Itachi's whole body was burning in pain. At some point, the intensity of it had taken away his energy, and his consciousness with it.
"Itachi-kun, stay with me! Hold on!" Itachi heard Mitsuki's cry of panic. Not wanting to worry her, Itachi forcefully pulled himself back to consciousness with the last shred of his will. Itachi opened his eyes and saw Mitsuki's worried face. Apparently, he had passed out and fell, and Mitsuki had caught him safely. It was such an unexpected turn of event, Itachi couldn't help but smile at the ludicrousity.
"Huh, I think I'm more tired than I thought," He said, smiling lightly in an attempt to ease Mitsuki's worry, to no avail. Seeing Mitsuki growing increasingly scared instead, Itachi wondered about what she had seen within him with her special eye.
"Don't worry, I don't intend to die here. There are still things I must do.." said Itachi, in another attempt to put Mitsuki at ease, However, his words was soon followed with a cough. Blood spurted from within his lung, dying his lips red with blood. In his mind, Itachi cursed the turn of event that had rendered his previous effort useless.
"M..maybe don't talk Itachi-kun, I'll.. I'll try something.." said Mitsuki as she shifted Itachi's body and laid him flat on the ground, taking his palm in hers.
A wave of tiredness washed Itachi's consciousness once more. The warmth of Mitsuki's palm had somehow caused him to relax. As Itachi drifted away slowly, he heard Mitsuki's call once more.
"NO! ITACHI-KUN, STAY AWAKE! PLEASE!" Mitsuki shouted with all her might. "THE EYEDROP, WHERE'S THE EYEDROP?" she shouted once more. Seeing the concern in Mitsuki's eye, somehow Itachi couldn't help but smile, even if he didn't understand why.
"It's ok Mitsuki, I just need.. some rest.." said Itachi, as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift further into the darkness.
And he drifted, for who knew how long. It was tranquil, and quiet.
Suddenly, a blast of light pulled Itachi back out of the darkness.
As light invaded past through his eyelid, Itachi opened his eye slightly. In front of him, a golden haired lady with eyes golden as the sun, looked upon him with a sense of relieve with her round, affectionate eyes which was wet with tears.
"Amaterasu-sama?" Itachi muttered silently in his mind. Suddenly, he noticed a warmth spreading around his body, and it was as if his pain had been lifted up.
With the absence of pain, Itachi drifted once more into a peaceful slumber.
After some time had passed, Itachi woke from his peaceful slumber. His body felt way better than before, as if the pain that he had before passing out had only been an illusion. Shifting his head slightly, Itachi noticed the warmth and gentle comfort as his head sink unto the soft support as a calming scent filled his lungs.
"?" As Itachi's thought gathered, he realised the unnaturalness of the situation and quickly opened his eye.
The moment he did, the sight of a woman with messy, long dark hair entered his vision, seemingly asleep. Recognising the situation he was in, Itachi immediately lifted his head from the woman's lap and jumped away, putting a distance between him and the unknown figure, just enough for him to have a full view of the stranger.
Seemingly woken up by his sudden movement, the woman opened her eyes.
"Ngghh, what's wrong, Itachi-kun?" she said as she opened her round eye, fluttering her doll like, plentiful eyelashes, and stretched her body.
"Mitsuki!?" Immediately, Itachi recognised the eye, along with her unchanging sweet voice. Looking closer, the woman indeed wore something similar to what Mitsuki had usually worn, albeit looking shorter on her frame and incredibly tight around her matured figure. It even seemed like she had taken off her Obi* to compensate for the change.
"Mmm?" the woman answered with confusion, before realising Itachi's questioning gaze on her, "Oh.. Ah.. A lot happened while you passed out, hahahah…" said the woman awkwardly.
"What's… What's with your appearance?" Itachi didn't know where to start upon seeing the bizarre situation. Hearing his word, Mitsuki smiled awkwardly.
"That can wait.. More importantly, how are you feeling?" said the woman with worry reflected in her eyes as she bent her body forward to take a closer look upon him. Upon seeing the familiar expression in her gaze, Itachi relaxed his pose. "It's definitely Mitsuki," he thought, still with disbelieve as his eye scanned her from head to toe.
