Chapter18 Recall:
Itachi made a promise to protect Sakura over his bleeding arm, more revelation over the purpose of APEX, the first school lunch date between the main characters & the ultimate truth about the Uchiha's amended history.
Chapter19 – The Hero of Konoha
Itachi was very lucky to be paired with Kisame, even if he would never verbally admit so. Yes, he could be garrulous and overly passionate about Itachi's lack of sex life at times, but he acknowledged Itachi's prowess and they shared a mutual respect to one another. He trusted Itachi enough to let him take charge on most of their missions, especially when it pertained to the capture of the nine-tails. He understood it was his village and accepted whatever decisions Itachi made. If he suspected that Itachi had no intention of capturing Naruto, he definitely did a superb job of masking it.
Since his fate of being a double-agent, he had made it his life mission to skip around rules and scouted avidly for loop-holes – needless to say he was a natural. It was as though fate knew about this all along and prepared him accordingly.
It was a tempestuous path, one that was not ending any time soon after he left Konoha and joined the Akatsuki. The only upside was he had more freedom (to a certain extent) and as a reticent man, the only time he had to watch his words was during meetings with Pein. In fact, reporting about his repeated failure to apprehend the nine-tails was easier than rejecting Sasuke's training sessions in favour for work.
In truth, he really was not a workaholic as the people around him assumed him to be.
Yes, watching Sasuke's chest-fallen face and pointed eyes that shouted liar was tough, but it was easily remedied with another schedule and a heartfelt smile.
He only hoped he could say the same when he divulged the truth to Sakura.
Her expression was eerily calm and nearly unreadable, but there was no escaping the tension that was radiating from her body. Even though this did not directly concern him, it did not prevent him from being concerned.
At one point Sakura appeared to be shot by a gun; she jerked back from the thick documents that Itachi had passed to her moments after their peaceful dinner at home. However, the blow came and went as soon as she carried on her reading. He wondered if it was about the part concerning Deidara's indirect involvement in her parent's death.
Ten years ago, after Orochimaru abandoned his teaching post in Kizuna, he was employed by Sakura's Father's construction company as the logistics supervisor. A year later, they discovered his keen organisational skills and as a reward for creating the logistics checklist template, he was promoted as the Logistics Manager. This in turn granted him more reins over the company's imports and exports and to an extent, the management of his underlings.
He worked equally hard on the surface and under, occasionally missing out a zero on the total goods received and reported more than a few instances of 'damaged/stolen goods.' Over the years, he was also able to whammy a couple of the labour workers into working unofficially for him. By the fifth year in the company, his mansion, aka laboratory was ready for operation.
He was fast running out of orphans to experiment and began eyeing on his colleague's children that fell within the chakra potency age range, starting with Sakura. That day, he was about to approach her as she was headed for the receptionist's desk when a hand stopped him on his shoulder.
It was Haruno Kizashi, and one look in his eye Orochimaru knew he was busted. He was instructed to kindly hand in his resignation form or risked having to face audit and his 'abnormal' telephone conversations handed to the police. Kizashi was also especially concerned over the mention of Sakura's name and the word 'kidnap' in the same sentence. The next day Orochimaru's name became a distant memory in the company compound, only to be thought of and never to be spoken of again.
A week later, Deidara discovered his collection of ready-made explosives went missing.
Two weeks later, Sakura's parents went up in flames.
It was torturous to watch your parent's lives fled their vessels before your very eyes, and the last thing Itachi expected was for her to experience a similar trauma. As Sakura's eyes hardened to stone, he felt propelled to track down that disgusting snake man and tethered him on one of his non-disinfected surgery table crawling with flesh-eating bugs. Then, he would skin off his slick scales layer by layer, taking extra care to make the procedure excruciatingly slow; no anesthetiser for him too. He would make certain for him to beg for mercy, with tears spilling out, staining his ashen face and his eyes squeezed shut in pure misery-
"Itachi, are you okay?" She was no longer reading the documents but eyeing him in concern. He shook his head to fan off his masochist streak and their reversed roles.
"What about you?" He asked and she seemed startled by the question.
"M-Me?" She nudged her head at the papers cautiously and asked timidly, "Where did you find… This?" Itachi briefly explained what happened after they left and how Sasori chanced upon this when they foraged the hideout for clues and the remaining kids.
"So they're all safe now? That's a relief…" When he continued giving her the look, she sighed and set the papers heavily on the dining table and rested her chin on the cool glass surface.
"Turns out it wasn't pure bad luck for my parents but a calculated move. I don't know whether to feel… Guilty that their deaths were because of me, or relieved that I missed my demise because of the poster." He recalled her referring to the poster which he supposedly fell out of as a 'life-saver,' and did not give it much thought until now. It was so literal that it was almost unbelievable and slightly unnerving.
"It's not your fault." He did not chide that she should be grateful to be alive or offered consolations that their parents would gladly proffer their lives if it meant that she could live. He simply reminded her that what happened was inevitable and what was the point of beating yourself over something you were powerless against? Sakura straightened her back and pointed forlornly to her chest.
"It's been so long, all that I feel now is a gaping hole where their presence used to be. If I knew they were targeting me, if there was a chance to rewind time, I would not hesitate for one second and gladly surrender myself to this Orochimaru man, if it means my parent's lives could be spared." She smiled sadly, her gaze unfocused and Itachi could not begin to fathom how she must be feeling now.
