Summary: Erika grows up to be decidedly passive, and believes no matter how much effort she puts into what's meant to be, the irony of fate won't just take a turn for the better as she pleases. Until an uncomplicated enigma named Uchiha Itachi contributes to her life, for real this time. Where has she been after all these years to only notice him just now? Because she might have to go back to her native comfort zone here and now.
Alerts: The genres may change and the rating may also go higher in the long run.
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I own nothing except my OC and her own kin, so don't sue me!
Chapter One: The Target
The last person Erika wished to meet was none other than Hyūga Hanabi, the clan leader's youngest daughter. Be that as it may, stopping by the Hyūga residence wasn't a very wise decision to begin with, which Erika made sure she would consider it carefully next time. If truth be told, she didn't hold a certain grudge against Hanabi, nor the main family. She only came for a long-lasting visit because the kotatsu table at her home was broken, and she had the intention to borrow Hiashi's kotatsu since he owned two or three of them, moreover, they were all custom-made and Erika liked either of them best. Besides, all the kotatsu tables were unoccupied there, seeing that Hiashi was engrossed in training with his eldest daughter, Hinata.
It was unusually freezing today, that was why Erika insisted on playing hide-and-seek instead of playing ninja at Hanabi's request. Hanabi had asked Natsu, the lady's maid of the Hyūga residence to tag along with her and Erika. However, Natsu was too busy preparing dinner and couldn't play with them. That being so, Hanabi once again floated an idea to play ninja alternatively, but Erika still persisted in playing hide-and-seek because she couldn't wait for hiding under the kotatsu and falling asleep after a while.
"Found ya, Erika no Nee-san! You're the 'it' now!" Hanabi slightly lifted up the heavy blanket underneath the table surface. It took her less than Erika's estimation to ultimately find her hiding place, she didn't even have the time to doze off until Hanabi came and declared the new 'it'.
"That's incredible, Hanabi-sama!" Erika praised the younger girl, "But how did you find out?"
"I dunno, maybe because it's your favorite place?" Hanabi shrugged her little shoulders, "This is boring if we just play it with the two of us, Onee-san. Let's play something else!"
"Okay," the older girl nodded, "What do you wanna play?"
Please, not playing ninja again. I'm a ninja already and I regret ever becoming one.
"Playing ninja, of course!" Hanabi exclaimed cheerfully, causing Erika to bring close her palm to her face. Noticing Erika's unenthusiastic reaction, Hanabi couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you a ninja, Onee-san?"
"Uh-huh."
"But you don't look like one," the brunette opined without mincing her words. Erika opened out her hazel eyes in surprise, making Hanabi correct her statement that very minute. "Um, I mean, you spend most of your time in my house a lot. I'm just curious why you aren't as busy as Kou is, he's off on a mission a lot, and he's also a ninja, isn't he?"
To tell you the truth, Erika had gotten used to hearing those words that were supposed to be hurtful, which expressed that she didn't look like one. Many stated that she didn't look like a stereotypical Hyūga, thanks to the auburn hair and hazel eyes she took after her mother, who wasn't from the Hyūga clan. And now a 2-year-old girl had repeated the same popular opinion everyone had been giving, the only difference was she was questioning her duty as a ninja.
"Yes, he is," Erika answered, "But not everyone receives as many missions as Kou-sama does routinely."
"Does it mean you're less skilled than Kou?"
"I'm not sure, I haven't fought against him before so I can't tell." She crossed her arms over her chest loosely before she added, "Don't underestimate my capability that much, Hanabi-sama. I did quite okay back in my Academy days to be able to graduate earlier than most students my age."
"Really? How old were you when you graduated from the Academy?"
"Hmm, I was nine if I'm not mistaken."
"You're not even so sure about it, Onee-san, who knows Kou turned out to graduate earlier than you did?" Hanabi giggled. "And I don't see graduating early makes you a good ninja either!"
"The earlier you graduate from the Academy, the faster you become a real ninja."
"So Hinata-nee-sama isn't a ninja yet?!"
"Not yet, but maybe soon," Erika flashed a smile. For all that, she couldn't guarantee anything. It all depended on Hinata herself whether she was capable of taking the exams sooner or not, but the rumor had it that Hiashi wasn't satisfied enough with the result of the daily training he had been pressing on his daughter. And Erika would only be lying if she said it didn't worry her in the slightest because in actual fact, it did.
"How do you think I can graduate ahead of time like you?"
"By entering the Academy first?"
