Night Rain, Red Flowers

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto!

Chapter One

The inner courtyard of a grand manor was lively one spring morning. Servants rushed about preparing for the busy day ahead and amidst all of the hectic activity, a small girl in a richly embroidered kimono made of heavy white silk made her escape from her clan's compound. She was pretty young girl of around ten years of age, her looks and lineage ensured a bright future for her, yet she had a mischievous nature. This was unacceptable, for the rigorous doctrine of her clan only warranted the growth of strong, elegant women, or meek and dutiful wives. Her uncle had hopes that one day she would become like his own daughter, one of the prospective brides of the heir to the most prestigious clans in the large imperial city. But the spirited young girl resisted with everything in her being, which often got her into trouble.

"Oi! Brat, out o' the way!" A gruff man yelled to the small girl, his voice clearly conveying his irritability. The small girl scurried out of the large man's way quickly, all the while praying to the gods that he wouldn't notice her clothes or her clan's prominent insignia embroidered onto the back of her twin brother's haori. It seemed like a good idea at the time to pretend to be a boy…but she looked like a strangely dressed girl instead. The heavy set man rudely brushed past the small girl, he was carrying five heavy sacks of rice that the Higurashi clan would use for their engagement feast.

The young girl quickly ran down the street that was connected to the servant's entrance at the back of the manor. She did not look back at her childhood home; she was determined to see this adventure through to the end. She would show her twin that even a girl could do what a man was allowed to do, which to her entailed running around the city and scolding wayward children harshly.

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"Honorable lady, it is time to dress for the day." A middle aged maid servant entered the room of the heiress to the Higurashi clan. Today was the day that her engagement to the famed heir of the Uchiha clan was to be announced and officially acknowledged. The beautiful young woman almost sighed, but stopped and reminded herself that it was unbecoming of a woman of her station, though she had already done something that would merit death if her clan found out. The young woman was feeling a deep sense of guilt; her virtuous mother had given up her life to save her husband while she prepared to abandon her duty and disappoint her father.

The young woman rose gracefully from her bed and waved her hand at her maid servant, signaling for her to begin. The older woman bowed lightly and began to dress her lady in an extravagantly embroidered kimono with many, many layers of heavy silk. The young woman moved on habit, standing up straight with her arms stretched out. She became lost in thought as her maid worked to get her in presentable condition for her engagement feast. The young heiress of the Higurashi clan was caught in a quandary of her own making, she had allowed a man who served one of her rival clans to court her, and in doing so she had betrayed her mother's memory and dishonored her father…even if he was not aware. The young woman normally would not let her emotions rule her action, unlike her dear cousin, but she was a woman in love. She had something that her mother longed for and was unable to obtain, like most women of the time. It had taken years, but now she was ready, the young woman was determined to-

"Lady Kikyo, the lord has requested my lady's presence in his study."

Kikyo inwardly began to panic, 'Has father found out…?' She thought as her heartbeat accelerated and her palms grew damp in apprehension. "May I inquire as to the reason father is searching for me?"

The servant bowed in apology. "No my lady, the lord has not given a reason…"

Kikyo strengthened her resolve, even if her father had found out the truth, she would not adhere to the doctrine of her clan and instead she would remain loyal to her heart.

"Very well, take me to him." Kikyo said before she covered her face with a light silk veil, her mother had always worn one to protect her fair skin from the sun. Kikyo had adopted the habit as more of a tribute to her mother than a real worry for her complexion. As she followed the servant into the hall, she was surprised to see an entourage of no less than ten guards. Kikyo merely glanced at them and walked toward her father's study at the other side of the compound. The men and women of the clan lived in separate quarters within the manor, each side prohibited from visiting the other unless they were married or were excused by the clan head. It lessened the amount of bastards born within the family and kept a sense of formality within the clan, keeping most of the unruly clan members from causing trouble. 'Efficient and proper, the clan's most renowned qualities.' Kikyo thought. The guards ahead of her stopped, they had arrived before the door of her father's study. The servant kneeled before the sliding doors and announced Kikyo before he opened the door to the Higurashi clan head's study.

"Kikyo." The tall man with long brown hair and red war paint on his cheekbones, dressed in a formal kimono adorned with various war metals and new armor, addressed his daughter. He was the first clan head to not have been born a Higurashi, he was from the Inuzuka clan that served the Higurashi as elite guards, which is surprising considering the fact that mostly females are born into the ancient clan.

