Naruto: Uchiha’s Blood Curse

"Don't go, Itachi. I'll be okay."

Mahito's calm voice shocked everyone. They could see the blood pouring out of her wound, but she calmly assured her brother.

Her pale hand trembled as she reached toward her twin, who immediately kneeled beside her. His Sharingan had three tomoes spinning around as he bit his lip.

"I want to kill him," his hoarse voice reached his sister, who held his hand with a smile.

"I'm alive, nothing else matters."

"All right, okay, he won't go anywhere. For now, please stay silent, Mahito," Kushina's voice cracked with desperation as her hands hovered over Mahito's wound. She wasn't a medical-nin, but she could try to stop the bleeding.

Alas, the wound was too deep.

Minato had already gone to grab some medical-nins and returned. They crouched down next to the young Mahito and cut her shirt around her abdomen.

"That hurt, you know?" she chuckled, but her lips trembled with the pain. The shinobi looked at each other and frowned.

War was the reason many children grew faster than they should. Seeing an example of it in front of them wasn't pleasant, to say the least.

Minato's frown was the deepest. "We need her transported to the hospital immediately after stopping the bleeding. Prepare a stretcher!"

Mahito's vision blurred, and the voices she could recognize became fainter and fainter. She was usually protected all the time; this type of injury was new to her.

'Am I going to survive? It's too soon to die, damn.'

Her head grew heavier.

'I'm still just a child. I killed a few punks, but that's nothing enough. I want to live. I had so many limits I gave myself before. I regret it.'

Numerous random thoughts flashed through her head. Mahito wondered if this was how people felt before death. It was more peaceful than she had thought.

"Itachi…" Mahito whispered weakly.

Perking up, Itachi gave her hand a gentle squeeze in response. Mahito only smiled before her vision turned completely dark.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Mahito…"

'Hmm?'

Itachi leaned on the wall next to his sister's bed and whispered her name. It had been two days since the Nine-Tails attack, and yet, his sister hadn't opened her eyes.

The young Uchiha prodigy was anxious.

Medical-nins had looked after his sister tirelessly, stopping her bleeding and keeping her vitals in check. Finally, she was out of danger.

"Why are you not waking up?"

But Mahito didn't open her eyes.

The sterile smell of the hospital made him feel disgusted, while the bright light made him nauseous. But Itachi never left the hospital.

Their parents weren't allowed to come visit. The Fourth Hokage gave them some excuses and assured them. He also wanted Itachi to leave, but the young Uchiha absolutely refused.

He decided to speak softly to his sister. "Kushina-san and Minato-sama are fine. Their baby is also healthy. She came with him here to see you, but you weren't awake, so they left. I'm okay too."

After hesitating for a bit, he caressed her head and continued.

"The person who attacked you is still unknown. We don't have any information about him. I'm sorry. I couldn't grasp anything."

Mahito heard that and wanted to open her eyes immediately.

'Come on, you aren't as useless as you imagine,' she thought before rebuking herself for the way she worded it internally.

Afterwards, she blinked slowly. The weight of exhaustion and pain tugged at her, but she managed. Her body ached as her muscles twitched, and she turned to where her brother's voice came from.

She blinked again and again until her vision was finally clear.

"G'morning, Itachi."

Itachi's expression twisted, and a wide smile broke across his face before he forced his lips down with his fingers. He tried to look cold and calm. "Finally awake?"

Mahito gave him a playful grin.

"I guess that's my answer…" he sighed, both relief and a hidden emotion mixing in that soft noise.

"Calm… Down," Mahito tried to assure him and sit up, but Itachi's hand gently pushed her back to the bed. He firmly shook his head. His sister wasn't allowed to move.

"You're still injured."

"How long have I been out for?"

"Two days. Do you want to know more details? But you must promise me not to move before you're fully recovered."

Mahito shrugged and gave up on sitting, but she didn't promise anything. She had already heard the brief report from Itachi. For anything more, the shinobi who would come later to interrogate her would fill the remaining gaps.

At that moment, she noticed her brother's eyes.

"Are you mad? How rare, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan is unable to control his emotions. Won't Dad be disappointed?"

She forced herself to sit up this time and faintly smirked at him. The pain was nothing compared to witnessing the rare sight of her brother. Her heart felt unusually warm.

Itachi's Sharingan flared briefly, but he turned around stubbornly. "Shut it. You almost died. What do you expect?"

"Honestly, I didn't expect much." She chuckled, touching her chest above where her heart was located. "Since I almost died, I'mma be honest with you, brother."

"Huh?"

"I thought my heart was going to be as numb as always. But it turns out I can feel as well. I'm happy. Thank you, brother."

The weight of her words settled in Itachi, who wanted to say something back but stopped once he saw what his sister did. She put her index against her lip, making a shush motion, while her other hand pointed toward the ceiling and made a sign.

'Anbu.'

Mahito smiled once she saw her brother turning silent. She then changed the subject entirely.

"Okay~ the sappy words aside, how about you call Minato-sama and Auntie? I'm sure many others have questions for me as well."

Her brother nodded and exited the room, leaving Mahito alone to lean on her bed and close her eyes. Without anyone noticing, a wisp of green chakra sneaked into her palm and wrote a single sentence there.

『Meet me at the Valley of the End』