Chapter10 Recall:

The news of Itachi's admission spread like wildfire; Sakura recounted her first meeting with Kanae Itachi, and revealed the truth of the heart-wrecking incident behind her parent's death. Itachi finally met the modern reincarnation of his brother, and Sakura attended K. Itachi's concert with an unexpected audience.

Chapter11 – Do We Have A Date?

"Sasuke-kun, why can't you like me the way you like your brother!"

"You know, Sakura, it's not that I don't like you," Sasuke replied in an exasperated tone, clearly sick of where this conversation was heading. At this point all she wanted to do was to shut her ears and pretended that she was not listening to a love rejection speech.

"It's just, he's my brother and, you're not."

After Itachi had set up the table for breakfast, he darted his head towards the bedroom and was puzzled by the lack of activity. Usually Sakura would be up and kicking blankets by half past six, but when he checked the living room clock, it was already ten to seven.

Stripping off the red and white checkered apron, he sauntered into the bedroom to smack the alarm clock shut for the fifth time. Sakura remained unstirred in her dreamland, her head well-buried in the pillow and partially obscured by the blanket. Itachi sighed inwardly and considered not waking her up, but thought the better of it and gently nudged her slacked arms. He felt that she should not be abandoning her studies and attendance for the sake of a potentially homo boy, despite how much he was tempted to let her sleep on.

"Sakura, wake up."

"Mmm…" Her muffled response sounded suspiciously like sleep-talking. His concerned eyes momentarily softened at her resistance to move. She's cute when she's asleep.

He blinked and quickly caught himself before he indulged further in this sudden bout of inane thoughts, brushing it off as an unfortunate case of mind fatigue. He tried again and shook her with greater force.

"Sa-ku-ra, you're going to be late for school," Itachi drawled, feeling like his Mother with her incessant chanting for the men in the house to get their lazy asses off the bed. When Sakura turned towards him only to pull the blanket over her head and ceased motion once again, Itachi understood a little of her Mother's feelings. Not about to be put off by her non-responsiveness, he had no choice but to resort to playing dirty – prying off her weakness.

Retrieving a pen from her desk, he began to strike in a similar fashion as the Hyuuga's renowned Eight-Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, aiming strategically at her waist. When his tentative jabs were only returned with a slight shift in her body, he intensified his attacks by increasing the speed of his pokes. That did the job; she let loosed sporadic grunts before she could no longer withstand the ticklishness and poured out laughing, her right arm futilely flapping off the source of irritant.

"S…Stop it… Stop! I-It's ticklish!" When her jerking and twisting was met with more prodding, she shot up her arm and grabbed at whatever was disrupting her sleep, and pulled it towards her chest to stop its movement. When it worked, she released a blissful sigh and returned to her sleep, cradling the somewhat soft yet firm object in her bosom.

"Ah-hem, S-Sakura… What are you doing?" At the back of her mind, she thought that the voice sounded familiar, but she dismissed that and hugged tighter at her makeshift bolster.

"Sakura, we are really going to be late for school if you don't wake up NOW." At Itachi's commanding tone, Sakura peeled open her eyes. After a few hazy seconds, she found herself gazing into a pair of intense obsidian orbs a mere inch away from her face.

"I-Itachi?!" W-Why is his face so close to mine? Oh shit do I have bad breath? He raised his brows sheepishly before pointing towards her chest, and when she duly looked down, her earlier embarrassment was instantly restored to full on mortification and maximum alertness. For the past seconds and possibly minutes, she was cuddling what turned out to be Itachi's arm on her breast, and tightly.

"OH MY GOD," Sakura yelped and spontaneously released her vice-like hold on his arm, whispering muted apologies under her blanket. Touching his still-warm arms, Itachi let loose a soft chuckle at her dramatic display of humiliation, while secretly glad that she missed his slightly flushed face.

"On account of letting you 'borrow' my arm, would you wake up now?"

"Oh no… I-I mean, give me a sec! Itachi, can you please leave the room first? I can't face you right now!"

By the time Sakura got over her embarrassment and morning routine, they were left with half an hour to spare. Sakura did not even have the luxury of wearing her socks as she haphazardly slipped into her loafers and dashed towards the lift, where Itachi was motioning for her to hurry.

Itachi tilted his head at the poor girl struggling to finish the slice of bread before eyeing amusingly at her hair. It was an especially arid day, and despite her excessive combing, it was virtually impossible to tame those stubborn baby hairs and loose strands. Instinctively, he reached out to smooth down those wild and unruly locks, and marvelled at its silky texture and flamboyant colour.

He was unaware of Sakura's acute awareness to his gentle caresses, or how she stopped chewing on the bland bread. She only broke off from her stupor when Itachi called her out of the lift, then did she realised she was the only one left in it.

When they reached the bus-stop, they only managed to catch the retreating taillights of the last bus that could get them to school on time.

"No way…" Sakura was supporting herself on her thighs, trying to catch her breath while panicking over their predicament. The bus-stop was empty except for an elementary-grade school boy who was idly swinging his scrawny legs on the bench.

