Two

Circulating

To say my parents were horrified was an understatement. Father, Wakato, nearly yelled and Daichi had the most expressions I had ever seen on his face although Kanade seemed happy before she realized what I had said. They tried to get me to say Father, Mother, Uncle and a bunch of other things but to no avail.

There had been a clan meeting. Mostly to tell everyone about the war and the place of the Senju in it. Father then mentioned the Bingo books and how they needed to be careful. Those who weren't high-ranking and well-known were told to discard the Senju name immediately.

It was then that I finally found out why there was a place above me when we sat for business meetings.

Clan head on the first step. Heirs, people with chances of being the next clan head on the second step. Which is why Daichi sits to my right now. The right side is for the Heir and his or her companion. Companion was a sort of bodyguard/best friend, in my case it was Tsuki. The clan head's wife(s) was on the third step. And her companion was one step below her.

I had also decided to refer to Wakato as Father and Kanade as Mother. Sure there may be some underlying resentment as I didn't want them to replace my original parents but they were doing there job. Denial isn't going to help anyone.

I had started teething and it was agony. I think I did the stupidest thing ever though. I bit a kunai and then two shuriken. The new pain distracted me from the old one so I was fine with it. As I crawled over to my parents who were having tea with some other clan members. I gave a cutesy smile and torrents of blood poured out of my mouth effectively shocking everyone. Kanade fainted as Wakato grabbed both of us before using a Shunshin to the hospital. A nurse with latex gloves put her hand in my mouth and quickly healed it before teaching me how to spit. That was fun.

Mother had to stay the night because of the sudden shock and that her blood pressure was uneven. Father blamed himself because the weapons were his. He had left them in range. I decided not to be a problematic child then and there as he sat at the edge of the bed worried. They already had so much on their plates. I had also been contemplating my place in the overall plot. Where was I exactly?

Well, Wakato called Tsunade his Onee-chan so she is older than him probably in her thirties since father is twenty-seven and that would mean that I am about twenty years before the Fourth Shinobi World War as in, the Third Shinobi World War. Sigh, life is getting harder.

"I'll kill you!" That was obviously Teru running after Sakuraya. Sakuraya is my oldest cousin. He has a feminine face with loads of grace and is kinda creepy with short black hair and pink eyes. I think he likes Teru though. He's a genjutsu expert but has some disease and can only take missions inside Konoha because no one knows when he might collapse. That's also the reason he is sickly pale.

"Kill." Aw, yes. That's my...I don't know which word it is but I like it. It had been a month since I started talking and I loved every minute of bit. Wataru, the adorable kid with brown hair that couldn't be flattened and really pretty electric blue eyes, dropped me in horror. He was a civilian. He then started crying, all bubbly and cutesy with large tears. Sakuraya and Teru stopped instantaneously. Teru picked him up and walked off leaving me to Sakuraya.

"I wonder what scared that kid so bad," he mused. I could see that he was amused as knelt besides me where I lay on the floor. Thankfully, Wataru was rather short for an eight year old and it wasn't a large fall.

"Kill," I said while giggling. His eyes widened as he stared for a moment.

"You are the weirdest kid I have ever met," he said. "I like you." He grinned at me before picking me up.

"Like, kill," I said, waving my arms in happiness.

"Hmm...I'll show you something pretty," he said before striding off towards the outside of the clan grounds. I was finally, finally going to see our City or Town or Village. I was quite excited as I continued my baby babble which mostly consisted of 'bababa' and 'Wah'. Once we got out well, my excitement turned into...well I think it was confusion. Sakuraya raised his hand pointing out a mountain, Hokage Mountain to be exact. I just stared at it as Sakuraya walked towards it. I had tried not to think about it too much. It was just confusing, I wasn't really bothered by the fact that I had been reborn, I had another chance at life. The main confusion was how? Was the author actually getting some sort of visions of another dimension? Or was I stuck in his head? Reincarnated as an idea?

We reached the mountain top soon enough, I frowned I hadn't gotten a good look at Konoha. Sakuraya took a moment to stop panting. When he was energized again he made me stand on the edge of the mountain so I could enjoy the view. I think that's when both if us realized that I wasn't even one, I couldn't stand. I guess lady luck just doesn't like me, I tripped over the edge and fell. The earth was zooming in at a high speed, I didn't even have time to open my mouth to scream. Couple that with the mild acrophobia I had, well not a good combination, the phobia seemed diminished but it was there all the same.

Sakuraya jumped after me without even thinking, his sleeves swept backward by the wind as he wrapped his arms around me and flipped to land properly. I just clutched the front of his kimono tightly as he collapsed into a seated position. A Genin ran up to us but I didn't hear the conversation. I was scared, terrified.

