Author's Note:

Does anyone actually read these?

This story has been stewing in my head for quite some time. Truthfully, I think the fandom really lacks quality ItachixOC fanfiction, or perhaps I just haven't found very many. What do I mean by "quality"?

To put it simply, decent writing, decent characterization, characters remaining in-character, and any changes made to a character are justified and developed well. I'm hoping I can do all those things and more with this story. I'm trying with everything in me to get back into writing, as it is my passion. For a number of years, I've deeply struggled with depression and life in general. Writing is colossally difficult when you're just trying to find the will to survive the day, no matter how passionate you are for the art.

Anyways, no words can describe my love for this franchise. I have adored Naruto since I was nine years old, and still adore the series being almost thirty. I remember having my first psychological break in 2014, and I was in college. I kid you not, what kept me alive was not knowing how Naruto was going to end, so I had to stick around for that. However, as many would agree, the ending was incredibly disappointing and then followed by a sequel that lacks that same energy that OG Naruto had alongside with about 90% of Shippuden. But I digress. I was going to say I'll describe my feelings towards the canon ending in another author's note or blog, but I believe, and hope that this fanfic will do my thoughts justice. Do I think there is any chance that this could have been the canon ending?

Nah. Definitely not. But one can dream. That's why fanfiction exists.

I have been going back and forth trying to decide if I ought to include pairing warnings, as some of the pairings included in this may be considered controversial by some. Truthfully, I don't want to spoil the story, and would prefer to just watch the world burn in the comments by butthurt people. This is my Tsukiyomi, bitch, I control time and space, my writing this story is not a democracy, and for the next however long you decide to keep reading this fanfic, you can choose to enjoy the story, or click off.

The only content warnings I will include are:

•References to suicide… frequently.

•References to PTSD and other mental illness… frequently.

•Character death

•Infant death

•Graphic violence

•Different types of abuse.

•Drug and alcohol use and abuse.

•Some slash pairings. Not front-and center at all times, but certainly there. If you hate us LGBTQ folks because your church leader told you to, I don't wish to engage with you. Please just leave.

•Homophobia

•Xenophobia

•Racism

•Misogyny

•And of course lemons.

I only put these content warnings in here for two different reasons. First, for the sake of readers that are just looking for some lemons to get off to and be on their way. This story is not by any means lemon-centered, though they will exist in the work. Secondly, of course, because the above are sensitive subjects, I want to make it clear from the beginning so no one is taken off guard. I'm not out here trying to hurt someone's feelings or trigger their minds to remember horrible things they went through. To be blunt, the world of Naruto depicts child soldiers, the story, in truth, is far darker than it is marketed, that darkness needs justice. I hope to do that.

Also. I think for the sake of making things easier for me, some characters that added little to the canon are going to just simply… not exist in this AU-like story (I use the term, 'AU' very loosely, if I should label it AU in later chapters, I'm open to criticism)

The two characters that have to just disappear for the sake of plot are:

Yamato… sorry man, you just don't exist anymore.

And Izumi Uchiha. Sorry girl, you brought very little to the table in both the light novels and anime.

With all that being said, thanks for reading my long-winded note. I hope you enjoy this story. Please engage in the comments or even DM me, it helps motivate me more than you'll ever know.

I. The Girl at the Naka River

Walking down the gray, bricked path, the small boy flinches, his chest sinks into his stomach. At the sound of metal clanking close by, he spins around seemingly fearlessly and draws his weapon, ready for an altercation.

But no one was there besides a startled butcher shop owner tending to his stand. He dropped his knife while sharpening it. The civilian man behind the counter was trembling with his hands raised where this tiny boy could see them. The man wasn't weak by any means, even without being able to mold chakra, he was a strong man. But upon seeing the crest embroidered in the back of the child's shirt, it's a fight he's afraid he'd lose.

"My sincerest apologies, Mr. Watanabe." The boy said as he stood upright, putting away his kunai. "I thought…"

Mr. Watanabe slammed his hands on the counter in frustration, sighing. "Them Uchihas start molding you little killing machines younger and younger. How old are you, boy? Six?"