"To think this is how I repay them for giving birth to me…" She choked out.
To think this is how I repay them for giving birth to me… Itachi shut his eyes to suppress the image of his parents and to separate himself from the rising guilt that would haunt him interminably.
"Come over here."
Sakura stood and welcomed his solid chest, leaning dejectedly against him and allowing the steady thuds of his heart to sooth her fractured soul. It was a reminder that life was not something to be taken granted for.
Itachi willed for some, if not all of her pain and sorrows to be transferred to him, that she would learn to forgive herself and not be swallowed by helplessness. It was until now that he realised how similar their fate had been, faced with the burden of their dear one's death and the role they played in their injustice fate. Suddenly, he questioned his decision to reveal the truth.
"It's not your fault, Itachi. Thank you for showing me this, the truth." Sakura grinned woefully at the flicker of surprise across his eyes.
"I don't think you know, but whenever you second-guess yourself, your eyes would wonder slightly to your right."
"I do?"
"Don't worry; the only reason I noticed that was from staring into your eyes for a month so I doubt anyone discovered that yet," She added with a playful tone. His eyes glinted in amusement and he lowered his face to her level, an inch away from kissing her.
"Should I be worried that I have a stalker on my back?" Sakura pretended to think for a second.
"Yes, in fact you should run away as fast as you could, before I grab onto you and refuse to leave." He slipped out a rueful smile at that comment and closed the distance between them.
By Friday morning the media had gotten hold of news of the rescued kids and it was all over the LED screens, newspapers, internet news and even entertainment webpages. The media was able to gradually piece together the bigger picture, and it was unavoidable for Itachi's name to surface. It was a matter of time before some desperate underpaid paparazzi resorted to stalking him and finding out his home address; not that he would allow that to happen.
In school, there was really no escaping the curious stares that made him wished for the stupid Akatsuki's straw hat. It was tedious enough just to maintain a straight face and appeared unaffected as he usually would be, and he wondered how his reincarnation had managed to pull it off with such effortless. Wait, why was he even thinking about him? God, one more reason to dislike him.
"Hey, Uchiha-san right? Can we take a picture with you?" Why was he the only one being constantly subjected to this type of treatment?
"Can I say n-"
"Oh my god, it's him, IT'S HIM! Lisa, Rena, over here!" Itachi looked around helplessly, completely abashed and, if he would admit, like a powerless Mother hen who was unable to tame her chicks. Not that they were his chicks or anything-
"Gosh, absolutely luuuuuuurve your pony. How do you keep it so straight and silky?" He had to stop himself from flinching away from her brash touch of his sacrosanct property, which he usually reserved for Sakura.
"I know right! Doesn't he just remind you of Kanae-san? They're practically twins!" Maybe he should contemplate about sniping off his hair if it meant it would cut off such referential remarks pertaining to that damn singer-
"What?! Are you crazy? Uchiha-san is soooo much better than that singer okay! He freaking saved the kids; he's our god damn hero!" Alright, maybe he would not chop it off; he did prefer his hair long anyway, since he could tie it back and not let it got in his way…
"Only less muscular and much much prettier," One of them added shyly at the back of the crowd, and that single comment somehow unified the girls as they all agreed wholeheartedly, disregarding Itachi's scowl (not that anyone could tell he was scowling). Never mind that they were babbling on as though he was air, but if they were not planning to move out of his way soon-
"Sorry to interrupt you ladies, but Itachi-san here is needed elsewhere and I'm going have to steal him for now."
"Whaaaat? No way!"
"We're not done with him!" Itachi frowned; who did they think he was, some kind of puppy for them to fondle and scratch?
"Hoshikagi-san you're a party-pooper!" Flashing the fuelling ladies his best killer smile, he apologised once again and extracted the helpless Itachi from his improvised fan club.
"Thank you, Kisame." Kisame cocked his head back at the fast dispersing crowd and chuckled at his visible sense of relief.
"I saw your face from afar and you looked like you're about to die from female suffocation!"
"I'm not…That comfortable in mass presence of women." Especially crazy ones like these that just keep coming in this era. He mentally shuddered at the mere thought of it and he briefly wondered if Sakura was like that when she saw Kanae I- Stop thinking about that man.
"Man I hope you're not like that with your girlfriend," Kisame commented with a concerned glance.
"Girlfriend? What, I-"
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me anything; it's your life. But if you need any advice, and I mean any, you know my number." At the troubled look that followed his comment, Kisame immediately felt a fleeting pang for the lady in question. He sighed dramatically and regarded Itachi with a serious eye.
"For starters, when you're out for a date, you can try holding her hand. She may appear shocked and even flinch away from your touch, but that's just their way of telling you to grab on tighter and don't let go."
At Kisame's text, Deidara perked up from his spot behind the abundance of balloons he was tasked to string along the white board.
"They're coming, they're coming!"
"Would you lower your voice, Deidara?" Sasori ordered from his desk, where he was pumping helium into more balloons. In retaliation, Deidara grabbed one of the confetti poppers from his pocket (yep, he was hoping to steal some to use it for the surprise dinner he planned for Ino tonight) and flung it at Sasori, to which he skilfully dodged and ended up hitting Konan's temple. Instinctively, Deidara sucked in a deep breath.
