Ouka knew?

The Ravenclaw prefect looked up and down the hallway from which Sakura had just come. "Itachi must be coming back from his rounds then. I guess I'll wait here." Ouka bit her lip, eyes solemn as they stared into the darkness.

Sakura pressed a paw against Ouka's leg. What exactly did she know?

Ouka let out a tiny sigh. "Alright then." She sat, her back against the stone wall before patting her lap. A clear invitation that Sakura was to hop right on in.

After a moment of hesitation, Sakura took the invitation, bounding into Ouka's lap, and continued to push her paws right upon Ouka's collarbones, her nose almost touching Ouka's. Answers, Sakura attempted to plead, whiskers twitching and rubbing upon Ouka's cheeks. She wanted answers.

Her nose got booped instead, pressed against Ouka's. The painted nails once more scratched upon her head and stroked down her mid-back. But, oh, did it feel good.

"I couldn't think of what else to do, Bunny. I only traded my duties so that he could find them. Do you think he'll be mad at me?"

Sakura pawed away at the scratching hand, falling back onto Ouka's lap. Well, she knew the answer to that question. Yes. A definite yes. Sakura hadn't even done anything, and she had been targeted. It was damn sure that someone who dabbled in this mess would catch hell. Itachi was going to lose his shit. Sakura straightened her back and stared. Better run, Ouka!

Instead, Ouka booped her nose with a finger. "You're right, Bunny. Itachi is nice, too nice. He always wears the kindest smile regardless of what happens to him."

The message of warning had gone undelivered. Sakura had to try again. Itachi could be very mean and cruel. Sakura sneezed.

Ouka made a face and wiped her hands on her blue checkered skirt. "I know I'm being weird, but I just want to ensure he's okay." She returned her fingers to Sakura's fur, massaging the shoulder blades instead of scratching.

Sakura leaned forward and propped a chin upon Ouka's shoulder. Damn it, get out of here. She lifted her head, and her eyes caught a shine of silver. If she managed to grab one of those earrings and make a run, Ouka would surely give chase. It would mean she could avoid Itachi altogether, at least until he cooled off. This was going to be gross though. She closed her eyes and went for it, mouth open. She then nipped her teeth onto Ouka's ear. Her top teeth grazed the bottom of the silver stud and her teeth sunk into flesh instead of securing the earring.

"Ow," Ouka jerked her head away. She raised a finger in accusation. "That hurt. My earrings are not for you to eat. Bad Bunny!"

Go, run!

The sound of a brazier lighting made Ouka's head jerk up and Sakura whip around. Itachi was coming.

Ouka gave her one final pat before depositing Sakura off to the side. She rose to her feet and rolled her shoulders.

Poor Ouka, she had no idea what awaited her. Sakura looked back at the common room door; she'd be safe inside with a few hops and a bound. Ouka would probably be so distraught by a cruel Itachi that she would forget Bunny entirely. Sakura turned back. Another brazier flared to life. She could just make out Itachi's form against the red light. Her window of opportunity to leave was quickly closing.

She glanced up at Ouka, watching her fiddle with the hem of her robe.

With a sigh, Sakura stayed put. She had to wait and ensure Itachi wasn't a complete asshole to Ouka. It didn't mean she enjoyed it, though. Were her paws sweating? No, bunny paws couldn't sweat. But if she were human, she'd be all clammy. Even from here, she could see how stiff and long his strides were. He hadn't cooled down in the slightest.

He came to a pause before them. He made a quick scan of Ouka before turning his gaze upon Sakura. His nostrils flared; was it just her or did they look ready to breathe out smoke? Did the Uchiha line have dragon blood? That could explain the ill-temperament and the fact he looked ready to skin a rabbit with no intention of eating it.

Sakura dropped eye contact. Helping Ouka had been her second worst idea of the night, sticking around after Itachi caught Izumi taking first place.

"I'm sorry," Ouka spoke first.

"Sorry?" Itachi asked, turning to Ouka.

"I wanted to tell you about Izumi. I just thought you wouldn't believe me, not without evidence." Her nails dug into the palms of her hand. "I found out about their plan to meet up. That's why I asked you to take my shift. It had nothing to do with walking up and down the stairs. Will you please forgive me?"

"How did you find out?" Itachi's reply was crisp, not answering the question.

