THE OPPOSITE OF YOU AND I

IT TAKES A YEAR AND A HALF TO GET A MISSION OUTSIDE OF THE VILLAGE. Fugaku likes to think that it could have been a lot worse. Although they are in the middle of a war, things like these still happen. Konohagakure no Sato is very protective of their kekkei genkai—almost obsessive over it because in comparison to other hidden villages, Konohagakure has an abundance of it. Most doujutsu type of kekkei genkai are found in Konoha, one of the rarest types of kekkei genkai. Kirigakure, although having lots of unique clans, does not have a doujutsu clan to boast. The only other village that has it is Kumogakure, but the decline of the Chinoike Clan is already evident. Konoha does not want their Uchiha or their Hyuuga out and about. Not until they are sure that they can fight on their own. (Or perhaps Fugaku is only saying this to somehow convince himself that The Clan is not being driven out by the village.)

The incident with Tekka's former team also said enough of how dangerous it can be if the doujutsu falls to the wrong hands. But judging by how frustrated Koichi and Tatara are being, they know how unfair it is. Especially Tatara.

The child was never known to be patient in the first place. Maybe in the face of her grandfather but anywhere else? This reminds Fugaku of the fleeting news years ago—a young grandchild of a high-ranking Uchiha suddenly hospitalizing a branch member of the Hyuuga Clan—that was not the day Fugaku first heard of little Tatara. Her birth, after all, was something The Clan was terrified of yet awaited for immensely. The say that her mother and father are too close in terms of relation, that the child they will bare will be grotesque, or maybe, she will be so abundant and undiluted of non-Uchiha blood that she will be the strongest. The Elders are already talking about future heirs. The one to marry little Tatara must be of same purity, and maybe little Itachi? Fugaku doubts Takobu will agree to it. No, he knows Takobu will never let his dearest granddaughter be put in the same light as his son. (Itachi, first of his name, and fire-born. Fugaku learns to love like he has never done before. He thanks Mikoto everyday for giving him the honor to father her child.) But perhaps, in a different way, yes.

Tatara takes after her father, and yet, her mother still fits herself in her face for some reason. Or maybe Fugaku is just confused. It is no secret after all that her parents are first cousins. She can look like one of them yet have both of them at the same time. Tekka, on the other hand, is purely an Uchiha. However, Fugaku hears that Tekka's grandmother had been a half-Uchiha, implying that either his great-grandmother or great-grandfather was an outsider. He dislikes that term—outsider. It makes him feel as if they are an entirely separate community from the village. But really, they are. The village has never fully accepted them, anyway.

"Hello," their client bows to them with a goofy smile. He calls himself Takeru, a swordsmith who will be travelling to a rather near village, just past Tanzaku-Gai but Fugaku thinks it is better than being stuck in D-Rank missions. The children have been complaining too much. "Thank you for accepting my request."

Fugaku nods. "It is our pleasure," he simply states and spares a look to his team, "introduce yourselves."

Tekka goes first, just as they all practiced for. Even small details like these have to be planned. They have to make their clients as calm as possible, make them feel at ease with the team. Having Tatara go first will disrupt everything, especially with her haughty and holier-than-thou attitude. Having Koichi go first with surprise the client. Cheerful shinobi are not really that impressive and the type to be relied on. Tekka is the most experienced. He is calm and rather normal in comparison to the two extremes beside him. So when he lets the corner of his eyes crinkle and his eyebrows raise up as a sign of welcoming and pleased demeanor, their client's shoulders relax, "I'm Tekka. A Genin."

Revealing one's surname to somebody else is not as dangerous as it used to be. But for The Uchiha, old habits die hard. What had happened in the Sengoku Jidai did not stay there. It was passed on from one child to another. "Tatara, also a Genin," the only girl in the group says, less frustrated.

When Koichi smiles, the client surrenders himself. Koichi is a big ball of sunshine with his grins and his eyes. A perfect tool for brainwashing and illusions. That is why the Yamanaka normally have pretty faces and well-groomed everything. Each person has a style of fighting. The Yamanaka cannot enter the minds of people whose walls are up high and unrelenting, so they have to use the image of a beautiful person, someone to rely on and feel at ease with. "I'm Koichi! Nice to meet you, Takeru-san! We'll definitely take care of you, so no need to worry!" He exclaims.