"Oh god sorry Konan I didn't mean to-"
"Deidara." He gulped in trepidation at Pein's threatening glare.
"S-Sorry Pein, hmm," He muttered and felt himself shrinking into a mouse. After checking that there was no significant damage dealt to his angel, he threw one more disapproving scowl at the culprit and dismissed him.
Bloody overprotective boyfriend, hmm.
The rest of the Akatsuki members were doing the finishing touches to their once barren classroom, now lavished with excessive black and red helium balloons across the ceilings and velvet cloths hanging along the walls.
"Kakuzu, would you stop counting the change? I've passed you the receipt didn't I? I swear I didn't smuggle the extra notes for myself!"
"Shut up, only a fool would believe you, Hidan."
"Listen, why not we have a competition to see who can inflate the most number of balloons and the loser tops up the shortage and offers a treat for lunch? No limits to dining choice." At the prospect of a free and exorbitant meal, Kakuzu glanced up from the heavenly smell of notes, meeting Hidan's challenging eyes with interest.
"What's the time limit?" Hidan's smile broadened like a maniac.
"Ten minutes. Zetsu, wanna join us?" Zetsu looked up from where he was cleaning Deidara's over-vandalised desk towards their quizzical stares.
"No thanks, but I can be your timer."
The distant shuffling footsteps made their way into Deidara's distracted mind and he haphazardly scrambled down the ladder, nearly toppling it over himself.
"They're here, people, they're freaking HERE- Ouch, danna!"
"Thank you Sasori, I was itching to do that," Konan added with a smirk.
With Kisame as his makeshift bodyguard, Itachi was able to make the rest of the way through the university with minimal drama. As Kisame himself was as much a lady's man as Itachi seemed to be, it was unavoidable for eyes to linger on them longer than necessary. For this, his partner resorted to playing the gay card, which was, surprise surprise, a foreign concept for Itachi.
"Aren't you a little too close, Kisame." Instead of shifting away like a normal person who got the hint would, he actually smirked, in a seductive and suggestive manner.
"You've got many things to learn, Itachi-san. This is a survival stratagem – in fact we should be chummier…"
In all the day he had travelled with Kisame, Itachi had never once felt any physical discomfort with him, or even thought much about this matter. That was probably because they were both respectable men in their own right and unquestionably, as straight as Itachi's hair.
If not for the comforting fact that Kizame was attached and hundred percent smitten with that lady, he would have shoved a chakra charged palm in his direction and generally reacted more violently to that muscular arm currently wrapped around his waist, causally. Yes, not shoulders, but waist for goodness sake.
The firm grip on his love handle felt awkward, inappropriate and largely disturbing, and Kisame's cologne was making him dizzy. However, it was this or the mob of girls, and though it was not much of a choice, he pinched his eyes shut, sighed and carried on walking.
Before they reached their classroom, Kisame stopped to rectify his undone laces and egged him on. He secretly thanked the shoe laces for his freedom and slid the door opened-
"SURPRISE!" Itachi ducked his head in time to the burst of metallic streamers of all colours leaping at him, falling all over his hair and shoulders. When he peered into what he barely recognised as their classroom, he found that the place was flooded with at least a hundred balloons, and a couple were spinning out and crashing onto the corridor.
"What's this about?" He entered the classroom and found two head peeking out from the sea of black and red rubber, panting heavily and looking pale. Hidan he could understand, but Kakuzu too?
"They just had an intense make-out session, if you're wondering," Deidara supplied from his spot by the white board.
"You… Shut your fuckin'… trap… Dei," Hidan cussed and split out a deflated balloon from his mouth. How classy.
"Do you mind? I just cleaned the space… And you lost by a balloon and a half by the way, Hidan," Zetsu remarked regrettably which only served to aggravate him more.
"Heard… Heard that Hidan? You owe… me… a meal…" That came from breathless Kakuzu. Pein rolled his eyes and drew Itachi's attention away from their balderdash.
"This is… A surprise celebration…"
"Created for you, Itachi-san," Konan finished and flourished a bouquet of origami orange roses. He took the bouquet and caught the placards strung across the whiteboard above Deidara. He twisted around to a beaming Kisame.
"So you were part of this."
"Can't say I'm sorry; you deserved as much as a recognition," He reflected with a shrug. His surprised eyes drank in the effort taken to transform their functional classroom into this party room, a weird sensation sitting in his gut.
"But I didn't do much-"
"Not only did you find the missing children, Chairman's grandson and Sakura, but you also discovered the mastermind's hideout and exposed the spy within our institution. Surely that constitutes as 'something?'" Sasori countered genuinely, much to his surprise.
"Sasori's right, and anyway this was Minato-sensei's idea; he'll be treating us to a sumptuous meal after school, so do stay around," Pein concluded and delivered an approving pat on his shoulder.
"And it's all thanks to you, Itachi-san," Konan could not help but added. Kisame materialised next to Itachi and slung an arm around (thank goodness) his shoulder in an affirmative manner.
He scanned across the eyes of the people gathered before him, for him, and detected only the purest of sincerity from every one of them. He closed his eyes and offered a faint smile.
"No, you're wrong. There's only so much that I can do, and without you all, the operation would not have been half as successful." He had everyone's attention, and even Hidan stopped threatening to pass out from carbon dioxide overload.
