[ THREAD ] and another one gone

[sagittariinae]

Who: Itachi [ pogromanates ] & Kazama [ sagittariinae ] , OPEN TO Yosuke [ waitingfora ] & Nill [ silencedbird ]
Where: Yosuke's apartment.
When: Afternoon.
Summary: Returning to a familiar place.
Rating: PG-13

Comments

[sagittariinae]

Waiting out in the corridor with his hands shoved in his pockets, Kazama had been staring blankly at some potted plants and other junk scattered along the hallway. Not so much that it was interesting, but because he wasn't sure what to do with himself. Already, he wondered if perhaps he should have come later. A month in isolation had returned him closer to his original distaste for any sort of company, he had glanced back down to the floor, leaning against the opposite wall as he waited.

And looking up when the door open, he started almost visible at the sight of Itachi looking so worn down. It was obvious that the other had deteriorated considerably over the past month, and kazama felt a small pang of guilt prickle at his chest. Not that he was arrogant enough to think that this was entirely due to his own absence -- but it was probably the fault at least in part. Only giving a small nod at Itachi's words, he hesitated for a moment before stepping into the apartment, closing the door behind him. "-- I didn't intend to vanish for so long."

It looked like Itachi was intent on resting, and Kazama probably would have let him -- he looked like he needed some rest -- if it weren't for the small form that came scurrying into sight. Nill. She looked well, which was a small relief. And Kazama stepped into the living room, idly unbuttoning his jacket and holding himself awkwardly. It looked like Nill wanted some sort of reconciliatory conversation -- giving the girl a small nod in greeting, he looked back to Itachi. Pausing for a moment before speaking quietly,

"I apologize. I didn't mean to cause any -- worry." It was such an arrogant statement, in retrospect -- to think that his absence would cause any concern. He couldn't tell if that had been the right thing to say or not. But either way, the words were out now, and Kazama stood with his head half-bowed, eyes directly blankly at the floor. "-- you should rest."

[pogromanate]

Even with his own kouhai visible, Itachi made no objections to recoil from the other man. Having his own prickle with faint thoughts of simply fleeing -- to simply apologize that he could not find Kazama beforehand. And yet such a thought was pathetic in his own right. As far as Itachi knew, Kazama was the only one that was not revived from Battle Royale -- and yet he should have known that Kazama would, and could have, been traumatized by that experience. But that did not waver the faith he had for Kazama that the other would come back.

The small blonde form that was heading his direction went completely unnoticed, as though the Uchiha was looking straight pass Nill and not at her. But the visible flinch that faltered his frame was enough to alarm him suddenly. But when the small fingers coiled around his own, Itachi did not make any effect to pull away as he was whirled around and dragged (almost unwillingly) back to Kazama. He gaze Kazama another glance, and with the words that the other spoke, Itachi could not displace the small amused sound that came out in a exhale. As weak as it was, that didn’t mean it was unkind nor unfriendly.

" -- I’ll live." He said with a soft voice that was equal to that of his expression. A deep inhale. And a slow exhale before he continued with arms across his chest, "...It’s a relief to see you unharmed." Even his own words were that of tired and drained.

His own line of vision met that of the floor before he found a place against the wall to lean against. Head lowered, and his chest heaved weakly. There was nothing else that the Uchiha had to say. He would not question Kazama on his whereabouts, nor would he inquire the other’s affairs that were irrelevant to his own, instead he let his body slump against the wall. "Not that I expected otherwise."

[silencedbird]

It wasn’t that she wanted them to reconcile, exactly, but-Nill didn’t really know what sort of man Itachi was, deep down, even if she’d been around him for extended periods of time on several occasions. The man didn’t talk enough for her to pick up on much, and she couldn’t read a lot from his expressions and gestures because he always looked tired and world weary. But she wouldn’t have been surprised if Itachi went to sleep now and woke up later to the thought that Kazama showing up was a simple dream or hallucination of some kind. And that wouldn’t change anything.

Admittedly, she did feel a little bad about it when the Uchiha flinched, and Nill almost hesitated, but-she thought this was the best chance at seeing Itachi a bit less worn someday as anyone would ever get, so she had to take it.

Once she’d dragged the man over to his kouhai, Nill gave his hand a little squeeze in her own smaller one before letting go and taking a step to the side, apparently not wanting to interfere but having no intention of leaving because-well, it was Kazama, and Nill had been so worried about him, so very worried, but she’d never given up on the thought that he might come back some day, and he had, he had and she didn’t want to leave.

