Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters!
Chapter 3: Present
"There, all done!" Sakura said happily as she finished wrapping the last of her presents. Well,
'Almost last.' Sakura thought to herself as an image of Itachi went through her mind. Now that she had time to think about it, she had a good reason for buying him the present. Because of him, this would surely be one of the best Christmas's yet! Seriously, Sasuke would now be participating, and Mikoto had thrown the Christmas Party, so everyone she knew was going to be there, and oh, it was just too exquisite.
So yeah, getting Itachi a present was actually a good idea. And now, all she needed to do was wait for the time period to expire, and then she would go see Takaharu, and then bam, her last present was all done.
Sakura looked at the digital clock by her bedside. It read 1:35. So in around 10 hours and 30 minutes she should be taking off towards the store.
'That's a lot of time to wait.' Still, it wasn't like Sakura couldn't find something to do in the time being. It was Christmas Eve; there were hundreds of things she could do to kill time for crying out loud. To begin with, Sakura grabbed a handful of her presents at a time and brought them to the living room, where the large tree was placed.
"There, now the tree doesn't look that naked." Sakura smiled brightly as she finished setting all her presents down. There were probably around 40 now, most –if not all- being the ones she bought.
Still, there was a significant bunch she could tell was from Mikoto; they had been placed there earlier that day.
Strangely enough, she hadn't seen or heard of Sasuke since breakfast. And Itachi had disappeared after their little chat too. Maybe they were out buying Christmas presents. The thought delighted her to no end, honestly. Was she the best thing that ever happened to this family or what?
Sakura entered the kitchen, and found Mikoto there already defrosting the turkey and pork. Tonight would be the family dinner, and afterwards, Mikoto and Sakura would be cooking like crazy!
"Need some help Mikoto?" Sakura asked.
"It would be much appreciated." Mikoto replied hurriedly, switching from peeling yams, to taking out marshmallows and green beans, and what not. Times like these made Sakura doubt Mikoto could handle all the pressure. After all, cooking for a family of –this year, 5- and the next day, maybe 40, could really drive someone insane.
"About tomorrow, I asked a few people to pitch in." Sakura chimed as she started to peel the yams.
"You didn't have to dear." Mikoto said as she quickly started the stove.
"Oh, but I shouldn't let you be stuck behind the kitchen while everyone is having a blast." Sakura shook her head in disagreement. "Anyway, Ino said she'd drop by around 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, and Kurenai said she'd make it by 1:00 p.m." Sakura said. "Oh, and Shizune said she might be able to make around 3:00 if it's not too late." Sakura added.
"You're a big help Sakura." Mikoto smiled brightly.
"Oh, it's no big deal Mikoto. After all, it's them helping with their services." Sakura said. It was quiet for a few moments, both women too caught up in their work to start another conversation. "Say, have you seen Sasuke or Itachi?" Sakura pondered after a while. "It's strange… they just, disappeared."
"I heard Itachi and Sasuke discussing something, though I didn't hear too much of it. Sasuke left shortly afterwards, and Itachi left after you went up to your room to wrap presents." Mikoto explained.
"Neither of them told me where they were headed. If you ask me, they're buying Fuga-kun's present." Mikoto giggled lightly.
Sakura couldn't help but laugh lightly. The day she sees Sasuke buy a present for Fugaku; that'd be the day. Still, this wasn't just any Christmas so anything went right? For all we know, Sasuke could at this very moment be buying Lee of all people a present and she wouldn't comment about it.
Of course, that was close to impossible in any other situation. Sasuke had a personal grudge against Lee ever since he got himself beat in the Chunin Exams while Lee didn't like Sasuke because Sakura used to like him; she found their dislike towards each other rather ridiculous. It wasn't as if she still liked Sasuke today; he was just a very close teammate, brother even.
Sakura and Mikoto had, for the most part, only defrosted the turkey and ham, and then they had gone off to make arrangements for the Christmas Party.
"So wait, these two tables will be moved over there along with that one?" Sakura asked.
"Let's see, move it over there." Mikoto replied, closing one eye and imagining where all the tables could go.
Sakura easily lifted both tables with one hand each, and moved them as if they were stuffed animals. She placed them down carefully, put them together neatly, and then moved back alongside Mikoto to examine her work. They were both quiet for several second.
