It was a warm, early morning, and I was up already, way before the sun peeked in through my window. It has been so long since I managed to wake up in time, I mean, in my previous life. Even then, it was because I had to, working a dead-end job just to try and get enough money for some education... To maybe improve myself in the future... Being an orphan sucked. So, if I am right about it, and I still have time... I might not only save my hide but also change things altogether.
We'll see.
For now, I was fascinated by how my body moved... It still amazes me how responsive it was, how easy it was to balance, even if I stood on tiptoes... Of how light I was. In my old world, I could barely stretch without my spine sounding like bubble wrap... And now I could sprint the length of the compound fence before my mother finished her tea. Not bad for a five-year-old, if I say so myself, while grinning, as I headed out from the house. Outside, I immediately jumped once from the veranda, landing steady on the narrow beam set up in the garden for training.
"Okay," I whispered, my arms out for balance, as even if I was good, I wasn't taking this lightly, "today we don't face-plant when the blindfold goes on... We impress Dad."
"Talking to yourself again, Renjiro?" came a familiar voice, making me flinch, but I managed to remain atop it.
"N-no...?" I pursed my lips while I turned, facing my father, Uchiha Daizen.
He stood on the veranda, arms crossed, a half-smile plastered on his face. He was already wearing his dark Police Force uniform, which made him look imposing, but I knew better. Underneath all that discipline was a man who panicked whenever I sneezed too loudly, running to catch my Mom so she could take a look at me.
"I'm practicing mental focus," I said proudly, "You told me shinobi train the mind as much as the body. It just... sometimes slips out."
"Of course," He chuckled, stepping closer. "And here I thought you were just arguing with yourself again. Good... Let's see that focus in action, shall we?"
Without any warning, he tossed me a wooden kunai and I caught it, my index finger pressing through the little hole at the end... barely. But I did it. Flipping it, I could feel that the handle was still too big for my hand, but I managed a decent grip on it, nonetheless. Watching from the corner of my eye, my Dad nodded once, hiding his smile behind professionalism. Hehehe... This felt... really good!
"Watch your feet," he said, moving closer to me. "Bend your knees a bit more. You have to feel the ground through your soles, no matter what surface you are standing on."
I did, letting my chakra, or at least I think it was that, pulse faintly down to my feet the way Mom had taught me. Thankfully, I also had the knowledge from the manga on how this thing should work, even if later on it got... glossed over. In reality, however weird it felt, it was a subtle tingling sensation as it spread through my skin, gluing me to the pole, but I could tell it was not exactly how it should be. Not yet. I haven't manifested it as strongly yet as in the books... When I first summoned it, though, it was like static electricity, but as I got better at controlling it, it made me feel less itchy, so it no longer was... that weird. It just... wasn't good enough as it was not yet visible... meaning it wasn't dense enough yet.
"Now," Dad continued, "focus on where you want the blade to land before you throw. The body follows the eye... But you must be precise even if they kick the ground out from under you!"
When he was finished, and just as the kunai was about to leave my hand, he kicked the pole I was standing on, making me lose balance... but I didn't fall off. But it did miss the mark by about a meter or so. Seeing it happen, Dad didn't sigh or scold me; he simply retrieved it and threw it back in my hand.
"Again."
So we did. Again. I was mostly missing, but he kept making me continue the training. I grew to like the way he did things... He was very patient, precise in everything, endlessly persistent in wanting me to get it right. He could probably train a rock until it developed a work ethic... And it fit well with me because I wanted to indeed do it properly and not get spoiled with fake words about how good I am. Otherwise, someone may snap off my head... Ugh. Anyway, shaking those thoughts away, we went through the motions for the next hour, until breakfast: throw, retrieve, correct my stance, repeat. By the end, sweat was running down my back, and my arms ached, but finally, I managed to hit the mark, five times in a row, while he was shaking the pole under my feet so vigorously that I even fell off from the top. But... I managed to flick it into the target before I crashlanded.
"Well done!" he exclaimed, "You have your mother's control. Keep at it, son!" he laughed, helping me up, patting me down, and checking if all was right. Hehehe... he did worry about me.
"I could almost see it in slow-motion, Dad!" I puffed my chest. "And... Is Mom really that good?"
"She'd deny it, but yes. Every medical ninja must have perfect control! Just don't tell her I said so."
