"How do you know those names? I thought the knowledge of the deities had been nearly lost..?"
Itachi didn't know how to explain. After all, if possible, he'd prefer not to show Mitsuki the third technique that his Mangekyou had granted him. After all, it took much more toll on his body than either Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu alike. With that in mind, what he could say was..
"The same reason why some of the sharingan techniques are based on deities' name," he said. "The moment they awaken, we Uchihas become aware of its name.." Itachi tried his best to explain despite knowing how it wouldn't make much sense to the people outside of his clan, since, apparently, the name itself had been embedded between their bloodline.
"Right.. You are of Amaterasu-sama's blood.." mumbled the girl as she brought her right hand to her lips, pondering. Surprisingly, she didn't question Itachi's explanation even one bit.
"I don't know the detail but, the two you mentioned are our sacred treasures.." she briefly explained, referring to the Kamigami as she went on. "That means they are both of spiritual world, if we are really referring to the same thing."
Seeing the look on Mitsuki's face as she stated what seemed to be the fact, Itachi was even more intrigued.
"Yet, if you could manifest that in mortal world.." Mitsuki's voice was close to a whisper as she turned her memories around. "Do you have any semblance of idea on what the technique with those names do?"
"I do," answered Itachi briefly without going into much detail.
Yet, Itachi was clearly still curious about it, despite having no problem in understanding the functionality of those skills. Understanding that, Mitsuki pondered for a while before deciding on an answer.
"Itachi-kun, I think you should meet Amaterasu-sama," she suggested lightly to Itachi's surprise. It was as if meeting a deity is something as simple as taking a stroll in a park.
"She'd be able to answer your question better than me. And besides, we would be searching for her temple also anyway sometime in the future," noted Mitsuki, as she stole a glance towards Itachi who was still frowning, unsure of how exactly he can achieve what Mitsuki had in mind. Noticing that fact, Mitsuki elaborated further, realising how she had never explained about deity's manifestation to Itachi.
"Uh so.. without mortal body, without medium, the deities could still manifest their form in the sacred land of their shrine. Like my brother whose shrine got demolished and replaced with Amaterasu's, before finally telling him to keep the shrine anyway.."
Mitsuki gave Itachi a painful smile as she tried to block the unpleasant memories of that circumstance away.
"That is because they require faith to manifest, and shrine that was built for them is exactly a physical accumulation of that."
Faith.. Gratefulness.. Reverie.. Itachi could understand the concept behind what Mitsuki was stating. Even in modern world, there were such things recognised as faith healing, as well as the scepticism of placebo effect. Maybe, those phenomenon, for those who could tell, were indicative of the connection to the spiritual world that Mitsuki had been referring to, and also the power of faith in itself. Itachi still remembered about what Mitsuki had told him before, about the event in her past. How building a shrine meant giving form to the prayers through the materials and the building process and every single aspect of it would be considered tribute of faith to that specific deity and become something irreplaceable an valuable to them in return..
"With that same system, priest or priestess with strong faith and connection to spiritual realm could allow themselves to be possessed by Gods, manifesting them using their own body and being their Gods' messenger," continued Mitsuki hesitantly, gauging Itachi's reaction in the process. Internally, she wondered if Itachi would be uninterested in such thing that would no longer be significant in the modern world he lived in anymore. Yet, on the contrary, Itachi was listening to her attentively.
"So," concluded Itachi all of the sudden, "You are saying we should be able to meet her next time we come across her shrine?"
Hearing Itachi's conclusion, Mitsuki gave a satisfied nod. "Correct. Also even though I'm channelling her power every time I do rituals, technically I'm a deity on my own within my mortal body so.."
"She can't possess you?"
"No, she can't," Mitsuki smiled apologetically. "The only exception was.. when you passed out. Because she was still holding unto the part of me that apparently, I sealed along with my divinity.."
Mitsuki's voice was filled with disbelieve as she uttered those words. After all, she still had no inkling on why would she do such a thing to herself.
