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

[deathsdoctor]

Timeshift.

He's been sent back to a certain moment in time. Itachi hasn't worn nailpolish for years.

[Utterly, utterly sick.]

The moment of his... death.

[frost_jewel]

Hm. [There isn't much more she can do for his burns without putting too much of a strain on Itachi; Mia turns to get gauze and bandages, only looking at Law again once she's back to work.]

It doesn't get to win this time.

[It would be conversational in another setting, with different words, and so soft - she doesn't want Itachi to hear the words but she does want him to know how determined they are, if he can.

Hearing him draw another terrible breath, Mia stops again and rests the back of her hand briefly against his shoulder. She looks him in the eye when she talks.] You're doing well. [You aren't the only one fighting for you. Then it's back to work.]

[yourhatred]

[It takes a moment, but Itachi gets his eyes to focus on Mia as much as his blurry vision will allow. Her words don't get any other reaction, positive or negative.

The ninja isn't the sort of person who looks for comforting words. He doesn't believe he requires them in order to try his hardest. The sentiment is appreciated, though it would be appreciated more if his thoughts were more in order.

When she moves away again, his gaze returns to the ceiling. All other words and noise are drowned out by the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.]

[deathsdoctor]

[The lungs are done. Next. He turns his attention to vessels around the heart.

The heart itself.

The most delicate oart.]

It won't. [Non-negotiable.] I won't allow it.

[Not like this.]

[frost_jewel]

[Mia doesn't doubt his tenacity in Itachi's case. Short anything else to address specifically once his burns are lessened and bandaged, Mia shuts her eyes to take a long breath. Using Psynergy and Nala together takes extra balance and concentration.

But it will help, it will keep Itachi from fighting entirely too hard to stay within himself. So Law can work without quite as much worry about whether he would stop breathing.]

[yourhatred]

[His breathing eases. Itachi closes his eyes.

It's not because he's losing consciousness, and he doesn't intend to, but his lungs haven't felt this relieved in some time. Even when he'd been able to keep his voice clear, keep his coughing at bay, it had been a struggle that took a great deal of medication.

This will keep him alive long enough to face his brother again, granted he has the opportunity to relocate him.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Law falls silent as he makes increasingly delicate movements, until they're whisper fine, and timing them as not to disrupt the body's own natural rhythm. It's a bare kiss of sensation on the heart itself.

The pinnacle of his skill as he works his power to mend what's beating under his fingers. The process looks now more witchery than surgery as the damage is smoothed away and what is still strong is strengthened.

Mia's combination of Psyenergy and Nala is working it's magic alongside his own efforts. He works with the regeneration, adding an extra touch of his own abilities with Nala in spots that require more.

Once he finishes here, Itachi should be edging out of the immediate danger zone. Then it's just a matter of cleaning up the rest of the damage in here, and strengthening him overall. The rest can be finished in time.]

[frost_jewel]

[Now that she's doing more general healing, Mia can 'see' what Law has accomplished. It's very interesting. The precision and breadth imply a greater use of energy. It would not surprise her if Itachi spent the next several days largely sleeping through his body trying to catch back up to itself.

As he starts to finish his work, Mia pulls back slightly, so that she might not inadvertently interfere.]

[yourhatred]

[Itachi would spend the next few days sleeping if he was a better patient, but that's neither here nor there.

Still keeping himself conscious, he doesn't dare move any more than is necessary as Law works. Staying still and silent - those are things he knows how to do well. Aside from that, he can't even spare the energy to think about the situation anymore.

Breathing can be done now. It's just the heart that has to keep beating.]

[deathsdoctor]

[The heart will keep beating for now. Law's cleaned and restored the damaged areas. It's work around the heart that has his attention - fine repairs to arteries and major veins. Moving to the less critical areas.

He inspects the liver, the pancreas, the kidneys, and the digestive system. The disease has done much less damage here - as diseases generally go, they tend to focus on body systems. Itachi's wreaked havoc on the cardiopulmonary aspects of his body most of all.

But since he's here, he will mend it, and then it's time to close up.

Once he does, it's seamless. The rib cage is back in place - cut tissue and bone mend together as if they had never been cut at all. Not a wrinkle of skin out of place, no scar, not a drop of blood to be seen.

All is pristine.]

[frost_jewel]

[She only drops her healing completely once she is convinced Itachi will keep breathing on his own if she does. That is some extensive work, and thinking so prompts her to keep an eye on Law instead. Mia doesn't know what effects that kind of focus will have on him.]

[yourhatred]

[The ninja opens his eyes again when he feels that the work on him has stopped. He can raise his head just enough to see that his chest has been sealed back up before he has to lower it again. Instead he lifts a shaky hand to place it over what had just been open moments before.

He feels as if someone has thoroughly scrubbed out his entire system when he hadn't even thought such a thing possible.

Exhausted, Itachi can't do much more than lay there in wonderment.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Itachi can't see the brief flicker of pain flickering across Law's features, but Mia can. There's a cost to all the multitasking of different abilities Law's done - and now the adrenaline's crashing down and the throb in his head is breaking through.

But he smiles anyway, bloodied lips (not his own blood, Itachi's) turning up slightly in relief. He'll pull through.]

Just rest, Itachi. Sleep. You don't need to keep yourself awake any longer. Your body needs it.

[Start healing.

He'll get you to a bed for the night.]

[frost_jewel]

[Something is at least a little bit wrong, then. Mia only frowns a little bit.]

I can stay with him while you clean yourself up.

[That is not a request. There isn't even request-worthy wiggle room.]

[yourhatred]

[Given that Itachi doesn't have much of a choice but to trust these two at this point, he relents to that command, closing his eyes once again.

He won't be able to stay awake much longer even if he tries, which he doesn't.]

[deathsdoctor]

[It's the tone that Can't Be Argued With.

Law sighs, giving in. He's too exhausted to try.]

I'll be back soon.

[He disappears into the small changeroom at the side, and there's soon the sound of water from a tap running. It takes a while for the splash of washing up to occur.

The pirate's caught staring in the mirror, having the weight of what just occured crash down on him. Give him ten, will you?]