You thought it would be 2 am, right? Wrong! It's 3:30 am and I have so much coffee in my system that I might be worried about my cardiac health. As some may have seen on my tumblr, this fic is slated to end quite soon. So fear not, things will be resolved and I'm sure you've all figured out the real ending involving Sasori flying off into the sunset on a unicorn. I'll try to fall back on my old schedule of updating on Fridays from now on but I can't promise much.
Still, love to all you readers who have kept up with my irregular and weird writing up until now.
Enjoy!
Fancy Footwork
Chapter 19: Distance
"I think Sakura's trying to kill me, senpai."
Sasori blinked very slowly as he watched Itachi settle in the empty seat between him and Deidara. Kisame was nearby chatting with a group of his classmates who had happened to be at the same bar. Sasori stirred his appletini with his lollipop, earning an indignant stare from the bartender. Seemingly oblivious, Sasori stuck his candy in his mouth and then took a sip of his green drink. Deidara was busy finishing off his third Bahama Mama of the night despite Kisame's nagging that they were only having 'girly drinks'. Sasori pretended not to notice when Kisame ordered a Bahama Mama too and then proceeded to gulp them down for the rest of the night with gusto.
"Like standing over you with a knife? I thought that doesn't happen until you get married," Sasori remarked. Kisame, who had just wandered over to greet Itachi, let out a loud snort of laughter.
"Wait, I thought you were designated driver for tonight," Itachi said, pointing to Sasori's glass.
"We took a taxi here. I feel the need to get extremely drunk tonight and maybe hit Deidara a little more than usual," Sasori replied with a shrug. Itachi ordered a beer, and handed the bartender a tip before he ushered everyone to a more secluded table where they could talk without having to awkwardly crane over each other's shoulders.
"So why do you think Sakura-chan's trying to kill you?" Kisame demanded as they slid into a booth. Itachi immediately regretted being stuck between Kisame and Deidara since they had a habit of getting so drunk to the point that they would start apologizing to each other for constantly insulting one another with tears and some hugging. Sasori calmly sat to Deidara's left, continuing to stir his drink with his lollipop while the bartender continued to glare at him for abusing his delicious concoction.
"Maybe I've put her at too much ease. She's…changed," Itachi began with a heavy sigh. Deidara chuckled.
"Lacy underwear, yeah," Deidara whispered loudly to Kisame despite the fact that Itachi was sitting right next to him.
"No, you sick bastard. She's just….I don't know. It's the little things driving me insane," Itachi insisted, knocking his fist into the back of Deidara's hand.
"Does she squeeze from the top of the toothpaste/?" asked Kisame.
"Or does she talk in her sleep?" Sasori added.
"I bet she fries eggs sunnyside up instead of down," Deidara suggested with a lopsided grin.
"No, I wouldn't know, and yes but I like them sunnyside up," Itachi replied. Kisame frowned.
"Wait. You wouldn't know? Shit, Itachi, you're not that much of a heavy sleeper, are you?" he interrupted again. In response, Itachi slapped his hands down on the table, making everyone else jump a little.
"We. Haven't. Been. Doing. Anything. Like. That," Itachi ground out through clenched teeth. Sasori blinked.
"You wouldn't happen to be gay by any chance, would you? Because I wouldn't care if you were but I'd totally steal Sakura-chan away from you," Sasori responded with such a serious expression that Itachi got the feeling that he was only half-joking. Fortunately for Itachi, this strange exchange was interrupted by Kisame and Deidara throwing their arms over his shoulders and laughing at him.
"You poor little kid. All innocent and crap, are we? Don't worry, kid. Deidara and Kisame will teach you, yeah," Deidara snorted. To Itachi's right, Kisame belched and Itachi was almost grateful that the sweet pineapple-coconut smell masked the horrid stench of the burp.
"But what's My-chan been doing that's been killing you so much, hm?" the blonde asked as he finished off his drink and began picking apart the wedge of pineapple placed on the edge of his glass. At this, Itachi's shoulders slumped as he let his head fall into his hands.
"I don't know. She's been walking around in shorts with these big t-shirts," Itachi began by listing the first thing that came to mind. Kisame tilted his head to the side.
"Why would that bother you?" he demanded. Deidara and Sasori shook their heads at him.
"Clearly you don't understand the loli-type appeal My-chan still possesses. A big shirt makes her look cute and small while the shorts accentuate the slenderness of her legs. Don't you know anything, Eel-chan?" Deidara snorted while Sasori nodded over his shoulder like a dead-eyed bobble head. Kisame cringed.
"All three of you are pedophiles," he muttered.
"And I think she's changed her shampoo or body wash. She smells kind of like apples now. But it's all over EVERYTHING. Like her face towel and my shirt if she hugs me or the bathroom after she showers. I'm starting to smell it in my dreams…." Itachi broke off when Deidara began laughing again.
"Man, you're clueless," the blonde sighed, thumping his friend on the back. Sasori nodded again in agreement as he slipped out of the booth to order more drinks.
"What else?" Kisame urged. When Itachi was silent for a long time, Kisame and Deidara eyed each other with confusion.
"She's…. she's always touching me but not in a weird way," Itachi admitted. Deidara raised his eyebrows and Kisame raised his back.
"It'll be tiny things. Like we'll be on the sofa watching a movie and she'll just kind of put her hand on my thigh for a second when she gets up. Or we'll be washing dishes and she'll have to reach past me to get something- I sound crazy don't I?"
"You're in a relationship. You are crazy, moron," Kisame scoffed as Sasori returned with a round of fresh drinks. Everyone thanked him and clicked glasses together.
"I think it's crazy obvious what's going on here. Don't you think so?" Deidara declared while everyone else took a sip of his individual drink. Itachi just stared at him while Sasori shrugged a little and Kisame shook his head, guffawing.
"My-chan's trying to seduce you, Retard-kun," Deidara explained, watching with some satisfaction as Itachi nearly spit out his beer. Sasori thumped him on his back with such an uncaring look that it just appeared that he was hitting him for the fun of it. Kisame began choking loudly on a piece of ice and gesturing widely for help. But everyone just stared at him until the ice melted and Kisame was left looking supremely embarrassed.
