and i see your progress stretched out for miles and miles.
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Uchiha Itachi & Haruno Sakura
Prompts: 18. honesty & 05. your precious someone & 43. golden miracle
Word Count: 3065
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Notes: Part of a mini-series entitled Chiaroscuro. 8/31 complete. SSequels/Prequels can be found here at CHIAROSCURO. Written for lover100 & 50_shinobi & 500themes.
-
Sakura hummed along quietly as her fingers moved to nimbly weave the two needles together. The task at hand was more enjoyable than she had originally thought possible, though no less tedious. It was perfectly fine when all stitches flowed together nicely, but whenever she dropped a stitch, that was another question altogether. Even as she thought this, her fingers slipped ever so slightly, and the tenth stitch on her row slipped out of its knot, getting lost in the flow of yarn.
Sakura blew out a frustrated sigh. What on earth was she doing, sitting here and knitting? She blinked, and without another thought, set aside her project atop the coffee table under the window. Even with the blinds shut, a small stream of sunlight filtered through, bathing her creation in a dim light. It did nothing but sour her mood, and so she turned away from it altogether, intent on changing her thoughts to something less frustrating. Eyes wandering, she was dismayed to find that there was, unfortunately, nothing else of interest in her bleak little living room.
This was all Naruto and Sasuke’s fault.
Seeing her after her mission with Itachi’s team, both men had very nearly flipped. It did no good on her part to keep repeating that it was a successful mission. All it took was for Naruto to see that she had been worked half to death by Sasuke’s crazy brother, and for Sasuke to see the results of this success, for them to make such a decision for her. While she had still been at the hospital, half-recovering, half-attending her wounded teammates against the warnings of hospital staff, her boys had gone and made quite a spectacle of themselves at the Hokage’s office.
To say the least, Tsunade had not been amused when two of her most promising shinobi stormed her office, demanding to know why their dear Sakura-chan had been put on a team with crazy men who did not value theirs, and more importantly, her life. At least, Naruto demanded as much, while Sasuke silently brooded, looking somewhat unsure as to whether or not he wanted to interject at his aniki being called a crazy man. Truth to be told, Tsunade had also been rather displeased at the state of Itachi’s team upon return, but it was not much worse than she had truly expected.
They had all returned, albeit a little worse for the wear, and she was secretly proud that Sakura had done so well in the presence of the three stubborn men. Tsunade was a wise woman, though, and knew that voicing any of this would not appease the two even more pigheaded men currently occupying her office.
She sighed, suppressing the urge to rub her temples. “What do you want me to do, Naruto? She’s a kunoichi. Being in danger is her job. Just as it is yours.”
Naruto’s mouth curled into a dissatisfied pout. “You’re pushing her too hard! She just got promoted to Jounin and you’re off throwing her into the ANBU already!”
“She’s not strong enough, then?” Tsunade bit out dangerously, eyes flashing. Inwardly, though, Tsunade laughed, ecstatic that the young man had given her such an opening to exploit. “You, of all people, doubt her abilities?”
Naruto faltered. “Well, no-”
“She is more than capable,” Sasuke cut in, sensing Tsunade’s direction. “We, like you, want nothing more than to see her flourish. But to push herself this hard is insane - just give her a break. You know she won’t allow herself one.”
Ah, well, Tsunade thought, seeing that her plan had been thoroughly thwarted by the younger Uchiha. There was sense to his words, and since she wanted nothing more than for them to be out of her damn office, she acquiesced. “All right, all right, I’ll take her off duty for a month and the hospital’s roster for a week. No guarantees for emergency procedures though.”
Naruto seemed to want to protest, but Sasuke gave him a particularly hard jab to the ribs. “Thank you, Tsunade-sama.”
“You’ll tell her, right?” Naruto said, rubbing his rib slightly.
Surprisingly, Tsunade burst out in howling laughter. “This was your meddling! You tell her, and don’t go running to the hospital when she beats you black and blue,” she laughed, a twinkle in her eye. “Oh, that’ll be a show to watch…”
When the two men stood frozen, rooted to their spots, staring at their leader with fear in their eyes, she stopped laughing. “Well? Why are you still here? Go!”
Wasting no time, Naruto and Sasuke beat a quick exit from the Hokage’s office. Barreling down the stairs, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged an uncertain look. “Well, at least we know where Sakura-chan’s sadistic streak comes from now…”
Sasuke wished he didn’t agree.
