Esparia's A/N: Oh the joys of finding out everything that is wrong with you. I have been switching up the dates, so things might be a bit...off. Not that anyone actually pays attention to the dates I've set up.
Chapter Warnings: Implication of Orochimaru stuff.
Original Ch 14: 03/11/15
Original Ch 15: 03/15/15
Update: 04/22/17
Omake: 05/16/17
…
Chapter Nine
(Time Moves Forward)
Uchiha Fugaku: 39th Year of the 7th Timeline, 20th Day of the 9th Month
Fugaku was a busy man. He was in charge of Konoha's Police department and the head of one of the largest and most powerful clans. This leads to a load of paperwork, little family time, high blood pressure, and strange requests. Questions and concerns, from his clan and the citizens of the Leaf Village, were usually pretty normal.
"My child is missing, can you find him?"
"Some punk kids sprayed graffiti on my house again. Are you going to catch them?"
"Hey, when are we taking over the village?"
Things like that were normal. Their concerns and requests were normal. The blonde jinchuriki on his porch waiting for Fugaku's answer to his inane question, was decidedly anything but.
Frown lines creasing, Fugaku started down at the boy. "Could you repeat that?"
With an exaggerated eye roll and an exasperated sigh, the boy replied, "I asked if Shisui-minion can come out to play. He's my only minion at the moment and we need to paint my club house."
'Minion' was probably the only thing that really stumped Fugaku, or at least the fact that it was in reference to Shisui. Shisui was the jinchuriki's minion. He wondered when this happened and what else was going on in his clan without his knowing.
If Fugaku wasn't an Uchiha, he'd probably rub his temples, shut the door of his house, and pretend this never happened.
"Well?" Naruto asked as impatiently as a six year old could be. "Is Minion-kun home or not?"
Sadly, Fugaku was in fact an Uchiha; so, he'd be getting the dubious pleasure of entertaining the strange child's queries.
"No, I'm afraid Shisui-kun is on duty," Fugaku said coolly, and waited for the boy to leave so he could politely close the door.
Naruto stood there staring at Fugaku, who naturally stared back. If you've ever tried having a staring contest with a cat, you'd know how Fugaku felt.
Stupid for trying to prove to yourself that you are better than a lesser mammal, but determined to manage it in the first place. You end up ashamed of yourself when you realize you're struggling, and the considered lesser being isn't even aware of your internal struggle of proving yourself.
"Are you lying?" Naruto finally asked, narrowing his blue and still peering up at the older Uchiha.
"No." Fugaku's eye twitched. "He isn't due back until dinner, I shall send him to you when he returns."
Naruto huffed. "Fine, is your son home then?"
"Sasuke is at the academy," Fugaku said, and paused in thought. "Shouldn't you be there as well? I seem to recall a report mentioning your enrollment."
It wasn't really a report, but more of a complaint and wish of the removal of one Uzumaki Naruto from the academy. Fugaku was happy to tell the worried parent that it wasn't within the police's line of work to interfere with the education system and to seek someone else. A messy thing, politics.
Naruto laughed nervously. "Uh, heh, funny story. You see, the Japanese teacher says I disrupt class too much and kicks me out before class starts. Japanese is before lunch, so I have a few free hours and I thought, 'hey, maybe I can con-' er, 'ask Minion-kun to buy me lunch'. Then we can go paint a few walls and yeah..."
"Do you not eat lunch at school?" Fugaku asked, thinking of all the bento his wife made for his sons and himself. He knew the boy currently had a caregiver come in every now an then to make sure the boy didn't starve. She should be at least providing the boy food.
"Ah, well, Emiko-nee makes me bento. But there's this old homeless guy who's kinda blind and can't hear to good. Something like a exploding tag blew up in his face while on a mission as a chunin and he found the closest village. He doesn't know how to sense chakra and can't get a job because he's "unstable". Super paranoid and stuff. He doesn't let people approach him to often and I can't make him leave 'cause he's waiting for a rescue squad. But anyway, he needs my bento more then me," Naruto explained.
Fugaku stared down at the boy before he asked, "why haven't you informed anyone of him?"
