I followed the brick path to the Uchiha compound. The place had been boarded up since the masacer 6 years ago. Croaching low, I sprung myself off the ground, jumping over the walls that enclosed the compound, landing swiftly on the other side. I scanned up and down the eaire walkways. The smell of blood still lingered. The streets had been cleared off all the bodies, but the dark red splotches still sanctified the grounds. I turned down the main street and walked towards my old home.
At the end of the street to the left sat what used to be my home. My eyes wandered over the massive structure, 'nothings changed'. The door was open, just as I had left it all those years ago. I walked over the threshold and wandered down the halls. My father's room door was left slightly ajar. Walking past I peaked inside. The mats were still smeared red, and my heat clenched. I slid the door open and stepped into the cold room.
Leaning down, my knees dropped heavily against the cold, hard flooring.
Reaching down, my fingers traced the edges of the massiv blood stain. My eyes wandered, like every inch of the compound, this room was still stained with the smells of blood, but I could just barely make out my father's scent. Standing, I moved back into the halway. Turning back, I caught a glimpse of my former self running her sai into the back of my father's prostrated form. My eyes quickly shut, trying to erase the image. My heart continued to constrict painfully against my ribs.
I missed my father.
I wondered back into the hall and walked to the last room at the end. This was my room. Pushing the door aside I peered into the room. Stepping inside, I could feel the temperature of the room drop. A shiver raced down my spine. The room was small but spacious. A bed sat at the far side of the room just nestled under the wide window that took over the entirety of the far wall. To the right of the bed sat a small desk. Walking over to the desk, my hand traced over the top side. There were a few reports left over on the table from when I was in the military police force. A few combat training manuals, leadership booklets, and some books on strategy building. A smile formed at the corners of my lips as I thought back to my time in the force. Before the massacre, I was considered a top-ranking ninja in the clan. I was also the youngest person to ever make captain in the Military Police Force. A major accomplishment. I can remember the day my father found out. He was ecstatic. I could almost hear him praise me for all my hard work and effort. On the other side of the desk sat a row of picture frames. The one on the far left was one of me, my father, and my mother when I was still a child. The one on the far right was one of my father and I when I had been made captain. My hand wandered over to the center frame. A smile tugged my lips into a wide grin. At the center was a picture of Itachi, Shisui, and I as kids standing at the training grounds. We had our arms draped around each other with goofy smiles on our faces.
'A time I wished I could go back to.'
Lost in my own thoughts I had forgotten I was supposed to be at the shrine. I reached for the pictures and slid each one of them out of their frames, placing them in my pocket. I turned on my heels and walked out of the room, down the hall, and out the front door.
Naka Shrine was on the other side of the Uchiha compound on the outskirts, just outside of the watchful eyes of the village. Or so the Uchiha thought.
This place brought back the worst memories. It was the place Itachi had saved and abandoned me.
My heel kicked rhythmically against the cobble stone as I walked to the entrance of the shrine. Pulling the door open, I slipped into the dark room, shutting it behind me as I walked further into the room, counting out the tatami mats.
"Under the 7th tatami mat is the clan's secret meeting place."
I lifted the 7th mat and walked down the stone steps. The room was inked in darkness. But I had been in this room many times before, and I knew it like the back of my hand. I walked to the right and left side of the stone table, I reached for the candles that always sat at the corner of the table. With a watered down fire jutsu, I lit the candles all at once.
Standing at the center of the room, I stared at the wall. The Uchiha emblem decorated the walls with vibrant colors of red and white. I remember being here after clan meetings with the other heads of the police force. I definitely didn't miss this place. My eyes wandered from the right side of the room, up to the ceiling, and down to the left side. You could almost feel the hate that consecrated this room.
Then... the soft pitter patter of footsteps ticked behind me. My head quickly snapped back, my body spinning around in a swift motion. A dark figure emerged from the other side of the room. The moment I saw the raven hair, my eyes rimmed with tears.
"Itachi."
My voice choked. My body was trembling, I didn't realize how much I had yearned to be in his presence till this moment.
"Shiori."
The sound of my name parting from his lips broke me.
Tears ran hot streaks down my cheeks, and a whimper fell from my lips. I dropped on my hands and knees, in prostration. My head fell in indignity. "I am so sorry, Ita..." My voice felt grated against my vocal cords. In an instant I could feel myself being brought up from the ground. His arms wrapped tightly around my body, molding me to him. His embrace immediately soothed me, but the tears kept flowing. My arms locked around his waist and wound up his back holding on for dear life, my face buried into his chest. His fingers ran through my hair softly, rubbing against my scalp. Soft sobs continued to fall from my parted lips. I had never really cried before, but I couldn't stop myself. Minutes passed, and finally, the cries fadded into silence. I didn't want to pull away from him. This felt like a dream, and if I pulled away, I'd wake up, and Itachi won't be there.
Unwillingly, I pulled away, but his grip on my body only tightened. With a little effort, I finally managed to pull myself from his vice grip. Raising my face to his, I was surprised at what I found. Itachi's face stained with silent tears. My hands flew to his face, whipping the tears away as we stared into each others eyes in muteness.
'He's been alone and hurting for far too long'.
My fingers moved softly against his cheeks. Looking into his eyes, I could feel my heart flutter.
A smile crossed my face as I traced ran the lines in his face. "These chaos lines are getting worse." He didn't reply, but I could feel his arms tighten. My hands slipped from his face, around his neck, and entangled in his hair. Slowly, I pulled his head down so that his forehead pressed against mine.
"I missed you." The sound of his voice lit my heart with joy.