"Guess there is no other choice," Itachi declared and before Sakura could respond, she found herself scooped up, her bag sliding off her shoulder in her shock. Itachi quickly bent and slung it next to his schoolbag. He glanced down at her gaping eyes.

"Hold on to me." Without further ado, he took a few discreet steps back towards the wooded area behind the bus-stop, and hopped onto the nearest tree before activating his Body Flicker Technique. Sakura squealed at the unanticipated gush of wind and instinctively reached out to wrap her hands around Itachi's neck to avoid falling off. She let out another unfeminine shriek when he stumbled on a slightly fragile branch. He smiled down apologetically at her.

"Sorry, Sakura, I'm not the best when it comes to this." He held her eyes for a second longer than necessary, as though lost in his thoughts, before focusing ahead of them. She responded by tightening her grip, squirming her eyes and burying her head against his solid chest. Despite the uncomfortable rebound and occasional roller-coaster drops from tree to tree, she soon found herself soothed by the rhythmic tapping of Itachi's feet on the branches and adjusted herself accordingly in his secure grasp.

She took delight in their proximity – she was able to take in a liberal dose of his green tea and musky scent and to soak in his body warmth without feeling like a creep, and gently felt him up on his firm chest discreetly.

"Sa-Sakura, could you stop doing that…"

"Hmmm?" She was languidly dragging her hands across his chest, taking pleasure in the unevenness resulting from the taut muscles hidden underneath the crisp shirt. Then she realised he was referring to this action.

"O-oh! S-Sorry, I didn't realise…" Maybe not as discreetly as I thought, oops. She hastily retracted her itchy fingers and replaced them around his neck again, still staring longingly at his chest. Maybe being late was not such a bad thing after all.

There was a part where they nearly ran smacked onto an oncoming pigeon, to which Itachi did a sudden drop to a lower branch, avoiding a fatal hit and run by a hair's breath.

"H-How did you do that?"

"I increased the density of chakra concentrated on my feet and let gravity do the rest of the work," Itachi explained. Other than that, the rest of the journey was smooth-sailing, as smooth as travelling through trees could get.

They managed to land a few metres from the high school's gate with a few light scratches on Itachi's arms and some stray leaves in their hair, with five minutes to spare. He lowered Sakura carefully onto the ground, and began to dust off the evidence of their morning episode.

"W-Well, thanks for the ride…?" Sakura offered good-humouredly, uncertain of what to do in this situation.

"You're welcome. Go on to your classroom; you're going to be late," Itachi urged on, tapping his wrist meaningfully. Sakura smiled bashfully and bowed slightly, before shuffling off to join the lone figures striding along the pavement towards the gate.

Releasing the pant he was withholding, he swiftly headed towards his classroom. Along the way, he rotated his shoulder blades and laughed mentally to himself.

I must be getting weak. Either that or Sakura might have gained some weight.

"Whoa Itachi, your back's soaked. You went running?" Deidara pointed out as he slipped silently onto his seat, and politely declined Konan's tissue. They were the only people in the classroom, despite homeroom starting in less than three minutes. He suspected that this was a regular occurrence; considering the privilege this program had bestowed upon the students, it was expected that when hitting 'minimum curriculum hours' was concerned, the school would be getting no more than the bare minimum.

"Ne, Konan. I was kinda hoping that homeroom today would be cancelled; not that keen to listen to that long hair geezer's world peace speech, hmmm," Deidara said while swirling like a kid on the computer chair behind the teacher's desk.

"Just admit it, you admire him."

"What nonsense! I wonder where Sasori-danna is though; he is usually on time, hmmm," Deidara pondered aloud when the overhead intercom buzzed into life.

"Attention to all students – kindly head to the Auditorium now for a short assembly. All homeroom attendances will be automatically taken when you walk passed the auditorium entry sensors. I repeat all students…" Deidara broke into a smirk, pointing smugly at the intercom.

"Heh, looks like my wish just came true." Konan shook her head at his childish demeanour, though she was clearly smiling.

"I can't imagine anyone would want to waste any of their wishes on such a silly occasion, Deidara," Konan offered indulgingly. His only reply was an indignant pout, and Konan chuckled amusingly before getting up to leave for the expected venue. It was then that Kisame strode into the classroom, blinking befuddled stares at their various half-seated half-standing positions.

"What have I missed?" His confused eyes met Itachi's, and he broke into a cordial grin.

"Hey, Itachi ka? Good morning!"

"M-Morning, Kisame,"Itachi stammered, not quite use to his outright jolly nature, especially with a grin that no longer promised malice and was missing the sharp teeth that would peek out from his ex-partner's upper lip. It felt weird to believe that he turned over a new leaf.

"What are you doing here, Kisame-san? Let's get going already!" Konan exclaimed before guiding him out of the classroom, much to his bafflement and reluctance.

"Where to?"

"You can't be kidding right, Kisame-san? Didn't you hear the announcement? We're needed at the auditorium, hmm."

"What? You can't be kidding right? When I finally made the effort to be on time for homeroom… Man, I knew good deeds were never always returned," Kisame grumbled as he trudged off with Konan's palm rested on his back, directing him encouragingly down the corridor like an upset victim's family member after hearing the news of his injured kin.

