Tomorrow. They'd have the drug information tomorrow and then they'd be able to return to Konoha.
Sasuke shifted in his bed, eyeing the white sheets and the deep green walls of the room What had the nurse said about the color? That it promoted psychological and emotional healing? Something along those lines, he was sure. He moved his gaze to the sunflowers on the table beside him. She also told him that they grew all sorts of flowers on the hospital roof, and that if he had a preference he only had to ask.
He leaned back against the wall and sighed. He lost the fight, but Sakura didn't rub it in his face. She took it as an easy acceptance, stuck her hand out, and brought him back onto his feet. She was different, certainly. Nothing like the genin he knew eleven years ago and had grown for more in those years then he probably would in a lifetime.
Alright. He admit it. He screwed up in demanding her to battle and came off more childish than he intended. Sakura was a Kage. He supposed she was just humoring him. Sasuke looked down at his bandaged arms, then reached up to feel the black seal on his shoulder.
If she was able to repress the curse mark, did that mean she could get rid of it as well?
Suddenly, there were two knocks on the door before it opened. Sasuke gripped his sheets and involuntarily made his sharingan twirl into existence. Itachi stepped into the room clad in his doctor's coat that hung loosely on his frame and a large journal in his hand. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the foot of the bed.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how you've been faring. Your ordeal with Sakura-sama was far from pleasant."
Checking up on him? What a joke. Itachi wouldn't waste his time like that. Sasuke's eyes flickered down to the ID hanging from his older brother's breast pocket. COUNSELOR, it read. From the PEDIATRICS DEPARTMENT. Itachi crossed his legs and opened his journal. He took out a pen from his pocket to begin working on whatever the hell he did. Sasuke grit his teeth.
"You're just going to sit there?"
"I intend to." Itachi replied, looking up for a second, "At least until it's time to resume my duties."
Sasuke glanced at his sword across the room. It was tucked neatly in its scabbard, waiting to be used. If he was enough, he could get it, couldn't he? Or he could make up an excuse to use the bathroom and get him from behind. But maybe he'd be able to use the kunai stashed under his pillow, or did the nurses come and take it when he was knocked out from the morphine?
Twelve years and I thought you'd learn forgiveness by now.
He twitched as Sakura's words rang through his head. That's right; she told him both that time and during the fight that he should forgive Itachi for what he did. Still, he thought that this man couldn't do anything to redeem himself for the crime he committed, but...
Sasuke raised his eyes to take in the full appearance of the person who took care of him the first eight years of his life. Who believed in him when his father didn't and when his mother just couldn't muster enough to do so. Who made him laugh and smile whenever he felt like he wasn't meeting up to the clan's standards.
He moved on, Sasuke.
He forgot about all those happy memories, like his childhood and home life before the massacre. It wasn't perfect, of course, but nobody was. Not even Itachi. Thinking back to that night, he could remember the scent of blood thickening in the air. He was standing in the middle of the street, tears down his cheeks and Itachi's back facing him. Hate, strength, foolishness... Though in the middle of that speech he turned his head. Hallucination or not, Itachi's eyes had a particular wetness to them.
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."