FurikoMaru
Experienced.
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D//: No! Nonononono, mine's the lazy kenning!
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Cosmos Quest (Naruto/Lupin III)
- Thread starter FurikoMaru
- Start date
Fallenblades643
Canned food pls?
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No! I am the lazy kenning!
Ardion Prosili
Lover of Horned Women
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I AM THE WALRUS KOO KOO KACHOO!Fallenblades643 said:
Fallenblades643
Canned food pls?
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R.A.G. said:
[embed=425,349]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvERHiTfx9w[/embed]
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Selias
Well worn.
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And he has a walrus moustache.Fallenblades643 said:
FurikoMaru
Experienced.
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I'm gonna go get some snacks and then start writing the update. Have fun.
[embed=425,349]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeNhdh5zZrE[/embed]
[embed=425,349]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeNhdh5zZrE[/embed]
FurikoMaru
Experienced.
- Joined
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[X] With honesty. It's Weasel; Uchiha don't get more level-headed and reasonable than him.
You get the impression that half of this interrogation is going to involve sensing (Itachi's body language and facial expressions are so closed off he might as well be a living statue), so you slowly step forward a few paces.
"I was wondering... did something happen to Shisui recently? He didn't seem upset or anything the last time I saw him."
Itachi's gaze is steady, unblinking. "The last time I saw him, he was perfectly calm."
You fidget. It probably won't go down too well with him if you ask outright about the possibility that it's a plot by the Clan, so... "I don't know quite how to ask this, but did Shisui have any enemies?"
"A ninja does not reach the stature that Shisui did without making enemies."
Thanks, Weasel, that was an insightful and helpful answer. -_-
"Of course. I'm sorry to pry-" was that a trill of amusement you heard just then? "-but Sakkun is really upset about this." Oh, man, that did it; you've always known Weasel loves his little brother to a degree that rivals most parents, and it looks like you might have said the magic word. You decide to bite the bullet and just be upfront. "And I don't think it's just the fact of Shisui's death. There's something else going on."
The concern for Sasuke retreats to a muted murmur, walled off by a defensive flare of chakra; Itachi's eyes go hard, and you shiver involuntarily. But you don't back down. "Is there some trouble with his parents, or-"
"Shisui was a police officer," he interrupts coldly. "The Keimu Butai are already investigating his death, so if-"
"Do you trust them?" you ask, returning his glare, straining your ears with all your might.
Shit. Another brief flutter of humour and a rumble. Yeah, he has his doubts, at the very least. Fuck, you were hoping this was going to be a straightforward murder-coverup; now the cops are in on it?
"Whether or not they have my trust is immaterial," Weasel sidesteps. "Such concerns fall under their jurisdiction."
"You're an ANBU Captain!" you protest. "Are you telling me you aren't allowed to conduct a parallel investigation?"
"I am telling you that a six-year-old girl is likely to do more harm than good attempting to conduct her own parallel investigation."
"... I'm seven, you dick," you mumble, embarrassed.
Like it or not, you can see his point. Furthermore, from what he said, you guess that there is a parallel investigation going on and he doesn't want you to fuck it up by playing detective on your own and potentially blowing the whole thing. Now you feel kind of dumb for not thinking of that.
"I just..." you huff in frustration. "...I wish I knew what to do." Menka rubs his cheek against yours reassuringly. "Usually I'm really good at solving problems," you continue, "but nothing I do about this seems to make anything better. Sakkun's upset and he won't tell me the real reason why, and Shisui is just... gone." You frown. "I don't understand how this could have happened. I know I didn't know him as well as you did, but..."
Itachi sighs. "Ino-san... when you're older-- when you've lived in the world of ninja for long enough-- you will understand. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done to prevent a death, but dealing with these circumstances as they arise is necessary in our line of work."
"... so how do you think I should deal with it this time?" you ask.
He smiles sadly. "Please... I beg of you... look after my brother. And..."
=
iT hUrTs To tHiNk.
Worms, thousands of them, are silently burrowing into your brain, devouring everything in their path. Everything inside your skull is engulfed in noxious smoke.
Your eyes and brain burst from the pressure and melt out of your eye sockets and down your face.
It is agony beyond anything you could have imagined.
If you could move your mouth, you would ask to be killed.
=
You wake up in a room you've never been in before. The blinds are slightly open, and you see that the sky is black outside. From the smell and the fact that you're hooked up to an IV, you determine that you're in the hospital. That's weird. You don't feel sick. You've maybe got a bit of a headache, but that's no big deal.
