Pretty Lights?

[one_without_wings]

Sasuke really, really wanted to see the lights. He heard about how autumn was coming and how pretty it would be. After dinner, which he had eaten very slowly, he sat outside on the porch to wait for these lights to come out.

Somewhat uncharacteristically for him, but a trait that may be believed shared for the Uchiha since it happened so often... he fell asleep. He had taken a blanket, perhaps feeling too warm, too comfortable, and not all that good. He still did want to see those lights... He was definitely feeling all too nice and warm right here.

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[one_without_wings]

Miki stared at the kunai, now planted where it should have been. To think that Itachi had seen the slightly off angle -and- been swift enough and precise enough to correct it left him in awe.

"Predicting fish is doable, but... what do I gotta predict? i'm not even sure what I did wrong, or how the angle came off wrong..." he looked at his hand, frowning. "That's weird... I moved my wrist exactly the same, and spun just like I should have had.."
"Maybe your body's started to grow?" Hiro offered from where he was. His form with weapons was average, but it was a give since most of his time had been spent struggling with finding out his own affinity. He appeared to be getting somewhat better now.
"You think so?" Miki sounded excited, then thoughtful. "Can that really throw me off?"

[itachi_san]

"It might have looked the same to you, but it was different... Even if just a little bit. Every time will be different in some way... It's why repitition is so important. So the movement becomes natural..." Itachi explained. "Eventually, you'll see every part of the throw, even the path... the weapon takes, from the moment it leaves your hand... Or someone else's.

Unfortunately, it wasn't something that could be explained. There was no secret technique that made it possible. (Though the sharingan did help tremendously.) Time - that was what would aid Miki the most. Time, practice, repitition.

"It's something you'll gradually learn to see..."

[one_without_wings]

"Oh, so it isn't growing up?" Hiro smirked. "Good, you're already taller than me anyway."

Miki rolled his eyes and focused on Itachi. "So it was different then... I guess I'm gonna have to look harder and focus then. I got it right the first time.." he dropped to the ground and frowned, shaking his wrist. "Maybe I didn't warm up as well as I thought..." these children were taking their shinobi careers with amazing seriousness, even if they were not even genin yet.

[itachi_san]

"Relax..." Itachi put a hand on Miki's shoulder. Then he repeated, "It's always going to be different. Which means you can... learn something every time."

And Hiro's voice pulled just such a lesson into Itachi's mind.

"For example..." he paused, then glanced over his shoulder. "Hiro... are you watching his chakra?"

He turned back to Miki, sharingan active as they always were. But when he caught the boy's eyes, he cast a very subtle genjutsu - one that would make the targets appear a little bit to the left of where they actually were. Accurate throws, no matter how accurate they were, would miss.

He wasn't sure whether Hiro would know what the change was, but he was interested in whether his sensory abilities could detect the change yet. If so, better to be exposed to it in safety than in a time of danger.

"Try the exercise again, Miki..."

[one_without_wings]

Hiro immediately stiffened, since it was his first time seeing chakra that had undergone a genjutsu. He squinted, shuddered, then frowned, regaining his focus. He was sure Itachi would explain after the fact, because he was unable to detect the actual effect.

Miki gave a nod, eager to start again with the added knowledge. He threw the weapons, certain that they were headed to the targets... but then when a ressounding chorus of loud noises of weaponry embedding itself in wood, not targets, he gave a confused blink. "..what the..."
He rushed to the closest target and pulled out the kunai from its center, immensely confused when chips of bark fell along with it.

[itachi_san]

But something was different. Even if Hiro couldn't tell what happened, the physical effects of it were rather clear - Miki had missed every target!

That was certainly enough to attract everyone's attention.

"Every time... is different." Itachi followed him. "A change in the wind, a muscle that's tighter or looser than normal, a distraction in your mind... perhaps even a bit of foul play. But thankfully... that's why we have teammates."

Itachi broke the jutsu after that.

"Hiro, did you observe anything... strange?"

[one_without_wings]

Miki stared in disbelief as suddenly the reality synched itself back, and quite suddenly. He couldn't believe he had missed them all. "..w-what the hell? How did that happen!?"

"It was something that affected you." Hiro explained. "Your chakra.. it became all wavy and weird. It wasn't normal." he shook his head. "Something made you think you were hitting the targets, but you weren't."
"How do I prevent something like that?" now the dark-haired boy was somewhat terrified.

