I don't remember much, to tell you the truth. I don't remember how I died, how hold I was when I died, or how long I was dead before I wasn't. One moment I was sitting in my room, eating ice cream straight out of the tub, then the next I was surrounded by bright lights, shadowy figures and loud, loud noises. It was like having a seizure, but not quite, because your memory isn't patchy, and you know exactly where you are, what's happening and that you don't have full control over your body.

So, really, it's nothing like having a seizure at all.

I think I fell asleep at some point during my terror, because I remember it suddenly going from loud, bright and scary to quiet, dark and peaceful. There was someone else in the room with me; I could hear their breathing, and at one point they shifted over in their half of the room, rolling about in their presumed sleep. I was afraid, but not terrified as I was before, and I reached out only to have my (small, chubby, weird) fist bump softly into a clear (plastic?) wall. I was in a tub of some sort, and I was in an unknown room, with unknown people, but at least I was (partially?) protected against them.

Then a dark patch appeared over me and I opened my mouth to scream again, but they made a shooshing noise and picked me up and why was I so small? Perhaps you'd think me a fool for not quite getting it yet, but it took a good five minutes of being patted by a tall, dark figure to understand I was a baby again.

For some reason.

Still, it explained some things. Babies eye's didn't develop for a good couple of months (or was it years?), which was why I couldn't see anything or anyone clearly. Limb control also took a while to develop, so my flailing-but-still-knowing-what-was-going-on was also explained. The dark figure holding me, and the figure on the bed must be my parents (oh, I wonder if I had any siblings! Perhaps not yet, but I loved being an older sister- well, in my old life I loved being an older sister; naturing and lecturing were both huge parts of my per- previous personality).

This new information opened more questions than it answered, though. Why was I a baby? Why was I reborn? Why was I reborn with most of my memories intact? Why only most? Had I died in my old life? How? Why? Why can't I remember? What happened to my family, my siblings? Did I even finish schooling? Why is this happening? Why me? Are there other's like me? What if my (previous) siblings had been reborn too, but I hadn't know?

It was confusing, and overwhelming, and for some reason all of my muscles hurt all at once. I fell asleep again.

Being an infant was confusing, distracting. There were random intervals of awareness and sleep, and often I was wrapped up in fabric, being carried around somewhere. When I pictured it in my mind's eye, when I was awake for long enough, I imagined they were lugging me around in one of those baby carriers people strapped to their chests and backs.

This time, this travel, gave me a chance to muse over my existence, however. Specifically, over how well I was dealing with the whole thing. Before now I wouldn't have expected that I would have taken to death so easily, but then I'd never really been scared by my passing to begin with. With my faith being completely undetermined or bound by any known limits or religion, I'd never known what to expect when I died, but then I hadn't really cared what happened to me. What mattered to me then was only the love and joy I made the others around me feel. Perhaps it was weak-minded and overly dependent of me, to rely on others existence for my own so much, but their joy gave me joy, and when I loved them, I got love and happiness in return.

One quote that appeared over and over again in my life was 'do not set yourself on fire in order to keep others warm' and yet, I'd never quite agreed with the saying.

After all, how could I stop myself when the smiles on their faces set my emotions alight?

My wrists began to itch, drawing me from my thoughts, but slowly I began to drift back into sleep. Tired, so tired.

After a good number of sleeps, I found myself being carried through a long really bright, really noisy area. While I couldn't see properly, based on the amount of turns and voices during the trip, I could only assume I was being carried home. Why we didn't take a car or taxi home I couldn't image, aside from the possibility we lived close to the hospital (but then, an hour walk wasn't really close in any way you looked at it). When we got home, I was lowered, and suddenly there was a smaller figure standing over me. Slowly they caressed my face, and the low gentle murmurs coming from my new parents meant that this must be my new sibling!

Excitement filled me, and I squinted at the black splodge eagerly, attempting to discern their features and face and I just- I loved them already. Perhaps it wasn't ideal, as they were older than me, but I was older mentally so I was kind of their older sibling still, if I twisted the definition slightly.

I had a sibling. I had a sibling again, I wouldn't be alone, I couldn't be-

Feet flew into the teenager, and blood welled up in their mouth.

"Whiny brat."

"You're so annoying."

"What a bitch."

Two feet for each comment, and she couldn't help but recall their histories, the girl with parents who could only hate, the girl her mother didn't even love, and the foreigner sent away from a war raging country. They couldn't help it, hate was the only thing they knew, she had to-

My mother was attempting to calm me down, I was wailing, and I could hear concerned noises coming from my new sibling. The noises stopped, and I stared at the bright environment around me, confused. What was that? What…

What had I been thinking about?

Brushing aside my confusion, I tried to look around, searching for the small blob that was my sibling. Where were they, I wanted to know them, I wanted to know my new family, my new loves.

The first things my eyes focused on, when they focused, was the headband resting on my father head.

Again, answers and questions flew threw my head, the sudden surge of curiosity flooding my mind. I was in the Naruto world. Why was I in the Naruto world? Why was I not in my old world? What's happened to my old world? Is there an connection between the two worlds- did my world evolve into this world? Did what I know of this world still ring true, even without me doing anything? If so, how could I or would I change it? More and more questions swirled around me, so much so that I didn't even notice when my mother picked me up and put me in the hands of my sibling.

And then I saw his face.

