You chose: <Shinobi Clan>

"B-Buh!" You wave your small hands at a woman, who smiles kindly at you. She has raven hair and onyx eyes.

A man with the same color of hair and eyes enters. He squeezes your cheeks and cooes at you something you don't really understand, but you giggle anyways. You don't know why, but you feel like you're related to him somehow.

Then, a younger man appears. His hair is spikier than the older man's, but he looks quite similiar. Both of them are even wearing the same headband! He scoops you up, murmuring words to you.

Soon, you fall asleep.

---

<Congrats! Thanks to your wonderful older brother, you are now three years old.>

"Shisui-nii-san! Hungry!" The boy, who you know as your older brother, blinks, turning. He crouches down in front of you, tapping you lightly on the head.

"Saki, you know I'm the wrong person to ask."

You blink at him. "Why?"

"Because he manages to burn cup ramen, after pouring water in it." A voice behind you deadpans. You giggle as your kaa-san scoops you up, twirling you around.

"Kaa-san! Where's tou-san?"

Her smile falters slightly, but you don't notice.

"Away."

---

<Congratulations! Because of lots of sleep, you are now five years old.>

"Tou-san?" Your father smiles down at you, holding crutches. "What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, a little incident."

You frown. A 'little incident' does not cause someone to lose a leg.

---

<Congrats! Because of. . . reasons, you are now six years old.>

"Transform!"

"Good job, imouto! You've got the transformation down perfectly."

"Does that mean I'm ready for the academy now?"

"Yep!"

---

"Wake up, imouto."

"I'm up already."

"Ah, sorry. I didn't realize. . ."

"You can sense chakra, nii-san! And, you have those sharingamy things! Can't you tell that I'm awake?!"

"Sharingan can't see through walls! And even if it could, I wouldn't look! Who wants to see their own imouto naked?!"

"You, you pervy shinobi!"

"N-Nani?!"

---

"So. How was your first day?"

"It was okay. There were a lot of boys staring at me and their eyes were shaped like hearts. Why do they do that?"

What boys? Where?

"A-Ah, nii-san-"

If anyone touches a hair on my precious imouto's head. . .

"Nii-san, stop radiating killing intent."

"A-Ah! Sorry!"

<You are now seven years old, thanks to Shisui's salty birthday cake.>

"I met a boy at school today. I've seen him many times, but I've never talked to him before. He seems kinda stuck up."

"Oh? Who was it?"

"His name's Sasuke, but I think his hair looks like a duck's butt."

". . ."

". . . Shisui-nii-san?"

". . . Pfft-"

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, nothing."

"Why are you smiling?"

"No reason. I'm going to take you to meet a friend of mine."

---

You stare at the boy.

He stares back.

He looks younger than your nii-san, but he also has a sort of calm aura around him. He finally breaks the silence.

"Hello. I am Itachi Uchiha."

"Saki Uchiha. It is a pleasure to meet you." You give him a shallow bow, reserved for friends and greetings.

"Likewise." He bows back.

The serious, formal atmosphere is completely ruined when you suddenly grab both his and your nii-san's hands, pulling them towards the exit of the Uchiha Compound. "Now that all those stuffy formalities are over, let's go get some dango! Shisui-nii-san, I challenge you to another dango-eating contest!"

"N-Nani?! You know that I don't-"

"Object and I'll tell kaa-san your secret-"

"- uh, uh, disagree with you!" He squeaks. "Please don't tell kaa-san!"

"-good!" You chirp.

In the background, Itachi facepalms with his free hand. "And I thought that your sister would be. . . calmer than you, Shisui. How wrong I was."

"HEY!"

---

Shisui-nii-san has been acting weird.

You notice because no one thinks you notice, because after all, you're just a kid.

You notice the way he tries to distance himself. Nowadays, when you ask him if he wants to go out to get dango, he declines more often than not.

You notice the way his eyes dart to and fro, as if he's scared an enemy shinobi will jump out from beneath the dining table, or from under the couch, or from behind you.

You notice the way he sighs, the dark bags under his eyes, the way his hands clench into fists at random times.

Itachi is quieter as well, spending more and more time around Shisui. Sometimes, your nii-san disappears without a trace, along with Itachi. You suspect that they're up to something, but you're not sure what.

Standing, you make your way to your tou-san's room.

He's lying in bed, his remaining leg hidden under the covers. He's propped up by pillows. Occasionally, he coughs, a horrible noise that makes you cringe.

Your kaa-san is sitting next to him, helping him drink tea.

They both look up when you enter. In an instant, your tou-san's hands reach for the kunai hidden under his pillow.

"Who are you?!" He hisses.

Your heart plummets. You knew this day would come eventually, but it still hurts. Your father has been slowly forgetting names and faces. He's finally forgotten about you, and he forgot about Shisui a long time ago. The only person he seems to remember is your kaa-san, who soldiers on with a stony face.

Your family knows he's dying.

But sometimes, you wish he could stay.

---

<Congratulations! Thanks to the natural progression of life, you are now eight years old.>

Your tou-san's funeral is a somber one.

The graveyard is full of blank-faced Uchiha, hiding their emotions. Your kaa-san, however, is losing her composure. As the coffin is lowered into the ground, she turns to your nii-san, and he engulfs her in a hug, patting her on the back. You soon join her, and the three of you sway, a small island of grief and love in a sea of stoic Uchiha.

