one_long_mission | [open] More woes

Why couldn't she help but blush and -still- wish she would be graced with the type of life this old woman had? Strong, determined... Sasuke was that and so much more...

Out of curiosity, she turned to look at just what Itachi had painted. It looked... colorful, at least? The tsukuyomi, he said? She tried to remember. It sounded like a name for those sharingan techniques, yet... had sasuke ever mentionned it?

"Tsukuyomi...?"

"A powerful genjutsu... that traps the target in an illusion of space and time." He answered softly, almost reluctantly. And as he continued, it was evident why. "...usually as a means of torture."

The old woman blinked, and then cringed.

"Very... abstract, dear. Yes, absrtract, yes..."

And he was painting this? Well, pain was certainly abstract...

"I like my painting better. You really -were- cuter with short hair, 'husband'." she found herself chuckling lightly.

He wasn't entirely sure why he painted it, either. He just... did. Mangekyo sharingan spun as he continued to stare down at it.

"Course you did, dear. It's yours." The old woman noted with a little chuckle. "And you should be proud of anything you create. Yes, yes. You always should."

Before her words could resonate with Itachi, though, the canvas was on fire with black flames. It was quick to burn, and he was equally quick to snuff it out. But the harshness of the jutsu was written in the blood dripping down his right cheek.

"Oh... Oh my heavens!" The woman almost fell as she staggerd back. She lifted her glasses, rubbing her eyes. Because she did not just see what she swore she saw, did she? "How did you... what did... That... Oh, my, my, my, my..."

That one, she knew... and she knew well the effects of along with Itachi's current condition.

With a screech, she ran over. "Bite me now!" the paintbrush she had held ended up on the ground, rolling among rocks. Not that she could repair any vision, which was certainly even more affected now, but that should have taken -some- chakra.

"Oh my... Oh, heavens, have decency, child!" the old woman shrieked, making it very evident what she and said late husband must have done in the privacy of their bedroom. She shielded her eyes. "Oh no, no, no."

That didn't happen, though.

A dizzy Itachi felt for Karin's arm and bit down. Any mangekyo technique uses a tremendous amount of chakra. Even when he was healthy, he could use those eyes only three times before his reserves were completely spent. Now, with far less stamina, even one use could have debilitating effects.

He must have wanted that painting gone - very, very badly.

"I am having decency!" yes, because no one wanted to see her thoughts, never mind how different from Sasuke that bite felt. When it was sasuke, oh he was never holding back!

"...and don't you DARE stop before feeling remotely all right. I swear, why did you even do that?" she was trying to sound mad but... well, no. She only sounded really really worried.

Because at length, in a tiny voice, she asked "...is it better now that you know it's gone?"

Itachi was always reluctant when biting Karin.

"I've created... enough painful illusions..." he whispered, still biting, still drawing chakra from her, even though he looked like he was about to pass out. "But they end. That... that wouldn't go away when I opened my eyes..."

He felt ashamed for painting such a thing. But genjutsu was the only art he'd ever created, really. So it shouldn't have been too surprising.

Her brows creased with worry and sadness. She could understand... and moreover sympathize.
"It's gone now... and at least I was here." she turned red eyes to him, studying him. He still looked so pale. "Don't be shy... and take whatever you need.." after all, it had beena while... since she had felt useful.

He looked so harmless, really... if her Sasuke was here, he could have ended his misery so swiftly.
Would she have let him? No. It would be wrong.. because people change. Could she make him change...?

"Should have painted... Sasuke too..." he almost laughed.

The old woman approached them slowly. The biting... seemed to be a medical technique of some kind. And that crippled young man... he could light fire just by looking at something!

"By the gods, what... what are you?" she gasped. "Youkai?"

"We're shinobi." strange. Wasn't this village home to ninja a while back? maybe she was just that sheltered. "Don't worry, we're not out to harm you." she felt she had to help her settle down, but soon returned her gaze to her current patient of sorts.

"Maybe next time, right?" after all, cultivating hope was a good way to help.

"Ninja." Itachi elaborated. "...We trained our bodies to... to do incredible things..."

At a cost, he thought to himself.

The old woman studied them for a little while longer before concluding that they really weren't a threat. To everyone's surprise, she was back to her talkative self in no time flat.

"In all my years, I've never seen such shenanigans, no, no, certainly not. My late husband, now, he used to tell stories of visitors with strange powers. Thought he was pulling my leg, I sure did. Fire out of your eyes. The ladies at my knitting group'll never believe it. No, sure won't." she laughed. "Poor boy, now... It was a... strange painting. But not a bad one, dear. You didn't have to burn it. I'd let you try again, but nothing left to paint on. No, no. Last one I brought with me, I'm afraid."

Yes... incredible things was a good way to put it.

"I hope this won't happen much more though... your eyes won't be able to take much more of this." she gave a sigh. "All I can do is give you chakra or heal minor injuries... nothing can help against what it's doing."

The old woman was like a duck, and troubles were water tha flowed from her back. As shocked as she had been, she had accepted it with ease."That husband of yours sounds like he was the most perfect of men." she would have liked to see his chakra... as minuscule as it may have been..

"Oh, he was the bees knees, he sure was. Not just saying that, no no. We were beekeepers, him and me. Yes, when he wasn't painting, he was harvesting up honey for the village shops."

Her smile dropped a little when she came in closer.

"Your eye is still bleeding, dear..."

Itachi nodded weakly. "...I know."

"Goodness gracious, now. What did that fire do to your eye?"

"Suffice it to say, bad things." she used her free hand to wipe away what she could. That... sure was messy though. "I know someone else like that... but his case got worse over time." she gave a heavy sigh. "Sometimes though, it can't be helped." after all, she knew more than ever what unstable minds these Uchiha had...

