towerofanimus | We pissed in Jason's cornflakes the post the master edition

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We pissed in Jason's cornflakes the post the master edition

Characters: Swaps swaps swaps swaps swaps swaps Everr'booodyyyyyy
Setting: The library, and wherever you want, really, Event Days 3-5
Format: Anything!
Summary: The Let's-Get-Everyone-Back-Into-Their-Bodies post! It's like a party with science! Use this post for the before, during, or after as you please!
Warnings: Mention of needles, possibly violence if people really don't want to get switched back.

On Day 3, the Hacker Team set to work collecting the supplies needed to switch people back, and late on Day 3, a group figured out how to switch everyone back. Over the last few days, they'll try to gather up all the identity-confused people to switch them back before the last day comes and kills 'em all.

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Romeo did know, and he knew he cared about his little brother. But he knew he had done lots of bad things and so he was confused. Which wasn't exactly anything new, people here were much more confusing than in Milano where you had friends and those who would hurt you. Here there were people who were both, or neither. Or bad people who did good things and good people who did bad things and no one was as bad as the actual bad people who had brought them here except mister Gandalf said they would be if they had power.

He nodded, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Are... are you a bad person sir?"

That question actually elicited a reaction from Itachi. For a second, the stern, detached look was replaced with one of wide-eyed shock, and he found himself unsure of how to answer.

Itachi was well aware from spending so much time in Romeo's head of how the boy saw people. He was a child, so it wasn't surprising that he tended to think of things in black and white. But for Itachi, things were far more complicated than that. His entire life was basically one big grey area.

It took him a while to find his voice again. When he began to speak, he looked vaguely morose.

"I... don't know," he said. He moved to take a seat near a shelf adjacent to the one Romeo was sitting by, and looked up at the rows of bookshelves as he spoke. "I don't want to be."

His expression didn't change as he thought back to the night he killed his clan. Blood everywhere, his hands trembling and tears running down his face as he held onto the katana that would take the lives of his parents, Sasuke's screams - it all flashed before his eyes in the span of a few seconds.

And then, his voice softer, he goes on, "...But that doesn't erase my sins, does it?"

Romeo was patient, he knew from all the things he had seen whilst in Itachi's body that it was a really big and complicated question that Itachi probably had to think about a lot. He turned round so he was facing Itachi, looking up and him and trying not to be frightened.

Mister Itachi asked him a big question in return and it was Romeo's time to like thoughtful and worried, he could still remember Itachi killing all his family and friends, as well as so many people. But he also remembered how he felt about his brother and he knew that it was true; Itachi didn't want to be a bad person.

That was enough for Romeo, because even if he had done bad things. He wanted to change, bad things didn't mean he had to be bad forever if he realised they were bad. He wasn't like mister Jason, he didn't enjoy causing people pain, and think it was funny to see them cry.

"I think that if you don't want to be you don't have to be. Mister Signless said that anyone could be good as long as they tried really really hard and people are only bad when they don't want to be good. So if you tried really really hard... you wouldn't have to be bad anymore and though you still did really bad things..."

He thought about that again, did it erase his sins? "I think to be a good person you need to do more good things than bad things. You did so many bad things but it just means you will have to do a load of good things, it wont change what happened I don't think but you will have made people happy and been nice to them and so you wont be a bad person anymore."

Itachi glanced over at Romeo, taking time to ponder what he'd said. As he'd thought, this conversation wasn't an easy one; he found himself unsure of what to say more than he had in quite a while. He was so used to having everything planned out that ending up here in the Tower, where nothing was under his control, was throwing him for a loop.

Admittedly, what Romeo said fell a bit in line with what he'd been planning to do back in his homeworld. If he could get Sasuke to kill him, get rid of his curse mark, and turn him into the hero that took down S-rank missing nin Itachi Uchiha, wouldn't that make up for some of the pain and heartbreak he'd caused him over the years? If Sasuke's life went well from then on, he might be able to rest easy.

But... he still robbed Sasuke of his childhood, his family, his happiness. While the latter was something he might be able to get back, the former two were things he never could.

