suddenly remembered the enormous tower of laundry sitting in her bedroom along with a mountain of chores and errands still left to do. So, reluctantly, Sakura declined.
"Thanks for having me over, Hinata-chan," Sakura said as she slipped on her shoes in the foyer. Hinata smiled brightly, nodding.
"It was nice having you here. Be careful on your way home," Hinata said as Sakura buttoned up her coat and stepped outside. They briefly waved at each other before Sakura walked down the snow-covered path leading out of the front yard. At the intricate wrought iron gate, Sakura caught a glimpse of Neji standing on the other side, eyebrows knitted tightly together. His arms were folded over his chest and she could see that his hair was still wet from the shower. When she took her first crackling step into the snow, his pearly eyes darted to her. Mouth drawn into a tight line, he watched her trudge down the walkway and through the gate.
"Um… do you want me to get Hinata-chan?" she cautiously asked when he simply stared at her again.
"Hinata-sama asked that I escort you out of the estate property," he stiffly explained, his eyes briefly focusing on Hinata watching from the window.
"Oh… thank you… I guess," Sakura slowly said. With a curt nod, Neji took off down the street, his strides purposely slow to help her keep up.
"Sooo… where are you headed, Kaichou?" Sakura asked, glancing over at her silent companion. After a moment, her eyes drifted to the messenger bag slung across his body. From the way it knocked against his hip, she could tell that it was rather heavy.
"I have some work to do at school," he flatly replied, not looking at her. Trying to keep a smile from creeping up in her expression, she leaned over and lightly poked his bag. He flinched as if she had stuck a needle through his arm.
"Is this work for the student council?" she innocently inquired and he turned an odd shade of white. His eyes darted to his cell phone clutched tightly in his hand. Letting out a deep breath, he stopped walking. She stopped too, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Neji looked as if he was in great pain as he took another huge breath through clenched teeth.
"If you'd like… I wouldn't be completely opposed to you returning to your position," he slowly said, looking as if he had just swallowed an entire lemon. Sakura gaped at him, mouth hanging slack. She wondered if perhaps she had temporarily gone insane. Or maybe Neji had gone insane. Either way, one of them was clearly crazy if this conversation was happening. But he stood, hands clenched, face puckered, yet completely serious.
"Are you maybe… making fun of me?" she tentatively asked, trying to understand what the hell was happening. But he held out his phone to her and showed her a text message from Tenten.
Don't complain to me if you're swamped. Apologize to poor Sakura-chan and beg her to come back, you stubborn asshole!
"You're asking me to come back right now?" Sakura confirmed in a small voice as she watched a vein in Neji's temple twitch dangerously. Very slowly, he nodded, head bobbing in jerky increments. The cruel part of her watched with delight as he began to turn red at her hesitation. He probably thought that she was going to refuse and that all his precious humility would have gone to waste.
"Well…. I won't," she firmly responded. And an even crueler part of her was ecstatic when he slowly turned blue.
"Unless you promise to stop insulting me. My financial background has nothing to do with my performance, Kaichou. And-" The words caught in her throat when he suddenly gained his composure and glared viciously at her. A squeak left her instead of the sentence her brain had wanted to say. Staring up at his venomous expression with wide eyes, she felt her vocal cords seize up. She was frozen like a deer in headlights. After a long moment, a sigh spilled past Neji's pursed lips. He motioned for her to continue.
"Apologize for being so rude to me in the past…. Please," she tacked on the 'please' when the vein throbbed again. He took a long moment to glower at her and she squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for him to insult her again. But he exhaled surprisingly quietly.
"Very well. I… I sincerely apologize to you, Haruno...san," he managed to say, shoulders stiff. Sakura looked at him a moment. Guilt pulled at her stomach when she looked at how heavy his bag seemed. And despite his obvious reluctance, she knew that any form of humility from Hyuuga Neji was probably an extremely rare anomaly, almost like being struck by lightning. So, she shrugged her shoulders and nodded. She held out her hand expectantly.
"My keys, please. And I'll take those files too," Sakura explained when he looked at her strangely. Clearing his throat loudly, he placed the keys in her palm, quickly pulling his hand away when their fingers accidentally touched. But when she pointed at his bag, Neji frowned at her.
