Chapter Text
She started seeing them everywhere.
Sakura’s fist made contact with the earth, a tremor splitting the training ground open with a crunch.
She effortlessly flipped backwards into a tree as crows scattered into the sky, emerald orbs watching them carefully as they dissolve into black smoke.
She never saw them appear, only noticing as they took flight, having watched her for an unknown amount of time.
Sakura knew who was watching, just not why.
Her old sensei slowly walked over to her, pulling his headband down to cover his sharingan, signaling the end of their spar.
Kakashi whistled his appreciation as he sidesteped the crater, and she hopped down from her perch to join him.
“Never ceases to amaze me.” His eye crinkled with an unseen smile and he clapped a hand on her shoulder as she smirked.
“Yea, and I would have gotten you if you had been two seconds slower!”
Kakashi gave her a soft chuckle and she turned to fall in beside him as he walked back towards the town.
They moved in comfortable silence for a moment as the breeze tangled through her long pink strands.
The silence is broken with his hushed, low tone.
“He’s been watching you, you know.”
Sakura’s heart skipped a beat, emerald orbs darting around the clearing as she kept pace.
“I know…”
“Keep your distance from him, he’s dangerous.”
Sakura swallowed heavily, recalling the small glimpses of the older Uchiha she had seen in the past.
Her eyes rested on Kakashi’s back as she remembered his bedridden state after facing him.
She hummed her understanding as they reached the village. The rest of the walk was silent as she waited for him to ask questions that never came.
They stop at Sakura’s apartment door, and she turned to him as he gives her a gentle smile before placing a hand on her head.
“Catch you tomorrow.”
Sakura smiled at his back as he turned, her cheeks flushed pink as she fixed her hair.
This had become their routine ever since Sasuke left the village.
Sakura and Kakashi’s mutual bond with the rogue ninja had brought them closer in an unexpected way. She was no longer his student, and he, no longer her teacher. Sakura had grown into a strong and reliable woman that Kakashi had begun to depend on.
When they weren’t on missions together, this was how they spent time together. He would meet her at the training grounds when she was done with her shift at the hospital. They would spar until the arena was unrecognizable and then he would walk her home in comfortable silence as the sun set.
A sudden appearance two weeks ago put a kink in her monotonous life.
Sakura sighed, shaking the blush from her cheeks as she stepped inside her door and kicked her shoes off.
There was an Uchiha in the village, and it wasn’t Sasuke.
She moved into her living room, plopping down into her forest green couch as the sweat from training stuck to her skin.
Naruto hadn't disclosed all the details, only that Itachi’s bounty and crimes had been absolved and he was free to come and go from the leaf as he pleased.
Apparently, the Uchiha had made it her problem.
Her eyes drifted to the window, scanning for any of those damned birds and felt herself relax a little as none were to be seen.
“What the hell does he want with me?”
Sakura had gotten her fill of moody Uchihas after her ex-teammate tried to murder her and wasn’t in the mood to open that can of worms again. Sasuke had left her mind a long time ago after he decided to go on year-long missions outside Konoha that included no communication or apologies to her for everything he had put her through. Thus, Sakura had finally realized her worth and decided to give up on Sasuke for good.
But now there’s another problematic Uchiha in town.
She hoped if she kept trying to ignore the crows with red eyes, the issue would resolve itself. But two weeks later, and here she is.
Sakura’s mind then wandered back to her old teacher, and she hummed happily as she stood and began to undress for her shower.
She will only admit to herself (and Ino) that she had recently developed a small crush on the silver haired man. Whether that be through shared trauma or the past two high-level missions they went on together, she wasn’t quite sure.
But damn, even during the hot springs mission, she still hadn’t seen what’s under that mask!
Her red top fell to the floor and her bottoms followed as she made her way to the shower, lost in thought as she walked into the bathroom.
A black crow jumped from her bedroom windowsill, red eyes gleaming in the night.
oOo
The next day, Sakura walked towards her morning coffee shop when a raven sweep of hair stopped her in her tracks.
Her heart lept in her chest, her first thought being ‘Sasuke’, but soon pitted down into her stomach as the man sitting in the outdoor table turned to face her.
His eyes weren’t red, but Sakura’s gaze instinctively shot to the ground as her pace faultered.
“Haruno, care to join me?”
His voice was velvety and deep, prickling the hairs on the back of her neck as she swallowed thickly.
She cleared her throat and slowly met his gaze, attempting to regain her composure.
His chair had moved silently, and he now sat parallel to the table, facing her with a relaxed pose.
Sakura studied him for a moment, taking in his plain black tee shirt and grey pants.
It honestly shocked her to not see the ex-traitor clad in a black and red cloak.
His pale face and black eyes showed no sign of malice or tension. That just made the way he was eyeing her even weirder.
Sakura wasn’t comfortable with sitting with the mass murderer at 7:45AM, but she was also desperately curious to find out exactly why he had been watching her through crows for the last two weeks, so she took a step forward in agreement.
With a swift movement, the Uchiha kicked a chair out for her and his eyes follow as she gracefully took a seat across the from him.
He reached for his coffee, her eyes following the movement before snapping away.
The silence is choking as he sipped from the cup.
Sakura wrung her hands in her lap, her eyes darting everywhere but the man as she waited.
Seconds of silence felt like minutes, and she could no longer hold her composure.
“The crows??”
Her eyes snapped to the older man as she heard what she believed to be a small chuckle, but upon seeing his expressionless face, decided that she was hearing things.
Itachi sat the cup down, his eyes meeting hers for a split second before focusing behind her shoulder.
“The hokage has asked me to watch the village and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”
His tone was even and smooth, the opposite of what Sakura was feeling at that moment.
“Oh, I’m sorry, do I seem suspicious to you?”
The corner of his mouth curled slightly, and his eyes swept back to hers, holding them hostage in his deep, black abyss.
Sakura felt her pulse quicken in her throat as a flicker of red came and went.
She was trying hard to stay strong, but couldn’t help the knots the formed in her stomach as the Uchiha's gaze pierced into her.
It felt nothing like Sasuke’s.
Itachi held a silent power in his eyes, even when the sharingan wasn’t active. Everyone always said how intelligent and strong he was, but damn, experiencing Itachi Uchiha first-hand was on a whole other level.
Sakura was released from the enchanting gaze as she nervously licked her lips, causing him to follow the movement.
Suddenly remembering she had legs, Sakura shot up from her chair. It wobbled dangerously as she collected her imaginary things and made a move towards the street.
‘That’s it, I’m getting the hell out of here!’ She thought to herself.
“I find you interesting, Haruno.”
She tripped as his voice cut through her racing pulse.
She continued on her way, unwilling to look back or say anything more to the terrifying enigma sitting at the outdoor coffee table.
She quickly ended their interaction, picking up the pace as she made her way as far from him as possible.
oOo
Sakura decided to forget that morning happened.
Until a black crow scared the shit out of her later that night at the hospital window.
…
‘What the hell does that mean???’
oOo