"A little to the left." They both said in unison after a while, giggling lightly. Seriously, if people knew any better, they'd say Sakura and Mikoto were twins. It was a wonder why Sasuke never truly returned Sakura's feelings way back when. Most never understood why Sasuke had never courted Sakura. Sasuke said he was waiting for the right woman; one who took after his mom, taking care of him and his needs like there was no tomorrow. She also had to beautiful, sophisticated, intelligent, and strong (the Uchiha pride in him said there had to be strong children).
Unfortunately, most could still not find why Sasuke couldn't see that (and so much more) in Sakura after that statement. Sasuke merely stated he knew Sakura too well to actually consider her something more than a sister. Sakura agreed; she knew Sasuke much too much to actually see him as a boy friend, or anything close to the sort.
In fact, it was the reason that Sasuke did see all the requirements in Sakura that he had to refuse to court her. His logic didn't make sense to anyone besides Sakura, who merely stated Sasuke would make a lousy husband, though she honestly thought otherwise.
Though Sasuke didn't show it, he was caring, and tended to put others before himself… the 'others' being the ones he cared about anyway. Besides, though he told Sakura otherwise, he really did like kids. He had become rather fond of Neji's newborn brother over 4 years ago, and now he felt a form of pride well up in him every time he saw little Ken (Neji personally picked the name) perform a type of ninja art. He was already in the academy, and he was a very promising student, seeing as the teachers stated it wouldn't be a surprise if he graduated early. Ken thanked Sasuke, much to Neji's profound dislike.
Anyway, though Sasuke hated to admit it (because sometimes, he saw Sakura more of a man that for what she really was), Sakura would be perfect. Thing was, she was so perfect, he looked at her almost as if she were his mother. And yes, how creepy would that be if you went out with someone who you saw as your mother? That itself was the sole reason that had stopped him, and if it weren't for that, he would have fallen under the pressure Mikoto had put under him to marry the poor girl.
"Oooh, yes, that's perfect dear!" Mikoto snapped her out of her thoughts. Sakura didn't even notice she had moved the tables once more until she put them down gently.
Sakura nodded as she adjusted them quickly, before she stepped back alongside Mikoto. "Ahh yes, and with that centerpiece in the middle, ooh, it'll look fabulous." Mikoto said out loud, mostly to herself.
"And what about candles?" Sakura suggested.
"Brilliant idea my dear!" Mikoto squealed with a wide grin.
The both kept rambling on about the decorations and mantles they should put on the tables, never even noticing when Sasuke and Itachi came inside. Strangely enough, they were together… and no, they didn't seem to be arguing, and they didn't even look pissed; there was something odd going on.
Too bad Sakura was much too preoccupied planning the party tomorrow that she didn't even notice a thing……
"Dinner was wonderful, Mikoto." Fugaku complimented Mikoto's cooking.
"Yeah, you're the best Mikoto-kaasan." Naruto burped out, rubbing his now pregnant-looking tummy as he slowly made his way to his room.
"You should cook this fancy more often." Sasuke pitched in.
Mikoto felt overly-loved. Truly she didn't deserve such kind words. Besides, Sakura had helped her cook too. She even shared a special ingredient to make the ham and turkey taste better. "I shouldn't take all the credit. Sakura helped a lot too." Mikoto stated.
"I only told you how to prepare it," Sakura insisted "it was all you Mikoto." Sakura denied.
"Well you can't let me take all the credit." Mikoto shook her head.
"Dinner was exceptionally delicious, Kaa-san," Itachi stood up from his seat, his gaze lingering on Sakura for a few more seconds than needed to "Sakura." He complimented as well.
"Umm, thank you." Sakura said almost unsurely, an uncontrollable blush rising to her cheeks. She'd never been praised this much before. Considering it was Itachi, the words he spoke surely meant much more than what he truly he spoke, so Sakura truly felt honored. Besides, it wasn't every day Itachi complimented someone.
That was why she was currently blushing. Who wouldn't blush at a compliment from an extremely handsome man with money and power?
……Yeah, her point exactly.
Sakura and Mikoto were left to clear out the table and clean the kitchen while Naruto went to hibernate, Sasuke went to go burn some more chocolate, Fugaku went to do who knows what, and Itachi was left to go read his book about complex healings and such again.
