dangodragon (dangodragon) wrote in strangergamesrp, @ 2012-08-20 12:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | closed, event, gin charlie, log, uchiha itachi, uchiha shisui |
[Log] Nighterrors
Who: Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, Gin Charlie
When: August 6th
Where: The dorms
What: A creature visits Itachi and gives him both nasty dreams and burns. Itachi flees to his protector, and Shisui worries. When all is said and done, candles are the best remedy.
Warnings: Nasty dreams
Open or Closed: Closed
Observable: No
*
Someone pressed him back into the futon. Heavy pressure crushed his chest into the bedding. He tried to fight his way out from under it. He felt heavy hot breath on his face and neck. It smelled fetid. Rotting. Something chuckled in the darkness. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t move.
He was running. Running through Konoha, which was burning. The ground heaved and bucked under him, throwing him to the ground. He cried out, wordless terror. Sparks bit into his palms, face, and arms. The air around him was hot. Burning and stifling. His chest burned with each acrid breath he pulled in. He coughed, almost choking on the thick smoke. Konoha burned around him, and all he could do was run. He was looking for Shisui and Sasuke, but as he opened his mouth to scream, ash filled it.
He decapitated the woman with one blow. Her head flew off, hitting the ground with a dull noise. Itachi stood half in the puddle of moonlight the window let in. The air was thick--summer muggy. The air promised rain, and his eyes were burning. The were on fire. Itachi reached up to rub at them, and the head rolled back into view. He knew her. She was his cousin. Itachi stepped back and stumbled. He looked back and found he had almost tripped over a smaller body. A child’s body, gutted with a sword---
He was smothered. Someone had shoved a pillow over his face, and he was choking on it. As he struggled, he found his arms were pinned to his sides. A deadweight held his legs still. For a moment, the pillow was lifted. Itachi gulped in air, then burning hands hit him around the throat. He grabbed them, and then he saw the face of his assailant. It was Shisui. Shisui, dripping wet. As the water splashed onto Itachi’s face, it burned him. Shisui’s face cracked wide open in a hideous smile, vicious and wicked and---
“SHISUI! SASUKE!” Itachi managed to shout, but the smoke muffled his cry. A hot wind suddenly blew the wind away from him, and Itachi could see. He saw the great beast above him, lighting up the sky with flame. His eyes twisted into the Sharingan, and what Itachi saw was too great for him to comprehend. He felt like his eyes were--
---Melting out of his head as he gutted his father. His intestines spilled over his hands. Itachi smelled the stench of death as his father’s head hit his shoulder. He didn’t feel anything though. No joy. No horror. Nothing. His mother sat and watched him, perfectly composed as she raised her face to his. Blood smeared her lips. Itachi tried to stop himself, but he kept walking forward. He raised his sword and cleaved her in two, no hesitation. No mercy. Nothing but emptiness in the tepid summer night.
He was nothing.
His father’s hands were dry around his throat, and they had more power than Shisui’s. He also had his choke hold down to an art. Every time Itachi thought he might pass out, his father’s hold slackened just enough to let him take a tiny breath. His vision kept wavering black, then red, then sifting back into normal tints. Saliva and blood foamed from his mouth, and his hands lay useless. His eyes had closed a long time ago. He shook with exhaustion, wishing for death, wishing for anything to change. In that moment, his father’s hands slammed closed, and Itachi felt his throat collapse. Pain yanked his body back to tension, and he jerked, coughing up blood and drowning. Drowning as he opened his eyes and found Shisui hunched over him again, grinning with his flesh half rotted away, missing both his eyes.
“This is what traitors get.”
As the Kyuubi’s eyes settled on him, Itachi felt himself catch on fire. He stumbled back, screaming as he tried to crush the fires out as the burned him up. They leapt into his mouth, and he burst from the inside out.
Sasuke stood before him. Wide child eyes dead. Staring at nothing. Itachi looked at his blood covered hand and watched the flesh fall away from the bones. This was why he felt nothing. He was dead. He could move though He couldn’t control his own body as he stepped over his families corpses and walked away into the night. Fight as he might, Itachi couldn’t control his own limbs. He screamed, but his lips didn’t move. He struggled, but nothing happened. Panic rose up in him, choking him, freezing him--
And he opened his eyes to darkness, suddenly aware it had all been dreams. Itachi gasped for air, then felt the pressure of burning paws on his chest. He heard the rustle of something around him, and the hot slide of something over his arm. He froze, unable to see anything in the darkness. He was certain if he could see, he would see a kitsune’s smiling face before his body burst into flame.
