Thunder rumbled above, as though the heavens themselves were angry that he hadn't dared to awaken from his slumber yet. A soft sigh escaped from his lips, quietly wishing for the weather of a home that still didn't truly feel like his own, he had left it so long ago, it may be home in his heart, but it hadn't been his physical home in a long, long while. One sun-kissed hand moved upward, swiping from brow down to chin in an effort to shake off some of the sleep. He allowed his hand to hover inches above his face for a moment, his eyes focusing critically on it, he could see his hand clearly this close, but it was the blurriness of everything around it that held his attention. His vision was worsening, almost to the point again of his fated battle.
He supposed it could have been worse; he should have been dead, had even planned on dying that day on the battlefield, by Sasuke's hand. He supposed he had Lady Fifth to thank for that, the temperamental drunk had proven far more stubborn than death itself in healing him. His disease had been cured, but there were some things outside of even her knowledge of medical ninjitsu and while his ailment was no longer a threat to his life, there was only so much she could do for his failing vision. It had recovered in that moment and she gave him medicine that would slow the process as much as possible, but his vision was forever doomed. Of course, his vision had been put to good use immediately, taking in all the lovely sights of Konohagakure's prison from his cell.
The world, after all, thought Uchiha Itachi to be dead. The higher power that wanted to keep it that way, while they tried to get information out of him. Would he have been more useful during that Fourth Shinobi World War, in battle than rotting inside a cell? Probably, but that was a decision beyond his station. No one ever knew that the Itachi summoned by the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu was an imposter. Well... no one save for the Fifth, Kakashi Hatake, and his cute little brother, the latter two would have been able to see easily through the charade with their Sharingan. A low chuckle filtered through him, knowing that his little brother would scoff at the idea of him calling him "cute" and that he could practically visualize Sasuke's scowl.
The sound of knocking pulled him from his reverie of the past, drawing his attention towards the door on the other side of the room. Of course, he had known someone was there before they had even knocked, their chakra flared with nervousness until they had built up the courage required. Weight shifted from one foot to another, awaiting on him to answer. It wasn't uncommon, for someone to come early and ask for him. He had met the local elders, made small talk with the business owners and traders, spent time teaching their children taijutsu and shuriken. It was all part of the cover; he, a former ninja, that had been forced out of active duty by injury and now sought to life a peaceful life in the small village countryside. His face was quite infamous and that required a touch of a chakra manipulation for him to no blow his cover.
Itachi had made it easier on himself by growing his hair out, allowing it stretch down his back longer than he had ever kept it before or at any point in his life. The jet-black color had been lightened by that simple play of glamour until it was a deep shade of brown and onyx eyes were also lightened until they were nearly the same hue. Tear troughs were covered, he had known that those were his distinctive features and had taken extra care to conceal them. The result yielded a handsome but plain male in his early 30s with a lean but muscular physique. He walked with a minor hitch in his step, a false disability that forced him out of the ninja corps and into the countryside - he had given himself an explanation since people, however gullible, would believe an injury that they could see instead of one that they could not.
Gathering himself up, he moved towards the door on light feet. There was no need to bother with his limp until the door was within in reach and like clock-work, his gait shifted subtly to compensate the limp as he opened the door. His eyes softened while a small smile appeared on his face, fully submersing himself into that role of a kind, former shinobi that had lived in this village the last few years. Brown eyes fell upon the green of a little girl who seemed to dawdle back and forth between feet, more nervous now that her teacher was standing in front of her. Sighing gently, he leaned his tall form down until he was hunched over and peering into the round face of the small girl.
"Well hello there Airi, did you come all this way to wake me up again? My most eager little student," He had even taken the time to soft his voice, embracing that care-giver role.
The little girl blushed shyly at the praise, those big green eyes looked up at him. He felt another pang. Airi was an orphan, her parents killed by bandits some months back... she had no family left in this world and yet somehow, she still seemed so innocent. He supposed it was the kind of innocence that had not been afforded to Sasuke by his own hands. Perhaps that was why he felt something for this little girl, a need to protect and strengthen her to be able to stand the tests of this cruel world, hopefully better than he had prepared Sasuke.
"Meet me at the training field I'll be there soon," He added, not wanting to show the sadness that crept upon him, a reminder of the past long since forgotten.
She hadn't given him another thought and had carried down the stairs towards the village's training fields before he could even stand up, but something else caught his attention, the subtle ruffling of weathers as wings sliced through air currents. The Kohona messenger hawk landed on the far end of the porch's concealed entryway, calmly ruffling it's feathers as Itachi inhaled causing his cheeks to puff out. Finally, an answer from the Hokage, Naruto was getting back to him regarding who his 'betrothed' would be for the remaining duration of the mission. So long as it wasn't one of his clones in that damned sexy jutsu, he shuddered at the thought.
The hawk kept put as he picked himself up and carried himself across the covered porch. The scroll it held was nondescript, but he could tell by the seal on it that it was a highly secure parcel to ensure even if it were intercepted that it would be a bitch to unlock and, luckily for him, it hadn't been. Careful fingers unbuckled and unraveled the scroll, extending the parchment to its full size before Itachi held the page up. The words were blurry - not from his vision - but from Lord Seventh's horrible, sloppy handwriting but he could make out the name near the bottom of the page.
"Tsk, Haruno Sakura. Little brother's cherry blossom.." Itachi's tone was nothing short of a dismissal, a complete lack of interest in who was chosen for him. He didn't know the girl that well asides the small fact that she and his brother had had relations and that they had ended somewhat sourly. Turning back to the hawk, he gave the bird a loving pat and even whispered praises to it before it stretched its wings and debated on taking flight. With the note pinched between his fingertips, a small pulse of chakra rushed through it - incinerating the note with a poof of flame. Sensitive information such as that couldn't risk falling into the hands of anyone else and with a flick of a wrist, he tossed those ashes into the wind and decided on setting out towards the training field.