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It's weird for three Uchiha from such different standings to be as close to each other as the three of them were. It was weird, and more then a bit dangerous.
Itachi. The most prodigious Genjutsu user produced by the Uchiha since the village was founded, even without his Sharringan (though no one doubted he was soon to unlock them), the most prodigious shinobi in general since Hatake Kakashi himself. He never talked to anyone besides the other two and his little brother, not even his parents. Rumor has it, not even the hokage. He could have graduated at 8. He should have, most of his clanmates whispered. He didn't, though. He didn't graduate until until a whole year later, and many a shinobi scoffed at the waste of talent.
Shisui. Master of the Shunshin and already dozens of jutsu, fastest Konoha shinobi since the Yondaime himself. No one's quite sure when he should have graduated. He was rather good at making others underestimate him. He already has the Sharringan, supposedly even the highest form of it, but seems oddly adverse to using it. He's a loud person, especially for an Uchiha, and someone that is always talking but never really has anything to say.
Izumi. Overlooked, most eyes passing right over her, between the mysterious silence of the younger boy and the exuberant noise of the elder. She's the only one with actual mastery of the Sharringan, and good enough at Taijutsu to beat Shisui and all his speed some days. Still, she's just the 'token girl' to most people who see the three of them together. Fuguku-sama has approached her about courting his son, as has the council, and schoolyard rumor is that she's dating Shisui. It's all that people seem to talk to her about, and all she does is hum and nod.
Dangerous indeed, and anyone who wasn't aware would know soon enough. They'll know that Izumi is more then just a pretty face or a prize for her boys. They'll know that Itachi is too much of a perfectionist to squander an ounce of his potential. They'll know Shisui is not only the brightest, but also the darkest of them as well.
One day, one day soon, they (the clan, the village, the country, the world-) will know better then to assume they know anything about the three of them.
--
"Your dad wants me to marry you when we're older because I'm the only girl you ever talk to." Izumi comments offhandedly after school one day, mouth half full because the only time she bothers to be polite is when people are watching. Itachi nods, because of course he already knew this, and Shisui throws back his head and laughs, caught off guard by the blunt admission, contemplatively followed by "Maybe he'll back off and mark me as a bad influence, now that I've helped you directly disobey him for the first time ever."
The Academy graduation test was today and Itachi was told, in no uncertain terms, to pass it. Instead, he let Izumi kidnap him and Shisui from the waiting room make the eldest buy them dango, because Itachi is eight and the two of them think his dad is dumb. Izumi knew darn well that Itachi didn't even want to be a shinobi, even if he never explicitly said it, but it's not like she and Shisui could stop him or change Fuguku-sama's mind about the future of his son. What they could do, however, was delay the inevitable until she (because, of course, it was her that was behind) could graduate with him.
"That he knows, at least." Shisui grinned, pride shining through his expression. It had taken them months, but Itachi was finally thinking for himself, a little. He still wasn't good at defying orders himself or acting on his thoughts, but he let them coerce him into defying orders he wasn't comfortable with.
(They could acknowledge, in a distant way, that that was probably last thing Fuguku-sama wants. But, then again, the first thing Fuguku-sama wants is a mindless shinobi drone of a son that will help him overthrow the village in, if rumors were to be believed, not even half a decade, so they didn't really care what he wanted. It's not like she was a 'real Uchiha' anyway. She and her mom wouldn't even be allowed in the compound if she wasn't the youngest since The Warring Clans Era to have her Sharringan, and she wouldn't be treated half as courteously if she didn't have such a close bond with their two newest prodigies.
Frankly, she lost all of her respect for the man when Itachi woke up screaming and rambled (Legitimately rambled, it was the most she'd ever heard him say at once) about a fresh battlefield his father took him too before he even entered the academy. Shisui seemed to be of a similar opinion about the man when she confided in him, though she wasn't exactly sure why.)
Itachi just nodded again, resting scowl lessening ever so slightly. Shisui beamed an unconstrained smile, as if exposure therapy would undo Itachi's natural (or conditioned, they couldn't quite tell) stony expression. She rolled her eyes and looked up at the sky.
It was almost sunset, and Izumi wished that this moment could last longer. The three of them, eating Dango, subtly trashing their clan head, Itachi almost looking happy, Shisui insisting the sesame seed stuck to his lip is 'a deliberate choice' and not him being a horribly messy eater. It wasn't perfect, not by any measure, but was probably the best it would be for a while.