At least he was alive, Itachi thought to himself. Even if he'd been miserable, at least he was alive. And he had friends that cared for him more than anything, friends like that Naruto boy. They could help him.

They had to.

"I suppose you're right..." Itachi said after a long while. "I intend to make things right for those who I've harmed in the past."

His gaze drifted a bit, away from Romeo and toward the bookcase behind his head. He forced himself to look at Romeo's face.

"Including you."

Romeo watched him again, he didn't really know what to say because Itachi was an adult and a bad person even if he wanted to be a good one. He would have to work really hard to be a good person and Romeo wanted to help him. But he wasn't sure what he could do to help, he just wanted to try. Because if mister Itachi could make things right and become good... That would be a really nice thing.

"You never hurt me sir! You've been nice to me!" He gave a hopeful smile.

"Thank you, but..." He paused briefly, trying to figure out how to word what he was about to say. "...when you were in my body, you must have seen some very terrible things. No one your age should be subject to that."

Sasuke, Itachi thought to himself, was even younger than that when he did what he did. The thought, as usual, caused him some pain and more than a little guilt, but he squashed those feelings under a mask of neutrality.

"It's okay sir," he stood up from where he sat, "I've been here for more than a whole year, I've seen lots of terrible things." For a moment he sounded far older than he looked but then he gave a tiny smile.

"But you already know that sir, and it was a bit scary... But only because I thought you might be a bad person. Now I know you are really good it isn't too scary anymore..." He tilted his head. "Don't be sad sir, you got to keep your spirits up."

For a moment, Itachi just stared up at Romeo, thinking it all over. He could remember how Romeo's mind worked, how he saw the world and the people in it, and felt certain that the child's intentions were genuine. It might have just been because it had been so long since Itachi had received any honest goodwill, but it did manage to lift his spirits, if only a bit.

Itachi actually found himself smiling. It was a tiny thing, but the upward curve of his lips was noticeable nonetheless.

"Sound advice," he said. "Even so, I'd like to make it up to you, if that's all right."

His words had an uncertain edge to them. Instinctively, he wanted to stay closed up and keep to himself, but there really wasn't any use around Romeo. He'd already seen all of his memories, experienced all his innermost feelings, and so to keep pretending seemed a bit fruitless.

For years, Itachi had people think of him as a criminal and treat him as such (and, regardless of his reasons and his intent, he couldn't argue that he was a criminal), and he was unsure of how to act around someone who knew the truth. He didn't intend to suddenly abandon his cold and cruel act, but around Romeo, he could afford to soften up just a bit.

Romeo smiled and nodded, "That's alright sir! But I will be happy if you just be a good person from now on, because that will make lots of people happy including you!"

He had seen all of Itachi's memories and knew how he thought; though he didn't understand it he knew that he was probably scared of changing everything he was. But Romeo believed anyone could change... They just needed friends to help them.

Itachi was an adult but if there was one thing Romeo had learned in the tower it was that adults needed help too.

He brought his fist to his heart, "I swear I'll help you sir! I will help you be a good person you can count on me!" Itachi would know it was a solemn vow.

Romeo always kept his promises.

The vow was touching, to say the least. That a boy so young could see in detail all the things he'd done and still think he had some good in him, it left Itachi feeling equal parts elated and cautious. He had to admire Romeo's determination, his devotion to keeping his chin up even through terrible circumstances. Itachi remembered all-too-clearly the terrible things he'd gone through in the tower, not to mention his life beforehand, and it was nothing short of a miracle that he was still this cheery.

"I appreciate it," he said. "But..."

He hadn't actually gotten a chance to bring up the reason why he came to talk to Romeo in the first place. In light of the vow, it felt like an even colder thing to request of him, but it was necessary. He took a moment to figure out the best way possible to word it.

"If I... were to do that... it would have to be in secret," he managed finally. "The people from my world can't know the truth. If we all end up getting out of here eventually, I would like to proceed with my original plan."

