So, I apologize if it'd a little corny and a little rough around the edges, but this is a chapter dedicated to good old Itachi's thoughts, and YAY an update, so enjoy!
Itachi never thought he'd be so relieved to have a traitor in his squadron, nor so annoyed with himself for taking so long to figure it out. He'd delivered the news to the hokage, who immediately prepared a task force. Itachi couldn't help but notice how quick the Hokage was to believe his implications, as extreme as they were, in fact, the village leader simply listened to him with a quiet resignation. A man who'd known the facts all along, but only now chose to accept them. So, with that, Itachi was placed in Sanjiro's squadron, with Sanjiro being one of the most skilled trackers in the village, Itachi had let his thoughts wander to the relief he felt at having Mitsuki back in one piece.
He should've realized something was amiss when it was Kurenai, not Sanjiro, who detected the shift in the air. She said she sensed a burst of chakra, though from an unnatural origin. Kurenai was skilled at genjutsu, and though adept at chakara detection, she was nowhere near as skilled as Sanjiro, he should've been the first to notice. He didn't think of this though, when they landed on the mountain top, astride the four hokage heads, overlooking the village, he didn't think of anything really except what was before him. It was the woman he'd come to care for, perhaps even love, barely conscious in the arms of the most dangerous traitor Konoha had ever had. Protocol went out the window, he heard words being called in the distance, but his only what was that he'd come too far to lose her now. His training had made him adept, and even a rushed and hurried attack by Uchiha Itachi came with some semblance of strategy and distraction. He threw a kunai first, gaining the attention of Orochimaru, feigning intent, and then charged. When the target moved like he expected, he changed course, grabbed Mitsuki, and returned to basic formation.
He heard Sanjiro's voice, angry vibrations pervading the air, and made up some sort of quick lie to distract him while he focused on the girl in front of him. He noted the response vaguely paying attention, but it wasn't until the shift in Kurenai's form that he noted something was amiss. Itachi may've been distracted, but the new anbu, despite her inexperience, was clearly focused. It clicked then that Sanjiro's actions weren't making sense, and after calling him out on the truth he was surprised to hear such an outright confession, and relieved to see the squadron shift position to guard his form.
With that he shifted his gaze to Mitsuki. He thought back to the last time he'd seen her, merely hours before.
He could still feel the tingle of her lips and the press of her body against his, but as often happened with Mitsuki, duty got in the way. There was always a mission or a meeting that separated them, and though it irked him, there was always a desperate relief that came with seeing her again. A feeling of comfort that had turned into an almost addictive ritual.
After a mission he'd go the lake to see her, and almost always she was there, except for those two weeks she wasn't. He'd never realized how lonely the lake was, until she wasn't there for him to share it with.
He recalled when he first met her, a silly genin attacking a tree and screaming obscenities about his clan. It'd been a mixture of curiosity and amusement that caused him to speak to her. Then she'd explain her bet, and he'd considered her a fool, but hearing Hotaru's name changed his opinion.
Though many of the elders looked up to him, respected him for his skills and genius ability, there were those that gazed at him with thinly veiled envy. It was clear to Itachi that being a prodigy came with enemies, and if they targeted him it would be fine, but often enough they would use Sasuke to get to him. If there was one thing in this world he cared most about, it was probably his younger brother. Hotaru Uchiha was one of those bullies, constantly picking on those weaker than him, and made the unforgivable mistake of making Sasuke cry.
Itachi like always, dealt with the situation in the most effective way possible, albeit a bit extreme. He recalled threatening the boy, only a few years younger than him, and making it quite clear that if he should so much as look at his brother again, that he'd be dead before he knew it. For good measure a rather gory genjutsu was thrown in, and though the boy feared him, Itachi still noted that he continued to bother Sasuke. It was always little things, like tripping him, or pulling his hair, but the kind of stuff Hotaru always managed to play off as an accident. So Itachi hated Hotaru, but he hadn't done anything to warrant Itachi's wrath, so for the most part the young bully was left alone.
