AN: I apologize for the extended wait. My editor took longer than I expected to finish his job.

Family

A little over a month has passed since I received the memories of Other Me and I've learnt a few things.

When I was around a week old my mom took me with her while she went shopping and it became immediately clear that I'm in the Hidden Leaf Village. The design of the buildings and the roads look almost exactly like how they appear in the show so even I was able to put two and two together. If that wasn't enough to figure out where I am then the Hokage Monument would have made things very clear. I was able to get a good look at it despite how terrible my month-old eyes work and the sight of it immediately made me shit myself, literally. Why you may ask?

There were only three heads.

It's been my only clue as to where I am in the timeline, but I've had more than enough time to think about it. The conclusion I came to is that unless the third war just ended, at least one of the three first shinobi wars will happen in my lifetime.

'And I'm pretty sure I would know by now if the third war just ended.'

I quickly figured out that both my parents are ninja, though my mother is retired. If the war had ended recently, I would have overheard something about it this past month.

'Well, whatever. I don't have to become a ninja if I don't want to. Though I would be lying if I said it wasn't tempting despite the possible trauma, ninja stuff is just way too cool not to be.'

My opinion is reaffirmed by what's going on around me at the moment. I'm currently outside in my backyard, sitting on my mom's lap. On the table in front of me is a shogi board and if I look up from that I see my sister sitting across from us with a perplexed expression.

Mom is trying and failing to teach my big sis how to play shogi. Even though my sister is sharp for her age from what I can tell, she's still too young to be playing something like shogi. Though I guess critical thinking is a skill she's going to have to learn considering she enrolled at the academy a few months before I was born.

To my right is something much more interesting, my dad and my uncle Daichi are sparring. It's just taijutsu and they don't seem to be serious since I can actually keep track of them with my eyes but it's still pretty cool.

It's the first time I've ever seen what it looks like when shinobi fight. If I had to compare it, it's like a high-speed dance to the death.

'Huh, maybe Madara was onto something.'

The spar comes to an end when my dad ducks a straight right and smoothly transitions into a sweeping kick that knocks my uncle off his feet. I golf clap in appreciation of the fight.

"Looks like someone enjoyed watching his dad kick butt."

It seems like mom is done with trying to teach sis how to play shogi because at some point she started watching the spar as well. She stands up from her chair with me in her arms.

"Well, I can't lose in front of my son." He offers Daichi a hand and he takes it. "Or my daughter." Honoka runs up and gives dad a hug but immediately recoils while holding her nose.

"Daddy, you smell!" She runs back over to mom and I and attaches herself to mom's left leg.

"Jeez Suke, if your family watching you makes you that much stronger then maybe I should see about getting one of those." Daichi says jokingly.

It's kind of weird looking at him next to dad if I'm being honest. They're identical twins, so they have the same black hair, brown eyes, and handsome features that I'm hoping to grow into. The reason it's weird is that while my dad is more easygoing and calmer, my uncle is more carefree and prone to outbursts.

"Yeah, as if anybody would want to marry your sorry ass." My dad puts on a goofy smile that makes my uncle put on one of his own that looks the exact same.

"What? We have the same good looks! I could definitely charm a girl int-"

"Oi! Not in front of the kids! Especially you Daisuke, we agreed not to curse!" Mom cuts in while shooting the brothers something between a scowl and a glare.

'Scary…'

"Sorry Hikari." Says dad as he turns to face uncle. "I'm going to go hop in the shower since apparently I smell, you should probably head home."

"Yeah…" He looks at mom's angry expression. "That sounds like a good idea, see ya!" Daichi says quickly before body flickering out of the yard. We head into the house shortly after Uncle disappears, which is good since it's getting late, and mosquitos are a threat in every world unfortunately.

'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that uncle is afraid of mother, did mom say something I didn't catch?'

Baby brains are amazing, while I don't have the language down yet, I only miss every other word now. I'm not sure if that's a normal learning rate even for a baby but I'm not going to question it. Especially since other me barely knew any Spanish after taking classes for two years.

"Mama, can I hold Katsu?"

I squeeze mom's wrist tightly.

"No, maybe when you're older."

Honoka pouts and I smile. There's no way I'm letting her drop me on my head.

I'm lying in my crib unable to sleep. At night I always find myself thinking about the future, particularly all the threats that are to come.

Orochimaru, Obito, Madara, Black Zetsu, and Kaguya. All threats that will be defeated by Naruto and Sasuke, but at a cost. So many people died or were permanently scarred to reach the happy ending I saw. That's why, I think I want to make things better.

What if I can become strong, what if I can become like all the overpowered protagonists that Other Me read about on that website. The ones that everything seems to go right for, the ones that get all the girls in the end while simultaneously being a badass and barely ever struggling. If things can go that conveniently for them, why not me?

Though even with that in mind I'm still hesitant. My dad is an active duty chunin and my mom is a retired one, becoming a ninja would be par the course for this family, but it isn't required of me. I could get away from it all, leave Konoha and therefore avoid Pein, then start a family in any village that isn't the Hidden Mist. Doing that is just as appealing as trying to save people I haven't even met yet.

I let out a small chuckle that sounds adorable because I'm a baby. One of Other Me's memories just ran through my head, he would always tell his friends that if he was reincarnated into a fantasy world, he would at least try to become strong. Consequences be damned.

'Well guess what jackass, it's easier to say that then actually do it. You don't have to live this shit out, do you? You got off easy by letting yourself fade away into nonexistence, you don't have to feel this pressure, or be so afraid of the future that you can't sleep at night. You were dead! What made you think you had the right to force this burden on me!'

A lone tear falls down my right cheek, a consequence of getting overly emotional in a baby's body.

'I need to calm down, I'm getting mad at someone that doesn't even exist anymore. He can't hear me and even if he could, it's not like he could take back what he did.'

But still, a part of me wishes that my situation was like the ones of all the other protagonists. If only Other Me had come here himself, if only I was the one that ceased to exist.

'I'm only a month old and I already have suicidal thoughts. Life sucks so much that even the demo makes you want to quit the game.'

This time a quiet laugh escapes my lips and I completely calm down.

'I should try to get some sleep If I start thinking about rather the memories I have make me more him than me, I'll be up until dawn.'

I close my eyes and try to get comfortable in the blanket I've found myself growing fond of. Most nights, this would be it and I'd wake up in the morning to either my mom feeding me or my sister trying to talk to me.

