[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

[sagittariinae]

To be honest, Kazama didn't know what to expect from this day. Of course, he'd been present for Itachi's last birthday, and it had been a quiet affair -- nothing extravagant, or even noticeable, just a quiet day spent in peaceful solitude. But now that Yosuke had somehow butted into this quiet life -- Kazama wasn't sure why, but he felt endless nervous about whatever it was that Hanamura was planning. Of course, it probably wasn't going to be anything intentionally bad, but Hanamura's plans had the tendency to go awry

[waitingfora]

Yosuke had hid himself behind the couch. He really hoped that Itachi would appreciate all the hard work that he put into this birthday extravaganza. Of course, it was mostly thanks for buying Shika before some creepy pervert could. He made a bit of a face at that -- flinching slightly before shaking his head from side-to-side. That was not helping. Also, he wouldn’t like to think that it was all over and done with as they still had to find out who the killer was, but it seemed kind of in poor taste to be thinking about all of this when he had sort of planned a party for a mob boss. He was also certain that had to be the coolest sentence that he had ever go through his head. ‘Cause who else could say that? Other than those that helped him plan this whole party out

[lazyish]

This was the worst idea ever. If only Shikamaru could have somehow been granted the power to properly convey that to Yosuke. Who could possibly think that someone like Itachi, a freaking assassin among other things, would enjoy a surprise party? But Shikamaru was a person who complained often about a lot of things, and when one was a routine complainer, one's real and logical arguments went easily ignored. Such was his curse.

And that was why he was right there next to Yosuke, behind the couch. At least if Itachi made even the slightest gesture to attack Yosuke, he'd be right there to get in the way. He was already edging closer even before they popped up, which probably made him seem like he was getting fresh but what the hell ever.

When Yosuke rose, Shikamaru jumped up just as quickly but somehow without any enthusiasm whatsoever. Yosuke had shoved a kazoo in his hand so he gave that a weak blow as soon as he was sure that Yosuke wasn't getting stabbed or spontaneously combusting. It was the flattest a-hooooooo that any kazoo had

[silencedbird]

It had been a very long time since Nill got to go to a birthday party, the small girl reflected, and she hoped she still remember how to go about doing things. Of course, she couldn’t sing the ‘happy birthday song’ anymore, but she remembered the words well enough and Yosuke had assured her that jumping up and making a lot of noise in whatever way you could counted just as much. Crouched down at Yosuke’s other side, Nill checked to make sure she still had her noisemakers in hand, smiled a little when she took note that they were and seemed to be working just fine without an actual test. Nill had armed herself with two noise makers, one for each hand-they were kind that was more likely to be seen on New Years Eve as opposed to a birthday party-and was fully intent on making as much noise as she possibly could. Everything had been very strange lately, after all, and she figured that everyone probably needed a party to have fun, even if it was supposed to be for Itachi. (the fact that he might not want the party had never occurred to her

[incarnadines]

At long last, the day he'd been waiting for. In his mind he had replayed this scene a thousand times, from hundreds of camera angles, with dozens of different scripts, but it always ended the same: with Itachi dead, Izuna's eyes in Madara's hands, and his glory restored

[emonojutsu]

Sasuke had wondered what this was about. It was apparent before they'd even left, that they weren't going to Itachi's for a party. So when Madara stopped outside the man's door, turned to Sasuke, and dropped that little bomb, Sasuke wished he could have said he was ready for it.

But the truth was, he wasn't. He wasn't at all prepared. Strange as his relationship with Itachi was--and filled with such a weird mix of admiration and resentment and the desire for acknowledgment--he hadn't hated the man (except for those few moments, sometimes, when looking at Itachi filled him with blinding rage that choked him) but the revelation of what Itachi was... who he was, in regards to Sasuke's past, left the teenager stunned and staring for a moment, mouth slightly open, eyes dilated, unfocused as he attempted to process what Madara had just told him.

Slowly, his ears ringing, his chest tight and agonizingly painful with too many emotions--but mostly rage, furious, stormy, unadulterated hate--Sasuke focused on Madara, blinking rapidly, eyes

[lazyish]

Something in the air changed, almost a split second before the door even burst open. Maybe it was just the sound, or a sudden spike of chakra around them. Shikamaru was suddenly on alert. And he was ready. Even as Sasuke came flying into the room with that shrieking fist full of electricity, Shikamaru was rushing forward to meet the threat halfway. He put himself between Itachi and his attacker, making a shield of himself without stopping to question it. Itachi was often a cruel teacher, but he was still Shikamaru's sensei. Shikamaru would defend him without hesitation.

Surprise flickered across Shikamaru's features briefly when he registered that the would-be assassin really was Sasuke. "What the hell are you doing?!" he couldn't help but shout as he twisted his body. Couldn't let that attack hit him. Shikamaru had trained with Sasuke plenty before. That sparking hand could impale him straight through the chest. So instead he spun into a kick, aimed low to throw Sasuke back before his fist could reach Shikamaru's heart....Hopefully

[waitingfora]

Just as he was about to break into song; it felt like only a few seconds had past from when the first note came out and suddenly there was some fight on his hands. "What the hell?!" The question was echoed shortly after Shika - his eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and fear. Someone had actually come to kill Itachi at this party? Didn't that sort of thing only happen in the movies? He was even more surprised to see that it was Sasuke.