-
“To your recovery, Cap,” Genma cheered teasingly, raising a glass. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but didn’t move forward from his laid-back position, with his left arm draped over the back of his chair. Itachi didn’t react, and whether he was amused or annoyed was up to their discretion. He did, however, raise a glass as well, and acknowledged Genma’s half-hearted well wishes with a small raise.
“To your escape from the hospital,” Itachi replied almost monotonously, but his words had the desired effect, as Genma and Shikamaru both let out loud laughs. During Genma’s relatively short (relative only in comparison to Itachi’s prolonged three week stay), he had attempted to escape no less than ten times, each time with increasing fervor, protesting that he only had minor injuries. The first three times Sakura had been the one to block his escape, but after that even she had agreed that he was fit for discharge. But unfortunately for Genma, that was also when Sakura received her own notice-for-rest, and was temporarily discharged from duty.
The unfortunate Genma was then confined to the hospital, kept there by the nurses who saw him to be “absolutely in no shape or form fit for discharge,” all the while giggling and pointing in a very teenaged fashion.
“Well, the medics there all seem nice enough, until you really test them,” Genma sighed. “Then they remind you that they’re every bit the shinobi you are. Sakura’s got to be the best example of that madness.”
“You’d do well to never screw with that girl,” Shikamaru offered. When Genma turned an inquisitive stare on him that could only mean, what, you speak from personal experience?, Shikamaru shook his head. “You’re forgetting that she and Ino are best friends.”
“Where is she anyways?” Genma asked suddenly. “I thought we were going to invite her? She was part of the team.”
Shikamaru shrugged, and Itachi remained indifferent. “Guess we forgot,” Genma answered his own question with a sigh. Ever since he had discovered her and Sasuke’s secret, being in the girl’s company had never been more amusing. Just as the thought trailed through the forefronts of his mind, the door to the restaurant flew open, revealing the last object of their conversation and her two accessories.
As they were seated a mere ten feet away from the door, it was impossible for either him or Itachi to miss the trio that had entered, for Itachi was facing the same was as Genma. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be discussing something with secret fervor while Sakura was intent on flagging down a waitress, for the maître d’ was nowhere to be found. The two men didn’t even notice when Sakura finally succeeded, and the hostess started leading them towards a table. Only when Sakura tapped Naruto on the shoulder, and the blond jumped in surprise, did the two break away from their conversation.
It was also then that they finally noticed Itachi, Shikamaru and Genma.
Sakura’s face lit up pleasantly in surprise when she spotted them, and she headed towards them with a small wave. On seeing the contents of their table and the empty shot glasses, Sakura faked a pout. “Celebrating without me? I’m hurt.”
Unseen by her, Naruto and Sasuke followed with no small amounts of reluctance.
“We thought you’d be otherwise engaged,” Genma offered with a suggestive look towards Sasuke, who was standing behind Sakura awkwardly with Naruto. In their awkwardness, both men missed the underlying meaning of Genma’s comment, but Itachi did not. Next to Genma, their captain tensed. At the glare from Sakura, Genma relented on his teasing, if only for the moment. “Why don’t you guys join us for dinner then? We only just got here a while ago too.”
This was enough to distract Sakura for the moment, and with no hesitation, she drew up three chairs for them. And, in typical Sakura fashion, the first topic of conversation that occurred to her was their health. “How are all your injuries? Completely healed?”
A chorus of yesses met her question, and though that seemed to pacify her healer’s instinct, her eyes lingered over Itachi for just a moment longer, tracing over all the injuries she’d spent days fussing over, pouring her life’s energy into healing. Though the majority were covered by his clothes, she could still see his damaged body before her eyes, and though she blinked away the image in a second, her heart had already taken a dive as the panic of those moments seized her once more.
This also went unnoticed by her teammates, who were already arguing over what to eat. She could hear Naruto’s childish complaints of hunger and Sasuke’s annoyed words, and they soothed her for the moment. Soon enough, though, they decided on what to order. Sakura tried not to laugh as she watched the lust in Naruto’s eyes as he studied the food already on the table grow until he finally just dove into the food on the table. Shikamaru and Genma then protested, and as misanthropic as Sasuke sometimes was, he joined in on their chatter. And as loud and talkative as Sakura usually was, she opted to stay silent today as she watched the four men bicker like children.
