Story: The Dance of the Geisha

Author: MizukiYukiko

Rated: T

Pairing: ItachiXSakura

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Naruto.

Summary: Sequel to Astraphobia. In which Naruto and Sasuke just have to stop Sakura's impending date with Itachi, and they will do anything to keep her from falling into his hands; and in which Ino and Shisui will make sure that this date does happen, but Sakura is tired of her friends' meddling. And why is Rock Lee dressed as a Geisha? ItachiXSakura. 50 shinobi theme #39. Silk Kimono.

Notes: Non-massacre AU. Sequel to Astraphobia. 50_shinobi themed challenge #39. Silk kimono. This is the third installment of a series of one-shots, so if you have not read Lemon Juice or Astraphobia, I suggest you do so to understand the plot.

Thank you for sticking with this little thread of stories. There is a lot of crack in this story, and nobody should take this seriously even a little. If you do, you will be sorely disappointed. You have been warned.

Reviews make my world go round. They bring me up and bring me down (not really). Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think!

The Dance of the Geisha

Ironically, shinobi sometimes could hate peace time in their village. There were still missions, yes, but there was no real action. All they had to look forward to was the new birth and death that came with each passing day. Missions were assigned, genin were taught, civilians were hurt, chuunin exams were held, and each day passed with more monotony than the last.

Overall, life could just get so boring to the action and thrill seekers that dominated the shinobi population.

This all changed during the seasonal festivals that the village held – some of the largest and most famous in the five great nations. Ninja and citizens alike took off of work to celebrate the coming of the new season. Of all of these, the autumn festival was Sakura's favorite. Although spring was by far her favorite season, Sakura loved the fall festival the most for one reason and one reason only.

The Dance of the Geisha.

It was the one time a year where both civilian girls and kunoichi came together to dress as maiko geisha and danced for the crowd. Then, young suitors would bid to spend the rest of the evening with the young woman – in all manners or propriety of course. Girls only got to dance once in their life – the fall festival succeeding their eighteenth birthday. It was supposed to be a coming of age tribute to the young girls in the village, stating that they were all adults. Sakura loved it because she had already felt like an adult for so long due to her strenuous life as a kunoichi, but now she would officially be presented as a young lady instead of a kunoichi and medic. And it was Sakura's turn to dance with both Hinata and Ino.

Sometimes it could feel like a popularity contest. The girls who would have their boyfriends come out to bid for them were always envied. But it didn't matter to Sakura; it was so much more important than that.

When she was younger, as the girls moved fluidly throughout the stage, their hands moving in precise, sharp patterns and their feet reacting in kind; the women would mesmerize her. All she would want to do was join them, dancing gracefully just as they were. When the time came, she had thought that she wouldn't be nervous. She had her two best friends by her side, and they would dance and enjoy their festival together.

For weeks now, they had been taking the classes, meeting new people and learning the steps to the group dance that they would be performing together on a large stage in the middle of the town square. Almost every Konoha citizen would be present for one of the most famous dances in all the shinobi nations. And to her credit, Sakura was doing very well, and she didn't feel nervous about the situation at all.

That is…until Uchiha Itachi stepped in and announced his intentions to bid on her after her dance.

"That's the date you want?" Sakura had practically screeched at him after the advisers meeting when he had told her of his intentions. Itachi just looked at her impassively, blinking a few times before nodding his head.

"I will watch your dance and then bid on you at the festival," he reiterated. Sakura's cheeks puffed out in defiance in a way that was most endearing to the Uchiha.

"You make me feel like some trophy or something," she hissed right back, crossing her arms in front of her chest and popping her hip out to show her displeasure. The corner of Itachi's lips twitched up in amusement, clearly enjoying her exasperation.

"You were going to participate in the bidding one way or another, were you not?" he asked arrogantly. Sakura's face faltered for a moment before her stance became rigid again.