It was 7:00, and time couldn't be ticking any slower now. What else could Sakura do, seriously? Why were Uchihas' all boring?! The best she could do now was knit sweaters with Mikoto, but she'd rather not discuss how horribly she was with that type of needle. She was only good with the type of needle that went in people… and unfortunately, that always seemed to happen to someone whenever she surrounded herself with any other type of needle.
Sakura could only sigh at her misery. She was good with almost everything; if you exclude needles, and unfortunately, any sort of tools that would be seen in a surgical procedure, or anywhere near a hospital, for that matter, excluding pens… she was okay with pens…
So the closest thing to comfort for now, was settling down next to the fire place with a cup of eggnog, and reading "The Art of Genjutsu". Kurenai had recently given it to her, stating that if Sakura expected Kurenai to train her, she had to at least learn about all the simple genjutsu's in the book.
She was so into the book, she never even noticed when Itachi settled down in the couch beside her and started reading his own book, her eggnog replaced with a cup of coffee.
It must have been around 9:00 when Sakura had had enough reading; 15 chapters was enough, right? Besides, she'd have to make it seem like she went to sleep before slipping out of the house…
Sakura got up and stretched, yawning slightly.
"Going to bed?"
Sakura jumped, her book falling to the floor. "Goodness, you scared me Itachi." Sakura put a hand over her heart and inhaled deeply, trying to regain her normal breathing pattern. "When did you even come here?"
Itachi raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. "It's rather early."
"Is it?" Sakura questioned, staring at her watch, courtesy of Tsunade and Shizune last year on her birthday. "Oh, well I have to shower anyway. I also wanted to be well-rested for tomorrow." Sakura smiled, hoping Itachi would fall for it. "It's a big day you know –it only comes once a year." Sakura added.
"Ahh" he simply said.
"What about you?" Sakura questioned. "Aren't you going to bed early? I mean, if you're actually going to attend the party…" Sakura had an amused, almost teasing tone. "…and I can assure you the female population that has been invited will most certainly fawn…" Sakura tried hard not to laugh.
"No need to worry about me, Sakura." The way he said her name made Sakura blush, and butterflies filled her stomach.
"I-I'm not w-worried." Sakura denied, trying to hide her blush. "I was just… curious, was all."
"Very well then." Itachi said. "I'll bid you goodnight, Sakura." Itachi nodded her way.
"Umm… right…" Sakura said unsurely. "Good night Itachi." She turned around and made her way down the hallway, stopping only once when she knew Itachi wasn't looking and then turned around to glance at him once more.
What was up with him? Was he doing all of this on purpose, or something? Cornering her and asking her questions and such. Thanking her for cooking. Giving her looks for no apparent reason. Making her name roll off his tongue as if it were meant to be that way. Making his gaze linger on her a little more than needed to whenever he had a conversation with her…
'You're being delusional Sakura.' Sakura assured herself.
Ugghh, boys were so complicated…
Sakura returned to her bedroom, placing her book on the side table and going to her drawers, pulling out some undergarments and a long silky light blue nightgown.
For the most part, she'd only be putting on the nightgown for a while before she put on her thick layers and went to Takaharu's jewelry shop.
And so, Sakura quickly grabbed her clothes and then headed to the bathroom, trying not to think about anything to do with Itachi. She was beginning to sound paranoid.
Sakura laid on her bed lazily, flipping a random fashion magazine she had found in the mail earlier that day. Just waiting for the time period to pass had taken a lot more than expected; seriously, curse her for taking quick showers. Still, she had gotten used to taking quick showers because not only was she the only girl in her team (and she had two mega perverts, and a semi pervert), but she always had to save some warm water for her teammates.
'Ugghh' Sakura mentally groaned, tired of flipping through the magazine. She tossed towards the other side of the bed, then laid on her back, staring at her wall, where the Uchiha crest stood proudly –now upside down.
She remembered the days when she dreamed every night that she would one day become Sakura Uchiha… back then, "Mrs. Uchiha" had sounded so ideal…surreal, almost. She had probably been one of the thousands of girls who had thought that too.
Now, well… she just praised the title of Mrs. Uchiha. She'd seen all the things Mikoto had to do in order to maintain the house and keep it in tip-top shape. Mikoto would hardly ever get a chance to herself, to do as she pleased, or even relax for the slightest of minutes before she had to run around and some more errands.
