Book 2: The Three of Us

Chapter 3: Not Everything Needs To Be Fixed

Months of using my sharingan for every day things has me activating and using it sometimes without completely realizing what I'm doing. While I was sick there wasn't much I needed my vision for but now that I was better, nearly everything I did involved the use of my vision. Finishing up the last of the paper work, I put it in a neat stack at the edge of the desk. Sakura and I would be going to Kisame's for dinner tonight. Now that we were all in the village again, we often found ourselves spending most of our time at his house.

Despite the Akatsuki's lack of action and the anxiety their sudden disappearance gave us all, we were all trying our best to use this time to rest. We've done everything we can do to prepare for what could happen next and all there was left to do was wait. Today I was able to finish all my work early, allowing more time for me to spend with Kisame and Sakura. The realization put a light smile on my face.

The smile that made its way onto my face quickly falls when I take a look around with my sharingan. The years of over using my mangekyo were quickly catching up to me. Now that I wasn't going on missions as often, my visions has started to stabilize. However, each time I use my mangekyo, it takes more and more of my vision. Even with the fear of one day never being able to see the faces of the people I love, I've made peace with it. I was no exception, it was the cost for power and I had to pay.

There was a reason my father stepped down as a field shinobi after the third shinobi war. He knew that if he continued to go on high risk missions, he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of the mangekyo. He knew he'd use it until every last bit of his vision was gone, just like the path I'm currently on. My want to protect others, to avoid conflict, was too strong for me to care of the consequences.

Slipping off my shoes, I put them off to the side before stepping into the main part of the house. The house smells of fresh rice and roasted fish, making my stomach growl in hunger. Kisame gives me a smile from the kitchen as he pulls the fish out of the oven, "Welcome home, Itachi."

Hearing him say that warms my heart, making me feel unbelievably happy. Looking towards the living room, Sakura is curled up under a blanket asleep on the couch. Walking into the kitchen Kisame pulls me towards him and kisses me. His mouth tastes of tonkastsu sauce, telling me he tried my recipe and decided to make it for dinner. Since being released from the hospital, while he was still healing, he'd started cooking a lot more. Kisame reluctantly pulls away to stir the vegetables frying on the stove.

I take another look at Sakura sleeping on the couch, "How long has she been sleeping?"

"Around twenty minutes. She finally spoke with her mother today and she got here completely exhausted. Barely spoke a word, only wanted me to take a nap with her," Kisame says, speaking quietly to keep from waking her up.

I give a hum of understanding as I sit down on the stool in the kitchen. I can see Kisame struggling with deciding what to say before he speaks, "Your sharingan is still activated."

"Ah, sorry," I say, absentmindedly biting the inside of my cheek.

Kisame's voice goes soft, "Hey, there's no need to apologize. It doesn't bother me. I'm just worried you might overuse your eyes."

I take in his every movement and the way his face looks as he speaks, wanting to remember it all. Taking these moments and capturing them forever.

Sakura's groggy voice comes from the couch, "I agree with Kisame on this. But I'm also curious on why you're using it. You've been doing it a lot recently."

"Have either of you heard of the mangekyo sharingan?" I ask, needing to know how much they understand about the sharingan.

Kisame gives a look of thought, "Not much. All I know is that it's a more advanced version of the sharingan."

"That's all about I know too. I think Sasuke may have mentioned it briefly years ago but he wouldn't go into detail about it," Sakura adds.

"Not many ever achieve the mangekyo sharingan. From what I know only a hand full of Uchiha have ever awaken it. The only person I know who also has it is my father. He got it at the beginning of the Third Shinobi War, after witnessing the death of his younger brother," I pause in my explanation, looking at there responses before continuing, "I got mine when Shisui died. It gives you incredible power but at a cost. The more you use it, the more of your vision you loose. I've over used it for years now and it's catching up with me."

Sakura wraps the blanket around herself and makes her way into the kitchen, "You're going blind, aren't you?"

I let out a heavy breath, wishing I didn't have to tell them but not wanting to lie, "Yes."

"You've been keeping your sharingan activated to be able to see clearly. To see us clearly," Kisame says, emphasizing the last part.

"Is there a way to fix it?" Sakura asks.

The answer to the question makes me grimace, "It can be done by replacing your eyes with the eyes of another mangyeko users eyes. It's been done before but to me it feels wrong in so many ways."

Sakura hugs me from behind, placing her head on my shoulder and staying there. She gives me a kiss on the cheek, "Use your sharingan around us as much as you want but make sure you let your eyes rest, okay?"

I appreciate that she doesn't push with trying to fix it, accepting that I wouldn't accept the eyes of another. Tension I didn't even realize was there is released as she holds me, "Thank you."

***

The picture included is a drawing I did of what I'd imagine Kisame's house would look like. Somehow it only took me two days to finish a drawing with that much detail. Also architecture is a hobby of mine and the house is based off of traditional japanese architecture.