Chapter Seventeen – Finding the truth
Naruto sat there on Itachi's office chair looking him straight in the eye as Itachi simply looked back at him like he'd grown a third eye.
"Are you serious?" He asked with clear skepticism deep in his tone. Naruto huffed, he was perfectly serious and Itachi knew that, he just felt the need to make sure he'd not miss heard him.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto replied with a small-irritated frown, was it so hard to take him seriously? Sometimes he wondered if people ever did. Itachi could only blink at the blonde man sitting in front of him before he had to ask again, just to be sure.
"So let me get this straight, you want me… to help you… lock Sasuke and Sakura in a room together until Sakura admits she likes Sasuke? Isn't that a little… I don't know, um… childish?" He offered, ignoring the scowl directed his way. Naruto huffed a little more angrily before sitting up in his chair, preparing himself to give Itachi an ear full.
"It'll work! Don't give me that 'childish' crap! It's the only way that I can think of that might make Sakura admit that she likes Sasuke, which she does, I'm sure of it." He shot back with determined blue eyes. Itachi could only huff and pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Give me strength." He muttered under his breath, not really in the mood to hear one of the blondes plots right now.
"I can still hear you, you ass! And it will work!" Naruto exclaimed, leaning forward in his chair as he did so, Itachi just huffed as he met Naruto's determined gaze.
"And what makes you so sure that it'll work?" he asked. In all honesty, he was starting to think that maybe it was just one-sided love between those two. Sakura seemed to have the same sexual appetite as a loaf of bread, in his opinion, she just never seemed to be interested in the opposite sex. It was a shame really, Sasuke needed to shake off Karin and this was the perfect excuse.
"Because it'll force Sakura to admit her feelings! I know her well enough to know that she's got a temper, one that out weighs her stubbornness. If we get her angry enough then she'll probably say it. I think locking her up with Sasuke whist egging her along might just be enough." He explained with a thoughtful nod. Itachi just sat back with a sigh, still not believing that it would work. But he had a feeling that he wasn't given a choice in opting out.
"Okay then, so saying that I agreed to this, where and when would we do it? Not saying that I'm going to do it of course." Itachi asked. A huge grin spread over Naruto's face, Itachi was going to do it! He thought, even though he was denying it pretty hard.
"I was thinking of maybe doing it tonight, we finish recording today so the room will be empty. We can shove them in there and we can simply egg Sakura on from outside." He said with a triumphant glint in his eye. Itachi just sighed and shook his head slightly, thinking that Naruto had really put some work into figuring all this out, for once.
He looked over and was met with huge blue puppy eyes, Itachi merely raised an eyebrow, wondering what the hell the idiot was trying to do this time.
"So, you'll do it, right?" Naruto asked with his puppy gaze at full power. Itachi just looked at him like he was mad before he answered.
"You're kidding, right? I'm not doing something silly like that." Itachi stated. Naruto's entire face dropped into a sad pout as he looked over at Itachi, the man could be such an ass sometimes.
"Even if it's for the future happiness of your beloved baby brother? What if he spends the rest of his life in misery with a woman he doesn't love all because you didn't help me lock them both up in the music room?" Itachi sighed, once again pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Naruto was going for the guilt trip, he knew it, and this was something that the older Uchiha was very familiar with.
"I highly doubt that locking them both up will give them ever lasting happiness, Naruto." Itachi said in a flat tone, wanting to get the blonde out of his office as quickly as possible. Naruto only frowned at him, not wanting to leave until Itachi gave into him and agreed to help, after all, Itachi was probably the only one smart enough to pull it off, he needed someone who could think up of a good enough excuse to get them both in the music room alone.
"Please! I'll do anything, just name it!" Naruto all but cried. This caught Itachi's interest, he did have a lot of files that needed done, files that were painfully boring, files that he could get the dip stick of a blond to do instead. He liked this idea very much. Itachi wondered if Naruto had planned to bribe him to do it in the first place, it wouldn't have been the first time anyway.
"Anything you say?" Itachi asked in a sly voice, causing Naruto to get a little nervous. That voice was never a good thing. He gulped before slowly nodding his head, wondering if he should take back his words or not. Then again if he agreed then wouldn't it be worth whatever pain the older Uchiha was planning on giving him? Naruto was beginning to wonder if maybe his theory was wrong.
"Y-yeah, I guess so." He stuttered, a cold shiver running up his spine as a creepy smirk crossed his lips. He watched in fear as Itachi stood up, walked over to his filing cabinet and pulled out a huge folder filled with sheets of paper. He didn't have a good feeling about this, from the loud bang it made as it hit the desk Naruto had a feeling that it was going to be mind numbing.
