Itachi watched as Yuki stumbled on her feet, struggling to hold the large and overfilled picnic basket off the ground. Her small hands were gripping on the handle tightly enough that he could notice the palms developing a red color and the shaking of her arms was noticeable.
"Yuki are you sure you can handle it?" he asked, genuinely concerned that she would drop the basket on her toes.
"I got it Itachi! I'm six years old now, I can handle it," she assured him but the shakiness in her voice let him beg to differ.
Ignoring her protest, he easily took it from her, letting her hold on to his free hand instead. The pair placed a thin sheet of fabric over the grass once they reached their desired area. It was a beautiful field within the compound, a cleared out area of green surrounded by cherry blossoms which were in bloom this time of the year. Today was a good day for Itachi. He had finally received a few days off from his stress and intended to spend every free moment with his siblings, whom he had been forced to neglect. Very carefully Yuki took out four packed bentos and other foods, not wanting to drop anything which would lead to all of Mikoto's hard work go to waste.
"There you two are!" Shisui exclaimed, running towards them with Sasuke barely managing to keep up with him.
"Shisui-nii!" Yuki grinned, waving at him with both hands excitedly.
"For having the title of Shunshin no Shisui, you sure took awhile," Itachi casually murmured.
Yuki stared curiously at Shisui's legs that had earned him his famed title,"Why do people call you Shunshin no Shisui?"
Shisui who was still a few feet away smirked,"Because I can do this," and before any of the three could blink, Shisui had suddenly teleported on Itachi's lap with a playful smile plastered on his face.
Itachi with the most unamused face ever, roughly shoved his cousin off despite him being encased by Shisui's arms. On the other hand, Yuki having witnessed Shunshin no Shisui in action for the first time was in complete awe. Sasuke ignored the bickering between the other boys as he drove down next to his sister and grabbed a tomato. Seeing him take a bite of the produce made her grimace,"I don't get how you can eat it like that Sasuke."
"I don't get how you don't like tomatoes," he retorted before taking another bite.
Yuki huffed and smacked the back of his head before tugging on Shisui's sleeve,"Shisui-nii could you train me?"
Said boy took a seat next to her and ruffled her hair,"Of course I'll train you Chibi-chan."
"And then I'll take away your title of Shunshin no Shisui!" she boldly declared, a fire of determination in her onyx eyes.
"Looks like you have a competitor for that title Shisui. Better hold on tight to it because I bet she will take it away from you," Itachi couldn't contain his smirk as he swallowed his dango.
"We'll see about that," Shisui stuck his tongue out at his cousins.
Minutes passed by and the joyous aura continued as the four of them conversed. It had been quite some time since a day like this occurred for them. Being able to mess around comfortably and talking to each other felt relaxing and kept all of them at ease. Of course these days were treasured as they didn't occur often. Itachi was groomed to be the next head of the class thus Fugaku kept him busy with training on top of his duties as an ANBU. Shisui helped around the clan in the police force and also had to tend to his ANBU duties. Sasuke and Yuki still attended at the academy and trained together. Overall it didn't matter what age each of them were, that didn't stop them from being busy. The food was finished off in a short amount of time leaving the two youngest somewhat antsy.
Sasuke puffed out his cheeks,"I'm bored."
Itachi paused and quickly tried to think of a way to fix that. Then the light bulb went off,"Would you like to play hide and seek?"
Three pairs of matching onyx eyes beamed at him, but one was a bit more skeptical,"That's a kids game though. We should do something that could help us train," Sasuke frowned.
"Silly Sasuke. Hide and seek is more than just child's play," Shisui clicked his tongue,"It require skills as a shinobi."
"Like what?"
"Play and find out."
