ONESHOT REQUEST: Hikari and Shisui, Smileshipping
For Thea: In which the Uchihas live, and Hikari has the worst crush on Shisui. I made her a little older. Also known as: what life may have been like if the Uchihas didn't die.
-O-O-O-O-
"Strawberry!"
A shout across the market square drew her attention, and she was suddenly swept into strong arms as a puff of chakra indicated the use of the Shunshin Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique).
"Happy twentieth birthday!" Uchiha Shisui cheered. Hikari facevaulted.
"Shisui, it was my twentieth birthday about four months ago," she said. "And stop calling me Strawberry."
"Ok, then, Hika-chan," he pouted, letting her down. "And I know your birthday was four months ago, but I missed it and finally got back from my extended mission just now, so I hurried to say happy birthday to you." He grinned widely at her.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Stupid," she muttered as her ears and neck grew hot. "You should report to the Hokage and get rest, not find me."
"Kakashi already got my handwritten report via messenger hawk, so it's fine; there's no need for a debriefing. Besides, I had to come meet my favorite kunoichi. What are you doing? Can I help?"
"Kakashi-sama," she stressed. "He's the Hokage. You have to show respect." She handed him her shopping bag. "Here, hold this. I'm buying ingredients for dinner tonight. You're invited. Almost everyone is, because we're celebrating the third anniversary of the Hokage's inauguration."
Shisui held the shopping bag, but when Hikari looked up at his face, he was staring down at her with a look of horror. "You're cooking?"
She reacted with a similar look of horror. "Oh, Kami, no, of course I'm not cooking. I'd end up poisoning everyone somehow. Naruto is cooking, with Hinata."
They browsed the stalls in a comfortable silence, until Hikari accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, then looked up to see the scowling face of Kurosawa Takahiro. "Oh. Hello."
"Hello, Uzumaki," he said, stepping into her personal space to sneer down at her. "I see you're not wearing your uniform. Did the Hokage finally come to his senses and demote you to kitchen duty?"
She narrowed her eyes, refusing to fall to his intimidation tactics. Just because she was short and he was tall did not mean that she was less than him.
Although, being much shorter than everyone else was inconvenient.
"I'm currently on medical leave," she responded coolly, taking a step closer to get into his face. "Because, unlike some people, I'm requested for S-ranked missions, which require a higher skill set than you could ever reach. If there were ever to be a situation in which I needed to be in combat, I could do so easily, without my uniform or gear."
Takahiro's face twitched with anger. He leaned down so that he was directly face to face with her. "You should be careful. Some of the S-ranked missions you'll need to take will be 'X-rank'." He stood at his full height again. "But who knows? You might enjoy those missions. Everyone knows that in order to get your rank, you slept with the—"
A calloused hand wrapped around her wrist, and with a tug, Hikari found herself staring at the Uchiha crest on Shisui's back.
"Would you like to finish that sentence?" Shisui asked, ice creeping into his voice. His chakra began to flow more quickly, and Hikari knew that he had activated his Sharingan.
Takahiro scoffed, although he took a wary step back. "As always, Uzumaki, you have your lackeys playing bodyguard for you. How fitting, for someone who couldn't even protect themselves at the Chunin Exams."
Shisui's chakra surged towards his eyes. Oh, shit, she thought. I need to stop this. She laid a hand on his arm. "Shisui."
He didn't break eye contact with Takahiro, but his Sharingan faded away after several tense seconds to reveal his familiar coal eyes.
"Kurosawa-san," Hikari said, "You may imply and insult me as much as you like, but whatever you do, do not insult my friends." She left, keeping a hold of Shisui's arm to prevent him from running back and punching Takahiro in the face, which she knew he would do if she let him.
They walked in silence, Shisui's muscles tense under her hand. She sighed. "Shisui, it's okay."
"No, it's not." His brow furrowed deeper, and his chakra flickered erratically.
"Shisui. Please."
He stopped in the middle of the path. "He had no right to say the things he did. You've worked so hard to become Jounin, and you've gone through more than he ever has. He even had the audacity to bring up the Exams, when he knows that it's a bad memory for you, and he assumes things about you when he doesn't even know you, not like—"
Shisui broke off in his rant, staring at the ground angrily. Hikari prompted him to finish. "Not like what?"
He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "He doesn't know you. Not like the way I do."
