orz orz orz!
. . . ♥;;; DNW. HSGDGSDHSDS. THIS APPLICATION IS GARBAGE. GARBAGE, I SAY.
Name/Nickname: Amber
Age: 23
Journal: hieronymousb
AIM/MSN/IM: Ambre Nosmada
Email: perjautse@gmail.com
CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Uchiha Itachi
Canon: Naruto
Point taken from canon: 393, shortly before death.
Age: 21 [I'm taking this from Narutopedia]
Gender: Male
Preferred Village:
Appearance: Itachi wears the Akatsuki's standard black cloak with red clouds imprinted upon it. He has long hair which he wears pulled back and naturally dark eyes which are often red, swirling with tomoe, in the mark of the Sharingan or Mangekyou Sharingan. He wears a necklace and has painted black nails. One of his more distinguishing features may be the lines under his eyes; it is ambiguous whether these lines are merely a quality that has been there since birth, whether they are scars, or stress lines. [I prefer to think of them as stress lines.]
Although Itachi smiled often enough when he was younger, in the presence of his younger brother, as an adult he is not prone to displaying very much facial expression. He often looks relatively stoic; his eyes seem to either focus intensely on people or look as though they are gazing off into the distance. Sometimes (as on his throne when he addressed Sasuke), his body language and facial expression can suggest aloofness and a kind of haughty superiority. When maintaining his facade of antagonism towards Sasuke, his body language tended to be indifferent, shut off, and violent, or wickedly smirking, and in one instance, there was even That Crazy Grin [the infamous I WANT YOUR EYES grin]. But all these facets of body language may be said to be unnatural, as they were expressed while he was acting out a certain role. Still, they are worth noting, in the event that he may need to take on other roles in the future, for whatever reason.
His most natural body language seems to be reserved, but not in a hostile manner. This manga page would illustrate what I believe to be Itachi's most natural body language: aloof, yet rarely altogether stiff. More relaxed. Taking in the scenery. Even in battles, his body language continues to be something like this for the most part. Others could debate this, but in images like the one I have linked here, I would also argue that there is a certain open-ness to his facial expressions which seems to suggest a certain amount of curiosity towards the world and towards human nature, which is compatible with the fact that he is a genius and genius shinobi would have to do a lot of study, by definition. I would say he may be trained to pick up on certain details.
His height is given at 178 cm (1.78 m, 5.84 ft, 70.079 in) and his weight is listed at 58 kg (127.868 lb).
Background: http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Itachi_Uchiha
Personality: Itachi is shown in canon as being a highly reserved character. It is difficult to pin down the exact specifics of his personality because while he was alive, he was often pretending to be something he was not, and while dead, fans only have Madara's words to go on where Itachi's true intentions were concerned.
According to the Naruto canon (and Uchiha Madara), Itachi was a loving brother who did everything for Sasuke, and this is compatible with what we saw between the brothers when they were children. As an adult, while it can still be supposed he is acting for Sasuke, he uses extreme means (even torture) to enact his wishes for Sasuke. On orders, he also killed his entire clan, so although Itachi is described as a peace-loving character who hated war, it should be noted that he can still be ruthless in the name of duty.
Itachi's most salient personality qualities seem to be that he is reserved and methodical. He is not given to speaking very much and often appears stoic (though he has made a few speeches, and will apparently speechify if the occasion is right). He and his partner in Akatsuki, Hoshigaki Kisame, do have a cooperative and peaceful partnership; they behave with respect towards one another, although it is difficult to be certain of whether or not Kisame ever knew the truth about Itachi (any ventures here would be mere speculation). In Akatsuki meetings, Itachi was notably silent, rarely ever speaking at all, even when addressed (such as when Pain told him to be grateful that Deidara had given his life to eliminate Sasuke).
Because he was actually working as a double-agent, it may be said that Itachi has never fully engaged in an on-screen battle wherein his fighting intentions were serious. He ran away from Jiraiya in one of the earlier episodes and never finished what he began in conflicts with others. At one point, Kisame even pointed out their tendency to keep running from things. Of course, the truth is that this was because it was all pretense in the first place.
