And the road of flowers is so long

The next morning, Akina was surprised not to see Nobu-san in his usual place. Later, she learned that he had been taken to the hospital by ambulance during the night with a heart attack, and they would have to cope on their own for a while. " What to do. We've never worked with users ourselves," Ryoko panicked softly. "Stop being hysterical. What's so hard to write in the book title form, " her sister said. "I wonder how long Nobu-san will be kept in the hospital," Yuki said. "We'll go to the hospital after work today and find out," Marie said. "No matter how long he stays there, we must make sure that we don't let him down," Akina said firmly. The girls nodded in agreement. "Yuki, stand at the front reception. The rest of you go to your departments, " Thibault said. "Why me?" Maury demanded. "Because the science department is the least interesting," Akina explained, and everyone agreed. Yuki had been bored at the reception reception for two hours when the bell suddenly tinkled, announcing the arrival of a visitor. Yuuki looked at the newcomer absently, and suddenly her heart started beating wildly. She never dreamed that her first visitor would be the one who came to her in her wildest dreams. Library, Konoha. The whole world immediately ceased to exist for her. Everyone but him. A statuesque, long-haired, dark-haired man whose gaze could drive you crazy. He was getting closer with each step, and she felt like she was dreaming. "Wel...welcome...How can I help you?" Yuki squeaked in a barely audible voice, her voice suddenly sinking as the guest stopped beside her, looking intently at her with pitch-black eyes. "Good afternoon. I need books on this topic, " Itachi said, handing the list to the girl, bringing her back from heaven to earth, clearly not intending to search for the claimed books on his own. "Yes...Sure...Make yourself comfortable, " she said, staggering out from behind the reception. Itachi sat down on a nearby leather sofa and watched the librarian walk away. "An unhealthy blush, a trembling voice, my knees are shaking, and I'm afraid he'll faint. Haven't had breakfast," he thought. He was attracted by the soft babble of children coming from the sheltered children's section. Itachi stood up and followed the sound. When he stopped at the entrance, he saw two long tables with about twenty kids sitting at them, drawing something. Akina was standing next to one of the girls and looking at her drawing. "A bow," suggested a young artist of about six with bard tails. " You can, but it depends on where. If you're drawing a boy, it's right here, " Akina pointed to a spot on the drawing. "Make a real gentleman out of him." The girl nodded in agreement and continued drawing. "Yeah, great. Thank you, " she said, apparently pleased with the result. "You're welcome, Mia," the girl said, smiling. "Akina, look how I did it," a girl sitting at a nearby table called out, waving her drawing. "I'll be right there," Akina said, and started to walk toward her, but then she felt a piercing gaze on her. I turned to the entrance, but there was no one there. Just then, a disheveled Marie bursts into her department. "Akina, let's go... no way without you, " she said. The girl looked like she'd run a marathon. Akina left the department, telling the children to be quiet. "What happened?" Akina wondered. Marie silently led her to the science department. The scene before her was somewhat startling. Yuki was sitting on the floor with a euphoric expression on her face. Ryoko was sitting next to her, fanning her with a book. Asemi was running around with a glass of water. To hell with it, Thibault thought sourly. "Someone tell me what the hell is going on here," Akina said irritably. " I'm happy. I'm in heaven, " Yuki said with a goofy smile. Akina stared at her in surprise. "She's been like this since the first customer arrived," Marie explained excitedly. "And you left him alone!" I've completely lost my mind! Have you forgotten where the bell is?! "attacked her with accusations of Akin's incompetence. But from Yuki's appearance, she didn't care about anything right now. "What kind of monster is this?" That she's in such a state? Thibault asked. "He's perfect," Yuki said. "No words were given to half-wits," Akina thought grimly. "What did he ask for?What is it?" she asked. Asemi handed her a piece of paper covered in a neat handwriting. "Metal alloys, explosives, toxic substances..." Akina read thoughtfully and walked along the shelves of books, selected a few of them and returned to Yuki. "So, I packed up, got up and went. You can't keep a customer waiting too long, " Akina said in a commanding tone as she handed the books to Yuki. She got up as best she could, pulled herself together, and went to the reading room. "Lucky her. She's crazy about him, " Ryoko sighed, not without envy as she watched her friend go. "Yes, it's noticeable..." thought Akina. "Who isn't crazy about him?" Asemi chimed in. Akina asked, guessing that she was referring to the mysterious visitor. "By Uchiha Itachi," Mari replied. At the sound of that name, Akina shivered uncomfortably and hurried back to her department, where the hum of children's voices was already growing. Yuki placed the books on the table next to Itachi, who was looking at the