Living Life: Re-Written chapter 1, a naruto fanfic

Ch.1

Life was a mystery, which he was certain of.

But the afterlife? Heh, it was even more of a mystery. There was no solid evidence that proves what awaits everyone after death. Do they get live again? Do they get born in another body? Do they get born as an animal? Really, there were countless possibilities to think of.

The afterlife was confusing.

When he had drowned in the beach, he had welcomed the darkness that embraced him. He thought nothing of it as he drowned. It was obvious that sooner or later, he probably would have died. Drowning burned his lungs and he couldn't deny the fact that it had hurt in general.

He doesn't like drowning. Death was unexpected, he mused. He didn't expect to have a sudden leg cramp after giving a drowning boy [who looked a little younger than him by a year] something to use to keep him afloat. He had only been thirteen... and he died. He expected to bathe in cold darkness and be surrounded by nothingness.

And yet, that wasn't it. He felt something hot, something slippery and squishy that disgusted him. It was undeniably cramped and it might have been just his imagination but it seemed as if the walls were closing in on him. There was a distinctive frown plastered on his lips while he tried to move. His lack of mobility surprised him.

Wasn't he at the bottom of the ocean right about now? Shouldn't he be unable to move at all? Cold darkness should be his only companion by now so how the heck could he suddenly feel warmth? It was all so mind-blowing. Better yet, it was heart-stopping. He had already died.

And then, he was alive again.

Yes, it was dark. No, it wasn't cold. So yes, he concluded that no; he wasn't dead. Was he paralyzed or something? He decided to try and open his mouth but ohmygoditburnsmakeitstop closed it shut as soon as liquid entered. Where was he?! What happened to him?! What about his family? Oh crap, he thought in horror. His sister... what will happen to his sister from now on?!

He was... supposed to be dead and yet [for some unfathomable reason], he was alive. Alive.

Oh shit.

God, he was going crazy. The silence was deafening. He was going crazy. He couldn't take it anymore! He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. There was no noise aside from the occasional humming that he could hear sometimes. It kept vibrating from wherever he was. The humming was soothing; melodious, even. It kept him aware that he was actually alive at the moment.

Despite the fact that he should have been dead already, he was glad for the noise.

Coming to terms that one was alive when they were supposed to be dead surely made a great recipe for an intense migraine. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Oh, there it was. It was the humming that he was looking forward to in this lonely place. He could only hear the hums at random intervals and it would only last for three to five minutes. But it was enough; after all, it was keeping him sane.

As the hums continued, he mentally sang the lyrics in his head.

Perhaps I can reach you, even though you're far away

I send you this message with all my heart

Hope is certainly a compass that points to love

Sleep, sleep gently, for tomorrow is a continent of dreams

Last night you were scared of loneliness

The telepathy in your heart called my name

It's not even a miracle that in the future our hearts will be energy

Sleep, sleep gently; forget your sorrow

The years sink into the sea like the setting sun

I'll jump across the starry sky to collect you

The lullaby, Lullaby from the Stars, was his favorite. He and his sister would always sing this every night to each other before sleeping. Why? Their parents had always been busy; even before he and his sister were born. Truthfully, his sister only had him and he only had his sister in return.

However, it was enough.

Once, he had been Edward Scott and he had grown up in South East Asia.

And apparently, he was now Nohara Ren.

Now, he wouldn't be so scared out of his wits if it weren't for the following:

1. If he wasn't named Nohara to begin with;

2. If this particular Nohara hadn't been the one who jumped in front of a Chidori to save her village and;

3. If this Nohara wasn't the Nohara from Naruto.

But the universe must have wanted to screw with him and his new life. He was Nohara Ren and the deceased Nohara Rin was his Aunt.

Ren had been born as a civilian... and an orphan. Sadness blanketed him. Family and love weren't something he lacked before in his past life and he certainly didn't want to experience it now, but it seemed as if the universe was against him.

He was born an orphan. His mother died not long after she had given birth to him. She had been so frail, sickly and weak when she had been bearing him and the man, that was supposed to be his father, disappeared.

The man had left his new – deceased – mother after hearing the news that she had been pregnant with Ren. Well, that was what he concluded, at least. Ren felt a gaping hole in his chest and he didn't like it. His parents from his previous life weren't exactly perfect or ideal but at least they were there.

It had been enough for the Scott siblings.

Now, in his situation; it seemed his mother, Nohara Kazue, had been the only one left in their clan after Rin passed away. How did he know? He can thank the gossiping nurse taking care of him for that and, in extension, his sister from his past life for forcing him to learn basic Japanese.

Ren certainly didn't like his lack of independence. So, when he was moved to the orphanage at the age of two, he started doing everything he can to become independent. He took care of his own dishes, cleaned up after his mess and read picture books to further his knowledge of the language.

He had done all that at the mere age of two.

The caretakers were flabbergasted by this. He didn't actually think about the consequences of his decision in the near future. Because in the present, all Ren wanted was to gain some form of freedom in this place rather than being cooped up in the orphanage.

The Nohara was a silent child; everyone in the orphanage knew that fact. The first time he spoke, it had been after a year he was sent here. The caretakers had always thought that he was mute, a side effect of having a sick mother when she had been bearing him.

So when he spoke with clarity and eloquent while they were reprimanding the demon child; they were positively terrified of him. "Do you find happiness in verbally abusing a helpless child? You say he's a demon but it's clear as day that the demons here are you."

