Itachi understood the meaning behind Mitsuki's gesture. However, he was not ready to talk about it yet. He didn't know when he would be, or if he ever would be. Not if what happened was truly as he thought..

That it was his fault, again.

Itachi was sure. If Sasuke ever fall to Orochimaru's hand, it would be because of him. Because of his provocation, because of his rashness.. If what he did ever ended up jeopardizing Sasuke's future, he…

"Itachi-kun," Itachi felt a tap on his shoulder, an unexpected interruption. At some point, Mitsuki's humming had stopped, but Itachi was too busy wallowing in his regret to notice it. Moreover, Itachi was half expecting for Mitsuki to wait for him in silence, like he previously did for her.

As he turned his head to meet Mitsuki's eye with no energy left to mutter a word, his questioning gaze was met with Mitsuki's gentle, understanding smile.

"Would you follow me out for a while? I don't think cooping-up inside like this will be good for you," said Mitsuki, as she climbed out of the bed, followed by Itachi's questioning gaze. Seeing Itachi's expression, Mitsuki's smile turned into one of concern. "Not when you're like this.." she added.

"…" Itachi couldn't find it within himself to respond to Mitsuki's suggestion as he dropped his gaze towards his feet. Unsure of what he should do, he didn't make any move.. He couldn't.. It was as if his emotion was locking him still, preventing him to escape the cage of his pain. But then, he felt a warm touch on his hands as Mitsuki took both of his hands in hers, pulling him up and away from the bed. No, she wouldn't have the strength to do so, thought Itachi. Instead, it was as if his body had unconsciously followed her lead, trusting her..

As Mitsuki opened the window and jumped out, her left hand was still grasping his right palm gently, almost without pressure. Yet, somehow it effortlessly drew him in and guided him as the both of them traversed through the forest. Itachi had yet to utter a word. He didn't even know where Mitsuki was taking him, and what for. Looking at the state Itachi was in, Mitsuki could only imagine what he had heard, or witnessed, even, during his meeting with Akatsuki. And, it drove her crazy with worry. Knowing Itachi, she knew.. only one thing can affect the man that she loved to such an extent, and how hard it would be for him to get over it. Seeing how obediently Itachi followed her as she dragged him out without any explanation, without question, Mitsuki couldn't help but worry. How he had managed to go back to his room in such a state, Mitsuki didn't know. Observing Itachi's lightless, wandering gaze, Mitsuki frowned. Maybe, like her, Itachi was numbing himself, burying everything as he went through his day.. Until finally, being alone in the darkness of the room, his dread could no longer be suppressed.

After a long, silent journey, Mitsuki brought Itachi to where she had last left the armadillo. Upon a cliff which she had altered into a crater, filled with sand that Mitsuki had brought along with her during the move, Mitsuki landed followed by Itachi.

When they had finally stopped, Itachi ended up with more question than answer as Mitsuki finally let go of his hand to approach a big, protruding red bump on the sand. Just about when Itachi opened his mouth hesitantly to ask, he saw Mitsuki whispered something softly to the ground as she touched the bump. Suddenly, as soon as Mitsuki finished her words, the sand and the crater shook, surprising him and forcing him to take a defensive stance by reflex.

Seeing the surprise in Itachi's face as the shadow of the armadillo grew bigger and bigger under the moonlight as it stood, Mitsuki let out a light laughter that broke the resulting tension.

"Itachi-kun, your expression!" Mitsuki remarked happily before finally letting him on what was actually going on to ease him, "Don't worry, he's not hostile. If anything, we need your help."

"… uh.." Itachi finally broke his silence, to Mitsuki's delight.

"Yay, finally, you said something," Mitsuki remarked playfully as she rushed back towards Itachi with skips in her steps.

".. Can you give me at least a warning next time?" said Itachi with a frown, still recovering from his surprise. He had almost thought that Mitsuki had somehow managed to procure him a bijuu.

