Gaze Perception: The biological phenomenon known as "gaze detection" or "gaze perception". The feeling of knowing you're being watched. Neurological studies have found that the brain cells that initiate this response are very precise. If someone turns their gaze off of you by turning just a few degrees to their left or right, that eerie feeling quickly fades
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Tobirama moved quickly- he couldn't afford to be caught in the Uchiha compound. It would be much simpler to walk right up to the child and ask him about what had happened, yes, but it wouldn't be the smartest move.
If he asked the child face to face, they might mention it to the teenager or a villager. 'Oh, I came home yesterday and there was a shinobi I didn't know in my bedroom. He asked me about the compound and a recent tragic event'. Yeah, that'd go great, he thought with dry sarcasm.
Not to mention it'd probably freak the kid out or lead to unreliable information. If he was going to hear about what had happened, it was going to be from someone more objective. Preferably a chuunin, at the bare minimum.
...That wasn't to say that he couldn't make his own observations, though. He found himself easily moving to use the Dusting Bewildering Cover Technique, standing still as he stood against one of the walls. He wasn't surprised to hear a lack of response for the child- after all, no one had been home as far as he could tell.
Tobirama inched through the house silently, the child clearly unable to detect him. After all, he was Tobirama Senju. He wasn't one to fluff his own ego, but he doubted an academy student or even a genin would be able to see past his work. Still, he took great care to stay silent as he headed downstairs.
It didn't take long for him to find the child. It was a boy, one that couldn't be any older than six or seven. He was definitely an Uchiha, no doubt about that. His hair was such a hard shade of black that it almost seemed to give off a blue hue- then there were those eyes. They weren't the bloody red he had grown accustomed to over the course of his childhood, but rather, the pitless ebony that only ever seemed present off the battlefield.
None of that really processed through his mind at first, though. Instead, he was stuck staring at the sullen posture of the boy as he walked to the kitchen to set what looked to be a school bag down. One name rang in the back of his mind, the voice refusing to silence itself no matter how hard Tobirama stared at the boy. He found himself crossing his arms as he stood across the counter from the boy who had taken to unloading his homework. His grip tightened on his own arm, staring wide-eyed at the boy who didn't even know he was there. It was as though he was looking face to face with Izuna once more.
He had to force himself to keep his breathing quiet and calm, watching as the boy reached over and into the fruit bowl on the counter. He bit into an apple, beginning his work without so much as a glance around. His sharp eyes had the same tired look, the one he had seen on the faces of many shinobi. He had long ago dubbed it the 'Just keep marching' face. It was almost disturbing to see the lack of usual Uchiha fire in the child's eyes, though he couldn't quite blame the boy.
It was easy to tell, really. The boy wasn't making a point of hiding it or anything of that sort. The way his head was tilted down ever so slightly to stare at the homework ahead of him, his dull eyes staring wearily at the paper. Tobirama could see the bags under the boy's eyes, his skin too pale even for an Uchiha. His arms looked heavy, his hands trembling with the effort it took for him to write out the kanji.
Tobirama watched the mini Izuna, his red eyes glancing the boy over. Despite the hell he'd seen out front, he didn't seem like he'd been roughed up all that much.
His focus was thrown as the boy dropped his pencil, apparently finished. The boy wasn't as injured as Tobirama had expected. It seemed most likely that he'd been thrown aside when the attack went down. Based on the look of the boy, though, the young Uchiha knew. Really, how could he not, given the situation outside. There was something in Tobirama's gut, however, that told him the boy had seen a bit too much.
The child moved to put his things away, dropping his apple core into the garbage and setting his re-filled backpack on the coffee table. He was silent throughout all of this, staring blankly ahead as he did so. The only sign that he was anything more than an empty husk was as he headed upstairs, he rubbed at his eyes with a small huffy noise.
Tobirama followed, keeping his feet in rhythm with the child's as to not be caught. He watched silently as the boy headed over to the smaller bedroom, pushing the door open. He found himself silently annoyed as the child headed into the room, shutting the door quickly behind him. The silver-haired Nidaime could only stare forward as the door planted itself firmly between him and the child.
He allowed a gruff noise of annoyance to pass his lips, shaking his head back and forth. He listened through the door as small noises clashed, the child most likely moving something around. He reappeared only a moment later, the green stuffy from earlier now being held tightly in his arms. Tobirama had to step out of the way swiftly to make sure the boy didn't run into him, the young Uchiha running down past him and down the halls now. He found himself urked- hadn't anyone ever told him not to run inside buildings?
This annoyance was set aside as he speed-walked after the boy, staying quiet as usual. What had him in such a rush? He paused as the boy made way for the couch, nesting himself into the corner of it so that he could scan the entire room. The young Uchiha was holding tightly to the stuffed dragon, looking around the room with owlish eyes. Tobirama felt his own brows furrowing- there was no way this child could see him. He had this jutsu mastered and, well, the boy wasn't even ten yet. It had been too sudden, as well. The young Uchiha had been so empty only a moment ago, but now he was on high alert. Tobirama couldn't think of anything that could have set him off.