Your eyesight's a little wonky at the moment, the way it always is when you sleep too long (too long in your case meaning 'over six hours a night'), but your sensing seems to be doing fine, because you can tell that there are two strangers and one Sasuke in the room.
Aww, Sakkun came to visit you! :3 You were worried he was going to hold a grudge over the whole investigation thing.
Shifting toward where you think Sasuke is, you blink the funk out of your eyes and see that he's conked out a chair next to your bed, curled up tightly into a ball. Damn, how long were you out?
"About two days," one of the strangers says. Oh, it's an ANBU. Two ANBU; the other one heads out the door, maybe to get the doctor.
"What'm I in for?" you croak out, wincing at your dry throat.
The unidentifiable-mammal-masked man doesn't answer, just hands you a paper cup of water. Your hands shake a bit receiving it, but you drain it gratefully.
"Where're my Mom and Dad?" you ask next. "And Sakkun's? They didn't leave him here by himself overnight, did they?"
"Your father is at work; your mother stepped out to get dinner ten minutes ago."
You frown. That's half of the answer to your question. You're about to ask the other half again when Sasuke jerks awake, gasping.
You blink at each other for a moment, until Sasuke lunges out of his chair and clings to your hand like a drowning man. Oh, god, his chakra... it's like molten death pouring into your ears. It's music only in the strictest sense of the word.
"Sakkun...?" you ask anxiously, putting a hand on his arm and squeezing it; you'd offer a hug, but you're not quite mobile or tall enough for it. "What's wrong?"
He doesn't say anything. He just squeezes your hand in both of his, and stares at it.
You note with concern that the ANBU guard stepped forward when Sasuke moved, as though expecting to have to intercept him. Which is ridiculous; why would Sasuke want to hurt you?
The second ANBU, Mom, and the doctor enter together, mom bearing a takeout bag and a coffee that she hands off to the second ANBU without so much as a please before throwing her arms around you and Sasuke both. Sasuke goes stiff for a moment at the sudden contact, but eventually eases into the embrace.
"Sweetheart, thank the goddess, we were so worried about you!"
"How are you feeling, Ino-chan?" the doctor asks, smiling.
"I'm okay," you reply uncertainly. "Do you have me on a lot of drugs or something? I feel perfectly fine."
She sighs. "Well, that's not uncommon, in cases such as yours. What's the last thing you remember?"
You frown. "I remember being at school... I had a bit of a fight with Sakkun... then I went off to talk with..."
Please, I beg of you... look after my brother. And...
Something stabs you in the forehead, and you clutch it, gasping in pain. Your mom takes a half-step out of the doctor's way as she rushes over.
You squeeze Sasuke's hand twice as tightly as he's squeezing yours.
"Itachi..." you wheeze. "Uchiha Itachi."
"What did the two of you discuss?" the second ANBU asks.
"Finch-san, please!" the doctor says.
"Shisui," you manage as the pain dies down. "I thought he might know something about why Shisui would kill himself."
"Why the interest?"
You shake your head. "... no one I know has ever died before."
If the ANBU suspect there's more to it than that, they don't say anything.
"Ino-chan," the doctor says gently, "we have reason to suspect that you've awoken from a Sharingan-enhanced genjutsu. Do you remember Itachi's eyes turning red? Did he say anything strange?"
Please, I beg of you... look after my brother. And...
You shake your head again. "Nothing like a jutsu name, no. We were just talking, and then..." You look up at the doctor. "What genjutsu was it?"
She bites her lip. "We don't know."
You stare at her. "What do you mean you don't know? You just said you're pretty sure it was Sharingan-enhanced; isn't there an Uchiha medic on staff who could help you narrow it down?"
The doctor looks from Sasuke back to you, uncertainly.
"... no. There isn't." Sasuke finally speaks, and you almost wish he hadn't. His voice is like meeting the floor when you roll off the bed in the night.
"... Sasuke?" you ask quietly. "What happened while I was asleep?"
His eyes meet yours, and the mixture of rage and sorrow within them takes your breath away.
"He killed them all."
"I think perhaps it would be best if I continue my examination of Ino-chan in private," the doctor says delicately, looking at the ANBU in a manner just shy of hostile.
"Sakkun can stay if he wants," you say, not looking away from him. Like hell you're making him leave! Where does he even have to go if everyone is gone?
Everyone...
With Shisui, at least, you could see that your life wouldn't be all that different. You just wouldn't see Shisui anymore. But...
You suddenly realize that no one is going to call you Yamanaka-chan ever again, for as long as you live.