"If I do that, you won't get surprised, won't you?" said Mitsuki with a mischievous grin that prompted the scowl on Itachi's face to deepen. Seeing the frown, however, Mitsuki smiled gently in return.

"Do you remember the first time you said "tadaima" to me and Kisame?" she remarked suddenly, without any clear context.

It had been long, and Itachi had almost forgotten about it as the greeting that he once withheld as it had slowly turned into a natural habit for him.

"That time, what allowed you to break out of the shell of your own making was.. when we somehow caught you off guard, didn't we?" Mitsuki continued with a grin while gauging Itachi's response from his expression.

Now that she had said it, Itachi remembered. The silly conversation between Mitsuki and Kisame, the awkwardness as he hid his presence while he waited by the door for the conversation to end.. just to be caught off guard by the extent of Mitsuki's perception afterwards.

"I.. wanted to pull you out of your abyss of despair.. no matter what," said Mitsuki as she dropped her gaze, guilty smile on her face as she added, "Sorry, Itachi-kun.."

"Ah," thought Itachi, as he noticed the mix of emotion swirling behind Mitsuki's eye as she apologized. Her concern for him, her care, her guilt, and lastly, her relieve. As a mix of gratitude and guilt filled his heart, Itachi stopped his urge of giving the regretful girl a pat. Somehow, somewhere inside him, he was afraid, that like what he did with goodwill had ended up hurting Sasuke, he would eventually hurt the girl in front of him too the closer they got. Somehow, he was also worried, that it was already too late for him to realize so. In an attempt to redirect the conversation, without any word of gratitude or apology, Itachi asked the girl who was still pondering to herself,

".. You said.. you needed my help?"

Itachi's question prompted Mitsuki to lift up her gaze to meet Itachi's. Albeit the lingering gloom in his eye, Itachi's gaze had turned more relaxed once more, as he shove the previous pain that lingered within him into the back of his mind.

And, it was enough for her, she thought. That was what she had intended. It wouldn't be instantaneous, but.. She was willing to work through Itachi's pain, bit by bit, slowly, through the moonlit night. The thought of the possibility of her helping him to do so, brought a smile to her face as her heart was filled with her affection for him, and her hopes to ease his pain.

"Mmhmm, there are things I want to show you and ask your opinion on."

Over the course of the night, Mitsuki divulged about what had happened, about the armadillo and the rare plant, about her wish to make the giant another sanctuary, all in hope that by doing so, it will help distract Itachi away from his pain, even if only just for a while.

"You said his previous location was filled with sand?"

"Mmhmm, should I bring more here, actually?"

"It might not just be the sand itself. It might also be the ecosystem. After all, armadillos are insect eaters, aren't they?"

"I think so, he eat fruits also tho. I wonder what's his usual diet like? Does he even go out of the crater to find food?"

"Considering what you said about how people were having difficulty to find the plant, I don't think he travels far, or often.. Else everyone would have noticed his existence and how the plants grew on his back.."

As usual, the conversation between them turned into intellectual banter, which helped Itachi focus at the moment instead of the looming dread caused by his lack of information regarding Sasuke's current well-being. After some time of idea swapping, method discussion, and brainstorming, the pair busied themselves with their temporary goal of building a habitat for the armadillo. Mitsuki focused on restructuring the crater once more, and assisted by Itachi's extensive mastery of jutsus and his guidance, she managed to recreate the weathering effect and eroded the parts of the rocky crater they were on into sand, while also reinforcing the structure to mimic the previous crater before they had to bring in some of its "inhabitants" over.

"Itachi-kun, can you somehow communicate with him like you do with your crow?"

".. It's not that simple.." said Itachi as he kept the armadillo busy with the stacks of fruit that Mitsuki had grown and prepared beforehand. "I thought you'd be able to?" he added, remembering Mitsuki's communication with the pack of wolves previously.

