Meeting Shisui on the Back Mountain

After school, Kiyoshi headed toward the Back Mountain with his schoolbag on his back.

He had eaten at Mikoto's house yesterday, then lay in bed thinking for a long time after he got home.

Mikoto had remembered that he liked tea. She had casually asked about his training, then mentioned that Sasuke had been practicing hard lately.

Every remark sounded like casual conversation. Yet every remark made him feel it was anything but casual.

This woman is too smart. Dealing with her takes ten times more caution than dealing with Sasuke.

He entered the Back Mountain Training Ground, set his bag beneath a tree, and loosened his wrists.

He hadn't had a chance to train at Mikoto's house yesterday. He had to make up for it today.

He stood in the middle of the clearing, drew a deep breath, and began practicing the Basic Fist Technique. Punch, retract, turn, kick. His movements weren't particularly fast, but every step was steady.

He was still thinking about yesterday. Sasuke had sat across from him, looking uncomfortable the whole time, as though he wanted to say something but kept holding it back. He probably wasn't used to having an outsider over for dinner.

He finished a set, settled into his closing stance, and exhaled.

Then he heard a voice behind him.

"Your punches are good. But your center of gravity shifted when you turned."

Kiyoshi turned around.

A boy sat in a nearby tree, his arms wrapped around his knees, looking down at him. He had short black hair, a gentle face, and amusement in his eyes. His smile was sincere, without a trace of mockery.

Shisui Uchiha.

Anbu member, genius, Body Flicker Shisui. The one who had jumped off a cliff to kill himself in the original story.

Kiyoshi kept his face expressionless and said nothing.

Shisui jumped down from the tree, landed without a sound, dusted off his hands, and walked up to him.

"Did I scare you?"

"No."

"Good." Shisui smiled. "I was watching you practice. On that last turn, your center of gravity shifted to the right. If an opponent took that moment to strike your left shoulder, you'd be thrown out of position."

Kiyoshi looked at him without speaking.

Shisui tilted his head. "Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"

"You don't own the Back Mountain."

Shisui paused, then laughed. "Fair point."

Kiyoshi waited for him to continue, his face still blank.

Rather than leave, Shisui sat on a nearby rock and patted the empty space beside him, inviting Kiyoshi to sit too.

Kiyoshi hesitated for a second, then went over and sat beside him.

Two seconds passed in silence.

Shisui spoke first. "We meet again, kid from the Training Hall. Uchiha Kiyoshi, right?"

"Yeah."

"I've heard about you," Shisui said. "You're the one who introduced himself with 'Show me some respect and call me Bro Hao,' right?"

Kiyoshi's expression remained blank. "Who told you?"

"Mikoto."

Kiyoshi's eyebrow twitched.

Shisui noticed and smiled. "Mikoto and I are pretty close. Yesterday, she told me Sasuke had an interesting classmate who stunned the whole class with his introduction. I immediately put it together: the kid at the Training Hall who held his horse stance like a rock."

"...Why?"

"Because you don't look like someone who'd say something like that." Shisui studied him. "But you did. I wanted to talk to you that day at the Training Hall, but I never got the chance."

Kiyoshi kept his face blank and didn't respond.

His mind was racing.

Shisui had approached him on his own. That wasn't how the original story went. At this point, Shisui should have been busy with Anbu missions, with no time to bother with a six-year-old. But he had come, and he had come after hearing what Mikoto said.

Mikoto had given him a push behind the scenes.

But why?

Shisui didn't press him about his silence. He stood, walked to the center of the clearing, and took a shuriken from his belt pouch.

"Want to learn how to throw a shuriken?"

Kiyoshi looked up at him.

"That set of punches you did wasn't bad. But an Uchiha needs more than fists." Shisui spun the shuriken in his hand, its edges flashing in the sunlight. "Shurikenjutsu is a foundation every Uchiha needs."

Kiyoshi thought for a moment, then stood.

"Okay."

Shisui smiled and handed him the shuriken. "Throw one first. Let me see."

