Namikaze Legacy

Finding a letter from the Yondaime Hokage among his mother's personal effects, Shisui Uchiha comes across the most shocking discovery of his life. "Itachi… I have a half-sister." fem!Naruto, Brotherly!Shisui, eventual ItaNaru

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For the beginning of the story, these are the ages:

Shisui Uchiha (Genin): 12

Itachi Uchiha (Genin): 10

Sasuke Uchiha: 4

Naruto Uzumaki: 4

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Shisui Uchiha was not a particularly messy boy. Despite living alone, his home was generally tidy and well-kept, and he preferred to keep it that way. Still, like many other young boys, Shisui had no inclination to clean when it was not immediately necessary, and thus, left certain parts of the house in disarray. One such area was his attic, which was full of enough dust and debris that Shisui was willing to bet a month's pay that it hadn't been touched since his mother's death. Since his mother died almost three years ago, that left a good period of time wherein the attic lay untouched.

His Sensei had finished the team's training early today though, to fill out the forms for the Suna Chuunin Exams, and Shisui had some free time on his hands. Itachi was busy with clan heir duties- for which Shisui deeply pitied his cousin- and Kaoru was a dick when Sensei wasn't there to moderate his behavior. Actually, he was a dick even when Sensei was present, but Shisui wouldn't have wanted to hang out with him anyway. Clan name or not, Shisui had no particular opinions about the Hyuuga, until he had the great misfortune to meet Kaoru.

Not having anything else to occupy his attention, Shisui reluctantly gathered his cleaning supplies and trudged up to the attic. He had just placed the wet rags down, when the dark-haired boy made the mistake of taking a breath in, and immediately choking on a mouth full of dust.

"Ah-ah-ah-CHOO!" Shisui grabbed his nose, turning teary eyes away from the plume of dust rising into the air, "Achoo! Ah-ah-CHOO!"

The Uchiha tried to back away, but hit his back against the wall, causing several objects to fall from the shelves on the walls. "Dammit!" Shisui rubbed his elbow, and then promptly moved to the side, before one of the objects crashed into where his foot had been. "Kami-damn- what the- ouch."

Ignoring the throbbing of his head- was that old coat rack there a second ago?- Shisui crouched down to pick up the object that nearly hit him. It was one of his mother's jewelry boxes, made of lacquered wood, and kept secure with a shiny copper lock. The crash had dislodged the lock, but rather than semi-precious stones or the silver-lined kunoichi chopsticks Akane Uchiha favored, faded letters poured out. Shisui was about to shove the crumpled papers back in when a picture caught his eye.

"The Yondaime?" Shisui mumbled, picking the image up, "Why would Kaa-san have a picture of him?"

It was a close-up of the deceased Hokage's face, but taken at a younger age, in civilian dress, and with a tense frown on his face. Shisui took note of that oddity- most pictures of the Yondaime displayed a benevolently smiling shinobi- as he turned the photograph over. In his mother's lazily elegant script were the words: 'Minato-kun after the Kannabi Bridge'.

Those last words sounded familiar, and Shisui half-recalled a famous battle in the Third Shinobi War that had been in one of his Academy tests. Hadn't Konoha won that battle? If so, why did the younger version of the Yondaime appear despondent in the photo, and, more importantly, why did his mother call him 'Minato-kun'?

"They were probably just friends, and the Yondaime must have had a bad day," Shisui reasoned, picking up the box and putting the photo in. Taking another look at the pile of letters on the floor, his keen eyes caught another photograph, and then another, and yet one more. More than a little puzzled, he sat down and began to look through them.

His mother, in full Jounin attire, standing next to a grinning redhead. 'Kushina-chan made Chuunin!'

Kushina, the Yondaime, and his mother sitting on a stand's stools. 'Celebrating the operation with ramen at Ichiraku.'

Aunt Mikoto, Kushina, and the Yondaime surrounding a blue onesie held up by his grinning mother. 'Shopping for new baby clothes!'

The Yondaime holding a squirming black-haired baby in a tub of water. The look on his face mingled both horror and delight, while a laughing redhead could be seen in the background. 'Minato-kun gives Shisui-chan a bath."

"The Yellow Flash saw me naked?!" the dark-haired boy realized, feeling acutely embarrassed. The shinobi he admired the most had given him a bath? That was… strangely flattering. "Why didn't Kaa-san ever mention that? She knew the Yondaime was my hero. I knew that they were friends, but- oh, kami! Did all of Kaa-san's friends bathe me?"

