Disclaimers: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. OC's and non-canon plot belong to me, Xanette.
Warnings: Slight gore, violence, and language.
Crimson Butterfly
Chapter 1
"Chouko-chan, this is Fugaku-sama; his family will be taking care of you while I am away on a mission."
I looked up at the tall man with dark hair, and then proceeded to bow. He nodded at me, and dismissed me just as fast as he turned his attention to my uncle. I took the opportunity to take in my surroundings while his attention was diverted. His home was simple and quaint. I expected that the head of the Uchiha clan would live more extravagantly, but apparently I was wrong.
I felt my uncle's gaze on me, and I looked up at him. He gave me a kind smile. "Be good. I'll be back." He made a hand signal and disappeared in a cloud of smoke; I turned my attention to Uchiha Fugaku. He spoke to me sternly.
"You will be staying in the room on the far left side of the house. The only others here are my wife Mikato and my two sons, Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi is out on a mission right now, but you will see Sasuke around." He said, and I nodded.
"Your uncle tells me you will be a Jounin soon?" I nodded again. It couldn't be helped. I didn't feel like I was ready to advance in rank but…
"I'm sure you will make an excellent shinobi," he said. I held his gaze as I tried to sort my thoughts. He seemed very cold, but when he said that, his voice was so gentle.
"Thank you, Fugaku-sama," I replied with a bow. He nodded and said "make yourself at home, I'm sure your uncle will return in a few days," as he walked away.
I made my way through the long hallways that I'd memorized when I arrived back towards my room. I slid the door to the side and stepped inside of it, dropping my bag on the floor. It took me a second to confirm, but I was fairly certain this wasn't a guest room. I settled myself on the bed and sighed, closing my eyes. The birds chirped outside noisily and I was beginning to feel drowsy.
I sat up and began removing the bandages around my arms. I let the bandages fall on the floor and looked down at my forearm, which was covered in scars and wounds that had yet to heal. The damage of my unfinished jutsu. I sighed again and began wrapping them with new bandages. I knew I would get one of those horrible headaches again later, because of my using so much chakra trying to complete that jutsu. I was hoping to avoid it if I went to sleep early.
"Chouko-chan, will you be joining us for dinner?" Mikoto, Fugaku's wife, asked me from outside the closed door.
"I'm sorry, but I will have to decline your invitation. I am really tired, so I think I will go to bed, Mikoto-sama."
"That's quite alright, dear. Please rest well."
"Thank you, Mikoto-sama."
I disposed of the used bandages and frowned as my head started pulsing with pain. I cradled it with my hands and moaned, lying down slowly on the bed. A good night's sleep would help me. I just needed rest.
I wasn't sure how long I slept, but I was risen from my slumber when I heard the croak of the wooden floor outside the room I was in. I quickly sat up; the sheathed kunai of my assailant was stopped from coming any closer with the small katana I'd hidden under my pillow.
"Who are you?" the person and I asked simultaneously. I pushed him away with my katana. My head throbbed and pounded loudly. I clutched it with my hand, still staring at the blurry image of my attacker. Why couldn't I see right?
"Itachi? Is that you?" I heard a man's voice come from down the hall. Itachi? That name sounded familiar. The door to the room slid open and Fugaku appeared, carrying a candle. I blinked a few times and my vision finally cleared.
"Itachi! Why are you attacking our guest?" Fugaku spoke loudly, which made me wince. My head still throbbed. I finally got a good look at my attacker. He was a boy around my age, with dark hair and eyes. His skin was pale and he had bags under his eyes, which made him look like he hadn't slept for days. His eyes were tired and held some confusion. I'm sure mine probably looked the same.
"Guest?"
"Yes, Chouko is Aito-san's niece."
Itachi turned his eyes to me and I saw some comprehension dawn on them. He got on his knees and bowed deeply. "Forgive me, Chouko-san." I blushed deeply and shook my head, which was a bad idea.