Still, the issue remained as the dark-haired boy sat on the couch, arms wrapped around his toy. The small body was shaking, breath ragged as he bit down on his lip. "Go away. Itachi, please." the voice even more strained than when he had first arrived at home. It was caught somewhere between frustrated and frightened, widened eyes wearily watching the rest of the room. "I can feel you watching me. Even if I can't see you." the boy moved to hide his face in his knees, Tobirama furrowing his brows at the words.
Ah, the kid was probably just having issues with his gaze perception, then. He'd noticed long ago that the Uchiha tended to have particularly strong senses, so he wasn't too surprised by mini-Izuna's notice. What was suprising, though, was how strongly the boy reacted to it. Most would brush it off. Then again, he had just been through something that by all rights should leave him paranoid. Tobirama shifted his eyes away from the boy, looking upwards as a silent breath left his lungs. Oh, Hashirama, help him.
"I don't have the eyes...I don't want to. I couldn't even if I wanted to!" he sounded as though he was begging, much to Tobirama's discomfort. One, 'Itachi' wasn't here. Two, the child looked ready to either fight the air or cry at any moment. Then three, to top it all off, he had no way of seeking help for the boy since he technically wasn't supposed to be here. "Please...I know that I have to hate you. I do. I hate you. I'm trying." the boy's voice shrinking more and more as he went on and on with words of nonsense.
Tobirama briefly wondered if 'Itachi' was perhaps bullying his brother or something of that sort. For not having the Sharingan, based on the boy's barely coherent words.
Tobirama found his eyes widening as the boy stood with one quick motion, reaching his hands up in front of him. The child began forming hand motions, the silver-haired shinobi not having to even process the signs before it set in his mind. It was a jutsu he knew well, for it had been used against him more times than he could count-- the fireball jutsu. Quickly, Tobirama moved, not bothering to muffle his movements as his jutsu dropped.
He was across the room in a tenth of a second, the child not having finished the Ram sign by the time Tobirama was in front of him, the preparation for the fire stopped. He held the boy's hands apparent, preventing him from weaving any more signs. Ebony eyes looked up to meet red ones, freezing at the sight of the stranger. Tobirama felt his own desire to freeze, but he shoved it to the side, doing his best not to sound as uncomfortable as he felt. "...That's not a jutsu for inside, boy. You'll burn the house down." motioning with his head towards the wood walls and floors.
It had taken about five seconds of starring before the child began struggling. Tobirama let out a sigh of mild annoyance, not bothering with quieting his breaths as the child reached his knee up to kick Tobirama. The silver-haired shinobi only shifted so that he held both the boy's wrists in one hand, above his head. He held the child at arm's length, allowing him to kick and scream, "Let go of me! You're not allowed in my house!" voice demanding despite the circumstances.
When kicking didn't work, the boy changed tactics, leaning forward to bite at the stranger's hand. Tobirama only glared lightly, moving to push him carefully against the floor. Tobirama reclined him onto the ground, using his hands to retrain him so he couldn't hurt himself. The Nidaime laid his leg out, keeping the young Uchiha's legs down as well. He could hear the child's fumbling threats, but didn't bother listening to them. He let the boy scream himself out, not moving. He only watched with steady red eyes, his face resting as an unimpressed stare. He really hadn't wanted to show himself so early, but he couldn't let the child set the compound on fire either.
It took some time, but slowly, Tobirama noticed the changes. Threats of bodily harm shifted into threats of telling his sensei or the Hokage- Tobirama had to keep himself in check as he resisted snorting at that. They had continued to shift until slowly he was no longer being threatened. Instead, the child was a trembling mess, the flailing only stopping after one final attempt to kick Tobirama's leg off. The boy was a mess when he finally did give in, his chest rising up and down as he looked away from Tobirama, tears welling up in his dark eyes. He seemed just as much frustrated as he was frightened, lips curled into a snarl despite his compliance.
Tobirama stayed silent even as the boy yielded, not letting go. Tobirama watched as the child blinked away the building tears, lip quivering in the direction away from Tobirama. Letting out a noise of mild annoyance, Tobirama instructed, "Breath. If I was here to harm or kidnap you, I'd of let you burn yourself." he commented, firm and to-the-point despite his concern. Unfortunately, it was a tone he'd never really been able to switch off very well.
His serious words seemed to reach the child, at least. Ebony eyes finally shifted over to Tobirama, a look of almost recognition falling over him. The boy was only able to nod feebly, his fingers curling into a tight fist in Tobirama's hold. The Nidaime sighed lightly, glad he was at least listening. He gave the child a sharp look, speaking firmly, "I'm going to let you go now, understood?" earning him another nod. "Then, I'd like to have a little chat." red eyes scanning the young Uchiha as he kept his eyes matched to his.