Eri Uchiha was a lady through and through. Up until this day her parents continue to regale their guests by telling them that Eri's first word was: 'pardon' followed shortly by: 'unacceptable.'

Eri was the second quietest baby in the clan; right after Itachi who, rumor has it, did not cry once as a baby and proceeded to potty-train himself at the tender age of 6 months just because diapers were so beneath him.

While Eri did use diapers for a bit longer, she too took pride in how somber of a baby she was. They say that whenever she did not like a certain type of food, she raised her chin and looked away, motioning with her tiny hand towards the door, thus effectively dismissing the offending maid with her insulting plate of crushed beets.

Who feeds a baby beets, Eri pondered.

She was trying to remind herself of who she was. She was a lady, an Uchiha lady.

But therein lays Eri's dilemma, for on the one hand Uchiha ladies are resourceful and should never be deterred from their goals, but what if, on the other hand, their goal was to sit through Jiraiya's latest "novel" about the well-endowed fashion designer, to try to learn seduction techniques.

Eri wondered if her mother would continue to advise her to never let anything deter her if she knew that this was her goal.

Scowling at the book, the girl forced her poor strained eyes to suffer through another paragraph. In this one the aforementioned fashion designer decides that the best way to test the fabric of the dresses he made was by having the models attempt to rip the clothes off each other. The girls, being normal girls and all, get very excited at that idea and praise him for being a true: "fashion testing genius."

Had it not been against Uchiha-law, Eri would have groaned.

Letting herself fall back on her bed, Eri's hand loosened around the book and she savored the thud it produced as it hit the floor.

She would stomp on it when she gets to her feet, that monstrosity does not deserve her getting up for the sole purpose of stomping on it.

Eri closed her eyes.

This is hopeless, she pondered, seducing Shisui, what has gotten into me? Is that even something I am capable of accomplishing? I have never felt so out of my depth since…

.

Long dark hair furiously fluttered behind her as she raced through the academy grounds. The 8-year-old really wanted to keep a low profile like she did for the three months since she joined the academy.

Alas, she was told that the library would be closed for maintenance during recess, so she made her way to the training grounds only to find some older kids using them for target practice.

The girl then did a swift scan of the building hoping for a place to sit and have her lunch unseen.

But everywhere she went was occupied.

Resigning herself to her fate, Eri made her way to the outdoors cafeteria and quickly located an empty table.

She made sure to not look anyone in the eyes and to pretend that she could see through everyone.

They are all invisible, she chanted in her mind as she made her way swiftly between the tables and sat down at the one empty table.

This was a trick she learned from her mother after her first week of school. Eri had told her mother that none of the other kids at the academy would talk to her and that she had not said a word to anyone all week. Her mother then informed her that they did not matter, and their presence was almost as useful as their absence. She'd better pretend that they don't exist.

Eri had been doing that for the last three months, which was rather easy to pull off during class time and training time, because everyone was busy. But it was rough at lunch when there's an expectation that everyone would socialize.

That's why Eri had been spending her lunches at the library.

Sitting at the table, Eri put her hands together in a succession of hand-seals that called forth the lunch her maid Sayo had prepared for her, alongside the silverware that went with it.

She felt the other students' eyes shift towards her the way they did the first day of school when she did that.

She did not understand why they found this very peculiar back then, but she soon realized that they were all eating cafeteria food.

Her mother would disown her if she ever put something so vile in her body.

Going back to pretending that no one else existed but her, Eri brought a bamboo skewer to her mouth and savored the taste of Sayo's signature Yakitori.

She managed to ignore everyone for the duration of her main course, but when she summoned forth dessert, she couldn't help but hear groans and a few laughs.

She kept to herself and looked at her food. She was excited about this dessert. Technically Eri was not allowed dessert. Up until recently she hadn't even tasted sugar. But her maid/nanny Sayo felt very bad for her. She did not think it was right for a school age child to not know what chocolate is. So, she would sneak her something sweet every now and then to introduce her to what other people ate.

