"Shisui-sama!"
He extended his arm towards his summon, which stuck into his master's skin, but without hurting him.
"Kuro, can you do me a favor?", he asked gently, as he stroked the bird's majestic feathers, which were as dark as the night.
The crow cawed in agreement, feeling relieved to see Shisui well, he had been so lonely since Izuna-sama's death, but when that child had made a summoning contract with him, the crow had never been so happy to serve another member of the powerful Uchiha Clan.
"What's wrong, Shisui-sama?", he asked curiously, tilting his head to the side, even though his master couldn't see.
The bandages covering his eyes were an indication that he had lost them — or rather they had been stolen, and now his master was in the company of two human females, he glanced briefly at the two sleeping girls warmed by the hut's fireplace and then turned his intelligent eyes at the curly-haired teenager.
"Can you send a message to Itachi-san on my behalf?", he asked, knowing that this was the only way to contact his cousin, through his crow.
"Itachi-sama?", repeated the name of the former clan heir, with a shudder. He didn't want to be the bearer of this news, however, at some point his master needed to know what had happened since he almost died.
Izuna-sama must be brooding in his grave at the foolishness of his descendants, he thought to himself. "Shisui-sama, the Uchiha clan no longer exists.", he muttered with a sad croak. "Itachi-sama killed his relatives, that's what I heard on Mount Karasu, leaving only his younger brother as a survivor."
He knew this because Itachi's summons are also the same as Shisui's, after all, it was his master who had helped him choose a summon, and the boy at that time had been fascinated by crows. "What?", his master stammered in astonishment. "Has the situation reached this point?"
Protect the Uchiha name and the Village, Itachi-san.
He felt bile rise up his throat, and just enough to turn his head to the side and vomit. Kuro pecked his master's cheek softly as he watched him break before his eyes. He felt as if the whole world had fallen on his shoulders, it was impossible not to feel guilty about the decision his cousin had to make and his resentment towards Danzou only increased with each passing second — if it weren't for that man, his plan would have given right.
Thinking about his clan made his heart ache, his grandmother, parents and cousins were all dead, a situation that should have been resolved much sooner. The innocent children who had nothing to do with the clan's dark plans, did Itachi kill them too? Thinking about it would only make him want to throw up again, but he had no choice, did he?
The Uchiha Clan was almost extinct, only three members alive at this time, and your cousin, what was his fate? But there was someone else to worry about at the moment, a child who was traumatized by everything that had happened. Let him not know that the culprit of this was his own brother, Kami-sama don't let that happen.
"Kuro... Sasuke, look for information on him, then find Itachi for me."
"It's okay, Shisui-sama.", he replied before poking him cheek again with his beak. "I'm very happy that you're alive, I'm just sad to see you without your powerful Sharingan."
Shisui almost allowed himself to laugh, Kuro had always been fascinated by his clan's doujutsu, in an almost childish way. "I'm learning to get by with chakra alone, it will be my guide for now."
"I will do as you asked, Shisui-sama."
"I will be waiting for your return."
The crow cawed and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Shisui sighed, trying to process the latest events and what he would do from now on.
Kaori handed the cup of tea into the young man's hands, being careful not to burn himself with the hot drink. "We'll be leaving soon, do you have somewhere else you want to go, Shisui-san?"
He pondered about it, a week had passed since Kaori had rescued him from the river and despite the high fever that consumed him for three whole days he had survived, thanks to her care. And then, his summoning raven gave him the news that shook his entire world; his clan was dead—his family no longer existed. He couldn't go back to Konoha, and he had to find his cousin and hear from him what he had done.
Shisui could only wait for Kuro to return with news of Sasuke, he hoped his little cousin was okay. Thinking about that cute and sometimes grumpy little thing running after her older brother like a kitten made him heart hurt. "I have nowhere to go.", he finally replied.
"Shisui-san can be our bodyguard, nee-san.", said Haruki excited by the idea.
"We don't have a certain destination, Shisui-san.", Kaori warned in a serious voice. "We have been traveling through the smaller villages for the past three years."
He didn't care, really. "I'll be your bodyguard, a bonus for saving my life even if it wasn't necessary."
He felt her eyes on him. "I don't need retribution.", she looked at her younger sister. "Seal everything back in the scroll, imouto. We must find Sayuri in that village on the borders of the Land of Wind, and as for you, Shisui I advise you not to walk around in that shirt that connects you to a clan."
"I'll seal it along with the other things.", Haruki said upon noticing her hesitation. "We need to buy him new clothes, or we might steal from someone."
Kaori wasn't amused. "We're not going to take anything from anyone."
The youngest was disappointed, but nodded, sometimes she tended to forget that she no longer lived on the streets, but that habit died hard, despite her sister's scolding.