Naruto sighed dramatically, "'cause I've only known the dude for around a month and have only really started talking to him recently. Besides, it's not like anyone would listen to me."
Fugaku didn't like the look on the boy's face. He couldn't place which emotion it was, but either way, it didn't look right on the child.
Fugaku's mind wandered, or went straight (Uchiha do not wander), to the thought of a blind, deaf, old chunin living homeless somewhere in Konoha. Who knows if the man was even of the Leaf.
"Boy, where is this man?" Fugaku asked.
Naruto eyed the man suspiciously. "You gonna lock him away?"
Fugaku narrowed his dark eyes. "I shouldn't need to."
"If I show you where he is," Naruto started bargaining, "will you buy me ramen afterward?"
Fugaku thought through this. His family wasn't home, it was his day off, and he would have to make food for himself or just eat leftovers. He also had the feeling the kid wouldn't willingly show him or lead him to the potentially dangerous foreign shinobi.
"Fine," Fugaku grudgingly agreed. He was in the mood for ramen anyway, but Mikoto was never quite able to make it without adding too much salt.
"Yatta!" Naruto cheered. "Well what are you standing there for? Old man joints getting to you? Let's go talk Chunin-jiji out of living in a dumpster for the rest of his life!"
Fugaku watched the blonde ball of excitement run out of his compound before he followed, a bad feeling settling into his stomach as he left.
…
Uzumaki Naruto: 6th Year of the 7th Timeline, 20th Day of the 9th Month
"-and that's how you're going to die. Everything is already set up. Questions, comments, concerns?" Naruto asked, gathering the papers he laid out in front of the very stressed Uchiha.
"Remind me again why we're faking my death," Shisui said, face resting in his palms. It had been a very long day.
"To prevent your real death," Naruto replied, happily rubbing his distended stomach. Ramen~
"Uh-huh, and how do you know I'm going to die?" Shisui could feel his migraine increasing.
"A little birdie told me," Naruto said honestly; granted it was a crow summoning ex-nuke-nin in a previous life that had a thing for illusions; but technicalities don't matter too much.
"Right. Remind me again why I'm going along with this," Shisui said rhetorically.
"You signed yourself over to me, boy." Naruto whipped out the scroll with squiggles that were actually a seal and Shisui's name. "As far as your loyalties are concerned; you're my minion but allowed, with my expressed permission, to work under others. I'm awesome, you don't want to die, and I own your minion butt as much as (if not more) than Konohagakure."
Shisui pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I signed my life over to a devil child."
"Maa, you make it sound bad, Minion-kun." Naruto pouted. "You just signed your loyalties. Besides, it's perfectly legal and recognized by the Hokage."
"I still don't understand how you got the Hokage's seal on that document, and in all honesty, that fact scares me the most," Shisui said, eyeing the document.
"I asked him to make it official." Naruto shrugged. "He just signs things put in front of him."
"I don't believe this. I was tricked into signing a contract with a silver tongued snake!" Shisui cried.
"Oi! I'm obviously a fox. Mean Minion-kun!" Naruto yelled indignantly. "And I did not trick. You just didn't look close enough. Are you really a ninja?"
"I don't even know anymore! I should resign! I'm a failure of a shinobi." Shisui bawled dramatically into his hands. "What ninja get's out done by a child not from the Nara clan?"
Naruto shook his head with a smile. "And I thought the Drama Queen was dramatic, must be an Uchiha thing. Besides, I'm not a child. I am a senile century old man trapped in a child's body! Dattebayo!"
"A crazy child," Shisui mumbled, curled in the corner of the large room while drawing circles on the ground with his forefinger. "I sold my body to a crazy child."
Naruto patted his back sympathetically. "Better to give your body to a crazy child than a sociopath scientist that says he wants your body after giving you a bite with his Rabies Seal of Death. Seriously, science and sociopathy are not a good combination."
"No one would be stupid enough to do that," Shisui bemoaned.
"You'd be surprised, Minion-kun. You'd be very surprised," Naruto said in an all knowing voice.
