Don't have much to say here. I apologize for the lack of fluff and lovey-dovey-ness in this chapter. If I drink enough coffee, I might be able to post the next chapter within the next few days so keep an eye out.
Enjoy!
Fancy Footwork
Arc 2: Senior
Chapter 14: Telephone
The short spring break before the new school year started was somewhat of a mess.
Sakura didn't actually remember hanging up the phone or dialing Itachi. But about 20 minutes later, he burst into the student council office, sweaty and out of breath.
"Are you alright?" he immediately demanded, looking around for some sort of threat. She couldn't think of anything to say as she threw her arms around his neck, not crying and not shaking. And though he was bewildered, Itachi held her tightly without saying anything else. He didn't ask her about why she had called him, though she caught him staring apprehensively at her.
"Do you want to leave?" Itachi finally asked, his hand gently stroking her hair. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly nodded. She sat mutely on top of the desk, watching as he picked up her bag and slung it over his shoulder. He looked around the room once before he yanked his scarf off, the same one with the black and white checked pattern she had gotten for him. With careful hands, he draped it around her neck and tied it loosely.
"It's a little windy outside," he explained when she looked confused. Putting his arm around her, he led her into the hallway, each of his footsteps matching hers. Or maybe it was her feet that were following his. She couldn't really tell even though her eyes were glued to their shoes the entire walk to the car. His feet were so much bigger than hers. She felt like such a child walking alongside him. They made their way to his car parked in front of the school.
"Hey, Sakura-chan! Are you heading home already? Bushy-brow-senpai's looking for you!" Naruto called out, running up to them. The other side of the schoolyard was still crowded with students busy saying their last farewells and taking photos. At the sound of Naruto's voice, Sakura slowly looked over at him. She stopped walking and Itachi did too.
"Ah, Itachi-nii-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, just noticing Itachi standing there as well. His large blue eyes darted between Sakura and Itachi a few times before a grin split his face.
"Enjoying some lovey-dovey time?" the blond teased. But when Sakura didn't reply, his expression fell. Finally noticing her blank face, Naruto took another step closer.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I'll see you next week, Naruto," Sakura quietly responded. Itachi seemed to take this as his cue to lead her away. He patted Naruto's shoulder once before he began walking again. From across the yard, Sasuke, who had been talking to Shikamaru, suddenly looked up. He locked eyes with his brother. It took him less than a second to notice Sakura's pale face, unfocused gaze. Sasuke's eyes narrowed with suspicion, flitting in an accusatory manner to Itachi. Itachi silently shook his head, a promise to explain later. Seemingly satisfied, Sasuke nodded once and then turned back to his friends' conversation.
"Do you want me to take you home?" Itachi asked as he opened the car door for her. The way she climbed into the spot now easily claimed as hers was sluggish. Even the sound of the door closing sounded wrong, too sharp somehow. Itachi looped around to the driver's seat, tossing her bag in the back before he buckled himself in and started the engine. Sakura drew her knees up to her chest.
"We can't skip practice," she replied, staring straight ahead. Itachi leaned against the steering wheel, craning his neck to get a better look at her. Very slowly, Sakura turned towards him. She tried her best to smile naturally, knowing that he would see through her immediately. He sighed but not in an angry way. He sounded worried, tired maybe. It was strange how she could read him so well through that one sound. It was nice, to be able to boast about knowing him so well now but it was also a little scary. That meant he knew her even better.
"Alright," Itachi conceded. He didn't ask any more questions on the drive there. Sakura was grateful for that. She was also grateful that he didn't turn on the radio. The silence was something she needed. She played the voice over and over in her head, trying to gather the faint grains of memories that still lingered somewhere in the back of her mind. All she had were flashes, brief glimpses of eyes and a spoken word or two.
He held her hand as they walked up to the studio. She was reluctant to let him go when they reached the brightly lit room. Sasori and Kisame were lying on their backs in the middle of the floor, Kisame snoring contentedly while Sasori was studying something on his phone rather carefully. Only Deidara was stretching, bending over to touch his toes. When they entered, Deidara gave the usual cheerful greeting while Kisame snorted awake, scrambling to pretend that he had been awake the entire time. Sasori's mouth was set in a tight line, golden eyes lingering on Sakura's face. When he looked over at Itachi, an unspoken concern passed between them.
"I'm going to go change," Sakura announced, trying to emulate the usual cheer she felt around her friends. It was weird. Usually she didn't have to force herself to smile. It was fun being near these people, being herself. But today, even Kisame's broad grin couldn't cheer her up enough. She opened up her little locker by the door with a key and grabbed some clothes. When she had replaced her uniform for grey sweatpants and a simple red tank top, she came back downstairs. Kisame suddenly stopped talking as soon as the door opened. Only Deidara seemed completely unfazed by her entrance.
"Hey there! Did you listen to those new songs I sent you, My-chan?" Deidara asked, running over to put his hands on her shoulders and steer her towards the mirrors.
"Not the last two. Why?" she asked.
"We're working out new choreography for them. You have any ideas, yeah?" Deidara pressed. She immediately could tell that he was trying his best to distract her. When she glanced around the room, she found everyone else smiling a little too wide, laughing a little too loudly. They were all putting in so much effort for her. When she looked back in the mirror, she almost reached out to touch the face that stared back at her. With a little effort, she turned up the corners of her mouth.
"I actually do," she replied.
It was strange. A couple hours into planning out the choreography, which wasn't such a tiring task in itself, Sakura felt the need to close her eyes. Since it was mostly Itachi, Sasori and her suggesting things while Kisame and Deidara worked out the actual physical moves, it felt weird that she was suddenly so drained.
"My head hurts," she muttered mostly to herself but Itachi suddenly stopped talking.
"Wait, what did you say, yeah?" Deidara asked. Sakura felt Itachi shift to put his arm around her, pulling her closer. She let her head fall against his shoulder.
"No, Deidara. I meant- Kisame, move to the right a little," Itachi patiently instructed. As the sound of his low voice filled her ears, she let out a deep breath. Everything was so perfectly safe right there. Even the sound of Sasori on her right crunching through another lollipop with his molars was a peaceful noise. The crinkle of plastic as he ripped off another wrapper was a familiar sound. Sneakers were squeaking across the floor. There was a muted thud and the sound of Deidara snickering. Someone turned down the stereo. Someone else was gulping down water and smacking his lips loudly.
