Nobody hit me with rocks. I've had the worst case of writer's block but now I feel like I can finally get something done again. I apologize in advance if this chapter seems a little all over the place but this is what I humbly call a writer's insanity so please forgive me. Thanks, as always, to all my amazing readers and reviewers. If I have time, I might start posting the sketches I have of everyone's clothing and stuff. Or not.
Enjoy this chapter!
Fancy Footwork
Chapter 17: Stupid
"SUSHI!" Kisame crowed as he waved the stack of coupons in Sakura's face. Sakura responded by plucking the sheets from his fingers and handing them off to Sasori who promptly stuck them down the back of Deidara's shirt. They laughed together, exchanging high-fives as they watched Kisame roar and stuff his hand down Deidara's shirt, trying to fish out the coupons instead of logically lifting up the hem from the bottom.
"STOP MOLESTING ME, YOU CANNIBAL! HOW DARE THOU CONSUME THY BRETHREN? THY FISHY BRETHREN!" Deidara wailed, thrashing his arms around while Kisame tried to hold him down. Sasori handed off a lollipop to Sakura before he opened up one of his own and calmly stuck it into his mouth. Sakura copied him, letting the sweet grape flavor flood her mouth as she giggled at Deidara's horrified expression.
"What…" Itachi trailed off as he stood in the doorway with a plastic bag dangling from his wrist. Both his hands were in the pockets of his black sweatpants. When he saw Sakura smiling innocently, he let out a little sigh.
"You know, I distinctly remember you being a shy but kind-hearted girl when I first met you, Sakura," Itachi remarked as he avoided Deidara twisting around to gnaw on Kisame's arm and sat down next to her on the floor.
"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not," Sakura mumbled in response as she dug into the plastic bag to pull out bottled water. She tossed one into Sasori's lap before she flopped onto her back with one of her own.
"Be insulted and break up with him. Then you and I can elope to Fiji and open up a small café that we'll call Saso x Saku," Sasori suggested while poking Sakura in the side. The sounds of Kisame and Deidara wrestling suddenly stopped. Sasori looked up only when he realized that everyone was staring at him with identical looks of blank shock. Sakura didn't even bother to sit up as she rolled away from him and closer to Itachi.
"Sasori-san, you're so weird!" Sakura groaned.
"That's not right, Sakura-chan. Try calling me 'Dear' or 'Sugar-Pie'," Sasori corrected with the same look of calm seriousness that he always seemed to wear.
Sakura flopped around uselessly on the floor, laughing loudly while Itachi slowly moved to put himself in between his girlfriend and Sasori.
"Nah. I'd go for something more like 'Onii-chan', yeah," Deidara snorted as he sat down on the floor next to Sasori. While he was busy, Kisame lifted up the edge of Deidara's shirt and finally retrieved the coupons for free sushi that they had won the day before. The competition had been poor and a few of their easier routines were more than enough to win the judges' hearts. They had received five coupons (one for each member) but they had promptly been given to Kisame who had proceeded to do a backflip in celebration.
"You'd want your wife to call you 'Onii-chan', Deidara. I was right. You're secretly a pervert with a lolicon who wants to prey on young girls," Kisame teased, earning a solid punch in the gut. As the two continued to squabble like usual, Sakura sat up to gulp down some water. She fanned herself with her hand. The weather was steadily getting warmer, warm enough that it was already time for her to start wearing her summer uniform instead of the winter one. Kisame, who was a walking furnace, was already shirtless, rolling around on the ground and laughing while Deidara snickered.
"Are you doing anything this Saturday?" Itachi suddenly asked. Sakura, holding up her water bottle to her mouth, blinked at him a few times.
"Well, I was planning on sleeping in and doing laundry. Why?" she responded, trying to ignore Kisame and Deidara's stares over Itachi's shoulders. They leered together, waggling their eyebrows and making the strangest faces.
"Good. Don't make plans. We're going on a date," Itachi declared before he turned around to smack Deidara and Kisame's heads together. They groaned in unison.
"Great. I'll keep Saturday open too," Sasori butted in, earning an exasperated look from Sakura.
Friday night, after dance practice and some warm udon for dinner with the rest of the team, Sakura sat in the living room.
"So I'll be home in September. I got some paid vacation days left so let's spend lots of time together," Kirie said. Sakura idly picked some lint off of her leggings as she listened to her mother rattle off a list of places she wanted to go and things she wanted to eat. As she half-paid attention, her eyes drifted to her cell phone. Though she didn't get the calls once a day anymore, about every two or three days, the number she had learned to recognize would flash across the screen. She considered asking her mother about it. But when she started paying attention again, she realized that Kirie had gone on to talk about what kinds of clothes she had bought to bring home from Paris.
"There's this darling little blouse tha-"
"Mom, did Dad have any siblings?"
It went completely silent for a tense moment.
"No, sweetheart, he was an only child," Kirie finally replied. Sakura could hear the false cheeriness in her voice.
"Why? Is something wrong, Sakura?"
"Just wondering," Sakura vaguely said in response.
They chatted a little longer about other things before Sakura bade her mother good night. As if it knew what she was doing, as soon as she set the house phone in its cradle, Sakura's cell phone rang. And the numbers that were by now burned into the inside of her skull blinked angrily across the screen. She let it ring once, staring blankly at the digits while listening to the cheerful melody of her ringtone. The second time, her fingers inched toward it. She could easily let it go to voicemail or even shove her phone under a throw pillow until it finally fell silent. Instead, she found her fingers swiping across the smooth screen to accept the call.
"Hello? Hello? Sakura?"
The strength drained out of her hand as soon as she heard the voice again. There was no mistaking it. It was a voice she had once loved to dearly, had strained to hear it whenever she walked up the short steps to her parents' café. It was warm and deep and it made her think of the smell of sweet coffee and sugary pastries.
"Sakura? Sakura!"
Her fingers were trembling so badly that she barely managed to end the call before burying her face in her hands. A quiet sob left her mouth that she tried to muffle against her shoulder.
And then the house phone rang.
She didn't even need to check the caller ID to know that it was the same number.
It rang exactly four times before it stopped. Still shaking uncontrollably, she grabbed her cell phone, frantically searching for a name in her contact list. Tears blurred her eyes as she hugged a throw pillow to her chest. She waited. After two rings, she heard a yawn and then Itachi's voice, still raspy from sleep.
"Sakura?"
"I….I…"
"Sakura," Itachi said while all traces of sleepiness vanished from his tone. Her fingers curled tighter around the phone as fresh tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Just the gentle way he called her name filled her with a profound sense of relief. But just relief wasn't enough. Sakura flinched when the house phone began ringing again.
"I need you," she choked out. She took a deep, shuddering breath. Almost immediately, she heard crackling and rustling as Itachi probably jumped out of bed and began pulling on clothes.
"Are you hurt?" he demanded. He was slightly out of breath and she could hear the rush of wind as he ran outside.
"Don't hang up. Keep talking to me. What happened?"
Sakura hiccupped, making every effort to stop the tremors running through her body. She swallowed, trying her best to form words.
"The phone…" she managed to say before more tears spilled down her cheeks. She could hear the car door slam and then the engine of his car rumble to life.
"I'm just really scared. What do I do?" Sakura babbled, wincing when the house phone wailed again. The cheerful tune of the ring sounded like a sick joke that pierced her ears.
