I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 6
On a spring midday, Itachi met Sarada.
She stood at the end of the engawa steps between her parents, holding their hands. She was small for her age—ten years old and the exact likeness of Uchiha Mikoto. Her glasses were red rimmed, making her childish face seem older. She wore a navy, pleated dress with a big bow at the waist.
Itachi was mindful of his own image, in preparation for the visit. A dark kimono shirt and trousers were suitable. His hair was in a high ponytail, most of his fringe brushed back. Sai's team had given him a thumbs up before Kanna herded them toward the training grounds.
Sarada was skeptical of the 'uncle' before her. The furrow of her brow said as much. She had been told her Papa once had an older brother, but he had died during the Fourth War. So, imagine her skepticism when her parents sat her down and explained that a forbidden jutsu was used to bring that dead uncle back to life.
The big brother was now the younger brother.
At the moment, she sighed because no one was saying anything. She removed her buckled shoes to walk up the wooden steps. It was up to her to break the tense atmosphere the adults were creating. She stopped at the second to last step, craning her neck to look into her uncle's eyes.
"Hello, jii-sama," she said in a clear voice.
"Hello, Sarada," he matched her serious tone and kneeled to be at her level. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other.
Her small hands gently settled on his cheeks, surprising everyone. "Jii-sama looks like Papa."
"Yes." Itachi closed his eyes.
"And these are Papa's eyes?"
"Yes." He opened them for her. "One day, I shall leave them to you," he said.
Sarada sighed, resigned to whatever was happening in the strange introduction. She was not a dull girl and understood his meaning. Carrying Uchiha blood, her parents revealed a great deal of their phantom clan's abilities. To outsiders, inheriting eyes and storing them away for descendants would sound bizarre, but to everyone present, it was a normal thing.
"Papa says the same thing. When he is old and dies, because everyone dies, I'm supposed to keep his eyes safe, just in case mine stop working." She glanced back at her mother. "Or my little brother or sister's eyes."
Itachi met her honest, little gaze. "It is the way of things."
Sarada tsked, taking her hands away. A small smile curved at Itachi's lips. She was a child chiding a grown man. "I can swap with my sibling, like jii-sama and Papa."
"It is only a preventive measure," he gently explained, knowing Sasuke previously had this conversation with her. "One day you will have your own family." There was no telling if Sasuke's children would be able to awaken the sharingan, let alone the Mangekyo. Diluted Uchiha blood would ultimately fade from history. But just in case—they would not have to worry about blindness.
Sarada again sighed at his words, finding them silly as she usually did when adults said strange things. "Doesn't jii-sama know? That isn't how it works."
Her parents behind her grinned but remained silent, respecting the rabbit trail that the odd conversation had taken. Because it was so like them—uncle and niece— to be gravely earnest.
"Tell me then." Itachi was quickly, and irrevocably, beginning to love the child.
She crossed her arms, the wrinkled brow made her look so like a young Sasuke. She said, "I'll keep Papa's eyes and jii-sama's kids keep jii-sama's, okay?"
Her innocence was charming. He agreed to her conditions only to humor her. It mattered not, however. All that he would ever possess in this new life would be left to whatever children Sasuke had, for Itachi would never dare to have children of his own.
After meeting his niece, Itachi tried to withdraw. He had not known he could love another as he did his brother—perhaps more so. She was small and innocent, and looked to him with wonder when she began to visit with her Papa. What would she think of him in the future?
Sasuke tolerated the melancholy for two weeks until he could no longer stand for it. For the first time since their reunion, the brothers argued.
"I will remain here for you and your family. That is what you want, isn't it?" Itachi's brow was furrowed, not understanding what his brother was trying to do with his line of questioning.
Sasuke clicked his teeth. "Can you find peace here?" He was on to Itachi. He did not know about the nightly episodes, nor of his sudden grabble with fear that one day Sasuke's children would know of their uncle's deeds, but he plainly saw the fatigue and distance in his older brother's demeanor.
Itachi met his gaze dispassionately. They sat in the living space with forgotten tea between them, all the house's shoji doors open. "Tell me, little brother, what peace is there for a man who killed his own parents?"
This new life was a mockery of mercy. The intent of a second chance felt like someone's revenge. How would he live with himself when Sarada's eyes changed from admiration to hatred for what he had done? The past loathing Itachi endured from Sasuke and the village was enough. As he was now, he was not capable of facing any more of it. He was not the same man he once was.
