Naoya hadn't paid any attention when his youngest sister was born. She was a daughter, so his mother would never let her near them.
He'd been hurt by it when Akemi was born and his mother would smile and coo and coddle her when he couldn't remember him or his brother getting similar attention. But time had numbed his heart to his mothers cold treatment.
His mother wouldn't love any of her sons, convinced as she was that she would lose them.
He hadn't been treated badly by his parents.
No one hurt him for no reason, they always made sure he ate enough food to train, and when he finally pulled off the Katon jutsu, enough to do missions. Their family wasn't expected to produce a warrior with the sharingan, so there wasn't much his parents could do about the little armor and equipment the Clan could afford him. Naoya followed orders well enough-got along with his clanmates and aside from the splendid treatment given to those of the Mainline or a Lineage, and the general preference the sharingan wielders benefitted from, he learned his life wasn't too different from any other warrior from his clan.
Which was actually impressive considering that the man who raised him wasn't his father.
It explained why the man was more affectionate with his brothers than he ever managed to be with Naoya or Akihito, spending what little time he had to spare with his younger sons, giving them encouragement with their training, not just advice. It was the only reason he knew for a fact the man hadn't treated him as well as he could have.
But he had never treated Naoya badly and lived up to the promise he later learned his mother had extracted before marriage and did his fatherly duty, making sure that Naoya was as well prepared for the battlefield as Hayate Uchiha could make him. It made him think better of his mother. She wasn't warm with any of her sons the way he'd seen her be with her daughters-but it made sense when he considered the kind of weakness such coddling could lead to.
Warriors had to be strong for the battlefield. Naoya's sisters would probably never leave the Clan compound in their lives and could afford sentimentality. As he grew older and felt the warriors he killed seemed to grow younger-he understood better still.
When Akihito died, and his sisters didn't cry, Naoya told himself their mother was doing the best she could for her daughters. Junto tried to keep it together but his tears fell silently as they watched their brother burn. The rest of them cried at home. Even their father. It made him think better of the man, that he still mourned a child that wasn't his own.
Daisuke's funeral was a little worse, Aiko sobbed openly over her twin's death. He knew the little girl sometimes snuck her twin food, despite their mothers best efforts to keep them away from each other. Naoya found he felt strangely jealous. He was soon distracted by his father's funeral.
When their father died his mother finally cried. He wondered if she was actually sad her husband was dead, or if she just mourned the food they'd be losing without him. His own eyes stayed dry-though his brothers didn't.
No one cried at Hiroshi's funeral-not even the toddlers. All of them numb to the death of their family members already. He found some tears after, with the brothers he had left and wondered bleakly which one he'd be losing next.
Naoya started thinking about his funeral more often-and wondered if anyone would actually miss him when he finally couldn't make it home. He thought his funeral would go like Hitoshi's, his family present due to duty-but not a tear to be found.
He was picturing his mothers practiced solemn face during a sleepless night when the small pitter patter of feet drew his attention to the door. It was Akane, the baby of the family, eyes squinting as she tried to make her way in the dark.
Junto had picked her up-amused, "You're not supposed to be here."
Akio had slid open the window for some moonlight to see with, making it easy to make out her angelic expression as she asked, "Why can't I come here? It's my house."
"It's our room," Akio protested.
"But you're my brothers," Akane had argued, "I can come see you if I want to."
"That's not what mother says," Junto grumbled.
"I won't tell her if you won't," Akane had proposed eagerly and someone chuckled.
Naoya was surprised to realize he'd been the one to do so.
Naoya loved Akane.
Their little sister snuck over constantly, clinging to them, asking questions, mostly about the shinobi arts, but also things that hadn't occurred to Naoya in years. Like what his favorite color was, or if he had a favorite weapon. She also just hugged them.
Naoya couldn't remember the last person that hugged him. It was probably the last day his mother picked him up. But Akane cuddled constantly, her small body a comforting weight everytime he picked her up.
