
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/742272.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Naruto
  Relationship:
      Haruno_Sakura/Uchiha_Itachi
  Character:
      Haruno_Sakura, Uchiha_Itachi, Uchiha_Sasuke
  Series:
      Part 1 of To_Duel_With_Fate
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-03-31 Completed: 2013-04-09 Chapters: 3/3 Words: 21378
****** An Unlikely Seduction ******
by Mihkail
Summary
     Sakura swallows her pride and pays Sasuke a visit to apologize for
     something she had done the previous day, only for fate to throw her
     face-to-face and alone with his infamous older brother, Itachi
     Uchiha. Pleasantries unravel into a heated debate, and the mounting
     tension climaxes into the unfathomable. [One-shot][Non-mass]
Notes
     This one-shot is the result of a rather nasty virus that had left me
     with plenty of spare time to kill for a couple of weeks. I apologize
     for any typos and grammatical errors I may have overlooked.
***** A Pleasure to Meet You *****
Tap, tap, tap...
Sakura's knuckles beat softly against the door a second time, less
enthusiastically than the first.
Silence.
Pale veridian, once anxious and expectant, drifted slowly down the door to the
wooden porch. Her nerves began to calm as a blanket of gloom crept over her,
weighing heavier as the time passed. She'd only been there a minute or so, but
it felt like several more.
The gentle pattering of cool rain behind her did nothing to heighten her mood,
as it meant she'd have a long, drenched walk home. It had started out a light
sprinkle when she had entered Uchiha territory—sectioned off, but not alienated
from the rest of Konoha.
She could hear no sign of life from the other side of the door. Sasuke's door.
Well, his family's door.
On one hand, she was a little relieved. Trying to hold a serious conversation
with him, one where he actually participated, instead of answering 'hn.' to
everything she said, was like trying to walk on eggshells. Damn near impossible
at times. On the other hand, her nervousness would only be prolonged until she
found another chance to speak to him.
This time it would be harder than usual, though...because this time, she knew
she needed to apologize. It wasn't something she did very often, because
honestly, she never needed to. Well, in her opinion, she didn't. Not because
she was too stuck up, but because she always tried so hard not to give anyone a
reason to need an apology from her. Sure, she got in minor cat fights with Ino
sometimes—that girl was so full of herself—and sure, sometimes she smacked
Naruto around—he was such a perv!—but that was it.
She wasn't a mean person. She didn't even like to argue. Yeah, she would, in
order to stand up for something she believed in, but...
It was just so hard to understand him. He didn't make it easy for her.
She had lost it yesterday. Ripped him a new one loud enough to turn the heads
of every villager within the block. At first, she hadn't regretted it. She had
told him exactly what she felt he needed to hear, and exactly what she needed
to get off her chest, but...but then...
There was nothing to gain by losing face in public like that. Airing their
dirty laundry in front of everyone. She had only herself to blame, too.
And so here she was, swallowing her pride.
Swallowing it in vain, perhaps. If she was lucky, she could avoid him slamming
a door in her face the next time she found him.
Why couldn't he just make sense for once! Then she could stop being so
frustrated with him all the time. He was like a closed book wrapped up with
barbed wire and paper bombs.
Sakura turned around, sandals shuffling quietly along the clean porch as she
faced the downpour that awaited her. Her eyes narrowed glumly as she cursed her
luck, and a roll of thunder boomed overhead.
Before she could take her first step, the front door slid open behind her
suddenly. A rush of nerves reawakened within her, and she spun around more
hastily than she meant to.
"Sasuke, I—..."
She froze as she stared up at the man almost a head taller than her teammate.
Eyes of coal blinked slowly down at her, wisps of dark hair falling loose from
his ponytail and framing his pale face. A robe in shades of black and midnight
blue adorned him, with the familiar Uchiha crest close to his shoulder.
Her mouth was left to hang open as she took him in, feeling a bit foolish...yet
unaware that she looked even more foolish as she gawked. His face was decidedly
tired looking, more so than usual. Soft creases drew up his cheeks to a half-
lidded gaze as he stared right back at her silently. Waiting.
Sputtering as she attempted to shake herself from her daze, she blurted,
"Itachi!"
His eyes followed her movements as she bowed low before him. Stoic at first, he
had a way of easily instilling her with a sense of exposure as she hovered
there, unsure of what to do next. Clearly she hadn't been expecting him, of all
people, to open the door. Like he didn't also live there, or anything... Silly
girl.
"I'm sorry if I—...did I wake you? I was just...mm...I was looking for Sasuke."
She fumbled as she rose up, curiously innocent eyes meeting his ever calm ones.
With the time it had taken for him to answer the door, the look he greeted her
with, and his rather comfortable looking attire, she could only assume he'd
been napping. It was only mid-morning, but she knew his schedule was different
from theirs. He was a busy man, and she rarely caught a glimpse of him. She
couldn't guess what kind of missions he was assigned, and consequently, what
kind of hours he kept.
The seconds blended into eternity as she endured the weight of his gaze, and
tried not to fidget too much. They lingered briefly over the pastel pink of her
short hair, and down the slope of her pale neck to the cream colored yukata she
wore, painted with a floral pattern of yellow and blue. The semblance of a
porcelain doll. So uncharacteristically feminine of her, truly...and it dipped
lower than it should for someone her age.
When he failed to answer her, Sakura felt the first sign of a cold sweat tickle
down her back. She was acutely aware of her reaction, yet unable to understand
it, much to her frustration. He was her elder, Sasuke's brother, and largely
unfamiliar to her, but why in the world was she feeling so jittery?
She couldn't take it anymore.
"I-I'm Sasuke's te-"
"I know who you are, Sakura-."
Her throat tightened when he interrupted her, and a sense of inferiority
crushed into her chest, making her feel as if she shrunk another foot under
him.
And yet, she vaguely wondered how he knew her name. She couldn't recall ever
introducing herself to him before. Every once in a while she'd see him in
passing, but she'd never even spoken to him until now. Did...did that mean
Sasuke talked about her sometimes?
"Oh.." She peeped quietly, tearing her eyes from his to glance away awkwardly.
Hearing him sigh, she nearly turned and fled right then and there, overwhelmed
with embarrassment—half of which she still couldn't comprehend—but then she
heard the door shift again, and saw him step to the side from the corner of her
eye.
"My apologies, where are my manners?"
Her eyes shot wide and flickered back to him intently at the sound of his soft
voice, witnessing him grace her with a shallow bow, and outstretch his arm to
offer her the open doorway.
"Sasuke isn't home right now, but please...come in."
Flitting between his bowing head and offering hand, she blinked one too many
times in her confused state, and then stuttered like a hopeless little girl at
her first day of ninja school.
"O-oh, uhm...o-ok!"
The main hall was cool and dim as she entered, leaving her sandals by the front
door. The rain continued its muffled symphony on the roof above them, providing
the only sound that could fill the cryptic void between their exchanges. Her
heart was still beating slightly faster than it should, but she was somewhat
reassured now.
It was then, as she gazed around in wonder at the family portraits and
heirlooms sparsely decorating their immaculately kept rooms and walkways, that
she realized this was the first time she'd even been inside Sasuke's home.
It was also then, as she faintly heard the front door shift closed behind her,
that she realized she was alone with Uchiha Itachi, whom she knew almost
nothing about, and had only found him admirable and somehow intimidating even
from a distance.
"Y-you have a lovely home." She forced cheerfully as she turned, flashing him a
smile.
His dark eyes settled on her as he faced her with another silent pause...one
that brewed a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was like he could
see right through her without even trying, and it made her want to squirm.
But what he was actually seeing left her clueless...and that, she decided, was
the most nerve-racking part.
"Thank you." He murmured, and wandered slowly past her and down the hall,
leaving her eyes to trace after him as she swallowed thickly.
"Would you like some tea?" Calling over his shoulder, she nearly tripped over
the hem of her yukata as she lifted it to follow him clumsily.
Seriously, what was wrong with her? She was never like this.
"Sure!"
It sounded more enthusiastic than she'd meant for it to, unintentionally
overcompensating for the uncertainty and nervousness that plagued her. And if
he hadn't been walking right in front of her, she would've face-palmed.
She followed him into a room with a low, empty table in the center, and let him
guide her to one of the crimson square cushions surrounding it. Smoothing the
fabric against the back of her legs, she flattened it and sat down on her
knees, attempting to appear as casual and comfortable as she possibly could. Of
course this was no big deal, so she shouldn't feel like it was. She was simply
waiting for Sasuke to come back and...hopefully she could squeeze a sentence or
two from him before he threw her out.
The older Uchiha stopped in front of the doors next to her, and slid them both
open to reveal the porch, and a lush garden with a koi pond beyond, with a
wooden bridge arching over top. The raindrops speckled the glassy pond,
blurring the drifting shapes of orange and white below its surface.
"What would you like?"
It took a moment for her head to swivel back in his direction, captivated by
the scene as she was. She suddenly felt so formal...like a true guest.
"Hm? Oh, uhmm..." And there she goes sounding like an incompetent oaf again.
"Do you have jasmine tea?"
With a quick nod, he turned and left her sight, abandoning her in a room lit
only by the cool, reflecting lights of the garden at her side. Her nerves
relaxed almost instantly, lulling her into a state of peace and wonder that
hadn't comforted her in quite some time.
Now, she almost felt guilty for being so jittery in front of him...as if it was
an insult. With this kind of treatment, it was somewhat rude of her, wasn't it?
Granted, she hadn't been able to control it, but still...it made her feel a
little ridiculous. In the least, he seemed to have more manners than Sasuke
after all—that brat.
Even so, she couldn't suppress the butterflies that whirled around inside her
whenever she thought of him. As blunt and cold as he could be, she cared about
him...probably far more than she should. Enough that she couldn't help but walk
all the way here just to apologize for going off on him about something that,
honestly, he really did need to hear.
By the time he returned, she had all but fallen into a meditation. Staring out
into the red leaves of the maple tree that reached over the pond, casting its
shadow where some of the koi huddled, the pink and blue flowers that encircled
the borders...man, she wished her parents had enough money for one of these.
She could sit there all day and sip tea with a view like that.
The soft clink of an iron teapot setting on the table in front of her drew her
attention back to reality. The steam wafted upward as he filled her small,
handle-less cup almost to the brim. The mild, floral scent filled the room, and
she was unable to keep a smile off her face as she took the cup with both hands
and held it to her...heedless of the stealthy, dissecting gaze that explored
her features.
"How did you know my name? If...if you don't mind me asking. I mean, this is
the first time we've met, I think."
Her speech was slower, sounding more sure of herself and renewed with courage
as she looked up at him. As to be expected, he didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he poured himself a cup, and settled down on the cushion opposite her.
In his thoughtful pause, she wondered how strange it was to be sitting there so
close to him—the man Sasuke looked up to above all others, and worked so hard
to impress—alone in their own home...as if they'd been close friends for years
already, when they were hardly acquaintances. She also wondered why he would
bother to entertain her. Surely he could have left her to wait for Sasuke by
herself. But...that would have been a bit inconsiderate, she supposed.
The Uchiha let the flashes of memories unfold as he relaxed under her watchful
eyes. Ah yes, he did know her. He knew probably much more than she thought he
ever could, and probably much more than she ever wanted him to. He was an ANBU,
after all. One of his top priorities was gathering intel, and he was so
advanced at it by now that it was a natural talent of his, even when he wasn't
working. He noticed things most others did not. Things that were so subtle, yet
so important. He noticed people that had glimpsed him so rarely they'd never
remember him. People like her...Haruno Sakura.
And he'd witnessed her interactions with his younger brother many a time.
Sasuke never spoke of her, but he knew exactly who she was...and he knew how
hopelessly in love with him she was, and how it ate away at her nibble by
nibble, consuming her so slowly she'd never get the chance to save herself.
That's why she was here today. She loved him. She would do anything for him.
She was an absolute, spell-bound fool, that came crawling to beg forgiveness
for something she likely needn't be redeemed for at all. Something so
unnecessary, or something that had never been her fault to begin with.
Hell, she would even agree that the sky was purple, if Sasuke insisted it was.
That's the kind of girl Sakura was. He could read her plain as day.
Part of him took pity on her.
