~Anna's POV~

Itachi left a few trusted agents on the fields to clear up the mess and took me to the hospital. He had to explain a few policemen who stopped us on the way because I was driving his car just an hour earlier. He used his authority and got away with it. I didn't have the heart or the sanity to say anything. I was numb.

Arriving at the hospital, I quickly went to Max only to know he still wasn't awake. Strangely enough, my doctor, Emma and a few nurses were there and Eric too. The moment I was within sight, they all fixed their eyes on me. I remembered that I had 'run away' from my room.

Uh oh.

Crap.

"I-I am fine! Really!" I tried to no avail. They succeeded in putting me back in that stiff as heck bed and reinserted an IV, rebandaging my bleeding wound and telling me to rest.

Fucking sons of bitches. I have better things to do than be here and waste my time!

Konan and Amalie visited followed by Yahiko. They kept me occupied enough that I forgot Itachi wasn't here. It was only when Shisui barged in to see if I was still here that I realised Grizzly's absence.

"Oi Shisui! Where's Itachi?"

"Punishing the sniper guy and a few other traitors." He answered boredly and sat near my feet.

"That bastard! I still can't hear anything in my right ear!" I exclaimed remembering what that guy needed punishing for.

"Its a miracle though."

"What is?"

"You are alive. Three shots. Two in your arm and you nearly escaped and perforated lung. And you've been running about like a dumb wench losing whatever blood you hadn't already lost! Just think for a moment before doing anything! Your life isn't yours alone, its connected to many others! Don't so selfishly try to end it!"

"Don't be so harsh-" Konan started but I stopped her.

"He's right." I looked at my lap. "I am sorry for causing you all this much trouble."

"At least leave murders to us. Don't stain your hands with such blood anymore." And he was gone.

Itachi didn't visit the whole day or the next when I was discharged on conditions that I would go straight home and just visit Max if its not a strain. Eric said he would be there so I should just rest while I can.

It was again Shisui who was on my duty. Poor guy, keeping an eye on me so I don't do anything rash until Itachi himself could be here. I didn't want to be a burden on Ugly any more than I already had been so I obeyed everything my doctor told me. By nightfall, Shisui was relieved because Itachi arrived.

"Did you punish them manually?" I asked him, pointing to his hands.

"Yes."

Okay....awkward..

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

"I'm not talking to him." I shoved my phone to Itachi who first looked at the i.d then attended the call.

"Hello?....yes... Anna isn't here currently..... She left her phone here...... He'll get better soon, don't get too worried..... Anna is fine and Eric too..... No no, you don't need to, we will handle everything here.... Ok..... Bye." He returned the phone to me.

" What did Manny say?"

" He was worried and said he was coming with the first flight-"

" What?!"

"Yes."

I mumbled incoherently under my breath and accidentally fell back on the couch with force. My left shoulder hit the pillow hardly and I yelped in pain.

"Fucking-"

"I almost lost you..." I looked at Itachi who was looking at me like I would disappear any second.

"No you didn't-" He didn't let me finish again and hugged me close, not letting me go. He was so warm that I was getting sleepy. "Oi Tachi... Imma gonna sleep at this rate..." I told him lazily.

"Come on. To bed then." He helped me to bed. In the hospital they made me sleep on my right side and told me to do at home as well. The entry wound was on my back so laying down straight was a pain.

"I'm gonna fall back in my sleep." I noticed.

"I will get you some pillows then."

"Then I might fall forward." I wondered slyly. He raised his eyebrow and got my meaning. Shaking his head, he got in bed behind me, putting one of his arms around my waist protectively and keeping my back close to him. This way I wouldn't fall either way.

"Now sleep."

"Yassss."

~

"I will make sure it doesn't get any water contact." I told Itachi as he began to protest about me taking a shower un this condition.

" Wash it properly and use warm water."

" But-"

" I know about your addiction for cold showers that's why I said it."

" Meanie."

" I just care."

" And you raided my wardrobe! Now I will have to set it again."

" I couldn't find any sleeveless zipper shirts so...."

" You know I don't like them too much. That's why they were all hidden in the depths."

" I just thought it would be easier to put on with your injured shoulder."

" It was. Thanks."

" Now hurry and get your shower."

" First, get out of my room."

" Hai hai." He said and left the room. I locked the door and went to the bathroom to take a nice cold shower despite Itachi's warnings.

I walked in front of the mirror and wiped it clean off the mist and gasped at the deep reds residing on my left flank.

