Chapter12 Recall:
Itachi 'unlocked' another member of Akatsuki, Deidara finally decided to man up and ask her out, a glimpse into Sasori's past, and date between Itachi and a certain buff guy and another revelation from Itachi to Sakura.
Chapter13 – Of Stolen Records & Kisses
"W-What do you mean, you're already dead?" Itachi closed his eyes as memories of his final battle with Sasuke flooded his senses and thoughts.
"More accurately, I'm supposed to be dead in my world. I believe when you found me, I have sustained severe injuries to my body?" At her hesitant nod, he released an audible breath and continued.
"Honestly, I still think it's a miracle I'm alive; I was certain I have exhausted all of my chakra the moment I fell."
"What happens when you used up your chakra?"
"You die. By then the yin and yang balance within your body would have been disrupted; it's similar to overexertion, and your organs would just collapse." The placid way he discussed death unsettled Sakura; she tightened her grip on his hands and took comfort in the warmth that radiated from them.
"B-But now your body's all healed and you've restored your chakra right? Surely…"
"It does not matter. And I suspect this is a separate vessel from my actual one. As long as the original vessel is broken, it would be unable to support any life, so I'm as good as dead." Sakura's despondency was practically palpable, and he thought that it felt ironic how someone whom he barely knew for less than a month could appear this crashed by his death.
He supposed it could not be helped his own brother would be celebrating his fall since he had not exactly been treating him like human, he thought. He rotated his palm to secure hers within his comforting grasp.
"It's alright, Sakura, there's no reason to be upset. It's better this way." When she looked up, he saw her damped lashes and brows puckered in accusation.
"How is it better? What about your parents, your brother, your friends?" When she was met with silence, she felt something within her snapped as the first driblet of sadness slid down her cheek.
"Itachi, you can't-"
His soft lips assaulted hers without warning, and she felt her body relaxed and her eyes slid closed as he gently cupped one of his hands behind her head. He did not attempt to force his way into her, but simply applied a little pressure against her closed lips, as though relishing in their intimate contact. She felt his other hand on his lap manoeuvred his grip into an interlock, and she squeezed in response.
Much too soon, his moist lips pulled away, and she felt her eyes opened unwillingly, her mouth craving for more. He slid his hand onto her flushed cheek, his eyes smiling as he used his thumb to erase away her tears. She stared into his dark eyes and wondered what she had been crying for.
"Thank You, Sakura." With that, he separated his hands from her, headed in the direction of the forest from the kitchen and dissipated into the darkness. Sakura slumped against the sofa's armrest and pulled her fingers onto her lips.
"What… Just happened?"
What just happened…?
As Itachi sprinted through the inky woods to empty his mind in vain, he stopped short on an emergent and leaned against the coarse bark, his unfocused gaze rested on the vivid full moon.
As he struggled to stay sane, he felt that he was losing control of his body and mind. He reached up and touched his pumping heart, surprised to feel its strong beats.
What is this I am feeling…?
As he shut his eyes to block off all distractions to search his inner soul for answers, all he saw was her tear-stricken face and her contrived smile whenever she was down and tried to hide it.
Shall I be doing this? Is it right for me to defy nature and begin a life here… Or should I have moved on to another world, the rightful world, as per planned? But isn't nature defying nature by sending me here instead?
His eyelids broke apart and he hopped down onto the forest ground with a dull thud, his hands rapidly forming seals as he amassed chakra in his mouth.
How can I understand this world when I don't even understand myself...?
Somewhere in the sable darkness, balls of blazing inferno danced among the tree canopy like strings of light bulbs in a fiesta.
When Sasori contacted Sakura via Ino's phone and requested (or demanded, since Sasori did not do beg) to meet with her after school, Sakura had to reread the text ten times underneath her desk.
"Psssh! What is that about?" Ino hissed behind her when she remained motionless for a while. Then she thought, just nice, I need to talk to him too, and replied the venue and time.
"He wants to meet me after school," She whispered as she passed back her phone.
"WHAT?" At her exclamation, all eyes suddenly fell on Ino.
"Is something wrong, Ino?"
"I-Iya, do you mind repeating that part about the Fire's Feudal Lords, Asuma-sensei?" Ino smiled sheepishly as she deflected away her classmates' and Asuma's quizzical expressions.
"I think he wants to tell me something," Sakura replied under her breath and nodded discreetly when Ino said to keep her posted. She still had not told Gaara or Chiyo that she knew Sasori, or that he was actually residing in Konoha. She wanted to hear from Sasori's side before making any further actions.