And that's how the game started. Of course Shisui immediately declared Sasuke as the seeker to prove that his words were true. Reluctantly Sasuke covered his eyes and began counting as the others split off in different directions. Yuki found refuge on top of a tree branch, concealing herself within the pink blossoms. Before she could settle down, she instantly realize that all of this was one big stupid flaw and the worst hiding spot. Although it was high off the ground, Yuki stuck out like a sore thumb with her raven locks and her blue shoes were a giveaway as well. Even her white dress was an easy see as they contrasted against her black shorts. The three forth length blue sleeves and hem weren't helping either. Before she could start making her way down, she could see a small black duck butt coming it her direction. Unsure of what to do, she pulled her dress over her head, feeling the breeze nip at the little bit of skin revealed on her lower back. Patiently she waited as Sasuke's footsteps grew louder in a crescendo,rested, and then faintly ran away. Letting out a breath of relief while popping her head out like a mole, she descended down the tree.
"You're lucky Sasuke didn't look up," a voice chuckled. The sudden existence of another voice scared her, causing her to lose her footing and float down only to be caught in a pair of arms.
The girl looked up at the figure and she smiled,"Thanks Itachi niisan." He simply nodded and set her on her small feet. She glanced at him sheepishly,"Tachi can I hide with you?"
"Of course. But on second thought," Itachi bent down to her height and tapped her nose with his index finger,"how about we help Sasuke find Shisui?"
Yuki grinned in approval. She enjoyed 'pranking' Itachi with Shisui but when it was the other way around, there was more of an excitement factor to it. Perhaps it was due to Itachi's usual stoic and aloof behavior he had after joining the ANBU, then having him loosen up during moments like this. She was glad that Itachi still managed to have a more mischievous side to him despite all the stress he carried on his shoulders. The duo searched hand in hand for the eldest.
"He's there!" Yuki exclaimed as she spotted Shisui's curly unruly hair peeking out behind a bush.
Itachi placed his index finger to his lips,prompting her into a silence. He pulled her aside behind a tree making sure that they too were hidden from the roaming seeker,"Have you learned the shadow clone jutsu in the academy yet?"
"Iruka sensei said he was going to teach us it next week," she replied meekly.
"You're smart, I'll teach it to you now."
He demonstrated the hand seals and let her mimic them. It only took a few attempts before a replica of the girl appeared. Itachi let Yuki climb on to his back and dashed away. Meanwhile Yuki's clone screamed and flailed her arms towards her cousin attracting Sasuke who happened to be nearby. Elsewhere, Itachi snickered slightly at his simple scheme.
"That was completely unfair," Shisui whined, crossing his arms. After a few more rounds, with each consisting of Itachi plotting against his cousin, the four had regrouped back to their picnic area to resume eating.
Yuki giggled,"You could have used a shadow clone too."
"Don't expect me to treat you to any dango from now on."
"What?!"
Itachi scooted closer to his sister and patted her head,"If he won't buy you any then I will."
"Itachi-nii is the best!" Yuki cheered, finishing up the rest of her bento box.
"But Chibi-chan!" the eldest pouted as if he had aged back ten years. He let all of the muscles in his body loosen, leaning against the helpless girl with his weight,"Itachi taught you the shadow clone jutsu but I'll teach you the jutsu every Uchiha knows."
"Eh really?!" she beamed,"But Shisui-nii is so busy."
"I'll always have time for my Chibi-chan though," he smiled while ruffling her hair,"Here Itachi go stand over there and help me demonstrate the effects of this jutsu," he instructed, prompting Itachi to stand a few feet in front of him.
Itachi folded his arms over his chest, mirroring his father's usual stance,"Is this good enough?"
"Perfect," he gave him a thumbs up before his attention shifted to the younger children, because of course Sasuke wouldn't miss out on an opportunity to train,"Now we can't actually perform the jutsu because well, it would cause quite a few problems due to our location. But the hand signs are like this," he explained, then proceeded to visually show them the proper hand formations,"then to finish it off you take a deep breath and then blow!" Shisui finished, releasing the air in his chest as a small breeze of air rather than the usual large flame ball in Itachi's direction,"Now you try first Yuki."
With the guidance of her cousin Yuki stepped up to where he had stood seconds ago. She nervously bit at her lip while hesitating with each hand seal due to her nerves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shisui mouthing invisible and inaudible words of encouragement to her. Sucking up as much air as she could, she held it in and then released a breath of air in Itachi's direction just as Shisui had. To her shock, Itachi's arms abruptly unfolded, flailing in all directions. His composed form had undone itself within a second. His knees buckled as his chest moved as though senbon were being shot at him repeatedly. In the blink of an eye he had fallen face down on the ground. Yuki stood frozen in fear unsure of what had just happened.
