Chapter Text
”You love me. Real or not real?”
I tell him, "Real.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
Twins
Itachi stood in the doorway of the room where his younger siblings slept. It was still full day outside, but their mother had put them to sleep for an afternoon nap. Stepping further into the room, he was careful to slide the door shut quietly as to not disturb their rest.
Silently walking over to them, Itachi knelt down and gazed at the sleeping twins. Despite the fact that they had been alive for over two years now, they never ceased to fascinate him. These two small children were his siblings, his little brother and his litter sister!
Feeling his heart squeeze with love, Itachi silently vowed to protect Sasuke and Hotaru for as long as he lived.
Daughter
Mikoto dearly loved all her children, but she had a special spot in her heart for her only daughter. Itachi, despite his young age, was busy due to his genius, and Sasuke, adoring of his elder brother, was already chasing after him. However, Hotaru rarely wandered far from Mikoto and would clamber onto her lap at any given opportunity.
Right now was a perfect example. Mikoto, taking a break from the housework to drink a cup of tea, had barely finished sitting down before Hotaru was there, smiling guilelessly as she settled down against her. Mikoto knew that she should be encouraging her daughter to practice being independent, but she had to admit that it was nice to have one of her babies settle against her.
“Oh Hotaru,” she sighed, brushing away a lock of dark hair from the little girl’s face. She smiled gently. “What am I going to do with you?”
If she could, Mikoto would want to keep this one close to her always.
Face
Sasuke was standing still, trying not to blink too much as his sister had requested to ‘borrow his eyes’. She was staring into one of his eyes, saying she could see herself in it. He believed her, because he could see himself in hers. This was weird, but mostly because his sister now touching her face as though she had never seen it before.
“Stop,” he finally said, closing his eyes and taking a step back. He blinked until his eyes didn’t feel dry anymore, and then he looked back at his sister with a frown. “What was that for?”
She was still pressing her hands against her cheeks. “…This face feels wrong.”
Sasuke tilted his head. “What?”
“This is not my right face.”
He rolled his eyes. “What other face do you have?”
She folded her arms and frowned. “I don’t know. It feels wrong, but I don’t know why.”
“Forget it,” he advised. He patted her head. “This is your only face, okay?”
She pouted at him before finally nodding.
“Okay.”
Future
“Mom?”
Mikoto lowered her tea cup at the sound of her daughter’s voice. Hotaru hadn’t touched her own tea yet and merely stared at it. “Yes, Hotaru?”
Her daughter was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice, almost whispering.
“Do I have to be a kunoichi?”
Oh. Oh dear. Mikoto had been wondering what was weighing on her daughter’s mind, and to think it was this.
“Your father is the clan head. That his children will become shinobi is expected.”
“I don’t want to be a kunoichi.”
“You can always settle down after you get married. I did.”
“But I have to be a kunoichi first, right?”
Well, of course.
Precious
Itachi sighed as his siblings warred over his lap. They were currently grasping hands and trying to push the other away as they vied for the opportunity to sit on him.
“You always hog big brother!”
“So? You always hog mom!”
“It’s my turn to sit on his lap!”
“Says who?”
And so on.
Finally, Itachi sighed and pulled both of them close, surprising them into letting go of each other. They grumbled under their breath as they shared him, but neither one left. Feeling them settle against him, Itachi smiled and wished they could go on like this forever.
Reluctance
When the day finally came for the twins to attend the academy, Itachi could tell that only Sasuke was truly looking forward to it. His little sister was quiet, more so than usual as she held their mother’s hand. Father was ‘unable’ to attend, but Itachi and Mikoto were there, and of the twins, only Sasuke seemed to miss their father’s presence.
It was no secret to Itachi that his little sister didn’t want to be a kunoichi, but this fate was unavoidable for her. It pained him that she didn’t have any other choice, but at least he had the small comfort that she could someday retire as their mother and other kunoichi had. He could definitely see his little sister being a housewife someday, away from dangerous missions and battlefields.
(but he knows there’s no such thing as permanent retirement)
When the twins depart to join the crowd of students, both of them look back to smile and wave.
Itachi is sure his mother notices how brittle Hotaru’s smile is too.
Popular
Somehow, you are not surprised by how popular your twin becomes, but you do admit to yourself that it is tiring. Hearing girls squeal over Sasuke is annoying, and trying to fend off their questions is just… ugh. You stick as close to him as you can, mainly because it’s easier to keep the other students away. It doesn’t help that he uses you as a buffer when it comes to seating arrangements (him on one end, you in the middle, and some random student—usually one of his fans—on the other end).