I suppose he has some use, Tatara thinks, crossing her arms. She cannot exactly inagine herself or Fugaku doing such gesture. It makes her eyebrows furrow just by thinking about it. Tatara is well aware that no matter how pretty The Uchiha are, or how well they present themselves, they will always be treated with, at the very least, some fear in company.

The Uchiha have carved themselves in history already.

The strangest part of this mission is Fugaku.

Tatara rarely to never sees him in his Jounin uniform. The man is always wearing his traditional clothes or his Konoha Military Police Force uniform so seeing him in this makes Tatara feel a little uncomfortable. It makes her realize that oh, Fugaku is still a Jounin of Konohagakure no Sato after all, and not just a shinobi of the Uchiha Clan.

Takeru is as normal as any civilian gets, but the only interaction Tatara has with a civilian is with her relatives. The civilians of The Clan is a lot different from Takeru. Fugaku had warned her to not treat Takeru as someone beneath her, which she was not planning to do, really. But—she cannot help it. She wonders as she stares at Takeru's messy hair and clothes; why is The Clan different? Why are the men and women born from The Clan so different from the others? It is not fair. Why cannot everybody be born like The Clan? Why can they not be the same? Everyone is different. This is the reason why there is war and ostracism.

Anybody can learn how to take care of themselves. Anybody can learn how to maintian a straight posture. Anybody can learn to be a shinobi. Anybody can learn to be someone more. Anybody can dream like a thousand stars across the skies and anybody can be anybody. The Uchiha Clan are taught to not dream. They are taught to have ambitions. So when Tatara receives passing visions of her grandfather ruffling her hair, that is not a dream. That is something she is meant to see in the future. She does not dream, she never does. There are only two ways The Uchiha Clan can accept those visions; to avoid it or to receive it. And she does not understand. She is clueless. Why can't the others do the same? Why can they not have ambitions instead of dreams?

Takeru is a man of dreams. Most civilians are. But The Uchiha are not. Dreams are for those who cannot achieve what they want to achieve. Calling one a dream only emphasizes the impossibility of that desire.

Tatara does not understand.

In the midst of camping and Koichi chattering off to Takeru in order to distract him (Koichi may act stupid and airheaded most of the time but Tatara knows he sees more than an Uchiha, perhaps it is those pupiless eyes of his that makes him look further than what is there or maybe simply because he was born in the red light district and was never meant to be someone), Tatara looks at Fugaku, wide eyes like a child and confused.

"Is this why the village hides us?" She asks, her voice silent and completely unlike her normal one. Her eyes are shallowly hidden by the darkness of her hair, unable to do anything. Just being like a child is was always supposed to be. "Is this why it took so long? It—it isn't only because of the kekkei genkai. It's because—" She stammers midway and she expects a scolding. She does not receive it.

Fugaku reaches out and meets her head. It surprises her but it does not feel uncomfortable. His palms are warm like any other fire-natured Uchiha. She finds herself liking it, because for a moment, she thought it was her grandfather's hands. "The Clan is raised differently as the others," he says simply as if it is supposed to explain all things and in-betweens, "The Hyuuga are separated into two; the branch and the main. Of course, the branch family easily submit to those above them which means lesser time to train. But the main branch takes more time. They are raised prideful. Do you think such high-ranking members will serve civilians? Will be willing to escort them to trips?"

No is the unspoken answer. Koichi and Takeru are too far to hear Tatara and Fugaku's conversation but she sees the faint flicker of the fire in Tekka's eyes. Tatara knows he is listening. Tatara knows Tekka has gone through the same conversation. The same dilemma. The same confusion and need for answers. The two of them are Uchiha, they are one and the same. They are of the same blood and the same kin. Tatara, second of her name, and Tekka, first of his. Rather different but still, their hearts sing to one another. They are kin. They are family.

