Lost One: Prologue

A Sign

*Itachi's POV*

It's a well known fact that Konoha Shinobi are ruthless, I being from there. But I would have never imagined that they would turn their backs against their own citizens. This was all going through my head when a little, lost girl, with odd pink hair, asked Kisame and I if we had any drinking water to spare She looked like she was on the verge of death. Her forehead bared a open deep gash, she had purple and blue bruises all over her, as if she had been beaten countless of times, yet the only appeared to be a toddler, at the most four years old. What was really surprising was the abnormally large chakra bank she had. Maybe she could be of use to us?

*No POV*

"What's your name little girl?" Itachi never was one to be kind to a stranger, despite their condition. "M-mommy died protecting my clan." "Your clan?" Kisame was showing a small interest towards the poor girl. "H-hai. My name is Sakura Haruno." The girl could barely get any words out. "Tell me Sakura; is your father or family still alive?" She shook her head 'no'. The two men sighed. They may be S-ranked criminals, but they weren't completely heartless.

"Where were ya going, squirt?" The little girl still found a way to answer these quizative stranger's questions. "I w-was trying to f-find a new h-home." The two criminals looked at each other, as if they were mentally debating something, until the young girl started coughing up blood, and fell to the ground. "We can't just leave her here Itachi. She needs a medic." The man presumed to be Itachi was considering his options. Konan was a medic. The base was no more than 10 minutes away. "Grab her and let's head back to base and tell Konan."

The man did as he was told, holding the frail little girl in his arms. 'What is Itachi thinking? I didn't mean go back to base.' When the three reached the base, Itachi led them to Konan's room. "Oh my god! What happened to her?" Konan took the little girl from Kisame."We found her in the woods. She claims her mother died protecting the clan, which no longer exists." "Did you notice her-" "Chakra? Yes. I'm wondering if she could be of use to us." Konan knew what he meant. "Poor girl. She must be traumatized." "Her name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura." Konan's eyes widened when Itachi mentioned her last name.

She was healing her to the best of her ability, repairing bones and stopping the internal bleeding. "Will the kid live?" "Yes but she.." "She what?" "Seems to have a curse mark." She motioned for the two to come over, and showed them the elaborate looking seal on her shoulder. A green diamond, surrounded by a circle of black spikes interweaving through the diamond. "What the-" As Konan was examinating it, the mark disappeared. "She's healing….herself." "How can a young squirt like that heal herself?" She smiled at the two men. "You two just picked up a powerful ally to have. I must inform Pein. Give these to her in two hours."

She handed Itachi two, small white pills. The three left her room, the two headed to the west wing for the spare room while Konan was heading for Pein's office. When they reached the spare room, Itachi gently layed her down on the bed. "Nii-san? Is that you?" She lifted her frail arm to find a hand. "Shh. It's ok Sakura. I'm here." He looked over at Kisame and nodded, meaning her would take care of Sakura. The little girl took Itachi's hand and held it close to her forehead. "Nii-san. Please promise me something." "What?" Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to talk fine. "Please don't leave. Until I can move again." Itachi showed a small, but kind smile on his face. "I promise Sakura." The little girl attempted to show a smile on her face. "Arigatou. Nii-san." The man held her hand until she fell asleep, which wasn't very long.

'She reminds me of Sauske.' He felt responsible for this little girl in some way. She would become a strong kunoichi under his training. She won't be lonely, and neither would he. They both would fill the missing void of their families with each other's company. She was already calling him 'Nii-san'. He had wakened her after it was two hours to take the medicine Konan provided. She figured it was candy since she was half asleep, and took it gladly. 'I won't fail you Sakura, like I did with Sauske. I will protect you.' Leader-sama entered the room with Konan. "She does have an abnormal chakra. What clan did you say Konan?" "Haruno." "She could be of use to us." The man was pondering at his thoughts. "Leader-sama, please allow me to train her once she is old enough." The man turned around. "I'll leave this in your care Itachi. Konan, prepare a room for her." The two replied with a soft 'hai', and the two left the room again. "Welcome to the Akatsuki, Sakura."