Her eyes widened, and she felt her heart speed up. She looked away at anything, anywhere, just to avoid his eyes, which held something that she wasn't sure she wanted to explore yet. Her eyes landed on the shopping bag, and in doing so, missed the disappointment that flickered across Shisui's face.
"We didn't finish buying the ingredients," she said, reluctant to return to the market.
"The remaining ones are at the compound," he offered. "You can see Fumiko and Akane, too, that way. I can get us there with the Shunshin."
She took his hand, accustomed to this method of travel. "I have a question. How do you know which ingredients I still need?"
"Because," he said, grinning again. "I know you."
-O-O-O-O-
"Kari!"
A brilliantly smiling Fumiko opened the door. She hugged Hikari with slight difficulty, due to her swollen stomach. "Come in! What do you need?"
"Do I need a reason to come see a friend?"
"That's true, in your case, but Shisui came too, and he always comes only when he needs something."
"Hey! I do not! I also come to play with my niece!" Shisui protested.
Fumiko arched a brow.
"… But we need vegetables this time," he admitted, slumping.
Fumiko smiled. "I thought so. Kari, you can go visit with Akane. She's been asking for you lately."
"Alright," Hikari agreed. "Although, I still can't believe you named her after me. Well, my hair, I guess."
"Nonsense," Fumiko said, waving her hand. "You're my closest friend, and you saved my life. Now, go." She pushed her towards the living room and dragged Shisui into the kitchen.
Hikari poked her head into the living room and saw Uchiha Akane, the four year old daughter of Uchiha Fumiko and Uchiha Itachi, playing with the family cat. She crept up to her, and covered her eyes with her hands. "Guess who, Akane-chan?"
Akane shrieked with glee. "Kari!" She launched herself at her.
Hikari laughed as Akane wriggled her way onto her lap.
"Now," she began, eyes sparkling. "How has my precious goddaughter been doing?"
-O-O-O-O-
"Here's the radish. What else do you need?" Fumiko asked, bagging the vegetable.
"Miko, I can do it. You should rest; you're pregnant," Shisui urged, standing at the counter.
"I'm pregnant, not helpless. And you'll just mess up the way I organized the refrigerator," she replied smoothly. "Now, what's the next item?"
"Carrots," he surrendered, sitting down at the table. He watched Hikari through the doorway, and smiled slightly as he saw her tickle Akane before collapsing with her into a heap of laughter.
"You should tell her how you feel," Fumiko suggested gently, placing the carrots into another bag. "She likes you, after all."
"I know," he replied. "But I can't. She's not ready, and she probably refuses to even entertain the possibility of a relationship with me."
"Hmm," she mused. "Well, you always know best when it comes to Hikari." She tied the end of the bag. "Is this all?"
"Huh? Yeah," he said, eyes following Hikari.
Fumiko smiled fondly at her brother. The poor, lovesick fool. "Akane," she called. "Hikari has to leave now."
"Awwww," Akane whined. "Already?"
"Sorry, Akane-chan," Hikari said. "I'll visit again sometime soon with Shisui."
"Oh, Shisui-oji (Uncle Shisui) was here?" she asked. "I didn't even notice!"
Shisui gasped, clutching his heart. "I'm offended, Akane-chan!"
She stuck her tongue out at him and hugged Hikari. "Bye, Kari!"
"Bye, Akane-chan. Be good to your parents, okay?" Hikari said, hugging her back.
" 'Kay!"
Shisui stood up, towering over everyone, as usual. "Well, let's go. Walk or Shunshin?"
Hikari glanced at the clock on the wall. "Walk. We have time."
They said their goodbyes, lingering in the doorway to gush over Fumiko's swollen belly, before finally leaving the house and exiting the compound.
"So, who else is invited to the party?" Shisui asked, swinging the bag of ingredients. Hikari eyed the bag, slightly apprehensive.
"I already told you. Almost everyone."
"I'm assuming you don't mean all of Konoha," he teased. "At your house? Or the apartment?"
"My house, obviously," she replied, smacking him lightly. "Naruto kicked me out of the apartment anyways. He said he needed space to create more jutsus, but I think he just wants to make out with Hinata without any interruption." She made a face. While she wholly supported Naruto and Hinata's relationship, she didn't want or need to see her brother making out.
"I hope Hiashi never finds out, then," Shisui said, referring to Hinata's father.
