Rebirth of the Uchiha

Small Uchiha Asuka doesn't know anyone from the Uchiha clan, only stories. When her parents found out they would have a child they decided to leave the clan and Konoha and start their life elsewhere. By the time the massacre occurred she was 6, they heard about it when they went into town for a night out as a family. Her parents had made the decision to go into hiding in case Itachi would come looking for them. Their house was in the middle of a vast forest up in the trees. Her father Takeshi made sure to build their house to blend in with the trees but also a fun environment for Asuka to grow up in. The house was built around a big tree, it has two rooms, a small kitchen and living room space. Just outside their door was a bridge to another tree where her mother, Hanako, made a small garden to plant fresh fruits and vegetables. Every once in a while they would venture down the trees to go to the natural hot spring nearby. They built quite a life secluded from the world. It was simple and carefree for the most part.

Her parents did their best to teach her of the capabilities their clan had and why they had decided to leave the village. There was so much hatred and conflict that they did not want Asuka to grow up in that environment.
"Why did the village hate our clan?" asked Asuka. Her father replies "The village was always wary of the Uchihas since the start of Konoha. What made things worse was the attack on the village by the nine-tails. Our clan was blamed for this because they believed we controlled the tailed beast with the sharingan to attack. As a result they discriminated against us and tried to limit our abilities. The Uchiha police force was starting to get too aggressive and were preparing for a coup d'etat."

"What is a Coup day that? It sounds like it would be for chickens!" She asked as she tilted her head pouting. Her father laughed upon her cuteness. "A coup d'etat is when a group tries to overthrow a group in power. In this case they wanted to get rid of the Hokage and the leadership that advised him."

"Sooo because they wanted to do this chicken house thing, They had Itachi-san who is also an Uchiha to kill everyone? How come? He must have been so sad to do that."

Takeshi was surprised by her compassion for Itachi. She was always surprising him the more she grew up, maybe she could have helped their clan change or even the village in the future.

"I'm sure he could have been sad. He was a part of the ANBU however and emotions are something they are taught to get rid of." he said while seeing the puzzled look on her face "Although I did hear that he left his kid brother alive, he should be at least 1 years older than you now. His name is Sasuke."
"Hmmm Uchiha Sasuke. I wonder if I'll ever meet him!" she said with a smile.

"Maybe you will Asuka" Not knowing how likely that possibility was "Come on little one lets go practice on your ninja skills." Beaming with excitement Asuka followed him out the door "Its training not practice Father!" They both laugh as they leave their house.

Takeshi never expected her to be the greatest but knew she could be, even though she was only 6, she showed great promise and potential. Able to quickly pick up on things he taught her. Sometimes he wondered if she would learn faster if she actually went to a school but then remembers why they went into hiding. Fire jutsus were a common trait among the Uchiha making it easier to learn that affinity. With time she will learn more affinities and make her own jutsus. She took a liking to Medical ninjutsu as well. Before her parents went into hiding they had gotten a book on medical ninjutsu hoping it would come in handy. She would read it often and practice her abilities if she ever stumbled upon an injured animal. She decided that learning to heal the sick and injured is what she wanted to do. But of course not all illnesses can be healed.

Her mother, Hanako, suddenly became ill and she could not figure out why. Nothing she did was able to cure her; she was only able to ease whatever discomfort she experienced. Days turned to months and eventually her mother succumbed to the illness and passed. Asuka was out in the garden when it happened by the time she realized it was too late to try and bring her back. Crying and yelling she called for her father.
"Mother no!" He ran as fast as he could when he heard her. Takeshi looked at the love of his life then at his daughter who looked at him with tears in her bright red eyes…..

She had awakened her sharingan…a single tomoe was visible in her eyes

Her father was never the same after her mother passed. Depression hit him hard and everytime he looked at his daughter he saw his wifes smiling face and it would crush him even more. Eventually overwhelmed by his sadness he takes his own life a year later. Now completely alone with the death of both her parents, her second tomoe awakened as well.

