Book 2: The Three of Us

Chapter 18: A Long Day

With news that Itachi had passed out - because his illness had flared up and he did not tell anyone - I made my way to the Uchiha compound as fast as I could, Kisame following close behind. The sun was just now starting to set and it made me wonder how only a day had gone by. The events of this morning felt more like a distant memory then something that happened not even twenty four hours ago. Making my way into the busy compound, I weave through the people, not bothering to apologize to the people I bump into.

Stepping into the house, I don't even bother to take my shoes off. I continue straight to Itachi's room, dodging an angry Sasuke and a worried Mikoto, not sparing either a word. Once I enter the room, I don't waste any time. Calling up my chakra, I can feel my reserves almost empty, feeling as if I'm trying to pick up the last drops of water in a barrel. Activating my healing chakra, my hands hover over Itachi's chest, assesing the damage to his lungs.

"What the hell is wrong with my brother? And why aren't you even a little shocked right now?" Sasuke asks, voice rising in volume as he speaks until he's almost yelling.

"You need to calm down," Mikoto says, reaching out to grab him in hopes of comforting him.

He steps back before she can touch him, "Like hell I will! There's obviously something going on that everyone knows about but me."

"Can you just shut it for a minute?! I'm trying to focus," I snap at him. This whole day had been absolutely exhausting, causing a splitting headache, and making every sound hurt. I needed to be able to focus on trying to reduce as much of the inflammation around and in Itachi's lungs as possible. The idiot even had a fever and didn't say anything. It pisses me off but wasn't a surprise.

Kisame sits at the desk, one leg shaking and looking off with a distant look in his eyes. Seeing my frustration, Mikoto makes her way over to Kisame and sets her hand on his knee. He flinches back when he's pulled out of his thoughts but understands and stops his leg from shaking. At the same time, Sasuke is dragged away by Fugaku.

Turning my attention back to Itachi, I continue on using my medical chakra to reduce the inflammation. I had already used my Yin seal today to keep Tsunade from passing out from chakra exhaustion, resulting in my own chakra running dangerously low. Working my way through his lungs, I'm able to heal everything enough to prevent a flare up for now. The strain on my chakra reserves causes the edge of my vision to become blurred but I continue.

The wet crackle that was heard with every breath he took quieted, his breathing stabilizing and becoming less erratic. Finally done for now, I collapse onto the bed beside Itachi. The splitting headache lessened slightly now that I wasn't using my chakra but still sends waves of pain behind my eyes.

The sound of foot steps tells me Kisame stands up from the chair he's sitting in and makes his way over. Watching him as he walks, I notice him unable to put weight on his left foot, giving him a limp. Stopping next to me, I can feel as he places Samihada against my side and the sword transfers chakra to me. As it enters my chakra system, it travels through with a gentle warmth, warming up my cold body.

Sitting up, I gesture for him to sit on the bed beside me. He sits down heavily and leans back to lay on his back, legs still hanging off the edge. Taking a look at his left foot, I can see a steadily growing blood stain on his shoe. I let out a worried but exhausted sigh, "Kisame, what happened to your foot?"

Staring up at the ceiling, he answers indifferently, "Mild side effect of using an unstable transport seal."

A part of me wants to let out a scream of frustration but I don't. Grabbing his foot, I prop it up on my lap, starting in taking off his shoe.

"Hey, we can wait until tomorrow to deal with that. You need rest," Kisame says, looking over at me with his own worried frown.

I give him a glare that silences him and has him laying his head back down, letting out a breath of defeat. While taking off his shoe and sock, his body tenses but he doesn't jerk away or show any outward signs of pain. Once I'm able to see his toes, the amount of blood makes a lot more sense. One toe was missing a chunk, another was attached with everything but the bone, and the third one was missing all together.

Stupid idiot using a stupid seal. The lack of self-preservation that both Itachi and Kisame had was ridiculous. If they keep this up, they're going to die and stay dead. Activating my healing chakra once again, I easily close the wounds and stop them from bleeding. Out of my own frustration, I grab the dislocated toe and reset it without warning. My own frustration and exhaustion has me pushing the thought that Kisame's chakra feels different to the back of my mind. Because honestly, at this point in time, that was the least of my worries. All that matters right now is that we're alive.

A sharp hiss of pain comes from Kisame and his hand makes a fist that he slams it onto his thigh, "Fuck! I get it, you're pissed."

"Damn right I am," I snap before roughly pushing his foot off my lap.

Walking over, Mikoto lays her hand on my shoulder and gives me a tired smile, "It's been a long day, sweetie. You should sleep now."

With the gentle touch my shoulders slump over in exhaustion, some of the anger and tension I'm feeling lessens, "Okay."

Laying down on the bed, I place my legs over Kisame's torso. He sets his hand on my leg while letting out a heavy sigh. Despite my exhaustion, I'm unable to close my eyes and relax completely.

Mikoto kneels down beside the bed and runs her hand through my hair, "You're safe here, I promise. You can rest now."

My heart warms but aches at her words. I imagine this warmth is what the love of a mother feels like. I wish I had a mother that loves me. That's the last thing that crosses my mind before sleep takes me.