"You were misled as a child," Sasuke said this calmly, without any resentment or disgust. "You were afraid I'd die because of our clan's choices."
"No matter what it was I felt, I must live with it." Itachi knew exactly where the coiling emotion in his gut stemmed from. It had lain dormant throughout the adrenaline of war and keeping his brother safe. Now that life had grown still, he had nothing else but to dwell on the travesty of the past.
"I won't disagree with you." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "But you've been given another chance, Itachi. What will you do with it?"
Itachi stared out into the field. Buckwheat flowers were sporadically growing everywhere. Far in the distance, the non-genin ran in circles while Kanna played with Sarada under a tree. The child was clearly fond of the young woman, and Kanna of her.
Could he hope for anything? He doubted it. Any highs he felt consisted of seeing Sasuke and now Sarada. There was nothing else. There could be nothing else.
Still, remembering the first book he read here, he said, "Perhaps a garden." When he turned to Sasuke, the man was smiling with such serenity Itachi felt guilt for having said it on a whim.
"You've got your work cut out for you."
Itachi glanced away, in his own musings. He did not ask for this new life. But he would endeavor to put his brother at ease with simple goals.
"Train with them," Sasuke also negotiated, pulling Itachi's gaze from the children. "Teach them something. It will ease your mind."
Physical exercise was good for the psyche. Sasuke did not volunteer himself because he was no longer capable of raising a hand against his brother. The idea of even a mild spar with Itachi sat ill with him—Itachi was of the same opinion.
"For you, I will do it."
Sasuke exhaled sharper than usual. He was somewhat put out with Itachi's insistence that his life revolve around him. For now, he would allow it, because it gave his brother focus. For now.
But it would do the man good to come up with a goal, or make a friend.
A hatless Kanna arrived later than usual one morning. Her uniform and hair were disheveled. He discussed the plans for a small garden and she, true to her character, busied herself alongside him. They kept the garden book on the engawa for reference.
Throughout the day, she was notably stiff and quieter.
After the usual period spent on the property, she went to fetch the weekly groceries. Kneeling by freshly churned garden rows, Itachi analyzed her slow progression into the field. She was dead on her feet.
She placed a reusable bag on the engawa and unenthusiastically glanced at the wooden steps beside her. Instead of aggravating her leg muscles, she used her arms to pull up on the wooden edge. Her arms insufficiently drew momentum, failing at obtaining the leverage she needed for an otherwise infantile act.
She yelped as she tipped backwards, legs kicking the air, but Itachi appeared behind her to stop the fall.
"Oof!" she mumbled when the back of her head hit his chest. He steadied her shoulders. Dirt was smudged on her chin from a long day's work.
"Are you unwell?" Close to his frame, her short stature was much more pronounced.
Kanna rolled her head up to look at him, overcome with fatigue. At the meeting of their gazes, the typical blush spread to her nose. She became this way anytime he looked at her and he did not know what to make of it. Unsurprising, her brown eyes liquified into a honey color when the light of the sun hit them. His hands remained on her shoulders.
"I trained this morning with my father," she said. It was why she had come later than usual.
"I see." He stepped back, allowing her room to face him. The front of his body was warm at the places where she had touched. "I will put the items away."
Her eyes widened. "That's my job."
He only stared and she flushed deeper.
"Okay, maybe not my job," she softly admitted. "But I usually do it…," her voice lowered when she turned to the steps and awkwardly took her shoes off, muscles sore. "I like to," she continued to needlessly explain. Her bare feet padded on the wooden engawa and the grocery items shuffled when she scooped up the bag.
Continuing to observe Sasuke's counsel, that very week, Itachi interrupted Sai's team. He intended to become acquainted with their capabilities. The three were working on a taijutsu combo attack.
Off to the side, Kanna sat crossed legged watching her brothers and their teammate. She wore a thoughtful expression with a soft smile. It seemed she was more rested today. Her clothes had changed recently. As soon as the weather warmed she began to favor shorts and t-shirts, forgoing chunin apparel.
He stepped out from the trees and the team quickly noticed, running up to him in greeting. The boys were curious to discover he was interested in their exercise and became ecstatic that he wanted to take part in it. He denied them an audience multiple times in the past, after all. Tsubame opted to watch from the sidelines for the first round, keen on learning exactly what a dead man was capable of.
