[voice -- private to Murderess]

[thethundersaid]

The area around the Nav is still trapped, but it won't kill you anymore.

[private to Marvelous]

I am collecting this black coral. If you're not headed to this fortress, I will go alone.

Comments

[action i was going to ask for yes]

[thethundersaid]

[Sasuke has been the one bringing him food as a consequence, taking the time to re-tie the ropes to prevent the worst of the chafing.

He's here now, setting down the plate with a frown. His voice is tense when he speaks, filled with suppressed anger -- not at Itachi, but simmering.]

You'll chafe your wrists raw this way.

[action]

[forthevillage]

[Itachi raises his head at the sound of his brother's voice. He's weary, from the original fighting and from all the struggling he's done, some in favor of sleep. He doesn't struggle now, merely listens to the other's movements.

His damaged throat, healing slowly, causes his own voice to come out rougher than usual, quieter.]

Then release me. Let me finish my task.

permactions this thread

[thethundersaid]

[It's quick work, mindless, unknotting and then reknotting one section of rope while keeping another tight, moving on to the next one. He pulls out a roll of bandages for the areas already raw, shifting behind Itachi to work.

It is an added bonus not to have to look at his brother's covered eyes.]

What task is that?

[forthevillage]

Killing everyone here.

[He says it casually, coughing afterward as too much talking irritates his throat.]

Perhaps everyone but you. Nostalgic, isn't it?

[thethundersaid]

[Not much makes Sasuke's hands falter these days, but those words -- they stop, fingers tense on a stretch of bandage. He should have forgiven his brother, needs to, for making the decisions he did with what he had on hand.

But those decisions meant the hands he wraps in bandages now made both of them kinslayers, Uchiha blood spilled everywhere.

The silence drags on, but when he finally speaks his voice is steady.]

For what purpose, brother?

[forthevillage]

So that everything will be righted.

[It's what she promised, after all. The only thing she could offer him, and even then he'd turned her away until he couldn't anymore.

At Sasuke's hesitation, the hand he's bandaging twists sharply, searching for a way free of its bonds.]

[thethundersaid]

Is that what she said? The witch? You heard her? [If it's as he suspects, after what Marvelous told him and what the boy Link had said --

He catches that hand almost on instinct more than decision, pinning it flat to the ground with a sharp grab. Beneath his own Itachi's is smaller, the weird incongruity of their ages and their memories physically represented, and when he moves to finish bandaging it, his voice is fierce.]

Whatever lies she told you, whatever promises she made -- it's not worth this.

[forthevillage]

[At that, Itachi falls silent. That's not a question he will answer, or is allowed to answer.

He turns his head toward the hand Sasuke has pinned down as though he can see it through the blindfold.

The ninja would agree with his brother if his mind remained his to do so. As it is, such words fall on deaf ears. He can't be pulled free of this possession in such a simple manner.]

[thethundersaid]

[Silence. It could be the witch's doing, or ... just Itachi, withholding information as always, trying to take things on his own. How much of his behaviour is his own right now and how much is whatever possesses him? Sasuke's face sets in grim lines as he finishes bandaging and retying Itachi's hands.

He shifts to a kneel in front of Itachi again.]

I brought you food and water. Which do you want first?

[forthevillage]

[He lifts his head again, remaining silent for another few moments more.]

[Finally:] You could let me go hungry, you know. Weaken me.

[thethundersaid]

I could.

[He picks up the glass of water; since Itachi hasn't made a choice, he'll make it for him, and it's easy to guess that dehydration is the greater risk right now.]

I don't want to. Drink.

[forthevillage]

[Itachi pulls away at first, then relents, allowing his brother to bring the cup to his lips.

It's a relief, honestly. Especially for his throat. He has to be alive if he's to continue his attempts to kill the others, anyway.]

[thethundersaid]

[He waits, patient as he's never had to be before: when Itachi drinks it's a grim satisfaction. How long does this mind control last -- how permanent are its effects? The assumption is to cut off the source is to end the magic, or whatever it may be, but ...

But Sasuke doesn't often deal in buts. He lets Itachi drink until he seems satisfied, then sets the cup aside to pick up the plate.

The last time he did anything even close to this was in Konoha, before he'd been accepted to a genin team. That's a weird thought to have, here, and his expression loses its blank-faced determination for a complicated second before he spears a few vegetables with a fork and holds them up.]

[forthevillage]

[The scent of food causes Itachi to frown, nose scrunching up slightly. He doesn't like being fed this way, but Sasuke clearly isn't going to untie his hands and he'd only use the chance to try and escape again anyway.

So he opens his mouth to be fed, since he can't see to bite at the fork himself.]

[thethundersaid]

[The level of weird here is about bypassing the level of weird that was the cold, trying not to wake up at every movement Itachi made and waking up anyway (and wondering if either of them was even actually asleep or if it was all a slightly ridiculous polite farce). But it's less innocuous than some cold. There is something in his brother's mind, using him.

And feeding him while his hands are tied isn't because they're working together. Sasuke works methodically, occasionally holding up the glass again, and the cabin-turned-cell is quiet except for the sound of waves and the meal.]