Title: cabbage patch
Author: paws-bells
Beta-ed by: MelissaRose85
Characters/Pairing: Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi
Type: Continuous (InComplete)
Genre: Romance/General/Humor
Word Count: 6593
Theme: LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #23, cabbage patch
Rating: M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.
Summary: Non-massacre AU. Their story began long before anyone could realize it. The story of a little pink-haired girl child, and a stoic young boy.
Created on: 03/04/09
Completed on: 14/04/09
Chapter Last Revised on: 12/06/09
Chapter Two
The next time he saw her, it was three months later.
It was swiftly nearing the day of the Chuunin Exams, but unfortunately, despite the past months of unceasing C and D ranked missions, Team Five's teamwork was still nowhere near proficient enough to make them an effective combat cell. The two older Genin members worked well enough together, it was he that they had a problem with—the youngest member of the team, and strangely enough, also the most experienced Genin out of the three of them as well.
Unfortunately, his passivity and reluctance to react to his teammates' hostility had only served to further stoke their dislike for him, already inflamed by the fact that his abilities as a ninja far surpassed that of their own.
Their Jounin instructor had been anything but pleased. Team building exercises were emphasized again and again, sometimes literally pounded into the more mulishly stubborn members of the group, and even then, the results were clearly reluctant and unenthusiastic. It was beginning to become frustrating, this resentment against him when he had done nothing to deserve it in the first place. He was always one to follow orders down to the very letter, never failing to complete his agenda with clinical precision, never allowing his personal thoughts and judgment to interfere with a mission. If only his teammates could learn to be objective as well; to put aside their differences and just cooperate for the exams, then they wouldn't be wasting precious time fulfilling such pointless endeavors…
It was after one such wearisome session with the team when he had come across the little girl again. Mentally exhausted and agitated from constantly having to butt heads with his cellmates for the entire morning and half of the afternoon, he had been taking a short cut through a park, purposefully making his way to his family's private training grounds for extra physical conditioning when he glimpsed the flash of pink on the edge of his peripheral vision.
He easily recognized four year old Haruno Sakura. Her unique coloring had made it relatively easy to identify her even from across the street, though this time around, she looked nothing like the curious and precocious child whom he had rescued that night those months ago.
Cornered and scared, her small, elfin face was pale with distress, large pearlescent droplets of tears slipping from upset pools of emerald as she sniffled pitifully and tried her best to cower away from her tormentors—a pair of older boys, perhaps two or three years her senior—as they jeered viciously at her and loudly made fun of her pink hair and high forehead. He observed that they had her neatly trapped at a corner of the sandbox, currently the most remote section of the play area within the park, partially hidden from view from just about anyone who would stroll past. If not for his acute hearing and the fact that he was swiftly passing through the area via the treetops, he would probably not have noticed the bullying that was going on.
"Hah! What a cry-baby! Shut up, you brat! You are such a pain! Your forehead is so huge and ugly that no one will ever want to play with you; just give us your toys already and get out of here, freak!" The one easily identified as the leader sneered, whereas his sidekick smirked nastily and made a show out of picking his nose, before reaching out with his dirty fingers and roughly grabbing the young girl's hair.
Little Sakura whimpered in pain when the larger boy pulled cruelly on her pink strands of hair, in the process dislodging the precious red ribbon that her new friend Ino had given her just a few days earlier. Her eyes widened slightly as she watched the hair accessory drop to the floor, and her attackers quickly saw the dismayed reaction that she didn't quite managed to hide. Small hands reached out to retrieve the ribbon, only for it to be kicked away from her and ruthlessly stomped on.
The pink-haired little girl froze, her watery eyes trained upon the beloved present that her one and only friend had given to her. The pristine red cloth that she had carefully and painstakingly worn with pride and joy was now rumpled and dirt smeared, and the young girl felt her tears flow faster. The two boys did not seem to care; they grinned maliciously to each other for a job well done.
"Oi, what do you know? Look, that disgusting pink hair of hers worked to cover that huge forehead!!"
"Hey, you are right! Yuck, she is still so ugly, though!!!"
