There was no way he was missing his brother's first day with his team. He saw Sasuke off with a well-packed bento and a jab to the gleaming hitai-ate tied snuggly to the boy's forehead. He felt mixed emotions about seeing his brother's back disappear down the hall.
"On one hand you know he has a job and will grow into a strong ninja," Shisui's voice was met with a heavy exhale. He was leaning in the hall across from the door to the apartment. He looked...fine today. Nothing notably out of place. "But I know you're beating yourself up deep inside because you're still watching your baby bother walk off to the very job you want to put an end to." He finished, holding a hand up to examine his nails. It was then Itachi noticed the purple pruned rot spreading from the man's palm.
It was true though. He did not want to see Sasuke join the ranks that would serve to die for Konoha. Taking a deep breath Itachi turned on the ball of his foot to go back inside. Sasuke was assigned an old friend of his. He couldn't help but laugh to himself, his little brother was in for a rough introduction week.
"Sasuke's got Kakashi and Naruto on his team," Shisui smiled down at a set of photos. Plenty of them had the blond ball of energy with an arm thrown around Sasuke's shoulders or tumbling about as children did. There was a few with, someone else had taken, Itachi out and about with the boys, eating dango with Kakashi. They were constants in the Uchiha home. "He's spoiled." Shisui chuckled. "Your little home of misfits." Itachi laughed softly and smiled fondly at the thought. Itachi glanced at the clock on the wall and his ghost of a smile pulled into something a little more real. He saw Shisui lift his eyes to look at the clock with him.
"He left way to early," Shisui noted, "Those poor kids are going to be waiting at least four hours before Kakashi shows up."
"And he'll have some poor excuse," Itachi walked into their tiny kitchen and started to make a cup of tea. It was only six thirty in the morning. He had some time to kill before he had to go into the ANBU office.
"You're just as cruel for not warning him," Shisui floated down into a seat smirking at Itachi.
"If he and Naruto don't know Kakashi's habits by now then it's on them," Itachi said pouring his tea into a cup. He paused thinking about the lesson they would probably learn as he looked of Shisui in the early morning light.
"I wish he could have trained with you," Itachi said softly. The golden rays slipping through the window almost looked like the light was being refracted underwater as they passed through Shisui's form: oddly distorted but beautiful none-the-less. Shisui smiled softly and Itachi was able to almost see a pink hue return to his grey skin.
"But if he did," Shisui smirked wickedly, "He would have finally realized how much cooler I am then you," he laughed that garbled laugh. The only one Itachi could conjure but it made him smile. He would find time to drop in on his brother's team activity. It couldn't hurt to peek in and see how cohesive team Kakashi was...or wasn't.