"Can't say I don't agree with him, hmm. Let's go, Itachi-san!"

"What's taking you so long? Let's go, Sakura!" Ino waved on when Sakura was the only student left in their temporarily abandoned classroom.

"Yea, Sakura-chan is so slow!" Naruto added helpfully, to which she responded with a shaking fist that spelt trouble.

"Chill Sakura-chan, you know I would wait the whole day if that's what it takes… Okay okay! I'll shut."

"Mou… Just when we had to rush all the way to school and the first lesson's cancelled," Sakura mumbled under her breath as she rushed out of the same door she rushed through just a moment ago. Both of them were tsk-ing away at her sluggishness and she gave two of her best friends a heartfelt slap on their backs as they joined the traffic down the stairs.

"Hey, where's Hina-hime?" She glanced curiously around for any sign of the imperial purple mass of hair.

"Oh, she said she had some work to discuss with Kiba and Gaara-kun, and left ahead of us," Ino relayed, and both of them wondered at what was so urgent that needed to be 'discussed.'

The Auditorium was right smacked between the high school and university, and was a separate building by itself with covered link ways connecting from the high school's Admin Office and the uni's cafeteria. Torrents of students strung through the grand entrance in an orderly manner, but that was probably because no one was looking forward to attending this impromptu assembly.

Made to house both institutions, the air-conditioned auditorium boasted three tiers of cushioned seating and a dark ceiling that mimicked the night sky with scattered specks of white lightings. Other than having their classes cancelled, what Sakura loved about going to the auditorium were the comfy chairs (as opposed to sitting on the floor in the hall), dim lightings (that she could fall asleep on as soon as your butt connected with the seat) and the enormity of the interior allowed you to sleep and escaped scot-free.

"I wonder what this is about… Ne any idea Sakura-chan?" Naruto 'whispered' next to Sakura as they settled into their allocated seats on the ground floor.

"I don't know; it must be something big to garner the use of this auditorium. What do you think, Ino?" It was pointless talking to Ino as she was already lost to the uni's male splendour settled above behind them. Sakura wondered if by a stroke of luck she could spot Itachi, and twisted around to join the man hunt.

"What are you looking for?" Naruto traced their line of vision and despite squinting his eyeballs out, he could barely make out the student's genders, much less face. He soon grew bored from the girl's queer interest and nestled against the arm rest and shut his eyes.

A hush descended the assembled body as overhead spotlights casted onto their spokesperson of the day, making his way to the stage podium.

"A warm welcome to the rare congregation between the high school and university students and teachers of Kizuna in this auditorium; I'm Pein and I kindly seek a few moments of each and every one's attention on this stage," Pein boomed assertively into the podium's microphone, effectively grabbing his audience's focus. The initial hushed whispers soon dulled, and he nodded approvingly before continuing.

"I am heartened by your cooperation. Please, do not mind me as we wait for another minute for the commencement of today's unpremeditated gathering." The crowd willingly obliged to his instruction at the promise of a starting assembly and soon hushed conversations began to fly across the students.

"He must be a senior from the uni, but I have never seen him on stage before," Sakura regarded thoughtfully with a finger to her chin.

"I hate to admit, but that orange punk is something," Naruto begrudgingly admitted as he crossed his arms and peered at his conspicuous studs.

"How brazen; he must be incredibly talented to be excused for having those earrings and nose-rings. I wonder if he's secretly an underworld boss; he has that bad boy vibe going about him," Ino assessed while eyeing critically at his general appearance. She frowned confusingly, and began looking to and forth from Pein to Naruto.

"Well, then he must be a smart one, since he is in Kizuna Uni," Sakura expressed sincerely, the back of her mind wondering if like Kabuto, he was messing in illicit activities.

"His loud fashion style and striking hair colour reminds me of you, Naruto. But other than that, you two are nothing alike! " Ino commented suddenly.

"Of course, hardly anyone can live up to my coolness."

"You mean klutz-ness?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Everyone." At his passive-aggressive command, the crowd's burble gave way to curious stares.

"It's starting," Naruto whispered superfluously, earning two glares in return.

"Thank You. Today, I have two announcements to make. The first being that our current Principal Sarutobi Hiruzen-san, has decided to retire from his position and will take on the Chairperson's role to continue supporting and oversee on the institution's major affairs."

"That's so sudden!"

"About time… Ouch! Sakura-chan!"

"However, we cannot afford to leave a position of authority vacant, which brings me to the second announcement…" Pein dragged on, taking delight in capturing everyone's undivided attention.

"Man, I really hate the suspense…." Ino mumbled under her breath.

"Is he done with those dramatic pauses?" Pein, aware of the rising commotion, pressed on with his cavernous tone.

"May I have the honour to invite our newly appointed Principal on stage…"

"He must be some retired geezer with nothing better to do," Ino wagered to a sniggering Sakura.

"Please put your hands together for… Namikaze Minato," Pein proclaimed while signalling him to come on stage.

"WHAT?!" Naruto and Sakura chorused as they shot to their feet simultaneously, gripping onto the backrest in front of their seats. The assemblage erupted into a thunderous plaudit as their former Secretary Officer was escorted on stage by another student. He delivered a firm handshake to Pein before taking over his spot behind the podium.

