Gasp! An update less than a year after the last one? I actually had this done last Friday but then the hurricane hit and power went out and we were evacuated and it was all just hell on toast. So instead of making everyone wait until this Friday, I figured I'd just post this a little early.
Enjoy!
Fancy Footwork
Chapter 24: Wired Weird
The holiday season passed too quickly, in Sakura's opinion.
New Year's Eve she refused, yet again, to let Deidara and Sasori talk her into wearing a kimono. No amount of promising chocolate and free food and hugs and other bribes could sway her. Itachi walked in on Deidara lying on the floor and hugging Sakura's legs as he begged her one last time to at least try on some sort of kimono.
"It is -1 degrees Celsius outside, Dei-chan. No," Sakura firmly said. Not even asking for an explanation, Itachi watched as Deiara's arms relaxed and he melted into a puddle of very unhappy blond. Sasori, who had given up several minutes ago, walked over to push Deidara across the floor with his foot. And Deidara rolled along like a pouting tumbleweed.
Instead, Sakura decided to dress in layers because it really was very cold outside and it had been snowing on and off for the past few weeks. It was just light enough that the city didn't have too much trouble running snowplows in the morning to clear the streets for the morning commute but it also meant that the weather was never warm enough for the snow to actually start melting. After late dinner of soba and a short nap sitting side by side on the sofa, Itachi and Sakura woke to meet up with everyone at the Shinto shrine. It would be crowded so they had made plans to meet up a little bit early.
"Do you think I should call my parents?" inquired Sakura as she shed her sweatshirt and t-shirt underneath. Itachi, standing in front of the closet to pick out his outfit, turned around completely to look at her. At first he looked very serious as he considered her words. And then, predictably, she saw his gaze drift downwards until she lobbed her clothes at him.
"Focus!" she insisted. Laughing, Itachi tossed her clothes in the laundry basket.
"You're the one being distracting," Itachi defended himself. Scoffing loudly, Sakura snatched a white camisole out of the dresser and yanked it on.
"Sorry. I don't know. If you feel comfortable enough, I guess you should. This is a family holiday after all," he tried to say seriously. Sticking her lips out in a pout, Sakura turned around to find her dark blue sweater. The thick waffle weave was soft against her skin as she pulled her arms through the sleeves. Before she could pull the rest over her head, she felt Itachi's arms around her waist.
"Are you mad? Don't be mad," he whispered, voice all husky and deep in the way he knew she could never ignore.
"But my dad already has his family," Sakura pointed out.
"You're his family too," Itachi assured her. He pressed a kiss to her right shoulder before he released her to get dressed. Sakura pulled the rest of the sweater on and then joined Itachi to stare into their shared closet. Leaning against him, Sakura reached out to grasp the sleeve of a black and gray striped cardigan.
"That one?"
"Yeah."
Fully dressed (and armed against the cold with pocket warmers), they walked to the shrine at the south side of Konoha. It was a somewhat winding road and it took them almost 45 minutes to get there on foot. But the snow was so pretty and the ice-covered trees looked like fairytale sculptures so neither of them could really complain. Hand in hand, they arrived at the only Shinto shrine in the city. There were already people wandering the wooden stalls, looking at the various fortunes and amulets on sale. The Buddhist temple located at the very east edge of Konoha had begun ringing its traditional 108 peals to usher in the new year. The distant echo of each strike reverberated through the crisp air. Fragrant incense burned, blue-gray smoke curling lazily into the air.
"Hey! There you are, yeah!" Deidara exclaimed as he ran up to them. His hands were crammed firmly into his pockets as he shivered. Cheeks red from the cold and knit cap crammed over his head, Deidara looked like an excited child. Snickering, Itachi and Sakura each offered him a pocket warmer. When he asked if they wouldn't be cold, they smirked and smugly took hold of each other's hands to compensate for the loss of heat. Sasori wandered over to them a moment later followed by Kisame.
They chatted a little before it was finally midnight and people shuffled forward to get as close to the shrine as they could. When it was their turn, they tossed in coins, clapped their hands, and offered their prayers. At Kisame's insistence, they went to buy fortunes from one of the shrine maidens.
"Great curse," Deidara read with visible horror.
"That's definitely self-inflicted, Deidara. Why don't you settle down and get a real girlfriend? Itachi-sama here looks supremely happy now that he has one," Kisame snickered, pointing at Itachi who just shrugged.
"No way, man. And break the hearts of all the ladies that need them some Deidara?" Deidara scoffed.
"Don't dirty this new year with your hedonistic lifestyle," Sasori sighed as he accepted his fortune.
"Half-blessing," Sasori read out loud.
"Apparently I'll achieve inner peace," Kisame stated, staring down at his paper.
"Sakkun, if you were any more peaceful, you'd become a monk yourself," Sakura giggled as she watched him tie his slip of paper onto the branches of a large tree set up next to the stall.
"Probably true. What's yours say, Kitten?" asked Kisame.
"…Future blessing."
"Future curse," Itachi added his own fortune.
Kisame and Deidara exchanged glances.
"Looks like My-chan's going to get herself a hot American boyfriend and dump this useless guy. What a shame, yeah," Deidara clucked his tongue like an old woman.
"Or maybe she'll be swept away by a Hollywood star and ditch Itachi," Kisame conjectured, rubbing at his chin.
