Author's Note:
Another slice-of-life-esque chapter. It's my way of lining up the pins in an orderly fashion…so we can finally smash them with a heavy ball in the future. That's the plan at least. Anyway enjoy.
Massive thanks to ezraafaee, Alis,D34THBYHANG1NG, canariver and blackgremlins for the comments. Honestly every time a prompt comes up that someone has commented on one of my works it never fails to amaze me and make my day. Thanks for the effort. And for those who pressed the kudos button, I thank you as well.
I know a place
It's somewhere I go when I need to remember your face
We get married in our heads, something to do while we try to recall how we met
- The 1975 (About You)
3rd of May
The apartment provided to them was in a high rise complex located in a block locally known as the Shinobi Alley. It was a row of buildings which housed many of Kumogakure's shinobi and their families. The twenty-story architecture sat on the edge of a cliff. Its roof had rounded slopes on its edges which rose to a flat surface at the very top. Like most of the hidden village's rooftops, the area was utilised agriculturally. Grassy patches and fruit trees were planted there, plants which were otherwise impossible to grow on the ground of the rocky mountain range that Kumogakure was built on.
That morning, Itachi and Shisui were perched on one of the mango trees. They quietly sipped hot tea as they watched the sunrise on the horizon. The village was nothing if not beautiful at dawn, with the clear skies above and the pillowy clouds below them.
"I didn't hear you come in yesterday," Itachi said. He took a long gulp of his drink and watched his hot breath hit the chilly morning air.
"I know. You were out like a log throughout the whole day and night. I bet that's the best sleep you've had since the tank." His cousin was a light sleeper. Shisui merely had to look at his general direction and it would be enough to wake him up. Yesterday he had to check on him a few times to make sure he was still breathing. He had slept so long and so deep that the pillowcase started leaving marks on his cheeks. It was the first time had seen him resting that way.
"It was," Itachi replied. "By the way, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Shiori and Naoki earlier. Truth be told I wasn't sure if they made it out alive."
"Are you sure it's just him? Should I brace myself in case I meet another baby niece or nephew running around in a random village somewhere?" Shisui raised an eyebrow at him.
Itachi chuckled. "If you see others, they would be Sasuke's. Mine is just that one."
There was a long pause. Shisui finished the last dregs of his drink.
"I've been meaning to ask. What's the story between you and Shiori?"
Itachi sighed, looking up to stare at the bit of blue sky that was visible through the canopy of leaves.
"As you've probably figured out, Shiori is…was my koibito. I met her in Shimo after the elders there sold her to the Akatsuki to be one of our wards. One reason or another, it was decided that she was to work under me."
Shisui made a face.
"Hmm. Not exactly a situation where two people would hit it off at first encounter."
"Not at all. We disliked each other. She disliked me because I was cruel to her. And I was cruel to her because she read me. It wasn't her fault it happened. It didn't stop me from getting irritated at her."
Itachi shook his head. He still remembered how flustered he had been. Back then it had felt like the biggest blunder he had ever done during his stint as a criminal. Everything about it seemed so distant and irrelevant now.
"So that went on for two years. Then one thing led to another and before I knew it…" he shrugged.
"You can't stop thinking about her," Shisui teased. "I can see why. Did she know about…?"
"Between my health declining and Sasuke getting stronger I knew I was living on borrowed time. I've made my peace with it. But Shiori hadn't. She insisted there was a way for me to keep on living and she was probably right."
"But you wanted Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Itachi nodded. "That was one of my reasons. On the same day I was to meet Sasuke I found out. She was pregnant."
For Shisui, hearing the couple's doomed story for the first time was like a sledgehammer to his gut. His jaw dropped. The timing was brutal.
"What did you do?"
"I placed her in a Tsukiyomi."
"…"
"…"
"Itachi come on!" Shisui slapped his forehead and dragged his hand down his face. Using the Tsukiyomi as an act of mercy to Izumi had been horrible enough. And now Shiori too? He was surprised that the woman did not attempt to take out Itachi's kneecaps the second she laid eyes on him. He made a mental note to thank her for her composure.
"Hey," Itachi snapped. "I did what I had to do. You don't know how stubborn she can get. She would have followed me to the clan hideout otherwise. I can't have that. More than anything I can't have her running into Tobi until the pieces of her escape plan fell into place."
Shisui was afraid to ask but he had to.
"What did that involve?"
Itachi pressed his lips. "A boat."
