Chapter Text
Somehow, this was all Kabuto’s fault.
Itachi had been resting—peacefully even!— when that slimy (literally) snake of a man forcibly took him out of the pure lands. Of course he hadn’t been able to keep a grip on Itachi’s soul, he was far too good even in death, but the damage had been done when he set himself free of it.
Along with ripping his soul out of Kabuto’s shackles, he barred it from entering the pure lands again. And wasn’t that a joy to find out? At least he wasn’t being condemned to hell like Madara’s twice-dead soul was, but still. Of course, none of this was even the worst part of it all!
For whatever reason, the Sage had decided that the appropriate approach to such a situation was reincarnating him! There is literally nothing in the universe Itachi would have liked less. His mistakes were already made and his journey already concluded. Erasing it all was an insult to his experiences, a snub to what he had already suffered. The Sage’s solution to this sentiment was to ensure Itachi did not remember his past life when he was reincarnated.
Once he discovered that he could not, in fact, erase Itachi’s mind, the Sage concluded that he would simply transfer him to another God’s pure lands. He failed to mention that this still led to reincarnation, and even worse yet, reincarnation in another world!
Itachi could never truly fit into this world, not with the dark stains on his soul that would surely send him to the deepest pits of hell in this one. But… he was grateful in a way. He was born into a world much more peaceful than his own, one that didn’t have powers on nearly the same scale of his own and valued saving lives instead of taking them. It was… bearable.
Once, Itachi was a brother and son. In this one, he was only a son. Tenjin was a shadow of his father’s legacy. The man was intelligent and strict, but he lacked finesse and the ability to command a room. He was a man affected by the world around him far too much for Itachi’s taste, but at least he was morally agreeable.
Tenjin was more in the house than he was out of it, at least he was for the first three years of Itachi’s life. He worked from home and was often in his office, though he always left the door open for whatever Itachi may need. When his quirk developed at age four, Itachi found himself far more coddled than before.
He was to adhere to a strict schedule and report any quirk hijinx to his father immediately. His father didn’t phrase it quite as harshly, but Itachi gathered it to mean much of the same thing. After a year of the slowly lessening monitoring, his father had felt enough confidence in Itachi to slowly (emphasis on slowly) return to his office job.
Itachi wasn’t sure how long a typical work day was supposed to be, but he was fairly certain it wasn’t four hours.
As closed off and proper his father was, he was also… a mother hen. Itachi could handle himself perfectly well, but his father didn’t seem convinced. Really, Itachi was much too invested in life to off himself. If he’d wanted to, he’d have done it when he was two and his parents were still together. It might have sped up their divorce or maybe they’d have bonded over mutual trauma. After five years in this strange world, he wasn’t about to abandon ship.
When Itachi turned six, his father returned to working normal hours. This was because Itachi had started the first grade. School was exactly as mundane as he’d imagined it. He spent most of the day coloring and receiving praise for his meticulousness. When they started up actual work (if the curriculum could even be considered as such), he was showered with even more praise and awe.
He probably should have been keeping a low profile, but he couldn’t force himself to dumb down to the level of those around him. He didn’t play with others, he led them. When his classmates played any kind of game, he was the referee. Itachi never willingly participated in class, but would always rise to a teacher’s prompting.
In short, this world expected great things from him. His intelligence was a driving factor in this (how could it not be?) and his quirk certainly didn’t hurt. Two things had followed Itachi into this universe, two things he couldn’t escape. Shisui’s eye and his own sharingan.
Shisui’s eye came in the form of Itachi’s crow; Karasu. Once upon a time, she was the first crow who’d approached him and eventually offered her scroll to him. Their connection was telepathic now. He’d asked her where she went when he no longer needed her assistance once. She had given the equivalent of a shrug and said she went to a place most similar to her old summons realm.
Itachi decided not to pry. Karasu was most likely missing her clan. It would be a cruel irony for a kinslayer like himself to try and comfort his companion.
Itachi grew steadily, staying in the grade he was meant to be in despite several of his teacher’s recommendations for him to skip a grade or two.
Well, until he reached sixth grade.
Hormones, Itachi discovered, were an exceptionally horrifying event that he’d rather not have to deal with. His father had become lenient over the years and was painfully partial to getting Itachi whatever he asked for. It was a good thing he never really sought to abuse this.
Until now. He had brought it up hesitantly, fully prepared to be met with disapproval. To his utter confusion, his father had positively lit up and asked how far ahead he felt in the curriculum. Itachi was never a stupid man, but this world went in depth with a child’s education. That’s not to say he didn’t understand it, in fact, his father had given him quite a few ‘intro to’ books.
Perhaps he hadn’t intended his son to take them and absorb its contents like a sponge. His father had given him two math books (Algebra 1 &2), three English books (classic Japanese and English literature as well as Japanese poetry), three science textbooks (chemistry, biology, and physics), two history books (pre-quirk and early-quirk), and a modern day law book.
