Konnichiwa Konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!
It's been a long time, hasn't it? I've kind of moved over to Questionable Questing. It wasn't really planned it just... kind of happened? Sorry about not giving any warning.
But never fear! I bring some goodies with me as peace offering. This story is about 2/3 done already, probably a bit more, but hit a slump with it some months ago and haven't been able to keep it going. Figured editing and posting it somewhere else might help my muse breaking out of her gloom. For those who read 'Life and Death of Raszagal Belmont' this is the same sort of story, a sorta prologue-ish tale of an insert in a fictional world, but expanded the heck out. Thirty-three chapters out and theoretically room for another eleven, so yeah, a bit more in-depth.
Anyway, on with the show!
Seven Colours 始まります!
001 - Isekai Tensei (Reincarnated in another world)
I was named Shimada Ran at birth.
At first, it was all very confusing. I'm sure you can imagine, waking up from a slumber you don't remember falling into just to find yourself somewhere warm and dark. I can't speak for every unborn baby out there, but I for one felt safe and comfortable.
Then the spasms began, and I was slowly but surely ripped from my safe place, into a cold and unforgiving world. Suddenly light hurt my eyes, still incapable of proper sight. Suddenly noise was all the sharper and unpleasant. Suddenly I was required to breathe to remain alive.
Honestly, I have no idea how anyone does this the first time. I mean, I remembered what it was to breathe and everything and it took me a couple of false starts, but how's the tabula rasa that's a normal newborn supposed to do it? Instinct is a marvelous and scary thing.
Figuring out what was going out around me was another small victory. My eyes couldn't pick up images beyond blurs of colour, and my ears didn't have the precision to pinpoint specific words for a while.
I'll admit the idea to count the solar cycles to have some awareness of the passage of time didn't occur to me for a while. So I can only say it was some confusing blur of time and a month before I recognised the language: Japanese.
It wasn't a language I was ever fluent in my last life, but knew enough to identify some of the simpler sentences. It was a great advantage to learn the rest. Still took a while.
Along the way, I picked some keywords that sent a shiver down my spine. Words like 'Chakra', 'Konoha' or 'Kyuubi-no-Youko'. The first one might've been a coincidence, but the other two were a dead giveaway, I was in some part of the Elemental Nations, from the story of Naruto.
Ehm… yeah, maybe it's a bit late to mention it, but Shimada Ran wasn't the first name I ever carried. I was born with memories from my last life. Like reading a certain manga by the name 'Naruto'. And watching the anime, and the OVAs, and reading the novels.
Well, I don't remember how I died. Or how I lived while we're at it. More like just… knowledge. Both general and specific knowledge I'm fairly sure a newborn baby shouldn't have.
How did it happen you ask? Why the hell should I know?
No, seriously, I have no idea.
I only know I used to be someone else, and now I'm not. And I was born at some point in between. For the second time.
I won't lie, I was more than a bit thrilled when I finally accepted reality (Watching first hand a Kusa forehead protector really helped with that), and hurried to quickly recap everything I knew about the story I had been so conveniently shoved into.
Making a tentative timeline took more time that I would've liked, since Kusa wasn't connected to many incidents I could use as reference, but someone finally let slip how my grandfather had died during the Kyuubi invasion of Konoha (and what the heck was a Kusa-nin doing there I wondered). A couple of months before I was born.
Unfortunately, there was little I knew about this particular village, beyond their Blood Prison, all the shit happening to them during the Chunin Exams in Konoha and being the supposedly birthplace of the S-Rank criminal Zetsu (How does that even work? I know where Zetsu actually comes from.)
Oh, and some super-weapon or another, don't remember that part very well.
I only hope whatever time Zetsu spent here is already over. Because I seem to remember charges of cannibalism being somehow involved.
Anyway, the only thing worth remembering about this place in particular is Uzumaki Karin. Lost, shy and abused Karin, who was viewed more like a walking first-aid kit than a real person and grew alone and sad in a place that never really accepted her.
That her escape landed her into Orochimaru's hands for another handful of years didn't really improve her situation, nor helped her personality. She ended up turning into a manipulative bitch with a rowdy character and hair trigger temper. The worst of Sakura and Naruto put together into a single person… yikes.
At that point, I had to chastise myself for getting my head in the clouds. What did it matter to me whether she was happy or not? It was not my freaking problem!
As often happens in stories about being reborn in your favourite manga world, I was letting my fangirl mentality get in the way of cold, hard facts. I didn't want to join the shinobi world. It's a cruel and dark place of shadows and deceit, where puppeteers pull the strings of the unaware, only to be manipulated by the puppet masters behind them, all of them unaware of the real masterminds, who lay hidden underneath the underneath.
