Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then Itachi, Gaara, Minato and Ero-Sennin would forever be acknowledged as the best of the awesome.

This will be ItaFemnaru (Itachi X Female Naruto)…well kinda, she's not really Naruto, she is Akina but she will basically be a female, smarter version of Naruto…you'll see what I mean, hopefully. She doesn't have the whisker-marks. Well, on with the prologue.

Namikaze Akina giggled happily as she sped through the village, barely avoiding collisions in her haste. The five year old was so excited, as she had been invited to the Uchiha estates, along with her parents. Her heavily pregnant mother called out to her from two streets back, her voice easily carrying over the general bustle of the market. Her father just chuckled to himself fondly, his soft yet protective gaze following his daughter as she zigzagged through the population of surprised civilians and amused Shinobi, who shook their heads at Akina-chan's antics, and nodded their respect for him.

He was Namikaze Minato, Konoha's Yellow Flash, husband of Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze and Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. But first and foremost, father of Namikaze Akina and his yet to be named unborn son. And he couldn't be happier or prouder. His daughter was born only a year into his Hokage promotion, and was soon named 'Akina', for the bright future and memories she was sure to bring them, and the people of Konoha. And of course, her bright blonde hair, which glowed like a sunrise, rain or shine. Much like her radiant personality.

Kushina sighed in exasperation as their blonde haired daughter rounded the corner, disappearing from sight. She rubbed her eight-month pregnant belly and grumbled.

"He's gonna be just as hyper as his Nee-chan. I can already tell. They'll be the death of us!"

Minato laughed and wrapped his wife up in his arms, continuing on after Akina to the Uchiha Compound.

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"ITACHIII!" A yellow blur yelled, tackling the shocked clan heir to the ground of his home's kitchen.

Itachi blinked, trying to regain his wits after the unexpected impact. He looked up to see Namikaze Akina sitting on top of him wearing a smug grin. He rolled his eyes, grinning ever so slightly.

Akina, although being the same age as him, was just as much of a prodigy, not shocking given her heritage. Both five years olds had been introduced to each other when they were three, and - after Akina had forced the blank expression off the Uchiha's face - had instantly hit it off, soon becoming close friends. This being much to the pleasure of his father, for the political possibilities it opened, his son being close to the Hokage's daughter. As long as she didn't hinder his training, of course. His mother, although, was simply happy for her son having such a cute friend around. And Kushina's daughter at that!

"Well 'Tachi are ya just gonna lie there or are ya gonna get up lazy!" the girl exclaimed in a mock-scolding tone.

"I would, if you weren't sitting on me." Itachi raised a single eyebrow and Akina's face turned red. Oops. She scrambled off him, nearly falling in the process. Itachi chuckled silently.

A throat cleared loudly from the doorway, and both childrens' heads shot immediately to the source. Both sets of parents stood together, with different expressions on their faces.

Mikoto was beaming at her oldest son's slightly red face, which only a mother would notice. Minato had his arms crossed over his Hokage cloak, glaring slightly at Itachi, that was his baby girl! Kushina laughed and tugged at Minato's arm, sharing a weird look with her best friend, Mikoto. Fugaku, however, looked distinctly displeased at this undignified behaviour. Never mind that they were five years old, they were already on their way to Genin, in fact it was only due to Minato's unyielding stubbornness that the two were not already halfway through the Academy, or even graduated yet!

"Itachi! You are the Uchiha clan's heir; you should not be acting so childish! You disgrace not only yourself, but the whole of the Uchiha clan with your actions! And in front of the Yondaime-sama…you disappoint me Itachi." Fugaku reprimanded sharply, drawing an upset look from Mikoto, who remained silent. Akina, however, did not.

"Uchiha-sama it wasn't Itachi's fault! I knocked him down! He didn't do anything." She spoke with all the innocence of a child her age, contradicting her already strong talents in the Ninja arts at such an age.

Itachi reached over and caught her arm in a firm, but not painful, hold. He minutely shook his head at her, and she complied, although reluctantly. Outwardly, Itachi appeared unaffected. But Akina could see the sadness and anger in her best friend's eyes, set in his impassive face.

It was her brother who broke the silence, giving Kushina a particularly hard kick, causing her to gasp. Minato freaked out.

"Oh Kami, are you in labour? It's too early, too soon, no no no…" Everybody sweatdropped as the mighty Hokage started running in circles like a panicked chicken. Surprisingly accurate, given the situation and his hair colour.

