Let's start this from the beginning

Kabasawa Mines

II

While there was a certain urgency to their mission, it wasn't to the point where Itachi saw it necessary to push his students to their limits. They needed to get to the mines in a reasonable amount of time, yes, but the threat of the boars wasn't enough to justify bringing the three Genin that travelled with him to the brink of exhaustion. They still needed to track the beasts in question down and subsequently slay them, after all. They wouldn't be able to do that if they struggled to even stand.

The most pressure came from the fact that no caravans would leave the mines until the mission was done, but even that wasn't too much of a problem. Upon Itachi's enquiry, the Hokage had explained to him that five days of travel would be perfectly sufficient, and as they had almost reached their goal already even though it was only the afternoon of the third day, they were well within their schedule.

So far, their journey had proceeded just fine. After the initial excitement of travelling outside the village for the first time had worn off, Itachi had begun to use this opportunity to test their survival skills and knowledge in general. None of them would have a problem with hunting if they ever landed in a situation where that would be necessary, of course, but things such as which plants were poisonous and which were edible, how to find freshwater, or how to orientate themselves when in unknown territory were still very important.

He obviously couldn't go too in-depth about any of that quite yet considering they were on a schedule, but he planned to do so on their journey back.

Maybe I should use this opportunity to conduct a survival test after the objective of the mission has been achieved, he mused. Sending a crow or a clone with the report should be more than sufficient for such an ultimately irrelevant mission.

In the end, he decided to see how the rest of the mission would proceed first before making a final decision on that. If this turned out to be more strenuous than expected, his team would deserve a break rather than even more work. Life was rarely so nice, of course, but there was no problem with giving them some slack while they were still young.

Besides, this was only their first mission. No need to ruin the experience too much.

"Sensei," Kiba's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "I have a question."

Itachi shot the boy a look. He had been uncharacteristically silent for some time now, barely reacting to most of his teammates' attempts to include them in their conversation, and the frown on his face had deepened more and more the longer they walked. Moreover, even Akamaru was behaving oddly. The dog usually spent most of his time either walking next to them or being carried by Kiba- or by Itachi, for that matter. He was surprisingly fond of him for some reason. However, for the last few hours, he was running around sniffing everywhere while letting out low whimpers then and now.

In and of itself, that wouldn't be too strange for a dog regardless of whether they were a ninken or not, but in combination with Kiba's behaviour, it certainly stood out.

Hadn't the boy addressed him first, Itachi would have done so soon himself.

"Go ahead," he said.

"Well," he drawled, his eyes narrowed deep in thoughts. "I'm not sure how to say it, but… the boar attack on the trade caravan is supposed to have taken place not far from the mines, right?"

"That is correct, yes."

Kiba unconsciously nodded as if he had already expected that reply but hoped he would be wrong as he fell silent again. By now, all four of them had stopped in their tracks as not only he but Shino and Hinata too looked at Kiba with expressions that ranged from pensive to confused.

"Did you notice anything, Kiba?" Itachi asked after a few seconds of silence when it became clear that the boy was so lost in thoughts that he had already forgotten about the conversation.

"Uh? Oh, yes! Sorry about that. It's just, well, weird. You see, even though we have almost reached our destination and should be really close to where the attack happened, neither Akamaru nor I can detect even a whiff of the scent of a wild boar!"

Itachi had to agree that this was indeed strange. "From what I understand, boars have a rather strong smell that lingers for quite some time."

Kiba nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! We should have been able to get a hint of it by now. In fact, even you three would probably have been able to smell it if we had crossed an area where one of them stayed for a while! It really makes no sense!"

"Isn't it possible that we're just not close enough yet?" Hinata asked even though she sounded doubtful of it herself, knowing full-well just how good the noses of her teammate and his ninken were. "It was said that the attack happened not too far from the mines itself, but that's not really useful information, is it? It can mean everything from almost right in front of them to 'only' a day's travel away. It would have been easy for us to miss the actual scene of the attack."

Hinata wasn't exactly wrong. As the four of them took the most direct route towards their goal instead of following the winding street, they had been a fair distance away from it several times during their journey. It was definitively possible that Kiba and Akamaru had missed the boar scent because of that, especially if the wind wasn't in their favour. There was one thing this wouldn't explain, though.

