Ever since she had found her voice, Uchiha Yuka simply could not stop. There was endless joy in speaking; she no longer had to play charades with her older brother, nor did she have to stare blankly at her mother. How wonderful it was to talk—she did not even have to lift a finger, just open her mouth and someone would come to her aid.
Yuka had an exceptional capacity for learning, picking up speech much faster than Sasuke. In the morning, Uchiha Mikoto would drag her through a few phrases, and by the afternoon she could basically string whole sentences together. By evening, she would repeat everything right back to Uchiha Itachi. Granted, with her current intellect, she did not actually understand what those obscure words combined into sentences meant, but... at least she could say them.
As for the meanings? They could teach her those bit by bit later on.
People always had to take things one step at a time.
Sasuke’s progress in speaking was a bit slower, but he had inherited the Uchiha clan’s fine tradition of strong learning ability.
By the time the twins were a year and a half old, both had graduated from their walkers, and Yuka had graduated from the basic syllable-learning textbooks.
Though Yuka and Sasuke were twins, their preferences were practically poles apart.
From a very young age, Sasuke took a deep interest in the ninjutsu of his older brother and father. At eighteen months old, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi began taking him to the training grounds every day. Fugaku would first watch Itachi train, and then guide Sasuke through physical conditioning. Because Sasuke was still so small, with tiny arms and legs, strenuous exercise would stunt his growth; therefore, Fugaku simply had him walk laps around the training ground to build a solid foundation first, making everything else easier down the road.
As for Yuka... if she could sit, she would never stand; if she could lie down, she would never sit; and if she could sleep, she would never stay awake.
In short—she hated moving.
The moment she opened her eyes every day, her first words were about food. As soon as she finished eating, she would drag a small stool over, find some shade beneath a tree, lean back against the chair, and leaf through a scroll bigger than her own face. These scrolls were ninjutsu scrolls passed down through generations of the Uchiha clan, recording thousands of techniques unique to the clan, though most had long since been lost due to their extreme difficulty.
Yuka had dug these scrolls out around the house herself when she was bored. Nobody knew what she was looking at day in and day out; after all, from the outside, all scrolls looked pretty much the same. Furthermore, the techniques described within were far too complex. Even if someone happened to see her (Momoko, for instance), she would never suspect that a little girl under two years old could actually understand them. An adult like herself would doze off just looking at them, so it was no wonder the little miss managed to fall asleep reading every single day.
Yuka didn't think she could understand them either, but... her memory was truly terrifyingly strong. Even if she didn't understand, she memorized every single bit of it in her mind. She didn't know how to use these ninjutsu—after all, she was currently just an ordinary person who hadn't reached the age to cultivate chakra. Still... being able to remember such complex ninjutsu was indeed quite frightening.
Yet this fright was something she was far too young to comprehend.
One day, when Itachi returned from the training ground, he happened to see Yuka lying beneath a large tree with a scroll covering her face.
As he drew closer, he heard faint, even breathing coming from beneath the scroll. The little thing was fast asleep.
Itachi reached out, removed the scroll, and glanced at it casually.
"..."
What was recorded inside were issues concerning the inheritance of the Bloodline Limit, detailing with dense, microscopic explanations how Bloodline Limits were formed and how they could be developed to their utmost limits. It also covered how the Sharingan was passed down and what possessing a Sharingan entailed.
The text was so vast and lengthy that even Uchiha Itachi had to read for a long time to barely grasp a fraction of it.
To be honest, it looked rather like the mad scrawling of a lunatic.
The hand seals for the techniques recorded within were so difficult that even someone as brilliant as Itachi struggled to make sense of them, to say nothing of the long and convoluted incantations.
Itachi rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The word "developed" was used in a remarkably subtle way.
The Byakugan of Konohagakure and the Sharingan were both like this...
Lost in thought, Uchiha Itachi rolled up the scroll, sealed it away, and bent down to lift Yuka gently into his arms.
"Big brother?" Yuka opened her drowsy eyes, let out a yawn, and asked, dripping with sleepiness, "Why are you back so early? Where's Sasuke?"
She rarely called Sasuke her older brother.
In Yuka's mind: Sasuke and I were born at the exact same time; he was only out a tiny fraction of a moment earlier. We are fundamentally the same age—where is there any distinction of older brother, younger brother, older sister, or younger sister?
Sasuke would tilt his head: "Older sister?"
Yuka's expression would instantly change: "No way! You are not allowed to call me older sister."
Sasuke: "Eh?"
Yuka would imperiously thrust out a single finger and argue her case: "Me calling you Sasuke and you calling me younger sister are fundamentally different. Either call me younger sister, or call me Yuka! You are not allowed to call me older sister!"
