kannagara: app

[dishonorforhonor]

PLAYER INFO

Name/Nickname: Random
Age: 20
Journal: Dreamwidth user “elementalhero”
AIM/MSN/IM: dishonor4honor
Email: random_idiot_v2@yahoo.com

CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Uchiha Itachi
Canon: Naruto
Point taken from canon: After he leaves Naruto and Bee to presumably confront Kabuto in chapter #

Age: 21
Gender: Male

Appearance: Like the rest of the Uchiha clan, Itachi has flat black eyes (red with black patterns when his Sharingan are activated) and black hair, which he wears long and tied into a low ponytail. Long worry lines extend under his eyes, perhaps an indicator of insomnia. He has surprisingly effeminate eyelashes, though no opponents of his in their right minds would ever call him on it, since seeing them would entail making eye contact. One does not make eye contact with Uchiha Itachi in a fight if one wants to win survive the fight. Itachi is slightly tall (178 cm, or roughly 5’9”). He’s built like a dancer, more wiry than bulky—in short, he’s not very physically imposing. His reputation alone is all he needs to intimidate his foes.

Background: Here.

Personality: In one sentence, Itachi is a fighter who hates fighting. A scion of the powerful Uchiha clan, Itachi was born at a time when the family was slowing building their strength to conduct a coup d’état of Konohagakure’s leadership. When Itachi was four years old, he was left stranded on a battlefield, a result of yet another of Konoha’s wars with neighboring hidden ninja villages. This traumatic memory would grow to define him. Itachi is a pacifist. He hates violence for violence’s sake, and if given the choice, he would rather resolve a conflict peacefully. However, Itachi never had much of a choice. Because of his prowess, he ascended to ANBU, the elite ninja corps of Konoha, at the tender age of twelve, and from that point on, his life was no longer his. The family wanted to use him as a spy in Konoha’s upper echelons, but he became a double agent, convinced that stopping the coup in its tracks would be the best way to avoid bloodshed and keep Konoha out of another war. Sadly, bloodshed could not be avoided either way—when he was unable to stop the coup, he was ordered to massacre the family by the elders of the village.

Itachi’s life and personality are defined by the choices he has been forced to make: his loyalty to his family versus his desire for peace; his loyalty to the village versus his love for his younger brother; his hatred of violence versus his understanding that power is necessary to protect those you love. This clash of contradictions is what makes Itachi himself. He has learned to hide his true intentions, to appear to go along to get along, to suppress his emotions in order to do what has to be done. At all times, he bears the guilt he feels for the sin of his family’s massacre on his shoulders. The only reason he continues to move forward is to keep Sasuke safe until Sasuke can enact Itachi’s revenge on Madara (or the man he believes to be Madara) in his stead.

Or that used to be the only reason. Itachi felt that the only way to atone for his sins was to die, and die he did, by the hand of his younger brother. But Kabuto resurrected him from the dead, along with the rest of Akatsuki and hundreds of dead elite ninja, with the forbidden jutsu Edo Tensei (Impure World Resurrection). During that time, though Itachi retained control over his own thoughts and emotions (and his movements when not engaging with any enemies), he was unable to keep from attacking any members of the Shinobi Coalition he saw, due to Kabuto’s control over his resurrected body. Until he met up with Naruto and Killer Bee, that is, and through an unexpected twist of a secret plan of his own, managed to break the Edo Tensei’s hold on his body and regain his autonomy (without dying again). It was then that Naruto revealed to him that Sasuke didn’t return to the village after Itachi’s death, as he thought he would do, but had instead discovered the truth about their clan and joined with Madara(?) to get revenge on Konoha.

When interacting with Naruto at this time, Itachi was finally able to act and speak without hiding or disguising his true intentions, as Naruto already knew the truth and Itachi had believed his ultimate goal was achieved. Itachi is polite, but when he lets himself speak his mind, he holds nothing back. He knows what he believes in, acknowledges his own contradictions, and presses forward with what he intends to do. He knows that guilt and self-doubt are emotions that make one easy to manipulate, and does not allow himself to show such emotions, because to be manipulated is to allow another to use you. Itachi is done, at this point, with allowing himself to be used.

Itachi isn’t one to crack jokes; he takes any given situation very seriously and is easily frustrated by stupidity or ignorance, a consequence of being something of a genius. He does have an acute sense of irony, and does occasionally allow himself a small smile when in a good mood—it’s just that occasions for Itachi to be in a good mood have been rare for a long time.

Itachi is brilliant, and ruthless in his application of that brilliance. To seek peace in a war-torn world is a risky proposition, and one that will never be accomplished without the judicious application of the ends versus means question. Itachi understands (more than many do) that sometimes one must take lives to save many more. At his core, Itachi is a man who accepts and understands that the world is full of contradictions that may never resolve themselves.

