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"Are you sure you're okay now, Ren? You can skip another day if you aren't." The hazel eyed boy merely smiled. "I'm okay now, Hatake-san. Skipping another day is not on my list." The man sighed worrily, making the Nohara grab hold of his hand.
"I promise I'm okay now." Ren was sure that the man before him shot him an irritated look. Honestly, he was fine now. It had been two days since he had that panic attack. He had considerably calmed down since then. He has to accept the fact that he showcased his independence early in his life.
It was his fault to begin with. He didn't think of the consequences of his actions. Now, he has to pay the price for it. "Are you sure you're okay with the arrangements I made? I could still pull you out of that class." He shook his head and smiled gently. "It's fine, Hatake-san."
The man gave him a hesitant look before saying, "If you say so." This time, Ren knew that Kakashi would walk him until he's safe in his classroom. Somehow, after he had woken up from his panic attack, he found himself in a hospital room, with Kakashi beside him... reading a book about child care.
He was certainly bewildered by this. A fearsome shinobi such as him was taking the time to learn how to take care of a child, to take care of him. His heart was suddenly warm and after that day, Ren was showered with Kakashi's affection.
Despite how awkward and weird it was for Kakashi, Ren definitely knew he was making an effort and it was all he needed to know to shower the man with his own affection as well. He knew Kakashi had lost a lot of people in his life and Ren is not just a person to die easily.
Ren will live his life as he wants. He will live until old age and stay by Kakashi's side until his time comes. The man grew up with love, death, hatred, sadness and pity. Now, Ren will make sure that Kakashi knows that Ren loves him with all his heart.
After all, even Ren had lacked the needed parental affection. Sure, he had his sister to shower him her love but it's not just the same love that parents could give to a child.
Soon enough, they were in front of the door that just mocks Ren's height. Just because that door is tall doesn't make it have the right to silently mock him with his short height. Ren briefly glared at the oak door before facing the man he calls his guardian, who knelt down to his height.
"Remember, if you have any of that panic attack again— "
"— count one to ten slowly and breath in and out. I got it, Hatake-san."
The onyx eye softened as its owner ruffled his curly brown hair. "I'll try to be back when school ends. Be careful." Ren beamed, his hazel eyes sparkling. "Be careful too." Kakashi pecked the boy on the forehead so fast that Ren took a moment to register what just happened.
He flushed red. Kakashi chuckled before knocking on the door. Did Ren forget to mention that they were three hours late? No? Then, they actually reached school three hours late because his guardian forgot to wake him up this morning.
No, really, he forgot.
The door opened and Yura-sensei stood there with a stern expression. "Hello... Hatake-san." The Nohara noticed how Yura-sensei seemed to look at his guardian with an exasperated expression. "Hello, it's been a long time, Yura-sensei."
The Chuunin raised an eyebrow before her gaze landed on him. "How are you feeling, Nohara-kun?" Her voice was gentle and sounded sincere. Her eyes showed how worried she was. Ren winced. He already caused trouble and it had been his first day.
"I'm fine now, Yura-sensei."
When Yura-sensei looked up, she found no Kakashi in sight. She sighed. "Don't worry, he was just late for a mission, sensei." The Nohara spoke up when he noticed his sensei's rather exhausted expression.
He wonders what happened to Shikanai-san and her friends when he passed out. They must have been extremely worried when he suddenly had a panic attack out of the blue, and it took them off guard.
He hopes she still wants to be friends with him.
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Shikanai was extremely... confused.
It was her first time encountering a kid like him. She had her fair share of babysitting back at her clan and one of those kids was Shikamaru, the heir and roughly the same age with her new classmate. The brat was easy to deal with since he's the typical Nara but...
Shikamaru's tendency to question things do get on her nerves a lot. He was a curious child and Shikanai could tell he was special. The troublous heir is smart, and he doesn't like not knowing things so he question things a lot.
The heir is something, really but compared to her classmate, Nohara Ren, Shikamaru looks like an ordinary child when beside Ren. Her interest was piqued when the young boy introduced himself in front. His tone is undeniably polite.
