A Glass of Crimson Souls

Fanfiction based off of: Naruto

Original Story: Masashin Kishimoto

Chapter 1: Letters of the Future, Past, and Present

Sasuke.

You seem unable to comprehend me. Me and Itachi. Itachi and me.

You don't know what it's like. To love a person to the point of insanity. To be attracted to someone you thought you hated. To fall for him completely, head over heels, to the point where he could do anything and you would forgive him. To always find the best in him, because that's what you fell in love with, what you still love, what you'll always try to find even when it no longer exists.

And even when he has that sword up to your neck and is looking at you with eyes of emotionless apathy, you still will love him. Because you fell in love with him, and it's not easy breaking out of that. And even though you love him to the brink of destruction, he doesn't love you back. Not enough. You'll never be most important.

And when he's dead, you'll want to die. You'll want to end everything yourself. You'll never forget, you'll never forgive, but you won't be able to do anything. A life without him is soulless. You'll be left with nothing, will always have nothing, until the end of time.

Your glass will always be empty.

Miho.

"Do it."

Sharingan eyes looked down at her, their brilliant crimson color flashing as she gazed up at them, unfazed by the kunai in front of her neck.

"If you're a man, Sasuke, do it."

His hand was trembling violently as his blood-red eyes continued to stare at her in fury.

"Why," he whispered. "Why, just stay out of my way…you want this too, you want me to kill them."

"Him," she said wearily. "Just Danzo. And leave the rest alone."

"No—all of them, for Itachi, I'll kill them all—"

"Then kill me as well. I don't mind," she said, her pale gray eyes fluttering shut. "I don't mind dying by the same hand that killed Itachi."

Sasuke grabbed her by the collar and slammed her against wall.

"That was a mistake," he said with burning coldness. "You know, you know how much it…"

"Hurt you," she said softly. "But I assure you, Sasuke, that it hurt me more…it destroyed me…knowing that I could not avenge him because killing you would go against his dying will."

The watery gray eyes opened again, and there was a clarity in them that could pierce through anyone or anything, shining with a determination to die.

"Do it, Sasuke. I'm tired of living. A life without Itachi…it's not a life at all, especially when I can't kill you to satiate my revenge."

"I…if you want revenge, then you should join me, you should help me kill them, destroy Konoha, destroy this entire world that—"

"Forget it. I'm weary."

"Of what?"

"Of living."

"Miho—"

"Sasuke."

The Sharingan…those eyes that were so similar to Itachi's, but so devastatingly different. Her lips contorted into a exhausted, strained, pained smile as she was once again hit with the realization that she would never see Itachi's blood-colored eyes again.

"Do it, Sasuke."

She saw Sasuke's mouth twist, as if he were grinding his teeth together…then…

The kunai moved forward.

"Miho."

The fourteen year old teenager snapped her eyes open at the sound of her father's condescending voice. Blinking the dryness out of her eyes, she turned around to look at the intruder of her room.

"Otou-san," she said with equally biting sarcasm. "Do you need something?"

Her tall, tan, dark-haired father, Chiaki Hiroki, pursed his lips at her tone. They remained in a staring match for a few silent seconds before he spoke again.

"You need to go to the ANBU headquarters for your examination."

"I'm well aware of that," she answered, glancing up at the clock. "But that meeting starts in…fifteen minutes. I can take care of myself, you know."

"Miho," said Hiroki in a warning tone. "Watch your mouth."

"I haven't said anything offensive."

"Miho!"

"I'm leaving," she snapped, grabbing her weaponry from off her desk and sliding open the window of her second-story room. "I don't know if I'm going to be back in time to make dinner, so the leftovers are in the fridge."

"You—"

Miho escaped through the narrow window, landing expertly on the ground below her. She could hear her father's shouting through the open glass, but, having been exposed to it for the last fourteen years, wasn't perturbed by it. She tossed her soft black hair over her shoulder and strapped the kunai bag on her belt, letting out a sigh as she prepared herself for the appointment at headquarters. She really couldn't stand her father.