"I started this. I might as well finish this batch. But when school starts again, I expect you to perform your job, Haruno-san," Neji said, regaining his usual tone of arrogance. However, Sakura caught the underlying attempt at amelioration in his words so she smiled brightly at him.
"Thank you, Hyuuga-senpai. I look forward to working with you again," she replied sweetly and to her confusion, he nodded back.
"You recognize this street, correct?" he suddenly said, pointing to the nearby sign. They had apparently stopped just a block away from the nearest subway station.
"Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your holiday," Sakura politely responded, bowing to him. He dipped his head back. So, giving him one last smile, she turned and hurried off to catch the train, the keys to the student council off jingling merrily in her hand. Once she made it back home, fueled by her little triumph, Sakura cleaned her home with gusto, cheerfully vacuuming and dusting while waiting for laundry to finish so she could throw her clothes in the dryer. As she wrung out a rag in the sink to wipe the floors, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" she called as she crossed the apartment, rag still in hand. When she unbolted the door and pulled it open, it took all of her willpower not to immediately slam the door in his face. Itachi stood at her door, his dark hair slightly damp. He was quiet as her took in her appearance. Her hair was yanked back in a hasty ponytail to keep it out of the way when cleaning. She was dressed in an old oversized gray t-shirt and blue sweatpants: practical clothes she didn't mind ruining. However, this was man she had just confessed to liking the night before. And she looked absolutely the opposite of cute
So she did the only thing her brain could think to do.
She shrieked and pushed the door shut.
Only it didn't shut.
His foot was jammed in the door and then he wedged his forearm into the space, forcing the door open again. Looking completely exasperated, he fixed her with a look that demanded explanation. So, equally frustrated, she flapped her hands to gesture to herself, at her sloppy attire and with fingers that smelled of soap.
"I look awful, Itachi-san! What are you doing here?" she finally managed to say, throwing her hands up. He blinked calmly at her as he looked her over again.
"What are you talking about, Sakura-san? You look fine. I brought lunch," Itachi simply replied as he walked past her and slipped off his shoes. As he calmly strolled into her home, Sakura was frozen to the spot, equally embarrassed and flabbergasted. She watched him enter the kitchen and set a plastic bag on the counter. When she stood unmoving and letting the cold air rush inside, he gave her a quizzical look before he walked back over to shut the door. Crossing his arms in front of him, he stared down at her.
"Are you going to clam up on me again?" he asked in a low voice that made blood rush to her cheeks. She quickly shook her head, making her ponytail bounce.
"So," he began in the same deep tone. He placed his hand on the wall beside her head, leaning in closer to her. A quiet noise rose in the back of her throat as she tried to back up. With his shadow falling across her face, he took another step closer.
"What's bothering you, Sakura-san?"
Almost immediately, her blush intensified. Suddenly regaining some confidence, she gestured wildly at him and then at herself.
"Itachi-san! I look awful! You can't just show up here and-" She broke off with an agitated series of grumbling. At this, a smile pulled at his mouth that made her stomach do backflips.
"You're as cute as ever," he murmured with a look that sent her heart drumming furiously against the inside of her chest. He dipped his head closer and she squeezed her eyes shut, praying that her heart wouldn't actually explode. But his lips lightly touched her ponytail and he pulled away with his usual gentle smile.
Despite Sakura's cardiac distress, they managed to sit down to a nice lunch of Mikoto's crispy dumplings along with miso soup filled with plenty of tofu. They sat across from each other at the dining room table, her fidgeting in her seat as they ate. But of course since it was Uchiha Itachi, he noticed.
"I, uh, usually eat at the island in the kitchen… since I usually only cook for one," Sakura explained, feeling his questioning stare. Almost immediately, she wished that she had lied.
"But my mother's coming home in two weeks for a month. That means that I won't be alone then," she quickly added when she saw his mouth pull down in a frown.
"Are you lonely, Sakura-san?" he inquired, making her freeze as she reached out for another dumpling, her chopsticks hovering in the air.
