When Itachi returned from his mission that night, the manor was cloaked in a still darkness. He preferred this to the threatening silence he had endured for the last several hours. Though he was sure he would still be without company, somehow he found himself at ease. Perhaps the way of the nin was not for him, he mused—too many times had the thought crossed his mind.

His dream consisted of a righteous world, one only achieved through endless violence. His duty was to protect the village and those he loved; causalities were inevitable and yet with every mission, he felt a further distance lodged between his desires and his own self. Such a peculiar fate…

His contemplations were redirected to the softest glow of light. It was a humble beacon that shined through the panes of the windows upon the face of his home. He wondered who would be up at the late hour. It could be his mother dutifully preparing a kettle of tea or maybe Sasuke desperately fighting (and ultimately succumbing to) sleep, wishing to hear from his brother before bed.

Itachi hadn't imagined it would be Kira.

The girl was bent over an assortment of books, scrolls, and loose papers. From behind the wild curtain of hair cascading over her shoulder, her face was pressed into a look of fierce concentration. Her focus never faltered, not even when Itachi entered and settled on the floor opposite of her. He rested his arm on his knee, slowing unwinding from the tribulations of the day as he studied her in the light of a sole candle.

He was sure he had never seen her face in anything other than a pout. As she scrawled her notes, her façade wasn't as radiant as Shisui so adamantly assumed it to be. His friend was smitten though, Itachi conceded, whereas he was dutifully bound to the Tottori girl. Of course he could never think anything of Kira—she was an ever-present reminder of his toil.

Itachi could have easily left her family to choose her fate. His only obligations were to the Leaf and his own family, not to one who yearned to climb in social rank. Even if his own brother had begged, Itachi was certain nothing could have convinced him to take Kira as his willful bride. Even seated across from her at that moment, he still wasn't sure how his will had been swayed.

It was no romantic folly. While Kira was undoubtedly comely, she wasn't so fair to move the nin. Not even her sister who had been much more agreeable had such an effect on Itachi. So what was it about the girl, then?

Her sight flicked up to meet his as though to dare him to think. Self-consciously, she slipped her bangs behind her ear only for the strands to rebel against her ministrations. At first, her expression screwed up in slight offense as though she thought he had no business to so boldly study her in that way. And then a softness came and she flashed this crooked smile, scooting closer with a book pushed to his knee.

"It's incredible," she breathed, "how rich your family's history is. This is the only thing I could find about my own, here in the margins." She pointed to a side note of an extensive family tree. "Did you know Uchiha-Tottori unions date back to the founding of the village?" she asked. Of course, he thought, but the wonder in her face kept the words on his tongue. "And I imagine this is where the feud began." She motioned to lower points on the diagram where the Tottori name had seemed to disappear. "Right around the date…" She muttered to herself as she reached for pen and parchment behind her and began to scribble down some notes.

Again her face contorted to one of determination and Itachi caught himself wondering if she made the same expression during missions. What would her team think of her—the hot-tongued Tottori bearing such a serious façade? If it baffled him, surely it would have the same effect on her students. He was pulled from his musings again by her expectant look.

"How was your mission?" she asked as she set the pen upon her notes.

It was a menial probe but one that took Itachi by surprise. He couldn't recall the last time someone had asked him that. "Simple," he replied. She set her belongings aside, crossed her legs, and inched a bit closer as though eager to hear more of his response.

"Just simple?" she prodded, folding the book between them away. "Look, I know ANBU missions are top secret but I think you can say a bit more than just 'simple.'" The little teasing smirk she offered didn't irk Itachi so much as her usual scowl.

He ran a hand through his bangs and rolled out his shoulders. "Fine," he conceded. "It was tiring. That's all the details you'll get, Kirameki."

At long last, her infamous pout marred her face yet somehow was transformed by the flickering candle light. The angles of her cheeks seemed softer and accentuated by the tender glow. Her eyes of emerald seemed particularly radiant and smoldering all the same. And the shadows of her lips deepened giving the illusion of fullness.

If ever there was a moment Itachi had found Kira agreeable, it was in that very moment she glowered at him.

"You're impossible," she said as she swept up her belongings. "But I'll excuse you just this once since you're so tired." The little taunting leer returned as she rose to her feet. Balancing her books in one hand, she offered the other to Itachi. He took her grip and allowed her to hoist him up. After blowing out the candle, the duo walked silently side by side to their respective bedrooms.

Just outside Kira's room, Itachi moved to slide open the door. He hesitated for a moment as he looked down at his wife without his usual stoicism but with mild curiosity. "You know I can't disclose information pertaining to ANBU missions unless you are of rank," he said slowly. "I hope you don't hold that against me."

She chuckled and shook her head, leaning against her doorframe. "I think I'll survive not knowing how your day went, Itachi."

He felt an amused huff release and could not deny the hint of the smile tugging at his lips. "Right," he said softly. "In any case, I was wondering…" Kira arched a brow in question. Itachi nodded to the materials in her hold. "What business you may have looking into history?"

Kira's shoulders seem to slump at Itachi's question and she seemed to avoid his eyes. "There's a phrase I've heard once or twice that I never really understood until now. 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' I don't want to be another statistic." She whispered out the last bit and met his gaze head on as if to ask him to challenge her desire.

Instead, Itachi slid the door to her bedroom open, taking her place at the doorway as she entered and deposited her belongings on the desk in the corner. "And what is it you seek to prevent?" he asked after a moment.

She turned to him fully again. "That's what I'm going to find out."

Meditation was one of the finer arts of training, one that Kira felt was an absolute necessity as of late. Between her falling out with Shisui to the incessant nagging in her own mind of a looming threat, she found escape in solitude under the guise of the tranquil method of training.