The little girl was no longer reacting to the boys' taunts and jeers. Desperately trying to take back her precious hair ribbon, she tried to lunge for the foot that held her prized belonging from her, attempting to snatch it back before either bully could react. Unfortunately, she was quickly held back by a strong tug on her hair while the other boy snatched up her ribbon and proceeded to wave it before her face.
"Oh? You want this back, you ugly little girl?"
"Please!" Sakura pleaded, whimpering tearfully as she tried to reach for her precious possession. "This is mine! Please give it back to me! You can take my toys, but not that!!"
The two bullies glanced at each other—and smiled.
"Nah," the older one smirked. "I don't want your girly toys anymore. This is more fun, eh?"
Right before her helpless gaze, the bully grasped the dirtied, crumpled ribbon and proceeded to toy with it, watching with malicious delight at the way the young girl's eyes followed his every action pitifully.
"Please give it back!" Sakura cried out when she couldn't bear it any longer. When her request was denied, it was as if something within her snapped. She tried to struggle away from the grasp of the other boy who held her in place, feeling a small burst of anger over how they were bullying her and making her cry, twisting around and doing her best to scratch and beat at the hand that were pulling on her hair with all the might of her four year old strength.
Unfortunately, she only managed to surprise her tormentors before they quickly saw fit to put her back in her place—painfully.
"Ouch!! You stupid-!!!! That really hurt, you brat!!"
The little pink-haired girl flinched and screwed her eyes tightly shut when she saw the fist that came at her with great speed. Cringing, she prepared herself for the inevitable pain to come, but surprisingly enough, it never did.
"Yeowch!!! Ow!! Ow!! Ow!!!!! What the- Let go!!"
Cautiously, Sakura opened her eyes slowly only to be faced with a stunning sight. Determinedly hanging off the fingers of one of her tormentors was her pet weasel. The little black animal had been kept locked in its cage prior to Sakura's outing today, much to its displeasure and hers, but Kaa-san had been adamant that Itachi-chan not be allowed to go to the park in case he frightened off the other children.
Judging by the way those sharp teeth of her darling baby pet were clamping determinedly onto her attacker and not letting go whatsoever, the pink-haired girl decided not to wonder how her Itachi-chan had managed to escape his cage, her previously distressed features lighting up with happiness and pride as her pet came to her rescue.
The other bully who was pulling on her hair to keep her in place gaped stupidly at the sight of his friend being attacked by a tiny, six inch long mustelid.
"Don't just stand there and watch! Help me, you idiot!"
"Al- alright." Sakura was released so abruptly that she lost her balance and fell onto the floor. The little girl bit her lip at the sharp pain that flared on her knees, but pushed it aside in favor of standing back up as quickly as she could, albeit in a shaky manner.
"Uh, is that a rat? Will it bite me too?" The sidekick looked warily at the creature that his friend was trying to shake off violently, but to no avail.
"Just grab it by the head, you dumbass! It can't bite you if it can't move! And hurry! It hurts!"
"Okay! But you must keep still first!"
Sakura's euphoria at her pet's appearance was quickly diminished when the two older boys worked together to dislodge the little weasel from its death bite. Large eyes widened anxiously when they managed to pry the animal off its target, and her yet unnamed Itachi-chan chattered angrily and tried to claw itself free from the grubby hands that gripped it tightly by the neck, only to squeal in pain when those fingers tightened viciously.
"Stop! What are you doing?" The little pink haired girl cried out when she saw the brutal way they were handling her pet. "You are hurting it!"
"Hurting it?" the bitten boy snarled, face red and twisted with ugly fury as he bared his teeth at the small, helpless animal that his sidekick was gripping. "The rat hurt me. I'm going to kill it!"
Sakura stiffened when the bully turned his sights on to her powerless pet, and at that moment, something hard and raw and desperate flashed across the little girl's formerly fearful gaze.
Rage.
Her Itachi-chan was only trying to rescue her from their torment; how dare they try to hurt her beloved pet?!