"It's going to be alright, Sakura," he said with so much conviction that she almost believed him for a moment. He kept rambling over and over as he drove. She had never heard Itachi this panicked before and if she hadn't been on the brink of ripping her own hair out, she would have found it somewhat funny. Instead, she focused on listening to his voice. She didn't exactly hear his words but she listened to the cadence, the rise and fall of his words, the way he would finish his sentence with a slight lift if he wanted to know if she was still listening. So she made little noises of assent, not really comprehending what he was saying.
"I'm outside your apartment. Can you get to the door?" She heard those particular words with startling clarity. Blinking rapidly, she turned around to peer out past the curtains. She caught a glimpse of Itachi half-running, half-falling up the stairs to get to the third floor landing. Her limbs moved mechanically, automatically lifting her from the sofa to walk over to the front door. As soon as she undid the bolt and popped the chain open, the knob twisted and Itachi practically exploded into the apartment.
Itachi didn't say a single word as he grabbed her and hugged her close. His heart was pounding furiously underneath her cheek and his chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. He was all sweaty and disheveled and then he was pulling back to look into her eyes.
"Are you alright?" he demanded. Then his gaze was darting around her home before returning to her. When the house phone began ringing again, she flinched. Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt as she tried desperately not to start sobbing.
"Oh," Itachi breathed in a voice filled with realization. He stepped away from her, leaving her clutching at air. A little hurt by his actions, Sakura turned around to watch him stride over to the phone and rip its plug from the outlet. He stood in the middle of the living room, hands on his hips as he took a long time to think. When Sakura's cell phone started to ring too, he quickly grabbed it and popped the battery out of the back.
"Go pack a bag. You'll stay with me while I figure all this out," Itachi snapped. Even though his anger wasn't directed at her, it still made her jump a little. He noticed and tried to put on an apologetic smile. Sakura mutely made her way to her bedroom and found her favorite light blue duffel bag. As she puttered around quickly folding clothes and stacking them in the bottom of the bag, she heard Itachi's footsteps pacing nervously in the foyer. She had never seen him act so… not-composed, not-perfect before and she couldn't decide what to feel.
Sakura jumped when Itachi suddenly appeared in the doorway. He had taken off his shoes so he hadn't made much noise walking down the hall.
"I'm going to call the phone company on Monday," he simply said, crossing his arms over his chest. Sakura nodded as she brushed past him to grab a few things from the bathroom. She ducked under his arm to re-enter her bedroom. She remembered to take her school uniform off the hanger and folded it into a neat bundle that she hugged against her chest. She picked up her bag because even if she knew Itachi would never let her carry it, having that normal part of their relationship was a big comfort to her. Smiling like he knew what she was doing, Itachi just held out his palm to her. Sakura let out an exaggerated sigh as she dropped the strap into his hand. She stubbornly refused to relinquish hold over her schoolbag and uniform though.
Itachi slung the bag over his right shoulder before putting his arm around Sakura and leading her out of the apartment. The 10-minute ride to his place was quiet except for the muted croon of the music on the radio. When Itachi pulled into the small parking lot behind his apartment building, Sakura was still staring blankly out the window. She started when she realized that the passenger side door was open and Itachi was peering down at her. His right arm rested on top of the car, legs casually crossed.
"Let's go inside. It looks like it might rain," Itachi said when her eyes finally met his. Nodding mutely, Sakura took his outstretched hand and followed him through the parking lot and into the brightly-lit lobby. She watched him pause to check his mailbox before he took her hand again and pulled her toward the elevator. She still remembered the inside of the elevator with its mirrored walls and silver buttons from when Kisame had carried her after she had hurt her ankle.
"Do you have any spare blankets? I'll take the couch," Sakura said when they stepped into his apartment. The familiar sight of the dark wood floors and the deep grey walls was slightly less comforting when it was just her with Itachi. There were books and papers spread all over the coffee sofa and the floor and his messenger bag was tossed carelessly on top of the kitchen table. The umbrella stand by the door had toppled over, probably from when he had hurriedly yanked his jacket off the coat rack right next to it. Sakura politely stepped out of her shoes and nudged them to the side before she stepped onto the wood floor. It was cool and smooth underneath her toes.
"My mom would haunt me in my nightmares if she knew I made you sleep on the couch. Take the bed. I was planning on studying all night anyway," Itachi sighed as he moved past her. She watched him disappear into one of the rooms- The last time she had been here she had only managed to hobble from the couch to the bathroom. The doors on either side of the one leading to the bathroom were a mystery to her. She waited until Itachi emerged from the door on the far left, a dark blue blanket held in his arms. He dropped it at the end of the sofa before he looked at her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked. Swallowing thickly, she slowly shuffled over to the coffee table to look over his notes and the stray handouts scattered around. It almost looked as if Itachi had dumped out the contents of his bag onto the surface.
"Do you have a big exam to study for?" she asked as she scanned the unfamiliar legal jargon written in big kanji characters. He let out a huge sigh that more than answered his question.
"If I'm being a bother, I can always go stay with a friend-" she nervously began, hugging her school uniform closer to her chest. This time, Itachi's sigh was close enough that it ruffled the loose wisps of her bun, tickling the back of her neck. He reached one arm around her to close the textbook and shove it to the side.
"You're not a bother. I sort of dragged you so it's you who has to put up with me for a bit, Sakura," Itachi corrected. Sakura looked over her shoulder to meet Itachi's crooked smile that immediately made blood rush to her cheeks. Sometimes it almost irritated her how perfect her boyfriend's smile was. Now was most certainly not one of those times. As if he could read her thoughts (because he was Uchiha Itachi and perfect like that), he dipped his head to press a soft kiss to her right cheek.
"Spoiling you is part of my job," he added with a little chuckle.
So, feeling slightly more embarrassed but a lot less worried, Sakura let Itachi give her a tour of his place. It turned out that the door to the left of the bathroom led to his bedroom. There was a small loft that she climbed up to and found a low bed along with simple black nightstands flanking either side of it. Underneath the loft sat a tall black dresser. The room was simple and organized, just like what she would have expected from Itachi. Realizing that she was staring at his bed for a little too long, Sakura cleared her throat and quickly dragged Itachi out of the room.
"And this is my office," he said, opening the door that sat to the right of the one leading to the bathroom. It was a rather narrow space, only made narrower by the fact that the two longest walls were completely hidden from view by the bookcases that extended from floor to ceiling. Each shelf was packed with different-colored tomes. Sakura's mouth opened in a soft 'o' of surprise as she ran her fingers along the spines, recognizing some titles and struggling to read others. Pushed up against the far wall, right under the only window in the room, sat a black desk with shining silver legs. Itachi's white laptop sat in the middle, surrounded by various papers and more textbooks along with an empty coffee mug.
"You know where the bathroom is and there's a washer and dryer right here just in case you need it," Itachi explained once they left the study, pointing to the small room just across the hall from his bedroom that she hadn't noticed before. Then they stood awkwardly in the hallway, neither really sure of what to do. It was Sakura who couldn't stand the tension so she faked a loud yawn.
"Um well I'm actually kind of sleepy so I think I'll try to get some rest," she said, knowing that her yawn had been horribly unconvincing. But Itachi just smiled. Sakura took her duffel bag from him and then began walking to the bedroom. Mid-step, she stopped and turned on her heel.
"Good night, Itachi-kun," Sakura squeaked out as she desperately tried not to sound too nervous. She failed miserably, of course, but Itachi, ever the gentleman, smoothed things over with a little chuckle.
