A/N: In which the SI-OC's goal is justice. Justice for her favourite character. Enjoy.
The first few years of her life were as fuzzy and blurry as they could be, regardless of the fact that she was a teenager in mind, Takara couldn't seem to remember much about what she did during her toddler period, not that she wanted to. A baby could hardly do anything interesting so it wasn't exactly a loss, per se.
Her first important memory that carried weight, worth and emotional baggage was meeting Neji and Hinata. She was six years old and not too keen on the idea of going to the park. It was a loud, crowded place, with children who drooled, laughed too hard, cried whenever something didn't go their way and behaved dumbly. She'd rather prefer staying indoors and learn about the world she got reborn in before Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, Pein and Madara get thrown into the picture. Even her first words were related to knowledge.
Huh, maybe that's why I'm getting dragged to this hellhole.
Her parents, shinobi or not, would have liked their child's first words to be "mama" and "papa" not "book" and "read". That ought to scare even the Nara, known for their unrivalled intellect but could you blame her, really? Toys could only hold her attention for so long and Shikamaru, as brilliant as he was going to become, had already decided that sleep and clouds were the only things worth his time.
Anyways, her mother, a worrier at heart, had most probably come up with the idea of being forced to endure ear-splitting yelling and having sand all over her hair and shoes. The civilian children doing that didn't surprise her in the slightest but seeing clan children behave the same way, just sneakier when their parents weren't looking was another matter entirely.
"Do you wanna play ninja?" one of the spawns of the devil asked her, grinning from ear to ear.
"No."
"Please?"
"No is no." She repeated herself, putting emphasis on the words so he'd get the memo and leave her be.
"Pleaseew, pleaseee." he dragged on, managing to get on her nerves.
Takara desperately looked around for an escape, any type of escape. Kids like that one were a pain to deal with. Annoying and more trouble than worth. Blue eyes scanned the playground with the intensity and precision of a hawk's. Upon noticing a still, quiet, and expressionless Hyuga boy, a small triumphant grin creased her lips. She turned to face the pleading kiddo, shrugging. "I can't play ninja with you because I am already playing with him!" she exclaimed, mentally giving herself a pat on the back for coming up with such a good excuse.
And maybe she would have been left in peace if it wasn't for the fact that the Hyuga heard her and spoke up in an even voice with a tiny bit of smugness that was so subtle she almost missed it. "No, she is not."
Takara turned her head to face him and if glares could kill, hers would have surely done the trick. "Are you always this mean?"
He didn't bother to grace her with a response.
For a clan who is supposed to be all about manners, he is way too rude!
"A-Ano...please forgive Neji-nii-san, I'm s-sure he did not m-mean it." a little girl with dark purple hair nervously stuttered, fidgeting with the hem of her white blouse.
Wait, stuttering?
Neji-nii-san?
AH! MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS. THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING.
Granted the fact that five-year-olds were not supposed to start hyperventilating, Takara found herself struggling to breathe properly. She kept blinking, looking back and forth between the two cousins in order to convince herself that what she was seeing was real but there was no mistaking it.
She could almost forgive Neji for blowing her cover.
Almost.
Opening her mouth to make a comeback, Takara stopped herself short when a sudden thought occurred to her.
If I am one year older than Shikamaru, then Neji and I share the same age which means...Kumo shinobi have already tried kidnapping Hinata and Hizashi is...dead.
She lowered her eyes in shame. No wonder Neji looked so...empty. His Byakugan eyes looked completely void of life and while some may state their case and say that's how all Hyuga had their eyes, Takara would argue that Hinata's were expressive. Not that showing fear, shyness and anxiety was any better but at least it was something.
"Consider it forgiven and forgotten." she replied with a smile, cautiously looking at the two of them. It was obvious they didn't want to be here any more than she did, although for different reasons.
Scanning the playground, she easily spotted the Hyuga adult that was most probably escorting them. He was watching her too but not in a 'you might be a threat' way. As far as she knew, the Nara clan was respected by every clan in Konoha, regardless of how pompous and prideful they were. So, Takara definitely counted that one as a plus.
What if I was born an Uchiha?
The mere thought of fate screwing her second existence that badly was enough to make her shudder. There really was no point to dwell on what if scenarios.
"I'm sorry. We got off to a wrong start, didn't we? I want to fix that." she said, with all the maturity that a six-year-old could muster. "Takara Nara." she continued, cringing at the way her name rhymed. Couldn't her parents had chosen something else?
Deciding that she was being genuine enough, he replied curtly. "Hyuga Neji."
