Life is the most precious thing the heavens can give.I know that… so, I gave mine away to save someone who"s more worthy to create an amazing future, because I know that I wouldn"t be enough to suffice the wish of fate. I have sinned more than anyone could think so, it"s reasonable to protect an innocent.
Not many people know this, but I have acc.u.mulated many enemies from the past. Aside from my father, people who are jealous of my fame and talents, and those who just decided I"d be their opponent, have gathered many times to think of a plan to wipe my existence off of the face of the earth.
But hey, I sure helped them.
I know that if my death was purely an accident, there wouldn"t be a… "BANG". The thing is, there was—the attack was on purpose. Whoever they were, they came so low. The dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.ds used a dear loved one as a bait. It"s too low for a criminal—making them look desperate.
So, look where I ended up.
After that weird blackout, I found myself in a cramped yet comforting s.p.a.ce. The last thing I could remember was the faint letters etched in a black screen… other than that, my death, I guess. But I could somehow swear that something happened before I ended up in here.
There"s a gap between my death and getting here that I can"t reach. Whatever that was, I wish it was nothing important.
For what it felt like an eternity, I couldn"t open my eyes, and I could barely move. I"d sometimes try to push the s.p.a.ce wider by kicking, but the drowsiness is still making me go want to take long naps that felt like ages. The s.p.a.ce was also filled with slimy liquid that I could feel wrapped around me so, I don"t want to think that that"s what I think it is.
Well, until pain and pushing came around.
I want to scream, but something was stopping me. I feel like something is squeezing my lungs, and I"m just standing here in a black void. Faint light keep flashing at the end of my dark surroundings, and I kept chasing after it, well, my feet do. I don"t honestly know what I"m doing.
Oh, and I can"t breathe.
I want to scream as the pain in my chest area increases, and I finally was able to let out a loud cry after I reached the bright light.
My eyes opened, but the blur greeted me. I blinked tiredly a couple of times as a group of people pa.s.s me around until I reached the one with the most warmth and sense of relief. I can hear faint sounds and could distinguish the sound of someone crying, but I was too tired to know more about it.
Enticing black orbs greeted me when I woke up. Silver hair framing a perfect face touched my skin. The woman who appears to be holding me has a sweet smile on her tired face. If it weren"t for her kind, young and soft expression, I"d say she"s Mother—
"Ori-kun…"
I shivered at the way she called my name… adding "-kun" to it. That aside, her voice is so soft and melodic. Almost as though I can fall asleep with her just talking. It"s so charming and comforting – just like a soft lullaby.
A young man with long, slicked back hair went next to the silver-haired woman. He placed his slim fingers at my forehead, looking at me with a happy… mixed with a relieved expression. He kissed the woman on her forehead before looking at me.
Given that I"m trapped and can"t move anything at my command, I simply stared back at him with wonder, noticing that the woman had gave her gaze at me, too. They then both spoke an unknown language.
At first, they sounded as though they were talking gibberish, but as my ear picked up a distinct and familiar language, my eyes widened. "… welcome to the world, Orion Nara."
j.a.panese!
I can understand a bit, and is really not fluent – oh, tell me I wasn"t reborn! Please, oh, please! Tell me this is just my imagination!
They smiled at me as this body took over at my panicked mind – result? I screamed at their faces. Well, I didn"t want to, but seeing that I"m in a "new" body, it"s kind of acting on its own because of my panicked mind.
"I was reborn, wasn"t I?" I blinked. "Oh, for fvck"s sake—"
__________
Maybe… just maybe I"ve read too much books about being reborn after death. I am, after all, a peculiar young man. I"d rather imprison myself in my own room to read or write books when Cherry isn"t around, rather than hang around the bar like a "real" man was supposed to do. By then, I had probably read more fan-fictions than original works. Well, not more than manga"s though.
But then again, I"m certain that I had already died. Everything is too lucid to be a dream.
I wandered my eyes and found myself lying in a comfy crib. My curiosity got to me, making my eyes focus on the two scrolls hung on the door. The first scroll contained an image of a diamond-shaped waffle, with kanji"s written at the bottom. The second looked to be a wooden pattern inside of circle, and much like first one, had kanji"s at the bottom.