The hot weight tumbled from his chest. Itachi felt feet climbing up his arm. Up onto his chest. He threw out at arm, catching something, and threw himself out of bed. Itachi hit the ground hard. It hadn’t been dreams. It hadn’t. Something was here. Something was after him. He didn’t know what. he didn’t know why. He heard something crying out behind him--tiny voices crying out for something. In pain. In need.
Itachi hit the door hard, barely managing to get it open as he ran. He wasn’t safe. He wasn’t safe. He needed to get safe before the Kyuubi came for him, or his limbs were no longer his own. He swore he heard a dark chuckle behind him. Itachi sprinted for Shisui’s door--the only safe place. The only good place.
Itachi translocated into the room. He did it messily and fell, hitting the floor hard and burning his elbows and knees on the carpet. He almost got to his feet, then went shooting under the bed, which seemed to be the safest place for the moment. Itachi hid his face in his nightshirt, which smelled like Shisui, and tried to figure out if he was sobbing, or if he just couldn’t breathe.
Disturbed and unsettled dreams meant that Shisui was on the alert when something came tumbling into his room. He was absolutely afraid that whatever had been on him had come back, and was standing up in a heartbeat, eyes red and breath sharp. He realized that he could hear a soft noise coming from the bed, and for a moment, he was tempted to throw a kunai and run.
Instead, Shisui flickered over to the lightswitch. Better than tripping over anything. Sophie wasn’t in at the moment, so there wasn’t a worry of waking her up, at least. What he did realize with the lights was that the sound was harsh breathing, maybe sobbing. It seemed familiar.
Oh. It was Itachi. Shisui dropped to his knees and leaned over to peer under the bed. “Itachi-kun?” It was soft. Hiding under the bed meant bad things.
Itachi peered at Shisui. Slowly, he started to crawl out, uncertain. He went to the side of Shisui, ready to run if his cousin showed any signs of violence. Itachi was shaking. His chest hurt, his arms burned, and he didn’t know if he could run. Itachi crawled out from under the foot of the bed. He peered over the bed at Shisui, only eyes, waiting to see if it was safe.
Watching this hurt. It hurt so bad, making him feel as if he were the enemy. Someone not to be trusted. Shisui slowly brought himself up, sat down and crossed his legs in a pretzel style, and held his hand out. Kept his body loose and his other hand on his knee, but open. “Hey, love. Kid. It’s okay. Come over here?” He didn’t lean forward, just waited for Itachi to come to him. “You’re okay, you’re okay.”
Itachi leaned his mouth into the bed and closed his eyes. His shoulders heaved, then he dropped down and crawled around the edge of the bed to Shisui. It was more a scramble, ignoring the hand in favor of shoving himself into Shisui’s lap, hiding his face in Shisui’s chest and clutching at Shisui’s shirt with red speckled hands.
Shisui held Itachi close to him, a hand going to cup his head, the other curling around his back, and he soothed Itachi gently, rocking him slightly. Then he looked down and caught sight of his hands. They were burned, as if Itachi had been playing with fire or training, but... “Oh, Ita... Dear, you’re burned...” He gently drew his hand to touch Itachi’s own lightly, and gently followed the burns down to his arm. Shuddered slightly. “Can I see?” He needed to get a better look at him. (Oh, gods, was it the same thing that attacked Shisui? Oh, not good at all, at all.)
Itachi shook his head and made a choking noise. “Was in my room.” Something. He didn’t know what. Itachi hiccupped, panicked and shaking and sick all over. Now that the adrenaline was fading, he hurt. All of that horror--why had he done all of that? Had he done it? Where had it come from?
Itachi turned his shaky head and slid around in Shisui’s lap. He led out his trembling arms, which were dotted with small, hand like burns and odder oblong marks. They only hurt a little, but Itachi’s chest really did hurt.