*Next day; No POV*

Konan had made the large room in the west wing a lot friendlier. Sakura had been asleep the whole day, and it was already two in the afternoon. Itachi periodically checked on her. "Hey, do you sense that?" "What, un?" "It feels like a new person arrived." "Danna, you don't think, un?" "It's a possibility." The artists passed Konan in the hallway. "Hey Konan, do we have a new member, un?" "Not a member. An ally." "Ally?" She nodded."She's in the last room in the west wing. She might be asleep though. I think Itachi is taking care of her." "How old is she, un?" Konan smiled, "She's four." "Did I hear you right? You said four?" She nodded again. "She must be powerful, un."

"She's the last of the legendary Haruno clan." "Haruno, un?" "One of the strongest clans in the land of fire, known for their taijutsu, healing, and it's rumored they have numerous scrolls on forbidden jutsu." "I've never heard of them before." "They tried not to be in the spotlight like the Senju and Uchiha clans." "Wait, so she's gonna be an ally, un?" She nodded again. "When she's old enough, Itachi will train her." "She's gonna have a tough sensei."

The three nodded, and departed ways. "I wonder is Leader-sama agreed to this, un?" "Well he must have." "She never did tell us her name, un." "I have a feeling we will soon." The two were already in the west wing. "Did you have a little sister Danna, un?" "No. I was an only child." The two were looking for the last room in the long hallway. "I had a little sister, un. The ANBU killed her though because they thought she had helped me escape Iwa, un." The artists finally reached the room. The blonde opened the door to find a small, pink headed girl fast asleep in the large bed. "She has pink hair?" In the Shinobi world, t hat was quite rare. "Maybe it's not natural, un." "It looks like it though." "She's so….small, un." "Well she is only four. I can't believe a four year old is in the Akatsuki." "I don't mind, she's kinda cute, un." Itachi was walking in the hallway when he noticed that Sakura's bedroom door was opened so he checked it out. He walked in to find Deidara and Sasori whispering about something.

"I trust the mission went well?" The two didn't even sense the Uchiha. "Uh, yeah. So, what's her name?" Next to the bed, he set a bowl down filled with cold water and prepared a washcloth for her forehead. "Sakura." He set the washcloth on the sleeping girl's forehead. "Haruno Sakura, un." "Are you two the only ones at the base?" "Yeah, but Hidan and Kakuzu are coming soon." "I don't think those two will accept Sakura so easily, un." It was a well known fact that Hidan pretty much hated everyone; he disrespected Leader-sama behind his back as well. Kakuzu was all about the money. "Well they will have to. She's my responsibility now." They looked at the sleeping girl. "What if you're out on a mission?" "Kisame might-""I'll help too, un. I had a little sister." "Thank you Deidara."

"When do you think she will be old enough to train?" Itachi being a prodigy and all, already figured the whole thing out. "Next year at the lest, if she shows promise." The pinkette was starting to wake up. "Nii-san?" She rubbed her eyes. "W-who are you?" "Sasori." "Deidara, un." The little girl smiled. "Dei-nii and Sasori-nii." She pointed at the two and looked at Itachi. "And Itachi." "And Itachi-nii!" She clapped her hands and giggled. "Where's Mr. Shark?" The three smirked at Kisame's new nickname. "Kisame is somewhere around here. Are you hungry Sakura?" The little girl nodded, and Itachi picked her up. "W-what is this place?" "Home." The little girl looked up at her new caretaker. "Home? It's so dark, I can't see anything."

"After a while you get used to it." "Itachi-nii?" He looked down at her. "Thank you for taking care of me, and keeping your promise." She clung tighter. "I love you Itachi-nii." She hardly knew the man, and she already captured his heart. Knowing no one could hear them, he told her a secret. "I love you too, Sakura."

(A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Sorry it's a bit short! Still working on my other two stories! I'll submit the first chapter soon! Please review! Arigatou! ^^ )