"Amai, we're going to the Harvest Moon Festival in town tonight. Do you want to join us?" Miria asked at lunch later that day.

"There's going to be mochi and sweet potatoes!" Three-year-old Jagaima exclaimed in excitement.

Amai smiled sadly, "Thank you, but I think I'll stay here."

"Is everything all right?" Rino asked.

"Yes, but... the full moon reminds me of my husband." Amai admitted, "So I'm afraid I don't feel much like celebrating. But don't worry, I'll be all right. You guys have fun and don't worry about me."

"If you insist..." Miria replied.

甘い

Amai saw Miria and her family off later that evening, about an hour before sunset. She went back into the house by herself and ate a quiet supper that Miria had prepared for her. Honestly, although she enjoyed their family and was grateful for their hospitality, she was also glad for a bit of peace and quiet. The hustle and bustle of a house with children was something she hadn't experienced in a long time. She placed a hand on her stomach at that thought. "I suppose I should enjoy these little moments while they last." She frowned at the thought that when her own child came, she would be on her own, without someone to aid her in the trials of child-rearing, but then sighed and shook her head. "I can't keep moping like this."

She headed outside and walked into the open space between the house and the barn, staring up at the moon and frowning slightly. She had known the moon would be full, and that the harvest moon was always larger than average, but it seemed even bigger than normal, and it was blood red. She couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with the war that was taking place somewhere else in the world. Without really thinking about it, a song began to drift from her lips, "The moon of this night is for some mysterious reason one size bigger—And it shines brighter than it usually does." She thought of Itachi and the many times he would make his way home to her on moonlit nights like this one, his heart often heavy, but comforted by the knowledge that she'd be there to welcome him. "Curling up your back, you'd trudge down the road that would lead you to your home—No matter what, your supporter would be there." Itachi had always refused to cry, no matter what burdens he was carrying, but he had never once belittled Amai for the times that she would cling to him, bury her face in his chest, and just sob, and she remembered what he'd told her once. "It is okay to cry without saying anything—If all your tears dry up, it will be the end." She thought of how he wasn't here for her to rely on anymore, and strengthened her resolve. "More than I am now, I have to get much stronger—Sadness is the first step to standing on my own!" She slowly sat down, placing a hand on her belly in thought. "If I am hurt countless times, will I ultimately forget pain?" Taking in the red color of the moon, she thought of the things Itachi had been forced to do, "If you shed crimson blood, you would remember the thing that is most important!" She laid back in the grass, spreading out her limbs in an attempt to get comfortable. "Collapsing on the road in a spread-eagle—I look up at the sky and believe..." She remembered Sasuke, who had lost his entire family, including Itachi. What he had shared with his former comrades could not fill that void. That was why he was like a mere shell of his former self now and was doing crazy things. "That true loneliness is a person whose past is gone. A person who just knows the present." Her attention returned to the moon and she attempted to guess the size it had been the night before with her hand, "The moon of yesterday, exactly what kind of dimensions did it have? I make the shape by using the palm of my hand." She thought over the entirety of her life, both the past and the future, and the child within her belly. "From that day that I was born until that day that I go to the next world—There surely will be things that I'll overlook." As the wind blew through the trees and the leaves drifted by, Amai thought of the members of the Hidden Leaf that Itachi had spent his life protecting from the shadows, and now they were fighting for their lives on a battlefield somewhere, "Your comrades, I do not have them here alongside me. They're living in another place, somewhere else!" Wincing at a kick from the baby, she rubbed her stomach and thought of how there were surely those who knew the truth about Itachi and would support her on that basis alone. "However, if, just if, something should happen, then—It seems that they'd always come running to help me."

She looked back up at the blood moon. She truly hated war, just as Itachi had. Why was this happening? Why was he gone? Why was her family gone? Why had the two of them suffered as they had? "If I am hurt countless times, will the moon finally start waning?" She felt another kick and thought of the future that awaited her, "If the daybreak is near, then your ordeals will also silently vanish." She stood up carefully, brushing the dirt off of her dress before straightening her posture, "Brushing off dirt and getting back to my feet—I'll straighten up and hold my head high."

