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

[yourhatred]

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.]

Comments

[corrinesbell]

Oh. [Initial reaction. Followed by:] Oh. Um. I, uh, sorry. [She's not used to anyone holding onto a familiarity charade for this long. Time has given her practice at dealing with it though.] I'm Sheena. This is sort of my tea shop. ...We're friends, but I don't know if that's gonna matter much to you this time.

[yourhatred]

Friends... [The tea isn't bad. He looks at the cup, takes another sip, then sets it down again.]

I'm not sure how much anything matters right now. I might... have to get back to you.

There are many signs that I've been here... When I don't know how I would have been.

[corrinesbell]

Yeah, you were here for a long time. [Far in the past, she once met Itachi (an Itachi) in the throes of a coughing sickness. This looks like it.] There's a clinic you can go to about that cough, if you want, in case nobody told you yet.

[yourhatred]

[There's the slightest twist of a smile on his lips.] I know. I've been there.

I was worse originally.

[corrinesbell]

Oh. [Nobody else ever leaves her this speechless.] Well, I'm glad you're better today. If you wanna just hang around here for a while even when you're tired of tea, go ahead.

[yourhatred]

I might...

[He turns his eyes to the colorful blur that is the nearby shelves, then back to the table.] If only to stay off my feet.

I'm going to be reprimanded, I think. Escaping into town like this.

[corrinesbell]

Escaping from what? The clinic? [It kinda made sense.] Yeah, they'll probably come chasing after you. At least you're not jumping all over the rooftops or anything. I'll argue to let you stay here for a while.

[Quiet, out of the way, with tea. What more could an angry healer or two ask for?]

Unless they show up and tell me you're gonna fall to pieces or something.

[yourhatred]

[Clinic, home... given Law's ability to switch him between either it's not really worth correcting, so he leaves her with that assumption.

He shakes his head.]

I don't think I should have any problem staying intact.

[corrinesbell]

Good. Too many people go to pieces around here already.

[Since Itachi doesn't know her, she forgoes anything familiar (a touch on his arm or a gentle elbow) in favor of standing with a smile.]

Just lemme know when you want some more tea, okay?

[yourhatred]

[He nods, taking another sip of the cup she'd given him.]

Thank you. This is... pleasant.

[corrinesbell]

Heh. I hope so. Not much point to an unpleasant tea shop.

[Itachi looks like he should be at home on the couch with a blanket and the fire going. Asleep. Sheena wouldn't want to hear that from someone if she looked like it, so she keeps her opinions inside her head.]

We have food too, if you feel like eating anything.

[yourhatred]

I meant the tea... But the shop is pleasant too.

[He considers the matter of food for a moment, then shakes his head.]

...No. I'm not sure what my stomach would be able to handle right now. The tea is enough.

[corrinesbell]

Okay.

[She's willing to offer a place for him to nap if it'd help. Also, if she had one. Falling asleep on a trying day in the back storeroom does not count.]

Heh, if you stay here long enough you'd end up drinking every variety of tea I have.

[yourhatred]

[He shakes his head.]

I don't have the thirst for that. This should be enough.

[Though on the subject of naps, falling asleep at the table might not be out of the question if he stayed long enough.]

[corrinesbell]

Yeah, it kinda...I was joking. Don't worry about it. Like I said, stick around for as long as you want.

[She'd be mostly nice to anybody who wandered in looking like they ran away from the clinic. It's her soft spot for Itachi that makes her extra nice.

But someone else has arrived for tea so she has to go take care of her other customers. She'll be back.]

[yourhatred]

[He nods at that, letting her walk off without another word.

His tea will eventually be finished, at which point he'll get up to leave before he really does fall asleep there. He has other things he wants to check out before he's caught.]