Fugaku does not look at Tatara in pity. Instead, he looks at Tatara in a way she has not seen before. "It will pass," he says, "remind yourself, Tatara. You may be an Uchiha first and foremost, but you are still a shinobi of Konohagakure. Remember that."

Konoha. Tatara has worn the symbol of her village for a year and a half now, and she is around seven years old. And yet, she is still stumbling on her feet. She does not think of Konoha that way and Fugaku knows it. He also knows that talking to Tatara today or within the mission will not help, so he reaches to pat Tatara on the shoulder and the girl flinches this time.p

"We will talk at home."

And no, home is not the village. Home is the compound.

And Tatara is comforted for now.

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TANZAKU-GAI LOOKS EXACTLY AS THE BOOKS SAY IT IS. From the walls that surround it, to the bustling of the streets. Tatara thinks it almost looks like Konoha but to be fair, everything in the Land of Fire looks alike. But the Tanzaku-jou is something she has not yet seen before. The castle is said to be a popular tourist destination and she will not lie and say she does not want to visit it, but she does not voice it out at the same time. Instead, she sticks close to her team, having donned other clothes in order to mingle with the crowd. In a home of civilians, it is safer to not seem like a shinobi. They are not exactly hiding that they are not shinobi because their postures and silent steps are enough to say that they are, but they manage to disappear in the busy streets.

Technically, their mission ends the moment they return back to Konoha, but seeing Takeru bow politely to them and thanking them for escorting him to Tanzaku-gai makes Tatara feel that their job is done. Nothing much happened today. Maybe there was that one time that they almost encountered an Iwa-nin but he had been injured and limping. Fugaku had easily put him down without even a blink of an eye. It was not the first death they had seen which is why that incident did not last long. Koichi frowned but that was as far as it goes. Tekka has years above them, and Tatara is not even bothered. Is that strange? For Tatara to not even bat an eyelash at a dead man?

Tatara stares off at the ceiling of the inn they decided to stay for the night. Koichi blatantly stares at her. "You've been quiet the whole day," he says casually and sits beside her on the bed. Tatara grimaces at him but does not say anything, having gotten used to his rather cheerful and touchy antics. "What's up?"

She wonders if she should tell him, but they have been together for almost two years now and they are teammates. Her grandfather told her that the best people she will meet is her genin team and even Fugaku said that Koichi is not an outsider anymore. He is as Uchiha as someone can get by now. Of course, Fugaku did not really say that but Tatara felt him imply it heavily. "Our mission ended quickly," she states, "that's it. We waited for a year and a half, and this is what we get."

Tekka, from the other side of the room, stops what he is doing and looks up. "It is better to start somewhere," he answers.

"Are you not frustrated?" Tatara asks and she feels her face turning red. "You could be a chuunin right now, Tekka. And we deserved this mission a year ago."

Nobody speaks until Tekka looks at Koichi. "I suppose we owe you an apology then, Koichi," he suddenly says and Tatara jolts up at this, "we are the reason, after all, why you will have a hard life from now on. And, Tatara, will be having missions worse than this so please bare it for now. We are also shinobi of Konohagakure. If this is what the Hokage desires, then we must serve."

The Uchiha do not apologize. They never do. Instead, the promise to do better. Tatara has only apologized a couple of times in her life and those apologies were directed to either The Elders or her grandfather. She was scolded all times. Apologizing means regretting and regretting means doing something wrong. An Uchiha does not regret. They own up to their mistakes and vow for it to not happen again. In this case, Tekka cannot promise to not let this happen once more. So he begs. He pleas for Tatara to understand, little Tatara who knows nothing.

She hates not knowing anything. Tekka treats her like a child. He always had. Even if he said he respects her and her strength, he will always treat her like a child. And she is far from that. She is now seven years old and one of the most sought-after members of The Clan. She is not a child.

"Wrong choices of words, Tekka," the heavy voice of their Jounin Instructor resounds in the room and he easily captures their attention, "but Tekka is right, Tatara. Once you are in the battlefield, clan names mean nothing. You will be fighting for the village. For Konoha. Your world is not supposed to revolve around only The Clan. You wear the hitai-ate for a reason, Tatara. You do not only represent The Uchiha, but also Konoha."

