As quickly as he could, Naruto thanked everyone profusely before taking his leave, they deserved far more than that but he was currently pushed for time. He couldn't bring himself to look in Sasuke's direction though, the guilt was too much. Here he was leaving for the raven brother all because the idiotic man couldn't bring himself to inform his own family of his illness. Because of Itachi's cowardice he was a mere sliver away from revealing himself to the raven right then and there but quickly came to his senses when he realised what he was on the verge of doing. Yep, tonight was going to be a long night.
Sasuke merely watched with a frown as the fox disappeared from sight. Sure he could pull just about anyone, but for some reason he just didn't feel like it. He was enjoying the universal pull that made the fox and him gravitate towards each other and if he was being honest, he was looking forward to the conversation they were well on their way to having. With the man gone he barely felt like being there anymore and that was saying something because Jinchu was still one of his favourite bands. However, with the alluring vocalist disappearance it just didn't hold the same enticement anymore.
The blond's driver had spent half an hour driving around making sure they weren't being followed before feeling comfortable enough to drop the fox off at his palace. Naruto spent the entirety of the ride trying to figure out if he should change or not. In the end he changed out of his Kurama persona and donned his casual Naruto attire. Wearing his beanie was second nature, but he couldn't help but feel like a giant tool bringing his sunglasses to wear at night all so he could hide his sapphire orbs. But it was something that couldn't be helped. For comedic purposes he found himself listening to Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart on his seemingly agonisingly slow drive to the Uchiha manor.
Before arriving he finally slid on his sunglasses, his initial feeling was right, he felt like a giant tool wearing sunglasses at night. It was bizarre when he finally arrived, it felt like no time had passed as he approached the security gate where he was greeted by Tenzo. The man still had his owlish eyes, the only proof that time had passed was the long deepened wrinkles residing in his clearly aged face.
"You are?" The elder man questioned the concealed blond as he exited his booth.
"Kurama," Naruto informed the man, hoping that was the name Itachi had given.
"Ah, yes Mr. Uchiha is expecting you," Tenzo smiled politely as he retreated back into his booth and pressed the button beckoning the gate open.
"Thanks," Naruto gave the man a curt not trying not to wallow in the sentimentality of seeing the guard again.
The property was even more beautiful than he remembered, though gardens teeming with colourful flowers are far more eye-catching than the mostly barren flower beds had been the last time he was there.
Naruto didn't allow himself time to worry, he parked and got out, not bothering to lock his car. When he approached the large intricate door he rang the doorbell that chimed to the same melody as an old grandfather clock. When the door slowly drew open he was greeted immediately by the small maid he remembered as Lana.
Lana craned her neck to look up and greet the gargantuan man. "Ah, you must be Kurama. Come in, Mr. Uchiha is expecting you." The woman stepped to the side allowing Naruto to enter.
"Yeah, thanks," Naruto responded curtly, the small woman's gaze held a certain curiosity he tried not to think about. He wasn't worried about a staff member recognising him and informing the press, no, he was worried about it being re-laid to Sasuke.
Lana closed the door behind him. "Of course," she gave a courteous bow. "If you'll follow me I'll show you to his room."
Naruto followed behind the female as she led him up the stair and through the winding hallways, he did his best to ignore passing the room he's spent countless nights in. Now wasn't the time for that.
Arriving at a door Naruto had never approached before, Lana knocked and was greeted immediately by a soft baritone voice. "Come in."
Lana slowly opened the door. 'Mr. Uchiha, your guest is here."
Itachi was sitting in his favourite chair with his face downcast, he was dressed down in his night time attire. "Thank you Lana, you may leave."
"Of course. Let me know if you need anything," she bowed and left, leaving the two alone.
"Are you going to stand there or are you going to come in?" Itachi chuckled pitifully. He hadn't heard any footsteps signalling the blond had actually entered his room.
