Sharp green eyes swept across the room from their vantage point on the king bed, following the two frenzied adults that were currently moving from room to room, leaving nothing but controlled destruction in their wake.
"Are these clothes even weather appropriate over there?! Isn't it supposed to be colder?"
"No! It's supposed to be warmer!"
The two adults kept bickering with one another like they had been doing for the past hour, not quite solving anything yet somehow still managing to get things done. Sure, clothes were strewn about the room and there were toiletries just about anywhere, but at least the three suitcases were being filled with the necessary things.
Green eyes zoomed in on a toothbrush and toothpaste, scrunching a button nose up in disbelief as an exasperated sigh left their mouth. Small hands reached the edge of the bed allowing the small child with pink hair to hop off before picking up the two offending items and quickly stashing them in the toiletry bag.
Honestly, her parents could be quite forgetful; if only they had started packing the day before like she had suggested, they wouldn't be hurrying around and making mistakes.
"Sakura, honey are you sure you're okay with meeting the shinobi by yourself?" A woman in short blonde hair briefly questioned from the bathroom door before retreating inside again.
The small child smiled at the bathroom door from where her mother had briefly appeared. "Yes kaa-san, I'll be fine."
"Remember, if there are any issues don't hesitate to go to the Hokage or next door." Kizashi, a man with red hair spoke from the hallway, "We'll be gone for about a month, less maybe if we can push this deal."
"I know tou-san," Sakura, the pink haired child with bright green eyes, replied softly.
"I believe we have everything," Mebuki, her mother, spoke as she walked into the room.
"I believe," Sakura drawled as she picked up two traveling papers, "these are kind of important maybe?"
Kizashi looked at his wife in exasperation, "maybe we should take her?"
"No way! She won't be able to last too long on the trip. Besides, the preparations have been made and there's no time to pack her stuff and cancel the ninja we hired and-"
"Kaa-san, tou-san really I'll be ok! I promise to be careful, respectful, and be on my best behavior. You two enjoy your time away before the busy season starts ok?" Sakura made shooing motions with her hands, softly herding her parents to the front door. "If you don't leave now you won't be able leave with the traveling caravan and please be careful."
Mebuki and Kizashi both knelt and embraced their daughter in, three pairs of arms finding purchase amongst each other. The family of three took a moment to relish each other before parting for a long time.
"Be good honey," Mebuki parted with a kiss on her daughter's forehead.
/
Across the village, in a towering red building on the top most floor stood a young shinobi. At the mere age of twelve, Uchiha Itachi was one of the best shinobi's to have come out of Konoha; his title of ANBU captain did more than enough to make his opponents shiver in fear. If his opponents didn't turn and run, the mere sight of his deadly sharingan was more than enough to put an end to his matches.
With all of his accomplishments and reputation, Itachi was used to the hard life. By which he means missions that could end his life and/or career. From escorting to hunting down rogue nin, he was used to it all.
His background in these types of dwellings could certainly explain his confusion upon learning of his current assignment.
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand Hokage-sama," the long black haired boy questioned as he kneeled in front of his leader. "You wish for me to look over a child? What type of intel do I need to look for?"
The old man standing across from him in the red cloak simply exhaled smoke from his pipe before moving to sit behind the wooden desk. "Actually Itachi this is nothing but a simple babysitting job. The girl is about your brothers age if I recall correctly, a civilian daughter of some local merchants. All you are doing is looking after her, make sure she eats, sleeps, doesn't get into trouble; simple really," his rough voice stated.
The young shinobi blinked at his leader in confusion, not quite understanding why a shinobi of his caliber was being assigned a babysitting job. Don't get him wrong, he understood the need for even simple jobs but his skill set could be used elsewhere.
