"Mitsuki-nee, quickly!" Kina called Mitsuki over as he effortlessly walked atop of the water, putting Mitsuki at a loss.
"Haha, shit," Mitsuki uttered silently inside her head as she smiled awkwardly. "Oh well, it's not like we are heading towards a hideout or anything right? I'll just make a platform crudely," she thought smiling, hoping that Itachi wouldn't reprimand her later.
"You run ahead, I will follow from behind," said Mitsuki while taking off her footwear.
"Huh? OK then.." said Kina as he turned his back in confusion and ran ahead.
"Yosh, let's do this," said Mitsuki softly. Back then, when she practiced and sparred with Itachi among the mangrove, she had been able to somehow keep herself afloat by quickly creating platform of ice quickly as her feet splashed the water around, however it wasn't stable enough for her to stay afloat for a long time. Because of it, the ensuing training session was hell as she was forced off the platform and into the mud by Itachi countless time. Recalling, Mitsuki felt her frustration welling up once more. As she recalled her long forgotten goal of getting even with Itachi, Mitsuki braced herself. "Now that I have experimented more with my power and achieved finer control over it, let's see how much I can do this time." Readying her power, Mitsuki jumped towards the water.
As her barefooted leg about to touch the water's surface, Mitsuki slowed her descent by manipulating the wind and air pressure around her. The moment the tip of her feet touched the water, she quickly freeze herself a thin platform, just thick enough for her to propel her movement forward once more.
"! Seems like this works!" Mitsuki's eyed sparkled as she bounced off the ice platform lightly, repeating the whole process once more. "I should probably move faster though, I don't think the platform can support my weight for long.." said Mitsuki as she jumped and created platform at one moment's notice, one after another. Not too long after, she had gotten used to the sequence of movement, albeit having to maintain her focus during the whole travel.
"What was that, Mitsuki-nee? So cool!" said Kina as both him and Mitsuki reached the other end of the river. By then, Mitsuki had dropped her knee on the ground, exhausted by the amount of focus she exerted during the whole journey.
"Nah, aren't you cooler Kina? You can leisurely walk yourself across the water after all," said Mitsuki as she panted her tiredness away.
"Haha, what are you talking about? It's basic for shinobi! Compared to that, you dashing on ice atop of the water look way cooler!" said Kina with innocence and excitement in his eye.
"Haha," Mitsuki laughed bitterly. "I have to do that because I can't do such basic thing," Mitsuki thought secretly in her mind, as she didn't want to betray the little boy's admiration in her.
"Well then, shall we go?" said Mitsuki as she forced herself to stand, followed by Kina's grin as he tagged along.
Itachi had long since known the secret of Kotaro's creation due to his studious nature and the information that had been passed within Uchiha clan about Mangekyou's side effect. Without the Kodon body and bloodline, Kotaro couldn't be produced, since it had to be processed within Kodon clan member's body as part of their special genjutsu. However, it was likely that the thieves didn't knew about that fact, as they had been looking for Kotaro within the sibling's medicine supply. It was likely that they thought of Kotaro as something that could be recreated through recipe and special process. Realizing that, Itachi didn't know if he should be relieved, or worried. As long as the Kodon clan's secret are protected, it was unlikely that they will harm the sibling until they could get a hold of Kotaro or its recipe. However, he wasn't sure how long will things remain the way it was, and.. If the Sendo clan ever become desperate enough, he feared that the two siblings would be in danger. If he was there to protect them, it might not be a problem, but.. he didn't have the luxury to be protecting the siblings all year round.
Within Kina and Reishi, Itachi saw the old relationship between him and Sasuke. Kina especially, with his innocence and simple-mindedness, reminded him of how Sasuke was before as a kid. If possible, he'd like to protect them however he could. With that in mind, Itachi tried his best to formulate a plan that would bring the best result for the siblings, however he felt like he was at his wits end regarding the village's situation as well as the spread of Saigenzai addiction. He could choose to intimidate the perpetrator, however, it won't solve the problem for long as he was sure that once he had gone away from the village, the thieves would immediately resume their operation or rush it even. Suddenly Itachi recalled Mitsuki's wild card ability as well as her creativity. "I guess this is the situation where two heads are better than one," he chuckled inwardly as he was dumbfounded by his own thoughts.