"I was just debating on whether to tell you your shirts backwards or not," Naruto retorted in an almost playfully tone as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Shit is it really?" Itachi mumbled as he instinctively looked down at himself even though he couldn't actually see.
Naruto snorted. "Yeah."
Itachi wasn't used to being vulnerable so he smiled trying to lighten the mood. "Guess I'll have to work on that."
Naruto placed his glasses on the adjacent desk then rolled the office chair over to sit in front of the sightless man. "You're an idiot, you know that?"
Itachi cocked an eyebrow teasingly. "Is that any way to talk to a dying blind man?"
Naruto was furious at the man's blatant disregard for both his loved ones and himself. "How can you joke when your family's going to wake up one day and find out not only you died, but you chose to keep them in the dark?"
"Naruto, I'm g-"
Naruto held his hand up reflexively to cut him off even though the man couldn't see him. "Don't you dare try and tell me you were going to," he almost growled, causing Itachi to involuntarily shiver. "You're blind, don't you think it's beyond hiding at this point?"
Itachi leaned over, resting his face in his hands with a sigh. "How am I supposed to tell them? How do you tell your loved one you probably won't see the new year? I don't want the last memories they have of me to be filled with worry." Itachi dragged his hands over his face. "I don't want them to treat me any differently."
A frown pulled at Naruto's lips. "I can't tell you how to tell them, but I can tell you that you'll be better off with their support. Especially now that you can't see. They're your family Itachi, if anyone knows how you want to be treated it's them."
Itachi lifted his head, his jaw clenched. "I don't want to rely on their help."
"But my help's fine?" Naruto's voice was incredulous.
Itachi shrugged unconvincingly.
Naruto sighed. "There's nothing wrong with help."
"I shouldn't need help! This wasn't supposed to be my life!" Itachi bit out in frustration.
"And yet it is your life." Naruto kept his voice calm and even.
Itachi's blind eyes squint furiously in the direction of the blond. "You're talking like I can change the fact that I'm dying. News flash Naruto, I can't!"
"Well you certainly didn't try to fight it." Naruto responded dryly, he'd allow the man to use him as an emotional punching bag, it was the least he cold do.
"I told you that my chance was next to nil," Itachi's blind gaze never wavered. "Besides, it's a little late now."
Naruto tilted his head and pushed again, he needed Itachi to start being honest with himself. "So you're fine with giving up?"
"You're talking like I have a choice," Itachi sighed forlornly.
"We always have a choice." Naruto's voice held something almost believable.
Itachi turned his head away and mumbled bitterly. "Well I don't."
"So you want to die?" Naruto boldly asked.
Itachi snapped his head back. "You think I want to die? What the fuck Naruto?"
Naruto shrugged, though Itachi couldn't see it. "You certainly don't seem to mind leaving everyone behind without a word."
"You think I want my father to mourn? My mother to cry? My brother hating me? You think I want Kisame to be left alone?" Itachi's voice began to quake somewhere between wrath and sorrow. "I don't have a choice! I don't want to die but I'm powerless and I can't fucking stand it! There, happy now?"
"Knowing you, this is probably the first time you've admitted these things to yourself aloud so yes, your admittance makes me happy," Naruto responded truthfully. Itachi Independently making his decision then keeping his prognosis to himself couldn't have done the man any good and Naruto was proud of him for finally voicing how he truly felt. Even if it was just a sliver of it, it had to feel liberating.
"Too bad admittance won't give me my life back. I'm not ready to die." Itachi hung his head. He didn't even know how much time he had left and now he couldn't even see.
That was Naruto's last straw, the last piece clicked as he finally made up his mind. "And if you could get your life back, would you fight?"
An anguished grunt escaped the older males throat. "Why are you doing this to me? What do you want me to say?"
"Just answer the question, would you fight if you knew you could live?" Naruto's voice was firm and authoritative as his eyes bled crimson.
"Of course!" Itachi bit out as his blind eye hopelessly searched for the blond.
Naruto leaned forward and whispered. "Then show me your fight."
