"Are you sure you're all right with carrying me? I don't want to make you too tired." Koharu asked uncertainly as Itachi carried her up a set of stairs that ascended a mountainside.
"I'm fine, you don't weigh very much yet." Itachi assured her.
He continued up the stairs in silence for a while, before Koharu spoke, "It's so quiet here... but even so, this place is so vibrant and alive."
"Yeah." Itachi agreed, "I can't see things the way you see them, but the great many types of plants around us give this place a peaceful liveliness you wouldn't find anywhere else."
"The boatman said that the village we're going to demilitarized about a year ago. Do you know why?" Koharu asked. She was too young to be aware of such matters before.
"I'm not exactly sure." Itachi admitted. "Perhaps they grew tired of fighting battles and adopted a more peaceful way of living."
Koharu frowned, sensing Itachi's hopefulness upon saying that—she knew of his dream to put an end to all wars—but also sensing something else in the distance. "I wonder about that..." She said quietly. Itachi glanced at her in confusion before continuing forward. When he reached the top of the stairs, he set his young charge down and she took his hand as he led her toward the village up ahead. There were numerous stalls lining the road to the gate from this point.
"Come one, come all!" A vendor announced, "Our lycium barbarum is the raw material of war tonics! The tumeric is the coagulant used in Sunagakure!"
Koharu snorted in contempt, "I'll have to ask Sasori-san about that one. Why would a demilitarized village be selling war tonics anyway?"
"We have a multipurpose medicine here!" Somebody else called to Itachi as they suddenly ran from their stall to meet the pair. "Dab it on your wounds. If your little sister gets a cold, one teaspoon will be all she needs! Two teaspoons will cure a hangover! It's extracted from Mount Myoboku's toad oil and is a cure-all of every disease."
Koharu scoffed again, "Do we look like idiots to you?! Colds are viral and don't have a cure! Sensei isn't even old enough to drink! And there's definitely no such thing as a cure-all for every disease! Is that stuff even safe to consume?! And you should really get your eyes checked, because even I know that he and I look nothing alike and I'm blind!" The vendor's eyes widened at the child's outburst and he quickly scampered away.
No sooner had the toad-oil vendor left than somebody else appeared before them and spoke to Itachi. "Hey dude! You look like a wreck! Those lines on your face are due to your stomach!"
"I was born with these lines." Itachi said flatly, causing the man to sweat-drop.
"Well, anyway, you still don't seem well. But don't worry! My crow-dipper works wonderfully! If you consume it with cordyceps fungus, you'll feel way better!"
"Consume this!" Koharu exclaimed before suddenly striking the man's stomach using Gentle Fist and sending him flying backwards, stunning the crowd. Koharu sighed in exasperation and glared at the other vendors, "Now, does anyone else want to offer a completely random false diagnosis or try to sell us something of questionable content?!"
The crowd had frozen, but Itachi, seeing his student's reaction as problematic, gently grabbed ahold of her collar to pull her away. "Enough, Koharu." He warned her as he pulled her in the direction of the gate. Koharu huffed in frustration, but didn't protest.
"We don't discriminate against sick people in this village!" A man at the gate announced with a bullhorn, "We share our medicines with everyone! However, being that this is a neutral country, those who own forbidden weapons will be considered dangerous individuals and will be severely punished!"
"Maybe you should consider that pack of animals as dangerous." Koharu told the guard as she approached with Itachi, gesturing at the crowd behind her. "Honestly, doesn't this place have any laws about selling snake oil?!" The guard sweat-dropped and Koharu sighed, "Never mind. Where in this village can we find the Kodon Clan?"
"I can't imagine what you'd want with them, but... the Kodon Shrine is to the west of the village. Try there." The guard replied.
Koharu sighed in exasperation and turned her head toward Itachi, "Sensei, let's take the side streets. I won't be able to handle continuing down the main road like this."
Itachi nodded to his young charge and led her away from the main thoroughfare, leaving the guard utterly confused.
"What's the matter?" Itachi asked, wondering why Koharu was suddenly in such a foul mood.