"Yeah, but I was going to have Chouji or Lee or somebody harmless bid on me so we could have fun after the dance," she retorted hotly. "And now you're adding all of this pressure to it. You're making me feel as if I'm some prize that needs to be won!"

"I am not altering your plans drastically," he commented coolly. Onyx eyes bore down on her intently, making her either want to run away or squirm under his determined gaze. "You will do your dance, I will bid on you, and then we will have our date."

"But I want to spend the festival with my friends!" she retorted hotly, her foot tapping quickly in annoyance. Itachi stared at her owlishly for a few moments before smirking down at her arrogantly.

"Did you not admit your defeat last month?" he asked her quietly. Sakura looked as if she wanted to rip his head off right then and there. Her fury was coming off of her in waves, and the people working in the Hokage Tower were giving the duo a wide birth. Resigned, she let out a deep sigh.

"Yes."

Itachi smirked again, and the horrible thoughts of wiping that smirk clear off of his face began to filter through Sakura's head and into mutterings under her breath. Before she could make good on the whispered promises, Itachi announced, "And you agreed to go on a date as my reward for winning. This is the date I want. I will see you at the festival."

Sakura could only nod her head brusquely once before turning on her heel and stomping away. She heard the deep (and oh-so-sexy) chuckle from behind her at her childish actions, but she couldn't bear to turn and face him. Instead, she just stomped a little harder until she reached outside of the Hokage tower.

…and promptly ran head first into a broad, strong, and very orange chest.

"Whoa, hey there Sakura-chan," Naruto chuckled, pulling his best friend from his chest to look at his disgruntled teammate. Sasuke was standing behind him, hands shoved in his pockets as he diverted his gaze elsewhere. "What's wrong?"

Sakura's cheeks puffed out again before spilling out the entire story onto their way to Ichiraku. Naruto would interject on occasion with loud exclamations of his distaste for the situation, while Sasuke stayed silent and brooding. Up to this point, Sakura's experience with the genjutsu thunderstorm and her subsequent meetings with Itachi had been kept tight-lipped secrets. But Sakura was now so flustered that she just couldn't hold it in any longer, and she needed the input of her best friends and teammates.

Just as they reached Ichiraku, Sakura finished her tale in time to order herself some ramen. The boys were silent next to her for a few minutes before Naruto broke out into a string of colorful curses. Sasuke smacked him over his head, quieting the disgruntled blonde.

"Dobe, there are children around," Sasuke muttered before taking a small sip of tea.

Sakura rubbed her brow in frustration. So far, her friends were being no help. She'd ask Ino or even Hinata, but Ino would just tell her to enjoy the attentions of the infamous ANBU captain (with a not-so-subtle jab to force him into bed with her and rock his world), and Hinata knew less about men than Sakura did. Scrunching her face into a strong pout, Sakura took large mouthfuls of the miso ramen that Ayame had just placed before her.

Sakura stayed drearily silent for the remainder of her meal, and the boys were of no help to her. Sasuke didn't even bother to address the issue, and he wouldn't go up against his older brother since he had received the beating of his lifetime from his dear aniki after the lemon juice incident. Naruto was only good for offering up horrible solutions – like make herself really ugly during the dance, be completely obnoxious on their date, or not go to the festival at all.

In the end, Sakura just sighed and threw a wad of paper bills on the table to cover her meal, walking home dejectedly with slumped shoulders and heavy footsteps. As she rounded the corner by the hospital, which her apartment was conveniently adjacent to, she just resolved herself to having to just deal with the night as it comes.

Lifting her chin and taking in a deep breath, Sakura's resolve began to strengthen. She could do this. So it wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but the imaginary Ino in her head was right. One of the most eligible bachelors in Konoha was offering to bid on her in one of the most sacred rites of passage for young girls in Konoha. She should feel flattered and lucky.

Yes, this added quite a bit of pressure to the entire evening, but she was a medic, damn it, and knew how to deal with pressure. It didn't hurt that Itachi was incredibly handsome and one of the most sought after bachelors.