Fuguku-sama was bound to be very, very angry after the stunt they pulled today. She doubted she or Shisui would be permitted to see Itachi for weeks, maybe not until the academy started back up for the next term. Of course, that didn't mean that they wouldn't; just that they'd have to do so when no one was paying attention, probably only when Fuguku-sama was at work.
Izumi foresaw a lot of mysterious pranks and general chaos within the village that conveniently keep the Military Police busy and away from home. The sun started to sink, Itachi's shoulders tensed, and the gleam in Shisui's eyes made her believe he had the same strange prophetic vision.
Funny, that.
"Itachi." She said softly as she noticed he was starting to shut down. He didn't jump at her sudden voice, but his eyes snapped to hers, and she gave the most comforting smile she could. "I'm sorry. It'll be ok though, yeah?" She assured him. He looked pensive at the claim. He always did. He didn't want to be any sort of shinobi, there was nothing ok to him about the path he'd been born to walk. "We'll be ok." She amended.
His nod was little more then a twitch of his chin, but his eyes were a little clearer. She would take what she could get.
"Well, you'd better be on your way home then, 'tachi." Shisui said, though every word felt more then a little forced. The youngest didn't seem to notice as he finished his dango (well, technically Shisui's Dango, but semantics), got up, and left. The two of them watched him as he went.
It was horrible, feeling like you were sending your best friend to face something alone. Knowing that trying to help would just make it worst, and that it's your fault in the first place. She and Shisui sat in silence as Shisui finished his food (for all his speed, he ate so slowly) and she finished his tea (she had already finished her own).
"I need to graduate." She whispered, because it had to be said. Shisui didn't respond, but she didn't need him to respond. She just needed this to be something she said out loud. "I can't keep holding him back. I can't keep hold either of you back. I need to graduate next year, no matter what."
Shisui smiled bitterly (she remembered that he hated early graduation on principle, for some reason) and didn't say anything, but he nodded. It was a determined nod. She matched it.
"We'll be ok." He repeated her parting words to Itachi, and she huffed a laugh.
"We better be."
--
CHAPTER TWO
--
"I wanna see Nii-san!" The toddler stomped, and Izumi checked to make sure it hadn't woken the boy in question. By some miracle, it hadn't.
"Come on Sasuke." Shisui sighed, and Izumi looked to the sky like it would provide help somehow. "Itachi is tired, Sasuke." he insisted, but the clingy second in line didn't seem to understand that his father had run his older brother absolutely ragged. As they predicted, Fuguku-sama had been livid that Itachi skipped out on his Gennin-exam, especially when he discovered that even all his clan-head influence couldn't break the strict (if few) rules of the Gennin exam.
Today was the first time they'd seen the boy since then, and he was all but dead on his feet. It had taken them nearly an hour to lull him into what was almost definitely his first real rest in weeks.
They couldn't have little Sasuke step foot inside the boy's room. There'd be no getting him back to sleep if he thought Sasuke needed him, because he was just as clingy as the toddler was.
Sasuke had to get it from somewhere, She supposed, and it sure wasn't either of his parents.
"Hey Sasuke, what about we go to the market, yeah? And I'll make Shisui buy you something you want, and then I'll teach you how to do that cool kick Itachi wants to make you wait until next week to learn." Iuzmi offered desperately, and Sasuke finally looked like he was considering it. Shisui held his breath, and Izumi crouched down to be on even ground with the kid.
"...Buy me 2 things." He raised the price, and Shisui nodded immediately. "K." Sasuke nodded, finally, and Izumi lifted him up onto her shoulders as Shisui just about collapsed in dramatic relief. The boy on her shoulders was apparently too dignified to laugh at his antics (One day, she would kick Fuguku-sama in the face), but she felt his body shake with internalized amusement, which had to be good enough.
"Why do I always have to be the one buying stuff anyway? You and Itachi both have more money then I do!" Shisui pouted.
"Because you won't let us pay for anything." She reminded him. He groaned in complaint, but he did not deny her claim as they reached the market.
(They carefully avoided the chunk of stalls flooded by Military Police for reasons unknown to either of them, should they be questioned. It's not like they even did anything, really. They just covered the Uzumaki kid's tracks. And maybe added a few finishing touches.)
Izumi handed Sasuke off of Shisui, pick pocketing the boy's grocery list while he was still figuring out what to do with the toddler that was suddenly in his hands. She was gone before he could look for her.
He wouldn't let her pay for things, but he couldn't do much about her dropping his groceries off at his house. Checkmate.
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