After few days of surveillance, Itachi had determined the culprit behind the thieving attempt. Apparently the shinobis that was left unemployed due to the village's change towards neutrality from conflict had banded together and formed a new shinobi clan. Taking on the name Sendo, the clan had created a criminal organization that focuses on the dealing of Saigenzai.
"How ironic that they named themselves as 'sage path'", Itachi muttered to himself as he overlooked the gang's hideout entrance.
Itachi was not sure about what action he should take yet. The situation is far more complicated than he previously thought. As an outcast of a shinobi, he understood the pain of losing one's goal and purpose. It was all too familiar to him, the moment he gave up on his future in order to prevent a war from breaking due to his clan's grudge and obsession. Being Hokage, putting out the flames of war forever, everything was no longer within his reach. If not for the sake of his little brother, and the only chance of future for his clan and his beloved village to coexist, he would have given up on more since a long time ago. Knowing this, he couldn't find within him the ability to judge those who had came to depend on Saigenzai, nor the people providing them, as morally wrong as it was. After all, he knew that there were a lot of things that is more painful than death.
Sighing, Itachi blitzed away, back towards the shrine, as he planned to take some time to gather his thoughts and form a plan ahead.
"Thinking about it, how come you don't seem to go down to the village anymore?" Itachi asked Mitsuki as the four ate dinner together. Upon hearing Itachi's question, Mitsuki twitched unwillingly.
"I.. Picked up a fight with the villagers.." Mitsuki said in embarrassment as she avoided Itachi's gaze.
"Now that's unusual," said Itachi with a light smile on his face. Noticing his smile, Mitsuki narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Somehow she felt like Itachi knew what was going on more than he let on. Realising that it was probably not the right time to bring that up to him yet with Kina and Reishi being present among them, Mitsuki pushed her question to the back of her brain. Meanwhile, seeing Mitsuki's gaze of suspicion, Itachi silently predicted the barrage of question that Mitsuki would throw towards him later on that night.
"Mitsuki-nee,"Kina called Mitsuki as he scuttled closer towards the girl and laid down his head on Mitsuki's lap, facing her. "Can you accompany me tomorrow? I'd like to do some exploring outside of the mountain," said Kina with a pleading look on his face. Hearing his request, Mitsuki peeked a glance towards Reishi and Itachi. Reishi seemed to be somewhat worried. However, he nodded in approval after a while, followed by Itachi's silent approval.
"OK then, I'll go with you," Mitsuki answered, smiling gently as she patted Kina's head. Upon Mitsuki's agreement, Kina grinned and continued.
"Hey, hey, Mitsuki-nee, can you sing something for me again?" said Kina with expectation on his eye.
"Hmm.. What song should I sing then? A cheerful one?" Mitsuki asked as she chuckled upon the boy's request.
"Anything!" answered Kina, grinning. Hearing his response, Mitsuki smiled, and replied, "Then, how about this?"
As Mitsuki sang a cheerful tune, Itachi recalled hearing the song during his rest in the previous village, sung by the children of the village. With realization, he smiled. The picture of Kina's delighted face as Mitsuki sang the song for him, and Reishi's peaceful yet grateful face put a smile on his face.
"Sorry about Kina, Mitsuki-san. We both lost our parents when he was still too young to remember, so.." said Reishi apologetically as Itachi helped took Kina's sleeping figure off Mitsuki's lap. Hearing Reishi's apology, Mitsuki smiled awkwardly,
"Why would you be sorry? It's fine, he is such a sweet kid after all. I don't mind accompanying him at all," said Mitsuki with a cheerful tone in her voice. "It must be tough for you guys," she continued sadly, avoiding Reishi's gaze. It was not like she understood the feeling of losing one's parents, but she had felt jealousy towards those who had the family that she'd never have before, and it was enough for her to empathize with the young siblings in front of her.
"Mmhmm, thankfully, because of the Kotaro, we managed to survive somehow. That said, Itachi-san, thank you for your continuous business as well," Reishi said as he bowed towards Itachi in gratitude. Upon seeing his gesture, Itachi nodded awkwardly in silence, to Mitsuki's amusement.
"I think it's about time we rest," said Itachi as he laid Kina down on his futon.
"Mmhmm, thanks for today, Itachi-san, Mitsuki-san," said Reishi with a light smile on his face.
"Thanks a lot for the meal too, Reishi. Sorry for imposing on you," said Mitsuki with a guilty smile. The siblings had such a hard life, yet they had always treated Mitsuki and Itachi with kindness.
Hearing Mitsuki's statement, Reishi shook his head, "It's nothing, that's the least we could do to thank you two," he said with a sad smile on his face. Hearing his word, Mitsuki couldn't help but hug the older one of the sibling and gave him a pat on the back without a word, to Reishi's and Itachi's surprise.
"Then? You wanted to ask about something?" said Itachi as soon as the two returned to the back shrine to rest.
"Fufu, as expected of Itachi-kun!" said Mitsuki jokingly as she took a seat beside Itachi's sitting figure. However, as she was not sure where to start, the two ended up sitting in silence for a while.
After a moment consideration, Mitsuki decided to drop Itachi a question.
"You knew about the villager's unfair treatment towards Kina and Reishi?"
Hearing her question, Itachi nodded slightly, prompting Mitsuki to sigh in exhaustion.
"And I thought it was just some stupid kid's meanness due to misconception and lack of understanding. Made me feel that my words are wasted on them," said Mitsuki as she rubbed the frown on her forehead. Hearing Mitsuki's statement, Itachi smiled sadly.
"At least, you tried. And despite not realizing it now, maybe one day they would remember your words and reconsider," said Itachi gently as he attempted to lessen the girl's frustration.
