Chapter 3 – My Illusion, My Reality
The next morning
Ahh, there's somebody standing in my room... I'm so sleepy... Wait, that looks like Kanae Itachi... Why is he smiling at me? Whatever, his smile looks so good… But why does it feel like a Deja vu?
"Whoa!" Sakura abruptly sat up from the mattress, stirred awoke from her bizarre dream. The room was dark with the curtains drawn, but she was certain she neglected to draw it shut the night before. Speaking of which, what was she doing, depriving herself of her warm and comfy bed and sleeping on the cold hard floor?
"Good morning, Sakura-san," came a polite male greeting.
"Eeek! Itachi-san! Why are you in my room? Oh my god, am I still dreaming?" Sakura smacked herself twice on the cheek, rubbed off the remaining sleep in her eyes, and peered carefully at the lone figure. He was standing in front of her shelf of extensive literature, head tilted down at her direction. Just like that, the previous night's episode came on like a bad replay. Itachi remained unaffected by her chameleon of facial expressions, and watched on patiently as understanding finally dawn upon her jade orbs.
"Oh, it's just you, good morning indeed." And here I thought that my idol was in my room, how silly of me. Itachi raised a tentative eyebrow, not wanting to provoke her any further. Since he never had the opportunity to lounge in the same room as a female, he was unsure of the appropriate behaviour other than a habitual good morning greeting. Maybe it was different with the ladies?
Sakura unzipped and self-consciously crawled out of her poorly insulated sleeping bag, and started packing it. Even though Itachi's attention went back to the book shelves and was no longer on her, it was still unnerving to wake up and be in the same room as a male, much less a male as earth-shattering gorgeous as him. She made her way to the kitchen sink and was mortified by what was on the mirror – uncoordinated hair, dark circles and a hideous set of pyjamas left by her late mother. Once again, Sakura smacked her now flustered cheeks in disbelief. She recalled grabbing it hastily last night just to break away from the intensity of their eye contact.
"I feel like such a klutz... And I've always thought I was quite a refined lady." She muttered between mouthfuls of mint toothpaste. Spitting off the remaining toothpaste, she was greeted by another unexpected sight – home-made breakfast on the practically unused glass dining table. Most of the time, she would either eat over at Naruto or Ino's apartment or during her part-time hours, she would dine out with the quirky staffs there. Itachi was leaning against the kitchen sliding door, gauging her reaction.
"You made this?"
"I would say I assembled, since I didn't actually cook anything." He was not just being modest. On the table laid two plates of sandwich, "assembled" from the bag of wholegrain sliced breads kept inside her food container, a freshly purchased tomato from the basket of fruits on her dining table, assorted lettuce and mayonnaise which he must have come upon while savaging through her refrigerator. To top it off, there was even two clean cups of papaya juice freshly prepared from that expensive juice blender tucked away in her bottom kitchen cabinet, happily purchased but never in use (as her dining table).
Besides the overly thoughtful and nutritious breakfast, he left no trace of activity in the otherwise spic and span kitchen.
Sakura was impressed. Make that very impressed.
"W-wow, thanks. You didn't have to, you know?"
"It's for last night. I apologise for being... Intrusive. Hope I didn't scare you too much." Sakura could tell that he was sincere from the way his eyes softened around the edges and the slight downturn tilt of his head. The raw hostility and coldness now felt like a bad dream. Sakura relaxed and smiled.
"Come on, let's eat."
Sakura felt more energetic after the peaceful and silent breakfast with Itachi and her quick shower. She hastily took down her dried underwear hanging in the bathroom, careful to shield it from his line of vision, and made a dash for her room.
"Your turn, Itachi-san." Itachi nodded and entered in a moment's heartbeat.
"Thank goodness it's Sunday so no work for today..." Sakura mumbled while lightly padding some loose powder over her near flawless skin. Usually, she was very passionate over her part-time job, but now that she has one more head to look after, it did not feel right to dump him alone in her apartment to go stitching other patient's wounds. There was also the "proper" explanation that she owed Lady Tsunade, which she had not had the mind to come up with yet.
"Knock-knock, Sakura-san, are you home?"
"Ah, yes coming!" Who was that, so early in the morning?
