The mask stayed for the rest of the day.
Both Itachi and Imi acted as if everything was normal and fine, going back inside and allowing Imi to receive her new Akatsuki cloak, and joining in (sort of) with the others as they celebrated their ‘new member’. Imi accepted one drink—but made it clear she wasn’t having anymore—and watched as the others did the drinking for her, answering questions and talking with anyone who decided to make conversation with her. But her thoughts remained on Itachi. She knew something was wrong; the reply he had given her outside had been a lie, and there were things they had to talk to about; Imi understood that. She just hadn’t expected it to still be affecting him like this. It made her feel worse, even if nothing showed on the outside.
Though as the day went on and the sun began to set, Imi shook off her worry. She was going to talk to Itachi; she was going to sort this out. After all she had been through today—after managing to overcome her fear of her past—she didn’t want it to end on a bad note. Whatever he needed to say, Imi was willing to listen, and a part of her couldn’t help but wonder if he was overthinking everything. Itachi had had a habit—a bad habit—of blaming himself for a lot of things that weren’t his fault. It had been that way with the Uchiha massacre. Though he had had no choice but to go through with it all, Itachi still felt that he should have done more to save them. Imi had never agreed with him, however; he had done more than anyone else could have done.
Though it seemed he hadn’t changed.
But eventually, when it seemed as if everyone was drunk enough not to notice much going on around them, Imi approached Itachi and said simply,
“Come on. We need to talk.”
Itachi nodded in reply, saying nothing for the moment, feeling a little better at the calm expression on her face. His worry had stayed with him while everyone celebrated Imi becoming a member of the Akatsuki, and he had known that Imi could sense it. After all, it was what she did best. No doubt she already had a clue as to what was going on, but hadn’t been able to do a thing about it with everyone around them wanting her to stay. Now, of course, they’d all forgotten about Imi in exchange for whatever alcohol that still remained, and it allowed them to slip away and go to his room, the silence seemingly overwhelming everything once they were there. Itachi just wasn’t sure where to start. He knew what he wanted to say, however, and eventually just went for it as Imi questioned softly,
“What’s wrong, Itachi? And I mean really.”
“I’m sorry, Imi. For everything. I shouldn’t have let it happen. Even if I’m not sure of what I’m feeling that doesn’t mean I let you get hurt. I care about you either way—that fact is never going to change. I knew you would be worried when you woke up and I didn’t do a thing.”
Imi had to resist the urge to sigh. She had been right after all—he hadn’t changed, clearly. Still blaming himself for things that were out of his control and he couldn’t have stopped, even if he’d tried to. But glad Itachi was at least telling her this time, she finally opted to speak up, cutting off any more attempts from Itachi at trying to apologise for his actions, walking over to him to rest a gentle hand on his shoulder. Shaking her head, she replied gently, but still firmly, allowing no room for protest,
“Itachi-kun, you don’t need to apologise. It wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for anything. You couldn’t have known they would be coming for me then; you couldn’t have known I would have left to follow you. I feel bad for having let myself be caught in the first place—” A comment which Itachi instantly began to protest to, so Imi swiftly added before he could say anything else,
