H'okay. It is a ItaHinaSasu in the simplest way that I tried to equally divide them up between the two boys. Please don't think it's entirely ItaHina by the two characters I chose as the main ones.

--

"Puh-lease?"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and nearly slammed his forehead against his desk. How long had this going on for? He did not know. How much homework had he actually got done in that amount of time?

None.

"I want to go!" Sasuke squealed and clasped his hands together, shaking them in front of his brother's knees that he was kneeling at, "Please!"

Gritting his teeth and painfully pulling on a passive face, Itachi faced his doe eyed brother who had gotten down on hands and knees to beg, plead and grovel. Taking a deep breath, Itachi bent down to Sasuke's level and flicked his forehead.

"Ow," Sasuke whined and clutched his head with his hands that Itachi noticed in that moment had grown so much since he last remembered, "You're so mean, nii-san."

"I will take you to the…park." Itachi said through a clenched jaw and stood up from his seat robotically. The things he did for his brother.

"Give me a piggy back there!" Sasuke demanded and leapt onto his brother's back without much else warning. Giggling and laughing merrily, he tugged on his brother's ponytail, "Gee, nii-san, you're starting to look like a girl."

Why, Itachi asked himself, did he even love this demon child of a brother?

--

"Itachi! Play with me!" Sasuke whined and pulled on his brother's leg with a surprising amount of strength, "It's no fun without you…"

Itachi groaned, "Sasuke, please. Spare me. I should be doing homework right now, but instead I brought you here to the park to play. The least you could do is play happily and leave me alone." As an afterthought, he added, "Please."

Sasuke pouted and sulked, but left to play in the sand by himself nonetheless. Sighing with relief, Itachi plopped himself down on the bench and laid back against the back of it, watching out for Sasuke with the corner of his eye.

Already, many little girls had come up to Sasuke trying to get him to play house with him, to which he would just snarl and be rude enough to make them run bawling. Poor child; it seemed he had the same malady that plagued Itachi himself. Heart-throb.

It nearly concerned Itachi to see Sasuke playing by himself, he wished his brother had used his looks to his advantage and made himself popular and gathered friends. Not that Itachi knew anything about how to do this…he was the same. Beautiful. Strong. Intelligent. Admirable.

Antisocial.

He winced. He was a bad influence.

"Go away!" Sasuke's commanding five and a half year old voice growled.

"I--I can't!" A small girl had crawled up next to him, her once pristine white dress now ruined by sand and soil.

"Go away!" Sasuke repeated, his voice going shrill at the realization that his mean words and rudeness were not repelling this one girl.

It seemed she was not fully immune as she broke down into sobs, "I c-can't! Kano-san said so!"

Sasuke looked ready enough to fling sand at the girl before his eyes happened to cross something in the sand and his eyes glimmered mischievously. Picking up whatever he had spotted, he snarled back at the girl again, "If you don't go away, I'll throw this!"

"Th-that's not very nice!" She gasped and held her arms outstretched.

"Yeah, so?"

"So you'll hurt th-the w-worm!" She wailed and crawled closer, desperately trying to snatch the slimy worm out of his grasps. Her attempts weren't getting her anywhere except making a deep rip from the hem of her dress to mid thigh. Finally noticing this, she stopped trying to reach for the desperately squirming worm and curled into a ball, crying quietly.

This stunned Sasuke for a moment. He looked up at his brother expectantly; the girls had always run away while crying or cried afterwards, he had never actually had to deal with one before.

Itachi pretended not to have seen his brother and looked around, ignoring him with all his might. Crying girls of any age were not fun.

Helplessly, Sasuke awkwardly patted her on the back, "I…I won't hurt the worm." When her crying still continued, he continued feebly, "You're dress is…pretty." Even this did not pacify the girl.

"Please stop crying!" Sasuke pleaded desperately and put the worm into his pocket for a moment to shake the girl by the shoulders. It had worked in movies.

It didn't in real life. She began crying at an unbearably loud level and tugged consciously at the hem of her torn and soiled dress. Finally realizing it as a moment to intervene, Itachi got up from his bench seat with a nearly imperceptible sigh.

"Sasuke's sorry for making you cry," Itachi crouched down to their level, "Isn't he?" He shot his brother a brief glare to which Sasuke nodded his head eagerly.

"I am! I'm really sorry!"

"And he promises not to hurt the worm. Sasuke, give me the worm." He held out his hand and was mildly disgusted as it writhed in his palm, coiling over and over again. Bringing his hand in front of her head gingerly, "Here, unharmed."

Her crying dissolved into thick hiccups and she lightly took the worm into her small hands. She looked up and surprised Itachi with bright mirror like eyes that expressed the same surprise he was feeling.

