"You mean to tell me Iori is part of a child prostitution ring?"
"Based on our investigation, I believe he may have been a client but that someone else is leading the operation," Itachi answered.
Itachi felt Sakura's eyes on him as he spoke.
"Then I imagine that has something to do with his little 'poison' issue," Tsunade said. "I can't say I blame whoever did this to him."
Tsunade turned her eyes to Sakura. Itachi noted that her gaze softened as it settled on her apprentice. "Did you heal him?"
"Yes, Tsunade-shishou," she said. "He had chlamydia and I healed that, too."
Tsunade winced. "So he's spreading chlamydia around to a bunch of kids? What a piece of shit. Okay, we'll definitely have to do something about this. Change of plans," she said.
Itachi straightened his back and squared his shoulders, awaiting her next order.
"The political situation here is a bit sticky," Tsunade said. "We can't just remove a feudal lord without good cause and because child prostitution is legal, we have no grounds to dismiss him – not without upsetting the other feudal lords."
"So he's just going to get away with it?" Sakura asked. Itachi sneaked a glance at her and saw that her face was held in a deep scowl and her hands were shaking.
"That's not what I said," Tsunade replied. "Our first order of business will be to shut down the brothel. It won't do for those children to continue going through that abuse if we can help it."
"What about the investigation?" Itachi asked. "Iori will be expecting us to catch the perpetrator."
"And what about the women in the brothel?" Sakura asked before Tsunade could respond. "What will they do without jobs or a place to live?"
Tsunade frowned, flitting her gaze between Sakura and Itachi. "Itachi, you will continue the investigation. Even if I agree that Iori deserved it, we still are being paid to catch the criminal, so it must be done," she said. "As for the women in the brothel, Sakura, we can let them use the refugee housing here until we find another more suitable alternative."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Itachi said, giving her a curt nod.
Sakura made a noise of disapproval.
"Something wrong with my plan, Sakura?"
"No, Tsunade-shishou."
"Good," she said with finality. "Then tomorrow morning you'll both go back to Iori's home. Itachi will continue the investigation. Sakura, you will begin diagnosing and healing any STD's the women might have. I don't want them spreading it around once they get here."
Itachi glanced as Sakura again. She did not look happy with this news.
"Tsunade-sama, if I may…" Itachi said. He waited until Tsunade's eyes fell expectantly on him before he continued. "I'd like for Sakura to continue helping me with the investigation."
Tsunade waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Yeah, sure," she said. "She'll already be there anyway – might as well make good use of her."
Itachi didn't look at Sakura, afraid of what he might see on her face. Her penchant for angry outbursts was not unknown to him and though it hadn't been his intention to provoke her by asking Tsunade for her help, he was aware that it was a possibility.
"Alright, both of you go home and get some sleep," Tsunade said. "You're dismissed."
When they made it outside to Hokage tower, Sakura predictably whirled on him, fixing him with a steady gaze. Itachi was pleased to note that she did not look angry with him.
"Why did you do that?" she demanded.
"I apologize," he said. "I should have asked you first, but you've been a great deal of help with the investigation and I think you can offer a fresh perspective on things."
"Aren't you used to working alone?"
The truth was that Itachi was used to working alone. He had only spent a brief amount of time with his genin team before he had been promoted and whisked away into ANBU. Sure, he had been able to work well with his ANBU teammates, but they were ever-changing and usually just as reserved as he was. It might as well have been working alone.
The only other person he worked well with was Shisui. Itachi would still occasionally take missions with Shisui, but for the most part, they both preferred to take solo missions. Stealth was Itachi's forte and it was a lot easier to be stealthy when he worked alone.
That didn't mean that Itachi was immune to the effects of working alone constantly.
"I am," he answered, "But that doesn't mean I can't work with a partner."
A flicker of pity flashed in Sakura's face and it made Itachi's chest feel tight. He was grateful when the expression disappeared quickly and was replaced with a smile.
"You enjoy working with me?" she asked, looking far too amused.
"You are clever and resourceful," he answered honestly. "You seem to have an aptitude for investigation, though I'm sure you are mostly assigned to medical missions. It's a waste of your talents."
"Medical ninjutsu is my talent," she replied firmly, but not angrily. "So it's not a waste to send me on medical missions."
"I didn't mean to imply that," he said. "Your medical skills coupled with your investigative skills definitely make you a formidable shinobi. Not to mention your chakra control and enhanced strength. You should consider joining ANBU. I would not mind having you on my team."
To Itachi's great amusement, Sakura's cheek bloomed with heat. For someone with an honorable position under the Hokage, she seemed far too modest about her own skills.
"I'm not sure I would be a good fit for ANBU," she said.
Itachi nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are a little brash sometimes," he said. "That's not a common quality in ANBU members, though it shouldn't hinder someone like you from joining anyway."
"Someone like me?" she asked fiercely, her eyes blazing.
"You are quick to anger, which can be dangerous in that line of work," he said. "Even though I don't think you were unjustly angry in any of the situations I've seen you in so far, I think you could stand to learn a bit more patience."
She pressed her lips together, exercising a bit of that elusive patients. "Okay, well, thanks for the career and personality analysis," she said bitterly. "I'll see you in the morning, Itachi-san."
With that, she was off, jumping along the rooftops. He watched her silhouette until she was no longer visible.