Her expression was mildly torn when he nodded down at her, which she had learned by now was as close to a greeting as he usually gave. She looked at the Uchiha out of the corner of her eye, then at Kazama, and then the floor, but she made no attempt to try and communicate with the two, instead simply standing there. But when the two lapsed into silence and after Itachi had moved, she shifted her wait from one foot to the other, hesitating for a moment before, as quickly as she could, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Kazama’s torso, hugging him tightly for a brief moment before pulling away from him again and taking a step back.

She knew he wouldn’t like it, that he didn’t even like it when people touched his hands or shoulders, but- but he’d been gone and no one could find him, and Nill had been so afraid that maybe he hadn’t been brought back after Battle Royale.

[sagittariinae]

In a way, it was good to hear Itachi's voice again -- as much as he'd hesitated to return to polite society (or whatever imitation of it that he lived in) -- it helped to be able to speak to one of the few people that he actually looked up to. But on the other hand, the exhaustion was still obvious in Itachi's voice and expression, and Kazama worried, to be honest. It looked like he would topple over any moment. (At least, he thought wanly, Yosuke had managed to keep him safe. 'Safe' being an ambiguous word.)

And as Itachi backed off to lean against the wall, Kazama looked up at him briefly. Mincing over his words for a moment before speaking flatly. "-- You shouldn't have worried about me."

He was cut off rather quickly, though, when he was suddenly being hugged by a smallish form. It was startling, of course -- he'd always shied away from physical contact, especially after long period of isolation -- and he couldn't help stiffening for a moment when he felt Nill press up against him for a moment. But still -- she was one of the very few people that he could tolerate. And when she backed off, he felt marginally guilty -- had he intimidated her? And he gave her a little nod and what was the closest he could get to a smile.

Still standing with his hands awkwardly shoved in his pockets, he shifted his weight for a moment before looking into the apartment, giving a small shrug. "I wasn't in any danger while I was gone -- I shouldn't have caused anyone any worry. I'll be returning everything to the way it was before I vanished."

[pogromanate]

It could not be avoided, Itachi had thought. That he had to return to the Akatsuki sooner or later. One of the few choices he found regrettable and even now. Even with Kazama return Itachi felt a weight lift off his chest before it settled in his stomach. Yosuke, Shikamaru, and Nill had provided Itachi a place to stay, and he only reluctantly took it out of nothing but politeness while his main work was carried on during the day and his search for Kazama was before dawn. And yet, as much as he himself had trusted Kazama, Itachi was ultimately hesitate to speak of his new occupation. How could one speak of returning to that which killed it - even if it had his plus. Either way, the thought made him smirk darkly underneath his bangs.

He did tilt his head to watch as the small figure coiled her arms around Kazama, and the corner of Itachi’s mouth twitched upwards into a faint barely-visible smile to see the young girl’s happiness, before she recoiled.

What sickened him the most, however, was the degeneration that he took hold of. His own condition and vulnerability which he seemed to be at. A pathetic state which could only feed at his self-loathing and wanting nothing more than to shrink back and disappear. He did listen to Kazama’s words however, underneath the overwhelming desire and determination to continue standing as petty thoughts entered his mind.

Lips motioned to speak but no noise came out, he halted his movements before taking another lungful of air. "It’s understandable. Either way I’m glad you have returned." And still, even with the exhaustion heavy in his voice, his words still held firmness that was typical with his apathy, but his next words were hinted with a light tone (Perhaps even subtly teasing) as the corner of his lips quirked upwards and he gazed at Kazama, "I do request, however, that the next time you decide to vanish to leave a indication of you doing as such." Gesturing towards Nill, claiming to not be selfish enough to claim it was for his own sake and for his own reassurance.

[silencedbird]

Once Nill pulled away from Kazama, she shifted her gaze downward for a moment before peeking up at him through her bangs, expression caught somewhere between slightly shy and rather guilty-but what she received in turn from the man was unexpected, and she blinked, slightly wide blue eyes staring up at him rather blatantly. Kazama never showed any signs of happiness-it had taken her awhile to figure them out, but his expressions were minute and far in between, and though they conveyed enough, Nill had never once seen one that might’ve been an implication of some sort of happiness.

The one she was rewarded with after the hug was the closest thing she had ever gotten to a smile from the man, and though he still didn’t look happy, the girl suddenly beamed up at him, her own grin bright and happy.