Death was painful and draining mentally and physically. I had often craved attention for the things I did. I was just another teenager trying to change the world, desperately. I used to be a pacifist at one time but that was long ago, for the last three years before my death I was realist. I'm pretty sure I have the same way of viewing things. I wanted to stay alive, in the form of a memory if possible. I knew death was inevitable and my belief claimed that being remembered for years after my death would be just as good.

Now I had seen death again, I was so sure that I would die in that one fall. My mind was set, I didn't want to die. I would train, study and practice as much as needed to survive. I would rise to a nice safe place, because the stronger I will be the safer I'll be.

What if this world was an illusion?

That was one thought that was contradictory to everything else I had planned. However, it gave me courage, a sort of self-dependence, a feeling of full control. If this world was an illusion then I could just let all restraints go. I'd always wanted to play the super villan, be the warlord. I wanted to know how much effort took to twist a man's neck. I wanted to know how easy it was to only think of myself. I wanted to know how could I put myself in a place to taunt the strongest, play around with other people's plans and kill them when I got bored. Perhaps the one thing I had hated the most was boredom. It descended like a black cloud leaving me with my thoughts. I over think a lot, more than once I had gotten myself sick by just mulling over possibilities.

"Arashi?" I looked up staring into bright pink eyes. He pulled his hand up in a half seal and I felt so dizzy. When my dizziness ebbed away I think I realized what the word 'psychedelic' truly entails. I had never actually gotten high because I hadn't been able to get my hands on some good drugs and mostly because I wasn't very fond of them. I wouldn't mind them when I was bored but I had beaten up countless people for being druggies. I mocked them. It stared with a girl who had been a rival in a gymnastics competition. She tried drugs, wrong kind though. The muscle relaxing ability disabled her. I won the competition but it wasn't the same. There was no proud feeling that you get from winning, I found the thrill in the last burst of adrenaline that led me to victory.

It's like the world was still but moving ever so slightly, everything seemed hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing. It's like being doped up on post-surgery painkillers. Sakuraya snapped his fingers loudly and I was back in the world of the living. I groaned as the europhia disappeared leaving disappointment.

"You take eccentric to a new level," he muttered. "Remind me to never take you out again."

"New, kill, again," I babbled thankful that my baby tongue could gargle out something that resembled a language. It meant evolution. It meant I would soon be able to walk and not just sit around. It meant I could talk, be heard. I could question, I could learn but most importantly I could be self-dependent. The itching, burning sensation under my skin was also little more bearable. I don't really remember much from my first six months which I'll just chalk off to a developing brain. By the time I snapped into reality I had developed something akin to motor skills and being able to sit and roll. I have worked on crawling but I wasnt getting very far.

To say that I was confused when the Hokage, and I am not joking, summoned me is an understatement. I freaked out, he knew. Obviously that was rather stupid but I had been horrified. What if he had me executed or something?

Wakato placed me om the table which was oddly comfortable but the balance was slightly off and no matter how I set the things on his desk it just didn't straighten. I ended up staring at the three Hokage mug shots. Hiruzen actually looked good, once upon a time but I was mostly staring at Hashirama and Tobirama. They weren't legendary characters anymore, they were real legends, they were clansmen. I hope I never have to meet them because I'd rather not be forced to fight against them.

"She looks so much like sensei," started Hiruzen and I zoned into the conversation. He didn't name his teacher, I've been hearing for months that I look like someone but no one takes the name. "If we could train her, it could be everything we need to take charge of this war." He wants to use a child who isn't even a year old to secure his place in the war? My parents won't let me become a pawn, would they? I turned to them stone faced, both of them, they looked like they fully agreed with whatever he said even if Hiruzen asked them to murder me and hang me entrails they would do it. "I know that you have reservations-" Reservations? Oh no, they are already planning my funeral. "-about this but when you meet her teacher then everything will be clear." The duo nodded as the door opened without a noise. A man strolled into the room before leaning against the wall silently. I did the first thing any sane person would do. I glared, heatedly. His eyes were on the window though, I decided to get his name before I uttered it accidentally, that would not end well.

"What's your name?" Curses. My stupid baby tongue decided to work, I seem like a genius now. He'll cut me open first chance he gets. He seemed interested as he walked, strolled really, towards me and my desk. He crouched besides me and looked me in the eye with those creepy slits and smiled lightly.

"Orochimaru," he replied with a small hint of his snake hiss. He smelled weird, the only word I can describe the smell with is death and daisies. Odd combination.

"Ochimau?" Yes, I could have burst out in cackles, evil ones, as he sighed. My baby tongue had stopped working.

"No." After two more wrong tries though I swear I tried - not. I just feigned annoyance and pouted.

"Call me Hebi," he said. After a small inside debate I decided I should still stay polite, it was something my real mother had drilled into me. I had, however, learned to be polite and sarcastic.

"Hebi-san," I said with a small smile. He smiled back.