latest issue of the Konoha Bulletin newspaper. "Here are the books you requested," she said, and went back to the front reception. The girl stared at him, her eyes clouded with pleasure, and sighed dreamily. He couldn't help noticing this, although he was outwardly unperturbed, and it soon began to annoy him. He picked out a couple of books and got up from the couch to go to the reception desk. "These ones. I'll take the rest later — " Itachi said. "Good. I'll book the rest for you. Have a nice day." Come back again, " Yuki replied, smiling sweetly. "Good — bye," Itachi said dryly and headed for the exit. When his tall, slender figure disappeared through the door, Yuki collapsed into a chair. The girls came out of their respective departments and surrounded lucky. "He was so close... he was looking at me... he talked to me. Here it is, happiness! Yuki said, smiling happily. "Akina is lucky to live near the Uchiha," Asemi said. "Yes," they all sighed. Akina couldn't get out of her head the fact that Uchiha Itachi had come to the library in person, even though Sasuke usually came before. This was clearly not a good thing. And that bothered her a lot. The rest of the day passed without incident. After lunch, the children from the children's department were gradually sorted out, and Akina busied herself checking out her department's book collection. Some books had to be repaired, and some had to be written off altogether because they had fallen into disrepair. There weren't many visitors, so the day passed relatively calmly. After lunch, Itachi took his books and went out to the garden where Sasuke was training. As always, he was too lazy to go to the training ground. "You're getting educated," he said when he saw his older brother with the books and threw a kunai at him. "I'm interested," Itachi said, grabbing the kunai. Looking at the garden that had fallen into disrepair, he sighed sadly. "We need to clean this place up somehow," he said. "Our garden will soon become a forest. But Thibault's garden is famous throughout the village as a masterpiece of landscape design, " Sasuke said, clearly hinting at something. "Why are you surprised?" What else could one expect from the inheritors of the Divine lineage? Itachi chuckled, throwing his kunai in his brother's direction. "So make them work here. Let them earn their living, " Sasuke suggested, catching the kunai once again. "But I didn't realize you were so mercantile, brother," Itachi said. "Don't mind me, I'm not serious," Sasuke said. " But you're right about one thing. We need to get to know our neighbors better, " Itachi said, closing the book. Fumiko was watering her houseplants when she heard windcatcher chime and careful footsteps behind her. "How do you do? Sorry to interrupt, " Itachi said as he entered the small living room. Hearing the voice of the Uchiha clan head, the woman flinched slightly and turned around. "Oh, come on. Come on in." Itachi-san, " she said with a tight smile. Seeing Fumiko up close, he could barely hide his excitement and shock. When he got to know the Chibo family, its members, except for Takeshi, he saw only from a distance. Fumi was the exact image of his mother Makoto. The only difference was the color of her eyes. You can't tell the difference in everything else. Even the smile was the same and the length of the black straight hair. Itachi's heart ached painfully at the memory. "Come and sit down," she said, and her soft voice brought him out of his daze. The Uchiha walked to the back of the room and sat down on a small sofa. Fumi went out to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a tray full of tea things. "Thank you,"Itachi said, accepting a cup of fragrant tea from her. Fumi waited patiently for the guest to announce the purpose of his visit, wondering what might have brought the clan head to them. "I've come to ask you," he said at last. "About what?" asked Fumi. "Our garden. It has fallen into disrepair. Could you at least put it in relative order, if you have the time to do so? We, for our part, will help in any way we can — " Itachi stated his request. "Of course. For example, our garden is like this thanks to Akina. In the garden, she is simply a goddess. Talk to her. She should be home from work soon, by the way. Poor Nobu went to the hospital, and now the girls have to cope on their own, " Fumi explained, still smiling. Walking home, Akina kept thinking about Itachi's visit to the library. Is it related to yesterday's misunderstanding with Sasuke? The feeling of unease slowly turned into fear. When she finally reached the house, she opened the door. "Mom, I'm home," she said habitually, but when she saw the visitor, she lost her balance in surprise, catching the toe of her foot on a small ledge on the low threshold. In the blink of an eye, Itachi was at her side and scooped her up, wrapping his arm around her waist. She felt the muscles in his arm tighten, preventing her from falling. Akina looked at him in horror. "Everything okay?" — What is it? " he asked quietly. Fumi looked at her daughter in alarm. "I'm fine, thank you," she said, sitting up straight. Itachi stopped supporting her when he realized she could stand on her own. "Honey, Itachi-san has come to see you," Fumi said to her. Akina felt her stomach turn cold, and her