"Father." Kikyo responded after the servant had retreated and the guards left the room and acted as sentries by standing in front of the door to the study. Father and daughter gazed at one another in silence, neither was very talkative, but when they spoke their words captured the attention of everyone around them. Kikyo looked at her father's brown eyes, much like her own for they were the only feature that she'd inherited from him and though eye color may seem irrelevant, it was proof that Kikyo was not a pure blooded Higurashi as the rest of her clansmen had black hair and blue eyes. Her dear cousin Kagome was the real heiress to the Higurashi clan and her brother was the real clan head, but the death of their father had left the position of power to Kikyo's father and because Kikyo was of marriageable age she was declared the clan heiress. Though Kikyo would now become the Uchiha matriarch and Kagome would be left to marry and carry on the clan line, if her twin chose not to marry. Not many Higurashi males got married, yet another idiosyncrasy of the clan.

The Higurashi head sighed and nearly collapsed into his study chair. He had married into the clan in hopes of living a relatively easy life away from the battle field, but it seemed the gods had decided the fate of his clan was forever to be entwined with war. "Your cousin has gone missing from the compound."

Kikyo mentally heaved a sigh of relief, then immediately felt guilty afterward. Her father was still oblivious to her betrayal, but it was more worrisome that her cousin could be missing or kidnapped. "How long has she been gone?" Kikyo asked, her cousin Kagome was very rebellious and often hid from the Inuzuka guards. It was an impressive feat for a ten year old girl to outwit fully trained men, but to her father it was a source of embarrassment that he would secretly brood over for days on end.

"Since this morning, before dawn." Kikyo's father, Hachiro replied wincing, his old scar was aching. Kikyo saw him wince and observed him worriedly; her father had dark circles under his eyes and a few more gray hairs in on his head. She frowned lightly, she felt even more guilt for what she was planning to do, her father looked exhausted and when he learned of her betrayal…

Hachiro caught Kikyo's frown through the edges of her thin veil, and thinking that it was engendered by Kagome's disappearance, sought no deeper meaning in her rare change of expressions. His daughter was so much like her uncle; one of Hachiro's only regrets was that she never got to meet any of his brothers, especially Ichiro. "Have you sent Souta after her?" Kikyo asked, unknowingly pulling her father out of his thoughts. Hachiro nodded at Kikyo, "Yes, he should be back by noon." Souta somehow always knew where his twin sister was which helped when they needed to find Kagome.

"Do not worry father, Souta will find her and bring her back before anything happens." Kikyo said in an effort to ease her father's worries. Hachiro nodded in agreement with Kikyo's statement. It was silent for a while, before Hachiro jumped up and began rifling through his desk. Kikyo watched her father in amusement, he could be so absent minded about matters that had nothing to do with war. "Ah, here it is!" Hachiro said in triumph as he held up a small rectangular wooden box. He had nearly forgotten about it, but he had made a promise to his wife and he was a man who always kept his word.

Kikyo curiously looked over the small box her father handed to her. It was lavishly carved with the likeness of a Chinese bell flower, the very flower after which Kikyo had been named. "What is this?" Asked Kikyo as she admired the carving inlaid with expensive gold leafing and lacquered to stay strong for a long time, was it a family heirloom?

"It was your mother's, she would have wanted me to give it to you on your wedding day, but this engagement announcement will have to do..." Hachiro trailed off uncertainly, he wasn't good at dealing with emotions and he felt somewhat guilty for rushing his daughter into this marriage, but that was a feeling he'd learned to override with pride, after all his daughter would become the matriarch of a very successful clan.

Kikyo opened the box and lightly gasped, inside was a beautiful silver hair pin carved to look like a lily with light vines and delicate leaves wrapping around it, a few blossoms of a Chinese bell flower falling from a light chain under the lily. It was lavishly embellished with precious gems, giving color to the leaves and flower petals.

Hachiro carefully gauged his daughter's reaction, maybe he should have waited? However all insecurities flew from his mind as his daughter threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, her forgotten silk veil falling to the ground at the sudden movement. Hachiro hesitantly put his arm over her shoulders and reveled in his daughter's rare show of affection, the last time she had embraced him was the day before her mother died.

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'Alright! I've made it this far…how hard can it be to find the way back home?' Kagome thought to herself as she looked at the unfamiliar surroundings of the city she was born in, but had never seen. The young girl had been wandering around for the past few hours now, unknowingly catching the attention of a few unsavory characters, one of which was wanted for stealing children and selling them off at an underground slave market. The other was just a simple thug looking to steal the girl's obviously expensive clothing and sell it off.