Tekka looks down, hesitant. "My words will never be this insensitive again, Tatara," he promises, "and I am sure that you will learn to love the village too. It's actually very beautiful."

Koichi huffs and slings an arm around Tatara. She does not attempt to push him, and instead, is deep in her own thoughts. This makes him sigh. "I only asked what's going on and all of this happened! But Tatara-chan," he calls for her attention, "there's nothing wrong with not loving something. Take your time. But let me tell you, I may not be bound to a clan like you are, but I can tell you that despite all the rotting stuff in Konoha, it's still very, very beautiful. I hope you begin to love it like I do."

Like Fugaku does.

Like Tekka does.

Like Takobu does.

And like The Clan does.

Loving something beautiful is easy. Tatara hopes that the day she will love the village will come soon. (It never comes.)

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RETURNING TO THE VILLAGE IS FASTER THAN TATARA EXPECTS, and to the compound even moreso. Her team does not comment even though her silence becomes defeaning and Tekka allows her to walk to the compound alone. Fugaku was originally going to the Uchiha Police Force anyway, and Koichi's route home is the opposite of theirs. She feels the stares of the civilians on her, those rude and unwanted looks.

There used to be a time in the Warring Era, before the Uchiha Tajima and his great-grandfather stepped foot as the Clan Head, when The Uchiha were regarded as the most beautiful beings to walk on the earth, that even a glance from them can be a gift from the heavens. Nobody really knows when the hate came or when it started to become so prominent but back then, they were the children of the gods, the rain from the skies, and the light of the sun. The Uchiha with their impeccable and porcelein skin, to the darkness of their eyes and hair, to the effortless grace they exude. When they managed to realize that the demigods are humans, the respect disappeared. When they learned that even an Uchiha can bleed, everything disappeared. Children of gods are supposed to bleed not in red, but the gold of the sun.

The Clan only has one another. Which is why she cannot manage to understand someone like Uchiha Obito, a cousin of hers who is closer to Mikoto's side. The moment Tatara entered the certain are in the Uchiha district shared by The Elders, the first thing she hears when she passes by their supposed meeting room is the boy's name. It seems that he was summoned by The Elders yet again. And maybe it is her exhaustion that compulsed her to do so, or maybe she just wants to, but she decides to sit right outside the shoji doors and strains her ears to listen. She snuggles closer to her own warmth, feeling the sadness she has never felt in a long, long time.

It is Hotaru-sama she hears first; "—you have been shaming The Clan for a long time, boy," and Tatara realizes this is the first time she hears Hotaru-sama so frustrated. She is always calm despite some of The Clan disliking her single Sharingan and her complex family situation. And she can feel the uncomfortable spiking of the infamous Uchiha Obito's chakra.

Everybody knows about him. Uchiha Obito is a young boy cared for by his pseudo-grandmother. They call him the black sheep of The Clan and the odd one out among them. He does not have their grace, or the perfection of their appearance, not even their prodigious skill in everything that is thrown to them. He is just Uchiha Obito whose parents died too early to watch him live. His grandmother is not even his own, just another elderly Uchiha whose children probably died in the war and decided to take in one of the many orphans of The Clan. He is not the first orphan, nor will he be the last, but he is the first to cause this much disgrace, this much commotion, and this much failure.

Tatara once heard of a child of The Clan who people called the black sheep as well, back in the Sengoku Jidai. But unlike Obito, that child was born during the warring era where even the weak finds himself in the battlefield. Said black sheep had found skill in making the world bend to his will, an unbelievable luck. They said that the shinigami feared the untalented Uchiha, feared his lack of Sharingan, and lack of skill. He was hated by the shinigami for constantly evading his invites when he cannot even master a single fireball technique. That child died by his own means and everyone knows he did it to spite the gods.

That is yet another fairy tale told by the old to their children. The story of the black sheep hated by the shinigami. It makes her wonder if Uchiha Obito will be the same man hated so much by the shinigami. Obito the outsider. Obito the disgrace. Obito who hates The Clan that gave him life.

They are polar opposites.

