Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/9178501. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: F/M Fandom: Naruto Relationship: Haruno_Sakura/Uchiha_Itachi Character: Haruno_Sakura, Uchiha_Itachi, Nara_Shikamaru, Uchiha_Sasuke, Uchiha Shisui, Nara_Shikaku, Nara_Yoshino, Uchiha_Clan, Uchiha_Mikoto, Uchiha Fugaku, Haruno_Clan, Haruno_Mebuki, Haruno_Kizashi, Haruno_Clan_OCs Additional Tags: Fan_Comics, fan_comic_and_fanfic_combined, dark_ItaSaku, itasaku_- Freeform, Obsession Stats: Published: 2017-01-03 Updated: 2017-01-09 Chapters: 2/? Words: 2438 ****** Pretty Girl ****** by Kuito, OfHealingLove Summary Adopted by the Nara upon the death of her parents, Haruno Sakura grows up in a ninja household with her brother, Shikamaru, and her two adopted parents. This should have been a good change, but it's not. A civilian with pink hair isn't as consequential or eye-catching as a Nara with pink hair, and it is this discovery that leads an eleven- year-old chuunin Uchiha Itachi to become interested in her. Of course, they're young. It doesn't mean anything. But when they're older? Things might go wrong. Good intentions might lead to not-so- good places. And what may have seemed like innocent fascination might become a dark, all-encompassing obsession... Notes So this is a collaboration between myself and Kuito, a fellow tumblr user! The art is hers and the writing is mine. We decided to post on my account, but of course she's a co-author. :) This is Kuito's brainchild, first and foremost. I'm merely tagging along in the wake of her glory. Say a big thank you to her, or this would never have existed in the first place! So. This is another dark story. A note that the underage is merely in the 16-17 range, no younger, and there's no actual intercourse until Sakura is eighteen. However, other scenes of a sexual nature may occur in that 16-17 gap, and before that, there may be some innuendo - but there will be absolutely NOTHING that would scream 'pedophile!' to anyone. I just wanted to clear that up before we proceed. If any of this doesn't work for you - please, take care of yourself and don't read. ***** Heartbeat ***** “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! You promised!” Uchiha Itachi sent his brother an indulgent smile while surreptitiously sighing under his breath. He was tired. Being a chuunin wasn’t particularly tiring—not for someone of his skill level—but today had been grueling. He hadn’t slept at all last night, and while he adored Sasuke, adored him with all his heart, part of him wished for his bed. But that wasn’t going to happen, and he did promise Sasuke. Even though Sasuke was barely six, he was already raring to go to the academy and start following in his clan’s footsteps—particularly his aniki’s footsteps. Itachi didn’t know how he felt about Sasuke becoming a ninja. He just wanted him to be safe and happy, and while being a shinobi certainly wouldn’t be safe, as long as it made Sasuke happy, well- Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he paused unexpectedly. Sasuke was still pulling on his arm, demanding attention and speed, but Itachi wasn’t paying attention to Sasuke at all at this point. A little pink-haired girl was sitting with the heir to the Nara clan, a one Nara Shikamaru. They were huddled close, with the little girl leaning into Shikamaru’s side and whispering almost desperately. Pink filled his vision. Nothing but pink. Her hair was the color of cotton candy, of bubblegum, of the sweetest-smelling peonies. She was small—she couldn’t be much older than Sasuke. She was clearly a Nara from the clothing she was wearing and her closeness to Shikamaru, but…a Nara with pink hair? He didn’t think such a thing was even possible. How could genetics mutate into such a-? Did the Nara even-? But who dyed a six-year-old’s hair pink? No, it was natural. For some reason, his heart thudded in his chest once, hard. Ba-bump. “A-ni-ki!’ Sasuke whined loudly, tugging at Itachi’s hand. “Why are we waiting? You promised me!” [Pretty Girl Chapter 1 Part 1] Itachi blinked once, and a flash of green caught his eye. Just a glimpse, but her eyes were green. His heart thudded once more—ba-bump—and something he didn’t understand or recognize reared up inside him, demanding…what, he didn’t know. Finally, he tore his attention away from the nameless Nara with pink hair, just in time to see Shisui shunshin in front of him and Sasuke. His cousin took one glance at the situation and squatted down. “Hey, you little turd,” he growled—playfully, but Sasuke couldn’t pick up on the subtleties of Shisui’s demented humor just yet. Sasuke eyes widened in hurt, and sensing a temper tantrum, or worse, tears, Itachi yanked Sasuke into him. “I see you survived your mission,” Itachi said flatly. “How unfortunate.” Shisui grinned devilishly and blatantly ignored his tone. “Well, when you’re a shinobi of my caliber…” Itachi sighed and began to lead a trembling Sasuke away. “Please drop dead.” Shisui just laughed, automatically assuming Itachi was joking—which he may or may not have been, he wasn’t sure, even if he did care for his cousin greatly. Still, as he as Sasuke continued on their way, Shisui following behind as a leisurely pace with his arms behind his head, Itachi couldn’t help but steal once more glimpse of the pink-haired Nara. Ba-bump. [Pretty Girl Chapter 1 Part 2] =============================================================================== Sakura