This was not most nights.

"Hey little man, you still up?"

I open my eyes upon hearing my dad's voice. I can't make him out in the darkness, but I can tell he's standing right above me. It disturbs be a bit that I didn't even hear him enter the room, but I guess it makes sense considering his profession.

"I knew you'd still be awake. I've noticed the bags under your eyes in the morning, you have trouble sleeping, don't you?"

I don't respond or react to him, but internally I'm feeling a mixture of shock and awe. I only got about every other word of that, but I got the jist. 'That's a ninja for you, I guess I should expect him to be observant… or he's just a normal parent that can notice something wrong with his kid. Probably a mixture of both.' As I ponder that my dad continues.

"Yet you never cry or even make a sound, well… ever since that night anyways." His voice then becomes gentler. "It's ok to cry out for help you know. I don't mind waking up to rock you to sleep."

I don't want to be an inconvenience. I know how tired parents can get in the morning when their baby keeps waking them up in the middle of the night. I've tried my best to be a good son for mom and dad, but still…

'Dad…'

"Don't go getting fussy on me now though, if you start crying, you'll wake your mother up, I'll be in big trouble, and you don't want that, right?"

'Fussy? I'm not…' I then feel the tears running down my face. 'But why, I don't even feel sad? Could this be because of what dad said?'

Unconditional love is truly a beautiful thing.

"Anyways, I'm getting off track, there's something I want to show you."

'Show me?' I think as he lifts me into his arms, my face being buried in his chest.

"We're about to go fast, ok?"

'Fast? Wait he isn't about t-' My dad body flickers out the window in my room, my high-pitched scream being deafened by the wind.

"Don't look at me like that, I did warn you." My devil of a father says unapologetically.

Right now, we're walking through the streets of Konohagakure. There's a cold but pleasant breeze running throughout the village right now, it chills my tiny lungs but in a good way. Not that I care about any of that right now, all I want at this moment is an "I'm sorry" from this reckless man. Which is why I'm wearing a full-blown pout on my face.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry. I'll give you a better warning next time so stop looking at me like that.

'Next time? This idiot plans to make body flickering with his baby a habit, doesn't he?

As my pout disappears my dad speaks in a soft tone.

"So, what do you think, Katsuo?"

'What do I think of what? Oh, the village?'

As I've been hinting at, I can't see for shit. My eyes have gotten better as the days have gone by, but my vision still leaves much to be desired. Unless I get really up close, I can't make out specific details of objects. I only know what the faces of my family look like because they've held me up to their faces occasionally. Even colors are a bit wacky to me, though I can tell what colors are what due to being the smartest baby alive.

All that to say, Konoha just looks like a bunch of bright colorful lights to me, but what if I use my hearing instead of my vision?

I close my eyes and for the first time in my life just… listen. I can hear the voices of the people around me but can't make out any words. Since there's so many people around me and it's so late at night, I guess we're on a street with a bunch of shops around. People going to certain stores late at night was common even in Other Me's world so it's a likely explanation.

'Ah, is that some sort of meat?' Maybe we're passing by a busy restaurant with open windows or maybe somebody is running a late-night stall.

'Now I get it, dad wants to show me how beautiful Konoha is late at night.' A slight smile forms on my face. 'Thanks dad.'

"Don't go falling asleep on me yet Katsu, we still have one more stop."

I open my eyes to show my dad that I'm awake, I'm excited to see what he'll show me next but shortly after my eyes open, I hear a voice.

"Yo Daisuke, it's been a while since I've seen you, especially out this late, how've ya been?"

I try to get a good look at the man that apparently knows my father. I can tell that he has long hair for a guy and that it's a brown color like my mom's. I'd need to be closer to make out things like eye color like I've been able to do with my family.

"I've been pretty good. Some people like to say that being married doesn't mean you're dead, but those people are liars."

The stranger lets out a laugh.

"Yeah well, I wouldn't know, not everyone can get married as young as you, ya lady's man."

They're now both laughing, and I can only blink in confusion.

"So, I heard that you had another kid, I've been looking for a chance to stop by, but missions have been killing me lately… wait is that him?"

'Did he just notice me?'

"Yup, Kenji Imai, meet Katsuo Nishida!"

He holds me out for the now identified Kenji to see and he bends down to get a good look at me. I plan to look him in the eyes man to man but then I smell his breath.

'Is that alcohol I smell? Gross!' Of course, the only reason I know its alcohol is because of the helpful memories I have. 'So, he's just wrapping up a night on the town, huh? I wonder if I'll ever have any of those.'

"I don't think he likes me very much, he's trying to look away." Kenjii seems to take my reluctance to look at him full on as a challenge because he leans forward more to get even more in my personal space.

'Papa! Save me from this monster!'

Like the hero he is, my dad takes a step back which makes Kenjii stand up straight again. Before Kenji can say something in response my dad cuts him off.

"I hate to cut this short, but I have somewhere I want to take my son. Feel free to stop by whenever you're not on a mission and sober." My dad keeps an even tone as he speaks without even an edge to it.

'Come to think of it, I've never seen my dad get angry or even raise his voice.'

"Will do, it was nice seeing you again dude."

Dad nods before holding my head against his chest again. He isn't about to do this again is h-!

'Ah, he's waiting a bit.' He gives me an appreciated three seconds to prepare myself before he body flickers again. This time, I'm able to enjoy the feeling of moving faster than the world around me.

After having the privilege of experiencing multiple body flickers, I finally feel us stop moving. My dad's grip on my head lessens allowing me to look at my surroundings a bit.

'Holy shit, we're on the Hokage Monument!'

The breeze from down in the village feels colder all the way up here, not that I'm complaining. How could I? Other Me dreamed of being able to see Konohagakure from up here and for good reason. Everything just feels so... surreal, like I'm living out a myth.

'Well, I guess I kinda am in a way.'

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

'Well, I'm sure it looks much better to you, with the way you're holding me I'm only able to see a bunch of bright lights out of the corner of my eye. Still, just being up here is an honor, thanks dad.'

"Everything and everyone down there, is my duty, as a shinobi of the leaf village, to protect."

'You should probably save this kind of talk for when I'm supposed to be able to understand you.'

