Notes: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story may contain spoilers.

~1/18/2016~ This story is undergoing revision and some things in this chapter have been changed accordingly.

Since this is an AU, there are many things that differ from the canon universe. Madara never attacked the village with the Kyuubi when Naruto was born. Therefore, Minato and Kushina are still alive. Technically Kushina is still the Jinchuuriki. Minato is obviously the Hokage. That also means that the Uchiha clan, Jiraiya, Asuma and others are still alive.

After Sasuke graduated from the Academy at 13, Fugaku gave Sasuke a job as an officer of the Konoha Military Police Force, and Sai who was taken from Danzo's root replaced him.

Tsunade still trained Sakura and Jiraiya still trained Naruto, that much is the same. Of course, Orochimaru didn't train Sasuke, Fugaku did since Orochimaru has no direct link to Sasuke here.

I have no idea what Shisui is like in canon since we never get to see him, but my headcanon is that he is somewhat similar to Naruto but a little more energetic and rowdy. (Of course I may be totally wrong, but we don't know enough about Shisui to decide otherwise.) \

Finally, this isn't that important but, the Uchiha household is described as lot larger than it actually is in canon.

Finally, this isn't that important but, the Uchiha household is described as lot larger than it actually is in canon.

Strong gusts of wind forcefully shook the Chidorinoki trees. The clipped green leaves danced in a whirlwind from the warm gale. Murky, dark clouds formed and painted the sky several shades of gray. The summer storm was fast approaching.

Leaping from one tree branch to the next, Shisui and his ANBU teammates, Uchiha Itachi, Aburame Muta and Kago Migaki, hurried home before the worst of the storm was to come. Unfortunately, when they were less than a kilometer away from the village gates, the rain started to pour. The cold drops of rain pelted their skin and their clothes became drenched and heavy.

Shisui watched his cousin sprint a few meters ahead. He knew the younger Uchiha was still brooding over their failed mission. The four had been sent to the outskirts of the country, where a band of missing nins had kidnapped several civilians. He, Itachi, and Muta had found nothing, but their medic Migaki had encountered two persons after their ANBU group momentarily split up. The cloaked strangers poisoned and wounded Migaki. Luckily, Muta had antidotes in his possession and was able to stop the poison from reaching vital points. Regrettably, the man still suffered from other minor damages.

Their mission went from bad to worse. Not only was their medic injured, but the nins had kidnapped more people right under their noses and had not left the slightest trace of their trail. The only lead they had on the kidnappings were testimonies from distressed family members.

Despite Migaki's injuries the team stayed longer. Itachi was convinced the culprits were still in the area, but minutes became hours and too much time had passed. Their ANBU squad remained unsuccessful in their attempts to locate the suspects.

Defeated, they left the village of Katsuki. It was urgent that they returned home to report to the Yodaime because whatever was going on was much more serous than they previously thought. A message from one Itachi's crows couldn't express how dire the situation was.

For as long as Shisui knew his cousin, who was three and a half years his junior, the man hated failure. In fact, he hated failure so much he would become even more silent and broody than he already was. Although, Itachi never outwardly expressed his exasperation, it often rubbed off on everyone else somehow. Without meaning to, he made everyone feel just as miserable as he felt. Shisui used to find Itachi's downcast moods extremely tiresome, but as time went on he found that provoking Itachi during these times was actually very amusing.

The sun was near setting and the rain began to fall harder. They were already several hours behind their scheduled return and they still needed to report to the Hokage. Although they were tired, they could not stop for the night. Both he and Itachi were expected to return to Konoha. Today was Sasuke's birthday. Mikoto spent weeks preparing for the celebration and several family members and friends would attend.

Shisui chuckled. Sasuke was probably sulking right about now. Much like Itachi, Sasuke hated these parties Mikoto always set up. But that didn't stop their mother from the social events. The ideas stemmed from Kushina who really enjoyed throwing large parties. Really, when the two women were around each other they acted like teenagers.

"Is there any reason why you are laughing, Shisui?" Itachi asked solemnly. He still leapt ahead several meters, not at all bothering to turn to face his cousin.

"I was just thinking," he laughed again, "your mother is going to kill you when you get home."

Itachi stiffened slightly. Unbeknownst to everyone except for Sasuke and himself, Itachi had a very close relationship with his mother. The two often spent a lot of time together when her eldest son wasn't busy on missions. It was fun teasing him about it. In actuality, it was fun teasing Itachi about anything. He hardly ever retorted, but his displeasure was always evident.

