"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.
