yourhatred | thirty crows (朱) action/video (time shift catch-all)

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thirty crows (朱) action/video (time shift catch-all)

September 22nd - closed to Law

[Itachi leaves his bedroom as usual, but exits it at death's door.

The time shift, catching him moments before he would conclude a fight with his brother, moments before the time he was brought from into Luceti in the first place, dumps a bleeding, wreck of a man out the other side of the doorway. The ninja staggers, a bloody arm that had been held out in front of him catching onto the opposite wall of the hallway.

So ready. He'd been so ready. What's going on? Literal moments away from dying, prepared to give into the inevitable, Itachi now finds himself having to do his damnedest to keep himself breathing. The orange glow of Susano'o at first barely surrounding him as he arrived, fades away into nothing as he fights against the darkness at the edge of his vision.

Where is Sasuke?

Coughing, his free hand covering his mouth as blood ran through his fingers, the man leaned further against the wall, the last of his adrenaline leaving him.]

September 23rd - OTA

[Late in the day, after a fair amount of rest, Itachi finds his journal and spends a while reading through it. The other entries become too confusing after a while, but he at last tries to make one of his own. After all, it does seem to be a form of communication.]

I'm looking for Uchiha Sasuke.

September 24th - OTA

[After a failed attempt at trying to get up and make his own breakfast, the ninja will eventually escape the house by way of a substitution technique and wander the town. The clothing is slightly ill-fitting, as the Itachi that's been living in Luceti for the past four years is a fair bit healthier than the one walking slowly through it now.

Don't worry. The cough isn't contagious.

He can be found in basically any building around the town center, and eventually sitting wearily at the fountain.]

September 25th

[Officially banned to the house, but still this older self until he wakes up the morning of the 26th.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He recognizes the familiarity the birds have for him and it bothers him. There's too much proof that he's had a presence here he doesn't remember. And on that same note, he does turn his eyes back to Law.]

... You know what I like, don't you? Make me something like that.

[He wants to understand this place better, and the main clues he has to go off of are all with this man here.]

[Something he likes...

He ignores the sting he feels inside at the wording. He doesn't remember and he's frustrated. And Law's taken worse - he shouldn't take it personally.]

Aa. Alright. [He'll make onigiri with seaweed. One of Itachi's favorites. Easy.] I can do that, then.

[The ninja nods in return and, obediently, starts limping in the direction of the house.

The people that knew his name, the birds that knew his face, the clothing that didn't quite fit him but could. It's uncomfortable. He's supposed to die, not exist long enough to leave an impression here.

There's so much to worry about that he can't even be bothered by the sudden existence of the Sharingan in Law's eyes because it doesn't make any less sense than anything else.]

[Law follows silently, scrubbing at his face with one hand, and trying to turn the Sharingan off. Too long activated and his head starts to ache due to the chakra drain.

Finally he manages, red fading into gray-blue.

It's probably going to be a quiet walk until something causes one of them to broach the silence.]

[The walk back isn't a long one, but it isn't a particularly short one either. Itachi might have done well moving around all morning, but there's the thing - he'd been moving around all morning.

His breathing gets heavier the further along they go, and he starts listing slowly to the right so that he can eventually stop and lean against a tree at the side of the road. He's dizzy, sweat beading on his forehead.

He knows this is his own fault, but he'd do it again anyway.]

[Law internally winces as he slumps against the tree but doesn't move to help just yet. Itachi's own pride won't allow it and he'll just be pushed away.

Just give him a moment. Let him catch his breath and stubborn on, and if he can't, then move to help.

Law respects his husband pride but he'll only indulge it so far after all.]

[Not so much pride as a long time spent covering his own weaknesses. The idea of being seen needing someone's assistance put him on edge. The only ones who'd known of his illness out of the Akatsuki had been Kisame and, as he'd later come to learn, "Tobi". The former knowing had only been out of necessity, and he respected Itachi as a partner enough not to tell the others. Not even Zetsu had known.

Though, having felt the need to explore as he had, anyone he'd run into that day knew by now that he was in poor health. Leaning on Law at this point wouldn't be anything that isn't already expected. No one had to be aware he had anything terminal.

His wings give an aggravated twitch.]

... Law. I could use your shoulder.

[The pirate's own wings fold a little more under his clothing as he approaches. No one aware but him.]

Here. [Just lean on him, partner. It's not too much farther.]

[Lean he does, wrapping an arm over the other's shoulder. Law will end up taking most of his weight, to Itachi's shame. Luckily there's not much further to go.

Just get him to the kitchen table and a glass of water.

Law has done so much, and he knows he's been difficult. He can be a very poor patient when he has tasks that need doing.]

... Thank you.

It's no problem.

[Aaaand, here we go. Slowly.

Speaking of animals that recognize Itachi, here are the cats waiting for them. Amaya, being Itachi's originally, is particularly concerned.

She mews for attention, as if to ask if he's alright.]