"No. I have Kisame-san, Deidara-san, and Sasori-san. And I have you. And I have your family," Sakura replied honestly. To her immense relief, the smile returned to his face as he chewed on his food. He nodded thoughtfully and, thinking that the conversation was over, Sakura snatched up a dumpling and popped it into her mouth. But as she chomped down on the juicy morsel, a sudden thought came to her that made her chopsticks clatter noisily to the table.
"Can I ask you something?" she suddenly said while looking up. Startled by the sudden ruckus, Itachi was already staring at her, mouth open as his rice-laden chopsticks lingered in the air. As soon as their eyes met, all the words she had gathered up in her head evaporated.
"Yes?" he prompted, looking concerned. Nervously drumming her fingers against the table, she tried to find a way to word her statement so she didn't sound like an idiot.
"Um... I forget," Sakura quietly admitted, feeling her neck and cheeks flush. She averted her eyes even though she knew his eyebrows would be pinched together as he tried to understand.
"You forget?" Itachi repeated and she was simultaneously touched and mortified by his patience.
"Because… sometimes when I look into your eyes I completely forget what I was going to say…" she whispered, covering her face with her hands, almost too embarrassed to function. When she peered out at him past her fingers, she found that Itachi's cheeks were the lightest shade of pink, barely discernable against his normal skin tone. He cleared his throat loudly a few times as he tried to swallow his food without choking. They sat in awkward, blushing quiet before Itachi finally spoke.
"Well… I'll take that as the highest compliment from you, Sakura-san. You should finish your food before it gets cold," he said. When he turned away to take a sip of water, she could have sworn that his face was almost as red as hers.
New Years passed in a vague softness mostly as a result of the ceremonial sake everybody pushed on her when they visited the temple. Although Sasori and Deidara tried to convince her to wear a kimono to the temple, she plugged her fingers into her ears and squeezed her eyes shut until they both gave up. So everyone took their turn praying and ringing the bell before they all trekked through the snow to Itachi's apartment for hot tea and sticky mochi.
"We're starting practice again next week so be prepared," Itachi announced to a unanimous groan. Deidara, who was lying on the floor, reached up to grope around the coffee table to grab another piece of mochi. Taking pity on him, Sakura plucked one from the plate and placed it into his waiting palm.
"Deidara, if you don't start exercising again, you're going to get fat from all that mochi," Kisame pointed out in an innocent tone. Seated between Sasori and Itachi on the sofa, Sakura smothered her laugh in her cup as she lifted it to her mouth to take a sip. She peered over at Itachi over the edge of the cup and found that he was looking at her too. His right arm was draped over the back of the sofa while his right leg was crossed at a 90 degree angle over the left. Although she had seen him sit that way plenty of times when he was at his parents' house, his broad chest and extended arm suddenly looked incredibly comfortable. A blush flooded her face as she tried to shake away the audacious thought.
Feeling a strange stare on the side of her head, Sakura looked over at Kisame who was sitting cross-legged on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table from Deidara. His mouth was stretched into a wide grin as he eyed her and then Itachi. Waggling his eyebrows, he got to his feet.
"Screw you, Yellow Tail!" Deidara snarled as he sat upright to shove two more mochi into his mouth. But Kisame seemed not to hear as he threw himself onto the sofa between Sakura and Sasori with a delighted cackle. He leaned back, squishing Sakura right into Itachi's side. Pretending not to hear her grumbling, Kisame looked over at Sasori.
"Yo, Sasori-senpai. How're you doing?" Kisame cheerfully inquired.
Sasori had been under a particularly large amount of stress over the past week. The final fashion show that determined his and Deidara's grades for the year was fast approaching. So instead of indulging in tea and mochi and kicking back, he had been sitting with a sketchbook in his lap. Right eyebrow twitching, Sasori slowly looked up from his drawing and mechanically turned his head towards Kisame.
"At the moment, I'm rather uncomfortable since your fat butt appears to be making it difficult for my butt to fit on this couch," Sasori flatly said. Sakura and Deidara's eyes met, sensing the slight edge of danger in Sasori's normally impassive tone. But while Sakura's gaze went wide with fear, a grin stretched Deidara's mouth. She was so concerned that she almost forgot that she was pressed against Itachi's chest until he moved his arm to scratch the side of his nose. Slowly looking up, she met his dark eyes twinkling with amusement. Her attention was diverted when Kisame chuckled in his usual good-natured tone, oblivious to the vein throbbing in the back of Sasori's right hand.