"Do this for me by Monday and we have a deal." Itachi smirked. Naruto only looked at the huge folder that was practically bursting at the seams and gulped before answering.
"But it's already Friday! You can't expect me to finish all that in three days! Look at it! I don't even know what it is!" Naruto yelled, his voice breaking into a squeak at a few words. Itachi only rolled his eyes before picking up the file to put it back.
"Well, if you don't want my help then I guess you could just leav-"
"I'll do it!" Naruto screamed as he snatched the file off of Itachi, defeat weighing on his shoulders as they slumped down. Itachi's smirk only grew as the thought of not having to do those awful files that month lifted from his mind, they truly were painful.
"So, when do we start." Itachi asked casually, resting his folded arms on the desk as he sat back down. Naruto looked up at him with a defeated look as he mumbled out his plan in more detail. He still didn't think it would work, but it would be worth a try, he guessed.
…!...
Sakura walked back from the cafeteria with Naruto in confusion. He had on one of those fake smiles that basically yelled out that he was hiding something from her, only she couldn't figure out what it was. All he'd felt like telling her was that he needed to speak with her in the music room, nothing else, and now here he was rambling on about god knows what with that guilty fake smile of his, just what exactly was he planning, Sakura thought with a frown.
They both passed the first corner and entered the lift that led up to the floor they wanted. Naruto was starting to feel a little nervous about the whole thing and only hoped that Itachi kept to his end of the deal, if not, then he can have his stupid files back.
Naruto glanced round at Sakura and noticed the suspicious look she was giving him. She was on to him, he knew it. Why did she have to be so frickin' observant? Then again he guessed it might have been pretty clear on his face.
"What are you planning?" Sakura questioned with squinted eyes as she regarded him. Naruto's back snapped up straight and his head shot forward, a panic stricken look covering his face. He been caught out, Naruto had no idea how to respond to something like that without his voice squeaking so he simply shook his head and hurried up his pace, hoping that the music room would suddenly appear before him.
Sakura couldn't help but wonder what he was planning; it wasn't often that Naruto would act suspiciously. Mostly because last time he'd done so Tenten probably would have killed him if not for both Kiba and herself holding her back. It wasn't like she was worried or anything, it was very unlikely that he would succeed of course, after all, if he tried something then she could either whack him over the head or run for it, but hitting him seemed more appealing in her opinion. She'd play with him for a while; it might just prove to be entertaining, as cold as that might have sounded.
"So what do you want to speak to me about?" She asked innocently. Naruto peeked over at her with a nervous look on his face, Sakura could almost see the clogs in his head turning to try and come up with a believable answer.
"N-nothing much, really." He stuttered. He scratched the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and Sakura had to hold in the urge to chuckle evilly. She had such a twisted sense of humor sometimes.
"Then why are we going? It seem's kind of pointless if we're going there for nothing that's all that important." She asked again. Once again Naruto's face became nervous as his hand began to itch the non-existent scratch on the back of his neck with a new found vengeance.
"Because…" He mumbled, not really knowing how to answer that. Sakura chuckled with evil glee in her mind as she watched Naruto have a mental battle with himself as he fought over an answer to her question.
"'Because' isn't really an answer, Naruto." She scolded in a light, amused voice. Naruto grumbled under his breath but she didn't bother to listen to it, it was most likely non-sense anyway.
Naruto knew she was doing this on purpose, she knew he was up to something and was trying to catch him out, but whatever, it wasn't really his problem. As long as he got her into the room along with Sasuke then all would be okay. He hoped so anyway.
They both turned the last corner and noticed Itachi standing outside the door with a rather bored look in place. Naruto gave him a nervous grin before he stopped beside the door. Sakura also stopped a few feet away with a cautious look on her face.
Sakura wasn't too sure about her footing now that Itachi was with them. She knew that he was smart, and crafty when he wanted to be, and she had no idea what was going to happen now. She studied them both with cautious eyes and didn't move from where her feet were planted.
Itachi noticed her sudden hesitation and resisted the urge to chuckle, Sakura was on the ball, he noted. He looked over at Naruto again and gave him a look before proceeding with the plan.
"We need to speak with you about something, so if you please?" He gestured towards the door that still had the card key sitting in the lock. Sakura nervously studied the locked door before looking over at Itachi, raising a brow slightly to cover her nervousness.
"Isn't it usually Sasuke who does this stuff?" She asked. Itachi smirked, he'd expected her to ask that, but it didn't matter, it wasn't all that hard to make up a lie for it.
"He's held up at the moment and asked me to see to you instead." Sakura ignored the urge to roll her eyes. Sasuke was probably still in a mood with her, it had been a good two weeks since the rejection and he was still moping? This was one of the reasons why Sakura tried her best to avoid that unwanted emotion.
"Oh, okay." She said, believing his lie completely. Itachi was practically grinning with glee in his mind at how easily she was fooled. He'd always thought she was rather sharp too; this was going to be easier than he thought.
Sakura stepped towards the door and removed the card before slipping it back in to unlock the door. Naruto actually held his breath in anticipation as she opened it slightly before walking through it, not a speck of doubt in her eyes as she looked back at the both of them. Then suddenly Surprise filled her eyes as Itachi slammed the door in her face before locking it…
Sakura stood there frozen in surprise and confusion before realization hit her hard, they'd locked her in, this is what they'd been planning! Those little shit's! She swore in her head before going crazy at the door, kicking and hitting it like there was no tomorrow as she yelled profanity's at the two men on the other side. How could she have been tricked so easily!
"So, they got you two huh?" She heard behind her. Sakura faltered in her attack at the door and turned around to see a laid back Sasuke slouching on the sofa, looking at her with that cool intense gaze of his. Sakura felt a shiver run up her spine, but couldn't determine if it was from his gaze or the fact that it was Sasuke she was trapped in the room with. She had a strange sense of Dai ja voo at that point.
"Yeah… Mind helping me break the door down and kicking those ass holes till they can't have children, or walk for that matter?" She asked in a flat voice. Sasuke simply shrugged before answering back.
"Already tried that." He simply stated before Naruto's voice was heard from the other end of the door.
"There's no point Sakura! We're not letting you out until you admit you like Sasuke!" His muffled voice explained. Sakura felt a vein pop on her forehead, was he serious?
"Oh for-… Naruto, how old are? Five?" She yelled back, her anger and disbelief clear in her voice. Naruto sniggered from the other end of the door, finding it funny that she could get pissed so quickly; this was going to be over before it even began.
"Actually I'm twenty-four." He answered simply with one of his cheeky grins, even though she couldn't see it. Itachi rolled his eyes before pushing him aside; ignoring the colourful language Sakura was spurting out at the moment.
"We know you do so just give it up, unless you're scared?" He offered, deliberately pushing her buttons. Itachi knew that the comment would hurt her pride, and that she would retaliate, which she did.
Sakura felt her eye twitch, her popping vein making itself more known. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her temper; she was starting to piece together what was happening. It only pissed her off all more. Sometimes Sakura wondered if she should start yoga, Ino said it calmed the soul or something like that…
"Itachi, you have five seconds before I break down this door and personally neuter you and Naruto with a paper clip. Don't think I won't." She threatened. Sasuke was still sitting in the sofa, keeping a safe distance from the psychopath; he for one didn't take that threat lightly, especially since he was locked in the same room as her.
He couldn't believe that they would go this far to get them together, heck, he didn't think they would even try. I made him happy that they cared, not that he would admit it out loud, but he was also wondering why they'd chosen this method. He had a feeling that the dope was behind all this. Then again it was weird that Itachi had agreed to all of this, it wasn't his style, naruto had probably bribed or threatened him, he concluded.
But that didn't mean he was going to participate in any of this, he was still mad at Sakura, as childish as it sounded. After all he had given her so much hassle about avoiding him that one time and then here he was doing the exact same, maybe not as extreme as she was, but he was still doing it.
Sakura battered the door as she gave up on calming down, it wasn't good for her anyway, and all it did was boil up until it eventually exploded, much like now. She took out her anger on the door, pounded it with her fist and even screamed words that didn't exist, even her fangs made an appearance.
On the other side of the door Naruto raised an amused eyebrow, how could she get pissed so quickly? He watched as the door shook and groaned from Sakura's attacks and wondered it would give soon, he didn't think the hinges were meant to cope with this kind of thing. He looked over at Itachi who was looking at the door with both eyebrows nearing his hairline, apparently he was more on the surprised side than amused, a rare sight indeed.
"Uh… What do we do now? I'd say she's probably angrier than humanly possible. I'm actually thinking that Sasuke's life might be in danger." He gulped, looking at the door as a rather loud thump and scream was heard. Itachi looked over at him with a blank face, choosing to ignore the cries of his younger brothers possible murderer for the time being.
"Leave it to me, I'll get her to talk." Itachi stated simply before walking up to the door and knocking lightly to grab her attention.
