Your Lies | Itachi Uchiha x Reader

Chapter 25

POV – Y/n

We were halfway through the mountain pass when I felt it—that prickling sensation on the back of my neck. A presence. No, several.

"Something's wrong," I said aloud.

Kisame stopped walking. Itachi didn't.

"I know," Itachi said calmly. "They've been following us since dawn."

"...You weren't going to say anything?"

"They hadn't attacked."

Yet.

That word hung between us, unspoken.

I looked around—nothing but cliff walls and forest brush. We were surrounded. My hands itched. I couldn't fight with them tied. I turned to Itachi. "You gonna leave me helpless or...?"

He looked at me. Really looked. His eyes narrowed slightly. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the rope binding my arms fell loose.

"Try anything," he said quietly, "and you won't have a second chance."

"Trust me," I muttered, already forming hand signs. "I don't want to die either."

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They came fast—four masked shinobi, probably freelance bounty hunters. Maybe missing-nin. One of them had a scroll with my name on it. Figures.

"I'll take the two on the left," I said, already surging with chakra.

Kisame bared his teeth. "I like the confidence."

The fight was brutal but clean. One opponent tried to bind me with a chain jutsu. I burned through it with a water-style counter and caught him off guard with a feint. My elbow slammed into his face, knocking him cold.

Across the pass, I saw Itachi dispatching his opponents with eerie calm, like a dancer cutting threads mid-step. Efficient. Precise. Cold.

When it was over, the ground was littered with groaning enemies. Kisame was dragging one body into a ditch.

I wiped blood from my cheek. "So... how'd I do?"

"You didn't die," Itachi said flatly. "That's a win."

I rolled my eyes. "High praise, coming from you."

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POV – Itachi

She was stronger than I expected.

Not because she won—but because of how she moved. Intentional. Fast. She didn't waste chakra. She didn't gloat. She didn't hesitate to defend us.

Even now, she was crouched beside one of the attackers, digging through his pouch for rations and supplies, like a seasoned shinobi.

I didn't know what to make of that.

I walked up to her. "You fought well."

She glanced up. "Is that supposed to shock me?"

"No. But I didn't expect to rely on you so soon."

Her eyes narrowed. "I've been with you a week. You've had me tied up for most of it."

"You were dangerous."

"And now?"

"I haven't decided."

She stood up slowly, brushing off her knees. "That's the problem with you. You don't decide. You calculate."

She started to walk past me, then stopped short.

"I could've run," she said without looking at me. "You know that, right?"

"I do."

"And yet," she added, spinning to face me, "I stayed."

We stared at each other. For a second too long.

Then she stepped away, calling out to Kisame. "Found food. Let's go."

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POV – Y/n

We walked in silence after that.

Kisame was up ahead, humming something tuneless and swinging his sword like a lazy pendulum. I kept pace behind him.

Itachi trailed behind me. Always quiet. Always watching.

When I stumbled over a loose rock, he caught my arm before I could fall.

We locked eyes. Neither of us moved.

"Thanks," I said, pulling away quickly.

He nodded, but didn't speak.

It meant nothing.

Just a reflex.

...Right?