sunshineverse | Genius and madness go hand in hand

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Genius and madness go hand in hand

Where: Konoha training fields
When: April 18th
Notes: Open, Itachi's having fun setting up a training area for more fun. Come have fun with him?

The training area had a "reserved" sign hung politely on it, and Itachi had been working for several hours now. At times it was obvious he was setting up traps, but he'd also stop and stare at nothing for a while, a frown of concentration on his face. He'd already used up a substantial amount of chakra, but a chakra pill had kept him going and now he was almost finished. He was smeared with dirt and had sticks and leaves in his hair and stuck to his clothes. Frequent breaks were key. He’d gone home and slept for a few hours already, but his mind wouldn’t calm down enough for him to sleep more than that. He'd only run into his father on the way out of the house, which was perfect since Fugaku was the least likely to send him back to bed to get more rest. As he couldn't sleep, the obvious solution was to get ready for putting Sasuke through hell, if he agreed to it.

If not Sasuke refused, then Itachi could always drag Shisui out here to have some fun. That would be a wonderful “I haven’t seen you in awhile” gift. The poisons would all have a day to lose some potency, so they’d be annoying but not dangerous. All the traps were made to immobilize or cause minor damage. All good for testing someone skills when you needed them to stay mostly unharmed. Itachi considered that he probably look a little crazy right now, going here and there and coming back frequently to sit down under a tree and drink water and nibble on whatever snacks he’d brought. He had a small pile of equipment under a tree at the edge of the training area, most of which he’d already pulled out and tinkered with when he was resting.

OOC: Feel free to come and stare or talk to Itachi while he's resting, hanging from a tree, staring into space....whatever.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You're best friends with someone seven years younger than you are--you are a creeper," Itachi replied absently as he found himself a perch near his cousin. It had been over a month since he'd seen his cousin, as their mission schedules had conspired against them.

"I guess Obito hasn't told you." And Shisui hadn't been around, or Itachi would have talked to Shisui about this. "I thought I should check on Sasuke's skills and see if he's ready to be recommended for Jounin yet."

Itachi would let the bird remove Shisui's curls as long as it wanted to.

"Physically seven years younger. Mentally fifty years older. Now who's the creeper?" His grin widened, almost splitting his face in two.

A month was a long time, he'd agree.

"Ah-- is that what this is about then~?" Scanning the area, he whistled, mimicking the warbler again. Just because. "It probably slipped Obito's mind. He let me in on something else, though." The details of which he hadn't been able to discuss, unfortunately. Shisui eyed his friend's hands, the grin having faded completely by now. "I heard you took some damage on a recent mission?"

Yeah. What was that all about?

And wow. You're such a wonderful friend, Itachi--

"I'm not a creeper, I'm a prude--or that's what I keep hearing muttered around ANBU." Itachi shifted a little closer to Shisui and cocked his head to watch the bird.

"Something else...?" Itachi gave Shisui a curious look, and then realized what they had talked about. "Oh." Itachi rolled his eyes. His hands. Itachi sighed and moved to sit right beside Shisui, holding out his scarred and calloused hands for inspection.

"I almost got an eye stabbed out and had both my hands broken, but, as you can see, they're all better now." Itachi might have been overusing the sarcastic tone, but he was tired of people moping about that mission, and it reminded him of Ashiko right now. Better to be annoyed about his hands.

"...A prude. So what does that make the rest of ANBU?" Just giving him this look that read: What do you guys really do, huh?

"Well, of course they are." He inspected the offered hands, nonetheless. And noted the exaggerated sarcasm with an arch of his eyebrow. "Obito mentioned some sort of mis-communication. What was that all about?" Shisui wasn't too concerned about Itachi's hands. Or eye, for that matter. Mostly because they seemed to be intact right now. "It's not like you to allow yourself that much injury." He hadn't mentioned Sasuke, but wondered if it had something to do with him.

Ashiko was a whole other topic he was going to have to discover soon enough--

...If Itachi divulged, that is.

