When I died, I wasn't sure what was awaiting me, or if anything was at all. So when I found myself suspended in darkness, mute, and scarcely able to move, I wasn't exactly surprised, though I admit I was very disappointed. What am I supposed to do in here, just float around until I lose my mind? I wasn't into that idea, so I tried to move around. Unfortunately, the most I could do was rock back and forth. At least it gave me something to do.

I have no idea how long I was swaying, but after some time I finally heard something. No clue what it was, but at least it was something. It was a nice noise. Who'd have thought that death came with pleasant music? Too bad it was so hard to distinguish. It sounded like there were words, but I couldn't make out any of them.

I got tired of rocking back and forth eventually, and so I gave it a rest. Looking back on it now, maybe that wasn't a good idea. This dark space I'm stuck in seems to get smaller and smaller every day. Or at least I think it's been days. And months, for that matter. The point is, I can hardly move now, the noises from outside are getting much, much louder, and I'm starting to freak out a little. Or maybe a lot.

I can feel pressure now. It's as though I'm being pushed by the walls of my dark confinement. My head is being forced through a hole, I think, but it's taking a while. The feeling is rather unpleasant.

All of a sudden, I feel my entire head pass through, and my body soon follows. A flood of noise assaults me and I try to cry out, to get death to turn down the noise or something. My attempts to protest never worked before, but for whatever reason, I think it did this time.

Problem is, I don't sound like me. I sound like a screeching baby. I cry louder when I realize this, because there's no way this is death.

This is birth.

So, besides my existential crisis of why the hell I was reborn with previous memories intact and my deep humiliation of being physically incompetent (I am a goddamned newborn), I think I'm doing alright. I still can't see well, my hearing is a bit too sharp for my comfort right now, and my skin is super sensitive, but I think that's pretty normal for an infant. I can live with that for now.

What I can't live with right now, or ever, is the fact that I have no clue about what's going on around me. I want to know what my new name is, what my new parents are like, what they do for a living, etc. I think I figured out who my new parents are, but that's about it. My mom has bright red hair, green eyes, and light skin; my dad has black hair, really dark eyes, and lightly tan skin. I can't make out their faces too well, but they look like they're probably both attractive (yay for me).

Listening in to the conversations around me since my birth (which was probably a few weeks ago), I've realized that the language being spoken is not English, but Japanese. I can't understand most of the conversations, but I've recognized a few words and phrases that were common in anime. It's nice to see how my nerdy hobby is coming in handy. Quite a few of the words and phrases I'm hearing now are alarming though. Not to mention the sound effects.

It almost sounds like a sword fight is happening right in front of my face, and considering the way I'm being rocked around on my mother's chest, I think I'm basically in the middle of it. My instinctual crying and squirming are probably making it harder to fight, but I can't seem to control myself. I'm just too stressed and physically incompetent.

I really hope my mother wins. I didn't choose to be reborn like this, to my knowledge, but I really don't want my life to end before it truly begins. I want to make it past 17 years this time.

After the longest few minutes of my short life, the clashing of metal stopped. I'm being carried more gently now, but I'm still rocking much more than normal. My mother was probably injured...I felt my body being lifted, and then a warmth pressed upon my forehead.

"Gomenasai, Reina."

A moment later, I felt something wash over me, suddenly lulling me into sleep.

The next time I came to, I felt ridiculously groggy, and I couldn't make sense of anything around me. The time after that, I realized that I was laying on something soft.

There were walls on all sides of me in an oval shape, so I think it was some kind of baby basket. I succumbed to sleep soon after.

I woke up in the same basket, but something is different. It feels like I'm moving. I look up, and sure enough, there is some massive blob of a person (in my eyes, of course) carrying me in my basket.

I'm suddenly aware of the gross feeling in my diaper. I seriously just pooped myself in my sleep, didn't I? My disgust overwhelmed my shame, and so I start to cry, hoping that whoever is carrying me will be willing to change my poopy diaper.

The person stopped walking and stared at me. They spoke to someone else, who I hadn't even realized was there, and shortly after they were aiming a bottle of milk at my mouth. I was pretty hungry, so I accepted it, and then I realized something I hadn't really thought about earlier. I have no way of telling people what I want from them. I have to keep crying until they guess what it is. Damn. What a pain…being a baby sucks. No bowel control, no communication abilities, no physical abilities, no anything, it feels like. All I can do is listen and try to learn things. The woman (or so I assumed by the voice and blurry face) who was feeding me pulled back the bottle and so I took the opportunity to cry again. Hopefully she'll get it this time.