When Itachi started speaking once more, she turned her attention to him-that was a small plus about these two, she never had to worry much about keeping up whereas she’d probably get a little lost at some point if just Yosuke and Naruto ever had a heated conversation with each other...-and it seemed, even if he was still tired (always, always tired, the only time she hadn’t seen him that way had been at the party over the summer, and could that really be counted when it had ended so very badly?) that Itachi was already a bit better, now. At least, she thought so, and while normally she might’ve argued slightly that Kazama didn’t need to leave an indication because of her, she agreed whole-heartedly this time and nodded her head somewhat enthusiastically. Yes, Kazama definitely needed to let them know next time, especially given the circumstances, because if he hadn’t come back then how would they ever know that he was really okay somewhere?

...for a moment though, Nill wondered if she should go find Yosuke, and if Kazama had simply dropped by she probably would have-- but that wasn't the situation today, not really, and though she wanted to, if Nill brought Yosuke out now when Kazama and Itachi would probably never get to have their conversation (was it over now? not?) so she didn't.

[waitingfora]

His finger kept dipping into the frosting of the cake -- opening the plastic covering so that he could nibble a bit on it, before trying to level off that which he took. He would look around each time in a guilty manner even though it seemed no one really cared what it was he was doing. Yosuke read the words on the cake for the umpteenth time -- "welcome back, Kazama" -- he thought of adding 'senpai' to it, but felt that it was supposed to be from everyone. Letting out a few happy sighs, he felt like this was one of the few good things that had happened in awhile. His shoulder slumped as he headed back to the apartment, having to stop to rest his back against the wall.

Holding the cake carefully, he wiped at his face with his sleeve (the cake held in place with his knee and other arm). It wouldn't do any good if he showed up crying. It just really felt like he wouldn't ever see Kazama again. It felt like his senpai was never coming back, that he had been abandoned. Again. Biting his bottom lip, he knew that Kazama would never mean to give those sort of feelings. His senpai was someone who was kind and thoughtful of others' feelings, someone who was like a hero for those that couldn't protect themselves. His chest swelled with these warm feelings as he took hold of the cake to hurry the few steps to his apartment.

Juggling with the cake in his arms to take out his keys, he threw the door open in a dramatic manner. "Hey guys! I brought a cake, but we have to hide it before -- Senpai!" There went his huge surprise of having a cake ready for him. He almost tried to hide it behind his back, but it didn't work as the cat was already out of the bag. Head bowed in a sheepish manner, he took a few steps forward to hold the cake out to his senpai. "Welcome back, Kazama-senpai. We ... we all really missed you."

[sagittariinae]

Nill's beaming smile was enough to put him at ease to some degree, at least, knowing that she seemed happy that he was back and had given her some sign of approval. And all in all, it was probably better than he'd hoped, this -- return. Quiet and uneventful. The way he preferred. The last thing he would have wanted was some large fuss. Though -- Itachi's condition was still worrisome, honestly. And Kazama partly wondered if it would be best to cut this visit short in order to give Itachi a good chance to rest. The other looked like he hadn't slept properly in weeks. A nap should have done him good.

Itachi's last comment, he answered at first only with a raised eyebrow, his voice dry with the faint undercurrent of sardonic wryness. "I'll make an effort to remember that." He probably would have said something more, if Yosuke's sudden appearance hadn't interrupted him.

The abrupt outward swing of the door nearly clipped him, and he instinctively took a few steps back to avoid having Yosuke walk smack into him. The first thing he noticed was that it was Yosuke, and that Yosuke was looking pretty glad to see him. The next thing he noticed was the cake. He did quite well at hiding the initial pang of discomfort that prickled down his spine, though, and instead only took a half-step back, shifting his weight and looking at the cake with furrowed brows. "I told you not to," was the quiet mutter under his breath before he gave a small sigh and looked at Yosuke. -- at least he was still in one piece. Some part of him had expected his kouhai to have caused a handful of messes during that timespan of two months, and he hesitated over his words for a moment before giving a small nod. Pointedly avoiding looking at the cake as he deadpanned, "... I can tell. -- I never intended to be gone this long."

[pogromanate]

At the sound of Kazama’s words, Itachi only quirked up an eyebrow before lowering his head once again. Lips opened to make a exhale that was akin to that of a dry amused noise that was dripped with something slightly cynical, and making his body tense up as he released it. Perhaps it was a selfish request after all. And how Itachi had mentally shut himself off from his surroundings that he only told himself that the inquiry was none other than completely stupid of him to say, but still he thought it was necessary.

But what knocked him out of his silence and brought him back to reality was the very typical Yosuke that came bearing with a cake. Though, Itachi was already on edge, as though something unexpected would occur, and it was just Yosuke’s showy arrival that pulled the trigger. Or perhaps it was just Yosuke himself with that voice of continuous babbling and idiocy.

