Chapter Text
You are NOT going to fidget. Fidgeting is unprofessional and you’re going to be the very picture of a professional. That’s what Sakura told herself as she sat in a leather chair that screamed prestige and money, in an office that made her feel severely underdressed in her red sweater and beige yoga pants. She should have worn the skirt.
“Alright!” The man behind the desk looked up from her application and smiled at her. It was the sort of disarming smile that immediately put her at ease, as if she were sitting in the room with her best friend and not undergoing a job interview with a guy who was part of one of the wealthiest—and largest—families in the city.
He looked a little older than her, likely mid-twenties, with warm onyx eyes and messy black hair. The dark dress shirt he wore was partially unbuttoned, lending to his casual appearance. So far, he was nothing like how social media portrayed the Uchiha, who were supposed to be stuck up, rude, and born with superiority complexes. It was entirely possible that her interviewer was an exception to the norm, but because he was the first Uchiha she'd interacted with since moving to Konoha, she had no way of knowing.
“You’re it; you got the job, Haruno-san.”
“Thank you for your consider—” She stopped and repeated what he’d just said to herself. “...I did? I mean, I’m honored Uchiha-san!” It was all she could do to contain her excitement. After so many failed interviews, she’d finally landed a job! Goodbye, poor med student life!
“Call me Shisui,” the man said as he leaned over the desk, an almost conspiratorial tilt to his smile now. He looked like an excited puppy that'd come across a new toy.
Sakura gaped at him as her internal celebration came to a screeching halt. She shut her mouth so fast that her teeth clicked together painfully. This was Shisui Uchiha? The CEO of Sharingan Systems? Why was a CEO interviewing her for a nanny position? He wasn’t married and didn’t have any kids. Ino was going to tear this entire conversation to pieces for every last detail when the blonde found out Sakura had sat in the same room as Konoha’s most eligible bachelor.
“When can you start?” Shisui asked, his smile slipping slightly.
He’s probably wondering if he made a mistake, you’re staring at him like an idiot. “As soon as you need me to, Shisui-sama,” Sakura said quickly, smiling at him. “Today, even.”
He leaned back in his chair with a smug expression as he pulled out a phone and began texting. “Great, are you free right now? And none of that sama thing either, just Shisui works.”
Sakura hadn’t been expecting to start today, but at the rate she was going to get paid and the too-good-to-be-true benefits, she would have dressed up like a clown if he’d asked her to. “I am.” She didn't know why he seemed so excited, or why she'd even landed the job in the first place. She doubted he'd been hurting for candidates. He wasn't even going to be her employer, so why was he interviewing her anyways?
Shisui stood and Sakura quickly followed suit. “I want you to meet your employer. He's just down the street from my house."
She followed him out of the office, taking one last gander at the interior of his home. Despite the limited space a townhome offered, it was still light and open, with marbled floors, white walls, and gold accents. Then they were outside, the air even more chilly after the warmth of the house.
The Uchiha family had their own private neighborhood, a street of old money-style townhomes. Massive trees lined the street, their leaves ablaze with autumn colors in the late afternoon sun. The sidewalks and gutters were clear of leaf litter and each home had a small fenced yard. It was a different world from the suburbs where she’d grown up. There weren't any children playing in the street. No cars parked along the curb. She would have thought it deserted if not for a dark-haired couple walking on the other side of the street.
Her phone kept vibrating in her purse, likely Ino dying to know how the interview went and wondering why she wasn’t responding, even though Sakura had told her she'd call her when she got home.
Shisui glanced at her. “You can take that if you want, I don’t mind."
“I won’t be able to put it down if I do,” Sakura replied with a nervous laugh as she reached into her purse to turn her phone completely off. Ino would have to wait.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “Relax, you’re going to be perfect for this job. It’s my cousin that you’ll be working for and he’ll lay down the ground rules.” Shisui must have seen the unspoken question on her face because he continued, “He’s a busy guy, so he left the interviews up to me. Which was for the best really, I’m more socially savvy.”
Sakura was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that she was just casually walking down the sidewalk with one of the biggest names in the city. She hadn't recognized him because he was rarely on the media, mostly just a name without a face being thrown around. However, she was even more occupied with the fact that Shisui had just implied that her employer wasn't a people person.
As someone who was training in the medical field, she was accustomed to dealing with a wide variety of personalities, including difficult ones. In her experience, someone who wasn't a people person was either going to be awkward around her or a jerk. She got enough of the latter at the hospital, she didn't need her day job to be frustrating too. She could get into real trouble if she lost her temper here. Who knew what connections these people could leverage against her if she displeased one of them.