"Quit drawing all those flat-chested girls and have some fun!" Kisame said, flapping a dismissive hand. Golden eyes narrowing, Sasori calmly lifted the permanent marker in his right hand and drew a circle around each of Kisame's eyes. He then scribbled a thick mustache on Kisame's upper lip before he slowly placed the cap back on and snapped it in place.
"And all these girls match Sakura-chan's proportions so I think you owe her an apology…. Yellow Tail-kun," Sasori said before he went back to his drawings.
This time, it was Sakura's eye that twitched. Her glare sizzled into the side of Kisame's face until he carefully turned back towards her. Her arms were folded tightly over her chest. She looked as fierce as she could while nestled comfortably against Itachi, mouth puckering up into a frown.
"Yeah, take that back, Fish-man! Sakura-chan is not flat at all! I mean, look at that, she's got boobs and they're really nice, yeah!" Deidara chimed in with a smug expression. At this, everyone turned to the blonde with varying expressions of disbelief. Relieved to have the anger redirected, Kisame snickered when Sakura's mouth opened.
"Would you please stop looking at my chest, Deidara-san!" she snapped. Itachi glared at him from over the top of her head.
"I wasn't! I just happen to notice stuff like this. Also, Sakura-chan has a really nice butt, right?" Deidara stopped talking when Sasori abruptly stood. He stopped in front of Sakura to dig a handful of lollipops out of his pocket and dump them in her lap.
"Keep these safe for me," Sasori ordered and Sakura nodded dumbly, her eyes wide with wonder. Satisfied that his candy would be kept from harm, Sasori popped the cap off his permanent marker and advanced on Deidara. Eyes glinting with cruel delight, Kisame scrambled to his feet to pin Deidara down to the floor.
Despite the struggling and screaming, Deidara went home that night with a unibrow, a gigantic mole on his right cheek, and the word "PERVERT" drawn across his forehead.
"You're welcome," Kisame whispered as he walked past them to put on his shoes. Puzzled, Sakura looked over at Itachi. But when she realized how close his face was to hers, she remembered that she was still snuggled up comfortably against his chest. From the way his eyes widened, she knew that he had forgotten too. Mumbling excuses that neither could really understand, they drew apart, Sakura bolting to her feet while Itachi pretended to busy himself cleaning up the cups left on the coffee table.
He drove her home that night, the silence that was once awkward now filled with possibilities. Their eyes met and even though she still blushed and looked away, she would catch a quick peek of him smiling to himself out of the corners of her eyes. She curled up in the seat, pretending to be watching the houses on the dark streets. When he parked the car across the street from her apartment complex, she waited for him to touch her shoulder as he checked to see if she had fallen asleep.
"Um… Itachi-san?" she asked in a small voice as she turned around in her seat to look at him.
"Yes?" he replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt. His hands rested on the steering wheel, fingers tapping as he waited for her to speak. Sakura chewed on her lower lip as she stared out the windshield, trying to gather all the scattered thoughts in her head.
"Um…. So….. I…. like you, Itachi-san," she finallysaid, staring straight ahead so she wouldn't look at his face and lose all courage to speak ever again. She saw his head turn towards her in her peripherals but kept her gaze locked firmly on one of the windshield wipers.
"But…." She took a deep breath before everything welled up at once and burst forth, "I like you and I told you that I like you but you never said anything back and now I feel like an idiot because I like you even more and I still don't know how you feel and I don't even know if this means we can be together or you're just humoring me and now I feel like an idiot because I can't stop talking and-" In her passion, she made the mistake of looking directly at him and words suddenly became a foreign concept to her. He had looked at her countless times before. Sometimes he was smiling, sometimes he looked a little worried, but he had never once stared at her with this kind of intensity. It was a look that made her stomach do somersaults while her heart began tap-dancing wildly in her ribcage. If there was any way to describe his gaze, as cliché and overused as it sounded, his eyes were smoldering.
