A/N: It's been a very long time, six years, since I posted a work of fan-fiction. I can't decide if I want to be terrified or excited!

This is an alternative-universe fiction. It is something that's been dogging me recently, persistently enough to overcome the fact that I should be spending spring break working on a semester project that I haven't done more than propose to my professor. It is based on the concept of the Encanto-universe meshed with the Naruto characters and lore. But not a crossover. While there will be references to Encanto, you won't actually see any of those characters.

I unashamedly admit to watching Encanto four times in the first twenty-four hours of seeing it, and the whole soundtrack has been on my playlist since December.

I hope you enjoy this story.

HIDDEN MAGIC

Chapter 1 (5,227 words)

Lord Sarutobi lifted the glimmering candle high above his head, stretching to a height not usually seen in the stooping age of the village leader. From her position atop her father's shoulders, Sakura's breath caught as the leader of their village set the candle into the fountain's water, the ceremonial atmosphere heightened by the vision of the temple behind Lord Sarutobi's silhouette. The candle's light spread from its flame and poured into the water, giving it light and shimmer of its own. The darkness of the night vanished as the glow from the fountain spread, illuminating the faces of the young boys and girls, all in their eleventh year, who stood around the fountain in a circle.

A song rose from the lips of all present. Every villager, every family member, even Lord Sarutobi, added their voices to the fray. The only ones silent were those too young to know the words, who didn't speak the old language, like Sakura. Those that stood at the fountain were also silent, too nervous to sing, their energy focused on staying still and keeping their vows on the tips of their tongues.

When Sakura had asked her father what the song was about, just after the previous year's ceremony, her father had said:

"We sing our praise to the miracle and the blessings it bestows upon us. We pray for the miracle's wisdom in providing what our village needs. We beg for gifts that suit each of our sons and daughters. But more than that, we swear to always help those around us to earn the miracle that somehow found us. As our village keeps growing, the world keeps turning, and hard work and dedication will keep the miracle burning. We vow each new generation will keep the miracle burning."

"My beautiful village," Lord Sarutobi's voice penetrated the last harmonies of the song. His voice was tinged with the weariness of age and the huffiness of lungs that had breathed hundreds of millions of breaths. Yet there was authority when Lord Sarutobi spoke, authority that commanded the room and deferred all presence to the village leader. "We gather this night to ask gifts to bestow onto the next generation. Our sons and daughters stand before the blessed candle, the source of our miracle, ready to drink from the fountain that is the source of life for all who live here."

Lord Sarutobi's gaze met all those in the crowd who watched, then shifted to each of the young ones who stood at the base of the fountain. Finally, with a soft proud smile, Lord Sarutobi nodded his head. "On this night of blessings, I bid those who stand before me to drink from the fountain of life. Fill yourselves full of miracles with your vows on your lips. May you never forget the words you whisper here tonight." With that, Lord Sarutobi leaned down towards the fountain, cupped his hands, and filled them with water. Those around the fountain hurried to do the same. They all brought their cupped hands to their lips and drank.

Sakura's eyes roamed over the candidates, looking at each in turn. A smile spread across her face in response to those who were wearing wonderous smiles. She vaguely recognized all of those standing at the fountain. In a village, everybody knew everybody. Her eyes stopped on one of the boys who wasn't smiling. Instead, he seemed thoughtful yet troubled as he looked down at his hands. Sakura felt her smile falter in response. She couldn't resist wondering what was troubling the boy during such a happy and special occasion.

A murmur rose as a group of fireflies alighted atop of Yoji Aburame. Sakura felt her father chuckle. "The Aburame's always have gifts related to insects. It is a great boon to the village, Sakura, for we cannot survive without the insects. They are good for the crops and the birds."

A girl let out a squeal as her hands began to grow green. Sakura bounced on her father's shoulders. "Look, father, look! A healer!" she whispered loudly in the way of toddlers. "What's her name, father?"

"That's Shinko Inari. I think she'll make an excellent healer."

"I can't wait for my ceremony, father. I'm going to be a healer too!"

Sakura's father chuckled again. "Remember, Sakura. We don't always get the gift we want, but it is always the gift we need."

Blushing from chastisement and flushed with annoyance, Sakura settled. "Yes, father…"

Itachi stared at his hands in thought. Around him, celebrations were underway. Those who had had their gifts revealed already were being congratulated by their family members. Those, like Itachi, who had yet to figure out their gifts were also being surrounded by their family, but a permeating feel of worry was seeping through.