"I used to believe there is no one more reliable as yourself, and how terribly wrong am I. To have comrades- to have friends walking beside you and be able to offer your assistance in times of their need," He paused and briefly settled his eyes on the letters on the placards, "Far exceed the credits acquired or to be called a hero."
Of course he had to go ahead to suggest the most popular shabu-shabu and when Sasori recommended the hottest store downtown, he was acting all suave and readily agreed without doing some research beforehand. That explained everyone's surprised and rapturous expressions, which then he assumed that everyone was probably just diehard fan of beef hot pot.
Of course it had to be the priciest shabu-shabu and now that he had given his word...
"Waitress!" The size fourteen, voluptuous mid-twenties lady with a head of black wavy hair materialised with the promptness one could only dream of when flagging for a taxi.
"Yes dear?" Her voice was equally pleasant; Hidan licked his lips, imagining her tasting as luscious as the beef they served here.
"Can we have another top-up of the wagyu and gindara? And while you're at it do you mind adding your name onto a separate list? Charge that to Hidan, yours truly."
"W-What?"
"Excuse my friend, just the beef and codfish will do," Kakuzu amended courteously. When the poor waitress glanced back uncertainly, Hidan, whose eyes never left her ass, took the chance to wink at her. She jerked and scampered into the kitchen.
"Hidan, you forgot my sashimi, hmm!" Deidara jeered from two seats away next to Kakuzu, and Minato nearly choked on the smoking hot wagyu that he forgot to chill before devouring. He was far too distracted to mind its succulence.
"Guys, you know it's not that I don't mean it when I said I'm treating…"
"We knfw sensei, you juft want us to eat wifthouf burden rigfht? Don't wurry we will, hmm!" Deidara interjected mirthfully across him.
"Are you beginning to regret this, Minato-sensei?" Konan asked emphatically.
"W-What? Of course not, it's not every day that a sensei gets to treat his students a meal yea? Hahahaha ha ha… Haiis." Kisame caught their conversation and chortled good-humouredly while Kakuzu shook his head at his sensei's severe lack of financial planning. Guess he would just have to keep his credit card bill well-hidden from Kushina for this month too. Last month's fiasco involving his debut appearance at the casino against his better judgement with Jiraya was barely covered by his timely promotion and pay raise.
On the other hand, it was also not every day that his students got to crack a huge case, was it?
This dining together, so filled with kinetics and zero scruples for formalities was a healthy change and bizarre contrast that Itachi was still having trouble getting used to. During one of those rare occasions where all Akatsuki members were available and present at base, everyone would dine together – in silence. There were no small talks except for the occasional enquiry on their Jinchuuriki hunt or a hand with getting the condiment. No one was being friendly, because there was really no need to.
"Damn it Deidara, stop taking my meat and cook yourself!"
"Come on danna, aren't we BFFs? Stop being so calculative, hmm!" If not for their sandwiched in the middle seats predicament, Sasori would have butt-shoved him out of the lacquered timber bench without a minute's notice.
Who knew that in an alternate dimension everyone could be getting along so well? Even Sasori who was always complaining and chiding seemed to be enjoying himself in the company of his classmates.
This was no longer a group of notorious criminals gathered with hidden agendas and common interests – this was a bunch of spirited friends living in the moment and bonding over common taste buds.
"Hey guys, I've got a suggestion – since I'm sure everyone agrees this is yet to be one of the best gatherings we've had, why not go all the way and throw a private party at Itachi's house to celebrate his hero status, hmm?" Before Itachi could voice his opinion on this matter since there was really no 'his house' to begin with-
"That sounds brilliant and all but this is Itachi's place we're talking about-"
"Minato-sensei, don't worry; this time we'll be splitting the bills and I'm sure Itachi-san wouldn't mind, hmm," Deidara punctuated with a smile and an assuring nod.
Minato tittered sheepishly while Itachi frowned at Deidara's 'fantastic' suggestion.
"I don't know about that-"
"This is a chance to finally see your place, Itachi-san. You said you're staying with a relative right?" Itachi threw a slightly annoyed expression at the usually loyal Kisame but eventually nodded.
"So, the venue's decided. Next we need someone to take care of the food, decorations and goodie bags…"
"I don't mind giving a hand with the decorations," Zetsu offered, followed by Konan and Sasori and almost too efficiently the design team was formed. Things were fast spiralling out of Itachi's control; so much for having spirited friends. Before it seemed like such an incentive to his colourless life, next they were busy planning a party that Itachi had no intention of partaking in and oh, it would be conveniently located at his living quarters against his wish-
"Hey Itachi-san what's your address? We need it not only for us but for the caterers too!" Konan asked. His begging eyes caught Minato's 'sorry, can't help you there' gaze and he felt more sold than ever. Using the square papers that Konan 'helpfully' supplied out of nowhere, he reluctantly scribbled down the address and duplicated one for everyone.
"'Haruna residence, Yonder Road' huh? Might have been there to plant some explosive tags a long while ago," Pein remarked with a faraway voice. Deidara thought he misread the address but Pein's verbal reiteration confirmed his doubts.
Haruna? #10-02? Isn't that where Sakura-chan lives...?
"Can't wait to see the apartment you're staying in," Kisame added with a meaningful look that Itachi was not falling for.
"Let me just check with my relative before everyone gets too carried away," Itachi said, the comment cutting directly in Deidara's face, who was eyeing him with disbelief.