Part of him cringed in annoyance at the thought of someone as emotionally weak
as her.
Part of him wanted to burst from his traditional stoic demeanor and literally
slap some sense into her.
And part of him...found his eyes slipping up the length of the table, past the
iron pot, and exploring the the sharp neckline of her yukata, and the slender
throat that craned above it.
When his eyes climbed to meet her again, betraying not a single one of his
thoughts, he found her head cocked slightly, as she stared back at him with an
openness and innocence that stirred something foreign within him.
Or perhaps foreign wasn't the right description. No... This was something he'd
felt before. Not on a regular basis, but he still recognized it.
Feral. That was the word. Something basic and instinctual.
Shutting his eyes briefly to recollect himself, he began with a deceivingly
bland, yet polite tone.
"Sasuke has mentioned you."
He lied...and then instantly regretted it as he saw her face light up, yet she
was clearly trying to seem less ecstatic than she truly was to hear those
words.
"He's mentioned you too..."
She smiled fondly and looked down at her tea, mood increased dramatically by
the false hope that had been fed to her.
"He's always talking about how powerful you are, and how fast you learn... He
says he's going to be as good as you one day."
She took a sip finally, missing the faint smirk that touched him.
Her eyes clouded as thoughts of yesterday returned then, and the reason she was
here in the first place.
"He can be so...so stubborn sometimes, though." A small voice admitted,
beginning her slow tumble down a treacherous path as the older Uchiha listened
quietly.
"I know he trains more than Naruto and I do, and I know he's good...but he
doesn't have to be so arrogant. Like he's better than us. He's such a loner
too, when we're on missions... Even if he doesn't need us, we're still a team!"
She paused briefly to sip at her tea.
"I remember when we were little, and...and he...he was nicer then. We'd play
tag sometimes, and...he was always faster than me, and sometimes I'd get mad,
but...it was still fun."
She was gone now, sinking deeper and deeper into her own self-absorbed world as
a collage of images bombarded her. Still, he listened patiently.
"See, that's what I don't get. He was stronger than we were even then, but he
wasn't such an...such an ass! He was fun to be around, and didn't act like I
was a pest all the time."
An angry sigh puffed from her nose. She hadn't even noticed his untouched cup
of tea left sitting on the table.
"He changed so suddenly. Now when he looks at me, he seems so cold. He just
doesn't—"
"—give you enough attention."
He finished her sentenced, causing her to look up in surprise, ripping her from
her selfish rant.
Before she knew it, a light blush was spreading over her cheeks, and she froze
under his stare...hard and knowing. The kind of stare Kakashi sometimes gave
her when reprimanding her. Once again, she was left feeling inferior.
"W-well...I...I didn't mean... I don't need his attention. I just... It's not
like that or anything—"
"Sakura..."
Her lips seals shut, and she hesitantly looked up at him, resembling a scolded
puppy. It would've made him chuckle under his breath if he hadn't felt the
sting of irritation. She was so immature in so many ways...far too immature for
the accentuating yukata she wore. It bestowed upon her a false sophistication
and allure she shouldn't possess. How old was she anyway...fifteen? Ah, his
mind was wandering out of bounds again.
"You make it quite obvious."
"Wh...what quite obvious?" She asked warily.
"I can see you drool over him a mile away. Everyone can."
If her eyes had grown any wider, they would've popped out of her skull. The
blush surged over her, staining her a vibrant fuscia as her rattled nerves
returned, and she felt even more exposed than when he had first opened the door
on her.
Okay, so it wasn't a secret, really. Naruto and Ino were well aware of her one-
sided affection for Sasuke. But Itachi? How could he know?! Oh Kami...this was
so embarrassing. She didn't want him to know!
But...why?
She couldn't think of a good reason. It was just so weird. He was his older
brother! He wasn't supposed to know about her unrequited love!
"I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't have rambled like that. He's your younger brother
and...I shouldn't be—" She shut her eyes tightly and sighed, falling silent. A
slight frown tugged at her lips, and the look of shame and frustration claimed
her as obviously as the redness in her cheeks.
Itachi observed every detail of her. The childish pout, the ceaseless longing
she didn't know how to cope with, her awkwardness...an awkwardness she was even
aware of, and didn't know how to change.
In a swift motion that surprised even him a little, she clanked her teacup
loudly onto the wooden table and leaned forward with her face in her hands,
overcome with a whirlwind of emotion.
"I just want to know why... Why am I not good enough?!"
She couldn't stop herself. A voice in the back of her mind pleaded with her to
shut her big fat mouth, but she couldn't. She didn't know what had overcome
her. There she was, spilling her own intimate feelings to a man that quite
frankly scared her, and probably just looked down on her, like Sasuke
did...feelings she didn't even share with Ino. But she just couldn't stop. It
was like an avalanche that couldn't be restrained once it broke free.
Itachi said nothing. She didn't know whether to be relieved, or to feel even
more ashamed of herself to be left with only the rain to answer her outburst.
But what could he tell her anyway? What did she honestly expect him to say? If
she were in his shoes, she'd probably just dismiss herself and get the hell out
of there before she was buried by the baggage.
"He will never love you, Sakura."
The words sank into her like merciless daggers, torturing her as much as they
stunned her...the last words she had ever wanted to hear...and they left her
gripping tightly into her pink hair as she struggled to regain control over her
emotions, and suppress the tears that crept behind her shut eyes.
"You're not an Uchiha."
Time stood still. Her mind focused sharply, hanging onto his next, equally
unexpected words that doused the pain she had felt, and overshadowed it with a
rush of curiosity, then disbelief, and finally indignation.
"...What?"
It fells as a near whisper. Her hands slipped away, revealing the intensity in
her eyes as she scrutinized him. Anger churned inside her, warming her chest
into a tangible sensation as she felt the heat prick over her skin. How could
he say something like that? She wasn't an Uchiha? What did that have to do with
anything? How should that matter?!
For a split second, his steely black gaze seemed apologetic, yet if he
regretted the statement, he gave no voice to it.
He glanced down at the small pink lips that flapped wordlessly, clamoring to
find the right sentence to begin her rant as she scoffed and leaned away from
the table...but he started first.
"Forgive my lack of tact, but I'm telling you this for your own good. Sasuke is
a member of the Uchiha clan, and a promising one at that."
Sakura blanched as she listened to him.
"He has no business wasting his energy chasing girls at the moment, and any
interest he does show in the future will be to another suitable member of our
clan. Sakura, you are not an Uchiha. It is within your best interest to accept
this fact now, and move on."
She was floored. And he took the opportunity she gave him to continue educating
her—as he would put it.
"Of course, there are some Uchihas that date and inevitably marry outside of
our clan, but such will not be the case with Sasuke. When the time comes for
him to settle down, which won't be for a while, he will do as our father
expects him. I'm sorry, Sakura..."
The girl, who looked so much younger than him, jumped up from her comfortable
seat and threw her hands in the air in exasperation and denial. A whirl of
yellow and blue swished past as she turned her back on him to face the wall,
fists clenching at her sides as a rage filled her.
Itachi held back a sigh as he watched her as calmly as ever, keeping any sign
of emotion he felt to himself, as was his tendency.
She was shaking lightly, he noted. Not taking the news well at all...but that
was no surprise. One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, she would realize
that his cruel words had done her a service.
"What does an Uchiha have that I don't?!" She nearly shouted as she spun back
around, forgetting the fear and respect she'd once held for him when her fiery
nature seized the spotlight.
The black orbs that met her were just like his...just like Sasuke's...judging
her, underestimating her. Who the hell did they think they were?
"You know, I can see it now..." Her eyes narrowed suddenly as she glared at
him.
"Yeah. It makes sense. You're the reason he acts the way he does. He gets his
arrogance from you."
Their staring contest broke when he looked down, more in disappointment than
defeat. The muscles of his jaw flexed in the dim light as he clenched lightly.
She was completely misunderstanding him and blowing this all out of proportion.
"Sakura, please sit down."
"No!"
She pouted, arms crossing defensively over her chest as she turned to face the
serene garden that painted a perfect picture of beauty, finesse,
structure...everything she currently lacked.
"To expect him to marry someone just because they're a clan member... What if
he doesn't want to? How could you do that to him?!"
"Sasuke will never be pressured by me to do anything." He corrected her
passively.
"He can choose to love whomever he wants. But in the end, he will marry within
our clan. It's just as much his choice as it is our father's. He will follow
our tradition."
The calm, half-lidded stare wandered up the length of her jutting hip and
lingered around the snugly crossed arms that did nothing more than enhance her
childish aura...and yet, consequently endowed her with cleavage she had lacked
when they had been resting at her sides moments ago. It was small, but he could
see the swell of her chest spilling above her forearms, and the soft sloping
crease that peaked from the parting V in her yukata. Did she even know she
hadn't wrapped it properly? It wasn't intended to be as revealing as it
was...and he found it increasingly difficult to tear his eyes from the sight of
her.
A scowl answered him as she stared angrily through the short, brightly colored
trees ahead, refusing to look at him.
"This was a mistake. I never should have come here."
Another whirl of color signaled her retreat as she made for the door, storming
past him and the unfinished tea at their small table.
"I am more woman than he can handle anyway."
The last, sharp huff she gave under her breath bound her to a fate she never
could have seen coming. Not from a mile away, if the signs had been there. She
was too naïve, and indeed, too immature to see.
But she could feel, and when his hand caught her by the arm and spun her into
the wall, she felt an eruption of contrasting emotions and instinctive fear
that she wasn't prepared for.
The hallway that offered her source of escape had disappeared in a blue of
shadows as she was ripped off balance, and her back thumped against the wooden
wall of the tearoom. She was overwhelmed in an instant, and acutely conscious
of her physical position, and the position of a once reserved and standoffish
Uchiha now rendering her immobile.
Her heart thundered in her chest while her breath ceased in her throat. She was
facing the garden once more, but her vision was dominated by the eyes of
Itachi, black and boring into her so intently that she forgot how to inhale.
His breath was hot, and it wafted over her face in a bath of steam.
Each of his hands held a firm grip on each of her wrists, and they were keeping
them pinned to the wood behind her, leaving his chest to press into hers.
"You boast as if you could possibly know what it is to be a woman, Sakura."
She couldn't react. Even if she could, she wouldn't know how to. All of her
attention was sucked into the feeling of him pressing into her, warming her as
his form smothered hers from head to toe, keeping her still against the wall.
Clearly, something had snapped within him. And yet, he somehow possessed the
same amount of control that he had earlier. It was just...his intent had spun
completely off course... There had been no warning. She hadn't stood a chance,
and she had no idea what to do in this a situation like this, with someone like
him...of all people.
"H-..how..."
The impossibly soft syllable was a near squeak when he heard it, and he watched
her swallow with difficulty.
"How would you know..."
They were words that ought to have been fired from a much more confident and
sassy girl, but it took everything she had left just to force them past her
lips...and somehow, they sounded so innocent as she stared doe-eyed at him.
He listened to her pounding pulse as he studied her. She was so terrified, and
so much more naïve than she could ever begin to understand, really.
Leaning closer to her, she tensed, and a flurry of panic raged through her as
it registered that he was about to kiss her...but then his cheek brushed along
hers gently, and she exhaled audibly, left to stare past him.
"Is that an invitation?" His deep voice vibrated into her ear, causing her to
gasp, and another, true squeak of alarm piped from her throat involuntarily.
"Wh-what..."
The frail whisper was lost over his shoulder, and he pulled back enough for his
breath to ghost down her chest with the tilt of his head.
"Your yukata is too revealing. Your mother shouldn't have let you leave the
house." His statement murmured close to her skin, sending a chill down her
spine as her mind struggled to understand what was happening to her.
Without warning, a shift of fabric and the lightest of tugs guided the sash
around her waist to loosen, before falling away, quicker than she could realize
that one of her wrists had been set free in the motion. A strangled cry burst
from her in shock, and her able hand made a dive to smack him away from her
instinctively, but he caught her again and pinned her once more firmly to the
wall with a thud.
A sinking dread overcame her as she felt the long flaps of floral print glide
open, revealing a bare strip of flesh down the center of her chest and abdomen,
and below, a patch of blue panties. The sash pooled at her feet.
