"Only those who care about you can hear you when you're quiet."

Unknown

<>

"DAMN YOU 'TACHI-NII-CHAN!" Naruto said, running up a tree and away.

Itachi chuckled from his position, hidden behind a bush. He still had a clear view of what was going on, but Naruto was It, and he ran in the other direction. Itachi was safe. He had tricked Naruto into thinking that a Shadow Clone was him. Sasuke and his two best friends, Sakura and Naruto were playing hide and seek with Itachi. The older boy was unsure how he was coerced into playing hide and seek with them, but here he was.

Naruto and Sakura were adorable, and Itachi liked them. Naruto was cute, and his personality was playful. He could lead Sakura and Sasuke on some grand adventure in the backyard any time. He was a bit stubborn, like Aunt Kushina.

Sakura was more agreeable, and respectfully did as Itachi asked. If they were being too loud, Sakura forced the boys to take it down a notch so Itachi could sleep. She was the boss of the group, and she liked Itachi, so now Itachi could get Sasuke to do anything. Itachi liked teasing Sasuke about Sakura-chan, mentioning her being his girlfriend and so on. But Sakura never showed any romantic attachment to Sasuke. Which was strange, but Itachi never said anything about it. He did know that his brother liked Sakura-chan. Sasuke was just too young to know what that meant.

Itachi often wondered where she came from. Naruto and Sasuke said they met her at the Academy, but Itachi knew that was a lie. Naruto and Sasuke had started talking about someone named Sakura-chan since they first started talking. Some days them and Kakashi would disappear for hours, and Itachi never knew where they went. And then they started bringing her over before the Academy even started.

Soon, Sasuke and Naruto started telling Itachi in detail stories about the time they first met. It was so precise, Itachi couldn't help but question himself. He could almost see the memories they were trying to feed him take hold in his mind. His mind was adopting their stories as reality. It was a marvelous trick, but Itachi was too clever. He weeded out all the false memories and recovered the other ones. He often checked his own memories to see if they matched up with the story, and found they were lying. Again, he never said anything about it.

Itachi wondered if they were trying to rewrite his memories by telling him lies.

Then he shook his head. They were eight, for Kami's sake.

While assessing the kids' skills, he was shocked to realize that all three of them were prodigy material. Itachi still couldn't figure out how all three eight year olds knew how to walk on trees and water. They said those were the only jutsu they knew, but he knew they also liked to use Shadow Clones. They could run like ninja, despite their height.

That was when Itachi started taking them more seriously. They were adorable, yes, but they were prodigies. And Sasuke was trying to rewrite his memories. They weren't innocent little children. Not only that, but there was one time that Sasuke disappeared for two days. Naruto convinced him that Sasuke was okay, but he never said anything regarding the location. Sasuke, also, never breathed a word about where he went.

Needless to say, Itachi kept a closer eye on his brother.

Itachi didn't think the kids were bad, they absolutely weren't. But they were prodigies. Until Itachi talked and got the truth from them, there would always be some suspicion. The most suspicion would be placed on Sasuke. He always seems to be lying to Itachi. The other two didn't, as if they felt ashamed of themselves for lying to him, but Sasuke lied through his teeth with no remorse.

How much sleep are you getting, Sasuke?

Plenty.

How many hours?

Nine. How many do YOU sleep?

And so on. It saddened Itachi, but he was happy to know that at least Sasuke's friends respected him enough to tell him some things. The only reason why he knows about their abilities is because of them. Otherwise, Itachi would have no idea what is going on in Sasuke's life.

"Itachi-nii!" Sakura appeared next to him. Itachi didn't see her sneak up on him. He did feel her chakra, but he wasn't paying attention. That was strange.

"Sakura-chan, hi. What's up?" Itachi whispered, scooting further under the bush so Sakura could fit too. The girl slid into the bush next to him.

"Sasuke and I found something interesting, I wanted to ask you before we checked it out." Sakura said quietly, making sure that Naruto wasn't nearby.

Itachi nodded, shifting himself over so that he was sitting on his knees next to Sakura. "What is it?"

"A cabin, Itachi-nii." Sakura's eyes gleamed in excitement. "In the middle of the forest! And there's smoke coming from the chimney."