Truth to be told, her anger at Sasuke and Naruto had dissipated as fast as it had risen. What they did, however annoying it was to her, was, she knew, for her own good. And although she knew they cared for her more than anything in the world, these little reminders of their affection never failed to make her heart swell.
Throughout the night, Sakura was eager for the chance at conversation with Itachi. But after their food arrived, the argument between the four men resolved itself, and the tiny sliver of an opportunity she’d had for a one-on-one conversation with Itachi also disappeared. And after that, they were once more a sextet, and every other conversation that occurred during that dinner offered no chance for Sakura to talk to Itachi alone.
By the time they all left the restaurant, with Naruto so full he could barely walk, Sakura had all but given up on her wish to talk to Itachi privately. She was about to catch up to Naruto and Sasuke when she felt his firm grip on her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“May I have a word?”
Sakura could only stare up at him with large eyes, nodding her head twice. Naruto, Sasuke and Genma didn’t seem to notice as the two slipped away from the group, but Itachi caught Shikamaru’s questioning glance as he lead Sakura down another street, towards the training grounds.
Sakura felt like a little teenaged girl again as a small blush spread across her cheeks when she realized that he had yet to let go of her arm. Whether Itachi noticed or not, she would never know, but the older Uchiha didn’t relinquish his grip on her until they had left the lights of the town behind, and all that surrounded them were the trees and forestry of the training grounds. When he dropped his hold on her, Sakura could still feel the heat of his hand.
“Join my team.”
Sakura blinked at him, unsure of what to say, blunt and abrupt as his declaration had been. Itachi seemed not to notice as he continued, “Be our permanent medic.”
“I-“ she started, not knowing how to continue. She felt as if her had just proposed to her, and in a way, he had. “I’m not sure if-”
As if not hearing her hesitation, Itachi continued on, “You’ll learn much more than you will with any other team. You’ll accomplish more, and do more for your village. In the end, this is the way you can best serve your people.”
Sakura seemed to ponder his words, and was silent for almost two minutes before she finally spoke. “Why? Why me?”
“After Tsunade, you are the best medic in the village. Although the hospital benefits from your abilities, you were trained as a field medic, and it is as a field medic that your skills can be put to the best use. Plus…” Itachi shifted slightly, and bore his gaze straight into her own eyes. “You work well with us. You are the only medic we’ll take.”
Sakura squinted her eyes up at him. “Is that a threat? That you guys will go on without a medic unless it’s me? That’s it?”
Itachi shook his head once, curtly. “No. It wasn’t a threat; it was the truth. We’ve survived without a medic until now, and we can survive without one in the future. But it would be better if you were there with us.”
Although Sakura knew that Itachi only wanted Sakura the Medic, she could not stop the girl within her from fluttering and fainting at his words. Her femininity insisted on the romance in his words, even when her sense and everything logical in her brain told her it was just the practical side of Itachi speaking. But that wasn’t enough to stop a small grin from spreading across her face.
“No other medic will do? It has to be me?”
“Yes. Only you.”
If only he was talking about Sakura the Woman and not Sakura the Medic, and he wasn’t in Team Captain mode, Sakura sighed silently to herself. But this was already more than she had ever hoped to hear from the man she had adored nearly all her life, and so she beamed up at him, and nodded an okay. “We’ll see what shishou says, but I won’t abandon my team. If Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi need me, then I’ll be there for them first and foremost.”
Itachi silently approved of her loyalty. With her last words, the conversation between them lulled to a stop, and for the next three minutes, the two of them stood there awkwardly, each unsure of what to say or do next. Awkwardly, Sakura rubbed her fingers together, a nervous habit of her youth. How she wished she could charm Itachi with eloquent conversation in this rare moment, but every single bit of charm deserted her in that moment as she stared up at him.
“Time sure passes by quickly, eh,” Sakura murmured, shifting her gaze to the night. As an afterthought, the woman dropped down to the lush grass, seating herself comfortably.
“Indeed it does,” Itachi replied quietly.
“And it’s funny how far such a short amount of time can take you. So fast and so far that some things, even some parts of yourself aren’t recognizable anymore.”
Itachi was thoughtful for a moment, moments flashing by in seconds. He shrugged softly. “It’s progress. It’s the process of learning. It’s the value of being able to grow old.”