"Have you ever considered who Sakura's closest older girl friend might be?" Sasori prompted while Itachi dabbed at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"…Konan-senpai," Itachi and Kisame sighed at the same time. It was no small secret (thanks to Deidara) that Konan and Pein enjoyed an array of piercings in strange places. As the realization sunk in, Itachi blanched and Kisame chugged down the rest of his drink like his life depended on it. Sasori simply raised an eyebrow as he bit down on his lollipop.
"It started off with the cartilage, yeah. Next thing you know, she'll have a nose ring and a tongue ring and a nipple ring…" Deidara mused.
"…Nipple….ring?" Itachi asked in a small voice. Kisame punched the back of Deidara's head and went back to looking mildly traumatized. The table fell oddly quiet in the rather busy bar. Itachi watched Deidara raise his eyebrows in silent communication to Sasori. Sasori blinked a couple times and then dipped his head in a small nod.
"Hey! Hey, you assholes, I was only joking, yeah," Deidara suddenly announced. Kisame lifted his head, revealing a single tear sliding down his cheek as he imagined his Kitten riddled with piercings. Itachi didn't react at all.
"My-chan's a good girl and she's smart. She won't do crap like that just because Konan does it. Man, you're so dumb-owowowowow!"
Itachi interrupted Deidara's speech by pinching Deidara's nose between his thumb and pointer finger and pulling as hard as he could. Only when his friend's nose had been rendered a pleasant shade of pink did Itachi release him.
"Don't talk ever again, Deidara," Itachi sighed before he looked over at Kisame. They sadly clinked their glasses together before they drank and ignored Deidara cackling proudly.
"I love screwing with them, yeah," Deidara jeered. Sasori took his now clean lollipop stick and dropped it into Deidara's drink, earning an indignant shout.
"You're a moron," Sasori remarked without remorse.
About a week before Itachi's birthday, Haruno Sakura found herself in a small boutique in Shibuya. The numbers on the price tags were so outrageous that she honestly considered leaving. But according to Konan (and according to her mother too) these were actually reasonable prices for such nice clothing. When Sakura had called to let her know that she would be using some money, Kirie had burst into excited squeals about how her daughter was growing up and finally realizing the importance of fashion (most likely in the middle of an important business meeting).
Sakura sighed heavily. It was like nobody wanted to save her from wasting money.
"Sakura, you're less like a teenage girl and more like a wilting housewife. Relax," Tenten remarked as she looked over her shoulder. Sakura stared at the black bleached skinny jeans in her hands and had to swallow to keep herself from drooling.
"Try these on. I've got another pile waiting for you. I asked Sasori for your measurements so these should fit," Konan ordered, dropping a mountain of clothing into Sakura's lap. Sakura craned her neck to peer over at Konan.
"You're….talking to Sasori-san?" Sakura asked.
"Well, I actually asked Deidara but Deidara directed me to Sasori," Konan amended.
"So you're friends with Dei-chan now?" inquired Sakura as she let Tenten pull her to her feet and push her in the direction of the dressing room. Konan looked confused.
"Well….not really. We're actually meaner to each other. He calls me names and I get to call him names too. It's almost like our relationship is worse than before," Konan admitted. Tenten laughed.
"That's called friendship, senpai. I call my friend Lee 'creeper' all the time," Tenten assured her before she shoved Sakura past the curtain and into the mirrored room.
Sakura wondered if it should bother her that Sasori still knew all her measurements off the top of his head. Her worries were brushed aside when she saw what her friends had picked out for her. When Tenten had declared that Sakura needed a wardrobe change, Sakura had half-expected to be drowned in slinky leopard-print dresses and low-cut shirts. Instead, her lap had disappeared under a pile of light cotton shirts and jackets that she would normally wear during dance practice. Shrugging, she dumped the pile on the floor and picked out a shirt and jeans at random. When she opened the curtain, Tenten promptly pounced, shaking her head furiously.
"Hold my phone, senpai. I need to educate this girl," Tenten sighed, shoving her cell phone into Konan's hands before she pushed Sakura back inside and yanked the curtains shut. Sakura stood in the corner with wide eyes as she watched Tenten paw through the mountain of clothing. She had never expected tomboy Tenten to be so rabid about fashion. As if reading her thoughts, Tenten looked up.
"Hey, I always wanted a little sister. Besides, I can't wear a lot of this stuff because of my wide shoulders," Tenten sulked a little. She then handed Sakura a sleeveless white hoodie. When Sakura began pulling it on over her shirt, Tenten groaned.
"No, dummy. Lose the shirt," Tenten ordered. Sakura blushed as she looked at the sides of the hoodie. The armholes were so low-cut that it would completely expose the sides of her bra.
"That's kind of the point. We're going for a sort of semi-revealing but athletic look. You've got to show off skin while acting like you didn't mean to," Tenten prompted. Even though she wasn't completely sure, Sakura trusted Tenten so she shed her shirt and pulled the hoodie on. What ensued was like a revolving door of trying on clothing. She would wear whatever Tenten handed to her, be shoved outside so Konan could approve, and then yanked back inside for another round of outfits. By the time they went through both mountains, Sakura felt in dire need of a nap. Out of all the things that had looked good, they had only chosen enough to fit into two bags so Sakura's wallet was a little grateful.
"Okay. Next is the sexy lingerie store," Tenten declared, grabbing onto Sakura's arm.
"Excuse me?" Sakura blurted out as she half-ran to keep up with her two friends' excited strides.
"This one is more Konan-senpai's department," Tenten admitted as they crossed a bustling street and stopped in front of a store. The black letters above the door were painted as if made of out fishnet and lace. Sakura read the word 'Temptation' and promptly turned on her heel to escape. Konan and Tenten hooked their arms through hers and dragged her inside the store anyway. The front displays were an array of garters and thongs that made Sakura blush furiously at the mere thought of just what wasn't being covered.