Itachi leaned forward, curiosity suddenly flowing through him. "Really?" That was strange. Itachi didn't remember any registered hunting cabins out this far. "Do you two mind if I come too, or is this a lovers retreat?" He teased.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Very funny, nii-chan, if you're coming, let's go." The two of them left shadow clones to entertain Naruto, who they felt was getting closer.

They went even deeper into the forest. Itachi recognized some places, he took this route on missions sometimes. Then Sakura led him off the route, and deeper into the dark part of the woods. "Why were you guys so far in the woods?"

Sakura looked at him with a knowing look. "Naruto never told you, but he's a sensory type. We have to go farther away to get away from him. And even then, completely mask our chakra." She said, eyes dancing with laughter. "Don't tell either of them I told you that."

Itachi sighed, rolling his eyes. Naruto had known where he was the whole time. "That was a clone of him, wasn't it?"

Sakura laughed. "Yep. We called him over when we first found the cabin."

I take the day off to hang out with them and they leave me to play by myself... Itachi wanted to think about HOW they called him over, but they had already arrived.

"Sakura!" Naruto's voice said. "We think Sa-- Itachi-nii-chan?" Itachi was standing directly in front of Sakura, and Naruto and Sasuke were hidden in a tree behind her.

Sasuke audibly sighed. "Get up here, Sakura, nii-san." Sakura smirked and obeyed, and Itachi did so confusedly.

''Why are we up here?" He asked Sasuke. His little brother looked at him and sighed, then turned to glare at Sakura.

"Because there are people in there, nii-chan." Naruto replied for Sasuke. Itachi nodded. Sasuke and Sakura were looking at each other intensely. Itachi couldn't hear what they were saying, but Naruto did.

Why would you bring Itachi into this? This could be dangerous.

Sasuke, what did you expect me to do? Lie to him? Tell him he can't come? He'd come anyway, you know that.

You could've incapacitated him.

How would we explain that when he woke up??

He fell and hit his head on a rock.

Itachi Uchiha doesn't 'fall'.
We can try to erase some things, Sasuke, but too much is too much.

The rock hit HIM then.

Can you two stop arguing in front of our guest?

Naruto thought, agitated. He'd been distracting Itachi by telling him what was going on, but Sasuke and Sakura were looking at each other like they were going to kill each other. It was catching Itachi's eye, and he looked confused. "Are you two okay?" He asked Sasuke and Sakura.

Look what you've done.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Both were still glaring at each other, but no words were said. Finally, Sakura looked away. "Yeah, nii-chan, we're fine."

Naruto looked back at the cabin. Itachi followed his eyes. "Nii-chan, we think there are kids living in there."

"Parents?" Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke shook their heads. Itachi's brows furrowed. "That's not good. They can't be alone. Can you estimate their age?"

"Judging by the chakra size, I'd say about our age." Naruto said. Sakura nodded, further confirming this. "Itachi-nii-chan, we can't just leave them there, can we? They could be in trouble. Can't you feel the seals placed on the house?"

Itachi looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "I think when we're done saving those kids, we're going to have a serious talk about your abilities." His dark eyes met each of theirs. "All three of you."

"Sure, whatever you say." Sakura said, jumping down from the tree. "Alright, since we have confirmation from our superior, I'd say it's time to move in." The four of them did so, walking carefully so they didn't set off any traps and alert whoever might be watching. Itachi, again, was astounded by the professionalism the children showed.

Once they got to the door, Sakura took charge. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a bobby pin. She examined the lock, then closed one of her eyes and looked through it. She bent the bobby pin through the keyhole, and maneuvered it expertly in the lock. There was a small click, and they knew they were in.

Sasuke reached over and opened the door carefully, so as not to spook anyone inside. The minute the door opened, they were assaulted by kunai. Faster than lightning, Itachi deflected them using the kunai he had drawn moments earlier to prepare in case there were traps.

Two kids stood before them, not well dressed, holding more kunai. They looked skinny, but not malnourished. They were pale as a sheet of paper, a sign that they hadn't been outside in the sun in ages, if at all. They both stopped and stared in awe, not throwing any more kunai. Sakura's gasp was audible, and Naruto seemed to stop breathing entirely. Sasuke's shoulders stiffened.