Shisui looked up at the blonde worriedly. "I don't think I want to know."
Naruto's unfocused blue eyes gazed off into the distant future past. "No. You really don't."
Shisui's eyes widened and felt his curiosity and worry meters peak.
Naruto gave himself a shake. "Well, at least he's a fairly good leader. Though killing your minions is kinda counter productive. Hm, besides destructive tendencies and a severe lack of morality, he's an efficient leader. Natural politician, good with fixing financial problems, brilliant in the art of strategy, raised a village of his own, but good grief the man is off his rocker!
"I think he suffers from a chemical imbalance, personally; depression, paranoia, post traumatic stress, fixation on death, the whole shebang. Actually, that's not so different from mini-avenger duck-butt. Granted that's all theory, I know very little about psychology and medicine. Maybe I should look into reading up on some of those things. But let's say we can stabilize him, mentally. Say we get Baa-chan to fix his brain up. Can you imagine the possibilities. Half my problems, poof, gone, never to be seen again! Huh, I'm getting to old for this. Ahahaha, would you look at that, I'm rambling again."
Shisui just stared wide eyed and hesitantly asked, "Naruto-kun, what are you even talking about?"
"Hmn," Naruto hummed thoughtfully then shrugged. "I dunno. Anyway, that reminds me. Shisui, you've been an official member of the super secret club for a week now, and I think it's time you meet our friends."
"You have friends?" Shisui asked in surprise before ducking his head in mortified shame. "Sorry."
"Hm, allies I suppose is the 'correct' term, but that's like calling my club an underground organization. Nah, doesn't have the same ring to it's title. They're pretty much the same thing anyway." Naruto shrugged, unaffected by the unintentionally harsh words.
Shisui smiled sadly. He knew the kid didn't have many friends, if any, and that was probably why he latched onto Shisui so fiercely in the first place.
Even though the child's knowledge was suspicious, he was confident he could weasel something out of the kid. Silly D-ranks and the occasional shock from his loyalty seal was worth it. Curse that seal. The crazy brat really was an Uzumaki at heart.
But now the kid was acting his age and wanting him to meet his friends, likely other orphans who weren't told to avoid him. It made Shisui feel slightly honored.
"I'd love to meet them," Shisui said softly, "just lead the way."
Naruto smirked up at the man and Shisui got the distinct feeling that he miss interpreted something.
…
"Remind me again why I'm taking a child to the Forest of Death like Itachi takes Sasuke-kun to the playground." Shisui rubbed his temples. Yes, today has been a very long day.
Naruto and Shisui were standing outside the large electrified fencing and gate that separated training ground forty four from them. The truly massive trees dwarfed the ANBU and time traveler; lichen hung from their boughs like old drapery. Animal calls could be heard from inside the dark forest.
"We're here so you can make friends with my friends," Naruto said.
"What kind of friends do you have in here?" Shisui asked in horror, orphans and other children don't live in the Forest of Death.
"Hm, the typical man eating kind," Naruto said, fiddling with the gate controls.
Hearing a dull thump behind him, Naruto turned around to face the passed out Uchiha. With a raised eyebrow and couldn't help but wonder. 'Is he really an ANBU?'
Naruto sighed, grabbed the unconscious Uchiha and did a quick shunshin to the forest.
Setting the man down he plopped to the ground to work on his self created paperwork. Even the Mukage has the curse of the paperwork.
…
Uchiha Shisui: 15th Year of the 7th Timeline, 20th Day of the 9th Month
"Urgh, what happened?" Shisui asked, coming to the waking world feeling heavy limbed and sluggish. Not to mention the massive, skull splitting headache he now had.
"You passed out," Naruto said flatly, idly rolling his scrolls back up.
Naruto was sitting in the grass not far from the Uchiha's head and was surrounded by scrolls, seals, books, and varies other oddities. Packing it all up as he said, "I already explained to my friends you were my ally. Since you were completely out of it to properly meet them, you'll have to meet them later. However, they agreed to not attack you on sight."
Shisui peered up at the canopy; it was always difficult to distinguish the time, with the thick leaves blocking the light, in the Forest of Death.
