Chapter 11 :
How love blinds :
Shisui placed a cup of thick, black, steaming coffee in front of Fugaku on the desk, which was piled with papers and files weighted down with dull kunai and shuriken. Fugaku glanced up and made a motion of thanks. Shisui nodded and sat down, his own cup cradled in his hands. Shisui grabbed a file and flipped it open, fingers skimming across the papers as he looked for one phrase.
"How's Itachi doing?" Shisui asked, eyes still on the documents in hand. He tried to make it sound casual, but he knew it wasn't. Fugaku knew it wasn't. Shisui asked about Itachi every time Fugaku came on shift. Almost everyone did. They were a clan-a family group, and Itachi was the darling of the family right now. He was the bright, shining star everyone was watching. No one liked to see the brightest star in the sky dimmed-unless it was dimmed by a brighter star.
Fugaku took a sip of his coffee, delicate in the motion as he tried not to burn his lips or tongue on the hot liquid. "He was doing better, but today he pushed himself a bit too hard and almost passed out in the garden while he was helping Sasuke train. He went to bed early." Fugaku was looking through his own folder, and making notations as he went.
"Ah," Shisui blew on his coffee and took a sip. "Wait, he was helping Sasuke train, really?" Shisui couldn't wipe the surprise off of his face. "That's..." Unexpected. Rare. "Great."
Fugaku nodded, and Shisui could tell he was pleased. "It was good for Sasuke. Itachi being sick has been hard on him. He's been more worried than I thought he would be."
"Mah, of course he's worried. Sasuke practically worships Itachi, and with Itachi being so obviously ill, it's going to scare him. He's not used to seeing Itachi vulnerable-I'm not used to seeing Itachi vulnerable," Shisui pointed out, placing his mug back on the table.
Fufaku made a soft hum of agreement. "So, is that why you haven't been by to see how Itachi is doing yourself?"
Shisui flinched. He remembered his little cousin clutching his eyes and screaming for Shisui to get out. He knew he'd somehow caused that episode. He didn't know how, but he knew he had. He didn't want to trigger something like that again. If Itachi was getting better, he didn't want to impede the process. "Something like that," Shisui muttered. He took another hasty sip of coffee, and burned his mouth.
"Of course," Fugaku said, and Shisui didn't look up from his black drink. He knew that added drawl to Fugaku's voice. He heard it very often in Itachi's voice. That drawl was sarcasm at its best, and Shisui knew he was getting a bland look that hid a very sharp one from Fugaku.
Shisui sipped his coffee, which tasted burnt now that he'd singed his tongue. "Have you found any other evidence on the ANBU case?" Shisui switched subjects, daring to look up at Fugaku. Fugaku met Shisui's look, and then looked back down to his papers he was sorting through.
"No, there's nothing new," Fugaku shuffled a few more papers and made a few more notes. "I haven't been able to question Itachi since his last mission. I was going to tonight, but in light of what happened..." Fugaku made a gesture that was apologetic and almost a shrug. "I hesitate to tax him while he's still...recovering."
Still sick, in Shisui's eyes. No one could say what was wrong with Itachi, or if he'd ever completely recover. "It'll keep," Shisui assured Fugaku. "What's important right now is letting Itachi get better. I'm due to go back on missions duty day after tomorrow. I'm not in as good a position to hear things as Itachi, but I will keep my ears and eyes open for anything."
Fugaku nodded his thanks, sipping his drink again. Fugaku never gulped coffee, though that had to be the only thing keeping him awake right now. He's come in this morning with bags under his eyes from a restless night, and here was was, pulling another all nighter. He hadn't done one since Itachi had gotten sick, so the boy must be getting better. Shisui shuffled papers and grabbed a pencil to make his own marks.
"None of our other ANBU agents are making any head-way," Fugaku breathed as he changed files. He moved papers from one file to the next. "Itachi is the only one who was pulling in any information."
