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Chapter 14
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Since it was the weekend, and they had a written test on Monday, the girls had planned to meet at the park and have a picnic on Saturday at noon, so that they could study together.
In order to have a full meal, Ino had brought home-made dishes of vegetables and fish, Sakura had taken care of bringing rice and pressing fruit juices she had made with her mom, and Naruto had bought side dishes as well as the dessert.
Sakura really enjoyed these times when she was with her friends outside of school, when they could just be by themselves. She loved studying together, joking and talking together, and just relaxing and having a good time with them.
"Pop quiz!" Ino announced, a book in her hand. "Name the five elements."
Sakura plucked a ball of okonomiyaki from the stick she was holding in one hand, leaning on her other hand that was pressed behind her back on the grass, and she answered instantly in her head. Fire, water, earth, wind and lightning.
Nodding to herself, she glanced at Naru, waiting for her to answer outloud since she knew that her friend was much less into learning theory than she was.
As she fidgeted while chewing an avocado maki dipped in sweet soy sauce, Naruto gazed up at the sky and appeared to be deep in thought.
"Hmmmm", she looked down and glanced back at Sakura, before leaning in her direction and whispering not-so-subtly, "a hint?"
A giggle escaped Sakura. She was sure Naruto knew at least part of the answer, but didn't understand the meaning of the question; and as the saying went, understanding the question gave half of the answer.
"The elements of nature, Naru," she tried to explain, "the five Great Nations are named after the five elements." Then, she added for good measure, "We live in which country, Naruto?"
"Uh," her friend blinked, "Fire Country? Oh!" she shouted as her eyes lit up in understanding, "Fire, Water, Rock, Wind, and, uh…"
Sakura put her hand on her mouth to hide a smile, while Ino's face stayed unreadable as she tried not to give away that Naruto had made a mistake.
Rock wasn't a country, but a village.
"No, wait." Naruto frowned and crossed her arms, focusing as she repeated her answer more slowly. "Fire and Water. Wind and not-Rock, it's, um, something rocky." She glanced down and stared at the ground for a moment. "Earth? Earth!" she said with conviction. "And then, uh... not-Sky. Um... Light? No." she shook her head. "Wait up, which ones did I say again?"
Ino grinned, losing her poker face in her excitement. "You're almost there, actually! Say them again!"
Naruto nodded, and started to count on her fingers as she enumerated the names of the elements. "Fire and Water. Earth and Wind." She moved her fifth fingers. "And light... lightening?"
"Ding ding ding!" Ino sing-songed. "We have a winner!"
Beside her, Sakura clapped her hands with energy. "Well done!"
A deep blush spread on Naru's cheeks.
Contrary to Ino who had learnt early on some basics at home, with her father, or to Sakura who enjoyed learning theory so much she had already developed a good technique of memorization, Naruto struggled a bit more. She had a hard time concentrating, always tried to answer without thinking as if she didn't have the time to, and ended up quickly frustrated. Since they had taught her to take her time to look in her memories and focus on her knowledge before slowly starting to answer, she seemed to have made astounding progress.
She still didn't manage to find all her answers as quickly as Sakura did, but still, the difference with the beginning of the year was remarkable! And for some reason that Sakura couldn't explain, she just felt inexplicably happy when she saw Naruto succeeding? As if Sakura was somehow her teacher.
"Now, you have 10 kunais and 7 shurikens in your pouch. While fighting the enemy, you used 7 kunais and 2 shurikens. How many weapons do you have left in total?"
Oh, mental calculus!
Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Naruto starting to count on her fingers.
She did the same; it was easier not to make mistakes that way.
So, she used 7 kunais. Sakura raised up 7 fingers. She would need one, two, three kunais to reach 10. So she still had 3 kunais.
Also, 2 shurikens. Plus one, two, three, four, five, and she reached 7. 5 shurikens as well, then.
The total number was 3 and 5, which equalled 8.
She'd still have 8 weapons to fight!
Turning her head towards Naru, she noticed the blonde girl had three fingers raised on one hand, and five on the other, a smile on her face as she looked at Ino.