Itachi gave Shisui a grimace and shifted to a more comfortable perch just a little closer to Shisui. "There have been several mis-communications lately," Itachi admitted.

"Perhaps I'm getting slower in my old age," Itachi suggested, with the implication that if he was old, what did that make Shisui?

It meant Itachi was ancient, and Shisui was right on track. But there really wasn't much to laugh about here, since Shisui's brain automatically connected the mention of slowness with Itachi's illness. Instead of something snarky then, he shot the other a concerned glance. There was nothing said between them, but the question was there.

Shisui averted his gaze, reaching out to smooth his palm over Itachi's. Seemed fine to him. Have a poke right in the center of your palm, Itachi.

"Mm. Have a theory?" About the recurrent mis-communications, that is. Theories; he loved hearing all about their theories. especially their conspiracy theories. Those, however, might have occasionally gotten out of hand~

As for the bird, Shisui moving around earned him a peck on the head, to which Shisui ducked, waving the bird off his hair. He was rewarded with a peck on his knuckle at that. "Oi oi! What a cheeky bastard! Get out, damn it." He might have been scowling at first, but ended up laughing at the bird's insistence. "He reminds me of Sasuke." Shisui's eyes twinkled at the mention of his little cousin. "Heard he was mixed up in the same mission in the end."

Just-- casually dropping that there, too.

Itachi caught the concerned glance and shook his head. Nothing to do with his mysterious illness. He actually had fewer aches and pain, either due to the warmer weather or the supplements he'd been placed on. He wasn't sure which.

"If it was Obito who told you, then it could be something I don't even know was a mis-communication and someone complained to him about. Or it was something in the discussion with Adela and Kushina-san, which was more a brawl than a discussion, so I don't know how that could be. I doubt it was anything to do with Ami. I haven't talked to Sasuke in over a month and a half, so it's likely not anything I said to him," Itachi listed off his recent interactions easily. He didn't talk to many people. "Or it was the fact that I believe I have made Hyuuga Neji hate me."

Itachi could live with that. He doubted Neji would act one it.

"He was on the Chuunin team. They were all pretty devastated about the mission," Itachi admitted, pushing his bangs beck behind his ear.

Itachi's response was satisfactory for the moment.

"What did you do-- try and hit on a Hyuuga girl?" Shisui chuckled. He hadn't personally met Neji, but he'd heard things about the man. Things turned on a tad serious tone after that, though. "Obito believes it has something to do with Oto." He eyed him sideways then, adding quietly: "And... Orochimaru."

A moment's pause later, and having finally rid himself of the annoying bird, Shisui asked him-- "Has Sasuke just been busy or you two haven't spoken to each other for some other reason?"

"He was avoiding me, so I thought it was best to give him his space, and then I had a mission..." Itachi shrugged. He felt almost certain he should have gone after Sasuke and talked with him before he'd left, but he hadn't known what to say, honestly. "I had tea with Hinata, but I didn't hit on her."

Itachi sobered a little more, suddenly as cautious as if he were undercover again. "And why does he think that?"

"I see..." Well, Shisui was pretty certain Itachi should have probably gone after him, too. Then again, neither of them approached a situation in the manner described, so it would be like the pot calling the kettle black. "Ah. She was injured, too, I believe? In that mission. Because Obito mentioned Hiashi storming into his office regarding that." Glancing at Itachi again, Shisui wonders if the man had anything to do with Hinata and Sasuke getting injured. Or not; people just assumed Itachi could save the world?

He cocked an eyebrow at the question, though. Wouldn't Itachi have known before the rest of them? Studying him for a second or two, Shisui figured he'd tell. He'd know if something should happen since divulging this information. His tone dropped to just barely audible. "Snake summons, a man with Orochimaru's description being sighted, and the fact that Oto's nin were the only others present in or around those missions besides ours and Kiri's."

"Everyone came out fairly scraped up, except maybe Sasuke. Adela was the worst." Poisons were nasty.

