Mitsuki played with her fingers nervously. The situation reminded him of that time Itachi questioned her about her decision to take life. Silently, she wondered what had she done this time to deserve another "talk time". Mitsuki anxiously searched her memories for the most likely answer. Was it her interference in her medication? Was it her locking herself up in the production room? Or, was it for dashing and leaving Itachi, Reishi, and Kina without explanation for hours? As Mitsuki drowned herself in her panicked thoughts, Itachi called unto her once more as he took a seat on an open spot under a tree, noticing the halt in her movement and the scrunched look on her face.
"Mitsuki?" he called her name with calm tone in his voice. However, the abruptness of the call still caught Mitsuki off-guard.
"YES!?" Mitsuki yelped in panic as she heard the call. Hearing her response, Itachi was reminded of their previous interaction when he had attempted a conversation with the half asleep, bed-haired Mitsuki. Unconsciously, he let out a small chuckle in response to the familiar, panicked reply, confusing Mitsuki.
Smiling, Itachi thought to himself, "Yes, this side of Mitsuki is fine*." Somehow, the familiar, silly reaction put his heart more at ease, as if reassuring him that the person in front of him was still the same Mitsuki that he knew of.
Despite her confusion, Mitsuki followed Itachi's step and took seat in front of him, folding her legs beneath her body as she kept her back straight. Itachi tried not to smile at the obvious tension she displayed. Still keeping the calm tone in his voice, Itachi asked for Mitsuki's assistance.
"Before we begin, can you check around for any presence that might overhear us?" said Itachi cautiously. Unsure of what topic Itachi had in his mind, Mitsuki nodded and replied promptly,
"Sure, I'll keep my perception on from now on."
Nodding, Itachi waited for Mitsuki to do her usual move, only for her to tilt her head in confusion.
"And?" she asked, waiting.
"? You don't need to concentrate more or anything?" asked Itachi in surprise. If he had remembered correctly, every time he asked Mitsuki to extend her perception, she would then frown as if heightening her concentration.
"Ah," Mitsuki realised what might have brought Itachi's question about. Ever since her seal had been lifted, controlling her power for basic use like activating her perception had come to her akin to her second nature. But of course, Itachi wouldn't know that. She hadn't told him anything about what happened during his loss of consciousness, after all.
Seeing Mitsuki averted her gaze away as he breached the conversation, Itachi quickly continued before Mitsuki could take the chance to create another excuse.
"You wanted to ask me something, am I wrong?" Itachi hinted at her, while suppressing the hesitation in his heart. What he had prepared himself to share was something unprecedented to him, and even then, he still felt a bout of hesitation within him as he wondered if sharing the truth of his past would be another mistake on his side. However, something else inside him pushed him to take the step, going with the flow of circumstances. That something, wanted the girl in front of him to know. Why? He wasn't sure of the reason either.
Mitsuki couldn't believe what she just heard. Reflexively, she leaned forward as her eyes widened in confusion while simultaneously sparkled in excitement. It was the reaction that Itachi had expected to come from the honest, curious girl. However, suddenly it was as if Mitsuki had decided to turn and pull away once more, doubt colored her previously sparkling eye with darkness. Wondering what had prompted such a sudden change, Itachi frowned as he threw her a questioning gaze. Noticing the questioning look on Itachi's eye, Mitsuki spoke hesitantly.
"Are you sure about this? You don't have to cater to me, you know.." said Mitsuki with guilt in her voice. Remembering the strong rejection from Itachi prior to this talk, Mitsuki found Itachi's current action to be unexpected, especially in such a short amount of time, if she could call the 2 month they had spent together as such. Hearing her weakened response and the uncertainty in her voice, Itachi quickly cut into her words.
"In exchange," he said with an emphasis, "From now on, you have to tell me everything you knew of honestly as well." Half of it was an excuse for him, yet another half was out of genuine concern and curiosity. Not knowing what was in her mind bothered him more than it should, and he hated that. He realized that he had perhaps been putting on too much care on her, but he felt that he couldn't help it. Not after everything that had happened between them.
As Mitsuki gazed on Itachi's face, perplexed, Itachi wondered if she had caught his hint. However, Mitsuki refrained from responding immediately, prompting Itachi to make his intention clearer.
"In return, I will do the same to you," he said, his expression unreadable. "Take it as a repayment for you saving my life. At least, you have earned yourself that much," said Itachi, partly to Mitsuki, partly to himself. Frankly, that incident aside, she had indeed earned his trust. All this time, what he needed was just the right push and the right timing.
Contrary to Itachi's expectation, Mitsuki frowned. Confused, Itachi tilted his head lightly, asking for explanation.
"What if.. it wasn't me who helped you? Or what if, what I did, didn't actually help you?" Mitsuki said. Her voice quivered as she averted her gaze.
Mitsuki's question was greeted with silence. Upon hearing no response, Mitsuki peeked curiously towards Itachi's expression, which had grown dark, teeming with annoyance as if daring her to spout whatever other nonsense she could concoct in order to avoid answering his question. Upon seeing the intensity in Itachi's expression, Mitsuki gave up on her diversion immediately, sighing.
"Understood, I will tell you everything," said Mitsuki, frowning. Her sigh made Itachi wondered where had the cute, innocent girl who had always told him every idea and theory of hers excitedly without reserve had gone to. Or more like, what had changed her?
"Indeed, I must go first, else we would never move along," Itachi thought as silence engulfed the pair once more.
"Ask on," Itachi said calmly as he leaned his back against the tree.
Still unsure, Mitsuki asked with hesitation in her voice.
"Then, can you tell me, what happened back when you were still living in Konoha? I've heard the gist of it but I found it to be unbelievable.. Knowing you, that is.." Mitsuki gazed firmly upon Itachi's face with a frown on her face, as if testing Itachi's response as she purposedly dropped her most difficult question first.
Itachi saw the change in Mitsuki's face and deduced the meaning behind her expression. Determined to finish what he had started, Itachi sighed and replied,
"First, find yourself a more comfortable position first, it will be a long story.."
