[thread]

[pogromanate]

Who: Itachi & everyone mentioned here
Where: Uchiha estate
When: fffff June 9th, around 7pm?
Summary: It's Itachi's birthday...
Rating: R?
Other: Yosuke you idiot -- also, tag when you can etc etc

Comments

[incarnadines]

"Itachi..." Madara hissed, eyes narrowed in irritation. Why was he turning this into a chase when he knew that his defeat was inevitable? His power was now halved, and that soft heart of his gave Madara plenty of innocent people to take hostage.

Of course Madara himself was not without some sentimentality. While he could have followed Itachi with lightning speed, he instead stopped and turned to look at Sasuke. Disappointment flickered briefly over his features. He had expected his heir to handle those weak foes easily. It seemed he'd overestimated Sasuke's abilities. Or perhaps simply failed in preparing him.

Madara sped to Sasuke's side, allowing Itachi and Soifon to escape for now. He had to make sure that Sasuke wasn't too badly damaged. He needed to be present for what came next, after all. "Don't let the black flames touch you," he warned. "We have to catch up to them. Quickly!" He was burned. The damn boy was burned. How embarrassing. But he would survive, and Madara could heal him once it was all over.

No... If it all went well, then the boy wouldn't need healing.

He took hold of Sasuke, no time to be gentle about it, and yanked him along at an impossibly fast speed, bursting out of the burning mansion the same way that Itachi had gone.

[pogromanate]

Blotches of red glossed over his remaining eye as trinkets of blood traversed down his face from the affect of using the ninjutsu that burnt away the estate. Itachi’s arms were around Soifon’s waist, the other underneath her knees and he quickly rushed over away from the collapsing estate and he lowered his head in reply to her physical reassurance of her still-breathing body, he gave her a silent apology as he pressed his forehead against hers, and ten he quickly looked around to see where the others were -- hoping that they were out of Madara’s way and running off far to find a safe place.

Slender fingers worked rapidly as he placed his wife on the ground. Vision blurred and sloppy with the blood that coated over his eye and the Akatsuki robe was quickly shifted from underneath Soifon and tossed to the side. He reached for her haori and tore it with ease. He moved her body with as much gentleness as one could as he let out a low exhale and soon enough the material instrument was wrapped around the newly-formed stump that was the remainder of her arm. Folding the material of the haori and using a long strand of the same fabric to tightly tighten a knot to keep the blood from spreading further.

Bloodied fingers withdrew from the wound and Itachi let out a deep pant, "...You’ll be fine, do not try to move." He knew that Soifon was very much capable of doing what he request she should not, but the bloodlost would continue and then she would go into shock. Something Itachi would not allow to happen, not when he tilted his head and half-glanced over his shoulder to watch the estate crumble down as he stood up with a wavering posture and a muted empty expression.

[sagittariinae]

The burst of heat was almost blinding, and Kazama immediately backed away from the walls of the estate as they exploded into black flames. And he looked up just in time to see Itachi leave with Soifon -- splattering the ground with liberal amounts of blood that evaporated almost immediately -- and Madara and follow with Sasuke. And he barely managed to snag the rifle case he'd left in the corner before stumbling out of the burning grounds, coughing to clear his lungs of smoke. A brief glance upwards towards the streets, and he noted that Nill was already gone, Yosuke following suit quickly enough with Shikamaru. Hopefully, Yosuke would be smart enough to take Shikamaru straight to the hospital with Nill in tow. So for now --

His muscles strained, burnt skin stretching painfully as he turned heel and began to run after in the direction that the others had gone. By human standards, he was in excellent condition -- but of course, it was meaningless in the face of these monsters. He'd barely had a moment to catch the trail of their movements before they were out of his sight, and he hissed as he ran a zig-zag path down the alleyway of mazes, guesstimating where they were headed.

The violin case he kept his rifle in clattered to the ground, falling apart at the burnt seams -- its weight would only be a hindrance in this case, and he slung the rifle over shoulder, its cold and familiar weight settling against his back. A pause, as he turned down a narrow alleyway, heading towards the top of an abandoned building, scaling the fire escape with a speed born of desperation. Once situation in a higher place, it didn't take him more than a moment to settle his rifle, peering through the scope and finally managing to catch sight of Itachi and Soifon in an alleyway some distance away. They were alive, at least for the moment. And he scanned the surrounding area for some sign of their pursuer. -- as much as he hated to admit it, Kazama knew that he was next to useless in a close-range situation against these behemoths. Perhaps, the most he could do was attempt to draw time with long-distance fire.

[emonojutsu]

Sasuke hissed in pain and then grit his teeth, shutting up as he was tugged along... Faster than even he was used to moving. He felt a little humiliated, being caught unawares by Yosuke's attack from behind. But that didn't matter so much--the others had escaped, which was a relief.

