T W O

She remembers the first time her secret space was occupied by another.

It's a little clearing, right next to Konoha's walls, in a clump of trees too small to be called woods but large enough to hide several buildings with ease. Hisano often goes there when she wants to be alone, traipsing next to cliffs and around a waterfall for half an hour until she arrives. The smell of water and rich soil, the sound of the waterfall and the soft, constant chirping of birds provide a sense of unique, flowing ease that soothes her soul like an icepack on a feverish neck.

No one else knows this spot, she assumes, except for some chuunin that happened to see her there once several years ago. She was planting some orchid seeds at that time, and they all curiously peeked at her while she squatted and dug with her hands. They never grew though, so she didn't try again.

This is the first time someone else has been here before herself. Hisano carries a picnic basket, filled with an assortment of fruit, her favourite caramelised apples, a few spare pastries with more excess powdered sugar than graceful and several blankets. The shop was getting a bit stressful so her mother allowed her to take a day off which led to her treating herself to a solitary, calm picnic. Hisano allows herself to relax as she begins to settle down, laying the blankets down and putting the basket on top.

"Hm?" she notices something gleaming in the grass. Curiosity fills her as she dusts herself off and heads towards it. It's a black, shiny knife, the ones that ninja use. Kunai, was it?

Picking it up, she studies it, flipping and turning it around in her soft hands.

"Ow!" A thin red line begins to appear on her palm. She smacks her own forehead. "Duh, it's sharp," she tells herself, "it's a kunai."

She spots another lying nearby and skips towards it, picking it up as well. There's bits of wood flecks on it, so she assumes these were used for training rather than for combat.

Hisano's eyes trail up the tree trunk and starts when she sees two figures peeking down at her.  It's an ANBU boy and a young jōnin with a mess of black hair and thick eyelashes. Obviously she had interrupted them, but Hisano crosses her arms.

"Hello," she says cautiously.

Their faces turn a little, and the sunlight filtering through the trees casts mottled shadows onto them. The breeze smells sweet and the chorus of little birds gives her an indication that neither has moved in a while. She clumsily fumbles with the kunai again, drawing their attention to the awkward way she is holding them by the hoops.

"This is my spot," she says stubbornly.

All the boy in the fox mask does is incline his head in an apologetic way before flickering away. The jōnin remains, however, an amused smile stretched across his handsome face. She blinks in confusion.

"I didn't say you had to leave though," she snaps at the empty air where fox boy previously crouched.

Nothing stirs except the soft ruffling of the jōnin's fluffy hair in the light breeze. A bit of a long and awkward pause before Hisano tries again.

"You're definitely there. If you can disappear that fast then you can come back just as fast," she argues and narrows her eyes at a random tree.

"She's got a point," chuckles the young jōnin.

After a moment, the boy in the fox mask appears from a different direction, quiet like a ghost. Hisano's eyes furrow in frustration that she got the direction completely wrong but she swivels to face him anyway.

"Can I get that back please?" asks the unmasked male, gesturing to the kunai she still holds.

"O-Oh, yeah." She throws the kunai up, flushing a bit when her aim is a bit off and tries to change the direction of the conversation. "What's your name?"

"I'm Uchiha Shisui." Shisui catches it easily, seemingly about to fall but instead he begins walking down the side of the tree. "And what is the fair maiden's name?"

"Oh, you're Uchiha Shisui," she blurts out and he only laughs. "I'm Aiuchi Hisano."

"Oh, you're Aiuchi-chan," he grins back.

"How do you know me?"

The response is a cheeky chuckle. "I've heard of your baking," he replies smoothly. "It would seem some people enjoy it quite a lot." She's the first person to break their eye contact when Fox flickers from the tree down to the ground a few metres away from her.

"Join me, then," she opens the basket and lets the waft of freshly baked pastries drift out. "I have enough to share."

The two males peek curiously at it.

"Looks amazing," Shisui coos but flicks his eyes up to the sky. "Aiuchi-chan, I have a mission soon, so I might have to take a rain check on your delicious food."

She rolls her eyes in a playful way. "Boo," she says and pushes him lightly, already being quite friendly. Something about these two ease her, and she's heard about Shisui before. He is quite famous in the village as not only a good ninja, but also as an Uchiha prodigy and Itachi's best friend. "Go go go, your destiny awaits."

"Cheeky," Shisui pinches her cheek and smiles kindly at her before turning his attention to his ANBU companion. "Fox, I have duties to attend to. I assume you can accompany this fair maiden for a little longer?"

A small dip of Fox's head, and Shisui flickers away.

