DISCLAIMER: All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto
Author's Note: So, I couldn't help myself and decided to post this early. I'm having too much fun being back in the fanfiction craze. Also, today is Sasu-cakes' birthday and shouldn't we celebrate with a little bit of fic? Even though this is ItaSaku, there's a tiny bit of Sasuke in here.
Anyways, hopefully you all don't expect future updates to be posted this soon to each other. But who knows, maybe I'll be spurned by some sort of writing muse and actually post chapters one after another.
Anyways, happy reading.
Non-mass
Chapter 2:
Birthday Cake
"Aniki."
"What is it, Sasuke?"
"Do I really have to go?"
"Sakura-chan is turning six years of age today, Sasuke. Do you not want to celebrate this important day with her?"
Trudging through the streets, a six-year-old Uchiha Sasuke grumbled and kicked a pebble in his path. "I'm not even friends with her. She's annoying."
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Sasuke."
"But it's true, nii-san! She keeps calling me 'Sasuke-kun' and she's always bothering me." Sasuke paused before adding, "Besides, she's not even from a shinobi family. She shouldn't be hanging out with us. She doesn't belong with people like us."
Although Sasuke hailed from one of the greatest shinobi clans in Konoha, he had yet to receive advanced training. At six years old, he would begin attending the academy at the second week of the next month. But for now, Sasuke's shinobi skills did not yet include recognizing chakra fluctuations. As such, he did not notice when his beloved aniki – who had been walking at least ten steps behind the sullen Sasuke – utilized the body flicker technique. Sasuke stumbled and nearly fell onto the ground when Itachi suddenly appeared in front of him.
Itachi crouched in front of his otouto and effectively poked him at the center of his forehead.
Sasuke yelped and threw a hand to rub the abused site. "Aniki!"
But Itachi was unperturbed. Rather, he offered the younger boy a serious look. "That was a very rude thing to say about Sakura-chan," he scolded. "Just because she isn't from a shinobi clan doesn't mean that she deserves to be treated with disrespect. Besides, Sakura-chan will be among your classmates at the academy next month."
Still rubbing his forehead, Sasuke scowled at being reprimanded at the middle of a street by his elder brother.
Itachi sighed lightly when he noticed that Sasuke did not look prepared to accept the fact that he did, indeed, say something ill-mannered.
"You know how okaasan feels about Sakura-chan, right? How do you think she would react if she were to hear what you just said?"
As expected, Sasuke widened his eyes and scrunched his brows together. "Aniki, you wouldn't…" he trailed off, looking desperately at Itachi.
Because Haruno Sakura was the daughter that Uchiha Mikoto had always wanted. The little pink-haired child belonged to one of the largest merchant families in Konoha, which led to both of her parents being regularly away from the village. Thankfully, Haruno Mebuki and Uchiha Mikoto were great friends and Sakura was often left in the care of the Uchiha matriarch. A much better option than traveling through the nations with an incredibly young child.
Though there was still tension between the hidden villages due to the most recent war, the Harunos did not allow that matter to get in the way of their business. They travelled to Suna and the other villages on a regular basis in order to conduct trade. Most merchant families shared a similar perspective. After all, animosity bred from a war between shinobi was no reason to lose money.
As a hidden village, many of the citizens of Konoha were shinobi. They were raised to wield weapons the moment they learned to walk. As a result, many of those shinobi were unable to relate with the civilian populace.
Many did not realize that being a civilian, especially a merchant, usually posed more danger than being a shinobi. Unlike Itachi and his comrades, civilians were not trained to protect themselves in the face of a missing-nin. But just like Itachi and his comrades, civilians still traversed behind enemy lines.
Bandits tended to steal, not kill; they were not the typical cause of a merchant's death. Instead, merchants were often caught in the crossfires of a battle between shinobi. And when battling S-ranked missing-nin, jounins and ANBU cannot always spare the attention to protect the unfortunate civilians caught in the middle. At least not when they had their own teammates to protect and a mission to complete.