Sasuke is better than you at everything, which is good for his ego but not so much for your self-esteem. On the other hand, he does insist that you do better than the other girls, though you consider competing against Sakura in academics as a lost cause because civilian or not, that girl is smart.
It’s been a little over a month since the first day, and lunch break is upon you once again. Mom’s bento boxes are great, though since she’s agreed to teach you, half the contents of your box are stuff you’ve made yourself. Half of Sasuke’s lunch is the same, and he hasn’t dared complain after the first time when you cried to Itachi about it and he’d been given a ‘talk’ by your shared elder brother. There are a few girls next to Sasuke’s seat, asking him if he would like to eat lunch with them, but, of course, your twin refuses.
Sitting outside, your brother wastes little time before he’s eating as quickly as he can without being vulgar. You eat sedately, mind half-wandering through this morning’s lessons, and it isn’t long before Sasuke is done and leaves you with a quiet update on where he’s going. He’s obsessed with chasing after Itachi, but you are more realistic and don’t see the point in straining yourself to catch up to a shooting star when you know it’s impossible (at least for you, though since Sasuke’s a boy and determined, you give him better odds than yourself).
A shadow falls over you, and you see that it’s the Yamanaka girl, Ino. When she sits down and begins talking, you sigh internally and curse Sasuke for leaving you.
Why did you have to deal with his fans?
Bugs
Annoyed with your brother, you purposefully wait until lunch break is nearly over before you return to class. By then the seats nearest to him have been taken, but you’ve sort of dropped the kunai on your own foot because the only seat left open is the one next to Bug Boy.
Technically, Bug Boy is named Shino Aburame, but you can’t help defaulting to the nickname the other girls gave him when they found out that he has bugs in his body. When you asked mom about it, she told you that the Aburame clan uses insect-based techniques. You hated bugs because they were creepy, and while you hadn’t said ‘Bug Boy’ aloud yet, that was what you called Shino in your mind.
Glancing at your brother as you passed by him, he caught your eye and smirked, knowing full well that you hated bugs and that only seat left was next to Shino. You scowled and looked away from him, resolutely walking to your seat and sitting down.
That you sat closer to the edge of the desk and thus further away from Shino was noticed by him.
Crawl
It was break time before the last lesson before the end of the day and Shino was doing that thing again where he let bugs crawl over his desk. Trying valiantly not to stare or shudder, you kept your eyes firmly staring forward.
Shino paid you no mind.
Extra
Mom tells you that you will eventually take kunoichi lessons in the academy, something that the boys don’t have to do. You think that’s unfair since that’s extra work for the girls, but mom just laughs when you say so.
Your big brother Itachi is a genius who doesn’t seem to need anybody’s help, but Sasuke isn’t, though he’s picky in who he wants to teach him. You get annoyed that he turns down mom’s help so easily, but on the other hand that means you don’t have to share her when she teaches you.
Mom was a kunoichi once, and she’s the one who teaches you. What skills you have are the fruit of her attentions, and while you can’t beat Sakura in test scores, you can beat her in everything else. Mom won’t let you handle real kunai yet, which is good because otherwise your hands would be covered in cuts.
Flower arranging and calligraphy are your least favorite subjects, though. You hate having to remember the meanings of flowers, and your calligraphy is a sore point for you.
“Practice and perseverance,” mom says.
It’s easy for her because she’s great at everything.
How can you measure up to half the woman she is?
Love
Of your family members, you love mom the most, followed by Itachi, and then Sasuke. Father is your least favorite family member, and it shows. You don’t notice, but everyone else does.
Mikoto silently despairs at the lack of affection between father and daughter because she knows that Fugaku loves her, but Hotaru only sees him as a distant figure. Itachi knows that Sasuke is glad their sister isn’t competing with him for father’s attention, but Itachi can’t help the slight heartache that comes at the thought that Hotaru doesn’t love someone in their own family. Sasuke, while initially resentful that his sister didn’t adore their father the same way he did, prefers that his twin is distant from their father. Fugaku himself can only stare at the daughter who barely speaks to him at all unless prompted, and he knows that this isn’t something he can fix, not with his attention demanded as it is by other things and his eldest son’s progress.
To you, father is a stern man who barely spares either you or Sasuke a glance, so other than answering what few questions he directs your way, you hardly interact with the man at all.