".. Apparently he's not considered 'children of the mountain'," Mitsuki said with a chuckle, before adding, "At least he knows we're not hostile."

It was natural, thought Itachi. After all, animals were not given enough credit by humans. For example, his crows, which people often referred as symbol of bad luck, bringer of death. Contrary to the view, crows are, incredibly smart. They are known to recognize and remember people, and capable of solving problems or even using tool. They had fascinated him, even as a kid, and that was why he chose to train them as his "familiars". Even though it might be different for the armadillo, Itachi knew that if there were one thing animals, in common, are unquestionably good at.. It would be their survival instinct, honed through their long, evolutionary years. Many animals had been shown to have keen sensitivity towards human emotion, making them a good partner. Those who aren't as close too human, were exceptionally good at identifying danger. Determining which would be prey and which would be predator was a vital skill of survival that was ingrained in their DNA. And it was obvious to him, that the armadillo had recognised Mitsuki as an ally, somehow.

"OK, I'll try to bring some of the inhabitants over," Mitsuki noted, interrupting Itachi's train of thought. As she threw the white version of the herb that she had grown on her own to Itachi, Mitsuki conveyed to him another request. "Meanwhile, can you guard him while also trying to figure out about that plant growing on his back based on the info I gave?"

Upon hearing her request, Itachi nodded. Then, as realization dawned upon him about what Mitsuki was planning to do on her own, he asked hesitantly.

".. Are you sure you don't need help?"

After all, he figured it wouldn't be an easy task for her to "move over" the whole ecosystem, through such distance, in such manner. On top of that, she would be on her own.

However, noticing the concern within Itachi's eye, Mitsuki let out a light chuckle.

"No worries, you should just stay here, I'll be fine!" said Mitsuki with confidence, before dashing away on her own, leaving Itachi alone and puzzled.

The moment Mitsuki left Itachi alone, he sighed, confusing the resting armadillo. Truly, he couldn't tell what the girl was planning. Dragging him along with her to tear him out of his regret, making him help her creating a sanctuary for the giant creature, and then suddenly leaving him alone, on his own devices..

But thanks to those, he had found himself too busy to even think about anything else.

"That's right," he thought to himself in surprise. Back when he was young, Itachi had the habit of drowning himself in work and training to escape his thought and his worries. By focusing only at the moment, at what he could do, and then move on, he was able to overcome the burden that many would consider too much for someone his age. However, somewhere along the line, he had stopped escaping.. thinking that he didn't deserve an escape, and that it was the given punishment he deserved, as he took on every sins, every blames, unto himself, and drown with it.

Itachi scoffed as he turned his attention unto the night sky, and saw the moon, along with the stars that are normally hard to witness within the confine of cities' light. It made him pause, and somehow, relax.. for a while, before remembering about the white blossoming plant which was still in his grasp.

Again, he scoffed.

"Right," he muttered, causing the armadillo to turn his sight towards him, while he stood up with a faint smile upon thinking that he shouldn't let the girl down.

Mitsuki came back with a giant ball made of sand and various spinning thing combined, and wrapped by wind, floating above her head. And then, she shouted.

"ITACHI-KUUUN! SHOO, SHOOO! AWAY!"

"!?" Upon Mitsuki's "instruction", Itachi jumped away from his spot as far away as he could.

Shortly after, Mitsuki threw the ball of.. things.. hurriedly unto the open space, all the while trying her best to not step onto the ground as the ball broke into a mixture of sand, scorpion, snakes, insects, and various other dessert animal.

Then, Mitsuki landed on the armadillo's red leathered back, looking exhausted, yet also utterly disgusted, leaving Itachi very confused at her expression.

Noticing Itachi's questioning look, Mitsuki explained without being asked.

"WHY IS THERE SO MANY CREEPY INSECTS IN DESSERT ECOLOGY!?"

".. because they are optimally built for the environment?"

