Disclaimer: The only things that I own is this story's plot and any OCs that appear throughout the story. The characters of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I make absolutely no money.
Remembrances of Flames - Chapter Two
Ike missed the kitchen.
He missed the different foods, the different spices, the different combinations he could create and he missed the heat of the stove and oven and he missed the smiles and pleased looks he could put on others' faces. He missed the smile of his mother, the deep baritone of his father, the laughter of his brother.
He missed the warmth of home and he longed to remember the good times he held in that place.
He was selfish and Jun was kind, just like Nene had said, and the young boy lingered in the kitchen by his mother's side for long periods of time for his perpetual friend. Jun didn't like studying very much, didn't like fighting much so if he missed a few hours of studies while his father was away, he didn't mind much.
"Shouldn't you be meditating, Jun?" Nene asked softly as she prepared dinner, something with noodles and a kind of fried patty.
The three year old made a tiny, guilty noise. "Y-yes?"
Nene's face contorted into gentle rebuking and Jun ducked his head down, feeling properly scolded even though Nene hadn't said anything. Feeling a weight on his head, he looked up to see his mother's smiling face and he cracked a small one of his own when he realized she wasn't angry.
"You really should be meditating, Jun. Don't you want to become a strong ninja one day?" She asked, patting his head.
[[Not really.]] Ike muttered and Jun shrugged his shoulders slightly, timidly looking back down to the floor, frightened to tell the truth of how he didn't want to be a ninja because he remembered the night when the ground trembled and Shishi's eyes burned brighter than ever.
He remembered the fear and horror and the dark aura in the air and it still made his body freeze and Jun knew that if he became a ninja it would be his duty to stave off such terrifying things and he didn't want that!
[[It's okay not to want that, Jun. I don't want that for you, either.]] Ike said reassuringly and Jun felt a little better because Ike agreed with him.
Nene smiled at her son's silence, knowing exactly the worries going through his head, and she went back to preparing dinner. "It's okay to tell Mommy, Jun. It's okay to tell Mommy that you're afraid because, once upon a time, Mommy was afraid too."
"What!? Mommy was scared!?" He gasped because his mommy was never afraid, just like how his daddy was never afraid.
She laughed, "Yes, Mommy was afraid. Do you know who else was afraid?"
He shook his head, eyes big and wide and Nene laughed a bit more before answering, "Your cousin Shisui was afraid a long time ago, too."
"WHAT!?" Jun yelled because that couldn't be true. "Shishi was scared!?"
Nene nodded, a smile still playing on her lips as she inwardly laughed at Jun's nickname for Shisui. "We were scared for a long time and we're still scared, even now."
"But I can push the fear away when I know that I'm fighting to protect my loved ones." Nene's face sobered. "I get scared because I'm afraid that I won't be able to keep you safe."
"Both Shisui and I had to find something so important to us, that the fear we felt couldn't keep a hold on us." Her face brightened into his normal amiable expression. "You'll have to find something worth fighting for, Jun."
Jun nodded slowly, not exactly understanding his mother's words but happy to know that he wasn't the only one afraid of being a ninja and that he wasn't in trouble.
"But that doesn't give you an excuse to skip meditation, young man." She wagged a stern finger at him. "Start your meditation."
Jun smiled sheepishly before padding into the living room next to the kitchen, where he seated himself and quickly fell into that calm state, that place where he could see Ike's flickering form and he let himself be surrounded by the smell of his mother's cooking and Ike's low murmurings.
.
At four years old, it was evident that Jun wasn't going to be a shinobi in the front lines. His taijutsu and agility were slightly below-average and he wasn't built for power but, when he was first introduced to chakra molding and leaf sticking, his talent for it shined through. With enough training, Nene and Shinobu knew that Jun could easily master many difficult ninjutsu and genjutsu techniques, things the Uchiha were famous for.
Shinobu focused mainly on taijutsu and kenjutsu and, while he had the Sharingan, his ninjutsu and genjutsu were limited. Nene, on the other hand, was more of a ranged fighter, controlling illusions like a second nature with her crimson eyes and spewing streams of flames, and would be a good person to train her dearest Jun but she had other plans in mind.