"Itachi sees things no one else does," Shisui agreed. Also, the boy was simply a genius. He could get where the other agents couldn't. His mind, Shisui had learned, was a quick, terrifying place. If there was something to find out, Itachi would find out. He was the one most likely to suceed in his mission without ANBU ferretting him out. Secrecy was key in this mission, and everyone was afriad of letting even a whiff of this get sniffed out by ANBU's dogs-or anyone else's for that matter.
The two worked in silence for a while, double checking papers and looking for the break through. Shisui switched from the ANBU case to another one he was working on. It was one of the little crimes Shisui hated. It was unlikely to get solved, and those drove him mad. They seemed to be pulling in a lot of those unsolvable cases lately. Shisui whistled through his teeth and scowled.
"You should be home resting. This is your third double shift this week," Fugaku intoned from over the paper stacked desk. "You shouldn't even be here."
"I'm fine for paper work," Shisui promised. "I wouldn't be able to sleep if I were at home, and I want to get some more work on these cases done before I go back to missions duty. I hate leaving these cases unsolved."
Fugaku nodded. "You'll learn to live with them. Don't obsess too much over what you can't help, and try not to lose too much hair or sleep over them." Fugaku traded files again, a frown creasing his face. "I'm pulling Michiyo off."
Shisui looked up, alarmed. "Really? I thought she was getting close to something."
Fugaku shook his head. "It's a trap. I'll tell her to back off for a few weeks and see what happens them," Fugalku lasped into silence again, eyes scanning the pages in front of him. Shisui watched, like he could see the wheels turning in Fugaku's head. The man was a veteran ninja. He'd ferreted out spies and terrorist during the ninja war, after an injury had taken him off the front lines. If Shisui had to pick one of the Uchiha to be his role model, it would be Fugaku without a doubt.
"We need Itachi back in there," Fugaku muttered softly, sighing as he ran a hand over his tired face. Shisui had to nod. With Michiyo backing off, they did need another agent in it. Itachi's purpose in ANBU was two-fold, and his absence was hurting both causes. Still, what could they do? Itachi was sick. He needed to recover.
Shisui gnawed on his lower lip, and ignored the pain in his stomach, which had been growing for the past few months. He hated the position the Uchiha were being backed into. After listening to the older members talk about how the Uchiha clan had been before the war-before the Kyuubi attack, even, he could see how the clan was losing power. It wasn't just political and pretige wise either. The Uchiha as a whole were a weaker clan than they had been in decades past. Itachi and Shisui were the strongest the clan had seen in a generation or two. Everyong was hoping this was a sign that the next generation of Uchiha would be stronger too.
Shisui could only hope. He hoped for a lot of things these days, mostly for his clan as a whole. It rankled him to see the disrespect some of the officers got when they went about their duties. It rankled even more to see people look down on any Uchiha. They were the Uchiha. They deserved respect. Why shouldn't they be given it? They were one of the founding clans of Konoha. The Senjuu clan was scattered and all but dead, but the Uchiha were still strong. Shouldn't they be looked up to for that at least?
"You should go by my house after your shift and see Itachi before you start running missions again," Fugaku intoned, breaking through Shisui's irrate thoughts.
"Eh?" Shisui blinked. He was met by Fugaku's impassive gaze, and then a quirked eyebrow. Shisui looked down. He nodded. "I'll think about it..." He heard Fugaku nod and go back to his paper work. Shisui turned to his own, and tried to block out his resentful thoughts, Fugaku said that wouldn't help them at all. He said they needed to work slowly and gain back the trust they had somehow lost. He said to take things slowly and follow his lead.
Shisui felt his teeth break through his skin, and snatched his teeth away from his lip. Patience is a virtue, he reminded himself. He just wished he didn't need so much.
Itachi woke up after everyone was gone. He ate a cold breakfast and at on the porch with a blanket. He watched the garden with sleepy eyes, and squashed the annoying drone in the back of his mind from time to time. He didn't feel like dealing with that right now. He was enjoying the garden, the quiet, and everything else about this moment.
