Tale of Uchiha Shisui: Of Dusk and Dawn

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By Angelbloodlover

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Prologue : In the Name of the Uchiha we live, love, fight and die

Subchapter #1: Jealousy

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~ It is not love that is blind, but jealousy. – Lawrence Durrell

The first time she had set eyes on him was when she was four years old, a child, nothing more. She didn't understand why everyone was fussing about this small, feeble boy that couldn't even talk properly like a normal human would, all gibberish talk. Granted he could walk almost as good as her but that aside, he was useless. Utterly useless. They kept repeating words like "prodigy" and "genius". She was confused beyond words because no matter how hard she tried to look at it, she couldn't see that boy becoming a genius or a prodigy whatsoever. She wanted answers and she got them, unfortunately, those answers didn't satisfy her need to know. She had questioned her mother about this uncommon matter, to which the woman had answered with an amused laughter, stating in her melodious voice that Itachi was only one years old, who couldn't walk properly, let alone speak like her.

And to Shisui's horror, every other baby was like that, including herself.

Afterwards, she had snorted at that, crossing her arms in defiance, and answered with firm resolution, "Kaa-san, I don't see that boy becoming a prodigy like me. I am, in no form or shape, like him."

Said woman frowned in disapproval at the way her daughter spoke about the clan's future heir, speaking sternly, "Shisui, you shouldn't talk like that about your cousin, let alone the upcoming clan heir."

"But kaa-san-" "No buts, Shisui. He is the Uchiha heir and you will treat him with utmost respect. Am I understood?"

The small girl looked down, clenching her fists, "Perfectly."

Silence ensued until the black-haired beauty crouched down, watching her daughter with softened eyes, "Shisui-chan…" A velvet sigh left her pink lips, "Why are you like this? This is not how my intelligent, polite girl should act like."

Shisui could see the coal-black eyes of her upset mother, she could see that her mother was clearly disappointed and discouraged by the expectations of her intelligent daughter. Somehow this hurt Shisui more than words who always tried her furthermost to please her father, mother and the clan. She had to say something, anything to fix this. She had to! "Kaa-san, I don't get why everyone is this excited about the prospect of that boy. He isn't going to replace me, is he…?"

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed a hundred-and-eighty-degrees; gone was the anger and confusion.

To her confusion and bewilderment, her mother started laughing, covering her hands as she giggled with her honeyed voice. "Oh my sweet Shi-chan, I think I know why you're acting like this.." Another knowing look, another soft giggle, "You, my cute kunoichi," She tapped Shisui's nose, much to the girl's annoyance, "will never be replaced by Uchiha Itachi. You will stay my prodigy forever."

Shisui felt the stupid tears threatening to fall and sniffed quietly, "Really…?" as she looked through her long, feminine eye lashes.

Uchiha Noriko always was a woman who placed pride, honour and the devotion towards her clan above everything else, even when it concerned her daughter's development. Ever since she noticed the high intelligence of her daughter and the prodigious skills she had shown, she had tried to please the clan with this ordeal, neglecting the fact that her daughter was just a little girl.

"Shisui, you're reading it wrong, it's like this."

"Shisui, your aim is off, you need to lift your arm a bit more."

"Not that, the other one!"

"Eat more chakra-boosting food, Shisui!"

"Shisui, do this."

"Don't do that!"

"Time to train."

"What did I tell you about sweets?"

"Shisui, the clan!"

"The clan comes above all!"

"Pride and honour!"

"Uchiha clan!"

She could hear her own voice ringing in her head and she had to admit, even to herself she sounded persistent but most of all high demanding of a mere child. All these times she was viewing her daughter differently, not as her offspring, not as her three-year old baby girl but more like an adult, an experienced kunoichi. Now though she could see that her daughter wasn't the one at fault, no, she was.

All these times, all these months, she had trained her daughter to become the best battle-excelling, talented kunoichi the Uchiha clan ever had.

But never had she given her daughter the opportunity to be a carefree child who had no burden on her small shoulders.

Sighing softly, she placed her hands on top of Shisui's head, "Shi-chan, Itachi will never replace you because you're my precious ruby." She stood up, her eyes widening, "Which reminds me…" Noriko stood up, leaving her confused daughter behind to fetch something.

Shisui stood there with wide confused eyes as she followed her mother's every step, "Kaa-san…?"

"I will be right back, honey," came her muffled voice through the other room.

When she came back she had a small box in her hands, more precisely a jewellery box.

"This is an early birthday present for all the hard work you've put on your training." Noriko explained as she opened the velvety box, revealing a sparkling silver-chained ruby necklace.

Shisui was stunned. Such a beautiful, shiny necklace for her…?

Upon seeing her daughter's facial expression, Noriko giggled again, "Shi-chan, this is real and for you." With gentle, delicate hands, she took the necklace out of the velvety safeness and placed it around her daughter's soft neck. "If you look at the back of the ruby, you'll see something engraved on it."

Shisui touched the red gem carefully and twisted it around, reading, 'For my lovely ruby, Uchiha Shisui. Love, your Mother'

Noriko watched her daughter tear up in front of her and her heart twisted painfully. All these times she had treated her daughter harshly, putting more weight on her daughter's shoulders. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to breathe properly. She could still fix this, it wasn't too late.

"Kaa-san…?" Shisui asked quietly, eyes concerned for her mother's well-being.

When Noriko fluttered her eyes open, she said something that made Shisui go into hyper-shock, "Let's get some ice-cream." She took Shisui's hands and led her outside.

