Mitsuki spent the next few days either cooped up in the room, reading the medical books while keeping her eyes on Itachi's condition, or conversing with the village doctor about the things that she couldn't understand from her study. During the few days as well, Itachi had slowly regained his vigor, enough for him to stand up and take a walk around the village on his own. Knowing this, Mitsuki had always made sure to monitor him from a distance, discreetly, as she was still worried about whatever changes the mark's darkening had caused him, or if it implies anything at all. Then one night, during her observation, she noticed.

"That man again…" Mitsuki narrowed her eyes as she maintained her position, gazing upon the moon from the window of the inn's room. That night, Itachi had sneaked out again once more while carrying some of his supply, a thing that he did from time to time. Mitsuki had always wondered what Itachi did during those short time where he snuck away from both her and Kisame, but had never found any importance in actually finding out about it as he would usually come back not too long after. However, this time, he took longer than usual, and..

"That man, he's not observing me and Kisame, he's observing Itachi-kun," Mitsuki uttered in her mind, as she noticed the man moved closer and closer towards where Itachi had positioned himself for a while. Worried, Mitsuki decided to quickly leave the room as quiet as possible, not to wake Kisame up, and went to where Itachi was.

As Mitsuki rushed her way through the village without a sound, she couldn't help but wonder about the masked man's purpose. Itachi knew about him, yet was wary of him and acted tenser in his presence, so he couldn't have been an ally. Yet, Kisame was an ally, but Itachi wanted to keep some knowledge away from him as well, including the fact that he had noticed the masked man's surveillance. At first, Mitsuki thought that keeping her ability secret and keeping the knowledge of masked man's presence to be related, and that it might have been because of Itachi's worry about her, as he had continuously tried to push her away from him and Akatsuki by reconfirming her decisions again and again. But judging from the masked man's action that night, it was clear that he was more interested in Itachi himself than Mitsuki.

Swiftly, Mitsuki reached a point where she could observe Itachi's action directly, as well as keeping herself out from the masked man's watch. There she saw Itachi took a bunch of different pills, and swallowed them. Confused, Mitsuki stayed her ground, until the wind blew towards her from Itachi's direction. Only then she could smell a faint scent of blood.

"Is he injured?" Mitsuki thought to herself, deducing what could be the source of the bleeding. Then, all of the sudden, Itachi covered his mouth as he cough, again, and again, followed by his other hand clutching onto his chest as he appeared to try and hold back his pain. As his coughing fit ended, seemingly having been breathless for so long, Itachi took a deep breath as he leaned against the rock near his back. As he lifted his hands away from his mouth, blood had covered both the palm of his hand, as well as the area around his mouth, visibly suffering and weakened. Seeing this Mitsuki tried her best to stop her legs from weakening and her breath fastening. Knowing that staying longer in her current condition would only reveal her position to both Itachi and the masked man, Mitsuki quickly scurried away as carefully as she could. Away from Itachi, away from the masked man, and away from the inn as well. She needed a space to be alone, to process the thoughts that had resurfaced in her mind.

As she landed herself on the village's windmill, the tallest building she came across, Mitsuki could feel her legs giving in as she slowly positioned herself to take a seat. Upon sitting, Mitsuki once again gazed on the full moon, as she tried to calm her mind, to no avail. Inside her, the moment of Shin-jii's death played over and over again inside her head. Her failure to save him, Aida's devastated face as she fell on her knee, the pain in Keiko's face as they picked up Shin-jii's body. Then, she couldn't help but imagine the same thing occurring once more, only that this time, it was Itachi's death, Kisame's pain, and her failure, once more, as they slowly watch him lost his life, without a choice.

"Why? Why now? I haven't even learned anything of use yet.. Isn't this too fast?" Mitsuki muttered as she held back her tears and her sobs. Not knowing what compels her, Mitsuki uttered a prayer, "Gods, if you're there watching, tell me.. Is this a punishment, for what I have done, for the lives I've taken?"


When Itachi got back, he noticed that the girl was missing from her futon. Still out of breath and holding his pain during his journey back towards the inn, Itachi quickly sat upon his futon as quiet as possible, not to alert Kisame. As he positioned himself securely, Itachi controlled his breathing as he tried to ignore the pain that had invaded his entire body.

"You don't have much longer to live," said the underground medic that Itachi had visited in his past. And another one, and then another one. His body had worked itself against him, slowly eating him from the inside, and the after effect of Mangekyou's sharingan further worsening his condition every time. Towards Kisame, he had always brushed it off as the drawback of his Jutsu, even as his whole body screamed in pain. Itachi had never feared death, nor did he fear suffering. After that fated night, he knew someday his end would come, and not in any good way.

