kakunosekai:

What a show off,
he thinks, grinning behind the collar of his cloak. Such a dramatic reunion; was
Itachi always like this when he was in Konoha? Flicking his hat off like that
and shocking the other two with a potential strip tease—a bit over the top for
the guy that barely spoke a word.

It’s tense. It’s so tense you could cut it with a blade. But
Mangetsu’s cracking up—especially when the guy called Asuma’s pretty much ready
to butt heads already. It’s a bit high-pitched, that laughter.

It’s going to be a
fight.

There’s nothing he’s been waiting for more than an excuse to
swing at someone. It’s been far too long since the last time they got into a
good fight, too. And honestly, if it was upto him, Mangetsu would never have
turned down any of those sixteen or twenty odd fights Itachi had steered him
clear of. He would have wiped the floor with their opponents and taken out
collateral with them, too—made sure there were no witnesses at all.

But no. Itachi was having none of that. Itachi was a goddamn
annoying pacifist most of the time, even if Mangetsu would remind him that it
was bullshit coming out of a man that murdered his entire clan (save for one
loose end) and then joined a gang of criminal rejects.

(But he’s gotten better about throwing insults around. Those
are saved for particularly bad days. Something
about Itachi and his story just didn’t add up, and Mangetsu had a gut feeling
there was a whole lot more to it. A whole lot more he didn’t know the details
of that he figured made him look like an idiot to be grumbling at Itachi for.)

Mangetsu has instead taken to slurping annoyingly loud on
his water for hours after that, trailing right behind Itachi.

But now? Now it seems like they’re standing their ground.
Itachi doesn’t seem like he’s about to tout some kind of excuse to dissuade a
fight, either (the kind of shitty excuses that somehow seemed to work on
Mangetsu anyway—the kind of excuses that made him feel like an ass for hours
afterwards). Itachi showing off has got the other guys all pumped up and on the
defensive, and it’s also got something else buzzing in the midst of all that
roiling tension. –And Mangetsu seems to be feeding off of it. It’s there: the
fish in his veins are swimming; there’s a rush, a sharp tingle that courses
right through him. His sense of hearing is at its peak again: every single
breath, every ripple on the stream below them, the asynchronous heartbeats—they’re
all so crystal clear. Every sound, every whisper, every thought seems to be acutely audible. He can hear the fear.

And in the way Asuma and Kurenai are standing, the butt of
that cigarette falling to the ground, the look in their eyes— He can see it.

And maybe it’s the cigarette smoke and sweat, the water
running below them. Maybe it’s the lingering smell of tea on Itachi—mild, but
still distinct. He can smell it.

And it’s goddamn
exciting.

His senses are on overdrive and if he’s not too careful he’ll
feel it get in his head. Too much and it’d take a while to wear off. He doesn’t
want to be drunk on this.

He also doesn’t want to get all worked up just on the possibility of a fight. In fact,
Mangetsu is looking for any excuse to declare it a fight at all.

….But he’s laying low so far, not bothering to introduce
himself. The hat stays on, the cloak collar stays up. Mangetsu was dead to
Kirigakure.

Nobody can know he was still alive.

“Heh. Now that the formalities are done with—” One could
hear the grin in his voice. “Can we kill ‘em yet?”

“And you…” Kurenai begins.

But she doesn’t finish. Racks her brain for every name listed in the bingo book, from every village– but nothing comes up. This person has to be a criminal, just like Itachi, why else would he be wearing the same red-cloud cloak? He’s not removing anything, either. 

A glance is stolen between the pair, because Asuma doesn’t know either. Itachi was an oddity when it came to criminals, anyways, they’d just have to forcefully get the hat and cloak off, and identify him then. 

Both take a step back. Grounding themselves, tensing at the desire to kill emanating from Itachi’s traveling partner.

“Don’t interfere.” Itachi cuts in, still facing Asuma, and Kurenai. His voice is even, as if he was oblivious to the fact everyone is squaring up to fend for their lives. 

“It isn’t my desire to kill you.” Itachi tells the honest truth, even if it causes Asuma to grit his teeth, scoffing.

“Funny, comin’ from a guy who murdered his own people.” Were they supposed to believe that? 

“Come on now.” Asuma continues. “You aren’t skulking around here dressed like that for no good reason. Tell us what you’re here for.” 

“I guess we’re not going anywhere without a fight.” Itachi murmurs, though keeps his forlorn out of his tone. One could only avoid it for so long, he supposes… then there’s Mangetsu’s question to deal with… he can’t ignore it any longer.

“Don’t overdo it.” They need to retain some sense of secrecy here.