Chapter 25

Itachi stayed bedridden for about a week due to his overuse of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He felt good as new when the week was up, thanks to Suiren's amazing medical ninjutsu. Suiren stayed by his side the whole time, nursing him back to health. She had given him healing sessions every day for the past month and a half.

It was now mid-February, and Itachi was feeling better than usual. His eyesight had slightly cleared, and his eyes didn't feel so strained anymore. His body had felt the most improvement though. He had stopped coughing blood about a month in, and his body didn't feel as sluggish anymore. He could actually feel his body being cleansed by Suiren's chakra, and now every week his body felt lighter than it had in the past.

Suiren had become better at regulating her chakra, so she didn't pass out as much anymore. However, there were still some sessions where she became impatient because she wanted to heal Itachi even a day faster, so she would carelessly pump out her chakra. This would result in her depleting her chakra for the day, and of course making her faint in the process. Itachi always sighed on her careless days. But he secretly didn't mind, because he knew she was putting in her all for his sake. Instead, on those days he would take her into his arms again, and they would sleep together until the sun rose again.

Today happened to be one of those days. Itachi woke first, slowly blinking the sleep away from his eyes. He unconsciously tried to shift his stiff body but realized he couldn't. Remembering that Suiren was with him, he immediately stopped struggling so that she wouldn't wake. Looking down, he noticed that Suiren had somehow moved on top of him. Her arms were wrapped around his waist tightly, her left cheek pressed onto his chest. Her long hair was swept to the side, the ends hanging over the edge of the bed.

The sight of her sleeping face against him and the soft, rhythmic sounds of her exhales brought a gentle smile to Itachi's face. He stared at her for a couple minutes before slowly raising his hand towards her. He stroked her raven black hair, sifting his fingers through the silky strands to reveal the hidden red streaks. Then he gingerly brought his hand to Suiren's face, stroking her facial features. His thumb and index finger traced her nose and brow bone, then the area under her eyes. Her long lashes cast a small shadow over her lids.

Watching her like this, Itachi could feel his heart overflow. At that moment, he acknowledged that Suiren had become an irreplaceable part of his of life. He had a flashback to the time Shisui had asked him a random question.

"Hey, Itachi, do you have anyone you like?" Shisui asked. Itachi glanced at him in confusion. It was an unexpected question.

"I don't have time for love."

"So that's a no for now. Well, that's good," Shisui gave a small chuckle. Itachi raised his eyebrow, but Shisui evaded his questioning look and switched the topic.

Itachi smirked slightly as the memory resurfaced. It seemed like his best friend was still taking care of him, even in death. He returned to stroking Suiren's cheek, a gaze of endearment filling his eyes. But it was quickly replaced with sorrow.

He had to hold himself back, for the sake of his future plans. Even if he did tell Suiren of his feelings, she would only be heartbroken a couple of years later with his death by Sasuke, and he didn't want to hurt her. He wanted Suiren to find happiness, and she deserved more than someone like him who was stained with the blood of an entire clan.

The big rise of his chest that accompanied his sigh caused Suiren to stir from her slumber. Itachi's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a small grunt, and then a shuffling as Suiren slightly lifted her cheek from his torso. She repositioned her face, this time resting her chin on him as she stared at him through sleep-filled eyes. Her eyes changed into a different color every time she blinked. Red, then purple, then back to black, much to Itachi's amusement. Her half-open and unfocused eyes that struggled to keep eye contact with him made him notice that she wasn't fully conscious yet.

"G'morn… Ita… kun…" She trailed off as her eyes involuntarily closed again and her face fell to the side, indicating that she had fallen back asleep. Soon, the room was filled with the sounds her shallow breathing. Itachi's eyes crinkled as he watched her sleep soundly. Suiren really wasn't a morning person.

Suiren became aware of a warm, soft thing under her. It couldn't have been a pillow, because the thing her arms was wrapped around was sturdier. She propped herself up by positioning her hands on top of the surface, her eyes still closed. Balancing her body on one arm, she rubbed her eyes, shaking away the sleep. Finally, she detached her closed lids, to find her upper body on top of a torso. Confused and not fully conscious, her gaze followed the torso and up the neck until her eyes landed on a pair of obsidian eyes staring straight back at her.

"Ah?!" Suiren started as she impulsively bounced backwards. She would have fallen off the bed and hit her head if Itachi hadn't grabbed her wrists, holding her in place.

Itachi swiftly pulled Suiren so that there was only a faint distance in between them. The two stared at each in silence, Itachi cool while Suiren had her eyes wide open. In the quiet room, he could literally hear her rapid heartbeats. Itachi leaned forward so that his mouth was next to Suiren's left ear.

"Careful," He whispered.

Suiren blushed immediately. Itachi felt like teasing her when he saw the scarlet on her cheeks, but he held himself back. No matter how many times they slept together, she would still end up blushing the next morning.

"W-what time is it?" Suiren stuttered out.

"The sun just began rising."

"It's my turn to buy groceries today…" Suiren rapidly escaped from Itachi's grip and slid off the bed, landing with a small thud. She briskly walked to her room to wash up and change clothes. But as she walked out her bedroom door, she saw that Itachi was waiting outside it.

"I'll go with you," He said, his smirk hidden inside his collar. Suiren had a nonchalant expression on her face, but he could still see traces of pink on her cheeks and the slight panic in her eyes.

He promptly turned around, leading the way outside of the hideout. Suiren could do nothing but follow behind him in embarrassed silence.