Power play:
The following weeks Kakashi spent most of his free time training Naruto.
After spending a few days helping the child perfect the smokescreen jutsu, Kakashi quietly added a bout of physical exercises to their routine, pleased at how well Naruto fell into this new practice mode already. Day after day, he sat patiently while Naruto steadily built up his endurance.
Kakashi did not introduce him to any new nin-jutsu. Instead, he spent hours each day teaching Naruto different levels of tai-jutsu. Kakashi was determined that Naruto should be strong enough to defend himself, haunted by a notion of an eminent attack.
At least until I get to him.
The child was hard-working, clumsy yet determined and wanted fiercely to become a ninja. Disconcertingly, Naruto could change from a serious student to a spirited prankster in a matter of seconds. These pranks for some reason were never directed at Kakashi, but the ANBU guards, Genma and sometimes even the cook at Ichiraku all suffered spectacularly.
At first, the ANBU resented having to guard the strange blonde child, who was the village's jinchuriki and a general taboo. But each day, Naruto forced them to acknowledge him, forced them to feel…and, it was not long before they competed with each other for the boy's attention.
Naruto had soon learnt the names of all masks, beginning with Boar who was the first to succumb to his bright smile. Kakashi watched on with an amused half lidded eye, as one after the other, each socially inept Shinobi came forward to give advice on how to kick, how to relax and stand motionless, tips on how to hold the kunai at the right angle etc.
Naruto was quick and eager. It needed only one or two repetitions for him to reproduce the moves and inflections perfectly, and once he had it, he seldom forgot. Soon, his elementary hand-to-hand combat moves passed from abysmal to poor, to good and finally, to perfect.
If not sufficiently occupied, he would become bored and pull highly structured pranks. Though all about him were fascinated by the boy's bright blue eyes and his influential nature, Naruto seemed quite unaware of it. He repaid their adulation with charming smiles and friendliness, but remained a free spirit.
The child reserved his affection only for Kakashi.
The boy was ravenous for training and craved Kakashi's praise like a lifeline. That was until they got to the reading and writing part.
Clearly he learns with his body better than his mind.
Kakashi sighed mildly. He was watching Naruto scrawl untidily, with an intense look of concentration his tongue sticking out of his mouth.
Naruto was simply not interested to learn to read and write, considered it a waste of time even. Hence, Kakashi had to resort to tricking the boy into learning. He made up simple word games, delighting the child with riddles and word rhyming, used ramen cups to teach simple addition and multiplication. He designed games of treasure hunts to make the child read and remember the names of various streets and numbers.
Naruto groaned and gave up the paper to Kakashi, loudly declaring that he was done for the day and skipping into the kitchen to look for a snack.
There was a knock and the front door banged open.
"Yo…the Hokage sent you this," said Genma strolling inside like he owned the place. He tossed a scroll to Kakashi and went to greet Naruto.
Kakashi read the scroll carefully and glanced up at Genma once.
"I have a mission," he announced quietly, watching Naruto frown a little.
Genma nodded. Kakashi disappeared into his room and returned a few seconds later in his ANBU uniform, his glaring hound mask set to the side of his face.
Genma looked up in some surprise, "So soon?"
"Almost immediately," said Kakashi in a low voice, he went and crouched down in front of Naruto.
"Will you be alright alone? I cannot spare any guards, but I can get a sitter if you'd like."
"Otousan won't be home for dinner?" Naruto demanded.
"I will be gone for two days… maybe three," said Kakashi.
When Naruto's face fell, he stood up abruptly, "A ninja should never shrink from his missions Naruto," he said softly.
Naruto fidgeted as though making some difficult decision and finally nodded. Kakashi placed a hand gently on his head.
"I have to leave now... Genma?"
"He will be fine. I'll keep an eye on things. Besides, your perimeter seals are fucking strong."
Kakashi nodded, and disappeared.
After raiding the kitchen, Genma decided that they should to go for an afternoon walk around the village. He let Naruto run on, choosing their route, carefully keeping him within range, but never imposing. Eventually, they ended up in the park very near to the academy. Genma brought the lad a lemon ice and, after telling him to play for a while, leapt away before he could protest.
Naruto sat by himself and finished his treat quietly. His sprits suddenly lifted when he spotted a familiar mop of black hair at the other end of the park.
"SASUKE! OIII…SASUUUKEEE!" Naruto yelled running wildly towards Sasuke. Not managing to stop in time, Naruto stumbled, tried groping at Sasuke, but fell down bringing Sasuke with him.