"Away from the morons, friends. Let's get something to drink," Sasori flatly said, putting his hands on Sakura's shoulders. So Itachi, Sasori and Sakura ditched the snickering duo to drink the hot sake offered at another stall. Kisame and Deidara, once they caught up, were dissatisfied with the meager cups given to them and insisted on cracking open several beers when they made it back to Itachi's apartment. ("The Uchiha love nest, stuuuuupid," Deidara drawled out after a few cans. Sasori shoved him off the sofa with his foot because his head was getting in the way of the movie they were watching.) They feasted on sticky rice cakes and chips before dozing off a little after watching the first dawn of the year. Though Sakura and Itachi woke up on the sofa and Deidara and Kisame found themselves spooning on the floor, Sasori (yet again) spent the night in the bathtub.
"It was cold, My-chan! COLD!" Deidara insisted even though nobody had even said anything about his sleeping arrangement.
"Shut up, Deidara," Kisame sighed, nursing his headache with a couple aspirin.
"Saso-kun, why not take the other sofa?" Sakura asked over late breakfast with lots of coffee for hungover Kisame and Deidara. Sasori raised his eyebrow at her.
"No. Bathtub is good," he simply responded.
Eyeing each other with confusion, everyone else simply shrugged and accepted that they would never understand Sasori fully.
"COLD!" Deidara yelled. Sasori smacked him in the back of the head with the morning newspaper.
That afternoon, after Sasori and the groaning two had gone home, Sakura and Itachi headed to the Uchiha house for dinner.
"Didn't see you for Christmas," Sasuke grunted in greeting when he joined them in the kitchen. Sakura looked up from the sweet-smelling yuzu* she had been peeling. Since she had no free hands, she simply waved the fruit at him before getting back to work.
"Oh, silly Sasu-chan! We can't interrupt the happy couple's lovey-dovey time!" Mikoto responded with a smile while chopping up spinach. Itachi choked on the water he had been drinking and Sakura bit back a laugh at the slightly disgusted expression that spread across Sasuke's face. They ate a dinner of Mikoto's best zoni* brimming with vegetables and chunks of fish and grilled mochi.
After eating, they exchanged late Christmas presents and ate Sakura's chocolate mousse with sighs of approval. Though Sasuke looked reluctant to try, Sakura had prepared a separate serving with unsweetened dark chocolate and Sasuke seemed to like it enough to finish the whole thing.
"How are you doing, honey?" Mikoto suddenly asked as she and Sakura stood at the sink to wash dishes. Itachi had offered to help but he had quickly been shooed off to join Sasuke and Fugaku watching TV.
"How am I?" repeated Sakura a little unsurely. Handing her a plate, Mikoto frowned.
"With everything that's happened with your family, sweetheart. Are you alright?" Mikoto clarified.
"I'm fine, Mikoto-san. Nothing's really changed," Sakura laughed it off. But Mikoto's expression remained unchanged.
"Itachi-kun told me you're considering going abroad next year."
Sakura didn't say anything. She slowly wiped the plate dry before placing it in the cabinet.
"Whatever you choose, Sakura-chan, know that you'll always have a place here," Mikoto said softly. Startled, Sakura turned to look at the older woman in the face. Mikoto smiled, all motherly and warm and gentle and suddenly Sakura wished, for a short but blindingly desperate moment, that Mikoto could have been her mother instead. But it passed quickly and all Sakura could do was smile as she blinked back tears.
"Thank you, Mikoto-san," Sakura replied. Looking a little glassy-eyed too, Mikoto blinked rapidly.
"I would hug you but…" Mikoto trailed off, gesturing to her soapy hands. Laughing, they finished off the dishes together and hugged only when both their hands were clean and dry.
Later, back at the apartment, as Itachi stood in the bathroom brushing his teeth, Sakura finally dialed her mother's number.
"Happy New Year's, mom," Sakura simply said when Kirie picked up. She could hear faint music in the background.
"Well, it's technically not New Year's for me anymore. But it is for you," added Sakura as she looked up at the clock. Kirie burst out laughing.
"How are you? Still studying?" asked Kirie. Sakura could hear the clink of a spoon against the side of a cup. Of course. It was morning in California. She knew she had inherited her mother's love of coffee. Probably not the best quality to have inherited but it was somehow reassuring to know that even separated by so many time zones, they still at least had the same addiction to caffeine.
"Obviously. You making lots of money?" Sakura teased just a little.
Sakura didn't call her dad though. She had sent him a customary holiday card but she just didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she'd be able to listen to his new family's babble in the background as she tried to come up with the right things to say to him. Would she ask how they were? Part of her was a little ashamed for being unable to call him. Itachi took one look at the expression on her face as she looked at the phone in her hand and he pulled her in for a minty kiss.
"You did your best. You can try again next year," was all he said. And Sakura hugged him because she didn't know what to say in response to something so perfect and comforting like that.
A few days later, Sakura set her studies aside for a rare break and walked to the KU campus. The entire place was still deserted for winter break. But Sakura didn't mind as she crunched her way through the snow until she found herself at the art studio. There was a single white car in the parking lot that she almost would have missed under the thick layer of snow. Huffing against the cold, Sakura hurried into the building and climbed the stairs up to the second floor where she could hear humming.
"Senpai?" Sakura called as she carefully slid the door open. Konan stood with her back to her. Her hair, as always, was pulled back into a bun and she was wearing a smock over her regular clothes. This time, however, it was smeared not with clay or dust but with paint. Blue paint, to be specific. The canvas in front of her was a blurred mixture of different shades of blues and some dashes of purples and greens.
"What's this one called?" Sakura inquired as she sat on one of the wooden stools scattered around the large room.
"I have no idea. Did you have a fight with the boyfriend? What are you doing here during your cozy holiday?" Konan responded, glancing over her shoulder to arch an eyebrow.