He ended up hugging his brothers more almost accidentally, a natural consequence of the unspoken competition for Akanes affections. It made it easier to steal her by holding his brothers down and in place with what looked like a hug. Akane didn't like it when they fought-so they kept up a flawless brotherhood in front of her.
For once Naoya didn't feel like the odd one out. Roughhousing was now extended to his brothers-not just his friends. He'd never felt so close to his family before, it took him a while to figure out he was happy.
Of course once Naoya had finally found something good in the world-it broke. Junto's death hit the hardest of any of his siblings.
Akane cried like it was tearing out of her while they watched him burn, like some piece of her that belonged solely to Junto was going with him.
Later he had to be careful not to crush her completely in a hug. He didn't know what else to do-crying with Akane was nothing like the solemn hidden tears he'd once shared with the men of his family. Akane cried like it hurt-and Naoya felt the pain with her. He found himself waking eventually-little sister securely in his arms, more at peace with his grief than he could ever remember being.
Akane still talked about Junto.
He didn't know if it made it better or worse-but she mentioned when something reminded her of him, talked about all the things she would have loved to tell him. It was nothing like the way the rest of them mourned. Putting down their dead and doing their best to forget the pain of their absence.
Still-he thought about Akane, crying at his funeral, and the thought made him sick. His little sister had loved Junto so much she refused to live in a world without his memory, but losing him had broken something in her. Akane told him constantly how much she loved him now, she said he never wanted him to doubt it-or forget.
Naoya didn't-if he knew anything in the world it was that he loved Akane, and she loved him.
If he died, he'd be taking a piece of her with him. Naoya didn't think he'd ever fought or trained harder. Anything to come back to Akane, to save his baby sister from that pain.
When she asked him if he wanted a wife he'd almost choked. Naoya hadn't seen the point of marrying anyone-he'd seen it as a practical aspect of his personality inherited from his mother. What was the point of having children that would just go on to die in war? He had no problem letting his mother keep using him for his rations, despite some pointed comments made by his friends and occasionally his squad leader.
His mothers attitude hadn't made her very popular among the clans Shinobi that knew of it. She was hardly the only Uchiha woman to hold such an attitude towards her children-but contrasted with the way she cared for her daughters, it seemed worse somehow. It wasn't simply that she'd killed her mothers heart because she couldn't stand the pain. She kept it in tact for her daughters-just not her sons.
Naoya hadn't really cared before, but now he was fiercely glad for his mothers choices. Akane was only the sweet, warm person she was because she'd never lacked her mothers affection. Something his mother might not have been able to give her if she'd let the loss of her sons hollow her out the way it did so many of the women in their clan.
He was glad he could trade his lack of motherly affection for Akane's. He'd heard some muttering about Akemi having trouble finding a husband because some warriors feared his mothers attitude would carry over. Naoya didn't really care if Akemi got married or not. He would keep supporting his family. Akio would have to be useful eventually-and then their family would be better off.
While it would be more convenient if Akemi's food became someone else's problem and they could use her bride price to buy more of their own-he had no problem scraping by. His mother would sooner starve him or Akio than any of her daughters so he had no problem with handing over his food rations every month. Like most warriors he supplemented himself by hunting while on missions and he had saved up enough selling animal furs in winter that he could go without clan support for a couple of years.
As long as he didn't do something stupid like start a small family of his own, he'd be fine. He could probably even feed Akio if his mother cut her sons off completely.
He ended up not needing to-his mother had found Akemi a decent husband. He even had a Sharingan. The only problem was that he'd become terribly injured in the field, and they weren't sure he would ever recover, but he was from a strong enough Lineage that his family would raise him and Naoya's sister easily for a few years. Long enough for them to reproduce and raise a few warriors to take over the responsibility.
Akemi's wedding was a small thing.
Most weddings were during war time, but his sister's union was one of a potential cripple and family two potential warriors away from the clan's servant class. If it weren't for the Uchiha obsession with tradition one wouldn't have been held at all.