"Pretty young miss, are you lost?" The slave trader made his move first, the thug growled in irritation and walked away. They say there was no honor among thieves, but there was one golden rule that they all followed: First come, first serve. Kagome frowned as she looked the man over, evaluating him. He had a kind face and a gentle expression, but his aura felt off…

"Don't worry young miss, big brother Juro can take you home." The slave trader said upon noticing Kagome's indecisive expression. He was charismatic and had he been born into a well off family he might have been able to hone his skills to perfection with an education.

Kagome looked at the man and scrutinized him once again, this time deciding to give the man a chance. "Alright, but first answer this question." Juro looked the girl over with renewed interest; this girl had good instincts and apparently possessed a quick wit. "If we were trapped in enemy territory and surrounded by hundreds of guards with only one escape plan that would require one of us to stay behind, what would you do?"

Juro blinked in surprise at the simple question, the answer was obvious enough for the slave trader to guess. 'I thought this would be more of a challenge…' he thought as he smiled charmingly at the young girl and decided to humor her. "Well young miss; I would stay behind and allow you to escape. My honor as a man would never allow me to leave behind a helpless young woman!"

Kagome smiled back at the man, making him believe that he had won her trust. "Now that I've answered correctly-"

Juro abruptly stopped talking once he'd realized that the girl had tricked him into complacency and then ran off. He growled in annoyance, dropping his friendly persona and began chasing after the girl. She was fast and had a head start, but he had years of experience, high endurance, and location to his advantage. He would catch up to her eventually.

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Sasuke Uchiha sighed in annoyance. Today was the day that his older brother's engagement would be announced. Sasuke looked at his father who was sitting imposingly across from him in the carriage. Fugaku Uchiha frowned disapprovingly at his youngest son; he had caught the younger male's sigh and thought that it was unbecoming of an Uchiha, especially since the Higurashi clan would be closely observing their actions at the engagement feast.

"Sasuke, do not disappoint me today." Said Fugaku sternly. He had long since lost all hopes of his second son being as brilliant as his first, but Sasuke was still an Uchiha and he would act accordingly.

Sasuke felt a familiar flash of hurt at his father's faultfinding expression. "I won't father," He replied while schooling his features into a mask of cool indifference that the Uchiha clan was famous for. Such a countenance served the purpose of being intimidating and created the illusion that the Uchiha were above reproach, much like the powerful gods mentioned in old stories and legends.

"Enough you two! Today is meant to be joyful, after all Itachi is finally going to meet his future wife!" Makoto Uchiha interjected. The current Uchiha matriarch was a beautiful young woman who was far too loving to be considered an Uchiha, but in her prime…

Sasuke smiled indulgently at his mother, she was excited to meet the Higurashi bride. Fugaku decided to humor his wife; she had always wanted a daughter and though Fugaku would not admit it to his wife he was glad that he only had sons. He believed that women were too emotional and speaking from past experience he was correct.

The carriage came to a sudden halt, causing the current Uchiha Matriarch to nearly fall into her husband who was thrown back against the carriage along with Sasuke. As Sasuke and Makoto righted themselves, Fugaku opened the curtains of the carriage and began demanding an explanation for the sudden stop.

A small servant boy came running from the front of the caravan and quickly bowed low to the ground in front of the carriage window. "Lord Uchiha, I apologize for the trouble, but young master Itachi has ordered everyone to stop moving!" The boy's words were slightly muffled because his face was pressed lightly into the ground in apology; Fugaku Uchiha was not the type of man to forgive any mistakes.

"What is that boy doing?" Fugaku muttered to himself darkly, they had no time to stop just to fulfill the idyllic whims of his son.

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Itachi Uchiha was a person who could not be easily surprised, nor was he a person who would do things that were unnecessary. This had earned him the respect of everyone in his clan, along with his prodigious skills in battle and his genius intellect. He was the praised prodigy Uchiha and often remained unsurprised because he could plan ahead and stay calm in any tumultuous situation. So when a small figure darted in front of him, startling his horse, Itachi reacted to the surprise swiftly in a manner befitting the Uchiha prodigy.

Itachi's horse reared up in fright, the small figure had startled it and would have been crushed by the powerful hooves of the horse had Itachi not pulled on the reins and calmed the animal. The small figure, having seen the horse's hooves bearing down on them, flinched back from the animal and crouched low to the ground.

"Stop." Itachi ordered, he was not a very loud or overly talkative person but his words resounded throughout the celebratory crowd and the stoic Uchiha in the long line of carriages traveling behind him. The decorative guards surrounding Itachi looked to him in surprise, until they noticed a small figure crouched in front of Itachi's horse.