"…"
"On the west river heading to Wind Country."
Shisui stared blankly at him for a few seconds before dramatically blinking when he realised what that entailed for Shiori.
"You let a pregnant woman cross a desert? My man you are by far the shittiest koibito in the history of the clan."
"Hn. For a bunch of people who are known to love too much, we Uchihas sure make horrible lovers."
"Speak for yourself!"
"Oh right. I just remembered." Itachi glared at him. "You have never been in a relationship before, Shisui."
"Not yet," he quickly added, raising his index finger in the air. "Fortunately for me, my mortal body is still young. I'm sure that the more I talk to you, the more tips I'll get on what not to do to my future koibito. Dammit. You owe the entire Sotome and Rinha clan an apology."
There was no humour in Itachi's voice when he spoke.
"I'm trying to make it right. I have failed her terribly in the past. I can't afford to fail her now. And the truth is, I'm going to need all the help I can get."
"You got your work cut out for you little cousin." Shisui placed an arm on the other man's shoulder and flicked his thumb at his own chest. "Fortunately, you got me on your side. The best…Uchiha…lover ever - "
Itachi shoved him off the tree before he could finish the sentence.
Shiori was halfway through the day's newspaper when an unsettling feeling came over her. It was too quiet. Four years of motherhood had taught her that this was never a good sign. She folded the newspaper and placed it on the dining table before slowly getting up from her seat. She tiptoed towards the living room, part curious and part anxious about what awaited her on the other side of the wall. A quick peek later, Shiori let out a sigh of relief. Naoki was on the floor, preoccupied with a handful of marbles. She watched him crawl towards one side of the room and then another, leaving little glass spheres on specific parts of the floor. He crawled forward and stopped right in front of two marbles which were positioned flush against each other. Shiori stepped out of her hiding place.
"Hey baby. What have you got there?"
Naoki ignored her. Without saying a word, he took out another marble from his pocket and hit the two which were a few feet in front of him. This sent them flying on opposite directions and hitting the other marbles which were on the far sides of the room. There were two loud simultaneous clicks. One marble rolled straight into an empty soapbox. Another rolled into the mouth of one of his toy dinosaurs.
Shiori gawked. "Whoa! Impressive aim! Who taught you that?"
"Nobody," Naoki replied as he crawled on the floor to collect his prized possessions. It was something he noticed a few days ago while playing marbles with Eiko. Different hits produced different trajectories. The fun lay in figuring out which angle would send the marbles on the directions he wanted them to. He had been experimenting ever since.
"Well, now you made that look even more impressive."
"Hn."
Still, something was off. And Shiori had a good idea why. With a deep sigh, she crossed the room and sat on the floor beside him.
"Naoki shall we talk about what happened this morning? You woke up really upset."
Last night, not long after putting him to bed, he bolted into her bedroom carrying with him Itachi's cloak and his little projector. He asked if he could sleep with her for the night. She complied. At dawn, before the sun rose on the horizon, Shiori woke up to him sobbing in his sleep. It took him a while to calm down even after she woke him up and promised him that she wasn't going anywhere.
Naoki fiddled with the cords of his marble pouch. "I thought the bad guys were back. And they were hurting you again."
Her heart sank as she wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him on her lap. The fact that he wasn't wriggling away already told her a lot.
"I am so, so sorry. You know it was only a dream right? You woke up and I was right beside you. I'm right here."
"But they are coming back aren't they? That's why Kazuo-san and Ryota-san are protecting us." He looked up at her, brows furrowed with concern. "But I'm scared that the bad guys will come back when they are not looking."
"Naoki. I promise you I'm not going anywhere. Also, do you really think those silly people can outrun Kazuo-san and Ryota-san? The only one faster than those two is Raikage-sama. And they will have a hard time outsmarting them too. They're geniuses. Did you know that?"
"No. How do you know?"
"…they told me," she lied. It also helped that Shiori had been inside their heads and had observed firsthand their remarkable thought process. Naoki narrowed his eyes at her.
"And lastly, don't you underestimate your mother dearest." She scoffed, flexing her bicep in front of him.
"I got pretty close to defeating them three to one even when they caught me by surprise. Now that I'm ready for them they won't stand a chance," she declared before planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek.
"So cheer up." She kissed his neck making him giggle.
"Turn that frown into a smile." She lifted his left arm and kissed him on the armpit making him laugh out loud.
"Because we are going to be okay. Okay?"
