Summary: In death, Uchiha Izumi fumbled and fell, and in life, she struggled to rise. Thrown into a world at war, grief helped guide her sword, revenge sharpening her blade. Yet, the cruel gods took pity on the fallen soldier, for underneath her thick armor hid a lonely woman in search of a place she could finally call home.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters and stories affiliated with it. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.
Rebirth, n. re· birth
The process of being reincarnated or born again; a period of new life, growth, or activity: a revival.
Revival
Chapter One
Dying on her birthday was ironic, to say the least.
Growing up, she had been the epitome of the stereotypical American suburban household; a stay-at-home mother, a father who worked a nine-to-five job, an annoying younger sibling, and an overly-friendly golden retriever. She woke up, dragged herself to school, gossiped over pointless matters with her friends, and sat on the long bus ride home. She would say hi to her seventy-year-old neighbor who brought over cookies every other weekend and ignored the rude old man who hated her from across the street, mentally cursing his existence like all the others her age in her neighborhood.
She was just a small-town girl from upstate New York who, after graduating, had tried living in the big city, in New York City. So if one were to look at the way she lived during college, partying almost every other day with her friends whilst pulling all-nighters to catch up on schoolwork, it was bound to end as badly as it did.
And because of said terrible decision making, she would never know if she would walk across that stage to receive her college diploma on time after countless late nights of studying; she would never know the love of another person nor the comfort of a full home, warm with her partner. She would never feel proud of her little brother, graduating from high school and then college to begin his journey into adulthood because...if she had known her life would end the way it did, she would have never taken the first vodka shot that led to countless more, only to then take out her phone hours later to walk across the street in a drunken haze, unaware of the headlights that shined in her direction.
A crash and bang, and that was that.
There were so many things she would do over again had she known that she was going to die the day she turned twenty-two.
But that isn't what this story is about, is it? It's not about the changes a girl made in her life to prevent her death, or the story of what would have been her simple, humane life.
Oh, but don't worry – this story is about her, that much is true. But to know the full truth behind it, you must read on.
0O0
Darkness slowly became her friend, bleeding and worming its way into her soul until all she knew was its warmth, its cruelty, its loneliness. She no longer was the girl in the flashes of the life she had before. The girl she once was gone – dead, along with the body that she no longer inhabited. She was simply just there, floating in the dark nothingness, both cold and warm, scared and happy, curious and content. She was all these things, yet she was not.
Was she human – or was she what humans deemed a soul?
Yet...she was also darkness, and darkness was her. What once was separate was now ingrained into her being, whatever she may now be.
"Izumi!"
A distant voice; small, but echoing all around her. It helped pull her away from what she assumed was death, and she found herself drawn to its echo. If human, she would think that she ran in the location of the voice, searching for the owner of the one who called out for this...Izumi.
Was it someone just like her, alone in the dark? Was she no longer alone?
"God...please tell me she's okay–"
Would she finally have a companion in this dark eternity?
"Move, Madara – you're crowding me! I can't work with you breathing down my neck!"
She froze, stopping in her tracks. This voice, it wasn't talking to her. It spoke to a Madara, a name that brings a bout of pain– her brother, even though an annoying little shit, forces her to watch an anime with him because Mom and Dad are at a dinner–
What was that?
...A memory?
Impossible – she was no one. She had no name, no face, nothing.
But a hidden part of her that still held into life, that still held hope, poisoned her mind with thoughts that should not have belonged. They were of a young child, a boy no older than ten, and it brought heartache; a pain she was not familiar with, yet was.
"Hey, watch this show with me –- it's supposed to be an anime that's really popular."
She looked up from her phone, halfheartedly listening to her brother. "I don't know Alex, I'm pretty busy."
"Aww, come on!" He grabbed her hand and began pulling her in his general direction. "You don't look like you're doing much."
"Will you –"
Grabbing the phone, he ripped it out of her hand before dangling it before her. "I'll give it back once you watch it with me."
Rushing to her feet, she reached for the phone but Alex jumped back, resulting in a bark from their elderly dog that sat by their feet. "Come back here, you little shit," she growled, grateful for the lack of adults in the house.
"Watch the show with me and I promise I'll give you back your phone."
She rolled her eyes, recognizing that she would, in fact, lose this battle. "...Fine, if that'll get you to shut up."
"Yes!" He handed it back to her with a look of satisfaction, a smile adorning his face.
"What's the show even called?" she asked in annoyance, pocketing her phone and following him into the living room.
"Naruto."
"Naruto?" She scoffed, quickly rolling her eyes. "Everyone watches Naruto, why'd you choose now to start? Besides, isn't it a little old for you?"