What wasn't a relief was that Itachi had gotten away as well The bastard would be made to pay, to answer for his crimes--but the thoughts made Sasuke unaccountably sick to his stomach, queasy. It felt wrong, even when the rage and the desire for revenge were so, so right.

He kept up with Madara as best he could, not answering the question because yes, he was okay. He'd been through worse, in lab tests. Pain was ignorable. For the most part... Alright so it hurt like a bitch, but he refused to say anything, or give more indication than he had to that he was in agony.

He had his pride.

[incarnadines]

Catching up to Itachi felt like it was taking forever when he was stuck dragging Sasuke along, but Madara couldn't very well leave him behind. His participation was crucial for many reasons, and honestly, he deserved the kill. Madara could have his eyes and Sasuke could have his revenge. It would all work out... if Itachi would just stop being difficult about it.

When they reached the alley, Madara whispered to Sasuke, "Stay back until I've blinded him or you won't stand a chance. Don't go and get yourself killed. You're about to become the only family I have." That sentiment was unfortunately true. Sasuke would be his greatest weakness in this battle. But he flashed the boy a confident smile, then turned to stride down the alley toward Itachi and his injured wife.

"Why are you bothering to patch her up?" he asked mockingly as he approached, spreading his hands as he shrugged. "You know I'll kill her. Her, your little kouhai, all those children you've surrounded yourself with... But you can stop it if you just give me what I want.

"Or would you rather fight me and die in an even more pathetic state than the mess you're in right now?"

[sagittariinae]

The seconds seemed to tick by agonizingly slowly, and Kazama fought to keep his aim steady, eye pressed against his rifle scope. (It was an anomaly, this tension in his limbs. He'd almost prided himself on the way he could always keep cold, still as steel -- a forced state of calm that made him the sniper that he was. But no matter how hard to he tried to swallow the fear at the back of his throat and reduce his mindset to its usual cold flat, it seemed so impossible. It was all he could do to keep himself steady.)

He'd been keeping his aim on the general area around where Itachi and Soifon were, sweeping his line of vision in the direction he guessed Madara would come from -- and he let out a sharp exhale at the sight of Madara sauntering into the line of his scope. Finger against trigger, he waited for only a brief moment, and the moment that Madara raised his hands, he pulled the trigger.

The rifle he used had its ups and downs, and while its box cartridge only held ten rounds, each shot held a devastating power, shattering the pavement at Madara's feet, puncturing through his form. And while the practical side of his knew that this was most likely a near-useless gesture, the tiny fragment of idealism left in him hoped that it would at least buy Itachi and his wife some time.

[pogromanate]

As slow as the time was when Itachi’s bloodied fingers ran through his hair -- and even as much as it was predictable that Madara would pursue him -- Itachi found it all too fast when Madara was once again before him. There was a soft snort that left Itachi when he heard of being nothing but a pathetic corpse in the very near future. But Itachi had already tossed away any sort of pride, dignity, and his bloodline before such an affair was underway.

His blurred red vision went to Sasuke first. Madara’s new heir, and there was a soft creak of Itachi’s lips that seemed to resemble that of mockery that Madara would pick up a replacement for him -- in which Itachi would have gladly given. Once again the words seemed nothing like a threat. His wife was equal to himself in power, and the children that left the vicinity was not his responsibility anymore. And still, there was an uneasiness when he heard the gunshot sped through the hair to hit the ground before Madara.

"Is that it, Madara? Are you so petty to reduce yourself to threatening me. It would be a shame if the outcome of your foolish actions were not what you wanted." He muttered coldly before turning his head to Soifon, "I want you to leave, do as I say." The words were nothing less than a absolute order, "If Sasuke tries to stop you, then kill him." The thoughts in his head were rushed, irrational and impulsive. But Itachi was not going to succumb to Madara’s demands so easily -- not when Soifon and Kazama were still in the area.

[emonojutsu]

Sasuke stood where Madara left him. The gunshot made him twitch, follow the trajectory towards the roof Kazama was on... but he didn't head towards the sniper. Neither did he pursue Soifon. As far as Sasuke was concerned neither of them were involved, or should be involved. Madara could take care of himself, and as grating as being told to wait was, he already knew he wasn't really a match for Itachi, even Itachi missing one eye.

So he lingered on the edge of things, and alternated between watching the rooftops and looking back at his two blood relations. If Kazama or Soifon tried to jump in one Madara and Itachi, Sasuke would interfere, otherwise, he would do as he was told, and stay out of the fight.

There was nothing he could do but be in the way, at this point. And it made him angry--but he swallowed the bitter knowledge of his own powerlessness, fingernails digging into his palms and flesh aching with burns, and kept vigilant watch.