At home, you wipe away your tears.

Shisui is the one who will support the family now. He'll need help.

So, you'll do your best to graduate the academy as quickly as you can so that you can help your nii-san make money.

---

"I'm sorry."

Those are the two words you hear.

Over and over and over.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

Your nii-san committed suicide.

How?

How?

Shisui-nii-san is- no, was- a very loyal person.

He was devoted to the Uchiha clan. He loved his village.

Why would he commit suicide?

Why?

Why?

Why?

The men standing at the door look slightly uncomfortable. They're the ones who brought you the news.

You think about your kaa-san instantly. She's still upstairs, bedridden with grief from her husband's passing.

You can't possibly tell her that Shisui-nii-san is dead, too.

". . . I see," You say, your face uncharacteristically blank. ". . . Thank you for bringing us this news."

They nod, and turn, going back down the path, away from your house.

You quietly close the door, going back upstairs to see your kaa-san.

"Who was it?"

"Oh, Aki-chan wanted to know if you were alright. I told her you were," you lie through your teeth. Aki, your neighbor, is a nice old lady who is famous for her love of cats.

"Oh, okay." Your kaa-san gives you a weak smile. "Where's Shisui-kun?"

You stiffen, but she doesn't notice. ". . . He's away on a mission."

"Ah."

"Would you like some water?"

"No, I'm alright. I just need to sleep a little."

You nod, exiting the room and closing the door behind you.

You go downstairs, still dressed in your mourning clothes. Carefully, you slip on your shoes. You open and close the door quietly, careful to not disturb your mother.

On the way to your destination, you buy a box of dango and single white lily.

---

Finally, you stop.

You're on the cliff that your nii-san supposedly jumped off of.

You're surprised that there's no investigators in the area.

You sit down at the edge of the cliff, a soft smile on your face.

"Shisui-nii-san. . ."

Your face abruptly morphs into one of rage.

"YOU BAKA!" You cry, tears forming in your eyes. "WH- WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ANYONE?! WHY?!"

The rushing noise of the river is your only answer.

"SO THAT'S IT?!" You shout into the still air. "THAT'S ALL IT WAS?! Y-YOU DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO JUST- JUST-"

You fall to your knees, a scream of pure anger, frustration, and grief clawing its way out of your throat. You howl to the sky, scratching at the hard ground with your fingernails. Tears are pouring down your face now, your hair is a mess, but you just don't care.

"Y-You. . ." You sob, eventually losing energy and curling up into a ball on the ground. "Wh-Why. . .?

You laugh bitterly. "Wh-Why didn't you at least say goodbye first?"

Someone engulfs you in a hug. You stiffen as you recognize who it is.

"I. . . Itachi?"

"Shhh." He stares at the horizon, at the trees on the other side of the canyon, at the waterfall flowing down into the river. You follow his gaze, tears still streaming down your face.

"H-He. . ."

"It'll be okay. It'll be okay."

You don't know how long the two of you stay like that, but eventually Itachi releases you, looking a little flustered. You giggle shakily - You've never seen Itachi flustered before, but then again, you've never seen him hug someone on his own accord.

"What. . ." you hiccup, before continuing, ". . . are you doing here?"

"I was passing by on my way to. . . the training grounds when I heard crying."

You nod, accepting his answer.

You hug your knees, staring blankly at the sunset in front of you. It's beautiful, and the trees form a black silhouette against the orange-pink-purple canvas of the sky. Eventually, you stand, reaching for the box of dangos and the white lily you left lying on the edge of the cliff.

"Shisui-nii-san." You speak the words into the air. "I-I. . ."

"Y-You never did like dango, b-because you always somehow managed to m-mess it up when you tr-tried to make it." You let out a shaky laugh, wiping your eyes. "I-I got you a box anyways." You lay the white lily on top of the cheerfully decorated cardboard box.

"I-I always did like to get under y-your skin. I-I hope you're happy in the after- *sob* - afterlife."

Don't cry, imouto. I hate it when that happens.

You smile through your tears. "B-Bye, Shisui-nii-san. Thank you for everything."

You can feel Itachi's gaze burning into your back. You turn to him.

"L-Let's go."

---

"Alright. Class is dismissed." Your teacher, Iruka-sensei, gathers up his papers and dashes to his desk, just in time to avoid the torrent of kids flowing out the door. You follow them, entering the courtyard of the school.

Your eyes scan the area. There's no one there to pick you up. You sigh.

Shisui-nii-san's late again-

Wait.

No.

You close your eyes.

"Are you okay?"

You turn, and to your surprise, you see Sasuke Uchiha staring back at you. You gulp.

"Y-Yes. I'm. . . fine."

He blinks, nodding. "I heard."

". . . Yeah."

He gives you a childish smile. "Well, cheer up. I'm gonna practice my shuriken throwing. Wanna join me?"

You stare at him, astonished. This was the little stuck-up boy you met that day?

Realizing that he's still waiting for an answer, you fumble. "U-Uh. . ."

If you choose to <Accept Sasuke's Invitation>, go to >26<.

If you choose to <Decline Sasuke's Invitation>, go to >27<.