Itachi found himself stopping in his track a lot as he tried his best to tell Mitsuki the whole truth behind the Uchiha massacre. Sometimes, he found the words got caught at his throat more than he would like to admit. However, somehow by putting his experience into words, a sense of catharsis hit him. It was as if he was liberated from the burden of the secret that he carried alone as he shared his struggle with her. For the first time, there was someone beside him who would carry the painful truth with him and allowed a peek unto his true self. In the first place, the girl had always given him that impression of peering into his soul, anyway, and that in itself helped to remove some reservation from him. Somehow, he felt like he could trust that Mitsuki wouldn't look at him differently after knowing the truth. Not with disgust, not with pity, and he would be nothing but himself, Uchiha Itachi, in front of her eyes.
"I see," Itachi thought to himself as the realisation hit him, "I was afraid.." Indeed, Itachi was afraid of exposing his true self, of opening herself to be vulnerable to judgement. To let someone close, just to lose them once more.. As his thoughts flashed within his mind, Itachi paused upon his last thought.
"Afraid to.. lose them?" he pondered for a while, before letting the thought go, afraid to dig deeper unto the reason why.
Beside him, Mitsuki frowned in silence. Unsure of what to say, Itachi continued to sat in silence, observing her expression.
"Then," Mitsuki spoke all of the sudden, her expression unchanging, "Was the nightmare a few days ago..?"
Itachi nodded softly as he shifted his gaze unto the crescent moon of that night.
"It happened on this month, 5 years ago," Itachi added, hinting Mitsuki about the apparent trigger of his nightmare.
Realising, Mitsuki clutched her head in frustration, "Kisame said you are 17 now, so it happened while you were only 12!?"
"Actually, I'm 18 now," Itachi smiled wryly as he corrected Mitsuki. Hearing that, Mitsuki's face turned more complicated as more emotion came into the mix.
"Wait a minute, your birthday had passed!? More importantly, uh.. I can't believe it, that Danzo guy!" said Mitsuki as she clutched her head tighter, her expression turned into one of unadulterated horror. Somehow, Itachi found her reaction and constantly changing expression unexpected and amusing.
"Despite his despicable method, he had Konohagakure's future in his mind," Itachi smiled wryly as she responded to Mitsuki's statement. As she heard Itachi's words, Mitsuki narrowed her eye in frustration, an all too familiar expression of hers. It was as if she was telling him to stop defending her newfound enemy.
"In the end of the day.. I was the one who accepted his proposition," Itachi added, his soul flickered with sadness and self-hate as he put his thoughts into words. Seeing the flicker, Mitsuki immediately stopped Itachi on his track, as if afraid that his own self-hate will cause his sickness to go haywire once more.
"Stop that. Don't blame yourself. If you had a better choice, you wouldn't have.." said Mitsuki with serious, concerned look on her eyes. As he heard Mitsuki's word, Itachi smiled sadly. What she had said, Itachi was not sure if it was completely true. Now that he had matured, and had learned a lot during his journey with both Akatsuki and Mitsuki, sometimes he found himself wondering, if there were a better solution somewhere, lying around to be found. As he recalled his father's last word, sadness was reflected within Itachi's eye.
"Maybe I was too hasty," Itachi's father's voice echoed in his mind. The memory of his father regretting the action that he took felt fresh in his mind as the dream few days prior had brought it back for him. Her father's regret was now all too familiar to him. Back when he was just a young child, he thought that if something wouldn't work his way, he could still somehow worked through it and change it himself. However as he grew up, and greeted with the darkness in the shinobi's world, and the darkness within his own clan, somewhere along the way, he had given up in finding another solution. He had given up on his clan, as he decided to take on everything by himself..
As his thought drifted, Itachi turned his head the meet Mitsuki's confused gaze. He couldn't help but wonder, if it was not him, but her, would she be able to find another solution?* However, Itachi knew, that regretting things now would bring him nothing but doubt. The only path left for him was ahead. Suddenly, without any indication as of why, Mitsuki's expression changed from confusion into that of a horrific realization.
"WAIT.. Then that means… No wonder you were revealing so much info to the Konoha's shinobi back then! YOU.."
"So you've found out," said Itachi jokingly as he let out a bitter smile. He had expected Mitsuki to be able to connect the dots between everything eventually, the moment he had decided to answer her questions truthfully.
"Then, your remark about Kisame? And the masked man as well? It was because you're still secretly working for Konoha?" Mitsuki added. Now Mitsuki understood why Itachi had been especially wary about the masked man as well. Considering his involvement with what happened to the Uchihas in Konoha, it was a given for Itachi to be especially tense around that man. Upon hearing her speculation, Itachi shook his head.
"I did it on my own volition. Infiltrating Akatsuki, leaking information to both Kakashi and Jiraiya-sama.." said Itachi briefly, explaining.
"Wait, then… That day we rushed without stopping.. The 3rd Hokage that you mentioned seemed to be the only reliable ally one during your time back in Konoha, but if I remember correctly, I heard that during the Chuunin Exam.."
Before Mitsuki could finish her sentence, Itachi nodded. Her fast thinking had made it a lot easier for Itachi to explain his situation. Inside him, he was glad that he didn't end up regretting his decision to open up to her so far. On the contrary, Mitsuki suddenly went and planted her face with a loud thud unto the tree bark that Itachi was leaning at, surprising him. Confused, Itachi stared at Mitsuki with a look of concern. To his surprise, as if noticing his concern, Mitsuki waved her palm at him, as if dismissing his concern.
"Leave me be, let me process everything first.." said Mitsuki in tired voice as she rubbed her forehead against the tree bark. "Shinobi.. They really do unthinkable stuff, don't they? In many ways..."
To her words, Itachi responded with a bitter smile.
".. and now I understand your brother's anger as well.." said Mitsuki. The memory of Itachi's encounter with his brother recently flashed in her mind. His pummeling, and the brother's scream of horror. As her thought sparked, she lifted her head in sudden realization and stared at Itachi, with baffled expression on her face. "WAIT A MINUTE," she exclaimed.
