It was not often that Itachi had to play the role of messenger boy. His father would have called it demeaning for someone of his status and skill, and Itachi would be hard-pressed to disagree. However, he understood that messages had to be sent and in this particular case, he suited the role perfectly.
With an ease borne from a lifetime of habit, Itachi flew across the rooftops, his feet treading lightly as he sought out a very familiar chakra signature. It was one of Sakura's rare days off, and it seemed that she had taken the opportunity to spar with Sasuke in one of the secluded training grounds within Konoha.
He had just enough time to wonder why before he arrived at the edge of the clearing, and it became immediately clear why they had chosen their location. This particular training ground was situated next to the river, and it was clear to Itachi that despite the day's warm weather, someone – Sasuke, most likely – had chosen to use fire jutsu in the spar, causing the other person to counter with a water technique. There was a good indication that the first person had used their Sharingan to copy the same water jutsu, resulting in large puddles around the clearing, mud, Sasuke's damp hair, though there was a good chance some of that came from his sweat, and–
Itachi's mouth went dry.
Because of the heat or because of the water, Sakura had ended up discarding her shirt while she and Sasuke continued their spar. Although it wasn't new to Itachi, he still found himself swallowing thickly at the sight of her skin, underscored by the sharp lines defining the muscles of her abdomen and arms. The fluidity as she shifted and twisted into her taijutsu forms was breathtaking, her muscles rippling beneath gleaming skin with each movement.
"Ha!" Sakura crowed, and Itachi followed the long, graceful lines of her legs as she whirled, her foot catching Sasuke right in the chest and sending him flying backwards. Sasuke rolled as he landed, finishing in a crouch but before he could spring at Sakura, he caught sight of Itachi.
"Aniki?"
Sakura turned towards him, still panting, and Itachi found himself distracted by the way the muscles of her exposed stomach flexed and tensed with each breath. "Oh, Itachi!"
It was a warm day, but even that couldn't explain the heat that rushed through his body as she smiled at him. Itachi flushed and hurriedly dragged his gaze up. "Sakura," he greeted hastily. "The Hokage wants to see you as soon as possible."
Sakura nodded, her expression shifting into something more focused. "Understood," she said, jogging off to fetch her clothes. She wiped the sweat off her face and back with a towel before shrugging on her top, to Itachi's disappointment. With a quick kiss to his cheek and a wave to Sasuke, she was gone.
"Hey, aniki," Sasuke said. There was something off in his tone, and Itachi looked over at him only to see an interesting mix of amusement and disgust on his little brother's face. "Next time be less obvious when you ogle my teammate."