Noramori opened her eyes to the sound of birds chirping and the wood of their family home creaking as it settled into the summer climate. She could vaguely remember being moved from her mother's soft lap and tucked into her Shikibuton during the night. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but she had a lot of work to do if she wanted to make any progress with her chakra control.

The practice was difficult; she had struggled massively with controlling her chakra. No matter what she tried, it was like trying to wrestle an angry Bijuu. Possible, but way beyond her current understanding or ability. For years she thought she was broken, that she had been born a failure, and that she would always need to be protected. She had found herself so close to giving up hope until the family finally took her to a medical expert to figure out what might be causing this insurmountable hill in her training. Her examiners were flabbergasted by what they found.

Noramori had unbelievable chakra reserves, the likes of which they hadn't seen outside of Kage and tailed beasts. Her chakra was like a towering inferno, burning everything in its path. Her chakra was laced with the five elements, a fact that stunned the entire village, but it was primarily dominated by fire. It was a force of nature, ready to crush anything in its path. That is if she could get it to follow any sort of path at all.

Her chakra was too hard to control. It moved with a mind of its own, rushing out of control every time she tried to direct it. Her parents and doctors assured her that with enough practice, this could be a wonderful boon, but to her, it felt like she was cursed to have infinite potential but never reach for it. She constantly found herself internalizing self-hatred. She didn't want the family to worry. After all, it wasn't like they didn't have two other prodigies that could lift up the clan. Not that she would ever tell Sasuke he was anything but a little squirt.

Imagine knowing that you have the chakra to crush mountains but barely being able to produce a clone or even perform something as simple as the leaf exercise. She felt inadequate and unfulfilled like everything in her new life was perfect except for her. Many a night, after teasing and comforting Sasuke through his struggles to prove himself, Noramori found herself crying quietly into her pillow. Sasuke didn't see it; he didn't see how even his struggle was better than her nothing. Everyone was better than her, but that didn't stop her from trying her hardest every day. She would practice cycling her chakra, doing calming exercises to get her mind to put off this anxiety, this weight, that felt like the sky trying to reach down and crush her into the ground.

She didn't know what she was doing wrong; maybe the gods just wanted to play a joke on her. Poor, poor Noramori, look how she struggles; are you not entertained? She was her own worst enemy in the arena called life, and it didn't stop at just the chakra. She was small and weak; her only power was the ability to control her outward emotions to fool the world.

With these emotions running through her head, she felt like breaking down, but she forced herself to get up and dress in her practice gear. It was nothing fancy: a simple black flak jacket sporting a fire kanji on the back. She would need to earn the right to wear the Uchiha crest. The edges of the jacket were embroidered with white and purple cherry blossom petals flowing up the whole material, looking like someone had taken a snapshot of petals floating to the ground after throwing them in the air in unrestrained joy. She wore the flak jacket open, and underneath it, she wore a pale violet turtleneck that hugged her body while maintaining flexibility. For pants, she had on black cargo pants with plenty of belts, hooks, loops, and clasps for her various ninja tools. The pants had ties at the bottom that ended halfway down her calves, allowing them to be secured snugly against her legs. She wrapped cloth around the base of these that went down to her feet, where she was often barefoot. Something about this just felt right, like her connection to the earth grounded her and allowed her to feel the world around her flowing through her. If she wasn't barefoot, then she was wearing thin Tabi, and it just didn't feel right not being able to feel the surface she was standing upon. Today she wore the tabi because she knew that today's training would be hard on her feet.

She looked at herself in her long, full-length mirror as she adjusted her forehead protector, a simple affair with a sky-blue cloth adorned with more cherry blossoms. For now, the metal plate was clear of any engravings, but she kept the surface clean and free of scratches. Okay, maybe it was a little fancy but shut up. If she didn't feel good about herself on the inside, she would make damn sure she felt good about something. She gave herself a small smile and a thumbs up. She giggled a bit at the silly young girl, said grinning back, steeled her resolve, and walked outside.

She wandered to her brother's room, which was situated directly next to her own. Flinging the door open, she had prepared herself to shout, "Hello brooding sunshine, it's time to wake you up." She halted in her tirade of terror; where had the little brat gotten off so early? It was strange that she wasn't up long before her twin.