Shisui stiffened as he caught sight of the burns. Yes, it was. “Can I look at your chest, love?” It looked like there were other burns, too. From the carpet, or god-knew what, something. A cold chill was trickling down his spine, and Shisui realized that he was SCARED. It hadn’t poisoned him or burned him badly, but with Itachi? This looked so much worse, and he was smaller now. So small. Shisui gently stroked his hair, trying to soothe him.
Itachi nodded, feeling horribly jittery and frightened--and like he was going to cry at any second. Still, he pulled his shirt over his head, bearing his chest. Itachi leaned his head back to Shisui could maybe see. He didn’t want to move away from his cousin, hand clenched tight in his shirt. Removing it had made his chest burn. It hurt a lot.
Shisui looked at Itachi’s chest carefully, not touching, but his face darkened. Second degree burns, it looked like, all over his chest. “Oh, love....” He held Itachi gently, so as not to hurt him. “Remember the creature I told’ya’bout?” He drew a finger down Itachi’s arm, lightly, but he shuddered as if he were touching his own wound. “This looks like it.”
Itachi nodded, unwilling to put the shirt back on. It would hurt. It had scraped his arms. Shisui’s gentle touch bordered on painful, but it didn’t really edge into it. Not quite. Itachi twisted himself closer to Shisui, latching onto his shirt again.
“I kept having nightmares.” Disjointed and horrible ones that still made him want to hide even though he knew they were not real. “I couldn’t move.”
You were choking me.
Shisui nodded and gently touched Itachi’s back, rubbing it. “It’s horrible. Like they’re holding you down....” He nuzzled the top of Itachi’s head, then shuddered. “We need to take you to have those burns treated, love...” It was no rush, though, as Itachi life wasn’t in danger. He just needed these treated, maybe a poison check just in case, the attack had to be reported...
“You’re okay now. I won’t let anything touch you, I promise.”
Itachi nodded. He knew Shisui would keep him safe. That was why he had come to him. Shisui always kept him safe. That was what made some parts of the dream so horrifying. “Okay.” Even though it hurt, Itachi was more than willing to huddle int Shisui’s lap for a little while.
Shisui gently rocked Itachi for a few minutes, before glancing up. His sidetable was within reach, on the commlink and charm Sophie had made him. Reaching out for it, he gently drew it from the table and put it in Itachi’s hand. “Here. Hold the charms.” Maybe it would calm him?
Itachi did as told, then glanced at Shisui curiously. He didn’t understand this, not really. He folded his hands around the cold silver charms and closed his eyes.
“I dreamed about the massacre,” Itachi’s voice was soft, but it still shook.
Hugging Itachi carefully, Shisui pressed his hands into the other’s back. “That’s not a nice dream,” He made a sign behind Itachi’s back, and let his chakra filter easily through his words, to help calm Itachi. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” Itachi felt the tears well, and he clutched the charms harder. He took a sharp breath, trying to block out the images. “I don’t understand. I don’t know why I had to kill them all...” Itachi found he wasn’t as panicked now. He was frightened and sad. Thinking of Shisui killing him, or the violence against family...
“Why did it happen? Why did we let it?” Itachi whimpered, ashamed and not sure how to firm himself up.
Shisui stroked Itachi’s hair and searched for an answer he didn’t know. “Love, it... Things went bad. Somehow, things went bad, and I...” Bad things. “I’m sorry, love. Shhh,” He rocked Itachi just a little, and felt horrible. The problem was, he didn’t understand either.
“And you choked me.” Crushed his throat. Itachi pressed his face into Shisui’s chest. He didn’t want to think about it. Still, he wanted the assurance he knew Shisui would give him. If he had that, he thought he would be okay. He felt better, but now he hurt.
Another kiss to the top of his head. “I wouldn’t do that, promise.” Shisui kneaded his fingers into Itachi’s head, and tried to calm him that way. “Poor love,” He barely murmured. It must feel... awful. More than that. “Let’s get you to the infirmary, okay? Do you want to walk there, or flicker? I’ll make it as smooth as I can,” It spent a lot of chakra, but he could do it.
