๏ผ he is in his room seated at the small desk. there are books spread out in a neat array before him, and he is holding a fine calligraphic pen left-handed, occasionally giving it an idle spin with a flick of the thumb as he leafs through one of the books, looking for a particular passage when the pressing, innate awareness of another chakra hits him.
uzumaki naruto is many things, but not subtle. his chakra is a blazing midday sun, and itachi can't quite control the way his hand spasms faintly, catching the pen mid-spin. his own chakra is immediately suppressed down to nearly nothing, and for a moment he sits perfectly still as his mind spirals off in a dozen potential directions.
he has seen timeline divergences before. nara shikamaru had been nearly twenty. hatake kakashi was from well after his death. there is no way of knowing immediately when naruto may be from — except to note that the chakra he can sense is not the wild, undisciplined jumble he possessed as a boy. but his age matters very little — he has never known itachi as anything but akatsuki, which will cast them as enemies regardless.
he could avoid him easily enough. it would not even be difficult. he has been aboard the station now long enough to be aware of its every nook and cranny, can move nearly sight-unseen throughout. he's elusive even to those that have come to know him best here — but it would be more difficult on the missions, and that's to say nothing of how powerful naruto must surely be now. the nine tails jinchลซriki wasn't one he would have wished to fight when last they met, and with time an unknown variable between them... hm.
the other option, of course, is to speak with him directly. which is why, while naruto is rummaging through the shelves, itachi is just suddenly and abruptly there. he says nothing — naruto's reaction to him will be telling enough once he's aware of itachi's presence. ๏ผ
kitchen...s...?
uzumaki naruto is many things, but not subtle. his chakra is a blazing midday sun, and itachi can't quite control the way his hand spasms faintly, catching the pen mid-spin. his own chakra is immediately suppressed down to nearly nothing, and for a moment he sits perfectly still as his mind spirals off in a dozen potential directions.
he has seen timeline divergences before. nara shikamaru had been nearly twenty. hatake kakashi was from well after his death. there is no way of knowing immediately when naruto may be from — except to note that the chakra he can sense is not the wild, undisciplined jumble he possessed as a boy. but his age matters very little — he has never known itachi as anything but akatsuki, which will cast them as enemies regardless.
he could avoid him easily enough. it would not even be difficult. he has been aboard the station now long enough to be aware of its every nook and cranny, can move nearly sight-unseen throughout. he's elusive even to those that have come to know him best here — but it would be more difficult on the missions, and that's to say nothing of how powerful naruto must surely be now. the nine tails jinchลซriki wasn't one he would have wished to fight when last they met, and with time an unknown variable between them... hm.
the other option, of course, is to speak with him directly. which is why, while naruto is rummaging through the shelves, itachi is just suddenly and abruptly there. he says nothing — naruto's reaction to him will be telling enough once he's aware of itachi's presence. ๏ผ