Not knowing what to do or where to go she decided to stay in the tree house until she was strong enough to venture out on her own. To distract herself from feeling lonely she set a routine. Every morning she would go for a run then practice using her shuriken. After that she would sit down by a waterfall to cool off and eat some rice balls, once she was done she would walk back to the house and study more on what her father had been teaching her until it was dark out then she would make dinner and go to sleep.

Several years had passed with her being all alone until one day she ran into someone unexpected…

—-

As she was cooling off by the waterfall enjoying her rice balls she felt a strong presence approach.

"What is a small child like you doing out here on your own?"

She froze as she turned to face the man who just spoke to her. He was wearing a black long cloak with red clouds on it and she gazed up to look at his face but it was covered by a straw hat.

"W-who are y-you?" He tilted his hat up so she could see his face. She studied it. He has dark eyes and dark circles but is an attractive man and then suddenly realized who he was. "Uchiha Itachi." It came out as a whisper as her cheeks flushed.

He tilted his head a little "You know who I am?"

She was more nervous than scared, even with his strong chakra presence it didn't scare her. "Y-yes, My father told me about you and what you did to our- I mean your clan." She couldn't look away from him. He looked tired like he hadn't slept in days. She could feel his dark eyes study her puzzled by her statement.

"What do you mean OUR clan?" he was staring at her wide eyed.

Crap I should have kept my mouth shut She thought. For some reason she felt the need to tell him who she was after all if he decided to end her no one was around anymore to care. "My name is Asuka…Uchiha Asuka.." The look of shock and confusion came across his face. Like he had seen a ghost. "You're probably wondering 'That's impossible! I killed everyone' but that's what my parents had intended. When they found out they were expecting they decided to leave the clan and the village to start life elsewhere. Until they heard about the massacre of our clan, that is, then they had us move out here into the woods out of fear…of…well you actually." She saw him look around and she knew what he was about to ask "You won't find anyone else. I'm all parents are dead. Mother got really sick and died when I was 5 and my father couldn't handle the loss and committed suicide a year later."

He looked at her very intensely. "So you've been living alone? For how long? You look like you're eight" She gasped saying "I will have you know that I am 12. Which means I am 1 year younger than your brother and 6 years younger than you. Oh wait, that makes you 18!" He looks at her completely shocked
"How do you know that? Who are your parents?"

A sad look comes across her face "My parents were Takeshi and Hanako"

He did not recognize those names

"I can show you pictures if you want. My house is nearby" She shocked herself at the statement but what did she have to lose?

"You would invite a man you don't know..a man who massacred the entire Uchiha clan into your home?" He still couldn't make sense of the fact that this was even happening.

"I have nothing to lose anymore. Besides I'm sure if you wanted to kill me you already would have." He looked at her curiously.

"Come on, it's this way." She said as she started walking towards her house. The walk was quiet and she could feel his eyes on her as he followed closely behind. The thought of him in her house alone should have been enough to make her want to run away but instead she felt calm. Perhaps it could be the fact that she was used to being alone and dying alone that she had nothing to fear if he decided to kill her. She could be with her parents again.

They neared the big tree her house was on. She looked at him "We're here." He looked at her a little confused and watched as she put her feet on the trunk and started walking up the tree. They passed the branches that could be seen from the bottom and then the house could be seen. It was quite impressive. As they neared the small porch she jumped and landed right in front of the door, opening it to see the small cozy house inside. It reminded Itachi of being back in his family home although it is smaller than his old house and it has a cozier feeling. He looked around at the pictures they hung up of the three of them all smiling and loving, something he was not used to. The closest thing he had to love was his dear younger brother and his friend Shisui.

"My parents tried to teach me about our clan as best they could. Stories about the start of the clan and what could have led to their demise. They even told me about you."

"About me? What about me?"

"How you were a child prodigy and the pride of the clan. Which is why they assumed when they learned about what happened they figured you had a reason or the village leadership had something to do with the decision" HIs expression didn't change at all he just kept his eyes on her and she couldn't help but blush and avoid eye contact.