"Good night, Sakura," he replied before she lost all nerve and practically ran into the bedroom.
Cheeks still blazing bright pink, Sakura dropped all her stuff on the floor and stood pulling on her hair. It hadn't quite hit her when she was still shell-shocked from the phone call, but she had agreed to stay in her boyfriend's home at least until Monday. He was a perfectly healthy young man and she was his perfectly healthy young girlfriend who was having trouble keeping images of his smirking mouth and dark eyes out of her mind. She gave herself a solid minute to silently berate herself and freak out before she slapped her palms to her cheeks and opened up her bag to pull out her pajamas. At least some part of her hadn't been completely clueless when she had been packing. She had brought along white and pink striped pants that fell to her knees along with a loose white t-shirt that had a picture of a big bumblebee on it. There was nothing suggestive or lewd about it.
Absolutely nothing.
When Sakura came out of his bedroom changed into her pajamas, Itachi quickly turned away to pretend to be busy tidying up the living room. The shirt was at least two sizes too big for her. And the light gold sheen she had picked up at the Uchiha family's beach house during Golden Week hadn't quite faded. It took a lot of will power to stop himself from doing whatever his body had instinctively wanted to do. Itachi made a mental note not to mock Deidara ever again for being a pervert.
Sakura was obviously still uncomfortable, only flashing a brief smile at him before ducking into the bathroom where he could hear the sink running. Though he had considered having her stay at his parents' house, he knew that his Uncle Madara, his father's older brother, was staying there for the month and that Madara's love of pretty girls wasn't something he was leaving his girlfriend even remotely close to. While her friend Hinata's house didn't sound too unsafe, she still doubted that a timid girl Sakura's age would be able to offer much protection either. Despite this, despite all the logical reasons he tried to tell himself, Itachi put his face in his hands, suddenly feeling like the biggest creep in the world.
When Sakura came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Itachi was on the sofa, pretending to be engrossed in taking notes from his book. Her footsteps were soft, almost cautious and he heard the click of a lock when she closed the door behind her. He was somewhat relieved that she was smart enough to remember that he was a man.
He forced himself to focus on his work and before he realized it, it was morning and a pleasant smell was tickling the inside of his nose.
Sakura woke at around 7. It was ridiculous. She had lain awake in Itachi's surprisingly comfortable bed until at least 1 am, so nervous and excited that her racing mind had refused to let her rest. The comforter was dark blue and smelled just like him, always reminding her that this was the place where her boyfriend laid at night to sleep.
But her eyes had stubbornly snapped open at 7 am. There wasn't any noise to blame. It was just time for her body to apparently wake. So she sat up in bed, staring at the perfectly white ceiling for a while until she realized that she needed to pee. She climbed down from the loft and slipped out into the rest of the apartment. The smell of coffee was still heavy in the air and she spotted that the milk had been left out on the counter. When she peered around the corner into the living room, Sakura found Itachi sprawled out on the couch, his glasses still on.
So after she went to the bathroom and washed up, she tip-toed to the living room. She cringed the whole way there, hoping that none of the floorboards would creak. Thankfully, she made it all the way to the couch without waking him. With careful fingers, she plucked his glasses from his face and then picked up the blanket that had fallen to the floor. After settling the thick blanket over him, Sakura left his glasses on the coffee table on top of his books.
Instead of leaving him to rest like she had planned to, Sakura found herself sitting on the armrest She put her elbows on her knees, hunching over to watch him sleep. The soft pattern of his deep breaths and gentle rise and fall of his chest were all strangely comforting. Holding her breath, she found the courage to run her pointer finger along his left cheek. His brow furrowed for a moment before his expression evened out again. Giggling a little to herself, she did it again and this time he let out an exasperated huff.
"Sasuke, I'm too tired to play with you. Go bother mom," he groaned, reaching up and putting his hand on the back of her head. Sakura let out a squeal when he suddenly pulled her down, squishing her against his chest. The noises made Itachi's eyes snap open, darting around until they landed on the splash of pink cradled against him. And Sakura looked up at him with wide eyes as she tried to struggle free from his grasp.
"Um… uh…. Good morning?" Sakura squeaked out, her cheeks slowly turning bright red.
"….Good morning," Itachi replied and she watched a soft pink color creep up on his face too.
Her legs were pinned beneath him, twisted up awkwardly in between his. His left hand was tangled in her hair, the right wrapped around her waist. A nervous giggle left her as she realized that Itachi was probably just as shocked as she was.
"I'm sorry. I was having a nightmare that Sasuke wouldn't stop bothering me," he explained and Sakura tried not to feel too bad that it was partly her fault.
"That's alright but… uh…. Can I get up?" Sakura requested, turning a fresh shade of pink. After some struggling and extra blushing, they managed to untangle their limbs. Sakura stood, half-afraid that she might seriously decide to lie right back down because her position, though embarrassing and awkward, had been supremely comfortable.
"Are you hungry?" Itachi quickly asked, trying to divert their attention to a less traumatic topic as he sat up. Sakura scowled as she shoved him back down by the shoulders. Itachi's eyes widened as he stared up at her. And then, embarrassed by how bold she had been, she quickly pulled her hands away.
"The coffee pot's still hot. When did you go to sleep?" Sakura demanded. Itachi let out a soft groan as he rubbed his eyes. He lifted his left arm to check his wristwatch.
"About… half an hour ago?" he sighed, letting his arm flop down.
"Oh gosh. I'm so sorry for waking you. I'll get out your way," Sakura gasped. But Itachi's fingers grabbed the edge of her loose t-shirt.
"No. Wait. I promised that today's the day we'd go on a date," Itachi grunted as he sat up again. Sakura put her hands on her hips.
"You're going to sleep. We can go on a date after," she firmly said as a frown pulled at her mouth. He looked ready to argue but then he eyed the enormous stack of books piled by him and he decided that sleeping might be the best way to preserve sanity. So, she watched him lie back down before she decided that it was a good time to take a shower. But when she was done with her shower, she decided to kill extra time by using all the skin products Deidara had practically shoved down her throat. Though he had listed off what order to use them in and what each little bottle did, she decided to go from the products that were lightest to the heaviest cream that smelled a little like roses since she hadn't really listened to his long-winded speech anyway. She dried her hair with a towel and sat on the edge of the bed to stretch her arms and legs out.
After she dug in her duffel bag, she managed to find a light yellow sundress made from soft tiered fabric. It had been one of the gifts from Sasori after the fashion show that she had never had a chance to wear before. Since the back dipped a little too low for her liking, she put on a plain white t-shirt before pulling the dress over her head. After twirling around in front of the mirror a few times, Sakura decided that she looked pretty good.
Her eyes drifted to the digital clock sitting on Itachi's nightstand. A sigh escaped her mouth when she realized that it was barely past 8 am. She glanced around the room until her eyes landed on her school bag sitting innocently on the floor. Although it wasn't the most appealing option, she did have a fair amount of work and she also had some paperwork for the student council that she had brought with her over the weekend. Though it was still a few months off, the budget requests for the school cultural festival in October needed to be submitted and approved by the end of next week. So she gathered all her papers into her arms and tip-toed out to the round kitchen table.
