First Arc:

Ukiyo

"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding."

Albert Camus

Her name was Kirameki although she preferred to simply be called "Kira." Her name meant "glitter" and as she trudged down the clay road, the blistering heat reflecting off her golden skin made the title seem fit. She made a low, grumbling sound in the back of her throat as she—for the umpteenth time—swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, flicking away the perspiration that was slowly trailing into her furrowed brows.

"Hikaru, would you please lend your sister your handkerchief before she ruins her dress with sweat?" Saika would be damned if she showed up to the Uchiha compound looking anything less than poised and immaculate as to be expected of the head family of the Tottori clan.

Hikaru scoffed, begrudgingly reaching into the inner breast of her blouse where she drew out the cloth and reluctantly handed it over to her younger sister. "I don't see what the matter is," the elder said, falling in step between her mother and father. "After all," she gave a Cheshire grin to her sister, drawing a scowl from the eight year old, "I am the more important one."

"Hikaru…" Kazuko warned lowly yet uninterestedly. He was in no mood to break up a confrontation between his daughters, especially within such close proximity of their previously rival clan. Such a scene would only result in proud sneers from the Uchihas and shame to the Tottoris.

Hikaru shrugged. "Alright, alright, father," she said though the challenge still remained alight in her eyes. "I'm sure Kirameki already knows of my significance to the clan and herlack of."

One last jab, that's all it took to send the younger Tottori over the edge, her emotions flailing about quite as unruly as the wine-colored locks upon her head. Her mother instinctively made a reach for her, restraining the heated child yet incapable of holding back the onslaught sure to fall from her mouth.

"What do you know, Hika?!" Saika eagerly attempted to get control of her child to no avail. Kira grinned naughtily, jerked away from her sister who was, in turn, being restrained by their father. "You're just a stupid chihuahua, always yapping about nothing you know about!"

Around the time Kira spat out "chihuahua," Kazuko guessed, was about the same time the door before them slid open to reveal a rather flustered Uchiha Mikoto and her eldest son, Itachi. Kazuko inwardly sighed, expecting nothing less of a spectacle to come from his eccentric family. Of all Tottori clan's leaders, he always pondered why the gods bestowed him with such horrible luck: a wife with temper issues (that seemed to be genetic), two feisty daughters (when he asked for sons), and he with neither the will nor patience to even attempt to control the unit he called a family.

Saika relinquished her grip on Kira, choosing to all but crush her daughter's hand in an unpleasant hold. Kazuko had also released Hikaru, the nine year old wasting no time to redeem her family's honor.

In a sickeningly sweet way, Hikaru bowed lowly and asked, "Uchiha-san, won't you please forgive my sister's ill manners? She is young, although that is no excuse, yet that is the only reason I can think that she may have acted in such a disrespectful way. Please do not hold my clan's image based off of Kirameki's vulgarity."

Mikoto chuckled, the sound akin to bells, and held the door open further. She smiled and motioned for the family to enter, addressing to the parents cheerily, "children will be children."

Saika made sure to jerk Kira a bit so that she stumbled over the mantle into the house. The young Tottori made brief eye contact with her mother whose demeanor only warned her of further punishment should she step out of line again. The girl huffed lightly and stepped out of her shoes before becoming aware of a hard stare she couldn't deny was directed towards her.

From the moment Kira had clambered in, Itachi's eyes had locked onto her with a look she couldn't quite discern. It was almost one of distaste, one that made Kira's nose scrunch up in wonder before glancing away.

Mikoto turned to her son. "Itachi, why don't you show the girls around while we wait for your father? I'm sure they'd like to see the compound."

Hikaru beamed, clasping her hands before her in a joyful manner. "Oh, yes, please do!"

Itachi's gaze was removed from Kira briefly as he glanced towards the other sister. He closed his eyes, seemingly troubled, and flatly breathed "no" before turning into the hall and heading presumably towards his room.

The Tottoris stood in disbelief and Kazuko could do nothing more but sigh, yet again mentally cursing his bad luck. Mikoto was quick to apologize on Itachi's behalf, explaining that the boy had a mission earlier that day and must've been quite tired. The comment peaked Kazuko's interest, leading the parents into conversation over tea in the sitting room.

All the while, Kira's mind reeled wondering what exactly was the Uchiha's problem. If he was as weird as he acted, than perhaps the gods had answered her prayers and set Hikaru up with someone as unseemly as herself. She snickered at the thought, causing her mother seated next to her to raise a brow while her sister to the left gave a light groan of misery.

Mikoto flashed a little embarrassed smile. "You girls must be bored. Again, I do apologize for Itachi's behavior…"

Kira shrugged, bumping shoulders with her sister who had broken into a grin that could be described as nothing else but mischievous. "Uchiha-san," she said, jumping to her feet and snatching her sister's wrist. "If you don't mind, Kira and I can find a way to push Itachi-san over?"

Though Kira wasn't particularly interested in bothering the boy, the proposal did pique her interest when she considered it as a mission. Her first one, she thought, shifting from foot to foot eagerly. Surely it would be a task to convince the boy to stand their presence?

Mikoto smiled and laughed lightly in return although the girls' mother sent them a threatening look. Mikoto waved them off with a "go right ahead" before Hika dragged her sister down the hall where the boy had disappeared. As they rounded the corner, Hikaru let go of her sister, glowering at her as they searched for the boy. "You know," she began, "if you hadn't been here, Itachi-san would have eagerly accepted his mother's request."

Kira snorted at that, almost regretting agreeing to the conquest in the first place. "Your stupid words only validate the point I made earlier."