"LEE? What are you doing here? It's seven in the morning!" Rock Lee (A rather memorable name, but not necessarily in a good way, Sakura thought) was one year her senior at their school. He held a stunning resemblance to the prominent Chinese martial arts fighter, Bruce Lee, topping off with bushier eye-brows, extremely round eyes with short lower lashes at wide intervals (oh dear) and lime green spandex overalls in place of Bruce's classic yellow.
It was quite a (disturbing) sight.
They were not particularly close, except that the whole of their school were well-informed of his steadfast crush on Sakura, even with the knowledge that it was unrequited. She had rejected him on countless occasions that she just could not find the heart to stop his relentless love confessions.
"Good morning, Sakura-san! I dropped by the hospital this morning to visit Gai-sensei, and Shizune-san requested me to pass this bag to you?" Lee replied with an enthusiasm that should not be present at this time of the day.
"Oh, thank you Lee-san. Sorry to trouble you over such trivial matters." Even though she felt that Lee could be too determined for his own good, she could not deny the amicable air surrounding his jovial nature. He was also one of the few people she had met that did not gag at her pink hair when they first met, and she was grateful.
"Anytime for you, Sakura-san! She also reminded you to go find her, saying you left without a word the last night? Ok, got to run, I still have approximately twenty kilometres to cover for this morning!" He was gone with the wind before she even managed to utter a decent farewell. Lee also happened to be a... Compulsive exercise addict. Sakura sighed and shut the door.
Sakura perched herself on the sofa edge and began pulling out the mysterious contents of the bag. It could not be that leftover pizza from last night's staff gathering, right? Gagging, she proceeded to pull out a navy blue headband with a metal plate screwed by the sides on the centre. It was carved with the Konoha town symbol, with a long scratch mark drawn over it.
"What is this doing in his possession? Is Itachi-san in some kind of Konoha protest campaign?" She mused and mulled over it for a second, before shoving it aside and to mention it again sometime.
Next, she extracted out that faithful lavender top and matching bottom, along with a mesh top and a pair of white leggings, all freshly laundered.
"Shizune-san is so nice, guess she deserves more than just a piece of my cooking." She made up her mind to get her something worthwhile.
There was also her touch-screen phone, which explained the silence from her usually rowdy coterie. As expected, it was dead. She mindlessly plugged it to the nearest power socket.
She felt around the paper bag and skimmed across something cool at the bottom. It was a necklace with multiple oval silver pendants that were hollow in the centre. She was surprised that Itachi was into accessories, given his preference for plain apparels. She ran her fingers lightly overs each of the pendants.
"So beautiful, yet the part where the heart is was hollow, like the owner."
Sakura had to surpass her laughter when she saw Itachi stepping out of the shower. She was so distracted by his presence that she completely missed something amusing – his current attire. Since the previous night, he had been striding around in that hideous green hospital attire. Even though it was hand-picked by Sakura and Lady Tsunade, it was mostly a forced acceptance on her part. After all, she was a mere part-timer, and who was she to object her lady boss when she was practically raving over the softness of those garments
"What's so funny, Sakura-san?" You could trust Itachi to catch on to every of her mood changes.
"It's nothing. Here, something nice- nicer for you to wear. We've got to return that attire you're wearing to the hospital, you know?" Itachi did not particularly enjoy being ordered around, especially not by some weak teenager. However, she did provide him shelter and food, so it was the least for him to accept whatever that came, for now.
Itachi grudgingly accepted the paper bag, and returned to the shower. Sakura observed his retreating back, filled with ambivalence. Despite the hideousness of the clothing, it somehow appeared chic on him, in a minimalist and unconventional manner. With him sticking around, Sakura was sure that there would be something to be amazed about, every day.
She was still seated on the sofa when Itachi came out of the bathroom.
"Not going anywhere?"
"Why not we have a talk? Come, have a seat, Uchiha Itachi-san." Sakura said using her saccharine voice, usually reserved before reprimanding Naruto over his silly pranks.
Itachi knew this was inevitable, but he was not exactly feeling social, especially since even he was unsure of his current plight. Sakura tried the softer approach.
"I know this is hard, but I want to try and help you in any way I can, ne, Itachi-san?" Itachi released an inaudible sigh, before sinking onto the sofa beside her. Sakura felt her heart rate picking up against her will.