The latter turned her attention to Sakura, who nodded at her, which prompted her to shake her head with a dramatic sigh. "Ahhh, what should I do? My friends are geniuses."
Sakura and Naruto shared a look before they erupted in a fit of giggles.
Ino was always exaggerating. Those questions were easy!
(It didn't mean that Ino's theatrics and Naru's compliments didn't boost her confidence. She didn't want them to change that for the world.)
"Studying hard, I see."
The laughter died down , and the girls turned their attention to the man who had just interrupted their studies.
A shinobi with a bandana tied in a tight knot on his forehead was smiling sweetly at them with a twig - no, a senbon? - between his teeth.
"Oh!" Naru cheered, eyes sparkling as she pointed at him with a big smile. "It's you!"
Sakura tilted her head to the side with an inquiring look. "You know him?"
Naruto nodded excitedly. "Yeah! He's the ninja I helped that one time with his kunoichi skills because he was going on a secret mission , and he had to disguise as a lady to pretend he was a lady!"
Oooooooh.
"Now, now," the ninja said as he crouched near them. "My dear future colleagues, you have to remember that a secret mission is supposed to stay a secret, and you can't mention the specifics to other people."
Oops.
Sakura lowered her head slightly and tucked it between her shoulders, glancing at her friend with concern.
She hoped that Naruto wouldn't get into trouble because of this. And that they wouldn't get scolded.
Beside her, Ino was simply staring at him, as if analyzing him, but didn't utter a word.
Of course, Naru wasn't going to be as cautious as them, huh.
"But it's okay," Naruto… reassured? him. "They're my friends, and they're going to be kunoichis too! They can keep it a secret, too!"
A grimace appeared on Sakura's face, her teeth clenched as her expression morphed into one of apprehension. This answer might not have been appropriate; she was afraid the ninja would really chew them out.
Luckily, he didn't actually seem to be angry. However, despite herself, Sakura couldn't get rid of the knot in her stomach as she closed and unclosed her fists in an attempt to calm herself down.
The shinobi moved his senbon in his mouth, his stare bore into Naruto's eyes. "Yeah, of course you can share your secrets with your friends. That being said,-" his voice deepened in seriousness, yet it remained calm "-you need to learn the difference between secrets and professional confidentiality. When it comes to ninja missions, information regarding them cannot be shared. Not even with your friends. Unfortunately, if you do, there is a risk that friends would also repeat those secrets to their own friends, and eventually, the secret would no longer be a secret." He paused, giving each of the girls a sharp look. "And, of course, friends won't get upset about not knowing the details of top secret missions, if they are good friends and respect the ninja principles."
Sakura relaxed her hands minutely, her heart beating fast , and her eyebrows furrowed as she hanged on each of his words. Inwardly, she thought over what she had just been told.
The ninja code of conduct was strict. Sakura didn't know all the rules, but she had skimmed over them, and she wasn't surprised to learn that confidentiality was so important that she couldn't even share information with her own friends.
After all, the profession was so serious and dangerous that Naru wasn't even allowed (officially) to know the identity of her parents; Ino had made sure that this rule was very clear to both Naruto and herself.
But... Didn't they tell each other everything?
Until now, she had never considered that she couldn't go to her friends for advice or, maybe, for comfort.
Ino's voice rang out, catching Sakura's attention. "I see, it's logical. Clan secrets work like that as well." She tilted her head, glancing at her friends with a smile. "That's why I can't share any of my clan secrets with you either."
Oh. That was fair.
The man nodded. "Absolutely, it's the same concept." An amused grin spread on his face, softening his features in the process and making the tension Sakura had been feeling until now disappear. "Buuuut luckily for us, I now trust all three of you not to mention the details of my top-secret mission to anyone else, because, otherwise, I'd get in big trouble. Deal?"
The girls agreed immediately, Sakura with a resolute look, Ino with a serious face, and Naruto nodding vigorously with a big smile.