"ER-HEMMMMMM." His hawking into the mike resulted in a high-pitch reverberation, splitting ears and sending a chill throughout the mass. The students cupped their ears in agony and groans as they waited for a few pained seconds, before the resonance subsided into nothing but a nasty memory. Minato was about to clear his throat again, but seeing the panic-stricken expressions of several staffs in the front row, thought the better of it and broke into a silly grin instead.

"Ah, that was disastrous… I'm really getting too old for this eh?" His inauguration speech was interrupted when he noticed a blonde on his feet, pointing an accusing finger at his direction.

"DAAAAAAD?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON STAGE?" A pink head whom he assumed to be Sakura, was summoning her worth of female brute force, desperately trying to pull Naruto back to his seat in vain. From his vantage point, it was a comic relief for his tingling nerves.

"Ah, what was I saying about being too old? Even my son wants me off stage to go grocery shopping and buy his favourite ramen," Minato chortled as the audience's attention settled on Naruto.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK DOWN!" The crowd escalated into a laughing fit when Sakura finally managed to get Naruto to suck up and behaved. When she figured that her unglamorous shout resounded throughout the auditorium, her faced turned as pink as her hair and she quickly retreated into the seat to make herself as small as she could. Minato shook his head at what could he could dismiss as a couple's public bicker, before resuming his speech.

"Let me do a brief introduction – my name is Namikaze Minato, as most of you would have known, and for some I have the privilege to meet and talk with personally," He paused to send a wink in Sakura's direction, "And for the past five years, I've been holed up in the Secretary Officer, dealing with what you would all call 'the boring office stuffs.'" The congregation laughed and mumbled their sympathies.

"However, it was through these duties that allowed me to know every one of you seated here, as I filed and watched your growth by the side-lines year by year. Now, Hiruzen-san has decided that I have done more than enough, and when I thought that he finally had enough of my tardiness and was going to give me the boot this morning…" He chuckled along with a knowing Hiruzen, who was leaning against the side pillar and observing his reliable assistant with pride. He inhaled a lungful of air before continuing.

"He decided that I'm still not doing enough, and wants to offer me a bigger office," He lamented, but there was no escaping the playful sparkle in his eyes. Hiruzen could not resist Minato's indirect protest and released an audible 'tsk' from his location.

"So what does being the Principal entails really? Well, it certainly means more responsibility, more work. But the best part would be I will have more say; don't think I heaven read those feedback forms you guys think were just for show. I'm in the midst of considering the extension of break time…" He revealed in a pondering aloud manner, eliciting whoops of cheers from his spontaneous audience, both students and staff alike, and a mock scowl from Hiruzen at his 'audacity.'

"…Which I'll have to discuss with our dear Chairperson and committee and sort out the finer details, so no promises there. Anyway, I look forward to continue working with every one of you seated here, and I'm really thankful for your tolerance towards my shortcomings during my line of service. I'll be honoured if you all will continue to look out for me too. That's all for my part." The crowd reciprocated his heartfelt message with a standing ovation as he bowed humbly before exiting the stage.

"Wow, Minato-sensei sure is amazing ne?" Sakura commended after they were seated back down again.

"Of course he is! He's my Dad for a reason!" Naruto retorted with a puff to his chest, swelling in obvious pride.

"And just a while ago, you were hollering your ass off and making a big show of what's his deal on stage…" Ino 'muttered,' once again ticking Naruto off.

"I-I was just surprised, okay? He could have at least given me a heads up this morning, that sneaky dude…"

As Pein reappeared to deliver the conclusion for today's assembly, a tier above the high school chatty birds towards the east of the stage, the APEX students watched on in varying degrees of fascination and boredom.

"Nagato is so self-possessed and commanding down there, isn't he?" Konan gushed in her abashed manner, her hazel eyes speaking of unadulterated admiration and pride.

"Well, this is Pein we are talking about, the prodigy of Mass Communications, hmm," Deidara reasoned beside her.

"It's just honeyed words and smooth-talking in front of a bunch of brats and overworked staffs; he knew people dig blarney and he's just exploiting that to his advantage," Kisame mentioned causally next to Itachi, and Itachi could not help but agree with him.

"Hmm, kind of like you sweet-talking your 'beauty' over the phone to pacify her anger- Whoa I meant no ill, Kisame-san, please don't glare at me like that," Deidara pleaded as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

"You idiot; you hadn't an ounce of idea of how 'smooth-talking' works, do you Deidara?" Sasori chided for his tactlessness. He turned away to text something on his phone before he could notice a gloominess that suddenly shrouded over Deidara's sunny disposition.

"Yea, I don't, Sasori-danna."

A few hours whisked by and it was soon lunch time. Naruto informed the ladies that he would be hanging with Sasuke and some other boys from their class, waved them off and went on ahead. At the mention of Sasuke's name, Sakura's ear perked up and she consciously swallowed back what remained of her pride as the faithful memory from yesterday sprang back up.