"Our tardiness could not be avoided."

"Well, we could have just left after finding out the nins weren't in the village. Instead of circulating the village and surrounding villages twice. Plus, we still need to get Migaki to the hospital and report to the Hokage. You know the Yodaime will want to know all the details of our very unsuccessful mission."

"Shisui. Enough." Itachi's tone was firm, not appreciating being ridiculed.

"I'm just saying my aunt Mikoto will not appreciate you being so late. You know with Sasuke's party and all."

"My mother will hardly miss our company with the vast multitude of persons she invited to Sasuke's gathering."

Mikoto would definitely notice her precious baby's absence. Shisui opened his mouth to make the remark, but closed it almost immediately. Itachi would definitely make him pay for his insubordination with several extra training hours.

The kid really needed to get laid or wasted. Anything to make him loosen up.

After a drawn out hour of staring at Itachi's back, the team arrived to Konoha. Muta split from the team after much insistence that Itachi did not have bring Muta to the hospital, that he was very much capable of doing so himself, while Shisui and Itachi went to the Hokage's residence. Itachi rapped his knuckles on the door of the Yodaime's office for several minutes until his secretary approached them. The Yodaime was not present. Minato and Kushina were close friends of Itachi's parents. Thus, the Hokage was at Sasuke's party and not in his office. (The Namikazes always went to Mikoto's parties, after all.)

Not to mention, their ANBU team was, after all, supposed to report to the Hokage almost four hours ago. Which they could have if they left soon after they found Migaki. Really, they should have known he wouldn't be present.

Itachi's eyes narrowed a fraction. It didn't help that he was already late several hours but he was also soaking wet. Now he had to return home to several guests with the appearance of a wet mop. He was not pleased. His mother would not be pleased.

They left the Hokage's residence and sprinted off of rooftops until they finally reached the Uchiha compound. Itachi heard the murmurs of their guests inside their sizable home. He didn't need to hear much more to know that there were many people that invaded his home.

He looked over to his cousin, who much like himself, was dripping wet but not heading in the direction of his house.

"Are you not returning home?" Itachi inquired.

"Return home and miss aunt Mikoto yelling at you? No way. I'm sticking around to see this. Besides I can just borrow your clothes."

"We are not the same size."

"You only outgrew me by a mere five centimeters, Itachi. You shouldn't get such a big head about it!" he jeered. "I'm still older and I'm still stronger."

Itachi stared at him with slight amusement. He and Shisui were very different from each other, but he enjoyed his cousin's company. He actually preferred to be around him with his playful nature, it was refreshing from the other usually serious Uchiha clansmen.

They stalked around his house, trying to find an area that was not occupied with people. Just about the entirety of his house was immersed with his mother's guests. When he and Shisui were about to leap onto the slope of the roof, his father's voice stopped them. So much for being stealth.

His father appeared as a silhouette in front of the glow of the lights. But, Itachi didn't need to see his face to know he was vexed. His father always became stressed during these parties. It was one of the few things they shared in common.

"Oi! Uncle!" Shisui called out waving his hands and catching the attention of not only Fugaku, but several guests that were sitting outside. Itachi was going to kill him.

"Shisui." Fugaku addressed his cousin then turned to him. "You're late."

"We ran into some trouble."

His father scrutinized him, acknowledging his appearance. He knew he looked ridiculous right now. His dark, wet hair pasted to his face and his ANBU uniform drenched from acting as a sponge to the rain.

"Was the mission successful?"

"It was not."

His father frowned deeply. Being the successor of the clan, Itachi was expected to perform missions to complete excellence. His father always made sure of it. However, Fugaku did not tolerate failure.

"You know what is expected of you, Itachi. Do not let that happen again. Go get ready. Your mother has been waiting for you."

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Two hours had passed since the party started and it had been the longest two hours of her life.

She was a little taken aback that Mikoto had thrown such an extravagant party for Sasuke. In the past Mikoto had thrown other parties for him, but the guests usually consisted of few family members and his friends. This function, however, seemed to have about a quarter of the clan in attendance.

Being the head family of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's parents had one of the largest houses in the compound. Now their traditional, old-fashioned home was full of guests. Everything had been going well until the storm drew the crowd from outside of the house inside. Now she and Sai who were not Uchihas stuck out like a sore thumb.