Though he hadn't meant to offend her, he knew that such comments were likely to rile her up. If he was honest with himself, he could admit that he enjoyed the exchange. The Uchiha family was not a particularly emotive bunch and Sakura's vehemence was refreshing.
By the time Itachi had returned to the Uchiha compound, the sky was dark and he could hear crickets chirping in the grass alongside the road. When he arrived at his front door, he noticed another package wrapped in the same brown paper.
He picked it up and inspected it. This one was much larger than the previous one. His name was scrawled across the top in generic handwriting that he did not recognize. He tore into the paper and found red fabric underneath. He carefully unfolded it and found that it was a high collared shirt like the others that he wore. The Uchiha fan was emblazoned on the back, except the top half of it was navy instead of red, presumably in contrast the to red color of the shirt.
Itachi was grateful that whoever had left it here for him wasn't here to see him open it. He wasn't exactly fond of it. Red was not a color he would have chosen to wear – it was much too ostentatious. The inversion of the colors seemed a bit strange to him. Who could have given him this?
He fished into his pocket and pulled out the necklace. Would this mysterious gift giver give him an entire outfit?
He kicked open the door and set the gifts aside. He would look into that some more later. Now he was tired and hungry.
He found Sasuke in the kitchen, standing at the stove and watching a pot of soup boiling.
"You're cooking?" Itachi asked, bemused. "I'm not sure I've ever seen you attempt to cook anything before."
"You and Mother were gone and I was hungry," he said. "But now that you're here you can finish."
"I see," Itachi said with a touch of humor. "I guess that's all I'm good for."
Itachi gently shoved Sasuke away from the stove and took over stirring the soup. Sasuke took a seat at the table and watched.
"Where are Mother and Father?" Itachi asked. "It's late. They should be home by now."
"They went out to eat," Sasuke answered. Itachi tossed a glance at his brother. His relationship with Sasuke had morphed over the last year. When he had been younger, Itachi tended to push Sasuke away. He had been too focused on his ANBU duties to spend time with him. Now that he had started taking fewer missions, they had begun to grow closer. They had even taken a few missions together.
"Did you find out who left you that food?" Sasuke asked.
Itachi shook his head. "No, but whoever was also left two other packages – a necklace and a shirt," he said.
"Sounds like you've got a secret admirer," Sasuke said. "How annoying."
Itachi frowned. He didn't think it was annoying that he had a secret admirer. He did find it annoying that he didn't know who it was, though.
"Are you going to do anything about it?" Sasuke asked.
"Like what?" Itachi asked, turning down the heat on the eye and giving the soup another quick stir.
"Like try to figure out who it is."
Itachi ladled the soup into two bowls and set one down in front of Sasuke before sitting down across from him with his own bowl. "I don't have time for that right now," Itachi said. "I've got other things on my mind."
"Oh, yeah," Sasuke said, slurping his soup. "You have a mission, don't you? How is that going?"
"I was hoping to have the whole thing resolved by the end of today, but Sakura and I hit a bit of a hiccup," Itachi answered. "I imagine it will take a few days more at the least."
"Sakura?"
"Yes, part of the mission was medical in nature and she was specifically requested by the client."
"That sucks."
Itachi swallowed his mouthful of soup and raised a brow at his brother. "Why does it suck?" he asked.
"Because she's annoying."
"You only think she's annoying because she used to have a crush on you," Itachi replied. "She's been a huge help with this mission."
Sasuke gave him a skeptical look.
"It's true," Itachi insisted, slurping down the last bit of his soup. "I requested her help for the rest of the mission even though her part is complete."
It was Sasuke's turn to raise his brow. "Why?"
"You're not observant enough if you really need to ask that question," Itachi said with a smile. He took his bowl to the sink and rinsed it out.
"Whatever," Sasuke said, following behind Itachi with his bowl. "But if I were you, I'd watch out for her."
Itachi shook his head with amusement.
The next morning Itachi met Sakura at the village gates with breakfast. Even though he didn't quite feel guilty about what he had said to her, he did want to appease her. It wouldn't do for her to be upset with him.
She had eyed him warily when he passed her the steaming bento box, but eventually she could no longer resist the appealing smell and she tucked in as they ran. Itachi didn't understand how she could eat like that while she was running, but he was happy that she was enjoying it.
By the time they arrived at Iori's house, Sakura seemed to have forgotten that she had ever been upset. She was smiling and had a pep in her step when she knocked on Iori's bedroom door.
Mayeda let them enter without fuss this time. Iori was dressed in his nightclothes still and was tucked away in his bed as if he had been ill instead of just aroused. Itachi felt a twinge of annoyance looking at him like that, so completely self centered and lazy.
"Good morning, Iori-sama," Sakura said cheerily. "I trust you slept well."
Both Iori and Itachi eyed her with skepticism.
"As well as can be expected," he said. "Any further news with the investigation?"
Sakura glanced at Itachi.
"Not yet," Itachi answered for her. "But we do have a list of suspects that we will be talking to today."
"My wife should be arriving home sometime this afternoon so I'll need your discretion," Iori said tersely. "I was hoping you'd have this done by yesterday. I requested the top shinobi and at the price I'm paying, you should have found the guilty party by now."
Itachi's eyes narrowed and for a brief moment he understood exactly why Sakura had felt so volatile toward this man.
