Reincarnation Cycle.
Naruto Edition Chapter 2 -
"Naruto." I heard once I came to awareness once more. "Naruto. Wake up." I rolled over in my half-awake mindset, determined to ignore the voice that called me by a name I was used to hearing but didn't want to acknowledge. My dream of being back where I used to be several years ago seemed better than what I would have to go do.
Suddenly I was thrown out of bed onto the floor as my mother flipped my futon with an angry visage, "My lazy son will NOT be late on his first day of The Academy. GET YOUR SELF READY FOR SCHOOL!"
Slightly disoriented, I nodded and waited for her to leave the room before I made my bed, took a short shower and got dressed in the brand new outfit that was laid on the bathroom sink. I smiled. Mom had obviously either gotten a bonus on her last mission or had saved more than I thought.
Coming into the living room and seeing her delicious home-cooked ramen on the table I rushed over in my excitement and nearly tackled her to the floor, "Thank you for breakfast and the new clothes, Kushina!"
She ruffled my hair and almost hid a grimace. She didn't like when I called her by her name instead of mother or mom. I didn't do it to spite her or too often, but to get her used to it over time so that when I was an adult or if I ever became Hokage, it wouldn't be as weird.
"Call me Mom, Naruto. Honestly, is it that hard to remember?" She said exasperatedly and gave me a warm smile. "I love you. You know that, right?"
I could tell that once again, she was both missing my father and also hoping that I wasn't losing my love for her. I knew that today was an emotional day being my first day at The Academy. I smiled brightly and responded, "I do know that, Mom. That is what makes you the best mom ever!"
Giving her another hug, I sat down and proceeded to eat my Ramen with delight. I wasn't someone that would have eaten Ramen where I came from. It didn't smell or taste good. I figured I could use this world to break some of the bad habits from my old life and always ate what she put in front of me. This lead to the lesson I received when I was six years old.
*flashback*
We had just started our lessons on diplomacy and at first I was confused at why Hiashi was sitting in my living room only one day after my lesson, but I used my training and observed his body language. He was, as usual, his stone faced self but his posture was less tense than usual. Upon receiving a nod of acknowledgement I spoke, "Pardon me, Hyuga-sama. Might I ask where my mother has gone?" To which he raised his hand in a sign I took to wait, then gestured to the chair in front of him with a simple command of, "Sit."
Complying with his request, I waited as patiently as I could. After about ten minutes, or what seemed like an hour for me, I asked, "Will you please answer my question, Hyuga-sama?" A small ghost of a smirk followed by the rebuttal of, "Which one, Uzumaki-san?" left me stifling a groan and crossing my arms in petulant frustration. More time passed. With each tick of the clock matching every other twitch of my eyebrow as I was determined to wait him out. Just before I lost my temper and as I took a breath to start shouting, Kushina walked back in the front door carrying a scroll. She set her sandals to the side and slid on her slippers shouting, "I'm home! Naruto? You better not still be slee-Oh! Hiashi! I did not expect to see you so soon. Is it that time already?"
"Mom! Where did you go?" I asked impatiently as I was still frustrated and want to get the information I felt I needed. The scroll impacted my face which gave me my answer along with, "Naruto! It is rude to interrupt two people in conversation. We just went over this yesterday. Apologize to Hiashi this instant!" I stood, pocketing the scroll and bowed, "I apologize for my rudeness, Hyuga-sama. Please forgive me."
He stood, acknowledging my bow with a partial one himself and replied, "It is alright, young Uzumaki-san. For once, it is understandable. If you will both follow me, I do not wish to be late." This forced a look of confusion on my face and a sad look of acceptance across Kushina's face with a nod from her. She pointed at the hallway and told me to get dressed in my formal wear. I did my best to put it on by myself, but messed up a little as my arms were too short to tie everything properly. We were out the door minutes later with my stomach grumbling since we were apparently skipping breakfast.
Trekking through the village did not take long as I was easily distracted by the sights and sounds, something I found disconcerting given my original level of observation skills, and we arrived at a restaurant. Hiashi bid us to wait outside in view of a gathering on the inside and at his signal come in. Kushina put her hand out and I figured she wanted the scroll. Once she had it, she unfurled it while explaining what she had done, "Lesson number three, Naruto-kun. It is rude to be invited to someone's birthday party and not show up with a present." She placed her hand on the scroll and a poof of smoke appeared. I was astounded at how quick and easy it was retrieved. She handed me a gift-wrapped box and then pointed at the gathering. I started walking and she followed at a small distance.