"Kina, isn't this quite far already? If we don't go back now, it would be very late when we get back!" said Mitsuki as Kina continued his stride away as he collected more and more wild herbs along the pathway.
"It's fine, I don't think any of these herb grew within the village, and it's a rare chance for me to be able to explore this far, so might as well I collect as much as I can when I got the chance right?" said Kina energetically without stopping his exploration. Hearing Kina's enthusiasm, Mitsuki could only sigh.
Suddenly, Kina stopped in his track. Wondering what caused his sudden break, Mitsuki observed Kina quietly. Only then, Mitsuki noticed the change within Kina's soul. It was as if the color composition of Kina's soul shifted gradually for whatever unknown reason. To Mitsuki's eye, Kina's soul had always shined with a light color of magenta purple, yet, the moment Kina stopped in his track, the color of his soul shifted more towards violet.
"I have to.. go back.." said Kina as he turned, his expression unreadable.
"I've just said that, but.. Are you ok? What's wrong?" Mitsuki asked, unsure.
"I have to.. go back.." he said once more as he readied himself and dashed back towards the howling wolf village.
"Oi, wait, Kina!" said Mitsuki as she gave Kina a chase. Deep within her, she worried that something might have happened to Reishi, and Kina was able to sense it as his little brother, something that people refer to as sibling bond. Hoping that it was not the case, Mitsuki followed quickly behind him.
As soon as Kina reached the Hypericum Shrine, he collapsed. Swiftly, Mitsuki dashed over to catch the little boy from his fall. As the boy fell asleep within Mitsuki's grasp, she saw that the color of Kina's soul had changed once more, back to the way it was. Confused, Mitsuki frowned. Shrugging away her confusion, Mitsuki propped Kina's body up with her shoulder, and carried him inside the main shrine.
"Huh? What's wrong?" said Reishi as he saw Mitsuki carried Kina inside. Quickly, he approached and helped Mitsuki lay down his younger brother on the shrine's floor, where he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
"Um.. I'm also not sure," Mitsuki responded apologetically. As Reishi took off Kina's haul from his body, he noticed the herb that Kina has gathered.
"Ah, you guys went quite far off the mountain, didn't you?" said Reishi with a guilty smile. Somehow, he looked relieved. Seeing Reishi's expression, Mitsuki tilted her head in confusion. In response, Reishi turned his body towards Mitsuki and bowed as he apologized.
"Sorry to trouble you Mitsuki-san. But don't worry, he is alright," he said, explaining nothing. Upon hearing Reishi's apology, Mitsuki frowned, deepening Reishi's guilt.
"I.. can't tell you the detail, but.. Take it as, we both are bound to this mountain. That's all I can say." Reishi continued with guilty look in his eyes, as if asking Mitsuki to not ask about the matter further. Noticing the meaning behind his plea, Mitsuki sighed.
"Understood, I won't ask. At least, I'm glad that you two are unharmed," she said with heavy heart. At the very least, Reishi's word answered some of Mitsuki's question. Ever since she knew about the villager's treatment towards the sibling, she had always wondered why the two had never decided to leave the village. Initially, she thought that it was because of the unique nature within the mount where the Howling Wolf Village was located, but the fact that the two boys insisted to live as a shinobi in a village that had forsaken its shinobi way, the cons outweigh the pros by a margin. If only the two siblings could work somewhere else, whether as pharmacists or shinobis, then the both of them would never need to stay in such a worn out shrine anymore, living the hard life. Noticing the delicacy of the situation, Mitsuki shifted the topic as she offered to help Reishi with the medicine preparation.
Itachi went back to a cheerful chatter between the two siblings and Mitsuki. At the same moment he entered the shrine, Kina rushed up towards Itachi and dragged him by the hand.