"I'm not watching the old naruto – I'm watching the new one!" He paused by the screen before whirling around. "Wait, you've watched it?"
"I mean, everyone has at one point; it's not new." Quickly sitting down, she waited for Alex to put it on. "It's a good anime I guess. A bit overrated if you asked me."
"Well, I'm at the part where they're fighting a guy called Madara right now…"
With the sudden emergence of the memory, she began to feel a...desire – a desire to live, to be able to see her younger brother again. Yet, she knew that it was impossible; she should not be able to remember, to feel, to want.
"Madara, I think she's waking up."
Because she was dead, dead deaddead–
"Don't push me Izuna, you'll be able to see her too!"
No, she refused to succumb to death, to oblivion. For the first time since her arrival here, wherever it may be, she knew what she wanted – she wanted, no, needed a body, she needed a body–
"Izumi, hey, it's okay, you were hurt but you should be okay now."
–because she wanted to live.
"Izumi?"
With a rush, there was a sudden overload of feelings. What was once blissful ignorance in the darkness, floating amongst the nothing, was now unadulterated feeling. She could sense things all around her, touching her; was she alive? Was she gifted with the one thing that she had desired?
She wanted to bask in the warmth of what she instinctively recalled from a distant distant memory of the sun. But, with great effort, she opened her eyes and...and the first thing she saw, with no surprise at all, was harsh sunlight, blaring down on reflex, her eyes began watering before she blinked away the tears that formed from looking directly into the sun.
"Are you okay? Izumi?"
Izumi? What a strange name and the voice was even stranger, as it was different from the one who called for the girl before. Somewhat deeper but still high enough for her to recognize that it was a voice that belonged to a child. Raising a shaky hand to her face, her mind did not hesitate to inform her of what body she now possessed. In midair, she felt herself freeze, a scream building up within her at what she saw. Her hand – it was too pale, too...small.
What happened to her?
"Izumi?"
Looking to her left, she saw a group of children kneeling before her, all staring at her with what she could see was worry in their eyes. The tallest of the four shifted closer to her, his hand outstretched. "Hey, are you okay?" She flinched away from the friendly gesture, her eyes widened with fear and confusion. She looked to their faces, the beginnings of irrational panic quickly closing in on her.
Who were they, and better yet, who the hell was Izumi? These children, they spoke Japanese to her in clothes she had never seen physically in her life outside of drawings in textbooks. Their Japanese was not the same as the one she learned as well, adding to the panic that was building in her chest.
"Aniue, what's wrong with her?"
At the tiny voice, she whirled to right and saw a boy who tried to crawl closer to her, but now hyperventilating, she pushed herself back into a large boulder away from him. She ignored the sudden flare of pain in her back as she took in all the faces around her. They were similar but they were not, in the sense that they must have been siblings. Did...did that mean she was like them too? That they were her siblings and vice versa?
"Izumi?"
Gulping, she turned to the boy who called out that name, not failing to recognize that the so-called Izumi was her. With her mediocre Japanese, she responded with the word the smallest boy next to her said earlier.
"Aniue?" Older Brother?
The tense air dissipated as the smallest of the group jumped onto her, while the rest simply bowed their heads in relief. A sound of air left her chest as the body collided with her. But against her will, a sharp pain in the back of her head caused a sudden cry to erupt from her throat.
"Izuna, what the hell–" Hands grabbed the boy who must have been Izuna, pulling him away from her– "Give her some space!" The boy with the longest hair proceeded to push the second youngest boy out of the way, smoothly picking up Izuna, the youngest, with ease as another of the brothers rushed to Izumi's aid. "Katsumi, check her wound."
Katsumi, the second oldest, reached for Izumi as he started to kneel. "Hey, you'll be okay –" Eyes wide, he barely managed to grab her it in time before her eyes rolled back, falling unconscious. "...Shit." His hand immediately glowed green with the telltale sign of medical ninjutsu but being a child, his knowledge of it was mediocre at best, and he wasn't sure if it would be enough to help his younger sister.
The oldest of the five, Madara, continued to carry Izumi's twin brother, Izuna, in his arms as he assessed their current situation. As the older brother, his job was to ensure his younger siblings' safety, to stay uninjured; yet, because of his inability to simply pay attention, Izumi now had a serious head wound that refused to stop bleeding. "Will you have a better time healing her wound back at the house?" he quietly asked.
"Honestly?" Katsumi turned around, his hands still supporting Izumi. "Yes. We have other supplies that can make up for anything I miss."