Itachi tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. He really was getting to paranoid. Itachi nodded. "There's always the possibility that it's a copycat, someone who admired his style and decided to use Orochimaru's name to his advantage, or it could be a decoy--maybe Orochimaru trying to make us think he's with Oto. That's not likely, but..." Itachi gave a little shrug and felt a sharp pang. If he'd grabbed Ashiko, would they know these things for sure? Probably. Or not. It might take longer than that to crack her.

Itachi felt a little sick at the thought. Torture had never been his strong point. He was good with genjutsu, but physically torturing people had never been something that came easily too him. It shouldn't matter if it made his stomach sick. He should be stronger. He should do what was necessary to protect Konoha. They needed intel on Oto, and Ashiko could have given them that. She was a civilian, and he couldn't have taken her down easily. Low risk, high rewards.

"It's troubling," Itachi added after his white knuckled pause.

Everything around them seemed to suddenly plunge into an eerie silence when Itachi spoke. Shisui took his time observing his friend, expression solemn as he tried to piece together the reactions that... weren't displayed.

While Shisui was convinced that this most certainly wasn't a copycat, and not to mention somewhat disappointed that Itachi didn't think so either, he said nothing. The silence between them then probably spoke volumes.

"What's troubling?" What's troubling you, he wanted to ask.

Because something was off and Shisui could sense that.

"What's not troubling that Orochimaru's still alive and well and working with a village we know very little about?" Itachi turned the question around on Shisui as he thought of what he could and couldn't say to his cousin here. He'd met Ashiko on ANBU business. Itachi bit his thumb nail.

Of course, lying to Shisui was painful and often useless. Itachi certainly left things unsaid, as they both understood there were some things they couldn't, for whatever reason, tell each other. Itachi didn't consider that lying.

He might as well have Shisui tell him how stupid he'd been before he had an official talk with the Hokage about how stupid he'd been. Itachi sighed. The weight he had been ignoring with the frenetic setting up of the training field settled on his shoulders in a prickling tension.

There was no point in drawing this out. He should get it out in one go. Shisui knew something was up.

"I've been working undercover in the Land of Ride Paddies for a few years," Itachi began slowly. Shisui would know Itachi did undercover work, but not where. Still, Itachi felt it important Shisui have all the damning details. And if he couldn't trust Shisui, then he might as well not trust anyone at all.

"I've been...running into the same young woman there at least once a year. I'm fairly sure it's been coincidence. We both travel widely across the country, and it's not that large of a place." Not if compared with some of the other countries, at least. "She's the maid servant of someone I assumed to be an important political figure in the country. She never told me who her master was, but she talked about him."

Itachi paused, taking another few seconds to gather up his words very carefully. He kept his eyes on the tree around them, not daring to look at Shisui yet.

Shisui chuckled. "That is troubling, but it didn't seem to worry you too much." Which is why he figured Itachi knew more than he was letting on. And now he wasn't sure if he was too happy with the knowledge that Itachi did probably know--

--Because it was no longer just 'theory' anymore.

At the mention of Itachi running into a woman every year, however, Shisui raised a brow. "Really? Are you sure it's coincidence?" This time, he looked intently at the other's face, ignoring the fact that Itachi was determined to look everywhere but at his.

Itachi felt Shisui's eyes on him, boring into his skin and probably reading so much more into every nuance of Itachi movements and expression than anyone else ever could.

Itachi nodded. "As far as I can tell, it's nothing more than that. I taken the time to study each meeting before, how it came about and what happened before. I truly think it's coincidence, or people travelling the same road. There's a possibility, I know, that these weren't random meetings, but the seem to be. She's given me travel tips and advice on which roads were bad or news that travelers often trade."

Itachi took a breath and held it for a moment. "She was with the caravan the Chuunin were watching during the mission that you were talking about." Itachi paused. "The man matching Orochimaru's description stabbed though Ashiko to get to someone else." A clean strike, but straight through Ashiko's body.

