This is why he should have just left. He should have known his luck would turn out this way, because nothing had gone perfectly right since he had found himself in this place. Of course Sasuke would be there tonight, of course he would see him, of course he would follow him. It would be of no consequence if Sasuke's performance approximated that of the earlier night, however. Some part of him hoped it wouldn't, some part wanted to match Sasuke evenly to whatever end may come. But he could not afford to consider that option, because he would not die like this, and neither would Sasuke if Itachi had any say in the matter.
There was no thought in his mind of running at this point, not in the face of an actual confrontation. The idea did not even occur to him, as ridiculous as it was. Even if he could not afford this fight right now, he would never run from Sasuke. So he had no plan to get away, not until Sasuke was on the ground and could not follow him.
Itachi saw the charge coming before Sasuke even moved, not because he could read his chakra, but because he simply knew his brother. Sasuke was not using Sharingan entirely yet, which could only be a good thing as it would be difficult to dodge a Sharingan-aided attack with his vision as poor as it was. Itachi would have to use that fact, and Sasuke's blindness, to his advantage by moving in a way that was not entirely expected.
Sasuke would probably expect him to sidestep, as he usually moved in the most economical manner, and now that his brother was not drugged he might be clever enough to account for that. Itachi briefly considered dodging upward, but with the constraints on his abilities that might carry more risk than it ordinarily would. He was slowly learning to adapt to the new limitations, to consider those factors before taking an action he would normally be accustomed to. And so, for now, he dodged the strike by dropping down and to the side, sweeping outward with his leg in an attempt to trip Sasuke. The danger with this position, naturally, was that if Sasuke read his intent too quickly he would be vulnerable. But Sasuke did not know he was armed, and so he kept the kunai ready in a defensive position, prepared for a possible downward strike.
no subject
There was no thought in his mind of running at this point, not in the face of an actual confrontation. The idea did not even occur to him, as ridiculous as it was. Even if he could not afford this fight right now, he would never run from Sasuke. So he had no plan to get away, not until Sasuke was on the ground and could not follow him.
Itachi saw the charge coming before Sasuke even moved, not because he could read his chakra, but because he simply knew his brother. Sasuke was not using Sharingan entirely yet, which could only be a good thing as it would be difficult to dodge a Sharingan-aided attack with his vision as poor as it was. Itachi would have to use that fact, and Sasuke's blindness, to his advantage by moving in a way that was not entirely expected.
Sasuke would probably expect him to sidestep, as he usually moved in the most economical manner, and now that his brother was not drugged he might be clever enough to account for that. Itachi briefly considered dodging upward, but with the constraints on his abilities that might carry more risk than it ordinarily would. He was slowly learning to adapt to the new limitations, to consider those factors before taking an action he would normally be accustomed to. And so, for now, he dodged the strike by dropping down and to the side, sweeping outward with his leg in an attempt to trip Sasuke. The danger with this position, naturally, was that if Sasuke read his intent too quickly he would be vulnerable. But Sasuke did not know he was armed, and so he kept the kunai ready in a defensive position, prepared for a possible downward strike.