I don't hesitate to act on this opportunity that is presented to me. So after scurrying away from my mother, I hastily approach the two Uchiha siblings with the intention of introducing myself to them.
"You should go ahead and play, otouto." I hear the older Uchiha boy say to the younger one.
"But I don't want to play here, niisan," says the other boy as I near them.
"You must, Sasuke. It's what our mother wants."
"Why must mother insist that I play with the civilian children? They are boring." complains the younger boy.
The elder of the two Uchihas is not given the chance to answer back because he has already notice me.
Sensing that the older boy is more approachable in that moment, I decide to introduce myself to him first.
"Hi, my name is Haruno Sakura." I say smoothly as I halt in front of him. My introduction is flawless and with no hesitation on my part as I stretch out my hand for the older boy to shake.
"Hello, Sakura," says the older boy, who is probably around eight years old. "My name is Uchiha Itachi."
The older boy, Uchiha Itachi, takes my hand and shakes it.
I briefly note the gleam of amusement in his eyes as he regards me and I realize that my words and actions must appear too formal for someone my age.
"It's nice to meet you, Itachi." I tell him while I give him my best smile.
"It's nice to meet you too, Sakura," comes Itachi's response, who smiles softly at me in return.
"Why are you talking to us anyway?" asks the scowling boy who stands beside Itachi.
I immediately turn my attention to the boy, who appears to be in the same age as me.
"Sasuke, don't be rude," comes Itachi's reprimand.
The scowl on the boy's face only grow all the more fiercer as he looks at me.
"Why don't you introduce yourself to her too, otouto?" Itachi suddenly says and I simply observe how the younger boy, Sasuke, seems to pout at this suggestion.
"Do I have to, Itachi?" the boy asks while he shoots a frown in my direction.
"Yes, you have too and it's only polite to do so, Sasuke," is the older boy's stern reply.
"If you say so, niisan," comes the reluctant response from the younger boy. Then, he turns towards me and says, "Hello. My name is Uchiha Sasuke."
"Hi, Sasuke. My name is Haruno Sakura." I tell him while I extend my hand towards him. He looks at my hand for a moment before he shakes it.
"It's nice to meet you, Sakura." The boy says to her while I say to him at the same time, "It's nice to meet you too, Sasuke."
I let go of Sasuke's hand soon after and asks. "So...How long have you two been using this place as your playground?"
"Why do you ask?" The boy, Itachi, inquires curiously.
"I'm just wondering because I haven't really seen you two here before." I explain to them.
"I see…" Itachi replies, "Well, this will be my first time letting my little brother play here in this playground. That is probably the reason you haven't seen us before here, Sakura."
"But don't you have your own playground in the Uchiha Compound?" is my query as I meet the eight year old's stare.
"We do have a playground in the Uchiha Compound." The older boy nods his head. "However, it was my mother's decision to have my little brother play here with the Clan and civilian kids alike. She says she wants my brother to make friends with other children who are not from our clan."
"Oh...your mother must be a reasonable woman then for allowing your brother to play with the non-Uchiha children." I state.
"Yes, she is." Itachi agrees.
"Then, will it be alright if I ask your brother to play with me?" I asks while I glance at the boy, Sasuke, in particular. Even though deep down I don't have the desire to play like a child. Nonetheless, if this is how I get close to the Uchiha Clan, then I will have to pretend otherwise.
More than that, I intend to get more information from them regarding their clan, and the only way to do that is to firmly establish myself as a friend to both boys.
And since I notice that the older boy is far more perceptive than the younger one, I decide in that moment to simply talk to Uchiha Sasuke first, who is too young to realize what I plan to do.
At my question, Uchiha Sasuke seems about ready to protest, but is instantly stop when Itachi answers.
"Yes, I'm fine with it." the older boy tells me.
I turn my gaze towards the younger Uchiha and says to him, "Sasuke, do you want to go and play?"
Sasuke looks like he is about to deny my request.
"Go ahead, Sasuke." Itachi says before his younger brother can say anything, "Go on and play with Sakura."
"But how about you, Itachi?" Sasuke asks.
"You don't have to worry about me, otouto. I will be watching and sitting on that chair near the sandbox."
"Are you really sure you just want to watch us play?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure," is Itachi's firm answer.
"Alright, niisan." Sasuke says before he shifts his attention back to me. "Let's go."
Afterward, I follow after Sasuke who seems to want to use the swings first.
"May I ask if you started your ninja training, Sasuke?" I asks the boy as soon as we sit down on our respective swings.
"No, not yet…" comes Sasuke's short response as he pushes against the ground and swings himself back and forth.
"Why is that?" I asks, "Don't Clan children start training earlier than that?"
"Since Konoha is already at peace time, my father postponed my physical training until I turn five." The boy explains to her, "Although he has asks me to memorize all the basic hand-seals and katas that I need to learn."
"Good for you," I remark as I, too, begin to swing back and forth. "My father does not have the same mindset as your father. He hasn't even started teaching me anything relevant yet, much less the hand-seals or katas."
That is true, but that won't stop me from learning them by myself. In fact, I have already began reading about the basic ninja techniques that I need to learn from books in my parent's library.
"So your parents are shinobis too?" Sasuke inquires.
"Yes, they are. Well, at least, my father is. He's a Genin of Konoha." I inform the other boy.
"Well, my father is the Head of the Uchiha Clan," Sasuke tells her with a proud expression.
At Sasuke's words, I can't help but feel a surge of triumph for learning this information. It hasn't even been a minute yet and Sakura is already learning more from the boy than she expects.
He is the son of the Uchiha Clan Head, huh? I think as I scrutinize the boy. This will make it easier for me to learn more about the Uchiha Clan. The child is too naive to realize that I'm slowly trying to extract information from him.
Thus, as the two of us continue to play in the playground, I slowly, but surely learn more about the boy and his Clan.
Uchiha Itachi, the child prodigy, hasn't even realize what I was doing.
And so by the end of the day, as I bid my farewell to them, I have already gathered a treasure trove of information from Uchiha Sasuke, who seems to have warm up to me after a while. Although most I learn from him are not relevant yet to what I intend to do, but I know that I will learn more from him if I continue to be his friend.
And that will be my goal. To become close to both boys as much as possible, especially Uchiha Sasuke, even to the point that they will begin to trust me with their secret.