Her weight shifted as he held onto her, as if she was trying to slide down the
wall to the ground and hide herself from him, but he wouldn't let her go. He
had only just begun...
Goosebumps tightened over her skin as she felt his eyes roam over her freely.
She was at a loss for words, and could merely gape at him in crippling
bewilderment.
He pulled back, letting his eyes travel back up to meet hers, serving to trap
her within their hypnotic depths while one hand dared to release her, and
resurface beneath one flap of her robe. She felt it, yet her muscles were as
limber as concrete, save for the light, reflexive twitching of her waist
reacting at the touch of his warm fingers and cool air.
His palm pet slowly up the side of her ribcage, and cupped the swell of her
small, bare breast beneath the silky cloth. The pad of his thumb tickled
lightly over the tender button of flesh, and he leaned down to drop a feather
of a kiss on her throat.
The simplest touches sent her slacking in his grip as she seemed to lose the
ability to stand upright, and a fearful cry echoed in the room.
She felt his lips pause, and a smile grazed her neck as he lingered there.
"You've never been touched by a man."
His conclusion was quiet, confident, and accusing...and she was unable to argue
with him as a desperate, shamed whimper was all she could muster.
He was right. He had won. Now he could let her go, and she could scurry on her
way and never, ever bother him again. Or anyone in the Uchiha clan, for that
matter. She'd stay far away from their section of the village from this day
forward, like a good girl. Yes, she'd learned her lesson.
But his last grip on her wrist hadn't budged, and neither had the presence of
his lips resting on her neck.
"S-Sasuke..."
He paused at the name.
"He will b-be home soon...you said...h-he's coming back." It was a pathetic
attempt to get him to release her, but it was all she could think of at the
moment. No matter how annoying Sasuke thought she was, surely he'd never put up
with his brother touching her like this. Would he...?
Teeth replaced lips as he grinned into her throat.
"I never said he was coming back." He corrected her.
"I said he wasn't home right now. Sasuke won't return for a few days. He's on a
mission."
The young girl's chest heaved in a panic as the news sank into her, like a
punch in the gut. In a flight of terror, she strained and thrashed against him,
trying to break free. Back arching off the wall, she threw herself into him and
yanked her wrist down, only to have him push her back against the wall and
seize control of her arms, locking them in front of her chest and between them
as he wrapped his arms around her, effectively stilling her moments, as his
strength surpassed hers.
"What are you afraid of, Sakura? I thought you were more woman than he could
handle." His husky voice teased into her ear.
Gritting her teeth, she shut her eyes and submitted to defeat in his arms. She
couldn't move anymore, not with the way he clamped her down.
"You!" She gave a weak, shaky cry, and a single tear streaked soundlessly down
her cheek.
"Shhhh..." The constriction around her shoulders and waist slackened slowly,
and she shuddered as warm lips caught the tear before it could reach her jaw.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"Then let me go!" Forcing the strength to return to her voice, she pleaded
loudly with him.
For she couldn't command him. Not anymore. It had taken him only a few short
seconds to prove to her how helpless she was...how little she could truly
protect herself.
"No."
The answer thickened her heart into stone, and sent her insides squirming
fearfully.
"Why?" A hoarse whisper returned, snuffing out the strength she had fought to
hard to regain.
The weight of his chest disappeared, and he put just enough distance between
them that she could manage to look up into his eyes. His hands pulled her arms
open, and drifted to the flaps of her robe, slowly pulling them open to glide
down her shoulders.
For a second time, she lost the ability to breathe, feeling the damp air of the
room collide against her bare chest and thighs. In one simple motion, she was
left in nothing but pale blue panties as the fabric cascaded down to the floor,
collecting around her in a useless heap that once protected her.
Her hands balled into fists and retreated to her chest as she plastered herself
against the wall of her own volition.
"I'm going to help you forget about him."
Pale lips opened to speak, but no words came, and she was paralyzed as he pried
her arms open and drew her into his chest. Broad hands spread over her naked
back, kneading gentle patterns into her, and slowly relaxing her muscles as his
mouth returned to her neck. Patches of searing hot and chilling cold made her
shiver as his tongue lapped over her, tasting her from just below her earlobe
down to the slope of her shoulder, then to the front of her neck beneath her
chin, and to the opposite side.
It took mere seconds for her to notice a creeping warmth nestle between her
legs, growing steadily hotter as a tingling sensation she wasn't very used to
spread inside her. Confusing her just as much as his actions.
How was this evening happening...? No amount of words could convey the extent
of her confusion and shock. This man was touching her in ways she honestly
hadn't even imagined before. Not only that, but she hardly knew him, and he
was Sasuke's brother...and...and the feeling...inside of her... She couldn't
even understand if it was good or bad anymore. It was impossible to explain,
yet so intense. Dominating her senses and poisoning her mind.
She wanted to scream and cry, beg him to leave her alone, because she couldn't
take it anymore...but all that came out was a soft, uncertain moan as he hit a
certain spot at the base of her neck, close to her collar bone.
"Itachi...?" She called meekly, sounding so unsure.
"Just relax." His purr heated her skin, and she felt his hands curve over the
slope of her ass and down the backs of her thighs as he slid lower, planting
kisses down the center of her chest, between her breasts. A hot tongue lathered
her, sweeping across the pink bud and sending a taste of electric ecstasy
dancing through her as her head fell back.
His lips latched onto her, sucking her into his mouth while his tongue
continued to tease. A gasping squeak strained from her, but it did nothing to
prepare her for the touch of his hand that spread up her inner thigh, and
caressed her veiled, virgin lips.
"Ah! No!" She yelped suddenly and tried to pull away from him, blushing
furiously as the sensation of his hand lingered even after she shifted out of
his reach, and made her feel even stranger.
She didn't get far, as he reigned her between his chest and the wall, and rose
up to look into her eyes. Her lips parted as she felt them brush against his.
He kissed her tenderly, stopping her in her tracks as his breath mingled with
hers.
"Let me touch you, Sakura." He whispered into her, and kissed her again with a
feathery touch, forcing her to betray her own common sense as he warped her
with a timid desire.
She couldn't look away from him, and found that every time their gazes locked,
she lost the will to move as well.
The feel of his hand gliding tantalizingly slow over her belly was impossible
to ignore, and she sucked in a ragged breath as he dipped below the hem of her
panties, and cupped her, running his fingers over, and then between the bare,
silken lips. Never letting his eyes drop from hers.
She was already wet...but that didn't come as a surprise. It was no secret that
she was a virgin. Did she even touch herself, he wondered...? Probably not very
much, if at all.
What did intrigue him was just how wet she was. Soaking, to be precise.
His fingers glided easily into her, massaging firmly over the small, fleshy
pearl. A flood of heat panted over his shoulder and down his back as she fell
against him, and clung to him with a steel grip, arms scooping under his and
digging into his back as a chorus of moans and gasps rang out into the garden
behind them with every pass of his fingers.
Whether she liked it or not, her inhibitions had been torn from her the moment
his hand buried between her legs. The bolts of pleasure took control of her,
tormenting her with desire and clouding her judgment as she ground against him
slowly, curiously. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing, yet somehow it
seemed natural. She'd never experienced anything like it before...and all she
knew was that he couldn't stop now. She'd lose her mind if he stopped.
When two of his fingers plunged inside her, she arched her back, losing herself
as the pleasure built quickly. She was tight...impossibly tight. He swore under
his breath, letting his eyes slip closed in concentration as he explored her
from the inside, spreading her gently with his fingers as she instinctively
opened her legs wider.
With a grunt, he pulled her from the wall and laid her down on the floor. A
dazed and dangerously trusting look followed his movements as he slipped the
saturated panties down her hips and legs.
His fingers dove inside her once more as he crawled over her, and she writhed
beneath him helplessly. The sound of his name panted desperately from her lips,
lost in a mixture of passion of uncertainty, and he sank deeper into her,
stopping only when he felt the thin barrier of tissue brush against his
fingertips. She didn't seem to notice, or care, as her back arched and pressed
her chest into him.
Managing to loosen the tie on his robe without rising off her, he pulled it
open. Bare, pale chest defined with lean muscle fell overs hers, welcoming her
twin points, stiff in arousal, to brush against him.
His palm ground circles into her clit as her explored her, and as another
breathy moan rushed into his ear, he let his face fall to the crook of her
neck. A drawn out groan rumbled into her.
He wanted her. He had to have her. Even if Sasuke did show up and walk in on
them, he doubted he could stop. Even if she had a change of heart, and screamed
at him to get off her...he doubted he could stop then, too.
She was so small, so inexperienced, and so sensitive...
He wanted to feel her legs hook around him and squeeze.
He wanted to hear her scream.
Kami, he would... He would hear her.
There was no turning back.
Itachi sat up, letting his robe fall from his shoulders down his arms, and
tossed the garment over top her discarded yukata against the wall. She stared
at him in hazy wonder once his fingers left her, and when she saw his nude form
emerge over her, her eyes widened.
Her soft pants changed as fear slithered back into her. The sight of a tall,
erect member—the first one she'd ever seen—intimidated her just as much as the
Uchiha himself did.
"What are you doing...?" She whispered nervously, rising up on her elbows, only
to have him cage her back down and ravage her chest and neck with his tongue
and lips.
Strong arms hooked under her knees, pulling her open and leaving her exposed to
him. Quivering, wet thighs smacked against his hips as he let his weight ease
down on her, and she gave a mewl of despair, finding herself trapped as the
touch of something hot and pulsing rested against her soft entrance.
The thudding heart in his chest wasn't nearly as profound as hers, but his
breath grew ragged as he fought the urge to rip through her with one clean
thrust. Although...in all fairness, it was probably for the best. Like tearing
off a bandaid...best done quickly.
"Remember when I said I wasn't going to hurt you?" He murmured in a deceptively
gentle voice into her ear.
Silence answered him, as she felt a knot of dread lodge in her throat.
"I lied."
"Wh-what?" Frantic, pleading eyes stared up at the ceiling over his shoulder as
she choked out, unable to move as he kept her pinned in place, and in the next
moment, a fire erupted inside her that she never could have been prepared for.
A shrill, blood-curdling scream rang out into the garden and beyond, turning
more than one alarmed head in the distance as it echoed down the block.
The hint of a regretful cringe twisted his face, largely overshadowed by a
brief euphoria as her tight clutch adjusted slowly to his size. He heard her
sob uncontrollably, and felt her nails raking desperately into his back...only
fueling him to pump deeper into her reflexively.
"Stop! Please...!" She cried against him, fighting to break free and escape the
pain.
"Do not fight me... Relax." He growled sternly, unmoving, and kissed her neck
as he waited for her to calm down.
"No..." She whimpered in defeat, wincing when she felt him move slowly within
her after a moment. The pain was unbearable at first, and she shuddered and
clenched under him with each slow pump.
"Kami..." The hiss sounded painful as his breath beat against her, yet he was
merely fighting to control himself as her hot sheath tormented him, pulsing
around him as he sank a full thrust deep into her core.
The steel grip of her fingers pawed desperately into the flesh of his back,
leaving behind a scattering of red welts that he seemed to enjoy as he released
a shaky, satisfied sigh. She squeaked and mewled quietly with the gentle rock
of his hips that slipped easily against her, soaked in the evidence of her own
desire.
There was no telling what had come over him. He hadn't exactly planned this
from the beginning...but she had wandered unknowingly into the perfect storm,
and was paying the price. But he was right about one thing. He would help her
forget about him. He would eradicate every last, lingering thought and craving
she had for his younger brother...
What he didn't know, was that they would be replaced with him.
Sakura's mind buzzed frantically as if she was drugged, and it left her
floating in a sea of weightlessness. Only the mixed pain and pleasure that came
with each invading thrust ground against her arched thighs captured
her...coaxing an insatiable lust to claim her, and enslave her to his will.
His arms slipped out from their confining embrace of her legs, and propped into
the floor on either side of her head as he shifted to smooth his lips over
hers. Without instruction, she lost herself in his kiss, moaning as his tongue
lapped into her and stroked over her own.
"You're so wet."
She felt his low, feral growl more than she heard it, and yet it somehow seemed
so far away. Despite the ache that throbbed within her, a rush of raw heat and
electric ecstasy gradually drowned it out as it collected inside her. Filling
her with something she couldn't explain, and yet it drove her crazy.
