Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warnings: SI(ish)/OC, Eventual OP!Mary Sue, Reverse Harem (kind of), you name it.
It was probably a few weeks after I turned four years old. One day, I just woke up completely aware. It was like an epiphany. I became hyper aware of my existence, the world around me, and my being in a new light. After the initial shock and awe wore off, one thing became extremely clear. I was fucking bored to death.
x
Chapter One
I sit on the floor looking into a handheld mirror. I am adorably cute as a button with plain brown hair and eyes. However in the midst of Konoha, which is where I was born, surrounded by people with all sorts of unique hair and eye coloring, not to mention other distinctive traits, I am easily forgettable. But, that's okay. I'll take what I can get.
I live with my uncle who is usually never around. My single mom died in the Kyūbi attack when I was less than a few months old, and no one knows who my father is.
I am not entirely sure how I felt about my uncle's constant lack of presence in my life before the epiphany (or what I now refer to as That Day), but now, I am glad he is never around. I greatly appreciate the freedom.
However, despite his absence, he is not a bad uncle. Just a busy one. He is a Tokubetsu Jōnin, and oversees the public library and information center of Konoha, which keeps him very busy. Knowledge is power, and therefore the PL&I Center is one of the highly safeguarded buildings in Konoha. Of course, the importance of said building/department is never really stressed or emphasized, since it would bring unnecessary attention to it. As a matter of fact, the educational system of both the ninja and civilian academy makes a subtle effort to reduce its significance in the eyes of the public. After all, the curriculum is dictated and overseen by the PL&I Center, so it's not too difficult to do.
I am still sitting on the floor, admiring my fucking adorable self when my uncle, Umino Hirotoki walks into our humble abode. He takes one look at me, admiring myself, and scoffs.
"Haruhi, you are too vain for your own good." He tells me.
On a side note, I do not have a last name. According to my uncle, my mom never saw the need to provide me with a family name (last name).
"Welcome back." I reply, while placing the mirror on the floor. I walk over to our kitchen area where he places a stack of carryout bentos on the table.
"Thanks, but I won't be here for too long. After I wash up, I need to go back out, and won't be back for a few days." He replies, and he's already heading towards the bathroom, but suddenly turns around and stops. "You need me to hire a genin to look after you or do you think you'll be okay by yourself?" He asks.
"... I am four." I reply dumbly.
"And?" He questions me with a slight raise of an eyebrow. For reasons unknown, I have always believed (ever since That Day) that the citizens of Konoha were too nonchalant when it came to the safety and/or supervision of a child. Perhaps it has something to do with living in a hidden village full of ninja, or the fact that many kids are raised to be killers, but whatever the case is, the leniency (borderline mild case of child neglect) always leave me baffled. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.
"Nothing. You don't need to hire a genin."
"It's about time you don't need a babysitter. They can be quite expensive over the long run, you know." He replies with a teasing smirk. I glare back halfheartedly.
"Do you seriously believe that a four years old kid can be self sufficient enough to not need any supervision?" I ask incredulously. He gives me a confused look.
"Hatake Kakashi became a genin when he was five, which is just one year older than your current age."
"Well, Hatake Kakashi was a fucking genius." I deadpan. It's a very good thing my uncle doesn't mind me cursing, because I curse a lot.
"You know… you're a genius too." He deadpans right back at me.
"Since when?!" I half shout in disbelief. What the fuck? It's true that I'm very vain, and love myself very much, but I'm also dead honest (and blunt) about myself, and about everything in general. I know I am not normal per se, but I am no genius. I may perhaps be wise or mature (I think)? But definitely not a genius.
"Since around a few months ago. You were pretty normal up to the age of three, but after that, your mental capacity really started to grow rapidly and by the time you turned four, I could tell you were an up and coming genius." He replies as if I should already know this.
"Not true. My IQ, which is quite high for my age, is nowhere near high enough for me to be labeled as a genius." I counter.
"You're right in that sense, but I wasn't necessarily talking about your IQ. I was focusing more on your emotional intelligence, your EQ."
"Oh." I reply dumbly. I do somewhat agree that my EQ is exceptionally high for a kid my age. My uncle smirks at me again.
"As smart as you are, you are also very stupid." Satisfied with winning our mini debate, my uncle finally turns back around and walks into the bathroom to wash up.
After grabbing a bento from the table, I sit down and start eating my lunch. It doesn't really matter if my uncle thinks I'm a genius. I don't belong to any clan, and my uncle is a very carefree person, so there are no great expectations weighing on my shoulders. Even if other people begin to assume that I'm a genius, and I don't entirely turn out to be one, who cares? I certainly don't.
x
Since I had officially graduated from needing a babysitter, I am left with many free days with nothing to do, and an ongoing dilemma of how to battle away the onslaught of never ending boredom.