"Now, now, Iori-sama," Sakura said, bringing his hands to his chest. "Itachi-san is one of Konoha's best shinobi. He is more than capable of handling this investigation. Chiding him won't get you what you want any faster." Itachi watched her chakra seep into his chest. It appeared to have a soothing effect on him.
But that didn't stop him from replied indignantly. "I beg your pardon?" he said. "Do you know who you're talking to?"
Sakura smiled a sickly sweet and quite obviously fake smile. "A man used to always having things his way?"
Iori looked furious and Itachi felt the need to step in and prevent whatever was about to go down, but then Iori's expression slacked and his body went limp. His eyes darted between Sakura and Itachi so Itachi knew he was still conscious. Itachi looked at Sakura sharply. This would get them into a lot of trouble.
"Listen to me, Iori-sama," Sakura said in a no-nonsense voice. "In addition to your arousal issue, you also contracted an STD – chlamydia. You said your wife will be back today. Does she know about that?"
Sakura released whatever jutsu had been paralyzing him. He sat up, his expression a mixture of fear and fury.
"Are you threatening me?" he demanded.
"Threatening you?" she scoffed. "What good what it do to threaten you? We are only here to get to the bottom of this."
"Get out," he said through clenched teeth.
Itachi glanced nervously at Sakura. This was precisely what he had admonished her for the night before – her brashness. This was not going to go over well with Tsunade or the other feudal lords.
Sakura looked like she was about to defy him again, but Itachi grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the room quickly. Mayeda stood by the door and was peering at them curiously as they passed, but Itachi paid him no attention. Sakura yanked her arm away from him.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.
"What the hell are you doing?" he echoed.
She huffed and crossed her arms, jerking her head toward the courtyard where they could speak more privately. Once they were out of Mayeda's earshot, Sakura turned on him.
"Why'd you drag me out of there?" she asked.
"You just threatened a feudal lord," he said, and even though he felt quite angry with her, he kept his tone neutral. "You jeopardized our mission. You risked the wrath of the other feudal lords – the distrust of Konoha."
"If anyone is untrustworthy it's Iori," she bit out.
"You know I agree, Sakura," he said. "But you can't just go around threatening feudal lords."
"Fuck Iori."
Itachi glared at her, watching the heat in her cheeks and the blaze in her eyes. She was stubborn and foolish, he thought, and he regretted asking Tsunade to let her help with the investigation.
But it was too late to do anything about that. And the most important thing was to get the children in the brothel to safety. Sakura was the right person for that job, so Itachi still needed her.
"Fine," he said. "What do you suggest we do next?"
"Well, I don't know about you," she said, the redness in her face beginning to fade. "But I'm going to the brothel to help those girls."
Itachi nodded.
Itachi had watched Sakura leave the courtyard to go to the brothel and he was immensely relieved to no longer be around her. She had let her emotions get in the way and now the relationship with Konoha and Fire Country's feudal lords could be strained.
It wasn't as though he couldn't understand her frustration. Did she think that Itachi was complacent about Iori frequenting child prostitutes? He wanted justice just as much as she did. But there was a right and wrong way to go about things.
All he could do now was finish his mission to the best of his abilities.
He decided to shift his focus to finding the culprit. That would be much harder to do once the brothel was closed. So instead, he headed for the brothel, hoping to interrogate some of the other women and see what he could find out.
He could sense Sakura somewhere in the building when he arrived, but she was nowhere in sight. He glanced around the main lobby, looking for Eika. He found her sitting in a booth alone as most of the other women were. It was a little early in the day for customers.
He started to make his way over to her, but before he reached her booth he was stopped by another woman.
"Hello," she purred. Itachi tried to soften his gaze on her so he would not seem so intimidating.
"Hi."
"You looking for a good time?" she asked. Itachi took in the sight of her – her dark her, darker eyes. She was voluptuous and pale, her lips painted cherry red. She appeared older than some of the other girls, probably in her twenties at least. Itachi found that somewhat comforting.
"Just conversation," he said.
She laughed and touched his arm softly. "Just conversation, eh?" she asked. "Why don't we grab a booth, then?"
Itachi nodded and followed her to a booth. She reached down to grab his hand and he let her. When they were seated, she fixed him with a sultry gaze before looking away demurely. Itachi knew it was only an act, but he felt a twinge of heat in his stomach.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Itachi."
"Itachi," she repeated. "What brings a handsome man like you to a place like this, Itachi-san?"
"I'm looking for some information about your clients," he answered.
"I see," she said good-naturedly. "So are you a shinobi? You have the look of a shinobi."
"Yes," he answered. "I am. I'm interested in learning more about the girls that Iori-sama has been seeing."
"Iori-sama?" she asked. "You aren't trying to get me into trouble, are you?"
"Why would you get into trouble?"
"Iori-sama is a secretive man," she answered. "I wouldn't want to incur his wrath by speaking about his private matters. With a shinobi, nonetheless."
"Iori-sama hired me to investigate a criminal matter," Itachi answered. "It seems that he has been poisoned. I'm trying to locate the culprit."
"Poison, you say?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes. She didn't seem surprised by the information. Her gaze seemed colder now, but Itachi had to admit that she did a good job of keeping a neutral face.
