Illusions of Serenity
Chapter VII
"Representation"
…
The streets outside the inn were lined with individuals setting up their stalls for the morning crowd, several people beginning to emerge from their homes to devote their first hours to perusing the various featured products. Itachi scanned the vendors and, upon spotting one who offered various edible items, he looked down to his young partner.
"Sakura-san, I recommend we first stop to gather rations."
He was certainly against relying on any consumable substances offered in either Yokusei or Kanashimi, as he found he didn't put it beneath them to try and harm both he and the girl beside him. However, as soon as he had voiced his statement, his gaze slightly widened as she proceeded to run toward a nearby jewelry stall, seemingly unaware that he had just addressed her at all.
He paused mid-step before turning and slowly venturing to where she stood, her head turned away but her posture leaning over a display case. Stopping behind her, he looked over her shoulder to behold the draw of her sudden attention.
He sighed beneath his breath, "I see you have rather expensive taste, Sakura-san."
"Aa!" she immediately shouted, "who are yo-" However, recognition was expressed within her eyes as she turned to face him, gaze narrowing. "Oh. It's just you."
Itachi nodded, "Of course."
"I know that…now. What were you saying?"
"Just now?" Itachi inquired, "Or before you ran off?"
The girl appeared confused by his question. "Before I ran off? Did you say something?"
"Aa," Itachi replied with another nod.
"What did you say….both times?" She asked as he watched the frustration return to her features. So easily frustrated, he marveled as he stared down at her.
He tilted his head slightly, "the first time, I merely offered a suggestion that we gather supplies before starting off on our journey. The second time I was only voicing my observation concerning the expense of your preferences."
Itachi watched as the girl's eyes fell to the displayed piece of jewelry as a slight scowl crossed her face. "I didn't realize it was expensive. I just thought it was pretty."
"I see," The Uchiha replied as he again found himself fighting a smile.
"That's all you have to say?!" Sakura asked as she again looked to him, her demeanor shifting from forlorn to subtle fury.
"I didn't…" He began, before sighing. "Were you perhaps wanting an apology? I believe I already stated that I would not be offering you any more of those in the future." He then tilted his head again in amusement, "or were you perhaps expecting that I purchase it for you?"
He found himself having to constantly wonder what Sakura was thinking, as well as being compelled into attempting to figure out the justification for her erratically changing expressions. What had she honestly expected him to say? He had certainly not seen anything wrong with his purposefully simple response.
He watched her glare, "I wasn't expecting anything, Itachi. Don't jump to conclusions like you know me." She frowned before walking past him. He turned as she looked back at him with a sudden smirk, "And don't forget about that apology thing because I won't."
Itachi crossed the short distance and fell into step beside her, "I assure you, Sakura-san, I have not." He then glanced down at her, "for the sake of not arriving at a false conclusion then, might I ask what you were expecting me to say a moment ago?"
Also, though she implied that he knew nothing about her, Itachi had to question the validity of that particular accusation. It was true that he had only known her a short time but, despite how difficult it sometimes was to discern her reactions, he reasoned that he had already observed quite a bit from the small facts he had both witnessed and heard in direct revelation from her.
Her eyes lowered, "I don't know Just…something."
So, there really had not been any justification to her outburst. Interesting.
He was silent a moment, before removing his eyes and staring straight ahead. "You were my brother's teammate, as well as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's. You live with both your parents and have no siblings. You are academically adapt, but have struggled with various ninja techniques. You have only seen very little of the world beyond Konoha's walls and therefore prefer a quieter lifestyle. Your favorite season is spring and contrary to one might initially think," he thought of the necklace, "your favorite color is blue."
He did not hear an immediate reply and he assumed she was once again dwelling on some unknown piece of information he had provided. However, as he had expected she finally asked, "How do you know that?"
Itachi cast her a sidelong glance but his expression revealed nothing. "It was just an analysis I conducted through observation. However, now you have completely confirmed my speculations."
"You came to that conclusion from observing?"
"Well," he responded, "more specifically from both observation and from what you've already told me."
"Wow," Sakura replied, "I must say, I'm impressed, Itachi. Besides, people assume my favorite color is pink."
So, it was the color she had been dwelling on a moment ago.
"Aa, that was what I might have assumed if not for you running over to that stall and favoring that piece of sapphire jewelry."
He watched as she shrugged, "how did you know that I didn't just like the necklace?"
