Chapter Two

It felt like a dream. Everything blurred too fast and too much for my still confused brain. There were so many major events that make me squeamish and there are also ones that make me hopeful for the future.

Allow me to elaborate what had happened in the span of three to five months.

One of the former events were the deaths of my parents, the man who first peeked over my crib, was found dead as a medic camp was raided, where as my mother died of child birth. The thrumming stopped exactly when my mother died and the poking was the doctors trying to determine if I was still alive. I had been born to a dead woman. It made me want to scrub myself clean, because even if she was my mom, I had no real connection to her. She was just a woman that had conceived me, and the man, who was supposed to be my father, was just a fleeting memory. In this world, I am an orphan. I could live with that, since no one could replace my only parents.

Another one of the former events were the start of the beginning of ROOT initiation. Or at least the makings of it. Kids as young as myself and orphans (also like myself) were being taken to who-knows-where and no one seems to bat an eye. It was scary.

A good event did come by, and I was overjoyed. Tsunade has examined me for any type of diseases, and only last week had she confirmed my theory. My heart was perfectly fine, and very healthy. Due to my parents' genes, I had quite the immune system, and my body was perhaps one of the few babies that could live without vaccines here, except for the jinchuuriki and the occasional child with parents who are very meticulous with what they consume and their lifestyle. It was great knowing I would not drop dead because of exhaustion over here.

Second semi-good news was that, in Naruto's canon plot line, Rin was a female. However, may I say that because I felt quite thankful for the second chance at life, some god out there decided to give me something I could praise them about. No offence to women out there, I have no problems with being a girl, but I am more comfortable living with a male reproductive organ than with a female reproductive system and bleed almost every month. I have not retained my precious body part and because of that, I do not rejoice in Jashin's name. I categorize me being a female good news as I have not yet messed the plot line.

It would be of good use if I can manage to use my new and improved body to live a little more longer than last time, on both accounts of my life and Rin's tragic and even shorter one.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Tsunade, together with their still-Konoha-nin teammate, Orochimaru, were tasked to check up on the orphans and seek out the ones who were a possible candidate for a shinobi lifestyle and who was not. Seems quite the move for the supposed peacekeeping village, but I guess the so called 'peace' is not as easily attained as one would think.

The people under the category 'shinobi' were also expected to excel over here, although on a much grander scale. It was terrifying, as it brought out memories I rather put to rest than reminisce, and it made me rethink this life's direction. I could just choose to be a civilian, where I may not be able to protect myself in battle, but I do prevent the death of Rin, where it would, in turn, might (this word makes me so anxious), it just might prevent Obito from losing his mind. Although on the other hand, if I was a candidate for a lifestyle like the majority of the characters in Naruto, I may just have to take the original route Rin took.

There were expectations, after all, be it kid or not, female or male. It was expected for one to fight for his life, but here, it was expected for one to fight not for his life, but the honor and power of one's village. It was a huge contest of who was more powerful, who had more feared shinobi in their side, who was more famous and who was more feared among the the Five Great Villages, it was a wonder why this temporary peace came to be, considering all of them are indeed power-hungry. It was exactly like my old life, albeit on a much deadlier world. It was perhaps one of the comforts I could find in this death-ridden place, where one may not survive until the age of his late twenties, that the structure and the ins and outs of the villages were very similar, almost identical, to the underground's mafia.

Where back in my old life, I was but a child of a consigliere, but here, I was privileged. Consiglieres were the, if I am right, the equivalent to an Elder or a council member, where as the Boss, (or in some cases, the Don) is the Kage. The Underboss are the equivalent of the heads of the different divisions inside the organization, like for example, the Head of the Torture and Investigation, who, by all means, must report only to the Kage they serve. Under the Underboss are the Capo, or the Clan heads. They have the right to lead and the privilege to speak with the Kage but are not always humoured. Under the Capo are the foot men, where the shinobi who serve the village come into the picture. Very rarely do these men, back in my world, are let in on very special information privy just only to the higher ups. Although much more often than not, here, people are always in the know. Last are the associates, those who do not work under the Boss but are most commonly the information dealers, the suppliers and what not, and may be simply compared to the civilians and merchants and tourists here in the Narutoverse. Simply put, the structure of the Village and a Mafia organisation is quite similar, if not identical. That thought alone gives me quite the comfort in the midst of all these bad things that are fated to happen. (Oh goodness, I sound like Neji there for a second.)

