A/n: Hi everyone! I'm back!
And I'm a hundred percent alive! *Though, I did die a little inside after facing homework after homework.*
Here's a chappie for you guys after long months of being hiatus!
And for those who love KHR as much as I do, please try out my fanfic Hail and I would like to know what you think of it; and yes, it's another reincarnation fic.
THANKS!
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Weeks passed by and Ren couldn't even tell how long that was. For him, it was certainly short each day. Even though his teammates weren't available during those times, the young Nohara was distracted by his new companion; Uchito Ouya. Their discussion would last for hours on end until Ouya has to go 'home'. Ren knew it wasn't the truth; he could tell it's a lie but he honestly didn't care. He only knows that Ouya can be trusted; that's all there is to it.
Now, he doesn't care that his Oyaji would stalk them whenever he has the time, it wasn't like he'll find something wrong anyway. Ouya is a trustworthy person; he can testify that. The pale skinned boy would have had numerous times to do something to him or to the village; but he didn't, didn't he? Sure, he has just arrived in the village and Ren doesn't even know where he lives [not like Ouya knows where he lives] but Ouya hadn't done anything wrong, right?
He had been taking a walk leisurely around the neighborhood after Ouya went home earlier than usual when Shusuke suddenly appeared right in front of him. It resulted with a face plant and kissing his long time friend; the ground. The older boy's boisterous laughter attracted a lot of stares but the villagers actually didn't mind. After all, this has been a reoccurrence throughout the past few years. Although, his laughter did annoy Ren since it replaced his earlier tranquil with boisterous noise.
"Funny, very funny, Shusuke-kun." Ren patted himself to get rid of the dust that clung onto him while Shusuke gave him a cheeky smile. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you like that, brat." The Nohara arched an eyebrow when he saw how obvious the Uchiha was. He's clearly exhausted; why was he here talking to him instead of resting like he should do? "Why aren't you resting? Your chakra levels are low." He pointed out after a few seconds of silence. His statement made the older boy stiffen upon hearing him.
His hazel eyes narrowed. Ren knew that Shusuke isn't in too deep within the coup since his aura remained the same as it was; a fiery red with hints of black, a bit dull right now because of exhaustion. On the other hand, their other teammate is in the opposite situation. Kanata is closer to the Head of the Uchiha Clan; especially their relation to each other. If there was something Ren should be worried about; it should be how Kanata is far too deep that he wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Ehehe, uh... you see, I've missed that annoying little fungus so much that I had to visit him." It took Ren a few seconds to comprehend what he said before his face turned red from embarrassment. "Who's the fungus? If that's me, please change the term. I somehow feel degraded because of it." Shusuke chuckled, ruffling the Nohara's hair before saying, "C'mon now, it just means that you're hard to get rid off." His hazel eyes rolled in exasperation but smiled nonetheless. It was good to be with Shusuke again.
Ren looked up, removing the hand that kept messing with his hair. "How's Kanata-san? I know that you're exhausted but I can't help it. You two worry me a whole lot." A pair of hands picked him up under his arms and the Uchiha proceeded to place him on his shoulders. This earned the teen a yelp from the hazel eyed boy he had just carried. Shusuke started walking; making Ren puff out his cheeks. "He's fine. Fugaku-sama just likes to keep us busy."
"And what kind of things makes you guys busy then?"
Ren felt the minute stiffening of his muscles, the slight tensing of his shoulders and the slight tightening of his grip around his thigh. He was obviously lying but he wouldn't pry into it. He knows what's going on anyway but he doesn't know what kind of things their clan head makes them do. It worries him, a lot. "It's clan related things. I'm sorry but I can't tell you, brat." Still, he pouted and gripped Shusuke's large head; making the Uchiha stutter out noises of pain. "Stop it! Stop it! You're gonna squash my head, you little rascal!"
"Good, maybe I can squeeze the idiocy out of you then."
"What did you say?!"
Ren felt himself tilt backward. It took him off guard and was about to fall when a pair of arms caught him midway before he can fall off Shusuke's shoulders. "You should take better care of Ren, Shusuke. If you can't even do that simple thing, how the hell did you become a Jonin?" A voice laced with irritation insulted the Uchiha as Ren felt the arms gently push him back to properly settle himself on the idiot's shoulders. The familiar voice made his whole face brighten up. The Nohara turned his head to the side and found an annoyed Kanata standing beside the both of them.
"Kanata-san!"
"Gah! Since when did you get here?!"
