Bethany Middleton, an 82 year old woman had just died. You heard me, died. The thing is, right now she was slowly opening her eyes. That wasn't even the strangest part. For when she did manage to see properly, the poor woman got the shock of her life. Standing before her was a woman who she thought to be a thing of fiction. Literally. Standing in front of her was Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Rabbit goddess, mother of the Sage of the Six Paths and one day Ten Tails. But it was what the woman said next that shocked her to her core, "my daughter, you shall be called Hagoromo, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and your brother shall be known as Hamura- you are my two children, the children of a goddess" she spoke. Strangely, the woman's voice wasn't scary or demonic or anything like she supposed. It was kind and gentle and melodic, the kind of voice that a child could easily be lulled into blissful slumber by.
The girl was kind of freaking out at the moment, terrified to pieces that her 'mother' would go crazy right then and kill her. Of course, she knew that Kaguya only went insane later on, when she discovered that her children had inherited her Chakra- even so, it was terrifyingly scary when she thought of what the future held, and all she would have to face, achieve and live up to. She was the future Sage of the Six Paths, a living legend, and it was kind of scary that she would have to become that legend, become strong enough to face down and defeat the monster her 'mother' would become. The now-newborn's eyes fluttered, she was finding it difficult to stay awake. Bethany sighed mentally. At least she wasn't alone. At least she had her brother with her. And she knew when the time came, the two of them would succeed. Together. This was the girls last thought as she drifted off to sleep.
ĤŎ
It had been several years since Bethany had been reborn as Hagoromo-Chan, the future savior. Both she and her twin brother were now five years old. Though both incredibly smart for their age, they still had the gift of relative innocence. Hamura was a boy who loved to tease and play with his twin sister at every opportunity. Being so young, he hadn't yet grown into his future stoicism, though he was still as stubborn as a mule about some things. And so it was, that as Bethany sat and watched the forget-me-not blue sky, she didn't notice her brothers presence until it was too late. The white-eyed boy jumped at his sister and managed to take her by surprise.
Pinning the girl's arms above her head with one hand, Hamura began to tickle his sister with his other. Bethany squealed and dissolved into giggles as her brother stroked her belly, wiggled his fingers over her delicate underarms and tortured her sensitive sides with unbearable squeezes and pokes. Bethany, laughing her head off, begged and pleaded with the boy to stop, but Hamura just smirked and shook his head, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. Leaning his head down to her belly, the boy began blowing raspberries against the delicate skin, causing tears of laughter to cascade down the girl's cheeks, "ha, ha, ha, Hamuhuhuhura, ple-he-he-he-hese! Ple- heeeeeee!" but her desperate pleas were cut short by her own scream of tortured laughter when Hamura blew a rhasberry into her ticklish belly, causing her to buck desperately for a few minutes, until, finally, the white-haired boy decided to show mercy to his unbearably ticklish twin sister.
Climbing off the girl and releasing his hold on her arms, Hamura smirked at the still giggling red head. Bethany curled up defensively, her pale face flushed and tears of laughter trailing down her cheeks, "that was not fair, you know I am too ticklish for you to do that brother!" she pouted, wiping her face to try and rid it of the tears that still clung there. The boy chuckled, "it is not my fault that you are inhumanly ticklish sister" he said, discreetly poking her side as she stood up. Bethany squeaked and immediately covered the area with her arms, giggling and turning away from him, "sto-ho-hop, he, he, he". The girl rolled her eyes, "brother" she all but whined, indignant of her treatment. She was for sure a very humble and gentle person in her new life. But Bethany Middleton was still Bethany Middleton, and she was going to whine about this unfairness, even if it was to be only in the recesses of her mind. Hamura frowned, "stop that sister" he said, wincing at the Puppy-dog eyes she was giving him. He turned away, "stop it!" he ordered, struggling to resist the sheer adorableness that was his sister.
"Otouto, why are you always so mean to me?" she pouted, sticking her bottom lip out and widening her eyes as much as she could. The white-eyed boy trembled, before turning his back to her, "oh alright, I am sorry Nee-Sama, okay?" he asked. Bethany smiled softly, she could never stay mad at her brother, "alright, but do not do that again, alright brother?" she asked. Hamura nodded, "yes, alright, I promise I will not do it again sister" he said sincerely. The girl nodded back, "now, how about we play a proper game, like-" she trailed off, trying to think of a game she and her brother could play together, "tree-jump tag?" Hamura suggested. Bethany frowned. The two of them had discovered their Chakra a few months ago, and Bethany, knowing that their mother would discover their secret powers soon enough, had devised training regimes in the form of games for the two of them to 'play' now and then. Thankfully, Kaguya hadn't discovered that her children had inherited her power yet and she wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible.
She knew that as soon as they both awakened their respective Dojutsu, for Hamura the Teneseigan and for Bethany the Rinnegan, they would no longer be able to hide, and their mother would try and reclaim her Chakra by merging with the divine tree, thus becoming the Ten Tails. And that when that happened, they would no longer be able to be innocent children. And so, the girl had been sneaking Chakra training into their games, to prepare herself and her brother for what lay ahead. The problem was that Kaguya was becoming increasingly restless, and Bethany was afraid that if they used their Chakra now, the woman would discover their 'gifts' prematurely and become so enraged that she'd become the Ten-tails now. She shuddered. The thought of that horrible beast terrified her more than any other, but she was by no means going to give up because of fear. She and Hamura, working together, would defeat Kaguya. And they would protect everyone they could from her.