She continued to show him around her small house and the garden that she still tends to. "Most of these herbs are used for medicine that I make. Would you like some tea? Or food? I can cook something for you if you're hungry?" He gave a slight nod

She served him some tea while the food was being prepped. Uchiha Itachi is sitting in my living room right now. How surreal is that. The man my parents warned me about is sitting in my living room right now. She thought to herself. His dark eyes pierced her back as she cooked up some rice and some meat from a boar she hunted earlier along with fried veggies. She could feel his gaze never straying even when she would turn around to look at him. The intensity of his eyes made her blush and weak in the knees. She served him the food and went back into the kitchen to give him space.

"Why are you hiding, come sit down." She winced at the sudden command.

"Okay.." she says softly, coming to him with her plate and sits down. "I hope you enjoy it, haven't had to cook for anyone else in a long time.."

"I'll be taking my leave when I'm done." He does not look at her and finishes his food then gets up to leave. "Try not to die."
"You're letting me live? I thought for sure you would have ended me." She says under her breath.
"As far as I know you do not exist."
"Will I see you again?! Or can I go with you? I can be of help. I know medicine and medical ninjutsu… I just don't want to be alone anymore…" She looked at him with teary pleading eyes.

"No" He says abruptly and disappears.

—-

After that incident she continued her life as if it was a dream and decided from now on she will train hard and leave this house to go find a new home where she wasn't so alone anymore.

Day after day she trained and felt Itachi's presence come and go. She pretended not to notice but knew he was there watching her. One day after practicing with the sword her father left her she laid there on the grass looking up to the sky tired and feeling empty inside she felt him arrive staring at her, she got good at hiding her chakra and snuck up on him with a clone.

"I thought you wouldn't come back here but you've been coming back quite often. What? Are you curious about me or something? Feel bad for me? I've survived living on my own for years now so why are you hovering?" He turned to look at her and there was a slight look of amusement on his face. It was so close and it made her cheeks flush but she stayed serious.

"You wanted nothing to do with me when you were here last so why do you keep lingering?" Still he gave no response. She sighed and jumped down the tree walking away.

"Well if you're here might as well come have lunch with me. I have rice balls and made some pork buns."

She got to her house and set a plate for him at the table. She sat down and started to eat as he walked through the door.

"So what brings you here now?" she asked him without looking at him. She wouldn't say she's upset that he kept coming without interacting with her but she was glad she wasn't so completely alone.

"You said you know medicine right?" He said as he sat across from her.

She raised an eyebrow "Yes I know some. What do you need?"

"My eyes have been hurting. I need something to alleviate the pain." he said with a frown.

"Well what kind of pain is it? Are you overusing the mangekyo sharingan?" She's read about the overuse of sharingan in one of the books her father had. "If you continue to overuse it you could go blind you know that right? The only way to cure your blindness is by getting eyes from a close relative." She looked him in the eyes.

"Yes I know but that won't happen so I just need something to help with the pain and this sickness I have" He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Could that be why he looked so tired?

"Let me take a look at you." She got up to place her hand on his chest and let chakra flow into his body. She could see that his body was weak from some sickness that looked similar to what her mother had. She looked at him with a bit of sadness. Then placed her hand over his eyes and did the same. The nerves behind his eyes were inflamed with a bit more chakra. She was able to reduce the swelling and moved her hands away. "Wait here" She said as she walked out the door to the garden, picked a couple of herbs and got busy in the kitchen after separating them, she smashed the herbs and poured boiling water over them. After it cooled down she put it in two small vials and handed one over to him. With the other in hand she told him to put his head back. He stared at her reluctantly but obeyed. She put a few drops in each eye. A huge sense of relief came over him, the frown on his face finally disappearing.

"Is that better?" She asked as she put the other vial in his hand.

He let out a sigh. "Yes, that feels amazing" He kept his eyes closed and she couldn't help but stare at his beautiful face.

