A Young Girl's Thoughts

After the celebration ended, Senya took Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Shuu, Uchiha Ori, Uchiha Yurisha, and the others to the pre-booked Akimichi Barbecue Restaurant for a hearty meal.

When Senya returned home, Kurenai and Shizune came to visit soon after.

A little exercise after dinner to aid digestion was not a bad choice either...

The moon rose to the middle of the sky. Several hours passed, and Shizune and Kurenai lay exhausted on either side of Senya, fast asleep.

"Honestly, you two are terrible at this, yet you love playing..."

Senya held them both and drifted off to sleep.

At that very moment, while Senya slept soundly, Izumi lay alone on the bed in her room.

Wrapped entirely in her blanket, her face buried in her pillow, she recalled every little moment from the past few days when Senya had pulled her aside for private training.

Yet memories of Itachi also surfaced in her mind from time to time.

The two different sets of memories clashed in Izumi's mind, leaving her deeply conflicted and carrying a faint sense of guilt.

It was as though an angel and a devil floated on either side of her.

The little angel said, "Izumi, think about all the memories you and Itachi Uchiha have shared since childhood. He is your childhood sweetheart. Besides, Senya Uchiha is the clan's deputy clan head. How can you harbor such thoughts toward the deputy clan head?"

The little angel was right, but...

"Stop thinking about Itachi. At best, you two are childhood sweethearts. In reality, you were only drawn to him because he was cute and cool when you were little, and because he excelled at the Ninja Academy."

"All these years, haven't you just been throwing yourself at someone who never cared? Since he graduated, how many times has he ever paid attention to you? The few times he did were only because you went to wait for him at the dango shop every day. He likes sweet dango, not you."

"His heart holds only the village and his adorable little brother. What is so great about Itachi? Look at Deputy Clan Head Senya. Not only is he handsome, but he became deputy clan head at such a young age. Under his leadership, he even improved the relationship between the clan and the village. His strength certainly won't be any weaker than Itachi Uchiha's."

The little devil's words left the little angel unable to refute anything, because every word was true.

Izumi shook her head, only to realize there had never been any little angel or little devil. It was merely the struggle within her heart.

No one knew how long passed before Izumi fell asleep amid her wild thoughts.

The chirping birds outside the window woke Izumi.

She slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Recalling last night's dilemma, she realized she had fallen asleep before figuring it out. Now that she was awake, she began agonizing over it again.

After getting up and dressing, she walked to the washroom and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her glossy black hair was somewhat disheveled, likely from rubbing against her pillow all night.

After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and tidying her hair, she walked into the living room, where her mother had already prepared breakfast at the table.

Seeing her daughter looking so listless, Uchiha Hazuki thought of the past and formed a guess.

"Izumi, what's wrong? Did Itachi ignore you again and make you unhappy?"

"Oh, I told you long ago that you and Itachi are not suited for each other. He is the clan head's son. Even if you got together, you would not be happy in the future."

Izumi was stunned by her mother's words. Yet hearing her say this now, her feelings were different from before. Instead, she felt as though she had suddenly been enlightened.

"Mom, you're right. There's no possibility between Itachi and me. But the person I like isn't Itachi. I was only attracted by how outstanding he was before."

"Hm? It's not Itachi?"

Hearing her daughter's words, Uchiha Hazuki was a little surprised. After all these years, why had she suddenly come to her senses today? Could it be that brat Itachi...

Seeing her mother's serious and displeased expression, Izumi felt that she seemed to have misunderstood something.

"Mom, did you misunderstand?"

Uchiha Hazuki froze for a moment but still voiced her thoughts.

"Wasn't it because Itachi Uchiha bullied you?"

That question left Izumi completely dumbfounded.

"It wasn't that guy Itachi!"

Seeing her daughter deny it so emphatically, while looking somewhat shy, Uchiha Hazuki's curiosity was immediately piqued. She formed a new guess: perhaps Izumi had found the person she truly liked.

"So it's not Itachi. That's good. But if it isn't Itachi, then who do you like? Tell Mom, and I'll help you think it through."

Uchiha Hazuki sat in a chair wearing a gray kimono, one hand propping up her chin on the wooden table while her right hand continuously played with the braid hanging over her shoulder. Her skin was soft and fair, and her face was flawless. Other than a few faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, there was almost no trace of time upon her. She was an elegant and beautiful mature woman.

Her husband had died during the Third Shinobi World War, but fortunately, he had left behind a considerable estate. To care for her daughter, Uchiha Hazuki gave up her position as a jonin and chose to stay home and devote herself fully to raising Izumi.

As a result, Uchiha Hazuki had almost nothing else to do in her daily life and often felt bored. Only after learning about Izumi and Itachi did she gain something more in her life: teasing her daughter became a source of amusement.

Still, it was also for the sake of helping her daughter make the right choice. Now that the daughter she treasured like a pearl in her palm had finally found someone she liked, she naturally had to learn all about him.

Uchiha Hazuki's moist, sparkling peach blossom eyes remained fixed on Izumi with a smile, making Izumi the first to lose her composure.

"Fine, I'll tell you. It's Deputy Clan Head Senya."

Izumi pulled over a chair and sat down with her head lowered, unwilling to let her mother see her flushed face. Her slender hands kept twisting together in her lap, just like the tangled state of her heart.

"It's Senya? That little fellow. It seems my daughter truly has good taste. Senya is far better than Itachi."

Hazuki began recalling the changes within the clan over this period. Though she was no longer a jonin, she could still obtain quite a bit of information from within the clan whenever she wished.

Whether it was his dazzling performance at the Clan Meeting, his consolidation of the clan's internal unrest, or his handling of the relationship between the clan and the village, he had done well in every regard.

She had also attended the Police Force celebration last night. Thinking back now, she realized that Izumi's final movement had not been an attempt to avoid suspicion. Her daughter had simply been too shy, which was why she had turned away so quickly.

Seeing her mother sitting across from her with a beaming smile, her delicate body trembling with laughter, Izumi unconsciously lowered her gaze. Seeing her mother's chest, she instinctively looked down at her own, which had only begun to rise slightly.

Then she thought of Uchiha Yurisha.

Her mood immediately sank.

Seeing Izumi's gaze, then noticing the suddenly "inferior" look on her daughter's face, Hazuki's lips curled up once more.

It seemed that she would have to teach Izumi much more about how to become a woman in the future. Her daughter still had a great deal to learn...