Notes:
Obligatory grammar warning.
—oOo—
"Young Master, tomorrow is your seventh birthday. Do you have something you specifically want to eat?" Yori's voice cut through his concentration. He put down his book and look at the older woman. The forty-five years old woman has been his sole caretaker for the last seven years. He knows from his vision that the woman has a son, an eighteen years old son who is about to enroll in a university. She has been worrying about him since he finished his high school grade last month.
Yori wants her son to be able to enroll in the country's top university. Considering that she only has this one son, her wish is understandable. Should he tell her that he would be fine and there is no need for her to worry, or should he watch in silence? Itachi ponders for a while and remembers that the entrance examination period had already ended a week ago, and Yori is anxious because of uncertainty. She may not show her worry much due to her professionalism but Itachi could see subtle creases on her face multiple times this past week.
So… whether he tells her or not, the result would not change. It would be a pity if he tells her sooner and causes his son to fail. He meets this type of phenomenon often enough since the news of him having foresight become public. Itachi also quickly becomes acquainted with this type of person. Why? Because they came and visited the clan in the guise of congratulating him and maintaining an interclan relationship when in truth, they actually wanted something. This unpleasant experience is enough to last for a lifetime.
His Omen regarding a person's death is always accurate, simply because it is a fate that no human could escape or change, or at least he thinks so. It doesn't matter how hard they try. Try as they might, they will die at the same time as the one he had seen in his vision.
There are also people who are ecstatic to find that their death is not on the periphery, causing them to act recklessly. Itachi doesn't know if there is something wrong with their brain, but they feel reassured that they won't die even if they do something dangerous. In the end, several people were bound to bed for life. They curse him, saying that it is his words that bring them disaster. Itachi doesn't deny it, of course it is true that his words are one of the main reasons that cause them their misery. At the end of the day, he only tells them that they are not going to die soon. Whether they would like their condition or not, it is not Itachi's business. They are the ones living their lives, and he refuses to become their personal counselor.
"Yori-san, you don't have to worry. Your son will be fine." Itachi speaks as he reads his book. Not his elementary school book—ah yes, since three months ago — but the one that Yori gave him for his education regarding jujutsu and everything related to that. More exactly, about its history.
This country's history is longer than Konoha's recorded age. Perhaps this is why the country, or well, the world in general, is more peaceful, because people have more time to lay down their foundation. The lack of chakra also turns out to be a boon. It pushed humans into developing toward a different path of future than the one in Elemental Nations.
As if someone granting her amnesty, the older woman sighs in relief. It is true, he has never been false in this regard. Many people in the clan regard his words as a prophecy. His brothers refuse to stay any longer than necessary around him. As if afraid that he would suddenly speak of their death, he won't, and soon enough it would become reality. Perhaps they forget that he needs to touch them to have a detailed timeline regarding their future.
Of course, even if he knew people's death dates without him needing to touch them, he won't suddenly have the desire to announce them in public. Most of the time, he won't tell the person involved unless the other party asks.
A year-and-half is enough to establish general rules regarding his Omen. A person's future, as long as he, the diviner, doesn't interfere, the event will always unfold the same way as the one he had seen in his vision. If he, the diviner, interferes, there is part of the person's future that is able to be changed, and there are those who are simply impossible to change. No matter what he does, it's impossible.
If he gives his knowledge regarding the future to the other party, and the other party tries to change their fate, they would face an unexplainable bout of unluckiness. From that unluckiness, they would once again move towards their designated future as the one Itachi saw in his vision. It is as if someone, or something, forcefully tries to prevent the other party from veering from their fate. The end result is the same, the future doesn't change, the only possible change is how people reach that future.
People cannot change their future when it really matters the most. Deaths and some degree of misfortune, are impossible to change. If that misfortune is small, people could avoid that with the knowledge they got from him. If it is a big one, they could avoid that, only to receive a different set of misfortune, often times even worse than the original. It leads them to despair.
Even with those predecessors, there are always people who want to know. Believing themselves to be different. Believing themselves to be capable of changing their fate.
