Chapter III
Should never have…
Like he said, she was about to discover what real Uchiha men were like.
"Sakura-chan, please don't do this!" with a sigh she continued to cover her lashes with mascara.
"Dobe, even if you tell her that she won't get away. When Itachi want to do something he does it," Sasuke sat on the bed, leaning his head on his arm, hiding his inner panic and confusion. He hadn't felt like this since he realized he was in love with his lifelong rival and best friend, who happened to be a guy. Only this time, there was no underlying happiness waiting to surprise him like a jack-in-the-box.
"He's probably right, Naruto. I guess the only way I'll avoid this is to have an urgent stomach flu," she said and colored her lips a pink color.
"Sasuke, do you have some kind of medicine that can make her have flu symptoms? Like sleeping pills or Viagra…" the blonde was making plans far ahead of what he got out of his mouth, not realizing what he said.
"You want to turn her into a horny dog when she's going on a date with my older brother?" wrinkling his nose, the Uchiha groaned.
"Huh? What--no…I-I was… No!! I've seen you when your pants are on fire, and I don't want to know how your older brother is!! Especially not since I found out he could throw the let's-do-it-against-the-wall-right-now look in the middle of the street!" poor, poor Naruto was getting desperate, "he makes James Bond seem like a priest!!"
"Bond kills people, Itachi sign papers," with another displeased grunt the black haired man laid down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm.
"A pen is a far more powerful weapon than a sword!" wow, the knucklehead had at least learned something on those classic literature lessons with Ebisu.
"Only if you have a laser built in, or possibly a bomb."
"I'm sure he goes around killing people when he gets bored…" the Uzumaki grumbled, crossing his arms.
"What the hell are you talking about? First off, don't judge him like that! Second, who the hell is James Bond?!" Sakura asked, feeling that she had a hard time catching up on this conversation.
"He's only one of the coolest secret agents ever put up on the silver-screen, that's all. And I judge him all I want, he harassed you!" Naruto cried, frowning in anger.
"He didn't harass me!"
"He kissed you against your will! He undressed you in your sleep! If that's not harassment I don't know what is! And how can you be so sure he didn't do anything more?!"
"…" the question was so stupid she wondered if she should answer it.
"He's going to be the next Superintendent General, I doubt he would take the risk of getting accused of sexual harassment," Sasuke grunted, "and he technically can't be accused of it either. He never forced her to anything. If we want to believe Sakura he did ask her."
"You're disgusted just thinking about it, aren't you?" Sakura asked.
"Of course not, I just ate sweet beans and drank five bottles sake before, so I'm fighting a hangover," the way he talked and really went to an extent to explain how he was feeling had the two love interest for him and his brother laugh.
"Sasuke, go and get yourself some tomatoes, you don't seem to be in a good mood," the pink haired girl laughed.
"You're wrong, Sakura. I couldn't be happier about you going on a date with my sadistic brother. In fact, I'm in ecstasy," a long, irritated sigh left his lips.
"Aw, you're grumpy," she said, grinning.
"I am not," while having a slight tint to his cheeks he turned over, letting his back face them.
"I like it when you're grumpy. You're so cute when you are," Naruto said, climbing on top of the bed, giving his partner a poke on his cheek.
"Shut up, baka," Sasuke growled, hiding his embarrassment the ordinary Uchiha way, ignoring the cause of it.
"Don't you tell me to shut up, you--
Suddenly he flew up, standing tensed, listening after something. The way his whisker marks vibrated on his face as he…sniffed the air made him look more like a surrogate than a human.
Ding dong!
"He's here!!" the blonde shouted and darted out the room, quickly running down the corridor and practically jumping down the stairs in one giant leap. The door was soon opened, and a conversation was started.
"Is it me or him who's going on a date?" Sakura wondered, grabbing her bag and walking out of the room, followed by her dark knight. She felt that the floor was slippery under her feet, thanks to the nylon on them.
"Please tell me you're not wearing stay-ups?" he asked as they walked down the staircase.
"I am, I ripped my stockings, what of it?"
"Don't bend down unless you absolutely have to, and make sure your legs are always properly covered," he whispered as they made their way inside the hall.
By the door, which was just about to get closed, the raven haired policeman stood, going through one of the infamous Uzumaki cross-questionings. And for the moment, he seemed to pass with flying colors, much to the interrogators chagrin. "What do you intend to do with her?" he asked, narrowing the blue eyes to slits.
"I intend to take her to dinner, Naruto-kun. And that is everything I am planning on," Itachi said, before redirecting his red eyes to his date. Upon seeing her he lowered his eyelids, following the delicate curves of her body, empathized by the red dress she was wearing. He liked the fact that the scarlet gown, dark stockings and black bag matched his own natural colors. It satisfied him, showing every other man, and woman, that she was his.
