"Here we are." Mikoto said as she opened the door to a spare bedroom, "This will be your room, Aiko-chan. Other members of the Clan are helping to gather your things and bring them here."
"Right. Thank you." Aiko said quietly.
Mikoto smiled gently at her, "Well, I'm going to prepare lunch. I think Sasuke is on the back porch if you want some company."
"Okay." Aiko headed to the back porch, where she found Sasuke lazily throwing kunai at a target on the garden wall with a troubled expression. "What's wrong?" She asked as she sat down next to him.
"I'm trying to decide if I should tell Tousan about my Sharingan." Sasuke replied, picking up another kunai and staring at it, "I finally managed to do something at an earlier age than Niisan, but... I'm not as happy as I thought I'd be."
"Awakening the Sharingan has nothing to do with skill or talent." Aiko pointed out, "Izumi-neechan awakened hers at an earlier age than Itachi-san too, but he still graduated ahead of her. It's different from the Byakugan of the Hyūga. No matter how much you train, you can't awaken it by simply trying. It's something that can only be awakened by powerful emotions." She slipped off the porch and wandered over to the koi pond, "It doesn't even matter at our age. We can't train to use it. We don't have enough chakra. We'd pass out within seconds of activating it."
"Aiko's right about that." Itachi said from the doorway, causing her and Sasuke to look at him. "Izumi once activated her Sharingan shortly after we entered the Academy and passed out after less than five minutes. I had to carry her to the infirmary."
"Geez! You don't need to tell them about that!" Izumi said indignantly, puffing her cheeks out in a pout as she passed by Itachi with a box of Aiko's belongings.
Itachi laughed nervously and then turned back to the younger children, "At any rate, you two probably won't be able to actually learn how to use it until you're at least seven. There's no reason to rush about telling Chichiue." He knelt down and whispered in Sasuke's ear as Aiko knelt by the pond, "Actually, it's really better if you don't. He might say something that would upset Aiko." Sasuke looked confused, but nodded in confirmation.
"Itachi! Sasuke! Aiko!" Mikoto called from inside the house, "Lunch is ready!"
"Coming!" The three children replied before heading inside.
As they entered the kitchen, Sasuke's face lit up in delight. "Tomatoes!" He exclaimed, rushing forward to pick from the bowl of cherry tomatoes on the table before his mother gently slapped his hand away.
"Sasuke! Wait until everyone is ready!" She scolded.
"Right..." He said with a pout as he sat down.
Mikoto turned to Aiko with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Aiko-chan. I don't what foods you like best."
"No, that's okay, Lady Mikoto." Aiko said politely as she sat down across from Sasuke and Itachi.
"Don't be so reserved." Mikoto told her warmly, "From today, we're your family."
"That's right." Fugaku said as he sat down at the head of the table, "Besides, your father and I were cousins. The Uchiha Clan isn't like the Hyūga."
"Right..."
When they had expressed their gratitude for the food, Sasuke immediately went for the bowl of cherry tomatoes while Itachi picked up an onigiri with a bit more dignity. Aiko merely picked at her food with her chopsticks.
"By the way, Sasuke, Aiko..." Fugaku began, "With what happened yesterday... have either of you awakened your Sharingan?"
Itachi choked on his food in response to his father's bluntness. Sasuke froze with a tomato halfway to his mouth while Aiko simply stilled her chopsticks. Having suddenly lost his appetite, Sasuke returned the tomato to the bowl. "Yeah." He replied softly.
"Yes." Aiko said immediately afterwards.
"That's good." Fugaku remarked, "I'm glad to know that all three of you have the Sharingan now."
Aiko abruptly slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "You're happy about this?!" She exclaimed with fury, "The only reason that we awakened our Sharingan was because my Mama and Papa died! They're gone forever and your only concern is a visual prowess that we can't even sustain yet?!" Her eyes abruptly filled with tears, "I... I... I HATE YOU!" She screamed. Before anyone could react or stop her, Aiko jumped over the table, landing near Itachi on the opposite side before running out of the room.
