Little Drummer Girl

(A/N: This is the first installment of my ItaSaku series. There will be seven more to follow. Warning: this story is rated M.)

Itachi's phone rang at three in the morning, waking the raven-haired male from his slumber. With a soft sigh, Itachi sat up and looked at his cell phone. The tune, 'Gott Ist Ein Popstar', rang loudly as the LED lights blinked in the dark. Grabbing the phone, Itachi flipped it open and sighed into the receiver.

"What is it, Pein?" he asked, brushing his hair back with his free hand.

"Itachi-san?" a quiet voice spoke in his ear. The feminine voice belonged to that of one Haruno Sakura, Pein's half-sister. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Itachi-san, but it's important."

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?"

"Pein got sick… we're at the hospital right now. I just thought you should know." She said with a sigh. Itachi could here someone grumble in the background, it sounded like his bass player, Kisame. Akatsuki was an up-and-coming rock band from the five largest districts of Tokyo. And now it seemed their drummer was out of commission.

"I'll will be there shortly." He stated, rising to his feet and clicking on the light.

"You don't have to Itachi-san. Konan and Kisame are already here… you don't have to come." Sakura spoke into the receiver, a frustrated sigh leaving her lips as Kisame started to pace around the waiting room. "Actually, maybe you should. Kisame looks like he may burst from his skin with worry."

"Cheap shot kiddo." He heard Kisame yell in the background.

"Give me twenty minutes." Itachi said while walking to the closet.

"Thanks Itachi-san, see you in a little bit." He could practically hear her smile.

"Goodbye Sakura-san." They hung up at the same time. Itachi tossed his phone over his shoulder, it landed on the bed with a soft thump.

~xxx~

"You drive like a maniac." Kisame said from his seat. Sakura glared at him from across the room.

"I do not!" she spat. "You're the one who tried to pull a 'Tokyo Drift' that almost made us crash." Pointing a finger at him and waving it like a mother shushing a child.

"Will you two stop?" Konan said, her voice was calm despite her husband's hospitalization. Itachi walked in then, just in time to see Kisame's sheepish grin and Sakura's glare.

"Sorry Nee-san. Thanks for getting me into trouble, Fishy." Sakura grumbled as he arms crossed her arms over her chest.

"Has there been any word on his condition?" Itachi asked, slipping into the room with the grace of a king.

"Nothing yet." Kisame answered with a frown. "Sure is taking them a while."

"I'll go see if I can find a doctor. Does anyone want anything while I'm out?" Sakura asked as she stood and stretched her arms over her head.

"Can I have some orange juice?" a sleepy voice asked from Konan's side. The orange-haired, blue-eyed youth looked so tired, nestled against his mother's side.

"Sure thing, Yahiko-kun." Sakura answered her nephew with a smile. "Anyone else?"

"Coffee." Kisame said, leaning back in his chair.

"Tea, please." Konan sighed while hefting her three-year-old son and set him in her lap.

"Mountain Dew, un." A new voice called from the hall. Sakura turned to see Deidara and Sasori stride into the waiting room. She raised a questioning brow as they took a seat by Konan.

"Mass email." Sasori answered, holding up his cell phone. Sakura nodded and moved towards the door.

"I will accompany you." Itachi said; it was not a suggestion. Sakura smiled over her shoulder and walked down the hall. Itachi walked up and fell into step with her as she made her way to the nurses station.

"Miki-san, is there any word on Riame Nagato?"

Said nurse looked up with a frown, brown eyes giving nothing away. "Nothing yet, Sakura-san. I'll page you the second the OR light goes off."

Sakura bowed her head. "Thanks Miki-san." She sighed, a desperate light in her emerald eyes. Without thinking, Itachi placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders and steered her towards the cafeteria. They stayed silent as they walked down the white hall. Stepping into the cafeteria, Itachi moved towards the coffee machine while Sakura dug through her pocket for change.

"He will be fine." Itachi assured from the other side of the room. His calm voice giving her a sense of peace.

"Thank you Itachi-san. I know he will." She smiled… but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Itachi said nothing else as he reached for cream and sugar packets.

~xxx~

It was now half passed five in the morning. Yahiko had gone back to sleep as did Konan, laying down on the couch in the far corner. Sakura kept her mind off of things by talking to Itachi and Sasori about her internship at the hospital they were currently waiting at. Kisame and Deidara were flipping through magazines and grumbling about waiting. Sakura's phone beeped. Sliding the top up, she read the text message and stood.

"He's out. We can go see him." Everyone stood at once except Konan who tried to sit up with Yahiko. Sakura walked over and picked up her, still sleeping, nephew and headed for the door.

