I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. I'm excited to continue on this story. For anyone waiting on the sequel to my other story, The Trial, don't worry I am busy writing on it right now. I just needed a couple of weeks off from it before continuing. This new story is just my guilty pleasure that I like to indulge. As always, I live for all of your reviews, favorites, and follows. On with the story…
A Petal on Still Waters
Chapter 2: Enter Our Hero
"Ah-choo!"
The explosive sneeze was enough to bring Shisui Uchiha out of a restful and very sound sleep. A groan immediately followed as the aftereffects of the previous night's revelries came pounding on his head. Really, he needed to stop drinking so much. Who knew Itachi had such a high alcohol tolerance?
Shisui slowly sat up in bed, the covers falling to his waist. He was obviously naked. Running both hands over his handsome face in an attempt to scrub the sleep from his eyes, he cursed his cousin to the deepest of hells. If the village only knew of Itachi's true evil and devious nature, they would fear the clan heir more than they already did.
With a tiny huff of displeasure, Shisui took a moment to take in his surroundings. He definitely wasn't at the Uchiha compound. The pale yellow walls and deep pink of the bedspread covering his nudity were a far cry from the familiar dark blues and crimsons of his own bedroom. He combed through his wavy, black locks with shaky fingers in a vain effort to tame them. A soft sigh and the rustle of fabric alerted him to the fact he was not alone in this strange bed. Shisui look down at his side, blinking in surprise at the stunning redhead curled up next to him. He hadn't even realized she was there. So much for his supposed 'ninja skills'.
Shisui stilled, hoping the woman might stay asleep and allow him a clean getaway, but luck was not with him. Her eyes flickered and then opened fully, focusing immediately on the frozen ninja in her bed. A wide, satisfied smile spread across her full lips as she ran a delicate hand up his bare chest. She curled one of her long legs over his thigh, her knee rubbing against his groin. He couldn't resist running a callused palm over the soft curve of her hip. Shisui could tell she was a civilian by the lack of tone to her body. A lifetime spent around the firm, fit bodies of kunoichi made the difference instantly apparent. He frowned slightly, chiding his own lack of judgement. He normally stayed away from civilians, preferring the company of his own kind. Regular women tended to be more…, Shisui shivered at his own thoughts, needy. A kunoichi didn't normally get emotionally attached and that made things much easier for him.
The luscious redhead misread his shudder for a quiver of passion and began to rub her ridiculously large breasts on Shisui's arm. He really had no memory of their sexual escapades from the night before, unfortunately, and, well, that just seemed like a damn shame to him. 'Might as well make some new memories,' Shisui mused. A sexy, half grin slide across his mouth and he leaned down, intending to take her lips in a passionate kiss, but the sight of the alarm clock on her nightstand stopped him in his tracks. He was late, really late.
"Oh, fuck!" he cursed violently as he jumped up from the bed. Ignoring his nakedness, he rushed around the bedroom, frantically grabbing up articles of his clothing.
She reached out with one delicate, soft hand, attempting to snag a hold and pull him back into the circle of her arms. "Come back to bed, lover. I will make it worth your while," she purred in a sultry voice. Shisui paused briefly in his search and considered her offer.
'Would an extra hour hurt? He WAS already late.' Shaking the thought from his head, the shinobi continued with his quest for the missing items, his hitai-ate and his, ugh, his underwear. Locating the lost forehead protector dangling from shade of a nearby lamp, Shisui let out a quick exclamation of triumph and snatched it, adding the item to the armload of things gripped in one limb. He got down on his knees and, using his free hand, lifted the blanket to look under the edge of the bed for his still missing undergarments. They were his most comfortable pair.
"Shisui?" A pouting tone evident in her soft inquiry. Shisui peeked his head over the edge of the mattress to peer at her. She had sat up slightly, bearing her weight on one elbow and giving him a clear view of her breasts.
'Oh, here it comes' He thought grimly in his head. He raised himself off the floor, getting to his feet. Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, a habit he had picked up from a perverted, silver-haired buddy, Shisui silently cursed his good-for-nothing cousin and impromptu drinking games with equal vigor.