And then she decided she didn't care. She was Sakura Haruno and had fought tooth and nail through medical school, money problems, and people who thought they could get in the way of her becoming a trauma surgeon at such a young age. She'd secured herself an internship with one of the nation's best surgeons.
No rich guy was going to stop her either.
"Here we are!" Shisui's voice drew her out of her thoughts. They stood in front of a townhouse that looked similar to the one they'd just left, except it was painted in darker colors.
Waiting for them on the front steps was a man of similar height to Shisui. He shared the same eye and hair color, but his hair was longer, the front part hanging around his face while the back had been tied into a loose tail. He looked decidedly less friendly. He was also unfairly handsome. Ugh, why is it always the aloof ones who get all the good looks? He wore a simple black t-shirt with a white paper fan design on it and gray pants. The outfit looked at odds with the formal air of the townhouse behind him.
“How’s my baby cousin holding up?” Shisui asked as he climbed the steps and threw his arm around the man’s shoulders.
Baby cousin?! Shisui's cousin is younger than him? He looked older, more mature, though maybe that was just the pronounced lines under his eyes, eyes that were studying her with careful consideration. Sakura straightened and looked at him head-on, not wanting to look like she was going to be cowed. But it sure was hard not to be intimidated by that cold gaze. She felt like he saw right through her, able to see everything that made her who she was. Sakura tried not to think about anything, half afraid that he could read her thoughts—ridiculous as that sounded.
At least she knew who this was. Itachi Uchiha's face had been all over the news a year ago—alongside his then four-year-old brother, Sasuke—after the death of his parents. She distinctly remembered Ino commenting on the fact that Itachi hadn't looked even a little upset, his expressionless face seemingly carved from stone despite the cameras getting up close and personal while the reporters pestered him about details of the car accident that had taken the lives of his parents.
That expressionless face softened slightly and Sakura found she could breathe again when he released her from his gaze. He glanced at Shisui. “I was working, Shisui. Do you need something?”
Shisui snorted. “Pft, you know why I’m here, Itachi. I already hired her by the way, so it doesn’t matter what you say.”
Itachi sighed, his gaze returning to her. “You know I trust your judgment, Shisui. If you think she’s suitable, then she’ll work.”
Shisui smirked. “You’re just saying that because you already background-checked her.”
"Shisui!" A boy who looked to be about five came running out the front door and was swept up by Shisui.
"Hey, Sasuke! Have you finished that puzzle yet?" Shisui asked.
The boy was watching her with the wary curiosity of a shy child. She smiled warmly at him, trying to ignore the sudden swell of sadness. Her siblings weren't that young anymore, but she remembered that age fondly.
Sasuke was still staring at her when he shook his head, "No."
Shisui turned to the house. "Let's go see what we can do about that."
And just like that Sakura was alone with Itachi Uchiha, another large social media name. Ino is going to lose it.
Itachi held the front door open. "Please come in, Haruno-san." His voice was cool and polite, as distant as the clouds overhead.
"Thank you," Sakura said as she walked past him into the house. Dark, wood-paneled walls greeted her while a vaulted ceiling gave the impression of space. A black chandelier hung from a beam and shaded wall sconces painted the wood in warm tones. Somber was the first word that came to her mind, a vastly different world from the light-filled, messy house she had grown up in. She couldn't help but feel that these walls hadn't heard much laughter.
She turned to Itachi as he closed the door. "What puzzle is your brother working on? My little brother loves puzzles too." Despite how intimidated she was by the man in front of her, Sakura was genuinely curious about his brother. That poor boy, losing both his parents.
The surprise that flashed across Itachi's face was gone so fast that she must have imagined it. He gestured to an arched doorway and she followed him into a sitting room.
"It's a cat puzzle," Itachi said, taking a seat on the couch. There was a coffee table in front of it and another couch across from it, which was where Sakura decided to sit. A large electric fireplace dominated the room, its mantle filled with pictures she could only assume were family photos.
"I'll need to see your phone, Haruno-san. For security reasons."
"Oh… right, of course." Sakura fumbled with her purse, snagged her phone, and set it down on the coffee table. She shouldn't have been surprised. These were rich and important people. They weren't going to let just anyone into their private lives and she knew Itachi Uchiha was particularly guarded. There was next to nothing about him on the internet despite the attention his family had gotten online after the accident that killed his parents.