"The people selling medicine along the road are all quacks, and when I asked about the Kodon Clan, the guard's chakra flared with contempt. The same kind of contempt that Naruto and I faced in Konoha. Hatred for things beyond our control." The little girl sighed sadly, "Isn't there at least one decent person in this town?" Suddenly the child stopped and directed her attention to the side of the road, "Hey, Sensei, what is this place?" She asked.
"Hm?" Itachi looked where Koharu was pointing, "It's a traditional cafe." He couldn't help but wonder why she had asked. Koharu couldn't even see buildings and there wasn't a particularly strong smell of food here.
"Then let's get something to eat while we're here." She said decisively, "You need to restore your energy after carrying me and this is your preferred type of establishment."
Itachi raised a brow at this, but nonetheless led his student inside. He suspected she had an ulterior motive, but also knew that, as young as she was, Koharu wasn't the type to do pointless things.
They walked in to find a young lady, presumably about Itachi's age, clearing a table. Upon hearing their footsteps, she looked up at the pair. "Oh!" She exclaimed while setting down her load and hurrying over to greet them. "Welcome to Amai no Amai. Please have a seat. I'll take your order whenever you're ready."
Itachi nodded and walked to a slightly secluded table and helped Koharu into her seat before taking his own and scanning the menu. "We'll both have some green tea." He told the young woman, "Chiffon cake will be fine for her. I'll take botchan dango with anko."
Koharu glared at Itachi sternly. "Sensei, you need more substance than that. Stairs or not, you just carried me up a mountain, and despite your claim about me being light, I'm fully aware that I weigh close to 25 kilograms."
"Koharu, I'm fine." Itachi replied, but she crossed her arms.
"Forgive my impertinence, but who's the medic here?" When Itachi sighed in defeat, Koharu looked at the shopkeeper. "Some onigiri will suffice. Sensei prefers konbu, but I like mine plain. I'll also take some red bean soup with dumplings and strawberry mochi if you have it."
The girl blinked in surprise, "Can you really eat all of that?" She asked.
"For reasons I won't go into, my chakra reserves require constant replenishing." Koharu answered, "As a result, I have a very high metabolism and eat a great deal more than most children my age." She smiled wryly at that thought as the young woman nodded and headed to the kitchen.
"What is it?" Itachi asked as he noticed her expression.
"Oh I was just thinking..." Koharu replied, "Papa used to always complain about how much food Naruto and I would eat. He claimed that both of us were bottomless pits. But the one who can really put it away is Hinata-chan." She giggled, "If Naruto and I were bottomless pits, then her stomach is a black hole. I don't know where she puts it all!" Her eyes became clouded with sadness. "I miss them..."
Itachi frowned and reached over to pat her head sympathetically. At that moment, the shopkeeper came back with their food.
"Um, forgive my asking, but are you really a medic?" She asked Koharu.
"I learned about medicine from my father. I started when I was four, so I've been learning for four years now." Koharu answered, trying to prevent her emotions from leaking into her voice.
"Oh I see." The girl said, "That's really amazing. I know a boy from the Kodon Clan who is studying to become an herbalist, but he's a long way from getting his license."
"Wow, you mean they actually have licenses here? I was beginning to think that this village was just full of quacks who don't actually know anything about the human body." Koharu deadpanned. The girl chuckled nervously and Koharu looked thoughtful, "You said he's from the Kodon Clan? Maybe you can help us then."
"Hm? How so?" Their hostess asked.
"We actually came to this place to obtain medicine made using the Kodon Clan's Kotarō." Koharu explained.
"I see..." The young woman replied as she frowned thoughtfully, "However... Reishi-kun is only the same age as you. He may not be able to make what you're needing."
"If he knows how to make Kotarō, then that's enough." Koharu replied, "I can instruct him on the rest. This medicine could, in theory, be created without Kotarō, but it would be far less effective."
"I see." The girl said, "Well then, after your meal, I'll be happy to take you—"
"Amai!" A voice called sharply, and the girl couldn't help but jump slightly before turning toward its owner.
"Oh! Lord Jiryuu!" She exclaimed as she rushed over to greet the man.