"Furthermore," Shino spoke up. "Couldn't you just miss the scent because you don't know what to look for? Neither of you two has ever encountered a wild boar before, right?"

"We did," Kiba denied immediately with a jerky shake of his head. "My mother spent a lot of time beating all kinds of knowledge into my head years ago. It was even worse than the Academy! She brought me scent samples of all kinds of animals and made me learn everything about their behaviour and other stuff like that. Besides, as Sensei said, their smell is very strong- disgustingly so. If any of that was here, it would be impossible to miss." Kiba then turned towards him, his expression growing a tad more serious. "Wild boars are extremely territorial, especially the giant ones. It's also their mating season right now, so the likelihood that there are at least two rival male ones is very high, meaning their scent should be all over the place as they fight over who can claim this area. And even if that's not the case and it's only one male, its scent should still be here. However, I can't smell anything!"

Itachi had noticed that detail as well, but it was good to have Kiba confirming it for him.

Usually, there should be no doubt about what had happened. If the report stated that wild boars were responsible for an attack on a caravan, there was no reason not to believe it. After all, if the culprit was unknown, it would have been stated as such. Even if the people who issued this mission to Konoha merely guessed, it would have made much more sense to assume that bandits were at fault rather than a bunch of animals that weren't even native to the region.

Consequently, there should be boars in the area, and Kiba should be able to smell them.

It seems this mission will be more complicated than expected, he thought while suppressing a sigh, but at least I can use this opportunity for a small test.

"Alright," he said, the solemnity in his voice immediately catching the attention of his students. "I will tell you now how we proceed from here, so listen closely." He caught the eyes of both Kiba and Shino. "The two of you are going to head towards the street. I want you to find the scene of the attack and check it out for yourselves. If you don't find it immediately, you will travel down the road until you do, but take care to go no further than one days' worth of travel. For reference, we're now just about an hour from our destination away. Hinata and I will give you part of our supplies to make sure you don't lack anything." Then, he narrowed his eyes. "No matter what you may find, do not engage in any combat, regardless of whether it is against a boar or anything - or anyone - else. This is a scouting mission, not a combat one, do you understand?"

Both of them looked at him with perplexed expressions, not quite believing that he was giving them a task of their own that would take them away from his supervision. However, as soon as he asked his question, they simultaneously replied with an enthusiastic "Yes, Sensei!".

"Good," Itachi nodded. "If you find anything, return immediately and report to me. I will then make a decision on how we proceed from there based on the information - or the eventual lack therefor - you provide." He turned towards Hinata. "In the meantime, the two of us will continue to travel towards our destination to check the situation there. I will explain the details to you on the way, but the short version is that I suspect some kind of foul play and want the aid of your Byakugan to get to the bottom of the matter."

Hinata had briefly looked disappointed upon hearing that she wouldn't join her teammates, but as soon as she realized the importance of her own part, her expression turned into one of determination. "Yes, Sensei!"

Technically, Genin teams weren't supposed to split up like that. This early into their training, Genin weren't allowed to leave the direct supervision of their Jōnin instructors for long and could do so for even short amounts of time only when they were at least in pairs of two. Prolonged segregations were explicitly discouraged. If anything happened to them under these conditions, Itachi would be in a lot of trouble.

It's a good thing I don't plan on leaving them unsupervised, then, he thought with a hint of amusement as he took advantage of Hinata's brief lack of attention to create a crow clone without her noticing as she stared at the departing figures of her teammates in the distance.

After all, just because this was a good opportunity to see how they would act without either him or Hinata around to keep them in check didn't mean we would actually risk their lives.

That would be nothing short of stupid.

Hirate Akihito's residence was perched on top of a hill overlooking not only the bustling town in the valley below but also the sea and the mines in the distance. Both the mansion itself as well as the adjourning gardens were enclosed by tall walls, and while Hinata didn't use her Byakugan to check, she thought she could safely assume that it was well-manned from the bit she could see without it.

Once the initial confusion at their presence had worn off after Itachi-sensei explained to the guard at the gates that the shinobi usually responsible for this area was unavailable due to his injuries and proved the legitimacy of their presence here with the mission scroll, they had been allowed to enter. They were then first accompanied by another guard until a servant who already awaited them at the mansion's entrance took over to lead them to Hirate Akihito, the noble in charge of both the mines and the region itself.