Sakura helped herself to a cup of still-warm coffee with plenty of milk and sugar before she set to work. Though towards the beginning of the previous year, Neji had pushed off a lot of his paperwork to her, he had kept the particularly hard tasks for himself. The budget for the cultural festival must have been one of those difficult things. It took careful calculation to figure out about how much each class would need without wasting the school's money. Ideally, each class would make back their budget money with some income, but she knew that the lazier classes generally ended up having little to no profit. If she gave too little money, all the classes would struggle to get their projects done. Too much would result in the school board rejecting the proposal. By the time she had finished off most of her math homework, scratched out a rough number to type up in a report later and signed off a few more requests, she was so engrossed in her work that she barely heard one of the cabinet doors creak open.
Her head snapped around just in time to see Itachi yawning as he reached for a mug. Rubbing the back of his neck, he set the mug down on the counter and filled it with mostly cooled coffee.
"Milk's back in the refrigerator. I thought it might spoil," she said as she propped her chin up in her hand. This time, he yawned so hard that she heard his jaw crack. He yanked the refrigerator door open and poured milk into his mug before he stuck the carton back inside and closed the door with his foot. Slowly clicking a spoon around in the cold mixture, Itachi settled in the chair to her left.
"What time is it?" he asked in a voice still scratchy with sleep.
"Um, 10:40," Sakura replied as she peeked at the clock hanging over the sink before she went back to sorting and clipping papers together. She started when Itachi suddenly slumped over, letting his head fall on her shoulder.
"If you're still tired, you should get some more sleep," she softly said as she finished stacking everything in one neat pile. Itachi shook his head as he straightened, cracking his shoulders in the process.
"I'll be ready by 11. Do you mind if I reclaim my room for a little bit?" Itachi said as he got out of his chair. When Sakura shook her head, he paused to peck her on the cheek before he stood and headed off to the bathroom. Sakura kept her eyes firmly glued to the table when she heard the bathroom door open about 10 minutes later. She could feel the steam radiating from the room and she didn't have confidence in her ability not to ogle Itachi if he happened to just be in his towel. It was only when the bedroom door quietly closed that she thought it safe to look around again.
"Have you eaten anything yet?" Itachi asked a few minutes later. Sakura stretched her arms high over her head as she twisted around toward his voice. His hair had grown back out surprisingly quickly since his last haircut. She watched him tie it back in its usual ponytail as he walked towards her. She pointed at the empty mug sitting next to her hand.
"I stole some coffee but that's it," Sakura admitted just as her stomach let out a little gurgle.
"Brunch it is," Itachi chuckled as he grabbed his keys off the counter. Sakura stood up too, slinging a little black cross-body bag across her chest that contained her phone and whatever else she had managed to wedge into the tiny inside.
Itachi led them to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant that had just opened up close to Konoha University's campus. Since it was early, the restaurant was still relatively quiet and service was quick. They sat by big glass windows, sharing spicy tuna rolls wrapped in mango and watching people walk past. They tried all kinds of different rolls, some less tasty than others but just as fun to eat. Itachi's foot nudged hers under the table as the waiter brought out another platter of colorful sushi. As Sakura lifted a roll to her lips, she felt Itachi's foot tap hers again and she blinked questioningly at him. She looked from him to her chopsticks before she smiled and popped the sushi into his mouth.
When they were stuffed and the waiter dropped off the check, Itachi slid the little leather booklet towards him before Sakura could reach.
"I'm older than you and I have a job," Itachi said before she could even open her mouth to protest. She scowled at him all the while he counted out bills. When he pulled out extra money to leave as a tip, Sakura whipped out the crisp bills she had secretly been counting out under the table and slapped them down in front of him. Itachi tried his best not to smile at her determined expression as he put the rest of his money back into his wallet.
"Where are we going now?" inquired Sakura as they walked out of the restaurant. She slipped her hand into Itachi's as they began traveling down the sidewalk.
"There's a free concert I thought you might like," Itachi replied. The long walk to the park across the street from his apartment was pleasant. It was one of the rare sunny and perfectly cloudless days that Sakura absolutely adored. She hummed happily as they walked into the park where a stage had been set up under the shade of two large ginkgo trees. There were already some people milling around as the musicians did final sound checks. Sakura and Itachi joined the spectators, their fingers interlocked so they wouldn't get separated in the chattering throng.
When the music started up, an infectious electronic beat pounded out from the speakers. Even if the group was completely new and nobody knew the words to their songs, the tune was catchy enough that almost everybody in the crowd was waving their arms around or jumping up and down. By the second song, Sakura was bobbing her head along, lost in the beat. Her eyes popped open when Itachi tugged on her hand and spun her around in a circle. A laugh left her mouth that was drowned out in the song as they began dancing, not caring about the few stares directed at them. By the end of the hour-long concert, everyone around them was dancing too with their heads thrown back and smiles spreading their mouths. Even though several people cheered for an encore, the musicians bowed modestly and began packing up their sound equipment. Eyes still sparkling with excitement, Sakura followed Itachi as he travelled down the stone path leading out of the park.
"I'm guessing you had fun," Itachi said with a smile when Sakura skipped happily alongside him.
"I've never been to a live concert before. You're the best," Sakura sang as they stood at a crosswalk, waiting for the little white man to light up so they could proceed. And as they waited, Sakura rose on her tiptoes to kiss Itachi. His eyes widened.
"Thank you. I had a lot of fun," Sakura said as a faint blush bloomed on her cheeks. Her smile faded when Itachi's eyebrow rose.
"You've been getting rather bold lately, Sakura," he remarked as he slid his arm around her waist. Her face immediately turned bright pink as she tried to look away from him and feign ignorance. But he let the teasing drop at that when the light changed and they crossed the busy avenue. As Itachi's apartment building came into view, Sakura glanced down at her cell phone.
"It's barely 6 but I'm starving," Sakura sighed as she patted her stomach. It growled pathetically in response.
"I'm in the mood for curry. What about you, Itachi-kun?" she suddenly declared.
"Curry?" Itachi slowly repeated as he tried to remember what nearby restaurants served curry. But Sakura was the one leading them now with big, confident steps. Itachi went along with her, unsure of just where she was planning to go until she stopped in front of a local supermarket. She snatched up a plastic red basket from the stack by the door and headed inside. Itachi followed after, unable to really process what was going on until Sakura looked over her shoulder at him.
"Do you have rice?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Good," Sakura responded before she skipped off to the produce section. Letting out a heavy sigh, Itachi caught up to her and plucked the basket from her hand. She was so engrossed in picking out the perfect potato that she barely protested. Years of practically living alone had graced Sakura with the incredible power to pick out some of the best vegetables while shopping. A perfectly round onion, a handful of fingerling potatoes, a bunch of carrots, and another bunch of green beans all went into the basket.
"Is there… going to be any meat?" Itachi slowly asked when Sakura began picking out crisp pea pods out of the giant display.
"Why? Do you hate peas?" Sakura demanded, her eyes suddenly going wide with panic. Had she unknowingly picked out all the vegetables that Itachi hated with a burning passion? But he was smiling, not frowning with immense hatred for the produce in their basket.
"No. I was just curious about whether you were planning to use beef or chicken," Itachi assured her. Her forehead smoothed out as she glanced around the rest of the produce section.
"Hmm… today's a chicken day, I think," Sakura said mostly to herself as she nodded a little. After she had picked out a bag of perfectly green peas and some peaches that smelled too good not to buy, they headed off to the meat section. Sakura stood poking and prodding at the plastic-covered chicken breasts, her forehead puckering whenever she found something dissatisfying.