Nobody had ever failed to receive a gift before, but there was always a first time for everything. Some gifts, however, had specific activation events. In the early days of the village, a Hyuuga had been able to see the future. It had taken a year for the first vision to appear, one that warned of disaster for the village via a flood – the village had been astounded that it took so long for the gift to be revealed. Itachi's elder cousin, Shisui, had gone a full week before being startled by a spider and suddenly appearing halfway across the valley, revealing Shisui as a speedster.

Itachi, rationally, knew his gift would appear in time.

Itachi knew that his father was hoping Itachi had received a gift that ran in the family: the ability to copy gifts. Fugaku himself didn't possess the gift; instead, Fugaku had been given the "common" gift of fire-breather. Itachi was overly aware that Fugaku was less than pleased with the commonality of his gift and how frustrated he was for not having the gift that had only come to those of the Uchiha lineage. The first of the Uchiha who had been raised in the valley, two brothers, had both had the gift that allowed them to copy others. It had had no barriers, no limitations – completely unfettered access to any gifts in the village and the ability to use them at any point in time. Since then, there had been a variety of delineations on the gift, but never one with the same amount of limitless potential.

"Stop worrying about it!" Shisui exclaimed, draping his arms around his little cousin's shoulders. "Let's find some food!"

In response to Shisui's physical touch, Itachi felt a vibration sweep through him. An image pushed itself into Itachi's mind: pain in his elbow more intense than Itachi had ever felt before, nearly drowning out the feeling of cuts and scrapes from tree branches and the feel of the forest floor on his back, the smell of the dirt in his nose, as the forest canopy obscured the sky above him. It seemed to go away as Shisui took off for the feast, weaving in and out of the crowd faster than Itachi's eyes could track. Itachi sighed, shaking his head slowly to dissolve the image that threatened to haunt him, but gave his family a soft smile. Itachi would mull over what had happened later. Shisui would never understand the pressure Itachi faced from his family. "Cousin is right. Let us find some food and be merry. My gift will reveal itself in time."

Itachi turned to lead the way for his family. As they made their way towards tables laden with food, Itachi heard his father mutter to his mother: "So long as he has the gift, Mikoto… I can't take anymore banality."

While eating, Itachi shook the hands of almost every adult in the village. Each time, an unfamiliar sensation overcame him, but it disappeared after only a moment. Each person brought something different. An electrical zap across his skin, a tempest cold or internal heat, once what felt like the entire shifting of his body except Itachi hadn't moved. Each one came accompanied with other assaults on his senses; images, smells, sensations, emotions. It only happened with those who had gifts. At one point, Itachi's mentor, Yamato, shook Itachi's hand and Itachi was assaulted by the stink of rotten meat and a sinking feeling of betrayal that came with an image of a dead body. Itachi stayed silent on the topic, however, and attempted to scale back his reaction each time it happened. It would not do for his father to learn of Itachi's gift before Itachi even knew what it was.

Itachi would figure out what this all meant.

Itachi took a deep breath. He looked around the clearing in the forest he had found. At the far end was a large rock. Itachi took another deep breath and set his sight on the top of the rock. Another breath.

The force of his motion rippled Itachi's hair and made his low ponytail wave with motion as Itachi crouched down onto the rock. It had taken him less then a moment to speed over to the rock. Triumph flooded through him. He set his eyes on one end of the clearing, sped over, and then to the other side. Itachi allowed himself a small smile. He felt he was starting to get the hang of this power.

"Itachi!" A hand clamped down onto Itachi's shoulder.

Suddenly, Itachi found himself on the other side of the clearing, standing directly across from Shisui.

Shisui's jaw was gaping open and he was pointing at Itachi accusatorily. "You have a power! You're a speedster!" Shisui's eyes narrowed, but the finger only waggled at him. "How long have you known? Uncle is going to be furious." Shisui grinned at his cousin and set down the finger. "I can't believe you kept this secret instead of coming to me! How dare you?"

Itachi had known this day would come, had planned meticulously for it. It was still hard to say the words he had practiced for this scenario. "I'm not just a speedster."

Shisui's jaw dropped again and his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm – and a tad bit of mischievousness. "How many can you use?"

Itachi didn't hesitate. Practice made his response flawless, convincing. "Five."

"Five?"

Itachi nodded.