"You aren't in trouble Itachi," the sandaime chuckled. "Truth be told I wouldn't have given you this job if it wasn't for young Sakura being so insistent. That girl will be a force to be reckoned with when she's older," he shook his head, eyes crinkling with amusement. "You see Itachi, her parents will be out of town, a month at the most, they would have gone with a babysitter but they need someone who can be there for their daughter all day long. Sakura-chan while being nicely independent is still a child and thus needs the basic care. Civilian babysitters are only there for a couple of hours before they have to leave or attend elsewhere. Her parents are aware of your heir situation and have agreed that if need be, Sakura can be relocated temporarily to the Uchiha compound. I will of course speak with your father later today in regards to this assignment."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Itachi responded after he bowed to his leader. Halfway out the door the Hokage's voice reached him.
"Take this time to relax and reflect Itachi, times are quite stressful."
/
By the time Itachi had reached the modest civilian house the warm weather had started to cool and the bustling of vendors and shoppers was settling down. Walking through the market area reminded him of the errands he'd do with his mother, Mikoto and younger brother Sasuke. The Uchiha clan while having their own market area still ventured out with the population on occasion, especially for clothing material and exotic fruits or vegetables.
As he walked up the steps and knocked on the door he pondered if perhaps him and little Sakura had crossed paths before. His keen hearing picked up on the sound of soft footfalls from within the house before the door was swung open with such ferocity that he had briefly felt bad about the door.
However, his concern for the wooden material faded away as his question from moments ago was answered as a head of pink hair looked up at him, viridian eyes stared at him from behind parted bangs. A red button nose sniffed slightly and small lips pressed into a thin line as one eyebrow tugged down. No, Itachi was sure their paths have not crossed for he was sure to remember pink hair.
"I probably shouldn't have opened the door without asking who it was, oops," she said to him. "Please don't tell my mom Itachi-san. Oh, my names is Sakura Haruno please come in." Her voice, while still holding high pitched notes, was quite pleasing but her words caught his attention. She sounded apologetic for not having confirmed who he was and acknowledged her mistake, his brother wouldn't have cared.
"Sorry for being late Sakura-san, are your parents home?" He asked as he took off his sandals and placed them to the side of the entranceway.
"No, they left midday, momma left me a prepackaged lunch as Hokage-sama warned us you might be late," her voice trailed off as her eyes locked with his. Her small arms clasped behind her and her cheeks became painted with a soft pink, she looked down at her feet before continuing in a softer voice. "I wanted to say thank you Itachi-san for coming, I know you're probably busy and well, thank you!" She exclaimed, blush becoming more pronounced.
Itachi blinked slowly before a soft smile became visible, "No worries Sakura-san I look forward to spending our time together and learning about each other. Now, is there a list of regulations I need to follow or a schedule of your day to day?"
"What does reg-regul- uhm regu," her pink eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to recall the word.
"Regulations?" At her nod he continued, "it means rules or guides I should follow."
"Oh uhm I think she left a paper on the fridge, " she said as she twirled and started to walk to the kitchen, she looked over her shoulder to make sure he followed. "My kaa-san can be a bit all over the place so hopefully she did put it up."
The walk from the doorway to the kitchen was quite short and yet brimming with information from the family. There was a short hallway littered with family pictures that sectioned off to two rooms on the right, a door on the left side next to wooden stairs. The first room on the right led to a living room that had two couches, a tv, and a coffee table. The walls in the living were also decorated with various pictures and intricate art pieces. Walking further down to the second room Itachi found himself in a traditional dining area with the kitchen a few feet away, the traditional room bore no pictures of any kind but still held a commutable feeling to it.
"Ne Itachi-san I don't see the paper," Sakura's confused murmur faded in volume. She slowly spun around to him, one hand under chin while her eyes scanned the room looking for the missing paper. "She had mentioned something about leaving a paper with information behind, did she not write it?"
Obsidian eyes joined the lighter green ones in looking until at least they spotted a white paper with black markings on top of the counter. Plucking it from the counter Itachi turned to find curious eyes peeking up at him. "Perhaps this is it?" He questioned as he quickly scanned the document, absorbing the information before handing it to Sakura who read through it before exclaiming in indignation.
