Hatake Jitaku didn't always remember his past life. It was only after his third birthday that the dreams started to appear. Sometimes they were good ones, filled with so much joy and happiness that Jitaku would wake up mouth halfway through a laugh that would wake up his twin from across the room. When Kakashi would ask why he was laughing, Jitaku would reply that he was just happy it was morning and try to chuckle the small bit of longing away. Other times the dreams were terrifying, they would leave him shaking with a layer of sweat on him, fear striking deep into his bones, fingers trembling as their grip his futon. His tearful eyes rapidly searching the darkness of his room as he gulps for air, Jitaku's only hope is that his brother doesn't ask too many questions because he can't ever explain himself in a way that doesn't sound as crazy as he sometimes feels.
With the dreams, came the voice. This voice told Jitaku that it was himself from his past life. The voice, that Jitaku called Inner, said that his world and Jitaku's were completely different. Inner said that Jitaku's world was too violent, that children shouldn't be raised kill someone before they learn that the opposite sex doesn't have cooties. Jitaku thinks that if Inner wasn't such a weak civilian than maybe he'd still have his body and not be stuck in the head of a child.
Every day, Jitaku has to remind himself of who he really is. Hatake Jitaku, proud son of Hatake Sakumo and twin brother of Hatake Kakashi. Some mornings that's the only reason Jitaku gets out of bed. It helps that Jitaku does not remember his old name, the color of his old father's eyes, not to mention the face of his past mother is blurry. Jitaku has to promise himself to never forget his new life, he takes every moment of this new world and forces himself to imprint it into his mind. Yet, his biggest fear is not forgetting, but being forgotten. Closing his eyes, the voice in Jitaku's head mentions that he is a twin, one half of a whole, Jitaku's twin will never forget him.
Mornings are spent training. Both Jitaku and Kakashi want to be Shinobi, their Tou-san is an important one, and the twins want to follow in his footsteps. Jitaku and Kakashi want to rise to his level and surpass him, so they train. They memorize the rules of Shinobi, run laps around their compound, and learn new katas. Inner makes Jitaku stretch, Kakashi looks at him weird, but it's not like Jitaku can explain so Jitaku just shrugs. Because Inner is not used to chakra, Jitaku has a hard time with control while Kakashi is what Tou-san calls a prodigy. Ninjutsu is easy for Kakashi and with little practice his aim is great, Jitaku is always amazed when Kakashi can accomplish things, that take Jitaku hours, in minutes. Inner is annoyed, but Jitaku is proud. Jitaku's Tou-san calls him a natural, he says that with hard work, Jitaku can be strong. Tou-san mentions that Jitaku may be behind Kakashi, but he is ahead of his age group.
For all that Kakashi is great, taijutsu is his weak point. Defeating him in taijutsu only fights is harder every time, but Jitaku can almost see the moves Kakashi plans to make before he makes them. Taijutsu is the only Jutsu that Jitaku doesn't need Inner's help with and each win brightens Jitaku's wide smile.
The cons of Inner's problem with their chakra are many, yet there is one pro. Inner's awareness of chakra makes Jitaku a sensor. Only one out of one hundred and twenty Shinobi are sensors, making Jitaku a rare gift; however, Jitaku has problems focusing. As of this moment, Jitaku and Kakashi, have spent two hours training. In the middle of a taijutsu fight, Jitaku senses his Tou-san's chakra and glances over to where he feels him only to reserve a kick to the face. Jitaku rubs his bruising cheek and pouts at his brother. "You kicked me!" Jitaku shouts, pointing his free hand at Kakashi.
Signing, Kakashi lowered his arms and relaxes his stands, "you need to stop getting distracted, Baka, we were in the middle of a fight."
"B-but Tou-san is bringing back the apples," Jitaku states, hands on his hips, daring Kakashi to say another word.
Staring at Jitaku with a bored look on his face, Kakashi replies, "you deserve that kick to the face if you were thinking about apples."
Gasping, Jitaku whines, "nii-chan's mean", but he can't wipe the smile off of his face the second he sees that his Tou-san has, in fact, brought his favorite red apples.
Seeing the twins bicker like normal children causes Sakumo to laugh. The pair acting like the kids they are and not Pre-Shinobi are rarer and rarer these days. Kakashi wants to live up to his Tou-san's legacy and the title of a prodigy, he has taken to training nonstop and having a serious temperament that only Jitaku can break through. Jitaku's childish personality hasn't disappeared, but the need to be on an equal level with Kakashi has made him turn everything into competitions. Sakumo worries about Jitaku, he knows the pressure of living up to Sakumo's name will be stressful, but with a prodigy of a twin brother, Jitaku will also be compared to Kakashi. Sakumo fears that this will lead to resentment, and the close brothers will break apart. Yet, seeing them argue over apples and eggplants, brings warmth to Sakumo's chest. Moments like these, Sakumo can see his late wife in Kakashi and Jitaku. Kakashi has his mother's skin tone, two shades darker than both Jitaku and himself, Kakashi also has both her nose and laugh. Jitaku has her eyes, dark blue, her wide smile and the personality that makes people feel comfortable. Ruffling both their hair, Sakumo laughs as Kakashi complains and Jitaku snickers. It is nice seeing the kids be the children that they are.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Thank you for reading my story. This is the first story I have ever written so please bear with me, I'm a newbie. That aside I am excited for this new adventure and I hope you all join me for the ride.
I very much welcome constructive criticism, but please be polite with your words.
I am a college student going into an engineering major so I do not know if I will have a regular updating schedule. However, I will try to update once a month and with longer chapters as well.