Itachi frowned at the unmistakable note of fear in her voice as she addressed the newcomer. He glanced at Koharu, who would have a better idea of exactly what the young woman was feeling, but her expression was unreadable. He suspected that, as time passed, he would be able to guess what she was thinking when she wore such an expression, but as of the moment, he didn't know her quite well enough.
"Welcome sir. How can I help you?" Amai asked, and Itachi couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Inspite of her friendly smile and polite posture, the girl's shoulders were visibly tense in the presence of this older man.
Lord Jiryuu, as Amai had called him, brushed past the young woman without answering her and approached Itachi and Koharu's table. "Pardon my interruption, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation just now. You say you've come to this village to obtain Kotarō?" Even though Koharu was the one who had been asking Amai about it, Jiryuu was directing his question at Itachi. Itachi's eyes were narrowed further, but he nodded slightly. The man chuckled as he reached into his kimono, "Well then, you're in luck. I happen to have some—"
"Save your breath." Koharu said flatly, "We won't be buying whatever counterfeit drug you're selling. We came here to buy real medicine, not whatever imitation you carry."
Jiryuu gaped at her, "Wha—you're just a child! What would you know about—"
"I can spot a liar a mile away, somewhat literally." Koharu cut him off, "Whatever it is you're selling, it's not the Kotarō that we came here for. And your eagerness to sell this counterfeit indicates that you would profit highly from it, which means it's probably addictive and most likely dangerous to boot. Furthermore, you're blackmailing Amai-san, aren't you?" She added, "You're mad that she was going to take us to the appropriate supplier instead of you. Her fear of you makes it obvious that you have some kind of hold over her. And you didn't 'just happen' to overhear of our conversation. Somebody has been watching this shop since before our arrival. For that matter, somebody else was watching us from the moment we entered the village to when we set foot in this store. Though I may be physically blind, I can easily see the truth."
The man looked enraged and reached for Koharu, "Why you little—!" He was stopped by Itachi grabbing his wrist, the teenager leveling him with a deadly glare.
"You will not lay a hand on my student." The Uchiha warned. The man glared at him and jerked his arm free with a grunt.
"Your student has a pretty smart mouth on her." He said indignantly.
"And yet, you don't deny anything that she just said." Itachi replied evenly, "Even if she were not here to expose you, I would not have accepted what you were offering to sell. I'm not so foolish as to buy something without being able to verify its authenticity, especially with regards to medicine. For all I would know, your 'Kotarō' could actually be a poison intended to kill me."
"Huh?" Amai said in confusion, "Why would you be so quick to consider that scenario?"
Itachi glanced at her, "There isn't a shinobi alive who doesn't face that threat."
"The fact that you are shinobi means nothing!" Jiryuu exclaimed, "In case you haven't heard, possession of weapons is illegal in this country!"
"A skilled shinobi doesn't need a weapon to be dangerous." Koharu said flatly, "Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu... any of these techniques can be used to kill somebody without so much as a kunai. There are even those of us who can form weapons using only our chakra."
Amai frowned, her eyes clouding over as she put a hand to her forehead. It was a movement that Koharu did not fail to notice.
Jiryuu evidently chose to ignore Koharu and glared at Itachi instead, "The members of my clan keep an eye out for newcomers to scout out potential customers. As for Amai, she happens to owe us money, so it's necessary to keep an eye on her."
"Pardon my rudeness, Lord Jiryuu, but that's entirely unnecessary." Amai said, "It's not as if I could skip town. Where would I go? I'm a thirteen-year-old girl with no family who dropped out of the training program five years before this village demilitarized. As inexperienced as I am with the world beyond the village, I'm smart enough to know that I could not survive in it on my own, and if I had money to hire someone to escort me to somewhere else, I wouldn't be in your debt to begin with."
Koharu narrowed her eyes at this. It wasn't that Amai was lying, but there was still something strange about her chakra when she said this.
Jiryuu looked over at Amai and smirked, "I suppose you're right about that, Amai. It's not like you have anybody to turn to. The only person who would bother with you is that Kodon brat, and he's hardly in a position to help you." Koharu's eyes narrowed further. Jiryuu clearly knew something that Amai did not.