Preparing a bento of her nephew's favorite food and taking Jun's small hand in hers, she set off to locate the one known as Shisui of the Body Flicker.
He was where she knew he was, diligently training with his tantÅ and signature jutsu, moving back and forth without detection and Nene couldn't help but smile at how far her nephew had come.
"Shishi!" Jun called out brightly, his arm waving to get the teen's attention.
"Muh?" Shisui's movements ceased as he looked behind him and a large, boyish grin broke out on his face as he caught sight of Jun's form running towards him with outstretched arms. "Jun!" He chuckled as the child rammed into his legs and hugged his waist tightly. "What are you doing here?" He looked up, seeing another form approaching. "And Auntie Nene?"
Nene smiled kindly, holding out the bento to the teen. "We just came to visit you, that's all. Is that not allowed?"
He took the gift with a sheepish smile and scratched his curly locks. "Well, no, there's nothing wrong with it but..." He gave Jun's spiky hair a rustle and opened the box of food, his dark eyes lighting up at the contents. "I mean, why wouldn't I want good food and a visit from my favorite little cousin?" He paused and his eyebrows furrowed. "What do you want, Auntie Nene?"
She snorted and a smirk appeared on her face. "I want you to help me train Jun." At his blank expression, Nene sighed. "Jun shows a natural aptitude with chakra control and we've decided he'd be a perfect support unit."
Shisui blinked. "Okay but why do you need me?"
"He's a lot like the both of us." Nene stated and Shisui's eyes glinted with understanding. "Shinobu means well but he wouldn't be able to push Jun in the right direction like we can."
The teen chuckled at that, his eyes closing and his head shaking. "Like a little shadow, huh?" His eyes opened and he smiled. "Well, I won't always be available but I'll help when I can, Auntie Nene."
The woman nodded. "And that's all we can ask from you." She grinned at her son. "What do you say to that, Jun?"
"Thank you for helping me, Shishi!" He chirped happily, squeezing Shisui's waist a bit tighter as he looked at him with glittering eyes. "I won't let you down so I'm in your care!"
Shisui gulped and his cheeks flushed, his little cousin's adorable visage too much for even him. He planted a hand on the child's face, blocking the large puppy-like eyes and breathing a sigh of relief as Jun squawked in indignation. "Ugh, we should find a way to make his cute face into a weapon. It's like an overload of sugar or something."
Ike and Nene snickered at his words because they knew it was true.
.
The first time Jun met Itachi and Sasuke, he was five years old and nearing his entrance into the Academy and Shisui had taken him out for a day of training near the river.
His taijutsu was still lacking, his shurikenjutsu was average but his speed had become a bit better, however, it was his chakra control that had really advanced in the short span of time. The leaf sticking had become too easy for him to accomplish and no longer provided enough of a challenge or strain on his reserves. Shisui and his mother started him on the tree climbing exercise, where he could usually get about four to five steps up a tree before tiring out.
Shisui grinned lightly as he watched Jun splay out on the ground, panting and sweating. "You did good today, Jun. You're really improving."
The young boy smiled tiredly as he stared at the evening sky. "I'm glad, Shishi. If I get even better, will you teach me the trick you do so well?"
"You mean the Body Flicker?" He asked as he picked up a few practice kunai strewn about. At Jun's noise of affirmation, he chuckled a little at the thought of it. "Maybe I will. It'll be pretty cool if we could team up one day in the future as two users of the Body Flicker." A chibi image of a future Jun and Shisui rose in his mind, the two of them with spinning Sharigan years and flickering bodies working in perfect harmony made him smile dreamily. "Yeah, I'll teach you when you get better and a little older, okay?"
"Shisui." A voice called and both Uchiha looked towards the source.
Jun blinked at the two figures, taking in the two boys who he believed had to be brothers.
[[Then again, you can never be too sure with this family.]] Ike grumbled and Jun couldn't help but agree and he was glad that he didn't have the inky hair that the majority of Uchiha had because everyone had the possibility of being the same person in this family as far as looks were concerned. [[Your mother gave you good genes, Jun.]]
