Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The plume of grey smoke that filled the kitchen space was not a normal thing.
A young woman – fiery tight curls cascading down to the middle of her back, pale features, freckles across her pert nose, and deep blue eyes – was panicking. She rushed to the closest window with a smoking tray, pushing the wooden shutters open with such force that they slammed against the outside walls. “Damn it,” she said, her voice was husky, louder than what was considered a normal volume, and muffled in its pronunciation. “Damn chakra infused ingredients.” She coughed as she waved one of the white rags in her hand back and forth, trying to clear out the smoke.
Although she spoke aloud, she could not hear herself.
Her world was one of complete silence and she spoke aloud only for the benefit of the one other person in the home with her. Otherwise, she would have been just as silent. She didn’t like to speak aloud if she didn’t have to, preferred the words her hands formed. Yet, seeing as this friend of hers could not see her sign language due to his blindness, she had to speak vocally to him so he could hear her. Thankfully, she was very proficient at lip reading and could understand people that spoke to her if she focused on them.
She set the tray with the burnt baked goods down on the window sill and turned to look at the man who had been a family friend for years. “These ingredients are more volatile with the chakra,” she said to the man, noticing his shift in movement to stand a couple of feet behind her but out of sight of the window. She wiped her hands down on the rags, clearing it of lingering dough. She had commissioned for oven mitts but they had yet to arrive. She had to make do with what she had on hand. “I’ll need to adjust the temperature to account for the difference… or… maybe less of one of the ingredients…?” She placed her hands on her hips, thinking over what to do with the test recipe she was working on for the grand opening of her bakery in a few weeks.
A slight movement caught her eye and she focused her gaze on the dark haired man, his closed eyes – littered with tiny white scars – not detracting from the handsome looks he possessed. He smiled at the woman as he spoke to her in her native language, carefully enough so that she could read his lips. “Maybe you should take a break Illy, you’ve been at it since we got here. It’s not going to happen overnight and the grand opening is a few weeks away. We have time. Just relax.”
Reedah Illy, niece in all but blood to one newly named Reedah Yua, sighed as she turned around to focus her attention back on the tray. There was a slight pout on her lips as she studied the disaster of cookies she had been trying to bake. Cookies were the easiest thing in her repertoire. How could she mess up cookies?
It was more than just opening her bakery though.
This was going to be her entire world now.
Thanks to some mysterious and mystical forces, and choices she and her stepparent Maddy made for the sake of their loved one, they were in the village of Konohagakure.
The Hidden Leaf village.
A completely different reality.
It was something she had known as a series of manga and anime that her stepparent adored and she had grown up with because of said adoration.
Naruto.
The man, who had been a family friend for years, had turned out to be a jonin long thought dead. In reality, he had somehow found himself in their world.
Uchiha Shisui.
Long story short, her aunt had been secretly seeing one Hatake Kakashi via a magical portal in her bathroom for well over a year before he – and several others – had found themselves in Yua’s world. A lot had happened during their stay there and Yua was intent on moving to the village to be with Kakashi. Thanks to a special and very rare bond that had formed between them, Yua was the soulmate of the silver haired jonin and was developing a chakra network of her own. It was no question that Maddy and Illy would come along. They loved Yua, they would not let her go on her own. Yua had not been aware of the Naruto series so knew nothing of it. She would be going in blind. So they, as her family, had to come along to help. Also, the prospect of seeing a world they thought fiction…
Well, it escalated to not just moving to this world of shinobi but also making plans to bring changes to said world.
Changes that would hopefully save a good deal of heartache and lives in the long run.
Those plans included using Illy’s bakery as a base of operations.
And with this in mind, Illy was exceedingly nervous about not only making her bakery a success but making sure that it would remain protected. She could not train to become shinobi like her stepparent and step-aunt had been offered. She was simply a civilian…
Yet, she was the one who had the opportunity the others could not do at this time.
An important mission…
…
A white rag flew over her shoulder at that moment and out the window…
Illy sighed in exasperation.
Her mission: Keep one Uchiha Shisui company.
The challenge: To keep from losing her temper at aforementioned person.
She turned around to look at Shisui, her deep blue gaze focused on his lips as he started to talk. “Illy, everything will be fine,” he said, hesitating for a moment as he turned his head in the direction of burnt smell coming off the tray on the window sill. “Well… not for those cookies, that’s for sure. Are you sure you are a baker?” The smirk on Shisui’s lips showed the redhead that he was teasing her.
Illy let out a soft gasp as she brought a hand up to throw a rag at him, a look of feigned hurt on her pretty face.