Saying Sasuke was slightly spoiled would be an understatement…
No wonder all Uchiha's were rather arrogant. They had been taught to do so. Still, it was rather amusing watching Sasuke and Naruto bicker back and forth.
Still, Sakura glanced at her clock. She should probably start getting ready by now…
Sakura stood up, and searched her room for her furry black coat –not the warmest of coats, but definitely the cutest- along with a red long-sleeved shirt, and some black pants. She quickly took of her nightgown and replaced it with said clothes.
Now came the hard part.
She was in a house with 4 extremely skilled ninja –would they sense she was getting out? And if they did, would they question her about it later on? What would she say?
And most importantly…
If she got caught, who exactly would it be to catch her? She strongly hoped it wasn't Itachi…
Sakura quickly slipped on her boots and stealthily opened the door to her room, peeking out of it nervously. She made sure her chakra signature was nice and relaxed, and then stepped out of her room, flicking off the light switch in her room as she did so. She then scurried down the hallway and rounded the corner.
She saw the door –boy was she glad. She had probably been over-exaggerating. Who the hell was ever up at 11:00 when it was going to be Christmas Eve tomorrow? Yeah, it made perfect sense to her now…
She exhaled a sigh of relief and made a quick dash towards it…
Only to be frozen on the spot when a lamp flickered on.
And there stood Itachi…
She tried not to flinch. Or breath, or blink, or even twitch, for that matter.
He looked at her attire warily. "hello" he greeted.
"Umm… hi I-" she stopped, her voice much too high pitched than she'd like. "Itachi." She tried not to squeak out her response again, and thoroughly cleared her throat. Why was it Itachi was catching her in weird situations all of a sudden?
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
Sakura looked around frantically for a way to escape the truth.
"I umm… was headed to the kitchen for some hot cocoa. Couldn't sleep, you see." Sakura's mouth twitched up to form a slight smile. If Itachi actually believed that, oh Kami she wouldn't know what she'd do.
"In that attire?"
All hope was lost by that point, Sakura knew. There was no real point in trying to lie to Itachi. When would she get that through her head?
"Umm… yeah…" Sakura said slowly. "But I also had to go out for a while." She responded, trying to regain her calm composure.
Itachi raised an eyebrow.
Sakura sighed. "I have a late-night present to get, you could say. Gotta get something from Takaharu's jewelry shop. You know, the adorable little one at the corner near the hospital?"
"Ahh"
Sakura chewed on her lip nervously. What else was she supposed to do? Just, walk away?
"What are you doing up anyway?" Sakura was just slightly curious about that.
"Just finishing up my book." Itachi lifted his book slightly.
"Oh, you mean the one you have read about 40 times already?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.
Itachi smirked. "Yes" he said blatantly.
If Sakura knew Itachi any better –which she didn't- she'd say he was lying. But she didn't know how he functioned, so she couldn't be so sure…
"Right…" Sakura trailed off. "Well, I'm just gonna grab that cocoa and be off…" Sakura made means to go to the kitchen.
"How about I accompany you?"
Sakura's eyes widened. She was rather glad her back was turned to face him, or he'd know something was up.
"N-No that's quite alright Itachi." She rejected his offer nervously. "I would hate to waste your time by having you accompany me." Sakura shook her head.
"It's quite alright Sakura." He replied. "Attractive young ladies such as yourself shouldn't be out roaming around the streets at night without some form of company. It's quite dangerous."
She had a feeling Itachi wouldn't drop it. From what she knew –he never did. That is, unless it involved Mikoto.
Sakura sighed. "Well, if you put it that way." She turned around, and showed a tired smile. "I'll just get my cocoa."
Sakura turned to the kitchen and began pouring the cocoa she now desperately wanted to relieve her nerves, and watched from the corner of her eyes as Itachi disappeared from view, and came back a few minutes later with a coat now on.
Just as Sakura finished up her cocoa, Itachi approached her, as if telling her he was ready.
Sakura nodded and quickly rinsed her cup out, and then followed Itachi to the door.
It was really cold out, much to Sakura's displeasure. Sure she loved the snow, but she didn't exactly favor the chilliness. And she had only brought a thin coat too… well, she'd survive until she reached Takaharu's.