Now that I saw how my injuries looked like, I felt like I shouldn't have known. I turned my back to look at the reflection of that one bullet hole and it was worse than the other two.

Within another few minutes I gathered enough strength and finished my bath and got dressed into a blue zipper half sleeve shirt and khaki shorts. I was about to open the door for Itachi when something hit me.

How in the hell is he gonna redo my bandages when I have a shirt on?!

Blood rushed to my face as I thought of ways but shook them off as Itachi came into view. I quietly sat on the bed and watched him take out some things from the medical kit. I sighed in relief when I didn't see any bandages.

" Expose your wound." He ordered. I turned red again and bit my lip slowly sliding down the zip to where it was easier to pull a part of the shirt back and the shoulder would be exposed. I turned my head and looked away with a red face.

" Just don't see what you're not allowed to see." I told him and noticed him smirking from the corner of my eye.

" I won't. I'm saving it all for that one day." He said pulling the shirt back and wiping the wound with some liquid other than peroxide.

" I will do it myself!" I grabbed the medical kit and ran to the bathroom, shutting the door with a loud thud.

" Let me examine it when you're done!" Itachi said from the room.

" No!"

" Why!"

" Because you're a pervert!"

" All men are!" He laughed.

" You're an open pervert then! I'll keep my distance from you! And get out of my room before I walk in!" I ordered from the bathroom.

" No." I sighed not replying to him and set the things on the rack. There was a prescription behind a sticking band-aid to how to apply it. It was quite easy and when I was done I quietly opened the bathroom door to peek in my room.

Phew.

I completely stepped in my room and dumped the medical kit in a corner and sat on the bed, thinking what would be happening in the hospital at this time. Thinking if only by a slightest fraction, Max got better. Thinking if he will survive.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

" Now who?" I looked at the caller i.d. " Ugh." Then picked it up. " What?"

"Jeez. Why so harsh right off the bat?"

" Shut up Tim."

" So...-"

" Yes. I failed to protect Max. Yes he's in the hospital right now. Yes I feel like shit. Got your answers?"

" Uh, ya.."

" Thank you for making me feel bad about myself again."

" Look, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't in your power to prevent what was to happen, so stop taking it to your heart."

" How can I not? Max is in the hospital, hooked to so many things and I don't even know if he'll make it alive or not!"

" Don't yell on the phone. The speaker burns my ears."

" Shut up."

" Fine. I'll talk to you when I get to Konoha."

" Great. I know you'd love to see your siblings with so many holes in them!" I said sarcastically.

" You got hurt too?!"

" It isn't anything big."

" What happened?!"

" Just three bullets-"

" 'JUST' THREE?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

" Don't yell on the phone. The speaker burns my ears."

" Copycat."

" You're not so great that 'I' will copy you."

" See, I succeeded in lifting your mood. Yay. Well see you in a few hours. Oh and Stella said hi."

" My greetings to her too. Have a safe flight. Bye." I said and ended the call throwing my phone aside.

I went downstairs and Itachi had already made some ramen for me which he had to feed me since my right hand was shaking from weakness. After that he told me to sleep.

"I will be back later. Don't go anywhere and don't do anything to exert yourself."

"Yas fine." I waved him off. The moment he was out of sight, I got up from the bed and after waiting for ten minutes, pulled on my shoes and exited the house to go to the hospital.

Dumb idea to trust me.

"I knew it was a dumb idea to trust you." I stopped in my tracks and laughed sheepishly. But Itachi understood. I needed to see Max and he thankfully didn't object to that.

We went to the hospital and found out that Max woke up last night for an hour but then the weakness was too much that he went back to his sleep. Now that they knew how much Max was healing, the doctors had him shifted in a private room. I told Eric to quit to home and that I would stay here. Strangely enough, nobody was objecting to my commands.

I sat beside Max's bed and smoothed his hair while Itachi got another chair. He was pale and his cheekbones were sticking out a bit.

"Son of a bitch got what he deserved for doing this to my Max..." I finished just as Itachi sat beside me but he heard all of it.

" Speaking of which, how did you know Jake would be there?"

" Long story." I tried avoiding it, knowing he would get mad.

" I've got time."

" I was mad about something at Tim so I left home at midnight-"

" What?!"

" Don't get hyper jeez. So, well when I got there, I heard voices so I decided to eavesdrop and guess what, it was those villains, talking about making the field their lair. Now, you can yell." I said stuffing my fingers in my ears.

" Is there anything in your head at all?!"

