As Long As My Blood Flows

by TheRealEvanSG

A refugee from Kirigakure, all of the civilians in Konohagakure treat Kawase Ren like he'll betray the Village the first chance he gets. But Ren has his own troubles; he's the clan heir, his clan's kekkei genkai is Fluid Release but he's terrified of water, and oh, there's the little fact that he's been reincarnated into a world that'll happily destroy him at a moment's notice. SI.

1. Remembrance

As Long As My Blood Flows

Chapter 1 - Remembrance

["Kawase-san."]

It was a hot, steamy day under the Ohioan sun in the middle of summer. My mom, desperate to get me out of the house and do something with me, anything to get me off of my computer, had pulled me to Chippewa Creek, where we rushed over the roaring river, bouncing and splashing over the rapids. My mom's brown locks fluttered in the wind as she turned to grin at me.

"Isn't this fun?" Her voice, deeper in pitch than the average woman but laced with joy, rang out through the water in my ears.

I raised an eyebrow at her, a soft smile of my own curling up on my lips in spite of myself. "It's a level 5 river. If it's not fun, somebody's doing something wrong somewhere."

["Ka-wa-se-san."]

My soaked shirt weighed heavy upon my chest, clinging around the slight 'beer belly' developing on me due to my sugar intake. My shorts weren't as wet as my shirt, mostly because my mom and I had had a splash war with my shirt taking the full force of it. In my pocket, my waterproof Galaxy blasted music into the air. I threw my head back and sang along, voice belting into the air, uncaring whether I was off-key:

"I used to think maybe you loved me now baby I'm sure

And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door

Now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down

'Cause I just can't wait 'til you write me you're coming around"

["Kawase Ren!"]

"I'm walking on sunshine (Wow!)

I'm walking on sunshine (Wow!)

I'm walking on sunshine (Wow!)

And don't it feel—"

Suddenly, I was weightless. Tumbling, falling through the air, my stomach dropping a million miles into the ground. Someone cried out, and water filled my mouth. I choked on it, fear gripping me as I sucked in water, not air. My arms flailed as I quickly sunk—Pain erupted in my head. The rapids battering against me turned red; I'd hit my head off a rock.

Choking. Choking. Gagging, begging for air, a sharp pain searing through my brain from the wound on my skull. I'd always been a good swimmer. I'd been on the swim team as a kid. Gotten a second place in the backstroke, even. I fought against the water with all my might, but I couldn't tell up from down due to how the rapids tossed me around with abandon, and the flow of the river was too strong for me to fight against, anyway. Two more sharp pains, one in my arm and the other in my leg, rose up as I was slammed into more rocks with the force of a truck.

My vision, already blurry and unfocused due to the water, began to dim.

"KAWASE-SAN! WAKE UP!"

I jumped a mile and almost tipped back in my chair, blinking rapidly. I flailed my arms a bit and righted myself, panting a few times. Wow, that had been unnecessarily scary. Blearily, I rubbed my eyes, then glanced up into the glare of Iruka-sensei, who frowned deeply at me. As my eyes slowly focused and I returned to a greater state of wakefulness, I realized where I was; Iruka-sensei's classroom. My fellow classmates stared at me, except for Shikamaru, who looked like he couldn't be bothered by something so troublesome (and who likely just got reprimanded for the same thing), and Sasuke, who simply didn't give a fuck.

I blinked once, twice, then swallowed.

"N-Now, Iruka-sensei, I can ex… ex…" My mind stalled a moment as I tried to remember the word for explain that I was looking for. This language… it was so strange, much different from the language that I was born speaking. "I can ex… explain—" I said weakly, but Iruka shook his head.

"This is the fourth time this week, Kawase-san," he told me in a softer tone. The contours of his face were strong and defined, his eyes soft and gentle. They were a warm brown, and even the horizontal scar across his face and nose didn't remove from his kind aura. "I know you've had trouble sleeping ever since you were a baby, but that doesn't forgive you sleeping during class. You'll serve a detention along with Shikamaru."

Shikamaru flinched, and my eyes flicked over to him. Yep, just as I'd thought.

Guiltily, I looked down and studied my desk. "…I'm sorry, sensei."

"Wrong I'm. Watashi wa is for girls, Kawase." I winced and let out an awkward laugh as the class giggled at my expense. He sighed and rubbed his head. "Look, I know, and I know you get good grades anyway, but still. Try to pay attention more." His gaze lingered on me for a moment. "You look pale, and you were whimpering in your sleep. Was it another nightmare?"