An arrogant notion.
Sighing, Itachi once again read the page he left because of his musing before answering Yori's question. "Something sweet," he turns the page and looks outside, bright sunlight passes through the opened sliding screen, showing the garden full of green shrubberies and a lotus pond. An echo of cicadas is also loud against his ears. "…Dango?" His tongue still has the same taste buds. Dango is the best food he ever tried. "And… something suitable for summer." Anything, he is not a picky person.
—oOo—
Aside from calligraphy, he loves reading. There is a lot of information he could gain from it. The most important thing is that knowledge is freely given to those who seek it. There seems to be a never-ending source of topic and discussion. With the openness toward knowledge, development follows.
It is fascinating how the earth two hundred years ago vastly differs from the earth now. Of course, the change is not always positive, but it is generally accepted that change often leads to a better future, and Itachi cannot deny that.
The library inside the clan is limited. He asked his father one day and he said that most of them are stored in Jujutsu Technical College, one in Kyoto and the other in Tokyo. Well, isn't that tedious? Do they really have so much trust in that establishment to keep their clan's secrets?
—oOo—
The first time he meets the renowned Gojo Heir is when the three biggest Jujutsu clan hold their quinquennial meeting at Kyoto Technical College. They probably would discuss the division of power or something along those lines. To keep their supremacy on Jujutsu Society as a whole.
During the whole meeting, he finds himself sitting on the wooden bench near the lake behind the main building after he went to the library. It would be a waste of opportunity if he doesn't check the collection inside this place. Not too far that someone would have a hard time looking for him, but far enough for it to be peaceful. An additional benefit is that none of his brothers would search for him.
The college is located in a somewhat mountainous area and disguised as a religious school. The buildings look ancient, or at least, older than Konoha's age, with the way the color and weather etched themselves onto its wooden grain.
Before he hears the sound, he senses someone's presence first. He turns around and sees a boy around his age wearing a light-colored kimono with dragonflies pattern. The boy has stark white hair framing his face, and a face akin to that of a doll, complete with his bright blue eyes.
Upon coming closer, that description doesn't do his eyes justice. Light bends as it passes through his eyes, capturing everything around him as this light travels through the surface of his gaze. The boy looks at the world as if he simultaneously sees through everything and nothing at all. Passing easily, as one tries to hold water in their hand.
"Ah, it's you." The boy opens his mouth and approaches him, his voice sounding childish, unlike the rumors he heard. The rumors made him sound like someone bigger than this earth. White hair, blue eyes. Yes, this is the mythical Gojo Heir in front of him. Someone destined to be the strongest. Someone whose birth causes the world to tilt its axis. The lynchpin of this era. And… Someone he is eager to see if he's capable of changing his own fate.
If even the strongest is incapable of defying his own fate, what is the chance for the rest of the people to do that?
"Yes… and you are?" For the sake of formality, he should ask his name.
The boy stops in front of him and faintly frowns, confusion showing on his face. "You already know. Why do you ask?"
Itachi looks behind the boy and finds that he has no escort. For someone like him, who is a target of a multitude of assassination attempts, to not have someone nearby to protect him. The Gojo Clan either trusts the boy to deal with this on his own, or they trust their Heir's safety inside the barrier. It is probably the combination of both.
"What are you looking for?" Finding that Itachi doesn't answer his question, he asks while looking at the empty space beside him. Finally, he lightly walks toward his bench and sits down.
Itachi turns his gaze towards the boy beside him and says, "your escort."
The Gojo Heir scowls and folds both of his hands in front of his chest. "I need no escort." Ah, in the end, he is still a child. A genius and talented one for sure, but still easily riled up with harmless insinuation.
Itachi examines how the boy registers his presence. His eyes surely catch more than what ordinary people can, more than what his Sharingan can. Itachi can quite imagine how dizzying it may have been, the sensory overload he means. The boy cannot exactly turn off his Six Eyes.
