Title: Sister
Authoress: Mistress Krane
Summary: Daughter to the head of one of the biggest corporations in Japan, young Sakura is only five years old when her parents are murdered. Fleeing for her life with only a necklace and her memories, she is found and adopted by the Uchiha family, who take her in and raise her as their own. Growing up in a setting of warmth, love, and happiness, it was only a matter of time before a single event sent her spiraling back down into the mysteries of her past. high school AU, ItaSakuSasu
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N: To celebrate the new year, I've decided to try to pull up a new fanfic idea that I had. This chapter is composed of literally nothing but flashbacks that set up parts of the foundation for the relationships that are important throughout the fic; the first section that is italicized is more important to the plot of it all. Concerning Train: I sincerely apologize for my lack of updates the past year, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to delete the work or follow through with my idea to revamp and edit it accordingly to fit my writing style at this point. Well, more notes to come at the end: on with the story!
"Sakura-sama, you must leave at once!"
The frightened five-year-old's eyes widened in shock as the sword pierced the servant's stomach without mercy, sending him falling to the floor. From her place underneath the desk she could discern the masked killer stalking out into the hallway, conversing with a companion in harsh tones. Sounds of broken glass crunching and furniture breaking echoed throughout the mansion, but Sakura, remembering her parents' careful instructions, swallowed her broken sobs and rushed out from her hiding spot.
Not having been seen by the intruders, the pinkette slipped into the kitchen successfully. Her heart aching and her head pounding, she snuck into the lower compartments of the shelves, ignoring the cleaning supplies stored within. Kaasan had shown her this escape route many times over, stressing its importance as she had taught her about the five critical evacuation points in the house. If anything were to happen, she had been told, she was to use the point closest to her.
Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Sakura crawled into the dark hole hidden by a thin layer of removable wood and moved forward. The action was so routine that she could easily imagine her parents waiting for her at the end of the pathway, proud smiles lighting their features as she completed her task.
The cold, cramped escape shaft soon gave way to the chilling evening air as she appeared outside the western side of the mansion, alone. There was no one to greet her, no one to congratulate her as she fled the building, leaving her parents behind to be murdered. Memories flooded through her mind of her tousan, handing her a necklace for her birthday and reminding her every day never to lose it, and her kaasan, telling her that if anything were to happen to them to stay safe and happy.
Feet brushing the damp grass as she sprinted madly across the fields, Sakura huffed and sobbed, clutching the piece of jewelry around her neck with a desperate grip. Abandoning her family and saving herself felt sickening, even if this was something that she had been relentlessly ordered to do if the situation ever arose. Being told to keep herself safe until the time was right was one of the last commands that her parents had given her before sending her away to hide and run.
Coming to a halt before an unmarked train station, the young girl felt herself wobble and collapse, vision darkening and spinning as she fell unconscious.
XXX
"Fugaku, look at this poor girl," said a motherly voice ridden with anxiety. "She was just laying there passed out at the edge of the train station. I had just gotten off of the train to buy a bottle of water when I spotted her there: the stop was deserted and it seemed as if no one ever came by. The manager said that he hadn't seen anybody around since daylight, and he was clueless as to whose daughter she might be."
"Was there a town nearby?" This voice sounded serious and full of authority.
"No dear, it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. No cities within miles, and I couldn't spot any houses around. It was much too dark at the time."
"So this girl appeared out of thin air? The manager had never seen her before?"
"There had not been any parents searching for their children or anything of the sort the entire day. He hadn't even seen her step off of the train, Fugaku. I wasn't going to leave her there."
"I wasn't suggesting that." A pause. "What an unusual hair color - pink of all things. She's too young to have dyed it, though it looks strangely natural, doesn't it?"
"She's such an adorable little thing. I wonder why someone would abandon her like this."
When it seemed that there wasn't much left to say, Sakura cracked open her eyes, revealing a soft emerald gaze to the two harried—though the man appeared much more composed—figures before her. The woman seemed the more expressive of the two, her elegant features burdened with a heavy anxiety as she looked at her. The man, Fugaku, had a cold countenance about him, though there wasn't a lack of worry in his expression as well.
They both watched carefully as the small pinkette attempted to pull herself into a sitting position, using the pillow as a back brace against the bed's headboard. She seemed well enough without their assistance, much to Fugaku's silent approval.
"Do you feel alright? Is there anything that you need?" asked the woman, adjusting the pillow briefly. "While your clothes are drying you can go ahead and wear my younger son's clothes. They seem to fit you perfectly."
Looking down at the navy blue t-shirt that she was sporting, Sakura picked at the fabric curiously.
