Chapter seven :

Don't get lost in counting the stars

'I'm scared...' Yukiko said with watery eyes

'Jeez, just baby up and crawl up the wall already...' Taiga muttered with an eye roll

Two months had passed since 'Yukiko' remembered about her past and holds knowledge about her current world. She quickly became partners with Taiga, who had not shared anything about her previous life except for knowledge about this world as well. Unlike most partners they do not bicker a lot, seeing as Yukiko is too lazy to really get into an argument with a voice in her head that only she could hear. They are each other's ideal partners due to balancing each other out.

Yukiko who thinks things trough and plans out ahead while Taiga is too eager and has a wild imagination. Perfect partners...right?

So after officially becoming partners Taiga demanded Yukiko to begin her shinobi training despite said person only being a baby. Obviously a baby couldn't throw weapons, wield weapons, fight or anything like that. But Taiga could highly annoy people, especially those who are stuck with her inside a single body.

Yukiko had to choose between being a lazy baby while Taiga screams worse than Sakura in her head or actually think of something to satisfy Taiga. She clearly chose the latter wanting to reserve what little sanity she had left.

So then she reminded Taiga that every living being has chakra, though her chakra coils aren't developed she could still start with chakra control or try and become a sensory type.

Yukiko being Yukiko wanted to start with sensing because this option was safer and more subtle than having a baby crawl up walls. But Taiga being Taiga lost patience when Yukiko had spent one week without being able to sense chakra. But that didn't really piss her off, the fact that Yukiko was sleeping instead of at least trying had.

Yukiko learned never to mess with Taiga again unless wanting to actually fight the rage of a tiger.

After two months Yukiko finally figured out how to make herself stick to a surface by using chakra. Of course she could have done this earlier but her chakra coils are not developed. Her time limit for sticking to surface without moving is a measly one minute.

Oh, how didn't she get discovered?

Well...let's say that while Itachi goes out on errands, sometimes along with an eager Sasuke she gets the room to herself with her new mother checking up on her every fifteen minutes which she uses to nap only for Taiga to force her into training.

Of course she would still try and nap. She's just stubborn like that.

'Baby up?' Yukiko questioned with a sweat drop

'Yup, a normal baby would have been excited to crawl up walls and give their parents heart attacks.'

'Well...I can't argue with that, oh wait. I totally can. I'm a young woman in a baby's body.'

'Tell it to the judge'

Yukiko sighed and blocked Taiga out, something she learned to do while Taiga took a nap. Yes, Taiga also takes naps. She needs the energy.

'Okay Yuki, just go up the wall and down. Up the wall and down. If you pass Taiga will stop bothering you while you live and if you fail Taiga will stop bothering you while you die. Well...now that I think about it...it seems like a win-win situation to me.' Yukiko realized

Looking at the wall again she placed her left hand first and then hand then right hand. Left leg and then right leg. Repeat.

'Yukiko get down! Your chakra won't make it high...!' Taiga exclaimed in a panicked tone

Yukiko promptly did as told and went at reverse.

Wiping the sweat off of her brow and glaring at the wall it hit her...

'Wait...how did you know my chakra would give out?' Yukiko asked while raising a brow at her partner

'I could feel it, duh!'

.

.

.

.

Yukiko face palmed while Taiga tilted her head in confusion

'You..can...feel..my..chakra.' Yukiko slowly said

Taiga nodded still not getting it

'Which means you can feel chakra.'

Taiga's eyes widened as her jaws hit the floor in their mind field. Yukiko hit her head against the wall while muttering things about being stuck with an idiot and why she accepted her again.

'Cool! I'm awesome! Yahooo!'

Yukiko's left eye twitched as Taiga started doing a happy dance

'I bet you can't sense a thing!'

Closing her eyes the young Uchiha allowed a smirk to grace her features 'Actually Taiga~ If you forgot we are two beings sharing one body which means whatever one can do the other can do too. Two for one.'

Taiga's jaws dropped in shock.

'We...are...awesome!'

Yukiko nodded in agreement for once agreeing with her partner through circumstance. Sharing a body might actually have a benefit then.

'What else do you think we can do!?' Taiga's obviously excited voice demanded to know

Yukiko shrugged laying down as she closed her eyes 'I don't know'

'Ya lazy ass!'

'If you already forgot I am almost chakra exhausted and if the other people here realizes this, it would be bad, no?'

'I guess you're right...but you need to train!' Taiga yelled earning an irritated sigh from Yukiko

'Well I don't know you could, uh, TRAIN YOURSELF. For god's sake do you have short term memory or something? We just discovered that you could sense chakra, so go ahead and increase your range! When your done you can even make my mind more stable so I don't fall for any genjutsu in the future.'