"Come on, cousin! Spill the beans! We both know you've figured out the rules. Which five? Why five? It's been weeks since the ceremony and you've been hiding this from us all."

Itachi sighed at his cousin's enthusiasm. Shisui would be the death of him, but in this moment he was useful. "I can breathe fire, work wood, use your speed, manipulate the weather…and the last one keeps changing."

Shisui plopped himself down on the forest floor and put his chin in his hand. "Hmm… interesting." He said as dramatically as possible. "Only five, but the last one keeps changing. Lots of people breath fire, and I'm one of two speedsters right now, and a couple people, including your mother, can manipulate the weather. But only Yamato works wood!" Shisui set himself to glaring at Itachi. "Your father, your mentor, your cousin, your mother! They're people you're close to!"

Itachi nodded. "I suspect this too. It is what currently makes the most logical sense, but it still needs testing."

"Screw testing!" Shisui leaped to his feet and zoomed over to grab Itachi's wrist. "I'm too excited! Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you not run into everything like I first did. I had so many bruises."

"Don't forget the broken elbow, cousin." Itachi's tone was tinged with mirth. "You were so busy speeding your way through branches that you fell right out of a tree and broke your elbow."

Shisui looked at Itachi confused. "My…elbow? I never broke my elbow."

Itachi blinked, trying to process what he was being told. Itachi distinctly remembered Shisui breaking his elbow. The speedster had been put on bed rest for a week because the healers didn't trust him to not use his gift. Another memory reached the surface: looking up at the tree canopy, a distinct sharp broken pain in his elbow, the knowledge and feeling that he'd been stupid and clumsy but the thrill had been worth it.

Itachi knew Shisui had broken his elbow, not Itachi himself. He remembered attempting to teach his cousin shogi while the boy had been bedridden and restless, one arm tied up with a sling. Shisui had enjoyed the speed-run versions of the game, rather than thoughtful and methodical games, which had proven to be an interesting challenge for Itachi.

Yet, the memory of breaking his own elbow was sharp and clear.

Before Itachi could consider it further, Shisui started tugging on Itachi's wrist. "We have to tell your family! They'll be so excited! And I can tell them I helped you figure it out! Maybe your dad will like me now!"

Before Itachi could protest, he was being dragged along by Shisui and copying the speedster ability to keep up. It was only moments before Itachi stood at the screen to his parents' room in his ancestral home. The home had been built by the first two Uchiha brothers to receive gifts and had been lived in by Uchiha's ever since.

"Itachi could be the next leader of this village, Mikoto." Itachi heard his father's voice through the screen, prompting him to stick his arm out and stop Shisui from opening the screen. He put a finger to his lips, urging Shisui to be quiet. His cousin gave him a confused look, growing more confused when Itachi touched his ear.

Dawning seemed to arrive a few moments later. "Can you hear them?" Shisui hissed. "How convenient. Who has super hearing…?"

"If you put so much pressure on our son, dear, he'll be unable to meet your expectations. His gift hasn't even revealed itself yet." Mikoto's voice soothed, attempting to steer her husband.

"He's the brightest boy the Uchiha's have seen in two generations. He could take us to the top of this village, like we should have been from its inception."

"Hush, dear, hush. All will be where it should in time."

Itachi didn't like what he was hearing. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything he didn't already know or hadn't caught glimpses or whispers of previously. Fugaku resented his own self-proclaimed "ordinariness" and felt himself to be a besmirch on the Uchiha name. But if he had sons that were powerful and strong, sons that could lead the village, then Fugaku would be instrumental. This wasn't the first time Itachi wondered at the potential consequences of his father's ambitions, and it certainly wouldn't be his last. Itachi had yet to figure out how he wanted to fit into his father's ambitions and how he wanted to fit into the village as a whole.

Itachi nodded at his cousin, dropping his arm. He shook his head when Shisui looked inquisitively at him. "Later." Itachi mouthed.

Shisui shrugged. "Auntie! Uncle!" Shisui shoved the rice paper screen aside. "Guess what, guess what?"

Shisui recounted the story of finding Itachi speedstering around the forest and then filled in what Itachi had "figured out" about his ability. "He takes on the powers of five people. We think it's based on how close these people are to him, or maybe about personal importance. Isn't it so cool? We haven't had a limitation like that before documented in the family records!"