"And eventually, it could be your duty as well. You come from a long line of ninja, though most of us are unremarkable at best. As you grow older, you'll probably gravitate towards the ninja life until eventually, you become a shinobi, just like your old man. Just look at your sister, she's already entered the academy and she seems pretty determined to become a respectable ninja in her own right."

Dad lets out a sigh that almost feels sad.

"You know, I never brought her up here, your sister, I mean. I love her to death, but I guess because of that, I never wanted her to be a ninja… like her aunt."

Dad takes a deep breath and sits down, resting my head on his lap.

"She reminds me so much of her, sure the hair and eyes are Hikari's, but the face? Every time I look at her, I see Kanna looking right back at me."

'It doesn't feel like he's talking to me anymore, if you needed to vent you could have come up here yourself, dad.'

"And I understand, I understand that I shouldn't get in the way of her dream. I know that it's her decision and that if she decides to become a ninja, I should support her, like any good father would. It isn't her fault that she looks like my dead little sister, it isn't her fault that she's just as smart as she was as well. I know that if she didn't have her face then I wouldn't feel this worried, I know, ok?"

'Is he starting to tear up? Dad, don't cry, you'll be fine I promise.'

"I'm not going to hold her back, I know that I won't, but if she dies, I'll never be able to forgive myself. I don't want to make the same mistake twice."

I feel tears that aren't my own land on my face as I listen to my always calm father whimper like a wounded animal. He takes a few deep breaths to get himself out of the state of mind he talked himself into and once he's calm enough, he looks down at me.

"You're more responsive than Honoka was at your age. Hell, sometimes I think you understand some of what I'm saying."

I can only blame Other Me for not being around infants enough. All I had was some of his experiences and some of the reincarnation stories he read, and in those the main character's reactivity to certain things aren't treated that strangely. Regardless, it doesn't seem like I've done anything too crazy if he hasn't gotten me checked out by doctors yet.

"So, can you do me a favor? Take care of your sister for me. Even if you never become a shinobi, please just… watch over her, because one day I may not be here to do it myself."

'Don't say stuff like that dad, it's a death flag.'

"I guess I'm being too pessimistic… I believe in myself and more than that, I believe in you. I think that you could become the best of us, no matter what path you choose."

Dad stands up and looks at the sky.

"I guess I should be getting you back to your crib, I'll be hearing it for weeks if your mother wakes up and finds you missing."

As I once again find myself moving at speeds faster than any baby should ever experience, I make a vow.

'Even if I never live up to your expectations, I'll keep us safe, and in order to do that…'

My vow continues to run through my head, even after I'm back in my crib and my dad has long since gone back to bed.

It's been four months since dad talked to me… well more like at me and if I had to describe how everything has been in one word it would be, "calm." Now that I've gotten used to life in the Nishida house, I no longer feel like a new addition to the family. Quite the opposite really, it feels like I've been here all my life.

'Yeah ok, that one was on purpose.'

For me personally, these past few months have been all about growing. Physically, my teeth are beginning to grow in, my body is noticeably bigger, and my eyesight has improved to the point where I see the world mostly like Other Me was able to, the only exception being that color still looks a bit faded.

Though if you were to ask me, my most important growths have come mentally. I've found myself becoming more attached to this world and in particular, my family. Dad is cool, sometimes he talks at me in order to vent but, he's cool. Mom is caring and good natured from what I can tell, aside from when she's scolding Honoka, she's all smiles. That could just be how she acts around me though, I'm her five-month-old baby after all, I doubt she wants to get riled up enough to make me upset. My sister is mostly what you'd expect of a little girl, cute and innocent. Though after what my dad said months ago, I decided to pay attention to her more. I've noticed that she really likes to read and because of that her vocabulary is rapidly improving.

'Maybe she'll get into deciphering codes, I know that'd make dad happy.'

Speaking of dad, he's out on a mission, leaving me alone with mom and sis.

It's around sundown and we just ate. We're all relaxing on the small three-seater couch in our living room. Mom is playing a game of shogi by herself, Honoka is reading a green book, and I'm lying on mom's lap, bored out of my mind.

It's been this way for a while now. Once I got over being in a world that Other Me thought was fictional, I quickly became tired of being a baby. Yeah sure, the baby life has its benefits, one of which being that you never have to do anything, but that's the problem. I never have to do anything, so I don't do anything, cuz ya know, I'm a baby. All I can do is plan and when I'm not planning, I'm stuck with the same thoughts that keep me up at night. It's only gotten worse as my brain has developed, my thoughts have become more clear and less simple, I didn't even notice anything was wrong with how my brain processed stuff until around two months ago.

'Yeah, I'm done with this.'

I've been holding back on crawling for a while now since I don't know when an infant is supposed to be able to crawl but fuggit.

'I'm a five-month-old baby with the memories of a teenager from the twenty-first century. I probably have the shortest attention span in the world, I need something to do, anything!'

With that in mind I roll off mom's lap which doesn't get a reaction out of her. I've been rolling over for a couple months now, so this isn't anything special. No, my mom only looks up from her game of Shogi when I carefully lower myself to the floor from the couch and begin crawling.

'It's about as easy as I expected.' I think as I crawl a circle around the table. I stop crawling and sit in front of the couch, looking up at my mom and sister to judge their reactions.

Mom's mouth is wide open, and her eyes are wide while Honoka seems to have been too absorbed in her book to pay attention to me.

"EEEEEEEEK! HONOKA, LOOK!"

'Ow! My ears!'

"Look at what?" Says Honoka as she finally looks up from her book.

"Your brother just crawled around the table! How didn't you notice?!" Mom still sounds excited, but at least she reigned it in a bit.

"I was reading." She doesn't seem very interested. Probably because she's six and doesn't understand why it's so significant for me to start moving around.

'But seriously sis sis, can't you be just a little excited? From what I know, most six-year-olds will get excited just because everybody around them is excited, why can't you be normal?'

I ignore the hypocrisy of what I just said and decide to stop sitting around. Now that I can move around it's time to explore!

As I begin crawling towards the hallway, I feel my mom's hands wrap around my stomach and I'm lifted off the ground.

"The doctors said that I should expect my babies to start crawling around a year after they're born, but you don't care, do you Katsu? You don't care about what those stupid doctors say, you're my son!"

As I feel my mom rubbing her face against my right cheek, I can only make a horrified expression.

'So, I was too early, shit! What if she tells the doctors! What if they check out my brain! What if the-!'