Is this going to happen every morning?
Who knew? Itachi let the kitten grouse on, and watched a bee fly from flower to flower. He's forgotten how vibrant the flowers in his mother's garden were. The kitten yowled something and snarled, poking tiny claws into Itachi's mind. It was looking for a hold again, but it wouldn't find one right now. Itachi wasn't tired, like he had been yesterday.
Tired after a day of contemplating all the ways you were going to kill your clan.
Itachi rolled his eyes at the kitten, and gave it a small shove. The kitten rolled away, but came bouncing right back, claws out and teeth bared-milk teeth and claws he couldn't properly control.
You seemed so apologetic yesterday-so mournful over the inevitable loss of your family.
Itachi had been lost in ghosts yesterday, though he did feel a pang for all the death that was to come. He didn't like it. That thought sent the kitten into fit of confusion. He didn't understand Itachi at all right now. He poked and prodded with his prickly little kitten paws, and rolled around the memories he'd managed to mine from Itachi's mind, trying to make it all fit together. So far, he wasn't having much luck.
I didn't get to say goodbye to Sasuke this morning.
Would the kitten have, if he could have? He didn't seem so inclined to remember his little brother when he didn't have to. He was a very bad brother, actually. Would it be that hard to give Sasuke a little more attention?
At least I haven't made his life a living Hell and raised him to kill the only person he has left.
Not yet, at least. Itachi flinched still at the thought. The kitten enjoyed poking his little feet into that sore spot. He thought if he did it enough he could recreate yesterday's miracle and get back in control of his body. It wouldn't happen. Itachi was sleepy, but he wasn't bone tired like he had been. He also wasn't going to let the kitten's barbed thoughts dig in like they had yesterday.
It hurts, because you know I'm right.
Itachi ignored the kitten. He watched the garden instead, eyes half closed. He liked this quiet life. He liked the garden, and the soft sounds of the empty house. He liked knowing Sasuke would be back this afternoon with a smile. He liked knowing his mother would be back in a few hours to make lunch, her soft feet padding through the halls and her busy hands working away. He liked to know his father would be back for supper, tired, but there. They were all going to be here. He just had to wait, and they would come back.
Itachi wanted to laugh at the thought of it.
By your logic, they'll be dead soon, won't they? Why be happy that they're here? Shouldn't you just off them right now and be done with it?
No, no, he didn't have to do that yet. He could be the genius and not the mass murderer for a while yet. He liked his soft genius status. It wasn't so hard to hold onto. It was what he was by birth. He hadn't forced himself into that role at all. It had been gifted to him. It had strung him along into his next role, though. How else could he have done it? Only a genius could manage to kill his whole clan like that.
Or an idiot. You're absolutely insane, you know that?
Oh, Itachi knew. He knew. He smiled, and tipped his head back. It was cloudy today. Maybe it would rain. Kisame always liked the rain...
Someone was knocking-no, now someone was coming into the house, calling in a hesitant voice. Itachi's heart lurched, pounded, and he grew cold. He couldn't move, stand, or call out as he heard someone walking towards the house, footsteps careless on the worn tatami. Itachi's hands convulsed into knots, and as the footsteps, accompanied by a call of Itachi's name were almost at the porch.
Itachi stood like a puppet. He turned and reached for the shoji as it opened. The kitten made such a racket Itachi had to lip read the words dropping from his cousin's mouth as he looked up at the older boy. Itachi felt a smile cross his face.
"Shi-nii-san." It was a cheerful greeting, despite the gut clenching feeling in Itachi's stomach. Shisui, Shisui, Shisui. The first. The closest. The most important death of Itachi's life. Shisui had made it all possible. Dear, dear, cousin Shisui, face down in the river, hair spread around him like a cloud of ink...
No! No! No! Shisui get away from him!
