（ he is silent for a moment, holding court with himself on the matter. he has already told wei wuxian one lie tonight, and him knowing more about the sharingan is not in and of itself a risk, nor does itachi feel it is information he would surrender willingly. ）
Use of the Mangekyō Sharingan comes at a cost. It triggers an auto-immune response in the body, and with each technique it causes further deterioration along the tenketsu. It attacks all of your main chakra gates, and eventually, one succumbs to the illness.
（ wei wuxian knows he's dead, so this should not be a surprise. ）
It can be ameliorated with a transplant of like eyes. However — very few Uchiha ever wake the Mangekyō. It was not an option in my world. Here...
（ he shrugs absently, lifting one shoulder up carelessly. ）
[He's silent as he listens, understanding the graveness of such an illness and that it must have been extremely painful. His heart aches for Itachi but he does not voice that thought. Were it him, it would be the last thing he'd want. Instead, he glances away and lets a faint smile touch the corner of his lips.]
To think that all this time I had no idea how much I had to be grateful to Dr. McCoy for. [He'd known what the man did for Gwen. He didn't know what he'd saved Itachi from.]
The eyes you have now, are you at risk of it happening again?
No. Once the necessary conditions are met, there is no possibility of relapse.
（ his father's eyes. kakashi had known right away with the changes to his mangekyō, but no one left aboard the ximilia has seen him use the mangekyō both before and after the transplant. ）
[It's a very Itachi® response, and Wei Wuxian nods, accepting it. He hardly expects the man to detail his own suffering or admit to it at all. Whether it still hurts him or not, it doesn't seem likely he'll tell Wei Wuxian.
He should probably get up and make his way back now, but he finds himself remaining seated on the bed. McCoy's absence—despite his own lack of closeness to the man—has left him feeling unsettled, and there's something he needs to say, though he doesn't know how to say it.]
Hey. [He starts, voice soft and expression solemn.]
Do you remember when I told you I was going to do something stupid? [Back on E23-b, an embarrassing text exchange that he wouldn't usually bring up again.]
[This is hard enough, Itachi, don't look at him like that! He lets out a quiet huff and looks away.]
Since Gwen disappeared, I've been thinking about some things. I didn't end up dying then, but it's so easy for one of us to just disappear from here. [He pauses and when he starts again, his voice is softer.] Not easy, inevitable. Whether it's you or me first, one day one of us will wake up and...[He shrugs, lips formed into a soft half smile.]
I told you then—when I was going to do something stupid—that Wen Qing taught me not to leave things left unsaid.
[He isn't in danger now—neither of them are, but there's no saying when they'll wake up to find the other gone.]
Forgive me for being sappy this once. I need you to know this, just in case. You matter to me. And if I disappear from here and am reborn into another life years from now, without any memory of Wei Wuxian and all of his nonsense, my soul will still remember. It will still matter.
And if I'm not and this is all the time I have left, then it matters all the more. [He inhales quietly and shakes his head.] I'm glad we met. I'm glad we're friends. That's all.
（ it is not immediately clear that was not what he anticipated. his expression does not change in the least, a perfect mask like the still waters of a placid lake.
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no subject
（ he is silent for a moment, holding court with himself on the matter. he has already told wei wuxian one lie tonight, and him knowing more about the sharingan is not in and of itself a risk, nor does itachi feel it is information he would surrender willingly. ）
Use of the Mangekyō Sharingan comes at a cost. It triggers an auto-immune response in the body, and with each technique it causes further deterioration along the tenketsu. It attacks all of your main chakra gates, and eventually, one succumbs to the illness.
（ wei wuxian knows he's dead, so this should not be a surprise. ）
It can be ameliorated with a transplant of like eyes. However — very few Uchiha ever wake the Mangekyō. It was not an option in my world. Here...
（ he shrugs absently, lifting one shoulder up carelessly. ）
no subject
To think that all this time I had no idea how much I had to be grateful to Dr. McCoy for. [He'd known what the man did for Gwen. He didn't know what he'd saved Itachi from.]
The eyes you have now, are you at risk of it happening again?
no subject
（ his father's eyes. kakashi had known right away with the changes to his mangekyō, but no one left aboard the ximilia has seen him use the mangekyō both before and after the transplant. ）
no subject
Do you still suffer the effects of what it did?
no subject
（ it's not exactly a clear answer, but that's itachi for you. ）
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He should probably get up and make his way back now, but he finds himself remaining seated on the bed. McCoy's absence—despite his own lack of closeness to the man—has left him feeling unsettled, and there's something he needs to say, though he doesn't know how to say it.]
Hey. [He starts, voice soft and expression solemn.]
Do you remember when I told you I was going to do something stupid? [Back on E23-b, an embarrassing text exchange that he wouldn't usually bring up again.]
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no subject
Since Gwen disappeared, I've been thinking about some things. I didn't end up dying then, but it's so easy for one of us to just disappear from here. [He pauses and when he starts again, his voice is softer.] Not easy, inevitable. Whether it's you or me first, one day one of us will wake up and...[He shrugs, lips formed into a soft half smile.]
I told you then—when I was going to do something stupid—that Wen Qing taught me not to leave things left unsaid.
[He isn't in danger now—neither of them are, but there's no saying when they'll wake up to find the other gone.]
Forgive me for being sappy this once. I need you to know this, just in case. You matter to me. And if I disappear from here and am reborn into another life years from now, without any memory of Wei Wuxian and all of his nonsense, my soul will still remember. It will still matter.
And if I'm not and this is all the time I have left, then it matters all the more. [He inhales quietly and shakes his head.] I'm glad we met. I'm glad we're friends. That's all.
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you shouldn't be, he thinks but does not say. ）
Are you finished?
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Yeah, I'm finished.
I should get back to Gwen to check on her. [He rises from the bed and makes his way to the door.]
I'll see you. [With a quick wave, he's out the door and gone.]