"Tenten saw them in the astronomy tower last month and then again last week," Ouka's voice trembled. "She told me about it and that it was probably something regular. But she didn't know what to do either. We feared Izumi would deny it, and make it seem we were just members of lesser clans gossiping and spreading rumors." Tears sprung from Ouka's eyes. "I just wanted you to know the truth. I should have been brave enough to tell you, though." She ducked her head. "I'm sorry. I'm an awful friend."

The white of Itachi's knuckles stood out against the red light of the braziers. His eyes narrowed in anger, but he made no noise. Then, finally, he opened his mouth, and Sakura could see it ending with Ouka shedding more tears. Sakura flopped forward onto Itachi's right foot and leaned against Itachi's leg, applying as much pressure as her twenty-pound body could.

It distracted him. His gaze fell on her, hard and furious.

She tried her best to look as wide-eyed and innocent as possible. She raised an ear to point at Ouka's dipped head.

His gaze returned to Ouka.

The change came slowly, beginning with the drop of tension from his forehead and the unfurling of his brow. His face cleared of emotion. But his hands – his hands stayed the same, knuckles white.

"Thank you, Ouka."

Ouka raised her head.

Itachi gave a smile, and it looked wrong, as if he wasn't smiling at all. "I'm sorry you were put in such a position. But know that if you ever do need to tell me something in the future, you needn't worry. I know you better than to think of you as a gossiper. You are a woman of great honor."

"I'm the one who is sorry. I just–" Ouka dipped her head lower, "I just–"

"It's fine. Please…" Itachi took a deep breath as if struggling for words. "Please have a good night." A clear dismissal.

Ouka raised her head and nodded, needing no more direction. She didn't even need to hear the entirety of the riddle before she whispered 'spoon' and the door opened.

Itachi's gaze lingered until the hole closed. His gaze then dropped to Sakura. All the emotions came back full force.

"Didn't I say to get the hell out of my sight?" He picked his right foot off the ground by a few inches and gave a flick, sending her sprawling.

Asshole! At least her fluff absorbed the impact.

Without even turning around, he followed Ouka through the still-open door.

Sakura lay where she'd fallen for several long moments before gathering herself back up. Tomorrow she'd probably be upset and cry a little, but tonight, she only felt rage. How dare he! She'd only been trying to help! She'd been trying to give him a little reassurance and make sure he'd be nice to Ouka and not ruin his friendship. To hell with that.

She stood there trembling, blood pounding, for several minutes until the brazier light died. The change in lighting brought her back to the reality that she was still in the hallway alone. Finally, her limbs moved, and she hopped to the tower door, which magically opened. The room was empty, thankfully.

She would have cried just from sheer emotion if she had been human. As rabbit? She just wanted to sink her teeth into something. Or mark territory. Her gaze fell upon the empty chair Itachi tended to claim for schoolwork.

Maybe she'd piss in the chair and leave some pellets behind so he knew her displeasure. To hell with being human; she could fight him as a bunny and win.

She leaped upon the chair, claiming the seat as her own. If Itachi could brood and be a dick, she could too!

The longer she stared into the embers of the dying fire, the better the idea of revenge sounded. Yeah, maybe she'd poop in his bed for good measure. Hell hath no fury like a bunny scorned.

She scratched the chair cushions before sprawling out to make herself more comfortable as she plotted. The problem with pooping in a magical castle was that messes tended to get cleaned up in moments. What she needed was an eyewitness. Not only would it ensure that word got back to Itachi, but in some ways, it heightened the embarrassment. After all, having someone come up and tell you that your familiar shat themselves on your favorite chair would be horrifying and disgusting.

Mehehehe. She chuckled at her own humor.

She'd continue to poop around the Tower, and then she would cease to be Bunny altogether. Except whenever he let his guard down, she'd return to poop again! There. He'd have more to worry about than Izumi sleeping around with another man; instead, he'd need to worry every time he put on his shoes if there'd be something squishy inside. Maybe, she'd get lucky, and the cleaning only applied to Hogwarts furniture.

She couldn't stop the butt wiggle of anticipation at committing such a dastardly deed. Of course, she'd have to be sneaky, but doors let her in and out auto-magically, a significant oversight to security if one thought about it.

A door opened above, and Sakura's ears pricked. This could be it—her witness.

