his eyes slide from the pieces on the board up to meet itachi's gaze. serious as ever, isn't he? ]
No. [ if he could get what he wanted from him just by asking, then he would have done it in the first place. ] Relax. We're only playing a game together. [ the corner of his mouth quirks up. ] You don't have to overthink it.
[ he will learn what he learns as they play. ]
Besides, it's more fun this way. [ a lazy smile settles over his demeanor as he pushes the pawn forward — 7六歩 to open up the bishop path. ] Right?
（ #soundsfake. even if it is incidental, shikamaru will still take something away from this encounter. but he has already decided to allow it by being here, and so he takes this deflection with a raise of one shoulder.
he does not spend time deliberating. when he moves, it is with surety: 5六步. ）
[ at least it won't be one-sided. itachi will be able to take something away from this encounter as well, so if you ask shikamaru, he thinks it's pretty fair.
he pause momentarily at the mention of their fathers, his brow lifting in mild disbelief. he makes his next move soon after though before responding: ]
Mm. I know they worked together occasionally in the war.
( he does not know the extent to which it was — but those that survived the third war had nearly all known each other by the end. if shikamaru's father yet lives — not a guarantee in their world — he may be willing to divulge that information. if not, it is lost to his own hazy remembrances of childhood.
he makes his next play, the clack of the tile oddly loud in the air. )
My father always spoke very highly of Shikaku-san.
[ his parents never spoke of the uchiha clan (at least never in front of him), so he doubts that he would have been privied to his dad's acquaintanceship with the late fugaku-san. it seems like an unprecedented moment that the firstborns of both men are currently playing shogi together like their fathers once did before them. ]
Was it your dad who'd taught you to play then? [ he responds to itachi's move with a counter. ] I didn't learn shogi from mine. Asuma-sensei was the one who'd taught me. Well, [ a slight quirk of his lips. ] he handed me a book to read anyway.
（ he won his first game at five, and his father found excuses not to play him again after that. he did not have a partner again until shisui, who had matched him equally, and who instead had expressed delight whenever he was beaten. ）
However, being the head of police in addition to having his own missions, my father did not often have time for such things.
（ he makes another move as well. he doesn't appear to think very deeply about what he's doing, his moves may appear almost erratic to an outside observer. however, shikamaru is likely intelligent enough to recognize that what he is doing is maneuvering each piece into a place of usefulness that will have multiple avenues of attack or defense. ）
[ when he was younger, it was asuma-sensei who'd humored him with games, despite never having won a match. when he had passed, it became his father who was a far more formidable opponent. now, he has grown used to playing alone when he had the time to spare. there were few in the village who could match wits with him in shogi and he normally kept himself busy enough to have little time to indulge in it for long. ]
Did you have anyone else to play against?
[ it is needless to say that he is enjoying a new challenger. his own movements are much more languid, yet the steadfastness in which he sets down the wooden pieces is confident and without err. with each subsequent move itachi makes, he has already mapped out and analyzed the next couple of plays in his head, eliminating and reorganizing his stratagem as the board shifts toward a certain direction. even so, it remains too soon to tell who will win this match. ]
（ he doesn't reply right away — allowing several turns to pass without a word, silence broken only by the placement of tiles upon the board. his style is neither defensive nor offensive, it's reactive and fluid and balanced well between the two. if an opportunity to take a piece is taken, it's decisive, but protecting his higher-rank pieces also tends to result in ruthless sacrifice. he, like shikamaru, is obviously planning several moves ahead.
when it seems he may have chosen to ignore the question altogether, he finally speaks again — ）
Uchiha Shisui was a common opponent of mine.
