Chapter Ten: Over the Waterfall

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"How do I react when I'm close to Moody?"

It's Monday, the day before the first task. Itachi hums, clicking his chopsticks. "He doesn't come near you often," Itachi says. "But you just never look in his direction, not even a passing glance. He tries not to look in our direction though. It's clear he's nervous about me, because he's probably figured out that I noticed the genjutsu by now."

Shisui makes a noise, propping his cheek on his fist, thinking to himself. "How do you think Harry's going to do on the task? I haven't seen him all day."

"He was with Hermione-san," Itachi answers, not at all bothered by Shisui's sudden change in subject. "I believe he was perfecting the Summoning Spell, Accio."

"I wonder how he's going to implement it?" Shisui ponders aloud, drumming his free hand on the table. The rhythmic sound calms him slightly.

"There are a multitude of ways," Itachi replies, shrugging. "I suppose we will have to find out tomorrow, along with what the task is."

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Shisui passes by Harry, whispering a quick "good luck", and passes by the tent to take a seat in the stadium. As soon as he looks to the arena, he looks on in horror. "No," he says.

Itachi blinks.

"No way they are setting dragons on them," Shisui says disbelievingly before deflating and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "At least I know where the roars were coming from…"

After a while, the first champion, Cedric Diggory, enters the arena, looking nervous but determined all the same. Shisui watches with horrified fascination as he gets the golden egg, narrowly dodging attacks from the dragon. Bagman's commentary helps none.

"Oh-my-god," Shisui squeaks in one breath as Delacour exits the tent. "No-no-no-no-no not another one! They're gonna die."

Itachi pats Shisui on the back consolingly while the Weasley twins, sitting next to him, snort in amusement.

Then Krum comes out, and the crowd cheers enthusiastically. Shisui is half-tempted to cover his eyes but that would be embarrassing. Or more embarrassing than what he's done already.

He looks at Karkaroff with the stink-eye for his blatant favoritism but his irritation quickly fades into worry when Harry, looking like he's about to faint (which isn't much different from Shisui), steps out of the tent, clutching at his wand.

Then the dragon is unleashed, and Harry shouts out clearly, "Accio Firebolt!"

A broom comes flying in, and Itachi says, "Ah. That's what he's using it for."

Quickly, Harry gets onto the broom and sails through the air gracefully. Shisui watches, a little envious, as he dances in the air around the dragon. Hermione and Ron are wearing matching grins as their friend retrieves the golden egg in the shortest amount of time.

"That must hurt," Shisui winces, sympathetic for the wound in his shoulder.

"Yeah," Fred says from beside him, voice a couple octaves higher. "I'm kind of glad we're not in the tournament."

"Eh," Shisui says dismissively. "It's not that bad."

Ron looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "You were the one who was panicking."

"If only because I'm worried about them," Shisui retorts. "While I'm certain I can shunshin there fast enough, it's still dangerous."

"Why didn't any of them just use a binding curse?" Itachi asks mildly. "Or put it to sleep?"

"I'd have just shunshined to the egg."

"Not everyone has the moniker Shunshin no Shisui, Shisui," Itachi chides patronizingly. Shisui smacks his cousin on the arm, still feeling a little lightheaded from the adrenaline.

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"You did great, Harry!" Ron shouts eagerly, careful not to smack Harry on the back. Shisui smiles from a distance.

"Congratulations on being the youngest and the fastest," he says, reaching over and ruffling his hair if only to provoke a reaction from him.

Harry gives him a flat look and Hermione stifles a laugh.

Marcus passes by and waves at Shisui before saying, "Congratulations, Potter." It sounds like the words are painful for him to say. Harry looks rather surprised and before he can thank the Slytherin, Marcus has already walked off.

"Nice hair color," Fred calls with a cheeky grin.

Confused, Harry looks suspiciously at Shisui. Ron and Hermione look like they're struggling not to laugh and Itachi's lips quirk up into a ghost of a smile.

Shisui cheerily holds up a mirror, and the now pink-haired Harry glares at Shisui, who innocently shows his paint stained hand and runs away.

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Shisui frowns, reading over his notes from the cross-examining for the umpteenth time. There is no evidence… but there's something about Crouch that sets him off.