"Itachi-san?"

"You know this girl?" Sasuke asked incredulously and suddenly developed a small amount of respect for the girl.

He recognized her but could not place the name to the short cobalt haired Hyuuga child. He had seen her at gatherings of the two clans and was sure he had even been introduced to her at one point. If she had been formally introduced she had to be of some importance…that was right, she was the heiress to the entire Hyuuga clan. Hinata, he was nearly sure, was her name.

"Hinata…chan, where are your guardians?" He asked in a gentle voice and was slightly annoyed as her attention had been turned back to the worm as she began crooning softly to it.

She looked up and clutched the worm to her chest, "I…I don't know…I d-don't know where she went. B-but she said f-for me to stay here…" Hinata's eyes began to water again and a small alarm bell went off in Itachi's head.

"Okay, okay." Itachi said quickly, "Just stay here and play with Sasuke and I'll look out for your caretaker, okay?" He frowned at his brother who was sulking again, "Play with her. Be nice. Don't harass her. And don't make her cry again." He ordered and flicked his brother in the head as he went back to his peaceful spot on the bench.

The two children seemed hesitant to play with each other, but soon found an object of common interest to work with (the worm). Most of the time Sasuke would threaten to drop the worm down the front of her dress while she would shrilly protest for the worm's safety and snatch it back in her tiny fingers. Sasuke found this an admirable trait in a girl, maybe even a friend; someone who didn't always want to wrestle, someone who wasn't screaming all the time to play house and had a healthy respect for worms.

"So…Hinata." Sasuke began and idly drawing lines in the sand, "Why do you like worms? Aren't you afraid of them?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she brought her newfound worm friend closer to her, "Why sh-should I? They've never done anything to me…they're nice. And--and sweet, and…and…cute." She insisted earnestly and stroked it with her index finger.

Sasuke pursed his lips and crossed his arms, mentally debating on something. It seemed he finally made up his mind and crawled close to the girl, bringing his face close to her, "Hinata. I like you. Be my friend."

Both faces of the children were flushed, Hinata's especially as she nodded and whispered, "O-okay. You be my f-friend too…please?"

He grinned and grabbed both of her wrists, "Don't be a dummy, if I asked to be your friend and you said yes, then I'm your friend too! You don't have to ask." He gave her a look, "Geez."

She smiled feebly and nodded again, "Okay. Th-thank you."

He pulled her up and dragged her over to Itachi, a gesture she seemed nervous and reluctant to go through with, but did without complaint. Puffing up his chest and holding her hand, he gloated to his brother, "Look, nii-san. I have a friend. This is Hinata, say hi guys."

Hinata loosened his grip on her and placed her fingers on her thighs to give a modest bow, "H-hello, Itachi-san…"

Itachi gave an amused grin…it seemed his little brother had somewhat of a crush on this Hyuuga. His pride was unable to let his little brother to finally outdo him in something and he lightly gripped her small fingers, giving her an earnest smile, "Will you be my friend too, Hinata-san?"

Hinata turned the same red when Sasuke had asked her this question and she gave a delighted smile, "I--"

"No!" Sasuke pulled her away from Itachi and wrapped his arms around her in what would have been a hug if his expression weren't so feral and his grip so possessive, "You can't be Itachi's friend! You're my friend!" His voice had become desperate and he tightened his grip on her.

"Sasuke, you can't be so selfish," Itachi frowned and ruffled his brother's hair, "You can have many friends if you want, and so can she. You can't own her."

Hinata gave both brothers a desperate look, not wanting to displease either of them. "I'll st-still be your friend, Sasuke! I promise…I can't br-break a promise." She insisted and gave him a tight and quick hug back. Sasuke looked pleased with this and finally let his arms drop from around her.

"So you'll be my friend, Hinata-san?" Itachi asked and bit the corner of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing outright. The exchanges of childish love between them were beyond amusing.

"Y-yes, Itachi-san." She gave him a small smile too and gave his leg an equally small an quick hug, to which Sasuke scowled at and dragged her off to climb a tree or something.

Itachi watched the two of them climb further and further up the tree and mused about what would conspire between them. A bond between the Hyuuga and Uchiha…would that be permitted? Even being friends would be frowned upon between the two clans; maybe a war would even break out.

He grimaced. War was stupid, as stupid as the old men starting them. He watched his brother be careful about the girl and helped her climb further up, pulling up her limbs with all his strength. The Hyuuga too looked out for him and warned him of particularly pointy and spiky branches that seemed may harm him. Itachi hated all these clan politics, tradition and idiot rules. He would've thrown away all his life away if it meant getting away from it all. Only his sense of honour, duty, and patriotism kept him.

