The jutsu ended, the night going back to normal. The trees outside swayed with the breeze. The indoor light was warm.
I could tell Itachi was forcing himself but he really couldn't eat. He had finished the soup and half the rice and that was it. All the other dishes were barely touched. His pudding had been left alone.
My dad had been right. Itachi wasn't well. It was like he was feverish without the fever or bleeding without the blood. He wasn't pretending to be sick. He was pretending to be better than he was.
He froze. "Ayae?"
I removed my palm from his forehead and pressed against mine. No fever. Strange.
I frowned.
"You really are sick, aren't you?"
Itachi slowly untensed.
"I apologize for making you concerned. I… have been trying. To be better than this."
I shook my head. "It's okay if you can't finish. I'll put it back in the fridge!"
I brought the tray out. As I went down the stairs, I caught Aunt Mikoto.
"Ah, Ayae dear. Is he…?"
I shook my head.
At her expression, I quickly said, "Don't worry, Itachi will feel better soon. You can count on me!"
After I put away the leftovers, I ran back upstairs. By Itachi's door, I saw a pile of folded laundry. I was confused but then realized Aunt Mikoto must have left it there for him.
I picked it up and brought it in.
"Hey, Itachi, I think these are your clothes?"
Itachi hadn't moved from where he sat on the floor. When he looked at me, it was like he had forgotten where we were or what we had been doing. He needed a moment to register what I said, or for the clothes to make any sense to him.
Slowly he rose.
"Thank you," he said, freeing me from the bundle.
I tilted my head. "Are you tired? Do you want to get ready for bed?"
"I think that'd be wise," he mumbled. "Would you like to use the bath first?"
"No, you can go before me."
He nodded.
I let him gather his things and leave for the bathroom.
While I waited for him, I lied on the floor of his bedroom.
His bedroom had not changed at all throughout the years. Staring at the blank walls and ceiling, I kept thinking how he needed a poster or something.
Mayu's bedroom had been full of posters of her favorite bands and idols. Tamaki's bedroom had lots of glimmering crystals and flowers. Even Gin, who didn't even have a bedroom, had his corner of video games and the little figurines that came with packaged snacks.
Maybe something I could do for Itachi was decorate.
Maybe if his bedroom was more cozy, he'd feel a bit better.
I had run a long way. My lack of sleep last night caught up to me. By the time Itachi had come back from his bath, I was already out cold on the floor.
When I woke up, it was morning again. I rubbed my eyes.
I was in Itachi's bed. He must have tucked me in last night.
He wasn't with me. I thought Itachi must have gone to sleep in Sasuke's room, but when I peeked in, I saw he wasn't there either.
I found Itachi passed out on the living room couch. He had not bothered even getting a blanket.
I fought the urge to facepalm.
"You don't need to do that," he said before I could put the bed covers over him.
Damn, did I wake him? I had been so quiet too!
I lowered the bed covers that I had snatched from his room.
"You gave me your bed," I said.
He kept his arm over his eyes. "Your father had already left the village. I presumed you would be staying with us."
"Yes, but you're sick. You should be in your own bed. Sasuke would never forgive me if I'm the reason you get worse."
Annoyed, Itachi rolled over. "Sasuke will get over it."
I stared at him. Did he just say, Sasuke will… get over it?
"You got no sleep last night, did you?" I asked.
No answer.
"Have you slept at all in the past days?" I asked.
Still no answer.
I was no doctor, but…
Did I just figure out his problem?
"No wonder you've been a total grouch!" I cried, throwing the covers at him. I didn't stop making a fuss until Uchiha "kill me" Itachi fessed up. Exactly how many nights he had been up.
Ten! The answer was TEN! I didn't know that was humanly possible!
Maybe I did come back to Konoha just to yell at him after all.
When Aunt Mikoto found us, we were fighting in the kitchen, wrestling over the kettle.
"Auntie!" I called in relief. "Tell Itachi he can't have more tea!"
"Tell her she's being ridiculous," Itachi growled.
"Tea. Has. Caffeine!" I kicked. "You sleep-deprived DUMBASS!"
At breakfast, Sasuke was confused by the drink steaming in Itachi's hand.
After a long time staring at it, Sasuke gave up on figuring it out and asked, "Um, Brother, what is that?"
Itachi stopped glaring at me from across the table. He breathed.
"Hojicha," he answered.
Sasuke only got more confused. "Why is it… murky?"