Eri found dessert fascinating. And today Sayo had made her favorite chocolate cake. So Eri's mind was plenty occupied as she proceeded to ignore everyone in favor of taking her first bite of cake.

That was of course, until she couldn't ignore them anymore.

"That's our table," she heard a voice echo from above her.

She looked up to see a dark haired, green eyed guy staring down at her. Alongside of him were two girls, one with bright orange hair and the other was someone she knew, another Uchiha Eri's age, named Ala. They were all holding treys stock full of cafeteria foods and drinks.

"I do not mind your presence, as long as you do not talk or chew with mouths open. And you may not chew gum," Eri declared, she knew she'd have to share the table at some point, the cafeteria was stock full and getting a table all to herself was a long shot.

In response to her words the three of them exchanged a look that Eri could not decipher.

"Who do you think you are, really?" the orange haired girl said, raising an eyebrow and leaning on the table close to Eri.

Eri looked up, "I am Eri Uchiha," that was the only answer she had to this question.

The girl laughed mockingly, "you were right," she addressed Uchiha Ala by her side.

Ala pursed her lips and gave a small shrug.

"Well, Uchiha Eri," the boy picked up, "let me put this in words you could understand, this is our table. It has been our table since the beginning of the term and we do not want you on it. Your presence, Eri…" he stopped giving her a slow once over, "is unwanted. It's disgusting and we can't have food with you around. So, leave."

Eri blinked, she did not know what to do. Eri hadn't interacted with kids her age before. Her mother was very strict, she did not want her socializing with just anyone. So, the only person she was allowed to spend time with was Itachi. But she and Itachi were not friends and she only saw him at family functions. Other than that, Eri sat in her wing of the house and read. She trained and read and that was that.

So, when they told her to move, the only thing Eri had to fall back on was her mother's advice for her to ignore everyone at school because they were not worth noticing.

And with that in mind, she brought her eyes back to her dessert and proceeded to eat.

Eri did not see the dumbfounded looks that crossed the three's faces and she did not notice when shock turned to rage.

What she did see was the boy's hand shooting towards her and before she had time to brace herself, his hand was at the back of her head, pushing her face into her plate.

Eri's eyes widened, more so when she felt a liquid being poured on her head, followed by more and more food items. The three children seemed to be emptying out the contents of their trays on her head one food item at a time.

Eri sat up. She was frozen in shock as more and more food items were poured on her head.

When they were done, the orange haired girl said, "oops," in an unconvincing tone.

And the boy said, "it all ended up on her head," before grinning, "a crown fit for the princess."

And Ala added, "I'm afraid we have to leave Eri-chan, we don't have food anymore. Maybe we'll have lunch with you tomorrow," she finished pleasantly before the three of them walked away laughing.

.

Eri was frozen.

She couldn't yell and scream or fight them, because her mother said that Uchiha ladies should never lose their temper.

She couldn't cry because her mother said that crying is for weak people.

She couldn't run because her mother said that that was for cowards.

So, she just sat there for the longest time, her chocolate cake on her face and doused in every food item she could and could not imagine.

She sat there, motionless, until lunch break was over.

The other children were all watching her, but she did not react. Even when someone put a napkin next to her on the table, she did not react.

And when she finally managed to get herself up, she did not head for class, instead she walked off, right out of the academy.

She felt broken, she did not know why she was so affected by the actions of people her mother said were insignificant. She knew her mother will call her weak if she found out what happened. So, she could not go home in her current state.

Not that she was sure that her mother would be home, for she was almost always out at social functions. But on the off chance that she was home or that anyone other than Sayo saw her, this would be problematic.

She headed back into the Uchiha compound though, because that was the only place she felt safe, but she could not go home.

She went to the gardens instead. There was a small lake there, where she might be able to clean herself up.

All she wanted was to get clean enough to go back home, change, and fall to her bed. But even then, she knew that she would have to hold back the tears because she was not allowed to cry. Oh, but how she wished she could cry.

She swallowed and felt the back of her throat hurt with suppressed emotions.

Eri then bent down and started washing her face in the waters of the lake. She was too occupied by her attempts to hold back tears that she didn't sense any presence near her until it was too late.

