a/n: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading, favoriting, and following the story…disclaimer on my profile, no warnings. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Young Itachi hurried down the dirt road that led to the rice fields where his father and his uncle worked. His little sister, Mikoto, hurried along behind him; she gave a little cry as she tripped over a rise on the dusty path, but dutifully got up and continued along after her brother.

"Itachi nii-san, wait for me!"

Itachi slowed down and waited for Mikoto to catch up with him. At the age of young age of twelve, he was full of boundless energy, but he was also full of a strong sense of familial duty. He brushed his hair out of his face and waited patiently for his little sister to catch up with him.

"Are your knees ok?"

Mikoto sniffled a little, but nodded her head.

Itachi smiled tenderly down at her and grabbed her hand before starting off again.

"Why are you in such a hurry anyways, nii-san?"

"I'm sure father and uncle are very tired and hungry. We should bring them their food quickly."

Mikoto nodded solemnly, and then fell in to a contemplative silence. "Nii-san…how come father won't let me work in the fields?"

Itachi looked down at her and squeezed her hands. "He doesn't want you to become scarred from hard work, and he wants you to go study in the village. You know that."

"B-but…I always feel so useless, watching Father and Nii-san working in the fields while I sit at home and learn how to sew."

Itachi chuckled. "That's alright. You aren't useless—the best thing that you can do for us is smile at us when we come home. It's for you and mother that we work, after all."

"Ok."

"So…I heard cousin Fugaku came by today?"

Mikoto turned bright red. "Yeah."

"Did you two have fun playing together?" Itachi prodded her.

"Yes."

"And…?"

"And what?" she shot back.

Itachi sighed, and dropped the subject. "Mikoto, just promise me you won't get too carried away."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

The two siblings continued along the dirt path until they disappeared over the crest of a hill.

XXX

Seven years later, Itachi found himself shaking his cousin's hand while his sister waited patiently in the house for the ceremony to start. Itachi scowled, and tried to shake off the irritable feeling that hung over him like a cloud; he was unbearably sad to see his sister being carried off by a man to another village, but Itachi supposed that if that man was Fugaku, then surely Mikoto would be alright.

"You take good care of her, you hear?"

Fugaku smirked. "Yeah, I will. Don't worry about your little sister; she'll be safe with me."

"Good." Itachi opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by his mother shouting at him from the house.

"Itachi! Be a dear and come over here!"

Itachi cast an apologetic glance at Fugaku before hurrying off again to help with the wedding celebrations.

It wasn't until late evening that Itachi headed back to the house; he scurried down the dirt path through the orchards, but stopped short when he saw something lying in his path. Upon closer inspection, the object was a small brown sparrow; as Itachi crouched down beside it, he realized that it was feebly trying to lift its wings in to the air. His brow furrowed as he noticed that one small wing was pointing in an odd direction. He gently lifted the bird in to his large hands before abruptly setting the dislocated wing back in place.

The sparrow chirped feebly in protest, and then flopped down tiredly in to Itachi's hands. Itachi smiled suddenly, unsure of why this bird pulled at his heart so. He began walking back to the house again, quietly promising himself that he would see the bird through until it was fully recovered from its injury.

To Itachi's pleasant surprise though, the bird stayed with him long after it had fully recovered. Friends came and went, marriages happened, and children were born. His parents died and his sister's in-laws moved to the big city, but Itachi remained in his childhood home, faithfully tending the fields with the little sparrow at his side.

Finally, Itachi was an old man. He remained alone, save his sparrow; somehow, he'd never been able to find it within himself to obey his filial duty and marry a young woman. Whenever he thought about it, it went so strongly against his nature that no matter how much his parents had wept, he'd never been able to go through with it. He hadn't wanted to stay with tradition and bear children to continue his family name; he wanted a love match, and no woman seemed to fit his tastes.

Itachi lay in his bed, his breath coming erratically from his thin bony chest. He lifted a frail hand towards the sparrow that had stayed by his side for nearly sixty years.

The sparrow had grown immensely old as well; its feathers were gray and worn, and were beginning to fall out in places. The small bird hopped over and rested on Itachi's hand. It tilted his head and twittered questioningly at Itachi's pensive expression.

"I had a strange dream," he murmured.

The bird chirped inquisitively.

"I dreamed that I was a god," he murmured softly. "And that…you were a god too. Named Neji."

The bird perked up.

"Neji, I…" Itachi choked suddenly, and stopped speaking for a few moments. "Neji…it's too late for me to do anything now. I can feel death coming for both of us." Itachi's trembling fingers stroked over the crown of Neji's head. "I'm sorry it took me so long Neji."

The bird chirped and rubbed its head against Itachi's fingers.

Itachi took a rattling breath. "I'll keep trying," he promised. "One life…I won't give up after one life…"

Neji hopped off Itachi's hand and came to rest by his head. For a moment, a spark of human consciousness lit up the sparrow's beady eyes.

With a final sigh, Itachi passed in to the realm of the dead.

Tbc…

a/n: So, this is the main structure of the chapters. There are three more chapters till the end of the story, and we'll follow Itachi's journey through each of his lifetimes. Also, the chapters tend to get longer as the story progresses ahahaha. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed seeing Itachi as an older brother, and his first cycle of rebirth Thanks so much for reading, and don't forget to review on your way out!