Mikoto's face showed absolute joy – a stark difference to Fugaku's gruff thoughtfulness at the news – and she threw her arms around her son. "I'm so happy for you, Itachi! We will have to see how best your gift can serve our village."

This was the most contact Itachi had had with anybody since receiving his gift. An image overlayed itself over Itachi's vision, looking up at the ceiling of his parent's room in between clenching his eyes shut. Shuddering pain radiated from Itachi's swollen abdomen. 'It's okay, Mikoto, it's okay. Breathe, breathe. The first is always the worst, dear, but you'll be okay.' Rain and the petering sound of it on the roof interrupted the vision.

A partial vision, only part of it. Just a moment of memory. Surely, Itachi hoped, surely he hadn't taken away his mother's entire memory of his birth?

"Control yourself, Mikoto." Fugaku snapped as Mikoto let go of Itachi in surprise.

"It's not me…" Mikoto said, her eyes going wide. "Itachi? Is something the matter?"

Itachi took a deep and stabilizing breath. The rain reduced itself to a drizzle as he calmed himself. He hadn't meant to use his mother's power. He hadn't meant to…absorb a memory. "My apologies, Father. I will master control of my ability soon. I only need a little more time."

"Of course you do, sweetheart." Mikoto tried to reach out a hand towards her son's face, but he flinched back a little bit, turned away from her, looked at his father. Mikoto frowned. "You have five gifts, instead of one. And they'll potentially change. Every change will require adaptation. Nobody will resent you adjustment time."

Fugaku scoffed. "An Uchiha is always in control, son. You most especially. I will be petitioning the village leader that you be allowed to become his personal assistant."

Itachi nodded, clearing the worry from his face. "Of course, Father. Thank you for this honor. I look forward to serving the village."

Itachi would simply be careful of who he touched until he figured this out.

As Sakura grew older, she could be increasingly found hanging around the medical hospital. It was a simple building: it was a big square cabin filled with tables, beds, and curtains that could separate the beds. There were a few carts that Tsunade, the head medic, had specially commissioned from the only village member with a woodworking gift, Yamato, all of which were laden with supplies. Off in a small room at the back of the hospital was a room that Sakura dreamed of being given access to: the medical library.

All who left the village and returned had to bring back a piece of knowledge. Sometimes it was a skill that had not been seen or discovered in the village before, other times it was scrolls or stories, and, on the rarest of occasions, it was a book with medical knowledge inside. Some of these books were manuscripts written outside of the village by some sort of medical expert, but more often they were journals written by a doctor or medical practitioner. Sakura knew for a fact that Tsunade had written several of the journals based on information she had collected while journeying herself.

Tsunade had left the village on a journey more times than any other individual. Those who left, a relatively small number, would go on a single journey. Along with their piece of knowledge, it wasn't uncommon for a person to bring back a spouse from the outside world. But almost nobody left more than once. Tsunade was an exception – she'd left the village a total of ten times. Her one-day successor and most loyal student, Shizune, had gone with her three of those times.

Sakura was constantly underfoot, offering to clean anything that needed tending to, peering at healer's technique, making notes in her own journal on the different techniques she saw in neat, for her age, handwriting that was still difficult for adults to read. Not all healing gifts presented the same way, after all. Those like Tsunade, who had a "common" healing gift, would have their hands glow green and they could touch injuries and make them better. From what Sakura had overheard, even something like this required learning about healing. A healer had to guide their energy, which meant they needed to know what they were healing and how it should be repaired. It took a great deal of mental meditational strength. There was another man who could turn water into a medicinal beverage with specific properties, which was reminiscent of the village's first healer; Mito, the wife of the village's first leader, had the ability to cook food that would heal any injury – one meat bun and a person's every ails would be cured!

To say Sakura was obsessed was an understatement.

When Sakura wasn't at the hospital (meaning that they had banished her for the day), and when she wasn't required to be at the school building under Iruka's tutelage, Sakura could be found trailing after Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke Uchiha, second son of the great Uchiha family, expected to receive an ability as powerful as his brother's, and the absolute cutest boy in the entire village. Sakura knew she wasn't the only one who liked Sasuke Uchiha, but she did tell herself she was the only one dedicated to him. She would offer to help him with his homework, would bring him bitter chocolate or tomatoes from the vine, and would follow him around.