"What are you-" before Itachi could finish he felt a hand on the back of his head and the blond's warm forehead touched his own, his consciousness immediately slipped away from him.
Naruto let out a heavy sigh as the man fell limp, he couldn't believe he was about to do this. He only hoped that Itachi would truly fight. It wasn't going to be easy on the man, stripping away the atoms that make every molecule in his body will be anything but fun, during the process he'll be in so much agony he'll even wish he had died instead. However, the prize of his life should make it all worth it.
Naruto was taking a huge gamble, not only could Itachi die, but Naruto will mirror the same exact pain Itachi will be going through as his body switches his healthy cells for Itachi's mutated ones. Naruto's body is capable of healing any ailment and would be completely healthy in only a few days' time. But until his body can heal the diseased cells, Naruto will be just as blind and sick as Itachi is currently. If Itachi survives, Naruto will wake up tomorrow morning feeling the full effects of a dying man.
As Naruto lifted the slack man from his chair he noticed his phone which reminded him to erase any proof they had spoken. He was going to have to mess around with his memories so he forgot he'd lost his sight. It was something Naruto wasn't comfortable with but it had to be done.
Placing the tall man on his bed, Naruto couldn't help snickering to himself. His mind was imagining Itachi's next doctor's appointment, he bet Dr. Yakushi never experienced anything like this before. The private snicker quickly turned to a grimace, he was getting a head of himself. Afterall, Itachi could very well die tonight and Naruto would never get to hear the stoic man tell him about his miraculous recovery. He'd also be taking a son, brother and lover away from a family prematurely. No pressure.
'As long as he fights and I don't fuck it up he'll be fine," Naruto tried to reassure himself as he deleted proof of tonight's call.
"Best not fuck it up then, yeah?" Kurama's voice held no trace of humour. It was a testament to how serious this was.
"Sorry we didn't get to trip him out with our fox form," Naruto teased, trying to lighten the mood.
"Like I said, don't fuck it up. At least there will be future fun then," Kurama quipped back. "Anyways, enough of that. You remember how this goes?"
"Yeah. Hey...you think a dry erase marker will work for the circulatory seals?" Naruto asks as he picks up a bright green marker from Itachi's white board. He could have used something else, but it seemed like the simplest thing to wash off after he was done. He'd only have a few hours after healing Itachi before the blindness begins to set in so he'd rather save his extra time tying up loose ends and getting home than trying to wash off permanent marker of pen ink.
Kurama shrugged, he didn't really know what a dry erase marker was. "As long as it's dark enough to show up on his skin it shouldn't be a problem."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "With how fair he is, I don't think I need to worry about increasing opacity."
Kurama grunts in response and Naruto sets out removing the marker's lid with a satisfying 'pop'. Pushing their energy through the marker he began drawing an array of intricate sigils on Itachi's forehead then moved to the man's chest. Naruto would have felt extremely uncomfortable taking off the stoics man backwards shirt had it not been a life or death situation. Directly over Itachi's sternum he began drawing a larger sigil that trailed all the way down to his naval, it was then encircled with ancient characters. Once that was done he drew identical sigils on the palms of both of Itachi's hands and the soles of both of his feet.
Capping the marker with an equally satisfying 'click', Naruto puts it back on the white boards ledge. Had it been any other situation, Naruto would've been tempted to draw either a penis or an extremely impressive curly moustache...maybe even a unibrow. These juvenile thoughts were the only thing keeping him calm right now. If he can make up ridiculous ideas in his mind he can forget about his pseudo brother potentially dying tonight at his own hands.
"Stop dawdling, next step," Kurama scolded. It was the easiest way to move the blond along.
Naruto sighed heavily before finally closing his eyes. He forced energy to circulate through his body at an alarming rate, similar sigils began to glow like embers in his own skin as his eyes opened they took on a different colour and pupil shape. The crimson eyes turned a dazzling gold as his pupil's shifted between both fox and human creating an odd plus shape. Out of all the Jinchūriki, he was the only one who could successfully achieve this state.