"I know, but I can't right now! I asked Otou-sama to enroll me in the same class as Hinata-nee-sama, but he said I was too young and still had a long way to go!"
"Of course, you're only two years old, Hanabi-sama, you need to be at least six years old to join the Academy."
"No! I don't have the patience to wait that long! Let's practice harder than Hinata-nee-sama, Onee-san! I'll make Otou-sama think twice about holding me down."
Erika wasn't one hundred percent certain of why she had to struggle along with Hanabi. Perhaps because Hanabi seemed to be slightly lonely ever since her elder sister had to train very hard to meet Hiashi's expectation despite her fairly young age. And Erika tried to understand Hanabi's circumstances by keeping her company most of the time and not taking her words to heart there and then because kids her age were all brutally honest and didn't consider every word carefully before they opened their mouth.
On the bright side, being brought into the branch family wasn't as bad as Erika had thought. She admitted that she was still envious of those who were born into the main family, and deep down; she still wished to become one of them, but not the daughter of the head of the clan. She had two reasons; the first reason was not to be siblings with Hanabi. Just Hanabi. Hinata seemed like she had always been a good kid, but Hanabi was intolerable. The longer Erika had been one of Hanabi's caretakers and Hanabi's only playmate, the more she couldn't tolerate Hanabi's mischievousness. The last but not the least reason was not to have to deal with the clan's responsibility that Erika absolutely knew nothing about.
"But Hanabi-sama, a ninja sometimes has to hide from the enemy's sight. And I think this hide-and-seek game is the perfect example to learn the basic from." Erika came out with an earthly reason.
Even so, Hanabi wasn't convinced by it. "Don't be a coward, Onee-san! Show your face and kick their asses without being sorry about it!"
"You can't do that! It's pretty much the same as asking for trouble!" Erika sighed in defeat. She had to give in, otherwise, the war of words wouldn't come to an end and she didn't wish to prolong it. "Let's play real ninja outside if it's really what you want. But be careful! Don't get yourself into trouble because I'll have to take responsibility for—"
"Who says we're playing ninja?" Hanabi cut her off, "You're going to train me to become a ninja, Erika no Nee-san. Let's go!"
"Hey! Don't go out without putting on your outerwear! Remember, I can't ever train you again if I'm murdered by your father the next morning."
"I can still ask Kou or Neji-nii-san to train me!" Hanabi stuck out her tongue jokingly, "Come on, Onee-san! I don't wanna skip dinner because of you."
Where are we going?" Asked Erika as she walked behind Hanabi. She did wonder every so often how tiny feet of Hanabi's could take wider steps than her own legs were able to without half trying. And because Hanabi didn't forget to bring her gloves around, she refused to go hand in hand with Erika and started assuming that she had become dependable enough not to be tripped over her own feet while walking, which she couldn't show beyond doubt. Much to Erika's dismay, Hanabi had stumbled on herself twice or more, and if the layer of snow under their feet wasn't thick enough, Hanabi would've cried endlessly and left Erika in the wrong.
"You'll see," Hanabi smiled smugly, trying to make herself appear somewhat mysterious. Erika had lost her track once or twice when she attempted to take a shortcut to home; hence her brain was quite familiar with the region of Konoha edge and back. She wasn't completely sure about where Hanabi was willing to lead her to, but the route they had been taking so far headed off to Naka River if her memory served her correctly. But why the Naka River of all places?
"I don't mean to damper on the fun, but just so you know, Hanabi-sama, the river has become frozen. I don't think we can go fishing with that."
"Nobody's going to go fishing, Onee-san!" Hanabi stated on further, "I'm going to learn how to walk on water, and you're going to teach me that!"
Erika had almost lost her mind. Pulling her a little bit forward, and she would be completely mad as a hatter. She let out a sigh to calm herself down and watched the white mist escape her mouth. Is she testing my patience? She thought to herself while looking up at the sky hopelessly. The sky was overcast all day, so she didn't really become aware of the time. The time ticked by quicker than she anticipated, and she was thankful for it. The gray clouds had been obscuring the sun throughout the day, unknowingly; the night had all but fallen.
"It's late already, let's head back home," Erika suggested. Who would have thought the evening sky would give her inspiration to distract Hanabi?
"You can't lie to me, it's always been cloudy all day long."
"Ah, you're right. But Hanabi-sama, have you taken a bath this morning?"
"Nope. I did pretty well in escaping from Natsu's chase!" Hanabi boasted, "Besides, the water felt really cold this morning. I think I might have shivered myself to die if I took a dip in the water!"
