[~1300 Words]
A week before the Uchiha Massacre.
Uchiha Haruki sat cross-legged on the sloped rooftop, his arms resting over his knees. His gaze lingered on the warm lights of Konoha. It was quiet now—the kind of quiet that felt like it was holding its breath.
Next to him, his sister Uchiha Izumi sat with her legs dangling over the edge, her hands folded in her lap. She leaned slightly into his side, the silence between them familiar and safe.
"You ever think," Haruki began softly, "maybe we are flying too close to the sun?"
Izumi blinked. "You mean… us?"
"The clan." He paused, lips tightening. "Our Uchiha Clan. We were the pride of Konoha once. Power. Prestige. Even fear. But now…" He trailed off.
She turned to look at him, eyes searching his face. "Haruki, we're still strong. Still proud."
Haruki gave a quiet laugh, a low rumble from his chest.
"Pride's a brittle thing, little sis. And I don't see much strength in a clan that's turning in on itself."
Izumi frowned. "Don't talk like that."
"It's just the truth." He sighed, rubbing his hands together as if to warm them.
"Everyone's watching everyone. Whispers. Paranoia. Father won't say it aloud, but he doesn't trust half the elders since he is not a Uchiha and a commoner. And I—"
He cut himself off, swallowing something bitter. Izumi nudged his arm gently.
"...And you what?"
"I can't even awaken the damn Sharingan," he muttered. "Eighteen years old already. And still… nothing." His voice cracked slightly. "Everyone else has red eyes and manuals to train in our legacy. I just have many regrets."
Izumi grabbed his hand. Firm. Warm.
"You're more than your eyes, Haruki."
He turned his head slowly toward her, eyes dull but touched with a fond smile. "You always say that."
"Because it's true," she replied fiercely. "You protected me when we were little. You trained harder than anyone. You're kind when the clan forgets to be. That is the Uchiha name too, you know. Not just fire and eyes."
Haruki was quiet for a long moment, watching her as if trying to memorize the way she spoke, the fire in her eyes.
"I'm scared, Izumi," he finally said. "Something's coming. I don't know what… but it's like the clan is teetering on the edge of something sharp."
Izumi didn't speak for a while. Just leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Then let's not fall off. Let's hold on. Together."
Haruki rested his cheek lightly against her hair.
"Yeah… together."
And for a moment, in the stillness of the rooftop, the Uchiha name didn't feel so heavy.
Haruki exhaled slowly, pulled back while saying, "Even my teammates are distancing themselves lately."
Izumi blinked. "Your Yamanaka and Nara teammates?"
"Yeah," he muttered. "I mean… we weren't best friends or anything, but we used to get ramen together after missions. Train weekly. Now they barely say more than a word or two. It's like they're walking on eggshells."
His brow furrowed.
"I get it. We're Uchihas. We carry this... heavy name. But we're on the same squad. Or we were."
Izumi looked concerned. "What do you mean?"
Haruki glanced toward the stars starting to blink through the navy-blue sky.
"Our last mission got cancelled. Supposed to be a patrol along the border, but then both the Yamanaka and Nara clans called their Genin and Chunin back for 'internal training.' No explanation. I didn't even get a replacement assignment."
He leaned back on his hands.
"And now, all Uchiha Genin and Chunin have been called back too. 'Training orders from the clan head,' they said. But I'm not in those meetings… you know why."
Izumi's heart sank slightly.
She knew how it hurt Haruki to be excluded. To be sidelined because he hadn't awakened his Sharingan. To be treated like a useless.
"It's probably nothing," she offered, gently. "Just… maybe the village is being cautious."
Haruki snorted softly.
"When the clans start pulling their kids out of mixed teams, it's not caution. It's fear."
There was a long pause. Izumi looked down at her lap, fiddling with a loose thread on her sleeve.
Haruki turned his head slightly, side-eyeing her with a raised brow.
"You've been quiet. More than usual. Something on your mind?"
She hesitated.
"...No. Just thinking."
Haruki gave her a suspicious squint. Then, without missing a beat, he asked—
"Still hanging around Itachi?"
Izumi's head jerked up. "W-What?"
Haruki smirked.
"You know what I mean. You're always bumping into him during training hours. Or walking the long way back from the Academy."
Izumi blushed deeply, tugging her sleeves up to her chin.
"He's not my boyfriend!"
Haruki chuckled, that rare warmth back in his voice for a moment. "Didn't say he was."
"Well, he's not!" she said again, louder this time, before muttering, "He's just… easy to talk to. We understand each other."
Haruki's smile faded slightly as he looked up at the stars.
"I know he's a good kid. Maybe smarter than the whole clan combined. But Izumi…"
He turned to face her seriously.
"Don't get too close."
Izumi blinked in surprise. "Why not?"
Haruki's jaw clenched.
"Because Itachi isn't just a boy with kind eyes anymore. He's the future clan leader. Maybe even a double agent for the village. You know it. I know it. Even I heard such whispers. That kind of life… it's not made for love."
His voice lowered.
"And if something ever happened to him... if someone came for him... He couldn't protect you."
Izumi looked away, her voice small. "He wouldn't let anything happen to me."
"That's what scares me," Haruki whispered. "He would sacrifice himself for the village. Or the clan. Or both. But love?" He shook his head. "Love won't come first for him. It never can."
He reached out and placed a hand over hers.
"You deserve someone who can be selfish for you. Who doesn't live with a knife in the dark every day. Someone who can walk with you in the village and not be hunted in their heart."
Izumi didn't answer for a moment, lips trembling. Her eyes glossed over, but she blinked the tears away before they could fall.
"I… I know," she whispered. "It's just—he's the only one who treats me like I'm not just another Uchiha."
Haruki's expression softened.
"Then promise me something."
She looked at him.
"If it ever becomes more than friendship, if it ever starts pulling you into the shadows he walks… pull back. Let him go. Please."
Izumi swallowed hard, then nodded faintly.
"Okay."
Haruki leaned back again, exhaling long and slow. "Good."
A silence hung between them again, but it was no longer heavy. Just tired.
"I hope you marry a commoner," Haruki said after a while, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Someone who doesn't care about clans, or chakra, or duty. Just someone who makes you smile when you wake up."
Izumi smiled faintly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"And you? What kind of person will you marry?"
Haruki looked away toward the darkness beyond the village.
"Me? Heh. I'm probably destined to die single and boring."
Izumi leaned against his shoulder again.
"You're not boring. You're just… unrecognized."
He rested his cheek lightly atop her head.
"Maybe. But as long as you live a good life, little sis… mine doesn't need to be legendary."
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