"I can't come visit my friend? And what about you, senpai? Why are you cooped up in here instead of being with your boyfriend?" Sakura responded. Konan, palette in one hand and brush in the other, spun around to look at her.
"Someone's gotten sassy. Nagato's doing research for his thesis. Graduate students have it tough. And I need to finish this up if I want to graduate in the spring," Konan responded with a wry smile.
"By the way, senpai. Why does everyone call him Pein but you call him Nagato?" Sakura asked as Konan turned back to her work. There was a pause as Konan dabbed her brush between two colors to blend them together.
"Hm… that? I think when we finally got taken in by our current foster family, he wanted to leave behind that name associated with the orphanage. But I guess I'll never get used to people calling him anything other than Nagato."
Konan was quiet for a bit and then, as she cleaned her brush, she looked back again.
"Is something troubling you?" The brush swished through water and then Konan wiped it dry on the edge of a rag. Sakura watched her graceful hands, the soft strokes of the brush. Whenever Konan reached up to move her bangs out of her face, it was an elegant motion. Everything about Konan was fluid. Even her dance. Even her art.
"If… If during school, you had a chance to study abroad, would you have taken it?" Sakura queried.
"Sure," Konan simply responded without thinking.
"But you have Pein-san. And your friends. And everything's here. In Konoha," said Sakura. Konan turned around to flick a few drops of water at her.
"But that's such an amazing opportunity. Going to Italy to study art? Or maybe France? Where some of the finest art in history was created? If could have, I would have gone."
Sakura fiddled with the edge of her coat before she spoke again.
"Wouldn't you miss him? You wouldn't feel lonely without him and your friends?" she asked in a much smaller voice.
"I would… I really would," Konan replied slowly.
"But I would hate myself for missing that chance if I couldn't take it because I was afraid. You'll meet new friends. It won't be lonely," she added. Sakura raised her chin and watched Konan dip her brush in black. Horrified, Sakura watched as Konan slashed across the beautiful collage of azure in broad strokes. The ugly black stain in the middle of the canvas just stared at her. Looking proud, Konan looked over her shoulder.
"If you're too afraid to start from scratch, you'll never get anything done."
And Sakura watched as Konan scrapped a week of careful painting to start over again.
Then, winter break was gone and Sakura found herself waking up early to get ready for school one Monday morning.
She had let Kisame know that she wouldn't get joining him for the usual morning run for the time being. Every spare moment she had was devoted to studying. Entrance exams were in less than three weeks and it seemed like 24 hours in one day just wasn't enough to get everything done. Sakura scarfed down a quick breakfast, leaving Itachi's portion covered in plastic wrap before she dressed and hurried off to catch the train. He would have gladly given her a ride if she had asked but she simply kissed him goodbye and let him get an extra hour of sleep before his first lecture. If she was going to be a sleepy zombie, he might as well get the rest she couldn't.
Sakura read on the train, music plugged firmly into her ears the entire ride. Even as she walked from her stop to school, her eyes barely left her notes and highlights in the margins of the text. People greeted her as she walked through the front gate and she responded absentmindedly, mostly not enough paying attention to who she was talking to. It was only until someone threw his arm around her in a tight hug that she tore her eyes away from her studies. And of course, it was Naruto grinning and laughing so early in the morning.
"Hey Naruto," Sakura said before she looked over and found Hinata walking on Naruto's left. Easily wriggling out of Naruto's grasp, Sakura hugged Hinata. She hadn't had any time to talk to Hinata during winter break. Hinata had been in Switzerland with her family on vacation and though she had a pleasant tan to testify to her days of skiing, Hinata had been virtually isolated from all of her friends. Laughing and exchanging the latest news, they walked right into Ino who squealed with delight and grabbed them both to show off her first Christmas present from Shikamaru.
"You're looking slightly less than dead," Sai greeted her with a smile when Sakura finally made it to the classroom. Behind her, Ino was shoving her shiny new bracelet into Sasuke's face until he looked ready to throw himself out the nearest window. Hinata tittered beside them, not quite kind enough to stop Ino from harassing Sasuke until a full minute later. Rolling her eyes and ignoring the commotion just outside the room, Sakura bumped her fist against his and sunk down into her seat to get more reading done before class started.
An odd thought occurred to her as she flipped a page. Just to check, Sakura looked up and confirmed that Sasuke had grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and pulled it up next to her. Though he was facing in the opposite direction to talk to Naruto, he was still keeping her company in his own odd way. Sai seemed happy enough sketching (as usual) and Hinata, timid little Hinata who never had any friends, was chatting away with Naruto and Sasuke. Ino leaned against Hinata's left shoulder to join the conversation, smiling and laughing with Naruto who pointed at Sasuke. It was a little loud and Sasuke would undoubtedly go back to his own class late for first period but Sakura realized that this was what had become normal.
Suddenly putting her book down, Sakura twisted around to face their friends.
"Hm? What's wrong, Forehead? You've decided to give up your pursuit for higher education to join the dark side?" asked Ino with a teasing leer.
"Don't be ridiculous, Yamanaka. Sakura would never fall to the ranks of you two underachievers," Sasuke snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. Ino and Naruto exchanged looks of outrage.
"Oh, Mr. I'm-going-to-college-in-America. Just because you've sent your stupid applications doesn't mean you're better than us! And you might not even get accepted!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah. I'm studying too. I'm just not aiming for a ridiculous school like Sakura. And Naruto's going to become rich and famous with his ramen restaurant!" Ino chimed in.
"Thank you, Ino!"
"You're welcome!"
"Stupid," Sasuke muttered. Sticking a finger in his ear to block out Ino and Naruto's voices, Sasuke turned toward Sakura.