Itachi looked stricken. “No flickering.” He hated it when Shisui tried that. Maybe older would be better, but he didn’t want to see. Itachi gripped Shisui’s shirt tighter. “We can walk...”
“Such little trust in me...” Shisui murmured, but didn’t protest more. Just twirled a strand of Itachi’s hair in his finger. “Okay. I guess you don’t wanna be carried?” He could still ask, but Itachi would probably say no.
Itachi, horribly embarrassed, hid his face in Shisui’s chest and mumbled something. Yes, he wanted to be carried. No, he didn’t really want to, because he was ten, not five, and he should be able to walk himself after nightmares. But, the thought of Shisui letting him go was terrifying.
Shisui smiled a little, where Itachi couldn’t see. “I can piggyback you, if you want... if it doesn’t hurt too much.” He rubbed Itachi’s back. Poor kiddo.
“I’m okay.” Itachi looked up only enough to see Shisui out of one eye. He would stay here. No one would ever get him out of Shisui’s arms.
“What’s okay, piggyback or no?” Shisui shifted Itachi a little. Poor kid. He thought he could carry him pretty easily, because Itachi was small enough, but it would be easier to piggyback him.
“No?” Itachi gave Shisui a hopeful look from his one eye, knowing he should take the piggyback offer. Everything felt like it had calmed down, but he didn’t want to push it. What if he freaked out again when Shisui put him down? What if the...whatevers came for him?
“Mmkay,” Shisui considered Itachi and how he was sitting in his lap. “Can you hold onto my neck?” One arm went under his thighs, and the other curled around his back.
Itachi nodded and reached up, wrapping his arms around Shisui’s neck with a wince. He dropped the bracelet accidentally.
Shisui carefully stood up, eyeing the bracelet. He thought about the creatures, shuddered, and flicked it under his bedside table with his foot. Itachi had to be carried rather like a young child, but Shisui thought it would be easier to hang the kid off his hip than to carry him bridal style. He left the light on in the room, carefully maneuvering the door open. Once down the hall, he walked as quickly as he dared; it would be cruel to make Itachi hurt more.
Itachi held on to Shisui and closed his eyes. He could still tell when they entered the darkness of the hall. He whimpered softly, biting his lip to keep any more noise out. He was starting to shake again, even though his soft litany of “Shisui will protect me” played over and over in his head, and there was no one faster than his cousin.
“Shh,” Just a comfort noise. Shisui wanted to start crying when Itachi started shaking, but he just pushed on faster. He thought he heard noises behind him, but he didn’t dare look to see if they were his imagination or not. All he needed to do was get to the elevator, and get down.
Gin Charlie stepped out of a doorway into the dim hall. He looked at the two and scowled, sword glinting and drawn in his hand.
Shisui nearly flickered to the elevators, but instead managed to restrict his movement to shooting forward a few feet. He looked at Gin Charlie with wide eyes, but relaxed, shifting Itachi slightly.
What emerged from the darkness solidified in Itachi’s mind as himself with a sword. Itachi squeaked, clutching onto Shisui, grabbing for a weapon. He didn’t have any, so he just ended up pinching Shsiui, eyes going red as he tried to get down and away.
“Ow, ow Itachi,” Shisui held him closer as he tried to slip away. Crap. “It’s Gin Charlie, it’s just Gin Charlie and his sword,” He pushed chakra into his words, but backed away from the man so Itachi would calm down.
Gin Charlie said a single word in a language strange and sharp. The earrings sparked briefly in the dim. “The creatures?” he rumbled.
Itachi didn’t quite go limp, but he went still in Shisui’s arm, his muscles losing strength as he slumped into his cousin.
Shisui held Itachi close to him, tight, and nodded. “Yeah. Undo it, please, Gin Charlie?” The collar. Itachi needed to be able to go if...something happened. It was more comfortable, the knowledge that you could move. Shisui didn’t go one inch closer to the other man, but started shifting for the elevators.
“It’ll wear off. Take him to the infirmary for those burns. What room was he in?” Gin Charlie knew Itachi roomed with Dave, but that certainly didn’t mean he slept there.
“Fine. In his own, the one he shares with Dave.” Shisui answered. With that, he turned down the hall for the elevators, trying not to sprint for them. Damned drunk.
