Shinobi (Sequel to Otokage)

How Have You Been... Itachi?

Maybe it's about time you did the same.

Sasuke dropped his head in one hand and looked out the window. The skies were a bit cloudy and the village was painted a smooth white. He sighed harshly as he shut his eyes.

"You..."

Was it enough? Were those happy memories enough to outweigh all fourteen years he came to hate the man he had the misfortune of calling his brother? Sakura seemed to think so, or at least, she thought that hating someone for over a decade was enough.

The counselor looked up as Sasuke sighed again.

"How... How have you been... Itachi?"

Itachi's heart swelled.

::

Sakura mulled over the information Arata had given her as she spun back and forth in her office chair. No one in Otogakure was participating, thankfully, and it seemed that most of the ones involved were from Konoha. Extra surveillance from her owls pointed out that shinobi carrying the drugs just traveled aimlessly about the country, not making or selling them before returning to Konoha.

All she told Team Shikamaru earlier before their departure was that Oto had no part in it and that the drug ring operated completely out of her circle. Not completely true, but she'd be an idiot to go and accuse the village they were a part of. She was glad to leave that team on a much happier note than before, with both Ino and Sasuke.

"Next chance I get, we're gonna have a real talk, forehead!"

"Hn. I still have questions about your sealing methods."

All that aside, someone was indeed framing her to the distribution, though, and she wouldn't be able to deny it once it being the product of her citizens came to light. Her jaw locked as she thought of the man at the top of this operation.

How dare he put this on her head. If only she weren't a Kage, she would've--!

Stop. Calm down. Breathe.

Don't get infuriated. Don't get depressed. Don't delve into hatred.

y o u  k n o w  w h a t  h a p p e n s  i f  y o u  d o

Sakura exhaled and sunk into her seat. It seemed that she had aged a significant amount with the bags under her eyes and the heavy droop of her shoulders. She let Kabuto off early today, so here she was. Alone at then in the evening. The lights were off save for the small lamp on her desk and the one hanging in the corner of the room.

Tap. Tap.

Her eyebrows shot up when she recognized the chakra signature. She turned her chair around and slid the window open, Itachi slipping into the room. He had a cloth-wrapped bento in one hand and a piece of yellow paper in the other.

"Sakura-sama." he greeted, "Kabuto-san informed me that you hadn't eaten dinner today."

Sakura's eyes lit up immediately as he placed the box on her desk.

"I didn't know you'd be such an esteemed delivery man!" she exclaimed. She untied the cloth and opened the box, seeing salted salmon, sliced cucumber, and tamagoyaki along with a serving of rice, "It looks great! Where did you get this from? I don't recognize the bento."

When she took her first bite, the corner of her lips pulled up in pleasure. It tasted wonderful! Itachi flexed his fingers behind his back.

"I made it myself." he informed. Sakura covered her mouth as she chewed her food in delighted surprise.

"You?" she mused, "I didn't know you were such a great cook! This is amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to bring this to me!"

Well, it did take many days awful days in Tobi's kitchen with Sasori's far less than helpful comments every time he made a mistake. But he believed it all paid off in the long run. He could make simple dishes, at least, and maybe she'd like his cooking even more in the future. His thumb ran over the paper in his hand before he unfolded it and placed it on her desk.

"If I may..."

Sakura peered at the sheet as she took another bite of her food. There were a collection of lines and symbols that stared right at her.

"The intelligence sector has been working on new codes to be implemented in the system. Could you take a look at the key and decipher this problem?" he questioned. She happily agreed and set to it immediately. Decoding it for the first time took a series of mathematical algorithms, something Sakura breeze through without hassle. And before he knew it, the first letter was found.

I

A minute passed, and the next four letters were taken care of.

L

O

V

E

Itachi's heartbeat quickened in anticipation.

Y

O

The last letter took a little longer than the rest. Sakura's pen touched the yellow sheet after scratching away on her scrap page and she drew in the very last one, completing the message in record time.

N

"I love yon." Sakura read. She glanced up at him, "Do you, Itachi-san?"

He blinked. He read over her work, the key, and finally the words 'I love yon'. Yon. A pronoun. Those who yonder. How the hell had me managed to mix the 'u' and 'n' codes together like that?! He sat in the chair facing the desk, eye twitching at he inwardly berated himself.

"Yes. I love yon."