At the tender age of four, the only source of entertainment that is provided to me by my dear uncle, is wooden kunai and shuriken, and a few scrolls and books on language, history, etc. Technically, I could have gone out to play with kids around my age; the ever popular playground games being kick the can and ninja. However, I am a very lazy child. I rather read fictional literature than do physical activities, so I decide to sharpen my reading skills. I could read books written for young children, no problem. However, most of the entertaining books, consist of a lot of difficult kanji, idioms, etc., so I quickly set up a strict study regimen to essentially get good.
I know I am a paradox, since I ultimately describe myself as being lazy (and truly want to be), but I work hard to be able to be lazy, if that makes any sense.
In addition to the strict study regimen I created for myself, I also decide to try and play with my wooden death toys. There are a few target practices in the backyard of our humble abode, scattered all over the walls and on the trees. I gather my small collection of death toys, set out to our backyard, and begin to throw the wooden shuriken at various target practices. Huh.
I feel a strange sense of déjà vu as I throw the toys. Not all of them hit the mark, but I am a lot better than I thought I would be. For some reason, I want to call my wooden shuriken, a dart, but I ignore that foreign line of thought process and go back to the matter at hand. What the fudge! This is fun!
x
Days turn into months as I work through my study regime, as well as improve my accuracy with throwing.
It was around the time I turned five when I discovered something detrimental while reading different books. None of the reading materials truly touch upon the subject, but the message is pretty clear: civilians are second class citizens within hidden villages (maybe even outside said villages, not including the ruling families). Well...
Therefore, when my uncle questions me during dinner, on one of the rare days he actually has time to eat with me, in regards to my plan for the future, I am prepared.
"Do I have a choice?" I ask him skeptically.
"Of course you do. That's why I'm asking you. I don't care if you remain a civilian or become a ninja. I know you are smart enough to know what is the best for yourself."
"... I am five… you know what, never mind. You're right. I have decided on becoming a ninja, simply because being a civilian means I will forever be a second class citizen." My uncle gives me a disapproving look.
"Civilians are not second class citizens. They are all important members of Konoha, just like any regular shinobi or kunoichi." He retorts with a berating tone.
"Of course." I deadpan, because despite all the pretty words of justice, fairness, equality, and bullshit, everyone knows deep down(up?) in their convoluted minds that civilians are second class citizens. He gives me another pointed look that tells me I better not voice my opinion about this subject in public, while I continue. "Either way, I have decided to become a ninja. Perhaps, if I find that I am not mentally or physically equipped to become a killing machine, I will go down the route of a paper-pusher in the administration department or something. But, whatever the case is, being a civilian is out of the question."
My uncle simply rolls his eyes at me and continues to eat. It was a question he asked out of curiosity. It wasn't like he was planning on enrolling me anytime soon. With the ongoing peace, the PL&I Center requested an amendment to the starting age of students at the ninja academy. The request was approved by the Hokage, and the youngest age allowed to attend the academy was thusly adjusted from four to six years old. It is said that if the peace ensues, the age restriction will be further increased to eight years old, which is what I am exactly hoping for. The less amount of years I have to spend in school, the better.
x
After cementing my resolve to become a kunoichi, I began to study and read through all the materials that will be covered at the academy, courtesy of my uncle, who didn't find anything wrong with allowing me to learn ahead. Despite how it may seem like it's going against my lazy nature, I am doing all this work so I could be lazy in the future, meaning when I actually attend the academy. In addition, as much as I am lazy, I am also very curious. I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what kids learned to become an effective killing machine.
On a random tangent, it is a fact that my curiosity will be the death of me. I also found out that being lazy and curious is not a good combo.
During my studies, after learning about chakra and what it can do, I became absolutely fascinated with it. It's like magic, isn't it? However, no one else seemed to share my sentiment. To them, chakra is as fascinating as blood or air, ergo not really that riveting. It is essential and necessary to perform ninjutsu and genjutsu, but that was it for most people. I don't know where my own enthusiasm and fascination comes from, but I became so excited that a large portion of my study regime now consist of studying chakra and learning the theory behind various jutsu.
On one particular morning, when I couldn't stop jumping up and down while on a - oh fuck can chakra really do that - high, my uncle bops me on the head to get my attention.
"You've been living in Konoha for over five years, and you are just now getting excited about how ninja can walk on water and perform jutsu? I am asking this out of great concern, but seriously, are you stupid?" He asks me with an exasperated sigh.