What Sakura really should be worried about at this point was his hoard of rabid fan girls that would be coming after them. She knew for a fact that there were some in the dance that she was performing. The love-sick, silly girls were all pining for one of the Uchiha brothers to bid on them. Some of them had even asked Sakura for advice since she was so close to the Uchiha family due to her position on Sasuke's team.

As she made her way up the steps to her apartment, she noticed something was off about the aura surrounding her home. There was nothing concrete about what she was feeling, but there was a twist of her gut and a hammer in her heart that told her something just wasn't right.

Adrenaline immediately began to course through her as her senses and feelings told her to be weary of the place where she was headed, just as it did when she was preparing for battle. A kunai slid into her hand almost instinctively as she shoved her key quietly into the lock and twisted it open silently.

She launched the slim, metallic weapon at whatever presence was in her apartment before jumping in after it, ready to pounce on whoever was stupid enough to sneak into her house.

"Whoa there!" came a slightly familiar voice from inside her home. Sakura's face immediately went blank when she spied the man slumped on her couch comfortably. The kunai was wedged into the wall right behind his head. Immediately, irritation flooded over her because there was only one reason why this man would be in her apartment, and that was because the dark haired, dreamy eyed bane of her existence had sent him for god knows what reason.

"Shisui-san," Sakura bit out in greeting, "What are you doing in my apartment?!" she hollered angrily. Her house guest smiled at her feverishly, looking quite amused by the entire situation.

"Itachi sent me," he replied easily.

"Of course he did," Sakura replied, crossing her arms over her chest and popping her hip out. It was her signature pose of irritation, and most of the Konoha shinobi population had learned to run far, far away from her when she did this. She could go off on Itachi's cousin, but she knew it would be no use. Although Shisui was much more cheerful and expressive than the rest of his family, he was still as stubborn as every other member of the Uchiha clan, so arguing with him would be pointless. "Why did Itachi send you? I just saw him an hour ago."

Shisui gave her his usual boyish grin before waving her over to him and exuberantly stating, "I offered to come for him. I needed to give you something, and I wanted to talk to you."

Sakura plopped down on her couch, and for the first time since she'd stepped back into her home that day, saw the large, beautifully and expensively embroidered box that he had in his possession. Curiosity piqued, she raised an eyebrow at her unwanted house guest, imploring him for an explanation. Shisui just laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately, much to her chagrin.

"I suppose," he began thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his gloved hands, "I should start by asking you what your intentions are with my favorite little cousin."

Sakura's eyes immediately went wide. What were her intentions for him? How did that make any sense? Wasn't Itachi the one pursuing her on this embarrassing endeavor? Yes, yes he was. So why were her intentions the ones being questioned? Shouldn't somebody be worried about what he was going to do to her?

Her curiosity and internal questioned flickered in the emotions across her face, and Shisui leaned back and waited for her answer with a stupid, knowing grin plastered on his childlike face.

He could easily see how this little sprite had captured the attention of his ever-stoic younger cousin. She was so expressive that she could almost be called Itachi's polar opposite. Clearly, this young woman was about as experienced in the love department as his emotionally stunted little cousin, and she needed the right push to see what was right in front of her – just like Itachi did.

Ah, yes, his emotionally underdeveloped cousin didn't know the first thing about women. In fact, he hadn't even known when a beautiful girl was right in front of him for the better part of his life. Shisui grinned to himself. He may seem harmless and silly, the jokester of the family, but underneath the layers of Uchiha pride and a goofy personality, lay a man with a good heart who only wanted the best for his younger cousin.

That's why, a few years back, he decided it was too hot to have the doors closed during the Uchiha meeting with the elders when he knew that Haruno Sakura was sitting right outside. He also knew that the elders would bring up Sasuke's progression as a ninja, and of course, would therefore attack his teammates who were sitting right outside.

