Red Butterfly

Chapter 66, Deciphered Cuts

"At first, I had to blink twice when I saw it again. I'd used the remaining ointment in the tube to re-apply it on Shisui's wounds when I spotted the pattern again. Lines of the words were scattered a bit far away from each other so anyone can overlook it the first couple of times. But the more I scrutinized the cuts, the more I became convinced that Hanabi did this on purpose".

I sat in a propped position on the hospital bed, where Hana sat near my feet. I tipped my head low and stared at the glass of water I was holding in my hands, "Now, she's with this terrorist organization..."

"I thought she died at the Final Valley", Hana said, inspecting my face for any answer.

I sighed and placed the glass of water on the nightstand beside the hospital bed. "I did see her fall", I confess, darting my tired eyes to the scars on my wrist, "she fell right before my eyes, and from all the shock, I ended up passing out".

"I see"

"A member of that organization saved her, and from there on I'm guessing that she pretended to be one of them, and this message...", I tilt my head to look at the unconscious Shisui and resume, "this means that she's working in the Leaf's favor without anyone's knowledge".

"Itachi", Hana calls, her tone of voice making my eyes flew up to her concerned expression, "be honest. How did you feel after all these years of thinking she was dead?".

Hana's voice was calm and therapeutic which makes me answer involuntarily, "I don't really know to be honest", I tuck away my loose strands and lower my head again, "on one hand, I'm bursting with exhilaration after finding out that she's alive, while on the other...", I breathe a little hard but force the confession out of my mouth, "I know she will never go back to being the Hanabi that I met and fell in-"

The words weighed down my heart and I was unable to carry on with the confession. I bit down my tongue, hoping that Hana got the cue.

"I see...", Hana gives me a faint smile which I attempt to give back, "you guys are two polar opposites", she remarks, a small hint of amusement on her lips.

"Tell me something I don't know", I humourlessly scoff, easing up the dull atmosphere a bit.

Hana swings her legs one after another as she breathes out, "Itachi, I think there's something that you're hiding from us".

I tense up, internally of course. On the outside, I managed to remain calm to not arouse any kind of suspicion.

"What makes you think that way?", I swallow the lump in my throat, avoiding direct eye contact.

"I can smell you, Itachi", she informs, but there was absolutely no hint of banter or satire in what she said.

"Hana please", I urge her, "I know you're smart and all, but let's focus on the issue at hand-"

"The issue at hand, Itachi...", she cuts me off and I could hear the dissatisfaction in her tone, "is that you refuse to let any of us in".

Her words slash a wound in my chest, making it clench as I jerk up my head to look at her directly. Her expression was stern and demanding at the same time. I couldn't help, but lower my head in shame.

"I'm...sorry...", I trail off, hoping she'd say something so we could close this subject. Hana simply sighs and creases her brows as she says, "Itachi you have to stop doing this to yourself", she informs, " you've already been through so much. And so I just want to know..", she pauses for a moment before resuming, " why do you keep shouldering the weight of your problems all alone when there are so many people around you who can help you ease up the burden?".