The first of all my problems, was how exactly I was supposed to go plan this life out until Rin's supposed death. I had only watched quite a few of the episodes more than twice, and have always watched them once in order to finish the whole Naruto (not yet Shippuden, mind you) in under a few months, as I am always busy with my training and trying to keep up with it. I had no reassurance that I could remember every single detail as I am not a quote narutard unquote as some call themselves. I simply watch the show in search for something that stimulates the mind quite well, and anime certainly does. I am quite appreciative, perhaps even outright happy and thankful, that I had somehow landed in a world where the story and it's character roster are ones that I am familiar with, and also with utmost horror, what with me still being a goldmine of precious information.

Now before you accuse me of being quite the assuming person, Rin was, and is, quite the key character in this mess of a story. I would not risk having her die so early in the story (as this is also my life now, after all) since it make the over all plot so much more different than before. Her death was the catalyst of it all, really, so I must plan everything for the next thirteen years so I may live as old as Kakashi. I would like that, I smile to myself, as I imagined myself growing old and having my own garden and another pet bird. It seemed like such a hard life to imagine, but I think I would do much better if I had the chance to change things hands on. I simply could not let pass the chance to utilise this new body to its fullest potential, despite the risks and the inevitable death in this line of work. I died once, I can face death again.

So I tried to feel for the same exact thrumming I felt for the first time I woke up (or rather became conscious in the womb) in this world, trying to follow what those fanfictions have written out. Then I realized, those were fanfictions, a work of the mind and not from someone's experience. It was a foolhardy thought process, trusting people who have not experienced it for themselves. I sigh in annoyance. I ought to give myself an award, so much for a slightly superior brain.

I figured I would leave the chakra experiments alone while I focused on my physical being, also remembering that forcing and messing with chakra at such a young age without someone watching over the process (or maybe there was someone watching me, one of Danzo's first men) else I damage the chakra system inside of me. It was hard, as the experience was tempting, but it was far more so that I retain the ability to use chakra flawlessly like Rin did as a medic nin than try it out now and not be able to transfer Obito's eye to Kakashi's.

Instead, I tried to get my limbs to work and move how I envisioned them to flail about, feeling the contents inside my crib. For one, it was not as hard as I made it sound, flailing your arms and legs around when you're an infant, but it doesn't mean it did not suck you dry of energy. It was very tiring. A black figure moved from my peripheral vision and I froze, before said figure went towards me and I panicked.

Pale hands grasped my own tiny slightly less pale ones and a soft coo came out Orochimaru's lips. His expensive looking yukata was soft to the touch, even to my delicate hands, I thought as my hand got a feel of it. He seemed so different from the anime and I thought about how much grief this village must have given him for the man to turn his back and do these experiments. Something snapped, I realized, as he seemed so gentle and different from the show that portrayed him as the scientist without any human morals. Something or someone pushed him over the edge.

He was, is, needing help. His forefinger poked at my hands and I wrap a grubby fist around it, in an effort to hold him back. A small smile bloomed on his lips and he leaned against the side of my crib.

"You'd better be a taijutsu specialist, what with your grip strength." He chuckled as I flashed him a confused look, with me not knowing or understanding what it is that he just said. He stayed with me for a couple more minutes before the exhaustion finally caught up with me. He smiled, small as it may be, but a smile all the same. I let out a yawn. He hummed. The last feeling I felt was a hand wiggling to escape my grip before I fell into a dreamless sleep.