"Yes, not a serious case, thankfully," he said. "Konoha's top medic was able to assist him and he is fine now."
"That's good to hear."
"Do you know of anyone who might have held a grudge against Iori-sama?" Itachi asked. "Someone who might have wanted revenge?"
"There are many people who don't like Iori-sama," she said. "Especially here. But I don't think anyone here would have intentionally poisoned him. Perhaps I shouldn't be so forthcoming with this information, but drug use within the brothel is rampant. If he was poisoned, it might have been his own doing – mixing drugs that should not be mixed."
"Drugs?" Itachi asked, his curiosity piqued. "What sort of drugs?"
"Opiates, psychoactives, hallucinogens," she said. "Even performance enhancing drugs. In addition to alcohol of course. Most of our customers come here to escape reality. It's not too surprising, really."
"Performance enhancing drugs?" he asked. "You mean like sildenafil?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Who supplies these drugs?"
The woman laughed and gave Itachi a disbelieving look. "You'll have to speak to the madam about that," she said. "But I doubt she would answer such probing questions from a shinobi."
"I suppose you're right," he said. "But you've been helpful enough. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me."
"Well, it is my job," she said with a wink.
"Do you mind if I ask a few more questions?"
She shrugged indifferently.
"Is Iori-sama one of your clients?"
"I've had Iori-sama in my bed before, but he's not one of my regulars," she said. "He prefers the younger girls."
"Was he taking any kind of drugs while you were with him?"
"Oh, sure," she said. "He only comes once a month, but he will take many of the girls within the short time he's here. In order to do that he takes sildenafil between each girl. He doesn't typically take any other drugs, though he does drink alcohol."
Itachi took a deep breath while he pondered this. It was likely that Iori actually did do it to himself if he was taking sildenafil that often. But if that was the case, then surely he would have known that there was no real culprit. Why would he hire shinobi to investigate if he had done this to himself?
"One last question, if I may," Itachi said. He waited until she nodded her approval before he continued. "Do you enjoy your time with Iori-sama? Is he kind to you?"
"He is no worse than any other customer," she supplied.
Itachi grimaced.
"I see," he said. He reached into his pocket and fished out some money. He set it on the table and met her gaze squarely. "Thank you for your time."
Itachi found Sakura upstairs. She had taken over one of the bedrooms and turned it into her own office. Itachi sidled past the lines of girls outside the door and entered the room. Sakura was tending to a girl on the bed who was smiling warmly at Sakura and chatting animatedly with her.
"Sakura," Itachi said.
Sakura glanced at him in acknowledgement before turning back to her patient.
"I've discovered some new information," he said.
"So have I," she said. She reached toward the drawer beside her and yanked it open. Itachi peered inside and saw what he assumed were the drugs the woman downstairs had mentioned. "Lots of stuff in there, including sildenafil."
"A woman downstairs said that Iori-sama sleeps with multiple girls on each visit and takes sildenafil between each of them," Itachi explained. "It seems that he may have inadvertently done this to himself."
Sakura patted the girl on the bed on her knee. "Okay, sweetheart, you're all done," she said. "You can go, but don't send in the next girl just yet."
The girl hopped up and gave Sakura a warm hug. Sakura hugged her back and smiled. Itachi couldn't recall the last time a complete stranger hugged him – if it had ever even happened.
"I don't think it will go over well if we accuse Iori-sama of poisoning himself," Sakura said.
"I'm inclined to agree."
"The amount of illegal drugs they have here is certainly enough to damn this place. And it'll be of their own doing instead of our manipulation," she replied.
"We should have this place shut down, then," Itachi said. "Let's go tell Tsunade-sama."
"Yes, but let me fix up as many of the girls as I can first," Sakura said. "Hopefully none of them will get into any trouble for being here. It isn't their fault they got sucked into this shithole. You know, I've been talking to some of these girls and a lot of them were sold to this place – some of them by their own parents."
Itachi felt queasy with that information. How could a parent do something like that to their own child?
"They come from such poor families that they didn't really have a choice," Sakura continued, answering his unasked question.
"I'm glad we're here to help, then," Itachi said.
He watched the expression on Sakura's face shift from sad to worried to something Itachi couldn't quite place. Then she smiled at him. "Yeah, me too," she said.
"Hey, do you want to help me heal these girls?" she asked. "We could be done in half the time if you help. You can just use your Sharingan to copy my technique. It's pretty simple."
The idea of curing a bunch of underage girls of sexually transmitted diseases certainly didn't sound like Itachi's idea of a good time, but the expectant look on Sakura's face melted him a little bit. He supposed that she had helped him with the investigation, so he could help her with this.
He activated his Sharingan.
Sakura made it look a lot easier than it actually was. He had been able to copy her technique, but diagnosing the girls was a much bigger problem for Itachi. She didn't use a technique for that so much as she just explored with her chakra until she had found the problem.
So in an effort to speed things along, Sakura diagnosed while Itachi healed. It was a good setup that gave Itachi a bit of a new perspective on medic nin.
And Itachi also noted that Sakura was a good teacher. She explained things to him clearly and concisely, sometimes answering questions before he even thought to ask them. She would make an excellent sensei one day, Itachi thought, if she chose to do such a thing. He could easily imagine her with her own team of genin, or a group of medic disciples.