"Thank you very much," she offered with a small smile. These strangers seemed nice and sincere, and they apparently weren't aware of who she was or what had happened to her parents. Thinking back, she realized that her parents had also given her specific instructions about another identity that she was to use. Tears prickled behind her eyes: had they known that this would happen?
"What is your name?" asked Fugaku, voice controlled as he discreetly observed the girl.
"H-Haruno Sakura," she replied, a frightened tremor in her voice. The sight of her building tears triggered an unfamiliar stir in Fugaku's stomach, and he turned his gaze back to his wife quickly.
"Do you know where your parents are?" the woman asked kindly, sitting herself on the bed. Reaching out to pat the tearing child's head, she smiled warmly.
Sniffling as the tears began to pour, Sakura shook her head, thoughts moving as hastily along as her unusually bright five year old mind would let her. She wouldn't disappoint her parents by putting herself in danger. "I don't have any parents," she half-lied. She wasn't sure whether or not they were still alive, but she had the feeling that if these people dug too much they would put themselves in danger as well. They shouldn't be hurt, too.
"Do you remember why you were at the train station?" asked Fugaku after a few moments of silence. He didn't want to remain on such a touchy subject for too long, but he found it slightly disturbing that a child could survive without parental guidance for any extended period of time.
Sakura shook her head, averting her gaze and wiping her cheeks.
"Mikoto, may I speak with you in the kitchen?"
The woman named Mikoto nodded, standing from the bed.
"You should go to sleep for now, Sakura-chan. We'll be back soon."
Bending down to give Sakura a meaningful hug, Mikoto offered her one more smile before following her husband out of the room.
Laying down, clutching her chest, the broken five year old choked back a sob, mourning her family and her old life. Finding sanctuary in the small pendant secured around her neck, Sakura wondered just what these changes meant for her as she drifted back into her slumber.
"Good morning Sasuke-kun, how was your week at your obaa-san's house?" asked Mikoto with a smile, ushering her son into the house. His older brother followed suit, to whom she placed a kiss upon his head. "Good morning, Itachi-kun."
"Good morning okaa-san," Itachi returned with a small smile.
"Aniki taught me how to make a paper flower. We made a bunch of them and gave them to obaa-san," Sasuke chattered excitedly as they walked to the kitchen. "She said that she really liked them, and she put them in a bowl to put on the table."
"That was very nice of you boys," Mikoto replied, pulling the door open.
Inside of the kitchen the two young brothers were met with an only slightly unusual scene. Fugaku, as usual, was drinking his morning tea with the newspaper in hand, dressed for work. The pot still showed traces of steam and all of the chairs were in order. What was abnormal about the scene was a small pink-haired girl seated on the ground in front of the table, chewing on a stick of dango and staring at them with a smile.
"Good morning, Mikoto-san," she waved, chewing the sweet with a dainty elegance. Her smile was warm and curious as she watched the three step into the room, but she didn't budge an inch at the pointed stares from the two boys. "Are they your two sons?"
"Yes Sakura-chan, they are," Mikoto laughed, gently pushing the duo forward. "Go ahead and introduce yourselves."
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," the younger beamed proudly. "I'm five."
"My name is Uchiha Itachi," the elder introduced politely. "I am seven years old."
Standing herself up, Sakura giggled, bowing.
"My name's Haruno Sakura, and I'm five like you, Sasuke-kun. Mikoto-san and Fugaku-san told me that I might be living with you guys from now on. Nice to meet you."
Mikoto laughed once again at their shocked expressions, patting their heads. She had always wanted a daughter after all, and Fugaku seemed to be getting used to the idea; they weren't going to send her out on her own without anyone to take care of her. Luckily Sakura had had a week to adjust to them as well as the house before meeting the boys, so the transition was a lot smoother than was to be expected.
"Kaa-san, I don't want to share aniki with her," huffed Sasuke childishly, hugging Itachi. Just because he had to share the house with her, he had no intention of sharing his beloved big brother with her.
Puffing her cheeks angrily, Sakura carefully set down her dango stick and walked over to the two, looking at Itachi. He didn't say anything, merely raising a brow in question.
"I'm your new sister, Itachi-kun, and Sasuke-kun is being mean to me," she said matter-of-factly. "You're supposed to help me."
Feeling his lips twitch at the expectant expression on her face, Itachi looked down at Sasuke, who was glaring angrily at the pinkette.
"Otouto."
"Yes aniki?"
"Be nicer to Sakura."
