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

Here we go 1/... something

[deathsdoctor]

[The smell of breakfast fills the air - comfy, cosy scents as Law appears up the stairs, coming to see if his husband's ready, and thoroughly unsuspecting of what he's about to find.]

Oi, partner, come on, it's getting col---

[...









]

[deathsdoctor]

[...]

[deathsdoctor]

[No.

-racing forward-


no.

nononononononononononoNONONONONO....





NO!]

[deathsdoctor]

ITACHI!

Done

[deathsdoctor]

[Catching him. Catching him now! And lowering him to the ground as every bit of his energy is slammed into casting Nala to yank his husband away from the precipice of death.

These wounds. His mind flails, trying to understand. What could cause these wounds?!?!]

Stay. With. Me!

[yourhatred]

[An unfamiliar voice with an unfamiliar face. Not that anything is much more than a blur right now. Eyes graying with blindness try to focus on this new arrival. Whoever it is knows his name. More importantly, whoever it is can heal.

And he can't die here. Not with Sasuke inexplicably gone. That has to be staved off even longer.

Itachi reaches a shaky hand out, bloody fingers grasping at the front of Law's shirt. It's too hard to speak, but he has to get his point across all the same. Keep me alive. Not that this man seems willing to do anything but that.

His right arm has been seared by fire, while a wound on his left thigh, left by a thick blade and cutting near to the bone, makes it a wonder he'd been on his feet in the first place. But they didn't cause this, and all other wounds are superficial. It's the illness inside that's destroyed him the most. His breathing is harsh and his heart set to fail.]

24th

[deathsdoctor]

[The only reason you haven't been substituted straight back to bed for that stunt, dear husband, is because Law has been hit by a timeshift as well and he has to track you down the old fashioned way.

It might take awhile.

But not too too long. Not with these eyes.

Sooner or later you'll feel the crimson red of the Sharingan boring into your back.

Someone's getting banned to the house.]

[yourhatred]

[It's a familiar feeling, and for a moment he hopes... but no, he can tall immediately that it isn't Sasuke. He's always been able to sense his brother better than anyone.

Turning, he's able to pick out the red of the Sharingan even with his poor eyesight, and he can tell the figure of his captor new acquaintance (supposed husband) right away. But the two things don't match up. He's confused enough, and tired enough, that he doesn't even bother moving.]

When did you...?

[deathsdoctor]

This morning. It's a Shift.

[Bluntly, as his hands continue to rest on his hips. You've lead him on quite the chase, partner. The tomoe in his eyes spin as he assesses Itachi's chakra levels. They're better, as his husband is better, but overall the picture is still abyssmal.]

You're not going to recover if you keep doing this.

[deathsdoctor]

[The shirt is yanked even as Law tears open Itachi's own. Burns, not a priority now. The deep laceration on the thigh, not important yet.

It's his heart. It's his lungs. Keep him breathing. Keep his heart beating. Even if he has to slice open Itachi's chest and do it manually himself.

His lips seal over Itachi's as he concentrates Nala's magic to the ninja's heart. He's going to help breathe for him - more oxygen for the system, less strain for the heart. Room expands around them - got to stabilize him enough and then get him to the clinic.

And Countershock will have to do if he needs it. His defibrillator is in a scroll - there's no time to get it, and he will be precise enough that it won't matter. Mes - maybe... as a last resort. The shock of that could kill him. It's just easier to open up his chest for more direct healing if needed.

The pendant Law wears flashes close to Itachi's eyes. How strange it is that the stranger so admant on saving the ninja's life...

... wears the crest of the clan he killed.]

[yourhatred]

[He doesn't expect to ever fully recover from his illness at all, but Law's right and he knows it. He has to be prepared to face his brother again. There are just things he needs to know.]

I-- [Almost in response to that, Itachi raises his hand to cover a couple light coughs. There's no blood this time at all, and he sounds far better than he did when the shift happened, but this isn't any way to prove that he can be outside.] ... I needed to see the village.

I need to learn about this place.

[yourhatred]

[Itachi isn't sure what he expected. This isn't chakra. These aren't the techniques he's used to seeing a healer perform. But he allows them because he can feel them having an affect, however small.

He's still alive. He's pretty sure he might have died already if not for the help. The man's lips on his bloodied ones are unexpected, but he doesn't fight that either. Anything that can help keep his lungs working will be accepted, and the man is providing him with more air than he'd be capable of taking in on his own just then.

The pendant catches his attention and he doesn't understand it - doesn't have time to understand it. He doesn't understand any of this, and it's taking enough of his focus to stay alive that he can't afford to divide it. He knows this man isn't an Uchiha. This mystery will have to be solved if he makes it through this, but not now.

There's blood in his lungs. His breathing is wet. His grip on Law's shirt tightens as he wills his heart not to falter.]

[deathsdoctor]

[There's a way for him be rid of it. A way for illness never to touch him again. The Ope Ope no Mi's pinnacle technique - Immortality Operation.

For the price of Law's own life.

It's a technique he's never been interested in even exploring, especially in Luceti, where life and death has been made so much cheaper (and true death so much more horrifying). But that morning of the 22nd...

It had flashed into his mind. For the first time, it had been tempting.]

Why don't you ask me?

[yourhatred]

I can. I will, but... It's not the same as being out in it.

[The ninja shakes his head.]

My eyesight may be failing me, but I can see enough. These eyes like you have now... They can see more than enough.

It would have to be a genjutsu like I'd never heard of before, to have tricked my senses this much. But it being reality seems just as unrealistic.