Shisui dodged the the rag with ease, his smirk growing. “Oh don’t pout, we all have our bad days. Performance issues and what not…”
What the hell, thought Illy as she stared at Shisui with wide eyes. It hit her a moment later what she had read on his lips. She blinked before the laughter erupted out of her, the double meaning of those words hitting her funny bone in just the right way. She lifted her hand and flipped him off in response, her smile was infectious as she watched for Shisui’s response.
“… just because I can’t see it doesn’t mean I don’t know you’re flipping me off right now…” was all he said.
After reading this, Illy laughed even harder and turned back toward the window. She braced her hands on either side of the tray, trying to get some fresh air on her face as her laughter continued to bubble for a few moments…
…
She had the sudden feeling of being watched…
Her head snapped up, her eyes catching the gaze of a large crow with beautiful red eyes perched on a low tree branch close to the window. It was watching her with its keen gaze.
A shock of something went through her the moment her gaze met the crow’s.
A tingle in the center of her chest, straight to her heart, warm and sweet…
It was gone a moment later as the bird turned its head to the side.
The connection, whatever the hell it had been, was lost.
Her heart ached at the loss…
It did not help to ease the shock she felt at seeing the bird in the flesh.
She knew whose crow that was and in particular who it was tasked with following…
Illy whirled around to face Shisui, the laughter and smile gone. “Shisui, there’s -”
Shisui smiled knowingly as he moved to lean against the edge of the counter on Illy’s right side. “I know,” he said. “I called it here.”
Illy felt the blood drain from her face before it rushed back into a full blown blush after she read what the former jonin had said. “…WHAT?!” She bellowed out, her nerves getting the best of her. “What do you mean you called it here?!” She quickly moved away from the window, taking the remaining rag she held to wring it between her hands. “Oh my goodness, that means he saw me… He can see through the bird if I remember… Oh my goodness!”
It was no secret that Reedah Illy had an immense crush on the older brother of a certain Uchiha. After following his story from beginning to end, it wasn’t hard to understand why that was. The thing was that had been when it was a story…
This was the real deal.
And Illy was losing her cool.
She was about to have a full blown panic attack when she felt hands on her shoulders giving her a firm shake. She blinked and looked up at Shisui, her panic mode making it hard to focus on reading his lips.
It took a moment for her to calm down and for Shisui to repeat himself so that she could read what he was saying. “It’ll be all right. Breathe.”
Illy took in a breath and then two, calming down further as she stopped wringing the rag in her hands. She let out a soft sigh as she threw the rag onto the counter. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to call your crow? I would have kept the window closed. Now, he knows what I look like… This might cause a problem.” She turned her gaze back to Shisui to read his response.
“I didn’t know if it would work,” he said honestly. “I’ve been gone for years. But it did and he saw you. So what?” He let go of her shoulders and took a step back. “That’s not a bad thing. He can’t see, hear or sense me thanks to the jutsu I put around the house. No one can. Not unless I release it. He doesn’t know you… yet.” He smirked, knowing that she was ducking her head down in embarrassment. Years of knowing someone and their family helped to fill in the blanks of what he couldn’t see. “It’ll be fine. The only thing he’ll be wondering is why the crow sought you out but he won’t look further into it. You’re in Konoha. He won’t risk coming here for a stranger. Not unless you give him reason to.”
Illy glanced up at Shisui as she frowned. “Tim… what do you mean?”
Shisui’s smirk turned into a genuine smile at the sound of his other name that he used when he was in her world. It reminded him of his foster mother and an unexpected pang of slight homesickness hit the heart of him. He missed Jessica…
Turning his thoughts back to the situation at hand, he cleared his throat. “How quickly can you bake up some goodies for the crow to take back?”
Illy blinked in response. “…what?” She was not sure if she had read his lips correctly. Goodness, sign language was so much easier and quicker for her…
“How fast can you bake something for Itachi?” Shisui asked in a different way, his smile growing at the silence that followed.
“… What? Now? You mean…” The panicked look was returning. “RIGHT NOW?!” She turned away from Shisui and ran to the oven. “What am I supposed to send him?!” She asked this out loud but had also signed it in her panic, her hands trembling at the thought of making something for Uchiha Itachi. “I can’t use any of the ingredients here, I haven’t perfected it yet… Oh goodness, I -” She paused when she found a plastic container being thrust into her hands.
Illy glanced up to find Shisui smiling calmly down at her. “Just use what you’re familiar with. You already baked too many samples before we came here. Why not give some to him?”