I paused, blinking as I tried to remember what I'd been dreaming about. Something about… music? I couldn't recall. I'd had odd dreams ever since I was a baby, but I was never able to remember any of them. By the time I woke up, they'd always retreat to my subconscious. "I don't know," I said after some time. "But I don't feel good."

Iruka-sensei's frown deepened, now in concern, as even Sasuke lifted his head up to look at me for a few moments before turning back. Sasuke probably knew a thing or two about nightmares. "Do you need to talk about anything after school?" he offered; Iruka always worried over my nightmares. I had more than probably anyone in our class. Maybe the entire school.

I shook my head weakly. "I'm okay, Iruka-sensei."

"Alright." He raised an eyebrow like he didn't quite believe me, and he probably shouldn't. "If you say so." He walked away from my desk, moving back to the chalkboard. "Now, class, with that aside, let's continue. What is the major difference between throwing a throwing star and a kunai…?"

Next to me, Ami, a purple-haired little shit, smirked at me cruelly. "Dunno why Iruka-sensei worries over you so much," she said quietly in a sing-song voice more innocent than she was. "Kiri traitor."

I flinched at that, glaring at her and growling, "I'm not a traitor to Konoha. My clan came here to give the village our strength."

She turned her nose up. "Never trust a Kiri-nin bearing gifts."

I took a deep, shaky breath and purposefully ignored her. It was useless convincing bitches like her with just my words. My hands curled into fists.

I'll show them… I'll show them all.

I'm not a traitor.

After class and detention ended, I walked home to the Kawase Clan Compound by myself. A half-hour from the Academy, the Compound sat on the edge of the main part of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, just at the start of the forested area within the city walls. It was a quiet, calm area, the houses made of brick and mortar. They all surrounded a lake which we had named Lake Tomoe, after the late clan head's wife, Kawase Tomoe.

Kawase Tomoe and her husband, Kawase Dansui, were born and raised in Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist, where the Kawase Clan originated and had made their home for time immemorial. In Dansui's time, the Clan was huge, one of the largest Clans in Kiri. Now only three families remained, including my adopted parents.

It was because of these origins that as I walked home, hands in my pockets and face staring at the path beneath me, I received ugly stares from the civilians in Konoha. Stares that I made a conscious effort to ignore.

Stares that, no matter how much I tried, I could still feel baring upon my back.

When I got home, I was shaking with anger.

Mother sat in the shallow part of Lake Tomoe, just before the shore. She meditated, cross-legged, her hands held upside-down with her fingers in basically an ok-symbol.

I tentatively stepped into the water towards her, my heart racing. Aunt Kiyomizu's disapproving words echoed through my head.

"It is not good for a Kawase to be afraid of the water."

"M-Mother," I said with a short bow. As my waist bent, I could see myself in the reflection of the water. One could mistake me for a girl if they did not know me prior; my facial features were very soft and rounded, my smooth, blackish-navy hair flowing past my shoulders. My eyes, as blue as the depths of the ocean, gazed back at me. I was shorter than the average male my age, and my eyes had bags underneath them from lack of sleep.

Mother, a tall woman with dark green hair and eyes a similar shade to mine, did not move. Her flowing black robes with the Kawase Clan symbol sat completely still on her curve-less body. "Ren," she greeted softly, not breaking her position, "Your voice breaks and your chakra shivers. You are still not used to the water."

Shame flowed through my veins. "I… Y-Yes, mother."

"You are late." She slowly stood up, water pouring off her waist as she turned to consider me. "Did you receive another detention, Ren?"

I pursed my lips and shifted about. "I did, mother. I could… I couldn't sleep again last night, and…"

She held her gaze, and I could feel her eyes on me even as I stared down at the water's surface. "I see," she said quietly, a troubled tone in her voice. "And you still do not remember the nightmares?"

"No, m-mother."

{Choking. Choking. Gagging, begging for air.

Can't breathe. Can't breathe. I can't breathe!}

I tensed, my heart pounding in my chest. I needed to get out of the lake. I didn't know why, but every nerve in my body screamed at me to. Since as long as I could remember, large bodies of water terrified me, and I had no idea why. Even smaller bodies of water, even baths, I never felt comfortable in. Entire lakes? Ha! Fuck no!