Itachi clutched a little better to Shisui, disorganized and frightened again. He couldn’t move right. He couldn’t move right.
Had they come back? Were they going to hold him down to the bed again?
“Don’t put me down,” Itachi begged softly to Shisui.
Shisui clicked the elevator button. “I won’t, love, I promise. I won’t put you down. We’re going into the elevator again, okay?” Be calm. Be calm. Shisui rubbed his back as the elevator opened, and stepped inside, hitting the button for the first floor and the ‘door close’ one. “You’ll be okay.”
Itachi nodded mutely and closed his eyes. It didn’t help much, but it did help a fraction. Just a fraction.
A sigh, and Shisui leaned against the wall. Resisted the urge to bounce Itachi, and just held him close, alternating between rubbing his back and petting his hair with one hand.
When the elevator door opened, Shisui was out in a flash, holding Itachi securely. “He was attacked,” He informed the first medic he saw.
“By what?” The medic asked, coming closer to get a better look at Itachi. “Christy! Get the burn cream out! Now, come here and sit him down. How badly is he injured?” The medic asked, motioning Shisui over to a bed.
“The creatures that escaped! The one that’s been attacking people,” Shisui told her, sitting on the bed. He arranged Itachi to sit in his lap, chest bared to the medics. He kept a loose hold around Itachi’s lower abdomen, and used one hand to brace himself. “First degree burns on his arms and a few on his chest, and mostly second degree burns on his chest.” He swallowed and brought a hand to rest on Itachi’s knee.
“How you doing, kiddo?”
“The wounds look clean. We’ll jump straight to some burn cream.” The medic looked Itachi over, and, seeing no other injuries, nodded to himself. “I’ll get some pain medication as well.” The kid looked a little uptight. As he turned to leave, Christy came up with a small bottle of yellow-green cream in one hand and a smile.
“All right, Itachi, are you ready?” She asked, smiling pleasantly.
“I can do it myself.” Itachi didn’t like the idea of someone else spreading the burn cream around on the throbbing marks. He reached for the cream, which was handed over dubiously as the medic looked at Shisui, obviously trusting he would make sure that Itachi got every point covered.
“Okay, I’ll be right back. We just got in some trauma cases from a Game, so we’re a little busy,” Christy apologized, then hurried off.
Itachi settled back against Shisui and unscrewed the top of the bottle. “I’m okay.” Hurting, tired, but okay.
Shisui nodded at the medic, though he knew that Itachi was usually better about treating everything than he was. He would double-check things, though. “So long as you don’t feel like you’re gonna pass out, any of that stuff.” He leaned his cheek on Itachi’s head. Things were okay. Itachi didn’t need any sort of poison test. He wiggled his feet a little, stretching his toes.
“No.” He still felt half terrified, though. Itachi began dabbing the ointment on the burns, starting with those on his chest. Those really hurt. Luckily, the skin didn’t try to come off with his fingers. The little hand marks bothered him. There were over ten marks on each arm, and he could still feet the hot little hands pressing him down, down.. .
“Can I stay with you tonight?” Itachi asked softly. He didn’t even know if he wanted to leave the infirmary.
“Yes,” Shisui said immediately. He would rather have Itachi close to him just now. “Of course.” They would find a way for Itachi to sleep peacefully.
Itachi dabbed a little bit on his shoulder, glanced over himself and decided that he had everything covered. Itachi placed the ointment down, screwing on the cap before he drew his legs up and rocked back against Shisui.
Looking over Itachi’s head, Shisui decided that he was okay, and let it be. “We’ll wait until a medic comes into sight, and then let them know that we’re getting out of here. Would be mean to interrupt them if they’re working on people who’ve suffered trauma...” He hummed and rubbed Itachi’s knee.
“I suffered trauma.” Itachi mumbled. He didn’t mind being here. It was bright enough he could be sure that no nightmares would sneak up on him and get him.
“You won’t die if they don’t pay attention to you for two minutes, brat.” Shisui flicked his ear, because that where it was safe to flick. He eyed Itachi’s work with the lotion again. All good.
“It’s easier to be injured then to be scared,” Itachi murmured. That was why genjutsu was such a powerful weapon. It created things you couldn’t kill with a well placed blow. I created monsters that laughed at your every attempt to defeat them.