"Is she sleeping?" Kisame inquired from nearby. There was the crinkle and pop of someone ripping open a bag of chips. A loud crunching filled the room before there was a slap and then the crunching became quieter, slower.
"She won't tell me exactly what it is," Itachi sighed.
"Maybe something happened to her at school, yeah," Deidara suggested, munching between words.
"Is it something with her mom?" Sasori wondered.
"Speaking of which, have you talked to your mom lately, Kisame?" Itachi asked. Kisame grunted.
"She's been bitching at my pops about needing more money. Poor old guy's killing himself just trying to make enough as is. Last time she called she started talking crap about him so I hung up on her," Kisame scoffed. The crunching stopped. Someone let out a heavy sigh of disapproval.
"It'll get better, man," Deidara solemnly said.
"Deidara, did you eat all those by yourself? I thought we were saving some for Sakura-chan!" Kisame complained loudly. Everyone else shushed him and he let out a whispered apology.
"Doesn't she look a little pale?" Sasori suddenly said. When Itachi's hand touched her forehead it felt oddly cool.
"I think she's a little warm. We should let her sleep," Itachi quietly said. There was muted rustling and then Itachi carefully moved her off his shoulder. Apparently they had laid out their jackets on the floor for her. Itachi swept her hair out of her face before someone covered her with a jacket. In hushed voices, they moved away and she finally drifted off to sleep.
What Sakura woke to was someone touching her forehead.
"I don't think it's a fever. Sakura-san, are you awake?"
Sakura blinked a few times to clear her vision before she realized that Itachi was sitting cross-legged in front of her. Behind him, Deidara was sitting on Kisame's shoulders and making horrible impressions of a bird while Sasori stood throwing wadded up sheets of newspaper at them. A little confused by the scene unfolding before her, Sakura instead focused back on Itachi.
"Come on. I'm taking you home. It's almost 9," he said as she sat up.
"And if you don't get some sleep, we'll never hear the end of Deidara's complaining tomorrow," he added. She smiled, imagining Deidara going on and on about the importance of beauty sleep for healthy skin. When the others noticed her standing and looking around for her things, Kisame promptly threw Deidara off and walked over to retrieve her bag from underneath a pile of stuff that had been pushed into a corner.
"Thank you," she sighed as she pulled on her blazer and took her bag by the straps only to have it casually taken by Itachi. He slung it over his shoulder and took her hand.
"Feel better, My-chan. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, yeah," Deidara said as he elbowed Kisame out of the way to pinch Sakura's cheek. She wrinkled her nose at him but she couldn't stay mad at his cheerful grin. Sasori carefully sorted through the stash of lollipops in the pocket of his sweatshirt and picked out one of his favorite red ones.
"Don't worry. If we really need to, we'll put a wig on Kisame and say you had a growth spurt," Sasori flatly said, looking her straight in the eyes. Stifling a laugh, Sakura accepted the candy and stuck it in her jacket pocket. As if to make a point, Sasori turned and pretended to jot down the taller man's measurements while Kisame stood fluttering his eyelashes and striking poses.
"Good night, everyone," she said and they all waved at her as Itachi led her outside.
"So, how does it feel to be a senior in high school now?" Itachi casually asked as they made their way to the car. She stopped dead in her tracks for a minute. She had completely forgotten about how excited she had been.
"Itachi-san, listen. The results of the student body's votes came out this morning. And I was elected as Student Body President for next year," Sakura announced. Itachi looked over at her with a smile.
"Why don't you look all surprised or excited? I mean… I know that you're an Uchiha but…" Sakura said, a little disappointed by his calm reaction. At this, Itachi's eyes widened a little and then he chuckled quietly.
"Why would I be surprised? Is there anyone else in your grade who deserves that job more than you do? But I'm sorry. That's not the reaction you wanted. Congratulations," Itachi said, leaning over press an apologetic kiss to her forehead. She wanted to stay a little mad at him but at that she had to giggle like a silly little girl. When she had been officially announced as Kaichou, of course Moegi and Udon had run over to congratulate her furiously and all her friends had been happy for her too. Even surly Sasuke had patted her arm in celebration. But hearing one simple word from her boyfriend trumped all of the other warm, fuzzy feelings that others had given her. The way the corner of his mouth curled up a little higher on one side and the way his long eyelashes cast shadows over his cheekbones in the semi-darkness made her heart skip a beat… or two….or three.
"I almost forgot after…" Sakura trailed off as she remembered the impossible voice that had traveled through her phone and into her ear. Itachi didn't say anything as he started the car and began the drive back to her apartment. She sat in the dark, twiddling her thumbs. Each time they passed under a streetlight, a flood of orange splashed through the car and colored his skin gold. His long fingers curled perfectly over the steering wheel. Not thinking, she tentatively reached out to touch the back of his right hand. Itachi glanced at her with a questioning look.
"Um… the person who called… I can't be absolutely sure because I only heard him say my name…. but I think that person might have been…. My dad?" Sakura slowly explained, stumbling and faltering over her words. Even as she spoke, her story sounded absolutely ridiculous to her own ears. But Itachi didn't laugh at her. He didn't scoff. He didn't tell her she sounded crazy. He simply continued driving and they sat in silence for a solid minute.
"Did your father have any siblings? Any relatives who sounded like him?" Itachi inquired. Sakura thought for a moment before she pressed her hands to her temples and sighed.
"He was an only child. I never met any of his friends or relatives, only people from my mom's side. I sound like an idiot. Can we please talk about something else?" she blabbed, trying to banish the voice that was playing over and over inside her head. Itachi took his right hand off the steering wheel to take her hand. His fingers curled tightly around hers, a reassuring weight and warmth.
"You don't sound like an idiot. You can talk about it when you feel better," he assured her. Her chest tightened at his gentle tone. She didn't know what she had done to deserve to hear exactly what she needed to hear. She didn't know how to express just how grateful she was for him at that moment. So she lifted their joined hands and pressed his palm flush against her left cheek.
