A/N: Oh my gawd. It's been 2 years. I'm so sorry (not really)!

Plot came and flew away, and then Naruto canon suddenly ended. WHEEEWW. That was a long ride.

Anyway, THE USUAL.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, duh.

Warning: T, for language. I have no qualms dropping crude language, but kiddies, remember your proper grammar and impressive vocabulary!

Yes. I'm alive. Shhhhh…

"Put more effort into swinging your wrists." Fugaku grunted, visibly unimpressed.

Nozomi panted harshly, lifting her elbow while aiming properly.

Whish-

A thin coil of nearly-invisible wire snapped off a small branch almost cleanly, the aforementioned branch dangling uselessly towards the ground, just like her stamina.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow at her red face, before performing mutual bows and announcing a short break. It was nearly high noon on a cloudless summer day in Konoha, which meant sweltering temperatures and not very ideal conditions to be training.

But yet again, these are just excuses for shinobi. Or even shinobi-in-training.

Shinobi are expected to not only perform in the field and off it – regardless of weather, terrain and other injuries or conditions. The wire training done in the Main House's backyard is but a mere preview of what was to come, especially since tree walking and water walking that are taught closer to puberty were necessary to train under more extreme environments.

Simple controlled environments like these were really tough for her four year old body (and oh wow she sounded like a lab experiment), but she had to keep pushing herself as Academy entrance was looming closer and closer.

Itachi already showed signs of his genius, surprisingly *ahem*, so as a matter of reputation and pride, Nozomi had to essentially work overtime and put in even more effort to at least master some basic shinobi arts for Uchiha Clan to declare plausible deniability that the twins merely split their skill masteries into complementary fields.

Unofficially, Fugaku did NOT want to lose another twin to the dastardly political machinations of the clan elders. Ever since Itachi demonstrated sufficient mastery of the Fire Bullet, the elders have been bullying Fugaku into teaching him the other Katon techniques so they can have a fine Uchiha-esque shinobi to mold to their liking.

Nozomi shivered slightly. It was very obvious who the elders wanted to hook their fangs on, and at this moment she really didn't know if she wanted to pity her little brother or be glad that it wasn't her in his place.

Because honestly, there was simply no way her deception skills were up to notch. Period.

This is the world of shinobi, where deception and disguises were the norm. The only way she could fall under the radar despite her horrendous acting ability was to use Itachi as a benchmark, prodigy or no. Which also meant that whenever Itachi was about to start speaking a few words, she could do so first and not be suspicious. Or start crawling, walking, talking in full sentences, you get the idea.

But on the other hand, genius is genius. There is no way to copy or truly anticipate that.

Surprise surprise! It was not uncommon for children of ninja clans, particularly from noble or established clans to start speaking and walking earlier than most other toddlers, partially due to their more extensively developed and stable chakra network that they start to form. Since chakra networks encompasses the entire body, including the brain, it stimulates faster cognitive development and increases their processing capability.

After all, have you ever wondered how ninjas fight and end battles in seconds, dodging kunai and nearly invisible senbons, jutsus and the like?

But when both Itachi and Nozomi started speaking in full way ahead of the genetic curve, a very worried Fugaku rushed them to the Clan's specialist doctor to check for any complications. What it turned out was that it was by chance, a genetic lottery.

For dojutsu clans like the Uchiha and Hyuuga, young children tend to develop more and more chakra networks towards their eyes and brains as their body prepares the dojutsu ability. In the twins' case, there was an unexpected but lucky coincidence that the chakra networks around the head area were growing denser and more branched than normal.

What that meant, was that they essentially got a free boost implant in their heads. Thoughts can be formed and discarded more quickly, and memory could be better or worse. However, the doctor cautioned that too much doesn't mean good, and any complications that arises from this could be life threatening and permanent. The twins were also at a significantly higher risk of being stuck in their thought processes, almost literally.

…That kind of explained Shippuden Itachi. To be honest. It made a startling amount of sense if you squinted at his motivations and actions with full knowledge.

Apparently, the twins weren't the only recorded case in Konoha's history, as it turned out. Upon registering this affliction in Konoha General Hospital, the head medic cautioned both Nozomi and Itachi to pick their future specialisations carefully. Everyone's brain worked differently, and the boost can affect the twin's capabilities differently too.

There was this kid with white chakra that could formulate ideas and keep up with patterns nearly as fast as an Uchiha MP with the lowest sharingan level. And that was tested when he was a newly promoted Genin on a Jounin career route. His comprehension ability made him a genius, but also isolated him from a lot of social interactions. His intellect and accomplishments made him behave like an old man in a child's body, not to mention wartime graduation, so it was no wonder that the kid had problems with socialising.

…Now why did that sound very familiar?

Nozomi scrunched her face in thought while she chewed on the mildly salted rice ball filled with umeboshi.

What the basic tests concluded at the hospital was that generally, Itachi was more targeted towards focus and accuracy, while Nozomi leant more towards flexibility of thought and creativity.