"Wow, very impressive, Hanabi-sama! What's your secret not to be able to smell your own body odor?" The older girl looked daggers at the brunette, "I'm going to bath you, and you can't run away from me. Oh, to your advantage, you can learn how to float on the water at the same time I get you clean in the bathtub."
"Forget about the bath, we're here already!" Hanabi ran off as fast as her legs could carry her, "Try to catch me!"
"You rascal! Don't go off too far!" Erika chased after her.
"Look, Nee-san! I'm a ninja now. I can walk on the water!" At first, Hanabi watched her step, because she had surprisingly been aware of how slippery the ice could be. After her feet had gotten used to the ground where they stood, she started to accelerate her pace gradually.
"Don't speed up! The ice is rather slippery. You haven't grasped the basic of chakra control yet," warned Erika.
"This is easy as—"
What Erika feared the most had come true, Hanabi lost her balance and fell down. All of a sudden, the only things her ears could perceive were her own heartbeat, and Hanabi's cry echoing nonstop like a broken tape recorder. She didn't have the time to feel panicked and rushed off to Hanabi immediately. "You okay?" She squeezed the younger girl's shoulders gently, with Hanabi's head still facing downward.
"I'm… not," Hanabi answered timidly, her stare directed at her knee. There was an open cut on it, not looking very serious, yet fairly noticeable. And the blood was still oozing out from the wound. Much to Erika's surprise, Hanabi didn't cry. No, she was actually holding her tears back.
Once again, Erika sighed, "I told you so…" She brought her hand closer to Hanabi's injured knee, and released a friendly green chakra from her hand, performing the Mystical Palm Technique.
The younger girl who had been biting her lower lip while restraining herself from crying began to slightly open her mouth in awe. She had at least witnessed Erika applying this kind of healing method she didn't have a clue about on occasion when her sister came home with bruises all over her body after she trained so hard and diligently with their father. The wound wasn't as hurt as it was before. It seemed like Erika's hand had magically taken away the pain and stopped the bleeding. As time went by, Hanabi could see her wound healed up, leaving no scratch behind.
"Better?" Erika asked.
"Yeah!" Hanabi bowed her head with joy.
"We're certainly going home this time," insisted the older girl. "Can you walk on your own?"
"Of course!"
If Erika were to be completely honest with herself, she was secretly glad that Hanabi was far from being spoiled despite her status as the youngest daughter of the clan leader. Hanabi was actually a very dependent child, but at times, Erika had to admit that Hanabi could be as stubborn as a mule. Having said that, it didn't matter much to Erika now, she had regarded Hanabi as her own kid sister. Though her devotion to Hiashi's family was sort of forced at first, because she felt relatively indebted to his family, and being Hanabi's babysitter was the very least she could offer. However, it was almost extremely different now. Erika no longer looked after Hanabi because of her past gratitude, but because she felt that she was the only one who could relate to her. Hanabi had never met her mother ever since she was born, even though in Erika's case wasn't totally similar. Her mother had been there in her life for a really short time, she could barely remember anything about her, yet in her heart of hearts, she still believed her mother was still alive somewhere.
"Onee-san!" Hanabi suddenly grabbed Erika's hand, "The ice! It's cracking!"
Erika glanced down to see the ice under their feet had almost broken into separate parts. That being so, she tried not to start panicking so that Hanabi wouldn't be more frightened than she already had. "Hanabi-sama, get on my back!"
"We'll fall!"
"We won't," Erika assured, "Trust me."
Either Hanabi was persuaded or left with no option but to do as Erika said, Hanabi wrapped her arms around Erika's neck and let the older girl lift her weight up. As Erika was carrying Hanabi on her back, she stepped on the thin ice carefully and as slowly as possible. She had tried to leap over the ground, but Hanabi wouldn't stop screaming at her to keep the pace down, afraid of making cracks on the ice more.
"Onee-san, I still wanna take a warm bath… Not in this cold water," Hanabi sadly said.
"Despite that you nearly made me turn deaf with your shouting voice, I'm still glad to hear you finally want to take a bath."
"Don't tell me this is your idea all along so that I'm willing to have a bath without reluctance!"
"You're the one who insisted on going to Naka River, Hanabi-sama. Don't randomly pin the blame on me!" Erika turned ahead; a smile spread out her lips just when she noticed the riverbank was just around the corner. "Look! We're almost there."