"Thank you," she softly said. He smiled at her again before he turned his attention to the road, steering with his left hand. Sakura let their joined hands fall between them, resting against the emergency break.
"Did I tell you I'm getting a haircut tomorrow?" he suddenly told her. Startled, Sakura looked over at him.
"What? Why?" she demanded. His dark hair was so perfect and she especially loved the way it looked when he came down from his shower. Of course she would never admit that to anybody dead or alive- much too embarrassing. But the idea of those long locks disappearing filled her with a most likely irrational sadness.
"My father's been nagging me about it. And it's getting a little unmanageable," Itachi explained with a little shrug. Some part of her realized what he was doing as she began arguing about all the reasons why he shouldn't cut off his hair. He was trying to distract her. And though it didn't work perfectly, he was able to make her laugh when he asked if she would prefer that he bleach all his hair and become Deidara. Before she knew it, they arrived in front of her apartment complex. They let the car idle as they sat together in the quiet.
"Are you feeling alright?" Itachi slowly asked, as if he were measuring out each of his words.
"I feel better," she replied. Even in the dark, she knew a little furrow would appear between his eyebrows at her response.
"Good night. I'll see you tomorrow," Itachi said, reaching for her in the dark. He placed his hand on the back of her head, the other on her cheek as he kissed her. The soft touch of his lips was even softer than usual and the sound of his sigh against her mouth made a shiver run up her spine. She felt him smile as he pulled away from her.
"Go inside. It's chilly," he encouraged her, reaching behind him to hand over her schoolbag. Sakura nodded.
"Good night," she responded as she opened the door and hopped out of the car. She hurried across the street and down the sidewalk. As she climbed up the stairs, she turned around and found Itachi still waiting, his forearms resting on the steering wheel. When their eyes met, he waved a little. He lingered until she had unlocked her front door, gone inside, locked it again and then peered out the window to let him know she was fine It was only then that he gave one last wave and finally drove off.
The next day could be described as a fashion apocalypse. Just as Deidara and Sasori had instructed her to, Sakura took the train to Konoha University early in the morning and arrived at the theater just before 9 am. As soon as she opened the front door, she was bombarded with people in black clothes and earpieces all running around, frantically talking into their cellphones, some giving instructions and some being shouted at. Some ran past carrying lights and power cords that they struggled not to trip over. She weaved her way through the technological chaos to the dressing rooms in the back. But there, she was confronted with a fresh wave of pandemonium that came in the form of fabric and makeup and people running with scissors. As soon as she set foot in the room, Sasori and Deidara tackled her and lifted her to the station they had set up in the corner. There were already other women sitting in chairs with their hair pinned back as someone applied their make-up.
"What did you have for breakfast this morning, My-chan?" Deidara demanded as Sasori forced a bundle of cloth into her hands and shoved her behind a small folding screen.
"Some yogurt with cereal and a strawberry smoothie," Sakura replied as she changed into the sleeveless white dress Sasori had practically thrown at her. Pressing her hands against her chest to keep the dress from slipping off, she poked her head out to ask Sasori to zip it up for her.
"Okay. You've had sugar. No wonder you're all cheerful. How are you feeling, nervous, yeah? Maybe a little panicky?" Deidara said, practically tripping over his own words. He began rifling through his cosmetics case in almost frantic, maniac movements as Sasori pulled her out from behind the screen take a quick look at her. He then pushed her into the chair set up in front of the vanity and turned over control to Deidara.
"Uh… Deidara-san, it sounds like you're the one that's panicking… just a little," Sakura pointed out and Sasori nodded his silent assent. Deidara whipped around to fix them both with a glare.
"Oh shut up, you jerks," he grumbled as he walked over to take Sakura's face in his hands. He angled her head first to the right and then to the left to get a better look at her skin.
"Hm… okay, looks like you've been listening to me about using more moisturizers. And no major breakouts. Looks like I've got some good raw material to work with, yeah," Deidara mused to himself. His eyes flickered to Sasori.
"Do you mind doing Sakura-chan's nails?" he requested and Sasori nodded. As Sasori busied himself sorting through colors, Deidara stood in front of Sakura and stepped on the lever on her chair a few times to raise her up. He grabbed one of the many bottles in his inventory and began rubbing a pleasant-smelling lotion into her skin.
"The truth is, Sasori's the one really freaking out about this one, yeah. He's so worried he can't even talk," Deidara confided in her as he gave her cheeks a little pat. When he searched for a sponge, Sasori returned armed with bottles of nail polish and small brushes. He perched himself on the table right beside her chair and busied himself with her left hand.
"So… I noticed a lot of the other girls here are really pretty…" Sakura observed and Sasori and Deidara promptly stopped in the middle of their tasks. Sasori fixed her with one of his dead stares of disapproval while Deidara outright glowered at her.
"None of that from you today. You're a million times prettier than these old hags. Most of them have had plastic surgery done anyway," Deidara scoffed, earning glares from the nearby women. Comforted by the idea, Sakura nodded a little and they went back to work. Deidara's voice was warm as he patiently explained each step of his process. The soft flutters of his brushes buffed at every inch of her face until he was satisfied. As he stood waiting for the glue on the fake eyelashes to get sticky, Deidara leaned over to check on Sasori's work.
"Ooh I think if this whole fashion designer thing falls through, you should work in a nail salon," Deidara remarked. Sasori didn't speak but instead looked up to jab Deidara in the forehead with black nail polish. They squabbled for a minute before Deidara found some acetone to rub the mark off. Then he set about fixing the fake eyelashes in place and blowing to make sure they dried properly. They were long and feathery with tiny white gems accentuating the corners of her eyes. As Deidara stood curling her eyelashes, there was a commotion at the door.
"MOVE IT, BROADS! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT ASSHOLE!" a man's voice roared. Deidara and Sasori exchanged eye rolls as a man elbowed his way past women left and right. With a clatter, he threw down his bag. When Deidara finally removed the eyelash curler, Sakura was able to get a good look at the strange arrival. He had silver hair slicked back without a strand out of place. His mouth twisted up into what looked like a leer as he surveyed her with violet eyes.
"Deidara, you lolicon!" he snorted as he punched Deidara in the arm. Deidara gave him the middle finger while his back was turned.