"Who reads as they walk? It's unnatural! What's wrong with you, little cousin? You're all screwed up! Look at the lake, look at the sun, look at the greenery, look at the…" Shisui trailed off. "You ok?" he said walking towards Eri who had raised her head and was looking at them with a horrified expression on her young face.

Well she was looking at Itachi and completely missed Shisui even though he was purposefully walking towards her.

"Hey young miss," Shisui said with a big smile. Her eyes finally left Itachi as her head shot towards him. "I am Shisui, and you are?" he added extending a hand to shake hers.

Eri once again looked at Itachi, horrified. She could not believe she was letting the heir see her like that. Her mother had big plans for her and Itachi. She was meant to first befriend him, and then she was to eventually marry him. Eri had long since decided to fall in love with him, except he was always surrounded by people in family functions that she could not get any further than shaking his hand when they walked in.

Her inability to make an impression on him was something that her mother often criticized her for. And there she was, crouched by the lake looking like a cafeteria dumpster.

Her eyes widened and she shot to her feet.

Shisui watched her curiously as she bowed to Itachi and kept her head down in shame.

"Eri-san," Itachi greeted, voice betraying no emotion.

Eri looked up, he remembered her name, that would have made her very happy at any other occasion, but now her name will forever be linked to this appearance in his mind.

How mortifying!

She had sullied her family's reputation.

The two boys watched her for a very long moment. Her face was blank, but she was shaking. Her fists were balled as she attempted to fight back the desire to either run or cry.

Too late! Eri thought, panicking, she could feel the tears build up behind her eyes, she was about to humiliate herself even further, not only was she filthy and pathetic, but she was about to cry.

She bowed her head in defeat.

"Oh, aren't you the most adorable person in existence!" Shisui exclaimed, pulling her towards him for a hug.

Eri was stunned, "I… I… I am filthy, I am not clean… your shirt, it will…" she struggled but Shisui kept his arms around her, gently rubbing her head.

"My beautiful Eri-chan, you're much more precious than all my shirts. You can ruin them all, any day," he said calmly.

Without thinking Eri had put an arm around him, holding on.

She had had a very difficult day, and somehow his gentle touch seemed to have opened all the floodgates to her emotions.

"That's ok, it's ok," he said soothingly, and she realized that she was crying.

He didn't seem to mind it.

"Let it out, little Eri-chan," he encouraged, lowering the two of them to the ground so that she could comfortably lean against his shoulder.

Eri did not know how long they sat there, but she knew that she did not want to draw back. She felt comforted, safe, maybe for the first time in her young life. So much so that she eventually fell asleep.

.

When she woke up, she was surprised that the sun had set and even more surprised by the fact that Shisui had managed to stay perfectly still for so many hours.

She drew back quickly, "I am so sorry… I…"

She was interrupted by his smile, "are you feeling better little Eri-chan?" he questioned.

She looked down quickly, "yeah," she replied.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

She kept her head down and shrugged.

He smiled, "you don't have to, but I'll always be around to help if you need it, ok?"

She nodded.

"Alright, let's get you home. You need to get home too don't you, little cousin?"

Eri's head shot up again and she finally noticed Itachi leaning against a nearby tree trunk and reading a book.

"Hn," Itachi said, straightening up.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, and don't expect to get as much reading done as you did today. I was exceptionally silent today for Eri-chan's sake," Shisui warned. "Good night."

"Good night," Itachi said walking away.

"I'll walk Eri-chan home," Shisui addressed the stunned Eri.

"I… I can't go home looking like this, my mother would punish me."

Shisui gave her a thoughtful look, "how about we go for a swim then?"

Eri gave him a confused look.

He grinned and surprised her again by lifting her up in his arms and summarily jumping in the lake.

Eri knew that she needed to be angry, this was not ladylike behavior, but instead she involuntarily laughed.

Shisui's laughter echoed in turn, "ah, you have a wonderful laugh, little one," he said happily splashing water towards her, "now go like this," he brought a hand to his face gesturing for her to mimic him so as to get rid of the food residuals on her face.

Eri complied.