"There were several others, ones perhaps even more exquisite," he replied evenly, "the immediate draw of your eye was toward the color blue, as you spotted it from a moderate distance."
"Oh, I gave myself away there, huh?" Sakura asked.
Itachi shrugged, "I wouldn't say it like that." He looked to her, "you should not consider it as a negative development."
"Hmm…" she responded as a smirk took her features. "It's a little unfair, don't you think?"
"How so? Because you do not know what my favorite color is?"
"Yep, among other things," Sakura replied. "So, Itachi, buddy, tell me. What is the great prodigy's favorite color?"
Itachi felt the corner of his mouth upturn slightly in response, "Hmm, I wonder."
He subtly looked to his polished fingernails, before returning his gaze to her. He sincerely doubted she would accurately deduce what it might be.
"Is it…"she began, her eyes scanning his attire. "Red?" However, she immediately shook her head. "No. Maybe it's blue too. That would be funny. You, me and Sasuke-kun would all like the same color."
Itachi titled his head, "Oh? So you know Sasuke's favorite color is blue?"
Perhaps the only reason she favored that shade was due to previously knowing his brother's preference, which would imply that he perhaps meant more to her than simply a friend or member of her team.
"That's right," Sakura replied matter-of-factly, "but I never knew why. He refused to tell me."
Itachi was silent as he contemplated her response before smiling to himself as he recollected over the time when Sasuke had revealed to him the very reasoning he had withheld from Sakura. "It's because of what blue represents behind the Uchiha crest, as it is often set against that color for a reason."
Pausing, Itachi looked to Sakura and saw her impatient features, obviously conveying that she expected him to continue.
"What's the reason?" she asked as he was just about to respond.
Itachi felt another smile form in response, "firstly, the white signifies perfection and precision. The red represents sacrifice and power. Blue…" he sighed, "the blue offsets both and stands for composure as well as peace."
He glanced down at the ground as he considered his clan's emblem and of the unfortunate fact that the blue's symbolism was so often ignored. Its very existence signified that one should ultimately always consider stability over the pursuit of power through war or any other violent resort. He had been, needless to say, delighted to hear Sasuke proclaim his favor toward that affiliation, his words instilling the hope that he would always remain true to that calling.
Whether or not he had was something the older Uchiha had yet to discover.
"So that's the reason?" the girl replied, "Sasuke-kun likes blue because it actually means something to him. That's so sweet."
Itachi returned his attention to her and nodded, "yes, I suppose it is."
Sweet, for lack of a better word, was exactly what he had thought as well at the time.
"Anyway," Sakura began, "what is your favorite color? I don't think it's blue anymore."
Itachi tilted his head, "nothing so profound as Sasuke's choice, I assure you."
He heard her laugh in response, "I didn't think it would be. Sasuke-kun has always been like that."
"Profound?" Itachi mused before thinking of all the times in which Sasuke had been anything but as a child However, he knew that many things had changed as far as his disposition and, quite honestly, the girl beside him actually knew him better than he did now.
He was silent another moment before continuing, "You seem to really admire him."
"Well yes," the girl responded a bit bashfully. "He was always so mysterious, but he wasn't really close to anyone. I always tried to talk to him when we were in the academy and that's why I was so excited when we ended up on the same team."
Itachi's eyes lowered again as he considered what she had said. Sasuke, it seemed, had decided against forming connections after the loss of his family. It was a fate he had neither wanted nor envisioned for his younger sibling, the news of which instilling a deeply rooted guilt.
Halting his steps, he turned to a stall and subtly motioned to Sakura, "let's stop here."
"Okay," she responded. "What do we need?"
Itachi approached the vendor before casting his eyes across the offered products, cataloguing each one and determining what they could get by with. The fact that they had no idea how much time they would spend in each place was a very unstable factor in accurately determining the quantity.
"We need four containers of water, six packages of the rice crackers, two bags of that dried fruit and a package of the loose-leaf tea." He considered asking for sugar as well but thought better of it. It was something he would have to forego for the sake of conserving gold pieces.
The man nodded as he began to prepare the items, "that will be 2 pieces of gold."
Itachi reached into his pocket before removing the necessary coins. He handed them to the vendor and, after the man had thoroughly scrutinized them he motioned to a line of leather pouches to his left. "Would you perhaps like to acquire a bag as well?"
"We have a couple here, already," Itachi shook his head, "but I appreciate the offer."
The man reluctantly nodded as he began handing Itachi the purchase. Removing his bag, the Uchiha looked within and tried to determine if he had enough space for all of it. Looking over, his eyes briefly widened as he saw Sakura standing directly behind his shoulder.
