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

[stillpure]

He pondered this and took her hand with his free one. "Okay. That'll be easy."

[bunsofsteel]

"Yeah? Alright then, lead the way!" She just curls her fingers loosely around his with a smile. Kids were alright, as long as they were shinobi kids and went home somewhere else at the end of the day~

[stillpure]

He looked up at her and pulled her along. "Okay. Foods or gifts or what?"

[bunsofsteel]

"Both!" She follows without resistance, unable to keep from smiling. "I already know Sasuke likes things with tomatoes in them."

[stillpure]

He made a noise to the affirmative, pondering. "He really like's mom's Onigiri~. I'm not sure if he still would though."

[bunsofsteel]

"I heard from someone I met that putting grape tomatoes in onigiri might be a good idea. Do you think you could get some recipes from your mom for me?"

[stillpure]

He shifted on his feet, then shook her head. "She wouldn't trust me with recipes, but I can take you to her!" He brightened then, changing direction.

[bunsofsteel]

"Whoa--!!" Immediately she tugs back on his hand, trying to keep going the same direction as previously, letting out an awkward laugh. "T-that's okay, really! Let's just keep looking for more gifts, okay?"

[stillpure]

"You should meet mom anyway right? You're with the older me aren't you?"

[bunsofsteel]

Another awkward laugh, and she just continues to move opposite the way he'd started to tug. "D-don't you think Itachi and Sasuke should meet your mom first? I mean, I don't think they even know she's here..."

[stillpure]

He planted his feet and stuck himself with chakra, getting a rather stubborn look on his face. "Why're you scared?"

[bunsofsteel]

"I'm not scared, I just don't think it's a good ide-- oh come on!" She releases his hand and puts both hands on her hips once she realizes he's used Chakra to plant himself. "Really?"

[stillpure]

He crossed his arms and stared up at her, stubbornness in every line of his body. "We don't know how long we're here for, right? Otouto'd find mom a better present than anything else in the whole festival."

He held her gaze. "And if you end up home in the morning, then you at least'll know what she would've thought of you."

[bunsofsteel]

"Right, which is why they should get to meet her before I do!" A little helplessly, she gestures in the air to indicate the festival, about to remark on how they should work on finding the other two before Itachi mentions that, her lips curving into a scowl as her whole body goes tense. "Don't... talk about stuff like that, okay? Bad luck."

[stillpure]

"I know she's probably dead in your time too, okay?" He looked away from her finally, hunching his shoulders just a little. "It wasn't hard to find out what happened when everyone was doing their best to make sure that I wouldn't know anything. I haven't met anyone but Kushina-nee who wasn't shocked to hear about her being alive, and even less people who failed to twitch when I told them my name."

He looked back to her, eyes wide as he dropped his hands to his sides. "An older me even -ran away- when he saw me. I -scared- him."

[bunsofsteel]

...So he does know. Her expression wavers as she swallows hard, then she moves around to crouch in front of him and meet his eyes again. "You know, if I ran into kid-me, I'd be a little scared, too," she says honestly, giving him a tiny smile. "Look... me and your older-otouto and older-you, it's... complicated, okay? We can go get them, and they can go see her, okay? That'd be way better than dragging along some nobody like me, right?"

[stillpure]

"You can't be a nobody if older me wants to be with you." He didn't smile back though, still rather drooped.

[bunsofsteel]

Staying in her crouch, she just leans up to ruffle his hair gently, tilting her head for another small, almost embarrassed smile. "It's complicated, Itachi-kun, really, but..." She closes her eyes and lets out a quiet sigh. "If Sasuke and older-you want me to come with them, I will. Okay?"

[stillpure]

He stared at her a moment before giving a reluctant nod. "Okay."

[bunsofsteel]

She inhales through her nose and gives a firm nod, pushing herself back to her feet. "Alright then... let's go find them, okay?"

[stillpure]

He nodded, unsticking himself and reaching to take her hand.

[bunsofsteel]

She wasn't sure if he'd want to take it again after the brief argument, but when he reaches, she meets his halfway without protest, starting to head back the way they'd come. It's careful as she asks, "How much do you know, Itachi-kun?"

[stillpure]

"I know that everyone died. I know it was my fault. I know there was a reason." He looked up at her. "I don't need to know more than that."

[bunsofsteel]

Her face falls as she closes her eyes for a moment, fingers momentarily tightening around his. "You know as much as I do, then," she says quietly, staring straight ahead. That's a terrible burden for a child to carry.

"Ah, but you know, your older self, the one that I'm, uh, with? That didn't happen to him, so you never know!"

[stillpure]

He looked up at her. "But something still happened, right?"