Thrumming with enough energy to obliterate the manor, Naruto leans over and gently takes Itachi's head between his palms and connects their foreheads. With a pulse of energy sent surging through the sigils connected by their forehead, the circulatory seal begins its transfer causing Itachi's eyes to fly open. Even with the man's blind eyes, Naruto's golden orbs lock them together as Itachi's battle of life and death begins.
—------------------------
Pain, there was so much pain, Itachi had never felt so much agony in his life. He screamed but nothing came out, he writhed but his body wouldn't move. If this was his existence, he'd gladly welcome death.
"Fight."
"Who's there?!" He tried to demand but the treacherous pain wouldn't allow it. He felt like he could feel every individual cell explode in a blizzard of magma over and over without pause. He couldn't do this, this was too much.
"Fight."
"What do you want?" Itachi still couldn't get words to exit his mouth, or even convince his larynx to cooperate for that matter. Was he even breathing? Was the pain too much for his heart to handle? His mind screamed in agony as he begged whoever was there to make it stop.
"Fight."
"Why won't you help me?!" He desperately wanted to scream. This was worse than anyone could endure, nobody could deal with this kind of torture. If he was brave enough to open his eyes he's sure he'd see himself skinned alive being blown torched as his appendages dangling by meat hooks nearby. It was too much.
"Fight."
"Please help me." He begged in his mind, pride thrown out the window. His skull was suddenly feeling like it's being rolled over and crushed by a semi. How could his body take this much? He couldn't, he was at his limit, he'd open his arms for death if he could move his arms at all.
"Fight."
"Why?" He whimpered. What was the point if it meant agony? His suffering made him oblivious to the fact that he actually understood the words the person spoke. Even when he realised he understood, he felt like he was beyond caring, he was done. He had no more...
"FIGHT DAMNIT!" The voice forcefully bellowed. Itachi felt he had to obey.
His eyes snap open as he takes a huge painful breath. Was he not breathing that whole time?
"Wait, where's the pain?" His agony had been replaced with the warmest, calmest feeling he'd ever experienced in his life. As his vision registered the vast emptiness his, eyes began to focus on a pair of large glowing, golden orbs floating in the distance. As his vision began to fully restore itself he could see that the glowing globes resembled an odd pair of eyes. They even flickered as if they were blinking.
Gold bled to crimson then crimson flickered to cobalt. "You did well, Itachi. Now rest."
"Wait wh-'' Itachi's world once again faded to black.
—------------------------------
Naruto fell backwards gasping for air. He may have power beyond comprehension, but the price for it is high. His whole body felt like he went for a casual swim inside an active volcano. It hurt him to breathe, it hurt him to think, just existing hurt him.
"I know you hurting but we need to get him cleaned and get out of here." Kurama didn't know how long it would take before Naruto would be combating not only the effects of the cellular transfer, but the beginnings of the pale apes' illness. Theoretically, they should still have a couple hours but it was best they got out of there while the blond could still drive just in case.
"Right, right," Naruto rapidly panted as he tried to pull in a half sufficient breath of air. The ember sigils that were crated in his skin to complete the seal faded away leaving his skin in it's previously tattooed state. His whole body trembled, if he never did that again it would still be too soon.
Collecting himself, he gingerly raising himself to his feet making his way to Itachi's ensuite. Luckily for him the man is impeccably organised and he didn't have to waste time guessing where the man keeps his washcloths. After sufficiently wetting and ringing the cloth he staggers his way back on shaky legs to the unconscious man. Naruto gently wiped away all traces of bright green dry erase marker before placing Itachi's shirt back on. He was courteous enough to put it back on the correct way before tossing the cloth in the hamper inside the stoic man's washroom.
With one last look around Naruto grabs his discarded sunglasses then places them back on before exiting the room. Now he just had to make it home while he could still see. As he made his way through the manor his legs shook making his knees nearly buckle as he descended the staircase. Just a little farther he mentally chanted to himself over and over.