Greeted with silence, Mitsuki tilted her head in confusion, snapping Itachi back out of his thought.
"Ah, thinking about it, I feel better.. Did you do something?" Itachi asked as he examined his condition briefly.
To his question, Mitsuki didn't give an answer and only let out a bitter smile, confusing Itachi.
"I'll.. explain later," said Mitsuki, avoiding Itachi's gaze. "For now, let's go back.. Reishi and Kina must be worried.."
Knowing that pushing her for information further would not be of use, Itachi nodded.
"What do we do, they still haven't come back.." said Reishi, worry etched his face with frown.
"Sorry, Reishi.. It's all because I was careless.." said Kina with a sad look in his eyes. As Reishi saw Kina's guilty face, he gave Kina a pat on his head, calming him.
Suddenly, the two sibling spotted two figures approached the shrine with a steady pace.
"Itachi-san! You're back!" Reishi exclaimed as he recognised Itachi's silhouette. Behind him, a long haired woman seemingly in her twenties, followed, cloaked by Itachi's Akatsuki robe.
"? Who? Where's Mitsuki-nee?" said Reishi as he spotted the pair. Hearing Kina's question, Mitsuki smiled awkwardly.
"Hehe, Kina, Reishi, it's me.." Mitsuki said with guilt in her voice, not sure how to explain her situation to both of them.
As Reishi exclaimed, "Mitsuki-san!?", Kina shouted in disbelief, calling, "Mitsuki-nee!?", at the same time.
"What happened!?" said both sibling as Mitsuki's change caught them offguard.
"Er, uh.. I'll explain next time.. Besides.." said Mitsuki apologetically as she evaded the topic for who knows how many times that day. "Do you two have any Kimono I can borrow that might fit me?" Kimono would be easy for her to adjust, and she could easily tie it with her old Obi as well.
"Let me check our parents' wardrobe!" said Kina as he ran back inside the shrine.
"Uh.. and Reishi, I need to talk to you. Itachi-kun, do go ahead and take more rest first, don't push yourself just yet," said Mitsuki firmly, as she shifted her glance from Reishi's confused face towards Itachi's poker face. As Itachi's gaze met Mitsuki's, he noticed how their line of sight intersect closer as of then as compared to before, to his surprise. In response, Itachi nodded silently, unsure of what other action he could take. There were too much things that he couldn't comprehend happening around him in such a short time, and he felt the need to sort his thoughts out.
"Mitsuki-san, somehow you have a different aura around you," said Reishi as he and Mitsuki separated themselves from Itachi and entered the production room. To be honest, there were a lot more differences than just her aura, but Reishi refrained himself from asking further.
"Fufu, is that so?" Mitsuki smiled lightly with a complicated emotion reflected within her eyes. To be honest, she was not sure herself. During the time that she had drifted to sleep, her millennia worth of memory had come back to her, up to the point of her pact with Amaterasu, and..
"The meaning behind the mark.." Mitsuki pondered quietly with a conflicted look within her eye.
As Mitsuki inhaled a deep breath, she gathered back her determination. It was yet the time for her to sort her own thoughts and emotion, as something required her urgent attention more as of then.
"Reishi, how's the progress with Itachi-kun's medicine?"
"The Kotaro is ready, however, I'm still waiting for the other ingredients to 'mature'," Reishi answered briefly, wondering about Mitsuki's intention.
"I see, then there's something I'd like to discuss with you regarding the medicine," said Mitsuki with serious look in her eyes.
"Do you think that will be possible?" Mitsuki confirmed as she finished explaining her train of thoughts.
"I think so, but it will likely be experimental. We need time to monitor the effect closely, I guess. And also to grow the specifically cultivated plant.." said Reishi as he pondered, his hands rested on his face as he delve deeper into his knowledge.
"For that, you don't need to worry, just give me the seed and I will do something about it," Mitsuki interrupted Reishi in haste. Seeing Mitsuki's confident expression, Reishi nodded.
"However, what do we do with the herbs curing process? We will have to restart the whole batch," Reishi asked.
"Can you teach me about the ideal condition to cure the herbs as quickly while keeping the quality intact? I'll see if I can replicate it," said Mitsuki with determination in her eyes. In response of her conviction, Reishi nodded.