Both the gardens and the building were stunningly beautiful, and while Hinata privately thought the gardens at her clan's compound had a much more elegant flair, she had no choice but to acknowledge that her home couldn't keep up with the interior of the mansion.

The Hyūga Clan was old and powerful, but they didn't surround themselves with great wealth. They had the money to do so if they wished, of course, but they preferred a more minimalistic approach. Rather than displaying power through expensive paintings and antique treasures, they presented themselves as well-refined and impressed with their behaviour.

It wasn't as if they didn't use their money at all, though. Certain powerful guests must be impressed the old-fashioned way- or, as her father had put it once in a rare moment of visible frustration, 'in a way so blunt that even the greatest fool wouldn't fail to notice it'.

Maybe it was because of this that Hinata found the amount of wealth surrounding her so overwhelming. From expensive-looking tapestries to vases on pedestals and paintings on every wall, the mansion seemed to be nothing more than a means to show every guest just how rich its owner was. Hinata wouldn't even be surprised if the servant took a particularly long route just so that they could see more of it.

There was no denying that it certainly was impressive. However, her initial shock aside, Hinata's mind was quick to go back to her mission. As breathtaking as the sights might be, it wasn't enough to make her forget what Itachi-sensei had told her shortly after they had split up with Shino and Kiba.

While there wasn't yet enough proof to make any concrete accusations, he suspected that Sudou, who was the usual ambassador for missions from the Kabasawa Mines, and Hirate Akihito might be involved in some kind of backroom deal to divert money into their own pockets. If the two worked together, it would be easy to claim that the goods had been lost because the latter's merchants had been attacked on the route rather than because they sold it elsewhere underhand; Sudou would be employed to take care of the non-existing problem, claim the culprits had already sold the stolen goods, and then travel back home to report the alleged success of the mission. In the meantime, Akihito could sell the iron elsewhere to the highest bidder to get some extra profit without Konoha being any the wiser. After all, with the stronghold Konoha had on all iron trade within the Land of Fire due to its importance to shinobi, it was only natural that they wouldn't pay as much as regular customers.

This theory also threw a new light on the conversation they had in the Sandaime's office about the unnatural high payment. It was possible that the reason why their client was ready to pay so much was to legally transfer Sudou his share of the illegally earned money without anyone noticing.

The only thing that really spoke against all of this was that the caravan had been attacked by giant boars, not bandits. One could claim that some of the goods were lost in the chaos, but certainly not enough to make it worthwhile to sell them elsewhere.

It was possible to claim that the goods had been stolen from the scene after the merchants abandoned the goods to flee from the attack, but Hinata found it strange to think they would go to such lengths when they could just claim bandits were at fault.

Itachi-sensei had acknowledged that she had a point when she brought that to his attention, but according to him, this might simply be a way to throw off suspicions. After all, people would start to wonder how the deliveries could possibly be attacked by bandits all the time and why the Hokage wasn't doing anything about it. In the worst case, Konoha might decide to carry out a territory-wide operation to wipe out all the bandits in the area only to notice that there aren't many of them in the first place.

They didn't have any proof for this theory, of course. Her sensei didn't even seem to think that it was very likely that the situation was like that. One could never be too suspicious, though.

Consequently, they were here to find out the truth.

Hinata wasn't entirely sure what her task would be yet. All she had been told was that her Byakugan would be essential for their research. The lack of knowledge didn't do much to keep her excitement in check, however. She had briefly been disappointed when Shino and Kiba were told to go off on their own while she would stay back with their sensei, but in hindsight, she thought she might have actually gotten the better end of the deal.

After all, how many Genin could claim they engaged in espionage to uncover some insidious scheme on their very first mission?

While she had been just as excited as her teammates when they had been told they would finally go on a C-Rank mission, she had also been the most nervous one from their group, but now, all of that was gone, replaced by excitement.

It was probably because of this excitement that Hinata, for once, didn't have a problem with straightening her spine and putting on a neutral expression befitting of the Hyūga heiress as it felt less like a chore and more like part of her mission. Otou-sama would be proud.

The world loved to play games with her, however, and it was only by a hair that she managed to keep her expression neutral at the strange greeting they received when they entered what seemed to be their host's private reception room.

"Itachi Uchiha! I can't say you're the man I expected to see, but I would lie if I claimed to be disappointed by this turn of events. It's a great honour to meet you."

