A/N: To all of you concerned about Kakashi's OOC-ness in the previous chapter, I'd like to say that it's actually common knowledge for those old enough to remember what happened to Kurenai's family, so it's not as though he's telling them a big secret. And if that is not satisfactory, then I am sorry I made a favorite character OOC unintentionally.

Chapter 5: A Visit Home

"What do you kids want?" Tsume asked as she dismissed the seven dogs she had been training with a wave of her hand as her son and his two friends bound out of the forest into her yard. It was rare of Kiba to bring friends home with him after training.

"We were wondering if you could tell us about Kurenai-sensei." Kiba said as Akamaru crawled out of his jacket to follow the other dogs for some play time. His mother turned and gave him a confused look, making Hinata laugh inwardly at how much Kiba resembled his mother.

"I'm sure by now you know much more about Kurenai-sama than I do."

"No," Kiba realized he really needed to work on his speech skills, "I mean, what happened to her family?"

"Oh, that. Well, you kids were about five at the time, and Kurenai had been married for about half a year. Then, when she and her husband came back to Konoha to visit someone robbed and murdered her parents and husband. They never found the killer. After that she moved back to the village and restarted her career as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf." She looked over to her son and his teammates, "Does that help?"

"Yeah, I guess. But, how did Kurenai-sensei escape?"

"I think it was said she had been out catching up with Anko. You know those two used to be best friends, right? And when she got home a bunch of valuable crap those Yuuhis covet was gone and her family was dead."

Kurenai had called Anko the previous day, excited to see her old friend after about half a year. She had promised to tell her stories of being a jounin, catch her up on all the village news, everything she had missed when she moved away, in return for Kurenai buying her some dango. The married woman had laughed and agreed to the deal, telling her to meet at her parents' house so she could surprise them first.

She felt a little rebellious as she left her home after promising her husband she'd be there all weekend. He was going on a business meeting with his father that would take him away until Monday, and had wanted to make sure she would be okay without him. She had told him she probably wouldn't even leave the house, but then thought that it would be nice to visit her old village, see her parents, and catch up with Anko. So a few hours after kissing her husband good-bye she packed up a few things and made her way to the Hidden Village of Leaf.

As soon as she walked up to her home she knew something was wrong. Genjutsu being her forte she could easily recognize its use. She performed a simple hand seal, breaking the illusionary technique that had been surrounding her home, and immediately heard a woman's scream. Her mother was screaming for help.

Fighting every instinct to shout to her mother that she was coming, Kurenai quickly and stealthily made her way through the large house as she followed the terrified cries. There, in the living room, she saw her father on the floor, body surrounded in blood, and her mother, on her knees, crying, pleading with the tall figure in a black cloak looming in front of her. Before Kurenai could perform a hand seal, grab something to throw, or make a single move, a kunai was brought down, slicing her mother's throat, spilling rich, crimson blood onto the white carpet as the pitiful cries were silenced. Before the body hit the ground Kurenai had formed a complicated hand seal, all her ninja skills rushing back to her in a nearly overwhelming jolt as she watched her parents die.

Before the murderer became aware of another living presence in the room he was caught in her genjutsu, arms and legs held fast by the limbs of a tree that materialized out of nothing.

"What the hell?" The man shouted as he struggled, and for the first time Kurenai's heart literally stopped. She knew that voice. She loved that voice. Her mind screamed as she took the steps forward necessary to see his face, to confirm the end of her known existence. He had been so surprised by his sudden capture he had dropped his kunai, which Kurenai numbly kneeled down to pick up. Her mother's blood was still on the edge. She looked at the woman lying on the floor, knowing without checking that there was no life left in her parents. Her hand tightened around the warm metal as she desperately tried to recite the mantra "A ninja never shows emotions," in her still turbulent mind.

"Kurenai?"

Hearing her name said by the voice she loved and now hated more than any other in the world was too much for her fragile mentality.

"Henso-" She was barely able to speak his name, but somehow forced it through her lips. The screams in her mind and heart were silenced as she turned her demon-red eyes on her husband. Eyes that no longer held any warmth or love. Eyes that silenced his voice before he could say another word to her.

She didn't have to ask him why, she already knew. The power of money and greed was a terrifying force, and she had fooled herself into believing love was stronger. Did he even love her? Was everything in their life together an act to get to this point? Had he planned on killing her next, perhaps in her sleep, with one arm around her waist, the other holding a kunai to her throat?

She would never know, because instead of asking any of the questions surging through her brain she tightened her genjutsu's hold on him and brought the kunai up to his neck, the neck she used to place sweet kisses when he came home at the end of the day.

"This is the end," she whispered hoarsely before plunging the sharp blade into his throat. His eyes went wide, then lifeless as his body slumped forward. After taking a deep breath she released the genjutsu that had been holding him up. His corpse crumpled to the floor, blood joining her parents' in staining the white carpet.

For the first time in this whole ordeal Kurenai lost her composure. She collapsed to her knees, her body leaning forward and shaking as her crimson eyes became unnaturally wide. She was breathing in ragged gasps when she heard footsteps running through the parlor.

"Kurenai? You here?" and then a more panicked, "Are you okay?" as she caught the sent of freshly spilled blood in the air.

"Anko-" she breathed the name out, barely able to recognize her own voice.

A/N: Sorry to just cut it off like that, but it was getting a bit long and I wanted to get this chapter out soon to appease a certain Dragonzair, and I don't have enough time to get everything out right now. So hopefully there will be another update relatively soon, I'm thinking by the end of the week, maybe.

And yes, this may be a bit cliché and overused, but, meh, I liked it, and I thought it worked well with my vision of Kurenai.