Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor do I claim to own its characters.

Strange: Part 1

Sasuke glared down at the girl, tightening his grip around her with each passing second she failed to answer him. But Sakura did not oblige; instead, she sunk her teeth into Sasuke's arm, hard.

"Argh!" Sasuke growled in pain, flinging the girl against the bed. He looked from his assaulted arm to the girl. He channeled all his anger to form the infamous Uchiha Glare. It was those seconds of concentration that allowed Sasuke to become collected enough to finally noticed the obvious. The girl in front of him was not Sakura. How could she be? The last time Sasuke saw Sakura she had been sixteen years old. Something the girl in front of him was obviously not.

His assailant could not be older than five, much to his embarrassment. She had short pink hair – a color too abnormal but Sakura managed to look quite well with it – that parted in the middle and faint bangs that covered her forehead. Sasuke could not see her eyes since they were currently bandaged. As for the rest of her appearance, it was dirty with mud and some blood. He wasn't sure whose blood it was because, apart from a few gashes on her face and cuts on her arms, the girl's major injury seemed to be that underneath bandages.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, wondering what a child was doing at Akatsuki's hideout. The girl – who was currently cowering against the bed – looked like she was about to cry, but she didn't answer.

"Are you related to Haruno Sakura?" he grilled, struggling to keep himself from strangling the girl.

The girl pursed her lips tightly enough to turn them white and turned her head to the side.

"ANSWER ME GIRL!" he exploded, taking a couple of steps forward.

"I'm not a girl!" was what she finally said with indignation, making Sasuke stop in his tracks.

"What?" he asked stupidly. His mind became blank and felt at loss for words. He thought he had heard right. He looked at the child from top to bottom and then again. He supposed she might be a boy. His hair was too short in the back, and his voice was not feminine enough. His eyes went to the boy's hair, not fully convinced. Just what king of a boy had the decency and self-assurance to walk in public with pink hair? There was another way to find out, but that just too disturbing to try.

Feeling like something needed to be said, Sasuke cleared his throat and asked, "What are you doing here? Where are your parents?"

Silence.

"Speak already! You already proved you're no mute."

"Sasuke", both boys turned to the open doorway where Toby stood, arms at his side. "I doubt yelling at the boy will encourage him to open up to you. You're scaring him", he chided.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at man, "What is he doing here?" From the corner of his left eye, he saw the boy crawling to the corner and slamming his head into the wall. He was momentarily pleased as he felt the boy deserved it – but the moment faded as soon as the boy started to cry.

"Sasuke, looked what you've done!" the masked-man accused and walked to where the boy was, picked him up, and carried him over to the bed.

"You stay here", he told the boy as he sat him down, "and you follow me", he said, speaking to Sasuke.

Having satisfied his curiosity and having no reason to stay, Sasuke followed Toby out the door into the corridors without looking back at the boy.

"I am surprised at you, Sasuke" the deep voice of Madara replaced Toby's. "Picking on children; I never took you for a bully", he teased as they made their way to Sasuke's room.

The younger Uchiha settled back into his indifferent front. "Who is he?"

"An orphan I found. There are many of them now, you know." Sasuke nodded at this. It was true that with the rise of the Fourth War the death toll – especially of those around their twenties to forties – had risen, living many children parentless.

"Why did you bring him here?" He knew Madara had no drop of nobility in him. He was not proven wrong.

"It's simple, really. My organization is losing members, and they need to be replaced. Children like him can be molded into a weapon that will suit my future needs."

Weapons. Everyone around Madara was nothing but a tool to him. He was truly a disgusting thing.

"Just like me", he thought. He too manipulated people when his plans required it. Karin was an example of that.

They turned a corner. Sasuke's bedroom was insight, which he was grateful for. He had no desire to spend another second with Madara.

" Have you changed your mind yet?" such a simple question, but one that made Sasuke's heart pound so hard it hurt.

"No", Sasuke said tightly, looking straight head.

"I'm glad to hear that. You'll see how powerful you'll become once you have the eternal mangekyou."

Footsteps echoing in the corridor saved Sasuke from hearing more from Madara. Both Uchiha's stopped to see who was coming. Out from the shadows, Suigetsu walked forward until he was within speaking distance.

The purple-eyed Shinobi gave a curt nod to Sasuke, which the latter returned, and proceeded to give Madara his full attention, acting as if Sasuke was not there. "You called?"

