moonlitknight | IC Inbox for thefarshore

[ And after a moment. ]

If you know what you want, then take it.

[ He extends a hand out to him, palm up. ]

[ For a moment, Itachi gazed towards Zero's hand with a vapid expression. He didn't realize his breath had hitched. This was it. Did this mean... he said 'yes'? Or rather... he could do what he wanted? ]

[ For a moment, he wondered if he was a burden to the other... but he pushed those thoughts away. No... this was a good moment. One that made him feel... ]

[ Like he had purpose again. ]

[ He could hear his heart thumping in his ears. But Itachi lifted his hand. There was hesitation at first--not because he was having second thoughts... but he just couldn't believe it was real. ]

[ If you know what you want, and Itachi's hand finally reached out. "Then take it." ]

[ He rested his hand in Zero's palm, fingers curling to lock Zero's own with his. There was a sudden stir in the air. He couldn't help but close his eyes. He knew what was going to happen, something he wished he knew himself. His past. ]

[ There was instantly a shower of blood everywhere. A traditional looking home in the midst of war. A young boy was whipping through the onslaught of people with weapons... but he was faster, stronger, even with such a small body. One by one they fell to his sword. His red eyes glowed with intensity. ]

[ This is for him. I will live on as the villain... I will be hated... but it's all for him. ]

[ And when the bodies all fell and the small complex went silent, he found him. A little boy curled up in fear and terror, sobbing--asking his older brother why he had done this. And Itachi's young vice rang out. ]

Cling to your life, little brother. Hate me... hate me, and you shall grow stronger... and we'll meet again. [ You don't understand, little brother. I'd die for you. I've killed... all for you. To protect you from this cruel world of ours. ]

[ And he fled into the night. ]

[ Again--more blood. ]

[ This time it was in the palms of Itachi's hands. He was coughing, uncontrollably, crying, inconsolable. He was alone. That was okay. ]

[ He lurched--another cough and blood spilled onto the wooden floor of the bathroom. ]

[ They call it consumption.. what is happening to me...? I can't die now. I've promised my life to Sasuke. My dear brother... ]

[ There was another painful cough. On the counter were bottle upon bottle of medication. He picked them all--a blue pill here, three white pills, one red-- ]

[ He swallowed them. Anything to stop the blood. Anything to stop the pain. ]

[ He was in a lot of pain. His clothes were torn. Blood covered his entire body. He wasn't sure... if he'd be able to walk, but... ]

[ An older Sasuke was pinned against a rock, with the same terrified expression he had as a child, unable to move. Itachi moved forward slowly, in an attempt to reach him. ]

[ Sasuke... Sasuke... I'm coming... ]

[ Itachi made it in front of Sasuke. He paused... reaching up... and poked him with two fingers on the forehead... like he did when they were children. ]

[ Sasuke... I was the villain. Even as a pacifist... I brought violence upon the world. I hated fighting. I dreamed of a world of peace. Of Heiwa. But... as your older brother... I am happy to cast my life aside for you. Only you. I love you... more than anyone in the world. ]

[ I trust you... with my soul. ]

[ Those were the words he wanted to say... but instead.. his vision blurred, bloody and dizzy, and everything was turning black, black... darker... ]

[ ...Goodbye, little brother. ]

[ And he finally found peace. ]

[ That was it. He died that day... that fateful day, the one he had barely kept himself alive for... all for the sake of his brother. ]

[ Itachi opened his eyes. He felt as if he had just awoken from a deep sleep... but there had been no dreams, just the solid feeling of Zero's hand. ]

[ His hand curls around his in acceptance. Then, his vision blurs. Blood mars the street as a boy cuts down a crowd of women and children before the scene changes and Zero is standing in front of a frightened boy who looks all too familiar. Cling to your life, little brother. His mouth parts as the scene unfolds it's final blow leaving him with little conscious thought of what just happened before an onslaught of memories begin to pour in.

Consumption.

Tears fill with regret and drown in pills. The scene plays out too eerily close to the nightmares of his childhood. The ones that left him clinging to his brother at night, all too aware of the concoction of drugs that kept him alive. But this isn't his brother, the room unfamiliar and the man.... Zero opens his mouth but no sound emerges. He reaches forward, but he's transported yet again but this time to the end.

The final memory plays out much slower than the rest but cuts the deepest. Having buried his own brother, it's difficult to watch it play out again. He staggers. The scene blurs making him dizzy and slowly everything begins to fade. Darkness engulfs the mind, the heart, and the soul departs from the body pulled into oblivion. And suddenly Zero is back in the present, still holding onto Itachi and.... ]

Edited 2017-10-06 22:30 (UTC)

[ He blinks, the memories easing their way down into his subconscious, carving a niche inside him before settling in for the long night. ]

.......

[ This time when he opens his mouth, it's to release a shaky breath as he stares back at Itachi, feeling the intrusion all the more starkly yet it doesn't feel... bad. Odd maybe which has him thinking... is this then... what it means to have a shinki? ]

Edited 2017-10-06 22:34 (UTC)

[ And suddenly, a ritual thrums at the back of his mind bringing forth a bounty of knowledge long lost to him yet he recognizes it instinctively like an old Hunter spell. He raises two fingers, index and middle, and power begins to glow at their tips emitting a soft blue light. ]

Edited 2017-10-06 22:39 (UTC)

[ He keeps Itachi's hand firmly grasped in his own. ]

You.