"Anyone who has raised their hand against a comrade would never have a decent death," Itachi recalled the words that he had said to Kisame during their first meeting.

All that he wished for was for him to ensure Sasuke's safety as long as he was still alive, and..

"To die on his hand, so that he would be deemed the hero, and Uchiha's name restored.." Itachi thought silently, his eyes reflecting the sadness within his heart.

But, as of then, it was still too early, for him, and for Sasuke. He had to make sure that no one would be able to easily land their hand on Sasuke, to prevent what happened to Shishui's eye occurring once more. Even as a very capable shinobi, Shisui couldn't escape Danzo's greed of power. Therefore, even if he needed to fuel the fire of growth within Sasuke by becoming the evil that he had to vanguish, Itachi was ready for anything. Even for those eyes who once adored him without questions to look at him with pure hatred. And with his death, Sasuke would be complete, as he will give his beloved brother a gift of light's eternity, his own set of eyes. Till then, he had to survive, as long as he could, no matter what it takes, no matter the pain.

As he finished his train of thought, Itachi closed his eyes once more, holding back the pain inside his heart from spilling. All this year, and for years ahead, until Sasuke would overcome him, he will be walking slowly towards a certain death. Even so, within his heart, he hoped that the path that he would thread towards his death, would be the one that protects peace, as it will give even the slightest meaning to his existence, as well as defining who he was as a person, and giving him a chance at his long abandoned wish of world peace.


Morning has broken, and Itachi had woken back up from his sleep. Kisame was still sleeping peacefully, yet the girl had never came back, or so he thought. Not long after, the door to the room opened slowly as Mitsuki entered the room once more, books in her hand.

"Ah, Itachi-kun, you're awake," said the girl softly, with slight smile on her tired face.

"You didn't sleep?" Itachi asked briefly.

"Haha, a bit, yeah.." Mitsuki laughed awkwardly, as she avoided Itachi's gaze. "I had too much fun learning all these new stuffs, that's all," said Mitsuki while keeping a slight smile on her face.

Looking at the dark circle around her eyes, Itachi felt that it was not the entire truth. However he decided not to pursue it further, as Mitsuki sat on the futon beside his and handed him some food that she had procured, all while opening the books in her hand once more. Seeing the girl's desperate attempt in learning, Itachi was reminded of his younger self, devouring every book in his sight to learn more about shinobis, and the world itself. Wondering what had compelled such change inside her, Itachi took a peek at the contents within the book she was reading, as well as the cover of the others. It seemed like she had finished the previous pile of book that she borrowed, and now switched her attention towards books of another, related, matter.

"'Medicinal herbs and their effects', 'Alchemy & Potions', 'The Working of Human's Body', you sure are learning a lot these days," said Itachi, slightly enquiring.

"Un," Mitsuki answered shortly as she bit into her breakfast. "Speaking of that, I know you like kombu onigiri the most, but please eat some with meat as well, Itachi-kun. You need balanced meal," Mitsuki said without lifting her gaze up from the book's page. Hearing her serious tone, Itachi couldn't help but chuckled.

"What?" Mitsuki glanced at Itachi annoyedly as he laughed at her sincere effort of advice.

"Ah, no. If you need to ask me anything, do ask. I'll help you as much as I can," said Itachi with a bittersweet smile, ladened with unspoken words. Seeing Itachi's smile, Mitsuki couldn't help but feeling even more confused, prompting her to crumple her face and tilted her head, pondering. As gentle warmth crept inside Itachi's heart, he resisted the urge to give the diligent girl a pat on the head.
As the conversation went, Kisame had silently woken up from his sleep. However, as he silently listened in to their conversation, he decided not to interrupt whatever it was that his two teammates had between them. ".. and she said I have no delicacy, heh," Kisame muttered silently in his head as he held back his grin.


"What are you doing here, kiddo?" Kisame asked as he saw Mitsuki lingered around the village's clinic on one afternoon, tending to the guests with a gentle smile.

"Ah, Kisame," Mitsuki exclaimed softly as she saw Kisame's figure approaching. "I'm helping the doctor here with data logging and administrative stuff as a payment for his help with my study," Mitsuki answered Kisame's question promptly.

".. How is it that you always ended up so busy no matter where we go?" Kisame asked as he knitted his forehead in confusion as the girl went about her new 'duty'.

"It's best to experience everything we can while we are still alive, isn't it?" Mitsuki gave Kisame a non-answer with a complicated smile on her face. Confused, Kisame shrugged as he walked away from the clinic, leaving Mitsuki alone with her jobs.