Looking back up at the moon, Amai's eyes widened and her frown deepened. Something akin to the Sharingan had appeared on its surface. That could not be good in any way, shape, or form. Without really worrying about the "how", she instantly questioned why anybody would do something like that, and only one thought came to her mind: to cast an extremely wide-scale genjutsu. It was the only purpose that she could even begin to see for such a thing, and it filled her with the immediate need to escape, to hide. But where exactly? She turned toward the house slightly and her eyes fell upon the doors leading to the cellar. Among other things, the cellar served the purpose of protecting the family from tornadoes. If it could keep out gale-force winds, it should be able to block out light! She moved toward the cellar as quickly as she could manage. Honestly, why was she so big at only five months? Despite that, she somehow manage to open the doors, lower herself inside, and close them behind her. She gripped the wall until she found the small torch that sat there and used a tiny fireball to light it. She had never been able to master even the most basic Fire Jutsu that Itachi had shown her, but it still worked for things like this. She walked farther into the cellar and used the torch to light a lamp that hung in the middle of the room before extinguishing the first object. She sighed with relief, feeling that she had somehow just managed to escape something awful. Suddenly she heard something behind her, as if the ground were shifting or stretching and quickly turned around, cautiously gripping the hilt of the kodachi that Itachi had given to her. Her eyes widened in utter confusion and her body tensed as a few white creatures that looked vaguely human pulled themselves up out of the ground.

"What do you know?" One of them remarked, "It seems like Itachi's wife is just as sharp as he was. To have managed to hide herself when she doesn't even know what's going on."

"Wh-who are you?" Amai managed nervously. She and Itachi had told almost nobody about their marriage, and she was fairly certain that even Uchiha Madara hadn't known the true depth of their relationship.

"We are called White Zetsu." One of the creatures answered, "Put down that sword. If you try to use it, the most likely scenario is that harm will come to your child."

"It will be troublesome to try and drag her outside into the light." The third said, "Let's show her whose progeny she is really carrying first."

Amai coughed as something was blown into her face and she passed out.

甘い

Ootsutsuki Indra was overseeing the training of his followers when he felt something—or rather, someone—spontaneously appear nearby. Frowning, he headed toward the edge of the settlement to investigate.

"Indra?" His wife, Haruka called in confusion. She probably hadn't sensed what he had.

"I'll be back momentarily." He told her, leaving her somewhat bewildered. Haruka didn't bother to question him, however. He often kept her in the dark about certain things, and she accepted that fact.

It didn't take long for Indra to find the person that he had sensed, but his eyes widened in shock at what he saw. Lying in the middle of the field, flat on her back, was a heavily pregnant young woman. Maybe the same age that Haruka had been when they first met or so. She appeared to be unconscious, but the far bigger question was who was she, why was she here, and where the heck was her husband?

"Hey. Wake up."

Amai groaned and opened her eyes to find a man, maybe ten years older than her or so, leaning over her. His features were somehow soft and delicate, reminding her vaguely of Sasuke, but the wild brown hair flowing down his back made it very clear to her that this man was not her brother-in-law. He didn't even quite look like an Uchiha, and frankly, she would've been shocked if he had. Judging by his appearance, however, he did appear to be some kind of noble. She pushed that out of her mind, groaning again as she tried to sit up, which the stranger helped her to do. "Where am I?" She asked.

"You don't know?" He asked with a quizzical expression.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking." Amai remarked in slight annoyance, mostly due to the pounding headache she had. "The last thing I remember, it was night, and I was in a cellar, but now it is very much not night and this is very much not a cellar." She glanced around, her expression becoming further confused, "In fact, this doesn't appear to be anywhere near the farm. The terrain looks wrong too. Am I still in the Land of Honey?"

"The Land of Honey?" He asked incredulously, "That's at least two days away. This is the Land of Fire."