Hearing Itachi's logical answer, Mitsuki responded with looks of disgust, as if telling him that he was not supposed to answer it logically. It seemed to Itachi that Mitsuki does have something she hates, after all, which was a surprise considering how she had been able to tolerate the forests insects they encountered throughout their journey. Somehow, he wondered which ones of the insects exactly that she hated so much.

"Anyway… those should be enough right. I took roughly 30% of the population and some off the.. eggs.. too…" said Mitsuki as shiver runs along her spine.

"…hmmm.." Itachi pondered silently, as he avoided making fun of the girl further.

"I'm NOT going back there to pick more," said Mitsuki hurriedly as she glared towards Itachi full of warning, causing him to smile at her wryly.

Seeing Itachi's smile, however, Mitsuki's expression transitioned to one of delight, as she took on a smile of her own, as if telling Itachi that she was truly glad that he finally smiled.

Without saying a thing, Mitsuki took her fan out as she threw some seeds across the air, and blew it with her wind control. As soon as the seed hit the suitable ground, the seed sprouted with the assistance of Mitsuki's gift of life energy, a smooth process that didn't take too much time for them despite the size of the area. The quietness of the night enveloped the two.. and the big red armadillo.. as Mitsuki let the wind do its job.

"So.. something happened to Sasuke?" asked Mitsuki suddenly, breaking the silence and surprising Itachi.

"How..?"

"At this point, I know that whenever you are in so much joy, or in so much pain, it's always related to your brother somehow. That's how much you love him, don't you?" she noted with a smile without meeting Itachi's gaze. Honestly, she felt a bit jealous of Itachi's brother, to be able to affect him so, to receive so much of his love.

For a while, what was shared between them was only silence. However, as Itachi took his gaze of Mitsuki's smile, smile left his face as he pushed the painful words out of his lungs.

"... Sasuke might be in danger, and it's because of me.."

Itachi's voice was quivering as the words escaped his lips. Knowing how Itachi tend to blame himself for everything, Mitsuki asked a simple question, simply to push Itachi to convey his feelings further in hope that it would help him process it,

"Why do you think so?" she asked, patience and gentleness conveyed in both her tones and her words.

Itachi seemed to ponder for an answer for a while before answering, unsure of where to begin.

".. like you said, it seemed like the action that I took had affected him greatly," said Itachi with disdain for himself, as he forced himself to admit that he had indeed made a mistake. "Sasuke had been healed physically, yet.."

"I shouldn't have pushed him through the path of hatred.. Not in that way.."

Itachi added, his voice trembling as he held back the mess of emotion within him. Seeing him in such a state, Mitsuki jumped off the armadillo's back and approached Itachi with concern. Mitsuki wanted to cheer him up so bad, but she knew, whatever she did, it would not alleviate his guilt towards his beloved brother. So, all she could do, was just to stay by his side. Softly, Mitsuki lightly tugged on the edge of Itachi's sleeve, notifying him of her presence ever so subtly.

"What happened?" she ask, gently, as if telling him to take all the time that he need before answering.

Itachi clenched his fist to maintain his composure, yet his voice was still quivering.

"Orochimaru.. Sasuke left Konoha to follow him of his own will," Itachi's voice was a pained whisper as he pushed the word out of his gritting teeth. "He is rushing.. at the price of his own well-being.."

Unsure of what exactly did it entailed, Mitsuki threw Itachi a questioning glance, asking for more context. Noticing Mitsuki's confusion, Itachi opened his mouth once more.

"Orochimaru.. want to take Sasuke's body for himself.. to obtain the sharingan.."

Itachi's explanation still didn't make much sense to Mitsuki, but she could definitely understand the urgency of the situation based on the pain inside Itachi's soul alone.

"By that, you mean…?"

Itachi told Mitsuki everything. Starting from Orochimaru's involvement with Akatsuki, his obsession with Itachi, that ended in a terrible loss and shame of Orochimaru's side, and.. How he had likely shifted his interest towards Sasuke instead after encountering him in the recent joint Chuunin exam.