'Now where could he have gone,' Noramori thought to herself, and she prepared to initiate the most sacred of sibling games, hide and seek. He hides; she seeks, hunting every trace of him until she could track down his whereabouts and expose his erroneous actions to the great guardians. That is, inform their parents.

She began to stalk the grounds of the family compound, using two things she was incredibly good at sensing and tracking. She could constantly feel the world around her and was only stumped by particularly adept ninjas, such as Itachi, who was good at suppressing their chakra signatures. She found that it was much easier to find those who could create a void in the flow of chakra around them, suppressing their chakra until there was nothing left. Those who could reduce their signature to that of an animal or plant, like her big brother, scared her, and she would grant them no amnesty from her ire.

She could feel where Sasuke had crushed grass and scuffed stone as he traveled through the compound. Oddly enough, it seemed that the trail did not begin from his room but rather came from further out in the field. Returning from a dastardly act in the making? Trying to cover his tracks? Like a bloodhound on a scent trail, she zeroed in on the delinquent that she would bring to justice. After all, he had no right to leave her behind as he went and did... whatever it was that he was doing. Yeah, maybe she was a little co-dependent, but Sasuke was the only one who saw through her when she put up her cute and cuddly "protect me" act. Even if he seemed oblivious to the depths of her internal struggle, he was her twin, and no one was closer to her than that little knucklehead.

She approached the scene of the crime; he had just been here. She could see where his chakra had condensed as he halted on the walkway wrapping around their home. Something was wrong; she could see another signature standing in front of him as if it were beginning to retreat from a great battle only to be stopped by new intel. This signature belongs to none other than their esteemed father, Fugaku. Why was her brother bothering her father this early in the morning? Lady Noramori was on the case.

Their two signatures paired off and trailed off toward the lake, the same lake where Sasuke spent so much time practicing his Great Fireball. 'I wonder if he finally succeeded. She noted as she approached that there was an older trail, the same trail she had noticed earlier going back toward the compound. How long had he been out here? She couldn't tell; the initial trail was long gone. It had to have been a long time. There is no other explanation; she was the best tracker around, which couldn't have been due to her lack of experience and reliance on natural talent. Nah, uh, not that. Was he up all night?

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As she approached, she noticed Sasuke with his serious face on, saying, Awwww, he looks adorable, and their father Fugaku standing calmly behind him. She began to shout her arrival, but the words died on her lips. Suddenly there was a massive fireball jutting out over the lake, the flames spreading in an orb-like shape and tapering to a thin trail protruding a short distance away from his lips. His arms were extending behind him; he didn't even use any seals to focus on the shape. He simply poured the pent-up raw emotion from his hours and hours of practice into this one finally defiant flame, the culmination of so much pain and suffering. The results were impressive, to say the least.

The flame was enormous, easily matching the size of any demonstration that Fugaku or a begrudging Itachi had given the two twins. The water hissed and popped beneath it. The surface instantly boiled as curls of steam spread up and outward from the flames, cradling the massive fireball as it announced its dominance over the unstable ecology of the poor lake.

As the flames died down, they left an afterimage in her eyes, bright as the sun, a blue shadow on her vision. She didn't know how to react; she was so proud of Sasuke; he had finally done it, and Father had seen it being done. It only hurt a little that he didn't try to share this moment with her, but she understood. He needed to prove himself as much of an Uchiha as their big brother. This was Sasuke's battle to fight, and she wasn't crying. No, not at all.

She saw their father begin to turn, and she let out the fiercest roar, akin to a mouse caught in the gaze of a cat, and she made a tactical retreat to the safety of the vegetation surrounding the large lake. She watched from the safety of her hiding place as Fugaku walked away from a proud-looking Sasuke. Their father didn't say a word, and with each step further away from her brother, she could see Sasuke's shoulders slump and his eyes lose their luster. She was furious; he had done it. He had put in literal blood, sweat, and plenty of tears—yeah, he was a crybaby—into this jutsu. Father was just going to walk away and say nothing; at least smile at him; maybe even tell him he needed to keep working. This, just saying nothing, was the cruelest thing she could imagine.

She was just about to jump out and start screaming at their father when their father paused. She would hold off on her attack for now, if only to gather more intel for her mission to punish him for his transgressions.

