Whoo, I'm capable of updating! I was really happy with the reviews/favorites/follows that I got, it makes me feel like someone actually cares what I'm writing and that's really cool. So without further ado, here is chapter two!

Unfortunately, I do not own Reborn!. If I did, the English publishing would go past volume sixteen. (Curses!)

02-In Which I have Birthdays or

It Can't be Stopped Anymore

Crying is really annoying. Especially when it's a baby and they just don't know that it's time to stop because there isn't any problem and so it's worthless to wear out your voice.

So I stopped crying.

Instead, I looked around to see where I was. It seemed like I had been spared the knowledge of being born, which I was somewhat relieved about and somewhat disappointed about. Curiosity is a curse. I was in one of those nursery beds that they use to hold all of the newborn babies. Over to the side I could see a woman who I figured was going to be my mother. She was looking at me, a bit mystified and groggy. I hadn't been crying very long apparently, just long enough to wake her up but not so long that she had had a chance to help me. Welcome to motherhood. I stared at her, taking in her brown, almond shaped eyes, her straight black hair, and her somewhat pale face. Definitely Japanese. I berated myself a moment later. Of course she's Japanese, you're in a manga. I sighed inwardly. Two minutes in this world and I was already scolding myself.

Then my dad (I assumed he was my dad) wandered into my vision behind my mom and my earlier conversation seemed meaningless. He looked nothing like my mom. His hair was short and blonde, his eyes were blue, and he was actually a bit tanned. He smiled at me. I stared back. Definitely not Japanese.

"Looks like she's awake." He said to my mom in English. She looked over at him and nodded. So "I" hadn't been lying. I was a girl, even though the character originally wasn't. This would be interesting. "Have you decided what to call her?"

My mom tilted her head. "I don't know. The things we thought of don't really seem to work." She looked back over at me. "I thought Carol would be nice, but now that I see her it doesn't seem right. It's the same with Emily, Rose, and Jade. I thought Violet may be a good choice." How long does it take to name a baby? I held back a sigh. I didn't want her to take it as some form of approval on my part. I wanted my "real" name, thank you very much. Well, most of it. I could do without the middle name "Robert".

Actually, my middle and last names should have tipped me off to the "not Japanese" thing. Whoops.

"Those are nice names," my father said, "but I think I know why you can't pick one of them."

She looked up at him, slightly amused. "And why is that?

"She looks too much like you." He leaned down to kiss her. I sighed inwardly. This better not take long. I have a life to get to, you know.

She giggled. "Alright then, Mr. Smarty. How do I fix this naming problem?"

"Give her a name from your country."

"It seems like such a waste to not use those names though."

"We have to give her two names. We could even give her three. Or four." My mom laughed and my dad looked at me. "How about that, sweet one? How about we give you a name that's more like your mother's?"

I decided it would be a good time to see if I could make a noise. Apparently I had never found it necessary to research babies in my past life, because I didn't know much about them. Mustering my vocal cords, I managed a little thing that I equated to a pathetic squeak. My parents seemed delighted though.

"She seems to like that idea." My mom said happily. Not reacting earlier had been the right choice. "What name would be good?"

"It has to be special." My dad was wearing a smile a mile long. I hoped I had his smile. I was actually pretty sure of it. It looked really familiar. "She's too pretty for a normal name."

They thought for what seemed like an eternity, or at least a significant part of my life. Finally, my mom seemed to have the answer.

"Byakuran. A white orchid."

My first year was pretty much uneventful. I learned to walk, crawl, talk, etc. My hair began to grow, white instead of the light brown I'm pretty sure I had before. My eyes, instead of being blue, were a deep purple color that made everyone who looked at me coo in adoration. My skin was pale, but it had been like that before as well. I must have spent a lot of time indoors.

Learning language was interesting. I already knew English, but I got to learn Japanese-or rather more Japanese. I must have taken classes in my previous life, but I definitely wasn't fluent. As it turns out, my mom (Natsumi Ally) is Japanese and my dad (Nathan Ally) met her when he lived over there, so both are fluent in the language. Lucky me, that meant they spoke it a lot around the house and helped me to pick it up. I actually started learning German too. Apparently my parents thought it would be good for me to listen to German composers when I took naps. I believe I've developed an affinity for Classical music. Considering my future involves hanging out with a guy who likes rock, I'm not sure how long that will last.