"You're like a picky housewife," Itachi chuckled when Sakura finally chose a package of chicken and placed it in the basket. Sakura shrugged, completely unoffended.
"I need to take care of myself. That includes what's going into my body," she replied distractedly as her eyes roved around for whatever other ingredients she might need. A box of curry mix and a quart of strawberry ice cream were added to their haul before they headed to the cash register. When Itachi reached into his back pocket, Sakura knocked her hip into his to push him out of the way and pulled out her small silver wallet.
"I'm the one cooking and you paid for lunch," she argued without looking at him. So, laughing a little, Itachi obliged and settled for punishing her by not letting her carry either of the two plastic bags filled with their groceries.
Dinner was warm chicken curry that was just spicy enough to make them drink a ton of water. They laughed at each other when tears sprang up in their eyes from the heat. Mouths still burning, Itachi did the dishes while Sakura dried and stacked them in the cabinets. And then they cooled down their tongues with plenty of sweet ice cream. As Sakura brought another monstrous spoonful to her lips, her cell phone buzzed from inside her bag. She immediately recognized the tone set for text messages and crossed the room to check who it was from.
Working on a new piece. Need your advice. Free tomorrow?
-Konan
Sakura stared at the message for a solid minute before she typed back a quick reply.
"What's wrong? Did Kisame finally kill Deidara?" Itachi asked when she tossed her phone aside and settled back down at the kitchen table. Her nose wrinkled as she shook her head.
"Konan-san wants me to give her some advice on a new sculpture. I think I'll probably go see her around 10 tomorrow morning," Sakura explained before she chomped down on some more ice cream. Her eyes wandered over to Itachi while she chewed.
"Deidara-san and Konan-san haven't talked since then… right?" she slowly inquired as she remembered Deidara's stiff expression of simultaneous horror and disgust every time he even saw Konan in passing. It was a little sad. Sakura loved Konan's cool composure and her confidence. But she also loved Deidara and hated seeing him hurt. She sighed as she propped her chin up in her hand.
"I think he's too proud. Deidara doesn't like letting girls see him cry. I think Konan-senpai might have been the only girl to see him cry besides you, Sakura," Itachi told her. Sakura cringed as she imagined how much it must have hurt Deidara the previous year when Konan had come to dance practice every Saturday for at least a month.
"Let's watch a movie," Itachi suggested.
"What?" Sakura said, startled by the sudden change in topic. He stood, making the legs of his chair scrape back across the floor.
"I rented a couple DVDs last month. I think they're still around," Itachi said as he moved past the table to check the living room. And then Sakura realized that he was trying to distract her. But she decided that being distracted might be the best option in this situation. She picked up the ice cream and walked over to the TV where Itachi pulled out a couple plastic cases for her to choose from. After some deliberation, Sakura picked out the psychological thriller with the rather disturbing picture of an eyeball on the cover.
"I'll be right back," Sakura declared, springing to her feet. By the time she had washed and quartered the peaches, Itachi had popped the DVD into the player and was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa. His legs were stretched out under the coffee table as he watched her place the fruit in front of him. Sakura turned off the lights before she settled on the floor next to him. Itachi hit the play button and the opening credits began rolling across the flat screen TV. He yanked the blanket off of the sofa and draped it across their legs. They munched anxiously on the peaches while they watched the female protagonist bumble along in the dark woods all alone. When a ghost with long black hair and a white dress popped up, Sakura squeaked and shrank against Itachi's side. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. By the time the main character had escaped the deadly clutches of the vengeful ghost, they had eaten everything and Itachi was trying his best not to laugh as Sakura, hugging a throw pillow to her chest, watched the TV with wide eyes.
"I knew it! I knew the ghost was her sister!" Sakura exclaimed triumphantly as the ending credits began rising up the blackened screen. She snuggled against Itachi's chest. The soft fabric of his shirt smelled like laundry soap and a little bit like the curry they had eaten for dinner. As she tilted her head back to look up at him, she realized just how sharp and perfect the line of his jaw was. Smiling, she stretched to kiss him just below his ear, just to see how he would react.
"You know… I wasn't joking. You've really gotten bold lately," Itachi observed in a low voice that immediately made her regret her actions just a little. She had learned to read the intention in his eyes whenever his voice got like that. In a tangle of flailing limbs and blanket, Sakura found herself flat on her back. With the glowing light from the TV falling over the side of his face, Itachi hovered over her, one handed planted on either side of her head.
"I hope you know I didn't bring you here just to do this," he joked after a moment. Sakura's smile faded.
"I know," she softly replied, reaching up to lightly touch his cheek. And she had a sudden thought as she looked up into his face. Her chest tightened as her eyes traced over the soft smile curving his mouth.
"I think I love you," Sakura whispered without fully realizing that the words had escaped her. Before she had time to process what she had just done, Itachi lowered himself to his elbows to kiss her.
"Good. Because I love you," he murmured against the corner of her mouth. The tickle of his lips on her cheek and then on her jaw made her giggle a little. She squirmed when he suddenly nipped at the tender skin over her pulse. Her fingers curled and uncurled as his lips traveled lower and lower, stopping just where the collar of her t-shirt started.
"Is it still there?" Itachi asked as he rolled up her left sleeve. The hickey on her shoulder had faded away, leaving smooth, unblemished skin.
"Are you trying to give Deidara-san an aneurysm?" Sakura grumbled. In response, Itachi rolled her sleeve back down and gave her another kiss. The soft glide of his tongue over her bottom lip was always unexpected. He had told her once not to keep her mouth closed when they kissed like this. Her breath came in soft gasps when he dragged his tongue along hers. His fingers trailed down her sides in feather-light touches until they rested on the small of her back. Sakura shivered when Itachi pulled at her shirt to press an open-mouthed kiss between her collar bones.
"What brought along the sudden confession?" Itachi inquired after he moved up to kiss her lips one last time. He lay down on his side next to her. Sakura blinked a few times as she tried to remember how to form words.
"Well… I just…. I don't really know. I'm just always really happy when I'm with you and I don't know if this is annoying but I always want to be near you. And I like the way you smile and the way you drive and the way you look when you're sleeping," she admitted. His eyebrow rose.
"When I'm sleeping?" he repeated.
"Well, I feel like every time I've seen you sleep, you've had glasses on. I think they make you look cool," Sakura corrected herself. When she began to realize just how strange that sounded, she ducked her head under her arm to hide her face.
"You make me worry sometimes, Sakura," Itachi sighed, reaching out to brush her hair out of her face. She peered at him over her arm with questioning eyes.
"You might be getting a little too cute. What'll I do if someone tries to steal you away?"
Sakura made a face.
"You mean someone like Sasori-san?" she replied, wrinkling her nose. They stared at each other before they laughed a little at the absurdity of it all.
"A café in Fiji," Sakura giggled as she recalled the conversation from earlier in the week.
"But seriously, you've been getting prettier and prettier. What should I do with you?" Itachi murmured against her ear, interrupting her laughter. She tensed up, wondering whether she would have time to escape before she ended up stuttering out something stupid and embarrassing again. He felt her shoulders stiffen and let his hand drop from her cheek.
"Sakura…are you feeling pressured by any chance?" Itachi asked as she sat up.
"Pressured?"