“Yes,” Sakura laughed. “People like us should especially cherish the value of being able to live until old age.”
Suddenly Itachi dropped down next to her, his gaze matching hers, tracing lines in the sky. “People cherish most the things they have to fight for.”
If I fought for you, would you one day look at me in that light? The thought had flickered through her mind too fast to stop, and it was with uncharted emotions that she welcomed it. Am I even allowed to think that far? To think about something so utterly forbidden to me? Sasuke and Naruto would probably die at the thought.
Sakura smiled though, despite her thoughts and agreed once more. “Yes. It’s the best feeling, knowing that you’ve fought and won. It’s insurmountable.”
“Completely?”
“Absolutely. Nothing is more valuable to me, especially as a medic. Saving any lives at all is already precious. But when it’s someone that’s close to me, close to my heart…” Sakura’s voice trailed off, her heart swelling with the thought. “Well. When I know that someone I love will be with me another day because of what I’ve been able to do for them, there is absolutely nothing more precious than that.”
“Your teammates?” Itachi asked with a raised brow, though he already knew the answer.
“Yeah. All my precious people. Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade, Sasuke…” You, she wanted to add, but didn’t dare. There was still something enticingly forbidden about her infatuation, and for now, she would keep it to herself, a secret kept warm. In her mind, their last mission played through again and again, the critical moments when his life hung in a delicate balance, the blurs of the treetops as they raced back to Konoha, and finally, of his alive face in the hospital. Indeed, there was nothing more precious to her than that; the breathing face of a loved one saved, even more so of her secret love.
Though not purposeful on her part, Itachi couldn’t help but notice that she’d ended her list with his little brother. Her precious someone, huh, he thought to himself. Though it was only to be expected that Sasuke was her precious person, seeing as he was her teammate and recently, boyfriend, it didn’t dull the slight pang of annoyance. Itachi was in no mood to admit that it was not so much at the inclusion of his otouto’s name, but rather at the exclusion of his own that he felt annoyed.
Sakura, oblivious to the misunderstanding brewing between her and the two Uchiha brothers, smiled happily at the beaming moon. She could stay like this forever, just sitting in Itachi’s presence. Silence was for once golden to her.
For now, it felt like this moment, their shared moment, could last forever.
Characters: Uchiha Itachi & Haruno Sakura
Prompts: 18. honesty & 05. your precious someone & 43. golden miracle
Word Count: 3065
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Notes: Part of a mini-series entitled Chiaroscuro. 8/31 complete. SSequels/Prequels can be found here at CHIAROSCURO. Written for lover100 & 50_shinobi & 500themes.
-
Sakura hummed along quietly as her fingers moved to nimbly weave the two needles together. The task at hand was more enjoyable than she had originally thought possible, though no less tedious. It was perfectly fine when all stitches flowed together nicely, but whenever she dropped a stitch, that was another question altogether. Even as she thought this, her fingers slipped ever so slightly, and the tenth stitch on her row slipped out of its knot, getting lost in the flow of yarn.
Sakura blew out a frustrated sigh. What on earth was she doing, sitting here and knitting? She blinked, and without another thought, set aside her project atop the coffee table under the window. Even with the blinds shut, a small stream of sunlight filtered through, bathing her creation in a dim light. It did nothing but sour her mood, and so she turned away from it altogether, intent on changing her thoughts to something less frustrating. Eyes wandering, she was dismayed to find that there was, unfortunately, nothing else of interest in her bleak little living room.
This was all Naruto and Sasuke’s fault.
Seeing her after her mission with Itachi’s team, both men had very nearly flipped. It did no good on her part to keep repeating that it was a successful mission. All it took was for Naruto to see that she had been worked half to death by Sasuke’s crazy brother, and for Sasuke to see the results of this success, for them to make such a decision for her. While she had still been at the hospital, half-recovering, half-attending her wounded teammates against the warnings of hospital staff, her boys had gone and made quite a spectacle of themselves at the Hokage’s office.
To say the least, Tsunade had not been amused when two of her most promising shinobi stormed her office, demanding to know why their dear Sakura-chan had been put on a team with crazy men who did not value theirs, and more importantly, her life. At least, Naruto demanded as much, while Sasuke silently brooded, looking somewhat unsure as to whether or not he wanted to interject at his aniki being called a crazy man. Truth to be told, Tsunade had also been rather displeased at the state of Itachi’s team upon return, but it was not much worse than she had truly expected.