Even though the Namikazes weren't Uchihas either they were actually accepted by the clan. It may of had something to do with the Yodaime's work of getting the Uchiha's more integrated with Konoha than they had in the past or perhaps because of their close relationship with Fugaku and Mikoto. She wasn't really sure, what she was sure of was the Uchihas typically did not like people outside of their clan. It was a reason why Shino, Kiba, Ino, Neji, and Hinata never came to these functions. No amount of integration could make other clans feel comfortable around the stern and arrogant Uchiha. Luckily, her and Sai weren't a part of any clans, and there was never bad blood, but they still weren't as accepted. It wasn't that the Uchiha clan went out of their way to discriminate against those who weren't in their clan, but their dislike was evident.

To put it nicely, most of the clan was stuck up and while there were exceptions, they often did not talk to 'outsiders.' Dating and marrying outside of their clan was seen as dishonorable. While she was over her schoolgirl crush on Sasuke, it saddened her to know he could never marry outside his clan. Hopefully, he would meet a person that he actually did love and not marry them because he had to. Months before he turned eighteen, Sasuke told her how his family had talked about potential marriage candidates for him. He and his older brother, Itachi, were expected to be married when they turned twenty-five. They were supposed to wed earlier, but Mikoto made sure the clan gave her sons time to try and meet someone. If they weren't married by then, the clan would pick a wife for them. The idea sickened her. Marriage should be between two people who loved each other and not because the clan deemed it necessary for reproduction.

Being the attractive man that he was, Sasuke got a lot of attention from people, albeit it was all unwanted. Throughout the whole night, Sasuke had a number of females from the compound lapping around him. They drooled over his every movement and every word he spoke. Most of his enthusiasts did not remain for long, except for two girls that seemed to know him pretty well. Only one of them though stuck to him like glue. The other one may have just been the girl's relative or friend. Both females looked similar to one another, dark hair, pale skin, larger breasts, and relatively tall. As expected from Uchiha DNA, they were very attractive.

She, Sai and Naruto, as well as Sasuke and Sasuke's company, were seated crossed legged on the tatami mats. The short dining table stood as a barrier separating them. She sat in between Sai and Naruto while Sasuke and his guests sat across the table. If she had been her twelve year old self she would have fought them all off. Instead she, Naruto, and Sai watched Sasuke's reaction to their company with amusement.

She whispered to the males on each side of her. "You think Sasuke's interested in those girls?"

Naruto smirked. "Why are you jealous?"

"No way. But I do find it incredibly annoying that they're clinging to him like leeches. They're not a part of our group."

"I didn't know we had an exclusive group, Hag" Sai replied.

"Shut up. You know what I mean."

"Yeah but they are a part of their clan. He can't shoo them off even if he wanted to." Naruto remarked. "Besides, they're really nice. You should try talking to them Sakura."

Try talking to them? The Uchiha were not an easy clan to talk to. Co-existing with them was easy, but having a conversation with a rock would be easier. Yes, she would much rather have a conversation with a rock. Her thoughts were broken when Mikoto stood on the opposite side of the large room. Calling the attention from her guests. Next to her was Sasuke's dad, while the Namikazes sat down nearby. Mikoto looked radiant, her smile lit up the room. Usually, the woman wasn't this colorful, yet similar to most of the adults tonight, she was slightly inebriated from drinking sake. Sakura didn't take the woman for a drinker but she supposed it was expected since it was a celebration.

The room had become quiet and everyone's focus was on the mother Uchiha. "If I can get your attention," she giggled, the alcohol still working in her system. "Come here, Sasuke" she called to her son, and after some effort, he hesitantly walked over to her. His mother was the only person who could tell him something once and he would comply. He completely adored the woman.

Mikoto wrapped her arm around his waist pulled him close to her. It was amusing to see the always-serious Sasuke in such an intimate position. His fans were probably gushing over the sight. Naruto laughed at Sasuke's expense only to get Kushina to drag him over from across the room and despite his size, she pulled him onto her lap. Earning her a very sour faced Naruto.

"Now that we're all here..." Mikoto looked around the room, her sharp eyes scanned through the faces in the crowd. "Where's Itachi?"

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Itachi stepped out of the shower, enjoying the cool air that fluttered against his hot skin. He dried his loose tresses with a towel and combed out the knots with his slender fingers. After a long day of work it felt good to return home and relax, even if it wasn't for very long. As he was walking over to his clothing, he stopped short and looked at his reflection in the mirror. It wasn't something he often did. Truthfully, he could care less about his appearance, but the slight darkening under his eyes and his thinning face was of some concern. After a certain event, he decided to take on more ANBU missions, which resulted in him getting less sleep and losing a lot of weight. Maybe he should cut down on the missions, he contemplated.

