7 6. The Point of No Return

5. 私は戻りません

Although he had covered enough distance away from the village, Itachi didn't bother to stop still. He had to take her as far as he could reach. If he rests now and she wakes up, she might outsmart him as he rests. But without warning, his chest painfully contacts, making him fall off the last tree he had jumped off to. Thankfully, Mimori wasn't hurt. Itachi was the first one to hit the ground after all, putting her safety first and foremost. Laying her softly on the grass, he grunts, hurt as the contractions of his chest worsens. Itachi breaths in a quick pace. Because of the pain, he couldn't stop clenching his fist, letting his nails dig through the calloused skin of his palms. Its indents have made a dotted line of crimson. The ritual needs to be done soon, he thought. Or else... My end will come too soon.

He looks over at Mimori, analyzing what she could be dreaming about as her chest was also rising up and down in a quick pace. For all I know, she could be running away from something in that dream. And the thing she's running away from probably... would be me.

• • •

Mimori

Surrounding her is a fog. It's so thick, it's impossible to see anything, including her body. It's as though she's disappeared into the nothingness, into the afterlife. But where could her parents be? Where are the people waiting for her? Where is... The Great Creator? She can't feel her heartbeat nor her body temperature. Her mind is relaxed, as though everything was settled. She wasn't worrying about her school work as always, nor her daily chores, and when she would bond with Seiji again. All she felt at the moment was... heavenly peace, with a little hint of euphoria.

Then, in a blink of an eye, she was gone from that foggy world, and was transported back into reality.

The first thing she felt was warmth. She could feel her back sweating in her kimono. She realizes she's in a lying position of a flat grassy area, and the strange weight of somebody's head resting on top of her stomach. She slowly raised her hand to touch the head. The hair is rough and is tied to a ponytail. It must be Seiji, thought Mimori. But Seiji's hair is no longer than beyond his ears.

The heavy weight on Mimori's stomach had disappeared. Mimori grunted as she forced herself to sit up. Her head is light at first. Her vision had to take a few seconds before she could see clearly.

Itachi patiently watched her, seeing the tiredness beginning to hang in her eyes. He was tired too, but he probably could still go on without any sleep for a week. After making eye contact, Mimori flinched and backed away.

"You're safe." Itachi said, simply.

"S-Safe? What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? I just saved you before the temple could burn itself down with you to the ground, and also from a future miserable married life. You should thank me."

Confused at his unhumorous joke, Mimori shot him a glare before lifting herself up back to her feet. She looks around her surroundings, becoming unfamiliar with it. "Where are we?"

"Mimori, I have to tell you something very important." His voice is of a flat, more serious tone than before. Seeing she wouldn't meet his gaze, he placed a soft hand on her shoulder and her amber eyes immediately shot up to his like stars. "The village... It's all gone. The fire sort of spread towards the other huts in the tribe. Everyone was in panic and made stampedes in every possible exit. So, the flames got to them. Some who have survived had already fled off but, they seem to have gone to a different route. They were fast too, so I couldn't keep up with them while I was carrying you."

"What about Seiji?"

Intentionally, Itachi frowns. Mimori pushed his hand away as she walks off.

"Wait, Mimori..."

Gritting her crooked teeth, her eyes began to brim with woeful tears. "H-He wouldn't abandon me, would he?! Seiji wo-wouldn't leave me if he did set off to a different route... would he?" She looked at him for answers, but all he could give her was a blank, nonchalant stare. Enraged, the white-haired girl storms off. As she was about to leave the small clearing, he appears right in front of her in the speed of lightning. She's slammed against him but he didn't back up at least an mere inch. His strength was unbelievable.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going back to the village to see if anyone's still alive!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

Mimori swerved to the side, but she was immediately restrained with his strong bare arms gripped against her poor, thin shoulders as though she was only a stick compared to him.

"Who do you think you are, my boyfriend!?"

With that sudden outburst, Itachi lost his guard, but Mimori didn't grab the opportunity to escape. The two of them look away from each other, but his hands are still on her. Blushing, Mimori looked down, completely ashamed of what she just said. He finally lets her go, but all she could do was stand in her same spot, in front of him. Neither of them made a move although they were very uncomfortable with the situation.

Toughening up, Itachi broke the silence like a knife as he pulls out a specific item from his pocket. "Here."  Her eyes widen upon seeing her moon necklace in his hand. "It fell off since the class got broken. Figured it'd be important to you so I kept it safe."

Mimori nervously takes the necklace, but she's anxious of whether she'll ask him to put it on her or not. Seeing her hesitancy, he circled around her. "I'll put it for you."

She pulled her hair to the side, making sure it wouldn't get messy with the clasping. "W-What if it breaks again?" She asked.

"If it does, we'll get it fixed once we get to a store."

"But I can't go with you-"

"I can't go with you as well back to the village. I still have other business to take care of in the other villages. You can return there yourself, but I must promise you there would be monsters far more horrifying in person you will encounter during your trek..."

Mimori's lips trembled. Monsters far more horrifying in person. She immediately remembered the time she encountered with something very similar to what he was talking about. It was a giant rattle snake, scarier and bigger than its small, normal size. Had Seiji not been with that day, she would be dead meat. She has been afraid of the forest ever since, though only when she's alone. That's why she never goes beyond the clearing without Seiji, or anybody else she trusts her whole life with.

"Alright, alright!" The girl said giddily. "I'll go with you."

He stares at her. Her answer is unexpected. But later on, a smile curved his lips. "Very well then. Let's go. We might arrive in Iwagakure before sundown."

"Is that the Hidden Rock Village?"

"Yes, it is. Do you know about it?"

"Seiji tells me all about it since he's a shinobi and shinobi are allowed to leave the village during missions. He once took a mission there, he always told me."

Seiji. I miss you already. But I hope we'll meet again as soon as possible.

After motioning her to follow him, she scurried behind as they begin their trek to the opposite direction of where the village was.

She had no idea what really happened to her village, Itachi said in his mind., smirking. She even chose to come with me without a doubt. God knows what would happen to this girl if I brought her to the modern world untrained. Sighing, Itachi looked over his shoulder. Mimori has her eyes to the ground, a frown hanging on her lips. "I think it's best if we take the high road if we wanna get out of this forest before sunset." He suggested.

"The high road, as in jumping from one tree to the other, right?"

"Yes."

"But I'm not a ninja! I can't even climb a tree..."

Sighing, Itachi handed her a delicious-looking ball of pink dango. Only staring at it is enough to make Mimori's stomach grumble. "It smells nice. What is it?" She asked.

"Something to keep you alive and going. I know you're starving, so eat it."

Mimori didn't hesitate to eat the Dango, but right after she swallowed her first bite, she collapsed and the Dango fell to the ground. Itachi caught her unconscious body effortlessly, knowing it was gonna happen. Tsk. She's immediately fooled by me because of her uncontrollable hunger. If I had put poison instead of a sleeping pill inside the Dango, she would have died in a heartbeat. But of course, we can't have that.