He also found that he didn't mind working alongside her. She was less brash, less angry when she tended to her patients. She seemed more level headed and agreeable.
"I think we're just about done here," she said as the last of the girls filed out the room. "Those are some sweet girls, aren't they?"
Itachi murmured his agreement, but he hadn't really been paying attention to them. He had to focus all of his attention on the healing process.
"So what's next?" she asked, looking at Itachi and awaiting his answer. "Should we confront the owner of the brothel? Or head back to Iori-sama? I think his wife might be arriving home soon."
She came and joined him on the bed he was sitting on. He could feel that her chakra level was getting low – so was his at this point. She looked tired yet still somehow ready to tackle their next task. He could see a sheen of sweat on her forehead. She reached up and undid the elastic that held up her hair. It fell down to her shoulders and again Itachi caught the scent of freesia on her.
It made Itachi feel uncomfortable suddenly – the idea that Sakura might have been the one to leave him those gifts. He couldn't reconcile that behavior with what he already knew of her, but it was a possibility. Wasn't it? He knew she held a candle for Sasuke, and he and Sasuke were pretty similar – at least appearance-wise. Could she have transferred those feelings to Itachi after being consistently rejected by Sasuke?
It wouldn't have been too surprising. After all, Itachi also knew that Sakura was close friends with Ino, who was known to find Itachi attractive. Perhaps Ino's gabbing had forced Sakura to see Itachi in a new light – the same one she used to view Sasuke in.
"Hey, are you alright?" she asked, peering at him with concern. "You look a little stiff. Are you tired?"
"What do you think of my necklace?"
Sakura blinked and Itachi blinked right back at her. Of course she would be surprised – Itachi himself was surprised by his own words.
"Uh, it's nice, I suppose," she said with trepidation. "Is it special? Where did you get it from?"
"It isn't special," he said, and that was true. He had found it in a market stall in the civilian district one day. It had caught his eye from across the street. Something about the aesthetic of it was appealing to him, but it didn't mean anything. It wasn't an heirloom or a gift from someone special. "It's just something I found at the market."
"Oh," she said. "I noticed you wear it everyday. I thought it might have been important to you somehow."
"No, it's just a random trinket."
He watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked down into her lap, seeming to be confused and a little shy for some reason. Did that reason have anything to do with a similar necklace he had at home?
"So why'd you ask me about it then?" she finally asked.
He obviously couldn't tell her the real reason he asked without straight up asking her if she had been the one to send him the gifts and he didn't quite have the courage to ask that. What if she said yes? How would he feel about that? He didn't know, and until he did it was best not to confront her about it.
"I was just curious about your opinion," he said. "I was thinking I might stop wearing it."
"Really?" she asked. "Take it off. Let's see what you look like without it."
A little amused, Itachi reached behind his neck and unclasped the necklace. He pulled it from around his neck and held it in his lap, looking at Sakura and waiting for her criticism.
She hummed thoughtfully and brought her finger to her chin. "I never noticed it before," she said. "But you have a very feminine collarbone."
Incredulous and a little offended, Itachi pulled the necklace back up to his neck. But before he could clasp it he felt Sakura's hand on his arm, pulling at it.
"Don't," she said. "You look really good without it."
That stupid warm bubble was in his chest again and he balled the necklace up in his fist.
"Hey, don't get it all tangled up," she said, prying his fist open and taking the chain from him. She brought it up to her own neck and clasped it, giving Itachi an amused look. Her neck was smaller so the necklace hung lower on her. It brought his attention down to her cleavage, which caused Itachi to feel a warm blush rising in his cheeks.
"Well, how does it look?" she asked, an infectious grin on her face.
"I never noticed it before, but you look very masculine."
With a glare that was half annoyed and half humored, Sakura unclasped the necklace and passed it back to him.
Back at Iori's house, there was much bustle and excitement. Iori's wife had returned and unlike Iori, his wife seemed to be quite popular among the staff. She greeted Sakura and Itachi with warm embraces and a sweet smile.
"I hear you're searching for the person who poisoned my husband," she said, and turning to Sakura she continued, "And that you healed him. I'm grateful for both of your help."
Sakura smiled back. "Yes, Manui-dono," she said. "We're happy to offer our services."
"And I also hear you gave physicals to all of my staff," she said, beaming from ear to ear. "What a sweetheart you are."
"I'd be happy to take a look at you as well," Sakura replied. "Never underestimate the importance of good health."
"Of course, maybe after we've had dinner," she answered, still smiling.
Dinner was far more extravagant than Itachi thought was appropriate for the occasion. It seemed Manui also had a flare for the dramatic and had hired entertainment to come play music for them while they ate their feast.
Sakura seemed delighted that they had even been invited to such a thing and she laughed and conversed with Manui as if they were old friends. Itachi was a bit jealous of the ease with which she was able to befriend the feudal lord's wife.
He noticed that Iori seemed to be highly uncomfortable with how much chatting they were doing, even though Itachi hadn't approved of Sakura's behavior with him before, it did seem to work.
"Manui-dono," Sakura said solemnly, a stark change from the jovial tone she had been using up until that point. "There is something serious I wish to speak with you about."
"What is it, dear?"
"There is a brothel a short distance from here, as you probably already know," Sakura said. Itachi and Iori set their gazes on her sharply.
