I'll Wait. {Itachi Uchiha x Reader}

[IV] Don't Look

There I saw something I never expected to see. I didn't know why I was so shocked about it— I had expected something like a genjutsu trap or the pain of a broken finger from him slamming the door, or at least to see him doing something normal like reading... but instead, I saw such a shocking sight. I had never liked blood— it stained the hands and the clothes, tasted like raw metal, and soiled beautiful things with tragedy. However, as I stood there with my mouth gaping, I didn't even know how to feel. On one hand, all the Akatsuki were very capable individuals and could take care of themselves well by theirselves, but on the other hand, the sight of the waterfalls of crimson red liquid and white pus oozing from Itachi Uchiha's unclothed chest, dripping down his body and onto a single twin sized bed that he sat on in the corner was such a concerning sight to behold, even in the dim lights of the equally as brilliant red sun streaming through the tiny window.

His face was still calm as ever, though it looked highly in-pain, and his body was covered with deep cuts, his cloak torn and soaked in red, the jagged rips in his body looking fragile as paper yet so deep. I don't think he noticed me at first but I certainly noticed that subtle wince of agony as he took a curved needle, jabbing it through his already bloodied and bruised flesh to make lazy stitches so he could hold his wounds together, the washcloth he was using dyed crimson with blood. After I stood there dumbfounded, he whipped his head towards me suddenly and narrowed his red, slightly swollen eyes. "Leave. I need to be alone." Those were the only words I heard. I didn't understand whether he was being serious or not, for I heard the seriousness of his voice, yet it was a ridiculous notion to even attempt to hide injuries that were so big and deep. As always, I immediately had looked away from those eyes, like I wanted to leave such a gory sight, but how was I supposed to leave him there alone? The stitches he made barely held him together, and he didn't even have bandages or anything to stop the crusted red bleeding. I slowly turned my back for a moment, nearly walking out until I sighed. What kind of person would I be to leave my own teammate with such wounds? He may be scary and dark-seeming, but I figured the importance of helping a fellow member of the organization far outweighed any fears of mine.

I then left that small, dim bedroom of his, if you could even call that mostly empty room a bedroom. To him it probably looked like I was ignoring his pain as he had told me to, but in reality I was rushing to go get some bandages from the Akatsuki base's supply room, traveling as fast as those shaking legs of mine could carry. I got everything in a kit of emergency medical tools that I could find, put them in a box, and then went back to Itachi's room, the sweat on my face and the pressure feeling like a downpour of rain in 80 degree weather, however I couldn't let Itachi's wounds become infected or bleed too much. Based on the half-hearted way he seemed to be taking care of himself, they would in no time. "What are you-" Itachi said, still sitting up on that bed with blood stains all over the once white sheets, his face looking pale and lightheaded from blood loss. "Doing what needs to be done." I shot at him with a glare, setting the tools on the table and taking his bare and bloodied muscular chest between my hands gently, putting a dark-colored towel under him and slowly lying him down so that the bleeding wouldn't stain the sheets anymore. I then proceeded to take a wet washcloth I had soaked in water while getting supplies and antibacterial spray, cleaning the sides of the wounds. The gashes were deep— down into the deep layers of skin and muscle of his chest, but luckily hadn't reached any organs. I started preparing to stitch him up properly, soaking the needle in sterile solution and using a topical numbing spray on the wounds so he couldn't feel anything while I sewed him back together. I then carefully started making him whole again, paying attention to the way I stitched, and the depth.

Eventually his wounds were sealed and I cleaned up everything, Itachi just looking calm as usual. How could someone stay so calm with such excruciating pain? It looked horrid. He looked much better than before though, less in pain as I gently sat him upright after the numbing and procedure was done. He didn't speak the whole time— I didn't even look at his face because of those eyes. However I could tell by his heartbeat that he was better than before, since it felt less rushed. I began wrapping the bandages around him and muttered, "Tell me if it's too tight." He didn't say a word and I just kept going, pinning the bandages together and finally, handing him a tall glass of water since he looked like he hadn't eaten or drank in a while. He looked quite exhausted, so I didn't know whether to leave him to himself or not. I was personally itching to get out and wash his blood off of my hands and get away from those glaring sharingan. It was so confusing because Itachi had always been rumored as one of the strongest members in the Akatsuki, at least, behind the leader Pein... I didn't know how he would manage to get himself injured like this.