legs almost gave out. "What is she so afraid of," the Uchiha wondered, noticing her sudden pallor. "Akina, show Mr. Itachi the garden." You can talk there. By the way, Itachi-san, I'll be happy to see you and your brother for dinner tonight, in about two hours, " Fumi said, smiling. "Thank you, we will definitely be there," Itachi replied with a slight smile. Akina dropped her bag by the couch and motioned for him to follow her. They left the house. As he followed her, he couldn't help but stare at her. Her slender sloping shoulders sloped smoothly into a narrow waist, which, in turn, turned into rounded hips and slender, long legs for a small stature. Her dark green hair fell down her back in a slightly curly waterfall. She could feel his glancing gaze on her, and she didn't quite feel comfortable. The garden was truly magnificent. Flower beds, paths, fruit trees, a small artificial lake with lotuses. In the middle of the garden was a pergola covered with vines, which they were heading for. The girl sat down opposite him and was at a loss to guess the purpose of his visit. However, an unpleasant feeling crept more and more into the soul and made it feel uncomfortable under the gaze of the interlocutor. Akina carefully averted her gaze. Almost a year had passed since he returned to the village, and the attitude of the male population towards him was twofold: from respect for his strength to dislike and distrust for his past, which some never forgave him. As for the girls, it was a little different. Most of them looked at him with undisguised admiration, not only as a strong shinobi, but also as a handsome young man. More than once, some emboldened girl would approach him to strike up a conversation, but it would all come down to mumbling awkward compliments with a blush on her face and a studious aversion of her gaze. Gifts and love letters were more complicated than that. The girl would quickly approach, hand him a letter or a gift, utter something in a rapid patter, apparently out of great excitement, and run away. At first it seemed cute, then funny, then it started to get boring. The main thing was to endure the unintelligible mumbling of the interlocutor with an expression of cold calm on her face. In addition, almost every episode caused wild scenes of jealousy in the girl, who for some reason decided that Uchiha Itachi should belong to her-Ayumi Yano. And he really didn't like squabbling over his own person. All this concerned only shinobi girls. As for the civilian girls, they didn't even think about taking any initiative in his case, but simply watched him go with admiring eyes and sighed dreamily. From Akina's demeanor, he expected something like this. " I'm very sorry for yesterday's incident... And please convey my sincere apologies to Sasuke-kun. It was an accident — " she finally broke the long, awkward silence. This phrase somewhat surprised him and, one might say, pleased him. "Her behavior is not admiring embarrassment, but embarrassment for what she has done," he guessed and looked at the girl with some interest. "That's not what I came to talk about, " he said quickly. Sasuke probably already forgot about what happened. But if you want me to, I'll tell you. "Yes, please," she said, relieved. "I came to ask for your help," Itachi said, and met her open, surprised gaze, which came as a pleasant surprise. "Me?" But how can I help you? Akina said. "To put our garden in order. You seem to know a lot about it, judging by your garden. Sasuke and I will certainly help if we are not busy. You know, we're not much of a gardener, " he said. The girl was watching him, and there was something appraising in her amber eyes. Itachi wasn't used to girls behaving this way to him, but her behavior was attractive to him. There was no such depressing state as when communicating with other girls. Maybe I should talk to civilians more often, and not just as staff in cafes and shops, Itachi thought. "Good. I think I can find some time for that. But I need to see the garden so that I can calculate the amount of work and take into account your wishes, " she said after a moment's thought. Her formal tone, in his opinion, was a little chilly. "Of course. Come any time, " he said, as affably as he could. "I hope my appearance won't cause any inconvenience to you and Sasuke-kun," the girl said. "You don't have to worry about that," the young man assured her. Then he asked her about the garden, about her work. He liked her direct answers and was comfortable in her company. "You're stalling for time... you're stalling so you don't have to leave," the Uchiha caught himself thinking. However, Itachi soon got up and said goodbye. "Dinner's coming in an hour." Please don't be late, " Akina said after him. "We'll be on time," Itachi promised, and left. An hour later, everyone started to gather in the small dining room. This time, even Haku couldn't refuse. "Don't be surprised," Itachi warned his brother before opening the door to Thibault's house. At the sight of Fumiko, Sasuke's reaction was appropriate. She was friendly and smiling. After dinner, we went to the living room for tea. Haru, Akina, and Haku were sitting on the same sofa, chatting casually in low voices. Itachi occasionally glanced in their direction, noting how warm they were to someone who