Lily here! Welcome to my first story. As you can see by the word count, this is long. Extremely long. So, let me give a brief overview, which may hopefully help you decide whether or not you want to read this:

1. This is an ItaOC story. Sorta.

2. This story is a child's narrative. The diction/structure starts off childish, becoming more mature towards the end.

3. The story is slice-of-life, episodic, and organized into arcs.

4. It is only until after the protagonist ages that romance begins to develop. This process is very, very slow.

If all of these seem okay to you, please proceed. Enjoy!


Preface

He was the genius.

I loved dancing; he loved training. I hoped for tomorrow; he wished for death. I saw colors; he saw black and white. I was weak; he was strong. I had friends; he had enemies. We were both different from everyone else, and we attracted each other. That's opposites for you.

My name is Uchiha Ayae.

I was born in the capital of the Land of Fire. It was an extravagant city. My memories go back to when I was five, wandering the bustling streets by myself. I could not find my parents anywhere, but I loved the rush and kept pushing forward. Eventually, I stumbled across a street vendor, who found my parents for me. Soon, my parents ran to my side.

My dad lifted me and squeezed me until I was blue. My mom thanked the vendor before giving me a scolding face. I gave her the puppy eyes, and she loosened up and hugged me too. I laughed, shouting "Victory!" because I escaped punishment once again.

That was my family: my mom, my dad, and me.

It did not last long though. About a year from that incident, my mom got sick. The doctor said she was going to be fine, but she was not. She got worse, broke into sweats, and saw things that were not there. Sometimes she would sleep the entire day.

And one day, she did not wake up.

Since I was so young when she passed away, I only had flashes of images of her. It did not matter though because I knew she was the best mother ever.

But my dad was a different story. With my mom gone, he did not do well at work. His boss told to him to do better, but he could not. He became more sad.

Meanwhile, I was placed under the care of our neighbor, a nanny who could sympathize with our situation. So I lived with the nanny during the day, and at night, I would see my dad come home from work, all tired.

It was my responsibility to cheer him up. I once drew him a picture of him, mom, and even the nanny in yellow crayon. He smiled as soon as he saw that. Later, I showed it to the nanny, and she was so overwhelmed with joy she cried. I went to bed that night, pleased with myself.

Unfortunately, my dad was later fired, and without a job, we were forced to move. I was unsure of where we were going, but we packed up. And with a wagon, we set off to be with our relatives. Next thing I knew, I was in the military village of Konoha.