Sasuke was not taken back by the behavior Suigetsu had adopted around him lately. Ever since Suigetsu learned – from Madara of all people – that he had sacrificed Karin, he tended to regard Sasuke with some hostility. He only remained in the same room with the Uchiha when a mission demanded and spoke only if he needed to. He still followed orders, but Sasuke was well aware that any grain of loyalty and trust Suigetsu held for him was lost. There was no doubt that if he was not careful he would be double crossed by him.

"Yes, I have a mission for you and Jugo. You two will retrieve something important for me. That is if Sasuke doesn't mind me using you two."

Surprise colored Suigetsu's features, and Sasuke could not blame him because he too was surprised, but held on to his mask. Madara had never given Suigetsu or Jugo any mission that didn't involve Sasuke. Suigetsu finally composed himself and looked at Sasuke questioningly, wanting to know what he wanted him to do.

Sasuke shrugged, signaling he could care less if Madara used his team members for missions without consulting him. He continued on to his room, leaving the two alone. It seemed that the double crossing would come sooner than expected, and he could not shake off the feeling that it would not be Suigetsu to do it. He had to be careful and trust in no one but himself. He was alone; a thought that surprisingly made him feel cold with loneliness.

Sakura opened her mouth – nothing came out.

She tried again, and, still, the result was the same. She stretched her hand but pulled it back before it could do some damage. Feeling awkward, she settled for looking anywhere but at the little intimidator in front of her.

The boy sat with his legs folded underneath his thighs; his hands placed on them with his back straight as a board. Whoever the boy's parents were, they had taught their child the importance of a good posture.

"Say something", Inner-Sakura urged. "He has not moved for fifteen minutes."

Sakura bit her lip uncertainly. As usual, she could not think of a single appropriate thing to say. It was not like she could rely on socially-accepted topics. She could picture the disaster they would cause.

"The weather looks nice, right? What's that? Oh, right, you can't see…er…How did you sleep? Yes, nightmares do tend to make one restless."

Like she said, it would be a disaster. She felt like her inner-self was asking for a tall order. It was still too early in the morning, and she had no caffeine in her system. And without it, she was pretty much useless.

With nothing but silence in the room, they could clearly hear the rain drops falling. The sky had yet to clear, leaving grey clouds to hover over the village. It made the atmosphere gloomy and - in Sakura's opinion – ominous.

"Try some jokes", Inner-Sakura suggested, caring little for Sakura's lack of humor.

It was at this time that Sakura once again wondered where Naruto had gone to. He had yet to return, and the situation clearly demanded him. He was good at cheering people up.

The bed underneath her creaked, and Sakura was surprised to find the boy bowing in front of her.

She had little time to register what he was doing before he spoke.

"I'm Uchiha Itachi. Thank you for taking caring of me."

Sakura's mouth fell open, and she swore that for a moment her vision went black.

"W-what did you say y-your name was?" she squeaked at the end. Was it her or were the walls moving? She needed to lie down.

"I believe" the deep, lazy-like voice of her sensei came. She whipped her head to the door where Kakashi and Shikamaru were coming in, "he said his name is Uchiha Itachi."

He said it clearly and without faltering. Sakura gaped at him, wondering why he was collected and not going crazy like she was.

"Kakashi-sensei", she said, and at the name, the boy's ears perked up. He looked around, searching for someone desperately.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he asked with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. Sakura got the impression the boy knew her master. Kakashi tapped the boy's shoulder. He was standing behind him. The boy didn't move, but a second later he turned around and threw himself at the Hokage.

"Sensei!" he cried and a hurried voice said: "we did as you told us. But…Asuka and Jun are dead. And my brother –." Kakashi had placed a hand on the top of the boy's head to calm him. The tears coming out of his eyes were rolling down the side of his eyes, where the bandages where not too tight.

"Sakura", her sensei called, but she didn't hear. She was too confused by what was going on. Kakashi-sensei knew the boy. The boy whose name was Uchiha Itachi. An Uchiha Itachi that looked like Sasuke. Most importantly, why couldn't the room stop spinning?

"Haruno!"

Sakura looked at her sensei dazed. She was sure her mouth was still hanging open.

"I believe you have somewhere else to be."

It took a couple of tries before she could manage a weak nod. "Y-yes, but he – his name is…"

"I will take care of it from here", he sensei said firmly.