All the while laughing at her daughter's stunned expression, "Shi-chan, don't be that surprised, it's just ice-cream."

The said girl blinked her eyes and mentally wondered if this was a dream because never in her life did Noriko let her eat ice cream.

This could be a Genjutsu right..?

Her mother had told her many things about Genjutsu and the way it could manipulate your mind, tricking it with non-existent things. Shisui didn't know how you could destroy such a Genjutsu but according to her mother their Kekkei Genkai, also known as the Sharingan, had the blessed power to make you see through those mirages.

Ever since she could remember, she was being taught in the fine shinobi arts, including reading and writing.

She could walk properly at the mere age of two.

She could talk like an adult at the mere age of three.

She could read and write like a professional at the mere age of four.

She could throw kunai's, senbon and shuriken, she could use chakra to walk up trees and water, she could use the smaller version of the Gokakyu no Jutsu.

Shisui was also called Shisui the Sponge because she kept sucking up every single information into her small, eager brains. So much that she even had the opportunity to meet the Sandaime, who was hailed as the God of Shinobi. He was curious to meet the Uchiha prodigy and she was fortunate to be that one.

But all next to that, Shisui just longed for something insignificant as spending time with her father and mother. It was always the same routine; get up early, shower, eat, brush teeth, physical training, pause, mental training, eat, physical training, pause, mental training, shower, brush teeth and sleep. Only to happen again the next day…

Never in her life did she talk to her father for more than fifteen minutes. He would be talking about the Uchiha clan or about Konoha, how she would serve them loyally. On top of that she didn't even feel comfortable around his all-seeing eyes, always following her every step, scrutinizing her every movement.

It was quite annoying to say the least…

Even though he was uncomfortable to be with, he was her father and she loved him dearly, including his negative personality traits. Still, she wondered why he couldn't make some spare time for his family. Always work, work and more work! And it seems she was the only one who found this a strange phenomenon because not even her mother scolded him for his lack of family time.

Shaking her head to clear away these never-ending thoughts that plagued her tired mind, she smiled gently when she saw her mother's onyx eyes sparkle with happiness. She kept her pace with her mother and touched her gift, her smile broadening even more, changing into a wide smile. Somehow she had a feeling that things would turn out to be quite alright.

Somehow she was utterly wrong...

Subchapter #2: Humiliation

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~ It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings. – Mahatma Gandhi

The second time she had met him again, she was six, and visiting Uchiha Itachi for his third birthday. She didn't want to go, even less in a formal kimono but she had no choice since her father and mother expected her to go with a big wide smile.

Tugging at her annoying kimono, she plastered a fake smile on her lips and walked downstairs in a lady-like manner. Unfortunately, next to her ninja training, she was supposed to be a polite girl who could speak and act like a noblewoman. She did question her mother as to why she had to learn these boring manners, to which her mother had answered, "My dear Shi-chan, when you grow up, you'll be thankful I taught you all of this."

That answer wasn't what she wanted but she did kind of expected it. Her mother always answered in a very puzzling and mysterious manner, it forced little Shisui to think clearly about it, something she hated but for her mother she would try harder.

Though she never questioned her mother because Uchiha Noriko was the one person Uchiha Shisui trusted completed with all her heart.

I have to try my best. I can't let my mother down. Shisui thought with renewed energy. When she reached the ground, she looked up to see her mother smiling that approving smile of hers whenever Shisui completed something perfectly. With a puff of her cheeks, she walked alongside her mother and her father towards the Uchiha Main house, Uchiha Fugaku, also known as the sister of Uchiha Noriko, her mother.

"Shisui, when we get there, you'll greet the Clan's heir properly. Understood?" Her father spoke calmly in his strict demeanour.

"Hai, Otou-san," was Shisui's reply.

"Good."

For the rest of the trip the Uchiha trio were quiet, occasionally greeting one of their kinsmen. The silence was annoying Shisui but she couldn't show it, she had to look all grown-up-ish.

In the end she failed and her finger did twitch, something that didn't went unnoticed by the ever-keen eyes of her mother.

"I'm sure Itachi-kun will like his present, Shi-chan." Noriko whispered in Shisui's little ear, making the small girl jump a bit. Thankfully, her mother giggled at that but when her eyes locked with her father, she had to look down. Those eyes were clearly not happy with that…

Would he ever be happy of her achievements?

That was a question she had to find out herself. She couldn't bother her mother with every single question. Books were made for a reason. After this birthday party, she will start reading more books, she needed to learn more and faster. She wanted the Sharingan badly so she wouldn't have to memorize everything perfectly. It would take less time to study time and she would be able to read much faster. She blinked her eyes when they were in front of the Uchiha Main house. That went fast… She had to focus or else something humiliating would happen to her and she couldn't afford to lose face here. Not now, not ever.

Tilting her chin up, she followed after her mother, putting her sandals neatly aside the rest of them. Somehow the image of all the sandals made her smile but she suppressed that emotion.

"Shisui, you'll be the one handing the present over to little Itachi." Uchiha Kagami handed her a nicely wrapped box where a set of kunai were placed in the inside. She had touched the kunai's before and they were really sharp, they even made her fingers bleed. Was that even smart to hand a child, a three-year old child, a set of very sharp kunai's? Inwardly, she shrugged, it was not her problem. The clan heir was supposed to be a prodigy so he could protect himself and not play with the knives.