"Sakura-chan, this irritating bastard is Hidan, yeah. He's doing your hair because despite the fact that I hate his guts… he knows what he's doing," Deidara said like someone was shoving splinters under his nails. He ground his words together in a near-snarl while Hidan looked on with a haughty smirk. Sakura eyed Hidan and then the set of incredibly sharp scissors he had brought along. Her panicked expression then flickered to Sasori who calmly looked down at her.
"He won't screw up, Sakura-chan. I have even bigger scissors than he does. I'll avenge your death if necessary," Sasori assured her, holding up his giant fabric scissors that actually did little to assuage her concerns. To prove his voice, he snipped at the air a few times.
"Shut up," Hidan snapped as he reached for a scissor and deftly twirled it around his pointer finger. Sasori patted her head as Deidara fixed a smock around her neck so the dress underneath wouldn't be disturbed.
"You saw those sketches Deidara sent you?" Sasori asked. Hidan barely paid any attention to Sasori as he ran his fingers through Sakura's hair. His hands were surprisingly gentle for someone with such a crude mouth.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I got it," Hidan muttered in response. Still not at all relaxed about this turn of events, Sakura fixed her wide-eyed gaze on Deidara. At this, Deidara let out a short laugh as he walked over to poke her nose.
"Don't worry, My-chan. This guy's a pain in the ass but I trust him," Deidara said. And though his words were hardly soothing, she decided to go with this rather strange development. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let him do his work. Almost immediately she heard the sound of scissors snipping furiously.
"Ah, isn't that too short, yeah?" Deidara complained and Sakura almost opened her eyes.
"No it isn't, little Dei-chan. So shut your damn mouth," Hidan snarled without stopping his work. After a few minutes, she felt Hidan tousle her hair. It felt surprisingly lighter and almost fluffy.
"Hey, tiny girl, what hair products do you use?" Hidan demanded as he began straightening her hair with a flatiron.
"Whatever's on sale at the supermarket that month I guess," Sakura replied, thinking back to the stack of coupons she had clipped from the newspaper a few days before.
"Ah, there's a sale on ground pork today. I wonder if I'll make it in time," she wondered aloud. A laugh spurted out of Deidara before he managed to clamp his hand over his mouth.
"And this color's natural too. Hmm…." Hidan continued to think aloud. He sprayed some mousse into his hair and began running his fingers through the tips of her hair, pulling them inwards in firm movements. After he dabbed the remaining product on her bangs, he wiped his hands on Deidara's sleeve and put his hands on his hips. Deidara scowled fiercely as he looked at the wet spot on his shirt.
"Wow," Sasori said, looking up from Sakura's nails. Deidara let out a long sigh as he looked over at Hidan. Almost grudgingly, he stuck his hand out to shake Hidan's. Hidan snorted unappreciatively as he knocked Deidara's hand away.
"Save it, pretty boy. Let me know how this thing goes," Hidan yawned as he grabbed his bag of tools and strolled off.
Sakura only had a few seconds to look at herself in the mirror. She barely recognized herself. Her hair fell in a soft bob around her face that somehow made her feel a little older, maybe even a little more mature. Hidan had cut off a sizeable portion of her hair, leaving it to fall just past her chin, but she liked the effect. And Deidara's make-up had magically made her eyes huge and doll-like, cheeks perfectly rosy and mouth plump and red. She blinked a few times, just to make sure the face was her own. She almost wanted to cry but she stopped herself, knowing Deidara would most likely blow a blood vessel if she ruined his hard work. She caught Sasori's knowing look in the mirror and he seemed to understand as he squeezed her shoulder for a moment.
Everything was a frantic whirlwind of Deidara touching up her make-up while Sasori went around attaching the extra parts to her dress.
After much debate and a few arguments with Deidara that had ended with one of them flipping over some furniture, they had settled on a piece for the show. It had taken countless pages of discarded sketches and hours spent picking out the tiniest details for fabric, but they had finished what Deidara declared "a masterpiece" (and for once, Sasori had agreed with him). The bottom most layer was a simple sleeveless white dress. The front fell to just above her knee while the back was much longer, trailing after her whenever she moved. On top was a layer of soft black lace that fell from just under her chest and mimicked the lengths of the dress underneath. On the left side of her chest was a cluster of large red flowers that seemed to glitter in the right light. Giving her a nod of approval, Sasori turned her around one last time. He took her hand to steady her as Deidara knelt and helped her slip into simple black sandals.
"15 minutes until all models will report to the stage," a voice announced over the loudspeakers.
"Crap. I forgot the bracelet in the car. I'll be right back, yeah," Deidara exclaimed as he ran out, nearly colliding with four people on his way.
"How are you feeling?" Sasori asked as he helped her sit on a stool so she wouldn't wrinkle her dress.
"A little nervous. Not as bad as before the cultural festival though," she admitted with a little giggle. Sasori cracked a smile as he touched the edge of the intricate lace that flowed down her dress. She could see from the way he looked upon his work that he was truly proud of himself. Each stitch and each cut had been done with painstaking attention to detail.
"I'm really proud of you, Sasori-san," Sakura suddenly told him. Sasori blinked slowly as he looked up at her.
"I am too," he solemnly replied. They both laughed. They chatted for a few minutes while the chaos grew progressively worse around them. People were arguing, scrambling around and looking for things they had forgotten. One of the models had thrown a tantrum and stormed off, leaving that particular group of students with an automatic F for the project. Sakura shook her head sympathetically as the forlorn students threw their arms over each other and tried their best not to cry.
"Here! Left them in the cup holder, yeah!" Deidara shouted as he ran over to them. He glanced over at the spectacle nearby before he fastened the accessory on Sakura's left wrist. He had made it from scraps of black lace that matched the dress along with a thick section of red ribbon. Patting her bare shoulder, Deidara jabbed his finger in the direction of the blubbering students.
"What happened here, yeah?" he asked.
"Model bailed. Less competition for us, I guess," Sasori explained with a shrug. Sakura and Deidara exchanged wide-eyed looks at Sasori's coldness. After a few minutes of the duo fussing over Sakura's hair and other last-minute details, the final call for models to line up echoed through the room.