"But –"

Kakashi looked pointedly at her and then at the door. The message was clear. He wanted her out, yet Sakura could not go. She didn't want to. She wanted to hear what the boy had to say – to understand just who in the world the boy was.

"I will speak with you later", Kakashi told her when he saw she would not move unless she was given something. "And Sakura…don't tell Naruto."

"Sensei –" Sakura was about to protest.

"Later, Sakura", he repeated firmly.

Expecting nothing better from the Hokage, Sakura reluctantly got up from the bed and headed to door. She shot a questioning look at Shikamaru on her way out, but he averted his eyes. As soon as she stepped out the room, the door closed behind her with a snap. The guards from the night before were still there. She wondered if they heard what was said and if they did, would they tell anyone? This worried her. Uchihas were not as popular as they used to be in Konoha.

"What just happened?" she asked herself as her legs carried her to where the stairs were.

"His name is Uchiha Itachi. Damned it! ", Inner-Sakura spat. Where Sakura was confused and incredulous, her inner-self was angry and a bit curious.

"And he knows Kakashi-sensei. I am not crazy am I?" the last question came out desperate and pleading.

"No. You were lucid back there."

Sakura climbed down the empty stairs, not paying attention to where she was going. She asked herself how could it be that there was another Uchiha. All, except Sasuke, Itachi, and Madara, died during the Uchiha Massacre. Her Inner-self had an answer ready. It was possible that Itachi had a son no one knew about.

Sakura was about to ask if her inner-self truly believed that when she recalled a forgotten memory.

"Save…save Itachi and-" the woman, no Asuka, had pleaded. At the time, Sakura thought Asuka was talking about Itachi of the Akatsuki.

She was too submerged in her thoughts to notice she missed a step until she felt her body ready to fall. Her hands searched for something to hold and found nothing but air. She shut her eyes, readying herself for the impact.

She didn't feel it. Instead, she felt as two thin, yet strong arms circled around her body and held her, preventing her from falling. She opened her eyes and saw Naruto at the bottom of the stairs, holding a white box in his left hand and two cups in his right; one foot on the first step.

"That was close" her Inner-self said.

Sakura turned her head slightly to the side to get a better look at her savior and met a set of lavender eyes looking at her with worry.

"Hinata", Sakura said breathlessly. She pulled away and studied herself with the help of Hyuga girl. She then bowed at the girl. "Thank-you."

Hinata returned the bow. Her long, midnight-blue hair slid to the side.

"It was nothing, Sakura. But you're not hurt, are you?"

Sakura replied she was fine as Naruto climbed to the step beside Hinata. Sakura could smell the distinctive smell of ramen, steaming from the box he was holding.

"Sakura what happened back there? You need to pay more attention", he said, a tint of fear in his eyes. Sakura didn't like this was coming from Naruto the Oblivious. It's not like she could have died if Hinata had not been there. She was a ninja after all.

"I didn't see where I was going Naruto. I had things in my mind, but you, where have you been?" she said, placing her hands on her waist.

"Nowhere" Naruto responded offhandedly. "And just what things on your minds almost made you break your neck?"

And this was how Sakura was reminded of the little Uchiha inside a hospital room, and how Naruto needed to know of his existence immediately. She discreetly looked at Hinata, who was busy calming Naruto down. Sakura trusted the girl, but it was better to tell him when they were alone. So instead of answering, Sakura changed the topic.

"Are you here to visit anyone, Hinata?" Sakura tried to remember if any of the other members of the Rookies slipped into the battle field.

Hinata blushed, which was not surprising considering Naruto was standing next to her. Her crush on the boy had yet to die down as far as she knew. What came as a surprise was that the blonde shinobi also turned red and looked uncomfortable.

Her inner-self crossed her arms and said with annoyance "What is that about?"

Hinata cleared her throat before answering, "Er…No. Neji asked me to come. He said he forgot to tell you that your meeting is at ten. He'll wait for you at the ANBU Headquarters."

"That's right. He never said when and where we were meeting. That's very unlike him."She considered Hinata for a moment. She hoped the girl could help her and Naruto understand her cousin a bit more. Despite knowing him for years, Sakura knew very little personal details about their captain except for his former contempt for the main house of the Hyuga and how a stickler for rules he was.

"Hinata, do you know what's wrong with Neji. He's been acting more irritable than usual."

At the questioned, Hinata's face fell into a sad expression. She looked as vulnerable as a child.