The upset that she had felt earlier grew to such unimaginable proportions that Sakura actually began to shake with the strength of her emotions, her eyes shadowed and her small form stiff. She had had about enough of these nasty, rude people; her passive nature could only take so much before it snapped, and this was the last straw.
Ino-chan was right.
If it meant that she was ugly and hideous and had a big forehead to these bullies, then so be it.
She would make full use of what was given to her by Nature to deal with these people who tried to hurt and destroy her most precious.
What happened next occurred so quickly that both older boys had no idea how it was even possible.
One moment, the weak little girl was so timid and terrified that they were absolutely certain she would never dare go against them, and the next, she had somehow became a crazed, violent banshee, albeit a rather pint-sized one.
The younger child had been quiet and scared before, but not any longer. No more.
With no warning whatsoever, she opened her mouth and screeched at the top of her lungs, wailing an ear splitting war cry as she screamed and screamed and screamed shrilly, until she was bright red in the face and the boys were beginning to panic—all the commotion was going to bring an adult running over very soon. Momentarily stunned by the sudden change in situation, the two bullies found their attention temporarily diverted from the animal in their hands, only to be confronted by an entirely different problem in the form of its enraged owner.
"Let him go!!!"
With a loud bellow, the little girl charged furiously at the pair of surprised boys, no hesitation whatsoever in her movements as she threw herself at her older tormentor, slamming against him with all her might and knocking the boy down with her momentum. Then, clearly in a fit of wild rage, she recovered quickly from the impact and started to hit the boy with her fists, pounding hard and scratching at his face and pretty much everywhere she could nail him, her little face red with exertion as she screamed and shrieked angrily at the gasping boy who could only try feebly to defend himself against the unleashed fury of the young child who had pinned him down on the ground, digging her skinned knees right into his kidneys.
The boy yelled in pain, trying to dislodge the crazed child, but to no avail. She stuck determinedly to her attacker like a burr, and when he tried to hit her back, she bit him, clearly not above acting like her rabid pet if the situation called for it.
"Argghh!!!"
Shocked by the sheer ferocity of the younger girl's attack, his partner watched dumbly for a few seconds before finally reacting.
"H- hey!!! Get off him!!" When he was promptly ignored, the other boy quickly tried to haul little Sakura off his friend, a rather awkward maneuver considering he was still holding onto a slippery, struggling weasel in one hand. Not surprisingly, Sakura easily resisted his attempts to remove her, her fury lending her strength that she didn't even know she possessed.
"Get her off me!!! It hurts!" the older boy shouted; the little girl's punches were surprisingly painful, even more so than anything that he had ever experienced. The bully was beginning to develop a healthy sense of fear towards this terrifyingly enraged entity, and then, his sidekick finally managed to drag her off him, the girl screaming and kicking the entire way.
The poor bully felt as if he had just been run over by a farmer's cart by the time he recovered and climbed shakily to his feet. Parts of his face were bleeding slightly, and even looked as if they were going to swell painfully later on. His arms were lacerated with scratches and even bite marks, and indeed, the boy looked as if he had just survived a mauling from a wild animal, which wasn't very far from the truth, judging by how his partner was having trouble restraining the angry little girl.
"Let go! Let go! Let go!!!" Sakura chanted shrilly, mad as a hornet at being denied her revenge. It seemed that those two boys had opened Pandora's Box, and whatever they had inadvertently released had no intention of being held down so easily.
"Oi, calm down; are you a lunatic?!!!" the sidekick demanded with a fierce shake of the girl, only to let out a yell of his own when his hold on the weasel slipped slightly and earned him a vicious bite when the animal wriggled from his loosened hold, turning around and chomping down furiously on its captor's fingers. In his pain, the boy released the little weasel's owner, a mistake that he soon regretted when the young girl whipped around, saw how he was trying to shake her pet off with brute strength, and immediately reacted with more violence. She jumped back into the fray with a high-pitched, enraged roar that only a young child could accomplish, and before she could be stopped, she violently head butted the sidekick right in the face.
