A/N: EDIT: Is that all you can muster, trolls? Ha!

DOUBLE EDIT: Had to change one of the previews. For crying out loud, people...

Weeeell this tale doesn't have a lot of reviews compared to the rest of our RWBY tales, but here goes nothing!

Timsekip ahoy! Here be your warning!

Some folks are comparing this to "Naruto: Tornado of Souls" and that's fine with me and the gang. We weren't even aware such a story existed until someone pointed it out. Its a fine tale, but ours will be going in a rather...different direction. Can't really say too much in this note for fear of spoiling things.

Still, we have one thing to say:

As ever, reviews are our fuel and we cherish each one we receive. Without proper feedback, my team and I can't update nearly as fast. Feedback encourages us and reviews are the fuel for our engines. We write these stories to entertain, after all. We want to hear what you all think and...silence hurts. It hurts a lot. More than any death threats or insult possibly could. Every word helps, every criticism is taken into account.

Now then, we're off to work. Looking forward to your reviews!

Tiny!Cinder is an absolute terror, as many children often are, and she had all of us laughing even as we wrote this.

"Wanna be friends?"

...you're suggesting an alliance, then?"

"Eh? That's a really big word. What does it mean?"

~Young Naruto and Young Cinder.

Ashes to Ashes

Cinder was an odd child.

Her parents came to realize this terrible truth early on and as such, they were spared her wrath. They learned to read the signs when their wayward daughter was but a babe; how to placate her when she became upset and when to feed her when she was hungry. They came to love her like she were their own, because she was their own. Their one and only daughter. They knew she possessed a powerful pair of lungs; which she would use to make her displeasure known if someone ignored her long enough.

Alas, the rest of the clan proved somewhat slow learners in that regard. Their suffering knew no bounds.

You see, as a baby, young Cinder was an absolute terror when she wasn't being held by one of her kin. Many thought her an anomaly. The Girl With Golden Eyes, some came to call her. A special child born the night the Nine-Tailed Fox laid waste to the Hidden Leaf Village. She who shared a birthday with the Boy-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Where many children died due to the shock of that great beast's chakra, Cinder thrived. From the very moment of her birth, the clan held great expectations of her.

Itachi knew a thing or two about high expectations and the pain they could bring. He worried for his little sister. After all, the higher you climbed, the further you had to fall.

Watching her now, he couldn't help but wonder if Cinder would burn out like her namesake...or rise from the ashes like an almighty phoenix. Honestly, he wasn't sure what Mother had been thinking, giving the poor girl that name.

It wasn't that his baby sister was ill or unhealthy; quite the contrary. Cinder had shown herself to be quite lively in all things. Maybe it was because very existence had proven a miracle in and of itself. Mother had suffered through a difficult birth to bring her into this world. They'd nearly lost them both that day. Even now, years after the fact, Father treated Mother like glass because of it and she still wanted to have a third child, if it were possible. Itachi knew he should be he was grateful they'd somehow survived. And he was, really!

But by the sage, Cinder Uchiha wasn't right in the head.

For starters, she hadn't lived life as a normal child ought. She attacked it, just as she attacked the wooden stump before her now as if it had wronged her somehow. She should be sitting in Mother's lap as she braided her hair, all smiles and giggles while they picked flowers. Not wearing her hands raw as she tried to beat that log into submission.

She should be making friends and playing tag; not isolating herself like this. Where children wanted to play hide and seek, she longed to fight. Learn. Train.

Only five years old, and little Cinder was already acting like an adult. She delved into the clan teachings and devoured them like a glutton. She always wanted to learn and learn and keep learning. Whenever she was given a book, she would finish it in a day and plead for more. When her cousins dared bully her for her book addiction, she'd sent them home with bruises and broken bones. After the last incident Itachi found himself tasked with watching her today while Mother and Father were busy, which seemed to be more and more often these days. But this? This felt wrong.

"Be careful!" Finally, he could take it no more and found himself calling out to her. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep at it like this."

"I've almost got it." She grit her teeth and kept at it. "Just a bit more...

"Your only five. Even at your age I couldn't-

FWOOSH!

Lightning from his sister's fingers to smash through the training post with an almighty crack, both burning and shattering the wood in every direction. Itachi jumped at the sound, ears ringing. Cinder flew backward with a startled yelp, struck the grass, bounced once, and landed on her rear.

Itachi stumbled toward his sibling, shouting her name.

Cinder found her footing before he could hope to reach her; indeed, she didn't even seem to register his presence at first.

Instead, his little sister turned to regarded her handiwork. One hand rose a hand to catch a burning shard of wood in her grasp. Tiny little fingers half-curled around it, and Itachi thought he glimpsed a smile on her face as it crumbled away to dust in her palm. Shards of burnt timber continued to rain down around them; no, not wood, Itachi realized. Ash.

