My Brothers Love Me More Than They Should [Uchiha fanfic]

A stranger in the night [2]

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters - Just Masami :D

.:.

Masami lay quietly tucked into her small, wooden cot just watching the hanging mobile twist slowly around on the ceiling. Blue and orange and yellow, those were the colours that were reflected onto the dark walls from the twisting device as it played a soft lullaby into her ears. It was quiet in the house. Everyone was sound asleep except for the young child.

The infant remained awake just staring up at the simple colours on the wall like they were the stars, not even aware of the single bedroom window clicking softly open. It brought a draft into the tiny room causing Masami's petite body to tremble in response. The cold wind brushing against her soft skin felt like kisses of ice, not warm and affectionate like her mother's or father's. Almost instantly, Masami let out a small whimper in displeasure. The thin sheets could barely shield her frail body from the unwanted draft.

As if the window could sense the child's discomfort, it shut again quietly, leaving only but the sound of low footsteps hovering over towards her cradle.

"So this is the child..." A tall shadow lingered over the staring baby as it remained unfazed by the stranger's presence. Her soft onyx eyes were still glued onto the hanging mobile as it continued to jingle its soft melody into the night. The man followed the child's gaze, his single red eye piercing into the darkness. With two fingers he seized the device's movements completely before scrutinizing Masami for the very first time with a twisting grin.

Silence

"The prophecy is true then..." The stranger's hand reached down towards the girl to stroke the unusual birthmark stained underneath her chin. It formed the distinguishable mark of a circled ring, holding the same coma shaped symbols as the Sharingan. The man smirked at the sight before pulling back again slowly, making sure he didn't create any sudden movements to disturb the child with.

Masami whimpered delicately, instantly missing the warmth radiating from the man's fingers. Her head began rocking slowly back and forth, both hands reaching upwards to be picked up. The stranger cocked his head to the side in amusement, watching calmly as the baby let out a shallow cry in tiredness. It sounded like a baby fox whining to its mother for food.

The man lowered his head, creating a low 'shh' sound with his lips.

"Don't worry I'll come back for you..." He opened his mouth with a slow pause, momentarily glancing over at the other end of the cradle noticing the child's name indented into the dark wood. "Masami..." He finished, before swiftly disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Masami's cries grew louder into the night and soon enough a small light switched on down the hallway.

"Oh Masami... Here I thought I would get one decent night of sleep without being woken up by the sound of crying," Mikoto paced tiredly into the room whilst shaking her head to and thro. The dark circles discolouring her eyes showed she was still not used to Masami's bad sleeping habits. With a tired yawn, Mikoto reached down and enveloped Masami within her arms, not taking any notice of the seized hanging mobile.

"You're freezing..." she whispered in worry, kissing Masami's forehead softly with closed eyes and a gentle sigh. It seemed to relax the baby somewhat.

"I guess you're sleeping with us tonight... Can't have you catching a cold" She tilted her head towards the window watching the moonlight pour in with a small smile. Masami made shallow breaths into her mother's chest, feeling her heart beat slowly pulse against her own like a beautiful drum.

"I'll have to get more quilts for you tomorrow" Mikoto kissed Masami once more before turning around towards the door and walking out, completely unaware of the red eye following her every movement from afar.

"Masami, Masami!" The man giggled childishly, liking the sound of her name roll from his tongue. His tone grew darker as he remained perched on top of the high tree branch, just staring into the oblivion of the night. "You will help me sooner or later rekindle the flames of war... You are damned just like the rest of that worthless, betraying village." He hissed the name like it was venom down his throat, before vanishing again into an ominous wind.

.:.

2 years later:

Itachi passed the chunin exams at the age of ten, he is now eleven.

Sasuke is five years old and has already started the academy.

Masami is two and is favoured among the clan for her birthmark. It was said that the mark was a symbol that the Uchiha clan will be reborn into a new age of greatness.

.::.

"Say Sasuke!"

"Sauu!"

"No, Sas-uke"

"Sakook!"

Sasuke made a deep groan into his hands, peering down at Masami with a desperate expression. He was waiting, waiting for her to utter his name just once. But alas, Masami remained sat there in front of him with a bubbly grin, not understanding her brother's growing frustration as she continued to mumble gibberish.

It was nearing spring time and the sun was shining heavily against Masami's long, obsidian hair that was blowing delicately in the wind. It gave the girl a spotlight whilst she innocently pulled at the cool grass surrounding her feet. The toddler had started to utter different sounds under a week ago much to the family's surprise, but to Sasuke's disappointment, it was almost impossible to get her to pronounce a single word correctly yet from her rosy lips. She just made strange sounds and noises instead to communicate to her brother's with.

"Seeesowao!" Yeah like anyone could understand that...

"Masami..."

Sasuke shook his head in disappointment, flicking his black bangs from left to right before pointing towards Itachi training a few feet away with a determined expression. Masami followed her brother's gaze in excitement, both hands still pulling at the grass and flowers happily. She was never used to so much attention all in one day; her body was overwhelmed from it all.

"Who's that, Masami-chan?" He tried again. The girl's smile widened.

"Tushi!" She yelled happily.

Masami's voice echoed throughout the forest, causing her eldest brother to stagger and lose focus whilst throwing his Kunai. The weapon whizzed pass its intended target of a dummy, hitting a nearby tree instead. Itachi's eye twitched as Sasuke held his sides in hysterics, letting a sequence of giggles fill the air at his sister's outburst.

"Tushi?" Itachi shifted towards his younger siblings with his eyebrows furrowed in disapproval. They quickly relaxed however at the sight of Sasuke poking Masami in the head with a beaming smile, mouthing something along the lines of:

'well done imouto-san!'

With a low chuckle Itachi looked towards the sky, completely hypnotized by its beauty. Dusk had started to settle across the training grounds. It was getting late, it was time to head home.

"Masami don't eat the grass!" Sasuke picked out the green strands from the child's mouth as she stuffed a handful underneath her tongue with a silly grin. She was hungry obviously...

"Dobe..."

Itachi directed his attention away from the fireflies that began to immerge from the grass to Sasuke. The younger sibling had pulled Masami onto his lap in affection and seemed to be lecturing her about how 'tomatoes were much nicer to eat than grass.'

Itachi's lips curled into a genuine smile. 'Sasuke has really bonded with her in the past year' he observed.

But then again, so had he...

He would tuck her in when she had a nightmare.

Sasuke would hug her when she fell.

She would cling to them whenever they had to leave for school or a mission.

It truly was the start of something beautiful.