stared at her feet, oblivious of the gaze upon her from behind where she and her aniki were sitting. She shuffled her feet nervously, glancing at Shikamaru intermittently while trying to come up with the courage to say what she wanted to say. Finally, she took the plunge. “Ah…um…I have a question…Shika?” Her brother turned his head towards her ever so slightly, eyes becoming a little less glazed as he stopped watching the clouds. “Mm?” “Tou-san signed us up for the academy yesterday,” she said quietly, almost a whisper. Shikamaru apparently sensed a freak-out coming, because he closed his eyes and sighed. She ignored his reaction—she knew he’d always listen, even if it was ‘troublesome’ for him. “…And Ino-chan said we’re going to be shinobi…” [Pretty Girl Chapter 1 Part 3] Shikamaru grunted with vague interest. “…and, and,” here she started flapping her arms and hyperventilating, “What if I’m not a good shinobi? What if they don’t like me?” She took a heaving breath. “I’m not…I’m not good at things like you are…” Shikamaru finally sat up and paid full attention to her, rubbing the spot on his head where she’d whapped him in her breakdown. “Of course you are, Sa-chan. No worries—I won’t leave you. And Ino and Chouji won’t, either.” Sakura sniffled a little, touched at her brother’s reassurance. “I don’t know…” “Trust me,” he said. “You are.” She brightened a little at that and snuggled up to him, earning a sigh of exasperation. “Aww, Shika! Thank you, aniki!” [Pretty Girl Chapter 1 Part 4] Shikamaru heaved a sigh. “Just take a nap already, will you? So troublesome,” he mumbled under his breath. Sakura giggled and pulled away a little, deciding that she had bothered him enough for now. With a sigh, she leaned back next to Shikamaru and stared up at the clouds he so adored. Despite the summer heat, she involuntarily shivered. It felt like someone was looking at her, but… She turned around and no one was there. Odd. But it was nothing to worry about; Konoha was a ninja village, and there were eyes everywhere all the time. Nothing to worry about at all. Sakura settled back down against the grass and looked skyward again. “Ooh, Shika, look! That one looks like a kunai! And that one looks like a tree!” A sigh. “Troublesome…” ***** Hello ***** Chapter Summary The first meeting... The first day of the academy was warm with the sun high in the sky and only a few of the clouds that Shika loved so much. As beautiful as it was, though, Sakura wasn’t fully able to appreciate it. She had stayed up most of the night before, a mess of excitement and nerves that made it impossible to sleep, and today she was doing her very best to hide how tired she was. It explained what happened after school, anyway. Shikaku and Yoshino had accompanied her and Shikamaru to the opening ceremony, presided over by the Hokage, and shortly after she and Shikamaru had been sorted into their academy class. Sakura recognized many other clan kids, and important ones, too: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Uchiha Sasuke. Of course, there were also Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji, the children of her mother and father’s close friends and by association, her friends as well. Ino was off mingling with the other girls in their class, so Sakura sat with Chouji and Shika, and just before class settled another blond boy she didn’t recognize had hustled over to sit by them. He introduced himself as Uzumaki Naruto and even though he could be a bit annoying, Sakura liked him well enough. By the end of the day it seemed that they were going to be a bit of a group, and Sakura just liked that she wasn’t going to be alone. Naruto didn’t seem very adept at the ninja arts, even though it was only the first day and all they were doing was introductory lessons, but it made Sakura feel like she might not be the worst one in the class—and that definitely helped her confidence. All was well until Shika decided that learning arithmetic was boring and decided to rest his head on his crossed arms. Sakura glanced at him for a moment, worried that he was going to doze off, and then started in on the worksheet that had been passed out to gauge their skill level. When she was done—she was one of the first in the class, and she knew she’d gotten every answer right, too—and glanced back over at Shika, well, he was asleep, and his entire worksheet was blank. She blushed in embarrassment for her brother’s behavior and kicked his shin under the table, eliciting a muffled groan but no actual movement. “Shika!” she hissed. Another groan. “Hey, whatcha doing, ‘ttebayo?” asked Naruto—loudly. Their sensei, Iruka, took that moment to notice what was going on in the back of the classroom. Sensing impending doom, Sakura immediately shifted in her seat and acted like she had no idea what was going on. She did so well that all Iruka-sensei saw was Naruto talking out of turn to Shikamaru and Shikamaru sleeping on his worksheet. “Nara! Uzumaki! Stay after class!” Iruka ordered, also very loudly. For a moment, Sakura was worried that she had been included, but Iruka was only looking at Shikamaru and Naruto. Inwardly, she sighed in relief. That was too close. After that they only had history before the end of class, which passed by quickly enough, and soon Sakura was packing up her things with a blush on her face. “I’m sorry for getting you into trouble, Shika,” she said quietly. He hadn’t bothered