She turned on her most innocent gaze as she lifted her head, only for it to quickly turn into a glare.

Itachi was leaving his dorm room, a book bag in one hand and a blue feather quill captured between his lips as he shut the door with his free hand.

He paused on the staircase upon seeing her in his favorite chair. He returned her glare tenfold.

He removed the quill from his mouth as he continued his descent. He stopped several feet away, and the fire roared to life at his proximity.

"Get out of my chair," Itachi demanded.

No. Sakura sprawled further, dropping her head and letting her body become a puddle on the cushion.

Spot taken. Find another.

"Move," he hissed, taking a step closer.

She rolled onto her back and kicked out with a leg. Nope.

He cleared the remaining distance, and she bolted upright.

She flashed her buck teeth in a growl.

I will poop in every shoe you own and then some. Your roommates will hate you even after graduation.

"Bunny," he leaned over, casting his shadow upon her. "Get out of my chair this instant."

She rose to the challenge, stretching up so her nose was an inch from his. That did it!

Her tail twirled. She applied internal pressure to her abdomen. And then there. Whoops. Okay, that came quickly. She'd forgotten how much fiber she'd had during dinner.

Success greeted her sensitive nose.

Mine now, bitch.

She cocked her head and raised her chin. Then, she sprung from the chair via the armrest and landed on the floor.

She turned around to observe him.

It hadn't yet occurred to Itachi what she'd done, for his gaze had followed her. But then he sighed and turned back to his chair. A look of shock overtook his frown, and it quickly changed to horror.

She raspberried.

That's right. Fear me.

His wand sprang from his sleeve.

Oh no, run!

Sakura flew under the closest thing nearby, the couch. The space had looked deceptively large, and her rump smacked the wooden frame. She sucked in her gut and tried to propel herself further. She moved an inch. The wood squeezed her. No longer could she move at all, neither backward nor forward. Not this again!

She was stuck, and her legs still stuck out. She was a sitting duck. Sitting bunny. Whatever. She closed her eyes, waiting for some terrible spell to hit her.

Instead, a cleaning spell came from Itachi's lips.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, still trembling from the adrenaline.

"You know what, I don't think I even want to sit here anymore."

Well, what was the saying? Run from battle, win the war. The chair was hers forever more.

Thump.

What was that noise near her bottom? She tried to twist or turn, but it was impossible to look behind.

A clatter of things followed. Far too close. What was Itachi going to do?

Itachi grabbed her right foot and squeezed it. Ah!

She kicked with all her might but didn't budge from her location.

He grabbed her left foot next, and his thumb pressed upon the pads of her feet before he squeezed again. Noooo!

"You know what, I think I'll write my letter home from here."

Dammit, Itachi.

To her surprise, no more squeezes came after the second. Instead, there was just a strange lack of touch. All she could hear was the crackling of the fire and the scratch of a fine nib upon parchment.

He was writing home.

Her anger died at the thought of what he'd be writing about. Why had Izumi cheated on Itachi? Itachi was the star of every female fantasy in both Ravenclaw and the other houses. And as for Itachi's reaction, she would never have expected him to explode quite like that. For some reason, she'd expected a response similar to what Ouka described. And she'd gotten to see it. The smile that wasn't. If he hadn't been such an asshole immediately afterward, he would have gotten a lot of pity points from her.

But even now, she couldn't deny that it pulled at her heartstrings.

Sakura then remembered she was trapped under a couch because he'd demanded she move. She blew away a dust ball that had crept closer; the magical cleaning did not cover the area under the couches. What about under beds? Could she pellet and wait for his roommates to notice the smell? The cleaning magic might not apply to the shoes if they were partially under the bed.

The scratching of the quill paused, and Sakura strained her ears. Was he going to leave? Leave her under here?

Itachi sighed, and Sakura heard parchment being crumpled and tossed away. Then, once again, the sound of writing rang out.

Fine. Itachi got just a hair more pity points. He'd been in a seventeen-year relationship, consciously maybe thirteen. So this was a lot like a divorce. But it still didn't make a lick of sense to Sakura. How could Izumi say she wouldn't betray Itachi in one breath and then betray him in the next? Izumi must have nerves of steel. Sakura would never be able to lie straight to someone's face like that. At least, she could never imagine doing so.

