You are six when Uchiha Sasuke is finally born.

While Mikoto is getting her much-needed rest from her labor, Itachi takes charge of holding his (your) little brother, the infant silent as he sleeps his fatigue away. Seeing the two brothers in such a domestic state didn't at the very least make you temporarily forget the future tragedy that would befall on them; in fact, it only made the reminder louder in your thoughts.

Poor little brother is oblivious to how much this world and his own brother will damn him. You almost pity him...

Almost.

After all, it's Itachi who was the most damned in this god-forsaken family.

You continue to stare at the bundled newborn in your twin's arms, your brows furrowing and heart wrenching at the singular thought haunting your mind.

... Was I that ugly when I was a baby?

~*~*~

"Ne, Itachi, can I try holding Sasuke?"

"No."

"What?! Why?"

"He almost choked on a pop rock."

"I promised I wouldn't do it again!"

"It's only been a few months since he was born, yet you gave him a hard candy."

"It was only one teensy-tiny grain! It should've instantly dissolved on his tongue!"

"Yet he choked on it."

"... The sound he made was kinda funny, though..."

"That is why I'm not leaving Sasuke with you."

"Yeah, okay, fair."

~*~*~

It's October 10.

Knowing what's about to come, instead of spending your night in solitude like you usually do, you opt to stay by the house's engawa; specifically, beside Itachi, and by extension, Sasuke.

Oh? Is it time? You think curiously to yourself with a soft hum, feeling goosebumps crawling up your arms, when a cool, ominous autumn breeze passed by.

Sasuke starts crying, Itachi tries calming him, and you proceed to stand up from your seat to stretch your muscles.

Not-so-faraway, Kurama appears from a summoning cloud with vengeful rage under the full moon's light.

"That is our cue to go," you say mid-stretch, as you faintly hear people panic from a distance.

Itachi stands up with you, expecting you to watch his (and Sasuke's) back as the both of you would head towards the village shelter. Unfortunately for him, you have a different plan in mind, and you wish that Itachi wouldn't realize it sooner until you both arrive there.

Getting a tight grip on his free arm, you lead him to the opposite direction of the evacuation route.

"K-Kama, the shelter is that way!" You feel your foolish younger brother resist from your pull, as he forlornly looks at the direction where the majority of the citizens are headed. Not wanting to waste time arguing with him, you tell him the first thing that comes into your mind, and just hope you won't have to knock him out.

"Trust me!"

Itachi looks at you for a brief moment with his inquisitive dark eyes, before you feel his fight slip away. Then, he runs with you willingly.

Wow, stupid motherfucker actually trusted you.

Can't say that was a poor decision, you shrug to yourself.

You continue to take him and Sasuke to your intended destination.

Eventually, buildings and houses transition to shrubs and trees as you lead your brothers deeper into the forests of Konoha.

It's when you finally see the familiar fences that you feel yourself relax, with your tag-along doing the same.

Both of you pause to catch your breaths, with Itachi focusing more on making sure Sasuke isn't too joggled by the run. With no debris to dodge, the trip was not as difficult as compared to if you were to head towards the evacuation shelter, but you guess that the far distance made up for it.

"Where are we?" Itachi asks as he looks around the unfamiliar area, and you see Sasuke is no longer wailing.

With a smile, you answer.

"We're at Training Ground 44." You can tell that Itachi doesn't recognize the name yet, as he doesn't react violently to your decision of dragging him and an infant literally right next to the Forest of Death.

"Why did you bring us here?" He asks, doubt evident in his tone.

Ye of little faith, foolish younger brother, you think jokingly to yourself.

"It's safer here," you explain easily, your tone not betraying any of your latter thoughts. You then gesture at the metal railings of the training ground. "Did you know that there are seals plastered around these fences that power a genjutsu which repels animals in an instinctual level from a certain radius?"

Which is mainly for the animals inside the fences, but it would do you no good to tell him that.

He visibly relaxes at your indirect reassurance, his eyes now looking at you appraisingly.

"It works on bijuu too?" Itachi gives you a hopeful smile.

"I don't know!" You exclaim with a clueless beam, and his commending eyes were quick to transition into anger.

"Kama, we're alone here," he doesn't yell, but it's a near thing.

"Exactly," and before he could reprimand you further, you elaborate. "Even without the seals, we'd still be safe from the fox. Do you think it's a coincidence that the Kyuubi appeared in the middle of our village with no warning or whatsoever?"