At least Akemi seemed happy about it. She was technically marrying up, her children had a significantly larger chance of developing the sharingan, and she would never have to get a menial job to support the household the way his mother did. Her children would also receive the training that had kept the Lineage she married into as strong as it was-which did wonders for their odds of survival. Her husband may have been a cripple-but he'd made it home alive at least, better than what could be said of both his fathers.
Akemi also wouldn't have to worry about her husband going out and dying anytime soon, which wouldn't leave her a bereaved widow with children like his mothers first marriage had left her.
If the man recovered in a few years and began earning his Sharingan rations again his mother would have set up their sister for one of the most successful marriages available.
It was honestly very impressive. Naoya didn't think he had much love or affection for his mother but if nothing else he respected that woman just as much, or perhaps more, than the Clan Head.
If Tajima Uchiha had half of his mothers efficiency the war would have long been over-or at least whatever benefits were supposed to come from the constant fighting tangible.
But he digressed, at least he got an enjoyable meal at their wedding, and Akane was doing that thing where she was cheerful and endearing, charming anyone at a hundred paces. Sometimes Naoya had trouble believing she was a real person.
His sister felt so much, so openly, but so little of it was ugly. Akane liked almost everyone she met until they gave her a reason not to-and even then she was more likely to avoid anyone whose company she didn't enjoy than to become spiteful and resentful. His sister said she woke up everyday and made the choice to be happy, but Naoya knew from giving the philosophy a try himself that it was much easier said than done.
They'd once gotten into a fascinating conversation about managing expectations that he felt could have become more enlightening if Akio hadn't rudely interrupted demanding a spar. The only reason Naoya had let it go was because he was pretty sure he was winning the competition as Akane's favorite big brother-and being magnanimous with his annoying little brother could only help his chances.
Watching Akio and Akane spar was getting embarrassing; for Akio. Naoya suspected his brother would be better at things like genjutsu, he often tried feints and tricky wire tricks that he noticed the genjutsu type of ninjas in their clan favored. Something that depended on a lot of little details and precision. The problem was Naoya didn't know any and none of the genjutsu types in the clan owed him any favors he could cash in for getting his little brother training.
He could suck up his pride and go beg their new brother in law, but shinobi from strong Lineages were notoriously close mouthed about their families techniques-and his sister hadn't been married long enough that he could try the angle of cashing in some spousal affection.
Maybe if he lived long enough and Ryota was kinder than Naoya assumed, then Akio might get somewhere-but at the moment their little sister had him beat in taijutsu, and was rapidly catching up when it came to ninjutsu. It wasn't just that Akane was that good, which she was, Naoya was proud to note-Akane was much better at taijutsu than he'd ever been at her age. The problem was also that Akio spent too much time thinking for the parts of the ninja arts that demanded he simply act.
It didn't say great things about his chances of making it out alive in any battle field and Naoya pushing him hard for a mastery of weapons use could only do so much when his family was only afforded subpar equipment.
Sometimes, when he realized the clan was sending out unprepared children like cannon fodder simply because they could perform a fire jutsu, Naoya hated the clan. He hated the way entire families fell down the pecking order and had less access to resources they clearly needed because they didn't have a Sharingan, or a family full of experienced living warriors that could pass that experience and full range of techniques down.
There was an entire training field dedicated to learning how to use a Sharingan and there was always an elder stationed there to answer any questions and teach a ton of sharingan specific techniques. If there was a field where they just taught genjutsu to anyone who showed up, Sharingan or no, his brother would have significantly better chances of survival.
So Naoya had a couple more weeks before Akio figured out Katon to find, either better weapons, or someone to tutor his brother in genjutsu. At least, if he didn't want to break Akanes heart by letting her lose another brother.
It was just as well that Akemi's marriage meant their family wouldn't be scrapping by to last the year-maybe he'd get lucky and he could find an out of clan black smith who was cheap enough-or maybe a shinobi in the clan that was willing to part with some genjutsu for money.
Naoya would do his best to make sure they both came home to their little sister.
x
So I made it! I've mostly been alternating perspectives as I write this, so it's going to be half Akane's POV and half other people. Hope you guys like it. Please let me know what you think!!