She bowed in respect to her father, "Hai, tou-san."

They walked inside, footsteps light and feathery, although Shisui had to work on it to get it as quick as her parents. Still, she didn't slip nor did she make too much noise. She was proud of herself and mentally patted her shoulder on another good job done. Then she saw him, alongside his father and mother, a beautiful picture-perfect family.

No wrinkles on their clothes, it was all smoothed out. No ugly expressions on their face, they were welcoming their family member with respect.

All in all, it was perfect, too perfect. Shisui found it creepy but she didn't voice that for fear for retribution.

She waited, next to her mother, as her father greeted his brother-in-law and his wife, Uchiha Mikoto, a beautiful, happy women, just like her mother. When he looked at Itachi, he had congratulated him, that was it, nothing more. Deep down, she was in cloud nine because her father didn't give Itachi that much attention. Then it was Noriko's turn to greet her stoic brother and sister-in-law. She kissed Itachi's cheek and murmured how proud she was of her nephew who was growing into a fine young man and then it was Shisui's turn. She bowed till the waist for the Uchiha head clan, murmuring a polite greeting, "Konnichiwa, Fugaku-sama." He may be her uncle but she had to show him respect and calling him uncle wasn't very respectful.

Her uncle nodded in approval, "Konnichiwa Shisui, how are you doing with your training?"

"I'm progressing well." She spoke softly but loud enough for him to hear.

Mikoto joined him and smiled at the sight of little Shisui, "Shisui-chan, you've grown up so fast. How are you doing?"

"Konnichiwa, Mikoto-sama, I'm doing good." Shisui responded with a smile. It was polite to smile back, especially if the person smiling at you was the Uchiha head's wife.

Mikoto giggled in amusement, "How adorable. Fugaku, isn't your niece adorable?"

It was a rhetorical question but Fugaku answered with a proud smirk, "She is going to be a talented kunoichi, bringing honour to the Uchiha clan."

She didn't say anything. Her opinion wasn't asked but that didn't mean that she didn't want to voice her opinion. She wanted to correct him and say that she wanted to bring honour to Konoha as an Uchiha. The way her uncle said it made it seem as if Konoha wasn't their hometown. Glancing at her father through her eye lashes, she didn't miss the slight twitch of his fingers nor the way her uncle narrowed his eyes quickly. It seemed there was some tension going on between her father and her uncle. How could she have missed something like that? Well, she didn't visit her uncle's house a lot so she couldn't have seen it.

Still, if she ever had to choose her father or her uncle, she'd choose her father anytime over her uncle.

Why?

Because he was her flesh and blood. He was her father and she loved him dearly. And deep down he loved her too.

And then she had to greet the heir of the Uchiha clan. She hid her obvious dislike for him and smiled gently and fake. It seems he did notice her fake smile but he didn't comment on it. How odd… She had expected him to be a snotty, childish brat, not this mature, civilized boy. Shaking her head away from those thoughts, she bowed politely, just like her mother had taught her, "Congratulations with your birthday, Itachi-san."

Oh how she loathed to call him that. She wanted to run to the bathroom and wash her tongue.

His eyes moved to the present and then back at her, "Thank you, Shisui-san."

She handed him his present and watched uninterested as he put it gently on the table, next to the rest of the presents. How lucky he was to have all those presents for him alone. That was the only thing she envied him for, the presents.

Once the greetings were done she followed her parents to the giant living room and sat next to her mother, legs folded neatly on the tatami mat. This was going to be a long boring day. And she was right. She sat there without moving an inch from her spot and answered the few questions aimed at her with firm politeness. The party, she didn't even think this was a birthday party anymore, was over. Thankfully, it was the most boring thing Shisui had ever experienced. But it was necessary.

Still, a birthday party should be fun instead this became a political discussion about the Uchiha clan and their standings. Why couldn't they be a bit loose? A smile wouldn't hurt, instead they all smirked. A laugh wouldn't hurt, instead they all chuckled. Too uptight. Too boring.

She didn't want to be like that. She wanted to smile. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to express emotions. But she couldn't. Uchiha's had to hide their emotions.

Ucihha Kagami stood up, followed by his wife and then Shisui, ready to leave this dull place. This was so counterproductive, she could have studied or training. She lost seven hours of her life, seven! And for what? To sit there like a duck and not doing a single thing. Now, she had to catch up to her training, which meant less sleep tonight. After wishing Fugaku and Mikoto, alongside Itachi farewell, they were ready to leave until Itachi had appeared in front of her parents.

"Kagami-sama, Noriko-sama, my mother requested your daughter's presence."

Itachi looked at her father and then her mother, waiting for their approvals. When they both nodded, Kagami spoke, "Shisui will be expected to be back before noon."

And Shisui had hoped her father would refuse the request. All she wanted was to study and train, was that too hard to ask?

"Of course."

Having no choice, Shisui stood up smoothly and followed the tiny toddler towards the Uchiha Matriarch. She briefly wondered why she was called. Looking at Itachi, she had to stifle a snort at how he was walking. Did he really think people would view him as an adult? How ridiculous.

He was still putting too much pressure with his left feet, it wasn't that obvious, you had to look very closely. And then those ugly tear troughs– what the hell were they anyway? Did someone scar him when he was little? Which sick person would scar a child? She didn't care if he was her arch nemesis, no one was cowardly enough to hurt a child who couldn't physically take care of himself. Her thoughts were interrupted when she was standing in front of Mikoto. She didn't even notice it. That went fast.