"I see," muttered Itachi softly. He had never known that there was such a complicated system that lied beyond, or before the coming of chakra. Yet, it was still natural that all of it was lost. After all, once human obtained a God-like power..
"There were no reasons to believe, or rely on God…" pondered Itachi, feeling somehow slightly melancholic. Maybe it was because he had come to know Mitsuki, he thought. Or maybe, it was because.. to be unknown and forgotten, misremembered, scorned upon, ridiculed.. would also be his fate in the future. Still, it was the sacrifice he was willing to take, the one conclusion that he had chosen to bear on his own.
"Somehow.. It sounds lonely, to be forgotten by those you created and nurtured," commented Itachi solemnly, to Mitsuki's surprise. Seeing the sincerity of his words, with a smile, Mitsuki replied.
"Amaterasu-sama will be happy to hear you say that," said Mitsuki in all seriousness, before shifting her gaze away and adding.. "But, honestly.. It's fine.. After all just like parents raising their children to be independent, we too… wished for humanity to grow and move on beyond what we expect.."
Parent and child, deities and humanity.. Mitsuki's word resonated with Itachi's own memory. Reminded of his father, Itachi recalled his father's last words.
"Even though our path differs, I'm still proud of you…"
Unconditional love..
As those last words filled his heart, Itachi's gaze softened as he recalled the depth of the love his parents had for him despite everything, and it filled his heart with both warmth and melancholy.
His father's word aside, somehow, Itachi felt the conversation he had on that evening would be something he wouldn't forget for a long, long time.
Arriving on the dessert area, Mitsuki did a thorough check on the spots that Itachi had pinpointed for her. Beyond that, Mitsuki suggested a few more additional places to check, the courtesy of her detection of hidden spaces that was laid beneath the sands, especially those with signs of human tampering.
"How is it?" questioned Itachi, the moment he saw Mitsuki's eyebrow furrowed.
"Erm.. There's quite a few channel of underground spaces and also quite a number of connecting halls, but.."
"But?"
Mitsuki had a complicated expression on her face as she continued.
"It's massive. I'm not sure which connects to what, but there's likely multiple entry point as well. How are we going to check all of them?"
Hearing Mitsuki's report, Itachi gave it some thoughts. He asked himself, what did he knew about what might be lying underneath the sand?
The area used to be plagued with war, and it was within the Land of Wind's jurisdiction. Basing on that, some of the spaces beneath are likely leftover of war bases and hideouts. Other than that, it was possible that some of the structures were what had been Orochimaru's hideout. Then how about the Children of Rain's hideout?
Itachi compiled all the information that he, Mitsuki, and Kisame had gathered together.
How long had the scam been going on? According to what could be concluded from Kisame's and Mitsuki's report..
"Mitsuki, you said their demand for the woman sacrifice was occasional? How often is it and how long has it been going on?"
Itachi's question reminded Mitsuki that she didn't put the exact detail in the reports to keep it brief. With the realization, Mitsuki suggested.
"Should we.. find someplace to rest and discuss? I'll convey the full detail of what Kisame told me and what I've found on my own."
Deciding upon a place to rest inside one of the untouched underground cave's opening, with both Mitsuki and Itachi reinforcing the camouflage, the duo had set a temporary hideout for themselves in one of the most optimal location between all the point of interest. Consequently, Mitsuki passed Itachi all the detail of her and Kisame's finding.
"The deception itself had been going for a while, but the sacrifice request had only started recently, about four months back. The first one, only one was taken, but they soon took more than one each month," Mitsuki elaborated. In response, Itachi added the piece of information that he had dug up to her statement.
"And they'd visit weekly for the performance and collecting payment.. I learnt this during my disguise"
"That's.. quite often.." remarked Mitsuki in surprise. On the contrary, she had never found problem getting water during her time in the village. Now that she'd thought about it, she realised that it must have been related to the group's activity level as well. Hearing Mitsuki's remark, Itachi nodded.
