Your Lies | Itachi Uchiha x Reader

Chapter 35

POV — Y/n:

I stirred beneath rough, unfamiliar blankets, my body aching in strange places. My eyes cracked open to a dark ceiling veined with damp, crumbling stone. A draft rolled over me, cold and wet, tinged with the musty scent of earth and metal. I sat up with a jolt, pain shooting through my side.

"Where the hell am I?!" I shouted.

"A cave," came a voice from the shadows.

My heart stuttered. I scrambled to my feet, nearly toppling over as I backed away. The voice was familiar, but not safe—not even close. I fumbled at my pockets, hands shaking, patting every seam and fold for a weapon.

"Huh?!" I gasped. Empty. I searched harder, frantic. Where—where were my kunai?

"There's no reason to search," the masked man said coolly, stepping into view. Tobi. His orange mask gleamed faintly in the low light. "I've already confiscated them."

I didn't hesitate. I launched myself at him, fists clenched. If I couldn't defend myself with weapons, I'd use my hands. It was fight or die now.

But I didn't get far.

A white-hot pain burst through my ankle as it twisted beneath me. I fell with a heavy thud, the wind knocked from my lungs. I groaned, pushing myself up from the cold stone floor. Tobi hadn't moved an inch. He stood watching me, patient, unreadable.

Was he mocking me? Looking down on me?

I gritted my teeth and rose again, forcing my weight onto my injured ankle. It screamed in protest, sending hot pulses of pain up my leg. I hissed through my teeth, trying not to show how much it hurt. I dragged my foot forward anyway.

"Stop walking," he said. "There's no use."

I shook my head, hair sticking to my damp face. "No! Not after you let him die!"

I staggered toward him, throwing every ounce of grief and fury I had into my fists. But my punches were weak. Clumsy. Nothing landed. He pushed me back with one simple motion, and I hit the ground again, my hands scraped and shaking.

"You're making a fool of yourself," he said coldly. "I suggest you stop acting idiotic and listen to what I have to say."

"There's no way in hell I'm listening to you!" I spat, fury roaring in my chest. As he stepped closer, I lashed out with a kick, but he stepped back.

"It's about Itachi—"

"You have no right to say his name!" I screamed, voice cracking. "And I don't care what you have to say!"

"Please, listen to Tobi for a second," a familiar voice interrupted.

I turned sharply as Kisame stepped into the cave, his usual grin nowhere to be found. He looked tired—somber.

"K-Kisame?" My voice trembled. I brushed wet strands of hair out of my face, lips quivering as the weight of everything crashed down. "Itachi... he's..."

"I already know," he said softly, eyes downcast. "Tobi has something to tell you."

"I don't want to hear it," I snapped. "Because of that man—" I pointed, hand shaking, "I couldn't save him. I was right there, and he stopped me. He did this."

"Itachi wanted to die," Tobi said, stepping forward again. "He wanted Sasuke to win. He made that choice."

"I don't care!" I screamed, slapping his hand away when he reached for me. "I didn't want him to die!"

A switch flipped inside me. I lunged at him again, but this time I twisted his wrist as hard as I could, my nails digging deep into his skin. I saw blood—thin and dark, spilling from a vein beneath his translucent flesh. It shouldn't have satisfied me, but it did. I held his stare, digging deeper.