"S-so, Itachi-san, why not you begin by explaining your purple nails?" That was not what I wanted to say!
"I'm sorry?" He glanced down at his slightly chipped polished finger nails, brows furrowed in contemplation.
"Er-hem, let me rephrase that. You said you are a ninja?" Sakura figured that the ideal question would be to begin with something he claimed, given that she knew next to nothing about him besides his bizarre obsession to purple.
"Do you think that I'm lying?" Itachi's voice was laced with curiosity.
"Actually, I don't see any reason for you to lie. I'm neither rich nor pretty, and there's nothing desirable about me, what good would come out for lying to me?" Sakura rattled out unapologetically. She had long come to terms with herself that she needed none to lead a content life – she had lost her two most important links and everything was dull in comparison. Except maybe Sasuke-kun.
She really did not expect him to console her pity-party, but he could have at least contradicted her words with a measly 'That's not true;' surely that was not too hard? She should start lowering her expectations in life.
"You mentioned that I was found unconscious in your room?" Instead, he had to change the subject. However, now that Itachi mentioned it, Sakura was blown that it had completely slipped her mind.
"That's right; do you remember how you ended up in my room?" She was dying for a legitimate answer. Itachi's only response was a far-away look, before he shot up from the sofa.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"To the crime scene."
Sakura had never felt so blind in her whole life. Hanging next to her bed, where the life size poster of Kanae Itachi lay, was a gaping white space, which she failed to notice. She literally was hanging a white paper against her white wall. She rushed towards her bed and anxiously ran her hands over its smooth surface.
"This is terrible! Where did my Itachi-san go?"
"Calm down Sakura-san. You panicking will not change anything." What Itachi really wanted to reply was - I'm behind you if you're looking for me.
"You don't know anything! This poster practically saved my life! It's the only reason we're in my room and having this conversation!" Itachi was askance at how a lifeless sheet of glossy paper could have such life-saving ability, so he decided to focus on the original issue at hand.
"Which part of this room did I land on?" That might shed some light to this senseless situation.
Sakura took in a steady deep breath, clenched and unclenched her shaking fists, before replying.
"It's on this bed, which you slept on last night," Sakura added redundantly.
He deliberated for a moment, while his eyes went darting back and forth between the bed and the poster, the area around his eyes hardening.
"As absurd as it is for you to believe I'm a ninja, I believe that I landed in your room through the poster of your idol," he closed his eyes as a form of conclusion.
"What?" Sakura breathed out. She was not only blind; she must also be hallucinating now. What is he saying?
"It's time you realised something." Itachi took a determined step forward and was staring intently at Sakura; she felt overwhelmed with a vague premonition of doom.
"Sakura-san, I'm not from this world."
"Ne, Itachi-san… Now's not really the time for jokes. Don't think that just because you can move like a ninja and jump to high grounds…" Sakura's pupils widen in uncertainty, unsure to just take his words lightly or in the literal sense. However, judging from the grave expression on his face, she was beginning to buy onto the latter.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura felt herself aged tenfold, and went sagged against the wall by her bed.
Itachi remained where he was, standing awkwardly in an alien environment. He hated to admit it, to concede to the fact that his Mankekyou Sharingan was drastically weak, and practically a child's play in comparison to this ultimate land of illusion where he was forced upon, with no way out.
A minute, an instant or a little more had passed by, but they held no significance to the duo. For them, time might as well have stopped running.
"Ne, Itachi-san," there came a distant sounding voice.
"Hmm?"
"Shall we go shopping? People will look at you funny should you continue wearing like this." Truth be told, Sakura was in no mood for anything, much less to shop. She was deliberately going against the saying, "Fact do not ceased to exist because they are ignored." In fact, the line between fact and fiction was growing blurry with each passing moment.
"… Alright."
"What? You do know what shopping is right, ninja Itachi-san?" Sakura mocked, intentionally putting emphasis on the word 'ninja'. Itachi closed his eyes, as though in frustration.
"I shall wait for you by the entrance."
…
Do I appear to be so unpresentable that she has to suggest a shopping trip… In the midst of a crisis?