"Then why did you have to use Tsukuyomi against your brother? Breaking his bones, pummeling him like that.. I know you had to appear convincing, but…"
Again, Itachi just smiled wryly, half expecting Mitsuki to come out with the answer on her own. However, seeing her expectant, impatient look of baffled-ness, Itachi knew that he couldn't escape putting the answer to this question into words.
"It was to remind him of what he needed to do, and of the terrible thing I've done to him," and for himself as well, Itachi needed Sasuke to look at him with pure hatred. Else, he would have never been able to…
"Why?" Mitsuki asked, interfering Itachi's thought. She had a bad feeling somehow about the answer that Itachi had given her. Upon hearing the meaning behind her question, Itachi smiled slightly with pained expression as he glanced towards Mitsuki's frowning face.
"So that he'd be able to one day, avenge, and rebuild the clan," he said briefly as he struggled to put his plan into words, hoping that it would be enough for Mitsuki to decipher.
"Don't tell me, what you intended to do is…" said Mitsuki with horrified expression on her face. Understanding the concern behind Mitsuki's expression, yet not ready to give the savior of his life a straight answer, Itachi skillfully diverted the conversation.
"Enough about me, how about you? What happened after I fainted that day?"
"Hey, you said you will tell me everything honestly," Mitsuki complained as she narrowed her eyes towards Itachi in annoyance upon his obvious diversion attempt.
"I never said it all had to be tonight," Itachi retorted with slight playful tone in his voice. Hearing his response, Mitsuki let out a soft groan. As if complaining upon Itachi's cunning, Mitsuki folded her hand in front of her chest with an annoyed look on her face, unintentionally accentuating the recent growth of her breast as she did, consequently.
As Mitsuki thought hard of how she should start her story, she took a glance towards Itachi's now perplexed face, which somehow had been fixated on her torso for a while now.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Itachi-kun?" Mitsuki asked with confusion on her face. To her response, Itachi quickly turned his head away, hiding the slight redness on his face.
"No, it's nothing," Itachi answered quickly. It was not as if he could bring himself to ask her about what he had just realized in any kind of situation anyway.
Confused as she witnessed Itachi's odd reaction, Mitsuki sighed, and decided to go ahead and answer Itachi's question anyway.
"To be honest, I really don't know where to start either," she said, "I guess, from the beginning?" said Mitsuki with a bitter smile etched on her face.
Upon hearing Mitsuki's answer, Itachi turned his head once more to meet Mitsuki's hesitant gaze, locking eyes with her as he nodded his head, reaffirming her.
Mitsuki spent the next couple of moments telling Itachi everything. Their earliest encounter, the moment she saw the mark on his soul and her misunderstanding about it. Then she went ahead to tell him about what she witnessed on the port town, of another owner of the same mark that she had found there. Then, she went on to tell him about her meeting with Aida and Shin-jii, the mark on Shin-jii's soul, as well as what happened during Shin-jii's death.
"I see.." said Itachi. "So that's why she was so scared that night.." he thought as he recalled how the girl avoided looking directly at him as he went to pick her up, and the trembling in her hand as she held unto his sleeve. No wonder he felt as if the girl had been monitoring him a lot closer ever since that day. "It must be quite a traumatic situation for her," he thought once more as he fixed his gaze unto Mitsuki's face which had darkened once more. Connecting the dots in his mind, Itachi put his conclusion into words.
"Then, few days ago, did…"
Not letting Itachi finish his sentence, Mitsuki quickly nodded. It was as if she was afraid the moment that Itachi put his thought into words, it would happen once more.
"Then, how did..?" asked Itachi. If Mitsuki knew how to deal with the phenomenon that she referred to as the black mark, she would definitely have done it a lot sooner. With her quick thinking, it was not impossible for her to figure something out in the gist of the moment as she saw the mark consumed the old man's soul as well. Unless..
"Do you remember the shrine we passed?" once again, Mitsuki quickly cut into Itachi's sentence without any context nor explanation. As a result, Mitsuki's word jogged Itachi's memory. The Amaterasu's shrine, and its connection to Uchiha bloodline came to his mind.
"Thinking about it, I haven't told you what I've found," Itachi put his hand closer to his lips as he recalled the mural inside the shrine.
"Apparently, my memory was 'sealed' for some reason. And the reason why I had such a strong reaction that time, was because of my aversion of my memory, as well as the seal's rejection as well," Mitsuki smiled wryly at Itachi's attentive gaze, not even sure if her words would make any sense to him or not, considering how outlandish it was. It was unlike anything that he might have encountered in the shinobi world, after all. Contrary to her worries, Itachi had inkling on what had happened. Seals and manipulation was not uncommon within shinobi's arsenal anyway, especially for member of special corps like he was. Not noticing what was inside of Itachi's mind, Mitsuki continued.
"Then that time, as.. I felt hopeless upon what happened, I realized that I couldn't help you as I was." Mitsuki voice quivered as she forced it out of her throat in great pain. "I was so unprepared, to my own frustration.." upon continuing, Mitsuki paused once more, as if recomposing herself before dropping another string of likely, seemingly nonsensical word. "That moment, I heard a voice answered to my desperate plea,"
"Voice?" Itachi reconfirmed what he had heard, and Mitsuki responded with a nod, as she brought up her determination in telling Itachi the full story of what had happened, however crazy it might have sounded. Beginning with Amaterasu's descent, how she had guided her to break her own seal, how she halted the mark's spread and "stretched" his life, as well as Amaterasu's word, and the memory that she had recalled afterwards.
"Then, it was you? There was this text that I found in the records of 'Sun Blessing Village', where Aida was.." with the new information, Itachi connected the two and two together. His face frowned as he tried to take in the unbelievable information that he had just gotten. He could feel his heart beat hastening. Somehow, the prospect of encountering the unknown excited him. It was as if it had brought back the pure, curious little boy in him. "There are still a lot of things that I haven't discovered about this world," he thought as he felt his horizon expanding in front of him. Contrary to Itachi's excitement, Mitsuki tilted her head in confusion.