Mikoto, who was watching the scene from beside Fugaku, felt herself smiling at the three. Said husband smirked in amusement as well, finding the situation almost pleasant. It was quite different from how his mornings usually began, but now it somehow felt more complete. Perhaps taking Sakura in would prove to be good for all of them.
"But-"
Sasuke was cut off by Sakura's triumphant laughter, and he harrumphed unhappily, releasing Itachi.
"Why is your forehead so big?" he asked sullenly, reaching over to poke it with his index finger. Having been defeated for the most part, the young Uchiha had naturally resorted to pointing out the feature most prominent to him in his begrudging curiosity to change the subject. "I didn't know they could get so big."
Laughter ceasing almost immediately, Sakura raised a brow in incredulous outrage. Oh, he was so not going there.
"My forehead isn't that big."
Sasuke smirked then, recognizing a sore spot when he saw one.
"Are you kidding Sakura-chan? It's huge."
"Eh? No it's not Sasuke-kun!"
Itachi observed the two with interest, having not seen Sasuke so bold before. He had noticed that his otouto tended to be quiet around most children his age, save for his blonde-haired best friend, and so seeing him so riled up with this young girl was a fairly nice surprise. Looking over at Sakura, he wondered why his parents had decided to take her in. Maybe she was the daughter of a family friend who needed help.
"Aniki!"
"Itachi-kun!"
"Don't ask aniki for help, he's my brother!"
"So? I can still ask. He's nice."
The Uchiha mother interceded then, stepping between the bickering children to play peacemaker. Handing Sasuke a dirty plate and Sakura a drying rag, she pointed to the sink authoritatively. Implications clear, Mikoto kept her expression neutral as the two continued their bickering as they walked. She wasn't actually angry at all, having expected such minor issues, but she had a natural mother's instinct whenever it came to arguing inside of the house. (though with such quiet sons, it hadn't really been an issue until now)
Itachi, sighing softly, made his way over to his chair beside Fugaku, settling himself. Having another person in the house didn't bother him personally, but looking at Sakura now, her vibrant pink hair and lively disposition so much different from his family's fairly cold tendencies, he couldn't help feeling almost eager at the prospect of change apparent in the near future. With someone like her around things were bound to become more interesting.
"Are you alright Itachi-kun?"
Looking up at his mother with a small smirk, he nodded wordlessly.
"Bye Fugaku-san!" called Sakura suddenly, turning away from the dishes to wave to the departing Uchiha patriarch. He was standing from his chair about to head for the door when he caught sight of her grinning at him. "Good luck at work!"
Hiding his surprise he nodded to Sakura in acknowledgment, accepting a goodbye kiss from Mikoto before heading out of the kitchen, suitcase in hand.
Sasuke, seeing that he had temporarily lost the pinkette's attention, splashed her slightly with the dishwater. She turned back to him with an indignant cry of complaint, missing his self-satisfied smile as she hit him lightly in the head with the towel.
X
Itachi sat silently on the windowsill, looking through the glass and up at the stars. Sleep had evaded him for the past few hours and, seeing that it was a cloudless night, he had crawled closer to the window to get a peek at the moon.
The moon had often dealt him a great deal of curiosity as he had wondered about the astronomy of the galaxy, and seeing it so clearly helped him to relax and drift. Okaa-san would surely scold him if she caught him awake at this hour, but he couldn't prevent the upwards tilt of his lips at the thought.
Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the wall. He didn't know how long he sat there, floating in and out of consciousness, but just as he was about to fall into a slumber, an almost unnoticeable tug awakened him again.
Eyes snapping open, Itachi ran a hand through his hair in irritation. Why couldn't he sleep? Normally, amidst such a precarious lull between sleep and, of course, not, the favorable of the two would pan out.
Lost in quiet contemplation, the elder Uchiha brother almost didn't notice when a similar tug came once again. This time he realized that the jerk had an origin, and his obsidian gaze landed on a small, hunched figure standing beside him. Pink hair ruffled and plain white pajamas sufficiently wrinkled, the petite source of his lack of sleep seemed to be waiting for something, her hand gripping the hem of his shirt.
"Sakura?" he said in slight surprise. Her head was bowed, hiding her features from him as she drew a shuddering breath.
"I-I'm your new sister, Itachi-kun," Sakura began, voice weak and vulnerable. She didn't see Itachi's eyes widen as she recounted her words from a year prior. "And I had a scary nightmare. You're supposed to protect me."
Lifting her head, the six year old stared up at him with watery emerald eyes, lip trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her pale skin shone in the moonlight, features drained of their color in obvious fright.
