Chapter 3:

The Night of Red Eyes

I stood opposite of Sasuki, the dark-colored sheathe of my katana in hand, in the training grounds of Konohogakure. "Ready yourself. And be ready to face a sword rather than jutsu." I held my hand just above the hilt of my sword as I spoke, my eyes completely shut.

I could see the scoff from my opponent as well as I could hear it. "You're going down in seconds with your eyes closed like that. I'll use one jutsu and end this!"

I slid my left foot backward and andled it, while also leaning my body slightly foward and to the right, ready for a reverse-handed unsheathing slash. Which that move being one of my favorites to confuse people. "Begin."

"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!!!" Sasuki screamed as I could hear her hands furiously makig hand signs.

I waited for the sound of the fireball, not daring to make a move until. Then with a burst of speed, my hand commected with the hult of the sword and unsheathed it with a lunging slash that silenced the sound of the approaching fireball. The heat from the former jutsu blowing past my face, blowing strands of my raven-colored hair backwards.

But I didn't get a moment more to relaxz as I smelled Sasuki's fragrance on the breeze blowing behind me. I quickly ducked, hearing the whizz of a weapon passing just where my neck would have been.

"Not fair!" she hissed from my right side, revealing her location and next position at the same time.

I raised my sword, immediately the sharp impact from another weapon exploded in my eardrum. Immediately I felt a kick to my side, right where I was momentarily deafened, flimging back from the impact and into a slide. I flipped my grip on my sword, changing it to a standard grip. "My turn."

I could hear the panic in her voice starting to rise as she yelled, "You weren't fighting back?!?"

I took a deep breath and slashed in the direction of her voice, immediately feeling the blade make contact with another metal weapon. I kicked outward with my left foot, which hit something and sent it flying backwards.

"Ow! No fair!" she groaned, "That's it for today, I can't fight that."

I sighed, sheathing my sword. The rush of confidence and my heightened sensory leaving as soon as my hand left the hilt. I opened my eyes, approaching the girl lying flat on the ground while extending my hand. "Good fight. You're getting better."

She took my hand and I pulled her to her feet, where she brushed off the dust from her clothes. "Yeah right. If I can't take you with your eyes closed then I'm doomed!"

I chuckled at that remark. "Yet if you would've aimed for my head instead of kicking me in the ribs you would've won." I pointed out, causing her to despair over her rather dumb choice of attack.

We headed back to our compound after that, Sasuki was so depressed I promised to buy her some Ichiraku Ramen tomorrow for lunch, which instantly lifted her spirits.

I had taken a shower and eaten a light snack. Which my mother and Sasuki agreed was more than a kid named 'Naruto' could handle. But I didn't have a single idea who he was, so I just shrugged and went back to my room. I placed my sword on the mantle beside my bed and laid down atop the covers, as I was too lazy to cover up.

My consciousness slowly drifted off into the reaches of reality we call 'sleep'.

But as I swung my sword in my dreams, I saw the sight of a pair of crimson eyes staring at me in the shadows as night fell. When I awoke in a cold sweat, I caught me breath, realizing I'd just had a nightmare.

'It's a nightmare. But one I've had numerous times. Recently, they've gotten worse.' I thought to myself as I swung my legs out of the bed.

But as soon as my feet touched the cold wooden floor, I knew something was up. The air seemed heavy with the smell of... blood.

I silently grabbed my katana and unsheathed it as a shadow passed in the hallway putside my room. A limp hand fell out of the doorway it had come from as blood pooled from the room.

My sword felt strangely cold in my white-knuckled grip, as if it had been frozen in ice.

My thoughts weren't in any better shape, as I felt as if a shadow was hanging over my head. Perhaps that's what it feels like to know you're about to die. But ignoring the obvious hanging feeling, I cleared my thoughts and began channeling my chakra to my ears, eyes, and nose as well as my feet.