"Text?" Mitsuki asked, not sure about what Itachi could have meant.
"About the Priestess of Light, and her miracles.." Itachi added, unsure if it will spark any memory within her.
"Hmm, I'm not sure.. Not all of my memories have returned after all," said Mitsuki as she closed her eyes and frowned, in an attempt to scour her memory for any hint. As she opened her eye and gazed unto the crescent moon, Mitsuki felt a sense of unease.
"WAIT A MINUTE," Mitsuki exclaimed suddenly as she took notice of the discrepancies between the present and the past in her memories, surprising Itachi with her sudden loud exclamation.
Quickly, Mitsuki connected her surprised gaze with Itachi's, and asked with pure confusion in her eyes, "Why is the moon there?"
"? It has always been there," Itachi answered briefly, not sure what she meant. To him, it sounded as if the moon being there was an anomaly, a discrepancy.
"No, I mean.. Uh, where is that moon from?" Mitsuki stuttered, not sure on how to convey her question properly amidst her confused thought.
"If you mean the origin, legend said that it was the Sage of Six Path who created it in order to seal the Rabbit Goddess, Otsutsuki Kaguya. Whether it was the truth or not.." Upon hearing Itachi's word, Mitsuki's eye flared with the kind of anger that he had never seen before on her eyes.
"Goddess? Surely, thou must be jesting," said Mitsuki as she stood up, cutting off Itachi's words. It was as if the flame of anger burnt her eyes as she glanced down upon him. Itachi noticed the sudden shift in her tone and dialect, as well as her heightened "presence". For a second, she looked and sounded as if she was a different person to him. As quietness engulfed the two, Mitsuki realized what had come over her, as well as her confusing sudden change in attitude. Mitsuki then brought her hands unto her face, covering her expression as she seemingly trying to rearrange herself.
"Sorry, it's just.. Nevermind, I'll leave it for next time.." Mitsuki said apologetically, ashamed by her loss of emotional control, before putting her smile back on and glanced towards Itachi once more with her playful expression, asking Itachi a new question while redirecting the conversation once more,
"By the way, why are you not surprised?" Mitsuki smiled mischievously as she peered into Itachi's confused face. Taking a moment to process her question, Itachi pondered. It was not likely that she was asking her about her sudden change in attitude. Then, if that's the case, it could only be about the story of her past that he had just told him. For Mitsuki, Itachi's story was heart wrenching, yet not surprising, considering her observation and her information gathering attempt in Konoha so far. However, she was sure that what she had told him was something out of that world for Itachi who had only lived for 18 years, not knowing what it was like before the advent of shinobi.
Bringing his hand to his chin once more, Itachi frowned as he picked his words in his thoughts, before vocalizing it. "No.. To be honest, I'm surprised. It all sounded so surreal. I had my theories, but.." Itachi's word stopped as hesitation took over him. Meanwhile, Itachi's response made Mitsuki's face turned into a complicated smile. Noticing the shift in Mitsuki's expression, Itachi quickly added. "However, it was true that I saw the Sun Goddess that time when I lost my consciousness. Seemed like it wasn't a hallucination after all."
Hearing Itachi's word, Mitsuki chuckled lightly, to his confusion.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but likely, that wasn't Amaterasu-sama that you saw," she said with a complicated smile formed of both guilt and mischievous feeling. As if teasing, Mitsuki walked away from Itachi with a light step unto the open field, placing herself under the bright, yet gentle moonlight. Clutching her hand in front of her chest, Mitsuki turned to face Itachi. "It would be faster to just show him," she thought.
"Then, I'll introduce myself once again," she said with a solemn smile. All of the sudden, a burst of light came out from her clenched palm and slowly enveloped Mitsuki's whole being, dying her hair and eyes gold as the energy around her shifted rapidly, and seemingly conjured her priestess uniform and her beloved fan directly unto her, out of thin air. The light around her then condensed, putting on a giant sun shaped halo with crescent moon on its core behind her.
"I'm Tsukino Inaba of the Tsukuyomi's bloodline, The Priestess of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, as well as the substitute Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," said Mitsuki under the moonlight, with playful expression about her, spinning lightly, as if a mischievous rabbit dancing under the moonlight. Her body emitted a soft, golden light under the blanket of the night, akin to the color of a golden moon.
Taking in the sudden, surprising change in Mitsuki's form, it finally occurred to Itachi. "It was her all along.." the one that he saw, showering him with a teary gaze of concern and relieve as he opened his eye briefly during his short awakening. The golden hair, golden eyes, and the halo behind her.. Thinking about it, the round, affectionate, doll-like eyes could have been a telltale sign as well. It just proved to him that it was easy to overlook small details admist a big change, as observant as he was. Pulling himself back to the present, Itachi internalized the sudden stream of information and the illogical change that occurred in front of him. With her display of divinity, there was no reason for Itachi to doubt the truth of Mitsuki's story anymore, not that he had doubted her before. Curious, Itachi activated his sharingan. Same as before, he could see nothing on her, no chakra at the very least. However, it occurred to him that even as he was unattuned to the nature energy, unlike the sages, he could definitely feel the energy steering erratically around Mitsuki. It was the same one that he felt circulating inside him during her previous healing attempt as he broke his fever, as well as the one she had used to diagnose him with.
"How is it? Pretty isn't it?" Mitsuki asked jokingly upon seeing Itachi's speechless, surprised face, approaching him with a light step, her fan touching her lips as if hiding her smile. To her question, Itachi scoffed.
"Who knows," Itachi responded with a mysterious smile as he averted his gaze away, to Mitsuki's annoyance.
"Huh.. what a boring reaction," said Mitsuki with disappointment as she turned around, letting her back face Itachi as she opened her fan and waved it to her side, dispersing it along with her uniform and the light around her. As fast as the change came, Mitsuki returned to her usual form.
