AN: I'm going to take the opposite, and more dangerous, route of fanfiction with the OC. As is the case with most writing, the character's flaws will appear through the story even if its not immediately obvious. This story is not solely focused on romance, as some readers look for, but there will be some moments where it will show through.

There's good sides and down sides to being a prodigy.

A few of the things on the good side. You can meet other prodigies, you meet high ranking officials before others, things are hardly ever difficult, and people respect you.

Now for the bad side. Most other prodigies presumed they were better and insisted on proving themselves to you, the high ranking officials judged you and if you even sneezed without their permission, its as though you've insulted their mother, things are never difficult and therefore no fun, and people expected more and more out of you and were never happy enough.

See the issues? For every good thing there's a bad side.

Now let me explain some things. Prodigies are made differently. Some simply grasp things easier than others. Some had a specific knack for whatever they were good in. Even others were born with certain abilities, Kekkei Genkai if you wanted a name to some such things, that simply allowed them to learn things easier.

I had photographic memory, but no Kekkei Genkai. But, it was also not just that. What it was was something even I couldn't explain, if I ever actually had someone who was kind enough to listen to my issues.

I'm a prodigy. Of course I don't have problems. No prodigy ever has problems, stress, or issues of any sort. That would just be silly.

My photographic memory actually allows me an easier time in learning things. I can see something done once and almost immediately grasp the concept on how to do it while actually being able to do it. Obviously justu and such took a few tries, but it took a lot less time than it would most people.

As a person who people expected to be perfect, I waited until I was out of the watchful eyes of any spectators before attempting any new justsu of course. A prodigy taking more than a second to learn how to do something? How atrocious!

As is shown in my thought process, being this type of person hasn't exactly made me the happiest person out there.

That's not to say I wasn't happy. I'm just a bit more cynical I guess I should say.

And who wouldn't be?

Everyone expected you to do everything.

I suppose I didn't have it as bad as some people though, as I wasn't a clan child. Yes, both my parents are ninja, but not of a prestegious clan that had a Kekkei Genkai running through their veins. I'm an anomaly plain and simple.

The Hatake had that Kakashi kid. The Uchiha had Itachi.

And then there's me. Rising above the rest without really meaning to and showing what I can do before I fully grasped the concept of what that meant. By the time I realized how things would begin to be for me, much younger than many others, it was already too late. Others knew what I could do. They knew and expected things from me.

Who was I to tell them to back away and let me live like I wanted to?

They controlled my life, not me. I needed to do as I was told.

To be honest, I hated it and by the time I was eight, I hated most of the people who expected so much from me, my parents the ones hated the most. Now obviously, I could've just said that I didn't like having such expectations and didn't want to stand out so much, but I couldn't. Even though I hated them, they were my parents, and I still cared for them. I wanted to make them happy, as every child would like to do.

They weren't ever happy though. After finding out I was such a prodigy from ordinary ninja, the fame went to their heads. They expected more and more from me.

There's one person I've come to know though, one I met at the age of seven, who has slowly swayed my way of thinking. He's the reason I don't hate my parents as much as I should. He's the reason I don't hate everyone as I was slowly beginning to do.

He knows how I feel and doesn't brag about what he can do. He doesn't show off or try to make me feel horrible if I, as a prodigy, made one tiny mistake or sneezed when I'm not supposed to.

We've known each other since we were in the Academy and now at the age of ten, we're still together and close friends. We teach each other whatever we can and spend as much time together as possible with our ranks and statuses.

"Would you like to come with me to pick up Sasuke?"

I smiled ever so slightly and nodded my head. "You know I will. Sasuke's such a sweetie, just like his older brother."

He didn't smile, as we were walking through the village and it would be a crime if he were to show emotion, but his lips did twitch the slightest bit.

I did say it was most other prodigies who bragged, not all of them.

Itachi Uchiha, prodigy of the Uchiha clan, is not one to brag or boast. Maybe that's what caused my attention to drift to him the time when I first enrolled into the Academy. Perhaps it was because he was in the same boat as I was, going through things at a younger age than normal, because even though the other clans had their own prodigies, Itachi is the only other one who is going through things at a younger age and quicker than everyone else. Maybe it was the fact that for once I couldn't read someone.

It was a challenge.