Tugging at his pant legs broke him from his brooding and he peered down at Sasuke who was crawling onto his lap, beckoning to Hinata to do the same. The girl shook her head and blushed. Sasuke just sighed, "Itachi doesn't care."

A small tick developed under Itachi's eye, and who established this fact? Certainly not him…

To his relief, however, Hinata shook her head again and merely jumped gracelessly onto the bench next to him.

"Itachi! Take us for ice cream! Please!" Sasuke begged and tugged at Itachi's ponytail.

"Don't--don't trouble your nii-san so m-much, Sasuke…" Hinata chided softly and refused to look at either of them. She looked much too embarrassed for just speaking out and defending him.

Itachi merely patted her head and smoothed down her ruffled hair, "Would you like some too, Hinata-san?"

Hinata looked horrified and actually covered her mouth in her shock, "I--I couldn't trouble you!"

Itachi chuckled and ignored the glares he was received from his brother as he smoothed her hair again, "I'm offering you, Hinata-san, and I wouldn't be if it troubled me."

She blushed under his hands and looked mildly uncomfortable, but nodded, "I w-would l-like that."

"C'mon, Hinata!" Sasuke leapt off of Itachi's lap and pulled her away from his brother, "What's your favourite flavour?"

She smiled, "V-vanilla."

"Mine too!" He chirped cheerfully and shot his brother a backwards glance, urging him to follow.

Rolling his eyes, Itachi followed behind them at a leisurely pace as Hinata and Sasuke chattered amiably holding hands. He was surprised when Sasuke slowed his pace and petulantly held out his open hand in an expectant way. Giving Sasuke a small smile, he took the hand in his own; it was good to know that not even a girl (especially a girl) would tear their brotherly bond apart.

The conversation between the two children stopped nearly as soon as Itachi's hand touched Sasuke's. Hinata was staring down at the ground at her feet, at the sky, anything but the two boys. Itachi held out his free hand, "Would you like to hold my hand too, Hinata-san?"

"Hey!" Sasuke pouted and clutched her hand tighter, "I'm holding her hand."

"Don't be selfish. You've gotten all this time to play with her, she's my friend too." If Itachi were the type of boy to stick his tongue out, he would've. Giving Hinata a kind smile he beckoned her, "Will you hold my hand, Hinata-san?"

Her muscles seemed to clench and go rigid, but she slowly released her grip on Sasuke's hand and walked to the other side to tentatively grasp his larger hand. She looked up at Itachi with uncertainty and let her grip tighten enough that her hand was no longer loosely hanging.

"So I hear you like vanilla ice cream, is that the flavour you'd like to have?" Itachi asked solicitously and let the children sway their arms with his.

"Y-yes, please." Hinata blushed, "Wh-what flavour are you going to g-get?"

He laughed. "I don't like ice cream."

Her eyes bulged and shared a momentary shocked glance with Sasuke, "You don't like ice cream?" They both asked incredulously and clasped both hands onto his, "You don't like ice cream?"

"No. Not really. Too sweet." He shrugged.

Sasuke must have found this a macho quality and copied his brother's shrugging, "Yeah. It's alright."

Hinata gave both of them an appalled look, "I love ice c-cream!"

Sasuke looked torn between looking 'cool' and agreeing with Hinata, so merely looked down at his feet, his face turning a furious red. He kicked a few pebbles before deciding quietly, "I only like vanilla."

Before long, they arrived at a small ice cream parlour in the center of the village that was incredibly empty for such a popular shop on such a hot day.

"So, two vanilla ice creams?" Itachi checked with them and gently slipped his hands out of theirs, "Sasuke, you still want some?" He gave his brother a wry smile, to which Sasuke merely glowered at.

"Thank y-you very much, Itachi-san." Hinata gave him a grateful smile and hesitated before giving him another small bow and running off to sit at an outside table sheltered by a brightly coloured umbrella. Sasuke followed without a word to Itachi. Itachi frowned; he must've been very upset at him.

Itachi ordered both cones quickly and without hassle before returning to the two who were in deep conversations about some childish thing or another. Without a fuss the two snatched the ice creams out of his hands and inhaled them quickly. Ice cream was smothered across their face and Itachi patiently instructed to wipe it off with the clean napkins he knew were bound to come in handy.

"I have to go pee." Sasuke announced and bounced out of his chair.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Itachi asked, remembering the times in the dead of night when Sasuke would request his presence when he needed to go to the bathroom.

"No!" Sasuke glanced at Hinata quickly, and then shot his brother a look of horror and utter embarrassment.