"Where's Mitsuki?" Itachi asked as Mitsuki failed to join their dinner time. Knowing her, it was unlikely that she will purposely skip the occasion without reason.
"Ah, she is in the production room helping me with your medicine processing. She said we should go ahead and that she would be fine," said Reishi apologetically. Hearing Reishi's word, Itachi frowned. Somehow he felt that Mitsuki hadn't been herself ever since he woke up. It was as if she was holding something back, more than before, as if something had burdened her even more than before.
"I'll go check on her a while," said Itachi as he put down his meal and stood.
"Ah, Mitsuki-san said not to open the production room until she is done," Reishi exclaimed as he saw Itachi walked away.
"Hee, it sounds just like the crane in the folklore," Kina said to Reishi jokingly as Itachi left the room.
"Mitsuki?" said Itachi as he knocked on the production room's door. Upon his call, Itachi could hear sudden movement from inside the room.
"Itachi-kun!? What is it?" Mitsuki replied with an audible surprise in her voice, confusing Itachi further.
Not sure of what to say, Itachi said briefly with hesitation in his voice. "No, it's just.. Is everything alright?" he asked with a slight worry reflected in his voice. It wasn't like Mitsuki to skip dinner, as it was more likely that she would be complaining over the lack of food.
"Ah, don't worry. Everything's fine, I won't die even without food, remember?" Mitsuki joked lightly in an attempt to eliminate Itachi's worry. However, something about her words, and her tone, disturbed him even more. Even so, Itachi wasn't sure about what action to take. However, before he can say another word, Mitsuki added.
"Sorry, Itachi-kun, I just really need to concentrate. I'll be finished by tomorrow night, I promise," said Mitsuki from beyond the door, her voice filled with guilt as she hinted Itachi to let her be. Hearing her response, Itachi couldn't help but swallowed back his words.
"… Understood," he said, as he turned his back against the door and walked back towards the main shrine.
"Was it too obvious?" Mitsuki thought to herself as she heard Itachi's footstep moving further and further away. She couldn't help but felt guilty for not explaining anything to him. But to tell the truth, Mitsuki was not sure about how to approach the brooding topic.
"I only managed to borrow him some time, and.." she thought, as she recalled her talk with Amaterasu within her memory.
"However, Inaba, there are a few things that you have to keep in mind," said Amaterasu with seriousness in her expression.
"You must never interfere with the Authority of another Gods," she continued. Unsure what the goddess meant, Inaba frowned in confusion.
"For example, if the God of Thunder, Raijin, decided to strike someone down, it was within his authority. In such cases, you would be able to see his mark etched on the person's soul as part of your blessing, considering you are the one who is directly connected to me, the chief of Gods," Amaterasu explained briefly. Upon her explanation, Inaba stayed quiet for a moment, before daring herself to ask.
"What will happen if I break this rule?" said Inaba hesitantly.
"Doing so will incur the wrath of another God, as you have interfered with their plan without their permission, and you will likely receive a punishment, even to the extent of losing your authority or even an exile.." Amaterasu frowned with worry as she answered Inaba's question.
"Understood," Inaba nodded as she noted the information in her head, slightly worried about the future prospect of encountering such issue.
Looking at Inaba's concerned expression, Amaterasu added, "However, there is one exception where you are allowed to interfere," she said. Curious, Inaba gazed at Amaterasu's eye with an inquisitive eye. Upon realising Inaba's curiosity, Amaterasu continued.
"If you encounter the mark of Izanami, the mother of mine and Tsukuyomi alike, due to the connection between her Authority over death and my Authority over life, interference might be done to some extent. However," Amaterasu paused as if considering her next words.
"However, it's not without its consequences," she continued.
"Consequences?" Inaba uttered unconsciously upon hearing Amaterasu's word.
Hearing Inaba's question, Amaterasu nodded as she elaborates further for her, "Yes, after all, humans are mortal beings. Their time is limited. As for the limit of their life, it was within Izanami's Authority."
"Then, how about those who were marked by another God?"
"They were marked with Izanami's permission too, however since it's involving the Authority of another God, things are a lot more complicated," Amaterasu explained to Inaba briefly. Hearing Amaterasu's explanation, Inaba frowned.