Unfortunately for me, the woman has yet to figure out what is wrong.

She and the other person, who I believe is a man, have tried giving me more milk about three times now. They seem to think they need to hold me a certain way, and that's why I won't drink it. Idiots. I'm being taken care of by idiots. Where is my mommy dearest? She did much better than this. On a more serious note, I really do hope she's alright. She's been absent ever since she apologized to me. Maybe she just dumped me onto these two?

At long last, the woman smelt the source of my repulsion. She quickly handed me off to the man, I think she called him Minato (like the Yondaime Hokage, how cool), and a moment later, she was finally changing my contaminated diaper. It was humiliating, much like everything else has been so far since my rebirth, but I was so relieved to be free of the poop that I hardly even cared. Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

Now that I've finished my scream-fest, the woman put me in what I'm assuming is a crib and walked off somewhere. The man peered down at me for a bit and then he left as well. Hopefully they won't go far.

Over the past few weeks I've listened to everything around me, trying to pick up hints about where I am, what my family name is, who I'm living with, how to speak Japanese, and other things of the sort. Somehow, I've come to the absolutely absurd conclusion that the only plausible explanation for everything I've seen and heard is that I was somehow reborn into the Naruto Universe. In Konoha, to be specific.

My first thought when I realized? What the fuck?!

I've gathered, with relative certainty, that my full name is Uzumaki Reina, that the man and woman I'm living with are Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, that Kushina is very heavily pregnant, and that I am an orphan. I'm pretty sure I've met Uchiha Mikoto, Itachi, and Sasuke a few times. I'm also fairly certain that the warm, flowing stuff I feel within me, which was absolutely not there in my previous life, must be chakra.

It seems odd to me that I'm able to feel and manipulate the chakra within me already. I'd thought that I would have to train to feel it, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps it's due to my strange rebirth. However, I'm afraid I could stunt my growth or do something really stupid if I play with it too early, so I've decided to leave it be until my chakra system is more developed and I have some more information about using chakra.

On another note, if I recall, the Kyuubi attack, my guardians' deaths, and Naruto's birth and jinchuuriki status are coming up really fucking soon. And there is literally nothing I can do, because I'm still just a little infant who can't even understand all of the conversations going on around her.

The anticipation is really getting to me.

To my dismay and relief, when the Kyuubi attack began, Itachi was babysitting Sasuke and I. Even though I knew it was coming, there was still a part of me that refused to believe that such a horrific thing would happen and break the peace. On the other hand, I was relieved that someone dependable like Itachi was there with me. (Even though he's still a young child himself.)

Or rather, I was relieved until I was spirited away by some sketchy masked man.

I feel like I used to remember him, but I just can't recall who he might be. I've been losing a lot of my past memories, both from my previous life and from this one. I can't remember what my previous parents were like. Hell, I can't even remember the first time I met my adoptive parents.

I was quickly shaken from my thoughts, startled by my own voice. My body shook with my cries, and I was quite frankly terrified. I'm too young to die, damnit! I hate being defenseless. I truly do.

I could hear the battle against the Kyuubi in the background, and I could hear the masked man and Minato speaking. I felt sudden movement and I stopped crying out to avoid biting my tongue, but it felt like it was over as soon as it began. I held my cries back the best that I could. I tried to see who was holding me, and my eyes nearly spilled over with tears. Thank you so, so much, Minato-sama.

I felt the rush of movement and all of a sudden there was something else in Minato's arms with me. Probably Naruto. At that point, my infant body couldn't handle the stress anymore, and I lost consciousness.

I was startled awake again when a pair of hands grabbed me. Judging by the person's movement and voice, I'm almost positive that it's Minato. Thank goodness...he's still alive.

But then I realized something. I can still hear the Kyuubi, damnit!

The Kyuubi has to be sealed into someone. Did Minato pick me? Me instead of Naruto? No, there's something in his arms with me. Maybe if I'm lucky, the building was no longer safe, and so he's just relocating me. Hah. As if. My luck sucks.