[He turns away.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Law continues to breathe for his husband, continues to slam all of his energy into Nala, but it doesn't feel like enough. Isn't enough. He's going to lose him, like he lost Corazon, and his parents, and so many others to death.

He'll drain his life away if he needs to to stop it.

If you do, you can definitely save him.

But that technique... Itachi would be...

He feeds a tiny amount of chakra along with Nala's power in hopes that Itachi's own body will accept it and take it as his own. Trace at first, this is not medical ninjutsu, this is a transfusion of the basest sort to replenish Itachi's reserves if it can be done. Make the body stronger, ease the strain on the heart as the healing continues. He knows he can maintain the level of control needed for such a simple (yet for him, so much more difficult) thing - because he has absolutely no choice, and he's been drilled in the multitasking of his abilities.

Over a year of Itachi's own lessons coming around to bear fruit.

The blood in the lungs needs to be drained. That's next. That's another step of taxing, painful multitasking - Ope Ope no mi, chakra, filial magic together. Law's fingers twitch, he continues to focus, he wills an extraction, an operation - and the blood disappears for the moment from them to appear on his hands. There will be more blood to take its place, but he's buying time for the heart.

Fixing that he can already tell, won't just be a simple matter of surgery.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Law shifts slightly. Trust an ninja to try and look underneath the underneath.

Stubborn, but he does understand how this place defies all expectations of reality. So he's gentle despite still feeling irritated over the escape.]

Then what do you think this is, if it isn't genjutsu or reality, Itachi?

[yourhatred]

[The removal of the blood makes breathing a little easier for now. It will slowly fill again if left alone, but right now that's a weight removed. He can focus a little more on other things.

Chakra transfusions are normal in his world. This one's a bit crude but it works all the same. Itachi's heavily depleted reserves take it in greedily, allowing his body an easier time of recuperating. Nala's healing energies, not as barred by the general strain, are better able to work on the important things.

It won't strengthen the heart, but it helps to stabilize it.

He twists his head away from Law's, gulping in air and the larger amount of oxygen it provides. The breaths are still ragged, but he can take them on his own.]

[yourhatred]

[Itachi turns back to narrow his eyes a little at that question. He doesn't appreciate it.]

...Problematic.

[Slowly, he gets himself back up onto legs that had started to become stiff as he sat. Just walking around town has taken a lot out of him, and now he feels as if he has the addition of a babysitter to scold him for it.

There's a handful of crows nearby that he hasn't even noticed until now, watching him curiously. Almost expectant. He has nothing to offer them.]

[deathsdoctor]

[The ninja only recieves a mild look back. Hey, he was just asking.]

A lot of people would agree with that. [His lips press together a little as he sees Itachi begin to stand, yet he says nothing. What can he say? Itachi in a mood doesn't listen and saying anything just makes it worse.] Whatever this place is, it's certainly problematic.

[Oh, the crows certainly are expectant. His husband feeds and works with them enough. Itachi is a familiar figure. One or two even might fly down, looking for a handout that won't come.

They're facing a stranger to them. Like Law is.

And being reminded of it in right this moment.]

[yourhatred]

[The ninja clearly favors one leg, but he remains upright well enough. He's been moving around all morning, after all, and he's good at hiding his exhaustion as long as he's not on the verge of collapse.

Of course Law would know that too, and would have an easier time reading Itachi than most.

He stares at the crows blankly. A shooing motion with one hand only causes a couple to move closer as though crumbs are about to fall from his fingers. Frowning, he takes a step away. They must get fed by the inhabitants often.]

You want me to return to the house, correct? [He doesn't turn his gaze away from the crows as he asks.] We can talk over a meal.

[A concession. Or perhaps just a request to be fed himself.]

[deathsdoctor]

[It's working. Law carefully increases the flow of chakra as Itachi twists his head away to gulp in air. The shinobi isn't the only one needing to do that; Law gasps himself once as sweat begins to bead along his brow and a slow throb builds at the base of his skull.

Keep going. Nala's now starting to get somewhere.

Teleporting him shouldn't kill him now.]

Going to get you to the clinic.

Stay with me.

[He doesn't notice he's repeating himself. It's a mantra going through his mind and overriding the building pain from each draining ability.

Stay with me.

His fingers flick again and suddenly they're no longer in the house, but in the operating room of the Battle Dome clinic.]

[yourhatred]

[The sudden change of scenery is startling. He'd just been through one - how was he now dealing with another?

Itachi is starting to turn a wide-eyed, accusatory gaze on Law, as though he might be responsible for all of this, when it's broken off by another coughing fit that causes him to squeeze his eyes shut in pain. The wings he still doesn't realize he has on his back tremble.

He's still relying on this man to keep him alive, whether he'd brought the ninja there or not. He'd said this was a clinic. That meant actual tools and medicines that could help him.

Is he dreaming, that all this has happened at once? Why dream about someone he doesn't know at the moment of his death? It's too much to think about, so he stops thinking about the scenario entirely. He has to live first.]

[deathsdoctor]

[He'll take it, regardless.]

Yeah. [Because he does - Law won't deny it. He reads Itachi better than most, and with these eyes it's even easier to see the weariness.] It's getting near lunch time. Anything you want? [If nothing specific, then Law will make whatever vegetarian dishes that come to mind. Simple dishes... the pirate himself feels drained. Cooking's a hobby that brings him satisfaction, but right now it's lost its luster.]

[The crows begin cawing, begging Itachi for scraps, one or two hopping closer even as he retreats.

Fed often by the inhabitants, indeed.]

[yourhatred]

[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.]

[deathsdoctor]

[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.