"What do you think of Sakura-san, Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he leaned on the kitchen counter. It was the morning of what would be Sakura's second day. His little brother sat across from him on a barstool, finishing his breakfast. Itachi tried making it a point to spend breakfast and dinner with him. Their father had been a workaholic and had rarely been home for these moments—Itachi hadn't been much better himself. Now that their parents were gone, he was all Sasuke had.
But that's your fault. Do you think making him some breakfast will make up for that?
"I like her! She's nice." Sasuke pushed his now empty plate towards Itachi, who took it to the sink to scrape it. "But if she's your girlfriend, shouldn't you hold her hand?"
Itachi kept his expression neutral as he tried not to twitch. "She's your nanny only," he said patiently, placing the plate into the dishwasher. "Don't say anything to her about what Shisui told you. You don't want her to leave, right?"
He heard Sasuke sigh. "No, but why would she leave? You'd be the best boyfriend she could ever have." This was said with all the serious confidence a five-year-old could muster, a certainty that no one was better than his big brother.
He really needed to talk to Shisui about the ideas he was filling Sasuke's head with. He didn't need his cousin talking to his brother about his lack of a love life, never mind the fact that Sasuke was too young to understand the complications that came with such relationships.
Itachi turned his gaze out the window that was above the sink. It looked out over the backyard, which meant he saw Sakura's car pull into the garage he'd reserved for her. She was right on time, and this satisfied him. He couldn't abide tardiness.
However, that satisfaction turned to a wary alertness. Something was wrong. When she walked across the pavement, it was more of a trudge, her feet all but dragging. She kept glancing over her shoulder and then looking around at the rest of the yard, as if she thought someone was following her. She was clearly spooked about something.
He double checked the throwing knife that was strapped to his arm, beneath the sleeve of his shirt and met her at the back door. He opened it and greeted her cordially, taking note of the dark circles under her eyes and the way they nervously skirted over him. She looked very different from the girl who'd challenged him to a race the other day. He looked past her, out to the leaf strewn yard and saw nothing. If anyone else had been out there, they would have tripped his perimeter sensors. Even a Root agent wouldn't be able to enter his property without him knowing.
"Is everything all right, Sakura-san?" He stepped aside to let her in.
She pulled out her phone. "I need to show you something." Sakura held up the phone, which displayed an image of her in her car, leaving his driveway.
Root. He'd been expecting this. It was a basic scare tactic to drive the pink-haired med student away. Danzo was no fool, he knew Shisui and Itachi were scouting for Akatsuki recruits and an up and coming trauma surgeon recommended by Tsunade herself was a prime pick. However, Itachi could use this to his advantage. If Sakura did turn tail and run after this, she wasn't suited for the Akatsuki. They couldn't afford to bring someone who ran at the first sign of trouble into a war they were ahead in by a hair's width.
Itachi met Sakura's gaze. She was definitely rattled, but she'd come to work anyways. "I think it's time you took that self-defense class."
She frowned at him as she tucked her phone away in the bag that hung from her shoulder. "Right now?"
"Yes, I have some time." In the state she was in, she'd take the lesson more seriously.
He watched the realization dawn across her face with some amusement. "You're going to teach me?"
"Nii-san's really good with knives," Sasuke chimed in as he hopped down from the barstool.
Sakura frowned. "What kind of self-defense class is this going to be?"
This time Itachi did smile, if a ghost of one. "Come with me, bring your bag." He stepped past her and went through the back door, with Sasuke on his heels.
He took them to the building that was attached to the garage. Inside was a large open room, with stairs that led to a lounge. There was standard gym equipment on one side, with a massive TV dominating the wall. On the other side, the floor was covered in mats, with racks of various combat knives and guns on open display.
Sakura was gaping at the weapons. "I'm definitely not qualified to use any of those. Are those even legal?"
Itachi slipped off his shoes and motioned for her to do the same as he stepped onto the mat. "They are, but you will learn to use them at a later time." This was mostly said to gauge her reaction to the idea of handling weapons. She was looking at him as if she were trying to decide if he'd just made a joke or not.
Sasuke had settled himself in front of the TV to watch his favorite cartoon.
