My name is Mokuba: or Yamashiro Kane, and I am going to tell you the story of a civilian born who took the chance of befriending an Uchiha.
Before I became Mokuba and before I was born Yamashiro Kane, I was a completely different person, with a completely different life.
Yet, as far as anyone can tell, I have always been Yamashiro Kane born November 11 to the loving couple of Yamashiro Gaku and Akiko.I even have the birth records to prove it...along with thousands of keepsakes my parents have framed around our house in memory of that day.
And it's true, I was born into this world as Yamashiro Kane, the only child (due to circumstances) of a very smart and loving couple who believed my chubby baby fingers hung the very moon and the stars.
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But it is also true that I was someone else before I was born Yamashiro Kane.
My name from than...escapes me, similarly to how grains of sand escapes through open fingers, but in the grand scheme of life I guess it doesn't matter.
The only way I can explain it is that after the person I was before, we'll call them pre-Kane, died in their world… and I was born into this world with a shrill cry.
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I don't want to call my experience reincarnation, because as it is now, I'm not sure it counts as reincarnation.
What is the specific criteria for reincarnation? Can a rebirth even be considered reincarnation if the person is born into a different universe? Does reincarnation happen at the end of each life or is this just a one time occurrence? Is reincarnation part of a set religion or just a belief anyone can have?
There are too many questions that need to be answered before I am willing to label my experience anything.
As it is, my life pre-Kane seems too real to have been a childhood illusion made during hours of boredom.
Pre-Kane had a life full of experiences. They had close friends they swore to always be there for, sharing such a strong bond they swore it could transcend lifetimes. A family that they cared for with all their heart, even if the same family sometimes drove them crazy. Pre-Kane even a significant other at one point that they promised their heart and forever to, and it turns out their forever only last three months.
All that matters is that to me pre-Kane is/was real.
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It is needless to say that I have never been a normal child, at least when my milestones are compared to other children my age. These differences stare me in the eyes by the time I am six, I have no interest in children's books, playing games of ninja with other children, and walking the streets of my village terrified me.
(I would like to point out that it's fair for a child to be scared of walking in this village, especially when one recognizes this entire village is filled with trained assassins a hairs length away from complete mental breakdowns.)
So, I keep indoors and try to be as independent as my age allows. That's how my pudgy little legs master the ability to walk ahead of my peers, and I learn to recognize the symbols of the alphabet with ease- or, at least that's what my parents say when they feel like bragging to their friends.
The title genius is murmured only once by a well meaning neighbor before my parents firmly put an end to the label. After that, my parents don't push me to interact with our neighbors and they drill the importance of discretion into my lessons.
If I want, I can become a genius after my fourteenth birthday but until then I am to remain average.
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My parents have heard the stories of young genius being whisked away in the dead of night. They teach me to fear the unknown danger in the shadows and force me to understand that responsibility comes with intelligence.
They teach me to fear a faceless buggy man, but they also show me that there is a way to defeat the shadows.
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My parents are great, and as I have stated before, they often act as if my chubby little fingers hang the sun and the moon of their world.
My father is a displaced Kumogakure merchant who makes a well of living translating books and scrolls. He specializes in the native dialects of Kirigakure, Kohangakura, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure. Though he often jokes, with an intelligent gleam in his clear eyes, that there isn't a language he couldn't understand if given the time.
My mother helps to run one of the most popular (and expensive) tea houses in the village. She is known as an 'exotic' beauty, who wears her lavender hair and sparkling grey eyes with the demeanor of a refined princess.
More than once, I wish took more after my mother when it comes to her regal looks and ability to blend in seamlessly with people of higher class. Alas, I have taken more after my father with our shared peach colored eyes, smoke colored hair, and ear for understanding language. The only traits I take from my mother is our sharp facial features and bell like laughs.
When it comes to raising me, my parents are great. They both take time to teach me basic skills, manners, and instill the value of knowledge into me young.
Every morning my father explains the local newspaper to me. Showing me how to read between the lines, or to use the phrase ninja's prefer, to look underneath the underneath.
Every afternoon my mother spends time teaching me how to gather information on the people around the tea house. It captivating to see her pick apart a customers life just by the way they drink their tea.
You want to know who is a ninja?
Look for callous on their thumb and side of the neighboring finger.
You want to know who is cheating on their partner?
Look at how they point their feet.
You want to know a person's health?
Look at the coloring of their lips.
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I never thought my parents could do any wrong...until I found out they did.
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I greet the ninja outside my door cautiously, "How can I help you, Ninja-san?"
"Gomenasai," The man simply says, placings a scroll with with a black band into my hand. "His team was ambushed by Kumo-ninja's near the borders. He was a strong man. Your family should be proud of his sacrifice for the village."
My mother's face loses all color as she places a firm hand on my shoulder to lead me from the door.
My father takes the scroll from my hands but not before I read the name on it.
'Yamashiro Emon'
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I learn the meaning of true irony that night.
