The Festival I

"Hey, Itachi, are you sure you don't want to come to the festival with us?" Sasuke asks his older brother for the umpteenth time. His hand is resting on the door knob. He was just about to leave, but thought better of it, deciding to ask Itachi once more before he left.

The eldest Uchiha had been cooped up in the compound ever since he came back to the Leaf. Though he was allowed back because of the truth behind the Uchiha massacre, the village refused to allow the details behind the massacre to be made public. They didn't want to risk the safety of the village's future by creating what they felt was needless inner turmoil. So the truth stayed relatively hidden, and the villagers carried on hating Itachi Uchiha, believing he was a traitor and a murder.

They treated him as an outcast, the exact same way they used to treated their beloved hero. Not wanting to make matters worse, or create unnecessary conflict, Itachi chose to remain inside his and Sasuke's home and inside the Uchiha compound. Unless he was given a mission outside of the Leaf village, Itachi never stepped foot outside the compound, much to Sasuke's dismay.

Itachi shakes his head, smiling fondly. "Yes Sasuke, I'm sure. Now go have fun with your friends at the festival." Itachi says for the twelfth time. He doesn't mind though; he knows Sasuke is just concerned for his well-being. And after being hated by his little brother for nine years straight, it was nice to be loved by him again. It didn't matter if the villagers continued on hating him forever, as long as he had Sasuke's love, he'd be alright staying within the walls of the Uchiha compound.

Sasuke nods once before leaving out the front door with his blonde boyfriend. Naruto waves goodbye as they go, and Itachi smiles lightly, waving back. Sasuke rolls his eyes at how stupid they both look waving at each other in-doors, but he's unable to hide the small grin that continues to grow on his face as he drags his blonde out the door.

"You can come out now." Itachi announces, once both boys are gone.

A female kunoichi, the same age as the two boys who just left, peeks out from her hiding place behind the sofa. She has tanned skin with long dark brown hair and bright golden eyes. When she steps out from behind the couch, Itachi is able to see she has on a fitting cropped red sweater, with a high-waist black ninja skirt, and black knee-high ninja boots. On top of her head, is a red Leaf Village Headband.

He knew Sasuke had a few really crazy fan girls, but this was ridiculous. This girl just broke into their house without either of them noticing until now. Not only did that make her crazy, it made her dangerous. They were Uchiha; no one was suppose to be able to get into their district without them noticing, let alone their house. How had she managed both these miraculous feats on her own? "Care to explain how it is you got in here?"

She crosses her hands behind her back, looking at Itachi with a bright smile. "Nope." She says cheekily. She's rocking back and forth on her heels, like a child who can't sit still.

Itachi tries to frown, but the girl's childish behavior brings a small smile to his face. It reminds him of a certain eight year old Uchiha he use to know, a long long time ago. The same one who just left with his lively blonde boyfriend to the festival. "How about your name then?" Itachi asks.

The teen stops rocking at this, she's more serious now, but her smile doesn't fade. "I'm Rin Senju. Great granddaughter of the First Hokage." She tells him.

Itachi's eyes widen. Well, that explains how she got in their house. She has to be exceptional if she's related to the First, but it still didn't explain why she was here. "What is the great granddaughter of the First doing here?"

"I'm here for you." She tells him. Itachi doesn't answer, just frowns quizzically. She doesn't seem to mind though. She starts humming as she walks over to the front door, opening it fully. A cool breeze comes in. She shivers, but doesn't move to close the door. "It's a gorgeous night." She says looking out at the array of stars all across the night sky. Itachi steps in behind her, to see for himself. That's when he realizes what the song she's humming is. It's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". A nursery rhyme his mother use to sing to them all the time.

She turns her head, to look at him over her shoulder. She's smiling, a beautiful smile, and her eyes are sparkling even without any light to shine down on them. "It'd be a shame if it went to waste. Don't you think?" She asks.

He nods. What a strange girl.

"Let's go!" She tells him. He's about to ask where, but before he can, she grabs his hand and pulls him out the door. The next thing he knows they're running down the dirt roads of Konoha together, in a rush to get wherever it is she's taking him. He keeps having to apologize along the way to all the people she nearly hits, but he can't bring himself to stop her. Even with all the dirty looks he's getting because of who he is. Even with the attention she's drawing, and his dislike for having people's eyes on him. Even with having promised himself to not leave the Uchiha compound, except for on missions. Even with all of that, he can't stop her, because to him, she's sparkling beautifully.

Finally, they arrive at their destination. Ironically enough, it's the same place his brother invited him to earlier: the festival.

It says I at the top, because I plan on adding another part to this. It'll just be them enjoying the festival together, nothing major. It won't be added anytime soon though. Also, I'll probably write more fics about this couple just, because the way I imagine them is adorable. It'll just be more cute stuff like this, really. Anyway, review, favorite, and share! And follow me (or this story) if you want to read the next part of this, because it'll be posted here as The Festival II.