"You've been out for about three to four hours. Sun has already set," Naruto said and stretched as he stood up and walked over to Shisui's prone figure. "Why didn't you tell me you exhausted your chakra. Coming straight from a mission with that low of chakra was a stupid and dangerous thing to do. You should've gone to bed and slept. No matter what Fugaku-san told you."
Shisui slowly stood up next to Naruto, head pulsing painfully to remind him that he was in need of more then a few hours of sleep on the ground. "How did we get here and why did you bring me here?"
"There are ways to get grown ninja into places while they're passed out." Naruto shrugged. "It was also the closest safe spot I could think of."
Shisui blinked owlishly, "Forest of Death" and "safe spot" did not belong in the same context unless "not" was placed alongside with them. Shisui was going to press for some answers when Naruto stiffened and looked off into the forest. He glanced at the swaying shinobi and back into the forest.
"Naru-" Shisui began, but was cut off by a small hand covering his mouth.
"You're not stable enough for a safe shunshin, you'll be fine. I'll be fine and was never here," Naruto hissed in his ear before disappearing into the shadows of the gloomy and dark forest.
"W-wait, it's not safe for a child," Shisui called out to Naruto and stumbled before faceplanting. "I really have sold my soul to a devil child."
"Now why on this lousy earth would you do something like that?" A feminine voice asked high above him.
Shisui's head whipped upward to see a vaguely familiar kunoichi. She was a bit older than he was, with light purple hair. She held herself in a way that demanded respect while being equally relaxed. When she shifted her position on the low branch, he could see her muscles move smoothly; conveying to even an unskilled civilian she was physically powerful. Her eyes shone with determination and inner turmoil, not uncommon in ninja. All in all, Shisui thought she was one "strong, powerful, and hot kunoichi..."
The kunoichi raised an eyebrow. "And you're an exhausted and weak shinobi."
"Oi!" Shisui cried out indignantly. "I have you know, Kunoichi-san, that I am not weak."
"Says the boy collapsed in the mud," she replied, lips slanting in amusement. "If not weakness, then idiocy is your problem. Few are stupid enough to fall asleep in the mud in the middle of one of the most dangerous training grounds."
Shisui stiffly got up, trying to protect what was left of his dignity. But alas! It was all for naught.
The young kunoichi rolled her eyes and muttered, "men and their egos."
Shisui straitened his back and probably would've looked like the formidable man he was if it weren't for the mud clinging to his cloths, blood shot eyes and slight sway in his stance.
Sighing, she jumped down beside him. "You look like the walking dead. What did you do? Move the Hokage Monument by brute strength alone?"
"Mission," he replied, glancing around warily. He wasn't very comfortable in training ground forty four and questioned the sanity of the people who came here willingly (such as the woman in front of him and the happy little blond).
"You'd have to be an even bigger moron then I originally thought, going training after a hard mission is stupidity at its finest." She smiled patronizingly. "Can't say I've seen your face around here. You come here often?"
"No," Shisui said and glanced at her. "What's your name?"
A brief look of surprise flashed across her face before she smirked. "It's rude to ask for a name when you haven't given your own."
"My name's Shisui, and your's milady?"
"Charming. But I am not obligated to tell you my name." She smiled sweetly.
Shisui frowned, sneaky kunoichi.
She snickered. "Go home, get some sleep, grow a brain."
"Why I-"
"Later Shisui-kun." She winked and disappeared.
Shisui blushed and looked down at his mud caked feet. "Women..."
…
Uzumaki Naruto: 6th Year of the 7th Timeline, 21st Day of the 9th Month
Naruto secured the last floor to ceiling shelf in place; the entire back wall was covered in open shelves waiting for books, files, and scrolls to fill them. Naruto planned on installing a rolling ladder to reach the higher shelves later. Really they were so high that he'd have to be a giant, a biju, or have whatever creepy body jutsu thing Orochimaru does with his neck to reach the top. Chakra clinging could destroy the poor papers or mess with their seals, so a rolling ladder was a must. Besides, rolling ladders were awesome.