I immediately calm down as a thought crosses my mind.

'Wait, this world doesn't have the technology of the 21st century. To them a baby crawling earlier than expected is improbable but not impossible. I should be fine as long as they don't Yamanaka me, and why would they do that to a five-month-old baby?'

Eventually, mom sets me down and looks at me expectantly. Even my sister is looking at me from her spot on the couch with her interest finally peaked.

'Ah, they want me to crawl again, don't they? Well, I did say I want to explore…'

I resume my crawl towards the hallway and decide to head left. On the left side of my house, I find bedrooms. My parent's bedroom is the first room on the right, mine is across from it on the left, and my sister's is further down the hall on the right. The furthest room down the hall is a bathroom that I've never been in, I'm usually washed in the one that's on the right side of the hallway.

'Everything looks about as I expected, though I guess my sister's room is less girly than I imagined, too little pink and stuffed animals.'

My adventurous spirit leads to me investigating the right side of the hallway. I immediately spot a familiar door staring across the hall at me, I know that behind it is the bathroom that my parents use to take care of my hygiene. Other than that, there's two rooms, one close to me on my right that has a door that is currently open, and one further down the hall that is unfortunately not accessible to me because its door is closed.

I crawl into the room on the right, my mom and sister following closely behind me, and find myself in a small library. Of course, by small I mean really small. There are a few medium-sized bookshelves that are stuffed to the brim with scrolls and books. At a glance anybody could tell that nobody has organized anything here for years.

'If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find some ninja scrolls and instruction manuals in here. My dad is an active-duty shinobi after all, I should at least find something, right?'

I decide to end my adventure right there, I already know the general layout of the house which will make future exploration much easier. For now, I sit down on my butt and appear like a normal, uninterested infant. My mother and sister, who have been following closely behind me during my journey, stare at me for a second… two seconds… three seconds…

'Hey, I'm starting to get a bit uncomfortable here.'

Until eventually my mom picks me back up and holds me in her arms.

"Daisuke is going to be ecstatic when he hears about this!" She says excitedly as she walks back to the couch and sits down on one of the cushions with me.

"Mama, is bro weird?" Honoka tilts her head cutely and doesn't bother sitting back down. Instead, she stands in front of mom and looks up at her.

"Nope! He's a genius! Isn't that right, Katsu?" Mom says as she wraps her arms around me, turning her hold into a hug. She looks down at me and I look up at her with fear in my heart.

'I may be the smartest baby alive, but please don't call me a genius. If you keep calling me that, I'll just end up letting you down eventually.'

It's been a year since I've been born, how do I know this? Well mildly concerning voice in my head, it's because right now I'm sitting in my highchair with a slice of cake in front of me while my mother tries to get me to blow out the candle on top of it, so I don't disappoint all the expectant adults watching me.

Sitting at the large kitchen table on my right-hand side is my Uncle Daichi who is sitting between my mother's two former teammates. The one farthest from me is a rather eccentric lady named Ayaka, she has long black hair and amber eyes with a noticeably large bust. Then there's Sora, a big, tall man with orange hair, dark blue eyes, and large muscles that aren't seen on most Shinobi. To my left I see my dad who is sitting directly across from my uncle which puts him between two women. The woman closest to me is my mother who has Honoka on her lap and the other one is the only surviving member of my dad's old team, Kaori. I see her around about as much as my mother's former teammate, which is to say, not that much. She has brown hair and brown eyes that complete an objectively pretty face, and her flat chest contrasts the girl across from her. How am I able to give such a vivid description? Why would I waste so much time on giving said description? I'm glad you asked! Now that I'm a year old, I can finally see things like a normal person! So, excuse me if I want to show off a little bit.

'Well, I guess I can stop pretending like I'm a deer looking into headlights now… huh. I guess I'm the only one in this world that would get that analogy. That… actually makes me feel kinda lonely. Wait, where was I? Oh right, candle.'

I breathe in as much air as my tiny lungs will allow and blow out the single candle in front of me. After I finish, I see my mother sigh in relief while my adoring audience claps and cheers as if a Bruno Mars concert just finished.

'Yet another reference that only I understand.'

After everyone is done praising me my mom cuts the large birthday cake so that everybody else can have a slice of the vanilla flavored sugar bomb. While everybody else gets to eat with a fork I have to eat with my small hands since my parents wrongly assume that I can't use a fork. Thanks to my pride I don't eat as messy as a normal infant, instead I pick up the slice of cake with two hands and bite into it while trying not to get my face dirty.

"You said that he was advanced for his age but… wow, just look at him go!" Ayaka says as she looks at me with awe, which definitely doesn't make me feel self-conscious.

"It is impressive how quickly Katsuo has developed fundamental coordination skills. Though I think that can be attributed to the quality of his parents." Says Sora as he smiles warmly while crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"I wish it could. To be honest, Katsuo is just really smart. Who knows, maybe he could end up being a genius like Orochimaru or even the Hokage!"

Dad smirks in response to my mother's boasting. "Let's not rush to conclusions, Hikari. It's unfair to compare the vast potential of our son to the Hokage's… when it's obvious that little Katsu will be stronger than him by the time he turns sixteen." Dad tries to keep a straight face, but he ends up laughing with everybody else at the table in under two seconds.

'Phew, he was just joking.'

"No no, he has a point! Show me a picture of the Hokage eating his first birthday cake! I'll bet you my life that he had a bunch of frosting on his face and in his little baby goatee!" Exclaims Uncle Daichi with a large smile on his face.

"Please stop, I can't breathe!" Ayaka bangs the table a few times as she tries to catch her breath.

'Is the joke really that funny?' I then imagine a baby Hiruzen with a full Goatee which causes me to nearly spit out the cake in my mouth.

"What do you think Honoka? Do you think Katsu is smarter than the Hokage?" Says a still smiling mom.

"...Lil' bro is cool." Honoka says cutely which causes every adult's heart in the room to visually melt.

As this happens Kaori finally speaks up, having already finished her slice of cake. "Daisuke, you shouldn't say stuff like that. Prodigies never live that long." Her tone is soft, but it cuts through everybody's voice like a hot knife through butter.

'Way to kill the mood.' The room goes silent, but Sora comes to the rescue.

"That may be true, but we have nothing to fear." He shoots mom a smirk. "He has his mother's genes after all."