"Sorry for waiting, let's go get you redressed up!" The earlier lacklustre eyes were completely wiped out, replaced with an impish glint, causing Itachi to have second thoughts about his earlier ill-considered decision to accept her invitation.
On their way passing by the surprisingly empty guard house, Sakura attempted an ice breaker.
"So Itachi-san, tell me about yourself." He casted a side-way glance at her, unsure of what or where to begin.
"My name is Uchiha Itachi, and I am a ninja from where I came from," Itachi announced as a matter-of-factly.
"You are a ninja and magically teleported here from another world, I got that alright," Sakura replied sarcastically. Itachi deftly chose to ignore her caustic remark.
"What about your place of birth? You did mention that you used to live here right?" After waiting for a nod of confirmation, she continued on indignantly, "If you were from another freaking world, then how did you happen to live here, in this world too?"
"My world bears many similarities to yours, Sakura-san. You may not know this, but my hometown is also called Konoha."
They had just arrived at the outskirts of the central market, avoiding the jam by taking the route along the peaceful street of the Uchiha district. Sakura screeched to a stop, mentally putting two and two together.
"Hold on a second. You said you are a ninja; your hometown is Konoha and you used to live here– are you saying that you came from the past?" Sakura was flabbergasted by her illogical conclusion. Is that even possible?
"I believe that's the best way of putting it, Sakura-san." Itachi thought that hearing it from another person's mouth made his circumstances sounded more like a reality.
"I knew that it was recorded in the history that ninjas used to exist in many states, including Konoha, but saying you came from the past? That's just too much." Sakura was struggling to maintain her sense of rationality, refusing to submit despite hearing the most plausible reasoning to his abrupt appearance so far.
Itachi was supposed to be dead, and not living a second time in the future with no possible future. He never wished to have anything for himself other than being the pillar of support of his dear little brother. He had played his part, didn't he?
"Itachi-san, what is the meaning of this?" This was meant to be a delightful shopping trip between a guy with a disastrous sense of fashion and a concerned part-time medic, with no complications. Why did it have to turn into a Discovery channel time-travel episode?
Itachi burrowed his eyebrows and seemed to be waging an internal war to his following course of action. His eyes swiped up and found hers. He edged closer towards a bewildered Sakura, Sharingan activated and blazing in all its mighty glory, causing her to back against the filthy brick wall.
"…!"
"Allow me to show you, the Konoha where I came from."
"Are you leaving for your mission now? Will you be coming back home for dinner?" There came a female voice drifting passed her ears like a gentle morning breeze.
What's going on? Sakura scanned her surroundings, and Itachi was nowhere in sight. She was alone standing awkwardly in the way of the sudden activity of civilians striding along the Uchiha District. She was astonished to find that nearly everyone were donning on an identical black tee-shirt with the familiar-looking fan shape symbol on their back, which she came across somewhere. In stark contrast to her pink pastel sundress, she felt that she stood out like a sore thumb. Some of them had on an outer navy green bomber jacket, with the similar forehead protector in Itachi's possession. There was not any with a harsh slash over it.
"Yes Mother, and no I'm not sure." That voice! Sakura spun to her right, only to realise she was facing the Kanae compound, but something felt amiss. She inched her way forward, daring a peek over the noren with the all too familiar fan symbol imprinted on it. In fact, the symbol was also carved across the walls along the entire stretch of the district, looking relatively clean in comparison to the dirty one she was leaning against a while ago.
"I know you are very capable, but please be careful, Itachi." Sakura could no longer contain her composure – sitting on the threshold of the Kanae mansion was Itachi-san, idly wearing his sandals while the owner of that melodious female voice, presumably his Mother, was addressing him behind, her body language and tone laced with tender concern.
How sweet, but why am I seeing this? Which Itachi-san am I watching now?
"I'll be taking my leave." Itachi hopped from the threshold onto the same floor level as her, and proceeded to take a right turn from the exit cum entrance. She noticed he was wearing the leaf headband, but without a slash over it. This must be Uchiha Itachi, then. But why am I seeing this?
At this precise moment, there came an adorable child wearing an identical but slightly over sized tee-shirt as everyone along the district, dashing in her direction. Before she could leap out of his way, he went spontaneously passing through her. Just then, everything felt into place.
This must be Uchiha Itachi-san's memories! But, how?