Shisui was building a loft above the door for added floor space. About ten meters by four meters with spiral staircases to the right of the door.
Naruto turned to look at the Uchiha after he was done with the shelves. Raising an eyebrow at the starry eyed boy, he smiled and walked under the beams to where Shisui was perched. "Is Minion-kun thinking about a pretty lady friend?"
Shisui startled from his thoughts, it had only been a day since he was left behind in the Forest of Death and met that kunoichi.
"Ooh~ It is a girl." Naruto's smile widened. Time to mess with his favorite minion. "Does she have long eyelashes that flutter like the wings of a butterfly when she looks at you, eyes dark as the night but twinkle with a million stars when she laughs, a petite frame, delicate pale skin that resembles moonlight, and silky black hair that looks like a river of liquid obsidian?"
Shisui paused what he and his clone were doing to look down at the blond. "Firstly, if the ninja career doesn't work out for you, become a poet or a romantic novelist. And second, how the heck do come up with mushy nonsense like that?
"Heard it all before." Naruto pouted and then glowered at the floor like it offended his family. "You try coming out of editing that book without crap like that floating around your head."
Shisui looked down at the jinchuriki with curiosity.
"Well, what's this chick's name?" Naruto asked, bringing back the topic.
"...I don't know," Shisui mumbled, drilling the last beam into place.
Naruto slapped his forehead. "Describe her, maybe I know her."
Shisui gave him a skeptical look.
"I know more than you think," the young (old) boy reminded him.
Shisui sighed and jumped down from where he was. "She has spiky lavender hair, tied up in an almost Nara style. She wears-"
"Wait!" Naruto butted in, hands held up to stop the Uchiha from continuing. "Did you meet her in the Forest of Death after I left?"
"Yes," Shisui replied.
"Anko? Really?" Naruto asked, staring up at his dark haired minion. "You chose the Snake Mistress? Sure she can be real nice and strangely good at parenting skills, but Anko? Of all the people to crush on..."
"So her name is Anko." Shisui hummed in thought, a light blush shading his cheekbones.
"Like a love sick puppy." Naruto groaned. "You can like her all you want, but I doubt she'll reciprocate."
"Why not?" Shisui asked, looking offended and hopped down to face the shrimp.
Naruto glanced at Shisui from the corner of his eye. He and Hinata had chosen Anko to be their kids' godmother. Kurenai was killed on a mission gone wrong. Anko wasn't the closest to Hinata's sensei, but they were pretty friendly, and she comforted Hinata similar to how a mother would when the news came Hinata's second mother died. By the time Hinata learned she was pregnant,both of the new parents agreed that Anko would be the godmother.
Anko might not have said anything at the time, but both could tell she was truly happy to be made an official member of the Namikaze-Uzumaki-Hyuuga's little family. She had friends but held them at arms length. Anko didn't marry in any of the past Timelines and never truly dated...with the exception of that one date that ended up with a blown up fish stand. Naruto guessed her lonely tendencies stemmed from Orochimaru doing a number on her social life when he turned traitor.
"She has had a rough life, which I'm sure when you ever snoop into her files you'll find out yourself, but she doesn't let others get to close to her. Not easily that is. She's a hurt and lonely individual, puts on a brave front, but good at heart," Naruto said.
Shisui twirled a bolt between his fingers before he said, "then I'll be a friend."
Naruto smiled. "Good plan lad, just try not to get skewered by her dango sticks when you approach her in the streets. I only have one minion at the moment and I don't want to lose him because he was making goo goo eyes at a strong kunoichi."
"What?" Shisui asked.
"Shisui-san," Naruto said solemnly, placing a hand on the ANBU's forearm. "My tall and confused friend. Anko is one of the best ninja out there because no one watches her back. Surprise her and you'll be deader than your ancestors. Insult her competence and you'll be in for something worse than Ibiki's idea of torture. She also is sucker for sweet things like dango, so you'll 'accidentally' run into her about two and a half weeks from now at the dango shop during the Kyuubi festival."
