A Growing Flower

As he sat in the seiza position in front of the eating table, Uchiha Obito nervously waited as his grandma inspected his report card. While she had not seen the entirety of it, he could guess simply from her face that his grandma was disappointed. Made sense as his report card didn't show much change compared to the previous year. Or even the years earlier.

"Well," She finally voiced her opinion about the report card. "I won't pretend to know what goes through that thick skull of yours, but I can promise you that this slacking off isn't helping your condition at all."

Obito mumbled something incoherent. She sighed, wondering what kind of event it would take for the Uchiha in front of her to take these matters seriously, especially considering what was currently happening outside of the village.

"Obito, there's a war going on out there and you being stubborn isn't helping you at all. You're going to graduate, whether you like it or not, and doing bad will only hurting your chance of coming back alive."

She sighed again when her words made no difference to him. He was too stubborn for his own good, a trait that he most likely inherited from his grandpa. And if she had to be honest, a trait that was not uncommon among the Uchiha.

In any case, she needed to deal with her stubborn-as-stone grandson. Seriously, she was too old for this.

"Right," She raised her tone, making Obito looking up to her. "Considering that you're being stubborn, punishment's due."

The boy's face became pale and gulped, wondering what kind of creative punishment his grandma was thinking.

"Seeing as you're acting like a child, a bit of responsibility should straighten you up." She stated. "If not, the nappy-changing ought to be punishment enough."

"I have to babysit?!" Obito blanched. "I can't even cook an egg without burning down the kitchen!"

It was really an embarrassing moment, especially since his three-year-old cousin could do that perfectly. But to be fair, he was never taught how to do it.

"Now, you take your pick." His grandma seemed to be ignoring his horrified expression. "There's cousin Misaki's son, Goki-chan's nephew, Katsuki's grandson, or Fugaku-sama's daughter."

"Ew, not girl." His mouth decided to say.

It was obvious which one that he would babysit.

A sleepy boy who often yawning and a pale-haired girl were leaving the Uchiha Clan Head's house when Obito showed up.

"You're the replacement?" The pale-haired girl said, seemed to be disgruntled. "You're fifteen minutes late!"

Obito didn't want to talk about how he had to avoid a bunch of mud puddle, sometimes to the point of taking another route, or how he had to borrow a day-old hakama from one of his cousins, in which he was also relentlessly mocked, or how he needed to be taught how to wear one, or how he just had a bad day. Thus, he merely apologized and cursed his own clumsiness.

"The baby's in her crib." The sleepy boy informed before yawning. "The baby bag has everything you need plus the instruction. Since you're an Uchiha, that should be no trouble for you."

"Right, thanks," Obito replied, before cursing how squeaky his voice was.

The two of them left after giving him a few more instruction and a lot more condescension. Once they were away with their backs turned, Obito stuck his tongue out before entering the house.

"Jerks."

It was a nice house. The thing was, the house was just like every other house belonged to every other Uchiha. To put it simply, it was his house only with different furniture, decoration, more room, and bigger. Since only he and his grandma that lived in his house, he didn't mind it being smaller.

He took his shoes off, put them in the rack, and wore the provided slippers. He went towards the living room and the first thing that he saw was the baby crib. Not even five seconds later, he saw the baby was trying to get out of her crib. Obito approached her and picked her, causing the baby to let out a happy voice.

"So, you're Fugaku-sama's daughter, Shiki, right?" Obito said to the baby. Hearing the happy voice that she made, Obito closed his eyes and smiled. "Well, I can see that you will…"

He stopped talking when he felt a pressure on his neck. Opening his eyes, the Uchiha saw a wooden toy knife pressing his neck. It didn't take a genius to know that it was the baby that he was taking care of, one Uchiha Shiki was the one who "stabbed" him.

She then proceeded to "stab" him again and again until Obito put a distance between himself and the baby. Shiki pouted upon realizing that her toy knife couldn't reach her latest "target." The Uchiha boy couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"I guess you really are born to become a ninja. Very fitting since you would be our future clan leader." Obito commented before his face showed confusion. "I guess? Not sure what will happen if you have a brother in the future."