After my morning routine, it was time for family breakfast. Then, while my parents worked, Dad in the Police Force and Mom helping out in the Hospital, I was left alone to roam the city. I got a hobby out of it: doing my rounds, walking, and checking out the different routes, stores that were never even mentioned in the books. Or games. I even found the famous Ramen Ichiraku place... At least the owner looked a bit younger, confirming that I was indeed born earlier than the story I know. Too bad I didn't have any allowance yet, so I couldn't try it because damn... The smell was delicious!
As for other kids... Errr... I didn't recognize most of them, and those whom I might have recognized were probably already in the Academy. But I did realize one man, who was on one of the recruiting posters I passed: Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang. He was still alive... good. Good. Another name to my list... If I can do something about his future... I must keep that in mind and remember. Too bad I never really saw him, but I guess people of his caliber aren't easy to come by, even if you live in Konoha.
Not that I mind it, it was really fun just walking around, seeing the city, from the ground, looking at all the stuff present... I could do it all day, but when afternoon came, I promptly headed home, because Dad would take me out to the compound's proper training field. As for the drills, we continued with the balance exercises. This time, it was about walking the top of the fence line surrounding the training yard. For an Uchiha child, it was practically a rite of passage... Or so my Dad said. Honestly, it being so thin and also a bit spiky, I was hoping not to slip, land on it, and say goodbye to any future prospect of carrying the family line forward.
"Relax," Dad said as I wobbled, noticing that I was way too worried about it. "Tension makes you heavy... Concentrate on your breathing, you can do it."
I tried to do so as I inhaled slowly, channeling chakra to my feet and visualizing the stories I remembered from the anime... Of how chakra lets them cling to surfaces and slide across water as if it were ice. Except this wasn't fiction anymore, it was me, trying not to die before kindergarten by getting impaled by a fence... ughh. Then, when I finally managed three steady steps, Dad clapped, trying to encourage me more.
"Good. Again... You can do it, Renjiro!"
I did, but on the lap to head back to the starting point, I pushed off too hard, and I knew I was going to slip... And, not wanting to castrate myself, I managed to twist my body and missed the rail entirely... which meant that I landed awkwardly on my ankle.
"Ah—!" Pain shot up my leg at once, making me yelp out, quickly snapping my mouth shut, holding it in. When I tried to stand, the joint down there refused, and I immediately fell back on my butt. "Ugh... ouch..." I hissed, inhaling sharply... and before I could look up, Dad was at my side.
"Renjiro!" He knelt down beside me, his hands hovering just above my ankle. "Can you move it?"
"Um..." I grimaced, shaking my head. "Not… really. Ow."
He muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like a curse, directed at himself.
"That's enough training for today."
"Wait, I can still—" I tried to protest.
"No arguments." He ordered me, as he lifted me up without any effort, making me blush and smile at the same time.
He carried me through the compound, his strides quick and clipped, as if I was bleeding out in his arms or something... Dad, you are making a fuss out of nothing... Ugh... I could see that the few neighbors we passed gave us amused smiles, seeing my Dad look like there was a murderer in town.
"Daizen? What happened?" My Mom emerged from the kitchen, and her eyes widened when she saw me in his arms.
"He twisted his ankle," Dad said quickly, "My fault... I pushed him too hard."
"You always do." She sighed, already beckoning us inside. "Put him down on the sofa."
He obeyed at once while Mom knelt beside me, her fingers feeling cool and pleasant as she examined the swelling.
"You'll live," she said with a gentle smile. "Though your father might not once I'm done lecturing him."
"I'll take it," Dad said without hesitation, "Just fix him."
A soft laugh escaped her lips, then her hands, while I watched, began glowing green. The moment she touched me, a really good feeling came over me, as a kind warmth spread through my ankle the next moment. It was a bit tingling, but also soothing, dissolving the pain in seconds. I couldn't help staring... The healing chakra looked even more beautiful in person than on a TV screen... It was more... emerald colored than light-green. Or I don't know, but, heck... It felt better than any medicine I had ever had to apply to myself!
"There," she said, leaning back. "Try moving it." I flexed my foot at once... As expected, the ache was gone. Medical ninjutsu is overpowered... "Better?" She asked, watching me test it, surprised I wasn't saying anything.
"Much better!" I grinned. "Thanks, Mom!"
"It happens~! Don't be afraid to do things because you may injure yourself, Renji," She brushed a stray hair from my forehead. "I will fix you up! But that doesn't mean you can be like your Dad and rush into issues headfirst. Be more careful next time!"