"The Land of Fire?!" She exclaimed in shock, "How in the world did I get here?!" Her expression panicked, she turned and looked at her waist, her face growing fearful.

"Are you looking for this?" The man asked while holding up her kodachi, scabbard and all, "I wasn't willing to take the chance that you would try to attack upon waking. There's nothing you could do to me, but you would be endangering yourself, and..." Without bothering to finish his thought, his eyes drifted to her stomach to imply his meaning.

Amai sighed slightly in relief, although she was still frightened. "I understand, but please return it to me now. That sword was a gift from my husband."

"And where exactly is your husband?" The man demanded to know.

Amai sighed quietly, "I... I'm a widow, actually. My husband died shortly after I conceived."

"I see." The man replied while looking down at the kodachi with an appraising look, "Was your husband of noble birth?"

"What? No, why do you ask?" Amai asked in confusion.

"It's very rare for somebody who is not of noble birth to have a family crest." He stated, indicating the Uchiha Crest that was encrusted upon the scabbard with fine stones.

Amai's expression became confused, but she finally managed, "Well... he wasn't a noble, but... his clan was considered very prestigious at one time."

"And his clan was?"

"If you don't recognize that crest, then I doubt that you have heard of it." Amai answered before holding out her hand, "Now please, my lord, may I have that back?"

He slowly returned it to her, "You said that the last you recall, it was night, and you were in a cellar. Based on your surprise at being outside, I'm guessing you were there of your own volition, so now my question is, why were you in a cellar to start with?"

She sighed. This man just would not give up. "I was hiding."

"From?"

"The moon."

"The moon?" He looked at her skeptically, and she sighed again.

"Yes, it... it looked strange. It was a blood moon to start with, but... then something appeared on it... something that looked like the Sharingan..."

Suddenly the man's eyes flashed dangerously and he glared at Amai, "How do you know about the Sharingan?"

"Huh?" Amai asked in confusion, "What do you mean? I'm pretty sure that basically anyone who has ever lived in a ninja village is taught to know what the Sharingan looks like."

"A ninja village?" He was clearly suspicious now, but Amai's confusion only grew.

"Yes. Surely you know what a ninja village is? There's a very large and famous one near here: Konohagakure."

"There is no place by that name anywhere in the Land of Fire."

"Huh?" She asked in confusion, her expression bordering on panic now, "But that's impossible! ...Unless..." She looked thoughtful, like she was trying to make sense of what was happening, "A space-time jutsu...?"

The man grabbed her shoulders roughly, "What do you know about jutsu?!" He demanded.

"Aah! My lord, please!" Amai shrieked in fright.

"Answer me!"

Amai quivered in fear as she witnessed the Sharingan surfacing in the man's eyes, but she tried her best to answer him. "I learned about it from my husband."

"And where did he learn it?"

"From... from his parents, I think..."

"What was your husband's name?" Amai bit her lip in fear, terrified of how he would react to the answer. "Answer me!" He demanded again.

"U-Uchiha... Itachi..."

His grip on her shoulders loosened a bit as he looked at her in contemplation, "Did you say... Uchiha?" Amai nodded fearfully.

Indra's head spun as he tried to make sense of what this woman was saying. Uchiha was the name of his oldest child. If she was telling the truth, that would imply that her husband was somehow his descendant. He scanned the young woman's face for any signs of deceit, but there was none. She looked like a frightened doe, and prior to that she had been genuinely confused and had answered him with pure innocence. Whoever she was, she clearly was not a spy. "What were you saying about space-time jutsu?" He asked her.

Amai tried to regain her train of thought, "U-Um... my husband told me that there are some jutsu that allow one to move through space, or even time. Summoning jutsu are like that. You use your own chakra to teleport an animal from its natural habitat to your location, although that only works if you have a contract with it... There is... —was... will be?— Also a member of the Uchiha who can teleport to a separate dimension and back, using a special form of the Sharingan."

"The Mangekyou Sharingan." He said flatly, and she nodded, still fearful.

