Redemption is a Dish Best Served Warm

by dydshark

Every action has its unintended consequences. Uchiha Itachi survives his final battle with his brother, but at a high cost. Blind and broken, he resigns himself to live with the guilt and darkness. But his gloom-and-doom plans are thwarted by an unlikely friendship with a certain pink-haired medic. Together, they learn to heal and hope for a better world.

1. Chapter 1

Leap of Faith

dydshark

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1:

He woke to darkness—darkness and pain. It burned his lungs with every gasping breath he sucked in. It cut through his stomach, his arms, his head. Everything was on fire. He heaved, tried to sit up.

"He's awake! Shit shit shit, he's awake!" a voice cried somewhere above him. Something pressed down on his shoulders. Everything was dark. And something unknown and unidentifiable was holding him down. Blind panic hit him. He thrashed weakly, frail wrists straining against his shackles. The pressure on his chest increased painfully.

Memory began to filter in sluggishly. A blurred image of a boy, eyes wide with shock and horror, his messy black hair dripping with blood floated up from the fog.

Sasuke… he thought hazily. There were so many feelings associated with the one word, but his mind refused to parse them into coherent thoughts. His next thoughts jolted him into action.

I should be dead.

"Sasuke," he rasped, voice burning his esophagus, killing his lungs. "Sasuke."

Someone else—further away, but with a voice loud enough to carry—growled with outrage. "You bastard! Don't you dare say his name! You have no right!"

"Naruto! Calm down! He's our best shot at finding—"

Another voice—deeper, calmer—spoke, "Uchiha Itachi, you are under arrest for the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, and the attempted kidnapping of––"

Following the sound of that voice, he shot out a bony hand, closing on an arm, clutching at it.

"Sasuke," he repeated, breath rattling harshly. "Do you have Sasuke?"

Silence.

The first voice finally answered him. "No, Sasuke-kun was gone by the time we entered the clearing."

The second voice cut in. "That doesn't matter right now. We need to heal his wounds well enough to transport him back to Konoha to be interrogated by Morino-san––"

Another wave of panic slammed through his system. He fought harder to be free because if Sasuke wasn't with them then—

He tightened his grip in the arm he was still clutching. "Don't take me back to Konoha––" He felt himself slipping away and fought to stay present––"They can't know––I'm alive–Not safe–for Sasuke–Danzo–Madara–can't know I'm alive."

"Shit! He's losing blood! I need to stabilize him now!"

As he felt consciousness fade, Itachi forced out, "Jiraiya–Tell Jiraiya… I failed."

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In honor of the 100th review of !FanboyItachi by TDI-Ryro-Eclares. The prompt was, "in which both Itachi and Sasuke unintentionally fall for Sakura. The twist could be that it is not non-mass. So both are missing nin." Apologies for taking so long! I think the review was written back in 2015? ^^" Also, as you might have guessed, this is going to be a chapter-fic.