When Yuka and Sasuke turned one year old, the Uchiha clan hosted a grand birthday banquet.
To call it grand was a bit of an overstatement; in reality, it was just a gathering of close clan relatives who had come to offer their congratulations. The two little guests of honor were dressed up adorably by Uchiha Mikoto, sitting brightly and cleanly upon round straw cushions like a pair of exquisite, charming dolls.
By that time, Sasuke was already able to skillfully say words like "Mother," "Father," "Brother," and "Sister." Although he could not yet fully express what he wanted to do, shouting for people was no problem at all. Yuka, as usual, remained a little mute. While she used to emit soft humming sounds from the back of her throat, she didn't even bother with that anymore. All day long, she would use eye contact to signal Sasuke to call people over, while she herself stubbornly kept her mouth shut.
The two little ones were fraternal twins, and their daily interactions were practically telepathic. They didn't even need to speak clearly; a single glance was enough for each to know what the other was thinking.
The moment Yuka cast a look at Sasuke, he caught her drift immediately and blurted out, "Mother!"
Uchiha Mikoto, who was busy greeting guests, gave an acknowledgment, but she was far too busy—lacking both the time and energy to care what Sasuke wanted. Consequently, she sent Uchiha Itachi to resolve the problems of his younger siblings and cousin.
When Sasuke saw that it was Itachi who approached, he let out an "Ah."
Itachi raised a hand and flicked the tip of Sasuke's nose. "Dissatisfied?"
Sasuke blinked, reached out to pat Yuka's shoulder, and darted his eyes wildly—glancing alternately at Yuka, then his older brother, and then his mother. His meaning was abundantly clear: *I didn't call, she did! How am I supposed to know why she called Mother? But now that you're here, Brother, who knows if Yuka is even happy about it?*
Itachi failed to understand a single bit of this complex visual subtext, but he did understand the behavioral cue. He turned his head to look at Yuka.
Today, Yuka had been dressed by Mikoto to look like a pretty flower fairy. She wore an intricate, elaborately patterned kimono in soft, sweet tones. Her white skirt hem was dotted with tiny pink blossoms, the interweaving of white and pink just right. As she sat upon the cushion, the front and back of her skirt spread outward into a fluffy little cluster, resembling a blossoming flower.
Her hair, which had only just grown long enough to reach her back, was meticulously coiled up, exposing her pretty, chubby cheeks. Her dark eyes, clear and bright, happened to lift upward to lock gazes with Itachi.
The second she saw Itachi look over, Yuka raised her arms up high. Her meaning was equally obvious: *Pick me up.*
Itachi refused. "Mother said you have to sit nicely right here until this afternoon."
Having said that, he gave Yuka's head an assuring, comforting pat.
The brightness in Yuka's eyes visibly dimmed. She seemed to sigh, casting a listless, bored glance over the crowd of unfamiliar yet vaguely recognized people around her. She watched them converse with her parents, then watched them walk up to her and Sasuke to offer a few words of praise. It was excruciatingly dull.
With time like this to spare, she might as well have gone out into the courtyard to bask in the sun.
Sasuke wore a kimono matching Yuka's in color scheme, though a boy's attire was inevitably less ornate than a girl's. Sitting side-by-side, he was nudged slightly to the side by the spread of Yuka's skirt, yet he remained cheerful and showed no dissatisfaction, occasionally reaching out to tug playfully at the small flowers on her hem.
Sensing Yuka's boredom and restlessness, he raised a hand, fished out a piece of candy from goodness-knows-where, and handed it to her like a treasure offering.
"Sister!"
Hearing the call, Yuka turned her head to look at Sasuke.
"Eat!"
When it counted, the little older brother was truly reliable!
*Hmph!*
Yuka shot Itachi a massive side-eye, snatched the candy from Sasuke's hand, rapidly tore open the wrapper, and shoved it straight into her mouth just as Itachi's hand reached over.
Itachi's attempt at candy interception failed, and his handsome face gradually darkened.
"Uchiha Yuka," he said, using her full name, clearly angered. "Do you not want your teeth anymore?"
Yuka sucked on the candy, wearing an aloof, haughty expression that practically screamed, *I've already eaten it, what are you going to do to me?*
On the other side, Sasuke was chuckling away. He didn't know what cavities were, nor did he understand why his sister shouldn't eat candy. But he could feel the happiness Yuka felt after eating candy—and isn't being happy what matters? Why worry about all those other things?
"And you, Sasuke Uchiha." Itachi turned his head and gave Sasuke a tap on the forehead—seemingly forceful, but in reality very gentle. "Your sister's teeth aren't good; she needs to eat less candy."
Yuka was simply too fond of sweets; she practically lived for sugar. She even demanded sugar in her milk, refusing to touch it if it wasn't sweet. Her heavy sugar intake had already caused one of her newly sprouted teeth to turn black. While there was no major problem yet, cavities were bound to hurt later on.
Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Itachi shared a firm consensus: Yuka must not be made to endure the agony of tooth extraction at such a tender age.
