Reflection
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I don't own solo leveling or Naruto
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"Not me, Check them first."
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"Nghh!" Itachi groaned out as he woke up. He sat up in hospital bed and his hands in his face as he let out a sigh from the stiffness in his shoulders and back.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," a familiar voice rang out as Itachi turned his head to it. "Kinjo?" Itachi questioned.
"The one and only," Kinjo answered for the exhausted teen. Kinjo made his way across the room to Itachi to do some routine checkups and make sure everything was alright with Itachi even it wasn't really needed. "You healed from your broken arm, cracked ribs and the second degree burns on your back pretty fast. Whatever you fought really did a number on you," the nurse commented on the condition Itachi had arrived in.
"Hn," Itachi just grunted, clenching his right hand to a fist. "What about the others?" Itachi asked the brown haired nurse. He was worried that he would be greeted with news he didn't want to hear upon waking up, but as the shinobi he was raised to be he was prepared to face that reality.
"The two siblings were critical when they arrived here, but they are both on the road to recovery. The big guy actually recovered pretty quickly and came to visit you, but you were still out cold. I heard he had a 'Double-awakening' and is now an S-rank hunter," Kinjo explained to Itachi how his team members were fairing since the raid.
"What about Mai?" Itachi questioned in a quiet voice almost too scared to find out. "She's on life support at the moment. It's 50/50 on whether or not she will heal from the poisonous mana in her system due to the monster's attacks," Kinjo replied, "I'm sorry, kid," he added to console Itachi, because from his mood Kinjo could tell the teenager cared for this woman.
"It's not your fault. Don't apologize," he said simply as he laid his head back down and closed his eyes. That brought the conversation to a close as Kinjo left the hospital room.
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'I was able to use the Mangekyou for the first time since entering this world. It was a desperate use but I was able to make it work... Next time I can't be forced to use it like that. I could have been killed which would have lead to a dungeon break occurrence,' Itachi thought looking out the window of his hospital room many hours after the conversation with Kinjo. It was dusk and he knew Izumi was probably rushing to see him after clocking off from work.
'I was too reckless and relaxed during that raid. I can't underestimate my enemies like that again otherwise people like Mai will get killed,' he continued to think as he heard the clicking of a door behind him. He turned his head and wasn't surprised to find Izumi entering the room with a... angry expression on her face.
"ITACHI!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, sending chills down Itachi's spine as he smiled lopsidedly at the enraged woman.
"If you ever come back in that condition again! I'll kill you and then revive you just to kill you again! You hear me!" Izumi threatened Itachi as she enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. "Why do you always make me worry?" she muttered softly with tears slowly spilling from her onyx eyes, burying her face in the scruff of Itachi's neck.
Itachi caught every word of Izumi's muttered speech and couldn't help but feel his chest tighten at worrying the middle aged Uchiha so much. "I'm sorry for making you worry about me. It won't happen again," he said with conviction in his voice as he stared right at the open door with a blank face.
Izumi pulled away from Itachi and wiped the tears from her face whilst sniffling from her nose.
"You know I'll always support you my baby boy, but why do you have to put yourself in danger for my problems?" she questioned approaching Itachi's bedside and hugging him very tightly. "You knew?" he said straining his voice,"Of course! What kind of mother would I be if I didn't know my son, and if I knew anything about you it's that you'll do anything for those you care about,"she said with a fond smile on her face letting go of Itachi and looked into his onyx eyes. " I'm the parent and you're the child, it's my job to worry about money. You don't have to get involved in the problems of adults," Izumi countined.
"..." Itachi widened his onyx eyes at the statement and then started to smile softly. He then poked her on the forehead with his two fingers. "What was that for?" Izumi questioned putting a hand on her forehead with a confused expression on her face. "You're right. I can just focus on my path this time," Itachi said vaguely as he looked outside the window on his right side.
"What's that supposed to mean" Izumi questioned him. "It means you don't have to worry about me," he answered. "How can I not worry when you come back home with broken bones and second degree burns on your body?" Izumi argued back with a deadpanned expression. Itachi didn't respond to Izumi's argument because she was right and instead just smiled.
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The very next day Itachi was discharged from hospital. He was with Izumi signing the discharge papers when he was approached by Kinjo.
"Before you leave I almost forgot to give you this," he said handing a small wrapped up parcel to the teenager. "What is this?" Itachi asked accepting the parcel. "Apparently it's a Rune Stone from the dungeon you raided. Your mother asked me to keep it until you woke up," Kinjo explained as Itachi unraveled the wrapping paper. Itachi was holding an all black oval shaped stone with the runic letter for R ingraved on the stone in glowing blue writing.
Rune Stones are runic items that drop from magic beasts. What makes rune stones special is that they contain unique skills, typically from the monster that dropped the stone. As a result, they can be very valuable amongst hunters.
"I didn't want to see it in my house until I knew you were going to be fine," Izumi said in a soft voice when Itachi looked at her.
"I understand. I'm sorry for causing you pain," he said apologetically and then thanked Kinjo for all of his help.
"It's always a pleasure, kid!" Kinjo replied waving the two Uchiha off.
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Sorry for the long wait. I was really struggling to write this chapter. I had 5 different drafts of this chapter, but this is the one I ended up favoring the most.
Next chapter should be up later today or tomorrow.
Enjoy :)