Chapter 44 - Bloodshed
"Come in." Itachi heard Sakura's voice permitting him entry from behind her office door and walked in. One of the nurses was going over a chart with her, and they talked for a moment before the nurse left after giving him a polite smile. "Have a seat." Sakura gestured to the chair and made herself more comfortable too.
"How are you?" he asked politely, as he sat himself down.
"Uhh, I'm okay." Sakura's tone caused him to narrow his eyes and she sighed and continued after a moment. "Sasuke and I had a weird moment this morning. He was here for a check up and he was rather forthcoming and really nice to me. I think he's trying to escape on another mission and wanting to butter me up so I'll give him clearance." She huffed and rolled her eyes, and Itachi nodded in understanding.
"I wouldn't be surprised. He's always been the type to go stir crazy quite swiftly."
"I'm not going to relent, so I don't know why he bothered to try. Even if he went above my head, Kakashi-sensei would only defer back to me anyway." Sakura shrugged and flashed an envelope with familiar handwriting on the front. "I presume that Hitori has written to you as well?"
"Yes, she has." He couldn't help the smile that came across his face, and Sakura picked up on it immediately.
"Seems like you got some good news. Wanna share?" she lowered her voice and leaned forward to show her interest, and Itachi huffed in amusement.
"She...she told me...her feelings." He stumbled over his words, and Sakura was polite enough to wait, despite the fact it took him at least 20 seconds to finish his sentence.
"She told you she loves you?" Sakura asked for confirmation and he nodded in reply. "Finally! It's about freaking time." She laughed happily and Itachi's smile grew even bigger.
"I wrote back as well." This time he only had to nod to indicate confirmation of Sakura's silent question.
"That's amazing! I'm so proud of you two kids. They just grow up so fast." She pretended to wipe tears from her eyes before bursting into laughter again.
Even Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at her antics, and he was also appreciative of how happy Sakura was for them both. It was wonderful to know that he had people who cared for him, and wanted the best for him. Sakura had been a good friend to Hitori over the years as well, and it wasn't surprising that they got along so well.
"She did actually tell me in her letter that she was planning to tell you, but I wanted to hear it from you." Sakura admitted with a smirk.
"I would have been surprised if she didn't tell you. She talks to you about everything." He replied, still smiling.
"It seems that she's going okay, but I can tell that she's feeling a bit lonely. Sounds like her classes are going well, and her students are working hard. She's been put up in some fancy diplomat's apartment too, so at least she's being looked after. I've read all the periodic reports she's sent, but it was nice that she sent me a personal letter too. I was hoping she would."
"I wrote in my reply that I hope she hadn't punched one of her students yet. If she has, she probably won't tell me anyway and she'll get freaked out and wonder how I know about it." They both shared a brief laugh, and continued discussing what they had heard from Hitori and how she was settling in for another 15 minutes.
He was only here for a brief check up as he had been doing fine, but Sakura insisted on checking on his eyes and monitoring his illness closely. He informed her that he had been finding it difficult to sleep since Hitori had left and it had caused him to have a slight relapse, but he had kept up with his medication and there hadn't been any big repercussions. After adjusting to Hitori not being there, he had gotten back into a decent sleeping pattern, but it still wasn't the same. Sakura seemed to understand and sent a few waves of chakra from his back through to his chest and into his lungs, making sure that there was no signs of lesions or fluid build up.
After confirming that everything was okay, she ended her examination and Itachi thanked her. Sakura had another patient booked in after him, but she normally left plenty of time in his appointments for them to chat anyway. One thing that Sakura had always focused on was assessing his mental state, even if she was doing it subtly, in ways that some shinobi might not recognise. It was an important thing for medics to be aware of, as a mentally unstable shinobi was a risk and a danger to more than just themselves. Part of the duty of care that medics had was to ensure that they all had plenty of time for physical and mental wounds to heal. Since they had become friends, he felt more comfortable being open enough to simply tell her how he felt straight up, without her having to poke around to find out.
"Hey, let's get dinner tonight. Sasuke and Naruto are both free. I think Naruto is back for a couple of days so it will be nice to hang out. I've asked Kakashi-sensei, but I don't know if he'll show." Sakura asked nicely, and although Itachi knew the offer was genuine, he also suspected that Hitori had requested her to drag him out occasionally.
"Ichiraku?" Itachi asked, and Sakura grinned and nodded.
"7 o'clock."
"Alright. I'll see you then. Thank you."
"See you there." Sakura replied and waved him goodbye.