"I'm fairly certain he's her employer," Itachi added. "She goes travelling a lone a lot on what she calls errands, so it stands to reason she's very high in his trust and would know some valuable secrets."

Itachi refused to look at Shisui still. "I ran into her last week."

As information rolled in, Shisui's brows knit into a frown. Somehow, he wasn't convinced that these so-called meetings were nothing but coincidence. He was, however, going to hold back on his opinion for until Itachi had finished. Or until he had exhausted his questions.

Somehow, his only reaction to the man matching Orochimaru's description stabbing through this Ashiko (and Shisui mentioned nothing of how casually her name rolled off Itachi's tongue, either, though he made note of it) was a raised eyebrow. More curious than concerned. She meant nothing to him, personally. All he was interested in was the dynamics of these two strangers'. "Did he hit her vitals?"

Whether or not Shisui would be convinced that things were coincidence hung on Itachi's answer to that question. But then Itachi answered that question for him. "Ah." So the man hadn't aimed for her vitals.

"Ashiko, hm?" Shisui shifted, eyeing his friend curiously. Already on a first-name basis with a complete stranger. It made sense to keep in touch with her if Itachi suspected something, but something was still... off.

"Is she pretty?"

Perhaps Shisui had a tiny smile going on at that~

Edited (OOPS didn't read your tag closely!) 2014-04-20 22:25 (UTC)

Itachi felt his face heat up. "That has nothing to do with this." It didn't. Itachi didn't care at all what Ashiko looked like. She was, he knew, an attractive young woman. That was one of the reasons he found it odd she was running errands for her "danna-sama."

Or did it have something to do with it? Could it be a physical attraction had had effected his decision about Ashiko? Itachi bit the end of his thumb. That was something he hadn't thought about before.

Shisui did everything in his power at the time to hold back that burst of laughter that threatened to spill. This-- really wasn't a time to be laughing, he knew. Instead, smiling just a little wider, he added softly: "It might."

He almost felt a touch of sadness here, just at the situation. Had this Ashiko person been someone else, someone not at all connected with who he thought she might be with, perhaps things would have been different for Itachi. And Shisui really, really didn't want to not side with Itachi on something of this nature.

"Was she doing alright when you met her recently?" Reaching up, he put a hand to Itachi's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Itachi finally looked at Shisui, a rather bland look over a suggestion that Shisui wasn't getting it. "She was well. After we politely suggested it would be in my best interest if I never came back to the country, I bought supper and tea and she bought sake and desert. It was a most companionable evening."

Itachi looked back at the forest. "She had valuable information Konoha could use. She's a civilian. It would have been easy to incapacitate her and smuggle her out of the country without anyone knowing it was Konoha that had done it. She knew I was a spy for someone. She knew Sasuke and Hinata, or had met them before and she knows they work for Konoha now.

"I should have brought her back here for interrogation. We need information about the hidden village in that country. If she's connected to Orochimaru, we could know what he's been up to.

"But I didn't." For no greater reason than he had become friends with her. He couldn't think of a time he'd felt more like he'd failed in his duty to Konoha, and all for a girl.

"Sure. Sounds like a date~" Shisui was never going to stop teasing him about it now. 'Companionable evening' my ass, it was a date. Enough with the euphemisms, Itachi, hah--

Well, Shisui was determined for it to be a date.

"Seems like she knows too much, Itachi. And I haven't even met her." To come to that conclusion, that is. Yes, it might have been just a little teasing, too. "You don't have to bring her here, you know?" He let go of his friend's shoulder, leaning back against the tree and calling out for a bird again. "But perhaps... you might have missed things if you kept meeting up with her." Shisui smiled up at nothing in particular, squinting behind the rays of light that filtered through the mesh of leaves and branches.

"It's okay to feel that way, y'know? We're all... human, first." Before they were shinobi or civilian, Konoha or Oto, ally or enemy. It was normal. It was how it was supposed to be. And, most importantly, it meant the ANBU hadn't completely stripped Itachi of that.