"For now, we'll focus on some basics." Itachi moved to the middle of the mat. "Grab your car key and come stand in front of me." This would hopefully give him an idea of her training potential. Some people took to combat naturally, while others didn't. He was hoping for the latter, since everyone in the Akatsuki needed to be capable of defending themselves. However, if her medical skills were as good as Tsunade claimed, he'd be willing to overlook it if she didn't prove to be adept in combat.
Sakura fished out her car keys, took off her own shoes, and joined him on the mat.
"You don't need a real weapon to hurt someone, let me see your key." What he was going to show her wouldn't necessarily work against a Root agent, but he wanted her to get the idea in her head that anything could be used as a weapon. The element of surprise could be just as dangerous.
She handed him her car key, which was a standard single key. "This can work with a touch-free key too, but this type is better." He gripped the key chain in a fist, the end of the key sticking out of his hand. "Hold it high and thrust downward at your target." He demonstrated by slowly bringing the key down towards her. "If you can, aim for the face, otherwise the neck." He gave her the key back to have her try.
Sakura gripped the key like he had and raised her arm before bringing the key down towards his face. She'd gotten his stance correct, but her execution was stiff and awkward. He didn't expect her to get these moves on their first lesson. This was to make her aware of them.
He had her practice with her car key several times before he had her put it away so they could move on to some other basics.
He had her stand in front of him with her back to him. "I'm going to grab you from behind and tell you how to react." He felt uncomfortable as he wrapped his arms around her, but he didn't let it show as he explained to her in a neutral tone how to bend forward from the waist to make it more difficult for him to pick her up, as well as giving her room to strike with her elbows.
If Shisui saw them like this, he'd never hear the end of it.
The next move was similar, except this time he trapped her arms and showed her how to shift her hip to prevent him from getting her into a headlock. "This frees your hands to hit your attacker in the groin."
He released her and stepped back. In that same moment, movement in the corner of his eye announced Shisui's presence as Itachi just barely raised an arm to block his cousin's fist. He grabbed Shisui's wrist and heaved, using his cousin's momentum to send him to the ground.
Sakura gaped at them, bewilderment written over her face. It was obvious that she hadn't seen Shisui jump down from the lounge. To her eyes, his cousin had come from nowhere.
Shisui grinned as he jumped to his feet. "And here I thought I'd get the jump on you while you're distracted by a pretty girl."
They both watched Sakura's face turn an interesting shade of red.
"What do you want, Shisui? I'm busy." It seemed he wasn't going to hear the end of this after all.
"You always say that!" Shisui pouted, but then his expression shifted into something more neutral. "I need to talk to you about that project you're working on."
Itachi frowned, but nodded. It was rare that an entire day passed without something cropping up. At least it wasn't as bad now that he knew Sasuke was being looked after. He hadn't been fond of having to leave Sasuke with their neighbors.
He turned to Sakura. "We'll do this again tomorrow."
Two weeks after her self-defense class, Sakura walked into Itachi's house to find Sasuke alone in the kitchen, coloring at the table. He looked less lively and when he glanced up at her approach, she saw worry in his expression, his brow furrowed. It was an odd expression to see on a five-year-old's face.
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun. Is something wrong?" She set her bag down on the table. Itachi always greeted her at the back door in the morning, but he hadn't today. There was no sign of him in the kitchen either.
"Nii-san's still sleeping. He told me to come down here and wait for you." The frown on Sasuke's face deepened.
That doesn't sound good. Itachi didn't seem like the sleep-in type, especially on a weekday.
"You said you're a doctor, can you fix him? His head hurts him sometimes."
Sakura tried picturing herself walking into Itachi's room and immediately shot that idea down. Ino would have jumped at the chance, and while Sakura was curious about what his room looked like, barging in on her sleeping employer sounded like a very bad idea.
"He'll be okay, he just needs sleep. What are you coloring?" She looked down at the paper only to have her attention pulled back to Sasuke when he slid off the chair and grabbed her hand, completely ignoring her attempt to divert his attention.
"Pleeeease, Sakura-san. If you fix his head, he can color with me!" Sasuke beamed up at her with the trusting gaze of a child who knew she would make everything better.
Do it for Sasuke. It's the perfect excuse.
Or the perfect disaster that gets me fired.
