Chapter 3

Shisui spent the next week with a constant, splitting headache. He went to bed with a headache and he woke up with a headache. He had only a month to get into rhythm as a newly promoted jonin with his newly assigned team. He had to get stronger quickly because all the elite ninja in Kumo would be after him and his team. He had only just turned eleven-years-old, so more than likely Kumo's anbu would think of him as an easy bounty.

His alarm went off before dawn, as usual, and he angrily slammed a fist down on the button to silence the loud bells. He got up, got dressed, and made himself something to eat before he had to meet Itachi for training. His kitchen might be small, and it might be really old, but it did have just enough space that he could make a full breakfast with a fish oven and just one burner. So he made one of his mom's regular breakfasts consisting of grilled fish, a bowl of rice, and instant miso soup.

Today was a Monday, the first Monday in August, so Itachi would be here any minute so they could go out training together. Itachi's teachers and parents had a conference after school on Friday and it was agreed that he would graduate in mid-March with this year's graduating class. Itachi had exhausted his teachers of every assignment and test they could give him two weeks ago so he had taken to sending a shadow clone in his place rather than just skipping.

Itachi rang the doorbell just as he was finishing up washing the dishes and putting them on the rack to dry.

"Morning, Itachi!" he said, opening the door and letting him in.

"Good morning, Shisui. What are we going to do today?" he asked, setting down his school bag and taking off his shoes at the genkan before taking a seat at the table to watch him make their boxed lunches.

"Today we're going to run at top speed for three hours and then spar again." He said, setting two servings of rice to cook in the rice cooker on the counter while he made rolled omelets for two.

"Okay, Shisui." Itachi replied, trying to hide his disappointment at not doing anything new. They had been doing the same thing all week long since he got back very late on Wednesday from Diagon Alley.

"Most of the stuff your jonin instructor will have you do as a genin will be repetitive, too." He explained, putting one of the rolled omelets in Itachi's lunch box. "It's important to learn how to keep going and run or fight through your exhaustion. Plus, it's good for building up your chakra reserves."

"So that you can complete missions successfully." Itachi said.

"Well, you're half-right." He said, putting the last rolled omelet his lunch box and starting on the mini sausages. "When you train hard, you'll also be able to help your teammates."

Itachi was just like him at that age, single-mindedly racing impatiently along the path of becoming the strongest shinobi he could be in pursuit of his goals. For Shisui himself, he had been desperate to prove to everyone that he wasn't just a hopeless quarter-Uchiha with no chance of awakening the sharingan. Fortunately, he had been born with a natural talent for the shinobi arts, but so had Kaito.

"If they were diligent with their training, too, then they wouldn't need help." Itachi replied.

It was just like what he had said about his senior in Academy, Hagiri. The boy and his friends had accosted him one day between classes about being an Uchiha, blaming him for the Nine Tails attack and demanding he apologize.

Why don't my classmates and seniors train diligently, like you and I do? Then they could have protected their family. My senior Hagiri didn't. He just stood and watched his mother die. If he trained, he would have been strong enough. Any child can crush a big boulder like I did if they train hard enough.

It had felt like a punch to the gut, hearing his naïve, arrogant little cousin so callously blaming his classmates and seniors at Academy for their parents' deaths in the Nine Tails attack.

So he told him the same thing as before. "You're exceptional, Itachi. You got the clone jutsu on your first try back when I taught it to you, remember? Most kids aren't like that, and there's nothing wrong with that. They're all trying just as hard as you are. Everyone learns at their own pace."

They had had this conversation several times before, but Itachi had yet to see his point.

I just hope it doesn't take someone's death to get him to understand.

"Shisui, will you be able to come train with me after you start magic school?" Itachi asked instead.

He thought for a moment as he finished packing up their lunch boxes and put them in his backpack while Itachi made a shadow clone and sent it out the door to school for him with his school bag and his mom's packed lunch.

"Hogwarts is nine hours behind Konoha, so I won't be able to come train with you in the mornings like this, but we might be able to train when school lets out. I'll have homework and missions to do, so I'll be busy." He replied finally, putting his shoes on at the genkan while Itachi did the same.

