"You guys didn't need to come see me off," Shisui said, smiling at the small group as he approached the village gates. "I'll only be gone for a couple of days at the most." He said that, but he was extremely grateful to have good friends, even if three of them were only seven year olds.

"Stay safe," Hinata said, smiling warmly at him. "We'll be waiting for you to come have tea with us."

Shisui made a show of bowing before her. "I would never keep you waiting, Hina-hime," Shisui said, winking as he straightened back up.

Hinata giggled. "I'll hold you to that, Shi-kun," she replied. "I'll have your favorite flavor on standby."

"You have Itachi-flavor?" Sasuke groaned while Itachi rolled his eyes and Naruto sputtered. Shisui grimaced at his own joke. "That wasn't my best."

"No, it wasn't," Itachi agreed.

Hinata patted Shisui's arm. "You tried your best," she said solemnly. Shisui ruffled her hair. "Will you miss us?"

"Of course, I will!" He said before looking up at the sky. The sun was about to rise. "I should be going soon."

"Teach us more things when you come back!" Naruto said, giving Shisui a fist bump. Shisui chuckled and agreed. Sasuke and Itachi stood to the side as they already said their goodbyes to their cousin the night before when he came over for dinner.

Hinata reached into her pocket and handed him a small felt bag that was completely sewn shut on all sides. "I know you don't really get anxious or scared, but just in case, I made you a small calming bag."

Shisui lifted the bag to his nose and smelled lavender, rose, and lemon. "It smells terrific. Thank you," he said. He put it in his pocket and then stepped forward to give her a hug. "I'm sure it'll help me a lot, Hina-hime."

Hinata hugged him tightly. "We'll be waiting," she said.

The group waved to Shisui as he left the village just as the sun rose.

"I'm really going to miss him," Hinata sighed. "He's so funny."

Itachi put his hand on her head. "He'll be back before you know it." They continued to watch Shisui until he was no longer in sight. "Come on. We need to get you back home before school."

The three turned around and walked in silence until they came to Naruto's road and split ways.

"I have…a bad feeling," Hinata said, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I just feel like something is going to go very wrong." She couldn't shake it and didn't want to let Shisui leave or let Naruto leave her side—Hinata didn't want any of them to leave her. She didn't know what the feeling was about and she felt overwhelmed.

"Shisui will be fine," Itachi reassured her.

"I don't know if it's about him or anyone else. I just know that it's there and…it's almost suffocating," she explained. She looked at the Uchiha brothers who were walking on either side of her. "I don't want either of you to leave my side."

Sasuke caught her pinky with his index finger and held it loosely. "We're not gonna leave you," he assured her. He looked up to Itachi and smiled. "Right, brother?"

Itachi put his arm around her small shoulders. "We'll be here with you, at least until it's time for the next mission." Hinata nodded and felt herself calm down a bit before she smiled at them in thanks.

"Thank you both."

When they made it to the Hyuuga compound, Hinata reminded Sasuke not to be late or Neji was going to argue as soon as he showed up. Sasuke huffed but agreed. They waited until she was inside before continuing on to their own compound.

"You've never shied away from an argument," Itachi teased.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Yeah, but it'll just be troubling for Hinata."

Itachi put his hand on Sasuke's head, similar to how he always did to Hinata. "You're so considerate."

Sasuke's face went red but he not-so-secretly enjoyed his brother's affection and praise. Itachi was the best person he knew and he strived to be just like him, even though Itachi's told him numerous times to just grow into his own person.

"When's your next mission?" Sasuke asked.

"I believe the Hokage has taken me off the roster for about a week," Itachi replied. "I've proven myself as an Anbu captain."

Itachi became a captain last year when he was only twelve and his squad had been sent out on a massive amount of missions to test his leadership. Most of the people in his squad were nearly a decade older than him but they were able to follow his orders without complaint and that was all he cared about. After coming home from their last mission, the Hokage granted them a week of time off to rest and spend time with their families.

"That's awesome! You can spend more time with us!" Sasuke said excitedly. Itachi grinned at his little brother's behavior. Most of the time he tried his best to act way older than he was, but around Itachi—and occasionally his friends—he acted like the kid he was. It warmed his heart to see that boyish expression on Sasuke's face. He felt like he was doing his job correctly as a shinobi and preserving the peace for the generations coming after him.

"I'll attend your training," Itachi said. "I'll walk you to and from school, too."

"Hinata's gonna be so excited!"

Itachi raised a brow. "What about you? Are you excited?"

Sasuke nodded eagerly. "Of course!" Itachi chuckled and ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Hey!" His hand was batted away but he didn't miss the smile on his little brother's face.

As they walked home the rest of the way in silence, Itachi thought back to Shisui and his upcoming surprise meeting with Danzo Shimura before thinking back at Hinata's bad feeling. He wasn't ever going to admit it to them, but he shared a similar feeling. He had much faith in Shisui's strength, but something felt wrong.


Hinata's wandering mind over the sinking feeling in her stomach caught up with her as she took a kick to the side of the head during her sparring session with Sasuke. The act caused her to hit the ground almost violently and roll a few times before coming to a stop as she clutched her head.

"Hinata!" Sasuke called out.

She raised her hand up to stop Sasuke from rushing to her aid. "I'm fine," she gritted, shaking her head a few times to get herself to stop seeing double. She rose to her feet and stumbled briefly before nodding to herself. "Let's continue."

Sasuke looked as though he wanted to protest, but he decided to trust her and got back into his fighting stance.

