A/N: This is kinda a side project I am working on. There probably won't be quick updates for this (or any of my stories) for a while I'm in my final year of highschool, and my final exams are coming up. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Shrunken Shinobi
Kudo Shinichi, a renowned high-school detective, groaned in pain as what felt like fire rushed avidly through his body. He could barely breathe- a sign that his body was slowly shutting down. He knew he was dieing. Each of his breaths hurt, like his ribcage was contracting, and it was getting hard to continue to even keep his eyes open. 'I... I'm going to die, aren't I? ...' He mentally chuckled. He took another shallow breath. 'I'm sorry... Ran... I should have... listened to you... I shouldn't have... followed those men...' He groaned weakly one last time, and, with that final breath, he whispered, "...sorry... Ran..." He shuddered as he exhaled, and closed his eyes.
Nagato coughed, causing a small dribble of blood to run down past his lips. He breathed heavily as he watched his red hair slowly fade to white. He had just returned all life he had taken back to Konoha. His head lolled forwards, and what little vision he had started to dim. He turned his gaze onto the frantic blond that had taken a few steps towards him. "Thank... you... Naruto..." He said, and the blond jumped slightly. 'Yes... Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki... I know... you are the prophecy child... the peace viaduct...'He turned his head slightly to look at his partner, Konan. She had run up close to him, far closer than Naruto did, and was fretting over him, her eyes wide with fear. He smiled at her, trying his hardest to convey all the feelings he had kept locked up over the years. "...I... love... you..." He mumbled, before his eyes closed against his will. 'I'll miss... you... Konan...'He accepted deaths grip, still smiling.
Nagato groaned a little as he came to. His body felt sore and it hurt. Which was strange. He was a shinobi, this amount of pain shouldn't be anything. A bright light shone into his eyes.
"OI! Call an Ambulance! We got an injured kid here!" He heard a woman's voice shout, and a man's voice answered before footsteps ran off. Nagato cracked open one of his eyes, but immediately closed it as the light was pointing directly at him.
"Ugh...bright..." He mumbled, slowly trying to sit up.
"Whoa kid, take it easy. Here, let me help you." He felt slim hands wrap around his midsection, and help him sit up. "Okay, I shut my flashlight off. Try opening your eyes." Nagato leaned back onto his hands, and tentatively opened his eyes. A woman knelt before him, a soft smile on her face. Her hair was brown and her eyes a calm blue colour.
"Where..." He rasped, before a bottle was shoved into his hands.
"Shh, take a few sips, alright?" Nagato nodded, and calmly sipped at the water. "Now, can you answer a few questions?"
"...yes."
"What's your name?" Nagato blinked. Many a person knew his name. He was a member of the infamous Akatsuki; a well known killer.
"...Nagato. Uzumaki Nagato." He muttered, taking another sip of water.
"That's a nice name. I'm Satou Miwako." He nodded and handed the water back. "Now, Nagato-kun, how old are you? Six, Seven?" Nagato frowned. He was in his late 30's. But the way she was talking to him, it was as if... Nagato quickly glanced down at his body. It was way undersized for him. He looked about six years old, and nothing like the battle hardened shinobi he used to be.
"I'm six..." He lied, marveling at his smaller body. He was a child once again! Was this his second chance; his chance to make everything wrong right once more, the right way?
"Great! I'm just going to call my superiors, alright? How about you finish that water, ne?" Nagato nodded and sipped once more at the half-full bottle. "Satou to HQ, come in HQ." Nagato watched as she talked into the box in her hands. Was it some kind of primitive Shinobi radio?
"This is HQ. We read you Satou-keiji. What is the problem?"
"I found an injured kid, about six, behind the Mystery Coaster in Tropical Land. Says his name's Uzumaki Nagato. He has reddish-brown hair and what looks like an eye-defect. His eyes are purple; all purple. And there's rings in them too. He's wearing oversized clothes, so I'm afraid something of that sort happened."
"...copy that. Get him to a hospital, Megure-keibu will meet you there."
"Got it. Over and out." Satou returned her attention to Nagato, who was just finishing off the water bottle. "Well, Nagato-kun..." She trailed off as a siren sounded. "The ambulance is here." A pair of paramedics came rushing around the corner, a folded up stretcher in their arms.
"Is he coherent, miss?" Satou nodded.
"Yes. He was coherent enough to give me some of his personal info." The paramedics nodded, and placed the stretcher down. Nagato handed Satou her water bottle back, and allowed the medics to place him on the stretcher. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the new sights, smells, sounds, and thoughts flooding his brain. 'What is an ambulance?' He thought, as the stretcher was picked up and they all went, hurrying, to the vehicle.
