"Amai-san..." Itachi began as he set down his cup of tea. It was the middle of the afternoon, and he was the only one in the cafe. This was the sixth month since he had first come to Howling Wolf Village, so he was in need of more Kotarō, which meant he would be in the village for a week.
"Yes, Itachi-san?" Amai asked, looking up from the dishes that she was washing.
"You mentioned before that you knew a little bit about ninja and chakra. You were twelve when the village demilitarized, right? Did you study before that?" He asked her.
Amai turned back to the dishes, "A little, but... when my parents became aware of Adzuki's frailty, they asked me to drop out of the program in order to take care of her, in case one of them should die on a mission. I was only seven when I gave up my training, so I didn't learn much."
"How good were you before that?"
"Average I suppose." Amai said as she began drying a plate, "I certainly wasn't a prodigy like you, but I wasn't particularly lacking." Her eyes turned distant, "It's hard to believe that the war had only been over for two years at that point..."
"Were you upset about quitting?" Itachi wondered. He would've been.
"Not really." Amai said with a shrug, "In those days, when my parents were still my parents, I didn't have to devote myself to running the store, so I was able to spend all of my time with Adzuki. For me, that was far more enjoyable than learning how to be a ninja."
Itachi nodded in understanding, "My happiest moments were those spent with Sasuke as well..." Wanting to avoid those bittersweet memories, he changed the subject a little, "It must've been hard for you to manage the store and the house by yourself."
"It was exhausting." Amai said with a nod before looking over at him and grinning. "You know what I did after the last time you were here? I closed the shop for a full week and did absolutely nothing. It was the first time in forever that I was able to take a break. And now I don't have to open the store quite so early, so it's not as hard." Come to think of it, Amai did look the most refreshed that he'd ever seen her. Before, she had always carried a slight air of exhaustion that she tried her best to hide.
"The village made me do that once." Itachi recalled, "I spent the first three days with Sasuke, which was perfectly fine with me. Then my father kicked me out of the house and told me to go spend time with a friend my own age, of which I had only one."
Amai laughed sweetly, "Did you at least enjoy it?"
"...At first..." He began slowly, "We were talking about how I had just become a Chuunin, and she was about to graduate a year early and become a genin. She didn't think it counted as talent. I suggested that maybe she shouldn't be a ninja at all, because... I didn't want her to face the hardships that missions could bring. She got upset because I had unwittingly insulted her dream... which was to walk the same path as me..."
Itachi was surprised when Amai gently squeezed his shoulders to comfort him, having not noticed that she'd even approached him. "It wasn't your fault." She told him, "The situation with your clan was beyond your control. I'm sure she understood that." She squeezed his shoulders again, and then returned to her work. "Anyway, what was the reason for your original question?" She asked, "About to what degree I've studied the ninja arts?"
Right. There had been a reason that he had asked her that. "I was thinking it might be good for you to learn taijutsu. More than you already have." Itachi explained as he watched her.
"For what reason?" Amai asked curiously.
"Self-defense." Itachi told her. "If you become skilled enough in taijutsu, you'd be able to defend yourself if the Sendō Clan tries to bother you again."
"While I see your point, how exactly am I supposed to learn that now? There's no longer a training program in this village."
"I could give you a little bit of training while I'm waiting on the Kotaro to be finished." Itachi replied.
"Wouldn't that be a bit dangerous for you, given your current circumstances?" Amai asked with worry.
"It's not a problem." Itachi assured her, "The Akatsuki isn't bothering to keep tabs on me this week. Even Kisame won't come looking for me. At most, I might have to use a particular jutsu to attend a meeting for the purpose of staying informed, but they won't ask about what I'm doing. The leader of the Akatsuki is aware of my situation. The others won't bother questioning him."
"Well then, I think I'll take you up on that." Amai said as she set the last dish aside, "We can do it at Kodon Shrine after I've closed up. I'll need to change into something more convenient though. While we're at it, you might as well teach me ninjutsu. For all I know, the Sendō might try to set my shop on fire at some point."