"Aiko-chan!' Mikoto called in concern before she glared at her husband, "Geez...! Fugaku, you have no tact!"
Fugaku, for his part, looked rather uncomfortable. Emotional outbursts were not something he was used to. Sasuke and Itachi were far more reserved about their feelings, to the point that he never knew quite what they were thinking. Aiko, it seemed, was the exact opposite.
"I'll go find her." Itachi said, setting his napkin down and standing up, having finally cleared his windpipe.
"I'll go with you." Fugaku said abruptly, standing up as well.
"I don't know if that's really the best idea..." Itachi said cautiously.
"I'm the one who needs to fix this, Itachi." Fugaku explained.
Itachi seemed reluctant, but nodded.
兄弟
Aiko fled from the Uchiha District to the main part of Konoha, putting a great deal of effort into suppressing her chakra to avoid activating her Sharingan, lest she pass out again. She was passing by a playground when she tripped and fell, but rather than get up, she simply sat there, crying softly.
"Huh? Aiko-chan?" A voice said, "What are you doing here?" Aiko looked up to see her friend Uzumaki Naruto approaching her. For reasons that had never been explained to her, most of the village despised this boy, but because of her job as an aid to the Hokage, Megumi had been close with Naruto's mother, Kushina, so he and Aiko had known one another practically since birth. For this reason, rather than answering Naruto, the little girl flung herself into her friend's arms, clinging to him and burying her face in his chest as she cried. Naruto was bewildered by this, but he wrapped his arms around the younger child to comfort her. "How am I supposed to know if you won't tell me?" He asked.
"Naruto-kun..." She began, her voice still breaking when she spoke, "My parents are dead!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Having grown up without a father, he understood death at an earlier age than most children, but this news naturally came as a shock to him. "What happened?" He asked tentatively, "Were they killed on a mission?" He didn't understand Megumi's work well enough to know that she basically never went on missions, but he did know it was a common cause of death among shinobi. Aiko shook her head, still clinging to Naruto's jacket with her tiny fists.
"No, they... a man tried to take me and my cousin... because we're from the Uchiha Clan, and... Mama and Papa fought against him and were killed!" She continued sobbing while Naruto tried to process what she had said, "And now... now I'm living with my cousin's family... they're the head of the Uchiha Clan... but all his father cares about is that we both awakened our Sharingan!" She sobbed again, "It's because of these eyes that my parents were killed! If having the Sharingan means losing my loved ones... then I wish I didn't have it at all!" Naruto didn't have the slightest clue what to say or do—to be honest, he didn't completely understand what Aiko was even talking about—so he just continued holding Aiko as she cried. After a few minutes, her sobs died down a little and she pulled away, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry..." She whimpered, "I must seem pathetic to you... your papa died when you were born, but you never cry, and here I am, bawling like a baby."
Naruto shook his head, placing a hand on Aiko's head, "It's because he's always been gone that I never cry. I'm used to not having him. I don't know anything different. But you aren't used to it, Aiko-chan. Someday, you will have to stop crying, but not right now. It's okay to cry if you want to for now." Aiko sniffled and leaned against him again.
"Aiko." A voice said behind her. Aiko recognized it as Fugaku's, and though she would've preferred to ignore him, she slowly turned around and looked up at him hesitantly. The leader of the Uchiha had a rather awkward look on his face, and he averted his eyes, scratching his cheek while trying to think of what to say. "...I need to apologize." He finally managed. "What I said earlier... I should've phrased it differently. It's not that I'm happy about what happened to your parents, or that you and Sasuke had to witness that. I'm just relieved because having the Sharingan means there will be less danger for you in the future. Once you're able to use it, you'll be stronger, able to protect yourselves. It will mean less risk for you when you become shinobi. I admit I wasn't particularly close with your father, but... he and Megumi were still my family. I'm sad to have lost them. I don't want to lose you as well." As Aiko sniffled and wiped her tears, Fugaku knelt down in front of her, "So please give me a chance... to look after you in their stead. I'm not good at reading people like Megumi and I'm not particularly friendly like Nichi, but I care about you. I'm glad to call you my family."
