This does not look like Konoha. [Active/Open]
Who: A seven-year-old Sasuke Uchiha and anyone who'd like to join him!
Where: The parlor. He's freaked out and not moving a whole lot just yet.
When: Day 02
What: Sasuke is lost, confused, and definitely not happy.
Warnings: Uhh. Lost children!
( Where did my house go.. )
Where: The parlor. He's freaked out and not moving a whole lot just yet.
When: Day 02
What: Sasuke is lost, confused, and definitely not happy.
Warnings: Uhh. Lost children!
( Where did my house go.. )
"You're taller," The boy finally muttered after a moment, rocking back on his heels while his fingers curled into the fabric covering his brother's shoulders. There was a beat of confusion, his eyes flickering over Itachi's face again and again as though to sort out exactly how and why his brother had changed so suddenly. He seemed older somehow--sadder, too. Sasuke didn't know why he was sad, and, after a moment, seemed to brighten.
Lifting his fingers, he very gently made to poke Itachi's nose, a parody of bruised forehead that Sasuke was still sporting. "Can... we go home now, nii-san? I don't like it here." He asked tentatively after a moment, unwinding himself from Itachi long enough to gather up Roary again. If his older brother wasn't careful, he was going to get that dinosaur shoved lightly in his face.
Reply
Almost poetic, really.
But there was none of that, only Sasuke and his trust, impossibly small as he clung to Itachi, still smelling of shampoo and home. Sasuke, studying him now with worry creasing his forehead, making the obvious observation even as he sought out the rest.
What do you see with those eyes, Sasuke?
Itachi blinked at the gesture, offering a faint smile in return. The question was a serious one, and Itachi wasn't sure how to answer; he had no idea where they were, much less how to get ... home. Instead, he tilted his head, waiting while his brother gathered up the plush, unable to look away.
Were their parents lurking somewhere within this sprawling house? At the moment, it seemed unbearably likely. "We'll have to stay for a little while," he said at last, carefully choosing his words. "But I'll take you somewhere better than this, okay?" Would the others be there when he returned?
Itachi did not want to voice impossible promises. He'd spent enough of his life lying to the boy, in one way or another.
Reply
They just hadn't found it yet.
So, the boy merely let his face break out in a smile, reaching out to grab a few of Itachi's fingers in his fist so that he could be led to this better place. If Itachi had said so, then he'd trust him.
"Alright, nii-san. But<," And this was a very serious pause, Roary's face being pushed against his brother's cheek to solidify the weight of his words, "You have to show me how to do the kunai trick when we get back, okay? You promised."
And Itachi had been busy, he knew that... but hew as still a little boy, who's entire world selfishly revolved around himself, and his family. The thought of something bigger and darker overshadowing them all wasn't something he could comprehend.
Reply
But Sasuke lacked such subtlety. Besides, Itachi was confident he knew the limit of the boy's power, and he was not yet capable of this, not even with Orochimaru's instruction. Leaving ... what?
He endured the press of the worn toy against his face, closing an eye lest it be injured in Sasuke's enthusiasm, fingers twitching as they finally closed around the boy's hand, encircling, offering silent reassurance. Safety.
When we get back. "Of course," he agreed softly, his face softening as he stood and glanced back at the door. That crushing feeling, he thought, would pass -- should he be granted time to get used to it -- as all pain must pass. Depressingly, it seemed that fate demanded he lie once more. "When we get back."
Reply
Sasuke kind of wanted one.
"Have you been here a long time? Were you all alone?" His brother was a ninja--he was used to it, but that didn't mean Sasuke had to like the thought. This place was creepy. "Oh, nii-san... Someone said there are monsters here. In this house. But there are safe places we can hide when that happens, so they shouldn't find us..."
Reply
At least he'd left the scarred, pitted remnant of his hitae-ate in the room; Sasuke would certainly have questions about that, the kind that Itachi didn't think another fifty years would prepare him to answer.
"I haven't been here long, no -- and I was alone. For a little while." Seconds, really, but the boy did not need to know that, not yet. Besides that, it was far more satisfying to surprise Sasuke than to disappoint, and even Itachi was not immune to the hint of indulgence that crept into his attitude when it came to dealing with him. More importantly, though --
"Monsters?" Itachi felt uneasy enough in the house, certainly, but had not encountered anything dangerous. "Who told you that?"
Reply
His face fell a little, but he was glad that his brother hadn't been by himself in this place for too long. "Nina did. She's stuck here, too. She said she's been here a whole day already, and at night time, the monsters came out."
Sasuke looked uncertain again, his grip tightening minutely on Itachi's fingers. "But she said that the monsters stayed away, 'cause Edward told her where to hide."
Reply
And his lips quirked at his brother's clumsy attempt at cleverness, though he was charmed nonetheless -- amazing, that with everything, that had not faded at all. He watched the sudden drop of expression, heart clenching briefly; Sasuke wanted their parents, he was certain. For all Itachi embodied to the boy, they were the wellspring of safety and comfort, and in a place like this, both would be wanted. Still, he was somewhat surprised to learn that his little brother had been collecting information --
--and none of it pleasant. Genjutsu, he reminded himself, but a part of his mind was beginning to know doubt.
"Is Nina a friend of yours?" He glanced at the hallway -- quiet, somewhat eerie but otherwise unremarkable, wondering what was meant by monsters. A euphemism? Strangely uniformed ninja? He felt the concern in Sasuke's grip, and glanced back at the boy with a troubled look. "Did she say what sort of monsters?"
'Monsters'.
And I have left behind two injured men, unattended.