"But, if you want to be fair-" Ino crossed her arms and raised her head with her usual air of nobility that she seemed to use mostly in front of adults, levelling him a stern look "-if you didn't want your secret mission to be shared, you shouldn't have said anything about it to begin with. That was all on you."
Sakura bit her lower lip and closed her eyes tightly.
Yes, Ino made a point, but-
Did she have to say it?!
When she opened back one eye to see the ninja's reaction, hoping he wouldn't get upset at Ino's remark, she was surprised to see him staring at her friend and blinking owlishly, before he raised an eyebrow.
"That's true..." he conceded. "Huh, I seem to be losing my touch. Thank you for the reminder, kid."
With a nod, Ino waved her hand and smiled. "As long as you remember to apply your own lessons, we're good."
Oh, no.
Sakura brought her hands to her face and struggled not to groan. She loved her friend, she really did, but sometimes she wondered if she absolutely had to always speak her mind.
Still, at least, the senbon-shinobi didn't seem to take it the wrong way. On the contrary, he smiled and nodded in return.
"By the way," Ino added, "we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Yamanaka Ino, nice to meet you."
Sakura realized that, indeed, Ino made a point. Oh, the shame. "Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you too!" she exclaimed with a blush. She was always a little embarrassed to speak in front of someone she didn't know, but giving her name was the least of courtesies, after all.
Naruto blinked, seeming to ponder for a moment. "I… don't even remember if I gave you my name."
The man's grin grew more playful. "You know, I don't think you did."
"Oh, no!" Naruto gasped, with her hands on her cheeks and her eyes wide open, a pure expression of shock on her face. "What a mistake of me! I gotta correct that!"courtesies,
Tsss, Naru and her drama queen manners. Sakura couldn't stop her giggle, and she quickly covered her mouth with both her hands.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you -ttebayo!"
"And I'm Shiranui Genma," the ninja answered with a chuckle. "You can just call me Genma. It's my pleasure, everyone."
Sakura smiled back.
He sounded nice, overall. She found him to be different from Iruka-sensei, or her own mother, who, despite being ninjas as well, were both more... reachable, maybe. Actually, even Ino's dad, who Sakura knew was a high-ranked ninja, never gave her such an impression, because of his soft-dad behaviour.
Genma-san seemed to have a wise and collected side to him. The calm air around him was soothing, in a way, but at the same time, he had such a mysterious aura that made him feel almost... mystical. It was as if there was a whole world of which he was a part of and that she knew nothing about.
And, somehow, she had felt the same way at times about her soulmate, when she had tried to talk to him a little more seriously. Of course, she actually knew nothing about him, but in comparison with her friends' soulmates, she found that although he was nice and helpful (when he really, really wanted to be), he had something enigmatic about him that she couldn't place her finger on.
Sakura watched Genma-san more. When she listened to him, it was as if he was telling them that the world of ninjas held secrets that were not for everyone; that she could not even begin to imagine, and that she still had so much to discover. And they had to hold themselves ready and change their ways of dealing with this profession.
Yet, until now, Iruka-sensei, her mother, or Uncle Inoichi had rather given her the impression that they would always be there, that the world of ninjas was not so mysterious and out of reach.
Right at the moment, Sakura realized that she was just getting a glimpse of a side of the ninja profession that her entourage had somewhat concealed until then. That made her want to listen to Genma-san and to learn from him, feeling that she might not have the opportunity to find such a rich source of information about the hidden part of the ninja profession any time soon.
The friendly ninja's grin widened , and he clapped his hands as his gaze shifted to Naruto. "Good! Now, not that I don't enjoy your company, but I had a specific reason for coming here." He ran his hand inside his green jacket that Sakura had seen many ninjas wear, like Iruka-sensei, and he pulled out a scroll from his inside pocket that he unrolled. In a burst of smoke, a huge book came out. "I've got something for you," he said with a knowing smile aimed at Naruto. "Here, as promised," he said with a knowing smile aimed at Naruto.
Ohhhhhhhh, a book!
Subconsciously, Sakura leaned forward, her eyes shining with interest. Now, she was very interested.