I was never challenged in anything I've done. It was all so easy to do and therefore not interesting or fun. This male, the same age as me, held this challenge though. I wanted to be able to read him, but above all, I wanted to befriend him. As stated before, he didn't brag or boast, he was in the same boat as I was, and it appealed to me. If anyone would understand me, it'd be him.

It took some time for us to be able to speak as friends because he was initally wary of me. After the initial awkwardness, it started looking good to the both of us. He seemed to enjoy the fact that I loved learning things as much as he did and I enjoyed the fact that he was just the type of person I needed.

A friend.

One who didn't want to use me or expect anything from me.

"Learn anything new?" I asked Itachi, leaning against the fence slightly as we waited with other parents and older siblings for the children to be released.

He shook his head. "Not today. Surely tomorrow though." Our conversation was quiet so the others in the area wouldn't hear us. "How was your mission?"

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. "Dull. My mission partner wasn't there because he was in a meeting with his father and I had to go solo."

"How many?"

"Nine."

"Sounds as though you had fun. Nine against one."

I stared at the male next to me. "You're hilarious Itachi. Really." The bell rang, but Itachi and I continued our conversation while waiting for Sasuke to come out. He sometimes came out early, while other times he was one of the last out, so it was hard to tell how long we had to wait.

"Sayuri!"

Apparently he was early today, because a little ball of sunshine ran into my legs, hugging them.

"Well hey there Sasu." I picked Sasuke up to hug him to my person. "Hey look Itachi. I found Sasuke."

"You're hilarious Sayuri. Really."

"You weren't around yesterday," Sasuke said, a pout on his face. "And Itachi had to talk to Father."

"I'm sorry," I apologized before setting Sasuke back on the ground. "I had a mission to go on. You know when I'm in the village I come to pick you up, even if Ita here can't."

He grabbed my hand. "You're here now, so you're forgiven."

I smiled at the younger Uchiha before looking up at his older sibling. "How about we bring Sasuke here to get something to eat as an apology?"

"Please?" Sasuke nearly begged Itachi.

He didn't need to though. Itachi loved his little brother and would do anything for him.

Itachi simply nodded his head and followed Sasuke, who was dragging me to whatever location he wanted to eat at today.

"So what happened today?" I asked Sasuke so there wouldn't be any silence.

Almost immediately I was getting details of the younger Uchiha's day. He told me everything he could remember from what he ate for breakfast, to what people were saying around him, and even what he was learning in classes.

"What did you do Sayu?" Sasuke asked, looking up at me.

"I was on a mission," I told him with a smile. "I only returned a little bit before you got out. I met up with Itachi while I was out and about to get some food."

"You haven't gone home yet?" Sasuke frowned up at me. "Won't your parents be worried about you?"

"They know I can take care of myself. And besides, I can't pass up a chance on eating with my favorite little guy." I ruffled Sasuke's hair.

"What was the mission about?"

"Nothing important. A quick assassination."

"You got rid of them all in a quick strike didn't you?" Sasuke looked up at me.

I smiled down at him. "Of course. No need to prolong things. They were going to die; the quicker the better so there would be no suffering."

"You're so nice. Even though you have to kill people, you still don't want them to suffer."

A small laugh escaped. "I suppose its thanks to Itachi for that." If it hadn't been for him, I would've continued down my path of hatred. Your personality has an effect on your habits, and as such, if I had more hatred, I more than likely would've wanted others to suffer as well. I leaned down to whisper to Sasuke though I knew Itachi would be able to hear. "Your brother is a really good influence."

Very slightly I could hear Itachi chuckle at the compliment.

Sasuke nodded quickly. "He really is. And he's one of the best ninja ever."

To be honest, I was envious of Itachi when it came to Sasuke. It was obvious to anyone around that Sasuke adored his older brother. I wished for a sibling that would look up to me as well, but my parents were unsure since I turned into such a genious. Another chance of that happening was nearly impossible.

Thankfully, Sasuke adored me as an older sibling nearly as much as he adored Itachi. I knew I would never be able to compete with Itachi, but Sasuke still looked up to me as well, and that honestly made me happy.

"He is," I agreed. "Did you know that one time when he and I were sparring, he managed to pin me in one move with his eyes closed?"

"Really? What did you do then?"

"I did what he least expected and elbowed him in the stomach before pinning him to the ground." To be honest, it wasn't a spar between the two of us.