She pinched the skin between her brows to repress the shameful rejection, not quite ready to put it out in the open and to discuss it with her girls yet. Maybe after a few weeks of wallowing in self-pity and embarrassment over what was never meant to be, she could causally allude at that one time where she unintentionally confessed to the boy she had set her sights on for three years during her idol's concert, then conveniently dropping the name Sasuke somewhere along her recount. The girls would be sure to convince her that it was a cause of good riddance, that the better had yet to come and it was right to not get hung up over spilt milk.

She might even joke about it with Sasuke and they would chalk the incident up as being drunk on Itachi's song, as everyone knew booze could do funny things to one's mind.

That was the plan.

She was digging her bag for her wallet, and ushered Ino and Hinata on that she would catch up in a jiffy. After dumping everything out, she crouched down to pick up her fallen notebook and there she found her damn wallet, playing hide and seek with her underneath her chair. She retrieved it and dusted it along the way out…

…And came face to face with the boy who was never meant to be.

"Sa-" Without a word, he moved passed her into the classroom. She heard some shuffling and a soft thud before he slid passed her again without acknowledging her presence. Her smile was mid-froze and it slowly gave way to downturn despair and droopy eyelids. She was certain they made eye contact when she first exited the classroom, but the moment was too fleeting and besides, why would he deliberately ignore her?

All I did was just to put my heart out for you to see, and have it stuffed back down my throat, then be made aware of your steadfast love to your older brother. Surely it was nothing worth turning us into awkward strangers, who had revealed too much to the other half to save for future embarrassments?

Blinking back the stinging sensation protesting behind her eyelids, she pushed up her chin and marched towards her friends, wishing very much that this whole episode could be forgotten and be spared from clouding her thoughts any further.

"H-Hey! Let's head over to the uni caferteria!"

"Uh-huh… Wasn't that the plan all along?" Ino countered while turning to Hinata for confirmation.

"I know! I just… I just can't wait to check out that new dude! You know, the one who looked like my favourite idol?" Sakura tittered as she eagerly pushed them down the stairs.

There was no way she was admitting that it was to avoid seeing Sasuke.

A look past between the two girls, one that she was determined to overlook. After all, it was not lost on her that she was the one that made a big deal of telling them off of what a big deal they were making of the lookalike's arrival.

There was no denying the thrill that travelled through her body at the sight of her morning ride ensconced on the bench at the far-east corner of the cafeteria, where he was nodding away to what the burly guy was speaking next to him. She bit back the smile threatening to surface, and blended into the throng of moving crowd, her earlier dampened mood picking itself up at the reminder of being in those warm arms a few hours ago.

Luckily for her, the Western store was on the western side, and what with the ridiculous long queue from its adjoining vendor, it eliminated the chance of her being spotted. She gleefully fixed herself to the queue end. She scanned the seats for Ino, wondering which 'good view' she had secured for them today, and risked her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

She was slouching and texting away at a seat just five tables away from Itachi, and right in his line of vision! Gah! What is she thinking? Wasn't she the one always going on about subtly?

There was no way those astute eyes of his would miss her, not unless she wore a cap. She darted a careful eye in his direction again, and she could make out the gentle swirling of his dark fringe swaying at his head movement. Good, keep him occupied, big guy.

She caught a movement at her peripheral vision, and saw Ino waving conspicuously at her. She lowered herself to avoid getting spotted despite her hidden location, and gestured for her to quit her wave with an anxious frown. Ino responded with a generous smile and pointed animatedly at Itachi's direction. She returned with a fretful 'OK' hand sign, and hurriedly urged her to put her hands down. Sakura sighed inwardly; maybe they should not have come here after all.

After a few minutes of dining in peace and gorging themselves off the food that seemed to grow more appetising each passing day, Ino's celestial blue eyes expanded as she frantically fanned the girls for their attention.

"L-Look! A girl just approached him! The gall of her…" She hissed and pointed towards Itachi's direction.

"Ino!" Hinata gasped at her cutting tone, turning to Sakura for support.

"I think that's just his classmate, you're overreacting," Sakura suggested offhandedly, shrugging as though there was nothing worth fussing over. Taking a biting off the juicy chicken cutlet, she snuck a glimpse with an upward roll, secretly intrigued by this supposedly 'classmate.' Ino harrumphed at her wishful thinking, her shrewd eyes not once leaving Itachi.

"Nice try, Sa-chan. Oh my god," She paused to grip onto Sakura's wrist before continuing, "Is- Is she giving him a letter? A love letter?! Hinata! Quick use your 20/20 vision to see what's written on it!" Hinata slanted her eyes apologetically at Ino, at a lost.

"Ummm…"

"T-That could be a detention letter for all you know. Or a thank you note for his help?"

"Ummm…" It was Ino's turn to slant her eyes at her, evidently reflecting the words 'Pitiful Sakura' into her jade orbs.

"I-I think they are taking pictures together…"

"WHAT?!" Ino and Sakura bawled simultaneously, their disbelieving eyes taking in the mysterious girl's attempt to lean cheek to cheek with a visibly fraught Itachi, though the latter was only apparent to Sakura. She knew how much he valued personal boundary (which explained her hysteria this morning at finding out how she subjected him to practically touching her breast without his consent, despite her oblivion to this whole episode) and how that ignorant girl was obviously missing it as she merrily clicked away on her phone's camera. She smirked at how edgy he was, taking delight at how the girl's move backfired so badly.