Naoki paused mid-laugh. His entire face lit up. "They're here!"
He pushed himself off the floor and was already by the door by the time Shiori heard a knock. She wondered briefly how he kept doing that.
The door opened revealing Shisui. He looked brighter than the day before and his glossy top knot was neatly held up. Not a single hair was in place.
"Good morning-oh!" He exclaimed, looking down at the smirking boy in front of him. "Why do you have my cousin's cloak?"
"It looks much better on me."
"Is that right?" He chuckled before looking up to wave at Shiori. "Good morning Shio-chan! We're here for business."
"Come in. Make yourselves at home," she replied, heading towards the door to greet them. She let Shisui pass and then came face to face with Itachi. He was blatantly eyeing her from head to foot, his face revealing nothing even as his gaze raked back up to meet hers.
"What?" She asked, feeling self-conscious. The crimson long-sleeved top and the pair of capri pants she had on looked decent in her opinion.
"Nothing. You look good." Itachi kneeled down to Naoki's height. "Have you been wearing that the whole time?" His words were laced with disbelief.
"The whole time," the boy mimicked, mirroring his lop sided grin as he handed him the cloak.
"You guys wait here. I'll bring out the tea in two minutes."
Shiori rushed towards the kitchen, keeping an ear on the people in the other room while she prepared the most presentable chinaware she owned. Unsurprisingly, Naoki proceeded with his own interrogation.
"Are you geniuses?"
There was a pause. Itachi muttered an unsure, "Uhh."
Shisui piped in. "Obviously. Me more than him."
"Are you sure?" Naoki pressed, earning a gasp from the oldest Uchiha.
"Sotome Naoki, you offend me."
"Are you a genius?" Itachi asked.
"I dunno. I just started yochien."
"You are smart Naoki," Shiori replied as she appeared in the living room with a tray of freshly brewed tea and skewers of dango. "A little too smart sometimes."
"Do you like school?" Shisui asked him.
"Uh-huh."
"Really? I'm betting that one you got from your mama," he replied with a laugh which earned a look from Itachi. Shiori chuckled along, remembering the times young Itachi played hooky by summoning a bunshin to attend classes on his behalf.
After the courtesies were done, Shisui and Itachi did a quick job at securing their flat. They did this by placing chakra readers on strategic areas of each room. Any signature not recognised by the devices will alert them and the shinobi on duty. For the most part, Shiori followed them around the place wordlessly. Every once in a while one of them would turn to her and confirm if the location they chose suited her. She would nod even though they never did suit her. But it would have to do.
Having Shisui and Itachi inspect the nooks and crannies of this little sanctuary she had built for herself and Naoki made her uncomfortable. She knew they were only trying to help. And it's not like she hated them. It wasn't that.
It was the thought that the Uchihas have managed to reach the farthest corners of her comfort zone that unsettled her. Once again her life was entangled with theirs. Shisui left his mark with his cheerful compliments of the little accents Shiori had done to make their place feel more homey. Itachi left an imprint with the way he looked at each picture of her, Naoki, Yugen and their friends which were displayed on mismatched frames, a proof of the life they had built in his absence.
She wondered briefly, now that they were here, how it would feel once it was time for them to leave. People like Itachi and Shisui, people who possess enormous powers and prodigious abilities were not meant for the little lives of mediocre men and women. Sooner or later they would be called to save a village, save a country, save the collective and leave the individuals they have met behind for a higher purpose. Didn't it always play that way?
Shiori was brought out of her thoughts when Itachi inquired about the missing chunk of plaster on the kitchen wall as well as the garbage bag taped over the window above the sink.
"Yeah about that. We ran into some impromptu renovations…as you know," she replied. "I'm going to the bank tomorrow to request for a loan to fix the window."
Itachi and Shisui exchanged glances.
"Because I'm not exactly loaded, you know. I got a pretty good record though so I'm positive the loan will be approved in no time."
Shisui pointed at the hole on the wall. "You did that?"
Shiori chuckled bashfully. "Unfortunately."
He laughed. "Wicked!"
Later that afternoon, after all the work was done, Naoki dragged the three adults into the communal garden. Shisui ended up showing him how to throw kunais on a nearby tree. Itachi and Shiori sat on a bench across the lawn. She tilted her head up and extended her legs in front of her, soaking up the sun as much as she could. This year's winter had been bitter and miserable. She was glad for the warmth. Itachi watched her closely. He noted that the swelling on her eye had gone down but the bruise had gone darker, the way bruises do when they are in the process of healing. She had mentioned earlier that it made her look like a panda. If that were the case, Itachi concluded that she was one hell of an attractive panda.
