Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"The winner is… Uchiha Itachi no Konohagakure!" The roar of the crowd was deafening, but Itachi didn't hear it. The world spun and he passed out.
Chapter 18 – Hospital
The sixteen Chuunin that hadn't made it to the final match waited in a large room in the infirmary. They all wanted to know who had won the match, and so were annoyed that they hadn't been allowed to watch it. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Suddenly, they heard a large cheer from the direction of the arena.
"Sounds like it's over," Hiroshi commented. His squad mates nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like Uchiha just lost to Tadashi," Koushi said. "As there's no way Tadashi could lose." The Konoha ninja scowled at him.
"You fought Itachi and you're still underestimating him?" Hisuke asked disbelievingly. The door opened and the two Kages in attendance entered.
"Who won?" everyone asked in unison. Naruto laughed.
"Eager, aren't we?" he said. "It wasn't a disappointing match, I'll say that. Both fought very well."
"Who won?" the sixteen Chuunin repeated impatiently.
"Itachi did." Naruto couldn't keep it from them any longer. The Ame ninja looked appalled.
"Only just, though," Gaara added.
"What does that mean?" Hotaru demanded.
"Put it this way – they're both unconscious in the hospital," the Kazekage replied.
"If they're both out of it, how come Uchiha won?" Koushi demanded.
"He defeated Tadashi and was declared the winner beforehe passed out," Naruto explained. "They both used up all their Chakra."
"Ita-kun used up all his Chakra?" Hotaru said disbelievingly. The two Kages nodded.
"It sounds absurd, knowing his Chakra levels, but it's true. But the Mangekyō Sharingan does take up a lot of Chakra," Naruto said.
"Since when did he have the Mangekyō?" Hisuke asked. "He didn't two weeks ago." Naruto shrugged.
"What's a Mangekyō Sharingan?" Hiroshi asked. "I've never heard of it."
"It's a more powerful version of the Sharingan that's very rare – that's all I can say," Naruto explained. "Now that I've told you who's won, I can go and figure out which of you lovely Chuunin will graduate as Jounin." And with that he left.
There was a stunned silence which lasted for about thirty seconds before the two Ame ninja began to glare at the Konoha ninja, who gazed back at them.
"And Itachi thinks I'm immature," Arisu commented. "But you lot are acting like a bunch of five year olds."
The Suna ninja chuckled.
"Are we included in that?" Taro asked. She glared at him.
"Yes."
He gulped and shut up.
"How's Ita-kun?" Hotaru asked the ANBU girl. Arisu shrugged.
"As well as can be expected with all his Chakra drained," she answered. "Basically, he's probably gonna be out of it for a few days." Hotaru looked down.
Was that Ame ninja really that strong? she wondered. A young lady with blonde hair and amber eyes entered.
"Hotaru? Hisuke? Can you come with me, please?" she asked. They nodded and followed her out the room.
"What is it? Tsunade-sama?" Hotaru asked her as they followed her to the hospital. The Sannin didn't answer. Eventually, they stopped outside a hospital room.
"What is it?" Hotaru repeated.
"This is important, so listen carefully," Tsunade said, opening the door. She entered, followed by the two teens.
"Ita-kun!" Hotaru gasped.
"Itachi!" Hisuke said at the same time. Their teammate was lying in the hospital bed, eyes closed.
"Listen to me," Tsunade repeated. "Itachi has gained a formidable power – but that's why he's unconscious. Have you heard of the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Both teens nodded. "It's a magnificent power, but costly to use due to the vast amount of Chakra and stamina needed to sustain it." The teens nodded again. "You need to make sure he doesn't overuse it – because one day it could blind him, maybe even kill him." They nodded again, more vigorously than before.
"When'll he wake up?" Hisuke asked. Tsunade shrugged.
"I can't tell for sure."
"Roughly," Hotaru said. The Sannin thought hard.
"Anytime between tomorrow and next week," she said. "But I can't be certain. It's not something we can heal – we just have to wait for his body to recover on its own." The two teens nodded in understanding. Hotaru sat on the chair by the bed as she stroked Itachi's hair.
"He's so pale," she said. "I mean, he's pale normally, but he's virtually white. IS that normal?"
Tsunade nodded.
"Perfectly normal – don't worry about it."
Hotaru smiled, relieved. They heard footsteps outside before the door opened.
"How is he?" Mikoto asked. She entered, followed by Tani.
"He'll be fine," Tsunade said. "I'm surprised it's just you two. Where are your father and uncle?"
"Tani and I slipped away – they're arguing about something," Mikoto explained. Tsunade laughed.
"Why am I not surprised?" she commented. "You guys can go when you feel like it." With that she left, shutting the door behind her. Mikoto sat on the bed and gazed at her brother.
"He fought well," she said. "He deserves some rest."
Tani nodded in agreement. She walked to the door.
"We should leave him in peace," she said. Hotaru and Hisuke followed her out. Mikoto stood up and pushed Itachi's hair back from his face. Bending down, she gently kissed his forehead.
"Sleep well, Itachi," she whispered. Her fingers deftly straightened the covers before she too left the room, silently closing the door behind her.
Itachi moaned as he regained consciousness. Where am I? he thought. There was something soft beneath him, and something else was covering him. I'm in a bed, he realised. How did I get here? He opened his eyes. As he had expected, he was in the hospital.
"Woken up at last?" Tsunade asked, standing next to him. He nodded. "You've been out three days."
"Three days?" he asked, incredulous. She nodded.
"And you've had a lot of visitors." The Sannin laughed, making Itachi wince. "You're very popular." The door opened and the Uchiha family walked in. Their eyes widened when they saw that Itachi was awake.
"Woken up, huh?" Sasuke asked. Itachi grinned.
"Yup."
Mikoto walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed. Tsunade left to give the family some privacy. As soon as the door closed, Itachi sat up. To his chagrin, he realised that it took a lot of effort so he leaned against the headboard. His uncle walked over and ruffled his hair.
"Nice to have you back," he said. Itachi shrugged and then winced as his body protested. Sakura's sharp eyes didn't miss it.
"Lie down," she said. "You've only just come round so your body's not used to moving." Itachi crossed his arms – hiding the wince – and refused. Her eyes narrowed dangerously but Tani stood in the way.
"Leave him be, Mummy," she said sternly. "He's getting used to moving."
"You're being too protective, Sakura," Sasuke said. "He's sixteen, not six." Sakura glared at her husband but relented.
"Those armguards surprised me," Sasuke's brother said. "I didn't know you had them." The rest of his family, aside from Mikoto, nodded in agreement. Itachi looked down.
"I'm more annoyed that he cut the sleeves off my top – it was my favourite," he said. His father gaped at him.
"You're more annoyed that your top was cut than the fact that everyone saw those armguards?" he asked. "You're crazy!"
"No I'm not – it was my favourite top!" Itachi said. "And anyone with half a brain that took the Jounin exams would have figured out I had them." Mikoto nodded in agreement.
"Did you know about his armguards?" Sasuke asked her suddenly. She grinned.
"I made them," she said. "When he passed the Chuunin exam." She couldn't help laughing at her father's expression.
Thanks for reading!
Tsari