This is a work of fiction for entertainment purpose, and the non-original characters and worlds do not belong to me but to the original creators. The only characters belonging to me are my Original Characters.

'man'-thought

"man"-speech

"huufh"- breathing

"man"- Technique or words pronounced by a higher entity or in a high emotional tone

1) The Life of a Shinobi

Life is an eternal struggle. Money, power, happiness, life and even death, every single thing in life is gained through a struggle, especially if you were a Shinobi.

You want to live? Survive!

You want to eat? Survive!

You want to be remembered? Survive longer than others!

This was what it meant to be a shinobi. A continuous struggle that seemed to never end until finally with one well-placed kunai to the throat it did.

… At least that was what I thought about this world we lived in. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, God know that civilians have it much worse sometimes, but it just feels that everything I do is useless since at the end I will still lose one of those struggles, if not against an enemy, then against time.

"Rai-kun! Rai-kun come back, the clan leader is calling for you!"

Snapping out of my thoughts I turned around to look at the caravan from where the shouts came over. So, the old man wanted to see me again, I wonder if this is one of those regular 'you have to grow up' speeches of his or if he is finally planning to sell me to another clan for breeding purposes. Hopefully the second, at least then I won't have to listen to his voice ever again.

"Coming!" Dusting up my pants I slowly trudged my way to the main tent of the caravan, decorated with a giant red feather at the top to signify its importance… Idiots, marking themselves as leaders in a world full of cutthroat assassins, but what'd you expect from a clan proud of their 'intelligence bloodline', but unable to activate it due to their low to nonexistent chakra reserves. Ridiculous.

Stepping into the tent the first thing that jumped into sight was the giant racoon like human that was the Head of their clan. A man who got his position only due to the fact that he had a meager amount of chakra that allowed him to use the clan bloodline limit, the Glass Mirror… At least to a small degree.

The bloodline should theoretically allow for someone to gain an unparalleled boost to their insight in exchange for a great mental strain, but the inbreed idiots have long since lost that ability, gaining only a small boost in intelligence if they exerted all their chakra.

"Raizen, I have called you here to notify you that it is finally time to fulfill your duty to the clan." Nailed it. I knew he wouldn't have called me to show his concerns for my mother's health, after all why would he, it wasn't like she was his niece or something. "You will have to start learning manners so that you may be presentable before the noble's court in which you will make your debut."

I wanted to tell him to fuck off, I really did, but what was the point? I had no money, no connections and most importantly no survival skills. Even if I did have a much greater amount of chakra then anyone in my family, I couldn't train in it's use due to the possibility that I'll either get killed or become a breeding bull, so in conclusion escape was pointless so I should simply go with the flow.

"I will obey the will of the clan." Bowing to the pile of fat I then awaited for him to finish his exceedingly boring speech before I was finally allowed to leave to my home. Entering through the front door what assaulted my nostrils was the pungent smell of medication that has been getting more intense with each passing month.

"Come in dear. I have to tell you something." The soft urging of my mother easily drew me into the main bedroom of the tent where I finally saw my mother. She was a beautiful woman… Maybe it was because she was my mother, or maybe it was truly just her innate beauty, but even the sickness eating at her life-force could not hide away the radiance of the woman standing before me. Her black hair, her soft eyes and most importantly her hands which contained thousands of small scars from work made her akin to a piece of art, one that I hoped would persist through the ages despite the frail nature she exhibited.

But alas, time is waiting for no one, and even now my mother got weaker while I had nothing I could do to help. Even if I used the Glass Mirror bloodline limit to find a cure for her, my physical weakness would hinder any of my attempts to get it. Truly I was useless… if only my father-

"Dear" Snapping out of my reverie I hurriedly held my mother's soft hand while gazing into her eyes. "I do not have much time left." I knew that! I knew and I remained powerless to do anything.

I couldn't even control my tears despite having known it would happen! I tried to restrain them, but they kept pouring on and on despite my efforts. Why? Why? Why couldn't I stop!?