Her muscles relaxed a little more with each pump, and when her nerves settled
enough, he picked up his pace. Her lips broke away from his, gasping for air as
she clung to him and rocked under him helplessly.
"I c-..I can't-...it feels..." At a loss for the right words, she mumbled
incoherently while he returned to claiming her neck with his lips, and traced
the shell of her ear with his tongue greedily.
But she didn't need to make sense. He understood her completely, and hushed her
with a soft, "Shhh.."
"Don't think. Just feel."
The husky voice commanded her, and she instantly felt her thoughts melting away
into nothing. Something was building, far too quickly for her to control or
understand, and before she knew it a fire was raging inside her again...but
this time, it wasn't painful, despite the breathy cry that burst into the
tearoom.
Sakura clutched into him, nails digging once more and raking stripes into his
back, legs squeezing his hips to her. Everything contracted at once, and she
knew nothing but a passion so intense her toes curled and her vision went
white.
Itachi froze mid-thrust, locking deep within her as she clenched him with a
strength he hadn't anticipated, and he groaned loudly as a tremor shot through
him. The sound of her desperate voice as she road the wave of her first orgasm
seized him in a shock of untamed lust.
Her equilibrium was nonexistent for a few seconds, but she cracked her drunken
eyes open when she felt a rush of air and the faint sound of creaking wood.
Before she knew what was happening, the wall of the tearoom slammed against her
back hard enough to stun her, but not enough to hurt. It sent a dull rumble
through the rest of the house, and she gasped as he bucked into her.
With her legs hooked over his arms once more, he suspended her off the ground
and thrust roughly. Bolts of pleasure tormented her endlessly, hearing him
grunt and curse under his breath as he took her. She felt light and weak, and
merely gripped him as her sole anchor to reality.
He came within her with a final, violent thrust, sending her gasping and
moaning as something hot invaded her, and then slowly the wall slid over her
back, leaving them to rest with a heavy thump onto the floor.
The overpowering scent of sweat and sex filled her nose as she continued to
pulse and clench around him uncontrollably. She faintly sensed his hands
rising, fingers raking up her neck and through her hair as he kissed her cheek,
her jaw, and down the front of her throat, purring heatedly...as if he couldn't
get enough of her.
Then, her back grew suddenly cold as she felt herself fall away, and flop
limply over his chest as he pulled her to the floor with him. She panted
loudly, too dizzy, exhausted, and paralyzed with lingering passion to move.
The silence surrounding them was interrupted only by their breathing, and the
relentless rain that pattered the lush garden only feet away from them.
She couldn't begin to make sense of what had happened to her. From the moment
she had entered their home, she had twirled deeper and deeper into a surreal
dream...and yet it wasn't a dream. Somehow, this had actually happened. This
was real.
She felt so strange.
This wasn't rape... Was it? It had felt so good. She couldn't stop it. He
hadn't let her even when she tried. But Kami...it was the best experience she'd
ever felt in her life.
Addicting, even...as it occurred to her that she didn't want it to be over.
But it was.
As the minutes ticked by, a pair of curious, yet anxious green eyes dared to
creep up his pale face that glistened with sweat in the dim light. She opened
her mouth to pose a question, only to pause as she watched him in silent awe.
His mouth was parted slightly, and eyes closed in a portrait that was
deceitfully harmless and peaceful. His lungs worked in a steady, rhythmic
pattern, and a snore so light she could barely hear it emitted from him. He'd
dozed off...
Lowering her head back down, she rested her cheek against his chest and stared
off into space in nervous wonder, held in place with his arms rapped around her
back.
Somehow, some way, she had to figure out what all of this meant, and what she
was supposed to do next...and most of all, what the hell would happen if anyone
else found out.
***** Hide and Seek *****
The rain had stopped. The air was still cool and damp, but not enough to chill.
Birds chirped excitedly and flitted about in the garden, feathers glistening
with flecks of water under breaking beams of sunlight that poked through the
dense clouds. But that wasn't what woke him. Their noises were too pleasant and
common to disturb. It was something else.
Save for the soft, deep breaths that puffed rhythmically against him, and the
pattering of remaining water drops falling from the leaves outside, it was
silent in the tearoom. It was more of a feeling that had woken him, than a
sound. A tingling sensation that reverberating through his nerves lightly,
enough to stir him. A sixth sense, so to speak. He often experienced this when
something was about to happen...some sort of change approaching like a building
wave ready to crash down onto the shore.
And he knew exactly what was approaching, yet he waited. Calm, dark eyes stared
at the ceiling above, motionless as he trained his senses on the very air
around him, and the sleeping, naked girl draped over his chest. There were no
thoughts tracing through his mind, no anxieties, no regrets, nothing... He was
purely in the moment. Waiting patiently for the inevitable.
Then, he felt it. A shift in the air, a quiet tap in the distance of a shutting
door, and the faintest rustle of fabric that even most shinobi wouldn't have
been able to detect.
Itachi came to life, motions a mere blur as he rose from the wooden floor,
cradled the oblivious girl in his arms, and dashed from the tearoom, down the
hall, and into the bathroom.
Vibrant green eyes cracked open to peer up at him in hazy confusion as he set
her down into the cool and large tub, blinking groggily through messy strands
of pink. A sudden spray of water from above startled her, and she gave a
shocked and displeased yelp. Her surprise only mounted when she felt a hand
cover her mouth, and she looked up into eyes that were somehow soft, yet stern
at the same time, demanding silence from her.
Sakura didn't know what to think. One moment she was in a dead sleep, dreaming
of things that didn't make a lick of sense...and then, she found herself
snapping back into reality as gravity shifted multiple times, and she fell from
a warm clutch onto something hard and smooth. And then the cold water...
Despite the conflicting emotions that wrestled around inside her, she kept her
mouth shut. Not that she had much of a choice, as Itachi's hand was still
covering her lips. But it was the look on his face that made her pause, and
absorb the data of her surroundings to try and understand what the hell was
going on. His was a look of concentration, seriousness, and perhaps a bit of
curiosity as he crouched down and leaned against the side of the tub. His chin
fell to his forearm, resting over the rim next to her.
As she watched him in mute, tense perplexity, she judged him to be listening
for something as he spaced out at the wall, and trained her ears to try to find
what he was focusing on. She couldn't hear anything... Just the chilly rush of
water beating over her. It was slowly heating up...but not fast enough to ward
off the goosebumps that were spreading all over her.
She glanced down, realizing all of a sudden that she was still completely
naked, and before she could even think twice, she pulled her knees to her chest
and wrapped her arms around her legs as a nervousness slithered through her.
Hiding as much of herself as she could from him. It was more of an instinct
that anything. He'd already seen and touched every inch of her, and he wasn't
even looking at her right then, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't used to
being so bare in front of someone else.
Eventually, his hand slipped away from her mouth, and she saw him rise and turn
towards the bathroom door. Lips parting curiously as she watched him, her eyes
roamed from the ponytail hanging between his pale shoulder blades, down his
back, and over the curve of his ass. Of course, she then immediately looked
away and blushed uncontrollably. So...he was still nude, too. Wow. She felt
awkward. Really, really awkward. Not awkward enough that she could stop herself
from peeking at him again, but, still...
But her blush was short-lived, as the sound of footsteps coming down the hall
toward them finally reached her ears, and the color drained from her face.
Wide, panicked eyes looked up at him for an explanation, but his face was
turned toward the door.
They drew closer and closer, set at a leisure pace with each step louder than
the last. A door separated them. A simple, flimsy door. But no one was going to
open it... Not with the sounds of running water on the other side. Still, she
waited silently, stiffly, concentrating so hard on the bathroom door that she
didn't even notice the water was warm now.
The footsteps shifted in front of them, leaving Sakura's pulse to lodge
uncomfortably in her throat. Someone was there. Right on the other side. Inches
away. And then, they wandered past the bathroom and continued on down the hall,
without skipping a beat.
She exhaled audibly, releasing a gulp of air she hadn't even known she was
trapping in her lungs.
"Is that your mom?" She asked in a whisper. It wouldn't be their dad, would it?
Wasn't he working? Sakura didn't know much about their family, but it was no
secret their father was chief of Konoha's Military Police. She'd seen him
around before, with his flak jacket that had the symbol of the Uchiha crest
imbedded within a black shuriken. All she knew was that he had a similar aura
to Itachi. Not a man she wanted to mess with...
A hand slapped over her mouth again promptly, and she jumped in surprise and
annoyance. Itachi was still facing the door, listening intently, and he kept
his hand there while she glared lightly at the back of his head.
Come on...it's not like anyone was going to hear her now, and she wasn't stupid
enough to raise her voice.
Yet she let him continue to silence her, and it was just as well, as not even
two seconds later she heard approaching footsteps again, coming from the
opposite direction. They had come back? Sakura watched the blank door curiously
at first, but when the sound stopped this time on the other side of it, she
felt her pulse pick up its pace again.
"Nii-san?"
Sakura froze at the hauntingly familiar voice. A coldness in the pit of her
stomach formed and spread slowly outward, invading her limbs like veins of ice.
Pure terror and disbelief etched into her face, and she was unable to move as
the now hot water rolled down the strips of pink plastered to her forehead,
past wide, quivering jade eyes.
No... This wasn't possible. Why was he here? He wasn't supposed to be here!
The tall and muscular form drifted closer to her as Itachi backed up slowly,
and sat on the edge of the tub close to the shower head. His hand had once more
left her mouth, and rested on his pale knee. She broke her stare to glance up
at him, trapped in a painful suspense with her heart assaulting her ribcage and
her fists clenched with white knuckles around her knees.
He was different... His face was just as calm as it had always been. As if she
wasn't in there with him. As if she'd never even shown up on their front porch
in the first place. His eyes, half-lidded, lazy and dark, ignored the intense
look she was giving him. A look that very well could have made any other person
in Konoha unable to relax.
"Yes, Sasuke?"
His words, as indifferent as the rest of him, made her somehow agitated beyond
belief, and yet she admired him at the same time. How could he be so cool in a
situation like this? This was terrible! Didn't he realize how much trouble they
were in?!
"We're still training today, right?" There was a note of skepticism there, and
perhaps a bit of cynicism, too. A slight undertone of negativity in the
otherwise respectful tone of voice, almost as if he was used to being shot
down, or something.
"Yes." Itachi answered immediately.
The gaze that spelled nothing but fear faltered then, as something clicked. If
the look she had been giving him was intense before, it was nothing short of
abrasive now.
"I never said he was coming back. I said he wasn't home right now. Sasuke won't
return for a few days. He's on a mission." That's what he had said to her, only
hours ago. If it had even been hours... She didn't know what time of day it
was.
So... Had it not been true?
Her eyes narrowed as a poisonous anger seeped into her, mingling with her
anxiety to produce an overwhelming cocktail of unpleasant emotions that made
her feel the first throb of a headache, and the churn of a queasy stomach.
"Hn. I don't know why you're showering then. You're just going to get
sweaty...and muddy." A soft rustle followed, before the younger man's steps
wandered on down the hall, leaving the two to sit in silence for a minute.
"...You lied...?" Sakura whispered, yet the burning resentment she felt was
unable to manifest in her voice. Her question was soft and unsure, as though
she found it difficult to believe he would do that to her.
Yet, how could she predict anything he would do or say? She didn't know him...
Hell, the most she knew, truly knew, was the shape and feel of his body.
Everything on the inside was lost in seamless shadows. In the short amount of
time she'd spent with him, he seemed to be a complete master of control.
Nothing slipped past him, unlike her. She was quick to let her emotions get in
the way, and even quicker to cause a scene.
When she looked at him, she couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever raised his
voice even once in his life.
"Yes." He admitted without remorse, turning slightly so he could look her in
the eye.
It was a little more than unnerving to stare him down then, yet she held his
gaze firmly. He didn't look guilty. He didn't sound guilty. He didn't regret a
damn thing, did he? It was infuriating. How could he risk both of their necks
like that? What if Sasuke had come home earlier?
Sakura was at a loss for words, too stunned to know how to react to him. She
knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to pummel him into the ground until he
begged for forgiveness...but that was never going to happen. He was too strong.