...In her private heart, Yuka believed that being an older sibling (the slightly older child in a family) meant bearing far more burdens and responsibilities. Ever since she could remember, she had watched her older brother bustle about, running himself ragged for the sake of the so-called title of Uchiha prodigy.
What prodigy, anyway? No matter how talented someone was, the hardship and sweat poured into it behind the scenes were beyond anyone else's reach.
She didn't want that; she found it exhausting, and therefore firmly rejected Sasuke calling her older sister.
How wonderful it was to be the younger sister who could just lie flat.
Her older brother and little older brother were both outside training bitterly, while she alone could sleep in the shade of a tree. How marvelous.
"Sasuke isn't coming back for lunch," Uchiha Itachi said as he carried her toward the room. "Why didn't you go back to your room to sleep?"
"Isn't he hungry?" Yuka muttered, burying her head into the crook of Itachi's neck and nuzzling him. "Reading was too exhausting. Too many words, couldn't understand."
Itachi's lips curved slightly. "It's normal that you don't understand. You're still little."
Yuka asked, "Will I understand when I grow up?"
"Mn." Uchiha Itachi knew she loved reading; it was a good habit for his little sister, and he would never utter discouraging words. "You will."
"That's good. Ah—choo—" Yuka smacked her lips, her head slowly drooping downward, and fell asleep in a single second.
Long, even breaths sounded by his ear. Itachi patted Yuka's back rhythmically, carried her back to her room, and brought up the matter while eating with Mikoto.
"Yuka is reading forbidden ninjutsu scrolls?" Mikoto covered her mouth in shock.
Uchiha Itachi nodded. "Mn."
Seeing how calm her son's response was, Mikoto was momentarily speechless, but still asked, "She's not even two yet—can she understand them? Besides, those are all forbidden arts... isn't it a bit much for her to read so many?"
Uchiha Itachi grew even more serene. "She doesn't understand. Yuka just falls asleep reading them."
"Eh?" Mikoto nearly choked, but she quickly swallowed her food, recalled Yuka's sleeping habits over the past period, and finally understood the source of her sleepiness.
Having figured it out, Mikoto stopped worrying. Instead, she ate her meal with the same calm composure as Uchiha Itachi. "Well then... I suppose that's fine? They're long-lost ninjutsu anyway, and forbidden ones at that; no one in the Uchiha family has been able to learn them for years. If she likes to read them, let her read. Since reading puts her to sleep, she gets to sleep more. How wonderful."
Was she really just falling asleep...?
Well, who could say?
How wonderful.
*
When she turned two, Uchiha Mikoto lifted the curfew for Yuka, telling her that she could go out to play as long as an adult accompanied her, but no matter when she left, she had to be back home sharp by five in the afternoon.
The "adults" in question meant anyone older than Uchiha Itachi (including Uchiha Itachi himself).
Itachi was busy with training, Fugaku was busy with work, Mikoto was busy with housework, and Sasuke was busy trailing after his older brother like a little shadow. Everyone had their own things to attend to. When all was said and done, the only person left who could follow Yuka around was Momoko.
Momoko shouldered the responsibility of protecting the little miss and went out with her every single day.
Ever since she was allowed outside, Yuka lost interest in sleeping. As soon as she finished breakfast in the morning, she would drag Momoko out the door.
Hurry-scurry, with a brisk and vigorous stride, high-spirited and mighty—anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was heading out to pick a fight.
Just finishing breakfast, Itachi would find himself unable to find Yuka whenever he wanted to speak with her for a moment.
Itachi: "..."
What did they call this again? A girl grown was not to be kept?
But Yuka was only two years old?
Truly disheartening.
Sasuke didn't understand. He tilted his head and took hold of his brother's hand. "What is it, big brother?"
"It's nothing." Itachi patted his head. "Let's go. We're heading to the training ground."
Sasuke was better, after all. At least by his side, wherever his gaze fell, Sasuke would be there. That was safe.
How wonderful.
...Uchiha Yuka had no idea how many intricate thoughts were churning inside her older brother's heart. She obediently let Momoko hold her hand as they walked down the street, her eyes fixed on the colorful signs lining the way. Whenever something caught her interest, she would charge right in on a massive shopping spree, living up to the airs of a young lady of means.
As for food stalls, Yuka ignored quality and taste, picking items purely by how pretty they looked.
As for clothing shops, she would tug on the sleeve of the store owner, her voice soft, milky, and deadpan, asking with utter seriousness whether they could tailor something custom-made for her—she wanted it to be in all the colors of the rainbow.
Upon seeing such a cute little girl, the clothing store owner's mouth split wide open in a smile, only to snap shut in utter astonishment once he heard her request.
"You want... all the colors of the rainbow?"