"Sasuke, what--?!" They weren't close friends, or anything like that, but this seemed so out-of-character. Questions later! Actions now.Yet, even as he thought this, he was hurrying the short distance to where Shika and Sasuke were. Funny, it wasn't particularly far from where he was, but it felt like he wasn't going to get there in time. All the while yelling something along the lines at Nill to get down; not like she needed to be told. "Just, just, hang with Uchiha-sama!" Maybe, maybe, this was all just some huge prank. If it was, he would just tell the other teen to settle down. But the whole air

[incarnadines]

He had to hand it to Sasuke. The kid really knew how to create a big distraction. So far it was all going according to plan. Everyone's attention was on Sasuke, and given his heartfelt performance as a wrathful assassin, they probably all thought he was working alone.

Not so, not so. As became quite clear when Madara came swirling into existence out of thin air, just a few feet behind where Itachi was standing, and dangerously close to Kazama. "Happy birthday to you," he began singing, although probably not as jolly as Yosuke would have liked, far more mocking and at the same time sinister. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthdaaaaaay... dear I-ta-chi..."

He raised his right hand to his mouth and blew into it, a fireball erupting onto his palm and growing larger as he finished singing, "Happy birthday to you!"

[pogromanate]

It was not expected when Sasuke came through the door -- murderous indications flaring from his eyes with that once again bizarre design that Itachi had witnessed plenty of times before -- and to come and eliminate Itachi with such rush movements. He was ready to wrap his fingers around Sasuke’s wrist and dislodge all of his bones in the other’s body -- that was until Shikamaru and Yosuke decided to get involved

[sagittariinae]

It was almost impressive, how quickly everything went downhill. (But then again, wasn't that always the case? All it took was the flick of a switch from OFF to ON, and whatever facade of normal life was in place would collapse almost immediately.) The sudden explosion of electricity and movement made his nerves stand on end, adrenaline immediately flourishing through his veins as he drew his weapons, pistol and knife -- but paused a split second, eyes moving to Nill. (Get her out of here. Hanamura, too.) He didn't know much about Nara, but it seemed Nara was competent enough to buy some time -- the main priority would be to get the non-combatants out of here -- and he dashed forward, aiming to drag the two to safety

[incarnadines]

Madara turned his head to watch Kazama run past him, but not a second later he was standing in front of Kazama again, blocking his path. Kazama could run as much as he liked. It did little good when the enemy could teleport at will. "I think we should let the kids keep playing," he told Kazama. "Don't they look like they're having fun?" He smiled and nodded toward Yosuke's crumpled body. The two of them had been together when Madara first encountered them. It must be so painful for Kazama to see his kouhai like that now.

A pain that he hoped to replicate in Itachi.

"I know time's irrelevant to immortals, but I still don't like wasting it," he said to Itachi over Kazama's shoulder. The fireball danced out of his palm, catching the furniture to set the room alight. "So let's set a time limit. We have to finish this fight before the sad little mortals in here burn to death."

His hand, now free of flames but still smoldering, shot out to grasp Kazama by the neck. "You know what I'm here for, Itachi!"

[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

[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

[lazyish]

Shikamaru wasn't unconscious but the lightning attack had really messed him up. It was lucky that Sasuke had missed his heart but the electricity shot his nerves, made it difficult to move when every limb was just seizing up. He just barely managed to turn his head to watch Itachi escape as he was dragged away, but that made him feel better. If Itachi could get away from the group, could face his enemy alone, then he'd win. Of course he would win. There must have been a reason he and Sasuke waited for a gathering like this before they made their move. They needed hostages because Itachi was too strong and they'd lose if it came down to a fight

[silencedbird]

Nill wasn’t really religious-she hadn’t grown up with parents that even spoke of church, and only used the name of god profanely-but she found herself thanking the deity that watched over her (a guardian angel perhaps) that she, Shika and Yosuke were all outside of the burning building, safe for the time being and together. She moved to the side and back when Yosuke and Shika had come out of the building after her, taking up the space behind them as the they fled, just in case, just in case that boy came after them. She wouldn’t let him hurt Yosuke or Shika again (not again); she’d take anything he had before she let him get them with a sneak attack. Her eyes were trained behind them as they moved away from the fighting and the fire, prepared for whatever might be thrown at them next-because her senpai were important people to her, and they were hurt enough-but nothing came, and soon they were a safe enough distance away to stop for a break. As soon as they stopped moving, the petit girl took a few deep breaths before having a small,

[waitingfora]

Yosuke kept coughing. His hands rested on his knees as he leaned over the sidewalk - trying to get a good intake of air. A few more labored breathes before he finally straightened his posture. He looked back at the burning estate with a weird sort of feeling. Lips pressed together, he wanted to run back. He wanted to make sure that Kazama and everyone were all right. But, there wasn't anything that he could do. They weren't going to end up for auction, were they? Even though he kept scanning the area, like they would suddenly appear, he just wasn't sure what to do. His good deed really came back to bite him in the ass. Not that he was quite sure what happened. Too much shit seemed to be going on at once and the clusterfuck left him somewhat dazed and confused. Though, he could be happy in the fact that he saw his whatever it was (though the word 'Persona' came to mind) hit Sasuke

[lazyish]

Shikamaru shook his head. "I can't risk it. Been tied up in too many suspicious circumstances lately. If it gets back to the station that I was in some kind of fight with mysterious burns like these... Bad enough that I was killed once. If it keeps happening, they'll take me for a vigilante." He smirked ruefully. Vigilante was what he was nowadays, wasn't it?

He looked down to examine his wounds closely for the first time. It was pretty ugly, raw with bits of charred cloth melted on. Shikamaru let out a slow breath. If he left it like that, it'd get infected for sure. He'd have to peel it off himself... That thought made him feel nauseated. He shut his eyes for just a second until it passed.

Before that, they should take care of the easier wounds. He tugged at what was left of his shirt, tearing a strip of relatively clean cloth free. "Give me that," he told Yosuke, referring to his bloody hand. "You're grossing Nill out with that bleeding all over."