It can be said that, whether for benevolent reasons or not, Itachi is entirely manipulative. He pushes people in the direction he wants them to go through mysterious, sometimes nonsensical-sounding conversations, actions, or bits of information. Ever since he killed his clan, he has been manipulating Sasuke to surpass him and focusing his actions towards this goal. He manipulated the trust of Akatsuki and used them. He also manipulated Naruto, in confronting him and insinuating that he would need to do certain things with regards to Sasuke. It was clear that Itachi had some plan or idea in mind for Sasuke and wished for Naruto to be a piece of this; he even gave him some of his power.
Given this evidence, I would suggest that while it may not always be outwardly obvious, Itachi is probably always trying to manipulate the world around him in some directions, especially where Sasuke's growth and development is concerned. Manuevering Sasuke towards what he wants for him seems to be an obsession of Itachi's.
Abilities/Strengths: Non-Sharingan: In terms of hand-to-hand combat, Itachi is extremely fast and capable with weapons like kunai and shuriken; one childhood flashback of Sasuke's involved a younger Itachi throwing a set of shuriken upside down and hitting targets in all directions with perfect accuracy. Many of his ninjutsu and genjutsu portray images of crows, and his clones often dissolve into crows or seem comprised of crows. Itachi shows very good taijutsu capabilities and could wield a sword (as shown when he massacred his clan). He could use both Fire Release and Water Release.
Sharingan: He can cast genjutsu on opponents or reverse their own genjutsu with "Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change." One particularly notable aspect of Itachi's Sharingan in comparison to the Sharingans of several other Uchiha in the canon is that Itachi has enough chakra and endurance to keep his Sharingan activated rather perpetually in many instances. His eyes are always Sharingan eyes. However, comments throughout the manga did suggest that this was creating a strain on his vision and weakning his sight. In the Rescue Gaara arc, Kakashi actually said as much, and Itachi seemed to acknowledge it. (Not that weakened sight apparently slowed Itachi down at all, for whatever reason.)
Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan enables him with the ability to use genjutsu. Some of his attacks are illusion-based, but still potent for wounding and interrogating others. An example of such an attack is the Tsukiyomi, which can be used to trap another person in an illusory world and torture them for what seems like days, but what is in actuality only minutes or seconds. Itachi also uses a ninjutsu called Amaterasu, a black fire which can burn fire itself, and finally, Susanoo, which is the summon of a spirit-like entity. With the Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡, Eight Span Mirror), Susanoo can be used to reflect attacks. Along with the Totsuka no Tsurugi (十拳剣, Ten Hands Long Sword), which seals anything it pierces for all eternity, the Susanoo is a very formidible technique (however, its use is limited, due to the pain and destruction to the body).
In terms of personality strengths, Itachi is very good at devising complex strategies. His ways of going about doing things may seem mysterious and convoluted, but he repeatedly accomplishes what he wants to accomplish with Sasuke (well, until Itachi dies and Sasuke goes off in a direction which I think it's doubtful Itachi intended).
Weaknesses: The Tsukiyomi, while powerful, can only catch someone if they make eye contact with the user.
In the canon, Itachi was ill and seemed to be losing his vision. The constant strain of Sharingan was taking its toll on him. And, as suggested with Susanoo, there seems to be evidence that the use of such difficult techniques tend to wear down his body. In Kannagara, he will be well again, but I still believe his ability to sustain his most powerful attacks may be limited. The Databook lists him as having a rather low stamina stat (2.5).
Depending on how one views it, one may also see Itachi's life as having many weaknesses. He could not bring himself to kill his brother, even on orders, and indeed, he kind of went on to enable his brother into a path of sheer absurdity. Itachi has also spent the majority of his life playing different roles (being a dutiful son to his parents, a perfect Shinobi to ANBU, a loyal member to Akatsuki); it may be possible that this has messed with his sense of self. In my headcanon for Itachi, I would suggest that the unspecified source of his chronic and debilitating illness may have stemmed from just how much he wasted his body and health while working so intensely hard from such a young age. I would suggest it may be similar to child star syndrome. At the very least, it seems feasible to suggest that he may have weakened his immune system on account of his extremely stressful lifestyle [killing your clan and then not being able to show any emotions about it forever; yeah, I could see this causing some stress].
Defining Quote(s): "Forgive me Sasuke... Again, next time" (「許せサスケ…また今度だ」, "Yuruse Sasuke... Mata kondo da")
"You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for."
"People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define "reality". But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Merely vague concepts ... their "reality" may all be a mirage. Can we consider them to simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs?"