[ Two fingers touch his forehead. ]

With nowhere to go and nowhere to return. [ He moves across his temple in precise strokes. ] I grant you a place to belong.

My name is Hades. [ A kanji begins to emerge. ] Grasping your true name, I bind you here. With borrowed name, I dub you my servant. [ The last stroke is dealt. ] The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call you as my divine instrument. The name, Itachi. The vessel, Oshi. [ The kanji 惜 glows strongly. ] Come, Oshiki. [ And disappears inside him. ]

Edited 2017-10-06 22:44 (UTC)

[ There was a light so bright it blinded him. His eyes shut closed, and the strong kanji of his new name lit like embers, branding him right across the pulse of his neck. his hand came up to touch the tingling sensation--but it wasn't even an instant later when his figure shaped and formed. ]

[ There was a small flicking sound of metal--and where Zero had been holding his hand, a beautiful silver coin sat. It was a little over an inch in diameter, with rough edges and an engraved symbol of a wolf, bird, and circular shield binding them together. It gleamed as if it were freshly minted. It would never lose its shine. It was warm in Zero's palm. ]

[ Itachi's own eyes opened. He'd never been used before, as a shinki, so this place as all too new for him. It was an expanse of white, nothingness, and yet he could see all, feel all, hear all-- and Zero, he could feel him most of all, as if he were truly meshed with the other. ]

[ His eyes closed. Finally. He had been worried that his guilt and anguish would send him down a path he couldn't return from. But... ]

Zero. [ And his voice rang along in Zero's head. ] ...Can you hear me?

[ Zero had never before named a shinki so although the ritual for the binding came to him so naturally, what came after was something unexpected. All of which went unheard in his tone. ]

I hear you.

[ The feeling was... strangely familiar. A link he experienced when drinking blood. Itachi's emotions flowed into him like a gentle breeze, and Zero let it pass through him without restraint. ]

[ Was silence on Itachi's end, a certain stillness, almost as if he hadn't heard Zero's response... ]

[ But the link between God and shinki was working. A slow building warmth started to grow hotter with a strange happiness that had long been muted. Without words, Itachi's feeligs on the union had been made clear. ]

Oshiki, [ Was the response. ] ...I will bear the name with pride. I am... [ Honored? No, such a word seemed too formal, not when he still saw Zero as his friend... even though the other was more than that now, now his God. ]

...I am glad you have granted my wish. [ He glanced down, he could see the form he took in Zero's palm. ] A coin...?

[ The emotions build like a tidal wave, crashing into him then smoothing out into a gentle ebb. ]

Charon's obol.

[ He turns the metal in his hand, letting his fingers run over the raised pictogram. He'd read the mythology of the god he was supposed to represent and he knew what the coin was supposed to represent. But these symbols... they didn't make sense for Hades myth. ]

Wolf. Bird. Dagger. Circle.

Edited 2017-10-07 03:03 (UTC)

[ There was a sudden flash of embarrassment. Well, no use in lying. ]

The bird and dagger is me. [ And...... that is all he was willing to give away on that! Figure it out on your own Zero! ] But... what is Charon's obol?

[ There's a pause on his end - interesting - but he says nothing on the matter. ]

Charon is the ferryman for the dead.

[ Itachi should know him since he has to give Charon a strand of hair every time he leaves and enters Hades Inner Temple. The hair turns into a silver coin the moment it touches the ferryman's bony hand. ]

To cross the river Styx, a soul needs to pay a fee. People used to place coins either in the mouth or on the eyes of the dead so they could pay. They were usually small silver coins called an oblon.

[ Here he turns the coin over in his hand, letting his thumb run over the metallic grooves on the other side. ]

When a person is buried with a silver coin, it's to pay Charon's fee to cross the River Styx, so they're considered Charon's Oblon.

Edited 2017-10-07 04:58 (UTC)

[ That was right... his hair would turn into a coin and he was allowed passage. So he himself had turned into a coin for Zero, Hades, to use... ]

[ But when he spoke of the fact that it belonged in the eyes or mouth... something struck him, suddenly. He knew how to be used. ]

Your mouth. [ He wasn't sure what would happen... but he knew something would. ] ...Put me on your tongue.

...Don't be frightened.

........

[ Okay. That has him raising an eyebrow. He rather now do that. All of this isn't felt by Itachi, who as a shinki had no connection to the god as the god had a connection to him. ]

I'll try the eye first.

[ B/c... yeah, not putting you in his mouth. ]

[ Hmph... he knew how to use himself! There was a flicker of being huffy, but it was quickly replaced by resolve. ] All right. Go ahead.

[ He turns the coin over in his hand and puts the cool metal against his eyelid. And waits. ]

...............

[ And waits some more. ]

............................

[ And more waiting.... he's starting to feel like Yagari-sensei. ]

Edited 2017-10-09 07:05 (UTC)

.............................................

[ And finally lets the coin drop. ]

This is stupid.

[ A huff as he snatches the coin mid-air. ]

I told you what to do. [ A small bit of scolding on his end. ] I know how to use myself, Zero.

...Don't be a brat about it.

[ Fine. He puts him into his mouth and nothing happens. Then something odd. What was--

His hand start shaking, the flesh twisting, turning dark, then the scales appear running up his arm and--

Zero spits him out. ]

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