Knock me out
.
.
.
He is in Konoha. The biggest city in the Fire country.
It is not like this is his first time in the big city, but it is the first time he looks at it. Konoha is gigantic. The buildings are tall, and the architecture is all over the place. The people on the street dress like they are on random mode -Suit, green hair, red social shoes?!- and he had no idea there were so many graffiti on the building´s walls.
Shisui is no stranger to big metropolis, going from one meeting to another with his loyal work tablet, preparing for a difficult briefing all around the world -he has been in Konoha maybe more times than he can count. What is strange is that all he remembers of the famous city is being picked up at the airport by a company car and how the Uchiha Corp building looks from the inside.
White walls, white floor. Meeting room is on the thirteen floor, second door on the right.
He is a bit surprised but also not at the same time. He is a very simple man, very goal oriented, he works hard and sees nothing besides his objective. Since he only visited Konoha for work, it makes sense working is all he remembers.
The realization doesn't bother him because he takes pride on being good and accomplished. Shisui wakes up in the morning, writes a list of things to do in the day, cross checks it with the appointments on the calendar of his phone, updates it, and begin with his day. Usually his lists are so long sometimes a workday end just as the tasks do, and more often than he would like, it ends before the tasks are completed.
Today, however, he stands in shock on his little cousin´s kitchen counter, a tablet with his note app open, and empty.
He is taking a break. No work, no business meeting, no conferences, no evaluations, no deadlines. A vacation and-
And there is nothing to do.
He could buy groceries for this cousin, who so kindly offered to have him for a few days, but like a good responsible boy, Sasuke have his apartment under control.
"Your problem is being around Uchiha, stay with me for a while, in Konoha"
Sasuke sometimes forgets he is a Uchiha himself. His younger cousin, in some ways, is one of the most Uchiha of the family. Ambitious, hardheaded, proud. Maybe Sasuke wouldn't say such a thing today if he was born before Itachi, if he was breed into the business like his brother was, Sasuke would develop his Uchihaness so hard he would be a second Madara Uchiha and nothing and no one would stop him.
But Sasuke isn't the first born, so he was not trained to be the heir of the business, he had the freedom to choose something else and, although he didn't initially want something else, he did in the end.
Little Sasuke now lives in the country´s capital, the massive chaotic city of Konoha. He used to study in the best business university in the continent there, but now Sasuke spends most of his time sharpening knives in a small ancient family owned shop in the middle of the city.
His father was in shock, when his youngest son told him he was dropping out university to sell cooking knives with a weird dude with white hair and a hundred dogs, but since Itachi is Itachi and what Itachi says is taken as God himself is speaking, Sasuke was allowed to do as he wishes.
When younger, Sasuke was the kind of boy to wear polished shoes and branded clothes, fancy watches and go to school in a black sedan driven by a personal chauffeur. Now, a twenty-four years old young man, Sasuke picked him up at the airport with pierced ears, chains on his black plants and the hint of tattoos peeking out the sleeves of his shirt. He didn´t have a car - he did mention having a bicycle and something about the environment – but it took him only five minutes for him to open an app and call for an Uber.
On the drive to the Sasuke´s apartment, his little cousin scrolled on his phone while talking, showing him some pictures of the knives on the shop and explaining why they have the best knives.
"Kakashi comes from a family that started forging Samurai swords in the 14th century. Now, the tradition is kept alive in the shop by making high quality kitchen knives."
Shishui didn´t even realize he was smiling, listening to his quiet, loner cousin rant on for half an hour about something with such boyishly excitement. He didn't see Sasuke in such a long time, talking with him now feels like talking to a different, better version of his broody younger cousin.
When they finally arrived at Sasuke´s place the only word Shisui could have for it is-
"You´re such a hipster now, Sasuke-chan" He said, and his little cousin even has the audacity to roll his eyes and slightly smiled.
"You sound just like Nii-chan! He even comes over looking like a fucking Russian assassin, black suit and shit" Sasuke gives him an up and down look, letting his eyes linger on his black leather shoes "Not that you´re any better"
"Well, I think I look amazing, but if you want me to fit in, I might dye my hair a ridiculous color just to please you." Shisui was kidding, of course, and nostalgia sweeps over his body as he remembers this is how it used to be, when the bothers would hang out with him as a kid.
He is not bothered by looking different in the hipster-friendly part of the city though, all about Sasuke´s neighborhood, with colorful graffiti walls and weird people driving their eco scooters oddly makes him feel good, like he belongs, even while wearing a pair of fancy social shoes.
"Oh, the great Uchiha Shisui, with colorful hair, I would love that." Sasuke quietly chuckled, and it´s such a beautiful rare sound Shisui feels like doing anything to keep his cousin this happy. They are entering this beat down industrial style building with potted plants all over the hallway when Sasuke apparently decides on a color. "What about pink?"
Shishui laughed out loud, had Sasuke suggested blue, or green, he could´ve even consider dying a strand just to see if it would shock him, but pink? "Pink is such a ridiculous, girly color."
His cousin seemed amused and tried to hide a smile while unlocking this big wood and metal sliding door. He hummed like he was seriously thinking about it. "Pink is actually one of my favorite colors"
.
.
.
He snaps out of his memory of little Sasuke- turned hipster-punk-knifemaker- picking him up the day before. There is an empty note app open in front of him and nothing to do.
Sasuke left early in the morning, letting him know where is what, giving him spare keys and apologizing about having to work. "We can hang out during the night, and on the weekend, but I still need to work" he said.