"Well, I can warn you that something's wrong." Hiro gave a light, sheepish smile.
"That's right... Any other tricks to it?" he asked, looking towards Itachi.

[itachi_san]

The fact that Itachi's chakra likely had much of that wavy quality to it probably confused Hiro a bit, but that would be an explanation for another time.

He motioned the others over to join them, and carefully sat down on the grass.

"I don't know if... they've covered genjutsu in the Academy yet. It's not as common as other types of ninjutsu... since it doesn't really cause physical harm per se, and it's difficult to do. But it's something you'll undoubtedly come across... as shinobi."

He took a moment to explain what he'd done to Miki, how genjutsu worked, how it could be used in battle.

"You're lucky to have a sensor on your team. And Sasuke... with his sharingan. One day, those eyes will be capable of casting genjutsu, like mine do... and breaking someone out of it... But normal shinobi can break out of genjutsu. If one of your teammates sent a sudden surge of chakra through you, it should be enough... to break it. Others, if alone, use pain to break out... One of my old classmates... used a chili pepper bomb once, while sparring against me... Surprisingly, it did break the genjutsu."

It seemed genjutsu was far more difficult to predict than it was to recognize and deal with. And even then, it wasn't easy.

"Hiro, this is a big lesson for you. Knowing everyone's chakra... watching these kind of changes and being able to recognize them... And Miki, the more you practice, the more you'll be able to see and anticipate differences... in the situation, and learn to compensate for them."

[one_without_wings]

Everyone listened, Akemi noting the information in her small book. Hiro glanced over to Sasuke as the sharingan was mentionned. If his brother was able to confuse Miki, this meant Sasuke could also use that ability to their advantage.

Hiro gave a nod to Itachi. "I know what their chakra is supposed to feel like, usually. Miki's felt... almost sickening." he was not exactly keen on looking at it. "That reminds me... Sasuke, your chakra... it looked like it was faded when we last saw you, some time before you got sick.."
"Really?" he blinked. "Niisan! an that even tell people are sick even when they don't know it?"

[itachi_san]

The fact that he hadn't thought about something so basic almost told too much about his own self-denial over the years.

"Chakra is a blend of mental and physical energy... So in a sense, that would be accurate." He answered simply. "Not something... I like to think about much."

What Hiro could sense when he looked at Itachi... Itachi could only guess.

[one_without_wings]

"Isn't it about time we eat?" Akemi immediately piped up, not about to let thing deteriorate further. She was not fond of the expression she had seen on Hiro or Sasuke's faces. "I have a lot of ice balls, and mom even bakes some cookies yesterday."
"Awesome!" Miki cheered.

"...and before you ask, Miki, you don't get any until you've eaten real food." She was the one, apparently, who could keep any and all stomachs on a leash.

[itachi_san]

Itachi had given them more than enough serious things to think about for one morning. And perhaps an afternoon as well. A break was definitely in order.

"I think the medicine has kicked in by now... Sasuke, where did you put the... bento box you made?"

[one_without_wings]

The boy proudly took out the two small bento boxes, handing one to his brother. "Here, niisan."
"I brought tea." Hiro took out a large container and cups. "Mom said that one tastes like apples. Smells like it too."

"Hey, you're right!" Akemi took the cup that was passed over. "Your mom always has the neatest teas! You should bring more of them over."
"Yeah." Miki gave a quick nod. "Every day!"

"She gets them over at some shop that sells flowers and oils."
"Ino-neesan's shop." Sasuke chirped. "She was the one who found me when I first ended up here, in all that snow."
"Really?" a chorus answered him. He had obviously never recounted his arrival.

[itachi_san]

"And I'm very glad she did..." Itachi smiled, brushing his hand over Sasuke's hair. "It was quite a storm that night... if I remember right. I couldn't make it home and had to stop in to... get out of the cold. And you were already there."

A lot of those memories were fuzzy. He remembered making omusubi and possibly falling down the stairs.

Itachi opened up the little bento box, containing the breakfast he still hadn't eaten.

"I'd like a little tea too, Hiro... I don't believe I've tried the one that... tastes like apples."

[one_without_wings]

"Yeah... there was a lot of snow, and it was pretty cold." Sasuke nodded. "We've never had any snow in Konoha before. I kept sinking in that stuff." he grimaced. "You did come by! Sorry, I remember tackling you to the floor when I saw you." he gave a light laugh.

