Alright, you guys!

WARNINGS: This is my first story with Itachi in it, and I tend to put characters a lil bit OOC...well ok, a LOT ooc, but yeah. So, if you're going to flame me to tell me Itachi's OOC, save yourself the trouble. I already know.

Also, in this story, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto like to act a little younger than they actually are. ;;; oops.

And, Noriko is a little bit Mary-sueish. I don't care. I do what I want.

Well...what's next...oh right, disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER: If you think I own Naruto...you're a retard.

:D Sorry. I had to.

REAL disclaimer: The only thing I own from this story is Noriko. Well, and the plotline, but I doubt you guys would want it.

Note to readers: Memories are like this, and...well i don't want to give away the story, but when you see something like this, something is talking. Also...Noriko's name means belief. Just FYI! Oh. And, the first chapter kind of sucks a little, in my opinion. It gets better later. And, after chapter 12, I'll be asking for ending ideas. Keep that in mind:D

Now...here's your story!

Here it comes!!!

"Nori! Nori! Sasuke-kun is on my team, and he and Naruto will be here any minute! What do I do?!" Sakura ran into her big sister's room. "I need to make a good impression on Sasuke! I've just got to!"

'Well...it looks like the younger Haruno has a crush on the younger Uchiha. How ironic.' Her eyes filled with pain. "Well, Sakura, the only thing I can tell you for sure is..." Her eyes dimmed, and she said softly, "Never let your Uchiha go. Never."

Sakura looked at Nori's eyes and saw the raw, unhealed pain there. "Nii-san, why are you sad?"

She turned a hurt smile to Sakura. The fact that she was smiling let Sakura see the full extent of the emotional wound her sister was dealing with. "I was in love with an Uchiha once myself. I knew something was wrong, but I let him slip through my fingers. Now he's lost to me, and I can't see myself ever getting him back."

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized which Uchiha her sister had loved. "Uchiha Itachi?!"

Nori nodded.

"But nii-san! He's...! He killed...!"

"I know, kiddo. He wasn't always that cruel, though. He and I used to train together, and when the other academy students would pick on me for being weak, he would tell me that I was strong."

"You used to be weak?!"

She grinned. "Yeah. But Itachi-kun trained me until I was the second strongest in my class...still second to him, of course. Hours and hours we spent together, sparring, strengthening our muscles...until the day he found that manuscript. He became obsessed with the Mangekyou Sharingan, and he tried everything he could to awaken it, other than what was described. When I heard that his best friend was missing, I knew he had done it. That, my dear...that was the beginning of the end. I went to find him, and he was in our training spot. I questioned him, and he told me to forget it, and to leave him alone. And I...I listened to him." She sighed as her eyes turned glassy. "I listened to him, Sakura. I listened when I should have disobeyed him. Sakura...like I told you before...never let your Uchiha go. Never."

Sakura looked at Nori, confused. "But...if he's your best friend...you told me your best friend inspired you to become a mednin. If he left, then how...?"

"Ah. Well, you see, I had only managed to cut Itachi once. He cut me up all the time, not to mention the bruises. After he left, I didn't want the scars to remember him by. So, I trained as a mednin so I could get rid of them."

"Why didn't you just have one heal them for you?"

"It was something I had to do myself. I was still in pain from him leaving, and I knew that if I could get rid of those by myself, I could get rid of the pain by myself."

"Oh."

Sakura looked at Nori, trying to see if she was ok, and Nori gave her a big smile. "Well, Sakura, all I can tell you to do with your man troubles is to be yourself. That's all they really want." She thought for a second. "And if you so much as take off your headband for him, you will be in more trouble than you could ever imagine."
Sakura opened her mouth to say something else, but just then, their mother called up the stairs to her.

"Sakura! Naruto and Sasuke are here!" yelled their mother.

They walked downstairs together to see Naruto and Sasuke standing in the kitchen. Naruto was watching Mrs. Haruno mixing batter for a cake, fascinated, and Sasuke was leaning against a wall, looking bored.

Nori had a flashback of Itachi. With an urgent expression in her eyes, she asked, "Sasuke?"

He looked up.

"Can I have a word with you?"

He nodded, a questioning look in his eyes. She took him into the living room while Sakura panicked, thinking her sister was going to tell him something about her, and Naruto licked the bowl out for Mrs. Haruno.

Nori put her hands on Sasuke's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Uchiha Sasuke...don't follow the same path your brother did. You are already a fine ninja, and you'll only improve as the years go on. You don't need ultimate power, Sasuke. It's overrated. Your brother didn't understand that. All he knew was the urge to do better, to become the ultimate best, the very strongest. He was a drone, Sasuke, a mindless drone seeking only power. There's much more to life than that. Don't follow Itachi's path, Sasuke. Make your own...and do it right."

He was staring at her in shock, and she led the way back into the kitchen. Sakura knew that whatever her sister had said to him wasn't about her. She didn't know what could make Sasuke look as shocked as he did at the moment, but she knew it wasn't anything about her.

Just before they were about to depart, Nori pulled Sakura aside. "Don't let him go, Sakura. He's starting down Itachi's path...but it's not too late. You can still bring him back."

Sakura nodded. "Noriko nii-san? What, exactly, did you-?"

She just smiled. "Sorry, dear. That's a secret." With a smile, she pushed Sakura out the door. "Make your sister proud!"

As they started off down the road, Sakura called, "I'll try!"

Nori smiled. As she shut the door, she thought, 'Well, good job, Kiddo. You already have.'

There it goes!!!

Well, that was the sucky first chapter that I don't like much but is essential to the story. Yup! I can use big words! Anyway...Tell me what you think, but please be nice. I'll accept constructive criticism, but no flames, please.

Off to get some pie!

BlackDragon333, out.