"Enough." The little girl told him, gaining his attention, "Let us eat our meal in peace or we'll report you to the local authorities."
Jiryuu looked at her in annoyance, "On what charge?"
"False advertising, for one thing." Itachi said, "Attempting to swindle people for another. We came here for a particular type of medicine. You attempted to sell us a dangerous counterfeit whilst claiming that it was the real thing." Jiryuu seemed to a pale a little before nodding and heading out the door, although not before casting a warning glance at Amai.
Amai sighed quietly, "I apologize for that. I can't really do anything to stop him from coming in when he wants to."
"There's nothing to apologize for." Itachi replied as he went back to his food.
"It's not your fault." Koharu agreed, "He's the worst of swine. Taking advantage of your situation... preying upon ignorance... A man like him should be imprisoned." Her face became troubled, "They would never have allowed that kind of thing back home..." Amai looked confused, but Koharu continued as if she hadn't said that last part, "The debt isn't yours. It's your parents', isn't it?"
"How did you...?"
"You mentioned that you don't have a family. Given the way that you despise that man, the fact that you owe him money is odd." Koharu explained, "Given the fact that he sells an addictive counterfeit drug, it's easy to conclude that your parents fell prey to his scheme and that their addiction eventually led to their deaths. When they passed away, he forced you to take responsibility for the money they owed. Most countries have long since abandoned the concept of children being forced to repay their parents' deaths postmortem, which means that there is some reason that you can't go to the police about it."
Amai looked down, "You really see through everything, huh?" Itachi noticed tears lining her eyes as she spoke, "You're right. There's a reason that I can't go to the police. It's because it's my fault that my parents died..."
"What do you mean?" Koharu asked.
"My... my little sister became sick, but... We didn't have any money and... nobody was willing to treat her for free. Nobody except for Kodon Reishi... But like I said, he's the same age as you. He didn't really know what was wrong or how to help her. When she passed away, my grief overwhelmed me. In my despair, I threw the drugs into the lake. My parents drowned themselves trying to retrieve it."
"I would hardly say that's your fault." Koharu stated simply, "The adults of this village abandoned and betrayed you."
"Perhaps..." Amai said quietly, "But Lord Jiryuu said that if I tried to go to the police for help, he'd tell everyone that I murdered my parents, and they'll believe him over me."
The younger girl turned her head toward Itachi, "Sensei, how come grownups are so stupid?" Itachi frowned, seeing the pain in Koharu's eyes as she asked this question. He knew she was referring not just to the Howling Wolf Village, but to Konoha as well.
"I suppose that... as time goes on... their thought process becomes so complex that they begin to overthink things." Itachi replied slowly. He watched in surprise as Koharu climbed out of her seat and moved around the table to sit next to him.
"Sensei... don't ever become a grownup." She whimpered softly, clinging to Itachi's cloak and burying her face in his side. Itachi's face saddened as he stroked Koharu's hair, watching as she sobbed quietly into his cloak. Most people had said that he already thought like an adult by the time he was her age, but even so... the true meaning of her request was clear. She didn't want Itachi to ever become someone who would abandon the people who needed him the most, somebody who left a child like herself or Amai to fend for themselves. True, he had left Sasuke behind in Konoha, but he had received promise from the Hokage that his younger brother would be taken care of. Sasuke would never be like Koharu, forced to flee from her own home because of powers she never asked for, or like himself, forced to slay the people he loved because of a quarrel that he wanted no part of, nor would he ever be like Amai, left to fend for herself in a village of ravenous wolves.
"Don't worry, Koharu." Itachi told her gently, "I won't abandon you."
"Naruto..." Koharu whimpered before turning her face toward Itachi, "I'm worried about Naruto..." Itachi's eyes widened as she continued, "What's happened to him since that night? What did he find when he came home? Is anyone... even taking care of him now...?" Itachi's eyes softened in understanding as she continued. "It's my job... I'm supposed to protect him and maintain his seal... Nobody else in the village can do it... But I can't go back and he's... he's all alone..."