"Uh..." Naruto squinted her eyes, and scrutinized the object suspiciously. "A book? For me...?"
Genma-san arched an eyebrow in amusement. "Give me your hand," he said as he opened the book.
He pressed his thumb on the first page, and drawings appeared in the center before spreading out and forming a spiral filled with symbols. Then he took a needle out of his pouch, and with his other hand, he grabbed the one Naruto had held out to him.
With her arms crossed and a look of concentration, Ino frowned as she watched him, not trusting the senbon. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Stay calm," Genma-san warned, "it won't hurt."
He poked the inside of Naruto's index finger, who didn't flinch and let him do it without batting an eyelash, and faint drops of blood began to drip.
Sakura gasped, beginning to understand what he was doing.
A blood sacrifice!
She had read that blood might be required for specific rituals, such as contracts with animals, or for secret techniques. It was always very special.
But why was this man asking Naruto specifically to follow such a ritual?
Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she started to feel frightened.
He didn't want to hurt her friend, did he? No, Naru had said that she already knew him, and seemed to trust him. And then he had mentioned that it was something he had promised her.
What was it about?
Genma-san pressed her friend's finger in the center of the page full of drawings, and the symbols that had appeared earlier began to move in a circular direction.
At the sight, Naruto let out a cry of excitement. "That's awesome!"
With his eyes fixed on the symbols, Genma-san explained to them. "It's a security wall. I've chosen you, so you'll have the key from now on."
When the symbols stopped moving, the drawing gradually faded, and the ninja closed the book before raising his head, eliciting another excited gasp from Naruto.
He directed his gaze towards the latter with a wink. "Now, if you want your friends to be able to have access to this knowledge as well, you will have to read it, learn from it, and make them do the same. You have no choice but to get better if you want them to have a look at it as well."
Sakura was rapidly thinking, not quite understanding what he was talking about. What security? And what knowledge? Did he mean what was written in the book? They just needed to read it then! He was giving her headaches. Couldn't he just explain? They didn't even know what this book was about...!
Genma-san laid his hand on Naruto's head and ruffled her hair with a smile. "My job here is done. I'll be waiting to hear from you."
Naruto gave him a bright smile and shouted joyously. "Thank you, -ttebayo!"
Then, he gave a look to both Ino and Sakura and waved at them. "See you later, kids!" And in a gust of wind, he disappeared.
In the blink of an eye.
"He's gone!?" Ino cried. "What is this guy? And what just happened?"
Sakura and Naruto exchanged a look, before Sakura pointed to the book with her head, and Naruto nodded hers, both of them silently agreeing to focus on the mystery item instead.
"I wonder what this is all about, too," Sakura muttered thoughtfully.
The girls gathered around the book, and Ino joined them, more suspicious than curious unlike her friends. As they started to leaf through it, Ino's eyebrows furrowed more, while Sakura was mostly confused.
There was nothing interesting in it. The pages were blank for the most part, and just contained drawings of a small character from time to time, illustrated in various positions and with different expressions.
"Did he play a bad joke on you?" Ino asked with a click of her tongue.
Alright, she definitely did not trust the man.
"No, look!" Naruto exclaimed as she closed the book, and showed them the cover. "The Secrets and Arts of Fūinjutsu: For Dummies and Geniuses. It's a book to learn fūinjutsu, the ninja art that the Uzumaki clan did too! He told me last time that he'd lend it to me!"
Huh!?
But, but Sakura didn't read anything! The book was colourful and decorated with symbols on the sides, but there was nothing written on it!
Was it what Genma-san meant then? The blood ritual he made Naruto do allowed her to read the book, and if she wanted for Sakura and Ino to be able to read it as well, she'd have to learn through it how to make them do said-ritual?
Genma-san had said that he had chosen Naruto. And that she could decide to do the same with them if she wanted to.
But why though?
Sakura didn't mind. Although she was interested in fūinjutsu, she was also interested in everything as of now. On the other hand, to Naruto, it was a special connection to her family, because they all knew now that the Uzumakis were known for their skills in fūinjutsu.