At this, Itachi's creased brows slack and he stays silent as he ponders over what you just said.

"This is an attack on Konoha," you say, confirming his growing suspicions, and seeing your sudden change to uncharacteristic seriousness almost gave him a whiplash. "The Kyuubi could be a planned incursion or a diversion. Either way, the fox's purpose is to attack Konoha, and to attack Konoha is to attack its population. More people means more targets, and that means--"

"More people means more danger." Itachi finishes with dread, finally coming to the same conclusion.

"Wouldn't wanna make it easier for our attacker by flocking together now, would we?" You smirk knowingly, and like a switch, your usual smile returns. "Haha, but that's all just assumptions! What do I know?"

Sasuke continues to silently sleep.

An owl hoots from a distance.

~*~*~

The Kyuubi Attack is over before the sunrays of dawn appear to consume the stars that bore witness to Konoha's first catastrophe.

By the time Kurama is sealed, you return to the remains of the village with your brothers, only to find Fugaku and his accompanying forces escorting people from the shelter and collecting the dead.

"I knew you'd keep yourselves safe." Fugaku tells you and Itachi with confident pride when he sees you, but his suddenly lax shoulders gives his true thoughts away.

From your periphery, you spot the corpse of a young girl being covered by a white cloth, and you see a glimpse of her familiar hair and purple shirt. You know her name; Itachi doesn't and probably never will.

With a satisfied hum, you turn away to assist Fugaku and his men with grieving civilians to find their missing friends and family.

During the mass funeral, one thought continues to persist at the front of your mind that's trying to push down the queasy churning within your chest.

Ah well, at least that's one less heartbreak for Itachi to deal with, you internally chuckle to yourself, as you stare at her name that's elegantly carved on one of the thousand gravestones in Konoha's cemetery.

(Months later, when you attend your first day in the academy with your twin brother, you see no signs of Uchiha Izumi anywhere.)

~*~*~

It's already been a year since you've met Shisui, since he started training you, and you've grown used to his laughs.

You find it fitting that you met him in summer, as his laughter carries the sounds of the warm season. Like chiming bells, playing children, and chirping crickets.

It's annoying.

He's annoying.

And you start to wonder just how Itachi could handle the both of you in his life. Infinite patience, that's how; it must be. There would be no other plausible explanations otherwise.

"Oh c'mon, it's been a year! You should be able to hit the middle of the targets by now!" Shisui whines about your stagnant progress in accuracy training, but you only give him a petty smile for it.

"Maybe you're just a shit teacher," you tell him with a shrug, and he pouts at your insult.

Hey, if he's gonna be annoying, it's only fair for you to be as equally insufferable.

"That's not true. Itachi is doing well under my tutelage," he glares at you, but it holds no actual heat.

"That's because he's a prodigy; he can teach himself just by watching you," you say. "With him, you don't have to teach shit,"

"Friends aren't supposed to be this rude to each other," Shisui lightly scolds, and you give him a incredulous look for it.

"What the hell gave you the idea that we're friends?" You ask him with a raised brow.

"We're hanging out, aren't we?" He grins smugly at you.

"No, we just so happen to be training at the same spot at the same time,"

"Which is just another way of saying that we're hanging out,"

What a cheeky little shit.

"Okay, what's my favorite snack?" You challenge him, and at this, he visibly falters as he takes a moment to think.

"Uh... Dango?" He guesses sheepishly.

"Engk! Wrong answer," you cross your arms into an 'X' to emphasize your point.

"Wha-- unfair! What's my favorite snack?" Shisui indignantly huffs, as you give him a deadpanned look.

"I don't know, because we're not friends."

That shut him up, as he can't think of a proper response to your rebuttal.

It is silent for a while, before you startle when he begins to unexpectedly laugh.

(Like chiming bells, playing children, and chirping crickets.)

"You really are something else," he tells you, smiling that stupid smile that's so unlike yours whenever you look at your own reflection that-- "It's takoyaki," he shyly shares with you, halting your thoughts, and you gawk at him disbelievingly.

This boy, you swear to yourself, holding back a smile, is annoying.

(You tell him your favorite snack, and he feels special when he discovers for himself that no one else knows this about you.)

~*~*~

OMAKE: The Jackal and The Owl

It's not often she interacts with her godsons due to her responsibilities as one of Konoha's few seal users, but when she does, the result of the interaction depends on which one of Mikoto's sons she conversed with.