"Hatake and Nara…?" I narrowed my eyes. "Could it be…? Nah, it"s far too early to think of that. It might just be a mere coincidence. I refuse to believe at that absurd thought unless I have evidence."
I mentally chuckled at the thought. Me? Reincarnated in "that" world? How could it be possible? That"s too outlandish. Even if I"ve read hundreds of fan-fictions ending up in "that" world, it will be a complete shocker for me. It seems impossible.
Well, impossible until my "mother" in this new life took me outside, where strange faces carved onto the face of mountain could be seen anywhere, really. I was finally able to control little parts of this body too, only making me frozen upon taking a double-take at the breath-taking sight.
The silver-haired woman was worried-sick when I fell sick after taking me out for stroll. She thought it was her fault that I fell sick, but it"s really from the shock. I mean, who wouldn"t be shocked? It"s not even Mt. Rushmore! After all, the four Hokage"s faces are engraved on that side of the mountain!
I"m in freaking Naruto!
A fvcking Nara too.
One of the most awesome clans—
__________
Since my twenty-eight years old mind is still getting used to my less than a year brain, it took me a while to process everything in one go… which also meant long panic for my parents in this fictional – sorry, not-so-fictional world.
I wanted to say that I"m okay, that I"m fine… that I"m here to deal with this, but I know I won"t be able to.
"Now, why did that thought feel like a déjà vu?"
Anyways, when I finally recovered, my mother, who "insisted" for me to call her "kasan" (even though I can"t really speak yet…), was relieved. She became extra careful than she already is when taking care of me – taking care of me like I was a kind of treasure that could be stolen away at any given moment.
Now that I think about it, every time I catch her gaze, I always notice the stare of a grieving soul inside of her enticing, black orbs. She doesn"t seem to hate me, but why is she always holding me like I"m a porcelain doll and could shatter any minute? Did something happen that I wasn"t aware of?
Sometimes, her sad gaze would be filled with relief and hint of joy… and would rarely be filled with genuine happiness when her husband a.s.sures her that everything will be fine… that "it" wouldn"t happen again. Don"t get me wrong here, but I think they"ve been avoiding holding too much conversation in front of me even though I"m only a seven-month old, helpless baby.
Well, I say helpless, but at this age, I"m already running around the household, raiding the bookshelves for entertainment. So, I think they caught the wind that I"m pretty sharp for my given zero-year old status.
I mean, I was bored so I decided to try walk or something so, lo and behold, a few weeks later, I"m already walking at my five-month old mark. It"s not really impossible so, it is believable. I"ve been aching to go potty by myself without the aid of old people.
Sure, I look like a baby…
… buT I"M 28, d.a.m.n IT!
__________
I was, still am, a pretty silent baby. I never once uttered a single line of gibberish, so my parents thought that I was mute.
A few months pa.s.sed by, and my mother is still trying to teach me how to talk. My lazy old man is trying his best to read stories for me, to encourage me to even utter a single letter. They even took me to a bunch of doctors, but it was to no avail.
I"m that stubborn.
Well, I"m just really waiting for the right time speak, and is carefully choosing what my first words would be in this world. I want a word or two to help my parents in this world lift off even a spec of weight they"re carrying on their shoulders. "Kasan" or " Tou-san" wouldn"t be enough.
Now, nearing the age of one, my mother took me in front of a mirror for me to try and imitate her way of speech. Mirrors were out of reach for me as I was always, and almost, glued on the books in the bookshelves so, it was a bit of a surprise to see myself in this new body.
Thick and curly silver hair rested softly on my head, with a few curly locks that seemed to be defying the laws of gravity. Black, enticing orbs stared back at my curious ones. Both from my mother, I suppose. I don"t really see any resemblance to my father, but I"m starting to feel like I"m going to develop the same laziness he bears.
Just like a Nara.
It"s not like I was already lazy—
I have a quite fair skin, one that any girls from where I came from would envy. Long, silver lashes that matched my hair and contrasted my eyes is also one of my perks.