If only one of them could learn this art, she would definitely want Naruto to be the one to get the chance to.
That being said, she couldn't help but wonder what motivation this ninja had. He had only met Naru that one time when she had agreed to train on his make-up skills with him. That couldn't have been enough to trust her with a book containing knowledge on such a secret ninja-art.
What did she have more than Ino and Sakura for him to choose her immediately, and not them?
… Unless he knew about the Uzumaki clan, and thought that Naruto would be good at fūinjutsu, or wanted to get her closer to her clan's heritage somehow?
She was cut off from her thoughts when Naruto let out a high-pitched yell.
When Sakura paid more attention to her friend, she saw that she was still holding the fūinjutsu book in her hands, her eyes filled with wonder as she stared at the spine of the book.
"What wrong?"
"It's… here… there's…"
Sakura walked over to her and looked at the blank spine.
"Um, if it's like normal books, the title and the name of the author should be written here."
Naruto's eyes widened even more, and she slowly raised her head, her mouth agape and her cheeks flushed.
"The, the author...?"
Now, Sakura was really getting worried.
"What's wrong, Naru?" Ino repeated. "What did you see?"
Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of the author's name.
"The Habanero."
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Once back home, Naruto took off her shoes and threw her bag before rushing to her room, her new acquisition in hand.
The ninja she had helped the other day, Shinu-something Genma, had kept his promise that she had previously forgotten about, and brought her a book on fūinjutsu! Not only that, but it turned out that the writer was her own mother, the Red Hot-blooded Habanero!?
At first, when he had handed her the book, she hadn't known how to react. She didn't want to sound ungrateful but, Naruto, with a book? She knew that it was the kind of gift that Sakura-chan would loooooove having, but Naruto would most likely be falling asleep after reading the title.
But now, with it being a memento of her mom!?
If there was one book she had to read in her whole life, it had to be this one.
She laid back, her belly pressed against her bed, her heart pounding, and she studied it for a moment, rereading the title and gently stroking the cover, as if it were fragile , and she was scared of damaging it.
The book her mother had written that would teach her their clan's techniques.
Could this day get any better?
After taking a deep breath, she opened it, her focus at its peak.
She was going to devour this book, dattebayo!
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Preface
Dear Reader,
This is a present to you, dear friend to whom I've gifted my most prized knowledge, and to you, dearest people who would have been given this book by my beloved ones.
First, I want to deliver my special thanks to my husband, who gave me the insane idea of gathering all my knowledge on paper, and forced me to sit at a desk for so many nights to finally write everything down.
Also, all the curious brats who wanted to learn more about this ninja art and my friends who encouraged me, granting me the motivation to do my best; People who know me are well aware that I don't have the skills of a novelist, nor the patience and necessary rigour to write a book. And yet, here I am sharing my first memoir! It seems that authors don't necessarily fit the image I had of them (although, when I think of the most famous writer in my circle, it's not so strange that I'd manage to do it too).
If you happened to get your hands on this book by stealing it, or by acquiring it in a way that I did not agree with, HAH, GOOD LUCK TRYING TO READ THOSE BLANK PAGES, LOSER! If you did become the owner of this book following my rules though, I hope you'll enjoy the read. I'm not the eager kind of reader myself, so I'll do my best to make this adventure interesting for you!
The following part will only be readable by my Chosen Ones, so if you are part of the Habanero Crew, get yourself ready for opening your mind to an infinity of new possibilities. Once you'll be done reading it, your view of your chakra, body and abilities as well as your relationship to the world will be entirely remoulded!
Also, to make the read (and the learning) more fun (and effective), you will have to unlock the chapters. You didn't think I'd make it that easy and boringly banal, did you?
To explain, you remember how the book looked blank at first and the words you're currently reading were actually not readable to you? You had to put your blood signature to have access to this part.
