Chapter 5
"I'm sorry."
Shisui had not expected an apology. He slowly blinked and sat his cup of coffee down before asking her why. He was just as surprised, if not more, about her explanation. Maybe he was the stupid one for thinking that she could be someone suspicious. A grin made its way up his face before he could force it down and from the way Hisako's shoulders sagged in relief he supposed that it was a good thing.
"Well, now that we have all that sorted out, won't you tell me what you've been up to while your best friend has been gone?" Hisako smiled at his question and began her never-ending chatting. She regretted that she hadn't apologized before but, she was happy she did apologize in the end.
They talked for hours till Shisui decided it was time for him to head back to his own house. His smile dimmed when he caught sight of Uchiha Fugaku but he still greeted him politely. It was a wonder how the police force's headquarters were still not moved to their former position but with the lack of funds and mission being assigned to their clan, it was slowly becoming clearer. He had a feeling that something big was going to happen.
It was only a matter of time before this misconduct with his clan would take its shape into something violent.
He desperately his and Itachi's efforts to please both the village and the clan would be enough. He did not wish for anything to happen to his family and village. He did not want to fight against either of them. He did not wish to lose whatever family he had left. But, could he really sacrifice innocent people for his selfish reasons?
He frowned as the image of his father came in his mind. If that was his family, then, perhaps he could sacrifice it for the sake of others. He paused slightly when the image of Hisako came in his mind. He didn't want to sacrifice her. He didn't want to let her go. She was his friend. Maybe his only friend too. [Wasn't Itachi his brother too?]
Sighing, he ran a hand through his curly hair and frowned even more when he couldn't get it out without pulling on his hair too much.
His next mission started the day after his meeting with Hisako. It was an elimination mission, he had an easy target as well. And, if he noticed a pretty hair ornament for his best friend, now betrothed, and bought it for her then only they would know of it. And also Itachi, since he was the one to deliver the gift to her. Actually, even Mikoto knew about his gift since he was the one to ask for advice as to how to pack it up nicely.
Hisako did not expect to see the clan heir being a delivery man for Shisui and her. She had sent back a quickly written note for Shisui since she didn't have anything to gift the boy at the moment. She would have to pick somethings out. She did not expect her fear of the boy, and her imminent death by his hands, to fade away so easily. Perhaps she was just blind to see his innocence behind the 'cold' exterior.
It was fun to have some sort of gift war with Shisui. Although Itachi was always caught in between them which she could tell always annoyed him. When Shisui told her his favorite food, she decided to bribe him whenever he had to deliver her gift for him.
"Itachi-san, do you know if Mikoto-sama is available to meet right now?"
That had been unexpected for Itachi. He knew that his mother and Hisako were acquaintances but, she had never asked him, and so formally at that, a question such as that. He had assumed she would simply go to his house to see for herself. It was probably to have a formal meeting with the clan matriarch. But there were hardly any people who would seek to have a formal meeting with the clan head, especially since most of them would simply send a written request.
"I believe so."
He wondered if he should ask her what she needed from his mother. His hesitation seemed to be caught by Hisako as she looked at him with a curious expression. He reprimanded himself for letting his emotions be so visible on his face before he decided to simply ask her.
"Did you need something from her?"
"I was hoping to restart my father's businesses again. Especially since a few places where had invested in have stopped sending us the profits I would need the support from her, and perhaps even the police, to handle the legal proceedings. Ah. Do you think you can tell me the prices for the different ranks of missions? I believe I would need to hire some ninja soon."
Itachi nodded. It seemed that he would have re-evaluate Hisako. She had more intelligence than he had thought. He absentmindedly nodded to her and thought about the gifts she sent. There were not the usual kind civilians would sent. They were all well thought out, although Shisui could not carry most of them with him but they were all being used by him. She had even sent Shisui a proper med kit, which he supposed was why she had asked him to recommend her a medic nin, which was more compact than the usual ones but with the same amount of supplies. There was even an engraved short sword she had sent Shisui, which apparently was a chakra blade.
He had thought that the two gifts were based on recommendations from his mother since, from what he had observed, civilians were never this thoughtful. But perhaps he was wrong.
He was about to leave when he felt a warm hand on his head. It took him about 5 seconds to register the fact that he was being patted on the head. He did not know how to react to that. He remembered his mother patting him on the head when he was as old as Sasuke is now. He did not realize that he had stopped breathing until the hand was gone from his head and Hisako was looking at him with a concerned expression.
He politely said his farewells and left before she could say anything to him. He wanted to see Sasuke.
Hisako sighed as she looked at the fading form of Itachi rushing to get out of her presence. That kid was very touch starved. Perhaps she should talk to Mikoto about it. Even if she was an outsider to the family, surely Mikoto would be wise enough to take her opinion and think upon it. Or perhaps she should speak about it to Shisui first.