"Is something wrong?" she proceeded to ask.
Itachi was silent a moment before shaking his head, "No, I just wasn't expecting to see you there." He then glanced down at bag she had slung over her shoulder, "do you have enough room to carry some of this?"
As the girl indicated for him to wait a moment, she removed her bag. "Let me see." Kneeling down then, he watched as she proceeded to upturn her satchel and allow the contents to fall upon the ground below. "I only have…my hairbrush, my make-up, my perfume, more make-up and…ooh, I almost forgot I had that."
She held up and observed a small bottle of some clear, serum looking liquid before continuing to sort through the assortment upon the cement with a shrug. "A few medical books. You know, for medical purposes. First aid kit. Oh, my rain cloak, can't forget that anywhere. You never know with the weather. And finally…" her sentence diverged into silence as she lifted a picture of she, his brother and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Behind them stood Kakashi, amusing expressions upon all of their faces.
Itachi assumed briefly that her weapons were contained in the pouch she wore below her back before returning his gaze to the girl and the picture she continued to hold. He tilted his head as he observed the slight amusement in his brother's gaze, inspiring him to feel a little less desolate when it concerned his sibling acquiring any friends.
Looking again to his own bag, he noted that it was considerably smaller in size as opposed to Sakura's and could not be relied upon to carry all of the items. He would need to distribute a fair amount to her despite the many items she had opted to bring along on her mission.
He proceeded to grab the items before kneeling on one knee beside the girl whose gaze remained fixated on the image before her. He carefully set the packaged objects down before setting his bag beside them. "Sakura-san," he called softly, not wanting to necessarily startle her out of her reverie.
"Yes?" She looked up at him
Motioning to the items on the ground he inquired, "Do you think you can carry most of this in your bag?"
"Of course I can," she replied immediately before beginning to stuff all her belongings back into their former place.
He had to wonder why she had even brought all of it out in the first place, though decided against voicing that particular question. She was currently being so agreeable it was almost frightening, and he was entirely against disturbing that disposition.
Nodding, he opened his bag and pushed everything within to one side, leaving a small space, "I will see what I can fit first."
He grasped one of the water pouches and the tea before placing both securely in the satchel. Deciding that he still had space for more, he also packed one package of fruit and two of the crackers. "Are you able to handle the rest?"
Grinning, the girl proceeded to lift the remaining items into her arms. "We won't know until I check." Her glance drifted down toward her bag before she lifted her eyes to meet his, pausing a moment before allowing them to return to her bag. "Will you hold that open for me?"
The Uchiha nodded before proceeding to do as she had instructed, he glanced within the satchel and almost shook his head at the contents before holding it beneath her arms. Sakura allowed everything to fall within before proceeding to shove it all until everything fit tightly.
Itachi blinked before looking to her, "Sakura-san, would you mind if I…" he looked to the contents once more, "help you out with this a moment?"
"Why? Look, it all fits nice and snug."
He sighed, "well, you might want to consider at least folding your cloak. There will be a great deal more room that way."
Snapping her fingers, the girl nodded, "Ah, good eye, Itachi." She paused, "oh, wait…sorry, that was a little insensitive of me. Anyway, good idea."
Itachi did not respond, merely relented to patiently wait for her to proceed with the suggestion. His eyes widened, however, as she again proceeded to spill everything out onto the ground, the contents clattering against the stone.
He blinked as she rummaged through and lifted the ivory cloak before smiling, "I found it."
Itachi merely nodded in response before softly replying, a small smile forming. "Good eye, Sakura-san."
"Excuse me?" she smirked, crossing her arms and allowing the cloak to fall. "You're acting like a child, Itachi."
"Oh?" he asked simply. "I thought I was merely announcing a clever jest."
"Clever? Please. You stole it from me."
Itachi tilted his head, "hmm. Which would perhaps imply that the original source is clever as well?"
"Exactly," Sakura replied then. "I suppose I could say you were clever enough to resort to theft, if that would make you happy."
"Happy that you acknowledge me as clever?" Itachi asked. "It is certainly an upgrade from moronic."
"I didn't say you were a moron, I said you were acting like one. See the difference? You should be clever enough to figure it out." Sakura replied with an air of self-assurance.
"Well," Itachi began, "Perhaps I was merely acting clever then."
The girl shook her head," then there's no hope for you."