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I woke up to the sound of a crying baby, before opting to just try and get some more sleep. Days passed into weeks and weeks turned into months. The first five months of my life was uneventful and quiet, perhaps too quiet, I thought as I forced my body to roll over and bury my head into the pillow provided in my miniature bed. The Legendary Sannin (all three of them) visited way less and I saw them almost once a month, sometimes just once for two months. I was nearing nine months old, and I was quite mobile, compared to the other children who were only just starting to want to move about. I was already pushing myself to stand on my own two feet before tumbling down, timing my progress. Know could stand up without help for a grand total of one third of a minute. It was a huge leap from 12 seconds. I was proud. This body has also been quite the glutton one, stomach aching for food quite often, in fact, more often than the other kids. I was always either drinking my formula, sleeping or trying to walk or crawl about.

I was given a new bed, one with low railings, seeing as more babies needed the cribs more than I did. It was quite the distressing moment when I learnt of what they did, expecting a child to not fall off of a surface with such a low barrier to prevent said child from falling. Although I was technically an adult now, I still am inside a baby's body (they don't even know I'm an adult in mind) and therefore they still need to practice caution. I might fall off and twist something, or worst case scenario, break a bone. I specifically don't want that to happen with my neck. I felt a shudder run down my spine. I quickly lay myself flat on my back on the bed. So much for trying to move.

Someone, somewhere in the room, snickered. I turned my head around and saw one of the caretakers, a woman whose name I keep butchering when I say it out loud, walked over to where my bed was and crouched so she was eye level.

"Totuka?" Totsuka merely nodded in appreciation, seeing I was still the only one not giving the care givers head ache. She was quite the quiet person, opting to use gestures rather than speak more often than not.

She pat her stomach and then tilted her head, in a silent question of 'hungry?'. I nod and she put the universal sign for wait, up and went to where the baby formulas were and heated some for me. She was kind, quite aloof and doesn't like skinship, but is quite the storyteller. Her features were nondescript and quite similar to an Inuzuka, resembling Tsume more and more when she just faced forward and does nothing, although with a whole lot less aggression and face tattoos.

You could say she was pretty, but not in a traditional way like Mikoto Uchiha was. She was a feral beauty, her features strong and quite sharp in most areas. She was also my favorite caregiver as she doesn't push me to go play with the other children. Bonus points when she reads me books and follows it with her fingers so I could associate this and that with that and this. She was very hands on in teaching me and I was wondering why she's rather take care of babies than teach at the Academy, I'm pretty sure they would certainly like her there.

She came back a few moments later and let me drink from the bottle myself. I am an independent child, thank you very much. She left quietly, also a trait I really like about her, and I was once again left on my own. I had my own books, courtesy of Orochimaru when he visits the orphanage on the off chance that he gets a day off or time before he was thrust into another mission. I had writing books and children's books but all of them were only ever teaching me of deep words and I absolutely cannot use them in real life. Who expects a child, barely a year old, to understand such deep terms? I would be dubbed quite the freak if I knew things that most kids did not know about.

Besides, I had more pressing matters to attend to. Like how I was supposed to go about and go do Rin's thing. How was I supposed to Rin? It was confusing. It was hard to plan when you know someone is bound to know when you do something out of the ordinary. Someone like Danzo. It was another day where I achieved and finished nothing, taking not even a single step towards my goal. I surrendered to sleep once again.

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The first time I had been given the right for village excursion was when I turned two and a half years old. At this point in my new life, I had become an expert in climbing the high places a child should definitely keep their distance with, but my more adventurous desires as a man in my old life surfaced. Of course, I am the man, as I struggled not even a bit, albeit a little winded, from climbing dangerous places such as cabinets and book shelves. This specific excursion was a breathtaking experience, what with meeting new people and seeing the grand sights of the wonderful, hypocritical village of Konoha.

I knew War would wound people but such reaction would either mean it was that bad or they were overreacting. It may be rude for me to say this but holding onto bad memories would only push them to find a scapegoat for all their future mistakes. Take for example, Naruto. The little guy had no control whatsoever with what transpired that night, and he sure as hell would not have wanted it were there other options. I sigh. If only Rin was not so infatuated with Kakashi then, she would have seen how Obito cared for her. Besides, opting to go for a kid younger than her when she, herself, was also a kid? And going after a socially and emotionally inadept child too? Bad move.

