Itachi sat sedately at his desk, as his cousin entered precisely as expected and sprawled across the bed as if it were his own.
"Go ahead. Tell me I was wrong."
The prince remained silent, steadily reading the dossier on Shisui's newest toy. The elder of the two singled out one of the new recruits each year. Without fail, the boy he selected would be the first to quit. He had a knack for knowing which ones wouldn't make the cut, and to soothe his bleeding heart, Shisui pushed until the boy broke and asked to be sent home. Shisui saw it as performing a favor, sparing the life of someone that wasn't cut out for shinobi life.
Itachi understood. Shisui strove to be open-minded, never stubbornly believing in one ideal solely and looked for that unique nature of current situation before him. He wasn't afraid to tell others when they were making mistakes. But he was also deeply compassionate. It was better to break a boy's psyche while young, convincing him that leaving the Shinobi institute was for the best than to stand aside and watch them die on their first C-rank.
He was similar. Being the heir resulted in a metaphorical wall between himself and essentially every person in the kingdom, even branch members of his family. Shisui was the only one to disregard the stigmatism and truly become a friend. Itachi thrived in that distance, however, gaining insight by observing individuals and ideas without getting directly involved. His status prevented Itachi from becoming close with many people, but he turned it into an advantage.
Until Akatsuki.
Peace was something the teen longed for. His father would snap and berate his foolishness, but Itachi held fast to his belief that true peace, not the farce the Elemental Nations lived with currently, was possible.
The so-called war with the samurai nation continued only because neither side would have a purpose if they laid down arms. What would become of the warriors if the fighting ceased? Neither was willing to consider the thought and blindly, thoughtlessly, continued to send good men to their deaths.
Which was where Akatsuki came in.
Inevitably, there were innocent people caught in the crossfire, easily written off as the collateral of war and forgotten about before the ink on the mission report had finished drying.
The tiny nation of Amegakure was one such casualty. From its destruction rose Akatsuki, determined to bring lasting peace. But not with the samurai. Amegakure had been torn apart when the king ordered a squadron of ninja to crush a rising rebellion in Kusagakure.
Shisui literally stumbled into the Dancing Hawk one day and had been caught off guard to see his prince and cousin more at ease with the small group of mercenaries than he was in his own home. Then he had done his best to persuade Itachi that joining up with Akatsuki was a terrible idea. He only needed to wait until his father stepped aside and Itachi could make all the changes he ever dreamed of. But Itachi had a counter argument ready for every reason Shisui could imagine (and some that he hadn't considered).
Itachi truly felt Akatsuki was the best option for the future he envisioned, so Shisui bullied them into accepting him as well. Someone needed to look out for him.
"You have good instincts, Shisui."
"But not as good as yours." Itachi inclined his head. "There's something about that kid."
At that, Itachi suppressed a smirk. Indeed, there was something different about Satoshi Haruno.
The prince was his mentor. Or hers, he should say. Itachi knew from the first day that Satoshi was not the boy he claimed to be.
He found himself intrigued by the girl. Enough so, to not report her. He wondered how long her masquerade would go unnoticed and thought the instructors of the Shinobi Institute deserved the heart attack that would come when the truth was revealed for allowing their skills to wither to the point an untrained girl could dupe them.
There were subtle differences in facial structure between females and males. But those slight differences were what ninja were trained to notice.
In Satoshi's case, the differences could be attributed to young age. But her face was entirely too effeminate to be accounted for as a boy who was still yet growing. At first glance, her face was softer and rounder, particularly the jaw. The bridge of her nose was more slender and not was wide at the base. Her mouth was closer to her nose than a male's would be. With time, her lips would be fuller, a surefire indication of her true gender. Her eyes, also, were larger and opened wider. Lastly, her eyebrows were thin and curved slightly, whereas his were thicker and straight and set closer to the eye.
Altogether, it signaled that Satoshi was actually a female. And knowing the laws, as much as the prince thought them unfair, Itachi was interested in learning her reasons for why. Why pretend to be a boy for eight years? Why had she chosen to attend the Shinobi Institute when the punishment would be death? There was no way she was foolish enough to imagine that her secret would not be discovered.
Itachi was slightly disappointed that she never had reason to approach him, for he wanted to learn more about her. He had expected her to seek him after the afternoon's revelations, but Satoshi had returned to the palace and fell back into her routine like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"Satoshi could prove useful, in a couple of years."
Shisui sighed heavily. "Yeah, yeah. I know the kid's only ten, but he's the most determined ten-year-old I know."
Itachi slanted dark eyes at his cousin. Considering he knew both Sasuke, who's only goal was to surpass his brother, and Naruto, who had managed to truly befriend his little brother, that was quite the statement.
"The boy works harder than some jounin I know. Have you ever asked about his schedule?" Shisui's question was rhetorical, aware that before this afternoon the only time his cousin had spoken to Satoshi was the day the boy arrived. "He drills with his servant in the mornings before he attends lessons with Tsunade-sama."
"I thought she only taught females." Did the legendary medic know her newest pupil was actually a girl? He couldn't imagine a medic of her caliber mistaking Satoshi's true gender. Perhaps Tsunade was even helping her avoid detection.