"Hi," she said, giving him a shy smile. She went to put on her shoes, slipping her small feet into her favorite red heels. They were high, and it allowed her to match his height a bit more than she usually would. Then she reached for her coat, finding that she should probably use fancy outerwear too.
She checked that she had everything necessary with her before moving to stop Naruto's fruitless attempt to keep her within his direct field of vision. "Now, don't forget to feed Leo later. There's food in the kitchen, and if you eat, put the dish in the dishwasher and try not to make a too big mess while I'm gone, alright?" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. After all the years together the three of them had developed an incredible bond, so much that even their parents treated them as each others children. They even had their own key to the house of the two others.
"But. Sakura-cha--
"See you later, Naruto," she said and gave her white knight a kiss before moving to let the even more disgruntled male to let him have his share of her love for them. He stubbornly looked away, but then glared at his brother.
"If she comes back with anything else than a smile you will wish you never were more than an egg in kaa-san's womb," he threatened, his black eyes shooting invisible bullets.
"Sasuke--
"Don't worry, ototo. I can make her come back with the broadest smile you have ever seen…" while talking he gently grabbed her hand, tugging her to his side.
"What are you saying?!" she asked, blushing furiously.
"Hey! You said you wouldn't do anything more than taking her to dinner!" Naruto shrieked, horrified.
"I said I didn't plan to do anything else, but as you know Naruto-kun, Sakura is the kind of woman who you would go off schedule for," the smirk was satisfaction put in material form, and he entwined his fingers with hers, showing exactly what he was talking about, making it even harder for the blonde to keep himself in check.
"I am disgusted," the younger of the two brothers growled.
"Sasuke, you're--
"I am too! Damn you, Uchiha bastard! Leave my Sakura-chan alone!" the Uzumaki angrily snarled, moving to grab his fake sister. But instead of reaching her his way was cut off by the body of the man he tried to steal her from.
"I am sorry, Naruto-kun, I cannot let you do that," those red eyes was getting dark, now when they were out of vision from the woman behind him.
With a gulp the blonde backed. "I don't trust you with my Sakura-chan," he said, his pupils shrinking to small dots.
"I can assure you I will take good care of her," the black haired man said.
"I can take good care of myself thank you," Sakura snorted, and stepped in between the two fighters about to break out in a brawl. "And could you please stop behaving like five year olds? All three of you."
At her mature way her two friends withdrew reluctantly, while her new, surprised acquaintance widened his eyes at her. Not only did she compare his behavior to that of a child, she could also suppress both of those two hot tempered, stubborn and immature teens to the level where they could no longer fight over her. His thoughts began to spin, and soon he once again curled his lips.
He leaned down to her ear, "Sakura, to you like scolding?"
The slight implication had her gawking, she snapped her head his way and felt her cheeks warming up. "W-what are you talking about?! Of course I don't!" she hissed, hitting his arm.
"Then do you like being scolded?" the mischievous gleam in his eyes had her insides turn hot, and she watched him uncertainly.
"'Didn't harass me', my foot! What the hell are you saying to her?!" even though he didn't hear anything else than very breathy whispers he could clearly see that his precious 'little sister' was getting troubled.
"Dobe, just leave it," Sasuke sighed and walked into the living room, sitting down in the sofa next to the sleeping cat while massaging his temples. His boyfriend yelled after him to back him up instead of running away from the problems, but received nothing more than total ignorance in return.
"Let's go," Itachi said and tugged at the embarrassed girl, immediately earning him a shower of swears and curses.
Sakura nodded and opened the door. "See you later guys, love you," she said, waving past the tall figure behind her. She carefully proceeded outside, trying to avoid slipping with her heels. Luckily there was not much ice on the few steps down to the pavement, but once she set foot on the stone she felt that there was a much thinner and more dangerous layer of frozen water, and she had to depend on the fact that she had a stable man behind her several times.
"Why take heels in the middle of winter?" he asked, gently leading her to his car, opening the door for her.
"Because these match my dress, and going to a restaurant in heavy boots is not appropriate," she said. She heard him chuckle as he walked around the car, taking a seat behind the rear.
"I'd rather have you getting there alive and well, in boots, than with broken ankles and heels," he said and started the engine.
"You have no understanding for women's way of thinking," she said, glancing at him through the corner of her eye.
"Since I am a man I take pride in that statement."
"Do you men always turn insults into compliments and the other way around?" she asked, of what experience she had with men they always tried to make it so that the attention they had while being given a word of praise stayed on them, often through self-pity.
