Disclaimer: I own the OCs in this fic, the rest is Masashi Kishomoto's. Sorry for any spelling mistakes.
Character age:
Akane, Itachi: 18
Naruto, Sasuke: 13
Shisui: 22
Kakashi: 27
I couldn't move a muscle when I woke up. It asked me a lot of efforts to just open my eyes, and it was dark. The regular sound of the monitor next to me made me recognize my hospital room. I was hurt then…
I opened my eyes as wide as saucers.
Itachi! Itachi was…
"Uzu, calm down!" The lamp on the nightstand was turned on and a tired Dai kept me against my mattress. He took a deep, slow breath, and breathed it out, telling me to do the same. "That's right, breath in, breath out. It's over, Aneki sent a lot of people at the borders to make sure the Akatsuki duo that got you and Itachi were out of the country. Naruto and Haku are fine, Haku's used to Isobu already."
"I...Ita..."
"You've been asleep for two weeks, Konoha minus Itachi left a week ago," he continued, ignoring me. "Your state was life-threatening for the first two days, I healed the most important until Karin made a chakra transfusion. Naruto wouldn't leave your side, and that stupid Shisui kept going back and forth between your room and Itachi's. Except for your left arm that will take some more time, you're good, so mission accomplished."
"Dai." He sighed and sat back in the chair. There were files on his knees.
"Look, Uzu, it's not your fault. If anything, we probably should have kept him from..."
"Dai!"
"He's alive and stable!" Stable, stable, not awake then. Not out of danger for good, just stable. "We're seriously understaffed so I...I asked Sasuke and Sakura to help." I narrowed my eyes at him. "You obviously couldn't make seals and Sasuke could, and Sakura's being trained by Tsunade-sama, they were my best shot at extracting the poison! Shit, even now there are still rests of poison in his body, I'm not good enough to take out all of it. But don't worry, I sent a lot to Konoha with the composition I thought it was to get an antidote, it should be here soon." He leaned his cheek in his hand, his elbow on his knee. "I...I just wasn't expecting him to be..."
"Be what?"
"So...urgh, his father almost killed me here and then when I asked. I mean, Itachi's a genius right? I didn't think he had a low-chuunin stamina and chakra reserves!" I blinked at him. He had always been like that then. "But I guess it explains why he...Uzu, you knew him...before, right?"
"I told you everything, so what do you think?" I retorted dryly.
"He was deadly sick?" I froze at that.
I totally forgot that.
With everything, I completely forgot that old Itachi was sick.
The realization dawned on me.
"He...is he...of god he's..." I stuttered frantically. Dai looked down at the files.
"I took the liberty to compare his case with...sorry, you couldn't give an authorization so I just took..."
"Fubuki's file," I finished weakly for him, my eyes narrowing to read my brother's name on the second file.
"Yeah...it's the same symptoms."
"I know," I mumbled. "I know. But...but Tsunade-san can..."
"Oh sure, once we give her the file of the virus it will be..."
"Wait, we have that?" I cut him off with confusion. Dai blinked at me with confusion too.
"You don't know? Uzu...it's not a natural virus, it's a chemical weapon the Sandaime had ordered to create to get rid of anyone who awakened a kekkai genkai before the age of ten, when the chakra network is not fully done. They put it in the air of the country but once most of the purges happened, Yagura decided to stop it. Up until three years ago, there were still some cases." I looked at him with horror.
Fubuki...Fubuki had awakened his kekkai genkai during his graduation exam, at the age of three. I knew the Sandaime had pushed him and his genius to the limits but…
Fuck, it was child slaughter.
"Your brother was an Uzumaki but his Ice Release appeared way too soon to spare him," Dai continued, now reading my brother's file. "It's a miracle he lived that long actually." Wasn't he just born weak? That's what...I was told my entire life. He was born weaker than normal and got sick. "Itachi's low stamina combined with that guy's poison...it allowed the little rest of the virus in the air to go in his system and...well, his father told me he had the Sharingan ever since he was eight. It shouldn't have happened but...the guy's real unlucky, even if I'm impressed he could still carry you when you were in the hospital. Kakashi-san had to force him to make him let go of you."
Itachi was sick.
Itachi was sick.
Again, he was sick, again. I didn't care he had access to Tsunade-san's medical care, Itachi was fucking sick again!
"I explained that too in my letter to Konoha, don't worry. It's deadly if it's not taken care of and if he overuses his sharingan and his chakra basically." Stupid old Itachi, I bet he knew exactly what he was putting his body through but didn't care from the moment he lasted long enough to fight old Sasuke. "He has yet to wake up though."