He had no idea that Itachi had been living with Sakura all along, and the notion somehow disturbed him more than his questionable claim of their blood relations. Or that they were making out. Eeew.
Sakura's attention was zapped away by yet another pair of nurses who zipped passed her. Surely an emergency warranted more hushed exchange to hurry up and sombre faces instead of incessant giggles and tripping over flats from over-giggling? She heard from Tsunade that once you worked in the medical field long enough, you eventually got accustomed to casualties and numbed to death. That was also the signal to retire from the hospital because if you felt nothing from the end of a life, then did that still made you a complete human?
She knocked on ward 2202's door before entering, to discover the room empty. Oh no, it had been her life goal to ensure her wards were never missing and yet, it happened and she was not even distracted!
"Excuse me Shizune-san, have you seen ward 2202's patients? They're four kids who were recently admitted but now they're missing and-"
"Whoa calm down Sakura-chan! They're probably on the first floor by the entrance," Shizune answered calmly.
"What? Why would they be there?" Better than to wait around for an answer – the answer was staring in her face when she bolted to the entrance lobby and saw the misplaced kids hugging Itachi's legs. There were also many more admitted orphans jumping around him and vying for his attention.
"Itachi?" At Sakura's voice, Itachi's stiffed as rock expression immediately dissolved into his relieved-as-hell-but-impossible-to-tell-anything-had-changed-unless-you-knew-him-well face.
"Oh Sakura, you came to see Uchiha-san too?"
"Of course she is! Who doesn't want to be graced by the presence of Konoha's hero? So Uchiha-san, you were telling us how you were stalked by the paparazzi?" Was I? Itachi's eyes momentarily tore away from Sakura to the eager swarm of nurses and children gathered around him like Father Santa.
"Usually I would attempt to lose them after a corner but now it has gotten quite worse, especially today, and I had to use a disguise…"
"It sounds like a regular occurrence to you, this being stalked business," One of the middle-aged nursed pointed out.
"It must be hard," A younger nurse added sympathetically. He mentally shook his head; to think a wanted ninja like him was reduced to telling bedtime stories for women and kids in his spare time.
"If I were to be honest, this is indeed a change from being hunted down by bounty-hunters and assassins, but not any less deadly as I hoped." There was a significant pause, before the assemblage broke down into shrills of laughter. The puzzled kids spun their heads around and for lack of better reaction, joined in the laughing party.
"Oh gosh, what a comparison! I hope you're not referring to us; the nurses of Konoha Hospital are pretty civilised!" Their howling escalated as Itachi's not quite joke fully sank in. If this was not a cue to turn away and ran before he turned postal, he might as well set up a camp and ignited a bonfire.
Sakura caught his subtle tilt of head towards the sliding door; it was time to swing into action. Biting her lips and sending him an 'okay' sign, she sprinted off in the speed of light and checked herself out for the night.
"While we're at it why not let's all have a one to one photo-taking session with Uchiha-san? I'm sure he won't mind!" Itachi hoped his grimace could be pulled off as a smile as he was definitely not in a smiling mood.
Hurry up would you, Sakura?
Itachi refrained from commenting on Sakura's poorly masked giggles as they ambled along the night streets of Konoha.
"I'm never going to forget that moment and your face. You should have seen yourself in the mirror; you looked like you're about to be raped!"
"I'll make sure never to get myself into such a situation again."
"What, you mean the smiling in pain part or the you got raped part?"
"We're not having this conversation, Sakura." Sakura pouted but sensing that he was not in the mood for banter, she sighed and allowed the chitter-chatters of the crowded streets to fill in the silence that ensued. It was getting harder to manoeuvre with these thongs of people.
"Itachi?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for fetching me home. It's really sweet of you." Itachi turned around and found Sakura a few heads behind him, grinning gently, that sweet smile that was only for him. Whatever he did to deserve that? And he was being pretty grumbly earlier to her; now he felt like an ass.
Just when she thought she was about to lose sight of him, he turned back in time to rescue her from the sea of anonymity. Retracing his footsteps, he pushed through the crowd, eyes not once leaving her and made a grab for her right arm before she was swallowed up by the activity. The drastic movement apparently shocked not just Sakura but the entire streets and people were now openly staring at the entwined pair.
"It's that guy from the news!"
"Shhs, he's on a date; let's not disturb him."
He was holding her hand in that awkward parent dragging a reluctant kid away from a swing way, but who was she to complain an act of initiative from Uchiha Itachi? She remained stiff in his grip, afraid that any movement would be misinterpreted as discomfort and he would let go of her.
"L-Looks like you're going to be more famous than my idol in no time!" She piped up as an attempt to distract herself from the warmth of his secure (and slightly uncomfortable) grip and self-consciousness from the strangers' relentless gaze.
Itachi darted his eyes towards her before he could stop himself – there was the dreamy look again that he had come to associate with that man. Talk about annoyingly ubiquitous.
"I wouldn't want that to happen," He replied in a gruff voice. Never in a million years, he wanted to add, but that would raise unnecessary questions.
"Why not?"
"I'll feel uncomfortable." He was also not completely lying.
"But what shall we do now – you're already famous Itachi!" Her exclamation caused a few heads to turn, and sensing a repeat of the earlier Hospital Incident, Itachi briskly led her towards an alley, away from the ongoing traffic.