Minato sets us down on a soft surface, which makes me realize that I'm naked. When did that happen? I want to stop crying and pay better attention, but I'm too scared. My breath catches in my tiny throat for a moment. Is he going to seal the Kyuubi into both of us? I know he split the Kyuubi's chakra when he did the seal, but he sealed one half into himself! Is he going to put that half in me, instead? Why would he do that? I shivered.

I felt my belly being touched, and I witnessed my guardians' final moments through my blurry infant eyes. It hurt so much. I found enough strength to raise a tiny fist up to my adoptive parents. I felt one of them hold it, and I looked at their blurry faces. I could've sworn they were smiling, but my eyes were overflowing with tears, so I'm not sure.

I heard it again, and then the pain really began.

"Gomenasai, Naruto, Reina."

The next time I was coherently awake, I was in a crib with Naruto and there was nobody else within the range of my vision and hearing. My body felt different than before, and I felt like there was something foreign inside of me, right in the center of my core. My heart dropped, and I shook with residual pain. I don't know if it was physical or emotional. Probably both.

I'm a jinchuuriki now.

I remember how poorly Naruto was treated by the people of Konoha until he proved himself. These next few years are going to be hell for Naruto and I, no getting out of it. For the time being, however, I think I'll just worry about pestering someone into feeding us and changing our diapers. They seriously stink.

Over the past three years, I've forgotten most of my past and most of the Naruto storyline. It's almost like my brain decided to speed up the process of discarding unnecessary and painful memories from both of my lifetimes. I can't remember what my name used to be, or what I looked like anymore. I still can't even remember what happened to my parents from this lifetime, though I feel like some kind of crazy tragedy is to blame for their deaths and me and my brother's misfortune. I often wonder what must have happened to make so many people hate us so much, but I can't imagine anything that could justify the way so many people treat us.

Naruto and I have had several caretakers, although I can't say that they've taken good care of us. More like they're pathetic human beings who think we're to blame for all of their problems. Naruto and I cried for hours every day, simply to get fed or have our diapers changed, and sometimes nobody helped until hours after our throats were too raw to make a sound.

Often times, I could hear them, and eventually I became able to see them, to watch them curse us and neglect us. They would stand by the door most of the time, looking at us with such animosity that sometimes I was surprised they didn't make any serious attempts to kill us. They certainly tried to subtly hurt us any chance they got. Whenever they had to touch us, they made sure to leave a bruise or two, and they had no qualms about hitting us for any minor infringement. But they would only leave bruises where they wouldn't typically be seen. They smiled whenever they heard a bone crack. Such twisted people. Hurting us was one of the few things that seemed to please them, although they were always upset after we recovered. I won't mind if my brain deletes those particular memories.

To occupy my time and distract me from the cruelty of our caretakers, I put a lot of effort into becoming a more independent child, and since Naruto was there with me constantly, he naturally joined in my pursuit. We competed with each other to reach our developmental milestones, as comical as it sounds. I usually won, though that might be expectible considering that I'm older. Somehow, nobody was all that surprised by our rapid progress, so I assume that children grow up quicker here than in my previous world. Either that or they're willing to write off our fast development to us being 'demons', as I hear them call Naruto and I sometimes, since reading and running fluently at three years old isn't exactly typical, to my knowledge.

Either way, I'm really excited today, because Oyaji (the Sandaime Hokage) is finally going to take us to the library. So far, I've just been reading the books that he's brought me, which have all been children's books, so I'm really eager to try and find some more complex books that I may be able to learn from. I especially want to figure out how to use chakra and do techniques now, since I feel like my chakra coils have probably developed enough (I'm so tired of waiting). I've wanted to refer to the books to make sure I don't do something stupid and hurt myself or Naruto, but I'm tired of resisting the temptation. I can feel it inside me, in the air, in the trees outside…I just can't catch a break. The temptation is everywhere. Chakra books or no, I'm going to try using my chakra today.

Naruto latched on to my hand and pointed at the clock on the wall in front of us. I read the clock, and then I looked at him, taking in his bright smile and twinkling eyes. Ah, this is also going to be the first time we leave this building. Actually, it would've been the first time we left this room if not for all the times we've snuck out. I felt my energy level spike, and I found myself feeling every bit as excited as Naruto looked. I think my physical age has just about overridden my mental age by now.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan! It's almost time!"

My smile widened, "I know, Naruto. Just a little longer, right? Five more minutes!"

"But Nee-chan! I can't wait! Let's escape already, dattebayo!"