I became agitated and inside of working in my crawl I started to walk with a lot of help from Tsuki. He would hold my hands or shoulders before taking small steps in whichever direction I wanted to go. By ten months I started to run, albeit clumsily but I think it still counts even if both my hand were sticking out and I was yelling 'Imma bird'.

It has been a year since I was born, yep, my first birthday. Firstly, it sort of suspicious and odd that my birthday is still the same, the fifth of September. Second, Japanese traditions are weird. The whole clan watched as I sat with a riceball tied to my back. A riceball, of all things. There was a circle of things around me, loads of them. It was like the whole Pixie Hollow, new Pixie thing. So weird glowing ball, a bowl full of paint, a sword (fake), a scroll with some really pretty calligraphy on it, some cool looking weights and a medic kit.

"Only pick two things," said Wakato in my ear. I nodded staggering around the things. I picked the glowing ball, it was like a lava lamp really, I gnawed at its slightly rubbery texture. All the chakra signatures - I stopped referring to them as lava - seemed to spike a little as I toddled to the scroll. After that there was a round of applause.

In the evening they had a proper birthday party for me. There were representatives from some other clans. The wives of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza. They were gossips the three of them, though Yoshino was the scariest. The Sarutobi sent Asuma who kept sulking and Biwako who was having a conversation with Kanade. The Hyuuga sent Hizashi and Himawari who I assume is Hiashi's wife. Tsume came from the Inuzuka and was mostly conversing with Wakato. She also brought Hana, yeah, Kiba's older sister. That basically told me where I was in the story line though I wonder why I hadn't even thought about figuring the exact point out. I was aware that it was the third Shinobi World War but I didn't know that it was only four- three years to Kanabi. Then all this will be over.

The Aburame were unable to attend and thus sent a gift with a messenger. The Uchiha were also 'unable to attend' Tetsuya says that they claimed that the Senju overstepping their boundaries was some sort of insult to them and they lighted insense everywhere the messenger had been. Sakuraya used some interesting words here to describe Tetsuya that I promptly repeated and Sakuraya had to beg me not to repeat them in a higher voice by allowing me to borrow from his sweet stash. I guess in one way or another all people who attended were important. The ones that I liked most were obviously Kushina and her beloved boyfriend, Minato.

I have no idea who the idiots who insulted Kushina's hair were but that's what they were idiots. It was thick, straight and a beautiful shade of bright red that one shouldn't even think of dye. I grabbed some of the waist length hair and gurgled out a soft 'pretty' which somehow gave me permission to play with her hair. What was probably the coolest part or maybe the creepiest, her hair played back. That was obviously some form of chakra manipulation. The bright strings were intertwined with it. I made loads of happy content noises as I buried my self in her hair. Kushina said I was like a Hair Hermit or something, Minato didn't agree. I just think he was jealous. Kushina went to Wakato to say Hi, more like hugged him in suffocating tight hold and asking all about her favourite Uncle. Yep, Wakato was her Uncle. Minato got to hold me then.

"Hi," I said.

"Hello," he replied in a soft voice. "I'm Minato."

"Arashi." I just smiled because I couldn't add a Nice to meet you because baby tongue can't handle it. He grinned at me before calling me cute which made me giggle and then I realized what that weird ceremony in the morning had meant.

"She's an odd one, I'll give her that. Chose Ninjutsu but I guess it an attractive ball to a child. Then she grabs the Fuuinjutsu scroll," Wakato told Kushina. She seemed so excited then.

"I could start teaching her as soon as she is two. That's when I started." Wakato thanked her. She then started off about the seal on Father's arm.

A little later I found myself with Tsuki and Hana with one of the puzzles. Hana as it turns out, is a brash idiot. You can't fit the cube in the circle no matter how much force you apply. Kuromaru was curled up in a corner with one eye open as he watched us 'little ankle bitters'. I obviously got annoyed and called Hana an idiot (Bakana to be specific) before snatching the cube and slamming it into the square. She got angry and tried to wrestle but I won as she was lying on her stomach with me on her back as she bawled. Kuromaru intertwined but I was so angry that I bit his ear. He howled and everyone was in the room in seconds. I got told off and Tsume picked up her snotty brat who was crying about hating me and never wanting to come back. Thank kami, I'd never have to see the cry baby again.

It was fun. I mostly had books from the Senju who had obviously seen me pouring over picture books for hours. I'd just sit and point at each picture. Anyone around me would tell me exactly what it was. I was good at the language but this had to be done to avoid suspicion. I was trying to get to writing to but the pictures were the only thing on the page.

I think the most important gift was that the Senju had accepted me as their heir(-ess?).

Glimpse

I lay on the pristine white hospital bed as the man raised his hands a blue hue covering his hands. He frowned and shook his head before poking my stomach hard. His hands were now light green as his chakra seeped into my skin. I squirmed uncomfortably.