"'Tachi, you look better," Shisui said, ignorant of the kitten's cries and what he was facing. He was smiling. He was happy to see his darling younger cousin up and about. They were like brothers, weren't they? They probably acted more like brothers than Sasuke and Itachi did. Funny how this would all play out, in light of that.
"I feel much better," Itachi responded, smile still in place. He did, considering what he'd felt like before dying. The kitten seemed to be feeling better too, so it was true for both of them.
"That's good," Shisui said, and he looked nervous. Why? Itachi had never made him nervous before, had he? It was hard for him to remember Shisui, and why was that? His memories of the other scattered as he reached for them, and they all seemed so faded. Why was that? He remembered everything else with startling clarity, but Shisui...why couldn't he remember Shisui like that? Why did it all crumble under his fingers?
Shisui, Shisui, Shisui, you idiot, get away from me! Get away!
"Hai," Itachi nodded and found the words stopped coming to him. He looked at his long dead cousin-the first Uchiha Itachi had ever killed and the first he would kill again given time-and noted how tired he looked. He noted the pinched look about Shisui's face, and he frowned.
"Shisui...are you all right?" Itachi asked, putting his head to the side.
"Ah?" Shisui looked taken aback. "I'm fine...just a little tired. I just came from a shift at the police station." Shisui reached up and drew his hands through his hair, smiling wistfully. "We're all a little run down now, aren't we?"
"We are," Itachi responded on reflex.
Get away. Get away. Get. Away.
"I almost wish I could get sick and take a break," Shisui chuckled.
"I didn't get sick on purpose," Itachi's tone was defensive, and Shisui blinked before holding up a hand.
"No, Itachi, I didn't mean that..." Shisui was shaking his head-
His head was thrashing under water, snapping this way and that as he fought to get up, get breath, get anything. There was a small pond in the garden, not large, but he could fit someone's head in it easily. It wouldn't be as clean as the river, messier, not so beleivable a suicide, but he could do it. He could pull it off. He was a genius, after all. He could do anything.
Shisui was smiling at him. He had no idea. That was the whole point, wasn't it? No one had any idea. Itachi opened his mouth, images of inky hair splayed in the water and the desperate thrashings of a dying man flashing through his mind.
SHISUI YOU IDIOT! STOP SMILLING AT ME! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!
Itachi blinked, struck dumb under the force of the shout. This one was louder than yesterdays. This one was twice as desperate. There was more than a touch of hysteria in the shout, and Itachi stood, mind and ears ringing with a noise that couldn't be heard, but could definately be felt.
"What did you say?" Shisui asked, his brows drawing down in confusion. Itachi blanched. What had he said? Had the mind shout been so forceful it had come out of his mouth? Had he just told his cousin he was going to kill him. Itachi felt light headed, and he wanted to sit down. He needed to sit down. He was tired.
Itachi blinked and looked up at Shisui. He frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I said, what made you wait to long to come visit me? It's been lonely."
Shisui made a face that said he didn't think that was what Itachi had been about to say at all. Itachi's heart started pounding, and his stomach twisted into knots. Shisui gave the tiniest of head shakes and put his hands on his hips. "I was busy."
Itachi relaxed, and quirked an eyebrow at his cousin. "Busy? I see where I rank now." Itachi turned and sat down on the porch, cushioned by the blanket as he looked back over the garden. "You've made your obligatory visit, so you can go home now."
Itachi heard Shisui chuckle as he eased himself down onto the porch. "You're such a brat."
Itachi looked at his cousin and smirked. "And you seriously look terrible. Your face must be scaring the populace of Konoha silly. It's a good thing they're finally sending your out of the village."
"Oh, ha ha, 'Tachi-chan," Shisui rolled his eyes, and reached out to ruffled Itachi's hair. Itachi vision swam as his head wobbled form side ot side, but he didn't mind. The other crawled out from where the shove from power had thrown it, and Itachi could feel its surprise.
How did you do that? You shouldn't be able to...
Itachi smirk widened. He was a genius, wasn't he? He could do anything.