She blinked her eyes. Was that Uchiha Obito, her cousin who had already graduated? Tilting her head to the side, she was certain that it was him. No one had those orange goggles like him. She rather liked the tardy Uchiha boy. He was one of the few Uchiha's who were funny to hang out with. And his sensei was the Yellow Flash. Thinking of her idol, made her want to train already. One day she'll be as fast as him, that was a promise on her Uchiha blood.

Obito waved at her, "Squirt, how are you doing?"

"Ahn, Shisui-chan! There you are! You were not planning to do anything, I hope?"

Shisui smiled softly at Obito, "Hello Obito-nii-san." She noticed he scowled at the formal suffix but didn't say anything. And then she looked at Mikoto, shaking her head, it would be too impolite to tell them she had better things to do. Besides if Obito was there, it could turn out to be really fun. "No."

"The party was a bit too formal for my taste so I thought you'd like to spend some time with Obito-kun and Itachi-kun without any adults."

Shoot! She didn't want to be in Itachi's presence, let alone spending time with him. Could she turn down her offer without being rude? Maybe she could convince Obito to train with her without him? "I…," Mikoto nodded encouragingly, "Of course, Mikoto-sama." No, she couldn't. What if her father or her mother would hear about this? She wouldn't be able to face them.

Sometimes she had to endure things she didn't like to do. Shisui, life wasn't made to sugar-coat you, her father's voice whispered in her mind.

Said woman waved her hands at her, a wide smile on her pretty face, "Don't call me Mikoto-sama, call me auntie."

"If you insist, …aunt Mikoto." It was weird to call her that. She wasn't used to call people like that. Hell, she didn't even call her uncle uncle. But if she wanted to be called like that, then who was she to say otherwise?

"Alright. Obito-kun, take them for a walk but keep an eye on them, alright?"

Obito nodded with a wide grin on his face, "Of course, auntie! Let's go squirts!" He marched towards the front door, vanishing from their sight.

Mikoto giggled softly, "Now, Itachi-kun be a good boy and listen to your cousin." And then she averted her attention on Shisui, "You too, Shisui-chan."

Little Itachi nodded, "Hai, kaa-san." And followed Obito, he didn't even look behind him if Shisui was following or not. That little brat. Nodding at her aunt, she followed Itachi and with her bigger legs, she reached him without any trouble. She didn't like the idea of following him so instead she opted to walk beside Obito. She was no puppy trailing behind her master.

"Ne, Obito-nii-san, where will we be going?" Shisui asked curiously, her big black doe eyes fixed on her cousin.

Obito grinned, hands behind his head, "We'll be going to see my sensei. He wanted to discuss something with us."

Shisui's eyes widened considerably and losing control on her emotions, she squealed in happiness, "Really? We'll be seeing the famous Yellow Flash?!"

The two Uchiha boys blinked their eyes repeatedly when they saw Shisui's enthusiastic outburst.

"Yeah, you want to meet him?" Obito grinned when his little cousin was acting like a child. It was a such a long time ago when he saw a carefree expression on her face. He was glad she looked normal now. Now only if he could get his other cousin to smile like that but Obito knew he was a lost case. He had tried many things but that little gaki wouldn't budge, the best he got was the slight tilt of his lips, indicating that he was smiling.

Shisui coughed awkwardly, her cheeks blushing bright when a few clansmen smirked at her in obvious amusement. Mustering up her dignity, she nodded curtly, "Of course, I would want to meet him. He is a person I look up to."

"Then I'll introduce you to him afterwards, alright?"

Shisui nodded and got her hair ruffled. "Obito-nii-san!"

He only chuckled and walked further, Shisui's eyes boring a hole on the backside of his head but he wasn't too bothered by it. "Hurry up or we're going to be late."

Shisui's eyes widened at that, "Obito-nii-san, when were you supposed to meet your team?" She hoped he wouldn't have forgotten the time.

"Around four o'clock." He scratched his black, spiky hair, "Yup, four or half five. Can't remember."

The two little Uchiha cousins sweat dropped at that. "Really, Obito-nii?!" Shisui flailed her arms in despair. "What would your sensei think about this?"

Obito waved her worry aside, "Meh. They are already used to it."

Flustered and angry at her cousin, Shisui started walking faster. She was surrounded with idiots, both her cousin and the stupid heir, Itachi.

"H-Hey! Shisui-chan! Not so fast! Wait up!"

Shisui blinked her eyes twice. Three times. Four. Five. Six. And then she pinched her arm, thinking that this might be a dream, only to vanish and wake up.

No, he was still there. Namikaze Minato was still there. Gulping nervously, she shuffled behind her cousin, shyness overtaking her every sense.

"Minato-sensei, I'm sorry I was so late but I had to babysit my cousins."

His female teammate giggled at that excuse, "Obito-kun, your cousins are adorable."

Obito grinned widely but Shisui bristled at the word babysit and stepped beside Obito, glaring at him, "His correct words were; Meh. They are already used to it." The moment Obito's team glared at him, the Uchiha sweat dropped. "S-sensei, Rin, I-I didn't mean i-it like that…"

Itachi nodded seriously, "He meant every word."

"Itachi-kun! Not you too!" Obito wailed over-dramatically, ignoring the harsh glares from Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang. "You're a disgrace to our team."

Obito scowled in anger, "What did you say, you bastard?!"

