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Chapter Text

Shisui waited patiently outside of the room his mother and father were in, his mother had stopped screaming and crying 10 minutes ago. Was his little brother here? Was he healthy? However, his questions went unanswered as Father told him to stay put, not that Shisui knew why. The sounds of hushed whispers grew louder until he heard his father's indistinct yell, causing Shisui to squirm in his seat, Father's lectures were always scary even when they weren't directed at him. The door slid open with a slam, his father appearing with his face contorted with rage, he looked over his shoulder at the frightened Iryo-nin, "You promised me another son! How dare you call this a simple 'mistake'?! Daughters are worthless, I have no use for one!"

The Iryo-nin hugged the small bundle of blankets tighter to her chest, "Uchiha-san! We could not have known! The gender is never one-hundred percent accurate!" Shisui inwardly grimaced, applauding the medic's bravery, Father wouldn't like her talking back to him in such a manner.

As if on que, Father spun around, his face red with unbridled rage. The man strode to the Iryo-nin and began reaching for the whimpering infant in her arms, "Kenji-san! Has Rei given birth already?" The sickly sweet voice made Kenji freeze, he stiffly retracted his arm and turned around into a bow.

"Mikoto-sama, what a pleasure," Kenji muttered through gritted teeth before rising from his bow, "Yes, Rei is currently resting while the medics are to clean the child." Mikoto smiled at this, turning toward Rei, who was lying on the hospital cot, still catching her breath, red faced and sweaty.

"Rei-chan! How are you feeling, dear? Is there anything I can get for you?" Mikoto took Reis hand, rubbing her thumb against the woman's clammy skin in a comforting manner, "I brought seaweed soup, I'm sure you're hungry!"

Rei nodded weakly, a small smile gracing her lips, "That sounds lovely, Thank you Mikoto-sama." Her eyes darted to her husband who decided to take his leave, ignoring the eight year-old Shisui who sat in the hallway, "Shi-kun come meet your sister, and say hello to Mikoto-sama!"

Shisui stiffly nodded, not showing his inward confusion, he bowed deeply to the Uchiha matriarch, "Mikoto-sama." He looked at his mother inquisitively, "I thought father said the baby was a boy?" The slightest hint of disappointment tinged his voice, Father had always said females were inferior and were only good for cooking, cleaning, and providing sons.

Rei's smile fell, "Shi-kun, the test to determine the gender isn't always accurate. The chakra of the embryo is everchanging throughout pregnancy and is never certain. This just means at the time of the test your sister's chakra presented more masculine, but she is your blood all the same, you'll need to take care of her." The Iryo-nin returned the infant to Rei, who adjusted the blankets before shifting to show Shisui the child's face.

Shisui outwardly cringed, weren't babies supposed to be cute? His sister looked like a wrinkly tomato.

Shisui considered himself the best older brother that existed, he fed, clothed, bathed, and read to his imouto. Not that he exactly liked it, this child was the reason his Mother was so different the past few months. Father didn't assist with childcare, I am not a babysitter, your Mother will take care of it. So that left him to watch the child, the one who destroyed his family.

Tiny fingers made their way to Shisui's curly hair, gripped the strands with unexpected strength and pulling his head downwards, "H-Hey! That's not nice, Sumi!" He attempted to pry his poor curls from the infants impossibly strong grip, Sumi giggled and began waving her hand, yanking his hair in each direction, "You brat! Let go of my hair!" Sumi babbled in his ear before slowly releasing her grip on the hair before slapping a palm on Shisui's face, grabbing his nose and tugging on it. Shisui groaned, becoming irate, "Fine you're going in your crib." He plopped the infant down onto the cushion and stormed out of the room, ignoring Sumi's cries for him to come back. If she was never born then Mother would be ok

The boy looked at his Mother's door longingly, missing how she would hum while cooking, how she would hold his hand when they went to the park and get groceries. He missed his Mother so dearly, he yearned for how things used to be, but no, not with that leach of an infant. Sumi ruined everything! Why do I have to care for her? She's ugly anyway

Even in his anger, Shisui knew deep down that his thoughts weren't exactly true, Sumi had grown on him. However, he still couldn't contain the envy that bubbled up in him when he thought of how his family was before Sumi. Why does she get to live at my family's expense?

Chapter Text

Sumi blinked owlishly, staring up at her older brother, "Can you repeat that?"