They had all returned, albeit a little worse for the wear, and she was secretly proud that Sakura had done so well in the presence of the three stubborn men. Tsunade was a wise woman, though, and knew that voicing any of this would not appease the two even more pigheaded men currently occupying her office.
She sighed, suppressing the urge to rub her temples. “What do you want me to do, Naruto? She’s a kunoichi. Being in danger is her job. Just as it is yours.”
Naruto’s mouth curled into a dissatisfied pout. “You’re pushing her too hard! She just got promoted to Jounin and you’re off throwing her into the ANBU already!”
“She’s not strong enough, then?” Tsunade bit out dangerously, eyes flashing. Inwardly, though, Tsunade laughed, ecstatic that the young man had given her such an opening to exploit. “You, of all people, doubt her abilities?”
Naruto faltered. “Well, no-”
“She is more than capable,” Sasuke cut in, sensing Tsunade’s direction. “We, like you, want nothing more than to see her flourish. But to push herself this hard is insane - just give her a break. You know she won’t allow herself one.”
Ah, well, Tsunade thought, seeing that her plan had been thoroughly thwarted by the younger Uchiha. There was sense to his words, and since she wanted nothing more than for them to be out of her damn office, she acquiesced. “All right, all right, I’ll take her off duty for a month and the hospital’s roster for a week. No guarantees for emergency procedures though.”
Naruto seemed to want to protest, but Sasuke gave him a particularly hard jab to the ribs. “Thank you, Tsunade-sama.”
“You’ll tell her, right?” Naruto said, rubbing his rib slightly.
Surprisingly, Tsunade burst out in howling laughter. “This was your meddling! You tell her, and don’t go running to the hospital when she beats you black and blue,” she laughed, a twinkle in her eye. “Oh, that’ll be a show to watch…”
When the two men stood frozen, rooted to their spots, staring at their leader with fear in their eyes, she stopped laughing. “Well? Why are you still here? Go!”
Wasting no time, Naruto and Sasuke beat a quick exit from the Hokage’s office. Barreling down the stairs, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged an uncertain look. “Well, at least we know where Sakura-chan’s sadistic streak comes from now…”
Sasuke wished he didn’t agree.
-
“To your recovery, Cap,” Genma cheered teasingly, raising a glass. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but didn’t move forward from his laid-back position, with his left arm draped over the back of his chair. Itachi didn’t react, and whether he was amused or annoyed was up to their discretion. He did, however, raise a glass as well, and acknowledged Genma’s half-hearted well wishes with a small raise.
“To your escape from the hospital,” Itachi replied almost monotonously, but his words had the desired effect, as Genma and Shikamaru both let out loud laughs. During Genma’s relatively short (relative only in comparison to Itachi’s prolonged three week stay), he had attempted to escape no less than ten times, each time with increasing fervor, protesting that he only had minor injuries. The first three times Sakura had been the one to block his escape, but after that even she had agreed that he was fit for discharge. But unfortunately for Genma, that was also when Sakura received her own notice-for-rest, and was temporarily discharged from duty.
The unfortunate Genma was then confined to the hospital, kept there by the nurses who saw him to be “absolutely in no shape or form fit for discharge,” all the while giggling and pointing in a very teenaged fashion.
“Well, the medics there all seem nice enough, until you really test them,” Genma sighed. “Then they remind you that they’re every bit the shinobi you are. Sakura’s got to be the best example of that madness.”
“You’d do well to never screw with that girl,” Shikamaru offered. When Genma turned an inquisitive stare on him that could only mean, what, you speak from personal experience?, Shikamaru shook his head. “You’re forgetting that she and Ino are best friends.”
“Where is she anyways?” Genma asked suddenly. “I thought we were going to invite her? She was part of the team.”
Shikamaru shrugged, and Itachi remained indifferent. “Guess we forgot,” Genma answered his own question with a sigh. Ever since he had discovered her and Sasuke’s secret, being in the girl’s company had never been more amusing. Just as the thought trailed through the forefronts of his mind, the door to the restaurant flew open, revealing the last object of their conversation and her two accessories.
