Yukari Uchiha (English)

Chapter 4

I hear the door to my room quietly open, and footsteps approach. A familiar thrill of excitement runs through me. I prepare to jump out of bed.

As soon as I open my eyes, I see Shisui's familiar silhouette in the doorway. As always, when he comes to wake me, I use the element of surprise, jump out of bed, and shout, "Good morning!" as I cling to his neck, laughing.

He knows what to expect by now, but I still hope to catch him off guard one day.

Shisui is about to say something when I already slip away and dash into the bathroom to get ready.

Shisui has a mission with Itachi today, and when he goes on missions, he always takes me to Aunt Mikoto and Uncle Fugaku, Itachi's parents. Normally, I get to play with little Sasuke then. But today, I'd rather repeat yesterday's training.

Shisui recognizes the desire in my eyes and laughs, "You'll have plenty of time to train today. I'm sure you'll impress Fugaku with your talents."

Together, we leave the house and head to Itachi's home. Itachi opens the door, and I jump from Shisui's back with a cheerful "Good morning!" and run inside.

I greet Fugaku with a wide smile, pinch little Sasuke's cheeks lovingly, and ask Mikoto if I can help her with breakfast. She laughs and nods, leading me into the kitchen.

I'm excitedly hopping around the kitchen because I have something very special planned today. I get to make bentos for Itachi and my brother Shisui because they're going on a mission. Aunt Mikoto helps me, and that makes me really happy.

As Aunt Mikoto sets the breakfast on the table, she tells me how proud she is of Sasuke's little and big achievements. She also says how proud Uncle Fugaku is of Itachi and Shisui.

I nod and listen as I eat my breakfast. In between, I give Sasuke some of my rice porridge. He makes funny noises when he eats, and it makes me giggle.

After we're all finished eating, Aunt Mikoto reminds me not to forget the bento boxes. I put a lot of effort into shaping the rice balls to look like little panda bears. I imagine how Itachi and Shisui will laugh when they open the boxes and see the pandas.

I hold the bento boxes tightly in my small hands and run to the door to give Itachi and Shisui their food.

"Here, this is for you!" I call out so they can see me. "Take good care of yourselves!"

Shisui takes the boxes and smiles. "Thank you, Yukari! We're looking forward to opening them later. Take good care of Sasuke, okay?" he says, winking at me. I nod and wave to them as they leave. I feel a little sad that they're going, but I know they'll be back soon.

I go back inside and think about how I'll practice my Sharingan and ninja moves today. But I also want to spend time with Sasuke. He's crawling around everywhere now, and it's fun to cheer him on.

Aunt Mikoto looks at me, and I smile. "Can I help clean up?" I ask. As we clear the dishes together, my thoughts go back to the hand signs for the Fireball Jutsu that I practiced yesterday. I imagine how I'll use them in the next training session.

After we've cleaned up, I sit on the floor and wave Sasuke over to me. "Come, Sasuke, let's play!" I say.

He crawls over to me, and we start playing with his soft toys. While he laughs and reaches for the colorful blocks, I think about the Taijutsu movements Shisui showed me.

I can't wait to practice them as soon as I can train again.

We build a little fortress out of toy blocks, and Sasuke giggles happily. I laugh along with him, but deep inside, I keep the memory of the training fresh. I look forward to showing Shisui and Itachi how much I've learned when they return.