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~
Shisui holds up a bit of cheese. "Here, kitty kitty. Come on. Come to Uncle Shisui."
The little black kitten only flicks an ear and curls up more comfortably in Itachi's lap.
"Fuckin' traitor," Shisui mutters and eats the cheese himself.
"You know cheese isn't good for them," Itachi scolds, absently scratching the kitten behind the ear. It lets out an adorable yawn and purrs happily, tiny paws kneading at Itachi's thigh.
"Says the man who's eaten two sticks of dango and precisely none of his lunch," Shisui replies, eyebrow raised in warning.
Itachi blushes and takes a small bite of onigiri. Then another, as if just realizing how famished he really is. He finishes the entire rice ball, and Shisui obligingly hands him his tea so he doesn't have to disturb the kitten by getting up.
~
They've gone back forth for weeks over a name.
Shisui, introducing the kitten to Yuugao: "And this is Little Bastard—"
Itachi, from the other room: "No."
~
Genma, finally cleaning the bloody scratches on his arm in the kitchen sink now that Itachi's settled and recovering after a minor illness flare-up: "Why do you have that thing, again?"
Shisui, with some very deep puncture wounds in his hand from getting bitten: "Honestly, I have no idea. Vicious little monster..."
Kakashi, completely unscathed because he is an animal person so the cat actually likes him, and he knows how to handle it when it gets protective of Itachi: "If you two are done whining over a couple of papercuts, could you get out of the fucking way? I'm going to make Itachi some tea."
~
Shikamaru becomes Hokage. It wasn't a surprise. The transition of power was gradual, Shikamaru was all but running the country under Minato's watchful eye for most of a year before it was made official, but that doesn't make it any less surreal every time he steps into the brightly-lit office he now calls his own, or when he sits at the head of the table in the Council chambers instead of one chair to the right. He's only worn the Hat once, for his coronation; he regards it warily each morning before he pulls his hair back in his customary high tail and leaves it behind. Not yet.
He visits Itachi's quiet, peaceful little home a few days after he takes office, and it all finally sinks in when Itachi bows deeply and murmurs, "Godaime-sama."
Shikamaru smiles and shakes his head. "Can I still just be 'Shikamaru' to you?"
Itachi's dark eyes soften. "You are."
He knows Itachi well enough to understand: Itachi always saw this potential in him, long before Shikamaru ever saw it himself. A little of the tension in Shikamaru's shoulders slips away.
A thud and an indignant hiss from upstairs ruins the moment, and a very miffed elderly Little Bastard slowly descends the stairs to twine around Itachi's legs. Itachi bends down to scratch the cat's ears. "Poor Mochi-chan. Is Shisui-nii teasing you again?"
The cat purrs and thrusts its head up into Itachi's hand. Shikamaru cautiously extends his fingers toward the little hell-gremlin. Little Bastard sniffs them delicately, then bats his hand aside and resumes rubbing against Itachi's leg.
Shikamaru laughs softly. Nothing has changed at all.
~
Neji becomes Commander. It isn't a surprise. Tenzou waited three months after the Godaime's appointment before even suggesting his intent to retire, supporting the smooth transition of leadership, but this day was always going to come. Neji sees what a weight off Tenzou's shoulders it is, an old man in a time of peace able to finally pass on the torch.
"Old?" Tenzou asks, one eyebrow raised.
Neji smiles faintly and bows his head. "Perhaps I should have said 'venerable'."
Tenzou huffs a quiet laugh. "I wish the Council all the luck in the world. Between you and Godaime-sama, they're going to need it."
Given that the Council now contained one Hyuuga Hanabi and one Uchiha Sasuke, as the leaders of their respective clans, they most certainly would. Neji's smile sharpens just a bit. "Personally, I'd wish them sake. 'Luck' stands little chance in the face of our Hokage's strategies."
"You'll be the one needing the sake," Tenzou says.
Neji chuckles in rueful agreement. Then his expression turns somber, and he snaps a sharp salute. "Thank you, sir. For everything."
Tenzou returns it, crisp and heartfelt. "There's no one else I'd rather see standing here today," he says solemnly. "Hyuuga Neji. Heron. I leave the rest to you."
He visits Itachi that same evening. He doubts it's a coincidence that Shisui and Itachi's other regular houseguests are all conspicuously absent. He's the only ANBU here. And that frees him to set rank and responsibility aside for an evening, in the company of a dear friend.