Summary: Some fluff! Shisui goes apartment shopping
Notes: Here's chapter 7. I apparently fail at updating in a timely manner, though I believe this is the second chapter this month, so that could be a record of sorts.
It takes about two months before Shisui truly begins to feel like he's, at least nominally, running the village. It helps that he finally manages to scrounge up the time to look for a place of his own, outside the Uchiha district. While no one has actually evicted him, he figures it's only a matter of time. No one in the clan will look him in the eye, and he gets the feeling Itachi's the only one who actually likes him there. Which isn't that big of a change really. He'd always occupied a rather strange place in the clan hierarchy. He was one of the few ninja able to keep up with, and at times surpass, Itachi, but his parents hadn't been officially married, and the clan was traditional enough that that mattered.
Apartment shopping, especially as Hokage, is a novel experience. He hasn't actually done anything like it before, so he isn't that upset when Homura offers assistance selecting an appropriate building. While he'd kind of figured he'd just pick out a place near the tower, it's nice to have some advice on the matter. When Koharu gets involved he'd been rather expecting it. The two of them are a pair and it's unusual to see one without the other. Itachi's involvement is also a given. Shisui has come to expect his presence in much the same way he expects gravity. It would take a force of nature to remove Itachi from his side. What he does not expect is everyone else in the tower offering input on his living situation. It gets to the point where Shisui blocks them all out and counts down days in his head until the much anticipated apartment shopping excursion.
When the day finally arrives, Shisui notices he's managed to pick up an extra guard. It only takes a glance to recognize the mask of the ANBU commander. All in all, he's actually surprised that only one person decided to tag along. By the time they leave the tower that is no longer true. Two or three analysts along with a kunoichi he vaguely remembers flirting with quickly catch up to them. Not long after several chunin from the mission desk join up as well. By the time he makes it to the first building, Shisui feels like some sort of feudal lord, complete with entourage.
The landlady comes out to greet him personally and is practically falling over herself to show off the flat. It's... nice enough. There's a kitchen and a second bedroom, so Itachi could have his own space. Most importantly though, it's almost a straight shot to the tower, so he could shunshin there in his sleep, probably. He's about to ask how much in rent, when Koharu tells him that this place just won't do. The owner tries to explain, but Shisui is already being dragged away. It happens too fast for him to even feel properly indignant. He can't remember the last time anyone thought to manhandle him. It was probably before his mom died. The second place, he's told, has too many windows and is in "the wrong part of town." Shisui points out that he's S-Ranked, and the Hokage, so he should be able to defend himself. He also finds it very unlikely anyone could get to him within Konoha, or more accurately, anyone who wishes him harm wouldn't need to rely on extra windows or the neighborhood to get him. But Homura seconds his guards concerns and they move on to the next place.
It's around the time the visit the third building that Shisui realizes he's actually enjoying himself. Even surrounded by people he has actively betrayed and deceived. He isn't sure what's changed, but their concern for him has begun to feel genuine, almost endearing. It has been many years since anyone looked out for his wellbeing. While he's sure the guilt will come back later, once he returns to paperwork and politics and everything else being Hokage entails, for now he lets himself relish the sense of belonging he's hasn't felt since the death of his genin team. As the approach the third place, he's not surprised when they veto it. The ad had made it seem less dilapidated and had completely neglected to mention the lack of any sort of functional roof. He's half convinced the walls are held up by chakra, and he's not sure why the building hasn't been condemned.
By evening they've been through six or seven apartments and Shisui is more comfortable than he's been in years. And then they find it. The seventh, or eighth, flat is perfect. It's got a contemporary vibe and comes with furniture, which was something Shisui hadn't even considered before. It's in a better part of town and while there's only one sleeping room, it's big enough Itachi could probably stay over if he wanted. Unfortunately, the place is still not dignified enough for someone of "his status." His guards are concerned by how many neighbors he'd have in an apartment building and the owner of the building is apparently someone that Shisui "wouldn't want to publicly associate with." When he asked what that meant, the ANBU commander said something about extreme political views. And that's when Shisui realizes as fun as it is to let his advisors and guards and assorted staff fuss over him, this picking his apartment by committee is not going to work. He's never going to find a place if his landlord and neighbors all need to pass a background check.
He doesn't let the realization ruin the evening though, and as they all troop off to dinner he makes vague promises of going out again. Everyone agrees that that really would be for the best, and Homura mentions something about working with the ANBU commander to compile a list of suitable domiciles. Shisui thanks him for the thought and diverts the conversation. With little effort on his part, he manages to get everyone drinking, and by the time they all head back to the tower, Itachi is probably the only sober one among them. Shisui grins, only slightly tipsy himself, with any luck none of them will remember enough about tonight to actually try to follow up on the whole Find Shisui a House thing.