"Oh." Shisui's eyes widened in realization, the kid had been dropping him tips. He decided that the boy was strangely insightful for six year old.
Naruto nodded. "Dress your best; but if you go all noble's silk and embroidered style on her, sorry, but you lost your chance."
"Got it, are you going to the festival? You have a caretaker, correct?" Shisui asked, looking down at the little boy.
Naruto stilled and grinned up at Shisui. "Heh-heh, nah. Don't really want to go and Emiko is going to go with her friend."
"Oh," Shisui said, frowning. "Why don't you want to go to the festival?"
Naruto gave him a blank look that practically screamed that he thought Shisui was an idiot for not knowing. "I'm the jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox that pulverized this place six years ago. What do you think will happen if they see me walking around the festival?"
Shisui shrunk under his skin, he admittedly had forgotten that the happy go-lucky blond boy that had a super high maturity rate for his age was a jinchuriki.
"Sorry, I forgot," Shisui apologized.
"You forgot," Naruto slowly said, "Minion-kun, it's not good to forget potentially life threatening foes' existence. Maybe I should have Jiji get a Yamanaka give you a psyche evaluation."
"You are not my foe, Naruto-kun," Shisui said, looking down at the boy with a tinge of sadness.
Naruto sighed dramatically. "You know what I mean. Just because The Great and Terrible Fluff isn't seen, he's still present and likely to murder you if let lose upon the earth."
"Fluff," Shisui repeated incredulously.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "He's big and fluffy, has a terrible temper, and a great amount of power. Hence, The Great and Terrible Fluff."
"What on earth." Shisui shook his head. Unable to grasp the conversation he found himself in, Shisui decided to change it. "So, do you have any plans for your birthday?"
"Hm." Naruto tapped his chin in thought. "I'm planning on working on the secret hideout, maybe finish the loft now that there's stairs. Make railings, get some furnishing for the lower level and upper levels. Add a ladder to the bookcases. Get some rugs too, very important. Draw up some additional plans for the side rooms, things to do, things to do."
"I meant for you birthday, Naruto-kun," Shisui said.
Naruto nodded. "And I told you my plan."
Shisui frowned. "That's sad, no birthday party, cake, presents, nothing?"
Naruto tilted his head in thought. "I think Jiji might send me something, like a blanket or something. Maybe that ANBU guy will too, he gave me a sleeping hat last time. Emiko, my caretaker, and Nobuo, a new jounin that Emiko likes, are short on money and are making a cake for the 9th since I didn't want it on the 10th. I convinced them to go to the festival without me on my actual birthday and will 'celebrate' tomorrow. Emiko understands, but Nobuo was a real pain to convince. Stubborn shinobi."
"I see," Shisui said, he didn't know what to say. "Is there anything you want?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought, "well my hotplate has some open wires, so wire tape would be nice. You know, the hard plastic rubber stuff that's all sticky on one side?"
"That's not a birthday present, that's something you need in fear of something becoming a safety hazard," Shisui said, "don't you want anything?"
"Peace?" Naruto offered. "A world that won't destroy itself?"
"You're pretty bent on thinking the world is going to be destroyed," Shisui said.
"Hm, not destroyed, per se, just the people in it if we don't do anything," Naruto said.
"Right, but what do you want? Materialistic things?" Shisui said,trying to get an answer he could pull off and wasn't super boring.
Naruto stared at Shisui for a moment. "I find that one will have a happier life when you are content with what you have, you can't really take anything with you to the afterlife."
"You're a strange kid. What kid doesn't want action figures, play kunai, manga, toys, and ridiculously over priced items?" Shisui asked, then paused, "I didn't know you believed in an afterlife."
Naruto shrugged. "There is such a thing as spirits, no?"
"I think so, but others don't," Shisui replied neutrally.
"Hm, that is true. But where do you think spirits go? This is the realm of the physical," Naruto said motioning around him.
"I suppose they could float around or something," Shisui said, if there was one thing that you usually didn't talk to people about. It was religion, politics, and the debate on whether cats or dogs were better. It was so cats.