As far as the doctor can tell, physically, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. That rules out certain advanced genjutsu right away, and makes it more likely that what Itachi did was purely psychological.
"So if the whole thing was in my mind, why can't I remember what it was now?" you ask.
"There are certain genjutsu," the doctor explains, "very difficult to use, that can make a person do things without giving them the opportunity to say no. Such genjutsu are often nearly impossible to detect by those who fall under them."
... well that isn't a disturbing thing to say to at a seven-year-old girl at all, is it?
"Orders given by the caster of the genjutsu are usually of the kind that can be carried out immediately," the doctor continues, oblivious, "because of the difficulty in maintaining such a complex illusion over a long period of time. But, with a Sharingan in the mix..."
"... that's where there were ANBU here," you realize aloud, shock flooding you. "They thought I was going to kill Sakkun?"
"I told them you wouldn't," Sasuke says to the floor.
"It wouldn't have been your fault, Ino-chan. You wouldn't have been able to stop yourself," the doctor says sadly.
... no.
"How does one go about learning to counter these mental attacks?" you ask in an even tone.
"You'll begin learning counters to genjutsu next year in the Academy, dear," the doctor replies in a voice she probably thinks is soothing. "You don't have any reason to worry; given your mind's violent reaction it's likely the genjutsu, whatever it was, didn't take at all."
"Bullshit," you snarl, with such vehemence that she actually takes a step backward, blinking in surprise. "This genjutsu was cast by Uchiha Itachi. If he wanted me under a compulsion, I'm under a compulsion."
And damned if that doesn't fucking burn.
You're a Yamanaka.
And he stole a piece of your mind.
Yeah. You're totally Clan Heir material.
~tsuzuku~
You get the impression that half of this interrogation is going to involve sensing (Itachi's body language and facial expressions are so closed off he might as well be a living statue), so you slowly step forward a few paces.
"I was wondering... did something happen to Shisui recently? He didn't seem upset or anything the last time I saw him."
Itachi's gaze is steady, unblinking. "The last time I saw him, he was perfectly calm."
You fidget. It probably won't go down too well with him if you ask outright about the possibility that it's a plot by the Clan, so... "I don't know quite how to ask this, but did Shisui have any enemies?"
"A ninja does not reach the stature that Shisui did without making enemies."
Thanks, Weasel, that was an insightful and helpful answer. -_-
"Of course. I'm sorry to pry-" was that a trill of amusement you heard just then? "-but Sakkun is really upset about this." Oh, man, that did it; you've always known Weasel loves his little brother to a degree that rivals most parents, and it looks like you might have said the magic word. You decide to bite the bullet and just be upfront. "And I don't think it's just the fact of Shisui's death. There's something else going on."
The concern for Sasuke retreats to a muted murmur, walled off by a defensive flare of chakra; Itachi's eyes go hard, and you shiver involuntarily. But you don't back down. "Is there some trouble with his parents, or-"
"Shisui was a police officer," he interrupts coldly. "The Keimu Butai are already investigating his death, so if-"
"Do you trust them?" you ask, returning his glare, straining your ears with all your might.
Shit. Another brief flutter of humour and a rumble. Yeah, he has his doubts, at the very least. Fuck, you were hoping this was going to be a straightforward murder-coverup; now the cops are in on it?
"Whether or not they have my trust is immaterial," Weasel sidesteps. "Such concerns fall under their jurisdiction."
"You're an ANBU Captain!" you protest. "Are you telling me you aren't allowed to conduct a parallel investigation?"
"I am telling you that a six-year-old girl is likely to do more harm than good attempting to conduct her own parallel investigation."
"... I'm seven, you dick," you mumble, embarrassed.
Like it or not, you can see his point. Furthermore, from what he said, you guess that there is a parallel investigation going on and he doesn't want you to fuck it up by playing detective on your own and potentially blowing the whole thing. Now you feel kind of dumb for not thinking of that.
"I just..." you huff in frustration. "...I wish I knew what to do." Menka rubs his cheek against yours reassuringly. "Usually I'm really good at solving problems," you continue, "but nothing I do about this seems to make anything better. Sakkun's upset and he won't tell me the real reason why, and Shisui is just... gone." You frown. "I don't understand how this could have happened. I know I didn't know him as well as you did, but..."
Itachi sighs. "Ino-san... when you're older-- when you've lived in the world of ninja for long enough-- you will understand. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done to prevent a death, but dealing with these circumstances as they arise is necessary in our line of work."
"... so how do you think I should deal with it this time?" you ask.