"Pressured to get intimate," Itachi clarified and she promptly turned the color of a steamed lobster. She shook her head frantically until her hair whipped around her face. Her reaction evoked a little chuckle from Itachi as he put his arms around her waist, pulling her back down to the floor. When she was curled up against his chest, eyes wide as she stared up at him, Itachi lightly hit his forehead against hers.
"We'll go at your pace, silly. So don't worry," he assured her with a warm smile that made her insides feel goopy and useless. She couldn't find the rights words to say to him. Even though she was so incredibly happy, tears pricked up at the corners of her eyes. She pressed her cheek to his chest as she cried just a little bit.
"You're perfect," she sniffed. This time, his laugh sounded a little less happy.
"I'm really not. But thank you," Itachi replied as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
Even though it was late and she had enough energy to get to the bedroom, Sakura decided that she was comfortable right there. Sighing deeply, she let the rest of her tears soak into her sleeve and let herself drift into easy and comfortable dreams.
Sakura woke bright and early the next day. She was still curled up in the warmth of Itachi's arms on the living room floor. The TV was still on and the buzz of her cell phone right next to her head, she realized, was what had woken her in the first place. Squinting against the sunlight streaming in through the window, she groped for her phone and held it up to her face. The alarm blinked back the '9:00' at her in bright green numbers. So despite the fact that she could have slept there forever, she reluctantly wiggled free from Itachi's embrace and went to take a shower.
The weather was just as nice as it had been the day before. Humming softly to herself, Sakura changed into a long white t-shirt over black leggings. She pulled back her damp hair into a ponytail before she slipped on a pair of bright yellow converse and quietly left the apartment.
Today was going to a wonderful day.
When Sakura finally left the apartment, Itachi's eyes snapped open. He rubbed his face roughly as he tried to erase the feeling of her soft body pressed against his. Though at first it had just been a little snuggling session, she had gone and fallen asleep right there. It wouldn't have been so bad had she not been sighing in her sleep and making the most tempting faces that Itachi had ever seen. The entire night, he had lain there, going over legal jargon in his head and refusing to acknowledge the sensation of her breasts against his arm.
"I'm going to become Buddha at this rate," he groaned as he pulled the blanket over his head and rolled onto his back.
Itachi was going back to bed.
By now, the train ride to Konoha University was a familiar route. Though she wasn't exactly familiar with Itachi's neighborhood, she did have a basic grasp of where the nearest train station was. Sakura admired the lush greenery of the trees and blooming flowers during the 5-minute walk to the station. But just as she recognized the stairs leading down to the underground, someone called her name.
"Oi! Sakura-chan!"
Sakura turned to see a familiar splash of gold waving madly at her. She waited as Naruto came running up to her with Sasuke following at a more dignified pace. Both were in Konoha High's navy blue track suits. Naruto's jacket was zipped up all the way to his chin while Sasuke left his unzipped to reveal the white t-shirt underneath. Sakura waved just before Naruto engulfed her in one of his bear-like hugs.
"Morning. What are you doing here?" Sasuke grunted as he nodded in greeting. He grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket to pry him off of Sakura.
"I'm going to meet a friend. What about you guys?" Sakura said. Naruto proudly tugged at the strap of his duffel bag slung across his chest.
"We're off to basketball practice. We're going to destroy Oto High this year," Naruto cheered.
"Which way are you headed?" Sasuke asked.
"Oh. I'm not taking the train. I'm going to KU," Sakura admitted as she pointed directly across the street from the stairs where the sprawling lawns of the university started.
"Okay then. Let's hang out sometime, Sakura-chan! See you tomorrow!" Naruto called even as he began running down the stairs. Sasuke patted her arm before he followed Naruto, muttering something about blonde idiots.
KU's campus was mostly empty so early on a Sunday morning. When Sakura reached the building where most of the art studios were located, she found a group of students huddled around the entrance holding cups of coffee. Some of them looked and smelled like they hadn't bathed in quite a while. She quietly excused herself before she slipped inside and headed up to the third floor where Konan's preferred studio was.
"Hi, Konan-san," Sakura chirruped as she stuck her head into the room. The smell of clay and oil paints assaulted her nose as she stepped inside. Konan was standing next to an enormous block of marble with a chisel in one hand and a hammer in the other. The rough shape of a head and arms were already visible in the swirling stone. Konan looked at Sakura in greeting before her eyes focused back on her work. Unlike her fellow students, Konan didn't look remotely homeless. She was effortlessly stylish as usual in a loose white blouse and khaki shorts. Her wavy indigo hair was pulled back into a messy bun held in place by a paintbrush.
"I'm supposed to make a piece about the human body in motion. I'm going to need you to do a couple of poses for me," Konan explained as she placed her chisel on the front of the marble and then smashed down on it, breaking off a chunk of rock. So Sakura obliged, doing a couple of basic poses that she remembered from her childhood.
"You're pretty good. Did you do ballet as a kid?" Konan commented as she hacked off another piece of stone.
"Until middle school. I did modern dance until the 7th grade," Sakura replied. She watched Konan chip away a few more details.
"I think that's good. Thanks, Sakura. You're welcome to stay and watch," Konan said. So Sakura perched herself on one of the stools scattered around the room and watched Konan at work. It took strength, Sakura knew, to manage to break marble like that. But it also took delicate hands to get just the right amount without ruining the piece. The steady clang of Konan chipping away at the block sounded almost like music. After a while, Sakura remembered the conversation she had had with Itachi the night before.
"Konan-san?"
"That sounds too formal. Call me senpai," Konan sighed as she took a step back from her work. She brushed the dust off her clothes and hair.
"Konan-senpai, can I ask you something personal?" Sakura queried. Konan's eyebrows arched but she didn't look annoyed. Her tongue darted out to touch the piercing in her lower lip. She looked at Sakura expectantly with her hands on her hips.
"Well, I already heard Deidara-san's side of the story. But I just wanted to know…. Can you tell me what really happened between you two?" asked Sakura, her voice growing smaller and smaller as she lost confidence in her words. Maybe that was too personal. Maybe Konan would get mad and tell her not to come around anymore. Instead, Konan tilted her head to the side, like she was thinking.
"I suppose I could. I should take a break anyway," Konan responded after a minute. She put her tools down before she leaned against the slab of marble.
"I guess I'll start from the beginning. Nagato and I grew up in the same orphanage. I never had parents but his threw him away when he was 7. We became really good friends, always hanging out together. Eventually we got taken in by this foster parent who was really good to us until we graduated high school and had to live on our own," Konan began in a soft voice. Sakura's eyes widened. She had never imagined cool, beautiful Konan to be someone who grew up in an orphanage.
"I don't know. It just sort of happened. By middle school, we were dating and I just thought it was the most natural thing in the world. I knew that I would be together with Nagato until one of us died. But I started to resent him a little. I wondered if there was someone else I could be with. I began to think that maybe Nagato had tricked me or trapped me. And that's when I met Deidara." Sakura's throat closed up. She knew this part of the story well.
"He was so earnestly in love with me. It was flattering and a little cute. I was selfish and I was bored. So decided to play with this little freshman." They were cutting words. And they definitely left Konan's mouth in a sneer. But there was something so profoundly sad about the way her eyes were far away.
"I didn't think I would end up actually liking him. Deidara was a sweet little boy. He tried really hard to make me happy. He was different from Nagato. He paid a lot of attention to me. I took advantage of that because it felt nice to be important." As she spoke, Konan picked up her chisel and hammer again. The metallic tapping started up again as she continued smoothing out the features on the statue's face.