"It depends on what kind of compliment," he said and stopped for the mass of people walking over the street.
"Oh yeah?" she rolled her eyes, remembering getting the same answer from his younger brother.
"How about women? Are all of you so vain?"
"We're not as concerned about our appearance as you seem to think we are," she said, "most just makes themselves pretty for people they like."
"So you are enamored with me?" Itachi asked, the all-knowing smirk appeared.
"You apparently flatter yourself a lot," she muttered, "more than a woman."
His expression once again became carefully blank, his dark orbs dead. "I doubt that, Sakura," he said.
"Strange, that someone as handsome as you is not that self-centered," she pointed out, blushing when he chuckled.
"So you think I am handsome, Sakura?"
"I thought we concluded that last week…" she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, refusing to look at him. It didn't help much because she was still blushing at the intent stare on her face.
He didn't say anything, just drove through the brightly lit streets of Tokyo. The silence between them was only disturbed by the evening news on the radio.
"…three cases of kidnapping has been reported only this week, and two of them were young girls who had been out with friends in the area of Harajuku. Many parents asks themselves if they can trust the police force, and we have asked the current general superintendent, as well as his son,"the woman said, her voice neutral about the news.
"We are well aware of the disappearances, and have two teams working on the seven cases reported since last week. We plan to become even more efficient in our search, as well as the precautions," Fugaku's extremely boring and serious voice grumbled. He was obviously irritated, but hid it under a fine mask of pride.
"This is nothing new. Over a thousand people are reported missing or kidnapped every year, often it is just some kind of stage to lour the insurance companies and the like. Even though this is a possibility we will investigate we are actively searching and doing what we can to find the girls," it felt strange, hearing his voice through the radio. She glanced at him slightly, wondering what he was thinking. Suddenly it hit her, did he really have time to take her to dinner?
"Um…" she started, but didn't come up with any decent way to ask about it.
"Are you curious?" he asked lowly, turning the volume down.
"About what?" she cocked her head first, but immediately realized what he meant, and blushed at her ignorance, "no…not really. I was just wondering if you have time to go out on dinner with me when you have this kind of case?"
Surprisingly, he chuckled. "Actually, we have already found those girls," he said, amusement coating his voice.
"What? But on the radio you said--
"It was a lie, my officers have already taken the girls home," he said.
"Why? Was it really necessary to lie like that? And exactly how did you find them?" she frowned at him, starting to realize just how mischievous this man could be.
"Media is relying on an exciting story in order to have something to report. In fact, many investigation has been closed for weeks before the media finds out about it," he explained, "and those girls had taken in on a hotel when they didn't want to go home, feeling insecure in the middle of the night. They had just not woken up, or at least not bothered to get up, before six in the evening."
"That's it? So all the rumors about them being murdered or sexually abused is false?"
"Gossip tend to blow things out of proportion," he changed the gear and speed up on a nearly empty street, "we plan to reveal the finding next week."
"I think I can't trust the police anymore…" she sighed, "…not when you're there, at least."
"I don't need you to trust the police, but I want you to trust me," he said and stared intently at her, even though he was still driving insanely fast.
"Look at the road you idiot!" she shrieked in panic when she noticed he didn't even take a peek through the front window.
"Not unless you trust me," he mumbled, his red eyes glued to her face.
"Don't be stupid! I'm not ready to die yet!" she hissed, seeing cars coming from the other way, "look at the road!!"
"I don't feel like it," he teased.
Exactly what was this man? Some kind of psychopath? "Just slow down and drive properly!" her heart was beating painfully fast.
"I still don't feel like it," he smirked, "unless I get a reward."
"Don't be ridiculous! Getting to see tomorrow should be enough!" she felt herself get hot as they neared the end of the street and the heavily trafficked boulevard, and he showed no sign of realizing this fact.
"A reward, Sakura," he said.
She was beginning to hyperventilate. "Fine! I can kiss you on the cheek, after you slow down and look at the road!" she practically shook with anger and fear for her life. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and she had to bite her teeth hard together to not let them slip and ruin her make up.
But it seemed the proposal was pleasing, and the devilish man obeyed her wish. He actually had the time to slow down to a soft stop by the crosswalk and waited for the passing traffic to leave a gap for him to drive into.
Sakura couldn't help the relieved breath escaping her. She had been in an accident as a child, and it was not something she would want to experience again. "I hate you…" she grumbled, letting her breath catch up with her stressed heart. The brief pants had her lips dry up and she licked them briefly. What she did not notice was that the black haired man watched her movements, missing a few chances to enter the stream of cars.