Itachi had been right, much to her displeasure. It was deserted for the most part, only a few wanderers left here and there near alleyways…
She unknowingly inched closer to Itachi the slightest bit. Though she really despised Itachi for always being right, she was mighty thankful he had insisted to go with her.
It was a twenty minute walk.
And Sakura definitely didn't want it to be an awkward, silent one either. So, she tried to initiate some form of conversation.
"So… nice night, right?"
'Yeah, that was a superb conversation starter, Sakura!' she tried not to slap herself, and decided to just smile nervously at Itachi.
Itachi nodded slightly, looking up at the sky. "It is a great a view."
Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked up at the sky. Whoa, she hadn't even noticed it looked so… breath-taking. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp. The way the silent and dark trees surrounding Konoha, along with the light snow, seemed to mix with the dark oblivion that was the dark sky with speckles of light seemed beyond perfect.
"It makes me feel small." Sakura smiled slightly.
"You are small."
Sakura's eye twitched. It might've been her, but she could have sworn she heard amusement and mockery in his tone.
She looked up at him, and glared. His tallness wasn't helping her either…
She knew she wasn't the tallest of people but he didn't have to make fun of her, geez. Even Hinata was taller than her, being able to peek from the top of her head.
"Whatever" Sakura snapped, huffing her cheeks. "I might be small, but I pack a big punch."
And Itachi could most definitely not deny that –he had seen her training with Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi had insisted he see how much Sasuke had improved with his Chidori.
Let's just say, it took about two months to reconstruct the forest thanks to Sakura –and partly Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori- but mostly Sakura.
"Yes, your strength is exceptionally well." Itachi agreed.
Sakura smiled triumphantly.
"But there's nothing wrong with being… rather short."
Sakura pouted. "I am not short." She rejected. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Everyone's just… tall." She concluded hesitantly playing with her fingers the way Hinata used to do back in the days.
Sakura could have sworn she almost heard a small cackle from the ice cube right next to her. "Hey, it's not funny." She scowled.
"Your size is adequate for your figure." Itachi changed the subject.
Was he trying to make fun of her again? He was either stating it high-lighted her other features, or it just fit with everything. In other words, she had no chest, or rear. Which she did, in her opinion.
"I brings out your other features."
Okay, much better. So it had been meant to be a compliment.
Sakura stifled a small laugh. "Is that a compliment?"
"Perhaps" Itachi shrugged her comment off with a simple smirk, and a side-glance her way.
Sakura rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "You know, you're a pretty cool guy Itachi."
Itachi momentarily caught off guard, raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I mean, from what I've heard," Sakura began, trying to defend herself, "you're more of the serious, quiet, and intelligent people." Sakura paused momentarily as she quickly rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them up. "But there's a lot more to you than everyone says." She added.
"Like?" Itachi questioned.
"Well, for starters," Sakura began, "You have a sense of humor, be it a rather teasing one." She tried not to scowl. "You're also quiet, but it's because you think about a lot of stuff –thoughtful, I guess you can say." Sakura shrugged. "You're also extremely kind, in my opinion. You wouldn't go as far as making yourself uncomfortable for the sake of Sasuke if you weren't nice."
"Well, this isn't entirely for Sasuke." Itachi replied. "I'm sure Kaa-san would find this rather refreshing." He responded, answering her unspoken question. "This Christmas also seems rather important to you too. Is it not?"
Sakura blushed slightly. Was she that easy to read? "Well… this is the first Christmas I'll spend with my team." Sakura smile slightly as she pictured Sasuke and Naruto. "They're extremely obnoxious and aggravating, but there's just something about them…" Sakura trailed off.
"Can't live with them, can't live without them, I guess you can say." She looked up and smiled a genuine smile at Itachi. "I've just been with them for too long, I guess."
Itachi contemplated her answer. True, he too sometimes wished his mother would get off his back about his peculiar work habits, and about Sasuke always annoying him, stating he was now ready to defeat Itachi in battle, but who knew what he would have become without their constant annoyance too.
Without Mikoto forcing him to take a small vacation every now and then, he would probably be extremely sleep-deprived, and overworked. And without Sasuke, well, he would have probably never had something to look forward to, waking up early in the mornings when he was fifteen.
And Shisui helped a lot too. Maybe that was where he got his teasing sense of humor, as Sakura put it.
Oh yes, that was most certainly a possibility.