It's two days later before he can clear his schedule again. This time, he leaves clones of himself and Itachi in the office. He tells himself he doesn't feel any guilt for deceiving his guard, and if anything important comes up, he's pretty sure he can return in under a few seconds. He might not be the Yellow Flash, but he's still pretty damn fast. He and Itachi henge into unassuming chunin and Shisui relishes the anonymity. It's the first time since he took office that no one has crowded him in an attempt to shake his hand or touch his shoulder. And, while he's never had difficulty performing in front of a crowd, as Hokage he finds himself missing having time to himself.
With only Itachi, the search is much easier. Itachi doesn't speak much in public, even with the henge, but he's more than willing to share his insights on apartment shopping when they're more or less alone. He notices things Shisui overlooks, like the size of the oven, the functionality of the floorplans and the versatility of space. Shisui focuses on bigger picture items, like how obnoxious the neighbors are and whether or not he can stand to live in a place that smells of fried eggs all the time. It's refreshing to have someone practical to debate pros and cons with. And for all that Itachi doesn't have any more experience on his own than Shisui does, he tends to approach problems in a much more methodical manner than Shisui.
After several hours of searching, and a few close calls once the Hokage Guard realize that they've lost their charge, Shisui begins to realize that apartment shopping might take longer than he'd anticipated. While he knew there was more to it than picking up a new pair of shoes, he'd never really thought about how involved the process was.
Itachi is getting bored, and probably tired considering how little sleep the two of them have been getting. And Shisui knows if he doesn't find something soon, they'll have to give up for the day, something he'd really like to avoid.
They've already gone through Shisui's entire list and he's sitting on a park bench, trying to think of somewhere they haven't already looked at when Itachi nudges him. He looks over at his best, and at this point pretty much only, friend. Itachi gives him a rather neutral look that Shisui translates into "Shisui, you're being really stupid and what I'm about to say will rub your face in it," or something along those lines before saying, "Why don't you return to one of the apartments from last time. I believe there were several you found acceptable." And yeah, Shisui does feel rather dumb now, because they could have done that from the very beginning and Shisui could have had his own flat already.
So they do. And Shisui learns that there is a lot more to renting a flat than there is to buying a pair of shoes. Like leases and paperwork and identification. All of which take time, and his real face. Without the henge, though everything moves along a lot faster. He's even offered a better rental rate and the chance to buy the place and all its furniture outright. And he knows it's an abuse of his position, but whatever. Shisui doesn't want to pay rent and if he can get an apartment and all the furniture in it right now and own it? It'd be stupid not to.
He signs the paperwork that night, and it gets filed within an hour. He doesn't know who exactly had to be hunted down this late at night, but he's glad they were. Once he's given the key, he manages to subtly get everyone else out and for the first time in his life he has a place of his own. It's... nice. Probably nicer than he deserves, all things considered, but that's not something he wants to think about. He'd rather focus on now, on how smoothly everything is going and on how he finally has privacy.
He also wants to ward and trap the perimeter, but it's been a long day in a very long week. Between mediating clan complaints and facing down a concerningly civil and helpful Danzo, he's just too tired. Itachi has already claimed the couch and the warmest blanket by the time Shisui manages to get around to exploring his new home. Which is pretty typical as far as Itachi is concerned. It's cold enough Shisui contemplates taking the blanket back, but he really doesn't want to discourage any signs of normalcy or initiative in their relationship. He still hasn't managed to sit down and work out exactly where they stand after the whole Itachi all but swearing eternal fealty to him, but Itachi's been slowly returning to his old self. Or as close an approximation as possible, now that Shisui's Hokage and Itachi has always been far to obsessed with protocol. So instead, Shisui bundles up as best as he can and goes to sleep.
When he wakes up the next day, it's in his new room in his new home. Itachi is up, but since there's no food yet, he hasn't even attempted to make breakfast. Shisui smiles. Everything in his life has changed from just six months ago, and a great deal of it is his fault. He'll probably never be able to forgive himself for what he's done to the Hokage- to Sarutobi-san, or to Homura and Koharu. But here, in his own place, he feels the first tendrils of hope. Hope for the Uchiha, hope for village and hope for himself. He'll worry his guilt and the myriad of things that weigh upon his soul later. For now, his mind is filled again with thousands of possibilities.