When Mothers Meddle

Chapter 6- On the Road

Itachi

Itachi slid his gaze to Sakura who walked beside him quietly. She wasn't avoiding him, simply observing the land and enjoying the beautiful day they had to travel.

He longed to talk to her, but talking would ignite the desire to know her better, and that couldn't happen. Hadn't he just decided this morning that dating her was a bad idea?

"I think this is the best weather I've had for a mission in a long time." She turned her sparkling green eyes towards him. "Do you need to rest?"

"I'm fine. Unless you need a break." He looked for signs of her needing a rest, but she didn't seem tired. Maybe she hid it well.

"Oh no, I'm fine too." She dropped her gaze to the ground with a small sigh and then returned to looking at the land in front of them.

Maybe he should too.

It was a beautiful day. Just like her. He winced at the direction his thoughts took and forced them back to the land. The road they walked down was long and flat. Tonight they'd be at the base of the mountains in front of them but for now, it was abundant fields, some of them just grass and others farmland, spread out on either side of the road for a distance before the signature forest of the Land of Fire began. In the distance, the forest was in full bloom, green and lush, just like her eyes when she looked at him.

Itachi bit the inside of his cheek to end that train of thought. Blood tickled his tongue and he swallowed it back with a sip of water. "Don't forget to drink, you don't want to get dehydrated."

Sakura smirked up at him. "Are you advising me on health care, Uchiha-san?" Her teasing tone said she wasn't offended at all, but still, he swallowed his embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I'm not accustomed to traveling with a medic." He looked away, hopefully the warmth on his cheeks was from the sun shining down on them.

Sakura chuckled and returned to walking quietly. A few minutes passed before she spoke again. "You've taken this route before, am I right?"

Itachi hid his surprise. His missions were top secret, how had she known? "I have."

"Oh, I know you can't talk about your missions. But this is a common road, though I've never taken it. I was wondering if there is a town on it before we arrive?"

He should have known better than to think she'd ask him to compromise his ANBU team. The ANBU team that Shikamaru Nara was currently replacing him on. It wasn't that he didn't like Shikamaru, he was one of the few men in the village that could challenge Itachi. It was more that he wanted to be back on his regular mission schedule.

Maybe after this mission things would return to normal. Maybe the Hokage had known this mission was coming and had wanted him available for it.

Maybe.

It was more likely that his mother had her hand in this, somehow, and was setting him up with the woman she'd chosen for him. Though he couldn't imagine how she'd managed it he was certain that if she could, then she had.

She loved Sakura, and never missed an opportunity to praise her to anyone who would listen. In fact, one of the Uchiha elders had overheard her a few days ago and called her out on it. She'd demanded to know why her clan leader was praising a village brat when she should be looking within the clan for someone to praise. Mikoto had narrowed her eyes at the woman and politely replied that as clan leader it was her duty to be aware of village business, and if the Hokage's assistant happened to be capable why shouldn't she praise her?

That was something Itachi loved about his mother. She never backed down from her convictions. The thought made him pause. If she was playing matchmaker for him it wasn't on a whim. She'd never, to his knowledge, done anything just for the fun of it. That meant she'd seen something in Sakura that made her a good choice, both for him and the clan.