And it was almost instant that Itachi had moved. His hand reaching out to close the door as fingers from his spare hand crept underneath what the cake was settled on before he jerked Yosuke’s hands up and slammed the desert against his face with the back of the orange-haired teenager’s skull against the now-closed door. It wasn’t the whole situation in itself that made Itachi’s lip twitch up to form a barely-there smirk, but a situation that was similar, and when it was Itachi’s face that was covered with the dessert, so he only muttered lowly, "...I suppose we’re even now, Hanamura." Slowly he removed his hand from underneath Yosuke’s and grasped at Kazama’s shoulder with a grip that wasn’t unkind, but unfamiliar and loose with a faint hint of desperation. And even if he was about to collapse, Itachi could only open his mouth and say softly enough for only Kazama to hear, "It’s good to have you return." Before he tightened his grip and languidly walked off to find himself wandering down the hall in hopes that Shikamaru’s bed was vacant.

[silencedbird]

It all happened a bit too fast for her, really. Nill hadn’t totally realized that Yosuke was out of the house, but at the same time, him showing up with a cake so suddenly wasn’t entirely unexpected, and she thought that maybe he had mentioned it and she had simply forgotten-or maybe he hadn’t, because if he had she might have insisted on doing it herself, but... who knew, really. It didn’t make much difference now, as Yosuke’s eternal bad timing had kicked in for the umpteen millionth time, and he almost ran into Kazama on his way in the door (it was a good thing the man had impressive reflexes. ) and effectively cutting the conversation between the two men short. ...Yosuke really needed to work on that timing a bit, she thought.

It seemed as though Kazama was uncomfortable with the idea of a party, too, and Nill lifted a hand to scratch at her cheek with her pointer finger, glancing down at the ground. It wasn’t unexpected, all things considered, that he would dislike something like that-it seemed to fit with the image of Kazama she had in her head, so she didn’t try to stick up for Yosuke on the matter. But in all honesty, she wasn’t given much time too.

Out of the corner of her eye Nill saw Itachi move and abruptly looked up, locking her line of sight on her own orange-haired senpai and the Uchiha just in time to see Itachi slam the door and smash the cake in Yosuke’s face.

...Nill just stared for a moment, eyes wide, unsure of what to do, whether to help Yosuke or stare at Itachi, but it seemed she subconsciously chose neither, as her shoulders began shaking, and the girl soon broke out into a silent fit of laughter, clutching at her ribs and giggling profusely despite no real sound other than inhales and exhales of air emitting from between her lips. Out of all the things she had expected from Itachi, that was one thing she had never seen coming-- and she was pretty sure Yosuke hadn’t, either.

[waitingfora]

"It's all right --" Yosuke had started to reassure Kazama about being gone, not wanting to make the guy feel guilty about having been gone. However, just as he started, he suddenly found his vision obscured by the cake which he bought. The back of his head against the door as he stood with his arms still out trying to hold onto the cake that was now pressed against his face, frozen in place. He really had not expected Itachi to do something like that -- and as soon as his head rebooted from what just happened, he would say something about it as well. Until then, he just nodded dumbly at the statement that Itachi and he were even, as he vaguely remembered about having done something similar in a more public area.

The back of his head was where the top of the cake was, face that deep in the dessert. He lifted his hands slowly to pull the cake off of his face -- allowing it to fall on the floor with the rest. Raising a hand, he started to wipe some of the cake off of his face, making a few groans of annoyance about it being up his nose and now he could only smell cake for years to come. Though, given all of the things that he could smell, he supposed that it wasn't really a bad thing. Looking up, he could see Nill was more than a little amused about the scene. He was going to say something witty, but he was having problems with so much frosting still around his mouth. Instead, he felt that actions would speak louder than words. Though, he was trying to say, "Oh, you think that's funny, do you?"

Weighing the amount of cake that was still in his hand, he held his other hand in the air as though testing the wind's direction. It was really all a farce, but he felt that it would set the mood better. Winding his arm back, he launched what small bit of cake that he had in his hand at the winged girl. Really, he couldn't just let himself be the only person who had cake on his face. It felt like this would be a better reunion for Kazama as well; one that was a lot more fun than somber.

[sagittariinae]

As quick as Kazama's reflexes were, he still almost missed the way that Itachi stepped forward in a moment. And he certainly hadn't expected the wet splut of the cake collapsing that came soon after. Staring at the mess of cake that was now Yosuke's face, Kazama blinked -- letting out a low breath that might have been a laugh. (He'd almost forgotten about the last time Yosuke had caked Itachi in the face, but Itachi certainly had a reason to hold a grudge now that he thought about it.) The gentle grip at his shoulder and the soft words, he only answered with a small nod. Itachi was no doubt going off to get some sleep -- it was good to see that the other seemed to be alright now.