Itachi nodded then, concealing the serious tone of his voice. "No, I suppose not."
However, refusing to dwell on the inspired direction of his thoughts, he looked to her cloak, "shall we resume the preparations?"
"Fine. You've obviously appointed yourself as the leader in our group," Sakura giggled before folding the white article of clothing and placing it with exaggerated delicacy into her bag. "How is that?"
Itachi looked to her, finding it amusing that she would point the leadership topic out. He had not really paused to consider such a thing before. The role usually just naturally fell to him given his history as a captain in the ANBU squad and as the leader in he and Kisame's team. His Akatsuki partner had never questioned him on it and so he had never really paid it much heed. Now, however, the girl before him had brought it to his attention for the first time.
"That's perfect, Sakura-san," he indicated the cloak before tilting his head, "and as far as being the leader, I honestly did not even consider that point until now. If you have any experience as one, I suppose you could take that role over if you would like. Although, I would prefer to think of us as a team with equal positions."
After a moment she replied, "Okay. Equals then?"
Itachi nodded, "Aa. Equals."
He glanced to the objects remaining on the ground a moment before returning his gaze to Sakura and wordlessly regarding her. The girl sighed in response to his silent suggestion before shoving everything back into her bag. Itachi closed his eyes before standing and lifting his own satchel.
"Is that better?" she asked, looking up at him.
Itachi offered her another nod, "there's more space, see?"
Standing, the girl slung her bag over her shoulder. "I guess."
The Uchiha then stepped to the side and motioned once more for her to proceed ahead of him.
However, the girl did not move and instead narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why do you want me to walk ahead of you all the time?"
Itachi blinked. It was another thing he had not been aware enough of to consider. Tilting his head, he regarded her silently, "I suppose it's simply what I was instructed to do when I was young. You could call it courtesy, or merely politeness."
Sakura looked as if she were fighting an outburst of laughter at his explanation. "It's hard to imagine you as a child, Itachi."
Itachi marveled at the countless time in which she set herself up perfectly for an ideal counter remark. He again allowed for a small smile. "Is that so? Only a moment ago you cleverly conveyed that you considered my behavior to be childlike."
The girl slightly frowned, "I know what I said, but that doesn't change anything. I doubt that was what you were like then. Am I wrong?"
Itachi shook his head, "no, not necessarily. I don't even consider myself as having behaved like that a moment ago. I do acknowledge, however, that there is a difference between the two statements. It leads to the question of why you would find that so difficult to imagine? I'm human, Sakura-san, and I grew up just like anyone else."
Well, not entirely like anyone else but in the vaguest sense of the statement, he certainly had in all ways been very much a child. Granted, a child who had never known what an ordinary childhood was like and who had been granted extreme responsibilities at a young age.
The girl shrugged, uncertainty now conveyed on her features. "I don't know. Everyone grows up differently, depending on family and their influences. As well as their position in society. It just seems to me that being born into a clan like the Uchiha's as a skilled prodigy, wouldn't give you the opportunity to experience a normal childhood, or as normal as someone's could be."
Itachi glanced at her and the corner of his mouth lifted at her reasoning. She had actually been right in her observation, an occurrence he was admittedly impressed with. However, he also acknowledged that the conversation had the potential to take a turn into a more devastating topic, one he did not want to even entertain.
"Sakura-san," he looked to the path leading out of Churitsu's gates, "if you do not approve of walking ahead of me, then at least walk beside me and we can continue this discussion as we walk."
He thought back to when he first encountered her in the woods and considered the irony of revisiting the same declaration. She had run from him then but he understood that the circumstances were now irreversibly different.
Sakura confirmed this by proceeding to stand beside him without even a brief semblance of hesitance. "I never said I disapproved of it .However, I think I would prefer to walk beside you, if you don't mind."
Itachi nodded, "not at all." He then proceeded at a leisurely pace past the walls of the city and toward the lands beyond. He looked down at her, "by the way, which realm would you rather endeavor first?"
"Hmm…" She responded, "I promised to visit Kanashimi again, but we're going to go there anyway and I think it would be nice to see a change in the terrain. I like the people there, but the sky is creepy at night. Don't get me started on those beasts." He watched her shiver in response to her final statement.
You certainly won't feel the same for the individuals of Yokusei, he thought to himself before nodding. It was true, however, that he was in no particular hurry to experience Kanashimi either. He preferred to put the experience off as well. "Alright then, we will head to the east."
Sakura looked in the indicated direction before nodding, "I have a question first."
