Bonus Chapters every 200 Power Stones
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X791]
~ With Shisui ~
A few hours had passed since their reunion, and the four mbers of Cri Sorciere now sat around the campfire in a loose circle. The initial emotional storm had settled into sothing more manageable, though the air was still filled with unspoken questions and half-processed feelings.
Ultear had chosen the spot directly across from Shisui, her face still flushed with embarrassnt over her earlier display of vulnerability. She'd pulled her cloak up around her shoulders, trying to make herself small while simultaneously stealing glances at him when she thought no one was looking.
redy sat to Shisui's right, close enough that she could reach out and touch him if she needed to confirm he was really there. Her eyes never left his face, taking in every detail as if she was trying to morize him all over again. Shisui had changed in more ways than one. The tears had stopped, but the emotional reunion still clung to her. anwhile, Jellal had positioned himself with his back to a tree nearby, maintaining enough distance to give the others space while staying close enough to be part of the conversation.
The comfortable silence that had settled over them was broken when Shisui leaned forward to tend the fire. He prodded at the burning logs, sending fresh sparks up toward the star filled sky until it settled into a steady burn that would last for hours.
"What happened to you?"
redy's voice was quiet, but it carried clearly in the still night air. The question had been building inside her since the mont she'd heard of his supposed return from his supposed death. The changes she could feel in Shisui was also astronomical. Especially emotionally.
She needed to understand where he'd been, what he'd endured, what had changed him in the years they'd been apart.
Shisui set his stick aside and looked up at her, eting her gaze directly. The firelight played across his features, highlighting the subtle changes that marked his ti away. He looked much older sohow, both in years and in experience. There was a weight to his presence now that hadn't been there before, a sense of soone who had found answers to questions he'd been carrying for a very long ti.
"Where do I even begin?" He said finally, his voice carrying a mix of weariness and acceptance.
Jellal and Ultear leaned forward slightly, their curiosity piqued. What surprised all three of them was where Shisui chose to start his story.
"I've never told anyone this yet, but my na is not just Shisui as I had most believe. I was born to the Uchiha Clan, and given the na Shisui by my parents."
As he spoke, he lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing the red and white fan symbol that adorned the fabric underneath his outerwear. The sa symbol that decorated the backs of their Cri Sorciere cloaks, worn by each of them as a mark of their alliance and shared purpose.
Understanding dawned on their faces with almost comical synchronization. Ultear's eyes widened in mortification, her hands flying to cover her face as the full implications hit her as redy's mouth dropped open, her gaze darting between Shisui's symbol and her own cloak as embarrassnt flooded her features.
They'd been wearing his clan's emblem for months without knowing what it ant. Walking all throughout Ishgar with the mark of his family displayed proudly on their backs, advertising a connection they'd never understood.
Shisui's laughter filled the clearing, rich and warm and entirely without mockery. The sound eased so of the tension that had been building, reminding them all why they'd been drawn to him in the first place. Even in monts of revelation and emotional weight, he sohow managed to find lightness.
"I don't mind it. You two are like family to . If anyone has the right to wear the Uchiha emblem, it's the two of you. And you of course, Jellal." He said, his smile genuine as he looked at each of them in turn.
Ultear peeked at him through her fingers, her expression softening despite her embarrassnt. redy felt warmth spread through her chest, the kind of belonging she'd never expected to find outside of her bond with Ultear. Even Jellal straightened slightly, surprised by the inclusion and touched by the acceptance it represented.
"The Uchiha Clan was one of the founding families of my village," Shisui continued, settling more comfortably into his story now that the initial awkwardness had passed. "We ca from a place called Konohagakure, also known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
His voice took on a different quality as he spoke about his ho. There was love there, genuine affection for a place and people that had shaped him into who he'd beco. The three listeners found themselves drawn into his words, picturing a village unlike anything they'd experienced in Fiore.
"It was a militaristic village, yes, but it felt like family for all Konoha Shinobi. The Uchiha were respected, even feared for our abilities, but we were part of sothing larger than ourselves. The village operated on the principle that everyone had value, that protecting each other was the highest calling a person could have."
Shisui's eyes grew distant as he spoke, lost in mories of better tis. He told them about the training grounds where he'd learned to fight, about the sense of belonging that ca from being part of sothing greater than individual ambition.
But as he continued his story, his expression began to change. The warmth faded from his voice, replaced by sothing harder and more painful. His shoulders tensed slightly, and the easy smile disappeared from his lips.
Ultear, redy, and Jellal recognized the shift imdiately. They'd all lived through enough trauma to understand the mont when soone's story turned from light to darkness. Whatever ca next would be harder to hear, harder to understand, and impossible to undo once spoken.
None of them interrupted. They simply waited, offering their silent support as Shisui gathered himself for the more difficult parts of his tale.
"Where I ca from… The Village Hidden in the Leaves was only one of five major villages, with multiple minor ones scattered around them." Shisui said finally, his voice dropping to sothing barely above a whisper,
His expression darkened further, shadows playing across his features that had nothing to do with the firelight.
"Between the five major villages, War was the only constant. And because of the war, each village was forced to send out..." He paused, the words sticking in his throat like broken glass.
"Children."
~ End of Chapter 98 ~
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