A/N: Hey guys! I did a few minor edits of the first two chapters, if you 'd like to give them another glance. This is the last chapter of part one, hope you like it =]

Rebirth

Part I: Discovery

Chapter 3: Growing Closer

My name is Uchiha Akako, and I am the last female of my clan.

Upon waking from the Infinite Tsukiyomi, I was so upset by what had happened, I almost died from chakra exhaustion. I had had the most wonderful dream. In it, I was with my mother and father, and I had siblings. When I opened my eyes, I started sobbing as reality hit me like a wave. I had no family. I had no team.

"Akako-chan, you must stop!"

"Deactivate your jutsu, or you'll die!"

"Then let me die!" I shouted. I wasn't sure what jutsu I was using, but it was taking the little bit of chakra I had left.

The two nurses trying to restrain me gasped and pulled back when I looked at them.

"It can't be!"

"She has the Sharingan!"

The Tsuchikage and Hokage argued for weeks over me. It reminded me of what happened four years ago, when Ame died. Except this time, I was wanted. I was valuable. People were also staring at me like I was a specimen under a microscope.

One of the first things I did as soon as I was able to walk was purchase a headpiece from the ninja supply shop. It had a single, dark lens that went over my eyes and was secured to my head with a strap. Even though the war was over and I knew that Sasuke had been vindicated from his crimes, I knew I was still in danger of being attacked simply for being an Uchiha. I had heard the stories about the massacre and how Sasuke had defected from his village.

My nightmares became much worse. Now, instead of just dreaming about my mother and Ame, the three other members of my cell were there, too. Over and over, I saw them die. Sometimes, I killed them. Sometimes, they killed each other. Always, I was left alone.

In the end, the Hokage won. My cell was dead—Shigure had been killed in battle. The Uchiha clan had to be rebuilt, and I should be free to return to my ancestral home. I was eleven years old, I was old enough to be on my own.

I met my new team, Cell Eight, two months after the war ended.

"Please introduce yourself."

"My name is Uchiha Akako."

If the two boys in my cell were surprised, they didn't show it. I could tell they were tougher than Yuumaru and Asahi had been. War changes everyone.

"What are your likes and dislikes, Akako-chan?" my sensei asked.

"I don't like or dislike anything," I said.

"What is your ambition?" he tried again.

At this, I sighed.

"My ambition is to find my family."

One of the boys, I think it was Hanemaru, sniffed.

"Ranko-chan was more fun," he muttered.

Cell Eight's female member had also been a healer—she'd been killed on the front lines.

Ouja spent our first meeting as a team testing us to see how we would work together. The boys, at first stiff in my presence, began to loosen up. I was fast compared to Asahi and Yuumaru, but I could barely keep up with Sango and Hanemaru. They'd been one of the best teams in their cohort, and by the end of our first week together, Hanemaru was teasing me mercilessly.

My time spent with Cell Ten had been spent honing my skills in doton, which I have a natural affinity to. Hanemaru found it amusing that his katon skills were much better than mine, but I'd been born in Earth Country, and I didn't know I was an Uchiha until a few months ago.

I was the youngest in my cell. Sango was the nicest, but he was still hard on me. Everyone was trying to teach me, to get me to catch up. I enjoyed it. It meant that they thought I was worth keeping.

"You need an apprenticeship, Akako-chan," Ouja said one day.

I paused in the middle of healing the burns on Hanemaru's face. Just now, I had managed to shape the earth into a funnel and blown his attack back into his face.

"Shigure-sensei," I winced as I said his name, "told me that I needed one, too."

"I shall put in an inquiry at the hospital immediately," he said. "You said you learned how to heal on your own?"

"Yes, Ouja-sensei."

"Impressive," he said. "In the meantime, you will learn katon from Hanemaru-kun."

"But Ouja-sensei, I'm not qualified enough," Hanemaru protested. He was arrogant, but he also knew his limitations well. I didn't know how he lived with himself.

"It can't be helped," Ouja replied. "We have no way of knowing when Sasuke-san will return from his journey."

"Alright then," Hanemaru said, grinning. "Uchiha, prepare to go down."

-paragraph break-

Even though the Hokage had given only a select few the knowledge that I was an Uchiha, everyone seemed to know I was one, anyways. People have varying reactions when they see me, but the most common one is confusion. Most days, I put on a henge just to get places. I have spent all my life being treated differently from everyone else, and I've gotten good at hiding.

It warmed my heart that Sango and Hanemaru wanted to be friends with me. They showed me around Konohagakure, told me the village's history, and introduced me to everyone they knew. All around me, I saw signs of lingering grief and was ashamed that I'd criticized Konoha not even six months before. So much had changed since then.

A war happened, my cell died, I found out I was an Uchiha, and I moved to Konoha. In one fell swoop, I had learned my paternal heritage and moved to the one country with medics qualified enough to give me an apprenticeship.

I met Uzumaki Naruto by accident one night while at Ichiraku. I had never lived alone before, and I disliked it. I also didn't know how to cook.

"Oi! So you're the other Uchiha!"

I tensed as Naruto sat down next to me. His chakra was so immense, I wondered how he didn't implode. It nearly blinded me with its intensity, and it was different colors, which I assumed was a side-effect of being a jinchuuriki.

"How could you tell, Uzumaki-san?" I had my headpiece on and my hood up.

"You sit the same way Sasuke does!" he said, grinning.

Naruto was not what I expected. I knew he was blond and loud, but I hadn't realized just how blond or how loud.

"How do you like Konoha, Uchiha-chan?"

"Akako," I said.

"Naruto!" he responded.

"It's fine," I said.

"How long have you been here?"

"Fifteen minutes," I said, confused.

"No, I meant how long have you been in Konoha, bu—IS THAT YOUR THIRD BOWL ALREADY?" he shouted, waving his arms. His right arm, which was holding his chopsticks, was covered in bandages.

"I overslept and didn't have breakfast," I said, shifting in place. "Or lunch."

-end of chapter-

A/N: And so Akako meets the first member of the golden trio. Who will she meet next? Find out, you shall.