"Yes, it's a nasty place, isn't it?" Manui replied. "I've been on Iori-kun to get that place shut down, but he's adamant that there's no reason to as they aren't technically illegal."
"Well, then perhaps this is good news for you," Sakura continued. "My partner and I took a visit there as part of the investigation and we discovered that the place is crawling with illegal drugs. Some of the girls are underage and it's just not the type of place you want marring the good reputation of your beautiful village."
Manui threw a glare at her husband. "You hear that, Iori-kun?" she demanded. "Illegal drugs? Underage girls? I want that place shut down immediately."
Iori looked torn between wanting to glare at Sakura and appease his wife. "What about the employees there?" he asked. "Surely you don't mean to leave all those women out of a job, They depend on that income."
Itachi answered that before Sakura could have a chance to say something snarky. "Konoha has offered to house them until better arrangements can be made," he said.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Manui exclaimed. "Konoha is such a great village. You're all just the sweetest. Don't you agree, Iori-kun?"
Iori stretched his lips in some semblance of a smile. It didn't fool Itachi and he knew it didn't fool Sakura either. But it seemed to work on Manui. "Yes, they are," he said tersely. "And since they are so good at everything they do, I assume they've also made good progress with the investigation today."
"We have, actually," Sakura said brightly. "But we should discuss that later."
"Oh, do you have a suspect?" Manui asked. "Iori-kun thinks it might have been one of the staff, but the staff are all so agreeable. I can't imagine any of them would want to poison him."
Sakura cracked an amused smile and Itachi was grateful that she didn't laugh out loud. "No," she said. "I don't believe it was the staff, either."
"Oh?" Manui asked. "Then who is the suspect?"
"Sakura-san," Iori said sharply. "I'm feeling quite ill all of a sudden. Would you mind assisting me for a moment?" He got to his feet abruptly, nearly knocking over his wine glass in the process.
"Are you alright, Iori-kun?" Manui asked, grabbing her husband's arm with concern.
Sakura rose to her feet as well and pried Manui's hand away. "I'll see to it that he is, Manui-dono," she said. She gave Iori a wry look before leading him into a back room behind the kitchen.
Alone with Manui now, Itachi felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't like the idea of Iori and Sakura being alone with one another either. He didn't think they should be discussing the investigation without him, and if Sakura became volatile with Iori again then Itachi wouldn't be there to defuse the situation.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" Manui asked.
"Sakura-san is the best medic nin in the country," Itachi answered. "If there is anything wrong with Iori-sama, she will be able to fix it."
"That girl is certainly something else, isn't she?"
"She is," Itachi answered a little uncomfortably.
"You may not know this because Iori-kun seems like such a faithful husband," Manui said. "But he was quite a penchant for the younger girls on staff. I'm sure he would never cheat on me, but I see the way he looks at them. Sakura-san is very pretty. She is right up his alley."
Itachi was stunned into silence by the admission. He felt sad for her, knowing that her husband actually was cheating on her. It was obviously that she loved him, and she was quite beautiful herself. Why would Iori want to cheat on her?
"A pretty thing like that must be popular with the boys back in Konoha," she continued.
Itachi wouldn't know about that. He couldn't deny that she was attractive, so there were probably many other men in the village who thought the same. But they were all wise enough not to act on it. With her strength and her temper, Sakura was not the kind of girl one wanted to cross.
He wondered if she did that on purpose – keeping men at bay. When she had still been pining after Sasuke it made sense. But now that she was no longer chasing after him, why hadn't she moved on to someone new?
"And a handsome man like you," Manui said. "My staff must have been falling all over you. I apologize if any of them behaved inappropriately."
"No," Itachi said immediately. "They were all perfectly professional." He was sure he would have died of mortification of such a thing had happened.
A strained silence fell over the table and Itachi listened to see if he could hear Iori and Sakura in the other room. After a moment he heard a door slamming shut and Sakura hurried back into the dining room, alone.
Her face was red and her teeth were clenched, so Itachi braced himself for the worst.
"We're leaving," she said to him.
Hesitantly, Itachi rose to his feet. He watched Sakura put on a fake smile and turn to Manui. "Thank you so much for dinner, Manui-dono," she said. "But we have to get going now. I apologize for our rudeness."
"Is everything okay?" Manui asked. "Where is Iori-kun?"
"He's resting now," she answered. "But he's fine. Maybe you should go sit with him."
Before Manui could protest, Sakura had already grabbed Itachi's arm and was dragging him through the door.
Sakura offered Itachi no information as they ran. He could see that she was still fuming and he didn't want to risk provoking an outburst from her. So instead he followed close behind her as they ran, hoping she would eventually spill the details.
But as they neared Konoha and Sakura still hadn't said anything, Itachi spoke to her anyway.
"What did he say to you?" he asked.
Sakura's eyes were harsh when they met his, but they softened immediately. "He demanded that I tell him who the suspect was," she said. "And so I told him that it was likely that he had done it to himself."
She glanced away from him.
"And then he got really angry and prattled off a whole list of other people who could have done it," she continued. "He was adamant that someone else was the culprit, but he admitted that he took sildenafil often when he went to the brothel and that his little overly aroused problem wasn't that uncommon. He was just very paranoid about the whole thing – probably because he didn't want his wife to find out. And if she did find out, he wanted a scapegoat."