But aside from that...there was something else about him that made her
hesitate. Something in his unyielding confidence, and unbelievably cool nature.
He knew so much more than she did, didn't he? So much more about anything and
everything, including herself. She could sense that...and she had no idea how
to confront someone like him.
She glanced down finally, brows knitting in confusion and frustration. She
couldn't yell at him. He wouldn't care.
"What else did you lie about?" Swallowing quietly, her question was accusing as
she glared at the wall.
"Nothing."
Sakura looked back up at him as he stood and climbed into the tub without any
further explanation. He was so curt with his responses that it took her more
effort than it normally would to open her mouth. Not one to back down from
anyone too easily, needless to say, she found herself second guessing
everything that she wanted to blurt, and it drove her crazy.
So, she did nothing for a while but watch him. It was easy with his back turned
to her. He had pulled the tie from his hair and let it fan over his back as he
stepped under the shower head. Shoulders slouching as he relaxed, he leaned his
forehead against the wall and closed his eyes, letting the water cascade over
him.
The problem was, as she sat there brooding and leaning against the opposite end
of the tub, her eyes were left to wander again...and wander they did. How could
they not? He was right in front of her, and to say he was a sight for sore eyes
would be an understatement. They lingered around his back and shoulders,
tracing the lean curves of muscle.
It did nothing to cure her anger, though. On the contrary, it made everything
worse. For though she couldn't complain about the view he was giving her, this
was hardly the time to enjoy him in any way shape or form. He was an asshole.
He'd tricked her and used her, in her mind, and he could have gotten them both
in serious trouble. Worst of all, he wasn't even sorry!
No, he didn't deserve the appreciative gaze she was unable to tear away from
him. Nor did he deserve the respect or admiration she still, somehow, secretly
felt for him.
He deserved a punch to the gut, in the very least.
Itachi turned around suddenly, shocking her with an entirely different view
that she hadn't been expecting. Her eyes, ironically, landed immediately on the
very thing she had wanted to avoid looking at in the first place, and then flew
up to his eyes to escape it...which only made her turn a bright red, once she
found him staring right back down at her.
Glancing sideways, she chewed on her bottom lip and scowled.
"You can't sit there forever." He murmured, and tossed a bottle of shampoo at
her.
Sakura caught it just before it would have smacked her in the face, and glared
up at him.
"Why aren't you using it?" She growled quietly, noting that he hadn't bothered
with any soap either.
"Because I'm about to get sweaty...and muddy." He answered as he leaned his
back against the wall and closed his eyes a second time. Either he really
enjoyed standing under the stream of water, or he was being polite by keeping
his eyes off her, and making it more comfortable for her to be stuck in there
with him. Regardless, it made her breathe a small sigh of relief. Well, it was
more a sigh of pent up agitation, but there was some relief in there too.
Reluctantly, she climbed to her feet, watching his eyelids warily. Yes, it was
silly of her to want to be modest now, looking at it from a logical
standpoint... But right now, Sakura was having a hard time thinking logically.
This whole day had turned her upside down and inside out, and it wasn't even
halfway through. When she woke up this morning, she wasn't even entirely sure
what a penis looked like... And heaven forbid she'd ever have to say that word
out loud. Just thinking about it made her blush some more.
Looking down after a moment, she turned her back to him just to feel safe, and
massaged some of the floral-scented shampoo into her short hair. As she
breathed it in, Sasuke instantly came to mind. He used this... She recalled
getting close enough to him a couple times to catch the vague scent.
A deep regret clenched her insides suddenly. She felt somehow that she had done
something horrible to him. There she was, hiding from him in his own house,
taking a shower—albeit unwillingly—with his older brother...and using his
shampoo... She was the scum of the earth.
In the back of her mind, she knew she was being illogical again. None of this
had been planned, or wanted in the first place. She'd come there to see him.
And even so...it's not like he wanted anything to do with her, did he? But it
was just one of those things she couldn't shake. She felt like a liar and a
traitor.
If she couldn't successfully sneak out of their house without running into him,
she didn't know what she would do. What if she rounded a corner and he was
right there in front of her? What would she say to him? Could she even find a
believable enough lie, or a worthy excuse to be there? What would Itachi do?
She wanted to slam her fists into the wall and cry in despair, but she didn't.
She couldn't. All she could do was turn back around and rinse the shampoo out
of her hair. One baby step at a time...that's how she would figure this out.
He was still standing there, leaning under the shower head as content as ever,
yet his eyes were already open and on her when she looked up, fingers tangled
into the mass of foamy pink.
It was too late to cover herself, so she simply stared right back at him,
trying to act as if it didn't bother her in the slightest to be naked in front
of him.
"You're in the way..." She peeped quietly, then promptly cleared her throat to
try and rid herself of the lump that made it difficult to speak.
Without a word, he moved towards her. Sakura held her breath—something she
clearly had a bad habit of doing every time she was afraid or startled—and
looked away from him. He brushed against her lightly, moving past so they could
switch positions.
Facing away from him, she concentrated on finishing as quickly as possible. The
sooner she could get out of the shower, the better.
Letting her eyes slip closed, she scrubbed and squeezed the shampoo out,
ignoring the faint sounds of movement behind her. He was doing something. She
didn't know what, and honestly she didn't really care.
Until she felt something touch her.
Her eyes flew open to stare at the blank slate in front of her, freezing mid-
motion as a pair of hands, coated in soap, with one still clutching the bar,
slipped around her waist. Mouth parting in wonder, she could say nothing at
first. They were warm and slick, moving over her hips and up her sides slowly,
and then around to her back.
Sakura forced herself to breathe steadily, and held still as she focused on his
touch, and tried to understand his motive. There hadn't been a single sign of
lust since they entered the bathroom. He had been just as stoic as when he had
opened the door on her that morning, and had met all her questions with the
shortest possible answers...and had been entirely emotionless doing so. Why
were his hands roaming over her now...?
Smoothing up her shoulders, they rubbed over her arms, guiding her hands away
from her hair and down against her sides, leaving a trail of lather wherever
they went.
"What are you doing?" She whispered warily, having trouble deciding whether or
not she should push him away.
The path his hands took gave her his only response, as they moved from her
forearms back to her waist, and up to her bare chest.
Sakura gasped as he cupped her breasts, massaging them gently as the bar of
soap fell from his hand and clattered to the floor.
"Stop... I don't need your h—"
As she tried to pull away from him, his grip tightened slightly, causing her to
pause and interrupting her protest. She felt his chest press into her back
while he fingers kneaded and roamed over her, and his lips moved close to
tickle the shell of her ear.
He absorbed her. Taking in every detail as easily as he had done earlier. The
way she tried to resist, but only barely. She was too quick to give in, and let
him have his way. And it wasn't because she was afraid. She was, a little...but
that's not why she stopped. She stopped because she didn't want him to stop...
She wanted him to think she was trying to get away, and that she wanted nothing
to do with him, but it was a lie.
And that's why he had lied to her.
They were no different, really. Each lying and playing the game in their own
way to get what they wanted. She might have been upset at him for telling her
Sasuke wasn't coming back, when it wasn't true... But what good would telling
her the truth have done? She still wanted him. If she didn't, her body wouldn't
have reacted so easily and quickly to his touch. Not then, and not now. Telling
her the truth would have just made it impossible for her to relax.
He had only just begun, and already he could feel the heat dance over her skin,
and her pulse beat against him. Her breaths came quicker, even as she tried to
control them. She told him to stop, but only once the faintest shudder darted
down her spine.
If she really wanted nothing to do with him...if she had really wanted him to
stop...he would. But she didn't.
Fingertips teasing over her stiff buds, he heard her sigh softly and lean into
him. The water had washed most of the soap away already, and he nipped at her
ear playfully, pressing his length into the slope of her ass as it throbbed to
life.
"This is wrong." He heard her breathe desperately, and ignored her as he
slipped one of his hands slowly down her belly to the juncture of her legs. Her
hand gripped his forearm tensely, as if she meant to stop him...and yet she
didn't even try to pull him away as his fingers disappeared between her lips.
"Itachi, please..."A moan broke from her as she trembled lightly, letting him
play with her clit despite her contradicting words. He kept himself from
laughing, but was unable to hide his smile as he dipped to gently bite her
shoulder, at the same time burying his fingers deep inside her.
"Niiiii-san..." Sasuke's voice caused her to jump in surprise and panic, but
Itachi held her still, his eyes casting a cryptic glance to their door as he
remained latched to her shoulder.
There was something curious in the way he spoke this time, and not just with
the prolonged enunciation of the word. There was something teasing about
it...as if he had learned something that amused him.
"What happened to the tearoom?" He continued when his older brother failed to
speak.
Sakura's mind fell blank as her terror reignited. She was panting, unable to
pull herself free as Itachi kept his fingers busy inside her, tormenting her
into madness. Another moan was building inside her, clawing its way up her
throat to freedom, but she bit her own tongue to distract herself. If she made
a sound, it was all over... Why didn't he understand that?!
"What do you mean?" Itachi hummed in return, sounding almost bored.
He was such a convincing liar... Sakura envied and despised him for that.
Especially now, when he found it so easy and fun to torment her while she
clamored to keep her composure.
How she wished she could beat the crap out of him...
"The doors are open, your robe is on the floor, and it smells funny."
Itachi considered his explanation for a moment, while successfully maintaining
half his concentration on the girl wrapped in his arms. She twitched and arched
against him, breathing so heavily at that point that he wouldn't be surprised
if Sasuke did hear her, and yet he couldn't stop. Maybe it was a little
sadistic, but he just couldn't.
"I'll clean it up." He answered finally, leaving nothing suspicious or
interesting in his tone of voice. He returned his full attention to her,
kissing from her shoulder to her neck, and slipped his other hand over her
mouth to try and stifle the noise.
"There's also a yukata under your robe...and two tea cups..." Sasuke persisted,
not buying his nonchalant replies.
Sakura wanted to die. This was the beginning of her worst nightmare coming
true. He had found evidence of her being there, and now while he was a mere few
feet away from them, she was about to lose her grip and cry out as Itachi dug
into a certain sweet spot inside of her. Even with his hand covering her,
there's no way it would be enough to drown her out.
She felt his lips pause against her, and his fingers retreated to a slower
pace, though still they refused to leave her. Turning his head slowly, he
stared at the door, considering his options.
"Hn... There's a girl in there with you." It was a statement, not a question.
Sasuke knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't alone. And yet he left
them with a shred of hope...at least to Sakura. He had said girl, and not her
name. He didn't know it was her... He must not have recognized her clothes.
That's what mattered.
Still, Itachi didn't say a word, though if he was anywhere near as
nervous—frantic—as she was, he hid it expertly.
"...Is she cute?" They could both almost hear him smirking from the other side.
Sakura felt her legs being shifted wider, and as she was bent forward slightly,
her hand caught the wall in front of her to keep her balance. His hand withdrew
from her finally, and rubbed over her clit, just as he slipped a full thrust
into her from behind.
"What do you think?" Itachi murmured barely loud enough for him to hear, smart
enough to know when their game of hide and seek was over, and nuzzled his face
without a care into her throat.
She came almost instantly with a simultaneous push of his hips and fingers, and
cried out loudly into his hand. A contrast of pure bliss and panic clashed
inside her, yet she bucked her hips into him as she clenched.
Oh, he had heard that... There was no denying it.
It wasn't just how loud she had been that had been telling. They knew, because
he finally fell silent.
And damnit...Itachi had done it on purpose.
The seconds felt like hours as Sakura listened, waiting for her worst fear to
be realized. Too afraid to move or speak. Too afraid, even, to be angry at
Itachi as he continued thrusting into her. The hand covering her mouth slipped
away to grip her hip, and the other moved to cup and squeeze her breast. He
wasn't phased in the least. In fact, he couldn't care less at this point.
But of course...few men could, when they were buried between a woman's legs.
"Hn. Well hurry up. I don't have all day." It was spoken with the most forced
indifference, and the younger Uchiha turned and disappeared down the hall. If
he had any suspicion that Sakura was in there, he kept it to herself. But
something had touched a nerve... A rather awkward nerve, by the sound of it, as
his voice had sounded a little unsure and uncomfortable.