"Itachi Onii-san! Come try this food!" Kina said excitedly as he dragged Itachi towards his designated seat. Upon sitting, Itachi examined his plate. It seemed to be a simple teishoku set as usual, consisting of a bowl of rice, slices of tamagoyaki, grilled fish, and vegetables. Not sure what to expect, Itachi tasted the side dishes one by one.
"It's sweet," said Itachi as he took a bite upon the tamagoyaki*. It was subtle, but the three onlooker could swore that they saw a glint of delight within Itachi's eye as he took a bite.
"We did it!" Kina and Mitsuki gave each other a high five as Reishi watched with a sense of satisfaction in his face. Confused, Itachi tilted his head, enquiring.
"You know how we usually make the dashimaki* type of tamagoyaki right?" Kina asked Itachi with excitement in his eye. "So, today, Mitsuki-nee told us that you'd probably prefer a sweet one instead. We almost wouldn't believe it!"
"Right? Knowing Itachi-kun, he probably would have never told you guys," Mitsuki grinned mischievously as she added.
"Then she insisted that we try making it this once, but we were not sure how to, so we did a few trial and error!" Kina continued excitedly.
"You three shouldn't have," said Itachi with a guilty expression in his face upon hearing what happened.
"It's fine, Mitsuki-san bought us some ingredients so we ended up having more than enough," Reishi quickly intercepted as he saw Itachi's expression change.
"And we got to eat a lot more than usual too!" Kina added.
"Protein is good for growing boys!" Mitsuki proudly gave the two boys thumbs up with confident expression in her eyes.
Hearing the excuses shared between the three, Itachi was not sure how to react. In the first place, he didn't understand why the three of them would go that far for something as simple as his enjoyment sake, especially as he was a shinobi who was already used to surviving on chakra pill oftentimes during his mission. Seemingly catching the question in Itachi's eye, Mitsuki uttered softly.
"Everyone is thankful for what you've done. Why else would they have bothered to memorize your favorite food?" and so did she, Mitsuki added in her thoughts. "That's why, don't give up on your life, Itachi-kun," she wished in silence. Upon hearing Mitsuki's word, Reishi smiled gently and Kina nodded vigorously in agreement.
As he saw the trio's expression, Itachi was caught offguard. He didn't know how to react, yet unconsciously, a smile bloomed on his lips as gentleness gradually replaced his surprise.
"Mitsuki, come with me tomorrow, I need your opinion on something," said Itachi as he and Mitsuki sat upon the back shrine's floor. Surprised that Itachi initiated their conversation that night, Mitsuki gave him a questioning look.
"Why? You have plans?" seeing Mitsuki's confusion, Itachi continued hesitantly.
Mitsuki greeted Itachi's word and the turmoil in his expression with a cheerful laugh, "Ah no, it's just that.. you caught me by surprise. Where shall we go?"
Ignoring Mitsuki's remark, Itachi kept his face straight as he continued, hiding the slight embarrassment it caused him. "To the thieves' hideout. We need to figure out how to deal with them without endangering Kina and Reishi."
Hearing Itachi's word, Mitsuki nodded in excitement and pride. It was the first time Itachi had ever asked for her help, and she wouldn't want to disappoint him. "Tell me the detail!" said Mitsuki excitedly.
Author's note:
:3
Extra note:
(*) Tamagoyaki is rolled egg omelette, Japanese style! Fun fact, Japanese store even have dedicated pan to make tamagoyaki xD It's square/rectangular shaped and it make folding the egg perfectly with chopstick a lot easier :3
(**) Dashimaki is a type of tamagoyaki that uses more dashi (broth), making it more delicate, but it tends to be more on salty, savoury side. The type of tamagoyaki that Mitsuki tried to create with the boys is more on the sweet side which is Atsuyaki tamago, the type that you would encounter in sushi restaurant as nigiri tamago. Even tho this type is not as delicate as dashimaki, but it's easier to get burnt because of the higher sugar content.