His accusing tone made them flinch. His hardened gaze made them sink. "Demons are relatively anonymous to people causing trouble or unhappiness and, additionally, it also refers to evil spirits. If you haven't noticed yet, it has the word evil in it."

The way he spoke unnerved them all. He spoke as if he was an adult and not a three-year-old child. "He hasn't done anything evil, has he? So no, he's not a demon. But everyone can see that you're antagonizing him. You're purposely saying those to make him hostile so he can cause trouble. So it's clear that you're the demons here."

Words that he wasn't supposed to know venomously left his usually closed lips. A three-year-old child wasn't supposed to know most of the words that he had said. Nohara Ren was a strange child; a strange, terrifying child.

After that, the caretakers didn't cause any more trouble.

Ren was satisfied.

A year later, the child he defended from the caretakers approached him. He was a cute kid. He had bright blond hair that captured his attention. Ren certainly loved his cerulean eyes. Come to think of it, Ren didn't really know what he looked like.

But the thing that caught his attention the most was the three horizontal marks on the child's cheeks. "Er... hello, -bayo." The Nohara stiffened as he processed what had just happened.

It was... Uzumaki Naruto. How the heck didn't he notice that a year ago?! Ren shuffled his feet in awkwardness. For all his life including the previous one, he hadn't been a social butterfly.

"... hi."

Ren's first impression of Naruto was that he wasn't as determined and boisterous as his future self. He was timid and shy. There was a huge difference between them. The Naruto before him refused to make any kind of eye-contact; he was probably afraid of rejection.

"I... I haven't thanked you yet for... for saving me." Ren blinked and stared at the blond for a few moments before erupting in laughter. A year had passed since that incident and Naruto only thought of thanking him now? Wasn't this kid a riot?

However, he quickly noticed the blond's teary eyes and quickly stopped. Naruto must have misunderstood his laughter. "So... Sorry, I just didn't expect you to thank me. A year had already passed, you know?" The blush that covered his marked cheeks made Ren mentally coo at Naruto's cuteness.

"O... Oh." Naruto sighed in relief, to which Ren felt sadness for. Did the blond fear rejection that much? He was only a child, wasn't he? He wasn't supposed to fear rejection until he was, at least, in his mid-teens.

"Um... I'm Naruto; Uzumaki Naruto, -bayo."

Ren smiled. "I'm Nohara Ren; it's nice to meet you."

Yup, Naruto really was an adorable child.

During Ren's third year in the orphanage, he was certain it had been one of the most horrible years for him and Naruto. The later had been kicked out by the caretakers as soon as summer rolled in. Ren hadn't been able to help. One of the caretakers had locked him inside his room.

Nohara Ren was livid, but his fury dissipated as night arrived. He was huddled up in a corner, blanketed by shadows and he was hugging his knees close to his chest. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. The familiar hum felt foreign in his throat as he hummed.

Perhaps I can reach you, even though you're far away

I send you this message with all my heart

Hope is certainly a compass that points to love

Sleep, sleep gently, for tomorrow is a continent of dreams

Last night you were scared of loneliness

The telepathy in your heart called my name

It's not even a miracle that in the future our hearts will be energy

Sleep, sleep gently; forget your sorrow

The years sink into the sea like the setting sun

I'll jump across the starry sky to collect you

When he finished singing the lullaby; everything that he had held in for the years he had been here, he had let it all out as the dam holding back his tears broke. He missed his former parents. He missed his sister. He missed his home. He missed Nohara Kazue. He missed it all.

Ren was a bit peeved when he learned that Naruto now resided on the other side of the village. It would take too much time to reach him at this rate. The Nohara could only visit Naruto once a week, and that was only because he could sneak out during Sundays.

Life was slowly improving and Ren was hoping that something good would happen. Well, something did happen but he couldn't figure it out whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Hatake Kakashi was the least person Ren expected to meet in the orphanage. He was also taller compared to what he had expected and his silver hair was just as fascinating as Naruto's cerulean blue eyes.

"Hello."

Ren merely stared at him with half-lidded eyes. He wasn't about to let this man know what was going on through his head. "Hi." His response made Kakashi wince, and the awkward atmosphere between them only thickened.

The slight dull glow around the man made it possible for Ren to deduce that he was feeling as awkward as he was. "My name's Hatake Kakashi. You're Nohara Ren, right?" He simply nodded. Ren wondered what Kakashi wanted with him when they've never even met before.

The Nohara frowned. What exactly did this guy want? "I'm a friend of your Aunt and an acquaintance of your mother..." Ren silently nodded and urged him to continue. This made Kakashi sigh and the young Nohara assumed he was about to get straight to the point.

"Do you want to be a ninja?"

He blinked. Did he hear him clearly? Was he giving him a chance to get out of this horrible orphanage early? And he was even giving him the chance to enroll in the Academy!

Wait; did Ren even have what it took to be a ninja? He had been a normal civilian in his past life and he had been content living a normal life. Does he even want to be one? The number one occupation here was to be a shinobi.

As a ninja, he would gain the respect he wanted. As a civilian, he wouldn't be able to get the respect he wanted.

There were pros and cons in being a civilian and surely enough, the cons outweighed the pros. Besides, if he wasn't a ninja, he would be defenseless in future fights. With finality, Ren had decided.

"Nohara Ren; please take care of me from now on."

Because if Kakashi was going to enroll him in the Academy, it went without saying that he would also adopt him.

Only then did Nohara Ren truly live in this new life of his.