Once he had left the hospital, he headed to the training grounds, as he was meeting some of the new ANBU recruits for training. It was the second week of his new training plan that he had spent the last 3 months on, building it together with Kakashi, and the previous head of ANBU. He had wanted to oversee as many of the sessions as he could, despite the fact he wasn't required to be there. The high ranking members of ANBU that weren't assigned to missions or busy elsewhere were all in attendance and training with the newer members. They were working on team-based combat, combination jutsu, and medic defense. There were three groups, one working on each, and they were going to work through one concept for an hour, then have a short break and rotate through. In total, there were around 30 different concepts that they had developed training plans and drills for, hence why it had taken so long.
When each group noticed him, the students and teachers showed their respect with a bow, or did so when they were finished their drill. They must have started about 45 minutes ago, and once the first session was finished, some of the seniors came over to discuss the program with him. They had all received notification and were receiving a paycheck for their time, and thankfully they all seemed happy enough to help the new members out. It was something that they could all do, and it would help everyone get to know each other's styles, tactics and jutsu. This would be good for everyone, especially when the high-ranked members would eventually get put on missions with those less experienced. There would already be knowledge of their skills and a rapport developed before they had to work in the field. Itachi hoped that this would lead to more success in missions, with less injuries and deaths occurring in the line of duty.
The next session started and he stayed for the final one as well, since he had nothing else to do, and it also meant that he was out of the house and getting some sunshine. It was also good as he could assess who was working well together, and would help him on future mission rostering. After the sessions were finished, the new members went home and the seniors stayed around the chat and discuss how everything went. Itachi gave some pointers, and they gave feedback on the curriculum he had written. Everything seemed to be successful so far, and the seniors politely said their goodbyes and left, Itachi going his separate way as well.
It was close enough to slowly walk towards Ichiraku where he would be meeting up with the others. He would arrive a little early, but that was no problem for him. As he walked slowly through the village, a few people greeted him along the way, and he always responded with impeccable manners. It took him around 15 minutes to reach Ichiraku and he ducked underneath the banners and sat down inside.
Ayame greeted him with a smile, and asked him if he would like to order. He respectfully declined and mentioned that he was waiting for others. She nodded in understanding and said that she would check again once his group had arrived. Unexpectedly, Naruto was the first one to arrive, Hinata trailing alongside him and they were talking quietly until Naruto spotted him.
"Itachi! Ahaha! It's great to see you!" Naruto's grin and happy tone were rather infectious and he gave him an affectionate tap on the shoulder before they sat down.
"It's good to see you too. You as well, Hyuuga." He leaned to one side to see Hinata who gave him a bow before she spoke.
"Please, just Hinata is fine." She smiled and took her seat next to Naruto.
"How are you going Itachi? Busy as always?" Naruto asked as he adjusted his seat so he was a comfortable distance from the counter.
"I'm doing well. ANBU is keeping me busy. And yourselves?" He responded, and gestured to show that the question was for both Naruto and Hinata.
"I have just returned from a mission yesterday. I'll be off resting for the next few days." Hinata said quietly, and Itachi noticed that Naruto had looked straight at her to answer first. It seemed that he wanted to make sure that she felt comfortable talking to Itachi, and understood her shyness.
"Well, I've been off with the toads for a couple weeks, but I came back yesterday since Hinata was returning from her mission. Haven't seen her much lately. Also, I missed Sakura and Sasuke too. I got to see Sasuke just after he got back, but since he was resting I wanted to leave him be." Naruto looked like he was going to speak, but spotted someone familiar over Itachi's shoulder.
It was Sakura and Sasuke, and they both came in and sat on Itachi's left. Sasuke took his place next to his brother, and Ayame came back over to take their orders. She greeted them all but only asked Sasuke and Itachi, and didn't worry about the others. Itachi gave them a look, and he answered the silent question with a chuckle.
"We're here enough that she doesn't need to ask any more." Sakura responded with a shrug as she grabbed a pair of chopsticks for herself and got another two pairs for Sasuke and Itachi.
"What can I say? We have reached VIP status." Naruto said in a forced posh tone, and wobbled his head in a silly fashion.
"You guys should come more often." Hinata offered sweetly and Itachi gave her a smile in return.
They made small talk about their day, and other random things until Ayame began to bring their orders over. Itachi ate, and joined in on their conversation as much as he could. They were very inclusive, which he appreciated, and asked him about his work, and how he was going generally. It was quite nice, and it made him feel better that Hitori was gone. He wasn't alone in Konoha, and it was good to know. Thus far, since Hitori was away, he hadn't felt that. He had almost forgotten that there was other people around who valued his existence and he felt somewhat silly for having not remembered that. Realising that he had stopped eating, simply to just sit back and watch them all chatter amongst their group, he smiled and kept going.