Shisui tuned him out and averted her attention back on the Yellow Flash and bowed in respect, "Namikaze-sama, it's an honour to meet the Yellow Flash personally." Feeling a bit childish, she took out a picture of him that she carried with herself, "Could you please sign this for me?" She didn't care, she would get his autograph.

When he stared at her, she started to blush even more, and then a bright smile appeared on his face, "Obito you have such a cute cousin! Of course, I will sign it for you." He took the picture from her, "I do look handsome on here, don't you think?"

Shisui blushed again but nodded, "H-Hai."

Chuckling, he signed the picture and handed it to Shisui, "Here you go." When he ruffled her hair, she could only stare at him and admire him. He was the most beautiful person Shisui had the pleasure to meet. "Arigatou, Namikaze-sama."

"And please call me Minato. Namikaze-sama sounds so boring, it makes me feel old."

Shisui nodded in agreement, smiling softly, "Hai, Minato-sama." She liked his name and decided that if she ever had a son, she would call him Minato.

He scrunched his nose at the too formal suffix, "Minato would suffice."

"Minato-san."

"Minato-nii." He tried again.

Shisui shook her head, she couldn't call her idol like that, that was disrespectful. "Minato-san."

He sighed softly but smiled at her, "You're a stubborn one. That's a good trait for a kunoichi."

"Arigatou." Inwardly, she beamed at the praise. How she wished he would be her sensei.

Itachi nodded curtly, "Minato-san, it's an honour to meet you too."

The future Yondaime chuckled and ruffled Itachi's hair, "Likewise, little Itachi-kun." Then he clapped his hands together and his three students became serious, all previous fights forgotten. "Alright, I have something important to tell you guys." Shisui and Itachi walked backwards, not wanting to interrupt their meeting. "Ahn, Shisui-chan, Itachi-kun, you can hear it too because when you two will graduate I'll be the one assigning the missions."

Quiet. And then the dam broke. Obito whooped in joy, "Alright, sensei! I knew you could do it!"

"Congratulations with your promotion." Kakashi said, a hint of pride in his voice.

The girl hugged her teacher, "I knew you could do it, sensei! There is no one better suited for this job."

Minato blushed at the praises, "Well, there is Orochimaru but he wasn't chosen."

The three Uchiha's shivered at the mention of his name. Whenever they would see him, he would stare at them as if they were food. Not someone they would like to meet alone.

Shisui and Itachi both bowed again, "It's an honour to have you as a Hokage." They both spoke in unison. Shisui snapped her head at Itachi, glaring at him but didn't say anything. She wouldn't look childish in front of her future Hokage. And was that a smirk on Itachi's face? She wasn't sure...

"Let's celebrate it with ramen!" Obito declared loudly, earning himself a glare, a giggle and a chuckle from his team.

"A good idea, Obito-kun!" Minato agreed with his student, "Shisui-chan, Itachi-kun, I'll be using my Hirashin no Jutsu. Stay calm." The two of them nodded and they all held hands. But the moment Minato used the jutsu, Shisui released Itachi's hold, leaving the wide-eyed Uchiha heir behind. Was that fear in his eyes? Nah! She must have imagined it. Besides, he could walk back home, he was called a prodigy for a reason, right?

And yet her heart was beating wildly and she felt guilty for leaving him behind.

Then they were all teleported towards Ichiraku Ramen Bar, courtesy of Minato's teleportation jutsu.

Shisui felt dizzy and held someone's arm to steady herself. Her head was pounding annoyingly and she felt like throwing up. Suddenly she felt someone's chakra invading her chakra pathway system and she jerked back, glaring at the said person. It was Nohara Rin.

"I'm sorry but I was trying to heal you. See?" She showed her green-encased hands and when Shisui nodded, Rin continued healing her. She had to admit, it felt good.

"You're very skilled as a medic-nin." She complimented Rin, smiling when she blushed. "Thank you, Shisui-chan."

"Rin-chan is the best!" Obito interjected, making the medic-nin blush even more. "Obito-kun, stop it." He grinned but nodded anyway. "Sure, Rin-chan!"

And Obito never noticed the missing Uchiha heir. Good, very good.

They ate ramen, something she didn't like at all. But her favourite idol was eating it too so she ate it too, with much much distaste. The entire time thoughts of Itachi never left her behind. A tiny part of her was starting to get worried but she crushed those thoughts immediately. She wouldn't get soft, not in a million years.

Then hell broke loose.

"Something's missing." Obito said absentmindedly, looking at his team and then at Shisui. "I have a feeling it's something important."

"You forgot your cousin, baka." Kakashi sneered at Obito, "Wasn't he the Uchiha heir?" He smirked when Obito started looking around, outside the bar, panic mode activated.

As if Kami didn't hate him enough, it started to rain heavily.

Minato restrained him, "Obito, hold it, you won't find him if you're like this."

"Sensei, you don't understand. If the Uchiha's find out I lost the heir, I'm going to be punished severely." Tears were appearing in his eyes and even Rin was eying him with worry. Her cousin didn't even try to hide his tears nor did he try to tell his usual line, "I have something in my eyes…"

Shisui felt her heart skip a beat and then again. Maybe she shouldn't have done that. Who was she kidding, it was the most stupid, childish, ridiculous, idiotic thing she had ever done. And she was feeling extremely guilty and worried about her stupid cousin. And then she felt stupid for worrying about him. He couldn't have died, now could he? Her mind so didn't help either when they were supplying her with many gruesome images of a dead Itachi.