"Naruto-kun will be all right." Itachi assured her, "Sandaime will never allow anything to happen to him. I'm sure all of this has caused him pain, just like it has for you, but... Naruto-kun is strong. He won't allow something like this to crush him. I'm sure of it. Someday, he will become the Hokage." When Koharu seemed unconvinced, Itachi stroked her hair, "Don't worry. Naruto-kun is the brightest light in all of Konoha. He's a sun that will never lose its light."
"No..." Koharu said slowly, "Not a sun... He's a flame. That's what I've always thought about him. Naruto isn't as bright as the sun or hot-tempered like a pepper. That's how Papa described his parents. But Naruto... he's warm and comforting, like the flames of a campfire." Itachi nodded in agreement before she suddenly appeared troubled again. "But I'm the one who's supposed to make sure that he doesn't burn out control..."
"Don't worry..." Itachi said gently, "The Fourth Hokage's seal isn't that weak. He'll be all right."
Koharu contemplated this and then smiled up at him. "Yeah!"
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"Um, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to the two of you?" Amai asked Itachi as she guided them to the place where Kodon Reishi lived. Koharu was walking a little ways ahead of them and Amai had lowered her voice so that the child wouldn't hear.
"Koharu and I were betrayed by the adults of our village, who feared our individual visual prowesses." Itachi answered, trying to keep his explanation as simple as possible. "I took her under my wing as her father's last request. He was murdered while trying to protect her from harm. However, the both of us have younger brothers there that we can't help but worry about."
"Oh?" Amai said in surprise, "I didn't think that Konoha was that kind of place. It has a reputation of being the most compassionate of shinobi villages."
"Even the most vibrant green tree has darkness in its roots." Itachi remarked, even though Amai would be unable to catch his reference in that statement. "Koharu's younger brother is actually the same age as her. He's only younger by a few months. His parents died when he was born, and Koharu's father, a relative of his mother, took Naruto-kun in."
"I take it he's a Jinchuuriki?" Amai asked. When Itachi cast her a questioning glance, she laughed a little, "I'm inexperienced with the world, but not totally uninformed. She mentioned that her brother had a 'seal' and their age roughly corresponds with what I've heard about the Kyuubi incident in Konoha."
Itachi nodded, quietly marveling at the girl's intelligence. Even in Konoha, only a handful of his peers had been able to analyze information so flawlessly. "Koharu's father was a specialist in fuinjutsu, and the only person who knew how to reinforce Naruto-kun's seal if it should weaken. Koharu has already learned many of her clan's hiden jutsu, and thus, she considers it her responsibility to watch over Naruto-kun, even though that's impossible now. Besides, he's her younger brother, and while the age difference may be slight, there is a noticeable difference in maturity. They've both grown up as outcasts, but Koharu is much stronger than her brother, while Naruto-kun is more than a little reckless. She's always considered it to be her job to keep him out of trouble and to patch him up when he gets into scrapes."
Amai laughed softly again, "That's called maternal instinct. Women such as ourselves have a natural inclination to watch over those younger than us."
病
Before long, the trio reached a small house behind the Kodon Shrine and Amai introduced them to Kodon Reishi, who was rather surprised by the reason for their visit.
"You know I'm not actually an herbalist yet, right?" He asked Koharu.
"As long as you know how to compound medicine and can follow instructions, it will be fine." She assured him, "But you're the only person who can make Kotarō and the medicine will be of limited use without it."
Reishi sighed, "Oh all right. Come on in." He turned and walked into the house, momentarily stopping as a much younger child toddled up to him, babbling nonsensically.
"Nii-nii!" The child exclaimed, holding his arms up.
"Oh, Amai-san didn't tell us that you had a younger brother." Koharu said, even though she had sensed it long before they reached the house.
"This is Kina." Reishi replied as he picked his younger brother up and rested him on his hip. "I'll have to find a way to keep him occupied while I fill your request."
Koharu seemed troubled, "The two of you are alone? Doesn't anybody help you?"
"To be honest, the villagers wouldn't mind if we both dropped dead." Reishi deadpanned, "But never mind that. What exactly are you needing anyway?"