"Ah—you're that cranky Elder's grandkid."

Tatara has long since left the doors of their meeting place and instead decides to lounge near the pond. Her feet are submerged in its cold water and she feels the koi fishes kissing her skin. She is silent even when she notices the black sheep enter the corner of her eyes. He is stained with dirt and grime, a blood stain on his collar, and Tatara realizes he is on the same team as the prodigious Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang, who was her hero at some point in her life. Perhaps before she entered the Academy. She is not quite sure but her grandfather respected Hatake Sakumo but said that shinobi who had a heart of gold are not heroes. They are murderers who have misplaced mercy. Sakumo smiles at people he will forget and weeps for the families of the men he killed. But he is a kind man despite it all. A cowardly man considering it all.

Uchiha Obito looks the same as he did back then. His eyesore of an orange and blue ensemble hurts her eyes, and those goggles are not that helpful. He does not have a Sharingan to this day and he is already eleven years old. And while Tatara does not have a Sharingan, she is not really expected to have one. Little number of women acquire the Sharingan. Very little. Tatara can count them with one hand, honestly. They say it is because women have stronger emotional control and they are more likely to be saner, which is why women without the Sharingan are usually married to the men with powerful ones. Uchiha Takobu's wife did not have a Sharingan and his sister married a man with a powerful one. Tatara's mother also did not have the Sharingan. This does not stop Tatara from wishing she had one though.

She hears that the prodigy that is Uchiha Shisui, a boy two years her junior, recently acquired his.

Before Tatara knows it, Obito submerges his feet in the pond as well. "I heard you punched a Hyuuga," he says, "that was the best news I heard from The Clan, you know—daughter of that cranky fire demon lord punched a Hyuuga to the hospital!"

Fire demon lord, Tatara takes that mental note. Well, her beloved grandfather is know for being one of the most powerful men to ever manipulate the flames of Kagutsuchi. They call him Takobu of the Hellfire—Gouka no Takobu.

Tatara does not feel like herself today. On a better day, she would have scolded Obito for acting recklessly and questioning him why he dares to he disrespectful when meeting someone, and on a best day, she would have had simply nodded to him and that will be as far as it goes. Tatara cares for Obito. She cares for everyone in The Clan. Obito does not know how much The Elders worry about him, how much The Elders care for him. The Clan only has The Clan. They are a dwindling Clan, and they only have one another in a village ostracizing them.

So she looks at Obito with furrowed eyebrows. "Why would you love the village more than The Clan?" She asks in genuine curiosity because she is confused. She has been confused ever since she stepped foot in that mission, ever since Fugaku placed a hand on her head and said that she has to learn how to love, as if it is something that can be taught. "I don't understand. They do not share your blood."

Obito looks at her in a way no one ever had. His shoulders relax and he looks at her with pity. Pity of all things. He reaches to her and all she can feel is how hot his hand is. It is not warm, but a piping heat that she is not sure how to feel about. Obito is a big ball of flame, a sun that has dimmed.

"I'm sorry," he says.

And just like Tekka, Obito treats her like a child. That day, the world tilts a little. There is a budding evil waiting to bloom and Tatara watches the birth of it. Uchiha Obito is kind of like Hatake Sakumo, in a way.

On the third mission in the same month, Tatara's eyes bleed red.

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(1) the scene with obito is something that i've been waiting to write for a long time and i hope i did it well. tatara is feeling really off today. i chose to write it like this and obito seems like the type of person who would pity tatara. he probably never had the uchiha talk about pride and stuff towards civilians, because he was not an uchiha in a way an uchiha usually is.

(2) team fugaku is eccentric. tekka is insensitive and treats tatara like a child. fugaku is very sensitive and wants a functional team and he surprisingly knows how to comfort someone. tatara is too uchiha to function. koichi helps a lot. i have many things planned for koichi. like seriously many things planned. he was never really supposed to be an important character. he was just a passing thought but then i grew on him a lot. like a lot-a lot. i can't wait to write post-naruto's birth!tatara.

(+1) tatara has no idea how she became perpetually known as that child who punched a hyuuga.

(+2) a brief mention of shisui.