The next three and a half years were filled to the brim with academy classes, personal training, and their monthly visits with Yamanaka Ito. The reports he made on the twins were steadily getting shorter as their issues faded over time. They might never come to terms with the loss of their entire clan, and the betrayal of their elder brother. Not that anyone could blame them for that. Finally, after countless sessions, the twins were starting to settle down and feel safe within Konoha's walls.
Every session after the first couple of months Ito spoke with the twins together before splitting them up and speaking with them one on one. There were just some problems that could only be dealt with out of earshot of other people, even if that person was your most trusted twin. Before splitting them up he always asked who wanted to go first. Making the decision themselves was a way to give them a sense of control over the situation, which lessened their anxiety.
This time around he was speaking with Hikari first. The twins had grown since he'd met them, going from children to pre-teens. While Sasuke was beginning to fill out some, with broader shoulders and more muscle definition, Hikari had grown slightly taller than her brother and remained quite slender in comparison. In a few more years they wouldn't be able to trick anyone with their similar appearance. Both still wore similar clothing, the Uchiha emblem prominently displayed. But now it was less a desperate attempt to keep each other close and more a show of clan pride or solidarity. After all the Uchiha clan had always favored high collars, dark colors, and three quarter pants or long shorts.
"How have you been this past month, Hikari-chan? Are you excited for graduation?" The girl gave him a smile that was bright, open, and friendly. Swinging her legs she looked up at him and thought for a moment, comfortable in the silence. Over time he had learned to differentiate between the twins due to their minor behavioral differences. It was nice to see that he didn't need to look deeper any longer. Hikari was always polite, cheerful, talkative, and active; the polar opposite of her brother.
"I've been doing well, Ito-san." Tilting her head slightly, as if listening to something in the distance, a small frown appeared on her face and her eyes slid away from him. Her hands gripped her shorts, almost as if she were afraid or anxious. "I… I guess I am excited for graduation. But… I'm also a little afraid." Nodding slowly he waited patiently for her to continue. Normally she would have been looking him in the eyes when speaking to him, as a common courtesy. Whenever she looked away like that he knew she wanted to work something out in her mind before speaking. "There are only three genin on each team." She said, as if it was some kind of confession. It dawned on him that she expected them to be split up. Two Uchiha on one team was a bit overkill. It was also dangerous. If their genin team met with tragedy and both the twins perished then there would be no Uchiha left in Konoha.
Ito knew from his talks with Hikari alone that a few of the more overbearing civilians had suggested she stay home and get married in order to restore the Uchiha clan. Those talks were the rare instances he saw her anger show through the careful facade she had crafted for herself. He'd passed the names of the civilians, or their descriptions, on to his higher ups in the hope that they would never bother the twins again. Telling a young girl to become the equivalent of a broodmare so Konoha could have bragging rights again was just awful.
Ito let the girl sit in silence, patiently waiting for her to finish her thought before she spoke again. "I think I'll start growing my hair out again." His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Is there any particular reason?" Hikari sighed. "We're not kids anymore. We're going to grow up and become shinobi. We can't keep hiding." Ito's surprise faded. Girls were known to grow up quicker than boys and Hikari was quite emotionally mature for her age. But he could sense her hesitation and discomfort with the idea of being separated from her brother.
"Can I ask what worries you most?" She readjusted in her seat, turning slightly away from him. "I don't know…" A frown creased her forehead.
"Hmm. Maybe that's what scares you? The not knowing." Her eyes flicked up to his and away again. Slowly she nodded. "What… what if I'm not strong enough to be a genin and fail the test? What if Sasuke keeps getting stronger and goes on missions where I don't hear from him for a long time? What if he gets hurt? What if he never comes back!?" Panic seized her and her breathe came in quick gasps. Getting out of his chair he knelt next to her, one hand rubbing circles into her back gently. "You need to take slow, deep, breaths. Remember what I taught you?" She nodded and took a few deep breaths.
