Reminiscence

Taking care of me

Shusui's nails dig into his palm, knuckles turning white with pressure as he tries to calm down. He had wanted to intervene, had wanted to put himself bodily in between the little boy and his Hokage. Because how dare the man manipulate a kid, a child no older than six, like that. Treating him as nothing more than an asset to the village, ready to be handled and controlled as they pleased. He'd seen the resignation in the kid's eyes as Sarutobi left him no room to argue against his destined and chosen future. It made him sick, the mere thought of someone having no freedom, no sense of free will.

When the older man finally took his leave, closing the door of the hospital behind him, Shisui took the chance to approach the boy. Fingers relaxing, he took a tentative step toward the hospital bed. "Hey there, I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier, I'm Shisui Uchiha, I'm sorry this happened to you."

Vivid blue eyes, holding something far older than they should, turned to look at him directly for the first time since they stepped into the room. Ocean-like orbs softened slightly as they regarded him. "I'm Ha-" He hesitated for a moment before correcting himself. "N-Naruto Uzumaki, b-but you probably already knew that, I guess." He mumbled, looking back down at the sheets covering the lower half of his body.

"It's nice to meet you Naruto-chan." The honorific portrayed his playful tone as he regarded the boy with a small smile, marveling at the maturity of the young kid in front of him. "Oh, and you should know, the scaredy-cat sulking outside is Itachi Uchiha, he's the one who saved you." He watched with amusement as Naruto's head tilted in confusion before turning towards the door as if expecting something to pop out of it if he focused on it long enough.

Instead, the light breeze originating from the window intensified for a moment and Itachi shunshined in, making the boy's head whirl to face the newcomer.

Itachi, as Shisui-san called him, was a little shorter than the Jonin. Long dark hair tied into a loose low ponytail reached a little over the middle of his back, a few strands escaping to frame his face. His eyes are averted, studying the corner of the room as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "You were there too." The Uchiha mutters with a voice so soft Naruto almost misses it. Shisui smirks at the barely concealed pout on his friend's face, marching towards him with purpose.

Naruto watches, a little fascinated and all the more confused as Itachi dodges the arm coming up to rest on his shoulder, his movements are swift and elegant as he evades the metaphorical attack to his person.

"Thank you for saving me." He finds himself saying instinctively, but with no less sincerity. "Both of you." He bows while doing so, well, as much as he can while sitting on a hospital bed. The sling holding his shoulder digs into his stomach and he does his best to appear unfazed. Shisui is there almost immediately, coaxing him back into his original position with his back against the wall. Muttering about health and recovery.

"It's what anyone would've done." Itachi says seriously, addressing directly for the first time, as if it's the easiest thing in the world, to be kind.

"It's really not." Naruto mutters to himself, voice low. Despite his efforts for his words to remain unheard, the way the two occupants of the room tense, he figures they heard him nonetheless.

To his mortification, his stomach chooses that moment to make itself known, the sound echoes in the silence that had settled, breaking the tension.

"Oh shoot!" Shisui exclaims suddenly, one fist coming up to hit his open palm. "You must be starving! Here, let me get one of the nurses to get you something!" One moment he's there, the next he's gone, a door clicking shut behind him. Naruto can only blink numbly at the whirlwind that is apparently, Shisui Uchiha.