Chapter Five: Enough

Sakumo sometimes wondered if he does enough as a father.

He liked to believe so. He made sure to spend ample time with them. Let them know they could always come to him. Was kind but established firm rules. Taught them skills to survive.

Misbehaving and whining rarely occurred and when they did it was usually just them getting ahead of themselves. Sakumo had heard stories from other parents about the chaos some of their children brought and seemed slightly jealous of his kids.

It made him proud, but he also knew they had more growing to do.

Both kids didn't go out of their way to spend time with the other kids. He had unceremoniously dropped them off at the park several times with mixed results. Sometimes one or both would interact with the other kids and other times kept to themselves. It was fleeting and made no efforts to spend time with them again even when they did interact.

Kakashi picked up training lessons as fast as Sakumo had in his youth. Sakumo was happy to see Kakashi take an active interest in learning and bettering himself, but it was obvious that his son had tunnel vision when it came to the shinobi arts. Sakumo trained with Kakashi himself in an attempt to demonstrate power differences so he wouldn't become complacent. However, it seemed like his son treated him like an exception meaning the lesson hasn't sunk in.

Meanwhile, Yuina loved learning about the world and a had special interest in chakra. She seemed to understand people better than Kakashi, but she was less certain of herself. He remembered Yuina looking in a mirror raising a mask over her face like Kakashi and lowering it over and over before sighing as her attention turned to her hair. She was a bit young to be worrying over her appearances that much. Sakumo also noted that she would compare herself to Kakashi and himself expecting herself to be able to learn everything at an absurd speed. Any attempts to reassure her she can learn at her own pace, that there was time to learn everything she wanted, fell on deaf ears as she pushed herself more.

The years raising them have been both an eternity and a quick flash.

They would be in the academy soon.

Sakumo slid a sheet of paper across the table to both kids.

"Academy Application?" Yuina looked at the form. She hadn't given the academy much though, but in hindsight it made sense people needed to apply. Some people just weren't fit for active duty. More than that, the village had a large pool of potential talent but there could only be so much work. Better to limit admissions than run people broke.

Still, the day felt like it came too fast even if there was still a few months before classes would start.

Though, it was better than the old system. She heard when the academy was first built, it was only for three years and started training people at three. Now it started at the age of four but extended until students were nine years old. Still too young, but how many deaths and years did it take to even draw it out that long?

She hated it.

Yuina never wanted to forget her last life, but she wondered if she would have been able to assimilate to this world better if she had.

She was alert. She was on edge. Always waiting for something to happen despite people's celebrations of their progress. She looked at Sakumo and Kakashi and wondered what the world looked like from their eyes.

Yuina looked back down at the application. Five years to help grow and learn to protect herself. That was longer than the life she lived so far. Her fingers dug into her pants before reaching for the pencil.

Was she even good enough? Would they let her in?

Kakashi passed his filled form back to Sakumo before she even wrote her name.

"What's wrong?" asked Kakashi. As if reading her body language, he probably was, he said, "Of course you'll get in. You're my sister."

That did nothing to boost her confidence. If affiliation was all it took then most of the village would be shinobi – active or not.

Sakumo placed his hand on her shoulder and offered a soft smile. "You're talented, Yuina."

That was more reassuring than Kakashi's words, and if she was a normal child she probably would have brimmed with joy. Sometimes parents say things to boost their kids' egos rather than tell the truth though, and she couldn't tell when he was being truthful and when he was trying to boast her mood because he always sounded so genuine.

Shinobi deceptiveness at it's finest.

"Mm." They were the only people Yuina had in this world. She thought about avoiding the academy all together, but… If she didn't become strong then she would always fear this world. If she didn't follow in their career path she would be stuck in an empty home waiting for them to return, wondering if they would return at all.

Logically, she knew those outcomes may come to pass anyway, yet her emotions overruled her logic.

She didn't want to be scared. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted to stay by their sides for as long as they would allow her. They were her family. Her friends.

They were her world.

Yuina filled in the application.

Kakashi didn't understand Yuina's hesitancy.

He didn't understand how someone smart couldn't be assured in their abilities. It should be no different than breathing – a given action that requires no conscious thinking.

They may not have any fancy bloodline or hidden family techniques but they'd been training for this. She's shown her capabilities for taijutsu, ninjutsu, and some bukijutsu. What reason would there be to deny her entry?

Kakashi wrote down a list of reasons on why she would be accepted into the academy. Things ranging from physical capabilities, to information gathering, to her uncanny ability to blend into the background in groups.

He barged into Yuina's room once he finished writing the list, startling her from her book. Kakashi held out the sheet in front of her face. "Look at it every day if you need to. It's because you're Hatake Yuina that you're guaranteed to get in. The academy isn't a starting line or a stepping stone for you. It's just bureaucratic step that's nothing more than a footnote."

Yuina read the list as Kakashi walked off. She smiled. She was pretty sure Kakashi only knew what a footnote was from her own ramblings. Still, the list touched her. He'd been keeping an eye on her just as she had done for him. There was no way that wouldn't warm her heart.

Ah, dammit.

She really loved her family.