"It's alright my dear!" And then I felt it. The warmth of her hug, the smell of her hair hidden beneath the mountain of medicine and finally the weak beating of her heart. "Cry as much as you want my little lightning sprite. It will hurt, I know it will. But you are a smart boy, and mom will always be there for you, so you may cry now, but promise mom one thing. Promise me to be happy, alright Rairai?"

And then I broke into sobs.

-2 Months-

I was alone. For the first time in my life, I was truly alone and I had no idea of what to do next.

My mom has died a month ago finally succumbing to her sickness. She has been strong till the end, always keeping me company and showering me with love, but in the end we both knew that it couldn't last. And that was exactly why before her end she decided to reveal me her biggest secret, the name of my father: Hatake Kakashi the Copy Ninja.

To be truthful I have already long since guessed that my father was a shinobi, otherwise there would be no reason for the chakra disparity between me and all the other clanmates of mine. But due to only mother knowing the name of my father, even Glass Mirror proved useless in ascertaining his identity. It might have been different have I had more experience with using it, but there were only so many hours in a day at the end of the week and I was still only 5 years old.

After I have been revealed his name, my mother told me various stories about how they met, how he was hired as her bodyguard and even how they 'prayed for Kami to bless their love, aka: sex' after a particularly dangerous encounter, all before Kakashi had to return to Konoha once the mission ended.

My birth was apparently an accident, and while mother has not said that Glass Mirror made it extremely easy for me to deduce it. Still, I held no sadness because of it, after all I have been loved by mother the whole time she had on this plane and never once have I felt unwanted… Unless you count the opinion on some of the bastards in the clan, which I did not care about anyway.

Apparently Kakashi had only found out about me nearly two years after my birth, but despite that he had not come to get me and mother because of both his crippling fear of creating new bonds which usually hurt him, and because he wouldn't be able to act as a true father, his status guaranteeing that I will always be in danger. A logical choice if not a bit selfish, after all just because his father traumatized him with his death, it doesn't mean that he should be afraid of getting to know me since he may die as well. By his logic all shinobi should automatically put their kids in orphanages, which is stupid if you ask me.

But at the end of the day, despite his crippling fear of commitment Kakashi has never ran away from his responsibilities, sending generous amounts of money and good to my mother whenever she required them as well as paying considerable child support. Furthermore, mother said while he never met me face to face to not endanger me, he did look after me from afar, which may sound creepy but did worm my heart in the end. I had a father and he wasn't a neglectful bastard, it felt pretty nice in all honesty.

"Rai, get back to work, I expect you to finish the lessons before lunch." Breaking me out of my thoughts the shrill voice of my manner teacher echoed across the room irritating me slightly. I could have reasonably beaten him relying on my greater chakra amount despite my developing body, but there was no point in such a course of action. I have long since grasped all of his lessons thanks to Glass Mirror, and as long as I continued to show only a moderate amount of improvement, I could substitute the lessons for time in which I'd practice chakra control and my Bloodline Limit. So, in the end the lessons were beneficial, just not in the way the Clan Head expected them to be.

Zoning out after he started to monologue again, my mind went back to the thesis that I can only expect to escape from here in two ways: Either through learning how to use chakra properly and escaping or by waiting for my father to receive the letter I know mom sent regarding me which would push him into finally contacting me. I wouldn't mind either choice, but I sincerely hoped that Kakashi would get over his complexes faster, otherwise I was here for a long time as training chakra with no teacher or learning materials was a nightmarish endeavor and I didn't look forward to it.

"BOOOM"

Blown of by an explosion at the center of the village I did not manage to do anything other than protect my head before slamming into the nearby pillar. 'Crack' I didn't know whether the sound was caused by my skull or the pillar itself, but suddenly I felt my vision go black as a powerful whistling sound overwhelmed my auditory sense.

In a word I felt 'uncomfortable'.

