(no subject)
**Yawns** woo. Tired. I suck at ending stories, I really do.
Rinny requested that someone write something with Itachi being sympathetic. This is what I came up with.
Title: Twilight
Series: Naruto
Characters: Itachi, Shisui
Rating: G
Notes: For rinnychan, and because I felt like writing Itachi as a little kid...
The late summer air had a certain feel to it, that Itachi couldn't quite place. It felt like the first wisps of cold air coming off ice cubes when he opened the freezer, like the taste of a ripe apple when he bit into it, a slight wistfulness and resignation carried on the evening breeze.
Shisui sat next to him, all long gangly limbs and dirty shoulder-length black hair, his shirt discarded and his black undershirt loose on his muscular frame. Itachi rolled onto his side, deciding on a whim to commit the image to memory. When the world began tinting red, though, a sharp pain shot through his head, and he fell back, rubbing his eyes. "Ow."
"Take it easy. It always hurts the first week or so. Glad Mom's a medicnin, she gave me something that knocked me out and told the Hokage that I couldn't take any missions. I doubt Uncle Fugaku would let you off that easy, though." Shisui reached over, rubbing the messy mop of black hair, before pulling his hand away. "You need a haircut."
"Mom's too busy to cut my hair. She's always too busy taking care of Sasuke." Itachi refused to meet the older boy's gaze, staring at the stretching shadows of a sapling tree instead. "I'm gonna grow it out anyway."
"Hah. Just like me, huh? That'll go over well. Hey, if he gives you too much trouble, come stay at my house. My parents gave up fighting it, as long as I don't dye my hair. Or shave my head bald." Shisui laughed. "Can you imagine me bald, Itachi?"
He couldn't, but gave a weak smile anyway. "Not really. Your hair's cool."
"Eh. Looks just like your dad's hair. Or mine, for that matter. Might let it grow longer. Maybe a ponytail. Girls are into that now, you know. You'd be cute with a ponytail, you really would."
"Girls bother me too much anyway." Itachi rolled onto his stomach, propping his head up on his arms. "Hey, Shisui?"
"Yeah?"
"Your parents are just like mine, aren't they?"
Shisui didn't answer that time, but Itachi knew. Missions every day or every other day. Pressure from parents on the Hokage to give their children increasingly challenging missions. Constant nitpicking and criticism at home. Your room is a mess. Your clothes are a mess. Cut your hair. Wash your face. Go to the shrine and revere our ancestors. You can't go out with your friends, you have to train. You can't have a girlfriend, she gives you a weakness. You must uphold the honor of the Uchiha clan at all costs. The unsaid things that rang the loudest in their heads and in their hearts.
The mood had shifted, and Shisui wrapped his arms around his legs and put his head down, giving a heavy sigh. Itachi sat up, not quite knowing what to do, and awkwardly patted his cousin's (brother's, best friend's) hair.
"You're a good kid, Itachi."
"Not really."
"Yeah, you are. Your parents are really lucky to have you."
I'm not a good kid. I treat my little brother like dirt. I hate my dad. I'm not trying to make him proud of me. I'm trying to become stronger so I can overcome something, I'm not really sure what, and get away from him. From them. From everyone. Maybe even from you. Sometimes I throw a kunai at an enemy, and I see my father's face. Or my mother's. Or yours. I think I'm going crazy. Do we go crazy? Was I crazy to begin with?
"Itachi, damnit, release it before you blind yourself!"
He blinked. He'd started thinking and hadn't realized that he was using the Sharingan. He hadn't even noticed how badly it hurt, or that his vision was blurring badly. Even when he released the dojutsu and blinked a few more times, Shisui was still blurry.
"Come on. Let's go home. You need to rest your eyes, you'll go blind if you do that too much."
"Can't we stay out longer?" Itachi noted the whiny tone in his voice, and hated it.
"Our parents will get mad. Come on." Shisui held his hand out and Itachi grabbed it, standing.
