Title: Let the Games Begin

Authoress: Mistress Krane

Summary: Snippets from a date at the arcade, with a fiery pinkette and her raven-haired companion. modern AU, ItaSaku. oneshot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: This is admittedly out of left field for me, but the muse kind of carried it away on this one. Pretty sure this is my shortest work to date, at a little over a thousand words. Enjoy!

Itachi's confused expression was the most adorable thing she had ever seen in her life.

"What is it for?" he asked, inspecting the card closely.

Sakura giggled, gesturing to the brightly lit machines that filled the area. "The card has points on it, which you use to play the games. The better you do in the games, the more tickets you get."

His brow furrowed slightly. "What is the purpose of the tickets?"

"You exchange them for prizes, like candy or toys."

"Why would you not use the money you put in the card to instead buy the candy and toys?"

His logic was so sound that she could only laugh and shake her head. "Because the real fun is in playing the games and earning the tickets."

The heavy skepticism in his eyes was quickly replaced with resignation.

"Fine. Lead the way, Sakura-san."

And so it began.

XXX

"How the hell are you already at 500 points? There's no way you hit 100 that many times."

He slid her a sideways glance as the next ball sailed into the 100 pocket. "I have only used six of my ten balls, Sakura. Or can you not do the math?"

Sakura clicked her tongue, annoyed. She used one of her balls to knock his out of alignment and into the 10 point hole. "Jerk."

Irked at having his perfect score ruined, Itachi poked her lightly in the temple just as she made her next shot to get her off balance. The ball sailed into the 10 point hole.

They shared a look before lunging for one another's ski balls, throwing what was left into the 10 point holes until none remained. Scores perfectly ruined, Sakura broke into a laugh while Itachi chuckled quietly.

If they were going to act like children, they would act like children together.

XXX

"You're cheating, you bastard!" Sakura whined, throwing an elbow at her dark-haired companion.

Despite being thrown slightly off center (and hiding the smallest of winces), Itachi's shot landed soundly in the hoop. "I don't know what you were expecting, Sakura. I am much taller than you."

"Height…shouldn't matter with the right amount of effort," she grunted, attempting another shot that fell just short of the rim. The countdown clock mocked her as it continued its steady march to zero.

At the sound of the buzzer, Itachi had her beat by a wide 15 point margin. Her resentful glare was met with a sheepish shrug.

XXX

Bright emerald eyes watched the puck like a hawk, waiting for the right moment to strike. A wide angle and lack of momentum gave Sakura the opening she needed and she took it.

The crack of the impact made a nearby primary schooler jump, and she watched the puck rocket across the board and slide just past Itachi's steady mallet and into his slot.

Eyes slightly wide, Itachi picked up the puck from the dispenser – it was split clean down the middle.

"Hell yeah, I won!" Sakura cheered, throwing down her mallet. He noted the crack on the side of it wearily.

"You are lucky I did not feel like nursing a broken hand today," Itachi murmured, looking around to find an attendant to request assistance. He flagged one down quickly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

XXX

"Sakura, to the left. Sakura."

She was ignoring him, the frustrating woman. They were on the same team, for kami's sake.

"Sakura."

Itachi could only watch as his health meter fell to zero, and the text flashed across the screen asking if he wanted to continue. On the other half of the screen, Sakura had three quarters of her health and was busy shooting a zombie in the mouth.

"Revival pack?"

"Sorry, both my hands are tied."

He glared, indignant that she would leave him for dead like that.

She winked.

XXX

"Why the hell am I going backwards? There isn't even a reverse gear on this damn thing." It wasn't helping that Itachi was in first place, driving one-handed and sipping his water in the next seat over.

"That tree will not fall over no matter how many times you run into it," he deadpanned as he lapped her.

"Help me, dammit!"

Wordlessly, he reached over to press one of the flashing buttons on her dashboard. The car righted itself and she maneuvered back onto the track.

"…if you say one word about women drivers I will end you."

His small, impish smile made her pulse quicken and she hated him for it. She ignored her warming cheeks and set her gaze firmly on the screen, trying to ignore his soft chuckle. Stupid Uchiha.

XXX

Sakura glared at the machine, resentful. "I swear it's broken. I definitely jumped in time for that last swing."

Itachi swiped the card and stepped onto the platform, gently easing her out of the way. Looking as dignified as possible, he jumped his way to the new high score without breaking a sweat.

"The sensor probably just glitched," Sakura half-pouted as Itachi collected his tickets and added them to the pile that they were accumulating.

"Perhaps you were not landing lightly enough," Itachi suggested quietly.

The pinkette froze so quickly that Itachi's scalp prickled in warning.

"Itachi-san, did you just imply that I am too heavy to properly register on the machine?"

He paused to weigh his words. "No. The sensor probably just glitched."

With that, he gathered their tickets in his arms and excused himself to the ticket counting machine.

She had never seen the man move so quickly in her life, and she grudgingly cracked a smile.

XXX

It was the end of the night, and they were finally at the redemption station.

The fat frog with the huge grin was staring her down. Buy me. I'm ridiculous. Naruto would love me.

"I have to get that frog for Naruto's birthday," Sakura declared, determined.

Itachi examined the cost. "We are five hundred points short."

She looked at the sign on the wall and frowned, disappointed. "They close in ten minutes. We won't have nearly enough time to earn the points before then."

Thoughtful silence. "When is Naruto-kun's birthday?"

It was mid-September now, so… "About a month from now. Why?"

The older Uchiha was looking everywhere but her. "If you would like to come back before then to earn the points, I would not object. However…"

He went to the counter and was back before she could really tell what he was doing. Still not meeting her eyes, he placed something into her hand carefully. It was a lollipop.

"For now, I hope this will do," he finished quietly.

Touched, Sakura reached up to plant a light kiss on his cheek. She giggled at his light blush, looping her arm through his as they made their way out of the arcade.

"Yeah, it'll do."

XXX

"You just want to go back so you can get me back for that thing with the zombies, don't you?"

"…"

"Itachi-san!"

A/N: Very short, but I just went to Dave and Buster's with a couple of friends and I couldn't resist. This was more for myself than anything, but as always, feedback is appreciated!