_____________

Itachi watched the blue haired girl steadily.
"You're very strange, that you would do that to yourself. And very brave. There are many adults who would bury their head in the sand to get away from the reality of the world. But you have embraced it and came out alright." Itachi said, almost in wonder.

"Because I know that while there's bad, there's good to counteract it." She smiled wryly.
To Itachi, she was so young. He felt much older than 10, and she felt the same as him. He shook his head.

'I mustn't deviate. She's still an unknown.' he thought.
An unknown he resonated very strongly with.

"I need to tie you up." He said bluntly. Without any hint of outrage, she offered her hands. In silence Itachi bound her hands before leading her to the gates.
Izumo and Kotetsu sat guarding it, looking much younger than when they'd first appeared in the show.
'Looks like some things began even before they were shown.' Ash thought.

"Itachi-san, who do you have there?" Izumo asked.
"She was attempting to sneak into the village." Itachi answered simply. The guards' eyes jumped to Ash, who shifted under their gazes and looked away.

"Oh... Are you taking her to the Hokage?" Kotetsu asked?
Itachi shook his head.
"No. The T & I building."
Izumo and Kotetsu raised eyebrows accordingly, but Itachi was already walking, a stiff Ash following behind.

"The Torture and Interrogation building? That's where you're taking me?" She asked, sounding a bit shaken. Itachi wondered how she knew what T & I stood for.
"What made you decide that?" She asked.
"You speak and act like an adult, despite being 8. And that building is the one most equipped to deal with the enormous amounts of chakra leaking from you." Itachi answered.
Ash blinked.
"How long were you watching me?" She questioned.

"Since you woke up in the clearing."

"I didn't even sense you." She said in awe.
"I didn't want to be sensed."
Ash settled behind him and chewed in his words until she realised something, her heels digging into the ground in protest.

"Itachi! My scroll! Where's my scroll?!" She asked him frantically. He turned towards her.
"It's safe." He said vaguely. Her orange eyes became wild.

"Itachi please! I need to know where my scroll is! I need to see it!" Tears accentuated the wild light within her eyes.

Itachi frowned at her.
"Why is this scroll so important to you?" He demanded.
She sniffled.
"It's all that remains of my clan and family."

_______________

Ash's words hit Itachi like a ton of bricks. He watched her with pity. Now he understood why she was the way she was, though he was wrong. But he did understand her a little more.
"I'm sorry for your loss." He said softly.

"But I can't give you your scroll right now. For all I know you can use it to escape or to destroy Konoha. I cannot trust you because you are possible enemy right now. But if you prove trustworthy, I'll make sure your scroll is brought back to you." He said.

She looked at him with unshed tears in her eyes.
"You promise?" For once she sounded like her age. A small, scared child.
Itachi thought of the multiple broken promises he'd make to his little brother. But this one he could follow through on at least.
"I promise." He said. She nodded and reached up to wipe her eyes.
Itachi slowly started walking again. Soon enough, they made it to the T & I building.
Ash craned her neck to drink in the building.
Tall, imposing and dark gray. It definitely fit the reputation of the Torture and Interrogation Unit.
Itachi led her inside.

The inside was spartan in its furnishings. Though Ash didn't expect posh elegance.
The walls were the same shade of gray as the outside, with metal doors, and stairs leading both up and down, the down probably where criminals who needed interrogating were held.

In one corner there sat a desk that was extremely scarred, the edges jagged. It was an ugly mud brown. Behind it sat a man Ash assumed to be a Chunin, reading the papers.

"Hey there Itachi." He said without looking up from the paper.
"Hello Shiranui-san." Itachi said.

"I have a prisoner who needs to be interrogated." He said as Ash looked up at the man. She couldn't see his face as it was hidden behind the newspaper.

"You know where to sign Itachi-san." Genma replied.
"Hai." Itachi said before leading her to the stairway going downwards and stopped by the wall where there was a book lodged in a metal shelf jutting out from the wall. Tying the end of the rope to the wall, Itachi then picked up the book and wrote down something within it before putting it back and untying the rope before leading down into the building's belly.

_______________

Ash's breathe began misting in front of her face. The lower down they went, the colder and more damp it got.
Her cheeks became red from the cold. She blew on her fingers to keep them warm.

Itachi glanced behind him and couldn't help but feel a bit guilty as Ash shivered behind him. She wasn't used to the cold as he was.