"That's it for today's class, have a good afternoon, the future of Konoha!" As the class filed out intermittently, Ino strolled over to Sakura's desk and touched her forehead.
"Is something wrong, Sakura? I know you are forgetful; but how can you forget to bring your phone four days in a row?" Sakura swiped off her hand and pulled herself up.
"Anyway, did any guys, say Deidara, ask you out for Annual Hanami yet?" Ino glanced suspiciously at her.
"Why…? Oh, now I see why…" She stopped in her tracks, her displeasure sipping out in lethal doses. Sakura turned and clasped Ino's palms, staring into her shocked celadon orbs.
"Promise me, Ino, that you would at least give it a thought. No for his or me, but for your sake." Ino sighed in frustration, but eventually returned a grudging nod.
They found Hinata alone at the corridor, staring at the retreating back of Gaara. Sakura noticed a brown envelope in her hand.
"Hinata, are you there?"
"EEK! I-Ino you scared me…"
"What is that in your hand?" Sakura pointed at the envelope but she quickly darted her head and shifted her hands away from their prying eyes.
"I-It's just a letter from the admin office." Ino pouted and pointed her head towards Sakura.
"What about you Sakura? Are you going to ask Sasuke out or has he already made the first move?!" Hinata glanced over in hope whereas Sakura did a mental 'tsk' at the absurdity of her words. As though he would; more like he couldn't wait to put me down!
"H-He hasn't asked me out yet and I don't plan on asking either." Her bosom buddies flicked towards her in disbelief.
"Why not? I thought you are crazy over him?"
"Well," She began and saw the man in question turned and disappeared around a bend and smiled ruefully, "Not anymore."
Itachi caught her from his peripheral vision engaged in a conversation with another student. As she swung her head towards the glass door, her perfunctory smile broke into one that was genuine, and he gravitated towards her.
Itachi was in luck. Coincidentally, Konan was the president of the library club and had to take over the shift of a sick junior. Now it was a matter of asking the appropriate questions.
"Hey Itachi, are you looking for something? Maybe I can be of help."
"I hope so. I'm looking for the archives of Konoha's history." It was pointless beating around the bush, Konan was a smart woman and Itachi had no time to waste.
"Over there, you turn right and turn right again when you reach the end-"
"Konan, I mean the real archives, do you know where they are?" At his implication, Konan retracted her hand and fixed her impassive eyes on his. There was no denying the sparkle of recognition in Konan's expression, that split second gave away that he grew to be so in tuned to when someone was hiding something.
How do you know...? The unspoken question hanged in the air as Konan mentally debated her next course of action. She could very well speak in denial and returned a blank stare the way Jiraya had taught her, but the flash of red she thought she saw in his intense eyes made her floundered.
"History can be falsified, but papers don't lie, am I right, Konan?" Her bewildered eyes shot up, slapped by a stroke of déjà vu.
"History… They don't always speak of truth, don't you think?"
She had intended it to be a passing remark; she was seated by the couch in the public library and had observed the way he seemed so lost to his surroundings, simply immersed in pages and pages of lies.
"… Made to be believed, meant to be deceiving."
Something like resolve solidified behind Konan's eyes, and Itachi knew he got her. She excused herself from behind the counter and with a flick of her head, Itachi followed Konan in the direction of the History section. Before they reached the History shelf, she veered to the right and darted behind a shelf.
They were standing in front of the Janitor's store, its wooden door etched into the wall. She extracted a set of keys from her plaid skirt, did a furtive left-right glance and inserted the key. Instead of the door unlocking, a sensor pad appeared behind a hidden panel next to the door where Konan swiftly tapped her admin card. Finally, she twisted the door knob.
"Shall we?" Itachi raised a brow at the security measures taken to access the cleaning equipment and moved through the door. Inside was a narrow stretch of space, akin to a corridor, where equipment from mops to cloths hanged neatly along the wall. The only way to walk was towards the left, and Konan led them all the way to the end.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked as they reached another door, gripped by ambivalence. As much as he wanted to discover the truth, maybe he was not supposed to know it, or even be aware. Konan's hand rested on the door knob, and she smiled at him.
"I knew you were different the moment I saw you. I was actually counting down the days till we meet again in Kizuna." At her oracular response, she pushed through the door and they entered a bigger confined space. The smell of detergent and dry cloth coalesced with the smell of old books, the disturbing combination tickling his nose.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it in a while. Come on." She felt along the wall and flipped on a switch, which casted the room in a soft yellow glow. An air vent was installed at all corners to compensate for the tight space and kept it slightly cool. There were no surveillance devices.
