（ his eyes close briefly. when he opens them, they are simple, starless black, as deliberate a sheathing of a weapon as any uchiha can offer. sasuke is not here to fight, but is unknowingly attempting to provoke one anyway, sifting through the ruin of who he became for the man he buried long ago. what is he hoping to find, scrabbling at dirt, worrying his nails down to bloody beds?
itachi has spent nearly a year with his own thoughts, in a place and among a people not touched by war as konoha has been. he has laboured beneath the knowledge that if this second chance is to be a thing deserved, it must be one of which he is worthy. he has learned to choose kindness over cruelty and more importantly — to recognize that it is a choice. but now, with his brother before him, his resolve feels brittle. there is an itch beneath his skin, to fall back on the old roles carved around them.
it is not lost on him that his first true foray into cruelty was against sasuke.
itachi lifts his cup of tea, and takes a very deliberate drink.
tops the cup off again, when he sets it down on the desk. ）
It was an invitation to continue. There is more to your story, presumably.
（ his fingers twitch faintly, in encompassment of his missing arm, gesturing at the empty space at sasuke's left side. ）
no subject
itachi has spent nearly a year with his own thoughts, in a place and among a people not touched by war as konoha has been. he has laboured beneath the knowledge that if this second chance is to be a thing deserved, it must be one of which he is worthy. he has learned to choose kindness over cruelty and more importantly — to recognize that it is a choice. but now, with his brother before him, his resolve feels brittle. there is an itch beneath his skin, to fall back on the old roles carved around them.
it is not lost on him that his first true foray into cruelty was against sasuke.
itachi lifts his cup of tea, and takes a very deliberate drink.
tops the cup off again, when he sets it down on the desk. ）
It was an invitation to continue. There is more to your story, presumably.
（ his fingers twitch faintly, in encompassment of his missing arm, gesturing at the empty space at sasuke's left side. ）
I will speak when you are finished.