Wait. Was that clump of dust moving?

Yes. Yes, it was. Sakura squirmed and squealed. It was coming towards her. It was –

Just a dust bunny.

Sakura blinked at all the extra light, the fact it really was just several large clumps of hair and dust, and that she finally could move. She turned. Itachi had half lifted the couch the muggle way. His expression was softer than it had been all night.

"Are you coming out?" he finally asked.

Freedom! She bolted under his arm, away from the couch, and upon the lush royal blue rug before the fireplace. Note to self, no more hiding under things, only around them.

Itachi sat down the blue couch without making a sound and then shifted back to where his supplies were on the ground. He sat against the leg rest and picked up his quill and a stack of parchment. His gaze fell upon the paper once more.

Sakura's ears twitched, as did her paws. He'd saved her, so the least she could do was forgive him. Although, she felt even more out of place. It wasn't like she could hop up to the female dormitory while he was here. So that meant sharing the common room with him until he decided to sleep or leave. Or should she go? But why would she huddle in a dark, cold, stone hallway when she could be in a warmly lit room?

But how should she go about sharing the space with him? Ignoring his presence would be rude at this point. Could she offer him comfort? How did one even go about comforting someone in this situation? He'd probably be an asshole again.

Feeling her gaze, he raised his head, and their eyes met.

For the first time, she watched a flicker of uncertainty upon his face before he once more gave his strangled smile. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to take out my anger on you."

He said the words too late; she'd already forgiven him. She flopped back to the couch near his thigh and sniffed at the inkwell beside him.

He raised his hand then, reaching out to scratch her head, but his hand froze before it reached her. "Also," his gaze left her and went to what was behind her. "I didn't mean to scare you so much you," his lips trembled for a good moment before finally smiling for real, "relieved yourself."

She glanced at the chair.

No. That hadn't been from fear. That had been payback! Revenge! She snorted.

"I apologize for threatening you; I will tell no one of your secrets," Itachi told her. "All your secrets. I'm not sure you'd live it down." His eyes again fell upon the chair she'd shat in, and he chuckled.

She pressed her paws to his knees and puffed her chest. She'd live just fine, thank you, if he only mentioned the chair. She'd do it again if he opted to be a jerk. But she was grateful that even though he didn't know who she was, he still wouldn't turn her over to the aurors.

He scratched her head and laughed for real. The hearty laugh she'd only heard from him once, when she'd pounced on Shisui.

His laughter left him when his eyes fell upon the parchment. His face stilled, and he returned to scratching Sakura's back as he thought.

Well, he'd apologized and got her unstuck. And judging by his solemn look, he could use some company right now. Perhaps the best thing about being a rabbit in this circumstance was that she didn't have to say anything.

Kisame was right in that Itachi was pretty closed up around everyone. Uptight was putting it lightly. And she hadn't made things better by teasing him. She should have been the adult in the situation. No doubt he was in a lot of pain – he'd planned to live his life with Izumi. Now what?

She curled beside him, resting her cheek against his arm so she could review what he was doing. The paper was a mess, with paragraphs and sentences scratched out so hard there were rips. He'd been drafting a message to his father, but it was going poorly. He set his quill back in the inkwell.

"So," Itachi said, eyes falling on her. "You're a Ravenclaw?"

Her ears stiffened. Uh-oh.

A dimple appeared. This wasn't good.

The second dimple followed.

Gah. Time to go!

He looped his arm around her, hugging her to the side of his belly before she could escape. "I suppose I should have guessed it from your book obsession, no?"

She sneezed. Well. It turns out Itachi wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. But this conversation was making her just a bit uneasy. How about —

"I'm making no headway; want to read instead?" he asked.

Sakura squeezed from the hole and jumped upon Itachi's stomach. Read? Read what? She pressed her front paws upon his chest and excitedly thumped her feet.

"I'll take that as a yes." He pulled from his bag the book from the library.

The library book! He hadn't returned it.

Sakura immediately started growling and biting at his hands.

He shoved a finger to her nose. "I told you, I'll return it. But, unfortunately, I've just been busy lately."

Bullshit. Professor Hatake was going to kill her. KILL HER. She bit at the finger pressed against her snout.

"Do you want to read it or not? If not, I'm going to bed."

Her teeth clicked shut, lightly grazing the skin of his finger.

