My Name Is Uchiha Sakuya
Summary: What if a girl somehow ended up being reborn in another world as Uchiha Sasuke's twin sister? Will she find a way to survive the impending massacre and change her future or will she die leaving history to unfold by itself?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but my OC is mine. This is not a self-insert.
Chapter 5 - Aptitude
It was our 4th birthday and we managed to convince our parents to let us celebrate it at the Naras. Shikaku-sama once joked that he'd let us ride one of the gentler fawns when we got a little older and we managed to cash in that promise with a double-dose of troublesome pleading.
Thankfully, Rikumaru's mother wasn't too against having kids riding her like a horse. It was...fun. Deer were unexpectedly mountable...if they weren't jumping.
We had another surprise though. Somehow, without me or Sasuke knowing, Shikamaru managed to make another friend that could put up with his attitude.
I was a bit surprised to learn that the Ino-Shika-Cho weren't forced on each other as children. Oh, I know they must've been around each other a lot as infants. But, as fully conscious brats, they managed to somehow gravitate towards each other on their own without their parents' prodding.
I have to say, that was smart. It's the friends that you make rather than the ones forced on you that last. And, I get the feeling that Shikamaru hit the bull's eye when it comes to emotional heartstrings with Choji. Everything about him screamed bullied child. And that child was now following Shikamaru around like a duckling.
Ah well. At least it assured us that lunch was godly. Sasuke couldn't help but admit that it might actually be better than our mother's cooking. That's Akimichi food for you.
Speaking of our mother, she came over with us today since it was our birthday and everything. She was conversing with Yoshino and Choji's mother whose name I have yet to ask in the living room. They were talking about perfectly normal mother stuff. But, it was a big deal for me.
I panicked for a while wondering if none of my efforts were working. There was only so much a child could do. It was still glaringly obvious to me how the growing rift between the clan and the village was starting to make things unpleasant. But, looking at them so relaxed with each other gives me hope.
"Sakuya, look! The cake looks like our clan symbol!" Sasuke said excitedly. In contrast, I frowned at the confectionary.
"Seriously? That's really unimaginative." I commented. I felt Sasuke's light ribbing and heard Choji's muffled chuckling in the background.
"Hmph. You are so hard to please." I heard Shisui-nii say. He popped up out of nowhere.
Oh. So he's the one that got it. Now, it isn't so unimaginative. I'm fairly sure he did this just to joke with me.
I've always asked about the clan symbol and how it practically begged for puns. I mean it. Our clan name is Uchiha and the Japanese word for fan was Uchiwa. So, yeah.
"Don't tell me. It's chocolate." I said dryly. He grinned cheekily.
I don't really like chocolate much. I'm fine with most sweets but chocolate is the exception. I think it's because of the trauma I endured as a child being operated for tonsillitis due to eating too much of it. That was when I discovered that, in my former life, I was allergic to penicillin.
The doctor didn't know. My parents didn't know. I think I almost died when they injected it into me to deal with the bacteria. What was supposed to be a simple operation turned into a dragged on drama in the ER. When it was all over, they had to make me wait until they figured out what alternatives I could use.
It was horrible.
I don't really have that problem anymore with that, different body and all, but the trauma carried I guess. Chocolate makes me back away now.
"We should save your piece for Nii-san. He loves sweets." said Sasuke. He isn't as into sweets either but our brother is a different story.
"But he's on a mission." I frowned. We had refrigerators here somehow that run on seals but there was no telling how long it'll take Itachi to get back home.
"Just put it in a storage scroll." Shikamaru suggested like it was the most obvious thing. He was right.
Storage seals provided for airtight containment that not only killed the chances of the food getting spoiled but also made it easier to carry around.
The ones sold in the market had limited capacity and were expensive though. There was a reason why Itachi limited his use of them for his missions. They were useful, yes, but dependency on them made for quite the scary hole in the wallet.
"We don't have any and we don't know how to use them." Sasuke said for me. Shikamaru sighed and grabbed some paper and ink.
Lazily, he scrawled perfect calligraphy on the paper and then put a slice of cake in the middle. It disappeared and the seal became active, no longer being just ink.
I stared at it. Then, I stared at him. Then, I stared back at it.
"What just happened?" asked Sasuke, dumbstruck.
"I sealed it for you."
He might as well have just rolled his eyes and said Duh! But, it still doesn't explain anything.
"You just made a seal. All by yourself." I said to him.
"Yeah. All you really need is paper and ink." he shrugged.