Seeing Sakura, who was always warm and energetic, so afraid caused worry to course like a poison through Itachi's veins, almost freezing his movements. He had never seen her so utterly petrified, but the fact that she had come to him for comfort worked to thaw his muscles considerably. Wordlessly inviting Sakura up onto the windowsill with him, he wrapped his arms around her and helped her up to lay against his chest.
"What has scared you?" asked Itachi softly, not entirely used to being in such a situation. Whenever Sasuke had had problems at night, he suspected that their mother had been the one to offer him support in place of himself, for he had never had any late night visitors peeking into his room. His experience in this particular field was sorely lacking, even with a younger sibling, but knowing Sakura fairly well helped him assume what would be best for her at the moment. Quiet support seemed to be the first choice.
"I-I thought that you, Sasuke-kun, Mikoto-san, and Fugaku-san were d-dead," Sakura stuttered, wiping her eyes. She turned around to stare at Itachi's sharp, familiar features, as if she were trying to convince herself that he was really there. Finding security in his steady, unwavering gaze, she found herself calming down.
"I'm right here Sakura. I am not dead."
Nodding slowly to herself, Sakura wrapped her arms around him, hugging the Uchiha to her tightly. The warmth of his body soothed her immensely, and soon her breathing became stable once again. Itachi's even heartbeat thumped against her ear, offering her concrete proof that he wasn't dead and was in fact here with her. A few minutes passed in silence as Sakura regained herself, Itachi acting as her silent source of comfort.
Raising her head to find Itachi looking down at her, concern lightly touching his features, Sakura smiled in thanks.
"Good job, Itachi-kun," she sniffed, smile widening. Emerald eyes regaining their sparkle, she hugged him once again. Voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt, she added, "I'm happy that I get to be your only little sister."
Unable to stop the small smile warming his eyes, Itachi reached over to pat her head. The action caused her to glance up at him in question but, receiving nothing in reply but a shake of the head, Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and withdrew her hold. Turning around to look up and out the window in curiosity, her eyes widened at the overwhelming amount of twinkling stars visible around the crescent moon.
"It's so pretty," Sakura marveled. She hadn't gotten many chances to see the full night sky so intimately, having always been subjected to early bedtimes and a restricted ability to actually stay awake past ten o'clock at best. Seeing it now, with Itachi, it seemed so magical: she felt like she could reach out and steal a star right out of the sky.
"Hey Itachi-kun," she began, wondering on her thoughts, thoroughly distracted from her earlier distress. "Can you catch a star for me?"
From behind her Sakura could feel Itachi's chest rumbling as his quiet chuckles filled her ears.
"One day, I will catch a star for you."
The pinkette twisted back to look at him, and he caught sight of her hopeful—but doubtful—eyes. She had always been very intelligent, Itachi admitted silently to himself, even considering her age.
"Really? How do you know?"
Itachi smirked at the challenge in her words. Patting her head again, he found himself amused at her huffing in reaction and mused idly over doing it more often.
"I'm your new brother, Sakura. Am I not supposed to try?"
Grinning, all traces of fear from her earlier nightmare replaced with affectionate warmth toward the boy beside her, Sakura nodded in agreement.
"Now you're getting it, Itachi-kun."
X
The summer sun blazed relentlessly down upon the school grounds, heating the playground metal and the entrance gates alike. Cool onyx eyes gazed through the glass of the classroom window as the faint hum of the sensei's lecture drowned in the background; break was so close yet so far away, and Sasuke's patience was gradually wearing thin.
If not for the light kick to his desk from behind, courtesy of one Haruno Sakura, Sasuke would have missed the few minutes of free time granted to them by the sensei as she sat to read over a personal novel of hers.
The class predictably split into its respective groupings, friends merging to discuss summer plans and last minute assignments or, in his case, fangirls coming to his desk to harass his summer plans out of him.
"Sasuke-kun, are you going to the fireworks celebration next Friday?"
"Sasuke-kun, do you want to go with me to the amusement park sometime? I'll pay for the tickets."
"Sasuke-kun, we definitely have to hang out this summer."
Not replying to any of the offers and instead pinning the group with a look that clearly stated, 'leave me the hell alone,' Sasuke sighed when he found no tangible effect on the girls. Glancing around the room through the throng of fans, he caught sight of Sakura and Naruto laughing at his misfortune from a fair distance away, practically clutching their stomachs.
From their angle, the blonde and the pinkette found endless amusement in the disgruntled expression of their Uchiha classmate, finding no point in hiding it from his poignant glare. He never seemed to get a break from his followers, not even in the last class before school was officially released on break.
"Why have we never tried to help him before?" asked Naruto, grinning at his best female friend.