"Eye drops to relieve the pain caused by Sensei's ocular justu." Koharu replied, "And also a strong sedative. Something that can temporarily slow his flow of chakra."
Reishi frowned, "Both of those will require Coarse Kotarō, which has dangerous side effects. The eye drops will cause temporary blindness, and the sedative will cause a searing pain to the lungs and contaminate the blood."
"The blindness won't be a big problem." Itachi replied, "My vision is already weakening anyway."
"As for the latter," Koharu began, "I know of a way to remove the toxins to prevent further damage to his body. My grandpa in Yugakure taught me how to do it."
"Eh... It sounds like you're a great byouninja even though you're only my age." Reishi said with interest, "Maybe someday, you'll even surpass the great Tsunade!"
"That would require being able to see things in a more normal sense." Koharu replied, "At any rate, we're also in need of something that I can administer daily to lower inflammation."
"Mm... anti-inflammatories don't make use of Kotarō, so I haven't learned anything about them yet." Reishi admitted.
"If it would be of any help..." Amai said, "I think I know of something that might be suitable. It's an herbal tea remedy that my mother taught to me."
"Oh? That treats inflammation too?" Reishi asked with interest.
"Yes." Amai said with a nod, "It's kind of an herbal equivalent to Ibuprofen, but none of the ingredients are poisonous in any way, so it doesn't pose any sort of risk to the kidneys."
"Amai-san, I think you know more about medicine then all of the vendors on Main Street combined." Koharu remarked with a grin, causing Amai to laugh slightly.
"I think everything's been decided upon then." Reishi said with a nod, "However, it will take a full week for me to make the Kotarō. Can you wait until then?"
"Yes, that's no trouble." Koharu said with a nod before turning to Amai, "Amai-san, in the meantime, we'll go back to your store so that you can compound the tea. However, I need to speak to Reishi-kun privately for a moment." Itachi and Amai both nodded and walked outside to wait for her. Koharu turned back toward Reishi. "I'm sorry to ask something so random, but... do you know anything about a genjutsu placed upon Amai-san?"
"Huh?" Reishi said in confusion, "Why would you ask that?"
"When she mentioned her childhood at the cafe, her chakra was temporarily disturbed. It's the same kind of disturbance caused by genjutsu." Koharu explained, "Jiryuu also seemed to know that what she was saying wasn't correct, and was taking advantage of it."
Reishi blinked and then sighed, "Amai-neechan doesn't know this, but... when the village declared neutrality, her father erased her memories of her training and replaced them with false memories using a genjutsu. He did it to protect her from the feeling that the time she'd spent training was futile, but it hasn't really protected her at all. Before he did that, she was really strong. I'm the only one that knows this, but... in a way, she saved the whole village by distracting Roen long enough for my father to seal him, although she only faced it to protect her younger sister. If she remembered what she can do, she'd be able to defend herself."
"And I take it that in turn, she was the only person who knew that your father sealed Roen inside of Kina-chan?"
"How did you...?"
"I sensed it when we came within a kilometer of this place." Koharu told him. "My own little brother is a Jinchuuriki, so I'm very familiar with the feeling of somebody who holds a second chakra inside of their body."
"...I see..." Reishi replied.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone besides Sensei." Koharu said with a smile. "That's the last thing that the parasites of this village should know about."
"Thanks." Reishi said with an awkward smile.
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When they had returned to Amai's shop, Koharu told Itachi about what she had learned while Amai prepared the tea.
"I see..." Itachi said quietly. "So she only thinks that she dropped out of the program..."
"Her father was probably trying to protect her, but I think it turned out to be the opposite." Koharu said, "Because she doesn't remember, she's basically defenseless and at that man's mercy. However, Sensei, with your visual prowess, you should be able to release the genjutsu."
Itachi frowned thoughtfully, "Would that really be the best idea though? Her father may have been trying to protect her from things that would be painful to remember..."
"As opposed to the painful memory of losing her entire family and thinking that it's her fault?" Koharu asked bluntly before shaking her head, "A shinobi is one who endures. Besides... Papa once told me that everything we experience holds an important lesson that we should not forget. Amai-san can't remember those lessons as long as she's trapped in that illusion."