"Relax. I'm not trying to kill Itachi," Konan sighed when they reached the back of the store. Here the selections were much less traumatic. There were colorful boyshorts in an array of bright colors and cute patterns. Some of the bras on mannequins were in sweet shades of pastel with polka dots or patterns of seashells. Sakura stared at the sharp contrast between seductive fishnet and cutesy colors a few times before Konan noticed and smiled.
"An old mentor of mine opened up this store last year. The idea was to cater to both the sexy style and the innocent style that guys seem to like the most. Besides, I get to bribe him into giving me a good discount if I'm here," Konan said. As she spoke, a man with chin-length brown hair and a cocky grin came out of the door labeled 'Employees Only'. Held between his grinning teeth was a long toothpick that bounced in time with his words.
"Yo. Konan. Long time no see. You here for Nagato's birthday again?" he asked.
"That's not until September, senpai. I'm here for my friend here," Konan replied, gesturing to Sakura who waved shyly. The man eyed her carefully, rubbing his chin in that way that all of Sasori and Deidara's friends seemed to do whenever she was introduced to them. She wondered if it was a thing that all people involved in the fashion or beauty industry did. After a moment, he flashed another grin and patted the top of Sakura's head.
"She's a cute one. You need a job? I could use a model for my store's magazine for next month," he suggested. Without batting an eye, Konan karate-chopped the top of his head.
"She's 17, old fart. Besides, we're here to help her seduce her boyfriend," Konan interrupted.
"Boyfriend, eh? You look like the type with a pretty stylish boyfriend. Someone kind of adventurous and fun-loving," he commented, rubbing at his chin again.
"She's dating that Uchiha kid," Konan interrupted again. It seemed to take a moment for this to process. But when it did, the man threw his head back and roared with laughter. Somehow, the toothpick managed to stay perfectly safely in his mouth during this.
"You've got it tough then, kid. My name's Shiranui Genma. I used to be a guest lecturer at Konoha U," he finally introduced himself, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.
"This is Haruno Sakura and our friend Tenten," Konan responded for her.
"Alright, with that sullen Uchiha kid, we're going to need to stay far away from the exciting stuff then. Come with me," Genma chuckled as he led them to one of the displays.
In what was probably one of the oddest nights during her existence, Sakura allowed a strange man to pick out underwear and bras for her. And to her surprise, he was surprisingly cordial about it with a minimum of perverted jokes and remarks. She found out that Genma actually designed each of these pieces and had a couple other stores open throughout Japan. After she had paid (at an extremely discounted price thanks to Konan's judging glare directed at the unfortunate owner), Genma left the store to his employee and took them all out to dinner at a nearby yakiniku* restaurant. There, over a grill filled with delicious beef and pork, Genma regaled with tales of Konan's mishaps with people during her freshman year at college. People in general either seemed to interpret Konan's calm demeanor as apathy or irritation which led to a whole slew of interesting adventures.
Laughing and with bellies filled with delicious food, they parted ways outside the restaurant, unexpected friends. By the time Sakura made it back to Itachi's apartment, it was a little past midnight and she was beyond tired. She was certain if she could have, she would have fallen asleep standing up in the subway. She wasn't too surprised when she opened the door and found the place empty. Itachi had mentioned meeting up with the guys for a drink tonight and he had warned her not to be too worried if he ended up sleeping at Kisame's place.
Sakura barely had the energy left to slip off her shoes and brush her teeth. While she had planned to put away all her loot from the day's work, she gave up and left the shopping bags next to her duffel bags underneath the loft. She began changing into pajamas and changed her mind halfway. Her grey t-shirt came nearly to her knees and she could just pretend that it was a nightgown from the 60's or something. So, half-dressed, she crawled into bed and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Around 3 am, the door to the apartment opened and there were slurred voices trying to hush one another. After some laughing and snorting, shoes were discarded and there was some noise as hips knocked against tables and walls. Sakura, fortunately, was mostly dead from exhaustion and slept through the ruckus without a single care in the world.
Sunday morning was punctuated by Sakura shrieking and falling off the bed. The noise succeeded in doing a couple things.
First, Itachi, who was sprawled out on the sofa in the living room, blearily woke, noticed Deidara snoring on the floor and kicked him in the side to rouse him.
Second, Sasori, who had managed to fall asleep in the bathtub, jolted awake.
Third, Kisame, who had managed to climb up to the loft during the night and collapse on the bed, looked frantically from Sakura's bare legs to his body. To his relief, he was still wearing his shirt and jeans from the night before. This seemed to do little to comfort Sakura who promptly began trying to scramble down the ladder from the loft while Kisame tried to stop her from slipping and falling and dying.
The scene that Itachi and Deidara walked in on was pants-less Sakura trying to escape while Kisame held on to her arm. Itachi grabbed the nearest object (which just happened to be Sakura's shopping bag) and lobbed it at Kisame's head. And while it succeeded in making Kisame let go, what happened to spill out of the bag was an array of underwear and bras. Deidara rushed forward in time to catch Sakura before she lost her footing and slipped off the ladder.
So Sasori walked in on Deidara holding pants-less Sakura, Kisame sprawled over the bed with a lacy white bra draped over his head, and Itachi holding a pair of blue polka-dot underwear with a dumbstruck expression. Sasori looked over this scene for a moment before he closed the door.
"Sorry for intruding," he said through the door.
"EVERYONE PLEASE GET OUT!" Sakura yelled, making everyone flinch. Slowly, Deidara lowered her to her feet and slunk outside. As Kisame climbed down, Sakura snatched her bra off his head. When Itachi walked up to her, she yanked her underwear from his hands and proceeded to shove him out the door too. She stood in the middle of the room scattered with her underthings before she crawled back up to the loft and buried herself.
An hour later, Deidara carefully knocked on the door. Everyone else had made him go since Sakura was least likely to break his teeth for touching her undergarments or for making a stupid comment. It took a moment but the lock clicked and one of Sakura's acid green eyes glared out at him. The comforter from the bed was wrapped around her like an enormous blue cocoon.
