"So, why are you dragging me out here?" Kisame asked Mitsuki as the girl scoured through the menu of the restaurant that they had decided on.

"Hmm, I just feel like Itachi-kun need some alone time, that's all," Mitsuki said plainly, hiding the other half of her reasoning.

"If it's just that, you could have just told me," said Kisame in protest.

"Sure, next time you need time to mope around, I'll make sure to tell Itachi-kun loudly in front of you. You really have no delicacy don't you," Mitsuki narrowed her eyes as she glared towards Kisame judgingly.

"Mope around?" Kisame frowned.

"Nevermind. What do you think he can eat in his current condition?" said Mitsuki, switching the topic as she checked through the menu.

"Probably something light?" Kisame peeked over the girl to check on the menu as well.

Having placed their takeaway order, Mitsuki and Kisame sat down waiting on the diner's table.

"Hey, Kisame," Mitsuki asked with hesitation in her voice. "What was those Jutsu Itachi-kun used today? I've never seen him looked so tired before," said Mitsuki as she carefully selected her words. She didn't intend to reveal anything about the mark and what she saw in Aida's village until she could be sure about it.

Hearing Mitsuki's question, Kisame wondered if he should be the one who told Mitsuki about it. However..

"It wouldn't hurt to tell me that much right? That way maybe I could be of more help too," Mitsuki pushed. Hearing Mitsuki's word, in consideration of both his partner and the girl's goodwill, Kisame decided to entertain the girl's request.

"Huh, well, which one do you want to know about?" Kisame responded.

"Amaterasu, and Tsukuyomi, huh.." Mitsuki took a note inside her head. "Has his condition always been this bad whenever he used them?"

"Nah, I think today was the worst. He used them way too much in one day as of today," Kisame said.

"Usually how was it like?" Mitsuki asked seriously, giving Kisame an impression that he was being interviewed somehow.

"Uh.. I don't know, but what I knew is that it takes a lot of chakra. I'm not an Uchiha after all," Kisame frowned as he answered.

"Have you spent a lot of chakra before? Was it painful?" Mitsuki asked.

"More like exhausted, so.."

"Hmm.." With Kisame's response, Mitsuki had gone back to her own world. Seeing the girl in front of him frowning so hard, Kisame had started to wonder about Itachi's condition as well.

"Ah, and there's this case, where if he used Amaterasu, his right eye will sometimes shed tears of blood," Kisame added

"Eh, what the hell is that, why is it so scary?" said Mitsuki as Kisame's word pulled her back to the conversation.

"That's why Itachi-san usually avoids having to use it, since apparently it put great strain to his eyesight." Kisame stated.

"And Tsukuyomi?" Mitsuki enquired.

"It also put a strain to his eyesight. It's not uncommon for strong shinobi skill to have a drawback," said Kisame.

Mitsuki frowned in displeasure. "Yet you guys continue to nurture shinobis and risk your lifes and sacrificing your health.. Humans sure are weird. Why would anyone want to be a shinobi anyway?"

Hearing Mitsuki's innocent statement, Kisame laughed, "Who knows, maybe to follow someone their respect, maybe it's the lucrative pay, or maybe thirst for power?"

Hearing this, Mitsuki narrowed her round eyes as she stared at Kisame's face, asking, "Then what's yours?"

Kisame scoffed. "Who knows, it has been long since I forgot about it."

"… stupid shark," Mitsuki stated in unsatisfaction towards Kisame's answer.

As the pair went their way back, they continued their discussion lightly as Mitsuki kept asking Kisame about various stuff regarding Itachi and Kisame's relationship. How long they have known each other, habit, favourite food, what does Kisame think of him. The barrage of question left Kisame dizzy by the time they had reached the inn once more.

Inside the room, Itachi was sleeping. Seeing this, Mitsuki walked slowly and sat beside his futon. "Indeed, we should have gotten a place with proper bed," Mitsuki thought to herself as she thought about Itachi's pain and comfort. Gently, Mitsuki took off Itachi's forehead protector and placed her hand on top of his forehead, just like Aida taught her during their caring session last time.

"Fever.." Mitsuki muttered softly as she compared the temperature once more. She thought that she had reduced his temperature previously, but.. Mitsuki shook her head as she tried to focus on the present. Remembering what Aida did when Shin-Jii was not feeling well, Mitsuki asked Kisame for help.

"Kisame, can you help me get some warm, clean water, and a small towel from the inn?" Mitsuki asked.

"Hmm, where do you suppose I can get warm water?" Kisame protested, even as he prepared himself to leave the room and procure Mitsuki's request.

"Then cold is ok, I'll do something about it," said Mitsuki frowning, as she took in Itachi's palm once more and tried to regulate his condition once more. As Kisame left her and Itachi alone, Mitsuki frowned. Now she realised why Aida had to go to such extent to care for Shin-jii, being very careful and mindful about a lot of things.

"Humans are fragile, aren't they.. Even shinobi…" Mitsuki muttered as she gaze upon Itachi's pained sleeping face.