Sasuke tugged on her hand, pulling her towards the stairs. She decided it wouldn't hurt to check on Itachi. She was almost a doctor after all, so it was perfectly natural for her to want to check up on someone who wasn't feeling well. Going off of Sasuke's childish description, it sounded like a migraine.
On the second floor, at the door to Itachi's room, Sakura hesitated. At the very least, she could claim that she wanted to put Sasuke at ease. Finding her resolve, she opened the door. The room was dark, with only faint sunlight glowing around the edges of the curtains that blocked the two windows.
"Nii-san?" Sasuke darted across the thick carpet to the canopy bed that claimed the space between the windows.
"Sasuke, I thought I told you to wait downstairs," came Itachi's quiet response. He didn't sound annoyed, just tired.
Sakura joined Sasuke at his brother's bedside. Itachi had an arm thrown over his forehead and his eyes were closed, discomfort written into the lines of his face. At her approach, his eyes opened into narrowed slits.
"Is something wrong, Sakura-san?" He asked, disapproval dripped from his voice this time.
Sakura almost turned around and left. She was clearly overstepping boundaries by being here and while dealing with difficult patients was her specialty, she'd be a whole different level of stupid if she tried bullying him into accepting care.
She opened her mouth anyways. "I should be asking you that. How bad are your migraines?"
I'm totally getting fired for this.
"Nii-san," Sasuke whined. "She can make you better!" He climbed onto the bed and snuggled into Itachi's side.
Itachi sighed, his arm moving from his forehead as he placed a hand on top of Sasuke's head.
Sakura looked away, feeling like she was intruding. Itachi wasn't a child, he was an adult who was more than capable of taking care of himself. Instead, here she was, pestering him when he obviously wanted to be left alone.
"It depends on the day. What would you use to ease them?" Itachi's tired voice pulled her attention back to him. He almost looked speculative now. Curious even.
Maybe I'm not fired after all.
Sakura ended up spending the day watching, not just Sasuke, but Itachi too. She went back and forth between their rooms, playing ninja with Sasuke and making sure Itachi was comfortable. The former was disappointed that his brother wouldn't come out and play while the latter spent the majority of the time sleeping. When her shift came to an end, and Itachi was supposed to take over to make dinner for Sasuke, she stayed since Itachi was sound asleep and she didn't want to wake him.
After putting Sasuke to bed, she was half-asleep on the couch downstairs when a figure moved in the dark entryway. Sakura's mind immediately jumped to robbery as she grabbed a nearby vase and threw it at the shadow. There was an exclamation and the sound of expensive china shattering.
"Woah! Woah! Hold up there, Blossom!"
Sakura fumbled while turning on the lamp next to the couch and found Shisui standing in the ruins of her attack. Her hand flew to her mouth in horror. "Shi-Shisui-san! I thought—"
He waved her off, looking rueful. "Don't worry about it, I'm the one who snuck up on you. I'm fine, the vase though…"
Sakura spotted Itachi—who almost looked unfamiliar in his bedraggled state—on the stairs and caught a glimpse of something metallic in his hands before it was suddenly gone. Farther up the stairs stood a wide-eyed Sasuke.
"Sakura-san, why are you still here?" Itachi's voice could have cut steel.
She couldn't help but be annoyed at the sudden hostility. She was tired and had been here all day and this was the thanks she got? Ugh, rich people! "Well excuse me for wanting to make sure Sasuke had dinner and went to bed since you were sound asleep and I didn't want to wake you up. And trying to stop someone from robbing your house."
Shisui spoke up. "Wait, what? Itachi, since when do you sleep soundly?"
"He's had a migraine all day," Sakura said with a huff. He still looked like he had one right now, judging by the painful way his eyes kept narrowing. The lamp light would have been particularly bright to him after sleeping in a dark room all day.
Shisui clutched at his chest and adopted a wounded look. "My sick cousin doesn't even give me a call." And then his expression shifted to a serious tone as he looked at her. "You should go, Sakura-san. It's getting late and you look tired, I'll take over here."
These people were going to give her emotional whiplash. Sakura stepped gingerly through the broken china. She'd already packed her bag, which was sitting in the foyer. Shisui was right though, she was exhausted and she still needed to write a paper that was due tomorrow.