Finally, the key to understanding Itachi is to understand how he feels about his younger brother. When they were young, Sasuke represented an innocence that Itachi had lost. He was something to protect, someone not in on the Uchiha coup (too young to be part of it before it would happen), something good in Itachi’s world. Someone who would never lie to him or use him. Itachi loved his little brother, probably more than he loved any other person in his life (his best friend Shisui may have been a close second, but he was dead by Itachi’s hand before the massacre (possibly by his own request—canon keeps revealing little bits but not enough to positively say)). When Itachi conducted the Uchiha Massacre, he did so intending to smother his feelings and kill everyone. But seeing Sasuke made him unable to do it. He just couldn’t kill his little brother, the only true family he had left, the only thing left in the world that Itachi loved. Thus, when Itachi left Sasuke alive, believing that Sasuke would one day grow to be powerful enough to kill him (and in so doing, absolve him of his sins, in a way), he expected that Sasuke would act as he expected him to act.

In a way, he ceased to see Sasuke as a complete person with faults as well as virtues, because Itachi had placed so many expectations on his brother’s shoulders. When Sasuke wasn’t progressing in his training fast enough to fit into Itachi’s “timeline,” especially with Itachi’s sight degeneration and illness, Itachi attacked him and traumatized him again with the Mangekyou Sharingan in order to spur Sasuke to hate him more and work harder to defeat him. When Itachi realized Sasuke might not act as expected, he prepared a jutsu (relying on Naruto) that would essentially brainwash Sasuke into protecting the village if he hadn’t intended to in the first place. When Itachi heard from Naruto that Sasuke had decided to move against Konoha, the bitterness and despair that he felt was visible in his reaction—in Itachi’s reaction, a man who had spent nearly ten years of his life hiding his true face. Itachi’s intentions might be pure in some sense, but his methods are gray at best—above all, he is not a nice person. In his world, nice guys finish dead.

Abilities/Strengths: Itachi’s main weapons of choice are his eyes—that is to say, the inherited bloodline trait common to his family line, the Sharingan. When activated, his irises turn from black to red with a faint pattern of lines and three comma-shaped dots. With his Sharingan activated, Itachi (or any Uchiha, for that matter) can copy any taijutsu (physical movement, specifically attacks), see through any genjutsu (illusion), and analyze and reproduce any ninjutsu (element-based attack) that he sees.

Itachi, however, has taken his Sharingan one step further. By killing his best friend, Shisui, and witnessing his death, Itachi has attained the quasi-legendary Mangekyou Sharingan, a power-up to the regular Sharingan that only a few Uchiha in the entire clan’s history are said to have awakened. This allows him to use the legendary three great techniques of the Uchiha clan: Tsukuyomi, an incredibly powerful illusionary technique that traps the victim in a nightmare dimension for what feels like 72 hours (but is, in fact, a single second); Amaterasu, psychokinetic black flames that burn through absolutely anything they touch, including but not limited to steel, rock, water, regular fire...; and finally, Susano’o, a giant spirit warrior that protects the user from any attack and fights on his/her behalf, yet robs the user of their life force in return.

In addition, for whatever reason, Itachi also possesses two powerful artifacts: the Sword of Totsuka and Yata’s Mirror, which he can seemingly only access when he is using Susano’o. Anything touched by the blade of Totsuka will be sealed forever into an inescapable genjutsu, and Yata’s Mirror will reflect any attack. It is not known yet how Itachi came by these extremely powerful objects.

It should be noted, as was mentioned in the “Weaknesses” section, that any uses of the Mangekyou Sharingan will eventually prove hazardous to Itachi’s health, robbing him gradually of his sight at best. This, of course, depends on what techniques he uses and how long he sustains them. He considers them to be a last resort.

Finally, even without his Sharingan, Itachi is a formidable ninja, considered by many of his teachers and guardians to be nothing short of a genius. His hand-to-hand combat is phenomenal and pretty powerful for his size and weight, his ninjutsu techniques are close to flawless, but it is his genjutsu that he is to be feared most for, as it is his specialty. Those looking to fight him would be well-advised to avoid eye contact.

As for his personal strengths, Itachi believes in the power of hope, even though he has somewhat abandoned it for himself. He sees Naruto as the hope for Konoha’s future, but doesn’t hesitate to tell him off when Naruto starts trying to do everything on his own. Itachi understands the importance of having friends, which seems strange because he himself has none (alive, anyway). He is also incredibly smart and cool-headed, able to analyze the fatal flaw of a seemingly-invincible jutsu in seconds in the heat of battle.