The male medic finally came back with two small bottles of pills. These he handed over to Shisui. “One of these is pain medication--nothing strong, because he’s small and I hate giving these things out. The other is some anti-anxiety medication. Can’t tell you how many people we’re getting in here that can’t sleep or calm down after being attacked. Only use these is you have to, because they can be habit forming, okay?”
Itachi nodded, rather thinking that he did not need medication to calm himself down. It would only dampen his senses and make him more vulnerable.
“Alright,” Shisui nodded. “Timing for the pain meds is on the... yeah.” He didn’t have a pocket, so he just held both bottles in one hand. “We’re good to go, then,” He prompted, just to make sure. Bad things happened when you ran out on medics.
“Yeah, you’re good. Just get out of here and stop taking up space,” The medic waved them away and walked off, yawning.
Itachi looked up at Shisui. Now what?
Shisui snorted, and glanced down at Itachi. “Now, is going back to my room, lighting a few candles, and going to bed. Unless you aren’t tired?” Candles were nice, and they drove the bad spirits away. Maybe not the monsters, but the spirits that haunted you.
“I don’t really want to go back to sleep...” Itachi admitted. “Not yet.” He didn’t really want to even leave the infirmary, but Shisui would keep him safe. Yes. That was what he needed to think. Shisui would keep him safe. Shisui would keep him safe.
A litany to preserve him.
“Okay,” Shisui murmured, and drew his hand down the other’s hair. “Want me to carry you, piggyback, or you think you can walk?” He probably should stop petting Itachi, but it gave them both comfort.
“I can walk.” Didn’t mean he wanted to get up right now...
Looking at him for a few moments, Shisui snorted, put the bottles in Itachi’s lap, hooked his arms under Itachi’s legs and around his shoulders, and picked him up. “I’ll put you down if you tell me to,” He promised, and started walking.
“Ah.” Because like this, the burns on the shoulder closest to Shisui rubbed against the material of Shisui’s shirt. It wasn’t a bad pain, but it hurt. Right now, Itachi had very little tolerance for more pain. It made his brain tighter--more nervous jittery and breathless.
“I can walk.” Because he didn’t want to tell Shisui that he was hurting him.
“...’Kay,” Shisui murmured, and let Itachi slide to the ground, realizing that he’d probably been rubbing something on Itachi. “S’long as you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” He felt rather childish, but he still didn’t feel safe either. He linked his fingers into Shisui’s and walked patiently beside his cousin, trusting that that would be enough to keep him safe. Shisui always had before.
A nod, and Shisui took Itachi’s hand, flexing his fingers in the other’s hand. “Let’s go.” He would walk slowly enough for Itachi.
Itachi had to stretch his legs to keep up, but he could keep up. He knew Shisui was going slow for him, but Shisui was always slowing down for him.
Until the day you pass him and drown him in the river. Itachi gripped Shisui’s hand tighter and shoved that thought away.
Once they were in his room, Shisui around for Sophie, did not find her, and put the lights on. “I’m going to put the candles on,” He informed Itachi, to make sure it was alright. He still had many candles left over from Dean’s prank, so he went to find the scroll that contained them.
Itachi crawled onto Shisui’s bed and wrapped himself up in the covers. The smelled like Shisui. They smelled right and good, and not at all like dank river water.
Along with the white candles that Dean had, Shisui mixed in a few colored candles from another scroll - they were supposed to be candles for a shrine, though their use wasn’t limited for that, which made him feel better. It also reminded him that he hadn’t offered anything for his mother in a long time. Nor had he visited a shrine, or made a makeshift one.
As he set the candles around the room, careful to place them where no one could easily trip on them or make them fall, Shisui remembered something. It made him cringe, but it was an old memory. “Hey, Itachi,” Shisui lit one rather narrow candle, and shut off the electric light. “You know something?” Walking softly, he started lighting the candles, one by one. “When I was a kid, before I came to Konoha, I used to steal shrine money.” A terrible confession that had nothing to do with him today. Shisui said nothing to excuse his actions, and lit a blue candle that smelled like the ocean.