"Miho?" a voice said behind her.

She turned to the side, eyes lighting up at the sight of the newcomer.

"Kakashi-sempai," she greeted.

"Lovely day, no?" he said, his one visible eye winking in a smile. "Are you ready for your examination? Nervous, perhaps?"

"I think I'll be fine…" she said, her heart fluttering a bit as Kakashi tousled her hair. "I guess I'm glad that you'll be there—even if you're masked…that will make me feel a bit better."

"I'm honored to be there. It's impressive…" he remarked, "that you are eligible to try out already for acceptance into the ANBU Black Ops."

"Nowhere as good as you," she snorted, running a hand through her hair. "What were you, ranked jounin at thirteen? Joined the ANBU in your teens? And now a major ninja in this village, directly reporting to the Hokage, at the youthful age of twenty-one? How nice."

"You sound so sarcastic," said Kakashi, wincing a bit at her acerbic response. "And that was under different circumstances, Miho. We were at war—they were low on men. In your year, you're the best, aren't you? You should be content with that."

"I'm not," she said through gritted teeth, winding her hair into a tight bun.

"Pardon?" said Kakashi politely.

"I'm not the best," she said heavily. "There's…Uchiha."

She said the name with utter loathing.

"Ah," said Kakashi mildly. "Right…the Uchiha prodigy. Itachi, was it?"

"Let's stop talking about him," she said irately. "I hear enough about him at home. It's always Itachi this, and Itachi that, and Itachi is God's gift to the shinobi world, because he's so good, because he graduated from the Academy at age seven, top of his class, activated his Sharingan at age eight, became a Chunin at age ten, and has been an ANBU captain since last year. And he's my age! Goodness, the way my father raves about him! You'd expect him any minute just to ditch me in the middle of the streets and adopt that simply amazing—"

Miho stopped short as she and her sempai arrived at an intersection of roads; another person joined them. He was a good bit taller than Miho, his dark eyes shimmering like polished coals, as he surveyed both her and Kakashi. The newcomer was tan, well-built, and incredibly good-looking. Miho frowned upon seeing him, her cheeks tingeing a slightly deeper shade as she realized that he had most likely heard her rant.

Kakashi, amiable and mature, greeted him first.

"Ah, hello there, Itachi-san."

"Hello, Kakashi-san," replied Itachi civilly, his dark eyes flickering over to Miho. "Hello, Chiaki Miho-san."

"Uchiha," Miho said brusquely, nodding in acknowledgement. "Sorry, I have to go—it wouldn't be good if they saw me coming in with you, sempai. I'll see you in a few."

"Are you taking your examination for entrance in ANBU today?" inquired Itachi. When Miho just nodded curtly in response he said, "Ah, good luck then. I'm sure you'll pass—I've heard good things about you."

Miho stiffened.

"From who?" she asked warily.

"Your father," said Itachi, smiling a bit. "He's very proud of you."

"…Right," said Miho disbelievingly. "Well, I'm going to head out. See you later."

Without another word, she disappeared from the streets, running quickly along rooftops and alleyways towards ANBU headquarters. That wasn't the first time she'd seen Itachi—they bumped into each other occasionally in town—but they had never really bothered to have a decent conversation. Itachi was a smart guy; he seemed to understand that Miho didn't like him.

She felt her insides squirm a bit in guilt. It wasn't that Itachi had done anything to her in particular. He generally radiated an aura of…niceness, to some extent. It was just because he was so damn good at everything, and Miho's father, who was a teacher at the Academy, had been incredibly taken by Itachi's skill. Thus, it didn't help that she was constantly compared to Itachi, and being less talented and certainly less motivated, Miho always came up short.

It was tiring, to say the least, and she had grown to detest the mere mention of Itachi's name. It was a completely unjust, unneeded jealousy, but Itachi was everything that Miho was not, especially in terms of shinobi skill. And he was good-looking. Very good-looking. Her cheeks flushed a bit more, causing her to scowl. She had an examination, for goodness' sake! Why was she blushing like a child?