His vocabulary is irrefutably large, larger than most kids her age. Kids her age wouldn't say ' Pleasure to meet you ', instead they would say, 'Please take care of me'. There was a huge difference between the two.
She might not be as intelligent as her cousin Shikamaru or as perceptive as the younger child but she could tell that something is weird (good or bad, she doesn't know) about Nohara Ren.
When she befriended him, she instantly dubbed him as a 'socially awkward kid'. For goodness' sake, the kid didn't know what to do with a handshake. As if there had been countless of people who tricked him with it. But he was only a kid, no one would do that to him.
Shikanai felt terribly worried inside (but didn't facially expressed her worry). Nohara might grow up friendless if he continues to be this awkward. So, she took the initiative and brought him to her childhood friends. Chomi and Inoue had been indifferent with him.
Well, Chomi seemed to take a liking to him because he was adorable, her words, not Shikanai's. When one of them asked how old he was, Shikanai was actually surprised. If his birthday is on December Thirthy-first, then that basically mean he's half her age.
Shikanai mentioned him about being a prodigy and she was honestly intrigued. She thought that there wasn't just enough slot in the other classes or it might have to do with that powerful Jounin that recommended Nohara.
When Ren suddenly started hyperventilating, she and her friends didn't know what to do with a kid that was obviously having a panic attack! So, they did the next best thing in that situation.
They called for Yura-sensei.
"Yura-sensei! Yura-sensei, Ren is... Ren's having a panic attack!"
And he was delivered to the hospital.
Shikanai had been scared and completely helpless. Sure, she only knew the boy for a short while but he was actually likeable and loveable. He reminds her a bit of her troublous cousin and she was quickly attached to him.
Shikanai felt an overly protective sister.
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The moment he sat down on his seat, the bell rang for Break Time and Shikanai was looking down at him with a stern gaze that made him freeze in his seat. How could a Nara look absolutely terrifying while looking half-asleep? Was it a Nara-thing?
"Explain."
He gulped. "Um, I wasn't used to the environment here yet and I only live with my guardian and... he's not as social as most people and... um, I... I'm sorry!" Honestly, he was terrified of her reprimanding gaze, as if she was scolding him which she was not.
He wasn't used to people giving him that kind of look except for his sister. She always makes him cry when she looks at him like that, even when he was thirteen years old already... oh. Oh. Shikanai kinds of reminds him of his former sister.
His sister had also black hair and and black eyes, much like their previous mother. Ren had taken after his previous father who had blonde hair and brown eyes. So really, the Scott Siblings didn't look like siblings at all, if not for their similar face structure.
A hand patted his curly hair, making him look up with teary hazel eyes. "Don't cry, I didn't mean to make you cry. I was just worried. Do you know how troublesome you are? Chomi and Inoue kept on nagging at me, you know? Especially when my mother found out. She nagged at me for three straight hours. I thought I was going to be deaf by the end of it."
She was worried? About him?
"Thank you..."
Shikanai smiled. "No prob, kiddo."
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Winter break has come and Ren had only attended school for three weeks. Even so, it was the most fun three weeks of his life. Shikanai, Chomi and Inoue had spent every Lunch Break with him, with Shikanai being an exception because she spends time with him from morning until dismissal.
He actually didn't think the Academy would be this fun. Currently, he was on his way to visit Naruto. He missed the blonde. Apparently, while he was busy in the Academy, Naruto gained his infamous title of being a prankster.
Kakashi didn't mind him visiting the Jinchuriki, so long as they don't get caught while doing something mischief. What a great guardian Kakashi was, wasn't he? He would let his ward do pranks on villagers and he wouldn't bat an eyelash until he was caught. Yup, Kakashi's the best.
Ren knocked on Naruto's apartment door three times. "Naru-chan! Are you ready?!" The Nohara huffed and watched his breath turned to visible gas and watched in fascination as it started snowing. Winter wasn't included in the season in his previous life. He lived in the tropics, after all.
"Ren-chan!!!" The door slammed open and a pair of arms circled around his neck. Their chuckles united, chuckles of delight and relief. Naruto pulled away with a grin in his face. Honestly, Ren could be blind by now by how bright and cheerful Naruto is.
He's just that adorable.
