四十七
silent truth
Kuina smiled wearily as she complied. Cautiously, she took a seat on the bed beside him. She watched as he flicked open the antiseptic lid before pouring the liquid onto a cotton pad. He glanced at her wound before bringing the cotton to it, causing her breath to grow sharp as she remained still.
He did not glance up at her face as he concentrated on cleaning her wound. And she wasn't sure whether he was truly oblivious or pretending to be oblivious to the obvious tension he was bringing upon her.
"So tell me," Itachi suddenly spoke, shattering her thoughts. "Why did Hidan hurt you?"
She looked up at him, not expecting his question. "O-Oh, about that. Well, he told me he liked me, but I rejected him. . ."
"You rejected him? Why so?"
At his words, her brows scrunched up and she frowned. He clearly knew why she would reject him, so she was not sure why he would find the need to question her. A loud huff left her lips as she turned away from him, not giving him a reply.
His brows arched up at her action. "Don't avoid my question."
She crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out. "Well, I don't like Hidan," she told him, her words blunt. "You know well whom I like. Do I have to tell you over and over again, just for you to reject me over and over again? I don't want to talk to you about this anymore."
At her words, he seemed slightly taken aback but it had completely made him take back his words, and he decided not to press her on. He tore his gaze away from and instead, he focused on fiddling with the bear band-aid to peel off the sticker.
"I see," he finally spoke at last, breaking the silence. "Hidan has always been volatile with his temper, of course, he could not take a rejection," he muttered as a grimace overcame his expression. "It is to be expected. After all, Hidan is a dangerous criminal, a terrorist, and a murderer." He inhaled deeply before he glanced up at her, a look of pain flashed over his eyes. "But Kuina, I, too, am a dangerous criminal, a terrorist, and a murderer. Between Hidan and I, there is not much of a difference."
At his words, Kuina instantly snapped her gaze up at him, knowing well what he was trying to imply through his words. Her lips dropped into a frown as she shook her head. "No."
"No?"
"You're not like Hidan," she uttered, shaking her head again. "You are a good person who sacrificed your whole life for peace. . ." she trailed off, her fists clenching tighter onto the fabric of her dress. "Besides, I know that unlike Hidan, you wouldn't hurt me."
His jaw clenched, his eyes icy like a blade. "How are you certain?"
Her breath grew shaky. "I-If you ever truly wanted to hurt me, then you wouldn't be treating my wound. You wouldn't have saved me countless times. You wouldn't be so kind to me."
His eyes seemed to waver at her words, but he kept them stoic. "But, Fragrance, what if one day, I end up hurting you the way Hidan did? What if one day, I use these very hands to end you?"
Her lips quivered as she lowered her gaze from his. "Right from the very beginning, it was you who saved me. It was you who made me realise my second chance at life. So, if you want to take it back, it is yours to take."
At her words, he stiffened, completely taken aback by her answer. He went completely silent, seemingly couldn't find any words to counter her. He cast his gaze downwards, and he looked tired and almost saddened. At long last, he spoke, his voice was soft and barely audible, "You're really making it hard for me, Fragrance, why do you have to make it hard for me?"
Kuina kept her gaze down on her lap as she didn't know how to answer him. The solemn atmosphere felt terribly suffocating and she found it hard to breathe.
Itachi inhaled deeply, his hair falling onto his face, casting a shadow over his already grim expression. "Fragrance, you have seen my past, correct?" he suddenly asked, changing the topic.
She glanced up at him, not sure why he would ask the obvious. But either way, she nodded at him.
A sigh parted his lips as he brought his hand to the side of her neck, tenderly brushing her hair back behind her shoulders. "Then you must know how much I love my little brother, don't you?"
At his words, her brows furrowed, not sure what he was getting at. She nodded again.
He sighed as he brought the bandaid to the cut on her neck and carefully placed it on. "Yes, I love him a lot, so much so that I would never have thought I could hurt him the way I did," he spoke, his words heavy before he glanced up at her, meeting her gaze. "But at the very end of the day, when I was faced with the choice between love and peace, I chose the latter . . . and I think I always will."
His gaze stared deep into hers, connecting their souls in that moment. Her eyes wavered as tears began to sting them. She quickly pulled her gaze away as she blinked down her tears, her fists clenching. "I-I know," she spoke quietly, her voice cracking out of her throat. "It's okay. I understand."
He looked at her, his brows furrowed and his gaze pained, but before long, a tired and sad chuckle left his lips as he nodded slowly to himself. "I really am a mean person like you said. I made you cry again," he muttered quietly beneath his breath.
At his words, she quickly wiped her tears away with her arm. She shook her head rapidly as she tried to gulp down her sniffles.
He looked at her action, and it seemed that had made the look of distress in his eyes grow even more profuse. "You don't have to hold back your tears, Kuina," he breathed out, his words soft. "It's okay to cry when you're with me."
At his words, her lips quivered, and she shook her head, still trying to gulp down her cry. She blinked down her tears as she looked around, trying to find something to avert the topic. At last, she glanced down at her palm before she unfurled her clenched fists, realising she was still holding onto Itachi's broken necklace.
The last drop of her tears fell upon the silver chain as she turned to Itachi, holding it up to show him. "I-I'm sorry, it broke," she told him as a feeling of guilt filled her heart. He had always been wearing this necklace and it must have meant something to him. He had given it to her, yet she couldn't even take care of it well and let it break. Her lips quivered as she felt slightly afraid he would be mad at her. "Hidan broke it," she quickly added.
He blinked as he looked at it briefly, and instantly a dark gaze filled his eyes and he looked like he was about to open his mouth to curse at Hidan. But then he stopped himself. Instead, a sigh parted his lips as he recomposed himself. "I see. It is fine, don't worry about it," he spoke before he reached out for the necklace.
But before he could grab it, she instantly retracted her hands back, suddenly afraid he would take it back from her. She held it close to her chest, shaking her head.
He watched her before another sigh left his lips. He brought his hand to caress her fist softly, coercing her to pry it open and hand him over the necklace. "Tomorrow, I will go outside with Kisame to capture the four-tails. I'll take it to be fixed along the way, and once it's done, you can have it back, don't worry."
At his reassurance, she sniffled as she unfurled her fist, letting him take it from her hand. "You gave me something so important to you and I broke it. . ." she murmured quietly as she wiped her tears with her palm.
He raised her brows at her. "It wasn't you who broke it and besides this was just the last item I've ever bought in Konoha so I have always been wearing it, nothing more," he told her briefly. "It's not as important as whom I gave it to," he muttered quickly, and before Kuina could even comprehend his words, he cleared his throat. "Anyways, tomorrow I have work. Hidan will also be out of the hideout at the same time as me tomorrow," he continued on. "So, you do not have to fear that my absence would give him opportunities to hurt you."
She nodded slowly, worries clouding up her face at the thought of tomorrow. She knew Hidan was going to die and she didn't want to think about it just yet. So, she quickly shook off her thoughts as she cast her gaze downwards, her fists clenching onto the mattress. "Will you take long?"
His brows arched up slightly at her question.
She gulped. "C-Can you be quick?"
His eyes seemed to lighten at her insinuation. He opened his mouth to comment on it, but then he stopped himself before he leaned back on his arms. "I have always preferred working swiftly," he told her. "Just be good and stay at the hideout until I return, alright?"
She nodded, feeling slightly more reassured. "Okay."
*
𝐹𝑅𝐴𝐺𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐶𝐸
うちはイタチ