"R-Right... He also told me about a forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha that could be use to turn back time by a few seconds in order to alter reality."

"Forbidden?" At this, he looked quizzical.

"Sometimes, jutsu are forbidden because they pose too great a risk to the user, or because they are considered unethical." She explained. "A-Anyway... he said that with enough chakra, it was probably possible to even travel through time, although one would need great skill and enormous chakra reserves to pull that off."

"Come to think of it... my grandmother was able to move through dimensions..." He said thoughtfully. "So I take it, from what you are saying, that you believe you have traveled through time? More specifically, you think that you came here from the future, which is why you know of things that do not currently exist."

She nodded, her mouth dry from the fright, "That... would be the most... plausible explanation... Because... you have the Sharingan, and yet, you have never heard of the Uchiha, which probably means..."

"That I am your husband's ancestor." He answered before his eyes drifted to her stomach, "And your child's too, I presume."

"Y-Yes..."

He sighed, looking a bit irritated before eyeing her kodachi again. "You seemed nervous before, regarding this crest on your scabbard."

"The Uchiha... do not have the greatest reputation in my time." She explained reluctantly, "They are powerful, but... greatly feared. If someone were to learn of whose wife I was..."

"You and your child would be in danger."

"Yes."

He sighed again, "There is no sense in staying here. I don't know how to return you to your own time, but you can't just go wandering about in your condition. Come with me. My wife can look after you." When he held out his hand to help her to her feet, she hesitantly took it.

"Forgive me, my lord, but you have not told me your name. My own name is Uchiha Amai."

"I am called Ōtsutsuki Indra."

Indra led Amai back to his home, where he explained the situation to Haruka, who instantly began to fuss over the expecting mother.

"I promise, I'm fine." Amai insisted, "I'm not due for another four months."

"You look like you're due now..." Haruka remarked while placing her hand on Amai's stomach, "But you're right. You can't be due yet. The baby is still too high."

"Haruka is the most talented medic in the sect." Indra remarked, a note of affectionate pride in his voice before returning to the matter at hand, "So why exactly were you hiding in a cellar when you saw a Sharingan appear on a moon?"

"Well it wasn't exactly a Sharingan..." Amai replied, "It looked a little bit different... It... Do you have something I can draw with?" Haruka handed the younger woman an ink brush, ink well, and a piece of parchment, and Amai carefully drew the pattern she had seen, "It looked like this." She explained while handing the parchment to Indra, who frowned in contemplation.

"This looks like the Rinnegan of my grandmother, Kaguya..."

"I don't think I've heard of somebody by that name, except... maybe the goddess spoken of in an obscure legend." Amai replied slowly, "But then, my own time is far removed from this one... I think... I can't be sure... but I think it may have had something to do with the plan formed by my husband's great-grandfather... Although I really don't know. The world was involved in a war at that time, but... the Land of Honey was far removed from the fighting, so I don't know much about what was going on."

"But if it was your husband's great-grandfather... didn't you have contact with your in-laws?" Haruka asked in confusion.

"The only surviving members of my husband's family are his great-grandfather and his younger brother, neither of whom know about me, or at least, do not know of my relation to them." Amai explained.

"...What was your reason for hiding from the moon when you saw this?" Indra asked, more curious than concerned.

"Well... the only reason I could think of for somebody to do something like that... would be to cast an extremely wide-scale genjutsu. I mean... it wasn't any kind of Mangekyou Sharingan, and even if it were, what else would it do? I can't think of a single reason to cause the whole world to burst into black flames."

"You are intimately familiar with the Sharingan..." Indra remarked.

"My husband was extremely talented." She said simply, "The point being, whatever was going on, I didn't want to be caught in it, but the only place I could think of to hide was underground."

Indra nodded slowly, "I can see why he chose you. While you are obviously not powerful, you are at least intelligent."

Amai laughed softly, "I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it at all. He and I were very similar. We both loved our younger siblings more than anything in the world."

At this, Indra frowned, "Your younger siblings?"