"But, funny isn't it? Fate that is..," Mitsuki muttered, leaving Itachi puzzled over the context of her question. "I wonder why is it that your ocular technique is named after 'Us'?" said Mitsuki playfully as she walked back towards her previous sitting spot before claiming the spot once more.
Mitsuki's question sent Itachi contemplating, as he tried to connect the facts that he had collected so far. "It seemed like my clan's ancestor was connected directly to Emperor Tenji and the Sage of Six Path," Itachi recalled the information that he had gained from Uchiha's history scroll and put it into words. Emperor Tenji's existence predated the advent of shinobi, and it was believed that his bloodline descended from the Sun Goddess herself. It was likely that the skill was called in reference of the old Gods in order to honor their previous believe. Hearing Itachi's statement, Mitsuki's face turned excited as she heard the fact, as if amused by the unexpected turn of situation. Mitsuki indeed knew about the legend behind Emperor's Tenji bloodline, the one who Amaterasu bestowed the responsibility and duty of governing the land of her creation. Hence she had always called the emperor's family extension as Amaterasu's kin. She had thought that the bloodline itself had perished due to the recklessness in taking in the otherworldly invader in, but it seemed that her speculation was wrong.
"Is that so? So you're Amaterasu-sama's kin after all!" said Mitsuki with sparkle in her eyes. "I see, I see," she repeated in satisfaction, as if pleasantly surprised by the turn of fate. Despite what had happened between her clan and the emperor's family in the past, she had never bore a grudge towards Amaterasu's kin in general. After all, the relationship between the two clans had lasted way longer ahead the blasphemous brother of the emperor's decision to turn against her clan due to his own ego. Seeing how Mitsuki's mood had somehow been lifted up once more, Itachi couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face.
"So, how do you want me to address you from now on?" Itachi asked nonchalantly, still with a smile on his face, slightly teasing her as he observed Mitsuki's reaction. However, contrary to his expectation, as if he had said the wrong thing, Mitsuki's expression turned dark.
"Just Mitsuki as usual is fine," Mitsuki answered after a short pause. Confusion appeared in Itachi's face due to her gloomy reaction. Somehow, he half expected her to jokingly request him to address her with respect, considering her feisty nature and her usual interaction with Kisame. Catching the confusion on Itachi's face, Mitsuki continued her words hesitantly. "To tell you the truth, I haven't really come to term with my past yet. It was not as if I doubt that they were memory, or the authenticity of it, but.. It feels almost as if Tsukino Inaba, and Mitsuki, are two different person with different personality, even if they are not supposed to be," said Mitsuki with a complicated, sad expression.
Itachi could understand her concern. Even if his own circumstances were different, the issue felt far too familiar for him. With his past role as a double spy for both the Uchiha and the Konohagakure, and even his current identity as both Akatsuki's loyal member and the meddling infiltrator, the boundary between truth and lies had been blurred for far too long. In Mitsuki's case, on the other hand, the conflict was between her past self, as opposed to her current self. Inaba, the wise Miko, and Mitsuki, the free-hearted enigma, felt like two different, separate persona for the girl in front of him. Itachi realized that much, hence silently, he wondered if her sudden change of attitude as well as recurring sudden change in her behavior was also due to her past self's influence. Thinking more about it, Itachi found the answer within himself and felt like he found just the correct words to say to her.
"Isn't that fine?" Itachi answered with a question, confusing Mitsuki, "Even humans change throughout the course of their life. It's only natural, with all the new experience that we have experienced," he added. Indeed, people can change with time, and people could also have lots of different facet. Being one way, doesn't mean that she couldn't be the other. "If anything, it felt just like her," thought Itachi, considering all the different side of Mitsuki that he had encountered so far during their journey together.
Mitsuki thought about his words, and surprised herself as she found it to be true. Before everything happened, she was excited to find herself changed, to become more and more humanlike, compared to how she was on her first meeting with Itachi. She knew about the change, and embraced it willingly, excitedly. Yet, why does she despise the change that Inaba had, to the way she was right now? Was it because the current Mitsuki's lack of knowledge, the lack of power? But if she was Inaba, and Inaba had become her. Then..
"All the more reason for me to regain everything.. I will make everything mine. The knowledge, the experience, the precious memories, the determination… even the pain.." thought Mitsuki, as she remembered her clan's sacrifice. "I'll accept everything, and then.." she paused her thoughts.
"Then, I will pave my way for my own future that I envisioned," Mitsuki said out loud all of the sudden, to Itachi's surprise. Following her words, Mitsuki turned her head and faced Itachi directly, as she continued.
"All the more reason for me to remain Mitsuki," she said. "After all, the me right now, exist not only because of whatever happened in my past, but also thanks to Kisame, Hazuki-nee, Aida-chan, Shin-jii, Reishi, Kina, and you, Itachi-kun," Mitsuki smiled as she held her gaze on Itachi's. Indeed, she might have grown in unexpected way, unknown to even her own, past self. And now that she had just started unlocking her memories and power, there's only one way to move forward, which is to embrace everything and grow even more, exceeding her past self's expectation.
With her newfound answers, warmth crept through both of their hearts alike, and the atmosphere had shifted to be lighter, somehow. Without rush, the two continued to sit down in the silence, immersed within their own thoughts as they tried to understand each other further as they took in each other's experience into contemplation.
Mitsuki thought a lot about Itachi's hard decision, and his suffering upon choosing the good of the world and his brother over the clan's ambition, betraying even the people he loves, hurting himself the most in the process. "With such a gentle heart, it must have been unbearable for him," she thought. Mitsuki didn't show it directly in her face, but she could only imagine how much pain Itachi had gone through. For someone like him, who grieved even the life of the enemy over unnecessary death, it must have hurt him beyond anyone's comprehension to take countless, precious life with his own hand, indiscriminately, just like he did. Not counting his previous loss of his best friend, he had to even take the lives of others dear to him, his family, and everyone else's. Not only those who supported the coup, but those who just happened to be trapped in the circumstances as well, silenced, unable to voice their words, even as far as unknowing, innocent children. All for the sake of maintaining the fragile state of peace, and for the sake of his brother as well.. Then, taking on the sin by himself, he condemned himself to the life of a wanted criminal, meanwhile still doing what he could for his beloved home and the shinobi world. Not just that, he even had to play the villain in front of his dearly beloved brother, hurting both his brother and himself in the process.