While certainly still filled with expensive and high-quality furniture, the room seemed much more lived-in than the ones she had seen while walking through the mansion's corridors, and there were currently three people other than Hinata and her sensei present in it.

There was the one who had greeted Itachi-sensei, of course. He was a man who looked in his early twenties and wore colourful robes of gold and white that were held together by a red obi around his waist. He also wore a wide grin on his face as he rushed forwards to meet them.

The other two men who stood further back and watched the scene unfold from afar were both at least twice that old. One of them wore a set of blue robes not unlike the ones the first person wore, albeit less expensive, while the other wore a simple set of dark red armour that appeared more ceremonial than practical. Furthermore, while the latter had still a head full of dark hair in contrast to the former's bald head, the greatest difference between them was that the latter spotted a dark frown while the former looked at them neutrally.

"Akihito-dono," her sensei greeted the man that had spoken up first as he shook the offered hand -since when did nobles shake hands?!- with a smile that Hinata easily recognized as fake. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope it's not an inconvenience that my team was sent instead of Sudou-san? I understand you're used to working with him whenever you require the aid of Konoha."

The other man let out a boisterous laugh that made Hinata seriously question whether they really had the right person. Weren't nobles supposed to act more… noble? More refined?

"Oh, it's not an inconvenience at all," Akihito assured them. "Quite the opposite, in fact. It's a shame that Sudou has been unable to come, but I'm thrilled to be able to meet you! You see, about ten years ago, my father took me with him to watch the finals of the Chūnin Exams, and I had the great pleasure of watching you fight. It was certainly most impressive seeing someone just a little bit younger than myself do the things you did. I'm sure I annoyed my parents for months afterwards by never shutting up about wanting to become a shinobi myself!"

Usually, Hinata would have been interested in hearing more about her sensei's past. After all, while she might technically know from the gossip mill that he had put on quite a show during his Chūnin Exams, she had never heard any details. Unfortunately, all she was capable of at the moment was trying - and failing - to imagine this loud and expressive man as a shinobi. She was aware that she had attributes unsuitable for a kunoichi as well, but he… well, he was in a league of his own.

"I'm sure you would have been a great asset to our village," Itachi-sensei said with a slight tilt of his head, and to her great awe, even Hinata, who had known him for a while now, could not detect any insincerity in his voice even though she knew that he couldn't possibly be serious.

"Ah, I wouldn't be so sure about that. My mother always used to say that I'm not cut from the right cloth for that kind of lifestyle. Alas, I had to settle for arranging for you to have the weapons you need to do your job. Not quite as adventurous, I'm afraid, but still a very essential task if I may say so myself!"

"And we're most thankful for your contribution." Then, to emphasise that point, he exaggeratedly patted the weapon pouch on his left leg to make the kunai and shuriken inside of it rattle, resulting in yet another laugh from Akihito.

As distracting as it was to not only meet such an unusual noble but to also have her sensei act so out of character right in front of her, Hinata didn't fail to notice that the man wearing armour tensed at the action and that even when nothing more happened and he relaxed again, his frown was even deeper than before.

"Well, I'm grateful to have been of use to you," Akihito said in good humour before turning towards her with a genuinely curious expression while still continuing to address Itachi-sensei. "I admit, I haven't heard of you taking a Genin team. You would think this news were all over the place by now. The last school year ended, what, a month ago? Two? How haven't I heard about this before?"

Itachi-sensei gave a short, polite chuckle before he put a hand on her shoulder. "This is our first mission outside the village. I'm sure the news will spread from here soon enough." He then gently squeezed her shoulder to kindly but ultimately unnecessarily forewarn her that she would need to speak in a moment. "This is one of my students, Hinata Hyūga."

She took a half step forward to bow, taking care to lower herself just a little less than she usually would have. It might be interpreted as rude, but what little she saw from the man so far made her believe that he probably didn't care much about decorum, so being somewhat more informal might actually endear her to him. "It's nice to meet you, Akihito-dono."

Judging from not only his reaction but, more notably, Itachi-sensei's lack of reaction - she had focused on his chakra just in case, looking for even the slightest hint of agitation in it that would point towards him being displeased - at her action, she tentatively assumed she had made the right call.

"Oh my, how polite you are! And your first mission too, you say? How exciting! Daresay, are you by chance Hiashi-san's daughter?"