"Five things I can see. Four things I can touch. Three things I can hear. Two things I can smell. One thing I can taste." As she spoke the panic in her voice slowly ebbed and her tense body relaxed. Ito stayed next to her as she went through the steps, only standing and going back to his chair when she was calm again.
"These are all things that could happen, yes. But that doesn't mean they are guaranteed to happen. You need to focus on the here and now." Looking up at him Hikari hung on his words, listening carefully and absorbing what he was saying to her. "I have faith in you, and so does Sasuke." A slow smile crossed her face and the last vestiges of doubt seemed to leave her. "Thank you Ito-san."
"You're welcome. Our time is up for now, Hikari-chan. Please let your brother know that it's his turn." Hopping out of the chair she left the room, calling for her brother. Ito chuckled at the grumbled response.
These kids were going to be fine. Or at least as fine as any shinobi could be.
Sitting between Hinata and Sasuke, Hikari tried not to fidget with nervous excitement. Iruka-sensei had finally come into the classroom and called them all to order. "We're about to start the graduation exam." Looking down at the list in his hands he smiled. "When your name is called come to the classroom next door." The man glanced around the room for a moment before he continued. "The test will be on the Bunshin Technique." There was a low groan from somewhere behind her but Hikari was too jittery to be curious. A hand tapped her thigh and she glanced at her brother, he was frowning at her. Setting her hand on the seat she waited as he drew out a character on her palm, a silent form of communication they'd made up together.
'Nervous?' She huffed, wanting to roll her eyes. Without looking she began to draw on his palm, stopping between each character. 'A little bit.' Sasuke shifted and she glanced over at him while Iruka-sensei called the first student, a boy with the last name Adachi. 'Don't be. We trained hard for this. You'll be fine.' Hikari couldn't help but to smile at him. Although he wasn't as talkative as he used to be her brother was still very caring. At least to her. With a silent laugh, the bare shaking of her shoulders, she drew a few new characters out on his hand and got a highly annoyed look in response. 'How much ryo do you want to bet that you end up with a fangirl?' Either he was annoyed that she'd mentioned his fangirls or he hadn't really thought about the implications of being split up. Maybe both.
"Uchiha, Hikari." She nearly jumped out of her seat when she was called. She locked eyes with her brother and he gave her a half smile, trying to give her confidence. Hinata politely got up so she didn't have to vault over the desk and also gave her an encouraging smile.
Stepping into the other room she saw Mizuki-sensei and had to suppress an urge to make a face. Although he was really friendly and kind she had never been truly comfortable around him. Not like with Iruka-sensei who seemed to exude a kind of warm acceptance and kind responsibility. Ito-san had told her that this sense she had of people, this gut feeling, was a good thing to have, but not to let it control her and make her paranoid. So she shelved her emotions and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Making the sign of the Ram she focused her mind and felt the prickle of energy that ran through her entire body. "Bunshin no jutsu." She didn't yell, as some students did, but calmly and firmly gave voice to the ninjutsu she was trying to perform. Immediately there was the faint feeling of something slipping away from her before another her appeared at her side. It was always strange to see a copy of herself, almost like having another twin. But this one wasn't real.
"Very good Hikari-chan! You've passed. Please come and get your headband." Smiling brightly she almost skipped over to the table as Iruka-sensei held out a headband to her. Bowing she took the headband from her teacher, former now she supposed, and headed toward the classroom again. "Aah, Hikari-chan. Can you please wait outside instead?" Turning back to Iruka-sensei she faltered before nodding and turning around.