"Which year?"
"I would like to start from a century ago." She escorted them to the middle of the three massive shelves at the farthest end.
"May I know why you are so interested in Konoha's history? Could it be that you were originally from the Leaf?" His hand stopped before the scrolls that he had come to miss, and turned towards her.
"You're right; I am from Konoha. But the Konoha that I knew of is quite different from the Konoha depicted in the records, and I would like to know why." His explanation completely eliminated her doubts of his connections with Mist, the ninja academy he was known to 'graduate' from, and his actions made more sense now.
"So, you are from the Uchiha clan? You are an actual Uchiha descendant?"
"I guess you can say that," He answered and felt the context and concept of the term 'descendant' rather screwed up.
Her hand stopped his as his fingers found its way around the scroll's circumference.
"You may find many things disturbing, and numerous unbelievable. Are you sure you want to read them?" He fought to calm his raging Sharingan and looked at her.
"There's nothing I can't take." The firmness behind his words was adamantine. She withdrew her hand and he easily broke through the seal, eliciting a soft gasp from Konan. He immediately recognised the rigid handwriting as the Third Hokage's, and smiled as he pictured his petite frame swallowed by the Hokage's attire. Konan watched as he went through scrolls after scrolls, as though he had been handling them all his life.
Impressive; I knew he is special, but I never thought…
As his hand curled around a maroon red scroll, Konan's heart skipped a beat, hit by a queer sensation. She scanned the writings and the scroll and found no defects, but she was still unable to quash the queasy sensation. Itachi noticed her perturbed expression.
"What's wrong? Do we have to leave soon?" This trip had proven to be rewarding; much of the omitted scripts of olden Konoha were in fact, stored here in their original condition. Although most were tattered by the edges and had yellowed, the calligraphies remained legible.
"That's not it; I just can't shake the feeling that something's amiss. Recently, I've… I've added my signature into every scroll in this room to double the security. But sometimes, I can't seem to locate it, or it feels slightly different," She explained as she undo several more scrolls, most of which were contents that focused on chakra. Itachi twisted his body so that he was facing away from Konan, and activated his Sharingan.
Itachi was positive that she was referring to her chakra signature; he could see that almost all the scrolls in this room were marked by her chakra.
It seems that there are people who could still harness chakra, though I wonder why I didn't detect hers when we first met.
She showed him the odd scrolls, and immediately he knew why they felt different.
"These aren't the original scrolls." She responded with her puzzled eyes and waited for his elaboration.
"Then why can't I tell them apart anymore?" He temporarily shut his Sharingan to look at her.
"Do you trust me?" He asked instead. Konan closed her eyes briefly before she answered.
"If I don't, I wouldn't have brought you here." Itachi seemed satisfied by her reply, and requested for her to turn around.
"Maybe I can help you, to see clearer." Despite his vague response, Konan duly nodded, and closed her eyes in anticipation. Itachi gently placed a palm against her back, and carefully channelling a small amount of his chakra into his hand, he forced it into her chakra pathway system. Her body jerked as the invisible surge coursed through her body, temporarily disrupting her chakra flow. Immediately she felt her senses sharpened.
She re-examined the scrolls in question and her eyes widened in incredulity.
"You were under the effects of an illusion, which explains why yours senses were muddled."
"Genjutsu huh…" She whispered softly, confirming Itachi's theory of her chakra potency. "Now that I can see and feel properly, it's obvious that these duplicate scrolls were infused with – altered with someone else's signature in an attempt to mimic mine, but…"
"One can never completely mimic another's signature," Itachi finished for her. With my Sharingan, any means of deception would be pointless.
"Usually, I would visit this place alone, and I would simply shake off these bouts of queasiness. But here comes the next question, where are the original scrolls?"
"Someone might have taken it," Itachi answered as he replaced the unlocked scrolls with a new seal.
"But who, and why?"
With the knowledge that people could still tap onto the prowess of chakra, Itachi feared that whoever who got their hands on the hidden scrolls were up to no good.
Sakura found Sasori seated by the fence along the high school's main gate waiting for her. She made sure to skip on ahead to prevent contact between Ino and Sasori, in case he got pissed and changed his mind about whatever he wanted to say. When it came to Sasori, sometimes he could be as unpredictable as the weather.
"Hey, sorry to make you wait; Kakashi-sensei can be such a nag when he wants to," She lamented as she skid to a halt in front of him.
