those old memories
keep me going, unlike you
who slowly kills me.

— ○ —

01 | o n e.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Izumi?" The Uchiha boy asked. He was in a happy mood to see his friend after a long time.

"Yes, Itachi. It's the first time after you became a genin." Suddenly Izumi gasped. "I'm sorry, I haven't gotten you any presents. I haven't even congratulated you. I'm so sorry.." She spoke with a sad voice.

"You don't have to apologize that much," Itachi replied, his words being genuine.

"It doesn't really count as a gift, but," The brunette started unpacking the packet resting on her lap. It revealed a bunch of shiny three-coloured dumplings. "Would you have one? My mother loves these tri-coloured dumplings so I decided to buy them on the way."

Itachi's mouth watered at the sight. Dumplings were one of his favorite foods, so there was no reason to decline Izumi's sweet offer. But then, the girl said, "But, maybe someone like Itachi who's tough, manly and graduated earlier than everyone wouldn't have a sweet tooth. Silly of me to assume by myself." She moved the packet away.

A frown appeared on Itachi's face. Izumi said, "But since I opened them, I better eat them all by myself."

Izumi was about to take a bite out of the dessert, but then she saw the boy staring deeply at it. "Wait.. You want to eat it, Itachi?" She asked, making the said boy blush and look away.

— ○ —

Izumi giggled as Itachi ate his second dumpling. "Is it strange..?" He asked nervously.

"No, it's just that I've known you for a long time, and yet I didn't know about your favorite food."

"Rank and gender have nothing to do with the food one likes." Itachi said, a small, embarrassed pout forming on his lips.

"Yeah." Izumi replied, then started laughing again. This made Itachi blush again and he turned away. "Okay, okay, let me really make it up for you this time. Tell me, is there anything you want?" Izumi said, still smiling.

Itachi deeply stared into Izumi's eyes. He knew that she had already awakened her Sharingan. Seeing his look, Izumi guessed exactly what Itachi wanted.

"I thought so.. But Itachi, I'm sorry. That's one thing I can't give you," Izumi said sorrowfully. "But I'll pray for you, so that your Sharingan would awake very soon. When that happens, I'll definitely congratulate you!"

— ○ —

"Congratulations, Izumi!" Itachi said cheerfully, a heartwarming smile plastered on his lips.

"Thank you so much! I can't believe I'm officially a genin now, that too, a year earlier than everybody else." Izumi replied with the same smile. She was overjoyed because becoming a genin was a huge step closer to reaching her dream.

"This calls for a celebration. Let's go and eat together at a shop, shall we?" The raven boy suggested, and the girl nodded enthusiastically.

After a walk of a few minutes, they reached a tea shop. "My teammate, Shinko works here." Itachi spoke as he and Izumi entered the shop. It wasn't fancy at all, rather it gave off a cozy and humble vibe that attracted customers a lot.

"That's great, I can meet her today." She smiled, her eyes closing in the gesture.

— ○ —

"Nice to meet you, Shinko! I'm Izumi, Itachi's classmate!" Izumi spoke cheerfully, bowing at the older girl.

"Nice to meet you, Izumi," She replied with a smile, admiring Izumi's politeness. "Hope you'll enjoy the service we provide here."

"I definitely will! Thank you!"

After a small talk, Shinko went away to get their orders. Itachi faced the girl, then said, "You've become a genin now. What do you want to do next?"

Izumi thought for a bit, a determined look appearing on her face. "I want to prepare for the chuunin exams next. I really want to become a jonin." She said.

"Why?" The boy questioned, resting his cheek on his hand with his elbow on the table.

"I.." Izumi bit her lower lip, "I want to become strong enough to protect and help everyone around me. My father sacrificed his life to save me and my mother, I want to be someone like him." She spoke, her expression saddening as she remembered her late father.

Itachi stayed silent for a bit, staring at the girl's eyes. She was looking away and seemed to be in deep thought. Itachi knew she had awakened her sharingan, but she couldn't use it properly.

"Izumi, are you sure you can do this? I mean, your chakra levels aren't that high. You can't use your Sharingan properly as well. The only thing you are good at is taijutsu, and only that won't last you at the chuunin exams, let alone bring you victory," Itachi spoke. His words clearly hurt Izumi, but he didn't seem to realize it. "I think you'd be better off if you abandon this goal."