"Um… My-chan… we made breakfast, yeah. You hungry?" Deidara hesitantly asked. Sakura looked ready to slam the door on his already suspiciously red nose. But she looked down at her stomach and then nodded before Deidara left her again. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and left the comforter wrapped around her before she shuffled out into the kitchen. Kisame was lying on the floor with a pair of sunglasses on, moaning about his head killing him. Sasori stood at the sink, leaning over with a faintly nauseated expression. Aside from their hair being a little messy, Deidara and Itachi simply looked tired.
Sakura glared at everything before she took the seat farthest away from everyone else. With a nervous grin, Deidara set down a plate with a cheesy omelet on it. Sakura's eyes followed him as he moved around getting a piece of toast and pouring a cup of coffee for her. Her eyebrows rose when he also proceeded to pour her orange juice, get jelly and butter for her and also begin adding milk and sugar to her coffee.
"Uh… so… eat up? You must be starving. What did you buy yesterday?" Deidara babbled as Sakura slowly picked up the toast and nibbled on the edge of it, forgoing all jelly and butter. Sakura calmly set the toast back down and then looked up, her gaze flickering from Itachi to Kisame.
"I don't know, Dei-chan. I'm sure you could tell me what I got yesterday," Sakura replied a little crisply. Deidara blanched, Kisame made a faint gurgling noise, and Sasori simply nodded sagely. Itachi looked like he wanted to sink into the ground and die.
"Uh…well… any big plans for today then?" Deidara tried again. Sakura crammed the toast into her mouth and gulped down the entire mug of coffee in one go.
"Yes," she simply said as she stood and strode off to the bedroom. There, she found that she didn't have many clean clothes so she simply grabbed a pair of grey leggings she had bought yesterday. There were black ribbons lacing up the sides, revealing tiny strips of her thighs and calves. On top she pulled on a pair of black shorts and a light blue t-shirt with the word 'Frumpy' written across the front in fat black letters. According to Konan it meant something like unkempt or messy in English which Sakura figured fit her pretty well at this point in her life. She yanked her hair back into a ponytail before she grabbed her favorite cross-body bag and was out the door. As she walked past, she could hear Deidara trying to articulate words but only making strange croaking noises. Sakura stuffed her feet into sneakers and then left.
Sakura wasn't really mad. She was embarrassed and annoyed but not really angry. She needed to be away just for a little bit. As she took the familiar path down to the subway station, Sakura considered her options. She could head to Hinata's house and potentially give her friend a heart attack. She could go to KU and spill to Konan who would probably just sigh and shake her head. She could visit Tenten and be laughed at. She also knew that Sasuke would probably be at school right now for basketball practice and Naruto might be with him. Sighing and thinking, Sakura found herself swiping to get through the turnstiles to catch a train to Konoha High.
Sundays at school were peaceful times. There was generally no one around but the really dedicated sports teams and occasionally some students during times like the cultural festival. Sakura passed the main entrance to loop around to the back of the school building. It was no surprise to find the entire basketball team running around on the track. Shoving her hands into her back pockets, Sakura crossed the grassy field until she could clearly hear Naruto shouting encouragements to his teammates. He and Sasuke were in the front of the pack and the heat from the morning sun had forced more than a few of the boys to lose their shirts. Naruto, of course was included in this group since he never seemed capable of tolerating any sort of heat. Sasuke had gone on a more modest route of rolling up the sleeves of his white t-shirt.
Sasuke and Naruto had decided to share the responsibilities of being captain of the basketball team just after the previous captain graduated during the spring. Everyone liked Naruto and everyone respected Sasuke so the combination was pretty effective. Sakura leaned back on her heels as she watched the team loop around the track. They had apparently been at it for a while judging from the sweaty faces and labored breathing. As the team made their way around the bend, Sakura lifted her hand in a little wave.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto promptly exclaimed. He bolted off the path and ran over to the fence Sakura was leaning against.
"What brings you here?" he asked. Sakura took a moment to wave at Sasuke who gave her a nod as he ran past. The rest of the team, groaning and complaining, trailed after him. When she turned back to Naruto, his forehead was puckered as he surveyed her.
"You're looking…different today," Naruto noted. When Sakura didn't respond, Naruto frowned.
"Is something wrong? You're usually not here on Sunday," he queried. With a deep sigh, Sakura grabbed a handful of the chain-link fence, curling her fingers around the shiny metal.
"I'm kind of here to harass Sasuke with my complaints. You mind if I bother you guys?" Sakura admitted. They stood quietly as they watched the team loop around the track again.
"Oi! Sasuke! Let's ease up the pace. Sakura-chan's got some news!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke drew closer. With a disapproving scowl, Sasuke turned around to relay the news. An exuberant cheer rose as everyone began moving at a much less stressful brisk walk. Sakura jogged in through the open gate and was quickly joined by Naruto as they caught up to Sasuke. Sakura slowed to Sasuke's leisurely pace as she fell into step to his left. Naruto sidled up to her left to listen in.
"You're looking like hell," Sasuke immediately commented. Sakura shrugged.
"I had a pretty disturbing morning," she responded. At this, Sasuke rolled his eyes and jabbed an accusatory finger in Naruto's direction.
"Disturbing? I woke up to this moron banging my front door down. The only way it could have been more obnoxious and irritating was if it were Gai-sensei," Sasuke snorted.
"I woke up to a man in my bed," Sakura calmly countered. They continued on in silence for a few more steps before a high-pitched gasp escaped Naruto. He grabbed onto Sakura's arm, shaking her furiously until Sasuke reached over to snatch Sakura from their friend's frantic grasp. He pulled Sakura over to his right, away from Naruto's flailing arms.
"I'm guessing it was that guy with blue hair," Sasuke surmised.
"Yeah. I think they came home pretty drunk. And….it was a little chaotic," Sakura sighed. To her surprise, Sasuke patted the top of her head. She got the feeling that he had been traumatized in a similar manner before. They turned their heads to look over at Naruto who was trailing after them, opening and closing his mouth like a dying fish.
"Nothing happened, you idiot. Go take the guys to the gym for some drills. I need to talk to Sakura about something," Sasuke ordered. Naruto's eyes darted back and forth between his two friends for a minute. Muttering something under his breath, he abruptly turned to address the members of his team. Sasuke waited for the team to disappear into the school before he started talking again.