The two children? Itachi didn't know them. But the three kids did. They recognized them instantly.

Their names were Shin, and Sai.

Sakura's hands flew to her mouth. Itachi looked at her confusedly, and found her fighting off tears.

Finally, the older one, (Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke's brains supplied them with the name Shin) pointed his kunai at them. "Who are you?" He asked, putting a threatening voice on to hide his confusion.

"We're friends." Sasuke spoke up. Itachi nodded. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. This is my aniki, Itachi. These are my best friends, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno." He pointed at them each in turn. "Who are you?" He asked, even though he knew their names.

"I'm Shin." The purple haired one said, lowering the kunai a bit.

"I'm Sai," Sai said. The poor boy was shy, having never seen another person his age but his brother.

"What are you doing here?" Shin asked boldly, stepping ahead of Sai. "Did Danzo-sama send you to kill us?"

Sakura gasped. Inwardly, her mind was trying to work. Sai was putting her off. Especially since her friend died right in front of her. Focus, Sakura. At this time, they would still be in Danzo's possession. They haven't been forced to kill each other yet, but undoubtedly they've been trained for it. Poor Sai, look at him, so afraid. I've never seen him show so much emotion. Her heart broke a little bit. Poor boy. He's still so innocent...

Sakura looked at Naruto, and saw him going through the same thing. Naruto's eyebrows were pulled together, and his mouth was agape. His eyes would undoubtedly be tearing up when he was alone. Sasuke looked to be the most put together, since he didn't know Sai personally, but he was also a bit upset by this. He would be, considering the fact that Sai died saving his life.

"Why are you here?" Itachi asked them, putting his own kunai away once he deduced they wouldn't be a threat. He wondered what was wrong with the three kids he was chaperoning. They'd all gone oddly quiet.

"Danzo-sama put us here." Shin said, narrowing his eyes. "You're from the Uchiha clan, that means you must live in the Village, right?"

"Yeah." Itachi said, since it was clear no one else would say anything. "Why?"

"We're going to work for the village one day. For Danzo-sama." Shin probed, as if he was waiting for Itachi to catch on. Sai hid behind Shin, a little bit confused and scared.

Itachi's eyes widened. ROOT ANBU. He's training them to be ROOT. His mouth dropped for a second, and Shin smiled, knowing that Itachi had an idea of what he was saying. "Do you have parents?"

Shin blinked for a second. "No."

Itachi's eyes widened. "Do you remember anything before you came to stay here?"

"There is nothing before I came here." Shin said. "In my mind, I've grown up here. I have no parents or memories."

Itachi's eyes widened, and he looked at the two of them in pity. Wait a minute... these two aren't biological siblings. And if the younger one -Sai, I think he said his name was- also has no memories of before here... he inhaled sharply in horror. That might mean they were kidnapped. By Councilman Danzo, from what they said. He looked at the three other kids beside him, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. We shouldn't be here... what if we tripped an alarm and Danzo shows up? What if he takes the kids? I'll come back with Kakashi-senpai, but for now, I need to get the kids out of here.

But Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto weren't going anywhere.

Sakura stepped forward, not missing the way Shin tensed. "Hi," she said, pretending to be shy to make the boys feel a bit more comfortable.

"Hello," Shin replied cordially, wondering what she was trying to do. Sai blinked at her from behind his brother. He wasn't touching Shin, but Shin was clearly shielding him from the others. True loyalty. Danzo truly is amazing at crushing children. He makes them live together, bond, then he severs the bond with a pair of scissors, completely destroying their young minds. How absolutely terrible. Sakura's eyes softened.

"I like playing ninja." Sakura said to start up a conversation. "I have pretty good aim. Are those real ninja kunai?" She asked, pointing at the knives the boys were gripping. She stepped closer one more time. Slowly, almost imperceptibly.

Sasuke subtly walked behind her, watching her six without her saying anything.

"Yeah, they are." Shin said, holding them out for her to see. They gleamed in the light.

"That's so cool!" Naruto apparently pulled himself together, gushing happily. "Can I touch it??"

