Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters therein. I do not own 'His World'.
A/N: Can we say 'bizarre pairing'? xD This'll be a threeshot. Enjoy!
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Part 1/3
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1
Their meeting couldn't quite be called inevitable. But it wasn't entirely unexpected, either.
Yugao was, after all, one of Shisui's teammates. And Anko was a cousin to Yugao. Put two and two together, and you end up with the first contact between Uchiha Shisui and Mitarashi Anko.
He was polite, and had an unexpectedly open smile. She ignored the former and was somewhat confused by the latter.
She was blunt, and acted impatient when it came to just about everything. He took both in stride.
They weren't anything to each other. Except for one more name to be stored away within memory banks, one more name to be paired with a somewhat forgotten face and an even blurrier personality.
--"
2
"Yugao caught that virus that's going around. I've got nothing better to do, so I'm here to take her place in training."
The purple-haired girl's words are straightforward and border on the disrespectful-not for the two Genin who have just been informed of their teammate's illness, but certainly for their sensei.
Hayate silently muses that if he or anyone else spoke to Nara-sensei that way, they would never be seen again.
Shisui wonders why this strange girl took it upon herself to be here, why she isn't with her own team.
He doesn't ask because it really doesn't matter; Yugao is out of action and today's training requires three students. This girl with the last name 'Mitarashi' is a necessity, so he resolves then and there to tolerate her.
Round one, he underestimates her and she pins him, presses a kunai knife to his throat.
Round two, he shakes off his embarrassment and utilizes his store of patience, which is something he notices she lacks. Her frustration builds and he capitalizes on it.
Round three, they dance around each other in a complex cat-and-mouse game; the first move is eventually made by someone, and the resulting stalemate is only broken once Yoshino steps in.
Round four, Hayate beats them both.
They part ways without a word. Their mental storehouses add a little footnote to the memory of the other's name:
Could be interesting.
"--
3
The congratulatory party for the team's first successful B-rank mission (progress almost unheard of for a Leaf Genin team, although they are nearing Chunin rank) is a quiet affair to begin with. Hayate fiddles with his straw, Yugao stares off into space, Shisui spins a coin on the table over and over, and Yoshino sips her drink, mind elsewhere.
At some undetermined point, a hand comes out of nowhere and slaps Shisui's spinning coin down flat on the table. The sound snaps them all out of their respective reveries.
"Some party," the newcomer observes dryly, nudging Shisui over none too gently to make a bit of room for herself.
All eyes swivel to Yugao, who answers without a trace of sheepishness. "I invited her. To thank her for taking my place while I was out of commission."
A mental shrug goes around the table and the little group resumes their previous activities.
Shisui's coin is spinning faster than ever, and it's been going for almost a full minute when Anko's unforgiving hand slaps it down again.
The Uchiha looks up with a neutral expression. "Why do you do that?" he inquires calmly.
Anko leans back as if pondering the question. "I'm not exactly sure," she eventually answers. "Maybe just because I can." She meets his gaze as she says that, a challenge in her eyes.
Shisui can't help but wonder about this girl's apparent relish of picking a fight. Choosing not to respond with a verbal reply, he takes the coin and sets it spinning again.
His teammates surreptitiously pause to watch the inevitable display.
Sure enough, Anko's hand moves quickly towards the coin again. This time, Shisui blocks her.
One eyebrow raised, she goes for the coin with her other hand. This move he anticipates and blocks as well.
Smirking slightly, she kicks the underside of the table.
The coin jumps briefly, glimmering, but before it can fall again Shisui snatches it out of the air and pockets it.
It occurs to Anko that she's lost, no matter how strange and trivial the contest, and she looks rather put out. She looks at her competitor and is surprised once more by the easy grin he's flashing her.
Frowning, she gets up and takes her leave. Shisui doesn't even look up; he just reaches into his pocket and fingers the smooth circle of metal.
-"-
4
Anko asks her sensei for a favor, and he provides her with some of the information he has on the boy, which is plenty (he is quite interested in the Uchihas, after all).
Shisui casually asks Yugao about her cousin during training, and the girl complies with what she knows.
Anko learns that Shisui is a gifted member of his clan despite being only thirteen years old, and that he is unwaveringly loyal to his family.
Shisui learns that Anko lives alone in an apartment, and that she trains under the tutelage of one of the Three Great Ninja. Also, that she is one year his elder.
In the back of her mind Anko wonders how easy this boy's life must have been thus far, for him to be able to smile like he does.
In the back of his mind, Shisui wonders when he's going to see her again.
Both of them are curious-almost despite themselves-as to just why they find the other so interesting.
"-"
5
She starts haunting Team Fifteen's training grounds when she has the spare time, meaning less and less frequently-her Sensei has been pushing her harder lately; not that she minds.
Shisui takes more notice of her every time she appears, it seems; to the point where he can practically sense her before she's there.
He goes almost out of his way to meet her eyes by way of greeting, and she notices despite pretending not to.
Yoshino eventually gives up on trying to avoid getting mixed up with one of Orochimaru's prized students (she has never liked nor trusted the man), and allows Anko to join in training without complaint. As she doesn't want to ruin her team's important three-man dynamic, she often assigns Anko the role of 'enemy nin' in their simulations, a role the girl takes on with only partly-restrained gusto.
Shisui appears to be a particular target during these sessions, with the result that the two are butting heads alarmingly often. Less and less do the training sessions feel like a team exercise; they're more like sparring matches between two clashing individuals.
As time goes on, Yugao and Hayate become convinced that Anko and Shisui now walk the razor-thin line between hatred and a bizarre sort of camaraderie. Yugao observes that with time they could become something akin to friends, whereas Hayate has no doubt that they'll end up killing each other out of frustration.
Neither prediction turns out to be right.
--"
6
He's just turned fourteen, meaning they'll be the same age for a short while.
She shows up at the training ground (somehow it always leads back to that ground) after his cellmates have dispersed and he's alone practicing his fire jutsu.
"Your birthday, huh?" she says by way of a greeting.
He turns with no surprise; apparently he's gotten used to her abrupt appearances. "Yeah. How did you know?"
It was on the file Orochimaru gave her. She shrugs, managing to look uncaring and vaguely enigmatic at the same time.
They slip into conversation, about pointless things that neither one really cares about. Talking is just an excuse. Shisui asks what it's like to train under a Sannin. Anko asks how his fire jutsu works. Neither question gets a straight answer, and neither party particularly minds. It's a truce, however temporary; a quiet white flag that will probably only last until the night is gone. And this brief period of peace is relaxing-nice, even-for both of them.
In a half-second of impulsiveness Shisui kisses her.
And the corners of her mouth quirk up just enough to classify her expression as a smile.
1: End