Just as he was about to begin getting dressed the locked door busted open. He had no time to react, as the culprit had already proceeded to close the door and flicker in front of him. Shisui stood in front of him. He felt his cousin's darks orbs scan his nude body from head to toe until it settled on a very private area. Itachi quickly removed the towel that was draped over his head, almost dropping the white cloth as he wrapped it around his narrow hips.

"Looks like you've grown in more than just height!"

"Do not say such inappropriate things." He sighed heavily, repressing the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He took back any nice thing he ever said about Shisui. The man was the most insufferable creature he had ever met.

"What is so important that you had to barge in here and inadvertently break the lock on the door?"

"Your mom is looking for you."

"Well, as you can see I am still in the process of getting dressed. So, if you would, remove yourself."

"You act like I haven't seen you naked before" his shrill laugh filled the small space.

"Yes, the other time you broke the lock on the door."

"I had to. Your mother was looking for you then too. And I wasn't going to tell her to wait and get on her bad side. She is a scary woman."

"I suggest you refrain from speaking about my mother in such an ill manner."

"You know you agree."

"Leave. I will be out shortly."

He didn't.

"Did you know Sakiko is here?"

Itachi sighed. Uchiha Sakiko was a woman his parents have been trying to set him up with for weeks. They thought they were being subtle about it but really they couldn't be anymore obvious.

Truthfully, he didn't have much of an opinion of Sakiko, other than she was rather persistent. Although she knew he was not interested in her courtship of him, she continued to try anyway. In fact, his parents encouraged her.

"You know she really likes you, if you really wanted to you could get her to—"

"Shisui." Itachi had just about lost his patience. There was almost so much blathering someone could do until it became tiresome. "You are taking advantage of my patience."
"Alright, alright. No need to get angry. I'm leaving."

Itachi narrowed his eyes and watched him until he left the room. Alone again, he dressed quickly. When he exited the bathroom he found Shisui had been waiting in the hall. It was then he realized Shisui had borrowed his clothing. He wore a blue shirt, the mesh underneath visible from the dip of the v-neck collar. Itachi had a sundry of these shirts and pants, in fact, it was what he was wearing.

"Hey, we're wearing the same outfit."

"I've noticed."

Itachi went to his room to change. Most of his clothing was dirty except for gray pants and and short-sleeved, turtle neck black sweater. Once he had re-dressed himself, the pair headed toward the living room full of guests. .

When they entered the room, he nearly turned back around after he noticed how many people were in attendance. There had to be about forty or more people crowding his living space. Much more than he anticipated. He remained at the back of the room, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. Unfortunately, that was short-lived.

"There you are!" His mother exclaimed when she caught sight of him. The entire room turned around and stared at him. He pondered a multitude of scenarios that would permit him to escape this current situation.

He had nothing.

Luckily, he realized he was not alone. His younger brother also looked completely miserable. Though to the untrained eye, he may have appeared indifferent, but Itachi knew better. He couldn't blame him. They both despised all forms of attention. But tonight, his brother must have hated it especially. It was his birthday and just about the entire clan was giving him extra consideration because of this reason. Itachi was grateful he had a three week long ANBU mission the month of his twenty-third birthday. His extended absence made it difficult for his mother to plan any form of celebration. The closest they had to one was dinner that included Shisui.

"Come up here, darling. I want you to be hear this."

It must have taken him every muscle in his body to take a step closer and closer to his family. He wasn't walking slow but the trip felt like an eternity. Without looking at the audience he knew all eyes were on him. It was unnerving. He so desperately wanted to use a genjutsu to escape this absurdity. Itachi preferred his privacy and generally stayed out of the view of many people so their focused attention unsettled him.

When he finally reached his family, his eyes met Sasuke's. Their brief contact, told him his brother also had thought about escaping but failed and Itachi, we need to find a new family.

"Now that all of my family is up here with me. I wanted to thank all of you for being here tonight. It means a lot to us to have you here." She received applause and hurrah from her audience. "Eighteen years ago, I was privileged to become the mother to another child. He was so tiny and fragile and now look at how much he's grown." Nostalgic from the thought, her grip around Sasuke tightened. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about that though…" His mother's voice sounded weak and shaky as she resisted the urge to cry.