You completely miss the subtle hints that Fugaku wants to talk with you and just doesn’t know how to.
Loud
By now, you know who the loudmouths in your year are. Most of your classmates are loud in some way, but Kiba and Naruto are at the top of that heap. You quite dislike it when they cause a commotion.
Sitting next to Sasuke again, you complain. “Why are they so loud?”
“Because they’re idiots,” your twin grins disdainfully where the two loudmouths are being lectured by the teacher.
“…Still not as bad as your fans, though.”
You laughed quietly under your breath as your twin winced. He didn’t dispute it, though.
Opportunity
Hotaru nodded off before dinner. Mikoto felt a little guilty about that since her training was the reason her daughter was currently asleep on the floor, but a sense of accomplishment kept her from feeling too guilty. After all, Hotaru’s training was coming along quite nicely, and Mikoto couldn’t truly bring herself to feel bad about that.
A gruff call from the entrance distracted her from her dinner preparations, and she wiped her hands on her apron as she went to greet her husband. It was rare that he was home at this time of day, but she welcomed it.
As she turned away, inspiration suddenly hit her. Fugaku hadn’t held Hotaru since she was a toddler, and wasn’t there a perfect opportunity at this very moment?
Smiling fondly, Mikoto watched as Fugaku picked Hotaru up off the floor and carried her to her bedroom. Seeing her daughter sleepily cling to her father was almost unbearably bittersweet.
Fugaku didn’t speak after they left Hotaru’s room with their daughter safely on her futon, but the slight smile at the corners of his lips said everything.
Witness
Sasuke saw father carrying Hotaru. Mom was there too, but the main thing was that father carried Hotaru. Hotaru didn’t even seem to like dad, so why was he carrying her? Why couldn’t mom, or why couldn’t they wait to let Itachi do it?
Having Itachi carry Hotaru wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as seeing dad do that.
Anger
Sasuke was angry with you, but you couldn’t fathom why. What had you done to make him mad? You couldn’t remember doing anything in particular. You hadn’t argued with him, nor had you outperformed him at the academy as even the latest paper test score had yours just below his. You hadn’t been particularly demanding of Itachi’s time either, what with being busy with mom. Maybe he was mad because of all the time you spent with her?
“Your brother seems upset with you,” Shino commented from the middle of the desk during break. “Why? Because he deliberately took a seat where the others were occupied, leaving you to find your own seat away from him.”
“He probably regrets it now,” you said, staring where a star struck girl was leaning into his personal bubble. You sighed and closed your eyes as you folded your arms. “I can’t even think of anything I might have done recently, either…”
Grudge
Things haven’t been well between you and your twin lately. You tried inviting him along to your training sessions with mom, but that only seemed to irritate him. Spending less time with mom didn’t work either, and mom soon dragged you back to her anyway. You just couldn’t figure out what was up with him, and you couldn’t ask Itachi for advice either as Sasuke was always nearby whenever you saw your eldest brother.
It wasn’t nice to have Sasuke angry with you, but when he rebuffed your fifth attempt to get him to tell you why, you got angry right back at him and called him a stubborn fool. That started a shouting match that had mom coming into the argument to separate you two. Sasuke ended up stalking off while mom got you some tea.
You told her that Sasuke was acting weird and seemed mad at you, but you didn’t know why. She didn’t seem to know either, but she told you to have patience. She would try to talk with Sasuke, or even get Itachi’s help if it came to that.
Sighing, you told her okay.
Envy
Sasuke wouldn’t talk to her, so Mikoto got Itachi to look into it. Her eldest returned and informed her that Sasuke was feeling jealous because he had seen father carrying Hotaru. Itachi had talked to Sasuke and hopefully things would smooth out between the twins.
Mikoto hoped so. For all the way the twins like to do things their own way, when they fought like this, they missed each other. More than once, either Sasuke or Hotaru would glance behind them, words half-out of their mouths before they remembered that the other was away from them. In those moments, they looked so lost and heartbroken.
She didn’t want them to be avoiding each other when they so obviously missed their twin.
Apology
For the first time in days, Sasuke didn’t stomp or run ahead of you. He kept pace the whole way to the academy, and when you finally arrived at class, he paused just inside the doorway.
“Where do you want to sit?”
The question surprised you, but while he didn’t meet your gaze, your twin still waited for your answer. Feeling a warmth in your chest when he didn’t get impatient and leave you standing alone, you chose a spot with two free seats open.
You took the middle seat, and when your twin sat beside you, you knew things were going to be okay.