Shisui is not upset Sasuke can´t pause his life to entertain him, he is so found of new Sasuke he finally understands why Itachi comes back from visiting his brother looking like he won the lottery. Even Sasuke´s apartment is refreshing. He expected to see the same things he has at home, minimalistic decorations and clean walls, just like Sasuke´s and Itachi´s rooms in their teens. But instead the walls are unfinished, bricks peeking out of broken plaster, there are plant pots anywhere the sun can reach, and there are so many art pieces, all with the same signature.
"Sai" it reads.
The paintings are mainly splashing of weird forms and colors, sometimes he can make a shape, sometimes he has no idea what the piece was supposed to show. There is a big one with different shades of pink, orange, blue and black that calls for attention. The painting is a center piece over the sofa and there are multiple little things hanged around it. Some old flights tickets to Sound country, a stamped entry to a medical congress, so many cards from a ramen restaurant filled with stamps, and even a gallery flyer with the name of the artist on it.
Sasuke's apartment looks so lived in he wonders if his own apartment could ever look like this too one day. But he's not often home to take care of so many plants, and he definitely doesn't have any artist friend to make it as colorful.
Even Sasuke's kitchen is special, he is leaning on the counter like a sad dog, admiring the view of the loft in front of him, but the view behind him s just as impressive. On the kitchen wall there are knives on display, beautiful and elaborated with swirls and shapes like he never seen before.
There is nothing on his own kitchen wall besides white tiles. Just like there is nothing on his to-do list.
His self-pity party is interrupted by the sound of keys and the big sliding door of Sasuke's loft being opened. He is so excited for a second, it means Sasuke is back early and he maybe might have something to do now.
But is not Sasuke's tall frame entering, it's a small woman with ridiculous pink hair.
"Who the fuck is you, and what are doing here?!" She screams the moment she sees him.
He is about to say something back when another person comes in, a pale guy with short black hair, and a cropped top?
"Ugly, he is obviously a home invader, let's run and call the police."
This is ridiculous, he wants to say, he is a guest in his little cousin's house, and they are accusing him without even letting him speak.
"Hi! my name is Shishui U-"
"I don't give a flying damn what your name is! Get out or I'll make you!" The girl screams mid-sentence, closing her fists and looking just a tiny kitten hissing at a rottweiler.
He can't help it. She barely reaches his shoulder and must look up to scream at him, and when she does, her big doll green eyes only make her look sweet. On top of that, she is wearing the girliest clothes ever, beat down shoes like a kid that plays too much outside, print tee and jeans skirt with colorful animal socks.
"You'll make me? How? Are you pushing me out the door with all of your tiny mighty body?" Her face then reddens with anger, mixing the color of skin with her own hair. "I am so scared" he finally says.
"Oh, please don't" the pale guy interrupts, closing a hand on her elbow and pulling her back from the apartment.
She pushes him off with an exaggerated motion.
"What did you just say, asshole? I can wipe the floor with your ugly mop hair and pick my teeth with your bones, so get the fuck out or you´ll regret it!"
The best thing about this girl, Shisui thinks, is that she really believes what she is saying, so he laughs even harder. He needs to look down to see her face and he is sure he can lift her with one hand like a misbehaved puppy, still, she barks like she is a big dog.
"Right, listen, you're very cute, but no bodybuilder, so why don't you listen to me and-"
The girl pounces, punches him directly on his stomach, knocking the air out of him, grabs his tablet,
and breaks it on his head.
.
.
.
He wakes up on the couch. His head hurts and there is a bump where the crazy woman attacked him. She, incredibly, is still in the apartment and talking on the phone, leaning on the same counter he spent one of the craziest mornings of his life so far. She is scribbling on a piece of paper while speaking.
"I´ll just stay over and keep him under observation to make sure there is no concussion, meanwhile I´ll water the plants" She writes on the paper with a bright green girly pen. "… Maybe open the windows a bit to get some fresh air, is there anything I can do around here since I need to stay?" she nods while listening and rolls her eyes dramatically. "Yeah right, fuck you,"
Shisui lift his eyebrows, is she talking to Sasuke, maybe they are friends?
"Pink is actually one of my favorite colors" he remembers Sasuke saying.
"Ok, bye, don´t work until too late again, Sasuke-kun."
Or, maybe it's a psycho girlfriend to match his complete transformation into a hipster boy?
"You´re going to let me introduce myself now or I´ll get attacked again for speaking?" he says when he sees her hang up.
She whips her head on his direction so fast he thinks she might snap it. Every single movement she makes is a statement, her expressions are too exaggerated, and her hands start moving even before she speaks.
"Look, I´m sorry about attacking you, Sasuke-kun usually don´t have guests besides Itachi, and it caught me off guard. You´re Shisui, his cousin, right?" She straightens her back, stands in front of him on the couch, and offer her hand. "Let´s start over, my name is Sakura Haruno."
He blinks once, maybe twice, and his mouth is faster than his thoughts.
"Really? Spring Cherry Blossom? and that pink hair, is that supposed to be your street name, or something?"
He sees her face redden again, her face contorting into fury.
.
.
.
When he wakes up again, he is alone, his head hurts on both sides and he is on the floor this time.
He patches himself up by taking a painkiller inside the first aid kit he finds in the bathroom.
When he cleans up the broken tablet from the floor, there´s a tightness on his chest about all the work files in it, now complete out of reach.
He is on vacation. He is on vacation.
He decides to keep mentally repeating the words until-
He looks at the broken pieces.
-until he believes it.