"Yes, we do, Mikoto!" Naruto shouted in an attempt to make their mother embarrass Sasuke with baby stories. The idiot was just like Shisui. He liked provoking Sasuke just as much as Shisui liked provoking him.

"Oh, Naruto, I'm sure you know the story already! But this celebration is for another reason." She looked over to her husband. "Tell them, Fugaku."

Itachi studied his parents curiously. He certainly did not know of any news and judging by his brother's reaction he wasn't aware either.

"Ah, yes." He grabbed Sasuke's shoulder firmly.

"Sasuke has been promoted to Sergeant of the Konoha Military Police Force. We had several candidates in mind but in the end we felt Sasuke was the best choice for the position. I trust he will pick up where Masumi left off and he will help ensure your safety and the safety of Konoha."

Although Itachi was surprised, he felt pride of his little brother swell up in his chest. Sasuke was getting closer to his goal of becoming the Chief of Police. It was a dream he had since he was a little boy. Itachi remembered after Sasuke sprained his ankle from their brief training all those years ago, he gave his little brother a piggyback ride. On their way home, they walked past the Police station and Sasuke told him his dream of becoming an officer like their father one day. How much time had passed since then? Those days had become so distant.

Sasuke's expression was one of stupefaction. The younger Uchiha had joined the military force six years ago after he graduated the academy at thirteen years old. Interestingly, now that he was being promoted to Sergeant it meant he was jumping up several spots in the chain of command. In turn, jumping ahead of many veterans.

As expected, several of his clansmen did not look pleased. Their displeasure was understandable. Many of them had been in the Force for several years longer than Sasuke had. They were also much older and had waited their entire lives for such a promotion. It may have appeared as favoritism since Sasuke was the son of the Chief of police, however, while Sasuke did not have their outstanding experience, he certainly surpassed many of them in skill and strength in his few short years than they had in a lifetime.

Nevertheless, from their blatant infuriated expressions, he would have to keep a closer eye on them. This many upset people could never be a good thing.

00000000000

After the announcement the party continued. Sakura and her group of friends stayed inside while many of the other guests went to other rooms or outside of the house.

Sasuke and Naruto approached her and Sai. They both looked extremely ecstatic over the news. Naruto and Sasuke had been friends since they were babies and when either one of them was successful at something they both celebrated. Sakura had grown close to them during their time as Team 7, but she never could quite have the relationship they had with each other. She somewhat envied it.

They sat back down at the short table and it wasn't long before the two girls came back to join him. She still didn't know their names. It was rather annoying not being able to hang around Sasuke like they used to. He was always busy or had girls hanging around him and he was too polite to tell them to go away. They each gave him a hug and one of them had actually gave him a gift. It was a necklace with Uchiha clan symbol on it.

Naruto looked at her and Sai with a giant grin across his face. "Did you guys hear? Sasuke is going to be the Sergeant of the Police!" He exclaimed stupidly.

"They heard, idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes but it was clearly playful.

"Congratulations, duck head."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him almost evilly. "Thanks, Sai."

"I'm happy for you, Sasuke."

He smiled sincerely. "Thank you, Sakura."

Time had flown by so fast. Just last month Naruto had announced he was going to become a mentor of a genin team like Kakashi sensei was for them. Sai had joined the ANBU unit under the Hokage. And now Sasuke was becoming the Sergeant of the Police Force. She was happy for her friends but now she wondered what her plans were. Her men had essentially left her behind. While she trained with the legendary Tsunade, acquired exceptional skills and was one of the top kunoichi in Konoha, she still hadn't really thought of any plans.

When she didn't go on missions, she worked at the hospital. Healing the sick and injured was her specialty, after all. But she strived for more and she possessed the skills to do so. She was a jonin and could become a mentor like Naruto, but it wasn't something she desired. She wanted something more. She wanted to see the world for what it was. Meet people from all different nations. Be free instead of confined in the limits of Konoha.

Her emerald orbs darted back and forth between her friends as she thought about their commendable accomplishments. One day she hoped she could feel like she was beside them and not cold in the dark of their shadows.

000000

After his mother's announcement Itachi and Shisui walked over to the kitchen that was attached to the room. Sasuke and his friends were the only people remaining, more than likely chatting about his promotion.

