Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Why was she doing this?

Naruto hugging his parents the day he graduates from the academy.

Itachi and Sasuke smirking about their latest ANBU mission success over family dinner.

Kakashi at the bar with his old teammates discussing his newest genin team.

It was for them she reminded herself. She had always done this for them. It became a mantra when her travels wore down her resolve. She repeated it to herself every single day, over and over.

Along with her mantra she also recited the rules that constantly determined her actions. Rule one: lives can be changed but pain will always be a part of living.

Sakura looked on at the small boy in the academy playground sitting alone underneath a sweeping tree while the other children played merrily. A frown found its way onto her face as she observed the ten-meter radius around Itachi, repelling every person except his own family.

They especially avoided making eye contact with his dark eyes though they held no ounce of malice. Even the teachers were afraid to look at him.

The last month of observation over the future heir to the Uchiha clan had proven much of what Sakura had guessed about Itachi's past. There were forces acting beyond his knowledge and certainly his control and would one day require him to sacrifice his family.

The reason Sakura had jumped so far back in his timeline was to understand the why behind Itachi's actions in the distant future. She resumed her careful scrutiny.

A small almost unrecognizable smile was lifting the corner of his lips while he watched the other children play fake kunai battles and hold jumping contests as they waited for their parents to take them home. Longing lit up his pitch black eyes.

Rule one. Rule one. Rule one. Sakura briefly smiled to herself behind her white mask then walked through the bushes next to Itachi's tree. Today would not be a day he would need to endure.

The sound immediately alerted the young boy to a presence behind him and on instinct his eyes activated the Sharingan to glare at the ANBU-nin. A porcelain weasel with a triangle replaced her features and Itachi noticed that instead of red lines pink ones created a menacing face. Sakura watched his eyes twitch from the strain of activation and knew Itachi had yet to fully control his safety blanket.

"Anbu-san, can I help you?" He asked politely but with a hard edge to his voice that spoke of his lineage.

"Eh? Are you Uchiha Itachi?" Her feigned surprise was sugary and oh so obvious. Sakura leaned over to match Itachi's short stature. He looked at her blankly, unamused by her coyness.

"Right, right." Sakura held up her hand in a placating gesture. "Of course you must be. Only one Uchiha has been able to activate the Sharingan this young. Do you know how famous you are Ita-kun?"

His eyes narrow dangerously at the nickname she gave him. No one except Shisui ever used kun as an honorific and certainly no one dared to shorten his name to an annoying moniker.

Sakura leaned back on the balls of her feet, secretly pleased when his eye spasmed. She continued speaking in a bubbly voice, "I suppose you'll be graduating soon and taking missions. I must say it's quite impressive at the age of ten. I myself waited until I was twelve."

"I am seven." He corrected.

Her eyes narrowed in confirmation of his age. There was only six years left. "Right. Of course you are."

Sakura's eyes were drawn to the Sharingan and consequently deep into his young eyes. They no longer frightened her like before. Time and personal experience taught her the beauty of those eyes and less of the pain they promised.

A child's high-pitched laughter broke her concentration. Reluctantly, Sakura's line of sight returned to the children dotted around the school. More and more parents were arriving to pick up their little ones, eager to return home for dinner and quickly the school yard was becoming a ghost town.

"Is someone coming to pick you up Itachi?" Her eyes glanced sideways at the boy who also watched the emptying area.

Normally he and his cousin Shisui would walk back to the clan neighborhood together but he was sick and his mother Mikoto insisted she pick him up instead. Almost a genin and he still needed to be walked home. He was not about to admit that to the ANBU woman.

"You can leave now ANBU-san." Sakura snorted.

Itachi glared at her. Most people knew not to laugh at an Uchiha unless they were looking for a fight. Furthering his surprise at her audacity, Sakura swiftly reached out a hand and patted his head softly. Itachi was too shocked to stop her offending appendage.

He found the gesture too warm and familiar to his mother's and swatted her hand away from him. Itachi grumpily turned his head away from the annoying lady.

"What kind of ninja would I be if I left you all alone, hm?" Sakura paused to remove her mask and took a seat at the base of the tree. "Besides I'm sure your mom will be around any moment." She gave him a knowing smile.

The little Uchiha's pride deflated and found he was resigned to waiting with the pink-haired woman. He continued to stand while she comfortably rested against the oak tree. Using his peripheral vision he scrutinized the female's appearance. Before she had removed her mask he noticed her hair, the pink would stand out in any environment. ANBU should have stricter rules about changing outrageous outward appearances.

Her eyes also stood out from behind the mask. They were an unsightly green that refused to look away from his Sharingan when he was actively trying to intimidate her. He supposed since it was not working, despite his efforts, that he could return them back to normal.

Sakura did her own assessment of Itachi. Really he was like any other child his age. The only major difference was his bloodline limit. The way he was regarded by the students and adults reminded her sadly of Naruto. Idly, she wondered whether it was worse to be feared or loathed.

She needed to know more about the young boy. Sakura desperately wanted to understand if fear and loyalty was all it took for him to murder his family.

"Ne, Ita-kun?" The boy regarded her with an unsmiling face and his nose pointing to high heaven.

He must really dislike the nickname she considered quite cute. "Do you play with any of the children in the academy?"

"Playing is a waste of time."

"Really? I always quite enjoyed it when I was a child."

"I am not a child."

"Sure you aren't shortie," Another eye twitch. "Would you like to play on the swing? That was always my favourite."