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" My mom's indignant shout brings back the carefree attitude for all but one person. I'm sure nobody else notices, but my dad doesn't say a single word until after everyone finishes eating.

A couple of hours after dinner I find myself lying on the couch with my head on my mom's lap and my little feet propped up on my dad's thigh. Despite how late at night it's getting, nobody has gone home yet. Instead, my parent's former teammates are sitting on the three-seater couch opposite ours and reminiscing about "the good old days" with mom and dad.

'Though Kaori is much less enthusiastic than the other two… she's weird.'

Anyways, I've been tuning out the adults ever since they started making fun of each other for how they were like when they were younger. Aside from a few interesting tidbits like my mom being a "girly girl" and my dad being a "loud mouthed weirdo" when they were graduation age, there hasn't really been much worth paying attention to. So instead of doing that, I've been thinking about whether I want to reveal I can walk or not. You see, I've been practicing walking in my crib for a month now, it was easy to learn but surprisingly difficult to master. All I had to go on is Other Me's memories, I had never actually done it before. Which is why it took a while to learn how to balance on my own two feet, embarrassing I know. Though once I got it down it was like riding a bike, I didn't forget how to do it again. Which leads me to where I am now, pondering if I want to go through with my original plan. The idea was to walk on the same day as my first birthday (which is June fifteenth by the way), but after that conversation a couple hours ago I find myself a bit… hesitant.

'I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm not a genius. I don't want my parents to mistake me for one either, especially after what Kaori said.'

So now I find myself at a crossroads. I could either choose to walk now and risk being seen as even more abnormal or rip off the band-aid and finally be able to stop crawling around.

'I know it's reckless but… dammit, a part of me wants to make my parents proud. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?'

With that in mind I sit up and scooch my way off the couch, eventually landing on the floor butt first. My sister, who is in a similar seated position on the floor, looks up from her book and waves to me before looking back down at it. I crawl over to her and lean against her shoulder while looking down at the book in her lap.

'Yep, still can't read.'

I crack a self-deprecating smile at my thought but said smile tilts up a bit once I remember my most recent accomplishment. If you couldn't tell, I can now understand everything that everybody is saying. Finally, I've succeeded in gaining a full understanding of Japanese, something that a certain group of people in Other Me's world would kill to be able to do.

'Well, I guess I've put it off long enough.'

For the first time in my life, I stand up in front of a group of people.

"And remember when Suke decided it was a good idea to take Hikari to a ramen place for their first date?"

"It was your idea you assho-!" My dad stops yelling at my uncle as he notices me standing up.

"Hey what's wro-." Ayaka stops mid-sentence as she notices the same thing that dad does.

"MY BABY IS STANDING UP!" Mom screams at the top of her lungs which startles Honoka next to me.

'Seriously mom, I get it but please stop yelling when I do stuff like this.'

Despite some fear of my mom breaking every piece of glass in the house as a reaction to what I'm about to do, I put one foot forward, then another, then another. Eventually, I'm walking like a normal person, well aside from making a show of having some balancing issues. My dad gets over his shock and suddenly appears at the entrance of the hallway with all the speed you would expect from a ninja. He kneels down and stretches out his arms towards me.

"That's it, come to papa, don't fall." He says in a soft yet excited tone.

'Well, I'm not one to disappoint.'

I walk over to him with similarly outstretched hands. Once I get close enough my dad doesn't even bother taking my hands in his own and instead wraps me in a big hug and picks me up all in one swift motion.

"My son can walk!" My dad yells as if he's announcing it to the whole world. Almost immediately after that mom runs over and hugs us both and she is quickly followed by Honoka who hugs her leg most likely because she doesn't want to feel left out. Of course, everyone aside from my immediate family has their own reaction. Once the hug is done my uncle walks over to dad and bumps fist with him. Then says something into his ear that I can't quite pick up. Ayaka gives mom a hug and they both bounce up and down in their embrace like little girls. Sora offers a thankfully calmer congratulations while standing a good distance away from us.

Then there's Kaori, she's somehow taken advantage of everyone's distracted state and her own lack of presence to sneak up beside my dad, a skill that not only belongs to a ninja, but to a pro introvert. Before I can even smile at my internal joke, she says something that will inevitably give me many restless nights.

"Congrats, I can tell he's really smart for his age. Though it's a shame… you decided to have a talented kid right when we started having territory disputes with the Hidden Stone."

Nobody but myself and my dad heard her. Hell, the only reason why I heard her is because she isn't an inch above five feet tall which puts her mouth just close enough to my ear for me to hear her. Like my dad, I don't outwardly react much to what she said, but internally is a different matter.

'A territory dispute? At this point in the timeline? That means a war is coming, right? My big sister is in the academy, and my dad is an active-duty shinobi. My family is in danger!'

I feel myself starting to become lightheaded as I think faster than I have any right to. Despite all my panicking and planning, one simple thought claws its way to the front of my mind before I pass out.

'Does this girl have something against the happiness of others?'

A month has passed since my birthday and not much has changed. In fact, everything has been completely normal, at least for the most part. Ever since my birthday my parents have been making Honoka play with me, which she surprisingly seems to enjoy. I would've thought that her strange obsession would make her reluctant to set down whatever book that she's reading and start playing with blocks, but I guess I misjudged her.

'I'll have to thank you when I'm older, big sis, playing with you has helped distract me from… myself.'

My terrible sleeping habits have come back tenfold thanks to the war on the horizon. I've been sifting through Other Me's memories whenever I have time to myself, my goal being to discern exactly where I am in the timeline.

'Which shinobi war is next? The second one or the third one? If it's the second one, then sis should be safe but if it's the third one… she could be on the frontlines of a world war in three years.'

I look up from the six cube shaped blocks I'm playing with and stare at my sister who's sitting across from me. We're both sitting on the floor in my room but while I play with blocks like the infant I am, my sister is reading a chapter book like someone twice her age. Usually, she interacts with me more while we're alone like this, but I guess she just really likes the book she's reading.

'The most infuriating part of all this is that I can't do anything but think and play with these stupid blocks. I hate this, I want to do something productive aside from just planning. If I knew how to write I could at least write all of this down in some sort of diary, at least then I wouldn't feel so complacent, but no. Instead, I'm just some stupid baby doing stupid baby things instead of training or doing… literally anything that isn't playing with THESE DAMN BLOCKS!'