Miho ground her teeth together, locking her jaw so that she appeared stern and unrepentant. She was a kunoichi. Her dad would kill her if she didn't pass. Miho sighed, bringing her hands up to make sure that her bun was tightly in place. She didn't want to fail. She really didn't. Her heart beat a bit faster as she remembered that Kakashi was going to be there to watch her. She closed her eyes for a brief second. Everything was going to be fine.

"Congratulations," said Kakashi as he walked out onto the bridge. He was smiling underneath that mask of his again. "They were impressed."

"It was more difficult than I thought it would be," she admitted, sitting on the rails of the wooden bridge as she looked out onto the river. "When they asked me for the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, I nearly forgot…had no idea what to summon."

"What animal do you normally summon?" queried her sempai.

Miho frowned a bit, looking distantly at the landscape.

"Crows," she muttered. "Ugly, black crows. They were just the first ones I could, and I just…stuck with them, I guess."

"Strange," Kakashi murmured. "You ended up somehow summoning Pakkun today."

Miho stared determinedly away from Kakashi's face.

"T-that's just because I'm used to seeing you summon Pakkun, and I just sorta thought of him and…yeah," she finished lamely. "That's it."

"Well, I'm glad Pakkun came in handy!" said Kakashi cheerily. "Oh, hey, Asuma, Kurenai!"

Miho turned around to see another two older shinobi join them, one a good-natured, well-built male who smoked like there was no tomorrow, the other a pretty, willowy woman with scarlet-colored eyes.

"Hey there!" grinned Asuma, waving. "We heard that your little protégé got accepted into ANBU—thought we'd come congratulate her!"

"Hey Miho," said Kurenai kindly to her. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," said Miho with a flitting smile.

"Want us to treat you out somewhere?" asked Asuma, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. "Maybe some ramen or something?"

Miho thought briefly of her father, whom she had left behind with the leftovers in the fridge. She didn't feel bad at all.

"Sure," she said, hopping down from the railing. "How about some cheap ramen—that should be lighter on your pockets there, Asuma-sempai."

"Heck, I'm old enough to treat some people out once in a while," he chuckled, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing up and down as he laughed. "Hm? Oi, if it isn't Uchiha Itachi!"

Miho whirled around, eyes widening as she saw Itachi standing only a few feet behind her. She hadn't sensed his chakra at all. Damn…

"Hello, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san, Kakashi-san" he said congenially, bowing slightly in respect. "Could I perhaps borrow Chiaki-san for a while? Her father has asked me to escort her home."

"Tell my father that I don't need an overbearing watchdog," said Miho coldly. "I can escort myself home, thank you, and I'd rather go out with Asuma-san for dinner."

"Sorry, I think your father was rather adamant about you returning," said Itachi with a faint smile. "I've been told that I can use force if need be."

"It's all right, Miho," laughed Asuma, clapping a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I'll take you out some other time—now that Itachi had the chivalry to escort you home, let him!"

"Asuma-sempai…" said Miho through gritted teeth.

"Go ahead," smiled Kurenai encouragingly. "You don't want to keep him waiting. We'll take you out tomorrow!"

Miho heard Itachi chuckle slightly behind her and scowled.

"I don't want to—"

"Miho," sighed Kakashi with a serious expression.

Her scowl deepened at his intervention. Only when Kakashi beckoned for her to leave did she heave a sigh and obey, following Itachi down the bridge.

"They look good together," mused Kurenai aloud as the three jounin watched Itachi and Miho leave. "Itachi's really a good-looking boy, and Miho's not shabby either."

Asuma scoffed. "She's decent at best, Kurenai. Nothin' like you."

Kurenai looked at him appraisingly, not sure whether to scold him for the insult directed to Miho or to thank him for his compliment directed to her.

"She'll be a beauty once she grows up, Asuma," said Kurenai, decisively settling in the middle of her mental battle.

"She doesn't like him very much," said Kakashi, obviously referring to Itachi. "He's got a decent attitude though—I thought she could try and get along with him. He doesn't seem to have many friends."