From the sidelines, Itachi had joined in observing their training as he'd promised and stared at the Hyuuga Heiress with slightly narrowed eyes. She'd been distracted since Shisui left, there was no doubt about it, and she was letting it interfere with her training; as a result, she'd been hurt. It didn't look like a gentle kick either, especially from Sasuke whose strength was almost greater than Itachi's had been at that age

He watched as Hinata lost her footing on more than one occasion, stumbling, and shaking her head every so often to shake the pain in her head away. Itachi sighed, catching the attention of Minato.

"Worried?" He asked the young teen.

"No, just a bit disappointed," he admitted. "I am still not sure she would do well in the shinobi life."

Minato chuckled. "You have less faith in her than I would have expected," he replied. "Since you're not here as often as you'd like to be, I will tell you that Hinata is very much skilled and capable of holding her own against the boys. These past couple of days, though, I have noticed that she's been more distracted lately. Do you know why?"

Itachi shook his head. "I'm not sure," he lied. "I am not doubting her fighting skills or her strength as much as I am doubting her ability to keep her emotions in check," he clarified. As he said this, Hinata was knocked down to the ground again by another kick, but did not get up this time and stayed unmoving on the ground.

Sasuke quickly ran to her and found that she had been knocked unconscious. "Hinata! Kushina-sensei!" Kushina rushed over and looked over Hinata's injuries before she began healing her.

"I am disappointed because I know she can do better."

Minato patted his shoulder. "Being a ninja isn't all black and white. To take care of others, one must take care of themselves as well. I believe she just needs some time to figure out what it is that needs help."

Itachi nodded in agreement after a moment. He had to remind himself that she was still just a child and not yet close to being a hardened ninja, as he was by that age. That was during a war, but these are supposed to be times of peace.

"I understand. I apologize for allowing my frustration to show," he said, bowing his head to Minato. Truthfully, he knew Hinata was distracted because of that feeling she told them about and he was feeling it as well. He couldn't fault her for not having the tools to deal with these situations.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself either, Itachi," Minato said. "You're young, too." Itachi looked over to see Kushina helping Hinata walk back while Naruto and Sasuke got into position for their spar.

"I'm sorry for not showing you my best today," Hinata said politely as she bowed, stumbling at the dizziness she felt.

"Hinata-chan has a small concussion," Kushina explained. "She won't be able to train for the rest of the day." Hinata kept her eyes on the ground, ashamed and embarrassed.

Itachi stepped forward. "I will take her home and explain to Hiashi-sama," he said. Kushina smiled thankfully at him before leaving Hinata in his care. Without wasting another moment, he picked her up, holding her in his arms by her shoulders and under her knees. Hinata's face was red but she remained silent as Itachi slowly carried her home after saying goodbye to everyone.

"Are you still worried?" He asked quietly. Hinata briefly looked up at him before nodding. "I see. I suspected as much. Would you like to talk about it?"

"My mind has been elsewhere as I've tried to understand what this feeling is about, and it's cost me my concentration. I am very sorry you had to witness me at another low point. I hope I have not disappointed you, Itachi-san," she said.

Itachi sighed silently. "At first, you did," he admitted. "But I understand your feelings as…I, too, have a bad feeling about something."

Hinata's eyes shot to his face. "You do?" Itachi nodded. "How do you deal with it?"

"Well, I suppose I've just always been able to push it to the back of my mind and ignore it, but I don't think that is something you can do yet. Rather than try to ignore it, you should just be honest with yourself. I believe that could help you."

"I'm worried about Shi-kun, and about you. About Sasuke and Naruto, too. I don't know why, but I have figured out that it is about all of you," she said. Itachi squeezed her shoulder. "I feel like I'm not making any sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense to anyone else but you."

"That sounds lonely."

Itachi paused for a moment before nodding. "It is, but not always."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they got to the Hyuuga Compound, Hinata was promptly taken from his arms by one of the maids there.

"She has a small concussion and will be unable to train for the rest of the day according to Kushina-san," Itachi explained.

The maid bowed her head, surprisingly carrying Hinata was ease. "Thank you, Uchiha-sama. I will let Hiashi-sama know right away. Would you like to come in?"

Itachi shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot. I have to return to the training field for my brother, but thank you." He bowed and then turned and left back the way her came.

Shisui wasn't due home for another couple of days but his bad feeling coupled with Hinata's was convincing him more and more to go after his cousin and try to meet him on the way back. By the time he made it back to the training ground, he'd made up his mind. He would be leaving tomorrow afternoon in search of his cousin, and bring him back safely.

"Brother!" Sasuke called out once he saw Itachi was back. "How was Hinata?"

"She's okay. She is getting rest, not to worry," he assured his little brother.

"I didn't think I could hurt her like that," Sasuke mumbled.

"She has been unable to focus, so her mind was elsewhere and it caused her injury."

Itachi wished to leave for Shisui right now, but he didn't want to cause Sasuke any worry. If he did his job right, no one would know he was gone, or that he even left. He wasn't worried, not in that aspect. Everything else, however, he felt anxious and like he could use one of Hinata's calming bags.


We hope you enjoyed this short chapter! Sorry for a bit of a late update. I meant to upload last night but I've been dealing with a cold since coming back from Texas this past Tuesday. We wanna thank everyone for the favorites and follows for both the story and all of our other future works! I don't want to make any promises, but we hope to have part one of this story done by August before taking a bit of a long hiatus to work on part two in-depth and give the same amount of care, if not more, as we did this story. We hope you understand! (though we still have plenty of time until then)

We wish y'all happy reading!

-Hina

NEXT UPDATE: 04/29/23