Of course, that was not Mitsuki's sole intention for helping at the clinic. As she assessed the patients' condition and logged their data, Mitsuki too tried to match her diagnosis with that of the doctor's. She figured out that field experience will help her to understand human's body condition more than reading from book alone. Besides, during the patients inspection, Mitsuki had learned how to casually read the patients condition by examining their flow of energy, blood, and temperature by injecting a very small portion of her own energy into the patient's body, just enough for her to get a closer read inside the human's body without causing any after effects. By doing that, and supplemented by her newly obtained theoretical knowledge, Mitsuki had slowly gained a better grasp on human's body and their health condition. That way, she could also prepare herself to monitor Itachi's condition better during their journey together ahead, Mitsuki thought. Whether she could find a way to interfere or not, that would have to wait until she is more familiar with her power's capability, as well as the cause of Itachi's condition. "One step at a time," Mitsuki thought. With those in mind, Mitsuki took one more step ahead.


That night was Kisame's turn to bring back dinner. By the time he arrived back, Itachi was sitting on his futon, reading one of the book that Mitsuki had brought back, and the girl herself lied facedown on her pillow, seemingly in the verge of being knocked out.

"What happened here?" Kisame asked, holding back his laughter at the unusual scene in front of him.

"… information overload," Mitsuki said with exhaustion in her voice. "What's for dinner?" she continued as she propped her body up, back to sitting position.

"Ah, I got us Saba Teriyaki, rice, and some simple sides," said Kisame as he entered the room and locked the room behind him.

"Hmm, sounds good," Mitsuki said, grinning, still looking very exhausted. By then, she had gotten a grasp on what her teammates will bring over for dinner. Kisame had always prioritized on protein, either from fishes, or meats, but it seemed like his personal favourite was seafood. As for Itachi, he like simple, warm, Japanese style dish. As for his choice of vegetables, it seemed like he was especially fond of cabbages, with cabbage roll being one of his favourite dish. He would also add on some Japanese desert from time to time, to Mitsuki's excitement. As for herself.. She just bought whatever she felt like trying.

"But from now on, I guess I have to think of their health more as well," Mitsuki thought with a light smile coloring her lips, thinking of how she would have to take care of the two precious friends in front of her during their journey.


Omake:

"Do you not have a good sleep lately or what, kiddo?" asked Kisame as he saw the dark circle beneath Mitsuki's eye

"Egh, not really.." Mitsuki answered half heartedly as she bit into her food slowly.

Kisame and Itachi traded a glance. Personally, Itachi knew that Mitsuki had been checking on his condition from time to time every night as well as absent mindedly following him around town for no reason whenever she was free, sometimes exposing herself due to her loss of focus from time to time. As he observed the girl eating in low energy, seemingly about to fall asleep, Mitsuki caught his stare and frowned at him questioningly. Caught staring red-handed, Itachi spoke,

"You don't need to check on me every night anymore. I'm fine now," he said as he tried to give his caretaker's mind a sense of ease.

In response of Itachi's word, on the contrary, Mitsuki glared at him intensely with an almost audible hiss, as if annoyed, confusing Itachi and Kisame alike.

As Mitsuki tried to suppress her anger of Itachi's blatant lie, Mitsuki sighed audibly, saying, "Hghhh I don't know anymore, my head hurts!" she exclaimed as she devoured the rest of her food quickly, before throwing the box toward's Kisame and laying down on her own futon. "Throw this for me, Kisame, thanks in advance," she said as she drowned her face inside her pillow, leaving Itachi and Kisame to trade glance with each other, confused. However, as Mitsuki's breathing slowly turned into a snore, the two was prompted to trade bitter smile with each other in a mix of confusion and amusement.


Author's note:

(After finished writing) I finished writing this chapter just before the convention start, then during convention days I draw every day after I got home and posted chapter 28 on the last day of convention. I'm so tired now but somehow feel very anxious about writing and drawing more to at least let Mitsuki's character and feeling develop more. I'm afraid it will be too rushing but it might also be too slow so far considering how she is still so bratty x.x I hope you guys are ok with current pacing, and I don't disappoint you guys yet hahahah. Oh well, it's my depression talking probably, I'll take a few days break now so I can fully focus on making a good progression on the story

(When posting) I secretly took a break, did you guys notice hehehehe.. I said it was a break but it's more of break from illustrating cos the exhaustion caused me artblock. I've recovered tho, hence posting the new art for previous and this chapter recently heheh~

Oh also, bonus content! I did expression practice for Mitsuki as suggested by my friend x'D it was fun! feel free to checkout MoonDemon Fanfic at X for the illustrations!