Surane: -holds the accused cookie eaters by scruffs of necks-

Muffn:-laughing at the boys-eats more cookies-

Surane: Now, you two bake all the cookies you stole in your stomachs!

Sasuke and Shika: -nodds heads like crazy-

Surane: See, Muffn? Boys are willing to do anything when you ask, (or demand)...

Muffn: Nah, it when you say NO FOOD and shove green food down their throught is when they listen

Muffn: Disclaimer: We own no Naruto, except the twins and Surane!

YAWN

Sasuke trotted out of his bedroom, all dressed and ready for school. He arranged his academy books in a backpack and got ready to set out; just before stopping at the kitchen.

"Morning, Sasuke." chimed Mikoto. She handed him his lunch and a piece of buttered toast with strawberry jam.

"Morning, Mother."

As he began to chomp on his toast, Surane came in, rubbing the sleep dust out of her eyes. She swiftly avoided him and sat down at the table. Sasuke bent over and stared into her sleepy eyes.

"Morning…"

Surane smiled weakly and smacked her lips. She picked up her stuffed animal and made it sit on the table. Sasuke waved briskly and ran off to the academy.

Mother quietly finished her breakfast as Surane began her toast. Seconds later, Father came in silently. He at the farthest end of the table away from Surane. Mother handed him a plate of eggs and browned bread (toast).

Little Surane got up and quietly stepped out of the room, avoiding any contact with Father the whole way. As soon as she went a few more steps, something was forgotten.

"Otter!" she almost yelped.

Then she remembered that Father was in there. Maybe there was a way that Mother could sneak the plushie out of the room and into her arms again. A plan was carefully devised, and she began to take baby steps to the kitchen.

"Oh, what's this?" said a male voice.

'Oh no…' Surane thought.

"She left her little stuffed animal in here…"

'Come on, Mother, bring it back…"

"I'll return it to her…" continued the voice of Father.

Surane gulped loudly and stayed where she was. Father came out and still had his usually grimace face. He stopped in front of Surane, just a foot away. He held out the stuffed animal by its arm and gestured toward her.

Mother stepped out of the kitchen and watched the affair, ready to step in at any time.

"You left this on the table, did you not?"

Surane nodded slowly. Her eyes shifting from the otter to her Father's face.

"Go 'head, take it…"

She clutched the otter and still stared at Father. He walked around her, but stopped after another few steps.

"Itachi should be back by noon, I think. Don't forget to wait for him."

And with that, he walked into the darkness of the hallway. Surane stood there dumbfounded. So did Mother. She came towards Surane and put a comforting hand on the youngest Uchiha's shoulder.

'He didn't say her name, but it's a start.'

Itachi received an important looking document from the Kazekage. Underneath his pointy blue and white hat, he grinned delightfully.

"I hope this will be enough to settle the differences in this war."

"So does Lord Hokage, he will be happy to know that you signed." alleged Uchiha. He tucked it away, safely, in his weapon pouch.

"Please send my regards along with you."

"Will do."

Itachi walked out and nodded to his partners. Doing so, the three Anbu went on their way out of the Hidden Sand Village. As they jumped from tree limb to tree limb, one Anbu came close to Itachi and questioned the item in his pouch.

"It's an important document that was sent between all the 'Kages. It was for the ninja war. The agreement was that all genin from Hidden Villages, participating in the Chunin exams, were to take them in the Hidden Leaf Village. Unfortunately, few signed, including Lord Kazekage; plus the document won't be valid until another 5 years or so."

"That explains a lot."

"It should, say, could you two to me a favor?" he summoned the other Anbu in an animal mask.

"As soon as we get to the Village, please take this in to the Lord Hokage for me. And send him the Kazekage's regards and mine as well."

"Why?" questioned the first one.

"I'm more desperate to get home." replied Itachi. And with that, he sped off in front of them and headed in a more desperate pace.

"This isn't the first time he tried to get home early…" retorted the second Anbu.

A few hours after the strange happening at breakfast, Surane sat outside in the Zen garden, next to the water fountain. She watched the little wooden stick bounce up and down with the filling and emptying of water. It flowed down a maze of rocks and finally landed in a small pool with a few coy fish swimming here and there. They were mostly orange and white, but Surane's favorite was the smallest one with a little bit of black on its fins.

She stuck a finger in the water and gently stroked the fish. They darted some more and finally noticed her small finger twirling the surface. One came up and nearly snapped at it. Surane shrieked and jolted her hand back.

"You must be hungry. Luckily, Mother bought some fish feed today."

She grabbed a big pinch full and sprinkled them on the surface. Most came immediately to the Brunch feast. Except the small one, that is. It kept its distance and stayed hidden under a rock.

Surane pinched a few more flakes and tried to bribe the small coy out.

"You shouldn't be like me, at least you can come out without any eyes watching your every move." she seemed to whisper to the fish.

And as if it understood her, the coy inched forward and accepted the food. Surane carefully stroked him with her index finger.

Just then, a knock came at the front door. Surane immediately jumped up and ran around the outside of the house. She peeked around the front corner and saw who was there.

…It wasn't Itachi…

Instead, there were two females. One with light blonde hair and another with a vibrant pink. She heard her Mother's voice coming out to them.

"Oh, Hello girls."

"Hello, Mrs. Uchiha…" they said simultaneously.

"Is Sasuke here?" asked the blonde. She held out small yellow rose that was for him. The pink-haired girl only blushed and said,

"I j-just wanted to s-s-say hi."

