Falling In Line
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the cover photo. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.
"If people were like rain, I was like drizzle and she was like a hurricane."
Chapter 1: Recruits
From his Anbu locker at headquarters hidden way deep down underground, Shisui sighed in annoyance as he removed his chest plate along with whatever else that he deemed as suffocating. His squad had just finished a long and grueling three month border patrol. While nothing out of the ordinary happened, Shisui felt guilty for wishing some excitement upon his boring and stale life that he lived. Everything in his life repeated itself like clock work.
Mission, rest for three days, then repeat.
However, today was different. Today, he would be assigned to a team of new recruits, along with his other fellow Anbu captains. Originally Shisui wanted nothing to do with rookies but he needed change in his life. Thus, he signed up to protect and work alongside a group of three rookies.
Shisui raked a hand through his short curly hair and locked his locker. He then performed a few hand signs, and flickered into the safety of his apartment that he shared with Itachi. From what he could tell, his younger cousin was gone, leaving Shisui to his own devices. He made quick work of stripping down to just his boxers and crawling into his bed that he had missed so much. It may have been noon but the Gala where the new Anbu members would be congratulated was later in the day. And Shisui would sleep until he absolutely had to wake up.
"Mikoto-san don't you think this is a little much?" Sakura asked from her seat at the Uchiha Matriarchs vanity.
The raven haired woman waved her off, "No such thing. This is an important day for you, and my other two babies!"
Behind Mikoto and Sakura, Naruto gushed at the reference while Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms. The two boys were sporting over the top expensive black suits while Sakura was wearing a silky maroon spaghetti strap dress that clung to her subtle curves. Although Sakura didn't have over exaggerated curves like most men desired, she was comfortable in her own body. That is, after she had put years of work into it, training wise.
"All done!" Mikoto said with a smile, snapping Sakura from her reverie.
She blinked at her reflection. Mikoto curled the ends of her long petal-pink hair and left it down to flow like a waterfall. Her face was touched up with some concealer under the eyes along with a little blush and mascara. No doubt, an attempt at making her lighter skin tone more alive looking.
"Thank you Mikoto-san." Sakura said as she stood from her seated position.
"What do you boys think?!" The Raven haired woman asked excitedly.
Naruto's eyes went wide and he nodded slowly, "Beautiful as always Sakura-chan."
Sakura didn't bother looking at Sasuke knowing that he wasn't one for compliments. As they filed out of the room, Mikoto and Naruto took the lead. Sasuke hung behind to inform his teammate quietly, "You look great Sakura."
She smiled warmly, "Thank you Sasuke."
The trio plus Mikoto entered the living room to see the Uchiha Patriarch and Sasuke's elder brother standing in the center. Sakura noted how the two of them looked regal as ever.
"Brother, Sakura-san, and Naruto-san, you three look good." Itachi commented with the flicker of a small smile. Instead of replying to the intimidating heir Sakura and Naruto simply bowed their heads in thanks.
"Honey, is Shisui-kun ready to go?" Mikoto questioned Itachi from inside the kitchen.
"He said he'd be their on time." Came Itachi's toneless reply. Everything about standing in the middle of a conversation between Itachi and his mother was weird. Sakura felt out of place, like she was intruding on something private.
"Okay then, lets go!" Mikoto said while clasping her hands together and making her way over to the door.
Sakura followed after the Matriarch and frowned, an uninvited pit of anxiety was gathering in the pit of her stomach, and the night had yet to begin.
Shisui's internal alarm clock woke him up twenty minutes before the Gala was scheduled to start and it was all the time that he needed to take a quick shower and throw on an over priced suit.
Straightening his tie in the mirror, he pursed his lips. He used to be young, fun, and full of mischief then he turned eighteen and responsibility hit him like a truck. Sure, he was only twenty-three and still had the capability to be young and have fun but he had no one to do it with anymore. Genma was getting married to Konoha's poison expert, Shizune, Itachi just turned twenty and Fugaku was trying his best to make sure that his sons sole focus was on training for the Patriarch position. Although, Shisui knew that -lately- his cousin had been trying to runaway from his duties. Then there was Kakashi and Obito, who are, well, just being Kakashi and Obito on there own. He sighed and shut his eyes tight wondering if he had any other friends that would be willing to hangout. He came up empty with the exception of Anko who probably wanted nothing more to do with him other than a one night stand.
Shisui shook himself from his own thoughts, looked himself over in the mirror once more, and flickered out of his room.
Sakura marveled at the beautiful building that was hosting the Gala. It was one of Konoha's newer buildings meaning that it was more industrialized than the older ones throughout the village.
Upon entering, Sakura swore that she clashed with the seemingly black and gold theme of the building. Her dress was a deep maroon, her eyes were green, and she had petal pink hair.
Yeah, she clashed.
It wasn't until Sakura walked into the awards room when she noticed that it was just her, Naruto, and Sasuke. Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi had abandoned them. No doubt, Mikoto dragged her husband along with her to find Kushina. The room was filled with other people that matched the level of elegance, along with tables, a buffet, classy chandeliers, and a stage at the front of the room. If Sakura didn't know any better she'd think this building a theater dedicated to plays due to the dramatic curtains that loomed over the stage.
