how did this even happen...

[mooneye]

It wasn't a bad sort of place. Lots of things to do and people to see. Plenty of freedom to dart over the rooftops and down the alleys--or out of the village and into the woods and rocky wild places beyond. Obito liked Michi no Sato.

He had stopped for lunch and was eating at a table outside the restaurant, watching people walk past. The food was good. The cold breeze was nice. Ah, yes. Years and years trapped in a cave with a crazy old man and a bunch of plant monsters--it had left him really able to appreciate the little things.

[ooc: here is an AU Obito in his twenties. Got through the time with Madara, and Rin's death, but didn't go completely evil after all of it...]

Comments

[mooneye]

"Ah. No. Not in my world, at least. It put me out of commission for a while, but." He shrugged.

[facevalue]

"Did it in any?" He tilts his head, the edges of his smile tugging at his lips again. "Or is Uchiha Obito only faking death in every instance?"

[mooneye]

"In every instance I've heard of, he is only faking it." That got a sly smile.

[facevalue]

"For what purpose?" He closes the sketchbook, his pleasant smile on his face as if in an attempt to lull the other into a false sense of security, even if they both already knew it to be false. "Why not return to Konoha?"

[mooneye]

He watched the smile creep back and now--knowing what it was a little better--thought how interesting it was. The boy was mimicking emotion. He was doing it logically, Obito thought, in order to get logical responses. But emotion was not a logical thing.

"Where I'm from, I did return eventually." He shrugged. "But I didn't stay long. I like it better out away from the village, doing as I please."

[facevalue]

Sai tilts his head and opens his sketchbook again, using the charcoal to write two characters, 自由, and display them to the other. "Is that the thing called 'freedom'?"

[mooneye]

That got a smile of genuine pleasure. "Yes."

[facevalue]

He nods, understanding the meaning in the definition, but having no sense of it for himself. It's with a kind of curiosity that he asks, "What is it like?"

He's never experienced it for himself, and truthfully, he has no desire to do so. Following orders is much simpler.

[mooneye]

"It's the best thing in the world." His teeth flash as he grins, sharp and pleased. "Just being yourself, you know?"

[facevalue]

"Oneself..." Another quick scrawl of two characters, 自分, and he displays it again. "And how do you determine just who that person is?"

[mooneye]

"Well, I determined it by having a rock fall on me. But I've heard other people find simpler, less painful ways. It's all very personal."

[facevalue]

His face goes still at that as he contemplates the paper. A moment, then he uses one of his gloved fingers to smudge the second character of each word, leaving only the 自 character clear from both. "They both have 'self' in them, don't they?" he says, more to himself than the other. A beat, then his smile finds his lips again. "Ah... but I do not think even a rock could find my Self."

[mooneye]

He observes that, the single characters left from the other words. "Hm. They do... And I don't know, rocks can be surprising. What about your Self would make it so hard to find?"

[facevalue]

The answer is simple, and his smile doesn't waver. "I don't have one."

[mooneye]

"Oh?" He paused, curious. "I think everyone does, though."

[facevalue]

"Ah..." He shakes his head, and returns his gaze to the other man. "Maybe I did once, but I think it was removed from me."

[mooneye]

He looked thoughtful at that. Could such a thing be done? "You might see if you can find a new Self, if your old one really did get taken away," he mused.

[facevalue]

"Ah..." His brows furrow in puzzlement. "How would I do that?"

[mooneye]

"You're on the right track, I think." He glanced down at his own right hand, thinking of Madara for just a moment. "With bonds, I mean. With other people. I think it's all the heart-to-heart stuff that does it, whether you're trying to find your old Self or a new one."

[facevalue]

"Oh?" Sai tilts his head and looks to the other's right side, the side with all those curious ridges from being kersplatted with a rock. "I have been told that my attempts to form bonds only make them worse, though."

[mooneye]

"In the place you came from, hm? Things might be different here." He shrugged. "There are all kinds of interesting people. You never know."

[facevalue]

"Like you?"