Sakura stopped her attack when she heard the slight knocking and wondered what they were planning now. She stood back a few steps to survey the door, wondering if they'd let them both out now. Even though she knew that was highly unlikely, no matter how much she wanted to hurt them at the moment.
"Sakura?" Itachi's low voice sounded through the thick wood of the door. Sakura's brows came down in a hard mean frown as an inhuman growl found its way up her throat, she didn't even bother covering it up, her teeth grinded together and her fangs brushed over her lips from the movement as she tried to with hold her anger at that moment, knowing it wouldn't last long.
"What." She replied in a voice that sounded almost exactly like a growl of a dangerous predator. Sasuke felt a cold shiver run up his spine at that one, he felt so glad that it wasn't him who her anger was directed at.
"We're not letting you out until you get over yourself and admit that you like Sasuke. Because we all know you do." He answered back in a very straightforward obvious tone that almost mocked Sakura. She took a deep breath, holding in the huge gulp of air and counted to ten, before she screamed her reply as loud and as angry as she could manage.
"Like hell you fucking ass munching weasel!" She let out all at once, surprising all three men from her choice of language but chose to ignore it at the moment as she panted slightly from not breathing in a while.
Itachi rolled his eyes at her behavior; he guessed that it wouldn't be as simple as that. It wasn't much of a problem however; he'd been expecting a lot more than this and had come prepared.
"I can prove it." He simply stated. He heard Sakura huff from the other end of the door and took that as a go ahead to continue on with the evidence.
"Sasuke kissed you in the hospital and after he confessed to you I believe and both times you kissed back, you don't seem like the kind of person who would just kiss someone without a reason either. Also out of all the men you know, Sasuke seems to be the only one you treat differently. You always argue, which could just translate as misunderstood sexual tension. He seems to be the only one who gets under your skin, and Naruto and I don't count right now." He answered simply. He heard utter silence on the other side of the door and guessed that Sakura was processing what he had said. She was probably trying to find a way to deny everything, which was impossible since it was all true. Itachi just knew it.
Sasuke on the other hand was staring open mouthed at the woman in front of him. Did she really love him and not realize it? His heart had gone into hyper drive a while ago as he awaited her answer.
Sakura looked deep in thought from the look of it; her eyes were fixated on a spot on the door and her hands hung limply by her sides. He wondered if she thought it was true, he sure as hell hoped so, after all, he wanted her so badly that it was almost insane, despite the fact that he acted like a moody teenager around her. The truth was that he was just falling faster and deeper; so far in fact that he didn't think it was possible. So you could probably imagine how much he wanted her to say those three simple words…
"Your wrong." She mumbled, her anger deflating slightly and hiding in the back of her mind for the time being. Itachi noted the sudden change of mood in her voice and wondered if he was finally getting through that stubborn head of hers.
"Ah, but I am, and you know it." He stated back, noting how Naruto chose to stay out of the entire thing now that Itachi had Sakura where he wanted her. He knew that if he kept going the way he was then she'd eventually crack, she had to, her temper couldn't hide forever after all, and when it did come out, he'd be sure to take full advantage of it.
Sakura shook her head, even though he couldn't see it and ignored the hurt expression Sasuke was sending her way. She refused to let his words affect her, she couldn't! They would never work out even if they tried! She couldn't control herself yet; she'd probably bite him if they tried anything. Plus there was the law that she needed to uphold, even though she'd broken the rules by simply living and when Sasuke and Itachi discovered her little secret. She still couldn't do it though.
"N-No, your not." She stuttered. She squeezed her eyes shut as she did so. Sasuke looked at her through saddened eyes; did she even know he was still in the room? The words hurt, the least she could do was be a little more careful of who the audience was.
Itachi just rolled his eyes at the door, he had her eating out of the palm of his hand and she didn't even know it. It wouldn't be long until he had her admitting her true feelings.
"Your just scared. You can't let what you are get in the way of this." He said in a flat voice. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Itachi's words, not quite knowing what he was talking about; did she have some sort of disorder or something? He didn't think so; he would have known about it other wise.
Sakura on the other hand knew exactly what he meant, as did Sasuke. He wondered if she was in fact scared of what she was, after all, he guessed it could be pretty dangerous. He'd experienced that first hand when they'd been locked in the company building all night. That didn't seem it though; he knew she wasn't afraid of her thirst, as far as he could tell she just didn't like it, which was very different from being scared of it.
Sakura glared at the door. That comment had set the fuse to the anger that had been building up at the back of her mind. She wasn't scared, just concerned for the safety of the person everyone seemed to be trying to set her up with.