"I will!" I echoed and then laughed, because moments like this felt too precious not to. This... This was so good... I didn't know I missed this until I realized what it was to have parents... Parents like them.
That evening, after dinner, I was lying in my futon listening to the muffled voices of my parents in the next room, thinking I was already sleeping. I couldn't; there were just too many things going through my head. So, instead of falling asleep, I sharpened my ears, trying to drive a bit more chakra into them, to hear what they were talking about. Please don't scold my Dad... it wasn't his fault...
"He's improving fast," Dad was saying. "Too fast, even. His coordination, his control, if this keeps up, by next year he'll outpace the other Academy candidates."
"He's five," Mom replied, "You're talking like he's a genin already."
"I just… I've never seen a child so focused. Don't get me wrong... I am super proud. I want to show his talent to everybody! But you know how some of the others are. Especially Fugaku... Since he got into a commanding role, he has been getting a bit too... Radical to my taste, but he is getting more and more popular amongst the others. He may very well take over the whole Police Department if the current chief decides to retire. I don't want my child to do anything related to him... I don't like his attitude."
"Dear, don't worry about politics, that's not for us," Mom said, but then silence followed for a moment, as they probably both knew, bearing the Uchiha name that was pretty much not an option. Then her voice softened, trying to change the topic. "Keep at what you were already doing and let fate decide what comes next. Just promise me you won't push him too hard. I don't want him to lose his childhood either."
"I won't," he answered at once, "But if he truly has that spark, we owe it to him to nurture it and not let him waste his talents."
Their conversation faded as they moved further away... leaving me to my thoughts. Haaah... Fugaku, eh? Great. How much time do I have before he has his son? Ugh, I don't remember... I tried as I stared at the ceiling, hands folded over my chest, doing my best to recall when Itachi was born, but... Hell, I wasn't Google. I should have had a better memory; everyone was saying I could remember the most useless details about shows, but not my tasks, and here I am, struggling.
Still, they were right, I was chasing a better future, and I needed to be ready before the Academy even started. If I want to keep up with every generation's main character, I have no time to slack off. At least, I have an Uchiha's body so... I need to make use of it. Thinking about it, I turned my ankle while testing it, and of course, it felt perfect. Mom's healing was ridiculously efficient, and a small part of me wondered how many Uchiha could've been saved if she, or someone like her, had been there during the massacre. Probably none... Ugh... Damn. The thought twisted in my gut.
Relax Renji... This time, there won't be a massacre.
Because I wasn't tired yet, I decided to put my own words into action. I sat up, slipped my legs out from under the blanket, crossed them, and got into a meditative position. I placed my palms together and took a deep breath, just like Mom had shown me when teaching chakra discipline, and I also remembered the scenes from the show playing out.
"Inhale through the nose," I muttered, repeating her words, "let the breath travel with your awareness..."
I closed my eyes, and as I did, my awareness quickly sank inward. At first, there was nothing weird, just the rhythm of my heartbeat. Hm. Was I missing something? Oh. A spark. I saw it! There was... A faint buzzing sensation, like static under my skin. Huh... As I focused, coaxing it toward my hands, light flared briefly between my palms, a tiny blue flicker before it faded, but I caught it.
"Well, hello there, Mr. Chakra." I opened my eyes, grinning in the dark. I knew I managed to manifest it in a visible way, meaning, I managed a good enough density to soon be able to maybe try my hand at using ninjutsu!
"Renji?" The paper door slid open a crack, and I could see an eye looking in, "Still awake?" my mother's voice asked softly.
"Yeah," I answered in a panic, "Just… practicing breathing."
"You should practice sleeping," She smiled as she stepped inside, "But... You're your father's son, all right. Still, rest now, little one! The world isn't going anywhere; it will be there when you wake up tomorrow!"
"Um..." I hesitated. "Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think… people can change fate?"
"Huh?" Her eyes lingered on me for a moment, surprised by my question, "Fate?" she repeated.
"I mean... Like... Anything that may happen to us?"
"Hmm." She thought for more before answering, "I think fate is like a river, Renji. You can't stop the current carrying you forward, but you can learn how to swim in it, avoiding obstacles. Why?"
"I don't know..." I mumbled, "I just want you to be... proud of me."
"Silly," she said, leaning closer and kissing my forehead, "I am already are."