One Week

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. Yes, I guess you could say I own Shisui's little gang.

Chapter Two: Monday

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"Itachi!" his mother yelled, "You're late for school!"

His eyes shot open. He reached for his clock. Impossible! How had he overslept?

His father appeared at the door, casting a threatening aura over the room. Sasuke woke up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Why are you still in bed, Itachi?" his father demanded.

"Sorry otou-san, I'm leaving now," the boy bowed, hastening to the bathroom.

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Lunch time.

The time of day when everyone's social status was at its clearest: the most popular kids sat together under the cluster of sakura trees, sub-divided into their individual cliques. The studious kids with their perfect scores sat under the gigantic oak tree. The others mostly lay spread out on the grass, some choosing the refuge of their homes during the lunch hour.

Itachi sat alone under the single pine tree.

"Hey, can I eat here?"

Itachi looked up. The sun turned the boy into a silhouette, but it became clear who he was soon enough.

"Shisui-kun?"

He sat down, popping open the lid on his lunch box. "So you do know me! Mmmm, kaa-chan made me yummy food! Her special duck with sweet rice! What'd your mother pack, Itachi-kun?"

"Um…rice and steamed vegetables…"

"Uwah!" he yelled, "Really? That's my favorite! Here, will you trade with me?"

Itachi looked at Shisui's lunchbox. His mother had lovingly arranged the chicken in a smiling face, and the sweet rice was still hot.

He looked at his own box. His mother had been busy as always. She'd dumped the leftovers of last night's rice and had steamed the vegetables too fast and too much.

Shisui was joking again. Itachi's eyes narrowed. Shisui seemed to guess what he was thinking. "Maaaaa, Itachi-kun, I'm not poking fun. I really do like it. Kaa-chan really spoils me so much, I'm growing fat! So everyday now, you eat my food and I'll eat yours. Your food seems so much healthier!"

"Hey, Itachi-kun, do you have a nickname?"

Itachi blinked. "Um."

Shisui leaned in conspiratorially. "Shhh…I do. Don't tell anyone, but at home, kaa-chan calls me Sui-chan."

He leaned back in a satisfied way, as though he'd just revealed the eternal truth. "I don't have a nickname," Itachi said, smiling a bit.

"Ah, so you do smile!"

Itachi smiled wider. "What, you think I can't? I can smile even wider!" He grinned as wide as he could.

Shisui blinked. "Um…Itachi-kun…you look scary when you do that…"

Itachi dropped his grin.

"So. What nickname can I call you by?" Shisui asked, "Since we're going to be friends and all."

"I 'unno…"

"How about Itachi-hime!"

"No."

"Yes! It suits you!"

Itachi pinned him with a deathglare. "It suits me?"

The deathglare just bounced off Shisui, who said, "Mm-hmm! You're so silent, no one knows you. No one sees your face, not really, or your smile. Just like a hime-sama! Hidden!"

Itachi frowned. "I see…"

Shisui laughed. "You obviously don't. How about…" he struck a pose, "Itachi-sama the Warrior!"

"Ara, ara, I'm no warrior," Itachi objected.

"Of course you are! You're a shinobi! A shinobi is a warrior who acts to protect his village, and justice, and everything that is most precious to him!" Shisui declared grandly.

"What is most precious to you, Shisui?" Itachi asked, unwittingly dropping the honorific.

"Taro."

Itachi actually laughed. "Taro? You would fight for taro?"

"I want to be able to give taro to every little kid. Every one should be able to have taro," Shisui explained.

"My precious thing is my brother. I would fight anything and anyone if it meant saving him from even a little bit of pain."

"Uwah," Shisui breathed, "So cool, you're so cool Itachi! I don't have a brother. Kaa-chan says I had a sister, but she died before she came out of her tummy."

"I can be your brother," Itachi offered without thinking, "I've had practice."

"Hmph! I don't want a nii-san! I want a little brother, like Sasuke!"

Itachi grinned.

"Tomorrow, after school…you can meet him then. You can share him with me," he said.

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hopefully, this was better. And in case you can't tell, this was when they were pre-teen or younger. I can't be bothered to figure out the timing…nyah.

-rereads chapter- aren't they cute?