That's why, when the Hokage had come to him, not Itachi, to be an advisor on her personal panel representing ANBU, he had denied her once he found out that the very same Haruno Sakura would be on the panel. He opted for taking a position on the Konoha Military Police Force instead, but not before imploring and insisting that Itachi would be much more effective on the advisor's panel than he would.

Yes, most of Itachi's and Sakura's personal interactions had all been because of him. At least, in the beginning they had been. Once Itachi opened his eyes and actually fell for the woman who Shisui had intended for him, he took it from there.

"Shisui-san." The bite to Sakura's tone brought him out of his reverie and he stared back at a very irritated kunoichi.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked unimpressed when she asked, "I asked you to explain your question. I don't understand."

Shisui chortled happily before patting her on the head again. Sakura eyed the end to his innocent extremity with so much loathing and hatred that he surmised she was muddling through different ways to detach it from his person.

He looked at the disgruntled medic fondly before leaning in towards her and explaining, "What I'm saying, kitten," he was fairly sure he saw her twitch at the nick-name, "Is that my little cousin has feelings for you. He's emotionally constipated and doesn't understand what's happening himself, but he actually does care for you in, how shall we say, a more than a platonic fashion. And I think you like him too."

Sakura choked on air with his words, sending him into a whole other round of raucous laughter. Instantly, her skin heated until her complexion matched that of a tomato. Before she could respond, Shisui cut her off.

"Anyway," he began, pulling the box from the table and placing it in her lap, "Itachi got this for you. He said he wanted you to wear it tomorrow night. He also told me to tell you that no, he is not trying to dress you up like some doll so you can…what did he say? Oh, that's right, be a trophy. He just said that he understood that you would be renting a kimono for the festival, but that was, and I quote, 'unacceptable since she cares so deeply for the festival.'"

His voice deepened at the end, telling Sakura that he was talking about Itachi who had said these things.

Her emotions were going haywire with Shisui's sudden appearance, his confession about Itachi's feelings, and the gift that Itachi had apparently gotten for her. She was suddenly so numb, that all she could do was breathe rapidly and stare down at the gift that had been brought for her. Sakura looked down at the elaborate cardboard box in her lap, and with numb, trembling fingers, she lifted the lid to reveal layers of silk. As she pulled the kimono out, she slowly felt the breath being knocked out of her, and judging by the fit of giggles that Shisui was currently in, her face must look as dumbfounded as she felt.

The deep, rich, royal purple silk was like running her hand through water. Golden and white paint and embroidery of cranes and vines of leaves and branches ran through the entire kimono, but when she reached the bottom of the skirt, she set her eyes on the most elaborately decorated pink sakura and peony blossoms that she had ever seen, intricately lined in golden thread that took the shape leaves.

When she pulled the full dress out, she saw the full, white underskirt and collar that would go underneath the kimono, and it too was elaborately embroidered with perfectly stitched gold threads, which were on top of a matching pair of white cotton stockings.

It was the pink and gold obi that caught her undivided attention then. The shade of pink would match both the sakura and peony blossoms and her hair perfectly. The vines and branches of leaves that were decorated on the body of the kimono matched the embroidery on the obi with such intricate precision that she squinted her eyes to further examine the near-perfect stitching.

Finally, she careened back to take in the entire magnificent picture all at once. The entire kimono was a beautiful work of art and wearing it would make her feel like a real woman for perhaps the first time in her life, but something quickly became apparent to her.

"Shisui-san, I can't accept this gift," she stated breathlessly. Shisui shrugged nonchalantly.

"He said you would say that," he replied. "He told me not to take no for an answer."

"Shisui," Sakura deadpanned, "This is too expensive. I could never accept such an extravagant gift from someone who I'm not even dating."

"A problem that Itachi is trying to rectify," Shisui pointed out easily, the same lazy grin splayed on his face at Sakura's challenging words. Instantly, her mind went blank again as she tried to muster some other argument, but Shisui was having none of it. "Plus, kitten, it's not like he can return it. He had it custom made to your specifications. If you didn't wear it, it would just go to waste."