"Oh, he has," Hikari smirked. "But Naruto declared his eternal love for Hinata, so he's basically engaged to her at this point."
"Marriage, already? You guys are only twenty."
"Itachi and Fumiko married when they were nineteen, and had Akane when they were twenty-one," Hikari pointed out. "Even if that's just clan politics. Plus, we're shinobi. We have a higher chance of dying, so isn't it better to get married, if you decide you want to marry? Besides, we're not all old men like you."
"I'm only twenty-seven," he said with a slight whine.
"I'm surprised that you haven't married yet, actually," she said, ignoring the slight pang in her chest. "Hasn't your clan been pressuring you?"
"They have, since I was eighteen," he replied. "But I don't want an arranged marriage. It worked for Itachi and Fumiko, because they like and respect each other enough for it to work, but I don't think it would work for me, so I'm waiting for the right person." His eyes cut towards her.
"You're such a sap," she said, grinning. "Have you found that person yet?"
"I have someone in mind," he murmured, not taking his eyes off of her and rejoicing internally when she grimaced from what he knew was jealousy. "What about you, then? Thinking of marriage at your young age?"
"Well," she said slowly, thinking. "I'm not sure. If the right person asked, then maybe?"
She slowed as they arrived at the front gate of her house. "I'll see you tonight, then," she said, raising an eyebrow at his contemplative expression.
"Yeah, see you. Don't burn the kitchen."
She flushed.
"That was one time! I'm not even cooking!"
-O-O-O-O-
Hikari sighed as she closed the door behind her. The party was in full swing, with three generations of shinobi (the Kakashi generation, the Itachi generation, and the Naruto generation, as she called them) causing chaos and mayhem. While she loved them, she needed a break, so she went outside and sat on the steps.
Also, she was a little sad that Shisui hadn't shown up.
She sighed again, resting her head on her knees as she recalled his words.
"I have someone in mind."
She knew, rationally, that it wasn't her. How could it be? He was Uchiha Shisui, beloved by the village, the most sought-after bachelor (besides Sasuke, who was going to get together with Sakura any day now), and childhood friend. He was tall, handsome, and charismatic, possessing a smile that never failed to make her heart skip a beat, and she was hopelessly in love with him, ever since they were genin. And he saw her as a younger sister.
But even though she knew it wasn't her, she still wished it was, and because of that wish, somewhere within her, she hoped that it was her.
"I'm in so much trouble," she muttered.
"Really? What did you do?"
Her head shot up. Shisui was standing in front of her, bearing his usual grin.
"Sorry I'm late," he said as he sat down next to her. "I had to get something."
"That's fine," she said. "The party is inside."
"I'd much rather stay out here with you," he admitted. "The night is nice, and I'm not sure if I want to get drunk yet." He rested his chin in his hand and smiled again.
And there went her heart.
"Getting drunk isn't very fun," she agreed. "Remember when we tried to see how much alcohol we could tolerate when I was fifteen?"
"Yeah, you were out after two glasses. What a lightweight. I can't believe I let you drink then," he mourned. "What sort of responsible adult am I?"
"You're not responsible," she deadpanned. "Besides, I was legally allowed to drink when I became Chunin. And you weren't much better! Itachi told me that you passed out after four glasses!"
"Alright, you caught me," Shisui said, raising his hands. He stretched and placed a hand into his pocket. "So, Hikari," he began.
She tilted her head, motioning for him to continue.
"I actually wanted to ask you something-"
A crash sounded from inside the house.
"Sorry, can you hold that thought? I should probably check that out," she said, hurrying into the house.
"Oh, sure."
Shisui frowned unhappily at the horrible timing. Of all the times that could happen...
"Lee almost got a hold of some alcohol, but Neji put a stop to it." Hikari came back out and closed the door behind her. "What did you need to ask?"
"Ah, it's nothing," he evaded. "It wasn't that important. Do you want to go inside now?"
Her lips quirked. "And face the unruly masses? Sounds like a plan."
He smiled bitterly as he followed her into the house, mentally cursing Lee. In his pocket, his hand traced the rounded edge of a small, black box.
-O-O-O-O-
Hikari felt the corner of her mouth quirk upwards as she stepped over the sleeping shinobi on the floor of her living room. Really, she thought, they shouldn't drink so much that they can't respond to me walking above them.
She made her way around the room, checking to make sure that everyone had a blanket and pillow, and stifled a giggle when she saw that Naruto had pulled Hinata to him like a koala clinging to a tree.
