Moonlight (Itachi x Izumi)

♡ 19. You're not very discreet you know...

       ₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

"Itachi, please come in." Hiruzen gestured and tapped his pipe as he looked over a few documents laid out on his desk.

Itachi followed suit and shut the door behind him. He wondered what this call was about and why he was summoned by the third this afternoon. He anticipated it was going to be about another special mission that he needed to lead or else his presence wouldn't have been requested upon.

"You can ease the tension on those shoulders." Hiruzen laughed as he stamped the documents one page after the other still gripping onto his pipe.

With a quick surprise in his expression, Itachi nodded and finally relaxed his muscles. Usually, it was a serious matter with Hiruzen but now looking at the old man smiling cheerfully in front of him after being summoned, slightly baffled him.

"Your mother's birthday, how did that go?" The old man stood up from his chair and then proceeded to look out the window behind him, taking another blow of his pipe.

"My mother's...it went well. A rather cheerful event." Itachi responded still trying to figure out what this meeting was going to be about and where the old man was going with this.

"That's good to hear!" Hiruzen turned around, the smile still holding his wrinkled face.

"How are your parents doing? Have they been busy lately?" The old man added. A cheerful-like tone to his phrase.

"Yes. My father has been pretty occupied with meetings at the Police Force, and my mother has been keeping herself busy with things at home," Itachi responded hoping the old man would get to the point of this meeting.

"That's great! And your brother, Sasuke?" Hiruzen had been noticing his little brother more and more. His skills and perfect grades were similar to that of Itachi's when he was a Genin. It was like seeing another him all over again.

"My little brother has been frequently training. He still has a lot to improve but I'm convinced he'll surpass me one day," He replied a slight curve on the edge of his lips thinking about how Sasuke will become an even more powerful ninja than him in the future.

"I'm glad to hear his training is going well." Hiruzen laughed and then looked over at the man standing in front of him. 

"Anyways, you must be wondering why I have summoned you here. Apologies for the anticipation. I wanted to take my time in honoring you for all of your efforts with the Anbu. These past few months have been strenuous, and you've done a tremendous job in keeping our village to a certain level of peace. With your hard work, the council and I have agreed to offer you some time off from any missions." Hiruzen paused.

"But—." Itachi's eyes widened in surprise and his current duties instantly flooded his mind. But before he could continue to speak, Hiruzen had cut him off.

"And all your current missions as of now will be taken care of. You don't need to worry. This is a great opportunity for you to relax, and spend time with your friends and family." The old man walked around his desk until he was now standing in front of Itachi, one hand holding his pipe and the other giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Take this as an early birthday gift from the Leaf." Hiruzen chuckled followed by a wink and then turned around puffing some more.

"Understood," Itachi responded after pausing to collect the old man's words. Still taken by surprise from the outcome of his summon, he stood there silently.

He had been working extremely hard on his missions, training nonstop day after day, and had done a great job keeping the village at peace the best he could. Now that he was given a chance to sit back and relax, he wasn't sure what to do. It felt like a giant weight was lifted off his shoulders and now he was suddenly able to move around freely. Temporarily at least.