Disclaimer: The only things that I own is this story's plot and any OCs that appear throughout the story. The characters of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I make absolutely no money.
Remembrances of Flames - Chapter One
In a distant universe, there lived a young man who was not a day over twenty-five. He was a simple man, one people would quickly pass on the streets, driven away by his scowl and furrowed brows but loved deeply by his family.
He wasn't overly intelligent or talented and preferred to work in his family's restaurant, cooking meals and baking treats and seeing the pleased expressions his creations could put on others' faces.
He was a simple young man who had the misfortune of being in the right place at the wrong time.
He stayed back in the restaurant late, preparing and creating new ideas to test the next day for work. A sharp sound of glass breaking alerted him and soft scuffling had him slowly creeping towards the front of the building. The lights flickered on with a slight movement of his finger and a mask-covered head snapped up towards him, a pistol raised and aimed at his tensed form.
His mouth opened, a shot rung out in the silence and his body clattered to the floor with a crump and, as his vision blurred, the young man named Ike could only weakly drag his body a few centimeters away, in a futile hope of escaping the darkness that consumed him.
But, you can't escape death, can you?
.
On the twentieth day of March, when cold winter snows turned into warm spring showers, an infant was born behind the walls and underneath the leaves of Konohagakure. The parents of the child were members of the Uchiha, a founding family of the village hidden by leaves and one of its four noble clans.
The small boy was born to Nene, a jōnin-turned-housewife, and Shinobu, an officer of the Military Police Force, and they named him Jun because he was pure from the horrors of the world and, with his mother's chestnut hair and his father's ebony eyes, it was a wonder how something so untainted could be born from such blood-covered hands.
He didn't cry as often as normal babies and, while a little odd, his father took it as a sign of early discipline for the arts of battle, deeming him suited for a path made for the mighty. His mother, however, knew her son would grow to be a kind and gentle individual, a soul that would seem misplaced among their family's prideful ways and it was something she both welcomed and pitied all at once.
[[Don't worry, Jun... I'll keep you safe...]]
The parents of Jun Uchiha looked on proudly as their infant son cracked his first tiny smile but they were ignorant to the voice of the dead young man that whispered gentle words into their son's mind.
.
For the past twelve months, Ike played the role of sentinel to the boy named Jun, watching with an intangible quirk of lips as the boy slowly learned to crawl and scoot and babble and smile and cling to things like normal children and Ike had high hopes that Jun would grow to become a productive member of society.
[[Put that toy in your mouth, Jun.]]
Jun clapped his pudgy hands together happily, bouncing on his bottom before scooting his body to the suspiciously shaped rubber toy. Ike was appalled that people actually encouraged their babies to place such oddly shaped things into their mouths but then he remembered that poor Jun had been born in a world where demons and illusions and sharp, pointy things were the norm.
Ike wasn't an idiot and he wasn't in denial and he knew what place he'd been dumped into and he couldn't help but wonder if some deity hated him and his little carrier for putting them in a family destined to burn to the ground.
[[That's right, Jun. Bite the hel- er, crap out of that kunai.]] Ike chuckled softly in amusement as the young boy gummed the rubber toy roughly, making adorable growling sounds in the process.
Ike had died once and had been in the darkness and he refused to let Jun suffer the fate the gods had set out for him.
.
"Auntie Nene!"
From inside his playpen and seated against his fluffy pillows, Jun watched as his mother and father greeted two people he'd never seen before. One was big and one was little and they both had dark curly hair that he wanted to dig his fingers into and pull and play with.
[[I don't think they'd like that, Jun.]] Ike's familiar baritone said and the one year old pursed his lips at the words as he scooted closer to the barrier separating him and the new people.
"Is this your son, Shinobu?" The tall one asked and Jun had to crane his head back to look at the person's face. "He looks like a promising one."
[[Thank him for the compliment, Jun.]] And so he did, with clapping hands and bouncing legs and bright laughter.
His father nodded shortly, arms crossed over his powerful chest and mouth pulled into a deep frown. "Yes, I plan on starting his studies early."
[[Stop laughing, Jun. You're not happy about that.]] And so he did, his bright smile falling instantly and his chubby hands clutching his shirt and his mouth fixed into a teary pout.
The curly-haired teen grinned cheekily as he leaned over the playpen's gates. "Haha, guess he's old enough to know that training sucks!"
"Shisui." The tall curly-haired man snapped, causing the little one's expression to fall.
[[Shisui? That's Shisui?]] Ike sounded contemplative and Jun squinted his eyes at the little one curiously. Jun was slightly afraid of the big one because of his stature and his mean frown but the little one was short enough to play with and looked nice enough and, if he stretched far enough, his nice wavy hair was just...about...in...
"OW! My nose!"
Well, his pretty hair was in reach, if only he hadn't tilted his head back. Jun's lips turned into a firm pout and he squeezed and tugged the little one's nose in revenge. That'd show him for moving the pretty hair out of the way!
"OW! 'TOP!" The little one, Shishi or whatever Ike called him, cried out as the adults looked on in varying degrees of mirth.
[[Well, maybe, we're helping him. At least now his nose won't be so big now.]]
.
Ike liked Jun's mother, Nene.
She was a sweet woman with gentle eyes and a kind smile and she reminded Ike painfully of his own mother. He wished he could go back in time and tell his mother how he loved her and how thankful for her he was and he just wanted to place his head on her shoulder and weep until he had no more tears in his being to cry.
But he couldn't.
