Recap:
He immediately bent down to her level and gently called out her name "Izumi…"

"Izumi…" That voice… Izumi could recognize it anywhere, she could easily pin point that voice in a room full of hundred different voices, it was that familiar to her. It was his voice after all.
Izumi's eyes shot open, as she glanced towards the source of the voice.
And there stood Itachi, her Itachi, kneeling beside her, drenched in blood. His face, arms and his anbu gear smeared with blood.
"Ita-chi you're bl-bleeding…" Izumi croaked. And tears began to fall freely from her eyes, it broke her heart to see him hurt like that, her own injuries didn't seem to be her concern at all.

Itachi stood dumbstruck. He couldn't speak. In Izumi's mind, Itachi was just another victim just like she was. How could he have the heart to tell her that the blood on him was not his own? That in reality it was the blood of all the people that he slaughtered. People that were his clansmen, her clansmen.
How could she be so concerned and worried about him when she was practically lying on a pool of her own blood, when her own flesh was exposed, when she was just moments away from death?
He could feel the tears forming at the back of his eyes but he had to blink them away.

"Izumi, I'm not badly hurt, I'm fine" He spoke gently looking into her eyes hoping she would be reassured.

He was fine. He was fine. The words echoed in her mind. That's all that mattered to her, besides the odds of her survival were pretty slim now anyway. Maybe perhaps if she could get immediate medic aid along with blood donation she could live, but the stakes were too high and her odds were too low.
Izumi was now starting to feel numb, images around her were beginning to look fuzzy, his face was becoming blurry, she was just moments away from death. It hurt, no not the enormous blow on her chest, but it hurt knowing that she could never have the life she wanted. She would never become a chunin, never become a strong ninja like her father and protect the people she loved. And now she will never get to confess her love to Itachi, she will never have the life she dreamed of, to be with Itachi and maybe get married one day, have children with him perhaps? All that was merely just a dream now.

"Itach-i, you… you n-need to go, if he comes back… he m-might kill you too, p-please you can't d-die" Izumi barely managed to speak, looking into Itachi's coal eyes, the same eyes she fell in love with. And she was afraid that if the masked man was to return, he might deliver the same fate to Itachi as he had previously done to her and her clansmen. She was ready to die like this but she was in no way ready to die knowing the boy she loved shared her same fate.

Her words cut him like a blade. Itachi had always known how Izumi had felt about him, he knew that she loved him, he hadn't missed those secret glances she gave him when she thought he wasn't looking. How could he miss the pinks tints on her cheeks when she was around him? He had known all along, but he never confronted her about it. This was not because he didn't like her, he liked her very much actually, she was one of the very few people he enjoyed spending time with.
However Itachi was a complex character. He was a ninja after all, and heir to his clan. He had responsibilities towards his clan, towards his village, he was always on missions, and he simply did not have the time or the capability of pursing love. He did care for though, he cared a lot. That did not change, but he had to do so from a distance. And she had never demanded him to devote his time to her, or demand things from him like everyone else in his life. She simply loved him. It was as simple as that.

And those words broke his heart, because even in her dying breath Izumi Uchiha was selfless and kind.
She didn't beg him to stay by her side; she didn't ask anything from him, she didn't even confess how she felt about him, although she easily could have. She simply told him to go to safety. She put his life above her very own. She had shown him more love and kindness than any other person in his life.

Itachi gently pulled her body towards him and embraced her. Her body only had a morsel of warmth left. And then he cupped her bruised cheek and ever so gently pressed his lips against her cool forehead. "Thank you Izumi… Thank you for loving me" He whispered to her once he pulled back from the kiss. And with that he felt her body go limp against him. Tears were falling freely from his eyes now, he no longer tried to blink them away, and quiet sobs were uttered.

He wasn't sure if she had even heard him, but when he laid her back on the ground he noticed the small peaceful smile that was plastered on her face. She seemed happy and at peace, that was the only thing that kept Itachi from losing his mind. Perhaps in their afterlife they would be reunited…
But till then there was a lot to be done. Itachi got up and wiped away his tears. With a heavy heart he once more continued to walk towards the uchiha compound entrance.

There was no turning back now.