Sympathy for the Devil

strongest-conviction-deactivate asked:

"Came to check on the spouse and see what he's up to, don't mind me."

"He is very fine."

#ask Itachi #xxkandayuuxx #xxkanda-yuuxx #askd

sanguinumlacrymis reblogged

Blindness came with silence. Silence that is more peaceful than most, or at least the most peaceful he'd felt. In the vastness of the empty Uchiha compound, and an even emptier house, he tries to make breakfast, carefully feeling the jars at the cupboards, carefully sniffing the contents.

The Uchiha compound gave Naruto the shivers; always had, even when the inhabitants had been alive and well. It was a place he was unwelcome, a place where cold grey eyes had sized him up and looked down upon him with blatant dislike. But now, even without the sharp stares boring into his back, he still felt eyes on him. The Uchiha compound was a home for the dead and he shivered as he passed through the gates. In a way, the silence was even worse than the eyes.

"Hey, Itachi!" He called as a greeting, casting nervous eyes up at the ominous grey sky before sliding the door open. The compound wouldn’t feel any better if the sun was shining, but at least then it wouldn’t look so stereotypically gloomy and haunted. "You in here?"

Naruto, who had been silently marvelling at Itachi’s ability to continue on as though nothing was wrong with his eyes at all, started slightly at the other’s voice. He jumped, guiltily tearing his eyes away from the Uchiha and returning them back to the cooking batter as though he’d been caught staring, noting absently that the pancake mix was starting to bubble.

"The Yamanaka flower shop?" He mused aloud, leaning back slightly and glancing up at the ceiling as though that would help his memory. "I think so. Inoichi usually opens it up really early and Ino takes over after she gets up. Why? You gonna buy flowers or somethin’?" Well, it would certainly liven up the place, even if Itachi couldn’t physically see how gloomy it was.

He prodded at the batter with the spatula, deeming the first pancake ready to flip over when the edges came up easily. He did so, only fumbling slightly with the cooking utensil. He’d gotten better over the last few years. Still nothing notable, but his food was edible when he bothered to cook it, and his kitchen was only a small disaster zone instead of resembling a battlefield.

Itachi cannot answer for a while, busy as he is opening bottles and sniffing them lightly, trying to find the maple syrup. He gets it right after the fifth bottle, and he turns away, to put it onto the table. He nods to Naruto's words, his nose registering the smell of cooking pancakes. "Do you mind coming with me? I need to buy a dozen sunflowers. And daisies. Hm....and maybe anthuriums."

Now the former ANBU Captain was fumbling around for chopsticks. It had taken getting used to, moving around blind, and at first it had been very inconvenient. But Itachi had had practice since his eyesight had started deteriorating. He remembered Tsunade's offer - an implant of non-sharingan eyes, to stop him from this needless self-inflicted punishment and torture. He was home now. His mission was for all to know.

You're my best friend. Please keep protecting the village and the Uchiha name.

Pale lips compress.

I'm sorry, Shisui. I guess I'm a failure after all.

#gonnabehokage

sanguinumlacrymis reblogged

Blindness came with silence. Silence that is more peaceful than most, or at least the most peaceful he'd felt. In the vastness of the empty Uchiha compound, and an even emptier house, he tries to make breakfast, carefully feeling the jars at the cupboards, carefully sniffing the contents.

The Uchiha compound gave Naruto the shivers; always had, even when the inhabitants had been alive and well. It was a place he was unwelcome, a place where cold grey eyes had sized him up and looked down upon him with blatant dislike. But now, even without the sharp stares boring into his back, he still felt eyes on him. The Uchiha compound was a home for the dead and he shivered as he passed through the gates. In a way, the silence was even worse than the eyes.

"Hey, Itachi!" He called as a greeting, casting nervous eyes up at the ominous grey sky before sliding the door open. The compound wouldn’t feel any better if the sun was shining, but at least then it wouldn’t look so stereotypically gloomy and haunted. "You in here?"

"Uh, just one or two. I’m not really hungry. I ate before." He lied, glancing away guiltily even though Itachi couldn’t see his expression. He hadn’t eaten breakfast today, yet he wasn’t entirely sure his normally insatiable stomach could handle a proper meal. In fact, he wasn’t sure that he’d eaten a proper meal since-

Naruto broke off his train of thought there, gnawing on the side of his cheek and feeling the familiar tightness take hold of his chest. Hunger hadn’t really been at the top of his priorities these past few days, and sleep was falling pretty far behind as well. Food tasted like nothing in his mouth as he chewed, and tiredness, though ever present in his body, only granted him rest when he could do nothing more but drag his weary body to bed.

He stepped forwards, opening the fridge and seeking out the berries Itachi had mentioned, if only to prompt his body into moving. Then, as he placed them down on the counter, he glanced at the Uchiha just in time to see him withdraw his hand sharply from the heated metal.

"Hey, you want me t’do that? I’m not half bad at pancakes, aha…"

At another time, perhaps when Naruto wasn't grieving, Itachi would have gently refused. But he knew the importance of having to do something - anything - just to make yourself keep pushing forward. He had been through a similar stage once. And he had been a lot younger than Naruto, too. So he stepped back, nursing his burnt hand. "I'll just set the table. Do you mind if you finish cooking? I'll have two pancakes too." He went to the cabinet and took out the plates, china that Mikoto had so carefully picked and collected. The best plates were only brought out when there were guests.

Now nobody was here to stop Itachi from using these plates at whatever time. He put them on the table, and fumbled his way to the fridge to get some maple syrup.

"Naruto? Did you happen to pass by the Yamanaka flower shop on the way here? Did you come to notice if they were open?" He inquired, voice soft.