When they emerged from the lake, he showed her a quick and very useful Jutsu that helped her dry up.

"As good as new," he beamed at her and it took tremendous will power to not answer him with a smile. Her mother frowned on smiles. "Now, can I walk little Eri-chan home?"

She nodded.

And so, he did and as he did, he talked to her about many things that he liked. He told her about how much he liked the spring and walks by the lake and how lazy days are his favorite things.

She hadn't noticed the spring before; she knew it was a season but took no note of it past that. Walking, to her, had always been a means of transportation and she never considered it as a means for leisure. As for laziness, well, that was a vice.

She pointed all those things out and in return he just laughed and tousled her hair and it flustered her to no end that he did not seem to be taking her seriously at all.

So, she pouted, and he laughed even harder and called her cute.

She objected and he said that she was just like Itachi.

That gave her a sense of pride, "I am," she said triumphantly trying to get him to take her seriously for once. "My mother says that we are a perfect fit," she added.

"Really?"

"Yeah, she says we're made for each other."

"Your mom wants you to get together, huh?" Shisui questioned, "well that makes sense, your father's station would lend itself to such a match," he reflected, "but how about you, Eri-chan, is that what you want?"

"Of course!" she said without missing a beat. "I am planning to fall in love with Itachi-sama and get married by the time I am 18."

He laughed again.

She gave him an angry look; she even stomped her feet.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but 'planning to fall in love' is such a strange thing to say."

"It is not," she deflected.

He grinned at her, "that's just not how it works little Eri-chan, as you get older, you'll develop a better understanding of love."

"I understand love, I read books about love," she argued.

"Interesting," he said mischievously, "what's love then?"

She blinked, she did not expect that question, "well… It's… an emotion," she said at length, "that couples share and then they get married and have children."

He sighed and put a hand on her head, drawing her closer, "you poor little lamb," he patted her head.

She pulled away and glared at him.

"I'm buying you a new book," he declared, taking a turn in the opposite direction of her house.

She ran after him, her little feet struggling to match his wider stride.

"A book?"

"A novel."

"I don't read novels; my mother says that they are how young minds get corrupted."

"You could do with a bit of corruption. I don't think you'll fully understand this novel until you're older, but I want you to read it still. It's one of my favorites. It will help you."

"I don't need help."

"Yes, you do, otherwise they'll ruin your mind and make you a robot. You don't want to be a robot, do you? We have Itachi for that."

She was confused, too confused, but what she knew is that she wanted to follow him. She wanted to be around him. Something about his presence was very comforting.

In the next few minutes, he bought her a novel, a love novel that she ended up re-reading twice a year, every year, since then.

In the next few days, he showed her how to stand up to her bullies and given her some inclination of how to talk to people her age.

And in the next few years he became a staple in her life. He'd come around and break her out of her quarters when her mother was not around and bring her to a clearing to hang out with him and Itachi.

They would read books together; they would talk and they would train. He also taught her how to play the piano and use a bow and arrow, things that she had previously struggled with. But for some reason, his gentle demeanor, seemed to impress things easily upon her mind.

And while at the beginning she often objected to his uncouth and ungentlemanly ways and complained that ladies should not break out of their homes past their curfews, she still complied with every hairbrained suggestion of his. And so did Itachi.

It seemed like the Uchiha heir also felt the same way about Shisui. He also recognized how comforting his presence is against the backdrop of the very serious, very rigid clan.

And before she knew it, Eri's plans to fall in love with Itachi were a thing of the past.

It would take her many years to realize that Shisui was the sole reason for that and even longer to acknowledge that she had feelings for him.

But that day, by the lake, was the first time she realized that there are some people out there who won't mind it when she's messy and her clothes are filthy. There were people out there who would hold her when she cries rather than shame her for being fragile. And there were people out there who would draw out her laughter despite her best efforts. There was a person out there whose warm presence thawed her heart.

.

Eri sat up in her bed.

The Shisui who gave her the novel was different from today's Shisui.

He changed when he was the only person helplessly looking after his mother.