She could have just went with Obito, who, was not only her age, not only had eyes only for her but also risked the world for her. He was so ready to build a world of full of lies and deception off of the misunderstandings her actions produced and now I had to fix things because I promised myself that I wanted to live until I die of old age, to choose to live because I was graciously given a second life. I sigh inwardly and opt to hold Totsuka's hand tighter as I struggled to keep up with her fast walking pace. We were walking around the market (we split up with three other caretakers to buy different things and to make the work faster), my eyes roaming the slightly outdated style the houses had, the blue sky and the unpolluted surroundings were like a breath of fresh air. Get it? Okay.

The streets were filled with people, some smiling, some laughing, but all I could see was a sea of mourning men and women, hearts filled with darkness and grief. I saw fake smiles and forced laughter. I assume some might think I was a person without consideration and tact but that's the truth. Death is an art of life, but let us also remember that life blossoms from death. Every negative action has a positive counterpart. There was, and is, no use mourning for the people that fought and gave their life for you, and would probably want you to be happy and honor them by living life to the fullest, instead of being all emo and angsty like a certain person. Plus, there is this thing called 'moving on'. It's been a few years already. It's supposed to be healed, the wounds, by now.

People keep acting like scars keep hurting after it's healed.

No, it doesn't hurt. You, as a person, believe it does still, because you want to wallow in that hurt. You don't snap out of it, you don't help yourself. I know how hard it is to keep yourself locked by your own restraints, it can be suffocating. It takes time to heal. Yes, it does. But if you tell a wound you inflicted to yourself to heal itself, what did you achieve? Help yourself. If you cannot do it on your own? Find help, there is nothing wrong with wanting to get better and seeking help to better yourself.

I have been thinking for the past few months I did not have anything to do. I thought long and hard about what my decisions and current life will entail. I thought about my life, my first life, thinking I was a failure when I fact, if I had only looked, my father was proud. He knew I was giving my best, but what did I choose to do? Wallow in self pity. Did it make matters better? No. Did it make things worse? Absolutely. Am I working to move on? Yes. Because scars will never be erased but they will always heal. Things were the same in both universes, fiction or not.

Life will always blossom after death. It was how things work. Sure, I had been reincarnated as a character in what was supposed to be a fictional world but what difference did it make? I was still alive and I had a chance to redeem myself. Don't get me wrong, I had my fair share of deaths under my name. Death by protecting me. Death for invading my privacy. Yes, I have a lot of those. But I would redeem myself anyways. Sure, I did not share the same pain as they do, but that's why there is change and forgiveness. I looked around me and saw broken hearts and well made masks, and I resolved to change the way things are. I promised myself that day that I would help any way I can, because one world may be dark and evil, but another world doesn't have to necessarily be the same. Change always starts slow, but it doesn't mean you're doing nothing.

I bumped into a little, kiddie Obito that day.

I had expected our first meeting to either be in class or in the hallway where the incident, where Obito developed a crush on Rin, happened. It certainly was not pleasant to know that they may or may not have met this early in canon. I almost sighed in amusement as Totsuka was thrown off guard and stopped haggling with one vegetable dealer before she looked between Obito and I.

Eyes, round and wide stared at me as he wobbled slightly, still holding onto the small bags of groceries he carried, an older couple and a woman behind him. They all called out his name as he rammed into me when he looked back at them, driving me to the floor on my back, dirtying my clothes. A hand was immediately in front of my face, and I looked up. There, Totsuka was, holding her hand out for me. Understanding was in her eyes. She was not angry at Obito for bumping into me. There already was change happening.

"Ah! Sorry!" He squeaked out as Totsuka's indifferent stare was directed at him. Behind him were the three other Uchiha who were looking quite apologetic, as much as an Uchiha could look anyways. As it looked like the three were looking uncomfortable with Totsuka staring right at them, I stood up and pat the dirt off of my clothes. She wasn't angry, else she would have dragged Obito and scolded him.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for not dodging you." I say as I bow to the three who were looking at me like I was some kind of child with angel written in cursive on my forehead. The woman snapped out of it first and introduced herself to Totsuka, before introducing the elderly couple. She nudged Obito to introduce himself before gently prying the grocery bags from his arms.

