[closed] it took all the man in me

[anbu]

Who: Itachi Uchiha and various.
When: Aereuer 13th.
Where: Looking-Glass House.
What: Memory sharing event.
Warnings: Mass death/genocide, war themes, gore, violence, trauma, child soldiers, very sad but cute brothers. I'll update if/as other things come up.





[To the vast majority of the Mirrorbound who cross its path, Itachi's mirror is plain and unassuming, its silver surface set into a black wooden frame. They will notice complicated carvings, some strange cross between Japanese calligraphy and other, indecipherable symbols unlike language. There are only two distinct images: the first is located on the upper left corner of the mirror and features an avian animal with beady, jewel-like red eyes; the second is located on the bottom right corner and features a pinwheel design. If further investigated, it'll become obvious the mirror also carries a burnt scent, as if the wood has recently been charred by fire.

Sasuke will see a much more detailed and familiar frame. The faces of their parents; the face of Uchiha Shisui; the Mangekyou Sharingan set within the shape of an actual eyeball; Akatsuki clouds; and the Uchiha fan directly beside the leaf's symbol of Konoha. It takes no guesswork to understand who this mirror is meant to represent.]

—

[OOC: Due to this event being exposition-heavy, scene specific, and intense (as well as a desire not to get too overloaded), I will not be writing any general open prompts! This also helps me keep each thread interesting and unique. That said, I'm open to plotting something. Feel free to reference my plotting comment here so we can hash something out. I have a list of memories here, but it isn't exhaustive. I can find something else if none of these are appealing.

Starters will be posted below as I write them!]

Comments

I AM HERE

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex couldn't recognize the symbols on the mirror, but everything about it, from its shade, the design, and even the smell was ominous. Something telling her she shouldn't venture further, but at the same time, finding herself unable to resist. It surprises her when she finally walks through. The burnt smell gone, fresh air filling her lungs despite being indoors. She walks to the window, hands pressing against the glass. She had never seen such architecture before, and so much open space.

The sound of children' laughter catches her attention, her heart warming at the happy sight of them playing. They were dressed differently than what she was accustomed to. They're called in, and Alex realizes that she must be in a school. The kids run indoors, some whining about school starting, the others excited. But one was neither. Quiet, reserved, and a mature air about him. Her eyes narrow as a sense of familiarity tugs at her. As the doors close and one opens, Alex follows after the boy she feels she knows. ]

OPENS ARMS

[anbu]

[When Alex steps into the room, a sense of orderliness comes over the tangle of children as their teacher reins them in, calling for quiet. Earlier's enthusiasm and energy is soon replaced with nervousness as the children look around at each other. A few whisper to each other, what's going on? What's next?

"Now then," the teacher says at the front of the room, smiling kindly. "Welcome to your first day at the Academy. We're going to go around and have all of you introduce yourselves. Please share with everyone your dream for the future too. This will help us get to know each other a little better."

The children stir, surprised, chatting with each other. This dies out as the teacher says, "All right, maybe we'll go by student number." And the first student is called.

Their dreams are earnest and young — I want to be like my father, and I want to be a great shinobi and go on a lot of missions, and I want to be a cute shinobi, and I want to learn a lot of new things. Polite applause comes after each child speaks, and the teacher congratulations them on a good job before moving to the next in line.

Finally, the young, severe-looking boy is called.

"Uchiha Itachi?"

Itachi moves forward to stand at the front of the class, black eyes looking out over his peers, face composed without a hint of nerves. "I'm Uchiha Itachi. My dream is..." he begins in a quiet, careful voice. Here he seems to hesitate, brows furrowing, looking down at his toes.

The teacher seems to interpret this as nervousness or shyness and tries to be encouraging. "It's all right, go ahead and say it."

"I want to be the greatest shinobi ever, great enough that I can erase all fighting from the world."

Silence trickles in, until someone laughs from the corner of the room, and then the teacher begins applause and the other students follow suit politely. "Well done." The teacher pats Itachi's head.

The young boy ducks away, disappearing back into the throng of students. Things continue as normal. Here the dream starts to fade out, lost to the thread of tedium and monotony that the rest of the day carried. Alex will have no choice but to exit the mirror.]

[sing_for_me]

Itachi..?