"Sakura-san, do you remember on Christmas day? I asked you if I tried to do anything more than hold your hand if you would pass out?" he asked in a low voice that made her gulp. She nodded her head, gnawing on her lower lip until it began to hurt. Completely paralyzed with shock, she didn't protest when he reached out and pulled her lip free from between her teeth. Just the contact of his thumb with her mouth made the back of her neck grow hotter and hotter until she thought she might burst into flames.
"Are you going to pass out now?" Itachi inquired with a half-smile tugging at his mouth. A little dazed, Sakura slowly shook her head.
"Good," he simply said before he leaned over and captured her mouth in a soft kiss. His hand tenderly cupped her cheek, tilting her head up towards his. When he drew back, Sakura stared up at him with a blank expression, every thought wiped clear from her head. He chuckled as he brushed a stray strand of her hair out of her eyes.
"I like you, Sakura-san. I like you probably a little more than you like me. So would you be my girlfriend?" he softly asked. Face flooding crimson, Sakura mashed her lips together and nodded in jerky motions, trying her best not to start hyperventilating. An easy smile spread across Itachi's mouth. He seemed to survey her carefully for a moment.
"Is there anything else bothering you?" Itachi queried, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"No," she replied in a high-pitched squeak that made him chuckle.
"Alright then. Good night, Sakura-san," he said. Nodding in the same dazed manner, Sakura mechanically undid her seatbelt and then opened the car door.
"Oh, Sakura-san?" he called as she hopped out of her seat. Sakura turned back towards him and he pressed his mouth to hers in a light peck before releasing her.
"I'll see you Sunday morning," Itachi said. Her blush was absolutely bright red as she shut the car door and hurried up the stairs to her apartment. She paused at the front door, one foot in the foyer, to look back at his car idling on the street below. She could have sworn that Itachi lifted his arm to wave at her before he drove off. And Sakura, heart pounding furiously, flung herself in bed fully clothed and hugged her pillow tightly to her chest. Giggling like an idiot, she rolled around in the sheets, reliving the feel of his kiss again and again until she finally fell asleep.
The first day of school after winter vacation was odd for many people.
For Hyuuga Neji, after a couple months of drowning in paperwork, it was strange not to come back to the student council office and see a mountain of papers stacked there. Someone had come in early to take care of a large portion of the work and to leave a sticky note in its place listing out all the important matters that needed his attention. From the curvy handwriting, he immediately recognized Sakura's work and he breathed a silent sigh of relief as he walked to homeroom.
For Uchiha Sasuke, it was unusual that loud-mouthed Naruto didn't greet him with his usual shout. Instead, the blonde elbowed him in the ribs before he pointed towards a girl walking in the hallway ahead of them. Her pink hair was a dead giveaway to who it was.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called, nudging Sasuke again to make sure he was paying attention. When Sakura turned around at the sound of her name, Sasuke felt his jaw drop. There was an oddly gentle smile pulling at her mouth when her eyes found him. Her smile brightened when she recognized him and Naruto.
"Good morning," she said back, lifting her hand in a little wave.
"See? Something's off! Sakura-chan is definitely not a morning person," Naruto muttered, his eyes wild with fear. And for once, Sasuke didn't disagree with him.
For Haruno Sakura, the first day back from school was a refreshingly familiar experience. Her usual morning run with Kisame was invigorating, especially when her calves no longer felt ready to explode after the full 45 minutes. She caught a train that was 30 minutes earlier so that she arrived at an empty school. Using the keys she had recently reclaimed as her own, she let herself into the student council's office and tackled the massive stack of papers that the student council president had failed to fill out. Even after months of disuse, her eyes quickly remembered how to skim through summaries and numbers until all she needed were a few seconds to look over each form before she signed, stamped or checked whatever needed to be changed. Afterwards, when the first bell rang, signaling five minutes until homeroom, she happily made her way down the hall. Halfway to the classroom, Naruto's cheerful voice called to her again. Even though she had encountered him just a minute earlier, she turned around to greet him and found Sasuke trudging alongside him. Although he looked as surly as usual, she caught sight of the gloves she had bought him for Christmas sticking out of his bag.
In class, she was immediately met with Hinata's observant stare. When Sakura flashed her a smile, an immense look of relief spread across her friend's face.