If I had been the same person I was before my reincarnation, I surely would have denied Naruto's request. However, now that I'm Uzumaki Reina, I couldn't care less about being reprimanded for my mischievousness. I agreed wholeheartedly with a quick nod and a sneaky grin. Screw these caretakers and their ridiculous cruelty! Let's get outta here!

We walked quietly to the door, listening for our caretakers. As per usual, they didn't seem to be around, so I pulled a few pins out of my pocket and got to picking the lock. Naruto can lock pick as well, but I'm a bit faster, so I usually do it when we're in a hurry. And then just as I opened the door and we ran through the doorway…we launched right into Oyaji's legs and landed squarely on our butts.

Naruto and I shared a look of 'oh shit' and proceeded to pop up and babble about how excited we were to go outside and get some books from the library, hoping that he wouldn't get too upset about us breaking out of our room if we distracted him. Of course, distracting the Sandaime was something that we had no way of accomplishing well yet, and so he easily pinned us with a question.

"So…Reina, Naruto. Were you about to sneak out of your room again?" Oyaji's eyes had a gleam to them. I balked and considered the situation. He wouldn't change his mind about taking us to the library because of this, would he? I could see that the same thought was running through Naruto's head.

"Oyaji!" Naruto began, "We were tired of waiting, dattebayo!"

I cut in with a pout, "We just wanted to get out, we weren't going to sabotage anything. We've been waiting all day, Oyaji!"

He smiled at us, "Is that so?" He turned and started walking away, "Then I suppose we'll have to go right away."

Naruto and I stared in disbelief and then we beamed at each other. We weren't even scolded! Hot damn! We ran to catch up to the old man, and fell into step behind him. If only the townspeople didn't ruin it with their not-so-subtle hateful glares, it probably would have been a great memory. As it was, I really wanted to go vandalize those jerks' faces.

When we arrived at the library, Naruto and I were somewhat subdued. Being hated really takes it out of you, I must admit. But I couldn't possibly be so depressed with so many books around, so I shut out what I had just heard outside and gave Naruto a big grin.

"Last one to that bookshelf there has to fold the futons tomorrow!"

Naruto sputtered before he took off after me, "No fair, Reina! You got a head start, dattebayo!"

Oyaji was quick to reprimand us for running and yelling in the library, but it was okay. We finally left that building and I finally got some helpful books. We made it through the day with minimal damage. No broken bones, very few bruises, and a minor hit to our mental health. I'd consider it a success.

I read most of the basics of chakra in the time between when we returned to our room and bedtime, and now I'm going to attempt to use it. I figured I'd start with a simple exercise, like sticking a leaf to my forehead, but seeing how there are no leaves to be seen in our room, I've decided to try sticking some toys to my hands.

I grabbed my first victim, an old little ball that we have a replacement for. It won't be missed. I held it in my right hand, palm up, and tried to focus some chakra in my palm. To my surprise, the ball popped. It felt like I barely used any chakra at all. Was it too much? I know that chakra control is a delicate practice, but damn. I'll have to use really minuscule amounts for this, apparently. I cautiously felt my chakra and sent a teeny, tiny portion to the palm of my hand, keeping my eyes on the deflated ball. I felt it clinging to my hand this time, but I could see that it was practically getting squished into my hand. I tried to reduce the chakra flow to my palm, and I saw that the ball, while still a bit squashed, was sticking to my hand fairly decently now. Now to make it happen on the first try without the ball getting squashed and without having to try so hard. Ha.

I spent at least three hours tonight trying do the exercise correctly, and I'm happy to say that I do get it…occasionally. I still screw up most of the time. Thankfully, my screw ups are quiet, so Naruto slept through the whole thing, but I'd really prefer to never screw up. I'll just have to work on it. It won't do for me to have crappy chakra control.

Now that Naruto and I are six years old, Oyaji decided that we should be moved into the orphanage. I'm not entirely certain why he decided six was the magic number, but I'm very glad that we'll have more freedom now. We'll be able to wander around Konoha practically unattended, and we'll get to explore and mess around. There's the big downside that we'll have to deal with cruel people more often, but I know that Naruto and I will make it through. We won't succumb to their hatred.