"Hello, Ren." He greeted him with a small smile that made Ren glad. Despite the worn-out look of his teammate and friend, the young child is ecstatic that both of his valued teammates were there. Kanata glanced at Shusuke, who had glowered at him the moment he spoke. "Hey, good to see that you're still alive, you dolt." Shusuke's glower intensified but before he can retaliate, Ren had cut him off. "Where had you been, Kanata-san?" He asked the newly arrived Uchiha.
Said teen blushed a bright red when Ren looked up at him. The hazel eyed boy mentally arched an eyebrow in curiosity; don't tell him that Kanata caught a fever from overworking himself? "Dango Shop. I promised Itachi that I'll treat him if he takes a break for once." Ren felt irritation bubble up inside him but dismissed it in an instant. He looked pass Shusuke and found the Uchiha prodigy indulging himself with ten sticks of dangos. The Nohara awkwardly smiled when Itachi glanced at him and smiled in return. "Come on, we haven't talked in a while, have we? Let's talk over a couple sticks of Dango."
He suddenly found himself sitting between a talkative Shusuke and a calm Itachi. Kanata situated himself on the Uchiha heir's other side. "Itachi, share with Ren - " he stopped; staring at Itachi, whose cheeks resembled a squirrel, with half-lidded eyes. "What a greedy heir you are." Itachi nonchalantly brushed the comment off; sweat dropping when he saw Ren staring at him with wide eyes. The Nohara couldn't believe his eyes. One second, there were ten sticks of Dango with four colorful Dango pierced through and the next, everything was gone in a blink of an eye.
Shusuke chuckled at the sight and swung an arm around Ren's shoulders. "You've finally seen how much of a monster Itachi-sama truly is, haven't you, brat?" Itachi frowned; he didn't want to be compared to a monster, especially when it involves his sweet tooth. Ren pouted and said, "But I devoured ten? Yeah, ten bowls of Chirashizushi a couple of weeks ago."
...
Shusuke fell off the bench with a loud thud. "Does that mean I'm a monster too?" If anything, Ren really wanted to mess with the two of them. Let's just say this is his revenge for the numerous times they've pushed him and Eita-senpai away for the past few weeks. He forcefully made tears appear at the corner of his eyes; making Shusuke's and Kanata's eyes widened in bewilderment. Kanata shot up from his seat, snatched Shusuke's collar and dragged him to the nearest alleyway.
Itachi watched this odd scene with a confused expression but nonetheless, amused by Ren's actions. "I have never expected you to do something so childish, Nohara-kun." His statement snapped the boy out of his thoughts and faced the remaining Uchiha on the bench. "Frankly, as much as I am opposed to what I had just done, it greatly annoyed me how they've pushed Eita-senpai and me away these past few weeks. Doing this is just to let out my pent up frustration." Ren sighed and leaned against the wall of the shop as he looked up at the sky with glazed eyes.
"I hate that feeling; that feeling of being pushed away. Whenever I feel that way, I just want to curl up into a corner and stay there for hours." Sometimes, Itachi forgets that there are the different types of geniuses in existence. There are those who are capable of being mature at a young age and there are those who are capable of acting mature yet, still a child deep inside. The boy before him belongs to the latter while he belongs to the first one. Hatake-Nohara Ren is just a child.
Itachi remained silent for a few more minutes and wondered where Kanata and Shusuke went. They've been gone for a rather long time. "What about you, Itachi-san?" Startled, it took the Uchiha heir a couple of seconds to respond. He didn't expect for the child to make small talk or even continue the conversation; to begin with, it doesn't seem like Ren's very fond of him at all. "... I greatly fear a lot of things. I do not even know where to begin."
"I see..." Ren muttered. "... I would have also said that but right now, I'm afraid of losing anyone without being able to do anything to prevent what is to come." His words felt ominous to the Uchiha heir. It was as if the boy knew what it was that will happen in the near future. However, Itachi remained unfazed. "Say, do you believe in reincarnation? To be granted a new life, Itachi-san?" The question took him off guard but shook his head. "I do not believe in such things. Reincarnation is quite a broad topic and evidence aren't even valid. It is only a belief that others indulge themselves with to fool one's self into thinking that they will be granted another life."
The topic never even crossed his mind until Ren brought it up. To begin with, why did he even bring that kind of topic up? "Why did you pick a strange topic, Nohara-kun?"
The said boy crossed his arms over his chest, eyes focused on a particular cloud in the sky. "It just popped up."
"Then, do you believe it?"
"... yes."
"Why is that?"