"You okay?"
Sakura blinked a few times. There was a familiar wrinkle in his forehead as he looked her over.
"Yeah-" she began but Sasuke flicked her in the nose, making her squeak.
"Liar. You've been looking like crap these last few days. What's wrong?" he interrupted her. Sakura pouted as she rubbed at her nose, shooting him a half-hearted glare.
"I'm fine. Stop abusing me, you butthole," she muttered. Sasuke's disapproving gaze lingered on her for another minute before he let out a long sigh. He put his left hand in his pocket and his right arm over Sakura's shoulder as he led her back into the school building.
"Stay for practice. Maybe you can scare these brats into listening for once," Sasuke grumbled. Sakura quirked a smile as they stepped into the gym. Everyone was sitting on the bleachers and listening to Naruto give some sort of pep talk. Sakura started when she realized that there were two relatively unfamiliar faces among the crowd. Sakura nudged Sasuke with her elbow and he raised his eyebrows at her.
"Ah. Hozuki Suigetsu and Jugo. They're stepbrothers," Sasuke whispered. They stood in the doorway, not wanting to draw attention away from Naruto. Sakura thought for a moment and then she nudged Sasuke again.
"Aren't they the two guys in your class you keep avoiding?" she inquired. Sasuke's nostrils flared.
"Them and that stupid Karin girl keep calling themselves my best friends," he sighed in response. Sakura giggled quietly and Sasuke bumped his shoulder into hers, scowling. When Naruto began breaking up the team into pairs for drills, Sakura hopped onto the newly freed bleachers and watched practice. A few curious glances were thrown her way, especially from the seniors who recognized her, but Naruto and Sasuke were quick to reclaim their attention. After half an hour, they took a break to chug down water and Naruto jumped up onto the row of bleachers in front of her with a bright grin.
"Do you remember last year how I would beg you to stay and watch how cool I was at practice? What happened, Sakura-chan? Have you finally fallen for my charms?" Naruto teased. Sakura didn't even have to respond because Sasuke came up behind him and ground his knuckles against his right temple.
"Moron," Sasuke muttered before he took a swig from his water bottle and threw another one into Naruto's lap. Sasuke stepped over Naruto and sat down at Sakura's right to watch the rest of the team mingle.
"We're going to be done in around an hour. I'm heading straight home after. Are you coming?" asked Sasuke, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Sure. As long as you don't stink," Sakura replied with a smile. At this, Naruto tapped her foot to get her attention.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. Prince Sasuke here smells like potpourri and sunshine no matter what," the blonde snickered, earning a death glare from Sasuke. Sakura bit down on her lower lip to try to quell the laughter that threatened to escape. But when Sasuke directed his angry stare at her, she burst out giggling and Naruto added his loud voice to the mix, slapping his thighs and pointing. When they had begun to calm down, Sakura opened her eyes in time to see Suigetsu wandering over with Jugo not far behind. She had heard from some of her friends that the two brothers were rarely apart and followed Sasuke just about everywhere (much to her dear friend's supreme irritation).
"Uh, hey, Sasuke," Suigetsu began, raising a hand in greeting. Naruto nodded back while Sasuke chose to simply stare until he spoke again.
"So…. are you going to introduce me to your friend?" he inquired. Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other before they glanced at Sakura in unison and then stared Suigetsu down.
"Well, I can introduce myself. I'm Haruno Sakura and you're Hozuki Suigetsu…and Hozuki Jugo," Sakura added with a polite nod to Jugo who immediately flushed a surprising shade of bright pink. Suigetsu raised his eyebrows as a sly grin bordering on a leer stretched his mouth. Sasuke promptly threw a water bottle that Suigetsu easily dodged.
"Down, boy. She's taken," Sasuke snapped and Naruto nodded furiously with his arms crossed over his chest.
"And she's the student council president so don't mess with her. We'll mess you up and then she'll kill you a second time," Naruto warned sternly.
"What. The rumors are true? Are you two dating?" Suigetsu demanded, arching an eyebrow. Sakura and Sasuke stared at each other for a moment before they pointed at each other and Sakura burst out in derisive laughter. She collapsed against his shoulder, shaking from the force of her mirth.
"Date this unfriendly guy?" Sakura gasped out, tearing just a little. Sasuke nodded.
"Yeah. And me date this violent girl who eats too much?" he added. Before Suigetsu could say anything else, Naruto jumped to his feet and yelled for everyone to assemble. By then, Sakura had calmed down a little but continued to let out the occasional snigger whenever she met Sasuke's eyes.
"You know, you don't have to laugh so hard. You're hurting my feelings," he grumped out. When Sakura gave him a dubious look until he sighed.
"You're right. I'm too perfect to get insulted by something like that," he relented and Sakura made gagging noises at his fake arrogance.
"Hey, you asshole. Stop flirting with Sakura-chan and come help me!" Naruto interrupted them, tossing a basketball that Sasuke caught. Scowling, Sasuke flung it back straight at Naruto, hitting him right in the forehead.
"Shut up, idiot," Sasuke sighed as he hopped off the bleacher and shoved Naruto with his shoulder as he passed. When he glanced back at Sakura, she was laughing a little as she shook her head.
Once practice was over and Sasuke and Naruto sent the groaning team home with sore muscles, Sakura waited for the two of them to shower and change. She sat on the front steps of the school, checking through the text messages flooding her inbox. The first ten were from Deidara alternately apologizing and insulting his friends. The next ten were from Kisame apologizing in capital letters and misspelling all his words as he probably panicked. The next one was from Itachi apologizing for barging into her room even though it was technically his room. And the last was from Sasori that simply read:
You have supreme taste in undergarments.
Sakura didn't know whether to be terrified of Sasori or not. But it still made her laugh.
Naruto went off for his date with Hinata, leaving Sakura and Sasuke to head to the Uchiha house. By the time they caught their train and walked, they found Itachi's car already sitting in the driveway. Sasuke looked worried but Sakura simply shrugged and walked straight through the front door as she had done countless times before. Fugaku greeted her in his uniform, which was an unusual occurrence.
