Summary: Shisui makes a friend
Shisui has to bite back a laugh. He hasn't even been Hokage for six months and already the place is falling apart. How arrogant did he have to be to think he'd have the ability to keep the stupid village together by himself. A few weeks of training from the third, two advisors he can hardly look at without feeling twinges of guilt and Danzo, a man whose idea of a good plan involves more murder than Shisui feels is ever strictly necessary. Frankly, it's a wonder no one has actually died yet. Though, if Naruto hadn't been there, if Itachi hadn't been able to capture the infiltrator – Shisui doesn't want to think about what could have happened.
Instead he tries to force his thoughts into some vague approximation of order. Ibiki has their prisoner, though Shisui doubts they'll be able to get that much out of him. Kakashi can be trusted with hunting down any of his co-conspirators; however Shisui will probably have to assign some sort of backup once he has a better idea of what they're dealing with. The civilians will be looking for an explanation of what happened by tomorrow morning at the very latest and he'll have to come up with a suitable version of the truth for the clan heads. The academy and village gates will need increased security. Itachi will likely be too busy supporting Kakashi and placating the Uchiha to be of any real assistance, at least for the next few days. And Danzo, he's probably already worked out a list of people whose deaths will make the whole situation go away.
Despite the stress and adrenaline running through his body, Shisui finds himself grinning. This is more alive than he's felt in months, years if he's being honest. Nothing quite matches the exhilaration of matching wits against an opponent with impossibly high stakes. While he personally doubts the skill of this particular agent, the fact that he got in at all means Konoha is likely filled to the brink with spies and terrorists. One wrong move and he could take the entire village out with him.
Still, there's not much more than can be done today. With Itachi taking care of the academy student and possibly assisting Kakashi, there's no one to bounce ideas off of. Ibiki won't have a report on his interview with their captive until tomorrow morning at the earliest and Danzo made himself scarce shortly after Kakashi left, something Shisui can't really bring himself to care overmuch about.
Shisui blinks, realizing that that's pretty much the extent of the people he interacts with on a daily basis. The sun has long since set and the tower has slowly emptied to a skeleton staff. It's likely even that he's the only one still here on this floor. His ANBU guards have learned that it's most efficient to watch him from more of a distance. Between his distaste of being followed and the the fact that ANBU is not immune to the almost reverent awe most Konoha nin hold him in, it works out best for everyone. Homura, Koharu and Hiruzen all have offices on his floor as well, but with their rather advanced age, they tend not to stay at the tower any later than necessary. And considering he's missed dinner by a rather significant margin, the chances of any of the ubiquitous runners still being around is rather low. Anything else he wants to do tonight will have to be managed in person.
It takes Shisui less than an hour after heading back to his flat to realize sleep isn't going to happen tonight. His mind is just too full of things to write, to do and to say. As the shock and excitement from the attack begin to fade, his mind begins churning with possibilities. Inept as the infiltrator had been, he was an enemy operative, working with little fear of capture or repercussion within Konoha proper. While the brazenness of their enemy is somewhat humiliating, it could begin to solve a number of other problems. Especially if handled properly.
Konoha was founded as a military village. While civilians now outnumber ninja nearly three to one, it's never strayed that far from it's roots. And while Shisui's sovereignty has been… disputed by some of the more volatile clans, if spun properly, this attack would do wonders to unite the clans against a common enemy. First things first though. Since the attack happened in the civilian market and to the daughter of a moderately prominent civilian family, he'll need some sort of official explanation for them. Something with enough truth that they won't be upset when rumors start spreading from the clans, but innocuous enough to prevent any civil unrest. And vague enough that any other enemy agents don't start getting ideas. Shisui pauses in his pacing and bites his lip. This will need to be handled both very delicately and very soon.
So it is that Shisui finds himself back at the tower, out of uniform and only lightly armed. His guards maintain a respectful distance even without Itachi at his side, something he finds that he rather appreciates. The tower itself is mostly dark. Without many staff there's really no reason to light the whole thing. The guards are also more obvious in their watch, actively standing in front of the door to block access. They spring apart as soon as Shisui approaches, clammering over themselves to ask if he needs any assistance and to wish him a good night. Neither of them is much older than Itachi and both of their attempts to jump to attention are more enthusiastic than they are professional. Shisui releases them with a nod.
That's probably one of the first things they'll have to change in the coming days. Neither guard even attempted to verify his identity, determine his reason for entering the tower after hours or record that he'd even been there. And, even worse, if there had been trouble, their jounin instructor wasn't close enough to offer support of any kind. Night patrol was boring, but essential. With so many enemies, both within and without, they couldn't afford to delegate such tasks to new recruits.
Shaking his head, Shisui made a mental note to bring it up with the mission assignment desk tomorrow morning. Now he had a press release to draft.
Even before he made it up to his office, Shisui knew it was rather pointless. If Itachi hadn't been at their (Shisui's?) flat, he wasn't going to be in the office. Chances were he had decided to spend the night with his family. The girl he'd rescued was about Sasuke's age, and nothing made Itachi more reliably protective than any threat, real or imagined, to his brother.
No matter, Shisui was fairly certain he could draft the stupid thing by himself. He'd written most of his inauguration speech by himself. Itachi had still been in shock and rather prone to long fits of silence.