A groan escaped Shisui's lips, "This is the last time I'm going to tell you, ok? You need to run twenty-five laps around the training grounds, thirty-five push-ups, forty-five sit-ups, and then pull-ups until failure. After you're finished we're going to play tag, I'll explain it more when your done with conditioning." Shisui knew the conditioning would be tough for a four year old, he didn't exactly expect her to finish all of the components, but she didn't need to know that.

"I hate you Shi-nii."

A cackle echoed through the training grounds, "You can do this Imouto, so get to it." With that, Shisui strolled over to the nearest tree and slumped against it. A sigh escaped him as he rested his sore body, missions had not been kind to him, he barely had anytime to train with Sumi, let alone clean the house. He felt bad, of course, leaving his Imouto in the house alone with Father, forcing her (a four-year old, mind you) to clean the house, cook for Mother and Father, and find time to train herself. His eyes closed slowly as he focused on his breathing, circulating his chakra around his body to relieve some of the soreness, wondering if he could get a small nap in before Sumi finished her conditioning drills.

Sumi tried to control her breathing, the burn in her chest a constant reminder of how terrible her endurance was. How many laps had she completed? Would Shi-nii know if she stopped early? Her legs felt like jelly with each step, she hated running, she tired too easily, she was too slow, she could never reach Shisui when they trained. As she was about to stop running, figuring she had already ran the twenty-five laps, her older brother's voice cut through the training grounds, "You still have three more laps, Imouto! No slacking off!" Sumi groaned loudly, picking her pace back up. The faster she ran, the faster she would be done with her laps, so she shook her head and sped up.

Her curly hair began falling out of the ponytail at the base of her neck, sticking to the sweat coating her face. Sumi cringed, it was an awful feeling, she couldn't wait to take a shower and collapse in bed.

Finally, Sumi crossed the finish line and immediately keeled over, her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath, "Imouto, don't lean over! You'll get a cramp, stand up straight and put your arms above your head!" Sumi rolled her eyes at her brother's nagging, but complied and did as she was told.

"After you catch your breath, start on your push-ups!"

Sumi huffed and looked upwards at the clouds, wanting nothing more than to lie down on the plush grass and sleep. Alas, her big brother was strict and would make her run more laps if he saw her being so lazy. So she forced her breathing to calm and began walking near where Shisui was sprawled against a tree, she all but fell to her knees and placed both hands on the grass. Her quads burned uncomfortably, her lungs ached, and she forced herself to not think about how her curly hair was sticking to her sweaty skin and how much of a sensory nightmare it was.

A long sigh escaped her as she finally caught her breath, the laps were done, and now she could work on her strength. It was all she had going for her honestly...

With a huff, Sumi raised her knees off the grass and began her push-ups.

Only five push-ups were completed when she heard Shisui's voice from her right, "Instead of thirty-five regular push-ups, do fifteen regular and fifteen diamond push-ups. We can't neglect your tiny triceps right?" Sumi giggled at his teasing voice, shaking her head as she continued her exercise.

The movements became repetitive as she counted each push-up under her breath, once she reached fifteen she shifted each arm, her thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond shape between her hands. Once she shifted a bit to make herself as comfortable as possible, she began the motions once more.

Down, up. One. Down, up. Two.

Once Sumi reached her assigned fifteen, she let her arms collapse and huffed into the grass. The curly haired girl rolled over and looked at her brother, who sat against a tree grinning at her like a Cheshire cat, "Five minute rest, Imouto. If you do your other exercises quickly then I'll let you know about your surprise before we play tag!"

Sumi perked up, "A surprise?" Shisui nodded, his grin widening, "What is it?!" Her brother shook his head and made a motion as if he zipped his lips shut, "Shi-Nii! Ugh, fine"

"Time for sit-ups, get to it!" A small groan echoed around the clearing as Sumi got into the correct position.

After completing her strength exercises, Sumi flopped to the ground, her arms feeling like jelly from her pull-ups on a nearby tree branch, "Ne, Shi-Nii, what's my surprise?"

"Hmm, I guess you finished up fast enough... The surprise is that I'm going to start teaching you about chakra!" Shisui waved his hands in a 'Tada' motion, his smile widening as Sumi found a new source of energy and sprang up from the ground.

Sumi scrambled to her feet launching herself at her brother, "You mean it?! You're the best Nii-san ever!"