His smirk was like a dangerous drug, and his thoughts trailed away to how he could make her pant like that later.
"What are you staring at?" Sakura asked, taking a zip from the glass filled with mineral water. The bubbles burned on her tongue, and she savored the feeling before swallowing.
"That man who is with his fiancé and is currently watching you with lust," Itachi replied darkly, capturing the man's blue gaze. He sent a message of bloody death if he caught him looking at his partner again. The man seemed to get his little intention, and uncomfortably shifted in his seat.
She turned around slightly and gave a pitiful look. "You're really mean, you know that right?" she asked sarcastically, shaking her head.
"Men tend to become that way when they have something they want to guard," he said, closing his eyes.
"Oh, you've got quite a large ego then," she confirmed with a teasing smile.
"Who wouldn't have when they are with such a beautiful woman such as yourself?" he asked, his eyes watching her with more than a healthy amount of satisfaction.
She blushed at his bold comment, and stared down on her glass. "Are you sure you're related to Sasuke? The only compliment he has given me was that I wasn't that fat," she muttered, unable to think of something better for the moment.
Itachi chuckled. "I am very sure I am the older brother of Sasuke, Sakura. Although Sasuke have inherited my father's stubbornness," he laughed.
"As I thought, he got more from Fugaku-sama than you," she said, giving him a critical look.
"What makes you think that?"
"First of all, Sasuke is a hell lot more stern, and as you said, stubborn. And you look much more like a girl than him," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks heat up further when he snickered.
"Maybe you want some…persuasion to convince you that I am much more of a male than he will ever be?" he asked huskily, his voice melting her insides.
She hesitated before she replied, "exactly what kind of persuasion?"
The red of his orbs darkened considerably, and his lashes lowered. He almost had her choking on the air she was breathing. "Do you really want me to answer that here, Sakura?"
The fine hairs on her arms stood up at his purr, shivers running down her spine. Her mouth went dry as he continued to observe her with those dark eyes, making her body hot. Suddenly she became uncomfortably aware of him, his scent tickled her nose and the heat radiating from his legs beneath the table cloth was immediately a lot more disturbing than she had found it a moment ago. She shifted slightly, biting her lip and fingering a lock of hair hanging beside her face. She couldn't continue to meet his gaze, and instead set it to the skillful work of the violinist.
"Your black and white, miss," she jumped at the squeaky exclamation of the server, and the beautifully decorated plate was placed in front of her. The two steaks were small, and she was grateful for that, she had never been a big eater (she had occasionally been called anorectic by her friend Choji).
"Thank you," she said, realizing how hungry she was.
"You're welcome. And sir, your salmon," the waitress said, smiling a bit too cutely at the Uchiha. Then she excused herself, walking away with swaying hips.
"I thought you didn't like fish?" she said and took a bite of the sliced potato that had come with her meat.
"I said it was edible, and the salmon happens to be very good here," he clarified, pleased with the fact that she remembered such a brief comment.
"Oh, really? Then what is your favorite food?" she asked before taking a sip of her water.
"Onigiri with seaweed and cabbage belongs to what I prefer," he said, empathizing his point by putting one of the green leaves that was on his plate in his mouth.
"That's not to be expected from someone like you," she mumbled.
"It is not?"
"No, I pictured you favoring meat dishes, like steak--
--which happens to be something I dislike very much," he cut her off, watching her baffled face.
"You don't like steak?" she had a hard time comprehending that fact, she had imagined him being like his father, a big fan of those sorts of food.
"Abhor it, basically," he confirmed, "and yours?"
"My favorite food?" she tapped her chin in thought, "I guess it's anko dumplings, umeboshi and anmitsu."
"You seem to like sweets," Itachi commented, "and you dislike…?"
"I don't like spicy food, I never have," she shook her head only thinking about it.
"Yet you have such a fiery personality," he snickered, satisfied with her reaction.
She blushed and glared angrily at him, not about to tolerate such brute comments. "What's that supposed to mean?" she hissed, restraining the urge to bang her fists in the table.
He just continued to eat peacefully, pretending to concentrate on cutting precisely formed pieces of his fish. He listened to her displeased grumbles, finding it highly amusing that she was such a hypocrite, one second the loveliest girl, the next an angry tiger ready to devour you. But she was a vulnerable tiger, constantly leaving herself open for attacks. It excited him, and he knew he himself could easily hit the bull's-eye.
"I did not see your parents," he said, directing her attention to him instead of her inaudible rant.
She gave him a glazy look. "No, too-chan is in the states, for work. Kaa-chan is visiting an old friend over the weekend," she shrugged, continuing to slowly eat her food.
