I broadened my shoulders as much as I could and took off my long cape. Taking in a deep breath, I rapidly swung the limbing bodies of Kakashi and Shisui over both of my shoulders and braced myself for the hardest part.
Shisui's blood was gradually drenching my clothes. He seemed almost knocked out from all the impact he sustained from Hanabi's grave attack.
She really was going at him with the intent to kill...
But as of now, I couldn't let my emotions take over. No, I had to regain myself from the shock and focus on saving my comrades.
The smokescreen I created had formed a flawless decoy as I ordered the crows to wreck more havoc. I struggled to get up from all the weight that stood on my shoulders and forced my legs to run as fast as they could.
This is hard as it is, but I have to keep up. If I fall as well then there's no telling what would happen to us. Thankfully, I could still feel Shisui's pulse and flowing chakra network. He does seem knocked out though, which tightened my chest.
Fortunately, my figure had also changed in the past four years, not strong like Shisui's, but strong enough to sustain this weight up to a certain point.
They could find us any minute now...
My legs were heavy and I was panting quickly. To my dismay, it had began raining again, which wasn't good at all since it might cause Shisui to get a fever. There was no telling in what to do, or where I could go. All that my mind concentrated on at the moment was getting my comrades to safety.
While Kakashi did overdo things with the Mangekyō Sharingan, I knew for a fact that he'd be fine. He's not an Uchiha, which is why his over usage of the Sharingan replenished his chakra.
What was worrying me as I ran through The Hidden Rain, was Shisui. His abject wounds are bad as it is and it isn't helping that he's not getting proper treatment right away.
All in all, I knew for a fact that if I fall as well then we are what they call screwed.
I can't afford to think negatively right now, but I also can't get my hopes up. I forced my mind to stop thinking about what'll happen when the Hokage knows of what happened.
The Red Butterfly Technique...it really is gruesome, and powerful...
The rain only thickened and hair strands fell over my eyes. I couldn't even afford to push them aside, since my hands were so occupied at the moment.
I clenched my jaw tightly as I ran between the endless towers of the Hidden Rain. The village seemed almost empty, which I take as it was an order from Pain.
It was cold and stormy, I bit hard on my lower lip to stop it from quivering due to the weather. Is was not helping that Shisui's blood was leaving a trail behind, which would get stirred with the rain, but still visible.
I panted loudly as the weight of Kakashi and Shisui combined brought me down. It was exhausting me physically and mentally, yet I refused to give up, not even when my knees felt weakened from all the pressure. Not even when my racing heart beat loudly as if it's gonna fly out of my chest.
There was no way that I'd let Kakashi and Shisui die, not on my watch. My mind can't accept it, I can't let more dear people to me die.
These two grown men sure weigh a lot, while I'm just a dejected teen who's struggling to keep them alive.
"You're gonna make it", I hiss to myself to raise up my spirits a bit.
"I-Itachi..."
"Kakashi?", I rasp, when I hear his voice emanate from behind me.
"L-listen...", he manages, as the melody of my footsteps distort what he's trying to say, "Sh-Shisui is severely injured, Itachi.."
I grit my teeth together, not liking the tone of his voice. It was almost like a final...goodbye.
"I-Itachi...you have...to make a choice right now..."
"Don't try with me Kakashi", I sternly say as I force my legs to speed up, which made me wince.
"Itachi...The...Quarters...of Tanzaku...", his voice was hoarse and heart-wrenching, "The Legendary Sannin...Tsunade...resides there...you can save Shisui if you hurry up".
"L-Lord First's granddaughter?", I inquire, panting as I await his answer.
"Yes...you have to leave me behind, Itachi..."
"Don't talk nonsense", I grit my teeth together, "you're the one who taught me that those who break the rules are scum, but those abandon their comrades are worse than scum".
"Itachi...you are no scum...", he assures, making my heart clench at what he was saying.
"I won't leave anyone behind Kakashi", I sternly state, hating the way my body was contradicting itself. I'm tired and exhausted from carrying both of their weights.
Kakashi is right. If I leave him behind I'd be able to escort Shisui much more faster. But deep down, and for selfish reasons...I didn't want guilt to consume me for leaving Kakashi behind.
Right now, I had no idea whether I'm being selfish or heroic.
What am I to do in this case?
Why am I pushed to choose again?
Why?!
"If I leave you behind, I'll never forgive myself", I confess, and ignore the surge of numbness in both of my shoulders.
I can't be weak again. I'm not thirteen years old anymore...
I'm older and stronger. I can get this done.
Never again, never again will I let anyone dear to me slither out of my reach.
I am no longer that thirteen year old...
I can't risk using much more chakra since I might also get replenished. Quarters of Tanzaku...it'll take time to get there. Even if I somehow get there fast, the issue of finding Princess Tsunade will take time as well.
And neither Shisui nor Kakashi have the time to wait.
If I can't find someone to tend to Shisui's wounds, then I have to at least find someplace safe to rest.
***
I am still in the Country of Rain, but I've managed to escape the Hidden Rain Village. I made sure to take the path that leads to the Land of Fire so I can continue my path after taking a slight rest.
Somewhere in the thick forest in the Country of Rain, I'd fortunately found a cave near a body of water, which I quickly scurried off to. Inside the cave, I finally got to put off Shisui and Kakashi's weights.