"I wouldn't think that you'd be keen on using Water Style..." Itachi remarked quietly. He already knew she possessed the ability.
"No, I wouldn't be." She admitted, "But when it comes to defending one's home, beggars can't be choosers!"
甘い
Later that week, on Itachi's last day in the village, Amai was sweeping the floor during an afternoon lull when someone walked into her store. She looked up with a smile, expecting it to be Itachi, but frowned and narrowed her eyes when she found instead that it was the Sendo's bookkeeper.
"What do you want?" She asked icily.
"Now, now, Amai dear." The man remarked as he approached her, "Is that any way to greet a customer?"
"No one from the Sendō Clan has been in here since my debt was paid off last month." Amai remarked, "It seems you lot don't care for my food when you actually have to pay for it."
"Now, now, don't be like that." He said coyly.
"If you're actually here to eat, then take a seat. Otherwise, tell me what you are here for."
He clicked his tongue. "You are a true businesswoman, but then, that's part of what I like about you."
"What are you talking about?" She asked suspiciously.
"Amai dear, you just turned sixteen, didn't you?"
"Why does it matter?"
"You're my ideal woman, Amai." He told her as he took another step toward her. "You're skilled at handling money and business affairs, you're a good cook, and quite capable at housework. I would admit that you could be a bit more submissive... but you can be trained, I'm sure."
"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point!" Amai demanded.
"I want to marry you, Amai." He said simply, "It wasn't an option when you owed so much to the clan, but now, you've managed to escape that while retaining your purity, so there would be no shame in taking you as my wife."
"I refuse."
"Come now, Amai. I could give you a life you've only dreamed of. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone take care of you for once?"
"I'm not interested in any life that you could offer me! Now if you aren't going to buy something, then get out of my store!" Amai abruptly shoved the end of her broom into his stomach, sending him flying back out the entrance of her store. The man groaned as he landed on his back, then looked up, only to see Itachi standing beside him. The bookkeeper gave a yelp of fright and scurried down the street like a rat. Amai, who was now standing in the doorway, raised an eyebrow before letting Itachi inside. "What did you do to him in that genjutsu last month?" She questioned.
"It doesn't really matter." Itachi said mildly. Amai rolled her eyes at his evasion of her question, but didn't press him about it. "What was that about?" He asked her.
Amai sighed, "That was Sendo Kane. As you know, he is the Sendo Clan's bookkeeper. He was trying to convince me to marry him."
"You're only fifteen." Itachi remarked.
"Actually, I just turned sixteen." Amai said, "But it doesn't matter. I'm legally old enough to marry, so even though I'm not old enough to drink alcohol, people like that are starting to come after me like rabid dogs. If I had parents, they wouldn't dare..." She muttered this last part, but Itachi understood her frustration.
"That was a well-aimed shot." He commented mildly, referring to how she had thrown the man out without damaging her door in the process.
Amai blushed, "Well I had a good teacher."
甘い
A few weeks later, Itachi walked into the Akatsuki's hideout with Kisame, where their leader Pain and his partner/second-in-command Konan were waiting. "What is it, Konan-san?" He asked. She had been the one to actually call them, but she and Pain were rarely seen apart, if ever.
"We've gotten a request for a new mission, but something about it doesn't sit right with me." Konan told him.
"Itachi, you're familiar with the Howling Wolf Village, aren't you?" Pain asked.
"Reasonably so."
"That's why we wanted your opinion." Konan told him, "A clan there known as the Sendo has requested that we abduct a girl by the name of Amai and bring her to them. As a woman myself, I can't help but be a bit concerned about their reasons."
"Oh, so they've come to the Akatsuki now?" Kisame asked with interest before looking at Itachi, "But didn't that girl mention that she owed a large debt to that clan? Why would they need us?"
"You're familiar with the target herself?" Pain asked.