His father had been a familiar face on the news as Chief of Police, but he had been good about keeping his family out of the spotlight.
Itachi took her phone and opened it with a familiar deftness. He removed… the battery? Sakura had no idea what he was doing, but couldn't help noticing that his fingernails were painted black. He inspected the inside carefully, put it back together, and set it on the coffee table.
That wasn't weird at all. Oh well, I'm just here for that nice fat paycheck.
"You have siblings, Haruno-san," Itachi said, leaning back on the couch. He was lounging more than sitting, looking perfectly at ease while managing to make her feel more than uneasy, the complete opposite of Shisui’s friendlier demeanor.
Maybe I should ask Shisui if he needs a maid or something. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t even keep her tiny apartment clean.
"Sakura, please," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Haruno-san makes me feel old."
He inclined his head in acknowledgment but was still clearly waiting for a response to his non-question.
"I'm the oldest of four. My brother, the youngest, is eight, and then two sisters who are twelve and sixteen." She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she thought about them. Thinking about her siblings made Sakura homesick; she couldn’t wait to visit them over fall break. Her family lived on the coastline of the Land of Fire, at least a day’s drive from Konoha City.
Their conversation continued. He'd ask her mundane questions and listen intently to her equally mundane answers all while sitting there with flat obsidian eyes that never left her. She felt like he was analyzing every word she said, every gesture she made. He didn't make any uh huhs or mhmms like most other people would between her pauses, just that intent stare.
The questions stopped and they sat in silence. Was this some sort of test? Well, Sakura wasn't going to just sit here like a guinea pig. It was her turn to ask some questions. Besides, she needed something to tell Ino, or her friend would throw a fit.
"What do you do for work?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"Software Engineer," came his immediate response, it almost sounded automated.
It was such an ordinary answer that she was disappointed. Well duh, did you think he just sat around all day counting his money? Maybe bathing in it? That last thought brought warmth to her cheeks and she quickly cleared her throat, trying to banish it from her mind.
"Would you like something to drink, Sakura-san?" he asked, polite and hopefully oblivious to her inner thoughts.
“...Yes, thank you.” She kept her eyes on the short silver chain he had around his neck until he was gone, leaving her alone in the sitting room. Sakura rose from the couch and moved to glance over the pictures on the fireplace mantle. They were pretty standard family photos, though the biggest thing she noticed was that Itachi was smiling in the majority of them. It was a subdued smile, but a smile nonetheless. So far her impression of him was that he wasn’t a very expressive guy.
“I hope water’s sufficient.”
Sakura started with a gasp, she hadn’t heard even a hint of Itachi’s approach. She turned to find him standing behind her and had to glance up to look at him. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he handed her a glass.
She felt stupid, caught red-handed poking around but then she forced a smile. “Thank you.” There was no need for her to feel like that, it was perfectly natural to look at what someone had on display. They wouldn’t be there if he didn’t want anyone looking at them.
Sakura returned to her spot and sipped her water. A part of her was rethinking taking this job, but it was the little brother she was going to be spending most of her time with so surely it wasn't going to always be this intense? But she wasn't so sure. She could take care of a five-year-old just fine, it was all the strings and red tape that came with the stupidly rich that she was starting to worry about.
“You said you’re a software engineer, do you work for the family company?” The refreshing water helped calm her nerves a little.
“Yes.”
Not very talkative is he? What she knew about Sharingan Systems was that it was a company that specialized in security hardware and had been around for several generations. Only members of the Uchiha family were employed by the company.
"Can you start on Monday?" Itachi asked, clearly wanting to end the conversation before she could pry any more into his life.
Sakura finished her water and set the glass on the coffee table. "Yes, Uchiha-san."
A smile ghosted across his face. "Call me Itachi, Uchiha-san makes me feel old."
Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as Sakura had thought.
***
Itachi watched Sakura leave. When she was outside, she jumped into the air with a fist pump.
Sakura Haruno. A trauma surgeon about to graduate, the youngest of her class, and highly recommended by Chief Medical Officer Tsunade. She came from a middle-class family. Her father worked at a bank while her mother ran an in-home bakery. No criminal records. A perfectly boring family, as average as they came.
And yet she could look him in the eye without turning into a nervous blubbering mess like most of the other girls he met. Interesting. It wasn't very often that he thought that about someone.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs announced Shisui's return, Sasuke riding on his shoulders.
"Nii-san! Is it true? You have a girlfriend now?"