His fragile cousin followed suit. "Hyuga Hinata, p-pleasure to meet y-you, Nara-san."
He watched the bold girl shake her head in a disapproving manner, waving a finger back and forth. "No-oh, we will have enough time for formality once we become adults. Just Takara is alright."
Unfortunately, Hinata still seemed unsure and she realized that it was going to take a lot more than a reassuring smile and a few nice words to help her grow a backbone. Takara didn't even want to think how much it'd take to help Neji, especially since he had no wish or interest for such things, or for people meddling in his life in general. Of course, she figured that she could always just sit back and wait for The Chunin Exams to roll around when Naruto will snoop in and save Neji from himself. But where was the point in gaining a second chance if she let things happen the same way as before? What kind of guardian angel would she prove herself to be then?
Certainly not a good one, that's for sure.
"Hinata-sama, we have to return now."
Neji's stern voice broke through her musings and she watched as the Hyuga heiress nodded meekly before executing a perfect bow, which was scary when you thought about how young she was. "It w-was nice t-to meet y-you, Takara-s-san..."
Said girl blew a sigh, before forcing a smile for her sake. "Likewise, Hinata." she paused, biting her lip, before, against her better judgement, deciding to add: "Neji."
He merely gave her a passing glance before turning around to walk towards the man assigned to protect them, Hinata obediently falling in step behind him.
Takara wondered if she will see them again. Then prayed the circumstances weren't going to be any more awful than being forced to go at the playground where snooty kids sometimes mistook your pants for tissues to blow their noses into. She wiped at the piece of material, disgusted, before searching around for her cousin. "Shika! Let's leave!" she demanded.
Takara found him sitting on a patch of grass but he wasn't sleeping, for a change. Peering closer, one would say he was thinking about something very hard. Another surprise, it wasn't often that she saw that look on his face.
And she didn't like it, not one a bit.
Children aren't supposed to seem like they are questioning the universe.
She took a sit next to him, suddenly all thoughts of running home forgotten. Besides, they were the only ones occupying the grass. "You okay?" she mentally scolded herself for asking the most common question ever but anything else would have sounded too mature for her age.
"Don't go to the Academy, Takara."
Woah.
From all things, that was the last one she expected to hear thus she made sure to voice out loud her curiosity. "Okay, what is this all of a sudden?"
"I'm heir, dad told me so. I can't choose to watch clouds and sleep all day. But you can." he told her with such genuine conviction that she didn't find it in her to tell him that watching clouds and sleeping were not her hobbies.
Takara was baffled, to say the least. From what she had seen, all clan children were dying for the chance to become Konoha's pride and joy one day in the future. Shikamaru was lazy, true, but he seemed resigned to his fate.
Why is he telling me this?
"All the other kids are excited for..."
He interrupted her before she could have finished her sentence. "They don't understand."
In vain she tried then and later on to receive a proper answer. Shikamaru said nothing more on the subject after that but actions were said to be louder than words and his spoke plenty. The looks he'd give her, the downright refusal to train with her. Then her seventh birthday rolled around and as she was standing in front of a large frosty cake, decorated with candles, Takara made a wish to understand.
One year later when Uchiha Itachi, prodigy of the famed Sharingan clan but still just a thirteen-year-old boy, left a legacy of blood and terror, a black stain that was forever going to remain in history as Konoha's biggest failure, she remembered and she understood. They were called the 'Hidden Leaf' for a reason because their shadows were always with them, waiting to consume and devour their beings.
And nobody had the highest chance of becoming a shadow than a Nara. It was too bad that she understood too late. She had already made her choice.
It was not the one Shikamaru advised her to go for.
A/N: Any thoughts? Was it good? Was it bad? Should I continue? I can't wait to hear what you think. I know it is different than how most SI-OC insert stories begin but I wanted to try another type of approach. Also, most SI-OC reach out to help Team Seven. I wanted to stray from that pattern. Not to say that Takara won't interact with them at all but her main focus would be on the Nara and the Hyuga, specifically Shikamaru and Neji. Also, I want to avoid making her look like she knows everything. All amount of anime watching shouldn't be able to give people an easier time than the ones that actually belong in that universe. So, she will struggle, she will make mistakes, she will feel helpless and she won't always be capable to do things by herself but help goes both ways. Takara has to learn from our heroes and they might just learn a few from her aka US (because what are self-inserts if not each one of us wishing there was something we could have done to change things for the better?) I also deeply apologise for any grammar mistakes and I hope that didn't burden you when you read.