"I took the liberty of inviting your mom's best friend and her son to your birthday, Hinata-chan. I am sure you do not mind." Hiashi spoke, introducing us in a way that, while kind, still made me want to punch him for assuming. I bowed slightly in greeting and offered the gift, watching her open in with a happy grin plastered on my face.
Her calm yet happy face turned to one of shock, glee and mirth as she started shaking in quiet laughter at what turned out to be half her gift. My mother had included a small Fox plushie from me, complete with my name around the collar, and a picture of the very first prank a younger Kushina had pulled on "stick-up-his-butt" Hiashi Hyuga. He was covered in tar and dressed head to toe in feathers. Even their Jonin senseis were struggling to keep their laughter in. Once he saw this, he immediately dived for the picture in order to keep it in the box, but Kushina was faster. Hinata startled at the rapid movement and backed away from the fierce struggle between ninja and scooted closer to me. Shyly she smiled and said, "Thank you for the plushie, Naruto-san. I think it is cute."
Realizing my mom was setting me up for practicing my diplomacy skills, and oblivious to any potential romantic implications I responded with, "You are welcome, Hinata-san. Please feel free to just call me Naruto. I only use honorifics when dealing with non-friends, that is if you will be my friend." Which caused her to light up with joy and tackle me into a hug.
Several voices chimed in with, "awwwwww" and I became aware of not only an audience, but the blinding flare of a camera bulb going off. I looked for the source only to see my mom and her dad grinning like rivals with both of them having taken a picture and Kushina holding the present. Both Hinata and I blushed and she rushed to get off of me. I stood up and helped her up. Then cake was had. This is where I received my impromptu and unofficial lesson in poison awareness. Hinata was being forced by her mom to wait until everyone else had a slice, Hiashi was distracted by an Anbu with an important message from the Hokage and Kushina was trying to get the Anbu to go away and wait until later. I looked at Hinata and asked if it was alright if I just tasted the frosting as I was trying to wait to eat my cake until she had some, seeing as how that is what the adults were doing.
When she nodded, I dipped my finger into the frosting for my slice and licked my finger clean. What only felt like seconds went by and everything felt woozy. I wondered aloud if this is what cake is supposed to feel like and then passed out. I woke up in the hospital later with Kushina sobbing in worry and Tsunades hands glowing green over my face. I was told several things. First, that I was poisoned. Second, it was the cake. Third, It was meant for Hinata and I was not the only victim as several other kids had gotten impatient. Fourth, Hiashi wanted to speak to me as soon as I felt able. I nodded and pointed to my mom for confirmation. She dried her tears quickly once I was given a clean bill of health and motioned Tsunade to let in visitors. Hinata and Hiashi were the first of a few. They both thanked me for attending my birthday and apologized for getting me poisoned. I waved my hand and said I was glad to attend and thanked them for getting to meet a new friend. I also told Hiashi that if he really wanted to apologize for the attempt on my life, he would help Kushina find a taijutsu teacher to train me when she could not. This surprised both him and my mom as neither knew I wanted to start training.
The rest of the visits went by fast as I was slightly loopy still and after they left I was forced to sleep my Tsunade's glowing hands. I did not wake up until morning. It was mostly just an observational overnight.
*End flashback*
I recieved a smack over the back of the head as I took my first bite without thinking and was given a five minute lecture on how I should never take food for granted and check for poison at all times. I nodded through the shouting and then followed instructions. I did the smell taste, dabbed a bit of the broth with my finger and then subtly flicked in at her. Since it wasn't a threat, her shinobi senses did not alert her to it and it smacked her dead on the nose, just like I intended. I had forgotten prank rule number one. Do. Not. Waste. Ramen. Her hair started floating. I recognized the sign as a chance to run. I took it. I was halfway out the door in my pajamas before she caught me. An epic beatdown insued and I was dragged to the kitchen floor and left twitching while she finished both her AND my Ramen.
