Butterfly and Moth
Chapter 0 – Prologue
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(see possible warnings + info at the end)
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When Akari Hyuuga and her family moved to Konoha, she was five years old.
The first person she talked to was Inori Uchiha, who was her age and stood between the two founders of the village when Akari stopped in front of the big gates with her father and clan. Madara, Hashirama and Tobirama were welcoming her family. And Inori was welcoming her.
"You are wearing a really beautiful dress!" Inori ran to her and threw one of the biggest smiles Akari had ever seen at her.
"Thank you. My mother made it for me," Akari answered.
"Really? That's cool. I wish my mother could also make dresses for me. But she's dead." Weirdly enough, there was still a smile on her face.
Akari's lips dropped. "My mother is dead too now." It had only been a few days, maybe a bit over a week, since Akari had lost her mother. Her death was the reason her father abandoned their village, their home in the Land of Water, and moved to Konoha.
Konoha was the first big shinobi village that promised peace. The first village that united clans. Here, everyone was a family, no matter their blood. Or at least that was the vision Hashirama Senju had when founding it.
Akari couldn't imagine living in this place yet. Except for a river running through the village, there was no water all. It was far away from the ocean Akari had grown up with and lay hidden deep in a forest. There were houses everywhere, and so were people. Even those who weren't shinobi lived there among them.
Civilians living in a shinobi village, it was odd, her father had said. Yet here they were.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Inori said. Her head slightly nodded towards the Hyuuga's clan head. She'd almost pointed her finger at him but remembered the good-mannerism lessons. "But you still have your father, right?"
Akari nodded. Her father was busy talking to Konoha's leader a bit further up, a tall man with long dark hair. The little girl stayed behind with her clan, her family, eyeing the many new people in front of her suspiciously.
Hashirama laughed out so loud the girl flinched. He didn't look anything like Akari had imagined it on their way to Konoha. Her father told her he was a living legend, one of the strongest shinobi alive. Her vision of a born leader and living legend did not include loud laughing in public and cracking jokes.
She looked at the man standing next to him, arms crossed in front of him, Madara Uchiha. He had even longer hair, pitch black. He was the opposite of Hashirama. No smile found his lips. Yet like Hashirama, he was another legend.
"Is he your father?" Akari asked the little girl. Him and Inori looked much alike, and he'd stood next to her like a father stood next to his child.
Inori shook her head and explained that her father had been killed on the battlefield. So was her mother. Madara Uchiha was her uncle, the man who'd raised her.
The third man standing with them looked the strangest to Akari. He had grey hair and red eyes. It wasn't something Akari had ever seen before. She'd grown up in her clan's village, surrounded by people with lilac eyes and dark hair. Her father had told her that Tobirama was the Hokage's brother and advisor, yet they didn't look like brothers at all. If anything, Hashirama and Madara looked alike, and Tobirama and Madara behaved alike.
Akari couldn't quite pin down why yet, but she could feel there was something different about Tobirama, something that set him apart form the two founders of Konoha. Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe there was something that set the two founders apart from him, from all of them.
"Hey, do you want me to show you around Konoha?" Inori grabbed Akari's hand, interrupting her thoughts. "The village is reeeeally big." She used her free hand to try and show just how big Konoha was. "Can I, uncle? Can I take her?"
Akari didn't want to go with her, but rejecting her offer seemed too impolite. Konoha sure was big. And the idea of walking around this unknown village in a foreign country with a girl from another clan appalled her. She'd learned not to trust strangers. Strangers killed you. Strangers killed her mother. How she was supposed to live in this village filled with strangers she didn't know.
Inori still pleaded to her uncle.
Madara looked at Hashirama, then at Akari's father. Hashirama instantly nodded with a big smile, but Akari's father was more hesitant. Hashirama gave him a reassuring clap on the shoulder, one that lead to an awkward silence. The Hyuuga's clan head was a stiff man, and a man who wasn't used to anyone acting that casual around him.
Akari was sure he'd forbid her to go. Yet he cleared his throat and allowed his daughter a quick look.
Two Hyuuga members stepped forth and followed Akari, who was being dragged towards Konoha's big gates.
