LEGACY

Empat

Chapter 4

Fumiko sat beside Itachi as Sasuke sat beside his mother and Fugaku on the head table. The food served was as if they were celebrating something. Fumiko noticed how Mikoto paid all her attention towards Sasuke and wished that her mother was that caring towards her too.

"Fumiko, it's been a while since you're home." Fugaku said.

The girl nodded. "Yes, father. I've been on missions. I rarely get a break, so it's more efficient to stay at the base."

"I see." Fugaku hummed. "So today, you've got a break?"

"I—"

"Nee-san picked me up from the academy!" Sasuke boasted. "We even trained together. Nee-san helped me how to make bigger fireball and gave me a menu so I'd improve my stamina."

"Isn't that nice to have your nee-san to spend some time with you." Mikoto stroked Sasuke's head while the said boy hummed happily.

Again, the tightening feeling on her chest made her gripped her chopsticks hard. It did not go unnoticed by Itachi as Fumiko faced away from their mother. Itachi frowned. This was the second time he noticed Fumiko's reaction like this. He knew that their parents treated the siblings in different ways, but he never thought that his sister would be jealous at the youngest.

"What about you, Itachi? How's being a team leader treating you?"

"My ANBU squad is different than Fumiko. We're focusing on collecting important scrolls and other stuffs."

"What about you, Fumiko?"

"Team Ro was the defense mechanism in the ANBU, but the past year I've been on assassination mission with a fellow teammate."

Mikoto gasped. "An assassination?!"

Sasuke frowned. "What's assassination mean?"

"Killing, Sasuke." Fumiko answered. "I've been on missions to kill the enemy and bring their dead bodies to either the Hokage or the client."

Suddenly, Sasuke's food was about to be thrown up. "Fumiko, enough! That's not how you talk to a child!"

Her mother's words made Fumiko's eyes hardened. "What am I then, mother?"

"W-what?"

"Am I not a child? I'm just a year older than Sasuke yet you treat him like he's a delicate little thing!" Her voice rose, making every single family member sitting there widened their eyes. Fumiko was never the one to raise her voice or lose control. "I was two when I started my intense training. Hell, I graduated from the academy at the age 4! Do I ever complain? Do I ever talk back whenever I'm not allowed to play like a damn kid I am? No! Yet I still get punished and here's Sasuke, doing whatever the hell he wants and you guys don't even bother to scold him? Is that even fair?!"

"Fumiko!" Fugaku scolded.

"You and Sasuke are different. Of course, you get different treatment." Mikoto finally said, breaking the thick silence.

"Sometimes," Fumiko flashed her sharingan towards her mother. "I wonder whether I'm even your child or not. You've never cared for me like you did Sasuke. And... I hate you for that. Thank you for the food. I'm going back to the base."

Fumiko body flickered away before anyone could respond. Her chest felt like exploding and her eyes were burning. She was thankful for the dark hall in the base for she did not want other ANBU saw her pathetic self.

"Fumiko-chan." Fumiko looked up, and Shisui could see through the moonlight from the window how wrecked she actually was. His heart ached for her as she never cried before.

"I did as you say, nii-san." She sniffled, roughly drying up her tears that would not stop. "Y-yet...I'm..."

Shisui did not say anything as he embraced the girl tightly. Fumiko cries went harder, making Tenzo who happened to be in his room came out and looked at them in surprised. The older Uchiha shook his head at Tenzo, warning him to not come closer.

"Shh, it's alright, Fumiko-chan." Shisui stroked her hair, trying to calm the girl down. At this moment, both him and Tenzo finally realized that Fumiko was indeed just a little kid who needed attention and care.

They sat down in the hall, and soon, Fumiko's cries died down. She was fast asleep in Shisui's embrace due to exhaustion. Shisui sighed as he brought the sleeping Fumiko to her squad's barrack. Tenzo followed behind.

"So? What actually happened?" Tenzo crossed his arms.

"Fumiko went to her house." Shisui answered while tucking in the girl. "Something must have happened after that. I'll ask Itachi."

"It must be something serious for Fumiko to cry like that. I've never seen her cried before."

"Yeah, this is my first time seeing it too." Shisui gently stroked Fumiko's cheek. "She's just a kid."

"Indeed she is." Both Tenzo and Shisui looked up to find Itachi at the door. He looked down at his sister with pain in his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Fumiko exploded. I guess she had been bottling up this jealousy on Sasuke since mother treats them differently." Itachi sighed as he sat on Fumiko's bed. "She said she hated mom."

Both Tenzo and Shisui gasped. "What?!"

"Father is fuming right now. Mother is crying, so does Sasuke. Heh, he thinks Fumiko hates him too."

"Is Fugaku-san about to punish Fumiko-chan?" Shisui asked warily.

Itachi shrugged. He took out Fumiko's hand from the blanket and rolled up her kimono sleeve. Both Shisui and Tenzo froze. "Sasuke never gets attention from father as father only pays attention to both Fumiko and I. He's desperate to be acknowledge by father and envy Fumiko at the same time. Yet, on the other hand, Fumiko envy how Sasuke's being treated with care and love. These scars are the prove of how hard father trains Fumiko, and Sasuke doesn't know that. Heh, what troublesome my siblings are."

Several moments later when Tenzo was no longer there, Shisui opened his mouth. "Then, what about the coup de 'tat?"

"I haven't decided yet. Originally, I was about to put Sasuke under Fumiko's care if anything about to happen. But now... I definitely can't put Sasuke under Fumiko's care as it won't be fair for her."

"I see."

*