Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Kudozaki Lucine. The rest belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
| Uchiha Itachi |
I watched as my little brother ran up the stairs cheerfully with Lucine - our new family member - with my mother close behind. It was bathing time. Although Lucine had only been here for two months, it was obvious that my Otouto [1] treasured her greatly. I hadn't gotten the chance to know her yet, due to all the missions. I've only exchanged some words with her, so I know nothing about her.
"Itachi." my father called from across the table to get my attention. "I suppose you already know what I'm about to tell you." he said with a small smirk, taking a sip of his tea.
"Hn." was my response. The decision was made one month ago. He never told me, but I figured it out myself. I saw the way he looked at Lucine.
He crossed his arms, "I suggest you get to know her. Take the week off, and spend time with her." there was a satisfied glimmer in his eyes. Then he smirked, "When you're both of age, you will marry."
I just nodded, not thinking much of it. This was inevitable, I knew he'd pick a bride for me sooner or later. If Otouto liked her, she couldn't be that bad.
***
| Uchiha Sasuke |
As soon as we walked inside the household, we were met with Aniki. He stood there, as if he was waiting for us. Lucine had only met Itachi a few times. He was almost always busy training, on missions, etc. that's why he almost never has time for us.
I grinned and ran into his chest, hugging him tightly, "You're here early, Aniki."
He patted my head, "Okaeri, Otouto." then he looked down at Lucine that was standing behind me, staring blankly at Itachi. "And Lucine-san." he added, earning a nod in acknowledgement from her. "I've got this whole week free, to have more time to get to know our new family member."
"Really?!" I almost bursted in happiness at the news. I was going to spend one whole week with my two current favorite people in the world.
Playing hide and seek with Itachi and Lucine was fun. Itachi actually went slightly easy on us when hiding, but whenever he was the seeker he almost immediately found us. Especially Lucine, but that wasn't a surprise since she isn't the best at hiding. Always saying that "hiding from people is rude". I wonder who taught her that. In fact, I'm really curious about where she was before she came to us, and why. Who were her parents? How did they die? Is she even from Konoha?She never mentioned anything about her past, my parents either. I haven't asked her yet, in fear of upsetting her. Maybe she's still sensitive about their death.
Currently, I was hiding under a bush, waiting for Lucine, since she was the current seeker. However, she was taking her time.
| Uchiha Itachi |
"I found you, Itachi-san." she said teasingly, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at me. I hid on top of a mildly-high tree branch.
"Indeed." I commented, jumping down in front of her. Seeing as this was the first time I've been alone with her, it was a perfect opportunity to get to know her better and see what she's really like. I looked down at her small form. She was really short, but still one inch taller than Sasuke. Her face was expressionless, just like mine.
I decided to experiment with her, "I made it easy for you, though." I lied, just to see her reaction. I actually went harder on her than I do with Sasuke, to test her. I didn't conceal my chakra signature though.
She nodded, "Thank you."
That surprised me. I expected her to look annoyed, or too glare childishly at me like someone her age would do. I decided to push her further, "You used more time than I expected to find me." I taunted, suppressing a smirk.
She tilted her head to the side, eyeing me in curiosity, as if she was analyzing me. Her eyes searched for something in my eyes, then as if she found it, she blinked. "Forgive me, it's still easy for me to get lost in the forest." she explained calmly, her voice monotonous.
I smirked. Otou-san was right about her after all. Mature, polite and proper."Is that so? I'll help you find Otouto then." I offered, holding up my arm.
"Thank you, Itachi-san." she replied in a robotic way, as if she was... programmed to say it. She linked her arm with mine, accepting my held out arm, "I already know where he is hiding though."
She was right. She lead me directly to Sasuke's hiding place. Sasuke was good at hiding, so the only way for her to know his hiding place was for her to sense his chakra. It was unusual, for someone her age to know how to do that.
I watched as Sasuke whined, accusing Lucine of cheating while she calmly explained that he was just bad at hiding. It was clear in her eyes that she was teasing him, while Sasuke stayed oblivious, arguing further like the child he is.
I looked at Lucine, watching how her honey colored eyes crinkled in amusement, and how the corner of her lips tugged to the side, as if she was fighting a smile. Of all times I've been around her, I've never seen her smile even once. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder if I'll one day make her smile like my little brother is almost succeeded in doing now.
It was like that for the rest of the week. I'll be with Sasuke and Lucine, and join them in whatever game they were playing. Quite liking the time I spent with them, I took another week off. Unfortunately for me, I barely had any alone time with Lucine. Sasuke hogged her all to himself, even at night. If he doesn't have "his Lucine" sleeping next to him, he'll throw a tantrum.
Luckily for me - but unluckily for Otouto - he caught the flu one day. He was unable to say a complete sentence without coughing, and it was really contagious. As a result, Lucine wasn't allowed to be next to him, much to Sasuke's disappointment.
"What would you like to do, Lucine-san?" I asked, watching as she slowly swung back and forth on the swing, me sitting on the other swing next to her.