While Hinata managed to keep her reaction under control, she still blinked in surprise at that. "I am," she confirmed with a slight tilt of her head. "If I may ask, Akihito-dono, how do you know my father?"

"Well, he visited my family years ago to meet me when I was still young, of course." He shot her a conspiratorial wink. "My great-grandmother was a Hyūga, you see. A member of your family visits the mine to meet each of our children in case one of us awakens the Byakugan." Suddenly, his shoulders sagged and he let out a deflated sigh. "As you can imagine, I was most disappointed when he judged that I would never obtain it myself. I was still hoping to become a shinobi at that time. But well, I shouldn't have been surprised, I guess. No one in my family has been so fortunate in all these years, after all."

Hinata managed a polite smile even though her blood ran cold. "I see," she said, proud of herself for speaking without a tremor in her voice. "Maybe your children shall be more fortunate, then."

She barely registered Akihito's next laugh, and neither did she truly pay attention to his words. Instead, she couldn't help but think about the information she had just received.

While it was rare for a Hyūga to marry outside the clan, it did happen on occasion. Usually because they had scored a favourable match that brought advantages to the clan, sometimes - but much rarer - because of true love. The former had gradually become less and less common since the creation of Konoha, however. The relative security that the village offered its inhabitants, and especially the clans that had previously fought in never-ending wars for centuries, made the need for such matches more or less superfluous. They still happened on occasions, but for the most part, the political games the clans played these days didn't require such arranged marriages anymore.

However, Hinata knew her clan's history and thus had a very good idea of how these unions usually ended.

After all, clans with bloodlines like the Hyūga couldn't just leave random people running around with a Byakugan. During the Warring States Period, her clan regularly ended these families themselves a generation or two after the union happened or whenever the connection to them wasn't adventurous enough anymore to let them be. The best children from such families could hope for at that point was that they were 'adopted' into the clan and that only ever happened if they happened to possess the Byakugan.

They never left any proof behind that they had been the ones to kill them, of course. No family would want to marry them if they knew they would ultimately be killed.

Akihito was lamenting the fact that his family hadn't awakened the Byakugan, something that was thankfully enough unlikely to happen at this point considering the relation has been so long ago, when in truth, he should rejoice. Times were different today, but for all that Hinata would love to claim otherwise, she couldn't with absolute certainty say that her father wouldn't have disposed of them if they had. Again, the best they could have hoped for in that case was being forcefully adopted into the branch family.

And considering he had apparently made no secret of his visit here, she could also assume that he would have the backing of the village on that approach.

After all, no village wanted one of its weapons in the hands of an outsider.

Hinata only managed to push these dark thoughts aside and listen to the conversation again when the man turned back to her sensei. "I'm a bit confused, though. Don't teams usually have three Genin instead of just one?"

Itachi-sensei nodded. "That is indeed the case, Akihito-dono. However, I decided to split up before we arrived here to have them scout the scene of the incident. It's important to look for clues and scents as quick as possible."

"Far be it from me to criticize the way you work, but will two Genin be enough for that? Wouldn't it have been better if you accompanied them yourself? As much as I enjoy your company, I would have been more than willing to wait a bit longer if that's what it takes to care of our little boar problem."

"There's no need to worry. The two of them are an Inuzuka and an Aburame respectively. As I'm sure you know, their clans are better suited for these kinds of tasks than anyone else. I guarantee you that they will do a splendid job."

Akihito's expression, which had slowly begun to fall, immediately brightened at that. "Well, if that's the case there really is nothing to worry about! Forgive me for ever doubting you." Then, his expression changed once more, this time into a thoughtful frown. "But an Aburame, you say? I look forward to meeting them. I just recently bought some new clothes which I was told were made from silk produced by their clan. These kinds of robes are very expensive, you know, but worth every single Ryō!"

Oh, right, Hinata thought. Shino's clan does that as well, don't they? It was easy to forget because Shino had no interest in it and thus didn't talk about it a lot, but in the end, it was hardly a secret.

While the Aburame naturally consisted of mostly shinobi, there were civilians as well. However, the difference to the civilians of other clans was that they too received their clan's secret technique. Or, to be more precise, they too became hosts to a colony of insects. They didn't use them for combat, though, but for more commercial uses. Silk production, for example. It was a tradition by now that a certain number of members in every generation of Aburame breed a particular kind of silkworms just for that use, bringing a lot of wealth into their coffers every year. It was the most high-quality silk on the continent, after all.