The scene went vaporising and she was transported into dimly lit woodlands. She inhaled deeply and was instantly filled with a charge of refreshing crisp air. She closed her eyes, relishing in this ephemeral moment, and felt that she had been deprived of clean air all her life. It smelt of mildew, wood and rustling leaves. A ting of nostalgia went coursing through her body, inexplicable to her.
In the clearing ahead, she could make out the pitter-patter of moving feet. With the curiosity of a learning child, she felt herself drawn towards the sound. There was a teen, perhaps a few years her junior, setting up multiple bull's eye boards around the clearing. As the place was lacking in light, she could not put a face to the boy teen.
After the initial setup was completed, he retreated to the centre, lowered his head, and closed his eyes in concentration. Sakura was taking cover behind one of the nearby maple tree, looking on while she swallowed a mouthful of saliva in anticipation.
One moment he was on the ground and the next he was gone like a flash of lightning. Her eyes caught him mid-air, armed with those threatening sharp blades. He performed a slick somersault and the instant his body flipped with his head (pointing downward) perpendicular to the ground, he began to deftly fire off the blades systematically, in seemingly random directions. Next, he pulled out a pair of similar blades and launched them accurately towards two specific blades, causing them to be propelled off course.
Everything happened within seven seconds, with each precious second fully utilised. The boy strategically timed every move down to the instant his feet made contact with the ground, all blades hit the bull's eye precisely on the mark one after another, like a chain reaction.
Sakura was unaware that she was holding her breath, when he suddenly looked up and she was greeted by that familiar pair of sharp crimson orbs, partially obscured by the black locks falling around his pale cheeks. She was paralysed with dismay and bewilderment, but sane enough to figure no normal human being could pull off that level of stunt, unless he was a ninja. No, unless he was Uchiha Itachi.
Her mind was truly blown off when her attention was pulled away by the reflection of a blade sticking defiantly out of the bull's eye sitting behind a big boulder.
Amazing, he even got a bull's eye on the target at a blind spot-
"Amazing, Brother! You even got a bull's eye on the target behind the rock!" Sakura was startled out of her jumbled thoughts by a youthful voice coming from a few metres away from her location. She twisted around and was surprised to discover it was that boy in that oversize tee-shirt. She was so distracted by Itachi's finesse that she failed to sense his presence.
"Alright! I can do it too!" The boy exclaimed and simultaneously pulled out a pair of sharp blades from thin air. She was really concerned by the fact that his parents permitted the liberal use of such deadly tools, and was aching to stretch out and grab those nasty weapons out of the toddler's grasp.
Hold on, did that boy just called Itachi-san 'Brother?'
Like a rock that has shattered into a million pieces, the scene evaporated and she was brought back to reality, leaning heavily against the filthy wall. Itachi was regarding her with wistful eyes, flashing prominently red; definitely not the lights playing tricks on her eyes.
"Itachi-san, did… Did you just show me your memories? What did you do to me?" Sakura felt slightly petrified by this surreal experience, yet it also left behind a ting of bitter-sweet sensation in her head.
"That was a genjutsu, an illusion that allows the user to control the opponent's mind and deceive it into seeing what the caster desires," Itachi paused and noticed that Sakura was shrinking and hugging herself, as though protecting herself while moving unconsciously away from him. Nevertheless, he continued with his explanation.
"All I did was merely showing you a small piece of my memory, so don't worry, Sakura-san. It will not have any detrimental effects on your brain," Itachi added thoughtfully. Upon hearing his last sentence, Sakura visibly relaxed, and her short-lived fear was replaced by an arousing curiosity at Itachi's unique ability.
"So, does that mean all ninjas can perform this kind of trick?" Sakura enquired like a child wondering what a rainbow is.
"Sadly, that is not the case. It is highly dependent on the ninja's personal strength and affinity with… His inner energy," Itachi added lamely, unsure of any other way to define chakra.
"Wow, so you can still use your… Genjutsu here? That's… That's amazing, Itachi-san! I have no idea ninjas have special powers besides specialising in lethal weapons!" Seeing how delighted and impressed Sakura was made Itachi felt self-conscious and homesick, by memories of Sasuke stalking him, of him suddenly bursting out of the bush and singing praises after his training sessions.