Kurenai snorted. "Have you heard what women my age say about him? How old is he—fourteen? And yet they say he's gorgeous and terrific and talented—the boy's popular beyond reason, Kakashi."

"But that's not the same as having friends," said Asuma. "Maybe they can learn to get along…"

The three of them watched in silence at the great distance between the two subjects of matchmaking. It was rather obvious that Miho was stonily looking away from Itachi.

Kakashi sighed. "Maybe it was too much to ask for…but Miho really needs to make some friends her own age. It's a bit sad that she only hangs around us…"

"It's her father's fault," said Kurenai disapprovingly. "He chased away all her friends because they were too 'weak.' Honestly! The nerve…"

"I thought he was a good teacher," said Asuma mildly.

"Well he hated me," said Kurenai.

"I think he's a bit of a chauvinist, really," said Kakashi weakly. "Miho says that he always complains that she was born a girl and not a boy…"

"Well what does he expect, a sex change?" said Kurenai snappishly. "All that sexism just because his wife was a bit weak—from illness!—and now he hates all women…"

"That's stretching it a bit far, Kurenai," said Asuma dubiously.

Kurenai let out a sigh and ran a hand through her long, silky hair.

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't give Miho a terrible time at home," she said grimly. "Heaven knows that girl's gone through enough on his behalf."

Miho and Itachi walked in silence. Miho left a wide gap between the two of them and determinedly avoided looking at Itachi's face. She knew exactly what her father was up to—trying to get her to befriend Itachi. Or maybe even date him. The absurdity.

Itachi broke the silence

"You know, Chiaki-san—"

"You can drop the honorific, you know," she said tersely.

"I think I'll just leave it," said Itachi amiably. "I was just wondering why you hate me so much."

Miho let out an angry hiss. Trust the moron to ask so directly.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that you're not supposed to ask about a person's innermost feelings?" she said.

"My mother may have mentioned it," said Itachi innocently. "I tend to forget her words of wisdom though. Mind answering my question?"

"It's because you're perfect," she said loathsomely. "That's all."

There was a silence after her words. She snuck a sideways glance at his face, just to make sure that she hadn't really upset him. His expression was dark, almost disgusted…an expression she didn't think he was capable of making.

"I mean, it's not your fault," she added hastily, trying to remedy her situation. "It's just that my dad adores you, and I sort of hear about you too much at home, which leads to me being rather biased against you—it's really not your fault, just my petty…"

Her words trailed off as Itachi smiled slightly, even letting out a small chuckle. She shifted nervously, turning away as her cheeks grew redder. Trust her to make such a stupid mistake…

"I'm not offended," he said. He was obviously lying. "Oh, we've arrived."

They approached Miho's little flat at the edge of the village, only two stories tall with very small rooms. It was situated rather close to the Uchiha residency. So Itachi hadn't gone out of his way to walk her home; that realization made Miho feel a little better.

She walked up the steps to her house and turned around, only to see that Itachi was still there.

"You…you can leave now," she said jerkily.

The door opened by itself, and she turned to see her father, who looked at her with contempt. His expression changed immediately once his dark eyes landed on Itachi.

"Oh! Itachi-kun! Thank you so much for walking Miho home."

"It's not a problem," said Itachi respectfully. "It was really a pleasure."

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Hiroki asked.

Say no, begged Miho silently. No, you don't, you want to go home and—

"That would be nice," said Itachi.

She groaned, eliciting an angry glare from her father, but she could've sworn she heard Itachi chuckle again. Miho gritted her teeth. Itachi was doing this just to spite her…

"I'm going out with my sempai tomorrow," she hissed under her breath to her father. "So don't even bother trying to restrain me—"

"In return, would you like to come over to our house tomorrow for dinner?" asked Itachi. "My mother would like that."

"That would be an honor," said Hiroki, stepping on Miho's foot to make sure she didn't protest. "Now go and make dinner, Miho."

Miho swore loudly and made her way to the kitchen, rather furious with her father and with Itachi.

Itachi.

He really liked making her life miserable. He really did.