The mere thought that Genma Shiranui or Homura Mitokado had seen him naked had Shisui shudder violently. 'Close friends,' the boy mentally reassured himself, 'Very, very, very close friends. She wouldn't let just anyone handle her son so intimately, right?'

Curious to the exact relationship between his mother and the Yondaime, Shisui made himself more comfortable on the floor, and reached for some of the letters. The Uchiha felt mildly guilty over reading his mother's personal correspondence- though, did it matter if the sender and receiver were both dead?- but picked them up anyway. A small smile crossed his face when he saw that they were from the Yondaime, but as Shisui began to read them, his smile became determinedly fixed.

Certain passages were more prominent than others.

'-not sure how to deal with your idea. It's flattering, of course, but I had never intended to build a family until I was married, and the only woman I can imagine doing so with is Kushina-'

"-surprised by how accepting she is of this. I know that clans are ruthlessly pragmatic about securing the family bloodlines, and that kunoichi, in particular, have to balance their independence against the elders' dictates, but this was still a pleasant surprise. It helps that you two are such good friends-"

'-have heard that the procedure was successful. I want to thank you for asking me to be the donor. I know that it was a reluctant decision on my part, but Kushina was right that we couldn't have a family in the middle of war, and you're in a far more stable situation. Even though, he'll always be your son, first and foremost, I'm grateful for the minor role you allow Kushina and I to play-"

'I can't believe the Clan Elders are so old-fashioned that they would move you from the line of succession, just because you're not married. If you want, you can tell them who the father of your child really is. I'm sure that would shut Takemi-san's mouth-'

'-Kushina is laughing at me, because of how worried I sound. She claims that his fever already broke, but I don't think it's fair to keep me ignorant about Shisui's health. If I knew that he was sick, then I would have requested a transfer from the diplomacy mission. I could have gotten home earlier-"

"The doctor said that it was a girl! Kushina and I have already decided to name the baby 'Naruto' regardless of gender. I think it's a great way to honor Sensei, and we'll tell him that before we ask him to be the godfather. Since I chose Jiraiya, Kushina is adamant that you will be the godmother-"

'Kushina's panicking over our daughter inheriting the blood red Uzumaki hair, but- and don't tell her this- I would love for Naruto to inherit her mother's gorgeous hair. Though I also want at least one of my children to inherit some of my features. Shisui looks like an Uchiha through and through-'

"-know that we all agreed to keep it a secret, but I would strongly urge you to consider making the news public. Despite the limited time I've spent with him, I do love my eldest child, and I want to be present in his life. Since I'm the Hokage now, we won't be able to use the godfather excuse as liberally as before, and he deserves to know the truth of his paternity-"

"-Kushina's due any day now. Please reconsider your decision. Shisui should meet his new sister…"

Said Uchiha was fairly sure his throat had folded into itself, as he checked the date on the final letter. October 5th. Only a handful of days before the Kyuubi Attack, where the Yondaime Hokage sealed the beast into a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl named Naruto Uzumaki.

Shisui put the final letter down, before he picked up the first picture and stared at it again. The deep blue eyes coolly staring back at him were on a face that lacked his pale skin, his firm jaw, his slightly too broad nose that Akane Uchiha claimed he would grow into…

'-want at least one of my children to inherit some of my features. Shisui looks like an Uchiha through and through-'

Though the furrow between his brows, the way his eyelashes sharply slanted downwards in a frown, matched one of Shisui's familiar expressions. And his hair was the same spiky mess, even if Minato's sunshine-yellow locks were far brighter than Shisui's raven-dark locks.

'Great,' Shisui thought, with a semi-hysterical chuckle, 'Of all of the features I could inherit from the Yondaime, I get his grumpy face and untamable hair.'

The dark-haired boy had never personally met Konoha's jinchuuriki, but a brief glimpse from afar triggered hazy recollections of a messy yellow head above tanned golden skin. Everything about Naruto Uzumaki had been distinctive and striking, just like her- their- father had been. Her- their- father had gotten at least one child with his characteristics.

Shisui thought that he should cry right now, but despite the rage of emotions tumbling through his stomach, his ink-toned eyes remained dry and clear. Instead the young genin felt like he was going to lose his lunch. And then maybe punch something- a lot of somethings- until the bones in his fist cracked, and he started crying the way he was supposed to.

'Your Tou-san is dead,' the boy pointed out to himself, blinking rapidly, 'Why aren't you crying? Cry, dammit! A son is supposed to cry when his father dies!'