Shisui playfully gagged and faked struggling to escape Sumi's hug, "No, Imouto! You stink and you're gonna get your sweat all over me!"

The black haired girl giggled and began rubbing her sweat covered cheek against Shisui's arm, causing him to squeal and shunshin out of her hold, "That's gross Sumi!" Said girl cackled and held her abdomen, still sore from her strength training. Shisui pouted playfully, "So mean to your older brother, but now get some water and stretch a bit so I can explain the rules for tag."

The younger Uchiha nodded enthusiastically and jogged over to the tree Shisui was lounging on, she swiped her bag and took out her water bottle.

Sumi plopped onto the grass under the shade of the giant Hashirama tree, gulping her water in between her stretches.

"I'll explain the rules for tag while you rest." Sumi jumped slightly at the sound of her brother's voice, looking up at him before nodding, "So this is a speed and endurance drill, don't give me that look, you know you need to work on both of those." Sumi grumbled, pouting, "Basically you're going to try to tag me and I will be evading you, just try to touch anywhere on my body and you win, but if you can't then you have to do the dishes tonight."

"Noo! This is the worst trade ever." Sumi dramatically flopped onto her back and rolled on her stomach, "I don't wanna do speed training, I'll never be as fast as you Shi-Nii!" She could never reach him, never, always left behind.

Shisui shook his head, "You can't talk like that about yourself, Imouto. Saying things like that will only make it become true, you need confidence! And it's ok if you're not as fast as me, you'll be better than me in other areas!" Sumi pouted as Shisui patted her head, "Now! Let's play some tag!"

Sumi nodded and they walked to the center of the clearing, standing across from each other. Shisui gave Sumi a teasing grin, "Go!"

The younger Uchiha rushed her brother, pushing all the strength she had left to her legs. Sumi reached her arm out, her fingers spread, inches away from touching Shisui's arm.

Shisui simply slid to the side, completely dodging Sumi's initial attack, but the young girl wasn't deterred and spun around to continue jabbing her hands out, trying to grab anything.

"Don't act wildly! Try to time your strikes and anticipate which direction I'll dodge!" Sumi nodded seriously at Shisui's advice, panting harshly, she took a breath and relaxed her stance before striking once more, her left hand shooting toward her brother. Shisui tilted his body to the right, centimeters away from her right hand. Sumi held her breath in anticipation, time seemingly slowed as she reached out to grab his shoulder.

At the last second, Shisui ducked, a wide grin on his face, "Good, Imouto! You almost got me!"

Sumi pursed her lips, bringing her leg up to deliver a spartan kick to Shisui's chest. Her brother made a surprised grunt and shunshined a few meters away from Sumi, "Hey! Don't kick me! You don't kick people in tag!"

Sumi's mouth formed a small 'O' "Sorry Shi-Nii! I didn't mean it!" She jogged over to her brother and looked at the ground, frowning, "I was really trying to win, I'm sorry..."

A small sigh escaped her brother, "You're lucky you're my cute little Imouto, I'm not mad I promise." Sumi raised her head, looking at Shisui with wide eyes, "Now let's go home and rest, ne?" Sumi nodded, feeling the adrenaline slowly leave her body and she began to feel sluggish.

Shisui gave a small smile and kneeled in front of Sumi, scooping her onto his back before grabbing Sumi's bag and began strolling towards the Uchiha compound, "You did great today, Imouto. Let's go home and bathe, you stink!"

Sumi giggled, "Thanks Shi-Nii, I'm glad I got to spend time with you today, I never see you anymore..." She layed her head on Shisui's shoulder, "I miss you lots you know."

"I know Imouto, but I have to be there for my team. Trust me I would much rather be home to train you..." Shisui's lips pressed into a line, he couldn't tell her the real reason was due to the extreme tension between Konoha and Iwa. Even with the war being ended years ago, the grudges held wouldn't disappear in such a short amount of time, "I'll do my best to keep training you, okay? Next time we'll start on chakra!" Sumi grunted affirmatively and yawned

Chapter Text

Shisui was an empathetic child from the start.

No matter what, when he attempted to view the world the way Father did, Shisui felt an insurmountable guilt. A pit would form in his stomach, he would see Mother's disappointed eyes in his mind.

He knew he would never be able to have the same views and values as Father, but he could pretend. Mother always knew, she told him his kindness was not the weakness he thought it was, that he was stronger than the one's with bigoted views.