They continued walking until they turned off of the stairway and into an empty corridor that was filled with holding cells on either side.
He walked Ash the last one and turned to face her.

"You had me promise something to you. Now I need you to promise something to me. Promise me you will cooperate and tell the truth. It's the only way your scroll will be returned to you. Promise me." He said.
Ash nodded.
"I promise Tachi." She answered.

Itachi frowned, having never heard his name pronounced that way.
"My name is Itachi." He corrected, even though secretly he wanted her to keep saying his name like she did.
"I know. But I like calling you Tachi. My name is Ash." She gave him a shy smile.
He nodded, his lips curving slightly.
He undid the rope tying her hands and Ash stepped into the cell, rubbing her hands.

Itachi's eyes immediately caught on to the action and he took her hand and gently massaged it in his.
Ash watched him through her lashes.
"Thank you." She murmured. He nodded.

"I have to go inform my Hokage. I'll bring back some blankets to make sure you're warm." He said softly. Ash's smile lit up her face.

And Itachi felt warmed inside by it.

"Thank you so much. I know I'm a prisoner and to you guys I'm a possible threat, but thank you for treating me well." She ducked her head, a shy smile on her lips.

"You're welcome." Itachi replied softly.

_____________

"Ah Itachi. What can I do for you?" The Third Hokage asked pleasantly, a grandfatherly smile on his face.
"I brought in someone who was trying to sneak into the village. She most likely would have made it if I hadn't been following her since she woke up." Itachi said after bowing.
"Oh? Can you tell me about this woman?" The Third asked.

"It's actually an 8 year old girl Hokage-sama." Itachi answered. The smile never left the Third's face, but his eyes sharpened.
"That's very interesting. Please describe her Itachi."
Itachi gave him a full description.

"The thing is, Lord Hokage, that while she's biologically 8 years old, she acts like someone 7 or 8 times her age. She's as mature as I am. And she doesn't seem to have any ill intention, but she has knowledge of Konoha that an outsider who's never seen the village should have." Itachi said.
The Third got up.

"She also carried a scroll with her." Itachi added.
The third took a puff from his pipe.
"May I see the scroll Itachi?"
Itachi took a scroll from his pouch and opened it, displaying a seal. He placed the scroll on the floor and placed a hand over the seal. He poured a small amount of chakra into the scroll and there was a 'poof' as another scroll appeared. It was jade green at the edges, khaki coloured in the middle, and had a sigil of a Pheonix on the centre. A ruby rope kept the scroll from falling open. Itachi presented it to the Third, who's eyes had widened upon seeing the scroll.
"This scroll...!" He trailed off, surprise evident on his features.
"That clan..."

"Lord Hokage?"  Itachi questioned.
The Third cleared his throat.
"Shall we go visit your friend Itachi?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

_______________

Ash sighed as she buried herself beneath the blanket Itachi had given her. He'd even given her a cot too. And it was stuffed!

'Itachi is so nice as a kid.' she thought, her thoughts roiling as she remembered how he was forced by Danzo to do what he'd do in three short years.
'I'll save you Itachi. So that you wouldn't have to do this horrible thing. So that Shisui and everyone else doesn't die. So that you won't feel guilt about your little brother's pain and suffering.' Tears were streaming down her cheeks by the end.

Itachi had always been a hero to Ash. More so when Obito had told Itachi's story to Sasuke.
Ash sighed. Obito was another problem that'd need taking care of. But she wasn't strong enough yet.
"First step is to get the Homage to trust me and then release me so I can start training." She murmured absently.
Afterwards, the sound of keys clanking against a metal door had her sitting up and wiping her face.
Was Itachi back already? She got up and braced against the cold bars.
Craning her neck as much as possible she saw Itachi following the Third Hokage. She smiled.

"Hi again Tachi." Ash said. She then proceeded to bow to the Hokage.
"Lord Third." She said respectfully.

The Third gave a smile as he smoked his pipe.
"I see you know of me." He said thoughtfully.
"Yes. I've heard of you." Ash answered.

The Third nodded.
"Now, let's sort out this mess so you can get out of there, eh?" He smiled kindly.
Ash nodded.
"Yes sir."

__________________

Part two sometime in the distant future. Exams and life, despite popular belief, do not mix very well.