"It's likely.. that they are trying to build reliance..." he added with a frown. It is a similar matter with the drug distribution Itachi and Mitsuki had come across last time, but.. this time, instead of substance based addiction, it involves people's actual livelihood. "Give people convenience for long enough, and they would no longer be able to live without it.."
Mitsuki nodded. That alone was in no mean, evil.. It was like why tools were invented and why the skill to create them and the item themselves was valued. After all, who wouldn't want convenience in their life when they could afford it? However, problem would soon rise if the distribution of the item or necessity itself was monopolized.
"Likely they would start to demand more and more.. After all, no one else can provide what the group can.." pointed Itachi. Indeed, no competition would also mean that they would be the sole determinator of the value of their "service", eventually leading to no necessity to keep up with their quality of service. They could easily create a rarity to demand for increment in price, which reminded Mitsuki of what Shun had told her previously
"Itachi-kun, the farmer's son told me, that the reason they coped with it was.. not just that they do need rain, but more than that, everyone is afraid of the consequences.. do you think..?"
"They have started to become reliant. It's quite bad." Itachi answered with a frown. With that possibility, it was likely that if Mitsuki attempted to rid the village of the scammer, it would end up not going as intended.
"No, not just that.. Do you think it is possible they might do the opposite as well? Like brought drought et cetera? From what I've been told, they were also afraid of the scammer's retribution should they refuse to pay.."
That, Itachi was not sure himself. After all, he didn't know the detail of the jutsu. Indeed, it was one of the possibilities. Still, judging from the tone of conversation and the contempt within Mitsuki's voice, Itachi could guess what Mitsuki had in mind. Realizing that, Itachi realized that he had to warn Mitsuki. Knowing the girl, it was unlikely that she would back off, but..
"Mitsuki, I think it would be wise to reconsider what you wanted to do. After all, it might prove to be futile, and might even bite you back."
Indeed, Itachi was reminded of the story of Mitsuki's past, where the people she tried to protect turned against her instead.
However, despite Itachi's warning, Mitsuki's expression remained unchanged, unbothered.
"That, I'd have to determine on my own later, Itachi-kun. Don't worry.."
Itachi wondered, could it be that she was unafraid? Shouldn't she, out of anyone, realize how irrational human could be sometimes? In thinking so, Itachi knitted his eyebrow in concern.
"Itachi-kun.."
Noticing Itachi's gaze on her, Mitsuki called out to Itachi softly, her voice wavered slightly. Even though her gaze lingered on the cave's wall, Itachi knew that her thoughts were with the villagers.
"Do you know what the farmer's son told me? He said that.. They are all aware that the performance of the divine grace had been a lie, since the start."
Itachi planted his gaze on Mitsuki's sorrowful expression without any word. Instead, he just let her continue.
"To knowingly be deceived because of their desperation, even to the extent of sacrificing their own… I don't think it's right to leave them be.."
Of course, Itachi knew that too. But to eliminate the bandits would mean eliminating the villager's current solution as well. Without anything to replace it, what she wanted to do would not be a solution. But surely, Mitsuki should have known that..
"Either it's dependency or fear.. It would only escalate. Who knows what else they'd have to sacrifice next?"
Her words contained undeniable truth, yet it was clear that the girl couldn't find any solid solution for the issue just yet. Else, she would have told Itachi about it.. With that knowledge, all that Itachi could do was just to offer her some advice.
"Just.. don't be rash about it," he said, his tone spelled defeat.
Hearing Itachi's word, Mitsuki smiled and shifted her gaze towards Itachi affectionately.
"I know," she said, her tone gentle and light. "Besides, I'm not alone now. I have you."
"?" Itachi was not sure about the meaning behind Mitsuki's word, yet her gaze on him was clearly filled with affection and confidence. Not in herself, but.. in him? Noticing it, Itachi was driven speechless, unsure how to response to the girl's expectation. Yet, knowing the girl, Itachi knew that she didn't mean to throw him her responsibility to deal with alone, but instead, she trusted him to see what she couldn't in her place and help her. With that in mind, what should have made him anxious turned into a prideful sense of duty.