"I'm sure he will be honoured to meet you as well," Itachi-sensei said to the apparent joy of Akihito, but before the other man could reply, another voice spoke up.

"As nice as all of this is, they're still inexperienced children. Special families or not, they shouldn't do such important work on their own. I don't like shinobi interfering with my job, but Sudou at least takes his tasks serious enough to do them himself. This is ridiculous!"

The person who had spoken up was one of the men that had watched the conversation silently from afar up to this point. More specifically, it was the one who wore armour and spotted a dark frown on his face.

"Mikata," Akihito said with a long-suffering sigh. "Don't be like that in front of our guests, please."

Although his superior told him so, the man who was apparently called Mikata only scoffed. "I will act as I please when shinobi are involved."

He would probably have said even more, but the last man took a step forward to put a calming hand on Mikata's shoulder. "Please, my friend. Calm down. I'm sure-"

"No!" he interrupted him as he shook off the hand. "My men are already out there, searching for these beasts. This interference is entirely unnecessary."

"And yet none of them has returned with useful information, or have they?

"That's-"

"Enough!" Akihito interrupted the two, and for the first time since their arrival, Hinata felt like standing in front of an actual noble. "You're embarrassing not only yourselves but me as well. Behave or be gone."

The as of yet unnamed man didn't seem too bothered by that reprimand as he bowed with a soft-spoken apology, but Mikata did. He still shut his mouth and bowed as well, though, so he at least acknowledged Akihito's authority.

"I'm sorry for that poor show my subordinates just gave you," he told them with genuine embarrassment when he turned back to them. "Please forgive me this unpleasantness."

"There is nothing to forgive," Itachi-sensei said with a small bow that Hinata quickly copied. "No harm has been done."

"And yet I still apologize nonetheless." Then, Akihito straightened up. "It seems I have been a bit too excited, however. I haven't even introduced you yet. These are my advisors Mikata" - he pointed at the grumpy man in the armour - "and Neishin" - he pointed at the other man who shot them a welcoming smile - "who help me in running the mining operations. Neishin helps me with accounting. Mikata, on the other hand, is not only responsible for my safety but for the security of the nearby town and our caravans as well. Over twenty of his men have died in the most recent attack, so I ask you to forgive him his recent outburst."

"As I said, no harm has been done," Itachi-sensei assured Akihito once more. "I can understand being tense after such a loss."

Mikata looked as if he wanted to say just what he thought of his understanding, but a warning look from Neishin stopped him in his tracks. Probably for the better, Hinata thought. It would surely not have been anything polite.

She couldn't really fault him, though. While she hadn't lost many people in her life, just the memory of when her mother died felt like a sucker punch to the gut. He had probably been not as close to the guards as she had been to her mother, but even if they had been 'only' acquaintances whose relationship was solely professional, losing so many of them must have hurt.

"Anyway," Akihito continued vigorously, having regained his earlier high spirits, "I kept you long enough. I'm sure you plan to stay here until the rest of your team arrives, correct? Wonderful! One of the servants will show you to your rooms where you can freshen up. I plan to hold a feast in your honour tonight. Someone will get you in time, so don't you worry."

Suddenly, everything happened very quickly as servants rushed to either serve Akihito and his advisers in some capacity or, as they had been told, lead them to their rooms. Hinata couldn't say she minded that. This conversation had been unexpectedly exhausting even though she had barely participated in it. A break to freshen up sounded quite nice.

Unless her sensei needed her for something, she planned to fully enjoy the break she just got. Especially in view of the upcoming feast in the evening.

Fortunately, he didn't.

It was only much later, when she was already in the unaccustomed but definitively not unwelcome luxury of her room, that she remembered what he had told her about his theory. She had been supposed to look for hints in his behaviour for anything that seemed off, but all of that had been forgotten the moment he had introduced himself in such an uncharacteristic manner for a noble. Hinata hadn't been able to concentrate on her task and, in fact, even forgot that she had a task at all.

All at once, her euphory about being allowed to accompany Itachi-sensei and the contentment she felt as she relaxed on the soft bed in her room were gone.

How am I going to explain to Itachi-sensei that I didn't do what he asked of me?