Other: Headcanon: Because Itachi's character was always ambiguous throughout the duration of his manga life and was only expanded upon secondhand by Madara after his death, it is somewhat difficult to get an absolute reading of Itachi. Although the manga glorifies the character as very benevolent, and I do believe some of his absolute intentions to be benevolent, I also continue to see something of a dark side to the character. Whether he did it on orders or not, he still killed his entire clan. And while he did it to protect Sasuke or not, he still hurt Sasuke deeply in numerous ways.
Therefore, I'm inclined to suppose there is something odd or just downright off about Itachi's moral compass and how he perceives the world around him. I intend to play him as somewhat unusual in his perceptions. His observations may be somewhat difficult to decipher as far as other people are concerned.
Action Writing Sample:
tbh, I dunno if this much internal shit is allowed in video postings, but I was trying to show a confused mindset here; one can assume the video post is accidental as fuck.
[ Death.
Begins and ends like a lightning strike, like a cavalcade of crows rushing from the trees, like wind wrenching the branches until the leaves tear at the thundering grey sky. (It was raining; Kisame had been there, had commented on -- )
Bleeding profusely, from his eyes down his cheeks. Falling into his mouth. Salty. Thicker than the rain. ( -- had commented on his face, which was drowned by the rain, now drowned by blood -- ) And now there is Sasuke's lightning, a storm in the sky, and delirium-death. The world is a candle in fog, the eyes are dying (perhaps Sasuke will have use of them); the world exists in shutter-shots, colours, like a desert vision in Sunagakure, like a the world beyond a flame (Amaterasu) where all is faded foggy dim twilight; and Itachi's eyes die to the sight of his brother, his skin bleeds in anticipation of the rain.
But that is not this reality.
That was the reality one moment before, framed with certainty in the other eye: the eye of the mind.
Death begins and ends like a lightning strike. Like a rushing green world replacing Susanoo's raging sky, though his eyes flash between the two, as if with split vision. The skin was not whole. It was open and bleeding, to be washed in the rain of the coming storm. (He was looking up at the rain, and -- ) But the blood drains off. The skin patches itself together. The arms are not chunks of sores on skin; raw meat. Death must repair. Death must re-incarnate. Perhaps this is all a dying dream: a bright world.
Not lit by a candle, but by the full light of day.
(The full light of day, which he has not fully seen in many years.)
And birdsong. (Not crows. Not ravens.) ]
. . . I suppose there is no room for rain in the other world.
[ The body is repaired. Without blood. No wetness. No warmth. (But it was his warmth to bleed out, and how long had he waited to have it drawn by the blood of his blood?)
Something is making a noise. There is something strange. Something with lights. ]
Brother, I congratulate your victory.
[ Unless this is someone's final illusion. Some new genjutsu. Perhaps he is not dead, but still dying. ]
Though I can do nothing more for you here, and here I see nothing that resembles forgiveness. [ Still to himself. ] And yet, this I did not ask for. I understood the price. [ And perhaps in the end, they both did. ] Here will be nothing new. In the reality beyond other worlds, or even the eyes of our clan, or sealed: it is the same when certain meanings are abandoned. I would have explained that to you. At the last instant, I wonder whether you saw for yourself . . . I think perhaps you did.
[Pause.]
So I have finished my mission, now, Sasuke. Thank you.
[ Perhaps his soul is at ease. At ease. Is this ease?
All this time, the Hitomi has been broadcasting the scene of a very dazed looking individual, seemingly unaware of the surrounding world.
The blood that shed my blood. Brothers in heaven or hell. In all worlds between. ]
The sun is bright once more, I see.
Third Person Writing Sample: [fic snippets; the style may not be 100% what I would replicate in RP, but it should give you some general ideas as to my take on the character's mind]
One rarely goes to a doctor for a cure.
You think you do, but there are certain diseases -- more than not, in reality -- which cannot be cured, and which will not be cured, and doctors, as with medic-nin in shinobi villages, are of little use for these.
One rarely goes to a doctor for comfort, because a doctor is of no comfort.
There is little to be found in medical journals; no warmth resides in the cold scientific writing which bestows elaborate names upon sufferings of the body, which tricks the tongue with words from long dead languages and forces the mouth to stumble its way over strange configurations of syllables. These read not so unlike the mission reports which Itachi filed and wrote in long years ago, with ANBU; and perhaps -- but you will never know, will you? -- perhaps he is different in this regard.