For that, Shisui was grateful.

And it showed.

Edited 2014-04-21 01:07 (UTC)

Itachi turned his head enough to give Shisui a sharp look. He didn't think Shisui was treating this with the proper gravity. Itachi had failed. He'd been charged with gathering intelligence and let a huge source of information slip away because he was something as nebulous as friends with her.

"Feeling 'that way'--" Whatever Shisui meant by that. "--is one thing. Endangering Konoha because of the way I feel is another thing entirely."

Shisui's lips twitched into a tiny smile at that. "So what? You want me to reproach you for it? When you're already doing that to yourself unprompted?" Did you want him to beat a dead horse, Itachi?

...But it didn't mean that Shisui was going to deny that he'd not exactly done his job just then.

"You could always go back and keep tabs on her under the guise of..." He shrugged. "Being interested." Pause. Swallow. "In something else." He wasn't necessarily going to sit there and explain what that 'something else' means. He'd done it before, and wasn't proud of it. Deceiving anybody was-- always awkward. And it left a bad taste in his mouth. Not to mention the doubt that followed-- doubt in one's own abilities to form any sort of meaningful relationship with anyone anymore.

"...Not saying it won't eat you up inside if you decide to go with it." That last bit was mumbled.

"I should just start keeping things you can't fix to myself," Itachi responded dryly. He knew there was no fixing what he'd done, but he'd thought telling Shisui would make him feel a little better.

Itachi gave a moment of serious thought to pushing Shisui off the tree branch. "She knows I'm someone's spy. She'd know something was up." And Itachi's training in seducing people had mostly been about seducing men while dressed up as a woman, usually in the setting of one of the higher class brothels. It was easier to hide your gender under several layers of silk. If Ashiko saw him again, she would be one her guard, and she might have told other people to be watching out for him now. If her master had any skill with genjutsu, he could easily get an image of Iori's face from her mind, and that face would match the one of the Uchiha he'd crossed blades with not too long ago.

"Do you think anyone could have fixed it?" Even yourself. Not now, anyway. He reached out to put an arm around Itachi's shoulders, a casual sideways bro-hug. (As for pushing Shisui off the tree-- good luck with that, Itachi, because his butt was planted there with a good amount of chakra. Shisui does take precautions, y'know~?)

"Listen, what's done is done. If you want, if it would make you feel better, if you think Konoha would benefit from it-- we could send somebody else to keep tabs on her. Even if you didn't really bring her home for interrogation, you were still able to gather that much information about her that no one else really could have put forth otherwise. Quit thinking about it as if all is lost; and--" Have another squeeze to your shoulder, Itachi. "Have faith in your fellow shinobi, Itachi. They can pick up where you left off. These shoulders don't have to bear the weight of the world when it can be shared with others."

There was a pause; a long, calculating, pregnant pause.

"I could do it."

He stared into the distance again.

"But you'll have no say about the outcome if I find out she's less friend than foe."

The suggestion startled Itachi a little. He hadn't expected it. Immediately, part of him said no, don't send Shisui. Shisui was far more ruthless and effective than Itachi had ever been. A much better ninja, even if Itachi's skill had technically come to overshadow his cousin's. Obviously Itachi had become too emotionally involved with Ashiko, a deadly failing in a ninja. Making friends outside one's village always meant that you might have to kill them one day. Or turn them in for interrogation. Either way.

"She's intensely loyal to someone who is most certainly a foe of Konoha." How could she be a friend. Itachi resisted for a moment, but leaned a little into the hug. At least, no matter how badly he screwed up, he was certain Shisui would always like him. Itachi also had more faith in Shisui's abilities than he had in a lot of people's. But...did he really want to send his cousin after Ashiko? He knew Shisui would if he asked.

"Thank you, but you really don't have to clean up my messes anymore, Shisui. No doubt the Hokage, if they send it that high up, will decide how to handle the situation."

Genius and madness go hand in hand

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ohman.... :c this is frikkin late...

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