Chapter 2

Edited 10.12.2015

Training

Itachi had just sat down into the quiet corner of the dango shop with his dango as he heard the sliding door opening with the tingle from the chimes.

In walked a girl, with pink hair, who couldn't be older than 16. She seemed to freeze at his stare and looked quickly his way. The sight of his attire seemed to relax her slightly as she turner to greet the older woman, grinning widely. This false security everyone seemed to have at sight of Anbu was really starting to bother him.

"Suzumi-San," she said as she walked towards the counter. Suzumi seemed to brighten at the sight of the girl as she smiled widely.

"Sakura-Sensei, my, what a pleasant surprise!" Suzumi exclaimed.

'Hn, so the girl is a medic,' Itachi thought to himself and lifted his mask to take a bite of his dango. A shame, medics were rarely any good at fighting, their main objective being that of healing and staying behind. His Lady would have to be able to protect herself as well as their future children. Surely this girl wouldn't be able to do so if she was just a medic.

He jumped out of his thoughts when the girl sat at the table next to his, clearly curios of who he was, if her constant staring was anything to go by. She sure wasn't being too subtle about it either.

When she continued to stare, he turned his head slightly in her direction and lifted his brow, even though she couldn't see it, amused at her boldness. There weren't many who had the gills to stare at the Uchiha Itachi after all.

She seemed to take the hint as she blushed and smiled awkwardly at him, clearly embarrassed. She turned her head quickly away, clearly hoping that her dango would arrive and serve as a distraction.

She had no such luck.

Itachi could sense her displeasure and took pity on her, deciding to offer her the rest of his. It wasn't like he could eat it anyway as she sat so close to him and could see his face, if he did.

"Have some of mine," he offered quietly and pushed his plate towards her table. She looked his way, doubtfully, but seemed to be too fond of sweets as she quickly took some his offered dango with a 'thank you'. She cleared her throat and looked at him again.

"I haven't seen you around before. I'm pretty sure I have healed every Anbu in Konoha at least once," she said and took a bite of his dango.

Itachi smirked. Of course she hasn't. By the time he was in Anbu, she was still in Academy. He had already left the village before she was a Genin.

But he couldn't tell her that.

"I have been on a… mission, for a while now. I don't usually spend much time in Konoha," Itachi said. It was partly the truth; he was still Jiraiyas informant after all.

"Oh, well, that explains it," Sakura nodded to herself and finished her treat, seemingly enjoying herself if the quiet 'hmns' were anything to go by.

"I am Sakura by the way," she introduced herself and seemed to look longingly at his plate. She sure had a sweet tooth, but who was he to judge as he lived mostly on dango these days.

Before his urge for a family, his only object in life was to wait for Sasuke to kill him. As he waited, not knowing what day would be his last; he indulged himself in dango as often as he could. But his greed for a family of his own, the only selfish decision in his so far very lonely life, changed his view about staying alive. But, unfortunately, his habit of eating mostly dango, remained.

With a tiny smile, he gestured for her to eat the rest and she did so, happily, drawing a chuckle out of him. Remembering her introduction, Itachi remembered his manners.

"It is a pleasure," he said and nodded at her.

As Sakura looked at him expectantly, he guessed he should introduce himself as well. Good thing that he already had a false name in mind, it was simple and close to his own name, making it easy to remember and respond naturally.

"I am called Tachi."

…

It took a while, but eventually Suzumi came out of the back room with Sakuras tea and Dango. But by this point, she had already emptied his plate. When she had her own plate, she tried to offer him some of it, but he declined politely.

"Are you sure Tachi-San? I pretty much ate all of yours," she said, clearly embarrassed about that fact.

"I'm sure, Sakura-San," he answered quietly and looked as she shrugged and enjoyed her dango. Even if Hanami dango was one of his favorites' as well, he didn't want to risk being recognized.

It didn't take her long to finish her dango and tea and when she did, she looked at him.

"Well, I should be going, I was supposed to train before going home for the night," Sakura said and stood up. She wiped her pants clean and smiled at him.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Tachi-San," Sakura said politely and bowed slightly. He returned her small bow with a nod of his head.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said truthfully and got up as well. It has been too many years since he last had a civil conversation like this. His honest answer seemed to brighten her smile into a grin.

With a last small bow in his way, she turned around and walked towards the door with him a few steps behind her. She was quick to disappear in to a quiet looking alley as he stood there and watched her go.

After a while he got curious and decided to follow her. He really wanted to know if this 'Sakura-San' had any real skill other than healing.

After quietly following her to a training ground, he himself sometimes used as a kid, his eyes were drawn to a stretching Sakura. She seemed to move with grace and her moves were smooth, almost fluid as she did her katas again and again. It seemed that she used similar katas as him.

'This is highly unexpected,' Itachi thought as he looked around for a good spot to spy from.

After finding one, he silently made his way there and sat down on the tree branch to watch her train. It took her a while to finish her katas and when she did, Itachi thought she was done for today. He was almost getting up, the bitter taste of disappointment gathering in his mouth.

But it was when Sakura flew to a nearest tree with a mighty 'SHANNARO' and shattered it into a million tiny pieces, that his eyes flew right open.

The only word that came into his mind, as he watched her demolish the trees with fire and determination in her eyes, was 'beautiful'.

…

Aww, I think Itachi might be blushing in that tree he is hiding in! :D

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&R

TY

-Hana