Was that the shinobi as a child? Alex covers her mouth with the tips of her fingers, holding back a reaction. He was adorable, as was the first part of his dream. The other half had that innocence to it, but at the same time, there was a maturity and genuineness in his tone that wouldn't normally come from someone so young.

Her surroundings start to fade, and the voices become muted. Alex looks around, uncertain of what was happening, and makes her way back to where she believes she came from. She can't help but turn her head to look at the younger Itachi one more time as she walks away. ]

[anbu]

[When Alex emerges into the Looking-Glass House through the mirror, she'll find herself still alone, no sign of the older version of Itachi to be found anywhere. Perhaps he's in another memory contained in someone else's mirror world, or else chasing down a likewise trespasser from the realm of his own.

If she does continue to investigate Itachi's memories, she'll find herself returned to the same leafy, terracotta village, only this time outside in the dead of night. The street at first appears empty of all foot traffic; not a soul is around. Then, from a distant point, comes an inhuman howl—loud and animalistic and deep, something that belongs to a creature that is not in any way small.

The screams come next. Soon Alex will find herself overcome by fleeing villagers, all dashing past her to escape the yet unseen danger. Some of the civilians are carrying children, or precious personal items they were able to grab in time, yet all are intent only to get away from what it is that pursues them.

And if Alex decides to look up toward the moon, she'll see what it is. A giant animal with pointed fox ears and nine lashing tails is posed high over the village, mouth full of fangs, eyes glowing luminescent red. In a swing of one of its massive paws, the beast crushes an entire building. Its echoes shake through the ground like an earthquake.

Through the wave of dust, while Alex is faced with the imminent decision of fight or flight, she'll notice a small child dart by just to her left. It's the same child she saw in the last memory, close to the same age—only this time in his arms Itachi is carrying the bundle that is his infant younger brother.]

[sing_for_me]

[ She couldn't help it, curiosity taking over. Even without the influence of the comets, Alex still wanted to learn more about him. And so she enters again, only to find a far more distressing memory. She has seen people panic and run for their lives before, but not to this extent. Not this many people. And certainly not from that.

While Alex has seen all sorts of monsters since arriving in Aefenglom, she hadn't seen one quite that size, nor did she expect to see that in anyone's memories. The creature rampaging through the city has her stunned in place, even if she knows it can't do anything to her here. It's only when the familiar boy runs by her that she snaps out of it, and something else takes over. The merrow starts to run after the younger Itachi, as if she can do anything for him now. Did he really have to face something this terrifying at such a young age..? ]

[anbu]

[As Alex follows the younger Itachi's path, she'll see he's headed in the same direction as most of the escaping citizens, shushing and soothing the bundled, crying baby in his arms. His voice is soft, but Alex may pick it up over the chaos: Sasuke, it's okay. You got a little scared, huh?

On the way, he stops to rescue a small girl crying for her mom and dad—pulling her out of the way of falling debris just in time. Itachi escorts her to the shelter in a hurry. Afterward, he finds an older man standing on the street surrounded by other adults in uniform. Alex will hear him address that man as Father. He seems fairly unconcerned for his sons' current well-being.

There you are, Itachi. I knew you would be all right.

What's going on?

Take your brother and get to the shelter.

Dismissed, Itachi hesitates. His father and some of the other adults are having a conversation, where Alex will learn that the Uchiha clan—in charge of the police force—have been told not to engage with the beast, and instead handle evacuation. For some reason, this appears to bother Itachi's father and the men. After a few tense and uncertain moments, Itachi ducks his head, soothes his younger brother, and heads in the direction of the other civilians.

The memory fades out to darkness there.]

[sing_for_me]

[ She keeps up with them as if she were running away from the chaos herself, but unable to do anything for the children. Yet Itachi, the life of his brother quite literally in his hands, still finds it in himself to save others.

But he was still a kid himself, which is why she looks on in disbelief as his father doesn't even check to see how he's doing, does nothing to comfort his child, just--ushers him away. Maybe there was some sort of an explanation with what she learns, about how he has a job to do. Alright, he couldn't be with his kids, but still. But maybe she felt her own frustration with being useless herself.

The memory fades, but it will take a bit longer for the tension in her own body to do the same, her fist tight as she makes her way out of the mirror. ]