"I'm heading down to the station. We've just had a break in a big case," Fugaku hurriedly explained as Mikoto handed him his wallet and his cell phone.
"I'll save you a piece of chocolate cream pie," Sakura assured him with a smile. Fugaku took a moment to look at her and then patted her shoulder.
"You're a good kid," he responded with a brief smile before he kissed Mikoto's cheek and was out the door.
"You're looking spunky today, Sakura-chan. I heard there was somewhat of an incident this morning," Mikoto remarked as she closed the front door and put her arm around Sakura's shoulders to lead her to the kitchen. Itachi was sitting at the island counter, plucking the ends off green beans and sorting them into a big ceramic bowl. When Sakura entered, he looked up with a sheepish smile that made him look like a child being scolded. Sakura let out a big breath. She supposed she had been annoyed for long enough by now. While Mikoto headed into the pantry to grab some ingredients, Sakura walked up behind Itachi and dangled her arms loosely around his neck.
"You seem cheerful," he commented when she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
"Sasuke-kun and I got coffee on the way here," she responded. Sasuke stuck his head in the doorway and promptly wrinkled his nose.
"I can't believe you let some guy sleep in the same bed as Sakura. I'm ashamed to call you my brother," Sasuke sighed. Sakura laughed as she stood up straight and let her hands rest on Itachi's shoulders.
"I have nothing to say in my defense. I'm sorry, Sakura," Itachi replied. Mikoto sailed into the kitchen holding a few cans of chicken stock. She set them down on the counter and then turned to wag her finger at her eldest son.
"You'll need to do more than apologize to be forgiven, son. I'd say a minimum of two foot rubs and a fancy dinner. I'm surprised you didn't kick all their butts, Sakura," Mikoto said. Sakura shrugged innocently.
"I figured leaving them to wallow in their guilt was better punishment," she replied. Beaming, Mikoto moved around the counter to squeeze Sakura in a tight hug.
"You're perfect. Marry Itachi soon so you can be my daughter," Mikoto exclaimed, making Sakura blush. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he muttered something about changing his clothes while Itachi innocently went back to preparing the green beans for cooking. Soon, the kitchen was filled with the fragrance of garlic and olive oil sizzling along in a pan along with the green beans. Sakura stood battering chicken breasts to be baked in the oven while Mikoto sat juicing and zesting oranges. Mikoto had recently found a copy of an Italian cookbook that she had immediately fallen in love with. So each Sunday, instead of the traditional Japanese foods they usually had, Sakura and Mikoto had started working their way through each of the delicious recipes. It was a fun experience, trying new flavors and figuring out which seasonings went with which food.
Just like she had promised, Sakura set aside a slice of chocolate cream pie for Fugaku before everyone could gobble down the rest. She covered the plate with plastic wrap and stowed it in the refrigerator behind a jar of mayonnaise so no one would find it and consume it before Fugaku could.
Despite the delicious food and the laughter and the warm feeling of security that Sakura always had during their Sunday night dinners, she found something felt a little off. It was a mixture of Itachi's slightly distant expressions and the way he chose to sit across from her rather than next to her. It was the way he didn't join her on the back porch as usual and instead volunteered to help his mother with the dishes. Of course, Sasuke, being Sasuke, seemed to pick up on this too and promptly joined her just so she wouldn't feel lonely. They shared a bar of chocolate while swatting at mosquitoes and staring up at the night sky.
And the silent ride home, the silent barely-there kiss goodnight.
Sakura grabbed her cell phone to call Tenten for advice. But she stared at the number for a long time and then slowly set her phone down on the dresser. And in the quiet bedroom, she changed into her pajamas, set her alarm for school and then climbed into bed. As she lay awake, staring up at the white ceiling, Sakura tried to put her finger on precisely what was bothering her so much. Just before she could drift off to sleep and just as her eyelids began to slide shut, the thought hit her full in the gut like a solid punch.
She hadn't felt this alone in a very long time.
Sakura's desperation peaked about three weeks before final exams. It had been three hellish weeks of doing everything but throwing herself into Itachi's lap and screaming, "TAKE ME!" at the top of her lungs. Her fear always outweighed her frustration though and her days always ended with a tinge of disappointment. It was the day before Itachi's birthday that she decided to give it one last goes before she took a break. Because she knew that she couldn't possibly juggle her studies and focus on seducing her boyfriend who was either that oblivious or purposely tormenting her.
Kisame had called her to work out the details to a surprise birthday dinner for Itachi. So they spent an entire day acting as if they didn't remember what the date was and left Sakura and Itachi to go home together. Halfway there, Sakura suddenly exclaimed that she had lost her phone and needed to check all the places she had been that day. So they spent an hour going back to the studio and the train station and finally to the planned restaurant where everyone sprang up and threw confetti into Itachi's hair and cheered.
Though Sakura was smiling and laughing, she felt a sharp stab of pain when Itachi started opening his presents. Kisame's giant case of energy drinks, Deidara's cologne and Sasori's silk necktie were all received with joking and a fair share of jabbing and mock-punching. When Itachi opened up the Japanese to English dictionary she had so carefully picked out for him, all she received was a polite smile and a pat to the top of her head.
Something inside her cracked. It wasn't a rejection.
It wasn't a rejection, she told herself a million times.
But she couldn't keep the smile fixed in place. She could feel it start to warp and shrivel so she quickly excused herself so she could stand in the bathroom splashing cold water on her face and force herself to grin again in the mirror. Eyeing her perfect smile, she spoke carefully and quietly to the face staring back at her.
"You're going to forget this. You're going to focus on your exams and smile and laugh until you have time to figure this out again."
Slapping her cheeks once to bring some color into them, Sakura slipped back into the restaurant. There, she easily joined in on Kisame's teasing and Deidara's antics. She giggled and blushed and made faces so naturally that her acting almost frightened her. But she had always been good at locking things away. When she had quit dancing in the 7th grade, she had looked her mother in the eyes and said that she didn't want to dance anymore. It had been a horrible, blatant lie but her mother had bought it. And now, she would pretend that nothing was wrong.
It would have been much easier had Sasori not passed by her and taken a moment to stroke her hair.
