Of all the goddamn planets I could have been born on! I would have been cool with Earth or Tiptree, hell i would have preferred fucking Omega, but Mindoir?! Someone, somewhere was laughing at me. And I can see how a pirate attack might hit a place like Mindoir hard.

Right now it's only a small frontier farming settlement. With a population of about five hundred or six hundred people. It reminds me of a small country town back on Earth. Where everybody seems to know everyone else. And it's a tight-knit community. Almost as soon as my father was through the front door of our small two-bedroom box house, he was getting heart-felt tearful condolences from our neighbors. The loss had obviously crushed him, in the brief time I had seen them together. My mother and father seemed to have something truly special, the kind of love and devotion oftentimes only spoken of in fairy-tales, or badly written romance novels.

I suppose I could, at the risk of sounding horribly saccharine, call it true love.

I like to think that in the months that followed, my presence buoyed him at least somewhat. Gave him something to get up in the morning for. In the months that followed I learned quite a lot about my father, Insofar as I could tell, he worked in the construction of the colony. He had lived here since its inception, and he had a personal hand in the construction of almost every important building and landmark. I found it rather funny that he probably helped build the hospital i was born in.

In between his work, and taking care of me he had little time for much else. So oftentimes I was left at the local daycare center, in the care of Auntie Gloria. I suppose there isn't really much to be said of the time I spent there. The time spent with Gloria was pleasant at least. But honestly what else can I say? There really wasn't much for my baby self to do but eat, shit, and sleep. Though at times it was really uncomfortable. My first set of teeth growing in hurt like hell as they grew through my gums. All these new bones moving, growing and shifting into position certainly didn't help. And have you ever felt the plates of bone that make up your skull fuse together?

For some odd reason you feel pain more acutely at this stage in life. So I could feel them all. Every growing bone, every new tooth. I was at least happy to feel my musculature developing. So I began teaching myself to crawl around and move a bit. I was glad when I finally got the fine muscle control to do it properly. My father seemed to find it amusing whenever I lost my balance and slumped onto my stomach. Which made it all the more gratifying when I got it down.

The Rinnegan was also developing alongside my body, and changed my perception of the world by small degrees. Not only was my vision excellent, it heightened my reflexes as well. And after awhile i even began to see chakra with them. It turns out everyone has a tiny amount of chakra. Just enough to keep them alive, it's just such a tiny supply that it's practically useless.

I could also see nature chakra. It hung like a thick golden mist in the trees and fields that surrounded our town. And as for my own chakra, it seemed the Rinnegan was forcing my chakra coils to properly develop, so as to keep up with the supply of chakra it steadily seemed to need more of.

As far as i could tell, the only reason that chakra supplies in this universe were so pathetically small, was because nobody ever used chakra, and were never really even aware of it. So peoples chakra coils fell into misuse, it's rather like a muscle atrophying after not being used for too long. Though I surmised that, with time and training. That could be fixed.

I tried to mold and manipulate chakra myself, but dragging it to the surface was an uphill battle. All I could ever manage was a small opaque ball of chakra that flickered and dissipated like the weak flame of a candle. Though I suppose it wasn't surprising, considering my age of barely eight months, I didn't think my chakra coils were up for any kind of worthwhile manipulation. But at least I was learning how to do it early.

Age: 1 year 3 months

I finally mastered the subtle art of walking at about fifteen months old, for me it was never a matter of not knowing how. It was a matter of having legs strong enough to support my weight. But I was happy enough for the free range of movement, and my father finally started taking me out more. The colony was small and developing, and since my birth it had expanded.

Mindoir is primarily a farming colony, and if you look into the distance. You can see the new fields being planted every day. Its small now, but Mindoir is quickly becoming a trading hub. As the colonies in the attican traverse get larger and larger. Ships, supplies, and new people come down every day. It's a calm idyllic existence, far removed from the worries and troubles that plagued my old life. Sometimes if my father gets off early enough, he'll take me into the forests that surround the colony. The trees and foliage are alien and strange, and the noises of the creatures that dwell within are even more so.

But I can see the forest on a totally different level, thanks to the Rinnegan. Colors are contrasted and bright. Chakra signatures dance across my vision as the creatures of the forest go about their lives.

The whole breadth of the forest, its spread out before me in a kaleidoscope of color and beauty. And so i've grown to love these little forest walks I take with my father. We don't really do much but walk in silence, but words aren't really needed. This is where i finished most of my initial physical development, Its a young relatively weak body. So sometimes i stumble or fall, though i think my father is somewhat freaked out that i don't cry. I still react, small grunts or indignant little squeaks,

(I don't care if I'm in the body of a toddler! On the inside I'm a grown man damn it! And I refuse to cry!)

But regardless my father could tell i wasn't like other children. I was usually rather quiet and withdrawn, and not very vocal either. I rarely made too much of a fuss, which i think my dad was quite appreciative of. Though I couldn't yet speak, so I usually just resorted to small vocalizations and relatively subtle body language. Well, as subtle as i could make it. It served its purpose well enough.

Even if it did club my pride like a baby seal at times

Age: 1 year 6 months

I spoke my first word today, funnily enough it was a criticism. See, my father was making an attempt to put my mother behind him. And had been making an attempt to go out and meet women, but for all his physique and intimidating stature. I had the feeling that he was somewhat socially awkward. And social interaction didn't really seem to be his forte, regardless his few friends seem to set him up on constant blind dates. This annoyed me for more than a few reasons, partly because it took away from our time together. And also partly because he always seemed to get set up with exactly the wrong kind of woman.