My shoulders were numb as I carefully put Shisui's body on the hard ground of the cave. As for Kakashi, I propped him against the wall of the cave.
I was soaked in Shisui's blood, the stench making me grimace. The three of us were soaked to the bone. Luckily, it'd stopped raining at this part of the Rain Country.
I had not time to waste, I had to think quickly. There was nothing I knew about first-aids, but I had to try my best to tend to Shisui's wounds.
I swallowed the lump in my throat treaded towards Kakashi when I got an idea. I took of Kakashi's soaked cape and threw it aside, then I went up to Shisui, whose face was scrunched in pain. His face had cuts almost all over it.
I made sure to maintain a calm mind as I took off the remnants of his cape. There, I saw his torn shirt, which reeked of nothing, but pure blood. I swallowed down my fears and took out a kunai.
With the kunai, I carefully tear through his already torn shirt with a tired but steady hand. With the remnants of his soaked cape, I began cleaning up the blood on his body. Some cuts were more abject than others. It was a miracle that Kakashi got to the butterflies before they inflicted further damage.
I'm not sure if some of his more deep-looking wounds needed stitches or not, but I still thought of different ways to try to help him.
Shisui suddenly winced when the torn piece of cloth brushed over one of the cuts near his chest. I breathed a little hard and got up to my feet quickly. I took Kakashi's soaked cape and headed for the nearby river, where I soaked the cape in to make sure it was clean.
Once I wring the cape from the water, I fold the cape and tuck it under my armpit. Then, I quickly go off to gather a fair amount of wood before heading back to the cave.
There at the cave, I lay the wood aside in a bundle and give it a small spark of the Fireball Jutsu to light up a small fire so I could keep them warm.
Again, I go out to gather any sort of herb-looking plants and head back to the cave. I was just hoping that Shisui wouldn't get a fever, because that'll complicate things even more.
Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off in my head and I found my hand snaking to my pouch. Once my fingers enclosed around the tube of ointment, I whipped it out and thanked my mother for urging me to have this.
I haven't even used it even once, which meant that the tube was still full. Rapidly, I rush towards Shisui and begin unscrewing the cap of the tube. I squeeze out some of the ointment and brush it equally on the more abject-looking cuts.
I made a mental note to save some of the ointment for his back.
After applying the ointment, I press the herb-looking leaves onto his wounds and make sure they remain intact. The somewhat relieved expression on Shisui's face made me exhale in relief.
Deliberately, I take hold of his upper body and gradually roll him on his stomach, revealing more cuts and wounds. I repeated the same procedure on his back as well and took a moment to wipe off the beads of sweat on my forehead.
I walked back to Kakashi and propped him on the ground, hoping he'd get a little more comfortable.
I took Kakashi's cape, which I washed off at the river and start drying it by the fire. Once I managed to dry off a piece of the cape, I took out a kunai, only to stop midway.
It was Hanabi's teleportation kunai.
As I took in the sight of it, I quickly dart my eyes to Shisui and Kakashi.
This is her doing...
I thought.
Kneeling by the fire, I barely realized the tears that had dripped onto the cape on my lap as I bit back my lip.
Simultaneously, I tear off a rectangular piece of the cape and trace my thumb over the blade of Hanabi's kunai. Once blood seeped from the self-inflicted wound, I took the piece of cloth from the cape and began writing down with my own blood.
I wrote about the current condition of Shisui and Kakashi, requesting back up. I made sure to include an approximate location to where we could be found. After I let the blood dry completely, I'd ignored how some of the blood expanded and rolled the cloth.
After that, I summoned a crow and pulled down my hair-tie to wrap the letter intact on the crow's leg. I let the crow take on the journey after instructing it what to do.
Involuntarily, I get up to my feet again, despite the exhaustion and shortage of breath I run out of the cave and head near the river. The kunai was still intact in my palm as I fall down on my knees and begin breathing a little heavy.
The worry I had for Shisui and Kakashi held me back from processing my thoughts correctly. I wasn't even given the chance to express how I feel after four years of me thinking she was dead.
So as I kneel by the river, staring right into my reflection, I begin sobbing. A hard suppressed scream eludes me right from my chest to the back of my throat. The burning tears slithered down my cheeks, making me wince.
I pulled my knees to my chest and bit down on my bicep in attempts to muffle the remaining screams that wanted to be let out. I scrunched my eyes shut as my face twisted with pain.
My shoulders began shaking the more I held back my screams. Holding her kunai tight in my hand as I buried my face, I desperately prayed that I could save Shisui and Kakashi.
____________________________________
A/N:- Excuse this chapter for being...yeah. But hey when this story is over I'm not the one who'll be sad that it didn't go on longer✨✨I can't guarantee you how many more chapters are left, it all depends on how long it takes to get to the next plot point. So hopefully, you're not discouraged from reading✨✨there are a couple of things that need to happen before our grand finale, but I had already planned the finale sometime ago.
Also, please don't let your mind wander off into the gutter, Itachi is only helping his comrade stay alive by tending to his wounds✨✨
I also wanna defend Itachi for using Talk no Jutsu in the previous chapter. So kinda try to put yourself in his shoes. He feels guilty for letting Hanabi die. So when she just pops out of nowhere, IN THE MOST UNLIKELIEST PLACE you best believe that you'd act just like Itachi✨✨
This is your chance to decide which P.O.V the next chapter will be, so vote by commenting:
Itachi
Hanabi
~A