"Yes. I once had a younger sister who was very sickly, but she was incredibly precious to me. My husband might very well have destroyed the world if doing so would somehow protect his younger brother." She laughed softly, "My husband was a genius; his power was legendary. One day he said to me, 'People mistake me for being patient, but I'm actually very competitive and a sore loser. Even so, if I were to lose to my brother, I think I would be happy.'"

Indra's frown deepened, "What on earth would cause your husband to think about it like that?"

Amai looked confused, "I suppose just the desire to see his brother grow strong. Itachi-kun was willing to give up everything... his happiness, his own future, for his little brother's sake."

Indra scoffed and muttered, "Foolish..."

"Huh?"

Indra looked at her, his eyes tainted with annoyance, "I was once just like your husband. I had a little brother that I cared for greatly, and do you know what became of that? He betrayed me and stole my birthright. I was more powerful and more talented than my brother, and yet somehow, our father still favored him, and chose him to be his successor."

Now Amai frowned as well, "My lord, are you saying that you hate your younger brother?"

"I do."

The dark-haired woman stood up, glaring at Indra while trembling with clenched fists, "Then don't ever say that you were like my husband, or like me! If you've come to hate your younger brother, with whom you share blood, then you never understood what it means to be an older sibling in the first place! You can't be Itachi-kun's ancestor, because Itachi-kun was nothing like you!" She closed her eyes, beginning to sob, "It can't be... It can't be..."

"Wake up daughter! Wake up!"

Amai gasped and opened her eyes to see an older man who looked not entirely human leaning over her, his face filled with concern. Taking in his appearance, she tried to bolt upright in fear, but he gently held her down to prevent her from hurting herself. "It's all right my dear. You're all right. It was all simply a dream." Amai sat up slowly, tears streaming down her face. She realized that she was still in the cellar, took in the remains of the creatures that had attacked her, and then looked at the man.

"Wh-who are you?" She asked nervously.

"I am Ootsutsuki Hagoromo, also known as the Sage of Six Paths." He told her as his expression saddened, "I was the father of Indra."

"Indra..." Amai looked away, tears still lining her eyes as she placed a hand on her stomach, "That man... Is he really...?"

"Yes. The ancestor of your late husband." Hagoromo informed her, "But there's something that you must understand, child. Indra did not come to hate his brother Ashura on his own. He was being influenced by a creature created by my mother Kaguya. For centuries, that creature has been manipulating the descendants of Indra in order to release my mother from the moon in which my brother Hamura and I sealed her."

"Creature..." Amai replied softly, her expression thoughtful, "...Do you mean Zetsu? Itachi-kun was always suspicious of him..."

"Your husband was far more perceptive than most." Hagoromo said with a nod, "What you just saw was not real." He told her, "It was a genjutsu cast upon you by the Shirozetsu, in an attempt to fill you with enough fear and despair that you would enter the light of the moon of your own accord."

"But why?" Amai asked.

"What you saw on the moon was the start of something called the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which Kurozetsu deceived Madara into casting on the world in order to free my mother. Breaking the seal requires massive amounts of chakra, and all of those who are caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi are bound to the roots of the Divine Tree so that their chakra can be extracted for that purpose. I came here to protect you from that, as it could place you and your child in danger." The Sage explained, "Although it helped that you had hidden on your own to start with. You are quite wise, daughter."

The harvest moon of sorrow is starting to

Steal everything away

Amai was quiet, uncertain of what to say. "Will my child become like him...?" She finally managed to ask.

"That will depend mostly on you." Hagoromo answered, "Do not hold back your love for your child, Amai. Teach him or her about your husband's deep love." His expression filled with regret, "I failed to protect Indra from the dark forces that targeted him, and what you saw was the result. Do not allow yourself to repeat my mistake."

"How can I protect this child?" Amai asked fearfully, "I can't even protect myself!"

"You are physically weak, that is true." Hagoromo said with a nod, "But you are also incredibly strong. True strength comes from within the heart. Itachi believed that as well, and it was something he admired in you."

