For the first two months after the Uchiha tragedy the twins were cared for by a rotation of select chunin appointed by the Hokage. Although their physical hurts had been healed, and they had been discharged from the hospital, their minds were a completely different matter. Brittle, fragile, in need of constant reassurance that they had not been separated. They had been given single rooms, across the hall from each other, and yet they would always be found sharing a bed. Clinging to one another as if afraid to wake up and find themselves alone. They refused to eat or bathe unless the other was present. If one of the chunin got too close they would tense, as if readying themselves for an attack. It was quite upsetting to everyone involved. Even the Yamanaka counselor sent to help them found it slightly unnerving, almost as if they were one person rather than two. Even without any outward communication they would do everything in sync. It sent a shiver down his spine.
No one blamed the children for needing time to cope with the loss of their entire clan, or the betrayal of their elder brother. In one night they had become alone in the world, save for each other. It was understandable that they would be paranoid about losing each other. But it was hard seeing the two of them so unresponsive to the outside world. It took a lot of coaxing and counseling sessions before the twins started to react to the grief counselor. When they finally broke down and expressed the first vestiges of emotion, other than fear, since that night Yamanaka Ito felt relieved.
They showed no signs of suicidal thoughts or intentions. In fact they fiercely wanted to live, if only to protect each other. It was admirable in kids so young but he worried that it would make later relationship building difficult for them. He recommended that they be sent back to the academy as soon as possible. His hope was that being around other children their age would further pull them from their grief and ground them in the here and now.
Four months after the attack they calmed considerably and were learning how to take care of themselves and each other. Slowly they started being able to wander away from each other. It was only to different parts of the small home they'd been given but it was progress nonetheless. The Chunin were slowly withdrawn though there was still a rotation of Anbu guards to ensure that they were safe from any attempts to kidnap the last two Uchiha.
With further therapy and conditioning they began venturing out into the village a little more. Outside their home they refused to be more than an arms reach from each other but as long as they were able to interact with others Ito found no problem with letting them find solace in each other. No matter how frustrating it was to see children scared of losing a loved one he didn't push them too hard. Though it was slow going they were making progress and he didn't want to set them back by putting stress on them.
Around six months Ito reported that they were as settled as they were going to get for the time being. Only time and being around other people would help now. However he did report an interesting occurrence. Whenever a civilian came up to the twins to express their condolences Hikari would take her brother's hand and tap the inside of his wrist. Sometimes once and other times twice. Being the experts of psychology that they were Ito noticed a correlation that surprised him. Whenever a civilian was being sincere in their grief and condolences Hikari would tap his wrist once and Sasuke would begin to relax. But when a civilian was expressing condolences but seemed to have some other agenda she would tap her brother's wrist twice and the two of them would remain on guard the entire time. It was fascinating. Hikari seemed to have a natural ability to tell when someone was being honestly sincere and falsely sincere. Her brother did not seem to have this ability yet trusted his sister's intuition implicitly.
Finally the twins were given the option to return to the academy to finish their schooling if they wished. They seemed unsure of what to do, looking at each other for guidance. "I'll give you a week to decide. The academy is out on break right now so you needn't worry." There wasn't much else he could do for them now. It had to be their decision. Ito wished that children their age didn't have to suffer such a burden, and he was pretty sure he knew what their answer would be, but it was not his place. He reported to the Hokage directly and was dismissed for the week.
[Break]
The entire week they had been given the twins tried and failed to talk to each other. It became increasingly frustrating, being unable to talk to each other about all the emotions they were feeling, all the fears that came to mind. Sitting across from one another in their small living room Hikari chewed on her bottom lip, knees tucked against her chest and arms holding them in place. Sitting cross legged Sasuke glanced at her, one leg bouncing uncontrollably with agitation. They'd both come to the same conclusion, they had to talk this over.
"What do you want to do, Suke?" He shook his head, eyes falling to his empty hands. "I don't know, Kari. I just…" Looking up his eyes met hers and he didn't need to speak. She could see the fear, anger, and determination warring in his eyes. "I… I want to protect you." A reassuring smile crossed her face as she let go of her legs, letting them stretch out in front of her. "I want that too." He nodded. But something was wrong.