"So they are not aware of you being with me?" he asked, catching the slight stiffening of her arms.
"No, they're not," she said uncertainly.
"And your friend…Ino, was it?"
"Yeah, the pig," Sakura felt her brow twitch, "she had to go on a family dinner, but will make sure to corner you, and me, next time she lays eyes upon one of us, no matter what place or time."
"You seem to be troubled," he claimed, putting down his tableware.
"You don't want to be the object of her attention, I can tell you that," she explained, finding it to be enough for now.
"I'd rather be in the centre of your attention," it was the way he said it, it must have been, because she felt her cheeks heat up for unknown reasons. She had absolutely no reason to be embarrassed, he wasn't even inquiring anything! …was he?
"Do I want to know what you mean by that?" she asked carefully at last, daring an uncertain look at him. She immediately regretted it when she saw the naughty glint in his orbs.
"Once again, I don't think it would be appropriate to answer that question here," he smirked, his lips speaking of mischievous and sinful plans.
Her mouth went dry, memories of the time in the classroom flashing in her head, making her outside turn red like her dress. "You're very evil, you know," she mumbled miserably. She drank a big gulp of her club soda, trying to entertain her mind with counting the stings on her tongue instead of thinking about other matters.
Itachi felt that he had her caged in a corner. "Exactly what makes you think so, ohime-sama?"
She froze up, unable to let go of the glass she had just set down. Her green eyes were basically doll like, stiff and empty, until her comprehension surged up to the surface. "Uchiha, what the hell are you talking about?" she asked, her mouth quivering. She had no idea why she was feeling so dangerously weak and exposed, or even how he made her feel that way.
"I don't listen to that name, as I have informed you previously," the sadistic smile had her insides freeze to hot ice. She shifted her legs uncomfortably, trying to stop the interfering redness in her face.
"I wonder why I don't hate you yet…" she grumbled, glaring down at the napkin on her lap.
"Funny, I myself was just wondering about something related to that," he said, and smirked when she took the bait.
"And what was that?"
"Why have you agreed to this dinner?" he blinked with those superhuman long eyelashes, his red eyes locking with her green ones.
Her mouth went dry once again, and a shiver rolled up her spine. How could his gaze be so hot, but still make her feel like ice? She nervously tucked her bang behind her ear. Her heart was speeding up, "because…you intrigue me, I guess. Exactly what do you otherwise expect of a girl you kissed silly at two opportunities?"
"I expect her to detest me, in fact. I did after all force you," he said, completely honest.
"How could you have forced me when I was willing? Or…somewhat, at the very least. You can hardly be blamed for rape," she confessed meekly, her cheeks heating up.
"I made you willing."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Was he trying to accuse himself for unlawful acts? As far as she knew, he hadn't done much wrong. Of course you shouldn't go and make out with a student whenever you feel like it--and you should surely not undress them in their sleep--but he had asked her, and stopped when she wanted him to. The fact that she fell asleep and didn't object to him undressing her was solely her own fault, and he had not done anything vulgar as far as she was aware. Everything she remembered was that he had flirted with her, and surely that was not something punishable by law?
"What do you mean 'made' me? I was…well, not completely willing from the start, but I don't feel offended. At least not over the top anyway," she mumbled, trying to avert his eyes to somewhere else than her.
"Precisely. I made you comply to my cravings, and I suppose that is sometimes considered disgraceful. And, I took you home when I just as easily could have called kaa-san or Sasuke to ask where you lived," he explained, twirling his glass around in his hand.
"However, I would have been outraged if you had chosen to end it there," she choose to keep quiet about the part where she would be heartbroken.
"I see. So you are eager to continue this affair?" he asked huskily, the guilt stricken behavior gone like the wind.
She frowned at him, Uchiha Itachi was playing at something, and she better guard herself carefully or he will score goal. "I wouldn't call it an affair…" she said suspiciously, squinting.
He was pleased with the fact that she was ready bare her claws at him. "I wouldn't agree, Sakura. I think we are beyond the point of friends going out for dinner together. I would describe our relation as 'friends with benefits'," this man was a dangerous existence.
"Friend with benefits? Of course we aren't! I doubt I have given you any 'benefits'!" she hissed, wondering where his formerly sweet persona had gone.
"There you are wrong, Sakura. I have had quite a generous taste of you, as well as a pleasing look," Itachi had always been a man who liked to play with destiny, but indulging with this petite female was far more interesting. He could almost see the sparks flying around in her eyes.
"Didn't you say you didn't do anything to me?" she asked angrily.
