A Glass Of Crimson Souls

19) lover is childlike

The fact that nothing was going as Itachi had planned caused him no little concern. He had wanted to snag a councilman at the precise moment that he exited the meeting, which Itachi had presumed would end within fifteen minutes of his arrival. Yet it seemed like the meeting was going overtime, which left Itachi waiting impatiently in a hidden passageway that overlooked the council room. Worse, one of the Mizukage's bodyguards seemed to be an incredibly adept sensor; had Itachi not had so much practice trying to hide his chakra from Miho, he would've been found out instantly.

The presence of chakra barriers in Houzuki Rai's compound worried him. They had not been in place the last time Itachi had visited Kirigakure, nor were chakra barriers that were capable of hindering Miho common.

As Itachi lied in wait, the dreaded thought suddenly struck him.

Kirigakure's government would not provide Houzuki Rai with such high level barriers, not when they had such an incredible sensor on their part. It was more likely that Houzuki had installed the barriers to keep the council out of his compound. Which meant that it was likely that…

Itachi gritted his teeth. But could it be that coincidental? Could Orochimaru…what would Orochimaru want from Houzuki?

But then everything made sense—Miho had said it all—there was a boy that Orochimaru had, a Houzuki clanmember, and though the details were unclear, they were completely unnecessary—Orochimaru had provided Houzuki with the chakra barriers.

So was Orochimaru here, in Kirigakure, right now? He couldn't be. There was no reason for him to be here—no, he was supposed to be in some deserted area, working in his filthy laboratory…

No, there was no possible way that Orochimaru was in Kirigakure. Itachi would have noticed before. He allowed himself to breathe a little easier—sometimes, his mere pessimism caused him heart problems. And when he thought about things logically, the chances of Orochimaru being in Kirigakure at the exact time as Akatsuki was unlikely—Orochimaru was doing his best to avoid them, after all. There was no need for concern.

Besides…Itachi had a mission to complete, and in the larger scheme of things, he was supposed to heed Kisame's words of caution. He did not need Miho. If Miho would challenge what he could become, she was disposable. And she had done enough damage.

Regardless of his reasoning, Itachi felt an incredible wave of relief when the council members stood up to leave. It was already long past the fifteen-minute mark—he could only hope that Miho was more capable than she made herself out to be.

The sensor bodyguard tapped the Mizukage, a beauteous woman, on her shoulder and gestured lightly in Itachi's general direction. Itachi felt his blood run cold. They knew.

Before they could lunge for his hiding spot, he moved into the corridor and grabbed the first person he could find. It was an elderly man, and Itachi had to be thankful that at least something had gone right that night, for the man made no sound as Itachi quickly wrapped him in a genjutsu, implanted his orders to report to Akatsuki while scanning for information. There were several who favored Akatsuki in the council—not everyone supported the new Mizukage—and luckily, this old man was one of them. It did not take much effort to convince the councilman to report to Akatsuki. The seconds flew rapidly; Itachi did not stay for long. The sensor and Mizukage were drawing nearer; the instant they arrived in view, Itachi fled back into the hidden stairwell, praying that he had not been seen.

"Elder!" said the Mizukage. "Are you all right?"

"Why…why yes," said the elder, blinking. "Yes, I don't know what came over me…daydream, perhaps. It must be my old age."

"I see…you should hurry back to your quarters," she said. "Ao and I are going to look around—he thinks that he may have sensed something."

Itachi recognized the sensor—an ANBU veteran who had taken the eye of a Hyuuga member for his own. It would be dangerous to stay any longer—no matter how much Itachi could conceal his chakra, the color of it could not be hidden. He took a deep breath, and summoning the reserves of chakra for a brief moment, he concentrated it all in his legs and disappeared from the corridor in one swift second. Whether Ao sensed him did not matter as long as Itachi could escape the Mizukage's tower.