He forbade himself from thinking about what he'd just accomplished until he arrived safely at home. As he finally slid into the driver seat and started his car he glanced at his abandoned phone noticing a few missed calls from Jiraiya which he managed to return as he drove out the manors gate, giving Tenzo a curt nod in parting.
"Are you alright?" The amphibious enthusiast all but shouted.
"Yeah, you guys home yet?" Naruto's voice came out calm.
"No, the shindig is still going on." Jiraiya answered dryly.
"Shit, really?" He had been so out of it he hadn't initially noticed the background noise on Jiraiya's end.
"Yeah, but enough of that," he could hear the background noise get quieter, he assumed Jiraiya was walking away from the party. "What the hell did you do?" He bit out, getting right to the point.
"Ah, I'm guessing they felt it?" Naruto chuckled awkwardly.
"You guess? Of course they felt it, I felt it and I'm not even one of you!" Worry and frustration evident in the man's voice.
"Listen, you don't need to worry everything's fine. I'm driving home right now but I'll explain everything when you guys get back," Naruto's voice left no room for argument.
Jiraiya reluctantly agreed with an irritated grumble. "Fine."
Hanging up, Naruto let out a heavy sigh as he continued his drive home. When he arrived he changed and threw himself into bed, allowing what he'd accomplished to finally set in. Itachi was going to live because of him, nothing could bring the blond down after accomplishing that feat.
Kurama's proud voice was the last thing Naruto remembered hearing. "Naruto, you did well."
Naruto must have fallen asleep after the foxes words because he was woken up by the jostling of his fellow Jinchūriki. Opening his eyes he was faced with a vast darkness and a permeating pain that radiated through his entire back and chest. 'Well fuck me.'
"Idiot!" Jiraiya grumbled a little too loudly.
"Hey, you wanna keep it down?" Naruto whispered back in a tone that indicated pain as he rubbed his temples. Apparently he had failed to notice the piercing pain shooting through his skull because he was too focused on his lack of sight and heaving painful breaths of air.
'Seriously, how did Itachi keep this to himself?' Naruto furiously wondered. Evidently it wasn't just Itachi's brain, his lungs were also fucked it would appear. Every breath of air felt like Naruto was drowning in a vat of scolding oil.
It took everything in him to fight back the urge to violently cough. The thought of the pain that would radiate through him from the jostle made him internally shudder. Normally he could block his pain receptors should he choose, but after switching his cells out for Itachi's, he's out of luck until his body heals the damage. He couldn't help but scowl at Kurama, using their power for this was anything but fun. The training he went through for cellular transfers couldn't hold a light to the real effects. He felt like a moron, he should have known real disease would be worse than artificially controlled ones.
After briefly explaining everything and then being reprimanded by his fellow brethren for doing something of that magnitude all on his own they finally agreed to leave him alone to rest. Sleep was the only comfort he sought. The next few days would be agony but the pain he would suffer was well worth it if it meant giving Itachi his life back.
—----------------------------
The next morning Itachi woke up feeling oddly good. What was more alarming than that was that his vision had improved, he couldn't remember the last time he could make out the other side of his room even with the aid of glasses. He should be ecstatic but it only worried him. With his condition nothing this drastic could be a good sign.
It was a Sunday and he knew his doctor didn't see patients today but he couldn't wait for his next appointment, this was urgent. With one call and explaining his situation, Dr. Yakushi seemed just as eager to see him regardless of the day of the week. It was still early in the morning and both seemed anxious so they agreed to meet at the doctor's office in an hour.
When Itachi finally got up from his bed to get ready he found that his body didn't hurt at all, in fact he felt energised for the first time in months. He took deep steady breaths expecting to be thrown into a coughing fit but it never came. There was no rumbling in his chest or gasping for air, just clear concise breaths. Once again, what should have had him elated had him furrowing his brow in concern.