"When…did we all become friends, Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura in a quiet voice so only he would hear. Sasuke raised his eyebrows as he looked back at their group.
It was certainly true that at the beginning of high school, no one could have foreseen this odd accumulation of people. The captains of the basketball club, gossip queen, mild-mannered heiress, socially-stunted artist, and student council president. At some point, they had all gathered together. They had become friends without even trying. And according to Sasori, that was the only real way to make friends.
"Except for Deidara. He plans to make friends with certain people and it's weird but it works," added Sasori with the beginnings of a frown tugging down at his mouth.
"Idiot," Sasuke simply said.
"What?" demanded Sakura. Sasuke stared at her like he had gotten the answer right on a test that she had gotten wrong.
"This is all your fault. You're the reason all these morons are stuck to each other. And stuck to me. You're the linchpin," Sasuke stated as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.
"Me?" Sakura pointed at herself. What had she done? All she had done was get mad at Ino and start talking to Hinata…. And make up with Naruto… and yell at Sasuke…
Sakura looked at her friends one more time before regarding Sasuke's smug expression.
"Idiot," Sasuke stated again.
"Shut up, Baby Sasu-chan," Sakura muttered before she picked up her book again. She smiled when Sasuke scowled at the hated name. And her friends- their friends continued blabbing away in the background.
The smell of coffee hung in the air. But not in the soft, lazy way that it usually did on a Saturday morning. Itachi's eyes cracked open slowly to an empty space against his side where there was usually a soft body curled up. He ran his hand down the spot and found the sheets cold. She had been gone for quite some time then. Squinting against the soft sunlight slanting in through the window, he craned his neck to check the time.
8:03.
It was barely past eight in the morning and he couldn't believe Sakura was awake already. He knew she had at least slept a couple hours because they had gone to sleep a little before midnight and he had woken up around 2 to go to the bathroom. Sakura, all dark circles and exhaustion, had snuggled up against him, a little clingier than usual. He certainly wasn't complaining.
Cracking a wide yawn, Itachi reluctantly sat up and stretched. Still bleary-eyed, he climbed down from the loft and opened the door to shuffle into the kitchen. It took a little searching but he finally located Sakura behind a large stack of books on the kitchen table. Sakura had a calculus textbook propped up in front of her. Her chin rested against the tabletop as she read, barely blinking. In fact, it looked as if she was barely breathing. Sighing, Itachi pressed a kiss to the top of her head and grabbed her empty mug as he walked past. Refilling Sakura's cup and pouring one for himself, Itachi settled in the chair next to her.
"What time did you get up?" asked Itachi. Sakura slowly sat up to pour sugar and milk into her coffee before taking a big gulp.
"6," Sakura muttered. She eyed her cup before letting her head fall back on the table.
"You know, I do this a lot before my exams too so I'm probably not the best person to give you advice, but you should give yourself a break. It wouldn't be a good idea to push yourself until you get sick," Itachi pointed out, propping his chin up in his hand to watch her. Sakura laughed weakly as she lifted her head to look at him.
"I appreciate the advice but you know I'm not even going to try to follow it. Do you have plans for today?" asked Sakura, interrupting herself with a large yawn. As she sipped at her coffee, she watched Itachi. He just shrugged.
"I think I'll just relax at home. Maybe help you a little?" Itachi suggested. Sakura tried not to roll her eyes when she knew perfectly well that she would let him nowhere near her work. His ability to work out integrals so quickly had to be inhuman and she preferred to know what she was doing instead of having answers spat out at her.
And it was decided that they spent the entire day at home. Still in her pajamas, Sakura pored through textbooks and wrote out rings and rings of flashcards. She only bothered to eat because Itachi pestered her and even then it definitely wasn't enough to satisfy him. But Sakura barely noticed and if she did all she did was get up to get more water or coffee and give him a little kiss to pacify him for a little bit on the way. Itachi lounged on the sofa with one foot on the ground and one on the armrest. Sakura occupied the other couch, blazing through books and swallowing down information. Konoha University wasn't one of the top colleges in the country without reason. She had gone through enough mock exams and materials to understand that even with the best grades in high school, no one could pass without some serious studying. In the middle of a sentence, Sakura suddenly looked up. When the steady scratch of her pencil stopped, Itachi looked up too.
"I understand you and Saso-kun. But how the heck did Deidara and Kisame get in to your school?" Sakura suddenly demanded. It wasn't that she thought her two friends were stupid. It was just that she had witnessed both their study habits. Kisame generally half-assed his way through most things before buckling down to cram just before big tests. And Deidara spent about half his time procrastinating before really starting anything. At this, Itachi let out a big huff of a sigh.
"Well, I helped Kisame study so that solves that mystery. As for Deidara, when he really studies, he just memorizes everything and forgets it as soon as he's done with the test," explained Itachi. Sakura scowled.
"Stupid Dei-chan and his weird talents," she muttered before looking back at her work.
Haruno Sakura was in a strange state between life and death for the next three weeks. She was still as polite and nice to most people as she usually was. In class, she was still the star student answering questions and charming teachers. But in between classes and during lunch, the personality drained out of her. As soon as a teacher left the room, her forehead made contact with the desk and her friends struggled to figure out whether she was sleeping or whether she had simply passed out.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, don't you think you're going too hard on yourself? Are you even sleeping?" Hinata asked as they pushed their desks together as usual for lunch. Sakura grunted in response. Even when Ino poked her in the stomach, (a very ticklish spot) Sakura only swatted at her once before letting her arm fall back down. When Sasuke arrived a couple minutes later with his usual lunch packed by his mom, he arched an eyebrow at Sakura and then looked questioningly at Naruto.