He smiles sadly. "Please... I beg of you... look after my brother. And..."
=
iT hUrTs To tHiNk.
Worms, thousands of them, are silently burrowing into your brain, devouring everything in their path. Everything inside your skull is engulfed in noxious smoke.
Your eyes and brain burst from the pressure and melt out of your eye sockets and down your face.
It is agony beyond anything you could have imagined.
If you could move your mouth, you would ask to be killed.
=
You wake up in a room you've never been in before. The blinds are slightly open, and you see that the sky is black outside. From the smell and the fact that you're hooked up to an IV, you determine that you're in the hospital. That's weird. You don't feel sick. You've maybe got a bit of a headache, but that's no big deal.
Your eyesight's a little wonky at the moment, the way it always is when you sleep too long (too long in your case meaning 'over six hours a night'), but your sensing seems to be doing fine, because you can tell that there are two strangers and one Sasuke in the room.
Aww, Sakkun came to visit you! :3 You were worried he was going to hold a grudge over the whole investigation thing.
Shifting toward where you think Sasuke is, you blink the funk out of your eyes and see that he's conked out a chair next to your bed, curled up tightly into a ball. Damn, how long were you out?
"About two days," one of the strangers says. Oh, it's an ANBU. Two ANBU; the other one heads out the door, maybe to get the doctor.
"What'm I in for?" you croak out, wincing at your dry throat.
The unidentifiable-mammal-masked man doesn't answer, just hands you a paper cup of water. Your hands shake a bit receiving it, but you drain it gratefully.
"Where're my Mom and Dad?" you ask next. "And Sakkun's? They didn't leave him here by himself overnight, did they?"
"Your father is at work; your mother stepped out to get dinner ten minutes ago."
You frown. That's half of the answer to your question. You're about to ask the other half again when Sasuke jerks awake, gasping.
You blink at each other for a moment, until Sasuke lunges out of his chair and clings to your hand like a drowning man. Oh, god, his chakra... it's like molten death pouring into your ears. It's music only in the strictest sense of the word.
"Sakkun...?" you ask anxiously, putting a hand on his arm and squeezing it; you'd offer a hug, but you're not quite mobile or tall enough for it. "What's wrong?"
He doesn't say anything. He just squeezes your hand in both of his, and stares at it.
You note with concern that the ANBU guard stepped forward when Sasuke moved, as though expecting to have to intercept him. Which is ridiculous; why would Sasuke want to hurt you?
The second ANBU, Mom, and the doctor enter together, mom bearing a takeout bag and a coffee that she hands off to the second ANBU without so much as a please before throwing her arms around you and Sasuke both. Sasuke goes stiff for a moment at the sudden contact, but eventually eases into the embrace.
"Sweetheart, thank the goddess, we were so worried about you!"
"How are you feeling, Ino-chan?" the doctor asks, smiling.
"I'm okay," you reply uncertainly. "Do you have me on a lot of drugs or something? I feel perfectly fine."
She sighs. "Well, that's not uncommon, in cases such as yours. What's the last thing you remember?"
You frown. "I remember being at school... I had a bit of a fight with Sakkun... then I went off to talk with..."
Please, I beg of you... look after my brother. And...
Something stabs you in the forehead, and you clutch it, gasping in pain. Your mom takes a half-step out of the doctor's way as she rushes over.
You squeeze Sasuke's hand twice as tightly as he's squeezing yours.
"Itachi..." you wheeze. "Uchiha Itachi."
"What did the two of you discuss?" the second ANBU asks.
"Finch-san, please!" the doctor says.
"Shisui," you manage as the pain dies down. "I thought he might know something about why Shisui would kill himself."
"Why the interest?"
You shake your head. "... no one I know has ever died before."
If the ANBU suspect there's more to it than that, they don't say anything.
"Ino-chan," the doctor says gently, "we have reason to suspect that you've awoken from a Sharingan-enhanced genjutsu. Do you remember Itachi's eyes turning red? Did he say anything strange?"
Please, I beg of you... look after my brother. And...
You shake your head again. "Nothing like a jutsu name, no. We were just talking, and then..." You look up at the doctor. "What genjutsu was it?"
She bites her lip. "We don't know."
You stare at her. "What do you mean you don't know? You just said you're pretty sure it was Sharingan-enhanced; isn't there an Uchiha medic on staff who could help you narrow it down?"
The doctor looks from Sasuke back to you, uncertainly.
"... no. There isn't." Sasuke finally speaks, and you almost wish he hadn't. His voice is like meeting the floor when you roll off the bed in the night.