But once the door had closed, Kazama turned back to the mess of cake and frosting, lips curving into the faint traces of a smirk at the sight of Yosuke raking his face clean. Nill seemed to be enjoying the show, at least. And he gave another low exhale -- well, at least he didn't have to worry about the cake any more -- before rummaging through his pocket to pull out a handkerchief. He usually kept it on hand to tie up any injuries, but it looked like it would be more convenient here.

And he looked up just in time to see Yosuke throw a handful of buttercream at Nill. -- well. Taking a step back to avoid any splatter -- he wasn't much in the mood to have to wash his clothes clean of any frosting -- and only gave a low, deadpan laugh. "Don't pick on her for laughing. You should take a look in a mirror."

[silencedbird]

The reaction Nill had to the sudden cake attack was something fairly close to a surprised flail, and if she could she probably would’ve made a sound close to an ‘eep!’ or a surprised little squeak, but as it was the best Yosuke got out of her was a sort of notquitegasp noise. The cake had managed to hit her on the forehead, for the most part, though washing it out of her hair was going to be a bit of a chore... The girl just blinked up at her senpai for a moment before lifting a hand to wipe some of the frosting from her head with her fingertip and sticking it in her mouth.

Well. No one could say Yosuke had bad taste, at least.

Wiping more of the frosting and cake from her head, Nill looked down at what few remains were on her hands and switched her line of sight to Yosuke, and then, out of the corner of her eye, Kazama, apparently contemplating just how to proceed, despite Kazama having stood up for her. (it didn't seem right that he was the only one that hadn't had a cake-related incident so far.) Yosuke hadn’t given her much to work with, but... well, she probably didn’t need much anyway.

Without giving either of the boys any kind of warning, Nill lifted one hand up to Kazama’s face, wiping buttercream on his cheek before she abruptly reached out and proceeded to rub the rest of it off on Yosuke’s jacket, smiling slightly up at the both of them-though she hoped Kazama wouldn’t be too especially mad about it. (she’d sparred his clothing, at least.)

[waitingfora]

"Ha!" Yosuke puffed his chest out in a triumphant manner, arms raised above his head in victory. Could really only do so since it seemed like Nill wasn't particularly offended by having cake thrown at her -- if she did, he would really feel like a complete jerk. His shoulders did give a brief shrug as he finally answered Kazama on what he said about why he shouldn't pick on her for laughing. "Well, it doesn't mean that I can't ask for a little retaliations."

His arm straightened to point at Kazama when Nill wiped a bit of the frosting onto his cheek, before his arms flailed about in the air as the rest of it came to rest on his shirt. He laughed in a manner which announced defeat. Like he could actually ever stay mad at Nill, and really she was just so cute. "Looks like I have to tip my head to the Queen of the Cake." Making a salute with his hand, he lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face. He was trying to keep it clean, but seemed like that didn't matter anymore.

He sighed a moment into his shirt -- this was the nice feelings that he wanted Kazama to be welcomed back to. There was a lot that he wanted to ask, like what the other was doing, why he had to leave at all. But those sort of questions just bred guilt, didn't they. His head gave a small cant, so he should do something else. Without thinking (wasn't it always that way), he took a few steps forward so that he could wrap his arms around his senpai to give him a hug.

[sagittariinae]

When Nill only tasted the morsel of cake that had hit her without seeming upset at all, Kazama let out a slow breath, raising an eyebrow. -- Well, at least the two looked like they were having fun. No doubt Itachi would later have to deal with the commotion as these two tried to clean up afterwards, but that could be dealt with later.

And when Nill looked in direction, he raised his head marginally. (Was she planning on -- ?) And he stood still, closing his eyes for a moment as he felt the cream being smeared across his face. (Definitely not part of what he'd been expecting, but -- well. This would be alright.) Giving only a small shrug as Nill backed off, he wiped a streak of the cream off with the ball of his hand, thoughtlessly licking a portion of it off. It was overly sweet in comparison to what he usually liked to eat, but it wasn't bad, per se.

The next moment found him looking up at the sight of Yosuke stepping forward with arms held wide. In that two-second window, he probably could have backed out of reach. But for whatever reason, he instead stood still as Yosuke embraced him -- accompanied by the quiet squelch of the cake cream smashing over his jacket. Letting out a small sigh, he gave Yosuke's a tentative pat to the shoulder and a small nod in response.