i'd write catchall for ray but this is the last day he's alive

[moralhyperopia]

[ for a dude about to go on death row who is also wanted dead by everyone here, itachi seems pretty calm. he's drinking tea again! what a perfect time to talk to him ]

Comments

[selfimmolates]

[ray has his gun out. not pointed at itachi, but it's there. nothing personal.

anyway.]

... You know, Sasuke threatened to kill me over you once.

[moralhyperopia]

[ he looks fucking exhausted at that ]

... Please don't hold it against him. [ sips, softly ] He's clinging to an ideal I never was.

[selfimmolates]

I was expecting the threat, it's fine.

[is it]

He seems pretty protective of you—which is why I'm concerned about how he'll react tomorrow. Or... in general.

[moralhyperopia]

[ ... ]

From what he's told me, this will be his third time seeing me die. [ THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM??? ]

[selfimmolates]

[uhhhhh]

So... does that make him more or less likely to lose it?

[?????]

[moralhyperopia]

[ sips tea ]

I couldn't begin to guess. I've spent half of his life trying to make him hate me.

[ and look where that fucking landed him ]

[selfimmolates]

...

I don't think it worked out too well.

[moralhyperopia]

[ he exhales out, low and tired ]

It did, for a while. [ and it was. easier, somehow. ] He can be rash and driven by emotions. It's a trait in our blood. [ please don't question this. ] But Sasuke has always had the potential to be more than that. More than any of us. I've just... pushed him in all the wrong ways.

[ stop stanning sasuke, itachi ]

[selfimmolates]

... I'm getting deja vu. You two really are similar.

[all this stanning,]

[moralhyperopia]

We are brothers.

[ like itachi would rather sasuke not Be like that, but ]

I can't give you a satisfactory answer for your concerns. Even if I were to talk to him... This transgression is just one of many on my part, between both of us. [ "disappointing his brother" and all that ]

[selfimmolates]

Great. You're both a pain, you know that?

[moralhyperopia]

[ sorry ray he. laughs. it's like, just a short huff, but still. ]

I've heard as much, yes. [ sips again ] ... There's no doubt this was of my own volition this time, so I'm hoping that will be enough to assuage him.

[selfimmolates]

Well, he probably saw it coming, to an extent. He actually requested that I tell him if I discovered you were up to something. Didn't want you to be part of any "underhanded dealings", as it were.

[moralhyperopia]

[ i mean like. sasuke wasn't wrong but also. he is? the older? brother???

god let's think of a positive ]

... I'm glad he felt comfortable requesting your help.

[ sasuke stan voice: sasuke made a friend*

*allegedly ]

[selfimmolates]

... Yeah, that might be putting it a little strongly, considering he followed it up with the aforementioned death threat.

[uh... huh...]

[moralhyperopia]

[ ah. ]

Yes, that does sound like him.

[ ha ha! ha. ]

[selfimmolates]

He had a lot to say about you, really.

[moralhyperopia]

[ please he's literally exhausted just hearing that ]

... Did he.

[ he can't quite make it a question because he's not sure he even wants to know ]

[selfimmolates]

[the true punishment for killing shiki]

Do the words "He's suffered enough" and "He is one of the most dangerous people here, but he isn't a bad person" seem like familiar sentiments?

[sasuke was a Lot,]

[moralhyperopia]

[ karma fucking sucks, now he has to be called out on feelings all the time? this is terrible and exhausting? he knew he would be forced to have a painful death but did it have to be THIS painful

he takes a sip ]

I didn't want this path for him. [ read: he really didn't want sasuke emulating him at all ever ] What has he told you, really? Of everything.

[ he wants to Correct Facts(tm) ]

[selfimmolates]

Don't worry, that was about the extent of it. I wasn't interested in your history, and he was more focused on demanding that I not hurt you or anything.

[fear the 12-yo itachi]

For your sake, though, you should probably hope he didn't go around doing the same to everyone.

[moralhyperopia]

[ he gives Ray the most tired "no offense but you're literally 12" look he can muster. like yea he has 0.5% "aw, babby" at his brother being like that because itachi has a PROBLEM, but the rest of him is mostly tired! thanks! ]

I worry more about his own sake.

[ they're kind of in a, like, cycle? like that ]

[selfimmolates]

[it's okay even ray knows he can do shit to itachi?? sasuke was completely extra???]

Yeah, not unwarranted.

[moralhyperopia]

[ ... ]

I won't ask anything of you for his sake [ because ray is 12 and even itachi has, somehow, Limits ], but know I won't hold it against you should something happen to him. [ a beat ] Not that I assume you'd worry about the feelings of a dead man.

[ a murdering dead man. this is layers of shitty jokes. that aside: ]

He's stronger than me, now. He might be reckless and foolish at times, but he wants to win. Once he focuses on a goal, he doesn't stop. Because of that, I don't believe he'll attack in the next few days. Should he attempt to do anything rash, I'll try to act, but your main recourse may be to ask the gods themselves in preparation.

[ how do you both stan and throw someone under a bus at the same time. ]

[selfimmolates]

Good, because you're right in that I wasn't exactly going to ask for your permission.

He and I have something resembling [very loosely] an alliance, so I'm kind of stuck with him for now. Should I be more or less concerned?