Consequently, the two of them strictly controlled Yuka's sugar intake, ensuring no candy was left within a five-meter radius of her. By keeping it completely out of sight, she wouldn't think to crave it. Heaven only knew where Sasuke had managed to procure this slip-up of a sweet.
As the old saying goes, when you spot a single piece of candy, the culprit likely has a whole stash left.
Thinking this, Itachi reached out and patted Sasuke's pocket.
The moment he slipped his hand in, he froze.
"?"
With a rustling sound, Itachi pulled out a full handful of candies from Sasuke's tiny pocket. There were all sorts of flavors, wrapped in brightly colored, gorgeous candy wrappers—the exact style Yuka loved, at a single glance.
"!!!" Yuka's eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she looked ready to lunge forward and snatch them.
Fortunately, Itachi was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, sweeping the entire pile of candies back into his own grasp.
"Sasuke, where on earth did you get all this candy?"
Sasuke didn't speak, but his gaze drifted toward the tea pastries used to entertain the guests over yonder.
Itachi's gaze followed his line of sight. "..."
Good grief, the plate holding the candies had somehow become completely empty. Did that mean all those candies were stashed in Sasuke's pockets?
Neither the young master nor young miss had finished this chapter yet; please click the next page to continue reading for even more excitement!
Who knew how this child had managed to steal so many candies right under everyone's noses and stash them away? They were clearly so far away from the guest tables—how on earth could he have sniped sweets right under the adults' eyelids?
Entirely unlike Yuka, Sasuke didn't care for sweets at all; he disliked all things sugary. Therefore, hoarding all this candy was purely to keep Yuka happy.
For a moment, Itachi didn't know whether to praise Sasuke or scold him.
If he scolded him—well, the boy was doing it to make his sister happy, which was precisely what an older brother ought to do. If he didn't say anything—well, if things went on like this, what would happen when Yuka developed cavities? Little children didn't know better, but as an older brother, he couldn't afford to be ignorant too!
Itachi let out a silent sigh.
Just as he was about to deliver a lecture, he was interrupted by a clamor nearby.
"Sasuke, Yuka!" Uchiha Mikoto's voice called out from the side.
Uchiha Fugaku held two exquisitely crafted items—a kunai and a shuriken—placing them before the two little ones with a stern, deep voice: "Choose one each, as your first birthday gifts."
Kunai and shuriken were both symbols of ninja, representing Fugaku and Mikoto's expectations for the twins' future.
The Uchiha clan had already produced one genius; if they could produce two more...
Sasuke looked from the kunai to the shuriken, finally resting his hand upon the kunai. However, instead of taking it immediately, he turned back to look at Yuka.
If Yuka wanted the kunai as well, Sasuke would immediately pivot and choose the other.
Yet, Yuka chose neither.
She had zero interest in either kunai or shuriken.
The children were still young, and she was the youngest daughter. Even if they usually lacked the time to care for her personally, she was still held in the very center of their palms.
Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku spoke up, "Yuka, you may freely choose one as your birthday gift. Your father is not forcing you to choose, but among the gifts delivered today, these two are simply the prettiest."
Though he said that, the slight swaying motion he gave the kunai clearly revealed his strong desire for Yuka to pick it.
This was a world dominated by ninja; where could ordinary people ever match the prestige of a shinobi? Especially within a prominent clan like the Uchiha—becoming a ninja was an absolute given!
Both the kunai and shuriken had been sent as gifts by others and could not be considered genuine, deadly weapons. Being meant for infants, most of them were purely decorative. Consequently, hanging from the ring at the top of the kunai were two tassels of white fringe.
As Uchiha Fugaku gently swung the weapon, the pendants swayed along with it, the beads on the tassels colliding to produce a crisp, tinkling sound.
Yuka's attention was captured by the kunai for a single second before she uninterestingly looked away.
A black kunai paired with a white pendant—hideous.
Uchiha Mikoto understood her daughter thoroughly. Looking at Yuka with a smile, she said, "She's still too small; how could she understand a kunai at this age? She's loved brightly colored things since she was a baby. The colors of this kunai and shuriken are far too dim and grayish; it's no wonder Yuka doesn't like them."
Itachi glanced down at the glum Yuka and bent over to stroke her head.
"No rush. There are plenty of gifts left; Yuka can take her time choosing."
Yuka lifted her eyelids to look at Itachi, the corners of her eyes curving upward slightly, a cunning glint playing at the edges of her lips.
Anyone familiar with her knew that whenever she wore this expression, she was about to pull off some mischievous antic.
Itachi's brow twitched.
"This child—she doesn't talk, she just sits there silly-grinning." Uchiha Mikoto reached out to stroke her head as well. "What's there to be so happy about? Care to share so your father and mother can hear? Why are you whispering secrets with your brothers?"
Yuka tilted her head, her dark eyes darting fluidly as her gaze swept across the mountain-high pile of gift boxes.
What kind of wonderful expectations could a ninja clan possibly hold for children?
All they ever hoped for was that the children would grow into formidable, independent ninja.
Just like the expectations they had once held for Uchiha Itachi all those years ago.
