Your Lies | Itachi Uchiha x Reader

Chapter 36

Dear Itachi,

I sit atop a cliff above a glistening stream, my feet dangling in the cool morning air as I reflect on our memories. Our love... your touch... your voice... I miss it all. I miss every piece of you. The moon's reflection in the stream has nothing on the stillness of your scarlet eyes. I miss the softness of your kisses, the way they spoke more than your words ever could.

Why did you leave me behind? Why did you let me fall so deeply if you knew it would end like this? Was I ever truly important to you? I ask myself these questions every day, knowing the answers will never come.

As I write this, my hands rest on my growing stomach. The changes in my body are strange, at times overwhelming, but I'm grateful for them—grateful for the piece of you still with me. Our child. A constant reminder of what we shared... of the love we made.

"We'll be together forever. I won't ever leave you. I'll never let you go." Those were your promises—beautiful lies wrapped in velvet. I wanted so badly to believe them. Maybe if we had faced our demons instead of running... maybe you would still be here.

Please, Itachi—watch over me and our child from wherever you are.

I read the letter aloud, sitting on the cliff where I first wrote it. The breeze kissed my cheeks, bringing with it the earthy scent of the nearby stream. Mist rose from the water's surface below, curling into the early morning sky. I came here every month—it was the closest I could be to where he had last been, near the old Uchiha hideout. A sob welled up in my chest as I traced the ink on the page with trembling fingers. "Itachi..." I whispered, the name cracking from my lips.

I curled my hand protectively over my belly, warmth radiating from within. "What will I tell our child...?"

"I wouldn't know..." came a voice, soft as silk, behind me.

I froze, heart hammering. A hand, familiar in weight and heat, settled on my shoulder. I turned, eyes wide—and there he was. Itachi. Changed, but undeniably him. His sclera were darkened, and faint cracks like delicate porcelain traced his skin, but it was him. He wore a deep crimson robe, catching the faintest shimmer of moonlight.

"I-Itachi?!" My voice broke. "This... this has to be a genjutsu."

"No," he said gently. "It's me."

Tears blurred my vision as I surged into his arms. "You don't know how much I've missed you!"

He held me tightly, his scent—earthy and rain-soaked—flooding my senses. "You smell like love-in-a-mist flowers," I said against his chest, the words catching between sobs.

"That's because they remind me of you," he replied softly.

"But... are you dead?"

"Yes. I was reanimated... Kabuto brought me back. There's a war happening—the Fourth Great Ninja War. Are you not part of it?"

I shook my head, resting a hand over my bump. "Clearly not."

He blinked, then flushed. "So... whose child is it?" he asked, glancing away.

I let out a watery laugh. "Yours, obviously."

His face softened with a joy I hadn't seen before.

"That reminds me..."

"Hmm?"

"How dare you go off and die like that?!" My hand slapped his cheek—firm, but full of love. "How could you leave me? I was shattered! Do you even know how many nights I—"

He chuckled, rubbing the spot I struck. "Still so fiery..."

"You thought I'd be fine without you? I cry every day, Itachi!"

He pulled me back into his arms. "I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you."

"You can't—you're dead..."

"But I can still try. You asked me to watch over our child—I will. Every day, I'll be praying for you both."

He leaned in, brushing his lips over mine with featherlight grace. I kissed him back, pouring what felt like years of longing into it.

"I miss your hands," I whispered. "Your fingertips, your warmth."

"I miss you more," he said, voice hoarse. "Maybe someday... when we're together again."

His eyes flicked down to my body, then back to me.

"Say it," I said.

"Not in front of the baby," he murmured, covering his face with mock shyness.

A laugh bubbled out of me, breaking through the tears.

We sat side by side, fingers interlocked, his other arm warm around my back. The wind played gently with my hair. The stars blinked above, reflected in the water below. For a moment, we were whole.

"You have to go, don't you?"

He nodded, face tightening. "I have to stop Kabuto."

Still, he lingered. His hand touched my cheek, then drifted down to caress my belly. "I'm sorry I left you."

"I forgive you," I whispered.

He stood, then bent again to press a final kiss to my cheek. "I love you. And I love our baby. I'll be watching over you both... waiting."

"I'll be there someday," I said.

With one last look, he stepped to the cliff's edge, the shadows beginning to swallow him. "I love you," he said one final time.

"I love you too..."

And then he was gone, a ghost in the forest.

I pressed both hands over my chest, closing my eyes to savor the last traces of his warmth.

The memory of his touch stayed.

Always.