Title: act iv; multidimensional
Word Count: 1950
Prompts: 26. immortal laughter & 43. gentle & food: 06. strawberries

Summary: One by one, Itachi would peel away at the layers that separated them.

with a special theme of baby's breath.

There was but one person he'd encountered in this lifetime that had managed to baffle him. What baffled him more was that intrinsically, she wasn't an enigma. No, she wasn't mysterious in the way he, or his family made a habit of being by preferring solitude and silence. And she also wasn't mysterious in the way that some women were, always withholding a part of themselves to fortify that image of intrigue. Quite contrarily, Haruno Sakura was as open and sociable as any person ought to be, maybe even more so.

But, for the life of him, Itachi couldn't figure her out. Every time he thought he had her pegged, she surprised him again.

Itachi had been running an errand for his mother and on account of the beautiful weather outside, had decided to take a slight scenic detour on his way home. There was nothing expressly remarkable about the forest trail that eventually looped back to the Uchiha Compound, but there was a certain serenity to it that Itachi appreciated greatly. The path was also usually deserted, as it led to nowhere important and was remarkably inefficient as a means to get somewhere, which only made him appreciate it all the more. Just as he thought today would be no different than any other, he heard a distinct laugh ringing through the forestry, chiming with the wind and oddly soothing.

Normally, Itachi would pay no heed to something like this, but he recognized this particular laugh. And though he had never been the one to cause such a sound of mirth and pure, candid joy to fall from her lips, he had come to recognize the laugh. Her teammates often made her laugh as such, many times in his presence as well. Sakura, he thought.

The decision to move towards her wasn't made consciously. Itachi seemed to just gravitate towards the origin of the laugh. It wasn't that he was interested in her or anything she did…it was just as he'd surmised earlier – she was a mystery to him. Uchiha Itachi left no mysteries unsolved.

By the time he'd reached the border of the clearing she occupied, he could clearly see the reason for her radiative happiness. Surrounding the pink-haired kunoichi was a hoard of children, all in a similarly joyous state. There were three of them; two boys and one girl, roughly seven or eight years old. The girl was braiding something in her hands with a look of utmost concentration while Sakura entertaining the boys with a jutsu of some sort that seemed to involve strawberries. Itachi was sure Sakura had noticed his presence long ago, but he was taken enough by the scene to wait patiently until she addressed him.

He didn't have to wait long. As soon as she finished the jutsu at hand, she turned her head towards him, a bright smile radiating from her face. "Itachi-san! Hello! What brings you out here?" Without giving him a chance to reply, she beckoned towards him. "Come join us!"

He did as he was bid, well aware of the three pairs of eyes watching him carefully. As he reached them, he noted that the children weren't so much wary of his presence as they were curious.

"My loves, this is Uchiha Itachi."

The children were silent for a moment. The girl was the first to make a move, tentatively at first. She stuck out a chubby hand towards the ANBU Captain, a shy smile on her face. "Hello, Uchiha-san! My name is Hanazawa Rika."

Itachi took her small hands in his own. "Hello, Rika-chan."

This seemed to break the dam as the two boys surged forward to join their friend. "Hello Mister Uchiha! Say, you look a lot like the Sasuke-san!"

The other boy chimed in as well. "Dai, you don't know anything! Uchiha all look very similar. It's a clan thing. You wouldn't know anything about that."

The boy named Dai scoffed. "As if you know anything! It's not like you're from some big clan either!"

"Yeah, well at least-"

Sakura chose this moment to step in-between the two boys who were inching closer to a fight. "Loves, is this how we behave?"

Immediately, the two kids were overcame with abashed expressions. "Noo," the boys murmured in unison. "Sorry Sakura-chan! We didn't mean to be rude."

Itachi was slightly surprised at how much respect and love these three children had for Sakura. It was evident in the way they seemed careful not to do anything that disappointed her. They had nothing to worry about, though, it seemed, for Sakura just smiled and ruffled their hair.

"Why don't you three go play for a moment while I talk to Itachi-san?"

Three heads bobbed in unison, and the kids wasted no time in complying. Their distress from moments earlier seemed to be completely forgotten as the two boys resumed their friendly rivalry over something or another, and the girl resumed her braiding.

Once the kids were somewhat out of earshot, Itachi asked the question burning through the air between them. "They are?"

"Orphans. I take some time out whenever I can to spend time at the orphanage – over the years I've gotten particularly close to these three."

Itachi suddenly remembered her telling him that she, too, was an orphan, but decided not to comment on the connection. "That is very kind of you," he said instead.

Sakura shook her head. "It's not about kindness. I really do love these kids. Since they've started at the Academy I've barely had any time to see them, what with their schedule and my workload."

"They are all at the Academy?"