"Minato! No, I am not in labour. Calm down, you're embarrassing Akina-chan." Minato froze in his tracks, spinning to see his precious daughter hiding her face in petite hands and shaking her head, Itachi looking on with sympathy. No! She could never be embarrassed by him, he would not let it happen! She was HIS baby girl, he would do anything for his little Angel.

He took a deep breath, and slumped his shoulders from the sudden release of tension. "So, not in labour?" he clarified.

Kushina chuckled. "No, just being a training dummy. I swear, this kid is almost as bad as Akina was!"

Akina, being Akina, just had to add in her own opinion of the matter. "Ha! Take that Itachi, MY Otouto is a mini me! I bet YOURS is better than you!" She grinned and pointed at the miffed Itachi.

"And how would you know? You haven't even seen Sasuke yet! Baka!" Itachi shot back. After all, he was still five.

"ITACHI!" Fugaku yelled, but was unable to finish as Akina had grabbed his son's hand and practically dragged the boy to the stairs.

"GonnaSeeSasuke-chanNowBye!" the blonde girl called out, feet thudding as they ran.

There was a thump of flesh on wood.

"Oh, sorry 'Tachi!"

"…Hn." And then the scrambling feet continued up to the baby Sasuke's room.

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"…He's so small 'Tachi." Akina whispered, awestruck as she leaned over the crib.

"Well, babies usually are 'Kina." Itachi rolled his eyes, but held a small smile on his face as he too looked at his tiny Otouto. It was only when he was alone with Akina, his Kaa-san or little Sasuke that he allowed himself to be so open with his emotions.

"…Will my Otouto be this little? Do you think he'll be cute Itachi?" The blonde asked, never taking her eyes off the dark-haired baby, sleeping peacefully with his hand just slightly clenching unconsciously.

"If he looks anything like you, then yeah, I guess so." Itachi shrugged and looked away, a little dusting of red appearing as he realised the full impact of what he had said.

Akina finally looked up, shocked. "You…you think I'm…cute?"

"N-no! Wait, I mean, yes, but, I-I didn't-"…Uchiha Itachi was stuttering. Oh how his father would be ashamed.

Akina looked back to Sasuke, her face as red as her mother's hair. "…Sasuke-chan is cute. He looks like you…" By now both children were utterly embarrassed, not daring to look at the other. How the heck does he/she make me feel like this? Ugh!

"…But he doesn't have old-man lines. So that's a plus." Well, that broke the tension. Akina was grinning evilly, and Itachi was glaring.

"I told you 'Kina they are maturity lines! Something you will never know about!" Itachi countered, falling back into one of their lasting debates.

"Nuh uh, you just made that up!" She shook her head rapidly, her shoulder length hair whipping around wildly in her denial.

Itachi just slowly shook his head at her, and calmly turned and walked out the room.

"H-HEY! DAMMIT UCHIHA ITACHI DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME!" Akina growled and ran out of the room after him. Sasuke – by some miracle – stayed asleep throughout the Namikaze's shouting, and his Aniki's laughter from the hallway, as he ran from his friend out of the house.

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A loud, infectious laughter boomed from downstairs, waking Akina up from her post-training nap. Jiraiya-jiji! The small girl leaped off her bed, pulling on a plain red shirt, black training pants and ran down downstairs, taking them two at a time, disregarding her bare feet or sleep-tousled hair.

Akina skidded to a halt and with impressive speed, jumped at the Gama-Sannin, a wide grin splitting her face.

"Jiraiya-jiji! I missed you!" She squeezed the big man who was like a grandparent to her, arms not quite reaching all the way around.

"Hey Akina-chan! Long-time no see! Your Tou-san tells me your training is going well." The man said, crouching down to the girl's level.

"Yeah! Me and 'Tachi can hit nearly ALL of the targets now!" The blonde girl bounced up and down in pure excitement.

"Who?" Jiraiya asked, confused. Minato sweatdropped.

"Itachi! Jiraiya-jiji I've told you 'bout him lots of times! You need to listen you old pervert!"

"OH, I'm a pervert? You're what, five and hanging out with some guy! Minato, just who is this kid corrupting Akina-chan! Let's go beat him up!"

"Huh?" Akina was smart, very smart actually, for a five year old. But there were some lines even she could not yet read between.

Minato, fortunately, controlled the situation before Itachi ended up on the Sannin's hit-list.