"... Sasuke?" you ask quietly. "What happened while I was asleep?"
His eyes meet yours, and the mixture of rage and sorrow within them takes your breath away.
"He killed them all."
"I think perhaps it would be best if I continue my examination of Ino-chan in private," the doctor says delicately, looking at the ANBU in a manner just shy of hostile.
"Sakkun can stay if he wants," you say, not looking away from him. Like hell you're making him leave! Where does he even have to go if everyone is gone?
Everyone...
With Shisui, at least, you could see that your life wouldn't be all that different. You just wouldn't see Shisui anymore. But...
You suddenly realize that no one is going to call you Yamanaka-chan ever again, for as long as you live.
As far as the doctor can tell, physically, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. That rules out certain advanced genjutsu right away, and makes it more likely that what Itachi did was purely psychological.
"So if the whole thing was in my mind, why can't I remember what it was now?" you ask.
"There are certain genjutsu," the doctor explains, "very difficult to use, that can make a person do things without giving them the opportunity to say no. Such genjutsu are often nearly impossible to detect by those who fall under them."
... well that isn't a disturbing thing to say to at a seven-year-old girl at all, is it?
"Orders given by the caster of the genjutsu are usually of the kind that can be carried out immediately," the doctor continues, oblivious, "because of the difficulty in maintaining such a complex illusion over a long period of time. But, with a Sharingan in the mix..."
"... that's where there were ANBU here," you realize aloud, shock flooding you. "They thought I was going to kill Sakkun?"
"I told them you wouldn't," Sasuke says to the floor.
"It wouldn't have been your fault, Ino-chan. You wouldn't have been able to stop yourself," the doctor says sadly.
... no.
"How does one go about learning to counter these mental attacks?" you ask in an even tone.
"You'll begin learning counters to genjutsu next year in the Academy, dear," the doctor replies in a voice she probably thinks is soothing. "You don't have any reason to worry; given your mind's violent reaction it's likely the genjutsu, whatever it was, didn't take at all."
"Bullshit," you snarl, with such vehemence that she actually takes a step backward, blinking in surprise. "This genjutsu was cast by Uchiha Itachi. If he wanted me under a compulsion, I'm under a compulsion."
And damned if that doesn't fucking burn.
You're a Yamanaka.
And he stole a piece of your mind.
Yeah. You're totally Clan Heir material.
~tsuzuku~
nightblade
Gone for Good
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Well we were going to look after him any way. I hope sasuke never asks us the last thing Itachi said to us.
Jans
That which smiles.
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*Ironmans out the story.* (Lovin' the quest Furiko)
...
Am I the only one who almost immediately thought then its time steal it back! when they read this post? Its been a while since I went through LIII in any form, but I don't remember him taking this sort of thing sitting down. Entire chapters/episodes were dedicated to counter-thievery and counter-counter-thievery.
...
Am I the only one who almost immediately thought then its time steal it back! when they read this post? Its been a while since I went through LIII in any form, but I don't remember him taking this sort of thing sitting down. Entire chapters/episodes were dedicated to counter-thievery and counter-counter-thievery.
nightblade
Gone for Good
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You know I hope Menka is okay. He was with us.
Scia
Not too sore, are you?
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Ouch it was logical for uns to go to itachi and ignore the meta but damm that hurts right in the feels and lets hope menka is okay.
[x]Okay we have to make sure that sasuke is not allone after this. Ignore Male and Lollypops stocism and let himbe with someone.Us ,Ami one of the others as long as he is not allone and has his friends with him.
[x]Okay we have to make sure that sasuke is not allone after this. Ignore Male and Lollypops stocism and let himbe with someone.Us ,Ami one of the others as long as he is not allone and has his friends with him.
FurikoMaru
Experienced.
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R.A.G. said:
She remembers being asked to take care of Sasuke. Everything after that is just gone.
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Hymn of Ragnarok
Well worn.
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Hang on. S-Rank thought protection that would make Pein lose a hand trying to use his soul shredding move on us, but Itachi pulls it off?
Or did we fend him off, essentially, but because we mostly did it on instinct we don't remember a thing? Aside from torture.
Or did we fend him off, essentially, but because we mostly did it on instinct we don't remember a thing? Aside from torture.
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FurikoMaru
Experienced.
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Your thought protection means that people can't read your mind, not that they can't put stuff into it. Lupin is hilariously prone to falling under mind-control, such that in a case where the chick he's dealing with might be a vampire, he feels the need to slap on a false-neck just so he can get his mack on without worrying.