"What happened?" Hinata asked in a whisper as Sakura set her bag down on her desk. Sakura leaned in close so only Hinata could hear her say two words.
"We kissed."
Hinata's eyes grew huge as she clapped her hands over her mouth.
"That's amazing!" Hinata whispered back. Biting her lip to hold back her grin, Sakura nodded. But she held up a finger in front of her mouth.
"I'll tell you all about it later," Sakura promised her and they exchanged excited smiles.
"Tell Hinata about what?" Ino loudly interrupted as she walked in. The girl's uniform was a little crooked and her hair messy, as if she had just rolled out of bed.
"Forget to set your alarm, Ino?" Naruto laughed as he poked his head into the classroom. Ino whirled around to give him an evil look, effectively silencing him.
"Shut up, Naruto. And you!" Ino suddenly said, whirling around to point an accusatory finger at Shikamaru slumbering peacefully at his desk. When he didn't respond, Ino stomped over to poke the back of his head. Shikamaru grumbled unintelligibly but didn't look up.
"You and Chouji were supposed to wait for me! What the heck, Shikamaru!" Ino whined until Sasuke, who had been leaning back in his chair with a book covering his face, sat up straight to glare at her.
"It's way too early to listen to your whining, Ino," Sasuke sighed. As he set his book on his desk, he met Sakura's gaze and gave her a little nod of acknowledgement. And Sakura smiled back at him.
For some reason, that particular day, classes seemed to stretch on for an eternity. It wasn't that the subjects were boring or the teachers uninteresting. It had less to do with the actual classes than the anticipation of what was to come afterwards. There was a slight reprise when lunch break started and Chouji and Naruto from the class next-door came to join Shikamaru and Sasuke for lunch. That day, they had brought along an extra friend, a boy Sakura rarely saw unless they passed each other in the hallway between classes.
"Guys, you remember Sai, right? We told him to stop being all antisocial and come eat with us," Naruto announced, clapping Sai on the shoulder. Sasuke and Shikamaru each shrugged to let him know that they didn't mind. Naruto turned to find Sakura and Hinata with their desks pushed together as they opened up their bentos.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan," Naruto called out. At this, Ino sitting at the front of the room with her girlfriends turned to look at him too.
"Why don't you join us?" Naruto suggested, waving them over. When the girls hesitated, he pulled his brightest smile of encouragement. Sakura looked over at Hinata. Although she was blushing a little, Hinata timidly glanced in Naruto's direction with a hopeful expression.
"That sounds like fun," Sakura said as she picked up her food and moved to join them with Hinata following after her.
"Sai, these are our friends, Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura. We all went to middle school together. I don't know if you remember them though," Naruto said as he got up to pull up a chair for Hinata to his right. When Sakura grabbed a chair to follow, Sasuke leaned over and yanked it irritably to his side. When she looked at him over her shoulder, he sighed as he pointed behind his palm to Hinata and Naruto chatting amicably.
"How nice of you, Sasuke-kun," she quietly said. Folding his arms over his chest, Sasuke let out a snort.
"You're looking cheerful today, Haruno-chan," Shikamaru sleepily observed from the other side of Sasuke. He let out a loud yawn as he reached out to accept a bento from Chouji. At this, Chouji poked his head out over Shikamaru's shoulder to look at her too. Sakura let a shy smile slip across her face as she remembered the touch of Itachi's lips against hers in the darkness.
"Thanks," she replied, looking up just in time to notice that Naruto and Hinata had stopped talking. In fact, everyone was looking at her with varying degrees of curiosity. However, it was Sai with his huge fake smile that broke the contemplative silence.
"Well Haruno-san's looking as ugly as ever," he piped up with a cheer that almost veiled his insult.
Almost.
Chopsticks clenched firmly in her fist like twin weapons of death, Sakura stared straight at Sai. Her mouth was frozen into a frightening smile save for the slight twitch of her lips. Naruto blanched completely as his eyes flickered frantically between his two friends.
"Sai," Naruto began in a quiet whine.
"What was that?" Sakura asked, her mouth stretching into a grin, revealing her teeth.
"I said you look as ugly as ever, Ugly," Sai repeated with the same stupid smile.