"Hika-chan?" a hoarse voice whispered.
She turned to see Shisui rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Go back to sleep, Shisui. It's almost half past four."
He blinked dazedly at her. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"I'm keeping watch, because everyone else was irresponsible enough to fall asleep drunk. You never know what might happen. Now go back to sleep."
Shisui stood up and stretched, ignoring her command. "I'll stay up with you," he said, picking his way across the room.
"No, you really don't need to."
"But I want to," he said, oddly persistent. "I really, really, really—"
They both froze as someone mumbled in their sleep. When everything was quiet again, they relaxed, and Shisui finally reached her. "Too late. I'm fully awake, and there's nothing you can do about it," he said.
Hikari rolled her eyes with a slight smile. "Alright. Let's go to the porch, because we're bound to talk. Plus, it smells too much like alcohol in here."
They sat on the porch steps, similar to the way they sat earlier in the evening. Although, it's not really evening anymore, Hikari thought. At nearly half past four, Konoha was strangely silent and still. There were no people in the streets, or lights and sounds from houses, and the animals that came out at dawn were still asleep. The air was cool, and it was completely dark, with only the moon and stars providing what little light there was.
"The night really is nice," she said softly. "Especially around this time. It's very…" She drifted off, unsure of what word to use.
"Calming? Tranquil?" Shisui offered.
"Sort of, but more. I was thinking along the lines of soothing and serene."
He laughed at her, nudging her shoulder with his. "Those mean the same things."
"Maybe," she conceded. "But the words I chose seem more comforting, don't they?"
"I guess."
They sat in silence for a while, completely at ease in each others' presence. After some time passed, Shisui nudged Hikari again. She turned her attention to him. "Hm?"
"Remember when I wanted to ask you something earlier, and I couldn't because Lee decided to try and drink some alcohol, and Neji had to stop him, so that interrupted what I was going to say, and you had to get up and check to make sure everything was okay, and I decided not to ask you for some reason, and—"
She cut off his rambling by raising a hand. "Yes, I remember. Shisui, are you still drunk?"
He pouted at her. "No, of course not. What makes you say that?" He scooted closer and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Okay, now I know for sure that you're drunk. You're never this affectionate to me when you're sober."
"I'm not drunk," Shisui insisted. "Besides, I'm always affectionate to you."
"That's true," she agreed. "But not like this. When you're sober, you pick me up and spin me around, and it's very playful. When you're drunk, you're more…" She trailed off again, searching for the right word.
"Intimate?"
"Yeah," she said, feeling her face heat up. "That. Intimate."
Shisui hummed lowly, causing vibrations to resonate across her shoulder. She shuddered slightly.
"Maybe," he began, lifting his head off her shoulder to stare intently at her, "it's because I want it to be that way."
With those words, the conversation veered off course and headed towards a more uncertain, dangerous path.
"What—"
"Alcohol is known for lowering inhibitions, after all," he said in an almost musing manner. "So I can hold back less. Be more truthful. You know, all that crap. I can be more selfish and even though I'm not drunk, I can use alcohol as an excu—"
"Shisui, stop."
He blinked at her. Her face was completely red, and her eyes were glassy. Oh, he thought blankly. I made her cry.
"You're drunk right now," she said, refusing to look at him.
His brow furrowed. "I'm not." Really, he wasn't.
"You're drunk," she repeated. "You don't know what you're saying, so I think you should stop talking before you say something you might regret."
She stared down at her hands, afraid to meet his eyes. A beat of tense silence passed, then suddenly—
"Regret?"
Her eyes shot up to see him scowling at her. "There's one thing you should know, Uzumaki Hikari." Her heart stuttered when he said her entire name. "When it comes to you, there's nothing I regret, ever, even if we fight."
Hikari didn't know how to respond, but thankfully, Shisui decided to take mercy on her. He pulled back and grinned widely, making her heart flutter again, and the heavy atmosphere around them vanished. "Did you know that Akane wants to join the Academy already?"
She pounced on the change of subject, eager to leave the previous one behind. "Yeah, she asked me to push her registration through, which I'm not going to do. She should enjoy spending as much time as possible with her family before she's whisked away by training and learning."
He snickered at her. "Not everyone was an obsessed workaholic who wanted to graduate early, like you. She just wants to learn cool jutsu."
