one_long_mission | [open] Yeah, he technically died.

Entry tags:

[open] Yeah, he technically died.

News travels fast around a shinobi community, but rumors travel faster. Especially when they turn out to be true.

The sick Uchiha... died.

Luckily, little Saskue was able to get help and Sakumo was able to resuscitate him. But for a couple of minutes, Itachi was gone. And as dire his health had been, that spoke volumes. And it practically guaranteed that others would have volumes to say to him about it as well.

[He's not going to be out of bed for a while, so come on in and pay him a visit.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shisui might be new in town, but he was the sort of guy who paid attention to things, especially when it came to family. So the moment he heard what had happened to Itachi, he needed to pay a visit.

Once he was allowed, he slipped into the room, pausing by the door to wait for Itachi's acknowledgement. "Cousin?"

Well, Shisui had offered to take care of Itachi when they first met - food, rest... And now, Itachi was feeling a bit guilty that he had turned him down. He had obviously gotten worse, not better, since he last saw his cousin.

"Shisui..." He whispered, as he activated his sharingan. He motioned him in, weakly patting the side of the bed. "Oh, it's good to see you..."

Shisui came willingly, settling himself on the edge of the bed and reaching out a gentle hand to touch Itachi's thin face. "It's good to see you too," he murmured, "though I have to say, I wish the conditions were better." Putting it mildly, that, but it was no less true for his understated delivery.

Shisui's hand felt so warm, so strong. Just like he always remembered it being when they were children.

"I guess... I need your help... more than I wanted to admit..."

"And you know you have that, 'Tachi." A guess, a hope, that his equivalent for this Itachi had used the same affectionate foreshortening. "Anything you need, I'll give you."

"I've really made a mess of things, Shisui..." He whimpered as much as he whispered. His plans, his missions, especially his health. "A real mess of things..."

He paused, gulping silently. His thin body trembled under the sheet.

"I'm scared..."

Itachi, scared? That wasn't something Shisui could allow. His cousin was too determined, too focused, to let fear overcome him.

"Hey now," he 'scolded' gently, sliding an arm around Itachi's shoulders, drawing him in close. "You're gonna mend, got it? You've gotten help, and your only task is to get stronger. You're not gonna let this get the better of you."

Every man, though, has limits to what determination alone can do. Itachi was like a feather against Shisui's body. Were it not for his cousin holding him up, he probably would have collapsed back against the mattress. He tried to hug him tightly in return, but his grip was frail at best.

"For eight years... I planned my death at Sasuke's hands... So he could avenge what I had to do to the clan..." he trembled as he spoke. "Now... all the Sasukes, all of them... They want me to live... Shisui, if it weren't for them... I..."

He really didn't need to finish that sentence.

"I'm sorry, cousin... Sometimes... I'm... tired of sacrificing..." he eventually added. "...I want... to not feel the pain... for a little while."

And that wasn't just limited to physical pain, although that part was very real. It was the guilt, the struggle, everything that he'd held on his shoulders since he first took up the shinobi path.

There weren't even words for the hideousness of a world that would put Itachi through that. Shisui bowed his head, resting his forehead against Itachi's silky hair, and gave a deep sigh.

"You deserve to live without pain," he said quietly. "Every Sasuke here wants you to live. Live for them. You've given a great deal. What more is there to sacrifice -- and needs it? You can relax and seek happiness, cousin."

Clearly, relaxing and seeking happiness was about as alien to Itachi as a blizzard would be to Sunagakure. And maybe that was where he needed Shisui's help most of all.

But first, there were much more basic needs that would have to be addressed. Perhaps the healing process could start with something as simple as a small, untouched bowl of soup broth on the bedside table.

Which was part of the awfulness, really. That Itachi would clutch such a burden close to himself, would hurt himself in such a way because of the past he'd had...

Shisui sighed. "You should eat something," he reminded his cousin. "Build your strength back up." There was that bowl of soup...

Itachi nodded. "You're right..."

Unfortunately, there was a lot he needed to build. It was a struggle to sit up, to get comfortable. It was an even bigger struggle to try to reach for the bowl. Itachi finally just slumped against the bed, shamefully admitting to himself that even if he did reach it, he wouldn't have the strength to hold it.

It was a painfully weak whisper. "... I... I need your help..."

"Then you've got it." As simple as that, and Shisui turned his attention first to making sure Itachi was propped up well enough not to strain or choke on the soup, before reaching for the bowl. "There's nothing to be embarrassed for, cousin. This is what clan does, hm? We take care of each other." And Itachi, any Itachi, was precious enough to him that he'd do anything he could. This was a little thing, a nothing.

It was hard for Itachi to do, but he swallowed the pride that his clan was known for, and let Shisui help him, spoonful by spoonful. All the while, he kept thinking about what he said. 'This is what a clan does. They take care of each other.' Did it really apply to him too? He'd never considered it like that.

Of all the people Itachi's pride should not have been prickled by, it was Shisui; he didn't look down on anyone for weakness, didn't see anything wrong with an ill cousin needing his help. They were blood, close blood, and for him, that meant the world. The loss of his clan, years ago, and the need for the three survivors to band tightly together, had seen to that.

So with careful, gentle hands, he helped Itachi, making sure to get plenty of the broth into him. Thin and mild it might be, but it was still healthful and good.

Their reactions spoke volumes about how different their worlds had been. The difference between the enduring bonds of close clansmen and the unforgiving life of an S-rank missing-nin. Kisame may have known some of Itachi's weaknesses, but it wasn't something anyone spoke of. Admit, and die. It was as simple as that.

Itachi ate as much as he could, even if he didn't finish the bowl. When his cousin set it aside, he couldn't help but ask a very honest question.

"Shisui... How do you... relax... and seek happiness?"

The question was both surprising and not; Shisui didn't bother to question it, but considered it seriously before answering. "I relax by spending time with the people I care most about," he said finally, "and my happiness is found with them. I look toward a future that I know will be better than the past, and know that I have the power to help shape it."

His answer was different than the Shisui of Itachi's past. But he had so many more years of life and experience than the Shisui of Itachi's past.

"I used to seek peace. But... never inner peace..."

"But what other kind of peace can you have?" Shisui asked seriously, brushing Itachi's hair back gently from his face. "That's where all peace begins... inside." A truth he believed in.

Itachi's eyes closed gently under Shisui's fingertips. His body was so weak, and he was so very tired.

"You... always were the wise one..." he whispered, almost mumbling. "Relax... seek happiness... I'll try one day to... to get it right..."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[open] Yeah, he technically died.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject