It was late, the sun setting. I was riding my bike along the cliff, the one that overlooked the ocean near my house. I could hear the waves, crashing roughly against the rocks. The road was no better, the spray from the water below coating the cracked asphalt. I rode these roads day in and day out, so I didn't think I'd ever be in any danger.

Boy was I wrong.

It was dark now, and I had no reflective gear on my bike. A car, speakers blaring loudly with rap music or something close to it, came speeding around the corner. They didn't see me due to my own stupidity and I lost control trying to avoid the car, but ended up flipping my bike and flying over the edge of the cliff. I didn't make a sound at that point, because there was no use to. Why scream when there's no hope of being saved?

I was eerily calm, and I was okay knowing that I was going to die. Or maybe I was in shock, unsure how to feel. I bit back a pained groan as my body hit the rocky side of the cliff, and I used that moment to push out further away from it. I did not want any more pain like that if I could avoid it. The water was coming nearer and nearer, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact that would be sure to kill me.

It never came.

Or, at least, I never felt it. Or maybe I did. Maybe I died when I hit those rocks, or maybe I had hit the water and died before I could even feel it. I have no clue, but what I do know is that I died. I don't know what happened, or how it did, but when I opened my eyes I was in a room. A hospital room, to be exact. That scared me. For some, unknown, terrible reason it scared me. Terrified me. So, naturally, I cried.

I screamed and cried for what felt like hours. I couldn't help it; I didn't know where I was, and I didn't know what was happening.

Then, something even stranger happened. I realized I was being held. Not like someone was hugging me or comforting me, no, but actually picked up and held in someone's arms. Cradled like I was a baby. I was a seventeen year old girl, and someone was holding me like this?

Then I realized something even scarier. I wasn't a seventeen year old girl. No, I was a newborn baby. I had pudgy little hands and fat limbs. How was this even possible? How did I end up here, when only a second ago I was plummeting to my death?!

Wait a minute.

Wait. A. Fucking. Minute.

I was reincarnated. I had to be, right? It was the only option, the only sensible solution to this problem. And if that's the case, then where was I reincarnated at? From the way the people around me are speaking, it certainly wasn't the United States. I looked up at the woman holding me with interest, after all she would be raising me, and her kind smile let me know that I would be in a good home.

She was beautiful, with pale blonde hair and grey eyes that held a kindness to them I had never seen in anyone before. "Saito Chieko." She said, and I realized this to be my new name. I giggled and she smiled wider. "I wish your father were here to see this. He would have loved you." She said and I had the urge to gasp. I understood her. How did I understand her? I was left to ponder these when I was whisked away from my new mother and placed in a room filled with children. It was then that I started to wonder-

How many of these children were like me?

ƪ()ʃ

My first two years of life went by quickly for me. I had soon realized that I was in a new universe entirely, one filled with ninja and jutsu. I was in the world of Shinobi, the world of Naruto. As I grew, I would catch snippets of conversation from my mother with her friends or my grandmother. I had apparently been born during war times, and from the time frame I'd say around the same time as Itachi. I was now three, and I had already begun my training. I wasn't super powerful, no, but I intended to become it. And to do that, I had to train.

So, I asked my kaa-chan to take me to the library. She happily obliged, fussing over how I'm growing up 'so fast,' and how I'll be a great ninja one day. She was very supportive of my decision, talking about how she was just like me when she was my age. It made me smile.

ƪ()ʃ

After that day, I read and trained non-stop. I had recently found out that my main chakra element was Suiton, or water. My speed was a bit above average for someone my age, but below average for a shinobi. I was pretty decent at taijutsu, and I haven't even thought about ninjutsu yet. I mean, I was only three.

I was on the way to the training grounds, it was around 5 am at the time, when I crashed into something. Something soft. With it being so early, I wasn't really expecting anyone to be out, so I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings. "Oww." I groaned when I fell, rubbing my forehead. When I looked up, I met the eyes of a boy around my age. I had to bite back a gasp, because I was looking into the eyes of Uchiha Itachi. He held out his hand for me to take, and I gladly did. "I'm sorry, Uchiha-San. I wasn't looking where I was going.." I said, bowing to him. "You don't have to talk like that." He said with a childish giggle. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest, a pout present on my face.

"I was just being respectful." I whined. He giggled even more and smiled at me. My heart nearly melted at that, he was so cute as a child! It wouldn't be long until that child-like happiness would be shattered for him, though. His father was bound to take him to the front lines soon enough. I would cherish this for as long as I could.

"I'm Itachi! What's your name?" He asked and I blushed. I had never been in a situation like this, kaa-chan never took me out to meet other children. "Saito Chieko." I stated. He smiled. "I think my Tou-San knows yours!" He said happily. I gave a sad smile, because apparently he didn't know that my Tou-San was dead. "What are you doing out here so early, anyway Saito-Kun?" He asked and I smiled.

"Just call me Chieko! And I was going to train..I want to be a ninja one day!" I state proudly, puffing out my small chest. "Really? So do I! But I've only ever trained with my Tou-San.." he trailed off, looking to the ground bashfully. I smiled. "Do you wanna train with me, Ita-kun?" I asked and he smiled at the nickname.

"Can I?" I nodded. Excitedly, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him along to the training grounds.

I hoped that this would blossom into an amazing friendship for the both of us.