Plot: She left so they wouldn't have to bear the burden of raising her. She left because she thought it would make them happy. He first saw her in the market, and year later found her selling herself for money, like all the geisha in the Red Light District. He only went due to his best friend's insistence. He didn't expect to find the enigma that is Houseki Suzuran.
Prologue:
"What will we do?"
Suzuran watched silently from behind the door, as her mother and father spoke.
"What can we do?" father rasped, his throat dry. "The fields haven't been great. There's no irrigation, we can't control that."
Mother cried, her head in her hands, the sound of her small voice sobbing made Suzuran's fists clench at her side. "It's not fair," mother cried. "We barely have enough to eat. What about Suzu?"
Father had no answer to that, and simply looped his arms around mother. "We'll think of a way," he whispered, although himself sounding unsure. "I won't let either of you starve."
And as she watched her parents fret over the lack of money and food in the household, the nine year old girl rushed to her room, stuffing a few pieces of clothing, coins, and food, carrying it all on her back. She looked back at her childhood home once more time, before letting go and walking towards the city.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a week's journey until she arrived in Edo, where Lord Tokugawa lived and ruled. Suzuran has eaten all of her packed food, and was in dire need of a place to rest.
At first glance, Edo looked absolutely beautiful. Edo Castle was far in the distance, with its gorgeous mountains visible behind it. The market was filled with people. Vendors selling all types of foods, shouting their prices and boasting their quality of products. She looked to one side and found a group of women crowding the fabric shop, either giggling as they whispered some gossip, or screaming at each other and fighting over an extremely luxurious bolt of silk.
She was distracted by the new environment and how alien everything was to her when she smacked into somebody, her frail and petite body landing bottom first on the ground. There were outraged gasps as she looked up to see who she had bumped into.
The male she had collided into seemed about a year or two older than she, and had long black hair in a ponytail. He had tear through under dark, onyx eyes, and he was surrounded by elaborately dressed girls. "Itachi-sama!" one of the girls gasped dramatically, rushing to his side. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I-I'm sorry," Suzuran stammered, picking up a few things she'd dropped and getting to her feet, bowing in apology. "I-I wasn't looking where I was going."
Another girl, one dressed in pink and red, snapped at her, hissing angrily. "How dare you?! You could've hurt Itachi-sama, you filthy commoner."
Commoner? Suzu paled. Oh no. She hadn't injured a daimyo's or samurai's son, did she? "I-I'm really sorry! I'm not from around here. I got distracted and..."
But the boy--Itachi--shook his head lightly. "Think nothing of it. I am as much to fault. Please, enjoy your stay here."
"Mou, Itachi-kun, you're too kind," a girl in purple and cream whined, grabbing hold of the boy's arm as the crowd left. The other girls started flirting even more with the boy, and Suzu simply watched, relieved that she hadn't been hurt.
She looked to the market and around for a place to stay. It would take a while, but she would earn herself a living, and one day finally go home to mother and father.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Nii-chan!"
Itachi welcomed the excited figure of his younger brother. Sasuke was grinning ear to ear, unable to contain himself. "How was the market?"
"It was alright," Itachi replied, ruffling Sasuke's hair and sitting next to him. "Although a girl did bump into me earlier."
Sasuke frowned and then snorted. "Nii-chan, the girls use that trick all the time."
Itachi chuckled. "No, Sasuke. I'm serious. She was looking around and neither of us were paying attention, and she collided into me. She's new around here." Itachi then frowned. "Although, she looks your age, but I didn't see her parents anywhere."
"Maybe she ran away from home?" Sasuke suggested, his eyes widening as he sniffed Itachi's clothes. "You smell like flowers."
"The girls wear perfume, Sasuke, that's a given."
"No, like, honest to god flowers. Dirt, nectar, and all." Puzzled, Itachi looked down and saw that there indeed was a small stain on his clothes. "I wonder why she was carrying flowers."
Itachi stared mystically at the stain, thoughts lost. "She wasn't."
A/N: Hey guys! I'm honestly really proud of this one! I like the idea of the Naruto characters in the Edo Period, and having Itachi constantly dressed like that is my kind of thing. I'm into it. Are you? Thanks for reading guys, and please actually vote on the stories. I'm kind of stressed right now. Love you all, and thanks for your support!