Alternate Universe: Naruto

Up Until Now

Summary: Sakura has the usual crush on Sasuke. But then she meets Itachi and falls head over heels for him. The only thing that bothers Sasuke about this though is the fact that she can't even remember his name.

Chapter 1

A New Face

The classroom seemed so small from where she sat and daydreamed beside the window. Her soft green eyes were intently fixed on the bird hopping on the tree's branch outside, intensifying with slight envy at the sight of freedom.

In these times of boring lectures and long teaching sessions, Sakura would find the window a compliant companion indeed. Kakashi's voice dimmed out and Sakura soon found herself caught up in twirling a few strands of her pink hair between her fingers instead. Her green eyes scanned the residents of the room out of habit. Every student present flicked off her memory. She knew most of the teenagers well enough, but only spoke to a handful of them on a daily basis.

Everyone still occupied same seats Kakashi had assigned for them since the beginning of the year. The teacher's logic was that they would be less of a hassle if he broke up the group of girls, and more importantly, he wouldn't have to strain his ears trying to block out incessant giggling while he tried to read his trashy novel.

At the very front on the left sat Ino, someone Sakura considered as her best friend, but she would only admit to herself that Ino was her soul mate friendship-wise. They had been rivals since childhood, but Ino had nearly bested her in anything that was nonacademic related. Regardless, Sakura couldn't imagine her life without her busybody blonde friend.

Next to Ino was Neji Huyga. He was part of one of the most respected families in the entire district and carried a very stoic and cold air around him. He was stamped as unsocial and an introvert –despite this, he was still popular among the student body. Excelling in sports, academics, not to mention the success of his music career as a guitarist, he was one of Konoha High's most valuable students.

Then came Naruto Uzumaki – one of the first guy friends Sakura had ever made. Everything about him was loud and boisterous, but he still held the truest intentions. Rather ruled out as a bother and annoyance among the class, Sakura still deemed him fun to have around, at the very least. He was also vice-captain of the school's basketball team. Naruto was very kind to Sakura and she would always regard him as a good friend because of it.

Seated next to Naruto was Tenten, another one of Sakura's best friends. Sakura admired her for her free spirit and also the fact that she didn't care what people thought of her, in spite of the fact that she – like Sakura – came from a lower class 'family' and didn't own the wealth ninety-five percent of the school's attendees did. This fact drew them together and Sakura thought of Tenten, along with Ino, as one of her closest friends.

Behind them was Kiba. He was a very scruffy looking boy Sakura didn't talk too much with. He was a laid back yet sociable guy to have around. Sakura could only recall speaking to him directly only twice in her life: once to ask the time and second to say 'thank you' for telling her the time. He almost seemed to pull his nose up at her. Of course, she could've only been imagining it all this time. Kiba was very well known for his keen sense of smell.

Next to Kiba was Neji Huyga's timid and quiet cousin. Hinata was the gentlest soul Sakura had ever come across and rather liked having her around. Unlike her cousin, she wasn't as intimidating, but relatively forthcoming. She was actually one of the few people who doesn't overawe or belittle Sakura in anyway. They've been close friends for a while now.

Shikamaru occupied the seat next to them. He tipped his chair back and forth at a dangerous angle, but couldn't seem more relaxed or bored than any one other person Sakura had ever met. Most of the time, he seemed rather annoyed and possibly even lazy. Sakura had never exchanged a single line of dialogue with him. She had accidently knocked into him in the hallway once. Before she could apologize though, he had already stalked off, grumbling about something being 'troublesome'.

Seated next to him was Chouji. He was a very big boy who mostly kept to himself. A bag of chips followed him everywhere and he was pretty infamous for it around the school. He stuck close to Shikamaru and Kiba.

In the bench behind them sat a very dark and disclosed boy Sakura had always been eyeing. She knew his name since the day she enrolled into this school and had been enticed by his presence ever since. He was a lot like Huyga Neji. If anything, Sakura wondered why Neji had a cousin like Hinata and not like Sasuke Uchiha – her present crush.

He was everything a girl dreamed of having. Popular, intelligent, athletic – he was the basketball captain and had been leading the team to a nonstop victory ever since he took over. Like Neji, he came from a very powerful family, possibly the most influential in all of the country. He also had very impressive grades, though Sakura still prided herself in being the top in class.