Shisui left—presumably to go get a broom—while Sakura heard Itachi tell Sasuke to go back to bed. She shouldered her bag and was about to open the door when Itachi beat her to it. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting to find you here this late." Sakura couldn't help but feel that Itachi wasn't someone who was easily surprised and liked being surprised even less. "You will, of course, be compensated for the overtime."
Sakura pursed her mouth. "I broke your vase. I'm pretty sure you should be deducting my pay."
"I don't know what you're talking about. It was Shisui that I saw with the broken vase." The echo of a smile touched Itachi's tired face. "Good night, Sakura-san."
Sakura's smile was relieved, if amused. Poor Shisui. "Good night, Itachi-san. Keep that warm compress around your neck, it'll help with the stiffness you're going to have tomorrow." She left the house, got into her car, and headed home. It was time to start the weekend.
Itachi didn't collapse on the couch, but he came close to it. He reached up to rub his acing temple. He could hear Shisui in the kitchen, which he knew was intentional because Shisui never made noise he didn't want to make. His cousin could move as silently as a ghost.
Shisui joined him in the sitting room with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. He handed Itachi one before claiming the opposite couch, setting his own mug on the coffee table. "Blossom there has quite the aim. Those self-defense lessons you're giving her must be catching on."
Itachi sipped at his cocoa. Sakura hadn't gotten the drop on his cousin. Shisui had let her hit him. "You never liked that vase," Itachi said.
Shisui smirked. "I got rid of the vase and got a peek at how your nanny would react to a threat. She's shaping up to be promising." He leaned back on the couch and crossed his hands behind his head. "Why didn't you call me? I could have put Sasuke to bed. I know how you get when you get those migraines…" Shisui paused and then his eyes narrowed. "You were testing her, weren't you?"
"I don't plan my migraines," Itachi said dryly. "I really did fall asleep."
"We both know you're not going to 'sleep soundly' with anyone other than me and Sasuke in the house, even if you had the biggest migraine in the history of migraines." Shisui leaned across the table, his grin widening. "You're getting comfortable around her." He picked up his mug and sat back. "Some advice though, getting irritable with someone who helped you isn't how you get them to like you."
Itachi sighed. "I don't need her to like me." His frustration that he'd slept through the evening, combined with the adrenaline inducing wake-up call that had been the shattering vase, had gotten the best of him. He'd come down the stairs expecting to find the house under attack, not Sakura staying late.
"But you do. I asked Tsunade-sama for advice on how to sway Sakura to our cause. She told me that Sakura is very protective of her friends. All you need to do is become her best friend, and she'll join. Which means, you need to get to know her."
Itachi glanced out the dark window behind Shisui. Tsunade couldn't recruit Sakura for them, since she was forbidden by the mayor to get directly involved—sending Sakura their way was already skirting that line.
He sipped at his mug again and returned his attention back to Shisui. The warm drink helped with the dull throbbing in his head. "What do you think I've been doing? She's proving my initial assessment to be correct. She's adept at taking care of Sasuke, is showing promise with the self-defense classes, and she's still here despite Root's threatening photo."
"That's observing her, Itachi. Getting to know someone means you have to talk to them. If she doesn't like you, then she's not going to sympathize with you, and then she's not going to handle the idea of a bunch of crime-fighting vigilantes very well."
Shisui stood up and downed the last of his cocoa before setting the empty mug on the coffee table. "I came to tell you that Nagato wants her recruited sooner than later. Since this is your mission, it's your call when to ask her, but keep what I said in mind."
His cousin moved towards the foyer, but paused and glanced over his shoulder. "We got that family Halloween party coming up…" He winked and then left through the front door.
Itachi regarded the mug in his hand. The Uchiha family party was mostly an excuse to throw a grand ball and show off their wealth. It was a formal affair that was invite only if you weren't part of the family.
It was the tradition to bring a date if you weren't married.
It was a few weeks away, but was that enough time to get Sakura comfortable around him enough that she'd go? His own discomfort on the subject didn't matter in the face of the mission. He didn't really do the whole friends thing—with Shisui being the outstanding exception, and only because they'd grown up together. Would she read too much into it if he asked her to come to the party with him? He'd have to clearly state to her that it would be a date, because that's what his family would assume she was.
