Author's note: This story is a bit AU-ish in the beginning. Moreover, this is absolutely my first time writing a Naruto fanfic so do correct me if I make some mistakes on facts or characterizations along the way. Aaaand.. I'm not really fond of a crying Hinata so hopefully there won't be too much waterworks in this fanfic. Rating will probably change in the future depending on how the story writes itself. Anyway, I'm going to rate it as T just to be on the safe side.

Summary: Itachi had always thought of her as strong unlike what majority of the village people kept saying. He wasn't talking about physical strength-no, she had her own strength. A different kind of strength that made him unable to tear his eyes and thoughts away from the quiet Hyuuga heiress as the years passed by. Too bad he wasn't the only one to notice.

oOo

Chapter 1

by: meganedanshi

oOo

The mindless chattering of people with their loud voices made the young Uchiha Itachi want to frown, but his face showed no negative emotion whatsoever. He was calm and collected on the outside showing a perfect example of a well-mannered 11-year old adolescent. His onyx eyes drifted to his side when a small hand continuously pulled the sleeve of his shirt. An amused smile formed on his lips as he gazed upon his younger brother, Sasuke, who was openly pouting at the predicament that they were in.

Currently, they were at a birthday celebration held within the Hyuuga compound. It was a common occurrence for different clan heads along with their families to attend the said event. Itachi would've rather disappeared somewhere and reappear only when his presence was needed, but that wasn't the case because it was the first time that Sasuke was able to come with them. Their father usually left him with their other relatives because according to him, Sasuke was too young to participate in such events and would only be a nuisance. Itachi frowned upon his reasoning and wanted to show him that Sasuke wasn't a nuisance at all and that he could very well behave as properly as any of the children here.

"Do we have to stay long, nii-san? I think I'm going deaf because of all these stupid and loud voices."

Well, he still believed that despite the growing irritation in his brother's face.

"Wait here, Sasuke. I'll find mother and father and ask if we could leave early. We don't have to do anything important here anyway," he playfully ruffled Sasuke's hair before quickly disappearing to find their parents.

He turned to a corner and immediately stopped upon seeing a group of young boys surrounding a small girl. He tried to analyze the situation without alerting them, but the girl was directly facing him and so her attention focused in on his figure. His eyes immediately fixed on the girl's pearly white ones and for a brief moment, he was taken aback by how she met his gaze without faltering. Usually, people would be cautious enough not to stare directly at their clan's pitch black eyes for fear of being put under a genjutsu. He could've attributed it to ignorance, but his mind did not fully believe that the young girl was ignorant of the Uchiha when she herself came from one of the respectable clans in Konoha. His thoughts were cut short when one of the boys forcefully pushed the petite girl. She landed roughly on her knees and from the looks of it, she might have bruised and cut herself from all the rubble on the ground. The Uchiha was about to step in to help but he had noticed she mouthed something to him. If it was only a normal person, they wouldn't have been able to decipher her silent words and pass it off as her lips trembling in fear but that wasn't the case. He was so surprised that a mere young girl about the same age as his brother was able to stop him twice in a day without even lifting a finger.

P-Please don't concern y-yourself with this. These were the words she had silently spoken and he decided to comply with it, albeit unwillingly. He briefly nodded in her direction before disappearing somewhere just to hide his presence and watch at how the predicament will unfold.

Minutes passed by with him watching her being shoved here and there as she tried to stand her ground. For some it would look like a pitiful scene, but to him that was not the case. He was in awe at the courage of the little girl. Not a drop of tear can be seen from her face and despite being pushed around, she did not utter a single complaint. It took almost twenty minutes until the group of boys got tired of bullying her. They mocked, taunted and laughed at her before deciding that it had gotten a bit boring now. Just as the group passed by him, Itachi was about to reach out and teach them a lesson when he heard her speak.

"Please,don't."