The way he handled himself fascinated Sakura up to the point where she found herself thinking of him constantly. He was easily the most attractive boy in the school, albeit the student body consisting of a total of a mere 150 students, more or less. It was pretty large for a private and expensive school such as Konoha High.

What turned out a bit pitiful though was the fact that he did not acknowledge Sakura's feelings or, in any random way whatsoever, acknowledge her at all. Once when Sakura had built up the courage to talk to him, he had merely waved her off and called her a pest. A friendly argument then broke out when Naruto stood up for her, but her presence was soon forgotten over the brotherly squabble between the guys.

He had even called her an annoyance when she purposely once dropped her book on his foot. It had been a strategy Ino had suggested to try and grab his attention. The result was quite miserable, and Sakura sure as heck wasn't going to try anything like that ever again. Or at least, not with a history book anyway.

While he was still rude to her and none the less, saw her as a lesser being not worthy of his glorious company, Sakura still felt drawn to him for some reason. Her brain couldn't detach his handsome face from her memory.

At some point, it proved rather bothersome and it became hard to focus on her studies after a while – the sole reason she was even allowed here in the first place.

She sighed but turned her eyes to the inexplicable boy sitting at the table alone next to Sasuke. He had fiery red hair and heavy dark circles under his eyes. This boy was named Gaara. He had transferred to Konoha High only a month ago and hadn't made a single friend or companion since. She didn't know why, but he scared her a little and she made a clear point to stay well away from him.

The bench next to his was Sakura's. Separating her from the red-headed creep was none-other than possibly the loudest and most enthusiastic boy Sakura would ever have the displeasure of meeting. And that was saying something, seeing as she could stand being in Naruto's company.

Rock Lee was an exceedingly loud and strange boy who annoyed the living hell out of Sakura, and everyone else too pretty much. He was, in fact, so loud, the teachers had taken it upon themselves to never ask him a question or address him if absolutely necessary. None the less, even if he was the biggest irritation ever, he was still a valuable asset to Konoha's winning team.

Sakura wondered for a moment what happens when Lee shoots a basket. He probably hugs a nearby team mate and thanks the joys of youthfulness. It was hard, but Sakura managed to muffle her soft giggles behind her hand.

And this was class no 7 of Konoha High. It was relatively big, compared to all the other classes but was consisted of an outlandish mix of individuals.

Rarely, Kakashi would actually give class. Usually, he would order them to take out any reading material they had on them and then immerse himself in his own horrid idea of a book. Nobody really wished to argue with the English teacher and no objections were ever raised. He was also class no 7's homeroom teacher but was viewed as cool and aloof amongst the teaching staff.

The bell then rang and Sakura saw Ino drop the pencil she'd been playing with out of surprise. The class stood up and left noisily, stalking out of the room as the bell signaled the end of the day.

Picking up her bag, Sakura made her way to the door and found Ino waiting for her impatiently, already drawn to tapping her foot on the floor.

"Come on, already! I have lunch with my parents and I can't be late!" she exclaimed, still impatient. Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes at Ino's impatience. Seriously, it was Friday. She should chill her guava.

"Then don't let me hold you back. I have things to get in my locker anyway," said Sakura as they turned down the scrambling hallway. Ino then purposely clapped her friend on the shoulder, smiling brilliantly.

"Great! Then I'll see you on Monday!" she pronounced and rushed out of Sakura's sight and into the hallway in a whirl of blonde hair.

Feeling her jaw twitch in irritation at the sudden abandonment, Sakura decided to let Ino's impertinence slide for the moment and habitually made her way to her locker. She buried any unneeded books and extracted any she might need. When she slammed the door shut, a face took her by surprise.

"Gah, Tenten! You scared me!" exclaimed Sakura to her grinning friend, who only huffed in surprise.

"Yeah, that's what he said," she muttered, rolling her eyes. She and Sakura then broke out into friendly laughter and so left the building together. It was not forgotten how terrified the male population of the school was of Tenten.

"Where's Hinata?" asked Sakura, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Already gone," Tenten explained. "Neji didn't want to wait for her so she was kind of in a rush. Humph. He's really at the top of my 'Guys-I-would-like-to-punch-in-the-liver' list."