And death, and carnage. A lot of ninja carnage.
Yeah, in this world, it's kill or be killed.
So I would go civilian. Yup. Bombing any test they send my way and raising hell as required so my opinions on my future weren't ignored. Yup, I would be a stupid civilian with nothing to do with all that crap.
I might offer to play with Karin if I met her in the park or something, but that was all. No dangerous shinobi life for me, no siree! No matter how cool it looks in the anime.
Life as a baby is as frustrating as it is interesting. I'm always either restless or asleep, and I'm growing so fast my entire body constantly aches. The last one caught me by surprise. I mean, I vaguely remember growth pains being somewhat frequent during puberty, but would've never thought it also applied to the phase of our lives when our bodies develop the fastest. Silly me.
Being asleep more than half the time doesn't bother me too much. For what I can remember, I was pretty laid back in my last life, the sort that allows things to happen and acts mainly reactively. The restless waking time was what really got to me.
A baby's mind is something marvellous. Dunno if it's hormones or what, never been big on medicine, but my brain is always in overload. What should've been mind-boggling hours of doing nothing but eating, burping, pooping and staring at the ceiling somehow managing to become interesting.
My mind refused to sit idly, a thousand thoughts crossing it per minute, and every little nuisance became somehow a challenge impossible to ignore. I remember one occasion when I took my lack of precise eyesight as a personal offense and spent three hours squinting at the mobile toy hanging above my cradle.
I'm pretty sure half the shapes were stars, but whatever the elongated rhombus was supposed to be, I had no idea. It was all a rather dull grey tone anyway, it was difficult for my baby eyes to tell each shape apart from the others.
At the same time, my mind restlessly worked out with the information it had, and heavens but I would've killed for a pen and paper. Both sorting out my last life's knowledge in an attempt to figure out who I was and how to shamelessly take advantage of my foreknowledge.
On one hand, I'm pretty sure I was either some sort of legal consultant in the anime industry or a government worker otaku. My general knowledge was all over the place, but I knew a shitload about manga and anime, including inner workings of the business, and had a lot of experience trudging through law texts. I mean, I could also be an otaku lawyer or judge but… let's be realists here.
Also I was investing in the Gato Company ASAP, I only had around twelve years to see my investment grow before it all collapsed. Then it would be time to invest in Wave Country imports and the construction business, that last part double underlined for the time I was fifteen, in preparation for the complete demolition of Konoha.
See? My brain became an evil genius without asking. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have thought about half that in my last life.
I'm guessing a normal baby would waste this brainpower and motivation surge… well, learning the basics. I already had that down to pat. Only the stupid language got in my way, but not for long.
Granted, it would be easier if Mother talked a bit more with me, or I was taken to social situations regularly, but what can you do. While I'm at it, I might as well ask for my mouth and vocal chords to hurry up and develop so I could practise, but that's something I cannot help beyond periodically making ridiculously cute gurgling sounds in an attempt to produce real words.
Time has passed, and things have developed notably. And not necessarily in a direction I like.
For once, I can make some pale imitation of talking, which includes disconnected short words, unconjugated verbs and abusing the word 'Mama'. That's good.
I'm also officially a toddler, which is good too.
Problem is, while I'm no expert in babies (I'm fairly sure I never had my own, or even took care of a little brother while we're at it), even I can tell it's way too soon.
Mother talks to me more often now that I try and imitate the words she says, but there's still not many social situations. Nor a Father, now that I think about it. Or service, grandparents, uncles, cousins or anything. It's a bit unsettling.
Speaking of unsettling, I'm pretty sure Mother is a shinobi and has every intention of having me follow in her footsteps. Even worse, every time she looks me in the eye with that stupidly piercing stare of hers all my resolve to fight that outcome curls in a corner to cry.
Also I can finally make out the mobile over my cradle. The dull grey thingies are kunai and shuriken. The fuck?
Mother is really pretty in a sharp and lethal way. Her hair is yellowish-orange with reddish streaks, really pretty and unique, She lets it hang loose to her shoulders when she's home, but when we have people over she reins her bangs with hairpins and gathers the bulk of it into a pretty bun on her nape. It's really pretty and professional.
Her eyes are stupidly piercing. They are yellow and have slanted pupils that remind me of Orochimaru. Sometimes, when she forgets to smile, her stare feels like she can see through your soul by virtue of disassembling you piece by piece and discarding you into a corner after studying each and every single one to the point of boredom before staring a hole into your spirit. It's kind of a very specific sensation. Yeah.