Sasuke seemed to have noticed his quiet moment, and his gaze caught Itachi's attention.
"You okay?" He asked softly, so as to not draw attention from the others.
"Mmm." He made a sound of acknowledgement and gave Sasuke a small smile to show that he was alright before going back to his meal.
"You miss her?" Itachi was surprised that he had asked about Hitori, and supposed it made sense. It wasn't really a topic they had brought up much, as they had mostly focused on rebuilding their relationship.
He huffed softly and stared into his bowl for a moment as he gathered the courage to answer. "Yes...yes, I do."
Sasuke dialed down his surprise as much as he could, as if he wasn't expecting such a candid response from him. Even though he was taken off guard, Itachi saw in his peripheral vision that his brother turned toward him and smiled slowly. It seemed that he was pleased for him and that made Itachi happy, to see his brother smiling for his happiness.
"Have you heard from her?" Sasuke asked and Sakura must have overheard, and chimed in.
"Oh yes, he has." Sakura beamed at Itachi who chuckled softly at her excitement.
"She's written to me." Itachi said between mouthfuls, and didn't bother looking up at the eyes that were all on him now.
"What'd she say?!" Naruto was bursting with the need to know what Hitori had said.
"None of your business." Itachi said with enough of a smirk to really pique their curiosity, and thankfully Sakura stayed quiet. She knew that Itachi would tell them if he felt comfortable.
"Oh, I get it…" Naruto sobered and nodded in mature understanding. But he got a glint in his eye and grinned cheekily. "It's sexy stuff, isn't it?"
Itachi almost choked on a mouthful of broth, and even Sasuke laughed under his breath at the joke. Naruto cackled loudly, and Sakura joined in. Hinata put a hand over her mouth to hide her own amusement, and Itachi just shook his head and kept eating. Despite his own feelings on keeping his personal life private, he couldn't help but find it funny.
"He wouldn't tell you, even if it was." Sakura answered for him through her laughter.
They all continued chatting throughout the meal, and then for a while after, moving to a bar to grab a drink. Before Itachi realised it, it was already getting rather late, but he was pleasantly surprised to feel like he wanted to stay. So he did exactly that, with Hitori in the back of his mind. He knew she would be upset if he locked himself away and worked 70 hour weeks, and even though she was several days travel away, he didn't want to let her down.
Sakura appeared next to him when he was at the bar getting their next round of drinks. Sakura and Naruto had a bit more to drink than the rest of their group, and Sakura nudged him with her elbow. She was clearly feeling more confident than usual, and he looked at her with a mirthful expression.
"I'm glad you came tonight. Hitori made me promise to drag you out every now and then. She'd be happy to hear that you aren't locked away in your apartment." She smiled up at him, and he returned the smile.
For a moment, Itachi felt the sadness overwhelm him. He missed Hitori so much, and it was as if everything hit him like a frying pan to the head. Normally he suppressed it so it tended to be an abrupt explosion of feeling. Sakura's sudden seriousness brought it on and he looked down at his feet and held it in. He took a breath and looks back at his friend and smiled again. Although he would like to think that he could function well enough without Hitori around, he doubted it. Since she had gone to Kiri, he had thought a lot about her, and realised that he hadn't really had much time without knowing her in Konoha. There was a few months after he arrived, and that was weird enough getting used to. It wasn't much longer after that until he had met her, and she had even helped him to get an apartment. He was glad that he had his brother back, and other friends to support him, and help keep his head above water while he waited on the woman he loved to return.
"Thank you. For keeping an eye on me." She seemed just as surprised at his confession as he did, but he truly meant it.
"You're very welcome. I've always got time for you, Itachi."
They both smiled widely, and took their drinks back over to all of their friends.
It was almost midnight before they all parted ways and headed home. Itachi didn't miss the way Sasuke went off with Sakura, and was glad to see their bond repairing. Obviously Naruto and Hinata went off together, but they were all going in a different direction. Sakura lived on the opposite side of the hospital to his apartment building, and Naruto had mostly been staying at Hinata's place. She had moved out of the Hyuga compound but Itachi wasn't sure where it was. They headed in the direction of the Hokage building though, so he assumed it was near there.
As he strolled back towards his apartment building at a casual pace, he breathed in the cool night air, and focused on the feeling of it filling his lungs before he exhaled. He looked up at the night sky, his eyes looking at the half full moon. After letting out a sigh, he lowered his head and kept on his way.
In his mind's eye, he could see Hitori in this same light, dark hair shining and pale skin glowing.
If only she knew how much he missed her...