"That is what you get for trying a prank, even a small one, that broke the first prank rule Naruto-kun. You know better." Kushina said with a smirk, "Now go clean yourself up and maybe you can still have seconds if you are fast enough." I raced into the washroom, tearing off my clothes to put them in the dirty bin and washing myself in a cold shower to speed up the process and was out and dry in five minutes. Dressed in another two. I raced back into the kitchen to find a steaming bowl of Ramen. I shouted in glee and was about to chow down when I felt an impending sense of doom. I quickly checked for poison and the sense of doom disappeared only to feel caution and mirth. I finished the bowl and smiled, patting my belly with a sense of warmth and relaxation. I heard my mom call for me to get ready for the Academy. I went to comply, only to find myself glued to the seat. I checked and sure enough there was only a seal. I looked around for any form of counter seal and realized that this was a secondary punishment for Ramen prank. I called out that I knew I was sealed to the chair. Then I felt a small amount of 'noise' as I still call it that despite my mom saying it was Chakra. I had yet to be able to tell between different people's chakra so it all felt like soundless noise to me.
I was free to move and I went to gather my backpack which we had carefully packed with the list of school supplies mom said I would need. Then we were off. The trip through the village was still distracting, but I had come to learn that was all the Chakra lingering in the air from people milling about and from Ninjas traversing through the village on rooftops. I have begun trying to ignore it on my own, but have made little to no progress. Something the Hokage had commented on in the meeting to see if I qualified to learn to be a shinobi. My soon-to-be sensei, Iruka acknowledged the comment and wrote something down in his notes for my file.
My first day at the academy was full of excitement. I learned that I would be in the class with the first years. My birthday was in October, which was a month past the cut-off date. I sighed when I first learned this, but accepted it as some sort of link with my past self. "Wait... When did it become my past self and not myself. I am Michael. I am Naruto. Maaaaaan. This is so confusing. I hope this gets easier when I learn meditation."
Meeting my fellow students went about as well as I could expect when interacting with other kids. I sat next to the familiar Hinata-chan and noticed some obvious signs that told me I was in a clan with most, if not all, of the Major Clan Heirs. Sitting on the other side of Hinata and genuinely surprised I noticed him was Shino, as he introduced himself, Aburame. He noted that I was the third person that day to become aware of him without prompting. Something he explained as a side-effect of the clothing his clan chose to wear. I commented that maybe he, or his clan, could pin something to their jackets or carry something in their hands that was an attention grabber when they wished to be seen. He immediately stood, walked to the window and let out a few of his bugs to report this idea to his parents and clan. I told him to save his thanks for if something actually changed when I saw him about to bow.
Kiba Inuzuka, A brash young shinobi in training that would be come to known for three things. His lame pick-up lines with other girls in our year, challenging everyone to fight during lunch period and his cute but equally adventurous canine companion Akamaru. They got along well with pretty much everyone with the exception of Sasuke and Shikamaru for two separate reasons. One of jealousy and the other of distaste for the 'sin' of sloth.
Ino Yamanka. Sakura Haruno. These two were practically fused at the hip. They were best friends and yet rivals. They both saw Sasuke "pretty boy" Uchiha as the ultimate bad boy. I found that sort of generalization rude as heck and told them that when they both approached him with love letters at lunch. He had sat next to me at lunch, mumbling a hello and explaining that Hinata's mom and my mom were on a genin squad with his mom under Tsunade. He glared at me when I mentioned that means he knew not to cross an Uzumaki or be pranked to kingdom come. He swore that if I pranked him, I would regret it.
Shino had joined us after my beat-down by The Fangirl Squad about daring to question their love for Sasuke, which included several civilian ninja trainees and a random adult that passed by. That last one confused me. I made a note in my mind to ask my mom about it later. Shino had brought along the only other classmate to notice him, Shikamaru Nara and his tag along Choji Akamichi. I offered Choji some of my homemade ramen and found him warping next to me with the speed my mom uses when offered free ramen. He and I got along instantly. Shikamaru laid down next to him. I asked him if he would like some food since my mom made a bunch more than even I could eat, he declined saying he had eaten on the walk over to the tree and he had a strict training based diet.
I nodded and we moved into more fluid group based conversation after that. Kids being kids, ya know? Darn it. That verbal tick of mine has even made it into my account of what happens. Oh well. I can only move on. After lunch we moved back into the classroom for another lecture. This prompted me to groan quietly and drop my head onto the desk. I heard Iruka sensei's 'noise' shift around towards the class and get louder. I lifted my head up to see that he was demonstrating the first technique we were to learn. Transformation, or henge no jutsu was an odd ability. You could modify your body shape in weight and height, but only to about fifty percent increase or decrease for most average users. Masters of genjutsu could make themselves as small as a mouse with it in supplement to a genjutsu but not without. I made a note to study genjutsu so I could use it to sneak around better. Iruka sensei went on to mention the other things you could and could not do. You could alter your voice. There was no limit there. You could not mask your smell. I raised my hand when did not address why. I was called on.