How love blinds :
Shisui placed a cup of thick, black, steaming coffee in front of Fugaku on the desk, which was piled with papers and files weighted down with dull kunai and shuriken. Fugaku glanced up and made a motion of thanks. Shisui nodded and sat down, his own cup cradled in his hands. Shisui grabbed a file and flipped it open, fingers skimming across the papers as he looked for one phrase.
"How's Itachi doing?" Shisui asked, eyes still on the documents in hand. He tried to make it sound casual, but he knew it wasn't. Fugaku knew it wasn't. Shisui asked about Itachi every time Fugaku came on shift. Almost everyone did. They were a clan-a family group, and Itachi was the darling of the family right now. He was the bright, shining star everyone was watching. No one liked to see the brightest star in the sky dimmed-unless it was dimmed by a brighter star.
Fugaku took a sip of his coffee, delicate in the motion as he tried not to burn his lips or tongue on the hot liquid. "He was doing better, but today he pushed himself a bit too hard and almost passed out in the garden while he was helping Sasuke train. He went to bed early." Fugaku was looking through his own folder, and making notations as he went.
"Ah," Shisui blew on his coffee and took a sip. "Wait, he was helping Sasuke train, really?" Shisui couldn't wipe the surprise off of his face. "That's..." Unexpected. Rare. "Great."
Fugaku nodded, and Shisui could tell he was pleased. "It was good for Sasuke. Itachi being sick has been hard on him. He's been more worried than I thought he would be."
"Mah, of course he's worried. Sasuke practically worships Itachi, and with Itachi being so obviously ill, it's going to scare him. He's not used to seeing Itachi vulnerable-I'm not used to seeing Itachi vulnerable," Shisui pointed out, placing his mug back on the table.
Fufaku made a soft hum of agreement. "So, is that why you haven't been by to see how Itachi is doing yourself?"
Shisui flinched. He remembered his little cousin clutching his eyes and screaming for Shisui to get out. He knew he'd somehow caused that episode. He didn't know how, but he knew he had. He didn't want to trigger something like that again. If Itachi was getting better, he didn't want to impede the process. "Something like that," Shisui muttered. He took another hasty sip of coffee, and burned his mouth.
"Of course," Fugaku said, and Shisui didn't look up from his black drink. He knew that added drawl to Fugaku's voice. He heard it very often in Itachi's voice. That drawl was sarcasm at its best, and Shisui knew he was getting a bland look that hid a very sharp one from Fugaku.
Shisui sipped his coffee, which tasted burnt now that he'd singed his tongue. "Have you found any other evidence on the ANBU case?" Shisui switched subjects, daring to look up at Fugaku. Fugaku met Shisui's look, and then looked back down to his papers he was sorting through.
"No, there's nothing new," Fugaku shuffled a few more papers and made a few more notes. "I haven't been able to question Itachi since his last mission. I was going to tonight, but in light of what happened..." Fugaku made a gesture that was apologetic and almost a shrug. "I hesitate to tax him while he's still...recovering."
Still sick, in Shisui's eyes. No one could say what was wrong with Itachi, or if he'd ever completely recover. "It'll keep," Shisui assured Fugaku. "What's important right now is letting Itachi get better. I'm due to go back on missions duty day after tomorrow. I'm not in as good a position to hear things as Itachi, but I will keep my ears and eyes open for anything."
Fugaku nodded his thanks, sipping his drink again. Fugaku never gulped coffee, though that had to be the only thing keeping him awake right now. He's come in this morning with bags under his eyes from a restless night, and here was was, pulling another all nighter. He hadn't done one since Itachi had gotten sick, so the boy must be getting better. Shisui shuffled papers and grabbed a pencil to make his own marks.
"None of our other ANBU agents are making any head-way," Fugaku breathed as he changed files. He moved papers from one file to the next. "Itachi is the only one who was pulling in any information."