"Obito-nii…" She spoke softly, eyes filled with regret. She didn't cry. That was a rule for every ninja, no crying.

He didn't even hear her. She tugged on his blue shirt. "Obito-nii, maybe he is still in the same place we were before Minato-san teleported us?"

"Huh…? Yeah, let's try that!" Turning towards his sensei, he took his hands, "Sensei, teleport us back to the same place."

Kakashi put up his hands, "Sensei, I need to be somewhere."

"Kakashi-baka! You could help me look!"

Kakashi stared with half-lidded eyes at him, "I could but I'm not going to do it. He was your responsibility and not mine." With that he disappeared, leaving an enraged Obito behind.

Minato sighed tiredly and Rin shook her head. "Let's go back." The future Hokage spoke quickly, not wanting Obito to cause a scene.

Shisui gulped loudly and took her cousin's hand, hoping that Itachi would still be there. When they appeared there, they found a shivering Itachi, standing under a tree and trying to warm himself up. When he saw us, he walked towards us and didn't utter a single word. His face was blank and devoid of anything. He didn't even glance in her direction.

That was like a blow to her heart.

And right then and there Shisui felt like a complete jerk.

Swallowing heavily, she walked after her cousin, who was gushing about Itachi, trying to warm him up with his jacket. Even Rin was using her chakra to warm him up.

"Itachi! How come you weren't teleported with us?" Minato asked gently, crouching down.

That moment Shisui felt her heart stop beating. If Minato would hear the truth about this, then he would get angry at her, disappointed and disgusted. She closed her eyes, ready for the truth that would make Minato, Obito and Rin hate her.

"My hand was sweaty and it slipped."

That's true, she had released- Wait, what?! Shisui snapped her eyes open and looked at Itachi, more like gaping. How come he didn't break her in front of Minato? How come he was telling a lie? How come he was defending her while she was the one who left him behind?

But most of all why was he being so nice to her?

Minato blinked his eyes at that excuse. He knew he was lying but he didn't question him anymore. The boy had enough worries on his head. Looking at his Uchiha student, he chuckled softly, "Obito-kun, let's take him back home. He needs warm dry clothes."

"No, sensei, I can't take him back looking like this!" Obito shouted in worry, performing a few hand seals, "I'll dry him up with a small jutsu."

Minato allowed his student to execute the jutsu and watched with pride as his student was performing the jutsu perfectly. He wasn't as bad as Kakashi portrayed him to be, in fact, he was a prodigy on his own. People just underestimated him. Even Rin was looking with approval.

"Obito-kun, that's a very nice jutsu to know. Can you perhaps teach it to me?" She had asked him to which he nodded quickly, blushing, "Of course, Rin-chan!"

Shisui watched it all happen with confused, guilty eyes, something that didn't went unnoticed by Minato but he chose not to say anything. It seemed she was already thinking about her actions, his wisdom wasn't needed. Now, she only had to apologize to the Uchiha heir.

Shisui kept glancing at Itachi when they were walking back to the Uchiha compound. She still didn't understand why he didn't tell them the truth. It was confusing her and when she was confused she was prone to get a headache.

Oh for the love of Kami… Why couldn't she just be happy that he was sneezing, probably on the verge of getting sick, and kept shivering? She couldn't find an answer as to why and that was frustrating her to no end.

And thus she glared at him. Viciously.

If he thought that she would start liking him than he was majorly wrong. In fact, this little stunt of him didn't help at all, she was hating him even more.

If the stupid Uchiha thinks I'm owing him a favour then he was wrong.

When they had arrived in front of Itachi's house, Mikoto was already worrying about her only son, towel in her hands. "Oh dear, let's get you warmed up." She sent Shisui an apologized look, "I'm sorry, Shisui-chan but your father wants you home."

She nodded quietly, not wanting to be here anymore. She felt disgusted. Minato and Rin were already gone, though she had a feeling Minato knew something. He had left, using his famous signature jutsu, and then Rin left, waving jovially at them. She had dreamed many times of meeting Minato but the way it had ended wasn't like her dream at all.

Obito waved the Uchiha Matriarch goodbye and escorted her to her home.

"Obito-nii… I'm sorry." Shisui spoke, destroying the awkward silence.

He perked up at that, "What for?"

Shisui opened her mouth, ready to tell him everything but she couldn't. "For…"

"For?"

"Never mind about that." She said quickly, feeling even more disgusted. This was all Itachi's fault. He was to blame.

Obito shook his head, leading her quickly towards her house, "Shi-chan, you can talk to me, you know."

"I-I know. Thank you for allowing me to meet Minato-san." She bowed in respect to him, "And I wanted to ask you if you could train me?"

It seems this question took him by surprise, "You want m-me to train you?"

She nodded her head, a tiny smile on her face. "Hai, Obito-nii. You've been trained under the Yellow Flash and it would be an honour to be trained under your tutelage."

Her cousin laughed loudly, holding his stomach and nodded with a goofy grin on his face, "You'd be a great student." And he ruffled her hair, making her glare even more.

"Don't glare like that, you look like Kakashi-baka."

When she scowled in anger, Obito started running away, evading her. "Come on gaki, you can do better than that!"

Shisui smirked and executed a set of seals and appeared in front of Obito who stumbled backwards in shock. That was enough time to catch him. "So does this mean I'm faster than you?"

He scoffed at her, "Not in a million years!"

