"Itachi-sama?"
Itachi's eyes snapped open. He silently sat up. "What is it, Chiizu?"
The seven year old girl stood in Itachi's bedroom doorway. Her dark brown hair tumbled down from her shoulders, and her eyes were half closed, and nearly blank. Quietly, Chiizu tip-toed to the foot of Itachi's bedside, then crawled underneath the covers until her head nestled on Itachi's warm chest. She was shaking.
Itachi slowly carressed Chiizu's brown locks. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
"I'm scared." the small girl said shakely, her eyes trembling with fear. "I had a bad dream."
Itachi continued to stoke Chiizu's brown hair while she quietly cried into him. Normally he would scold her for her tears, but in the dead of the night, when no one was present, he felt a strong fear--that Chiizu would someday be forced away from him. He quietly hugged her to his chest, muffling her sobs as best he could.
After a few moments, Itachi sat up, holding Chiizu in his lap. "They say that talking about a bad dream can make you feel better." he whispered. "Would you tell me about it?"
Chiizu nodded, and after a few sniffles, uttered five words. "I dreamed that Itachi-sama died." she whimpered, curling into a ball, nestled in Itachi's lap. "I got really scared." she added after another sniffle.
Itachi was silent. It had started to rain, making a pitter-patter sound against the window, as if it were trying to cover up Chiizu's tears with rain, and her sobs with thunder.
After a few moments, Itachi wrapped his arms around Chiizu's shaking body. "Come now," he said gently, "I'm here now, aren't I? There's no reason to be afraid."
Ever so slowly, Chiizu became quiet, her rythmic breathing filling the silence in the room.
Dawn was breaking, Itachi realized. The rain had stopped.
The rain had finally stopped.
Itachi almost smiled. He kissed Chiizu's forehead, the small girl fast asleep.
"Have sweet dreams, sweet child."
"Itachi-sama?"
Itachi glanced up at the young girl who stood in his doorway. She had thick brown hair that trailed down to her mid-back section and onyx eyes that reminded Itachi of his younger brother.
The twelve-year old girl seemed troubled. Itachi laid down his pen and stood up, walking over to where the girl stood. "What's wrong, Chiizu?" He asked, fiddling with a lock of Chiizu's hair. It had a delightful smell to it, the smell of freshly picked strawberries.
"Itachi-sama, I heard Deidara-sama and Kazuku-sama talking...about your little brother."
Itachi froze in place, a lock of brown hair still resting in his palm.
"They said that you killed your entire clan, except for your little brother, and you took me in to repent for that, 'cause I had the same colored eyes, and I was only a couple years younger than him." Chiizu looked down. "I don't remember much from that time, so...I just wanted to know if it was true or not." Chiizu paused, digging her toe into the dirt floor, her mouth slightly open, as if she wanted to say something, but words had lost her.
After a few moments of silence, Chiizu spoke again. "Well, Itachi-sama? Is it really true?"
No tears came out of her eyes, and she was not trembling as if she was afraid, but Itachi could feel the hurt that Chiizu's eyes were conveying. No amount of training or discipline could conceal the feeling of betrayal.
After what seemed like an eternity, Itachi spoke. "That was true...at first."
Chiizu looked up, as if she was a small child who expected to be scolded, but instead was rewarded. "What?"
"At first, you reminded me of my younger brother, and I did take you in to repent for that." Itachi's arm rose, then poked Chiizu's forehead playfully. "But soon after, I abandoned that philosophy."
Chiizu rubbed her forehead, her eyes not leaving the nineteen year old Uchiha as he continued.
"You are not my brother. No matter how much I wished for it never to happen, I had hurt my brother, and that will never change."
"So why--?"
"I abandoned that philosophy because I came to love you as your older brother. I was pretending at first, but the feeling at this moment is real. You are Chiizu, and I want to protect you because you are Chiizu." Itachi gently smiled. It was the first time he had tried to smile in a long time, and it looked as if it would break at the slightest touch, but that didn't stop Itachi from smiling. Smiling for her.
The person most precious to him.
