𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 | itachi/sasuke uchiha

chapter twelve

"FIRE STYLE! PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU!" With the aid of this jutsu, you finally decide to put your new shuriken to use and conceal them within the balls of fire that appear, and send them straight towards a tired Sasuke. He dodges multiple times until he's finally struck by a fireball right in the shoulder. You hear him let out a cry as the concealed shuriken lodges itself deep into his shoulder, and to your amazement, sends him flying back nearly ten feet. As he falls to the ground, you run to him.

"Sasuke!?" You drop down to your knees as he tries to sit up. You see the shuriken nearly half embedded into his flesh, and wince at the thought that you had done it.

"I'm... fine..." he mutters, reaching for the shuriken. You stop his hands before he can pull it out.

"Let me!" you insist. "I'll do it clean and quick!" He nods grudgingly, and you put your left hand on his right shoulder to stop him from moving.

"Okay, ready? One-" You don't even go past one; instead, you yank out the shuriken when he least expects it, and he groans, shoving you away and clutching his profusely bleeding and burnt shoulder. You grin at him as you wipe off the blood on the shuriken and put it back into your pouch.

"You couldn't count to three?!" he exclaims, glaring at you. You shrug.

"Hey, procrastination won't get you anywhere," you say, wagging a finger in his face. "Here, give me a look at the wound."

You lean forward, but can't really tell what's going on with the cut as his shirt's in the way. Instinctively, you reach out and lift his shirt.

"Hey! What the hell?!" he exclaims, leaning away from you and pulling his shirt back down. You roll your eyes.

"How am I supposed to examine the fricking thing if I can't see it?" you say, shaking your head. He grimaces at you.

"You could've asked first," he mutters, beginning to remove his shirt. You help him slide out his right arm, and put his shirt to the side. For a second, you're shocked to be looking right at a shirtless Sasuke. His skin seems to gleam in the sunlight, and you can't help but notice that he has a well toned figure. He notices you staring, and smirks.

"Like what you see?" he says in a teasing voice, making you blush.

"I-I-" He cracks his neck.

"I look even better down south," he says in what you notice to be a pervy voice. You suddenly gasp and slap him right across the face, sending the sound resonating for miles around.

"Sasuke!" you exclaim, as he yelps and holds his cheek. Your handprint is very evident, and you blush at the thought of having left your mark on him.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who slapped me!" he retorts, glaring at you. You return his dirty look, and after a few seconds of doing so you both start laughing. You playfully slap his good shoulder and motion for him to lean forward.

"Oh, shut up and let me see your shoulder," you say, smiling. You kneel over his lap and brush his raven coloured hair off of his shoulder so you can look closer at the cut. It's deep, burnt and drying out, altogether very disgusting. Your face goes "bleh" as you silently make conclusions as to what to do about it. Meanwhile, Sasuke feels himself going hot in the face at you being so close to him, especially since you're right above his no-no square. The thought of you being so near it makes him blush furiously, and edge away from you a little.

"Hold still," you scold, holding his shoulder and pulling him back. "I'm gonna put these gloves to use, so stay put." As you quieten in concentration, Sasuke takes the opportunity to start a conversation to distract himself from the fact that something in between his legs was becoming very... hot.

"This isn't actually your birthday, is it, (name)-chan?" he asks in a soft voice. You frown, and nod.

"Mmm." Your lack of response makes him blush even harder, which could also be the word to describe his little friend. You feel him shaking a little as you start your healing process, and look at him.

"What is it with you?" you say, rolling your eyes. "It's as if you've got ants in your pants."

I wish, he thinks grimly as you go back to tending to his wound.

"So what do you think about marrying Itachi?" he asks casually. "Like, I mean, obviously it wouldn't happen for a while, but..."

"No."

"No what?"

You frown at him.

"Why would I marry Itachi? He's good looking and all, but like... yeah," you say seriously. Sasuke shrugs.

"Well, like I said, Itachi has his ways... plus, nearly everyone expects you two to get married and carry on the lineage," he adds. You roll your eyes.

"You make it sound as if it's all been set in stone," you say, shaking your head at how insane your clan were. Sasuke scratches the back of his head.

"Or is it because of this other guy you like?"

You grimace, and give him a look.

"Oh, he's not interested in me at all. Trust me," you say monotonously. Sasuke's heart drops a little at you saying that the one person you loved didn't reciprocate your feelings, making him angry.

This one jerk has this almost insane chance with (name) and he doesn't take it? God, I want to strangle that idiot so badly, he thinks to himself, shaking his head in frustration.

"In that case, I think you should be with Itachi," he says softly after a few minutes. "When you look at your options, it's probably what's best for you and the clan. I mean, if some jerk you like doesn't even return your feelings, then who better to make you happier than Itachi? Besides, you might find that you like the guy, and maybe then Uruchi will have her seven little Uchiha kids running around the compound!"

You look up at him, smiling at the thought, and can't help but notice how sad he looks. You begin to seriously re-think everything over at your best friend's recommendation.

Maybe I could give Itachi a chance, after all?

You sigh, and finish up with his shoulder. The scar from the healed cut is almost entirely gone, with the exception that the skin around it is a bright pink. You look directly into his eyes as you hand him his shirt.

"Would that make you happy?" you ask quietly, waiting to see the look in his eyes. Sasuke, however, is a good liar, and he gives you a small, encouraging smile.

"I'd be the happiest man on earth."

Your words drifted through his head yet again.

"Seeing the one you love being happy should make you happy, right?"