Sasuke stood up and whacked Naruto on the head. But Naruto was still grinning ear to ear.
"You are such a dobe," said Sasuke eventually, also smiling.
"Am not. I'm a ninja," declared Naruto, "Do you want to see?"
"Huh? …Alright," said Sasuke, and without giving Naruto a change to prepare, jumped at him.
Itachi sighed watching the scene. Beside him Shisui chuckled quietly. They were sitting on a bench in a far corner near the tea stall, taking a break from police duty. Another figure stood behind them, "Itachi-sama, shall I fetch the children away from the monster?" he muttered disdainfully, shaking his head.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Tekka? He is just another ordinary kid," Shisui said sounding a bit angry.
Tekka looked troubled but didn't argue. He soon excused himself and departed.
"He is spying on you," Shisui stated.
"I know."
"I don't like it," Shisui said scowling.
Itachi didn't reply. They watched Naruto and Sasuke fight. Sasuke was good but Naruto was equally skilled. The match looked like a draw, until Naruto disappeared suddenly, leaving Sasuke looking utterly bewildered.
A tingle like sound cut through the air as two pairs of Sharingan activated simultaneously. Itachi and Shisui watched Naruto hide behind a screen like an expert.
"Not an ordinary kid after all," Shisui said softly.
"Now now gentlemen," said Genma, appearing in a flash, "activated blood-lines are banned this close to the academy. That's the law," he gestured at their police uniform, "You should know."
"Konichiwa Genma-san! Long time no see eh? Has that scarecrow of yours turned you against us?" said Shisui his eyes a shiny black.
"Shisui!" said Itachi in a mild voice.
"Ah…maybe not the copy-ninja then, is it maybe because, YOU..." said Shisui, flinging a shuriken at Genma, "…owe me money?"
Genma laughed as he dodged the weapon. Shisui removed another shuriken, but his hand was stopped by Itachi.
"I can legally kill you for wielding a weapon near the academy," Itachi said in the same mild tone.
"Kill me?" Shisui laughed aloud, "one day with buffoons like that," he said gesturing at Genma, "or your scarecrow, or even the shorty there," he said pointing at Sasuke," you'd miss me so badly, you'd be begging all deities to send me back." Shisui laughed again, "Besides, I can always make you change your mind, Itachi."
They locked eyes for a few seconds; Genma's instinct went on high alert immediately, making him watch them calculatingly. And then Itachi unexpectedly smirked.
"You will never change niisan," he said almost affectionately, "It is supposed to be a secret for now."
"Hai hai, it won't remain so for long," said Shisui grinning, immensely pleased to make Itachi smile.
After winning the match Naruto came running to meet them. Sasuke followed with a sour expression.
"Yaa! Itachi-niichan," said Naruto waving happily.
"Naruto-kun, a pleasant surprise. How are you?" replied Itachi.
"I'm good niichan."
"This is my cousin, Uchiha Shisui," said Itachi, waving an elegant hand towards Shisui.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, and looked at all the three Uchihas with a bewildered expression.
"He looks just like you, but with shorter hair," he said slowly.
Shisui lost his laid back posture as he started to laugh, "That's because we are all related Naruto-kun. Now, where did you learn to fight?"
"My Tousan"
"Ah…" said Shisui, as if that explained it, "Hatake doesn't gut children anymore, does he?" he asked Genma casually.
Itachi sighed and rolled his eyes. The two children looked at Genma to see the reply to this.
Genma chuckled easily, "Not that I know of."
Naruto suddenly didn't like this Shisui man very much. "How do you know my Tousan?" he demanded.
"Hmmm," Shisui leaned back, hands behind his head and made a show of thinking deeply, "we used to work in the same squad," here he gave a sly look to Itachi, "Hatake was this cruel, cold and sardonic Taicho. Efficient but heartless. I remember that one mission which involved eliminating bandits, only the bandits were a group of children and Hatake used his bare hands to-"
"That's quite enough Shisui," admonished Itachi. Seeing Naruto's startled expression, he added, "Kakashi-sempai is a great ninja and cares for you Naruto-kun."
"Of course, he should," Shisui butted in snidely, "You are the reason he is a member of Konoha's council."
"I don't think niisan is telling the truth Naruto," said Sasuke, "he usually doesn't."
