Chapter 16: Like Moths to the Flame

Stressed out by the growing silent pressure, Akira pushes her younger sister more and more to train, apart from that she helps at home as much as she can, assisting with cleaning, cooking and putting the children to sleep. She's exhausted but won't let go. Most mornings she wakes her sister up early and drags her to meditate together.

Izumi really hates these sessions and always makes sure her feelings are known to her annoying older sister. She struggles to sit still, often distracted by everything else that suddenly is so interesting. Deep down she knows, however, this will help her in the long run, so she obeys the tedious lessons.

Thanks to honing these skills, Akira and Izumi are able to control the tailed beast and be better at chakra stability. Despite her age, the little Nanusake has already perfected a lot of chunin-level skills.

Little Sasuke felt jealous, the feeling deepened by the lack of his father's approval. Izumi, however, would never rub this on him, instead, she'd always try her best to make him laugh and divert his attention from his worries.

'Don't worry about your father… I don't have one for example. My mother always believed in me though. I think if she met you, she'd definitely believe in you too!'

They both would practice some sparring and kunai throws whenever their siblings would come up with a classic 'sorry, another time' excuse.

Younger ones then promised each other that one day they would both surpass their older siblings.

X

Akira has been working on shaping Izumi's Abyss with her. The younger sister was still taking a while to grasp the basics, making mistakes that would frequently lead to frustration and wanting to give up. Izumi felt determined but admitted on every occasion she hated doing things she just didn't like. And visiting the Abyss where her uninvited demons roamed was not the most pleasant of activities.

One day, Izumi fell tired on her knees and began to fall to pieces. Akira yelled at her which made her burst into tears. The blonde immediately realized her mistake and hugged her sister, kneeling closely.

'I do not want to do it. I don't want to have Chomei inside me anymore!' moaned the little girl, sniffling.

'Izumi, this is Hitomi's legacy, and no one else is worthy to carry it, no one else is as special as you. Only you can keep him in line. You know that there is no other way out... pulling it out would involve your death and the danger to the entire village…' Akira tried to use arguments that could get through to her sister's heart the most. She didn't have the patience for arguing, no matter how hard she tried.

'I don't want anything to happen to Sasuke... or you… or Itachi.'

'We have to be strong, baby.'

'It was because of me that our mother died!'

'Not because of you! Never say that. She died for us so we could be free, never forget that. We'll find beautiful love one day, and everything will be fine.' The older sister comforted her.

'Akira… but you already found Itachi.'

Hearing these words, Akira choked and flustered. The situation was not helped by the fact that the older Uchiha brother suddenly appeared behind their backs.

'Dinner's ready' he announced with a neutral expression.

Akira started to hyperventilate, praying that he hasn't heard the last words of their conversion. With her eyes fixed on the ground, she got up and ran into the house steering clear of perplexed Itachi.

'What happened?' the boy had a very surprised face 'is she sick?'

'Haha, Itachi, I think she's just lovesick, hehe' joked Izumi and ran after her sister bouncing cheerfully. Not even a minute passed before the girl forgot about crying.

After dinner, the sisters went to the park to train. Taking advantage of the summer weather and late sunsets this time of year. They sat down on the grass to catch their breath after finishing training. Izumi was playing with her moths while Akira was tuning her guitar.

Little Moth thought deeply about what she had recently learned in preparation for the Academy.

'Akira... did you know that Uchiha specializes in fire style? We, Nanusake, have the wind chakra. I learned it today.'

'You're right, dear.'

'Moths naturally cling to the light, often burning themselves in an open flame…' Izumi thought suddenly, articulating words with a suddenly serious tone. 'Do you think that, like moths to the flame, Uchiha attracted us to them too?' Does it mean then that, like moths, we will also burn in Sasuke's and Itachi's fire in the end…?'

The last words struck Akira with horror. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened, but her mind went completely blank. She was taken aback by this overly mature and dark deduction coming from her 7-year-old sister's mouth. After a moment, she smiled to brighten the atmosphere again. Akira changed the subject quickly, moving onto something lighter, but the thought remained in her mind and from that day on it would come back to her every night.