As you'd expect, there was a grim sense of satisfaction the clan elders portrayed upon receiving the news, given that the Uchiha were well known for their genjutsu prowess.

Mikoto had started teaching the twins the basics of genjutsu casting, but spent much more time training Nozomi on the subtler and trickier types of illusions. On the other hand, Fugaku also focused more on Itachi's taijutsu skills and his throwing accuracy although both twins were learning the more physical forms of combat together.

As Uchihas tend to have lithe, flexible and slightly sturdy body types, most of the clan styles focused on hitting hard and accurately before getting the hell out of dodge unless you are fast enough. This was often followed up by the classic Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu or slicing your enemies with wires. Disguised by illusions of course.

And that was precisely why her fingers and arms hurt so much for the past few hours or so.

Nozomi made a face as she unrolled her wires yet again, one riceball and some water per 2 hours for the past week during training really wasn't fair. And right about now –

Thud.

Itachi made a displeased noise as he collapsed on the ground, close to chakra exhaustion. He was put under a very strict training regimen of using chakra strikes and aiming to hit his target with at least one katon or genjutsu every 10 minutes or so. This was to boost his chakra capacity and control as much as possible, since he was born with a slightly smaller capacity compared to the clan average. Harsh, but true.

And honestly, it is really, really hard. Especially since children's meagre chakra networks couldn't produce much chakra yet. Until the uptick in puberty, at least. That's when the advantages of being ninja clan-born really shines through.

Nozomi quickly padded over and dragged him under the shade of the nearest tree, wires haphazardly tucked back into her utility bag. She just knew she was going to regret her haste while untangling them later.

"…Nee-chan?" Itachi blurrily blinked up at her, exhaustion enhancing his distinctive facial lines.

"Shh… just sleep it off okay? I'll bring you to kaa-chan and let tou-chan know."

"Kay." Itachi mumbled into her shoulder as she piggy-backed him, shaky arms looped under his knees.

Their cousin bowed respectfully in their direction, red iris faded to solid black before taking his leave, his duty done. Nozomi softly thanked him for his time.

Once in a while, Chunin cousins would come over to spar with either one of the twins, under random supervision of either Mikoto or Fugaku dropping by anytime. No wonder clan children were so ahead of their civilian counterparts in the Academy. Even if being the children of the Clan Head meant special treatment, it wasn't hard to imagine other children experiencing similar training, albeit less brutal. The reason why neither children had any training mishaps was partly due the Sharingan. Their trainers can see the subtle body signs of when they truly had reached their physical or chakra limit and would continue no further, or simply switch to target different muscle groups.

Truly a scary regimen, that.

Being the future Heiress and spare Heir to a noble clan, Itachi and Nozomi had to cram history, lessons on etiquette along with shinobi training that was meant to be extreme to push them to their limits and past those.

And to tell the truth, Nozomi could feel that it was working. Despite all her thoughts on the proper way of child rearing, these ninjas actually knew what they were doing.

All she had to do was grit her teeth, and get these torturous years past without mental trauma, if at all possible.

Academy promises so much more freedom than living in the Clan does.

~.~.~

Those days were tough, but peaceful and idyllic in their own way.

How long will they last?

~.~.~

Screams and shouts resounded around the makeshift refugee tents, explosions and chaos adding to the cacophony of noises.

Itachi huddled into a dark corner by the food supply boxes, terrified out of his wits. It was supposed to be a normal day. Wasn't Konoha the strongest village? Aren't we winning the war?

'Kaa-chan, tou-chan, nee-chan… anyone?!'

A shrill scream tore through the air, and the tent flap was sliced open just as a body dropped dead onto the ground. Itachi clasped both hands tightly against his face, not daring to make any sound, praying that his thunderous heartbeat was not heard by the enemy.

"Grr… fucking Konoha kunoichi. I have no time to play around with ya." He spat at the newly cooling corpse. "KILL THEM ALL!"

The elite enemy infiltrators tore through the ranks of genins and civilians like a bloody massacre, easily overpowering them. Even the first response guards were easily taken down. Horrifically.

Itachi's eyes opened wide, tears rolling down endlessly. Horrified. Frozen.

His mantra looped again and again in his head, the only voice of reason he sought and found.

'It's just a war. It's just a war. It's just a war-'

"KILL BEFORE REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE!" Another enemy shinobi roared.

The scene of bloody carnage and grim finality of destruction never left his eyes, even when black spun into red.

Blood was spilled that day.

Innocence, once given, can never be taken back.

~.~.~

His eyes and mouth opened wide in a silent scream. It's just a nightmare from back then, he told himself as cold sweat dried in the moonlight.

His soul was tortured, and never got to heal.

Day after night, night after day.

Did anybody ever know?

A/N: Life in ninja clans are very stressful guys~ No wonder Kiba and Shikamaru had the right idea to not attend official classes heh.

The next chapter could be a teenyyyy bit grimmer? HUEHUE. I HAVE PLANS.