Back, alone in her private room, Mitsuki leaned against the inn room's wall and sighed. The villager's night gathering and her conversations with Itachi and Kisame replayed in her head. As she took in the detail of what had transpired once more, Mitsuki swallowed nervously while clenching her fists in front of her chest, her heart beating erratically.

Again, she had found herself tangled in the middle of.. something..

In time like thus, she really wished she could just call out and summon Amaterasu's presence right here and then. Alas, things were never that simple, else apparitions of deities would be reported everywhere and their existence undeniable.

Even so, at least she knew what to do. She wasn't lost. On the contrary, things couldn't have turn out better.

"Connection to Orochimaru.. Hence connection to Sasuke.." thought Mitsuki, determination lit fire in her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder, if Itachi had an inkling somehow, and that was his true reason to pick the village. It might seem farfetched, but knowing how meticulous Itachi was, Mitsuki wouldn't be surprised if that were truly the case.

Hence, it's her chance.

"To make amends," she thought, her clenched fist trembling slightly. She had brought the suffering upon the one she love, she thought. Divinity as she was, she couldn't undo what she had done in the past. Now, a chance presents itself in front of her.

Originally she was only worried about the villagers and the girls. During the gathering, they were all full of anxiety, anger, frustration, and despair.. Whatever the deal was, Mitsuki was sure that it was akin to drinking a gut wrenching poison to extend one's life. At least, that was the impression she got during her observation of the ceremony. Not only that, a filthy liar and blasphemer, those who falsely pretend to be doing the God's work for their own benefit. Because of such people, the faith of the people had dwindled, and ironically, the divinities needed faith to manifest.

"If there was any grace in it," thought Mitsuki bitterly, "It was the fact that they could really perform miracle.."

Judging from Itachi's serious expression, Mitsuki could tell that what was achieved was an unusual feat even for shinobi. Nevertheless, she couldn't just let things be. It was finally her chance to get to Orochimaru and do whatever was needed to make things, better.. easier.. for Itachi.

"No matter what," she thought to herself, and a dagger of regret pierced Mitsuki's heart as she recalled Itachi's pained expression. And then, she might be able to hit two.. no, three bird with one stone.

Still trying to calm her racing heart down, as well as taming her anxieties and worries, Mitsuki threw her body unto her bed and forcefully closed her eyes. Hoping that the darkness would be able to lul her to sleep, she tossed and turned throughout the restless night.

"You're awake.."

Itachi's deep voice came from behind where the girl was sitting, pulling back her attention to the ground. Turning her head slowly, Mitsuki saw Itachi and Kisame walking together towards her, a rare occurrence knowing how both of them usually minded their own business. "Well, considering we hadn't managed to come up with a solid plan, it's a given.." she thought, realising that the duo was probably looking for her to discuss their future game plan regarding the previous night's spectacle.

The moment Mitsuki turned her head to greet the duo, it was obvious that the girl had trouble sleeping, again. And here Itachi thought that he had finally managed to get the girl to calm down. Even so, there was more pressing matter they had to deal with, indeed.

"Ojou-chan, your dark circle is getting worse and worse. I thought you loved your beauty sleep?" said Kisame with a slight frown, mixture of concern and mischievous teasing was apparent in his sentence. Noticing that, Mitsuki felt sorry that she couldn't share with Kisame about what was truly burdening her. Instead, she did her best to shrug the concern.

"I just happen to have much to think about," answered the girl flatly while turning her head away, gazing back upon the horizon once more.

Her answer still lacked retort, and Kisame couldn't help but pondered about the fact. Somehow, the previous night, he had this inkling that the two of his partner had mended their relationship somehow. After all, brief as it was, they did share their usual, enigmatic eye contact.

However, he still felt that the girl was still, not yet herself.

"Is it because of her lovesickness?" thought Kisame as his frown went deeper. "Nah, can't be," corrected Kisame silently in his head, knowing how such thing should have made her feel better, not worse about herself. After all, at the very least he could feel that Itachi appreciate, if not enjoys Mitsuki's presence as well. Nevertheless, he knew that prying the girl for answer would have to wait for another time.

