I woke up in a different body in a world not my own.
To say that I panicked was quite an understatement. I cried when I realised that I woke up in an infant body.
I haven't cried in years.
But as time went on, I adapted like I always did. The world I lived in shared the same ideals of my father. Though I heard that Konoha- my village now- was quite mild compared to others. Some would say that I was lucky, others would say that I had the worst luck of all.
It kind of depended on how you looked at things. I think I might have been given a second chance here, in this world.
Though if it's a good thing or not has yet to be decided.
It was a world with a cycle of hate worse than those in my own world after all. This land was wrought with war not too long ago, and a new one is looming closer still.
As I pondered on my fate in this world, the door on the left side of my wooden crib opened and my mother walked through.
She smiled at me. Her smile was as blinding as the sun and it took my breath away. The love in her eyes was genuine and warm. I felt underserving of the kindness that this strange woman had shown me these past few weeks.
She sang to me whenever past memories threatened to take over my mind in the form of nightmares and hugged me when I shivered not from the cold, but from the fear of the unknown- and this whole world was very much the unknown. I knew nothing of the workings in this world and it had scared me. It has been a long time since I last felt this vulnerable.
But this woman gave me the comfort I did not know I had needed before.
How much would have changed if I had a mother in my other life?
Surely, it would not have mattered much?
Apparently, it matters very much.
In these years I have learned more about human emotions than I had those twenty pitiful years of my past life. It was enlightening.
People can feel joy in such simple things as eating good food and find triumph in petty things like having longer hair than the other.
Is this what it is like to be a child?
I would be the first one to admit that I was a bit of a momma's boy. In these last three years I had followed my mother like a little duckling, waddling after her as fast as my weak legs would allow me to. My excuse is that I am beginning my training young and am disguising it as following my parent like any other child. Though why I felt like I needed an excuse was beyond me at the moment.
Women I did not recognise would pinch my cheeks and call me adorable now and then and I let them. It felt weird- the attention I received. I had never been coddled like this, though I wasn't as disgusted as I thought I would've been.
It felt kind of nice to be fussed over like this.
I lost my balance and scraped my knee the other day. I had shrugged it off and stood back up, it did not hurt that much. It wasn't worth stressing over. My mother seemed to think otherwise as she picked me up and walked back into the house to tend to my 'injury'. It was laughable, really, how such a notorious assassin such as I liked to be fussed over.
Over the years I had learned of a profession that had appealed to me. A shinobi- basically a glorified assassin.
I wouldn't have to hide myself in fear of being recognised and send to jail. No- I would be considered successful and a hero if I spun the tales well enough and spread enough good rumours about myself.
Yes, I would become a target for bounty hunters, but when have I not been hunted for what I did- for who I was?
This time, I would have a whole village backing me up.
This time, something like killing people was legal.
This time, I am not the only one well versed in the art of assassination.
Though I am unsure if it is a good thing.
Miyako knew that her son was strange, yet it did not bother her as much as it probably should have. She was proud of her little boy. He was a genius even amongst other geniuses, she was sure of it.
He had an air of wisdom and awareness around him that most children did not possess, it was subtle and something she only noticed recently. His knowledge of things that had never been explained to him should have frightened her, yet it did not.
Oh she was wary in the beginning, afraid of what he might become. But she was his mother and she knew him better than anyone else, she probably knew him better than he did himself.
She never feared him, because her son was one of the most gentle souls she knew. It was clear in the way he always thought of other beings before himself, how he always let her friends fuss over him even though she knew all he wanted to do was get away from the cheek-pinching aunties. How he would pet their neighbours dogs every day and give them a little treat. How he offered his dango to a crying girl in need of comfort.
He was polite and sweet and everything she wanted in a child. That is why she found his sudden fascination with ninjas so jarring.
The path of the shinobi was ill-suited for him.
And it pained her to see him so interested in a job that would no doubt make him miserable.
Then, she thought about yesterday. She thought about how he had scraped his knee and stood up after his harsh fall like nothing had happened, as if the sting of his wound was nothing but an annoyance that was easily ignored. Other kids would be crying their eyes out if they hurt themselves, yet he did not even blink.
Almost like a movie, different scenarios were played in her mind.
That one time when her son had asked about shinobi and weapons and war. He seemed in his element back then as he asked her specific questions like what their tactics were and what weapons were the most efficient ones.
Or that one time when he had his mouth set in a grim line as he heard about the death of an acquaintance. How understanding he had been and how easily he accepted that aunt Asaka would not be coming over anymore.
It was then that Miyako began to question herself, did she really know her son like she thought she did?
It is very short- I apologize, I guess.
But hey, it's an update lol