Somehow, she knew that he saw right through her.
It was disturbingly easy to give up once she put her mind to it. She stopped pestering Itachi for morning kisses. She stopped touching his hands and leaning on his shoulder when she pretended she had trouble getting her shoes on. She stopped leaving her hair wet because it just got the back of her shirt damp anyway.
"You look miserable," Sasuke told her one day as they sat in the library going over notes during study period. Sakura blinked slowly and then turned back to her book.
Sakura knew she must have looked like hell when she passed Ino in the hallway afterschool and Ino actually grabbed her by the arm to stop her. Despite the fact that they hadn't spoken properly in months, when Ino stared into her eyes, Sakura felt like she was baring her soul. And in that firm, commanding tone that Sakura sometimes resented just a little, Ino spoke.
"Spill. What's wrong?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. When Sakura didn't speak, Ino dragged her into an empty classroom, pushed her into a chair, and disappeared. A minute later, she stomped back into the classroom, shut the door, and thrust a carton of strawberry milk into Sakura's hands. Sucking almost viciously at the straw of her own strawberry milk, Ino settled into the chair in front of Sakura's and stared hard.
"My boyfriend doesn't find me attractive, Ino-chan," Sakura finally admitted, staring down at the pink and white carton balanced in her palm.
"Sasuke's brother?" Ino asked and Sakura nodded. Tapping her finger against on the top of the desk, Ino arched an eyebrow.
"Let me ask you something. Is he gay?" Ino demanded. When Sakura shook her head, Ino frowned.
"Is he blind?"
Sakura shook her head again, silently wondering where this line of questioning was leading. With a fierce scowl that Sakura had never seen on her friend's face before, Ino threw her hands in the air.
"Then he must be an idiot. You know, people say I date and break up with a lot of guys because I'm a slut but that's not it. It's because they all end up to be jerks who don't treat me like I'm the most beautiful thing in the universe," Ino suddenly said, pointing her finger in Sakura's face. Sakura stared at her because she didn't understand what was happening.
"Okay. Listen to me. People will tell you you're being selfish or spoiled or stupid, but this is always true: A guy should treat you like you're the most perfect and wonderful thing that has ever existed. He shouldn't make you feel like you need to become prettier or sexier. Women are already beautiful. You're a woman, I'm a woman. Ergo, we should feel beautiful," Ino explained, waving her hands around a little wildly as she spoke. When Ino crossed her arms over her chest, Sakura cracked a smile. She had missed Ino's straight-forward, almost abrasive words. Ino knew what she wanted and she didn't care what other people thought. That was what Sakura had always admired about her.
For some reason, Sakura looked into Ino's honest blue gaze, she felt like she could say anything and not be judged. And for some reason, because she felt so comfortable, Sakura knew that there wasn't much to say at all. Shaking her head, Sakura poked a straw through the top of the carton and took a big slurp of sweet strawberry milk. Propping her chin up in her hand, Sakura grimaced.
"I feel stupid. And I'm being stupid. I'm going to put all this crap behind me and focus on studying," Sakura groaned. To her surprise, Ino thumped her hand down on the table and nodded emphatically.
"Don't tell me all the details. Because you know my big mouth. I can't keep secrets for shit. But you're nicer than me. I would have dumped him the minute he made me feel uncomfortable," Ino laughed. With a tired sigh, Sakura looked up to see Ino holding her milk up. Sakura giggled softly as she reached out and bumped her carton against Ino's.
"Are you still mad at me, Forehead?" Ino suddenly asked. Sakura took a long time to stare down at Ino's left hand resting against the desk. Ino always had perfectly manicured nails and this week's pattern was a light shade of rosy pink with French tips. Though her fingers were smooth and slender and perfectly beautiful, Sakura recognized a thin scar running down her middle finger. Ino had gotten it when they were in kindergarten and they had climbed the big gingko tree in the Yamanaka family's backyard even after Ino's mother had warned them not to. Sakura had slipped and Ino had grabbed her, barely noticing a stray branch scratching down her hand. Ino had cried and cried, worrying about Sakura's tiny little bruise on her knee while she bled enough to have to get three stitches.
Sakura scowled.
"You know, you're a blabber-mouth, Ino-chan. And you're a pretty crappy friend sometimes," Sakura began. Ino didn't look hurt. She just nodded helplessly because she knew what Sakura was saying was all true.
"But I'm a jerk sometimes and I'm kind of petty. So I guess we might be a good match as friends," Sakura added with a grin. Reaching across the desk, Ino clasped Sakura's hand like they had done so many times as children.
"Count on it," Ino responded.
Sunday morning, Uchiha Itachi woke up to an empty apartment. He knocked on the bedroom door and waited a few moments before he tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. When he peeked inside, he found the bed perfectly made and all her clothing neatly folded and put away. There was a faint scent of her fruity body wash lingering in the bathroom and a single glass was left on the drying rack. It was only when he opened the refrigerator and found omurice* covered in saran wrap that he understood. There was a bright blue post-it note arranged on top of the plastic with a short note:
Study group with friends today.
I'll see you for dinner.
Sakura had gotten up earlier in the morning and gone for a run all by herself. Kisame had offered to come along with her but she had quickly declined. So at the crack of dawn, she had dressed in shorts and a tank top and taken the long route through the park, past a small lake that sparkled in the morning sun. Even when she got back to take a shower, Itachi didn't stir from his spot on the couch. So she quietly cooked up a quick breakfast for him and grabbed a banana for the road before she grabbed her backpack and headed to the park where there were metal tables and chairs set up.
Hinata was already waiting with her perfectly color-coordinated notes spread out in front of her. Sasuke and Naruto showed up a little later with damp hair and their duffel bags still slung over their shoulders. Half an hour into their study session, Ino arrived with coffee and mini-muffins.
Naruto, who had paid very little attention to any of classes throughout the semester, began panicking when he noticed Sakura's nearly full binder of notes and photocopies. Though Sasuke didn't take many notes, the ease with which he answered Hinata's questions made Naruto cringe. Sakura helped Ino run through some particularly tough physics formulas. By lunchtime, Naruto was groaning and moaning about dying of hunger, despite the fact that he had eaten almost all of the muffins Ino had brought.