But then Minato Namikaze had been dead for four years now, hadn't he? Shisui had been eight years old, and he'd cried then, like all of the other village children, for the brave Yondaime and the sacrifice he made to protect Konoha. Shisui had cried harder than most of them, because he knew the friendly blonde to some extent, as the man who sometimes dropped by and got yelled at by Kaa-san for stuffing him with sweets.

Before his fifth birthday, Minato would come often, once or twice a week, with more toys and candy then any child needed, but then the visits began to slow. Shisui would be lucky to see him once a month. Still, in every visit, the blonde would briefly talk with Akane, before spending hours simply playing with him. Until one month before his eighth birthday, when a very obviously pregnant redhead tagged along, and showed him a cool kunai and wire trick, while Minato spoke to Kaa-san. Shisui hadn't paid attention to the raised voices of the two then, but he had a good guess as to the nature of their argument now.

'My birthday was on the 19th of October, Naruto was delivered on the 10th,' Shisui mused, 'That must have been when Kaa-san decided not to tell me.'

That was the primary source of his rising anger, that his mother chose to keep him from knowing the source of the other half of his genes, and that her decision preceded Minato's untimely death. As a child, Shisui had occasionally wondered about the identity of his father- more in idle curiosity, than anything else- and went to his mother for answers. Akane would tease about getting bored of his Kaa-san, and then direct his attention to a midday treat or an exciting shinobi lesson.

His interest had been minimal years ago, but suddenly Shisui was consumed with a burning curiosity. He had a name- Minato Namikaze! His father was the Yondaime- and a face now. He had pictures of them together, personal letters written in thin, spider-like letters, and even a dying wish of sorts.

'Shisui should meet his new sister…' the dark-haired boy read again, and wondered at the small orphaned girl that shared his blood and heritage byway of their father. Yes, Shisui should meet his sister, especially since he had never gotten to fully know his father or- was Kushina Uzumaki his stepmother? Probably, since she was married to Shisui's father.

The Uchiha recalled the shameless prankster and her stunning red hair with greater clarity than her busy Hokage husband. Kushina had always treated him kindly, and he did feel grateful towards her. Without her persuasion, Minato may never have donated his sperm, and Shisui would never have been born. Had she not died in the Kyuubi attack, Shisui felt that he would have gotten along well with his warm-spirited, friendly stepmother.

The tears were pricking at his eyes now, as Shisui thought about the full extent of everything he had lost. Not only a father that he mostly knew through history books, but a stepmother and half-sister, and any other half-sibling that Minato and Kushina may have given him. Though he hadn't lost a half-sister entirely. Sure, Naruto wasn't even aware that he existed, but she was alive. In an orphanage. Unprotected, alone, and ignorant of her heritage.

And… now, Shisui wanted to punch something again.

He pushed that urge down, and went back to hungrily re-reading the letters. A second, third, and even fourth run through, the words were still as remarkable as before. Shisui only paused then to gaze intently at each of the images, lingering on the redhaired Uzumaki woman that gave birth to his half-sister. He wondered what Naruto would look like; she had their father's blonde hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes, but would Kushina's features be found in the less obvious characteristics? Would the girl inherit Kushina's button nose or Minato's straight one? Kushina's cheeky grin or Minato's self-depreciating smile?

This was how Shisui's best friend would find him a few hours later, sitting on the floor of his attic, and obsessively staring at the pictures in his hands. Despite the pique of curiosity Itachi felt, he would politely avert his eyes from the clearly personal images, and gently shake his friend's arm. When Shisui raised his eyes, and Itachi saw that his red eyes were from recently crying rather than a near-activation of the Sharingan, his concern grew.

"Shisui, are you okay?" Itachi wondered if a hug was necessary in this situation, and hoped not.

To his secret relief, a smile crossed the face of the older boy. "I'm fine," Shisui shook his head, as if his body wanted to contradict those words, "I'm fine."

"You seem preoccupied by those pictures," Itachi stated.

"Yes," Shisui's eyes flitted down to the papers in his lap, and he picked one up. The messy haired boy silently offered it to his younger friend. "Itachi… I have a half-sister."

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This is my effort towards an Itachi x femNaruto pairing. It won't be the focus of this story, and romance isn't even an option until our favorite blonde graduates the Academy (puppy crushes aside), but it will happen. Now though, I'll focus on building a sibling relationship between Shisui and Naruto, and write primarily through Shisui's POV. As the story goes on, other narrations will be added, and hopefully, by the time she becomes a genin, the story will balance between Shisui and Naruto's POVs.