Paying everyone else no mind, Itachi smoothly dismounted and offered assistance to the crouched figure in the road, all the while keeping a wary eye for any more surprises. Yet it seemed that the day would be full of surprises as the crouched figure looked up at Itachi, instantly ensnaring him with vivid sapphire colored eyes.

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"Lord Hachiro!" The frantic shout brought the Higurashi lord out of his musings as he turned his attention to the servant that came running into his study.

"Speak." Hachiro said impatiently. He was in the middle of looking over maps of the capitol city to determine where his errant niece could have disappeared to. He refused to believe that anyone would be idiotic enough to kidnap her and try to hold her for ransom. 'Though the Higurashi clan does have a lot of envious enemies, not to mention all the vengeful people who would surely grasp the opportunity to spite me…' Hachiro thought grimly as he lightly flinched in pain. It seemed that trouble was stirred whenever his scar ached.

The servant quivered before Hachiro. His master was not a temperamental man, but he was known as the Red Beast when he served the Higurashi as an Inuzuka guard. "M-my Lord, the young mistress has b-been found a-and is now awaiting your presence in the courtyard-" The servant stopped talking once he realized that Hachiro was no longer in the room.

'Kagome…' Hachiro thought with worry. He would have to tighten up security around the Higurashi compound, not to mention that the elders would raise a fuss because the future Higurashi matriarch went missing for nearly a day.

Hachiro swiftly turned down the veranda of the Higurashi home and headed to the inner courtyard of the compound. Once Hachiro had his niece within his sights, Hachiro quickly strode toward her and tightly embraced her form.

Itachi watched with surprise as the Higurashi head openly showed his concern for the girl. Fugaku nearly scoffed at the other man's moment of weakness while Makoto smiled genuinely at the warm sight. Sasuke merely observed the familial scene with feigned indifference.

"You will be punished severely…" Hachiro whispered to Kagome once he made sure that she was really back home. He was certain that she nearly made him lose his sanity with worry over her well-being.

Kagome shuddered lightly in her uncle's embrace. He was a patient man, who cared for his family, but he allowed for no excuses and he had quite the temper… as did most of the Higurashi clan.

Hachiro let Kagome go as he turned to greet the people generous enough to return his niece to her home. "I sincerely apologize for the trouble my niece has caused you." Hachiro said as he inclined his head to the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku.

Fugaku crossed his arms and nodded his acceptance of the apology once Hachiro raised his head. "It was no trouble. After all, family does look out for one another." Fugaku said while looking at this eldest son with an unreadable expression. He should have known that Itachi was only acting in the best interest of the clan when he saved the girl on the street. He must have noticed that she was the future Higurashi matriarch and saved her to improve the image of the Uchiha clan.

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Kagome blinked in awe as she watched her elder cousin walk into one of the Higurashi family's elaborately decorated ceremonial rooms. At the moment, only the most prominent figures of both the Uchiha and Higurashi clans were assembled in the room to discuss the finer points of the arranged marriage between Itachi and Kikyo.

At the back of the room, Hachiro sat across from Fugaku, who had Itachi sitting on his right flank and his wife sitting slightly behind him along with Sasuke. Kagome sat behind Hachiro along with her twin brother, Souta, though he seemed to be shunning Kagome for indirectly making him look all over town for her.

Kagome watched as Kikyo gracefully seated herself, dressed in a formal white kimono that greatly resembled a wedding dress, and lowered her head as she bowed low to Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha family. "It is a pleasure to meet you honored mother and father." Kikyo spoke while her head was lowered, showing her respect to her future in-laws. She straightened her posture and removed her veil. Once done, she folded her hands in her lap and lowered her eyes politely. No one seemed to notice that she never once glanced at the man she was to marry.

Makoto Uchiha watched Kikyo with great interest; she was expecting a stronger willed girl to marry her stoic son. However knowing that her husband was a strict man, she knew that he thought this girl was the perfect match for his prodigious son. Although Makoto was slightly dis appointed with her future daughter's meekness, she wasn't too surprised. Kikyo was quite famous for her polite manners.

'At least my grandbabies will be beautiful...' Makoto thought happily once Kikyo had removed her veil and exposed her fine countenance.

Sasuke merely glanced at Kikyo; of course his father would choose only the best woman to be the bride of Itachi. Sasuke glanced at his father and then looked across the room to look at the next Higurashi girl. 'As usual, father leaves me Itachi's scraps.' He thought rudely as he observed the way the girl fidgeted. Sasuke completely ignored the fact that the girl was very pretty.