#gonnabehokage

sanguinumlacrymis reblogged

Blindness came with silence. Silence that is more peaceful than most, or at least the most peaceful he'd felt. In the vastness of the empty Uchiha compound, and an even emptier house, he tries to make breakfast, carefully feeling the jars at the cupboards, carefully sniffing the contents.

The Uchiha compound gave Naruto the shivers; always had, even when the inhabitants had been alive and well. It was a place he was unwelcome, a place where cold grey eyes had sized him up and looked down upon him with blatant dislike. But now, even without the sharp stares boring into his back, he still felt eyes on him. The Uchiha compound was a home for the dead and he shivered as he passed through the gates. In a way, the silence was even worse than the eyes.

"Hey, Itachi!" He called as a greeting, casting nervous eyes up at the ominous grey sky before sliding the door open. The compound wouldn’t feel any better if the sun was shining, but at least then it wouldn’t look so stereotypically gloomy and haunted. "You in here?"

Naruto toed his shoes off at the door before following Itachi inside, his own footfalls feeling muted against the floorboards. Everything felt muted. This was a ghost town, and Naruto couldn’t even start to imagine why Itachi had returned.

However, here in the kitchen with the Uchiha, there was a strange sense of life, and Naruto leaned against the door frame with a small smile as Itachi went back to his business. When the blind shinobi had originally returned to Konoha, Naruto had constantly found himself getting under the other’s feet, and offering help that, while appreciated, wasn’t really needed. Itachi was just as capable as ever, and if he needed the help, he only had to ask. Naruto would do just about anything for the old friend that he’d thought he’d lost.

"What where you gonna make for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Itachi answered, finally finding the right jar. Picking it up, he returned to the space just beside the sink, where his prior ingredients had been readied. He adds just a pinch of sugar into the bowl of batter, and resumes ladling the sticky mixture. "I don't have butter though, I hope you won't mind," he tells Naruto with a nod. He puts the bowl down again and rummages in a second set of cupboards, feeling about for a non-stick frying pan. A soft hum escapes the former ANBU's lips. "But I do have a jar of berries in the fridge."

He found one. Itachi straightened up and moved about, and soon the smell of pancakes pervaded Mikoto's spacious kitchen. "How many would you like, Naruto?" he asks, pulling his hand back rapidly when he'd erroneously touched the metal part of the frying pan's handle, his fingers slightly burned.

#gonnabehokage

sanguinumlacrymis reblogged

Blindness came with silence. Silence that is more peaceful than most, or at least the most peaceful he'd felt. In the vastness of the empty Uchiha compound, and an even emptier house, he tries to make breakfast, carefully feeling the jars at the cupboards, carefully sniffing the contents.

The Uchiha compound gave Naruto the shivers; always had, even when the inhabitants had been alive and well. It was a place he was unwelcome, a place where cold grey eyes had sized him up and looked down upon him with blatant dislike. But now, even without the sharp stares boring into his back, he still felt eyes on him. The Uchiha compound was a home for the dead and he shivered as he passed through the gates. In a way, the silence was even worse than the eyes.

"Hey, Itachi!" He called as a greeting, casting nervous eyes up at the ominous grey sky before sliding the door open. The compound wouldn’t feel any better if the sun was shining, but at least then it wouldn’t look so stereotypically gloomy and haunted. "You in here?"

"Ah, no. Tsunade baa-chan gave me the day off and i just… thought i’d come and visit." He offered Itachi a weak smile, shrugging his shoulders in a nonchalant way before remembering that the other couldn’t see him. Still, for someone with zero visibility at this current time, he was doing a good job of staring right at the blond as he spoke.

"It’s gonna rain later." He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d blurted that out, but he was sure Itachi knew already. The air had a cool change to it, and the scent of rain was heavy on the horizon. Naruto had woken up to the scent before dawn, feeling it in his bones like a chill of anticipation. It was rare he was up that early, but he’d found himself restless afterwards, and sleep hadn’t come easily.

#gonnabehokage #feels #fff

"So you're joining me for breakfast," said Itachi, already turning heel and walking back deep into the house, into the quiet kitchen. He knew Naruto would follow, and in the quiet now surrounding them, the answer came to Itachi as easily as breathing. He'd received the news about a day late, when he'd been in the medical center for his customary pre-surgery tests. Sakura and Tsunade had discussed it, and he sat there in silence, mulling over his thoughts, not speaking, content to just listen.

So that's why Naruto was out here so early. Itachi almost apologized for the inappropriate atmosphere, but he liked the silence of the Uchiha compound, all of its ghosts included. Still, it must have been better for Naruto to be elsewhere, but...

"Hold on, I was trying to find the sugar," he tells his guest, as he resumes his careful probing of the cupboard and his mother's old, old jars.

sanguinumlacrymis reblogged

Blindness came with silence. Silence that is more peaceful than most, or at least the most peaceful he'd felt. In the vastness of the empty Uchiha compound, and an even emptier house, he tries to make breakfast, carefully feeling the jars at the cupboards, carefully sniffing the contents.

The Uchiha compound gave Naruto the shivers; always had, even when the inhabitants had been alive and well. It was a place he was unwelcome, a place where cold grey eyes had sized him up and looked down upon him with blatant dislike. But now, even without the sharp stares boring into his back, he still felt eyes on him. The Uchiha compound was a home for the dead and he shivered as he passed through the gates. In a way, the silence was even worse than the eyes.

"Hey, Itachi!" He called as a greeting, casting nervous eyes up at the ominous grey sky before sliding the door open. The compound wouldn’t feel any better if the sun was shining, but at least then it wouldn’t look so stereotypically gloomy and haunted. "You in here?"