"Are you kidding? Those fangirls would eat us alive for getting even remotely close to their Sasuke-kun," Sakura scoffed, having learned from past experience that talking to Sasuke during school unless absolutely necessary was a bad idea. The past four years of primary school had only been bearable thanks to Naruto, who had befriended her as soon as she had walked through the door discreetly behind Sasuke her first day of school here, and she had so far adjusted accordingly.
"Right, right. I'm sure he can manage just fine without us."
"Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'll treat the grouch to ice cream on the way home," Sakura assured him with a wave of her hand. The heat was supposed to be killer today anyway, and the walk back to the house would be much more pleasant with some frozen treats. "Means I'll have to buy one for Itachi-kun, too."
"Hey Sakura-chan, what would happen if the school found out that you, Sasuke, and Itachi were liv-"
Catching sight of Kiba approaching them, Sakura haphazardly covered the blonde's mouth with her hand. Having anybody find out that she was living with the 'famed' Uchiha brothers would be disastrous to her relatively low-key reputation. Even with her pink hair, compared to Sasuke and Itachi she was fairly normal, and she preferred it that way.
"Having fun there?" Kiba smirked, sitting on the desk beside them. Eyeing their position with a disinterested look, he raised an eyebrow. "What did you do this time Naruto? It looks like your big mouth got you into trouble again."
Freeing his mouth as soon as she was sure that he wouldn't finish his earlier sentence, Sakura sighed, idly wondering why the whiskered blonde's skin seemed a little warmer than usual. She chalked it up to the heat wave roiling outside.
"The idiot was just being needlessly stupid," she told Kiba, glaring daggers at the sheepish Naruto. His spiky hair ruffled and his cerulean eyes sparkling, he was the cover boy for mischief in her book.
"Ne, don't be so mean Sakura-chan," Naruto whined, scratching his head at the distrustful look she was shooting him. "You know I'm just joking around, right?"
"All the time," laughed Kiba, used to Naruto's playful antics. He looked at the clock and, noticing that there was only about a minute left before dismissal, grinned toothily at Sakura. "So, Sakura, do you want to maybe go with me to the amusement park next weekend? My treat."
Eyes sharpening at Kiba's ulterior motive for approaching them Sakura, though inwardly flattered, reached over to flick him in the side of the head. An unwanted blush had pinkened her cheeks but she scowled playfully, pretending not to notice.
"You know I don't date, Kiba." Her scowl softened into a smile of gratitude. "But thanks for the offer."
The Inuzuka just smiled, looking guilty as he rubbed his head.
"Hey, it was worth a shot."
The sound of the dismissal bell seemed to echo throughout the school, spurring the whole classroom into a frenzied rush as boys and girls hurried to leave the building. Even Kiba, rejected but undeterred, waved shortly before joining the students eagerly, ready to enjoy his vacation.
Sakura and Naruto merely sauntered over to their desks to grab their schoolbags before meeting up with Sasuke, who was waiting for them at the front of the room. There was no need to hurry: after all, they still had to wait for Itachi to catch up with them and the flood of students would have been troublesome to work through. Might as well take their time.
"Hey Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted innocently, working to keep her laughter in check at his brooding expression. She had seen that face a million times over, but it never got old.
Naruto, who was having similar thoughts, didn't attempt to hide his laughter as the trio set off into the hallway. A few students were still exiting the building, but they instinctively kept to the edge of the corridor at the aura of the third, less cheerful member of the group.
Sasuke, said less cheerful member, just grunted at the two, hand not carrying his bag shoved into his pocket. All he wanted to do was meet up with Itachi and get home without any incident. Sakura and Naruto, sensing his wishes, blatantly ignored them and grinned in unison, each grabbing an arm.
"Oh come on Sasuke, you aren't really upset about us laughing at you, are you? We do it all the time," the pinkette wheedled, dragging the Uchiha down the hallway. "Mikoto-san was right, you are getting a little more sensitive or whatever."
"I am not."
"You know that we can't help you teme," piped Naruto, grinning like mad. It was always fun to mess with his best friend, especially with Sakura as his helper. She was one of the select few who were immune to his death glares, other than his fangirls for some reason, and was surprisingly very good at getting him riled up. He suspected that it was a gift earned from years of living with him. "Otherwise we'd get attacked. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Yes, I would," Sasuke replied acidly, forcing himself and his holders to a complete stop. Regaining control of his limbs by shaking the two off, he gave Sakura an especially irritated look before continuing on. It seemed that he really wasn't in a very good mood.