"She obviously has mistaken him as Kanae Itachi, but despite his countless denial, she wasn't buying it and that's why she got so bold and felt comfortable to take picture with him…"

"Sakura…"

"Yes?" She ceased her babbling and found two pairs of knowing eyes on her slightly agitated ones.

"You're trying too hard. Just admit it – you're jealous."

After their previous impromptu showdown at the field, Kakashi decided that it was to their benefit to pair them up for practice spars. Having been the club advisor of Taijutsu for five years, he knew the kind of chemistry that the duo displayed was few and far between, and he was not willing to lose that spark by separating them. Typically, he would appoint someone with a similar built and skill set as Itachi, but that appeared to be redundant as he observed the pair already catching on to one another's rhythm and attack patterns.

Itachi delivered a punch as he simultaneously blocked a sweeping side kick from Sasuke, part of his attention aroused by something from the bleachers. Sasuke noticed his diverted concentration when Itachi failed to counter-attack his kick by attacking his weaker standing leg.

"What's wrong?"

"Kakashi-san's watching us like a hawk," He answered as he did a back-flip to momentarily create some distance between them. After determining his weaker arm and leg, he took advantage of the gap and charged towards him, aiming for his left forearm.

"You're new; he's assessing your capabilities and mentally calculating the amount of training you need before he can send you for your first local friendly," Sasuke explained, already anticipating that he would attempt to break through his weaker defence and twisted his body just in time to shield his onslaught of jabs.

"Ho… You seem to know him well, Sasuke."

"Well, when you spend almost every of your afternoon getting the wind knocked out of you for three years, you tend to know more about that person than yourself," Sasuke huffed out in a pant as he wiped off a blood stain from the corner of his lips.

"Does that mean… Your original sparring partner was…"

"Kakashi, that's right. Every other person that I sparred with would either leave the training with multiple bruises or a damaged ego, and usually the latter would not turn up for the next session. It's a shame, really," Sasuke shrugged, rapidly forming an 'X' with his forearms in front of his face to shelter against Itachi's impressive tornado kick, one that even till now, he could not deliver with the force similar to the one Itachi had landed on him. Taken aback by the unexpected impact, he slid a few feet back from where he originally stood and would have fallen on his butt if not for his semi-crouched position.

"You sure are confident of your skills huh, Sasuke," Itachi quipped as he dusted his hands, rotated his shoulder blades and headed in the opposite direction of Sasuke.

"Ita- Hey! Where are you going?" Itachi stopped in his tracks and cocked his head at his official taijutsu partner, who was rubbing absent-mindedly at his wrist. He caught his hesitation at addressing him by his name, and was slightly perturbed by what that was doing to his mind. He was not irrational to the point of deceiving himself to believe that that was the same Sasuke that he knew. He was definitely not the same frisky adolescent that had once fondly called him "Nii-san, nii-san" like a spell that would without a doubt free him of his predicaments. He was certainly not that current grumpy and pompous teenager who had grew to despise him to the Earth's core and spat out his name distastefully, his tone dripping venom and entire body reeking of hatred.

However, a foolish part of him lying deep in the recesses of his mind, willed him to be, and was hurt by his hesitation of acknowledging him.

"To the coolers. Wanna join me?" He was not expecting a response; this was Sasuke after all, but when he heard the crunching of his feet against the soft and ticklish grasses, it was impossible to dismiss the sudden gaiety that was showing in Itachi's weary eyes.

As Sasuke bent to catch the jet of chilly water, his long fringe went into his mouth. Itachi instinctively reached out to brush the stray strands away and tucked them behind his ear, before he dropped his hand and stared across the field.

Sasuke nearly flinched at the oncoming contact, but when his warm fingers grazed his topmost cheek, he was mentally surprised by how gentle his touch was. What he found most startling was the natural way he went about sweeping those locks away, as though he was unconscious of his action.

They agreed to take a short break and settled down along the vacant concrete steps of the sitting area.

"I presumed this is your final year?" Itachi began as they watched the rest of their club members firing away at their opponents under the breezy afternoon wind.

"Yea, then maybe after that I will quit school and go be a back-up singer, or something," Sasuke joked dryly, the humour not reaching his ebony orbs.

"What's with the singer deal?" Sasuke turned and caught the bafflement dancing behind his concerned eyes, and had to quash the sneer threatening to overcome his face.

"You know what? That was same reaction and expression I gave when he told Father that he wanted to be a singer. I didn't even hear of it until I overheard their conversation, what a joke," He spat out the last few words, his annoyance at the memory of being left out apparent beneath those deep frowns and hard eyes.

"By 'he,' are you referring to your older brother?"

"That's what it said on my birth certificate. Sometimes I'm not sure if he remembers he has a brother, or whether he's aware that he's a Brother." He prodded his chin onto his palm, the thought of him irked his nerves yet there was always the inexplicable yearning lingering.

"I'm sure he loves you, even if he doesn't show it."