Perhaps he does find something familiar and pleasant in those precise, merciless details. Perhaps within him there does reside a mind that delights in lines and angles, in as much as it delights in anything. No one would claim him as a man of sentimentality; he sees through it.
Here is the key: Itachi's fading sight is too perfect.
Soon, he will see nothing. But for Itachi, seeing everything has forever meant seeing nothing. He opens his eyes to a silver world of strange clouds and watches the lines of the rain; the way it falls straight on some nights, and the way it slants on other nights.
But it is never like the edge of a kunai knife; nature is never flawless in its symmetry.
Kisame sits behind him and cleans his sword and Itachi stands silently on the rolling hills, watching the fireflies. There is little in nature, he thinks, that runs in straight lines, that adheres to mathematic precision. It isn't natural at all. The fireflies don't make these plans. They come up from the earth and beat their wings; they glow brightly, and they find one another. Then, they die. There could be nothing more natural.
There is nothing more natural than dying.
This is how you will remember you are a human, too.
***
Itachi remembers his mother at home, staring too long out the window. He remembers the graveness of his father's face. Itachi has a face like his father did. Grave. Mikoto's body softened Sasuke into something else, something different -- Itachi could look at him and think perhaps he was the lucky one. Perhaps he had gotten away, Itachi remembers thinking, the day he graduated the exam, as Sasuke had looked at him with envy.
Perhaps you've gotten away, Brother.
Little brother.
But I like when you call me Brother. That's who I am, to someone.
Who I was, the mind corrects.
Mikoto is gone. Fugaku, too.
Maybe Sasuke will still get away. Maybe he can still be a human, and not an Uchiha.
Maybe.
People rarely go to doctors for cures or comforts. They go because it is human. It is the most human to die, but it is also human to talk to others before death. The resistance to the most human outcome is a part of the journey there, and nature will tell you that a dying creature often returns home before the end comes.
As surely as the salmon swims upstream, as surely as the snows come with the cold, nature takes its course.
***
Itachi leaves Konoha again -- and this time, it is final: leaves to find his light, and asks no more of the world. Only listens, until loving is like not feeling at all, and a sight that sees through everything is total darkness, and while all the woods are full of sound, he sinks back in.
Tomorrow it will be time to forget to be human, again.
Name/Nickname: Amber
Age: 23
Journal: hieronymousb
AIM/MSN/IM: Ambre Nosmada
Email: perjautse@gmail.com
CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Uchiha Itachi
Canon: Naruto
Point taken from canon: 393, shortly before death.
Age: 21 [I'm taking this from Narutopedia]
Gender: Male
Preferred Village:
Appearance: Itachi wears the Akatsuki's standard black cloak with red clouds imprinted upon it. He has long hair which he wears pulled back and naturally dark eyes which are often red, swirling with tomoe, in the mark of the Sharingan or Mangekyou Sharingan. He wears a necklace and has painted black nails. One of his more distinguishing features may be the lines under his eyes; it is ambiguous whether these lines are merely a quality that has been there since birth, whether they are scars, or stress lines. [I prefer to think of them as stress lines.]
Although Itachi smiled often enough when he was younger, in the presence of his younger brother, as an adult he is not prone to displaying very much facial expression. He often looks relatively stoic; his eyes seem to either focus intensely on people or look as though they are gazing off into the distance. Sometimes (as on his throne when he addressed Sasuke), his body language and facial expression can suggest aloofness and a kind of haughty superiority. When maintaining his facade of antagonism towards Sasuke, his body language tended to be indifferent, shut off, and violent, or wickedly smirking, and in one instance, there was even That Crazy Grin [the infamous I WANT YOUR EYES grin]. But all these facets of body language may be said to be unnatural, as they were expressed while he was acting out a certain role. Still, they are worth noting, in the event that he may need to take on other roles in the future, for whatever reason.
His most natural body language seems to be reserved, but not in a hostile manner. This manga page would illustrate what I believe to be Itachi's most natural body language: aloof, yet rarely altogether stiff. More relaxed. Taking in the scenery. Even in battles, his body language continues to be something like this for the most part. Others could debate this, but in images like the one I have linked here, I would also argue that there is a certain open-ness to his facial expressions which seems to suggest a certain amount of curiosity towards the world and towards human nature, which is compatible with the fact that he is a genius and genius shinobi would have to do a lot of study, by definition. I would say he may be trained to pick up on certain details.
