[1st POV]
Dying at the bright age of 13 years old was not that bad.
For the one dying, I mean. It was absolutely tragic for the parents and the other loved ones. But there was something easy about dying before having truly lived.
13 years was too young to form a real attachment to the world. I had no proper goal yet, only an endless opportunity. I had not truly committed to something, nor have I worked or suffered for something.
Let me recall what I have done so far in my whole life. I watched a lot of anime, I studied more than others and care about details, which is why I have excelled in academics so far. I was beginning to form a humane connection with my parents, loving them as a person instead of seeing them as an absolute guardian in charge of me.
I played all kinds of sports, was good enough to have fun, but not really enough to have a dream because of them. I was starting to have a passion for storytelling, but again, that passion never really got time to bloom.
13 years was too short for anything. I didn't lose much other than potential.
So I didn't pity myself at all. The ones I pitied were my parents.
Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad.
I'm sorry for trying to stop those adults from taking away little Charlie. He was like a younger brother to me.
Maybe watching too much anime had brainwashed me into thinking I could take three adults and save someone. They had knives, and they were insane enough to cut and stab me.
They missed my throat, so they left nasty wounds on my jaw and my nose. In the end, they stabbed me in my chest.
I screamed loudly, but I hope you don't think that was out of pain. I barely felt any pain; adrenaline was coursing through my body from the first moment I saw them trying to pull Charlie into the van.
I screamed to call for help, and that was it. I did not scream because I was in pain.
I hope my wounds were easy to clean, and I was not mourned as a mutilated corpse. That would traumatise my mother way too much.
Even in death, I didn't feel anything. The only thing I felt was warmth leaving my body, and the constant slipping that made me unable to hang onto life.
I died while thinking I could've survived. I never really lost hope.
And when I could no longer feel myself, and there was only black, it sank in.
"Oh, I'm dead,"
But like I said, it was not a tragic death. I didn't really have enough time to do things that would make me regret dying.
I only have pity for all those who love me.
What a bad decision it was to invest their love in me. The only thing I did was turn that love into a big loss.
Again, I'm sorry.
..
"I'm so sorry," I said out loud. I could hear the tremble in my voice.
"Suyou,"
I heard a voice again, this time it wasn't me.
I snapped my eyes wide open, and darkness was expelled in an instant as I saw my own arms and a long table.
"Huh?" That was not all, through my blurry vision, I saw droplets of tears fall on that table. They were my tears.
I looked up instantly. I quickly scanned my surroundings and realised I was in a classroom made of wood. The smell of wood was also there, along with the scent of other people. The room was more like a college lecture room than a normal classroom, with each row going up to provide a view of the stage.
Speaking of which, I finally saw the person who was calling me. He stood at the platform where a professor or the lecturer would stand. But he looked like anything but a professor.
A tight outfit that looked like military wear, a green vest, a headband, and a scar that went across his face like he was some kind of criminal instead of a teacher.
"..Iruka-sensei?" I blurted out, equally shocked and baffled.
His already soft eyes softened even more when he saw my face. There was a flash of concern as he asked, "Are you feeling okay, Suyou?"
That was when I felt the tears rolling down my face. It was warm, and with a gasp, I quickly wiped my tears away.
"He's crying, what a crybaby,"
"There he goes again,"
"I've lost my parents too, but I didn't cry that much."
"Crybaby Suyou is at it again,"
I heard murmurs spread across the classroom. I turned towards every sound, every comment, and I saw strangers with familiar faces. Sakura? Choji? Wait, is the one sleeping in the first bench Naruto? His yellow hair and orange jacket are hard to mistake.
What is going on?
"If you want, you can go to the infirmary," Iruka said, bringing my attention back to him.
"I-" I said in a voice that was not my own, in a language that I had never heard of. But what I wanted to say translated instinctively into the right words.
"I'm fine, sensei, please continue," I said.