The brunette Uchiha's eyes teared up. She never thought that Itachi thought of her powers so lowly. Maybe she really was weak? She could never be someone like her father.

Without a word, Izumi stood up, her tears staining her cheeks. "Izumi.. What are you-" Making Itachi stop midway, Izumi ran out and away from the shop. The customers were surprised to see her act like this, but no one was more shocked than Itachi himself.

Why would the truth hurt her?

— ○ —

Why did the truth hurt her back then? Why does it still hurt, after all this time?

Izumi was standing in the middle of a training ground, reminiscing her memories of 4 years ago, when she and Itachi still met frequently. What Itachi had said to her on the day of her graduation was entirely true. She truly couldn't use her Sharingan properly, she also would end fights without using ninjutsu because she was so bad at it. How could she ever reach her goal like this? Even till this day, there hasn't been a single time where Izumi used her Sharingan and didn't faint.

Suddenly Izumi felt the presence of a really familiar chakra right behind her. She turned around and punched the person with full strength. However, the moment she landed the punch, the person disappeared and someone else attacked her from the side. She knew it was a clone and she couldn't deflect him properly, so she threw kunais at him. He easily dodged them and attacked Izumi, which resulted into him pinning her to the ground, which meant victory.

"Ah, you won again, Tenma." Izumi sighed. Tenma was her childhood friend and they were on the same team.

"Of course I did!" The said boy huffed. "You're so absent-minded today, this is my fourth win. What's gotten into you?" He stood up and helped the girl do so.

Izumi only stayed silent. She didn't want to stop training, but to convince Tenma to do so would require her lying. She didn't want to lie to her best friend.

"Let's wrap it up for today. Clear your head, we'll train tomorrow." Tenma said after letting a small sigh out.

"Alright," Izumi nodded. Her voice made it clear that she wanted to train more, but there was no other choice.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Izumi reached home. It was already sundown when she did so. "I'm home," She said as she stepped into the house.

"Welcome back, dear." Izumi's mother, Hazuki stepped out of the kitchen and spoke. "How was training today?"

"It was horrible," The girl pouted while taking off her shoes. "I couldn't concentrate at all."

Hazuki frowned. She wondered why Izumi couldn't concentrate, but she didn't ask. She said, "It's alright, you'll do better tomorrow. For now, would you please freshen up and help me make dinner?"

"Sure." Izumi said and went upstairs to her room.

After taking a bit rest, Izumi went downstairs. She started helping Hazuki with whatever she needed. She was lost in her own thoughts while doing so; she snapped out of it as she heard Hazuki speaking.

"Izumi, I've been thinking." She said. "The mighty Uchiha, the once feared-by-all clan, we're not so mighty anymore are we?" She tilted her head, waiting for her daughter's response.

"Uh," The brunette was confused. What did her mother mean by this? "Um, I-"

The elder woman cut her off and said, "After the Nine-tails attack, we're confined to this small corner of the village. We can't even choose where to live. I wonder why we let the Hokage take such control of us. I mean, we're the Leaf Police after all, we should've stopped this from happening."

Izumi silently listened to Hazuki. She was talking against the Hokage. The younger didn't support that at all, but she didn't have the courage to say anything against her mother.

"I wonder what'll happen to this Godforsaken clan. If your father was alive," She looked away. "I would never have come back here."

Talking about the deceased, beloved man made both of the womens' faces gloomy. They tried heart and soul to not think about the days they spent together as a family, but they failed. They realized just how much they missed him. They wished desperately that the man would not have sacrificed himself that night. They wished to die altogether as a family, not to live in a world where he doesn't exist.

They wished to be free from this sadness.

Sounds of soft sobs escaped the elder's lips. She couldn't help the tears that stained her cheeks as well. "Mother..." Izumi called, sad to see her mother like this. "Don't cry, please.."

She went over to her and hugged her. The instant she did, the elder woman burst into tears. She couldn't stop crying at all. Izumi tried to calm her, but it was of no use.

Izumi thought to herself, why did her father sacrifice himself that night? It was because he wanted her and her mother to live on into a better future, wasn't it? Ruining their lives because of Izumi's mere weakness was the last thing she planned to do. No matter what, she would never let her father's death be in vain.

Izumi promised herself once more, that she would become someone like her father, someone who can help and protect everyone around her.