As Itachi and Kisame took their seat on the cliff's edge along with the girl, the three stared into the horizon as silence engulfed them for a while. Then, as he found the silence to be unbearable, Kisame decided to ask the obvious.

"So, what's the plan?"

He asked, knowing very well that there might not have been any yet. At the very least, he would want to try to get his other party members of his to speak.

And he succeeded, as Itachi followed up his enquiry with a question.

"Mitsuki, how's your detection? Are they within range?"

To Itachi's question, Mitsuki shook her head with a frown.

"They are way further than my reachable range," said the girl, frustration in her voice. "I tried to extend my range a bit, and walked to the edge of the village as well for some distance boost, but…"

Mitsuki paused and shook her head, before daring herself to continue her words.

"I was considering tracking them manually, but I figured I should wait for your decision first."

Mitsuki's thoughtfulness and rare obedience surprised both Itachi and Kisame. Usually, the girl would just do whatever she thought was right no matter who told her not to, so..

That alone showed Itachi how seriously Mitsuki was taking the matter in hand, likely due to the mention of Orochimaru's name on the previous night. Considering thus, Itachi could tell what was in her mind, for once.

"The group being related to Orochimaru, meant that it was not her business alone," thought Itachi, slightly frowning as he observed the girl's tense gesture and put himself on the girl's position. He had also thought the same on the previous night, how the connection to Orochimaru might lead him to more information about Sasuke's well-being, as well as Orochimaru's plan on his brother. To him, it was obvious that Mitsuki who might have noticed the same thing was afraid to jeopardize whatever plan Itachi had in mind about the matter. It was thoughtful of her, and Itachi really appreciated it, however it was also unusual considering her personality.. Which meant..

"She still feel guilty about what happened.." thought Itachi as he glanced towards the girl's tired face. Somehow, he felt an odd pain in his heart, created by the odd mix of emotion he couldn't yet elaborate. As he had previously concluded, he knew the girl's guilt couldn't be helped, all the while reminding himself of how he had always struggled with his own guilt too. No matter what others say, as long as the person who felt the guilt couldn't let go and forgive him or herself, the guilt will always remain. And of course, to do so was all easier said than done. Hence, there was nothing more he could do. If anything, letting her onto his plan and help him with his intention actively might be the only salvation he could offer her. Knowing this, Itachi gave a nod of approval, commending the girl for her decision and self-restraint.

"Good. Now let's talk about what we know."

After quite a lengthy discussion, the trio put together some fact about what was happening.

Firstly, from Mitsuki's incomplete, yet sufficient information, as she was still hiding the extent of her ability from Kisame by Itachi's order, the trio could conclude that the people in ritual clothes were scammer. Despite what they had declared, the miracle was not related to divinities, and it was something that Mitsuki fiercely cursed as blasphemy. Itachi too, had confirmed this fact with the help of his sharingan. From what he could see, it was likely that the group were comprised of rogue shinobi, at least judging from their chakra amount and control alone.

"The villager's suspicion and lack of belief was likely because of this also," said Mitsuki, frustration clear in her voice. "It's likely they actually know that those people were only lying when they said they were bringing God's miracle."

Hearing Mitsuki's remark, Itachi then nodded. Nevertheless, both Itachi and Mitsuki knew why the villagers didn't call the scammers out for it.

"Whatever and wherever the miracle came from, it doesn't matter," Kisame verbalized what the other had only held in. "They still needed it, though it ended up they didn't trust our Ojou-chan here because of it."

Hearing Kisame's remark, Mitsuki sighed audibly. Of course they would think of her as scammer, after all there were already scammers in their midst pretending to be God's envoy. However, Itachi was inclined to disagree. The scammers aside, faith on divinity itself had been generally on decline in the shinobi world. It was a given, ever since human had come to possess the power of "Gods" themselves.. Konoha had Hiruzen, then the predecessors, Tobirama and Hashirama.. Akatsuki had Pain, Uchiha had Madara.. Not to mention, the progenitor of chakra, the Sage of Sixth Path. Despite being known mostly as a legend, Itachi had come to believe that he, The Sage, truly existed. That is if he accounted Mitsuki's memory as a reliable source, and there was no reason for him not to do so judging from what he had seen. Apparently, according to Mitsuki, the sage, was half-mortal, half-unknown being unrelated to the spiritual world she was a part of.