Well, it looked like bed snuggles were no longer on the table now that she wasn't Izumi. If she wasn't going to be able to read from Madara's book, she should at least take advantage of the one still within her reach. She attempted to give Itachi her best rabbit glare, but his expression didn't change.

She bit, just a bit more, at his finger. A little less light to make sure he understood the consequences of his lack of action, but not enough to draw blood.

"I'll return the book tomorrow."

He'd better return the book tomorrow morning, or with her remaining time on earth, she would shit in every shoe he owned.

She harrumphed and settled next to Itachi's arm to answer the question. Yes, she still wanted to read.

They read for several hours, Sakura curled beside him, head propped upon his forearm. She'd snuffle his arm each time she needed a page turned instead of her usual kick to the kidney. In return, she got a nice ear rub as she read passages. The book lacked the shared tidbits from Madara, but it was still fascinating. She wished it had dived deeper; everything felt like it was just skimming the surface. In particular, the cavern of the soul and the path to it had been incredibly vague. For example, how did one even find the pathway, to begin with? What were the trials one had to face? Why be so ambiguous in the first place?

Eventually, Itachi did fall asleep; her snuffle did nothing but get him to turn away and knock the book to the thick blue rug, which diluted the sound.

Her gaze landed on the book.

That book needed to get back to the library ASAP.

Sakura side-eyed Itachi.

What if he returned the book in the evening, and Professor Hatake looked for it in the morning? To be fair, she didn't actually think Professor Hatake would look in the morning – Sakura had heard he only taught evening classes because he didn't attend the morning ones. But Itachi didn't understand the immediacy. Professor Hatake would presumably look in the afternoon; Itachi might only return it after dinner. Sakura couldn't stand to procrastinate on anything.

She took a deep breath and watched the sleeping form and the curl of his back. It was worth the risk. Sakura was a Ravenclaw, so she had every right to be in the common room. If he woke, she'd claim that he'd been alone on the floor, that she'd woken up early and had just been 'curious' about what book he was reading.

Sakura glanced around the room, at the dead fireplace. No one was around. She unfurled from her rabbit form into her human one, being extra quiet. She couldn't afford to be clumsy. As a human, she was more graceful than in her rabbit form due to depth perception, but not by much. As she stood, the fireplace blazed to life, almost making Sakura knock into Itachi.

Once her thrumming heart quieted, she reached out, about to grab the book, when she noticed all the crumpled parchments on the floor. What would it look like to Itachi if she were to steal the book and take off without another word?

Another betrayal, that's what.

She bit her lip. She picked up the stack of parchment by Itachi's thigh, making sure not to rustle them too much. She took a spare sheet from the bottom of the stack and pulled a muggle pen from her pocket. She slowly clicked the pen to life, the noise almost as loud as the crackling fire. After this, she'd carry a capped pen for the rest of her life, that was for sure.

I would say that I'm sorry, but you stole it first. I really have to get this back to the library, or I'll get expelled.

She then started to fold the parchment, only for her eyes to catch sight of the scratched-out words on the parchment beneath. Maybe she could try to help, even though she didn't know much about Itachi's relationship with his dad. The letter had not struggled in describing what Izumi had done; no, the scratches had been about the response to the actions. The scratches were about his wording to absolve the contract between them. The last draft hadn't even mentioned the absolution, which worried Sakura. Itachi had asked his father what should be done instead of providing his own opinion on the matter. It was his life. He should get a say.

Sakura pursed her lips as she unfolded her letter. She scratched out a few more words on the parchment.

You deserve better, so don't hesitate to ask for what you want. - B

P.S. I expect you to make good on your word about those questions. I want answers!!! And more reading time.

There. That ought to do it. Sakura had made her demands and expectations quite clear and had followed up with the fact that she expected to read more from Itachi's copy.

She folded the paper and then exchanged the stack of parchment for the book on the floor.

It was Saturday morning, and she needed to change clothes and return the book to the restricted section before meeting with Lee and Kisame. From her place on the stairs going up, she could see the top of Itachi's head, which didn't even move at the creaking. Silently, she whispered good luck to him.

Had she remained a rabbit, her sensitive red eyes might have caught the movement of a disillusioned figure. But, as it was, she missed the figure moving further into the common room from the entrance.