[[Go hug your mother, Jun.]]
The young boy smiled happily at the thought of being in his mother's arms and the one year old half-crawled, half-stepped to his mother's side in the kitchen. He tugged on her dress for attention and, when he had it, raised his arms in the air.
Nene laughed at her little boy, bending down and taking him into her arms. "Oh, my little boy wanted a hug from Mommy?"
Jun responded by pressing his face into her neck, breathing in her scent of vanilla and almonds and, even though Ike didn't have his own body, he could still smell Nene's scent and it was like his mother's and it made the urge to cry so very strong.
But...he couldn't.
So, instead, he told Jun to hug his mother with all his might and to tell her that he loved her like no one else in the world and Ike let a harsh noise leave his nonexistent body because hemissedhismothersomuchandwantedtobewithhersobad but he couldn't and it made the wound on his soul grow ever larger.
[[Love your mother, Jun. Never, ever take her for granted.]]
And Jun cried because he could feel the anguish that Ike was feeling and knew that his ever-present friend couldn't shed tears of his own.
.
The day the Kyūbi struck Konoha started normally.
Nene was in the kitchen cooking and cleaning, Shinobu was filling out reports for work and Shisui happened to be over for a visit so he was busy defending his hair and nose from Jun's grabby little hands.
Before the chaos even started, the creature's dark, oppressive chakra weighted down on the entire village. All in the household tensed and Jun couldn't even scream or cry. He watched in both terror and amazement as his parents' and Shisui's eyes bled into red and Kyūbi's hold on them broke.
Sirens sounded in the distance and all Uchiha jumped into action. Nene crouched in front of Jun, staring deeply into his eyes with spinning red orbs and Jun found the strength to move beneath the dark chakra. When she was through, she and Shinobu shared a quick nod, with the man disappearing in a swirl of leaves and Nene quickly guiding the two kids from the house.
The ground shook beneath them as tremors from the battle coursed through the village and Jun covered his ears as yells and screams and roars hurt his ears.
"Shisui."
The curly-haired teen's head snapped up to his auntie's grim tone, knowing that if the usually amiable woman's voice took such a turn, he'd better listen. "Yes, Auntie Nene?"
She placed her whimpering son's form in his hold, using her hands to wrap his arms around Jun's body. "Shisui, I have to go help." She acquiesced with a bitter smile. "I want, no, I need you to protect Jun while I'm gone. I'm trusting you to keep my baby safe."
Shisui stared at her with wide eyes before nodding resolutely, his crimson eyes narrowing in determination as his grip around Jun tightened. "You have nothing to worry about, Aunt Nene. I'll keep Jun safe no matter what."
Nene stared for a moment longer before she flickered out of sight. Shisui gave Jun's back a reassuring rub as he formed the one-handed seal for Body Flicker. He ended up right in the middle of the evacuation path, his legs taking brisk steps towards the shelters. The teen's eyes widened as he caught sight of nine flailing, orange tails and his Sharingan eyes burned ever brighter.
"Kyūbi..." He whispered out in alarm, his legs threatening to freeze in terror because he'd never seen anything like it.
Jun's soft whimpers and sobs made him look down at Jun's chubby, tear-streaked face and Shisui found the power to keep moving forward. Jun's tiny hands fisted his shirt and the small boy whined over the yelling and fighting.
"Shishi, where Mommy!? Where Daddy?! 'm scared!" The boy sobbed out and Shisui gently pressed his face into his shoulder.
His lips hovered near the boy's ear and he whispered, "Don't you worry, Jun! Shisui will protect you! I will protect you...!"
And both Ike and Jun believed him without question.
.
Ike couldn't claim to know the customs of the Uchiha clan but he knew could see why they produced so many splendid shinobi.
Jun's father had followed through on his plans of starting his son's training early, giving the young boy books and scrolls about the clan's history, simple jutsu and teaching him the basic kata for the Uchiha's fighting style.
Shinobu was strict and didn't tolerate failure and Ike knew it was because he wanted his son to grow up strong and worthy of his name but he also knew that Shinobu wanted him to live and survive more than anything.
Jun showed flighty, timid tendencies when it came to studies so Ike absorbed all the information for the young boy and hoped, that in him doing so, it wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass. But, Ike figured if Jun could be the physical, then he could help with the spiritual.
"Focus, Jun." His father's voice rumbled lowly, making the small boy's shoulders shake.
Jun had only just turned two and still-developing coils meant chakra molding was out but meditation was safe and could be easily done.
[[Just relax, Jun.]]
And Jun did because Ike told him to. His dark eyes closed, his breathing leveled and Jun allowed himself to be calm and to feel the things around him. In the darkness behind his lids, if he concentrated hard enough, he could see a small, flickering light and he knew exactly who it was.
'Ike...'
[[Yes, Jun?]]
'I t'ink I can see you.'
The flickering grew a little brighter and Jun let a tiny smile cross over his face.
A/N: This is just a little side something to keep my writing juices flowing for my other story. The idea and style was based off Rising Sun (朝日) by Petrichor in May because I thought the idea was unique and I really like her story. This chapter seems kinda angsty to me but he is a part of the Uchiha clan so it's a given.
Oh, I have a request for everyone who reads this. I'm really interested in what pairing everyone would like so if you'd drop a name of a character and the manner of their relationship in the review section, that would make me really happy.
An example would be like... OverlyProtective!Shisui/Jun or something like that. I can be detailed or short and it doesn't even have to be romantic :)