"Sakura, wait here for me." Leaving a befogged Sakura by the dusty concrete wall, he walked and disappeared into the darkness of the narrow alley, not once looking back. She followed where he went but all there were was an overflowing dustbin and-
"ARGHHH!"
"Meoooow." Sakura pushed against her chest to calm her slamming heart. The black cat that leapt out from behind the bin gave her a hard stare before deeming her uninteresting and fled for the night.
Panic set in as she realised she was alone and possibly abandoned in the pitch-black alley.
Wait, where the hell did Itachi go? Why would he lead me here to vanish without a trace? Unless…
No, no no no no no no no no...!
She tried to quell the raising dread and clenched her fists against her breasts to stop her eyes from tearing. Which was the way out of this black hole, the left or right? Where was she again? Did it matter?
She stumbled blindly onto the streets, the world suddenly devoid of noise and colour and her mind an empty and damaged canvas as she stumbled onto someone-
"S-S-S-Sorry… I didn't mean to… Oh my god S-Sasuke-kun?" Her friend reached out both hands to steady Sakura in time before she went head-diving into the crowd. Sasuke stared back at her and shook his head.
"It's me, Sakura."
"Yea, I-I know it's you…" With her distress momentarily hijacked, she got a good look at her ex-crush, hands still on her shoulder peering intently at her. His brows were dipped in a troubled frown, eyes searching for clues to her panic and mouth set in a stern line at her unsatisfactory answer. Wait a second; this was not Sasuke, at least not the Sasuke that she knew…
"I-Itachi…? Is that you?" He smirked in the way Sasuke would be proud of and she realised then they had virtually the same smirk, with the care-less half tug of the left lips and the playful glimmer in the eyes. He pretended to glanced towards his empty wrist.
"The last I checked, I am."
"Wait wait wait… You mean you can clone other people too?!" Sakura was impressed.
"Yes Sakura. Now people will stop staring at us like we've grown a head. Let's go." Sakura flinched when he tried to grab her hand, as though afraid of being infidel to Itachi.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Itachi that you are holding hands with your previous love interest," He added puckishly after catching her hesitant look. She gulped and reminded herself this was essentially Uchiha Itachi's hand extending to her… Without waiting, he fastened his clasp around her dainty hand, remembering Kisame's words of wisdom on woman's reaction vs thoughts.
"Let's go," He said without looking at her, and Sakura thought she saw a faint pink tinge across his high cheeks. To think that even the way they blushed was similar!
Feeling ecstatically bold and incredibly pleased by the circumstance, she adjusted her hand and interlocked her fingers with his. Decades ago she might have wished to be able to hold Sasuke's hand like this and walked down the streets, staking her claim. It certainly paid to be vague with your wishes.
"I'm so glad that you're still here," Sakura added softly after a while. Sasuke/Itachi glimpsed a small dancing of light by the corner of her eyes, grasping what his earlier disappearing act might have seen to her. Tightening his hold, he tugged her closer so that they were sharing body warmth. He twisted his head and rested his chin on her pink mop of soft hair as they strolled under the starless sky.
Of course I'll still here, he wanted to say, but he hated to make promises he had no hold over.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sakura."
Sakura picked nervously at 'only one of the best, carefully selected brownies served with a fresh serving of vanilla ice cream from the finest chef of Konoha,' debating whether it was a waste to just gobble it down in a goal. It was world-class standard after all. However a quick scan around her living room proved her thoughts to be redundant – Itachi's classmates, with the exception of Sasori and himself, were absorbed in piling up their bio-degradable paper plates to its maximum capacity.
Not even a glance was spared at the description cards that accompanied each catering trays. She could not help but felt remorse for the marketing guy who cramped his brain for hours to come up with more descriptive words for 'delicious food.'
Less effort was invested in the beverage department, with cringe-worthy alliterations like 'Sweet-Sweet Sugary Sake,' 'Sip N Sigh Shochu' and 'Ass-citing Asahi.' Obviously the person was not even trying by the last drink, and speaking of which why were they all alcoholic?
"If my memory serves me well, the grey pompadour by the sofa was in-charge of the beverages," Itachi supplemented when Sakura commented on her critical observation.
"He seems familiar… Oh shit I think he snogged one of my friends two years ago; can't believe he's in the elite programme of the U!" Sakura smacked her forehead at the coincidence of it all.
"Me neither." To be honest, that incident could have been avoided if Sakura had found Ino earlier after she lost her during one of their post-break-up shopping therapies. When they passed by a vintage café, she had to be a pig-head and blurted out, "Hey isn't this where he kneed down and asked you to be his girlfriend?"
Before she could add on 'with a stalk of rose,' Ino's lips trembled and she promptly broke down into a mess of snivel and sobs and scuttled off, her shopping bags conveniently left behind by Sakura's feet. Not that Sakura could blame her, of course. But still, there were at least ten tote size bags, all suddenly under her supervision.
The grey pompadour, revealed by Itachi as Hidan (gosh, even his name sounded lecherous), allegedly had found Ino squatting by a street lamp and when he asked her what was up, she wiped futilely at her eyes and reported the devastating news to the 'concerned' stranger.
"How could he just dump me?"
"Well… What's so good about him?"
"For one, he's a pretty darn good kisser," Ino had said with a pout.