As they were seated a mere ten feet away from the door, it was impossible for either him or Itachi to miss the trio that had entered, for Itachi was facing the same was as Genma. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be discussing something with secret fervor while Sakura was intent on flagging down a waitress, for the maître d’ was nowhere to be found. The two men didn’t even notice when Sakura finally succeeded, and the hostess started leading them towards a table. Only when Sakura tapped Naruto on the shoulder, and the blond jumped in surprise, did the two break away from their conversation.
It was also then that they finally noticed Itachi, Shikamaru and Genma.
Sakura’s face lit up pleasantly in surprise when she spotted them, and she headed towards them with a small wave. On seeing the contents of their table and the empty shot glasses, Sakura faked a pout. “Celebrating without me? I’m hurt.”
Unseen by her, Naruto and Sasuke followed with no small amounts of reluctance.
“We thought you’d be otherwise engaged,” Genma offered with a suggestive look towards Sasuke, who was standing behind Sakura awkwardly with Naruto. In their awkwardness, both men missed the underlying meaning of Genma’s comment, but Itachi did not. Next to Genma, their captain tensed. At the glare from Sakura, Genma relented on his teasing, if only for the moment. “Why don’t you guys join us for dinner then? We only just got here a while ago too.”
This was enough to distract Sakura for the moment, and with no hesitation, she drew up three chairs for them. And, in typical Sakura fashion, the first topic of conversation that occurred to her was their health. “How are all your injuries? Completely healed?”
A chorus of yesses met her question, and though that seemed to pacify her healer’s instinct, her eyes lingered over Itachi for just a moment longer, tracing over all the injuries she’d spent days fussing over, pouring her life’s energy into healing. Though the majority were covered by his clothes, she could still see his damaged body before her eyes, and though she blinked away the image in a second, her heart had already taken a dive as the panic of those moments seized her once more.
This also went unnoticed by her teammates, who were already arguing over what to eat. She could hear Naruto’s childish complaints of hunger and Sasuke’s annoyed words, and they soothed her for the moment. Soon enough, though, they decided on what to order. Sakura tried not to laugh as she watched the lust in Naruto’s eyes as he studied the food already on the table grow until he finally just dove into the food on the table. Shikamaru and Genma then protested, and as misanthropic as Sasuke sometimes was, he joined in on their chatter. And as loud and talkative as Sakura usually was, she opted to stay silent today as she watched the four men bicker like children.
Truth to be told, her anger at Sasuke and Naruto had dissipated as fast as it had risen. What they did, however annoying it was to her, was, she knew, for her own good. And although she knew they cared for her more than anything in the world, these little reminders of their affection never failed to make her heart swell.
Throughout the night, Sakura was eager for the chance at conversation with Itachi. But after their food arrived, the argument between the four men resolved itself, and the tiny sliver of an opportunity she’d had for a one-on-one conversation with Itachi also disappeared. And after that, they were once more a sextet, and every other conversation that occurred during that dinner offered no chance for Sakura to talk to Itachi alone.
By the time they all left the restaurant, with Naruto so full he could barely walk, Sakura had all but given up on her wish to talk to Itachi privately. She was about to catch up to Naruto and Sasuke when she felt his firm grip on her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“May I have a word?”
Sakura could only stare up at him with large eyes, nodding her head twice. Naruto, Sasuke and Genma didn’t seem to notice as the two slipped away from the group, but Itachi caught Shikamaru’s questioning glance as he lead Sakura down another street, towards the training grounds.
Sakura felt like a little teenaged girl again as a small blush spread across her cheeks when she realized that he had yet to let go of her arm. Whether Itachi noticed or not, she would never know, but the older Uchiha didn’t relinquish his grip on her until they had left the lights of the town behind, and all that surrounded them were the trees and forestry of the training grounds. When he dropped his hold on her, Sakura could still feel the heat of his hand.
“Join my team.”
Sakura blinked at him, unsure of what to say, blunt and abrupt as his declaration had been. Itachi seemed not to notice as he continued, “Be our permanent medic.”
“I-“ she started, not knowing how to continue. She felt as if her had just proposed to her, and in a way, he had. “I’m not sure if-”
As if not hearing her hesitation, Itachi continued on, “You’ll learn much more than you will with any other team. You’ll accomplish more, and do more for your village. In the end, this is the way you can best serve your people.”
Sakura seemed to ponder his words, and was silent for almost two minutes before she finally spoke. “Why? Why me?”
