Uchiha Otsu ran home from the ninja academy as soon as classes were done for the day. She was so excited about tonight - tonight, her father would be home. He had been gone for nearly a month on his last mission and she had missed him terribly.

Otsu was a member of the Uchiha clan of the ninja village of Konohagakure, called Konoha by the villagers. It was the seat of power of the Land of Fire, and it's name meant "Village hidden in the leaves". While several powerful clans resided in the hallowed walls of Konoha, the Uchiha clan was the most spectacular. They had been present at the founding of the village years ago, and were currently, in fact, Konoha's police force and protectors.

Otsu's father, Uchiha Jiro, was the younger brother of the clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku. Otsu herself was twelve, just a year younger than Fugaku's eldest son, Itachi. She, like most of her clan, had dark grey eyes and raven-black hair, though it looked as if she might not ever develop the sharingan, which was the unique and powerful trait of the Uchiha clan. Her father, however, would smile at her frustration and simply tell her, "the flower that blooms late is the prettiest of all." - words that always encouraged Otsu.

As she rounded the corner that lead to the section of the village where the Uchiha clan lived, she stopped suddenly. Something...didn't feel right to her. She glanced behind her down the street and saw what she saw every day - people outside, walking, going about their business...then slowly turned her head to look down the street where her own clan lived. It too, looked normal. But it felt different.

"Itoko - cousin - " said a small voice behind her. Otsu jumped. She could have sworn there wasn't a soul there a moment ago. She turned and looked down into the face of her younger cousin, Sasuke. He was a sweet boy, a face full of innocence, hopes, and dreams. And, Otsu thought, permitting herself just a small amount of spite, will probably be just like his older brother Itachi and surpass her with ease.

"Itoko," he said again. "What's wrong, Otsu?"

She gave him a warm smile. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"

"You look as if you are expecting an attack," the seven-year old replied.

Otsu's expression softened towards the boy. She knew that his father clearly favored the elder brother, and that Sasuke was always going to live in that shadow. She gave him a warm smile. "Nothing's wrong, Sasuke-chan." and she ruffled the top of his head. He frowned and stuck out his lower lip.

"Don't call me 'chan' anymore, Otsu," he grumped. "I'm training to be a fine shinobi!"

Otsu remembered what it was like to be seven and have everyone older than you treat you like you were still five. "I'm sorry, Sasuke," she said, dropping the familiar title. "Maybe it was your chakra that I felt!"

The boy looked quizzically at her. "What chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

"Well, you said it looked like I was expecting an attack. All I know is that when I turned down this street I felt...well, it felt like a million souls crying out at once...then were suddenly silenced." She smiled at him again. "Perhaps I felt your awesome battle aura!"

Sasuke beamed with pride. Then he looked sharply at her. "Are you just saying that, Otsu?"

"No." she said quietly. She had been telling the truth. A sudden, eerie calm had overcome her when she turned down the street. Everything had looked normal - the sun was shining, she could see her grandmother hanging washing out to dry, the street was busy and noisy as it was every day...but something felt ominous. The last time she had felt like that was just before her mother had died defending the village against the attack of the nine-tailed fox seven years ago...

Her father!

"Sasuke...I've got to go home!"

"I'm going to the training fields anyway," he called to her fleeing figure. He sighed as he watched her run. Then he shrugged and went the opposite direction, determined to train until he dropped.

Otsu's heart pounded as she ran towards her house. Fear spurred her on, and her lungs were burning when she leapt over the three steps and landed on her porch with a very un-ninja like thud. She threw the door open and raced into the entry hall, not bothering to slip out of her shoes.

"FATHER!" she cried. "Father, are you home? FATHER!"

end part one