A Killer's Kiss (An Itachi Uchiha Love Story)

Chapter 35 - Hospital

After a couple of hours of healing the brothers, they were finally ready to be moved to the hospital. The problem was getting them to the hospital without arousing suspicion from the villagers. I used my power to create a protective metal box around the pair. Then I lifted them off the ground, ready to transport them.

Wait, my power said. This should help.

I felt the energy of my power flow through my body. I relaxed, letting my power take control. The metal box around the pair started turning invisible. I watched in amazement as it disappeared out of sight.

That's amazing! I exclaimed in my mind. How did you do that?

I just changed the properties a little so the light is refracted off the surface, efficiently making it invisible to the naked eye. It's not much different than changing the appearance like you did with your clone earlier.

So now with a way to discreetly take the brothers to the hospital, the pink haired girl lead the way back to the village. I carefully carried the pair with my power with no one else the wiser. As we made our way there, I glanced over at the healer. She had a conflicted expression on her face. I knew she didn't want to help me. But she didn't say anything. She remained focused on the path to the hospital.

"Hey," I said to get her attention. "I never got your name. I wanted to thank you properly for healing them."

She didn't say anything at first. Finally she took a deep breath and said, "My name is Sakura, but don't thank me just yet. We haven't made it back to the hospital just yet."

The rest of our walk continued in silence. No one paid us any attention as we made our way through the village. Once at the hospital though, I had to put down the disguise. We went to an alley off to the side of the building. I set the guys down and removed their metal shield. Sakura picked up Sasuke and leaned his unconscious body against hers, being careful not to cause any more damage. I followed her lead and did the same with Itachi's body.

We made our way into the hospital, and Sakura started ordering staff around to get two rooms ready for her. Clearly, she had a lot of authority here because they jumped to get her what she needed without question. Within a few minutes the guys were in their own rooms, unconsciously waiting to be seen by a doctor. Sakura directed me to wait in the waiting room until the pair got checked out. I asked to stay in Itachi's room, but she assured me everything would be fine, and I would only get in the way. With a heavy heart I reluctantly agreed to wait in the waiting room.

It was agonizingly boring. I tapped my foot impatiently as I hopelessly waited for someone to tell me what was going on. I felt powerless. Their lives were in Sakura's hands, and there was nothing I could do but wait. I tried to take a nap, but my heart and mind were racing too fast to allow that to happen. So I just waited.

Finally Sakura came out into the waiting room. Her eyes fell on me, and she walked over. Before I could say anything, she held a hand up to silence my incoming barrage of questions.

"Sasuke is fine and awake. Itachi... is another story," she said.

"What does that mean? You couldn't help him?" I interrupted.

"Let me finish," she said. "Something is very wrong with him. From what we can see, he's been sick for a long time now. There is a lot of internal damage because of that. Lady Tsunade is still working on him as we speak."

Sick? I thought back over the last three years. I didn't remember anything being wrong with him. Had he known he was sick? And if so, why did he hide it from me?

"Sakura, will he be okay?" I asked.

She rested a comforting hand on my shoulder. "He's in the best hands there are. You just need to be patient. I'll let you know if anything changes."

I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but my heart still rested in the pit of my stomach. My feeling of powerlessness returned as I realized I would be back to just waiting. I needed to focus on something else. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

"You said Sasuke was awake, right? Can I go see him?" I asked. She hesitated, giving me a suspicious look. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt him. I just want to talk."

She sighed. "Well, I suppose even if I said no, you would do it anyway. So come on. I'll show you his room."

"Thanks," I said as I followed her out of the waiting room.

His room was easy to find. It was the only one surrounded by guards. They moved aside when they saw Sakura and I coming. She opened the door for me and waved me inside. "I've got to go check on Tsunade. I'll be back later."

I stepped inside, and she shut the door behind me after giving Sasuke a lingering stare. He was sitting upright in his hospital bed. His hands and feet were strapped down to the sides of his bed. I didn't know anything about him, but clearly, the village saw him as a danger if they needed to tie him down and guard his room. What had I gotten myself involved in?

"Hello Sasuke," I greeted.

He narrowed his eyes. If looks could kill, I would have been a pile of ash on the floor. Hatred radiated from his body. He didn't return my greeting. He wasn't going to talk to me, at least not in this state. I clasped my hands and bowed my head slowly. "I'm sorry," I apologized, trying to defuse some of the tension in the air.

"Why? Why did you protect him?" he asked, his voice seething with underlying rage.

"Why?" I repeated, raising my head. "Because I love him."

As the one escaped my lips, I realized what I was saying. This was the first time I ever said I loved him out loud. It felt like a weight was being lifted off my shoulders. I had known for a long time that was how I felt about him, but it felt different to finally admit it.

"Tsk, do you have any idea what he's done?" Sasuke asked, the disgust clearly evident in his voice.

"Well, I don't know the specifics, but I know he murdered his clan."

"And that doesn't bother you in the least?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not really. I've murdered plenty of people myself, including my village leader and my father. But things in life aren't so black and white. I've never asked the reason, but I'm sure there is one."

I took a step towards him. He didn't show any kind of reaction, so I finished bridging the gap between us. I rested a gentle hand on his arm. He didn't flinch. "Let's ask him about it together when he wakes up."

Truth was, I never cared about the reason before. Since we first met, he had been nothing but kind to me. The past didn't matter. All I cared about was how he treated me like a person instead of a monster. I hadn't known I was depressed until he pulled me out of it. He taught me what it was like to be cared about, opened up my emotions. So, no, I didn't care about the reason. I only cared that he cared about me.

But now it is different. I'm stronger now, both mentally and physically. I don't need to cling to his kindness anymore. Maybe it was time I looked deeper into his past and truly began to understand him as a person. Would it change how I felt about him? Probably not. Still, it was important that after three years I actually learned something about the man I love. Plus, things just weren't adding up. I added answers.

Sasuke stayed silent, not agreeing or disagreeing with my proposal. But his eyes were softer now. It appeared he was lost in his memories. I decided not to disturb him and took my hand back. I took a seat in a chair next to his bed. With a new resolve to learn the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre, all I could do now was wait. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.