Shin frowned, unsure how to act. "Be careful, it's sharp. You might cut yourself."

Naruto laughed, swiping a hand at Shin as he bounded forward, poking the kunai. "I won't get hurt, and if I do, I have pretty good regenerative health." Shin's eyes widened in interest. Sai slowly came out from behind Shin, watching as Naruto took the kunai from them, eyeing it with an amazed look on his face. "Can you show me how to hold it?" Shin opened his mouth to decline, then sighed and nodded. He wrapped his hands around Naruto's fingers and guided them to the right position, even though Naruto was well aware of what he was doing wrong. "Amazing!" Naruto exclaimed, flailing around with the kunai. Shin ducked out of the way so he wouldn't get chopped up. Finally, when Naruto stopped, he handed the kunai back to Shin, seeing the anxiety his fake excitement was giving him.

"You live by yourselves?" Sasuke asked, stepping closer. Shin and Sai both looked at Sasuke, making the boy shift uncomfortably.

"Yes, Danzo-sama comes and checks on us once a month with some supplies." Sai answered, standing beside Shin instead of behind him. Sakura smiled, saying nothing. That was a good sign, it meant they were getting more comfortable with them.

"Did Danzo-sama... bring you here?" Itachi asked carefully. The boys could've been brainwashed to adore Danzo and sing his praises. I believe that's called Stockholm syndrome.

Shin started scowling, and Itachi nearly sighed in relief. "Yes, he did. But there isn't anything I can tell you about that, I don't know how he did it. Even if I did, I'm not allowed to spill any of Danzo's secrets."

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked in confusion. It suddenly appeared that it dawned on Sakura and Naruto what he meant by that. Shin closed his mouth and shook his head.

"He can't tell us," Sakura tapped Sasuke's shoulder, and then he had an 'oooh' moment and nodded.

Itachi looked at her. "Explain." Sakura met his eyes, but judging from the gleam in them, she suddenly didn't appear physically capable of forming coherent sentences.

Naruto, instead, picked up the slack. "He has a seal placed on his tongue that prevents him from saying anything. We didn't anticipate Danzo giving them the seal this early, but it makes sense. They are kids, and more likely to blab. The seal is a lot like the seal that ANBU Black Ops members get," Naruto gestured at Itachi's arm, and the older boy nodded. "It prevents them from telling secrets, and destroys their body after they've died or been mortally injured so no one can study their bodies."

Itachi looked at him with an exasperated expression. Hokage-sama's son is also prodigal... how did we allow these three to slip under our radar? They're brilliant!

Shin smiled, which was a feat, considering he couldn't technically confirm or deny their theory.

Sasuke's eyes took on a knowing look. "He kidnapped you from your parents and placed you two in here together, forcing you to grow up with nothing but each other." Shin and Sai both smiled sadly. "He's been training you to become warriors. To work for him and the village as a ROOT member." They, again, couldn't confirm or deny this, but the looks confirmed it.

Sakura's eyes closed, and she winced. "At the end of it, before your activation... there's one final test." The two boys looked at her, wondering what exactly she was talking about. "You have to kill each other. Whoever survives moves on."

Shin and Sai looked at each other with equal amounts of terror. "We've got to get out of here." Sai told Shin.

"We can help you." Itachi offered. before he knew what he was doing. When his mind finally caught up, he cursed. Sasuke and the kids were still here. This could be dangerous for them.

But then the two boys looked at him with something Itachi hadn't yet seen on them- hope. "Really?" Sai asked. And in that moment, he knew he couldn't refuse to help them. The kids Itachi was chaperoning looked at him in excitement. Itachi had no choice now.

"Yeah. I'm a ninja, and Sasuke and I are the sons of the Uchiha clan head. We can get you help." Itachi nodded, extending a hand. Shin shook it firmly, then Sai did the same. "We'll be here again tomorrow, and I'll bring help."

Shin's expression melted in relief. "Promise?" Sai asked. Itachi's eyes softened. The kid looked a tiny bit like his own precious little otouto, Sasuke. He smiled, and nodded. "I swear. Shin, if some friends of mine some instead of me, know that they will protect you no matter what."