"Miki, how fast are you drinking that?" Akemi scolded. "There won't even be enough for all of us!"
"There will." he argued.

Hiro gave a sheepish grin, taking out another cup and evading their squabbling to hand it over to Itachi.

[itachi_san]

Itachi sipped it with a smile. It really did taste like apples, a perfect tea for the season.

"I vaguely remember that..." he nodded to Sasuke. Thanks to the Kotoamatsukami jutsu, it was far easier to gloss over the negative memories. "I'd say you didn't know your own strength... But I'm starting to get a little of that strength back now. So maybe... next time, I can catch you."

It might have been wishful thinking, but there was some truth to Itachi's statement. He'd been breathing better, getting more exercise, eating more, finally starting to put a little weight back on his bones. He was certainly happier.

[one_without_wings]

"Catch me? Next time?" Sasuke was ecstatic. "Make sure to tell me! I'll run down both flights of stairs and take a flying leap halfway through!" his laughter and smile might be able to run a town's electricity with solar happy power. Of course, he was not going to rush down two flights of stairs, but he -would- leap in his brother's arms eventually, and get caught and supported.

[itachi_san]

"Well... maybe not next time. But hopefully..." he nibbled on the rice ball a little. The filling was seaweed, just the way he liked it. "I'd like to be able to carry you too, just like I used to do... And walk all the way to the other side of the village and back."

They sounded like such simple goals, especially for a man who was still able to throw a kunai into a moving kunai at the perfect angle to deflect it into the dead center of a target. (Granted, it didn't take much physical strength to throw a small weapon, at least, not with his good arm.)

[one_without_wings]

"We can!" Sasuke put down his empty teacup to hug his brother around the waist. "We can do that too! Someday!" and he was already looking forward to it, too.

"...Sasuke..." Miki asked sheepishly. "...can we exchange big brothers?"
"Nu-huh." that was the one thing Sasuke would never ever do. "You can borrow hugs though!" and without further warning, he pounced on him to do just that, laughter pouring from the other two as Miki struggled desperately. "Too late to change your mind!"

[itachi_san]

"Come on, group hug, then..." he opened his arms with a bit of a laugh himself.

[one_without_wings]

"Group hug?" Hiro was the first at the finish line, followed by Akemi, and last came Miki and Sasuke.

"You get hugs all the time from him, I'll get there before you this time!" Apparently, there was some mini-rivalry going on between these two..

[itachi_san]

Itachi didn't notice it, though. For the moment, he was completely wrapped up in the arms of these children - young shinobi-to-be who actually looked to him for advice and returned it with love and appreciation. It wasn't a feeling Itachi was used to having, at least, not aside from his younger brother. And even that really only happened since he arrived here.

It was a bit overwhelming of a feeling, actually.

There were tears on his cheeks before he even realized he was crying.

[one_without_wings]

Akemi noticed first, and then Sasuke, and the Miki. He was the first one to say something about it.
"Hiro! You're squeezing too hard, he's leaking water!"
"I am not!"
"It's gotta be Sasuke then. Leave some for me! You can get hugs any time!"
The other snorted. "You're just jealous." although Sasuke did let go, leading by example. "Niisan! Are you okay?"

Hiro hoped he hadn't broken anything, although there was no trace of pain on his features.

[itachi_san]

There was a reaction of surprise as Itachi quickly connected the dots between the words and the dampness on his cheeks. He wiped his eyes with he back of his hand.

"Sorry... I guess I'm just... so happy, they just started..."

The smile never left his face. This, he kept thinking to himself, was the kind of life he'd always dreamed of when he was out on the battlefield or traveling amongst the Akatsuki - to be home, safe, surrounded by family and friends... The things he gave up in the name of the village were the things he wanted, no, needed the most. They were what made life worth living.

"As long as it's not blood... I'm okay. I'm... okay..."

[one_without_wings]

Sasuke gave a sigh, relieved. "That's good! Great, even."
"Yea!" a chorus echoed.

And all too soon, they were all laughing and hugging again. Life was indeed truly a bountiful one when filled with happiness.

"Hey, Sasuke! think your crow'd help me for moving target practice?" Miki asked, thinking to up his game just a little.
"Hmm.. I can ask. If he pecks at you for throwing things at him though, you're on your own."
"Sometimes I wonder if you're an ally or an enemy." the other boy groaned.
"Summoned animals have their own criteria, you know." Akemi reminded him.