Itachi rolled his eyes and nodded, letting his brother run off in search of the nearest bathroom. The quiet between him and the young Hyuuga child drove in quick and suffocating.

"Itachi-san…" Hinata broke the silence and looked at a point behind his shoulder, "What a-are those two people d-doing?" She tilted her head to the side and examined them with a look of curiosity.

Itachi turned to see a couple making out in a shameful manner that was definitely not suitable for five year old eyes. Disgusting. Turning back to Hinata and shifting his chair so they were blocked out, he coughed uncomfortably, "They're…kissing."

"It l-looks like she's b-being attacked…" Hinata craned her neck to peer at them with concern.

Itachi laughed outright, "I suppose it does, doesn't it?" He watched the look of pure curiosity and naivety on her face and gave a small frown, "Do you not know what kissing is?"

Hinata shook her head slowly, looking ashamed that she was so utterly clueless, "No…"

"Haven't your parents ever given you a kiss?"

Her face turned stone hard and she gave him a glazed look, "No."

Itachi's lips turned into a rigid grimace; he hated tradition, especially when it caused you to be cold and callous. He patted her head, "A kiss is a sign of affection."

"Does…does it f-feel good?" Hinata asked, her eyebrows knitting and turning upwards.

A sudden feeling of pity overcame Itachi; an emotion that he rarely felt. This girl probably barely saw her parents, and if she did, it was only for training or formal events. Bending over he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Did that feel good?"

She blushed and looked up at him, "Y-yes. I-I liked it."

"You kissed her!"

Itachi looked down at his brother who had a look of utter betrayal and shock on his face, "You kissed her!" Sasuke repeated, stunned. He looked up at Hinata who had a look of confusion on her face; was kissing bad?

"It's getting dark," Itachi commented and stared at the slowly darkening sky, "We should get home. I'll drop you off at home first, Sasuke, then I'll return Hinata since we haven't been able to find her caretaker yet."

"Whatever," Sasuke mumbled.

Sasuke refused to hold Itachi's hand on the way back home and refused to let Hinata hold Itachi's, only tightly gripping her hand so hard she flinched. So much for a girl never getting in between their brotherly bonds.

It was a long walk back to the compound and Hinata looked tired enough to fall asleep on her feet. Occasionally, her head would drift onto Sasuke's shoulder, and then would snap back up into a proper position. It was fully dark by the time they finally arrived in front of the gates. Sasuke looked hesitant to enter and swiftly, he pressed a chaste kiss on Hinata's forehead, "Good night. I had fun." He said quickly and almost ran off before Hinata drowsily pressed one against his cheek too.

"G-good night, Sasuke." She mumbled incoherently and let her eyelids droop.

Sasuke flushed bright red and ran in through the gates without another word.

"Come on, Hinata-san." Itachi beckoned and watched her stumble after him. After a few meters he bent down and watched Hinata stare at him quizzically, "Climb on. I'll carry you home."

She was too tired to protest and nearly threw herself and her loose limbs at him. He adjusted her so that she wasn't about to fall off his back and stood up properly. "Hold on tight."

"Okay…" She agreed fuzzily but still kept her arms loose around his shoulders.

Sighing, Itachi tightened his grip around her legs and ran off in a sprint towards the Hyuuga manor which was conveniently on the other edge of the village. Before long Hinata was lulled to sleep and her soft snoring was the only thing he could hear except the wind rushing past them.

He was mildly upset that his brother was so angry about him over this girl. She was kind and unlike any other girl he had encountered, a trait he admired in the (admittedly) adorable girl. He just hoped that his brother wasn't hurt by her or vice versa, he was sure Sasuke would be a heartbreaker in the future.

He landed lightly on the ground in front of the Hyuuga grounds and lightly jostled Hinata to wake her, "Hinata-san, wake up. We're here." He whispered.

"Mm…" Hinata mumbled and buried her head into his neck, "I'm t-tired…"

"I know, but you have to wake up now." Itachi insisted and jostled her some more.

"Okay…" Hinata agreed and rested the side of her head on his shoulder, "W-will you and Sasuke p-promise to p-play again?" She yawned and closed her eyes again.

"If you wish, Hinata-san." Itachi promised and felt the light breath of her snores return onto his neck. Sighing, Itachi leapt over the walls of the Hyuuga compound, ready for the accusations and ungrateful comments he was soon to receive.

--

I'm just going to put it out there right now. I'm really, REALLY happy with this ONESHOT (Yes. Oneshot.).

Fanfiction's stopped sending me emails. T-T So don't bother sending me private messages, I won't be able to read them. But do review, I'll still be able to read those. :D

Ciao,

MissLe