Itachi glanced down at her to convey that he was listening, "Yes?"
All he could was wonder what the girl would ask.
"Is…is Yokusei awful too? The Leader said both places were cursed and I was wondering how bad it really is. Especially compared to Kanashimi."
Itachi tilted is head thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose it depends, really. I would say it's a great deal more strange than awful. As far the landscape goes, well," he smiled, "it's actually quite spectacular."
"Yay!" Sakura exclaimed in obvious relief, "I was a little worried that something like that would happen again."
"Something like what?" Itachi inquired curiously.
He absently noted as they advanced that the sky above was subtly beginning to transform once more into the pastel colors that had so completely captivated his attention before.
"Umm, you know," Sakura responded somewhat hesitantly. "A suicide victim. When I was walking through town, I heard a yell and saw a man falling. Then he was dead. The worst part was that everyone acted like it was an everyday thing. The two guards picked up the body and threw it on a cart with other bodies. They were going to feed them to the Jisatsu."
Itachi reasoned that the young girl beside him had not seen much of death, therefore not fully understanding what might happen if one were to encounter it on a regular basis. It was not necessarily that they did not care or feel anything concerning the victim but that they had simply found a way in which to cope with the regular occurrence. A person would, without a doubt, be driven mad if they were to consider and dwell on every single encounter.
"That does not sound like a pleasant experience," he decided to state simply, as it really was not a mindset he wished to be thrust upon her.
"No, it wasn't," Sakura shook her head. "But I think the family I stayed with made it bearable. They're really nice people and they accept that lifestyle, so I learned. I don't think I could handle living like that, though."
Itachi nodded, "I imagine it's not a favorable existence, by any means."
He had to wonder to himself how she had suddenly been able to overlook the things she knew of him having done, her tone and expression conveying that the thought had not even crossed her mind. He certainly did not mind however, as they had entered into some sort of delicate partnership, wherein they could entertain civil discussion. Were she to bring the matter up, he found that he really would not know how to respond.
Instead, he looked to ground before again lifting his gaze to see her face turned and her hand rubbing at her eyes. She had quickened her pace slightly and so he did the same, falling into step once again beside her. He wondered if he should say something to alleviate the sudden heaviness of the atmosphere instilled with the discussion of what she had seen. He fully understood how such a sight might affect someone too young to have really seen many of the world's horrors.
"It's purple," he stated suddenly, glancing to her.
She lifted her eyes to meet his, their teal hues shimmering with obvious tears. Had she been crying? "It is?" she asked with a sniff.
He nodded, "Aa, though I don't really have an explanation for it. I've just always favored that color for some reason."
He paused as he wondered whether or not to bring up the topic they had discussed before leaving the city, its content not entirely instilling comfort. However, he had sated that they could continue it as they walked and he was averse to not following through with that statement.
"Also," he began after hearing her chuckle and following the set of her eyes on his painted nails. "You were right before, about my childhood. It certainly was not the easiest and a lot was expected of me."
He met her eyes as they lifted and he watched as she smiled in response, though it hinted at possessing sadness. "Oh. I'm actually unhappy that I was right. Everyone deserves to have a happy childhood and for it to last as long as possible. There's no going back to those simple times. I miss it sometimes."
Itachi realized that she had a rather simplistic view of the world. Certainly jaded, but pure all the same. It was untarnished by the acknowledgement of evil and was not corrupted by the realization that not everyone actually deserved to live a life of complete happiness.
He nodded however, "yes, well despite it being difficult, I was not actually unhappy. I enjoyed it as well."
"Oh," Sakura replied. "As long as you were happy then I guess there's no reason to be upset about it, right?"
Itachi considered her silently before again nodding, "yes, that's right."
He had no reason at all to be upset by those times, for he had often wished to return and forever reside within those simpler days with Sasuke and his parents. There really was no other place he desired to be more.
Lifting his gaze to the sky above, he noted in satisfaction that the colors were becoming more prominent and that they would soon be entering into the realm of Yokusei. He inhaled as he prepared himself to face the inhabitants while also anticipated the pleasure of beholding the unsurpassable beauty the surroundings naturally possessed.
As he neared a collection of trees, he recognized that the land lay just beyond, the last stretch of the neutral ground about to fade behind them. He looked to Sakura and offered a gentle smile, "Are you ready to see something really fascinating?"
He watched as she returned the smile and proceeded to nod eagerly, "Hell yeah!"