The assaulted boy felt his head snap back from the force of the aggressive impact of forehead to nose. Pain exploded in his face, and he staggered backwards, finally letting go of the weasel in his shock and allowing the animal to scamper back to the safety of his owner's heaving shoulders. The boy clutched at the nasal portion of his face, eyes watering, yowling in pain even as his friend quickly went to him, offering support in numbers against this demon child that they had somehow unleashed.
Not surprisingly, they both flinched back when the girl made a small movement, and her messy, disheveled, and bruised appearance only added to the feral impression that she was giving them, never mind the fact that they had chosen her as their bullying target earlier on because of her sweet, pretty appearance and innocent, cotton candy pink hair.
Now, the color pink was going to give them nightmares for months to come, and it would be all thanks to this little terror that they had encountered today.
"I was wrong," the older boy hissed out at last, looking just as battered as his partner-in-crime. "You are not only an ugly little girl. You are also a freak, just like that rat of yours!!"
Now that the adrenaline was dissipating quickly, Sakura was beginning to feel more than a bit horrified over what she had done, especially when she saw the damage that she had somehow dealt to the two older boys. The violent red haze that had overpowered her senses was no longer overwhelming her emotions; she should have known better than to lose control of her anger! However, before she could return to her passive nature and timidly apologize for her actions, the boy's cruel words caught up to her, and even as she cringed inwardly with hurt at his derision of her, something else that he had said quickly made her eyes flash with renewed anger.
"Take that back! My Itachi is not a freak!" she cried out, reacting before she could stop herself, stepping up quickly, only to falter slightly with disbelief when the two boys whom she was facing hastily backed away from her.
"Wh- whatever!" the older one sneered with false bravado. "Just don't come near us...freak!!"
A large part of the little girl felt like bursting into tears again at the nasty name calling, but she managed to hold on to her shaky composure, even when all she wanted to do was to shrink back, hug her brave little pet to herself, and curl up into a tight little ball of misery. But she could not do so, yet; these bullies were still here and even though her furry friend had been so courageous and willing to defend her from them, she did not want it to get hurt again. Therein laid her firm resolve to put up a strong front until the danger had fully passed.
"O- okay...I won't come near you if you won't come near me!" she reasoned in a childishly determined voice, though her tormentors were still too traumatized by her violent attack not to agree. Neither of them wished to experience her fury again. Indeed, before this day was through, all the older children would know to tread carefully around one Haruno Sakura or face the consequences.
Then, the Calvary arrived.
"Hey!! What are you guys doing?!! Get away from Sakura-chan!!!"
There was a swift pitter patter of feet as four year old Yamanaka Ino ran towards the park's play area, angrily waving her fist at the two infamous bullies of their neighborhood. The boys tensed; with the additional backup arriving, it was time for them to beat a quick retreat. The last thing they wanted was for the fierce but popular Yamanaka girl to learn that they had been soundly trounced by her gentle, quiet friend, and so, without much ado, they slunk away quickly, but not before extracting a quick promise from the little pink-haired girl to never ever mention today's events to anyone.
It was something Sakura was only too glad to give in exchange for being left alone.
"Sakura!! Did they do anything to you?! Eh?!!! What happened to your hair and clothes!! Did they hurt you? I will not let them off easy the next time I see them, I swear!! Eyaaaa!!! What's that on your shoulder?!!!"
Sakura watched bemusedly as her fierce and outspoken friend squealed and watched her little pet with wary fear, and slowly came to the conclusion that perhaps she was not the only one with fears and insecurities. Despite her creeping exhaustion and the fact that her various bruises were beginning to remind her of their painful existence, the pink-haired little girl smiled shyly at her new best friend and slowly lifted her hand to gently pat Itachi-chan.
The formerly ferocious baby weasel chittered and trilled, becoming perfectly tame under its owner's touch, rubbing its head against her cheek, partially hidden behind her soft pink hair.
"This is my pet, Itachi-chan," Sakura told her friend. "He protected me from those bullies."
Ino watched her ruffled looking friend and her equally scruffy pet, the tiny animal looking a little worse for wear after its altercation with those boys, missing a small patch of fur here and there, but the affectionate way it was behaving towards Sakura quickly assured the blonde that the animal was not dangerous towards her friend. Ino giggled.