Sakura blinked at this remark, unsurprised by this comment, and also, having heard Tenten say much worse things about Neji Hyuuga. "Was he teasing you again?"

"He doesn't tease me! He just downright bothers me!" she cried out a bit too loudly, visibly offended. "Damn bastard, thinking he's better than anyone else. There's no denying it. He hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you, Tenten! You shouldn't let him get to you," her pink-headed friend pointed out once they had exited the building and made their way to the front of gate. Tenten seemed set off by this statement.

"Him? Get to me? As if." And she crossed her arms as if to settle the matter. Sakura didn't press the discussion concerning Neji any further, knowing how riled up it could get Tenten. Last time she ranted on about Neji Hyuuga, and one of her tightly pinned up buns promptly came undone, causing her to lose her pin that kept it in place. She had Ino braid her hair for the day, just to keep it out of her face.

It wasn't a secret that both teenagers loathed each other, and they had no courtesy to keep it away from the public either. Well, more Tenten than Neji, but the feeling remained mutual. A public argument was never unheard of and didn't appear in a rare fashion either. It had become a daily routine of school to witness an argument between Tenten and Neji, so most didn't even bother to stare anymore.

Sakura and Tenten waited at the gate with each other, until most of the students cleared out of the parking lot. Sakura had to walk home, but made it a habit to always wait until her last friend had left the school grounds. From where they leaned against the iron pillar that flanked the main entrance, Tenten elbowed Sakura lightly in the side.

"Hey Sakura, look," she pointed out and inclined her head to the side. Sakura's eyes followed Tenten's notion and her gaze fell upon to certain dark-haired boy she'd been thinking of only moments ago in class. He was talking to Naruto, or more like arguing by the loud yelling coming from the blonde in earnest.

Sakura involuntarily sighed.

"How can you like such a walking copy of Neji Huuyga?" Tenten remarked, sounding astounded and disgusted at the mere prospect. Sakura only shrugged, not too much in the mood to defend her motives.

"My Nan is here," Tenten pointed out, waving a hand in front of Sakura's hypnotized face. It seemed to work and the other snapped out of her obvious reverie.

"Cheers," Tenten greeted her, flicked her friend's forehead lightly. She left hurriedly, knowing how Sakura got annoyed by any antic that involved her forehead. Sakura saw Tenten climb into her grandmother's car and promptly drive out of the mostly empty parking lot. Sakura was about to leave herself when she heard a voice calling her.

"Hey! Sakura! Wait up!"

She turned and saw no one other than Naruto call to her while waving his arms around too widely.

"Over here."

Sighing, she walked up to the pair, purposely ignoring the darker one, afraid she might spur him to make comment that would upset her. He did the same, but she didn't expect anything less than his usual behavior. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed genuinely happy to see her.

"Hey! Are you walking home again?" he asked with a huge smile and Sakura only grinned back in response.

"I always walk home, Naruto. I don't live too far from the school anyway," she explained and he seemed rather confused for a split second.

"I can give you a lift?" he offered and Sakura only declined with a polite shake of her head.

"No, it's fine. Thanks anyway, Naruto."

He then spread into his usual beam and then clasped an arm around her shoulders in a friendly notion. Sasuke didn't look up from his scowl to the ground.

"Well, you just let me know if you change your mind and I'll have my Uncle drive you without any argument! He wouldn't say no to someone as pretty as you anyway!"

As much as this flattered Sakura, she gently shrugged his arm off and felt in some measure embarrassed that this was all happening in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha didn't even seem remotely bothered by his best friend's frolics, obviously used to it by now.

"Thanks Naruto," she stretched out, almost through gritted teeth. He then clapped her on the back, much like she was one of his guy friends.

'Why is everyone slapping me today?' she wondered, moderately bothered.

"Well, there he is! See ya, Sakura! Later Sasuke!" he called loudly and soon climbed into the car and drove off. Sakura waved until he was completely gone.

She then realized that she and Sasuke were the only people left in the parking lot. A lot of the students had their own cars and left as soon as school came out. She had always wondered why he himself didn't have his own car.