"Sakura, hand." Sasuke ordered in a louder voice than he'd usually use. Sakura ignored the bumping of shoulders with other people and took a hold of Sasuke's hand but not before she snatched Naruto's who's was about to grab a drink from the bar.
Sasuke pulled them along until they reached an empty table, off centered from the center of the stage.
"Why'd you pull us away, I wanted the olives inside that drink." Naruto grumbled under his breath.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You're still seventeen Dobe."
"Mah, Mah, Teme, Tsunade-baa-chan lets me-"
"Just because Shisou lets you have a glass of sake, doesn't mean that your aloud to drink." Sakura snapped. Her Shisou wasn't the best influence when it came to alcoholic beverages.
Naruto huffed then changed the topic, "Do you think we'll end up on the same team?"
Sakura bit her lip while Sasuke shook his head. Neither of those answers were on the list of things Naruto wanted to hear. He wanted their team to stick together but realistically speaking, it probably wouldn't happen.
"Naruto, I think that, whatever happens..." Sakura paused to offer him a genuine smile, "We'll still be the Legendary Team 7, ne?"
Sasuke smirked and Naruto nodded in agreement. Sakura wasn't wrong, their team was legendary of some sorts. Sakura had inherited the power of Tsunade, the Legendary Sannin, Sasuke had taken after his elder brother in skills, and was on a fast track path to becoming stronger than him, while Naruto had followed in his fathers footsteps by learning the Flying Thunder God technique along with sage mode.
"Good Evening ladies and gentlemen," A small voice came over the microphone and caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Sakura's eyes raked over the stage to see Shizune dressed in a pretty black dress holding the microphone.
"It is now seven o'clock, meaning the evening has now started. And without further ado, i'd like to introduce you all to your announcer for the night... the fourth Hokage... Namikaze Minato!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as the yellow flash of Konoha walked with grace out onto the stage.
"That's my dad!" Naruto jumped up and shouted, drawing the attention of the surrounding tables until Sasuke and Sakura simultaneously yanked him down.
From the stage Minato's sweat dropped at his sons antics.
He flashed the crowd a bright smile, "Thank you everybody for coming out to congratulate the newest members of Anbu." He paused and pursed his lips, "Out of all my years of being a shinobi that's traveled far and wide, I have never witnessed such a group of talented, young, shinobi. I'd like to start off the night by introducing you all to the Anbu Captains that have agreed to take on a team of three Anbu operatives. Ladies and Gentlemen, give a warm welcome to, Shiranui Genma, Itachi Uchiha, Anko Mitarashi, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Shisui."
The crowd erupted in cheers, whistles, and clapping once more.
Behind the curtains, the Anbu captains that agreed to take on three rookies waited patiently for the Yondiame to finish his speech.
"I thought you two were gonna stay operatives," Genma said while pointing an accusatory stare at both Obito and Kakashi.
"I did want to be." Kakashi said not bothering to look up from his Icha Icha novel.
Obito shrugged, "If Kakashi was being dragged into it then, why not?" Obito paused when he registered what his best friend had said, "Wait, why are you becoming a captain if you didn't want to, we could've both avoided this!"
Kakashi's visable eye crinkeled, "I'm doing it for Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."
"That's-" Obito furrowed his brows, "You probably won't even end up on the same-"
Anko's snickering from the sidelines made Obito clamp his mouth shut. "You two argue like a married couple."
Obito shook his head, "Do not."
"You two share everything." Genma chimed in.
"Do not." Kakashi spoke, his voice filled with annoyance.
"Yes you do. You two even share the same eyes!" Anko joked. At her teasing Obito and Kakashi huffed.
"That joke isn't even funny anymore." Kakashi said now looking up from his book. After Obito had given his eye to Kakashi on the mission that he had nearly died on, Obito and Kakashi made up the stupid and corny joke to replace the real reason behind why they shared the same eyes. Obito had given Kakashi the eye because he thought that he was going to die, and he wanted him to protect Rin. It was by sheer luck that Leaf shinobi were passing by when Obito was crushed by the rock. Long story short: Obito made it out alive, Rin was rescued, and Kakashi was gifted with the sharingan in one eye.
The light banter that the captains were sharing came to a halt when Itachi rounded the corner like he was looking for something.
"Have any of you seen Shisui?" He asked, a small panic hidden in his tone.
The captains shook their heads.
Itachi let out a barely inaudible sigh as he joined his fellow captains. It was Obito who broke the silence, "I didn't know you were taking on a team of rookies."
"Surprise." Itachi said in a flat tone.
"Humor still dry as ever little cousin." As if on cue, Shisui flickered into the small circle that the Anbu captains had formed. He offered his cousin a sheepish smile, "Am I late?" He asked sarcastically, "And wow, I thought you were all busy doing adult stuff."
Genma chuckled at the Uchiha's reference, "Maybe were running away from adult stuff by taking on a couple rookies."
Shisui nodded his head in understanding.