Fugaku was pleased with Kikyo; she was a model woman with her attractive face and demure and submissive attitude. His eyes flitted between Itachi and Kikyo, noting that they both had unreadable expressions. 'A perfect match.' Fugaku thought with pride. He looked forward to seeing the bright future of the Uchiha clan once Itachi was married and could lead the great clan to a prosperous future.

Hachiro spared his daughter one fond glance before he turned to Fugaku and began to talk about some concerns over what business privileges the marriage between the two families would entail.

Kagome tuned out her uncle and the Uchiha clan head. She was never one to listen to such dry talk and she became bored easily. Unfortunately Souta was ignoring her at the moment so Kagome began to observe her future in-laws.

She noticed that Fugaku seemed much like her uncle, yet she did not know that he was much stricter than Hachiro. Makoto looked like an interesting woman. Kagome's eyes widened when Makoto met her eyes and smiled cheerily. Kagome returned her smile eagerly and then began to scrutinize the Uchiha heirs. The younger boy wore alight scowl and when he noticed Kagome looking at him, he rudely turned his head away and began to ignore her. Kagome fought back the urge to stick her tongue out at the boy in response. Instead she huffed lightly and turned away from the rude boy. 'Stupid bastard!' Kagome thought scathingly with a word that she heard one of the male servants use.

Itachi was not paying very close attention to the talk between his father and his future father in-law. He already knew what problems they were going to discuss and what solutions they would come up with. To relieve his boredom, Itachi began observing the interesting younger Higurashi girl. He noticed her watching his family and it was amusing to view her change in expressions as she made opinions on his family. When Kagome became offended by Sasuke's actions and turned away from him, Itachi almost began to chuckle. Her face was so easy to read that Itachi could almost read her thoughts.

Kagome looked at Itachi, only to see him already looking at her with unhidden amusement in his eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise before she smiled at him in a sweetly innocent way.

Itachi was taken aback at Kagome's carefree expression. He was not used to seeing such an unguarded smile; even his excitable mother only smiled at those she considered close family. The corners of Itachi's mouth almost turned up in a smile in response to Kagome before he quickly caught himself and made his expression an unreadable mask.

"Itachi, tell Hachiro what you have found near the borders of the capitol city recently." Fugaku said, catching Itachi's attention. Most would have expected Itachi to have been caught off guard. However the opposite was true as he was expecting his father to make him join in on the conversation sometime during the meeting. His father was anything if not predictable. "I have noticed that what appears to be an increasing amount of crime in the capitol." Itachi said decisively as he drew his eyes in Hachiro's direction.

Hachiro nodded in agreement with Itachi's statement, though he did not really see the importance of such an observation. Itachi calmly took his time getting to the point of his unofficial report. Hachiro waited patiently for the younger man to elaborate, he had learned the value of patience through a hard lesson in life.

"I began to investigate the reason behind such a rise in delinquency." Itachi paused for a moment before he continued. "I have found that the culprit to the difficulties plaguing the city is a vexatious criminal by the name of Onigumo."

Hachiro's face hardened into a semblance of a warrior-like countenance. His old war general persona came to life as he began interrogating Itachi about the criminal Onigumo. The mere name of the criminal sent a feeling of foreboding through Hachiro and made his old scar ache in sharp intervals of pain.

Kikyo's eyes widened in surprise at the name mentioned. She had briefly been acquainted with the man and had even tended to his injuries before he had disappeared quite some time ago.

Boom! Itachi was immediately on his feet and on guard just as a loud explosion echoed throughout the room. Hachiro and Fugaku were quick to follow Itachi's lead as they too stood tense and wary. Kagome and Souta were surprised by the loud noise and just a bit frightened while Sasuke and Makoto followed the example of Fugaku and Itachi.

The door was quickly slammed open as the guards standing at the entrance to the private room burst in and immediately began checking the safety of the Higurashi and Uchiha clan heads. Hachiro brushed aside their concern and immediately began demanding a report on what was happening.

The guard, faced with the steely eyed glares of both Fugaku and Hachiro, not to mention Itachi, stuttered as he nervously began reporting what information was relayed to him. "S-sir!" he saluted before both clan leaders began to grow impatient with him.

"Speak." Hachiro barked at the stuttering man.

"R-right. We believe that dissidents have somehow managed to make it into the city a-and are now campaigning through the streets!"

Author's Note:

This is my first story, so please tell me if there are any mistakes with character names or personalities. I intend to make this a long story, however updates will be sparse as my school has a block on this site and I'm sure that stories can't be uploaded with a mobile phone…