Cinders.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she murmured softly her words chilled him.

"I wouldn't call it that." Itachi sighed. She still didn't respond. "Cinder?" he raised his voice to be heard, feeling the words crack in his throat. "Can you hear me?" he said it again, fearing her ears might still be ringing after the blast. They might well be. What kind of child learned a lightning jutsu at the age of five?!

"Hmm?"

With extreme reluctance his little sister deigned to lower her arm and face him, and what Itachi saw there had him stepping back. For a sliver of a second he could've sworn her eyes were glowing. Physically brimming with living flame. No, that was impossible. She blinked at him, baffled; as if she were unable to recognize him. That confusion vanished as those golden orbs fluttered shut and open in a rapid blink.

"I'm fine, brother of mine." she tilted her head, raven hair falling across one eye. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sometimes in his darker moments, he wondered if this girl was truly his sister. Now, as he always, Itachi quashed such thoughts. They shared the same blood. The tests proved it. No matter how strange she might be,

"Do you have time to train with me today?" She looked up at him suddenly and her voice was soft, little more than a whisper. "You're always so busy."

Itachi dare not tell her why.

"Why are you so obsessed with strength?" he asked instead.

"Because...I don't want to die." her voice went softer still, golden eyes regarding him gravely.

Itachi felt his world lurch. Cinder was always at her most dangerous when she lowered her voice. It meant she was planning something. Plotting. Said plots usually ended with her victims a shivering wreck or with a bit of candy. But here? Her words were honest. Frail. Fragile. if there was constant in the madness that was his little sister, it was this. Cinder adored him.

He wasn't sure why.

Cinder's love was a...strange thing. He was one of three people she would obey -the other two were Mother and Father- and no one else could hope to move her. It was as if she had to keep moving, as if she feared the very act of stopping. She wanted to run before she could walk, to act like an elegant lady, when she was but a child. She fought to burn burn brightly in all things. His sister longed to soar when her feet should've been planted firmly on the ground. Her head was filled with plots and schemes and words he didn't understand. Someday, she would be a monster.

Unless someone changed her. He wondered if he might come to fear her, in time.

A tiny hand tugged at his sleeve. "Brother?"

Hurk! No! Resist!

He flicker her forehead.

"Sorry, Cinder. Maybe next time."

She looked so damnably sad when he said those words that a thorn of worry pricked at Itachi's heart. It held him back. Yet he worried all the same. For all her innocence, he feared what Cinder might yet become. Would he be able to kill her if it the talks broke down? Did he even want to? Cinder wasn't a psychopath. He knew that. He'd seen the good in her, the potential to be so much more than she was now. She was just...antisocial. How best best might he fix that? Could he? He wasn't sure. She needed friends; children her own age. Someone who would look past her faults and flaws...

An idea dawned, and he took her small hand in his.

He would have to be careful, of course; his sister was nothing if not clever. If he was too obvious, she'd see through him right away. Cinder needed to believe she'd reached the decision of her own accord; he couldn't push her, but he could certainly give her a nudge in the right direction. Time would be needed. She might hate him for it if she ever learned the truth.

But if it meant her happiness...well, that was something he could stomach.

"Alright." he feigned a sigh. "Just this once."

Her eyes lit up. "Yes!"

(.0.0.0.)

Uchiha.

It was a name of prestige and power, fame and might.

If the gods had seen fit to punish Cinder Fall for her crimes, she was beginning to believe they'd done a poor job of it. In her first life, she'd had nothing as a child. Now? She had everything. The best teachers and training that money could buy, all the care and comfort a child could ask for. She was expected to fight and learn and she reveled in it. She had a family who loved her, a brother willing to train her.

That was all she needed.

Her affinity for fire? The clan called her a prodigy.

Her ability to conjure elements with naught but a flick of the wrist? They said it was a new bloodline.

Some even claimed her to be the second coming of of Madara Uchiha; a great ancestor from a bygone age long past.

But she knew the truth.

Someway, somehow, a fragment of the Fall Maiden's might had followed her into this new life of hers. It wasn't much, wasn't as strong as she would've liked it to be, left her exhausted for hours at a time -for now!- but she was determined to strengthen it and make it her own. If she could retrain herself to even half of what she'd been before her death, she'd consider it a victory.

Friends? Bah! What need had she of friends?!

She stood alone. Her family understood her. So what if everyone feared her? Fear was good. Fear was the only reliable way to control people...wasn't it? Mother told her to pay of the other children and she tried, but what good was that? They were terrified of her. And so she delved deeper into her studies. Soon, even her brother had no time for her. He went on mission after mission and she was forgotten. Left behind, through no fault but her own. Resentment began to fester, and Cinder's world darkened.

Then one day, on the eve of her sixth birthday...her world was turned on its head.

How, you ask? Elementary, dear reader. You see, Cinder tripped.