Hikaru halted on the verge of a fit of rage. "Eh?!"

Kira glanced over her shoulder towards her sister in annoyance. "You're just a stupid chihuahua that knows nothing."

Just as Hika was about to bite back, a paper door beside them slid open to reveal the evidently peeved Uchiha. His gaze wavered between the two girls, irritation clear in his expression though he did not voice his frustration.

Hikaru seized the opportunity to make amends by stepping forward and obscuring Kira from his sight. "Itachi-san, are you sure you don't want to show me around?" she asked with a coy smile. "It's expected of us to be seen together, as you know."

A moment passed and it appeared to Kira as if Itachi was thinking over possible excuses to feed to her sister, his eyes closed in deep concentration. His head lolled to his shoulder with a sigh of defeat and he gave a reluctant mutter of "this way." Hikaru lit up with joy as he slid the door shut behind him and led them down the hall back towards the front door. Assuring they were out of earshot, Hikaru spun around and whispered to her sister, "Don't you ruin things, Kirameki or I'll ruin you."

Kira scoffed, waving her sister's threat off. "Unlikely. This one's all you."

Hikaru glowered briefly before turning to catch up to Itachi who waited dispassionately for her at the door. He glanced back at the younger Tottori as if expecting her to follow, their eyes meeting fleetingly. It was their again, that look, as if he was trying to figure her out, staring right into the deepest recesses of her young mind. It was unnerving, the intensity of his obsidian orbs calculating her face and she found herself relieved and yet disappointed when Hikaru caught his hand and his attention. She beamed up at him eagerly and he moved to open the door. For a moment, Kira wondered if he would turn to her again. He didn't as he disappeared with her sister, leaving behind only the faint sound of Hikaru's incessant chatter and a feeling in Kira's stomach she couldn't describe.

What's with him, she wondered, frowning at where he had stood. She had only just met him and the boy was proving to be an enigma. At the very least, it wouldn't be her concern, she conceded with a shrug.

With her initial mission turning up as a bust, Kira decided her next would be to explore the remainder of the home. She continued down the hall, pausing when a low babble sounded from the room where Itachi had come from. She turned—and there it was again—and her ears seemed to perk up as she moved to investigate the source.

Within the room, she found a crib with a plump raven-haired baby reaching up at the empty air, fat fists clenching at it innocently. Kira peered between the bars at the infant, freezing when his dark eyes set on her. They were like Itachi's in color but had a certain kindness to them where Itachi's had held severity. She relaxed, watching the baby as he reached out to her unabashedly and she cautiously offered her own hand. He wound his fist about his finger, squeezing it tightly as he jittered in delight. Kira blinked in surprise before she broke into a winning smile.

"You are the sweetest thing I have ever seen," she cooed. "Why would they put you behind bars? Who would you ever hurt?" He tugged on her finger and she quite nearly squealed in amusement. "I will never, ever let someone hurt you! You're too cute!"

The baby stopped his fidgeting and stared at her before erupting into tears, wailing deafeningly and thrashing his little legs about as much as he could. Kira blanched, wondering what she could have possibly done to upset the infant just as Mikoto hurried in. The woman simpered down at Kira before scooping her baby up into her arms.

"I-I didn't mean t-to—!" Kira stammered, wringing the hem of her skirt guiltily.

"You're fine, Kirameki-chan," Mikoto hushed her kindly. "He's just hungry. You don't need to worry. You did nothing wrong." At that, she lowered herself into a rocker and placed her child to the open slit of her blouse, proceeding to nurse him.

Kira kneeled before Mikoto, staring at the baby's face lovingly. "How old is he? What's his name?" she questioned, her gaze never faltering from the sweet, plump one of the infant's.

Mikoto pulls the baby away from her breast, wiping herself dry and the baby's lips and cheeks. She smiled again to Kira as she placed the baby across her lap, preparing to burp him. "He's only about a year old," she said, patting the child's back lightly, "And his name is Sasuke."

"Sasuke," Kira murmured, holding her fingers out for the child to take hold of. He did again and she beamed, turning to Mikoto with a wide smile. "I love him! Even though I don't know him yet, I love him, and I promise I will always take care of him!" She flushed with embarrassment then, wondering if her outburst would come off as impolite. "Only if that's alright with you, Uchiha-san?"

The woman laughed, ruffling the young girl's hair before taking Sasuke up into her arms, kissing him lightly, and setting him into his crib to sleep. She turned to Kira then and said, "Mikoto. And I would be forever grateful if you kept your word, Kirameki-chan."

Kira nodded enthusiastically. "I will," she said eagerly. "Oh and it's just Kira, Mikoto-san!"

Author's Note:

Hello readers and welcome to Spectrum! If you are a new reader, thank you for your interest and if you are a follower, thank you for your support! A message to all of my readers, Spectrum is undergoing revision. Therefore, some of the material may change as you progress through this story. Any major alterations will be noted for comprehension. Thank you for your understanding as I do my best to provide this fanfic.

As a note, the age difference between Itachi and Sasuke is traditionally 5 years. For writing purposes, I have extended this gap to 8. Also for some clarification, Hikaru and Itachi are both 9 in this chapter, Kira is 8, and Sasuke is under 1. As Shisui is one of my main characters (and because I'm not sure of his actual age), in my story, he is 11 in this chapter.

As the story progresses, I will note what age each character is to get an understanding of how the story is moving forward.

Please feel free to message me or leave me a review with any question, concerns, or criticism!

Best, EC