The Hyūga heiress' eyebrow twitched as she glanced around him. What she found or didn't find apparently disappointed her judging by her downturned lips. Not enough to be rude, but just enough. Perhaps a little wary of a wandering outsider, though he couldn't blame her after the Hyūga Affair. He vaguely wondered if she still remembered the incident; she was very young when that went down. "Good evening, Itachi-sama."

"Good evening," he murmured as he scanned the kitchen. Nothing seemed to be out of place or out of the ordinary. The probability of foul play diminished, but the scale was far too evenly matched for his taste. It would only take the slightest bit of pressure to drive either the Uchiha clan or Konoha itself down the path of needless bloodshed and he would be damned if he let it happen under his watch. "Forgive the intrusion, Hinata-sama, I was just on a reconnaissance of sorts."

"A recon?"

"Sasuke is rather… picky when it comes to dessert," he said with a good-natured wince. While that didn't ease the suspicion on the girl's face, her illusion of curious detachment eased. That was good enough for now. "We don't wish to offend your family, so I figured I could at least warn him about the desserts he may have to face later on."

"Ah, yes," she said, eyes lighting up with recognition. As Sasuke's classmate and frequent project partner, she must've been familiar with those habits. "He never accepts chocolates from his admirers."

Itachi hummed in agreement. "It is a pity, as his actions are a waste of food which I would gladly take off his hands."

A shadow of a smile reached Hinata's gaze and Itachi allowed himself a sigh. She didn't seem too suspicious. "That's…" she trailed off, crushing traces of emerging amusement in her voice. "That's rather unfortunate. I can't imagine avoiding dessert when I have it in front of me."

"Indeed."

The heiress said nothing else and her discomfort returned in full force as her gaze wandered the kitchen. Possibly seeking another conversation topic, or perhaps it was her way of allowing him to do as he pleased in her compound. Perhaps if they were more familiar with each other he would've been able to tell and spare her the increasingly awkward atmosphere.

Eventually she made the mistake of meeting his gaze once more and the image of Sasuke gagging at the dessert popped up in her mind. Her father would probably take offense to his favorite bean paste being disrespected in such a manner, no matter that Sasuke was ten and an admittedly strange person. Who spent their childhood avoiding sweets? The beginning of a giggle pulled at her lips and her composure finally slipped when Itachi's knowing gaze turned to one of amusement.

She covered her mouth as her shoulders trembled with laughter. "I— I'm sorry, it really shouldn't be this funny," she said between several pauses.

By the time she recovered, the heiress' shoulders finally eased and Itachi ventured to ask. "What brings you to the kitchen this evening?"

"I'm waiting for my gift to finish baking." She gestured towards the oven. If he were a lesser shinobi, he might've sighed with dejection. Of course the heiress would be one who was going to receive those delightful pastries and not the guests. What a pity.