It's not like he planed to end up here. He was panicked, didn't know what was real and what was a memory. What was past and what was present. So his body took him to where he felt safest
~~~
It was an unexpectedly warm day for autum and Itachi was sat next to the koi pond enjoying a moment of peace before Sasuke came home and filled the house with his joy. He was just contemplating the merits of heading inside for a drink when the rustling of trees gave away a guest fast approaching, and by the speed of them they were in a rush.
Itachi stood preparing to greet his guest and enquire as to what their urgency was in aid of when the last person he expected emerged. Shisui, sharagan blazing, came tumbling through the trees and such a manore that, had it been any other situation, would have pulled a smile to his lips. As it was however, all the entence did was set his nerves on end and make him check the surroundings for threats with his chakra. Coming up empty, Itachi stood qnd waited for his cousin to explain himself only to receive haggard and strained breaths in return.
"Shisui, are yo-"
He never would get to finish his question as that's when Shisui lept at him and, had it not been for Itachi being accustomed to his best freinds suden bouts of affection, narrowly avoided nocking them both to the ground.
Up close, Itachi got a good look at him and apart from a few scratches from particularly sharp branches, saw nothing amiss. That was until he got to his face.
You see, as powerful and useful as the sharagan is, it is also an awful curse. Helping the user in the middle of battle, allowing them to see and percive as others could never hope, while recording everything perfectly. And Shisuis sharagan wasn't just active, it was playing. What ever those cursed eyes were showing him was enough to panick him and scare him into a frenzy that worried Itachi more than anything.
It was fairly common among those with activated eyes, to have them play back memories when certain sensual triggers happen. And though it's not talked of much, being a source of undeserved shame to the proud clan, as children they are often told stories of shinobi who hurt or killed those around them in the middle of these episodes. As such Itachi felt justified in being weary for a moment before relishing that Shisui was mearly hugging him.
Aware, to some extent, that what he was seeing wasn't real, Shisui was attempting to ground himself in the present via Itachi.
"It's 15:42 November 15th, your in the main house gardens next to the koi pond hugging Itachi. Its 15:42 November 15th..."
Over and over again he recited hoping that it would bring some clarity to Shisuis frazzled brain and alow him a moment of peice needed to deactivate his eyes. He doesn't know how much time passes but eventually Shisuis shaking calms and his breathing slows to a normal- if still a bit shuddering- pace.
"Tachi?"
His voice is slured with exhaustion and while Itachi is relived that he's aware enough to know who's holding him- as at this point they're sat on the ground, Shisui in his lap to help ground him with physical contact- Itachi is still woried as the sharagan is still spinning, replaying old trauma on a loop.
"Hey its me, I'm going to pull your hate over your eyes, try to disable your sharagan when you can alright."
And with that, he reached up and pulled the cloth over his eyes, turning it into a makeshift blind fold, and settled back as Shisui slowly got his chakra under control again.
Sat in the grass running his fingers through his hair, the calm and quite of the afternoon lulls Itachi into a light doze and it seems he's not the only one. Trauma, panic, and mild over use of his chakra pull Shisui into an exhausted sleep right there in his best freinds lap.
Unfortunately this peace can't last forever and soon enough, when the sun is beginning to hide behind the trees, the front door opens and closes again signaling Sasukes return and from the sound of the footsteps his mother is with him. He turns to greet them as the back door opens to revil his mother's face and an excited Sasuke, only stoped from shouting and waking the exhausted shinobi via Mikotos quick assessment skills and reflexes.
He waves at the pair before signing for quite to Sasuke with a finger over his lips and then turns away from them and closes his eyes again. It's not long before the weight of his otouto leaning against his side is added and the dull thud of water bottles landing in the grass is heard.
'This,' itachi thinks ' this is why I fight'