He turned to see her pleading face and was completely confused at her behavior. He flash stepped towards her direction and stopped a foot away from where she was sitting on the ground.

"Why?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It's..i-it's wrong to resort to senseless violence," her legs and arms were still trembling from the abuse yet she still tried to stand up. Her gaze never faltering.

"They hurt you. Isn't that senseless?" he deadpanned and saw her blush from embarrassment.

"T-then it's w-wrong to take revenge," she stubbornly replied still looking at him. Itachi sighed in frustration. She needed to know that the world doesn't always work that way and that she should know how to fight back.

"What's your name?"

"Hyuuga Hinata," she calmly replied and then proceeded to dust off her kimono. He saw her flinch when her clothes came in contact with her scraped knees and wounded palms.

"Are you of the main or the branch family?" He couldn't see the mark because of her bangs and from her answer he would find out how to deal with the situation. She was startled when she heard his question.

"W-why?"

"Because if you're from the main house of the Hyuuga clan then your elders wouldn't just let this incident pass-"he stopped and stared intently at the girl in front of him before smirking.

"So that was your plan? You won't resort to any violence, but through politics?" he shook his head quite disappointed at the turn of events.

"W-what do you mean?" Hinata confusedly looked at the young boy.

"I'm saying that you won't raise your fist to those brats because it would be more damaging if your family does it for you," he snidely remarked, turning his gaze sideways completely.

"I won't do that!" she remarked clenching her fist at her sides despite the pain from her wounds.

"Ohh.. Why wouldn't you?" he raised a brow. He was very interested to know what sort of excuse she had for him.

"Because then they would never want to become my friends," she replied a tinge of sadness could be heard from her voice. She straightened her posture and exhibited a perfect bow despite her injuries before leaving him dumbfounded.

To say that Uchiha Itachi was taken aback was an understatement. He felt ashamed for treating the Hyuuga girl in that manner and was planning to apologize when he saw Sasuke walking towards him.

"Nii-san, where were you? Father and mother are looking for you."

"Ah, sorry. I was a bit preoccupied...with something..," Itachi let his brother drag him back to where their parents were. He was still too busy thinking up of ways to apologize.

"Ah! There you both are," Uchiha Fugaku exclaimed, motioning for them to come closer.

Upon seeing their father greeting them in that matter, both the Uchiha siblings straightened their backs and cleared their minds of any musings. Despite only being eleven and six year old children, much was already being expected from them.

"Hiashi-san, you remember my eldest, Itachi. We brought along his younger brother, Sasuke," Fugaku introduced them to the Hyuuga clan's head and his wife.

"Yes, yes. I can see that Sasuke is also going to be a great shinobi like his brother," Hiashi Hyuuga commented as the two brothers bowed respectfully.

Itachi merely observed the group he was in. The two clan heads were discussing mundane topics that he had no interest in but still took note of in case their father catches him being distracted. He managed to stop himself from chuckling upon seeing that his younger brother was trying his best not to yawn. He decided to look around the premises to find the girl he met when Hiashi Hyuuga said something that caught his attention.

"Let me introduce my first born daughter as well. It is her birthday, after all, Hinata," the clan leader called and from his side appeared the Hyuuga heiress.

"I am Hyuuga Hinata. It is a pleasure to meet you," she said and bowed.

Itachi and Hinata locked gazes for a split second upon recognizing each other. Itachi was the first to recover and nodded in her direction. Sasuke, on the other hand, uncharacteristically offered a small smile to the heiress to which she returned with a bright one of her own.

The exchange was not lost on the four pairs of eyes looking at their children. Fugaku and Hiashi knowingly looked at each other before proceeding to go inside and mingle with the other powerful shinobi in their village. Mikoto Uchiha and Hinata's mother also went inside to see the other Hyuuga daughter, Hanabi, leaving the three children behind.

And then, black eyes met white ones.

"Hyuuga Hinata?"

つづく

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: RR? :D