She hummed, and looked up at the sky, "It is a sunny day, going out for ice cream sounds nice." she offered, looking at me for approval.
I nodded and stood up from the swing and offered my arm, "Ice cream it is then." She stood up as well and linked her arm with mine.
Our walk to get ice cream was silent, which Lucine didn't seem to mind. Her mind looked like it was focused on something else, since her eyes were glazed. I didn't ask what she was thinking about, even though I was curious. I wonder if she's thinking about her old family. That thought only made me more curious.
Suddenly, I felt a tug on my arm that was strong enough to make me stop in my tracks. I turned around in surprise, knowing that it was Lucine that had abruptly stopped. She stood still, her arm unlinked from mine, and was looking up.
"Lucine-san?" I called out in confusion, but she didn't even look at me. And that was when I understood that something had managed to capture her entire attention. I let my eyes follow the direction she was looking, just to see a house.
It was not a small house, but not big either. Light yellow in color. It looked somewhat old, like it hadn't been inhabited in months. Nonetheless, Lucine's complete attention was centered on the house. Her expression was a blank canvas, but there was an unreadable look in her eyes.
"Lucine-san?" I called out again, gently touching her shoulder.
She didn't look at me, but she spoke, "It's my old home." her tone was low, barely a whisper. I almost couldn't hear her.
Her old home? I looked back at the house. She lived here?That, I didn't know. In fact, I know nothing of her past, except that she's an orphan. Just when I was about to ask her if she wanted to talk about it, she started telling me herself.
"I killed my parents." she stated randomly, still keeping her eyes on the house. I widened my eyes in shock and confusion. "When I was born, my heart wasn't beating. I was dead. So my mother gave her life chakra to me, to revive me. She died in the process. In other words, I killed her."
I shifted uncomfortably where I stood. She was saying that so blankly and curtly, as if she feels nothing about that matter. This is definitely not healthy, especially with the way she blames herself. "You didn't-" I was going to defend her, saying that it was not her fault, but she interrupted me.
"My father didn't blame me either. He raised me with love, and never held it against me. I loved him. And he loved me, or... so I thought." she looked down at her feet, "My father was an alcoholic... and whenever he drank, he'd say hurtful things, calling me a murderer... It'd hurt, but I justified it with the alcohol, telling myself that he wasn't being himself. Only recently, did I realize that I was being a fool. Father always abused me verbally, when he was drunk... Until... until one day it got physical. Just that that one time, he was sober. Not a drop of alcohol was in his body."
I looked at her with horrified eyes, left speechless. Never once had I considered what she had went through before she came to us, and it somehow made me feel selfish. However, her story wasn't over.
"He tried to kill me. And he would have, if I hadn't ran away. I escaped to the forest, out of Konoha. I was there for a whole day. All I could do was cry like an idiot, sulking, feeling sorry for myself." she clenched her fists and closed her eyes. "I stayed in denial, convincing myself that he loved me, he was just not himself. So I did a mistake and returned to my house. And when I came back, I was welcomed with a strong stench, coming from the living room..." she took a shaky breath.
"The rope was tightly wrapped around his neck, while his feet hovered over the floor. I did it was too late, he had already hanged himself killed my mother, and my father hated me for it all that time. As a result, my father died as well. If I wasn't born, they would have lived.I'm a murderer." a cold, humorless laugh left her lips, it made shivers run down my spine. "After that, I lost the ability to feel, to cry, to smile. I felt nothing anymore, empty inside and out." She turned to look at me, her eyes cold and lifeless. Instead of their honey color, they were now a dull light brown. She was an empty shell.
I looked down at her, feeling a foreign, new feeling developing in my stomach, moving up to my chest. My heart ached for her. I wanted to help her, take away all her pain. I wanted to make her feel, cry and smile again. Acting on impulse, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her to my chest.
She immediately stiffened uncomfortably. "Itachi-san-" she started, tense in my arms, but I didn't let her.
"It's rude to hide from people, Lucine. You said so yourself." I whispered. Her face hidden in my shirt, pressed into my chest. "Cry, Lucine. I know there is pain in your chest that you're suppressing. Cry what's left of it, don't hide your tears." She tensed, as if she was shocked. Her shoulders trembled, and I could feel her teeth clench tightly against each other. I hugged her tighter, holding one hand on top of her head, "Nobody will see you cry like this."
It took time before she let herself relax, but eventually, I felt her relax more and more, until she gripped the sides of my shirt. After some minutes, I could feel my shirt dampen.
After that day, I felt a change in our relationship. Lucine was more around me, more talkative and open. Although she never smiled, I knew that she was happy.
Strangely enough, I felt a change in me as well. Whenever I looked upon her, a warm feeling enveloped my chest, and I was unable to keep my eyes off her. I noticed that it was difficult to keep my hands to myself as well, and that I wanted her close to me all the time.
Of course, I had already figured out what the feeling was. It was just weird to actually experience it myself. The uneven beating of my heart, the desire for her touch, the warmth in my chest, the constant crave of her presence... it was such a different feeling to what I felt for Sasuke.
I've fallen in love with her.