"BOOOM" "STOP TH-!" "CRACK" "BOOOOOOM"

The screams and sounds of destructions continued to echo out for the better part of 3 minutes just as my vision seemed to finally have returned to me. The first thing that I noticed was the smell of blood. I was no dog, but my senses did get sharper due to chakra, and so I could assess the situation of the caravan/clan using my smell alone and boy where we in trouble.

As further confirmation of how bad things where I could see the body of my manner teacher slumped over a table to my right, a shard of wood inserted into his brain. Gruesome but not as disturbing as I would have expected it to be. My misconception of the situation might have had something to do with the possible concussion I've endured, but it might also be because I have an inborn killer instinct… hmm, guess I will have to test it later should I survive this ordeal.

"Hey, we've got one more here!" Spinning around I silently endured the feeling of vertigo as my eyesight finally concentrated on the ninja facing me. A cloud shinobi if I was right, at least chunin in rank judging by his chakra. I was no sensor, but I knew when I was beat.

"Hey brat, don't make this any harder than it has to be." For a few seconds I entertained the idea of fighting him, before promptly dropping it due to not being suicidal. My chances of surviving were higher as long as he liked me, so…

"Not the face please. I hear it will get me far with the ladies." This did catch him unguard, the surprised guy even stumbling briefly before regaining his balance by sticking his feet to the ground. And then he burst: "Haha, I like you kid! Fine not the face, but I gotta tell you stomach is much more painful."

'Swish' Feeling my stomach churn was really uncomfortable, but at least I made him laugh, so my chances of survival may have just increased. Not bad for a plan made on the go.

"See you on the other side kiddo." Oh yeah, be cheerful after punching a kid. You fucking cloud fucker…

-Time Skip-

Being kidnapped felt surprisingly comfortable now that I think about it. Being fed three times a day with good food as well as receiving a warm carriage to sleep in was already good enough, but the chance to listen to war stories of battle-hardened shinobi was just the cherry on top.

You wouldn't believe how many new things you could glean from the drunken slurs of a middle-aged shinobi… well at least when you could temporarily boost your insight by an uncountable number of times.

And most importantly they actually allowed me to visit my mother's grave. Yes, I kid you not, the murderous hobos that the cloud shinobi were described to be allowed a poor orphan to visit his mother's grave while on the way back to their village. It does say things about my past clan when my kidnapers were actually kinder to me than they ever were.

But one question remained, why? Why did shinobi take care of the orphans of the clan they slaughtered. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to erase all of their traces and finish of the lose ends… But no. They picked us up and cared for every single child, and believe what you want but it wasn't for the goodness of their heart.

Something was going on, and I would find out what it was, if not to rise my chances of survival, then to satisfy my burning curiosity that could not stand still before a juicy mystery like this one.

"So how long do we have left until we reach the Village Hidden in the Clouds Bapi-san?" Smiling towards the lead shinobi I tried to sound as innocent as possible which admittedly wasn't hard due to my young age and cute face. Yes, I was a looker and proud of it.

"About two days left kiddo. Now, mind pouring me another cup of that tea of yours?" Smiling I used all the techniques I learned during those thrice damned etiquette lessons to smoothly pour the shinobi another cup of tea (made by myself of course).

"Phaaaa, that really hit the spot kiddo. You know what? Even if you prove to have no talent in shinobi arts solely your teas skills would earn you a nice cushy gig as the attendant of someone from the council. Hell, promise to come by and make me a cup from time to time and I'd even recommend you to Raikage-sama."

"Thank you very much, but I think I would prefer to try myself in the shinobi field. Status can only take you so far, but power has no limit, right!" Giving me a serious look Bapi's eyes got dilatated as he seemed to slip down the memory lane for a few moments before clarity returned to him.

"Heh, the life of a shinobi is not all rainbows as you may think kiddo, but I will respect your choice. Every man gotta make a decision for themselves, and if a life of excitement and sadness is what you desire who am I to stop you."