And this document should be far easier than that one had been. His inauguration speech had to win over the hearts and minds of the populace, this just needs to explain what happened to one academy student and why ANBU was involved. Despite what certain clan heads might say, Shisui is adored by his people. Civilian morale hasn't been higher since before the fourth died. And while Shisui knows he'll never be able to compete with a martyr as far as legacies go, he'd have to do a lot more than mangle a single press release to lose their faith in him.
Still, he can't come up with what words to use. Even after sitting in his chair and staring at the blank page for half an hour, nothing comes to him. He's used to bouncing ideas off of Itachi and talking his way through complex problems. It takes very little time for the novelty of a silent office to wear thin. It doesn't take much longer for him to seriously consider ordering his guards into the room so he at least has someone to look at while he tries to talk through his thoughts. And it's not that he doubts the intelligence or abilities of his guards that keeps him from just inviting them in, ANBU requires its operatives to boast a wide variety of skills. He just doesn't want to deal with the precedent such an action might set. It's taken months of pointed hints, orders and outright hiding to reach this current equilibrium with the Hokage guard. He doubts he could go through the entire ordeal again.
So instead, he wanders down to the second floor. The analyst division tends to always be staffed, regardless of the hour. Though considering the sheer amount of data they're responsible for processing, he supposes it isn't all that surprising. The bright glare of florescent lights burns enough he finds himself blinking to clear his vision. While nowhere near as crowded as it tended to be during the day, Shisui finds himself relaxing as the familiar hum of other people washes over him. The entire far wall is covered in state of the art computing and code breaking machines while the main floor is divided into sections by desks and small, flexible wall partitions. About ten to fifteen analysts are busy, carrying reports, conferring or hunched over desks. And, for a few minutes, he stands back and watches them work.
It's actually one of the analysts who acts first. A middle aged woman, she turns around and notices him standing by the door. Pausing only to deposit some papers onto another desk, she makes her way to Shisui with the no-nonsense attitude he'd always associated more with librarians than ninja. "Can I help you young man," she asks. She's actually fairly tall and despite Shisui's own height, has no trouble looking him in the eye. It's clear she's trying to get him to leave without resorting to blatant, verbal threats. Shisui pauses, trying to figure out what to say. He'd intended to come in, kidnap an analyst and force them to act as a sounding board while he figured out what to write. And while he wouldn't say he finds this woman particularly intimidating, he's Shunshin no Shisui–feared across the continent, he does feel he might have to rethink his kidnapping plan. He also thinks it's somewhat amusing that he's apparently unrecognizable out of uniform. It's not like there are that many obviously Uchiha ninja wandering around the Hokage Tower all times of the night.
Still, after dealing with a constant barrage of adoration from the civilians and non-clan ninja and the almost open hostility of several of the more prominent clans, including his own, it's nice being just another face again. Shisui puts on his most charming smile and refuses to back down. "I was just wondering if there was anyone free for a bit. The Hokage needs something to give the civilians about the attack this afternoon and I was hoping I could snag someone to help me out." There, not even a lie.
The woman blinks at him owlishly, obviously suspicious. Shisui resists the urge to laugh, he's found people are far less likely to work do what he wants when they feel like he might be mocking them or laughing at their expense. After thinking for another moment she purses her lips and declares that all of the analysts are very busy. If they weren't, they'd be at home right now, instead of working. It's a valid point, Shisui has to admit, but he's not willing to give up yet. "I understand that ma'am," he says, trying to keep his tone respectful without sounding sarcastic. It's a lot harder than he's willing to admit. "But it really is quite important. The Hokage needs this to be done before the morning. I'm sure it won't take too long to draft it, and your division is the only one with the clearance to work on projects at this level and with staff still here and awake." He shrugs apologetically.
The woman heaves a sigh, clearly greatly put upon and nods her head once. She gestures curtly for one of the youngest analysts to come over. The girl is about fourteen years old, though probably fairly talented to have a full time job in analytics. She walks over somewhat hesitantly and Shisui wants to roll his eyes. He's really not that scary. The woman gives her a brief once over and tersely explains what's expected of her.
Shisui manages to keep himself from tapping his foot impatiently while he waits and then grabs the girl by the wrist, leading her back to his office. It's only when he's about halfway up the stairs that he realizes his ruse won't last if they actually go back to his office. So at the last minute, he veers off, dragging his substitute Itachi to one of the numerous, currently unattended, joint offices within the tower.
It isn't until he's fully explained the situation that he finds out that the girl's actually an Uchiha, Izumi or something similar. She admits to having recognized him the moment he walked into the room. Still, she's smart enough not to make a big deal about it and promises to keep her mouth shut. And Shisui trusts her. She wouldn't have gotten to where she is if she couldn't keep a secret.
They spend all night writing, but by the end, he's actually fairly proud of it. Enough fluff to make people feel safe and enough facts that no one can complain that he's trying to cover anything up. Izumi isn't Itachi, but she's clearly a talented kid. And even better, she agrees to work with him next time if Itachi isn't available. While the rather cynical part of Shisui's mind knows this is likely an attempt to capitalize on his good will and help her climb through the ranks, she's impressed him enough he doesn't care. She's smart, has a knack for phrasing and posses the incredibly useful skill of making useless fluff sound like it's actually saying something. After they both take a nap, he'll see if she's up to helping him draft something for the clan meeting later that day.