He turned to me, ears red as he shyly introduced himself.

"Uchiha Obito. Nice to meet you." I smiled, not because I found him cute but because it made it far more easier for me to just integrate myself in his life early on and teach him a few stuff.

"Rin Nohara." He grinned back at me and I couldn't help but grin back. He was seriously a heart attack and a ball of sunshine all in one. He stepped back and the woman nudge her again, before he apparently remembered to bow. It was very sloppy though.

I bowed back, albeit on a much more sedate pace. Totsuka then excused us both, nodding in acknowledgment towards the three Uchiha adults, and shooting Obito a small smile. He didn't see it though, as we were still in a battle of stares. He wouldn't turn his gaze away so I did not mine, in a challenge or just for the sake of plain staring, I don't know.

We continued on our way. I didn't expect Obito to remember me, that much was sure, as he only probably remembered Rin as the kind girl who gave him his files. His conscious must have forgotten about Rin, (Me, a small voice whispered quietly in my head) sometime along the way. It was alright though, as I was the kind of person that was trying to play saviour. I would save him.

So I started to display my superior intellect, utilising the books Orochimaru had given me all those years ago, using them to improve my rather small vocabulary at the time. I sneaked past the Orphanage gate guards every after lunch, and tag along a random person until I reach the library. There, I would use my climbing skills to reach books that I could use to bring my intellect up. It was quite the experience giving random nin heart attacks when they see me climb the book shelves. By this time, I was only days away from turning three, and by the time I did reach said age, I had accidentally discovered how to call on my chakra.

It was quite the normal day (it always starts out like this, doesn't it? I thought so too) if you tune out the howling of the wind and the pitter patter of the rain on the roofs of the library. I had just come inside the building (quite wet but there were towels at the front desk provided for the civilians who came in to take shelter, Konoha is weird like that) and dried myself off. I, ever thirsty for knowledge in this world, went off and climbed the Elemental Nations History section in an effort to read the history of Konoha. It was then where I remembered I did not thoroughly dried myself, my feet and the slippers I wore still slippery from the water. My foot slipped on the fourth level of the shelves and took a few books out of the it place. I scrambled to hold on and then it happened.

Somehow, I got stuck to the third shelf by the knee. I really don't know how I managed to do that, but it was, as it turned out alright. If you don't count me having to cry for help out in the library. Immediately some ninja with a stick up their ass came to scold me and was as shocked as I was when they laid their eyes upon my figure that was glued by the knee on the book shelve.

It was Fugaku Uchiha. Now, it was probably a given that silence is reinforced by someone that works in the library, but to have someone (a clan head, future or not) come and scold me was an achievement. It was as if I was important enough for them to personally come and reprimand me. I sniff and stare at him. Why do I keep meeting Uchihas anyways? That's the fifth person from their clan I have met in just the span of 3 weeks. Don't I have the right to get to see other clan members? Specifically Inuzukas. (I love dogs.)

He sighed and put a hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me gently off the shelf. Key word, try. I was still stuck to it as though someone glued me down. Or welded. I was still stuck after three minutes of him trying to pull me out, even resorting to using his Sharingan for a full minute to observe what just transpired. He sighed again. I grinned, another achievement. He looked like he was literally seconds from just ripping me off of it. He glanced at me and I held his gaze.

Then he face palmed.

"Cut off your chakra, child." He said, before crossing his arms. I tilted my head. I didn't even know how I got chakra to stick me to the shelf, I most certainly did not know how to cut it off from my knee. It just happened.

Without warning, his hand moved and the world blacked out.

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When I came to be, I was sitting on a chair in the middle of the library. The librarian, a chūnin (how did I know? Uniform) I soon recognised as a Nara, was busy trying to keep himself awake. Fugaku Uchiha was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he just knocked me out and left me on a table to replenish the chakra I wasted on sticking myself onto the shelf. If we were to go by my standards, I would say knocking a three year old out as a means to stop their chakra flow would be a 4 out of 10. He could have just told me instructions to cut the flow or just simply taught me how to by demonstrating it to me. Very rude. But very considerate all the same. At the very least, he did not leave me slumping on the side of a book shelf, alone.

