The Heiress (UNDER REVISION UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)

Vain

T W O   M O N T H S    L A T E R

Sasuke pouted as he watched Team Alpha leave the village gates. Beside him, Itachi let out a small sigh in sadness as he saw their pink haired sister leave once again. "How long will she be gone this time?" He asked his older brother.

Itachi blinked at the sudden question, "Nee promised to return after two months." He replied before he gestured for them to make their way back home. It was still early in the morning, the sun hasn't even risen yet but Alpha was designated to leave before dawn came.

The younger boy yawned tiredly, "I hope they don't get extended again."

"I hope so too. Ryuu – san and Takeshi – san are still injured and haven't recovered properly yet, I'm sure Hokage – sama has taken their physical health into account." Itachi paused before he continued once more, "Nee has told me that the mission would most likely be espionage rather than combat, so I'm sure they'll be fine."

Sasuke nodded in agreement before he turned to Itachi, "Aniki," he yawned once more, "I'm still sleepy."

Itachi let out a soft smile before he gestured for him to get on his back, 'Just like old times.'

---

"Look, isn't that Uchiha Sakura's younger sibling?"

"The pink haired Uchiha's sibling hasn't graduated yet?"

"He doesn't look special compared to his siblings."

"I pity him. He has some pretty big shoes to fill in."

"Uchiha Sakura and Uchiha Itachi's younger brother."

Ever since he was young, these words weren't really new. He's heard these phrases a lot and he knew that they all held some truth in it. True, he was the younger sibling of two very strong figures. He could barely hold a candle when compared to Itachi, much less to his older sister Sakura.

He wasn't really a vain person. His siblings tried their best to lift his spirits up and to always praise him whenever he achieved something in the Academy like getting a perfect score in their quizzes or winning the most spars during their Taijutsu lessons.

Sasuke wasn't vain, but he was insecure. For all the love in the world, he cherished his siblings a lot. But they always seemed so out of his reach. They've achieved a lot for the village by the time they were his age, while him? He was still a lowly academy student who can't even qualify to be placed in an advanced class.

He wasn't blind as to why. Sasuke was smart enough to realize just how talented his siblings were. His sister seemed to soak up everything like she's done it her whole life while his brother was a fast learner. Compared to them, he had to actually train day and night and cram every textbook into his head just to secure the first rank of his batch.

Despite being in the same family, Sasuke couldn't help but think if he got the short end of the stick when it came to their family's prodigious gene pool. Even his cousin Shisui was regarded as a prodigy who quickly rose through the ranks as he aged.

Those words weren't really new to him, but he wanted to be seen as himself. He craved for validation as himself. All his life, albeit he was still young, Sasuke was so desperate to be regarded as himself. Not as Uchiha Sasuke, but as just Sasuke. It seemed that there was no one in this world who could just see him as himself.

"Oi, teme!" Except for one. "I've been calling you for five minutes already! Have you gone deaf already?"

Uzumaki Naruto seemed to be an exception made by the world. He was loud, extremely rude, stubborn as a mule, and didn't give two shits about what others had to say to him. Naruto became the bestfriend he never thought he needed until the blond barreled, quite literally, into his boring life.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke frowned despite his voice not having any bite at all, "No one wants to listen to your dumb voice this early in the morning." He told the blond as they continued to walk towards the Academy.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto snorted with a grin, "What crawled up your ass and die to make you this moody?" he questions with his wide blue eyes glinting with a tease.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, "Nee left for a mission earlier this morning. She's only been home for two months, nearly three, and she's already assigned a mission again."

"And? Isn't that what shinobi do?"

"It's unfair. She just came back from a year – long mission. I just wished we could spend more time together."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "I'm pretty sure leaving for a long time is in the job description, teme. Plus, Sakura – nee's pretty much an in-demand shinobi for a lot of people." He shrugged, "She's bound to be busy with how talented she is."

Sasuke frowned, "I can't wait to be doing missions with Nee someday." He grumbled.

The blond laughed, "You wish! Sakura – nee's so strong that you'll only drag her down."

"As if you're any better, dobe!"

"Hey, I never said I was, dattebayo!" He grinned proudly. "But that's okay."

"Why?"

"Because it means that we'll both be in the same squad doing the same mission! It's gonna be more fun that way!"

Sasuke snorted at his words. But deep inside, he smiled at the blond.

"Sakura – nee's strong. Super strong! But she doesn't really have fun, ya know? And I think that's a pretty boring life! All she does is go on missions and travel the world, but she's missing a lot of moments with you guys. When I become Hokage, I'm going to make sure that everyone enjoys life!"

"What kind of Hokage is that?"

"A family-oriented one, teme."