Madara remained silent for a minute but seeing the scared look on Arata, the middle child out of the five, had him nodding his head as he made up his mind. "Alright. You're going to have to carry her back, okay, Katsumi?"
"I'm fine with that." With a slight grunt, Katsumi was able to hoist the young girl onto his back, and within a matter of seconds, the siblings were ready to leave. Being that they were hanging around the open field near their home, it did not take them long to reach their house. With a flurry of opening slide doors and the pitter-patter of feet, Izumi was laying on a futon with gauze neatly wrapped all around her head, Katsumi's hand glowing above her once more; though, this time, there were several jars of medicinal herbs and pastes to help aid him in his healing.
"Aniue..." Madara turned to the hand gripping his shirt. "Should we get Kenji-sama? Maybe he can help Izumi-chan." Arata looked afraid, clearly in distress at today's events as his eyes were rimmed with tears.
Gently, he placed a hand onto his head and forced a smile, playing the role of the reassuring older brother. "It'll be okay. Katsumi is Kenji-san's apprentice, so he knows what he's doing."
"...What about Father, then? He'll be back soon."
At the mention of their father, Madara felt all the air leave his body. How could he have forgotten about him? "As I said, it'll be okay." Yet, before he took a single step, the sound of an opening door froze everyone in their spot.
Father was home.
"Go to your room, okay?" With one last look at them, the young boy ran to his bedroom as the remaining four siblings remained in the room. "Katsumi, Father's home."
"...I know." But with a smile, the second oldest tried to ease the tension in the air. "I finished her dressings and healed the open wound. She should be fine."
At that exact moment, the door slid open. Tajima, his face as hard as stone, slowly blinked as he stared at what he saw in front of him. Madara did not breathe or move – he did not do anything as their father remained silent, his blank face disguising his thoughts.
"F-Father?" Izuna asked from behind Katsumi.
With a sigh, the tension in the air broke. Tajima rubbed his face, the blood-stained cloth Katsumi used earlier on the ground before him. "I see Izumi hurt herself today?"
"...Yes," Madara answered this time, his body filled with ice. "It was my fault; I should have been paying attention, I didn't mean for her to get hurt. I know you told me to watch over them–"
Their father did something unexpected, interrupting the boy. Tajima placed a gentle hand on his oldest child's shoulder. Although his voice was gruff from a day of yelling, he said, "Accidents happen, Madara. Be careful next time." Taking a long look at his only daughter, he asked Katsumi, "Will she be okay?"
"Yes, Father."
"Good." With that, he left.
The moment the door slid shut, Madara gasped for air as the feelings returned to his limbs. "He's in...a far better mood than I expected," he muttered, more to himself than anything.
"Honestly, he seemed more tired than anything."
"I wonder what happened with the Elders today." Madara frowned before turning around, only to see Izumi began to return to consciousness. She was shifting in her sheets as a low groan escaped into the room.
Izuna was the first to go to her side as he smiled. "Izumi, you're okay!"
"I...think so?" she whispered. Her eyes were wide as she took in her surroundings. The way she looked at them all, though...something was wrong. They remained the same brown but somehow, they were also darker? There was a heavier weight to them that just did not belong on a five-year-old child; they were the eyes of someone older, someone who had seen too much in their lifetime. "Where am I?"
This time, it was Katsumi who answered. Madara, at first, thought that he too had seen the change in Izumi, but after watching him interact with their only sister, he knew that the younger boy had not.
"I just...I want to sleep," she muttered, her eyes slowly fluttering in a telltale sign of exhaustion. "Can I?"
With a nod, Madara pulled Izuna away from his sister and said to him, "Help Katsumi clean up, okay? You'll be able to see her later."
"Okay!"
Within a few minutes, the room was quiet and as Madara closed the blinds on the window, he turned around and saw Izumi staring at herself in the mirror. She was touching her face, her eyes, her hair, her clothes – almost as if it was the first time she was seeing herself. "Everything okay?" Madara walked over to her.
"I...yeah –- yes, I'm okay." She smiled but something about it was just off. "I'm just tired."
Hoping to ease the blatant tension she was holding in her shoulders, he smiled before gently leading her back to the futon. "You've had a long day. Get some rest. If you're feeling up to it, I'll get Izuna to wake you before dinner, okay?" There was some hesitation, but she slowly nodded her head in agreement before he tucked her into the blanket. He took one last look at her before closing the door, leaving her alone in the darkness.
The moment the doors slid shut, though, she sat up from the futon and turned straight to the mirror beside her bed, ignoring the ache in the back of her head. Instead of a twenty-two-year-old young adult staring at her, there was a young Asian girl reflected in the mirror. She wanted to scream, to cry, to curse the gods or whatever the hell that put her in this place, but before she could do anything, another flare of pain pushed her back down in the darkness of unconsciousness.