"I apologize for taking so long." The Chief of Medicine said as she strode down the hall, towards the large group of visitors.

"Is he ok, Shishou?" Sakura asked, cradling the boy in her arms.

"He'll be fine now. He swallowed a fish bone that caused a lot of damage but he pulled like a champ." Tsunade said with a warm smile, her hand rising to brush the boy's striking orange hair out of his face. Sakura and Konan wilted in relief.

"Thank Kami." Konan sighed, bringing a hand up to ease her pounding heart.

"You can go in and see him now but be sure keep it down." Tsunade warned, eyes honing in on Kisame and Deidara in particular.

"Thank you, Shishou, thank you." Sakura gushed and handed off her nephew to his mother.

"Sakura," Tsunade called, "I have a job for you. Follow me." Stumped, Sakura followed her mentor around the corner. "I'm going to make you his home nurse. You need a break from the hospital."

Sakura stared at her teacher. "But Shishou… that'll make the hospital more short staffed than it already is." She protested, brows furrowing together.

Tsunade waved her hand. "Nonsense. Your clinic hours are through the roof and the other interns need the practice." She said, looking down her nose at her prized student. "Take a break Sakura, you deserve it." Sakura could only nod in agreement; her teacher was right.

"If you insist Shishou, I'll be going now." Sakura smiled up at Tsunade and walked back to her brother's room.

~xxx~

A week later, Sakura found herself glaring at the wall. Whoever was playing the drums really, really sucked. She looked over at her brother to see him with his fingers plugging his ears. She flinched as the person hit the crash symbol at the wrong time.

"Grr… that's it!" She stood from her seat and tossed Pein's chart onto the table.

"Please… make it stop." Pein said as he shifted on the bed and winced.

"Don't move. I'll be right back." She hissed, stomping her way out of the room. Sakura made her way downstairs and turned toward the kitchen. Passing said room, she flung the basement door open and made her way down the stairs. "Whoever's playing the drums, move out of the way." She shouted while picking up a pair of drum sticks. A masked man shot up from the drum set and stood against the wall.

"The pretty lady is scary." Tobi said as she scurried along the wall when Sakura sat down on the throne. She glared at him.

"You suck!" she snapped, adjusting her seat so she could reach the foot pedal. "If you're going to play my brother's music, play it right, damn it!"

"What do you want to play, Sakura-chan, yeah?" Deidara asked, looking up from tuning his guitar.

"Au revoir sounds good to me." She smiled… ok, she grinned. "You guys ready?"

"Whenever you are, Pinky." Kisame responded, picking up his bass and slinging the strap over his shoulder. Itachi picked up the mic and nodded. Without warning, Sakura's arms flew over the set, starting the beat in perfect time. At first no one moved, too stunned to lift a finger. Sakura stopped.

"If you guys aren't going to play, I'm going back upstairs." There was a collective nod from the band members and Sakura started playing again. Four minutes and fifty-one seconds later, the song finished and Sakura stood up.

"Damn… maybe she should play with us on Friday." Kisame said. Deidara and Sasori nodded in agreement. Itachi set down the microphone and sighed.

"Only if someone takes over Pein's case." He said then walked upstairs.

"What's his problem?" Sasori asked, setting his guitar down on the stand. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and walked around the kit.

"I've got to go check on Pein… don't let him get behind the kit again." She said pointing to Tobi. Sakura walked upstairs and headed for her brother's room.

"Thank Kami, I thought my ears were going to bleed."

~xxx~

"Ino, I have a huge favor to ask." Sakura sat at the island in the kitchen with a cup of green tea steaming in front of her. Said blond walked over and sat down, having just gotten off an eight hour shift at the hospital.

"Forehead, you can ask me anything." Ino said, plopping down in the stool next to her long-time friend.

"Well, the thing is…"

~Flashback~

Sakura had just finished a therapy session with Pein when she went downstairs. Itachi was making a sandwich in the kitchen, looking up as she entered the room.

"How is he?" Itachi asked, putting the mayonnaise back into the refrigerator. Sakura sighed, pulling a cooking from the Cat in a Hat cookie jar.

"Great… except he hates the sessions. He so damn stubborn to admit that it hurts and I'm afraid I might hurt him worse if he doesn't say anything." She bit into the cookie with a frown.

"I will talk to him later. Sandwich?" he said with a small smirk. Sakura smiled up at him but shook her head. "Would you like to get some practice in before the others show up?"