"Itachi sees things no one else does," Shisui agreed. Also, the boy was simply a genius. He could get where the other agents couldn't. His mind, Shisui had learned, was a quick, terrifying place. If there was something to find out, Itachi would find out. He was the one most likely to suceed in his mission without ANBU ferretting him out. Secrecy was key in this mission, and everyone was afriad of letting even a whiff of this get sniffed out by ANBU's dogs-or anyone else's for that matter.
The two worked in silence for a while, double checking papers and looking for the break through. Shisui switched from the ANBU case to another one he was working on. It was one of the little crimes Shisui hated. It was unlikely to get solved, and those drove him mad. They seemed to be pulling in a lot of those unsolvable cases lately. Shisui whistled through his teeth and scowled.
"You should be home resting. This is your third double shift this week," Fugaku intoned from over the paper stacked desk. "You shouldn't even be here."
"I'm fine for paper work," Shisui promised. "I wouldn't be able to sleep if I were at home, and I want to get some more work on these cases done before I go back to missions duty. I hate leaving these cases unsolved."
Fugaku nodded. "You'll learn to live with them. Don't obsess too much over what you can't help, and try not to lose too much hair or sleep over them." Fugaku traded files again, a frown creasing his face. "I'm pulling Michiyo off."
Shisui looked up, alarmed. "Really? I thought she was getting close to something."
Fugaku shook his head. "It's a trap. I'll tell her to back off for a few weeks and see what happens them," Fugalku lasped into silence again, eyes scanning the pages in front of him. Shisui watched, like he could see the wheels turning in Fugaku's head. The man was a veteran ninja. He'd ferreted out spies and terrorist during the ninja war, after an injury had taken him off the front lines. If Shisui had to pick one of the Uchiha to be his role model, it would be Fugaku without a doubt.
"We need Itachi back in there," Fugaku muttered softly, sighing as he ran a hand over his tired face. Shisui had to nod. With Michiyo backing off, they did need another agent in it. Itachi's purpose in ANBU was two-fold, and his absence was hurting both causes. Still, what could they do? Itachi was sick. He needed to recover.
Shisui gnawed on his lower lip, and ignored the pain in his stomach, which had been growing for the past few months. He hated the position the Uchiha were being backed into. After listening to the older members talk about how the Uchiha clan had been before the war-before the Kyuubi attack, even, he could see how the clan was losing power. It wasn't just political and pretige wise either. The Uchiha as a whole were a weaker clan than they had been in decades past. Itachi and Shisui were the strongest the clan had seen in a generation or two. Everyong was hoping this was a sign that the next generation of Uchiha would be stronger too.
Shisui could only hope. He hoped for a lot of things these days, mostly for his clan as a whole. It rankled him to see the disrespect some of the officers got when they went about their duties. It rankled even more to see people look down on any Uchiha. They were the Uchiha. They deserved respect. Why shouldn't they be given it? They were one of the founding clans of Konoha. The Senjuu clan was scattered and all but dead, but the Uchiha were still strong. Shouldn't they be looked up to for that at least?
"You should go by my house after your shift and see Itachi before you start running missions again," Fugaku intoned, breaking through Shisui's irrate thoughts.
"Eh?" Shisui blinked. He was met by Fugaku's impassive gaze, and then a quirked eyebrow. Shisui looked down. He nodded. "I'll think about it..." He heard Fugaku nod and go back to his paper work. Shisui turned to his own, and tried to block out his resentful thoughts, Fugaku said that wouldn't help them at all. He said they needed to work slowly and gain back the trust they had somehow lost. He said to take things slowly and follow his lead.
Shisui felt his teeth break through his skin, and snatched his teeth away from his lip. Patience is a virtue, he reminded himself. He just wished he didn't need so much.
Itachi woke up after everyone was gone. He ate a cold breakfast and at on the porch with a blanket. He watched the garden with sleepy eyes, and squashed the annoying drone in the back of his mind from time to time. He didn't feel like dealing with that right now. He was enjoying the garden, the quiet, and everything else about this moment.