And he doesn't believe in vampires!
And he doesn't believe in vampires!
FurikoMaru
Experienced.
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I'll be frank. If you wanted to prevent the Massacre, you guys should have picked Usagi at character gen.
FurikoMaru
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Sasuke refuses to leave your side. He sleeps in the visitor's chair, he gets his meals from the cafeteria, and his screams keep you awake at night.
Mom puts a face-saving spin on it, saying she's formally requested his protection as the head of the Uchiha Clan, but all three of you know the real reason.
"... I can't go back," Sasuke says after waking from a particularly bad nightmare. "The house... when n- when he showed me what he'd done, I ran home as fast as I could, and... there was just..." He's been shaking since he woke up, but the vibrations are slowly dying down as he regains control of himself. "They were all gone."
This has happened a lot over the past week; Sasuke will spill out handfuls of information, and then go quiet again. You don't rush him. Better he go at his own pace.
From what he's told you, you've begun to piece together a timeline of what happened after you parted ways. After school, Hinata asked Sasuke to spar with her (probably trying to give him a chance to cool off, knowing her), so the two of them went off to the usual clearing.
When Hinata went home for dinner, Sasuke headed back toward the compound, but was intercepted by Itachi. This surprised him for two reasons; one, Itachi was supposed to be under house arrest under suspicion of murdering Shisui (how did you not think of him as a suspect?! Ugh!), and two, he was injured.
Sasuke hasn't told you what they talked about yet, and you're not sure if he ever will, but the end result is that Itachi's Sharingan started spinning, and suddenly Sasuke was watching his relatives fall dead around him. His aunts, his cousin Chihiro the urban-legendsmith, other kids he played with, Yura the KMP desk clerk, the retired couple who owned the bakery down the block from his house, everyone.
When he came to, Itachi laid a little bargain on him; live, get stronger, and one day challenge him to a worthwhile fight, or everyone else Sasuke cares for will be picked off by Itachi one by one.
You grit your teeth in anger. That sick fuck...
Hell. How are you supposed to explain this to Sasuke? That his brother loves him, and did this to him anyway? How can you explain it when it doesn't make any goddamn sense to you either?
You've never been so glad to be an only child.
So after that pleasant little chat, Itachi made his exit and Sasuke ran home in tears, hoping against hope that it was all not true, that Itachi had lied, that he'd come home and find his mother waiting to scold him for staying out so late training.
What he found instead was an empty compound.
The place was completely deserted. There wasn't a single person, anywhere, in the entire walled neighbourhood.
Sasuke knows, because he checked; he went through the houses and streets he had just seen in his mind, calling out desperately to people he expected to see staring blankly up from heads that may or may not still be attached to their bodies. Nothing. Just blood, and knocked-over furniture, and kunai embedded in floors and walls, and the occasional shredded shoji.
In his own home, there wasn't even that. It was as pristine and warm as it was when he left, the sunset pouring in through the kitchen window.
His parents just weren't there anymore.
=
Chouji's visit is less awkward than you would have thought.
He even brought you some edible food, a sight for sore eyes in this abode of the culinary damned.
No apologies are issued, but none are really expected, so that's all right. Both of you are glad to be talking to each other again, and that's all that matters.
Sasuke pretends to sleep through the whole thing.
=
Dad and Mom may seem like people with complementary or contrasting rather than harmonizing personalities, but there is one thing that makes them twins of spirit.
Both of them, when truly angered, are cold as death.
Dad sees you flinch when he gets within range of your sensing, notices Sasuke tense up next to you, and stops short with a hurt expression.
"No, sweetheart," he says, looking through you, almost, "it's not you I'm mad at."
"I should have started building memory palaces earlier," you say quietly, all in a rush, trying to get the words out. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so easy for him to-"
Dad scoops you up in his arms, and strokes your hair. "Ino, listen to me: Uchiha Itachi is an S-rank nin," he says. "There is absolutely no shame in losing to him. I'm just glad you're still here."
You do what you've wanted to do since this whole thing began, and burst into tears.
----------
Yeah, Inoichi is piiiiiiiiissed at you guys for getting his daughter involved in all this shit.
So. You had another significant visitor while you were in the hospital. Who?
[X] Mulberry fields forever
[X] The sempai
[X] The incisor
[X] A masked man
And once you're back on your feet, what's your plan? (Pick three)
[X] Have a real conversation with Sasuke about all this shit and where you stand in relation to one another.
-> [X] Where do you stand in relation to one another, as far as you're concerned?