"So, what about Izanami's mark itself? You said there are consequences? How do I even know if it's her mark?"
"Every Gods have their own specific emblem. For example, mine is reflecting sun, and yours reflect moon. As for Izanami, her emblem is their spear, Ame-no-Nuboko with enlarged left blade, while Izanagi's Ame-no-Nuboko have enlarged right blade."
As Inaba took mental note, Amaterasu continued with bitter look on her eyes, "And as I said, human's time are limited. Even as we can forcefully extend their life, it will mess up with their karma. Akin to a stretched rubber band, the stretched life will snap back harder the further it's stretched, either causing them more pain in their life, or a more painful death."
Upon Amaterasu's explanation, Inaba frowned with a mix of both horror and concern.
As Mitsuki snapped herself back to the present, she felt a pain in her heart. As she tried not to break her concentration from doing what she had been doing to cure the herbs faster, Mitsuki thought to herself.
"I'm so careless.. When she asked me if I'm willing to take any risk.. I thought it would be something that I had to pay for.." she thought in regret as she recalled the moment Amaterasu's voice called unto her previously that day. "All I had done.. had only ended up making Itachi-kun's suffering, or future.. worse.."
"I'm sorry, Itachi-kun.." Mitsuki muttered softly, "Will you.. hate me if you know about this?"
Sun had risen once more. Itachi opened his eye, greeted by the morning view of the empty back shrine. It seemed like Mitsuki had never came back to rest the night before. Upon taking the scene unto his mind, Itachi realised that it had really been a long time for him since he last had to wake up in a complete absence of anybody's presence. Somehow a long forgotten feeling of solitude crept into his heart. Itachi frowned at himself as he realised what the sensation was. Partly, he was angry towards himself for feeling that way, knowing the risk of the path that he had chosen to take. Itachi wondered if he had allowed himself to grow complacent lately. However, another part of him didn't hate the feeling. He knew that he was able to feel that way because he was no longer alone in his painful journey filled with deceit and anguish. Somehow, that small part of him was glad and thankful for that feeling.
In an attempt of shutting down his mental turmoil, Itachi walked out of the back shrine to gaze upon the forest's morning scenery. As he approached the production building, he saw Reishi and Kina standing worriedly in front to the door, seemingly unsure of what to do.
"What's wrong?" said Itachi as he called out towards Kina and Reishi.
"Erm, Mitsuki-nee didn't come out for breakfast either," said Kina in worry.
"And judging from the state of things, it seems like she didn't sleep last night as well. She said she's ok but.." Reishi added.
Hearing their concern, Itachi walked past them and knocked the door to the production room.
"YES!?" Mitsuki exclaimed from inside in surprise.
"Mitsuki, are you done yet? Kina and Reishi are worried about you," said Itachi, leaving himself out of the sentence.
"Ehh.. no, not yet, probably tonight," Mitsuki said with guilt.
"Then can you at least come out for a bit and get your breakfast?" Itachi pressed further.
"Erm, it's a bit difficult to explain but I'd rather not.. I'm dealing with quite a specific control here so… I don't want to mess it up," answered Mitsuki apologetically.
"That's what she said," Itachi say towards the two worried boy.
"EH!? Kina, Reishi, you two are still here?" Mitsuki shouted from within as she realised the situation.
"I thought you should know?" said Itachi to her in confusion. Now that was something for him to worry about, knowing Mitsuki's penchant for tracking.
"Ergh, as I said I need to put a lot of concentration in so.. I didn't keep my perception out for a while now.. I just want to get this done as early as possible for Reishi to work on," Mitsuki explained briefly. Hearing Mitsuki's statement, Itachi turned his gaze towards Reishi and tilted his head in enquiry.
"Uh, Mitsuki-san wanted to help improve your medication further and we both had a few options figured out. She's doing something to speed up the curing process as well as something to do with her ability to make seed grows and such.." said Reishi apologetically, worried about what Itachi will think knowing that they had planned to experiment with his medication without letting him know previously.
Hearing Reishi's explanation, Itachi froze in surprise. Again, the extent of care that the girl, as well as the Kodon siblings had showed him took him by surprise. A mixture of emotion filled his heart as he was rendered unable to find a word of response.
