A creaking floorboard wakes Tsubaki in the middle of the night. She waits for a second to see if that is all - the rain in Ame is never ending, after all, and so is the wind, and so are any of the noises a house might make in the middle of a storm.
But then the floor creaks again.
Tsubaki lets out a sigh and rolls onto her back. The room is dark, but her eyes are adjusted enough to it that she can make out the hunched form sorting through her closet. "What are you doing?"
Itachi's shuffling pauses, but only momentarily. "Kisame and I will be leaving at dawn. We've a new mission."
"So soon?" It feels like only yesterday that she'd come home early from work after his last mission, only to find him asleep on their couch with an abandoned kettle for tea long gone cold on their stove. She leans up on one elbow, letting the bedsheets fall from her shoulders. "Did Kisame say what the mission would be?"
Itachi's answer is, as always, an evasive one. "Orochimaru has died."
"Orochimaru." She repeats the name slowly, feeling it out. She can only assume the lack of a family name means he's important enough that he no longer requires one. "And so what? Will you be tracking down his killer?"
Itachi backs away from her closet with several folded shirts and pairs of pants. It seems enough for several days and nights, perhaps even a week. He spaces each item out evenly on a scroll he's rolled out across her desk, until the edges of it hang off of the sides. There's a brush and an open jar of ink waiting for him, and he begins marking a seal onto one end of the scroll.
When he's done, he makes a sign with one hand - an enormous feat, even if he does it effortlessly - and his clothing disappears in a quick burst of chakra.
"Well?" she asks when Itachi again turns back to the closet. "What is it, then?"
"I do not intend for this to be a long mission," he says. "But still, that may change. Given the matters at hand, there is a chance I will be gone for a much longer time than is typical."
Tsubaki resists the urge to roll her eyes. "And of course there's no need for you to share the details with me." She waits for him to correct her, but he doesn't. Of course he doesn't. "Well, I'll be sure to pray to Kami-sama to watch over you while you are gone."
Again, Itachi continues packing as if he hadn't heard. He's tightlipped about Kami-sama in general, despite being so much closer to him than most Ame citizens are. His own religious observances - whatever they may be - are entirely private, save for a single metal brazier he keeps hidden under the wardrobe in their bedroom.
Still, she can't help but frown at his indifference. She'd only been joking, after all. If he really intended to be gone for so long, it wouldn't hurt for him to humor her at least a little.
When Itachi finishes packing, he rolls up his scroll and steps closer to the bed, placing a gentle hand on top of her head. He's still warm, still soft from sleep—he couldn't have been awake long.
"I'll still miss you," Tsubaki says, more sincere this time. "And I really do want you to stay safe."
Instead of replying, Itachi drops his hand and nods to her, bowing slightly. Almost as if he were thanking her, or apologizing. "Please take care of yourself in my absence," he says, before he slips his scroll into his pocket and steps out into the hall.
He closes the bedroom door behind him, and several seconds later, Tsubaki hears the soft click of a lock and the hiss of rain as Itachi walks out into the night.