"So you… you slept with him?" Sakura interrupted in a trembling voice.
"I did. Because it was what Deidara wanted. But I didn't tell anyone. He must have been telling one of his friends because Nagato found out about it," Konan said without stopping her work. At this, Sakura frowned. Deidara had made it sound like he had been a victim and Konan had been the one to tell Nagato what had happened.
"Nagato's fiercely jealous. If I had told him that I was serious about Deidara, he would have killed him. So I said Deidara was a fling. That he didn't matter to me. Deidara hasn't spoken to me since," Konan finished as she cut out a left eye for the woman encased in the marble. She looked up when she heard Sakura let out a little huff. With unshed tears glistening in her eyes, Sakura stood, knocking the stool to the ground. She grabbed Konan's arm so tightly that Konan actually winced.
"If you don't tell him, how will he know?" Sakura practically yelled. Konan's eyes widened.
"What?"
"You're both stupid! You won't talk to each other and you just keep hurting each other!" Sakura snapped as she dragged Konan out of the studio. Konan had to run to keep up with Sakura's angry strides. When they left the art building, Sakura began dragging them in the direction of the apartment that Deidara and Sasori shared at the west end of the campus. She remembered Sasori mentioning that their status as special students meant that the university gave them free housing near one of the libraries. So Sakura headed in the direction of the library. By some miracle, there were signs directing her that read 'Special Housing'.
"Wait, where are you taking me, Sakura?" Konan demanded. Sakura ignored her as she grabbed her phone with her free hand and dialed Deidara's number.
"What room number are you?" she asked as soon as he picked up.
"Uh, My-chan? What's wrong?" Deidara grunted in a voice still thick with sleep.
"Room number!" she yelled and she could hear him fall off his bed with a heavy thud.
"Geez, My-chan. It's 312, yeah. Calm down," he grumbled. Sakura ended the call and began storming up the stairs with Konan still in tow. When she got to the third floor, she saw one of the doors creaking open. A head of long blonde hair peered out, looking sleepily from the left and right before retracting back inside. Sakura practically ran down the corridor, rapping on the door so loudly that it echoed through the hall.
"What the HELL?" Deidara roared as the door opened again. He froze when he saw who it was.
"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Sasori yawned as his face appeared under Deidara's arm. Sakura promptly grabbed the collar of Sasori's shirt, yanking him out of the room. She then shoved Konan at Deidara.
"IF YOU DON'T TALK TO EACH OTHER, HOW WILL YOU UNDERSTAND? STOP BEING STUPID AND LISTEN TO EACH OTHER!" Sakura shouted before she slammed the door shut in their stunned faces. A few sleepy heads popped out of other doors to check what the commotion was. But Sakura barely noticed as she tried to even out her breathing. Sasori, who had fallen to the floor, was sitting right next to her feet. He was still in dark green pajama pants along with a black wifebeater. He had black moccasins on, the kind lined with fur that were meant to be worn indoors.
"Ah. I was wondering when this would happen," Sasori sighed as he put his arm around her knees and rested his head on her thigh. Sakura looked down at him, just then remembering that he was there at all.
"Help me up, Sakura-chan. I'm kind of hungry," Sasori said. So she reached down, letting him grasp both her hands to get to his feet. He slung his right arm over her shoulders as he led her down to the first floor. Back outside on the campus, Sakura sucked in one deep breath of fresh air and groaned.
"Sasori-san, did I just do something stupid?" she asked as he began leading them across campus.
"Yes. But it was also very smart. I'll swipe you in, okay?" Sasori replied as he took them inside a one-story white building with tall glass windows. She barely paid attention as he ushered her in through a door where a woman sat at a computer. Sasori dug a card out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"You're up early today. Your girlfriend?" the woman greeted them with a pleasant smile as she swiped the card twice and handed it back. Sasori put his hands on Sakura's shoulders.
"My prisoner," he simply said before he pushed her further into the building. Through a set of double doors lay the dining hall. It was mostly deserted save for a few people sitting alone, surrounded by empty cups and tons of books that had most likely been there since earlier in the morning. Sasori guided her toward a buffet filled with steaming trays of eggs and toast and crispy bacon. There was another buffet with fluffy white rice and traditional side dishes. While Sasori piled a dish with scrambled eggs and toast, Sakura filled a bowl with strawberries and apple slices that she filled with vanilla yogurt. They sat at one of the smaller round tables toward the back corner of the dining hall where they wouldn't be bothered.
Sakura shoveled her breakfast into her mouth, as if she was taking out her anger on the innocent fruits. Sasori got up for a minute and returned with two big mugs of coffee each doused liberally with hazelnut creamer and sugar.
"Did I wake you up?" Sakura asked as she watched Sasori take a long sip of coffee.
"I've been up since 7 working on some new designs for one of my classes. If you hadn't gotten me kicked out, I wouldn't have eaten until at least noon," Sasori responded before he took a huge bite out of his toast slathered generously with butter and grape jelly.
"So," Sasori began as he watched Sakura crunch on a particularly crisp piece of apple. She looked at him with her cheeks stuffed with fruit.
"What happened?" he prompted as he moved onto his second slice of toast. Sakura took a sip of her coffee, made a face, and added another packet of sugar.
"Well I asked Konan-senpai what happened and she told me and it didn't match up with Deidara-san's story. So I started getting really mad because if they had just clearly communicated in the first place, things wouldn't be so awkward between them," Sakura half-snarled around a mouthful of strawberry. Sasori just raised and lowered his eyebrows as he slowly chewed.
"I know. Both of them are too weird and stubborn to realize that without someone smashing their heads together. Good job," Sasori agreed. Sakura nodded grumpily, grudgingly accepting his praise. They ate the rest of their meal in peaceful quiet that only seemed possible when it was just the two of them. Sakura watched Sasori finish off another cup of coffee before he reached across the table and ruffled her hair.
"They'll break some shit, talk it out and be friends again. Don't worry too much. If you get wrinkles, Deidara will kill us both," Sasori said as he poked between her eyebrows to smooth out the furrow there.
"I think I'll probably head over to Kisame's to take a nap soon. What about you?" he asked after a while. Sakura licked her spoon clean of yogurt and then placed it in the empty bowl. She tapped her fingers against the tabletop before she shrugged.
"I don't know. I think I'll go sulk and be worried for a bit," Sakura sighed, rubbing her palm against her forehead. Sasori made a vague noise of approval in the back of his throat.
"Have fun with that. I'll let you know how it goes," he said as he watched Sakura get to her feet. She gave him a one-armed hug before she walked out of the building and half-ran all the way back to Itachi's apartment. She hurried up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on the door where she hoped Itachi would still be inside. It took a few moments but eventually Itachi opened the door and she practically flung herself into his arms.
"I'm stupid," she mumbled against his chest.
So he made her some tea, listened to her story and then decided that it was time for them to go to his parents' house.
Dinner was refreshing soba with a dessert of decadent three-layer cake with freshly whipped cream and thick slices of sweet strawberries. How Sakura had managed to get the contraption to stay in one piece was a mystery. Sakura sat on the sofa, listening as Sasuke and Itachi did the dishes. Mikoto settled next to her with a bright smile.
"What's wrong, honey? You seem down," Mikoto asked, putting her hand on Sakura's forehead.