I am brought out of my thoughts by a hand being placed on my head. Apparently, my anger was showing on my face since Honoka is patting me on the head while looking at me with a concerned expression.

"There there, big sis is here." It sounds almost recited, it's obvious she's just copying our parents but even knowing that isn't enough to make me feel any less comforted… or extremely grateful that Honoka Nishida is my big sister.

'...Thank you, sis… really… thank you.' I think as I barely hold in some tears.

I know it's hard to understand but I'll try my best to explain. There are three people other than my sister in this world that I can confidently say genuinely care about me. My dad, who isn't around as much as he would probably like to be because of all the missions he takes. My mom, who I refuse to be too much of a burden on since she's busy taking care of two kids and maintaining a house mostly by herself. Then my uncle, who I see twice a month at the most.

This makes my sister the only person keeping me sane. She's always around, I can somewhat let my guard down around her since she won't immediately notice that I'm not a normal baby if I slip up a bit and most importantly, she grounds me in the here and now. She's the only person in the world that can stop me from thinking of the future and make me focus on the present.

'No matter what, I'm not letting her die. It's my promise to both myself and my dad.'

After Honoka finishes patting me on the head, I practically dive into her, and wrap spread my baby sized arms out as far as they can go to embrace her.

'I think I've decided on my first word.'

"Ho…noka." How high my voice is surprises me. Until now I've never spoken, not even to myself. My inner voice has always sounded like Other Me's voice, which is irritating to me but it's not like I could think in my own voice… until now.

Honoka hugs me back and we stay like that for a few seconds which makes me unable to tell how surprised she is by me saying her name. Though I get a good idea of where her mind is once she speaks again.

"Don't talk around mom, she'll make a loud noise again."

The next sound that fills the room is the noise of my first ever full-on laugh being muffled by my sister's shirt.

"That's enough for tonight." I set my coloring book, which has been doubling as my journal since I got it, on my nightstand and lay flat on my back in my bed. My parents got me both the bed and the coloring book for my second birthday a few months back and thanks to the latter I've finally been able to write down my plans so that I don't forget certain details.

'Of course, the writing is in English and hidden amongst a bunch of scribbles on every page I've used so far.'

Unfortunately, even with my journal, planning has been slow and tedious. Sure, I have knowledge of the future and of the terrible events that will happen if nobody affects the "plot," but that's where my problem lies. The more I think about it, the more certain things seem either set in stone, or impossible for me to alter unless the world throws me a miracle or two, especially when I consider where I'm probably at in the timeline.

I'm pretty sure I am somewhere before the second war takes place but not far off from the beginning of it based on what I heard before. What makes me think I am before the second one in particular is how my parents talk about famous ninjas.

'Sakumo has already earned his moniker of "The White Fang," but the Sannin are only known as "The Third's Students." Since Other Me's memories tell me that the Sannin earned their name in the second war I think I'm right to assume that they're legendary fight hasn't happened yet.'

Though even knowing exactly where I'm at in the timeline doesn't help me at all. Like I mentioned before, it only makes my job harder.

'Sakumo's death is the first one that I have a chance to prevent but what am I supposed to do, give him a pep talk? I obviously can't affect the result of his mission so unless I somehow learn the Talk no Jutsu there's no way that I, some random kid he doesn't know, can talk him out of killing himself.

Though I guess that depends on when his mission happens in the first place, who knows, maybe I'll be old enough or somehow close enough to him for him to at least listen to me by the time his mission goes wrong.'

Thinking about the events after Sakumo's death only makes me more depressed even though I have a better chance of being able to do something.

The third war is when the timeline takes a turn for the worse. Madara kidnaps Obito and then forces him to see his best friend run his hand through the chest of the love of his life. This causes him to corrupt the Akatsuki and cause the nine tails attack. Those two things alone lead to the massacre of the Uchiha clan and the destruction of the leaf village.

'So, the question is, how do I save Obito or Rin? The only ways I can think of require extreme luck just to even have a chance at working. There's no way I'll just so happen to be in the area when Obito is supposed to be crushed by rocks and the same thing applies to Rin taking a Chidori to the chest. The more I think about it the more hopeless everything seems.'

"Maybe I should just give up, things work out in the end anyways."

I mutter to myself as I think about a future where I become a humble merchant. I could sell books that are based on stories from Other Me's world like Hunter x Hunter and Fullmetal Alchemist. Hell, if I do it right, I could probably become a famous author.

'But if I do that… Hiruzen… Asuma… Jiraiya… Neji… so many good people will die because I did nothing. Could I really live with myself if that happens? Then there's my family who live here in the Hidden Leaf Village that could possibly die thanks to Orochimaru's invasion or even Pein's invasion if they're buried under enough rubble when they get revived.'

"And I can't even tell them anything because some stupid void God decided to make my life harder."

I turn on my side and look out the window, the sun is going down so my parents will want me to be asleep in about an hour.

'On the bright side, at least I have a couple of years to decide rather I want to be a normal civilian…. no, in my case a coward, or become a ninja and dive headfirst into this world's problems.'

I close my eyes and decide to go to sleep early. I don't want to think anymore, if I do my thoughts will just get more and more negative until eventually, I cry myself to sleep anyways.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Daisuke Nishida sighs in response to hearing the question he has been loathing for days now.

Daisuke had just arrived back at the village a few hours ago after completing a mission. By the time he had made it back home it was already close to midnight so all he wanted to do was cuddle up with his wife then get some sleep. He had been doing both of those things until Hikari decided to stop letting him keep his terribly hidden secret.

"Don't just say nothing, I've known you since we were kids, I can tell when you're stressed… and when you're hiding something." Hikari keeps her tone calm and soft instead of taking a firmer approach. In all their years of marriage her husband had never so much as raised his voice at her, so she has always tried to return the favor, even though she can't help but get… excited at times.

"Yeah, it's getting worse." Daisuke finally states. "The Sand and Stone are still putting pressure on the minor villages bordering us and the Cloud is starting to make their move as well."

"The Cloud? I thought you sai-"

"That they're staying out of all this? Yeah, that's what I said, but I just got back from running reconnaissance on The Land of Rice and I couldn't take two steps into the country without spotting a headband with a cloud design on it."

"That's what your mission was about? Wait, are you sure you're allowed to talk to me about this sort of thing?"

Hikari is retired and even if she wasn't, mission details are usually only for the eyes and ears of the Hokage and the ninja that completed the mission in the first place.

