3. 嵐の前の穏やかな 2

"It was her!"

"No, it was him, Headmaster Kazu!!!"

"Silence! I will not side with one of you until you further explain to me why you were causing such a scene just outside of my study while a special visitor and I were-"

"It's all right." The hooded man rose up to his feet. He removed his hood, revealing his face.

Mimori's mouth is gaped open. She expected him to be older. He looks to be in his early twenties, perhaps not more than a few years ahead of her.

"What?" The Headmaster asked, surprised of the unexpected defense.

"They're just kids and kids fight most of the time. You should only consider them for now." The man said.

Sighing, the Headmaster agreed. "I'm afraid you're right although I'm very sorry about this childish inconvenience, Uchiha-san."

"I-I... Excuse me." Stuttering, Mimori excuses herself, her cheeks reddening of embarrassment.

Itachi watched as the girl ran away and disappearing in a corner. "She's the girl, is she not?" He asked the Headmaster as Hiro excuses himself too to find the runaway cat.

The head monk displays a stoic, serious expression. "She is, the daughter of Sol and Luna."

"What's her name?"

"Mimori."

"Mimori..." Itachi mumbled under his breath.

"Tsukino may take you to your quarters, Uchiha-san."

"I think I can find it on my own. I do love a little adventuring, well, only if you permit me to, Headmaster."

The head monk pondered about it for a moment. What if he does something to her? No matter, my daughter will keep her eyes on him. "Apologies, but as you are still a foreigner in my eyes, I need you to be accompanied. Besides, we wouldn't want you to get lost around here."

What a drag. "Understandable, Headmaster."

"I should leave, for I still have duties to fulfill. Tsukino," the Headmaster leans as close as possible to his daughter. "Keep a close eye on him while I'm gone."

Fools. Do you really think I can't hear a damn thing? I'm right in front of you! Sarcastically, Itachi thought, and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Mimori climbs to the second floor to the top of the temple. The very last top is what the monks call The Botanical Flying Garden where they can pray and rest peacefully. It's called the Botanical Flying Garden for the only thing you could see is the sky and the surroundings. You can't see the temple itself even when you look down the railings. Because of this, your mind starts to think it really is flying above the clouds, the Botanical Garden.

The second floor to the last top is the sleeping quarters for only the monks, very special visitors, and for Mimori herself. Her room, being also the biggest, is at the far end of the hallway, next to the stairs leading to the Flying Garden where she frequently sneaks out to almost every night.

Now inside her room, Mimori lets all of her weight be thrown on the futon she didn't made earlier. She always forget to make her bed, or rather chooses not to. Mimori has been known to be the smartest in her class, but due to her unchangeable laziness she can never be the top of the class.

Mimori heaved out a faint sigh as she sat back up, undoing her two-tailed braids. Her hair is waist-length and is as pale as moonlight. It is said that it is the inherited it from the moon. Anyhow, her yellow amber eyes are from the bestowed power of the almighty God of the Morning. Her beauty is pure ethereal, as almost all of the other tribespeople have black hair and black eyes. She's not seen as their equal but a Goddess. Even so, Mimori never fails to get along with everyone, though she would never fail to stand out of the crowd as well.

As Mimori combed her moon-kissed hair on the mirror, two knocks arrived at the door. When Mimori came to answer it, it was Tsukino. To Mimori, Tsukino is more likely an evil, psychotic stepmother figure to her than her Headmistress. She who Mimori is taught and disciplined by is also her greatest enemy around, ahead of Aki, her rival of Seiji's heart.

"Itachi wants to meet you in the Flying Garden." Tsukino said in monotone, her flat gaze uncomfortably intimidating.

"Who's Itachi?" Asked Mimori.

"The gaijin. Follow me." Mimori did so as told.

The hooded man, who's anymore not hooded and anonymous, is sitting at the edge of the Koi fountain. He's feeding the fishes with some crumbs. Nervous, Mimori looks back at Tsukino, who is no more in sight. Unknowingly, it was not the real Tsukino. It was only a shadow clone and it had disappeared the second it locked the gates of the garden behind them. Because of her disappearance, her heartbeats have become faster. And Itachi can hear it very clearly with her being oblivious.

Itachi turned around and faced her with a mild smile, greeting her with a younger, friendly voice than before. "Oh, hey there! You must be Mimori."

Mimori nodded, awkwardly. "I am."

"My name's Itachi, Itachi Uchiha. Say, the fishes here don't seem to like me. They won't eat the crumbs I would give them."

Intrigued by this, Mimori closes their distance. She looked down at the fishes, and gasped when she catches half of them are floating ghastly dead in the surface. "U-Uh..." Looking at the crumbs in his open palm, it were large pieces of bread crumbs. "T-The crumbs are too big. They must've... YOU MUSTN'T HAVE THEM EAT SUCH SIZES!"

Itachi's psychotic smile cracked at the outburst.

Mimori covers her mouth with her both her hands. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have. It's just..." Her eyes began to be filled with tears. "These fishes are special to me and they being great fortune to the temple. You shouldn't be feeding them anything at all since they're very delicate beings."

Taking out two bodies of the dead Koi fishes, Mimori placed her hands on them and relaxes her mind. Wavering halos of blue begin to form in her hands. Itachi watched the girl closely, speechless.

After some seconds, the resurected fishes jumped back to the water. Mimori repeats the same method with the other dead fishes until the fountain was full of live fishes again.

Amazing. After all those healings, her chakra is still seemed to be in its full extent. Itachi thought, smiling. He was impressed. His theory of her has finally been debunked. She is the one.

"I'm sorry, Mimori. I shouldn't have done such a stupid thing."

"It's all right. Thank the Gods my powers brought them back to life before it's all too late."

"Your powers, do they have a limit?"

"Yes. When the deceased body has been completely decomposed, I can no longer bring it back to life. But if I should, I will have to replace their place in the afterlife. A life long gone needs a permanent replacement, nevertheless. God wouldn't be happy if the soul he has already brought back home will be stolen away without anything in exchange."