[X] Memory palaces. Memory palaces everywhere. You will become the Mountain.
[X] Independent genjutsu study. You want a head start.
[X] Mr Sandman? Bring me a dream.
[X] Write-In
Mom puts a face-saving spin on it, saying she's formally requested his protection as the head of the Uchiha Clan, but all three of you know the real reason.
"... I can't go back," Sasuke says after waking from a particularly bad nightmare. "The house... when n- when he showed me what he'd done, I ran home as fast as I could, and... there was just..." He's been shaking since he woke up, but the vibrations are slowly dying down as he regains control of himself. "They were all gone."
This has happened a lot over the past week; Sasuke will spill out handfuls of information, and then go quiet again. You don't rush him. Better he go at his own pace.
From what he's told you, you've begun to piece together a timeline of what happened after you parted ways. After school, Hinata asked Sasuke to spar with her (probably trying to give him a chance to cool off, knowing her), so the two of them went off to the usual clearing.
When Hinata went home for dinner, Sasuke headed back toward the compound, but was intercepted by Itachi. This surprised him for two reasons; one, Itachi was supposed to be under house arrest under suspicion of murdering Shisui (how did you not think of him as a suspect?! Ugh!), and two, he was injured.
Sasuke hasn't told you what they talked about yet, and you're not sure if he ever will, but the end result is that Itachi's Sharingan started spinning, and suddenly Sasuke was watching his relatives fall dead around him. His aunts, his cousin Chihiro the urban-legendsmith, other kids he played with, Yura the KMP desk clerk, the retired couple who owned the bakery down the block from his house, everyone.
When he came to, Itachi laid a little bargain on him; live, get stronger, and one day challenge him to a worthwhile fight, or everyone else Sasuke cares for will be picked off by Itachi one by one.
You grit your teeth in anger. That sick fuck...
Hell. How are you supposed to explain this to Sasuke? That his brother loves him, and did this to him anyway? How can you explain it when it doesn't make any goddamn sense to you either?
You've never been so glad to be an only child.
So after that pleasant little chat, Itachi made his exit and Sasuke ran home in tears, hoping against hope that it was all not true, that Itachi had lied, that he'd come home and find his mother waiting to scold him for staying out so late training.
What he found instead was an empty compound.
The place was completely deserted. There wasn't a single person, anywhere, in the entire walled neighbourhood.
Sasuke knows, because he checked; he went through the houses and streets he had just seen in his mind, calling out desperately to people he expected to see staring blankly up from heads that may or may not still be attached to their bodies. Nothing. Just blood, and knocked-over furniture, and kunai embedded in floors and walls, and the occasional shredded shoji.
In his own home, there wasn't even that. It was as pristine and warm as it was when he left, the sunset pouring in through the kitchen window.
His parents just weren't there anymore.
=
Chouji's visit is less awkward than you would have thought.
He even brought you some edible food, a sight for sore eyes in this abode of the culinary damned.
No apologies are issued, but none are really expected, so that's all right. Both of you are glad to be talking to each other again, and that's all that matters.
Sasuke pretends to sleep through the whole thing.
=
Dad and Mom may seem like people with complementary or contrasting rather than harmonizing personalities, but there is one thing that makes them twins of spirit.
Both of them, when truly angered, are cold as death.
Dad sees you flinch when he gets within range of your sensing, notices Sasuke tense up next to you, and stops short with a hurt expression.
"No, sweetheart," he says, looking through you, almost, "it's not you I'm mad at."
"I should have started building memory palaces earlier," you say quietly, all in a rush, trying to get the words out. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so easy for him to-"
Dad scoops you up in his arms, and strokes your hair. "Ino, listen to me: Uchiha Itachi is an S-rank nin," he says. "There is absolutely no shame in losing to him. I'm just glad you're still here."
You do what you've wanted to do since this whole thing began, and burst into tears.
----------
Yeah, Inoichi is piiiiiiiiissed at you guys for getting his daughter involved in all this shit.
So. You had another significant visitor while you were in the hospital. Who?
[X] Mulberry fields forever
[X] The sempai
[X] The incisor
[X] A masked man
And once you're back on your feet, what's your plan? (Pick three)
[X] Have a real conversation with Sasuke about all this shit and where you stand in relation to one another.
-> [X] Where do you stand in relation to one another, as far as you're concerned?
[X] Memory palaces. Memory palaces everywhere. You will become the Mountain.
[X] Independent genjutsu study. You want a head start.
[X] Mr Sandman? Bring me a dream.
