Whew, these are harsh times! How is everybody doing?

Thanks a lot for the feedback and follows and favorites! I'm happy to be able to brighten quarantine times if only a little. I noticed that I have quite a few readers in Latin America, so I was thinking that maybe I should translate this fic to Spanish, to entertain more people, what do guys think? Also, I have good news! Foolish little me has finally found out how to answer comments by email, yay!

Guest: I couldn't resist giving Hinata a backbone. Most of what we have seen about her is based on interactions with Naruto which are mostly useless since she's always lovey dovey when it comes to him. Kishi didn't actually expect us to believe that a child who was born into shinobi nobility as the heir would not at least think of themselves a bit more highly than most, right? That's just not how children grow, but seeing that Neji and her mother are present and supportive here, it's only normal for Hinata to think highly of herself despite her personality. Thanks for reading and reviewing, seeing comments always makes my day!

"Hurry up! Nii-san will make us do laps if he catches us," Sasuke hissed quietly as he returned knocked over books and scrolls to a shelf.

"I'm trying!" Hinata muttered, looking over the room. Nothing seemed to be out place aside from the shelf's misplaced readings, but one could never be too careful when they barged into Itachi's room (especially when the purpose was to borrow/steal his weapons without permission). Though the years that she had known him, Hinata had learned that it was better to apologize than to ask for permission. Itachi had always been a sucker for her tears and free visits to the bakery, anyway.

"Oh, Hinata, I think we knocked over his travel pack."

"Got it," she sighed and picked up the heavy bag. Wait. "Is he preparing for a mission?"

Sasuke stiffened. "What, no?"

"But the bag is full of rations and stuff," Hinata motioned wildly. "I think Itachi wants to ditch us!"

In reality that wasn't very likely, but Hinata at some point dreamed of him being sent off on a mission. She knew perfectly well that it was stupid, but could you blame a nine year old kid?

Sasuke paused. "Nah, he probably has that ready all the time. They're real slave drivers in ANBU, you know."

"Really?"

"Mhm, they call him whenever they please and expect him to be ready in seconds."

Hinata tilted her head. "So… what if they call him out today?"

The boy shrugged without turning around as he placed the last book back. "More cake for us."

She blinked without processing his words. Seeing Sasuke's hands clenched into fists and his redding eyes, the heiress figured he wasn't as indifferent as he appeared. It just wouldn't do to have her best friend feel so miserable on a day that is meant to remember a happy occasion. Unlike her, both Sasuke and Itachi could freely celebrate their birthdays without anyone getting mad; there was no way she would allow such a day go to waste because of ANBU. Goodness no!

"I see," she sighed. "Let's go before Itachi and Aunt Mikoto come-"

"We're back!" Mikoto called out from the entrance.

"...back."

"Let's go, let's go!" Sasuke hurriedly pulled on Hinata's sleeve as he inched closer to the screen.

"You have the shurikens?"

"Yeah, they're here."

Hearing footsteps coming their way, the heiress pulled him back. "He's coming! Let's take the window!"

oOo

"You got a moment, Shisui?"

"Only for you, Hina-tan," he grinned as he took a seat beside the tiny girl. "How can I help you?"

"Um, I wanted to request a mission but…" she trailed off, looking down at her tea cup. "But I'm not old enough to make a commission."

The older Uchiha blinked. "I can make the commission for you, I guess. What's this about?"

With glowing eyes, Hinata quickly scrambled to find her notebook and shove it in his face. "Do you think this could work?"

Shisui's eyes went downcast for a moment after reading her scribbles. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before…"

"So… can you do it?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry," he recovered with a scheming smirk. "I got this, Hina-tan. I can't wait to see his face when they tell him!"

oOo

"Nii-san looks pretty mad."

"You think?" Hinata tilted her head appraisingly. "I'd say he's sad."

"Hm, now that you mention it… we should ask!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sasuke!"

"Why not? It's not like Nii-san's going to start chucking kunais at us."

The heiress relented with a roll of her eyes. "He's just going to say something along the lines of 'I know you stole my weapons' or maybe he'll really start throwing kunais."

"No he won't," Sasuke scoffed as he started making his way to his brother's room. "You'll see."

Shrugging, Hinata followed him. "But at least…"

He swung open the screen and entered Itachi's room with no announcement.

"...knock," she finished lamely. Hearing no threats, she entered behind Sasuke and smiled nervously, "um… happy birthday, Itachi?"

Holding in a sigh of annoyance, the heir shook his head. It was a useless endeavor trying to make his little brother knock, that he learned years ago. " Thank you Hinata, Sasuke," he welcomed reluctantly. "What brings you here?"

"We were just-"

"We're worried, Nii-san, how are you feeling?"

Had he been that obvious? No, Hinata probably noticed with her Byakugan and then told his brother (but if that's what happened, why did she look so happy about his misery?). "It's nothing, just a mission."

"But you'll be here for your birthday, right?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Looking apologetic he shrugged on his flak jacket. "No, I'm being called away today."

"Oh."

oOo

Later on, Itachi was informed by the Hokage of the reason for his little cousin's happy behavior. He was not amused (actually he was, but it would look bad if he showed it).

"I'm not up for sale."

"Of course you are," Hinata scoffed. "People pay the Hokage to have you do their bidding all the time, I can hire you to attend your own party."

"That's not…"

"Besides, you're really expensive, you know that? I had to pull rank with a desk Chunin to hire you for this."

oOo

"I'm sorry, Hinata-sama, Shisui-san," the Chunin said. "But I'm afraid you can't request such a high ranking shinobi for this type of mission."

Despite having Shisui hound the Chunin all morning, he remained impassive, but that was okay. She still had her trump card and a few others up her sleeve. Up next: the 'kicked puppy face' and if that didn't work...