Outside she leaned against the side of the building, watching other students as their parents congratulated them on their graduation. Gripping the headband tightly in her hand she nibbled her bottom lip. It didn't take long until her brother was walking out into the courtyard as well. Spying her he casually walked over and held up the headband. With a bright smile she hugged him, no longer anxious. "Now, where should I wear it?" Sasuke shrugged and immediately put his around his forehead, the traditional place most shinobi wore theirs. Looking at how it looked on her brother she shook her head. She didn't like how it looked at all. But it wasn't vanity that stopped her from wearing the headband on her forehead like her brother, even if she thought it looked kind of silly. She was actively trying to ensure people could tell them apart now. She wanted her brother to realize they wouldn't be going to the same place, and they weren't going to look similar for much longer.
Looking down at the headband then up at her brother again she shrugged and tied it around the top of her head, just behind her bangs. Like one of those cute feminine accessories she'd seen in shop windows, the kind civilian girls wore to feel pretty. Sasuke frowned at her a little but she just stuck her tongue out at him. "What? I'm a girl, remember?" Grunting he put his hands in his pockets and slouched a little. Hikari rolled her eyes. Now he was just pouting. "Come on, we should go out to celebrate!" Grabbing his arm she tugged on him, a wide, excited, smile on her face. Looking at her he snorted, the corners of his lips twitching up into a smile. "Yeah, alright."
They'd hang out as much as they could for now. Because tomorrow they were genin, and they might not get to see each other very often.
***
Shifting his pipe from one side to the other Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konohagakure, watched his jounin as they trickled into the room. The room he'd chosen for this meeting had clear exits and a lot of space. Most of them found their companions, trusted comrades, or familiar faces and stood in a way that allowed them to protect each other's back. It was both amusing and a little sobering to see. Paranoia was just one of the prices one paid for becoming an exceptional ninja.
Stepping forward he cleared his throat and the noise died down almost immediately. Nodding to one of the chuunin instructors from the academy he watched the man quickly bow to the room before going over the list of students who had passed his class. The jounin talked amongst themselves about different team builds and who would do well on what team. A few even asked the chuunin instructor their opinions on how well the students would work together and he couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see the hard work of the sensei being taken seriously.
Most of the way through the second list of graduates Iruka slipped into the room, wrapped in bandages, and leaned against the far wall quietly. Of course no one missed his entrance, some of the jounin giving the man a critical look before turning their attention back to the woman speaking. "That concludes my list, Hokage-sama." With a polite half bow she stood back in the line of instructors and Hiruzen turned his attention to Iruka. The man looked a little sheepish as he crossed the room and stood with the others.
Hiruzen didn't even blink at his missing hitai-ate, already knowing the details of what had happened. "Iruka-sensei, if you would." Taking out his own list the young man started reading out names. It was almost a guarantee that all of the clan children had passed. By the time Iruka had gone through the Nara in his class that had passed some of the jounin perked up, knowing who should come next.
"Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Hikari- have both passed with flying colors." The tension in the air broke and there were was some ryo passed around. Hiruzen chuckled. Of course his shinobi would bet on the outcome of academy students.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Suddenly it was as if the whole room held their breath. "Has also passed." A cacophony of surprised voices filled the room and he sighed. While most of his jounin didn't harbor any ill will toward the boy they knew about his terrible grades. On the official reports Naruto had not passed. But after speaking with Iruka after the Mizuki incident he agreed with the man's assessment on Naruto's growth. Hopefully a jounin-sensei would be able to round out the edges a little bit and help his pseudo-grandson become a proper shinobi.
"That's enough." Two words was all it took for the entire room to go silent. "I have spoken with Iruka-sensei on this matter and I agree with him. Naruto will be placed on a genin team." Iruka looked relieved and it warmed his heart. The lad had grown quite a lot. It wasn't all that long ago that he was asking not to teach the noisy blonde. Now it was almost like he thought of Naruto as a little brother.
Once everything had calmed down some more the discussion started up again. Asuma offered to take on the ino-shika-cho trio, which earned him a few raised eyebrows. But no one objected outfight. Kurenai spoke up and asked for the Hyuuga heiress, the Aburame boy, and the Inuzuka boy. It was a strange combination, a little overkill to be fair, but her idea of a specialized tracking team made sense. There were a few objections over the Hyuuga heiress but she countered each objections masterfully and smirked when no one was able to challenge her any longer.