"Are you angry, Itachi-san? After all we did this without telling you," Reishi asked in concern as he saw Itachi's silent response.
"Ah.. no, it's just.." said Itachi, unsure how he should response. There were a lot of questions in his mind, however none of them seemed to be appropriate as of then. Following the warm feeling that had found its way inside him, Itachi uttered a single phrase, "Thank you.." he said. Indeed, he knew that both Reishi and Mitsuki did it with his well-being in mind, nothing else. And that alone, defeated any other concern he had within himself.
Itachi's response surprised Reishi, and Mitsuki alike, while Kina innocently smiled at Itachi's awkward attempt to offer gratitude. As the building got swallowed in silence upon the surprise and complicated feeling after the exchange, Mitsuki spoke to break the ice.
"Er.. erm.. if you three are that concerned, how about you guys accompany me to play Shiritori*? I need to keep myself awake somehow," she offered.
"You three?" Itachi thought in an awkward denial, while Kina's expression brightened.
"Un, let's go, let's go! Who should start first?" Kina exclaimed in excitement as he took a stool to sit himself upon.
"Mmm, then I'll go, you guys decide what direction we go next since I can't see your position after all hehe," Mitsuki said cheerfully. "Then uh, first… Tabemono*?" said Mitsuki, prompting the three figure standing outside to let out wry smile.
"Hahahah Mitsuki-nee, that's where you start?" Kina laughed at Mitsuki's choice of word. "Then next is me, uh… No..no..nori?" Kina added.
"It.. doesn't have to be food right? Ri.. risu?" Reishi continued with awkward smile on his face as he too, took a seat nearby.
Seeing the exchange between Mitsuki and the boys, Itachi couldn't help but smile as he joined in. "Well, it's not like I have anything to do today anyway," he thought. "Suzume," he replied as he took a seat beside the door as well and joined the two boys.
"Me.. me.. medama…" said Mitsuki from behind the door, narrowing her eyes with a complicated expression as she chose her next word.
"Mitsuki-san, you are letting your concern out in the open," Reishi chuckled upon hearing Mitsuki's answer as Itachi smiled apologetically.
A long moments has passed since the game started, both Reishi and Kina had lost, leaving only Itachi and Mitsuki continuously exchanging a range of words with each other.
"I have a feeling that it will be a battle of spells soon," Reishi laughed as both Itachi and Mitsuki refused to give up, "Oh well, I'll go and prepare the other ingredients then, see you later, Mitsuki-san, Itachi-san," he added as he stood up from his seat and leave the premise.
"I'll go help Reishi then! Bye, Mitsuki-nee, Itachi nii-san!" said Kina as he followed his brother's footstep.
After the two left, Itachi and Mitsuki continued for a while more, before Mitsuki stopped responding to Itachi's challenge word of "Yomigaesu".
"Hehe, Itachi-kun, don't you have somewhere else to go as where?" Mitsuki asked instead of replying.
"Not really," Itachi answered briefly, feeling slightly awkward hearing Mitsuki's question.
"I see, hehe.." Mitsuki chuckled lightly upon hearing Itachi's answer, before continuing. "Do thank them for going along with my whim on my behalf, and.. Thank you to you as well, Itachi-kun," she added with a gentle, sincere tone. Hearing her words, Itachi let out a gentle smile as he answered,
"Tell them that yourself," he said with a cool tone as he hid the smile on his face.
"Understood. Um.. su.. sukiyaki?" Mitsuki continued upon hearing Itachi's advice. Hearing Mitsuki's choice of word, Itachi noted wryly.
".. You're really hungry, aren't you?" he said with a bitter smile on his face.
Hours has passed since Itachi and Mitsuki stopped their game of shiritori, with Mitsuki's loss. In truth, Itachi wondered if she had purposedly ended the match earlier so that he could take a break. By then, the sun had started to set, and Itachi walked towards the main shrine to join the boys for dinner.
"Ah, Itachi-san, welcome back," Reishi greeted as Itachi entered the main shrine.
"Mm, is Mitsuki done yet?" he answered briefly as he unconsciously checked upon Mitsuki's situation nonchalantly.
"Ah, Mitsuki-nee went out just now and handed Reishi the ingredients she helped in preparing, before gorging herself on some onigiri and went to the back shrine afterwards," Kina answered.