He silently looked at me for a few seconds before he nodded. He turned back to the rest of the class and his soft visage morphed into something firmer and stronger.
"Silent, everyone!! Your final test is coming up, you have no time to discuss anything," he said.
The class grew quiet immediately, the comments were gone, and people were not looking at me anymore. Iruka continued his class as usual. As usual? How do I know the usual?
My new surroundings blurred. Iruka sensei's class was just a background noise as I tried to make sense of the situation.
The scary thing was that I was able to make sense of them.
Why was I in this classroom? Well, because I am a student at the ninja academy. I have attended the academy for seven years and was actually about to graduate in a week.
Where the hell am I? The Fire Nation, in the village hidden in the leaves. I was in Konoha, of course.
Who am I? I am Suyou Hoshigawa. A child born and raised in Konoha and an aspiring ninja, just like my parents.
Parents? The only child of a couple, both ninjas. But they passed away six months ago on a mission they went on together. It was supposed to be an easy C-rank mission, but everything went wrong.
With every question answered and with every oddity made sense, memories came with it. It was like recalling something instead of new memories flooding in. Like 'Oh, how could I forget?'
It was freaky and comforting at the same time.
But then the important question.
How the hell did I end up here? I thought I had died.
I recalled a memory once more. It was a vivid memory of the time I answered a life insurance question that surfaced as an ad while I was busy watching One Piece from an illegal site.
{How would you like to be reborn after you die?}
I clicked it out of curiosity. Then the question gave me different things to select. For the world, I picked Naruto because that was my favourite anime of all time.
Right after that, I was given stat points, which I could put into any stat. I put most of it in potential, because I liked the idea of achieving my own strength in my new life instead of being given strength.
I put everything on potential, but as a consequence, the system told me I would have to start from a young age, and my character could not be an adult instantly. I was okay with that. I was given one talent to pick and I chose speed.
I really, really liked Minato, so speed was the obvious choice.
After that, I was given a blank space where I could write one unique ability. I tried many things in there, but it doesn't allow Op things. It rejected those and said I need to pick weaker abilities.
I tried Wood Release, Ice Release, Haki, Mutant Gene, Uzumaki Chakra Reserves, etc., and all worked, but I confirmed none. That gave me something to work with.
In the end, I picked one ability, and that was the Susanoo. I initially tried to get a Sharingan, but due to the complication of the massacre, I decided if possible, I only wanted the Susanoo.
But I adjusted the Susanoo too, since it will come as an ability of its own. I wanted it to be able to grow with my strength, no drawbacks, and it would come to me with ease, like a power I was born with. It should be as easy as moving an arm, something which I could use naturally.
I skipped all the other details about my background as those were not required and because I wanted to watch One Piece again. I submitted that.
And now here I am.
"That.. makes sense."
Goddamn it.
Throughout the whole class, I recollected my memories. I asked questions which were answered naturally by me. The class was at the end when I first woke up so after half an hour, it was over.
By that point, I had a pretty good idea about my situation.
After the final bell rang, I put all my books inside my bag and head out before anyone else. I traversed through the hallway of the academy, passing by the classroom of the fifth year students, the staffroom and such.
I recalled many memories wherever I passed. And that continued even after I left the Academy.
The streets of Konoha was weirdly familiar and instinctively I made my way towards my home. I did not know my destination, but I knew my way. It was a weird feeling.
It was a mix between observing my new surrounding which was not new anymore after second thoughts. By the time I reached my home, I was mentally exhausted.
I slammed the door shut after me. It was quite a nice home in the district reserved for ninja families. It had ninja shops and it was near training grounds which the civilian family did not need.
"Okay...." I said while sliding down the front door, my back turned to the world.
The interior of the house was strange only for a split second before it became familiar to me again. Then I recalled memories, painful memories for my new life. Because this house held memory of my family.
Tears fell from my eyes once again as I curled up like a ball.
To mourn for two different parents at the same time. I'll admit without hesitation that it was enough to break two hearts.
..
..
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