Miho was flying.

She jumped over the treetops, quickly and easily, her heart beating in anticipation. She was going back to Konoha. After five long years, she was going back. She was presumably dead, true, and her return would definitely cause some sort of investigation to where she'd been for the last five years, but that was fine. She had a good cover, having "woken up with no memory in the Suna." That was a generic but easily proven answer to a long disappearance. Besides, the Suna would back her up.

Five years was a long time. A year or so had been left to her physical recovery; a lethal stab wound was not easy to recover from. The rest of the four years had been left to her training, and she had honed her medical skills to a level much higher than she had ever dreamed of, given her lack of initial motivation. But while five years was enough time to heal physically, it wasn't enough for her to recover fully from the emotional shock of being betrayed and nearly killed by him; she had, after all, trusted him fully, completely, albeit his strange demeanor in the last few months of their relationship. Being nearly killed by him? Fifty years was not enough for her to recover from that.

She merely jumped from a high tree into Konoha. The barriers, the secret defenses, not much had changed since she had last been a shinobi here, and she got in effortlessly. Miho made her way clandestinely to the Hokage's office, scurrying up the wall of the rather round building and simply hopping in through the window.

As expected, there were two kunai at her neck in a matter of split seconds.

"Who are you?" one demanded.

"I come with no ill intentions," she said, holding up her hands to show that she wasn't armed. "I simply wanted to speak with the Hokage."

"Arrest her—" the other one said.

"Wait, I just wanted to speak with him—"

"You could've requested an audience, like everyone else!" the man shouted angrily. "Sneaking into his office—that is a criminal offense!"

"Wait," protested Miho.

"…What's your name?" another voice said from across the room. It was vaguely familiar, and even now, made her heart flutter a bit.

Miho's grey eyes turned in the newcomer's direction, lighting up in recognition. It was Hatake Kakashi.

"Chiaki Miho," she answered, her hands still held up in the air.

"…Detain her," said Kakashi smoothly as he watched her closely.

"Wait, it's me, sempai!" she said.

"Chiaki Miho died five years ago. Judging from the amount of blood on the murder scene, there is no way that she's alive. Detain her, and keep her in the prisons until the Hokage returns," said Kakashi, his voice lined with uncustomary coldness. "If you wanted to play the imposter, you should've chosen someone more plausible."

The two guards moved towards her, but Miho, filled with a surge of annoyance, whipped out her legs and kicked the two of them in the face; as they stumbled, she reached out and tapped each one of them on the pressure points at the bases of their necks. They fell to the ground, knocked out, and she stepped lightly into the office.

Kakashi appeared in front of her instantly, his Sharingan unmasked and his hand pressing a kunai at Miho's neck.

"Don't move," he said lethally.

Miho stared at him, bringing up her hand and gripping his wrist.

"It really is me," she said. "I want to speak to the Hokage—I've been in Suna for the last five years, recovering, and I've been unable to contact Konoha otherwise—"

"Then you can wait in prison to explain to the Hokage," said Kakashi. "Now sleep."

Miho hardly had time to blink. Kakashi whipped his hand out and sank his fist in her stomach. Winded, she coughed out a bit of blood as she felt him press her pressure points hastily.

Well, she hadn't expected any other welcoming gift.

A grim voice sounded in her head. She could place whose voice it was. A mix, probably. Kakashi's. Her father's. Sasuke's. Itachi's.

Welcome home, Miho. Welcome to Konoha.

Free Talk:

Welcome to A Glass of Crimson Souls!

I've been thinking of a Naruto fic for a while, and after the last chapter (when my love for Itachi was reinvigorated), I decided to make this ItachixOC fic happen. I hope this first chapter wasn't terribly confusing, as it jumps around in time. The following chapters will be much more straightforward, remaining purely in the pre-massacre arc.

Miho's personality isn't fully fleshed out; after all, this is only the first chapter. But hopefully you'll give it a chance to develop with upcoming chapters. :)

Please review! That'd be great. :) And have a Happy 2010!

xoxo,

m.n