"Twenty bucks says I can do better than that asshole, my pretty lady."
Sakura had to literally pry them off to put a stop to their shameless act. She also recalled delivering a good shove at Hidan's manhood and reprimanded him for taking advantage of a vulnerable girl. It was not a pretty scene.
"… And did she take those twenty bucks?" Itachi asked with mild interest.
"Actually…" She rubbernecked to check that Deidara was out of earshot before continuing, "She did." He cocked his eyebrow in amusement before clearing his throat in a self-conscious manner.
"I er-hem, hope you're er-hem, satisfied."
"Huh? Satisfied with what, the food? Yea the food's pretty darn good!"
"I'm not referring to that." Itachi downed his second cup of shochu, his head turned away from her.
"Then what- OOH," Sakura blurted out before embarrassment assaulted her and poured red all over her face.
"Ahh, this must be the mysterious relative that I've been hearing about! Hey what's wrong? Why are your faces so red? Are the prawns too spicy?" Kisame joined the duo camping by the kitchen window and thankfully he seemed ignorant to the contents of their conversation.
"H-HI! You must be Hoshikagi-san; I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you!" She cringed at how chirpy and unnatural she sounded. Itachi was suddenly taciturn and focused on chewing the spicy prawns that were not even spicy and so small that did not even require chewing.
"That's me, nice to meet you too. You know, since Itachi-san's arrival the days in school have become a lot more interesting than I could ask for. And I'm guessing I could say the same for you, Haruno-san?"
"Well… Two's certainly a company; I wouldn't give it up for the world," She added coyly, hiding a satisfied grin when the man in question stopped nibbling on those damn prawns. Kisame rolled his eyes between the brewing love birds, his smirk growing with each passing second.
"Ho… You two seemed to get along rather fine, or more than fine, should I say, Itachi-san?" Kisame replied with a significant look at Itachi.
"Is there anything you need, Kisame?" Kisame caught Itachi's severe expression and could not resist a guffaw.
"Geez, you're as serious as ever, even during parties. I just want to remind you to go slow on the shochu; it's extra strong. Alright, I shall leave you two alone. Thanks for the permission to use your apartment, Haruno-san!"
The last of the rowdy squad left at two in the morning, after they had finished with the cleaning of the apartment and packing of garbage. Or rather, they were forced to, since that was the condition to host the party in Sakura's apartment.
"I still can't believe you did this," Sakura said as they lugged the remaining garbage bags to the dumpster at the back of the apartment.
"Used the clones to help us carry all the bags down?"
"No, not that…" Well and that, but who could say no to extra pairs of hands and the pleasure of being surrounded by more Itachis? She blessed Haruna's lack of surveillance cameras or it might be quite tough to explain away the quadruplets of Itachis tagging behind them.
"It's just, you don't look like a party person to me." Sakura set the hefty bags down with the grace of an elephant and watched as Itachi threw his bag into the gigantic olive green dumpster in one elegant swing. Was there anything this guy could not do?
"Sakura, I realise your perception of ninja is to project us as killing machines. You don't think we have parties and rest days too?" Even though his tone was more amused than accusatory, Sakura could not help but felt like a snob who stereotyped.
"No, you've misunderstood! I was just taken aback… You once mentioned about bringing back some friends, I-I just didn't expect you'd go all the way…" Itachi released a thin smile as he took Sakura's bags and brought them to their new home.
"Always expect the unexpected, Sakura." She groaned in response while Itachi chuckled away. As Itachi thanked his clones and dispersed them, Sakura saw an opening. As soundlessly as her nearly breaking flip-flops could allow, she crept up behind him and summoned her remaining strength left from carrying those black bags and punched him.
Punched the air was a closer description, as her fist sailed passed his shoulder when he slanted towards the left. Before she fell from inertia, Itachi grabbed her arm and steadied her in his chest.
"What are you doing, Sakura?"
"D-Do you have eyes on your back, Itachi?" Damn, the guy was smooth!
"No, I'm not a Hyuuga." Hyuuga? What has this got to do with Hinata's family? Before Sakura could form a logical explanation, Itachi propped her up onto his arms without even a sign of strain.
"Hey hey hey… What are you doing now?" She said between nervous giggles, hit by déjà vu from the first time they met and he had to carry her up when the lift broke down.
"I'm abducting you for attempting to cause me bodily harm." With a bent of his knees, he launched them up towards the trees and whizzed through the foliage, narrowly avoiding the sharp branches.
The next moment when she opened her eyes, she gasped at their new location.
"T-This is…!" They were standing by the bank of the same stream that carried fluid memories of their first time here, where she revealed this secret piece of heaven to the man securing her in his chest.
"Where you pushed me into the water, yes I remember." Sakura tilted her head to stare at his glistening eyes in disbelief.
"And of all things to remember… Eeeek!" The freezing water assaulted her lungs and senses and for a moment she thought she would perish from hypothermia. However, remembering this was really a less than one and a half metre depth stream and who she came with, she quickly broke for the water surface.
"A-Are you tr…trying to k…kill me, Itachi!" She huffed between mouthful of the glacial water and boiling anger, before he abruptly entered the water and brought her into a lukewarm embrace.
