Sirens.
I have always hated the sound of sirens. Nothing is more obnoxious than the Weeeooooooo Weeeooooo Weeeeeooooooo that flies right by you on an otherwise nice day. That, and the fact that every time I have heard one up close it has been followed by some kind of tragedy.
It seemed kinda annoyingly poetic that the last thing I heard in my last life was a siren.
Yep, you heard me right. I died, but I came back… sorta. I would chalk it up to reincarnation, but I'm both stubborn and religious, so I'll get back to you when I have an answer that works with one or both of my things. I also didn't come back in the same place. Or time. Yay.
But seriously, one minute I was there minding my own business, passing out from blood loss or head trauma or something (it's a bit fuzzy), the next I was being shoved out of some stranger's womb. Let's just say that I now have a very personal understanding of why babies cry when they are born.
Birth is fucking terrifying when you are the one popping out.
But anyways, I was "reborn" (or just hallucinating really bad. And continuously. For a few decades now- ok whatever! For our purposes: yes, I was reborn after dying. Less confusing this way.) and it was one of the most frustrating things I had ever experienced in both of my lives.
Babies don't really do much besides sit there and try to see what those blurs in front of them are, so as a new baby I was expected to act accordingly. So, naturally I decided to throw all laws about child development out the window and I privately began relearning how to walk and talk as soon as possible. THankfully, I was a linguist in my old life, so I already knew a fair amount of Japanese and didn't need to start from square one like actual babies in the language department. My rapid progress in my infancy thrilled my "parents", who thought that I was some sort of genius (and I guess by baby standards I was).
"Mom" had some interesting characteristics that should have given away the fact that where I had been "reborn" was not my own world. Her eyes had a weird sparkle in them that is hard to put into words, her body was as close to perfect as possible, oh- and her hair was green.
Not in the "mom is going through a phase and/or found the hair dye" green, like, she was an actual green-ette. How the heck that is even a thing I will never know. The day someone can explain to me the evolutionary benefits of having green hair will be the day that I will willingly drop whatever the heck I am doing and invent a nobel prize or something for this world. Seriously, this question has haunted me for years, and I am no closer to figuring it out now than I was when I started.
"Dad" on the other hand was very...plain? It sounds mean when I say it like that, but he really was. Brown hair, brown eyes, normal body shape, favorite color is blue, but slightly taller than the other men who I saw him with, so at least he had that. "Mom" and "Dad" (or Okaa-san and Otou-san, as they liked to be called) celebrated my birth as any normal family would. Hardcore partying for six hours solid. With booze. Lots. Of. Booze. Because why not? You're only breastfeeding a child, what's the worst that could happen if you get a ton of sake in you and subsequently put it in your child? Okaa-san's guide to A+ parenting right here folks.
Baby-me was not a happy camper that night, let me tell you that. Unfortunately, all of the adults were too drunk to notice the baby crying in the corner of the room (who they were there to celebrate), which meant that my oldest brother had to take care of me while the grownups were "adulting".
Haruto, the oldest, was four or so when I was born. He had Okaa-san's bright blue eyes but Otou-san's hair, not to mention the obvious trouble-making smirk that he kept on his face all the time. I'm like 99% sure that he sleeps like that, too. It's creepy to think about that, so I really try not to. His laugh was always contagious though, so he was given my seal of approval almost the moment I met him.
Another complaint I have: I didn't get a name until I was like three or something. The time that we lived in was not the friendliest in terms of infant mortality, so most parents held off on getting super attached to their kids until they could ensure that they would probably survive for a decade or more. Or at least that's what I assumed. Most people don't sit down and talk to a toddler about why she was without identity for the first years of her life.
By the time that I was named, I could already converse with adults and do basic physical exercises that other children wouldn't have the coordination for. It was Haruto who came up with the genius idea of naming me Hiroko ("prosperous child" for you anglophones), and the name stuck.
It was under the new name Hiroko that I learned how to mold chakra for the first time. I had always been somewhat aware of it inside of me, but I wasn't well versed in yoga in my previous life, so I really had no idea how to work with specific parts of my body and single out what makes what work. Honestly it was a miracle that I was able to function at any type of gym at all back then. I knew that pushing out your arms made the machine thingys there move, which made you feel pain. There, the true extent of my physical expertise by the time I was three in my new body.
The molding chakra thing was cool though. I learned the basics at the same time as Haruto was practicing his jutsu, so I was able to make the connections between the basics and the complicated stuff that Otou-san and Haruto threw at each other daily.
It was explained to me by Okaa-san that chakra was the lifeforce of the world. Everything has some of it, and many creatures have figured out how to manipulate it to do everything from making a leaf stick to your hand to leveling mountains. She taught me to feel the chakra network inside of me, how to mold it and sense it. I was able to feel people's chakra around me, enough so that it made it nearly impossible for Haruto to sneak up on me.