Kanna stood beside her, a sort of fascination overcoming her countenance at the change in pace from the stoic man.
Not very long into the spar, the girls' eyes widened, in awe of Itachi's ability. The Hatake brothers, who were in a league of their own among the chunin of Konoha, could not touch him. They had to stop holding back five minutes into the fight. At first, they agreed to only taijutsu. After half an hour, they were allowed to brandish weapons and simple ninjutsu.
Itachi left Sasuke's kunai at home; however, it had been too easy to make the boys' weapons his own, catching them midair. He threw the sharp objects with imperfect trajectory. It would not benefit anyone if he killed these children.
Despite the immense disparity between their levels, the Hatake brothers were impressive young shinobi. And they were both very, very fast. Daiki was all power. Every technique was potent and destructive in nature. If the boy ever managed to land a hit, Itachi was sure it would do some damage. Satomi's style was colder, but much more precise. The young man was less predictable. A curtain of stoicism had fallen over his features the moment the spar began. The practical indifference would one day evolve into deadly skill.
It was an age-old advantage in battle. Itachi knew it well.
The brothers tried to land punches and kicks. Itachi, with no expression, effortlessly swatted each offense. This all without the sharingan. The brothers were scoffed and bruised from being knocked down so many times after Itachi used their own momentum against them.
Satomi came at him again, with Daiki discretely following from behind with a fireball at the ready. Knowing what the youngest Hatake's fireball could do, Itachi slammed a foot to Satomi's chest and the boy flew backwards into his brother. The two were violently blown away in a twist of limbs and grunts. The flame died in Daiki's mouth.
Scrambling on trembling legs, the brothers looked at one another in silent understanding.
From a high branch, Tsubame groaned, likely realizing what her teammates were contriving. Itachi's gaze flickered over to Kanna. She was frowning, a trace of worry in her eyes. Perhaps things were escalating too much.
He was going to call it when an electrical current stilled the air. The sharingan swirled to life at the change in atmosphere—this was no longer a spar for the young men. It was becoming a fight to prove themselves. Foolish children. The Anbu in the shadows teetered closer than usual but did not interfere.
Blue light flickered to life around the brothers. They rapidly went through a series of hand signs at a speed reminiscent of the Rokudaime's repute. The sequence ended in a dog sign but with their bottom palms facing upwards and clenched into a tiger claw. Bright lightning streaks erupted around them.
The technique caused haphazard lightning to enclose them in a dome-like shield. It was about twenty feet in circumstance. Itachi stepped forward, with a semblance of concern when the two brothers ran toward each other with Raikiri in the palm of their hands.
Their left hands proceeded to clap into a mighty high five. It caused blue lightning to shoot out in a grand display of color and straight to where Itachi stood.
Narrowing his eyes, Itachi jumped away and continued to do so as consecutive bolts zapped toward him each time he landed on the ground. The aerial technique was incredibly controlled—but now and then there was a haphazard release of lightning without clear trajectory.
The ground trembled, breaking into a pit of smoke after each strike.
"Lightning Sphere!" They called it and smacked hands again for a new round of bolts to pursue Itachi across the damaged field. It was an inventive jutsu clearly deriving from their father's Chidori. It was also reckless in this environment. Itachi jumped further away from the kunoichi in the trees, until finally he was outside of the brothers' range.
"Do you typically use lethal jutsu against a comrade?" Itachi called.
Satomi's eyes narrowed. "Do you typically miss on purpose? You're just now using the sharingan."
"We figured,' Daiki called from above the thunderous noise of their jutsu, "since it's you, Zombie-san, it's fine." Daiki glanced at his older brother, as if verifying he spoke correctly. Satomi minutely nodded, pale hair reflecting blue light.
Mischievous, indeed. A rogue bolt could have injured their teammate or sister.
"Very well," Itachi said, now aware that he had wounded their ridiculous pride. "Do not fault me when you become irreparably injured." The tomoe in his eyes blended into a blackened singularity.
Susanoo's upper torso roared to life around Itachi, strings of muscles rapidly covering the ghostly entity's skeleton. His fiery arms reached out, palms facedown, intending to squash them.
"What is that!" Tsubame screeched from the tree. "Get out of the way!"