He was amazing, adorable, and I loved him at first sight. Dark brown eyes, pink dusted cheeks, and silky black hair- my baby brother was the cutest thing I'd even laid either of my eyes on. He looked down at me, and we both stared at each other in adoration. Reaching up, I mimicked his first contact with me, and stroked his face as gently as my uncontrollable limbs could. I loved him, and I would protect him with my life, as much as I could. It didn't matter that I was in a dog-eat-dog world, with supernatural forces and murderous ninja gangs- my family was my life; it had been in my previous life, and there was no doubt that it would be now.

"Can she see me?" His voice was high pitched, with a hint of gravel that would probably develop later on in his life. Smiling down at us, our mother nodded.

"Yes, Shino, she can."

Shino. Shino Aburame- I had been born to the Aburame family. I had been born to the Aburame family, and baby Shino was absolutely adorable. Adorable, and smiling down at me, and speaking to me, at the tongue I'd picked up over month of hearing it.

"Can you see me, Shiko?" I understood, but I couldn't speak, and I smiled and reached up, grabbing his face before blowing one, deliberate spit-bubble. Until I could speak properly, I'd find another way to communicate. Siblings understand miraculous things when it comes to one another, and I'm sure he'd understand, he'd get it.

Glee spread over his face, and he grin up at our mother.

"She can see me!" I cherished the glee as it was, aware of the reserved appearance that would soon emerged. Pure emotions were a beautiful thing, and I loved to see the joy in someone else's features. It was a wonderful feeling, and I was just so happy that someone else could experience them.

I wanted to make sure he would never stop feeling those emotions.

Discovering I had bugs in my body brought on a whole different truckload of emotions, though. Realising I was an Aburame was one thing, noticing the holes in my wrists was another. I was halfway through panicking -and, as a result, panicking the hive within me- when my brother walked into the nursery.

"What's wrong, Shi?" Eyes wide, I held my wrists out to him, the kikaichu swarming over my hands.

"Those are your friends, Shi." He held out his own wrists, and several kikaichu appeared. They were a different colour from mine, and his calmness seeped into me alongside curiosity. I babbled, then stopped, and then pointed at his bugs then mine and tilted my head. He shrugged.

"Dunno." I nodded, pouting slightly.

That night, when sitting with my father, I held out my wrists, and attempted to communicate my curiosity to him. He just stared at me, confusion evident on his features despite his glasses. Frowning, I grumbled, and then called out my garbled attempt of "Shino". Whether it worked or he was already walking into the room I don't know, but he headed over anyway.

Again, I held out my wrists and babbled slightly, and Shino nodded, understanding.

"Da, why're they different colours, Shi and mine's?"

"They're different species." Father started, and so began our first lesson on kikaichu.

Apparently each Aburame host's a complete different species of kikaichu, depending on the species that chooses the host after birth. Apparently the child is presented to several groups before a species selects the host for a nest- I don't remember this happening, but without my eyes, and with the common communication choice of the Aburame -grunts and hums- it could well have occurred on one of my trips with our parents while I couldn't see a thing (or stay awake at all). Shino had been selected by the black coloured type of kikaichu, while my dark green species was slightly more rare. Shino's specialised in absorbing chakra and sharing it with their host for longer battles, while mine specialised in absorbing chakra and using it to increase their size for attack uses.

Father was reluctant to provide us with more data, more information, but I have many years in front of me (or, at least, I think I do) and more time to figure out what my new body consists of.

Mother had decided to start feeding me solid food. On the plus side I could stop sucking on her boobs- I didn't like them in the previous life, and I didn't like them in this one. On the negative side, I'd had a major allergy to gluten in my previous life, and my mistrust towards all foods until proven otherwise is something that hasn't quite worn off yet. I turned away from the airplane-like spoon, still unsure as to whether allergies carried through past death. Logically it was a different body which functioned differently in general. On the other hand, rebirth existed and allergies probably still exist, so my chances of actually having some sort of allergy despite my reincarnation (based on my luck in my previous life) where extremely high.

Half an hour later, I was proven right. Whether it was gluten or something else, I was vomiting and bloating, and though I was wearing a diaper still, the familiar burn of bile on my backside was there. There was distress in my mothers eyes, and I was so sorry, I was so wrong, I shouldn't be so much trouble, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be a bother.

When I emerged from my distressing circled, I was looking up at Shino again, and he was staring worryingly down at me, and it was set off all over again. But, in contrast to the previous episode, Shino interrupted my thoughts, laying a hand on my cheek.

"I'll take care of you." He whispered to me, oblivious to the stares and conversation of the adults over his head. My heart welled, and I just- I stared at him, sad and hopeless. I was meant to take care of him, I love him so much, why couldn't I take care of him instead?

"It's okay." A kiss on my forehead, and I felt like crying.

Apparently my allergy was rare in the Naruto world, and we went over to meet someone who'd had the allergy before (according to my parents, the only one, but I suspected it was the only recorded one). The chubby person in front of me didn't look like they'd been on a gluten free diet. Without the climbing knowledge that'd been available in my previous world, and the technology that had been present to separate the gluten from the grains, there couldn't be that much available for consumption and yet-

When his eyebrows raised at the immediacy of my intolerance, I relaxed a bit, comprehension seeping through. Not everyone had been as sensitive as me, and it appeared this guy was no different. Still, his experience would make my path less difficult, and I couldn't really complain while the bile was still burning into my backside.

And so ended my first year as Shiko Aburame, my parents learning the ways of the gluten free life, and I learning how to be a child again.