A/N: Written as a Chocolate Box 2019 exchange gift for Othalla.
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Sunny and quaint, the day hadn't started off stressful. He had volunteered to do an errand at the police station for Itachi and hand off a package to his father. Afterwards, he would work out the rest. It wasn't often he had a day that wasn't completely packed with things to do from the moment he woke up until he rested his head on the pillow late at night.
Shisui whistled, one arm slung behind his head, enjoying the village's sights.
"Come back, jerk!"
Shisui cringed. He frowned, glancing around, spotting a girl in the middle of the road.
Hair in pigtails, he noticed her golden strands glint under the sun. Her fists were clenched at the knuckles, blue eyes ablaze, stance ready to pounce at anything daring block her path.
Personally, he wasn't sure why anyone would mess with a girl with brazen guts like that. Apparently someone had done so anyway.
"What happened?" Shisui asked, strolling up behind her.
"Well… that jerk challenged me to a fight. I accepted. I lost. I bet my pouch because I really thought I would win, dattebayo." She grimaced. "He did, too. I think he used some kind of dirty trick near the end. He snatched them." She sniffled slightly, fighting back the impulse. She didn't look back at him. "It had all my ninja tools inside. I chased him, but he was too fast for me. Now I can't train!"
Why would anyone want to steal her tools? Kunai and shuriken were hardly out of season from weapon shops. Some guys were ready to show off their prowess at the tip of a hat.
"What is his description?"
"Well… He was wearing a green shirt. Curly blue hair, white shirt, and green pants. And… And he was my age, I think… But we don't go to the Academy together. He was a show-off."
"What's your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruko."
"That is indeed a problem, Naruko-chan." Sagely, Shisui nodded. On second thought, he had all the time in the world to kill before he had to be at the station. "Hey, wipe those tears away. I'll get it back for you."
"You will? But I lost…"
"A real ninja doesn't use dirty tricks on my watch. You save that for the real battlefield." That wasn't exactly a hardnosed rule—ninja always used tactics that would win no matter what—but he was already not fond of seeing her cry when it hadn't been a fair conclusion. Sometimes he could bend the main rules.
Naruko perked up, ears tinged red. "But he ran that way." She pointed to the left at the cross section of a street. Then, her expression fell again. "But you won't catch up anymore. He may be on the other side of the village."
Shisui shot her a cheeky smile. He dropped the package under his arm on the ground. "Never say never. He wishes he were that lucky against me." He walked in front of her and glanced back, winking. "Watch and see."
Taking a breath, Shisui built up the necessary chakra in his feet. The energy for the Body Flicker Technique pooled in his ankles, the soles, and tips of his toes. Eyes wide, he leapt forward. His image scattered and trembled in the air before he disappeared before her.
He raced down the street. He glanced around, searching the streets, going the direction she offered. It didn't take him long to locate him.
He stopped in front of him. At his sudden appearance the boy tripped and tried to veer off course. Shisui dodged his fall. He reached out and grabbed the pouch in his hands.
"Hey, give that back!" the boy yelled.
"You should be nicer to girls, you know," Shisui said, giving him a stern nod. "You'll never get a girlfriend if you keep that up. If it'd been a fair fight I may have let it slide. You weren't fair, so I'll take this back."
A dirty trick for another one, he supposed.
Shisui disappeared. Soon enough, he reappeared in front of Naruko. He held out the pouch. He sighed, feeling awkward.
"Here you go," Shisui said.
Naruko's eyes lit up. She glanced up and down at his profile, awed, grabbing for it. She cradled the pouch in her hands. "Thanks!"
"No need for thanks." Causally, he shrugged his shoulders. He raised his head high, proud. "They don't call me 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' for nothing; I'm the only one in the village who runs that fast in the blink of an eye."
Usually, Shisui didn't toot his own horn. Most people knew he was an Uchiha, talented in his own right. He wasn't one to brag aimlessly about his abilities and triumphs. But, he could put on a little show for a younger kid than himself and earn some brownie points.
Her eyes shone. "You're cool, dattebayo!"
"You really think so?" Shisui waved a hand dismissively. Despite himself, he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. He normally brushed off extensively praise of his abilities from outsiders and his own clan alike, but he found her spunk and excitement charming. "He was a small fry. I get around, though."
"No way. You're the best ever," Naruko declared, crossing her arms over her chest. "I've never met anyone like you."
Perhaps it was true to an extent. He may as well own it. "I see. Well, I am glad to be of service," he said, bowing his head to her.
Naruko placed a hand on her chin. She stroked her cheek, eyebrow crinkling in thought. Then, her face exploded in happiness. "I know my goal in life."
"Oh?" Shisui teased. "You'll be as strong as me? You'll have a ways to work for that."
"No." Naruko's blush increased. She ducked her head, shuffling her feet on the pavement.
Shisui's pride dipped a little. Having someone want to be as strong as he was would be a grand achievement on its own. Now, he was getting curious about what she was hiding. For a minute he didn't know what to say.
"Hey, um," Naruko said, looking up at him hastily. "You said your name is Shisui?"
"It sure is."
"Shisui-san… this is hard to say…" She tasted the words, getting used to the sound of his name. By the looks of it, she was pleased. "Do you promise you won't laugh at me?"
"Of course I won't."
"Okay… my goal in life is… um…"
"Yes?"
"Come closer? It's a secret."
He stepped near her, but she gestured at him. Complying, Shisui leaned in. She approached him. Mustering up her courage, she inhaled a deep breath. She pecked a kiss on his cheek.
He stiffened, eyes widening, caught off guard. She gripped his dark shirt and looked at him dead in the eye with fastidious seriousness.
"I… I want…" Naruko murmured. She swallowed, opened her mouth wide, her voice almost a shriek. "Will you marry me!?"
Shisui's ears rung. He had to process the words again in his brain, because he wasn't sure he heard the first time correctly.
Looking at her twice, he knew he had.
"M-Marry?" Shisui blinked, stunned. Warmth blossomed on his own cheeks this time. No one had ever asked him to marry them.
Naruko shut her eyes and bunched her fist in his shirt. Her face may as well have been a ripe tomato. "You're strong and kind and perfect," she babbled, saying whatever came to mind right then. "And cute, dattebayo. I want to marry you one day in the future!"
He wasn't sure how to respond to that. People called him those things, but… Not quite with so much earnestness and determination.
"That's a lot to think about, Naruko-chan."
"I have tons of time to wait for an answer."
Shisui laughed. He wasn't sure what he had gotten himself into, but she was persuasive. To his own astonishment, he didn't want to argue, even though he probably should.
In fact, he was touched.
Only one option prevailed.
"So, you were about to train?" he asked, picking up the package once again. He guessed the chief could wait a bit for it.
"Going there right now."
The truth was that Shisui wasn't certain about marriage yet. Neither one of them were old enough that level of commitment. Shisui was still a few years older than her. They had met minutes ago. But he knew how to train, and there wasn't anything as close as that.
"In that case, I can't leave. It wouldn't be gentlemanly after I've been proposed to by a cute girl," Shisui sighed. He raised both hands in a display of defeat. "Lead the way?"
Naruko beamed at him. She grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the training grounds.
Once again, Shisui wondered why anyone in their right mind would ever mess with her.