"Sorry Sakura, I'm so used to bathing by the stream that I forgot how cold the water gets at night." At the mention of 'bathing by the stream,' her unadulterated anger evaporated as she was rapidly hit by images of his seductive nude form and his g-
"W…Why did you b…bring us here?" She managed between chattering teeth and her rising temperature. Itachi frowned at her frigid arms and slowly guided them out of the water by her shoulders. He lowered them by the oak tree by the bank and rubbed his hands on her arms to warm her up.
"No reason to turn in so early on such a beautiful night, and since there's no school tomorrow, I thought I should bring you out on a date."
"Y…You mean fr…freez…zing night date." Itachi began to unbutton his grey shirt and before she could question his intent, he flipped it around Sakura's shaking frame.
"Sakura, wait here for me." Her hand instinctively reached for his when he stood up. His eyes softened and he planted a tender kiss on her forehead.
"I'm not going anywhere; I'm just going to gather some branches to start a fire." Reluctantly, she released her grip and tucked the flimsy cloth closer around her body.
"Isn't that going somewhere too…"
After starting the chakra-fuelled fire, Itachi felt her body gradually returning to normal temperature and sighed. The alcohol in his system was wreaking havoc to his decision-making skills, reminding him why he was resistant against it in the first place.
Sakura was curled up next to him and leaning her sleepy head on his shoulder. He thought that he did not mind if time were to cease movement and they could remain like this forever.
"Itachi… Do you think we met before, in your world?" With his own head resting against the thick oak trunk, he closed his eyes and flittered through memories of his parallel world.
"I think we did."
"What? You mean like a ninja version of me? What did I do?" Sakura's voice was no longer somnolent, excited by the prospect of her uber-cool previous-self wielding lethal weapons and fighting crimes.
"What if I tell you that all you did was to break someone out of an illusion and the rest of the time you were busy hiding behind a boulder?" If Sakura did not know any better, she would have mistook his amused tone as joking.
"I what? And did you say I was hiding?!" Itachi felt her head brushing in disapproval against his shoulder and he struggled to bite back his smile.
"Man, for me to do that, either I was a terribly useless ninja or the enemy's incredibly powerful, like off the charts powerful," She continued in a gravelly tone.
"What if I tell you I was the enemy?" Sakura's eyes widened and she got up.
"No way! Then I must say it is fated that we get to meet again!" She was brimming with such exuberance, a huge contrast against the serious frown and bellicose stance of the kunoichi with Naruto and Kakashi all those times ago. It was hard to imagine they might be the same person. Itachi snorted in amusement.
"That sounds a little far-fetched, considering our circumstances." For one, they did not even exchange a blow, let alone a word.
"Aren't those couples always saying things like I don't care if it takes a day, a month or a year, or even if I'll have to cross the universe just to be with you?"
"Well… They don't know what they're talking about. And strictly speaking I didn't cross the world to be with you… It was more of an accident…" Sakura puffed an air of incredulity at his lack of delicacy.
"Itachi, it doesn't hurt to fib a little during romantic times like this, you know?"
"Alright alright, then shall I make it up to you, my Sakura…?"
Sakura woke up to a wall of hard muscles next to her face, and one poke at it confirmed her suspicions that this was what being in seventh heaven was about. She pushed her head back and met her dopey eyes to Itachi's feline pair, watching her in the way that made her felt like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. What a refreshing way to start the day.
"Good morning, Itachi."
"Good morning, Sakura." She gave a languid smile in response and trailed her eyes down his exposed upper body. His shirt was wrapped around her like a protective arm, like a persona of him. She reached out and caressed one of his old wounds on his right arm. Even after Tsunade's treatment, the burn marks remained visible against his alabaster skin.
"Who was the one who hurt you so badly?" She had always wondered about his beaten plight when he first entered her life. Itachi's faced turned serious for a moment before returning to its peaceful expression.
"It was my little brother." Sakura's eyes zoned back to Itachi's, but he was smiling. He was smiling at the defeat of a supposedly traitor of his village, smiling at the memory of his brother and the only decision that he had no regrets of till date.
"You couldn't kill him, could you?"
"No, I can't. It was my wish to die by his hands." Her gaze hardened and she made a grab for his hand, entwining it with her slightly chilly fingers. Holding his eyes, she brought his hand towards her lips and kissed it.
"You're here, not dead. You're here with me, alive."
"…" Suddenly, Itachi felt a queasy sensation spreading its roots throughout him, and he struggled to make out Sakura's words that were growing fainter with each waning heartbeat.
"Itachi, I love you."
Itachi fought to remain conscious, his mind lucid enough to recognise this as his last chance to gather his act together and faced his heart. He shifted his head closer towards Sakura, watching her through his hazy vision and wanting to feel those lips on him.
"Sakura, I…"
When Sakura peeled opened her eyes, there was no Itachi.
She glanced down at her empty hand and looked up.
There was no one next to her.
The birds were chirping above her, soaring in blithe. They were flying at odds with the gentle zephyr, but they managed to stay in flight nevertheless.
All Sakura felt were her wings violently tore apart and blew away by the merciless wind, before descending in a rapid free fall.
There was no Itachi to catch her.
Boy am I hit with the temptation to end the story here... Would that be too cruel for the lovebirdS & my dear readers?
To LuvableShannon, with regards to the scene where Sakura asked Itachi about her ninja life: just because you requested, I've made it come true for you (& thank you, it was fun brainstorming the convo ^^)