[Itachi tilts his head down to look at the cat. He's become somewhat familiar with them in his time at the house. Just another example of something he's supposed to already know.]

It's... fine. [He's speaking to the cat, and he feels weird doing so.]

It's fine.

[Amaya's response to that is to but her head against Itachi's leg and then rub against him.]

... don't trip him, Amaya. Same for you two, Pumpkin, Sumire.

[Murmuring to the cats as they close in.]

Tea or water?

[As he's helping him to the chair in the kitchen.]

Water.

[Tea can come later. As much as it might help his throat, right now he just needs to be hydrated.

He tries not to slump as much as he'd like to once he gets in the chair, instead leaning on folded arms on the table top.]

Water it is. [As he pulls out a pitcher from the fridge. One tall glass coming right up.]

... well...

[What would you like to know?

Now for cooking. He can talk and make lunch at the same time. Ingredients... well, he generally has rice going in the cooker... and yes, plenty. He needs nori sheets, the other seaweed for this - shio kombu.

He'll get going on some miso soup as well. This should be an easy meal for Itachi to keep down.]

[Reaching for the water, Itachi takes a long drink before he says anything else - despite Law's prompting. He's learned a fair amount already, but there are still so many holes.

He spends a few quiet moments staring at the glass.]

... Several years, then. I'm supposed to have been here.

Just over four. You arrived in late August, a couple months ahead of me.

[Confirming as he begins to make the miso from scratch. It took him forever to figure out a vegetarian dashi stock recipe (he may have had to cheat and ask Sanji in the end). He keeps extra stock frozen in the freezer, which he's thawing now.]

Four...

[Where could four years have factored into anywhere? How could he be missing that amount of time?

There has to be something else. Something he's not getting.

The smell of food causes him to lift his head more, looking over in Law's direction even knowing he wouldn't be able to see what he's making.]

... I know there was a time before that, when you were here... but I know very little about it or how long it was. You never remembered during all the time we knew each other.

[White miso soup.]

... that's something you'll have to ask Miss Sheena about. She was there for it. You two were friends.

[He looks over his shoulder.]

I know you're wondering how that's even possible. This place exists outside of our worlds' time. You're plucked from a moment and return to the same when this world decides it. No one notices you're gone. And your memory of this? Doesn't go with you.

Sheena... I spoke with her. She has the tea shop.

[His brow furrows.] She didn't mention any time before the most recent that I was here.

[He takes another sip of his water, very distracted by the smell of food.]

... It makes sense, though. What you're saying. For me to have been here, it would have to exist outside of time.

... that's not an easy subject to get into. It's just as awkward for the one who remembers as the one who doesn't.

She probably didn't know how to bring it up.

[Thus speaks the voice of much experience.]

Yeah. This place seems to be either a nexus of universes or has a way to tap into them. We know very little of the specifics of this place, other than the fact it's in constant flux.

[Tofu cubes and slivers of green onion in the pot... now to simmer and adjust to taste.

Time to get started on the onigiri. He'll grill some of them for variation. Itachi always liked that.]

I can imagine... It's strange enough to discuss.

[Itachi is just watching him now, following the blur of his arms with his eyes, not even bothering to brush sweat-dampened strands of hair away from his face. It's not as though moving them will help him see better.

The smell is causing his stomach to ache with hunger, his still depleted chakra reserves crying out to be fed.]

That's without even touching on different... universes. The, ah... I'll have to think more on all of that.

[More smells are being added. Warm cooked rice. Oil in a pan being heated. It's easy to mold the rice into triangles and stuff inside the shio kombu. Wrap the strips of nori around his creations.

He leaves some on a plate while he moves to gently fry the rest. He stirs the pot in between working with the remaining onigiri.]

... gives one a headache, doesn't it?

[Soft and wry.]

Very few of the natural laws are still in place. A person can't stay dead here unless through very specific circumstances. They return to life after a week, missing something of themselves each time. We call that a death penalty in these parts.

So as long as anyone stays here, they are functionally immortal in a sense. It's just the type of immortality that whittles you down to nothing the longer you stay.

[This topic pulls him back into focus rather quickly.]

And yet you fought so hard to keep me alive. Did you see the penalty as that much worse of an alternative?

[How much did someone lose when they died? Living great lengths of time rarely came without a price, and that seems to be the case even here.]

For me, yes. [Let's not get into the topic of death penalty reversals and John yet.] It doesn't matter if the loss could have been a small thing - for me it didn't matter.

[Husband.

And here's a bowl of miso soup, followed up a plate of onigiri - some grilled, some not. Enjoy.]

... We're close. I recognize that.

[They live in the same house, after all. And Shikamaru has said he could trust Law specifically.

He wants to continue to keep his attention on the topic at hand, but he'll be stuffing his face while he does so. Politely. He's not capable of scarfing, or rather his manners won't allow it. Otherwise he'd be doing his best impression of a chipmunk with the onigiri.]

... Thank you. [And he means that for more than just the food. Though right now the food is near the top of the list.]

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