"It's fine, you would've heard about it by the end of the week anyways knowing you." Daisuke tries and fails to add some humor to his voice, but he isn't lying. Even retired, his wife is still great at gathering information. So even if he said nothing, the information network she undoubtedly has in the village wouldn't have let her stay in the dark for long.

"You do have a point, if you didn't say anything I would've just had to find out what's been bothering you myself and believe me, the talk we would have after I found out would have been anything but civilized." A menacing aura forms around Hikari but Daisuke just chuckles and wraps his arms around her, pulling her in tight.

"Now now, no need to get scary. I told you out of my own free will so there's no problem, right?"

The married couple lay there without saying a word for a few seconds before Hikari's voice breaks the silence.

"Daisuke… don't you think that now would be a good time to retire? While you do that, we could even enroll Honoka in civilian school, we could be a normal family." Hikari expects a pause from Daisuke, and she gets one. She feels bad about dropping this on him when he's tired but the chances she gets to have this sort of talk with him don't come around often these days.

"Hikari, you know that there's no way that I can stop being a ninja as I am now, right?"

She doesn't say anything to that, how could she when she knows about what happened to him and his family.

"But how about Honoka? I know that you always wanted her to be a normal person rather than a Kunoichi and now that there's a war coming, I'm… starting to see why. I won't stop you this time if you want to take her out the academy."

This time there isn't a pause, in fact there is an uncharacteristic firmness in Daisuke's speech. "You have no idea how tempting of an offer that is to me, but I can't. Honoka wants to be a Kunoichi and both of us come from a long line of ninja. I can't bring myself to crush her dream like that, not when I had the same dream at her age."

"But is her dream worth her life?! You of all people should know how dangerous it is to let a little girl…" Hikari stops before she says something that she could regret, though she's too late since Daisuke has a good idea of where she was going with that sentence.

"You're right, but still, I just can't. I know that I'm being even worse than selfish, but I can't help but want to get it right this time. Maybe through her, or even Katsuo, I can make up for what I let happen."

Daisuke's voice sounds like shattered glass, even to Daisuke, but he can't help it. He loathes his own decision so much that he can't help but hate himself just a bit more than he already did.

"B-besides. The first war didn't last that long. This whole thing could be over before Honoka even gets the chance to graduate, so let's just wait and see, ok?"

This time it's Hikari's turn to hug Daisuke a bit tighter.

"Yeah, we'll wait and see. Just don't die on me, if you do then you'll never hear the end of it once I make it over to the other side."

"Don't worry, there's no way I'll die. I already promised that I wouldn't until you get a chance to avenge your loss to me in the chunin exams."

"Yeah, don't think I forgot about that! I've been training hard ever since to kick your ass!"

Daisuke gives Hikari a grin full of mirth.

"Really, then tell me, what sort of training have you done recently?" The truth is that Hikari has done close to zero intense training since she's had Honoka, which is made evident by the bit of weight she's put on, not that it doesn't look good on her though.

"Lately I've been training both my discipline and my patience by raising you three."

It takes a few seconds for Daisuke to get the joke. "You three? What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Good night my beloved husband, make sure to get some good rest." Daisuke can almost hear her shit eating grin.

"OI! Don't jus-, wait, are you already asleep? How did you fall asleep so quickly!?"

After making sure that Hikari's soft snores aren't fake, Daisuke gives up on getting an answer out of her and closes his eyes with a slight smile on his face.

'Finally, I'm free!' I think as I look at the playground in front of me that's full of kids.

Although I'm three years old now, this is the first time I've been out of the house for anything but a shopping trip. My guess is that I haven't been to anything like a park yet because my parents thought I was too squishy not to get hurt while playing. You'd think mom and dad would be less overprotective considering that they're former ninja and all, but it seems parent's worrying about their kids is a thing in every world.

'No use thinking about all that now, it's time to have some fun!'

My dad is on a mission and my sister is at the academy so the only Nishida here aside from myself is my mom and she's sitting on the bench while watching me run towards the other kids. I look back at her as I run and hold my gaze for about three seconds.

'Mom, it's ok to blink I swear!'

I turn my head forward to prevent myself from comically running into something and spot some kids closer to my age. In fact, it seems like kids under the age of six have their own little quarter of the park as an unspoken rule. Which is good since I don't think I could keep up with those fast moving eight years olds I see to my left.

"Hey, can I play as well?"

I catch up to a running boy with dark brown hair and similarly colored eyes that can't be more than four years old.

"Sure! We're p-playing… playing, tag!"

'Oh yeah I forgot, kids my age aren't usually as articulate as I am.'

Of course, I don't talk as well as I can in front of my parents to appear to be normal, but I don't talk like the kid in front of me. I always complete my sentences without stuttering but I don't say much unless I'm talking to Honoka to offset that.

"Cool, who's it?"

He points over to a black-haired girl that's even shorter than I am who I see tag a Nara looking kid that I'd say is an inch taller than me. I say Nara looking because he has both a pineapple shaped ponytail and tanned skin.

"Thanks!"

Now that I know what game they're playing I start running around just like the rest of the kids playing. I keep track of who's it and avoid them accordingly. Unfortunately, boredom catches up to me before any kid can.

'I'm not going to get any action unless I get really close, huh?'

So that's what I do. By the time I decide to do this, a black haired six-year-old, who looks like a giant to me, has been tagged and is looking for a target. I provide him one in the form of myself and the chase is on. However, one thing quickly becomes clear.

'He's faster than me!'

His longer legs mean he has longer strides than what my small three-year-old legs can provide. The only thing I have going for me is that I run like an adult, and he runs like a little kid. What that means is that I'm fully extending my legs for each step while he's taking more steps to cover more ground due to how normal six-year-olds run.

'He's still gaining on me, but that doesn't mean he'll ever come close to tagging me.'

I stop and turn around. My chaser isn't far behind me and he's already outstretching his arm to tag me. In response to this I fake going left then suddenly cut right which causes the confused six-year-old to stumble and nearly fall.

'HA! Take that you fool! This is the power of having the memories of a twenty-first century teenager that played sports occasionally!'

I laugh maniacally at my victory and continue to run away from my now even more determined pursuer.

As it gets later in the day, the number of children at the playground begin to dwindle until only three remain that are still playing tag. Me, a boy my height that has auburn colored hair, and the black-haired girl I saw earlier. Right now, the girl is it and chasing the boy with auburn hair.