"Look, um…," It occurred to Shisui in that exact moment that he couldn't even remember what her name was, "Ka…Kan…damn it," a sudden flash of insight, "Kandi, I really need to…"
Her outraged gasp and the fact that she shot upright in the bed, the covers clutched tight against her chest in indignation, clued him in on his mistake. Her bright, red hair stuck out all over, reminding him of flames. She really was pretty. Her face screwed up tight with anger and her voice had lost the soft, purring sound, becoming hard and furious, "My name is Kaname!"
'So much for insight.'
"Right…well, uh, ha, I really need to get going, I have a lot of things that I need to be doing, ummm, ninja stuff, you know, so…" At the dangerous growl coming from the enraged woman, Shisui moved the wad of wrinkled clothing to cover his more vulnerable areas and hurriedly continued with his hasty goodbyes. "So, I will be leaving now. See ya, ok?"
The irate redhead let out a roar of rage, very similar to the battle cry of a few kunoichi he knew, and grabbed the alarm clock on the nightstand. Pulling back her arm, she let the projectile fly with surprising speed and accuracy towards Shisui's head, causing him to use his impressive shinobi moves to avoid getting beamed right in the temple. It reminded him greatly of the last time he was late with his mission report to the Hokage. Boy, had she been pissed that day.
He felt it prudent to utilize his infamous Body Flicker Technique to escape, in light of the fact his newly jilted lover was franticly searching for another weapon to fling at him. Bringing up one hand, he spoke the jutsu swiftly and transported himself to safety, the enraged howls of the incensed woman ringing in his ears.
Shisui reappeared on the rooftop of the apartment building he had just vacated. With a quick glance around to ensure none of his fellow ninja were nearby to witness his embarrassing state of nudity, He heaved a deep sigh of relief at finding himself alone. Thankfully, this particular building was situated deep inside the civilian district and far from the area most shinobi traveled as they went about their daily tasks. He dropped the jumbled wad of clothing onto the tiles of the roof, and after digging through them, located his pants. Unfortunately, his favorite boxer briefs were a loss, so he would just have to make do. He proceeded to make quick work of getting dressed.
He was just pulling his long sleeve shirt over his head and smoothing it in place when he felt a familiar chakra signature behind him. Shisui didn't bother to acknowledge the other shinobi, he just sat down with a heavy thud and began to fasten his sandals onto his feet with haste. "I know, I know. I'm late,"
Itachi Uchiha, his cousin and best friend, didn't respond, he just walked over to peer down the side of the building. Cocking his head to the side in order to better hear, he listened to the litany of crashes, bangs, and angry screams coming from the apartment two floors below. Itachi shifted his gaze to Shisui and raised one brow, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards in humor. "I take it your night didn't go well." Amusement laced the cool tone of his voice.
Shisui rolled his eyes at Itachi's obvious statement before answering, "I don't know about last night, I can't really remember that, but I know this morning kinda sucked." Fastening the last strap, he hopped up on his feet and growled at the younger Uchiha, "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm in enough trouble already." The loud crash of breaking glass caused both shinobi to start. Looking over the edge, they saw the remnants of a shattered lamp and shards from a broken window littering the sidewalk below. Eyes wide, the two dark haired ninja looked at each other and without a word, took off, jumping from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of the Uchiha district at top speeds.
They didn't slow down until they reached the open gates that marked the entrance to the Uchiha compound. Fugaku-sama didn't approve of shinobi running along the rooftops of their homes, he felt it disrupted the 'peace and harmony'. So the two young men slowed to a brisk walk down the street, nodding in respect to the elderly and acknowledging the greetings from their fellow clan members. Itachi got the most attention, being clan heir, but Shisui was given his own fair share of respect because he was viewed as a prodigy, even among the Uchiha.
They didn't speak to each other until they reached the quiet lane leading up to the main house. Without eager ears listening in on their conversation, the cousins could talk more openly.
Itachi spoke first for once, the opportunity to rib his best friend was just too good for even the normally stoic shinobi to resist, "You know, Shisui, eventually one of your many women is going to succeed in doing you grave harm. Maybe you should slow down and try focusing on one woman. Quality over quantity."
