This chapter is dedicated to mysticalFairth. I think it's time I finished this story.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Her and Them

Katsuo's kunai was almost rhythmic in its repetitive assault of its master's desk. For the past half hour of thought Kastuo had been absent-mindedly sitting back in the chair at his desk, taking the small throwing knife from the wood of the writing table only to send it soaring back into it. The action was almost second nature now, automatic as he his mind was occupied in different processes than his hand carried out. Uchiha Itachi had been staying within the secret Hizoku Mountain for nearly two weeks now and the young prince was beginning to suspect that the guest's motives for being here were not as professional as Katsuo would have preferred. 'He's sleeping with her…' a voice in the back of his mind assured him, 'You remember that night you found them together by the lake. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other, especially that filthy Uchiha. He was ready to take what he wanted then and now he's only come to finish the job.'

But what could he do about it now? The last time a simple warning was enough to deter them, but things had changed now. The stakes were higher and they knew it. He couldn't just tell them to stop and he couldn't just reveal their secret. He would need proof. He would need another witness to testify. He would need them to admit to their guilt. He would need something, anything, that would indicate them in such a crime. But how could he do it? They were careful. By day they acted normally, as if they were still bitter and indifferent towards each other. Night by random night they would meet in secret. He could never catch them. Sometimes when Katsuo would call upon Mizuki at night she would be there and sometimes she wouldn't be. Katsuo stopped the action with his kunai and stared at it in his hand, seeing the reflection of his concentrated and restrained expression on its smooth, dark metal as he imagined all of the horrible things she could be doing when Mizuki was out and about with the mongrel. The images sent the poison of anger through his body and his muscles instantly tensed, his grip choking around the knife as he imagined them together, hiding in the shadows of the night as they carried out their horrible acts of betrayal and treachery. He could just imagine it… Her with him… and him with her…

With the image burning in his head Katsuo flipped the kunai in his hand to switch its direction before bringing it down with a powerful thrust down into the desk, lodging it clear through the varnished surface. It did almost nothing to relieve him. After removing the blade he blindly repeated the action, this time with more power and a much deeper result as the scenes in his head progressed. Once again he removed the kunai and clutching it in his hand he stared into its dark, merciless blade with only one thought on his mind: He was going to bring them down.

"It's not fair," Mizuki said as she wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck and pulled herself closer to him, "I don't want him… I want you."

"Mizuki…"

"I know you don't like talking about him when we're together but… it's true. It's not fair."

"Why can't you simply call of the engagement?" Itachi asked as he rested his cheek against the side of her head, "As a powerful member of the Uchiha Clan I would be happy to take you."

"It's not that simple," she denied as she shook her head, "There are certain laws."

"I'm sure your father would understand," came the response, "He loves you and would probably be happy to bend the rules for you."

"My father loves me," Mizuki sighed as she pulled away from him and placed her hands into his, "He only favored him as a suitor because not only was he the best ranked, but also because I showed no interest in any others while he had a strong interest in me. He even did me a kindness by making Katsuo wait for legal ownership through marriage until the day before my nineteenth birthday, before all my sins are erased."

"Sins?" Itachi chuckled at the idea of his beloved claiming any sort of sin, "What on earth does that have to do with anything?"

"Itachi… There's something I need to tell you…" Mizuki whispered as she stepped away from him and turned away.

Itachi's heart sank down into his stomach at her change of tone and his throat suddenly became hot and dry with apprehensiveness. "Something you need to tell me?" he repeated as he tried to build his nerve back up, readying himself for whatever she was about to throw at him, "What is it?"

"Itachi… I was forced into this engagement for a reason," she began, "My father was against it just as much as I was. He would have gladly waited a few more years for a man that I liked to show up, but…" She paused and bit her lip as she felt the tears of anguish begin to form into her eyes. "Hizuko law states that a woman will only lay with one man for the entirety of her life. When she turns nineteen that record is cleared. My father postponed the wedding for so long because that is as late as Katsuo would allow it. If I were to turn nineteen then he would be erased from my slate and I would no longer be obliged-"

"Stop," Itachi commanded as he took a slow step towards her, "You say he would… be wiped from your slate?" The information hit him like a fall from grace. "You are obliged to marry him… because a woman is only to lie with one man until she turns nineteen." The information raced through his mind. It was as if he was falling, falling, falling with nothing to hold on to and no sign of ever landing in sight. Then suddenly the fall decelerated and he was simply floating, numb and senseless. "You?" he breathed. "Him?" he said a little louder, but before he could get another word out she stopped him.

"I didn't want to!" she cried as tears began to streak her cheeks. There was silence as the words echoed in Itachi's head and sent an arrow through his heart. Mizuki went on. "He grew impatient," she said as she wiped away the few rogue tears, "I was… fifteen. He was already seventeen." A few more tears escaped her. "After…" She began to struggle. "… it happened… he went to the court and claimed me as his. They had no choice but to allow it for whether I was willingly claimed or not the law was the law: No woman shall lie with but one man. That meant I was his. He told me to forget you. For a while… I did."

As Itachi watched her relate this story, he felt his heart begin to bleed for Mizuki. The moonlight made her almost teary eyes sparkle in that awful way that would have been beautiful had it not been tainted by such an unholy sadness. He now stepped closer towards his beloved Mizuki and laid his hands on her arms, kissing her forehead pulling her closer. But she went on. "Two years later he and my father set a date for our wedding."

She was cut off by a kiss. With that, the high tensions of the sharing seemed to end with a smooth wave, but the sadness, however, almost increased. Mizuki drew away slowly and regretfully, not wanting to open her eyes to a world where this wasn't real. She knew that if she were to open her eyes, the reality of her belonging to another man would return to her. She would be reminded of being forbidden this man who was so near to her now.

"Thank you… for telling me," Itachi spoke as he pulled her to him, even though the words were painful to say. This new truth burned him from the inside out and he tried not to let his muscles tense too much as he held her, as he imagined needed him… and what was done was done. He would save his anger for Katsuo for another day. For now he would comfort her and try his best to move past it. It would seem an impossible task for any other lover, but with Mizuki by his side he believed he could do anything. There was something special about her, something that tethered him to her in a way that he could never sever in six lifetimes. Katsuo would pay for what he had done, but not tonight. Tonight was for them. Tonight they would stay away from the misery and use their moonlit hours as they were meant to be used; to spend these precious moments in each other's arms.