"I-I see," Hinata drooped her shoulders and let a few tears fall for good measure. "But please, it'd make me and-and Aunt Mikoto really really happy if…"

The Chunin sighed, "as I said before, it's just not possible."

The heiress pulled out her nicest handkerchief and sobbed into it as she clutched Shisui's hand with her free hand. "I'm sorry then…"

"Oh- um, here," the Chunin pulled out a small candy bar. "I know it won't make you feel better, but we can't go around breaking rules, now can we?"

She politely turned the treat away. "Let me put another way, sir. You don't want to anger my father, Hiashi Hyuuga, do you?"

The Chunin paled as Shisui hid a laugh by coughing into his hand (please don't do this, you must cough into your elbow, Shisui).

oOo

It took all of Itachi's discipline to not smile at the girl. "I suppose I can't mind this once."

With a happy squeal she pulled him along to Mikoto and Fugaku and to what would become one of his most embarrassing episodes with Shisui. Not that Itachi wasn't fond of his older cousin, but he could be a bit much at times (always, actually).

"Oi, brat, aren't you going to say 'hi' or something?" Tsubaki said as a greeting while Hanabi stuck out her tongue at the heir from behind her mother.

"Aw, don't be mean to him on his birthday," Mikoto admonished with crossed arms.

While the sisters bantered, Shisui, his typical uncanny speed zoomed over to Itachi and slugged him. "Happy birthday, baby cousin!"

"Hn."

"Don't you 'hn' me, Itachi!" Shisui frowned in mock offence as he pulled over the heir to the side. "Don't you want to see my gift to you?"

Eying his cousin suspiciously, the heir raised a brow. "Do I want to know what it is this time?"

"Of course you do!"

Still suspicious, Itachi motioned to the small bulk he was holding. "Is it appropriate enough to open in front of Sasuke and Hinata?"

The older boy feigned surprise. "Who says you need to show them?"

"That means I should burn whatever you have there."

"NO!" Shisui hugged the package to his chest. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to track the author of this book just so I give this limited edition to you?"

"It's just a book, then?"

"Why would I lie to you, Itachi?"

The heir didn't need to answer.

"Sheesh, fine! I'll open it for you later, how about that?"

"Fine," he sighed. "Let's get this over with now."

Shisui stiffened. "Later."

"No, I would like to see what you have for me now."

"Uh… I don't think that's a good idea," the older boy took a step back.

"Why?" Itachi feigned confusion. "Should I ask Hinata to see what you have there?"

"Unless you want Aunt Tsubaki and her psycho husband's clan to hunt you down and castrate you, I wouldn't recommend that."

The heir frowned, fighting the heat rising to his face. "What could possibly be worse than last year's gift?"

"Well," he laughed nervously, "since you aren't up hands on learning, I found a solution."

"I don't even want to know," Itachi muttered as he snatched the package from Shisui and made a beeline to the garden where he could bury (setting it on fire would call attention to himself) the thing with a quick jutsu.

Following him, the older Uchiha asked, "aren't you interested at all? Don't you want to know what it is before getting rid of it?"

I suppose it couldn't hurt to check what it is… yes, it would be best to check, I should make sure that it's nothing that could bother Sasuke, Hinata, or Hanabi if they somehow find it… especially Hinata who practically lives here.

Yes, he was just being a good brother and a good cousin. He wasn't curious at all.

Once the wrapping was out of the way, Itachi regretted his decision.

"So, what do you think?" Shisui poked the book.

It took a few moments for the heir to process what he was holding.

oOo

Hinata dug her hand in a bag of popcorn and munched on the snack as she observed her usually impassive cousin's face go through a myriad of expressions in the span of seconds. She could watch the show all day and still find it amusing.

"What's wrong, Itachi?"

Trying and failing to stop the heat from rising to his face he hissed, "don't antagonize me, Shisui!"

Yes, it was absolutely priceless.

The older boy shrugged. "I just want what is best for my baby cousin."

"And you'll achieve that with this?" Itachi waved a small orange book in Shisui's face. Sitting on his right, Hinata leaned over him to catch the book's name, but he quickly hid it from her view. He was no fun.

"People are starting to think that you're a hermit," Shisui justified with suicidal nonchalance. "I'm starting to think that you're a hermit!"

"I'm not," the heir groaned. "People must start respecting my privacy, is all."

"Don't worry," Hinata patted Itachi's shoulder and continued solemnly, "we will always love and support you no matter how you live your life."

"You are on thin ice, Hinata."

"What?" the heiress exclaimed in mock offence. "Can't I express my most sincere acceptance for my wayward cousin?"

"You are nearly as bad as Shisui," he muttered.

"No she isn't," Sasuke grinned, swinging an arm over her shoulders. "I can testify."

"At least she got me something nice, unlike Shisui," the heir conceded.

"Sorry," Hinata smiled sheepishly once she reigned in her laughter. "Popcorn for your forgiveness?"

"Sure."

Shisui scoffed, "I'm not sorry at all. Would it kill you to at least look at a girl?"

"Ew, no!" Sasuke glared at his older cousin. "Don't put weird ideas in Nii-san's mind."

"You're too young to understand the pleasures of life," Shisui defended. "But it's alright, I'll teach you when you grow up."

Hinata laughed as her spikey haired friend spluttered, "who wants to learn anything from you?"

All was great, in her opinion; nothing could go wrong at that point. Hinata and her mother had made sure that her life was set on a good path and that way, she would be helping out her Uchiha family as well. Yes, everything was great.

"Hey! I'm glad you haven't gotten to the cake without me!"

"You're late, Dobe."

"Welcome, Naruto-kun!"