This Uchiha Itachi is very lonely

"A team cannot be stopped because of one child."

"The commander of this team is Si, not your father. Even if he is the clan leader, he is not capable of overstepping his authority on the battlefield."

"Don't put all the responsibility for the sacrifice of the team on yourself, Itachi."

…

Just had a simple meal,

Itachi came to the bathroom and walked towards the steaming hot tub that his mother had prepared early in the morning.

call--

Even though Itachi was good at hiding his emotions, the moment his exhausted body touched the hot water, he couldn't help but let out a breath of comfort.

He could clearly feel that the original fatigue in his body was slowly fading away, and the various senses of his body were feeding back to his brain, as if the meridians, cells, and bones were being washed away by hot water and heat, making a cry of pleasure.

Even the struggling and vigilant heart slowly relaxed under the immersion in the hot water.

"You are such a gentle child, Itachi."

The comfort only lasted for a moment. With his emotions and mind calm, Itachi lay in the bathtub and looked up at the ceiling.

He was thinking about what his mother said.

A team cannot stop because of one of its children.

Indeed, perhaps they had preconceived ideas, thinking that as the leader of the Uchiha clan, their father was respected by many people in the team, so they would listen to their father's opinions and stop for half a day to repair.

But what the specific truth is, I still need to ask my father.

Itachi suddenly felt a sense of urgency in his heart.

But it's not that he doesn't believe his mother, it's because his mother is not a member of the team, and her explanation for him is just a guess.

Rather than listening to other people's words, Itachi prefers to listen and confirm by himself to make practical judgments.

But if I had not escaped or struggled.

Instead, if you had the courage to ask your father when this happened, you might be able to get the answer earlier, right?

Boom, boom, boom.

A slight knock on the door sounded from outside the bathroom, and then, the mother's gentle voice came into the bathroom, "Itachi, I have prepared a change of clothes for you at the door."

"Okay, mother."

Itachi responded politely.

"You have a wonderful family, Itachi."

At this time, Artoria's voice suddenly sounded in the bathroom, "A father who is strict, responsible and enterprising, and a mother who is gentle and considerate."

"Originally, I thought it was a bit sad that you lost your childhood as a normal child."

"But now it seems that your life is actually quite happy."

Happiness? No, no, no, that’s not what I’m thinking about now.

Itachi lay in the bathtub, staring at Artoria who slowly appeared next to him.

After a long time, he closed his eyes, "...Maybe what we should consider now is that you should give me some private space, right?"

Arturia always wore that armor and stood upright in the gray bathroom full of mist. "It's a pity that I can't stay too far away from you."

Itachi retorted without hesitation, "But the range within which you can move around me is not small."

"From the time you appeared next to me to now, every time you disappear and leave, I can feel where you have gone."

"The furthest one was even across a bridge."

The implication is that when she is at home, her range of activities is at least the entire home.

Listening to Itachi's rebuttal, Artoria was silent for a while and replied: "You are right, then I will wait for you in the living room."

"Wait a moment."

But just when she turned around and was about to leave, Itachi sat up unconsciously and called out to her.

Facing Arturia's confused look as she turned around, he asked softly: "You also heard what my mother said just now."

"You once told me that you tried to leave me for a while when I was in a coma."

"So...how much do you know about the team stopping for half a day to repair?"

He looked at Artoria's face seriously.

The answer to this question may also be found in her.

"In fact, as your mother said, the team was reorganized because after the battle, some seriously injured soldiers needed to be treated by the ninjas of the medical class, so they were reorganized for half a day."

Facing his serious little face, Artoria's expression became equally serious, "And you don't know this because it was the first time this team encountered a relatively fierce battle."

"The Uchiha team is very strong. Ordinary enemies can't stop this team from moving forward, let alone cause attrition."

Hearing this, Itachi stared at her expressionlessly, "So you already knew? Then why didn't you tell me."

"Because I was never on your life path, Itachi."

Artoria reminded him, "Even without me, you would have encountered this."

"You will also learn to carry, learn to struggle, and feel the pain of the loss of life in this process."

"Although I don't understand why I came to this world and why I share your memory, I know very well that this is your growth. Only by experiencing this process personally can you truly understand."

Can we truly understand only through personal experience?

There was a hint of darkness in Itachi's dark eyes.

Then, he lay down in the bathtub again and said no more.

And Artoria didn't speak again, slowly turned around and left the bathroom.

Everything around became quiet.

In the hazy bathroom, Itachi's eyes were staring at the ceiling.

No matter what, I felt a little more relaxed inside.

In a process where I was burdened with the sacrifices of many people, and their passing was inevitably related to myself, I was really in pain.

It's like a big mountain is always pressing on your shoulders.

At that time, Itachi felt that every word, deed, and every expression of the other tribesmen around him seemed like they were complaining and resenting himself.

Even if I close my eyes, I will unconsciously recall the corpses lying in a pool of blood in my mind.

But if it was true as Artoria said, didn't she interfere with her own growth?

Crash--

Itachi stood up from the hot water and wiped the water droplets off his body with a white cloth.

"Your mother seems to want to communicate with you."

Suddenly, Artoria's inadvertent reminder when returning home came to mind, and Itachi's wiping action paused.

But only for a moment.

After wiping the water droplets off his body, Itachi put on the clothes outside the bathroom and walked slowly towards the living room.

There are more noises in the house.

It seems...that my father is back.

Itachi quickened his pace and walked towards the living room.