She giggled softly, "But Obito-nii, I caught you off guard."

"That's because I didn't knew you could use the Shunshin no Jutsu!" He protested quickly, finding an excuse.

"You even escort me to the Academy! How can you not know?" She retorted back, a smug smirk plastered on his face.

Obito sputtered in annoyance, "I order you to run twenty laps around the Uchiha compound!"

"Only if you run with me!"

He opened his mouth only to close it, body frozen in shock and eyes wide. When Shisui looked behind her, she stiffened too.

Her father, Uchiha Kagami was standing there with his Sharingan activated and he looked downright angry. With elegant steps, he appeared in front of the two Uchiha children, "Obito, didn't I tell you to bring her back before noon."

The poor boy gulped and bowed, "I apologize, uncle."

Shisui added quickly, "Tou-san, it wasn't his fault. I distracted him." She didn't want her favourite cousin to suffer because of her.

Her father and cousin glanced at her, "I don't want a repeat of this again. Understood." The two children nodded quickly, not wanting to face his wrath. "Obito, go home now, it's raining." The Uchiha adult spoke strictly, not blinking his eyes once.

Obito winced but complied, turning to leave. "I'll see you later, Shisui-chan."

Shisui nodded slowly, waving him off, "Don't forget you promised to train me, Obito-nii."

He laughed softly and nodded with a happy grin. "I'll work you into the ground."

The small girl smiled gently. She really liked him, he was the a good cousin, one that would lend a hand whenever you needed. When she turned her eyes back on her father, she flinched at that look. He wasn't happy. In contrary, he was disappointed. "Shisui, next time I expect you to obey my orders."

"I apologize for my behaviour, tou-san, this will not happen again."

He narrowed his eyes, "Good because next time I won't be this forgiving." With that he turned around and walked back home. Shisui sighed softly and followed her father, glancing back one more time to see her cousin walking away, whistling a happy tune.

That was the last time she had seen her cousin. He had died saving his teammates, offering his own Sharingan eye to Hatake Kakashi, the guy he hated it with a fever. From then on, Shisui visited the Memorial Stone to visit her deceased cousin, where she saw Kakashi often.

Shisui only said one thing at him, "Why?"

To which Kakashi had looked at her with his lone hollow eye, empty. For the first time in her life, Shisui had cried in front of him and he only watched her impassively.

Life didn't get any better after that…

Subchapter #3: Pity

.

~ It's a mistake to confuse pity with love. – Stanley Kubrick

It all started like a normal day for Shisui; she got up, got breakfast and ran her usual laps around Konoha, occasionally passing a weirdo with a spandex suit, screaming his lungs out about youth, then she ate dinner with her parents and left to train more. When it got dark, she walked back home and ate dinner with her parents. Then everything went downhill from there.

The first signs where the loud howling of an animal, then the vile red chakra that clung to your lungs, threatening to choke you. That was when her parents got up, Sharingan both activated and with narrowed eyes they ordered her to stay inside. She didn't want to stay inside, she wanted to protect Konoha and the Uchiha clan together with her parents. And they let her, much to my mother's dismay. She had to understand that Shisui had the responsibility to protect all of Konoha. When that discussion cleared up, they ran outside, her Sharingan flaring to life, three tomoes spinning wildly in both her eyes.

She had received her Sharingan shortly after Obito's death. She was sparring with her father when suddenly he started throwing kunai's at her at impeccable accuracy and virtually unseen speed. She had evaded most of them but some did injure her badly. The pain was nothing, only an itch, and many people praised her for her tolerance of high level of pain. But slowly on, she started to see the flow of the kunai's even before they reached her. That fact made her stumble backwards in shock. At first she thought she could see the future but her father had stopped throwing kunai's at her and appeared in front of her.

For the first time in her life, Shisui saw a tiny smile on his strict face. "Shisui." She quickly stood up and straightened her back, wondering why everything was so clear, it was like looking through clean glasses, so perfect. "Good job, my daughter. You have awakened your Sharingan."

That day her father celebrated it by handing her his own specialized katana, the one that was given to him by his father, their family heirloom.

Her eyes widened when she saw a giant fox in the middle of Konoha, destroying buildings with his tails and crushing shinobi's with his paws. It was a blood sight and she couldn't force her body to move. "W-what…?" She choked out, Sharingan eyes taking the scene in, engraving the memories sharply. She could see the paws destroying the buildings before it fell down. Blinking her eyes, twice, she forced her legs to move. Slowly on, she took steps forwards, eyes still fixated on the giant fox that was howling loudly, the echoes vibrating under the ground. Just like that the earth underneath her started to rupture and a giant black hole appeared, taking with him buildings and people.

"So much power…"

The house opposite from her was falling down and Shisui snapped her head towards it with wide eyes.

She evaded the giant roof that threatened to crush her and rolled to the left. With narrowed eyes, she jumped on a roof that was still standing and watched the scene in front of her. The burning red chakra threatening to choke her, force her to give up but she wouldn't succumb that easy. Not many Uchiha's were out, they were out in a clan meeting outside of Konoha but her parents decided to stay in Konoha as a deputy for uncle Fugaku. At the moment she was helping an elder Uchiha with a small child when suddenly the giant beasts was trashing and the earthquakes became worse. His giant tails were piercing every single building, feeding us, mortals, with such a fear and terror, it was hard just unreal. This seemed like a nightmare, one where you wouldn't be able to wake up. Shisui swallowed heavily and continued with evacuating the two terrified clan members and then…

Everything seemed to slow down in front of her eyes. Shisui screamed in fear, her hoarse throat hurting from the pressure she applied. "Nooo, tou-san, kaa-san!" She wouldn't be able to make it. She wasn't fast enough. She wasn't fast enough. She wasn't enough.