Those words stuck with him, he cherished his mother's wisdom and strived to be a man that she would be proud of.

But when Sumi was born, Mother changed. She never left her bedroom, she didn't cook or clean anymore, she didn't kiss his forehead at night before bed. The first few days of bringing Sumi home was extremely chaotic, Father immediately left for a mission in which he didn't return home for three weeks.

In those three weeks Shisui watched Mother slowly shrink into herself, some days he would go hungry when she forgot to make dinner. Sumi began to cry more often as Mother stopped tending to her, leaving Shisui with a pounding headache and no sleep.

Resentment coiled in his chest, it constricted his heart like a vice grip.

Shisui's family was broken, and it was Sumi's fault. If she wasn't born, Mother would still be the strong beautiful figure he needed in his life. Father would be around more to train him. But that was then, this was now.

Slowly, Shisui learned what made his infant sister stop crying. Once her diaper rash had healed and she was properly fed, Shisui was shocked at how calm she truly was. His chest tightened when he cared for her, thought about how his life would be if she wasn't here, how alone he was. He spent most of his genin income on takeout so he wouldn't starve, buying a cookbook to learn to cook. He began budgeting his own income and buying formula so Sumi wouldn't die from malnutrition, fed her, clothed her, bathed her, even when he wanted nothing more than to lock himself in his room and pretend she was never born.

Even with the intense feelings of hatred and anger, Shisui subconsciously knew none of what happened was her fault. She was innocent, only a few weeks old.

Sumi began to learn his face, voice, presence and would immediately grab the air in search for him. She would babble incoherently and tug at the high collar of his shirt with her pudgy fingers, her dark eyes would sear into him as if she was memorizing his face.

Shisui saw how tender and fragile her life truly was, slowly learning her mannerisms and tics.

The resentment didn't disappear overnight, it remained with him for months. But over time it was replaced with understanding and acceptance, his love for his Imouto grew as she did.

Sumi hated when Shisui went on missions, all she did was train and take care of Mother. 

And when Father was home, Sumi knew well enough by now to keep her head down while she tidied the house. Father didn't raise his hand to her often, only when she spoke out of turn (his words), or the house wasn't clean enough for his expectations.

Ever since she could walk and understand words, Shisui taught her how to protect herself from Father's cold eyes. She did as she was told, remained quiet, cooked, cleaned, cared for Mother, and never brought up training in front of Father.

However, following the unspoken rules didn't save Sumi from Father's anger filled glares, his words filled with venom as he critiqued every move she made.

But today was one of the usual, no one except Mother was home, so Sumi went about her business. She dusted off every surface, washed the dishes, and hung the laundry to dry before she changed into her training attire and began walking to the Uchiha training grounds.

Sumi casually strolled through the Uchiha district, her body on autopilot as she thought about when Shisui would return. Sumi hummed in thought, she should be starting the academy in less than a year and needed all the training Shisui could offer.

"Sumi-chan!" Said girl stopped and looked around, finally seeing an oddly familiar woman walking towards her with her son, "Sumi-chan! I haven't seen you in so long, how have you been? You remember Itachi, right?"

The four-year old's mouth formed an 'o' as the memory clicked and she immediately bowed to the two, "Mikoto-sama, Itachi-sama, it's lovely to see you. I'm going to train, Shisui-nii keeps me on a strict schedule." Sumi tried her best to mind her manners in front of the matriarch, not call Shisui by the informal 'Shi-nii.'

Mikoto's hand covered her mouth as she let out a small giggle, "I see, Shisui-kun has always been very headstrong with his training." The Uchiha Matriarch looked at Itachi before smiling softly, "Would you like to accompany us? Itachi is in need of a training partner when Shisui-kun is away on missions as well. You both can use our training grounds."

"Thank you for the offer Mikoto-sama, but I couldn't impose on the head family." Not that Sumi didn't want to use the private training grounds, but she knew Father would have her head if she were so impolite to the main branch.

A hand waved dismissively in front of Mikoto's face, "Nonsense! I see you and Shisui-kun as my own, you're both welcome to our compound at anytime." The Matriarch reached her hand out towards Sumi, "Come then, we can have some tea afterwards."

Sumi inwardly winced, knowing it was almost impossible to deny the matriarch of anything. She took the older woman's hand, feeling the unfamiliar warmth spread through her, "Hai Mikoto-sama," The curly-haired girl bowed again, "Please take care of me."