Aquaphobia. How ironic for someone from the Land of Water. How ironic for someone with my Clan's kekkei genkai. How ironic for the Kawase Clan heir.

"Failure," the voices belonging to the survivors of my clan whispered.

"Traitor," the voices belonging to the civilians whispered.

I licked my dry lips. "Mother, can we please get out of the water?"

Disappointment flitted through her eyes, before she sighed and nodded. "Yes, dear. Come, your father has been wanting to train you this evening."

We walked out of the water, Mother stepping out first. When she reached the shore, her clothes were dry. I stepped ashore after her, and closed my eyes, imagining all of the water on and in my body. I sent chakra through my blood, my clan's kekkei genkai activating. The chakra control had to be precise, but luckily for Kawase Clan members, we were naturally gifted at chakra control.

My chakra pulled water out through my sweat glands on my feet, manipulating it to wrap up over my shoes. The tendrils of water connected with the water on my shoes, and my control shifted to gain access to said water. Soon, my shoes were dry, and a small puddle sat beside my feet. The tendrils of water connected to said puddle retreated and pulled back into my body.

Fluid Release—the ability to use chakra to freely manipulate the liquids in my body, and any liquid that comes into contact with my own chakra-infused body fluids. This was what drove our clan to become one of the biggest and strongest clans in Kirigakure… and also what drove us to what would nearly be our downfall.

Mother led me around to the other side of the lake, where I could see my father running through taijutsu katas. When we approached and his eyes landed on me, a cheery twinkle rose in them.

"Ah, Ren, there you are!" my father said, grinning widely. "You should be more aware of your surroundings!"

I blinked, thrown off. "Wait, what? Why should I be—" My chakra flitted out and felt his. I paled. Shit. That wasn't my actual father.

"FATHER... TACKLE!"

"Uh oh."

A heavy body slammed into me from behind and sent me comically tumbling to the ground, skidding across the grass as strong arms wrapped around me from behind and tried to wrestle me into submission. I squirmed and writhed in my dad's grip as the figure running through katas disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced with water that broke apart and fell. My mother shook her head in exasperated fondness as Father and I wrestled.

"Stupid… father…" I griped as I tried to shove his head into the dirt with my palm. "Is this any way to treat your eight-year-old son when he gets home!? You don't even say how was your day?"

"Yes, yes it is!" my father teased, shifting his balance and shoving MY head into the ground, wrapping one arm around my leg and pulling it up to keep me off-balance. "It builds character!"

"Does anything not build character to you!?" I kicked the hand grasping my leg with my free leg, and his grip loosened enough for me to yank away from him. I jabbed my elbow into his chest and scampered out from under him, scrambling to my feet. A victorious grin spread across my lips. "Ha! Take that!"

"Not bad," said my dad with a smirk, rushing at me and throwing a punch out which I dodged; but while I dodged, he swept behind me and forced me into a choke hold. "But you still lack speed and reaction time!"

"Ack! Uncle, uncle!"

"Ahahaha!" Father's laugh boomed out across the lack as Mother just sighed. This was commonplace for us, and she'd just gotten used to it by now. "This old man's still got it in him!"

"You're, like, forty!" I protested as he released me. I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're not old!"

"Old for a shinobi!"

I rolled my eyes, grinning. "Yeah, yeah. So, Mother said you are wanted to train me?"

"Mother said you were wanting," Father corrected me, waggling his finger in my direction. "Work on that grammar of yours, Ren. A shinobi who cannot communicate is no shinobi at all!" He beamed, giving me a thumbs up. "But yes, I do indeed wish to train you. You are already quite skilled at manipulating your chakra, but you need to get over your fear of water. And I don't mean erase it, little lotus. I mean learn how to deal with it so that it doesn't get in the way. I know you hate meditating. I know spending time thinking about all that water makes you nervous. Which is why I have come up with a new training method!"

A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek, and I swallowed. "And what would this training method be?"

"Don't worry, dear," Mother said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Your Father will be right beside you, and I'll have some cucumbers made with vinegar and oil waiting for you when you get back."

I hesitated. "…Uh…" Now I really was worrying. Just what hairbrained scheme had my father come up with now?

Father pointed to the river that fed Lake Tomoe, grinning. "Meditating on the rocks in the river!"

I swallowed, eyes widening and my heart pounding. "O-Oh. Very fun," I choked out, my voice hoarse and my face pale.