"How will we know they're friends of yours?" Shin asked, eyebrows furrowing.

Itachi thought about it for a minute. "I'm almost positive that two close friends of mine will be in the group sent to bring you home. When they introduce themselves, look for the names Kakashi Hatake and Tenzo. Those are my friends, and they will protect you. Anyone who is with them is okay as well. I'll give them a code word to say, just in case you can't remember the names. Code word... lamb."

Sakura looked at Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, then turned and left the building. Naruto then turned to Sasuke, who was still watching Sakura leave. Naruto looked at Shin and Sai. "So what do you want to do?" He asked, looking at the boys and putting an excited face on. "Wanna see a card trick I learned?"

As Naruto walked over to start playing with the two, Sasuke looked back over at the door Sakura had left out of, then started to follow her, but Itachi placed a hand on his arm, gently yanking him back towards him. He wrapped that arm around Sasuke's shoulder, and knelt to talk with Sasuke. "I recognize the sign of grief when I see it. It's in all three of you. I don't know what happened between you three, or the extent of your abilities. I will need an explanation later. But for now, Sakura is hurting. So is Naruto. So are you, to some extent. I can see that. But you need to let Sakura get it all out, get it out of her system. Leave her alone."

Sasuke looked at Itachi, then suddenly knew why he was hugging him. It was partially for support, but also an anchor. Sasuke was stuck. He nodded, then leaned forward, walking over to Naruto.

We made a vow to make things right. I think it's time for us to get off our asses.

<>

Sakura was outside, sitting with her back against the wood the cabin was made of when she got Sasuke's message. Her shoulders shook as she closed her eyes.

There he was- Sai, laying on the floor, having just taken a root spear to the stomach for Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Sai as he fell to the floor. For the first time, he looked horrified. Sai lay dead at his feet. Sakura remembered screaming. She remembered running towards her teammate, itching to get there in time- to save him. But it was too late.

Naruto grabbed her before she could leave, and Madara cast the genjutsu. Sasuke, out of instinct, covered the four of them with his Susanoo's wings. The minute Sakura felt Naruto's arms loosen, she ran to the Susanoo's wings in the direction she saw Sai fall, beating on them, desperately waiting for them to give and for her to go out to get Sai. Eventually, she stopped using real force, and sank to the floor, leaning against the wings.

She didn't cry, she just allowed the grief to crush her. She was drowning. In a way, this was worse than crying. Kakashi was standing off to the side, face in his right hand. Naruto was pacing, trying to force movement into his body so he wouldn't be overcome by his emotions.

"Sai," Sakura muttered brokenly. Sasuke, who was in the best condition, stared off into space. Sakura could see the mental struggle he was under. He could either be swept away by waves of confusion and guilt, or he could press on and lead the group. Sakura waited for him to make a choice. It took him longer than normal.

"Alright. We're safe in here." Sasuke cleared his throat and said. "The genjutsu can't touch us in the dark."

Naruto nodded numbly. "Thanks."

Kakashi looked over, then nodded as well. His eyes turned again to Sakura, and the person dying beyond the wing wall. "Sai..."

We made a vow to make things right. I think it's time for us to get off our asses.

Sasuke's voice invaded her head. Sakura shook her head and opened her eyes again, gritting her teeth. She was back where she had started, leaning on the side of the cabin. She wasn't inside Sasuke's Susanoo, grieving the loss of Sai. She wasn't home.

Two tears slid down her face. Sakura remembered Sasuke's words, and nodded. I will allow myself one more tear, then that's it. Sasuke's right. Sai's gone, and it's time for me to get off my ass. We can still save this Sai. I don't need to be mourning the one I lost all the time. Suck it up, Sakura.

Sakura shoved all of her grief and anger deep inside herself, and allowed herself one more tear. It probably wasn't healthy, but she contained all the pain and sadness she felt so she could use it to get stronger. It made her sick inside, but there was nothing that could be done about that. Sakura sighed once more, letting all the emotions sink below and into her heart. Then her green eyes opened, glinting with determination. The boys aren't in there crying... So Sakura Haruno dusted herself off and walked inside. That slip up of emotion won't happen again.