As the trio began walking, Sumi let go of Mikoto's hand and slowed her pace to walk a few steps behind. She didn't want onlookers to think Sumi thought herself as equals with the main branch.

Sumi didn't remember the main family's compound, but she knew Shisui had taken her there a handful of times before.

Her dark eyes slid to Itachi, she didn't remember or even know much about the boy. He reminded her of a decorative object, always so silent and still, like a porcelain vase. She knew Shisui was close with the boy, and he had told her that Itachi hated unnecessary violence. This confused Sumi, how could a Shinobi as renowned as him hate violence? She didn't know.

Shisui reminded her of a mischievous cat, the way he would tease Itachi looked like a cat knocking a vase off of a shelf. 

Sumi's eyes moved to Mikoto, she was the epitome of beauty and grace. Mikoto reminded Sumi of an owl, regal and observant, protecting her chicks fiercely from any threats.  

Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan Head, was imposing, strong and stubborn. He sometimes had the same tendencies as a bull, charging first and asking questions later about any perceived threats to the clan.

Lastly in the main family was Sasuke, he was a year younger than Sumi. Sasuke was excitable and playful, he attempted to copy Itachi's mannerisms and seemed to resent anyone who isn't his big brother. Sasuke reminded Sumi of a pup, loyal and loving.

"Sumi-chan?" Mikoto's soft voice broke the young girl's thoughts, causing Sumi to to stop and look up and see she had kept walking while Mikoto and Itachi had stopped at the front gate of the estate, "You get lost in thoughts?" Mikoto's giggle reminded Sumi of a soft windchime.

"I apologize Mikoto-sama, Itachi-sama, please forgive me. It won't happen again." Sumi fell into another bow, mostly to hide the slight tint of embarrassment on her cheeks.

Mikoto huffed, "Sumi-chan stop that, you don't need to be so formal with us." Sumi rose from her bow and nodded, "Now come, the training grounds are in the back yard."

Walking through the main branch estate was as intimidating as Sumi expected, she forced her steps to be softer, slightly curling in on herself to appear smaller. Her body reacted instinctively as if Father were breathing down her neck, watching her every move and waiting for a mistake. Sumi's heart was beating wildly, all she heard was the own thrum of her heartbeat as she silently followed closely behind Mikoto.

"Hello dear! I didn't know you were home from the police station."

A pit formed in Sumi's gut as she looked up and saw the head of the clan staring down at her, she dropped into a bow, "Uchiha-sama, forgive my intrusion. Thank you and Mikoto-sama for allowing me into your home."

Fugaku hummed, looking to Mikoto who confirmed the invitation to train with Itachi, "I see, go easy on her, Itachi. I cannot allow people to think the Uchiha Heir lays his hands on women."

Itachi nodded, "Yes, Father." His voice bounced around in Sumi's head, who was still bowed stiffly at the waist.

Mikoto's face tightened, "I will be supervising them, dear. You needn't worry." Fugaku nodded again and walked toward the engawa, slipping on his sandals before leaving the estate.

The trio moved once more, following Mikoto's leave as she seemingly floated towards the back doors. The matriarch slid the shoji door open and stepped outside, they all put their shoes back on, having carried them through the house.

Sumi followed Itachi into the back yard, having a designated track close to the back forest, and target dummies lining each side of the clearing.

"Sumi-chan, do you have a warm-up or would you like to join us?"

Said girl tilted her head in thought, meeting Mikoto's eyes, "Ah, Shisui-nii has a set warm-up for me, but I imagine we won't mind if I join you."

Mikoto smiled and nodded, instructing and guiding the two through basic katas and stretches. Mikoto directed them to the track and Sumi internally groaned, she couldn't embarrass herself with her awful endurance.

Luckily, they only had to run fifteen laps. The two lined up on the track and began a light jog, Sumi was determined to stay next to Itachi. She focused on her breathing and the sound of feet thumping on the dirt, keeping her head up and thinking only of how she couldn't allow herself to be embarrassed.

The first five laps went by easily, but Sumi felt her legs becoming tired, her breathing ragged. Itachi, next to her seemed completely unfazed, not even breaking a sweat. Sumi felt herself involuntarily slowing, her legs not able to keep up with Itachi's pace any longer.