Romeo should know what he meant by that - his plan to fight Sasuke and die a villain so that his brother could live a hero, without ever learning the truth. He'd let his brother restore glory to the Uchiha name, and live out the rest of his life free of the plaguing desire for revenge. He needed it to work, but if it was going to, he couldn't let his guard down even in a place that seemed to defy all sense of logic and reason.

He would make his own reality, even here.

Edited 2012-10-16 05:10 (UTC)

Romeo frowned, because he didn't like that plan. Surely it would make Sasuke really sad to believe his brother was a really really bad person... And he didn't know why Itachi wanted to make his brother sad when he loved him so much.

But he knew that people might be mad at him... And that would be bad as well. Romeo sighed. It seemed becomming a good person was harder than he had thought.

"Well... if you think that's a good idea sir..."

"It's not ideal, but it's the best way."

Nothing about Itachi's life had ever been ideal, so this really wasn't surprising for him. He had come to accept it. But Romeo was so young and hopeful, perhaps he would need to think of it in a different light.

"It'll be a secret mission, just between the two of us," he said, flashing a somewhat reluctant smile. "You can keep a secret, can't you?"

His tone is light, almost joking, but his intent is grave. He can't afford for anything else to go wrong with his plan.

"A secret mission!" Romeo thought about that, that was the sort of things heroes would do! He could keep secrets! He was good at that. He nodded with a smile, "Okay sir! I promise I wont tell anyone!" He brought his fist to his chest once more.

"Thank you."

Itachi paused, staring up at Romeo. Was he right to trust him? The boy seemed honest enough, but even if he wasn't, Itachi didn't have much choice. The time he spent inside Romeo's body was convincing enough, at least. Young as he was, he had noble intentions.

Itachi stood up, and said nothing. He wasn't sure what to say now that he'd dealt with his main concern. (He did, however, inwardly note how strange it felt to finally be his proper height again.)

Romeo grinned, "You're welcome sir!" He stood up as well, feeling very small after a week of being an adult. He smiled again, "You're really tall sir! I hope I am as big as you when I'm an adult for real!"

It surprised Itachi, how quickly this boy could go from a solemn mood to a happy one. Itachi himself was still feeling a bit on-edge. If anything, Romeo's cheerful attitude only made him feel worse, because the poor boy had been stuck in the Tower for so long. If the administrators wanted test subjects, they should at least have the decency to choose people who could fight back.

He tried not to let himself get too worked-up. Luckily, he'd had plenty of training at keeping his thoughts and feelings locked up, so despite his sour attitude, he didn't look any different.

"I'm sure you'll get there," he said. He took a step forward, toward the door to the stairwell. "You've still got a ways to go before you're my age, after all."

"I do! And Ven says it's better to grow up properly but it was a bit fun being an adult." Even if Itachi's memories had been terrifying, the first day or two after he had stopped being so scared had been fun.

Itachi had half a mind to disagree, but he didn't want to trample all over Romeo's good mood when he seemed so light-hearted.

"It'll be even more fun when you're an adult yourself," he assured him instead. He turned to look off into the middle distance for a moment, then he went on, "If all goes well, you'll get to grow up in your homeworld."

He turned and flashed Romeo another tiny smile, trying to be hopeful. "Once we find a way out of here, right?"

"I hope so sir..." Romeo grinned at him, though he wasn't sure if his world was still there. But even if it wasn't they would at least beat the bad people and then he could grow up somewhere nice with the friends he had made here. That wouldn't be bad at all!

There was a significant pause before Itachi answered, and when he did, he was looking at the far wall instead of Romeo.

"...That's good," he said. "Don't lose that hope."

He glanced back at Romeo one more time and nodded.

"I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

And in a flash of black and red, he was gone.

"I wont sir!" Romeo smiled at him and then blinked as he was gone.

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We pissed in Jason's cornflakes the post the master edition

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weeps I'm sorry for the tl;dr

I love tl'dr

oh good, have some more!

yay!

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r00d Itachi, body-flicking away from people all the damn time

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