"I didn't, but undergarments only cover a small portion of your body, Sakura, and I don't need to take them off to imagine what's beneath," she gasped at his straightforward comment, her entire body transforming into a tomato.
"Y-you bastard!" she said before she could stop herself, and received a few curious glances.
"You might want to keep your voice down, I am sure there are more ears than mine who enjoy listening to you," the black haired devil said, giving her a particularly heavy stare.
"I'm beginning to hate you now, Uchiha…" she said, tears of frustration threatening to reveal themselves and destroy her makeup.
"Oh? I can make you change your opinion that rapidly? Then, I know what I am going to use this advantageous ability to next…" his voice revealed his oh-so not innocent thoughts. Normally, preys try to escape when face to face with a predator, but not Sakura, because she had not yet realized she was equal to a piece of fine meat to this man sitting opposite of her. However, he would make sure she would be more than aware of it in due time.
He snapped his fingers and stared at the waiter who had served them until he ran away to get the check. "I think it's about time for us to leave, is it not, Sakura?" he calmly took his wallet out, having his credit card ready when the tab was presented to him.
"Why do you seem to be in a hurry, all of a sudden?" she raised an distrustful brow on him.
"I think it is unnecessary to waste time here when we might as well talk more freely within the walls of my house," he lowered his voice, "and there are a few…mosquitoes who are very interested in what you have to say."
She blinked a few times, her green eyes lit up with wonder. Then she looked around, and found that everyone seemed a bit too aware of them. She blushed slightly. "I guess you're right…" she confessed meekly, pouting.
"Sir, here is your card," the waiter said, smiling as he handed the plastic pawn over.
Itachi briefly examined the card before returning it to the folder in his pocketbook. He then got up, moving to pull out the young woman's chair too. "My lady," he mumbled as she got up, knowing that he got jealous and disappointed glances from all over the room. He found it rather interesting that the one exposed to his unusually kind gestured seemed to experience them as nothing but annoying.
"There's no need for you to do that, I am perfectly capable of standing up on my own," she huffed, taking her coat and bag which she had hung on the chair she had been sitting on.
He simply smirked in response, and put his arm around her waist to lead her out. He was pleased with her shying away, but that didn't mean she would get anywhere. He simply pressed her closer to him, letting her hip brush against his as they walked to his car.
"What's with the sudden proximity?" she gave him a slightly disgruntled face.
"I wouldn't want you to be freezing to death before we get to the car," he said while letting the guard open the door, making a harsh and chilling gust of wind hit them, immediately turning the small female's skin blue. The fine hair on her arms stood up and the shivers running up her spine were very unpleasant. Luckily--if you were anyone other than Sakura--her chevalier was quick to the rescue and lessened the distance between them from little to nothing, letting her steal his body heat.
"It's kind of hard to walk when we're like this, Uchiha-san…" she commented, trying her best not to let her hips touch his to much.
"I would be glad to carry you, Sakura," he smirked, "it would give me the opportunity to touch your soft thighs…"
"I'm warning you, if you as much as try to put your fingers on my thigh I will kill you," she warned him when they reached the car and she sat down.
"I'd die as a happy man," he said and walked around the car to get in on the other side.
"Are you dead-set on smirking at me even in your death?" she rolled her eyes when she saw his face.
"In fact, yes," he admitted and drove up the street.
"I take it you don't care about the fact that I don't enjoy watching you smirk?"
"Not at all," she scoffed at his attitude, finding his confident way to disturbing to deal with. This resulted in the rest of the trip to be in silence, until she noticed that they were not heading towards her house, that is.
"Where are we going?" she asked, looking out the window.
"To my house," he responded.
"What? But--
"Relax, Sakura. I will take you home in due time," he said and turned down on his street, "it is still early." Her eyes flew to the display on the radio, and saw that it was just past nine. Yet, she frowned.
"Naruto will panic if I'm not at home by ten. And you saw how hard he can be to deal with," she grumbled, seeing his house closing in rapidly.
"I will take care of him for you," he offered as he pulled up on his driveway and stopped, turning the engine off.
"Oh yes, you did that beautifully before," she rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car, following him to the entrance to his house. She shivered as the cold wind blew under her skirt, and shivered violently. When he finally unlocked the door she was walking with her nose in his back, wanting to get inside a soon as possible. She was in such a hurry that she didn't notice that he stopped to turn around and close the door, causing her to awkwardly bump into him.
"Sorry," she mumbled, fumbling after the door knob behind her. Just as she grabbed it with her pale fingers a larger, warm palm settled over her stiff joints.
