A gentle breeze made the trees rustle around him. Their leaves concealed his opponent's shadow flawlessly.

Itachi closed his eyes and stretched his senses. He wasn't a sensor type, but soon enough his opponent would have to make his move either with a carefully placed jutsu or to move through the forest surrounding them.

His onyx eyes shot open just as a hail of kunai flew from the trees, seeming them in enough time to almost effortlessly dodge as they flew past him. But something wasn't right.

He reached into his kunai pouch and twisted to block a blow from his opponent with a sharp clang of blades, locking himself toe to toe with Shisui who grinned at him while bearing down on him with his sword. Itachi's free hand ran through a series of seals and prepared to fire a jutsu Shisui's way.

Shisui caught on immediately and threw in some taijutsu, forcing Itachi to dodge, allowing him to break away to use his ninjutsu.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Jutsu!

A swarm of furious flames raced towards Shisui, chasing him as he evaded the flames, speeding away with his signature jutsu and disappearing from sight.

It was nearly impossible to trace Shisui when he used the Body Flicker, after all, despite how young he was a master of that particular jutsu. Luckily, they were only sparring so it was unlikely that Shisui went very far. All he had to do was track him down once again.

Once again, Itachi found himself racing through the forest as he attempted to pick up on Shisui's trail. The lack of an afterimage seemed pretty strange to him however, but that just meant Shisui was hiding somewhere rather than continuously using the Body Flicker to avoid him.

He was taking it easy on him.

Itachi's expression soured a bit. How were they meant to become stronger if they didn't use their full range of skills and abilities in scenarios like this? They wouldn't be able to put them into practice like that.

Unless he wasn't taking it easy on him at all.

Now there was a thought. A very Shisui-like thought and one of the many reasons Itachi enjoyed his company.

It didn't take much longer to reach the end of Shisui's trail once more. He was quickly improving his tracking skills with this recent bout of training and didn't let the dead end get to him. He'd just use his other senses to find him.

There didn't seem to be anything to go off of by touch nor taste, so those were out. The wind didn't reach well into the woods enough to carry a scent, and aside from that, Itachi's sense of smell wasn't as developed as an Inuzuka's or the rare Hatake's, making it unlikely that he'd catchy the warm, earthy scent of his comrade through on the breeze. That was out too. He moved on to sight.

Shisui left an obvious print on the moss he had crouch upon on the tree branch Itachi was examining. It was perfectly made without any signs of movement, which seemed rather strange unless he used his technique again or leaped straight up, but no other clues seemed to be visible as to where he went after that. Itachi would have to pick up the new trail. Or at least, he thought that before he heard the most minuscule of shuffling in the leaves.

That was definitely Shisui or at least, a copy of him. Whether it was intentional or not wasn't of much importance.

Itachi took out a few shuriken to toss that direction and listened intently, coiled like a spring as they met resistance through the greenage of the leaves. Nothing happened immediately, but after a moment, a mottled bird chirped in distress and flew away in a hurry, whizzing past Itachi and creating an opening for Shisui to follow behind it and slice at Itachi with his blade. The smaller and more limber Itachi slipped right under it and hooked a foot between Shisui's legs, pulling him with him as he fell toward the ground.

The older boy gave a surprised gasp and just barely managed to catch himself when Itachi, who had controlled his own fall and recovered immediately, caught him with several well-placed taijutsu moves. Shisui was sent plummeting down once more and without hesitation, Itachi pinned him down, sitting astride him and holding his kunai from before against Shisui's throat.

"That was amazing, Itachi," Shisui said with a pleasant grin. "You managed to find me in no time. Keep it up and I'm sure you'll be recommended for ANBU."

"It might have taken longer without the bird," Itachi commented.

"The what-? Oh yeah." Shisui chuckled sheepishly. "I didn't expect that to happen at all, but it was a valuable experience nonetheless."

Itachi nodded and removed himself before offering his hand to Shisui to help him up on his feet.

"Thanks, that's much better," he said, brushing himself off. "Anyway, I think we've done enough for today. Don't you?"

Itachi pouted up at him. "I can still continue."

"Yeah, I know, but we've earned a break. How 'bout we find somewhere to eat? I'm starving."

"Alright."

"Ah, cheer up, Itachi. I'll pay for whatever you'd like," Shisui added, insistent upon his suggestion.

Itachi frowned and looked away.

"Huh?" Shisui seemed a bit taken aback. "What's wrong?"

"My mother doesn't want me to be too full to have dinner with the family," Itachi murmured.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go anywhere with Shisui. He admired him greatly and follow him to the ends of the earth, but Sasuke got so disappointed when Itachi didn't sit down to dinner with him. There was no way he could bring Sasuke to be upset at him or sad in the very least.

"Oh, I see." Shisui took a moment to himself to hum thoughtfully. "Ah hah! How about we go to that sweets shop you like so much and have a snack instead then? Would you still be able to have dinner later?"

Itachi perked up at the very mention of sweets and nodded enthusiastically. Oh yes. He'd like that very much!