Hearing the curious girls story, Itachi saw no harm in helping her. He was surprised to note that she was a quick learner and a hard worker. He'd chosen to train her at the lake instantly noting her difficulty with chakra control. He'd contemplated picking another training ground but this was the most secluded, and he didn't want to risk explaining to someone why he was training a genin in his free time. As amusing as it was to teach her, he was relieved when it was done, and quite content to return to the solitude that was his favorite place.
Itachi wasn't one to communicate with others, unless it pertained to mission details or military politics. He was always polite, but social skills were never his strength, nor did he care much for others, so it all worked out. As odd as the situation was for him, he was relieved when it was over. He'd thought that was the last time he'd see her but he was wrong.
It was the day of the bet when he noted her following Sasuke, and curious he approached her. He couldn't recall the details but she fainted about the time Hotaru turned the corner, and after a few well worded arguments his brother's bully grabbed her and rqn off. Itachi figured that was the end of that, but she kept coming back, and not only that, but she inquired about him. She offered him bribes of dango in exchange for training her, and all of it was so ridiculous he didn't see the harm in complying.
He'd recently been made aware of his mission, his duty to the village at the cost of the clan, and as the pieces of the plan slowly fell into place, parts of him slowly fell apart. His world was mission after mission, trying to avoid those closet to him, trying to gain distance. If he could find distraction in a curious genin girl than so be it, but slowly things got more complicated.
She went from being some random genin to being Mitsuki the chuunin, and the lake went from being his place of refuge to their place of solace. Slowly things changed as did his feelings. He could've stopped it, of that he was certain. At any point he could've picked a different place to relax, or confront her on her constant presence but he didn't, and it wasn't exactly like he had any reason. She was warm, innocent, and soft-hearted, the exact opposite of what you expected in a shinobi.
All his life he'd been surrounded by people trying to manipulate him, control him, take advantage of him, and Mitsuki took to him before she even realized who he was. She wasn't like the shinobi he was used to, hardened and cold, and there was comfort in that. It was more than that though.
She was someone he could speak to, without judgement or prejudice. She was someone who didn't expect anything from him, someone who didn't berate, who trusted him and was honest with him. At first he realized that this was what it was like to have a friend, that this relationship was normal to most people, but slowly it escalated. He found himself wanting to confess to her things he'd never have dared to say allowed, even once hinting at the truth, yet too afraid to admit it all.
"If, for example, I somehow betrayed this village, and became a rouge nin, would you hunt me down and kill me?"
"Well, that's a silly example. I mean, there's no way you of all people would betray the village, and besides, I doubt I could beat you if I tried. "
"But lets say I did leave, and lets say you could kill me. Would you?"
"Itachi, what kind of question is that?"
"If I was a threat to the village, if I'd killed fellow shinobi, and killing me would be the greater good of the village, and you could do it, would you?" She didn't even think about it for a second.
"No."
"You wouldn't?"
"Of course I wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I know you well enough to know that you'd never betray the village. And if for some reason you became some rogue ninja, I'd imagine it was for a good reason. I might beat you up anyways though, for not giving me the heads up beforehand." At this Itachi smiled.
"Thank you Mitsuki."
Her unwavering faith in him had been astonishing, and in return all he wanted was to keep her safe. When she'd left on her mission and gotten captured he acted desperately and irrationally. When he saw her on the Hokage memorial with Orochimaru, he acted desperately and irrationally, and though the logical part of it told him he was being foolish, there wasn't a single part of him that regretted, not when he had her back and in his arms. He had come too far to lose her, and when he focused back on the situation, he'd heard Orochimaru's vehement cry.
"You have something that belongs to me, Uchiha Itachi." He didn't hesitate before responding.
"You'll have to pry her from my dead fingers," was his cold response, and as he stood up, indicating to Kurenai to get her out there, he focused his attention back to Orochimaru. "And I have no intention of dying anytime soon."
Was it too corny? Did I get the character right? Are you feeling the love? Review and let me know!