"It's alright, Sakura," his voice sounded strange, as it he was unbelievably annoyed by her awkwardness. She tried to catch his gaze, but found it flickering from her as he took of his shoes.
The silence laid heavily between them when he entered the kitchen, hoping that she was able to take off her high heels without dislocating her ankle. "Would you like to have anything to drink?" he asked, opening the fridge.
"No thank you, I'm fine," she said and entered the kitchen, absentmindedly noting that he had rearranged the table away from the window to the middle of the room. More chairs were placed by the sides. "Are you going to have guests over soon?" she asked.
"No, my mother came by the other day and decided that the table suited much better there than by the window," he confirmed and looked through the many cupboards for something. Funny, a man like Itachi gave the impression of being extremely well organized. "You can go to the living room if you want to."
"You're sure you don't need help looking for whatever you're looking for?" she asked, rather amused about the fact that he was rechecking the drawers.
"No, thank you. I will join you in a moment," he said and finally found a small object that he fished up with those long fingers.
"Alright," Sakura smiled and went to the living room, wondering what strange squeaking sound she heard from the domestic area she just left. But she didn't give it much thought when she settled in Itachi's very comfy sofa. It had been just as pleasant to sit in this time as the last was what she was thinking as she turned on the television.
She flipped through the many channels, until she accidentally saw a panda and its babies blink past her vision, and had to stop and watch them for a few seconds. She had always been weak to animals, and the fact that pandas are incredibly cute only made her softer. But then, entirely unexplained, the picture switched to some kind of monkey in the mountains, showing her red faces and white fur, as well as…cooties being picked from them by a fellow family member. She wrinkled her nose and continued to see what was on the other channels.
That is, until Itachi settled down beside her, without the jacket he had been wearing and the tie sloppily loosened around his neck, holding a glass filled with a dark liquid. In the dim light she couldn't see the color, but when he brought it to his lips the watery substance glimmered with red. Her eyes widened with realization.
"Is that wine?" she frowned.
He glanced at her. "It is," he confirmed, his tongue darting out to lick the reminding alcohol from his upper lip.
She gasped, "if you drink that you can't drive me home!" she turned in her seat and faced him with her body.
"I know, that was my intention," his blatant answer did nothing to clench her anger.
"You said you would take me home, bastard!" she growled, glaring at him.
He took another sip. "I said 'in due time'," he clarified.
"And that time is not tomorrow!" she hissed, about to snatch the glass away from his grasp.
"Sakura," his tone made her freeze up, her green gaze clashing with ruby, "just for tonight."
His eyes were close to pledging, but he was an Uchiha, so she had to limit the expression to requesting for her to stay. And you made best in granting their wishes, so she settled down again, stubbornly watching the talk-show that was on. She was careful to show that she was not getting closer to him than she already was, therefore leaning against the armrest. Her brows were constantly fused together in a clear act of disgruntlement, and she mildly observed the host of the program playing in front of them.
She rolled her eyes at the exaggeratedly polite old man that was currently being interviewed. He was explaining a recent discovery within renewable energy, letting the host put in some confused or hard questions with the goal to get the scientist quiver in his position, but failed miserably when the man simply explained the information again. He was sure of what he was saying, and it made the woman interviewing him a little baffled that he was so confident in his claims.
"Well, thank you, Jouichi-san, for coming here tonight, it was a pleasure having you," Sakura scoffed, that woman was lying through her teeth, "our next guest is someone most is very familiar with, a man who has done much for this country and the international security. Please welcome; Superintendent General Uchiha Fugaku!"
The audience erupted in a wild applause and a flood of praising screams as the qualified man walked up on the stage. With a vague smile he waved at the spectators before standing in front of the hostess and bowed. She gestured for him to sit down and smiled, "Uchiha-sama, it is a pleasure to have you here tonight."
"Thank you for having me," he responded.
"So, I will go right to the point on why you are here tonight, Uchiha-sama. You are here to talk about your retirement and your son replacing you. It is a shame he could not join us this evening," she furrowed her brows in a sympathetic look.
"Yes, it certainly is. My son is occupied with work for the evening, and could not join me, I am afraid," Fugaku said, sitting back in the armchair.
Sakura quickly shifted her eyes to the man next to her as the conversation continued on the screen. He sure did not seem to be disturbed by work at the moment. "Is your father lying or is the channel lying when they call this live?" she asked suspiciously.
"Neither," Itachi replied, blinking heavily.
"It's gotta be one or the other, you're sitting right here," she narrowed her eyes at him.
He let his eyelids fall down, "I have been working overtime for a few days, I finished this afternoon."
"Oh…" she let the matter hang between them as she didn't want to converse with him at the moment.