My parents had two sons before I was born, both of who became ninjas of the Kohanaguka. A lifestyle that my parents were completely okay with. Why wouldn't they Konohagakure is their home, this is where they built their lives and they carry no feelings for Kumogakure. If that is what my brothers truly wanted from their lives, my parents were willing to support them.
Issues didn't arise until the end of the last ninja war.
Both of my brothers came back from that war completely different people and my parents didn't know how to adjust-
["You have to understand Kane-kun. We don't have ninja backgrounds, so we couldn't really understand what they were going through. We still can't understand what they went through entirely. Not to mention, unlike them we weren't trained to handle the aftermath of war." Mother stresses to me that night when they tell me the truth.]
- but they tried their hardest to understand and comfort their children.
My oldest brother, Yamashiro Emon, became bitter and grew a deep hatred for anything related to Kumogakure after the war. He'd watched too many friends and comrades die by Kumo-nin's hands.
It got to the point that my parents were scared to come near him, he seemed to truly hating them (and himself) for being Kumogakure natives.
It wasn't that they didn't love him any more.
["We had to disown him." My father says grimly. "I woke up to him one night standing over our bed with a knife in his hand!"]
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The irony of Emon's death is not lost on our family.
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My parents refuse to tell me about my other brother. They only give me a name, Yamashiro Aoba, and tell me I'll only be hurt if I go digging up the past.
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It takes two weeks to find him.
(On the bright side, I have become better at leaving my house without having a panic attack. Even if being out in the open and surrounded by so many people still makes me breath a little quicker.)
He...looks a lot like a younger version of our father, almost eerily so. From the few words I have caught him saying, he also carries an insulting version of our mother's aristocratic manner. While our mother's manners came off with the superiority of royalty, she also has an air of elegance and grace. Aoba's manner also comes off with the superiority of royalty, but his makes him seem condescending and aggressive.
Aoba is talking with two similarly aged men behind a table in front of the Hokage's office. Whatever he is saying is causing the tallest one, a man with shoulder length brown hair and bandanna, to roll his eyes with resigned exasperation.
"Are you thinking about signing up?" The sudden voice from behind me makes me jump and turn around so fast that I trip over my own feet. I recognize the teen above me as, Nakamaru Eiji, the son of a neighbor and family friend. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Kane-chan."
Eiji helps me back to my feet and brushes the dust that has collected on my jacket with a light touch. Once he is finishes brushing off and straightening my clothes he offers me his warm hand to hold. Which I except quickly, knowing the thirteen year old before me will protect me to the best of his ability.
"I am just curious, that all."
The teen's brown eyes sparkle lightly, "If that's the case, I will happily walk you closer so you can get a closer look. Sound good?"
"Okay...but Eiji-kun you can't let them know my last name is Yamashiro."
"In that case, if they ask, we'll say your name is Nakamaru Kane."
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It is, therefore, entirely thanks to Eiji that I meet Uchiha Sasuke (and by extension Uchiha Mikoto)
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"Hello, Ninja-san." Eiji greats the three ninjas behind the table with a warm and welcoming smile, while pushing a piece of blond fringe out of his eyes casually. "My little cousin here was hoping to ask you a few questions about the Academy. She is considering the possibility of joining this fall semester."
My brother opens his mouth (-and-oh-my-kami-these-will-be-the-first-words-my-older- brother-will-every-say-to-me!) to speak to be cute off my an excited voice from behind us, "Cool, if you go to the Academy we could be classmate!"
An elbony boy runs towards Eiji and I, and the three ninja behind the table, while tugging along a beautiful women who looks bemused by his excitement. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke? What is your name? What is your favorite food? Why do you want to be a ninja?-"
"Sasuke." The women chasts the boy softly, "It's rude to ask so many questions and not give the person you are talking to time to answer. Now give her a chance to answer your question."
"My name is...Nakamaru Kane." I say the name hesitantly but continue when I see Eiji's supportive nod. "My favorite food is fried rice. I want to be a ninja...maybe...to be around my brother more."
Sasuke's face lit up brightly, "I have a super awesome ninja brother to!"
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My parents are not happy that I went looking for Aoba, but are more focused on the paperwork I bring home with me that night.
"You want to go to the ninja Academy?" My mother asks thoughtfully, looking over the paperwork on the paper on the table uneasily. "Why does this have you family name listed as Nakamaru?"
"I didn't want Aoba to know who I am, so Eiji let me use his family name. I know I can't use it when I go to the Academy."
None of us miss how I use the word 'when' instead of 'if'.
"Maybe you could, use the Nakamaru family name that is, I'll have to ask them for their blessing." I look at my father in obvious surprise as he sighed heavily. "It's not safe to have a name with close relations to Kumogakure, while we are not at war with Kumo we are not at peace with them either. Nakamaru at least has ties with Sunagakure, who we are in an uneasy alliance with."
"We'll also have to change your first name also." Says my mother in resignation. "We'll invite the Nakamarus over for dinner tomorrow. If they allow you to use their family name, they might also have some suggestions for a good first name."
"You are sure about this, right?"
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I enter the Academy that fall under the name Nakamaru Mokuba.