"We don't think she's dead yet," Naruto responded around a mouthful of rice. Settling in the usual chair to the left of Sakura, Sasuke put his palm against her forehead to lift her head off the desk. Slowly, Sakura's eyes opened and they focused on Sasuke to glare half-heartedly.
"Okay. You're working hard," he sighed. Sasuke carefully lowered her head back onto the desk and let her nap in peace. Sakura snoozed for most of lunch before waking to quickly scarf down her food while reading through one of her rings of flashcards she had stashed inside her schoolbag. Naruto stared on in mute horror. Even after over a decade of friendship, he could neither accept nor understand Sakura's devotion to studying. As if sensing his terror, Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand and quietly diverted his attention with some small talk.
Student council meetings after school were exhausting. It was nice that her underclassmen were competent enough that Sakura could delegate a lot of the work to them. Shino had stopped showing up altogether after Sakura had forbidden him from napping on the couch. In essence, all that was left were members that actually detracted from the workload.
"Kaichou, what should I do with these?" Inari asked, approaching Sakura's desk with a stack of flyers that needed to be handed out in homeroom the next day. When her chair didn't turn, Inari paused and then tried to ask the question again. He was stopped by Moegi's hand on his shoulder. Shaking her head emphatically, she led him around the desk. Sakura sat in the chair facing the window. Flashcards clenched in her hand, she silently recited formulas and facts and dates, running them through her head over and over until they were burned firmly into her memory.
"Is she alright?" Inari hissed, eyes widening.
"She's not really awake or asleep. Just leave her. I'll take these," Moegi whispered back with a sheepish smile. She had witnessed the president's study habits enough before midterms and finals to know that there was no point trying to communicate with her. So because of Moegi, the student council did not collapse during January when the president was rendered into a vengeful ghost of studying.
"Hey, do you remember if stuff like this will be on the exam?" Sakura inquired, crossing the room to where Sasori was sitting with his back up against the mirrors. He lifted customarily sleepy eyes to the book she held out to him. Sasori held out his hand to take the text and Sakura sat down cross-legged next to him.
Lying on the floor in the middle of the studio, Deidara whacked Itachi's knee to get his attention.
"Sakura looks kind of dead, yeah," Deidara noted. It wasn't accusatory or angry. They had both taken the same test Sakura was preparing frantically for. It wasn't like they didn't understand.
"Yeah. I told her she could take a break from this so she could focus more on studying. She told me not to be stupid," Itachi replied with obvious exasperation. They both chuckled. Back from the bathroom upstairs, Kisame settled down between them.
"Has she said anything about America yet?" Kisame asked in a low voice that wouldn't travel. Deidara's azure eyes blazing with curiosity flickered to Itachi.
"Not really. I mean she has pamphlets about our school's study abroad program around the apartment but that's really it. I think she's trying to focus more on actually getting accepted to school first," responded Itachi just as quietly. A suddenly heavy air settled over them. Each of them could tell just from short glances that none of them really wanted Sakura to leave. She was a tiny person filled with so much anger and laughter and excitement. Everything would be too quiet and all wrong without her. But they watched Sakura's eyes widen as Sasori explained something to her. Her lips formed words. She leaned over to point at something else and asked a question with obvious curiosity.
They all knew it would be impossible to stop her if she really wanted to leave.
Itachi put his head in his hands and Deidara reached over to pat him on the back because no one would understand Itachi better when it came to his unusual girlfriend than his two best friends sitting next to him.
Another week passed. Dark circles. And all the coffee coffee coffee coffee in the world didn't seem to be enough. The stuff must have been running through her veins instead of blood by now. She was so sick of all the thinking and memorizing and highlighting but it had been her decision to try for KU and she wasn't one to give up so easily. As soon as they walked into the apartment every day, Sakura would tie her bangs up to keep them out of her eyes, change into a sweatshirt and leggings for maximum comfort, and dive into her piles and piles of notes.
Precisely two weeks before the dreaded entrance exam, Sakura woke up from what was supposed to have been a tiny power nap. Rubbing her eyes, she swiveled around to look at the clock. She had passed out sometime before 5 am and now it was almost noon. Sakura grumbled as she ripped off the post-it notes that had adhered themselves to her arms as she slept. Thankfully she had pinned her bangs up and yanked the rest of her hair back into a short ponytail so there was nothing hanging in her face to irritate her first thing in the morning. Huffing out a loud sigh, she cracked her neck and stood to go make a cup of coffee. As she rose on her tiptoes to get a new coffee filter out of the cabinet, Sakura caught sight of a light blue post-it left on the refrigerator door.
I tried to carry you to bed this morning but you opened your eyes and told me to go die so I'll assume you're planning to get more reading done. I need to work on a group project for school so I'll be at the university library if you need me. Don't forget to eat. And please don't forget to breathe.
Reading Itachi's easily-recognizable handwriting, Sakura popped a new filter into the coffeemaker and measured out the right amount of pre-ground beans. Pouring water into the back, she hit a couple buttons and leaned against the counter to wait. She read over Itachi's note one more time before she leaned over to tuck it between the pages of her planner sitting on the table. The glorious aroma of coffee spread through the apartment like a healing balm. Inhaling deeply, Sakura pushed off the counter to hunt for her favorite mug. It was white with a picture of a blue kitten reading a book. Needless to say, when she had spotted it in the pawn shop, Sakura had squealed and fussed over it so much that while she searched for her wallet, Deidara quietly snuck up to the register to buy it for her.