Itachi didn't think he needed to worry too much about that. Manui seemed pretty smitten with Iori and even if the evidence was right in front of her, Itachi doubted she would believe he would cheat on her.
"So then he threatened to ruin me if I didn't keep it a secret from Manui-dono," she said.
Itachi faltered a bit, staring incredulously at her. "He threatened you?"
"He said that if his wife ever found out about his indiscretions that he would hold me personally responsible," she said, her voice dripping with bitterness. "And that he would make sure my reputation in Fire country would be destroyed."
A more primal side of Itachi urged him to turn back and to confront Iori about this, but his more rational side thought better of it.
"Can you believe that?" she asked. "He cheats on his wife with underage girls, poisons himself, and threatens me? He may be a feudal lord, but he is also a huge piece of trash."
"We need to report his behavior to Tsunade-sama," Itachi said, beginning to feel angry on Sakura's behalf.
"Oh, I plan to."
"That bastard," Tsunade said through clenched teeth.
Itachi held his breath, awaiting her outburst. Sakura definitely took after her mentor and Itachi really wished he didn't have to sit in on this mission report. Not while Tsunade was so angry.
Not that he could blame her.
"Threatening my apprentice?" she scoffed. "Iori is a real piece of work. I'm going to have to convene with the other feudal lords to discuss this matter."
"What about the girls, Tsunade-shishou?"
"Tomorrow morning I'll have a team of ANBU go to collect them," she replied. "I want you two to stay far away from Iori for now."
"So what do we do now?" Sakura asked.
"What do you mean? Your mission is over," Tsunade said. "You didn't find definitive proof that Iori did this to himself, but at this point it doesn't really matter. I don't want any Konoha nin going back there until I talk to the other feudal lords. The ANBU team will handle the brothel."
Sakura looked like she was pouting. Itachi didn't understand what she was upset about. Did she want to personally deliver the girls to Konoha?
"Don't give me that look, Sakura," Tsunade said. "I'll handle Iori. He won't get away with threatening you."
"Fine," Sakura replied, still obviously sulking.
"You're both dismissed."
Sakura stomped out of Tsunade's office much like a petulant child might. Itachi, both amused and annoyed, followed her to the street. Truthfully, Itachi was grateful that they were done with the mission. Sakura was helpful for sure, but her volatility was unpredictable and made working with her a little difficult.
Still, he felt a pang of wistfulness knowing that they wouldn't be working together anymore. They're combination of skills was an unlikely one – he couldn't imagine another scenario in which they would work together unless she joined ANBU.
The evening air was hot and the setting sun cast dark shadows across Sakura's face. Itachi watched her as she walked to the main path, curious about this volatile girl that used to be in love with his brother.
Her stomach grumbled loudly, which Itachi found quite amusing. He looked at her face to find to the blush that would surely be there, but she looked just as composed as ever – no trace of redness in her cheeks.
"You want to grab a bite to eat?" she asked.
Itachi was startled by the question. They weren't exactly friends and now that their mission was over, he assumed they wouldn't be seeing each other anymore.
"We literally just ate."
"Well, yeah, but I'm still hungry."
"Oh," he said, feeling a little awkward and unsure of what to do. Should he reject her offer? That seemed rude…
"I'm going to Ichiraku's," she said. "You can come if you want to."
She turned on her heel and walked toward the ramen stand. Itachi watched her take approximately four steps before he began to follow her.
He had a growing suspicion again that she might have been the one to give him those gifts. After all, hadn't she just asked him to eat with her? Was it more than just a friendly gesture? No other girl had initiated such an offer.
He still wasn't quite sure how he felt about it, but he had to admit that his curiosity was piqued.
Though it didn't seem like she was putting on any airs around him. When they arrived at the ramen stand she immediately ordered two bowls of ramen which she proceeded to scarf down in the most unladylike fashion. Would she have eaten like that in front of Sasuke back when she had a crush on him? Itachi very much doubted it.
He ordered a bowl for himself as well, though he was hardly hungry enough to touch it. He ate a few meager bites to occupy himself while he watched Sakura eat, but he left it mostly untouched.
Then when Sakura had finished both her bowls she began to eye his with a predatory gaze that made Itachi pull it closer to him. He took another bite and was amused to see Sakura's gaze follow it from his bowl to his mouth.
After swallowing the mouthful he set his chopsticks down and slid his bowl across the counter to her. "Would you like the rest?" he asked.
She had the decency to look a little ashamed of herself, but she nodded gratefully and took his chopsticks. Itachi found it a little disconcerting that she ate with his chopsticks instead of her own, but she didn't seem to notice.
"You must have been starving," he said, amused.
She set the chopsticks down and pushed the half eaten bowl away from her. "Yeah, I always get a little ravenous this time of the month."
The look on Itachi's face must have mirrored the horror he felt because Sakura laughed, tossing her head back.
"It's always the most fearsome shinobi who get squicked by something as mundane as a period," she said through her giggles.
"I'm not squicked." And he also didn't think he was all that fearsome.
"Oh, please, look how red your cheeks are," she said.
His cheeks didn't feel hot, so he questioned her statement. "It's a little disconcerting that you'd speak so frankly about it," he defended. "Especially while eating."
"Why tiptoe around it?" she asked. "No point in being shy about it. I'm sure you can smell it anyway, keen shinobi that you are."