Is this going to happen every morning?
Who knew? Itachi let the kitten grouse on, and watched a bee fly from flower to flower. He's forgotten how vibrant the flowers in his mother's garden were. The kitten yowled something and snarled, poking tiny claws into Itachi's mind. It was looking for a hold again, but it wouldn't find one right now. Itachi wasn't tired, like he had been yesterday.
Tired after a day of contemplating all the ways you were going to kill your clan.
Itachi rolled his eyes at the kitten, and gave it a small shove. The kitten rolled away, but came bouncing right back, claws out and teeth bared-milk teeth and claws he couldn't properly control.
You seemed so apologetic yesterday-so mournful over the inevitable loss of your family.
Itachi had been lost in ghosts yesterday, though he did feel a pang for all the death that was to come. He didn't like it. That thought sent the kitten into fit of confusion. He didn't understand Itachi at all right now. He poked and prodded with his prickly little kitten paws, and rolled around the memories he'd managed to mine from Itachi's mind, trying to make it all fit together. So far, he wasn't having much luck.
I didn't get to say goodbye to Sasuke this morning.
Would the kitten have, if he could have? He didn't seem so inclined to remember his little brother when he didn't have to. He was a very bad brother, actually. Would it be that hard to give Sasuke a little more attention?
At least I haven't made his life a living Hell and raised him to kill the only person he has left.
Not yet, at least. Itachi flinched still at the thought. The kitten enjoyed poking his little feet into that sore spot. He thought if he did it enough he could recreate yesterday's miracle and get back in control of his body. It wouldn't happen. Itachi was sleepy, but he wasn't bone tired like he had been. He also wasn't going to let the kitten's barbed thoughts dig in like they had yesterday.
It hurts, because you know I'm right.
Itachi ignored the kitten. He watched the garden instead, eyes half closed. He liked this quiet life. He liked the garden, and the soft sounds of the empty house. He liked knowing Sasuke would be back this afternoon with a smile. He liked knowing his mother would be back in a few hours to make lunch, her soft feet padding through the halls and her busy hands working away. He liked to know his father would be back for supper, tired, but there. They were all going to be here. He just had to wait, and they would come back.
Itachi wanted to laugh at the thought of it.
By your logic, they'll be dead soon, won't they? Why be happy that they're here? Shouldn't you just off them right now and be done with it?
No, no, he didn't have to do that yet. He could be the genius and not the mass murderer for a while yet. He liked his soft genius status. It wasn't so hard to hold onto. It was what he was by birth. He hadn't forced himself into that role at all. It had been gifted to him. It had strung him along into his next role, though. How else could he have done it? Only a genius could manage to kill his whole clan like that.
Or an idiot. You're absolutely insane, you know that?
Oh, Itachi knew. He knew. He smiled, and tipped his head back. It was cloudy today. Maybe it would rain. Kisame always liked the rain...
Someone was knocking-no, now someone was coming into the house, calling in a hesitant voice. Itachi's heart lurched, pounded, and he grew cold. He couldn't move, stand, or call out as he heard someone walking towards the house, footsteps careless on the worn tatami. Itachi's hands convulsed into knots, and as the footsteps, accompanied by a call of Itachi's name were almost at the porch.
Itachi stood like a puppet. He turned and reached for the shoji as it opened. The kitten made such a racket Itachi had to lip read the words dropping from his cousin's mouth as he looked up at the older boy. Itachi felt a smile cross his face.
"Shi-nii-san." It was a cheerful greeting, despite the gut clenching feeling in Itachi's stomach. Shisui, Shisui, Shisui. The first. The closest. The most important death of Itachi's life. Shisui had made it all possible. Dear, dear, cousin Shisui, face down in the river, hair spread around him like a cloud of ink...
No! No! No! Shisui get away from him!
