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It takes only a glance for Itachi to notice.
His team—which also consists of Namiashi Raidou and Shiranui Genma—is escorting Yondaime-sama on an embassy trip in Iwa; this year’s Chuunin exam will take place here. The team captain is his cousin, Uchiha Shisui. They are currently trailing after Yondaime-sama, who is walking in front with the Tsuchikage, Oonoki-sama.
The glance happens when they pass by a particularly busy shopping street. It is actually not long enough to even be called a glance; Shisui’s gaze just flickers for a fraction of a second to the left—where Itachi is walking beside him—before returning to Yondaime-sama. But that’s enough for eyes as sharp as Itachi’s.
The reason it rouses his curiosity is: What is capable of distracting his cousin? Shisui the Teleporter is an exemplary shinobi, famous—or infamous, depending on who you ask—for his prowess as well as his strong sense of responsibility. Once Shisui sets eyes on a target, be it to protect or to kill, nothing can divert his acute attention. Yet, something has accomplished that just moments ago.
So, it’s perfectly understandable for Itachi to quickly—and discreetly—trace back Shisui’s line of sight. The answer to his curiosity takes the form of a very crowded pottery store named Nanayosha. Itachi is, by no means, well-versed in the art of shopping, but even he has heard of this store. Nanayosha is the pride of Iwa, handcrafting the finest porcelain products. Some people go as far as saying the store’s magnificence in pottery is the real legendary ninjutsu of Iwa. As such, Iwa has strict policies about exporting the goods of Nanayosha, which is a big fat no. Anyone who wishes to buy something from Nanayosha has to come in person, making the store’s goods all the more coveted.
Itachi raises a fine eyebrow. Knowing his cousin as well as he does, Shisui has never expressed any interest in pottery—or anything outside of ninja-related fields. What is the root of this brief distraction, then?
By the end of their mission, he still has no answer. However, he does know that on the night before they return to Konoha, Shisui carefully puts a small box with Nanayosha’s stamp on it—when had he carved out time for this?—into an empty storage scroll. He is treating it like one of his precious weapons.
Itachi’s eyebrows almost disappear into his hairline.
Or, should he say, a precious someone?
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Ino bemoans the fact that she now has a barbarian for a best friend.
Gone are the days when Sakura was her little doll—so pretty, so pink, so compliant to Ino dressing her in the most princess-ish outfits ever. Now, Sakura is still very much pretty and pink, but she has traded laces and ribbons for practicality; boring, plain practicality, she might add. She even cut her long, pastel hair short—it barely reaches her shoulders—which Ino actually considers the vilest act committed against humanity. Sakura’s long hair was something out of a dream, really.
Ino blames all of this on Tsunade-hime—not that she dares to say this to the woman’s face. Don’t get her wrong; Ino is beyond happy for what Sakura has accomplished under Tsunade-hime’s teaching. Sakura has bloomed into the beautiful flower she was always meant to be. But surely a little fancy fashion wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?
However, today Ino notices something different.
Sakura is still dressed in her usual boring red clothes, with her hair put into a messy bun. Ino has a lot to say about the bun; she has a dozen ways to make a simple bun look aesthetic if only Sakura would let her. That’s beside the point, though. What catches Ino’s attention is Sakura’s ears—her porcelain earrings, to be more precise.
They are a pair of earrings in the shape of blooming red camellias. The earrings are small but crafted in exquisite detail; their petals look delicate enough to be mistaken for real ones. More important, though, is the meaning behind them. Camellias are winter flowers; they bloom in harsh weather and are thus a symbol of strength, perseverance, and facing hard times with grace. A gift that sings praise to Sakura’s courage and resilience, and possesses the kind of red that brings out the lovely green of her eyes? Ino approves.
Now, how does Ino know this is a gift?
Sakura might not realize it, but whenever she isn't busy saving people, her hands instinctively lift to caress the earrings, smiling disgustingly happily all the while. And what else does a red camellia symbolize? Yes, a passionate love and a deep devotion.
Ino concludes this gift must come from an older guy. Something chosen with such deliberate care could never be the work of the snot-nosed guys among their peers. This mysterious guy can’t be a civilian, either. No offense, but Ino doesn’t think a civilian can handle Haruno Sakura.
A shinobi, then. A shinobi who has just come back from Iwa—because Ino recognizes the masterful handicraft of Nanayosha. She owns several of their pieces, acquired by pestering her dad to buy them for her during his mission trips.
According to her very wide network, only the Hokage's escort team had gone to Iwa recently. Ino instantly crosses out Namiashi Raidou and Shiranui Genma; everyone and their grandmother knows Sakura likes her man tall, dark, handsome, and gloomy as heck. The perfect description of an Uchiha. One of the two Uchihas in the escort team is already engaged, which leaves…
Oh.
Ino’s face splits into the biggest grin on earth.
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Mikoto loves trying new recipes.
Be it a new dish or a different approach to a familiar one, she welcomes the challenge. This means her family constantly takes on the roles of guinea pigs. They are not the best guinea pigs, though, if you ask her.
Her husband and her youngest son—aside from being very picky with what they eat—are only capable of offering one-syllable answers. Instead of receiving honest opinions about her cooking, Mikoto has become excellent at deciphering the different nuances of their “Hns”. Her eldest son, on the other hand, falls into the other end of the spectrum. His feedback is so scientific, down to the milligram of the spices used and the millisecond of the fire.
That’s why her favorite guinea pig is her nephew—also her other son.
Shisui is so insightful; his input is always filled with the right amount of information that Mikoto needs. He is also very easygoing when it comes to food, never declining anything. Mikoto won’t say it out loud—lest Itachi and Sasuke pout—but Shisui might also be her favorite son.