'Come to think of it, I think that he hasn't been tagged yet, same as me.'

I observe the two from a safe distance and can't help but acknowledge the girl's speed.

'She's fast, I wonder if she's from some sort of ninja clan?'

But even with all that speed she can't catch the boy in front of her. Unlike me, he evades using the surrounding playground equipment rather than using quick juke moves like I do.

'Though calling what I do juking may be a bit of a stretch since it's not like my body is especially agile.' I muse as I watch the increasingly more interesting boy duck underneath a slide to narrowly avoid being tagged.

Eventually, they're dance comes to an end as the boy I put my sweet moves on earlier comes over.

"Grandma said that it's time to go."

"But I dah wanna!"

"You have to, just come on already!"

I watch as the boy that I assume to be her brother drags her away kicking and screaming.

'And then there were two.'

My final opponent turns to face me, and we stare each other down. This is it, win or lose, do or die, put up or shut up. The world around me fades away leaving only my greatest rival in my sights.

A gust of wind is our queue to begin, we charge at each other and outstretch our hands.

"Tag, you're it!" We say simultaneously as we tag each other at the same time.

Neither of us hesitate and soon enough I feel an open palm slap against my left shoulder while I feel my right hand make contact with the other boy's chest.

"Tag!"

This goes on until I'm sure both of us lose track of time. Neither of us give an inch in our high-speed bout. We maneuver around each other using skillful footwork, we strike each other with precision without wasting any movements. Eventually, a smile forms on my face as I answer a palm to my stomach with my own palm to my rival's thigh.

'Finally, I found a worthy opponent! This legendary battle will decide who is truly the king of the playground!'

I cackle madly as I lunge forward once more.

Hikari clutches her stomach and doubles over from laughter.

"Look at them go! And they seem so serious as well!"

She was about to call it a day when she saw that it was only her son and another kid left on the playground but when they started "fighting" she decided to stick around and watch, and she's glad she did.

Thanks to her patience she was able to see what it looks like when two toddlers fight each other. Which, if she had to describe it, is like watching two overweight bears fight in slow motion.

They can barely keep from tripping over each other and every time they try to hit one another they barely extend their little arms. It's a perfect combination of cuteness and comedy that is rarely seen in the cursed world she lives in.

'It's strange though, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Katsu seems to know what he's doing sometimes, and that kid he's playing with is weird as well…'

"You're… it."

We both collapse on our backs simultaneously which signals the end of our dual.

'That was the first time I ever wanted to win at something. I guess this is what being competitive feels like, it's too bad that it ended in a draw though.'

Yeah, I hate to admit it but I, someone with the memories of a teenager, tied with someone my age. It isn't my fault though! Even with the memories of Other Me the hard truth is that I've only been running for around a year. I'm not as… dexterous as I would like to be. The other reason why we tied is because it's obvious that I didn't play against a normal kid.

He seemed to get better and better as we played, it creeped me out but hey, at least I had fun.

"What's your name?" I finally say once I catch my breath."

"My name is Riku, what's yours?"

"Katsuo, nice to meet you Riku. Next time we play, I'll be the winner." I sit up and shoot Riku a smirk.

"No, me! I'll be the winner!" Riku returns my smirk with a childish pout that causes me to laugh.

'I guess this means I just made my first friend, thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.'

Mom chooses this time to walk over to us and lift me off the ground and onto my feet which my tired legs don't appreciate at all.

"It's time to go Katsu, say bye to your new friend." I can tell that something has my mom feeling giddy, I don't know what it is though.

As I ponder that I spot a man with tired brown eyes and similarly colored brown hair walking over to us.

"I hope that you've had your fill of fun Riku, because it's time to leave." He doesn't sound harsh, but he certainly sounds stern, at least to me.

"Yes father." Riku picks himself up and walks away while holding his dad's hand.

Mom and I do the same minus the hand holding… until mom grasps my hands anyways after a brief struggle.

We start heading home but only after picking up my sister from the academy. As we walk, I half listen to my sister talk about her day. Apparently, some kid picked a fight with another kid then they had some sort of competition that was the idea of some other kid and… yeah, I'm just going to tune her out.

By the time we get in the house the sun is just beginning to set and all I can think about is dinner.

'Tonight, I will eat a warrior's feast worthy of the battle that I fought today.'

Before that can happen though, I have to get cleaned. Since I'm only three my parents don't trust me to wash myself, so my mom tends to bathe with me before dinner with Honoka tagging along on school days. As we make our way to the hallway, we spot dad sitting on the couch leaning forward with his arms in his lap and his head held down.

'Oh no, it can't be.'

"Is daddy, ok?" Honoka tugs on mom's hand and points to dad. "He looks sad."

Mom silently walks over to dad and my sister, and I follow suit.

"Daisuke, what happened?"

Dad finally looks up at all of us and I can see why he had his head held down. One look at his face is enough to see the paranoid wreck that he is at the moment. It scares me, no, terrifies me. This is the weakest I've seen my dad since that night years ago.

"Right after I got back from my mission, I was forced to attend a mandatory meeting with the Hokage along with every active ninja within the village."

Dad lets out a shaky sigh.

"He told us to prepare ourselves to lay down our lives for our home and our comrades." The next words to come out of his mouth cause my mom to violently gasp, my sister to cry, and for me to slump my shoulders in defeat. "For as of noon today…

The Second Great Shinobi World War has officially begun."

AN:

So, about those 6k words… yeah, I ended up much more than that. Over 10k words actually. There were times where I thought about splitting this chapter into two halves, but I decided against it. Nobody wants to read about a mentally unstable baby for multiple chapters, especially when the author of the story is subpar at best. So, I decided against letting the baby stuff drag on so that we could move onto bigger and better things a bit faster. Don't expect me to continuously write up 10k words, 6k words should still be your expectation, but who knows. Maybe you'll see the occasional long chapter randomly pop up when I have a lot to cover or if I feel really passionate about something in the story.

Alright, I think that I've covered just about everything aside from two things. One, I should be able to get a chapter out at least twice a month. School may make my upload schedule inconsistent but twice a month is what I'm aiming for. Two, like I said before, this is my first story ever. So please, cut me some slack and keep flames to a minimum. I really don't want a harsh review to kill my motivation to write this story.