"Hikari… I want to get strong. So that nothing like… like that happens again. I don't want to lose you too." Something flashed across his face and she sat up straighter worried. "I think… I think you should stay home." Her eyes widened in shock. She knew what he was getting at and shook her head vigorously. "No! You can't expect me to stay home!" His hands clenched into fists and his eyes hardened. Hikari's heart felt cracked and pain filled her chest. "Why?" She asked softly. Sasuke looked away from her, unable to bear the pained look in her eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I couldn't help you and I- when I was knocked out I…" 'I thought I'd wake up to find you gone too.' It was clear as day. He was feeling guilty because he couldn't protect her from their brother. He'd failed and it was eating at him on the inside.
Standing, her eyes flashing angrily, she glared down at her twin. "Do you really think I'd let you walk into danger alone?" Startled he looked up at her in concern, though his determination hadn't seemed to waver. Gritting her teeth she stormed out of the living room. She heard Sasuke stand and hurry after her but she didn't turn around. She stomped into the kitchen with intent. Yanking open one of the drawers she pulled out one of the kitchen knives. "K-Kari?" He stuttered behind her, sounding distressed. Turning to look at him she led the knife in her hand, gripping the handle with white knuckles. Every line in his body screamed worry and confusion at her actions. He stepped forward, hand outstretched. "What are you-" Reaching behind her head she grasped her loose ponytail and set the knife against her hair. In one swift motion the hair parted easily and tumbled from her fingers to the floor. Sasuke's eyes watched the hair fall to the ground in confusion.
Hikari set the knife down on the counter before taking a deep breath. "Don't you dare try to leave me behind! Didn't I promise you? Promise that we'd get stronger together?" Only together could they ever hope to beat Itachi. Before it had been a childish dream to gain the attention of their father and the pride of their elder brother. But now… now it meant so much more. Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes but she stubbornly refused to look away from him. Walking up to her slowly, his panic dying down now that she'd put the knife down, he reached up and wiped away her tears. "…I'm sorry." His arms went around her shoulders and she gripped onto his shirt tightly as she cried. "I d-don't want to b-be alone." She whispered. Sasuke nodded and stroked her shorn hair gently as she shook.
Once she'd finally calmed down he looked at her hair and frowned. He knew why she'd done it. Cutting ones hair was to sever ties with the past. To distinguish between who she used to be and who she wanted to become. But he was going to miss her long hair. "C'mon, Kari. Let's get someone to fix your hair." She glanced down to the hair just laying on the floor, still held together with her ribbon. With a faint wince of regret she nodded.
It took some convincing but eventually the civilian hairdresser cut her hair in a similar style to her brother's. Looking at herself in a mirror she turned her head this way and that. Unlike Sasuke's hair hers didn't have a habit of sticking out. Rather it curved downward along the back of her head. It felt strange not to have the weight of her hair on her head anymore, and the back of her neck was oddly cold. Sasuke came to stand next to her and held her hand. They stared at their matching reflections and her grip tightened around his hand. 'We'll become strong. Together.'
[Break]
As one they made the decision to return to the academy. Ito chose not to ask them about Hikari's hair, for which she was grateful. She wasn't really sure how to explain the feelings that had prompted her to cut her hair so short. It was just something she had to do. The matching thing was less difficult to explain, but still not something she felt comfortable bringing up. Thankfully the counselor didn't ask about that either. He just took their answer, reassured them that they would be able to catch up with the rest of the class with some hard work, and left.
The first day they arrived back at the academy Mitsuru-sensei seemed baffled to find them in matching outfits with matching hairstyles. She wasn't quite sure how to react to them other than to ask them to take their seats. Sasuke sat on the outside and she sat in the middle seat, like usual. But unless they spoke few people could tell them apart now.
"D-do you mind i-if I sit here?" A shy voice asked her politely. Turning to see Hinata fidgeting slightly near the empty seat she smiled and nodded. "Sure, Hina-chan." Hinata smiled back at her and took a seat. Hikari felt grateful to her friend. If someone like Kiba or Naruto had sat there she wasn't sure she could handle them yet. Not to mention her brother was even more protective than before.
As class began she leaned to the side. "How did you know it was me?" She asked her sole female friend in a whisper. Hinata ducked her head, flushing a little. "Your chakra coils are a little different." She explained, also in a whisper. Hikari frowned. She'd known that girls didn't tend to have chakra coils as large as the boys but somehow she'd expected to be an exception to the rule. She found it hard to imagine herself being all that different from her brother, even though she should have known the differences would only get more pronounced as they got older. "I get it. I'll have to work harder, huh?" She gave Hinata a smile before turning her focus back on the teacher.
She glanced at her brother and his determined expression. They'd both have to work harder to catch up.