He wasn't important enough yet to get called away for missions at all hours of the day, but that would change soon when he began taking B-rank missions with his team.

"Oh, okay." Itachi's disappointment was evident this time, even as he tried to talk himself out of it. "I understand, your magic school's techniques can help the village, but the village can't just stop sending you on missions."

"Hey, it's okay, I'll still write to you, Itachi. You can summon my crows now, too, so we can send letters to each other through them. I'll buy a letter capsule from Genma with a blood-seal on it so it's secure, too." He replied, trying to cheer him up. He knew that to Itachi, training with him was the highlight of his day.

"Okay!" Itachi replied, smiling up at him. "Shiranui Genma is one of the Hokage's guards, right? I've heard dad talk about him and Raido and Aoba before. Why does he sell stuff like a shopkeeper?"

I bet you have. Our clansmen are frustrated that so few people blame the Hokage Guard Team for Lord Fourth's death and instead pin the blame on the Uchiha clan.

Shisui hummed, debating how much to tell him. "It's a side job because he's really good at fuinjutsu. His parents lost their shop in the Nine Tails attack from the tailed beast bomb, and he took in one of the Academy orphans afterwards."

Shisui trained with Itachi from seven in the morning until noon at which point they ate their lunch boxes together at the picnic tables near the training grounds. Shisui left to meet his new team at the gates to the Forest of Death afterwards. It was Lord Third's orders that their team would not be sent on missions until they had the opportunity to get to know one another through daily team practice sessions.

"Good afternoon, Captain Hige, Rio." He said as he arrived. Both the Hyuga and the Aburame were sitting on the bench by the gates, waiting, with Hige's ninken, Takimaru, laying bored at his feet.

"It's about time. You're always last to arrive, Uchiha." Sixteen-year-old Hige said, glaring at him while Takimaru barked and wagged his tail in greeting.

"Hi, Shisui." Thirteen-year-old Rio said, standing up and waving at him as he approached.

"Takimaru!" he exclaimed, smiling as he petted the large black and white dog. Inuzuka ninken really are the best. "Is there a problem, captain? I'm on time. Otherwise, let's just get started on the training exercise. What are we doing today?"

Hige always had something to complain about it and it really got on his nerves. All the same, he had to learn to work with him. Petty squabbles just got you killed.

"Today we will be doing a two-part training exercise mimicking a standard B-rank tracking and disposal mission. The kind of missions Kumo will be taking on themselves with us as their targets, Shisui of the Body Flicker." Hige said, beginning to explain. "In part one, we need to find traces left by a fugitive and track him. In this simulation, a jonin has been assigned to play the part of your average Kumo-nin wanted in our bingo books. In part two, we will confront the Kumo-nin for the purpose of killing him and winning the bounty money for our village. Understand?"

They both nodded, and Takimaru barked while Rio absently petted him.

"Our strategy today will be the same thing we did yesterday. We have to get this down by the time Lord Hokage assigns us our first B-rank mission together. Rio, stop being worried about hitting us with your attacks when it comes time to fight. Your inaction hurts the team. Shisui, your tracking skills are abysmal. You need to learn to track." Hige said.

"Yes, captain." Rio said, looking at Takimaru instead of Hige.

"Yes, captain." He said, barely managing to keep the frustration out of his voice. He hated Hige's attitude, but he had a point. He had never been taught tracking skills beyond Academy level.

I thought they were here to do the tracking and I was here to do the killing. They're your standard tracking team members. I guess it would be a good skill to have for ANBU though.

They didn't get home until 2am that night. He ate the final slice of the birthday cake that Itachi had brought him on his birthday before going to bed.

Two days later on Wednesday, August 7th, he finally got Professor McGonagall's letter. He had arrived home after another day full of training at midnight to three very territorial crows. They were all cawing at a large owl perched on his balcony railing with a letter tied to its leg. Not even Piiko came to greet him. He hurried over to let the owl in.

How long has it been waiting?

He set the owl on one of the lower perches on the tree the crows rarely used, untied the letter, and moved one of the food and water bowl sets down for it. "Here, rest up."