Sakura looked down at the beautiful kimono and ran her hands through the alluring purple silk once again. The entire thing was made to fit her perfectly. Even the colors would complement and not clash with her intriguing combination of jade eyes and pink hair. He really had put an exquisite and disturbing amount of thought into this, and she didn't even want to think about how he got all of her measurements.

Once again, Sakura sighed in resignation. Itachi really did think of everything before acting and had left her in a position to where she simply couldn't say no. How could she deny such a beautiful gift when it was made just for her? He was also using his knowledge of her intimate love for this festival and this particular dance to get to her. He had been present in all of those advisors meetings where she would gush with Hinata about the upcoming dance, and knowing him, he had been listening to her the entire time.

"Tell him thank you for me," she grumbled. "And that I'll be honored to wear this beautiful gift…but then punch him for me…hard."

Shisui stood up and ruffled her hair once again while letting loose another energetic chuckle.

"Can do, kitten. You'll be one hot babe up there. If my cousin didn't already have his eyes on you, I'd totally go for you myself," he responded cheerfully before jumping out of her living room window, leaving an exasperated Sakura in his wake.

X

Shisui landed next to his little cousin, who was sitting on the roof of ANBU headquarters. Itachi didn't bat an eye when he suddenly teleported next to him. The two began to make their way through the door that led into headquarters. They travelled the intricate staircases, making their way towards the front door.

"Did she accept it?" Itachi asked quietly. It was barely noticeable, but Shisui could hear the slight strain in his cousin's voice; he was nervous that Sakura would reject him. They emerged to the outside world, feeling the crisp fall air as it floated by in lazy waves.

"Yeah," Shisui affirmed with a smile. "It wasn't too hard to convince her. She said thanks and…"

Shisui trailed off, so Itachi turned to look at him. When his face was turned towards his older cousin, he caught one glimpse of a devious smile before Shisui's fist swung around and connected painfully with his shoulder. The flicker-nin was one of the few who moved faster than the Uchiha heir.

Itachi looked like he was going to rebel, but Shisui held up his arms in a placating gesture, "Orders from Sakura-chan."

X

Naruto put down his final bowl of ramen defiantly, staring at the sulking Sasuke with unwavering, hard cerulean eyes. The two had been sitting in the ramen bar for almost forty-five minutes since Sakura had left, and while eating, Naruto had contemplated different ways to help his most precious female friend and teammate.

"Teme, we have to do something about your brother," he announced assuredly before standing up and throwing down several Ichiraku coupons and some money. Sasuke just rolled his eyes at his friend before setting his own balance down on the table.

"Dobe, my brother is the epitome of evil. What are we supposed to do? Sakura agreed to this in the first place," he shot back, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking in the opposite direction of Naruto without so much as a goodbye, but he had other things to do. Even though the thought of going against his brother still caused a shiver to run down Sasuke's spine, even if he never acknowledged that his brother actually intimidated him, he internally steeled himself for the upcoming conversation.

Sakura was annoying, yes. But she was also his teammate. She was infuriating and violent and often times took her anger out on her teammates when they did nothing to deserve it. At the same time, she was kind and gentle. Her eyes were always gateways to her soul, and she was one of the few good people that Sasuke knew in his life. She was just genuinely kind.

However, his brother was evil. He was darkness personified, and he would only drag his innocent teammate down to his egregious level of foulness.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he realized he was exaggerating, but only a little bit. So Itachi enjoyed making the life of his little brother pure hell. But what older brother didn't? But asking out Sakura on a date was taking the joke too far. Itachi would crush her emotionally if he was just doing this to play with Sakura and her emotions, and Sasuke would not, could not, stand for that.

His line of thoughts was cut off when he sensed the very man he was looking for heading out of the ANBU headquarters. Diverting his feet quickly, he made his way to the door just when Itachi stepped out of it. To Sasuke's utter annoyance, his equally evil older cousin was with his brother. Luckily, though, his cousin seemed to be heading in the opposite direction as Itachi was.

