[Time: 5:12 AM – Uchiha District, Western Edge]
The air was still.
Outside, the Uchiha compound slept beneath a light curtain of snow. It dusted rooftops, powdered stone walkways, and blanketed the leafless branches of ornamental trees with a soft gray-white hue. The winter chill seeped through paper walls, but inside one modest home at the far end of the district, the world had already stirred.
Kagami Uchiha had been awake for two hours.
The boy—small-framed and pale-skinned with deep black hair that clung in uneven strands around his temples—sat at the low table in the sitting room, legs folded neatly beneath him. A blanket was draped over his shoulders. Before him were three scrolls, a notebook, and a cup of now-cold tea he hadn't touched since pouring it.
His right hand held a brush; his left hand steadied the page. The candle beside him had burned low, wax pooling at the base.
He had not yet spoken a word.
In the silence, he wrote:
> "The basic Clone Technique exhibits a delayed chakra signature imprint due to an imbalanced release from the tenketsu at the navel. Hypothesis: redirect through minor rotation of core using breath pacing may create stabilization."
A drop of ink fell onto the edge of the page. Kagami scowled and quickly dabbed it away with a cloth.
He turned to a fresh page and began sketching a seal array. It looked simple, but every line had precision—measured with obsessive intent.
Behind him, the faint sound of breathing shifted from the next room.
He turned his head slightly.
---
[Time: 6:03 AM – Bedroom, Same House]
"...mmmph... ugh..."
A groan, followed by rustling.
Obito.
Kagami rose silently, placing a weight atop the parchment to prevent curling. He walked barefoot across the wooden floor and gently slid the bedroom door open.
Inside, Obito's blanket had slipped halfway off the bed. His face was half-buried in the pillow, hair a chaotic mess. He was muttering in his sleep.
Kagami stepped closer, tilted his head.
"...gonna beat Kakashi this time... stupid... spiky... jerk..."
Kagami stared at him.
Then, without smiling, but with something very close to warmth, he gently adjusted the blanket back over his brother's shoulder.
He lingered for a moment, then backed out.
---
[Time: 7:12 AM – Kitchen Area]
The aroma of sweet rice and grilled daikon filled the small house.
Their grandmother, Yuki Uchiha, was already standing by the stove, one hand pressed to her side as she stirred miso soup with slow, careful motions. Her coughs were light this morning—only two between 6:30 and now—but Kagami had counted them.
She turned when she heard his footsteps.
"Up already, little ember?" she said with a raspy chuckle.
Kagami nodded. He stepped forward, taking the ladle from her hand without a word and moving to stir the pot himself.
She smiled fondly and sat down with a tired exhale.
"You shouldn't be doing all the work. You're still just a boy."
Kagami's voice was quiet, but firm. "Your back is hurting again. You shifted weight wrong when you stepped out of bed."
Her brows lifted. "You heard that?"
He nodded once, pouring the soup into two bowls, then pulling a third for Obito.
---
[Time: 7:45 AM – Dining Area]
Obito finally stumbled in, half-awake and yawning with his mouth wide open.
"G'mornin', baa-chan… Kagami… ugh, why does morning exist…"
Kagami set a bowl in front of him and pushed the chopsticks precisely 1.5 cm from the bowl's edge.
"Eat."
"You sound like baa-chan when she's cranky."
"I'm not cranky," their grandmother said, stirring her soup with a small smile. "I'm just old."
Obito reached out and gently touched her hand.
Kagami watched closely.
He didn't smile, but something in his chest tightened.
---
[Time: 8:20 AM – Front Porch]
Snow fell heavier now, though the flurries remained gentle. Kagami sat cross-legged on the porch, a notebook open in his lap. He was charting the chakra pathways from a cat he'd observed two days ago. The animal had been injured, but its regeneration was fascinating.
He had a theory: certain nerve clusters retained chakra memory for up to thirty minutes after limb severance. If that was true, he could apply the same logic to…
"Oi, Kagami!"
He didn't look up.
Footsteps crunched in the snow.
A boy stood at the gate—Tetsu Uchiha. Kagami knew him. Brash. Loud. Too friendly. Always trying to pull him into games.
"We're heading to the lake. Gonna practice shuriken throws and some sparring. Want to come?"
Kagami remained still, eyes fixed on the page.
"...You can just watch! Maybe… write stuff down? I mean, I don't mind—"
Kagami closed the notebook slowly and stood.
He walked inside and slid the door shut without a word.
Tetsu stared for a moment, then sighed.
Inside, Kagami watched him go.
---
[Time: 10:15 AM – Sitting Room]
Obito was gone—he'd rushed off ten minutes ago with his usual whirlwind of noise. Kagami was alone again.
He didn't mind.
He reviewed his older scrolls. He corrected his seal formulas. He attempted to create a chakra-sensitive ink that would shift color based on emotional output. He failed—again.
When he heard the cough, he dropped the brush.
---
[Time: 11:38 AM – Kitchen]
She was on the floor, one hand clutching the counter.
Kagami froze.
His chest was tight.
His voice cracked.
"Obi-nii!!"
Obito burst in within seconds. He must have returned for something. His eyes widened, and he darted to their grandmother's side.
"Kagami, get a towel—no, get her to the futon!"
Kagami's hands shook, but he obeyed.
---
[Time: 12:13 PM – Grandmother's Bedroom]
A medic had arrived. Kagami sat outside the room, knees pulled to his chest, breath silent.
He heard the murmurs. "Old age... lungs… degeneration… healing won't reverse…"
Words blurred.
Obito sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
"She'll be fine," Obito whispered.
Kagami didn't respond.
His eyes remained fixed on the sliding door.
---
[Time: 2:00 PM – Study Room]
Kagami stood over the table. Dozens of pages lay spread before him.
He was compiling everything.
Everything he knew. Everything the medic said. Every mistake chakra healing couldn't fix. He wrote in bursts, as if racing time.
Lung rot.
Degenerative alveoli.
Scar tissue from old fire injuries.
Reduced oxygen saturation at rest.
He stopped only to breathe.
His pen moved again.
---
[Time: 5:37 PM – Firelight]
Their grandmother smiled weakly as Obito helped her eat. Kagami sat quietly nearby, observing every breath she took.
He memorized the way her shoulders tensed with effort. The slight shift in her pupils.
He was cataloging it all.
If it could be measured, it could be corrected.
He would fix this.
He had to.
---
[Time: 8:03 PM – Bedroom]
Obito was asleep.
Kagami wasn't.
He sat in the dark with his notebook open. He lit a candle, then doused it. Lit it again. Testing airflow. Smoke currents.
He was calculating air purity in their home. How much ash from the stove might be reaching her lungs.
He paused only when he heard her breathing catch again.
Then, he wrote faster.
---
[Time: 11:41 PM – Still Night]
Outside, the snow had stopped.
Kagami opened the window. Cold air spilled in.
He didn't mind.
He looked up at the stars. Somewhere out there was a world that made sense. Where good people didn't get sick. Where knowledge could solve anything.
He wanted that world.
He would build it.
And if anyone tried to stop him…
He clenched his fist.
Then they would burn.