"Speak for yourself, looking after three people isn't easy." Kakashi stated firmly, because becoming a captain was not a joke.
Anko scoffed, "Don't even try to take all the credit. You're not the reason why Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura are so legendary."
Itachi and Shisui looked up to Anko at the mention of Sasuke and his team. While Itachi knew the other two members of team seven, Shisui only knew of them, but didn't know them personally. There was never a need for him to interact with either Naruto or Sakura, nor had the opportunity ever presented itself.
"Mah, Mah, I took some part in their development." Kakashi said jokingly.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, give a warm welcome to, Shiranui Genma, Itachi Uchiha, Anko Mitarashi, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Shisui."
From behind the curtains, the Anbu captains perked up at the sound of their names being called and filed out in the order that the Yondiame had called them in.
Sakura watched as the six Anbu captains filed out onto the stage. She had met with all of them with the exception of Uchiha Shisui and Mitarashi Anko, well, never formally with Anko anyway. Unless watching her give instruction in front of the forest of death when she was twelve counted as meeting formally, then no, Sakura never got a chance to meet her formally. Idly she wondered who her captain would be, she wanted her captain to be Kakashi and her teammates to be Naruto and Sasuke but, deep down her life was calling for a change.
When the cheering of the crowd quieted down, Minato flashed everyone another smile before speaking again, "Now that I have introduced our captains, I'd like to announce this years graduates and assign them to their teams at the same time." When the crowd was silent in anticipation Minato continued, "I congratulate the following on their new titles of Anbu operatives. Inazuka Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, congratulations, team Obito."
Naruto gave Sakura and Sasuke a sad smile as he stood from his seat and made his way up towards the stage to meet his captain.
"Lee, Aburame Shino, and Uchiha Sasuke, congratulations, team Mitarashi."
Sasuke gave Sakura a small shrug then left the table. Minato proceeded to list off more names that Sakura wasn't paying attention to, until finally her name was called.
"Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, and Hyuga Neji, congradulations, team Shisui."
Sakura stood from her seat, excited that her name had finally been called. She glanced around the room to see that Shikamaru and Neji were making their way up onto the stage aswell. She smiled a bright smile at the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach going away. Her new teammate's were well rounded and respected shinobi who Sakura got along well with. And her captain was Uchiha Shisui, a living legend, from what she's heard.
Sakura walked passed Naruto who was grinning and Sasuke, who's facial features seemed softer around the edges, to accept the certificate out of Minato's hands. He gave her a quick congratulations before she slipped away to meet her Anbu captain.
Now standing before him, Sakura tentatively held out her right hand to Shisui. This was her first time putting a name to the face, and to put it simply, he was handsome. After a moment his larger hand engulfed hers then a friendly smile made its way to his lips. She knew that it was dumb and maybe a little bit out of line but, Sakura couldn't help the small blush that rose to her cheeks at the sight of the man's perfect teeth, and overall smile...
'And are those dimples?' Her inner self questioned.
Shisui couldn't explain the way his body sagged in relief when Minato called the names of the three shinobi that would be calling him Taichou until they decided to move up in the ranks or leave Anbu. Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Neji, and Nara Shikamaru. He knew of the three shinobi but didn't know them personally. However, they were all apart of the Konoha 12 that the Yondiame praised so highly. Thus, he'd play nice and give them a chance to prove themselves to him with their first impressions before he turned to what he's heard about the three through the grape vine.
Shikamaru Nara approached him with all the lazy grace that one could have and shook his hand firmly. Before the boy moved to stand to the left of him he muttered something about Anbu being troublesome and that he should've just stayed home.
Next Neji Hyuga stepped onto the stage his face blank and void of any emotion. Neji shook his hand and bowed his head then wordlessly stood next to Shikamaru.
Finally, Sakura Haruno entered onto the stage and flashed her two former teammates a toothy grin before accepting her award from the Yondiame. Shisui stared. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself from raking his eyes over the young kunoichi who had momentarily casted a spell on him. Snapping out of his daze he shook her small hand and cracked a charming smile that he offered to just about everyone. He didn't miss the way she blushed when he smiled at her before walking to stand alongside her new teammates.
Inwardly, Shisui sighed and decided to chastise himself later for admiring the pretty girl. His inner hoped that she was a bitch, it would be easier to ignore her looks if she was rude, he concluded.
On their first mission, two weeks from now, it wouldn't take long before Shisui would realize that Sakura Haruno did nothing but care for others.
Note: So yeah er- welcome to another fiction featuring my favorite wack ass pairing Sakura x Shisui. In this fic I wanted desperately for Obito and Rin to be alive, aswell as Kushina and Minato so yeah, suck it plot! This story will have a plot, yes but its going to be more focused on character development. Not to mention, Kushina, Minato, Rin, and Obito are a bunch of angels so why the hell not? And of course, Naruto deserves parents in his life. I've pretty much decided that the story is going to written from both Shisui and Sakura's side!
OKAY, I'm rambling. Thank you for reading! Write a review if you'd like, if not then, have a fantastic morning, afternoon, or evening!
Peace out :)
-Brooke