"Jiraiya-sensei, it is Uchiha Itachi. The clan heir, and he is the same age as Akina-chan. They have been friends for years now. Really you should pay more attention Sensei."

Akina smiled and Jiraiya began to let his rarely-seen protective side slip. But Minato wasn't finished.

"However, if he ever tries anything on Akina-chan, we will go and beat the shit out of the kid. Prodigy or not, he can't compare to a Hokage and a Sannin…" Both Minato and Jiraiya laughed evilly.

Akina sighed.

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In one of the personal training grounds within the Uchiha Compound, Uchiha Itachi suddenly shivered in fear. His hair stood on end – quite a feat for one with a ponytail – and his spine tingled with ice. Why did he feel like someone was after his blood? Eventually shrugging it off, he went back to his Katon practice.

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"So, Otouto is gonna be named after Jiraiya-jiji's book character?" Akina asked curiously.

Kushina nodded happily. "Yep! Say hi to Namikaze Naruto Akina-chan!" she said, rubbing her large stomach. Akina obliged cheerfully.

"Hey Naruto-Otouto! You had better be a nice brother, and not a pervert like Kakashi-Nii-san!"

Kushina giggled and hugged her daughter, resting her chin on the blonde's head. They stayed that way for what felt like hours – but in reality was only around fifteen minutes -, just content in the other's company. The doorbell rang.

Akina jumped off her mother's lap, running to the door. She flung it open, revealing Itachi with a dark blue backpack slung over his right shoulder.

"You ready for the Academy 'Kina? We can't be late for our first day!" He sighed, as if irritated, but anyone who knew him well enough could see the teasing light in his dark eyes.

"Yeah, yeah you wrinkly old weasel, I'm coming."

Itachi just snorted.

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The month passed quickly. Itachi and Akina had – of course – easily taken the titles of top Shinobi and Kunouchi in their class, despite being taken up a grade in their first week! Minato, Kushina and Mikoto were so proud of them, and Fugaku was pleased that his son was advancing so quickly, and was so far above the others, the Namikaze being the only exception.

The village whispered loudly about the two of them wherever they went, often together. They would surely be the future of Konoha! Such thoughts as these were extremely common amongst civilians and Shinobi alike, with the Council especially interested. The Uchiha clan heir and prodigy, and the Namikaze, daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, the 'Yellow Flash' and the 'Red Death', Kushina! That woman was a demon on the battlefield! However, very few actually knew of her Jinchuriki status.

Danzou had made several attempts to recruit the children to his 'Root' system, but was brutally turned down by both the Uchiha clan and the Yondaime every time. After his tenth attempt to manipulate things into favouring his desires, the Yondaime had decided enough was enough and ordered the disbandment of 'Root' altogether. Danzou was not pleased. Of course, 'Root' was not disbanded, but had to be moved underground. It was then, that Danzou contacted Uchiha Madara and struck a deal.

You will pay for denying me what was best…Minato.

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Kushina screamed in pain as a mid-wife fluttered back and forth around the room. Minato stood above her, monitoring the seal, as he had done during the birth of Akina.

Everything went much like Akina's delivery had, until a masked man had shown up, threatening little Naruto. After he had make a single hand seal, Minato had leapt into action to save Naruto, but in the meantime the man had reached Kushina, and caused the Kyuubi to be released upon the village.

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The outside edges of the village were in ruins. The Kyuubi stood, roaring and snapping at any Shinobi attacking close enough, his nine massive tails flying in all directions, smashing and crushing anything in their path.

Akina was standing with Itachi, who was holding Sasuke protectively to his chest as they looked upon the devastation from the Uchiha clan main house. Another huge fireball was launched up into the darkened sky, and it illuminated the furious face of the Kyuubi. Akina gasped, and reached out, gripping Itachi's hand. Itachi held on to her just as tightly. It was like a nightmare, right there in their home. Itachi's mother and father were out fighting, and had ordered the children to stay there with Sasuke, and only to leave if it was to run from danger. Akina had been staying at the Uchihas' while her mother was in labour. Akina gasped again. How had she forgotten, in the panic? Kaa-chan…Tou-san…Otouto…was Naruto-chan even born yet? Were they all ok? She started to hyperventilate.

"Itachi! Kaa-chan…"she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Itachi nodded, saying nothing. But he held her hand even tighter. She looked into his dark eyes, and without words, knew that he was comforting her in his own anti-social way.

Suddenly, a giant toad appeared outside of the walls, and began to draw the demon fox away. A blonde figure could just be seen on the toad's head. Tou-san!