"She runs a tea shop that I visit when I'm in that village." Itachi replied simply, "It's true that she did owe a debt to the Sendo, but that debt was paid off nearly two months ago."
"Which brings us back to the question of what reasons they might have." Konan replied. "Is there anything particularly special about that girl?"
"She's a poor girl with no family." Itachi replied, "And her only talents are in cooking and making tea and sweets. However, I seem to recall that when I was last there, a member of the Sendo was trying to convince her to marry him. She responded by throwing him out."
"So that's it then." Konan remarked thoughtfully, "They want us to abduct her so they can force her to marry a clan member."
"Many of the Sendo are former shinobi. They would probably use genjutsu to coerce her." Itachi confirmed.
"What do you want to do, Konan?" Pain asked, "I can understand if you would prefer that we turn down this request."
"...No." Konan said slowly, "If we do that, it will damage our reputation, and they'll just find somebody else. Instead, I'm going to extend the terms of the mission."
"Oh?" Kisame asked with interest.
"Itachi, since you know both the area and the target, you and Kisame will take this one." Konan continued, "Abduct the girl and deliver her to the Sendo. However, instead of leaving after you've collected the reward, conceal yourselves and observe what happens. If they really do try to use genjutsu to force that girl into a marriage, then you will intervene and put a stop to it. As a woman, I cannot condone that type of action."
"I agree with Konan." Pain said with a nod, "It is something that conflicts with the ideals on which we built the Akatsuki."
"Understood." Itachi replied.
甘い
A few hours later, Itachi stood on a cliff overlooking Howling Wolf Village with Kisame.
"You okay with this?" Kisame asked, "I mean, you're pretty friendly with that girl, aren't you?"
"You've confused my fondness for sweets with a fondness for her." Itachi remarked flatly.
"Heh, heartless as always." Kisame remarked. Itachi closed his eyes. That's right. Everyone had to believe that about him. Kisame... and even Amai if necessary. He opened his eyes again and stood up.
"Amai should be just about to close up her shop. I'll go in alone. The villagers are used to that, and she'll be alarmed if you show up after hours with me."
"But she won't have a problem with just you?" Kisame asked.
"She's a naive girl who has chosen to trust me." Itachi replied.
"Heh, her parents should've picked a better name for her."
Itachi wasn't sure if he agreed or not.
The road is being faintly lit up by the pure moonlight
I wonder where it is that we're going to?
Amai was straightening up her shop after closing when she heard a knock at her door. "Who could that be?" She wondered aloud. She walked over to the door and opened it, looking slightly surprised, but not unhappy when she saw Itachi standing there. "Itachi-san!" She stood aside to let him in, "What are you doing here at this hour? Are you feeling fatigued from a mission again?"
"No..." Itachi began as he watched her shut the door, "I'm on a mission right now."
"Huh?" Amai asked in confusion. Her bewilderment grew as Itachi reached forward and grabbed her wrist, not tightly enough to hurt her, but firmly enough that she wouldn't be able to get free.
"Amai-san... I've been ordered to kidnap you and deliver you to the Sendo."
Amai's eyes widened in a way Itachi couldn't quite read, and then her gaze fell and she bit her lip, "...I see..."
"I warned you that this might happen." Itachi reminded her as he turned her around and began to bind her wrists behind her back.
"Yes... And I said that a shinobi can turn down a mission if they don't want to take it, even more so for someone without ties to a village... Which means that if you accepted this mission, then you must have a reason."
Itachi stopped for a moment, and then he resumed his task. "You still trust me, even now?"