Not long after, Kisame came back with the requested items. Quickly Mitsuki did as Aida taught her. As she warmed up the water with her ability, Mitsuki soaked, and then squeezed the water back out of the small towel, before placing it on top of Itachi's forehead.

"You, somehow seem different than usual, like you've matured a bit all of a sudden," Kisame remarked softly, not to wake Itachi up. Hearing it, Mitsuki let out a bitter smile.

"Probably it's because of Aida-chan," said Mitsuki in a hushed voice, "And Shin-jii, and Keiko-san as well.." she added silently in her mind.

"Also, there are times where I had to be serious as well, right?" Mitsuki added as she dried her hand, and took out her and Kisame's part of takeaway food from its container. "Let's eat, I'll keep Itachi-kun's food warm while waiting for him to wake up," said Mitsuki as she handed over Kisame's share.

"Yes, Mom," Kisame teased jokingly, prompting Mitsuki to glare at him with a judging look.

As they were eating, Mitsuki and Kisame chatted in hushed voice as Mitsuki thrown Kisame more questions regarding whatever came to her mind about the two of them, and humans.

"Told you, I'm not the right person to ask about this. Itachi-san probably knew it better," said Kisame as Mitsuki asked him to explain about Medical Nin and healing ninjutsu that he had mentioned during their talk.

"Hrgh, I wonder if there's any way I can apply it with my ability somehow.. But judging from how my energy affected Itachi-kun's body earlier, I don't think it's possible.." Mitsuki grumbled as she analyzed the situation.

Suddenly the two noticed a movement behind Mitsuki. As they quickly turned their attention towards the source, the two of them saw Itachi sitting up from his futon, causing the damp towel to fall from his forehead as he straightened his body up.

"Ah, you're awake," Kisame remarked as he saw the sudden movement.

"Oh, Itachi-kun, how is it? Do you feel hot? Or cold?" Mitsuki quickly turned her body around and checked on Itachi as well.

Confused, Itachi held the fallen towel in his hand. Seeing that Itachi seemed to haven't recover his focus yet, Mitsuki informed him about his condition as she handed Itachi the food she and Kisame had bought for him,

"You had a fever just now, so do eat even if just a little. You need energy to recover."

Itachi received the food container, still with a dazed look about him. Kisame and Mitsuki looked at each other, as both of them had never seen him in such a condition before.

"This, is bad, yeah.." Kisame muttered.

Seeing her refered figure whom she had never been able to beat before being so defenseless and out of it, Mitsuki couldn't help but worry. However..

"Somehow, it's a bit cute…" she thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes and took in Itachi's dazed face. Realizing the ridiculousness of that thought in that dire situation, Mitsuki snapped herself out of it.

"? What was I thinking, damn it!" Mitsuki thought as she slapped her own cheeks gently, surprising Kisame with her sudden, nonsensical actions.

"Itachi-kun, can you hear? You should eat even if just a little!" Mitsuki stated once more as she approached Itachi and forcing some cutlery into his hand, this time with a bit more force behind her voice.

Seeing the strange scene of the switch between the usual care giver and recipient, Kisame couldn't help but chuckled.

When Itachi woke up, the sun had just risen and the birds are exchanging their morning greeting. Without realizing, it seemed like at some point, he had fallen asleep once more. He could barely remember some food being forced unto his mouth as well on the previous night. As he tried to regain his focus, Itachi tried to move his hand. Somehow, his fingers felt warm and heavy at the same time. Noticing this, Itachi looked to his right as he tried to figure out why. Then, he saw Mitsuki on the futon to his right, clutching his palm as she had fallen asleep headfirst unto her pillow, facing him. Surprised, Itachi twitched his finger, waking Mitsuki up with the slight movement.

"Huh? Since when did I fall asleep?" Mitsuki jolted up as she woke up, her hands still clutching Itachi's palm. It seemed like she had fallen asleep in the middle of her "treatment" session. As Mitsuki turned her head towards Itachi's face to check on him, for a second, their eyes met. Realizing that Itachi had woken up once more, this time with a better color on his face and more focus on his eye, Mitsuki's eye almost sparkled, even as dark circle lingered near her eyes. Quickly, Mitsuki took off the damp towel from Itachi's forehead and checked his temperature with the back of her hand.

"Thank goodness, your fever has gone down!" said Mitsuki softly, relieved as a complicated smile rose up on her face.

Quickly, Mitsuki infused some heat to the cooled-down bowl of water, soaked the towel once more, and wring it half dry, before placing it unto Itachi's forehead once more. Seeing the frantic movement of the girl before him, Itachi could only watch, not knowing what to say as he hadn't yet become fully aware of the situation.

"Don't go anywhere, OK?" Mitsuki stated as she stood up and pranced towards the door in hushed voice, "I'll go fetch us some breakfast!" said Mitsuki as she grinned brightly towards Itachi, before turning back to leave the room quietly without waking Kisame up.

