Fingerprints

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Part 1: Childhood

Chp 1: Innocence

I never liked going to the zoo.

Actually, it irritated me quite a bit that I would throw unyielding temper tantrums until Kaa-Chan made us go somewhere else. Watching the exotic creatures enraptured in their own activities, paying no mind to the spectators pointing and taking pictures as if they've forgotten that maybe they don't like getting poked at. Animals have a heart too you know. A heart which allows one to feel, hear, see and hurt. Back then, I didn't really understand what irked me so much that I almost got my family thrown out for trying to open the cages. How embarassing...Otou-san looked like he was going to explode. Now that I look back at it, I don't regret it. I always wondered why they looked so happy when feign freedom made them prisoners. Then again, I never imagined spending my life caged in a 6 by 8 cell.

6 Years Earlier

July 23rd. I turned 7. Of course I wasn't alone. To my astonishment my family celebrated the festivities by decorating the house in colorful decorations and banners that read "Happy Birthday". Although, most of the preparations were attributable to my jubilant mother, much to my father's chagrin. Being the stern and hardworking man he was, he never anticipated the clan's compound to be fervently festive rather than a covert location for clan meetings. Of course, the clan was his pride and joy and having his offspring and future heirs one step closer to shinobihood made him accepting with my mother's decisions and content with the turn of events. As a result, he finally agreed to my mother's pestering and promised to get off of work an hour earlier to attend the rest of the celebration.

The most riveting feature was the cake. Some of the clan members dropped off a homemade cake, one side decorated in pink with pretty intricate floral patterns and another in shade of blues with cartoon shaped kunais and not surprisingly, the famous Uchiha emblem in the middle. It looked awfully tasty.

Of course, for safety purposes as I would later explain, I wanted to try both sides to make sure it was suitable for the clan's taste buds. Okaa-Chan wasn't on board with that.

"A growing Uchiha lady needs to wait until everyone is seated to eat. Besides, your aunt and uncle have spent a lot of time making it special for you and Sasuke. What in the right mind makes you think you can go and scoop it up with your fingers?" She chastised. "You need to be more like your brother, why don't you go ahead and play with him and Itachi over there?" She pointed to the table across where Itachi was helping the esctatic Sasuke stack some Legos. "No way! Sasuke's a funsucker! I bet Itachi's dying of boredom!" As expected, that little comment didn't revel well with a certain spiky-haired twin. "You're just mad that Itachi likes me better than you! Isn't that right nii-san?" He finished the statement by smiling up at said idol. "Kiss-up." I discreetly coughed. The term 'discreetly' used loosely. "Uchiha Akemi! That is not how a lady speaks. Apologize this instant!"

Bowing my head, enough for my raven colored bangs to cover my face but not enough to look like I'm inspecting dust bunnies, I pivoted toward their direction. Sasuke had his familiar smug smirk plastered on his face, the one that just screamed 'Haha. I win. Loser.'

(Anyone who has a sibling should know the feeling.)

"Sorry...chickenbutt." I mumbled. Luckily, Kaa-chan didn't hear the last part or else I might not have been able to eat the slightly ruined cake. Satsified, she had stridden off to garner the other wives to prepare a dinner fit for a king. (Didn't she realize it was a children's birthday party? Hamburger and French fries would have been just as appetizing.) It's too bad she left before seeing the amusement twinkling from Itachi's usually emotionless eyes. More hilarious was Sasuke's face sporting a new shade of red; a color I couldn't help but laugh at. Tugging on his shirt, he whined "Nii-san! Aren't you going to say anything?" Itachi, who had been silently observing the situation between his younger siblings, only gestured for me to come closer. Itachi was calling me you really blame me for having a little more pep in my step as I came over? Besides, who would say no to their favorite sibling? Seeing Sasuke's shocked turned mad face was just icing to the cake.

"Nii-san! This isn't fair! You were playing with me first. No girls allowed, remember?" "What's wrong Onii-chan? Are you afraid that Aniki likes me better?" I said with a poorly disguised smirk.

.

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OW!

"Itachi! That's so mean!" A poke to a forehead is no big deal, however a poke to the forehead by an elite trained Uchiha is another story. In one stroke, he had lifted me and Sasuke's irritated expressions into surprise as he bonked our heads together. Rubbing my head I realized the bruise that will surely form in the morning. If it was anyone but Aniki I would have bit the fingers off of the baka who dared crossed paths against Akemi Uchiha. Sadly, the best I could do was to muster up a callous glare. Sasuke followed suit. Or did I copy him? Whatever, you get the gist.

In a slow and calm manner he spoke. "You bring shame and dishonor not only to the clan but yourselves." A quick glance he gave to the both of us before closing his eyes and exhaling a deep sigh. For some time he contemplated his words, it looked more like sleeping to me. I was about to move when he spoke in a quiet but firm voice that grasped both of our attentions. "We are all equal. Not only that but you are also one year older. This is a time for celebration not fighting. Cherish these moments. Both of you will have plenty to deal with in the future. A shinobi's life is not the most endearing or pleasant. There will be times when you have to face obstacles that challenge your own virtues. Many are forced to endure on a daily basis betrayl, loneliness, bloodshed..." He paused for a moment to look at our perplexed faces "...death." He didn't miss the distressing grimace on my face. I didn't see Sasuke's but I can bet my allowance it was pretty much the same picture. "Yet we trek on. For once you place that headband on, you are to forget naviety, selfishness, innocence and welcome these atrocities. You are fighting for something greater than all of us. The bond between brother and sister is precious, especially in the image of twins. Now, its time both of you started acting like it."

With that said, he walked out, unperturbed despite our wandering gazes.

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Blink

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"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

Bet you can guess who that was.