[X] Write-In
Last edited by a moderator:
Hymn of Ragnarok
Well worn.
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 5,552
Tobi, is that you? Ino is a good girl!
Why not, all in.
[X] A masked man
[X] Have a real conversation with Sasuke about all this shit and where you stand in relation to one another.
-> [X] Where do you stand in relation to one another, as far as you're concerned?
[X] Memory palaces. Memory palaces everywhere. You will become the Mountain.
[X] Mr Sandman? Bring me a dream.
Not sure where we should stand yet.
Why not, all in.
[X] A masked man
[X] Have a real conversation with Sasuke about all this shit and where you stand in relation to one another.
-> [X] Where do you stand in relation to one another, as far as you're concerned?
[X] Memory palaces. Memory palaces everywhere. You will become the Mountain.
[X] Mr Sandman? Bring me a dream.
Not sure where we should stand yet.
Last edited by a moderator:
Guile
Clothes That Kill Virgins
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 13,731
Would that prevent the massacre, or just let us revive people afterwards like Magical Girl Jesus?FurikoMaru said:
[X] The incisor
Don't rightly know what this is (Kiba, maybe?), but let's give it a try. Tempted to go for Ami (that was Mulberry, right?), but the curiosity is too strong.
[X] Have a real conversation with Sasuke about all this shit and where you stand in relation to one another.
-> [X] And the rest of the circle of friends? We can't let Sakkun seclude himself - not even for our own good - but we can give him some space for a while if he needs it...
[X] Memory palaces. Memory palaces everywhere. You will become the Mountain.
[X] Itachi will never find you. Throw yourself into theatre-work.
FurikoMaru
Experienced.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2013
- Messages
- 2,500
It would depend. If I had written an Usagi quest, Luna would have taken the place of Tora. She'd have left Kashima to live with you (Kashima would have been aware from the start that her partnership with Luna was temporary) and start your training, which means you'd get an initial Chibimoon-esque transformation and the disguise pen. If you'd gone on to make the right choices in cute-witch-ing it up (Chibimoon isn't really equipped for much else), you could possibly - possibly - have restored the Uchiha's faith in Konoha as an institution, all while Danzo tried to figure out who the fuck this infiltrating Sailor Moon chick is and how the hell she can be even more of a hippie than Hiruzen.
nightblade
Gone for Good
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 2,523
FurikoMaru said:
I'm sorry I couldn't help but laugh at Danzo reaction to Sailor moon.
useless101
Doing Nothing, Nothing Doing.
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 1,162
[X] Have a real conversation with Sasuke about all this shit and where you stand in relation to one another.
-> [X] Where do you stand in relation to one another, as far as you're concerned?
Sasuke is always going to have issues about this, but now is the most important time to help him. Won't hurt Ino to talk about the traumatic experience she's just had either.
[X] Mr Sandman? Bring me a dream.
I do enjoy reading about Ino's reactions to Lupin's shenanigans.
Don't have a third choice at this time.
Trying to figure out who these are. Not getting very far.
Mulberry fields forever - I keep hearing Strawberry Fields Forever when I try to think about this. I'm not upset about that, there are worse songs to have repeating in your head.
The sempai - Neji? Lee? Ten-Ten? One of the OC cats?
The incisor - Is there anyone in the village other than Naruto known to have pronounced cutting teeth? His are his canines though. Oh, the Inuzuka, but theirs are canines too.
A masked man - Can't be Tobi, he wouldn't be interested in us. Kakashi?
-> [X] Where do you stand in relation to one another, as far as you're concerned?
Sasuke is always going to have issues about this, but now is the most important time to help him. Won't hurt Ino to talk about the traumatic experience she's just had either.
[X] Mr Sandman? Bring me a dream.
I do enjoy reading about Ino's reactions to Lupin's shenanigans.
Don't have a third choice at this time.
Trying to figure out who these are. Not getting very far.
Mulberry fields forever - I keep hearing Strawberry Fields Forever when I try to think about this. I'm not upset about that, there are worse songs to have repeating in your head.
The sempai - Neji? Lee? Ten-Ten? One of the OC cats?
The incisor - Is there anyone in the village other than Naruto known to have pronounced cutting teeth? His are his canines though. Oh, the Inuzuka, but theirs are canines too.
A masked man - Can't be Tobi, he wouldn't be interested in us. Kakashi?
Last edited by a moderator:
FurikoMaru
Experienced.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2013
- Messages
- 2,500
useless101 said:
I didn't wanna just say canine. All of a doggy's teeth are sharp to one degree or another, after all.