~ House of the Uchihas[Konoha-Gakure} ~

"You are a shame," this voice says over and over again, "you, a girl will always be better than you. Always.
You need anger to surpass them. You must hate her. "
"No!", Itachi replies, "I will never do that!"
The voice gets louder and he realizes that it was a laugh.
"You can't defend yourself. It'll eat you up ..."
Itachi yells to make the pain bearable, but it only got worse.
"What do you care about her? She is human, a simple human."
"It is not!"
Itachi feels free for a brief moment, he feels weightless when he realizes that the ground has been torn from under his feet and he falls into the bottomless darkness.
He started screaming. Sweat ran down his back, his shirt was stuck to his skin and his hair fell over his eyes. He gasped for air.
It was a nightmare, he tried to convince himself, just a nightmare ...
Since he was elected chunin three years ago, he has been tormented by nightmares that tried to convince him to get rid of Sayuri.
Itachi couldn't explain it. He had nothing against Sayuri. He had always felt very happy around her. But lately he couldn't help looking at her with hatred.
But why?
"Are you okay?", Itachi was startled when he noticed Sayuri in the door to his room.
She rubbed her eyes, "You called for me ..."
He shook his head, trying to hide the fact that his heart was beating faster. Do I have this?
"I just had a nightmare," he reassured her. The worry didn't fade from her face as she turned, closed the door behind her, and went back to her room.
The beating of his heart was the only audible thing in the dark room.

~ Forest[Konoha-Gakure]~

"Great, brother!" Sasuke yelled as Itachi landed on the floor.
Sure of victory he grinned to Sayuri, who was just trying to hit the targets with her Kunais.He was sure that he had met all of them, and thus one more than Sayuri.
“You only missed two!” Startled, he followed Sasuke's finger and realized that only eight kunais had hit the targets. The ninth had just missed the target of Sayuris Kunai and the free disc was still free.
He clenched his fists when he looked back at Sayuri, who was grinning to herself.
Yet again…
"I want to" Sasuke grabbed a couple of kunais and tried to imitate the two older ones.
But the little one didn't hit a single target and landed roughly.
He started to cry.
"I warned you!" Said Sayuri as she crouched down next to him.
"Are you angry now?"
She ran a light hand through his hair. "Not at all. My darling."
She held his ankles and squeezed a little tighter, causing Sasuke to flinch.
"But what does it look like. To show up with a cracked foot on the first day of school?"
Itachi remembered: Starting tomorrow, Sasuke is going to the ninja academy. But her father didn't have too high hopes for him and Itachi didn't really care.
He had better things to do than being with his little brother, which is why he had reluctantly agreed to do something with him today.
Why was little brother so obsessed with the desire to become a ninja?
Itachi listened to Sayuri's low, soothing hum. In the past three years she had devoted herself to her medical training in addition to the chunin missions, but he did not believe that singing was also one of the specialties of a medicinin.
At least Sasuke stopped crying.
"You're coming tomorrow, aren't you?" He asked hesitantly.
"Sure, absolutely!"
"We have an important meeting tomorrow, you know that, Say"
Itachi crossed her arms over her chest.
"It can't be so important if even the Hokage prefers to greet the new pupils"
Itachi didn't like it at all when she contradicted him in such a white way."We have to go home," he said finally.
"And I still have to go somewhere." - "And where to"
She walked past him and showed her smile that had always made him feel strange.
"I'll tell you that last."
Then she was gone and Itachi was forced to carry Sasuke back to his parents' house on his back.