The more I stare at myself and look back at this woman that gave birth to me in this world, is the more I see the resemblance. If one"s ignorant enough, they would probably mistake me for a young girl with short hair.
A shiver ran down at my back at the sudden thought of wearing a dress.
Wait.
I totally didn"t wear a dress when my sister insisted me to—
Okay, that aside, I almost look like my old self. It"s just that, I had a more of a pure white hair, and had a pair of broken yet enticing ocean blue eyes back then.
I sure do hope my black orbs doesn"t "break" now.
__________
October 13th marks the day I was given another chance in life on another world. Though I am thankful for this life, and thankful that I"ve survived boredom up to this point, it also meant that I was born three days after Naruto was born, which puts a bit of ache in my heart.
I sighed at the thought.
"Why the long face?" Kasan asked me while brushing my already chin-length hair, making me look back at her through the mirror.
I shook my head, giving her a soft smile.
"Really? Then I shall trust you." She smiled back, letting me hop off of her lap to give her way to stand. "Let"s go." She took my little hands and walked with me through the hallways, leading me and herself to the courtyard.
Servants and relatives greeted us h.e.l.lo, and gave me a small greeting for the event before we reached the said place so, naturally, I had to keep my smile on for quite a bit.
Man, socializing has never been this exhausting.
Just before my mother pushed the door to the side, the world around me dimmed and showed faint silhouettes of people who seemed to be standing behind the door for a split second, making me blink and almost trip on my own two feet.
"What was that?"
My trance was cut off when glitters and confetti rained down on me after a silent pop. "What the h.e.l.l—"
"Happy Birthday, Ori!"
I blinked, not in surprise, but in confusion. Aside from my father and a couple of relatives, including Shikaku-sama"s family (of course, duh—), familiar faces stood beside them.
Might Guy was the one who popped the party popper right on my face, and beside his youthful self, stood a heavily-bored scarecrow – I mean, Kakashi. Sure, that silver-haired ANBU is just as bored as me without something to read or to do, but I"m actually quite happy to see him smile when my gaze landed on him.
How considerate of him, smiling for some random, young child.
"MY!" I swear, Guy"s voice almost blasted my eardrums off of their places, and with his aura alone I don"t know what to think, "How youthful you are, young child!"
I swear to kami, there was a "bedazzle" just now.
While ranting with his youthfulness incorporating with mine, people stared at him boredly, including me. I do not dislike him, in fact, I liked his nice character in the anime, but I didn"t think he"d be overflowing with so much energy that it"s making me feel tired just hearing him.
It was a good five-minutes or two before he finally went back to Kakashi"s side and chit-chat with him, and I"m not the time to meddle with people"s conversations, but I overheard something that is really… no, will be really embarra.s.sing.
"… on why you didn"t introduced me to your niece sooner, you unfair rival!"
I chocked at my own spit at the mention of "niece", making me almost cough out loud, but I managed to stop it while covering the lower half of my face with my hand. I then heard snickers coming from Shikaku-sama"s group, and a non-existent tick mark appeared on my head as my brows and eyes twitch.
"N-Niece?" Kakashi eyed me for a moment before narrowing his eyes.
Why do I feel like he"s up to no good?
"R-Right! My bad, Guy." That silver-haired young man is stopping his snickers and laughter!
How dare he embarra.s.s me on my own birthday?! – is what people would think my reaction would be, but I don"t really mind, and it sure was a relief when he finally said the truth.
He gestured for me to come his way, making me tilt my head, but I went without a word (it"s not like I"ve spoken yet—).
"Ori-kun," Still shivering when hearing that nickname, "this is Uncle Guy. Guy, this is my nephew, Ori-kun."
Guy blinked.
Kakashi blinked.
…
I blinked.
Kasan blinked.
"Wait." I blinked again. "Now that explains the Hatake accents scattered around the house…" I looked at my mother, who seemed to be confused at my reaction, "… it seems like my mother is related to Kakashi, my "uncle"…"
To this point, nothing really surprises me anymore so, it"s kind of okay that I took it as calmly as possible.
Though I don"t know how Kakashi knew of me, while I didn"t know of him, it was really not big of a deal. Maybe kasan sent him letters, or Hatake"s have their ways to communicate in lightning-speed. It"s also possible that he knew of me before I even existed on this land – when I was still inside of my mother.