While there was little sexism in regards to ninja lifestyle, most of the heads of clan tend to be male. The only female clan heads that Obito remembered were regents until the male heirs come to the age, the mothers of the heirs, or the only child.

It also didn't help that he tended to not listen to what his teachers taught to him. So, his knowledge about that part was rather…limited.

His thought was interrupted when he heard the sound of stomach rumbling. Since it was too small for it to be his, it was obvious that it was Shiki who was hungry. Considering that she dropped her toy and seemed to be making a voice as if she was begging, no more emphasize was needed.

"Alright, alright. I'll get you something to eat. Err, I mean drink. Babies like you drink milk, right?" When she made a happy voice, Obito knew that he was right. "Good. Now, just be patient, OK?"

As he put Shiki back into her crib and went towards the bag, the Uchiha boy had to admit that this punishment wasn't really that bad. In fact, Obito was actually becoming fond of the little heiress. He wouldn't mind taking care of her in the future.

"Ah, Kushina. Fancy seeing you here."

The red-haired woman, Kushina, who had just bought some vegetables, looked at the caller. It was a black-haired pregnant woman, carrying a toddler on her back. Upon recognizing the woman, she immediately went to her as fast as she could through the sea of humans between them. Once that was done, the red hair greeted her with a smile.

"Mikoto, good to see you here!" Kushina said excitedly. "You too, Shiki-chan!"

She was about to pinch her cheek when Kushina suddenly withdrew her hand. On the young Uchiha's hand was a tanto. From the color of the blade, it was clear that the tanto was a toy rather than a real deal. Shiki pouted before retracting her hand.

"Shiki, how many times should I tell you? Don't attack anyone because you feel like it!" Mikoto scolded her daughter.

"It's alright, Mikoto. After all, it's not like she does that to even stranger." Kushina said in return before hesitating. "Right?"

"I believe it's simply because I never give her a chance." The Uchiha sighed. "She seems quite obsessed in 'stabbing' people with her toy the moment Fugaku gave it to her. Me, him, her caretakers, relatives, and of course, you."

"Mah, mah, it's fine. Really." The Uzumaki replied before looking at her friend's big belly. "Already looking for another one this soon?"

"Indeed. I am not exactly sure whether this is a blessing or a curse. Even my dear husband, who is supposed to be happy, is complaining that he hasn't get used to having a child, let alone two."

"Now, don't be like that. Both of you should be happy, especially since Shiki will have someone to play with."

Mikoto gave a glance towards her daughter. Shiki was currently staring at Kushina, most likely planning on how to "stab" her with her tanto toy. It would obviously fail since the red-haired woman is a ninja while the Uchiha on her back is a toddler.

"I…guess…?" She commented, feeling rather unsure.

Once again, Obito found himself taking care of Shiki while her parents were away. This time though, it was not exactly a punishment and more because he was available. It was also much easier since the heiress of the Uchiha Clan had grown up. And oh boy, she grew up really well.

Shiki was capable of walking on her own and – while still struggling with speaking coherently – could use sign language to communicate. She also has stopped "stabbing" people with her toy tanto though she still brought it with her anywhere she goes.

OK, the last one was not exactly true since she still tried to "stab" him. It was only because of his ninja training that Obito managed to avoid her attack. At least now she limited it to her close ones.

As he was preparing for lunch, Obito threw a look at the little heiress, who was watching her little brother as he slept in the crib. Itachi, the name of the newly-born son of Fugaku and Mikoto, let out a little giggle when Shiki rubbed his head. Seeing that they were fine, the oldest Uchiha in the room focused back on the food.

As she rubbed the head of her brother, Shiki turned her head to see Obito was busy preparing the lunch. She considered her option before slowly moving her mouth closer to Itachi's ear. After that, she whispered a promise to him.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that you won't suffer this time."

And it's finally done.

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!