（ despite shisui's relative fame in their lifetimes, it's possible shikamaru has never so much as heard of him. his death was eclipsed by the massacre. how many people left alive can recall him at all, now? sasuke would have, at best, a few fuzzy memories. it's strange, how aches the heart. that wound, of all the ones he has endured in his life, has never lessened. it is as fresh as when shisui asked him to let him fall.
he debates whether or not he should speak more on the matter. no matter that he has privately accepted that being forthcoming with shikamaru is of greater benefit than not, it is against his nature to offer information unprompted.
another round of moves pass. then, on the heels of a drawn breath: ）
When I mentioned that only two Uchiha opposed the coup, he was the other. He worked under the Sandaime directly, as I did with Shimura Danzō.
（ it's a question he anticipated, and so he has already considered what he might say to it. he moves another tile, and then lifts his tea for a drink. there is no emotion evident in his expression or tone, but if shikamaru is feeling especially observant he may note the way the beds of his nails are bloodless as he grips the little earthenware cup. ）
Danzō took one of his eyes in an ambush, and administered a fatal dose of poison to him. He managed to escape before the second was taken. Shisui chose to end his life on his own terms rather than succumb to the poison, and to prevent his other eye from falling into enemy hands.
[ he doesn't make it a point to express concern if he does notice the way in which itachi holds his cup. sympathy has no place here, but it does make him wonder now if the life of uchiha shisui may be a part of itachi's objective here — something he has yet to learn. ]
How did you come to know this? [ he draws his eyes away from his hand to the board, sliding one of the pawns forward. ]
（ his mouth quirks up at one corner. trust, but verify. shikamaru is looking for cracks in his story, running his hands along the seams. the only thing he can do is splay out all the pieces, and let him assemble the puzzle of it himself.
it is — difficult to do. relaying this information runs against every instinct that has kept him alive.
he holds his cup out for shikamaru to fill. his eyes are focused on the man's face, though the finer details of his expression are lost to the poor vision in his dark eyes. it is difficult to tell what he is thinking, lacking that finer perception. ）
No.
（ who could he possibly have told? all he remembers of those dark, dizzy days that followed was how the yawning grief had threatened to swallow him, how badly he wished for death to claim him as well. that grief had turned to black rage when his father's advisors came to accuse him of shisui's murder — he thinks he may have killed them all if sasuke and his father had not intervened. he had been so angry, so lost, so lonely. the intensity of that emotion has not abated in the decade since, it has only become a thing managed. ）
My word against Danzō would have meant very little, and I am not certain the Sandaime would have believed me. He accepted Shisui's death as a suicide, but accusing his lifelong companion and friend would have eroded the boundaries of that belief.
（ itachi reaches up and lets his fingers catch at the back of his neck, palm pressed over his jugular. his heartbeat is steady and even, his resting heartrate undisturbed by the horrors of story. the pain of it is an old friend, it limps alongside him, and he has grown accustomed to the knife of it at his throat. ）
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no subject
his eyes slide from the pieces on the board up to meet itachi's gaze. serious as ever, isn't he? ]
No. [ if he could get what he wanted from him just by asking, then he would have done it in the first place. ] Relax. We're only playing a game together. [ the corner of his mouth quirks up. ] You don't have to overthink it.
[ he will learn what he learns as they play. ]
Besides, it's more fun this way. [ a lazy smile settles over his demeanor as he pushes the pawn forward — 7六歩 to open up the bishop path. ] Right?
no subject
he does not spend time deliberating. when he moves, it is with surety: 5六步. ）
Our fathers used to play. Did you know?
no subject
he pause momentarily at the mention of their fathers, his brow lifting in mild disbelief. he makes his next move soon after though before responding: ]
No, I didn't. My dad never mentioned it.
no subject
( he does not know the extent to which it was — but those that survived the third war had nearly all known each other by the end. if shikamaru's father yet lives — not a guarantee in their world — he may be willing to divulge that information. if not, it is lost to his own hazy remembrances of childhood.
he makes his next play, the clack of the tile oddly loud in the air. )
My father always spoke very highly of Shikaku-san.
no subject
Was it your dad who'd taught you to play then? [ he responds to itachi's move with a counter. ] I didn't learn shogi from mine. Asuma-sensei was the one who'd taught me. Well, [ a slight quirk of his lips. ] he handed me a book to read anyway.
no subject
（ he won his first game at five, and his father found excuses not to play him again after that. he did not have a partner again until shisui, who had matched him equally, and who instead had expressed delight whenever he was beaten. ）
However, being the head of police in addition to having his own missions, my father did not often have time for such things.