If I inherit nothing else from her, I want her eyes.
Today was my third birthday and Mother told me about the Shimada family history. We're not that numerous or influential, but we're well known here in Grass. We are famous for being… well, kind of nitpicky overachievers. Every single Shimada is expected and supposedly predisposed to excel.
For instance, we don't have a long tradition as Shinobi, but both Mother and Great-Grandad are both hailed as 'ridiculously strong'.
Yeah, Mother isn't really that big in humility, that's not the thing she excels in.
She also kind of offhandedly insinuated she wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't choose to follow her career. Guess she's picked up my reluctance, but doesn't sound too happy about it.
Mother is not very good at talking about herself, but she regaled me with tales of Great-Grandfather. He lived during the times where the Hidden Villages were first founded, and was nicknamed the 'Smoke Knight' because he barely even used something outside the basic we now know as the Academy three, which put a fair deal of smoke on his fights.
Unless he didn't want to, then he bunshined without a speck of dust.
Then again he was also known for being able to use [Kawarimi (Substitution)] to switch the air between his fingers with an enemy's heart. That, guys and gals, takes finesse, and is as lethal as a [Chidori]. Sometimes even more, you can survive that shit if you're lucky or have good reflexes, only a true monster can walk away after his heart simply pops away from his chest.
No, I know what you're thinking, but Great-Grandfather didn't die against a monster (Not even Kakuzu no matter how much he would fit the tale), he retired once his skills began deteriorating and died in his bed, satisfied after spending his last years criticising the 'younger generations' to his heart's content. We Shimada know when we're getting too old to walk on the edge. We also apparently get insufferable in our old age, but meh. That's for us to enjoy and others to suffer…
Mother really lucked out with Grandpa. Grandpa chose to become a merchant and is still going strong. In his own words, a merchant never retires so, in spite of being as cranky as any other aged Shimada, we only see him for a couple of weeks a year, when his caravan passes through Kusa. That reminds me Mother is bound to eventually retire too... Actually, that's plain scary. I don't think I want to think about it anymore until… ever.
Yeah, I might become a nukenin at some point, if only to dump that particular punishment on somebody else.
But I'm digressing. The story of the Shimada family. We are born to excel, and it's apparently in our very genes. We are stubborn and driven and can't take it easy for our lives' worth. No, seriously, there's a tale about one of our ancestors dying because he was incapable of taking a medical break.
It's a Kekkei Genkai of sorts. We grow restless when inactive either physically or mentally, and anything we perceive as a challenge has a good chance of becoming an obsession. Our family teachings devote a lot to time management and work ethic that can only help our obsessions to bear fruit.
We usually don't make many friends, unless that's what we get fixated with.
This clan of mine reminds me of the Superbi Famiglia from Black Sky(1).
Also, remember that newborn mental boon I talked about some years ago? It never faded. It's either part of my new bloodline or I was born as a genius this time around, because I sure as hell wasn't like this in my last life.
I also know now about Father. He became a Missing Nin soon after I was conceived and unfortunately didn't survive the Hunter Nin sent after him. Mother doesn't like talking about him very much, and I'm never sure whether that's because he defected or because he had the gall of failing at it.
I get a lot of my appearance from him though, with grey and unassuming eyes and dull brown hair. I don't mind the hair all that much, but I'm really disappointed with my eyes. Damnit genes, you had one job!
Hopefully Father's choices in life won't burden me too heavily, he's a traitor but he wasn't a Shimada and I am, and that's supposed to carry weight. Hopefully he has more family that's happily loyal to the village, to hopefully further mitigate his actions.
Ugh… stupid overactive brain, old me wouldn't have even noticed this potential problem.
And now I'm thinking up countermeasures, damnit all this shit three times over!
I can't wait for puberty.
…
That was sarcasm.
(1) Black Sky is a Harry Potter/Katekyo Hitman Reborn crossover by Umei no Mai, one of the best fics I've ever read. Been on hiatus for a long while, unfortunately, but has a shitload of content already.
And that's chapter 1, I'm not sure yet how regularly I'll be updating. Between 1 and 3 times per week, most likely.
Oh, I have a P-treon thing now! Actually I have had it for years, but only now I'm using it. Just add Planeshunter after the dot com and it should take you straight there, there's a 18+ warning since the stuff I publish in Questionable Questing isn't for all public though. If you can spare some loose change and feel my writing deserves it, please consider a small pledge.