I stared at the seal again. I brought it to my hands and, yes, I can sense that it was active and thrummed with some chakra. Yes, I could tell that something roughly the size of the cake slice was inside.
He just made a seal, the veritable machines of this world, just like that.
"Don't you ever learn anything from what your parents teach you?" Shikamaru looked miffed that he had to explain. Like, we should've known what he did already. But, my expression probably goes like, No, I don't. Because, that's the face both Sasuke and Choji were making.
"Uh, Tou-san taught me how to stick a leaf on my forehead yesterday." offered Sasuke.
Shikamaru gave him an unimpressed look. After all, that low-level chakra control exercise was nothing in comparison to making freaking storage seals on his own.
"Wow. As expected of Shikaku-sama." whistled Shisui. Even he didn't get an education that extensive.
It was getting increasingly clear that while Shikamaru was seemingly undertrained, his education as clan heir was actually quite advanced. It makes me feel like all my efforts were nothing in comparison.
It actually makes me wonder. Why the heck was Shikamaru considered one of the dead-lasts when he graduated the Academy in the series? Surely, his parents would've noticed that he was literally throwing his education down the drain. I can get Shikaku-sama but how could Yoshino-sama let him get away with it?
"Storage scrolls are useful and that's why they're expensive. Our clan utilizes them for many different dealings so it's more economical to just make them. My parents pounded into me the basics of making the standard seals used by ninja like flash bombs, storage scrolls, water scrolls..."
"Explosive notes." I added in interruption. When you think commonly utilized ninja seals, it's usually storage scrolls and explosive notes.
"Yes. Those too. I'm not allowed to make them without supervision though. And, I don't actually want to. I don't want to accidentally blow myself up."
I felt a little bit of relief. At least he's learning in a safe environment. But, this opens up something to me. Fuinjutsu. Was it really as simple as Shikamaru said? I know that he has a tendency to explain things as if they were super simple but...
Paper and ink? That's really it?
"Oh no. I know that look. I'm not teaching you anything." Shikamaru said in advance.
Damn. That was a point for him. He was getting really good at telling whether or not I wanted something.
"Can you at least give me pointers?" I whined. This really interested me.
Seals were reality warping shit. Hell, it was a seal that put the bijuu into people. It was a freaking seal that made Edo Tensei fucking possible. Seals were a big deal!
"There's a library. Use it." he said to me.
"But it's so far~" I whined.
That was no exaggeration. It was no trouble getting to the village library open to all from the Nara compound. They probably don't need it what with their own secret archives and stuff but it was for the benefit of my example.
In comparison with the Nara's corner of the village, the Uchiha Compound was annoyingly far from the city center. It was annoying not only for that but also for the police force because it made responding to hails a lot more difficult.
I know that the reason for that is probably some sort of diplomatic shit. I remember the move. We weren't living in that area before. It was only after the kyuubi attack that we were. Given the historical notes about how Uchiha Madara could control the kyuubi with his sharingan, it didn't shock me that the council would fear the Uchiha and assume they had something to do with the incident.
They were half-right. An Uchiha was responsible. But, it wasn't the clan's doing.
"Why don't you just, uh, borrow books in bulk?" suggested Choji.
He was mostly hesitant to socialize with me and Sasuke for fear of rejection so he was more or less invisible. This was his first actual attempt to reach out. I forgot that it was for a second and possibly made his heart stop.
"Choji, you're a genius!"
I snatched him up into a tight hug. I was so happy he reminded me that libraries have borrowing systems. There was such a thing here as clearance level though but I'm pretty sure I can get my hands on the stuff I need regardless.
"Great. She'll be reading all day again. This is your fault." Sasuke blamed Shikamaru. The Nara just made a lazy wave of dismissal. Whatever we do is on us.
Shisui was laughing out loud.
I was meandering out of the library with a whole trolley of books and scrolls when a Hyuuga suddenly appeared before me.
"Ojou-sama." he said respectfully. In confusion, I turned around to see who he was talking to. It was far too early in the morning so there wasn't anyone there but me.
"Hinata-sama sends her apologies for not being able to attend your birthday party. Please accept her present regardless."
Okay. That just made clear that he was talking to me. It was...weird, being referred to that formally. Is that why Shikaku-sama keeps insisting that I call him normally?
"Um, thanks?" I accepted the suspicious scroll being given to me hesitantly.
Oh, I knew that this guy was a Hyuuga and that he wasn't faking his appearance with a henge. The eyes were a dead giveaway. I also knew that he wasn't really lying going by his body language. But...what?