0O0
She jerked awake.
Shooting up, the first thing she noticed was all the flowers around her. Wherever she looked, beautiful daisies and sunflowers grew endlessly and she sat within them, their sweet scents aided in the calming of her racing heart. The sky above was clear, not a cloud in sight, and as she slowly lifted herself from the ground, her eyes roamed the open field until they stopped, locating what she unconsciously had been searching for.
A tiny girl amongst the flowers, far far away.
With nowhere to go, she began her journey towards the child. She allowed her hands to graze the top of the daisies as she walked past them, her eyes taking in their beauty. She found herself coming to a halt at one point, reaching for the tall sunflowers that reached high above her head, listening to the buzz of bees as they flew past her.
She had only known the frightening dark void for so long. To see all this life around her was a startling contrast to her old existence, wherever death had taken her. It had clearly transformed her, stealing a piece of her soul and replacing it with a shadow that forever lingered within her.
So it was unsurprising that she wanted to cry at the beauty of life, at the blooming flowers all around her.
Knowing that someday she would have to return to the accursed hell that awaited everyone had her wanting to live –- to steal, to do anything that would prolong her stay here. She knew it was impossible to live forever, but the fear of returning to that cold that burned hotter than the sun left her with the irrational desire to live forever. Her fear of that hell clouded her judgment – but with every step closer to the young child, the more her thoughts became rational, no longer crazed with panic.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted when she stopped behind the girl, who sat on the ground with her back facing her. Recognizing immediately who she was, the woman felt her breath leave her chest.
It was the same face that stared at her in the mirror – it was Izumi.
The little girl sat before her, oblivious to the events that led her here; instead, she innocently watched a bumblebee fly around her, harmless in its search for pollen. She, on the other hand, stood silently, watching the girl whose life she had taken.
Guilt quickly settled in her chest.
What felt like forever but was only a matter of minutes, the young Uchiha finally turned around. Despite her sudden appearance, there was no shock or fear in Izumi's eyes. What shined in their place was a warmth that she refused to acknowledge. "Hi!" Izumi beamed, looking up at her. The rich brown eyes that she looked at the blonde shined bright with childish innocence – an innocence that stemmed from the lack of awareness at the terrible sin the woman had committed to be where she stood at that moment. With this realization, a crack formed in her soul. "I'm Izumi! I've never seen someone like you before."
"I…" She felt the tears building in her eyes, the words stuck in her throat. A silent sob escaped her mouth, resulting in a frown from the Uchiha.
"Are you okay, Miss? I'm sorry for upsetting you."
At these words, the blonde viciously shook her head, forcing a smile. "No no, you didn't upset me," she horribly lied.
This innocent child, who had so much life in her, and she took it. Because she was selfish – desperate – in her search for a life to possess. She did not realize, at the time, that to rejoin humanity, she would have to kill someone. If the victim had been an adult, perhaps she would not feel the way she did, but to know that she had stolen the life of a child?
"Okay then." With no warning whatsoever, Izumi grabbed her hand and led her to a different flower a few feet away. "I wanna show you something!" Feeling choked up, the young adult had to remind herself to breathe, to accompany herself along to the childish whims of the girl. "Look!"
Her eyes followed the finger that pointed to the flower before her. Crawling on the strangely colored petal was a ladybug, bringing another wave of guilt that threatened to drown her in her guilt.
"A ladybug?"
"Yeah!" Izumi practically trembled with excitement beside her. "Isn't it so cute? Only Katsumi ever thinks they're cute," she mumbled. She heard a hint of sadness in her voice, prompting her to kneel and try to match the girl's height.
"What…" She hesitated in her question, the large unblinking eyes creating a deeper fracture in her soul. "What do you remember?"
"Me? Hmm…" Izumi placed a finger against her pursed mouth, eyes looking towards the sky above them in thought. She smiled sadly at this sight. "I was playing with Izuna, and then I fell, and then I was here. It's okay, though; I like it here, with all these pretty flowers. I can stay here forever!"
Could she, though? How long until the child recognized the fact that she was trapped, with no escape back to the life she once knew? She would die here, alone, with no one to hold her, to comfort her.
But...She was so selfish; she didn't want to return to the darkness – she couldn't. She feared the eternal abyss and wanted nothing more than to continue living.
She placed a hand on Izumi's shoulder, her mouth opening to say something when another crack in the sky stopped her. The young girl saw nor heard nothing, her mind occupied with the same ladybug that now crawled on her hand. The young woman had heard the thundering that had echoed all around her, echoing throughout her entire body.