"Please, forgive him. You see, my cousin has been under a lot of pressure from the clan since his promotion, more so than before. It's making him more…testy."

"That's one way to put it", Naruto muttered under his breath. Silently, Sakura agreed with Naruto. Hinata always tried to look the best in others and was not the kind to point out their flaws out in the open. She was simply nice, sometimes too nice for her own good.

Sensing someone's eyes on her, Sakura turned and caught Naruto watching her intently. Sakura raised one eyebrow at him.

"Do I have something on my face?"

Naruto's gaze did not weaver and asked: "Are you sure you're fine? There's something off about you this morning."

Sakura rolled her eyes for Naruto's benefit. No, she was not fine, but she could hardly tell him why. "Naruto, honestly, I am fine. I was not paying attention. That's all. You don't need to behave like my father. I have one you know."

A soft giggle made Sakura frowned at Hinata. She didn't say anything funny. The girl just smiled at her.

"Speaking of fathers, mine is waiting for me. Have a good day you two. And Naruto, remember what I said."

Sakura waited until Naruto and she were alone to ask what Hinata was talking about. She was surprise once again by the blush that spread across Naruto's face.

"What did she mean by that?" Inner-Sakura wanted to know, and Sakura asked again.

"Jealous, Sakura?"

"Hardly", and then added: "but it looks like your finally coming around to Hinata. That's good. She suits you."

She knew that was the wrong thing to say to him the minute she took in his face. A dark shadow was cast upon it. Without a second to loose, Naruto climbed the stairs, passing Sakura and not stopping until he was well above her.

Very quietly to the point where Sakura wondered if she had heard right, he said: "you never meant it. Did you, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked, not knowing what Naruto was talking about. "What you –"

"Forget it", Naruto cut in. "Just give me a minute."

She obliged, too worried to be offended by his attitude. When he turned to faced her, he wore the care-free expression that was his trade mark. Anyone could have been fooled by it, but not her. She could see just how forced it was.

"Forget it", he repeated. "What do you say we have breakfast with the little man", he indicated with his head to the wooden box in his arm.

Knowing what was on the box, Sakura was not as excited as her fried. "Naruto, I don't think he likes ramen. He doesn't…seem like the type."

At that, Naruto beamed at her. And this time, the smile was genuine. "Sakura! You don't know this because you're not that much into Ramen, but trust me. The kid likes ramen."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Naruto cut her off.

"We ramen lovers can spot each other", he said as if the statement settled the matter. "But just in case, I brought 'normal' breakfast. Oh, here. I know how grumpy you get in the morning without your tea" He handed her one of the white cups he was holding.

Sakura took it gratefully. "Thank you", she said and immediately took a sip, tasting in her tongue the taste of the green leaves. A soothing feeling coursed through her body. She felt like she was in heaven.

"Earth to Sakura. Don't become side-tracked. Now decide if you're going to tell him or not", her inner-self interrupted her world of bliss.

"Naruto", Sakura called the attention of the blonde, who had been taking a sip of his own tea. Sakura could still tell how much he was forcing himself to appear normal before her. Whatever she had said to make him upset was still bothering him. What would it do to him if she told him what she learned about the boy?

"Don't tell Naruto", Kakashi-sensei had told her. There was a reason why he wanted to keep this from Naruto, and she had an idea of what the reason was.

"I… need a shower", she said lamely.

"Good girl." Sakura felt guilty, but it was for the best. Naruto had already made peace about killing Sasuke, but she, like Kakashi, knew that news that the little boy was indeed an Uchiha would cloud his judgment. He would think that Sasuke's nephew was the key to stopping their former friend without killing him.

"He doesn't deserved it", Sakura thought. After all the evil he committed, he didn't deserve forgiveness, and she knew would not be the only one to think so.

"I need to shower", she repeated. "And you need to get ready. It's almost ten."

Naruto's shoulders deflated with disappointed. He had been looking forward to seeing the kid again. "Fine. Maybe I can get on Neji's good side if I bring him food."

To BE Continued

A/N: Happy Holidays!

Sorry for the delay. I been studying for the LSAT and finally took the exam on the third. Now, I will have to wait for what schools will accept me into their program.

Look for the next chapter this coming week. I have corrected the errors on the previous chapters, and I can't believe that despite my proof reading sessions I managed to miss several errors. In chapter one, for example, I spelled Hawk as Hack…embarrassing - _ - If you know of an awesome beta-reader, please suggest one to me.