The first time I met Itachi Uchiha, I was seven. My mother wanted me to drop off a basket of goodies at Mikoto Uchiha's house since she and Mikoto were in the same cooking group. The basket was heavy and I had stopped to rest at the entrance to the Uchiha district.

As I was about to get on my way again a tall, dark-haired figure was coming my way. Since I didn't really know where I was going I decided to ask for some help.

As the figure approached, my little heart sped up when I saw how handsome he was. He had long black hair. His skin was only a little darker than mine and his eyes were really black. He noticed me looking up at him and asked "Are you lost, little one?"

I blushed and looked down at the basket sitting in front of me. "I was hoping you could help me find Mikoto Uchiha's house."

"Of course. Would you like some help with your basket?" he asked, noticing I was struggling to pick it up.

"Yes, please." I said politely. He was so cute. I had to suppress the urge to squeal like the fan girl I was becoming.

He leaned down and picked up the basket and I caught a whiff of the nicest scent I had ever smelled in my short seven years of life. He smelled like soap and leather and the solution used to polish the kunai. It reminded me of the way Daddy smelled except there was something different about this man's smell.

"Come along, little one." His voice broke me out of my thoughts.

I followed along behind him like a little puppy. He slowed a little so I could keep up and I was grateful. He was a lot taller than I was.

"So what business do you have with Mikoto Uchiha?" he asked me.

"My mom wanted me to bring her some baked goods to try." I explained.

"Ah, what kind of baked goods?" he inquired.

I looked up at him suspiciously. "You're not going to steal them are you? My mom wouldn't be very happy with me."

He chuckled. "I promise I won't steal any. I'm just curious."

"Desserts. Can I tell you a secret?" I whispered up to him.

He looked down and our eyes met. "Sure."

"You can't tell anyone, ok?" I said.

"I promise I won't tell anyone." He reassured me.

"I helped my mommy bake some of the desserts. She's not very good at baking. I'm better than she is." I covered my mouth a giggled. "Sh, it's a secret. Don't tell anyone."

"Ok." He smiled at me. "I bet you're a really good chef." He said.

"I am." I replied.

"Here we are, little one." He said as we stopped in front of the biggest house in the district.

I felt my eyes grow wide as I looked up at the huge house. "Wooow. It's so big!" I exclaimed. There were large steps leading to the front door and flowers were arranged artfully next to the steps.

We walked up the steps and I waited for the man to knock but he opened the door instead. "Coming?" he asked me.

"Aren't you going to knock? It's only polite." I said, flabbergasted that he was being so rude. He hadn't even been invited in!

"Mikoto won't mind, I'm sure. Come on, little one." He said holding the door open for me.

Hesitantly, I stepped inside. On the inside it was even more impressive. Thick carpet cushioned our footfalls so they were nearly noiseless.

We heard clattering noises and Itachi led me towards them. We emerged into a kitchen, where a tall woman with long black hair was washing dishes. She turned around and smiled. "Hello, Itachi. Welcome home. Oh and who is this?" she said, noticing me beside "Itachi." I was a little angry that he didn't tell me he was related to Mikoto and I vowed to talk to him about it later.

"I picked up this little one outside the district." He replied and nudged me forward.

"My mother, Keiko Haruno, sent me, Mrs. Uchiha." I said giving a slight bow.

"Ah, so you must be Sakura! You are even cuter than I imagined. Your mother is always talking about you and now I see why. Such pretty hair…" she said, almost squealing.

My cheeks felt hot all of a sudden. "Thank you."

"I always wanted a little girl. Instead I got two boys who are too much like their father." Mrs. Uchiha went on. "Itachi, there, barely lets me hug him."

I glanced over my shoulder at Itachi who said "Come now, mother. I let you do it on special occasions, like Christmas."

I giggled and Mrs. Uchiha sighed. "Boys. They're no fun. So what did your mother make me?" she asked.

I took the basket from Itachi and brought it over to Mrs. Uchiha. "Wow, you're so strong!" she said as she took it from me and realized how heavy it was.

I smiled up at her. "I want to be a big strong ninja like my mom and dad!" I said.

"You're so strong already!" she exclaimed. "Now, let's see what's in here."

She took the blanket off the top of the basket and set it aside. Then she started taking out all the desserts.

"Peach cobbler, brownies, oatmeal raisin cookies, cake, and chocolate chip cookies! My favorite!" she said.

"I actually made the chocolate chip cookies." I said shyly. "I hope you like them."

She popped open the box they were in and took out three. "Well why don't we try them right now?" She asked, handing one to her son and the other to me.

We all bit into them at the same time. "Mmmm. WOW! Sakura, these are really good! They're better than mine!" Mrs. Uchiha said. "What do you think, Itachi?"

I looked at him and held my breath as he chewed thoughtfully. "You're right, Mom. These are better than yours. Good job, Sakura."