" Pepper......maybe..?"

" First you left home at midnight, then you eavesdrop on those people you made your life a living hell?! Think rationally before doing something so stupid!"

" Well they are dead. Not gonna bother me anymore."

" And I'm telling your brother Manfred to do something about a girl leaving her house at midnight, alone! Who knows when else you leave! Or where else you go at midnight!"

" Its nice to have you yell at me once in a while. Makes me feel like nothings screwed up." Since it was just him here, I could let loose my tears.

~Itachi's POV~

" She's gonna go insane." Eric said when Anna was out of sight. She said she was going to buy some juice to regain some strength. Eric arrived hours earlier trying to persuade Anna to go home but she wouldn't listen and actually walked off angrily at her brother's persistence.

" She's already insane." I sighed." You should probably go home too."

" No way. I'm staying." He replied a little surprised.

" You will exhaust yourself."

" I slept too much today. There's no way I can sleep now."

" Why are you all so stubborn?" I shook my head.

" And I don't think sis is gonna budge either."

" I already got that from her earlier behaviour."

" Force her to go home."

" She's gonna say the same thing as you, not to mention get hyper and start yelling." I crossed my arms and sat straight while thinking of ways to make Anna understand how important her sleep was at the moment.

" But she also has those ugly bullet wounds which needs healing."

" She isn't going to listen."

" You're right, especially if it involves Max."

Another few minutes passed and Anna came back. She looked a lot better than when she left. Her cheeks had more colour and her head was better raised. She handed Eric and me a box of juice and sat beside me, confused about something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Isn't this the same room I was admitted in when I fractured my legs?"

"Now that you mention it, it is. They should name this room 'The Wayne's.' Right, sis?" Eric joked.

" You're gonna be the next Wayne admitted in this room." She gave him a deadly look.

" How?"

" Because I'm going to kill you if you don't shut up."

"You're hungry. I'll go this time." Eric said and left.

The doctor visited to check some things and Anna bombarded him with questions that he didn't answer. She wasn't going to budge tonight. I knew her stubbornness so I requested for a sofa-cum-bed and helped a ward boy arrange it in the corner.

I sat Anna down on it, making my seat in front of her. She was looking at her hands and I knew what she was thinking. Her failure of protecting Max and the blood on them. I took her hands in mine and brought them to my lips.

"You have to start letting things go. Please." She just raised her head but didn't say anything. " Look, he's going to get better-"

" I'm not believing anything until he wakes up, Itachi." I sighed.

" Just believe in him and nothing else."

" B-but, just look at him....I d-don't know if he'll make it...."

" He'll pull through, he's your brother after all." She sobbed a little. " Now, stop crying or I'll have to do something about it."

" What will you do?" She asked out of curiosity.

" I might tickle you." I smirked.

" Anything but that!" She secured her sides.

" Anything...??" I raised an eyebrow.

" Damn it! Why are you so perverted?!" Anna quickly created some distance between us and narrowed her eyes when I started laughing.

" Because it brings the Anna I love to the surface." I said. She blushed and pouted. " See?"

" Did......something happen here......?" Eric asked coming in the room.

" N-nothing." Anna replied hurriedly.

" Sis, you're stuttering."

" S-so what?!"

" Uh.......nothing. Oh, I got you the only dark chocolate bar they had left. Lucky, ne?" He handed her the chocolate.

" I'm not hungry."

"Is your wound taking a toll on you?"

" No...why?"

Eric turned to me, "She's denying dark chocolate. Feel the need to admit her too?"

" She's just being stubborn. Perhaps tomorrow morning her appetite will soften her." I answered him.

" Perhaps."

" Oi! Don't talk like I'm not here!"

"Its getting late. We should all sleep." I suggested after making sure everybody, even Anna, had eaten something enough to spend the night.

" I take the left corner!" Anna yelled and immediately jumped there. " Eric in the middle, I don't wanna sleep with grizzly." She ordered.

" I know I'm asking this again, but, did something happen?" Eric asked.

" No. Nothing. Just mind your own business and get to sleep."

" Um...." We all looked at the nurse that appeared at the door with quilts and pillows. I took them from her.

" Thank you." I said. She nodded and left. Anna hurriedly snatched a sheet and pillow from me and laid down covering her head with the sheet and pretending to be asleep.

" Turn off the lights already men! Max need to sleep too!" She yelled.

~Anna's POV~

Under the sheets, even though I was too tired, I couldn't sleep. I was too worried about Max. Sighing, I removed the sheets from my head and took in a deep breath and gazed at the ceiling.