"Have you eaten?"
"Yea, but we can still grab something along the way to the hospital." As they neared the hospital, Sasori stopped by the hedge before the entrance.
"Sakura, don't tell Chiyo-baa that I'm here." Sakura's footsteps faltered as she slowly turned around in disbelief.
"Wha- You knew; all along you knew and you never visited?" She had not meant to sound condescending, but the revelation that someone would ignore their ill living kin was appalling for her.
"You don't understand," He rebuked and glared at her accusing ones.
"Then I hope you understand that she doesn't have a lot of time left." His lour momentarily parted into one of puzzlement.
"H-How much longer?"
"I would say less than three months, but it could take a turn for the worse anytime." It was through experience that it was never wise to present the best scenario; human bodies were a lot more vulnerable and unpredictable when laden with disease.
Sakura knew she was running late, and was bound to get a dressing down by Tsunade, but she needed Sasori to come to terms with himself. She heard he blew out an audible breath as he turned away from her.
"I'll think about it."
"Yes, you do that; I'll see you around the hospital yea, Sasori-san? Jyaa!" She was aware that he made no promises, but at least he was receptive to her advice. She just hoped he did not take his own sweet time.
Other than her heart problem, Chiyo had a soft spot for all things sweet and chewy, which was detrimental against her diabetic issue. As she had agreed with Gaara, she would have Chiyo condone to her issue and quit her sweet addiction.
"Sakura-chan, do you have someone you like?" Her serious mood and determined eyes was successfully interrupted by Chiyo's spurt of forecast.
"W-What? What's with the sudden question?" She carried on pulling a new blanket over Chiyo as she chuckled at her blushing cheeks and evasion.
"I can always tell when someone is in love; tell me, is it my cute little godson?" She nearly tripped on her foot at the thought of Gaara and her, together.
"W-What? No, it's not him-"
"So there's someone after all. I wouldn't have guessed; not if you haven told me." Sakura's face grew redder at falling for her tricks, again.
"It's not really anything! I just enjoy his company a lot, and he uh, I hope he returns the sentiment," She regarded lamely as she tried to mentally decipher Itachi's unreadable thoughts and feelings towards her.
"You like him, Sakura-chan." This time, her words were not a question.
"Anyway, it's impossible between us. And I'm sure he doesn't like me this way." She smiled ruefully and recalled that kiss that could mean everything and nothing at the same time. Once again, she found her fingers unconsciously touching her lips.
"Did you two kiss?" At her sudden jerk, Chiyo cackled between mouthfuls of gummies.
"Was it good?" Sakura thought for a second, and gleefully nodded her head.
"You know the saying, 'let nature take its course.' So don't worry too much and just be yourself. If he doesn't like you for who you are, then you know he's not the one," She preached on merrily as she catapulted more gummies into her mouth. Sakura bit her lower lips bashfully, when she finally noticed her liberal intake of the forbidden food.
"Hey!"
"You're making my job difficult, Chiyo-baasan," She laughed as Chiyo stuck out her tongue. She watched on longingly at the bag of gummies Sakura confiscated, now on top of her clipboard. "It's for your own good."
"You know what, Sakura-chan? Let's make a bet. Close the door; I wouldn't want Tsunade-hime hearing this."
"That's my line, Chiyo-baasan!"
"Alright, I promise to quit eating gummies when you promise that you would confess your feelings to the guy you like," She put a hand up to stop Sakura's protest as she continued.
"Then let's see who can do it first." Sakura thought about Chiyo and her depleting health; if this could motivate her to take charge of her health, then so be it.
"The loser, or the promise-breaker, would be a pig, deal?" Chiyo nodded and together they sealed their promise with a pinkie-ring, challenge accepted.
Okay, breathe in, breathe out. It's going to be alright.
Never did Sakura imagine she would be nervous going home, or fretting over seeing him so soon. She tipped-toed before the door to take a minute's breather, and then nodded to herself and entered.
Itachi was perched on her sofa fiddling with her phone, looking the part of a typical teenager.
"You're back, Sakura," He glanced up to nod in her direction and his attention was back to her phone.
"Uh-huh… What are you doing?" She did not mean to probe, but it was weird to watch him be so engaged in technology. He released an indiscernible sound and gasped softly before looking up apologetically at her.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry Sakura; I might have damaged your phone." His immediate dismal was so tangible that Sakura could not find it in her to be anything but amused. She flumped down next to him and sifted for the 'damage.'