He changed when he watched his father drive his mother to an early death because of his insistence to hold onto his mistress.

And he changed again when he saw the woman who hurt his mother so much become the new lady of the house.

Shisui was still warm and friendly, but something about him was more reserved. He withdrew, from love and the idea of love.

The main character in the novel he gave her was a desperate romantic, a man who would do anything for the woman he loved. He put himself in harm's way and even watched her marry another man because his love for her was unrequited. He had many opportunities to hurt her but he passed. Instead, he was there for her, nursing his broken heart until she finally noticed him.

The Shisui who favored this story was not the same Shisui who runs from relationships like they were the plague, the one who'd jump from one meaningless sexual encounter to the next.

Shisui is now scared of love, scared of connecting to anyone for fear of hurting them the same way his father hurt his mother. He had told her that once, he said that his parents had been childhood sweethearts and yet his father ended up destroying his mother. He said that he was bound to end up hurting someone if he got close to them. That relationships are bound to end in pain.

Eri was there for him throughout, supporting him, but it was not enough to undo all the pain he went through, to bring him back to the open-hearted Shisui who he once was.

She knew she was selfish for wanting him all to herself, for wanting to impose her feelings on him. But she also knew that she would do anything in her power to make him happy and hoped that her love could open his heart again.

It took her so long to work up her courage to get to this point.

She just could not give up now.

She needed to find a way to get Shisui to fall in love with her.

And so she got up and stomped on Jiraiya's book.

.

"She's gone insane, I am telling you, she's crazy," Shisui said, pacing in front of Itachi's oversized mahogany desk.

Itachi did not raise his head from the folder he was pursuing as he said: "Eri passed all her mental health evaluations. Except for some benign obsessive traits, she is perfectly sane."

Shisui frowned at him, "you think the obsessive traits are benign because you have them too," he accused.

Itachi raised his eyes briefly from his paperwork and gave Shisui an unimpressed look, "it's a family trait," Itachi pointed out meaningfully.

"I am not being obsessive little cousin, I have to keep thinking about her, she's everywhere I go! She knocked people out today just to have breakfast with me. Who does that?"

"Hn," Itachi said, eyes back on his paperwork.

"Are you being that way because I pulled you away from your sexy times with the Kitten?" Shisui questioned. "well, excuse me for informing you of upper council meetings."

"Hn."

Shisui glared but returned to the original topic nonetheless, "and she says all these weird things. Did I tell you about the proposal? She proposed to me, she got on one knee in public…"

"Hn."

"Eri-chan, little Eri-chan, shoved me against a wall. Me!"

"Hn."

Shisui marched towards his cousin's desk, "are you even listening to me?"

"No."

He gave him a long-tortured look, "you're my closest friend. I know you're not fully human, but you are going to have to try, Itachi, otherwise I will have a full-blown mental break down."

Itachi was silent for a moment, "I would like to see that," he said offhandedly.

"You…" Shisui glared.

"Why not simply comply," Itachi interrupted the impending tirade, as he flipped to another page in his folder and started writing something.

"Comply? You mean date her? But she's…"

"Eri," Itachi finished for him.

"Yeah," Shisui concurred. "There has to be a way out of this. She's just confused."

"Are you completely dismissing the possibility that she is genuine?"

"She is genuine, she genuinely thinks she loves me, but she doesn't. Remember when she thought she loved you. That was also a thing at some point. But she quickly realized it was just the thought she was in love with. I just need to make her realize that she is not in love with me."

Itachi raised his eyes.

"I have to fix her up with someone. I have to get her together with someone who would be suitable for her."

"That…" Itachi started.

"Is a brilliant idea…" Shisui fist-bumped the air, impressed by his own genius.

"… is a very bad idea," Itachi finished, but Shisui had already flashed out of the room so he simply brought his attention back to his paperwork.


A very short, Sakura-less chapter, I know.

But it felt like it needs to be a standalone.

I also thought, I'd better post something as a gesture of good will. I have not given up on this story and I won't.

Thank you to everyone who is reviewing it and messaging me. Your support means so much to me.

I will try to post the next chapter soon.

Please Review.