"Every time I mull over the same few questions – why? Why singer? Why didn't he tell me? Why leave me alone? Why the sudden change?" He lifted his chin and let his arms dropped onto his knees, where he leaned heavily on them and focused on an imaginary spot across the field. Why was he even discussing his brother was beyond him.

"Surely you must hate him, your older brother," Itachi replied instead, overcome with the vague impression that he had a similar conversation with Sasuke back before he betrayed his village. Sasuke remained silent, though Itachi could sense that he had broken Sasuke out of his train of heated thoughts.

"I can't say it's okay because I'm not him; I do not know of his intentions nor do I know him in person. However, there's one thing I can say for certain," He made sure to hold his gaze before he proceeded, "He did not forget who his is, who you are and who you are to him. Even if he cannot be physically here with you, you'll always be in his thoughts and everywhere he goes."

"How do you know that? It all sounded so ideal, too unrealistic," Sasuke retorted, but faltered at the tender faraway look that suddenly overtook Itachi.

"Back at where I came from, I have a little brother who's around the same as you. If your brother is anything like you described him to be, then I can somehow understand his thoughts. We would want the best for our little brothers, even if it means being on the receiving end of their wrath," Itachi said, his composure washed in serenity and lips turned up slightly by the corners. He briefly closed his eyes to seal off the image of the younger Sasuke running towards him, and turned to look at Kanae Sasuke, who was almost of equal eye level as him.

"After all, that's what big brothers are for."

She was required to conduct a routine check on all fifth floor patients, who were situated in single wards and happened to be mostly elderlies. She broke into a grin; the silver generation were by her fondest patients. Even though they could be snappy and demanding at times, they never ceased to amaze her with their constant wisecracking and open defiance to Doctors, sometimes even to Tsunade herself.

"Chiyo-baasan?"

"Sakura, is that you? Don't hide behind the doors; I'm not going to bite you off!"

"I'm not hiding! I just don't want to disturb you in case you're asleep."

"That's sweet of you," Chiyo said with smiling eyes. Sakura walked over the foot of her bed to pick up her health chart, and fired the standard but mandatory questions. Sakura swallowed her smirk as Chiyo rolled her eyes at some of her incriminating questions, in particular to the one pertaining to her poorly concealed sweet tooth. After she was done with her interrogation, she sank down by the bedside and cupped her wrinkled but warm hands in her smooth ones.

"You seemed to be in a fine mood today, Chiyo-baasan."

"Are you implying that I'm usually tetchy? I'm just kidding. Well, my godson is dropping by after school today, and he uh, promised a little treat which I can't wait to find out what," Chiyo evaded her eyes at the mention of 'treats,' and Sakura's eyes narrowed at her fidgeting fingers. However, she was reluctant to ruin her felicity and wisely moved on to another topic.

"Your godson? That's nice of him, to visit you. It's sad that these days filial piety is being treated flippantly, when it should have been immanent," Sakura reflected as she looked out of the window, reeling in compunction of her deceased parents.

"Well, he certainly is. When he got wind of my malady and knew that I had to travel to the Leaf for treatment to this silly ailment, he had the gall to quit school and accompany me here, without my prior consent! It was through many persuasions and compromises later that I agreed to his stay when he acceded to enrol in a school here."

"W-Wow, I never know there was someone as loving as your godson around! It's a relief; to know that you have a dependable and devoted kin within reach, I'm happy for you."

"I have to agree I'm fortunate, hmm. Well, it's almost time that my cute little godson is arriving; why not you stay around and I shall introduce him to you? He may appear aloof but he's a real sweetie inside," Chiyo emphasised with a squirm of her body.

"Ahhh, now I can't wait! I'm sure he is, based on your description of him!" Sakura assured both of them, as her mind began conjuring images of an unimpeachable toddler with a toothy grin and ruffled hair, wearing baggy jeans. As though confronted with clairvoyance, there was a faint sound of shuffling footsteps that was growing louder as it neared Chiyo's ward.

"That must be him, your cute little godson!"

"Chiyo-baasan?"

"Hai, I'm here come on in!" Sakura raised her brows; her godson had a surprisingly hollow voice. She mentally shook her head – it must be his fatuous way of making her laugh. She stroked Chiyo's palms tenderly, beaming down at her renewed peppy mien.

"Sorry I'm late- oh I didn't know there's someone here…" When their eyes met in a heart-stopping moment, Sakura's jaw slackened while hey eyes registered incredulity at the boy nearly two heads taller than her sitting form.

"SAGAARA?!" They pointed at one another as they squalled in unison.

"You're the 'cute little godson'?"

"You're working here?" They instantaneously flipped their head to their fascinated ward/ godmother, who burst out in spontaneous cachinnate.

"So you two know each other already? Youngsters these days sure are proactive…"

"Well, I don't know what you are thinking now, Chiyo-baasan, but Mr. Godson here is my classmate…"

"And Sakura-san has been gracious towards me since we first met on the bus," Gaara finished for her, and Sakura ducked her head in demure at his unexpected compliment.