Just as Shisui got a few paces away from Itachi, he flickered back over to his cousin and landed a hard punch on Itachi's shoulder. They exchanged a few more words before Sasuke saw Itachi smirk and Shisui walk away. When he turned back around, Itachi caught sight of his little brother who was heading very purposefully towards him.

"Otouto," Itachi greeted evenly when Sasuke was finally a few paces away.

"Buttpirate," Sasuke greeted just as evenly, but he saw the corner of Itachi's eye twitch in annoyance. Every time Sasuke changed his nick-name for his big brother, he would use it until Itachi became accustomed to the moniker before switching it up. Buttpirate was a new one.

"Your immaturity astounds me even to this day, little brother," Itachi shot back impassively. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to warn you to keep away from Sakura," Sasuke grumbled. "You're just using her to get to me, and you're going to hurt her."

"Aa," Itachi grunted. "Perhaps you don't know the entire story, otouto."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously before he spoke candidly, "I care about Sakura, and if you hurt her…"

"You'll what?"

"Itachi!"

"Finally using my name now, little brother?" Itachi mocked while poking Sasuke in the middle of his forehead. "Tell me, otouto, do you care for Sakura on more than a platonic level?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he stuttered for a moment, his hot retort fallout out of his throat before he could utter a sound. He stiffened slightly, but he prepared himself to answer the question.

"If I told you yes, would you leave her alone?" he finally asked.

His brother looked at him for a long, intense moment, as if searching for something deep within his soul. Sasuke fought not to fidget under the suffocating gaze that he was sure Itachi mastered from his father. Two pairs of obsidian eyes clashed malevolently in the middle of the crowded street. Finally, a small smirk played onto Itachi's face for a moment.

"No," he answered honestly, coldly after a moment, "If you told me you were interested in her, I wouldn't believe you. However, if you are, little brother, then you will have to fight me for her."

Itachi swooped away in long, even steps, leaving Sasuke to stand in the middle of the street completely dumbstruck. Did his brother just challenge him to a duel for Sakura's love? Her affections were not something that Sasuke necessarily desired, but he couldn't possibly let his horrid older brother leech the life out of his bright, cheerful teammate.

His hands came out of his pockets to run broad finger through his spikey raven hair. If Itachi really was taking this seriously enough to fight for Sakura, then maybe he really did care about his rosette teammate. That traitorous line of thought was quickly discarded. Itachi didn't care about anyone except for Shisui and their mother; plus, Sasuke was sure that Itachi had some sort of crazy hormonal retraction therapy when he was a baby to ensure that he would be the ultimate shinobi and head of the Uchiha clan. He couldn't possibly have a sex drive.

Ew. Itachi. Having sex. Gross.

Sasuke sighed and turned around. Maybe it was time to find out what the dobe had in mind.

X

The next night, Sasuke watched callously as one of the most disturbing scenes unfolded before him as he regretted his decision to find out what Naruto had in mind over and over again. Internally berating himself, he took another look at the scene before putting his hands over his eyes in an attempt to burn the image that was imprinting itself in its head permanently.

Lee. Rock Lee. In a dress. Gross.

"This isn't going to work," he deadpanned, finally deciding it was time to put his opinion into the mix. But he knew it was futile. When Naruto got a horrible, stupid idea, he was going to see it through.

"Sure it is!" Naruto wailed in excitement, his blue eyes gleaming with excitement and mischief. He was fiddling with the obi of the kimono he stole from the store room at the practice house. "Right, Lee?"

"Indeed. My youth will burn brightly during the honored Dance of the Geisha!" exclaimed the exuberant green beast of Konoha's 12. Sasuke rolled his eyes. No man should look so excited to be dressed up as a female geisha.