Reply
"Uh-huh," Sasuke said almost absently, glancing towards the piano as if Nina would suddenly reappear there. "I met her before you showed up. I don't know where she went..."
He shook his head quickly. Nina hadn't said a word about what kind of monsters they were. Monsters were monsters. They didn't need to be labeled, did they? The look in Itachi's eye made him cringe inwardly, just a little. He should have asked more questions, been able to provide more information.
"She said they came out at night. She hid... in the study." He could recall that much, at least.
Reply
Oh, he was curious -- not enough to risk confrontation with this child in tow. Not enough to leave the others unknowing of potential danger. "Is Nina a child?" It sounded like it, the way Sasuke described her -- an adult would have been met with more suspicion, he was certain. Itachi did not need to rely on that dusty sense of almost preternatural awareness of the boy to sense his chagrin, and offered a quick smile to soothe it. "You've learned quite a bit -- a lot more than I have. You've done good, Sasuke."
All the while, he was filing away information in his mind, trying to get a feel for the hidden dangers of this place. Literal or not, there seemed to be an enemy. But why -- why them? Why like this?
And where was this study?
Reply
He could tell that Itachi was thinking, and rocked quietly on his heels for a moment in an attempt to be patient. It wasn't particularly successful, but it would buy the older nin some time to sort through all of this new information.
"The door wouldn't open." Sasuke pointed out as well, twisting around and glancing at what had to be the exit. "Maybe they're stuck. Or locked."
Reply
So. Other people. He'd never met anyone named Nina, much less a child, thus -- what? Was this an illusion that trapped indiscriminately? "Did she say what village, Sasuke?"
Perhaps who was wrong. Was it possible he'd tripped some sort of ward? It seemed incredibly unlikely; he'd have known, given the power needed to invoke it.
"That might be true," he said absently; he'd not had much time to spend looking at escape routes, with the excitement of Shisui and Kakashi's arrival ... nor did he think he'd have much time now, with Sasuke clinging to him. Things had become quite complicated, quite quickly, and Itachi could feel how off-balance he was -- any one of these recent events would have been enough to give him pause, but all of them, all in one continues tumble ... well.
Itachi had needed somewhere quiet, to think, to plan. It was beginning to look like he was ever to be denied. "We'll just have to find a key then, won't we?"
Reply
There was a low, contemplative sound at the mention of a key. Sasuke somehow did not seem convinced. "You couldn't just break it down, nii-san?" Or burn it down, but that might catch the entire house on fire, and put everyone at risk. That was why he hadn't tried it himself, after all!
But. If Itachi wanted them to find a key, then Sasuke would make sure to crawl under all of the tables and into all of the closets to look for it. He'd show Itachi how useful he could be now!
"I'm glad you're here, nii-san." The boy felt like he owed his brother an explanation. "I was... I was sort of scared before. Not really, because I'm almost a real ninja now--but a little." Only a little.
Reply
This wasn't the Uchiha training grounds, though; Itachi would need to be careful, or Sasuke was liable to do something foolish. He doubted they'd get by with something as light as a twisted ankle, in this fell place. A part of him would prefer the Forest of Death -- at least that was a danger he was familiar with. His hand tightened around Sasuke's, just a little, as if in reaction to the thought. "It would be best to observe a while, before trying anything rash," he said mildly. "You wouldn't be happy if someone came into our home and started knocking down walls, would you?"
An odd catch in his voice at that, a bare faltering of tone as his expression twisted, for a single beat, in pain. It had always been easy to lie to Sasuke -- of all people. Habitual, barely noticed in those waning days of the Uchiha -- but there was no time for such maudlin, self-indulgent thinking now, was there?
"I'm ... glad I'm here, too," he answered haltingly, glancing down at his young brother with a reassuring smile. "It's okay to be scared, Sasuke -- as long as you don't stop thinking. Fear tells you when to run from things that are scarier than you can be." It felt important to say it; especially given the sound of this place -- of all things, Itachi did not want to see Sasuke attempt to prove his worth in a fight. He had spent his seventh year in the midst of a war, and had no wish to see his younger brother face any of the things he had.
(No, his life as he knew it, would end soon enough.)
"Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is run."
Run, run and survive this --
Reply
Fear kept him sharp, that's what Itachi seemed to be saying. Did that mean that his brother got scared too, sometimes? That was a realization that had him jerking to a halt, eyes roaming across the hallway without seeing anything.
"Only if you run with me," He insisted suddenly, wildly stubborn at the thought of his brother leaving him again. "I don't want to be alone. And I don't want you to be alone in here either, nii-san."
No one should have to be alone in this house.
Reply
He sensed his little brother's sudden unease, a moment he knew came for every child as that image of their protector was dismantled, that they were not, in fact, the most powerful hand in the world. It left him strangely breathless, aching to feel any of that innocent certainty crumble, but -- he could be gentler this time. (He'd tried, back then, to feed those cracks in Sasuke's armor. Enough that, when the time came, the tiniest push could send it shattering, like a chick emerging from an egg. He'd tried, but his heart had rebelled at those deep fissures, until it was too late.)
Sasuke's demand sucked the breath from him, clenching tight around his throat, a fist more brutal than even the sickness lodged within his fragile chest. This was -- cruel, too cruel to be believed. "Sasuke," he breathed, kneeling down to face his little brother and his nervous, wide-eyed look of stubbornness. "I'll run if I can. But even so -- you won't be alone, I promise." He reached for another of those reassuring smiles, but the pain that rose with it was a clawing, vicious thing; instead, he reached out, tugging Sasuke into a tight hug. "Even if I'm gone for a little while ... you'll see me again soon, so there's no need to worry."
Too cruel.
Reply
Leave a comment