"Sure." She beamed; a smile so bright it could rival the sun. They went down stairs and she waited for Itachi to finish eating. "You know," she started with a thoughtful look. "I remember when you guys played my senior prom. That was the best time I ever had… well, aside from standing in the snow with you and Kisame, handing out flyers."

"Hn." He smirked. "Remember the graduation party and how drunk he got?" Sakura laughed, oh yeah, she couldn't forget that.

"He told me that you had a crush on me when I drove him home then puked in my car." She smiled, looking over the music in her hands… she missed his stiffened posture. It was now or never. Itachi stepped forward, standing directly behind her.

"He wasn't lying." He whispered softly. The paper fell from her fingers, wide eyes staring into his reflection in the glass. His eyes were so intense. In her twenty-two years, Sakura had never known a man to poses such passion in just a gaze. And before she could determine if she was really seeing what she thought she was, Sakura was spun around so fast, her long, pink locks whipped her face.

"Itachi… what--" she was cut off by a pair of soft lips crashing into hers. Unable to deny Itachi anything, Sakura surrendered to him and kissed back. She let out a moan as his tongue ravaged her mouth, leaving her breathless. Then he was moving, pressing her against the soundboard. She stumbled and ended up sitting on the equipment. With minds clouded by passion and lust, clothes went flying. Now Sakura was leaning back on the soundboard with Itachi spreading her legs wide. He sighed softly against her southern lips then placed a gentle kiss on her swollen pearl.

"Mmm… you are what you eat, Sakura. You taste sweet." Itachi growled, eyes looked up and bored into hers.

"I-Itachi… hah-ah!" she hissed as his hot tongue slipped between her folds in the lightest of touches. Her breath hitched… this was the most sinful, unbearable and delicious feeling anyone had ever made her feel. And by Kami, she wanted more. Arching her back, she pressed her core into his awaiting mouth, silently begging him to continue. He smirked against her skin and granted her request. Itachi brought her legs up, resting her feet on his shoulders as she slid closer to him, and impaled her on the sinewy muscle of his tongue. "Oh Kami… Itachi!!" good thing the room was soundproof.

He worked her with slow, powerful circles, feeling her hips buck against his mouth when he found a nice bundle of nerves. Itachi hummed into her core; he had dreamt about this for a long time. Sakura let out another cry of his name before he pulled away from her. She looked up at him, watching as he stood and held out a hand to her. She took it and stood, letting him turn her around and gently push her over the equipment. Itachi leaned over her, lining himself up with one hand as the other held her in place. Slowly, he slipped into her dripping passage with a moan.

"Oh, Itachi… mmm…" she murmured, taking in every inch of the man behind her. Sakura turned her head and placed a kiss on his jaw line, loving the appreciative hum he gave in response. She arched a little more and licked his earlobe and his hands found her bare breasts. He squeezed and pinched the mounds while slowly pumping in and out of her. Itachi's head turned towards hers and kissed her deeply, letting the pink-haired girl taste herself on his lips. She moaned again, her body bucking against his to speed up.

"Sakura…" he growled against her lips and picked up the pace. Sweat started to trickle from their bodies, making their skin slide effortlessly against each other.

"Itachi… f-faster, please." It was the most erotic plead he had ever heard. Sakura's breath fanned over the heated skin of his neck, he could only comply. Her moans grew louder as the slap-slap-slap sound of skin on skin grew louder and faster. The tension was building in his abdomen and it demanded to be released. Itachi grabbed her right leg and lifted it up, placing her bare foot on the cool surface of the soundboard.

"ITACHI!!!" it was enough to send Sakura hurtling into white-hot bliss taking her raven-haired lover with her. Sakura all but collapsed on the soundboard, chest heaving as Itachi leaned over her.

"Bravo!" someone clapped, the sound deafening in the small booth. The pair looked up to see Kisame standing in the doorway with his back to them.

~End flashback~

"OH MY GOD!" Ino shrieked as she stood from the stool.

"What's going on down there?" Konan hollered from upstairs.

"Nothing, Nee-san. We were just treading hospital stories again." There was a muffled 'ok' from the top of the stairs and her reseeding footsteps.

"You had sex with Itachi, how is that nothing?" Ino whispered.

"Shut up, pig!" Sakura whispered back, glaring at her friend. "Can you cover for me on Friday?"

"You going on a date or something?" the blond asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Sakura. The pink-haired girl scowled at her friend but nodded.

"He's taking me out to dinner after the concert."

"It's about damn time you got a boyfriend, Forehead. I'm so proud." Ino chimed, wiping fake tears from her eyes.

"Oh, Shut up!"