His height is given at 178 cm (1.78 m, 5.84 ft, 70.079 in) and his weight is listed at 58 kg (127.868 lb).
Background: http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Itachi_Uchiha
Personality: Itachi is shown in canon as being a highly reserved character. It is difficult to pin down the exact specifics of his personality because while he was alive, he was often pretending to be something he was not, and while dead, fans only have Madara's words to go on where Itachi's true intentions were concerned.
According to the Naruto canon (and Uchiha Madara), Itachi was a loving brother who did everything for Sasuke, and this is compatible with what we saw between the brothers when they were children. As an adult, while it can still be supposed he is acting for Sasuke, he uses extreme means (even torture) to enact his wishes for Sasuke. On orders, he also killed his entire clan, so although Itachi is described as a peace-loving character who hated war, it should be noted that he can still be ruthless in the name of duty.
Itachi's most salient personality qualities seem to be that he is reserved and methodical. He is not given to speaking very much and often appears stoic (though he has made a few speeches, and will apparently speechify if the occasion is right). He and his partner in Akatsuki, Hoshigaki Kisame, do have a cooperative and peaceful partnership; they behave with respect towards one another, although it is difficult to be certain of whether or not Kisame ever knew the truth about Itachi (any ventures here would be mere speculation). In Akatsuki meetings, Itachi was notably silent, rarely ever speaking at all, even when addressed (such as when Pain told him to be grateful that Deidara had given his life to eliminate Sasuke).
Because he was actually working as a double-agent, it may be said that Itachi has never fully engaged in an on-screen battle wherein his fighting intentions were serious. He ran away from Jiraiya in one of the earlier episodes and never finished what he began in conflicts with others. At one point, Kisame even pointed out their tendency to keep running from things. Of course, the truth is that this was because it was all pretense in the first place.
It can be said that, whether for benevolent reasons or not, Itachi is entirely manipulative. He pushes people in the direction he wants them to go through mysterious, sometimes nonsensical-sounding conversations, actions, or bits of information. Ever since he killed his clan, he has been manipulating Sasuke to surpass him and focusing his actions towards this goal. He manipulated the trust of Akatsuki and used them. He also manipulated Naruto, in confronting him and insinuating that he would need to do certain things with regards to Sasuke. It was clear that Itachi had some plan or idea in mind for Sasuke and wished for Naruto to be a piece of this; he even gave him some of his power.
Given this evidence, I would suggest that while it may not always be outwardly obvious, Itachi is probably always trying to manipulate the world around him in some directions, especially where Sasuke's growth and development is concerned. Manuevering Sasuke towards what he wants for him seems to be an obsession of Itachi's.
Abilities/Strengths: Non-Sharingan: In terms of hand-to-hand combat, Itachi is extremely fast and capable with weapons like kunai and shuriken; one childhood flashback of Sasuke's involved a younger Itachi throwing a set of shuriken upside down and hitting targets in all directions with perfect accuracy. Many of his ninjutsu and genjutsu portray images of crows, and his clones often dissolve into crows or seem comprised of crows. Itachi shows very good taijutsu capabilities and could wield a sword (as shown when he massacred his clan). He could use both Fire Release and Water Release.
Sharingan: He can cast genjutsu on opponents or reverse their own genjutsu with "Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change." One particularly notable aspect of Itachi's Sharingan in comparison to the Sharingans of several other Uchiha in the canon is that Itachi has enough chakra and endurance to keep his Sharingan activated rather perpetually in many instances. His eyes are always Sharingan eyes. However, comments throughout the manga did suggest that this was creating a strain on his vision and weakning his sight. In the Rescue Gaara arc, Kakashi actually said as much, and Itachi seemed to acknowledge it. (Not that weakened sight apparently slowed Itachi down at all, for whatever reason.)
Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan enables him with the ability to use genjutsu. Some of his attacks are illusion-based, but still potent for wounding and interrogating others. An example of such an attack is the Tsukiyomi, which can be used to trap another person in an illusory world and torture them for what seems like days, but what is in actuality only minutes or seconds. Itachi also uses a ninjutsu called Amaterasu, a black fire which can burn fire itself, and finally, Susanoo, which is the summon of a spirit-like entity. With the Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡, Eight Span Mirror), Susanoo can be used to reflect attacks. Along with the Totsuka no Tsurugi (十拳剣, Ten Hands Long Sword), which seals anything it pierces for all eternity, the Susanoo is a very formidible technique (however, its use is limited, due to the pain and destruction to the body).