"You'll be perfect, My-chan. It's like dancing only more boring…. And you'll be okay with the lights and the crowd and stuff, right? Right. Good luck, yeah," Deidara said in one breath before he went to kiss her forehead and then remembered that he had just applied her make-up. So he opted for kissing the back of her hand and giving her a wink.
"What the moron said. And remember to smile at the judges. That's your biggest weapon," Sasori added, patting her hand. So, wide-eyed with excitement, Sakura followed after the other girls filing out of the room. She chanced one last glance back at her friends and witnessed Sasori collapsing into the chair she had occupied while Deidara frantically fanned him with his hands.
They were arranged by the first name of the designer so Sakura was close to the end. The girls she was wedged between were both stick-thin, probably professional models with an agency. Their poreless skin and haughty glances were a little unnerving. More than once, Sakura felt their stares and she wondered if maybe Deidara had attached her eyelashes to her eyebrow or something. But she resisted the urge to touch her face at the risk of messing up Deidara's work and giving him an aneurysm in the process. As the line before her grew shorter, Sakura clenched and unclenched her hands. She had known that there would be a crowd. Deidara had explained that the annual fashion show at KU was popular with both students and prospective employers scouting out talent. Still, the sheer volume of the cheers and claps from the crowd was a little more than unnerving. As the girl directly in front of her slipped past the curtain, Sakura had to remind herself to continue breathing.
"Sakura," someone said from behind her. When Sakura turned, Konan was nudging past the other girls.
"Konan-senpai! What are you doing here?" Sakura gasped. Konan was still wearing her clay-smeared smock over her blouse and jeans, clearly fresh from her studio. As if reading her thoughts, Konan waved off her concerns.
"I heard rumors that a high school girl was modeling for that baka-duo so I had a feeling it was you. I know you're going on soon so I just needed to tell you something," Konan quickly said as she took Sakura's hands. Looking her straight in the eyes, Konan gave her something that looked like a smile.
"Don't look at the judges until you get to the end. It'll make you nervous. Instead, there's a surprise for you in the crowd. Focus on that," Konan instructed as a man with a clipboard waved Sakura forward. So, reluctantly Sakura mouthed the word 'thanks' to Konan and took a deep breath before she walked past the curtain and onto the runway.
"Here we have our next model, Haruno Sakura modeling Deidara and Sasori's work. You'll remember that they were the 3rd place winners last year with their bold designs," a loud voice boomed through the huge room. Sakura began walking down the runway in steady strides that Sasori had spent hours trying to teach her. Remembering Konan's words, she averted her eyes from the judges' table and instead looked out into the sea of faces. It didn't take more than a few seconds to locate a face that was so familiar to her.
Well, two faces.
Itachi was sitting close to the front of the audience, his eyes wide. A second later Sakura also recognized Kisame sitting to his left with his jaw hanging slack as he stared at her. Her eyes met Itachi's and his mouth curled up in her favorite smile.
So that was what Konan had meant.
The look of sheer amazement on his face filled her with a glowing pride that helped drown out the loud techno music blaring from speakers and the blinding flashes from cameras. She confidently strode all the way to the end of the catwalk before she put her hand on her hip and struck a pose. A collective noise that sounded like "ooh" rose from the audience as she finally looked over at the judges' table and flashed a bright smile. The judges promptly began speaking to each other in hushed tones and scribbling notes on their clipboards. After a few seconds, Sakura turned on her heel and began the trip back up the runway. And even though they weren't technically allowed to, Sasori and Deidara's heads were peeking out past the very edge of the curtain. As soon as she slipped backstage, Deidara promptly grabbed her hands and twirled her around in an excited little jig.
"You were amazing," Sasori told her as he patted her head. Deidara nodded vigorously, looking ready to explode from excitement.
"We should head back to the dressing room to wait for the results," Sasori said, glancing back at the line of girls still waiting to go out on the stage. So with Deidara holding her left hand and Sasori holding her right, they traveled back to the dressing room where the other models were all sitting (or standing if their outfits didn't permit) with nearly identical looks of boredom. It was the designers who were clustered in groups, nervously gnawing on food or jiggling their legs. When Deidara and Sasori floated into the room with Sakura, laughing and talking, they were met with a dozen blank stares of hatred and confusion.
"Bunch of crybabies. C'mon, let's sit, My-chan. You want to take off your shoes, yeah?" Deidara chattered as he pushed her into the stool she had occupied earlier. Sakura wiggled her feet and then shook her head.
"These are actually kind of comfortable," Sakura admitted. But when she felt Sasori and Deidara looking at each other with excitement, she held up a hand.
"But I'm not keeping them. Or this dress. Or anything else. Please take it all back," she firmly said. They both deflated like balloons stuck with needles. Giggling a little at their forlorn expressions, Sakura looked around the room and remembered that she had brought her earring with her. She considered getting up, but moving around in small spaces with her dress was probably not a wise decision. Sensing her dilemma, Sasori followed her line of vision.
"This?" he asked, standing to retrieve her bag.
"Thank you," she said as she opened it to retrieve the small box she had gotten a couple weeks earlier. Deidara, who had been busy sneaking coffee and food out of the reception area, rejoined them just as Sakura opened the box to reveal the earring she had gotten for her birthday from them.
"Um… so I was wondering if maybe… as a celebration… you guys could… help me pierce my ear?" Sakura quietly said, embarrassed by Deidara and Sasori's stares. Deidara, who was balancing a cup of coffee in each hand and holding a donut in his mouth suddenly began tearing up.
"Ahkura-ahn, err oo ooooo, eh!" Deidara howled through the sweet pastry wedged between his lips. Sakura slowly turned to Sasori who simply looked at his friend with a bored expression.
"He said, 'Sakura-chan, you're too cute… yeah'," Sasori translated. Sakura covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laugh. Deidara scowled at her as he looked around for a place to put the coffee. But finding all the spaces occupied, he shoved a cup each at Sakura and Sasori and took a giant chomp out of the donut before taking it out of his mouth with newly freed hands.
"I risk my life to get you two peons food and this is the thanks I get, yeah?" Deidara sniffed before he took another huge bite out of his treat. At this, Sakura looked down at her coffee and then at Deidara with a frown of her own. Though on her, it was more of a pout.