"It's not a problem, Itachi-san. I'm sorry for taking your room," I said. I began to get up, but collapsed on my knees and I winced loudly when the pounding pain in my head was close to unbearable. "Chouko-san! Are you alright?" I heard Fugaku ask me.
"I'm sorry…I just don't feel very well."
"Itachi, sleep in Sasuke's room tonight. Chouko-san needs to rest." I felt a pair of arms lift me gently off the ground and place me back on the bed, which I gratefully sank into. "Sorry," I mumbled into the pillow. It was too exhausting and painful to stay awake any longer.
The next morning, I gasped as I recalled what had happened that night. I sat up slowly, and smiled when I realized my headache was gone. I pulled a red shirt on and some black pants on and headed into the kitchen, where I heard Mikoto shuffle around.
"Will you train today with your brother, Sasuke? I could make you both some lunch."
"I thought maybe I would…" he trailed off when he saw me, a quizzical look on his face.
"Thought maybe you would what? Oh! Good morning Chouko-san. Would you like some breakfast?" Mikoto asked me.
"Yes, please, Mikoto-sama," I smiled politely.
"Oh! You haven't met my son, yet, have you? This is Sasuke, the younger of my two children. I'm sure you will meet Itachi sometime today, he got back from his mission last night."
"Ah, yes. I met him last night."
"You did?" She asked me, frowning.
"Uhm, yes. He's nice. It's nice to meet you Sasuke-kun," I said, smiling at the young boy. He was very cute. Blushing, he mumbled a greeting in return, looking down at his food.
"Here's your food, Chouko-oh my! What happened to your arms?" Mikoto exclaimed. I looked down at my arms and realized I hadn't re-wrapped them the previous night.
"Ah, training accident," I mumbled, covering them quickly. Mikoto nodded solemnly. "You should be more careful, sweetie," she said. I nodded, and quickly ate my food after I pulled my sleeves down.
"Chouko-san, would you go with Sasuke to check on Itachi? I made him some lunch." I nodded and bowed in farewell, following the young Uchiha out the door.
He was quiet the whole way, looking in any direction but mine.
"Sasuke-kun?" I asked him quietly, with a small smile on my face. "Y-yes, Chouko-san?"
"Have you entered the academy yet?"
He beamed at me "No! But I will in a month! I'm really excited."
"Really? Are you good at any jutsus yet?" I asked him, happy that his excitement was winning over his shyness.
He shook his head, frowning. "I'm waiting for Itachi to show me some, but he's always busy…He's a jounin and he's in ANBU, so he doesn't have a lot of time."
"Oh, I see. Well, if he doesn't have any time, I'll show you one, alright?"
"Really?" He asked, looking up at me with excitement shining in his eyes. I laughed and said "Really!"
Itachi was sitting by a large lake, with kunai deeply embedded into the ground around him.
"Brother, will you teach me that new jutsu now?"
Itachi poked him in the forehead and said "I'm sorry, Sasuke, not today."
I stared at him a little. "Chouko-san. I'd like to apologize again for last night."
I laughed. "Don't worry about it; I would have done the same."
There was some sobbing nearby and Sasuke peered around a tree to see what the commotion was about. "There's Kairi crying again," he said. Kairi was an Uchiha, a girl who had been dumped by her boyfriend- a respected ninja in Konoha. She told everybody and anybody who listened about how he'd left her and how sad she was. It was a little pitiful, to say the least.
Sasuke sighed. "I wish she'd stop being sad all the time. Chouko-san, what would make a girl stop crying?"
"Hmmm," I hesitated. "Probably a kiss."
Sasuke gagged, and Itachi and I chuckled.
Days passed by similarly. I worried about my uncle Aito. I wondered if he was alright, and when he was coming back. My mother, his sister, died during the Kyuubi attack many years ago, and my father disappeared. He was the only family I had.
Itachi and I grew a little closer to each other, especially after we were sent on a mission together. It was a long mission, and we had to leave Konoha to complete it.