He broke the now familiar wax seal and opened the letter. Piiko flew over to perch on his shoulder and gently nip his earlobe, his usual way of showing affection.

"Hi, Piiko." He said, absentmindedly stroking his feathers.

Dear Mr. Potter,

I am writing to you and your Hokage in response to your request for regular transportation. Due to your unique situation, and Albus' and Minister Fudge's fervent desire that you attend Hogwarts, you have been issued an unlimited use, two-way portkey for the express purpose of going to and from the Headmaster's office and your Hokage's office to complete missions. You have also been provided with a pair of two-way pocket mirrors for ease of communication between yourself, the Headmaster, and the Hokage in regards to your missions.

In order to use it to travel to your village, just go to the Headmaster's office, say the password which is currently "lemon drop", go inside and hold the portkey while saying "Hokage's office" in front of Albus' desk. Do the opposite to return to Hogwarts by standing in front of the Hokage's desk and saying "Headmaster's office".

Enclosed is also another one-time-use portkey in the shape of a sewing needle for your use on the morning of Sunday, September 1st to get to Platform 9 ¾. It will activate at exactly 10:45am London time, or 7:45pm your time, and deposit you at the 3rd portkey point on our side of the barrier at King's Cross Station. Do not be late or you will miss the portkey's departure!

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

He took the letter to Lord Third's office right away the next morning before training with Itachi.

The next few weeks passed by quickly. He hadn't really needed it, but he was given the entire day off to pack and get ready. He would be off tomorrow, as well, to account for the time difference. By the time he got settled into bed in his dormitory at Hogwarts, it would feel like he stayed up until 7am.

Maybe I should sleep on the train.

He had almost an hour before he had to catch the portkey and leave to Platform 9 ¾. He had already double-checked his trunk before eating out with Itachi earlier for dinner. Currently, they were just sitting around the table at his apartment relaxing and making some final preparations. His trunk, along with Piiko in her new cage, were at his feet all packed and ready. He'd already changed into his school uniform, since being off call meant he wouldn't need to be ready for a mission at any moment. He still kept his kunai and shuriken hostlers and his two hip pouches on his person anyways and, of course, he wore his forehead protector with Konoha's leaf symbol on it.

"Here's the spare key I had made for you, Itachi." He said, handing him the key. "I'll pay you the 3000 ryo we agreed on to clean my apartment for me every week so I don't come home to a bug infestation. Like I told you, without me here the crows should mostly stay at the nesting site up at the Naka Shrine. You don't have to, but I'd love it if you would take some food up to the shrine for them sometimes. Their murder might start responding to your summoning calls, too, if you do. Piiko will, for sure, so we can write. Just make sure to summon him when you're getting ready for school or around dinner time cause of the time zones, okay?"

He was just worrying over nothing, he knew. He knew Itachi was dependable and he would appreciate having some pocket money to spend on dango. It would probably help him feel closer to him while he was away, being entrusted to help look after things for him like this.

"I understand. I'll take care of everything for you." Itachi responded as he pocketed the small silver key.

"I know you will. It'll be your first unofficial D-rank mission!" he replied, grinning at him. "Of course, I'm paying you better than most of your D-ranks will. Civilians will pay the bare minimum for a lot more work than this."

"Why does the missions office allow that?" Itachi asked.

"Because most people are still recovering from the Third War and the Nine Tails attack. D-ranks are expensive for work that anyone else can do, too. They choose to hire genin teams anyways because they're more reliable."

Itachi might be smart enough to understand why genin were assigned D-ranks, but he still didn't have the life experience to understand the financial concerns of adult life.

He'd been away for long-term missions before, but never for nearly four months at once. He would return to the village for missions but that's it – not even to sleep. If he slept in the village, it would be because he came home from a mission and had to go to the hospital. He'd already sent all of the crows up to the Naka shrine except for Piiko.

The crows are really going to miss me. I'll miss coming home to them, too.

"Hey, Shisui, you go to dad's clan meetings at the Naka Shrine, right?" Itachi asked, after a moment's hesitation.