Illy stared at her old friend, taking a breath to calm her rising nerves and giving a slow nod.
She could do that…
Yes, it would be a safer option.
She took the container with a grateful smile and turned around to move to the counter beside the oven, her eyes landing on the roll of twine and paper she had been using to give out samples to Naruto and Gai to distribute. She took in another breath and opened the container, staring down at her variation of passion flakies she had made. The square pastry was filled with jam and whipped cream but instead of a layer of fine sugar on the top, Illy had done icing for a messier but more enjoyable treat.
Pulling some paper and cutting off some twine, she carefully grabbed a few of the pastries and set to wrapping them up. She tied the twine carefully around the package, nice and secure, before grabbing it by the loops. She picked up the package and turned to find that the crow had moved to perch on the window sill beside the tray of burnt cookies.
It was watching her expectantly.
Illy smiled at the ebony bird and held out the package to it.
It clucked its beak, tilting its head so its ruby eye studied her and then the package. It seemed it could not see Shisui beside her but apparently could sense him. It turned its attention in the direction where Shisui stood, silent contemplation, before it carefully took the package in its beak. It glanced at Illy once more before it turned and flew off in a fluttering of great black wings.
Illy watched it go before she sighed, folding her arms beneath her breasts. “So… that’s that,” she said, her husky voice quieter than normal for her.
Shisui smiled in Illy’s direction, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder.
They stood that way for a moment before Illy glanced up at the dark haired former jonin. “… Is it normal to feel a jolt in your heart when you look at that crow?”
The surprised look on Shisui’s face would have made Illy laugh if not for the fact that he had turned to face her.
Now it was his turn to ask, “…what?”
Illy repeated her question.
Shisui did not respond…
Yet, the look on his face was very thoughtful.
He really didn’t have an answer to give.
He would have to ask Kakashi about it first…
-o-
The crow, surprisingly, returned several days later.
It tapped its beak against the closed shutters of the same kitchen window, being careful not to drop the piece of paper it held.
Illy was greatly surprised when she opened the shutters and saw the crow flutter down to the window sill.
When she had looked at Shisui, about to ask him if he called the bird, he shook his head. “I didn’t call it back. Does it have anything?”
Illy turned her attention back to the ebony bird and indeed it did have something in its beak. When she moved closer to the crow, it bobbed its head toward her, beckoning her closer. Illy came to a stop in front of the bird and held out her hand for the paper, which it dropped with surprising gentleness into her open palm. It then settled itself down and looked like it was going to wait for… a response?
Illy unfolded the paper – which was a torn piece of the packaging she had used before – and found it was a small note written in the native language for Konoha, which she did not know yet. She tried to fight down the disappointment. “It’s written in your language… I can’t read it and Maddy has the tablets locked away… Can’t ask you for obvious reasons…” She glanced at him, her gaze focused on his response.
“Oh, that’s all?” Shisui said as he smiled at the jibe. They were constantly poking fun at each other’s disabilities, had for years. True friendship is all one could say regarding these two. He reached up scratch his chin, lounging about at the dining table. “Well… We could ask someone to translate it for us.”
A faint blush rose up into Illy’s cheeks, subconsciously holding the note a little closer against her heart. “I… wouldn’t feel comfortable asking Kakashi… or Gai…” she said in reply.
“I was thinking more along the lines of family,” said Shisui in response. “Sasuke should be at the ramen stand with Yua about now.”
“Oh!” Illy’s deep blue eyes grew bright. “That’s right! He should be here soon for training.”
Shisui gave a nod and went back to tossing the kunai he had in his hand, his quick reflexes catching it each and every time. Despite not having his sight, he was still a very proficient and deadly shinobi. It did not help that his chakra levels had skyrocketed the moment they appeared back in his home world. The world where Illy hailed from did not have chakra and actually had an unknown force that actively tried to seal one’s chakra away. Shisui had spent years fighting to keep his chakra intact in that world. Returning to his true world had helped to not only escape his chakra from being sealed but made him stronger in his overall chakra levels and control.
One couldn’t ask for better motivation than the risk of losing one’s chakra.
He waved his hand, catching Illy’s attention from the note in her hand, and beckoned her over. “Come sit. We’ll wait till Sasuke gets here and he can read it to us.”
Illy blinked before she slowly moved to sit down on a cushion at the dining table across from Shisui. “Are you sure he’ll be ok with that?”
“He knows the truth,” said Shisui as he tossed the kunai once more. “He’ll be all right. It’ll probably help to know his brother is alive out there somewhere.”