"Food? You only got food for yourself, Deidara-san," she pointed out. Sasori leaned over her shoulder to fix Deidara with an accusatory stare.
"Yeah, Deidara-san. Where's our food? Coffee isn't food," Sasori demanded in monotone. Grumbling under his breath, Deidara shoved the rest of the donut into his mouth. Munching furiously, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching before he reached into the pockets of his jacket and began pulling out an impossible amount of muffins and fruit along with a cheese Danish that had managed to avoid being mashed between two apples. He dumped all the food on top of his cosmetics case and then gave them a proud sneer.
"Happy?" he said, clearly demanding some sort of praise.
"Holy crap. I'm friends with Mary Poppins," Sasori remarked, nudging one of the muffins with his finger like it was secretly a bomb.
"Ew. Pocket-Danish," Sakura added, pointing at a piece of lint that had stuck to the sticky pastry.
"Fine! Ungrateful jerks, yeah. I'll eat them all myself!" Deidara snapped, snatching the Danish and cramming it into his mouth.
"Ahheeweh, wha wuh oo dawwin abauw?" Deidara suddenly asked before he gulped down a mouthful of pastry. Again, Sakura looked at Sasori.
"I believe he said, 'Oh my, is it alright that I'm in love with Kisame?'" Sasori stated with a completely straight face. When Deidara glowered at him while peeling a banana, Sasori sighed.
"He asked what we were talking about," Sasori amended and Sakura held up the box again. She pointed to her left ear and Deidara's entire face lit up.
"Of course we will! Hey, Sasori, we still got that piercing gun around, yeah?" Deidara asked as he began digging around his equipment. Sasori didn't even make an effort to look like he was going to help. He simply put his hands on his hips and shrugged as he watched Deidara scrambled around. A few minutes later, Deidara emerged from the mess while holding a blue gun like a trophy.
"Found it!" he happily proclaimed, only to find that Sakura and Sasori were busy playing a game on her phone.
"Hey! Don't forget me in less than 5 minutes, yeah!" Deidara complained. It was only then that Sakura and Sasori looked up at him with identical frowns.
"You made us lose, Deidara-san," Sakura said with another pout.
"Yeah, Deidara-san. We hit a bomb and you killed us, Deidara-san," Sasori chimed in.
"Whatever. Grab some alcohol will you?" Deidara sighed as he began assembling the proper parts for the gun. He took the cuff from Sakura's box and examined the part that would go into her ear before he chose a size for the tip and attached it to the machine. Meanwhile, Sasori busied himself soaking cotton pads in rubbing alcohol. When Deidara held out his hand, Sasori handed over the germ-free fabric and watched intently as Deidara began sterilizing everything.
"You missed that part, Deidara. What if it has tetanus in it and Sakura-chan's ear turns black and falls off because of an infection?" Sasori nagged as Deidara began furiously scrubbing at it for fear of Sakura only having one ear.
"Uh just to let you know, I've had my tetanus shot…" Sakura piped up when Deidara began madly cleaning as if her life depended on it. They both stopped scrubbing and nagging at one another to stare at her.
"Anyway, we should get this over with before they-" Sakura was interrupted by a loud voice blaring over the speakers.
"And with that, the last model has finished her walk. Now the judges will take a few minutes to choose the winner of this year's Konoha U Fashion Show!"
"…announce the winning team," she finished with a sheepish grin. Deidara laughed as he reached out to pat her back. He tossed the alcohol-soaked cloth into the trash and held out the gun for her to see.
"This part is the part that actually pierces. It doesn't hurt that much, yeah. I've done most of Sasori's, yeah," Deidara explained. While the blond spoke, Sasori snuck up behind Sakura and pressed an ice cube to her left ear. She jumped, automatically flinching away from the cold.
"It's to numb the area a little," Sasori explained when Sakura looked at him like he was crazy.
A few minutes later, when the PA system crackled back to life, a few things happened:
First, the announcer cleared his throat and then said, "And the judges have come to a unanimous decision. First place for this year's designer and cosmetology team goes to the pair of Sasori and Deidara!"
Second, a very tall man with blue hair named Hoshigaki Kisame busted into the dressing room with a victorious roar. Behind him, Uchiha Itachi followed with a bouquet of white calla lilies cradled in his arms.
Third, everyone turned to stare as they watched Deidara easily wielding a bright blue gun.
"YOU! YOU SERIOUSLY DID IT, KITTEN?" Kisame shouted as he shoved Deidara out of the way to get a better look at her ear.
"Yeah! I thought it would hurt but I barely felt it!" Sakura cheerfully replied as she tilted her head to show off the silver cuff fastened to the cartilage of her left ear. Sasori had already helped her put in the matching skull stud before attaching the chain to both. When she moved her head to look at Deidara, the jewelry glittered in the light. As Kisame stood gaping and Sakura sat calmly talking, Itachi quietly stalked over and lifted Deidara by the back of his shirt.
"Ah, Itachi-san! You really did cut your hair!" Sakura exclaimed when she noticed him. Itachi took a moment to hand over her flowers. She flushed with pleasure as she buried her nose into the fragrant blooms and lightly touched the silky petals.
"Thank you. These are beautiful," she quietly said, looking up at him through her thick, dark eyelashes. She rose to her feet to press a light kiss to his mouth and for a moment, it looked like he had forgotten his anger. But when Deidara made the mistake of breathing too loudly, Itachi remembered his friend still dangling from his hand.
"I thought we discussed this, Deidara," Itachi said in a quiet yet incredibly terrifying voice. Blanching, Deidara pointed a shaking finger at Sakura.
"But My-chan was the one that suggested it, yeah!" Deidara insisted. Sakura looked up from her flowers, just then noticing Deidara's look of utter terror and the dark aura emanating from Itachi.
"I was the one that asked them to, Itachi-san. Why? Do you not like it? I'll take it out if you think it's ugly," Sakura said, reaching out to take Itachi's free hand. At the look on her face, Itachi let out a long sigh and then released Deidara's shirt. When he smiled helplessly and pulled her into his arms, Deidara and Kisame shook their heads, clicking their tongues like old women.