As I reached one and was actually able to communicate with my parents I started showing interest in Italian, so I was able to learn that too. I was a bit surprised at how easy it is for kids to learn stuff. Taking a hint from a suspiciously lacking area of knowledge in my mind, I started reading my parents old calculus books. Unfortunately they took that as a sign that I was some sort of math prodigy. That should go away fast.

Anyway, the first really interesting thing that happened was during my second birthday. A couple of kids came over for a party and I got presents and sweets and it was awesome. And my parents brought out a marshmallow cake!

…You probably have no idea what I'm talking about. A marshmallow cake (the way my parents made one) is two chocolate cakes with a layer of marshmallows between them and covered with frosting with marshmallows stuck on every side of it.

It's probably worth noting that I love sweets. You knew that about Byakuran, but apparently that sifted over to me because I love sweets more than I think anyone realizes is even possible. It might also have something to do with living in the marshmallow capital of the world (didn't I mention that? Ligonier, Indiana, is the marshmallow capital of the world and the birthplace of Byakuran. So I'm also American. Go figure.)

After we ate cake and ice cream (not too much because we're two and too much sugar makes us hyper) my parents brought out the presents from my family members. They gave me an angel dress up costume. My dad's brother gave me a wax flower (I've never even seen the guy, but now I don't like him). My dad's parents gave me more fake food for my kitchen. This one bothered my parents a bit, after what happened with the other food. I might need my eyes checked, but I could have sworn it was a real cookie. Besides, it's just a chipped tooth. You should have seen the cookie.

Then came my mom's parent's gift. They sent me a child's chess set. That was when I realized something horrifying: My education up to this point had completely lacked any sort of strategy training. And I didn't have much knowledge of chess, so I must not have played much in my other life. How can I be expected to take over the world (or not, I haven't quite decided) if I can't even play chess?!

As such, immediately after the guests left I forced my parents to teach me. Perhaps hoping that my genius would exist beyond math, or maybe just humoring me, they didn't put up much of a fight. I picked it up quickly, and by the end of the day was able to beat my dad. Not my mom though. Apparently she's some sort of champion. That would explain the gift.

That was the day I learned about strategy. And it was the day I began to plot.

I like birthdays.

Heehee, so there you have it. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what comes out of this situation. I have a rough idea, but the characters may decide differently. Also, I'm thinking I'll probably update every Wed/Thurs and Sat/Sun, depending on which day works better for that week. It's a bit ambitious, but you guys have inspired me so maybe I can learn to keep a schedule.

HiddenPersonality2: Thanks a lot for the review, I hope you were pleasantly surprised. The OC's background is rather fuzzy on purpose, although I probably should have given a gender and physical description. Sorry about that. She is supposed to be a girl however, which is why Byakuran is now a girl, so I hope that wasn't too confusing.

Discoabc: I WILL JOIN THE REBORN IN REBORN! GROUP! Thank you so much for coming and reviewing, it means a lot. I have written other things (fics included) but have never published them due to having problems getting past the first couple chapters, so technically it isn't my first writing but is my first fic. Anyway, Chapter Two! Yay! The girl part was a bit misleading, sorry about that. I-pin would be awesome though. I also am looking forward to what little Byakuran is going to do to screw with the world, and what affect it will have on the others. Yay for destruction!

NinjaGirl9797: I'm glad you like it, and thank you for reviewing. I hope it can live up to the expectations, because awesome is what I'm hoping for. Not "die in a fireball of failure", that would be unfortunate.

Thanks to I'm a Top Magician, IHATEYOUTOOLIFE, Discoabc, AnjuAddams, and NinjaGirl9797 for the favorites, and Killer Angel2, Lotori, Discoabc and NinjaGirl9797 for the follows. I hope you like this chapter.

Remember, reviews are really cool! Ciao!