"You are so strange! Who has a weasel for a pet?" Before Sakura could feel hurt over the reply, the little blonde girl grinned broadly and continued. "But I suppose I can see why! It's so cute!"
Sakura blushed, and if Itachi-chan could blush too, it would have as well.
"Well, can I touch him?"
"Of course!" Sakura declared happily, eager to show off her furry companion. "Come down from there, Itachi-chan. Ino-chan wants to feel your smooth, silky fur; will you please let her touch you?"
The two young girls spent the rest of the afternoon admiring the plucky baby weasel, talking and laughing as they played with the proud, preening little creature, until it was time to go home and their respective parents came to collect them. They made promises to meet again the next day, and it truly was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
It wasn't until Sakura got home later that she realized with dismay that those bullies had never returned her precious red ribbon.
The supposedly 'helpless' little girl was not as helpless as Itachi had first thought.
It truly was a surprising turn of events. She had been scared and crying mere moments before, cowering under the bullies and trying her best not to attract more of their attention. Her frightened and terrified countenance was something he did not blame her for; like his own otouto, she was but a young child, and confronted by two older bullies who thought nothing of roughing up a little girl who had done nothing to them.
To her credit, she had tried to fight back, but she was small and there was only so much she could do before the boys overpowered her and tried to hit her back, and that he could not allow. He had not intended to interfere at first; the world was seldom fair, and no matter how everyone tried to pretend that the threat of bullying did not exist, it did, and there would always be a facet of it no matter where one turned. The weak would be subjected to the whims of the strong; it was how the world worked in the past, and that would not change now, or even in the future.
But as much as his apathetic nature told him that this was none of his business, he drew the line at standing by and watching indifferently as a young child was purposely hurt.
The world might be unfair, but he still had the power to defy it once in awhile, to help others, even when he was unable to help himself.
Breaking off a large twig from the branch that he was crouched on, he was about to toss it at the bully when a little black streak made its appearance known, racing towards its mistress and quickly taking on her attacker with a protective ferocity seldom seen in such a small woodland creature. The assault on the little pink-haired girl was quickly thwarted, and Itachi decided to stay put, to wait and see how the situation would change before he decided to step in.
It turned out that he would not have to interfere after all, that little Haruno Sakura had the situation perfectly under control, even though it might not look that way at the moment.
Not surprisingly, the little weasel's attempt to come to its owner's aid was not quite enough, though Itachi would never have expected for its capture to induce such a powerful, violent, reaction from his young owner.
It happened almost immediately after the bitten boy had threatened to kill her pet, and all of a sudden, the mild-mannered and precociously sweet little girl was no more—she was possessed by a terrifyingly vicious entity which proceeded to go on a rampage and bring the wrath of hell right upon the heads of the two unfortunate souls who had wronged her.
She had screamed at a pitch that he had not thought possible for the human vocal box to achieve, a shrill war cry of utter rage, before she charged over and proceeded to overwhelm her tormentors with a well placed body slam, effectively rendering her target immobile the only way she knew, biting and punching and scratching like a wild cat. He had been surprised by the brutality of her reactions, this was not the gentle little girl whom he had rescued months ago, but at the same time, the quick, analytical part of him swiftly realized that she possessed very good instincts, especially for an untrained civilian child like herself.
She had to, in order to succeed in pinning down the larger and older boy, and in the process, wounding him and drawing blood.
By the time she was dragged off her victim, the bully looked as if he had just been stampeded by an enraged elephant, literally a shadow of his former self. The young Uchiha heir had been impressed, and even more so when she managed to free herself with a timely and painful head butt, working with her little pet to remove themselves from harm.
He came to the conclusion then that the little girl was a natural, bona fide berserker.
By then, her tormentors were very wary of her, having been taught a rough lesson of how not to judge a book by its cover, no doubt. They were clearly reluctant to approach the little girl anymore, and they were obviously terrified when she tried to move towards them.
And yet, Itachi thought with dispassionate contempt, they were still foolhardy enough to try to bait the pink-haired child with nasty words and slurs against her and her weasel.