As prodigies, there is an image to uphold, but when you're with someone who doesn't care for image, you let your true self show. Itachi and I were doing what most kids our age would do. We were literally goofing off and having fun since neither of us had a mission at that point in time. There wasn't loud laughter, as we didn't want to get caught, but there were giggles, smiles, and a wider variety of emotions being displayed on our faces.

"I wish I could've seen it." Sasuke pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "That must've been so cool. I see Itachi and Shisui spar and it looks cool, so you two must look even cooler. You're just as strong as Itachi."

"One day we'll spar so you can watch. Isn't that right Itachi?"

Itachi nodded. "I know you've been wanting to watch us for a while now."

"Who wouldn't? Everyone says the two of you are unstoppable together."

"Enough with that," I said gently, ushering Sasuke to his seat. "Let's order something for now, alright? Then you can continue." Itachi and I sat on each side of him and listened as he continued to tell us what others said about us when we weren't around. Also saying things we've both heard when people thought we couldn't hear them. He even continued chattering when we had gotten our meals.

Both Itachi and I had to scold him more than once for talking with his mouth full, though there wasn't much bite to our words. He was just excited to be able to chatter with two people he cared about.

"Would you like some more tea?" the waitress asked as she reached our table.

I nodded my head and turned my attention to Sasuke, who was talking about something that happened in the Academy a few weeks ago.

"Sasuke, would you like to go on a mission with me?" I asked the young Uchiha, causing him to immediately stop speaking.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. You see, there's a client who needs some flowers, but you have to be really careful in picking them because they're very similar to another flower that is poisonous when eaten."

"Sure!"

"Would you like to wait here then? I'll go request the mission and we can go and grab some. Itachi can keep an eye out with us, or he can join us officially on the mission if he'd like." My attention went to Itachi who nodded.

"I'll join in the mission."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he kept looking between the two of us. "I get to go on a mission with both of you?"

"If you'd like to take this mission on." It was a very simple D-rank that I was considering taking just to be able to relax, and I'm sure the Hokage would have no issues with Sasuke going along since both Itachi and I will be there. We'd do anything in our power to make sure he was safe.

"Yeah!"

It didn't take much convincing and soon the three of us were on our way toward a more secluded training area so we could pick some flowers.

"What kind of flowers are we looking for?" Sasuke asked me as I led him through the trees.

"I'll show you once we find them. And then I'll show you what you should avoid picking. As long as you don't eat them, you won't have to worry too much."

When we finally reached the location, I showed Sasuke the two types of flowers then began showing him how to undig these particular plants. "If you just pull it, you'll break the stem," I explained. "By the time it gets to its intended location, it will have lost its potency and no longer be useful." I pulled up a poisonous flower to demonstrate. "You also don't want to try pulling it as close to the ground either." I pulled another poisonous plant as stated to show Sasuke once more. "It still breaks the stem and makes it useless." I then dug into the ground with my bare hands, making sure to keep some distance between my hands and the plant we needed. "With these specific plants you need to actually dig the dirt around the plant out with it." I pulled the plant out to show that the roots were still mostly hidden within the dirt.

"Is this something you have to learn as a girl?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head a little bit as I set the plant into a basket I had borrowed from the Hokage's office. "I've never seen Itachi do anything like this."

"Actually, these are medical plants." I smiled at Sasuke, ruffling his hair. "I've learned this because if you crush these plants and apply it to a cut, it disinfects the wound while also helping to heal it quicker. It has to be fresh though, hence why its best to do it this way. It helps to know these sorts of things if you're in a bit of a bind."

"I learned it from Sayuri," Itachi commented, working on one of the flowers we needed to pick.

"You can use chakra to move through the dirt quicker, but you risk destroying the roots and to be honest I find this is a very calming thing to do." I leaned closer to Sasuke. "If I must admit though, I really do enjoy getting a bit dirty as well." When you're a prodigy, people expected you to be immaculate, and therefore your childhood isn't quite the same as others. I was hardly ever allowed outside to play in the dirt. The only playing in the dirt came from training and that was it. Since it was hardly ever difficult for me to learn anything, I rarely ever became dirty, though training my body to become stronger allowed a little bit more of a chance. The body had to be trained to become strong, so in my free time that's what I did out of the watchful eyes of others.

Sasuke's eyes widened a little.

I had noticed that with Sasuke. He loved to learn more about me and any time I told him something he was paying as much attention as he could.

He was just too adorable for his own good.