"I see the logic."
"You do?" Sakura seemed surprise. "Most people say they're surprised I haven't killed them yet, and I'm slightly insane for not doing so already." Sakura sighed.
"True Naruto and my brother can be a… special case," he paused to smirk, "but there are certain attributes that make their company rather refreshing."
"Yeah" Sakura nodded her head. "Of course, most only see as far as Sasuke's good looks and his annoying composed self, and Naruto, being almost the exact opposite." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "I still can't believe how such opposites could be such good friends –best friends even."
Well, it had happened to Shisui and himself, so Itachi couldn't entirely judge…
Time had gone fast, for Sakura had found herself in front of Takaharu's jewelry store in no time.
And here's the hard part…
Sakura heard the familiar jingle of the bells as she opened the door of the jewelry shop. Takaharu was standing over his desk.
"Greetings Takaharu-san." She chimed.
"Oh, hello Sakura-san!" he exclaimed as he looked up. He stared at Itachi curiously as he stood a few steps behind Sakura, near the doorway.
"That's Itachi Uchiha." She really did hope she understood why he emphasized the name. Takaharu knew the present was for an Uchiha, just not which one specifically.
Takaharu blinked, and understood almost immediately. "Ahh, hello Uchiha-sama." Of course, this was Itachi here –sama would be the only proper thing to say.
"Did you finish my order?" Sakura asked.
"As a matter of fact, I did." Takaharu dropped his pen excitedly and hurried over to his desk, where a long jewelry box was closed. He quickly grabbed it and rushed back to Sakura. "Should I wrap it and go?" he questioned.
"Yeah" Sakura smiled gingerly.
Takaharu quickly grabbed a tiny little bag and stuffed the jewelry box in there, and then handed it to Sakura.
Meanwhile, Itachi was walking around the store curiously, looking at all the jewelry. If he remembered correctly, this is the same store he had bought Mikoto her present –a beautiful diamond necklace, surrounded by a 14 k sterling silver heart and chain. It had been rather pricey, but nothing was ever too good for his dear mother.
"Itachi, I'm ready to go."
Itachi looked up from the jewelry, and nodded at Sakura. He glanced at Takaharu with a stoic expression.
"Ahh yes," Takaharu spoke up. "Before I leave, would you kindly help me reach a jewelry box high up?" Takaharu asked. "This old man is losing his touch." He frowned.
"Certainly Takaharu-san." Sakura chirped.
"Actually, I'm afraid you might be a little too short yourself." Takaharu tried not to laugh nervously. If there was one thing he knew, it was that the young Haruno did not like comments about her small size.
"Of course, Takaharu-san." Itachi agreed, as he made his way behind the counter.
"Right this way then." Takaharu took him to a door behind him that opened to reveal many more boxes of jewelry –most empty, some reserved- and things like that. They turned a small corner and Sakura left to stare at all the jewelry alone for a few minutes.
"Shall we go, Sakura?"
Sakura's eyes snapped away from the jewelry. "Y-Yeah" he had startled her slightly –he always seemed to do that, much to her displeasure.
"Thank you Itachi-sama." He nodded his way.
"It was my pleasure." Itachi responded.
Sakura didn't know why, but she felt like there was a hidden meaning to their little chat. Sakura shrugged it off, thinking maybe she was being paranoid again –she seemed to be doubting herself a lot when near Itachi. It was probably because he was so smart, he could twist her own thoughts (maybe if he tried hard enough he could twist reality too… Sakura seemed to think so)
Sakura cursed under her breath. It had grown colder while they were in the small jewelry store.
Why oh why had she decided to look cute? Why hadn't she decided to be warm?! She tried not to shiver, but her teeth just wouldn't stop shaking. It was unavoidable.
"Cold?" Itachi asked from the sidelines.
"Nahh, I'm hot." She rolled her eyes. Was her chattering teeth, goose-bumpy skin, and blu-ish self not enough proof?
Itachi didn't reply, but settled for a small smirk. This girl was definitely amusing –not many had the guts to talk back to him; even playing around or joking seemed like something no one should ever do. This girl had guts –he liked that.
Minutes later, Sakura could've sworn she felt five pounds heavier. She blinked, and noticed Itachi's own black coat was now on her shoulders –and they were looking darn mighty inviting at that point.