"I do, because I know the real you, Itachi-san. I know that you would break your own heart over and over again to protect the things that you hold dear." Amai replied, "You can't fool me, Itachi-san. You said that the reason you're almost always using your Sharingan is to be able to see better, but I don't think that's true, or at least, not entirely. I think the real reason is that no matter how hard you try, you can't completely bury the pain within your heart, so no matter how distant you act or how much you pretend you don't care about anything, your eyes show the truth. I did a bit of research and learned that those with the Sharingan tend to subconsciously activate it when facing psychological stress. You can't deactivate it even if you want to. It only fades when you're exhausted, like on the night that you had that fever. I also know the 25th Rule of the Shinobi. 'A shinobi never allows personal feelings to interfere with the mission.' Even so... I trust you." Tears began to flow down Amai's face as she continued, "I know it's stupid and I know it's naive, but I can't help it, Itachi-san, because... I love you." Itachi froze at her words, but she didn't seem to notice, "It's okay if you don't return my feelings. I understand if you can't. Just know that no matter what you end up doing tonight, tomorrow, or any day after this, I will always love you."
Amai's tears continued to flow as Itachi wordlessly finished binding her hands, unable to say anything. He couldn't let his feelings show, not right now. When he finished, he turned Amai back around to face him. "I'm going to take the back way out." He told her, and she nodded, obviously understanding his reasons for that. Itachi picked the young woman up and slung her over his shoulder, making his way to her back door. He was mildly surprised by how light she was, and bitterly reminded that Izumi had also been very slender, and that he had liked that about her. As he exited the house, checking his surroundings for any auras that might prove problematic, he couldn't stop his gaze from drifting up toward the night sky.
On the night of the full moon, without a single sound
Something is vanishing, along with the city
It wasn't long before Itachi met back up with Kisame. "Any trouble?" The shark-man asked.
"No." Itachi replied as he set Amai on her feet, "She didn't attempt to resist, so I was able to take her quietly and without being noticed."
Kisame noticed the tears flowing down Amai's cheeks and grinned, "Don't worry, Amai-chan. Since you didn't try to fight back, Itachi-san didn't even have to put you under genjutsu. Just keep being a good girl and you won't get hurt." Amai quickly turned her head away from Kisame, nearly whacking Itachi's arm with her braid in the process before it settled onto her shoulder.
"That's enough, Kisame." Itachi said sternly, "Let's go." He took hold of Amai's upper arm.
"Right, we still have to deliver her to the client, after all." Kisame said with a nod as he strapped his sword to his back again.
Save for the occasional hitching of her breath, Amai remained silent as Itachi guided her to the rendezvous point, her head hanging. For his part, Itachi was deliberately avoiding looking at Amai, though neither she nor Kisame noticed this. The only thing Amai did notice was the gentleness of Itachi's grip on her arm, just enough to steer her in the right direction or prevent her from falling if she tripped.
Contrary to what Kisame had thought, Amai was not afraid of him and Itachi. Well, she would be afraid of Kisame if Itachi were not there, but she was still convinced that Itachi had no desire to harm her, and she had no plans to give him a reason to. The moment he had told her about his mission, she had decided that she would come along quietly, in order to spare him the pain that having to subdue her would bring. He'd been forced to hurt the people he cared for far too much as it was. Amai knew that, even if Itachi did not feel for her what she felt for him, she was still, at the very least, a friend. They had a bond that could not be severed, of that, she was certain.
What she was afraid of was the Sendo and their reasons for kidnapping her. If they were planning to force her into marrying Kane, then not only would her love go unrequited, but she would be forever separated from Itachi by something she could not escape. She was also upset that Itachi had been placed into the position of doing something that completely conflicted with who he really was. That was why she was crying.
When they reached the Sendo's hideout, several members of the clan were waiting for them, including Jiryuu and Kane. Jiryuu's brows arched in surprise when he recognized Itachi and, to a lesser extent, Kisame.
"Well this is a surprise. When we hired the Akatsuki, I never guessed that they would send you to fulfill our request." Jiryuu remarked.
"We brought the young lady to you, as requested." Kisame remarked, shoving Amai forward when Itachi released her arm. She cried out as she tripped and fell to the ground.
"Heh, I would never have pegged you as the type to befriend a girl and then betray her." Jiryuu remarked as he snapped his fingers, signaling a clansman to give the reward money to Itachi.