Sighing, he moved to lock the front door. He was overthinking this and it was starting to make his head throb again. Itachi retrieved Shisui's mug from the coffee table and took both of them to the kitchen sink, then he headed upstairs to go back to bed. He needed a clearer head before he planned out what he was going to do with the time he had before the party.
He was almost asleep when he realized he'd forgotten to talk to Shisui about the kind of topics he was bringing up with Sasuke.
It was a busy Saturday afternoon at Konoha General Hospital and Sakura was on her lunch break, sitting at one of the round tables with a chicken salad sandwich and chips. The cafeteria around her was abuzz with movement from hungry staff and visitors alike. The windows were streaked with rain and offered a rather boring view of the parking lot.
She was so tired that watching the rain streak down the glass made her want to curl under the table and go to sleep. She'd just finished a surgery that had been closely supervised by Tsunade and she could still feel the heated glares of the other jealous interns. It's not my fault that I'm better than them.
"Good morning Sakura-san."
Itachi's voice didn't startle her this time as she glanced away from the windows to find him standing next to her table, wearing a trench coat over a dark sweater and dress pants. Maybe she was too tired to be surprised, or she'd gotten used to his sudden appearances.
There was no sign that he'd spent most of yesterday in bed. Meanwhile, she was fairly certain she looked like a wreck.
Her brow furrowed. There was only one reason people typically came to a hospital. "Is something wrong?" He looked perfectly fine, so of course her mind jumped to the other possibility. "Is Sasuke-kun okay?"
He claimed the chair opposite her. "I'm here on a social call. Are you busy?"
She glanced down at her lunch and then shrugged. "No." She picked up a chip and nibbled at the edge. "Do you want some?" If she'd been more awake, perhaps she wouldn't have been so casual with him.
"No, thank you." He looked concerned about something as he studied her. "Have you not been sleeping well, Sakura-san?"
Was that what was bothering him? Then again, she was the one responsible for his little brother during the week, and he likely didn't fancy her watching Sasuke while half-asleep on the job.
"I promise I'll be well rested by Monday." Hopefully. She had a lot on her mind lately, between working for him, school, and that ominous photo. In the weeks since she'd received that message, it'd been lurking in the back of her mind like an unpleasant bad feeling.
Itachi had brushed it off as someone from his family trying to scare her off because some of them didn't like non-Uchiha's hanging around the neighborhood, regardless if they were hired help or not. But that didn't explain how they'd gotten her number.
"That's not why I asked. If you need a day off or would like to change your schedule to start later, we can discuss it."
"Oh, uh…" She spotted Tsunade coming towards them and inwardly groaned when she saw the smirk on the busty blonde's face.
Tsunade stopped at their table. "A Uchiha, Sakura? I didn't think you were the swing for the rafters type, then again, who wouldn't want that?"
Mortification swept through Sakura as she stared in horror at her mentor. "Sensei! He's my boss! It's not like that." She was wide awake now and her face was burning.
To his credit, Itachi simply sat blank-faced.
"My mistake." Tsunade didn't look or sound repentant at all as she glanced at Itachi with an amused expression. "You're Fugaku's son, right?"
"Yes." Itachi's chilly tone sent a shiver up Sakura's spine.
"Did you need something, Sensei? I can hurry and finish my lunch." Wolfing down meals wasn't a skill she'd claim to be proud of, but there wasn't always time to devote to enjoying a meal due to her schedule.
Sakura didn't understand the look that passed between Tsunade and Itachi. Her mentor turned to her and shrugged. "Actually, I came down here to tell you to take the rest of the day off. You look like you could use it and I don't really need you today."
Free time? Yes! "Thank you!"
Tsunade plucked a chip off her plate. "Don't expect this to become a common occurrence, Sakura. I just want you to be well rested for the final exam before fall break." She shoved the chip into her mouth and left.
Now all Sakura wanted to do was finish her lunch—preferably before anyone else stole from her plate—and then go home and crash, but Itachi was still there. "I guess I'm not busy. Was there something you wanted to talk about?" She busied herself with eating her sandwich.
"I wanted to apologize again for my behavior last night."
The sandwich paused halfway to her mouth. She'd been so busy this morning that she hadn't even thought about that. "It's fine. I would have been annoyed too, if someone was throwing my expensive vases around and my cousin was sneaking into my house in the middle of the night."