"Come, Ren, there is little time to waste," Father said, turning and heading off. The river headed the opposite direction from the village, and had some pretty fast rapids around the rock outcropping where my dumb Father had pointed to. I swallowed and shifted about, not wanting to go, but a push upon my back from Mother had me stumbling forward. I carefully walked in Father's wake, casting nervous glances to the river beside us.

After fifteen minutes, we reached the spot where my training would take place. Rocks of various reddish browns and brownish blacks stuck up, smoothed down by eons of erosion. They were spaced apart in such a way that they could be walked across, towards two tall rocks that rose up out of the water above the rest. Water kept getting flung up high enough that we'd be getting wet even if we sat on the top of these.

At least we weren't actually meditating in the river.

"I'll go first, and you follow me, Ren," Father instructed.

I swallowed and nodded as he easily stepped onto the first rock, then the second, then the third, then the fourth, and at last made it to his rock. He found a flat surface to reach, then climbed up to the top and sat cross-legged. A gulp rolled down my throat, and I very, very gingerly followed suit.

The rocks were covered in moss from the river and very slippery. Balancing on them proved difficult. My heart hammered against my ribs and I desperately tried to find the flattest surfaces I could. Those rapids looked fast, dangerous.

{"I used to think maybe you loved me now baby I'm sure

And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door"}

I glanced up; Father's eyes were already closed, and his breathing even. Meditating like this, one could hardly tell that he was anywhere near as boisterous as he really was. He had a really square jaw, and as… ambiguous as I was, he was as masculine as you could get. We looked nothing alike. Probably because he was only my Father in name only. Neither he nor my mother had any real, blood relation to me.

Both of my real parents, the Clan Head and his wife, were dead. Slaughtered in cold blood during Water Country's Great Kekkei Genkai Purge.

Refugees without a leader. That was what my clan was, and I was supposed to grow up to be that leader.

I paused on the third rock and took a breath, calming my nerves.

I needed to shape up if I was going to become the Clan Head. I needed to shape up if I was going to prove all the civilians wrong and show that I'm a true Konoha shinobi, that I'm not a secret weapon for Kirigakure.

{"Now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down

'Cause I just can't wait 'til you write me you're coming around"}

I lifted my foot up and shifted my weight, lowering it towards the fourth rock. It landed, and I lifted my other foot up. Steady, steady, steady…

Then, all of a sudden, my breath caught in my throat and the world flipped upside down.

My foot slipped out from underneath me, the mossy rocks too slippery for me to keep my balance. My stomach dropped, and terror pierced through me. More terror than when I'd learned that Sasuke's entire Clan had been completely wiped out, and it had been done by his own brother, and I'd come home crying, asking my mom if we were next. I plunged into the water, my body twisting and the back of my head bashing off the fourth rock as a cry of pure fear tore out from my lungs.

A sharp pain, worse than anything I'd ever felt, pierced through me. It was even worse than the time I'd broken my arm sparring with Kiba. And with it, visions flowed through my head as I sunk into the water.

A single house, standing atop a hill surrounded by corn and soy fields.

A woman the same age as mother, with brown hair instead of green.

An older sister, my parents getting divorced, spending time on my computer because I hated everyone in my town, anime, Naruto, my average job at a gas station, Ohio, the United States, drowning, drowning, DROWNING—

"REN!"

My dad yanked me out of the river, cradling me and hugging me tight. "Ren, Ren, stay with me! Stay with me, dammit!" He jumped out of the river, landing softly and laying me across the ground. "Dammit!" He pumped his hands into my chest in a steady rhythm. "Come on, come on!" After forty pumps, I choked and spat out a disturbing amount of water. Another few presses, and more water came out.

After a short while, I was at last able to suck in a much-needed breath, my lungs filling with wonderful, delicious air. A startled, terrified laugh escaped me as I lay there, my Father performing CPR on me.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Chakra, kekkei genkai, Kirigakure, Konohagakure, Iruka-sensei, the Academy, the Uchiha Massacre, the Hokage, Naruto—

Fuck.

"Ren, Ren, are you okay?" my Father demanded, face ashen as he stared at my rising and falling lungs.

"I'm alive," I gasped, sitting up and gingerly holding my sore head. "I'm alive…"

More than that, I had reincarnated.

Fuck.

I had reincarnated into the Naruto series. And I was royally, supremely, MAJOR-LEAGUE fucked.