"It's dangerous to make judgments about people based on your perceptions of them." Itachi replied. He accepted the money, checked the amount, and then nodded to Kisame before the two of them disappeared.
Amai had not moved from where she had fallen when Kane walked up to her, cupping her chin and forcing her to look at him.
"My dear Amai..." He chided, "If only you'd accepted my proposal to begin with. Then your friend wouldn't have had to betray you. If he ever was your friend. I've heard that the members of Akatsuki are professionals with regards to their work as shinobi, but backstabbers in everything else."
"Why even go through them to start with, Kane?" Amai demanded. "You guys attack Rengyōdō openly all the time, so why the need to hire somebody else to kidnap me?"
"Well, I see your spirit is still intact." Kane remarked, "We'll have to fix that." Amai grunted and struggled as two of the men grabbed her by the arms and forced her to her feet.
"I'm afraid, Amai, that taking your ourselves was not an option." Jiryuu remarked, "You see, nobody in the village cares if we attack Rengyōdō, but you are another matter. Since you no longer owe money to us, they won't just simply turn a blind eye if we openly cause trouble for you. It doesn't matter now though. Now that we have you, you can either cooperate in your marriage ceremony, or we'll put you under a genjutsu and force you to say your vows."
"Just try it!" Amai explained before suddenly freeing herself from the two men and knocking them away from her using taijutsu.
"What?! But she was never a shinobi!" A member of the Sendo exclaimed in alarm as Amai formed a series of kata.
"Suiton dan! Orca!" Amai exclaimed, unleashing a torrent of water upon her captors, overwhelming some of them and forcing others to dodge. As the attack subsided, Amai suddenly found Kane standing directly in front of her, albeit several feet away, and she froze as his hand formed a seal.
"Impressive, Amai-chan." He remarked, "But unfortunately for you, I am a genjutsu-type, and I doubt you've ever been trained on how to free yourself from genjutsu. Now, come over here, my dear."
Amai numbly walked toward Kane, but she'd only taken a few steps when Itachi appeared beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kai!"
Amai blinked as awareness returned to her eyes and she turned and looked at Itachi. "Itachi-san!"
"You! What are you still doing here?!" Jiryuu exclaimed in alarm.
"You hired us to bring Amai to you." Itachi replied calmly, "That mission was complete once you had paid our fee. However, I was concerned about what you wanted with her, so I decided to observe. To think that you were planning on forcing my fiancé to marry a member of your clan!"
"Fiance?!" Jiryuu and a few of his clan members exclaimed. Amai turned bright red and unconsciously placed her hands on her cheeks in surprise.
Kisame had no idea what Itachi was doing, but he decided to play along, so he strode forward, "I'd hate to be the man that was trying to steal Uchiha Itachi's girl." He remarked casually.
"Uchiha..." Someone began.
"...Itachi?" Another finished.
Itachi removed his jingisa, revealing his Konoha forehead protector and the Sharingan.
One of the clan members yelled in fear, "It's really him! Uchiha Itachi... The Clan-Killer Itachi!"
Amai was just starting to remember herself when she saw the pattern in Itachi's eyes change. "Tsukuyomi." He said quietly. A moment later, all of the members of the Sendo Clan collapsed.
"It's dangerous for you to use that eye too much." Kisame remarked, "Was that really necessary?"
"Yes." Itachi said simply, "To ensure they don't make the mistake of trying this again."
"I... Itachi-san?" Amai asked, her voice laced with confusion. Itachi turned to her to explain.
"The actual mission given to us by our superiors had two parts." He told her, "The first was to abduct you and bring you to the Sendo as requested. The second was to find out what the Sendo wanted with you, and if it conflicted with our leader's ideals, to stop them."
Amai sighed in relief. "I see. But you couldn't tell me all that when you came to my place because there was a chance that you would just be leaving me."