"Four." The boy gave Mr. Watanabe a sort of eye-contact that even most grown adults don't have the confidence to achieve. Unrelenting. Constant. Creating an immensely unsettling atmosphere for the shopkeeper, especially after the boy disclosed his age. "My name is Itachi Uchiha, sir. And really, I am sorry to startle you." The boy bowed, and turned on his heel with his hands buried in his pockets and resumed walking.

"He does not understand… and I hope he never does." Itachi thought as he continued walking at a leisurely pace, trapped inside his own thoughts. Kicking a few rocks along the way as he walked. It has now been just over a week since the war had ended. Just as it's been over a week since he lost his first tooth. Just as it's been just over a week since he took a life for the first time. He remembered how exciting it was when that loose tooth finally came out, the warmth of the smile that radiated from his mother, only to be ripped away when his father beckoned him to accompany him to the battlefield. If only he knew what he would witness. "Why am I alive?" He meditated. "Do we truly live only to die?" The child veered off the path into a cluster of trees on a slight incline. An occasional twig snapping under his feet as he climbed this hill, birds chirping, woodpeckers pecking, distant dogs barking, and an owl hooting. As strange as it was to hear an owl at this time of day, Itachi paid it no mind, until he heard a twig snap distantly behind him, and the forest fell deathly silent. He stopped in his tracks and listened. He must have stood there for ten minutes, listening, waiting. He came to the conclusion that whatever it was, or whoever it was, did not truly matter. There was no need for stealth, no need for caution, this little boy had already made his choice. He did not want to be subservient to this violent system.

Itachi continued walking up the incline until he reached an open, rocky space and was greeted by the sounds of the rushing river down below. He remembered thinking how fun it would have been to bring the friends he would have made in the academy to play tag with. Childish things such as play have no place in this world, however. Only training to be the most exceptional killer you can be. Only to be killed in the end. "Life, death, life, death…" his mind wandered. Before he knew it, he was standing on the edge of a cliff that dropped straight into the Naka river. Still pondering, deep in thought. It's clear that this child hasn't slept since he first took a life, since he saw thousands of human beings reduced to a pile of rotting meat. His eyes were bloodshot, swollen, dark as night underneath. "Weren't they all loved? Weren't they all cared for by someone?"

While deeply inhaling the clean air, listening to the sounds of running water, Itachi thought of the memorial service after the war. That day was filled with so much stagnant chaos for lack of a better term. The world around him stopped for the service it seemed, but Itachi's mind racked with questions, fear and confusion. His father, not being the best person to seek answers from, he concurred. As everyone's heads were bowed in reverence, Itachi's mind swam, "Were all these lost lives a means to an end?" As the service was ending, Itachi looked to the side and saw the Legendary Sannin, Mr. Orochimaru standing over a gravestone, making his way over to him. They spoke quietly, Itachi trying to seek logic and justification from one of the strongest Shinobi alive, "So what's the meaning of life then?" the young boy finally asked, his two loose bottom teeth tilted slightly forward. He looked up at the esteemed shinobi, eyes pleading for clarity.

"My boy, there is no meaning to life. Not without power." The sannin purred at him while emitting a devilish grin. The man turned his back on the small child, and wandered into the opposite direction, still smiling, still snickering. Itachi got his answer, and when he opened his eyes, he could no longer hear the water rushing, the birds chirping, the twigs breaking nor the owl hooting. All he can hear is a ringing in his ears and his own breathing. He stepped forward even closer to the edge, the tips of his toes hanging off the edge.

"Life has… no meaning." He pondered. He will now escape his destiny of not only being subject to the cruelty of this world, but the future he would have in contributing to it. With that, he gently closed his eyes, gave a faltering, broken exhale and stepped off the ledge.

All he can hear now is the high winds pelting into his eardrums and the cry of a crow, an omen of his death, his meaningless death. The fall is long, he should die instantly. After what felt like hours of falling, he felt something fight around his ankle, and the sound of crashing and exploding rocks up above him, being pulled mid-air closer to the rock wall, banging his head as he swung there, stunned. Debris from the rock wall still falling around him, his hearing returned, and he felt a warm drop of liquid hit his cheek. It was the blood of a girl, her arm completely buried into the rock wall to her shoulder, holding onto both of us. She grunted and moaned in agony, her arm must be crushed, as blood continued to rush down her side, dripping downward.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you wanna die or something?!" She cranked her head downward as she yelled with a fury and authority that Itachi has never heard from someone his own age. She couldn't be much older than he is from the sound of her voice. He felt the blood rushing to his head, and he realized what he had almost done, and this girl had to pay for his impulses with her arm. Her grip strength is not wavering, she will truly be a fine kunoichi if she isn't already. He heard more rocks shuffle below him, before he can even look down, she dropped him onto a makeshift platform newly protruding from the rock wall. He looked up to see this girl still wedged in the stone wall by her arm, supporting herself by her feet, gritting her teeth in pain trying to pull herself free.

