Loving from the Shadows

"You're dismissed." The teacher dismissed the class and the students quietly packed up, some staying behind to ask for help while others hurried out of the room.

"Haha, you almost left your pencil case behind, Itachi." Shisui exclaimed as he handed his best friend back his pencil case, noticing how pale Itachi's face was. "Are you okay?"

Itachi grabbed the pencil case and gave him a weak eyebrow raise, as if asking Shisui, 'do I look okay to you?'

The two of them had already visited the doctor three months ago and the news was devastating, Konoha's genius, Uchiha Itachi, was diagnosed with an incurable cancer. The more time that passed, the more pain Itachi felt, even to the point that he started to take sleeping pills and painkillers thrice a day.

Itachi walked out of the classroom with Shisui by his side, his body aching with so much pain it seemed to drive him insane.

I was in my 6th and last year of university, how ironic...

Itachi leaned against the wall and puked up a mouthful of warm blood, covering his mouth with a trembling hand.

"I-Itachi, are you alright?" Shisui started worrying and he leaned in to give his friend a hand, but Itachi leaned away quietly. Pulling out a black handkerchief from his pocket, wiping his hands and mouth until they were spotless. Recently it seems to be getting worse as well. Ah, the pain... What did I do to deserve this?

"Itachi..." Shisui worriedly stared at his trembling friend and offered a helping hand again, which Itachi ignored as he straightened his back again.

"I'm fine." Itachi replied, his voice hoarse and his saliva metallic. "Let's go."

Even if I wasn't fine, it would make no difference.

The two of them walked in a tense silence, the hallways were empty and Shisui frowned, taking a cautious peek over at his friend.

"Have you told your family yet?" He asked cautiously, watching as Itachi's eyebrows gradually gathered into a frown.

"Have you told your brother yet?" He asked, watching as this time, his friend's face turned a deathly pale.

"I've told my parents already..." Itachi tightened his trembling hands into a tight fist and clenched his teeth. "But Sasuke... Sasuke must not find out."

————

"I gotta go, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted as he ran through the hallways, exiting the school before any other student. Why was he in such a rush? That's because on Fridays, his brother would stay over for the night!

Sasuke quickly caught the bus and was restless as he combed through his hair with his fingers, making sure that his uniform looked neat and tidy.

Perhaps today- perhaps today he will come!

For what felt like an hour, realistically, only ten minutes- Sasuke quickly jumped off the bus and sprinted to his house, ringing the doorbell with a vibrant beam on his face.

"Oh, Sasuke! Back so early." Mikoto exclaimed with a happy smile, opening the door wide open. Sasuke walked into the house and took off his shoes, looking around as if believing that Itachi could be hiding anywhere. Mikoto saw her little son's anticipation and felt her smile fade.

"Itachi just called me before, he said he couldn't make it." Mikoto called out to Sasuke, watching as the boy's body tensed up, his hands clenched in paling fists. "He told me to tell you that he was sorry."

Sasuke felt his body heat up and he clenched his jaw tightly, feeling his teeth grind against each other painfully. Was he angry? If so, why were there tears gathered in his eyes?