AN: This, for those of you who aren't aware, is a rewrite of my original fic: 'Chasing the Shadow'. There is only one difference between this and the original. In this version, Haku is a girl. If you want to read the version with a male Haku, it can be found quite easily. It's on this website. For quick access, just click on my profile to find a list of my stories.

Prologue:

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood quietly over the horrific tableau, solemnly forcing his grief down. There would be time later for such things. The newborn child lay quietly as he slept in his mother's arms, blissfully unaware that he was being held by a corpse. One of the first Jonin to have arrived on the scene, a silver haired ANBU with a mask in the style of a dog, stepped forward.

"What is to be done with the child, Lord Third?" Asked Kakashi.

'Lord Third.' The title stung Hiruzen, but that, he supposed, was what he was once again. The third Hokage. The old man sighed.

"I do not know. There is no family left to him now." He stood in silent thought for a moment, then glanced sidelong at the young man beside him. "You knew Minato and Kushina well. Do you have any advice for what is to be done with their son?"

The teen hesitated for a long moment before answering.

"I-I do not know that it is my place to say, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen pondered this, eventually placing a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Minato cared for you very deeply," he said. "And I know that Kushina would have expected you to offer your advice to help care for her son. Indeed, if you didn't, I suspect there would have been hell to pay."

Both men were silent for a long while, reflecting on bittersweet memories. Eventually, Kakashi spoke again.

"I… I know Kushina was quite close with Mikoto Uchiha. They had hoped their children would grow up to be friends... and the Uchiha are a powerful clan."

The Hokage nodded.

"Certainly a possibility. I shall ask among the Uchiha to see if anyone may be willing to look after young Naruto here. God knows, it's better than letting the poor boy grow up alone."

Some Years Later:

The Uchiha compound was filled, as was quite common in the afternoons, with the screams of fighting children. Teyaki Uchiha sighed, exasperated, before poking his head out of the shop window.

"Hey! Sasuke, Naruto! What are you fighting over this time?"

The squabbling youths raised their heads to look across the street at the old man, their scuffle momentarily broken.

"We were racing and Naruto cheated!" Sasuke complained, pointing an accusing finger at the blond boy.

"Did not!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Did too!"

As the fight began to devolve into a tussle once more, Teyaki restrained his frustration with a groan and stepped outside towards the two. Reaching out, the elderly Uchiha grabbed both boys by a shoulder.

"Young masters!" He said loudly, his voice stern. Both boys fell silent immediately. Teyaki directed his gaze at the dark-haired boy first. "Young master Uchiha, your father would be very disappointed to see you fighting a brother over something as small as a race." The boy's head lowered into something of a sulk as Teyaki turned to face the second offender. "And you, young master Namikaze. You should not be stooping to violence to solve your disagreements, regardless of whether you really did cheat or not. Why would you ever want to hurt someone you cared about?" The small blond boy turned his face away, ashamed, unwilling to meet the older man's eyes. "Now then, I want the two of you to shake hands and then I expect this to be over."

The two boys grudgingly turned to face one another, neither looking the other in the eye. Sasuke was first to extend a hand with a mumbled "Sorry."

The other boy eventually took it and shook.

"Me too." He said quietly.

"Good," said Teyaki appreciatively. "Now go and play. There's still a few hours before dinner, why not go for a swim?"

As the children ran off into the distance, chattering as though nothing had happened, Teyaki sighed before stepping back inside. Just another day in the Uchiha compound.

That night:

Naruto awoke with a start when he heard Sasuke scream, bolting upright and running to the door. The sound had come from across the street. Naruto made a beeline for Sasuke's house, running the whole way. Rounding the corner wild-eyed, he came upon the scene of a slaughter. Naruto took in the sight of it, almost uncomprehending. The street was littered with bodies, every one of them someone he knew by name, the ground painted red with the blood of his family. Naruto sank to his knees, a wordless whimper barely escaping his throat as he tried and failed to process what he was seeing. A single figure stood in the road amongst the dead, his red eyes fixed on Naruto. Naruto recognized the black-haired man.

"Itachi…" he mumbled, trying to keep himself together somehow. "W-what happen-"

Naruto's words were cut short by a powerful strike to his stomach. He sank to the floor, gagging, his face pressed to the ground as he coughed and retched for breath. Itachi turned to leave. Unable to move, Naruto watched through a film of tears as Sasuke emerged from his home, his own face streaked with tears. Sasuke's eyes were the same blazing red as Itachi's. Naruto could barely hear as the two conversed, watching helplessly as Sasuke attacked and was dispatched with practiced ease by the older brother. Naruto felt something hot bubbling inside him, pushing the fear and pain aside, something strong and fierce and RED.

On shaking legs, he picked himself up. Itachi was still standing dangerously close to Sasuke's immobile form. He seemed to be speaking, but Naruto heard nothing at all. Nothing besides a small voice hissing inside his head telling him to strike, to kill.

"Get. Away. From. Sasuke!" He roared, breaking into a run. The boy crossed the distance to Itachi in seconds. He reached out a hand towards the man's face. His fingers, tipped now for some reason with sharp claws, extended as he reached towards Itachi's eyes. In that moment, Naruto wanted nothing more than to gouge and tear at the older man. Less than an inch to go.

Blackness:

Naruto awoke in a hospital bed, trying desperately to believe that it had all been some sick sort of dream. Looking over to his side, he saw Sasuke in the bed next to his, eyes wide and staring. Fresh tears trailed down his brother's cheeks.

AN: Hey there! So I had this idea and it seemed kinda fun, so I thought why not have a go and see where it went. The basic premise is pretty self explanatory, Naruto was adopted by the Uchiha family instead of being an orphan and a lot of things will eventually change because of that. Feel free to comment if there was anything you liked or didn't like. I'll probably do a few of these as I hope to make it a fairly long running thing. So yeah, see how it goes.