"He..he knows it's me... Oh Kami... He knows!" She whispered as she tried to
catch her breath, her walls still hugging him tightly as he moved within her.
It still felt so good...she found it hard to think straight even after her
release.
"No, he doesn't." He growled into her ear. Both of his hands grabbed hold of
her hips as he pumped harder, forcing a moan from her.
"Has he ever made you scream?" His low voice sent a shiver through her, and she
shook her head, cheeks pink in her lingering lust and embarrassment.
"Then he doesn't know." Itachi insisted calmly, and pulled from her long enough
to turn her around and lift her into the air. Her back met the wall, and she
wrapped her legs around his waist. She felt his lips clamp onto her neck and
suck, leaving more than one purple welt behind as he made his way up to her
jaw. His hips pounded into her, hands clenching into the backs of her thighs as
he held her up.
His movements were rougher, possessive, and she felt her heat rising again,
lips pressing into his shoulder to stifle the small moans and gasps.
It was surreal. Her anger hadn't subsided, not in the least. If anything, she
was more angry at him now than she had been before. But none of it mattered
now. His body was the perfect weapon, stripping her of all common sense...the
ability to think at all. It wasn't just the way his fingers worked against her,
and how he seemed to know exactly where to touch and when...or the feel of his
lips exploring her. It was how he moved. How he reigned her in and took control
even when she tried to evade him. There was something so deliciously raw about
feeling him take the power away from her. She didn't know how to fight him...
She didn't know how to make herself want to fight him. It was so unlike her.
It was...scary.
"Itachi..." She whimpered helplessly, just as another orgasm seizing her. It
was weaker than the first, and she felt drained and exhausted as soon as she
lost herself again. His hips ground into her a final time, holding her tight
against him as he panted and groaned.
He came inside her a second time. She knew, not because he had stopped moving,
but because she had felt it. A forceful and hot spray filled her, and despite
knowing in the back of her mind that this was a very, very bad idea...it made
her writhe and buck into him, as if she wanted more.
A noise of approval rumbled into her skin before he lifted his head and pulled
out of her, smoothing his hands up and over her hips so she could set her feet
down on solid ground. She didn't want to stand, though. She was so tired. All
she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and nap. Yet her bed was so, so far
away...
She leaned back into the wall and closed her eyes. Hearing him turn the water
off, she expected him to step out and grab a towel, but instead, he surprised
her with a kiss. It started on her chest, just below her collar bone, and
wandered down to her breasts. She didn't question him. She didn't even look at
him. But her hand lifted and slipped over the back of his head, sinking into
his long, wet hair.
It didn't feel sexual. Even when he tasted her pink bud with his tongue.
Perhaps because she was too tired to react sexually to him. A third orgasm was
entirely out of the question. But still... His lips had a soothing effect more
than anything, and her breaths grew deep and steady as her mouth parted
slightly. She felt him travel down her stomach, kissing and lapping gently as
he sank lower and lower, and when he passed her hip bones, he paused.
She waited without a care, in no hurry to move even a finger as he touched her,
hands petting and caressing from her waist down to her legs. Then, he nestled
into the soft down of pink between her thighs and kissed again. Sakura sucked
in her breath, eyes flying open, free hand clenching into his shoulder, and she
stared down at him.
The stoic expression that greeted her as he drew back and looked up left her
confused at his intent, and when she finally decided to push him away and step
out of the tub with a huff, he broke into a devilish smile while her back was
turned.
Her thin frame paused once she pulled a towel from a hook and wrapped herself
in it. She knew she couldn't just open the door and walk out. She had no idea
where Sasuke was...if he was even still in the house. She'd have to wait for
him to let her know when the coast was clear.
But she didn't know what to say to him yet. Now that it was all over—again—she
was more perplexed than ever.
"Why... Why did you...?" She asked quietly, partly so her voice wouldn't break
past the door. She didn't know how to even phrase her question, though. There
was so much she wanted to ask, and so much she wanted to say...and to yell.
"Why did you—"
"Why did you stay?" He interrupted her, staring back at her as he left the tub
and grabbed his own towel. He knew what she was trying to say. She wanted to
know why he had touched her once, and then twice. She wanted to know what it
meant, what his secret motives were. She wanted him to admit to her some
elaborate scheme he had devised, and the detailed reasons for why he had done
everything he had to her. And so he posed her with an even better question.
If he had done so much to her...why had she let him?
There was nothing harsh about the way he said it, and certainly nothing harsh
about what he actually had said aloud. But there was a dawning of realization
on her face. Her eyes widened slightly, and then she looked away and blinked.
She was thinking...and thinking very hard. She didn't know, did she? She had no
idea why she had stayed after he had fallen asleep on the floor of the tearoom.
She could have stood up, dressed, and left.
She could have gotten away with it. He wouldn't have stopped her. Then, she
wouldn't have had to deal with the stress of Sasuke returning while she was
still there.
Yeah, she wanted to yell and scream at him, and to blame him for caging her in
this awful situation, and taking advantage of her.
And with one simple question, he had shed light on her own hypocrisy. It hadn't
even occurred to her that she might actually be at fault...at least partly.
When she couldn't answer him right away, he busied himself with wrapping the
towel around his waist, and squeezing the water out of his hair.
Sakura watched him silently from the corner of her eye, and when he was done,
he moved past her and out the door without a word, being sure to shut it behind
him.
She listened to his steps disappear, leaving her to stew alone in the
aftermath.
Even with him gone, she was at a loss.
Why had she stayed? She hadn't even thought of that. Not that she'd had much
time to think about much of anything yet. But...she couldn't deny that he'd
caught her with that one. She honestly didn't know what to say, or even think.
And there was still the matter of how the hell she was going to get out of
their house without anyone noticing her. Kami... Sasuke could walk into the
bathroom at any second and see her. What was she supposed to do?
Wait... That's all she could do. She'd have to wait for Itachi to come to her
rescue. He would, wouldn't he? He'd help her get out without being seen. He had
to...
A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth as she leaned against the wall and
sank down to the floor.
She still wanted to know why. So what if she had stayed? She may have been
guilty of making that mistake, but he'd been the one that put his hands on
her, twice. He didn't have to. Why did he? Surely he could have nearly any girl
he wanted, there was no doubt about that. He was handsome, skilled—in more ways
than one—and he was the prodigal son to the leader of the Uchiha clan. So
why...?
But then she found herself wondering...had it really been a mistake for her to
stay? She hadn't been caught yet...and Kami, the way he had touched her...
Sakura closed her eyes as the back of her head knocked against the wall. An
angry sigh puffed from her nose. As much as she wanted to beat the crap out of
Itachi, she kind of wanted to beat the crap out of herself, too...
He'd better come back, and soon. If she stayed locked up in there for much
longer, with only her own painfully contradicting thoughts to keep her company
and stir her deeper and deeper into its tangling chaos, she was going to lose
it.
***** Loose Ends *****
Sakura didn't know how long she'd been sitting in the bathroom, alone...but it
felt like eternity. It didn't help whatsoever that she hadn't known what time
it was when she was so rudely awakened in the first place. Now, she was left
without a clock, in a small, humid room, with almost no sound to distract her.
Only her thoughts kept her company...and they did a dreadful job.
Never in her life had she imagined she would be cornered into a predicament
like this. The world's cruelest joke was being played on her, and it had lost
its humor a long, long time ago.
On occasion, she'd hear some footsteps trail past the door. The first couple of
times, it fed her with a fresh surge of adrenaline, for whether it was the
threat of Itachi or Sasuke opening the door on her, neither option was a
comforting thought. But after the third time, she began to feel a false sense
of security. Then, after the fourth time...she just felt lonely.
She didn't want their company, though. She wanted answers. She wanted things to
make sense. She wanted to feel the freedom of open spaces and blue skies again,
instead of this house that made her feel like she was caught in enemy territory
without a friend, where the slightest error could trigger a domino effect of
chaos. She wanted to feel safe.
This was anything but safe.
One person in this house needed to be avoided at all costs. The other, whom she
was forced to gift all her trust to, and completely rely on, wasn't even
someone she understood...at all. Not even a little bit.
Why couldn't it just be over? What was taking him so long? If they had even
spoken to one another once Itachi left the bathroom, it was out of her earshot,
for she hadn't heard a damn thing. It wasn't just nerve-wracking, it was
excruciating.
Now, one might think being stuck in a bathroom all alone would afford the
perfect opportunity for her to reflect on the situation at hand, and at the
very least, use it to gain some insight into understanding herself better, and
possibly making some changes. Nope. It wasn't working. Her thoughts were a
tornado, at their calmest moment, and they swirled with every conceivable
negative emotion possible, from worry, to doubt, to shame, to anger and
resentment, to even a creeping desire for some kind of vengeance on Itachi
for...reasons she wasn't even sure were rational anymore.
But once in a while, she'd shock herself by considering walking out of the
bathroom, with only her towel to cover her, retrieving her yukata from the
tearoom, and leaving their house without even trying to conceal her presence.
If Sasuke saw her, then whatever. To hell with him.
That particular thought was always counter-attacked with an even stronger burst
of fear and resistance, however. Despite how relieving the idea of ending her
stress so easily and quickly was, she knew it would only spell disaster in the
long-run.
A deflated look aimed at the cupboards across from her. Her face hung,
literally, with the corners of her lips sagging into a slight frown, and her
tired eyes seeming to droop under the weight of her emotions. Her hair was
still damp, and hung messily as she had yet to brush it. The simple, white
towel barely covered her, with one corner tucked into her modest cleavage, and
the bottom parting open slightly as her legs stretched out flat.
She felt sorry for herself, and her body language was incapable of hiding that
fact. Itachi might have stopped and made her think when he asked her why she
had stayed...but it hadn't been enough to make her reevaluate her perception of
everything, including him, the way it should have.
The exhaustion that masked her face disappeared with tensing muscles and
widening eyes the second she heard something quietly bump her door. Helpless,
her gaze aligned with the spot she anticipated seeing a face emerge at any
moment, once the door would swish to the side. Instead, her skin prickled
unpleasantly at the voice she soon heard booming down the hall.
"SASUKE."
Amazingly, Sakura didn't hold her breath this time. She felt numb, quite
suddenly. Physically, she was cold, and her breathing was shallow...but in the
split-second it took for her to realize that Sasuke was about to open the door,
her mind shut off. She didn't care. She didn't have time to care anymore. All
she did was stare and wait for the inevitable.
"What?" The loud voice of her teammate shot back, as he questioned his brother
in a somewhat startled and annoyed tone.
Itachi must have given him a look, because she didn't hear him again before
Sasuke continued.
"I have to use the bathroom!"
Sakura couldn't tear her eyes from the door. Even when one second turned into
two, and then three, she was absent, somehow. Removed from reality, as if
watching a memory from someone else's eyes. The panic never came. Everything
within her was eerily still. A rather stark and unbelievable contrast to what
she had experienced in her solitude moments ago. The was the exact opposite
reaction she was expecting to have, when shit finally hit the fan.
"Just wait for me there. I'll be done in a minute. You need to warm up anyway."
The sound of Itachi's voice, somewhat softer this time, reached her.
" Tch... Warm up..." Sasuke mumbled, as if offended.
"Fine. But I still have to use the bathroom."
"You can't, Sasuke. Piss outside." Itachi insisted, leaving no room for
discussion.
"You don't piss outsi—...Ohh." It started as a sharp retort, and then faded, as
if he suddenly realized why he couldn't open the door.
A sigh was the last thing she heard from him before he walked away.
When the silence returned, and the coast had cleared—seemingly—Sakura was still
staring up at the door, motionless. She felt...nothing. Not even relief, oddly
enough. Maybe it was because it had all happened so fast, and there had been no
way to truly prepare herself for it, regardless of how much she had already
thought about the moment Sasuke would find her. She didn't know... All she
could register was an emptiness inside her. An abrupt void that had sucked away
all the draining feelings she'd been harboring in the blink of an eye.
Ironically, it made room for a faint sadness, once she began to think about
what had happened...but nothing else.
Everything was quiet again. Too quiet. Hopefully that meant Sasuke had left the
house, but there was no way of knowing for sure.
She imagined Itachi would have enough decency to let her know it was safe to
come out. But...she had no way of knowing that, either.