"Mm-hmm!" Yuka nodded heavily, ticking them off on her fingers: "I want yellow sleeves, blue collars, a pink shirt, and green pants! Oh... and it would be best to match it with a red backpack! A single-strap one!"
These were all the colors she knew so far! Putting them together would definitely look super-duper amazing!
Momoko: "..." *Little miss, can you really wear that out in public? Will madam not faint on the spot?*
Clothing store owner: "..." *Mentally picturing that outfit truly makes for a dazzling scenery, hahaha.*
In the end, Yuka was forcibly carried out by Momoko.
Momoko was genuinely terrified; she was afraid the little miss might actually insist on making such an outfit. What would happen then by tomorrow night? The clothing store owner's face had turned the color of a pig's liver—she didn't want him passing out from the shock.
Since Yuka liked brightly colored and glowing things, Momoko led her toward a dessert shop.
Exquisite and pretty desserts quickly captured Yuka's attention.
Actually, the sweets made in Konohagakure at present weren't all that fancy, but... compared to everything else shrouded in dreary grays and greens, these colors appeared exceptionally vibrant in Yuka's eyes.
She simply refused to look at too much black and gray. The entire Uchiha clan was a sea of dark oils; seeing it too much was truly tiresome.
Yuka gave her little hand a grand, bold wave, lifted her chin, and told the clerk, "I want all of them!"
Those colorful little sweet dumplings, here she came!
Yet invariably at times like this, Momoko would tell her sternly and righteously, "That won't do, little miss. Madam said before that you can only have sweets once every three days. Be a good girl, let's just look at them, alright?"
Yuka froze: "Once every three days?"
"Yes, otherwise eating too many sweets will give you cavities."
Yuka was speechless, letting out a long sigh to the heavens with a deeply furrowed brow. Her chubby little face assumed a bitter expression: "Goodness! Is there really no sugar-free dessert in this world?"
A child's words were both innocent and adorable.
Could something without sugar even be called a dessert?
Momoko didn't know, but she found Yuka's expression endearing. She reached out to poke her cheek, pressing back the puffed-up, blowfish-like face.
"How can something without sugar be sweet, little miss?"
"Mmph." Yuka let out a disgruntled whine, but resilient as she was, she would not be defeated by such a minor setback!
It was just... farewell! Pretty little dumplings in the display case! Farewell! My youth! (*Child, are you serious? You're only two years old; your youth hasn't even started.*)
Turning on her heel, preparing to leave the area, she failed to watch where she was going and went *bang* right into the leg of an incoming person.
"┗|｀O′|┛Oof!" Dizzy from the impact, Yuka clutched her forehead and cried out.
"A kid?" A magnetic voice, hovering between youth and manhood, came from above. It carried little inflection, sounding rather low: "Sorry, I didn't notice."
Disgruntled, Yuka raised her head, preparing to scold the person for failing to notice her just because she was short, but the moment she opened her mouth, her vision was filled with dazzling white.
Such white hair... tinged with a faint silver and a faint gray, appearing exceptionally brilliant under the sunlight streaming through the doorway.
Before she could even speak, the stranger apologized once more and hurried off. He had a slender build, wore a black face mask, a black form-fitting combat uniform, and was outfitted with a gray flak jacket and chainmail over it.
As for his looks... Yuka didn't pay attention to his face, focusing entirely on his hair.
"Such pretty hair," she muttered. "Can I dye mine like that?"
Momoko: *Gasp!*
She hurriedly covered the little miss's eyes. *"Little miss, don't look! Don't think about it, don't dye it!"*
If madam ever found out about this, what would become of her?! Would the Uchiha clan's generations-long heritage of jet-black hair be ruined right here in the hands of the little miss?!
Just as Yuka recovered from her state of admiring another person's dazzling silver hair and turned into a small alleyway with Momoko, she bumped into a boy crouching by the roadside with his head down and his back to the street.
The boy had a very thin, small frame, wearing a drab gray vest that made his figure almost blend into the brown tree trunk.
Yuka walked past him without looking aside, but her ears caught several extremely faint sounds of sobbing.
He was crying.
Curious, Yuka tilted her head to look and happened to catch the sight of him raising his head.
At that single glance, Yuka froze once more.
Gold... a blonde color even more dazzling than the silver-white from before, just like the sun glowing and radiating warmth in the sky, while his round eyes held a pair of azure pupils, clear like the heavens.
The... the sky and the sun?!
Wasn't... wasn't this way too flashy?!
"I like him," (referring to his hair and eyes) Yuka pointed at the little boy crouching on the ground and said to Momoko, "I want to be friends with him."
Her tone bore her habitual domineering style of omitting the main point.
The person crying heartily on the ground slowly turned his head around: "Eh?"