Now, you'll find that the rest of the book works pretty much the same way. You can now read the first chapter, that will teach you about basic theory and sealing (and history and anecdotes, that will make the learning livelier, you'll see!). The more you go, the harder and more advanced and difficult the chapters will be, and you'll have to unlock them by passing a test at the end of each chapter. Obviously, the more advanced a chapter is, the harder the test will be, but since I'm an amazing teacher, you should be fine if you put your heart into it and take the lessons seriously!
And don't worry about blowing up the book, I should have put enough fail-safes to avoid that from happening.
You can also find a Chapter Summary at the end. Of course, the titles of each chapter will only be readable once the chapter is unlocked. We wouldn't want to spoil anything, right?
So, now that the introductions are done, we can get to the heart of the matter.
Make yourself comfortable, and turn on your brain.
You're on for one crazy journey with me!
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Chapter 1. Fūinjutsu?
Sure, you may have heard of fūinjutsu, but what does it mean? How does it work? To better understand it, let's start with some history, and some fundamental skills to have: drawing and writing.
When I was a kid, one of the first things we were taught, before even starting to wield chakra, was how to wield a pen. It suddenly makes more sense that I'm on my way to be a(n unconventional) writer.
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Naruto was so engrossed in her reading that she did not see the time passing. It wasn't until her belly started rumbling that she stopped, and she stood up on her bed. She had to stretch, not having moved from her position since she had gotten in, and she glanced at the clock.
It was 8:30pm.
Already!? She usually ate around an hour earlier than that, and she should be going to sleep soon! She hadn't even prepared her dinner yet! And wait, didn't she come back around 6? How had time gone by so quickly?
She picked up her book and closed it, before heading to the kitchen. Sakura-chan and Ino-chan wouldn't believe their ears! She wouldn't be allowed to complain anymore when she was dragged to the library by force.
Actually, scratch that. If they went there again, she'd just take her mom's book and would read it there.
It was so fun to read! The sentences were easy to understand, even if some words were a bit complicated, her mom took the time to explain them well. And it didn't really feel like reading; it was more like her mom was talking to her, and telling her a story? Or explaining something the way that Genma-ninja -the man who gave her the most amazing gift ever- or her own soulmate explained stuff to her about being a ninja or history. Or even when her friends explained class stuff to her. It was so interesting to learn this way!
Another thing that helped was that, somehow, the (printed) writing was easy to read, it didn't hurt her brain as much. Other books should just do the same if they wanted her to read more!
She was slowly coming to the conclusion that reading could be fun. And here she thought it wasn't for her.
While she was waiting for her ramen to be ready, Naruto placed her book on the kitchen table, and sat down, resting her head on her gift.
It was so strange to have something from her mom now. Something that she had also held in her hands, filled with words and full sentences that she had thought and written once. She could almost hear her voice in her head reading to her. She imagined a cheery voice, soft and strong at once, like a mix of Ino's and Sakura's.
It was like she was finally talking to her.
Books were magical.
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During a pleasant Sunday afternoon, Shisui was relaxing in the downtown tea house with Itachi and Sasuke. Ever since Fugaku-sama's announcement ten days before about the "plans" being put on hold, the atmosphere within the clan had been so very strange. Nobody knew what to expect. If some were hopeful that things would be improving, most had been on edge ever since.
Shisui had only had one ANBU mission in that time, and it had been rather easy on his spirits. Although he was prepared for any eventuality, he currently felt optimistic. The tension was still palpable, but the situation still looked more promising than it had a few weeks before.
Itachi, on the other hand, struggled with the notion that his father could fix things so easily. As much as he wanted to believe it, he was afraid of being disappointed, and preferred not to think about it as long as he wouldn't be able to do anything for the moment, except to carry out his ANBU missions.
Since they were both free that afternoon, and Sasuke didn't have class that day, Shisui had invited his two favourite cousins to go and grab a bite with him.
The weather was nice, the atmosphere was pleasant in Konoha, and Sasuke always made their outings more amusing with his mimics; Shisui couldn't think of a better way to relieve their minds.
As Sasuke related to them the latest training session he had had with his mother - he was already starting to learn how to redirect his shurikens. How much more talented his adorable baby cousin could be!? - Itachi listened attentively, with a soft smile gracing his lips, and he simply made a few appreciative comments while Shisui had turned into a full-blown cheerleader.