"Um…. Well…. Fugaku-san…. You're a police officer, right?" Sakura began. Fugaku immediately turned away from the television just as Itachi and Sasuke walked into the living room to join them.
"What's wrong, Sakura? Did something happen?" Fugaku demanded. Itachi settled on the other side of Sakura while Sasuke sat next to his father. Sakura glanced nervously toward Itachi before she looked back at Fugaku. She tugged on the edge of Itachi's sleeve.
"Sakura's been getting these strange phone calls on her cell phone. When she answered it, someone that sounded like her father answered. Since then he's been trying to contact her at least twice a week. On Friday, he called her house phone so Sakura's been staying at my place for safety reasons," Itachi explained. Sasuke glowered.
"You sick, weak man," Sasuke growled, shaking his head. Mikoto patted Sakura's hand soothingly.
"But sweetheart, I thought your father passed away already," Mikoto said.
"Sounds like we might have a stalker. Good thinking moving Sakura to safety," Fugaku said with a stern nod. Sasuke's head whipped around to his father. Sakura took out her phone to show him the number on her missed calls list that had been plaguing her for weeks. Fugaku jotted the digits down on a stray scrap of paper that he then tucked into his pocket.
"I'll have the department look into this number as soon as possible. Sakura, you stay with Itachi for now," he said as Mikoto squeezed Sakura in a comforting hug that only mothers were able to give.
When Itachi drove them home with the usual stack of leftovers from Mikoto, Sakura felt a lot better.
"It must be nice to have a dad like that. Fugaku-san's so dependable," Sakura sighed. Itachi just smiled. Back at the apartment, they spoke a little as they put away the leftovers in the fridge. Since it was late and Sakura had school the next day, Sakura went to bed early, leaving Itachi to study quietly until he fell asleep on the sofa again. In the morning, she texted Kisame to let him know that she wouldn't be joining him for their morning run before she took a shower and whipped up a quick breakfast. By the time she was dressed in her uniform and fed, it was time for her to go to school. She stopped by the sofa where Itachi was sitting, a book still open in his lap.
"Itachi-kun," she whispered. He didn't respond so she lightly shook his shoulder. He let out a tired sigh to let her know that he was awake.
"I made breakfast so eat before your exam," Sakura said. He slowly reached up, stroke her hair once.
"Okay. Have a good day," he mumbled before his hand dropped back into his lap. Sakura kissed his cheek before she headed off to catch the train to school.
When Sakura walked past the familiar gates, someone grabbed her arm.
"Ow! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura complained as she whirled around to meet Sasuke's hard gaze. He yanked at the collar of her blouse and Sakura slapped his hands away.
"He didn't do anything to you?" Sasuke demanded as Sakura began striding up to the school.
"Who?"
"My brother," Sasuke ground out. Sakura abruptly stopped walking to turn and face him.
"Ugh. Don't be weird, Sasuke-kun. Nothing happened," she sighed before she caught sight of Moegi talking to her friends and called out to her. Before homeroom started, Sakura stopped by the student council office to type up the proposal for the autumn cultural festival. When she stopped by the staff room to drop it off, Sakura caught sight of Ino walking towards her.
"Hi, Ino-chan," Sakura greeted the girl. She hadn't seen much of Ino in the past months. Ino was in Sasuke's homeroom so they didn't have classes together anymore. The only reason Sakura ever really saw Sasuke was because he came to hide in their classroom during lunch and study period. Apparently he had met two new transfer students in his class who had immediately latched onto him as some sort of enthusiastic but highly unwanted friends.
("I can barely tolerate my own friends," Sasuke had grumbled to her.)
"Hey, Sakura. How've you been?" Ino slowly said. Sakura shrugged.
"Good, I guess. What about you?" she politely said in response. But before Ino could answer, Sasuke was stomping down the hall with his hands jammed deep into his pockets. There was a group of five girls (probably freshmen from their sparkling eyes and oblivious smiles) trailing after him. He made eye contact and then proceeded to speed walk all the way down the hall.
"Save me," Sasuke muttered as he grabbed onto Sakura's hand.
"Sorry, Ino-chan. Let's catch up later," Sakura called out before she was dragged to her homeroom by a very irritated Sasuke.
"New members of your fan club?" Sakura guessed as they ducked into the relatively safety of the classroom. There was an unspoken rule at Konoha High that the senior classrooms generally weren't to be entered by underclassmen unless there was an emergency. Sakura waved at Hinata and rolled her eyes at Sai and Naruto having an arm wrestling contest before she sat at her desk. Sasuke perched on top of her desk with his usual scowl turned up about a notch scarier than usual.
"I don't know. They've been following me all morning. It makes me want to kill myself…or them," Sasuke sighed sharply.
"You looked like a mother duck with ducklings trailing after you," Sakura snickered, earning a glare.
"Hey, you should settle down, asshole. Find a nice girlfriend. Worked out everything for me," Naruto called out. When he winked at Hinata, her cheeks bloomed a pretty shade of pink. Sai took advantage of this and proceeded to slam Naruto's hand down, winning their contest.
"Naruto, no one was chasing after you before you started dating Hinata-chan," Sakura pointed out. Naruto sputtered like he wanted to protest but couldn't find a real argument against her verbal jab.
"Well, Sasuke-kun, I'm sure they'll lose interest sooner or later. In the meantime, you should start hanging around Sai more. Sai's like the ultimate chick repellant," Sakura added with a thoughtful expression. Sasuke took a moment to frown at Sai who smiled pleasantly back.
"Sai's not that hideous," Sasuke admitted. Sakura arched an eyebrow at him.
"Hey, Sai-kun, what's your favorite pick-up line again?" Sakura called.
"Well, I'd have to say it's this one: Hello. You're attractive. May I kiss you and call you 'dear'?" Sai recited in his oddly stiff voice as if he were reading from a book. When Sakura turned back to Sasuke, she saw understanding shining in his dark eyes.
"Once he opens his mouth," Sakura clarified with a little nod. Despite his sulking, Sasuke went back to his own class just before the bell rang signaling the beginning of the day. The homeroom teacher started the day by handing out pieces of paper with the words 'Future Evaluation' printed out on top. A unanimous groan rose from the students.
"Now I realize that it seems early in the year, but your college entrance exams are coming up soon. I'm going to need you to fill these out and return them by Friday. Then we'll hold parent-teacher conferences to discuss your possible options," he announced over everyone's complaints. During a break between classes, Sakura turned around to see Naruto scrawling across his form in blue pen.
"Naruto, please don't tell me that you have 'Emperor of Japan' written as your first option," Sai said as he leaned over to read the sheet.
"Yeah. You're right, Sai. Maybe that'll be second. My first should be to own a ramen stand," Naruto agreed as he drew an arrow on his paper. Sakura looked over at Hinata.
"You need to teach him about priorities," Sakura sighed and Hinata nodded in response.
"What about you, Sai? What're your plans, man?" Naruto asked. Sai flashed one of his usual smiles.
"My dream is to see Naruto as not the emperor of Japan," he quickly replied.
Sakura and Hinata laughed as they watched Naruto launch himself out of his chair to attack Sai.
Reviews please! Let me know what you think is going to happen! Maybe I'll give out a prize to someone if they can guess.
I also wanted to add that I love reading about how much everyone loves Sasori. I love him too. He seems like the type of person, if he hadn't been a psychotic, murdering, puppeteer, to be so incredibly awkward and strange around anything living. I'd have to say that he's my favorite character to write in this story so far.