Chapter Text
The bark was rough against the back of his head, the only solid thing keeping him upright as the world spun in blurred, agonizing patches of red and grey.
His chest heaved, every breath burning like hot ash. Shisui pressed a hand to the empty, bleeding socket on the right side of his face, the agony sharp and blinding. Slowly, his legs gave out entirely and he sank lower until he sat heavily on the thick branch, his back still pressed hard against the tree truck.
He knew he should keep moving. Already he could feel the faint, cold flickers of foreign chakra searching the treeline for him. It wouldn’t be long until ROOT found him.
But as he closed his remaining eye, a suffocating weight settled over him, heavier than the poison in his blood. He couldn't help but wonder what he was actually fighting for anymore.
His clan was determined to start a civil war, blinded by their own immense pain of isolation. Ever since the Kyuubi attack, seven years ago, fear and suspicion had slowly poisoned the village against the very clan that helped found it. They were hurting, but in their grief, they couldn't see that the village was grieving too. So many lives were lost that day. The villagers needed someone to blame, and Shisui had the sickening feeling that the elders of the village had deliberately directed that pain towards his clan.
No wonder Danzo had been so determined to stop him from using Kotoamatsukami to stop the civil war peacefully. It was his plan to destroy the Uchiha entirely, and Shisui’s power stood in the way of that massacre.
Suddenly, Shisui frowned. The unfamiliar, cold chakra of the ROOT agents were slowly moving away, mixing into the more familiar chakra of ANBU that were sweeping through the trees. Has someone heard the commotion? Was someone coming to help him?
What Shisui wasn't expecting when he forced his remaining eye open was to see a pair of sapphire eyes blinking innocently at him.
Not just any sapphire eyes but a pair so achingly familiar he almost started to sob.
Naruto. Minato’s son.
As a young prodigy, Shisui had spent hours talking with Minato about how to become faster. They had even had a race or two. This was before he became the Yodaime Hokage, back when he was just a brilliant older shinobi who took the time to look out for a kid who was fifteen years his junior. Shisui had even called him, Mina-niisan and stayed with him often when his father was hospitalized.
Mina-nii had been his hero way before he was the hero of the village. Now here was his son hanging from a branch staring down at him.
“Are you okay?” The voice was soft, almost unused. “Do you need help?”
The boy took a deep breath, his small nose twitching “You smell funny. Here…when the animals around here smell like that, they tend to eat these.”
The blonde boy held out some slightly squished berries.
Shisui didn’t really have much to lose; it wasn't like he could get more poisoned. So taking the berries, he popped them into his mouth, the bitter juice bursting across his tongue. Slowly he felt that taking air was slightly easier.
“Why are you even out here… Naruto-kun?” Shisui rasped, his throat still sore from the lingering poison.
Naruto blinked his hand, freezing halfway as he was about to hold out more berries. Shisui didn’t wait - he took the next handful and popped them into his mouth with no hesitation.
Naruto blinked again almost in confusion. Oh right. Shisui has never spoken to the boy before. He's probably wondering how Shisui knows his name. Like he wasn't there when Mino-nii and Hina-nee were picking it out. Like he wasn't the one to embroidered his name onto the blanket he still sleeps with. Like Shisui hadn’t spent the last seven years stalking the small child. Like he hadn’t destroyed businesses- sending a rat or two into food stores that had refused to serve him, or starting a small, controlled fire in the back of a clothing store that had kicked him out.
Though now he thinks of it, Shisui thinks he has damaged all but three stores in Konoha. That Ramen stall, the weapons shop that little girl with the buns lives at who slipped Naruto weapons her father wouldn’t miss- even if they were defective, not the best for training, but she was doing her best after Naruto had been kicked out for trying to buy academy supplies. And the clothing store that little girl with pink hair snuck clothes to Naruto from. The clothes were bright orange but at least they tried.
Shisui, of course, had secretly slipped into Naruto’s flat afterwards to swap those defective weapons out with better quality ones- not so good that someone would take notice, but enough to keep the boy safe. He even subtly fixed the clothes where he could.
Shisui probably shouldn’t tell all this to Naruto though, he might find it creepy. Then again this is Naruto, he might like the fact someone has cared for the past seven years.
Shisui blinked his eye back into focus to find that Naruto had moved down to his branch and was crouched in front of his holding what looked like a bandage, hand still out stretched towards his empty eye socket.
“I thought you had died for a second then Shinobi-san.” Naruto whispered, his voice incredibly quiet as he gently placed the bandage onto Shisui’s bleeding, empty eye.
“No… just lost in thought, Naruto-kun.” Shisui rasped out. He fixed his remaining eye on the boy. “You never answered. Why are you out in the middle of the forest at who knows what time?”
Naruto shifted guiltily on the branch. “I may have blown up… a few of the buildings in the market place.”
Shisui blinked uncomprehendingly.
Did he just say he blew up some buildings? Oh, no. He's just like his mother.
