*In third-person point of view*
Breaking away from his thoughts. Sasuke stood up, took off his shoes and entered the house. Smelling the smell of food cooking, he headed to the bathroom to wash his face. He had spent half the day in the yard under the tree practising meditation, mindfulness, and patience. It had already become a habit with him. When he decided to ask if he could go out in the yard a few months ago, his mom was surprised at first, but then allowed it. After all, what harm could there be caused to children when clan members patrolled the area around the Uchiha neighborhood and inside the village.
Sasuke mentally uttered:
- "How ironic. They would have known that danger could come from more than just the outside..."
After finishing his procedures, he headed to the kitchen where his mother was preparing a traditional dinner consisting of rice, basic proteins, miso soup, and vegetable side dishes.
Settling down at the table he quietly watched and waited for the rest of the family to arrive to eat dinner together.
Finished with putting the dishes and platters on the table, Mikoto looked at Sasuke and asked softly:
- You hungry?
Sasuke just saying to her:
- Yes.
She said:
- Wait, it'll be ready soon.
Mikoto hung her apron by the door and after rinsing her hands, sat down across from Sasuke to wait. Since she was often in the kitchen or doing other household chores, she didn't give him the time of day, she just didn't have much free time for him. Oh, and he didn't seem to mind being outside or in his room most of the day. So it was a little awkward when there were no topics of conversation. She was sad of course, but later they got used to this routine. But her thoughts were interrupted by a voice:
- We're at home!
And soon after hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned around and saw her husband, Fugaku, and eldest son, Itachi, in the doorway.
It was a little funny to see how they both had the same expression on their faces. That is, expressing nothing poker face with nasolacrimal furrow and had both tired look on their faces.
Smiling at this sight, Mikoto told them:
- Go wash your hands and get to the table. Sasuke looked like he'd fall asleep if you were even minute late.
Fugaku looked at Sasuke, who seemed absorbed in his thoughts and went to wash his hands without saying anything. Itachi smiled and wanted to ruffle his hair, but remembered that because he had been training in the forest with his friend Shisui in shurikenjutsu and sparring with and without sharingan, he had gotten dirty. He followed his father to the washbasin.
Sasuke, meanwhile, had not noticed the others coming and was thinking about what to do next. He had already seen Shisui two years ago, after he had come to get Itachi to take him to training. And they had sort of known each other for over two years already. That's why Mikoto wasn't surprised to see him come to their house. And Sasuke only noticed him at that time because he couldn't move around the house properly. But at that time, he was already getting used to slowly walking on his own two feet again.
- "True I stumbled a bit and he wasn't far away, catching me in time. Smiling, he set me slowly on the pillow and ruffled my hair. He really is a good man. Since Itachi was on the training ground, he said goodbye to us and went off to look for him. It's a pity that the inevitable tragedy would happen to him in future. That's okay. In the future, I'll make sure no one has to sacrifice themselves for peace."
- "And Itachi. After all, he's still being affected by the aftermath of the unknown masked man causing the breakup of his team, the death of one of its members, and the awakening of his Sharingan with Two Tomoe. Even though he looks more normal now. But I know he keeps it all to himself so as not to alarm anyone. That time he came up to me while I was playing on the porch playing with toys. You know, I can't just become an adult and act like them in a child's body, I could be misunderstood. There's a lot of weirdness in this world, and I didn't want to be labeled one of them. Sometimes you have to be a child instead of playing. It's good for not going crazy with different experiences and thoughts. Especially being a child is also a kind of good. And I'll have time to be an adult. I already have plans and stuff. Hurrying will only hurt me."
- "Okay, what am I talking about. It was at that time that I first took the initiative and hugged him to distract him and make him feel a little better. After that he became a little less tense and started smiling more often as he often fiddled with me and forgot about the gloom and harshness of life and just enjoyed entertaining me. Sometimes he would open a book of drawings and try to teach me some simple symbols. For example: - An apple. What does this word "Apple" mean. And then he slowly pronouncing it. So that I could understand a little. And so it was also with other objects and living things to which their pronunciation corresponded. For example: - Man, cat, toys, things and so on. He's a good brother. And the whole family is. But I try to keep my distance from them, especially the parents. It's like Itachi's interaction with outsiders. He didn't want to waste time on unnecessary things and is almost always busy thinking about getting stronger. In reality, he doesn't just think like the Hokage. He wants to become one. After all, once he becomes Hokage, and a strong one at that, he will no longer allow any conflicts or wars. He's an Uchiha, but an similar in thinking to Senju. To be more precise. Hashirama. We brothers and ironically even more in common than expected. But I'm less social with my relatives, and with outsiders, except that we with Itachi share a friendship with Shisui. After all, once taking me to his training session with Shisui, I spent the rest of the evening with them. I've never felt so at ease before. No need to think about anything or train. Just enjoying a nice vacation in nature. And making friends with Shisui, it was a great opportunity. He's funny, kind, a little naive, but a strong and understanding friend, as their interaction with Itachi showed. It was a joy to just sit next to them and listen to them talk without interrupting. Hearing about new things that were happening in the world. I really became a part of this world and felt alive, not a robot that can just plan and improve. A robot that knows no rest and works until it is either turned off or burns itself out from overworking, letting the effort go nowhere."
When he heard his name called, he shook his head and looked up to see that everyone was looking at him and asked:
- Yes?
Mikoto said with a slight frown:
- If there's something bothering you, you can share it with us.
Then she added with a smile:
- You don't have to keep it all to yourself.
Sasuke simply said:
- It's okay.
And began to eat quietly. After everyone had finished, he said goodnight to everyone and went to his room to sleep. After changing into his pajamas, he looked at the bright moon through the window and said to himself:
- Good Night.
At that moment, it even seemed to as if answering back him that the moon got a little brighter. Smiling, he turned sideways toward her and closed his eyes and fell asleep, waiting for tomorrow.