𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 | itachi/sasuke uchiha

chapter forty one

Your vision is blurred as your eyelids flutter, a single face slowly coming into focus. You squint at the person, frowning slightly.

"Sa... suke...?"

The face smiles, and shakes their head.

"Close, but not quite."

You let out a little groan and roll your head to the side, recognising Itachi's voice. You close your eyes again, feeling a numb sensation running through every bit of your body. You try to lift a finger, but fail so hard that you realise how much effort it takes to move even your pinky.

"You won't be able to move for another couple of days, don't worry," comes his voice, soft and reassuring. You groan again, when your eyes suddenly fly open in alarm.

"The eye! Her eye! Where's the eye?!" you screech, trying in vain to sit up. You look over to your side and see Itachi, who's dressed in a pure white hospital gown.

"Wait, so are we both dead?" you ask, squinting at the elder Uchiha carefully.

"These are the hospital garments, idiot, we're not dead." You look down at yourself, and sure enough, you're wearing a gown similar to Itachi's. It's now that you realise that he's attached to a blood drip by a thin wire running from his hand. You shake your head and re-focus.

"The eye! Where's the eye?!" you repeat.

"It's safe, don't worry. You'll get it back later."

You bite your lip.

"How's Sasuke?"

You see a shadow cross the crow's face and feel as if your stomach has dropped.

"He's... not the best. But he'll live," he says slowly. "He's recovering well."

You groan and close your eyes again.

"Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!" you mutter, mentally assaulting yourself. "What about Sensō? Everyone else who was there?"

"Well... I'd say that everyone else you caught in your genjutsu aren't as lucky as Sasuke. They're probably going to have to take a longer time to heal, if they even heal at all. Some are dead. Some aren't. It's just lucky Miyako and the others got help in time to save them at all."

"And Sensō?" You look up at him in interest.

Itachi's eyes bore into yours, unreadable.

"Gone," he says simply. He bows to you, making you frown.

"What the fuck?"

You shut your mouth tight after letting the words slip from your mouth, making Itachi smirk.

"Welcome back, Lady Hayate," he says. "Looks like you're the new daimyō."

You gape at him in shock.

"Eh?"

"That was the whole point of this, wasn't it? To have you reinstated as the lawful daimyō of the Land?"

You frown, closing your eyes again.

"But that means I'll have to move here," you murmur under your breath. "But I literally have no one here for me... everyone's back in Konoha..."

But what if I don't want to be daimyō?

Then go back for Konoha. Go back for the clan.

For Sasuke.

And Itachi.

"You can think about it," says Itachi, leaning forward and placing a hand on your arm. "Don't worry too much about it; you've been out for nearly four days, I don't think anyone expects anything more from you than recovery."

You sigh as you hear him move closer to you, his blood drip squeaking as its wheels move forward with him.

"I'm sorry, [Name]," he murmurs softly, laying his head on your chest. You open your eyes to take a brief look at him, before shrugging it off and closing them again.

"For what?"

"For confusing you, I guess. I don't know. I'm just sorry. For everything I've done."

You laugh lightly, amused at his words.

"Itachi, you bought me a goddamned diamond necklace worth more than the entire Uchiha compound. You organised a week of lavish dinners and guests coming over and paid for those yukata and the bulk of my sixteenth birthday. You took the effort of organising a three week "holiday" and managed to get the three of us out of the village and out of doing other missions for three weeks. You paid, and still are paying, for where we are now. You've always had my best interests at heart, like how when you gave me that whole "you are an Uchiha" lecture. You showered me with all this love and affection right from the start, even though you already knew I had a thing for Sasuke. You were always there for me when I was little, whether it was playing with me or protecting me. You were always watching somehow, watching me from the shadows. You gave me... you gave me love, you gave me attention, you gave me- well, everything. You gave me so much that I know I don't deserve, and never will, and you knew that. You knew I didn't deserve any of it, but yet you pulled through and gave all you could to me."

You smile a little.

"I see nothing for you to be sorry for."

You open your eyes, and see Itachi sit up straight.

"Actually, there's one thing I am sorry for..." he murmurs, looking down. You frown.

"And what would that be?"

He looks you in the eye.

"I'm sorry that you don't love me."

Your gaze softens at the sight of the elder Uchiha looking so crestfallen and down, but accepting of his fate. It looked like he'd finally figured out that he can't always have what he wants.

"Come closer so I can tell you something," you whisper, beckoning him to move forward again. He leans forward and puts his ear close to your lips so you can tell him.

"Guess what?" you whisper, your warm breath sending chills down the Uchiha's spine.

"What?"

You smile, and tilt your head to the side.

"I fell in love with you the way you fall asleep," you murmur softly. "Slowly, and then all at once."