He had half expected her to react with violence again, but surprisingly enough, she seemed to have calmed down quickly, and appeared almost aghast by the damage that she had inflicted on the two boys. He did not share her sentiments—they were the ones who had underestimated their opponent, after all, and had picked a fight with the wrong person, small as she might be right now.
Then, she had appeared genuinely hurt by the boys' insult towards her, but quickly became angry again when they implicated her pet. Her strange reaction made him reconsider the entire situation from a different angle, and once again, he was surprised by what he had found.
Interesting; she had been passive and timid when attacked earlier, degraded and laughed at, all but ready to roll onto her back like a submissive and beaten little puppy when those bullies made the mistake of trying to hurt her pet.
Never mind that she herself had been terrified of the jeering older boys, she had still risen to the defense of the little black critter with a ferocity and speed that was certainly impressive for one so young, and it was becoming more and more obvious to him that this little one was a natural born protector.
A part of him wondered at her potential to become even stronger as she grew older, and for some reason, he anticipated seeing the person she would eventually become.
The appearance of another little girl quickly signaled the end of the altercation and the hasty retreat of the young bullies, and impassive onyx eyes watched as the pink-haired child who had caught his attention quickly shed that fierce aura of hers, carefully wrapping that protective spirit of hers under layers of shyness and deceptive uncertainty, every inch the sweet, helpless girl child once again.
It was almost as if she possessed a…split personality.
Or perhaps, she was still too young to permanently support that particular side of her character.
The small hint of idle interest that flickered to life within him three months ago was growing into something stronger—firmer.
Acknowledgement.
The danger had already passed, and soundlessly, Itachi turned and started to leave the area, undetected by the carefree children playing happily beneath him. He had already delayed his training schedule for the day because of his curiosity towards little Haruno Sakura, and besides, there was still something else to do, something that he had to retrieve, before he could resume his journey to the training grounds.
Now that she had captured his curiosity, it would be prudent for him to keep an eye out for her henceforth. Her willpower was so much stronger than she looked to have, and if she ever learned to develop her physical strength as well as properly harness that will to protect, he had no doubt that she would become something to behold one day.
Until then, he saw no harm in watching over her whenever he could, just to see how she would grow.
But for now, he had a pair of bullies to see to, and a certain beloved ribbon to retrieve. The young boys would learn never to bother the little girl child whom he had deigned worthy enough to come under his protection, and would never dare to cause any distress to her or her friend—ever again.
Two days later, a disgruntled Uchiha Shisui found himself feeding the mosquitoes in a quiet part of Konoha's residential zone. It had seemed like a good idea at the time to follow his mysterious cousin to see what the young boy was up to, but now, after sitting beside the motionless preteen for the better part of an hour and still not very sure what on earth they were supposed to be doing, the sixteen year old Jounin was about ready to throw in the towel.
"Is there any reason why we are sitting in a bush feeding the wildlife, little cousin?"
Unfortunately enough, Itachi did not reply the older Uchiha. In fact, the serious, ten year old Genin did not even seem to register his relative's comment. It wasn't that surprising to the latter though; Itachi tried not to make it too obvious, but Shisui was getting the vibe that his endearing nickname irritated the boy something fierce.
…all the more reason for him to keep that little pet name just for his stoic younger cousin, in his honest opinion. Uncle Fugaku would not be amused, but then again, Itachi was no tattle-tale, not to mention how he was the Uchiha heir's private instructor at the moment, which meant that Itachi was obligated to respect and obey him, no matter how idiotic and un-Uchiha-like he might be sometimes.
Strangely enough, Itachi appeared to be more preoccupied surveying the house a few hundred meters away, for some reason Shisui did not comprehend. This was the civilian part of Konoha, after all; what business would Itachi have here?
"Oi, you do know that we are supposed to be revising your techniques in preparation for the Chuunin exams, right? Your father is going to be displeased if he learns that you are not sticking to the schedule he set for you."
At that, there was a reaction from the younger Uchiha. Blank onyx eyes shifted to regard the Jounin, and Itachi scrutinized the older teen for a brief moment.