"Naru-chan, Hatake-san will try to come back earlier to meet you. Why don't we go to Teuchi-san before going to my house?" All of a sudden, Ren felt Naruto's bubbly personality deflate a bit. He saw him fiddle with the hem of his shirt, making Ren gently smile.
"It's okay. Hatake-san isn't like them." And considering he's the student of your father, he wouldn't try anything. The guilt will eat him from the inside out, Ren mused in his mind. "Are you sure, Ren-chan? I mean... everyone hates me."
Ren pouted and flicked him on the forehead, earning him a whine from the blonde. "Teuchi-san doesn't hate you, Ayame-neesan doesn't hate you, Hokage-sama doesn't hate you and I don't hate you. Now, you can't say that everyone hates you. Then, Hatake-san doesn't hate you too. In fact, he's happy I'm friends with you."
The young Nohara inwardly gagged. Since when did he become so cheesy? It's actually quite mortifying if he thinks about it. He hasn't been a cheesy person in his past life, and this must be the longest he talked to another person besides some selective individuals.
Naruto really does bring the best out of everyone.
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December Twenty Fifth
"Merry Christmas, Naru-chan."
"Merry Christmas, -bayo!"
"Merry Christmas, brats."
When Naruto first visited his home, Kakashi was actually uninformed that Naruto was coming. His little Ren-chan didn't tell him that he was bringing Naruto. So, his first reaction was to gape at them, his lone eye widening and letting his book slip from his grasp.
He didn't expect to meet his sensei's son, especially not without warning. When he had come home, the blonde had been partially hiding behind his little Ren-chan. The blonde had looked like a frightened little fox cub hiding behind Ren.
They had looked so adorable. Of course, he welcomed the blonde with open arms. He couldn't take care of him, not when the Council forbid anyone with relation to the Namikaze Family to adopt the young boy.
Kakashi didn't reject the idea of letting Naruto celebrate Christmas with them. He was actually thinking of asking Ren to invite the blonde over but it seemed like he didn't need to. Ren did it himself, on his own.
He was glad. Really, he was. "Ne, Ne, Kaka-san, what didja get for me!?" The man chuckled and ruffled the blonde's hair as he gestured for Ren to get near him. "Ren-chan and I got you a gift together."
When Ren gave him their gift, the way the blonde jumped around his living room made him laugh. His life had always been so dark and the light that illuminated it diminished, not even lasting until today. He hopes that these two light illuminating his dark life would stay until his time is up.
He won't forgive himself they go and vanish like the rest of them when he can do so much more to protect them.
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December Thirty First
This particular day had been a private affair between Ren and Kakashi, and thankfully, Naruto understood it. The two spent the day cooped up in their warm home, away from the cold, cold snow outside. Ren had finally turned five.
Seven more years. Seven more before everything in this universe begins. Frankly, he was terrified of it. Terrified of what would happen in the future. Something might go wrong in the future because of his existence. With the extra factor in the Universe (which is him), something is bound to go wrong.
The Naruto Universe is a terrifying world. Young or old, man or woman, they kill for what they believe in, to protect those who are precious to them. But speaking of being a shinobi, running up trees, hopping from roof to roof with ease, manipulating the five basic elements and those kind of things, Ren thinks it might be actually worth it.
"What are you thinking about, Ren-chan? You've been silent for quite some time." Hazel eyes met a lone onyx eye, before slowly looking at the side. "You see, I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"... that I'm a nuisance to everyone and something might go wrong and you'll disappear."
The young Nohara finally looked at him in the eye and didn't look away. "Simply put, I'm terrified of the future, Hatake-san."
"Everyone's afraid of the future, Ren. It's not just you. The future is unpredictable, altered by something as insignificant as arrangement of something, or a misplaced thing. The future is not concrete, it's not predestined, it's not decided. The future is always changing, it's always altering with every ripple made throughout history. It's unknown and humans are always afraid of the unknown so it's okay. I'm scared, too but print this in your mind, I'll always be by your side, I will always protect you. I will never disappear from tour life, okay?"
"... I love you, Hatake-san."
"Happy birthday and... I love you, too, Ren."
And their first year (even though it's actually just months) together ended.
A new year is a new beginning, after all.