Just because those incidents with the civilians weren't publicly reported did not mean that they did not exist. There was no memorial stone for dead civilians. No one remembered them except for the families that lost them.
When Sasuke sighed but nodded, Itachi accepted it as an agreement to behave for at least the duration of the party. Patting his otouto's head, Itachi stood from the ground and continued to walk to their destination.
Staring at his otouto's small form, he kept his thoughts to himself because Sasuke was still too young to understand. As opposed to common belief, Haruno Sakura, or any civilian child for that matter, would sooner wake up to find two body bags at her front door than any of her shinobi counterparts.
Many civilian children became orphans. Fortunately, Uchiha Mikoto would rather be damned than to see that young girl become an orphan if her parents did decide to abandon the living.
"Sasuke-kun!" Upon entering the threshold of the Haruno home, a blur of pink and half a second later, Sakura was hugging a stiff Sasuke.
Itachi offered the younger Uchiha a pointed look to make sure that he did nothing overly offending.
"Itachi-san! You came too! Arigato!" Itachi's natural aura of intimidation did not seem to affect Sakura. The little girl burst forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his legs. Most people, even children, would not have even entertained the thought of doing so.
"Ah, happy birthday, Sakura-chan. Okaasan and otousan send their regards," he said with a small smile.
She returned his words with a much larger smile of her own.
From afar, a voice yelled out, "Is that Sasuke-kun, forehead?" A young Yamanaka – perhaps Inoichi-san's daughter – ran out from the crowd and proceeded to jump his otouto. Sasuke barely had enough time to widen his eyes before the blond girl excitedly pushed him onto the floor.
"Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun. I missed you! Did you miss me too? But don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I'll never let you go ever again." His otouto, for his part, looked horrified at the prospect of having the Yamanaka glued onto him for the entirety of the party. "Come on, Sasuke-kun." She pulled Sasuke from the floor and was soon dragging him off into the throng of people before the boy could even utter a word of protest.
As both children disappeared, Itachi glanced down when he felt a tug on his fingers.
Haruno Sakura was staring at him with her large green eyes. It was, perhaps, the only thing she inherited from her parents. Both Haruno Kizashi and Haruno Mebuki were a collection of sharp lines and harsh features. Though Sakura was still very young, Itachi knew that she would grow up with a softer and more delicate look. Her bright pink hair would only accentuate the femininity she was sure to exude. An appearance that would seem at odds with the profession she was attempting to enter.
Itachi shook his head at the sudden thought that Sakura would definitely break some hearts when she grew up. Perhaps even her teammates' hearts. He almost chuckled at the mental image when another thought took precedence in his mind.
While beauty was a gift, it was also a curse for a kunoichi. Seduction missions were not endorsed to the public but they were one of the most prevalent types of missions assigned to a kunoichi. Whether the goal was to gather information or complete an assassination, a pretty kunoichi could make the process all the more easier.
And glancing down at the doe-eyed girl clutching at his fingers, Itachi knew for a fact that she would be highly requested for those kinds of missions.
Despite the fact that Itachi was aware that seduction was an inevitable part of a kunoichi's career, he couldn't help the narrowing of his eyes. Just a little bit, he tightened his fingers around her hand, an action that Sakura noticed because she blinked owlishly up at Itachi.
Looking back down at the girl, he picked her up and she giggled when he placed her on his back.
"Do you want to see a shinobi trick, Sakura-chan?"
The little girl bobbed in excitement atop his shoulders. "Please, Itachi-san," she spoke.
"Do not let go," he warned. Tiny hands clasped just above his eyes and a tinkling laughter echoed behind the two of them as Itachi used the shunshin no jutsu to dart from one area of the house to the next.
No, he thought. He didn't care if it was part of a kunoichi's responsibilities. He'd make sure that when the time came, Haruno Sakura would not take part in a single seduction mission. The moment the Hokage decides to offer her a scroll with the infamous scarlet seal symbolizing a seduction mission, Itachi would be damned if it ever reached her grasp.