"Itachi?" she called out shakily, her voice on edge and trembling.
"And that is how someone handles Katon Gokyakyu no Jutsu," Shisui grinned proudly.
Itachi lifted his head up with a sheepish smile,"How was that?"
"Uh oh oniisan," Sasuke frowned.
Itachi stared at what the problem was. Yuki look right back into his eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks with every blink, mucus running out of her nose and trembling lips. He rushed to her and trap her in his arms,"Yuki don't cry! I am so sorry Yuki! I'm really sorry! It was just a joke! Don't cry!" he gushed trying to comfort the crying girl in his arms. Wrapping his arms around her protectively, he buried his face into her small shoulder in regret for going along with Shisui's plans. Tears drenched the crook of his neck and he felt a bit sore in the area as Yuki had her arms clinging around his neck.
"Chibi-chan! I'm so sorry too!" Shisui cried out dramatically, running over to both of them and encasing them both in his arms.
Sasuke simply decided he was going to make his sister feel better a different way,"You two are so weird sometimes."
"Chibi-chan can be quite the crybaby," Shisui sighed.
It had taken awhile to soothe the crying girl as she claimed she was upset with the two older boys for playing that type of joke on her, but the promises of sweets and Sasuke's idea of racing seemed to work. Now Itachi and Shisui were simply supervising the younger pair from a decent distance.
Itachi nodded his head,"Crybaby seems like an accurate description."
"You know, that makes me worry for her," Shisui mumbled while shifting in a more comfortable position by hugging his knees to his chest.
Itachi also moved sensing a more serious conversation with the mature side of his cousin coming up,"I worry for her too."
"I know you do but it's just... With her bring a crybaby," he bit his lip unsure of how to phrase his emotions into words,"She's not really fit to be a shinobi like that. I know she's an Uchiha and therefore exceptionally talented and battle orientated, and to top it off she's considered the 'princess' of the clan, but she's not... suited to be a shinobi."
"I understand. There's no questioning Yuki is a prodigy much like the rest of the clan, but her emotions get the best of her. She can't be on the battlefield and start crying if something goes wrong for obvious reasons. She's reluctant to fight too."
"Yes her emotions are her weakness as a shinobi and hold up, what?"
"She told me a part of her didn't want to go to the academy because she didn't want to learn how to kill."
"Do you think we could ask Fugaku-oji to somehow take her out of the academy?"
"I highly doubt it. Like you said, she's considered the princess of the clan. She has to be an excellent kunoichi. That girl carries just as much on her shoulders as I do."
"You know, I don't really want Yuki to be a shinobi or well in her case kunoichi," Shisui confessed,"I don't want her to have to handle the emotional trauma and experiences as a shinobi. This is probably the most ridiculous thing to say as an Uchiha but, I hope Yuki never gains her Sharingan. Especially her Mangekyou Sharingan. There's too much emotional pain to obtain these eyes and I don't want her to have to go through that. I hope that she'll never have be forced to kill anyone she cares or or that she'll witness those precious people to her die. I want her to stay the innocent,naive, kind, pure, crybaby of a child she is. But if she becomes a shinobi, there's always that risk that what I want will disappear while what I don't want will happen. Then there's the possibility of her falling to," Shisui frowned,"our clan's 'curse'."
Itachi pressed his lips together, finding himself agreeing with his cousin. There was a silence as those words sank into both of them. The silence between the two wasn't an awkward or chilling aura but rather an acknowledging aura that didn't require words. They gazed fondly at Yuki and Sasuke who were occupied with trying to beat each other. Suddenly Itachi's lips twitched upwards,"You know, there's one other problem we have to worry about when it comes to her."
"And what's that?"
"Boys," Itachi hissed and subtly cracked his knuckles at the mention of the topic.
Shisui could have sworn he saw Itachi activate his Sharingan, then again, he had his own activated too.