"…I doubt you are in any position to carry tales to my father, Shisui."
Shisui was slightly put out by how unruffled his little cousin was. Most boys his age would have been terrified by that threat, especially so when one had a parent as strict and authoritarian as Uchiha Fugaku, but then again, Itachi wasn't exactly like most young boys.
"That's Shisui-sensei to you, you little brat. Don't think that I'm afraid to give you a noogie just because your father is one scary son of a bitch and your mother will give me a ear pulling I will never forget if she hears me using such language around her 'precious little boy.' Why did I even agree to be your trainer? Oh yes, no one says 'no' to your scary father. Oi, are you even listening to me?"
Unfortunately for the rambling Uchiha, his relative was no longer paying any attention to him.
Even from the distance, Itachi had noticed his target slink stealthily out from the house, small and young as it was. He quickly attracted its attention by emitting an abrupt, concentrated burst of chakra, an act that quickly made his partner stare at him with surprise. The younger Uchiha ignored his cousin and watched as the little animal respond to the familiar energy signature, swiveling its head and fixing those black button eyes in his direction.
It was as he had predicted; the small weasel seemed to have developed an ability to detect chakra, which quickly explained how it had been able to track down its mistress whenever she was in trouble. It was very rare for wild animals to have that sort of ability, which made the Uchiha suspect that it might have gained it indirectly from the little pink-haired girl who had adopted it.
Curiously, the small animal started to lope quickly towards Itachi and Shisui, who had gone quiet by now as he watched what was going on with questions and incredulity in his eyes. It was evident to Itachi that the black-furred creature recognized him as a friend, judging by the way that it approached him boldly and with no sense of fear whatsoever. It was still wary enough to stay just out of reach though, whiskers quivering as it stood on its hind legs, pointed face cocked slightly as it chittered impatiently at him, almost as if demanding for him to explain what he was doing in its territory.
A small, barely perceptible flicker of amusement fleeted past previously blank onyx at the animal's bossiness. He was beginning to form the conclusion that it was much more similar to its mistress than he had previously thought. He had an idea how to win over the distrustful, grumpy little creature, though, and slowly revealed a small piece of sweetmeat from his pocket to offer it.
Immediately, black button eyes homed in on the treat that lay innocently on his palm with precise accuracy. Itachi merely waited patiently for a reaction as the small wet nose twitched back and forth, causing the fine whiskers to tremble as the tiny creature considered the delicious whiff of food that it smelled.
The allure of the food must have won the battle against its wariness, and brutally pragmatic, the animal quickly scampered up towards Itachi, coming to a stop beside the dark-haired preteen and unceremoniously snatching away the piece of sweetmeat with its small front paws. Squeaking happily, it proceeded to ignore its feeder and started to gorge greedily, sitting on its hind legs and busily stuffing its face with the mouthwatering portion of food that it had just been given.
It paused when Itachi moved to take something from his other pocket, those strangely intelligent beady eyes watching him intently, cheeks bulging with food and little body tensing, almost as if preparing for flight. The young Uchiha kept his movements slow and steady in order not to further alarm the young creature, and at last he withdrew a familiar red piece of cloth. It was the hair ribbon that had been so very important to little Haruno Sakura, and it had been washed clean, no traces of dirt anywhere on the precious hair accessory. The little weasel's nose twitched again, and it was obvious that its sense of smell was so acute that it could still discern its mistress' scent on the material.
"This belongs to your owner," Itachi told the small black animal unperturbedly, almost as if it didn't matter that he was talking to a creature that was, by right, in no way able to understand what he was saying. "Will you take it back? I will give you another piece of sweetmeat for your effort."
To Uchiha Shisui's infinite surprise, the woodland animal actually seemed to be considering the bargain, and at last, nodded!!! Shisui swore he saw the little creature bob his head in agreement!! For an animal that had no inherent nin abilities whatsoever, it was definitely an amazing feat.
Itachi did not seem very surprised, though. After calmly informing his namesake that he would tie the ribbon around its neck so that it wouldn't fall off, the young Uchiha heir proceeded to secure the red cloth just as he had mentioned, before extracting another piece of treat from his pocket to reward the little thing.