She looked down at him, wincing in pain, pale, dripping with sweat, shaking. Her hair was thick and wild, filled with tight curls, deep orange like a flame or a summer sunset. She didn't even appear like she was an actual person, but an ideal replica, a porcelain doll. Delicate. Pretty. But like everyone else in this world, covered in blood, and in pain.

"Please don't die." He thought. He jumped up from the platform to assist in getting her arm out, only to find that the explosion he heard was her dragging her entire arm through and down the rock wall to break the fall. Before he can do anything to help, she was already freed, and her arm looked like a slab of meat Mr. Watanabe would have sold from his meat stand, it made Itachi nauseated, not only at the sight, but at himself for being the cause of this. They both jumped back down onto the platform, the girl muttering in pain, unable to bear even holding her arm… what's left of it.

"It's okay." She said as she shivered from shock, letting out a labored exhale, hissing at the agony. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to go find help! I'm so sorry for the troub--" Itachi was interrupted by her words,

"No, really, I'm okay." With those words, what looked like smoke exited her nostrils, and she let out a steady exhale. She reluctantly placed her uninjured hand on her shoulder and slowly ran it along the length of her mangled arm. Before he knew it, her arm had straightened, hearing the sounds of bones going back to their proper places, the wounds closing, skin growing back after it had been ripped to pieces. Itachi was in awe from the power she displayed. He had heard of the Otsutsuki clan that lived on the outskirts of the village, he had heard of their healing abilities, but seeing their abilities up close was an event to bear witness to.

"I've never seen chakra used like that, it's incredible." He muttered as he gaped at her.

"It's not chakra…" she bit back as she stood on her feet. "Anyways, that doesn't really matter. Can I ask why on God's green earth you'd fling yourself into the river? Is this some sick training regiment the Uchiha have their youngest doing?" Her hand on her hip, glaring down at him. Itachi looked downward, while it's true the Otsutsuki and the Uchiha have closely allied since the Warring States Period, and many throughout the Ninja World would refer to them as "sister clans," the Otsutsuki makes it very clear that their diplomacy was purely transactional, as they refuse to share their secrets with the Uchiha, nor even the Hidden Leaf as their way of exercising their independence from hidden villages. To be fair, it seems nearly everything about the Otsutsuki is transactional, with little morality or emotion involved, leaning only to the side that's winning, not based on what's right and wrong. The same goes for why their compound is located nearly a mile outside of Konoha so as to keep a distance. Their loyalty to their disloyalty is perhaps their finest asset, and perhaps why they continue to work with Konoha... because they're winning. They're unreliable fence-sitters. At least that's what Itachi's mother said to his father when she thought he was out of earshot.

"…" Itachi looked at his hands silently. "Again, I'm so very sorry for all the trouble." He choked out, his gaze downward not breaking, focusing on the small pebble pointed upward by his foot. Her face softened, and she sat back down in front of him.

"You look like you hit your head pretty hard when I caught you, sorry about that. Everything happened so fast, my body just moved, there wasn't much time to think." Her voice became soft, gentle, inviting, a complete contrast from her frustration only moments before. She lifted her hand up to the side of his face. He didn't even realize that he had a wound on the back of his head from the impact, his adrenaline was beginning to subside, and the horrible pain in his head, radiating to the back of his eyes began to set in. "Can I?" He nodded in agreement. Her face close to his. It was same as before, smoke rushed from her mouth and her nostrils, however, it smelled nothing like smoke. It smelled sweet, like fruits, candy perhaps. Pleasant, but otherwise hard to describe. She reached around and placed her hand gently on the back of his head, and he heard a light popping sound behind his eyes. And the pain was gone. He rubbed the back of his head where the wound was, it surely had disappeared, as if nothing had happened. "Let's go down and look at the water." She smiled at him, gently grabbed his hand and they carefully made their way down, jumping rock by rock. They walked towards the stream, as she knelt down to wash as much blood off her arm as possible. "My older brother will wonder what kind of trouble I got myself into if I come home covered in blood." She trailed off. "Why'd you do it?" She asked. "Or why did you try to do it?"

