（ 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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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. ）