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but won't you be cold?" Sakura scowled.
"Fire-affinity" he simply answered as he let Sakura examine his arm. As soon as a single snow-flake landed on it, it would sizzle and melt, and eventually evaporate away.
"Lucky bum." Sakura muttered under her breath, now taking his coat whole-heartedly. Now that she knew he didn't need it, she didn't feel the slightest but guilty of taking his coat.
Why'd he even bring his coat of he didn't need it?!
"Mmm?" Itachi said, as if telling her to repeat her previous statement.
"I said thank you." Her smile twitched slightly.
"No need." He replied smugly.
'Last time I ever thank him.' She refrained from snorting. 'Just watch Itachi. There will once be a day when my water-affinity will have the upper hand. It'll be really hot outside… yeah…' Sakura already began scheming…
The walk back to the house was much quicker than Sakura had expected; maybe they had picked up the pace or something?
Sakura didn't actually mind it one bit. She was tired, and really didn't want to be half asleep when it was time for the party. Besides, she still had to wrap up the little box. And not to mention she didn't like giving Itachi the satisfaction of knowing she was cold –curse his coat for being all cozy. It was probably all warm because Itachi had warmed it up with his body heat.
Yeah, it even smelled like him too…
"Good night Itachi." She waved at him as they reached the her room. She took off the coat and handed it back to him.
"Good night, Sakura." He received his coat, nodded at her, and continued his way down the hallway until he reached his room. Sakura watched as he disappeared in the darkness and heard his door shut close.
Sakura finally let out a sigh of relief as she tossed the small bag on her bed and a second later, she was right next to it, taking in the softness of her bed.
That had been truly horrible –Sakura kept thinking maybe Itachi was onto her –that he knew she had crept out of the house (and not so skillfully either) and went to buy a present just for him. If he ever found out, well, she'd probably die of embarrassment. Seriously, who ever went to such great lengths to buy a present for someone who declared he never wants any to begin with?
Sakura decided to wrap the present early tomorrow, and quickly stripped her clothes off (and cursed at her thin but oh-so adorable coat for not doing its job and warming her up) and put on the same night gown she had on earlier.
Finally laying back down on her bed, blankets up to her chest and night lamp off, she closed her eyes momentarily and sighed in bliss.
Seconds later, she opened them up again, her nose catching an unfamiliar scent.
Great… she still smelled like Itachi…
(Not that there was anything wrong with that –he had a scent that was good enough to eat)
Sakura mentally groaned.
Sakura had a good reason for groaning out loud last night –a very good reason. She had dreamed of Itachi all last night!
Training with Itachi
On a mission with Itachi (Sasuke and Shisui included, much to Sakura's great pleasure)
Healing Itachi in the hospital (Shizune had been there too, thankfully)
And the first one of all… On a dinner date with Itachi.
The thought sent shivers down Sakura spine as she swung her legs off her mattress and slowly stood up, yawning and stretching the tendons in her arms.
She decided to shower once again after very little thought. (There wasn't much to decide on, really.)
She needed Itachi's scent off of her. Frankly, if she was stuck with it all day, she might just go mad –and it would probably be because the scent was just so addicting, you needed more.
She knew she had taken a shower not even nine hours ago, but it had to go. Naruto had a very sensitive sense of smell. And knowing the nosy, sneaky guy he was, he would try to investigate, and h would not let it drop until he knew the whole story. And he would probably even tell Sasuke!
And the last thing she needed was to have Sasuke on her case.
"What were you doing at twelve o'clock in the morning, out with Itachi at who knows where while having his jacket on?"
She could already imagine his question –and even his face expression and anger.
Though he didn't like to admit it, he was very protective of Sakura –like all the rest of Team 7. Sakura had highly doubted that in the past, but then there were few… occurrences, that proved her wrong.
Like the one time she had gone on a simple dinner date with Watari, another doctor-in-training in the hospital. He had only been one year and a half older than herself, and that had been when she was fourteen. Unfortunately, his birthday came before hers, so he had actually sixteen.
"We're boys, we know what boys want." Naruto exclaimed, angered when the gossip had spread as far as Ichiraku's.
"I was sixteen once Sakura, trust me, it's not a pretty thing what goes on in a young, immature, perverted boy's mind." Kakashi agreed.