The words that came out of his mouth stunned her; they brought a tear to her eye. Just one, she would later say, as she was a strong, beautiful woman, and no one could say otherwise.

"Now then, that's my boy. You've done well. Work hard and you are bound to soar high and bring honor to that crest you wear on your back."

Sasuke gave a small smile and said, "I will!"

"From now on, walk your own path," Fugaku glanced back over his shoulder, "not in the footsteps of your brother."

Sasuke jumped in surprise. Noramori could tell that he wasn't expecting to hear these words and that he would spend a lot of time considering them.

As Father began to walk further away, he passed Noramori's hiding place; if she had been paying enough attention to him, she would have noticed his obvious glance in her direction, but she was too caught up in her examination of Sasuke to pay attention to such a measly detail. She rushed from her hiding place, heading straight for their father.

"Eeeee!" she jumped, and he caught her in his arms. "That was so awesome; I love you so much, papa."

Fugaku tried to remain stoic; after all, he was the great leader of the Uchiha clan. He was a manly man, and his heart wouldn't melt under the influence of the overwhelming cuteness of his only daughter. He totally wasn't struggling to save his quickly failing cool factor. Noramori didn't care for his games or his posturing. She didn't care that he wanted to walk away from Sasuke, as his retreat portrayed strength and power. She was simply overwhelmed with emotion at seeing this touching scene and didn't care that she was intruding. He would not deny her, and his stoic expression crumbled under her assault.

Hello, little blossom, you have become much better at masking yourself. Keep up the good work; make the clan proud."

She snuggled into her father's Yukata. He could be mean, but to her, he was a mask of authority that manipulated his children because he wanted them to be as strong as they could be. On paper, she knew the times he was disapproving of their skill were just his way of showing he cared. It still stung sometimes when he said those things. With her, it was different; he still gave her lectures on strength, he still told her things that might make her cry, and he still looked at her with disappointment and defeat, but it was kinder. He treated her softer, which sometimes hurt more than anything else. He wasn't expecting her to be able to do any of the things her brothers could do, and he had accepted that fact. It didn't matter to her. She would say otherwise when questioned, but deep down she knew that he was her papa and that he loved her very much.

Finally placing her back on the ground, he ruffled her hair and smiled as he continued on his way toward the compound.

Noramori watched him go. A small frown adorned her face at the memories of his previous dismissals. She could tell that he was only being kind with his statement about her suppression and stealth. She knew her chakra signature stood out like a sun beaming for all the world to see. She shook her head and sighed, schooling her features, and with a wonderful smile turned around, beaming at her twin.

She rushed to him and wrapped him in a bear hug. "You did it! You did it! You did it!" Twirling them around, she flung Sasuke in a circle like a rag doll.

Unfortunately, she slipped, sending the two of them tumbling into the lake, which was still quite warm. It felt kind of relaxing. 'We should get a hot spring,' she thought to herself as their heads plunged under the water.

As they resurfaced, Sasuke looked at her angrily; they caught each other's gaze, and the staring match to end all staring matches began.

She didn't know which one of them cracked first, but suddenly they were both laughing with massive smiles on their faces. Sasuke's eyes were squinted shut in joy, and she had never seen him looking happier.

Of course, she had to knock him down a peg as a wave of water crashed into his smiling features. He sputtered, spitting out water, and glared in her direction. This lasted for all of a second as he began splashing water at her. She giggled and swam away. All plans for her rigorous practice floated out the window when she saw how happy her brother was.

As they chased each other across the lake, she couldn't help but think that it felt nice to just play. Play, not practice, to take the time to enjoy her childhood and not focus on all the little insecurities that threatened to crush her every day. They splashed and played until the night came, only taking a small amount of time to focus on their chakra control. Performing the leaf exercise, trying to stick a leaf to their skin and keep it there with just chakra control alone. Noramori was getting there, but it wasn't uncommon that she ended up shredding the leaf, or worse, igniting it with her fire-dominant chakra. For once, it didn't bother her as much; today was a happy day. However, even as they enjoyed themselves, it was impossible to completely quell the feelings of self-doubt that stirred in the back of her mind. He did amazingly, and she was happy for her brother; she just wished that she could be as good as him. After all, she was her own worst enemy.