"Yup! Rika always says that I'm the one that inspired them to go down that path, which makes me happy, since I can't do much else for them," her expression softened then. "It eases my heart knowing that they'll be able to protect themselves as well as have a means of living in the future."

Before Itachi could reply, Rika bounded back towards them. She held her arms behind her back, and only when she was standing right before them did she reveal what was in her hands. It was the flower headband she'd been braiding, only now it was complete. The tiny white petals looked like fragile flakes of snow, wound gingerly around each other. Itachi noticed that the flower was different than the ones Sakura wore in her hair, but the weaving pattern was the same.

"Here, Uchiha-san. You can have it!"

With surprising agility she shoved the bundle towards him. It must have been her innocent smile, because Itachi was powerless to say no. He accepted the flowers graciously, but could only hold them awkwardly in his grip, because what else was he supposed to do with it?'

A badly stifled snicker from Sakura articulated what she thought he should do with it. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when she chimed in. "Aren't you going to put it on, Itachi-san? Rika-chan put a lot of effort into that."

The round doe-eyes of said child blinking up at him all but screamed her wish for him to wear it. With a sigh, Itachi complied. This was so out of character for him that it even gave him a moment's pause, but he continued with the action he'd set out to do. After he donned the flowers, he tried his best to ignore the absurdity of the situation.

Rika smiled prettily. "It looks very good on you, Itachi-san!"

Sakura laughed out loud this time as she bent down to be eye level with the little girl. "Thank you, Rika-chan! I'm sure Itachi-san loves the gift."

"Yes. Thank you," Itachi replied awkwardly.

"Those are my favourite flowers! They're called Baby's Breath. Pretty, right?"

"Indeed."

"Sometimes Ino-chan teaches me about the different meanings that flowers have," Rika blubbered on excitedly. Then, she frowned. "But I can't remember what Baby's Breath means. I'm sure it's something awesome though! Since it's my favourite." Rika flashed him another toothy smile.

Sakura smiled fondly at the little girl, but the smile faded as she realized the time. "Rika-chan, go get the boys? We should get going, it's getting late."

"Aw, already, Sakura-chan? But Itachi-san just got here…"

"Next time, okay, sweetie?"

The sweet little girl hung her head, but nodded anyways and proceeded with her given task. Itachi, watching the genuine unhappiness marring Sakura's features as she watched the girl head over to the other side, noted with surprise a slight feeling of gloom blooming within his own chest. No one apart from his family had ever elicited such a level of personal empathy from him before. Not that he was an unfeeling person, but his training had forced his mind to rationalize away any extraneous feelings of empathy that might hinder his performance. Itachi decided something then and there, something that would drastically change the course of his life.

Haruno Sakura was a mystery that was his, and his alone, to solve.

Sakura waved goodbye to the three kids now safely within the walls of the orphanage. They waved back enthusiastically, but their misery at being separated from the pink haired woman was impossible to miss. With a sigh, Sakura forced herself to turn away and begin the trek down the road. Itachi watched with great interest, carefully noting the interaction. Sakura's empathy and capacity for love was so contradictory to her prowess as a kunoichi, yet it fit her. She was a walking oxymoron, and Itachi found the mystery to be absolutely irresistible.

As they headed down the road together, Itachi handed her the small braid of flowers that he'd since taken off his head. Sakura nodded her thanks as she took the delicate petals into her hands. She smiled wistfully as she fingered the small braid of white flowers. "I was going to mention it earlier, but these flowers actually mean innocence and purity. So fitting for Rika, yet…" Sakura looked away, towards the sunset. "It breaks my heart. I love the innocence that still surrounds them, the bliss of being ignorant of all the evil in this world. As much as I'm glad for their shinobi training, it's heartbreaking to think that their innocence will become a casualty of their eventual power."

"That is life, Sakura."

"I know, which is why I also feel kind of silly. It's inevitable, happens to all of us. But seeing their purity, I can't help but want to preserve it for those that still have it. It's too late our lot but there's still hope for them."

"That is our duty. To protect and nurture the next generation, the very lifeblood without which this village, our home, would be nothing." Itachi said this very solemnly. "Everything we do…all that we train for, fight for, spy for…Is it not to one day create a world where our young do not have to do this?"

If Sakura was surprised by the trace amount of quiet determination she heard in his voice, she didn't show it. Instead she bobbed her agreement. "Yes, Itachi-san. Everything we work hard for…We're fighting for a peaceful world. A world where Rika and all those like her can grow up loved and without the influence of violence.

"It is a noble goal to work towards, one that I think most think about at times." He paused for a moment, and added firmly, "Itachi. It is not necessary to be so formal, Sakura."

This time Sakura did show her surprise at his words. But after a second's shock, she smiled up gently at him. "Yes, I think you're right, Itachi. Formality is overrated, anyways."

And just like that, a layer of the wall that stood between them fell away.

tbc