Yes, he was a really nice man. All through the trip Bapi has always been the one to protect me and the other kids whenever one of the shinobis got too 'excited' for their own goods. At the same time, he had continued to make this trip more tolerable for us, gifting us candies, meat when they caught something and soft covers so that we did not feel uncomfortable due to the chilly autumn mornings.

I had no idea how my life would change in the future, but just for the care he showed me I made an internal promise to spare Bapi's life if we ever met on the battlefield as enemies… Although it did sound ridiculous since now he could crush me with one kick, but I digress.

"So, Bapi-san, how is the Village Hidden in the Clouds? I have heard it is a beautiful place, but how would you describe it."

Seemingly surprised by my question he took a second to organize his thoughts before shifting into a more comfortable position for long sit-downs. "Well if you want to listen to my perspective, I would say the village is-"

-1 Hour-

For the last hour I have been listening to Bapi's insights into the village and I think I am finally onto something. During his monologue he had made sure to speak about a lot of topics, with them ranging from the geographical position of the village to its traditional food, but what caught my attention was his off mention of the half empty streets as well as the recent outbreak.

Those facts continued to spin in my mind even long after we finished talking and he headed back to his sentry position. Low population, can it be that it is a natural trait of the village, no but then he wouldn't have called them half empty. So, it must be related to a disaster… the so called outbreak! But was it an earthquake? No, the geography of the village would have mitigated it. Then maybe a sickness… but then why are there no news outside of the pandemic!? No, it is something different, something that can change, something almost ali-

The Bijuu! Weapons of mass destruction that are used by village as deterrents, the village Hidden in the Clouds having two of them with one of them being the second strongest beast.

Unlike Konoha the Cloud lacked the Uzumaki bloodline that always saved the village with its sealing techniques, so every conquest against the Bijuus after they lost their container was a bloody affair. And so, every several years the Bijuus rampage across the Cloud, not only resulting in a lot of destroyed property, but it also drastically culling the population until serios measures from the council were required.

The council most likely had two choices before itself if it wanted to revive the village while also maintaining its integrity. The first option was for every single family to have at least four children which would keep the people loyal, but in turn would have disastrous results on the village's development until the new generation finally grew up.

The second choice was much easier, orphans. Get them to the cloud where after a little indoctrination they will become eager small soldiers or workers for the glory of the cloud. This mission did pose the risk of more spies infiltrating the country, but due to the children chosen being young this shouldn't pose such a problem in the future. In addition, this was also a viable technique to introduce new bloodline into the cloud, so in the end it was the only correct choice.

"A place I can call home… must feel nice to have the chance to go take a piss without being warry the caravan will leave you behind. Snicker" Feeling a soft breeze pass through my hair my lips involuntarily rose into a smile as all the worries left me for the first time since my mother died. "This feels… nice…"

-2 Weeks-

Alright, so I admit I might have jumped the gun when I declared that I want to become a shinobi to Bapi-san.

Don't get me wrong, the training was great and despite the fact that I did not gain any 'secret' knowledge, the basic concepts of chakra that I have been taught have already proven to be a game changer… but why do I have to go and take two hours of math everyday together with all the idiots in my class?

… I admit it might have been harsh calling them idiots, but I simply could not bear to sit in a chair and listen to wrong answers for more than 30 minutes without gaining an aneurism. And they NEVER got it right. The teachers might even tell them the answer, and they forget it in 5 minutes anyway, just how inattentive can you be!?

Anyway, other than the basic lessons that were grinding on my nerves, my life in the Village Hidden in the Clouds was pretty great. The care I have received here was incomparable to the one I received in the caravan after my mother died, so I can confidently say that even if I had a chance to change the bloodbath, I would likely decide not to. There were just too many incentives to becoming a citizen fo the Cloud in comparison to remaining a wanderer.