"Fine," said Shisui, "Don't listen to me. I'm just saying it as it is. Your Tousan is an ok ninja. A good ally. Just don't get on his bad side…he is known for stealing jutsus, butchering teammates and ripping out eyes and-"
"Shisui," interrupted Itachi in a dangerous voice. This time Shisui obeyed and fell silent.
"Why don't I take the lads to Ichiraku?" Genma said, "I'll drop Sasuke-kun off at the district later."
Itachi nodded and they left quickly.
"Let's run Shisui, I need to stretch my legs," said Itachi. Soon they were flying across the rooftops, crossing the village at mind numbing speed. They halted on the tallest tower in the village, breathing heavily. Shisui removed two soda cans from his person and threw one to Itachi, who caught it gracefully.
After taking a long sip, Itachi spoke quietly, "Tousan has almost settled your marriage."
"Hai. He told me about it."
"Do you know her?" asked Itachi.
"I know of her," Shisui quietly replied.
"You could refuse niisan."
Shisui just sighed.
Shisui's father had married an outsider against the clan's wishes and had lost all respect within the clan. She had died giving birth to his brother. His father soon followed her, leaving Shisui and his brother, literally to the wilderness. There were outcasts nobody wanted to touch.
Then Mikoto entered their lives with her gentle yet firm way. She nursed Isamu (Shisui's brother) and urged Shisui to become a ninja. She bullied Fugaku into enrolling Shisui in extra lessons at the academy, so that he would learn what he had missed. She praised his achievements and remembered to rub salve on his injuries. And when Shisui had activated his Sharingan just two days after Itachi, Mikoto made sure he was noticed by the elders. She made Shisui important within the clan.
How could he not give himself to her?
"I will not refuse Mikoto-sama anything," said Shisui quietly.
Itachi knew that tone well. He breathed deeply, letting silence fall between them. Evening was fast approaching, and it grew steadily colder.
"Sometimes…I feel the clan, Tousan, Kaasan demand things I cannot give…things I cannot understand," said Itachi in a whisper.
"You do not have the luxury of feeling that way Itachi," said Shisui gently.
Itachi didn't say anything.
"Do you know the real reason Kaasan is determined on getting you married to Noriko-san?"
"To preserve the purity in the Sharingan," Shisui replied sounding as though he had heard it many times.
Itachi hesitated. Shisui was severely underestimating Mikoto. Can't he see she was merely using him as a pawn? A pawn, she will sacrifice if need maybe.
"Noriko-san's grandfather is the oldest member in our clan. And the richest. Her parents are dead, and she is the sole inheritor."
"I am not interested-"started Shisui, but Itachi held up his hand.
"After Noriko-san is betrothed her grandfather intends to retire permanently and Kaasan is determined that you should take his place in the council."
Alongside ME…The one place where she is not allowed. And if Shisui's new astounding ability can be perfected…
Shisui sat stunned, completely immobile.
"Me? …a.. a council member? "Shisui asked in disbelief.
"Hai," said Itachi, and frowned, "and why not? You do most work than all of them put together."
A variety of emotions floated through Shisui. Some bringing back painful memories and some utter hopefulness for the future. For this was Shisui's dream…to prove that he was not bad blood, to redeem his father, to serve the clan, to be true Uchiha. This was his weakness and Mikoto knew this.
"Are you alright?"Itachi asked softly.
When Shisui still didn't reply, he said in a mildly teasing tone, "are you imagining yourself in the official robes? You are going to look ridiculous."
The sun had set completely and a light drizzle had stared. Shisui finally lifted his head, his eyes oddly shinning bright, "I promise, I will serve the clan and Mikoto-sama with my life."
Itachi felt immense sadness. This was exactly what Mikoto wanted after all. Strangely, even he felt relief at Shisui's words, and he hated himself for it. What cold and manipulative beings power makes of people!
Perhaps this will be a good thing… if he and Shisui steadily improve together they could be invincible. Fugaku had hinted that there are still scrolls containing dangerous and powerful secrets of the Sharingan. But only eyes worthy enough can read them.
Itachi's mouth filled with ashes as he considered just how they would be asked to prove their worthiness.
A group of police approached them.
"Itachi-sama, Shisui-san," greeted one of them," Urgent summons by Fugaku-sama. All jonin level Uchiha are to report to the HQ immediately"
"What about the patrol?" asked Shisui.
"It is already arranged Shisui-san."
He looked at Itachi and nodded once before teleporting away. Itachi gazed skywards for a few seconds.
And so it begins.
He made a seal and followed Shisui.
author's note:
dear reader,
enjoy and plz review.