Hello again! This is the second installment of my "Awkward" series, named - In the name of friendship. I did my best to proofread it, but my tired eyes could only do as much! This is NOT a continuation of the previous one. They don't have any connections, except the characters of course.

I'm not sure if this can pass as awkward, but oh well... I'll let you be the judge of that.

As always feel free to review and tell me what your thoughts are!


In the name of friendship

Ask anyone in the Fire country what was Uchiha Itachi's weakness and they'll tell you he has none. Ask around Konohagakure and some people may tell you that the young jounin only had one possible weakness: his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke. However, ask Mikoto Uchiha and she'll tell you that her eldest son actually had a soft spot for cute things. Yes, the ten years old, freshly promoted jounin, was a sucker for cuteness, be it objects, animals or people.

That was why when approached by a little girl with chubby cheeks, pink hair and big green eyes he couldn't help but smile. His first thought when seeing her was that she was unbelievably cute. No, no he wasn't a pedophile. He just liked little kids! Wait no… he liked cute things. Which right now came in the shape of a five years old smiling girl who was gazing at him with innocent eyes. No, that's not good either… He, he just wasn't a pedophile.

"Ano…" The child started unsure as she looked him in the eyes. She took a deep breath and puffed the air out, her soft hair flowing around her face. Itachi smiled kindly and nodded his head prompting her to continue.

"Ano… Stranger-san… Can you help me become friends with someone? Pwease?" She asked him clasping her tiny hands in front of her chest in a praying manner. Itachi tilted his head and blinked at her.

"Who?" He asked simply and watched as the girl's face brightened. She quickly turned around and pointed her finger in the direction of a small dark haired boy that was all too familiar to him. Sasuke.

"Him!" She answered excited at the prospect of becoming friends with the young boy. Itachi narrowed his eyes. He was well aware of the dares his younger brother planned for whomever wanted to befriend him. Most of said dares involved his older brother.

"Don't think like that! Sasuke may sometimes be mischievous, but what harm could this little girl do?" A chibi Itachi, dressed all in white appeared on his right shoulder.

"Don't listen to him Itachi! This is Sasuke we're talking about. That damn brat is an imp in disguise. I say we katon her away." Another chibi appeared on his left shoulder, this time dressed in black with a malicious smile on his face.

Itachi frowned. He didn't like the idea of doing such a cruel thing to such a fragile human being. He sighed and decided to listen to White Chibi.

"What did he asked you to do little one?" He inquired in a pleasant voice, not wanting to scare her away. The girl grinned, happy that he accepted to help her, but then frowned and glanced shyly at her feet.

"He, he said that he'll be my friend if I manage to land a hit on you." She stuttered both embarrassed and scared of the older boy before her. Dark Chibi snorted on his shoulder and made a gesture of mockery to the White one who was looking worried at the girl.

"I told you that you should send her away! But do you ever listen to me? No! Come one; just finish her off so I can leave."

"Don't do it Itachi! Just look at her! Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen? And look how small and frail she is. How hard do you think that she can hit?" Itachi smiled again. He ignored the Dark Chibi and smacked him away with his left hand. He was a jounin. He could take a punch. Especially if it meant that his younger brother would gain a new friend. He sent a quick glance to the boy and saw him smirking. He instinctively narrowed his eyes, but returned his gaze to the girl.

"What's your name?"

"Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you!" She extended her petite hand and Itachi shook it gently, his dark grey eyes softening.

"Well then Sakura, do you really want to be friends with him?" She nodded shyly, her chubby cheeks turning red as she stared at her shoes.

"Okay then. I'll let you hit me." Bright green eyes looked at him incredulously. She grinned from ear to ear, showing her two missing teeth.

"Can you also close your eyes?" She asked quickly and Itachi complied chuckling. Only a second passed before he doubled over in pain, his hands flying to his crotch. He opened his eyes glaring at the child, only to regret it when he saw the salty tears running from her eyes. Great he made her cry.

"Go-Gomenasai!" She apologized, rubbing her eyes with her hands trying to wipe the tears off. Itachi sighed and forced a small smile on his lips. He straightened his body cringing at the pain jolting from his crotch and waved her off.

"Don't worry about it. A good shinobi can take a hit." He reassured her and turned his back cursing under his breath when he saw the satisfied sadistic grin on his younger brother's face.

"You should have dropped him on his head when you had the chance." Dark Chibi returned to him remembering the boy of what the Chibi named The Omen.

Five years old Itachi was left in charge of his newborn brother while their parents were visiting a sick relative. He held him close to his chest and rocked him slowly in his small arms trying his best to stop his cries. But the boy just wouldn't shut up! Itachi sighed tiredly and leaned his back against the beam of the porch. He reached his hand and poked the crying bundle in the forehead, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

"You're going to be the death of me, aren't you Sasuke?"

In response, baby Sasuke grinned manically.

Itachi scoffed and ushered the Chibi away for the second time. He couldn't let his brother get away with these kinds of things anymore. He decided. Tonight, Sasuke's favorite teddy bear was going to burn.