Itachi's frown deepened, but he nodded in understanding before looking up as Amai came forward with the finished tea mixture. "Here we go. It's best to take it cold if there's a fever, but otherwise, either way is fine."
Koharu nodded and Itachi stood up to face the young woman. "Amai-san." He said softly, just loud enough to get her attention.
"Huh?" Amai asked in confusion. "What is it, Itachi-san?" The moment she turned her head to look at him, her eyes met Itachi's Sharingan and she was instantly caught in his doujutsu, although in this case, Itachi was using it only as a means to unlock her true memories within her mind.
After a few minutes—although it probably seemed much longer to Amai and Itachi—Itachi released her from his Sharingan and she fell forward in shock, although the young man gently caught her and supported her.
"Forgive me." Itachi apologized, "Maybe you would've preferred that I hadn't done that."
Amai shook her head, "No. I'm grateful that you did." She assured him before closing her eyes as tears flowed down her cheeks, "I just don't understand. Why did my parents...?"
"They were trying to protect you." Itachi said gently, "They probably foresaw what their own dispositions would be after the village demilitarized and wanted to protect you from those feelings. They didn't want you to suffer from the feeling that all of your efforts in the years prior had been in vain."
"How foolish." Amai lamented, "As long as I was able to protect Adzuki that night, it would always be worth it." Itachi nodded in understanding and Amai gripped the sleeve of his cloak in frustration, "Besides, if I had been able to remember, maybe I could've protected them... maybe they and Adzuki would still be here."
"Perhaps." Itachi acknowledged, "But it might've turned out to be the opposite. The villagers might've come to fear your power and destroyed all four of you. In the end, at least you survived. Your parents and sister would prefer the way it is to the way it would've been. They would want at least you to live."
Amai took a deep breath to steady herself and then straightened up while meeting Itachi's eyes again, "Perhaps this is asking too much, but... I want you to tell me what happened to you. It's clear to me now that we are the same, and the burdens we carry are similar. You are so kind, Uchiha Itachi. That's why... I want to know how you came to be like me." Itachi's eyes widened slightly and Amai laughed with a bittersweet smile, "I told you before, I'm not totally uninformed. Your given name is Itachi and you come Konohagakure. I figured it out even before you revealed your Sharingan." She shrugged, "I just didn't care. I suppose I should, but I don't. It isn't good to judge others by your preconceptions of them. This village doesn't even bother with Bingo Books anymore and they've got things so backwards on who is trustworthy and who is not that bothering to worry about what they might think or say is a waste of time."
Itachi smiled wryly and sighed in resignation. "Very well. But it's a long story, so you might want to sit down."
"No." Koharu said suddenly, having remained quiet all this time, "Sensei, you need to lie down. Even though you weren't using the Mangekyō, the flow of your chakra has accelerated too much. You need to rest. You can tell Amai-san about what happened to us after you've settled into a bed."
Amai sighed in amusement and looked at Itachi, "Well, doctor's orders. Follow me. You can stay the night in my spare bedroom."
病
Koharu smiled softly to herself. After Amai had insisted that Itachi was not to blame for the destruction of his clan, the teenaged girl had wound up crying herself to sleep with her head upon Itachi's chest. Itachi, momentarily forgetting the presence of his young student, had also fallen asleep while running his fingers through the loosest part of Amai's braid.
This was why Koharu had insisted on visiting the cafe in the first place. She had sensed that Amal's sorrow was similar to Itachi's own and had believed that both teenagers would benefit from interacting with one another. Seeing them together, it was like their chakra resonated with one another. When she became older, Koharu would learn that this resonance indicated that two people were a good match for one another, but as of right now, she was still too young to understand or think of such things. However, the resonance between Itachi and Amai caused Koharu to frown as she thought of something else that she had never really thought about too deeply before.
Notes: So I decided to add in a couple of chapters about Itachi and Koharu's first visit to Howling Wolf Village. It was originally going to just be one chapter, but it was becoming too long.