Sea of Bitterness Chapter Four

Chapter Four~

Sakura sat lazily in the window seat in her living room, she had grabbed her soft blanket and a good book upon hearing rain on her roof this morning. She smiled and glanced out the window, past her window box where her carefully pruned flowers enjoyed the weather, and into the busy market street of Konoha. She had moved out of her parents' home long ago, and made this small, two bedroom apartment her own. It wasn't much, but it was home. She pressed her slender hand to the window pane, her green eyes glancing from person to person on the street. She herself didn't know what she was searching for, or why for that matter she was even searching for something to begin with.
She did, however, feel her heart slam into her ribs suddenly seeing bright crimson eyes beneath the brim of a hat- it was Itachi. Apparently he was going out for a sweets fix as there was a small parcel from the dango stand beneath his arm. Sakura sighed and looked forlornly to the romance novel in her lap. Surely she wasn't developing a.. crush on Itachi Uchiha. After all, she'd given up on Sasuke long ago, she had no business going for his elder brother. Sakura wasn't exactly one to keep it all in the family.
Besides, she hardly knew the man. That little chat at Naruto and Hinata's engagement party had been the most she'd ever conversed with the normally quiet Uchiha. And yet she found herself staring blatantly at this man through her window as he walked with a steady, confident gait. Sakura was a little embarrassed by her own actions, it reminded her of her juvenile days of spying on Sasuke.
She all but jumped out of her skin as he turned his head, and staring right at her with bright eyes, smiled softly at her with those sinfully beautiful lips of his. She gave a sheepish smile in return and awkwardly waved. Before she knew what she was doing, she found her feet rushing to the door, her hands turning the knob. A rush of cool air chilled her as she pulled the door open, looking at the elegant man who was practically on her doorstep. “Now you've done it Sakura.” She thought to herself as she bit the inside of her cheek in thought.
“Um, would you like to come inside for a bit?” She asked, somehow keeping her voice normal as her nerves were frazzled.
“That would be lovely, I'm afraid my lungs are not enjoying this air whatsoever.” He gave a slight cough, his clothes were practically soaked, it was a wonder he wasn't already getting sick.
“Come in then, it's quite warm in here.” She smiled softly and moved aside so he could pass inside her home. Oh, how she hoped she hadn't left any dirty laundry in the bathroom again. She hadn't even thought to spruce up her home in quite awhile.
He looked around while removing his hat, she wasn't certain, but she thought she saw him shiver the slightest. “I like your home Sakura-chan.. It's quite cozy. My mother kept our home quite tidy, so we never had any homey clutter about.”
“Oh great, my house is cluttered.” Sakura thought to herself with embarrassment, really she ought to be better at keeping it clean, but work kept her busy enough so she never really gave much thought to cleaning it. “Um, thank you Itachi-san.” She handed him a warm, fuzzy towel and went to the kitchen to put on some tea.
She stared at the kettle as the rain pounded on the roof, she still couldn't believe that Itachi Uchiha was inside her house. So close she could almost feel his skin. She blushed softly at that, really she shouldn't be thinking of him that way. After all, she didn't really know if he even considered her a friend. He probably merely thought of her as a kind physician who was once a comrade to his brother.
A soft cough behind her made her jump slightly, she turned quickly to see Itachi toweling his hair dry.. he had removed his shirt. She swore her face was about as red as a tomato right now.
“T-The tea is almost ready Itachi-san.” She shook as the kettle whistled, quickly placing two bags into mugs she poured the steaming water into them carefully. Not carefully enough as she soon found herself with a burnt hand. She winced and blew on it, playing it off though it was bothering her as to how she could be so clumsy in his presence.
He stunned her by taking her small hand gently into his larger one, examining her wound carefully. He was quite gentle, applying some ointment with the softest of touches. “Are you always this flustered Sakura-chan?” There seemed to be a smile in his voice though she was too timid to look. “You seem so professional at work. I didn't think you'd be affected by my appearance.” He wasn't smug, merely stating the truth.
She blushed softly and looked up into those depth-less eyes, his hair was down- framing his feminine face perfectly. “I-I try not to be.. But honestly Itachi, what girl wouldn't be?”
He surprised her with a blunt chuckle. “You flatter me, Sakura...” He softly released her hand and took a mug of steaming tea, heading back into the living room.
She was so startled she hardly realized he'd addressed her informally. She could still feel his feather-light touch on her skin.. She quickly grabbed her mug and shook her head, grabbing a couple of cookies before following him.

Sadly even the rain had to stop eventually, and for her it stopped all too soon. However, Sakura had spent a lovely afternoon in the company of Itachi. She was surprised at how talkative he could be when he wanted, he told her all sorts of stories of various missions he'd been on, places he'd been, things he'd seen. Apparently he'd even seen the ocean, she'd been particularly interested in that as she'd never seen it. She had always wanted to go, to dip her toes into the sand and see the sun set over the vast, liquid horizon.
When Sakura's head hit the pillow that night, she was immersed in her dreams. Dreams in which a handsome raven held her hand on the beach while the sun dipped below the horizon, where he kissed her beneath the stars..