"Me too, but the kid convinced her somehow. I thought Satoshi would be this year's drop out. The kid doesn't know how to quit, though. Every time I knock him down he crawls back up."
"Is that why you brought him to the Hawk? One last attempt to convince him to give up?"
Shisui's bangs swayed ruefully. "Even if it was I don't think it would work. No, I just had a feeling that I needed to bring Satoshi along."
"It cannot be changed now. Yahiko invited him back, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Satoshi again when next he's allowed to visit the city."
"Did I make a mistake, Itachi?"
Said teen had no words to offer his cousin. Whether or not he had made a mistake remained to be seen. It all depended on Satoshi's response.
Three days later Shisui received the answer to his question.
A fist knocked resolutely against the door. The chakra signature, twisting anxiously, belonged to Satoshi. Both Uchiha fell silent mid-conversation. For a moment, Itachi debated the wisdom of allowing the young boy in. Whatever use he might serve in the future, this moment was probably too early.
Nevertheless, he rose and answered the door.
"Do you require assistance with your assignments, Satoshi-kun?"
A well-mannered question, perfectly in role as her assigned mentor, but also a subtle reminder that she could turn away and pretend she had never dropped by.
Satoshi blinked, confused, then her expression chilled. Itachi absentmindedly noted she would need to practice hiding and faking her emotions, but it was a little much to expect that young children conceal how they felt.
"Am I allowed to ask for help on extracurricular assignments?" the girl posed.
Itachi was surprised enough at her subterfuge to let it show in the slight widening of his eyes. Behind him he could hear his cousin snickering. The gennin had carefully worded her question so that he would know she was referring to her meeting the Akatsuki. It was mostly precautionary. No doubt, lauded as the genius he was, Itachi knew upon seeing her outside his door what she wanted to discuss. But this way, Satoshi had given him the chance to turn her away, which she would accept he if he chose to do so, while simultaneously informing him that she wouldn't betray his secret.
Perhaps Shisui' instincts were right, in this case.
"Normally, I wouldn't allow it. Any additional assignments you procure are your responsibility, but it must be particularly difficult, Satoshi-kun, for you to finally bring your academic work to my attention."
Itachi stepped aside, allowing her admittance to his rooms. He shut the door and gracefully reclaimed his seat at his writing desk, a beautiful pine piece, motioning to Shisui who was sprawled on his bed covers.
"You are already acquainted with my cousin." Said teen chirped a gleeful greeting but didn't move.
He studied her as she observed his room, taking in the sparse arrangement of furniture. The room held only that which he needed, a bed, desk, wardrobe, a single shelf. The kotatsu was the only indulgence.
"I trust that you will exhibit caution in regards to the weekend's activity," he opened with.
Shisui sat at attention suddenly, dark Uchiha eyes flashing. "Oi, duckling! Didn't I tell you to stay out of Akatsuki's business?"
"No," she returned sharply, hiding her amusement at his stunned look. "You warned me there would be not walking away if I took Yahiko-san up on his offer."
Itachi shot his cousin a curious look, surmising that he must have warned the girl off during their weekly training session.
Shisui pinked lightly, not quite believing that a ten year old boy had called him out. "That'll teach me to be more careful with what I say. But I thought the message was pretty clear. This isn't something you want to involve yourself with, Satoshi."
"Why not? You said the Akatsuki's goal was peace."
At that, Itachi cocked a single eyebrow. He was content to watch Shisui continue to put his foot in his mouth.
"Each one of them is hardcore I-eat-little-kids-like-you-for-breakfast ninja without any loyalties!" Shisui said in effort to dissuade the red head's questions.
"Shisui."
Said boy blinked, taking in Satoshi's slowly paling face, and realized he had said too much.
"If they have no loyalties," the girl began, voice inconceivably soft, "then why do you support them?"
Shisui made to answer, most likely a denial or protest so he could guide the conversation in another direction, but Satoshi wasn't to be distracted.
"You're involved. Deeply. You haven't left or turned them in to the authorities. You haven't abandoned them because you believe in their cause, their purpose, and you want to see it realized."
His cousin stared at her, jaw hanging open, unable to respond, to refute the girl's powerful words, which had hit the nail on the head. He and Shisui both approved of the Akatsuki's dream, even if the elder boy was sometimes unsettled by their methods. Itachi didn't agree with them always, but he understood the necessity.
"You are remarkably wise for one so young, Satoshi," the prince commented. The girl ducked her head in response, blush spreading rapidly across her face.
"Akatsuki desires peace," Itachi explained simply.
"Do we not have that already?" she whispered.
Not wanting to expose her to the ugly truth, Itachi answered, "Peace does not last forever."
Satoshi was pensive as she reflected on his words. He thought in unfortunate, that the young girl's vision of the world would now warp. It wouldn't be long before she was seeing enemies where there were none. It made his heart twist in its place. He would never let his own brother in this far. As the elder brother, it was Itachi's responsibility to protect Sasuke from the darkness in the world. A larger, better planned civil war, waited in the wings. Yet, he was less hesitant about ripping the wool from Satoshi's eyes.
"I think that's all you need to know at this point." Itachi didn't miss how her eyes narrowed and knew that, for better or for worse, the girl would not reinsert herself back into her normal routine.