"Hey, your mom cooking anything good today?" Naruto demanded, shaking Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke shoved him off and gave Sakura a pleading look.
"You should take Hinata-chan out on a nice buffet date instead," Sakura suggested. Naruto's face immediately lit up as he turned to his girlfriend. Hinata shot Sakura a slightly mortified look over Naruto's shoulder as she was pulled into a tight hug. The horror of watching Naruto at any sort of all-you-can-eat establishment was something she had apparently encountered once before. Sakura almost felt bad for putting Hinata through such an ordeal but she knew that Sasuke would most likely murder Naruto in the mood he was in. Sakura whispered Hinata a promise to make it up to her before Sasuke dragged her back to his house.
It was the second week in a row that Sakura arrived at the Uchiha home without Itachi. And it was the second time that he was already waiting for her. But instead of helping Mikoto in the kitchen, Itachi was in the living room, watching a baseball game on TV. Though Itachi smiled upon seeing her, Sakura fought down the simultaneous bubble of excitement and the wave of disappointment when all he did was simply look at her and then turn back to discussing something with Fugaku. Instead, it was Fugaku that raised his hand in fond greeting and asked her to join them. Later, Fugaku pulled her aside to inform her that they hadn't made much progress on her stalker case. The phone number they had traced had led to a cheap pre-paid phone with a number based in America. There was little to trace this man with but Fugaku swore to figure things out for her.
Slowly, Sakura began seeing less and less of Itachi until it seemed like he was less of her boyfriend and more of a stranger she saw every day. It wasn't on purpose that she found her free time beginning to be taken up by so many things at once. There were still a million things to do for the student council, including all the planning for the cultural festival and the trips that each grade would be taking to different parts of the country. There was the endless studying for midterms (which actually turned out to be fun since she had only ever studied by herself). Even during dance practice where Deidara was his usual goofy self and Kisame beat him up and Sasori kept trying to take Sakura's measurements for new clothing designs.
It wasn't so bad being mind-numbingly busy.
It made it easier for her to pretend to forget. Or not to notice just how cold Itachi had become. Even though she had promised Ino that she would be strong, even though all her friends were there to support her and help her even though most of them were unaware of what was wrong in the first place, Sakura found it immensely difficult to keep smiling when even the chaste little kisses on the cheek disappeared too. He treated her like a leper, like touching her would make the skin melt off his bones.
But then exam rankings were out. Sakura was in first place with Sasuke and Shikamaru taking second and third respectively. Ino screamed with delight and flung her arms around Sakura when she found her name right next to 15th place. Naruto did the same to Sasuke when he found himself in the bottom 50 instead of the bottom 10 (only Sasuke didn't endure this with Sakura's smile; he smacked Naruto upside the head). At least for that short afternoon, Sakura was able to be a stupid high school girl laughing and bragging and surrounding by smiling friends.
Summer break started and Sakura suddenly found her high school friends flung far away from her. Naruto and Sasuke went off to training camp while Hinata flew to the Bahamas to spend time with her family. Ino was gone to Karuizawa for a "refreshing vacation to scope out hot boys".
It took exactly 8 days into vacation for Sakura to snap. She had started to grow somewhat used to the distance between Itachi and herself. Now that midterms were over, there were university entrance exams that should have occupied all her attention. Every day should have been hectic and exciting and fun but all Sakura could see was her boyfriend's cold gaze.
On a muggy Tuesday where Sakura was already a frazzled mess from her frizzy hair and the added mess of PMS driving her up the wall, Sasori seemed to decide that it was time for him to solve everything. Kisame, strangely attuned to her as ever, had managed to quell most of her bad mood by massaging her shoulders and feet. Deidara was in the corner, rifling frantically through his bag for a bottle of painkillers.
It was at such an unfortunate time that Deidara straightened and then patted his stomach.
"Looks like I'm all out. Someone run down to the convenience store and grab a new bottle. And some food too. I'm starving, yeah," Deidara said. Kisame took a moment to look at Deidara with wide eyes that let him know that he would not risk everyone's well-being to leave his post as Sakura-soother for the day. Sasori silently shook his head, shooting wary eyes towards Sakura too. In the end, it was Itachi that got to his feet and grabbed his wallet.
"Ah, actually, why don't you take My-chan too, yeah? Grab some extra stuff she might want? Maybe some chocolate?" Deidara suggested. Sakura's eyes lit up at the prospect of chocolate. Her body was ravenous for it (along with other things such as hot baths and salty foods). She pulled her feet out of Kisame's lap and half-rolled in her hurry to sit up. Itachi barely glanced her way.
"It's fine. I'll go myself," he responded.
A single tear pricked up in the corner of Sakura's right eye that she quickly wiped away before pretending to be laughing at Kisame's remark about Itachi being the one on his period. And Sasori, with his incredible eyesight (really it was like he was a ninja in another life or something), saw. He was crouching on the balls of his feet, enjoying a cherry lollipop.
Sasori saw. He saw, he crunched straight through his candy, obliterating it into a hundred sugary chunks. In one smooth movement, he stood and then took precisely three long strides to Itachi.
"Itachi," Sasori flatly said. And Itachi reflexively turned at the sound of his name.
Sasori's right hook caught him directly in the cheek.
Cliffhanger. Not sorry at all. Whew. This is categorized as humor but I don't know. This chapter felt kind of krama-melodramatic-y to me.
*Yakiniku= Grilled meat. Generally Korean BBQ that's been modified to fit Japanese tastes.
*Omurice= I'm making myself so hungry writing all this. It's fried rice wrapped in a plain egg omelet usually topped with ketchup. This is the epitome of happy food in Asia if I do say so myself. If you make this stuff with spam or any kind of ham in the mix, it's like a party in your mouth. Not the trashy, sad kind that end up with people with heads in the toilet. The happy kind where people take good pictures and spend years saying "remember that party?" "yeah that was awesome"
Much love and thanks to you wonderful readers. Be sure to leave reviews with your reactions or any questions.