Itachi nodded. Even though what she had said was not quite accurate, he knew that she understood his true reason. With that in mind, he turned to Kisame, "I will take Amai-san home."
"Sounds good to me." Kisame remarked before looking over at Amai. "Itachi-san's probably drained himself from using that technique, so will you keep an eye on him again tonight? He might just up and collapse if he tries to meet up with me."
"I'd be happy to." Amai said with a smile. Itachi mentally face-palmed. While Amai was undoubtedly sincere and had the purest of intentions in letting him rest at her home for the night, the same could not be said for Kisame. In reality, his partner was amused by Itachi declaring Amai to be his fiancé and had made the suggestion for the sake of "letting them be alone", which was more of a means to tease Itachi than anything. However, in her typical naïveté, Amai had missed Kisame's true intentions altogether.
甘い
"Sorry about all of this..." Itachi said when they had returned to Amai's home.
"Don't worry about it." Amai replied as she prepared dinner for them, "I told you before that I trust you. I knew that if you had accepted that mission, there had to be a reason. Besides, if you had truly planned to betray me to the Sendō, you wouldn't have bound me in a way that you knew I could escape from. When did you realize that I wasn't planning on letting them have their way without a fight?"
"When I saw you start using the escape jutsu that I taught you." Itachi replied. "I'm surprised you mastered that Suiton jutsu so quickly."
"I told you before, you're a good teacher." She replied, "If things had been different, I bet you would've made a wonderful instructor at the Academy in Konoha, or maybe a Jonin instructor for a team of Genin."
"I don't know if that would've been a good fit for the path that I wanted to walk." Itachi replied awkwardly.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Amai scolded, "The Second Hokage was a Jonin Instructor to the Third, the Third was a Jonin Instructor to the Sannin, and the Fourth was an instructor of Kakashi of the Sharingan! It would've been perfect for you!"
"I suppose you have a point..." Itachi conceded, "But if you knew that I wasn't really betraying you, then why were you crying?"
"A couple of reasons." Amai replied as she turned off the stove, "One was because even though I knew you'd given me an opening, there was no guarantee I'd be able to escape from the Sendō on my own, and I was correct in thinking that, since I got caught in that genjutsu."
"I apologize for that as well." Itachi remarked, "I should've had the forethought to teach you how to break free of genjutsu."
"...The second was because I was sad for you." Amai said, choosing not to respond to Itachi's comment.
"What do you mean?" Itachi asked in surprise
Amai set a bowl of stew down in front of him and then took her own seat, "I knew it had to be painful for you, to be required to place a friend in danger. I hated the fact that, because of me, you were having to suffer even more than you already have."
"None of this matter was your fault." Itachi pointed out.
"I know, but still..."
A few minutes of silence passed between them before Itachi spoke again. "I think you might be right. Being an instructor would've been a good fit for me. I actually have a student, you know."
"You do?" Amai asked in surprise.
Itachi nodded, "Not too many people know about this, but... there's another survivor of the clan besides my brother."
"There is?"
He nodded again, "About a year before... it happened... a member of the Uchiha was murdered. His wife, however, was not a member of the Uchiha Clan, but she knew about the way things were in the clan. She has a daughter, who is a year younger than Sasuke. Given the way things were, and the fact that her own clan had disowned her when she married into the Uchiha, she decided to take her daughter and leave Konoha in order to protect her. They've been living as civilians ever since then, and her daughter's name was removed from the clan's registry, so I didn't have to..." He paused for a moment, and then continued, "After I left Konoha, I managed to find them. Her mother is one of the few people who knows my secret. My student herself doesn't know about my involvement in the matter. The first time I visited them, she asked me to train her. I was hesitant at first, but... I guess I couldn't help but be a little worried about her safety. She possesses the Sharingan. If anyone found out about that, she'd be in danger, unless she knew how to use it, and that's not something she can learn from her mother. My student's dream is to someday return to Konoha as a member of the Uchiha Clan."
"What's her name?" Amai asked innocently.
