Morning sunlight filtered through the windows of the Uchiha household.
The house was quiet.
Their parents had left before dawn the previous day, promising they would be back before the Academy entrance examination tomorrow.
It wasn’t unusual.
Many missions lasted a day or two.
Still…
Shizuku found herself glancing toward the front door every so often.
Dad said they’d probably be back by tonight.
Hopefully, they don’t miss the exam.
She pushed the thought aside.
There was no point worrying over something so common.
Obito, on the other hand, was incapable of sitting still.
He burst into the dining room with enough energy to wake the entire neighborhood.
“Grandma!” “What is it this time?” she asked with an amused smile.
“Tomorrow!” His eyes sparkled.
“We’re finally going to the Academy!” She laughed.
“You’re certainly excited.” “Of course I am!
I’m gonna become Hokage someday!” “You’ll have to become a genin first.” “I know!
And then a chūnin!
And then a jōnin!
And then Hokage!” He spread his arms dramatically.
“I’ll be the greatest Hokage ever!” Their grandmother chuckled warmly.
“I believe you will do it.” Obito grinned.
“I’m definitely going to do it.” Shizuku quietly continued eating her breakfast.
Obito suddenly turned toward her.
“Hey, Sis!” “What?” “Aren’t you excited?” “…A little.” “A little?
We’re becoming ninjas tomorrow!” She gave a small shrug.
“It’ll be interesting.” “…You’re no fun.” “I disagree.” He laughed anyway.
Even after five years…
he still couldn’t understand why his older sister always seemed so calm.
She smiled occasionally.
She laughed every now and then.
She always helped him when he asked.
But…
she also felt strangely distant.
Like there was a wall he couldn’t quite climb over.
He didn’t understand why.
He only knew that he wanted his sister to smile more often.
After breakfast, Shizuku walked into the backyard.
She sat beneath the large tree where she often meditated.
Closing her eyes, she reached inward.
The presence within her soul stirred.
It was stronger than ever before.
No longer under an ocean of water.
Now…
it felt like it rested just behind a thin curtain.
She stretched her awareness toward it.
Closer.
Just a little closer…
…I’m almost there.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Whatever it was…
she was certain she stood at the threshold of drawing it out.
Maybe in a week, she felt she might be able to reach it.
It wouldn’t be much longer.
The afternoon passed quietly.
Obito spent nearly an hour practicing how he would introduce himself at the Academy.
“My name is Obito Uchiha!” “No…” “I’m Obito Uchiha, and I’m gonna become Hokage!” “No, that’s better.” He repeated it over and over.
Shizuku couldn’t help finding it slightly amusing.
He really believed he could accomplish anything.
Evening came.
The sun dipped below the horizon.
Still…
their parents hadn’t returned.
“They’re late,” Obito muttered.
Their grandmother smiled reassuringly.
“It happens sometimes.
They’ll probably be home in the morning.” “…Yeah.” The following morning, three slow knocks echoed through the house.
The sound immediately felt wrong.
Shizuku looked up from the breakfast table.
Obito blinked.
“…Mom forgot her key?” Their grandmother had already gone pale.
Without a word, she walked toward the front door.
She hesitated before opening it.
Two Uchiha shinobi stood outside.
Neither wore a smile.
One held a folded scroll.
The other removed his forehead protector.
Their grandmother’s lips trembled.
“…No.” She already knew.
The older shinobi lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.
Your son and daughter-in-law encountered an enemy patrol while returning from their mission.
They successfully completed their objective…
but they were both killed in the engagement.” Silence.
The words hung in the air.
Obito frowned.
“…What?” “They’re dead,” the shinobi said softly.
“They’re not…” Obito laughed weakly.
“No.
They said they’d be back.
They promised.” No one answered.
“They promised!” His voice cracked.
“They wouldn’t lie to us!” He tried running toward the door.
One of the shinobi gently caught his shoulder.
“They’re gone, Obito.” “…No.
I was supposed to show Dad I could use Fireball jutsu now…
I…
I…” His breathing became uneven.
Tears spilled down his face.
“No…
I don’t want them to die…” His grief exploded outward.
A wave of chakra swept through the room.
His eyes burned.
Scarlet replaced black.
One tomoe appeared.
Then…
a second.
The room fell silent.
The two shinobi stared in disbelief.
“…Two tomoe.” “…At five years old.” Shizuku stood frozen.
This…
wasn’t supposed to happen.
History had already changed.
Not in some small way.
Her parents were supposed to have died years earlier.
Her existence…
had already altered the future.
Then another realization struck her.
Harder than the first.
They’re really gone.
Memories surfaced one after another.
Her father correcting her stance.
Patiently teaching her how to throw a kunai.
Her mother smiling every morning.
Her mother and father teaching her jutsu.
Family dinners.
Walking through the village together.
Evenings listening to her parents tell old stories.
She had convinced herself she wouldn’t become attached.
But she had been wrong.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Then another.
The emotions she had been suppressing finally broke free.
Her chakra rose silently.
Unlike Obito’s, there was no dramatic increase in the quantity of her chakra.
Her eyes began to burn.
When she looked down…
she saw crimson reflected in the polished wooden floor.
A single tomoe slowly revolved within each eye.
The Sharingan.
She had awakened it.
But because the people she’d come to love…
were gone.
Deep within her soul…
the mysterious presence pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Harder than ever before.
She reached toward it instinctively.
She could grasp it.
And pull it free.
But…
not yet.
Now was not the time.
The warmth slowly faded.
Leaving only silence.
Across the room, Obito looked up through tear-filled crimson eyes.
Two tomoe.
Shizuku met his gaze with her own.
One tomoe.