At this, she looked surprised. "Itachi-kun...?"

"My dear..." Hagoromo began with a chuckle, "You should know better than anyone that Itachi lacked the capacity to express his true feelings. Well, at least with words."

"That's true..." She replied with a bittersweet smile, "Leaving the how aside, why did you come here? Why go so far to protect me?"

"Because within your body, you carry the future of your husband's family." Hagoromo replied, "No matter what anyone may say or believe, it is a future worth protecting. If you believe in Itachi, then believe in that."

Tears filled Amai's eyes, but she smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah."

Hagoromo looked up at the ceiling, "The light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi has faded. It is safe for you to go back outside now. I am afraid that I have other matters that I must attend to. You will have to look after yourself for the moment, my dear. It may be a day or two yet before your hosts return home."

Amai looked confused at that, but nodded. After Hagoromo disappeared, she exited the cellar, but stopped. Somehow, she was still afraid of what the future might bring, after seeing how Indra had been. Feeling a breeze blow past her, she thought for sure that she could hear Itachi's voice.

"Whenever tough experiences have occurred—Then you should quietly close your eyelids and—The enlarged moon of tonight, only think of that. I will illuminate your hesitating steps."

Feeling a little bit stronger, Amai smiled and walked out into the light, sitting down in the grass again as she looked up at the moon. It was still red, but no longer looked like a Sharingan. Her thoughts drifted to Indra, and the person he turned into, "If you're telling yourself lies, you'll eventually lose yourself." She sang before thinking of what Hagoromo told her. This child was the path that she had wanted, the final gift from Itachi that she had longed for. She would not lose sight of that! "Even if the moon is covered by clouds, proceed down the road that you are believing in!" The pain the Shirozetsu had brought her by showing her who Indra had been. Last she had heard, Sasuke was also on a war path against Konoha, the place his brother had loved. Somehow, she knew a battle for the very fate of the world was taking place right now. What was going to become of them all? "If I am hurt countless times, will I ultimately forget pain? If you shed crimson blood, you will remember the thing that is most important!" She carefully flopped onto her back, spreading out her limbs and staring up at the sky, "Collapsing on the road in a spread-eagle—I look up at the sky and believe..." She thought of what Hagoromo had said about her, what Itachi had felt about her, and smiled softly, "That true strength lies in a person who dreams of the future. A person who believes in love."

And so, farewell

And so, farewell

So overcome all those farewells

Ah...


Whew! Okay! Long chapter. For whatever reason, I really wanted Amai to sing my translation of Size of the Moon from the final season of Shippūden, so I had to extend the length of the chapter to fit the whole thing. Text in bold is back to the theme of this story, Sayonara Moon Town. But just because the song is finished doesn't mean that the story is! Also, Hagoromo refers to Amai as "daughter" because she is the widow of his descendant, and the mother of the next generation.

Also, there is a reason why the genjutsu is written partially from Indra's point-of-view. Road to Ninja and its companion episode, Road to Sakura, imply that the people within genjutsu actually exist and have their own reactions to things. So while this Indra is merely a copy of the real Indra, he is also "real" himself in a sense.

Oh yes, I almost forgot the cultural notes. The battle against Kaguya takes place on a Japanese holiday known as Juugoya, which celebrates the harvest moon. The moon tends to be near its perigee at this time of year, so it often looks larger than normal. Japanese people celebrate Juugoya by holding moon viewing parties, eating fall foods like purple sweet potatoes, and also eating mochi, or rice cakes, which are associated with the moon. The reason that they associate mochi with the moon is that they believe the surface looks like two rabbits making mochi. This is also why Kaguya looks the way she does and is referred to as the "rabbit goddess". She is named after Kaguya, the princess of the moon in a Japanese fairytale. The story, more often referred to as The Bamboo Cutter's Daughter, is well known in Japan and heavily referenced in a variety of anime. Naruto and Sailor Moon are two of the shows that most heavily reference the story without really being based upon it per se.