She became conscious of the tickle of her long tendrils on the back of her neck and the slow rise and fall of her chest with every soft breath. She was the image of composure when in truth, her mind turned over and over like the sea in a raging storm. What was she missing? There must've been something she overlooked. Things just weren't adding up.

She huffed as she piled her hair high into a rough bun, having decided to cut meditation short in exchange for the Konoha library. Maybe there she'd find more answers rather than the never ending addition of questions. After a quick rinse and change, she made her way to the destination while going over the list of priorities in her head.

She scoured over the notes she had taken the night before to compare them to the new evidence from the texts she pulled. Her fingers were splayed to mark various places in the book as well as her own annotations. Her attention flicked back and forth before she quickly scribbled down additions, groaning in agitation as she hit a dead end.

She massaged her temples in hopes to clear her troubled mind. She imagined the stress would only be accelerated when she was finally assigned her genin. What she once looked so forward to she found herself dreading with the self appointed mission on hand. She wondered what her genin would think of her. Being only a few years older than them, would they even really respect her as a superior? Would their opinions be swayed by her connections? She frowned, recalling the doubt she felt when she had suddenly been promoted not too long ago. She was convinced it was under Itachi's influence and she still had no doubt he played some part but again, what if that ended up being the only reason to follow her as a squad leader?

She muttered a curse under her breath as she buried her face between her arms and the desk. For once, the cocky Tottori girl tasted defeat. She scowled at the clutter upon the desk and considered abandoning it altogether as it wasn't proving fruitful. But her drive returned in full capacity as the sight of a white robe.

She cocked her head to get a better view of the person approaching the help desk. Based off of their apparel, it was a medical nin. Not a doctor, perhaps an assistant. How odd to see one outside of the hospital but she supposed they were still people with lives outside of work. Nevertheless, she was filled with curiously; if the hospital had its own library, what business did the nin have at the public one? She meant to find out.

Kira weaved through the towering bookshelves, picking through a few to feign interest. When she was just in hearing range of the help desk, she positioned herself out of sight but with a window to read lips if her ears failed her.

She caught onto the librarian's voice first. "Has it shown up again?" The woman's voice was full of concern.

The medical nin nodded with a tight smile. "Yes but there's no need to worry," he reassured. "Generally stays with the afflicted so it's contained within the family now."

The librarian sighed her relief. "I see. It's been years since we've heard of such a case." She pulled out a large binder and began flipping purposefully through it.

"Yes. And we generally don't hold onto these records at the labs if they exceed a certain date."

The librarian smiled. "No matter. They're in safe keeping here in the restricted section." She reached within her desk for a key ring and motioned for the nin to follow after her. When they disappeared to a closed off part of the library, Kira retreated back to her workspace and collected her belongings. She waited at the help desk for the return of the librarian and nin.

In his hands he held a thick stack of files to which he gave a gracious smile to the librarian for locating. He bid her thanks and goodbye and sent a nod of acknowledgement to Kira before parting. The librarian tucked away the keys before smiling broadly at the girl.

"Did you find what you were looking for, dear?"

"Still no luck," Kira supplied. She titled her head towards the entryway. "I didn't realize medical files were stored in the library?"

The librarian paused in her sorting of returned books to respond. "Only the older documents," she informed.

"And how does someone go about checking out medical files?"

"By presenting one of these," the librarian provided a doctor's request note to the curious nin. "Or through other authoritative request."

"Oh. So only when permission's granted, huh?"

"You got it. Besides, it's not exactly the content people are interested in, y'know? Well unless you're doing a study of some sort."

"Ah."

"Is there anything else I can help you with, dear?"

Kira shook her head. "No, no. Thank you. I'll be on my way then."

"Take care!"

"Same to you."

Kira balanced her books in one arm as the other smoothed back her bangs from her face. What could she do with this information? Her mind tried processing it, wondering what access to those documents could do for her quest to find the truth. She bit her lip, considering the consequences. There was no way to get to the documents ethically. She would have to either forge a note or break in and no matter the case, if she were discovered, she could kiss her headband goodbye.

She sighed only to gasp as a hand clapped her shoulder. She scowled when she found Eiko as the grinning culprit. Daichi appeared at her other side, hands tucked into his pockets comfortably.

"How is our favorite jounin doing on this fine day?" Eiko cooed, walking in front of Kira backwards.

Kira gripped her books to her chest and shrugged. Daichi pinched her cheek and she whined in protest. "We're accustomed to the attitude but we won't stand for gloom. What gives?"

She swatted at his hand as her former teammates waited expectantly. "I think I have a lead," she gave.

Eiko perked in delight. "That's good, right?"

"But..."

"But there's a catch," Daichi surmised.

Kira smiled ruefully. "Isn't there always?"

Eiko fell back into step with her friend. "Well what is it?" She flared. "Don't say 'Shisui.' If you say that guy's name, I'll-!"

Kira poked Eiko in her dimple causing the kunochi to bite her cheek. "It isn't Shisui for once," Kira muttered. Daichi arched a brow. "It's the law." They laughed at the seriousness Kira emulated and she flushed in annoyance. "If you're going to be brats about this-!"

Eiko waved her hands as her chuckles subsided. "No, no! Go on, go on," she insisted. "The drama of it all just caught us off guard."

Again, Kira scowled. "This is big," she hissed. She motioned for them to come closer. "The library holds onto dated medical records."

Daichi's brows shot up in surprise. "Do you think your sister's file may be...?"

"I'm trying not to get my hopes up," Kira sighed. "They're stored in the restricted section. Unless I've some type of waiver to grant me access, I'll never know."

Eiko frowned. "I think you're missing a huge detail."

"Please, do tell," Kira said sardonically.

Eiko smirked, unfazed. "You're a shinobi, Kira."

Something seemed to click and all else fell in motion.