So, indeed, Shisui was having a very good day, with a happy grin lighting his face, his heart fluttering in content, the taste of sugar saturating his tongue...
But of course, of course, good moments never lasted.
"Shisui-chaaaan, here you are!~"
Shisui had to use all his self-control not to flinch. Although he stiffened visibly, he kept his smile in place, and reluctantly turned his gaze to the entrance of the teashop. Genma harboured a predatory smile, with Raidou following in his footsteps and waving at them.
Truly, the day had been far too good not to be spoiled by the resident Konoha weirdo who still couldn't tie his bandana the right way around his head, and didn't get that senbons weren't supposed to be carried in his mouth, and Shisui didn't care that all good ninjas had their strange habits, okay, he needed to be petty sometimes.
Under normal circumstances, Shisui genuinely enjoyed Genma's company. He was a chill and trustworthy character, with a sense of humor similar to his own.
However.
When he pronounced his name in such a high-pitched manner, added affectionate suffixes, and spoke to him in a sing-song voice, Shisui just knew that he would be on the receiving end of Genma's utterly unfunny jokes.
He had not seen him for about two months, since... With Anko and Kakashi-senpai... Ugh. He didn't want to remember that.
(Sure, part of him was grateful that he got to learn more about his soulmate. But, the logical, smart side of him reminded him that Genma had never meant to help Shisui, and Bandana Head's only intentions had been to embarrass him, and Shisui owed his discovery only to himself. Thus, he still felt mostly annoyed at the man.)
Without a doubt, Shisui preferred Raidou by far; at least that one was stable and balanced. If Itachi and Sasuke were to take anyone as an example, it would rather be him.
The two men stood in front of their table, and Sasuke looked at them curiously.
"Good afternoon, Genma-san, Raidou-san. How are you doing?" Itachi saluted in his usual polite and collected tone.
Shisui almost forgot his basic manners. "Hello, Raidou," he said slowly, with a forced grin directed at Genma as he stared at him with wide, dangerous eyes.
That only made Genma's smile widen. "We're good, just came to grab some takeouts for a mission," he explained before turning back his gaze to Shisui.
Raidou put a hand on Genma's shoulder. "The heiress of a noble civilian family asked for him again. Just your regular escort mission, but we can't get out of it."
Hah. No surprise there. "Ah, the joys of attracting the ladies."
In response, Raidou shook his head in defeat. "It's not even like he's handsome, I don't get how that happens. If at least he had your princess beauty," he said with a look at Itachi, "but no, he's-" Raidou waved his hand at Genma's face "-your basic extra character."
The senbon in Genma's mouth moved as the ninja shifted, and he bowed in a theatrical reverence. "Why, thank you, I got third place in the ranking of 'Top 10 Most Dashing Ninja-Bachelors' in Kunoichi Mag." He stood up and stuffed his hands back in his pockets. "Yūhi Kurenai ranked first, by the way. Which, obviously," he admitted with a shrug, "I voted for her too."
Shisui's heart eased and he laughed. "I heard the long hair was popular these days!" Which was a reason why Shisui made sure to keep his short. He received enough marriage proposals as it was (mostly within the clan), and he wouldn't turn 15 before another month! Plus, it was already complicated to tame as it was.
"You think so?" Itachi asked with a frown, peering quickly at the visible strands of his own hair. "I don't see why that would be."
An easy grin stretched Shisui's lips. "Have a look." He turned his attention to his younger cousin and prompted him with a question. "Sasuke-chan, don't you think Itachi looks the prettiest when his hair is long?"
With how direct children could be, truth would most likely come out of their mouth, right? And knowing how Itachi was perfect in Sasuke's eyes... "Huh? Niisan is strong, who cares about his hair?"
A high-pitched and dramatic gasp escaped Shisui. "You think Itachi isn't pretty?" he asked in a broken voice. Silly him, obviously Sasuke would care even less about these things than his brother did.