"Sasuke.. is pure.. He'll do whatever he think is right, earnestly.." Itachi said, pausing a moment as if he needed to strengthen himself for what he was about to say. "I've failed to anticipate this, despite knowing Orochimaru's involvement in the recent attack against Konoha.."

Mitsuki could feel that Itachi's body was trembling slightly, transmitted through the sleeve of his robe. Peeking into his soul, she knew that it was not because of fear. He was angry, angry at Orochimaru, but even more, angry at himself.

"If only I didn't allow myself to be found by him.. If only I didn't put him through.. all that.." Itachi's voice quivered as he recalled the torture he had bestowed Sasuke on that day.

"He had a good teacher, and from what I've heard, good friends too.." his body continued to tremble as his self-hate overwhelmed him once more, and Mitsuki could swear that she saw Itachi's black mark blink.

".. yet I robbed him of all that. Because of my own selfishness, because of my lack of insight… I…"

Suddenly, Itachi found Mitsuki's arm wrapping around him from behind him, as if telling him to stop.

"I'm sorry.." said Mitsuki, her voice quivered as well filled with regret as she recalled what happened on that day. "Please don't blame yourself anymore.. It's my fault.."

Hearing her words, Itachi was filled with confusion. After all, why would she blame herself for all that? Then, he heard Mitsuki continued,

"That day we went to meet the jinchuuriki.. I.." Overwhelmed by fear and regret, Mitsuki stopped for a moment. "Will he hate me if I told him?" she thought to herself, before bracing herself to continue, willing to accept whatever punishment that she deserved.

"I already knew.. about what happened to the Uchiha Clan.. and.."

Mitsuki released her hand from around Itachi's back, thinking how her decision might have caused Itachi's current pain. She didn't have the right to hug him, to console him, she thought. Not when she had caused him so much pain.

"I know.. that he's your brother…"

"I should have alerted you.. I shouldn't have let him past.. I.."

Understanding where Mitsuki's thought was heading, despite his surprise over what Mitsuki had just divulged to him, Itachi turned around and looked at Mitsuki who was lowering her head in shame and regret. He had no intention of blaming her, so with his soft, deep voice, he interrupted Mitsuki's word.

"You couldn't have known what to do. After all, I told you nothing.."

Hearing Itachi's word, Mitsuki shook her head while keeping her gaze lowered, still afraid of meeting Itachi's gaze.

"You don't understand, I…"

She stuttered..

"I purposely let him past.. I.."

Her voice trembled in fear of losing him.. But she couldn't allow herself to keep her secret.. No more.. Not when it caused him pain, the way it was.

"It was all because of my curiosity.."

Because of such thing, and her immaturity, she had brought upon Itachi so much pain..

The two stood in silence for a while. Itachi didn't know what to make of the situation, and Mitsuki.. all she wanted was for Itachi not to blame himself anymore. Not when she was equally responsible.

Itachi felt conflicted. He knew better than to blame the girl, after all he hadn't really been honest himself. After all, it was him who decided to torture Sasuke so, and it was him who cast the nightmare of Tsukuyomi upon him. However, he understood her guilt all the same, as well as her sense of responsibility for what she had done.

Not knowing what would be best to say to the girl, Itachi gave the girl's head a light pat that he had withheld in hope that it would ease her worry, before turning his back against her, and muttered softly,

"Let's go back.."

And so, the pair headed back together to their lodging in silence, leaving the red giant alone under the starry sky.

Author's note:

The amount of guilt I felt after I finished writing this chapter..

FORGIVE ME MITSUKI, FORGIVE ME, ITACHI-KUN TwT

(Brought the mood up just to drop them even harder TwT)

I JUST NOTICED SHE NEVER REALLY CATCH A BREAK LATELY, DIDN'T SHE?

One day, I'll make an extra about what bug exactly creeps Mitsuki out haha