My One and Only

Chapter 18

The next morning Sakura woke up before the sun had even come up and found herself unable to fall back asleep. She stared at the tall white ceiling of the room Itachi and her were staying in for about an hour before deciding she was bored out of her mind.

Without waking him, she somehow managed to wiggle her way out of the tight hold Itachi had around her. She figured no one else was awake, so it would be fine if she left the bedroom and looked around a bit.

Predictably, most of the house was dark except for the few lanterns illuminating enough so that she could see what was in front of her. She walked down the stairs and walked towards the way she remembered the dining room to be. Sakura thought everyone had been asleep, so she didn't expect Itachi's mother to already be sitting in the dining room sipping a cup of tea.

"Oh! Are you an early riser too, Sakura-chan?" The older woman asked once she noticed her.

Sakura shook her head, "I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."

Mikoto nodded, "Well, come sit. I'll have them bring you some tea."

Sakura did and she and Mikoto conversed for a while, sipping tea. Sakura found that Mikoto was actually a pleasant person to talk to when she wasn't creeping her out. She didn't know for how long they talked but it was already light enough that the lanterns were no longer needed to see. 

Sakura wasn't sure if he had woken up because he had felt her missing or if this was the time he usually woke, but Itachi came down mid-conversation with Mikoto.

"Itachi-chan! Sakura and I were just getting to know each other,"

"I can see that, mother." He said sitting down next to Sakura. He brought her closer so that their thighs were touching and wrapped his arms around her. Mikoto's eyes glowed.

"Well, anyways. Before you came down I was about to tell Sakura-chan about the merchant caravan that has stopped nearby for a few days."

Sakura perked up. She had never seen a caravan.

Mikoto continued, "Itachi-chan, you should take Sakura-chan with you to see the caravan."

Sakura nearly said yes out loud. Now that sounded like a good idea. Itachi must have seen something in her eyes because they were at the caravan the next thing she knew. 

Sakura looked at all the different wagons stationed in the small valley with excitement. There were so many different things she'd never seen before. Flowers, herbs, spices, and clothing from different faraway lands. Jewels and weaponry that had been crafted by the hands of many artists.

People were calling out different things that they were trading or selling, and there were clearly many people interested.

Sakura didn't even care if they bought anything or not, seeing all the different items was interesting enough. She and Itachi walked around the caravan for a while. She ended up leaving with a book about western medicine that she had wanted enough to actually ask for it.

When they arrived back at the house the rest of the Uchiha family was just about to have lunch.

"How was the caravan?" Mikoto asked once they were all seated.

"It was great! There were things from all over the world," Sakura responded enthusiastically.

Sasuke suddenly looked interested "You guys went to a caravan?" he asked looking at Itachi with a scowl on his face.

Shisui playfully knocked his shoulder, "Now don't be upset that you didn't get invited, Sasuke. You'll understand when you and Naruto make it official."

Itachi looked disapprovingly at Shisui and shook his head.

Sasuke's scowl only got bigger, "I only hang out with that dobe because he won't leave me alone. I like girls."

Mikoto smiled widely, "That's wonderful to hear Sasu-cakes, you know I was thinking-"

"No." Sasuke interrupted rudely before shoving a few mouthfuls of food down his throat and standing up from the table to run to his room. 

Shisui chuckled, "He's such a grump."

"You shouldn't bully him like that, Shisui," Izumi admonished. Ignoring Shisui's remark of denial, she turned to Sakura, "Did you get anything from the caravan?"

"Yeah, a medical textbook."

Madara looked up, "You like medicine? That's good."

Lunch didn't last much longer and they all separated after they were done with their meal. Mikoto gave Sakura a quick description of what her wedding plans were apparently looking like so far. Sakura didn't really mind Mikoto taking care of everything, but it really did seem like it was the older woman's wedding rather than hers.

She and Itachi stayed in their room after Mikoto had deemed she was done talking to them and had to go back to making sure everything turned out perfect.

They were just about to go to dinner when Itachi suddenly told her, "I have something for you."

"For me?" Sakura looked at him curiously, "What?"

He didn't respond and instead stated, "turn around."

She did. Sakura sat on the edge of the bed with her back turned to Itachi. She waited patiently for what it was he was going to show her as she heard some shuffling from behind her.

"Close your eyes." Not a moment after doing so she felt his calloused hands moving her hair to the side.

"I bought this at the caravan," He said as she felt cool metal touching her collarbone and gently resting against it. By now she could guess it was a necklace. She hadn't even seen him buying anything other than her medical book.

Itachi clasped the chain at the back of her neck before withdrawing his hands. Without waiting for him to tell her to do so, she opened her eyes and looked down.

Three large emeralds lay at the base of her neck tied together by an intricate silver chain. She softly touched the one in the center before looking back at Itachi.

"I thought they looked like your eyes." He said before she could say anything.

She smiled cutely, "Thanks!" before looking down bashfully and adding, "It's really pretty."

Itachi nodded and smiled at her, "I'm glad you like it," he stood and offered a hand to her, pulling her up, "let's go to dinner."

Sakura nodded, still feeling fluttery about the pretty necklace around her neck.