Chapter 2
Deep Shit
Its been a few weeks since I've been brought home and mostly it's just been mom and I.
I haven't seen dad for a few weeks, at first I thought something bad had happened but my mom hasn't seemed distressed all that much, perhaps a bit lonely is all. Is this a common occurrence? Does his job require him to travel? I've been slowly picking up the language which sounds suspiciously like Japanese but not quite.
The only reason I know the word 'kaachan' is because my mom has pointed at herself and repeated that world over a million times already. Like, I get it. Stop.
It's endearing in its own way, my mom always gets super excited when I just burble or say anything close to "kaa" and I can't help but find it pretty hilarious to see a full grown adult act like such a child.
Her eyes practically sparkle when I smile at her and reach towards her with the universal 'pick me up' gesture. Which she is happy to oblige. At first it was pretty embarrassing to have to rely on her for everything but you get over it pretty quickly when you realize that you are literally the only one making it awkward.
I can't do much else besides tilt my head to the sides and raise my hands, I still can't roll over which in itself is pretty fucking irritating. As of late I've been slightly concerned when I go to the bathroom. It doesn't feel right? Like something is off just a bit but I can't really check until my neck is strong enough for me to lift my head so I can actually get a good look which is gonna be a couple more weeks I think.
So I stare at the ceiling all day and maybe some of the wall, which are painted a soft neutral white. Yes, there are hard and soft white colors. Screw you if you think differently.
Let me tell you, I was fucking bored. Like, it was getting ridiculous. Why couldn't I be a toddler already and have a small select vocabulary so I can pull shit and ask things like what swear words mean? The look on their faces would be utterly priceless.
What should my first word be? I don't now, it'll come to me. I'll know it when the time comes.
In that moment my new mom comes into my room in a slight rush and picks me up.
"Come on, I'm tired of waiting for your father. We're going to surprise him," She huffs. I don't know why she talks to me like she expects me to understand her.
She grabs me and a couple other things before swiftly bundling me up like a burrito, crap, I can already tell that the restriction is going to irritate me. Not giving me much choice she tucks me in her arms and swiftly walks to our front door. The entire time this is going on I'm wanting to see what the rest of our house looks like but all I can see is ceiling.
Aww, yes, white ceilings, so interesting. Goddamnit, I'm so bored. Oh look some more white and maybe a small yellow stain in the corner. The most fascinating thing I've seen as of late.
I know that I said that I would do my best but its so hard when you actually can't do anything even relatively fun besides slobbering down my chin and staring at nothing.
So.
Boring.
To say the least that I'm relieved that I'm actually being taken somewhere that isn't my room is exciting and invigorating. I'm wide awake and eyes darting around. When my mom takes her first step out of our door I'm stunned with the amount of light and the color blue.
I've never really thought of how colors effect someone's emotions but all I can say is that I've lived a previous life in the color tone of grey, I died and drifted in the color black, and was reborn to only see white.
To see the color blue.
It was like seeing hope materialized into an actual visual representation. I haven't experienced such intense emotions since I the first day I was born. My eyes widened and I let out a cry that was split between joy and a disbelief.
The sky was completely clear of clouds today, when was the last time I actually looked up to see the sky? Did I even glance up in my past life? How cou-
I mean, how could I have missed this.
How could I have not looked up even once?
My eyes were still wide open and I do believe a few tears escaped the corners but it didn't really matter at the time because all I could see was blue and that is all that mattered. The feeling of wonder and astonishment that met with hope formed into something I can only describe as inspiration.
It only takes one moment and hint of inspiration to form into determination and even perhaps a dream.
My dream. My desire. My inspiration.
To be happy.
This took place in the span of a few seconds but I felt content and satiated. I had found an answer, I believe it is a very great dream. I know too many people that are ghosts in their life and I have experienced it first hand. I don't ever want to feel that ever again. Never. Again.
Everything felt sharp and in focus, things made sense. Like a break through to a problem that's been bothering you for ages. I found a reason to live. A motivator, something to push me forward.
I let out a sigh of happiness as my mom made her way down winding streets which were also full of color but I couldn't seem to tear my gaze away from the sky. There must have been something in my expression because my mom started giggling at me.
"If I didn't know better I would have thought you were a Nara," She whispers quietly. Nara? That kind of sounds familiar, something nagged at me.
Something. Something just itching me in the back of my mind. It frustrated me slightly so I let it go to instead enjoy the sky some more. I'll figure it out later.
Eventually my mom reached the destination she was looking for because we stopped in front of a tall blank grey building.
Uhhh, not to sound cowardly but it didn't look even the slightest bit friendly or inviting. I glanced at my mom's face but she didn't even look disturbed at all.