"Do you even know the dance? There are fifty girls who are going to be up there," he replied logically. Naruto scoffed as he twisted the obi once again, his eyebrows clenching together in puzzlement at the infuriatingly difficult piece of green fabric. Sasuke rolled his eyes again and took the fabric from Naruto, twisting it into the proper formation so it swooped behind Lee. "You're going to dress him up, have him perform during the dance, and then have him stand next to Sakura the entire time, and when it comes time to bid on her, you're going to have Lee kidnap her and hold her hostage for the rest of the night?"

Naruto nodded his head vigorously before replying, "It makes sense. She will get to do the dance and be pretty, but then she won't have to go out with your horrible, evil brother. An attempted kidnapping from the audience wouldn't work. Too many shinobi."

If Sasuke rolled his eyes again, they would surely get lodged into the back of his head. "How did he talk you into this?"

Lee grinned happily. "I will do anything to protect my precious cherry blossom from the demonic clutches of your older brother!"

He repeated, "This isn't going to work. It's obvious that Lee is a guy."

"I have the solution to that!" Naruto cried while rummaging through a bag. He pulled out a large black tangle of hair and plopped it on Lee's head.

"A wig?"

"Yep!"

"You're an idiot."

"Yep…hey teme?"

"What?"

"How'd you know how to tie a dress up so well?" The blonde grinned maniacally. "Play dress up in your spare time?"

"Dobe." Crack.

"Ow, that hurt, teme. I asked you not to hit me anymore!"

"Baka." Smack.

"OW!"

X

She obviously didn't know that he was here, watching her. Her blonde friend did, though, judging by the speculative looks that she kept throwing into the mirror in front of Sakura, directly aimed in his direction. But then this annoying, knowing smile would grace the Yamanaka's face when she would lock eyes with him. Obviously, the blonde could read him like a book. That was a disturbing thought.

Sakura was beautiful – so beautiful, that the sight of her had immediately halted Itachi's purposeful footsteps into the changing room and caused him to reel back. Her undergarments and white underskirts were all on, so instead, he watched her silently as her two friends wrapped her professionally and delicately in the beautiful kimono and obi that he had bought and commissioned the making of.

Of course, Ino had already been privy to his attraction to Sakura. She was also an expert on what colors matched her hair and eyes and what Sakura would find attractive and desirable in a kimono. It also didn't hurt that she had her friend's measurements logged to memory. It had taken little persuading on Itachi's part to get the Yamanaka to divulge very useful information on Sakura – including her likes, dislikes, hobbies, and work schedule. In return for the information provided, Ino was let in on one of the ANBU's best kept secrets.

He had a crush on her best friend in the world.

Although he had insisted that she did not call it 'a crush' because such terminology was childish, the petulant blonde just scoffed before jotting down Sakura's measurements and good color choices for a kimono. The blonde didn't seem to be adverse to Itachi courting Sakura, as long as it was genuine, which he assured her it was. So with her consent, he had the kimono made to Sakura's specifications.

However, when he went to see her before the dance, he had not expected the sight of her to literally take his breath away. Fearless, arrogant, intelligent, heartless, a deadly weapon – all adjectives that he was used to being described as, but a shaking coward at the sight of a pretty girl – not so much. So why couldn't he walk in there with his usual confident footsteps and make her adorably flustered or irritated like he normally could?

Sakura stood up from her chair where she had just been sitting to get her makeup done. Unlike real geisha, the girls during Konoha's dance would usually forego the white, traditional face paint in favor of keeping their faces clean. They would have to walk around like that for the rest of the evening, and the makeup was uncomfortable; additionally, they wanted their faces to be clean for the bidding ceremony that would take place after.

Sakura's friends had decorated her face perfectly. Thin, black lines rimmed each of her eyes, and a light dusting of gold and purple eye shadow had been applied, accentuating and complementing her verdant eyes. A small amount of pink gloss was rubbed on her lips that gave them the subtlest pop, but it didn't overpower the light sprinkling of blush over her cheeks.