Knowing everything now, pain hit Mitsuki's heart as she empathized with Itachi deeply, even as she cannot tell the depth of his despair that was brought to him by his own gentleness and loving heart. She could only imagine how isolated he was during his journey, especially after losing the only someone who supported his view, someone akin to an older brother to him.
Somehow, it had made him all the more precious for her. Never once in her long life had he encountered someone like him. Someone so selfless, so pure, yet he willingly threw himself into the darkness and dirtied his hand, just so that he can prevent war from happening and hurting even more people, and so that his clan, through his brother, can start anew, giving his brother the title of the hero.
"But.. What about himself?" thought Mitsuki. By going along in that path, no one will ever knew the fact about him, and forever, his sacrifice would never be appreciated, and he himself remained to be remembered as a deranged genius who massacred his whole clan, doomed to be hated and misunderstood. Thinking about the painful fate of his, Mitsuki held back her frustration. Somewhere within her, she was glad that Itachi had chosen to tell her now of all time. She felt like in her current state, she could react with more maturity in response to his suffering. The Mitsuki from a few days ago would have probably scolded Itachi for his decision, adding more guilt to what he had already suffered from. But being as she is now, she knew that among everyone, it must have been him who suffered through his guilt the most, "more than anyone will ever know," she thought. and.. how lonely it must be for him to bear everything alone for so long. Mitsuki would love to give him a hug, consoling him from his pain, telling him that she would be there by his side as long as she could.. but somehow.. She felt that it would feel and meant differently in comparison to how she had hugged Aida to console her, or even hugged him few days prior during his nightmare. She felt as if another emotion was about to burst from within her if she did, and so, she stopped herself.
Meanwhile, for Itachi, unthinkable as it was, he wondered how it would feel like to be in Mitsuki's position. Being revered, yet unable to do anything to protect her people.. and instead, her people sacrificed themselves for her against her will, leaving her alone, helplessly drowning in her own guilt and regret. The last of her blood, with her long lifespan, how long had she suffered? Inside him, Itachi was afraid, that it was not the extent of everything that had caused Mitsuki's memory to be sealed. Hearing her story, Itachi was also reminded of the helplessness that he felt as he tried to stop the coup on his own, to no avail, rendering his friend's sacrifice useless, and trampling over the feelings of his clan. However, in the end, he was still able to make his own choice, and the consequences that he dealt with, was undoubtedly because of his own decision. Meanwhile, noble as it was, Mitsuki wouldn't have wished for her clan's sacrifice. She was ready to die with them, yet, she ended up to be the only one left alive. The weight of her clan's love, the expectation placed upon her, her responsibility over the clan's wishes.. The circumstances were different, but he felt a sense of familiarity. He wondered if his father had also faced the same problem as the leader of the clan, and.. Mitsuki's survivor guilt.. He wondered if he had made Sasuke felt that way also. He had made sure to give Sasuke purpose, and set him unto the path of revenge by taking the role of pretentious older brother, so he would place all the blame over his pain unto Itachi instead. However, it didn't change the fact that he had brought the feeling of powerlessness that Sasuke must have felt that night, and the loneliness that he had caused him for losing his beloved family and those that he knew and treasure in within the clan where they had grown up. Then after everything, Sasuke was left with only the cruel murderer left alive for him to call a family, not even within his reach, not even able to offer him the slightest bit of consolation or familial warmth.. Upon contemplating, guilt once again poured inside Itachi's heart, threatening to drown him.
"Hey, Itachi-kun.." Mitsuki's call broke Itachi out of his rumination. "You didn't answer me before.. but, why did you decide to become a shinobi?" Mitsuki's question surprised Itachi, interrupting his thought.
Why was it again? Itachi could still recall the innocence of her childhood clearly, and the pain that it had brought him upon its destruction. Answering to Mitsuki's sincerity and to respect their agreement, Itachi decided to answer her truthfully this time.
"There was a time, when I thought if I had become a shinobi among shinobi, I would be able to stop all the war in the world. For that, I trained, and trained, believing that by becoming the strongest, I would be able to prevent more war from happening. First, I would serve as the connection between my clan and my village, and then I would eventually become Hokage. By doing so, I'd serve as the connection of my village to the other village, building relationships of both fear and respect, therefore eliminating the hate and rivalry between the villages. Eventually, as peaceful era lasted, shinobi would cease to exist. Therefore, war would cease to exist as well, as shinobi would no longer be the daimyo's tool of war.."
Itachi had never told everyone about his dream, in this detail, in fear that by saying it out loud, it will come unfulfilled, silly superstition as it was. However as how he was now, there was no longer any need for that. His hope and dreams had long burned away, his wishes out of reach. He could never be further from the goal as he was, or so he thought to himself.
Upon hearing Itachi's explanation, Mitsuki chuckled lightly, to Itachi's surprise and annoyance. Among everyone, he didn't expect that Mitsuki would be the one who laughed openly at his long lost dream, like the adults and her peers did during his childhood. As she felt Itachi's intense glare and his disappointment, Mitsuki let out a guilty smile and faced him head on, clearing the misunderstanding,
"No, no, it's just that.. It surprised me that even as a young kid, you have always been this way. Everything meticulously planned, step by step from the start to the end. It's surprising, yet it sounded exactly like you," said Mitsuki with a grin, unable to contain her amusement. Hearing Mitsuki's explanation, Itachi calmed down upon realizing that Mitsuki wasn't chuckling out of disregard for his long lost dream.
"But.." Mitsuki added, still with complicated expression in her smile, "I'm sorry, Itachi-kun. You were truly too innocent," she said, smiling guiltily as frown returned once more onto Itachi's forehead. Mitsuki dreaded upsetting Itachi more than anything, however, she decided not to back down, and averted her gaze back to the sky instead as she continued, while brazing her courage.