Itachi gave Shisui a flat stare as his cousin gasped dramatically. "Sasuke! I didn't say that!" He set Sasuke down. “Why don’t you go back upstairs and finish that puzzle? Then you can show Itachi how fast you put it together.”
Sasuke’s face scrunched up in disappointment as he trudged back upstairs. Once he was gone, Shisui turned to Itachi, the playfulness gone from his face as he took on a more serious tone, the sort of expression that told Itachi he wasn’t joking around anymore.
“I know you don’t like the idea of having a stranger look after Sasuke, but look at yourself in the mirror, Itachi. You’re running yourself ragged trying to care for him. It’s only a matter of time until you make another mistake…”
Itachi flinched at the painful reminder, but he knew his cousin was right. Both of them were well aware of the cost their mistakes had.
Shisui’s expression softened. “We’re in the middle of a war no one knows about. I need you at your best.”
“And you bring a girl into the crosshairs?”
The smile returned to Shisui’s face, a teasing one. “She’s hardly a girl, Itachi. She’s only a year younger than you.”
Itachi sighed and glanced up the stairs. “Sasuke, I thought we talked about eavesdropping.”
He heard a groan from the top of the stairs and then the slam of a door.
Shisui snorted. “I’d say he’s just like you except I was the one eavesdropping and you were the one getting after me. You were too proper for such things.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Anyways, it’s not like I’d bring just anyone onto Danzo’s radar. Tsunade has vouched for her as the best student she’s ever had.”
Itachi would rather have Tsunade herself on their side, but this war had boiled down to Akatsuki versus Root and the mayor didn’t want important city government officials getting wrapped up in it.
The pros of Sakura's presence outweighed the cons in Itachi's mind. Having her around would be good for his brother. He'd seen how Sakura had talked about her family, they were important to her and he got the impression she'd care for Sasuke in the same manner. She was calm and level-headed. If he felt she could handle the truth, her skills would become invaluable to the Akatsuki.
He'd still need to keep an eye on her to ensure she wasn't a plant from Danzo, but he was confident of his initial assessment and he was rarely wrong. Sakura Haruno was going to do well.
Shisui pulled out his phone to send a text message. “By the way, Tsunade said she’d kill us both if we let anything happen to her student.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Itachi said dryly.
***
The cozy BBQ restaurant was busy with the Sunday evening rush while the air was filled with the aroma of smoked meat and fresh bread. The background noise of the kitchen combined with the chatter of the other customers did little to lessen the sound of Ino's excited rant, which Sakura imagined could be heard throughout the restaurant.
"Augh! Itachi Uchiha! I can't believe you didn't take any pictures or ask him if he had a girlfriend." The blonde sitting across from Sakura groaned into her hands. "A software engineer! That's way too normal, he totally lied to you."
"Who cares?" Shikamaru said through a mouthful of bread.
"Anyone who isn't you, Shikamaru," Ino snapped at him. She turned eagerly back to Sakura. "Okay, but back to your interview. Was Shisui as cute as they claim he is? I bet I would have recognized him immediately. How on earth did you not know who was interviewing you?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. “It was a position for the Uchiha family, Ino. They all look the same with their dark hair and eyes." Her mouth then pulled into a smug smirk. "But he was cute, and he said I could call him Shisui."
"Sakura-san thinks I'm cute? I'm flattered."
For one blissful moment, Sakura thought she'd imagined Shisui’s voice. There was no way the universe could have conspired against her that thoroughly. Konoha was a large city, with a massive selection of restaurants. This wasn’t even one of the most popular ones. What were the chances she’d run into a billionaire here?
And then she saw Ino's shocked expression, and horror washed over her as she slowly turned her head to find Shisui standing next to their table. When their eyes met, his smile widened in amusem*nt. He was most certainly laughing internally at her. She could feel the warmth spiraling across her face.
There was a man standing behind Shisui with a bored expression written across his face. He was taller and looked a little older—thirties maybe—with spiky white hair. The lower half of his face was covered by a black gaiter mask. That doesn’t look odd at all. Is that even allowed in here?
He co*cked an eyebrow at her when he noticed her gaze, and she quickly looked away.
Ino squealed. "Shisui Uchiha!"
Shisui placed a finger on his lips. “Shhh, keep it down, Blondie. I’m just here for some BBQ.” Ino gaped at him, likely shocked that he’d spoken to her directly, and with an informal nickname no less. Then he turned his attention back to Sakura. “Itachi didn’t scare you away, Sakura-san?”
"I'm not so easily scared," Sakura said with a chuckle.
"I knew you wouldn't be."