Susanoo's ethereal hands stopped a foot above the not-genin's heads. Lightning currents zapped up the vestige's forearms but had no effect as long, bony fingers began to enclose around them. The boys were frozen, heads leaning in awe of the monstrosity.
"Are you satisfied?" Itachi spoke, listless. He questioned if the misaimed bolts were a façade. It had been a ploy to cause irritation at their haphazard actions. Kanna's disapproving look had been intended for her brothers, not Itachi. It was the first time he had ever seen her troubled by their reckless tendencies.
"That," Satomi continued to stare upward, eyes wide, "is amazing."
The electric dome dispersed. Daiki jumped up and high fived the phantom beast. "We lose!"
Susanoo curled around Itachi before disappearing. Satomi smirked, pleased with himself. He had successfully instigated the Uchiha's power. From the trees, Tsubame and Kanna exhaled loudly.
Daiki spun around, bruised and beaten. "Your turn, Tsubame-chan!"
She cupped a hand to the side of her mouth. "No, thanks! I like my life!"
Together, the three Uchiha walked down a newly paved trail. Itachi agreed to meet Sasuke and his child at their home, promising to spend time with the girl. She held his hand and ignored her father behind them.
"Shouldn't Papa call jii-sama 'niisan'? It's not very polite to call an older sibling by their name."
"Sarada," Sasuke mumbled from behind, stifled. Ah. She liked to chastise him.
"It is fine," Itachi said, glancing over his shoulder. "Sasuke and I are equals. And" he lightly smiled down at her, "it would be odd since I am younger than him now."
Sarada pursed her lips, unsatisfied with the disorder of things. After a moment, she relented. "That makes perfect sense, jii-sama." She held his hand tighter.
Sasuke rose an eyebrow at the partiality towards Itachi. There was no side to take in this sort of face value conversation, yet she created a side. She took her uncle's. Itachi gave his brother a flat look, pitying him. His child obviously took pleasure in being difficult at his expense.
They came to the field surrounding the home given to Itachi. Sarada ran ahead of them when she saw Kanna sitting on the steps. She was taking stock of seeds. Noticing the excited child, the silver haired young woman got up to meet her halfway.
Sasuke stepped beside his brother. "She is only like that when I've been gone longer than I promised."
Itachi observed as Kanna tucked Sarada's hair behind her ears. "I don't blame her."
"You're both against me." The words were said fondly. Sasuke did not mind the alliance.
Even Itachi found it endearing. He personally, albeit silently, disapproved of Sasuke's long missions. He, too, did not like being away from Sarada's Papa.
That very month Itachi approached Kanna, soliciting her to spar. She was stunned, nearly scandalized. They potted all the seeds and there was nothing else to do. Her brothers' team had met their visitation quota, forbidden to trespass on the property more than twice a week.
Kanna was trying to find the right words to turn him down. "I don't fight like my brothers. Taijutsu isn't what I'm good at." She was afraid she would embarrass herself. It was obvious to Itachi she did not work on her physique as much as a chunin should. Her physiology was lean but softer than what a kunoichi's should be.
It was to her detriment. Stretches of physical inertia prolonged recovery time for the muscles and joints, as indicated when she had been in great discomfort not too long ago. She was not the first shinobi to prefer honing private techniques instead of athleticism. It was why she continued to abstain when Sai's team tried to coerce her to join their sessions.
Kanna pressed her hands to her cheeks. "I won't be much of a sparring partner. You'll get bored. And—" The rejection continued.
Itachi had enough of her excuses. Bargaining, he asked, "What is the noise level when you are invisible?"
Amazed at the sudden change in topic, she said, "Not too bad—I could be better." Hope filled her gaze. "Do you want to practice with me?"
He knew she often trained on the property when visitors were none the wiser, testing her limits. Though she had likely retired from spying near the rivers.
"Come," he said. He had an idea. Doing this would help create a sort of immunity to her tactics. She quickly followed him up the engawa stairs and they stripped off their shoes. He turned to her.
She was filled with the same excitement as her brothers. She looked at him brightly and in anticipation. He raised two fingers and pointed at her forehead. She nearly went cross eyed, caught off guard by the nearness of him.
"Stand as you are, facing me. Change your position every thirty seconds in the house. If I sense you, I will tap your brow. We will repeat this for an hour."