"Because that's what Dei-chan does for a My-chan, yeah," he declared while proudly holding the bagged mug out to her. Not even bothering to scold him for spoiling her all the time, Sakura threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly with the explanation: "Then this is what Sakura does for her Dei-chan."
Smiling as she remembered its origins, Sakura set the mug down on the counter. A minute later, there was beautiful, wonderful, amazing coffee steaming away in the cup and Sakura was pouring in just the right amount of sugar and milk. Bringing the perfect mixture to her lips, Sakura was about to take a sip when the doorbell rang. She considered ignoring it in favor of caffeine but it rang again.
"Coming," she called just a little grumpily. Shoving her feet into slippers, Sakura shuffled to the door with the coffee still held in her left hand. Expecting a delivery man or maybe an annoying solicitor, Sakura didn't bother to try to look awake or alive when she pushed the door open.
"Yes?" Sakura grumbled, eyes barely opened. It took entirely too long for her stare to focus enough for her to realize that it was Uchiha Mikoto standing at the door. Mikoto, dark hair perfectly shiny. Mikoto, flawless make-up and well-dressed in her dark coat and purple skirt and adorable boots and white cloche hat. Sakura, slovenly and angry-looking in the same frumpy clothes she had worn for days just gaped. So horrified, Sakura didn't even know what to say until Mikoto's surprised expression morphed into a smile. While Sakura stood frozen, Mikoto ducked under her arm to enter the apartment.
"Um… Mikoto-san?" Sakura finally managed to say as she shut the door. Mikoto was already in the kitchen, eyes skimming right over the mess of paper and books at the table like it wasn't even there.
"Oh, coffee. I'll pour myself a cup. How've you been, sweetheart?" Mikoto chattered away happily, sweeping around like some good fairy.
"I'm sorry," Sakura suddenly said. Mikoto froze. Eyes wide with concern, she turned to look at her.
"What for, dear?" asked Mikoto in the warm, tender voice that coaxed even surly Sasuke to do his chores properly.
"I'm so unsightly right now. And this whole place is filthy," Sakura groaned, rubbing at her face with her hands. There was a pause and then Mikoto burst out in startled laughter.
"Don't worry. I remember being a student. I just brought some food because Sasu-chan mentioned how tired you've been. You like chahan*, right?" responded Mikoto, flapping her hand.
It turned out that Sakura's hunger won over her mortification.
Later that afternoon, Itachi returned home with Deidara and Kisame in tow. Though Deidara claimed that he was inviting himself over to help Sakura study, he suspected that the blonde was more interested in annoying him than anything else. Sighing and rolling his eyes a bunch of times, Itachi opened the door and let his friends follow him into his apartment.
Sakura sat on the kitchen counter, legs swinging freely as she recited a bunch of dates and events in chronological order. Halfway through the list, the door opened and Itachi walked in, stamping a little to get the snow out of the soles of his shoes. Deidara pranced in after him followed by Kisame who held up a bag of what were undoubtedly fresh pork buns because Kisame always knew what food to bring to any event. Smiling, Sakura finished off the list and looked expectantly toward Sasuke sitting at the coffee table in the living room. Not looking up, Sasuke gave her the thumbs up and flipped to the next page of her notes.
"How many cups is that today?" inquired Itachi as he walked over to kiss her in greeting.
"Eight. I can't sit still," Sakura quipped back in a very cheerful tone. Itachi looked down at her legs still swinging back and forth and simply arched an eyebrow.
"Hey, little brother. You staying for dinner?" Itachi asked, turning toward Sasuke.
"Probably. I think mom and dad are going out to dinner with some friends," Sasuke responded. When he raised his head, his dark eyes locked on to Deidara and Kisame hanging their coats up.
"Oh, Baby Sasu-chan is eating with us? Can he eat big-boy food now?"
"Maybe we should heat up his bottle for him, yeah." As Deidara and Kisame launched into their usual methods of torment, Sasuke fixed his wide eyes on her, pleading so desperately without words that Sakura almost wanted to hug him. How much trauma they had actually inflicted on Sasuke would forever remain a mystery but Sakura could easily guess that it had to be severe if proud Uchiha Sasuke was begging for her help. She let out a loud sigh.
"Sakkun. Dei-chan," Sakura simply said in a warning.
"But My-chan! It's too fun, yeah!" Deidara whined. Kisame nodded furiously beside him. Crossing her arms over her chest, Sakura fixed them with a stern look.
"You two be nice to Sasuke-kun or I'll never invite you over for dinner ever again," Sakura threatened them.
"Ha! You'd never do that! You love us too much," Kisame immediately called her bluff.
"I'll never make you those French toast, bacon, and scrambled egg sandwiches again," Sakura insisted. Kisame let out a high-pitched gasp.
"And Dei-chan, I'll revert to wearing those baggy clothes with unfashionable patterns and I'll start wearing TURTLENECK SWEATERS!" she continued. It was Deidara's turn to gasp. But instead of gasping, he let out what sounded more like a womanly shriek. Like a child, Deidara actually stamped his foot, shaking Kisame's arm until they both seemed to realize that they were powerless against the deceptively sweet and gentle girl staring them down.
So, grumbling and glowering, they ceased their harassment of the younger Uchiha brother if only for the night. Munching on the steamed buns, they delved into what was one of Sakura's insane study sessions. Itachi sat at the coffee table to do his own work while Kisame settled to his right to grab some more buns while everyone was busy eating.
"So, My-chan, the molecules bond this way and create this compound," Deidara proudly concluded. Sakura stared intently at the page in the textbook before leaning back in the wooden chair with a groan.
"How am I supposed to memorize all this? This is stupid. I'm stupid," she huffed.
"You'll be fine, yeah," assured Deidara, patting her once on the back.