"He should have left me," I said flatly.
"You're already in the hospital so I'm going to let this one slide," Dai spat, getting up abruptly, "and I know you're in the middle of a breakdown and that this one will be longer than usual. But next time you say that I'll make sure you have a permanent room in this hospital, got it?" I sighed and nodded. "Good, I'll come back in the morning, go back to sleep."
"Dai..." He stopped at the door and looked at me above his shoulder. "Thanks...for him." He waved me off.
"That's my job."
Itachi was sick.
I breathed out slowly, calming my racing heart. It was beating too fast.
Itachi was sick, but he wasn't a missing-nin. He would be fine. And if Mom heard about it...she wouldn't stay idly and wait.
Huh...I had a lot of stuff to discuss with her next time I was in Konoha. Mainly the story of my entire life that, apparently, I knew nothing of.
Old Sasuke and old Naruto bugged me so much to make me tell my children about my kunoichi days in Kiri and I kept refusing. Now, now I knew how the twins must have felt.
It was strange. I had already seen Itachi having a crisis, hell I saved his ass once, but he was good at not showing any signs of weakness in front of me, or anyone. Heh, he was upset with himself when once, he fell asleep on my shoulder right after he climaxed.
Still, it was strange to see him sleeping in a hospital bed and knowing it had been like that for two weeks and a half. Once I woke up, I started to recuperate faster. My left arm was still in a splint, but except for that, I was fine. Itachi, however, had not moved. The white sheet reached his shoulders and his left arm was over it, many drips stuck in it.
His hair was loose too. I was pretty sure I had never seen that Itachi without his hair tied back here. Before yes, he didn't sleep or shower with his hair in a ponytail, once or twice he even just left it because I had hidden his hairbands and he didn't feel like looking for them.
He would just annoy me as much as he could with a blank face, pretending he wasn't trying to annoy me.
Thinking about it, it often ended up in sex. Well, the longest he stayed was maybe three weeks straight and the longest period of time he didn't show up was four months, so it was bestial and rough more often than not, then sweeter and gentler when the frustration was evacuated.
Damn, don't think about your past sex life now Akane! Especially with this Itachi having a girlfriend and obviously having sex with her.
"I was looking for you." I turned my head to sensei, at the door. She was exhausted, the dark bags under her eyes prominent.
"Sorry I missed the inauguration Mizukage-sama." She shook her head.
"It's nothing, you're better now." She walked next to me. "Any amelioration?"
"Dai said he would wake up soon, something about signals, but I didn't understand. I just want him to go home as fast as possible, he shouldn't have been so involved in this shit. None of Konoha actually."
"But in the end they were very helpful, and he brought me my student back." But I failed at that, I knew she didn't mean it that way but I failed at bringing her student back. "I had two things...no three, to tell you."
"Ah?"
"First, you disobeyed direct orders, not once but twice. You've changed the plan before the attack and you carried on with the sealing of the Sanbi on your own and away from the group whereas it was clear than in that case it was postponed." I looked down. Yep, that was me. "I know you Akane, I know what kind of kunoichi you were forced to be and the kind your really are. In consequences, you're fired from the ANBU, like Dai who shouldn't have let Itachi-kun follow your trail on his own." I raised my head to her in a flash, my eyes blinking rapidly.
"No...no more ANBU?"
"And I'm making you take a sabbatical leave for at least a month. You're a precious element to the village Akane, but as your sensei I know that right now you don't see it that way, that you only see the dark side of things. It has been three grueling years for you and your mental health, you need rest." She looked at Itachi. "Once he's awake, you'll go to Konoha with him and another shinobi. You need it and deserve it."
"You're...too generous Godaime. I'm not used to my Kage caring so much about my health."
"The Bloody Mist is over. Plus, it's not that much your fighting skills I'll need in the future." I groaned. "I know, I don't like paperwork and diplomacy either. Oh, and the last thing. Hokage-sama sent us a letter. Everybody came back safely, including Sasuke, but with Itachi here she's sending her assistant and a team to have more information."
"Shizune-san? She's good." I wondered how Sasuke was doing. Sensei patted my shoulder.
"Also, we're finally going to have the funerals." True, it had not happened yet. "We...conserved all the bodies in scrolls, things were too hectic but now we can have them. An official one in the cemetery and a spiritual one."
"Oh."