The old woman adjusted her glasses. First instinct was to tell him not to burn things so readily, but for once, she kept that impulse under control. You don't tell a dying person what they can and can't do. And from the look of him, he certainly wasn't far from dying.

"My late husband was just as stubborn, yes, yes he was. Bad knees, bad hip, dead as a doorknob and he'd go out to the hives to collect honey. Never could tell him no. Not when he asked me to marry him, not at the end, there." She pulled out a cloth to take care of the rest of the blood. Then she turned to Karin. "Don't worry, dear. The stubborn ones never leave. They'll find a way to stick by you, no matter what, they will. Yes, yes."

"...stubborn... Even mules aren't half as bad as these Uchiha." she shook her head, a light, sad smile upon her features. All she could hope was for her chakra to be enough for now.

"Still, it's a good thing... to be stubborn." she wasn't sure just who who need her, if he left...

The old woman looked at the two of them sympathetically.

"Dear me, dear me... I never would have thought that inviting you to paint with me would have turned out like this. No, no." She hummed in thought. "The least I can do is invite you back to my home for a little lunch. Yes, yes. That's exactly what we'll do. If you can just help me gather up my paints and brushes, dear. It's not far, not far at all."

Itachi glanced at Karin and nodded. It was his choice to paint and then destroy what he'd created, even at the risk of destroying himself. He wasn't going to let the woman feel guilt for it.

Though, he certainly needed help getting back up.

She couldn't help but pat his shoulder lightly before claiming his hand to help him back in the wheelchair. "I'll gather everything... just wait a short while."

Her painting was not finished, still missing thats etting sun... She remembered she had seen something sparkle in the fading light, a trail along his chhek... Had she imagined it back then? Was she merely adding to her memories to suit herself? As she picked up the paints and brushes with the amount of care for things that weren't hers, she couldn't help but wonder.

Soon they were ready to go. She knew the option of declining for troubling her further would be disregarded as if not heard.
"Ready here. Lead the way." she quickly assesed their current location's obstacles, picking the route that had less bumps in its path.

She talked as they walked, telling a few more anecdotes of her late husband whenever something reminded her of a story. And there were a lot of things that did - a pair of squirrels chasing each other led to a tale about their school days together, a little stream led to a story of a fishing trip they took outside the village, the fork in the trail led to a bit of folklore.

Itachi fell asleep on the way there, but was nudged awake when they reached her little cottage. It was very well maintained for a woman who now lived alone. The garden was immaculate, including the bee hives that stood nearby.

"Over here, dear, there's a ramp over here." She smiled as she led Karin around the back. "My late husband was in a chair too for a little while. Our friends came over and built a ramp for the proch. Yes, yes. So kind they were. And still are, of course. Goodness me, speaking as though they'd already gone..."

Shr led the way inside.

There were very few walls. Everyting was open and inviting. (What walls there were, though, were very well decorated with paintings.) There was a sunroof in the ceiling, letting in a lot of natural light.

"Come on over to the table, right here, yes. That's good. I have some rice and quail already cooked up. Won't be any trouble at all. And I'll do the heating. Listen to your wife, dear. No more fire out of those eyes of yours."

She chuckled at that. She didn't think amaterasu could 'heat' anything, more like burn to cinders.

"I'd like it... if I had memories like that... to share in my old days." although she wouldn't have such a similar life, what with her 'school days' already over.
"...I wonder if Sasuke likes fishing." in fact she had no clue what he liked, he was pretty secretive about those things...

"I'm sure you have lots of memories to share, with all those strange powers that you... What did you call yourself, again? Shin..."

"Shinobi..." Itachi repeated.

"Yes, all the strange powers you shinobi have. Lots of interesting memories, yes, yes. You're making them right now, even. Who's to say one day, you won't be telling some young red-headed whippersnapper about that one time you and your late husband sat out by the shrine rocks and painted, and he was so critical, that he lit the canvas on fire with his eyes right then and there. Oh my goodness, what a tale that'll be one day."

I was hard to argue the fact that Karin was probably going to outlive Itachi. But Itachi did find it strange to think of himself as anyone's late husband.

"Yes, yes. Every day has a story. Every object has a memory. That's life, dear."

Red-headed whippersnapper... "I don't think -- after all, maybe it'd happen..."

No Uchiha ever had red hair, right? So maybe... just maybe if it wasn't with an Uchiha, there could be a red-headed child hearing stories...

"I wonder whose that one would be." she murmured, looking over to the painting. What if someday she would see that painting and think of a dream that never was to be realized..?

At least they had found out there once was a shrine there... and beehives. She would never have thought honey was a home produce here.

"Silly, silly. Of course you'll have stories." She picked up a pretty glass bottle from a set on the table. "Why, this little thing was a gift to my late husband from one of his best friends. Used to be filled with some kind of special healing water, he said. Used it for eyedrops, that he did, and swore by it until it ran out. His best friend never did get back out of the village to get more. Came all the way from the mountains of Yami no Sato, it did."

She polished it while she was holding it, and then sat it back amongst her little collection. Then she turned to keep an eye on the pot she was stirring.

"I do love old bottles. They look so pretty when the sun hits them, yes, yes. Like little works of art."

She gave a light hum. Healing water... How odd, she could have sworn she heard something about it back in that home world of hers... some sort of paper she'd come across when touching things that weren't hers. Suigetsu spotted her before she saw more though.

She looked at the bootles, noticing how odd the shape was for some of them. "I suppose... memories are good company, are there?" still, that water... "Why didn't he go back to the mountains though? It's that far away?"

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