sunshineverse | Even a Kage spends time in the village

Where: Konohagakure
When: January 4th, in the afternoon.
Notes: Open to anyone.

He was horrifically bored. No, beyond bored, he was being lulled into a sense of being droned to death, and he honestly couldn't claim he was unused to it. He was used to it. He was so painfully used to it that he could just cry over it. Admittedly, he'd gotten over that crying constantly thing a good decade ago, but the urge still cropped up from time to time, and this was shaping up to being one of those days.

At least, it was until someone called the delegate's attention away from him long enough that one of his people could get in and give him a message.

It was blank, but they didn't have to know that, and it was something that honestly didn't need his personal attention in any case. All he seemed to be there for was to nod politely and have his assistant take notes to give someone else anyway. Thus, he sprung at the chance to close the matter for the day, it having run over nearly two hours from the projected halt point as it was.

His shinobi had probably realized he wasn't all that far off a compulsion to do something regrettable. Probably in a way that was amusing at the time but would just make him cringe in retrospect too. Thus, he seized on the chance to bolt, politely making his excuses before taking off into the village, taking a deep breath of the cool air as he tried to figure out how he wanted to spend his current freedom.

Sparring? Checking on shinobi in other parts of the village? Hassling his students? Lunch?

...Lunch. He was starved.

Goal decided, he started across the village to the nice fish place near his home, waving and greeting people on his way.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He knew Itachi was upset at him, he knew he was, and he leaned over the table, the smile vanishing as quick as it came. "Itachi. Ask yourself this, would you? You're an excellent shinobi, you're strong, creative, and good at hiding things. You can find someone discreet and skilled enough to take care of you without others finding out. I know you have no interest in people that way, so maybe pretend you're dating them if you're worried your reputation might tarnish. But... would you rather do this, or force me to take you off the missions you do and put you on something where I can personally keep an eye on you and you run the risk of people finding out anyway?"

Itachi looked at Obito and leaned forward as well. "Obito-san, perhaps if I am all those things, you should trust that know that I have said I will do what you've ordered, that I will do it in the way I find most comfortable and discrete." And leave Itachi what little dignity hadn't been sloughed from his back with Obito's interrogation. Itachi was smart enough to know there were worse ways to get this done, but that didn't mean he was happy about any of this.

He studied his face, then nodded, seeming to relax. "You were determined to hide it or brush it off Itachi, that worries me." He shook his head once, dropping his own gaze to the table on a sigh.

"It's my job to watch over those who reside in this village, and I believed myself exceptionally aware of you. You've done well hiding yourself from me if it's not my own distraction that made this the case." He lifted his head, lips quirking faintly. "Isn't it understandable I'd want to at least try to help make it not seem so bad?"

Itachi breathed out and sat back. This was the problem with having a Hokage who was so invested in your well being. "As I said, they're only small things. Shisui only knows..." Itachi almost said because he'd watched Itachi try to get out of bed on cold mornings and heard the crackle and creaking of his joints, but Obito hasn't fettered that out yet. "Because he sees me straight after my assignments so often and he's always mothered me a little." Unlike Obito, Shisui also trusted Itachi a little more to take care of himself, but maybe Shisui was more forgiving because Itachi had told him.

"Is it understandable that I feel enough like a chastised child without being told to pretend to date my medic?" The words weren't biting, only wry. Itachi was quickly becoming resigned to his fate, though he still didn't like it.

"I wasn't telling you to, I was just... offering a suggestion. Mostly because you have been hiding it." He huffed a breath, then shook his head. "But fine, I apologize. Maybe it was a bit over the top." He planted his chin in his palm, and his elbow on the table. "We should probably let the staff actually feed us, at some point."

Itachi really didn't feel like eating anymore. He really wanted to get away from Obito and recover some of his equilibrium, but he doubted Obito would let him leave without eating after learning Itachi wasn't in the best of health. Itachi resigned himself to the meal and told himself it was what he deserved for keeping secrets.

Which was ironic, as he was a ninja, and secrets were his life after killing.

"Perhaps." At least he could get a free meal out of this.

"Hey Itachi? If you start avoiding me after this I'll be sad, but I'll understand." It was a murmur, and he gave him a wry smile before deactivating the privacy seal. The wait staff swept in pretty much immediately with tea and water.

Obito knew him that well at least. "You know now. There isn't much point in avoiding you," Itachi responded in an equally low murmur as he accepted the tea with a smile at the servers.

Obito peered at him for a long moment, then his smile brightened considerably in relief before he gave them his order so he could turn his attention back to Itachi. "I'm glad to hear that."

It would give him somewhere to hide and cough that wasn't Shisui's apartment, and maybe if he split time between the two places, they would lose track of how often he was sick.

"I hope you come to regret it," Itachi added almost cheerfully.

"Oh, I won't." He gave him a brilliant smile. "I'll make you help me cook." Because everyone knew that being in the kitchen with Obito was dangerous.

"I thought you were trying to preserve my health," Itachi returned, feeling better now that they were evidently off the topic of forcing Itachi into medical treatment.

"Of course not Itachi." He paused, honestly looking a touch surprised. "It's not about your health." He leaned forward, giving him a warm smile. "It's about your happiness. Less things to hide means less stress and more time with the people you love, right?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at Obito. "I'm not sure how you expect my life to be less stressful when everyone's going to keep asking me how I'm doing and mothering me." It would happen. Itachi had always been independent, and soon he'd be begging Obito to send him out of Konoha for months.

"Not everyone, I don't see a point in doing it myself. I know how upsetting it can be." He gave him a wry smile and shook his head.

"Yes, you're just going to bully me into seeing a medic regularly who will, no doubt, report my health and well being to you after every meeting." Itachi sipped his tea.

"Actually, the medic will only appraise me of difficulties that I need to know that will affect your mission assignment." He sipped his tea, looking at him steadily. "Unless you think those will come up every session...?"

Obito obviously wasn't as nosy as Itachi. What is the medic thought something was irrelevant and it wasn't? It was like demanding a book be written and then only reading the interesting bits.

Itachi felt like Obito was trying to placate him and wondered if he were being irrational. "As I currently consider there to be nothing that interferes with my carrying out missions, I would say no, but evidently other people disagree."

"Do they? Because so far as I'm aware the only thing I was forcing you to do was take a vacation to settle your nerves, that you yourself said should be much longer than it is."

Even a Kage spends time in the village

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