Shisui froze, blinking in pure horror as he sat up straighter on the branch, the truth hitting him like a physical blow.
Oh, No. He’s just like me.
He can hear Mina-nii laughing at him now. Panic flared in Shisui’s chest. What had Naruto actually done? How many was a few? Shisui might be able to cover up a one or two as a gas leak but more will take some more bullshiting. And how badly were they damaged. Is he going to have to frame someone to save Naruto from the villagers wrath?
“You know what? I think you should start from the beginning, Naruto-kun.” Shisui says weakly, leaning back against the tree truck.
Naruto smiles cheekily as he sits cross legged on the branch. “Well, datteboyo, i was walking around town, because my neighbours had gotten drunk again and were trying to break into my apartment.” Naruto muttered, a soft shrug rocking his small shoulders. “Not that they would be able to, but as I was saying I was walking and I bumped into the super old guy covered in bandages. He always looks at me strangely- it's the same look I've seen on a bunch of guys in that area the adults tell the kids not to go down. Not that anyone has ever stopped me or ever cared.” Naruto grumbles.
Shisui's breath hitched behind his teeth.
Danzo.
A wave of pure dread washed over Shisui. Before Naruto could finish his sentence, Shisui reached forward and grabbed the boy’s wrists, pulling him firmly onto his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around Naruto’s small frame, holding him close as if he could shield him from the very elder that wants Shisui dead. If Danzo wanted Naruto, he was going to learn just how dangerous Shisui could be when he actually had time to plan. But first…
“Never go down that street, Naru-kun.” Shisui commanded, his voice tight, dropping into a rare, deadly serious tone that brookered no argument. “And if you ever see that man again run. Don’t prank him, don’t even look at him. Especially don’t let him look at you.” Shisui breath hitches at the thought of Danzo using his eye on Naruto. “He is very dangerous. Do you understand?”
Naruto seemed to freeze before relaxing into the hug. Until Shisui said the part of don't let him look at you. “Naru-kun…” Shisui’s voice trailed off, a horrible suspicion tightening in his gut as he felt the boy stiffen again. “What did you do?”
Naruto scratched the back of his head before burying his face into Shisui’s chest.
Dread pooled in Shisui’s stomach. “Naru-kun, I need you to tell me the truth.”
Naruto squirmed before blurting out. “Imayhaveusedexplosivestocauseadistractionsoicouldstealthethinghewashiddinginhispocket.”
Shisui blinks. “You blew up the market place as a distraction… to rob Danzo?”
At Naruto’s small nod, Shisui leaned his head back against the tree, a noise halfway between a sob and laughter caught in his throat. Apparently Danzo didn’t need to send a squad to finish him off, a seven year old boy was going to do it for him.
“Okay, Naru-Kun, I think you might need to explain.”
Naruto’s small hand clutched Shisui’s jacket before he said in a small voice. “As i said i bumped into him on the street and he was looking at me funny and he smelt weird, like blood but i couldn’t see any wounds. Then I noticed he kept a hand in his pocket. Which was weird because I've seen him a few times in Jiji’s office, and he never moved that hand before. So I thought it was weird he had it in his pocket.”
Naruto sat up so he was looking at Shisui fully, his voice soft unlike the usual boisterous tone he usually had.“Plus when I sniffed I could tell that's where the blood smell was coming from.” Naruto continued softly. “Which was extra weird ‘cause Jiji told me once that he couldn’t move it and it's fake. So, how could it be bleeding? So that's when I decided I needed to take a look.”
A small slightly malicious smile tugged at his lips. “I dropped an exploding tag on this really mean food vendor's cart. It mixed with the oil and exploded everywhere especially all over the bandage guy. And in the mayhem I took the thing out of his pocket and ran for it! The mask guys right on my heels. And then I hid here… and I noticed you and you seemed to need help.”
Shisui blinks slowly, staring at the ginning child before him. This kid blew up a vendor's cart and got boiling oil all over Danzo…
Shisui burst out laughing, part sob, part joy and the rest filled with terror. Danzo was going to kill this kid but Danzo would have to step over his cold dead body first.
Then his brain caught up.
“Wait,” Shisui gasped, his laughter cutting off instantly as his eyes widened. “Did you say you took something from his pocket?”
Naruto reached into his pocket, pulling out a very familiar eye.
This kid stole his eye back.
“Is this yours, Shinobi-san?”
Shisui stares at his eye, clutched gently in Naruto’s little hands.
Naruto who is treated like a monster by the entire village. Naruto, who doesn’t know the people who loved his parents because there is a law forbidding it.
Naruto who stopped to help a stranger. Who saw something fishy and jumped straight in.
Shisui decided in that very moment. Fuck this village. Fuck his clan. Fuck every single organism, fuck every single place, thing, person to ever exist.
Shisui had to get this kid out of Konoha.
Shisui had to get out of Konoha.
Verdict: Shisui was taking this kid and getting the fuck out of this village before it destroyed the both of them.