"It's weird having all this free time on a Wednesday. Not that I'm complaining because it's nice." Shiori cracked one eye open to look at him. "We must be boring you."
"Boring is good. It means everything is running as it should be."
They both turned to uncle and nephew when Shisui let out an excited whoop. Naoki looked at them with a big grin on his face.
"Mama did you see that?! Bullseye!"
"Amazing aim!" Shiori chirped, giving him the thumbs up. "Damn, that's actually pretty cool."
"Is he healthy?" Itachi blurted out of the blue. It was one of his biggest worries ever since he found out about the boy. "He doesn't have what I had does he?"
Shiori shook her head. "Kami, no. He's perfectly healthy. The sickest he has ever been was when he caught the flu when he was two. Even then he still tried to abseil out of the window using the curtains. Long story."
"I barely know anything about him."
"Well, what do you want to know?"
"Everything."
Shiori sighed. She looked up the sky, trying to figure out where she should start.
"He was born here in Kumogakure, around two months after the war. He turned four last December. Fifth of December to be exact. Hmm… He's a social boy. He gets along with most kids but his best friend is Eiko, Miyako's son, who you will meet later. You think he's cute now wait 'till those two get together. You will have a high adrenaline circus in your hands. He likes to climb on things. Likes to play with marbles…which may soon be replaced with kunais. He has a massive sweet tooth."
"Don't tell me…dango?"
Shiori nodded in mock sorrow.
Itachi smiled. "Oh boy…"
"He is a brave kid with a brilliant head on his shoulders…much like you. My hope is that he also grows up to be kind…much like you."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Kindness will come natural to him. You're his mother after all."
"You know he asked about his father." Shiori brought the topic up to drive the message home. "He believes he was a hero who died in the war."
"A dead hero huh…"
No further words were exchanged but the understanding between the two of them was there. He cannot know. Not yet.
Naoki turned out to be exceptionally good at hitting targets. Shisui had asked him to throw with his left hand, then with his right. He made him throw two kunais, one on each hand at the same time. He made him face away from the target so he would have to do a spin to try and hit the bullseye. It never happened instantaneously but sooner or later he would hit the small red dot in the centre of the targets. It was truly remarkable to witness.
"Watch out Kazuo!" Shisui warned. "A five-year-old might outdo you in your own target exercises soon."
Naoki goofily went on a fighting stance with kunais on each of his hand. Itachi smiled. Beside him, Shiori had gone quiet. She had a blank look on her face. She too was looking at the young boy and his knives. It was an unnerving sight that gave her a sense of foreboding. If she stared long enough, she could almost see the irises of his eyes turn red.
A warm hand clasped hers, breaking her out of her dark musings. Itachi looked down on her. His eyes were onyx this time.
"We are going to be okay."
Meanwhile in a dilapidated building located outside of the hidden village, one of Kumogakure's citizen just had the last remnants of his chakra harvested out of his body. He had convulsed so hard on his stretcher that on his last moments, it had tipped over, sending him crashing on the dirt floor. The Seamstress barely looked at him. Instead she focused on the man laying on the ground by her foot. With a wave of her hand she completed the transfer. The kekkei genkai should be effective immediately.
The man on the floor blinked a couple of times at he sat up to inspect the tips of his fingers. Each digit hummed with a newfound affinity to thunderstorms. A moment later he forced himself to stand on his unsteady legs. His gaze found the amber eyes of the Seamstress. She nodded at him and said three words.
"Give them hell."
Author's Notes:
- One of my aims here was to develop Naoki as a character of his own, which I find tricky since I'm not entirely sure how four-year-olds talk. I want him to form connections with the other characters and really showcase that curiosity of his and the audacity to believe he is part of the gang and not just its little mascot.
- I want to show the relationship between Itachi and Shisui that goes beyond the doom and gloom of their shinobi lives. Perhaps not all will agree on this, but I firmly believe that these two banter about things beyond the clan and topics related to honour and when they do, they sound ridiculous. Now that Itachi seems more relaxed, Shisui won't be pulling punches with the teasing.
- Itachi and Shiori. Hmm. I believe they still care deeply about each other. Itachi seems more forward with his intentions but Shiori is still heavily guarded. There is so much fuckery to unfuck with these two. Let's see what happens.