They had cornered Sakura in the library, while she was looking up medical text books and such.
"Hn" Sakura thought Sasuke had looked like he wasn't even one bit interested in her romantic life.
"I know how to take care of myself." Sakura had replied. "We were mainly just going to discuss how progress in the hospital was going. And now if you will excuse, I'd rather not get banned from the hospital. This is the only place I can be without finding you pea brains."
Sakura had shoved passed them with a chakra-laced shove.
Later that day she found herself walking to the restaurant with Watari, and she could swear she was seeing creepy shadows behind her –and she could've sworn she had heard Naruto's whine as well.
And she knew things would only get worse when she reached the restaurant.
In the end, Naruto and Sasuke had "conveniently" as they put it, bumped into them, and they insisted they all dine together.
The other time included Lee. He had insisted they have a date in a park some time. In fact, he had been insisting for about two months already. Sakura, tired of it already, had accepted, telling him her only free time was Saturday.
This time, Sakura decided to keep it on the down-low. She didn't need Naruto and Sasuke ruining this date, even if it was with Lee.
The day after the date, Lee had apparently boasted about it in front of Naruto and Sasuke.
Sakura found him tied to a tree, upside, hours later. She had yelled at Naruto for doing it, but he had insisted this had been all Sasuke –Lee was much too fast for him to keep up with him.
Sakura had been extremely embarrassed both times, and had decided maybe dating just wasn't meant for her –especially when she had scary guys such as Kakashi, second youngest ANBU member, Sasuke, powerful Uchiha, Naruto, Kyuubi vessel, Sai, former ANBU Root member, and Yamato, the sole survivor of experimentations with Orochimaru.
(A/N: I hope I got my facts straight about Yamato. If I didn't please tell me so I could correct them)
But then again, it wasn't as if she was afraid for Itachi. She was afraid for Sasuke. And partly, she was afraid that what was supposed to be her best Christmas ever would be ruined, what with the younger Uchiha wanting to kill Itachi –maybe by poisoning his turkey.
Sakura gulped in fear and shook her thoughts away. No, she would not let anything go wrong. She was so close now –the Christmas party would be here in to time.
Sakura quickly grabbed some clothes and exited her room, only to bump into a strong, well-built chest.
"Merry Christmas Eve Sakura-chan!!" Naruto tackled her to the ground.
Sakura tried to not let fear etch her features, but swallowed in nervousness.
"Naruto get off of me!" she complained.
"Come on Sakura-chan! These two days are one of the only days I have a good excuse to tackle you in a bear hug." He whined.
Sakura contemplated his answer –it did make sense, for she would usually beat him to a bloody pulp if he ever did that to her in public.
Deciding why the hell not, she hugged him back, but tried to keep the greeting as minimal as possible. "Come on Naruto, I need to shower." She complained.
"Why? You smell good." Naruto buried his head into the crook if her neck, smelling Sakura's hair.
Sakura could already feel she was doomed. "This is how I always smell Naruto." She tried to say.
"Nah-uh." His reply came out muffled. "You usually smell like a mixture of green apple and flowers. Though this smell smells familiar, I can't quite put my finger on it.
Sakura couldn't be any more relieved. Yes, Naruto never spent too much time near Itachi, so of course he couldn't familiarize his smell. Still, she had to be careful. If there ever was a chance he got to recognize the scent… she didn't even want to think of the outcome. That was just how horrible it would've been.
It took Sakura a few minutes, but she had successfully pried Naruto off of her and locked herself in the bathroom and started the warm water. Well, at least that'd be all of Itachi she'd have. She couldn't handle anymore.
……
……
Think Again
Poor Sakura wouldn't know what hit her
End of Chapter
Hey everyone! I'm sorry this took me such a long time to put up, but it's been pretty difficult here.
First of all, most important tests of the year have begun, and it won't finish for 2 more weeks, so I probably won't update much until that time period, though I do plan to update 2 more stories (Sakura's New Past and New Sakura) sometime during the week.
If I don't get to it, believe me, I am truly sorry, but there's been a lot of things going on in my family as well. Thanks to all who have read and are still reading this fic!
I planned to only let this fic go to ch 3, but this chapter took much longer than expected, so it will ended chapter 4, unless that takes too much too xD
Anyway, any and all reviews are much appreciated
-Marzy-chan~~! :))