And the dam broke.

(.0.0.0.)

Someone was crying.

Naruto knew the sound well; if only because he was usually the one who did it. Never in public of course, and never where anyone could see him, but he knew what it sounded like all the same. His first instinct was to try and ignore it; the one time he'd tried to help a fellow kid in distress, he'd nearly been beaten by their father. Most children didn't mind playing with him; their folks were a different a different matter.

Keen ears twitched. There it was again. A soft, hiccuping sound. Muffled against a palm.

He squinted against the setting sun in the park, searching for the sound, and found it readily enough. Most of the other kids had already left with their families. The stragglers were leaving even where...

"Damnit!"

He rounded on the sound and found its source, a young girl with dark hair and striking golden eyes lay sprawled on the ground near his favorite swing, her red dress hiked up to her knee as she clutched at her knee. She glared bloody red daggers at her leg, fingers tracing the wound in small circles as though to massage it away. She looked...more embarrassed then anything else. Angry that she'd been caught acting like a child. It was enough to draw his attention instantly. She didn't look any older than him; yet the indignant rage in her eyes was almost alarming to see.

"Blasted thing!" she hissed, trying to stand and failing spectacularly. "Of all the times...!"

Naruto looked left.

Naruto looked right.

Naruto didn't see anyone else.

No one came to help her. No one came to pick her up. If anything, she was outright ignored -avoided!- by both departing parents and children alike. His heart skipped a beat. It was a weird feeling; Just a little. Just a bit. Huh. Felt kinda weird, really.

Without a second thought, he hastened over to the poor girl.

He never once considered the consequences of his actions. Of course not!

When had something like consequences stopped him before. Not then, and certainly not now...

(.0.0.0.)

Stupid body.

Stupid children!

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Cinder swore and spit and snarled as she tried to stand again, only to fail spectacularly as her leg buckled beneath her once more. In her prime, she could have easily shrugged off such an injury and limped home under her own power. Now? Though her soul was that of an adult, her body was still that of a child. She was clumsy in her worst moments, not yet the graceful beauty she'd once been. Traitorous tears welled up in her eyes, hot and stinging. She bit her lip to prevent them from escaping.

A lone line of moisture ran down her cheek regardless.

She'd been ordered to wait here until someone came to pick her up. Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Nor were Mother and Father. That was...well...it wasn't right. She knew her brother was nearby -she could sense him!- but he made no attempt to approach. She had the sneaking suspicion he'd planned this; her beloved brother wasn't as subtle with his plots or schemes as he thought himself to be-

"Hey, are you alright?! Hold on a second!"

Her head snapped up when someone called out to her.

At a glance she almost failed to recognize her would-be rescue; it was only the warnings Mother and Father had drilled into her head that stirred some semblance of recollection. She'd been told to stay away from this very person; this boy with cerluean eyes. Blond hair. Whiskered cheeks. A notable penchant for the color blue, but not yet orange, she nevertheless recognized the fabled pariah of the village when he marched right up to her without a care in the world-

"Meep!"

...an unladylike squeak escaped her as the boy picked her up in his arms and carried her to a park bench. Upon reaching it, the boy set her down and carefully lifted her leg, fingers brushing against her ankle. At any other time she would've incinerated him for daring to touch her like that. Now? Cinder could only blink. Blink, as she felt an unfamiliar heat rise in her cheeks.

She felt like Cinderella.

"Oooh, that really doesn't look good. You're gonna need some bandages. I'm Naruto, by the way." he babbled on, heedless of her confusion and whirling thoughts. "What's your name?"

"Cinder, if you must know. Now go away." her hand slashed at him. "I don't want your help."

Azure orbs met angry golden eyes and did not yield. "But you're hurt...

Cinder tucked her injured knee closer to her chest as she eyed the blond boy balefully, prepared to bite if he came any closer. Did he not understand? Had she not told him to leave her be? She didn't need his kindness. Didn't want his pity. She needed no one. When he didn't leave, however, a long suffering sigh stole out of her. It was just the sort a child should never make. She was only five years old, after all. Five years of age, and ohhh how she loathed being a child again.

It was becoming increasingly apparent that he wasn't going to let her be. Blast him. Leave!

Then mistook her silence for acceptance. "Wanna be friends?"

Something in Cinder's chest twitched.

'A friend, a friend, a friend!' her new heart danced in circles and sang with wild, childlike glee even as she sought to silence it. 'Yes, please!' She'd never had one of those before. Hadn't she? Her lips drew down in a grimace. She'd had minions and pawns and accomplices aplenty, but a friend? She couldn't remember what it was.

"If you're not going to leave, then fetch me some and help me with this." she declared. "My leg hurts."

"S-Sure!" his smile was almost painful, such was its hope. "I'll be back! Stay right there!"

Cinder watched him scamper off with a quizzical expression.

