An Itachi Fanfiction

Prologue

I remember it all. Waking up in the middle of the night and rushing to the main hallway to see my mother's lifeless body slumped against the wall which was covered in blood. Her blood. Standing over her was my father holding a bloodied kunai knife. At the age of three, that truly was a horrifying sight. He soon noticed my presence and turned around, his snake-like eyes analysing me. I was too paralysed with fear to do anything, my legs turned to stone and my voice stuck in my throat. He started walking towards me, still holding the kunai that undoubtedly ended my mother's life.

I woke up gasping for air. I looked outside my window to see the sun rising in the distance, then at my alarm clock which read 05:30. Knowing there was no point going back to sleep with class starting just a few short hours later, I begrudgingly dragged myself out of bed.

The nightmare didn't really surprise me, I always got nightmares at this time of year. Why did graduation have to be so close to that day?

Rather than going to the kitchen to grab something to eat like I usually would, I went straight to the balcony connected to the living room. I leaned on the railing, staring at the Great Stone Faces.

It wasn't long before I heard footsteps approaching from behind me. "You're up early".

Recognising the voice as my best friend and roommate, I knew there was no need to be alarmed. "I could say the same about you," I replied with a soft smile.

I heard him move again until he stood right next to me. "Couldn't sleep, huh?"

I chuckled, which was probably forced. "I don't know why you sound surprised. I always get nightmares around this time of year, you know that".

I looked at him, recognising his Uchiha features. He looked so much like his older brother, who the two of us adored before everything happened. Ever since the massacre, it had just been the two of us. I wasn't a full-fledged Uchiha like Sasuke though. All the adults knew who my father was, the kids didn't, but sometimes I got so sick of the stares. Sasuke was the only kid who knew the truth about me.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Sasuke looked at me again. "Why don't we go train for a bit? It's still too early for breakfast". Sasuke hadn't exactly been the best at expressing his emotions, not since the massacre, but I knew that was his way of looking out for me.

I nodded. Sasuke and I always trained together, ever since we were little. Sasuke was at the top of the class, me trailing behind at a close second. I mainly did a revision for the graduation exam later that day as well as practised the Fire-Style Fireball Jutsu, the Uchiha signature Jutsu, and the Shuriken Jutsu that Itachi taught us.

I still thought about Itachi every now and then. I hated him for what he did to our family, but there was still a part of me that loved him.

As we walked back to our house after training, I looked down on my wrist at the betrothal bracelet Itachi made me back when I was just a toddler. I never told Sasuke how I was feeling, he'd never understand. He hated his older brother and wanted revenge for what he did.

We ate breakfast in silence, then walked to the academy together. I was excited for the day. Today was supposed to be a good day, it was the day of the graduation exam. Although I was more nervous than excited. What if I didn't pass? Then I'd have to repeat another year. I knew I was second in the class, but I still felt nervous.

While we were sitting down in class, Iruka Sensei started saying, "Come to the graduation exam hall when I call your name". It wasn't long before I found myself dozing off.

Eventually, "(Y/N)...(Y/N)!" Sasuke started poking me in the arm, and I jolted awake, making the class start laughing at me and my face went red. I looked up to see Iruka Sensei standing over me. He sighed. "Follow me".

Keeping my head down, I slipped out of my chair and followed him out of the classroom. Eventually, he stopped and turned around. "What's going on with you today? You're one of the best in the class, this isn't like you".

I kept my head down. "Sorry Iruka Sensei, I just didn't get much sleep last night".

He sighed again. "It's that time already, huh?" He muttered, reaching his hand up to the back of his hair. I nodded. Iruka Sensei knew the truth about my past, being my teacher. He turned around again and continued to lead me down the hallway until he stopped before a door. Taking a deep breath, I walked in to do my exam.

Apparently, I was worried for nothing. I passed with flying colours. It was official, I was a Genin! After the exam, we were all gathered outside when I spotted my classmate Naruto sitting on the swing looking glum. Naruto was the only one who didn't graduate. Apparently, it was his third try.

I heard people talking about him, saying stuff like "imagine what would happen if he became a ninja". That voice had such disgust in it. It reminded me of those days when the Uchiha Clan used to say stuff like that about me. I was about to go over to him when I saw Mizuki Sensei approach him instead, so I thought I'd better leave it.

I was feeling much better for the rest of the day. Later that night, I was on the balcony again with Sasuke when we heard yelling. "Naruto has stolen the scroll of sealing!"

I got an excited look on my face. Sasuke knew me well enough to know what I was thinking. "You should just leave it. It's none of our business".

"I'm just going to see what's going on," I said before jumping off the balcony. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, trying to remain unseen, until I landed in the forest.

I eventually found Iruka Sensei leaning against a tree and Mizuki Sensei standing over him. "Why are you protecting that freak?" I heard Mizuki Sensei yell. "He's the one that wiped out your parents".

My eyes widened. 'Naruto is the Nine-Tailed Fox?' I had always known that it was the Nine-Tailed Fox that killed Iruka Sensei's parents.

Mizuki Sensei kept talking. "He's just like me. He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance. That's how beasts are". I looked over at Naruto hiding behind a tree nearby. I had never felt sorrier for him.

"You're right," Iruka Sensei countered. I narrowed my eyes. "That is how beasts are, but that's not who Naruto is. Naruto's one of a kind. Works hard, puts his whole heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him for it, but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So Naruto is nothing like the Nine-Tailed Fox".

If only people saw me like that, rather than as a freak with some weird power her father left her, the Uchiha Clan especially. The clan never really accepted marriage between outsiders, much less their spawn. Plus there were the experiments my father did on me before he left. The clan never accepted me, but since I was adopted by their leader and set to marry the heir, they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut. I slowly reached my hand up to the curse mark on my neck hidden by my hair as my attention snapped back to the fight in front of me.

Mizuki Sensei was about to kill Iruka Sensei when Naruto stepped in, and it was all I could do to not fall off the tree I was in and blow my cover. He stepped in to defend Iruka Sensei and actually pulled off the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. The shadow clones were the reason why he failed the graduation exam. He used the shadow clones to defeat Mizuki Sensei. I left before anyone had the chance to discover me.

I got back to the balcony to see Sasuke still there. "How'd it go?" he asked me.

I smirked. "Have you been waiting for me this entire time?"

"No!" he replied, his cheeks a faint pink. He quickly regained his composure. "So?"

I shrugged. "He only stole the scroll so he could graduate".

"Is that all?" He almost seemed curious.

"Yep," I replied before heading back in. I thought it best to keep Naruto and the Hokage's secret.