Ripping her hand out of Itachi's, Akina sprinted into the danger with the speed she was known for, leaving a desperate Itachi yelling to the smoky air. Akina turned back only to yell, "Look after Sasuke-chan, I'll be back! I promise!"

And then, she was gone.

Itachi sat down shakily, trying to calm the crying Sasuke. She would be fine, he told himself. After all, Akina never breaks a promise.

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"Tou-san! Tou-san!" Akina ran blindly through the fresh graveyard, until finally she found her father. He wasn't looking too good. And there was…Kaa-chan? Kaa-chan! And the Kyuubi, being held down my some amazing chains. He thrashed in rage, but was unable to get free.

"Tou-san, Kaa-chan!" She called, tears falling down her young face. Both parents spun around and embraced her. Her mother was sobbing, and her father wasn't far off it himself.

"Akina-chan, baby what are you doing here? You should be somewhere safe!" Kushina cried, clutching her daughter like a lifeline.

"K-Kaa-chan? I was worried about you and Tou-san and Otouto…are you all ok? Was Otouto born yet?"

Her mother collapsed into even more frame-racking sobs and her father had tears flowing swiftly and endlessly. Akina felt her blood run cold with dread.

"Akina…Naruto died baby girl." Her father was hardly holding himself together as he continued. "The masked man who released Kyuubi from Kaa-chan used some kind of jutsu-poison on him. We never realised until it was too late." He choked on a sob. "He did it so we couldn't stop Kyuubi by sealing him in Naruto…only someone with undeveloped chakra coils could accommodate it."

Akina was shocked. Kaa-chan…had held the Kyuubi? And then the grief. Her baby brother…Naruto, her Otouto…was murdered before he had ever had a chance to live. Before she had been able to hold him. Then, the pure, undiluted rage. A man in a mask had murdered her baby brother. Hundreds of Ninja and civilians were killed in the attack he caused. He will pay. The Killing Intent coming off the five year old blonde made even the bloodthirsty Kyuubi take notice of her. What delicious rage in such a young kit.

"…Tou-san?" Akina whispered, struggling not to cry. "C-could you revert my chakra into an undeveloped state?"

Kushina stopped crying and stared at their daughter in shock, but both were met by determined, unyielding blue eyes.

"A-Akina, I could use a seal, but why-" Minato started, only to be cut off.

"I will take Otouto's place. Please Tou-san…it's the only thing I can ever do for him, besides avenge his death."

Kushina hugged Akina and exclaimed, "Don't you dare live a life of revenge Akina-chan! I didn't go through twelve hours of labour to have you grow up bitter and isolated. But if it is ever possible, then please, avenge my Naruto-chan…"

"I promise Kaa-chan." Akina whispered, her tears finally falling. She knew her mother was dying.

"I love you." All three of them whispered, perfectly in sync. Her mother's grip became slack.

Wiping her eyes was no use, so Akina just let them blur her vision. "Tou-san? Can I see Otouto?"

Minato nodded shakily, and led his brave little girl away from the struggling Kyuubi, and her mother's rapidly cooling body.

Naruto lay there, wrapped up in an orange blanket. Akina would have thought him sleeping, if not for the unearthly paleness on the naturally tan skin. He had a tuft of blonde hair spiking up in all directions, and three tiny little whisker marks on either cheek. Just by looking at him, Akina knew they would share their father's eyes. Otouto…I'm so sorry…But I will live double, for the both of us now! So when I join you in heaven, you had better thank me! Or else your Nee-chan will beat you up Naruto-chan! Bye for now Otouto…I will see you again. I promise.

And Namikaze Akina NEVER breaks a promise.

Minato picked her up and she held onto him, wishing she never would have to let go. She knew Tou-san was going to die as well…she would be completely alone now. Her father sat her down and began to draw the first seal No…not completely alone. I still have Itachi, Sasuke, Mikoto, Jiraiya-jiji, Kakashi-Nii-San and Sandaime-jiji...

The first seal was complete. Akina felt her chakra disappear completely, leaving only the bare minimum required to live. She felt so…weak. She looked up into her father's eyes, and both of them smiled a sad but loving smile. Minato began the second and final seal. Kyuubi was now struggling even more harshly, the chains beginning to groan, weakening after Kushina's death.

"Love you Tou-san."

"Love you more Akina…my little Angel. Be safe..."

Akina blacked out.

Wow, not a bad length for a prologue!

-TITM