With a prodigy like Uchiha Itachi already among them, the Uchiha clan harbored ambitions for even more.
They only prayed that their talent would never wane, allowing the Uchiha clan to grow even stronger and become the most formidable family in Konohagakure and across the entire Shinobi World.
As Yuka looked over the gift boxes, she noticed their color palette consisted solely of black, white, and gray, occasionally broken by ribbons of other hues. Yet none of those ribbons caught her eye. To be honest, the gift box decorations weren't even as vibrant as the dress she wore today; sitting right there, she was the most dazzling scenery in the entire clan.
It was boring—utterly boring.
Perhaps choosing a favorite gift at a first birthday banquet mattered a great deal to the Uchiha clan.
Upon seeing Yuka delay her choice, Uchiha Fugaku's expression darkened slightly.
He wasn't angry, nor was he throwing a tantrum; it was simply that as someone accustomed to holding a position of high authority for years, the moment his expression turned still, it inevitably took on a somewhat intimidating air.
Uchiha Mikoto linked her arm through his, wearing a polite smile. Though she didn't speak, her meaning was unmistakable: *It's the twins' birthday; can you please tone down your supreme leadership aura?*
Sensing the shift in his father's mood, Itachi lowered his gaze, cast an unreadable look at Yuka, and slipped his hand into his pocket, easing the multicolored candy wrappers out just a fraction.
*Rustle—*
The sound of the candy wrappers brushing against each other was faint, instantly masked by the general commotion elsewhere in the grand hall. But who was Yuka? She was the premier candy-loving toddler of the household.
She snapped her head around in an instant, fixing her gaze straight on Uchiha Itachi.
To be precise, she was staring at the corner of the candy wrapper peeking out of Itachi's pocket.
Goodness knew how striking those vividly multicolored wrappers were amidst the sea of black, white, and gray.
They were like a streak of brilliant light across a gray canvas, the brightest star in a dark night sky.
Yuka raised a finger, pointing it from afar straight at Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi pressed his hand down, pushing the candy wrappers back into his pocket before his parents could notice anything amiss.
Uchiha Mikoto followed the direction of Yuka's finger and was somewhat stunned to see that the soft little finger was pointing at Itachi. "Yuka, your father told you to pick a gift, and you're pointing at your brother..."
Sasuke was already hugging his kunai and watching the show from the side. He looked from Yuka to his older brother, burst into a cheerful laugh, and began pointing at Itachi as well. "Brother! Brother!"
Yuka blinked. She hadn't seen wrong; she was certain those pretty candies were right inside Itachi's pocket.
*But...* She raised her eyes to lock gazes with her straight-faced, expressionless brother, tilting her head.
What did Brother mean by this? Why wouldn't he give her the candy?
Could it be...?
Yuka turned her head to exchange a look with the excitedly beaming Sasuke, her gaze dropping to Sasuke's mouth, which kept moving as he tried to speak.
She parted her lips, mimicking Sasuke's lip-movements—
"Brother? I want Brother!" *(The candy in his pocket!!)*
Unfortunately, the vocabulary Sasuke had mastered at this stage was far too limited for him to string together a complete sentence. The extent of the help he could offer Yuka was severely restricted, which resulted in Yuka's speech consisting only of the first half, while the second half of her thoughts failed to be expressed at all.
A crisp, milky little voice burst forth from Yuka's throat, instantly giving Fugaku and Mikoto a fright.
*This...* Wasn't Yuka supposed to be mute? How did she manage to open her mouth and drop a whole sentence?!
Uchiha Itachi, however, showed no major change in expression. He seemed to have anticipated all along that Yuka could speak, and thus felt no great astonishment. He leaned down, lifted Yuka up, and scooped her into his arms.
"Choose Brother?" *(The candy in my pocket?)*
"Mhm." Yuka nodded, affirming with certainty: "Choose Brother." *(The candy in the pocket!!!)*
The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched upward before flattening just as quickly—a change so swift that even the Sharingan would have struggled to capture it.
Mikoto chuckled, amused. "How can a brother be counted as a birthday gift?"
Yuka blinked her eyes. "Bu- *t...*" *(I clearly just wanted)* "Bro- *ther...*" *(the candy in his pocket as a birthday gift, ya know?)* "I—" *(I didn't mean I wanted my brother as a birthday gift!)*
She stammered for ages without managing to make herself clear, leaving the two adults and one miniature adult before her looking entirely baffled. Finally, she gave up, closed her mouth, and looked toward her designated spokesperson—Sasuke Uchiha.
She believed in their psychic twin bond! Since Sasuke spoke earlier than she did, he definitely knew what she was trying to express!
Bolstered by the invincible telepathy of twins, Sasuke nodded with deadpan seriousness: "Mhm! Brother!"
The more they tried to explain, the worse it seemed to get...
Itachi turned his face away. Otherwise, he genuinely feared he wouldn't be able to keep himself from laughing out loud in a moment.
Fugaku and Mikoto stared alternately at the younger one and then the other younger one, utterly at a loss.
Yuka: "..." *That's not what I meant, little brother...*