"Sai, shut up," Sasuke sighed, even as he sunk lower into his chair and scooted back a little, just in case Sakura decided to throw something. Although she hadn't been violent in high school thus far, he distinctly remembered her punching Naruto in the nose for commenting about her butt once in middle school. And from the look she had given him when he had asked about her bracelet a few months before, Sasuke was acutely aware of Sakura's capacity to bring death with just a look, much less her fists.
"Sai, why the hell would you say that?' Naruto groaned, covering his head with his hands, evidently having the same worries as Sasuke.
"I read in a book once that girls like to hear the opposite of what's true. So Haruno-san's hideous," Sai explained with the same chipper expression. Sakura's hand relaxed. Perplexed, she looked over at Sasuke who was regarding Sai as if he had grown another head.
"So… you're saying that I'm actually… pretty?" Sakura slowly asked, forehead wrinkling as she tried to process his way of thinking.
"Yes. You're actually quite pleasant to look at," Sai replied with a sage nod.
"What are you guys shouting about?" Ino inquired as she walked over to join them. Still pondering, Sakura simply waved at her in greeting.
"Nothing really, Miss Beautiful," Sai said. At this, Ino flushed with pleasure. Batting her eyelashes at Sai, she positively beamed at him. Silence fell over the group as Ino laughed happily to herself. Pursing her lips to hold back her snort, Sakura quickly looked away from Naruto. Naruto had never been good at keeping a straight face. At present, he was turning purple from the effort to not bust out in loud chortles. Sakura took a deep breath through her nose to calm herself before she looked straight at Sai.
"Sai?" she called, drawing his attention.
"We're going to be very good friends," Sakura announced. Sai looked a little puzzled but seemed pleased at the prospect since he gave her another of his wide smiles. To her right, Sasuke snorted loudly.
"What?" she demanded when she looked over to meet his smug expression.
"You're pretty cool, Sakura," Sasuke admitted with a shrug.
"I know," Sakura replied with an exaggerated toss of her head.
She had never seen Sasuke laugh so openly before.
It was quiet after school. Most students had run off with their friends for fast food or gone off to sing at a karaoke place. And as usual, Haruno Sakura was one of the few still lingering in the hallways of the echoing building. But this time, she didn't head to the classroom to fill out a million impossible forms for the student council. Instead, she packed her bag and headed to the student council office that she seldom frequented. When she poked her head inside, a loud shout of relief pierced her ears.
"SENPAI! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!" Udon blubbered as he charged straight for her. Bewildered, Sakura patted the boy's head as she looked around the room for an explanation. Neji, sitting at the desk at the head of the room, simply shook his head. The historian, a red-head named Moegi, looked up from her work with a much less hysterical expression.
"Well, Haruno-senpai, after you left, all of the work you managed had to be split up between us," Moegi explained. Udon sniffed as he held up a crudely collated copy of the previous month's financial records. Horrified, she grabbed the packet and began flipping through the spreadsheets. Even from a quick glance, she caught dozens of mistakes as well as what appeared to be a dead butterfly squished between two pages. Gaping, Sakura whirled around to face Aburame Shino who was reclining comfortably on the sofa.
"Shino-kun," she began in as sweet a voice as she could manage. Since he always had sunglasses on, she could never quite tell if he was actually looking at her. But his face turned in her general direction so she went on.
"What is this?" Sakura inquired, pasting on her most pleasant smile.
"December's financial report," he flatly replied without even a shred of remorse. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut to take in a very long, calming breath. When she was confident that she had the strength not to fling the sloppy work straight into Shino's face, she opened her eyes again.
"Okay. I'll revise this and have this done by next week, Kaichou," Sakura promised as she looked in Neji's direction. To her surprise, he looked up at her and nodded without any snide comments or condescending looks.
"It's great to have you back, senpai," Moegi piped up and Udon nodded furiously.
After a quick meeting to take care of some housekeeping, Sakura said goodbye to everyone and half-ran outside. Itachi was already waiting out front with his car. As she approached the passenger's side door, he looked up and a small smile appeared on his lips that made her chest flutter and tingle like a million butterflies had begun dancing inside.