Aiko nodded slowly. "I'm sorry..." She managed, "I shouldn't have said what I did..."
Fugaku smiled wryly, "The Uchiha are prone to passionate emotions, and it's harder for girls to control that than boys. Or so Mikoto tells me." Aiko wisely chose to refrain from voicing her opinion on that matter. "Let's go home, okay?"
Aiko nodded and Itachi walked over to her before kneeling down, "You must be tired... I'll carry you back, all right?" She nodded and Itachi carefully lifted her onto his back. As he turned to follow his father, he looked back at the strangely quiet Naruto, "Thank you for looking after her, Naruto-kun."
Naruto blinked, not used to be acknowledged by anyone outside of his mother and Aiko, but then grinned broadly, "Sure!"
兄弟
After a few weeks, Aiko had finally stopped addressing the members of her new family with honorifics. However, she still mostly kept to herself, which Fugaku and Mikoto assumed was because she was still grieving. However, one day, Mikoto noticed something that made her think differently.
While doing the laundry, she happened to see Sasuke throwing kunai at the target in the backyard. Aiko was watching him nearby with an apprehensive expression. Mikoto walked over to the little girl and knelt beside her. "Why don't you ask him to play with you?"
Aiko looked at Mikoto in surprise, having not taken notice of her, then looked back at Sasuke with uncertainty. "I can't... He wants Itachi to teach him new jutsu when he gets home, so he's practicing what he already knows right now. I'd just be in the way..." Mikoto blinked, and then sighed and stood up, going back to the laundry. She now realized that Aiko wished to spend time with Sasuke the same way that he wanted to spend time with Itachi, but she was too afraid to tell him so, and Sasuke was so focused on his training that he hadn't even noticed Aiko's presence. How could she remedy this situation?
兄弟
"Kaasan," Sasuke began at lunch later that day, "When is Niisan going to get home?"
"I think his mission was outside the village today, but maybe later this afternoon?" Mikoto replied, "Why don't you go to the park with Aiko after lunch? Your brother will pass by there on his way home."
"Yeah!" Sasuke agreed enthusiastically, not noticing the surprised look on Aiko's face or the wink that Mikoto gave her.
"What should we do while we wait for Itachi?" Aiko asked when she and Sasuke arrived at the park.
"I'm gonna find a good place to watch for him!" Sasuke declared, "I think the top of the slide would work."
"Oh... okay." Sasuke failed to hear the disappointed note in Aiko's voice. As he climbed up to the top of the slide to watch for Itachi, Aiko sat down on a swing by herself. She didn't bother to kick, but only sat there, until she felt someone pushing her back firmly, causing her to swing forward. She looked up in surprise and then looked over her shoulder to find Naruto standing behind her. "Naruto-kun!"
"Hey! You looked lonely. What's wrong?" Naruto asked as he continued to push Aiko on the swing.
Aiko turned back around to avoid getting dizzy and answered him, "I came here to play with Sasuke, but he just wants to stand on the slide and watch for Itachi." She explained.
"Sasuke, Itachi?" Naruto asked in confusion, not recognizing the names.
"My cousins." She explained, "I live with them now. I want to play with Sasuke, but... the only things he cares about is being with his big brother Itachi and training."
"Why don't you just play with both of them then?" Naruto asked.
"I don't think Sasuke would appreciate the intrusion." She replied.
Naruto looked over at the slide, assuming that the dark-haired kid standing on the ladder like some kind of lookout must be the Sasuke that Aiko had been speaking of. His face hardened and he abruptly walked off. "Hey, you jerk!"