Then he remembered the previous conversation he'd had with Mitsuki, how Mitsuki would like to ask his help, and Kisame's in her Miko duty, in hope that it would somehow lighten Itachi's heart's burden as well, even if only by a bit. Recalling those, Itachi couldn't help but reminisce..
His whole involvement with Mitsuki, it all started from a simple mission, a rare good intentioned mission which Akatsuki didn't usually come across, and he still remembered how thankful he was for the rare chance. Back then, he didn't knew how much it would bring to his life. Even more, he was surprised that despite being "who" he had to be then.. He had still ended up with chances to do something that matters to him, something he had never hoped for being able to do again.. not since he had given up on his dream.
And for that, Itachi was once again, thankful for the girl in front of him.
Back to the topic of the hideout, with the additional information he had gotten, Itachi had managed to formulate a theory.
Itachi knew that Orochimaru was a very practical person, and a careful one at that. That was how he had managed to elude both Akatsuki and Konoha for so long. It was very likely that the location of his hideout would be somewhere more accessible to the hidden sand, yet also far enough to be undetectable. That would mean, besides the border area where they are now, there were actually more possibility of his hideout located in the other area, more central area. Besides, from what he had heard of.. At some point, whether before or during the chuunin exam, Orochimaru had assassinated the Kazekage and replaced him. Therefore, it was more than likely that the best chance to find the entry to Orochimaru's hideout was through the area surrounding the Sunagakure which was readily accessible in his disguise. Then, considering thus, He and Mitsuki could indeed attempt entry to some of the interconnected structure that Mitsuki have located, but.. With the scale of it and how complicated the structure seemed to be.. It was likely that the blind exploration would take too much time. In the other hand, finding the Children of Rain's hideout would be much easier..
"Mitsuki," called Itachi as he examined the points that Mitsuki had added into his map. "Are you able to tell about the integrity of the structure with your detection?"
Mitsuki was both confused and excited by the enquiries. It seemed to her that Itachi was finally unto something. "I can surely try, why?"
"Judging from what you shared, about the fee charged, the amount of ransom and the group that carried them.. There didn't seem to be much of them, didn't it?"
Mitsuki nodded in approval.
"Do you think, they would have the means to build a hideout of their own? Judging on the number of them that seems to be lesser than even the Sendo clan, and the harsher environment."
Hearing Itachi's theory, Mitsuki gave it a thought.
"Indeed.. unless some of them has special skill as shinobi? What do you think, Itachi-kun?"
"I don't think so, at least from what I have seen. It's more likely that they are.."
"Reusing old structure, is that what you mean?"
Itachi nodded as Mitsuki finished his sentence for him. Upon seeing Itachi's reaction, Mitsuki gave the theory another thought.
"Indeed, it would be more practical to do so.."
"Yet, for it to be functioning as intended, adjustment would sometimes be needed," Itachi hinted, "That or in more mild case, reinforcement."
Mitsuki knew what Itachi wanted her to search for, and so, she started immediately.
"I can start the search now from here," Mitsuki declared quickly as she placed her palms on top of the cave's hardened floor. "Itachi-kun, you got me some scroll to note things?"
In response to Mitsuki's eager reaction, Itachi summoned out a big scroll along with some writing utensils. Unrolling the scroll and readying the brush, Itachi instructed, "I'll write it down, you can focus on your tracking."
It had been a few hour since Mitsuki started her tracking with full concentration, paying attention at every minute detail of the structure as she let her energy pass through the materials of the construct. It was likened to her diagnosis method, albeit in a much larger scale, and lesser fine detail. Nevertheless, it was still quite a demanding process for her.
"5 metre south east of the previous room, tunnel, collapsed."
Itachi scribbled the pathway unto the ever expanding map with his brush.