"Uhm, so …" she began, feeling utterly small and embarrassed as he leaned against the gate, arms crossed and still scowling.

He barely looked at her.

"So what?"

It wasn't a snap, yet still harshly intended. Sakura heard herself gulp.

"Uhm, who's coming to pick you up?" she asked in what she hoped was a conversational voice. Still looking annoyed, he wasn't too bothered by her question, much to Sakura's relief.

"My brother," he answered gruffly and Sakura was slightly taken aback.

'He has a brother?' she wondered, nearly failing in hiding her astonished expression. She was about to say something and he looked like he was about to interrupt her, but the conversation was cut short by a very loud roar's rising volume. Both teenagers turned to see a large and pretentious looking motorcycle drive into the parking lot and stop right in front of them.

The driver kicked off the paddle to let the bike stand on its own and climbed off the seat in what seemed in a slow motion manner. Sakura was temporarily stunned, eyes wide at the current scene. When he took off his helmet though, she felt the rush of her blood force into her face.

He was definitely an Uchiha and Sakura was willing to bet he was the brother Sasuke had been referring to. It was blatant he was older, if only a few years. Sakura guessed he was around twenty, or near enough nevertheless. He was just as handsome as his brother and Sakura dared to even think he was more attractive then the boy standing beside her.

He smirked up at his brother and Sakura noticed him growling in response. He then noticed Sakura and turned his gaze on her. Her grip on her bag tightened and she was at a momentary loss of what to say or do.

"Hello, little brother," he greeted his sibling in a smooth and somewhat mocking voice. Sakura felt her heart pick up. What was going on all of a sudden?

Sasuke growled something along the lines of a greeting and passed Sakura without sparing her a glance. He then took the spare helmet out of the compartment of the seat.

"Who's this?" the older one inquired, eyes locked on Sakura again. He didn't seem to smirk the way he did at his brother. He offered a very small and kind smile. Her face notably heated up.

"A pest," Sasuke noted dryly and his brother turned to him with a gruff look, yet began to smirk once more. Sakura was too starstruck to notice any comment of …what was his name again?

"So, she's your girlfriend?" he asked, eyes playfully glinting. Sakura didn't know why, but she didn't want this guy thinking that particular accusation was true. A few minutes ago, she might have had difficult denying it. For once, she cut Sasuke across.

"No," she voiced, glad it came out firmly. "I'm definitely not his girlfriend."

'Didn't you want to be?'taunted her inner voice

'Could you shut up please? I'm having a conversation,'she hissed back.

Part of him seemed disappointed, but he got a teasing look in his eye.

"Oh? For a moment I thought you were able to capture his interest. You are one of the few beautiful girls I've seen on campus." He smirked at her in a charming manner and for a moment, Sakura thought the younger brother looked annoyed.

Sakura felt her heart do a back-flip. "Oh, uh, thank you, er …?"

"Itachi," he finished for her and she felt her blush intensify. Something about this guy seemed alluringly dangerous. Not like Gaara or Neji, and not even near …er, whatshisface.

He extended his hand for her to take and she grasped a cold yet strong hand.

"Sakura Haruno," she introduced shyly and he let go raising his eyebrows.

"I've never heard that name before. What sort of business does your family have?' he asked and Sakura felt herself shrink a little.

"Uhm , my family doesn't own a business. My parents are doctors," she explained. She herself wanted to go into the medical field one day.

"Even with two of those high salaries, how can you afford to attend a school such as Konoha High?" he asked again, curiously. Sakura didn't mean to, but her eyes dropped to the floor and she shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry," Itachi offered with plain guilt. "That was out of place and incredibly rude. I did not mean to pry."

Sakura instantly felt bad and raised her head from the ground. "Oh no, it's okay! You weren't being rude or anything. I just go to school here on a scholarship so the school pays for my studies as long as I do well."

This seemed to interest Itachi and he quirked his eyebrow to his brother.

"You must be the girl who constantly beats my brother's average. You're the reason he's second best," he laughed and Sakura saw the younger one's eye twitch visibly.

Sakura didn't even register the fact that …the other brother(?) had spoken about her at home. She was too entranced by the laugh of the other.

Itachi.

"I'm sorry," she said, rather shyly and uncertain. He seemed incredulous to her response.