I didn't trust myself not to choke on the words, but the whispered response came, "I missed you too."
My eyes slid shut. I wanted this moment to last forever. I could feel my heart pounding. I felt so happy and yet so sad. "Why did you leave me?"
I never had the intention of ever asking, but there it came.
"That night was never your burden to bare." I could hear the affliction in his voice. He made the most difficult decision anyone could ever be faced with... and he was just a child.
"You didn't have to protect me. You should have ended my life." I could feel a lump form in the back of my throat. His hand cupped the side of my face.
"I couldn't bring myself to take your life." His voice was soft, and his eyes regarded me with so much sorrow. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes again.
"I felt so guilty." The lump grew and the tears began to slide down my cheeks. "You don't know how guilty I felt. I hated myself for being able to live a normal life when you sacrificed yours. I've lost nothing compared to you."
My body was shaking. His arms wound me tighter to him. "Ita... Life without you has been unbearable."
"Shiori."
I couldn't respond. All I could do was nod my head as an indication that I was listening. "Look at me." I lifted my head from his chest.
"Remember the day I left? And what I said to you?"
I had to think back for a moment. Up until today, I had tried with every fiber of my being to forget that night. The scene outside the shrine replayed itself. I vaguely remembered Itachi whispering something to me, but I couldn't remember what. I shook my head, "I don't." I replied honestly after a moment of silence.
Itachi's hand tucked under my chin, gently pulling my face to his, "I love you."
A small smile crossed my face, my hand gripping his. "It's cruel to tell me you love me when you're going to leave me soon." But despite my attempt at a playful smile, his face was serious. "I meant it then, and I mean it now."
I tucked my head under his chin and wrapped my arms around his waist. I fitted myself into his chest, pressing myself deeper into him.
"I love you too."
With my ear pressed against his chest, I could hear his heartbeat. But something was wrong.
I reached up and placed my hands palms down against his back. Glowing with a whiteish green hue, my hands moved from the latissimus dorsi to the trapezius muscles in his back. I could sense the irregularities in his breathing and heartbeat. My right hand moved to the front of his chest, pressing into his right side.
'Why didn't I notice before?'
"Itachi, there's something wrong."
I could feel himself push away from me slightly. His hands pulling at both of mine clutching them. His face was emotionless. Nothing indicated he was shocked at my findings, but I could tell that he wasn't expecting the question.
"It's nothing."
"Something is wrong with your health, isn't there?"
I didn't have to ask him.
I knew.
His eyes moved from mine. My hand reached for his face, forcing him to me. "Why didn't you come to me?"
"I can handle it."
My hands yanked away from his moving back to his chest. I laid my right hand over his heart, and my left hand lay against his right side. "I can't do much for you, Ita... but I can help with this. So please let me."
Our eyes met, and his head nodded. I pushed the cloak away from his body. The surprisingly soft garment fell from his body, pooling around his feet. A soft chuckle escaped my lips, 'some things never do change'. My hands wandered over his body. He dressed the same as when he was in the village. But he was taller now, his shoulders were broader, the features on his face more sculpted, and his hair dangled just a bit lower behind his back, almost reaching his waist. I don't know what came over me. But without thought, my hands traced against his arms up his biceps around his shoulders and down his chest. I could feel a slight tremble rack over his body. My hands glid over the entirety of his chest. I could feel the sculpted muscles underneath his chest flex under my touch. I had been so overwhelmed with the emotions I had hid for years that I didn't notice. I could feel the heat rise in my face. The boy I fell in love with all those years ago wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man . My head dropped, bangs covering my tomato red face.
I felt embarrassed that I was feeling embarrassed. I gnawed on the inside of my cheeks. My fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. 'Get a hold of yourself!' I took a sharp breath, releasing his shirt and smoothing out the fabric.
I placed my hands flat against his strong chest. Summoning a steady stream of chakra to my hands, they engulfed in green and whiteish hue. With sharp precision, I narrowed the flow of chakra into the tips of my fingers. I was trying to target specific areas of his respiratory and circulatory system.
"Do you know what's wrong?"
There was no response, and I didn't know whether I wanted to press him on the issue. I sighed, pressing my fingers deep into his chest. A soft grunt escaped his lips. He immediately sucked in his bottom lip, trying to stifle the sounds of pain threatening to erupt from his throat. This procedure was a painful one. The invasion of another's chakra in the internal organs of another gave people an almost repugnant reaction to the treatment.
I closed my eyes and visualized the threads of chakra permeating through the muscles of his chest. I couldn't exactly tell what the illness was, but from the amount of damage it had inflicted on his lungs and the tissue cells of his heart, it was still in its earlier stages. I wouldn't be able to do much without an actual diagnosis. And I won't be able to get a diagnosis without a battery of tests. A blind treatment was all I could do at the moment.
My eyes wandered shamelessly over his body. I kept my gaze away from his, but I knew he was watching me watching him.
Itachi softly winced and shifted uncomfortably against my hands. I knew it hurt, but it couldn't be helped. I pulled my right hand from his chest, placing it across his face.
"What---."
"Shhhhh."
I continued the flow of chakra into my palm as I pressed it against his forehead. Itachi leaned into my touch. 'The sharingan has been doing serious damage to his eye sight too.'
My heart tightened with sadness. 'He's been destroying his body.'
"You need to take care of yourself, Ita..." My mouth became unbearably dry, and the lump returned, lodging itself in my throat, stiffling anything else I attempted to say. My hands fisted his shirt as I pressed my forehead against his chest. "Please.... I can't lose you again."
"You won't lose me." "
He had a familiar smile on his face. I knew he wasn't being truthful.