Having learned not to take those expressions seriously, Sakura just shrugged, catching up with him easily. Itachi always knew what to do to get Sasuke out of his cranky streaks, so for the walk out of the school building she would talk to Naruto to let the boy simmer.
"Can you believe that Kiba asked you out, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with a frown, hands tucked behind his head as he walked. He appeared to be making small talk while at the same time trying to complain to her about the idea of her actually going out with someone, so she wasn't sure whether to go along with it or kick him out the window for being overprotective. "I mean, doesn't he know that you're technically off the market?"
Hearing nothing utterly offending to her feminity, Sakura decided to just go with it.
"What do you mean, 'technically off the market?'"
Naruto didn't reply, pointing to Sasuke instead. Momentarily confused, Sakura leaned forward to get a better look at the Uchiha's facial expression, nothing the narrowed eyes and apparent worsening of his already sour mood.
"Inuzuka asked you on a date, Sakura?"
Feeling her eyes narrow in response to the territorial sort of protectiveness in his voice, Sakura planted her hands on her hips. It sounded like he didn't approve of her dating either, which was pretty outrageous. Since when did he and Naruto become her watchdogs?
"Why yes he did, Sasuke-kun. Do you have a problem with that?" asked the pinkette dangerously, grip tightening on her schoolbag as she prepared to smack him with it. They were getting close to the school exit, so she could easily knock both him and the bonehead who brought it up down the stairs once they got there.
"You know we just want to protect you, Sakura-chan," replied Naruto hurriedly, answering in place of Sasuke. "Who knows what kind of creepy things that these guys can do to you?"
"It's Kiba. And he invited me to the amusement park."
"Did you say yes?"
"Of course not-"
"Hn."
Eye twitching at the self-satisfied smirk poised on his lips, Sakura whacked him with her bag roughly, not bothering to wait until they arrived at the stairs. Sasuke grunted but said nothing else to communicate his pain, having suffered much abuse from her since their first meeting. She was getting stronger, he admitted to himself as he withheld an unbecoming wince.
Naruto, not wanting to become a second victim, suddenly broke out into a sprint to the door a few inches ahead, shoving it open and leaping over the stairs to land safely on the pavement. Sasuke and Sakura followed suit soon enough, albeit in a less frantic fashion. The latter showed no signs of immediate danger, and he sighed in relief, breathing in the fresh air.
"Are you alright Naruto?"
Jumping at the deeply amused voice behind him, he turned around to find the elder Uchiha brother standing there smirking at him.
"Afternoon, Itachi-san," he greeted politely, feeling unusually tired all of a sudden. Around this guy, the normally impish blonde felt the need to be on his best behavior, and that along with his panicked episode from a moment before, along with the heat, had him feeling exhausted.
Because of his tired state, Naruto merely wobbled and dropped at Sakura's delayed punch to the shoulder.
"Naruto-kun!" his concerned attacker exclaimed, dropping down onto her knees beside him. She grew more worried at the sight of his chapped lips, reaching into her bag to pull out a bottle of water. "This heat is incredible. We just got outside…"
"It's nothing Sakura-chan," the blonde assured her, rubbing his shoulders tenderly. "That was a scary punch."
Itachi crouched down beside the two, feeling Naruto's forehead briefly. His dark gaze sharpened knowingly, worrying the younger boy as he drank from the water bottle.
"What is it, aniki?" Sasuke asked, holding his bag over his head to protect himself from the sun.
"Have you been feeling ill lately?" Itachi asked Naruto searchingly. "Your skin is burning up, even though we've only been out in the sun for a few minutes."
Smiling weakly, Naruto nodded. Leaning on Sakura as he stood, he rubbed his head and finished the remaining water.
"I've had a headache for a few hours now, but I figured I could make it through the rest of the day."
Handing him off to Sasuke for a moment, Sakura pulled a compact umbrella out of her bag and pulled it open, holding it over the blonde's overheated head protectively. "I had a feeling that someone might need this today. Mikoto-san packed it for me just in case."
"You may want to come over to our house for a while until you're feeling better," Itachi suggested quietly, holding the umbrella for Sakura as she bent down to grab Naruto's bag. "I am sure that okaa-san would rather you come with us considering the longer walk to your house."
Sasuke and Sakura agreed readily as the four began to exit the school grounds.
"Sorry about hitting you," Sakura apologized, smiling guiltily.
"At least it wasn't as bad as Sasuke's. His looked like it hurt like a mother."
"Shut up, idiot."
"Sasuke-kun, you deserved it. But I can't believe that you two are so against me dating," Sakura complained, shouldering Sasuke gently. Though she wasn't under the umbrella's shade, she didn't want him bumping into Naruto by accident. "I bet Itachi-kun is more reasonable than you guys."
