Hello everyone! I am back with a new story! I truly hope you all enjoy this story, especially if you followed me on the journey in my Kakashi story. In honor of Itachi Uchiha's birthday, I am beginning this story; so, Happy Birthday, Itachi! Before we begin, I would like to note that this is a massacre story and the first few chapters of this story will move quickly, because there is only so much that can happen while they are young and before the massacre. Now that I have finished my pre-defense, please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters; just those of my own design.

Betsu no jinsei

Prologue

He was five. He was five and he didn't understand what his parents were telling him. He was five and he ran out of his home with his parents calling after him. He ran through the streets of the compound and into the main streets of Konoha while falling into a trance over the sound of his small ninja sandals pounding against the earthen road. As he ran, citizens watched him and some even stopped in their tracks to wonder what could've upset the young Uchiha so terribly.

'How could they? How could they do this?' He thought as he turned sharply down an alley and arrived at the large, shallow lake in the village.

He panted heavily as he sat down in a huff on the edge of the sizeable body of water. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead against them as he closed his eyes while trying to slow his breathing.

'How? How could they?' He thought again as he looked up and out across the lake.

Suddenly, he heard the soft crunching of some leaves and twigs behind him. He turned, quickly falling into a crouch while pulling out a small kunai he received for his birthday. He scanned the area around him before calling:

"Who's there?"

She gasped when she shifted from her hiding position and stepped onto some foliage. When she heard the boy call out to her, she took a deep breath and slowly peeked out from around the tree she was hiding behind before stepping out to stare at the young Uchiha before her in amazement.

The boy blinked as he stared at the girl in curiosity. Her hair wasn't the typical colors he was used to seeing, for what he thought should've been a shade of brown or black was snow white and shoulder length. Her eyes also weren't the color he expected for what should've been coal black where as gold as a ray of sunlight from the setting sun. Her clothing also confused him for she was dressed in a black kimono with white trim and red obi and decorated with a gold dragon breathing red flames. He put away the kunai as he caught her staring at it with wide eyes.

"I won't hurt you," he stated as he turned back to gaze out across the lake.

She approached him slowly before sitting next to him, ignoring the fact her kimono was getting very dirty. He looked at her with a small frown on his face and asked:

"What do you want?"

"What's wrong?" She retorted in a soft voice.

He looked at her with surprised written all over his face and blinked as she asked again in the same tone:

"What's wrong? You're upset."

He scoffed, "No, I'm not. I'm fine."

She turned suddenly and placed a hand on his chest over his heart. He blinked as her small, pale hand sharply contrasted against the simple black clothing he was wearing. She spoke softly once more:

"I can tell when people are lying… What's wrong?"

When she recoiled her hand, the boy sighed and replied, "My family is having another baby."

The girl blinked, "And you don't want a little brother or sister?"

He looked at her, "My clan and the village lost so many during the war… I saw so much death… How could they bring another person into the world that they'll have to protect? How could they bring someone into the world that I'll have to protect?"

The girl bit her lip as she pondered for a moment before replying, "Maybe they see this new baby as a way to bring some happiness back to the clan; a new life after so much death."

The young Uchiha looked at her and smiled a bit, knowing she was right and the girl smiled back at him. He couldn't help but realize then that she looked adorable and he blushed faintly as he looked away quickly.

The girl blinked at his reaction before asking, "What else is wrong? There's more…"

The boy looked at her and sighed again, "My parents want me to be a shinobi, too."

This time she looked at him in surprise, "You don't want to be a shinobi? I would give anything for that chance!"

The Uchiha looked at her, "Will your parents not let you?"

"My…" her eyes watered slightly, "My parents died in the war… I live with my grandfather… he won't let me…"

The Uchiha, unsure how to deal with someone crying, placed a hand on her shoulder and stated:

"There, there. Don't cry, okay? I guess I could train you… and maybe help you convince your grandfather to let you go."

The young girl blinked at him before throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly, "Thank you so much!"

The boy laughed softly and hugged her back before looking at her, "What's your name?"

The girl released him and exclaimed, "I'm Kikyuu Shinri and I'm four!"

The Uchiha smiled at her enthusiasm, "I'm Itachi Uchiha and I'm five."

Kikyuu stuck out her hand while smiling brightly. Itachi blinked at it for a moment before taking it with his opposite hand and laughed as the girl shook it. When they released each other's hands, Itachi looked at her and questioned:

"Why are you wearing that kimono?"

"Well," she blushed lightly, "Today's my birthday. My grandfather was having some big party thing for me… he tries to pretend he's important… but I didn't want to go so I ran away."

The boy blinked, "Your birthday?"

Itachi quickly stood and walked away. Kikyuu watched him go and blinked as he bent over before turning back around. He was hiding something behind his back and she didn't know what exactly it was until he held out a white tulip to her:

"Happy Birthday then, Kikyuu."

The little girl gasped then quickly took the flower and inhaled its clean smelling aroma before blushing as she looked at Itachi and stated, "Thank you very much."

The boy sat next to her, "You're welcome."

After several moments of silence, Kikyuu looked at the boy and inquired:

"Itachi? Does this mean we're friends?"

The boy looked at her with a little bit of surprise in his eyes before smiling back at her, "Of course."

The girl chuckled softly before they both stiffened as they heard two voices cry out:

"Itachi!"

"Kikyuu!"

They both turned and looked down the road to see their respective caretakers approaching them. Itachi jumped up and helped Kikyuu up; the latter began to quickly dust herself off once she stood.

Kikyuu's grandfather reached the pair first and gripped his granddaughter's arm tightly and pulled it slightly while shouting:

"You little brat! How dare you run away!"

She winced heavily before replying, "I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, grandfather!"

Fugaku looked away from that scene and down at his son and asked, "Do you feel better now, Itachi?"

The boy nodded before swiftly looking back at his friend as she whimpered in pain. He hastily strode over and gripped the old man's wrist, not tightly, but just enough to draw the man's attention to the young Uchiha as the boy stated:

"That's enough, sir. You should let her go. She apologized."

The old man stared down at the intense eyes of the Uchiha and quickly let his granddaughter go. The man looked up at the elder Uchiha and stated:

"I apologize for my granddaughter, Fugaku-sama."

The elder Uchiha just nodded and looked down at his son, "Come on, Itachi."

The boy looked away from Kikyuu and into his father's eyes before stating:

"Father, I want to say that I welcome the idea of a new sibling and I will join the Academy."

Fugaku blinked at his son before nodding. Kikyuu, seeing Itachi's change of heart from her words, gained a great deal of bravery before looking at her grandfather and demanding:

"I want to join the Academy, too!"

The old man stared down at his granddaughter, dumbfounded as she continued:

"I don't want to be like Aunt and Uncle Shinri who died without being able to protect themselves in the war! I want to be a shinobi that'll make my parents proud. A shinobi that'll make you proud, grandfather."

The old man, when staring down at his granddaughter, couldn't deny her request for when he looked at her, he saw his headstrong daughter standing there.

"Fine, when you're six."

The girl smiled and bowed in thanks before looking at Itachi and smiling. The boy smiled back at her before his father began leading him away and Kikyuu's grandfather began doing the same to her. As they walked their separate ways for now, they both turned and looked back at each other and smiled softly: the beginnings of a powerful friendship.