All in all, the party was an extravaganza. Though Itachi was quite sure that the Harunos had used their daughter's party for an entirely different reason.
Hidden beneath the massive festivities, numerous business transactions were occurring. The children were too preoccupied with the balloons, the confetti, and the platefuls of desserts to notice that something was amiss.
It was normal for adults to attend a child's birthday party, but in this case, Itachi was quite sure that the child-to-adult ratio was severely skewed. The Ishida couple were present and they didn't even have a child below the age of twenty-three. The same applied to the Oreki and the Hirasawa family. Itachi wasn't even confident that Sakura knew who those people were. But it did not matter that they were quite possibly strangers to the birthday celebrant. What mattered was the fact that all three of those families were prominent names in the trading world. Names that could potentially rival the Harunos.
For the past three hours, Itachi had heard the Harunos murmur of trading routes, buyouts, and even a potential merger.
This party was not meant for Sakura. Its primary purpose was to assure the success of the Haruno business as well as to publicly parade their status to the other families that also earned their living as merchants. We are the Harunos and we are the better than all of you.
"Make a wish, sweetie," Haruno Mebuki ushered her daughter as a large birthday cake was placed onto the table.
Sakura was the image of innocence as she closed her gleaming viridian eyes to make an equally innocent wish before blowing out the six candles lined atop the cake.
As the soft smoke from the flames danced in front of Sakura's grinning face, Itachi felt his hands clench into fists.
When Sakura's parents hugged their daughter, Itachi thought that they would have been wonderful shinobi. When they had acted out the necessary roles of parents, they quickly moved away from Sakura to conduct business elsewhere.
Tch. To be able to lie so easily to their daughter about their intentions…they would have certainly been such wonderful shinobi.
His okaasan may have adored the Harunos, but had Sakura not been a part of the family, Itachi doubted that he would have even tolerated them. There was something about their manner of living that irked Itachi. The way that they treated life as a chess game, counting their losses and their gains as they went. Sooner or later, Sakura's piece would be moved and the poor girl would become another pawn in her parents' game.
Just a little bit, civilians could be much more cruel than shinobi.
When Sakura looked up and caught Itachi's line of sight, she offered him a broad smile and a zealous wave. She didn't even notice her parents on the side, shaking the hands of another family as a business transaction was successfully completed.
"Itachi-san!"
At the sound of his name, Itachi turned around to catch the pink-haired child bulldozing through the crowd.
"Itachi-san," she repeated in something akin to a whine. "You just disappeared and I couldn't find you. I thought you left." She pouted and knitted her brows together.
Itachi patted her on the head and responded, "I offered to help with the cleanup." Because after such an enormous celebration, the things to sweep and pick up were equally enormous. "Besides," he continued, "did you honestly think that I would leave without saying goodbye?"
Sakura shook her head and smiled. "Itachi-san's too nice to do that."
As Itachi returned to picking up the scattered wrapping paper on the floor, Sakura spoke, "Ne, Itachi-san, I had a lot of fun today."
"Hn."
At six years of age, Sakura was already accustomed to the Uchiha grunt and continued with her statement. "I bet Mikoto-san threw you the best birthday parties when you were like me. Mikoto-san's so nice like that," she added as an afterthought with a giggle. "Wanna know what I asked for when I blew out my candles?" She didn't wait for a reply. "I said I want a family like Itachi-san's and Sasuke-kun's. Tou-san and kaa-san are always gone. I miss them a lot. They said they were leaving again tomorrow morning. Tou-san said just for fifteen days this time. But it's still gonna be lonely."
For a while, Itachi was surprised by her declaration. He paused in his ministrations and glanced at the girl before him. She was staring at the floor and playing with the hem of her dress.
Sakura had just always seemed so happy. So happy and content with her life that Itachi never considered that the constant absence of her blood family was affecting her so deeply.