"Uh… well" I drawl. "Intrinsically, I was aware of all that, but never really aware aware of it, until it just hit me, you know?"
"No. No, I don't." He shakes his head at me solemnly, and quickly walks out the door as if he doesn't want to catch my unique brand of insanity.
x
Months go by, and my study is going well. In addition, I have already started on a few basic chakra control exercises. However, in terms of shuriken throwing, I have become extremely bored of throwing around in my own backyard. With that in mind, I decide to go into the wild (outside of my humble abode) to investigate where I can find a training ground with more challenging target practices.
During my adventure, instead of finding a suitable training ground, I unintentionally come across a hot gossip.
"Listen, a young chūnin by the name of Uchiha Itachi is an up and coming shurikenjutsu expert! Did you hear?"
Well, in hindsight, it is not that surprising that I came across this information, since Uchiha Itachi is a hot topic amongst the gossiping ninja for many reasons. In addition, I also had my ears wide open for any news related to throwing shuriken and/or secluded training grounds with target practices.
With this new revelation, I became very curious what a potential shurikenjutsu expert could do, and conducted a dangerous project.
I will say I am not entirely proud of what I did, but neither am I ashamed. It was for a good cause: satisfying my curiosity. My project involved a lot of stalking and walking around town, but after a month or so, not only did I find a good secluded training ground to practice throwing, but also one Uchiha Itachi practicing.
I had stumbled across him unintentionally, but me quickly hiding behind a bush to watch was entirely intentional.
Not five minutes had passed, when Itachi suddenly sighs and stops.
"I know you've been there for a while. Come out." He states with a gentle, but at the same time firm voice. My cheeks burn red, out of embarrassment, as I sheepishly step out of the bush I was hiding in.
"Eheheh. Hi." I say as we make eye contact. As soon as we do, I get the strangest feeling that I already know this person, which is not true. I have never met him before. It isn't exactly the same feeling as a déjà vu, but almost like an intuition with a little mix of foreboding, along with a mild frustration of not being able to remember something extremely important. Since I cannot put a name to it or properly describe what is happening or how or why I am feeling all of this, I decide to just sum it up as my "antenna" picking up on things that normal humans should not be able to.
He gives me a blank look as I walk closer to him. "Is this a public training ground?" I ask.
"It is neither public nor private. However, it is close to the Uchiha compound, so many people assume it belongs to the Uchiha Clan." He replies evenly.
Despite his blank and somewhat cold look, my antenna tells me that he is a very gentle and kind person. But, on the other hand, it also tells me that he is or can be very dangerous. Along with the warning of danger, there is a sudden throbbing pain in my head, as a foreign thought (which feels more like a memory/movie clip) of a bloody massacre plays in my mind, causing me to involuntary shudder in fear, rooting me to my spot. The faces are all blurred and the details regarding the location is hazy at best, but the blood and the screams are so vividly clear in my mind.
Noticing my fear, Itachi gives me an awkward smile (which looks more like a grimace), as if he is trying to calm me down, but not entirely sure how to. His hilariously awkward smile does eventually pull me back to reality, and the memory(?) along with the fear subsides. Don't think about it. Don't fucking think about it.
I clear my throat.
"I see." I reply, as if there hadn't been an awkward silence. "So basically, as long as no one sees me, it doesn't matter if I come to this training ground."
He pauses for a second.
"Yes. However, this part of the forest is secluded, and it may be too dangerous for a young child such as yourself to be training alone." He replies softly.
This time, I pause for a second.
"Um, wow… you are the first sane person I have come across, who also believes that it can, in fact, be dangerous for children to walk around alone to wherever they please, without any supervision." I state incredulously, while he gives me a somewhat blank but slightly confused look in response. "In any case, I'm sorry for spying on you. I was just curious what shurikenjutsu looks like, and I thought I could learn a thing or two by watching."
He doesn't exactly smile, and there's a very slight twitch on the corners of his mouth, while he mutters to himself very quietly.
"Sounds like Sasuke".
I knew the last part wasn't meant for me to hear, and since it seemed like our conversation was over, I decide to say my goodbye, but stop when Itachi turns his back towards me and begins to collect the weapons off of various targets.
"I will walk you to your home. It's easy to get lost out here." He tells me.
"Oh, you don't have to, but thanks..." I trail off awkwardly. I rather go home by myself, but I didn't want to appear rude so I remain quiet. As he picks up his weapons, my mind start to wonder towards the memory of the massacre. With a brief shudder, I consciously stop myself from thinking, and decide to fill in the silence instead, which is how I end up babbling, and making a complete fool out of myself.