In addition, in the last few days after enrolling into the academy I also got to learn both chakra theory as well as some real Justus from the academy in exchange for only good behavior. Really, the Cloud shinobi were such nice guys!

'Scoff', yeah, as if.

The shinobi might have tried to come off as a bunch of kind mentors, but in reality, they were always assessing us on our skills and instincts. Every single moment of the day we were monitored, whether it was in class or when we went to sleep, all for the purpose of finding who would become the elites of the village and who would become the cannon fodder.

Furthermore, they even made sure to instill loyalty into all of us by using both the curriculum as well as genjutsu therapy thrice per week. The young minds of my classmates had absolutely no protection against such an onslaught, with some of them having already started to exhibit traits associated with extreme fanaticism like throwing rocks at the drawing of the foreign Kage's we had at the back of the academy.

As for me, I have long since known that something like this might occur, so I have been gathering intelligence on how a child that is mildly influenced by the propaganda might act. Several snarls at the mention of Iwa, a few furrowed brows during the history lesson on Suna and I was golden. Glass Mirror has helped me create a perfect disguise that I had no plan to break at least until I was ready to escape.

And as for the genjutsu? It was child's play. The problem with Kumo's approach was that it catered to young children who did not have a Bloodline Limit specialized in improving both the comprehension and the intelligence of the user. Even with Glass Mirror in an inactive state my mind has already long since developed beyond the grasp of any ordinary civilian or shinobi, so remaining in a basic non-invasive genjutsu without breaking it altogether was simple enough for me.

"Hey, eyes back on paper Rai. Men who cannot complete their home assignments are not cool." Interrupting my thought process, I felt a lean body suddenly stick against my back as several strands of blond hair entered the corner of my eye.

"Yes, big sis Samui." Giving the girl a shy smile, I retuned my gaze back to the paper where I had already finished more than three quarters of my assignment.

"Good boy." Tousling my hair lightly the kunoichi then spun around before heading to the nearby table where another youngster was having problems with the home assignment that were given today. Like I said, idiots.

Giving the girl another sneak peek, I couldn't help but release a sigh of fondness. Samui 'the cool' Yuhi, the big sister of the academy and a kind young kunoichi who's character was in line with her favorite world while her body embodied the total opposite. Heh, had I been 10 years older I might have even invited her on a date, but unfortunately that was far of into the future, and I had no idea if I would even manage to survive that long.

Fishing out a snack bar Bapi had gifted me I then turned my attention away from Samui before she caught me starring and concentrated on my assignment. So, if a kunai is thrown with x speed into the opponent shinobi who is 37 meters away, it will reach its destination in…

-Several Days-

"Bang"

"Hahaha, Rai even if you like the ground so much it doesn't mean you should be kissing it before the whole class!"

"HAHAHAHAHA"

Gazing at the clouds peacefully flying in the sky I couldn't help but ask myself whether it was all worth it. Due to all the simulations done by Glass Mirror I have long since understood that hiding my skills would most likely save me when I get in a tough spot or decide to defect, so I have done everything possible to appear as mediocre as possible in both theoretical and practical classes, but is it truly worth it!?

Rising my head slightly my gaze connected with that of the brat who just flipped me into the ground. The smug smile set on that defenseless face of his could be so easy to wipe out, but I could not risk it unless I was truly prepared to gain the attention of the Cloud's elite on me.

"Hah" Releasing a sigh of defeat I finally decide that he was not worth my possible freedom. If I truly gained the attention of the Jonin instructors or God forbid the Anbu, they would most likely use a much more powerful genjutsu to make sure of my intentions, and I was not sure if I'd be able to guard the secret of my ancestry at that time.

"What? You gonna go and complain to Samui? Heh, as if she can do anything to me! My cousin is already a chunin ya' know, so even a genin like her will have to treat me with respect!" Preening like a peacock Raido or as I prefer to call him, idiot number 3, exited the sparring arena leaving me with my hand hanging in the air with the reconciliation sign prepared.

