𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | izuna uchiha

Chapter 28

"Izuna..."

Izuna opened his eyes as he heard Nanami begin to stir, and smiled down at her tenderly. Two days had passed since the child had gone missing, and so far, everything seemed to be going smoothly. The midwives had carefully followed Izuna's instructions and hadn't said a word regarding the child's mysterious disappearance; he himself had been making sure that the false memories he planted in Nanami's mind stayed firmly there.

"How are you feeling now?" asked the Uchiha gently, squeezing his lover's hand. Nanami coughed and shook her head, shutting her eyes once more.

"Horrible. I can't believe... I can't believe I went through all of that... for nothing..."

"It wasn't your fault," spoke Izuna in a soothing voice, rubbing Nanami's hand. She groaned and turned her head to the side, feeling like a complete fool.

"Yes, it was," she grumbled. "I wasted nine months of my life. I could have aborted it. But no. I was too nice, too sensitive, and decided it should have a chance to live, even though it was Arashi's spawn. Do you know what my problem is, Izuna? I'm too nice. I'm too damn nice. If I didn't care so much about giving this thing a chance to live, I wouldn't be going through all this pain. Do you get where I'm coming from?"

Izuna merely nodded, letting Nanami complete her course. She lay down flat on her back and opened her eyes, staring glumly at the ceiling with tears welling up.

"I'm in so much pain right now, Izuna," she choked, tightening her grip on his hand. "Emotionally, and physically, I can't handle..."

Unable to finish her sentence, Nanami pulled her hand out of Izuna's grip and covered her face, embarrassed and ashamed of how everything had turned out for her. To her, it seemed like every time she tried to do the right thing, the odds were always against her. No matter how hard she tried to be a good person, and make the right decisions, there was just no winning. The world was against her, whether she liked it or not.

"Hey, don't cry now," murmured Izuna, reaching out and removing Nanami's hands from her face. "Look, look. Everything happens for a reason. Don't be sad. I know everything hurts for you right now, but you have to trust me when I say that everything will be alright. I will always be by your side. I will never leave you. Do you understand me?

"No matter how bleak your life may seem right now, it will all get better soon. You just have to take it in your stride, and continue on with life. I know how painful it is for you to lose something that you held so precious, and cared for for so long. Please, Nanami, don't be sad. I'm selfish in saying this, but seeing you sad makes me mad at myself for allowing you to get hurt. I can't watch you get hurt anymore."

With that, Izuna leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Nanami's tear ridden cheek, brushing her hair out of her face as he did so.

"One day, we'll-"

"Izuna? Izuna, can I speak to you for a second?"

The younger Uchiha was cut off as his older brother called out to him from outside, making him scowl dirtily.

"I'll be right back," said Izuna, getting up and hurrying to the door. Stepping out, he saw Madara waiting there for him with his arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow at his sudden staunch appearance. "Yes, Madara?"

"Can we have a word?" Madara coolly turned around and led the way down to his office, Izuna following suit. They had barely reached the room when Madara asked, "What has happened to the child?"

Izuna clucked his tongue as he contemplated what to tell his brother. He knew that Madara would be able to tell if he told a lie. So he decided to go with the truth.