"...Uchiha Aiko." He told her. "Her parents named her with the hope that she would never be consumed by the hatred that the Uchiha are prone to."
甘い
Later that night, Itachi sat on his futon and activated the jutsu that he and the other Akatsuki used to hold meetings over long distances. In his mind, he materialized in a room as a mere dark silhouette with a rainbow tint. Kisame appeared beside him in the same manner, and the other eight members of the group did the same, or otherwise already had.
"What happened on your mission, Itachi, Kisame?" Pain asked.
"It was as I suspected." Itachi replied, "The Sendō requested the abduction in order to force the girl to marry their bookkeeper."
"Did you put a stop to it?" Konan asked.
"Yeah, but we almost didn't need to." Kisame remarked, "That girl almost succeeded in rescuing herself. She's pretty good at escape jutsu and Suiton. I didn't expect that since she didn't even try to resist being captured, but I guess she was saving her strength for opponents more her level. Smart girl. Seems she's pretty weak against genjutsu though." He chuckled, "And get this, when we stepped in to stop them, Itachi told them she was his fiancé!"
"I did what was necessary to complete the mission." Itachi remarked flatly, "If I hadn't said that, they might have attempted the same thing again."
"Itachi is correct." Konan replied, "Without a considerable reason to stay away from the girl, those men would've just hired somebody else to do the same thing."
"Was it really necessary to concern ourselves with that?" Kakuzu asked in annoyance.
Konan shifted her gaze to him, "As a woman, I can't condone enabling a grown man to force a teenaged girl to marry him."
"But isn't there a chance that this will cause more trouble than its worth?" Sasori asked, "If word gets out that Uchiha Itachi has a lover, well, there are those who would try to use that to their advantage."
"Being engaged or married to somebody doesn't necessarily indicate an emotional attachment." Itachi replied, "The man who was targeting her tonight certainly has none."
"Exactly." Pain remarked, "There are many men in the world who view their wives as possessions."
"And who in the world would believe that 'The Clan-Killer Itachi' was emotionally attached to a woman anyway?" Hidan asked lightly.
"He is still a guy though, yeah?" Deidara pointed out, "Even if he doesn't care about a girl, that doesn't mean he wouldn't wanna have fun with one, hm!" Itachi groaned inwardly. That was not what he had been trying to imply.
"Itachi, do what you feel is necessary to make the Sendō believe your claim was true." Konan instructed, "Now that they've been told this, we need to make sure they understand that crossing the Akatsuki would not be in their best interest."
"Understood."
Itachi opened his eyes as the meeting ended. This time, he was sleeping in one of the unoccupied rooms of Amai's home. He wasn't running a fever this time, so there was no reason to share a room, and neither was about to suggest it for any other reason. He thought over the events of that night.
Amai's declaration of love... his declaring to the Sendō that she was his fiancé... He closed his eyes in thought. They were both only sixteen, still only teenagers, despite the otherwise very adult lives they led. To get married right now was absurd, and by the time they really were adults... well... who knew if he would even still be alive? Then again, it was necessary to ensure that Sendō believed he wasn't just blowing smoke. He cast his gaze toward the sky through the window.
"I'll settle this tomorrow."
We're starting to get into the thick of things now. I will point out, since I forgot to before, that the name of Amai's late sister, Adzuki, is a type of bean; specifically, the type used to make bean paste in Japan. Also, what Amai says to Itachi is basically the same thing that he says to Sasuke after defeating Kabuto, but in Japanese, the wording is slightly different. If this story were written in Japanese, she would have said "Anata wo zutto aishiteru", which means the exact same thing, but is more feminine and polite than the way that Itachi says it to Sasuke. Contrary to, well, most of the characters in the Naruto series, Amai uses more polite and proper dialogue when talking to others, which is probably a habit that she formed because of her occupation. Also, Kane, in this case, means "money". It has other meanings, but that is the meaning I had in mind for the bookkeeper.