"It seems like that's the case." Even Itachi was taken aback by this discovery, back when he had successfully casted a genjutsu on the toddler who caught him on the tree branch.
"You were not lying all these times," Sakura immediately felt awful for all the mockeries and negative comments she had thrown at Itachi; she thought that should their circumstances be switched and she was the one being chastised by him, she would have felt miserable, and extra lonely.
"I was not lying, and never wanted to, not if I had to." Sakura felt that he was referring to a distant matter, but after sharing this valuable part of him with her, any vestige of suspicions towards him gradually became non-existent.
"So… The Uchiha District was once your clan's property…" She could not believe the words she was uttering; the clan system was such an archaic concept that if it was not for Itachi's… Genjutsu, she would not for a hundred years gave her complete credence to the Uchiha story's tell-tale.
"…"
"And the Kanae compound was where you used to live…" Sakura felt like a parrot. And you are no doubt a hundred percent authentic ninja.
Itachi was spotting a faraway look in his eyes, no doubt reminiscing about his hometown, his era's hometown.
"I… Thank you for trusting me. S-sorry for poking fun at you, Itachi-san…" He glance down at her, and once again, she felt her consciousness swallowed up by the endless lustre of those hypnotising eyes. Those onyx commas that signified his incomplete life story, with more to come in the future, in the future with her.
Itachi deactivated his Sharingan to prevent anyone from landing their eyes upon his blood red ones; it would be tricky should he end up having to resort to casting the entire street of people into his mirage. He offered a semblance of a smile at Sakura, silently gratified by her almost instantaneous acceptance of his otherworldly side, in the most literal sense of the phrase.
"Don't you always want to know about me? Some things are better described without words."
They got Itachi five sets black of loose tee-shirt, slim-fitting bermudas, two pair of slim-fitting jeans 'to catch up with the times' and a pair of black leather boots, against Itachi's protest. "Take it as my welcoming gift! Besides, they are hot!" Sure, they are definitely hot (to wear), Itachi thought.
He managed to ignore her other 'constructive feedback,' like her suggesting him to discard those 'comfy and unflattering wear to flaunt his impressive built' and him insisting he preferred discretion and practicality.
"You're just shy, Itachi-san." He was probably not even aware of his oozing charisma and splendid body, which just increases his desirability with the ladies. Sakura reflected, watching at how Itachi seemed to titillate the women of the mall with every flip of his tantalising pony-tail.
"I'm paying, so I believe I get to pick what I deem suitable," Itachi declared as he spontaneously flashed out a dense set of notes, to a gaping Sakura. Though slightly over the hill, they were still perfectly relevant, as the market still accepted the obsolete notes, much to Sakura's displeasure.
"Where did you hide all those notes? I didn't come across any when the staff strip- uh, unclothed you!"
Unclothe? What a disturbing notion… "As I repeated countless times, I am a ninja, and I happen to specialise in the art of concealment."
"That's… Good for you I guess," Sakura vowed to pick up some of his tips and tricks to prevent any Sasuke's secret photographs from being disclosed to Ino's prying eyes and Naruto's chanced encounter on her beloved treasure. After all, it's not like you can come across a ninja with sheer luck!
"Mou… Weekends are such a downer. You can never find any seats in any restaurants!" Sakura was not a person who indulged in exorbitant delicacies, but she did not think treating Itachi to Naruto's stash of instant ramen at her house was an appropriate welcoming gesture.
"Why not order a takeaway? It's quieter to eat at your house too," Itachi suggested helpfully.
"Urgh, you're right. Waitress!" After leaving the overcrowded restaurant with two packets of Japanese curry with katsu dons, Sakura recalled her earlier plans.
"Itachi-san, I need to head over to the hospital for a while. Why not you take our dinner and these shopping bags home? I'll catch up in a jiffy!"
"Alright."
Sakura was really warming up to Itachi – he was one of the rarer guys who always respected her decisions (except with regards to those form-fitting tee-shirts) with no questions asked.
"Here are my house keys. It's the pink one, but I believe you already know that!" With that, she skittered off. Itachi stood still for a second to observe her retreating back, tilting his head slightly in amusement.
"What an energetic girl."