There was an amused tilt to his mouth as he almost smiled at her. "You should tell Shisui that sneaking into people's houses isn't normal. He won't listen to me." He glanced down at her plate. "Finish your lunch." He rested an elbow on the table and propped his chin in the palm of his hand before closing his eyes. He didn't look like he was going to leave.
Sakura watched him with some confusion, but returned to eating her lunch. He remained in that position while she ate and she couldn't help but think that Itachi was certainly a better view than the rainy parking lot. Sensei is rubbing off on me. She had no idea why he was just sitting there. Surely he had places to be and things to do or did rich people have boring weekends too?
She finished her lunch and stood, her chair scraping across the tile. "I should get going, it was nice talking to you, Itachi-san."
He opened his eyes and stood. "Let me walk you out to your car."
She blinked at him in surprise. "Alright, I need to grab my things, then I'll meet you in the front lobby."
It didn't take her long to retrieve her bag from the employee locker room. When she got to the front lobby, Itachi was standing by the sliding doors with a closed umbrella in his hand. The receptionist behind the desk kept glancing slyly at him over her computer screen, but he ignored the girl with an aloofness that Sakura wished she could pull off. It looked like it'd come in handy.
Itachi followed Sakura out and when they left the cover of the entrance, he opened the umbrella and held it over both of them. "Thank you," she said, feeling a little awkward at his proximity. The rain pattered against the umbrella as they moved to cross the road.
The sound of an approaching engine was her only warning before Itachi dropped the umbrella and shoved her aside. She fell hard, with a surprised exclamation, and looked up just in time to see Itachi jump onto the hood of the oncoming sedan and run across the roof as the vehicle passed inches by her. He landed on his feet behind the car, which was speeding away.
Shaking off her shock at the spectacle, Sakura pulled out her phone to take a picture of the license plate. "Watch where you're going, you jerk!" She shouted. The car was gone before she could get the picture.
There were a few people who were gawking at them and Sakura couldn't blame them as she got to her feet and rushed over to Itachi. "Are you okay?! What was that person thinking?!"
"I'm fine, what about you?" He didn't look the tiniest bit ruffled by the fact that they'd almost gotten run over.
"Just some scraps and a wet butt, but how did you do that? People don't just run over cars like that in real life."
"I used to do parkour." He said it with such a straight face, but she didn't believe him.
"Okay, now you really are joking." She couldn't picture that at all, she was also pretty sure there were limits to what even a parkour expert could do.
He shrugged, but there was definitely an amused look in his eyes. He was totally toying with her, he had to be. Itachi moved to pick up the umbrella and then came back with it—not that it did either of them much good now. "Come with me to my car for a moment."
When they got to the black Audi, he handed her the umbrella and opened the trunk to reveal a first aid kit. He held out a hand. "Let me see your palm."
"I'm fine, really! It's barely bleeding." Though now that he'd drawn her attention to it, her scraped palm was making itself known with a burning stinging sensation. The adrenaline must have been wearing off.
Itachi continued to hold his hand out expectantly.
She sighed and tried not to blush as she placed her hand palm up in his hand while also ensuring they were still covered by the umbrella with her other hand. "This is ridiculous, there's a hospital right there." The words came out in a mutter as he rubbed antiseptic ointment into her skin before he wrapped some gauze around the injury. His fingers were warm, a stark contrast to the chill of the rain that fell around them.
Then he released her and put everything back in the first aid kit.
"Thank you." Her tone was more genuine now. "That car would have plowed right over me. We probably should call the cops though. A camera was bound to have picked that up."
He shut the trunk with a soft click. "I'll file a report, don't worry about it. You can keep the umbrella."
"I'll bring it back on Monday." He'd already been plenty generous by forgiving the vase incident. She didn't want to take his umbrella either.
He had an intent expression on his face now. "You don't seem shaken by what happened."
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. She chuckled nervously. "I'll probably freak out later and drown myself in ice cream to forget about it." Working under Tsunade had taught her to keep her head while under pressure. What happened after that pressure was gone was up to debate.
"Get some rest and I'll see you on Monday."
She smiled at him and nodded. "I'll do that." She felt like she could sleep for a week really. "Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Itachi-san." She went back to her car and when she got home, she immediately crashed on her bed while still wearing her scrubs.