"I'm inclined to believe there is an afterlife, Minion-kun," Naruto said, "it has been something that I've believed for a while. I hope to see my parents one day...and maybe it's just that hope. But I think I've seen a glimpse of the Otherside and I've seen things that can only be explained by spiritual means...though there will always be doubters."
Shisui was silent for a little while. "That escalated quickly. But, uh, surely I can get you something for your birthday."
"Oh, ah, a few maps of the continent would be nice. Political borders, geography, things like that would be fine," Naruto said, coughing into his sleeve. "Anyway, you have tomorrow and the day after tomorrow off as a Village holiday. See you on the eleventh, Minion-kun."
Naruto walked out of the soon to be base of his future organization and was no sooner home when Emiko asked, "Did you have fun with your new friend?"
"Yup, our fort looks awesome," Naruto chirped.
Emiko smiled. "I'll have to meet him someday."
"Okay," Naruto agreed, "what are we making for dinner?"
"Come up here and I'll show you," Emiko said, pointing to a stool.
Around the same time Shisui was heating up leftovers when Itachi dropped by.
Shisui smiled at his younger cousin. "Is there something you need, Itachi-kun?"
Itachi's blinked before offering a small smile. "Kaa-san wants me to ask you over for dinner."
"Sure, I'll be over in a moment," Shisui said, putting the leftovers back in the fridge. "What have you been up to?"
"Regular duties," Itachi replied, "I haven't seen you around."
Shisui closed the fridge, remembering his orders to follow Itachi. Orders that he had been neglecting. Oops. "I'm taking a special mission from the Hokage."
"Oh?" Itachi moved to leave the kitchen with Shisui.
"Glorified babysitting," Shisui expanded.
Itachi raised an eyebrow and didn't comment, both walked to dinner in silence.
…
Later that day, Fugaku sat with his family at the table. Normally an Uchiha family dinner would consist of proper body posture, formal eating discipline, and quiet talk between the members (with the exception of Shisui). However, this time, it was not a normal Uchiha family dinner.
Poor Uchiha Fugaku was still recovering from his ordeal over lunch with the resident Jinchuriki. That is, if recovering meant trying to burn the horrific event from his mind. It was horrifying enough for his sharingan to activate and successfully etch the image of a monstrous little boy eating.
Mikoto noticed her husband's fidgeting, food poking, and twitching hands.
Shisui noticed his uncle's shuffling feet that indicated unease.
Itachi noticed his father's far away gaze that spoke of unimaginable horrors and troubles.
Sasuke didn't notice anything. He wasn't a ninja yet.
After a long silence Fugaku imparted his words of wisdom unto his family. "If a blond ever asks you to buy him ramen. Refuse. Then tactfully retreat as quickly as possible without seeming rushed. If he follows you, turn a corner and disappear like the wind."
Mikoto was concerned and decided to talk with him later.
Shisui was wondering what Naruto did to create that reaction.
Itachi was mildly confused as to what could've agitated his father so.
Sasuke committed his father's wisdom to memory. It was rare for his father gave advice; and if he did, it was usually one on one. So if he shared it with the entire family, it must've been vital information.
As Mikoto fell asleep that night, she could've sworn she heard her husband whimper, "I hate ramen.
By morning it was as if the whole thing never happened. When later asked about the gaping hole in Fugaku's wallet, Fugaku was equally confused and replied, "I don't know where my money is."
…
Omake
(Files)
It took a while, but let it not be said that Uchiha Shisui lacks determination. After hours of asking and searching and reading, he finally found it.
Mitarashi Anko's file.
He was lucky to have clearance to read it. Who knew that her file would be so guarded?
Well...it made sense...
After all, with her sensei being Orochimaru of the Sannin, security was bound to be a little tight around her. The whole incident with Orochimaru was a mess, he heard. Experimentation. Ew. Not the weirdest thing he's heard of, but the point stands.
Shisui's hands clenched. But Anko was taught by the creepy sannin. So that could only mean one thing.
"She must be awesome to spar with!"
"Shhh!" The librarian glared at him.
"Sorry," whispered Shisui, smiling sheepishly.