"Um, you know, thanks again. Now that think about it, I understand why you decided to walk me home. You may not know, but I have a good sense of direction. Actually, scratch that, I have a fucking good sense of direction, but that's irrelevant to why you are walking me home. Well, it is slightly relevant, but that's not the actual reason, is it? No. It's most likely because it's slowly getting dark, and this area isn't too far from the outer walls, and kami knows I am as cute as a button, which makes me highly kidnappable, you know? Which is very embarrassing now that I think about it. Actually, I should have already thought about it, before wandering around on my own. Wow, I thought I was sensible, but clearly I am not. I am no better than my uncle, and if I'm being brutally honest with myself, I must admit that I am stupid. Scratch that. The fact that I ridiculed others, yet fell prey to what I ridicule makes me more stupid than the other stupid-".
I stop in the middle of the most embarrassing monologue I have ever given when I see a hand held out in front of me. He had finished collecting all his weapons and is quietly waiting for me. "Oh. Sorry. Thanks." I hastily add as a conclusion to my monologue, as I take his hand.
As we make our way back towards civilization, my face is still redder than a ripe tomato, accompanied by high quality embarrassment. I keep thinking to myself that I wish I never ever run into him again until the day I die.
We are still walking in awkward silence, when I hear a quietly muffled chuckle, hidden by a cough. I take a quick peek at him, and catch him schooling his face back into a mask of neutrality. My eyes widen as I realize in horror that he is still thinking about my embarrassing monologue. Dammit!
I quickly move in front of him, performing a dogeza, and address him earnestly.
"Please. Please, please forget about today, and in exchange I will do anything. You want a slave? No problem. You want me to never bother you again? With pleasure. You want money? I don't have a lot but I can earn it somehow-" I get cut off by a cough. When I look up, I see a slight twitch on Itachi's face, and I pout in response. "I'm being very serious right now, you know." He kneels down in front of me to gently lift me up from the ground.
"I don't need anything from you. If you want me to forget about today, consider it done." He replies calmly. At that moment, we both notice a small kid, around my age, running towards Itachi.
"Nii-san!" He yells as he runs into Itachi, while Itachi gives the boy a fond smile. The boy then turns towards me and glares. Despite the glare, I can't help but notice how beautiful he is. Itachi is also a very attractive guy, but the younger kid is something else. He will no doubt grow up to be an absolute fucking heart-breaker. However, as soon as our eyes meet, my antenna goes haywire. As if I got punched, a phantom pain courses through my chest, and my antenna feeds me the emotion of suffocating heartache full of fear, loneliness, and hatred. While I try my best to school my face into a blank mask, my wariness of the two boys in front of me causes me to take an involuntary step back away from them.
Once again, there is a slight look of confusion on Itachi's face. Meanwhile, I shake my head to get a hold of myself. This is bad. I don't know how I know it, but the emotional baggage and trauma surrounding these two is unbelievable.
At that moment, another boy comes within our sight, and Itachi's focuses on the newcomer.
"Shisui." Itachi greets the other boy, while the said boy smiles, and lifts his hand as a greeting. Like the two boys in front of me, Shisui is also devilishly good looking, and appears to be a few years older than Itachi. I almost groan out loud when my antenna tells me that there is a sense of tragedy surrounding Shisui as well.
"Yo." He calls out good-naturedly as he gets closer to us. "I ran into Sasuke-kun earlier, and we decided to head over to the training ground to find you, but it looks like you ended early." At that moment, Sasuke's and Shisui's attention turn towards me, and the oppressive feeling from my antenna returns with a new fever and I almost collapse on the floor. I bite my lips till I bleed to get a grip on reality, and not wanting to give anyone a chance to say another word, I briskly give them a quick bow, and I turn towards the direction of my humble abode.
"I know my way home from here. Thanks and bye!" I hastily say over my shoulders while running away from them as fast as I can. However, before getting out of hearing range, I hear the boy named Sasuke ask a question.
"Who is she?"
"I didn't get her name." I hear Itachi calmly reply.
x
By the time I reach home, I am strung out and tired due to the throbbing heartache caused by the incomprehensible sadness that continues to linger. I collapse onto the living room floor, while a severe migraine makes itself known.
By next morning, I come to a realization. I somehow have an ability, although I cannot prove its accuracy, to sense and know things that I should not be able to.
A/N: I am open to all constructive criticism and/or outright complaints. If you tell me my story sucks, it will hurt, but I will take it like a [insert gender here]!
I also apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors that I didn't catch. Thanks for reading!