He couldn't smell it and he didn't want to, but he found that to be oddly flattering anyway.
And also, she had a point. Why tiptoe around an issue?
"Sakura-san—"
"Just Sakura is fine," she said. Itachi didn't know why that made his heartbeat increase ever so slightly.
"Sakura, have you left any packages for me at my front door recently?" he asked.
"Packages?" she asked. "No, I haven't. Why?"
"Someone has left me some anonymous packages recently," he answered.
"What were they?"
"Food, a necklace, and a custom made shirt," he answered.
Sakura grinned widely and it made Itachi feel very uncomfortable. "You thought I left them for you?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"I don't know who left them," he said, willing himself not to blush. "Maybe you and your investigative skills can help me find out who did."
"Aww, someone has a crush on you!" she exclaimed.
He shushed her, giving her a reproachful look. "Keep it down," he said, glancing around the stand. He didn't have anything to hide, per se, but he didn't want his private business being gossiped about by nosy eavesdroppers.
She ignored him. "Do you know of anyone who likes you?" she asked. "Any girls who might have left them?"
He glared at her. If he knew that he wouldn't have needed to ask for her help.
"You're an eligible bachelor what with being the Uchiha heir and all," she continued. "There are probably tons of girls who could have left those gifts. But don't worry, I'll help you find whoever left them."
"One of the gifts smelled like freesia," he said, hoping that by supplying her with a clue she would provide some actual help instead of whatever this gushing that she was doing was. "That was why I thought it might have been you. You sometimes smell like freesia."
"Oh, that's because Ino used freesia to make these perfume samples she's been handing out at the flower shop," Sakura said. "That doesn't narrow things down much – pretty much every girl in the village took one. Any other clues?"
"Whoever left them must have been good at cooking," he supplied. "The food they left smelled really good."
"Do you know any girls who are good at cooking?"
"Aren't most girls good at cooking?"
"No," she said with a glare. "I'm not."
"Well, I don't specifically know any girls who are good at cooking, then," Itachi replied.
"How about any girls that like you?" she asked. "Anyone that has expressed interest in you?"
Itachi thought about all the girls he knew who were more vocal about their attraction toward him. He couldn't imagine any of them would be shy enough to give him gifts without leaving a note. Ino came to mind and she certainly wouldn't want to let anyone else take credit for her handiwork.
"Not really," he answered.
"Really?" she exclaimed. "You can't think of a single girl who likes you?"
"Girls usually prefer Sasuke to me," he answered. He wasn't bitter about it, but it was something he had noticed. He didn't know why – Sasuke was usually very cold with the girls who liked him. Case in point: Sakura. Itachi had never been cold to any girls who flirted with him, but they were rare.
"That's just because they don't know any better," she said. "You're obviously a much better catch than Sasuke."
Itachi blinked. "You think so?"
"Oh, for sure," she gushed, not perturbed in the slightest by the admission. "You're older. You're the heir. You're taller. You're not a huge asshole. Sasuke has that dark, brooding, mysterious thing about him that girls tend to like, but that stuff it all superficial. You've definitely got more quality."
Itachi had some qualms about her reasoning (how was the fact that he was older and taller than Sasuke less superficial than being mysterious or brooding?), but that didn't stop him from feeling a little heat growing in the pit of his stomach.
"Didn't you used to love Sasuke?" he accused.
"Yeah, when I was twelve," she said defensively. "People are always bringing that up, but I moved on a long time ago."
"I've never see you with another man."
Her glare was ferocious enough that he physically recoiled from her. "That's because I don't want one," she snapped.
"Why not?"
She blinked at him and the sudden change in her facial features from angry to confused was funny to Itachi. He cracked an amused smile, which seemed to make her anger return.
"Why don't you want a man?" he asked. "Do you prefer women? Or are there just no men in the village who have caught your eye?"
A tinge of pink rose in her cheeks and she crossed her arms self-consciously. "Those are extremely personal questions, Itachi."
"I apologize," he said, feeling only a little guilty for making her feel self-conscious. "I was jut curious. It's hard to imagine a beautiful, clever girl with such a prestigious position under the Hokage and a reputation for being the best medic-nin in the country would be unable to find a partner."
He had suspected that his blatant attempt at buttering her up would make her blush deepen. Or perhaps she would have sensed sarcasm where there wasn't any and be offended. But instead she sat up a little straighter and squared her shoulders.
"I'm the best medic-nin in the world," she corrected. "And it's not that I'm unable. I just don't have time for that nonsense right now."
Itachi agreed with her there. Relationships (at least the ones he had observed in the village) seemed to be nothing but unnecessary drama. She certainly kept herself busy between taking missions and working at the hospital, so he completely understood her reasoning.
Still, he thought, it was a bit of a waste – a girl like her being alone.
"Enough about me, though," she said. "We need more information about your mystery girl if we're going to identify her. We should take a look at the gifts to find some more clues."
"They're at the Uchiha compound," he said.
"Well, let's go then."
Itachi's eyebrows flew up. He was a little shocked that she would invite herself over with no sense of decorum. It was getting late and he wanted to go home and rest instead. They could look for clues tomorrow, maybe.
But looking at the expectant look on her face made Itachi feel a stab of guilt in his gut just thinking about telling her no.
"Okay."