wasn't even related to them. Akina would put her hand on his shoulder or touch his arm during a conversation, and the guy would take it for granted. Apparently, it happened so often that he was already used to it. You could tell that the guy even liked it. "How soon do you intend to start repairing the quarter?" Takeshi Chibo asked Itachi. "As soon as the necessary amount is collected for this purpose. I think you can help me with the estimate, " Itachi replied. "Absolutely." I think we should start with the buildings next to your house, " Takeshi said. "Why them?" asked Sasuke, surprised. "They're the least damaged," Takeshi said. "Besides, it's probably not very pleasant to look out of the window at the dilapidated houses," Fumi added. "So be it. I trust such decisions to you. After all, you are more competent in these matters than Sasuke and I are, " Itachi continued the conversation. Akina, sitting across from him, couldn't help but stare at him. Dressed in a white shirt and classic black trousers. His relaxed posture: one leg crossed over the other. His whole demeanor clearly indicated that he was of noble blood. Itachi felt her eyes on him and gave her a half-smile. Her amber gaze didn't glow with the admiration he was so used to. This is how you look at an interesting thing, no more. Akina looked away when Haru called out to her. Their eye contact lasted only a couple of minutes. "I think we should go," Itachi finally said, getting up from his seat. "Thanks for dinner," Sasuke said, trying to be polite as he followed his brother to his feet. "Thank you for coming," Takeshi said. "Haru, please show our guests out," his father said. The guy got up without a word and headed for the exit. The Uchiha girls once again said goodbye to everyone and left the house. "Good night, Haru," Itachi said after he opened the gate for them. "Same to you," the guy said grimly. " I like it when guests come. I always wanted a big family, but it didn't work out, " Fumiko said with a heavy sigh. "We must be too obedient children if you don't have enough of us," Haru said when he returned. "Yes, especially you are a role model," Fumi smiled affectionately at her son. "Why don't we go for a walk?" Haku suggested to Akine as they finished tidying up the kitchen. "With pleasure," the girl smiled. When Sasuke got home, he went straight up to his room, and Itachi went to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Through the window, he saw a couple passing by. An exciting feeling remained after visiting the house of Thibaut, which does not allow you to fall asleep. "A girl with an indifferent look," he suddenly dubbed Akina. —" I appreciate your indifference." Haku and Akina left the Uchiha district and headed towards the park near the river. On the way, she bought the latest issue of the Konoha Bulletin. "How's your long-suffering refrigerator doing?" — What is it? " the girl asked mockingly. "How long are you going to nag me about this?" Haku responded with a doomed sigh. When they reached the square, they sat down on the last bench as usual. Soon, another couple appeared nearby, Neji Hyuga and Ten — Ten. The girl scolded the guy for something, actively gesturing. According to persistent rumors, she didn't mind changing her last name to Hyuga at all, and she did it with her own methods, believing that it was easier for him to notice and appreciate her merits if they were on the same team. And who better than someone who has your back in battle? Akina opened the newspaper, ran her eyes over the headlines, and settled on the survey of the month. "That's interesting," she said. — What is it?" Haku asked, looking over her shoulder. Akina closed the paper in his face. "Who's the cutest person in Konoha?" she laughed. "What?" - the guy didn't understand. "Poll of the month: Top 10 most beautiful Konoha boys between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Guess who comes first, " she said pointedly. Haku leaned back on the bench with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I probably," he said at last. "I didn't guess. But you know him, " Akina said, smiling. "I don't know who it could be," the young man said, smiling. "My dearest brother is the number one beauty," Akina replied. "I wonder how many girls and women have filled out the editorial questionnaire, "she thought. "You're in an honorable fourth place. By the way, you're one position ahead of Sasuke. So get ready for a terrible revenge from Uchiha Junior — " Akina laughed. Haku shook his head, smiling. "Who would you put first?" Yuki asked as he placed his hand on the back of the bench behind her, moving closer to the girl. Akina thought about it. "Well, if he was the right age, it would definitely be Hatake Kakashi," she replied shortly. Haku looked at her in shock. "Its mystique is simply fascinating," the girl replied with a languid sigh. "Yes, and so is his passion for dirty books," Haku laughed. "Don't be jealous. By the way, I often see you together. Does he have something to do with you?" the girl asked. — Not really. He constantly asks me how I live, if I have everything, if I like the country. Offers to help. We had lunch together at Uchuraku a couple of times, " Haku said. "You see, he's also terribly caring," Akina added. "Yes, yes, it's creepy," Haku agreed, smiling.