"Tell us, when will your soon succeed you on your 'throne'?" Fugaku made a chuckle.
"Having this position is not like having a throne, it's hard work, long days and complicated matters constantly being served. However, Itachi is planning to take the post this spring, soon after news year," the authorized man explained.
"What hopes do you have for your son? What is it that you leave behind that you want him to pick up and continue to built on?" the hostess asked after a few agreeing sounds.
"I hope for him to act at his very best, make choices for the majority of the civilians and the employees. As for my own foundations, I simply hope he will continue to build on them to create a safer environment for every soul walking on Japanese soil," his comment was met with enthusiastic applauses, and the audience stood up.
Once again, the pink haired girl let her perception stray from the display and settled it on the aggravating man sitting beside her. He was still holding the empty glass in his right hand, intently observing the conversation on the TV, but it still seemed like he was looking at something far beyond it, as if it was nothing but air in front of him. His gaze was unfocused and his face was tensed. In fact, his whole body seemed strangely stiff, even if he had one arm thrown up on the back of the sofa. She also took note of the deep lines in his cheeks, ones that had seemed so natural on him she had never bothered to pay much attention to them.
But now the shadows on his entire body made him look worn out, exhausted and so very unlike the strong man she had come to known, the confident and intimidating man she had spent the evening with. This was most likely a side he was not willing to show to just anyone, and since she was sitting next to him right now she felt…special about it.
She shifted, moving her legs beneath herself. Slowly she turned on the spot, coming close to the raven haired beauty. Her heart sped up when he still seemed to be somewhere else, as if he wasn't aware of her proximity. She nervously put her lip between her teeth and chewed lightly on it. Her arms shook as she raised them. Gently she placed a hand on his face, nudging his head to turn to her. The empty, aloof hue on his irises disappeared when he faced her.
Truly, those lines were deeper, his lids kept half open. Her other hand came up to cup his jaw. Her smooth and soft thumbs moved to stroke beneath his eyes and cheeks. His long lashes fell down before rising up to watch her as she continued to unknowingly massage his skin. The yielding pads on her fingers caressed his eyelids when he shut them for her, letting a sigh pass through the opening in his mouth.
Next she shifted closer to him still, and let her digits comb through his black locks. His smooth bangs fell before his eyes, leaving the red shining through the dark texture. She marveled at the silky feel and undid the ponytail at the nape of his neck to let his hair hang freely. She brushed a few strands over his shoulder and a picture of spilled ink flashed before her mind's eye. She held the dark tresses in between her fingers harshly, as if he would vanish if she let go.
Her green orbs flickered from back to his face, where she was captivated within his powerful gaze. All thoughts of what she should or should not do flew out the window as she leaned in towards him, lowering her eyelids as she shyly placed her mouth on his. The touch was light, some might even say they barely touched each other, but it still sent tingles through their bodies.
Sakura drew back, once again placing her hands around his face. She didn't smile, neither of them did. No emotion played in their orbs. They just sat and watched one another closely.
Slowly, Itachi let his left hand come up and brush against her cheek, feeling the velvety softness. His calloused fingers lingered on her cheek, not attempting to pull her closer. He was patiently waiting for her to willingly come to him again, putting the urge to hold her aside. And true enough, his decision soon paid off as she once again brought their faces together.
This time the touch was more than feather light. This time it was like a jolt of electricity that made their hearts speed up, banging hard against their chest as if expressing their urge to get closer to the other. The contact between their bodies lasted longer than any of their kisses hand, being still for minutes in the same position. Everything else than the two of them was drowned out, they existed in their own world right now, nothing disturbing them.
Then she left his lips, staring at his warm ruby irises. She still wore no emotion when she opened her mouth, "Itachi."
He could have moaned when the hoarse sound of his name came from her throat, but he found his voice lost somewhere he could not finding as he searched her eyes and face for some kind of…something. It was the first time she had called his name willingly, out of her own accord.
Uncertainty flashed over her face before it disappeared again. She was still so close their breath mingled. "Itachi…"
"…I think I'm starting to love you," the whisper was almost inaudible even at their short distance.
His eyes widened, and he could see the fear of being rejected reflect in hers. Her cheeks tinted red, and her mouth trembled slightly. Once again they froze in their position, staring.
A/N: Forst of all, I have to say; I'M SORRY!! I hope all of you can forgive me for my tardiness, but life was persistant in getting in my way :( School, family, activites and a temporary fandom drop-out put me off track, but now I am back! I can calm you with that I have written at the very least a third of the next chapter, so I hope to have it up soon :)
Thank you all who has endured the long wait and has encuraged me, I love you all!!