After his shower he took in his appearance in the mirror and found his tired eye no longer appeared sunken in, if he were being honest he felt like he was going crazy. It should be impossible for such a drastic change to happen overnight. It ended up being just another thing to motivate him to hurry along so he could have Kotetsu drive him to Dr. Yakushi's office. He may be able to see right now but he wasn't going to gamble on his vision remaining flawless enough to drive himself.
With Kotetsu being used to driving the man to his appointments he didn't mention anything when he was beckoned on a Sunday morning. When Itachi first found out about his illness he made the staff all sign NDA's to ensure their silence. It was imperative that no one found out.
Dr. Yakushi's office was located inside the hospital, which made it quicker for running tests and scans for his patients. In his field it made it easier on both his patients and himself to be at the heart of everything.
When Itachi first showed up he changed into a thin paper gown and allowed his doctor to run through all the basics. Vitals were checked, a nurse drew blood and then finally he was rolled away for a scan. The scans always made Itachi feel nervous. There was just something about being strapped down and pushed into a tiny tube while a loud machine rotated around him that left the man feeling anxious. His proud Uchiha genes were too proud to admit it though.
Usually Dr. Yakushi would make small talk with him to keep his mind occupied but today it was dead silent. Itachi's usual anxiousness reached a whole new point and he was almost willing to admit to himself that he was terrified.
"Alright Mr. Uchiha, we're done. Gladys will wheel you back to your room where you can change and we'll meet in my office for a discussion. Sound good?" The doctor's voice sounded off but Itachi chalked it up to his imagination.
"That's fine." Itachi managed to keep his voice flat. He refused to show weakness.
Just as the doctor said, the stout nurse named Gladys wheeled him back to his room where he changed before making his way back to his doctor's office. He didn't know if he was ready to hear what was going to be said. He needed more time, he wasn't ready to die yet.
Knocking on the door his doctor greets him with an unreadable voice. "Come in."
Itachi entered without a word and took a seat on the opposite side of the doctor's desk. It felt like the two sat in silence sizing each other up for ages until Itachi finally spoke, he didn't want to waste anymore time. "Just tell me already."
With a deep breath, Dr. Yakushi leaned over his desk, folding his hands in front of him. "I don't know how, but your scans are all clean. Your tumours have vanished."
Itachi leaned back in his seat, crossed his legs and pursed his lips. Surely he had reached a new stage in his illness if he was hallucinating his doctor telling him he was somehow completely healthy now. Maybe he was already dead?
"You're not real are you?" Itachi finally asked, though if this was his deteriorating mind he didn't know if he could really trust the answer he'd receive. "This is all in my mind isn't it?"
The doctor laughed. "I can assure you Mr. Uchiha, that I'm real and this is all real."
Itachi squinted his eyes sizing up the doctor. "It can't be, it doesn't make any sense."
"You're right, it doesn't, but I'm telling you the truth. I ran the scans three times and your blood work all came back fine. I don't know how, but you're not dying. In fact, you're healthier than ever." The doctor couldn't keep the smile off his face. He'd heard of things like this happening before but always chalked them up to false hopes of dying patients and emotionally worn out doctor's. There were no words to describe how the doctor felt to deliver such miraculous news to his patient.
Itachi pinched himself. 'Ouch.'
Itachi's face wavered as the news began to set in. "But...how?"
The doctor shook his head fondly. "I can't give you answers. But I can promise you that this isn't a lie." Dr. Yakushi leaned back in his seat and brought his folded hands into his lap. "I still want to see you regularly to keep an eye on you but other than that I'm giving you a clean bill of health."
Itachi's face drew up inquisitively as his mind calculated everything. "So I-I'm really not dying?"
The doctor shook his head one final time. "No, you're not dying."
The ride home was a giant blur to the stoic man. It was a lot for him to digest. He wasn't going to leave anybody behind, nobody was going to hate him for being a coward. Itachi was getting a second chance he should never have received but he'd be damned if he'd waste it.
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