I smiled and blushed under his praise.

" . Very funny, Itachi." Mrs. Uchiha said and stuck her tongue out at her son. I giggled.

"Sakura, some day you and your mother are going to have to come over and cook with me." Mrs. Uchiha offered.

"That would be fun!" I said.

"Ok, I'll talk to your mother about it." She said and smiled at me. "Before you go… would you mind if I braided your hair for you?"

"Mom, you're going to scare her off." Itachi complained.

"Well you won't let me braid your hair, now will you?" Mrs. Uchiha retorted.

"…"

"Hmph, that's what I thought. But Sakura, your hair is so long and pretty I want to play with it for a few minutes. Please?" she asked me.

"Ok, Mrs. Uchiha. I don't mind." I told her.

"Come with me then." She said. She took my hand and led me down the hallway and into a living room. Itachi followed us.

"Ok, dear, you sit in front of the couch while I braid your hair." She said. I did as I was told. She ran her hands through my hair a few times and I could feel my eyes glazing over already at how good it felt.

She started braiding it and I felt into a sort of stupor. I was disappointed when she was done because it had felt so nice.

Mrs. Uchiha helped me stand up and looked at me critically. "You look absolutely amazing. Maybe I'll have to steal you from your mom one of these days."

I laughed, but could also feel the embarrassment tingeing my cheeks red. I wondered how Itachi felt about the way I looked.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh, goodness! Look at the time! I had better start making dinner. Itachi, will you please take Sakura home?" she asked him.

"Ok." He said. "Come on, little one."

He led me out of the mansion and we started walking through the Uchiha district.

I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him. "You tricked me!" I said angrily and crossed my arms over my chest.

"How so?" he asked, confused.

"You didn't tell me you were Mrs. Uchiha's son!" I replied.

"You never asked." He replied.

I opened my mouth to reply but couldn't think of anything to say, so I just remained quiet. He was right.

After a few minutes he sighed. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't know it would upset you." He apologized. "Do you forgive me?" he asked.

I glanced over at him. He was looking at me with these big black puppy dog eyes. There was no way I could say no.

"Ok… but just this once!" I said.

"Alright!" He said grabbing me up and throwing me into the air. I laughed and giggled until my belly hurt.

We were halfway home when there was a cry of "Brother!" and suddenly a dark flash knocked me down and ran at Itachi.

I fell to my hands and knees. I looked up and saw a boy about the same age as me who looked remarkably like Itachi hugging my escort tightly. I gingerly stood up and inspected myself. I could feel my hands and knees start to sting and my eyes welled with tears.

I sniffled and Itachi kneeled down beside me.

"Hey, Sakura, are you ok?" he asked me.

I turned my face away so he couldn't see my tears. I was ashamed of my weakness.

I felt something warm dripping down my leg and I looked down to see blood from my scraped knee soak into my sock.

Horror encased me and I froze. My chest started heaving quickly but for some reason I couldn't seem to catch my breath.

I looked at Itachi and I felt the tears fall down my cheeks. "Am I going to die?" I asked him.

"No, it's ok, Sakura. They're just a few scrapes. You'll be fine." He reassured me. Then all of a sudden he picked me up and brought me over to a nearby bench. The little boy who had knocked me down followed Itachi with wide frightened eyes.

"I-Itachi… is she ok?" he asked.

"She'll be fine, Sasuke. Just watch where you're going next time, ok?" he replied.

Sasuke sat next to me on the bench and took my hand. "Does it hurt?" he asked with big eyes the same color as his brother's.

I wiped away the tears on my face with my free hand. "A little."

Itachi, meanwhile, was inspecting my knees. Suddenly, his hands glowed green and I felt a cooling sensation on my knees. Amazingly, the skin started to heal right before our eyes. There wasn't even a scar left.

"Wow." Sasuke and I breathed.

Itachi healed my other knee and then both my hands.

"All better?" he asked, smiling at me.

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, thanks, Itachi!"

"You're so cool, Big Brother! I want to be just like you when I grow up!" Sasuke declared.

Itachi chuckled and ruffled Sasuke's hair.

"Ready to go home, Sakura?" he asked me.

"Yeah! Let's go!" I said.

Sasuke and I chattered about nothing and everything as we walked. Itachi occasionally commented on something but he mostly just watched us.

When we finally reached my house, I ran up to my porch. "Thanks for walking me home!" I called out. "Bye, Sasuke! Bye, Itachi!"

"Bye!" they called in unison.

I watched as Itachi lifted Sasuke up to give him a piggy back ride. I waited until their figures turned the corner and I could no longer see them before I went inside.

My head was filled with images of dark eyes and black hair. Though whose they were – Itachi's or Sasuke's – I wouldn't have been able to tell you.

I was irrevocably in love with both of them.