One More Chance - Naruto X RWBY

Empty Heart

An infinite dark expanse was all that greeted Itachi's eyes tonight, a pitch black that seemed to stretch on forever. He was half blind, unable to see more than a few feet in front of himself. He was thin and gaunt, like a living and breathing skeleton except he wasn't really living anymore.

The silence was deafening in the hospital room, the shattered moon above cloaked by the thick curtains. The walls were pale and depressing, with medical equipment strewn about everywhere. His ears idly picked up on a break in the silence, a weary and shaky whimper from the lips of a sleeping Ruby Rose.

They had all been lifted into an airship and immediately rushed to the nearest hospital. Blake and Yang had been fine, and Ruby had only a minor concussion. His own state was dreadful, ripped and shredded muscles, fractured bones, and mangled flesh. His eyes were blurred and bloodied, what was once a pure black now a slight gray.

But he'd gladly go blind if he could do it all over again.

Weiss...oh Weiss. She was gone.

Not technically, no, not quite yet. To be technical, she was in a coma. An unstable one, with a fear that she would die at any moment, but a coma nonetheless. The hole in her chest was gaping, somewhere between the size of a baseball and soccerball. What was once beautiful flesh and fierce blood was now an eternal void of naught, the center of a cold and lifeless body.

But Itachi knew she would die, having heard the whispers as he faded in and out of consciousness. The doctors thought they had been sleeping as they had come in a few nights ago, the clock nearing three in the morning. That was mostly true, but Itachi hadn't been able to sleep since the incident.

"What do you think?"

Itachi was quiet as a mouse as his breath hitched, eyes hidden in the dark of the night as he watched the blurry figures speak. They stood over the body of his beloved, clipboard and pens scribbling quietly.

"I think...that it's only a matter of time before she's gone. The talon was too big, it nicked her heart and lungs. The only reason she's living right now is because of the medical equipment and heavy drugs she's been doped up with. But she's pretty much dead already, no body function without assistance, only the barest hints of brain function. It's like you were an actor in one of those old movies, shocking a corpse to "bring it back to life". Sure, they move and give the illusion they're alive...but both you and everyone watching knows that isn't the case.'

'...I hate to be the downer, that's usually your job...but I have to agree. This kid will die the moment I unplug her life support. But...what do we do? You saw how distraught all these kids were, especially the young man over there.' Itachi could make out a point in his direction. 'He hasn't let go of her since they got here.' Weiss cold hand suddenly burned in his own, making another tear slide down his face.

'There's nothing we can do. I don't want to say this, it's horrible and awful and every other negative-ful you can think of...but these kids are gonna have to experience loss.' Itachi's eyes were blank as he began to slip back into his slumber, tired and broken body gripping his raging mind. The voices began to fade away as he fought to stay awake, eyes as vivid as heaven and earth fluttering shut as he made a last coherent thought.

'Experience loss? How...ironic...'

Itachi gripped Weiss' hand tighter at the memory, calming his breathing that had become uneven. He tried to focus on the tangible, the sound of Ruby sleeping with teary eyes in a chair beside their beds, the shadows cast by Yang and Blake as they did the same. The feeling of Weiss' cold, dead hand in his own constantly reminded him that this was all his fault.