"Good afternoon, Shizune-san! Sorry for leaving so abruptly the other night, and thank you so much for that bag of clothes! You are the sweetest, you know that?" Sakura was shamelessly sucking up to Shizune, and both of them knew it. Sakura knew how much Shizune loved hearing flattering words, which was how she got Shizune to shower her with mouth-watering pastries despite her frenetic schedule.
"Stop it Sakura, you know I am going to believe everything you said…" Shizune sighly dramatically, already falling for her apple-polishes.
"No, I meant it! As an expression of gratitude, I got you a little something…" Sakura cleared the loose papers on the receptionist desk, before placing her present – a cage, on the cleared space.
"What's this? Oh, Sakura, you didn't!" Shizune carefully plucked out the pink animal snoring in the white and grey cage, in an attempt to not stir it awake. Pigs prized sleep before anything else, after all.
"I knew you loved it more than anybody ever would, it would be a pity if it got adopted by somebody else!" Two weeks ago, Sakura saw Shizune loitering outside a pet's adoption shop, playing with a small but plump pig by the display window. Since her uncle's decease, it was the first time she ever saw light entered her lifeless pupils.
Two weeks later, after much consideration, she did what she felt was the most appropriate – she adopted it in the name of Shizune.
"This is the best damn present I have ever received in my entire life, Sakura-chan. Thank you." She saw tears of euphoria welling up by the corner of her eyes, brows that were no longer frowning, and most importantly, love scintillating in her eyes at the adorable pig. She had not abandoned her ability to love.
"You have to name her!" Her smile was infectious; Sakura could not control herself from making a fool of herself and breaking into a jolly dance.
"Don't worry about that, Sakura-chan. I've already done that long ago, long long ago."
"Alright, I shall talk to Lady Tsunade about it, Sakura-chan. It must be something important for you to take a week's leave." It was the least Shizune felt she could do; that was her way of returning her favour.
"I am so sorry to trouble you again, Shizune-san. I still can't find the courage to face her yet…" Sakura trailed off, immersed in thought.
"Don't worry about it. Speaking of which, Lady Tsunade wanted to pass this to you." In her outstretched hands were two pairs of rimmed spectacles, in lavender and cobalt.
"These are for that boy who you brought in two weeks ago? Both are custom-made to suit his eye conditions and were made with titanium for extra sturdiness," Shizune explained.
"I understand. But, why are there two pairs…?" Sakura was nonplussed since normally, people were prescribed with a pair. She also wondered if Lady Tsunade selected purple based on Itachi's clothing colour preference.
"We took considerations of his… Lifestyle, and judging from the severity of his wounds, one pair might not last for over a year, regardless of its durability." Shizune elaborated on meekly.
"Ahhh… How thoughtful of you and Lady Tsunade, let me thank you on his behalf, ne?" With a final wave, she left the hospital, feeling that it was possibly the best place to hang out in, despite the irony.
After casting a weak genjutsu over the security guards to conceal his presence, he entered the Haruna residence. He was doing it to minimise any inconvenience for Sakura; it might raise unnecessary concerns should she be seen with a male companion all the time.
He stopped short when he realised he had made his way to the central courtyard on instinct. He thought he should give the lift a go, blending in with the times and all.
Itachi hit the up button and waited. The panels slide aside to reveal an enclosed space with cerulean interior and sparse lighting. On the inner walls of the space laid two rows of numeric, and he promptly hit the '10' button as the door closed.
"Hey, wait up!" There came a hand pressing against the closing panel, before sliding back to reveal a blonde wearing only a purple cropped top and matching mini skirt, despite the coolness of the weather. She appeared to be around Sakura's age.
"Sorry."
"Didn't you seeing me approaching- I-I mean, thank you so much!" The girl's penalising tone spontaneously morphed into a flirtatious voice, threaded with uncensored adoration over the unknowing Itachi.
"Which floor?"
"It's the eighth, thanks…?" Itachi politely responded with a nod, not falling for the bait.
Damn, he's being elusive, not wanting to tell me his name! If that's the case…
"I heaven seen you around, are you new?" Yamanaka Ino initiated, in an attempt to have him divulge some information.
"Hmm."
"This place is so quiet that it hurts my ears! What do you think?" Ino went on good-naturedly.
