Prologue

As he stands in front of the intricately carved graves, his eyes expressing an age far beyond his physical years, the young Hibari heir—Head of the family, now—wonders, not for the first time, why he was given a 'second chance'. His grip on the flowers in his hands tightens noticeably even as his facial features remain indifferent, and his charcoal eyes, which have remained the same as Before, search the stones in front of him for answers they can never give him.

His parents in this lifetime had been no different from the last—strict, stern, distant, loving. The Uchiha in him would have recoiled in disgust at such a comparison (His parents loved him, and their memory is sacred, goddamnit!), but after spending most of his life as Sasuke cherishing their memory and hating his brother, his revenge eating away at him and everything that made him himself, he has become very tired of it all.

He would even go so far as to say that his love and affection died with Uchiha Sasuke, and Hibari Kyouya was reborn with only his apathy and bitterness. And oh, is he bitter. He finally, finally discovers the truth behind everything from his undead brother and rushes to help Naruto (and, to a lesser extent, his former comrades) end the war. And what happens? He takes some weird jutsu to the chest after pushing Naruto out of the way, and as his vision slowly fills with utter darkness, he feels drops of liquid on his face that could only be tears. (What kind of soft-hearted idiot cries for a traitor?)

And then, he wakes up to giants manhandling him, not the burning flames of Hell he'd been expecting. (Although, those first few years of sheer helplessness and humilation as a baby and then toddler could certainly be interchangeable with a thousand fiery deaths.) Even more startling, upon waking, he'd immediately attempted to seek out his chakra to dispel what surely must have been a genjutsu only to come up with nothing. The chakra coils had not been there. He'd been on his own for most of his life and lost countless allies along the way, but his chakra had always, always been dependably, solidly present.

The terror he felt at being so powerless and weak was overwhelming in its intensity, and later, it fueled his desire to grow stronger, no matter the obstacles.

When he calmed down enough to notice he wasn't being tortured or even directly addressed, he decided to just go along with the charade. As long as he didn't cause any trouble, it seemed, he wouldn't draw attention to himself and, thus, any sort of punishment. He spent his toddler years (the parts he hasn't purposely blocked out to save his pride) learning the new language and how to walk so that he could begin taking care of himself (which was made both easier and more difficult by his expectant parents.)

A born and bred shinobi, he convinced his parents to have him begin weapons training, and they agreed so long as the weapon wasn't obviously dangerous, i.e. knives, swords, etc. The Hibaris had a name to uphold, and their protecting of Namimori took place in the shadows. His sensei, an older man reminiscent of the Sandaime Hokage whom refused to share his name (Gossipmongers attributed this to senility, but Kyouya recognized paranoia in the battle-hardened man), pegged him as a Tonfa-wielder.

And so, their lessons began.

After a while, he began to accept this new reality as his own. Everything was far too real to be fake, and so he surmised that the Death God had wanted to have one last laugh and place Uchiha Sasuke into the body of a newborn. Slowly, he began to feel (what he assumes is) love for these new parental figures of his, and he actually began to enjoy their company, if only a tiny bit.

Two years later, Kyou and Suzume lie buried under his feet, and five year old Kyouya can only think about the similarities between this life and the last. (It seemed only fitting that he would be deprived of parents in both of his life spans.) He spends quite a bit of time in their family graveyard, and so engrossed in his thoughts is he that he doesn't notice the new presence approaching him until a hand clamps down on his shoulder. Reflexes and self-preservation instincts kick in, and neither of them are really aware of the situation until Kyouya is kneeling on said person's back, one hand restraining the man's arms and the other with a tonfa poised to strike.

"Who are you?" The young Hibari is the first to speak, his voice lined with steel and promising to reward deception with pain. The man he is restraining looks to be in his late twenties, and Kyouya recognizes him as one of the many guests at the funeral. He had categorized the man as a non-threat, considering his entire being had screamed 'lackey.' Now, he knows for certain that his assessment had been correct. The man was easily taken down by a child.

Visibly nervous, he answers in a shaky voice, "My name is... Jurou, Hibari-sama." He hesitantly tacks on, "... I have been sent to retrieve you." At the harsh tug on of his hair, he hurriedly continues, "My boss has offered to be your new guardian."

Hibari snorts internally at this, mind a buzz with the new information. He had wondered about the laws regarding children in this world (a world without chakra... Oh, how even Naruto would laugh at him if he were to talk of such a thing), but he'd figured he would deal with it when the time came. The time has come, and he now has an idea of what to expect. Rising carefully and elegantly from the awkward position, Hibari merely stands to the side as the man, Jurou, scrambles to his feet and eyes him warily.

"Tell your boss I have no need of a guardian," he spits out the last word in distaste, eyes narrowing in on Jurou as he draws himself up to protest. The man takes one look at the tonfa (now wielded in both hands) and Hibari's dangerously gleaming eyes and stops himself from making a grave error.

"Yes, Hibari-sama. Boss will be displeased, but..." He trails off, leaving unsaid what they both know would happen should Jurou attempt to take him by force. He then nods a farewell and practically runs out of the graveyard and away from the scary five year old he was sent to kidnap. Surely a beating from his comrades would be far less humilating than one from a small child?

Kyouya barely manages to refrain from rolling his eyes at the display. Now that that's taken care of, he angles his head toward the trees not far from his position and calls out, "You can come out now." Only a moment passes before a curiously masculine boy steps out from the cover of the trees and meets Kyouya's gaze head on where most grown men cannot. He does not lower his weapons. "Who are you?"

Showing his upturned palms in the general sign of surrender as he walks steadily toward Hibari, the boy, who could be no older than Kyouya, answeres, "Tetsuya Kusakabe." Kyouya's stance does not waver even as the boy advances upon him. His eyes do widen almost imperceptibly as Kusakabe stops mere feet from him and bows. "Hibari-sama, I would like to request to become your loyal servant."

The silence stretches on as Kyouya mulls over the validity of this offer before the boy elaborates, "The Kusakabe family has served the Hibari Family for generations. I wish to uphold that tradition and form a bond with you, Hibari-sama."

Kyouya can detect no deceit from the male in front of him, and so his face becomes unreadable as he considers the pros and cons. Finally, he taps Kusakabe's shoulder with his tonfa. "I accept." And having reached his speaking quota for the day, Kyouya waits only for the boy to resume standing before he heads off without another word, expecting his new servant to follow behind. He does, and Kyouya allows himself a small quirk of the lip.


A/N: This is a half-formed idea, it makes no sense, etc. Yet here we are. (I've been craving a fic like this, but I haven't found any. Writing it myself is only a small consolation.) If anyone would like to brainstorm an actual plot with me, I'd very much appreciate it. (I have lots of ideas, but having someone to discuss them with me would be awesome.)

Actual Notes:
-New language because Konoha is in the Elemental Nations, not Japan(?) (It seems weird that they just so happen to be the same; I also personally find it cooler.)
-I have no clue how Hibari came to know Kusakabe or anything about Hibari's past (if that's ever revealed)
-I haven't read any of the new Naruto chapters, so nothing I write can really be considered a spoiler. (Unless I happen to make a lucky guess)


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