Erika unintentionally took a false step and made the cracks become wider and visible, causing Hanabi to yell, "Don't walk further! Or else, we'll fall deep into the icy water!"
"Trust me, we won't," Erika convinced, "It's getting darker, we gotta come home as soon as possible before your father notices we've been missing the whole time. If you're scared, you can always shut your eyes and hold on tight because I'm seriously going to jump."
"That's a brilliant idea, Onee-san! If Otou-sama notices that, he will definitely come to our rescue."
"He's more likely to murder me for taking you out without permission…" Erika continued, "About what has happened just now, can you keep it—"
Before Erika could finish her sentence, the thin ice under her feet slightly went down, and she could feel the freezing water seeping into her boots. Spontaneously, Erika jerked forward and almost let Hanabi slip from her shoulders. Hanabi's safety was her highest priority, and she would risk her life in order to keep Hanabi from harm. Even though the only threat she was facing right here and now was the ice-covered Naka River. Still, Erika wouldn't be able to say a word if Hiashi demanded an explanation for Hanabi's drenched clothes. On the condition that Erika carelessly let Hanabi drown in the freezing river, which Erika would avoid at all costs.
As far as Erika knew, both her and Hanabi were the only ones in the vicinity, therefore she was taken by surprise when someone suddenly seized her wrist and pulled her and Hanabi forward to the riverbank. As her feet trod on the riverside, she came face to face with a mysterious boy whose height was around her. He was wearing a black hooded cloak, and his face was covered with a weasel-styled mask to boot.
"Are you the one who saved us?" Hanabi inquired. Since when had Hanabi been standing next to her? As far Erika could remember, she hadn't put Hanabi down from her back.
Instinctively, Erika moved ahead of Hanabi and stood in front of her, causing Hanabi to be taken aback, "What was that for, Onee-san?"
"What do you want?" Said Erika straightforwardly, "You're not here as a random passerby, aren't you?"
"That's not very nice, Onee—"
"I'm sorry, but don't intervene, Hanabi-sama," Erika changed her tone, "We still don't know what his motive is."
"I don't want anything from you, Erika-san," the masked boy answered. "I'm just carrying out the task I'm assigned to."
"H-how do you know my name? Who's your boss?" She stuttered, "Who exactly is your target?"
"You. But I'm not sure whether to address you as my target or not," he explained further. "It seems that you've misunderstood it, Erika-san. For your information, the ANBU commander has entrusted me with a task to watch over you, and I believe saving you from danger is a part of the job as well."
"The ANBU commander… you mean my father? What kind of father commanded his subordinate to stalk his own daughter?" She plastered an obvious look of annoyance on her face, knitting her brows. "I asked you how you even knew my name and the fact that you just ignored my question on purpose makes you even creepier than the first impression you left on me."
"My apologies, but I suppose an ANBU member isn't allowed to reveal his identity while on a mission, so I have to send my regrets, Erika-san," he excused, "Aside from the mission itself, I assure you that we may not be too familiar with each other, but we're more or less acquainted with one another, to say the least."
"You probably know me, and I know you in return, too, is that what you're trying to say?" Erika sneered, "I'm sorry, but if what you said were indeed true, you wouldn't speak to me so formally like that, I don't recall anyone calling me 'Erika-san' before."
The mysterious boy noticeably breathed a sigh. Erika wouldn't have thought the mist could even leak out of his mask. "I'm only doing this not as one of your father's men but your former classmate."
With that, he took off his mask, revealing his bare identity; supposing that he might have to face the consequences sooner or later. Erika had lost count of how many times she had been staggered, and she genuinely hate that she couldn't hide it well.
"Uchiha…" She had never been good at memorizing given names, yet many mistook her for being mannerly, which totally wasn't her style. What's his name again? She caught glimpse of the weasel-styled mask he was holding. "Itachi?"
Hanabi threw a glance at both Erika and Itachi, who seemed to be having a friendly reunion at random after debating for quite some time now. She had been glancing confusedly at the two back and forth, and her gaze eventually stopped at Erika. "Onee-san! Did you forget about the warm bath you promised?" Reminded her, "More importantly, did you forget that I'm still here?!"
Author's note: heyo, welcome to 'Held in the Stars', readers! please gimme some reviews because it'll surely make my day and motivate me to write! hope y'all don't have a problem with my OC, she may be uninteresting and too bland here, but believe me; she won't be like that forever.
feel free to comment about everything, guys. but don't be so hard on me! also, bear with my very slow update because i spend most of my day at college huhu