"Huh?" Sasuke turned his head and looked down at Naruto, "What do you want?"
"Why aren't you playing with Aiko?!" Naruto demanded, "She came here because she wanted to play with you, and all you care about is waiting for your brother! She's lives with your family; that makes you her brother, right?! Why don't you act like it?!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blond, but then glanced over at Aiko and noticed her sitting on the swing, looking rather forlorn. It had never occurred to him that Aiko would want to be with him the same way that he wanted to be with Itachi. He slid down the ladder and walked over to her. "Hey." She looked up at him. "If you wanted to play with me, why didn't you just say something?" He asked her.
Aiko looked down again and swung her feet slightly, "I thought you might think I was an annoyance or something." She admitted, "I'm not used to having siblings. Before, it was always just me and Mama and Papa. I know Aunt Mikoto and Uncle Fugaku mean well, but I feel awkward around them because... they're nothing like my mama and papa. With you two, it's different. I don't have anyone to compare you too, but that's also why I don't know how to act."
"If you want something, you have to tell us." Sasuke told her, "How are we supposed to know otherwise? We're not like your parents."
"So I've noticed." Aiko replied with a wry smile, "No offense, but Uncle Fugaku is as thick as a dictionary. He's even more dense than Naruto-kun."
"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed indignantly.
Aiko giggled, "Then again, Naruto-kun is a sensory type by nature, so maybe he's just better at reading people to start with."
"I don't know whether or not I should be insulted that you think my ability to read people is less than his." Sasuke remarked.
"I don't know whether to be insulted or not either!" Naruto said.
Aiko burst out laughing at the two of them, "The Uchiha aren't very open about their emotions, so they aren't very good at reading the emotions of others."
"You didn't seem to have a problem at first..." Sasuke said awkwardly.
Aiko smiled wryly again, "I've come to realize that Uncle Fugaku doesn't really know how to respond to my openness, so I've decided to keep to myself more."
Sasuke nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "Well do you wanna play a game or not?"
"Yes!" Aiko exclaimed, jumping up from the swing, "Why don't the three of us play tag?"
"Yeah! Sounds good!" Naruto exclaimed.
兄弟
The three children played happily for quite a while. However, when Sasuke took notice of Itachi watching them from the edge of the playground, he immediately lost interest in their game.
"Niisan!" He exclaimed while running up to his older brother. Aiko sighed and then followed him with Naruto trailing behind her. "Are you done with your mission?" Sasuke asked eagerly.
"Yeah." Itachi replied with a nod.
"Then teach me shuriken jutsu!" Sasuke begged.
"What about Aiko?" Itachi asked. The younger child crossed her arms behind her back.
"I haven't learned how to throw shuriken yet, so I'd only be in the way." She told Itachi with an awkward smile. She knew that wasn't really what he'd been asking, but she wasn't going to make a fuss. "You two go on without me. I'll just go back to the house." Itachi looked concerned, but something about Aiko's demeanor told him that she wasn't going to budge on this one, so he sighed and nodded.
"Let's go then, Sasuke."
"Yeah!" Sasuke exclaimed happily, running off to head for the training ground with Itachi following.
"Why did you do that?" Naruto asked with his arms crossed behind his head, "I mean, Sasuke is a jerk. It's kind of mean for him to just ditch you like this. We were all having fun too."
Aiko turned and looked at her friend, her expression still awkward, "It's a little complicated... Anyway, I need to go. I'll see you later, Naruto-kun!" She told the boy before running off.
Naruto sighed and looked up at the sky in confusion, "She's his sister now, right? Why doesn't he act like it? I don't get it..."
So, yeah... First off, Fugaku is a horrible parent. I mean, who takes their four-year-old out to a battlefield during war, just to show the kid what war is? Also, at the moment, Naruto treats Aiko more like a sibling than Sasuke does, but Sasuke is, well, single-minded to the point of oblivious as usual.