He was attempting to formulate the proper response to her words, but she suddenly inquired, "Itachi-san, what did you use to wish for when you blew out your candles?"
He paused before answering with a shake of his head, "I've never celebrated my birthday."
At that, Sakura ripped her gaze from the floor to stare incredulously at Itachi. "Never?" she clarified disbelievingly.
He nodded his head.
It was true. Itachi had grown up to the sounds of war shaking the walls of his home. Back then, surviving to fight the next day was enough reason for a celebration. No one had time for birthdays. When the war had ended, Itachi felt that he was too old for birthdays because by law, he was technically an adult anyways.
He was pulled from his memories when two hands clasped one of his. Sakura was looking at him intently, her viridian eyes bright with emotion. "Wait here, Itachi-san," she ordered before quickly running away.
Itachi sighed. He should have just lied and made up some wish. The young girl would probably return with a bounty of questions about a past that Itachi would rather keep buried.
To his surprise, Sakura came speeding back towards him within the next minute. She nearly tumbled to the ground in her hurry and almost dropped the item in her hand.
Rushing to Itachi's side, she grabbed one of his hands and pulled him to a kneeling position in front of her. Puffing, she proffered a slice of chocolate cake. When Itachi took the plate from her, she pulled another item from the pocket of her dress.
It was a candle.
Itachi's eye twitched with sudden emotion, but Sakura did not notice.
"Kaa-san wouldn't give me matches cause she said they were dangerous," she explained. "You just have to pretend. Sorry," she muttered shamefully to the floor.
Grasping her chin with his forefinger and thumb, Sakura squeaked when she was forced to meet his gaze.
"Sakura-chan, why are you doing this for me?"
She couldn't move her head from his hold so she settled for averting her eyes to the corner. "You don't need a party, Itachi-san. But everyone has a wish and we should all get the chance to at least ask for it. Even if it might not come true. Even you, Itachi-san."
As a shinobi, the only expected wish was to be able to come home from the next mission alive. But no one had ever asked what Itachi wished for in his life. A wish without the heavy weight of his profession or his family name. A wish that belonged solely to Itachi.
But right in front of him, a six-year-old Sakura, so innocent and so full of love, was asking him for what he wanted when no one else ever did.
Gently plucking the candle from her grasp, he stuck it into the icing of the birthday cake.
"We don't have to pretend, Sakura-chan," he said. When she scrunched up her brows in question, Itachi used his free hand to perform the hand sign for a small katon jutsu.
Sakura's eyes widened like globes when a flame erupted from Itachi's lips to light the lone candle. "Is that a shinobi trick too?"
"It's a special Uchiha shinobi trick," he answered gently.
"So only Uchihas can do it?" she asked disappointedly.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," he consoled. "I'll make sure that when you're old enough, you'll learn it too."
She immediately brightened at the thought. "Really, Itachi-san?"
He nodded.
"It's a promise?" she urged.
"Promise." And Itachi meant it. That much he knew.
"Ne, Itachi-san." He tilted his head to side when her voice became much softer and a streak of red painted her cheeks. "Can I…can I call you Itachi-kun? Sasuke-kun gets mad at me when I call him that. I don't want you to be mad at me too."
Itachi smiled at the girl. Placing a hand atop her head, he answered, "Of course, Sakura-chan. And believe me, I could never get mad at you."
When the flame flickered against the soft breeze when someone passed by, Sakura prompted Itachi-kun to make a wish before his candle lost its fire.
One day, I wish I can give her the kind of family she deserves.
Author's Note: I know that there was an episode in the anime where Sakura's parents were shinobi, but I'm going to go ahead and pretend that it never happened. I've always liked the idea of Sakura coming from a civilian family and being a first-generation shinobi.
Rate and review if you'd please. And anyone figure out how to magically teleport flowers to me yet? No? Oh, well. See you all in the next ItaSaku adventure!