Prologue
In the future I would account my actions to be a result of the brotherly protection I had gained for my younger brother. I was a killer, there was no denying, but when I saw any child around his height and age they immediately became him. Upon closer inspection, oh rather a quick glance, it was obvious they were not Sasuke in any means, their gender wasn't even the same, let alone hair and eyes. The age was the same, however, and they were almost the same height. When the childish scream pierced the air I immediately turned my sharingan in its direction, searching for its owner. That scream was one of innocence about to be robbed, something I'd been unable to protect Sasuke against. Once I saw her I recognized her, it was difficult not too with her pink hair and jade eyes. Sasuke and I use to pass a park on our way home from the academy and the bright haired girl often played there along with her pale blonde friend. Even now as I looked at her I noticed her usual red ribbon was missing and now her pastel locks flew in the wind as her short legs struggled to carry her over the uneven ground. Tears stained her cheek, much like my younger brother's face on that October night only a few weeks ago.
A loud, deep laughter brought my attention to the men chasing the young girl. They were Konoha shinobi, which was logical seeing as I had snuck into Konoha to check up on Sasuke, but they were scum none the less. Three chased after her, barely even jogging, as they bantered back and forth about what fun this was, as would the following events be. Easily jumping through the trees, I masked my chakra so they wouldn't sense me and focused my Mangekyo on them. Only rotten men would violate a woman, let alone a girl of only five or six.
"I call her first!" shouted the first, only a chuunin.
"If you can catch her!"
"I'm oldest, she's mine!" declared the last, a jounin. Up ahead the girl tripped, a quiet cry escaping from her small form as she fell, ragged gasps quickly following as she failed to return to her feet.
"Gotcha!" the first shinobi called out, grabbing onto her forearms and pulling her roughly up. "Ready to be our tramp?"
"Please, sir-," she begged as he started tugging at her pants. A flick of my wrist and a kunai sunk deep into his neck, causing the man to fall over dead beside the frightened girl.
"What the-look to the trees!" the jounin called out but I had already sent a blade soaring towards his heart, hitting home. I jumped down, landing silently near the girl as the last man stared at me in shock, quivering in the moonlight.
"Please, don't kill me," he whispered.
"Would you have displayed mercy on this child?" I asked.
"Yes, of course!" he cried out.
"You are lying," I told him, a kunai sinking into his skin before he could mutter another word. Turning to the small girl I expected to find her sobbing, staring at me in horror much like Sasuke. While she was staring at me, however, she appeared to be more stunned than terrified. "Are you alright?" She took a long sniffle, wiping her nose with her long sleeve and gave a small nod. "Are you sure?" I asked, eyeing her scraped leg.
"I-I think. You saved me," she said, her high voice surprisingly soft and filled with awe.
"I did," I told her, eying her tiny form. "Do you know where you are?"
"No," she answered, "I got lost when they started chasing me." Kneeling down, I gently picked up her small leg, examining it. It wasn't even cut badly but chakra tingled in my hand and over her shin, healing the rough skin. The child giggled, her once bloodshot eyes twinkling with her cheerful laughter, as if three dead men did not surround her, one right beside her. "That tickles."
"It's chakra," I told her. She smiled at me, her jade orbs looking at me in a way that could only be explained as her saying 'I know, silly.'
"It feels nice," she said. I pressed my lips together, eyeing the odd girl before me. Never before had someone explained my chakra feeling…pleasant. "Your eyes are pretty. They're red." This statement made my dark brows furrow over my 'pretty' eyes. My eyes were the eyes of a murderer. This girl should be more afraid of me, not smiling and complementing me.
"Yes, they are. It is a family trait," I said, pulling my hand away once I was sure her leg was fully healed, having paused a moment or two to insure there would be no scars. "Where do you live?"
"In Konoha," she answered swiftly, her obvious reply making me sigh. "Where in Konoha?"
"Two blocks from the park with that big pond and three away from Yamanaka Flower Shop. Ino lives there, she's my best friend," the girl said brightly, easily rattling off the location of her house. Pink brows knitted together as she leaned in closer to me, eyes curious. "Why does your cloak have red clouds on it? Clouds are white, or grey I guess. My daddy told me sometimes they're purple and green when it storms too, but never red."
"Red clouds are part of what signifies me as part of the organization I'm with," I told her honestly, unsure of why I was telling a young child this.
"Are they part of Konoha?" I shook my head, helping the girl stand up. "Then why do you have a Konoha headband?"
"I use to be part of Konoha but I left," I told her.
"Oh, ok," she said, easily accepting the answer. "It looks warm."
"It is," I assured her. Scanning her body again I noted that she was shivering. The night air was slightly chilled this evening and obviously the child had nothing warm to wear. "Would you like to be in it while I take you home?" The girl's head bobbed up and down enthusiastically and I opened the cloak to let her step in closer, her small hands gripping onto my pant leg as I let the thick fabric fall back and hide her completely. She only came to about my hip, her cheek pressing against my thigh. I put a hand on her back, making sure she was steady as I performed a transportation jutsu, bringing us to the place she had described. "Which house is yours?"
"The blue one," her muffled voice said from under my cloak. "My room is has a tree right outside the window." Spotting the tree and transported us into her bedroom, pulling away the cloak to let her out. "Home already?"
"Yes. It was not safe for you outside in the dark," I told her as she stepped away.
"Thank you for bringing me home," she said, smiling softly back up at me. "And for saving me."
"…You are welcome," I said after a moment of hesitation. "What is your name, child?" Her green eyes beamed up at me after I'd asked.
"Haruno Sakura," she said proudly.
"Sakura," I breathed, reaching out to hold a few strands of her pale hair. "Rather fitting."
"Thanks. What's your name?" she asked.
"It does not matter," I told her. Her face scrunched up and her small mouth formed a pout.
"If I don't know your name how will I be sure you're you when we meet later?" she asked. I raised a brow at her.
"When we meet later?" She gave jerky nods. "What makes you so sure?"
"Well…I don't know…but we will," she said. Studying her carefully I made yet another unwise decision for the evening.
"Ichirou," I told her finally.
"I-chi-rou," she said slowly and punctuated, concentrating intensely before smiling brightly up at me. "Promise we'll see each other later, Chi-kun?" Looking at her jade eyes I made my last questionable choice of the night.
"I promise, Sakura." As she crawled into bed and pulled the covers around her, just like I would if she were Sasuke, and as she looked up at me one more time I let my Mangekyo swirl, not erasing but blurring her memory of this night and easing her to sleep. I remained by her side for a few moments longer, just watching the girl. It was then I decided I would protect her the way I hadn't been able to protect Sasuke. She would be safe for as long as I lived, I would be sure of it. Before leaving I picked up a red ribbon from her toy vanity, pocketing it. Later on I may need to track her and that would be useful in doing so.
As I left I told myself I was doing this because of Sasuke. I told myself that every year I watched her grow, even when she was assigned a team with Sasuke, even when Sasuke was bit by Orochimaru and she wasn't, even when Sasuke left her on a bench, even when she was held back from following Sasuke, even when she encountered Sasuke with her new team, and even when I fought her myself. I was doing this because of Sasuke, nothing else. Not because of her pink hair, jade eyes, bright smile, or soft voice. That lie only lasted so long, however, until I accepted the true reason.