AN: Please enjoy this little, slightly creepy, creation of mine.

Chapter One: Chimei-tekina Adopts a Daughter

"Ryuketsu, are you serious?" Chimei-tekina asked, resisting the urge to rub her temples. Sitting before her was her ten year old cousin, looking years older than he really was due to the serious look in his eyes. She looked him over, noting that his usual messy red hair was even messier, and darker looking. She could only assume that he had run into some trouble while visiting Konohagakure. His bright red eyes, normally shining with mischief, were empty and cold. Yes, he had most definitely run into trouble.

Trouble that had ended in death, if his darker than usual hair was anything to go by.

"I am, Chimei-neechan." Chimei blinked. Ryuketsu never called her by her first name, always preferring to call her Mei-neechan. Even in clan meetings. He liked to think that they were close enough for him to get away with it, and he was right. Due to their relationship, she always let him call her that, despite their grandmother's stern reprimands.

"Were there any survivors...besides the girl?" Chimei asked, hoping that the little girl that Ryuketsu had brought back wasn't the only survivor. She prayed that her instinct wasn't right.

"...No...I checked every...person thoroughly. The attackers hadn't left anyone alive, besides the girl." Ryuketsu stated. Despite his age, he was an experienced killer. Everyone in his clan that was eight and older was a natural killer. It was in their nature. Well, except for his little siblings. Sairento and Ueta were only seven, so they were not included.

"Explain everything. From the minute you found the caravan all the way up to when you arrived back." Chimei calmly stated, wondering if she should send a messenger crow out to Konoha's Hokage, to inform him of the unfortunate situation. She wanted guidance from an experienced leader to point her in the right direction. Ryuketsu sighed to himself, closing his eyes and started to explain everything. He knew Chimei was only doing this so she would make the right decision, but dammit, that didn't mean he wanted to give a detailed mission report, especially when he couldn't remember everything down to the last detail. But for his clan leader, he would try his best.

"I left Konoha's gates promptly at seven this evening. With my previous mission finished, I headed in the immediate direction of the clan village. By eight this evening, I was two hours away from the village. My journey was quiet, uneventful, until nine this evening. I was near the main road, when I came across the smell of burning flesh and old blood. I stopped and sensed around me, expecting an ambush. When I found nothing but animals, I immediately left the cover of the trees and landed in front of the a burning wagon. The burning flesh came from the horses," Ryuketsu watched Chimei's eyes narrow. She hated animal abuse with everything in her being. "Strewn across the road were dead bodies. I checked everyone I found for a pulse, even a weak one. I found none. I repeated this process, until I came to the middle wagon. It was relatively unharmed. There were a few arrows sticking out from the door, which informed me that the attack had been a planned ambush. When I looked at a few bodies again, I noticed that they all had a few arrows in them as well." Ryuketsu sighed, wondering if he should really continue. When he heard Chimei adjust her position, he realized that he really didn't have to. However, he still did. "The middle wagon, while intact, led me to believe this was the actual target and the others were simply damage control. I approached it from the side and quickly opened the door, expecting to find nothing but dead bodies. What I found instead, was a surprise. I found a little girl, being shielded by, what I assumed her parents', dead bodies. It seemed the arrows had reached them. The little girl was shivering and looked terrified. She had bright pink hair and large green eyes. Her forehead was slightly larger than normal, and her skin was pale. She looked at me and asked for help. I quickly picked her up and told her I would protect her until we got back to my clan's village. She said that she was scared of 'bad men coming back for her'. I told her I would kill them before they could even see her. She promptly fell asleep." Ryuketsu stated, shutting his mouth and patiently waiting for Chimei to make her decision. He didn't have to wait long.

"I want to see this girl." She said, before rising gracefully and quietly, which always made Ryuketsu curious. As tradition called for it, Chimei was wearing three layers of kimonos. Her first layer, which he could only see the collar of, was a stark white with a black pattern of waves. Her second layer was only visible near her hands, where her sleeves pooled around her small hands. It was a solid light pink, which complimented the third layer, which was the most visible one of all. Near the top, it was a bright red that began to fade to a solid black after it passed her waist. The ends of her long sleeves sported the same coloring. There wasn't a pattern on the outer layer, but that was fine. Chimei rather disliked wearing kimonos, as they only got in her way. Her obi was a solid white, with a light pink bow in the middle. The ends of the obi had swirls of light blue stitching.