"Uzumaki Nagato-kun, eh?" Inspector Megure asked, and Satou nodded. They were making their way to Nagato's hospital room.
"Yeah. He's about six." Megure tilted his head slightly as they walked into Nagato's room. He was no longer wearing the oversized clothes they found him in. Instead, he was now wearing a slightly-large blue t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. That was the best that Satou could find that late at night.
"Nagato-kun?" The redhead glanced up, before returning his attention to the television in the corner.
"Excuse me, what is this box with moving manga inside?" He asked, pointing to the TV, where a flashy Anime was playing. The two police officers looked at each other.
"That's a television Nagato-kun."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Now, we have some questions. Where are you from?" Nagato kept his eyes on the TV as he thought about his answer. He couldn't tell them he was a wanted Shinobi. They might kill him. It wasn't as if he could defend himself. His body was still very sore and he could barely lift his arms.
"I don't know. It was always damp and dark." Megure jotted that down in his notebook.
"Alright then. Where are your parents?" Nagato's eyes widened briefly as his parents' mangled bodies flashed before his eyes. He shook his head to clear the images.
"I dunno." Megure nodded at Satou, and she left the room after giving Nagato one last glance.
"Son, it's alright. You can tell me."
"I really don't know, they died when I was young. And..." Megure's eyes hardened as he wrote that down.
"Well, you'll be placed in a foster home until we find someone to adopt you." As the inspector started to leave, Nagato asked something he'd been wondering about.
"Who's Kudo Shinichi? They mentioned him on that... TV thing."
"Shinichi-kun is a high-school detective! He's real good at it too. I got to go now, Nagato-kun, but I'll be back later, okay?"
"I see."
"Goodbye, Nagato-kun." Megure left quickly, leaving Nagato to sort through the flood of information in his brain once Kudo Shinichi was mentioned.
"Kudo Shinichi, high-school detective. Age 17. Blood type O. Likes to read Sherlock Holmes and imitates said detective the majority of the time. Last seen on a date with his best friend and love interest Mouri Ran in Tropical Land. Mouri Ran, karate champion. Age 17. Blood type O. Kudo Shinichi's love interest, though neither worked up the courage to confess. Kudo Shinichi ran off to follow a suspicious man in black, but was struck on the back of the head with a blunt object, possibly a metal pipe. He was then given some sort of pill, and forced to swallow, after which he died." Nagato muttered, flying through the memories slamming their way into his brain. Once they stopped, he held a hand to his forehead. "I just lived through an entire 17 years of life as a prodigious teenager..."
"There are no records of an Uzumaki Nagato matching his description in Japan, or in other databases. We... we think he was never registered after being born. To Japan and the rest of the world, Uzumaki Nagato does not exist." The Social Services worker said. Megure frowned.
"That is unfortunate."
"We'll need to create papers for him. This will take a while. During this time, however, he may still attend school. He is not a citizen of Japan, though, and can not leave the country."
"At least he can get an education." Megure sighed. "Do we have a name for a foster parent?"
"Yes, one... Hiroshi Agasa applied about a month ago. He has been cleared and may take the child when he is released from the hospital."
"Ah, Agasa-san! Nice man. Maybe he'll adopt him as well..."
"This is him?" Nagato turned his head to see an balding man enter his hospital room, Megure at his heels.
"Yes Agasa-san, this is Uzumaki Nagato. I'll go sign the release papers while you two get to know each other." Agasa smiled as Megure left of the room to give them some privacy.
"Hello Nagato-kun. You'll be in my care for a few weeks..." He trailed off as he stared at Nagato. "...you remind me of someone..."
"Kudo Shinichi, I suppose?" Agasa's eyes widened as he nodded.
"Why, yes, that's who!"
"Well of course you do. I was once Kudo Shinichi." Agasa blinked before he laughed.
"You're quite the prankster, aren't you?"
"No, it's true. You are Hiroshi Agasa, 52. I, as Kudo Shinichi, lived next door to you for the whole of my 17 years of life. You drive a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, whatever that is. You just come from a restaurant down the road, I believe it's name is... Culumbo?"
"I... yes, but how-"
"You have some sauce still in your mustache." Agasa gently touched his mustache. "A napkin depicting the restaurant's name is also sticking out of your pocket."
"Shinichi...? You're really Shinichi!"
"...no. I was Shinichi. I really am Uzumaki Nagato. I just have Kudo Shinichi's memories, for I was once him."
"I don't understand. Are you or are you not Kudo Shinichi?" Nagato sighed and hopped off the bed, giving his limbs a quick stretch
"How about we discuss this at your house. I do not like hospitals much."