"I prefer a quiet environment."
"…" Ding-dong.
"It's your floor," Itachi spoke while looking expectantly at the corridor.
The lift door went shut with a resounding thump. Ino was always the one patronising the guys, never on the receiving end of such outright cold treatment. To top it off, she was bluntly rejected by an attractive and pretty tall guy, with a head of silky hair that put hers that required hours of conditioning and tainting to shame. His seemed like it was born that way.
"Damn, who knew guys with long hair could be so freaking sexy?"
Upon reaching her front door, she was alarmed to spot a pair of sandals lying next to her tattered red slippers, before shaking her head in disbelief at her failing memory. I'm no longer the only resident in the apartment. The notion of a company perked her up.
"I'm home! Sorry for the wait, Itachi-san. You must be famished!"
"You're back, let's eat then." Itachi had already transferred the packet dinner onto her housewares, accompanied by two cups of appetising tomato juices. He was starting to feel more like an attentive butler as opposed to a guest.
"Itachi-san… You are killing me with your thoughtfulness… Oh before I forgot…" She snapped out of her trance and fished inside her bag for Itachi's glasses.
"Purple or blue, pick one!" Sakura was betting her fortune on the former. She wanted to see if he was really obsessed over purple as he appeared to be, just for her amusement, even though both were technically his.
"Is that really necessary?" Itachi supplied with hints of scepticism. Those reminded me of Orchimaru's right-hand man…
"Come on, do you want your failing eyesight to take a turn for the worse?" Sakura steered on, unable to resist the whiff of the curry any longer.
Itachi once again grudgingly accepted another one of Sakura's gifts, and was taken aback by its feathery weight. He gingerly put it on, unaccustomed to the additional weight resting on the bridge of his defined nose.
"I'm surprised that you picked the blue one… Boy, don't they look fabulous on you!" Sakura knew by hunch that it would flatter Itachi, but it totally lifted him to a different calibre. He was gorgeous. The thick rim only served to draw attention to his feline eyes and complemented with his seductive charcoal orbs. It also captured the reserved side of him with a touch of a modern edge.
Itachi made no response to her torrent of praises, clearly unconvinced by how such a nerdy accessory could appear remotely flattering on anyone. However, one thing was certain.
He was never taking them off again.
Night time was coming to an end, but due to Itachi's lifestyle back at his era, he had more or less become a night owl, and sleep was definitely the last thing on his mind. After plucking up the courage to test out the button-controlled shower head, he was relieved to find that it was extremely user-friendly, with Kranji texts and all. It even fired off lukewarm water, which was akin to a good massage at a pricey massage parlour. Slipping back on his lavender attire (his new clothes were still in the laundry), he walked out to find a sleeping Sakura, also freshly showered, sitting on the black sofa.
"Sakura, wake up," Itachi gently nudged her right arm, but she was out like a light. Back home, he would not think twice to wake Kisame up, with their status as fugitives and the series of demanding missions, regardless of their burning fatigue. Here, he was just a normal guy, having a sojourn (albeit an unplanned one) at a girl's apartment. There was no longer a need for urgency and a constant sense of alertness of his surroundings.
His eyes roved over her relaxed body, completely vulnerable and at ease. When was the last instance he had witnessed such a carefree attitude? He vaguely recalled Sasuke when he was young, with his petite built and a bed of dishevelled raven hair sleeping on his bed back at home. He had a nightmare, and in an attempt to pacify his howling wails, offered to share his bed. He was immediately out cold when he lay on Itachi's bed. That fragment of memory brought a smile to his usually impassive face.
However, the short-lived smile was immediately replaced by another thought. When was the last time he had led his guard down like this, since that bloody night, where he could only sleep within the murky bases of the Akatsuki?
Itachi carefully picked up Sakura, and made his way to her bedroom. Summoning up all his ninja's worth of concentration, he was able to evade eye contact with her distracting posters of Kanae Itachi. He daintily laid her down on the bed, and pulled over the soft blanket to prevent her from catching a cold.
He went over to the window, and drew the curtains shut to cut off the biting wind from paying them an unexpected visit, before slipping soundlessly into the make-shift cocoon beside her bed.
There he laid conscious the whole night, accompanied by the soft and soothing sound of her even breathing.