Chapter Text
The curse was ancient—and not even the oldest of their tribe could remember whence it came, or what sin of their fathers had brought the punishment upon their heads. But it was certain. The Uchiha were fated to live unloved, and for every generation that passed, the lack of tenderness chilled their blood.
With the loss of warmth, their noble thoughts and gentler ways passed from recall, and ruin slowly crept upon their proud line. Once revered as gods, they now skulked on the fringes of Konoha, little more than savages.
Despair pervaded their lives and each son is charged: seek far and wide your bride.
Seduce affection, if you must, and learn to twist terror into love.
Free us all.
***
Beware the Uchiha, the village elders would often warn. Beware the red eyes that begin to gleam when darkness descends, cruel pinpricks of light that line the lonesome paths in the woods circling Konoha.
Her early girlhood was spent listening to such stories. The Uchiha feast on blood, she was told. Being cursed to live perpetually deprived of warmth, they began to steal it. They said the Uchiha would lay their cold lips on your nape, there to suck the living warmth from your veins.
When she was younger these tales would thrill her, keeping her awake in mingled fear and fascination about the fabled monsters. As she slowly passed into womanhood, her hard-won wisdom tempered her terror.
In truth, what is real is often far more fearsome than any myth.
She came to think of the Uchiha less frequently, although the way they enthralled her never changed. She thought: It probably never will.
The folktales held a loneliness in their midst. Something that she understood, only too well. She whose history was unknown—whose springtime color marked her difference and attracted disdain from the other villagers.
In those days, Sakura found that whenever her thoughts strayed to the Uchiha, she would often be overcome by the strangest presentiment. In her heart of hearts, she became convinced—she and they were destined to meet.
And she knew: when that fated encounter comes, she will either conquer or be conquered.