Itachi, who was standing behind the boys holding the umbrella, frowned. Sakura dating and the duo's reaction must have been what had caused Naruto's panic from earlier. But it was certainly an interesting discussion.
"Has someone asked you on a date, Sakura?"
"Inuzuka Kiba asked her earlier," Sasuke supplied. He couldn't tell what his older brother thought about the subject, but he was fairly confident that he would see it like him and Naruto.
"Did you accept?"
"Of course not."
Hearing Itachi's noncommittal grunt, Sakura turned around to find him smirking. Jaw dropping, she flicked him in the ear, enjoying the spark of surprise that passed through his obsidian eyes.
"Itachi-kun!"
"I'm sorry Sakura, but I agree with Sasuke and Naruto," he admitted, chuckling at her betrayed scoff. "I believe that you deserve better, is all. I'm not sure of the reasons that they may have."
Demeanor softening at the concerned, brotherly explanation offered to her, Sakura reached behind to give Itachi a warm hug. Naruto and Sasuke, who had been expecting a different, more violent reaction, became indignant as they glanced back to find that, instead of a punch or shove, he was being treated like a sensitive elder brother.
"Sakura-chan, that isn't fair!"
"Aniki doesn't deserve special treatment."
"Itachi-kun gave me a much better reason than you two," Sakura grinned, not at all ashamed of showing extra affection to her favorite adopted elder brother. He knew her better than almost anyone, even though he was still in a close race with the two boys in front of her.
Leaning forward to embrace both Naruto and Sasuke she smiled, head resting on their inner shoulders.
"But I guess I can still treat everyone to ice cream. You're all still my boys."
All three smirked in unison, summer sun lighting their path into town clearly as they made their way through the heat and into the nearest ice cream shop.
X
"You're getting fat, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke's nose pinched in annoyance, having heard the phrase repeatedly for days. Sakura had so kindly taken to 'getting him extra healthy for the upcoming semester,' and the constant reiterating of the sentence had caused a sort of distinct echo within his mind to erupt.
Even now, as he was lying in his bed with his eyes stubbornly closed, he told himself that her observation was merely a ploy to get him to actually exercise.
He wasn't getting fat.
Tossing back the covers, giving up on sleep, Sasuke stood from his bed. Yawning and scratching his head, grunting at the predawn hour, he walked across the room and pulled his door open, stepping into the hallway. A quiet rustling emitting from the kitchen drew the curiosity of his muddled consciousness and he dragged himself across and down the hall to investigate.
Hair sticking up in disarray to signal his fitful night of sleep, Sasuke stared blankly at the pinkette leaning against the counter from his spot on the threshold of the open kitchen door. Obsidian eyes clearly displaying his disinterest and lack of enthusiasm at her being up so early in the morning, he grunted in greeting as he joined her.
"Morning Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled, waving and not bothering to hide her shock at seeing him up and about so early. "Did you change your mind about coming with me for some exercise? You look like you could use a nice, long jog to get rid of those extra pounds you put on eating the sweet dumplings from last night."
Sasuke scowled at her blunt and rather insensitive way of wording things. (untrue things, he insisted) The faintest glows of sunrise began to appear in the morning sky, lighting the crystal clear window within the room slightly and drawing his irritated eyes. It was quite a sore reminder that he wasn't supposed to be up before the sun was.
"No, I'm not going Sakura," he replied tersely, reaching over to push her head lightly with the heel of his palm. "I'm going back to bed."
"Why not?" Sakura pouted as she retaliated with a poke to his cheek. His annoyed expression made her laugh quietly, mindful of the others sleeping in the house. "You know, when you make that face you don't look like you're in your second year of middle school."
"It's pointless to go so early in the morning on a Saturday." He was obviously ignoring the latter remark on his apparently immature facial expression. "And it's cold."
Glancing dryly at her morning companion, Sakura pulled the loose jacket from her shoulder and wrapped it around his slouched form. The fit was surprisingly accurate, she noticed, before realizing that she had accidentally grabbed Sasuke's jacket from the rack in place of her own.
Oh well, she could still borrow it.
"See? Now you're not cold anymore."
The vaguely amused light specking Sasuke's eyes as he removed the jacket easily encouraged Sakura to continue her pestering. Any display of emotion coming from Sasuke before seven was progress in her mind.
Approaching Sakura from behind, Sasuke slid the fabric over her shoulder, sliding the sleeves over to cover her arms. As he zipped up the front, reaching around her easily, she leaned back and braced herself against his chest, sighing and yawning.
