Itachi entered the room silently, not to find his target asleep but sitting in bed waiting for him. He had to admit that he was surprised, but then again, if anyone could have uncovered his plan, it would be her. The look on her face, he would never forget it. Her eyes were stoic, unmoving, while he could have sworn her lips were quivering. At first, the two did not exchange any words. They simply stared at each other, waiting for the other's move.
"How long have you known?"
"Since yesterday."
Itachi raised his eyebrow, silently signaling for her to continue with how she learned. The girl did not reply for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts, as if debating whether or not to move towards him. Shuffling in the bed, eyes still glued upon him, she answered, "The way you looked at me yesterday. It was as if you were saying goodbye." Itachi did not understand. How did she know what he would do from a look in his eyes? He remained quit, hoping she would continue, which she did. "Before I went home yesterday, you had the saddest look in your eyes I had ever seen, Itachi. I knew something bad was going to happen, so I waited."
So, she did not know anything, only that something weighed heavily on his mind. Katana in hand, Itachi took two steps forward, lowering his gaze to the floor. What he was about to do… would she forgive him? Did she know what was coming? Did she know why? The girl was a part of the group that was planning the coup d'état, so did she have any suspicions of his double-life?
"Itachi?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
At that moment, Itachi felt as if someone had stabbed a kunai directly into his heart. What was he doing? He wanted to drop the katana and embrace the woman on the bed, but he knew in his mind that he couldn't. Now standing at the edge of the bed, mere inches from her, he reached towards her with his left hand, gently cupping her chin. He could see that she was crying silently, as was he, in his heart. "Forgive me, Akiko." The girl closed her eyes, tear still pouring down her face, and smiled as Itachi fluidly shoved the katana through her chest. She died instantly, painlessly. No, that was a lie. Itachi knew that her heart ached but not as much for his, for he knew what he had to do, what he had to finish.