He’s torn through them within two months.
Of course this led to him running out of challenging material and searching for the next step up. This led to Itachi discovering—and mastering— calculus, arithmetic, and many more complex subjects connected to what he’d already learned. In particular, it was the law book that had him begin to seriously consider “hero” as an occupation. Don’t get him wrong, it still felt a bit ridiculous, but there was a heavy weight in the back of his mind whenever he remembered his past life.
Perhaps a lifetime of saving people could make up for a lifetime of harming them.
The thought makes something unpleasant rush through him. He sets the thought aside, most likely permanently.
“Is it possible to take an aptitude exam?” He asks softly, dark eyes appropriately lowered.
It wasn’t his intention to manipulate this life’s father, but it was an exceedingly difficult task to shake off two decades worth of habits. This sort of thing wouldn’t have worked with anyone in the Uchiha clan (though it had on Shisui before the two really got to know each other), but it worked wonders on his new father.
“Of course! I’m sure your school will have no problem arranging this,” he smiled at such a member that made Itachi certain that he’d find a way to make sure it went smoothly, even if the school couldn’t.
Itachi wasn’t sure what inspired such a change in attitude as he grew older. He distinctly remembers the distant front and the distinct taste of closed-off affection that his father had treated him with during those earlier years. It had been a comfort, a piece of normalcy in a strange new land. That had gone out the window pretty quickly.
(If Itachi had known the number of legal battles and emotional turmoil Tenjin had gone through, he wouldn’t be wondering where the sudden affection came from. The man was all too good at shielding him away from it all. Itachi likely wouldn’t know for the next several years.)
He nodded solemnly to his father’s determination, and at his request, prepared to join him to complete the day’s chores.
Itachi’s time of self-studying had not gone to waste. Upon completing the evaluation, the principal and administrator of the exam had spoken in quiet voices at each other.
“Um… this is a bit unprecedented, don’t you think?” The principal had whispered.
Itachi politely pretended not to hear them.
“Of course it is, we’ve never had an incoming student good enough to skip through junior high before they even attended,” the administrator whispered back.
“Let’s speak to his father first, then we can offer the final exam and give him some papers to enroll into high school if he passes. Applications should still be open for two weeks, so it’s better we get this done today.”
The two women nodded at each other and stood straight, heading out without addressing Itachi. That seemed a little rude. Itachi didn’t mind too much though. They were speaking to Itachi’s father, though it was too faint to hear. Sometimes Itachi missed chakra and its million uses.
It was a few more minutes before they entered the room again, a thick packet in hand.
“This is our exit exam,” the admin explained. “It’s a culmination of the entire curriculum. If you can pass it, we’ll give you a diploma stating that you’ve graduated from Soumei Junior High. After that, we’ll walk you and your father through the process of applying to a high school. If you fail this exam, we’ll put you in a class with our incoming eighth graders. Is this okay with you?”
Itachi nodded solemnly.
“We’ll leave it to you, then.” They nodded their heads respectfully and exited the room.
Itachi set to work quickly, wondering just how long this would take. He could hear his father answering whatever questions the women were asking him.
The exam was horribly dull. The few questions that stumped him had been about history and literature, and even then he could deduce the answers. That was the trouble with multiple choice tests. The last few pages had requested him to write essays about the given articles, something that was so painfully boring he was considering omitting to answer altogether.
Unfortunately, Itachi was nothing if not a dutiful student. He spent two hours on the test and waited in the lobby for another hour and a half before the principal came back with a beaming smile and a certificate of completion.
“My, I don’t think I’ve ever received a student as gifted as yourself! Not without an intelligence quirk,” she praised.
His father seemed to puff up at the compliment, a proud smile on his face. “My Itachi has always been exceptionally gifted. He’s a very hard worker and dedicated to learning.”
She handed Itachi the certificate before complimenting him again. He thanked her and nodded politely.
“Please, if you’d follow me to the parent center. We can apply to some high schools there. The entrance exams for high school start up in a month, and the application deadline will close soon. Have you two thought of where Itachi would like to study?”
“I’d like to be a hero, if father approves,” Itachi said, grave as ever. “And if not, teaching has always called out to me.”
The principal looked close to crying. So did his dad. Itachi didn’t want to know.
“Of course!” His father looked slightly affronted at Itachi suggesting that he might not have let him be a hero. “We’ll apply to only the best schools! UA, Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, Isamu! You have to be educated well to have such an important job.”
Itachi made no comment. The praise was… uncomfortable to receive. He should be used to it by now, considering how often his father goes out of his way to shower him in it.
This next part took another two hours. The idea of going to each entrance exam (thank Amaterasu that they were all on different days) made him bone-tired. By the time they got home, it was 2 pm.
His father hadn’t stopped looking pleased, so Itachi supposed it wasn’t the worst thing to happen.
“Well,” his father sighed. “I guess there’s nothing we can do but wait now.”
And wait they did.