This was the Demon everyone told her to fear? The Nine-Tailed Fox reborn? Her sense said otherwise; which meant the elders were spouting Superstitious nonsense. Naruto had strength, he had power, but he didn't use them. He had fear, he had hate, but he didn't use them. Perhaps that was foolishness on his part. Perhaps it was restraint. Maybe he was plotting his revenge. If so, he was welcome to it. Revenge wad a dish best served cold after all, and if she were in his shoes, she'd happily burn this entire village to the ground. But really, Naruto? A demon?

Cinder saw no such Demon. He was just a boy. An outcast. As she had been before him.

She tapped her fingers against her knee, considering the matter further. She'd sworn to take everything she could from this life, and so she would. A friend, he'd said. Very well. She'd befriend this boy. He would be but the first of many; fine practice for what was to come...or so she told herself. In all honesty? She just wanted an ally in this mad world.

It would mark the beginning of a strange friendship indeed.

"Mission Accomplished."

On a distant rooftop, Itachi Uchiha tutted softly to himself as he watched Cinder glare at Naruto's rapidly retreating back. Rather than approach, he hsettled into for a silent vigil, content to observed his handiwork. Ohhh, how the clan would bridle at this. They would snap and snarl and spit at the idea of their "princess" associating with a jinchuuriki.

Bah! Lett them. His plan had gone off without a hitch.

For a second, he could've sworn she saw him; indeed, those golden eyes seemed to bridge the distance between them. Absurd, of course. She wasn't that skilled, surely. But within moments young Naruto returned, arms laden with bandages. Excessive perhaps, but the sentiment was there. And to his great delight, his little sister allowed the boy to touch her, allowed him to fuss over her injuries and pick her up yet again. She said something to him and Naruto wheeled off in the direction of the clan compound.

Push two loud, lonely outcasts together? Check.

Earn his sister a friend? Yup. Also Check.

Make sure they stuck together? Well-

"I can see you over there, you louse!" Cinder shouted at him. "You think you're slick, don't you?!"

Itachi Uchiha did not fall off the roof when his little sister called him out. No. Surely not. Anyone who said otherwise was a liar and a traitor to the village. He certainly didn't trip over his own two feet and hit every balcony he could on the long, long way down to the street. Any who might claim such were surely spreading Seditious propaganda. And if he was smiling the entire time?

Well, that was a coincidence, surely.

A/N: Itachi is best brother.

Read the previews before you leave a review. Trust me. You'll be glad you did.

Welcome to the Uchiha clan, Cinder~! I didn't want to do the Hyuuga, considering Tornado of Souls already did that bit. The Yamanka clan was a big no-no given Cinder's predisposition, while those of the Nara didn't feel quite right either for our little spitfire. I've seen characters reborn there as well, so that was something of a turnoff.

We debated on her new family being the Akimichi, but as...amusing as it would be, there was a...reason we couldn't do it.

No, in the end it HAD to be the Uchiha. She just meshed far too well, and the votes for that blew everything out the water. Because the Uchiha represent conflict; because all know what Itachi does a few years down the line. I'm sure many of you have since realized it, but Sasuke won't be in this story. Itachi, however? That's an entirely different can of worms there. The question you need to ask yourself is this:

Will Cinder stay true to her roots? Will be become a better person? Or perhaps...something even worse?

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

No bashing here...just a few rude awakenings...

And as ever:

SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

PLOT DETAILS AHOY!

(Previews)

"YOU?!"

"Don't waste your time on him. He's the dead last for a reason."

Cinder wrinkled her nose, looking like she'd bitten into something foul. "Take it back."

"Or what?"

Naruto tried to intervene. He really did. She was just too quick for him. Cinder moved and this time it was Sakura who toppled backward, clutching her face.

"I'll break more than your nose if you touch badmouth him again." Cinder raised her fist angrily. "Go ahead. Make my day."

Naruto slapped a palm to his forehead. "Cinder, no."

Her eyes blazed with fire. "CINDER, YES!"

"Ma'm? I...Is that you?"

Cinder's head whipped toward the sound, golden eyes flashing.

They widened when they found the girl gripping her arm, towering over her. Younger than she remembered, slightly fuller in the face. Taller, too. Healthier to be sure...but those eyes, that hair...she couldn't forget them. A tiny smile tucked at the corner of her mouth. Well, well, well. Seemed she hadn't been the only one to reincarnate in this world. Was this fate? Irony? Had her subordinate been slain in their world and reborn in this one, just as she was? She found herself curious, but now was not the time for such things. Cinder's smirk became a familiar, languid smile.

"Why hello, Emerald." she all but purred the word as she looked up at her. "So nice to see you again-oomph?!"

Her words choked off as strong arms and swept her off her feet. Cinder endured it with a sigh.

"I knew it!" her captor cried! "It really is you!"

R&R~!