He disappeared in after a short bow with a shunshin. It was like he just finished a mission or something. Fine, the Uchiha were technically nobility too but that was the first time I just registered that other clans really were that stereotypical.
I just got handed a present through a servant. It was...weird.
The scroll came with a letter attached. It wasn't actually written in Hinata's handwriting. Figures that even in gift-giving, she was being influenced as to what was proper and stuff. It was obviously her father's handwriting.
It has come to our attention that you've been interested in fuinjutsu.
May these texts prove useful to your studies. - Hyuuga Hiashi.
Yep. It was her father.
I thought back to the last time I saw Hinata. She looked like she was ready to fall apart right then and there in her fear. I insisted that she get her present then because, well, it was the reason we came there in the first place. Also, I hoped that it could help her cope with the incident. I got her a scarf because I thought it was appropriate. Her birthday was smack dab in the middle of winter. We don't actually experience snow, only occasionally, but it still gets pretty cold when the season comes in.
It wasn't too much. It was just a soft muffler to put around her neck with a nice lavender shade. I didn't make it of course. I suck at handicrafts and all that stuff. Even cooking is beyond me because I don't particularly like going near the stove. I knew that I'd have to get over the fear of fire eventually, given that the Uchiha were known for their fire techniques. But...not yet.
I knew how to seal and unseal stuff from scrolls. It was actually super easy, anyone could do it. I hesitated opening the scroll, not sure if there was only one book or more than one. I waited till I got back home until I did.
The stuff inside was more than I expected. There were books on the basic fundamentals of fuinjutsu, typically the accepted Konoha style. But, there were also brushes and chakra conductive ink. The nice kind too.
I felt a little winded.
That was a very generous gift. Are they perhaps feeling like they owed me? I suddenly want to fast forward to Shisui-nii's birthday just to see what they're going to give him.
"You got stuff too?" I heard Sasuke say from the door. He was holding a familiar looking scroll with the Hyuuga crest on them.
"They're from Hinata." I said but not really said it. It explained absolutely nothing.
Sasuke unsealed his scroll and out came a couple of fancy looking clothes. The Uchiha were rich and tended to put a stamp on all their articles, true. But, we weren't exactly the type to parade around in expensive looking yukatas.
"We should've gotten her a better scarf." he commented. All of a sudden, the gift felt...lacking.
"You think she's okay? I haven't actually thought about it much lately." he confessed to me. It wasn't that he hasn't been thinking of it. He's just been trying his best not to. She was probably fine anyways and needlessly worrying was just going to stress him out.
"She's probably the safest she's ever been. But, I do worry about her. We haven't seen her in months."
Sasuke and I used to at least see her once a week when she comes to play at the Naras. When Hinata is around to come play, she usually ends up socializing with Sasuke more than me and Shikamaru. The two of us are, as Sasuke put it, weird.
It probably should've been different. The girls and the boys should've separated into gender groups, as is the norm. But, Shikamaru and I were far more compatible than him and Sasuke. They were too contrary.
So, Sasuke probably has more invested in determining the Hyuuga's welfare than me.
"Do you think they'll let her out soon?" Sasuke asked hesitantly. I took note that he didn't ask why they were keeping her under lock and key for so long. He understood that end already.
The political debacle with Kumo mostly ended up being in our favor. It really was a good thing that Shisui decided to take non-lethal measures and thought ahead. Had he killed that guy, Kumo might've demanded for his corpse. But, the tension it caused kept people, especially the ninja, wiry for a long while. Even after it was concluded, it didn't really stop. The Uchiha were especially wiry too considering that we technically got involved.
"Maybe. Either way, we'll probably all end up in the Academy together anyways." I shrugged.
Sasuke didn't say anything else but I knew that this conversation wouldn't truly be over until he sees to it that she really is fine. Sasuke really is a great friend to have.
I eyed the supplies that were given to me and, while a little hesitant to use them, determined that not utilizing them would be such a waste. Returning them would be rude anyhow. But, I did bother to make a short letter for Hinata's father to thank him for bothering and to subtly tell him that he really doesn't need to. We just happened to be there. It was a matter of circumstance. To Shisui, it was duty.
He didn't owe us.
"Sharingan?" I paused for a second.
I looked towards Sasuke to find some confirmation. He never lies to me, or to anyone. He wouldn't be able to either way if I'm his conversation partner. And, he didn't look like he was lying.