“After Tsunade, you are the best medic in the village. Although the hospital benefits from your abilities, you were trained as a field medic, and it is as a field medic that your skills can be put to the best use. Plus…” Itachi shifted slightly, and bore his gaze straight into her own eyes. “You work well with us. You are the only medic we’ll take.”
Sakura squinted her eyes up at him. “Is that a threat? That you guys will go on without a medic unless it’s me? That’s it?”
Itachi shook his head once, curtly. “No. It wasn’t a threat; it was the truth. We’ve survived without a medic until now, and we can survive without one in the future. But it would be better if you were there with us.”
Although Sakura knew that Itachi only wanted Sakura the Medic, she could not stop the girl within her from fluttering and fainting at his words. Her femininity insisted on the romance in his words, even when her sense and everything logical in her brain told her it was just the practical side of Itachi speaking. But that wasn’t enough to stop a small grin from spreading across her face.
“No other medic will do? It has to be me?”
“Yes. Only you.”
If only he was talking about Sakura the Woman and not Sakura the Medic, and he wasn’t in Team Captain mode, Sakura sighed silently to herself. But this was already more than she had ever hoped to hear from the man she had adored nearly all her life, and so she beamed up at him, and nodded an okay. “We’ll see what shishou says, but I won’t abandon my team. If Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi need me, then I’ll be there for them first and foremost.”
Itachi silently approved of her loyalty. With her last words, the conversation between them lulled to a stop, and for the next three minutes, the two of them stood there awkwardly, each unsure of what to say or do next. Awkwardly, Sakura rubbed her fingers together, a nervous habit of her youth. How she wished she could charm Itachi with eloquent conversation in this rare moment, but every single bit of charm deserted her in that moment as she stared up at him.
“Time sure passes by quickly, eh,” Sakura murmured, shifting her gaze to the night. As an afterthought, the woman dropped down to the lush grass, seating herself comfortably.
“Indeed it does,” Itachi replied quietly.
“And it’s funny how far such a short amount of time can take you. So fast and so far that some things, even some parts of yourself aren’t recognizable anymore.”
Itachi was thoughtful for a moment, moments flashing by in seconds. He shrugged softly. “It’s progress. It’s the process of learning. It’s the value of being able to grow old.”
“Yes,” Sakura laughed. “People like us should especially cherish the value of being able to live until old age.”
Suddenly Itachi dropped down next to her, his gaze matching hers, tracing lines in the sky. “People cherish most the things they have to fight for.”
If I fought for you, would you one day look at me in that light? The thought had flickered through her mind too fast to stop, and it was with uncharted emotions that she welcomed it. Am I even allowed to think that far? To think about something so utterly forbidden to me? Sasuke and Naruto would probably die at the thought.
Sakura smiled though, despite her thoughts and agreed once more. “Yes. It’s the best feeling, knowing that you’ve fought and won. It’s insurmountable.”
“Completely?”
“Absolutely. Nothing is more valuable to me, especially as a medic. Saving any lives at all is already precious. But when it’s someone that’s close to me, close to my heart…” Sakura’s voice trailed off, her heart swelling with the thought. “Well. When I know that someone I love will be with me another day because of what I’ve been able to do for them, there is absolutely nothing more precious than that.”
“Your teammates?” Itachi asked with a raised brow, though he already knew the answer.
“Yeah. All my precious people. Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade, Sasuke…” You, she wanted to add, but didn’t dare. There was still something enticingly forbidden about her infatuation, and for now, she would keep it to herself, a secret kept warm. In her mind, their last mission played through again and again, the critical moments when his life hung in a delicate balance, the blurs of the treetops as they raced back to Konoha, and finally, of his alive face in the hospital. Indeed, there was nothing more precious to her than that; the breathing face of a loved one saved, even more so of her secret love.
Though not purposeful on her part, Itachi couldn’t help but notice that she’d ended her list with his little brother. Her precious someone, huh, he thought to himself. Though it was only to be expected that Sasuke was her precious person, seeing as he was her teammate and recently, boyfriend, it didn’t dull the slight pang of annoyance. Itachi was in no mood to admit that it was not so much at the inclusion of his otouto’s name, but rather at the exclusion of his own that he felt annoyed.
Sakura, oblivious to the misunderstanding brewing between her and the two Uchiha brothers, smiled happily at the beaming moon. She could stay like this forever, just sitting in Itachi’s presence. Silence was for once golden to her.
For now, it felt like this moment, their shared moment, could last forever.