After a second eternity had past—five minutes or fifty—she'd reached her limit.
There hadn't been any footsteps in a while, and she was too impatient,
exhausted, and annoyed to sit any longer. All she needed to do was make a bee-
line to the tearoom, throw on her yukata, and zip out of their house. Wrap her
obi? Nah, she'd just hold it closed and run down the street. It was that easy.
In theory.
But... If she did that, she wouldn't get to grill Itachi with any more
questions.
Then again, he was about to leave anyway, so he probably wouldn't hang around
long enough to answer them...and it wasn't worth her getting caught at this
point. The stress of waiting around, never knowing what was going to happen to
her next, was getting old.
Sakura sighed as she bolted up off the floor, and turned to face the door. She
had made up her mind. There was no turning back. Taking a deep breath, she
puffed up her chest, and outstretched a hand. It hovered in space as she felt
her nerves begin to slip again...but then her eyes narrowed, and she willed
herself to fling the door open and dart out.
Her bare feet took six quick steps down the hallway before stopping. The
adrenaline had returned the moment she'd passed the door frame, but when she
paused mid-step and put her hand against the wall, she felt the overwhelming
urge to throw up. There was more than one door in this hallway, and she had no
idea which one lead to the tearoom.
Was she really that stupid? How had she not thought of that? She'd never been
in their house before! What if this wasn't even the right hall? She hadn't even
opened her eyes until Itachi had set her down in the tub!
She couldn't just open any door. What if Sasuke was behind one?
No... Sasuke wouldn't be in any of the rooms. Itachi told him to leave. He
should be gone.
But she didn't know that. She could only guess, like she was forced to do with
so many other things. Guess, assume, wonder...pull out her hair.
Sakura shuddered as a chill went down her back. The kind of chill she sometimes
got when stumbling through her own house in the middle of the night, usually
because she had to go to the bathroom. Sometimes she'd get that eery feeling of
being watched, and followed, and at any second a hand would reach out of the
darkness and grab her. It wasn't something she admitted to anyone, since she
was supposed to a be shinobi...and a shinobi being afraid of the dark in her
own house was essentially the most ridiculous thing in the world.
And yet, that's exactly what she felt then. At any moment, something or someone
was going to pop out of nowhere and ambush her...but this time, it was actually
a possible scenario...sort of.
The creepy chill escalated into a full-blown panic, and before she could
control herself, she dove for the closest door. The next thing she knew, she
was panting lightly, pressed against the wall, and facing a clean and orderly
bedroom. More importantly, an empty, clean and orderly bedroom.
As Sakura slowly calmed down, she glanced around. The bed was made, the hard
floor was free of clothes and garbage—unlike Naruto's room—and quiet. The
lights were off, leaving it rather dim...but it made her feel safe. Well,
safer. And at least she was one step closing to finding the tearoom.
Posture slumping a little as her muscles relaxed, she was just about to peel
her back from the wall when she heard the distant pattering of footsteps again.
Sakura stared down at the floor, keeping as quiet as possible as she searched
for a clue that would help her determine who was wandering around out there. If
she heard the bathroom door open a few feet away, it'd have to be Itachi.
A door did open, however, it wasn't the bathroom door. In the couple of seconds
it took for her to understand what was happening, there was a soft hiss of
shifting wood, and a beam of hallway light breaking into the bedroom.
Sakura's mouth fell open in horror and she nearly fainted as Sasuke walked past
her. His head was tilted down slightly with his dark hair masking his face. He
appeared to be counting something in his palm as he wandered into the room,
past his bed, and to his dresser that was decorated with a couple picture
frames. A drawer slid open, and he dug though the contents.
Paralyzed at first, as if she'd already been caught, Sakura stayed longer than
she should have. Much, much longer. But as he pulled out a couple of throwing
stars, oblivious as ever with his back to her, she regained control of her
limbs, and slipped out the open door into the hallway.
Her face felt hot and her heart pounded as she nearly tripped over herself
scrambling to get away, and in her moment of blind desperation, her mind
thought it was a great idea to sprint the rest of the way out of the house and
out into the street without even her yukata. Just a small white towel. Yeah,
she sure wouldn't cause a scene with that, right?
Fortunately, luck was still on her side, as before she could pass the last door
and make a blind turn down another hall, a hand reached out seemingly from thin
air—the very hand that commonly haunted her wild imagination in the dead of
night—and yanked her into the room.
Her first instinct was to shriek, but she couldn't. A cramp tightened her
throat as she was whirled back into the tearoom, and watched the blur of the
door snapping closed in front of her. The hand dropped her arm, and she turned
to looked up into the eyes of Itachi, pure delirious green meeting cold black.
"Sakura...please tell me you weren't about to run outside like that." He asked
quietly, a hard look piercing her as he watched her stagger backwards and prop
her butt against the wall. Her hands fell to her knees as she bent forward
slightly, and hung her head while she gasped for air.
"He was right there...right there...he walked right past me..." She whispered
through ragged breaths, feeling his gaze study her. Let him. She was just happy
to safely hidden again.
"So you thought running outside in a towel that barely covers you was your only
option?" His question was patient and curious, like an adult entertaining the
wild irrationality of a small child that didn't know any better. It roused a
spark of anger in her, and she grit her teeth as her eyes clenched shut.
"No." She snorted, and then tried to admit as calmly as possible, "I wasn't
really thinking...I just did it..."
Sakura looked up at him, and sighed when she found him merely staring down at
her, expecting a more elaborate and sensible explanation.
"He almost caught me. Twice."
"What took you so long?!" Her whisper was harsh as the agitation spilled to the
surface, and she glared at him, further fueled by his continued indifference.
Well, seeming indifference.
"You were in there for twenty minutes. You should have waited for me to come
back." He murmured, calmly, of course.
Wide eyes beheld him as if he had just sprouted a new limb. There was no way
she had only been in there alone for twenty minutes. It had felt like two
hours.
"That was not twenty minutes! You left me in there for forever! All alone! I
didn't know what to do! I was going to run here but I didn't know which room
the tearoom was!"
Itachi quirked an eyebrow at her, causing her to pause and stare curiously at
him. Then, she heard him sigh softly through his nose as he turned and picked
something off the floor.
She looked down to see her yukata, which had been neatly folded with the obi in
a smaller, perfect square on top, handed to her. Her blue panties, she would
later discover, was sandwiched in between.
"You walked from the front door to the tearoom with me, and you forgot how to
get here..."
She couldn't tell whether it was a hint of amusement, or a hint of
condescension in his words...but the thought of either annoyed her even more.
Yet, as she opened her mouth to retort defensively, she realized she had
nothing useful to throw at him. And naturally, that only made her more angry.
So what if she'd forgotten how to get there? There was so much going on in her
brain in such a short amount of time, and she'd panicked in the hallway. These
weren't normal circumstances for her.
As she thought silently, searching for something clever or snarky to say, he
glanced away from her with a dazed sort of look. She watched him closely,
holding her folded clothes a bit too tightly.
"He's gone." He spoke after a minute, and then turned away from her.
Well... That was a relief. Finally, she didn't have to worry about getting
caught anymore. Funny that he always seemed to pick up on things faster than
she did. She hadn't heard anything. Sasuke must not have used the front door,
as he would have had to pass their's to get to it.
Sakura's eyes followed him to the open doors which offered the colorful view of
the garden beyond. It was the last thing he needed to take care of. The tea pot
and tea cups had been cleaned and put away. His robe had disappeared. Her
clothes had been delivered. The only thing left to do was to return the room to
darkness.
He had already dressed as well, in a simple black shirt and dark blue pants.
His hair, still damp, had been retied in a ponytail that hung low on his neck.
As Sakura watched him close them in a dim, empty room, she began losing the
nerve it took to lash out at him. Her anger hadn't subsided, necessarily, but
coming up with something to say just for the sake of trying to win an argument
seemed like too much effort.
Plus, she just figured he was about to leave now, and she realized that she
wasn't sure how she felt about that.
When he turned around to face her, he glanced down at the yukata still folded
in her hands.
"Are you going to put that on?"
Sakura looked down at it, forgetting for a second that she'd been holding it at
all...and then felt a pang of guilt when she rediscovered how he had carefully
folded the pieces of clothing.
"...Yeah..." She mumbled finally, slowly deflating as she turned her back to
him and reluctantly shed her towel. Yes, she was trying to be modest again. It
was a habit she still couldn't shake, but at least it was a good habit.
As she slipped her arms through the loose sleeves, it occurred to her that she
hadn't heard any movement from him. She half-expected him to leave the room,
though her distracted mind didn't account for the fact that she was currently
standing in front of the only other door.
The obi unraveled slowly in her hands as an uncomfortable silence crept into
the room. Uncomfortable for her, anyway. Itachi remained near the double doors
opposite her, gaze locked to the floor as his own thoughts wondered through
their secretive mazes.
Her fingers grew still, and tightened lightly on the silky fabric while the
yukata hung loosely around her.
"So... That's it?" She gave a nervous, exasperated laugh.
"You're just going to leave. And...I'm going to leave. And...and that's it."
She continued when she heard nothing.
A hand touched her shoulder, shocking her, right before she was about to turn
around angrily to yell at him. She thought he was ignoring her, honestly. But
he had moved from one end of the room to the other without making a single
noise. He took one of her hands in his, and dropped something into her palm.
Sakura looked down and stared curiously at a tiny white ball that looked like a
pill.
"Swallow it." He instructed simply, and she blinked.
"What... What is it?"
"It will keep you from getting pregnant."
"Oh..." Her face was utterly blank at first as she stared in wonder at the
small object. She didn't know those things existed... It wasn't that much of a
surprise to her, but still, it wasn't something she'd ever thought of before,
for obvious reasons. She'd never needed to think about any form of birth
control.
But then, as she felt him brush past her and open the door, she erupted.
Finally, truly, seriously erupted.
"OH. Ok. I get it. So you do this on a regular basis, huh? You take girls back
to your house and...and...do stuff to them...and then when you're done, you
just hand them a pill and kick them out like they're nothing? Really?! Is it
that easy for you? Are you really that much of an...of an asshole?"
His form went rigid in the door frame, and he listened to her rant while facing
the bright hallway.
"Just how many girls have you done this to?! Do you have a stash of this crap
in your room, or something?!" Sakura wasn't quite screaming, but her voice was
loud enough to ring through most of the house, and when he stood there quietly
without even facing her, she felt her anger boil over, and chucked the pill he
had given her at the back of his head with a frustrated growl.
And then...instantly regretted it, as she realized what a stupid and pointless
move that had been when it tumbled down his hair and disappeared under the back
of his shirt. Her fists were clenched at her sides, wrinkling the obi in one
hand as she breathed heavily and glared daggers at him. Her eyes twitched from
the back of his head to his shirt, then to the floor, as she vaguely wondered
where the pill had gone.
Part of her was rational enough to feel guilty at her own childish outburst,
but she wouldn't apologize. She felt justified. How was he going to politely
invite her—a girl he was barely acquainted with—in for tea while waiting for
Sasuke to return, and then just accidentally screw her brains out twice without
any sort of explanation, before sending her on her way? He had taken her
virginity, for crying out loud. She might be young and naïve, but she wasn't so
ignorant that she didn't know this wasn't the type of thing that just casually
happened all the time.
Slowly, Itachi turned around and met her infuriated stare, unflinching. He took
a single step into the room, and slid the door shut behind him, encasing them
in darkness once more.
Sakura, though she wasn't exactly afraid of him hurting her, automatically took
a single step backward to keep the same amount of space comfortably between
them.
Itachi gave her a long, hard look for a minute, and then grabbed the hem of his
shirt and flapped it lightly. Her eyes wandered all over him, before a barely
audible click came from the floor. They both looked down, spying the pill at
the same time as it rolled across the wood towards her.
Glancing up at him, and then down at the floor, and then up at him
again...eventually, she bent to hastily retrieve it, before standing upright
again and crossing her arms over her chest, trying not to seem at all
embarrassed.
The next few seconds consisted of a staring contest between them, with Sakura
stubbornly waiting for some sort of response from him, and Itachi...well...