"Well, Sasuke isn't home yet. He's probably at shurieken training."

"Thank you ma'am!" smiled the blonde.

"Anytime…"

The two girls walked back to the main entrance. Surane quickly and quietly hide in the shadows behind them for a few steps.

"Too bad…Let's try the training field! Okay, Sakura?"

Obviously, she asked the pink girl.

"Sure, Ino…"

Surane stopped behind a tree and watched them walk out. Afterwards, she turned and headed straight back home, where Mother stood with hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Mother, I wanted to know more about them…"

"Well, I guess I shouldn't punish you. After all, you've never seen any other kids your age, except Sasuke that is…"

"But, Sasuke is a year older than me." countered Surane.

Mother gave a small chuckle and patted Surane on the head.

"It's almost time for Lunch, and Father said that Itachi might be back soon. You can go to the entrance, if you want to, and wait for him."

"Okay! Lemme grab Otter and my shoes."

Sasuke rushed happily home. Surprisingly, today was a half day for all academy students. It's just that some got out faster than others. He busted through the front door and smacked his homemade lunch down on the dining table.

"Mother! I'm home!"

…No response…

"Mother! Are you home?"

"No, she's outside picking tomatoes…why?" answered Surane.

Startled, Sasuke swiveled around and threw a paper shurieken at her. Now it was Surane's turn to be startled. Time seemed to move slowly, as Surane caught the paper origami with two fingers.

Confused, Surane aimed it back at Sasuke, who in turn flinched and let the paper hit him in the chest…it hit him rather hard too…

Sasuke straightened back up and smiled at Surane.

"How in the world did you do that?" he practically yelled.

"I-I honestly have no clue…It's like I saw it coming a few seconds before you threw it." she pondered aloud, while staring at her curse mark.

"It must have been your Sharingan that kicked in." said a familiar voice.

Surane turned around and smiled immensely. She hugged the owner of the comforting voice.

"You're home, Itachi!" she almost screamed.

Itachi staggered back a little, as she squeezed the living daylights out of him.

"All right, all right, Surane." he managed to say.

Sasuke grinned a little. Itachi coming home meant that more shurieken practice was in store. Eager he came up to him while Itachi was brushing his hand through Surane's ebony hair.

"Hey, Big Brother, could you teach me that new Shurieken Jutsu now? We had a half day of schooling today…"

"Maybe some other time…" he said while poking Sasuke in the forehead with his other hand.

Sasuke grimaced and walked off to his room. He mumbled under his breath, "You never have time to train me."

Surane felt pity for Sasuke. She watched him go into his room sulking. Itachi saw this and decided on something.

"You should talk to him."

"Why?"

"Maybe you two could bond a little more."

"But, he doesn't really talk to me that much."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try harder."

He walked off to his room. Now, Surane sulked at his back. He sensed this and turned back around with a look that said, 'You better do it.'

She lightened her gaze and walked towards his direction. He whispered, "Let me talk to him first."

"Sasuke?"

Said child looked up from his bent paper shurieken and answered.

"If you're not gonna teach me that Jutsu, don't bother coming in!'

"If you're not going let me talk to you, then let Surane listen." countered Big Brother.

"Why should I?"

"She is like one of those people who are willing to listen before speaking. Just talk to her and bond."

"…"

"Please?"

"Okay…But only for a while…"

"All right. Here she is…"

Surane opened the door and went inside. Sasuke sighed and got up off of his bed. He tossed his origami shuriken to Surane. She caught it with ease. (not all dramatic like earlier)

"Did you make this yourself?" she questioned.

"Yep! I made about 5 more earlier!"

"Cool! Could you show me how?"

Sasuke agreed, if only she would listen to every word he said.

"Oh, there you are Itachi!" exclaimed Mother. She put the rest of her home-grown tomatoes in a basket. "So, how was your mission."

"Long…and tiring…" he said, yawning.

"Well, it figures that you rush home after every one…"

Itachi only blinked.

"I need to talk to you about Surane; now would be the best time, before your Father comes home."

He kneeled down and listened intently. She took off her gloves and glanced around the backyard quickly.

"I understand that you have been treating Surane more than like a little sister."

"Yeah…"

"You're like a father to her…and I want to thank you for that…."

Itachi's interest sparked.

"Please, your Father tried to be nice to her this morning. At least he tried; but that's one of the first times he's actually listened to me. I have a feeling that something will happen to Surane if we are not careful, especially if she's alone with Father."

"The fact that he was nice is suspicious enough…"

"Plus, I'm afraid she is interested with everything outside this village. Just earlier, two girls from the Academy, who were just about her age, came to see Sasuke. Surane has never seen any girls her age before. It might be a distraction that will lead her to step out of the boundaries. Keep a close watch on her for the next few days, at least until every weird happening ends."

"You have my word."

"Good…where is she now?"

"Bonding with Sasuke…"

"Alright then, you can go."

Itachi left without response. He walked along the outside hallway to think. Before he had time to even ponder a single thought, Father came out to him.

"I want to talk to you, now…"

Itachi obediently followed.

Surane: Beware! 2,000 words! -que suspensful music-

Muffn: -claps- Congrats. I just have one thing to say...

Surane: -Ingores Muffin and plays w/ her toy-

Sasuke: -plays Beethoven's 4th-

Shika: -watches clouds- ooh...that one looks like a bunny...

Muffn: --'' nevermind...