As I stared at myself in the mirror, I recalled the first time I had seen my reflection. I had been 3 years old. I didn't look how I thought I would, and it was very unnerving. I had assumed I looked like Naruto, not like...this. I have vibrant, somewhat spiky red hair, and pitch black eyes. Do I even have pupils? Or maybe it's all pupil and I have no irises? My facial features and skin tone are totally different too. My eyes are more pointed at the corners, my eyelashes are more pronounced, my lips are more defined, my face is more narrow, and my skin is lighter.

I stared at my red hair for a while, and then I looked into my ebony eyes. They've been feeling irritated a lot lately. I noticed a few days ago that all of the Konoha Police, who are all Uchiha, seem to have the same black eyes as me. I can't help but wonder if I'm part Uchiha, considering that some of their features are very similar to my own, but I sort of hope that's not the case. I can't shake this terrible feeling that something catastrophic is going to happen to the Uchiha. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to avoid stress whatsoever (more like I'll be forced to run straight at it with a kunai), so I think I'll just hope I'm not half Uchiha or that I don't awaken the Sharingan until the disaster passes. Epic dojutsu be damned. I'd like to stay alive.

On another note, I've worked on my chakra control religiously since I first attempted that exercise two years ago, and I must say, my control has become pretty damn good. It's good enough that I can even use the mystical palm technique, although I really suck at it. It's been improving a lot recently, since I've been getting plenty of practice with it over the three months Naruto and I have lived in the orphanage.

Naruto has come back with bruises almost every day for the past few weeks, and sometimes he has wounds worse than that. But today...today he came back much, much worse than usual.

Naruto could barely even walk straight when he came home. As soon as I saw him, I ran up to him, wrapped an arm around his shoulders (I noted grimly that his collarbone on the far side was definitely broken), hauled him into the orphanage, and got us into our room as quickly as I could. I have been staying with him all day every once in a while to discourage the cruel brats while still allowing Naruto to find a way to overcome them on his own, but I think I'm going to start sticking with him constantly instead. This is just too much.

I helped Naruto onto his bed and stared into his pained eyes. One was swollen shut. I sighed and grabbed the first aid kit on his nightstand.

"Naruto..." I frowned and he gave me a sad smile that quickly became a grimace.

"Oi...Nee-chan?"

"Yes?" I performed the hand signs for the mystical palm technique and enveloped his collarbone in the red glow. Thank god it's working on my first try today.

Naruto looked up at me sheepishly, his one visible eye unusually dull, "We're siblings, right? The other kids...they were saying that we look too different to be siblings...that's not true, right? Nee-chan?"

My technique faltered for a moment. Naruto… I refocused on controlling my chakra and looked at his face. "Naruto…you should know by now not to listen to them." I felt my features soften. I may have seen Naruto simply as the main character of a story in my past life, but living with him for six years has completely changed my perspective. Naruto is real to me now, as a precious, misunderstood boy who I love dearly. "You're my definitely my beloved Nii-san. And you know what?"

Naruto's eyes were brimming with tears and his lip was quivering. My heart melted. I couldn't help but smile, "It doesn't matter if we're siblings by blood, because we're siblings at heart. We have a bond that nobody will ever be able to break." Ugh. That came out so sappy and sentimental.

Naruto launched himself into my arms. I mentally freaked out until I realized that somehow the majority of his injuries healed already. I could feel him shaking against me. "R-Reina! I knew they were wrong, dattebayo! Th-they just wouldn't stop saying things about you a-and when I tried to make them stop they-"

I gently squeezed Naruto against me, "Naruto…were you trying to defend me?" My chest felt heavy and my eyes stung. This is my fault, isn't it?

"Y-yeah!" Naruto clenched his fists in my shirt. It was soaked in tears.

"Well then…next time you go out, I guess I'll have to go with you. Maybe they can handle one Uzumaki, but there's no way they could handle two!" I offered him a hand with a wide grin.

Naruto wiped his tears and visibly brightened, "Hmm! They won't stand a chance, dattebayo!"

After Naruto was fully healed and no longer emotionally distraught, we had cup ramen for dinner, and I spent the rest of my night trying to relearn the martial arts that I can somewhat remember practicing in my previous life (as well as showing Naruto how to do any techniques he asked about). I think I had been a martial arts enthusiast or something, since I have quite a variety of techniques in my memory. The movements are coming back to me easier than I had expected, but I'll have to work on perfecting them and actually using them against people. I need sparring partners.

First chapter, finished. :) Just to put it out there, I know the mystical palm technique is supposed to have a green glow.