Itachi was taken aback. It's not exactly proper, civilized conversation to discuss why you tried to take your own life with a complete stranger. But then again, complete strangers don't normally jump off a cliff after a complete stranger to maim themselves to save their life. Transactions. Itachi concurred that an explanation is owed to the Otsutsuki.

"Life has no meaning." He stated as a matter-of-fact. "We're destined to be shinobi. We kill or be killed. And we keep killing until we too meet our deaths." He unconsciously played with the bottom tooth just dying to come out with his tongue. "Why did you save me?" He asked, curious of her answer.

She stood from her kneeling position, listening to the growing sound of crows crying as they made their way from the west.

"Because life is precious."

Her voice broke, and her shoulders twitched. With that, they heard the sound of an owl, and the vibrations of flapping wings grew closer. The girl put her newly healed arm out and allowed the large, pure white owl to perch upon it. She pet it with her finger as its head leaned into her affection, as quickly as it came, it left. She turned to Itachi after wiping her eyes of the small tear that threatened to stream. It was clear she didn't want him to see her cry.

"Life is precious?" Itachi asked as he sat by the edge of the river. "What does that mean?" His hands folded in his lap as he eyed the girl that saved his life. She too sat next to him with her legs crossed, hands also in her lap.

"Yes, life itself is precious, no doubt. Every soul counts." She whispered.

"But what does it mean? What does it mean to say that life is precious when it can be so easily taken?" The tone in Itachi's voice only raised ever so slightly. Uninterested in lofty answers without evidence.

"That's the point you're missing. Human life is inherently precious. Something so priceless cannot be summed up with words. We all have a different path. A different purpose. There is still one thing that connects all of us. And of course, no one really wants to die, they just want to stop hurting. Don't you think?" She asked as she smiled at him.

"What is that "one thing?" Itachi inquired. Refusing to answer a question until this girl fully answered his. She sighed and stood up, dusting off her clothes, looking down at Itachi,

"Love. That one thing that bonds us all together is love." She stated with conviction as she flipped her hair from her shoulder and began to walk off. Confused, Itachi rose to his knees and yelled to her as she retreated,

"Hey! What's your name?" As Itachi yelled, his bottom tooth finally flung out of his mouth and into the dirt below as he bellowed. Blushing, slightly embarrassed. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, she smiled and let out a giggle.

"Haha!! No way, I just lost my first tooth too!! She stretched the side of her mouth, all the while giggling showing none other than the gap where her baby tooth used to be.

"It's my second…" Itachi looked down, the corners of his mouth threatening to curl up.

"My name is Eden Otsutsuki." Her eyes closed as she clasped her hands together. "What's your given name?" Of course she would ask in that manner, as the crest on his back gave away his family name.

"Itachi. Itachi Uchiha." He replied.

"Well, Itachi Uchiha, I'm glad to have met you. And I know you'll be a splendid shinobi, maybe I'll see you in class soon." She smiled as she once again turned on her heel, and began to walk away with her hands clasped behind her back. Walking tall with her orange curls blowing gently.

"I'm glad to have met you as well, Eden Otsutsuki." Itachi whispered as he balled his hands up at his side. He looked to his left and a crow was staring at him rather inquisitively, head cocked to the side. "I guess she's right, huh?"

"Nobody really wants to die do they?" A flock of crows flew around him, past him as he rose to his feet. The crow that remained by his side perched onto his arm. He couldn't help but think of what an unusual name many of the high-ranking Otsutsuki's have, she must be part of it not close to the main household, as their given names are far from common in Konoha, or the Four Great Nations.

"Eden Otsutsuki." He whispered as the crow left its perch. He now knew what needed to be done. He needed to get stronger, strong enough to stop all of the death. To stop the fighting. To stop the wars. To bring peace. To protect people like Eden Otsutsuki, as the death of someone who truly believes in love would be a tragedy.