“Obaasan always said you were cursed.” Itachi spoke softly into the dim candle light and pushed the covers lower on his shoulders. He took a breath and opened his eyes to the Sharingan. It made him feel safer. Itachi wasn’t surprised by Shisui’s words. He’d never been as superstitious as his cousin. It didn’t bother him much.
“Your grandmother thought I was hellspawn. I think she cheered when my father died, Itachi.” Shisui wasn’t hellspawn, just half spirit. Or, at least he liked to entertain the thought. It soothed things. Old pains that had asked why she died the way she did. “I used to justify it by telling myself that since she was a storm spirit, I had a right to the money that was given to the gods. Wrong god, ‘course, but it kept me from being hungry.”
More lit candles, and Shisui paused to open the window half-way. It was raining softly outside. He hoped his rambling was distracting Itachi from the night-fears and creatures.
“You’re not a normal person,” Itachi agreed. Shisui could do things no one else could. His tongue was silver, and his eyes were more powerful than anyone’s. Itachi blinked heavily, pulling himself into the corner of the bed to not-doze as he watched the flickered light on Shisui’s face. Itahci licked his lips, suddenly unnerved by the hollow shadows around Shisui’s eyes and sitting in his cheeks.
Turning away from Itachi, Shisui finished lighting the rest of the candles. Hopefully Sophie wouldn’t mind them too much; they all had a base of some sort, so there would be no spilled wax. “Maybe. I’m just me, no matter how cursed me is.” Considering what had happened to him in the future, Shisui thought that he really might be cursed for that. It didn’t seem like it now, though. He had a feeling that he was out of touch with the gods of their world.
A soft sigh, and Shisui moved back to the bed, slipping into it and smiling at Itachi, enjoying the flicker that the candles made on his face. He really did love the aura they created.
Itachi dug his hands into the fabric of the sheets. “How can you tell which in a pair is cursed?” Itachi asked Shisui. He leaned over and reached for one of the candles near the bed.
“Didn’t you only really have bad luck when you met me?” Itachi swallowed. “If you had stayed free, then you wouldn’t have died as you did. You would have...you would have done whatever you chose with your life.”
Shisui kept an eye on Itachi as he sat down, and thought about that question. Thought about what had happened to Itachi. “It could be less of which, could be more of who’s more cursed,” He decided. Frowned, and drew a hand down Itachi’s back.
“No. I was on the streets, Itachi. I probably would have died during a winter,” Shisui looked at him in the eye, and leaned forward a little. “Dear, I could never regret meeting you. You were the only thing I had, once I found you,” And wasn’t it horrible to admit it? But it wasn’t. Shisui had devoted every bit of his time, when he was young, to Itachi. Caring for him, guarding him; anything and everything. When he’d been lost in Konoha, the strange war-torn world it had been at the time, Itachi had been all there was.
Shisui’s lips quirked. “I’m being all sentimental and introspective at you.” But it was nice.
Itachi peered at Shisui, candle forgotten. He slid from the blankets and crawled into Shisui’s lap. Maybe this was why he wanted to be younger. Maybe because this was all he needed to be close to his cousin as he touched his arm and ignored the burning pain to settle comfortably in Shisui’s lap as if he were five, not ten or sixteen or however old he was supposed to be.
He was young. The dark was large, and the flames were a protective tariff between them and the outside world. Itachi imagined nothing existed beyond what was shown in the light of the flames.
Nothing but them, trapped in a little circle of their own making.
“I think you would have lived, somehow, and we would have met years later.” Itachi closed his eyes and the world vanished.
“And we would have known each other.”
Shisui let his arms circle loosely around Itachi, settling them on the younger’s lap. “I thought you didn’t believe in destiny, Itachi,” He murmured, and pressed a kiss to his now little cousin’s ear. “That would have been nice,” He agreed, and that was it.
“I never said that--everyone has something they have to do. Meeting you is one of mine,” Itachi tipped his head back and smiled, eyes still closed.
Shisui paused, and then smiled broadly and buried his head in Itachi’s shoulder. “I love you.” He admitted it because it was true.
“I know. You can’t help it.” Itachi tipped his head into Shisui’s. Right now, he was content to stay this young forever.