"Man, Itachi is really powerless against the missus," Kisame remarked, holding up an imaginary monocle.
"I will murder you both if you don't stop talking right now," Itachi warned them though his eyes never left Sakura. As Sakura laughed at her friends' horrified expressions, one of the members of the stage crew popped her head in to let them know that they wanted to take pictures of the winning team onstage.
Dinner celebrations were a little ridiculous. Despite their protests and their attempts at bribery, Sakura refused to accept the dress from Deidara and Sasori. Instead, she had settled on keeping the bracelet, tying it to the strap of her handbag like a good luck charm. After photos and answering some questions for the school paper (and then waiting for Sasori and Deidara to stop schmoozing), Sakura changed into her clothes and then they all headed to a fancy sushi restaurant. Thanks to the cash prize included with their victory, Sasori and Deidara graciously treated all to some of the best high-class fish the restaurant had to offer. Kisame and Deidara indulged in a little too much sake and began recounting all their embarrassing experiences from high school, oblivious to the fact that Sasori would forever lord this information over them for the rest of their lives.
But even though everyone was so happy and Itachi was right next to her, Sakura couldn't help but feel a little sluggish. Her limbs were a little slow to respond and there was a faint pounding in the back of her head that just wouldn't go away. As she sipped at her tea, Sakura felt Itachi slip his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He leaned in close and pressed his forehead to hers.
"You don't have a fever. Are you feeling alright?" he asked just by her ear. Sakura surfaced from her daze to give him a smile.
"Yes. I'm fine," she replied. The look he gave her let him know that he was not at all convinced. But Itachi nodded and let her lean against his arm for the rest of the night.
It was only around midnight that everyone managed to leave the restaurant. Deidara threw his arm over Sasori, partly from the sake and partly from high spirits. Sasori was in a good enough mood not to complain. Instead, he bumped his fist against Deidara's as they walked down the street. A little behind, Sakura and Itachi followed, their joined hands falling naturally between them. Kisame had gone home an hour earlier; he had work in the morning and it was never a good idea to work with dolphins with a hangover.
"Hey! We should go to the beach, yeah!" Deidara suddenly suggested, looking back. Sakura raised an eyebrow at her tipsy friend while Itachi simply rolled his eyes. Sasori suddenly slipped out from under Deidara, leaving him to fall flat on his face in the middle of the street. Taking Sakura's hand in his own, Sasori looked her directly in the eyes.
"If Itachi dies in a horrible accident, let's get married," Sasori declared. Not giving her time to react, Sasori grabbed Deidara's arm and began dragging him through the street, ignoring Deidara's feeble protests. Sakura stood frozen in place as she watched her two rather odd friends disappear down the street.
"Um… should I feel scared by that?" Itachi asked after a while.
"It's Sasori-san. I'm always a little scared by him," Sakura sighed in response as they began the walk back to the university where Itachi's car was parked.
The rest of the week went by quickly. Now it was all five of them together on the morning run before they all headed to the dance studio to continue working on the new choreography and to watch Deidara and Kisame consume unbelievable amounts of food. Before Sakura knew it, it was already Monday morning and she was already on the way to school. It was only when she neared the school's front gates that she remembered just what had changed.
"Good morning, Kaichou!" someone called out. Sakura's head automatically swiveled to look for Neji's imposing figure parting the crowd. But she reminded herself that he had already graduated. In fact, the unfamiliar junior was addressing her with a friendly sparkle in his gaze.
"Ah… morning," she replied before continuing on her way. When she stood at the lockers to change her shoes, someone grabbed her from behind in a tight hug.
"MORNING, KAICHOU-CHAN!" Naruto sang as he lifted her into the air.
"Put her down, moron," Sasuke interrupted as he bonked Naruto on top of the head. Naruto gently set Sakura down before he whirled around to snarl angrily at his best friend. Ignoring the commotion behind her, Sakura easily abandoned her friends and headed to the bulletin board where students were already gathered around to find out which class they had been placed into. When she recognized Sai standing there too, Sakura poked him in the shoulder.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan. Looks like you're in class 3-C with me," Sai greeted her with a smile.
"Thanks, Sai. I guess I'll see you later," she replied, already turning to walk away.
"But Sakura-chan! Let's go check our names together!" Naruto called out from behind her. She waved but didn't look back.
"I need to go make a speech at the freshman orientation now. I'll catch up with you later," Sakura told him as she hurried off to the auditorium. As she crossed the courtyard, she was caught in a barrage of cherry blossoms fluttering down from the tall branches. Pulling the door to the auditorium open, she poked her head inside and found that the principal was still speaking. One of the teachers caught sight of her and waved her in. Bowing apologetically, she slipped into the room. She began brushing petals out of hair and off her uniform as she quietly stole her way over to the teachers.
"Cutting it a little close, aren't we, Kaichou?" Hatake Kakashi remarked as she ran her fingers through her hair, searching for stray flower petals. She glanced up at him with a frown.
"Says the teacher who was late every day for homeroom last year," she sniffed in response and she thought she heard him chuckle. Her speech was short and about a third of the students probably slept right through it. But the polite scatter of applause after she finished was surprising. After shaking hands with some teachers and bowing, she hurried across the courtyard to get to class. When she stepped into her classroom, she found that most seats had been taken already.
"Ah, Sakura-chan, you're over here!" Hinata called, waving from the back of the room. To her left sat Sai who also waved rather happily at her. She recognized most of the other people, old classmates from other grades, maybe friends of friends. A few of them seemed to recognize her too because they nodded at her as she passed. Just as she took her seat, Naruto came flying into the room with a piece of bread wedged firmly into his mouth.
"Naruto, I just saw you this morning. Why are you almost late?" Sakura asked as Naruto grinned and collapsed into the seat beside Hinata's.
"Well I got hungry so I ran to the convenience store to buy some bread. Want some?" Naruto explained, laughing as he opened up a plastic bag stuffed with bread.
"So you're as stupid as you are dickless," Sai noted.
"You- you! Take that back!" Naruto immediately roared, shooting nervous glances at his girlfriend. Hinata and Sakura were too busy laughing at Naruto's red face to really listen to anything else he had to say.
