Chapter 20: It's Always Like This the First Time!
Shisui looked at Rei's profile, and in that moment, his heart felt as though it had turned into soft cotton warmed by the spring sun, drifting gently in the air without end.
His fluttering heart only settled back into place when Uchiha Itachi placed two oranges in front of him and Rei.
Itachi showed not the slightest awareness that he might be interrupting Shisui's romance. Instead, he simply stood to the side, watching Shisui and Rei.
Shisui forced his gaze away from Rei with great difficulty and turned it toward Itachi. Remembering the promise he had made earlier, he said, "Itachi, I'll guide you in training this afternoon."
Itachi's black eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded.
"Rei, do you have anything you need to do this afternoon?"
Shisui suddenly asked.
"..."
Rei had a bad feeling in his heart.
The very next second, his suspicion proved correct.
"This afternoon… could I trouble you to help us with treatment?"
Shisui told a small lie.
The tips of his ears turned red.
Rei noticed it very clearly.
He hadn't expected Shisui to be so greedy—wanting it all without compromise.
Not only did Shisui want to keep his promise to help Uchiha Itachi train, he also wanted to have the best of both worlds and court his crush at the same time.
How could Uchiha Shisui imagine such a convenient scenario?
The problem was... Rei truly couldn't refuse.
After all, what if, during training, both of them happened to get a little injured, and he then had the perfect excuse to get some "meat" out of the situation?
Wouldn't that be even better?
Even though his heart was eager, Rei had to appear extremely reserved—he absolutely could not rush in to act like a clingy medic.
A medic who delivered themselves to the doorstep wasn't worth anything!
Feigning a hint of doubt, Rei glanced at Itachi, who was still just a young boy. "Will training cause injuries?"
Rei, knowing nothing about the world of shinobi, naturally had no idea about the intensity of ninja training.
In theory, the level of force used in training could be controlled. But if it meant having more chances to spend time with Rei and earn her forgiveness, Shisui was willing to get injured.
And so, with a guilty conscience, Shisui nodded firmly.
Although Itachi didn't understand why Shisui said that, he didn't expose him. Instead, his dark eyes blinked and looked straight at Rei.
Rei's expression wavered in hesitation.
He glanced at the still-young Itachi and finally relented. "Alright."
Shisui's lips couldn't help but curve upward.
Itachi's gaze shifted back and forth between Shisui and Rei.
After a while, he finally seemed to realize something. Blinking, he reacted belatedly.
Although Kushina and Mikoto had been chatting and exchanging experiences the entire time, in reality, both of their ears had been perked up, eavesdropping on the young people's conversation.
The moment they heard Rei agree, Kushina immediately turned her head, her face blooming into a radiant smile, and said to Rei, "If you have a date, Rei, you don't have to stay here in the hospital with me! I might stay a while longer with Mikoto!"
"But..."
Rei still remembered Minato's instructions before leaving.
"Oh, don't worry! I'm sure Minato has arranged people to protect me from the shadows!"
Anticipating Rei's protest, Kushina cut him off before he could say anything more.
Mikoto also timely spoke to Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui: "Itachi, Shisui, if you have your own things to take care of, you can leave first."
Itachi looked toward Shisui, Shisui looked toward Rei, and Rei slowly stood up.
The three of them left the hospital room.
Kushina and Mikoto exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.
Completely ignored, left standing like a background prop, Uchiha Fugaku: "..."
Under Shisui's lead, Rei arrived at the back mountain of the Uchiha clan—the place where Shisui and Itachi usually trained.
On the way, Shisui kept introducing the Uchiha clan to Rei, and even bought dango for both Rei and Itachi.
The dango tasted good, but not as delicious as Shisui's meatballs!
Rei chewed on the sweet dumplings, thinking this quietly to himself.
The Uchiha's back mountain was extremely tranquil.
The thick canopy of trees filtered the sunlight into patches of light of all shapes and sizes.
The light was not harsh at all.
While Shisui trained with Itachi, Rei also watched them, quietly trying to pick up some techniques.
Targets for practicing throwing accuracy were hung all throughout the forest.
Uchiha Itachi's shuriken throwing was incredibly precise.
Even an outsider like Rei could tell it was impressive—
Not only were his movements relaxed and fluid, but every single throw hit the bullseye.
Despite his young age, Uchiha Itachi was exceptionally composed, showing not the slightest pride or arrogance toward his performance.
"Really good!"
"Itachi!"
Shisui clapped his hands, offering his praise.
His gaze, almost instinctively, drifted toward Rei, and then he suddenly asked, "Rei, do you want to try?"
"What?"
Rei froze for a moment.
"Shuriken."
Shisui took a shuriken from his ninja tools pouch and placed it in his palm.
Rei felt his curiosity itch, and his hands itched to try as well.
Under Shisui's encouraging gaze, he picked up the shuriken.
A trace of a smile flashed in Shisui's eyes as he began explaining in meticulous detail the key points of throwing a shuriken.
From technique, to force, to direction, to posture... he left nothing out, passing on all his experience to Rei.
Rei's mind understood everything clearly, even mapping out the parabolic arc in his head—but it seemed his hands didn't get the message.
Mimicking Shisui's demonstration exactly, Rei released the shuriken… only for it to drop to the ground halfway to the target.
It lay pathetically in the grass, not even cutting a single blade.
Rei: "…"
The air fell into complete silence for a full minute.
Somewhere, a crow flew overhead.
Its loud cawing only added to the awkwardness.
Rei calmly picked the shuriken back up. He blinked and looked at Shisui and Itachi, both frozen like stone statues.
"Go ahead and laugh if you want to."
"No need to hold it in."
"Either way, I can tell at a glance."
Rei spoke flatly, his expression utterly emotionless.
Shisui: "…"
He absolutely did not dare to laugh.
"It's always like this the first time." Shisui said dryly, trying to comfort Rei.
Of course, whether it was him or Itachi, the first time they held a shuriken in their palm, they had hit the bullseye.
Naturally, that was not something he could say out loud—it would only hurt Rei's confidence.
"Just a bit more practice and you'll be fine."
Shisui continued his reassurance.
After all, skill comes from practice, and he truly believed that with persistent effort, Rei would surely master the art of shurikenjutsu.
Rei shook his head without hesitation. "No."
He had never been one to work hard at things he had no talent for.
He would rather spend his time and energy on his strengths.
And of course, if one were to say that wherever he fell was where he chose to lie down, Rei would admit to that as well.
Because Rei was simply someone who could not withstand setbacks.
Rei's firm and unhesitating refusal left Shisui momentarily stunned.
Could it be that Rei still rejected the idea of being a shinobi?
Was that why he resisted using ninja offensive techniques?
Rei had no idea that his simple refusal had been completely misinterpreted by Shisui as a deep-seated aversion toward being a ninja.
"I can use this."
Rei extended his hand with childlike innocence.
Countless wooden spikes burst forth from his position, shooting in all directions like bullets tearing through the air.
The sharp sound of air being pierced and the heavy thuds of impact rang in Shisui's and Itachi's ears.
The finger-length, razor-sharp wooden spikes pierced straight through the bullseye and embedded themselves deep into the tree trunks behind. More than half of the spikes were lodged inside the wood.
The speed and penetrating power were astonishingly strong!
***