Itachi Week Day 3: Eyes (ft. Mitsuki)
Art + Bonus Short Story :
Itachi was out on his patrol, and Kisame was knocked out on his bed, immediately asleep after his patrol shift was over.
Mitsuki, on the other hand, was wide awake while awaiting for her upcoming turn.
That, and.. she had yet managed to sort her feelings toward Itachi out, yet.
Kirika said, it was love.
Aida said, if she herself thought that it was love, it was probably true.
But, she was not sure herself. After all, forget about the blank slate in her past.. In her current life as "Mitsuki", she had yet to experience what most human would refer as love.
She loves human, she likes them, deeply. But the love that everyone was referring to, was different. It was supposed to be strong feeling of attachment, feeling that leads to self sacrifice. But that was not all. It was supposed to be a feeling of passion and longing, as well as the culmination of instinct within the livings. It's beautiful, yet at the same time, ugly. Love brought hate, love brought jealousy, love brought.. pain.. But she was nowhere near knowledgeable regarding those aspect, and nothing she could do to make sure of it yet.
Then, she remembered. Long time ago, way back in the past, her retainer taught her.
"Whenever you have something you couldn't convey directly, or feelings you have yet to decipher, try writing it down."
So, she decided to do just so, while her other party member was still deep in his sleep.
"If Kisame ever caught on to this, I'll be so..."
Mitsuki couldn't find the right word. All she knew was the dread over the memory of Kisame teasing her, telling how she would jinx herself into liking Itachi one day.
Clutching her face in both regret and embarrassment, Mitsuki let out a muffled groan before pulling her stationary, and paper, out of her personal storage.
And then, pen in hand, she started writing as she recalled her journey.
The first time you saw me, you saw a monster in the form of a girl.
Yet, you didn't run..
Instead, you saw your reflection in my eyes, and asked yourself..
Who was it, that was reflected within my eyes,
Who was it, that you see?
Was it yourself, reflected on my eyes?
Was it who you had became?
Or, was it the person behind the blue eyes?
Was I what your brother could become?
Was I, what you were?
A monster, created by circumstances?
The first time I saw you, I saw your beautiful, yet sad soul.
And your eyes, shining red underneath the night sky.
You look tired, yet you continued on.
You hid your emotion, yet your soul couldn't lie.
Out of your mouth, was a cold lie.
Yet behind the cruel lie, hid the gentleness of your soul, and your mercy
And so, I attached myself to you,
holding your kindness hostage
"Wait a minute," thought Mitsuki in horror. "Now that I've written it down, I WAS HORRIBLE!!"
Remembering how she behaved after, towards both Itachi and Kisame, she wondered how they had even managed to bear with her.
Covering her face once more, she let out another pained grunt to muffle out her shame.
"GOSH, there'll be time for shame, that's not the issue now! FOCUS, MITSUKI!!"
And then, she moved her hands to the top of the paper once more.
Time passed, yet my fascination had only grown.
The side you hid, the side we forced out.
Excuses for your kindness, lies about your frozen heart,
A walking contradiction, a living dilemma
The "you" in my eyes had never lost its light
Yet, your life flickered, your soul suffered..
You knew the risk, yet again, you sacrificed your well being for those you cared about
Then, I dragged you back afloat.. but, life..
At this rate, wouldn't living be more of a torture for you?
If you live longer, only to suffer even more..
The me reflected in your eyes.. was she still a monster then?
After all, the suffering ahead, would be my fault..
Yet, you thanked me..
Yet, you opened up to me..
Repayment for saving your life, you said..
Even as I told you how it would worsen your suffering..
The you in my eyes brightened once more
Etching itself unto my retina, deeper than ever.
You are akin to a sun, sharing your light to the pitiful moon on your path..
Yet you told me, that your fate were to die
That your path is set
That you need to pay for what you did
Even though it was forced unto you
The you in my eyes, with the gentle, sad smile..
You asked me to accept your fate
And honor your wish, I would...
"I don't want to let you go.. I.."
"I don't want to lose you.."
As the thought entered her mind, it was as if a blade was shredding her heart. And, she found herself unable to write the feelings down.
After all.. feeling so, would be a betrayal to Itachi's wish..
After all.. humans have limited life span and..
To live past your destiny, wouldn't be anything good.. and she knew that. But if that was so, how long more was it, until she had to say goodbye? How long more until she needed to return to her solitude? As the pain in her heart persisted, Mitsuki let out a soft, pained whisper..
"!?!GUGAFIGDFGHLAHFI!?!?!"
Mitsuki almost jumped out of her seat as she heard the deep, gentle voice from calling out from behind her. Reflexively, she quickly shredded the paper in front of her to bits by hand.
"I.. ITACHI-KUN!? Since when are you back!?" said Mitsuki in panic, as she turned her head to face Itachi, all the while commanding the wind to blow the shredded piece of paper out the room's opened window in hurry.
"? Just now..?" asked Itachi, in confusion. After all, usually Mitsuki would be able to tell if he, or Kisame was on the way back due to her keen perception. Seeing how Mitsuki seemed to be unwilling to let him know about whatever was in the paper she had just.. not so discreetly shred and threw, Itachi decided not to probe too much. Instead, he dropped a reminder, nonchalantly. "It's your turn to patrol by the way.."
Realizing, Mitsuki brought her hand up to a salute. Her face was still as red as beet.
"YES SIR! I'LL DEPART NOW, SIR!" she said, before rushing out of the room, leaving Itachi alone with Kisame, who had ended up awake after hearing Mitsuki's declarative shout.
"What the hell was that?" Kisame grumbled as he lifted his body up and stretched. Only then, he caught Itachi's silhouette in front of the opened window beside his bed "Oh, Itachi-san? You're back.." he remarked, before quickly scanning the room for Mitsuki's presence. Noticing how she was already gone, and recalling the shriek that woke him up, Kisame put the two and two together, and asked his partner. "Whats wrong with Ojou-chan, by the way?"
"Who knows.." said Itachi, shrugging, while hiding his faint smile behind the tall collar of his robe as he watched the girl's departure from the opened window.
(Skipping day 4 since i'm too tired hehe)
(I should probably, uh... attach this to the next chapter uploaded..)
This short story is part of Tsuki no Yomi universe, Amaterasu route
Link to the full fic here