The Land of Water had a lot of folklore to it, including concerning the dead. A spiritual funeral was usually given to war heroes. It was at the Shinpisei river in the wood at the north of the village, just outside of it. It went to a lake where the mist was always too thick for us to see anything, but there was a waterfall. The bodies were put in open caskets, covered from head to toes by a white shit, and sent toward the waterfall by their loved ones as a final goodbye. Then, with a Fire jutsu, the bodies were cremated, leaving the living watching the lights of the flames consuming their loved ones in the mist, like a life going to the unknown. Apparently, this ritual started long ago in order to make sure and witness the departure of the dead to the other side.
Sensei left and I sighed softly. Slowly, I looked back at Itachi.
"So...how long have you been awake?" He opened his eyes.
"You want me to go home and didn't want Konoha to be so involved." I deadpanned at him.
"Seriously? You've been pretending to be asleep for the entire conversation? You heard her firing me?"
"I heard you failing at hiding your happiness about being fired." I chuckled.
"ANBU destroys people, you should consider quitting and be a regular jounin too. Get a genin team, I don't know, it did Kakashi some good." He closed his eyes but his face remained relaxed. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"
"No," he answered calmly, "I have questions."
"When don't you have questions?" I grumbled and I was pleasantly surprised to hear him chuckling at my behavior.
"I just need a summary of my situation Akane," he clarified, his gaze landing on me. He was clearly still tired, his eyes only half open and his onyx iris appearing bigger than normally. Basically, the big, dangerous Uchiha Itachi looked like an eighteen year-old stuck in a hospital bed for good reasons.
"You've slept for two weeks and a half. Dai told me Konoha left a week and a half ago, I woke up three days ago so, you know. Sakura and Sasuke helped taking care of the poison but you still have some in you, and as you heard a team from Konoha with Shizune is coming. She probably has an antidote Tsunade-san made to get rid of the rest of the poison in your bloodstream."
"Akane," he said, as calm as ever. "There is something else, isn't it?" I pursed my lips.
"I...I mean...Shizune-san will tell you, and Dai, basically medics." I had no idea how old Itachi could have caught that shitty virus before, I wasn't told of any big fights he had had in the Land of Water, but this...this was my fault. My chair screeched on the floor when I jumped on my feet to keep Itachi from sitting up. Blood was already in the clear tube of his drip because of his movements. "Itachi stop moving you idiot!"
"Then tell me what's wrong with me," he demanded coldly. "Akane, if you know something then tell me, now." I sat on the bed and lowered my head.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault," I apologized quietly. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't...you wouldn't be sick."
"How sick?" There was no emotion in his voice, just a total and utter detachment.
"Deadly sick if it's not taken care of fast."
I was taken by a sudden urge to hug him, so I did, my chin on his left shoulder. My right hand clenched his beige hospital shirt, but funny enough, whereas my hand and basically whole body were shaking, Itachi stood still. His free arm hugged me back after a few seconds, rubbing my back in a soothing motion.
"It's not your fault," he whispered in my ear. "I chose to go."
"I know but...but if it wasn't for me then...then you..."
"You're alive though. If I had left you, you wouldn't be and it would worst. Diseases can be cured, death cannot." Yeah well…
"Still...I can't have you in the same state my brother was...I just can't. I..." His arm, now around my waist, tightened, pressing me against his chest. "I'm sorry Itachi, I'm so sorry, for everything you have every rights to be mad at me for." He sighed against my shoulder.
"Akane," he started and I bit the inside of my cheek. "We're in the hospital, let's not talk about that for now."
"Okay," I agreed. I moved back a little, enough for my face to face his. I put two fingers on his neck to check his pulse. He raised a brow at me and I offered him a small wavering smile in return. "Sorry...I just want to be sure." The corner of his lips twitched up by a millimeter and he was checking my pulse too.
"Between you and I...you were the one with no pulse or breathing when we got here."
None of us moved for a few seconds until I stood up. His hand fell on his thigh.
"You should go back to sleep, but I'll tell Dai you're conscious now."
I left quickly.
I wouldn't fall back. I wouldn't let myself fall back in that.
I still needed to think.
"How is it possible? You sleep eighteen hours a day, how could you possibly have read two books already?"
"It's interesting," he replied without looking up from his page, sitting in his bed against his pillow. He didn't have a drip anymore. "Is it okay for me to read them though?"
"What do you mean? It's books about folklore."
"I know, but it's still information about a country other than mine." I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean."
"I know, I know way too much about the Land of Fire because of my link to oji-chan, but you're bedridden and bored, so shut up and thank me."
