Itachi tended to come and go as he pleased, silent as a cat. Still, when he was so often not home, actually letting people know he was home was becoming more important. That in mind, Itachi accepted the hug from his mother, to whom he assumed he would always be small and in need of having his nose wiped. Itachi returned it briefly and very gently.

"Better since I got home," Itachi admitted very vaguely. He'd lost weight, considered killing a friend very seriously, and met some very interesting people in Ame. The past week had been very full.