"How was your day?" he asked as she climbed into the seat and tossed her bag into the back. He waited for her to buckle her seatbelt securely before he pulled into traffic. It was always the little gestures like that that touched her. He probably thought she didn't notice. But she did; she remembered the smallest things and it made her heart pound even harder each time he did hold the door or offered his hand to her when she was trying to stand.
Their normal conversation was still a little stilted and awkward. But the silences were punctuated by her shy glances and his knowing smiles and it almost made it better than before. They practiced new routines like usual, Deidara and Kisame antagonizing each other and Sasori taking every opportunity to smack Deidara in the back of the head whenever it was deemed that he was being "too lecherous for Sakura's good". Just before 5 pm, practice ended and Sakura was once again forced to shower before anyone else went near the bathroom.
Their collective chivalry was almost irritating.
Afterwards, Sakura plopped down on the floor in clean jeans and a long-sleeved shirt while running a comb through her damp hair. Kisame lumbered out soon afterwards clad just in sweatpants. He paused in front of her to shake his head, spraying her with water.
"It's Jaws, Sakura-chan! Run away, yeah!" Deidara yelled, ducking as Kisame whirled around in a mock-punch. Laughing and kicking each other like only men could, Deidara and Kisame went at it for a few minutes until Sasori entered the room and dealt each a swift blow to the side of the head. As if he couldn't feel Kisame and Deidara glaring at him, Sasori calmly sank to the floor to Sakura's right and folded his legs up beneath him. He ran his fingers through his hair, tousling it lightly until it settled back into its usual state of perfectly tousled.
"I'm hungry. Let's go out to dinner," Kisame suddenly demanded in a child-like tone.
"Yeah. Let's go get sushi. Oh wait. That's cannibalism for you, isn't it?" Deidara retorted. This time, he was unable to dodge in time as Kisame whirled around to deal him a karate chop to the side of the neck.
"What's happening?" Itachi asked in a whisper as he slipped into the room with a towel hanging around his neck. He settled on the floor to Sakura's left, ducking his head towards hers so he could hear her over Kisame and Deidara's taunts.
"Another sushi joke," Sakura replied with a shrug. Itachi nodded knowingly, his exasperation easily mirroring hers. Sasori silently craned his neck to look over Sakura's shoulder. First, he carefully regarded Itachi and then turned to examine Sakura's expression. Humming thoughtfully to himself, he dug into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a green lollipop. Itachi and Sakura watched as he slowly peeled back the wrapper and examined the candy before popping it into his mouth.
"So when did you two get together?" Sasori flatly asked.
At this, Deidara froze mid-kick and Kisame halted mid-punch. Both turned to stare. Deidara, balancing precariously on one foot, lost his balance and toppled to the floor, still wearing the same expression of shock.
"Wh-What are you saying, Sasori-san?" Sakura nervously laughed, trying her best not to look at Itachi.
"Well, a couple weeks ago you could barely stand to be in the same room as Itachi without looking like you would explode from panic. Now look at you," Sasori explained, gesturing to her with his lollipop before sticking it back in his mouth. At this, Sakura looked down at herself and then over at Itachi. They weren't sitting so particularly close together and nothing seemed off to her. When she finally looked into Itachi's face, he seemed to have the same confusion. But an evil smile stretched Kisame's mouth as he evidently saw something they didn't.
"Name all your kids after me, got it? Kisame Junior and Little Kisame. That sounds about right," Kisame chortled.
"What the hell, Fishy-butt! They should be called cute names like Little Dei!" Deidara declared, jumping to his feet.
"Fishy-butt? Why are you looking at my ass, Deidara? I keep telling you I'm not your type. This is sexual harassment," Kisame retorted with the same grin that revealed all his teeth. With a roar of frustration, Deidara whirled around to point at Sakura.
"SEE THAT? THAT HAS BOOBS! I LIKE BOOBS!" Deidara shouted. His finger then moved to poke Kisame in the sternum.
"SEE THIS? YOU DON'T HAVE BOOBS! SO I DON'T LIKE YOU!" the blonde yelled, poking Kisame one more time for emphasis. A collective shock of silence fell over their group. It was only a minute later that Sakura broke the silence, her face scrunched up in a scowl as she drew her knees up to her chest.
"I really wish everyone would stop talking about my boobs."
Thanks to all my reviewers!