"Hey, Itachi-kun, what do you think the world was like, before Shinobi came to be?"
Mitsuki's question caught Itachi off guard. To be honest, he had been wondering about the same thing as well. As Itachi silently pondered, Mitsuki continued to answer her own question.
"Even before shinobi came into being, war had already existed. What do you think prompted the humans to keep inventing new weapon? If it were only to hunt animals and provide for their family, such thing as intricate weaponry wouldn't be necessary, wouldn't they?" Once again, Mitsuki's question was greeted with silence. Not daring to turn her head towards Itachi, Mitsuki failed to notice that his attention had shifted completely to her words in curiosity.
"Even before nations were established, human created blades to hunt, then they created spear, then arrow.." Mitsuki recalled the distant knowledge of the past. "Initially, it was for providing, but eventually, it was to compete against each other," she continued with undeniable sadness in her voice.
"Why do you think that is? Thinking about it, humans were few back then. Instead of fighting over resources, they could have just explored a little bit more. But, which do you think was easier? Finding a new, plentiful place, or taking what other's had found and gathered? Which is more profitable, sharing your resources with another, or taking everything for yourself? Why do you think bandits and scammer existed up until now?" Mitsuki asked Itachi. This time, she had dared to turn her bitter gaze towards Itachi, locking her eyes with his.
"It was never shinobi. It was humanity," Mitsuki whispered. "If.. or when.. you had successfully removed the Shinobi system from this world, yet they still warred against each other, what would you have to do next? Removing humanity?" Mitsuki asked with a bitter smile. Of course she knew, that Itachi would never do that. But as innocent as he was, even if he ever managed to tread the path that he had chosen to take back then as a child, it would only brought him a temporary relieve as well, if not for more despair, suffering, and disappointment in his future.
"Then, that would defeat the point, wouldn't it?" Itachi answered with a frown, still unsure about what Mitsuki was coming at. More than the uncertainty, somehow he felt like Mitsuki was looking at him as if he was an innocent, ignorant child, and it somehow annoyed him.
"Why do humans made stronger and stronger weapon? It's because of fear, of the unknown, of the stronger enemy, of death," Mitsuki continued her speech with a complicated smile, ignoring the shift in Itachi's emotion. "Why do human compete for resources, steal, and take from others? It was because of greed, and yet human's greed is limitless. They obtain one thing, and they'll want for another, it's a never ending cycle." Mitsuki was all too familiar with it, that it brought pain to her heart. Seeing the subject she cared about destroyed each other, that was exactly what had prompted Amaterasu to leave humanity's matter in their own hand, as she couldn't bring herself to choose a side every time.
"Rivalry? Even animals in the wild compete for mates. It was ingrained in their whole being, upon the process of natural selection. Intelligent as they were, humans are not an exception to this nature," upon finishing her sentence, Mitsuki closed her eyes, as if feeling the sudden coming of the midnight's breeze. To her word, Itachi could only ponder in silence. Annoyed as he was, he knew that her words must have come from her knowledge and experience, and it was, undoubtedly true, as disappointing as it was. Then knowing all of these now, Itachi couldn't help but wonder.. What was his dream about? Was it pointless, was it for naught? Itachi thought in silence as a pang of sorrow hit his heart. As he pondered quietly, Mitsuki glanced towards Itachi in adoration as she saw the flicker of pain in his soul. She felt as if she couldn't leave him at that. Even if she had come to accept the fact after her long life, it was probably a lot more than a human could ever bear.
"Don't get me wrong," Mitsuki added, "I don't hate human. On the contrary, I respect them," she said as she saw Itachi's expression had turned bitter once more.
"With their creativity of invention, they created a lot of new stuffs, stuffs unthinkable in the past. With their rivalry, they strive to be better, and therefore, they kept improving at the tremendous rate. With their greed, they strive for efficiency, and with it, came along ease of life. Because of their fear, they protect, and passed down information, evolving from it, and even banded together systematically for survival. See, it's not all that bad?" Mitsuki chuckled. Everything was two side of the same coin. The same weakness that had caused an endless strife, was also the reason of humanity's fast advancement. The sudden turn in the conversation confused Itachi and caught him offguard.
"Why some people can live with each other, sacrifice for others, yet some killed each other?" Mitsuki asked, planting her gaze towards Itachi's. This time, her question was not rhetorical. She expected an answer for him.
"Because of.. Love, and hate.." Itachi answered briefly.
"That's correct, however.. There is one more, the core of it all," Mitsuki added as she stood and moved towards Itachi's front, keeping their gaze interlocked. The answer was simple, it was something that she believed they shared, precisely at that moment.
"Understanding," she said briefly. "There was an old saying, without understanding, there won't be love. How would we know how to love others, if we couldn't understand them, enough for us to respect their thoughts and decision? And without it.."
"Lack of understanding creates hate?" Itachi asked in response, finally grasping Mitsuki's point.
"Correct. By understanding someone's pain, someone's need, humans were able to empathize and put aside their selfish needs, as well as worked together, hand in hand with others. On the contrary, without understanding, it was very easy for them to regard other people as others, enemies, or even monsters.."
Itachi couldn't help but agreed. It was the lack of understanding between Konoha and Uchiha which had caused the fallout. It wasn't only the different agenda of various people. After all, logically, Uchiha's special, continuous existence should be beneficial for Konoha. But Danzo, he was unable to trust even his own people, moreover those who can pose a danger to him. He was indeed, devoid of understanding. No, maybe he understood them, on surface level that is, but never truly 'understands' them, and therefore, he was devoid of love. Instead of sacrificing himself, he was willing to sacrifice other while remaining in the darkness, piling it up around him.
Seeing Itachi deep in thought, Mitsuki approached him slowly and moved to sit in front of him. All the while, she kept a close watch of him with overflowing affection in her eyes. As their gaze meet, Itachi was taken aback from the sudden closeness between the two of them.
"Hey, Itachi-kun, do you know what made you so special? Why 'Mitsuki' latched herself unto you?"