"Hee, how optimistic of you," said Mitsuki as she threw Itachi a cynical glance. Hearing her words as well as noticing her expression, Itachi let out a stifled laughter, to Mitsuki's displeasure.
"Hhh.. Reishi said that it's hard to change a collective's deep rooted believe, that's why.." Mitsuki continued as she tried to explain the reason of her disbelief. Upon hearing this, a sad frown was etched on Itachi's face. It was all too familiar for him.
During his attempt of thwarting Uchiha's Coup d' etat plan, he had again, and again, tried to talk his sense to them. However, no matter how logical his explanation was, no matter how many times he tried to shake their believe with questions, it was all for naught. Recalling the loneliness and the futility he felt during those times, a pain seeped inside Itachi's heart.
"That's true. No matter how wrong their preconception were, with enough people supporting it, even the worst of lie might end up being accepted as the absolute truth," said Itachi, mostly to himself as he recalled the frustration within his heart. Hearing Itachi's confirmation, Mitsuki sighed.
"Not just the kids, even the adults.. And here I thought adults are supposed to be the kids' moral guide," she said, complaining with frustration on her face.
"Well, no human is perfect after all. Controlled by their own emotion and misconception, even the smartest person can make the worst decision," said Itachi. His expression unreadable.
"Even you?" Mitsuki asked teasingly, half serious, half joking. Hearing her question, Itachi chuckled without clarifying. Seeing that it might be her chance to probe, Mitsuki continued.
"I heard. About you and your brother I mean. Kina told me," Mitsuki stated lightly, leading the topic. Somehow, Itachi had seen it coming. He knew that hiding his affection towards his little brother would not be possible anymore, considering how close Mitsuki and Kina had become.
"Seems like you two were really close. You love him a lot, don't you?" she continued. Hearing Mitsuki's statement, Itachi let out a bitter, sad, smile. As Mitsuki saw the change in Itachi's expression, her resolve faltered. It was obvious that Itachi wasn't ready to talk about it with her. Respecting his wish, Mitsuki let out a complicated smile as she continued, gazing directly at Itachi's face.
"Then tell me more about him? I want to hear more from your own mouth," said Mitsuki as she casually shifted the topic away from the unpleasant stuff, catching Itachi off-guard. As Itachi turned his sight towards her in surprise, Mitsuki greeted his gaze with a playful smile.
As Itachi recounted countless stories about him and his brother, Mitsuki listened attentively with smile in her face. Mitsuki had never seen Itachi smiled, or talked that much before. His love reflected clearly in his eyes as he brought the topic of his brother up with pride and adoration. It took a moment before Itachi realized how much he had rambled about.
"Sorry, I rambled," he said with a slight embarrassment in his voice as he avoided Mitsuki's intent gaze. Hearing Itachi's word, Mitsuki let out a soft laugh.
"It's not an issue. I'm happy to see you being so lively for once," said Mitsuki to Itachi's surprise. She almost couldn't believe it when Kina told her about how Itachi excitedly share with him the story of his brother's endeavor. Now that she had seen it with her own eyes, somehow she felt an unexpected warmth in her heart. However, recalling what happened during Itachi's previous meeting with her brother, unease returned and filled her stomach with worry. As she had decided to leave the topic for another time, Mitsuki steered the conversation away gently.
"No wonder you are so fond of Kina and Reishi."
As the conversation steered away towards an unexpected direction once more, Itachi smiled.
"You say that, but you seemed to be very fond of them as well," Itachi responded playfully as he returned Mitsuki's remark unto herself.
"It can't be helped isn't it, they are such precious child. If only I can do more to help them.." After all, it was the family that she never had, as well as a reflection of her past experience. Hearing Mitsuki's words, as well as the slight sadness within her smile, Itachi gently added.
"I think you've done well. As you took care of them these past few days, it was as if you were their mother."
"Eh, Aida-chan, then Kisame, then you too? Why is everyone saying that?" Mitsuki complained. Realizing that Mitsuki was not familiar with the implied context, Itachi chuckled as he continued.
"Isn't that a good thing?" he said briefly. Upon hearing his word, Mitsuki couldn't help but sigh, followed with a bitter smile.
"If you say so," she said in response, giving up on her attempt of protest.
"Speaking of the medicine, I've managed to figure out the thieves' identity and location," said Itachi as the topic shifted naturally once more.
"Really? Tell me more about it," said Mitsuki in response to Itachi's declaration.
As Itachi told Mitsuki about the information that he had gathered and deduced so far. Hearing Itachi's complicated story, Mitsuki frowned.
"Then, what would you like to do?" Mitsuki asked.
"At this point, I'm not sure yet," Itachi replied briefly.
"Should we cut the Saigenzai's supply? They are blaming it on Reishi and Kina, and no matter what we say, I don't think the villager will believe us over the other party," said Mitsuki, regretting her soured relationship with the villagers.
"I don't think that's wise. Without supply, the addicts will fall into withdrawal, and it will spell for more issue forward," Itachi denied Mitsuki's suggestion firmly.
"Ugh, and then, they will blame it on Reishi and Kina, again.." Mitsuki said as she rubbed her forehead, frustrated at her own lack of foresight. "And knowing you, you wouldn't want to eliminate them either, right?" she added.
"I can't blame them for feeling the way they do, considering the history of this village and the problem they had faced.." Itachi said apologetically. Somehow, he had stopped covering up those sides of him from Mitsuki completely.
"As usual, you're so kind, Itachi-kun," Mitsuki said with a complicated smile on her face. "Oh well, I'll leave the decision to you then. Meanwhile, I'll take care of Reishi and Kina's safety."
"I'll leave them to you then," said Itachi in approval. Hearing his response, Mitsuki smiled in satisfaction.
Author's note:
*Sips tea in relaxing chapter*