There was nothing ever particularly wrong with them physically. But they all just seemed like the kind of loose floozy more interested in sex than in commitment. And pardon me if my intrusiveness seems unfounded. But I have a vested interest in this shit!

One of these chicks could end up as my new stepmother! And I'll be damned if it's some bitchy little leech that's just going to break my fathers heart.

It all started one night. One of my fathers friends, a large jockular guy named Maurice, set him up on a date with one of his (many) female friends. He seemed to be a man stuck in the past. He slicked his hair back. Wore muscle shirts and jeans. and kept a pack of Marlboro reds rolled in his sleeves. He works on the ranches and farms that surround the colony.

He set my father up with a girl that I hated. She was the perfect example of the kind of girl I didn't want my father dating. She might have been half-way good looking. If she didn't cake herself in makeup and repulsive perfume. She just seemed so slutty and fake, and it didn't help that her voice was screechy and annoying.

I made my disapproval known when she brought her powdery makeupped face right into mine while I was sitting on our couch.

"Awww he's sooo cute!"

She said in her high shrill falsetto. Now don't get me wrong, at the age I am now. Women fawn over me all the time, and I thoroughly enjoy it. (especially when they bend right down and give me an excellent view of their cleavage.)

But this….

This girl was a whore, a hussy a-

"bitch!"

I didn't really mean to say it, to be honest the fact that i could speak at all surprised me. But I definitely wasn't as surprised as the aforementioned hussy.

"WHAT-!?"

She screeched, my father tried to stammer a few hollow apologies, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it. The hussy stormed out our front door, in a towering indignant rage. My father very carefully watched as she stomped away from the house. It was only then that I noticed he was shaking. I expected anger or a reprimand, but when he turned around his eyes were watering. And his hand was clamped tightly around his mouth. He turned back around, made especially sure she was out of earshot….

And then he busted out laughing.

He positively shook with laughter, holding his stomach as his eyes watered and he laughed himself hoarse. After a good minute of guffawing, he finally settled down enough to speak.

"You know son, I can't help but agree."

Age: 2 years 3 months

Now that I could speak, our small forest walks had more substance to them, as a tottered along beside my father we oftentimes held small conversations. Often my questions were about the surrounding wildlife, this obviously wasn't earth. And the flora and fauna of the alien planet enthralled me.

In my other life, I had an insatiable hunger for the natural world. And I had spent quite a lot of my (other) childhood looking at and drawing random wildlife and plants. And that hadn't changed in this life. I bombarded my Dad with question after question. He was usually apologetic in telling me that he knew next to nothing about the local flora and fauna. Besides of course the occasional piece of game he had obtained when times were lean. And the colony had been little more than a village with a spaceport.

Once my father had exhausted what little knowledge he had. He decided to take me to what would become my favorite structure in the entire town.

"Papa?"

"Yes Matthew?"

"What's that big building your taking me too?"

My father stepped in front of the huge wooden front doors. Spreading his arms wide, as if performing some sort of show for an unseen audience.

"This my wayward son, is one of the single greatest buildings you will ever step into! This is a repository of knowledge, made available for all to use! This, my son, is a library."

So much reading! Now before you assume I'm complaining, let me say that it was an absolute paradise for me. All the knowledge and advancements of a humanity literally hundreds of years ahead of the one I left behind. And it was all at my fingertips, the Rinnegan made it pathetically easy to memorize all the new information that passed beneath my eyes. All of it learned and assimilated rather quickly. My Father was surprised by my veracity for research material, and the speed with which I continued to seek ever-more knowledge. If I was going to survive this galaxy I was going to have to know as much as I could about it.

The librarian was carting another batch of data-pads as her assistant ran past her in the opposite direction. Her cart was equally laden down.

"Hey, who exactly is doing all this research? We're being worked to the bone!"

She asked exasperatedly, this was the third damned cart! Her assistant simply smirked,

"you're not going to believe who it is."

She yelled behind her as she moved the cart into the archives. The librarian was confused as to what that meant. Though as she made it through the double doors the mystery solved itself. She saw a little boy, accompanied by his father. Apparently attempting to bury himself in datapads. This kid couldn't have been more than what? ….three years old? And he was reading-

"Notes on Turian physiology?!"

She looked disbelievingly down at the boy. What business did a toddler have reading things like this?! It simply didn't make any sense. Did this child even know a quarter of these words' meanings?

"Um excuse me?"

The child looked and for the first time she noticed his eyes. All lavender purple, no sclera at all. The pupils were surrounded by four concentric black circles. She was creeped out, and a little bit taken aback, but she collected herself as the boy addressed her.

"Yes? Do you need something?"

The librarian was at a loss, not entirely sure of what to say. Even in the way he spoke he seemed far beyond his years.

"Don't you think that you should read something a little more your speed?"

They put down the datapad, blinked. looked down, and steepled his fingers in front of him. As if he were giving the question serious thought and contemplation. He looked back up, and smiled.

"I already am, right?"

He said it so casually. As if reading a treatise on the nature of the universe was normal for a child his age. And he just sat there, with his strange little eyes. And his serene little mile, and all the while the librarian simply thought;

"What am I dealing with here?"