"I am sorry Hamura, how about something else instead, perhaps I-spy?" she asked, hoping that her extremely strong-minded sibling would concede to her will this time- for both their sakes. The boy with hair to match his eyes, tipped his head to the side in slight confusion. His sister was the one who invented tree-jump tag, and she knew that it was his favorite game. Hagoromo had always loved to play with him before, but now it was almost like she was- hesitant. Scared even, but as for what brought so much fear to the girl, even he could not guess. But, he supposed- there was no harm in playing something different every once in a while, right? Hamura nodded, "alright sister, if that is what you would like" he said softly. Bethany grinned, though it was a forced grin "let us play then brother!" she said joyfully.
ĤŎ
Bethany sat outside their home that night, staring up at the sky, unable to sleep. Suddenly detecting her brothers presence, the girl smiled, "it is not nice to watch another person without permission, brother" she said gently. Hamura walked up to her, his steps making no sound on the soft grass. "What are you doing out here Hagoromo, it is very late" he whispered. Bethany turned to look at him for a moment, before she closed her eyes and her small smile returned, "forgive me, but I was unable to sleep, so I thought I would come out and watch the stars for a while" she replied softly. Hamura raised an eyebrow at her, as Bethany opened her eyes, "would you like to sit with me a while and keep me company, brother? I know I would enjoy it" the boy sighed softly and sat gracefully beside her.
Bethany smiled again and turned to look once more at the starlit sky. "You know brother? I have recently thought up a song that would be good for a lullaby, its name even reflects as such," she whispered. The white eyed boy turned to her, curiosity hidden in his seemingly emotionless white eyes, "oh, and how does it go?" he asked. Bethany smiled again, and began to sing: "little child, be not afraid, the rain pounds harsh against the glass, like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger, I am here tonight," she sang softly, the words of Vienna Tengs song: 'Lullaby for a stormy night' flowing from her lips. In truth she had only remembered it from her old world, but since it didn't exist in her new one, it was as though she'd invented it, "little child, be not afraid, though thunder explodes, and lightning flash, illuminates, your tear-stained face, I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning," Hamura smiled, he liked this song. He was curious about how she'd thought it up, but he would wait until she was finished before asking any questions.
"Little child, be not afraid, the storm clouds mask your beloved moon, and it's candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams, and I am here tonight, and some day you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, and forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning. Little child, be not afraid, the wind makes creatures of our trees, and their branches to hands, they're not real understand, and I am here tonight, and someday you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you see in the morning," Bethany took a breath then continued, "for you know, once even I was a little child, and I was afraid, but a gentle someone always came, to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears and to give a kiss goodnight, well now I am grown, and these years have shown, rains a part of how life goes, but it's dark and it's late, so I'll hold you and wait, till your frightened eyes do close, and I hope that you'll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning, everything's fine in the morning, the rain will be gone in the morning, but I'll still be here, in the morning" she ended softly.
Bethany turned towards her brother and was met with a sight that was just as shocking as it was adorable. Her brother was curled up into her side, sound asleep, a peaceful look on his face that the girl had never seen before. After getting over her initial shock, the girl smiled, gently picking Hamura up in her arms, she carried him back into their home. Once she'd placed him down in bed and covered him with the sheets, Bethany went over to her own bed and laid down in it. Smiling one last time at her precious brother, she closed her eyes, "goodnight, Hamura" she whispered before falling asleep herself.
ĤŎ
The next morning, the two five year old's woke up with the sun, like always. They both were and had always been early risers, well, at least Bethany was in this life and this day was no different. After getting up, Bethany and Hamura sat side-by-side at the table and ate a good breakfast of fruit and milk, before their mother came in, "good morning my children, I trust you slept well last night?" Kaguya asked cheerfully. Bethany nodded, "that we did Okaa-Sama, welcome home" she said softly, while her brother discreetly watched the woman for any signs of hostility. The Rabbit Goddess smiled at her daughter, "that is good, I am glad" she replied happily. With a graceful swish of her robes, Kaguya sat before them, "well now, what are we having for breakfast this morning?" she asked. "Apples and milk, would you like some Okaa-Sama?" Hamura asked calmly. The woman shook her head, "no thank you, though I am grateful for the offer, I am sad to say that I must leave once again, I just wanted to stop by and see that you were alright" she replied softly.
Bethany nodded, "thank you for worrying about us, but we are fine as long as we are together, also, if there are people that need you, you should go to them, help them as you do" she said with a gentle smile. Kaguya smiled at her children and stood up. She walked over to them, kissing each of them on the forehead, "I love you, my dear ones" she said, before giving them a gentle smile and vanishing into thin air. Once she was gone, and her presence undetectable by either of her children, Bethany and Hamura stood up and washed their wooden plates and bowls, before walking towards the door of their home, "are you ready Hamura?" Bethany asked her brother as she placed her bamboo sandals on her feet. Looking at him, all the girl could see was pure unyielding determination, "that I am Hagoromo, let us go now sister" he replied.
The two walked side-by-side out of the door to their home, both ready to continue their 'training games'.
To Be Continued