Series of Strange Events: Into the Past
By: Drixia
Chapter One
Authoress' Note
Thank you for reading! Review if you enjoyed it.
If you haven't read the first installment, 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' you may want to go over and read that first. It's pretty short, only 15 chapters. Hang on for a bumpy ride! Please no flames; constructive criticism is fine, but no blatant rudeness. I'll try to keep characters in character, but I'm not Kishimoto, so I can't make any promises.
Yay Chapter one! This is just the beginning, so don't get upset that it's moving slow. It'll pick up and I've got a lot of (what I think are) great ideas!
Much love, D.
Disclaimer
Naruto & Naruto Shippuden © Masashi Kishimoto – Meaning I do not, nor will I ever, own anything you recognize from the Anime / Manga.
Rating
Rated T for language
Warning!
This fanfiction will probably contain spoilers and will most definitely be slightly AU at some points. I mean come on, I'm not going to sit here and rewrite the entire series, y'know?
There will also be some crude/inappropriate/odd humor. Get over it. I've rated it M, just in case. – D.
POV – First Person
When the Third Hokage said he was sending me into the past, into the world of Naruto, it hadn't crossed my mind where I, my soul I guess, would end up.
Everything was dark. I felt… liquid? It was encasing me in everlasting warmth. It seemed like I was stuck in it forever. At first I was frightened. Then I just got annoyed. I tried moving about, but I never got far, so I stayed still for the most part; too lazy to overexert myself.
Finally, after months of waiting, something happened, I felt this… energy.
It made me tremble and kick and punch. I was filled with fear that seemed to last forever, but almost as soon as I felt it… it was gone.
An eternity of waiting later and I was finally out. It was a strange feeling. There was something pushing me forward, through a small uncomfortable opening.
Then there were arms holding me. I heard voices, but couldn't make out what was being said. Then I began… crying. It was loud and shrill.
That was about the time I realized I was no longer in my twenties, but rather, a baby.
It should've been obvious to me, but I didn't think the Hokage of all people would have had me be reborn.
Finally, after a few minutes, my eyes adjusted just as I had been handed off to a young woman. Almost instantaneously I quieted. She held me close and her warmth was so inviting. Her voice was soft and I internally had a mini meltdown. 'Why can't I understand what she's saying?'
She cooed and her eyes lit up.
I picked out one word she kept repeating, Harumi. That's my new name, or rather, my only name.
This woman was my mother now. She looked completely different to my real mom. Her eyes were a soft blue, almost the color of the sky during summer. Her hair was long, surpassing her clavicles from what I could see. It was straight, thin, and light brown in color; nearing dangerously into the 'blonde' territory.
"Maiko," A strong male softly whispered. I assumed for my benefit. The woman, my mother now, looked up from me. 'Her name's Maiko,' I put that information into my knowledge bank.
"…Nobu…"
They were speaking back and forth and I picked out that one name. I'm guessing the man's name. I squeaked, yes squeaked, when suddenly I was shifted to another's arms.
Nobu, the man, was staring down at me with a soft smile.
I internally danced when I caught sight of his gleaming headband. The sun had caught it just right and caused me to squint. He laughed, booming almost, as he turned from the window. He spoke softly to me, but I of course understood nothing.
'He must be my father,' I took in his face.
He had a strong jaw and deep brown eyes, like tree bark. He had a slight scruff on his chin, just a few hairs, and his hair was short and messy; brown like his eyes.
I vaguely wondered what I would look like. I definitely wouldn't have my old colored hair.
Soon I was passed back to my mother, who rocked me softly whilst singing a calming tune. My eyelids struggled to remain open, but I eventually gave in and slept.
The life of an infant is unbelievably boring.
It gave me a lot of thinking and planning time, but inevitably, it was a snooze fest; literally. I slept, I ate (well, drank really), I spit up, and oh! I pooped.
It was pretty degrading to have to be cleaned by another human being, but after awhile I became accustomed to it. What took me awhile to accept was the fact that my old family wasn't here.
This was my family; Nobu and Maiko.
At first I was apprehensive. No one could take the place of my parents, but… but Nobu and Maiko? I loved them; unconditionally. They were my parents now. I knew they felt the same. I could see it in their eyes when they held me.
The months came and went and I grew worried.
When was the Kyuubi attack? Had it already happened, or had it… not happened? I shivered at the thought. Hokage-sama had never said when he was sending me. I could be in any timeline.
Finally when I was three years old I was capable of speaking sentences.
I mean, I could say things at two, but not sentences. I could only say things like, "Okaa-san" (she cried when I first said it), or "Otou-san" (he cried too, more so).
Now I was beginning to read as well. I caught sight of a calendar asked, "Kaa-san when is my birthday?"
She smiled and lifted me up to it, picking up the pages one by one before settling on a single page…November. "November 11 Haru-chan," She placed a small kiss on my forehead before setting me on the wooden floor.
That explained it then. I was in the womb at the time of the Kyuubi attack. That must have been the energy I felt in the womb.
"When will Tou-san be home?"
She glanced at the clock on the wall, "He should be home soon… He said this would be a fairly quick mission." My parents were ninja. My father was a jonin but he never went away for long. Since I didn't recognize my parents from the canon-Naruto I'd assumed they were background characters.
I wasn't sure what Otou-san specialized in to be honest.