Then came the Uchiha twins and practically the entire room began to argue.
"They're too dependent on one another, we should split them up." Said one voice. "You just want a chance to have one of them on your team." Accused another voice. "Don't you think it's a little, uh, strange, how close they are?" Another voice broke in. A choked sound of indignation came from his left and Hiruzen glanced toward the Yamanaka who had been the twins personal counselor for the past three and a half years. "The two of them are children, traumatized children. They lost everyone they ever knew and loved. Co-dependency isn't an odd reaction in this case. Just because they are opposite sex twins does not make it something… inappropriate!" The man spluttered, coming to the defense of two kids he had come to consider something akin to distant relatives. The man who made the comment flinched and took a step back, all too aware of Ito's clan jutsu.
"I still say we should split them up. They need to learn to work independently from one another. And what happens if one of them, kami forbid, dies? Do we keep them both on the same team and risk losing both of the Uchiha heirs?" The man made a good point. One that Ito seemed to take seriously. "They aren't as attached at the hip as you seem to think. Hikari in particular is already exhibiting a very mature understanding that she and her brother need to start learning to live apart from one another. Their teamwork is impeccable and they are already used to guarding each other's weaknesses." There seemed to be more the man wanted to say but he held his tongue. Some information would be confidential, after all.
More arguing ensued and Hiruzen was beginning to get a headache. Then a thought came to him and he had to hide a smile. Hikari-chan was a bright girl, who seemed to accept everyone as they were with few exceptions. While Sasuke was the kind of boy who liked to push himself to be the best. "Kakashi." Used to being on battlefields his voice easily cut through the chatter and silenced everyone. The entire room turned to look at the last Hatake as the man lowered the porn he had been reading and tilted his head, curious. "I want you to take on the Uchiha twins as a part of your genin team." The term 'you could hear a pin drop' came to mind as no one even dared to breathe.
Hiruzen had the distinct impression that Kakashi was frowning at him beneath his mask. "Hokage-sama?" He shook his head minutely. "There is no one else who knows the Sharingan as well as you do. They are going to need your guidance." The man hummed at him in agreement. "And for the third?" Hiruzen couldn't help the sly smile that crossed his face. "Naruto." The silence continued to reign as his jounin tried to imagine having those three together on a team. "It is traditional for the student with the best grades in class and the worst grades in class to be on a team together." Sasuke had the best grades all around, both in written work and in physical scores. Naruto, on the other hand, was the worst overall. Hikari was a close second to her brother, only winning over Haruno Sakura in physical scores. She couldn't quite keep pace with her brother but she was the most physically fit of the kunoichi.
"I see." Kakashi said, slouching slightly and going back to his little orange book. Hiruzen took his silence as acquiescing to his request and motioned for the jounin to continue their discussion.
In the end they had sixteen teams across three classes. Most of which would wash out and end up in the genin corps or quit. The life of a ninja was not an easy one. They had to be prepared for hardship. As the meeting wore down and the details were finalized Hiruzen dismissed his jounin. Only Kakashi remained behind.
"Something you'd like to ask?" The young man shifted his weight. "You know I've never passed a team before." Hiruzen nodded. Kakashi let out a small sigh. "Will I be allowed to fail them?" It was a good question. The last Uchiha were considered celebrities by the civilians. If they failed there would be a backlash. Hiruzen took the pipe from his mouth and sighed deeply. "I will back you if you fail them. However, I want to make sure you fail them for the right reasons." His eyes were stern. Kakashi ended up looking away first. The poor lad had lost so much. He could see how much the guilt had eaten away at him. "Of course, Hokage-sama." That said he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Hiruzen alone save for his hidden guards.
Some days he felt more his age than others. "Well then. Back to work."