The late summer wind blew again, and Itachi shivered as he was led back home.
Rinny requested that someone write something with Itachi being sympathetic. This is what I came up with.
Title: Twilight
Series: Naruto
Characters: Itachi, Shisui
Rating: G
Notes: For rinnychan, and because I felt like writing Itachi as a little kid...
The late summer air had a certain feel to it, that Itachi couldn't quite place. It felt like the first wisps of cold air coming off ice cubes when he opened the freezer, like the taste of a ripe apple when he bit into it, a slight wistfulness and resignation carried on the evening breeze.
Shisui sat next to him, all long gangly limbs and dirty shoulder-length black hair, his shirt discarded and his black undershirt loose on his muscular frame. Itachi rolled onto his side, deciding on a whim to commit the image to memory. When the world began tinting red, though, a sharp pain shot through his head, and he fell back, rubbing his eyes. "Ow."
"Take it easy. It always hurts the first week or so. Glad Mom's a medicnin, she gave me something that knocked me out and told the Hokage that I couldn't take any missions. I doubt Uncle Fugaku would let you off that easy, though." Shisui reached over, rubbing the messy mop of black hair, before pulling his hand away. "You need a haircut."
"Mom's too busy to cut my hair. She's always too busy taking care of Sasuke." Itachi refused to meet the older boy's gaze, staring at the stretching shadows of a sapling tree instead. "I'm gonna grow it out anyway."
"Hah. Just like me, huh? That'll go over well. Hey, if he gives you too much trouble, come stay at my house. My parents gave up fighting it, as long as I don't dye my hair. Or shave my head bald." Shisui laughed. "Can you imagine me bald, Itachi?"
He couldn't, but gave a weak smile anyway. "Not really. Your hair's cool."
"Eh. Looks just like your dad's hair. Or mine, for that matter. Might let it grow longer. Maybe a ponytail. Girls are into that now, you know. You'd be cute with a ponytail, you really would."
"Girls bother me too much anyway." Itachi rolled onto his stomach, propping his head up on his arms. "Hey, Shisui?"
"Yeah?"
"Your parents are just like mine, aren't they?"
Shisui didn't answer that time, but Itachi knew. Missions every day or every other day. Pressure from parents on the Hokage to give their children increasingly challenging missions. Constant nitpicking and criticism at home. Your room is a mess. Your clothes are a mess. Cut your hair. Wash your face. Go to the shrine and revere our ancestors. You can't go out with your friends, you have to train. You can't have a girlfriend, she gives you a weakness. You must uphold the honor of the Uchiha clan at all costs. The unsaid things that rang the loudest in their heads and in their hearts.
The mood had shifted, and Shisui wrapped his arms around his legs and put his head down, giving a heavy sigh. Itachi sat up, not quite knowing what to do, and awkwardly patted his cousin's (brother's, best friend's) hair.
"You're a good kid, Itachi."
"Not really."
"Yeah, you are. Your parents are really lucky to have you."
I'm not a good kid. I treat my little brother like dirt. I hate my dad. I'm not trying to make him proud of me. I'm trying to become stronger so I can overcome something, I'm not really sure what, and get away from him. From them. From everyone. Maybe even from you. Sometimes I throw a kunai at an enemy, and I see my father's face. Or my mother's. Or yours. I think I'm going crazy. Do we go crazy? Was I crazy to begin with?
"Itachi, damnit, release it before you blind yourself!"
He blinked. He'd started thinking and hadn't realized that he was using the Sharingan. He hadn't even noticed how badly it hurt, or that his vision was blurring badly. Even when he released the dojutsu and blinked a few more times, Shisui was still blurry.
"Come on. Let's go home. You need to rest your eyes, you'll go blind if you do that too much."
"Can't we stay out longer?" Itachi noted the whiny tone in his voice, and hated it.
"Our parents will get mad. Come on." Shisui held his hand out and Itachi grabbed it, standing.
The late summer wind blew again, and Itachi shivered as he was led back home.