"Great! Let's get going then." He sent Itachi a warm smile once more that made his stomach flutter and his face warm. Shisui constantly carried a friendly demeanor that never failed to make him feel happy even if it wasn't the same as the happiness he felt when he was around his younger brother Sasuke. This happiness was far more personal.

The two of them went back to the main part of the village in companionable silence with an occasional comment here or there from Shisui about various things. He didn't push Itachi into saying anything return and although Itachi didn't have much to offer in the conversation, he enjoyed listening to Shisui's soothing voice as he drooled on in chatter.

It wasn't much longer before they came to the sweets shop. Itachi recalled it as the one his other friend, Izumi, the gentle girl he'd met before he even knew of Shisui, had introduced him to. It looked the same as always, with people bustling about inside and sitting at tables. The shop even had a sign outside advertising a some sort of sale.

"The place looks pretty packed, Itachi."

The younger boy nodded. He had to agree that he had never seen the shop so full.

"I could go in and get us something to go. Would that be alright?"

"Yes," Itachi replied with a curt nod. He wasn't looking forward to wading through the crowds inside. It was loud and stuffy, even with Shisui there.

"Alright. I'll step in and get us our stuff. What do you wanna get, Itachi?" Shisui asked curiously.

"Dango," Itachi murmured simply.

"Got it. I'll be back in a jiff," he said as he opened the shop door and made his way inside to the counter.

Itachi watched him intently through the window as Shisui smiled brightly at the older girl behind the counter and pointed to the dango in the display before holding up two fingers. Ah, so Shisui knew he was watching him then. Itachi's cheeks became a little warm, but he continued to watch as the girl behind the counter giggled and pointed to him as she went about packing up the dango in a box for him and Shisui.

Shisui half-turned with an eyebrow raised and looked to Itachi ponderously, taking up a grin once more before chatting with the girl again. She seemed surprised at what he said but nodded happily, saying something Itachi still couldn't hear.

The two of them exchanged money for goods and Itachi backed away from the window as Shisui came out with a box of dango and a bottled water. Itachi could smell the warm, sweet glaze on the dumplings.

"Here, Itachi," Shisui said as he offered him the bottle. "I figured you might be a little thirsty after our training."

Itachi accepted the bottle and looked down at it. He wasn't that thirsty nor did he mention it, but it was just like Shisui to try to take care of him. "Thank you."

Shisui hummed in response. "Let's go find a quiet place to enjoy our snack."

"Okay," Itachi agreed with a nod.

They went on and ended up seated at their usual hangout spot, one of the training grounds around the compound that overlooked the lake. The two of them tended to sit on the pier and dangle their legs over the side while watching the ducks and geese gather below them while others went around their business, dipping underwater to catch tendrils of water plants to eat.

Shisui popped open the box once they got settled and the pair of them began to eat their sweet snack.

Itachi watched as Shisui took the smallest of bites and mirrored him. He knew Shisui didn't care for sweets as he did, but Shisui never mentioned it aloud. It was endearing and Itachi didn't want him to feel bad over it. He greatly appreciated that Shisui went out of his way to make him feel comfortable in every situation he could.

The ducks began to scatter and mind their own business after a while and Shisui chuckled, watching them go.

"What's so funny?" Itachi asked, honestly baffled.

"Well," he tapped his chin a few times before swallowing the bite of dumpling he had in his mouth, "I was thinking about your crow friends and wondering if they'd be just as persistent or less when it came to begging for handouts like a puppy."

Itachi scrunched up his face. "Shisui, crows aren't like puppies. They're birds and are entirely different."

"Sorry. Sorry. I forgot for a moment," he apologized abashedly, "but… do you think they'd ask for some too? Like the ducks were?"

"No. Most of them don't care for sweet things, but they like fresh bread and fruit."

"Oh, I see. That makes sense."

Satisfied with Shisui's answer, Itachi faced forward once more, nibbling on his dumplings until he felt an unexpected warmth against his cheek. From the corner of his eye, he could see Shisui straighten himself up. He kissed him.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm not sure what came over me," Shisui hastily apologized once again. His cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink that Itachi had never seen on the other boy before.

Itachi's hand strayed to his cheek to touch the place he'd lain his kiss upon. It made happiness and glee spread through him knowing it was there. "Shisui, why did you kiss me?" he asked softly.

"I… I don't know, but it felt right, like it was meant to happen," he affirmed.

Nodding in understanding, the corners of Itachi's mouth stretched into a rare, sincere smile. There wasn't much he could respond to that, but Shisui was right. It did feel like the right thing to do.

"It's fine, Shisui."

Almost immediately, Shisui's sheepishness and minor expression of terror abated. After a moment of staring between the two of them, he put on a small, nervous smile and faced forward once again, taking an entire dumpling in his mouth before his eyes widened and he coughed a few times.

"Shisui, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah," he replied, getting over his coughing. "I guess I got a little carried away."

It was Itachi's turn to chuckle at him. "You should be more careful," he offered, holding the unopened water bottle out to him.

Shisui nodded and murmured his thanks, opening the bottle and taking a few sips. "You're right. Let's just sit here and enjoy the rest of the evening."

And they did.