'...Oh! Great idea!' Taiga grinned

Yukiko just closed her eyes wondering why she just had to die playing a hero again.

Man she hates getting involved, some might even say she's related to the Nara's if it weren't for the fact that her older brothers had no Nara traits.

We don't have time to waste to ask for things we don't have, we can only look for the best way to fight with the things we do have

'This is all your fault, you know?' Yukiko accused

'I apologized already!'

'This is still YOUR fault'

'Kami, Jashin, Pein! I know it's MY fault and I've apologized about a hundred times already!'

'An apology won't cut it.'

'Then what do you want me to do!? Besides I totally had no idea that suffering from near chakra exhaustion would let you get a high fever!'

'I remember warning you about how dangerous messing around with chakra despite being not even a year old would be, but did you listen? NO!'

'Alright, fine! I admit it wasn't one of my most brilliant moments...'

'You don't say?' Yukiko bitterly asked as she rolled to her side and sighed 'Look I don't blame you, it's just I hate appearing weak, ya know? So sorry. Also please just leave me alone for today, I have a headache from the deepest realm of hell'

'Alright...but you're allowed to be weak, you know? When you grow up...you won't be able to anymore...'

Without waiting for a response Taiga went away leaving Yukiko some peace and quiet.

Of course peace never lasts long.

"Yuki-chan, how are you feeling?" Mikoto asked as she entered said person's room

Yukiko silently groaned wondering which is worse, Taiga or Mikoto? She's starting to get why Shikamaru always says that women are troublesome...well a few of them.

Mikoto placed her hand on Yukiko's forehead and frowned "Your fever hasn't gone down..."

'Someone please give her a medal!' Yukiko thought with an eye roll as she closed her eyes

Mikoto frowned 'Why won't she just...open up to me?' she thought as her shoulders slumped at the blatant rejection she was receiving

She was no expert at parenting or a child's feelings, but weren't babies supposed to be attached to their moms? And here's Yukiko, the princess that Mikoto wanted to dot on acting like they're strangers.

"Hmm...mmhm..." Yukiko muttered in her dream state

Yes she had fallen asleep due to exhaustion as soon as she closed her eyes

Mikoto's face softened as a gentle smile made its way on her face. Gazing down at Yukiko she would rather her now peaceful and vulnerable self rather than her normal guarded and anti-social self. She gently removed the strands that were falling on Yukiko's closed eyes away as she sighed "...What do I have to do to get through to you?" she wondered out loud

She then silently left the room to go get a towel and a bucket of cold water for Yukiko.

Unbeknownst to her someone had overheard her. That someone was Taiga

'Yuki...you should value what you have instead of chasing after those that are no longer here, there are others in this world that would kill just to have the affection that you're receiving...' Taiga muttered to herself as she gazed up at the stars in their mind field. A sad smile made its way on her face 'Because after all one day you might wake up and realize that you've lost the moon while counting the stars...'

Cold

I feel cold

Yukiko lazily snapped her eyes open wondering why she felt so cold. Bringing her chubby arms up she located the source which was a wet towel on her forehead. Frowning slightly she wondered who placed it there.

'Taiga...?' she asked only to see her partner sleeping

Blinking in her still half asleep self she sat up making the towel fall down. She reached out her hands to grab it only for her to get dizzy and fall back knocking over the bucket of water next to her.

Great, now my whole body is cold.

But somehow she just didn't care. She was too tired to care. Her eyes felt tired as her eyelids dropped down again, only one thought was on her mind.

'Since when was I so weak...?'

Soon after she had fallen asleep the door once again went open to reveal her mother.

Mikoto sighed mentally scolding herself for leaving behind the bucket. She went over to Yukiko to clean up the mess without disturbing her sick daughter, idly wondering why her daughter had a slight frown not knowing it was simply because said daughter was frustrated.

Placing the towel back on Yukiko's forehead she found herself frowning at her daughter's frown. Bringing her finger in front of her sleeping angel she flicked her daughter's forehead earning an annoyed groan making her smile.

"I don't want you getting wrinkles at a young age, so stop frowning all the time silly." she softly spoke idly brushing her daughter's hair away from her face

Yukiko's face softened as her frown disappeared, yes she was now awake again but couldn't open her eyes.

'Who do I know pokes people's foreheads...?' Yuki wondered for a bit

It then hit her

"Onii-chan...?" she asked aloud

Mikoto was surprised to see a smile on Yukiko's face that even her daughter did not seem to notice, she realized just how fond her daughter is of Itachi and couldn't help but envy her oldest son for a bit. But then she relented, she always did want her oldest to protect the youngest's. So she decided to play along "Hmmm?" she softly asked

"Thank..ya.." was the lazy reply she received

She hummed as she covered Yuki up with a blanket and gave her a kiss on the cheeks

chapter end!