"Thank you," he said flatly without a second thought.
"More conviction next time. But is it interesting?"
"The Land of Water is the most secretive of the five Elemental Nations, what do you think?"
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying this, it's better this way than when one of the Elder is teaching you History. Gosh was that awful." He folded the corner of his page neatly and closed the book, putting it on his nightstand. "Tired of it?"
"No, it's just...would you tell me more?" I blinked at him and tilted my head with a small frown. "About you...in Kiri." I was sure he felt like he needed to add the last part. In response, I shrugged.
"Alright, you'll be the second Uchiha to ask about it then."
"Oh, Shisui knows already," he whispered to himself and I bust into laughter.
"Hell no! I mean, he does know some stuff but it's because we were getting things straight when he arrived at the Resistance, but I just told him why I was affiliated to Kiri and why I wouldn't be a kunoichi anywhere else. I'm pretty sure that's all, he didn't ask more about it and I'm not sure I would have answered. I was barely starting to be 'proud' if I may put it like that." Itachi raised his brows at me. "No, I mean Sasuke. When were in Uzushio and he was completely lost, he asked me how it was in Kiri."
"You were in Uzushio," he repeated blandly. "With Sasuke."
"When I picked him up, I was on my way back from a mission and I was planning on stopping by Uzushio to do some digging in hope of finding more on bijuu. Actually, I wanted to know if Konoha was around before going, to give Sasuke back, but he said he didn't want to." It was Itachi's turn to sigh. "Anyway, ask your questions and I'll answer what I can and want. I'll spare you some details."
"How did you even end up in Kiri?" The question left his lips so fast it took us both by surprise. I smirked.
"Heh...you've had that one for a long time. Well, when we got word oji-chan and Aunty Kushina passed away, Mom decided we wouldn't go to Konoha, too dangerous with that Danzou around." Under Itachi's gaze, I crossed my legs. "Right...during the year I spent in Konoha, he tried to get me in his Foundation twice. Anyway, I spent most of my childhood traveling with Mom, where she taught me fuinjutsu and chakra control stuff, the basics of self defense. When I was eleven, I was...picking up fruits if I remember well and Hoshigaki-san found me. He told me Yagura had ordered him to get the Uzumaki back to the village. I stayed until Shisui was sent on a mission to get me out of here."
"Rank?"
"A promotion every six months." He opened his eyes wider in shock. "Look, I'm...was Yagura's apprentice. I awoke my kekkai genkai when Hoshigaki-san kidnapped me, sensei was training me three days a week, the four other days it was various skilled shinobi from the village, like Zabuza-san until I was a genin, where Yagura decided to do it himself. I stopped counting the number of my chakra exhaustion after three months. The only promotion I ever deserved was to genin. I mean...Konoha and Kiri are so different, that's what I told your brother. In Konoha, you're placed in a team of three under a jounin to learn teamwork and all of that stuff and that's why you're called Konoha softies here. When you graduate in Kiri, at least until we reform it, you were sent on solo missions because a shinobi from the Bloody Mist makes sure the mission is a success, even if you die. We're placed in a three-man team when we're considered for the Chuunin Exams to learn teamwork. Now, if I tell you I was directly placed in a team under Mei-sensei, you know what it means, right?"
"You were given promotions before you had the level."
"Bingo! For the Chuunin Exams, I had to win the tournament otherwise Yagura would punish me. I was against Mangetsu in the finals. He let me win. I was so spent from my fight with Yasuo, and anyway he was stronger than me. The three of us were promoted, but on the way back, we were attacked by shinobi from Kumo. You know how they are with kekkai genkai users, I showed too much during the Exams. I got my spot in their Bingo Book, and Iwa followed soon. My promotion to jounin was...more traumatizing."
"How so?" Quickly, his expression turned to a concerned one. "If you don't want to go into details it's fi..."
"Hey, I know a lot on your shinobi career, it's only fair to share mine, isn't it?"
"Still, if...it's clear you didn't want to be a kunoichi to begin with Akane. If you're not comfortable..."
"Do I seem uncomfortable to you?" He shook his head 'no'. "It's in the past anyway, it was another era. Back to the story. I...you need to know I tried to leave Kiri five times Itachi."
"You would have been killed." I smirked at his statement.