Damnit, Father will be so angry with me...

Almost imperceptibly, Itachi slowed his pace, keeping Sumi at his side, "Sumi-san, I noticed you tend to flex all of your muscles when you run. This will cause you to fatigue faster, when you run a longer distance than two-hundred meters you must loosen your muscles and not clench up."

Sumi blinked, her eyes owlish, this was the most she'd ever heard Itachi speak, "Ah, yes Itachi-sama. Thank you." Her attempt to speak without wheezing failed, but she allowed her muscles to loosen and took a deep breath.

"Itachi-san is fine. I will speed back up now."

True to his word, Itachi picked his pace back up, no longer waiting for her. Sumi followed his lead and matched his pace once more.

The last ten laps felt leaps and bounds easier, Sumi's muscles were already tired from being constantly flexed, but she could immediately feel the difference. Her body felt lighter, the tension left all her limbs and everything felt easier.

Itachi and Sumi crossed the finish line and returned to stand in front of Mikoto, she gave them both a warm smile, "Very good, you two. Sumi-chan I'm impressed you were able to keep up with Itachi, you did great."

Sumi felt her cheeks warm, "Thank you, Mikoto-sama." The matriarch only smiled wider before instructing them to line up in front of the target dummies.

Both children stood before the vaguely human-shaped straw target, Sumi fished a kunai from her thigh holster and took her stance. With a flick of her wrist, the kunai was sent flying directly into the dummy's neck where the carotid artery would be.

Sumi hummed quietly in approval as she flexed her fingers, reaching her hand in her pouch to grab two shuriken. The weapons flew from Sumi's hand, one sticking from the dummy's forehead, and the second piercing the heart.

Looking over to Itachi's dummy, Sumi saw a weapon sticking out of the vital spots. She watched him retrieve the weapons and his arms became a blur as each shuriken left his hand with practiced ease, all landing perfectly in the same vital spots.

So fast... Was all Sumi thought as Itachi repeated the same motions, adding in movements of his own.

Shaking her head, Sumi resumed her own target practice until Mikoto called for them to stop, "Alright, Sumi-chan if you're comfortable with it, I want you and Itachi to spar."

Sumi's eyes widened, Theres no way I could beat him! However, she nodded along, not wanting to wimp out, "I can do that, Mikoto-sama." She turned to Itachi, "I will do my best."

Itachi nodded and turned to walk to the other side of the clearing, Sumi stood facing him about ten meters away.

Neither of them moved, Sumi watched Itachi like a hawk. She looked for any sign of movement, sizing him up. Instead of attacking Itachi spoke, "Do you know any ninjutsu?"

Sumi shook her head 'no,' "Shisui-nii has been chakra training me with meditation for about five months, I can only make clones right now." Itachi nodded before flickering right in front of her, Sumi's eyes widened as she ducked on instinct.

Her leg shot out in an attempt to knock Itachi off his balance, but he flipped backwards. His foot grazed Sumi's chin as he flipped, she barely had time to regain her stance before Itachi flickered behind her with another attack.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt his presence, Not as fast as Shi-nii.  Sumi was adept at dodging due to her training with "Shunshin no Shisui" and had no problem sliding to the left and immediately returning the attack with a jab. Itachi parried her fist as expected, but barely shifted his torso out of the way when her opposite leg came up in a kick aimed towards his side.

Itachi grabbed her shin and trapped it between his torso and arm, "Your reflexes are on par with Shisui, but you allow your opponent to anticipate your next move by the way your muscles tense and your eyes clearly looking at the obvious open spot. What will you do now?"

A grimace spread on Sumi's face as she attempted to think of an escape, Itachi's eyes dulled a bit in disappointment, "You can-"

Sumi flipped, using the leverage to swing her right leg around and aimed directly for her opponents head, a grin spread across her face. Itachi's eyes widened a fraction as he was forced to release her and bend backward to avoid the heel that threatened to slam into his temple.

Itachi felt the air rush past his cheek as her sandaled foot nearly grazed his cheek, he flickered backwards and prepared for Sumi's follow-up attack.

Instead of being met with another punch or kick, Sumi lost her balance and promptly smacked the ground with a thud, "Oof!" Sumi lied on her stomach, face pressed in the grass. 

Mikoto appeared next to her in a flash, Itachi following, "Sumi-chan! Are you alright?!" Mikoto carefully flipped Sumi over and began checking for any injuries.