She let out a delighted laugh before tossing her hat off and running inside the living space.
Itachi successfully poked her forehead after each thirty second interval. Dozens of tallies in, he was not sure if she was trying. She huffed after each oust, invisible to his eyes but not his ears. He did not wish to hurt her self-esteem. Yet, with each success, he felt a sense of personal accomplishment.
Her technique was not as effective if he was anticipating it.
It was on the twenty eighth attempt that she succeeded in outwitting him. She giggled from a corner, pleased with the victory. He stretched an arm and poked her forehead. A hushed complaint followed.
"Do not let your guard down," he advised.
Another thirty seconds. Another successful poke. Two minutes, four taps, one minute, no taps. Success. Failure. Success. After another tap, his fingertips returned wet.
He poked her eye. He miscalculated—though he suspected she had turned at the sound of a bird outside, forgetting the preset rules. She yipped, appearing in a fetal position on the tatami mat, covering the upper left side of her face.
Stoically, he peered down. It was an overdramatic response. Her half giggling, half bemoaning indicated he had not irreversibly damaged her.
His mouth frowned when she looked up at him with a smile, her eye very red and creased. At the very least, she would not go blind.
"We should stop."
She could hardly speak around the giggling. "It's," she caught her breath, "okay! See, I'm fine!"
Standing, she pushed onto her tippy toes. Providing him a better look only disproved her words. Tears gathered around the assaulted eye until they rolled down her flushed cheek. She was small of stature. Stretched on her toes, she barely reached his shoulders.
"We will stop," he said with finality, turning away and exiting the library room. He had a sudden, powerful urge to take a long stroll.
She huffed something about needing goggles. She trailed behind him but did not argue.
"Is there anything you'd like to practice?" she said, trying to keep up with his long strides out the door.
"There is not." Yet he thought of the unused Eternal Mangekyou's power.
Sasuke strode toward his brother's property. He was departing on another extended mission to gather intel on codename: The Illusionist. He wanted to leave now so that he could return at the end of Sakura's pregnancy. It went unsaid that he would be present for it, but Sakura had verbalized her desire this time and he would never let her down.
He arrived at the field surrounding Itachi's home. A small garden with only leaf stems was now adjacent to it. Vegetables, his brother had succinctly explained. Yet what piqued Sasuke's curiosity was what stood in front of it. A woman holding a basket was conversing with Itachi. The two wore yukata, and for a moment it seemed as if they were from another era.
On one side of the field, Kanna pretended to busy herself with a garden cage.
The woman bowed to his brother and began to walk down the path. She politely acknowledged Sasuke and he in turn returned the greeting. The ends of her auburn hair were tied at the knees, swaying with her elegant form. Her basket was filled with chamomiles.
"You've met Tamashine-san," Sasuke greeted when he reached his brother.
"She has been gathering tea flowers near the mountain's foot. For many years, she said."
That was news to Sasuke. "I had no idea. Her husband runs an acclaimed teahouse in the village."
Itachi's eyes lightened in humor, quietly smiling. "It seems you have been funding their success."
Sasuke chuckled at his brother's remark. "I've never visited."
"Perhaps now you will."
"Should I collect on our portion of the profits?"
A staggered breath issued from Itachi's nose. The stoic man had at last laughed.
After a midnight swim, Itachi found an injured Anbu Blacks Ops near the field's edge. He had been Kanna's shadow today but had not retreated with her. The shinobi had never been on the rotating security detail before.
The young man forwent his mask, bent over on the ground, putting pressure on a bloody abdomen. Blond dreads were attached to the discarded mask. The shinobi himself had short, electric blond hair. He glanced up at Itachi with green eyes, chagrined.
"Hey there," he said, sweat at his brow. "A little help?"
Wordlessly, Itachi approached the shinobi. He was sure this was the same person that Satomi had called 'Soota' when the Uchiha first arrived at the village.
"How did this happen?" Itachi asked. There had been no danger.
"Oh ya know," the stranger said. He was gently hoisted upward. "I was put on light duty because of this little cut—but I had to go and pop a few stitches."
Given the amount of blood, it was doubtful to be 'a few.' Itachi carefully lowered to grab the embellished mask.
"I'm Tanako Soota, by the way. Itachi, right?" The man grinned at him as they made their way to the field. They were about the same height, and age.