Her bubblegum hair was twisted into a traditional up-do that pulled all of her hair out of her face except for a few rebellious strands that fell to frame her eyes and cheeks. It was very light and natural and only worked to accentuate her natural beauty.

It wasn't this that took his breath away, though. It was the moment that she stood, letting him see her in the silk kimono for the first time. She was beautifully adorned in the long, purple, pink and gold kimono that accentuated her slim waste, hugging her in all the right places yet preserving her modesty at the same time. The only parts of the underskirts that were visible were the elaborately decorated collar and hem that were meant to be shown.

"There," Ino announced proudly, already having changed into her own deep blue kimono that Shikamaru had painstakingly saved up every penny to buy for her. She smiled at Hinata who was beaming at Sakura. "We're all done. Now we just have to dance."

Sakura laughed. "I'm nervous," she admitted. "But I'm excited too."

"Don't be, forehead. Even if you have some hunky, long-haired, tall, dark and handsome ANBU captain bidding on you…"

"Ino," Sakura gasped. "How'd you…"

Itachi decided it was time for him to step in, so he joined the girls quietly, flaring his chakra a bit as he did so. Sakura whirled around to face him, mouth comically agape at his sudden appearance.

"You…" she trailed off. She then flit her eyes to a glowing Ino. Pointing her finger accusingly, she yelled, "You!"

"Yep, me," Ino admitted with a shrug. She grasped Hinata, who was smiling sheepishly at Sakura, by the hand and began pulling her out of the room, wanting to give the two future lovebirds a chance to talk. When she crossed paths with Itachi, she gave him a warning glance. "If you mess up her makeup or clothes, I will take over your body and make you do something embarrassing during the next ANBU meeting."

Itachi merely smirked and flowed effortlessly into the room, only stopping when he was a mere foot in front of Sakura. Her breathing hitched at his proximity, and she tried to move away but was easily stopped by his hands circling her waist.

"You're not supposed to be here," she grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest, the long sleeves of her kimono tangling in her hands. "This is the girls' dressing room."

Whenever she was around him, she felt acutely exposed under his intense gaze. However, there was something different about how he was looking at her today. It wasn't the normal, fierce intensity that she was used to when they were alone, nor the impassiveness when he was in a meeting. It wasn't even the amusement he held when he riled there. There was something so uncomfortably and unfathomably soft about his eyes that made a shiver run down her spine.

"You look beautiful," he announced suddenly, calmly. But there was this uncertainty to him that made him seem so much more human than he had ever been to her before. Sakura's pulse quickened when he leaned down to examine her. His hands tightened around her waist unperceptively, but they were in such an intimate position that her entire body began to tremble at the feelings that were welling up and spilling out of her.

With a shaky breath, she pushed on Itachi's chest to have him release her. At first, he resisted, but then his arms slipped away from her waist and hung loosely at his sides.

"Thank you," she managed to reply although her voice wasn't nearly as strong as she would like it to be. She was suddenly seeing the side that Shisui was talking about earlier. This was someone who cared about her; he wasn't some egotistical jerk trying to get back at his younger brother. The unexpected realization was beginning to catch up to her, and she swore she was beginning to panic under the pressure that tonight suddenly brought. "Thank you for the kimono."

"You make it perfect." Once again, she could hear this minute amount of uncertainty in his velvety voice that made her tremble. He was just as nervous as she was.

Jade eyes snapped open wide when a long, calloused finger ran its way from her temple, tenderly tracing a path down her cheek and to her jaw. Using his index finger to hoist her chin upwards so she was meeting his eyes, he leaned down for a moment and brushed his lips against hers lightly.

It was as if a feather had dusted over her lips, and it took her more than a moment to realize that he had kissed her. This was the first time he'd ever kissed her mouth directly, and her insides began flipping wildly at the contact. It was too light to ever see the stereotypical fireworks, but if the lightest touch of lips could turn her to mush, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to really kiss him.

So instead of pulling back like she should have, she pushed herself forward and their lips planted firmly in a passionate kiss.