Chapter 3

Just the Two of Us

The very next day, the two children were informed that they have their own place to stay. The message was from the third hokage. An escort was waiting for the approval of Sasuke's discharge before heading to their new home.

Arriving at an apartment, the escort unlocked the door, gave the key to Kotomi, and vanished from sight. The inside had all the basic needs, but it was very plain and empty looking.

Closing the door behind her, Kotomi took off her shoes. "It looks like this is our new home..." She looked towards Sasuke who kept quiet. He looked like he was holding back all of his emotions. "Onii-san..."

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. "I'll kill him..."

Kotomi grunted at his words. His expression was filled with fury and rage. Out of reflex, Kotomi held one of his hands, catching him off guard. "Onii-san... Please don't get angry..."

Sasuke was in a bind. His new anger towards Itachi was blinding him at the moment. But he started to calm down a little, seeing his little sister's worried expression.

Letting out a sigh, Sasuke had his eyes closed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You have to go to the academy soon, right?"

Sasuke let out a sigh. "Do I really have to go today..?"

Kotomi bit her lip. She knew that if she had to go to the academy after what has happened, she wouldn't want to go herself. She knew that the people would be talking about it, regardless if he was nearby or not. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"You know what." Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "I'll just go. I don't care about what anyone has to say. I'm not going to get stronger if I mope in my room all day."

"Onii-san..."

Sasuke put his hand on her hand. "You take it easy for the day. If you're going to go out, don't be out too late, got it?"

Kotomi nodded. "I will."

"Good." Sasuke took his hand off of her head. "I'm leaving now."

Kotomi extended her hand out. "Wait! Don't you want some breakfast?"

"I'm good. Later." With that, Sasuke went out the front door, closing it behind him.

Letting out a sigh, Kotomi shook her head. "He's so stubborn..." Shrugging it off, Kotomi stepped further into the apartment.

Going into the kitchen, she saw some money and a note on the table. Grabbing the note, Kotomi started reading it in her head.

To Sasuke and Kotomi,Here is your allowance for the month. Use it wisely. I will bring you more when the next month comes. Third Hokage

Kotomi's eyes widen at the sight. It was a lot of money for one month. But then again, it was for her and Sasuke. She had to learn how to budget. For a four year old, it was such an adult thing to do.

Looking around the cabinets and closets, Kotomi only saw enough food to last almost a week. There were only a couple outfits for each of them in both closets of both rooms. She knew what she had to do.

Walking outside, Kotomi was on her way to the clothing store before the grocery store. Reading the list she made, she quickly put it away in her pocket. She only had to get the necessities for the month. Money was going to be limited after all.

While walking, her stomach started to growl. "Right... I didn't even eat breakfast either." Groaning in response, Kotomi made it to the first store.

What it seemed like hours, Kotomi was all done with both clothes shopping and food shopping. Carrying a lot of bags with her, she was struggling to get back to the apartment on an empty stomach. As she was walking back, she started to hear people whisper among themselves.

"Isn't that one of the Uchiha survivors?"

"Yeah, I only heard her and her brother survived."

"Now they're orphans? Poor children."

"It must be so hard to lose your family in one night."

Filtering out their words, Kotomi continued on without meeting anyone's gaze. She didn't want any pity. She didn't even want them to be talking about this. But people will talk about anything. Even if the topic is sensitive to the person.

***

Arriving back in the apartment, Kotomi set the bags down, giving her arms a rest. Her stomach started to growl again. It's been growling all day.

Looking at the bags, Kotomi knew what she had to do. Because of the unfortunate circumstances that occurred, she must now be the one to take care of everything in the apartment. She knew that Sasuke would barely do anything even if she nagged him.

After putting away the clothes in the closet and drawers, Kotomi was now cooking something on the stove. She only helped her mother cook, so she never really cooked anything by herself before. She hoped that it would turn out well without her mother's supervision.

"Mother..." Kotomi lowered her eyes at the thought. That's right. She would never see her mother or father again. She started to tear up, wiping her eyes with her arm. She couldn't cry. She had to remain strong.

Cooking a little too much, the leftovers was sitting in the pan. She started scooping rice in a bowl, putting the extra food in little tiny bowls for side dishes.

Setting it on the table, Kotomi started to eat at her heart's content. She has done well with her first homemade meal. She bet her brother would like it. Speaking of her brother, Kotomi looked up at the clock, seeing that it was close to lunchtime.

Swallowing her food, Kotomi knew what she had to do. She had to save Sasuke from a food dilemma, considering that he didn't even eat breakfast either. He has to be starving she thought. Wanting to pack her brother a lunch, Kotomi scarfed down her food.

***

Going back out again, Kotomi was holding a wrapped bento. She was rushing towards the academy, seeing older children eating lunch and enjoying themselves.

Looking around, she spotted Sasuke underneath a tree, excluded from everyone else. Running towards him, Kotomi shouted his name, having the attention turn towards her. "Onii-san!"

Sasuke turned around, looking a bit irritated. Seeing Kotomi stop in front of him and catching her breath, he was starting to look annoyed. "What are you doing here..?"

Kotomi was handing him the homemade bento. "I made this just for you, Onii-san. You didn't eat breakfast, so I put in extra food. I even included tomatoes! Your favorite!"

Sasuke felt all eyes on him, feeling even more annoyed. "Yeah, thanks. Now can you go? People are staring."

"And when did you start caring about what people think?"

"I don't." Sasuke basically snatched the bento from her. "I'll... See you at home."

Kotomi gave him a smile. "See you later, Onii-san!" With that, she started rushing out of the academy.

Many of the female students looked at her in awe as she was leaving. "That's Sasuke-kun's little sister? She's so cute!"

Kotomi was trying to get out of there fast. She didn't want to embarrass her brother any further, though it was fun to do. But she didn't want to get bombarded by her brother's classmates since she knew that they would be asking her a bunch of questions.

As she was making it out of the area, Kotomi saw a lone boy sitting on a swing. He had spiky blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She had heard of him before. Many people called him a monster. But she knew that couldn't be the case. People talked all kinds of smack, so she knew their words meant nothing. You can never judge a book by its cover.

Taking her eyes off of him, Kotomi looked forward, heading back towards the apartment. Though no one would welcome her home anymore, she wanted to welcome her brother home whenever he gets back. She wanted him to feel like he still has a home to come home to, even though it was only her.

A/N: The poor girl has to grow up fast, she's so young! Can you imagine a four year old doing all that? The previous chapter and this chapter hurt my heart to write. They only have each other to depend on...