"Yes."
"Do you typically go swimming in the nude?"
"Yes." Itachi replied. The clothes he wore were dry, but his hair and skin were wet and smelled of spring water.
Soota laughed and then winced, breathing through his teeth. "I'm sorry for the hassle," he mumbled. "May I stay at your place tonight? I'll sleep on the engawa."
Itachi nodded, unbothered. The man needed to be properly examined, but he was not at liberty to take the Anbu into the village. At this hour, it would be improper to disturb Sasuke's wife.
"You may rest inside. I will redress your wound." Kanna would come in the morning. She knew of some medical ninjutsu. At the very least, she could haul the man to a hospital in her wagon.
Soota looked grateful. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
Kanna arrived after dusk. Her wagon was filled with varying terracotta pots, and they trembled on their trek toward the house. Itachi stood on the engawa, hands tucked into his yukata sleeves.
"Kanna." Before she could greet him, he continued to speak. "Come inside. Someone is injured."
He turned and went in the interior of the home. She shuffled to take her shoes off and quickly followed.
"Soota!" she called, zooming past the Uchiha. She kneeled by the Anbu, who was prone on an extra bedroll. They knew each other. "Aren't you supposed to be recovering?"
The young man smiled through his embarrassment. "Yeah…I got a little carried away. Think you could take a look?" He gestured to his abdomen. "That is…if you can. Our friend here says all the external stitches are intact. He found me out back and took pity on me."
Itachi silently stood to the side. He watched her hesitate. It took a moment for her to mentally prepare for something. Now resolved, she hovered two glowing hands over the shinobi's pelvic area.
"It's covered," she spoke softer than usual. "So it's no problem."
Soota smiled good-naturedly. "You can thank Itachi for that. If it hadn't been for him, I woulda been found dead in the woods." She gasped at the hyperbole. "That's right, Kanna. I woulda been a goner."
Her mouth parted in a small inhale. "What sort of flowers?"
"Hm?" Soota was bemused.
The guardsman giggled. "For your funeral."
Soota laughed sharply and then winced. "Ow!"
Kanna smiled as her hands stopped glowing and she placed them on her lap. "One of the internal stitches was pressing on a small vein. That's why there seemed to be a lot of blood. I healed the surrounding tissue to stop the bleeding and minimize the pain, but you should probably go to a clinic so they can redo it if you're going to be running around."
"Urgh. I was trying to avoid that." The Anbu shrugged. "What a pain."
Kanna nodded, conceding in that way she did with everyone, despite no words being exchanged or anything having been agreed upon. "You could always rest until it heals on its own, but I have a feeling you don't want to do that."
Soota stared at the ceiling. "How long do you think I need to stay put?"
"Two to three days."
The Anbu looked to Itachi in a way that reminded the Uchiha of Sai's team. "Can I stay another few nights, Itachi-senpai?"
Senpai?
Kanna looked between them rapidly. "S-S-Soota, you can't impose!" She leaned toward the electric haired ninja, who was shocked at the sudden reprimand. Kanna held a hand to her mouth, whispering, "He never says no to anyone." That was not true.
She and Soota had a stare-off. He had the sort of look bespeaking 'you are the same as him' and she had the sort that read 'do not point that out.'
Itachi closed his eyes and slid his hands within the sleeves of the yukata. "It is fine, Kanna. He is welcome." It did not matter. What was one more visitor among the relentless many?
She exhaled, mourning on his behalf. "Oh Itachi. Soota's mama got married recently and he doesn't want to intrude." The Anbu chuckled, scratching the back of his head, found guilty.
Itachi turned on his heel to leave. "It is fine, as I said." He wished to go for a swim. "Perhaps after three days you will be motivated to move out of your mother's."
The Uchiha left them open mouthed, shocked at the quipping nature of the comment. The childhood friends exchanged looks.
"Was that a joke?" Soota mumbled.
Kanna stared after the man she'd come to care for. "I think so," she said, in disbelief. And then she smiled. Her cheeks warmed and she felt as if she were floating. He was getting better. It was all thanks to Sasuke and Sarada-chan.
Soota owlishly observed her expression and an understanding blush of his own flourished on his face. His gaze whizzed from Kanna's smile to Itachi's retreating form.
Oh. Perhaps he'd be intruding here, too.