She had no idea why he was so confident in her. Maybe he was just one of those people who saw the best in everyone around him.
The white-haired man behind Shisui pointedly cleared his throat.
"I'll leave you guys to it then, have a good evening," Shisui said, giving them all a smile before he and his companion left.
Shikamaru was eating another roll, seemingly oblivious to the conversation, but Sakura knew he'd heard every word.
The rest of the evening passed at a snail’s pace. Ino wouldn’t shut up about their encounter with Shisui and was determined to get another look at him before they left the restaurant. Fortunately, the CEO and his friend hadn’t been visible to the snooping blonde. Sakura was already going to die of embarrassment the next time she saw Shisui, she didn’t need Ino stalking him on top of that.
Once Sakura was home, she had a hard time falling asleep. Shisui’s belief in her did little to alleviate the new job jitters that kept her tossing and turning late into the night.
The next morning, Sakura was greeted with wet roads as she drove into the Uchiha neighborhood, bedraggled and tired. Itachi had texted her that morning to give her parking instructions. She approached his townhouse and turned into the driveway that ran along the side of the narrow property. It led her to a three-car garage, an add-on to a larger building that she could only guess the purpose of. A workshop? A gym? It could have been anything.
The garage door on the left was open and she pulled in. The only other car in the garage wasn't what she would have expected to find in a millionaire's garage, a black Audi sedan that was surprisingly nondescript. It still made her pink Spark look clunky.
Sakura grabbed her bag and left the garage, glad that it wasn't currently raining as she crossed the wet pavement. The back of the townhouse was dominated by a covered stone patio that also served as a balcony for the second floor, with scrollwork railing. The back door opened before she could knock.
"Good morning, Sakura-san," Itachi greeted her in his cool voice. "How was your drive?" He gestured for her to come in.
"Uneventful thankfully." She stepped past him, trying to suppress the sudden shiver that passed through her at his proximity. There was almost something dangerous in his presence, which was ridiculous. He was just a rich software engineer.
The dining room and kitchen were as dark and elegant as the rest of the townhouse. This place really needs some color.
Sasuke was at the kitchen table, playing with building blocks that looked too complex for a five-year-old, and yet he was making an impressive looking tower. There was a neatly stacked pile of folders, worksheets, and other school supplies next to his creation.
"Did you receive the email I sent you about Sasuke’s schedule?" Itachi asked as he moved into the kitchen to prepare a cup of what smelled like coffee.
She nodded. "And the expectations of me."
The list he'd sent her hadn't been surprising, since she'd seen it as part of the job qualifications. There was a list of trusted names that were allowed to interact with Sasuke; anyone not on the list had to be reported to Itachi. Probably so he can background check them. She could only take Sasuke out to approved places, anything else had to be run by Itachi. She had also agreed to take a self-defense class that would be paid for by her new employer—that one was a bit odd.
Perhaps anyone else would have been turned away by such strict expectations, but Sakura was relieved that everything was so structured. That meant she knew what to expect from her day and wouldn't have to think too hard about her job when she was already tired with schoolwork and interning under Tsunade at the hospital on weekends.
"Don't hesitate to contact me if there's a problem, I work from home and am available if there's an emergency." Itachi grabbed his mug. "Feel free to help yourself to the kitchen." He went to the kitchen table and poked Sasuke in the forehead. "Remember what we talked about, Sasuke."
Sasuke grumbled as he rubbed at his forehead. "I remember…"
Itachi left, presumably going up stairs to wherever his work setup was. Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke and smiled. "What are you building?" She sat in the chair next to him. The tower of blocks looked even more intricate up close. Sasuke reached for one of the bottom blocks, causing the tower to collapse in on itself, revealing a flower pattern that resembled a cherry blossom.
"That's amazing! Did you design this?"
Sasuke looked away shyly. "...Nii-san helped. He said that's what your name means."
Awww, he's adorable. "That's impressive and thoughtful of you." Sakura pulled the folders and worksheets closer. "Do you want to show me how you put that together? Then we'll start on your schoolwork."
***
The sun shone down on the playground while kids ran and climbed everywhere, their screaming filling the air. Sakura sat on one of the benches, watching Sasuke run away from a blonde boy with whiskered cheeks. That was Naruto Uzumaki and he was the same age as Sasuke. He was the adopted son of the mayor and had met them for a scheduled playdate at the park. He had a bodyguard with him, the white-haired man she'd seen with Shisui at the BBQ restaurant—fortunately there was no sign of the Uchiha CEO. She wasn't ready to see him again after their embarrassing encounter the other evening.
