Itachi leaned against a tree as he watched Sakura explore the garden. She had a huge smile on her face and made sure to smell every flower she came by. After Itachi asked if there was anything that could make her stay a bit more comfortable, she said that some fresh air would help. When he informed her that the Akatsuki had a garden at the center of their base, the pink haired girl smiled wider than he had seen her smile the whole time she had been there.
Sakura spun around a few times and then looked at Itachi.
"I love gardens, you know."
He let out an almost sarcastic sigh before replying.
"I can see that."
"When my parents were alive, we had a garden. My mom, my dad, and I would go out to the garden every other day and work on it. That was our family time. It was actually really fun, and it made me feel at peace," Sakura looked down and tapped the ground lightly with the toe of her boot before continuing. "Even after they died, I continued to uphold our made up tradition. I love this garden, though. It's perfect. I would have never guessed a place this beautiful would be created and taken care of by and organization like the Akatsuki."
Itachi looked over the scenery, only moving his eyes to do so.
"I suppose it is surprising. Although we are dubbed to be evil, murderous, S-ranked criminals, we still would like where we live to be homey. That urge inside someone to always be where they are most comfortable doesn't go away all too easily."
It was silent for a few minutes. The wind blew just hard enough to cause the trees and flowers to dance and rustle. Itachi examined Sakura as she scanned over the garden. Her eyes eventually met his, and when they did, she spoke again.
"I just thought of something else you could do to help me get a little more adjusted to being here."
The crimson eyed criminal raised an eye brow in curiosity. Sakura saw this and took it as a gesture to tell him what the request was.
"Draw a picture of me in this garden. Please."
Itachi couldn't deny that he was a bit confused by why she would want him to do that.
"I can do it easily enough, but I can't say that I understand why it is that you want me to."
"Well..." Green eyes searched the ground for something to look at while the girl assembled her thoughts. "It would put two beautiful things into one."
At this point, Itachi was starting to assume one of the other members had already gotten to her and messed with her mind. She wasn't making any sense.
"It would put two beautiful things into one?"
"Yes. This garden is beautiful, and so is your art. I would have an amazing picture made by you of a magnificent place. Do you see what I mean now?"
"I do. Your way of thinking is complicated, but understandable. If we are going by that logic, I think that there will be more just two beautiful things put into one."
"What do you mean?"
Itachi's own eyes widened at what he had said. He had been talking about her. He had to admit it. Where that sudden admiration had come from, he didn't know, and it made the situation even more odd than it already had been. He may not have been able to deny what he was truly saying to himself, but he wouldn't let her know anymore than she already did, which was nothing.
"Some of my thoughts got mixed into my speech, that's all. Forget about it. Come with me to go get my art supplies. You can't stay here alone."
Sakura was perplexed, but obliged. She didn't want to be caught alone by one of the other members.
Once they had gotten the needed supplies and gotten back out to the garden, the kunoichi examined each inch of the area, trying to decide where the best place would be to position herself for Itachi's drawing. She remembered the painting of a cherry blossom tree that her captor had created on his wall and how perfect it was. It helped her make up her mind. She jogged over to the sakura tree that had grown in the middle of the garden and sat down in front of it. She put her legs up to her chest, then wrapped her arms around them. Leaning against the tree, the girl gave an indication to Itachi that he could begin to draw, so he did.
Although it was Sakura's request for him to draw, Itachi didn't mind it at all. Art was his way of relieving stress, and he really needed it at that moment. As he drew, he made sure to incorporate every detail he could- the fallen blossom petals around the tree, the way Sakura's pink hair stuck out every here and there because it was against the bark, the way her emerald eyes reflected the light from the sun, the flowers that were surrounding the scene, and everything in between.
It took the raven haired man about an hour to finish the picture completely. Once finished, he motioned for Sakura to walk over and see. As soon as she laid her eyes upon the masterpiece, her jaw slightly dropped in awe. It had gone beyond her expectations, which had already been extremely high.
"It's more than amazing, Itachi! I've never seen art this gorgeous in my life! Thank you so much!"
Without thinking, the excited kunoichi threw her arms around Itachi in an embrace. The picture she had him draw was for more sentimental reasons than she let on, and she couldn't have been more pleased with the outcome. Soon realizing what she was doing, Sakura quickly released him. She stood, scared, awaiting his reaction. To her surprise, he showed no signs of being angry or displeased. He simply handed her the drawing and gathered his things. Once he was sure all his supplies were in hand, he began walking back to his room. The rosette haired girl quietly followed.
The two made it back to the room without running into anyone else. Although it was a good thing, Sakura couldn't help but to wonder why they hadn't seen another person all day, or at least she hadn't. It was very strange. She assumed that the others would be walking around, doing whatever S-ranked criminals do in their spare time.
"Hey, Itachi?"
Her captor didn't say anything back. He just made a low, short grunting noise to tell her to finish what she was saying.
"I was just wondering... why is it that we haven't run into any of the other members? I know none of them have very many friends, but I'd still like to think they'd be walking around their own domain or something. I don't know. I guess I just find it odd."
"I told you, everyone is very weary and stressed over some business gone wrong," Itachi stopped speaking as he opened his bedroom door, and then continued once they were both inside with the door closed. "Everything we do here is very important to our ultimate goal. If even one thing goes wrong, it may jeopardize all that we have worked towards. We can't afford many mistakes, and the ones that are made must be fixed."
"So why don't you guys just go fix this one?"
"Because this one is going to be fairly hard to make right. A lot of planning, and strategy, is going to be needed to pull off the mission correctly. Speaking of which, I need to go check with the leader on a few things. Stay here."
"I plan on it. While you're gone, I guess I'll get to studying up on how to heal your eyes. I don't want to be here longer than needed."
Itachi slightly tilted his head down in an affirmative nod before walking back out of the room and shutting the door behind him. With that, Sakura grabbed a few books and scrolls and started her studying.