"That's not what I said!" Sasuke shouted indignantly. "I just meant no one cares about hair, 'cause being strong is what's best!"
Raidou intervened good-naturedly. "I second the tiny little one." He turned to Genma. "But you're not strong either."
That made Shisui snort. Yeah, Genma only became part of the Yondaime's Platoon at seventeen after all.
Genma merely shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay, I manage. At least I wasn't rejected pitifully by the one meant for me."
It took a moment for Shisui to process the attack, but as soon as he did, he froze.
He knew it was coming! He knew from the moment the moron Shisui-channed him and kept grinning his way!
Genma raised his chin and levelled him with half-closed, amused eyes. "I forgot to ask, how are you coping with your little heartbreak?"
Shisui's nostrils flared, his eyes closed tightly, and his fists clenched on the table in an attempt for him to remain composed.
Someone, give him just one good reason not to strangle that rascal.
When he took a look at his surroundings, all eyes had zeroed on him. Genma was noticeably mocking him, while Raidou looked alternatively between both of them with curiosity, as if he were trying to determine what he could ask. Itachi's brow furrowed in visible concern, and Shisui felt a twinge of guilt peer in his chest. He hadn't told him yet about the soulmate ordeal since, at first, he was mostly testing the waters, and then he just... hadn't been in the mood to talk about it so much. He'd have to clear things up with his favourite cousin, at least. (Sasuke came close too, but knowing his current interest in girls, that could wait.)
(But of course, said-interest couldn't stay null when it would be convenient.)
"What heartbreak?" Sasuke asked in confusion, before he followed everyone's gaze and stared at Shisui with all the innocence and insensitivity a child could muster. "Shisui-san, you got rejected?"
"Ohhhhh~ You don't knooow?~" Genma interjected happily. "Yes, kiddo, Shisui's heart was stolen by the cutest, the most adorable girl I've ever had the chance to meet - and I get him, really, but alas, her standards were far too high for him, and she crushed him," he informed with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "She prefers awesome people like me, you see."
Shisui tsk-ed loudly and saw red.
'Awesome' was her signature word.
He evidently didn't mind that she'd have good relationships with anyone, or that she'd call anyone else awesome; on the contrary, he'd love for her to meet an infinity of amazing people in her life.
But this was Genma, and he was messing with him in all his annoying splendour!
Raidou squinted his eyebrows suspiciously. "What did you do?"
With a cocky, overbearing smile, Genma raised his hand and did the peace sign. "I was on a date with Shisui's sweetheart yesterday~ A lovely picnic under the sun, she was delightful really, I'm afraid she'll end up stealing my heart too."
Without thinking, Shisui jumped and threw a plate at Genma's face, which he dodged skillfully with a cackle.
That was it. That infuriating bastard had woken up his curse of hatred.
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The afternoon had started well, and Sasuke had had a lot of fun with his big brother and Shisui-san. He always had the best times when he was with them.
That being said, things turned weird once Shisui-san's friends joined them , and they found out that he had a crush that crushed his heart.
Sasuke didn't actually pay much attention to the romance topic, but seeing that all his aunts wanted Shisui to marry their respective daughters (and those who didn't have one wished they did, if only to have him as their in-law), he was surprised to learn that when his cousin actually got interested in a girl, he was pushed away.
But, more importantly, he was surprised to see him so invested that he'd start a fight over a girl in the middle of the teashop. That reminded him too much of the girls in his class.
Sasuke hoped he'd never turn that way.
He glanced at his brother who had grabbed his drink again, and sipped his tea as he quietly observed the guy-who-went-on-the-wanted-date tease Shisui-san who was threatening him back with a spoon.
"Niisan?"
"Yes, Sasuke?"
"Do you like someone? Or do you have a girlfriend?"
Itachi looked at him softly and nudged him with his elbow. "No, I don't. I'd rather spend my free time with you anyway."
Sasuke nudged him back with a grin.
His brother was the best. And he didn't even need to have long hair or to be strong for that!
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To be continued
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Love youuuuu, take care ❤