"Please, don't be," he assured her. "If anything, I should be thanking you. It does his ego well. Can I offer you a ride?"

For a moment her breath hitched in her throat. She didn't care if her house was a mere four blocks away from the school – right now a lift seemed very inviting.

"There isn't any space for her on the seat," what's-his-name pointed out bluntly, sparing his brother a cold look.

'What a spoil sport,' inner remarked distastefully.

'Indeed,' Sakura agreed with her for the first time. She came to her sense just then.

"That's really nice of you but I only live a few blocks away. I'm not allowed on a motorcycle anyway," declined Sakura, kindest to the best of her abilities. If Itachi was let down, he didn't work too hard on hiding it.

Also, he smirked.

"Well, I'll make sure to bring the car next time," said Itachi, his smirk intensifying his dark and enthralling features. It left Sakura speechless for only three seconds before she was brought back to earth.

At that very moment, she could have said anything – anything at all. Instead, her instincts betrayed her by raising a delicate hand to her face and giggling like a love-struck schoolgirl.

'But youarea love-struck schoolgirl,' inner was nice enough to point out.

'Shut up. I'm having a conversation.'

'You always say that! You and I never talk anymore!' the voice sobbed mockingly, poking fun at her host.

Pushing the inner voice aside, Sakura saw Itachi lean in closer to her and then run a hand through his hair. He seemed to be enjoying the conversation. Her body froze up, but she somehow managed to contain a relaxed posture. The red on her face she wasn't too inclined in being in control of.

"I hope to see you again …Sakura," he muttered, possibly not wanting to let his brother hear. The latter seemed interested for only a few seconds before scowling at his older brother's back.

"Can we just leave already? I have homework," he grumbled and Sakura heard Itachi sigh. The breath faintly tickled her face. The sun felt so much hotter all of a sudden.

"I apologize for my brother's imprudence," he stated formally, as if apologizing to royalty. It made Sakura's face burn. "He is usually quieter than this."

Sakura only grinned knowingly and nodded timidly, feeling like Hinata on a day when Naruto was just extra loud than typically.

"See you around," he finally greeted, flashing the faintest of a smile. Sakura assumed the Uchihas weren't customized to wide smiling like Naruto. Soon, he climbed back on his motorbike, both brothers donning a black gleaming helmet and sped off and out of the lot. The area was now completely deserted.

Dreamily sighing and eyes slightly closed, Sakura lazily trotted down the street and to her home.

'That boy is fiiiiiiiiine,' her inner remarked with a wink.

'You know it,' Sakura responded, still swaying from side to side as she passed a mailbox.

'What about Sasuke, though?' she wanted to know and Sakura creased her eyebrows in confusion.

'Who now?'

'You know, Sasuke! Crush for the past year now?'

'You're going to have to be way more specific, inner.'

Whether she was joking or being serious, the inner voice couldn't distinguish and so settled for the new Sakura's behavior for the time being. This was very new. Not even that other guy who's name she doesn't even remember had this big of an impression on her.

'Did you see his eyes? Does onyx eyes …'

'Snap out of it girl. Don't walk into the road and get hit by a car. My job's to bash some common sense into you, after all,' the inner admitted, somewhat proudly and Sakura realized she was about to dawdle her way into the road.

Shaking her head straight, she set her destination decisively in front of her. Tried as she might to deny it, Itachi Uchiha had left a long lasting impression on her she was sure would stay for a long while. It wasn't even ten steps later before she found herself a bubbling daydreaming mess again.

'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

Up until now, she didn't think she'd ever hear herself think so clearly.

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A/N: I started this story in 2010, but I edited this particular chapter on 2014/02/16.

This story is strictly Sasuke/Sakura, so don't put too much faith in Itachi. Sympathize with Mr Grumpy-Gills please.

Secondary pairing is Tenten/Neji. They get a lot of attention in this fic.

Hinata and Naruto are the cute background couple, so no major scenes for them, but they are part of the story.

SHINO AND INO. Yes, you read that right. CRACK PAIRING FTW.

I promise you this gets better. Limes start at chapter 4 …no, 6, I think? Or 8? Hope I didn't miss any typos. Please enjoy this story! Leave a review, it DEFINITELY motivates me!