"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

~Martin Luther King Jr.

Itachi Uchiha watched kids his age run around,, laughing with no care in the world. Their ninja headbands shone in the bright sunlight as they showed it off and boasted to their friends.

He couldn't help but sneer at the scene.

These foolish little kids didn't know anything about being a ninja. They didn't know what it meant to stand in the frontlines of a battle and watch people alongside you fall, their dead bodies hitting the cruel earth, forever gone. They would never know how it felt to be fresh out of the academy and have to face death square in the eyes. Of course they would never have to. They had their sensei's and parents to baby them and protect them from the cruel cold world that he...

"Excuse me?"

He looked down to see a very young girl holding onto his person. His body went rigid, how did he not sense her coming? If she had been an enemy she would have already been executed.

"Are you sad mister?"

The girl tilted her head, her black hair tumbling over her shoulders. She was holding a stupid looking stuffed animal in her left hand, her right hand still grasping his pants. The girl barely came up to his waist, and he wasn't even that tall for his age.

"Why would you think I'm sad?"

Itachi regarded her coolly, but said girl either didn't notice or shrugged it off. Her bright blue eyes looked at him as if she wasn't looking directly at him but straight through him.

"Well your aura feels sad."

Her answer took him by surprise. Did she mean his chakra signature? He never heard of someone reading auras.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi by the way. What's your name?"

The girl, Kagome, smiled, her chubby hands still holding on to his pants.

"Itachi"

He left out his family name, not wanting to bind himself to his putrid clan any more than he had to.

"Do you want some lunch Itachi? My Kaa-san packed me some rice balls and their really good."

The girl handed him a rice ball, and because he didn't want to be rude he accepted it. Not to mention he was kind of hungry.

"Kaa-san says that's what all babies do but there's no way I did that because thats nasty"

Itachi couldn't help the small smile that broke out on his face at the cute grimace on the little girl's face.

"Your Kaa-san is correct Kagome. All babies are born with the inability to use the bathroom on their own. That is why they always wear diapers."

Kagome grimaced again, before taking a bite of her rice balls.

A peaceful silence fell over them as they snacked on the lunch that was packed. For the first time in a long time Itachi felt at peace with someone other done his little brother. He looked over at Kagome, wondering what it was about her that seemed to calm, even going as far as to sooth his ever present inner turmoil.

"Itachi-kun?"

"Hn"

"How old are you?"

"I have just turned 8"

"Sugoi! I'm only 5"

He would have never guessed her age from her petite size.

"That is the same age as my outoto."

"Really! Can I meet him one day Itachi?"

He nodded. Sasuke wasn't too keen on girls at his age and he was interested to see how he would react to Kagome.

Said girl got up, brushing any grass off her skirt.

"Well I have to go Itachi, my grandpa said to be back before the sun sets."

He looked to the setting sun, a little shock on how time could have gone by so quickly.

"Will I be able to see you tomorrow?"

He nodded, unprepared when the girl threw her small arms around his waist in a hug. No one, besides his brother, hugged him. Mostly because he didn't allow anyone to touch his person, and because people feared Itachi, or better yet what he was capable of. Yet, here was this girl who was either too naive or trustful willingly handing over her trust to someone she barely knew.

And because he couldn't sense nothing but truth in her actions towards him, or what she said he willingly handed over what many people desperately craved from him.

His trust.

AN: Really short but this is just a warm up, I swear. This is my first fanfic so I feel a bit rusty. Hopefully that changes as I go along. Reviews make me happy and are greatly appreciated.