Itachi stared quietly at the ceiling as he let himself zone out for a moment.

"Ah, Itachi-san, you're awake," suddenly a voice calls out to him from the far right of the room.

"Kisame.." said Itachi as he glanced to his right.

"How are you feeling? Better?" Kisame grinned, seemingly relieved seeing how Itachi could muster up his voice this time.

Not sure about what to answer, Itachi searched back within his mind. "That's right, I.." Itachi thought back, "I used too much of the mangekyou's power, and my condition dropped, then.." a few faint, hazy memories resurfaced in his mind as he tried to recall what happened after.

"That kid had been frantically looking after you the whole night, you know. Seemed like she had picked up some good skills and traits during our previous stops," Kisame said, half joking. Frankly, he didn't expect her to be able to take over such role. As a shinobi, it was rare for them to suffer over illness, except for those incurred by their own Jutsu's aftermath, or old age. Hence, for them, learning about basic healthcare had never been a necessity, as they would usually solve their problem with chakra, or even medical ninjutsu. However, from time to time, there could be cases of shinobis whose life was affected by great degree over sickness that no ninjutsu could cure, to the point of their death. "It can't be, right..?" Kisame thought to himself in doubt, as Mitsuki's interrogation and seriousness on the previous day haunted him. Frowning, Kisame tried to shove his ridiculous speculation to the back of his mind. Knowing his partner, it was unlikely for him to tell Kisame the detail of his condition, even if he asked. At the very least, he was glad that Mitsuki had proven herself useful once more.

"That so?" Itachi said plainly. He did have an impression of her forcing some food down his throat as well as using her ability to reduce his pain somehow. Suddenly he felt like a surge of pain hit the back of his eyes once more. Wincing his eyes, Itachi quickly ruffled through his supplies and took out what seemed to be an eyedrop and quickly dispense it on both side of his eyes.

"It's almost finished," Itachi thought to himself as he shook the eyedrop's container once more before returning it to his bag of supplies.

"It's about time again, huh?" Kisame asked, knowing what Itachi's gesture meant.

Itachi kept his quiet. Even knowing that it was about time, he was still not in the condition to travel, yet. Sighing internally, Itachi leaned his back against the wall, letting the coldness of the wall comfort him as it took some of his heat away.

"I'm back!" Mitsuki exclaimed softly as she came back. In one of her hands, she brought a bag full of onigiri, water container, and some tea packs. On her other hands, she clutched a few thick, big sized book.

"You took quite a while, kid, where were you?" Kisame asked.

"Ah, it's just there's something," Mitsuki scratched her cheek as she put on a complicated smile. "Sorry for the wait, I bought both of you two your favourite flavours of Onigiri," she added as she put down the bag of food and distribute both the food and the water container.

"Careful, it's hot," said Mitsuki as she handed over the water container to Itachi. As Itachi opened the cover, floral smell mixed with a familiar scent wafted through the air.

"This is?" Itachi asked Mitsuki as her eye sparkled proudly.

"It's chamomile tea, Hazuki-nee taught me that it is good in reducing inflammation during fever. As I'm not sure how to process it myself yet, I went to the herb and medical store nearby to get it and mixed it with your favourite green tea," Mitsuki explained with a smile.

"In-flamme-?" Kisame asked, unsure. Mitsuki was not sure if she should entertain his question or not, before deciding to explain in as practically as possible. "It's those thing that caused swelling,heat, and redness during fever, as well as in allergy reaction as well. It heats your body up, sort of.."

"And you learned this from?" Kisame enquired.

"Ah, I had a chat with the village's doctor a while ago. Hazuki-nee taught me about herb but never taught me the logic behind it so.. I thought it might be useful. Knowing that I can't use medical ninjutsu and all.." Mitsuki said with a bitter smile in her face.

Hearing this, Itachi took a peek at the books that Mitsuki brought back.

"'Human Anatomy', 'Immunity and Illness','Known Diseases and Natural Medication'," he read the books' titles in his mind. It was clear to him that the girl seemed to take her new 'mission' seriously. However Itachi knew that whatever a non-shinobi medication can solve, can usually be solved with medical ninjutsu and chakra as well. Not wanting to waste her effort, Itachi kept the fact to himself. As for his situation…

"Itachi-kun, can you eat?" Mitsuki called Itachi worriedly as he sat quietly without a word, not making any progress on his food.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine," Itachi responded as he snapped back out from his own thoughts. As he took a bite into his onigiri, Mitsuki and Kisame glanced at each other, smiling in relieve.

Author's note:

(this was written way before my last boothing days)

As of today, I'm in more writing mood than drawing mood, means that even tho I got the story material ready, I haven't got the mood to draw the illustration lol. I promise I'll go back to it once my boothing event is done!

(after boothing, when posting note)
OK, 3 day after boothing, I finished 2 illustration today with the power of love :3 enjoyyy~ meanwhile my written chapter stockpile has piled even more!