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[ Every now and then, Kakashi wonders if he'll ever get tired of this pattern he seems to have fallen into.

Part of him is pretty sure he's already tired of it, and that's not really a surprise, considering it's always the same shit, different day, different face, different name. The places and the people change, but the events that occur and unfold are essentially the same, and how he's surprised by anything anymore is really beyond him.

But it's not in his nature to be a pessimistic person, just as it isn't in his nature to be excessively optimistic. He's realistic and level-headed (with a fuckton of issues buried underneath the surface, clawing at his insides like toxic waste, but he's not going to get into that), and he knows how to handle himself in most situations, knows how to deal with shit when nothing goes as planned, when awful things start happening and all the control he had slips from between his fingers.

Right. He's got it. Check.

Kakashi breathes, shaking his hands out as he enters the village through the giant, imposing gate, sliding a kunai back into the belt at his waist. It's dusk, and most of the citizens of Konoha have already turned in for the night. There's a few stragglers, a woman outside her home shaking a rug out, a man leading a child away by the wrist. Kakashi himself is on his way back home after spending the majority of the day outside the bounds of the village, not really doing anything in particular, just -- thinking.

He needs time to think, sometimes. ]

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[ And speaking of issues, Kakashi's latest potential issue is walking down the path to Konoha, in clothes that are little more than rags framing a skinny form. Dressed in white, said issue is most notably a street urchin, even if he looks too clean to be one.

Byakuran - with cat-like lavender eyes and a shock of white hair to rival even Kakashi's silver - comes into view just then, eying the village with something akin to brief, lazy amusement that can be easily mistaken for amusement, and a long silence.

It had been a long, arduous journey - not that it mattered, considering the fact that the teen slaughtered every bandit he came across and then some, with his newfound power, a ring that had been given to him before his entire country had been decimated (as a way for Byakuran to test his own skills in secret). He is still tired nonetheless, worn out from the days of traveling, and also needing to make it look convincing to his uncle.

Surely he wouldn't take too kindly to the fact that he had a few of his dedicated servants raze an entire continent to the ground? He spots Kakashi then, a man he barely remembered, but read so much about from news that are passed to his home. He's admired the man's power - because as intelligent as Byakuran is, he's never been too adept at being a ninja.

Ah, that must be him, right? ]

...Uncle Kakashi?

Byakuran.

[ Byakuran pauses and tilts his head, studies him and sizes him up for himself. He's taller than they said he was, and for some reason, there's something about the older man that's oddly different. A power, he thinks, a strength that the teen recognizes almost on instinct.

He'd always been wearing that mask, hadn't he? Byakuran remembers trying to tug on it once before, a long, long time ago, almost buried in forgotten memories. He starts closer, then, cautiously, still somewhat unsure of the reception that he will get.

After all, it will be troublesome if Kakashi decides to attack him, too. But he smiles, faintly. ]

So you remember me, after all.

I wasn't aware you were coming.

[ Byakuran's quiet, for a moment, already a consummate actor at his age, but still very much just a teenager. He shifts on his feet, with worn out shoes that probably wouldn't be able to last another mile. And everything aside, Byakuran is tired (he has to be, to make this work). Wiping at a dirt-smudged cheek, he starts a little closer and reaches out a hand carefully, every inch an abandoned child, a survivor from the carnage that had happened in Sky Country.

He doesn't smile - not yet, not openly, as he meets Kakashi's eye (he wonders if the other had a Sharingan, like he'd heard before. Wouldn't that be something? He doesn't doubt that Kakashi's one of the very best, and he very much would like to see the other man in action.) He nods, hand clasping his uncle's, and murmurs. ]

I wasn't left with much of a choice, uncle.

-- So it would appear. Come.

Edited 2010-04-19 05:00 (UTC)

[ He follows, obedient, taking in the sights of the unfamiliar village, a place that bears scars of earlier battles and then some. He thinks of rumors of the Uchiha, of Akatsuki and how, frankly, they're nothing more than things that are getting in his way.

Nonetheless, he knows that he has all the time in the world, plenty of time to orchestrate his machinations - if all his other selves were anything to go by. He pads along after him, feeling the bumpy road (but still ultimately smoother than before) against the soles of his feet.

The place is silent now, dark and almost like a ghost town, and Byakuran doesn't remember when he's last been in a town like this. Odd, isn't it? They're like little toy houses like this, neat and set all in a row. He doesn't stray far from Kakashi, before he asks quietly. ]

Don't you want to hear about my news?

Not here.

Please, sit.

[ Oh, well, there is that.

He looks over at Kurenai curiously in return, not recognizing her before he follows Kakashi into the apartment and settles down on the chair. He's taking in his surroundings, coming to his own conclusions (because one can always see what a person is like from the way their homes are decorated.)

Hands on his lap, near slouching forward (he thinks he'd like a good nap right about now, really. And marshmallows. Where could he get proper marshmallows and candy?) he meets Kakashi's eyes, expression carefully unreadable.

