I remember the day I was born.
I remember being warm in a partial darkness, the feeling of life pulsing through me as sounds slowly surrounded me, urgent yet muffled. I remember the confusion of being pushed downward with a tightening sensation of wetness all around me, until all at once I was cold from the exposure of the air. I remember crying, the sound of laughter and breathless relief. I remember the scent and feel of my mother's skin against my own for the first time, soft like velvet. I can remember hearing her voice but not understanding her words, whispering to me with love as she cradled me close to her, stroking a finger against my cheek and later, the taste of her milk in my mouth.
I remember so many things that I should not, and I remember things that have not yet happened. They came to me in dreams at first until I learned how to control them, came to understand why I was so different from the rest of my clan. The Uchiha. From the day I was born, I had awoken with my Sharingan already activated, and my power went beyond that of any ordinary Uchiha. Using my Sharingan, I was somehow able to actually see future events, envisioning things beyond the present. The elders believed it to have been some kind of genetic mutation of sorts, but thus far I am the only one who is so clearly different from the rest of my clan.
The common deep black colour of our hair and eyes were completely absent in my case, as instead, I was born an albino. With hair whiter than a moonbeam and eyes a pale crimson, I was the only white haired Uchiha. I was different, but I was still pat of the clan and never treated otherwise. My parents raised me with love and care, devoting every waking moment to me as their only child. Because I was born with an activated Sharingan, I learned and developed much quicker than the other children, becoming one of the greatest prodigies my clan had ever seen. Some even suggested that it was my direct relation to Madara Uchiha which gave me my power and because of the particular uniqueness I possessed, my skills were kept a secret from the rest of Konoha's leaders.
My clan did not want to share my abilities, so I was ordered to not reveal them to anyone and instead, use them for the sake of my clan. I was loyal to the Uchiha Clan, so I never questioned any order the elders gave me, however as I grew older, I began to notice things. They were wary and did not trust the rest of Konoha, holding a particular resentment against the Third Hokage and the council for not electing Fugaka, my clan's chief, as the Fourth Hokage.
There were many politics involved, and as I reached the age of five, I was astute enough to recognise that my clan were attempting to use me as a pawn in order to consolidate power for themselves. It troubled me greatly, so I took to observing the present more than I did the past or future, choosing instead to focus my attentions on my surroundings and taking care to not miss a single step in this political dance which was beginning to form. For the most part, however, I had a peaceful childhood. Despite the Third Shinobi War raging outside the borders, I was still a little too young to go to the battlefield.
Sitting with my legs hanging over the side of the porch, I gazed up at the wide blue sky as a soft summer breeze cooled the air around me, lifting the soft strands of my white hair. "Miyuki? Miyuki, Mikoto has come to visit us with little Itachi." Pulling myself out of my reverie, I turned my head to look back over my shoulder to where my mother stood, smiling at me warmly with her friend, Mikoto, standing beside her. Mikoto was married to the Uchiha Clan Chief, Fugaka, and their son Itachi was only just a year old.
"Hello Miyuki, I hear you passed another exam at the academy the other day, you're growing up so quickly." Mikoto said to me as she too smiled, lowering herself down so that we were of a more even height. "You must keep your poor mother on her toes."
"I can hardly keep up, Mikoto. My Miyuki is already far cleverer than I am, I'll be an old woman before she even reaches the age of ten." The both of them giggled softly as I lowered my gaze to the baby held in Mikoto's arms, looking at the sweet angelic features of the infant before turning myself around and padding forwards, barefoot and curious. Itachi was always such a quiet baby, I liked seeing him. There was something very gentle about him, even now, and whenever I was nearby I could not help but feel just a little more light hearted.
Opening up my arms I looked imploringly to Mikoto, making her chuckle before she obligingly gave me her son to hold for her. Itachi wasn't exactly a baby anymore, but was just about ready to start crawling. Being tall for my age, I easily held Itachi in my arms then wandered off on my own with him, completely in my own little world as my mother and her closest friend sat down on the porch to chat and drink tea together.
Going out onto the grass, I lay Itachi down carefully as he was asleep at the moment, peacefully dreaming away so I lay down next to him and smiled, picking a daisy and gently traced it down his features. He had such thick, dark hair and pretty features, part of me wanted him to stay this way forever. Kicking my bare feet lazily, I stayed with Itachi until finally he stirred, flinching as he woke up and blinked himself awake. Seeing that the sunlight was a little too bright for him, I lifted myself up and leaned over him so that my shadow covered his face, drawing back my hair so that it was away from his cheeks.
Itachi blinked, taking a moment before suddenly beaming from ear to ear and stretching up his hands. "Yuki!" He couldn't exactly say my name properly yet, Itachi mumbled through the first part, but the second part was always much clearer, so I never really bothered trying to correct him. Only Itachi called me Yuki, and I had a habit of shortening his name sometimes as well, though usually only when we were out of earshot of others.
"Hello Tachi." Whispering softly, I began stroking his face with the daisy once more, holding it for him to try and snatch at and from thereon, I occupied my time playing little games with Itachi, either with my hair or with flowers and grass. When he became bored of that, I helped him onto his unsteady feet and assisted him around the garden, developing his walking ability as I held onto his hands and followed behind him. He took me on a rather pleasant stroll, stopping each time something caught his eye until an hour or so later, my mother called me in for dinner.
Picking Itachi up into my arms once more, I carried him back inside whereby Mikoto then took him from me, her hand coming to rest upon my head where she ruffled my hair lightly. "You're such a good girl Miyuki. I hope you and Itachi always stay close friends." I tilted my head slightly, wondering whether or not her hopes would be realised. My red eyes flashed slightly, the black of my iris swirling as my Sharingan naturally activated itself as I sought an answer, however my mother very quickly caught sight of my eyes.
"Miyuki! Why don't you run and fetch your father for dinner? He should be nearly home by now, so if you stand outside you'll be able to see him coming down the street." Distracted by my mother's voice, my eyes naturally returned to normal.
"Hm." Nodding my head obediently, I wandered off towards the front of the house and slid open the door after putting on my shoes, tapping the fronts to make sure they were properly situated on my feet before then going and standing by the front gate. Sure enough I could see my father walking down the street, looking grateful to be on his way home and when we caught sight of one another, he immediately beamed at me.
"Miyuki! Papa's home!" He called out with a goofy wave, causing my lips to tilt upwards and a little giggle escaped me as I walked calmly towards him as he hurried his pace, the both of us meeting halfway whereby he knelt down and reached out to me. "Did you miss your papa Miyuki? I sure missed my precious little girl, how about we go inside and see what your mother made for dinner?" Nodding in agreement, I silently stretched up my arms and made a grabbing motion to which my father immediately responded, sweeping me off my feet with such enthusiasm I almost lost my shoes.
He doted on me, calling me his beautiful little moonbeam and complimenting how pretty my hair looked pulled back with two ribbons. Silently happy, I rested my cheek against my father's and breathed in his smell, relaxing into him as I was carried inside to my mother, Itachi and Mikoto. My childhood was peaceful and full of love, never wanting for anything. My father worked within the Uchiha police force close to Fugaka and my mother spent her time at home, always ensuring that she would be there to welcome my father home from a long day's work.
My clan had every reason to view me as an outcast, but I was not. I was an Uchiha, Miyuki Uchiha, and I was going to be a kunoichi of Konoha one day, and although these childhood days of mine were tranquil, I knew that they could not last forever.