"I don't have a bossy attitude! Itachi-san do I have a bossy attitude? Kaa-san is so mean sometimes," the pinkette pouted, arms crossed and foot tapping.
Itachi chuckled quietly at her childish antics before responding. "No, I do not believe you have a bossy attitude Sakura-chan. May I call you Sakura-chan?"
The girls demeanor changed as she beamed at him. "Yes you can call me Sakura-chan or Sakura or even Kura like my momma calls me sometimes. Can I go color? I'm not hungry and it's still too early for bed time."
Taking the paper from her offering hand he mused it over for a bit before deciding that coloring wasn't a bad idea. "Well you do have a couple of hours before bedtime at nine. Where are your supplies?"
"Oh I have an art room across the hall. Tou-san was insistent on me having my own personal area after I kept stealing his paper."
Itachi had never heard of a child having an art room, a playroom perhaps but not an art room. As he followed her across the hall he imagined coloring utensils all over the floor, papers with half-finished paintings.
What he did not expect as he entered the light pink room, was canvases with penciled outlines nor the white papers with intricate colors combined to show nature sceneries. Some were parks others forests and still others held moments in time: a busy market, a store front with a family, a festival with lights and fireworks in the distance.
"Did you make these?" He asked in awe at the display of talent, he could see the benefits of her having her own studio.
"Yes," she responded in her chirping voice. "They're mostly nature as you can see. Other times I'll try a freehand but I prefer going out and painting." She continued as she mixed colors on a palette.
"You're really good. How long have you done this for?"
"Thank you. Momma says I've been splattering paint since I was able to grasp a pencil. These past few days I've been working on sketching a cherry blossom tree. I've been doing various angles but haven't found one that I like."
"Where do you plan on putting it?" he asked curiously, an emotion he hasn't encountered in a long time.
"Well, I plan on transferring it to my wall above my bed. That's why I have to be very careful you see. It's gonna be there a long, long time." She finished with a smile that he couldn't help but return.
"Do you mind if I sit and watch?"
At the shake of her head he sat at the chair in the corner of the room and watched her twirl her paint brush and dab it in various parts of the canvas. She hummed and muttered things under her breath. She furrowed her eyebrows and chewed the top of her brushes. Sometimes she'd remember he was there and would babble on about things that would make his head spin, not for lack of understanding, but rather because despite being from the same village they were on different parts of the spectrum.
He didn't quite understand at first until he was tucking her into bed that night. She was the innocence he wished his brother could be and Itachi was the monster that tore those things from children like her.
But no matter what, he swore to himself as he switched off the light and returned her good night, he would protect that innocence until his dying breath.
/
a/n: Hello everyone! First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Finally a new year is here and things are still looking bleak :( let's hope that March actually stays decent and doesn't turn 2021 into a shit show. I'm also feeling hopeful in terms of where I'm going with this story and you'll be able to finish it along with me :)
Anyway, here is the first chapter of the new and hopefully improved My Babysitter is an Uchiha. Yes, I changed the name it just didn't feel right to have the same title you know? So, this is on my profile but chapters will be released on the first of every month. Thankfully, I am about 5 months done (yay me!) and this fic will be no more than 20 chapters, less maybe. During the non-school months I may (MAY does not mean a yes but a maybe) release two chapters or depending how far I am. If you've been keeping an eye on my profile, then you know I've also been writing a new story. The first chapter will be released mid- January and all later chapters will be released mid-month. So keep an eye out for any releases on the 15th or 16th
I also wanted to say once again: thank you thank you thank you so much to those of you who have reached out over the years. Your words of encouragement and eagerness to see where this story goes has seriously helped me over the years. I appreciate you and lets hope I can still meet your expectations if not exceed them after so long
Finally, I look forward to hearing from those of you that have been with me from the beginning and from those that have given me the opportunity by reading this chapter for the first time: welcome to the roller coaster that is My Babysitter is Uchiha Itachi
Please leave a review or even a hello and happy new year everyone!