"Eh, why are they coming too?" Inori asked, stopping.
"They are my guards," Akari explained.
"The Hokage said the village is safe. You don't need them here."
"But… they are always with me." For a moment, Akari feared she would have to let go of her guards as well.
The two girls were now right next to Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha now, the three men that stood on top of Uchiha. Akari stared up at them, still wondering why her heart started to beat heavily in their vicinity. All she could tell was that Hashirama smelled of earth and forest. It was almost the exact same smell that had been stuck in her nose all the way through the woods to Konoha. It was a new smell.
Hashirama smiled at her when he realised she was looking at him. The girl quickly turned away, scared she'd be scolded for staring.
Her eyes wandered to his brother, who, just like Madara, had not smiled once yet. His scent was more familiar to Akari. It was missing the salt of the ocean, but he did smell of water.
Inori frowned at her new friends and the two guards standing behind her, but she was fine continuing with them.
Akari was so distracted by the three men that she stumbled over her own feet when following Inori. She was falling, her guards immediately reached out to her, but they were too slow. Someone else had been faster.
Madara caught the little girl before she could fall over.
A sudden feeling overcame her, one she could not name at all. It was like an immense energy surrounded her, originating in Madara. The power was immense. Immense and dark.
Akari pulled away so hard and quickly that she now fell backwards, away from the stranger, and landed on her butt instead. She stared up at Madara, her eyes big with shock.
It was quiet around them for a moment.
Akari's guards quickly helped her stand up after the initial wonder what had happed passed.
An awkward tension built up between the adults.
Hashirama did his best to try and lighten the mood again by laughing. "Madara, you really need to take better care of those beasts of yours. Don't let them scare children."
Akari's father eyed his daughter. There was a small frown on his face. "I assume you two got those tailed beasts under control. My clan used to harvest their powers too, but it didn't end well."
"We do, of course. There's no need to worry." Hashirama was speaking in a more serious tone now. "Madara and I never had any issues with our tailed beasts."
"I didn't think she'd be able to sense them," Madara calmly said.
"It really is impressive." Hashirama kneeled next to Akari, showing her a thumbs-up.
The girl didn't know what that gesture was supposed to mean, and she also didn't understand what was supposedly so impressive. How could anyone not have felt that energy?
"Akari is my pride. A bright one." Her father put a hand on her head.
She wanted to hold onto him, wrap her arms around his leg. There were too many strangers around, strangers she found scary. But Akari kept standing straight, hands folded in front of her, just like she'd been taught.
"In Konoha, we are all family." Hashirama said. "We show this by training the children of other clans, teaching them all we know about this world. It has long been decided that Inori Uchiha here will be my student one day. I might take your daughter as a student too. An Uchiha and a Hyuuga, seems like a fine match to me. But only with your approval, of course."
It took her father a moment to nod and say, "It would be an honour, Lord Hokage."
"Can we finally go now?" Inori said impatiently. She took Akari's hand again, and proudly led her through to gates into Konoha, her home.
That day, Inori Uchiha decided that Akari Hyuuga ought to be her new best friend. Hashirama Senju decided that Akari Hyuuga ought to be his student. And her father decided that Konohagakure was to be his daughter's new home. Akari would grow up as a shinobi of the Leaf Village.
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A/N:
Hi there!
This is an AU, the same AU I use for all my Naruto stories (you can see my profile in case you care). If you have read (or are reading) "The Bastard Princess", then welcome back, because this is basically the back story to that one. If you haven't read that one yet, you better don't click on it, because that story has major spoilers for this one (and I kind of want to rewrite that one anyway).
Next chapter will take place around 15 years after this one. In the first few chapters, I mainly want to focus on introducing the characters and setting, since there are quite a few OCs. Romance won't happen for a bit, but it's not exactly the usual slow burn romance.
Some warnings: I consider rather big age gaps as normal in the setting of this story. They are a thing but not really addressed. Mostly just mentioning this because I know some people don't like that sort of stuff. Also, this story is tagged "tragedy" for a very good reason. Don't expect a lovey-dovey romance with a happily-ever-after.