Itachi found it unusual for the girl in front of her to refer to herself in third person, but then, he realized. She was not giving him advice as 'Mitsuki', rather as 'Tsukino Inaba', the observer and seer. To be honest, Itachi didn't know the answer to that question either. He had pondered the same thing countless time.
"When you first saw her, you tried to understand her. That was more than what she had ever experienced, compared to the rejection and fear that she had been through. Even as you saw her true self, the bad, the unknown, the 'monster', you never regarded her as less."
"That's all?" Itachi said, baffled. To be honest, he didn't even remember. He did probe her for answer, but that was all for the sake of his mission, was it? He had never realized how it had left such a deep impact on the girl's psyche.
"Hahaha, that's barely scratching the surface, yet do you know, how rare that is? On top of that, there's your subtle care, your compassion even towards your enemy, your silent act of empathy.." Mitsuki, or rather, Inaba, chuckled gently as she mentioned a part of her list of what made Itachi's existence special for her on top of her lungs.
"During my whole life, I've never seen another human like you. And for that, I.. am thankful. Both 'Mitsuki', and 'Inaba' alike," she smiled gently as Itachi tried to cover the awkwardness that he felt upon hearing Mitsuki's genuine opinion of him. Seeing the unusual occurrence of Itachi being flustered, Mitsuki teased further, "Do you want me to spell out the other points one by one? You know, so you'll appreciate yourself a little bit more?"
"No, that's enough," Itachi said as he averted his gaze from Mitsuki's playful stare, he could feel his embarrassment rising even more upon the offer. It was new for him. People had praised him for his excellence before, for his skill. However, it was the first time, someone other than his parents during their last hours, ever said such observation of his character to his face. For others, he had always been the aloof loner, unapproachable genius. Even Shishui who knew him best had even told him once that it was hard for him to know what he was thinking about. Not that it was a bad thing for him, for he had never intended to get overly close with anyone, in order to see things clearly in an objective manner.
Seeing the awkwardness in Itachi's face, Mitsuki let out a soft laughter as she moved away from him once more, giving him the space that he needed. Upon casting his sight on Mitsuki's relaxed back, Itachi recalled.
He had questioned himself once, if his method of understanding was wrong, if by keeping his distance, he never would have come to fully understand someone. Then, he wondered.
"Can I ask you one thing?" Itachi asked, sounding more formal somehow, maybe as an effect of Mitsuki's long speech as Inaba. It was as if he was asking for a guidance from the seer herself.
"Sure, ask on," Mitsuki glanced back with a playful smile.
"If.. you were in my place back then. Not as Uchiha Itachi, but as yourself, what would you do?"
Hearing Itachi's question, Mitsuki unexpectedly laughed, before walking back to sit on her previous spot, and glance at Itachi teasingly with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Who knows?" said Mitsuki, returning Itachi's previous half-hearted response, causing him to frown in annoyance and regret of asking before Mitsuki then continued,
"After all, I don't know the people of your clan, and your village. Without knowing their concern, worries, and aspiration, how could I know how to respond to them properly?" she added. Hearing Mitsuki's genuine response, Itachi couldn't help but smiled lightly, slightly embarrassed for jumping unto conclusion.
"I see.." he responded briefly in a mix of satisfaction and disappointment, not sure what else he would have expected. To his reply, Mitsuki let out a familiar, mischievous grin.
"Let's go back, it seems that Kina and Reishi are looking for us," said Mitsuki as she detected two familiar souls entering her perception field, and stood, followed by Itachi.
Omake:
"Mitsuki," suddenly Itachi called out to Mitsuki as they took a leisure walk towards Kina & Reishi's direction.
"Mmhmm?" Mitsuki answered cheerfully without shifting her gaze.
"To you, am I.." Itachi stopped midsentence, before deciding to drop the issue. "Nah, nevermind," he said, as he retracted his question. He felt like no matter what Mitsuki's answer was, he wouldn't have the strength to push her away for now, not after the extent of the conversation that they just had.
"Heee? What is it? Just ask!" Mitsuki complained as Itachi left her hanging with curiosity. Instead of continuing his question, Itachi asked another one instead.
"Now that I think about it, you mentioned something about Emperor Tenji's reign right? Exactly how long have you.."
"Please don't ask," Mitsuki interrupted firmly with a smile in her face, avoiding the question. Somehow, she felt embarrassed over telling Itachi her real age. After all, from human's point of view, she could as well be a rotten corpse, or a youkai, at her current age.
"Hmm, counting roughly, if by then…" as Itachi tried to deduce the answer, on his own, Mitsuki turned her head back to face him with a murderous smile, and hissed,
"STOP IT" she said sternly.
".. alright.."
..and with his response as the closing, the two stopped talking completely until the moment they met up with Kina and Reishi
Bonus content: Go over to ance_moondemon at X
"my friend said i should have written moshi-moshi abusive 'mother' desu after knowing what I've bestowed Mitsuki with heheh"
More context on the lore will be explained in future chapter, but for now, feel free to speculate!
Author's note:
To push, or not to push… might as well pull her, hehehe :x
About the timeline, I've came across different version of timelines, so I just took whichever fits the story the most for now. Instead of the massacre happening in July before Sasuke's birthday, I decided to go with October instead since it lined up better with the fanfic!
Extra notes:
(*) "このミツキ でいい,(kono Mitsuki de ii) Kinda like that, meaning that Mitsuki was better/fine the way she was at that moment. I wonder if in Japanese the proper use is "de ii" or "ga ii" tho, my grammar kinda bad ugh..
(*) AU hint *cough, I got 2 AU planned in my mind now where just a little twist of fate will change their dynamics and the result completely heheheh
(*) again with his non-answer, this is more like "saa na" than "maa na," technically it also means who knows xD
Also, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the reason why Mitsuki said that Itachi is Amaterasu's kin, it's because in Japanese history, the emperor's blood are believed to be the descendant of the goddess Amaterasu. Uchihas, in that case also had a close tie to sage of six path, the son of the Emperor and Otsutsuki.