As they wandered the streets, they talked a little.
Via the Academy and the Konoha Police, which was run by the Uchiha clan.
"When I grow up, I want to be part of the Konoha police too!", Sasuke said firmly.
Itachi laughed softly, after which Sasuke blushed slightly.
"What will you do when you grow up?"
He shrugged his shoulders. “I haven't thought about that yet.” And that was also true. He had only lived for the here and now, for the missions and never thought of his future.
"Are you going to marry Sayuri?" His little brother suddenly burst out.
Itachi stopped. "What makes you think that?"
"Sayuri always says that too! But I know that you like each other"
"Why shouldn't I like her? I've known her all my life"
"I don't mean that! You love each other"
By not looking at his brother, Itachi tried to keep him from blushing.
"You don't understand anything like that!"
"Enough to know you're doing it!"
He remembered overhearing Sayuri and Sasuke before the third exam began. She had made fun of his fantasies at the time, too, but he had heard slight embarrassment in her voice.
"Oh, what happened to you?", Before the two could have continued arguing, an older woman came towards them, whom they knew as Shisui's grandmother.
"It's not a bad thing," said Sayuri. "Sasuke grinned.
Relief showed on her face. "If the little one says that, there must be some truth in it."
"Say is just the best!", Sasuke replied.
As he said this, Itachi's heart seemed to quake. I'm better, said part of him that he was trying to hold back.
He went on, still thinking about Sayuri.
On the one hand, he was "jealous" of her, for he always had the impression that she was better than him in everything. And he hated that.
But on the other hand ... for a long time ... he felt weird when he met her, so defenseless and helpless, as if she could just look into him.
They were two so opposite feelings that he no longer knew how to see Sayuri.
He wanted her as a friend, but something prevented that. What was that?
Whenever the sky took on the color of the setting sun and turned soft orange, Sayuri got the feeling that she always felt when she was with Itachi.
At first she could deny it, but if they didn't see each other for a long time, it became almost unbearable.
She tried to convince herself that it was just a side effect, something that would pass again. But slowly she doubted it.
While she was strolling through the streets of Konoha, she met two girls whom she had known from her time at the academy.
"Sayuri", they sounded shy, "You've known Itachi for so long, haven't you?"
She nodded.
"Is there something going on between you guys?"
She eyed the two in amazement. "No, how come?"
They looked relieved and began to smile, "Well then it's fine. Thanks"
They ran away giggling and Sayuri watched them ask questions.
A stabbing pain seized her as she wondered if they wanted him.
But why do I care?
They have known each other for so long. They were almost like twins. With the exception that Sayuri shows the outward signs of aging
showed.
Maybe that's why ...
She found herself worrying about what might happen in a few years.
Would they still be such good friends then?Sayuri used to hate Itachi for his arrogance, how could that change?
It was unclear to her and that made her uncomfortable.
Itachi was getting more and more at a distance from her. Did he feel it too?
Back then she had told Sasuke that if he loved her, she would be Anbu when she was thirteen.
And she was thirteen now, and the Hokage had suggested that she join the Anbu!
Sayuri shook inwardly.
He does not love me! No way! And I don't love him either!

~ Ninja Academy[konoha-Gakure]~

While the Hokage gave his speech to the new pupils, Itachi's thoughts turned to the past.
At that time he was standing here with Sayuri, full of zest for action and hopes. Then he thought of how they both graduated from the academy within a year, the mission that had been disrupted by Hakyo, and the chunin selection exam. They had passed all of this together and - what was worst for him - always at the same time.
He noticed that it had always been like that, with everything, even when she was born. An eternal competition without a winner.
A wave of pure hatred seized him and he clenched his fists so that his knuckles turned white.

After the welcome ceremony was finally over, Itachi decided to
to go back to the little forest where they had been throwing targets yesterday.
To relax he took a couple of kunais and did the same thing as yesterday. But when he landed and asked about the targets, he saw ... that he hadn't hit a target!
How can that be?
He knelt and punched the earth with clenched fists.
"Why?" He shouted, "why?"

~ Shrine[konoha-gakure]~

Confused, Itachi rummaged through the files. Leaves fell to the ground, but he hardly noticed.
He was looking for something ... a way to finally be better than Sayuri.
He thinks he has discovered something that should help him.
He had learned from a member of the Uchiha clan that under a shrine there was secret information about a special kind of Sharingan that is so powerful that few have managed to get it at all.And he planned to achieve this kind of Sharingan so that he would finally no longer be behind Sayuri. No more. No matter what he has to do for it.
An envelope with a seal fell to the floor, drawing Itachi's eyes magically.
That had to be the secret information ...
He carefully opened the envelope and quickly picked up the contents.
"Mangekyo Sharingan - the kaleidiscope Sharingan," he mumbled quietly and as if spellbound.
As he read the text, his eyes widened and his heart pounded louder.

~ Temple Complex[Konoha-Gakure]~

The wind relentlessly pulled past the many people, drove the snow into their eyes and wet their clothes.
Sayuri and Sasuke snuggled close to each other to warm