"That said, what miracle can you do? You're not very convincing yourself.." said Kisame with a sneer.

Kisame's joke had earned him a murderous glare from Mitsuki, as well as Itachi's attention. Mitsuki really considered to punish Kisame here and there, but then decided against it with her better judgement. So, despite her anger, Mitsuki just sighed loudly, and swallowed back the words and curses that she was about to throw to Kisame.

Catching the resulting tension, Itachi decided to take the chance and redirect their conversation back to their main topic.

The second piece of information was what Kisame had brought up the previous night. The likeliness of the group being related to Orochimaru due to the leader's unusual technique was indeed, highly probable. How much? Kisame was not sure himself. Despite so, Itachi had some confidence.. hope, in that theory.

"Sunagakure was working together with Orochimaru to orchestrate the recent attack on Konoha," said Itachi briefly, reminding the other two of their recent visit to Konoha.

With the help of the information she had gathered by literature and idle talks, Mitsuki too, knew that Sunagakure belonged to the Land of Wind. And of course, so does Kisame. Reading between the lines of Itachi's word, Mitsuki narrowed her eye as she processed the information within her head, and Kisame grinned in anticipation.

"This is interesting," said Kisame, excitement and amusement filling him with joy. At least, he felt that he wouldn't be bored this time round, for sure.

Itachi and Mitsuki traded glance. They both knew that some of the things between them are left unsaid. Those, they would have to address without Kisame around. But still, what they had shared among the three of them was enough to at least give themselves some temporary goal for the meantime.

"Let's do it like this," said Itachi, his finger drawing on the thin layer of sand layered over the cliff. "Mitsuki, you remain as a front. Pull the attention of the villagers away from mine and Kisame's movement,"

To Itachi's instruction, Mitsuki nodded. Doing so, means she had to avoid being seen with Itachi and Kisame to avoid the association of her and the criminal group. It would be better for her as well if she could somehow gain the villager's trust along the way.

"Understood," she confirmed verbally. "I'll try to dig what I can from the villagers also."

Itachi nodded in response to Mitsuki's word, and turned his attention towards Kisame.

"Kisame, I'll leave finding more information about Orochimaru to you."

Hearing Itachi's decision, Kisame grinned joyfully. He knew that whatever he would encounter during the search would likely be anything but ordinary. At the very least, he wouldn't die out of boredom. As for Itachi, the reason why he opted to give the task to Kisame, was because of Orochimaru's keen interest in the Uchiha clan and himself. If he were to be found digging for information about Orochimaru, it would definitely garner too much unwanted attention from the target's side.

"Fine with me," answered Kisame with confidence, "All the better if we got the chance to deal with him as well, to be honest."

Truthfully, Itachi doubt that would be the case. Orochimaru was a very careful sort, after all. Now that his collaboration plan with Sunagakure had failed, and he had succeeded in acquiring Sasuke, it was not likely that he would stay within the Land of the Wind's border. Considering that, Itachi felt that he would need to do some digging on his own too in secret, especially regarding things that would raise suspicion on him if Kisame or the Akatsuki were to know about it.

In addition to that, as the one with most experience in espionage, Itachi decided that it would be his job to spy on the rogue shinobi group. It would also serve as a good front for what he would be doing during the investigation, if Kisame or Pain ever demanded any explanation for his activities and action.

"Then, we begin now?" Mitsuki enquired, her tone indicated impatience. Seeing her in such a rush, Kisame had a suspicion that their mission meant more to Mitsuki than just a duty. After all, the only other time he had seen the girl being this serious, was only during Itachi's previous recovery. "Whatever it is, something is definitely at stake here.." Kisame analysed, silently. At the very least, that was what his hunch was telling him.

Responding to Mitsuki's question, Itachi nodded.. Not wasting any more time, Mitsuki jumped off the cliff immediately, leaving both Kisame and Itachi behind.

"So impatient, that girl," muttered Kisame in surprise. However, considering how the girl had been holding back on taking any action, it was a given, he thought. Then, not long after Mitsuki's departure, Itachi too, started to make his move, followed by Kisame.

Author's note:

I got no idea what to say this time OwO" *fades back to hole*