"Can you check 100 metre back, northwest, the other branch from the previous room?"
"100 metre, 100 metre… uh.. got it.. Southwest route.. hmm? Some part of the tunnel is collapsed but a new tunnel had been dug to another direction.. It's connected to.. about 10 metre south?"
With that, Itachi had connected 2 of the separate hideout together, and this time Itachi could say it with certainty.
"Got it.." said Itachi as he circled the interconnected path of the map. "The closest entry point is…"
Itachi stopped the moment he saw Mitsuki squeezed her eyebrow with her palm and sighed.
".. Are you ok?" he checked with the girl, concerned.
Mitsuki shook her head lightly in response. "Nothing big," she said, "Just a bit dizzy.."
Hearing her, Itachi paused and rolled back the scroll as he began to reposition himself. Leaning on the wall, sitting at some distance from Mitsuki, he muttered calmly.
"We'll take a short break. We are ahead of expected schedule anyway."
Mitsuki said nothing for a while, but her expression was visibly upset and it didn't escape Itachi's eye.
"Sorry, Itachi-kun," said the girl as soon as she noticed Itachi's worried gaze. "I know you want to proceed as fast as possible. This might be connected to your brother, after all.."
Itachi's eye widened slightly in surprise. After all, he felt guilty towards Mitsuki, as he was so focused towards his goal that he had failed to notice that the girl was clearly exhausting herself. They hadn't even got any dinner on that day, and the girl hadn't complained about it in the slightest despite her usual fixation on food.
"There's no need to force yourself like that," Itachi said in response, his tone gentle and filled with concern. "I asked for your help anyway, I'm indebted to you," said Itachi guiltily, knowing that it wasn't fair for him to impose such a demand on her over and over without warning throughout the day. Yet, upon hearing him, Mitsuki let out a chuckle.
"Indebted? More like this is the least I could do for you," she added with a complicated smile on her face as she recalled the sadness that Itachi had displayed on that night in the crate. "And I'm fine, give me a while to rest my mind and I'd be OK."
Even so, Mitsuki could see that Itachi's eye was still filled with worry. Something about his gaze felt slightly different too. Itachi had always been subtly caring and gentle but, there was something about how he said what he said that felt.. different.. and it filled her with warmth and gratitude.
"Then," she added, offering a small trade with a smile as she shut her eyes and leaned her head on the wall, "How about you tell me more about your little brother in the meantime while I rest?"
Mitsuki's request came as a surprise to Itachi. It was the second time the girl had requested so, but whether she truly enjoyed hearing him blab about Sasuke or not, he was not sure. After all, sometimes it felt like she was requesting it for Itachi's own sake, instead.
"Oh.. but I'm not sleeping OK? I'm just relaxing my brain and mind's eye. You can start by the way.."
The girl made her statement still with her eye closed, yet her expression looks undoubtedly blissful and relaxed. Unknowingly to her, Itachi returned her smile, as he gave in and started to tell Mitsuki about his games with Sasuke, his practice, how he had grown to look very much alike his mother, and many more that he could recall within his short, but blissful time of his life.
And eventually, Mitsuki's breathing had somehow turned into a snore.
Author's note:
Some might have noticed already, but.. Ahead the story might get dark for this arc. After all, the darkness of the world doesn't stop at unrightful death of children alone..
On the lighter note, now Itachi doll have Sharksame and Buntsuki accompanying him after some fateful encounter
Ance: "More stupid detail on my Tumblr. Also Comikadraw did this awesome edit (pic on tumblr). I ended up getting inspired
and draw a stupid ItaxMitsu piece because of it xD
Mitsuki: "WHY YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME LOOKS LIKE SUCH A PERVERT, EVIL AUTHOR!"
Ance: "Sssh, admit it, you are :3"
Ance: "I guess from now on I need to be careful so Mitsuki won't stab me in my sleep.
If I'm suddenly gone, you guys know what happened to me :')"
Mitsuki: :(((((