Shisui flickered across the room to Sasuke's group, the women that were with Sasuke, greeted him excitedly. His cousin was popular with many people. Especially women. In fact, the very few relationships Itachi had, had commenced because of Shisui. His cousin always had some strange urgency to get him girlfriends. He didn't doubt his parents put him up to it. Of course, they were never serious and never lasted long.

Shisui turned his attention to Sasuke's former teammate and draped his arm around her shoulders. "Saku, You look more beautiful than you did last time I saw you."

"Hi, Shisui" she deadpanned; the girl was not affected by Shisui's charm. Perhaps he wasn't popular with all women.

"I'm still waiting for that date."

"Leave her alone, Shisui." Sasuke warned him.

"I'm not doing any harm Sasuke. I'm just admiring your teammate's beauty."

Itachi walked passed the group and retrieved the bento box of onigiri his mother left in the refrigerator. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and he was glad his mother saved leftovers of his favorite meal. Once he grabbed the container, he headed towards his room, but his efforts were halted when Shisui popped up in front of him. He wasn't known as 'Shisui the Flicker' for nothing. His cousin pushed him to the table where Sasuke was seated.

"What is the meaning of this, Shisui?"

"We can't be rude to your guests. Why don't we sit with them?"

"They are not my guests."

"Itachi." A soft voice called for him.

His head turn and caught sight of a familiar face. Now, he caught wind of what Shisui was trying to do. Sakiko was had been hanging around Sasuke and his friends all night, since her younger sister was enamored by his little brother. It was only time that his cousin would try and push him towards her.

"Sakiko."

"Please join us, Itachi." She smiled warmly. She looked a little different than he remembered. It had been some time since he saw her last, perhaps many weeks ago. Her coal black hair had been cropped just above her chin, it was shorter now but it suited her thin face.

In all honestly, he did not want to join them. If he had the choice he wouldn't have gone to this ridiculous gathering in the first place. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave and his mother had taught him to be a gentleman, so he reluctantly accepted her offer.

When he sat down his brother gave him a confused look.

"Brother?"

Itachi looked at him with pleading eyes 'Put me out of my misery.' There was a bit of amusement in his coal colored eyes.

Itachi had never hung around Sasuke or his friends. In fact, he hardly hung around with anyone that wasn't his ANBU squad and it was only on working terms. People were tiresome and usually brought unnecessary trouble. Plus, solitude was enjoyable.

He was grateful he was seated at the far end of the table. This made it easier to leave unnoticed when he was done with his meal. As he silently ate, he listened to their mundane conversations. They spoke about the lantern festival, the team of genin Naruto had been assigned, Sasuke's promotion, Kurenai's baby (This he was actually interested in. He needed to pay her a visit sometime soon) and finally Shisui and Naruto argued about which shop had the best ramen.

Throughout their various conversations, the group paid no attention to him except for Sakiko. The girl was pressed closely against his side, a bit too close for comfort. It wasn't that he had not been this close to the opposite sex. Truthfully, he actually had been a lot closer before, in spite of that, he was not particularly fond of close proximity with those he had no relation with. This female was hardly an acquaintance. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she didn't want to sit too closely to Shisui who also sat beside her. As a genius, though, he knew better and her reasons were clear.

When it came to getting Itachi to do things he was reluctant to do, Shisui would almost always make him budge. Really, the guy could be impossible to deal with at times, but he was always polite and because of his politeness he could be coaxed into doing things he didn't want to. Such as joining them at the table because he was too courteous to decline Sakiko's invitation.

Despite his constant teasing of his cousin, he truly cared about his happiness. Sakiko was a nice girl and if he was going to be forced to marry per the clan's request it may as well be with a woman who was as sweet as Sakiko.

Plus, After Itachi's last relationship, Shisui felt it was up to him to find Itachi someone else. Whether it was serious or platonic did not matter. Truthfully, the last time Itachi had displayed any type of emotion remotely close to being happy was when he was with her and they both know how that turned out. Right now, Sakiko would be the best choice since she was obviously smitten with him.

From his peripheral vision, Shisui looked at Itachi. His admirer was close against him. If Itachi had been more outgoing, all he had to do was drape his arm around the girl and she would melt in his lap. But, his cousin was difficult and would never do such a thing. He was a genius in almost every subject except when it came to dating. Instead I have to do all the work for him, he mulled.

He looked to his right when Sasuke's teammate spoke.

"So…are you girls kunoichi?" Sakura questioned the girls at the table. They stared at her like she had three heads.