[incarnadines]

Bullets were still useless against Madara. It was a nice try but he would have had to have been much more distracted to allow the shot to actually hit him. The bullet passed through him and hit the pavement before ricocheting. Madara looked down, then turned to glance over his shoulder, his Mangekyo focused on the sniper. His lips pulled back into a grin, but no, he wouldn't kill Kazama. Not yet. If he did that, he'd be short on things to hold over Itachi during their fight. It would be terrible if he went ahead and destroyed that eye.

"Alright," he sighed. "Let's get serious."

Without a single hand sign, he summoned up a massive whirlwind, a tornado forming in the alley practically out of nowhere. Then he brought his hand to his mouth, blowing into it. A fireball erupted with his breath, spreading to the tornado and feeding on it until the twister itself was completely made of fire, and widening to engulf Itachi... and potentially the entire alley.

[sagittariinae]

It was infuriating, the way the shots seemed to have absolutely no effect. (Was Itachi going to die?) For a moment, Kazama flinched away from the scope of his rifle, the glare of the sudden fire magnified by the scope. But between the whirling tendrils of fire, he could still make out the silhouettes of the figures standing in the alleyway. (And he felt utterly powerless here. He hated how overpowered he felt here, hated himself for it.)

And though he hated to admit it, he could tell that it was nearing the time for him to make an exit. In a desperate measure, he aimed the last five shots in his cartridge to graze past Sasuke -- not aiming to hit the other, not anywhere fatal -- and lowered his rifle, turning away from the sight.

A glance up towards Soifon, who had materialized beside him a moment before, and he gave a small, almost defeated nod. No doubt she was implying that they get out of the place before becoming a further hindrance.

[pogromanate]

It was obvious that Itachi was going to end up being nothing but an empty carcass one way or another. And it could not be helped. The situation was started by him and the selfish desire that was unneeded. And basically; Itachi had already surrendered himself. Only not to use himself as a distraction for Kazama and Soifon to leave and not to watch the aftermath of his last breath -- and for them to not suffer the hands of Madara afterwards.

The unease that surged through him was the unpredictably that was placed before him. Flames emerged from Madara’s hand and Itachi’s frame swayed. A hand picked up the limp material that was once used to cover his wife and he let it drape over his shoulder lazily before the twirling of a man-made blaze was aimed towards him. It was agonizing, how the flames licked his exposed flesh that crept out from the robe and there was a low hiss that left his lips. But he didn’t let himself be consumed so pathetically. His swift movements found their way behind the other two Uchiha and fingers quickly hooked around half a dozen kunai, tossing them effortlessly at Sasuke and his former mentor -- and yet, his aim was inaccurate, his sight fading and only saw the shadows of red.

With the searing robe that smouldered and heated flesh. Itachi retreated to the rooftop in which Soifon and Kazama were on. Deep pants left his mouth and head lowed in his own failure, Itachi didn’t bother to look at both of those that he accompanied on the roof. Breathless words spoke with defeat, "...Don’t even bother, Kazama." A hand went to his empty eyesocket and a flourish of pain pulsed, "Leave, now. I’m not going to say it again."

[incarnadines]

It was unfortunate that they all decided to turn their attacks toward Sasuke. Madara would have preferred to keep the battle between himself and Itachi. He made no move to defend the boy, however. Sasuke would defend himself or end up as worthless as his brother. There was only so much Madara could do for him. Besides, wounds wouldn't matter if he could just succeed in this task of retrieving that remaining eye.

However, he would have to speed up if he intended to finish this before they finished Sasuke. And what a fool Itachi was, leading Madara straight to the roof where his loved ones remained. Madara's form evaporated from the alley and twisted back into existence right where Itachi stood. "Did you come to say goodbye to them?" he asked, his laughing voice ringing out before the rest of him even appeared. Leaving no chance for Itachi to escape, his hand emerged from empty space with fingers already partially embedded in Itachi's eye socket, squeezing and wrenching.

[sagittariinae]

He should have left, he knew he should have -- forced himself to tear away from this battlefield before he grew to become an even bigger nuisance. But still, it was difficult for him to acknowledge and accept that he was so weak, so painfully weak and useless here. Looking up at Soifon, he nodded, just barely managing to keep his emotions in check, and made to get away from the scene -- when Itachi's sudden appearance made him freeze. (Ah.) "Senp --"

The word was only halfway out of his mouth when the second figure materialized. Fingers plunged in the vulnerable eye socket, heralding the wet splatter of blood. (No.) Even knowing that it would be a fruitless gesture, Kazama moved without thinking, drawing the knife from his belt and lunging forward, the blade carving a sharp arc through the air, towards Madara's outspread arm -- and right through it. Instantly catching his weight, he stopped himself before the follow-through of the movement sent him stumbling -- and, in a moment of desperation, jerked his arm out to cast the knife forward in a forward throw. (If it's penetrating through flesh, he must be a physical entity at least in that location --) The blade whistled through the air, nicking past the bridge of Itachi's nose, tearing past the eyelid, just narrowly missing the curve of the half-removed eye.