Making You Mine

Protection and Punishments

The next day, [Name] decided to secretly visit Tatsuo in the medical unit of the Uchiha clan's estate. Izuna was away on a mission for the day, but he would return in the later hours of the evening. Before he left, Izuna had forbidden [Name] to visit Tatsuo, but she eventually discovered that he was afraid of letting her go out on her own. Ever since the ordeal with Misaki's uncle, Izuna didn't want [Name] to be by herself. He ordered Konami and Umiko to keep an eye on her in her room, but [Name] had other ways to avoid them. When the two maids went out to fetch her breakfast, she summoned for a Kage Bunshin to take her place. She then gave her orders to her clone and escaped through her bedroom window.

As [Name] quietly entered the dark room, her eyes followed the faint glow of a lantern, and she found Tatsuo resting on a futon. She made her way towards him and promptly sat down beside his bed, looking at him with guilt.

"[Name]? Is that you?" he asked in a whispered tone. 

"Yes, it's me. I came here to see you, but I can't stay for long. Why is it so dark in here? Do you want me to open your window?" 

"No, the light bothers me. I prefer to rest in the dark, and it's much more cooler this way too. I can't stand the heat in here."

Tatsuo had bandages wrapped all around his face, and his left eye was covered with it too. [Name] could see the small patches of red blood staining his bandages, and she looked around for some more. 

Tatsuo caught her by her arm and murmured, "Don't trouble yourself with my wounds. Your company alone is enough to make me happy."

[Name] sighed and mumbled a "fine" as she sat back down and looked at him.

"Do you want anything to drink? I brought some herbal tea for you, it should help you with your headaches."

"No, I'm fine. I will drink the tea later, but for now, I would like to rest. I've been told that I am blind in my left eye now, and I'm still letting that information sink into my brain, even though I have a mild concussion." he said with a small chuckle.

[Name] reached out for his hand and held it. "Tatsuo-kun, I am deeply sorry for everything. Because of me, you got hurt, and I-"

"Did you really just come here to apologize to me, [Name]? If you did, I don't want to hear it. You have nothing to apologize for." he interrupted as he looked into her sorrow-filled eyes.

"But you got hurt, and I feel awful. I should have been the one who got hit with the sake bottle, not you. You were innocent."

"No matter what you say, it's not what you think it is. I jumped in front of you on my own will, and there is nothing you can say to argue with me about it. So please, stop feeling guilty about it. All I wanted to do was to protect you."

"Tatsuo-kun, last night, there was a meeting held to decide a punishment for Misaki's crime. In the end, through my suggestion, she was sentenced to prison for ten years, and you will receive one of her eyes!" she cried.

[Name] fought hard to prevent her tears from slipping, but Tatsuo could see that she was about to burst at any time. He sighed and inhaled a breath of air.

"[Name], I do not want one of Misaki's eyes. If you can, please change her charges as soon as possible, before they prepare me for the surgery."

"What? Why don't you want it? Tatsuo-kun, you deserve one of her eyes after you lost your left one! You won't be able to use your Sharingan anymore, why don't you take hers?"

"I refuse to take it. I lost my eye on my own will in order to protect you. I can still use my right eye's Sharingan, so I am not completely disabled." he responded calmly.