"Okaa-san," I asked while eyeing the way that my brother and Otou-san sparred with each other one day.
She looked over at me from the table where she was doing some calligraphy work, "Yes Hiroko-chan?"
"Why are we learning how to fight with chakra?" My eyes never left the training field, but I felt Okaa-san shift uncomfortably. I had attempted to keep up with the whole 'don't mind me, I'm just a normal toddler' thing, but I soon found out that that was a tiring game that I really had no way of keeping up with. So by the age of four, I was already gaining a reputation for being a genius in mind and taijutsu. That definitely came back to bite me in the butt later, but for now it was more convenient.
Okaa-san sighed and set her brush down on the table. I climbed onto her lap and allowed her to run her hands through my hair. "Hiroko… There are a lot of bad people in this world. Many of them like to kill each other so that they are the most powerful ones. Almost all ninja children at your age are learning how to protect yourselves, but it is especially important for you and your brother to learn."
I tilted my head in confusion at that. "Me and onii-chan? Why?"
"Your father and I are members of a group of ninja who don't pick sides in everyone else's fights. That makes us targets from all sides, which means that we need to be more powerful than they are to stay safe."
"Who are 'they'?"
"'They' refers to any other ninja really," she tapped her finger on her chin as she thought about who to list. "The main clans that pose a danger to us and are in this immediate area are the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, and Akimichi clans, but I have seen a few Sarutobi's in the area on jobs. Make sure that if you ever find anyone from those clans that you don't pick a fight until you know that you can win." Okaa-san scowled slightly as she directed her eyes towards where Haruto and Otou-san were still sparring, having apparently decided to include kunai and shuriken into the mix.
"There are also people who are after our family's kekkei genkai, which also makes you and your brother a target."
That was news to me. I had never had any suspicion that I had some kind of special ninjutsu in my heritage. Heck, I hadn't ever seen any of my relatives use it when I watched them train my brother, nor did my family have a super memorable last name for the Naruto universe, so I really had no idea that this was even an option for me. It's Abe by the way. My last name- or clan name- that is.
Abe Hiroko da~!
I would mispronounce it to piss everyone off, so I would say "Abe" like the English pronunciation instead of the Japanese "ah-beh". Oooh boy did I get some mileage out of that one. But I digress. Seamless transition powers: activate!
"K-kekkei genkai?" I sputtered out, trying not to let the surprise be too evident. Okaa-san laughed at my feeble attempt at controlling my emotions and resumed playing with my hair.
"Yes. It is a very big secret for us. Due to our neutrality, our clan can only practice in special places. We have a grotto in the nearby forest where it is safe, but that is why you haven't seen anyone use it."
I turned to look at her fully, anticipation evident in my small frame. "And… What is our family's kekkei genkai?"
Okaa-san smirked mischievously at me, proving that my brother was truly her son. "How about I show you in two days, when your brother has his training for our kekkei genkai?"
I couldn't help my eyes widening in excitement, or the huge grin that broke out on my face. Okaa-san smiled back at me and hugged my tiny body to her in pride, her green hair mixing into my light brown. My mind raced as I tried to think of what it could be. Was it something cool? Something to get me notability and importance to the naruto plot?
Okaa-san put me back on the ground and went back to her calligraphy work, every now and then gently pulling on the sleeves of her Kimono to allow air to cool off her arms in the hot afternoon.
That was one thing that had confused me a bit. We lived in the land of fire, notorious for its hotass summers and shortass winters, yet my entire family had a thing for always being covered. It was probably just a modesty thing or like what the Amish do (put as many layers on a person as possible before they pass out from heat exhaustion) to not break tradition.
… Or something like that…
It was annoying though. Year-round we would be in layers, admittedly not nearly as much in the summer, but still. I was never a fan of long sleeves and tight leggings when I was growing up the first time, so to not only be forced to wear those but have to deal with the fact that it was the only option for me was a bit of an adjustment.
The gloves sucked too. I felt like I was surrounded by germaphobes 24/7, but I knew that wasn't the case because I was encouraged to tackle my brother outside in the dirt to settle our arguments. Apparently that was healthy behavior for ninja children, who knew? Every time I asked about why I had to wear so many clothes I would get a chuckle and a "you'll learn soon enough, Hiroko-chan".
Fuck being a kid, I was ready to not be ignored anymore! The novelty of childhood wore off relatively quickly, so I spent a very long time getting really frustrated at how little others thought of me due to my age or gender or some combination of the two. Pft, whatever. That just means that I can blindside everyone whenever I want to!