It's so pretty...

[stillpure]

He was dressed up. Where his mother had managed to locate anything to dress him up with on such short notice with he had no idea, but it meant when he took off roaming he was a streak of dark blue and red amid those at the festival as he went here and there, utterly fascinated by the new sights.

He'd been to festivals in Konoha, yes, but those were different. This was -new-.

It also meant he wasn't exactly being the most attentive person ever, and had escaped the people he'd been with. Unintentionally, of course.

Comments

[bunsofsteel]

Tenten was another one who had managed to escape the people she'd been with, humming with some amusement to herself as she wandered the festival. After all, how was she supposed to buy them each a nice surprise if they were hovering all over her all the time? A candied apple on a stick in her mouth, she takes a moment and smooths her dark red kimono before moving on, eyes wide as she takes in the festival.

However, she's not distracted enough not to notice the kid wandering around on his own. While that was strange enough, that face was unmistakable. Nearly dropping the apple, she moves quickly to intercept.

"Uh... excuse me," she tries, only lightly tapping the kid on the shoulder. "Are you...?"

[stillpure]

He turned in place, then his eyes went wide. Oh! Oh no. Um.

Um.

He flailed about mentally for a moment before he moved forward and hugged her around the waist. "I'msorryIsiccedNeji-sanonyou."

[bunsofsteel]

"Whoa!" She takes a step back to keep her balance and just blinks down at him, holding the sticky treat carefully out of the way so he didn't get it on his clothes, or worse, in his hair. "Hold on, what are you talking about? What's this about Neji?"

[stillpure]

He colored a little and pulled back, putting his hands behind his back as he gave her a -very- apologetic look. "I didn't think he'd go tearing off like that but we were talking to Naruto-nee and she mentioned you and he mentioned you and I recognized what he said and I'm sorry! He wouldn't believe me that the older mes aren't bad. I've met some and none of them were and uh. Um." He spluttered to a stop.

"I apologize if he overreacted, it as my fault."

[bunsofsteel]

...He did look an awful lot like Itachi, and the way he spoke when flustered was far too similar to be coincidence. "Hey! I said slow down!" She frowns at him, trying to piece together everything he's saying.

"You know Neji? And you're...?" As she resolves his words, there's no doubt, though her expression darkens just a hint into something dangerous. "He knows you and had the nerve to go off on me?!" Oh, there would definitely be words exchanged about this. For now, she pushes it out of her mind and just stares at the child with no small amount of fascination. "Hold on, how did you know who I was?"

[stillpure]

He nodded his head immediately, relaxing a little when she didn't seem upset. "I'm Itachi mmhmm. He's known me for a while now. He was the first person I met when I got here and he took care of me until mom got here. She's still trying to convince him to move in full time. I think he might be weakening a little since he shares more meals with us than away now." He paused a bit and bounced on his heels. "I saw you going around the village with the older-me. You looked happy so I remembered it, that's all."

[bunsofsteel]

"Your mom is here?" Tenten's shock is clear to see. Does Itachi know this? And Sasuke? What would that mean for them? There's no way their mother would approve of the kind of relationship they had, that was just...

For now, she pushes it out of her mind after making a note to tell the two of them about this bizarre situation, blinking as she returns her attention to the child. "Herring soba," she says finally, bringing the apple to her lips again with a small smile. If Neji moved in with the other Uchihas, what could he really say against her? "That's his favorite food."

Her cheeks color again as she blinks at him. So that's how he knew her? "...Oh. Is that weird?"

[unsealed_emotions]

While the boy he was pushed against by the mob of people might have been overly dressed, he on the other hand was severely undressed in worn out clothes chaffed from over use, and a dirty face that hadn't been washed since morning.

He fell back, landing on the ground. He looked up for a moment, and gave a quiet apology before picking himself up off the ground. He didn't bother dusting himself off, but instead, quickly tried to walk past the boy before he got a chance to grow angry with him.

[stillpure]

His eyes widened as he turned around to answer, and his breath caught. "Wait!"

He didn't give the poor boy a chance to escape, pouncing on him to hug his arm. They were about the same height, but Itachi had been a shinobi for a while, and that gave him some effectiveness to his hold.

"Don't go. What's your name?"

[unsealed_emotions]

His eyes widen at the short call, and he tried to pull away from that hand, while he shook his head against him.

[stillpure]

"Oh. I just... you look like someone older who told me his name was Sai, and there's future mes here so..." He paused, not relinquishing his hold, but sort of moving after him so that the other boy was quasi dragging him.

"He was nice, so I thought maybe you'd be too?"

[unsealed_emotions]

He tried to dislodge his hand, more subtly than before but nothing came of it.

"I don't--" Was he supposed to say anything? He looked beyond him. Was there someone watching him? Was this another test? What was he supposed to do? Where was Nii-san?

"... I don't have a name."

[stillpure]

He paused and his eyes widened before he released his hold and leaned forward to hug him instead. "I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to be mean."

[itachi_san]

Itachi had heard about the festival from Mikoto. At first, he was hesitant to go, but after resting for most the day, he decided it would be worth attending.

By the light of the bonfire, though, he couldn't help but be shocked by a small, but familiar face...

[stillpure]

He'd just turned around when he spotted the man, and a little smile lit his face before he boldly moved over to him, coming to a halt in front of him. "You're awake!"

[itachi_san]

Itachi froze. This boy... this boy was him... before...

He looked down at the child, the pure, innocent smile that fell over his face. He forced himself to wipe the shock from his own face as he fell to his knees. And he wrapped his younger self in a big hug... as if, by this one act, he could take away all the pain that hadn't even happened yet.

[stillpure]

He blinked a couple times, then reached up and hugged him back, petting his hair. "Well, this is a better reaction than running away from me."

[itachi_san]

Itachi struggled to compose himself, to put on the emotionless facade he'd worn for so many years. It should have been impossible. But he'd encountered people he knew from all different points in time. His parents not a day older than when he'd executed them. A younger Orochimaru from a time before he'd even been born.

He pulled back, tracing the thin lines on the boy's cheeks.

"Are you... real?" his words caught in his throat. "... Itachi? Me? ... then?"

[stillpure]

He held still and smiled at him, humming an affirmative as he held his gaze. "Uchiha Itachi, eight years old, genin of Konoha."

[fire_fox]

Everything smelled so good! So many lights and food and people talking and laughing. Naruto skipped from stand to stand with squid on a stick, nibbling and watching the other vendors curiously. She didn't even notice Itachi who just emerged from the crowd.

[stillpure]

"Naruto-nee!" He ran over as soon as he spotted her, staring up at her. "You're not with Neji-san~?"

[fire_fox]

"Oh! Itachi!" She grinned at him and patted his head. Her cheeks flushed and she laughed sheepishly:"Well I was with him a while ago." Yep.

[stillpure]

"I meant now, not on you're last date~." He peered up at her. "Yeah?"

[fire_fox]

She blushed up to her ears:"D-D-Date? We didn't go on date dattebane!" Where did he get idea that they went on date?!

[stillpure]

"No? So you hold hands with -everybody-?"