Being an Uchiha, Shisui knew how their clan wasn't very open to others. In fact, a lot of Uchiha discriminated against people outside of the clan. He found the act juvenile, but he bore in mind that many of his clansmen were old fashioned and still regarded the clan as superior to all people.

"No. We're not." Sakiko answered. "Aren't kunoichi's practically useless?"

Sakura's eyes widened and then narrowed immediately. The words struck in her in a way that she looked like she was going to explode.

"Kunoichi are not useless. We work just as hard as men do and we—"

This time the girl, Yasuko, who had been with Sasuke all night spoke. Yasuko and Sakiko were the granddaughters of the grand elder of their clan. Some people had actually referred to them as the princesses of the Uchiha because of this reason. Though Yasuko was easily the grand elder's favorite. She nearly always got her way and the fact that she was enamored by Sasuke would almost guarantee she would marry him the clan deemed so.

Though, Sasuke had still not known about the plans to make Yasuko his potential bride. With her status around the compound it would actually benefit Sasuke, especially now that he probably made enemies with his promotion. Knowing his little cousin, he wouldn't like the idea of marriage anytime soon...or rather ever.

"Aren't you a medic?" her inquiry was malice.

"Yes, but I'm also a jonin."

"Last time I checked, that wasn't the same as working in the Police Force or ANBU."

"That doesn't mean I don't possess the same skills as my team members. Just like them I contributed to our battles and have even saved them several times" the volume in Sakura's voice had raised and her anger became obvious.

"I find it hard to believe that Sasuke and the son of the Yodaime would need assistance. Besides, Sasuke is one of the top shinobi. He was taught by Fugaku."

Yasuko was clearly being condescending. In all honesty, the girl probably found Sakura as a threat.

"...And I was taught by a legendary sannin. I'm still a Konoha shinobi just like them."

"We don't doubt that you possess certain skills, but when it comes down to it, the men are mostly to thank. Kunoichi are second at best."

The room had become quiet and everyone watched the heated exchange between the women. Even Itachi had looked on with interest. The girls glared daggers at each other. He could tell Sakura was infuriated from her fluctuating chakra. But no one said anything, the silence was suffocating. Shisui felt uncharacteristically awkward sitting between the two women. Normally he liked when people bickered, as it provided good entertainment. Though, their insults were too much. Uchiha women could be rabid dogs when they wanted.

Despite having the strength to knock both of their heads off, Sakura hardly defended herself. It was opposite from the loud mouth, tough girl he was used to, but he had an idea why she was acting this way. The tension between Uchiha and non-Uchiha had become higher recently. Lately, some of their clansmen had become more separated from Konoha no matter how well the Yodaime integrated the Uchiha in Konoha. Old-fashioned Uchiha did not like this and were trying to change things back to the way they were. Everyone knew that and it was an issue the Yodaime was desperately trying to sort out. From what Shisui heard, certain clans wanted the Uchiha defected from Konoha. Sakura was a smart girl and she knew arguing back with the girl prove to be problematic.

Many moments of tense, uncomfortable silence went by before a smooth, mellow voice spoke and caught everyone off guard.

"Haruno is a very capable shinobi. If she is expected to demonstrate her skills to prove her worth, then she already has done so." Itachi declared, his attention was still on his food in front of him.

Shisui could have sworn he heard sounds of jaws dropping to the ground. His cousin hardly spoke to anyone, let alone involved himself in arguments, in fact he usually would take these moments to escape whenever there were arguments during clan meetings.

As far as he knew, Itachi had never had any missions with Sakura, so how did he know of her skills? Sasuke never praised anyone so it couldn't be him, so then how? Shisui looked over to Sakura who was staring disbelievingly at Itachi. She was probably wondering the same thing. Her face slightly tinged the same color as her red shirt.

Sakiko cleared her throat almost inaudibly. "Y-yes. You're right, Itachi! I'm certain Sakura is incredibly capable." The woman stammered.

Shisui's gaze returned back to the pink-haired kunoichi to his right. A triumphant smile was stretched across her face. His dark orbs flicked back and forth from Itachi, who was still eating his meal, and Sakura who was no longer smiling but still somewhat crimson.

Then suddenly the wildest idea flashed in his mind.

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Just in case you were wondering, just because I mentioned that Yasuko and Sakiko are Uchiha, it doesn't mean they are directly related. I'm not talking about incest, they don't have to be directly related to have the same last name or be in the same clan.