Sumi frowned, "I'm alright, Mikoto-sama. My ego is more bruised than my body."

A giggle escaped Mikoto, "We'll call it there, you did wonderfully, Sumi-chan. You're very strong."

Itachi nodded, "You adapt very well in fights, I would like to train together again."

The young girl stood and dusted her clothes off before bowing, "Thank you for allowing me to train, I would love to do it again, Itachi-sama. I will take my leave now." 

She rose from the bow and began walking toward the estate entrance, where she saw Fugaku standing in the open door, burning holes through her with his stare.

"Nonsense! You haven't done any cooldown stretches, after that come in and have some tea." Sumi inwardly sighed and agreed, thanking Mikoto once more.

Sumi left as soon as it was polite.

Itachi walked next to her at Mikoto's insistence, the air was awkwardly quiet.

Neither being talkative made the air thick with silence, both being too unsure of what to say.

Thankfully, a familiar voice cut through the silence, "Imouto! Itachi!" Both turned around to see Shisui jogging toward them, covered in dirt, "I didn't know you two hung out! And without me!"

Sumi lifted her arms and grinned as Shisui relented and leaned forward for her to climb on his back. Itachi hummed and began walking once more, "Not particularly. Mother saw her heading to the training grounds and invited her to train with me."

"What!? Training without me too? You both wound me!" Sumi giggled and hugged Shisui, rubbing her sweat on his shoulder, "Ew! Imouto what have I told you about that!?"

"I invited her to train again, Sumi-san has proven herself to be quite strong. She may even beat you soon."

Sumi blinked Did Itachi just make a joke? She pinched herself as Shisui began defending himself, playfully threatening to take them both down. A grin spilt across Sumi's face and began poking fun at Shisui alongside Itachi.

With Shisui to fill the silence, the walk home was faster and before Sumi knew it, she was being lowered from her brother's back, "Thank you for walking me home, Itachi-san." She bowed once more, ignoring Shisui's halfhearted jabbing.

Itachi nodded, "It's no issue. Would you both care to join me for training tomorrow?"

Sumi looked to Shisui, who nodded with a tired smile, "We'd love to, now I have to go bathe. I can smell myself."

After saying their goodbyes, the siblings walked into their home and slid their sandals off. 

The oppressive air immediately made Sumi bow her head and scurry to her room, Father was home. She decided to bathe immediately as to not upset him with her unkempt appearance.

"Girl." She froze, "Where were you." Father stood behind her, his arms crossed.

Sumi turned, careful to keep her head bowed and not look him in the eyes, "I was training, Father."

Father clicked his tongue, "Obviously. Who were you training with." He paused, "If you lie to me, I will make sure you'll never be able to train again."

The young girl didn't flinch, it would only make him angier, "Mikoto-sama invited me to-"

A harsh slap snapped Sumi's head to the side, "How dare you impose on the main family! You selfish brat!" His hand grabbed her curly hair, "It was enough that you forced Shisui to train with you and drag him down, now you're spreading your worthlessness to the main family."

Sumi bit her lip to hold in her whimpers, eyes downcast.

"If I ever hear about you inserting yourself where you're not wanted again I-"

Shisui appeared behind Sumi, holding his father's wrist in a vice like grip, Sharingan blazing. "That's enough, Father."

Father barked out a laugh, gripping Sumi's hair tighter, "Or what, she is my daughter. My property." He shook off Shisui's hand and shoved Sumi to the ground, "You know what will happen if you interfere, Shisui."

The boy didn't back down, he continued to size up Kenji, Sharingan spinning wildly. Sumi knew Shisui could've dodged the incoming hit, but her body acted of her own accord and jumped it front of him.

Her ear rang, her lip bled from her biting it. Father simply scoffed and walked down the hall, glaring at the two, "Useless."

"Imouto!" Shisui was at her side instantly, he picked her up and walked to the washroom, "Why did you do that?! Don't be dumb, Sumi!"

Sumi leaned into her brother, "I didn't even think, I just moved... I'm sorry Shi-nii."

The running water broke the silence as Shisui used a cloth to wipe the blood off her chin, "No, I'm sorry Imouto. I need to protect you, it's my job, not the other way around."

Sumi only hummed in response, allowing Shisui to wash her hair, hoping she didn't have a bruise on her cheek.

Tomorrow was another day.