"Itachi, call your sister to dinner."
Uchiha Mikoto stepped out of the kitchen and saw her son kneeling at the table. Kokoro wasn't there, so she asked Itachi to fetch her.
He nodded silently and walked outside.
Just as he expected, Kokoro was in the yard—still practicing with her shuriken.
Always so diligent.
"It's time to eat," he called.
Hearing Itachi's voice, Kokoro turned. He stood in the corridor, distant and cool as always. She gave a small nod and came inside.
Itachi rarely called her by name. Only once in a while, in rare moments, would he say "Kokoro."
"Kokoro, are you happy here?" Mikoto asked gently, placing food into her bowl.
Kokoro picked up the dish and placed it into Itachi's bowl instead, narrowing her eyes with a playful smile. "Itachi-niisan, eat."
Mikoto's heart warmed at the sight. "Itachi, thank your sister."
Itachi was only ten days older than Kokoro, though she was taller than him. To anyone who didn't know their ages, it might have seemed Kokoro was the elder.
"…Thank you." Itachi hesitated a moment, then thanked her quietly.
"Your mother should be back this afternoon. From now on, you'll be living with Minako."
Mikoto herself wasn't sure who Minako was. But Hayakawa Yuki had entrusted Kokoro to her, mentioning that Uchiha Minako was Kokoro's mother. Mikoto and Yuki had been close friends for years, but unlike Yuki, Mikoto didn't need to take missions—her husband, Uchiha Fugaku, supported their household.
At the mention of Minako, Itachi lifted his gaze to Kokoro, surprised. By coincidence, Kokoro glanced up too, and for a moment their eyes met—before they quickly looked away again.
"Come and visit us often," Itachi said at Mikoto's urging, as Kokoro prepared to leave.
Kokoro suddenly rushed forward and threw her arms around him. "I will!"
Itachi stiffened at once.
He had only been polite, but she responded with such open warmth that he felt a little flustered.
But Kokoro wasn't like Itachi. She wasn't sharp or precocious. Aside from having seen the battlefield's cruelty, she was just an ordinary little girl. Yuki had told her to treat Itachi kindly, so she did—whether through words, gestures, or even hugs.
"Kokoro, let's go," Uchiha Minako called from the doorway.
Reluctantly, Kokoro let go and followed.
...
Because Minako had married into the Uchiha but was not from the main family, she lived in a small house on a remote lane, far from the clan head's residence.
Though not as grand as Itachi's home, it was far better than the bleak shelters they had known at the border.
Life in the clan was easier. Minako received subsidies from both the Uchiha and the village. But she wasn't satisfied—she wanted Kokoro to have more. So she refused to give up her work as a kunoichi.
Whenever Minako took missions, Kokoro stayed home alone. Her mother forbade her from wandering outside, especially beyond the Uchiha compound.
But Kokoro often disobeyed. Behind the compound lay the clan's training grounds and a mountain path leading into Konoha itself. More than once, she slipped away down that path.
The first time, Hayakawa Yuki caught her.
Yuki warned her: if she ever went out, she mustn't wear clothing marked with the Uchiha crest, nor let anyone know she was of the clan. Outside the compound, the name "Uchiha" was met with suspicion, distance, and even fear. Villagers rarely spoke to them, rarely welcomed them.
Only then did Kokoro realize—the Uchiha were not well-liked.
After that, she stopped sneaking out so carelessly.
It was then that Yuki became her teacher. She taught Kokoro basic ninjutsu and even introduced her to Wind Release. Kokoro managed to learn the hand signs for a technique called Wind Wings, but she couldn't yet perform it.
What Kokoro loved most, however, were Yuki's stories.
She spoke of a loud, golden-haired boy—shunned by villagers, called a monster, yet carrying the strongest of all tailed beasts, Kurama, sealed inside him. At twelve, he graduated as a Genin, formed a team with a lonely Uchiha orphan and a bright young girl, and grew under the guidance of a white-haired Jōnin.
The Uchiha orphan was consumed by hatred, thirsting for revenge, abandoning bonds to walk a path of darkness…
To Kokoro, it sounded just like that other story Yuki had told—the one about the man who annihilated his entire clan.
...
Time passed. The Fourth Hokage took the seat of power: Namikaze Minato, the same gentle man Kokoro had first met upon returning to the village—her teacher Yuki's old companion, whom she always praised with warmth.
But after she told Kokoro the story of the man who killed his clan, Yuki stopped coming. Instead, she left Kokoro in the care of Itachi's family.
By then, the Uchiha household had welcomed a new member—a baby boy born in July, named Uchiha Sasuke.
Itachi adored Sasuke. Whenever he held his little brother, his cold expression melted into a radiant smile.
Kokoro noticed that smile. He looked so beautiful when he smiled—just like his mother, Mikoto. For the first time, Kokoro felt a pang of envy.
Why didn't he smile like that at her?
Seeing Kokoro's gaze linger, Mikoto chuckled. "Kokoro, you really like Sasuke, don't you?"
Kokoro froze. Like him? No—she envied him. Because such a precious Itachi now belonged to Sasuke.
But she couldn't admit that. So she forced a grin, reached out to pinch Sasuke's tiny hand, and said, "Ah… haha… yes, Sasuke, you're very cute."
"Waaah!"
Sasuke burst into tears at once, as though he could sense her insincerity.
Mikoto quickly gathered him into her arms. "Oh, he's hungry."
Kokoro's cheeks burned with humiliation. She had tried—however reluctantly—to get closer, but Sasuke had rejected her outright.
Itachi glanced at his brother, now soothed in their mother's arms. Then he looked at Kokoro, crouched on the floor and tracing circles with her finger, shoulders slumped. She was taller than him, but at that moment, she looked small.
She needed comfort.
Awkwardly, Itachi crouched in front of her and patted her shoulder. "Sasuke… is like that."
Kokoro's braids bounced as she lifted her head. "Really?"
Itachi: "…"
He had only meant to console her. Did she have to take it so seriously?
Finally, he reached into a bag on the table and pulled out a skewer of tri-colored dango. He held it out to her. "I'll apologize on Sasuke's behalf."
"Why are you apologizing for him?" Kokoro pouted. But her eyes lingered on the sweet dumplings. She snatched them quickly.
Her mother loved this treat. Kokoro herself found it too sweet. But her mother used to say, "Life is bitter, so we eat sweets to balance it out."
Kokoro bit into the dango, her sulk fading just a little.