Little Itachi-chan was surprisingly grateful, and seemed to warm up quickly to the young Uchiha, emitting a quick trill of thanks from its throat before scampering away, a small flash of black with a cape of red fluttering behind it.
Itachi turned to Shisui then, and sighed inwardly at the older nin's incredulous stare.
"We can resume training now," the stoic Genin informed his instructor, rising smoothly to his feet and turning away towards the training grounds. Shisui followed suit, and finally decided to speak.
"Wait; did you just talk to an animal? What are you? An Inuzuka? And what's that ribbon thing about?" Unfortunately for Itachi, his attempts to walk a bit quicker than normal were completely foiled by the fact that his instructor was the infamous 'Shunshin no Shisui,' which meant that the latter basically possessed the tenacity of a barnacle and was exceedingly difficult to shake off, not to mention he was supposed to be learning some of the elder's speed techniques today.
Realization suddenly struck Shisui. The older, dark-haired Uchiha whistled under his breath and stared at his cousin with something akin to amused admiration.
"Oh, I see." Itachi was pretty sure that he did not appreciate that exasperating sly tone his idiot relative was using, though he did not show it. Shisui tended to become even more irritating than usual whenever he realized that he was getting the younger Uchiha's goat, and Itachi had no wish to further aggravate himself if possible.
Not to mention, Itachi had learned from experience that, whenever Shisui was using that particular tone, he was definitely up to no good.
Seconds later, his prediction proved to be right on the dot.
"So, little Itachi-chan has a girlfriend now, eh?"
Not surprisingly, Shisui was promptly ignored. The older Uchiha was undaunted, however, and continued to push his luck. "Hey, aren't you at the age whereby girls still have cooties?"
"The term 'cooties' refer to an imaginary disease, Shisui. I don't think it is possible for such a thing to exist," the younger boy reasoned calmly.
"Oh, wow. You actually researched it?"
"…no, but I believe this is common knowledge."
Shisui scowled at the younger male.
"Oi, don't go and act cool on me, lover boy. So who is that girl you are hiding, huh? I promise not to tell that terrifying father of yours." Shisui paused, glanced at his stone-faced relative, and continued. "At least, I hope for the future sake of our Great and Illustrious Clan that it's a girl you are interested in."
"I have no interest in anything but doing well in the Chuunin exams," Itachi iterated quietly.
It was true, at least for now. Shisui caught his unspoken implication, though.
"And after the Chuunin exams?" the older teen probed with mad curiosity.
The young Uchiha heir had the proper answer for his busybody cousin, though.
"That will be none of your business."
"Oi, you brat!! No respect!!"
::tsuzuku::
Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:
I'm aware that there's no direct interaction between Itachi and Sakura in this installment, but not to worry, there's always the next chapter!
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I started writing this with the full intention of establishing Sakura's character. As you can see, I think the plot ran away from me halfway through. Still, I find myself rather enchanted with the many possibilities that this baby!Sakura can bring. For those who are grumbling that she's not supposed to be so bold and courageous, please save your argument. My theory for baby!Sakura is that she's normally a shy, very passive, sweet-tempered child who would not retaliate even when bullied by others.
Then why is she fighting those bullies in this installment, you ask?
Well, that's because those boys were foolish enough to try to hurt her beloved pet. It's true that the timid little girl cannot seem to muster up the courage to defend herself when needed, but that does not mean she will not do so all the same when those important to her are being threatened. At least, my version of baby!Sakura is rather protective of her precious beings, enough for it to override her natural inclination against violence (and allow baby!Inner Sakura to emerge).
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I'm not really sure just when canon-verse Ino and Sakura met and became friends, but I have a suspicion that they were both a bit older than four/five years of age as indicated in this installment when that happened. For the sake of this series, let's just pretend that their meeting occurred a few years earlier, so please don't nitpick on the timeline with me, okay?
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Last but not least, please expect Uchiha Shisui to make cameo appearances here and there in this series. That guy is just begging to be written, and I can only resist for so long!
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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!
--paws