Stupidly, she left them behind and ran for her parents, screaming their names out, "Get out of there! Tou-san! Kaa-san! Get away from there!"

They looked up at her, both steering the weak members of the Uchiha and then their eyes widened when they saw a giant tail coming straight at them.

Toofasttoofast!

They could have jumped away from there but they didn't.

They could have been alive but they didn't choose to live.

They could have left those Uchiha's behind and save themselves but they didn't.

But instead they chose to sacrifice their lives to save them, summoning up many clones and then proceed to shunshin them all away, which took in their times to be able to escape.

They didn't even have the time to spare her a glance when the tails destroyed that entire section, pulverizing it with a single tail. She was sent flying , rock debris and rubble crushing her the moment she landed on the dusty ground. Coughing, she pushed away the rubble with shaking hands and stumbled towards the place where she last saw her parents.

"Tou-san!" Coughing, she pushed another rock debris away, "Kaa-san!" She pushed chakra to her legs and arms, strengthening it. She ignored the tears rolling down, no, she refused to acknowledge them, she was an Uchiha.

Uchiha did not cry.

Moans of pain, disembodied figures lying between the rubble, blood splatters everywhere and the Uchiha fans that have been crushed into red and white dust. Taking a deep breath, she hiccupped pitifully and froze in place. It couldn't be, this was not real. She blinked her eyes, again and again, even resorted to Genjutsu.

"Kai." Nothing changed.

Energy seemed to have left her, and her body drained, she fell on the ground, scraping her knees but that was the least of her troubles. "No…" She whispered softly, denying the image that was in front of her. "No! No! No!" This was not real. This was a stupid Genjutsu that the enemy had used to trick her. "Kai! Kai! Kai! Stupid Genjutsu disappeared! Kaikaikaikaikai!" Nothing.

"Shisui," was her father voice, still stern and demanding, even in his uncomfortable position, where his entire body, except his neck, was being crushed by the giant rock debris.

She crawled, stumbled, fell, cried, screamed till she stopped in front of him.

"Tou-san…," She whimpered pathetically, grabbing his bloodied hands. "P-please don't l-l-leave me…" She couldn't see her mother, her body was nowhere in sight and she had a bad feeling that she was gone. Forever.

Kagami closed his eyes, flinching when his punctured lungs seemed to fail him, "Shisui…Uchiha d-don't cry," He coughed out blood, grimacing at the copper taste. Shisui held his head high so he wouldn't choke on his blood. "I am p-proud of you. I a-always have b-b-been."

This seemed to tear her up even more but she didn't want to cry even more. She forced herself to smile bitterly, "I know, tou-san. I'm proud to be your daughter too. Don't speak so m-much, you're going to be fine. I'll find a w-" "Shisui!" He interrupted her, eyes softening when he saw how distraught she looked at him. He didn't have much time, soon he would join his beloved wife, "I d-don't have much t-time left, my b-beloved daughter but I want to give you m-my last w-words." He coughed again, blood falling down. Such a contradiction to what she was used to see. Her father, her strong demanding father was lying pitifully, drowning in his own blood. "You mother a-and I were always p-p-proud of you. E-ever since the m-moment you were b-born, I k-knew you w-would be s-special. L-Live a good l-life, be a s-strong dependant w-woman and m-make sure you d-don't forget who r-raised you." Another coughing fit hit him, "I-I wanted to see y-you grow up, I w-wanted to see how y-you would bring h-honour to Konoha and the U-Uchiha clan." More blood, more red.

Shisui gently laid him down on her lap, remaining quiet, "Shi-chan," That fond nickname, never in her entire life did he hear her father call her that, "My d-dear daughter, m-make your m-mother and I p-prou-" His words were cut short when suddenly his eyes lolled backwards and his hands fell limp.

She just stared at him, waiting for him to blink his open but nothing happened. Her heart was beating so wild inside of her, her emotions clashing desperately against each other, her eyes tearing up but she refused to cry. Uchiha don't cry. But her eyes ached, they hurt so much, she rubbed it furiously, wishing the ache to disappear. Blinking her eyes and biting on her lips, she pushed her father's head gently on the ground.

Wobbling, she stood up, tripped and fell on the ground.

She had to help out the weak ones, look for survivors, she had to make her parents proud. Her eyes fell on the giant fox who was being pushed back by the sudden appearance of the Yondaime. It seemed that even he had problems with the giant mass of chakra. Shivering, she moved her eyes towards the destruction and then froze in place when she saw a familiar face among the panic mass.

There stood none other than Uchiha Itachi, holding her baby brother and their eyes locked. She didn't know why but her feet forced her to move towards him, towards someone familiar, someone she could hold onto, someone who wouldn't disappear.

His eyes were focused on her, a calm demeanour surrounding him, the way he was calming down Sasuke, it was soothing her too.

"I-Itachi-kun… I'm sorry…" She murmured softly, salty tears rushing down her cheeks and then everything went black, Itachi's shout of worry was the last thing she had heard.

So I've totally changed the story, thought this was would be much better and of course I put the name of Shisui's father in it. Enjoy and do know that reviews would make me happy! :D