Chapter 1: A strange new World

Being an orphan sucks. I'll be the first to admit that. Of course, it would have sucked a whole lot more if I was a normal child. Thankfully this is my second time around.

Yep, that's right. I seem to have been reincarnated in a whole new, possibly wonderful world.

Who'd have thought it was possible? Definitely not good ol' agnostic me that's for sure.

Strange part is there was no fanfare whatsoever. No talk about being summoned here. No gods I met who brought me to the cycle of life and death.

Nothing.

Perhaps I just cannot remember what happened because of my underdeveloped baby-brain. Even now I have trouble staying focused, or even really formulating concise thoughts...

I don't know exactly how old I was when I first noticed what was going on. Interestingly my mind seems to have more trouble remembering my childhood than the memories from before my new life. I can blame that on my underdeveloped brain as well most likely.

But enough about the past, who really cares about that anyway? Well, really I'm just trying to keep myself entertained with my thoughts, since I can't really talk to anybody. Ugh, there I go rambling again, let's finally address the elephant in the room.

This world, whichever it is I've been born into, is very strange.

Firstly: Everyone speaks japanese. I may not be fluent yet, but I've watched enough anime to know what it sounds like.

Sec-

What's that?

A child is crying. Which one is it? Maybe I can smother them before anybody notices… hah just kidding. I can barely even lift a pillow with my chubby little arms. Even crawling around is a huge chore, but I gotta keep up my training, especially if I want to read books at some point. I've been holding off talking to someone since the other children haven't started to either.

Okay back on topic.

Second: The tech is wayy out of whack. We have fully functioning, modern looking, lights. But where the hell are all the car sounds!? Also, the few times I've actively looked outside the window I haven't seen any high rises whatsoever. Seems to be a weird blend of modern tech with old culture.

Third: It constantly feels as if I'm drowning. Figuratively of course. Well not exactly figuratively but I digress… it feels like I'm in an extremely humid climate, only that I feel no humidity.

No.. that doesn't fit right.

It feels like my insides are stuffed with water? Or air? Something. But not only my insides. Even around me I can feel a slight… pressure, if you will. And there's definitely some of it coming from other people as well. Though the children have barely any, and the caretakers only a little bit.

There's this one kid who feels very different though. I haven't really seen much of him because he's kept in another room, but every now and then when he's around I feel like the entire atmosphere's pressure increases.

I've never been one to believe in the supernatural. But after much deliberation - actually mostly just considering the whole "reborn" thing - I can't quite rule out the idea that maybe perhaps there's an itsy bitsy chance that the stuff I'm feeling is some form of energy.

And if that's the case, then I might have been reborn in an awesome fantasy universe. One with magic and… well mostly just magic.

And you bet that I'll do my very best, like no one ever was, to learn how to use this magical energy.

Not like I have much else to do really.

Two weeks into my mana training and I still got nothing.

Scratch that, I do have something. Good and bad news. Actually more like mediocre and disappointing news.

Mediocre: I've confirmed that the pressure I feel around my and inside myself is seemingly the same kind of energy, and courses through me in some strange cycle, almost like a second cardiovascular system.

Disappointing: I don't seem to have much more mana (yes I know it's geeky to call it that) than anybody else. Barely a fraction of what that one kid seems to. Perhaps genetics play a roll? I hope not, because in that case I may be screwed.

Besides that, I still haven't managed to interact with this mana in any way, maybe I should get back to attempting to find a book? Japanese is such a bother though, maybe I should finally start talking? The other kids do seem to mumble a lot, and I know that I've probably been uncharacteristically quiet for a baby...

"Satoya yameru!"

"Back off lady, I'm trying to grab a book!"

There she goes swooping me up off the chair. I was so close to the top shelf too!

"I'm gonna be extra messy when I eat today," I say in a cutesy happy tone.

Of course she didn't understand that, as I was speaking English. It's the sentiment that counts though.

It was actually a great way for me to feign baby talk. Just speak in a language nobody but me understands. In fact I probably spend more time speaking in "babytalk" than Japanese. It's hilarious to see the caretakers get all riled up because they damn well know I can understand them.

"Hanae-san please. I wanna reeaad."

"No, it's time for your nap."

Ugh, those were the absolute worst. I just want to continue learning about kumiko's adventure in the magical forest. Less out of interest for the story, and more because it taught all sorts of kanji like apple, tree, forest, fish, wolf, even kunai… yeah it was a little weird at parts.

On the bright side, no matter what they did they couldn't stop me from my mana practice!

Quite boring practice to be frank, but at least it feels like less of a waste of time than napping.

I reckon I've been practicing magic for a few months at this point with very limited success.

I have gotten a bit better at determining whose energy is whose and I can vaguely tell their position without seeing them. Getting caught in the act of climbing atop a chair despite my ability shows I have a lot to learn.

What do I even know about it so far? Not a lot

Mana definitely comes in different flavors: Internal and external. Additionally, there is definitely a biological component to it, a secondary circulatory system through which the energy courses. My own system is beginning to develop hot spots at certain areas in my body, most notably in my torso.

I haven't noticed any pressure increase coming from the other children, at least not as much of one as from myself. This leads me to believe I may have awakened these pathways prematurely through my bit of prodding. Perhaps they develop naturally and I have simply won the genetic lottery.

Any attempts to shift it around causes an inordinate amount of pain. Just in case it stimulates growth I keep slightly shifting it nonetheless.

If this truly helps, then I can't imagine what monstrous amount of self harm the child next door went through. Either that or he was simply lucky and will have an enormous amount of power when he grows up.

I gotta keep at it. Can't be left in the dust by some baby!

Something is seriously messed up here.

It took me long enough to realize, but the prodigy baby isn't just in a different room.

It has a private room. At first I thought it might be because they're the heir of some famous wizard clan or something. Then I noticed how angry the caretakers seemed to be whenever they entered the room to feed the child.

That, and the fact that they often referenced a word around him which I inferred meant something along the lines of "demon".

Now, I'm not a naturally superstitious person. However, magic exists in this world. The child has a lot of it.

I'm not saying I automatically believe everything the caretakers say… but odds are the child might actually be part mythical creature. I mean, who am I to judge?

In any case, I should probably be careful around them if they are ever allowed out of their room.

What's his energy level at, anyway?

Focusing all my attention on the other side to measure myself against him shows me I'm still pathetically weak.

More training is in order I guess. Especially if demons are real and powerful. Wouldn't want to end up crushed again.

Heh… yeah.

I done goofed. Messed up. Screwed myself.

All of the above.

It all happened so innocently, you know? I just wanted to cheer up a kid who was getting ignored by everyone. I mean come on, how couldn't I?

There he was, crying in the corner with whiskers drawn on his face as someone's poor attempt at a joke. All while the people who should have been consoling him were sending him hateful glares, and nothing much else.

What kind of ex-grownup would I be if I didn't try and cheer him up after that? Sure there may have been a bit of a secondary objective to it, but who doesn't want powerful allies?

And when he asked me if I wanted to be his friend, how could I refuse?

"Of course I'll be your friend!" I say, reaching out with my hand. "I'm Satoya Nibui, what's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," the kid answers.

Oh no.