"Nii-san's eyes were different, and he was crying." Sasuke looked worried.
"Hm. The sharingan usually manifests in stressful combat situation. It must've been his mission. Did something bad happen?" I asked.
This might actually give me some answers. Why is it that Itachi was so driven? So much that he'd throw away his heart for Sasuke's sake.
"He didn't say." mumbled Sasuke. "H-He's going to be fine right?"
I blinked at him. Of course Itachi's going to be alright. The sharingan is an obvious boost to his ability. He'll probably be getting higher-tier missions soon.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. If worst come to worst, he'll have his teammates with him." I reassured Sasuke.
"Oh. Teammates. So, no one will try take him, right?" he asked uneasily, as if I really do have all the answers in the world.
I paused at his question. Sasuke...He wasn't worried about Itachi. He was worried about what might happen to him because he finally got his eyes.
The Hyuuga incident... Oh.
"Yes." I did my best to sound sure. I am sure because there's no way he would go down so easily like that.
"There's no way Itachi would get taken away. He's too strong for that. And he's with friends." I said reassuringly.
Teammates are friends. That would let it sink in faster for Sasuke.
"R-Right." mumbled Sasuke.
Fear really was an awful enemy.
I gestured him to come closer and let him settle by my side. I just hugged him until we both fell asleep.
We were five and full of life. Sasuke was a lot better now in his basic skills and even threw in some of the styles he learned from me rather than Father.
It was pretty obvious that I developed my own style. It was rather difficult not to when I had background knowledge ingrained into my memory. The only thing I had trouble with was the disappearance my muscle memory but I rectified that with zealous private training. Father couldn't exactly say anything about it when they were so effective. It's not like he trains me a lot himself anyways.
I made some headway in my fuinjutsu studies and was able to make seals with confidence now. I can tell that Father doesn't really approve but, clan image or no, he can just suck it. Fuinjutsu were surprisingly fun and easy. Not to mention useful. I was toying with the idea of making my own seals but other things had to be taken note of.
"You better not leave me in the dust." moped Sasuke.
"Please. Graduating early is too troublesome. I'd rather not end up swamped with so much work so quickly."
That was a joke on Itachi. He was the perfect picture of a child who didn't get to experience childhood. He was always so awkward around me. I think it mostly has to do with how independent I am compared to Sasuke.
"Don't say that! You're going to turn into him!" Sasuke said frantically. It took me a second to figure out that he was talking about Shikamaru. I ended up laughing at his distress.
Academy admissions were coming soon. There would be a test to determine if we were within acceptable parameters for entry but neither of us worried. We were definitely getting in.
We committed a lot to training and studying. Our clan wouldn't accept anything less than excellent. We were representing not only ourselves but the clan as a whole being the clan head's children. It was only the heavy expectations soon come that worries me. Itachi's a difficult lead to follow.
Then, the bomb was dropped.
"W-What do you mean she's not coming?" Sasuke was the one who spoke for me. I was too shocked, too angry to respond. It was all swirling around my head and everything just froze in me.
Why?
"She's attending the civilian elementary school." said Father.
That was a blow worse than the first one. No one in the Uchiha clan ever went to the civilian school. It was unheard of. Even the ones that ended up becoming civilians still got their basic education in the Academy. The one for ninja. So, why?
"But...But Sakuya is really great and strong. She's better than me. Why isn't she going to be a ninja?" Sasuke pressed.
He didn't usually question Father and followed all his orders to a tee. But, this one was just something he had to fight for. He had to because I couldn't. It was obvious that it hasn't really registered to me yet. My hand was cold and gripping his tightly that it had to be broken now.
Why? Did I do something wrong? Am I unsatisfactory? It's not because I'm a girl. Even I know that's a bogus reason. Mother was a great kunoichi, a jonin even. There would be no sexism in this weighty decision. And yet, Mother is averting her eyes and agreeing to Father's unfair decision.
Why!?
"She can't." Father said with a snap. He didn't look too happy about it either but he said it like there was no other choice.
"When you were both little, Sakuya was diagnosed with chakra hypersensitivity. It's a sickness that manifests sometimes in excellent inborn sensors. She is much too aware of her own chakra that using it would hurt her." he explained stiffly.
At that, it finally dawned on me. It finally made sense. I never was the healthiest seeming baby. I visited the hospital far too much. It was because of this. Because of my ability.