Chimei's straight, ink black hair was braided and thrown over her shoulder, making her appear relaxed, lazy even to those that couldn't see the steel in her bright blue eyes. Her ivory skin completed her overall look, which was supposed to mimic that of a feudal princess. Overall, Chimei hated it. She would rather be wearing something...more relaxing.

However, tradition required that she and every other clan member must wear kimonos and yukatas while on clan grounds. A fucking stupid rule, if you asked her.

Ryuketsu got up and left the formal dinning room, sliding open the door before leading Chimei down the hall. He took a left and headed towards the guest rooms, before stopping in front of the first one on the right. Chimei nodded her thanks before sliding the door open, finding a bare room with a small table and cushion in the corner, a dresser, another door leading to the bathroom, and a large futon in the middle of the room. Chimei saw the little girl sleeping on the futon, curled into a tight ball with the covers pulled up to her chin. Her bright pink hair was splayed across the large pillow. All in all, she looked positively tiny. As Chimei took a few steps towards the girl, she noticed the slightly larger forehead and the pale skin. Well, she wouldn't call her skin pale. Her skin was more like Chimei's; an ivory coloring that looked quite lovely when matched with her unusual hair color.

Chimei gestured for Ryuketsu to come in and close the door. Once he had joined her side, she immediately sat down and closed her eyes, patiently waiting for the girl to wake up. Ryuketsu followed her example, well somewhat. He chose to watch the little girl sleep, wondering what his older cousin and clan leader would do with her. Part of him thought Chimei would inform the Hokage and let the old man deal with her, while the rest of him wanted Chimei to adopt the little girl. He wouldn't mind having another sister around, and with the way Chimei was acting, he was pretty sure she wanted a little sister as well. Or maybe even a daughter.

He blinked.

Chimei, while being 14, was the clan leader, he wasn't sure she was ready to be a mother, just yet. Yeah, she helped raise him and his siblings when her parents and his died four years ago, but that didn't mean she should become a mother. Then again, if she were to marry and have children of her own, he may end up hating them.

He internally sighed, he seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Ryu~" Chimei called out, catching his attention.

"Huh?" Was his intelligent response.

"Did you catch the girl's name?"

"Ah, uh, not really. She didn't say much, and I didn't really ask." He said, rubbing the back of his head. Chimei nodded before whacking the side of his head with her concealed fan. He winced and rubbed the spot, before sticking his tongue out at her and glaring. She gave a smile and returned her attention to the sleeping girl.

Ryuketsu was many things, but he was still a ten year old boy.

A few minutes passed quietly, before Chimei noticed the girl scrunch her eyebrows together. That was the first sign that she was waking up. Ryuketsu noticed and straightened his back, wanting to make a good impression with the girl. After all, she may just end up joining the clan if Chimei likes her enough.

When the little girl opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the boy who had found her. His bright red hair was still messy, and his red eyes still made her nervous. She had never seen red eyes before, only read about them in books. And they usually accompanied demons. She hoped this boy wasn't a demon, and that he wouldn't devour her whole.

The next thing she noticed, was the woman next to him. She didn't look that much older than the boy, maybe four or five years older. And she was really pretty. Bright blue eyes that softened when they met the girl's gaze, bright red lips, pretty black hair, and ivory skin like hers. The little girl found that she liked this woman. She seemed really nice, even if she hadn't done anything yet.

"Hello," the woman said softly. She had a really nice voice. It was soft and warm, like her mother's. At the thought of her mother, the girl's eyes filled with tears. A few fell. The woman saw this and quickly lifted the girl up and into her arms. The girl was surprised, but didn't really care. She snuggled into the woman's chest and began to cry, letting the woman comfort her. She hadn't seen the boy's terrified look at her sudden crying, thankfully. He didn't need her thinking he was scared of her, or something.

Chimei held the girl in her arms, letting her cry into her kimono. She didn't really care if the thing was ruined by the girl's tears.

"It's alright, the nightmare is over. You're safe," she said, hoping to soothe the girl by rubbing small circles on the girl's back. That seemed to be the trick, because next thing she knew, the girl was sniffing and wiping her tears away with her hands. Chimei smiled, letting her take all the time she needed to compose herself.