Weaknesses: Itachi cannot overuse his Mangekyou Sharingan without risking his eyesight and, eventually, his health. As his primary ninjutsu element is fire, he’d be at a disadvantage if facing a water or earth user, although he has copied enough techniques with his Sharingan that he could cover his weak points. He does better at long range with shuriken and in the mid-range where he can use his fire and eye techniques; up close at grappling range, he’d have a disadvantage against a much larger and more physically imposing enemy.

As for emotional weaknesses, anything and everything to do with Sasuke. Itachi still hasn’t fully processed his feelings about learning of Sasuke’s betrayal of Konoha. He knows this is a weakness in canon, which is why he entrusts Naruto with Sasuke’s fate rather than dealing with him himself: he knows that Sasuke is his weak point, the fulcrum on which his world rests.

Defining Quote(s):

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
--“Fire and Ice,” Robert Frost

"You must spend every day pretending to act like you're falsely letting on that you aren't not unbetraying someone you don't not purport to allegedly not work for but really do!"

— Psycho Mantis on Revolver Ocelot, The Last Days Of FOXHOUND

Other: Although I am pulling Itachi from a point in canon during which his body is immortal/zombiefied by the Edo Tensei jutsu, I intend to say that the gods have restored his body to the way it was—alive and normal—when he arrives. So in other words, he will be back to the prime of his health, since Edo Tensei “reset” his body (i.e. he will not be close to blind or dying of a mysterious illness).

Also, in case this ever comes up in-game: the genjutsu embedded in the crow which Itachi activated on himself to break Edo Tensei is still active. That is, he is still imprinted with the command to “Protect Konoha.” This won’t affect much of his daily activities, since protecting Konoha is what he’s always intended to do anyway, but it’s still there.

Action Writing Sample:

[ The video feed begins with a gleam of light. There is a strange movement of the camera at first, jarring. It would seem that the Hitomi started out in a pocket, and was jostled out when this person reached in for whatever object reflected that light. That object, as revealed by the now-stable camera, turns out to be a large kunai, held in the hand of.... someone. The shot only catches him from the chin down, an impression of dark hair, a turned shoulder, a dark cloak, and a kunai’s tip being pressed into the soft pad of the opposite thumb. A bright trickle of blood wells up almost immediately, drips down the thumb, down along the line of the palm until it trickles down the wrist.

The man removes the kunai and stares at the blood for a while. As if he is mystified by its appearance. Finally, he makes a sound, a soft grunt of mild surprise. ]

Huh.

[ He rubs the thumb across his fingers, smearing them with red. He rubs until the blood dries and sloughs off, for the most part.

The man leans forward. Most of his face is now visible: pale, pronounced bags beneath dark eyes. ]

Edo Tensei is.....

[ With that, he stands. ]

And yet, this isn’t the Pure World.

[ He shifts, suddenly; his posture seems to tense all at once. A hand comes down over the Hitomi, and the video is jumbled briefly – for a few seconds, he holds it facing out, away from him while apparently reading the back. ]

Eye. A transmitter?

[ The feed abruptly cuts, but not before the video whirls to reveal the man’s face one last time as he shuts it down: black hair, sunken eyes, and now something new: red irises, with three small tomoe in each. ]

Third Person Writing Sample:

He should be dead.

That is, once again, he should be dead but he is not. Itachi has been in a state of “should be dead” for most of his life: he should have been dead since his brother killed him; he should have been dead since he was thirteen years old; he should have been dead since he was a young child; he should have been dead since he was born. Itachi has lived his life as a dead man.

Yet, it would seem, he is alive.

Not just alive, but healthy, even. He takes in a deep breath. The air is clean, clear, pure somehow, and his lungs expand and contract easily. No sickness lurking in them, no hitch, no triggering of a coughing spasm that tastes like sputum and blood. And he can see. Better than he has in years, in fact. His health is abnormally restored—so abnormally, in fact, that he would seem to be utterly whole and alive and not bound to the Edo Tensei jutsu. His body is his own. His mind is his own. He bled when he pricked his thumb. Itachi isn’t just alive, isn’t just healthy, he is well.

Naturally, Itachi is extremely suspicious of this good fortune. This land is not his home, not anywhere near any country he recognizes (and he has seen a lot of countries), nor is it the Pure World—he knows this based on his sensations of pain, his memory of lived experiences, and the fact that he just feels too alive and earthy for it. He doesn’t remember what it was like to be dead, other than a vague sense of peace and quiet for once in his decidedly non-peaceful, non-quiet life. Itachi felt he’d deserved it, really. On the whole, being alive was a lot more trouble that it was worth.

But, it is a terrible sin to refuse a gift, and as someone or something has seen fit to grant him life again, Itachi might as well use it to some beneficial end, if he can manage it. The first order of business is to find out exactly where he is.