A second later, another crack, another thundering, appeared. In the distance, she could see darkness creeping from the horizon towards them with rumbling dark clouds, and she knew immediately what it was, her heart falling.
Death was coming, and with it, she came to the realization that she could never let Izumi die here. Despite all her talk of wanting to live, to never return to the hell she remembered, the memories of who she was before and the woman she could have been prevented her from taking a step towards the path of a murderer. She could never forgive herself, never be able to live a full life knowing that another had to die for her to be where she stood.
Biting her bottom lip, she smiled once more. "Izumi, I need you to look at me." The young girl complied, her eyes meeting with her own. "I want you to wake up."
With these words, the world around them suddenly burned bright, inciting a surprised cry from them both. It lasted merely a second, but with the decision she had made, it changed the world around them. The tumbling black clouds were no more, the sky above healed. Where there was once only flowers, now also stood a large forest in the distance, trees tall and proud. In the middle of the field was a clearing where a small, quaint cottage stood, a gentle wind carrying the aroma of the wildlife.
It was beautiful.
For the first time since the return of her memories, she cried. It scared the Uchiha, the change around her and in the woman terrifying the young girl. Recognizing that her hysteria would no good for her situation, she forced down the manic laugh that threatened to burst from her lungs, and placed a gentle hand against Izumi's cheek.
"Live, Izumi. You were never meant to meet me, to be here, trapped in your own mind." The words meant nothing to the child, who looked at her with wide, confused eyes. "You don't understand now, but one day you will."
Standing up, her knees popping from kneeling, the young woman held out her hand to Izumi. Unlike earlier, there was a slight hesitation from the child, but as she began leading them towards the cottage, the flowers bloomed around them. She swore she could hear childish laughter from the plants all around them. Were these daisies symbols of this child's memories? Or were they hers?
Perhaps they were both.
"Where are we going?"
"I'm going home." At the steps, she sat down and faced Izumi, who remained standing on the grass. "You, on the other hand, will open your eyes to your room."
"My room?"
With a gentleness that she knew she did not possess before, she nodded. There was no forced smile anymore, and in the distance, the horizon began to fade away. There was no fear this time because she knew it would be fine.
Everything would be okay.
"I'll be watching over you, okay? You won't remember me, our meetings, or your little ladybug friend who tagged along for the ride," she informed, gently picking the bug off of Izumi's shoulder, "But one day, when you're ready for the truth, I'll be here."
"I don't understand."
"I know, Izumi-chan, I know." The light was almost overbearing, but it bothered Izumi none, and with that, she knew her time with the young girl was coming to an end.
At least, for now.
"Never stop smiling, okay?"
"What do you mean?" With a confused frown, Izumi stubbornly shook her head. "I don't understand! You're making no sense!" she shouted, stomping her feet. "Who even are you?"
At the childish outburst, she found herself laughing as she turned her eyes to the sky. Tears streamed down her face as she felt her body give away, her surroundings melting into one, but with a peaceful calm, she smiled widely before closing her eyes.
"Goodbye, Izumi."
And when Izumi awoke, her eyes blinking at the familiar beige ceiling above her, all she remembered was playing with her twin brother. The young blonde woman was forcibly taken from the child's memory by the woman herself, who remained hidden in her own small world in Izumi's mind. Her selfishness stubbornly clung to life, living on in spirit within the young child. But for her, it was enough.
The strange woman would not appear in the young child's mind for the many many years that would come.
Chapter One – End
A/N: Oof. It's been a minute, hasn't it? I never thought I'd ever be writing this story again, especially with the characters I created. It's been years since I've touched this fic, and even longer when it comes to the core of the story. So welcome back to those who read my original story and hello to those who are new. This story has a new title now with a new summary for those who remember the old one. It fits better though because my writing style has changed so much after so many years, along with my state of mind of how I actually want this story to go. It's an actual rebirth, you could say.
This story holds a special place in my heart. I wasn't in...the best state of mind at the time of writing it and as I reread the original, many parts of it bring me back to that freshman girl in high school who was unhappy with her life, kinda bringing me to a sad place. I had hoped to say that after nearly a decade, I'm better, but that would mean I'm lying to myself so I'm just going to shut up. Oops.
Also, I have absolutely no idea what's going on with Naruto (or Boruto?) anymore nor do I care. I think what I loved about this story was the freedom it gave me and whatnot; I had followed canon events but I wasn't held down by the fear of following canon plots.
Anyways, don't hesitate to leave a review behind :)
edited: 09 March 2022