Itachi glanced quickly at the empty swing across from them. It swayed back and forth with small gusts of wind, beckoning him forward to play.

"Do what you want."

His soured response made her beam. Sakura took several strides over to the only swing in the schoolyard. She pulled on the ropes and found it securely tied to the tree. She stepped up onto the seat and began a rocking motion. After a few minutes Sakura had a steady pace swinging back and forth.

A small amount of chakra pooled at the soles of her feet and then Sakura removed her hands from the ropes. She continued to swing standing up relying on her chakra to keep her actually on the seat.

"Hey Ita-kun, look! No hands!" She called at the boy already watching.

He scoffed at her, "That's not very impressive."

"My chakra control is one of the best. I would like to see you do better." Sakura wisely goaded and gave him a haughty gaze.

Maybe it was a pride thing. Maybe it was a male thing. Maybe it was simply the fact that he was a kid. Maybe it was all three because Sakura watched Itachi walk towards her with a dangerous glint in his eye as he rose to her challenge.

She jumped off the swing midair and landed neatly next to the approaching boy. Her hand grabbed the swing to slow it down for him to jump on. A small hand grasped the rope underneath hers and Itachi pulled himself up into a standing position with a small jump.

The pink-haired nin stepped back and waited for him to start swinging. A minute passed and nothing happened. Curious, Sakura walked around so she could face Itachi who stared pensively at the ground in front of him.

He was hesitating, unsure of how to proceed. Why would he hesitate? It's not like he's never…Sakura mentally smacked herself. Of course the Uchiha heir would never be caught dead on something as pointless as a swing. The other Uchiha children might experience fun and games at this age but that was far from Itachi's case.

Sighing at the unfairness of him never being on a swing, she positioned herself behind his back. "Alright Ita-kun I'm going to give you a few pushes and then I leave it to you."

"Hn."

Severely unimpressed by his response Sakura gave him a quick but firm shove that startled the boy forward. He swung forward and his grip around the ropes tightened. When he came backward she once more gave another strong push. This time Itachi was prepared for it and moved his body forward in time with the ascent.

Sakura grinned as he got the hang of pumping his legs in time with the swinging to increase his momentum. She took several steps back to give him room as the inverted arcs he made became larger. Sakura peered at Itachi's face. His brows were scrunched in concentration but his mouth formed a shy yet bright smile.

Since she began travelling timelines her heart had experienced some lightening moments. But childlike joy in the form of Itachi Uchiha was something she wasn't prepared for and it made her heart soar.

The boy turned his gaze to her and his smile turned into a smirk. He let go of the ropes and then very slightly slid one foot off of the seat. She raised an eyebrow at his one-footed-no-handed swinging. He smirked at her again and Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

"Itachi! What are you doing?"

Itachi's eyes widened as his mother ran towards him with worry in her eyes, clutching a small bundle to her chest. His momentary lapse of concentration disrupted his chakra control and the raven-haired boy was not able to stop himself from flying off the swing.

Mikoto's eyes widened unbelievably while she watched her son slip midair and begin a speedy decent to the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut unwillingly to witness the painful crash.

"Mom, I'm fine."

Reluctantly her eyes snapped open and relief flooded her body at seeing her eldest son completely unharmed and standing with an annoyed glare directed at an ANBU shinobi standing next to him.

"How?" Her voice cracked.

With a heavy sigh, Itachi pointed to the embarrassed pink-haired woman. Sakura blushed and bowed her head deeply, "I apologize Mikoto-san! It was my fault but I promise I would never let him fall." She straightened and gave the Uchiha matriarch a disarming smile while warily eying the smaller boy in her arms.

The mother found herself returning the smile against her better judgement but she supposed ANBU were the most skilled of shinobi.

"No, I'm sure he was quite safe with you. Thank you for staying with him," She took a cursory glance around. "His teacher's must have not noticed he was still here."

Sakura felt a wave of sympathy for the endearing mother who wanted to believe the best in people but fully knowing that her son's gene pool dictated how people treated him.

The bundle in her arms began to shift in her hold, waking to the noises around him. "Sasuke-kun, stop fussing." She pleaded.

Silently, Itachi stepped forward and held out his hands to his mother. Almost immediately she passed off the infant in her arms to her tiny son. Itachi cradled his younger brother to his chest and whispered consoling words until Sasuke quieted down and fell back asleep in his brother's hold.

Sakura tightened her fists and clamped down on the emotions threatening to spill from her eyes. The sight of Itachi holding Sasuke at such young ages was enough to make her want to cry.

Mikoto stepped up to Itachi and mused his hair affectionately, "Come on let's go home. Thank you again for looking after him."

Sakura smiled and waved slightly. She watched the retreating backs of the cute family of black hair and even blacker eyes. Soon she would change everything.

Itachi stopped and pulled at the hem of his mother's skirt. She looked down at her son expectantly but he simply held up his sleeping brother. Mikoto grabbed the child and held onto him securely.

Surprise colored Sakura's face when Itachi ran back to her. She knelt to his height and smiled when he stood in front of her.

"What's your name kunoichi?"

"It's Sakura. But you can call me Nee-san, Ita-kun!"

He scowled deeply. Then Sakura brought up her hand and flicked him dead center of his forehead.

"Baka."He bit out rubbing his forehead indignantly.

The little sprite turned around and sprinted to rejoin his mother before carrying on towards home. Itachi glanced backwards one more time but the pink-haired ANBU was already gone.

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A/N: I'm looking for feedback on this one, see if it is worth pursuing.