The breeze tousles their hair as she observes Fox, who simply watches her, cocking his head curiously to see what she will do.

"Hmph." She trots back over to her picnic blanket and pats the empty spot beside her, feeling the soft fabric underneath her palm. "Come sit."

There doesn't seem to be any hesitation when Fox suddenly appears next to her, respectfully removing the tanto from his back and placing it beside him, off the blanket. Hisano gives a soft smile at that.

"Hello, I'm Aiuchi Hisano. I work at a bakery a few blocks down from the Ninja Academy, so, who knows, maybe I've met you before."

There isn't a reply, which is not surprising. She settles for a quick smile, and she has a feeling that the smile is returned. Her fingers work deftly at unpacking the basket, taking out several plates and putting all the pastries and fruit on them, rearranging them neatly.

"Want some orange juice?"

A slight shake of the head.

"Suit yourself." Hisano pours herself some in a white ceramic mug and takes a nice sip before munching on a caramelised apple. It's quiet and tranquil, and she closes her eyes while relishing the feeling of being in nature.

"May I have one?" She startles when she hears his voice, which although muffled the mask, sounds deep and velvety. Hisano shoots Fox a smirk.

"Take whatever you want, Foxy," she chortles as she takes another bite. Fox stares down at the platters before taking a strawberry between two slim fingers, turning away from her and lifting up his mask. The strawberry leaves are placed neatly in a pile as he begins eating with more vigour, one berry after another.

"Ah," she cranes her head up to the sky and falls onto her back. The white clouds move sluggishly as the breeze gently caresses the two. "You know, I tried planting orchids here before. I thought it would be cute and colourful, but they never grew."

"Try camellias." ANBU boy's voice sends a shiver down her spine.

"You think?"

"Mhm."

"Then plant some with me tomorrow." Hisano turns her head to face him, bold and comfortable despite their close proximity.

"...Okay."

.•° ✿ °•.

She squats down and digs with a little shovel. Some dirt sprays onto Fox's mask, who doesn't even bother wiping it off as he watches her amusedly.

"I swear if this doesn't work—" she groans as she wipes some sweat away. The sun's a little harsher today and it's stuffier, but spending time with Fox is a relief in itself. She does have an inkling of who he is, after all.

There is another picnic basket sitting underneath some shade. Fox doesn't know yet, but there is an assortment of flavoured dango which she baked at the painful morning hours of five to nine am just so he could have fresh ones. There are more berries and this time, some lemon tarts also.

"You need to dig deeper," comes his soothing voice as he crouches down beside her. With gentle fingers, he scoops out some dirt and places the very last seed down. She doesn't watch how he does it of course, not when she could admire how pretty he looks in the sunlight and underneath the leaves.

He is absolutely and terrifyingly radiant.

Hisano shakes her head and diverts her attention instead of thinking about him for any longer. Her throat becomes a little itchy: did she forget to bring the juice this time? Hopefully not, it is much too hot to not have any drinks.

"I'm tired," she moans and flops down on the blankets. Her eyes settle on the water that she did bring, and she happily gulps some down before offering it to him. While he hydrates himself, Hisano brings out the plates like yesterday, presenting all the food nicely. The dango are colour coordinated, lined neatly on the side and berries are scattered over the tarts. She hands a plate to him, trying to gage a reaction, but Fox simply takes it with a smooth 'thank you'.

Hisano rolls her eyes but starts eating her own food. Itachi has always been stubborn in his own soft, dignified way, while hers show in a more rabid but loving nature.

The duo eat in peace, juice trickling down chins as Hisano jokes around and Fox chokes on his food with a cough. That familiar, soothing pace is set again: the same one that she has when she's with him.

Hisano dares herself to speak her mind.

"You're Itachi, aren't you?"

"...No."

She hits his arm, pouting when there is no reaction.

"Don't be stupid, 'Tachi," she scolds. "You should have realised I'd know it's you as soon as you saw all the food I packed today."

"Hn." There's a little pause as she holds his breath, but Fox takes off his mask slowly.

Her beloved Itachi stares back into her eyes and she can't stop that stupid grin from spreading across her face. Inside her ribs, her heart beats a little faster, a little louder and she simply swoops a dango from his plate into her mouth. Hisano swallows, the smile there again, and Itachi rolls his eyes good naturedly at her evident adoration, but he isn't prepared for her next words.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?"

"Heaven is on earth when I'm with you."

.•° ✿ °•.

°•. ✿ .•°

I hope you are all feeling nice and fluffy inside ! sorry for late chapter, i've been hella busy and writers block is smacking me in the ass repeatedly.