If Chimei had to be honest, she had been surprised at how bright the girl's eyes had been, and just how innocent they looked when they latched onto her. Chimei had also been surprised when she had quickly started to cry the moment she had greeted her. That hadn't been expected. And a little scary, if she were to be honest. However, used to having three cousins do the same thing when they've been pushed to far, Chimei was able to react calmly and quickly.

"Do you mind telling me your name, sweet one?" Chimei asked, keeping her smile in place. The little girl nodded.

"S-Sakura."
"I'm Chimei-tekina. This is Ryuketsu."

Sakura turned her head to look at Ryuketsu. A name for a face. Ryuketsu gave her a toothy grin and waved his hand a little, before scooting over to be closer.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Ryuketsu called out in greeting, even though she was right there. Sakura blushed from the sudden honorific and tried to bury her head into Chimei's chest. Ryuketsu laughed at her shyness. He found her adorable, even though he barely knew her. However, that didn't stop him from adding the 'chan' to her name.

"Ryu, you don't have to shout. She's right here." Chimei said, laughing lightly as Ryu began to pout. She swears, her cousin was bipolar. One moment he's all calm and serious, the next he's acting like an excited puppy.

"Mou, she's so cute, Mei-neechan. I can't help it." He said, making Sakura giggle as he continued to pout. When they realized she had, she blushed and hid her face. Ryu grinned before poking her. He wanted her to giggle again, even if he got hit by Chimei. Again.

"I-It's okay, Chimei-tekina-san. I d-don't mind, really." Sakura said softly, making Chimei look down at her. Ryu was right, she was downright adorable, with her shy nature and doll-like appearance. Chimei smiled brighter, making Ryu stop and stare in wonder. He's never seen his cousin so happy in so long.

"Call me Mei-kaachan, Sakura." Chimei said, making Sakura look up at her in wonder as well. Before Sakura could say anything, she yawned and blinked sleepily. Chimei nodded to Ryu. She moved forward and laid Sakura back down on the futon, before covering her up. She tucked the little girl in, smoothing her hair before getting up and following after Ryu. Ryu closed the door and followed Chimei as she headed towards the formal dining room. She didn't say anything, just slid open the door and went straight for the small table near the back. She grabbed a small scroll and a brush, before going through the process of dipping it in black ink. Ryu simply sat in front of her, waiting for her to say something about what had just happened. When she didn't say anything, he groaned. He was tired and wanted to sleep.

"I'm going to adopt little Sakura." Chimei said, after she had finished writing. She laid the brush down next to the scroll, looking at her cousin. She searched his face for any objection to her decision. She found none.

"As a sister, or...?" Ryu let his question trail off.

"As a daughter. She will need someone to guide her in the ways of the clan. While I'm certain Jentoru-baasama would be perfect for the job, I would much rather do it myself." Chimei explained. Ryu nodded before giving her a toothy grin.

"Baa-sama won't be too happy you did this without telling her."

"She can deal." Was Chimei's response. She yawned and sat up, walking towards an open window. She whistled loudly, before a crow appeared on the window sill. It blinked and look at her. The crow looked like any normal crow, unless you took in the fact that it was two times bigger and had a third eye in the center, right above the other two.

"Yes, Mei-sama?" The crow called out, blinking slowly as it took in its master. Chimei handed the crow the scroll.

"Please deliver this to the Third Hokage, tonight. Once done, I want you back in the village. Do not be seen by anyone who is not a clan member. Understood?" She instructed. The crow allowed her to attach the scroll to its back, before nodding and taking off into the night. It wasn't long before the crow blended into the night. Chimei knew he wouldn't be spotted, but she didn't want him to take any risks.

"It's a shame regular people would try and hurt him, ne?" Ryu asked, leaning against the doorway. Chimei nodded. She kept watching the night, not wanting to leave until her crow was safely back. "Relax, Mei-neechan. Nothing will happen to Ebony-san."

"And if something does?"

"Then you'll kill them and make sure people learn to never hurt another Akuma again." Ryu stated, before heading off towards his room. He was tired, and wanted to sleep until tomorrow afternoon.

Chimei, however, stayed rooted to the spot. She would stay there until the early hours of the morning, with the Hokage's scroll in her hand. She would stay there until Jentoru-baasama came in to prepare breakfast for the family, making sure to add an extra plate for Sakura-chan. She would stay there, a smile on her face as she reread the Hokage's approval of her sudden adoption. She knew there was a reason she liked the old man.