Everyone was always so hesitant to train me, Father especially. I would always get wistful looks of disappointment, no, disapproval, whenever I did something well. I always tried hard to reach their unfairly high standards. I thought it was just a stigma of me being a girl.
I was wrong. The looks weren't because I couldn't reach the level of potential they wanted to see. It wasn't because I was untalented in their eyes. It was because they were under the impression that all of that effort I put in would be wasted. Because I can't be a ninja.
"W-What?"
Sasuke looked towards me in horror. He knew that I was unusually good at sensing people. He knew that I practiced chakra control exercises too. And now, he looked hesitant to back me up. Suddenly, it felt like his hand was burning me and I let go with a hiss.
"You...No." I said in denial. The abandonment hurt. The blatant slap to my face hurt. They were all resigned to giving up on me. They all thought I couldn't be a ninja.
"Sasuke is going." I pointed out. That was a big deal because, well, we're twins. We did almost everything together. I even shared my friends with him. We were inseparable. They were tearing us apart.
A small voice in my head betrayed me when I saw Sasuke's torn expression.
They already did.
"I worked just as hard as everybody. I did my best. Please, I want to be a ninja." I pressed.
I need to be a ninja.
I tried very hard not to let the tears slip. I tried not to break down. I felt like I was just stripped of my identity. It wasn't fair.
"Honey, please understand. We only want what's best for you." Mother tried to calm me.
What's best for me? Was planning a coup the best for their kids? Was festering in anger and pulling away from the other clans and keeping them away from actual interaction with other kids the best? Was agreeing to Itachi's early graduation the best for him?
I wanted to throw those facts at their faces, even the ones that I'm not sure I've fixed or not yet. But, I reined it in. Whining wouldn't do me any good. What I need is a solution. If they're going to hold me back, then I'll work around them.
I always get what I want.
"Fine. If you're not going to enroll me. I'll enroll myself." I said steely. I stormed out of the house and barely heard their cries. It was all a blur behind the painful betrayal and the tears.
I could enroll myself. It was allowed by the system. There were many orphaned kids who saw the life of a ninja as a way to escape their hopeless states and be something. But, not all orphans could afford to be there.
In the time of war, a suggestion was made about the induction of children into the Academy. Anyone who wanted to be a ninja was free to take the entrance test. Those who passed could enter and those who didn't couldn't.
Those who came from clans were normally backed by their own clan. All expenses, even the miscellaneous stuff were to be sponsored by their clan for their particular representatives. Those who were civilians but could pay provided for themselves accordingly.
Then, there were those who couldn't pay. These were usually orphans or people who were so poor, they just couldn't afford it. The Academy then provided for them. All their expenses were then put into an account that, should they graduate and become a ninja, would be remitted from their missions until it was fully paid, with an interest. It usually only took a year or two to do so it was a fairly acceptable policy.
Those who end up dropping out still have to pay the debt, of course. But, instead of being paid off by missions, they have to pay it off with whatever job they get in the future or be passed onto the orphanage they belong to.
Right now, I am more than ready to exploit that loophole and enroll myself. I could even present myself to the Hyuuga or the Nara and beg them to sponsor me just to add more insult to the Uchiha who wouldn't.
It wasn't unheard of that clans would sponsor civilian children that show great promise. Sometimes, jonin do it too, though with less political propaganda in mind.
But first, I couldn't take the test like this. Not when I'm so emotionally compromised. I hid myself and cried until I felt better. The sun was setting and I didn't even feel like coming home.
That was when Shisui-nii came to see me.
"I heard what happened from Itachi." he said. I didn't bother look up and see his face. I don't want to feel even more disappointed and betrayed.
"You understand that they just don't want you to get hurt, right?" He sat down by me and reasoned by proxy. He probably thinks the same as them.
"They gave up on me. They were all so ready to just let it go. They didn't even bother ask me what I wanted." I said bitterly.
It wasn't fair really didn't quite cover it.
"You know, Itachi often came to me when he was your age. He was always so worried about you. You were always going to the hospital and he saw you die so many times, he didn't understand how to handle it. It was all so new to him." he started.
"You kept forcing your chakra out and shorting yourself. The doctor said it was a common symptom for babies born with chakra hypersensitivity. You kept on struggling and crying when the doctors performed chakra transfusions on you. Everyone was afraid that you'd die. But you didn't."
I knew this. I knew it in my mind that I remembered those moments. I was barely aware at the time and was borderline hysteric. I was so convinced that I was drowning. But, I remembered.
