I was around eight or nine months when I began walking. It was one of the rare occasions when Itachi's family had come over and Shisui and his dad were there. The adults were seated at the table talking and Itachi and Shisui were nearby. For some reason I was seated on the ground alone. I was playing with a puzzle, working on my coordination. I knew it was designed to help children be shinobi faster, but it really did help my coordination so I put up with it.
I had just finished it and wanted to show my older cousins. Really, even though I was older than them, as a child I wanted nothing more than to impress them. I liked showing off for my cousins and they showered me with praise and bright smiles.
But when I looked up they were seated away from me. I huffed. Carefully I picked up the wooden puzzle I had fitted together and stood up. It was a simple wooden stacker with one center post. But as you put more and more of the flat wooden disks on, more holes began to appear. It was in those holes that you added more posts. It was a simple concept designed for children that required some thought and coordination to get done.
After I had stood up I took my first step. Then another. I was so focused on my feet and not falling or dropping the thing in my hands that I failed to notice everyone had gone quiet and was watching me.
I had gotten half way across the room when I finally toppled back onto my bottom. The force of it was enough to jar the puzzle from my hands where it fell to the ground, almost completely dismantled. There was a heartbeat of tense silence as I stared at the puzzle. Everyone knew what was about to happen.
Shisui and Itachi were by my side just seconds after my wails started. Dear sweet Shisui tried to comfort me.
"Shhh, it's ok Hitomi, don't cry. You did really well. You can make it again, we saw it." Shisui cooed as he pat my hair. Little Itachi was patting my back sympathetically. Even he fell sometimes if he moved too fast.
None of us noticed the adults looking at each other. While it was not uncommon for a child in the clan to walk early, few could walk so far unassisted at eight months.
After that first time, Mother and Father, or as I learned their names, Riko and Eiji, began making me practice walking more and more. Even Mikoto got in on it, placing things farther away from me.
It was only with Shisui and Itachi that I had fun learning. The two of them were just so bright and happy. They would hold my hands as we walked around the house and then the yard, preventing me from falling but still enabling me to get better at walking. By the time I was a year old I was running around on unsteady feet, chasing after Shisui with Itachi.
Then Shisui began attending the academy, spending less time during the day with us.
It was quickly found out that when we did not have Shisui there to occupy us, Itachi and I could get into a surprising amount of trouble.
Itachi had more curiosity than a cat, and I wanted to explore my new world. It was only because we were in the clan compound that others kept us from venturing out into the woods or into the village. To get out we had to pass other people. People who knew that a one year old and a three year old should not be out and about on their own. I'm surprised Mikoto and Mother did not have grey hair.
We were good kids. We just could not stay put.
It was one of the rare days that Mother had off from work when I surprise her once again. She had taken me out to the market with her, making me walk holding her hand of course, to do some shopping. Now that I was more mobile, I was more prone to getting dirty from falling, and I was growing too. I needed more clothes.
The market was small and in the Uchiha district, so there was little chance of anything happening, but though it all, mother kept a hold of my hand, not trusting my tendency to wander subconsciously.
Mother had stopped at one of the stalls to look at some vegetables when I saw him. Shisui must have just gotten out of the academy because he was wandering in the direction of home. I tugged on Mothers hand but got no response. I had often done that accidently when something caught my eye and I wanted to move closer. So she grew to ignore my tugging.
Shisui had not spotted me and if this continued then he would leave without seeing me. That simply would not do. I tugged on Mothers hand once more, only this time I pulled hard and ran, stumbling steps to my target.
I heard Mother call out my name in surprise but it was drowned out by my own voice.
"Shisui!" The surprised six year old turned just in time to catch me as I fell. I grinned up at him as I clung to him. The boy sighed and picked me up. I looked in Mothers direction.
She looked frazzled and a mix of surprise, worry and proud. I would not understand why until later.
"Mama! It's Shisui!" I was beaming. It had been a few days since I had seen the boy.
Mother sighed resignedly. "Good job, Hitomi. Shisui, would you like to come over?"
"If it's ok, Aunt Riko." If it was possible, I would have smiled even wider. As it was I just hugged Shisui tighter.
"Itachi too?" I asked Mother. It had been a while since the three of us played together. Mother only sighed.
"Yes, Hitomi, you can get Itachi to. Shisui, why don't you take her with you to get him? I'll take the groceries home." Shisui nodded and turned away.
He walked with me in his arms and I babbled away. It was only then that I noticed the tightening of his arms and the shielded way he held me. I stopped talking and looked around. People were looking at us. At me.
Oh. Oh no.
Something must have shown on my face because Shisui looked at me and smiled. It was too tight around the eyes though. I could see the fear in them. Fear and concern. For me.
"It's alright, Hitomi. I'm here."
In a clan known for pushing its children to be prodigies, not only had I said my first word clearly at just barely a year old, I had gushed out full sentences. In public.
Shisui was young, only six, but he was smart. He and Itachi were remarkable prodigies. He knew what had just happened and the attention I had just called to myself. Suddenly a lot of things began to make sense.
The way Itachi and Shisui were always by my side, whisking me off to play away from the adults. They knew I was smart. They knew what happened when you were too smart. My dear sweet boys had been trying to hide it from everyone. But they were just children and I had been oblivious.
Fear set in once more and I cried.
A/N: Review loves