I shook the needles off of my feet and legs as they had fallen asleep. Springing up as my gaze landed on the clock (that read 5:30 pm) I ran out the library as fast as I could, pulling a few muscles but nothing Totsuka can not heal. I put a hand on my chest as the other grip my knees, struggling to breathe. I pulled a few more breaths in and once again ran, but on a much more slower pace as to not trigger anothe bout of that breathlessness.

The Orphanage was a pretty place, (let us play a drinking game. Drink a shot every time I mention Orphanage ;) ) although the people living in it may inspire pity in one's heart. It was comfortable and not at all luxurious and at some points in the year becomes quite cramped because of the newcomers but the building itself was just right. It was home but not, as you share it with people you don't even know or never talked to even once. It was a space where you bond with the people with the same state as you and you help each other out in times of need. It was a place where life long friends were made and then later on became your family, because you had no one else beside the people who understood the pain you went through. Take for example, even if you were "bullied" by some kids inside the Orphanage, they'd have your back and keep you from trouble in the outside. Very twisted but I'd like to think positive and not label myself a pessimist.

Perhaps that was why I often just smiled and tried to understand why some of the children, those who had stayed far more longer than I had in the Orphanage, hate the newcomers. I had a suspicion that it may be because of the lack of attention that was once directed at them, labelling the caretakers as theirs, and think of the new ones as competitions. That was one problem here in this diamond in the rough. Contrary to popular belief, the Orphanage only received annual stipend, and not monthly. That was why it was severely understaffed, because the pay was always at the end of the year and you can't just back out once you did get the job. It is always considerate of the children already in the Orphanage and their needs but does not always give extra for the foreseeable new comers. It drags the funds lower and does not replenish it.

Maybe that was why I automatically moved when my eyes landed on a kid a little older than me, knees scraped and bloodied, and a shrill scream erupted out of a child just infront of the Orphanage gates. There were another three kids, in front of them, and I bet they were kids with families and could not understand why we were here.

The sole of my feet hit the smallest kid's lower back, he was probably older than me, stuck for a few seconds using chakra (at this point I was not surprised with how easily controlling the foreign substance came to me, considering Rin's supposed affinity with the medical arts), used him as a propeller and twisted my body so my foot's transverse arch hit another kid's knees (he was the tallest, stop laughing) and he immediately snapped his eyes to look at me as he fell to his hands and knees. He bared his teeth in what was supposed to be an intimidating smile, and I stood there, calmly staring at him.

The kid with the bloodied knees, let's just name him Knee, gave a startled gasp as he drank the sight in front of him frantically. Quickly, he pulled the child behind him to retreat to the safety of the gates (The walls keep us safe from the titans, a voice at the back of my head said, I snorted out loud) and left me alone to feed to the wolves. Oddly enough, I seem to have retained the ability to just stare blankly at people like I was dead inside, without blinking, until they get very uncomfortable and leave. It was great. I felt very refreshed.

I walked over to the two people behind the Orphanage walls (are you still playing the drinking game? I bet you're already knocked out.) and grinned. Knee was not with the kid earlier, but with Totsuka. Knee's knees were already healed, and Totsuka was looking positively livid, if her bunched up brows and frown were of any indication.

She looked me over and stared at me, pleasantly surprised. I shot her a grin. She hit the top of my head, lightly grinding her knuckle on the crown of my very fragile head. She didn't seem to care and I let her be. She let me go and after checking me for the last time, went to go back inside. Knee was standing shyly, averting his eyes as we both just stood awkwardly in front of the gates.

"Thank you." He squeaked and ran off and I stared at his rapidly retreating form as he ran to the side of the Orphanage, a shortcut to the backyard playground. I whispered a curt 'you're welcome' into the air, rubbing my hands together. A voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I turned around to search for it.

I was positively beaming when I spot my three favorite people approaching the gates. Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were back.

I had so much to show off. Heh.

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Rin's current age: 3

Obito: 4

Totsuka: 19

Sannin: idk, Kishimoto hates clear timelines

Kakashi: i think he's still a sperm? idk