--Hello! ^^ This is my first fanfic. Reviews are very much appreciated.

--Warning!! This story may contain spoilers, so read with caution. Oh and this story is slightly AU.

--Disclaimer: I don't own the Anime Naruto or its characters.

--I'd like to dedicate this story to Lady Hanaka and Crescent Matrix :3 3

Prologue

~Won the Battle, Lost the War~

"Onii chan! Why??"

"…Foolish little brother…if you want to kill me, Hate me. Detest me. Run, run away and live in an unsightly way."

Walking down the dark street, he felt something tug at his heart. Guilt. But even if he did, he made no effort to show it. His face was emotionless—A face that would belong only to a cold-blooded killer. But, he deemed it fit to remain. After all, he indeed was a killer. He had killed his entire clan with the exception of his little brother who was now unconscious in the compound next to his parents—or what was left of them.

His throat was dry, and so was the blood splattered on his Anbu armor. His thoughts pierced him, like the very blood stained blade that hung on his side, as he headed towards the entrance-or rather exit- of the compound. Had he done the right thing? Had he made the right decision?

His thoughts came to a halt when he heard faint sobs. He realized he was far from the Uchiha compound and was in Konoha Park. It was dark, obviously because it was late evening. One could only make out the simple silhouettes of trees, the dimly lit pathways and the benches that stood adjacent to them.

His eyes turned from Onyx to Ruby. He activated his Sharingan to see clearer into the darkness. He spied a small figure curled under a tree. He crept closer and stopped inches away from the fragile thing.

The fragile thing turned out to be a small girl, a peculiar one at that. He deactivated his Sharingan seeing as she wasn't a threat and studied the small girl. She had pink hair—which was why she was peculiar—that was about shoulder length. Bruised up and hurt, the small girl looked up and cowered at the figure that now stood in front of her.

Then, as if by coincidence, a breeze blew. He looked up feeling the light touches of the wind. It was calm though eerie at the same time, like spirits gently touching his soul. The girl, however, kept her eyes on the figure. He was so enraptured by the wind that he failed to notice a small petal that landed on his shoulder.

It took him a few moments to realize this and picked up the petal. After a while he spoke, "Sakura…?"

The small girl's eyes lit up, "How did you know?"

He peered at the small girl, "…know?"

She didn't notice the petal that settled between his index finger and thumb. "My name." She blinked. Her shaking started to cease.

"Your name is…Sakura?"

"Un." She said with a slight nod. He looked from the cherry blossom, caught between his fingers, and the girl. Her hair had the same shade as the fallen petal. Ironic.

He had so wanted to laugh. Her pink hair that matched the cherry blossom's shade and her name amused him so much. It made sense that her name was Sakura. She was probably named that way because of the color of her hair. Indeed, it fit perfectly to the point that it was funny. But, this wasn't the time to laugh. He had been through a lot that day and found no point or even the will to give a small chuckle.

"Why are you here?" He asked kneeling on one leg so he had eye contact with her.

"No reason…" Sakura sniffled, finally stopping her crying. Lies.

She was a small girl. An innocent girl, and he was Anbu. Though their age difference would have been small, their skill and experience gap was huge. A shinobi, especially a prodigy such as he, could tell what were lies from truths. Apparently, her answer was indeed a lie. But, he didn't force her to say exactly why she was sobbing under a tree so late at night. His hand simply and unconsciously made its way on her head.

He patted her gently. "Itachi."

Sakura's gaze returned to the man who had spoken. "My name is Itachi." His cold eyes stared into her eyes. She had green eyes that were like emeralds—no—like softened jade. They sparkled in the moonlight; her drying tears added glow to her eyes.

"It's…nice to meet you…Itachi san…" Sakura rubbed her eye.

Itachi, noticing her tears had stopped, stood and started walking away. He only approached her to cease her sobbing in the first place. Now that she had, it was time to go. And probably, he would never come back.

"Ah wait!" Sakura chased after him and gripped the edge of his Anbu outfit.

"…" Itachi remained silent, turning to look at the girl.

"Please…take me with you…" She begged him. It was an irrational decision. He assumed it was one created a few instances ago. It was predictable of a child, especially from one who didn't know what she was getting herself into.

"You can't come with me…" Of course she couldn't. He was a murderer.

Her eyes started watering again. He sighed and crouched down so his eyes could meet hers. She cries too much…

"Where I'm going…there's nothing but darkness…" He stated knowing fully that she could not understand the underlying meaning to this.

Sakura's lips trembled, "There's…"

Itachi blinked waiting for what she had to say.

"Anywhere is better than here," She finally said clutching his armor.

Her words caught Itachi by surprise. What had this girl gone through to make her want to leave this place? Was it so bad that she wanted to escape with some random stranger she thought was good because he took the time to stop her crying? Naïve…that's what she was. As to be expected, she is but only a child.

He placed a hand on her chin and lifted it until jade met onyx, "Are you sure?" He knew she was too young to make big decisions such as this. But, he was also young. He was thirteen years old and she was just about 5 or 6 years younger. Then again, he was skilled and adept to being a shinobi at such an age. He was a prodigy and she was…well…normal. But he was him, and she was her- two different people.

Two VERY different people, He repeated in his head.

"Yes." She replied immediately with no hesitation. Her eyes held determination and at the same time, a sadness that swirled beneath the depths of her iris.

He rose and started walking. "If you're sure…come then…I warned you" His monotonous voice held her in her tracks. She wouldn't follow. She didn't follow. He inwardly smiled in triumph, but this victory did not last.

Sakura's eyes followed him before she too rose and ran after him. She grabbed onto his armor and smiled.

He had lost the war. He was so sure she would turn to leave. Instead, she ran to him and clung to him. But, what the hell, after all, this was a child.

Maybe to where he was going, she would be alright. Maybe it was okay to bring her along. She didn't seem to have a home…and now, neither did he. Maybe taking her away from this damned place would be good. Probably the last good thing he could do because he knew, that when he walked past the gates of Konoha, he would walk a path of sin.

Itachi glanced at the smiling girl and extended his hand out to her sighing. She took his hand and clutched it tightly.

Hand in hand, they headed towards the gates of Konoha.

--So yeah, prologue to my first fanfic. :3 I hope it turns out okay and I hope you guys like it. :3 Read and review please :3 I need all the help I can get. xD

--It's slightly AU because I've twisted the timeline a bit. But, it's still the ninja world. :D

--Any questions? Please place it in the feedback and I'll answer it in the A/N in the next chapter. ^^; Yeah I'm new to this fanfic thing. xD

--Erm I think it's kind of confusing to read, is it? xD

-Madam Obscurum, "the brighter the light, the longer the shadow…"