"Swallow it." He instructed a second time, and watched her finally pop it into
her mouth while refusing to let her glare falter...despite wanting to look away
from him. It had been so much easier to yell at him while he wasn't looking at
her. Ironic, since she'd been pissed at him for keeping his back to her for so
long in the first place. Be careful what you wish for...
"They are my mother's pills." He answered her simply, as if she had merely
asked him a question, rather than depreciate him with her assumptions. He
wasn't mad, though. A little insulted, but not mad. Not that she'd be able to
tell if he was, as he was known for having a very long fuse in most situations.
But he knew better than to be angry at her for this. She didn't understand, and
he hadn't offered her much dialogue. That was his fault, and he knew.
As predicted, her features changed subtly at this unexpected news, into
something that was, well...to put it bluntly, it was an oh shit face. He
wondered if she was aware of how visible her emotions were, or if they always
showed reflexively without her knowledge. He was quite perceptive, yes, but she
was also very easy to read, and so it didn't take much work on his part to
figure her out.
"She doesn't want any more children. So, yes...there is a stash, but it's not
mine." That limited information alone was more than he'd wanted to share, as he
was not one to offer personal details about his family too often, but given the
state of mind she was floundering in, he deemed it necessary to compromise a
little.
Sakure was still angry, but now, she was just as confused. She couldn't say she
particularly enjoyed being angry at him. Feeling like this tended to leave her
with a headache, regardless of how the matter was resolved. But it was what she
had felt he deserved. How could she feel any different? He was just about to
walk away from her after everything that had happened.
His gaze was steady and indecipherable, and he didn't wait long for her to find
something else to throw at him. He had seen this coming, honestly. He'd just
made the mistake of selfishly hoping he wouldn't have to deal with it for a
while...or ever. He was tired, he was busy, and though he'd made no mention of
it his own feelings yet, this was confusing him a little, too. But now, it was
time to face her.
"I'm sorry, Sakura."
All signs of emotion drained from her face as she stared at him. That phrase
had been the last thing she'd expected to hear. An apology? Really?
"This has...never happened before." He admitted slowly, choosing his words
carefully as he thought. She was left hanging onto his every word was rapt
attention, as if he were about to disclose the location to some secret
treasure. All she had wanted were some answers to questions that had been
driving her mad, and it looked like she was about to get them, finally.
"No, I don't normally bring girls back to my house...for any reason. Most of my
time at home is spent eating or sleeping. I don't have enough spare time to
indulge anyone else too often. Sasuke can attest to that, I am sure." If
nothing else, he'd complain about how infrequently he gets to spar with him.
Sakura looked away from him as she slowly closed her yukata, feeling the first
sign of regret as he went on.
"I didn't plan this any more than you did. It just happened." He paused after
that, and watched her. Waiting for her to fire more questions. He wasn't about
to ramble carelessly, unless she chose to pick his brain some more. And if she
wanted to, she'd need to do it now, for she might not get another chance.
Sakura caught wind of this. Though she didn't know him very well, she could
tell it wasn't common for him to open up. He was like Sasuke, in that respect.
"But... Why?" She asked, voice absent of nearly all her previous negativity.
"I don't get why it could just happen. It wasn't even once, it was twice. You
can't say it just happened. Why did you...?"
"Why did you let me?" He turned the tables around on her, just like he'd done
in the bathroom earlier.
Sakura glared at him suddenly, feeling he was simply evading her. But then, he
answered for her...
"Because it felt good. It was fun. That's why you let me. And that's why I did
it. I don't have a better answer than that. Do you?"
She continued to glare at him some more, flickering back and forth between his
dark eyes, but eventually she lost her steam and sighed, looking away. He was
right... And no, she couldn't actually think of a better answer. She was just
unhappy with the fact that it didn't help her feel any less confused about
everything.
"I just don't get you." She murmured after a minute of silence.
"My own father doesn't get me, Sakura. I wouldn't expect you to."
She paused at that, and fell quiet. Well...that changed things a little. This
whole time she'd been thinking he was just keeping her in the dark because it
was easy, and he didn't really care. But if his own family had trouble
understanding him...she couldn't really take it personally anymore. And
somehow, hearing this made her feel sad.
Sad for him, not for her.
Her hands smoothed out the winkled obi she'd been carelessly holding captive,
looking for something to do as she contemplated. He remained in front of her,
watching silently as she began wrapping it around her waist. Her mother usually
helped her with it, especially because she had a hard time tying it in the back
without it looking sloppy...but for now, her mediocre and crooked bow would
have to suffice.
"So... It's...it's normal for you to just...do things like that? Just because
you can, and it sounds fun, you're going to do it?" Brows knitting as she
looked down at the floor, her hands smoothed over the front of her yukata,
shifting everything in place and tugging her obi down a little.
"How old are you, Sakura?" He surprised her, and she looked up at him and
blinked, saying in a small voice...
"Uhm.. 15."
Just as he'd thought.
"What kinds of missions have you been sent on?"
She stared at him curiously, clearly not getting where this was going.
"Well...uh... I've been on more D missions than I can count. A lot of C's, too.
A few B's, a couple A's. I'm training to be a medic though, so I spend a lot of
time at the hospital. Why...?" She watched him nod faintly, never taking his
eyes off her.
"How many of your friends have died right in front of you?"
Her eyes widened, and she said nothing...too stunned to speak.
To him, that meant the answer was zero, and he let his eyes fall from hers, and
trace over her clothes. He took a step forward, and then circled around her
slowly, inspecting her as the solemn stillness crept in around them. When he
was behind her, she didn't bother to turn and see what he was doing, but she
soon felt gentle tugs at her back, as he took it upon himself to fix her bow.
"You and I see things very differently...because we've had different
experiences..." His words were barely above a whisper, and his breath tickled
the back of her neck.
"Sometimes I do things that don't always make sense to anyone else. And
sometimes, they don't always make sense to me. But I've learned that not
everything needs to make sense. I've learned to live in the moment, and to
enjoy what I can, and who I can...while I can. And I think, Sakura, that sooner
or later, you will understand why..."
"Don't patronize me." She insisted, though her voice was nearly as soft as his.
"I know what it is to be a shinobi. I know how quickly things can go wrong
sometimes. I know about death and war. It's inevitable, and I chose this career
with that understanding. So please... I'm not as ignorant as you think."
Itachi drifted in front of her, eyes still searching calmly for anything that
needed to be adjusted. Then, his hands rose to her chest, and pulled together
the flaps of fabric that shaped her sharp neckline. She had wrapped it the same
way she had done this morning, leaving the V scooping far lower than it should
have. Sakura looked up at him, holding still while he fussed over her. When he
was satisfied with the results, he returned her gaze.
"You don't know death or war, Sakura. You think you do, because you've been
familiarized with the concepts. You've heard others recant their stories, and
you've been educated by your sensei. But you don't know the finality and pain
that those things leave you with. Not until you have watched your own teammates
fall around you—not until your own friend has died in your arms, will
you know."
Her face was devoid of emotion, strangely...she had no response. The air felt
heavy, weighted with morbid implications and unspoken sorrows. None of which
she had a proper grasp of, but she could feel them there. He had said enough to
cease her argument.
"That is why I appreciate every moment...and that is why, sometimes, things
just happen."
When she did nothing but swallow quietly, he backed away from her, and turned
to open the door. The bright light bathed her, illuminating the vibrant colors
that composed her. He looked at her, secretly appreciating the bright green of
her innocent eyes, the pastel pink of her hair, and the playful, feminine blue
and yellow of her yukata. She truly was, in that moment, a beacon in the dark,
with the shadows of the room lost behind her.
Sakura clasped her hands in front of her and looked down. She was still at a
loss for words, yet she felt like there was also still so much she wanted to
say. There was no time left though, was there... He had to go.
But when he turned and stepped out of the room, she found herself blurting
something that her own brain barely had time to filter before it left her
mouth...
"Are you like Sasuke?"
He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at her.
Sakura swallowed again, feeling like she'd accidentally tripped and stumbled
under the limelight long before she was ready to be there.
"I mean... Are you going to...going to follow your family tradition? Marry into
your clan and...do what everyone expects you to?" She fidgeted once she was
done forcing the rest of her words out, surprised at herself, yet unable to do
anything about it now. Why had she chosen to say that? Why now? She didn't
know.
He was taken aback by her question, but the only indication was his hesitation
as his eyes fell down and lost themselves in the nearly glowing flowers that
shielded her legs.
"If I choose to marry an Uchiha, it will not be because it's expected of me."
He murmured gently.
The subject of marriage wasn't something he easily talked about, not even with
his own parents. She had no idea how rare it was for him to allow her even that
little piece of truth...but in that moment, he saw no harming in tell her.
Sakura held the look of discomforted surprise on her face, though whether it
was still directed at herself, or at the answer he had given her, was hard to
distinguish. Either way, she decided the only thing left to do was to nod, and
step out of the room and into the hall.
He shut the door behind her, and lead the way to the front door. The steps that
followed him was sluggish. It was obvious she wasn't ready to go yet, despite
how desperate she had been earlier to flee and never return. Crazy how fast
things could change.
But...that's exactly what their whole day had been like. Crazy, fast, and full
of change.
With a demeanor nothing short of sadness and regret, she found herself on the
front porch in no time at all, slipping her shoes on her feet with downcast
eyes. Itachi stood next to her, waiting patiently as he always did, and looked
out at the houses across from them. The tilt of their shadows indicated it was
already past noon.
Something dawned on her as she was about to take her first step down, and she
gasped quietly.
"What if people see us leaving at the same time? Won't it look suspicious?!"
Her hands flew to the sides of her head dramatically as she stared at him.
The smirk that appeared at the corner of his mouth left her bewildered.
"Sakura... Who cares?"
Then, her jaw nearly hit the floor.
"What do you mean who cares?! What if Sasuke finds out?!" She whispered
sharply, before looking around quite paranoid. No one was paying them any mind
yet, thankfully.
She saw him turning to face her from the corner of her eye, but didn't pay him
any attention until she felt him grab her shoulders and twist her to look at
him.
"If Sasuke finds out, it's not going to change anything between you two. He
doesn't care about you. Not the way you want him to. And he probably never
will. In fact, he will be become more of a problem for me than he will for
you."
There he went saying those words she never wanted to hear again. Even the
second time around, they were tough to endure, yet it vaguely occurred to her
that she didn't feel like tearing up this time. In fact, she wouldn't even
consider herself crushed, at this point.
"A problem for you?" She snapped incredulously, only for him to nod in
reassurance...but he didn't offer any further explanation. Instead, he left her
with this...
"You deserve better, Sakura. Stop wasting your energy. You're stagnating in an
obsession."
His hand drifted above her eyesight, leading her to believe he was going to pat
her on the head...but then, he ruffled her hair in a noogie without warning.
"Ahh!" She yelped and immediately hopped away from him and stumbled off the
porch, hands flying up to shield her head from him. Not that he could do much
damage, as she still hadn't brushed her hair yet. She blinked dazedly at him
while he smiled down at her. It was faint, but it was there, and it wasn't
something she expected to see. A brief, mischievous smirk, sure... But a
genuine smile? That was...weird.
Leaving the porch for the patchy sunlight that was steadily multiplying as the
storm clouds dispersed, he took his time walking up to her. His face, however,
melted back into a mysterious, blank mask, and when his shoulder brushed
lightly against hers, leaving them standing side-by-side and facing opposite
direction, he tilted his head slightly towards her ear.
"The next time you stop by for tea, please show up after eleven. I'd like more
than three hours of sleep before entertaining you."
Sakura blushed instantly, missing the last smirk he gave her before he shifted
past her and wandered off down the road, but certainly not missing the
implication in his last words.
After a few seconds, she turned around...watching his casual gait disappear
around a corner as he took a side street to an unknown training destination.
Dear Kami... She'd gotten some questions answered, that was for certain. In
fact, she'd gotten more from him than she ever could have imagined. She just
didn't realize that fully, because she still didn't know him as much as she
should...and she definitely didn't know the way he interacted with his own
family, who, although he was fiercely protective of and loyal to, didn't
understand him as much as she assumed they did, either.
Itachi was an enigma. A beautiful, mysterious, elusive, wise, powerful enigma.
And she was a little girl in a dress, forever changed by a single encounter...
She just didn't know that yet.
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