"Then, several months later, just when you were finally getting better, the kyuubi...happened. You just shut down. They said it was your hypersensitivity. The evil chakra was getting to you, stunned you. Mikoto-sama rocked you for hours while trying to sooth you with her chakra. Tried to get you back. She didn't even put you down for the funeral and took you along.
Then, you shorted out again. That time, I was the one who ran you to the hospital. It was really busy in the village what with the relocations and construction so they weren't too sure where to go. I was faster anyways and Itachi practically begged me to do it."
This time, I did raise my head. It was the first time I heard of this. I knew I was confined again but I didn't know that Shisui had any involvement.
He had been there right from the start.
"You were so fragile and still in my arms. You were so cold. I didn't think I would make it in time. But, the doctors managed to save you. They kept you under observation for a while and put you in a protective ward. There was still a lot of lingering kyuubi chakra. They didn't want to risk it. You weren't the only one who suffered then. You were just one of the lucky ones that survived.
Your parents were hesitant to take you back when they did. But, the hospital couldn't afford to keep their doctors too occupied with patients that were more or less okay. For those first few months, Mikoto-sama didn't dare take you out of the house. They were afraid they'd lose you again.
Then, you grew up. You were so smart that even Itachi seemed normal in comparison. You picked up thinks really fast and even learned how to read before you were three through sheer stubborn effort. I still laugh sometimes when I remember how Itachi told me your first words were Read it."
I blinked. I didn't remember that. I knew that I slipped a couple of times but I didn't think that that was my first spoken word. Maybe, in front of Itachi, it was. I whispered to Sasuke all the time, like some cursing ghost.
"The thing is, they didn't want to make you sad too. They didn't have the heart tell you that they weren't planning on making you attend the Academy. Even the Elders were accepting of that even when you were turning out to be quite the mini-Itachi. They weren't trying to hurt you."
I mulled over that. I suppose, I was being a little selfish. From their point of view, things were a lot different. But, it still hurt.
"They didn't think I could do it. They...They were wrong." I chocked.
That was really the problem, wasn't it? They gave up on me too easily. They didn't even bother ask for my opinion, built me up only so they could tear my world down with a stern no.
"I-I can use chakra. It doesn't hurt. Promise. But, they were so sure. I knew, they wouldn't listen." I said with a wavering tone. The tears were threatening to come back.
"Oh, I knew that. How many times have I caught you trying to do shunshin already? What, 10, 11 times?" he said with a playful wink.
I blushed. 17 times. He caught me 17 times. And, despite that, he never called on me with the others. He never got me in trouble even if there was a real chance that I was hurting myself over trying because of that stupid diagnosis.
I begged him not to and made him swear not to tell.
"Then, why didn't you say anything?" I asked him. My voice was horribly hoarse.
"Would it matter?" he asked.
He was right. It was a family problem. He personally was involved but in the end, he was an outsider. Even if he told Itachi, my big brother would've just tried to swear me off of it while letting all of Shisui's explanations fly over his head or not bother to hear it at all.
He never did approve. He was far more against me doing jutsus than Father ever was. I didn't know why before but now I understood.
Itachi was always scared when it came to me and Sasuke. He made sure to peek into our rooms at night when we were sleeping, just to make sure we were there, after the Hyuuga Incident happened. He's got a protective streak a mile long.
"They won't sponsor me. I wanted to enroll myself." I said while averting my eyes. I didn't want him to get involved. I didn't want him to get hurt because of me. But, he was Shisui-nii. I could trust him.
"Would you do it? For me?" I asked.
It was evil of me to take advantage of the emotional investment he apparently had for me. It was evil of me to take advantage of his weakness to my pining. But, I needed to be a ninja. And I trusted him.
"Why don't you talk it out with them first, calmly. If all else fails, then I'll consider."
His words were soothing. He wasn't being complacent. But, he also gave me a chance. A choice. He gave me hope, a reassurance. That meant everything if I was going to face my parents, my family, again.
"I-I'll try. But you better keep your promise." I was desperately trying to hang onto his words. If I didn't, I don't think I could hold myself up.
"When have I ever broken a promise?" he asked with a smirk.
I felt my lips tug upward and relief well in me.
Shisui-nii never breaks his promises.
A/N: I learned that Itachi got his Sharingan at eight and that his birthday was June 9. Sasuke and Sakuya would have to be 3 year olds for the timeline to fit. But, it's a pain to change the story because of something like that so just assume that Sasuke only recently found out about the sharingan and that his brother had it since his bad mission from the previous year.