"We added milk," I said cheerfully. "It's milk tea!"
Their dad did not react well.
"That is what?"
"Did you know people from other countries would add things to their tea?" Aunt Mikoto said, laughing softly. "Isn't that so fascinating?"
"Fascinating… is one way to put it," Fugaku grumbled.
"There was no need to add milk to the tea," Itachi said flatly.
"There was no need to add tea to the milk," I hotly snapped back.
"No one our age drinks milk."
"No one our age drinks tea."
"I've had it my whole life."
"And maybe that's why you haven't slept your whole life."
Sasuke looked back and forth between us.
"Brother can't sleep?" he asked.
Itachi lost the last of his resistance. Sighing, he drank the blasphemous concoction.
He went still.
"Since you're having trouble sleeping, Itachi, I added a spoonful of honey too," Aunt Mikoto said. "I hope you find the taste agreeable."
Itachi said nothing, just looking away and nodding. He drank more, hiding his face behind his hand and cup.
Was he… blushing?
Sasuke couldn't hold back his curiosity. "Can I try some?"
Still looking away, Itachi handed him the cup.
Sasuke tried a sip. He made a face. "It's too sweet."
"It's not for you," Itachi said, already grabbing it back.
Given his lack of appetite, he finished the drink surprisingly fast. Aunt Mikoto noticed and immediately made him a second cup.
It worked.
Two cups of the tea-flavored milk and Itachi was out.
Awake, Itachi was unmovable. Asleep, the strongest ninja in the world weighed less than my groceries. I carried him upstairs and dropped the stubborn boy on his bed.
I knew Itachi long enough to know he didn't really sleep. He was either resting or unconscious. Which one, you could tell by his genjutsu.
Unconscious. The genjutsu was weakening and falling apart. If I focused hard enough, I could see his real skin.
My stomach dropped, as I thought how people in the Fire Capital would react to the sight. Scars were not normal, I had learned. Especially scars on children.
It was the type of stuff that would terrify people, actually.
I was quiet.
Well, screw people, I thought irritably. Normal or not, it happened. All of it happened. We just needed to make sure it didn't happen again. I just needed to make sure none of it ever happened again.
I closed the curtains, so the sun wouldn't bother him.
By the time I came back downstairs, his dad had already left for work. Sasuke had gone to school.
Aunt Mikoto and I kept each other company in the kitchen. She thanked me. Itachi was a very private person. He never told anyone what was wrong with him. She was relieved that I had figured it out.
Their family was really lucky that my dad had stepped in, and then I reappeared like a miracle. If Itachi had gone on a mission in his current state, he could have gotten in a bad accident. Lack of sleep would impair even the best shinobi.
"Do you know why Itachi hasn't been able to sleep, Auntie?"
"I would guess that he's been under too much pressure."
"From what?"
Aunt Mikoto went quiet. She gave a strained smile.
"He's a good child. He gives his all to become better."
I blinked.
"Isn't he already perfect?"
Sasuke hadn't exactly been letting anyone forget.
"He is, isn't he," Aunt Mikoto said gently.
"How can you be better than perfect?"
"That… is a contradiction, isn't it?"
"So Itachi can't sleep, because he's under the pressure to do something… that's logically impossible?"
Aunt Mikoto looked miserable. "That does seem to be it."
I opened my mouth.
"I know Itachi is very extraordinary. And people praise him a lot. But he's not… actually a god, right?" I asked, pointing to the sky. Just needed to double-check.
Aunt Mikoto crumpled. "No," she said, shaking her head, her hand coming to wipe the tears down her face. "No, he's not a deity. He's just a very good child, who is trying his best. We are all just trying our best."
"Auntie?! Auntie, are you okay?" I hopped to my toes. Ahh, what did I say? Why was Aunt Mikoto crying?!
Aunt Mikoto shook her head. "I'm alright, Ayae dear. I'm terribly sorry about this. How embarrassing," she said, laughing. "I'm just… very worried about Itachi. Won't you make sure he's okay for us? I know you two were close. I know he loves you very much."
"Of course, Auntie, of course I will! That's the whole reason I came back, Auntie!"
Her tears only came down harder. She laughed again, soft and musical and heartbroken and miserable.
"Heaven really is protecting us."
A/N: Y'all are crazy. Alright, I guess in case the notifications gets broken again before the New Years, I'll be doing this the old-school Naruto way and dropping an update every Tuesday.