"'Tachi, you look better," Shisui said, ignorant of the kitten's cries and what he was facing. He was smiling. He was happy to see his darling younger cousin up and about. They were like brothers, weren't they? They probably acted more like brothers than Sasuke and Itachi did. Funny how this would all play out, in light of that.
"I feel much better," Itachi responded, smile still in place. He did, considering what he'd felt like before dying. The kitten seemed to be feeling better too, so it was true for both of them.
"That's good," Shisui said, and he looked nervous. Why? Itachi had never made him nervous before, had he? It was hard for him to remember Shisui, and why was that? His memories of the other scattered as he reached for them, and they all seemed so faded. Why was that? He remembered everything else with startling clarity, but Shisui...why couldn't he remember Shisui like that? Why did it all crumble under his fingers?
Shisui, Shisui, Shisui, you idiot, get away from me! Get away!
"Hai," Itachi nodded and found the words stopped coming to him. He looked at his long dead cousin-the first Uchiha Itachi had ever killed and the first he would kill again given time-and noted how tired he looked. He noted the pinched look about Shisui's face, and he frowned.
"Shisui...are you all right?" Itachi asked, putting his head to the side.
"Ah?" Shisui looked taken aback. "I'm fine...just a little tired. I just came from a shift at the police station." Shisui reached up and drew his hands through his hair, smiling wistfully. "We're all a little run down now, aren't we?"
"We are," Itachi responded on reflex.
Get away. Get away. Get. Away.
"I almost wish I could get sick and take a break," Shisui chuckled.
"I didn't get sick on purpose," Itachi's tone was defensive, and Shisui blinked before holding up a hand.
"No, Itachi, I didn't mean that..." Shisui was shaking his head-
His head was thrashing under water, snapping this way and that as he fought to get up, get breath, get anything. There was a small pond in the garden, not large, but he could fit someone's head in it easily. It wouldn't be as clean as the river, messier, not so beleivable a suicide, but he could do it. He could pull it off. He was a genius, after all. He could do anything.
Shisui was smiling at him. He had no idea. That was the whole point, wasn't it? No one had any idea. Itachi opened his mouth, images of inky hair splayed in the water and the desperate thrashings of a dying man flashing through his mind.
SHISUI YOU IDIOT! STOP SMILLING AT ME! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!
Itachi blinked, struck dumb under the force of the shout. This one was louder than yesterdays. This one was twice as desperate. There was more than a touch of hysteria in the shout, and Itachi stood, mind and ears ringing with a noise that couldn't be heard, but could definately be felt.
"What did you say?" Shisui asked, his brows drawing down in confusion. Itachi blanched. What had he said? Had the mind shout been so forceful it had come out of his mouth? Had he just told his cousin he was going to kill him. Itachi felt light headed, and he wanted to sit down. He needed to sit down. He was tired.
Itachi blinked and looked up at Shisui. He frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I said, what made you wait to long to come visit me? It's been lonely."
Shisui made a face that said he didn't think that was what Itachi had been about to say at all. Itachi's heart started pounding, and his stomach twisted into knots. Shisui gave the tiniest of head shakes and put his hands on his hips. "I was busy."
Itachi relaxed, and quirked an eyebrow at his cousin. "Busy? I see where I rank now." Itachi turned and sat down on the porch, cushioned by the blanket as he looked back over the garden. "You've made your obligatory visit, so you can go home now."
Itachi heard Shisui chuckle as he eased himself down onto the porch. "You're such a brat."
Itachi looked at his cousin and smirked. "And you seriously look terrible. Your face must be scaring the populace of Konoha silly. It's a good thing they're finally sending your out of the village."
"Oh, ha ha, 'Tachi-chan," Shisui rolled his eyes, and reached out to ruffled Itachi's hair. Itachi vision swam as his head wobbled form side ot side, but he didn't mind. The other crawled out from where the shove from power had thrown it, and Itachi could feel its surprise.
How did you do that? You shouldn't be able to...
Itachi smirk widened. He was a genius, wasn't he? He could do anything.