In terms of personality strengths, Itachi is very good at devising complex strategies. His ways of going about doing things may seem mysterious and convoluted, but he repeatedly accomplishes what he wants to accomplish with Sasuke (well, until Itachi dies and Sasuke goes off in a direction which I think it's doubtful Itachi intended).
Weaknesses: The Tsukiyomi, while powerful, can only catch someone if they make eye contact with the user.
In the canon, Itachi was ill and seemed to be losing his vision. The constant strain of Sharingan was taking its toll on him. And, as suggested with Susanoo, there seems to be evidence that the use of such difficult techniques tend to wear down his body. In Kannagara, he will be well again, but I still believe his ability to sustain his most powerful attacks may be limited. The Databook lists him as having a rather low stamina stat (2.5).
Depending on how one views it, one may also see Itachi's life as having many weaknesses. He could not bring himself to kill his brother, even on orders, and indeed, he kind of went on to enable his brother into a path of sheer absurdity. Itachi has also spent the majority of his life playing different roles (being a dutiful son to his parents, a perfect Shinobi to ANBU, a loyal member to Akatsuki); it may be possible that this has messed with his sense of self. In my headcanon for Itachi, I would suggest that the unspecified source of his chronic and debilitating illness may have stemmed from just how much he wasted his body and health while working so intensely hard from such a young age. I would suggest it may be similar to child star syndrome. At the very least, it seems feasible to suggest that he may have weakened his immune system on account of his extremely stressful lifestyle [killing your clan and then not being able to show any emotions about it forever; yeah, I could see this causing some stress].
Defining Quote(s): "Forgive me Sasuke... Again, next time" (「許せサスケ…また今度だ」, "Yuruse Sasuke... Mata kondo da")
"You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for."
"People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define "reality". But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Merely vague concepts ... their "reality" may all be a mirage. Can we consider them to simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs?"
Other: Headcanon: Because Itachi's character was always ambiguous throughout the duration of his manga life and was only expanded upon secondhand by Madara after his death, it is somewhat difficult to get an absolute reading of Itachi. Although the manga glorifies the character as very benevolent, and I do believe some of his absolute intentions to be benevolent, I also continue to see something of a dark side to the character. Whether he did it on orders or not, he still killed his entire clan. And while he did it to protect Sasuke or not, he still hurt Sasuke deeply in numerous ways.
Therefore, I'm inclined to suppose there is something odd or just downright off about Itachi's moral compass and how he perceives the world around him. I intend to play him as somewhat unusual in his perceptions. His observations may be somewhat difficult to decipher as far as other people are concerned.
Action Writing Sample:
tbh, I dunno if this much internal shit is allowed in video postings, but I was trying to show a confused mindset here; one can assume the video post is accidental as fuck.
[ Death.
Begins and ends like a lightning strike, like a cavalcade of crows rushing from the trees, like wind wrenching the branches until the leaves tear at the thundering grey sky. (It was raining; Kisame had been there, had commented on -- )
Bleeding profusely, from his eyes down his cheeks. Falling into his mouth. Salty. Thicker than the rain. ( -- had commented on his face, which was drowned by the rain, now drowned by blood -- ) And now there is Sasuke's lightning, a storm in the sky, and delirium-death. The world is a candle in fog, the eyes are dying (perhaps Sasuke will have use of them); the world exists in shutter-shots, colours, like a desert vision in Sunagakure, like a the world beyond a flame (Amaterasu) where all is faded foggy dim twilight; and Itachi's eyes die to the sight of his brother, his skin bleeds in anticipation of the rain.
But that is not this reality.
That was the reality one moment before, framed with certainty in the other eye: the eye of the mind.
Death begins and ends like a lightning strike. Like a rushing green world replacing Susanoo's raging sky, though his eyes flash between the two, as if with split vision. The skin was not whole. It was open and bleeding, to be washed in the rain of the coming storm. (He was looking up at the rain, and -- ) But the blood drains off. The skin patches itself together. The arms are not chunks of sores on skin; raw meat. Death must repair. Death must re-incarnate. Perhaps this is all a dying dream: a bright world.
Not lit by a candle, but by the full light of day.
(The full light of day, which he has not fully seen in many years.)