"I won't be, Dei-chan. What if I fail and can't get a job and Itachi-kun breaks up with me for being a useless bum?" Sakura suddenly exclaimed, running her hands through her hair like a crazy person. Launching himself out of his seat, Deidara pointed an accusatory finger at Itachi still focusing calmly on his book.
"How dare you treat Sakura-chan like that, Itachi! You bastard, yeah!" Deidara shouted.
Kisame froze mid-chew. Itachi looked as serene as ever. And Sasuke sat to his left, forehead furrowed.
"You guys are dumb. I'm going home," Sasuke snorted after a moment.
And Sakura gulped down her ninth cup of coffee.
One night, after school and after dance and after dinner, Sakura got up to take a short walk around the apartment to stretch her muscles. Her eyes drifted to the calendar hanging next to the refrigerator. January 27th was circled in red. Like she could ever forget what day the exam was on. Other days had writing either in Itachi's neat slant or her looping script. Birthdays and days for garbage pick-up were all marked down into the little boxes. But the numbers reminded her of something else. Sakura took a moment to count back the days, to try to remember the dates.
"Oh," Sakura said out loud.
"What's wrong?" asked Itachi. He was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop. Apparently he had a report due in a few days and he was making some good progress based on his leisurely typing. Sakura counted the days two more times in her head, slowly and carefully. Placing a hand on her lower stomach, she stared at the calendar.
"…I missed my period last month," she stated very simply.
There was a long pause.
Itachi continued typing away until the words had a chance to really clank away inside his head. And then his fingers suddenly froze and his jaw dropped.
"What."
"Hm… I wonder if it's my diet? Maybe I should eat more iron?" Sakura wondered out loud, hand rubbing absently at her stomach while Itachi finally turned around to face her. Itachi's mouth hung open but no sound left it, like he was choking on air.
"What," Itachi said again. Sakura's eyes met his and she looked so remarkably calm while he looked ready to explode. His stare darted from her face to her hand and back to her face. Sakura watched him suck in a huge breath before he suddenly flung himself out of his chair. While she stood just a little puzzled, Itachi scrambled around throwing on his jacket and looking for his keys.
"Is the drug store open right now?" he demanded while struggling to fit his right foot into his left shoe. She thought for a moment.
"The one down the street, I think. Why?"
"Be right back," Itachi simply flung at her before he practically ran out of the apartment. Sakura honestly would have been more worried if she hadn't remembered that she still had the entire periodic table of elements to memorize. She was interrupted ten minutes later when Itachi burst into the apartment, a white plastic bag clenched in his right hand. The bag fell into her lap. Itachi seemed to be on the brink of tearing his own hair out in giant fistfuls if she didn't look inside. So Sakura reached into the bag to pull out a small rectangular box.
A pregnancy test.
Honestly, if she wasn't so strung out on caffeine and so exhausted, Sakura would have been embarrassed too. Instead, she quietly went into the bathroom to try it out. When she emerged a couple minutes later, Itachi hovered over her shoulder like a slightly spastic hawk. Ten minutes later, they stared at the little minus sign in the window. Nobody spoke for a very long time before Sakura shrugged.
"See? There are a lot of things that'll make a girl miss her period," Sakura announced with levity that surprised herself. It wasn't that she wasn't at all worried. It was just that they were very careful about protection and this wasn't the first time she had ever missed her usual cycle. Her habit of forgetting to eat and sleep in favor of studying tended to do that a lot actually. But she turned and Itachi was still staring down at the little white stick with the same expression of anxiety.
"This could be a false negative," Itachi finally declared.
"Itachi-kun."
"I'll schedule an appointment at a hospital for you. You never know. I don't think my savings could cover the expense of having a baby right now. Maybe if I got a second job? Actually, there's that money from-"
"Itachi-kun."
"I could always take a break from school. Get a full-time job. I'm pretty strong. I could probably get a job in construction work. Or maybe uncle's firm has room for an assistant. That would pay pretty well-"
"Itachi-kun."
"Hm?"
"I'm not pregnant. Calm down," Sakura said when she finally got his attention. Eyes still a little crazy, Itachi put his hands on her shoulders.
"You should still get it checked out just in case," Itachi insisted. Puffing her cheeks out, Sakura frowned.
"If I do, will you stop panicking?"
"Yes," he promptly replied.
"You know, it's probably just stress and not sleeping," Sakura insisted under her breath.
"That's not much better," Itachi exclaimed, storming over to push her into a chair, as if even the smallest amount of exertion would send her flying into cardiac arrest.
Finally, sighing and rolling her eyes, Sakura agreed and they went to the hospital after school the following day. As they sat in the small room to wait for the doctor, Sakura wondered at what point had she become the calm one and Itachi become the nervous puppy. Then again, if she wasn't so sleep-deprived, maybe she would be more panicky too. But only the logical part of her brain really seemed to be up for functioning at the moment and it was assuring her not to worry. So she didn't. She filled out the questionnaire in the waiting room with a steady hand. Every once in a while she paused and looked over at Itachi to ask for his opinion on an answer.
Was she sexually active?
Did they use protection?
Did she have multiple partners in the last few months?
The last question made Itachi let out a strange noise between a scoff and a cough. Once Sakura finished, she handed the clipboard back to the nurses and sat back down on the couch. There were a few other people scattered around the room. An elderly couple was in the corner clasping hands. A young mother held her child in her lap as he made whooshing noises for his toy airplane. Itachi threaded his fingers through hers, squeezing just a little tighter than usual.
When the doctor came in a few minutes later, Sakura was completely unsurprised at the words that came out of his mouth.