"Hi Kushina-san, you look fat today," Kama greeted her by the vegetable market stall, and she sputtered indignantly at his frank remark.

"Wha-- you disrespectful brat, I'm pregnant!" At this, the eldest Uchiha twin tilted his head owlishly.

"Oh,"

Kama was just simply the most vexing of the Uchiha twins, but--

Goddamn, why the fuck is he so cute!? Kushina internally seethed to herself. I wish my son would be just as cute!

"I swear, your cuteness is wasted by that rotten personality of yours, 'ttebane!" She yelled, before proceeding to aggressively ruffle the six-year-old's hair. He didn't bother to fix his hair afterwards.

"Thank you," he said, and his audacity was appalling.

"There's nothing to be proud of about your rotten personality!" She can feel her red hair floating threateningly behind her.

"All I heard is that you think I'm cute. I'm focusing on the positives in life,"

Not expecting that quip, Kushina wasn't prepared to hold in her laughter, and she consequently almost peed herself. She saw the way Kama's eye twitched at her reaction.

"You're a cheeky brat, y'know that?" She told him with a fond sigh, whilst holding her round stomach.

Then, he gave her his signature smile, and her humor slightly dimmed as the child's smile just tended to bewilder her. She can't help it; it just reeked of insincerity and she didn't know why he couldn't just be genuine with his joy.

Somehow, even when he's more expressive than his twin, he's just as equally aloof.

It's gotta be the work of Fugu-face, I'm sure of it! Kushina thought convincingly to herself. Goddamn his teachings of hiding emotions and all that bullshit, 'ttebane!

"So, what are you gonna name the baby?" Kama unexpectedly asked her.

"Oh, well... I'm still thinking about it with Minato," she honestly answered him, and the boy placed a hand thoughtfully on his chin.

"Hmm, what about Kurama?" He thought aloud.

Kushina felt her seal warm unsettlingly at the name.

"Uhh, maybe not," she told him with an uneasy smile.

"Eh, worth a shot," Kama shrugged, and she can't help but curiously ask.

"Why that name exactly?"

"No reason, just thought it sounds cool," he said, before quickly changing the topic. "Hey, why not write a letter for your baby?"

At this, Kushina raised a brow.

"Huh? What for?"

"In case you die," Kama said insensitively with a smile. Had he not been Mikoto's son, she would've uppercutted him straight to the goddamn moon.

"Wha-- don't jinx that, you brat!" She exclaimed, raising a fist. "Stressing me like this is bad for my baby!"

"I just said that just in case, because I sometimes hear of women dying of child birth. It just makes me think that..." For a moment, Kama looked genuinely remorseful, and Kushina can't help but feel a twinge in her heart at his rare show of vulnerability. "I'm really glad I'm not a woman,"

Her pity instantly disappeared.

"You little shit!" Just when she's about to hit him for real, he looked away.

"Oh, I think my mother is calling for me, bye!" He ran away before she can even swing her fist.

Little brat was lucky that the market was packed today, otherwise she would've given chase-- pregnant or not!

When she can no longer see the boy, she gave a fond sigh before looking down at her stomach.

Kushina knew that Kama's concern was genuine. She has a proverbial acute sense of smell for emotionally constipated people like him; take Kakashi as an example. She learned to know when they mean what they say or not.

Really, what is it with Mikoto's family being against emotions?

But, she considered, it wouldn't hurt to write her son a letter.

Just in case...

(Uzumaki Kushina didn't think she would be thankful of Kama's suggestion in her last moments.)

~*~*~

Uh oh, we're starting to see some of Kama's personality and some butterfly effects.

I can't believe I forgot to add the 'Unreliable Narrator' tag in the preface when it's the most important bit of this story. Oh well.

Also, I decided to give this story 10 chapters, instead of the original 9. Why? Because the number needs to be EVEN-- Don't worry, I just cut this chapter in half (and extended some bits) lol, the academy years were supposed to be in this chapter, but it would be too long.

Btw, I edited the first chapter's title from "Childhood" to "Son", because I want to give a theme to the chapter titles. The theme would be Kama's roles in each stage of his life.

Me @ Kama/MC when he's (sometimes) trying to be a good brother: He's a little confused but he's got the spirit.

Kama really cockblocked Itachi from his canon love interest sdgsdhKL