"I'm not scared you dipshit." She growled back. Itachi resisted the urge to chuckle at how easy she was at being controlled. It was a wonder that she hadn't been caught yet actually.
"Are you sure? It certainly seems that way." He asked in an amused tone, only irritating Sakura further. Sasuke saw this and felt the urge to hide behind the sofa, she was going to blow up any moment, he could feel it. Plus at Itachi's next comment he was convinced it was only a certain amount of time before she broke down the door and kicked him so hard that he'd have to give up on having any future heirs.
"Stop being a gutless coward and admit your damn feelings Sakura." Itachi said, being sure to word it in a way that would make her blow a casket. Sakura looked down at her feet, her bangs covering her eyes and her body began to shiver slightly as her hands clenched into tight fist by her side. Sasuke could literally see the killing aura flying out of her body. Her fangs fully extended as they poked out of her slightly parted lips. Then she suddenly looked up, her glare practically freezing Sasuke in the spot, it wasn't even aimed his way but the sharpness and heat flickering off them in sparks was scary enough as it was, even an Uchiha's best glare had nothing on this one.
"Well so what if I love him! I'm not scared and I never will be! So there! I love him, you happy now?" She screamed at the top of her lungs just as she punched the door, the hinges creaking and already on breaking point from all of her attacks.
Sasuke just stared at her, not believing her angry confession. He swore his heart stopped beating for a moment there when she yelled those three words he'd been craving.
"S- Sakura…" He breathed, not really knowing what to do now, after all, he was still in shock. Her head snapped over to Sasuke, in her blind rage she'd completely forgotten he was there. Her eyes widened when she saw the look on his face, his mouth was parted slightly and his eyes were wide, not as wide as hers was at that moment but considering this was Sasuke, it was pretty wide. She couldn't believe she'd actually said that, it surprised her, but what really surprised her was that it was the truth. She could feel it, when she looked at him her chest would feel light and fluttery. It was like her screaming out her angered confession had unlocked some unknown emotion she was trying her best to hide and avoid at all costs. And she'd just ran face first into it.
Itachi smirked at the door, hearing his shell-shocked brother on the other end of the door. He'd done it, he'd forced Sakura to get her head out of the sand and face reality, and he couldn't be happier. Now the only thing left to do was leave them be.
"Well done, Sakura, your braver than I thought." He smirked and pulled the card out of the door, unlocking it as he did so before walking away with Naruto grinning like an idiot behind him, just as happy as he was right now.
Sakura heard the clicking of the door as it unlocked but made no move to approach it and kick a certain Uchiha until unconsciousness. Instead, she simply stared at Sasuke with shocked eyes and her mouth agape, her fangs still out in the open. Her mind was still frozen from her outburst and discovering that the outburst was actually true. What would she do now? It wasn't like she could simply ignore her feelings like she had before; she knew that Sasuke wouldn't let her.
She was like a living statue, all she could do was stare at the man in front of her who seemed just as god smacked as she was. Sasuke stared into her green, green eyes like he'd just discovered a second sun, which was kind of true, as cheesy as that sounded, since Sakura was like his own personal sun. But he didn't dwell on that little detail, he was too preoccupied on the woman he loved in front of him. It looked like she wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.
He got up with slow reacting legs, his eyes never leaving hers, the coal black colour never leaving the emeralds. He felt his heart give a rather loud thump that he was sure Sakura could hear. He took in a deep, shaky breath and opened his mouth, hoping that his voice wouldn't crack at any point.
"Sakura… Are- are you serious." He couldn't help but whisper, not having the gut's to ask the question any louder than that. Sakura's mouth closed so she could chew on her bottom lip, her eyes breaking from his to fixate themselves on the ground.
She gave a small nod and closed her eyes, not wanting to face him at the moment, this would have been much easier to face if the one she loved wasn't in the same room as her. She heard Sasuke's small intake of breath and heard footsteps coming straight for her. She opened her eyes and looked up just as Sasuke's body slammed into hers and his arms locking around her back, making escape impossible. Her head was tucked under his chin and she couldn't help but stare at his neck in amazement. He was holding her so tightly that if she were completely human then she'd probably have trouble breathing right about now.
Sasuke smiled into her hair, not smirked, but smiled. He was so happy right now that if he died right now, he'd die happily. Her hair smelled of flowers and spring. He grinned like an idiot into her hair before he let out the tiniest of laughs.
"I love you Sakura."
...!...
WOOO finally eh? I was starting to wonder myself when she'd finally admit that she likes him... oh well. Thanks for reading! I hoped that you liked it and REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I tend to update faster when i get feedback, gives me motovation!