Classes ended relatively quickly. Since it was the first day of the new school year, there really wasn't too much homework. But for some reason, when Sakura lifted her bag onto her shoulder, it felt oddly heavy. Or maybe it was her arm that was feeling weak. She couldn't quite tell. Shaking off the feeling, she made her way to the student council room, half-expecting it to be unlocked. But when she turned the corner, she found Moegi and Udon standing by the door, waiting. She looked down at her key ring, suddenly remembering that now that Neji was gone, she was the only one with access to the room.
"Kaichou! It's good to see you!" Moegi cheered when she heard the jingle of the keys hitting each other.
"Yeah. It's good to see you too. How's it feel to be juniors?" Sakura replied as she opened the door and stepped into the office. On impulse, she walked up to the desk that was now hers and opened up the top right drawer. The stamps that read 'REJECTED' were all still there along with a red ink pad. A present from the previous president. Sakura couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Kaichou?" Udon cautiously asked.
"I guess that really is me," Sakura sighed with a little giggle.
Precisely two days after the spring semester started, her phone rang. She was sitting at home, curled up on the sofa doing homework when it began buzzing. When she checked the caller ID, it was the exact same number as the one she had seen just a week before. She stared blankly at it before she shoved it under one of the cushions and tried to ignore it.
From then on, every day, once a day, there came a call.
She started to flinch each time she heard any phone ring. It happened once at practice during a water break. Everyone was sitting on the floor, watching with horror as Kisame and Deidara tried to demonstrate just how many marshmallows they could fit in their mouths. Sasori leaned over towards her to whisper, "They look like fat bunnies," before he stood to grab another bottle of water, kicking Deidara over on the way. As she sat giggling, her phone buzzed and she let out a loud squeak of alarm, throwing it up in the air. Itachi, who was sitting to her left, easily reached out to catch it mid-air. Eyes wide, she turned her head to look at him.
"How long has this been going on?" Itachi asked. The way his dark eyes narrowed on her was a little frightening.
"Uh… a couple weeks, I guess," she replied in a quiet voice.
"I thought we agreed that you would tell me if he called again," Itachi reminded her as he looked down at her phone which was still ringing. When he hit the 'answer' button, Sakura lunged forward.
"No! Don't pick that up!" she hissed, grabbing at her phone. But Itachi easily kept the phone out of reach as he put the phone on speaker.
"Hello? Hello? Sakura-chan? I'm so glad you picked up. This is dad."
The voice pierced a million knives into her. The strength went straight out of her arms, leaving them to flop uselessly to her sides.
"Listen, I talked to your mom and I know she said you didn't want to talk to me ever again, but I-"
"I'm sorry. Sakura-san's a little busy at the moment. Please do us a favor and never call again," Itachi interrupted before he ended the call. There was an odd moment of silence, Sakura staring blankly at the floor and everyone else watching her with concern.
"Itachi… you're a dick," Kisame finally said before he scooted over to put his arms around Sakura in a big hug. She sagged against him, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Yeah, man. Pull yourself together," Deidara muttered as he took Sakura's hands in his and squeezed them tightly. Even Sasori shook his head disapprovingly at Itachi as he slowly patted the top of Sakura's head as she let out a sob.
Sakura didn't go to practice the day after. Or the day after that. She didn't go to school either. Instead, she was curled up in her bed, tightly hugging the large white bunny Deidara had gotten her for Christmas. She had pulled on the kitten sweatshirt from Kisame and her favorite green monkey-print pajama pants. The TV was on in her room but she wasn't watching it. She rose a few times to eat, but food was sand in her mouth, tasteless and unappetizing. Her phone rang again and again as people wondered where she was so she eventually stopped looking at it every time it made a sound. It sat uselessly on her nightstand, buzzing and ringing to no avail.
The third day of her self-imposed isolation, the doorbell rang. When there was no response, there were loud knocks on the door, an impatient fist abusing wood. More out of irritation than the desire to see anyone, Sakura stood, still holding onto the large bunny, and dragged her feet on the way to the door. She unlocked the door and left the chain in place before she slowly cracked it open.
"Sakura-san. You're okay," Itachi breathed with visible relief when she saw his face. She quickly averted her eyes, instead focusing on his ear.
"Please go home. I want to be alone," Sakura sighed as she went to shut the door on his face. But he was always too quick for her, wedging his foot in the door. Her eyes darted from his foot and up to his face a few times before she reluctantly undid the chain and let him inside, tossing the stuffed bunny on the sofa as she walked past. She drifted to the kitchen to pour him some juice as he stood taking off his shoes and hanging his jacket on the coatrack by the door. When she twisted the cap off the carton, his hand caught hers, stopping her.
"Would you look at me please?" he pleaded. Taking a deep breath, Sakura set the carton down and turned to him. The edge of the counter pressed against her back as she tilted her head to look up at him. His fingers curled around her arms, holding her there like she might try to run off at any moment.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forced you to listen to that the other day," Itachi said.
"You don't have to apologize, Itachi-san. I wasn't mad at you," she replied in a tired voice. Itachi grabbed her chin a surprisingly rough movement and forced her to look back up at him. His eyes widened as his hand moved, sliding up to cup her cheek and then touch her forehead.
"Wow. This is an amazing fever. Have you been taking any medicine?" he inquired. She suddenly realized that his hand felt amazingly cool against her skin. A sigh of relief left her when his other hand rose to touch her other cheek.
"Alright. We should get you to bed," Itachi sighed. She didn't pay much attention to his words. It was more of a soft murmur that washed over her. He paused and then looked down at her, brushing her hair out of her eyes. He said something else before the floor tilted and he was carrying her in his arms. Too comfortable to protest, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Hey, don't fall asleep with a man in your house," she heard him sigh as he opened the door to her bedroom and deposited her on the bed. The curtains were pulled wide open, letting sunlight spill into the room. She cracked open her eyes to find Itachi standing over her with a strange expression.
"But it's okay if it's you, Itachi-san. You'll protect me, right?" Sakura murmured in response as she grabbed the edge of a blanket and rolled herself into it. She thought she heard him laugh as she drifted into an easy sleep.
Thanks to all of you readers and reviewers! Be sure to leave me your thoughts and comments in reviews.