"Yeah, but I wasn't because I was 'too valuable' and it just fueled the hatred people had and still have toward me." He opened his mouth to say something but I raised my hand to stop him. "Look, Shisui is actually in his good right to worry over how people treat me here sometimes but I'll go over this later." He stared for a couple of seconds, not bothering to hide the glint of concern in his eyes. "On my fifth attempt, Dai and Mangetsu decided to help me. I reached to border to be stopped by Yagura himself. The slash there was in the forehead protector I wore during the attack was made at that moment. I had been a chuunin for two months. Four months later, during a routine patrol, we were targeted by oinin. Lots of them. I won't go into details, I don't remember half of it, but I remember ending up in a cave with my shine bone poking out of my leg, Dai panicking because he wanted to save me at all cost and Mangetsu staying at the entrance of the cave with Himarekarei in his hands, ready to strike. It was Yagura's punishment for me trying to defect and for them to help me. In the end, when he threatened them, I dropped on my knees and bowed, my head on the floor, and begged him to spare them in exchange of my eternal loyalty to him." I closed my eyes, not handling Itachi's eyes anymore. "Six months after, I was sent on a mission that would determine my integration into the ANBU, I was thirteen. During the mission, I met Shisui and his team, that my mom hired to get me. You know what happened next."
He stayed silent, so I opened my eyes. He was staring at his clenched fists on the white sheet covering his legs. Honestly? I was...touched he was so concerned over my past, but I was over it. It happened decades ago to me.
I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, I'm touched you seem so concerned, but what happened happened. No need to cry over it now when you can't change it. It was the Bloody Mist, but I survived. That's what matters. Yagura counted on my will to survive to make me stronger, and even if I hate to admit it, it worked, even if I did some terrible things for it."
"You're a survivor then?" he asked quietly. I sighed softly, my gaze on the white ceiling.
"Well...my big brother died protecting me. He was sick, yes, but ultimately it wasn't what killed him. Since that day I promised myself I wouldn't soil his memory by dying a useless death. Dying for Kiri would have been a useless death."
"That's right, you had a brother." I hummed in confirmation. "You don't talk about him."
"I don't see the point of talking about the dead with people who didn't know them. No offense."
"None taken", he retorted, looking at me. "It's just I was shocked when I saw Sasuke going to the cemetery with flowers one day, so I followed him and saw the grave. Not long after Akiko-san put his picture at her place."
"Oh. What did Sasuke tell you?"
"He was your brother and died before you came to Konoha. He said the rest was a secret between you and him." I nodded with a gentle smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
"He's a good kid." Itachi smiled fondly at that. "You wanna know about Fubuki then? I mean...I wouldn't have told Sasuke but at the time it seemed like the only thing that would calm his anger toward you and Fugaku-san." He frowned at that.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're not the best at respecting your promises, and Fugaku-san didn't know he had awakened the Sharingan, did he?" Understanding flashed in Itachi's eyes and he sighed deeply. "I told Sasuke about Fubuki because my brother was a genius too. He...all I can say really is that he could mix his Ice Release with fuinjutsu and that I can't do it. A lot of people kept telling me Fubuki would have been better than me, even dead I was just his replacement and couldn't leave his shadow. I saw that in Sasuke too and told him that in time he'd be great."
"And that's it?"
"Sometimes the only thing we need to get better is that someone sees us for ourselves," I whispered softly. "Unfortunately, it's pretty much the only things I can tell you about my brother. I...I've been hearing stuff about my family I wasn't aware of, Yagura had forbidden anyone to tell me anything about the years I spent in Kiri when I was baby and it seems like the adults all agreed on a particular version to say."
"They wanted to protect you and your innocence." I pursed my lips, watching the thick mist outside through the window. "It's normal to do that for the youngest." I didn't comment on it and the door was opened behind me. I looked above my shoulder and stood up at the sight of Shizune-san and Dai.
"I should leave." I didn't though, because Itachi caught my wrist. I looked down and he let go quickly, realizing it was my left one, the one he almost broke. Not that I...well, I cared, but right now he was calm so it was okay, I wasn't scared of anything. I just felt bad at the guilt lingering deep in his eyes. "Itachi?"
"Stay," he whispered, but everyone heard it anyway. I shot a look at Shizune-san, who nodded. Silently, I sat next to him and he moved a little so that I was completely on the bed.
Itachi was in a foreign village after all, and I was the familiar face he saw everyday, that he wanted it or not. He was seriously sick, of course he would want someone to be here.
Huh…
Mikoto-san wouldn't let him out of her sight once he was back in Konoha.
Hey! Thanks for reading and leave a review to tell me what you thought about this chapter! Thanks to NguyetMieu, kankananime123, mikan26, Chamele and ahuvati for the reviews!
Bye!