"She's probably sleeping, she looked pretty tired after all," Reishi added. Hearing the boys' update, Itachi nodded lightly as he took a seat and lifted the meal that had been prepared for him by the siblings and said,
"I see," calmly, without any show of expression despite the feeling of relieve in his heart.
After finishing his dinner, Itachi helped the sibling with the dishes before going back towards the back shrine. As he entered the shrine, he noticed Mitsuki curling herself on the floor as she slept. Quietly, Itachi approached and squatted beside Mitsuki's sleeping figure, observing quietly as the girl let out a gentle snore, her eyes decorated with black circle.
"It seemed that she didn't sleep last night," Itachi thought with a mix of concern and gratitude upon the girl's effort.
Fixing his gaze upon Mitsuki's changed appearance, Itachi took note of the plain, white Kimono that she tied with the yellow Obi that he had bought her from Hazuki's shop previously, seemingly something left by Kina and Reishi's parent. With that, Itachi had also noticed that some-when before, Mitsuki had cut her overgrown bangs and front hair on her own, tidily, seemingly in order to make it easier for her to perform her self-assigned duty comfortably. Somehow, the hairstyle looked slightly different from how it was before her change occurred. What prompted her to change it, Itachi could only speculate then.
Upon closer look, Itachi observed the slight flutter on Mitsuki's long, doll like eyelashes, as her eye darted around within her eyelid, seemingly in a dream. Her facial features didn't change much, on the exception of the reduction of the baby fat around her cheeks, giving her a slightly more defined look around her cheeks and jaw, causing her face to look like it had matured slightly.
Driven by curiosity, Itachi poked Mitsuki's cheek with his finger gently, as if making sure that the change in front of him was real. In response of Itachi's poke, Mitsuki frowned and grumbled in her sleep as she swatted Itachi's finger away from her face without opening her eyes.
Seeing the annoyed look on Mitsuki's face and her reaction, Itachi let out a repressed chuckle, surprising even himself with his own action. Awkwardly, he stood and walked away towards his usual sleeping spot and laid his body down as he took one last peek towards Mitsuki's peacefully slumbering back.
Author's note:
Ah somehow this become another long chapter heheh. Oh well, Mitsuki mental state gonna be in a heavy turmoil for some time now, thankfully the two cute sibling and Itachi is by her side even as she couldn't let her feelings and concern out yet due to her guilt as well as confusion upon her sudden memory recovery. To make it fast let's move on to extra notes since we got a lot this time!
Extra notes:
(*) Obi is the belt that ties kimono together and secure it in place. It's quite stiff actually but still can be convenient to adjust once you learn how to tie it properly.
(*) Crane in the folklore refers to a folklore in japan about a crane that was saved by a man and then as the crane transform to a human form woman, she married the man and provide them with miracle. One day she told the man that she is going to make something and told the man not to open the door to her room until she's done. For more detail and different version, can refer to this article on Wikipedia https/en./wiki/Tsuru_no_Ongaeshi
To where this statement fits Mitsuki, ehehehe *cough* please figure it out yourself later in the future.
(*) Shiritori is Japanese game of word chain. You take the last syllable from the previous word and made another word starting from that syllable. A player lose when they said a word that ends with "n" since it's not possible to continue it from there. Here's the explanation on the word that everyone selected for fun!
Mitsuki: Tabemono (food), hence everyone's reaction realising that it's the first thing that came up unto her mind.
Kina: Nori, continuing with food theme, it's the dried seaweed sheet used to wrap onigiri.
Reishi: Risu, thinking that continuing on food topic will probably make Mitsuki hungrier, he choose to say "squirrel" instead.
Itachi: Suzume, means swallow, continuing with the animal theme.
Mitsuki: Medama, suddenly take a bizzare turn as she chose eyeball for her next answer x'D showing that Itachi's condition caused by his Mangekyou Sharingan use was in her mind.
Then, after time moved awhile.
Itachi: Yomigaesu, means resurrected/coming back from the dead people's land (Yomi),
And last,
Mitsuki: Sukiyaki, she's back to hungry now hahahaha.. Sukiyaki is a meat dish that is common in japan, have you guys tried before? :3