The white-haired man had introduced himself as Kakashi Hatake and was currently sitting at the other end of her bench, his masked face shoved into the pages of a book. He looked inattentive for a bodyguard, though his presence kept anyone from bothering her as she went over the notes from her last class, so she couldn't really complain. He was on Itachi's approved list, which only applied to adults. She'd tried engaging him in conversation, but his responses had been given in the tone of someone who wasn't interested in being social at the moment.
Sakura was in the middle of trying to remember what one of her notes meant when Kakashi suddenly spoke without looking up from his book. "Yo, Itachi."
She glanced up to find Itachi standing next to her and jumped with a curse that drew both Itachi and Kakashi’s attention. “Do you enjoy sneaking up on people?” She demanded, a flush rising to her cheeks. Not a great idea to snap at your boss on your first day of work.
“Sneaking? I’ve been standing here for a while, Sakura-san,” Itachi said impassively, though she could see a hint of amusem*nt in his eyes. When she glanced at Kakashi, he had gone back to reading his book. However, she got the distinct impression that he was smirking beneath his mask.
"Nii-san! Come play shadow runner!" Sasuke called from the playground. "You too, Sakura-san!"
"Shadow runner?" Sakura asked, tucking her notes away into her bag. "I just need to go put this—"
"I'll watch it," Kakashi cut in, still not looking up from his book.
Sakura eyed him skeptically. "I sure hope so." She rose from the bench and followed Itachi to the open space of grass and trees just past the playground. Sasuke and Naruto ran up to them, excitement lighting up their faces.
"Alright, how do I play?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke opened his mouth but Naruto spoke over him. "You have to stand in the sunlight! And then when a cloud starts to cover the sun, you have to hurry and find a shadow to stand in before the sunlight's gone." He beamed up at them. "I'm the best at it!"
"No you're not!" Sasuke protested.
Shadow runner turned out to be more fun than Sakura was expecting. Currently she was sharing the shadow of a tree with Itachi while they waited for the sunlight to come back. She sat with her arms stretched out to touch her feet, working out the stiff muscles in her shoulders. Itachi leaned with his back against the tree, his arms folded and his eyes closed.
"It just occurred to me… but how did you know we were here?" Sakura asked. She hadn't told Itachi about coming here.
"The schedule."
She didn’t know why she’d been expecting a different response. "Looks like the sunlight's coming back." She could see it slowly creeping over the ground towards them. Naruto and Sasuke were arguing about who was winning. She was fairly certain it was Itachi while Naruto was doing the worst, having gotten caught outside a shadow multiple times.
She grinned, a sudden idea coming to mind. "I'll race you to that tree over there."
Itachi opened his eyes and pushed away from the tree. "If you'd like." He offered her a hand and she took it with some surprise, half-expecting his hand to be cold, but it was as warm as anyone else's.
He pulled her up and let go. They both moved to the edge of the tree's shadow, waiting for the sunlight to reach them. It rolled past, painting the ground in light, and then they were off. Sakura bolted ahead, but Itachi ran past her as if she were walking and reached the target tree well before she did. "Wow… I didn't stand a chance," she managed to gasp out when she reached the shadow, getting there before the sunlight vanished.
It was a deserved loss, considering she'd underestimated him on the assumption that he wasn't going to be very fast when he worked from home doing a desk job all day. He didn’t even look winded or satisfied that he’d won, just that same impassive expression.
It was at that moment that reality caught up to her and she realized she was playing games with her boss. Who was also way above her social status. Sakura cleared her throat and pulled out her phone to check the time. It was approaching lunch time, which meant they were due to go home.
That was when she noticed Kakashi sitting on the ground nearby—with her bag—and his face still in his book. When did he get there? What’s with these guys and popping up out of nowhere?
By the time Sakura got home after work, she was ready to order pizza and crash on her shabby couch. Which was exactly what she did, curling up under a blanket with dinner and the sitcom she'd promised Ino she'd finish.
Sakura was awoken by the buzz of her phone. She sat up on the couch, her head feeling fuzzy. She hadn't meant to fall asleep and the TV was still on. She checked her phone. Two-thirty in the morning. Who's texting me this late? An unknown number greeted her when she opened her messages. An image popped up on her screen and it took her a moment to process it in her half-asleep state. A moment later, she was wide awake, as if someone had splashed her in the face with ice water.
It was a picture of her pulling out of Itachi’s driveway after work.