"Iruka-sensei, why can you not mask smell? You said touch was covered which means that only smell is isolated." I asked and got a discerning look from a few of my fellow students as well as Iruka-sensei himself. He lifted his hand to acknowledge my question and then left it up to signify that he needed a minute to process my question.
His reply left many more questions in my head that I jotted down to ask my mother about later, "We are not really sure, Naruto-san. There is a branch of research going into it and that is all I am allowed to tell new recruits." I nodded at the answer as it explained earlier in the day that if we were told information was off limits, we had to inquire on our own time at home and at our own risk. After my quick little question, he had us all go through the hand signs necessary, assigning the complete list of all the hand-signs as homework for that lesson to be completed by next month. After assigning homework and receiving groans, he decided to have an impromptu test of our henge skill. Exceptions were made for those that did not know how to access their chakra yet. That was became tomorrow's lesson when over half of the class, mainly civilians, did not know how to access their chakra. I was among that half. He looked at me and instead of offering me advice simply said, "Ask your mother when you get home. I will send a note to the Hokage about reminding her since she forgot."
After school, several of my friends invited me over to play in a local park and I would have said yes if not for Kushina interrupting my answer with, "Sorry kids, but I need to teach my son to unlock his Chakra since it is an essential part of his training."
When we made it home, I was escorted to the training ground we had out back. I was told to cross my legs like I was going to meditate, but not to clear my mind. Instead I was told to focus on my own 'noise'. I did so and found that when focusing on my own chakra, other chakra's were quieter. I also realized that my chakra had already been activated. I quickly did the hand-signs for transformation and put in what I thought was only a small amount of my chakra. This resulted in a large amount of smoke as I was clearly using a large amount for a normal person. When the smoke cleared, it revealed my mom in the bikini I saw her wearing one time when she thought I was out for a nap. I had been practicing my stealth to try and prank her, but just ended up with another beat-down for peeking. I don't even know what that means, but I certianly started going to bed on time from then on. I felt pain erupt from the top of my head and heard, "Don't use that for inspiration! Try again with someone else!" from my mom. I cried and waited until the pain was gone, which wasn't too long.
After a second try with even less chakra, I appeared as Lord Hokage, down to the pipe with fake smoke coming out of it. She noticed something and had me try several different people that I knew, each on with less and less chakra. After the fourth I just kept using the same amount of chakra because I could not tell if there was less chakra or not. On the seventh try I asked, in Iruka-sensei's voice, what Kushina was trying to get at and also how to tell if I was using a small amount of chakra or not. She looked like I grew a second head and handed me a leaf. I was told to place the leaf on my forehead and keep it there with chakra. Several blown attempts later I got it to stick. This caused me to lose concentration. I quickly grabbed the leaf before it could get too far and tried to refocus myself.
Mother told me that should I be able to get one leaf to stick for an hour, that i should move the leaf to one of my limbs to help me familiarize myself with the pathways in those areas. She also inferred it would help with the next exercise once I had this one mastered. I shouted that I would have a leaf on all five limbs at the same time by this time next month. She laughed with glee at my enthusiastic response and said if I achieved my goal, she would teach me the next exercise. I jumped around joyfully for a few minutes and then sat back down to focus. I do not remember that day turning to night, but the next thing I remember aside from getting to an hour with the one leaf was my mom tucking me and telling me good night.
"Mom...?" I said sleepily as she was about to shut the door. "Yes, little Naruto-kun?" She said with love in her voice.
"I love you. Thank you for training...me..." I said as I fell asleep. I did not hear her response, but later learned that she had said, "I love you too, son. Good night, Naruto. Your father would be proud." in a whispered voice.
AN: Thank you for your patience with the wait in updates. I have been feeling better lately. To those reading this for the first time: Welcome! I hope you enjoy my story. I do not know when I will update again, but hopefully soon.
A point of opinion on the state of the world in april of 2020, Please stay indoors when possible for your safety and others. Please wear a mask if you are sick. I wish everyone stays safe and well and for those that are sick a speedy and sound recovery.