"So, Haruno-san, I'm here to inform you that the results of your initial pregnancy test were correct. You're not with child," he said in a warm, fatherly voice that Sakura supposed was popular with his patients.
Itachi finally stopped jiggling his leg and they thanked the doctor for his time.
Back at the apartment, Sakura poured herself a glass of orange juice. Itachi stood at the calendar with an odd expression.
"Satisfied? I'm not pregnant. You're not going to have to quit school. And I can go on studying," Sakura said just a little smugly as she sat down at the kitchen table to get her homework out of the way.
"Well… I suppose it's a little early. Maybe in a few years," Itachi muttered.
"Your priorities are all out of whack!" Sakura half-laughed, half-snapped. Shaking her head a little, she glanced over at him still standing at the calendar with an odd mixture of longing and relief.
January 27th arrived and suddenly Sakura realized that her entire future hung in the balance over a stupid test. The three nights leading up to that Saturday, Deidara and Kisame had made themselves permanent fixtures at the apartment. They seemed just as stressed if not more stressed than Sakura as they helped her go over the most crucial topics for the exam. Sasori joined in once but fell asleep halfway through and ended up not being too much help.
"Well, he's been busy working on sewing those clothes for the show, right?" Sakura defended him as she draped a blanket over his form curled up on the sofa.
"You're first priority right now, My-chan, yeah," Deidara grumbled, eyeing Sasori with severe disapproval.
"That's sweet, Dei-chan. But you're the only one weird enough to think that," she laughed. Shrugging, Deidara put his arm around her, only to be karate chopped in the back of the head by Kisame.
But Saturday morning, Sakura woke up in the bed- not on the floor or at the kitchen table with her cheek stuck to her notebook. She turned off the alarm on her cell phone before Itachi had a chance to throw his arm over her and pull her back under the covers again.
"Morning," she breathed out. Itachi grunted something in response. He exhaled deeply before pressing his lips against the nape of her neck. When he nuzzled lightly, his stubble tickled her just enough to make her smile.
"What time is it?" mumbled Itachi.
"Almost 6:30. I need to take a shower," Sakura almost complained. She had to be at the university by 8 am. Since they were so close, it meant that she didn't have to wake up nearly as early as some of the other people taking the same exam. And after weeks of abuse and sleep deprivation, Sakura's body almost seemed resigned to being roused so early. It could be worse. Sakura sat up, shivering a little against the morning chill.
"Do you want breakfast?" asked Itachi mostly into his pillow from where his head had fallen.
"I'll make something myself," she assured him.
"Do you need a ride?"
"I'll walk. Get some rest," Sakura huffed, climbing down from the loft.
When she made it to her assigned room a little before 8, Sakura found herself in a sea of panicking students. There were people frantically reading their notecards and burying their noses in books last-minute. Sakura, armed with just a few writing tools and an eraser, calmly sat in her seat and propped her chin up in her hand to wait.
The first day of testing took a little over 5 hours. Most of the questions were easy. She had memorized enough history and names and dates to breeze through and her grasp of English was good enough. Japanese literature, the subject she detested most, was about as horrible as she had expected. In anticipation, she had had Sasori drill her on classical texts and comprehension until she had grown to shuddering at any book that looked moderately old.
The second day was much easier. It was science and math. Kisame had done a good job of helping her cover the crucial topics (especially in his favorite subject: biology). Chemistry was somewhat of a struggle. Sakura was naturally horrible at chemistry but she had forced herself to understand it enough in high school that it wasn't as catastrophic as it could have been. And math, blessed math, was easy. Math never changed. It had strict formulas and rules that always led to the correct answers.
At the end of the two days, Sakura lay on the sofa facing the TV and closed her eyes. Her head was deposited comfortably in Itachi's lap who was watching the news. Itachi stroked her hair as she stretched her arms out. After hours of filling in bubbles, her right hand felt like it was made out of limp noodles.
"How do you think you did?" he asked. Sakura groaned, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes.
"I don't even know. I just want to eat ice cream and then lie in bed and not go anywhere anymore," Sakura whined. Peering up at him through her fingers, Sakura found that Itachi was trying his best not to laugh at her childish tone.
"Stay in bed? I like that idea," he said with a smile.
"Ugh!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Hey, it's been a month and I've been on my best behavior. Indulge me a little," Itachi pointed out. Sakura thought for a while and then she sat up.
"Fine! But ice cream first," she declared as she stood. Before she could make it even one step, Itachi's fingers closed around her arm and she somehow ended up pinned underneath him. Glowering at him, Sakura wrinkled her nose.
"The ice cream can wait. I don't think I can," he whispered against her ear.
"Well my tummy can't! Feed me first or I will be an intolerable brat for the rest of the night," Sakura sniffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"A brat?" Itachi repeated with obvious confusion.
"I'll ask for massages and I'll nag you and I'll never leave you alone," she clarified. Itachi mulled this over and then he shrugged.
"I wouldn't mind that. Where should we start with those massages then?"
Chahan* is fried rice.
Yuzu* is a fruit that almost looks like a mandarin orange but it sort of tastes like a grapefruit. I know in Korea it's used to make tea and other drinks but the Japanese prefer to use it as flavoring or garnish.
Zoni* or ozoni is traditional soup eaten on New Year's.
And my apologies in advance to anyone from Japan if I've massively screwed up any of the New Year's traditions. My knowledge of these festivities consists of me pestering my Japanese friends for information and then googling the rest when they're too lazy to explain properly.
Reviews please because it'll be February and then March and then it'll be the end of this extremely long tale! Let me know what you think will happen... or what you want to happen. Who's your favorite character?