He was distracted for just a bit longer before he seemed to come back to the room, the here and now. He looked at Itachi and then touched the hand stroking his cheek. "No," he shook his head, smiling though the expression did not quite reach his eye. "If that's the truth, then I'm glad for you. And I guess the guy can't be all bad."

A pause, more thoughtful and less grim. "You say he respects you for being able to subdue him? What if I tried to... hm, subdue him?"