… Maybe it was worth it to let everyone know who my father was, maybe to just scare the shit out of this idiot.

Feeling a sudden softness on my head I spun around only for a lollipop to enter my mouth. "You did a good job out there, Rai. Keeping a cool head is what'll save you as a shinobi, so don't get depressed because you lost to an idiot like Raido." Finishing her inspiring speech Samui then gave my forehead a flick before turning around to encourage the next kids who entered the arena.

You know what? I don't know what the future has in store for me, but if it will be in my power, I will keep this 'cool' chick safe, even if only to repay her for the warmth she brought me…

Oh, and I also swear to kick Raido and his cousin in the balls, and I intend to keep my promises.

-1 Month-

Pitter-Patter

Gazing at the crying Raido who was leaning into the embrace of his parents I could not help but shiver inside. Right now, in front of me was the body of Raido's cousin, killed on the border of the Land of Rain by a bunch of rogue nin. The chunin who even I wasn't sure about defeating was lying dead just because of one wrong tidbit of information.

It was scary. It was extremely scary. IT WAS MOTHERUCKING HORRIFYING!

So why? Why in the name of God was I grinning? It couldn't be because of the death of the young man. I did dislike him indeed, but it was extremely far from the level of 'I hate him so much he should die', so why did my lips continue to tug up?

It couldn't-… No… It should be wrong, but could it be… Am I… excited by the challenge?

Could it be that I am crazy enough to get excited by the challenge of surviving what was called shinobi life!? It shouldn't happen after all Glass Mirror should… Glass Mirror… FUCK!
The damn bloodline has set me up! By taking the challenge of any activity out of my life together with my inborn talent, the bloodline has somehow managed to destroy my sense of self validation. I had nothing to strive for, for I could easily achieve anything… except maybe surviving as a shinobi.

It was crazy, it was completely idiotic, but feeling a strange sensation coming out of my belly I couldn't help but raise my face towards the sky and burst out in laughter as a thick thunderbolt stuck a far away corner of the village submerging my own eruption with its unmistakable roar.

I finally had a goal, a purpose in this life! And I was planning to win, for even life and death had to give way before the one titled as the ultimate sore looser of the Holmes clan, Raizen Hatake Holmes the smartest boy alive!

"HAHAHAHAHA" continuing to laugh with relish I then slowly stopped as I noticed the lack of movement in my surroundings as everyone stopped their mourning to look at me, even the rain seemingly toning down slightly to give me better acoustics.

Awkward…

-Samui-

She did like Rai a lot, he was like a cool little brother that made perfect contrast to Atsui's childish anticks, so she sincerely hoped he would live to grow into a healthy young man. And that was exactly why his laughter at the death of Raizo's cousin was pretty concerning.

She hoped it would be nothing, but her intuition told her that there was a deeper reason in there than Rai simply being a psycho or him hating Raizo so much. So what could the reason for his laughter be?

She has always felt as if he had some secret which he would never divulge. She had no idea of what it might be about, but her female intuition told her that it might be the reason for his outburst, and so as a responsible older sister she would make sure she would find out what that secret was and how she could help Rai deal with his troubles. She was cool like that!

-Raizen-

Why did it feel like a predator just zeroed in on me? Oh well, Glass Mirror doesn't perceive any danger so it should be alright, after all the only thing out of its capabilities are completely illogical events, and fortunately the world is mostly logical.

-Samui-

Why did she just feel like Rai just insulted her? There was no rime or reason for the feeling, but she will make sure to ask his teacher to double his homework, just to make sure!

/BREAK/

Yeah, so wanted to do something where the hero isn't in Konoha cause everyone does that. Will do another chapter of Holy Reanimator next before maybe returning back to Makima's Little Brother.

God, never knew it was so hard to write fanfics until I started doing it myself. Respect to all the gous out there who actually manage to do it, cause you are just amazing.

Well, then, Ill go to sleep now, hope everyone enjoys the chapter.