I didn't know how long I kept staring at the roof but when I looked at the time I was really shocked to see that it was way past midnight. Just then my stomach started grumbling. I got off the mattress trying not to make any large movements that would wake the two up.

Now that I look at it, the mattress is quite large. Perhaps the size of one and a half king sized bed...... Mmhmm.

I grabbed my phone and turned on the screen light to guide me around the room. Once I found the dark chocolate bar, I quietly sat beside Max's bed and munched it. Crumbling the wrapper and throwing it in the dustbin, I got up from there and now stood in front of the mattress.

My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness so it was now too easy to move around without lightening up the phone.

Should I sleep in my spot? Or....

I sighed shaking my head and climbed on the bed type sofa. I stepped from over Eric and into the space that separated him and Itachi then sat down there and pushed Eric to my spot by my legs.

Once I was satisfied with the space I achieved, I laid on my good shoulder, which was coincidentally facing Itachi, and pulled the sheets over md then closed my eyes and let the tiredness drag me into slumber.

With a headache my sleep broke and my mind went conscious. Strange, I felt pulse somewhere between my forehead. I opened my eyes to check exactly what that pulse was and right when I did, I noticed my face was nuzzled deeply in Itachi's neck, my hands were holding a fistful of his shirt and my legs were tangled with his'.

I quickly squirmed out of the bed, blushing and in the process fell on the ground with a loud thud then were forced to close my eyes as the sun was shining too brightly outside.

Its morning already? But I'm still tired....

I yawned and got up from the ground. I walked to the window and pulled the curtains which darkened the room. My hands automatically started smoothing out his hair as they always did when I woke him in the morning. Careful not to stretch any wires, I combed his hair out of his face then sighed and went outside to wash my face and such.

~

" Its been a while since I ate dango." Itachi wondered out loud when I passed him the bento. He sat beside Max's bed.

" Will be a while before you eat them again." I commented sitting beside Eric on the sofa and handed him the sandwiches.

" Thanks."

After I woke up, I had plenty time to do stuff so I went out to get something to eat for the two boys when they woke up. Tim called on his arrival and I told him to first rest then come here and thankfully he obliged.

" Reminds me, now that Tim's here, you both are going home and school tomorrow." I pointed.

" Nuh uh." Eric refused.

" Don't start Eric."

" But-"

" No buts. Your studies are important too."

" What about YOUR studies?"

" I can always compensate. Partly the reason I'm sending Itachi home as well." He sighed and gave up.

" I would prefer my own bed too. It gets hot in here at night. Don't you think so too Eric?" Itachi asked.

" Nopes. I was definitely fine."

" I see. I wasn't. It was like something or someone was clinging to me." He smirked at me. I knew he knew about last night. I just looked away with a small blush.

" That's why you're going home Itachi." I ordered.

" Will you be able to sleep without me?" Ugh! That smirk!

" Yes."

" You certainly weren't able to last night." I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

" Shut up."

" Like hell I'm going to leave you."

" If you don't, you're not getting any more dango even after this whole mess is resolved."

" I'll survive. Speaking of which, how's your wound?" Eric also peered for my answer.

" It was itching. Is it supposed to itch?"

" Can I examine it?" He asked with a really caring look. I was battling inside for the answer.

" No."

" Why?"

" Do I really need to remind you why? Uff, forget it, I'll ask Emma." I sighed getting up and leaving the room without hearing what the men had to say next.

You found Emma in her office and had her look at your wound after which she wasn't very pleased, said it was infected and was cross with herself for thinking that I would be okay without stitches so she talked and distracted me while stitching the bigger wound.

" Thank you." I waved and left her office and went to Max's room. " The moment I leave, ugly beings invade."

" Why are you so rude all the time?" Shisui asked pouting.

" Meds probably." I dragged a chair and sat beside the bed.

" Probably-wait a minute! You're not taking any medicines!"

" Perhaps that's why."

" Is she offending herself, herself?" He asked Itachi who shrugged.

" He's smart to have kept quiet."

" By the way, how's your wound?"

" Infected. You?" Itachi and Eric looked at me weirdly.

" Healing." Then he realized something. " Infected? How?"

" I dunno."

" Did Emma clean it?" Itachi asked worried.

" Mmhmm and gave a few stitches too, just to help it close."

~

Enjoy Reading~

Vote and Comment~

Thank You~

Itachi_Warrior desu~ ^/_\^

ĵ0