Illy frowned at this but said nothing as she glanced down at the note.
They sat in companionable silence for awhile, the only sound being the sharp ting of the kunai as Shisui tossed it over and over…
About thirty minutes later, the sound of knocking and then the front door sliding open caught Shisui’s ears. “It’s me,” called a familiar young voice.
Shisui gestured to get Illy’s attention and tapped the table, indicating the one they were waiting for had arrived.
Uchiha Sasuke – all dark haired and brooding - had turned the corner from the entrance way into the dining area, stopping in surprise at the sight of Shisui and Illy apparently waiting for him. He blinked, his dark eyes flicking between the two adults, before he pulled his hands from his pockets. He glanced at Illy, a faint blush rising into his cheeks though he tried to fight it. He managed raise his hand in a gesture of hello.
Illy smiled and returned the greeting, her other hand still holding the note.
Sasuke turned his attention to Shisui as he walked further in and took a seat down at the table. “Is something going on, Shisui?”
Shisui turned his head in Sasuke’s direction, his closed lids still bringing a pang of anger in the younger boy. Sasuke hated that he could not do anything just yet to help his clan member against whoever had harmed him. The younger Uchiha still had to become a genin before Shisui would include him on whatever plans were being made. But that was not too long from now.
Sasuke had patience so he would train hard under Shisui’s tutelage.
He would also continue to assist Yua with her training to become genin. She had a longer way to go but it was part of the deal that he had made with Shisui.
If it meant that the Uchiha clan would be avenged in the long term, he would be patient.
“Illy received a note,” said Shisui, switching seamlessly into his and Sasuke’s native tongue. “She can’t read our language yet and I can’t see it to read it. So… will you read it for us? Need to make sure it isn’t trouble.”
Sasuke turned his gaze to the redhead, watching her. “A note? From who? It wouldn’t be from Kakashi-sensei, he knows her sign language…” He noticed the scrap of paper in her hand and glanced back up at her. “Is it safe?”
Shisui said something in Illy’s language, something that Sasuke could not understand. He had become familiar with it, thanks to Yua and Maddy constantly speaking around him, and even recognized words and phrases but it would be a few years under their tutelage before he could even be fluent like Shisui was.
Considering that Illy could not hear anything, yet still understood a person just from reading their lips as they spoke, floored Sasuke. It was one of the many things he admired about her…
He had been a little too focused on the sight of Illy’s blue eyes that he jolted in his seat when those deep blues were suddenly glancing his way. She smiled kindly at him and held out the note for him to take.
He tried to fight back the blush in his cheeks, ignoring Shisui’s chuckle, and opened the scrap of paper.
On it was a handwritten note in his language.
It was not the fact that it was written in his language that made his heart nearly stop.
It was the familiar handwriting that it was written in.
He knew this handwriting.
He knew it was something Shisui would have recognized if the older Uchiha had his sight.
“It says…” Sasuke swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, the emotion a little too much. “It… says… ‘What is this?’” He glanced up at Illy and then Shisui. “This is Itachi’s handwriting… how…?”
A loud squawk from the kitchen caught the boy’s attention and he turned his head to see the crow that was waiting patiently on the window sill.
Shisui smiled as he returned to chucking his kunai in the air, catching it deftly between his fingers. “One of my summons might have been keeping an eye on your brother on my command. I wasn’t sure if it was still around so I called it here a week ago. It showed up at the same window and caught sight of Illy. So, she gave it some baked goodies to give to Itachi.” The older Uchiha shrugged as if it were the most normal thing. “Seems a straight forward question to ask someone if they don’t know what something is.”
Sasuke stared at Shisui, knowing that his clan member was planning something but what he couldn’t be sure. “Ok… so…” He took in a breath and slid the note across the table back to Illy, who took it with a slightly worried look on her face as she studied the boy. “What did you want me to do?”
Shisui let out a soft chuckle. “Well, I need you to write Illy’s response for her but with my help. There’s a particular way we need to get this written and, since I don’t have my eyes, I’ll need yours for now. Will you help?”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he studied his clan member. Shisui was a little prankster, the boy had learned this very quickly over his time training with the older Uchiha. Not surprising that the former jonin got along so well with Maddy…
“OK…” Sasuke said in agreement after a tense moment of silence. He could not pass up the chance of communicating with his estranged older brother, even if it was indirectly. “What did she want to say…? Do you have pen and paper?”
If this would help Itachi home…
Well, the sooner the better.
Then, they could all focus on avenging their fallen clan.