sunshineverse | I coulda gave up then but-- Then again I couldn't have

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I coulda gave up then but-- Then again I couldn't have

Who: Uchiha Shisui

thelittleprincess , and Uchiha Obito

thebestuchiha
Where: Konoha
When: March 24th
Notes: This is a continuation from a couple of test drive threads, moved over here for ease of access etc.

It never ceased to bring a smile to his lips when the terrain changed and the clumps of trees became thicker. It meant only one thing: the gates of Konoha were near.

It felt good to return home. Not that he was going to be promised any down time or vacation, but there was something about actually marching up to the entrance of that beloved village than keeping her at heart when fighting for her elsewhere.

Shisui identified himself at the gates, passed the security checkpoints, and, having done the needful, made a bee-line to the Hokage's office. Hands in his pockets, he was walking slower than usual, sniffing out the smell of a brand new tea shop nearby. Now that's one place he was going to have to try soon.

But first, he was going to have to report to the Hokage. And then he was going to need a shower. A nice long one if the fact that the girls weren't sending him their usual coy smiles were any indication. He also wondered what his genin was up to. It had been a while, and he was going to have to figure out how she'd fared on her own for a month. If she'd been slacking, then there would be words.

He doubted it, though.

Either way, he figured he'd find out soon enough. He did have something planned for the two of them after all.

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Shisui only stared, still wearing that smile, eyes twinkling. Had she really spent all that time observing this little cat love triangle? "Then perhaps we need to look in places a mother cat would select for birthing kittens. Although... I must say that Queens don't really allow Tom cats anywhere close to where the kittens are. Micchan must be special if Takkun leads us to her."

...If there was one thing they had in common, it was that he found cats fascinating as well--

She had to wonder, sometimes, if her instructor wasn't some strain of bipolar. "Micchan was declawed early and was really babied by her first owner. She doesn't act like other cats sometimes, and she's usually very sweet-natured and affectionate. Takkun has always taken care of her since his owner took her in, though, so she's probably doing okay."

She twisted her sleeve, worried despite her own assurances. The cats were the closest things to friends she had, outside her family, and she was loathe to think that anything might have happened to one of them.

Did she even have any vague idea as to what being bipolar was...?

Shisui noted her worry, then reached out to almost ruffle her hair. He had to pause, though, changing course so that he was squeezing her shoulder instead. "She's a nin-cat. She should be alright, but there are other reasons her owner wants her home. How about we find her then, without further delay?"

Shisui moved away from the bench, surveying the crowd. "I'll let you lead."

Meanwhile, he wondered how long it would be to teach her the summoning jutsu. Perhaps she could sign a contract with the nin-cats. Him being an Uchiha might help, seeing as how the nin-cats were closely associated with their clan.

She knew about being bipolar in the vague, eponymous sense that the afflicted swung between emotional extremes, which Shisui seemed to do frequently—but a budding psychologist she was not.

She wasn't sure if she was relieved or sad about the near-hair ruffle, and resolutely opted to settle for the former, nodding her head and beginning the familiar trek back to the shop that had been her home for going on half a decade. It felt strange.to have company, for once.

Clearly.

Shisui was affectionate by nature, but unfortunately, his history with Itachi had made him constantly check himself. Nothing personal, Ami.

He followed her, watching her back, lost in thought for a moment as he seriously considered the possibility of teaching her to summon. But, he had to remind himself, she had yet to prove herself capable, of course. They had a long way to go; this was just the very beginning.

It was odd that Shisui was given only one student. Usually, genin were assigned to teams. And teamwork was definitely something he intended to instill in his young student. Perhaps then she wouldn't have too much trouble accepting the fact that he did have other students, for one...

Truthfully, if she had been assigned teammates, Ami wouldn't have minded the split attention nearly as much. It was the secrecy that tipped the scale, really; because he had never explained the circumstances or joined practices with the mystery student, she felt as though she was a nuisance rather than a proper pupil.

That and part of letting the rookie of the year into a one-to-one teaching cell had been to see if they could accelerate her growth and then graft her back among more seasoned peers.

Sadly, she really did think he was going to drop her like a hot stone one the ink hit her promotion papers.