The action only bothered him for a brief moment, but he relaxed almost automatically: he knew that she was still tired and was used to having him there for support. He supposed that the increasingly touchy affections of his annoying female followers were making him more sensitive toward physical contact of this kind, especially so with Sakura—his closest female companion—and he merely brushed the feeling off with relative ease.
"See?" Sasuke smirked easily, chuckling lowly in response to Sakura's second, smaller yawn. She, still leaning on him, looked up at his expression with clear confusion in her eyes, not understanding his decidedly better mood. "Don't try to tell me that you don't have trouble waking up early either, Sakura. You sound as tired as I do."
Flushing lightly, slightly embarrassed by her blatant shows of fatigue when she had been the one pushing Sasuke to hype up, Sakura eventually shrugged with ease, separating herself from him and walking over to the refrigerator. Opening it up and reaching in to pull out a water bottle, she took a long drink and shook her head to wake herself up.
"Even though I am as tired as you," Sakura began, mussing up her hair haphazardly and ignoring the fact that Sasuke was now watching her with clearly conveyed amusement as opposed to the rather distracted interest that he had been expressing earlier. "The difference between us, my dear Sasuke-kun, is that I'm still willing to exercise for the sake of exercising while you, the one that actually needs to burn off that teddy bear-like chubbiness that you've been accumulating, are unwilling to even try."
Grinning mischievously at the insulted boy's newly irritated scowl, Sakura watched him with a clear challenge in her sharp emerald eyes. Of course the pinkette was just pulling the whole chubby thing out of her ass - Sasuke was by no means gaining any excess body fat from what she could tell. There were merely two reasons as to why she insisted that he exercise.
The first, most obvious reason for her pushing was simply to keep him healthy. She cared very deeply for her adopted family, and with Itachi already keeping himself perfectly fit for athletics by running and lifting weights on a regular basis, (and thus building himself a body that any girl would swoon over, even though Sakura would never admit to having seen it more than absolutely necessary for one living under the same roof as him) she became worried about the younger, less devoted of the brothers. Mikoto and Fugaku had their own methods for maintaining their health, and unless something drastic happened to affect either one of them, she would leave them to themselves.
The second, more secretive and experimental purpose of this was almost purely of Sakura's concern for Sasuke's personal life. She was perfectly comfortable admitting that both he and Itachi, for that matter, were handsome; gorgeous, in fact, to the point of complete unfairness. Yet for some reason, unlike most normal fourteen year old guys, the younger Uchiha had never had a girlfriend.
Actually, now that she thought about it, neither had Itachi: and she found this odd. Knowing them like she did, she really couldn't come up with a satisfactory explanation for the peculiarity, having never really seen either of them interact comfortably with a girl other than herself.
Having had classes with Sasuke for as long as she could remember, Sakura had always quietly, along with Naruto of course, watched over him, searching for any potential love interests or hormonal reactions at the very least from him…and thus far found none.
Itachi, being two grades their senior, wasn't someone she could observe as frequently. Regardless of this minute detail, Sakura talked with him regularly, having practically been as close to him for her entire life as she was to Sasuke and Naruto. She liked to believe that if something significant were to happen in his personal or love life then he would find a way to tell her about it, but as far as she knew he hadn't yet had a girlfriend of any kind.
Sakura, having always been intelligent enough to somehow remain on par with the studious Uchiha family in academics, had a natural curiosity coupled with a scientific drive to help satisfy her wandering thoughts. Thus, as her own little test, she was trying to make Sasuke's physique a little more defined to match with the attractive face that had already brought him many followers and observe any changes in his continued romance-less trend.
And Itachi, well, needless to say, needed no help from her in the muscle department, so she would only go grab him from bed if Sasuke didn't want to-
"I'll come."
The almost strained and frustrated declaration was delivered through clenched teeth, and Sasuke, eyes slightly narrowed, then proceeded to turn and stalk out of the room, leaving a bewildered Sakura standing, uncomprehending, for a few moments before she busted into laughter.
Sasuke was just too easy sometimes.
A/N:Just in case the age jumps were hard to follow considering that they were practically buried within the small details of the paragraphs, the layout goes like this:
(1):Sakura, Sasuke: 5 years
Itachi: 7 years
(2): Sakura, Sasuke: 6 years
Itachi: 8 years
(3): Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto: 9 years
Itachi: 11 years
(4): Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto: 14 years
Itachi: 16 years
In the next chapter, the actual setting of the high school and everything is laid out.(:
Yours truly,
Mistress Krane