He doesn't trust his thoughts about Mad-Eye Moody mainly because of the genjutsu. Grimacing, Shisui rests his cheek on his palm. With a noise of frustration, Shisui stands and shuffles the papers together before hiding them in a trapped drawer.

Shisui's a prodigy. But genius has its limits, and he's cut out only for the battlefield and killing. When it's a tamer case, like this one, he can't think.

Especially not with this killer headache. Shisui flops onto his bed, burying his face into the now-familiar pillow, breathing in slowly. It's become a constant presence, and he knows it's unnatural. He wonders dimly if it's from the genjutsu, and resolves to tell Itachi about it the next time he sees his cousin.

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"Shisui! Wake up!"

Shisui jolts awake at his cousin's sharp tone, regretting it when his head pounds in retaliation. "Hgghk," he groans, ever so articulate. He blinks blearily at Itachi. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"What did I do now?" Shisui asks sleepily, not quite catching on. Itachi's face is blurring in funny ways, and it looks kind of like he's doing mitosis or something.

Itachi snaps his fingers in Shisui's face loudly, and he winces at the noise. "Keep yourself awake. I told you, Shisui, to inform me if there was anything abnormal." Despite the harsh words and tone, Shisui can hear undertones of worry that warms Shisui's heart a little, though he's not too sure what there is to worry about. He voices this sentiment.

Much to Shisui's surprise Itachi curses eloquently in both languages. "Wha's wrong?" he slurs.

Itachi doesn't answer, scanning over Shisui carefully with his Sharingan activated. His cousin presses his mouth into a firm line, something he always does when he's displeased by something. Before Shisui can repeat his previous question, Itachi's crimson eyes meets his hazy ones and puts him to sleep.

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Impact—so hard it numbs his body, but for the barest of moments before the pain sets in. Shock follows it, sending his heartbeat into an unnaturally fast staccato.

Then the burn, rising from his chest to fill his body.

After that, panic, his heartbeat faster and louder, filling his ears with the drumming song of his quickening heart as he struggles not to fight.

He is blind, unable to see, and it merely makes the fear more prominent as he hits the bottom with a silent gasp. Then there is a bright white that he should not be able to see, and he knows no more.

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Shisui is quite certain that he drowned.

He still remembers the sensation, the sensation of fighting every single instinct in his body telling him to find air.

He's also quite certain he had been blind when he drowned. Danzo had stolen one eye, and he'd given his other to Itachi. (He hopes his precious little cousin is using it right.)

So when his eyes open with a sharp intake of air, he's naturally quite surprised when light floods his vision and air fills his lungs. Experimentally he exhales.

"You're awake," comes a mostly impassive voice, but he can still detect strains of relief evident. Itachi? Shisui thinks sleepily before the memories come rushing back with the force of a train.

"Itachi?" he asks, voice horribly dry. Wordlessly, Itachi helps him sit up, adjusting pillows behind him for it to be more comfortable. "How long?"

"A week." Itachi holds out a glass of water which Shisui eyes warily but takes hesitantly anyways, his cousin helping him with the glass.

"A week?"

"Yes." Itachi sets the empty glass down. "We had to hire professional curse breakers to remove it because it had progressed so far."

Instantly, Shisui feels guilty. "So—"

"Don't even say it," Itachi warns. When he's satisfied that Shisui will keep his mouth shut, he adds, "We were able to trace it back to Moody, and he's currently under questioning."

Shisui is about to reply when he hears footsteps outside of the hospital wing, and the door opens quietly. He blinks when he sees Harry, Hermione, and Ron standing there.

"Hi," he says awkwardly.

"You're awake!" bellows Ron excitedly before turning to the still-open door. "Shisui's awake!"

The Gryffindor who Shisui distantly recalls as Neville Longbottom shyly pokes his head through the door along with the redheaded twins. "Welcome back to the world of the living, mate!"

Shisui smiles a little wryly at how close it hits to home. "Thanks."

.

a/n: I fractured my ankle on a 3 inch stair. GG me 11/10 IGN keep it up

Also: I'm taking a break from writing my actual stories; it might last a week to a month, but it won't go over a month.

Sorry! ^^"