He knows Kakashi's skill in reading people, in sensing their thoughts, and he doesn't need that now, not when he hasn't yet had a proper gauge of this enigmatic, intriguing uncle of his. ]

Sky Country is no more.

They'll be a little big.

What happened?

Edited 2010-04-19 05:32 (UTC)

[ Byakuran's distracted, staring at the clean clothes set before him, the cloth of it, and the way Kakashi's hand slides smoothly onto the table without so much as a sound. He looks back at him again, almost dazed - it's what children who have been traumatized feel, right? He's seen it enough, taken enough lives to mimic it completely.

Funny, how taking one life after another gets easier as you go along.

He doesn't touch the clothes, not yet. ] ...I don't remember. I woke up under what was left of our house, and no one's left alive.

[ He gingerly tugs on the dirtied bandages on his arms, fidgeting. ] Mother and Father are dead.

You don't remember anything?

Edited 2010-04-19 05:50 (UTC)

No.

[ He reaches out, then, plucking at the threads. His nails are dirtied, and it's obvious that he's used to things that are better than this.

Byakuran listens, briefly, watching the movement on his fingers, before he finally offers - ]

There was a lot of screaming. And fire.

You should change and rest. There's a spare bedroom at the end of the hallway.

[ He looks over at him blankly, then at the hallway. Every inch the street urchin, he's cautious, before he gets to his feet, taking the stack of clothes with him.

Kakashi's warmth is familiar, and if he focuses, he thinks that he can remember the time when he climbed onto his back and was afforded a piggyback ride around the courtyard. ]

...Is it safe, here?

It is. You don't need to worry, Byakuran.

I'll be back in a bit.

All right.

[ He nods, briefly, before he starts off down the hallway. A pause, then he turns, just a little, looking at Kakashi over his shoulder with a smile that is, for all intents and purposes, strained. ]

...Thank you.

You're welcome.

[ Morning finds Byakuran on the couch, curled up without a blanket and deep in sleep. Huddled against the upholstery, it seems like he's waited for the other, and had finally succumbed to rest.

The morning is cool, pleasant, and he's relaxed in rest. ]

[ Sleepy lavender eyes open at the movement, regarding him blankly, as if he's not quite out of a dream yet. It's bleary, not as sharp as when he's fully awake, and a tinge of recognition flickers in his gaze.

It's been a long while, he supposes, since he hasn't quite counted on falling asleep that quickly, and he reaches out, index and middle finger brushing over the mask, where his lips would be, and a little above. It's something he probably won't remember saying, later. ]

They dared me to steal this from you, before. The kids.

You never did.

Edited 2010-04-19 07:28 (UTC)

[ He settles, noting that tension - has no one touched him properly before? He supposes not, for one to react that way. He decides to file it away where he can pursue that line of thought in a bit. He's coming to full wakefulness now, slowly but surely, the awareness of where he is coming back to him fully.

Byakuran squints at him, then - wondering if that smile is his imagination. His fingers curl around Kakashi's, not wanting to let go. (Testing, getting a feel for how this prized ninja can possibly be manipulated, be wrapped around his little finger.) ]

...It's too quiet here.

It's early. It gets noisier later on in the day.

[ A low, inaudible sigh, and he silently wonders at what Kakashi is thinking about. He senses the hesitation, more than able to read it for what it is, and he intends to exploit it, one sweet moment at a time.

His hand closes around it, then, before he lets go, rubbing his eyes. He looks almost embarrassed at that moment of weakness, and he shakes his head a little. ]

...I suppose. [ A beat. ] Sorry.

Don't apologize.

Did you sleep well?

Edited 2010-04-19 07:51 (UTC)

[ He sits up, still nestled in the blankets as he considers that question briefly. Byakuran observes Kakashi quietly, watching his movements. ]

...Not really.

Of course.

[ He takes it with a quiet nod, but doesn't drink. Rather, he holds the glass in his hands, cupped around it as if it's a sort of lifesaver. It's an awkward silence, one that Byakuran's not in any hurry to break, and he looks up at him.

He finally does, however awkwardly. It sounds ridiculous, really, given the context. ]

...How have you been, Uncle?

Busy.

[Byakuran senses it instinctively, knows that Kakashi's exhausted, and supposes that his questions could wait. He'd be amused if he could, and he simply offers his glass to him.

He can be thoughtful when he wants to be, after all - manipulating people has always required a keen insight into their thoughts, and a sharper than usual perception of human reaction. ]

You need this more than I do.

[ ...And, of course, in a moment of poetic justice, his stomach growls. ]

Hungry?

[ Byakuran looks mildly startled at the contact, before he lets Kakashi have the glass. Of course, he has the sense to look somewhat abashed as he sheds the blankets and straightens up, lankier still when those clothes practically hang off him. ]

A little. I haven't eaten for awhile, now.

I'll get you something.

[ He straightens, steps a little closer, as if to follow him. He doesn't miss that movement, and he says - ]

I'll come with you.

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