Sure enough, I felt an approaching figure at the end of the hallway. I made the split second decision to assume my opponent would expect me to prepare myself and ambush them. So I did just the opposite, I dove out of the doorway swinging, catching the perpetrator off guard and slashing a good cut across his torso.

The figure slid back and mumbled something unitelligible. Then he patted his Anbu armor that was cleaved in two, pulling his hand away covered in his own blood. He looked up, and made me drop my guard for a moment in shock.

To my left, I caught a glimpse of the lifeless body of my mother, as well as a pool of her own blood that had already began to pool around my feet. I averted my gaze to the assasin as to not lose control and end up crying.

The man standing before me was Itachi Uchiha, my elder cousin and the brother of Sasuki. A man I'd looked up to for his abilities, humbleness, calm persona, and even his occasional ignoring of Sasuki's pleas to go with him on missions. He was rumored to be the next heir of the Uchiha Clan, but now he stood before me with a look on his face that told me everything.

There was no clan to inherit.

He let his arms fall to his sides and stared at me, his only words were, "Keep my sister safe. And from here on, hide your lineage. They'll kill both of you if they find out you still exist. According to the records, you died tonight. Keep her safe, Kensei."

I swallowed hard, nodding slowly. I stepped back and placed the sword rather lazily back inside the sheathe and laid it in the pool of blood on the floor, where it seemed to soak in the crimson liquid. I turned back to Itachi asking a question while holding back tears, "I-is Shisu-" I couldn't even get the entire question out without choking up.

Itachi balled his fist, snapping the hilt of the sword he held in his hand like a twig. "The bastard Danzo, he... he killed-"

I cut him off by putting my hand on his shoulder, which was ironic considering he's a good three feet taller than me. "Then there will be no chance anyone finds out. I'll make sure Sasuki is safe." I said with a feeling of anger boiling in my veins. I turned away to gather a few of the bare necessities as well as to rip the bracelet off my wrist and toss it to the blood-soaked floor. The moment the bracelet splashed in the blood, Itachi spun me around and pressed a small bag into my hand.

He explained what was in the bag, and what to do with it when I was ready to. "It's only right for you to have it. Now go out of the window, stick to the shadows and leave the village for a few days or until you feel ready to return." He turned and walked down the hallway, not caring as he stepped through blood that covered the floor like an ugly crimson-velvet sheet.

I opened the window and slipped out of the compound and over the village wall as Itachi directed, not once looking back as a single tear splashed to the dirt far below me.

Four Days Later...

The Shinobi on guard duty yawned as he sifted through paper after paper of records of who had entered and left the village that day. He reminisced on the days when he would go out on missions with his team, back before the village was nearly wiped off the face of the planet by the nine-tailed demon. He didn't notice the kid until he'd been standing there for three whole minutes. He wore simple, yet functional clothes. A dark green T-shirt, black pants, and a ring sporting a pair of swords crossed on a red background. But his feet were bare, strangely. His hair was dark brown and his skin was a slight tan, as if he's been no stranger to the sun. His eyes were a bit scarey, one was a dark amber hue while the other was jet back with a deep scar running from the inside of his right eyebrow, over his odd eye, and reaching to his cheekbone. When he finally shook himself of the shock, he immediately asked him if he was from another village.

"No. I have lived in the forests all my life. I was directed to come to this village to attend an academy seeking to become a shinobi." the boy answered.

'The boy looks about twelve, maybe slightly younger. But his posture and manner of speaking are much more mature than that. I'll just send him to the Hokage's office and be done with it.' The Shinobi mentally shrugged off the responsibility and relayed his decision and directions to the kid.

The kid thanked him for the directions and proceeded into the village, heading straight for the large building on the opposite side of the village.

The guard felt an odd fuzzy feeling in his mind, as if he'd drank a lot and his mind had been playing tricks on him. He shook his head and came to the decision he'd decline the offer to go drinking after duty and go back home to sleep.

All the while, the kid was walking toward the Hokage's office with a Sharinghan activated in his right eye. The Mangekyo of which named Kotoamatsukami.