Kiyoshi took the shuriken and weighed it in his hand. He had never thrown one in his previous life, but this body had practiced a few times in Ninja Academy classes. He wasn't accurate, but at least he knew how to hold it.

This thing is heavier than I expected. They look like scraps of paper in movies.

He planted his feet, aimed at the distant wooden post, and flicked his arm to throw it.

The shuriken flew past the edge of the post and lodged in the tree behind it.

He had missed.

Shisui didn't laugh. Instead, he nodded seriously. "Getting that close on your first throw is pretty good."

"I've practiced at school."

"What they teach at school isn't the same as what you use in combat." Shisui stepped beside him and adjusted his grip on the shuriken. "Press your thumb here, not here. The power comes from your forearm, not your wrist."

Kiyoshi adjusted his stance as instructed.

"Try again."

Kiyoshi threw again. This time, the shuriken stuck in the edge of the wooden post. It missed the bull's-eye, but it was much better than before.

"You're improving fast," Shisui said. "A few more tries, and you'll have the basics down."

Kiyoshi's face remained blank. "Yeah."

Shisui looked at him and smiled. "You really don't talk much."

"I'm used to it."

"Used to it?"

"Yeah."

Shisui didn't ask any more questions. He handed him another shuriken. "Keep going."

Kiyoshi took it and continued throwing.

The sun slowly sank, and the woods grew dimmer. Shisui coached him from the side, sometimes correcting his stance, sometimes demonstrating a throw. Kiyoshi learned quickly. After a dozen or so rounds, he could hit the wooden post consistently.

He stopped to catch his breath and glanced down at his hands.

His throws were much more accurate now.

Leaning against a tree, Shisui looked at him and said, "You pick things up quickly. You work things out for yourself. That's much better than waiting for someone to teach you everything."

Kiyoshi didn't respond.

Shisui continued, "Mikoto said there was more to you than meets the eye. I'm starting to believe her."

Kiyoshi looked up at him.

Shisui smiled without saying anything more, dusted off his hands, and straightened up.

"I should go. I still have an Anbu mission."

Kiyoshi nodded.

Shisui took a few steps, then looked back at him. "Kiyoshi."

"Yeah?"

"If you want to practice, I'll stop by around this time now and then."

Kiyoshi looked at him, silent for two seconds.

"...Okay."

The corner of Shisui's mouth lifted. His figure flickered, and he vanished into the woods.

Kiyoshi stood where he was, staring in the direction Shisui had disappeared, and remained silent for a while.

He glanced down at the shuriken in his hand.

Shisui had approached him, taught him to throw shuriken, and even said he would come again. It wasn't a coincidence. Mikoto had told him about Kiyoshi. She had given him a push behind the scenes. But why? He couldn't figure it out.

Forget it. At least it's a good thing. Shisui can be trusted. He'll be useful on the night of the massacre.

He bent down, picked up a shuriken from the ground, and threw again.

It struck the bull's-eye dead center.

Even he was startled. He didn't show it, though. With his face blank, he walked over, pulled it out, and tucked it into his bag.

[System notification: Host detected receiving "Body Flicker Shisui: One-on-One Special Training." Face value +50 (Shisui's favorability increased). Awkwardness value +0 (pure instruction, no Jiahao elements). Recommendation: Next time, proactively ask, "Do you know the Body Flicker Technique?" for better results. Totals: awkwardness value 775, face value 950.]

Kiyoshi closed the panel, shouldered his schoolbag, and headed down the mountain.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long behind him.

He thought as he walked.

There had been good and bad to today's events. The good was that Shisui had come to him, establishing an initial connection. The bad was that Mikoto was nudging him from behind the scenes. She hadn't merely noticed him; she had already taken action. He couldn't be so casual from now on. He had to figure out what she wanted.

He emerged from the woods and squinted as the sunset shone on his face. A bird called somewhere among the trees. He didn't know what kind it was, but it was loud.

He kept walking.