Okkk, so apparently this is the correct building. I glared confusedly at the colorless building, there weren't even any windows. That is so depressing, who would want to work here?
My mom pushed the door open and casually walked past the reception desk. Does she come here a lot? The guy behind the reception desk barely spared her a glance only to pause when he saw me and then look away. We continued down hallway after hallway until I was thoroughly confused and impressed with her confident steps. Finally we paused in front of a door that had no indications on it whatsoever. No plaque anywhere in sight or anything even resembling letters. My mom raised her hand and nocked lightly onto the metal door.
"Come in," A voice said. Ah! It was dad's voice. I started squirming in my mom's arms before she even had one foot through the doorway. I hadn't seen him in fooorreevvverrr.
"You're son has been missing you," Mom said while raising her eyebrow and her voice accusing. I couldn't understand what they were saying but I do know that my mom was scolding my dad about something. A guilty look flashed across my dad's face and it made me giggle, he so deserved what she was dishing out.
Due to my giggle both of my parent's eyes glued back to me. I pushed my arms free. Finally! Free from the the death trap called a blanket, too damn hot in that thing.
Waving my arms around I gurgled until my dad stood up from his desk and made his way to us. I waved my hands a bit more frantically to indicate that I wanted him to hold me. Laughing quietly he took me from my mom who just smiled at my antics.
He felt warm and safe, I peered up at his face in curiosity. He had long blonde hair that fell easily past his shoulders that looked like most of it was pulled back in a pony tail. I grabbed his hair and pulled his face to mine. My dad made a faint noise of pain before letting me push my hands onto his face.
"I think his eyes are finally finishing development," My father said softly as my eyes explored his face. Damn, my dad was a looker. A definite pretty boy. He had soft blue-green eyes and a strong straight nose but what caught my attention the most was the headband that glinted in the over head light. I peered even closer which in turn made my dad chuckle, it was a headband with a metal plate that had the leaf symbol that I've only ever seen in the anime Naruto.
Oh.
Oh SHIT.
I felt quite overwhelmed and bewildered at that point so I just turned my face into my dad's chest and closed my eyes trying to gain a semblance of control over myself.
What ever you do, don't scream.
Don't scream.
...wait...
If I'm in Naruto then who is my father? Is he someone important? My eyes snapped open again and I jerked to see his face again. My dad was still staring at me when I scrunched up my face in concentration, he looked so familiar.
"What are you thinking about so hard Inomi-chan?" My father murmured. Who else had blonde hair and blue eyes in the anime? I frowned lightly while delving into the scattered memories of Naruto.
…
An image of a boy with pineapple hair and a boy eating chips, a flash of a girl with blonde hair sitting in a flower shop with a pink haired girl.
Yamanaka Ino, my brain supplied.
Who was her father. A flash of color of a man with something like a metal block over his eyes. Telepathy with many people. Explosion. Tears. Pain.
Inoichi.
Yamanaka Inoichi, one of the head interrogators for the Interrogation and Torture Division.
Oh Holy Fuck.
What about Ino? I haven't seen her anywhere? Did I take her place? Oh shit please no. I do not want to be the reason some shit goes sideways and people end up dead.
Despite all the crap that could go wrong and all the shit I knew that was going to happen I wanted to live this life so desperately. I want to be happy, I want all my friends and family to be happy and safe. I have to protect them and that means becoming strong. Much much stronger.
I am already too attached to let go.
But I am a child. No. Not even a child, I am a baby that hasn't even started teething yet. I can't even lift my head or crawl. How do I make my family happy? Surprisingly the answer was blaring me in the face and so fucking simple that it was frustrating.
How do I make my family happy?
Easy.
Be a child.
My family doesn't want some child who grows up before they are even seven years old. They don't want a strong protector, they don't want some prodigy, and they don't want a child so serious that they can't laugh. They want a baby that they can cuddle, they want a child they can read bed time stories to, they want a child that smiles so bright that they can only smile in return, they want a want a child who is happy.
In the end that is always what it comes down to. What people strive and long for subconsciously.
Happiness.
I don't need to be powerful right now, I don't need to be serious right now, I don't need to become a zombie to stop the pain that is coming because no matter what happens there will always be death and darkness. There will always be nightmares and words that spit hate.
What people need is someone who can give them light. Someone who can give them a small piece of advice that no one else can give. Someone who will make you smile even when tears are streaming down your face.
I can be that light.
Coming to that conclusion I fell asleep in my dad's arms with a heart much lighter than before. I found my light in a grey building without windows built for the purpose to inflict pain onto others. What a strange world I've been born into.
Be prepared for laughter and definitely some darkness in the next chapter. If you have any ideas or want me to pay particular attention to or just fix stupid mistakes send me a review or private message. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