to start packing up yet. “I’ll make sure kaa-san doesn’t get too mad at you, okay?” “Thanks,” he said around a yawn, and it didn’t sound too sincere, but Sakura also knew that Shikamaru was never one to care if he got in trouble. He would definitely have told her if he was mad, and he hadn’t, so she just resolved to feel guilty about it until he wasn’t in trouble anymore. [detention] “I’ll wait for you outside,” she told him, and then scooting her away around the ebullient Naruto, she headed out of the building. Shikaku was the jounin commander and would probably still be at work, but Sakura was surprised when she didn’t find Yoshino waiting outside. Maybe Iruka had sent for her so that he could talk to her about Shika’s behavior? It was the first day of class, after all. Sakura winced; Shika would be angry—or at least very annoyed—if kaa-san were to get involved. [crash] So caught up in her thoughts was she that when she collided with someone’s leg, she didn’t even realize it until she had landed flat on her butt and was sprawling on the ground. She couldn’t stop the startled yelp that escaped her, but a glance upward showed an older Uchiha and a surprised Sasuke standing there. She had heard things about the Uchiha, particularly how they were arrogant and all about propriety, and a horrified blush heated her face as she bounded up, ignoring the hand that the older Uchiha—Sasuke’s brother?—had offered her. “Oh, ah, um, sorry!” she said, ducking into a hasty bow. A hand came to rest on her head. “Hello, pretty girl.” Shocked, Sakura came up out of her bow and looked at the Uchiha. She meant to say something, but all she could focus on was the words, ‘pretty girl,’ that seemed to constantly echo in her head on repeat in that same voice, a voice that would be deep and baritone after puberty, somehow haunting in her ears. [hello, pretty girl] She felt someone leading her away—kaa-san—and words were exchanged. Sakura didn’t hear any of them. In a daze, she was led home, and Yoshino must have noticed her odd behavior, because once they were seated in the kitchen, she asked, “Sakura-chan, is everything alright? You don’t look well.” She was fussing about her, and Sakura could only nod vaguely. “I’m…I’m gonna go take a nap,” she mumbled out, and left without paying attention to any of the words coming out of her mother’s mouth. She stumbled into bed and fell into a restless, fevered sleep, and didn’t wake until the middle of the night, when the words were being all but shouted into her head. Pretty girl, pretTY GIRL, PRETTY GIRL, PRETTY GIRL! Tears streaming down her face, she huddled into a ball and will the voice, now unrecognizable for how long it had been going on, trying to stay quiet and not wake her brother. But the words continued, louder and louder and louder until she couldn’t stand it. [pretty girl] Sakura jolted up in bed and screamed, but the words only matched her volume and then doubled it. Shikaku and Yoshino both rushed into the room and Shika startled awake—which was a feat for him, especially at night—and all Sakura could do was curl up and sob as the words continued to wrack her brain. She vaguely heard the words “genjutsu” and “but who?”, but she could only focus on the words. She felt Yoshino holding her hands and pulling them down to her sides and then with a shock of chakra and a “Kai!” she was back to normal. The voice faded, as well as any memory of what the words had been, who had said them, and what the voice had sounded like. “Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan? Are you alright?” Yoshino had released her but was still hovering worriedly. Shikaku was standing with his hand on Shika’s head, who was looking more than just mildly concerned—he was actually clutching Shikaku’s pant leg. When she had regained enough of her senses, Sakura launched herself at her mother and gripped tightly, starting to cry again. “Sakura,” Shikaku said once she had started calming down, “do you know who did this?” She shook her head, not able to recall anything that had happened since leaving school, and she voiced this. When asked what the genjutsu had been, the sounds, smells, tastes, touch, or visions, Sakura couldn’t remember at all. “You don’t remember anything?” Shikaku asked gravely, and while the head of the Nara clan could rarely be provoked enough to become angry, Nara Shikaku was now a man on a warpath. Sakura was his daughter, for all that they didn’t share blood, and no one hurt his children. No one. Yoshino and Shikaku exchanged a look that spoke a thousand words while Shikamaru crawled over to Sakura and put his hand on her head. “Are you okay, Sa-chan?” he asked quietly. Sniffling, she nodded. “Y-yeah. C-can…can I sleep in your bed tonight?” Shika nodded and their parents, sensing the crisis was over but still very concerned about friendly fire on a Konoha nin, tucked them both back into bed and then left. “You really don’t remember anything?” Shikamaru whispered to her. “Nothing,” she replied, brow furrowed. “But…I hope it never happens again.” “Maybe we can get tou-san to teach us how to dispel genjutsu early,” he suggested. “Was it really a genjutsu?” she said worriedly. “Would another Konoha nin really do that to me?” “I don’t know,” Shika said darkly. “But tou-san will find out. I promise.” Sakura nodded and snuggled in next to him, and they fell into deep but troubled sleep. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!