Sakura would annoy Iruka in trying to get out of martial arts training. Everybody in the village was required to learn hand-to-hand combat. If you had a gift that could be used offensively or defensively, then you also had to learn how to use it to protect the village. Most people knew not to mess with the village. Sakura had learned in school that those outside the village thought the valley and the forests surrounding the village were haunted, deterring most people from bothering them. But sometimes rumors wouldn't be enough, and some sort of conquering force would attempt to invade.

The last such attempt had been before Sakura was born.

"I don't want to get sweaty, Iruka-sensei! And the last war was forever ago! And healers heal, they don't fight!" Sakura complained. "And my ankle hurts from where I tripped yesterday! And I'm no good at running or jumping or kicking!"

Iruka put his hands on his hips. "Sakura, we all have a role to play in this village. You could be the last line of defense one day. You must learn this."

"But Iruka-sensei, my ankle!"

Iruka threw his hands up at her and wandered off. Sakura sat on the bench and watched the other students of Iruka practice movements with each other. By sitting on the edge, Sakura could preserve the color of her skin and the way her long hair lay just right. If she went and completed the exercises, her hair would become askew and Naruto would probably get dirt on her dress. It wasn't worth it.

Lord Sarutobi appeared, hobbling along on his cane, with Itachi Uchiha on his coat tails. Sakura's father had mentioned to her mother that Itachi Uchiha was Lord Sarutobi's personal assistant, and that he might become one of the future village leaders.

He was also Sasuke's older brother.

His eyes caught Sakura's as Iruka ran up to them. Iruka was gesturing wildly to Lord Sarutobi, presumably describing something, but Sakura couldn't hear, and Lord Sarutobi was nodding along, both his hands clapped on top of his cane. Lord Sarutobi then turned to Itachi and spoke words. Itachi nodded stiffly and then walked over to sit on the bench that Sakura was occupying.

Sakura suddenly felt embarrassed, but Itachi wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was watching those who were practicing in the yard. Sasuke suddenly grappled a student to the ground and let out a triumphant cry from atop his opponent. He saw Itachi and smiled, waving. Itachi raised a hand in greeting.

Sakura wished Sasuke would react that way to her. Her heart would burst with happiness if he waved at her, or smiled at her, or looked joyed to see her.

"Why aren't you out there with them?" Itachi said, peering at her from the corner of his eyes.

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her. "Because my ankle hurts. And because I don't want to be sweaty and get my dress dirty and not be cute."

Itachi let out a contemplating "hmm" sound.

"I'm going to be a healer." Sakura continued. "I don't need to know how to fight."

"Everybody needs to learn how to protect our village." Itachi replied quietly. "Our village means so much to everybody who lives here. Doesn't it mean a lot to you?"

"Of course it does!" she shot back angrily.

"Don't you want to protect it?" Itachi asked.

"I'm going to be a healer!" Sakura practically shouted. "Healers don't fight! They heal!"

"Tsunade can fight."

Sakura drew up short. "Huh? She can?"

"She's one of the strongest people in the village. The only person stronger is Maito Guy, who's gift is strength. I once saw her throw a boulder across a field. She would be terrifying to meet on a battlefield."

"I…didn't know that…"

"Healers have to be able to keep themselves alive on a battlefield, too." Itachi added. "What happens to their patients if a healer dies from an attack, or is injured themselves?"

Sakura's brow scrunched up as she processed what Itachi was saying to her. "I…didn't think about that…"

"I think its worth thinking about." Itachi told her.

"Okay… I guess. But I still don't want to get dirty! Why does fighting have to be so dirty?" Sakura pouted, hunching her shoulder's slightly forward and scowling at the ground. "I hate it."

Itachi nodded thoughtfully. "I don't like fighting either. I don't think we're supposed to like it. People who like fighting aren't thinking about what's best for their village."

"Like bad guys!" Sakura exclaimed. "Bad guys like to fight! But the hero doesn't always like to fight."

"Yes, like that." Itachi agreed. "It's okay to be good at fighting but not like it. It means you'll strive for peace instead of war."

Sakura sighed. "You're telling me I have to get dirty…" her nose wrinkled.

Itachi let out a soft and low chuckle. "Yes, Sakura, I'm telling you that you have to get dirty."

Sakura stood to her feet abruptly. She brushed imaginary dirt off of her skirt. A determination came over the girl, then. "Fine. I guess I'll go participate in exercises now. But I'm not going to like it!"

Itachi stuck his hand out towards Sakura. "Go do your best, Sakura."

Sakura shook his hand with vigor. With that, Sakura ran off and joined one of the pairs.