"The darker vial is for the sickness you have. I can treat you and slow down the progression but unfortunately my mother had the same sickness and I couldn't figure out a cure for it. All I know is what I've taught myself. If I had a proper teacher I may come up with a cure but unfortunately I don't have one." She said with a sad tone. "You should take a nap and let your eyes continue to rest. There's an extra room or you can sleep on the couch. Make sure to put the eye drops in every couple of hours but if the pain doesn't go away, come back."

He didn't argue and walked to the couch and slept for a bit.

—-

After Itachi wakes up from his nap it's evening and Asuka is nowhere to be found. He wandered around the home looking again at the pictures of the family and briefly remembered seeing her parents; he was still fairly young by the time they left. In her room she had very minimal stuff: just a bed,a dresser, clothes in her closet and a desk with many books varying from jutsus to medical ninjutsus and chakra control. He flipped through a couple of pages and saw she wrote many notes along the margins neat handwriting describing what worked well or could be a better technique. "So she really is all alone and yet instead of wallowing in her sorrows she spends her time trying to learn." He began to wonder where she ran off to and went to search for her.

Walking through the woods he came to the waterfall and saw her there. She looked at peace sitting at the edge of the rocks with her face tilted up to the sky, eyes closed. She's so adorable looking so peaceful like nothing bothers her ever.
"I see you're up. Did you have a good nap?" She asked with her eyes still closed

He tensed up not expecting her to notice he was there. "Surprised you noticed me"

"Well when you've been alone for a long time you get pretty good at sensing the presence of another." She turned to look at him, her eyes although a dark color were beautiful in the sunset there was a slight flush of pink in her cheeks as she looked right at him. "Now are you gonna answer my question? How was the nap? How do your eyes feel?" That tone of hers when she speaks to him amuses him no one dares to speak to him that way.

"They feel good. There's no pain." Truth be told they feel great. It's been a long time since he's felt no pain. He thought it was a dream to be pain free. Yet, this young child helped him instantly. In a way he felt like this whole situation was a dream. To have a young child, an Uchiha child other than his brother, alive and well. He didn't kill everyone and that in itself made the guilt he carried a little less of a burden to carry.
"Well that's great. Sorry I can't do much about the sickness you have at my skill level. It's times like this when I wish I had more knowledge to come up with a cure."
"Why do you stay here?" He asked, suddenly getting a little closer.
"What do you mean?" She tilted her head "You mean in that house?" Itachi nods and she turns to look away pondering her response. Clenching her fists and closing her eyes. Memories came into her mind. Memories she cherished dearly but always left her heart broken. She cleared her throat. "Honestly I don't have or know anywhere else to go. This is where I grew up. I have thought about going to Konoha to see what it's like since I've only ever heard stories. But the thought of abandoning this place scares me." The gleam in her eyes fades a little as she recounts memories of being in the house with her parents. When her mother would sing her a lullaby near the garden, being held tightly in her arms. A small smile appears on her face as she drops her head and shoulders. With a weak laugh she turns to look at him again. "Hah…Maybe I will leave this place soon, I'm honestly tired of being alone. I want to get stronger and learn more…. so that…so I can help cure you." Her eyes staring straight into his and for a moment his breath catches as if he forgot how to breathe. He tears his gaze away.

"You don't have to do that. I don't deserve to be helped..I've sinned too much and hurt too many." He says as he starts to walk away.

"I believe you thought you were doing what you thought was best! If you were such a horrible person why did you let your brother live then?" He turned to look at her again and there was a slight hint of hurt in his eyes but his face remained serious.
"Sasuke is the one that will kill me. I told him to hate me, resent me and grow stronger so one day he can kill me." He lowered his head, his hair falling into his face. She never thought she would ever meet him let alone speak with him. She was always curious to know the reason why he let his brother live.

"Do you really want him to live a life full of hatred rather than live on and thrive? Why didn't you just take him and live somewhere in peace? Have you ever seen him since you left?"

"I'm done talking about this" He said as he turned to leave. Just as she was about to chase after him he was already gone.