Or, I"m just a complete idiot who didn"t notice the resemblance between him and kasan from the very beginning.
That could be it.
I sighed, walking back to my mother as Guy ranted at Kakashi of how he didn"t told him earlier that I was a boy. She crouched down and let me hug her for her to carry me in her arms. I tiredly rested my chin on her shoulder and eyed the people who are present at my first ever birthday in this chakrfilled world.
They looked back at me with their smiles, wishing to see mine back so, I sent a small one.
Sure, I was a bad boy in my last life but even then, I was taught manners so, when someone smiles at you, just smile back – is what they taught me. But in that world, where fame, status, looks, and money will place you on a pedestal, one smile in a particular direction could lead to a misunderstanding.
Take it you"re someone famous, like, let"s say, past me. I was famous in my last life, and people would kiss my shoes just to get near me. If I sent a smile towards a general direction, people will a.s.sume too quickly and think that I was smiling at "someone", and will bash them over social media.
Heck, if someone tripped in front of me and I helped him or her, it will be h.e.l.l for them after that day. Aggressive fans are too hard to tame. It will take a lot of time just to make them stop find fault with each other… and that"s why I wore masks.
Black masks – that hid my cursed face.
The ever only time I took that mask off in public, the first and the last, was when I was with Cherry before that horrid event. I was ready to reveal my face around to show off my future bride that day, but nothing goes without a bad, bad day.
And that day was the worst.
I"m just really glad that in this new life, people doesn"t think that way. Modernity still hasn"t reach the early days, hence not corrupting people"s minds into thinking that money, looks, status, and fame are the greatest thing on the living.
I"m willing to bet that you can"t even take your physical body (looks) right down into h.e.l.l so, what would your wealth amount to be down there? Ashes?
Ah, people in this world are too innocent in what the future could bring. I say that like I was referring to myself.
Hah.
I was truly naïve.
While deep in thought, my mother and the small group of people in the courtyard had gathered around me. I didn"t even realise that I was already in front of the small cake, sitting on a highchair, until my parents called my name. Kasan then took the lead to sing Happy Birthday, making everyone do the same.
When they stopped, my parents smiled at me. Tou-san placed his hand on my head, ruffling my already mess of a hair, and kasan kissed me on my cheek.
"Orion!" They called me, "Make a wish!"
I paused, giving them a quick glance before looking at the cake in front – matcha cake, baked by my mother. Kanji"s were written on a chocolate plate with icing on top of the cake, next to a lone candle. I read the characters in mind, "Orion."
I stared at the candle for a while, thinking of a worth it wish before looking up at the people around the table. I immediately caught my mother"s enticing gaze and my father"s small smile that rarely comes up. I then saw the subtle dark circle under their eyes after the sleepless nights of taking care of me from the very beginning.
It"s hard to believe that a year had already pa.s.sed from that fateful day that I was reborn in this world.
I want to say sorry for all of the trouble I"ve brought them. I want to say sorry for giving everyone my silent treatment. I want to say sorry for just being born here, because I have a feeling that I"m not supposed to be here.
But, then again, a sorry will bring more pain.
I heaved a breath and closed my eyes, releasing the puff of air and dousing the lit candle with the quick yet weak blow, extinguishing it. I then opened my eyes, preparing for my wish.
I just want to…
"Kasan, tou-san…"
Both Kaiya and Shikakuro Nara"s pairs of eyes widened. They truly didn"t expect for their son, I, Orion Nara, to call them with my soft and small voice, which was almost inaudible. They were shocked, of course. Even the visitors stopped whatever they were doing when they heard of the foreign voice.
"… Thank you for everything."
I just want to thank them for bringing me into this world so, I shouldn"t feel sorry for them for having me. I"m the one who should feel happiness for I was brought into this world by them, to have another shot in life, I suppose.
The next thing I know after the small smile I had presented, I became the filling of a sandwich hug from both of my parents.
CLICK
Then, a shutter and a flash of light from a camera sure did took the memorable minute.
Thanks, Kakashi.