"Yeah, I've been going since the Nine Tails attack. Why?" he replied.

"Why is everyone in the clan so upset about the false accusations and the discrimination? It's not so bad, being all together in the new compound like this. It's right by our clan's shrine and we have an even better training ground now. Wouldn't it be better to work together and make it an even better home for everyone? I remember it." Itachi explained, not seeming to notice that his hands had started shaking and his eyes got a far-away look in them. "I remember it. People lost limbs. Kids lost parents. Families lost homes and businesses. So many families lost so much more than our clan did as a whole. But they set aside this compound for us first before anyone else. Shouldn't they be grateful? What's done is done, so shouldn't they move on and build on what they have?"

Shisui was silent for a long moment, thinking. While he appreciated Itachi's positive outlook, his little cousin was failing to understand the hurt their clansmen felt. The hurt that he had and still felt. Itachi's acknowledgement of people's losses was moreso a reflection of how scared he felt witnessing it than it was him empathizing with the victims.

"There's always more than one side to an issue, so you have to look at things from other people's perspective. With a lot of things, there is no right or wrong opinion." He said. "You see the benefit in our clan's situation because that's a major effect that it had on you. Neither you or I have been alive for very long. I graduated just three-and-a-half months before the Third War ended, but a lot of our clansmen fought in that war and knew friends and family who got killed in it. And to be falsely accused of attacking the village you nearly died for? Or that a loved one died for? And no one speaks up on your behalf, not even the Hokage you spent your life serving? I understand why a lot of people are mad about it."

He didn't bring his losses into the conversation, because those meetings were about a lot more than just another war orphan.

Itachi doesn't need to know all the details or how heated those meetings get, but I don't want him to think this is a simple logic problem. There have been good and bad decisions on both sides and the fallout has affected everyone.

Itachi faltered. "But that's so…."

He wasn't good with understanding emotions, be it his own or someone else's, and because he was very logical he had trouble seeing this from someone else's often emotional perspective. Especially when loss was involved because he had never lost anyone, and because he believed the reason his mom and baby brother survived the Nine Tails attack was because he trained diligently.

You were lucky even with all that training that you were able to break the boulder, Itachi. Call it a miracle from the gods, cause a five-year-old's chakra reserves should be insufficient even with training. That's why your classmate Izumi can't activate her sharingan for more than a minute or two at a time without fainting.

"I'm not mad, Itachi. Just think about it while I'm gone, okay? Ask around, maybe. What's happening with the clan is a lot more complex than you're thinking it is and there's no one simple solution to fix it, either."

Itachi nodded. "Okay, I will, Shisui."

Seeing the time on the clock on the wall, Shisui stood and picked up his trunk and Piiko's cage before picking the sewing needle portkey up off the table.

"Well, it's time to get going. Bye, Itachi! Remember to lock up when you leave, okay?" he said, ruffling his hair just to tease him. Itachi scowled at being treated like a kid, but smiled anyways. He knew he meant it as a gesture of affection.

"I will. Bye, Shisui!"

He made a half-ram sign and activated his sharingan just as the portkey went off. His apartment spun into a kaleidoscopic array of colors as his body was simultaneously span round and round and squeezed through a small drain pipe all at once. Just like on the return trip, though, the body flicker and his sharingan made it easier to bear. His landed hard on hard concrete, instinctually landing on his feet crouched low as if he'd just hopped down from a tree, but he wasn't dizzy or nauseous like the first time he did this.

Thank the gods, I wouldn't want to have to do that multiple times a week if it did.

He quickly moved out of the way for whoever was next, going to stand a short ways away by the wall and get his bearings, dragging his trunk and bird cage along with him. A huge red and black steam engine was parked, waiting, on the tracks before him. Hundreds of kids, teens, parents, and grandparents were all gathered on the platform saying their goodbyes.

A large family full of red-heads were all talking to their mother not far from the door of the carriage. Their mother was trying to rub a bruise off the youngest son's nose.

"Mum, get off!" he said as he wriggled free.

"Has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" asked one of the twins hanging his head out the window.

"Shut up."