All I knew was he'd go on missions every other week, be gone for a day or three, and be back usually almost unscathed. He was either a very skilled ninja or (more likely since he wasn't mentioned in Canon) he only took on lower level missions.
Okaa-san was a different story. She had her headband on her bedside table in my parents' bedroom, but she never wore it, and she was always with me. This led me to believe she retired. At what rank I don't know.
Soon my Okaa-san and Otou-san began working with me; chakra control was first. Chakra was odd. I hadn't been fully aware of it being in me until we began my training. Now, I was always aware of it.
In the beginning of my life I was taught the basics of chakra control and taijutsu. In addition my parents spoke to me of their specialties. My Otou-san was skilled in poisons and favored senbon (they were precise and small enough to dip the ends in poison). In addition he was fairly good at ninjutsu. My Okaa-san was really skilled in taijutsu, as well as Sais (twin blades).
I was taught how to identify poisonous plants and basic concoction, which wasn't too difficult for me (in my other life I was always a whizz in chemistry). My parents explained ninjutsu and genjutsu, but said they'd wait till I was older to teach me anything substantial.
For my age my chakra control was decent, but I really excelled in taijutsu. I was a big fan of exercise and though I was nowhere near amazing, at my age I was actually pretty good.
When I turned five my parents told me about the academy, and that they would enroll me in a year's time, much to my glee. I was also asked what I thought I might want to specialize in, which surprised me.
I decided on Sais and taijutsu. In addition my knowledge of poisons would aid me, and I could poison my blades. If I was going to fuck over the Akatsuki I would need to work hard. All of my free time was spent training. My chakra control was mediocre at best so I constantly begged my Otou-san (when he was home) to help me get better.
A bunch of S-ranked criminals were going to be hard to beat.
You see, my past was there, in my mind. But as time ticked by, details became hazed; something that frightened me. I could remember character names and their specialties, but their appearances were distorted. The only thing clear was the Akatsuki.
Every morning I recited in my mind, 'The Akatsuki will fall. Their plan will be ruined. The scroll will be destroyed. The Akatsuki will die.'
I felt torn internally however.
I didn't want them all dead. As naïve as it was… Itachi didn't deserve to die. He wasn't a bad person. He hadn't even done anything yet. But could I say something to him? Run over to the Uchiha compound right now and tell him? Well, yes. Would he listen or change his plans? No.
Deidara was another person I felt wrong about. He was just a teenager. Who happened to love explosions. He was also forced to join… right? I couldn't remember entirely, but that felt right.
The worst part… the most selfish part? I couldn't remember my old name. I couldn't remember what my parents looked like, what my best friend's name was, where I lived. That all suddenly faded away.
In the end, it wasn't that important I suppose. This was life now. I had to think of a plan, and fast. I also needed allies. Mentally I made a list of characters that could become possible allies; Naruto (of course), Sakura (she'd be annoying now, but later she'd be a powerhouse), pretty much the entirety of the Rookie 9 minus Sasuke (too much of a revenge-a-holic, we'd clash), Gaara (should I stop the Akatsuki from extracting Shukaku?), Kakashi (although I'm pretty sure that'll be difficult due to our ages).
My parents were talented, but I didn't want to lose them, selfish as it was. I knew they would want to help, but I couldn't do that to them. I'll keep them in the dark as long as possible.
The other problem was teams. How would this work? I remember they determined teams by scores and talents. Matching everyone up so that their team was balanced, but does that mean I should mess up the storyline and try to get placed in place of a Rookie 9 member? Then I wouldn't know how that would affect the future of this world.
There were so many variables to consider.
"Haru-chan?"
I blinked up at my Okaa-san, "Sorry…"
"Daydreaming again my sweet Haru-chan?" Her smile was teasing, but her eyes were warm.
I gave her a small smile.
"I was thinking maybe you'd like to go to the park today? Maybe make some friends? It'd make the academy more fun for you if you already had friends, maybe they'd be in your class?"
My Okaa-san was always worrying about me having no friends. She invited me to the park before a year ago, but I profusely refused, wanting to spend more time training. Now that I considered it, it wasn't a terrible idea to make friends; especially if I carefully picked them.
"Yes please! That'd be fun!" I gave her the biggest smile I could muster; it even reached my eyes I think. She was satisfied and shooed me off to my room to change into less… sweaty clothing.
I stared into the mirror once I was changed.
My hair I had inherited from my Kaa-san; straight light brown hair that fell just below my ears. My eyes were from my Tou-san, deep brown.
I had picked a simple outfit; black shorts, black sandals, and a light blue long sleeved shirt.
My Kaa-san nodded approvingly before grabbing my hand and dashing out the door. I guess she was worried I'd change my mind.
When we got there I felt an unknown nervousness I had yet to feel in this body. I was feeling shy. I was literally at a park filled with other children and I was afraid.
My mom gave me a small push and a not so comforting, "Go ahead and make some friends Haru!"
Finally I gained my composure and began frantically searching, but my Kaa-san was already on the other side of the park making small talk with other parents. My stomach twisted into knots and my eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Hey… are you okay?"
Das End
Authoress' Note 2
Cliffhanger! Who do you think spoke to Harumi!? Maybe a new character or perhaps one of the Rookie 9?! Who knows!
As per usual, go ahead a review if you had any comments!
Much love, D.