（ he makes another move as well. he doesn't appear to think very deeply about what he's doing, his moves may appear almost erratic to an outside observer. however, shikamaru is likely intelligent enough to recognize that what he is doing is maneuvering each piece into a place of usefulness that will have multiple avenues of attack or defense. ）
no subject
Did you have anyone else to play against?
[ it is needless to say that he is enjoying a new challenger. his own movements are much more languid, yet the steadfastness in which he sets down the wooden pieces is confident and without err. with each subsequent move itachi makes, he has already mapped out and analyzed the next couple of plays in his head, eliminating and reorganizing his stratagem as the board shifts toward a certain direction. even so, it remains too soon to tell who will win this match. ]
cw: suicide mention
when it seems he may have chosen to ignore the question altogether, he finally speaks again — ）
Uchiha Shisui was a common opponent of mine.
（ despite shisui's relative fame in their lifetimes, it's possible shikamaru has never so much as heard of him. his death was eclipsed by the massacre. how many people left alive can recall him at all, now? sasuke would have, at best, a few fuzzy memories. it's strange, how aches the heart. that wound, of all the ones he has endured in his life, has never lessened. it is as fresh as when shisui asked him to let him fall.
he debates whether or not he should speak more on the matter. no matter that he has privately accepted that being forthcoming with shikamaru is of greater benefit than not, it is against his nature to offer information unprompted.
another round of moves pass. then, on the heels of a drawn breath: ）
When I mentioned that only two Uchiha opposed the coup, he was the other. He worked under the Sandaime directly, as I did with Shimura Danzō.
no subject
the intermittence of silence from itachi as they play do leave something to ponder over though. ]
What happened to him?
cw: suicide mention
Danzō took one of his eyes in an ambush, and administered a fatal dose of poison to him. He managed to escape before the second was taken. Shisui chose to end his life on his own terms rather than succumb to the poison, and to prevent his other eye from falling into enemy hands.
no subject
How did you come to know this? [ he draws his eyes away from his hand to the board, sliding one of the pawns forward. ]
no subject
（ he sets the cup back down, makes a counter-play to shikamaru's and then folds his hands neatly. ）
He could have deceived me had he chosen to, but I see no reason he would have.
no subject
[ he doesn't make a move yet, instead reaching for the teapot to refill their cups. ]
no subject
it is — difficult to do. relaying this information runs against every instinct that has kept him alive.
he holds his cup out for shikamaru to fill. his eyes are focused on the man's face, though the finer details of his expression are lost to the poor vision in his dark eyes. it is difficult to tell what he is thinking, lacking that finer perception. ）
No.
（ who could he possibly have told? all he remembers of those dark, dizzy days that followed was how the yawning grief had threatened to swallow him, how badly he wished for death to claim him as well. that grief had turned to black rage when his father's advisors came to accuse him of shisui's murder — he thinks he may have killed them all if sasuke and his father had not intervened. he had been so angry, so lost, so lonely. the intensity of that emotion has not abated in the decade since, it has only become a thing managed. ）
My word against Danzō would have meant very little, and I am not certain the Sandaime would have believed me. He accepted Shisui's death as a suicide, but accusing his lifelong companion and friend would have eroded the boundaries of that belief.
（ itachi reaches up and lets his fingers catch at the back of his neck, palm pressed over his jugular. his heartbeat is steady and even, his resting heartrate undisturbed by the horrors of story. the pain of it is an old friend, it limps alongside him, and he has grown accustomed to the knife of it at his throat. ）