"Hoo, I'm extremely glad to see you two are on good terms!" Chiyo nodded approvingly at the scene that unfolded in front of her, but her attention quickly diverted to the white plastic bag on Gaara's hand. Catching her interest, Gaara manoeuvred to the opposite side of the bed and sat at the spare chair before passing her the bag of treats.

Before Chiyo dove to scout its contents, she felt Sakura's blistering gaze on her, and discreetly tucked everything back and kept the bag inside the bedside cupboard. She gave an unobtrusive cough, and turned to engage Gaara in tattle of his day. She gave them a moment of quality time while she went around and probed and inspected the machineries, leaving and returning with refills and replenishment of miscellaneous. Sensing the comfortable silence that had descended between them, she took the chance and signalled for Gaara to come out with her.

"Gaara-san I'm so shocked! From the way she told me I was expecting a chubby little boy!"

"Chiyo-baasan is always going on about an accommodating nurse who occasionally holds conversation with her… I wouldn't have expected…" As they contemplated over what a sport they had been made, the cold and pristine corridor suddenly morphed into a convivial gathering spot, and they ensconced by the wall on the floor before continuing.

"Oh so! This is the mystery woman who made you stop, drop and travel all the way here?"

"You got me. Her only remaining kin at Sand is her brother, who is inconvenienced by old age and could not afford the tedious trip here. It wasn't so much of an option as it is a given that I must be there for her," Gaara concluded.

"I see… Gaara-san, you are really a wonderful person; I'm honoured to be seated next to you in class…"

"Surely you jest, my Lady," Gaara replied, mimicking a palace subordinate completed with a humble bow. They chatted for a few pleasant minutes, before Sakura recalled the real reason for summoning him.

"Gaara-san, I'm sure you are aware of Chiyo-baasan's conditions; her sugar intake needs to be carefully monitored and controlled if not her diabetes may take a turn for the worse," Sakura regarded Gaara gravely.

"Yes I'm aware of that-"

"Then you shouldn't be making promises of bringing her treats-"

"Promise? I made no such promises. She pleaded and harassed me over numerous phone calls, before I was coerced to submit to her request, if not she would refuse any more treatments," Gaara revealed with a dreadful expression.

"What? If that's the case, then I assumed you bought her those organic sugars-free-" So Chiyo-baasan lied to me, should have guessed!

"She specifically requested for sugar-glazed gummies, so there wasn't much choices left…" Gaara admitted apologetically as Sakura released a defeated sigh. She really needed to stop pampering her before it was too late.

Her eyes widened at the blue envelope sitting innocently on the desk. She made a hasty glance at her surroundings before she cautiously picked it up by the edge and took a surreptitious sniff. She wrinkled her nose in distaste at the rosy scent, and quickly set it down at the sound of the washroom door opening.

She hopped onto the bed and slotted herself beneath the blanket as he sauntered in and flicked off the lights.

"Good night, Itachi."

"Night, Sakura." Her raging curiosity was preventing her from being swiped off into her sleep-land, and after opening and closing her mouth like a fish for a few agonising seconds, she popped the question.

"… What's that envelope?" She waited for his reply with bated breath.

"What envelope… You mean the one on the desk? It's just a silly prank."

"Oh… Huh?" He rolled himself off from the sleeping bag and retrieved it, passing on to a visibly startled Sakura. She gingerly opened the flap and slipped out the equally heavily scented letter within.

Hi Uchiha-san!

Umm, please don't be shocked when you read this, because you really have no reason to be. From the moment I saw you, I was catapulted away from reality at your flawless beauty and cool demeanour. Never will I imagine being able to meet someone as stunning as yourself, and if you do not mind, please accept a date with me to the Annual Hanami at Yoyogi Park on next Tuesday. If you do not reply to this letter, I'll take that you consent to this. See you 5pm at Harajuku Station then!

Xoxo

Suzumi

Sakura refolded the letter and calmly inserted it back into the envelope, feeling speechless. This for one was obviously a confession letter.

"… Are you going to show up for this?"

"Of course not – I do not even know this Suzumi person, and don't you think it's strange that she would invite a total stranger with her to such festival?" Itachi reasoned, bumped up by this absurd situation. Sakura peered into the darkness at those serious eyes with a killer intelligence that was unable to comprehend a plain confession from a mundane case of girl infatuation.

"Actually, it is nothing strange; you are just overthinking things, Itachi. She asked you out because she likes you, period." Sakura answered plainly, if not grudgingly.

"Now that's even stranger; she does not even know me, of what qualities do I hold in her knowledge to have her develop such feelings?" He shook his head against the pillow. She sat unmoving on her bed and watched him pulsed his lips.

Sakura was dumbstruck on several occasions; like when Naruto cut in during one of her rare and intense conversations with Sasuke, or when she caught Deidara making out with Ino three years ago by the bookshelves in the high school library.

Never did she find herself this inarticulate to this intelligent being who could come up with a dozen strategies to assassinate an enemy in seconds but unable to differentiate a date request from a prank.

"I'll just tell her that I'm going with you, and that she should find a better partner to go with."

Make that two times in a roll.

Many thanks to Heiwa no Hato for your constructive comments; it really helped a lot for the upcoming chapter and straightening the direction of this story.