"Where's Percy?" asked their mother, looking around.

"He's coming now."

The eldest brother came walking over, already dressed in his uniform unlike his brothers, with two badges pinned to his clothes. One was red and gold with a lion on it while the other had a P on it.

"Can't stay long, mum. I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments all to themselves."

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy? We had no idea." Said one of the twins in mock surprise.

"You should have said something, we had no idea." Said the other twin.

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it."

"Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up!" said Percy the Prefect.

He laughed and turned away from the clan of red-heads as his attention was drawn instead to an old woman wearing a hat with a stuffed vulture on it carrying a red handbag. She was talking to a boy that looked to be his age.

"Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville, I told you to keep him in his cage." She said.

"But he likes being in my pocket. He gets lonely in the cage all day. Can you accio him for me?" a somewhat overweight brown-haired boy asked.

"No, Neville. You must face the consequences of your own actions. Maybe this will teach you to keep him in his cage from now on. Now hurry up and get on the train before it leaves without you." She said, gesturing at the train.

"Okay. Bye, Gran. I'll write when I get there." The boy, Neville, replied. For a moment he thought the boy wanted to give her a hug goodbye, but he backed down.

"Have a good term, Neville. Make your parents proud." Replied Neville's grandmother.

A ways away, a blonde boy with silver-grey eyes was talking to his father. The two looked very much alike.

"Dad, why can't I take my broom this year? Can't you just shrink it for me? How am I supposed to play for Slytherin next year if I can't even practice?" he whined.

"You'll be fine, Draco. Now remember, Harry Potter will be at Hogwarts this year." Said Draco's father. "It was in the Daily Prophet. It would not do well to be seen being less than friendly with the boy who lived, do you understand? It's valuable to have friends in high places. But above all be courteous, mind your manners, and keep your head down."

"Yes, father." Draco replied.

Some of the students were pushing their trollies with their trunks and cages on it to the back of the train where an attendant was loading them into a rail car that seemed to never get full no matter how much was thrown in. Others were pulling their trunks and cages behind them and heaving them up the steps and onto the train with them.

Not really seeing the need for a trolly with a weightless trunk, he pulled his trunk and cage along and pulled them easily up the steps and onto the train.

The first few carriages were already full. The first two compartments he came to were full of older students all of whom were wearing a badge with a P on it, so he figured it was some sort of exclusive set of compartments. It was loud and crowded, with people rushing about in the narrow corridor of the train, pulling trunks behind them and trying to find their friends. Some kids were fighting over seats while others were hanging out open windows talking to their families.

He found an empty compartment and put his trunk in the overhead bin before setting Piiko's cage down on the floor. Piiko cawed angrily and fiddled with the lock with his beak.

"I'll let you out when we get to school, okay? This is just for the trip." He said. Piiko looked affronted.

The train's whistle sounded, and slowly the train began to move, chugging along the tracks and departing from the station. He looked out the window, watching all the parents and younger siblings wave goodbye. Some of them ran along the length of the platform and stopped at the end, waving until the train was out of view. Houses flashed past the window. Students were still running around in the corridors trying to find seats.

Wonder what house I'll be in?

He had bought Hogwarts: A History at Diagon Alley so he would have something of an idea of what to expect. He hadn't read the whole thing, but he read the important bits about the founders and the houses.

Gryffindor takes the brave and Slytherin the cunning and ambitious, and so on and so forth. But the question is, does it sort based on our personalities or on what we ourselves value?

To be honest, he could see an argument for putting him in any one of the four houses. Ninja by definition were loyal, brave, self-sacrificing, cunning, and resourceful at the bare minimum. Many elite ninja were ambitious, hard workers, and good at strategizing.

I wonder what houses my parents were in?


Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Also, I edited chapter 2! Mostly some spelling errors, but I did add a scene with the sorcerer's stone because I forgot to put it in originally. The next chapter is an important set up chapter, so let me know what you want to see!

1) Who do you want to see him befriend, be it on the train or at Hogwarts?

2) I've already decided, but because I'm curious, what house do you think suits him best, going off of the theory that the hat sorts based on what the student values most?