"So, you are –?" Itachi once again presented with the boy's frowning face, "just humor me."
"Gojo Satoru." His tone sounds mulish but his face is rather stoic. Growing up inside a clan with high expectations of oneself tends to do that to anyone.
"Then… Gojo-san, what are you doing here in this place?" Itachi turns his gaze away from the boy and looks and the lake in front of him. The water is calm, indicating its depth. The weather is also good. Not too hot like in the summer season but not too cold. Early autumn… Itachi's favorite season. The lack of pollen is also a plus.
"I saw you, and thought 'oh, it must have been the one that those annoying elders are talking about' and I just have to see you myself." Uhm, the boy is blunt in his answer. He is similar to the one Itachi saw when he looked into Third Brother's future. While his future teenage self would sound like he is joking, this one, this one sounds like he is genuinely annoyed.
Him developing the patience to deal with his elders in the future seems like a great first step to prevent the boy from offending anyone he speaks to.
"And, what do your eyes tell you?" Itachi is genuinely interested in what exactly his Six Eyes perceive of him. With how famous it is, would it somehow pick up upon his abnormal presence in this world? Itachi doesn't think that Six Eyes is able to do that, but he has to ask, for confirmation's sake.
The older boy doesn't answer. Instead, he asks. "How do you turn off your eyes?" Ah, an important question and a confirmation of his previous conjecture. The boy does feel uncomfortable from sensory overload caused by his eyes. He may have it since birth, but his brain certainly is not enough to bear the information that his eyes' caught.
"Why do you believe I have a similar eye trait as you?" He picks up the book that he previously placed on his lap and absentmindedly shifts through its pages. Not interested in reading because of Gojo's presence beside him but wants something to do with his hands.
"People are talking about it. Every clan probably knows that it is true. So?" Itachi stops his movement and looks toward the boy once again. His eyes are bright, surrounded by thick white lashes. He looks lovely if Itachi ignores his somewhat brazen and arrogant personality. To be perfectly honest, Gojo does have enough capital to be arrogant.
"Just cut your cursed energy supply to your eyes." This is an obvious solution, cut the cursed energy supply and the technique will dissipate soon after. It should be the same unless Six Eyes has a different mechanism on how it works.
The boy is silent and presumably concentrating on how he should proceed with this information. After a few seconds, the boy looks at him as if he is cheating some candy out of his hand. Aggrieved.
Ah, Gojo changes his attitude so fast. One second he acts arrogant, and the next he acts like Itachi has wronged him somehow.
Itachi wants to say that he didn't lie, but the other beat him to it. "Ugh, it doesn't work," a pause. "Nao-chan… you didn't lie to me, right?" Why the sudden familiarity… and he is only half a year younger than the older boy, stop being condescending.
"Gojo-san, don't call me that." This is probably how Third Brother feels every time he calls him 'brother'.
"Don't Gojo me. Call my name." Gojo asks, no, he orders Itachi to address him by his given name.
Silence, in the end Itachi concedes, he is the adult between the two of them. "Satoru-san."
"Uhn, that's right! You should call me that. There are many Gojos out there, but there is only one me." The boy swings his feet and looks towards the lake. What a mood swing. In a sudden move, the boy moves from his seat and stands up in front of him.
"So! Let's see how your technique works. I'll keep it secret, okay?" He looks excited, like a child on a sugar rush.
No, he doesn't think he wants to.
—oOo—
Notes:
Straight to first name basis, I can see the kid Satoru to be this kind of brazen. Anyway, I'm having a hard time writing him. We only got kid Satoru from two panels in the entire manga. One of them shows that he's arrogant, and the other one where he doesn't even say anything. I guess, I just have to interpret his personality based on these two panels myself. Stoic, arrogant, somewhat bratty. The arrogant one is shown to those he doesn't feel much worth. And the rest of his personality? I just have to guess based on his teenage self. Hope you like this though. To those who have insight on his personality during this age, please tell me haha.
Ah, and I'm starting to explain part of Itachi's CT. The Omen is one of them.