Today, Mikoto makes anmitsu for dessert.
She has just gotten a new recipe and wanted to try it out. The Uchiha matriarch even shapes the jellies into cute rabbits and cuts all the fruit nicely. Her family’s reactions go as well as any other day, save for Shisui. He does something out of the ordinary by asking his aunt if he could bring some anmitsu back home.
Shisui does occasionally make such a request; this isn’t what Mikoto finds weird. She knows for a fact that while Shisui doesn’t abhor sweets like Sasuke, he is also not particularly fond of them. Her nephew never asks for seconds when it comes to sweet treats. He must plan to give it to someone else who favors the dish.
Watching Shisui meticulously wipe away a non-existent stain on the food box and carefully use a furoshiki to wrap it, a thought comes to Mikoto’s mind. Of all the people she knows, there is one person who loves anmitsu very much—someone who, recently, often sits next to Shisui whenever Sasuke brings Team Seven home for meals.
Excitement bubbles up inside Mikoto.
Perhaps the day she has a gentle and beautiful girl for a daughter-in-law might not be so far off, after all.
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Sasuke has always found Sakura annoying.
In their Academy days, she was annoying because of her pastel pink hair that stood out like a sore thumb. In their Genin days, she was annoying because she often caught him off guard with her perception. And right now, she is annoying because it’s so damn hard to hit her in their training matches.
Sasuke acknowledges Sakura’s strength—her analytical ability and her chakra control in particular. The latter, he even thinks, has surpassed her master's. However, speed is not exactly Sakura’s strongest suit. Her speed is adequate, as required for her dodging, but Sakura has never been able to compare to him in that regard.
But recently, her speed has increased by leaps and bounds thanks to her adopting the Shunshin no Jutsu. While she has yet to master it, she knows the gist well enough to be a challenge for Sasuke.
That’s not all, though.
Since the beginning, Sakura has been a natural at recognizing and dispelling genjutsu. But an Uchiha’s genjutsu is a different matter altogether, especially if they use their Sharingan. Sakura often struggled when Sasuke activated his Sharingan to apply genjutsu on her.
Now, she decides it’s not that big of a problem anymore.
Judging by the way she efficiently neutralizes his Sharingan’s genjutsu, Sasuke comes to the conclusion that an Uchiha has trained her excessively.
And coupled with her sudden proficiency in Shunshin no Jutsu?
A figure appears in Sasuke’s mind. This one is another annoyance, solely because Sasuke would rather bite his tongue than admit this person is stronger than his older brother.
Sasuke narrows his eyes at Sakura after he, once again, fails to hit her. “Who did you learn these from?”
Sakura’s entire face lights up. It’s so bright that he might find that annoying, too.
“I learned from the best.”
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Namikaze Minato is reading the documents while Uchiha Shisui reports.
The Uchiha’s team is in need of new members; their last mission left three members incapacitated for the foreseeable future. Recruiting new ones is the right course of action.
Minato nods in agreement. “Who do you recommend, Shisui-kun?”
“Sakura,” comes the immediate answer.
That actually makes Minato look up from his reading. Not because of the answer itself—Sakura-chan is a formidable shinobi, and he has absolute confidence in her ability to function well in a high-profile team.
It’s the way Uchiha Shisui spoke that makes him pause.
His tone is serious as usual—Uchiha Shisui never jokes about his responsibilities as a shinobi. However, the way he said Sakura-chan’s name with such casualness—no surname and no honorific at all—speaks volumes about something that has yet to come to Minato’s attention. This Uchiha is very polite, upholding social etiquette to the extreme; it’s also his method of keeping his distance from people. Minato doesn’t think he has ever seen the Uchiha address someone with so much familiarity—besides his family, that is.
Interesting.
For now, this development doesn’t bother him. The Hokage certainly is not opposed to having someone he trusts staying close to an important member of the Uchiha clan. He encourages it, even.
On a personal level, though…
Minato sighs.
Naruto will not like this.
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Kakashi won’t admit it out loud, but he secretly enjoys Sakura fretting over him.
It’s so endearing when she sits by his hospital bed, grumbling about how he overused his Sharingan again, and then stays to keep an eye on him, lest he decide to flee from the hospital. Her soothing presence is always welcome after he gets hurt on missions.
Kakashi thinks this time will be the same, until Sakura stands up and says, “Alright, take your rest, Kakashi-sensei.”
His lone eye crinkles, although there is no humor in it. “You’re not staying?”
His little kunoichi doesn’t even look up from the clipboard she is filling out. “You look stable enough. I need to go check on Shisui.”
And that is that. Sakura turns on her heel and walks out of his hospital room.
Is this karma for all the times he didn’t listen to her instructions to rest?
Kakashi laments his miserable fate: Grownup daughters always put their boyfriends over their poor fathers.
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And so, no one is surprised when Shisui and Sakura arrive together at the Summer Festival. Shisui is wearing a dark-blue yukata, with the red-and-white uchiwa fan proudly displayed on his back. Sakura is also dressed in a dark-blue yukata, with red-and-white koi fish swimming at the hem. Their outfits are matching in color, in hue, in everything that matters.
Or when, throughout the festival, they never separate. Shisui showers Sakura with gifts that he wins from the game stalls. The pink-haired girl giggles, clutching his gifts close to her chest.
Or when they stand by the riverbank to watch the fireworks. In the middle of colorful flowers of light blooming across the night sky, Shisui dips down like it’s the most natural thing in the world and kisses Sakura on the tip of her nose. Sakura’s face flushes a bright red—certainly not from the fireworks.
No one is surprised, really.
Well, except for one.
“HEY!” The number-one knucklehead in Konoha shrieks. “WHEN DID YOU STEAL SAKURA-CHAN FROM US?!”