And birdsong. (Not crows. Not ravens.) ]
. . . I suppose there is no room for rain in the other world.
[ The body is repaired. Without blood. No wetness. No warmth. (But it was his warmth to bleed out, and how long had he waited to have it drawn by the blood of his blood?)
Something is making a noise. There is something strange. Something with lights. ]
Brother, I congratulate your victory.
[ Unless this is someone's final illusion. Some new genjutsu. Perhaps he is not dead, but still dying. ]
Though I can do nothing more for you here, and here I see nothing that resembles forgiveness. [ Still to himself. ] And yet, this I did not ask for. I understood the price. [ And perhaps in the end, they both did. ] Here will be nothing new. In the reality beyond other worlds, or even the eyes of our clan, or sealed: it is the same when certain meanings are abandoned. I would have explained that to you. At the last instant, I wonder whether you saw for yourself . . . I think perhaps you did.
[Pause.]
So I have finished my mission, now, Sasuke. Thank you.
[ Perhaps his soul is at ease. At ease. Is this ease?
All this time, the Hitomi has been broadcasting the scene of a very dazed looking individual, seemingly unaware of the surrounding world.
The blood that shed my blood. Brothers in heaven or hell. In all worlds between. ]
The sun is bright once more, I see.
Third Person Writing Sample: [fic snippets; the style may not be 100% what I would replicate in RP, but it should give you some general ideas as to my take on the character's mind]
One rarely goes to a doctor for a cure.
You think you do, but there are certain diseases -- more than not, in reality -- which cannot be cured, and which will not be cured, and doctors, as with medic-nin in shinobi villages, are of little use for these.
One rarely goes to a doctor for comfort, because a doctor is of no comfort.
There is little to be found in medical journals; no warmth resides in the cold scientific writing which bestows elaborate names upon sufferings of the body, which tricks the tongue with words from long dead languages and forces the mouth to stumble its way over strange configurations of syllables. These read not so unlike the mission reports which Itachi filed and wrote in long years ago, with ANBU; and perhaps -- but you will never know, will you? -- perhaps he is different in this regard.
Perhaps he does find something familiar and pleasant in those precise, merciless details. Perhaps within him there does reside a mind that delights in lines and angles, in as much as it delights in anything. No one would claim him as a man of sentimentality; he sees through it.
Here is the key: Itachi's fading sight is too perfect.
Soon, he will see nothing. But for Itachi, seeing everything has forever meant seeing nothing. He opens his eyes to a silver world of strange clouds and watches the lines of the rain; the way it falls straight on some nights, and the way it slants on other nights.
But it is never like the edge of a kunai knife; nature is never flawless in its symmetry.
Kisame sits behind him and cleans his sword and Itachi stands silently on the rolling hills, watching the fireflies. There is little in nature, he thinks, that runs in straight lines, that adheres to mathematic precision. It isn't natural at all. The fireflies don't make these plans. They come up from the earth and beat their wings; they glow brightly, and they find one another. Then, they die. There could be nothing more natural.
There is nothing more natural than dying.
This is how you will remember you are a human, too.
***
Itachi remembers his mother at home, staring too long out the window. He remembers the graveness of his father's face. Itachi has a face like his father did. Grave. Mikoto's body softened Sasuke into something else, something different -- Itachi could look at him and think perhaps he was the lucky one. Perhaps he had gotten away, Itachi remembers thinking, the day he graduated the exam, as Sasuke had looked at him with envy.
Perhaps you've gotten away, Brother.
Little brother.
But I like when you call me Brother. That's who I am, to someone.
Who I was, the mind corrects.
Mikoto is gone. Fugaku, too.
Maybe Sasuke will still get away. Maybe he can still be a human, and not an Uchiha.
Maybe.
People rarely go to doctors for cures or comforts. They go because it is human. It is the most human to die, but it is also human to talk to others before death. The resistance to the most human outcome is a part of the journey there, and nature will tell you that a dying creature often returns home before the end comes.
As surely as the salmon swims upstream, as surely as the snows come with the cold, nature takes its course.
***
Itachi leaves Konoha again -- and this time, it is final: leaves to find his light, and asks no more of the world. Only listens, until loving is like not feeling at all, and a sight that sees through everything is total darkness, and while all the woods are full of sound, he sinks back in.
Tomorrow it will be time to forget to be human, again.