As her funk intensified and his thoughts circled on wholly different material, they came upon the textile shop, and Ami let them into the kitchen through a back entrance, calling out her arrival to her cousin, who was doing some homework in the conjoined living area. She quickly set about pulling out the usual cat-fare.

He hadn't even informed the Hokage. Shisui was going to have to do that sometime soon, or Obito was most likely going to sniffle about it. And no, it wasn't because he fancied underaged girls--

One day, all three of them were going to have to train together.

Shisui watched for now, and peered in before stepping inside after her. He was going to reserve opinion on how well she knew the nin-cats till he saw proof of it first hand. Till then, his thoughts would be to himself. Sorry, Ami.

Ami hefted up the large plate and courier it out to the back steps, setting it down halfway down the alley and doubling back for the water bowl, carefully dodging around her teacher as she went through the obviously familiar motions.

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded to a neatly wrapped parcel stacked on top of the shoe cubby. "That's for you. You can...throw them away or something if you don't need them. Or hand them off to Uchiha-senpai or one of your cousins."

Might as well have him take the omamori and the pouch from Valentine's day while he was here, after all.

He watched her in silence, but Shisui's attention shifted to where she was gesturing to at the mention of-- well, whatever it was that was wrapped and ready to be picked up. He held back a sigh; she was still upset about his supposed 'other student' stealing away all of his time, wasn't she? If only he could show her the mission dispatch notice Obito had handed him earlier.

But all of that was classified information and he was expected not to speak a word of it to anyone. Not even a peep.

Crossing the room to pick up said parcel, Shisui glanced sideways at her, concerned. "Why would you assume I'd want to throw it away even before you've given me a chance to look at it?" It was wrapped neatly, and Shisui took his time unwrapping the little parcel, respecting all the hard work that had gone into the packing so as not to just rip into it right away.

Taking the little gifts out, however, made his eyes widen at first. Shisui's expression softened into a grateful smile only moments later, and when he turned to face her, he was still smiling. "Thank you." He meant that, too.

Reaching into his left breast pocket, Shisui deposited the little gifts there, patting it as he grinned. He didn't wear a necklace like Itachi did, but he could still carry her gifts on his person, close to his heart.

Ami shrugged one shoulder, crouching on the back stop to wait. "It's just something I made." Whether that was an answer to the gratitude or his question was up to him to figure out, but one of the knots in her chest eased up at the sign that he at least liked them a little bit. Even if they were just a good luck charm and weapons pouch, even if she tried to seem aloof, she had worked hard on making them.

But he was right; she was still ruffled over the whole 'other student' deal. It would be hard not to be, really.

For all her attempts to be mature, to be better than her year mates, Ami was still very much a twelve-year-old girl, which meant she could nurse a bruised ego and feelings for quite a while. But she strove to ignore that for the moment, funneling all of her attention to the task at hand: namely, waiting for the cats to show.

Some things Shisui was oblivious about, but the fact that she had worked hard to make something for him around the time he had to go on his mission didn't escape him. "You made them?" Not even bought. Hand-made. "That makes them extra special," he added, smiling.

Shisui didn't linger any longer, moving away to let the cats wander in at their own pace. They weren't used to his presence, so he figured it'd help their cause better should she be the only one within view. Instead, he peered around the corner to catch a glimpse at her cousin, observing in silence.

"I made all the stuff I passed out on Valentine's Day. That's what you're supposed to do." Usually in regards to chocolate, but given that she grew up in a textile shop it was perhaps understandable that her sense of what was normal and what wasn't was rather skewed. It was important to make something with your feelings in it, after all.

Her cousin was a rather nondescript teenager, lacking the vibrant coloring Ami had inherited from the other branch of her family tree. He was skinny, with brown hair and wire-rimmed spectacles, only looking up from his work when one of his parents called back for him to help with some aspect of the shop. On one such errand he glanced up and gave Shisui a cordial nod, eyes flicking to the back stoop where Ami was already petting the cats that had begun to gather before he ducked into one of the various storerooms.

Apparently, Ami spent most of her time either out training or at home, with few visitors.

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I coulda gave up then but-- Then again I couldn't have

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I am just-- Shisui is wondering if he could teach her kitty summons someday now |8

That would be all sorts of adorable

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D:

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