"Oh, don't worry; it's not spoilt – it's just out of juices," She simpered when his frown deepened. She speculated that he must be using YouTube the whole night and told him not to worry.
He was acting so normal, as though nothing out of the norm had happened between them; then again, maybe it was really nothing for him, Sakura figured. The upside was that this could palliate the inevitable awkwardness, and the downside? She was overthinking the gesture and had worried in vain. It was very distressing either way.
They were lying on their respective beds, both wide awaked and deep in their individual thoughts.
"Sakura-"
"Itachi-" They called out simultaneously, and swiftly fell into a deafening silence. There was no doubt that both wanted to discuss about that, but the words felt stuck in their throat. As a male and intrepid ninja, Itachi mentally sighed and began first.
"I wanted to ask… I wanted to ask whether you mind… If I were to bring over one of my friends here," He enquired and nearly face-palmed himself at his duplicity. Sakura released the breath she was unaware she was holding, in part-relief and part-disappointment.
"O-Of course! You don't have to ask me you know; my house is your house, Itachi," She answered sincerely while staring intently at her white ceiling. Then the room descended into the stiffening silence again, when she realised it was her turn to ask the dreaded question.
"Umm, uh! I-I wanted to tell you… T-That I've washed and ironed your school uniform… I kept them in the left side of the right wardrobe, in case you're wondering," She added under her breath, wanting to kick herself for chickening out.
"Oh, okay, thank you Sakura." His reply was clearly a euphemism for 'Yea sure Mom, like I can't find it myself.' She tried to suffocate herself with the blanket to squeeze out her mortification. Even Chiyo's face could not instil any last minute courage in her.
"Does it bother you, what I did?" Sakura loosened her grip on the blanket and blinked in confusion.
Oh shit, is he referring to…?
"A-A-A bit… BUT in a good way," She hastily added, and causally wondered if thinking about the kiss for the whole day constituted as a bit, not that he needed to know.
"If it bothers you, I won't do it again," He said after a moment. Sakura pondered over his words, before the gravity of it nearly sucked the air out of her and her face went instant red.
WAIT, does he mean… If I were to tell him it DOESN'T bother me, he would do it AGAIN? Oh god, does he know he's making my heart explode?
"No! I-It doesn't bother me one bit!" Was she sounding a little desperate there?
"But, you just said a bit; make up your mind, Sakura," He quipped into the darkness.
"Mou, Itachi!" Stop making me blush! As she threw her pillow at his face in embarrassment, she felt herself losing her leverage along the bed's edge and went tumbling off the bed, landing ceremoniously on top of Itachi. Itachi's eyes widened from the impact and felt the air slightly knocked out of his lungs.
"Urgh… Sakura…" After she got over the initial shock, she realised she was crashing him, and quickly supported herself on her elbows.
"Oh my gods, Itachi are you hurt?" She asked, her tone flurried and her eyes searching his for signs of pain. Itachi shook his head against his pillow, which was when she realised the proximity of their heads. She felt her breath hitched; as her eyes slowly drifted down to his mouth, she felt his right arm winded around her body. Before she knew what happened, she felt him pushed her head down towards him, and once again their lips found one another amidst the body warmth and darkness of her cosy sanctuary.
It felt tender, dewy and free of lust – all there were was bliss.
After what was equivalent to eternality, it was Sakura who broke away. She watched as his eyes slowly unpeeled, her head now a few inches away from where she was before, grateful for the darkness that concealed her blush.
"Was it bad?" His whisper was husky and dazed, as though still stunned by her sudden movement. She watched on unfazed, the back of her reeling. Was it bad? Are you kidding me, Itachi?!
"No! It's just… If we don't stop now, I-I might be unable to control myself…" Their eyes widened simultaneously when they realised what she said. MY GOD, what the hell am I saying now? It sounded like I am eager to have sex with him!
Under her, Itachi's mouth cracked a smirk. Blushing all possible shades of red, she clumsily grabbed her fallen pillow by his side, dove back onto her bed and disappeared under the blanket.
"What were you planning to do, Sakura?" Even though he was not laughing, she could already imagine that conceited smile still evident on his smug face.
"Nothing! Good night, Itachi!"
"Goodnight indeed, Sakura," He answered as he chuckled softly to himself.
…
"Itachi?"
"Hmm?" Sakura's reply was barely a whisper.
"You just took my first kiss." After what felt like an hour, she thought she heard his voice as she succumbed to the darkness of her sleep.
"So was mine."
Who also wants a kiss from Itachi?
(Me)