"Do you want to become stronger?"
Uchiha Makoto's voice echoed through the alley as it gradually quieted, carrying a strange calm, yet landing like a stone in the stagnant pool of Uchiha Nako's heart.
Nako jerked her head up, her dark, shining eyes widening slightly in surprise. Her fingers unconsciously clenched the faded hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
She looked at Makoto, silhouetted against the light, her mind a jumble of thoughts darting about like a school of startled fish.
Become stronger?
Me?
An Uchiha... orphan who could barely scrape a pass in the Ninja Academy's taijutsu classes, who refined chakra at a snail's pace, and who missed eight out of ten kunai throws?
Did she deserve that?
I'm just... an Uchiha with very little talent.
That thought had always lodged like a thorn in the deepest part of her heart.
After her parents died in the line of duty, she had lived alone in their home, watching the other children her age in the clan. Even those who weren't geniuses could at least show the pride of the Uchiha in some way.
But her? She was poor at taijutsu and barely managed ninjutsu theory. The only things she was reasonably good at were probably academic classes and cleaning.
She didn't even dare volunteer her Uchiha surname in public, afraid she would disgrace it.
Her inferiority crept over her like damp vines, making her almost shake her head in refusal on instinct.
But another voice-or rather, a few memories and rumors-overpowered that feeling.
Obito. Obito Uchiha, who used to get mocked as a "dead last" every so often at the Ninja Academy.
He had changed so much over the past few years. Not only had he successfully graduated and become a genin, but she