Itachi watched for a moment, ensuring she was serious about getting into the drills. No images or sensations or memories assaulted Itachi, confirming again that children without gifts didn't cause the memories. They were associated only with those who had gifts, and only when Itachi was copying the gift. Once he was sure Sakura was successfully integrated into the learning drills, he went back to Lord Sarutobi.

"How did it go, Itachi?" Lord Sarutobi asked, his gaze on his pupil calm and content.

"She has joined the drills, sir. I don't know if it will stick."

Lord Sarutobi patted his pupil's shoulder, over the clothing, a type of contact that didn't illicit transfer. "For only thirteen years of age, Itachi, you have a good head on your shoulders. I think she'll do just fine. And if she doesn't, you can talk to her again."

"Yes, sir."

Itachi watched Shisui kick his legs as his cousin sat and drank his tea on the edge of the porch. Shisui was completely incapable of sitting still; he was always moving. If his legs weren't moving or his fingers tapping or his head nodding along, then he must be twitching in his sleep.

Itachi set his own cup of tea down beside himself. "Shisui."

"Give it here, cousin dear." Shisui responded. "Tell me your worries and woes!"

Itachi had practiced this conversation too. "Do you have any memories you wish you didn't have?"

Shisui's legs stopped for a single moment, the question catching the elder boy slightly off-guard, but his legs resumed kicking as Shisui thought about it. "Good question, cousin. Let's see… I don't really have any bad memories. Would I want a happy memory gone?" A few minutes of pondering silence. "Maybe if I could relive something for the first time again!" A big grin split across Shisui's face. "Like the first time I ran so fast that I crossed the lake in the back of the valley and my feet ran on water and then I went even faster and ran up the waterfall! I've done it since then, but to feel it again for the first time would be the best thing in the world." Shisui nodded with determination. "Yeah, that's a memory I would give up, just so I could go experience it again."

Later that night, Itachi stole into Shisui's room near the back of the house. Carefully, quietly, with the softest of caresses, Itachi placed his hands on either side of his cousin's head. Itachi knew the memory he hoped to transfer from his cousin, he just wasn't sure if he could actually choose the memory.

Itachi had spent the last few years trying to avoid physical contact with people as much as possible. While most hadn't noticed the change in Itachi, Mikoto and Shisui had. Though they didn't press him for details, trusting Itachi to talk to them when – and if – he was ready, Itachi knew that it still hurt the both of them.

But if he told them, they would know he was lying to them.

Nobody could know he had been lying.

This would be the first time that Itachi purposefully elicited contact.

Itachi thought about the memory Shisui had described, about running on water and up a waterfall. Itachi tried to feel what Shisui described: joy and wonderment.

The image set itself in Itachi's head. A first-person perspective of running across the water, a grin so big on his face that it hurt his cheeks, the spray of the water soaking Itachi through. Before Itachi could question what he was doing, he raced his way up the waterfall. His stomach was left at the bottom, euphoria and excitement and adrenaline crowding out all other thoughts. Wind and water pulled at Itachi's body, threatening to send him back down the waterfall. As he reached the top, Itachi twisted his momentum away. He flipped himself around and his feet were pointing back down at the lake. Gravity took its toll and Itachi let out a whoop as he crashed into the lake below, shooting straight down like a spear. The grin still hadn't left his face when he breached the surface.

Itachi pulled back, feeling his limbs begin to buzz with excess energy. It was almost more than he could stand. The itch to move was nearly overwhelming. A smile on Shisui's face began to fade, to settle back into calmness. Itachi left the room as quietly as he could, trying to contain the urging need for momentum he could feel in his body.

The following morning, Shisui burst into the eating area with excitement. "I had the most amazing dream last night!" He declared to Mikoto, Itachi, and Sasuke. "I can't believe I haven't thought about it before. No time for breakfast, I'm going to go run up a waterfall."

Mikoto, who had long since learned to selectively tune-out her nephew's eccentrics, stuffed a rice ball into his mouth. "Not without breakfast you aren't."

"But Shisui," Sasuke said, giving his cousin a confused pout, "Haven't you run up the waterfall before?"

"Only in my dreams!" Shisui disappeared before he could offer any further explanation.

Itachi, silent, thoughtful, reached for another rice ball, only to find Shisui had stolen the last ones.

A/N: Feedback would be most appreciated. I haven't shown my work to people in many years.