.

.

The room in Suna was a bare one: dun-colored walls and grit from outside sand. Sunlight slanted orange through the open window, and just outside, Itachi could hear the soft chatter of Suna nin speaking in their mother tongue.

Itachi began to unpack. He unfolded his clothes and took out his things: ninja stars, a spare piece of parchment. And in the corner of his suitcase, his head protector, brand new and never worn.

Itachi pulled it out and slowly traced the leaf insignia with the pads of his fingers, the metal plate smooth and unmarred and the leaf glinting in the afternoon light. Before he left, Tsunade personally made sure he had a new one to replace the one he wore as a missing-nin. It offended her sense of pride that he would be living in Suna without it, and for one brief moment, Itachi briefly considered tying it on. He didn't, however: wearing it felt too much like wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Outside, the sun began to set, and the vast expanse of desert seemed to stretch forever under the encroaching dark. There was a loneliness to it, but Itachi was certain it would not last. His brother, after all, was not that far.

end.

A/N: And that's it :) I think it's a good place to end. In the future I might do another set of gen drabbles, maybe Itachi during his time with the Akatsuki, but until then, I think I'm done. Thank you so much for everyone reading and reviewing! I've never been one of those BNF authors with a ton of reviews, so I'm incredibly happy at the number of responses I've gotten on this. Thank you everyone who took the time to comment. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Happy holidays, everyone :)