IMPORTANT!!
a/n: First I would like to give an extremely heartfelt apology to everyone who reads this story. I know that I have neglected it and I'm very sorry. However there was a reason for that. This was the first fanfic that I wrote, and at the time I was still discovering my writing style. Then I began posting my other fic Love, Rebellion, and Revenge and I stopped updating this. When I finally went back to update this story, I reread the whole thing and thought, I really don't like how that turned out. My writing now has changed drastically, and so in an effort to lift this story up to the standard that I've set with my other ones, I WILL BE REPOSTING THIS STORY FROM SCRATCH.
I promise it will still be the same plot and characters as before, just that this time I'm going to make sure to properly set everything up and introduce everyone. I thank all of you for your patience and understanding, and I hope you will enjoy this version much more.
Disclaimer: This is the only time I will say it…I don't own Naruto. If I did, Itachi and Gaara would be mine forever.
Prologue
"Come on, Sasuke!" urged a girl of no more than 9-years old. "Aniki said to meet him at the training grounds!"
A small raven-haired 8-year old moved to catch up. "Why did he want us to meet him there?" he questioned curiously.
The girl shrugged. "Itachi-nii-san said he was going to take us on a trip."
Sasuke's eyes widened in excitement. "All three of us together?" The older girl nodded, unable to hide her own excitement.
Suddenly, Sasuke came to a halt. "Nee-chan, wait!"
"What is it, Sasuke-chan?"
"I have to get something from home," he told her. "I'll be right back."
Sasuke turned and sprinted back the way they'd come. The girl followed in exasperation, running to keep up with her little brother. The two children moved quickly through the streets of Konoha, passing the ninja academy and the Ichiraku Ramen stand.
"Hurry, Sasuke, or Aniki might change his mind if we're late!"
Turning the final street corner, the siblings arrived at the entrance to the Uchiha District. The white of the clan symbol glowed brightly in the moonlight, the pure half of a red and white fan. After catching their breath for a second, Sasuke and his sister made their way through the Uchiha District at a walk.
Everything was eerily silent, and the hair at the nape of their necks stood on end.
"Where is everyone?" Sasuke whispered with an edge of fear in his voice.
"I don't know," the elder of the two responded.
Something caught her eye as she and Sasuke made their way down the main street. Down one of the side streets was a dark smudge, as if someone had left a splotch of black paint.
"Sasuke, I think we should just go meet Itachi," she suggested quietly, coming to a halt. There was a shadowy form lying motionless down the side street that had caught her eye.
Instead of responding, Sasuke ran down another of the side streets, having glimpsed their house.
"Sasuke!"
The girl broke into a run as her brother disappeared into the house. Reaching the oddly silent house, she quietly called for her brother. The ominous shadows cast by the moonlight pulled at her nerves as she made her way through the familiar hallways.
A shrill scream sent her sprinting towards their parents' room.
The door stood slightly ajar and, remembering her lessons at the academy, the girl approached cautiously. Inside, a familiar voice spoke, the words low and muffled.
Another scream pierced the night as the girl was suddenly knocked to the floor by a fleeing Sasuke. The terrified look in his eyes gave her goose bumps and rising quickly, she peered into the room, only to reel back and clamp her small hands over her mouth, muffling her cry of despair.
In the center of the room, lying in a pool of crimson liquid, were the unmoving bodies of their parents.
Horrorstruck, she rushed from the house, running through the streets blindly. Another scream belonging to Sasuke cut through the night, but this one was of pain, not terror. Speeding around a corner, she came face to face with a gruesome scene. The dead bodies of the Uchiha Clan, her clan, littered the street, kunai and shuriken protruding from most of the corpses. There was so much blood…it was as if the Uchiha District had been covered by crimson rain.
And there in the middle of it all, clutching his head in agony knelt a screaming Sasuke.
Standing menacingly in front of him, sharingan eyes glowing a murderous red, was none other than their older brother…Uchiha Itachi.