Amongst all the shinobi in the Uchiha clan, none know the meaning of a double life as well as Shisui himself.
Characters: Shisui, Itachi, OC
Year 5, Uchiha Clan Compound
The first time Shisui learns that he has to put on two faces is when he's a mere five years old, a plump and bubbly child whose excitement and zest for the world around him couldn't be contained. As the children around him were having a play date and boasting about how wonderful their mothers' snacks were, Shisui unwittingly bursts out, "No no! My grandma's snacks are the best!"
At this, the Uchiha mothers around him frown slightly in disapproval and berate him for being a proud and insolent brat, and that his grandmother wasn't as respectable and well-meaning as she seemed.
It was only when Shisui consulted his father Kagami that night that he discovered his grandmother's true heritage – she was formerly a Senju kunoichi who was offered in a political marriage to the Uchiha clan head after Madara left and attacked the village as a sign of peace and stability between the Village Council and the Uchiha.
Apparently the Uchiha believed otherwise; that it was a ploy to control them, and since that fateful play date, Shisui learned never to bring up or allude to his shameful heritage and did a perfect job of appearing like the brilliant, loyal genius the Uchiha were looking for.
There he is, the perfect Uchiha warrior. Learn from him and you will bring pride and honor to the Uchiha name, they all said.
What the clan didn't know was that for all his charlatan appearances, Shisui still eagerly indulged in his grandmother's love and exciting stories and traditions of the long-extinct Senju clan – dreaming of enchanted emerald forests and little elves and fairies that danced around cloves of colorful flowers and mushrooms.
Funny, how they had the all-seeing Sharingan and couldn't see past his one-faced mask.
Year 16, Konohagakure
The second time comes when Shisui dons the traditional Uchiha robes, stands in front of the fiery altar and swears allegiance and loyalty to the clan as his fellow brethren look on.
Shisui was torn – he loved his clan, he really did – they treated him well, his clan members loved him and respected him. Everyone relied upon him as he did upon them. The Uchiha were family, and for many years after that, Shisui's perfect Uchiha mask became reality and he carefully laid aside his other self on the flip side of that mask.
But Konoha doesn't make it easy to forget or cast loyalties aside.
When the Uchiha start plotting a coup d'etat, images of death and the destruction of peace from the previous war rise like reanimated corpses into Shisui's memory, their cries ripping the perfect Uchiha mask from Shisui's face and he is forced to look again at the other side he knew he always had.
The one who was loyal to Konoha, who genuinely believed that one should look past clan boundaries for the good of the collective whole, because that was what his grandmother and father believed in and sacrificed their lives for.
As it turns out, he was not the only one to feel the same.
Ironically enough, it is Itachi Uchiha, the clan heir, pure Uchiha blood through and through who understands him the most.
What would Grandma say, I wonder, thinks Shisui, as he finds himself remembering the silk of Itachi's hair, the supple strength of his body, and Itachi's sweet wanton moans against his skin.
Then Shisui looks up to see his fiancé Mariko smiling at him, and he rises up to embrace her and kiss her on the cheek.
"Hello my sweet," he greets, happy and genuine.
It scares him sometimes, how he is so attuned to the putting up of masks and pretenses that he genuinely feels and thinks like two different people at the same time. He feels lost at times, but in such moments, he forces himself to remember Konoha, Kagami, his grandmother, and most importantly, the Will of Fire.
The Will of Fire in the secret moments he plays with children from many clans, like the Akimichi, Yamanaka, Haruno – even civilian children whom Uchiha children are taught to despise and shun from. The Will of Fire in the few times he decided to sacrifice his life to protect those of his Konoha comrades on risky missions.
It is because of the Will of Fire that he remembers again about what he truly stands for, and his charlatan act is in full swing again as he seeks to balance out the precarious scales of the Village and his clan.
Year 18, Naka River
The third and last time Shisui is painfully reminded of his double-faced life is when the Uchiha command him to spy on Itachi – whom he knew was the double agent working for the Village Council and who possessed loyalty to Konoha over the Uchiha, just like him.
Each time he looks at Itachi is like looking at himself – only a more desolate and lonesome version. Where Shisui was outgoing and charming, Itachi was muted and silent. They were like Yin and Yang, two complete opposites but both part of the same whole and revolving around the same axis – drawn together like two magnetic forces.
Having lived a double life for as long as he could remember, it hurts Shisui to know that this terrible burden has been placed upon his lover. Unlike Shisui, Itachi was the clan heir, and call it foresight, but Shisui knew that at the rate the Uchiha were going and the mounting pressure from the Village Council, that Itachi was going to be forced to exterminate the entire Uchiha threat.
Total elimination, and Shisui cannot imagine what kind of life after that will be.
Worse than death, Shisui thinks.
When Danzo steals his right eye, Shisui knows the end is near and that he would not be there to help alleviate the burden on Itachi's shoulders.
"You're my best friend and the only one I can count on…Protect the village…and the Uchiha name," he pleads, as he hands his remaining eye over to Itachi.
Itachi takes it with quivering hands, and Shisui envelops him in a tight embrace, tears of blood running down his face.
"I'm sorry I can't be around to share the pain with you, but in my wildest dreams, you will be there. You've always been there," he whispers softly into Itachi's ear and hopes that Itachi understands that he wears no mask in his genuine love for Itachi, no matter how many times he puts up a farce in front of the Mariko and the Uchiha.
It's as much an apology as it is a declaration of love, and when Shisui dies, he's free – free from masks and pretenses, double lives and identities, and he couldn't be happier.
End Notes:
I've always believed that Itachi was not the only one who had to be a double agent - Shisui did too, and both of them are probably the most tragic double agents in the known Narutoverse. After knowing that Shisui is Kagami's descendant and how they all held the Will of Fire, I thought about this head canon of Shisui having some Senju blood or connection to the Senju - this would help explain why he and Kagami are so loyal to Konoha and Kagami was so trusted by Tobirama despite the latter's blatant distrust of the Uchiha. It is also interesting to see how Shisui and Kagami possess curly hair which are not seen amongst the Uchiha, and this made me think there might be an external connection they have somewhere.
I thought it would be interesting too, to delve into how the Will of Fire, or Konoha's "propaganda tool" can be used to manipulate loyalties, and where else can we see it more at work than in an Uchiha child with a pro-village parent and grandparent?