"Oh, shut up. There's nothing wrong with dedication to the shinobi lifestyle."
He hummed noncommittally again. "Ah, that's right." When she turned questioning eyes on him, he fished around his pocket and withdrew a small black box. "I got you a late birthday present."
Hikari felt her ears heat up again. "You didn't have to."
Shisui snorted. "Just take it," he said, shoving the box into her hands.
She accepted it. The box was very small, fitting into the palm of her hand perfectly. It was covered on the outside with black velvet, and opened via flipping. "You got me jewelry? Isn't that expensive?"
"Just open it," he chirped, impatiently flapping his hands at her. She did, and what she saw made her heart stop (honestly, she was going to have a heart attack if she hung around him too much).
Between two sheets of white silk lay a silver band encrusted with a single, white crystal that she suspected was a diamond. It caught the moonlight and shone invitingly at her, taunting her to put it on her finger.
"Shisui, do you realize what this looks like?" she asked, voice sharp.
"Yeah," he said casually. "Here, let me put it on for you." He took the ring and her hand— her left hand— and carefully slid the ring onto her ring finger.
"This isn't funny," her voice wavered, weak.
"It's not a joke. And no," he said when she opened her mouth to protest, "I'm not drunk. Earlier, way earlier, as in yesterday afternoon earlier, we talked about marriage, remember?"
How could she forget? She always remembered their conversations.
"And we talked about our "right person", and I also said that I had someone in mind. That's you." Shisui tightened his hold on her left hand, and looked straight into her eyes. "You said that if the right person asked, you would accept. I want to be that person, so Uzumaki Hikari, will you marry me?"
Her mouth opened and closed several times as her voice refused to come out. Finally, she said in a shaky whisper, "You're seven years older than me."
"That's not too bad. Besides, we're in our twenties."
"Barely. And we haven't even dated," she pointed out desperately.
"We might as well have been, considering the way we interact."
"Your clan might not accept me."
"Bullshit. Everyone adores you, and Itachi is the Head of the clan. It'll be fine."
Finally, she used her last resort. "What if I don't love you?" she squeaked, closing her eyes. When she received no response, she peeked up at him, and to her dismay, he was grinning down at her with that smile, the smile that always caused her to feel sick yet wonderful at the same time.
"You forget," Shisui said, coming closer, then repeated his words from yesterday afternoon, "that I know you."
And he kissed her.
He kissed her roughly, moving against her mouth with a pace that made her weak and dazed and breathless, because Kami, it should be illegal for someone to be able to kiss that well. He pulled back, just enough for her to catch her breath, and pressed his lips against hers again, smoother and slower than before. This time, she felt as if her heart was melting, but in a good way, a way that slowly crept through her veins and warmed her entire body, until she was hesitantly responding to the kiss.
Shisui hummed in approval as she leaned close to him, sliding her arms around his neck. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, while the other snuck around her back for his hand to cradle her head, allowing him to tilt her head for easier access.
Time ceased to exist. It was only her and him, Hikari and Shisui, Uzumaki and Uchiha, water and fire. He kissed her countless times, each time pulling back and stopping just enough for her to barely catch her breath before capturing her lips with his own. Finally, he pulled back and didn't attempt to kiss her again, and instead pulled her into his lap to rest his forehead against the top of her head.
Her hair smelled like apples.
They rested like that for a while, basking in each others' presence. When the light of the sunrise finally hit them, Hikari shifted off Shisui's lap and glanced up at him shyly.
"I guess," she said quietly, much more quietly than he had ever heard her speak, "that August is a good month to get married in."
He stared at her for a moment, then laughed with joy. "Six months away," he said.
She nodded, playing with the collar of his shirt.
Shisui smiled at Hikari, eyes crinkling.
"I can wait six months."
-O-O-O-O-
A/N: Here you go, Thea!
To Carrie, the guest reviewer: I can't do that request, due to spoilers! Sorry! A "before the battle" scene will come up later in the official story though, so just wait until that part finally comes up (but it'll be a long wait, since the story is still in its beginning stages).
To those of you who may be confused as to why Takahiro is such a prick: Remember, in Reaching, he and Hikari only became good friends because he helped her recover from Shisui's death. Since the entire Uchiha clan is alive, there was no need for that, hence the animosity between the two.
I'll try to update Reaching later on today! Also, look forward to an Omake Special sometime in the future.
See you next time!