Shisui snorted in disgust at the idea and shot the younger ninja a quick sideways glance before replying, "You are just as bad as me, Itachi. You are just better at making your exit without getting caught." The light chuckle was an admission to the truth of his words.
"I'm not foolish enough to fall asleep." Before Shisui could think of a good comeback, Itachi had opened the front door of the house and called out a greeting. From the kitchen, a warm reply came from his mother, Mikota Uchiha. She floated out into the hall carrying a plate of rice balls. After gently demanding a kiss on the cheek from both young men, she offered up the plate to them, indicating for them to help themselves to the food.
"Eat plenty, Boys. I have a feeling neither of you have eaten breakfast yet." She smiled warmly at the two of them as they grabbed a rice ball a piece. "Fugaku is waiting on you in his office, Shisui, but," Mikota wrinkled her nose a little to make a point, "You should shower first. I will inform my husband that you will be in there shortly to speak to him."
Shisui's cheeks flushed pink at realizing his beloved aunt could smell the evidence of a night of sake and passion on his person. He made a quick bow to his matriarch and hurried off to the bath. She watched his retreat with a shake of her head, but the smile on her face betrayed the deep affection she held for her nephew.
Mikota turned her attention to her oldest son, catching him in the act of stuffing a fourth rice ball into his mouth. She narrowed her eyes playfully, "Don't think I didn't notice that you smell like the soap from the public bathhouse, Itachi Just what have you been up to?" Her son stopped chewing for and second, his eyes widening at his mother's keen observation. He took his time swallowing before he answered her.
"I'll make sure I have my own soap with me next time, Mother." With another quick kiss on her cheek, he snatch one last rice ball. Laughing, she smacked him playfully on his arm for his cheeky reply, before heading to her husband's office to relay the message and deliver what was left of the snacks she had made.
A short while later, Shisui had made himself more presentable by taking a fast shower and donning a clean set of clothes. Now, as he stood in front of the door to his uncle's office, he began to wonder at the reason behind this request from the patriarch for a meeting. Worry had crept in to eat at his belly and a general sense of unease had settled over him. He mentally reviewed everything he had been up to lately, looking for something that might have earned him a reprimand, but couldn't pinpoint anything off hand. He took a deep breath and forced the emotion off his face. He gently rapped on the door, and once he received permission to enter, slide the portal open. Shisui closed the screen behind him and approached the front of Fugaku's desk. He bowed low to his uncle, and at the grunt of acknowledgement, stood tall with his arms linked behind his back to wait for the clan leader to speak.
Fugaku ignored his nephew for several minutes, making a big show of reading the scrolls spread across the surface of his desk. Once he felt that he had punished the young man long enough for his tardiness, the Uchiha clan leader took his time rolling up the correspondences and placing them in a neat pile to one side. Finally, he let his gaze turn to the shinobi standing at attention, "Have a seat, Shisui."
Fugaku waited until his nephew sat silently on the chair across from him. He fixed Shisui with a hard glare for a long time, until he noticed the young man had begun to squirm slightly under the scrutiny. "What does 'clan pride' mean to you, Shisui?"
His nephew's eyes widened in surprise at the question. It was obviously not an inquiry that the younger shinobi had expected. Shisui seemed to ponder upon his answer, before carefully answering, "Our clan's pride means everything to me, Uncle, as it does to all Uchiha." It was an honest answer, and a safe one as well.
Fugaku leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of his face in a gesture of deep thought. His voice was deep, to convey the seriousness of his next question, "And would you do anything to preserve the pride of this family?"
There was no doubt in Shisui's mind as to the answer to that question. His clan meant everything to him. "Of course, Uncle."
Fugaku's posture relaxed at his nephew's adamant reply. He lowered his hands and fell back in his chair, a rare smile spread across his face, causing Shisui to shiver with a foreboding chill at the sight. "Well then, congratulations Shisui. You are getting married."
"Married?" the young man squeaked out. Yes, Shisui of the Body Flicker, famed prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, squeaked like a little girl. "To…to who?"
"Sakura Haruno, the Hokage's apprentice."