Nightshift 40: Greenhouse Yard

[youlackmascara]

[from here]Itachi made it out to the yard without being accosted by any vengeance-obsessed brothers, so he could probably continue with his plans without further disruption. Additionally, there didn't seem to be any monsters or other obstacles in this area, either. With the exception of that minor occurrence, the night was proceeding entirely too

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[sasuke_of_sound]

[[one vengeance-obsessed brother coming up, from here]]

The door slammed open and Sasuke burst in expecting to have to chase Itachi wherever he was headed, Sharingan blazing to life to catch his trail -- but, unexpectedly, there he was. Itachi, without a doubt, simply standing there and finally close enough to hear him and see him and fight him.

Aidou and Wolfram were long forgotten. Sasuke let the door slam shut behind him and slowed his movements to a cold, determined stalk.

"Itachi," voice almost more growl than speech. "You won't get away this time."

And without further preamble, Sasuke swung his sword into an offensive hold, pinpointed Itachi's position, and let the Sharingan fade out as he charged -- this time, unlike their first encounter in the Institute, with all his natural speed and agility fully intact.

[youlackmascara]

This is why he should have just left. He should have known his luck would turn out this way, because nothing had gone perfectly right since he had found himself in this place. Of course Sasuke would be there tonight, of course he would see him, of course he would follow him. It would be of no consequence if Sasuke's performance approximated that of the earlier night, however. Some part of him hoped it wouldn't, some part wanted to match Sasuke evenly to whatever end may come. But he could not afford to consider that option, because he would not die like this, and neither would Sasuke if Itachi had any say in the matter

[sasuke_of_sound]

There wasn't even a response -- not even the usual dismissal that Sasuke had grown to expect. Had he finally stopped so much as registering as anything of interest to Itachi? Then again, the state that Sasuke had been in the few times he'd encountered Itachi in the Institute had hardly been conducive to making it clear just how much of a threat he was

[youlackmascara]

That had backfired. He had underestimated Sasuke after all, which in some ways was rather satisfying, but at this point in time the knowledge was not improving Itachi's mood. Not only had Sasuke not charged as blindly as he usually did (speaking of course in the figurative sense), but he had immediately assessed Itachi's position and used it to his advantage. This could perhaps be an interesting fight after all. But Itachi shouldn't be entertaining any such thoughts, because whatever flicker of detached pride he felt at Sasuke's performance so far paled in comparison to the need to win. There was a time to lose, and this was not it. And Itachi was strong enough to decide when he would win or lose

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke had indeed expected Itachi to have managed to arm himself by now, and he'd certainly expected to learn that firsthand during this spar; so it was that the pain of a blade sinking into his thigh wasn't too much of a surprise. Despite that there was no way to control the instinctive recoil following a blow, not when Sasuke couldn't see to predict the next strike -- he flinched back into a crouch, and in that moment Itachi escaped

[youlackmascara]

Itachi caught a flicker of Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes and prepared himself for a more serious onslaught, but the red glistening in the darkness was gone as quickly as it came. So Sasuke was merely confirming Itachi's position. And now. . . the attack. Itachi ignored the stab of disappointment he felt at another straight attack, moving to block the strike with a timing calculated to account for his impaired sight

[sasuke_of_sound]

Even if it hadn't connected as thoroughly as Sasuke might have liked, the strike was still successful in that it brought Sasuke in to the range he wanted, and he definitely felt at least some of the blow connect. There was the brief but familiar resistance of flesh against blade, and then the distinct sound of Itachi's knee hitting the ground. If Sasuke could just take advantage of what had to be a moment of pain, he could surprise

[youlackmascara]

Breath rushed out of Itachi's body, his eyes wide with surprise as he fell back, injured leg folded under him at a painful angle. He hadn't expected Sasuke to do something so impulsive and crude, especially not after his satisfactory performance so far. He could not be positive, but it was possible Sasuke was feeling desperate. Itachi hadn't believed his strikes so far had been damaging enough to drive Sasuke into a corner, though his brother had always allowed anger to rule his actions. Itachi could hardly complain, as he had intentionally fostered that anger himself in order to protect both of them, but he couldn't help wishing Sasuke would channel it in a more controlled manner. Loss of control over one's emotions was the greatest weakness one could have, and Sasuke would never have the fortitude to kill him if he let his strength unravel for such a stupid reason. Itachi knew firsthand how vital it was to harden oneself to be able to do such a thing