Itachi took a sip of his green tea as he listened to what Ren has to say. "I think it is a way to be able to repent the sins you've caused when you were still alive. You must have realized the chances you didn't take before you died, the things that you've regretted remained buried deep inside your heart. You wouldn't be able to move on if that's the case. Reincarnation is the key; it is the key to selfishly grab the chances you've missed and to do the things you've regretted. This time, you wouldn't hesitate on anything. Well, that's what I think anyway." He pondered on Ren's words.
It made total sense to him.
"Ren! Itachi!" Kanata's voice called out. Itachi and Ren turned to face them and sweat dropped when they saw Kanata dragging a beat up Shusuke by his collar. The former was holding a plastic bag in his other hand. They stopped in front of the two sitting males. Kanata brusquely handed the plastic bag over to Ren, who looked confused. "It's Chirashizushi." His hazel eyes sparkled with delight; grabbing the plastic bag and gave the calm male a bright smile. "Thank you, Kanata-san!"
Shusuke snickered when he saw the tips of Kanata's ears turned bright red; the latter looking away raised his head and prevented blood from trailing down his nose. Adorable! His fudging adorable!
Itachi smiled as he watches Ren savor his sushi with each bite. He was probably happy; he received something from his teammates, after all.
Just as Ren finished his take out bowl of Chirashizushi, a puff of smoke occupied the space in front of them. It was Eita-senpai.
"Yo!" and he proceeded to trip even though he was standing still. A few moments of silence passed by before Ren forcefully cough to get their senpai's attention. "Do you need us for anything, senpai?" The Ice user quickly stood up and calmly said, "Uchiha Kanata and Hatake-Nohara Ren, the Hokage wants you in his office, NOW." Kanata and Ren glanced at each other and wondered why the sudden urgency. Kanata faced Shusuke and Itachi, "You guys heard senpai; we better go."
"Yes, it does sound quite urgent."
Shusule merely grinned and said, "No prob! You should leave now; I better take my beauty sleep before I drop dead on the ground for being sleep deprived."
Itachi smiled as well, understanding the situation. "Yes, you must go now." He faced Ren and slightly inclined his head. "Let's talk sometime again, Nohara-kun." The young Nohara returned the smile. "We shall. Itachi-san." With that, the trio disappeared with a puff of smoke. Shusuke suddenly slouched down in his seat, a deep and long sigh escaping his lips. "Exhausted?"
A dry chuckle left his parted lips as he glanced at the monument.
"Very." He breathed out.
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"Kanata-kun, Ren-kun, a message from the patrols near the border just arrived. There seem to be suspicious activities near the border but it hasn't been identified as of yet. I need you two, one of the fastest in the village and one of the most proficient in iryo-ninjutsu, to go over there and eliminate anything that you deem a threat to the village. However, if you can avoid doing that, do so. Understand?" Hiruzen asked the two shinobi in front of him, who readily agreed. "When do we leave?" Ren asked, his hands intertwined behind him.
"As soon as possible, Ren-kun, Kanata-kun."
"Understood."
"You're dismissed."
As soon as the both of them shunshined out of the office and appearing on top of the monument a few seconds later, Ren's expression changed from relaxed to tense. "We meet in five minutes. Pack light, we don't need to bring much. This is a 'find-and-eliminate' mission." With that, Kanata disappeared with a puff of smoke while Ren counted the scrolls inside his pouch. He doesn't leave the house without his storage scrolls after all. Situations such as this are to be expected and one must be ready to leave any minute as soon as a mission is assigned.
One scroll for weapons, one for medical supplies, one for food rations and another empty scroll in case if it is needed. I don't need to particularly pack clothes if this is just to eliminate a threat. It won't take us three hours to reach the border if we are fast enough to get to our destination. There weren't any specified pieces of information and Hokage-sama said that it hasn't even been identified. If we assume that the target is out of our reach, we have no choice but to retreat. If it's a false alarm, the better. Ren shunshined to the gates, just as Kanata appeared as well.
The latter smirked. "Ready to go?"
This made Ren smile as he walked out of the gates with confident strides. "As ready as I have always been. Let's move out."
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A pair of mocha brown eyes watched the two silhouettes to disappear from view.
It's time.
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A/n: I know, I know! Don't kill me if it's not enough! It's late already and I have school tomorrow so yeah. [Actually, I just don't want to get scolded for staying up too late again.]
Question#1: What affinity should Ren possess? I'm stumped.
Question#2: What do you think of this little chappie?