"Itachi!" Shisui beamed as he approached the new pair. "And little Sasuke too, huh? What're you two doing out so late?"
[[Itachi... And Sasuke...]] Ike breathed and Jun wondered why his friend sounded so worried, angry and grim all at once.
The one named Itachi held up a plastic bag with vegetables. "Mother asked me to run to the store and buy some things. Sasuke wanted to come with me." His inscrutable gaze slid over to Jun's form which was up off the ground and clinging to Shisui. "Who is that?"
Shisui's beaming face lit up even brighter and he planted a hand on Jun's chestnut locks. "This is my little cousin, Jun!" He said proudly, making a flush rise in the mentioned one's cheeks. "Jun, this is Itachi. He's a close friend of mine."
"H-hello...!" Jun bleated out as he clung to Shisui, feeling a mixture of timidness (Itachi was kind of scary-looking...) and jealousy (Jun wanted to be his Shishi's closest friend!). "It's, um, nice to meet you!"
Itachi's eyes searched his face for a moment before he nodded and inclined his head towards the little one clinging to his hand not holding the groceries. "This is my little brother, Sasuke."
Sasuke's lips pursed slightly as he took in Shisui and his little cousin, Jun, probably thinking something similar as Jun, but his expression softened into a shy smile and a flush as he ducked behind his brother, peeking from behind the elder's back. "Hello... It's nice to meet you too."
"Aw, how cute!" Shisui gushed goofily, pinching Jun's chubby cheeks and making him blush even brighter in embarrassment. "They get along! Looks like we'll have a little clone duo, huh, Itachi?"
Itachi blinked slowly as he considered Shisui's words before he nodded just as slowly, his lips quirking up slightly at the corners. "Perhaps, we will, Shisui."
[[I hope not...]] Ike whispered lowly as memories of bloodied tears, bitter smiles and broken promises surfaced.
.
Once Jun had turned six, Academy classes were back in session and it was his first day of school only a few days after his birthday.
He walked between the imposing figure of his father and the kindness that was his mother as they entered the crowded courtyard of the Academy. The children were shuffled into the building that looked too small on the outside but was very large on the inside and he clung to his parents' hand tightly before he was ushered to an area that seated all the new students.
As he sat next to a chubby kid with swirls on his cheeks and a kid whose face was obscured by their jacket collar and glasses, Jun fidgeted in anxiousness as the old man, the Third Hokage, stepped up and began to address all in the vicinity. He told about his hopes regarding the new generation and about the Will of Fire and how he could see the flames burning brightly in the eyes of each and every child and, when he was through, there was a short, polite round of applauds before the teachers began to call their roster one by one.
[[Don't worry, Jun. You're not alone.]] Jun could hear the smile in Ike's voice as his name was called and he followed along with the rest of his classmates after a man with silver hair, dark eyes and a gentle smile.
[[Don't be fooled by appearances...]] Ike said softly and Jun went to question him but he became absorbed in trying to get to the seat he wanted without being run over by the other children and, when he was seated, his teacher, Mizuki-sensei urged the children to stand, state their name and tell a little something about themselves before sitting down again.
It started in the back with a boy with thick eyebrows, an exuberant personality and a name that was Rock Lee and it continued on with the other students but Jun tuned them out when Ike began talking about different recipes, only stopping briefly when a chorus a feminine sighs interrupted their conversation when the white-eyed boy with long hair sat back down.
When it was his turn, he stood with a small gulp and a blush burning his cheeks. [[Dazzle them with your charms, Jun!]] Ike jeered and Jun inwardly nodded as he smiled his best smile.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Jun Uchiha and I like training with my cousin and cooking. I hope that we'll all get along together!" He beamed brightly and Ike swore he could see sparkles and a hazy pink background behind the young boy.
There was a pregnant pause as Jun sat down and he wondered if he'd done something wrong until half the female population began squealing and giggling. Jun smiled at his accomplishment of a good introduction and Ike could only shake his non-existent head.
[[How early do girls become interested in boys in this world...?]] Ike sighed in exasperation at Jun's oblivious grin.
A/N: Yay, the second chapter and we get to see Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke and get a glimpse of Lee and Neji! I spoil you guys :]