3 Chapter 2 - Darkness

Warning: This Fanfiction is rated M for not just reasons made obvious by the title but for blood, gore, death and heavy, heavy topics. Whilst some of the latter may not be common in this series, it is prevalent in this chapter. Please read at your own discretion.

It's been 5 months since I've been reborn into this world and I've already got crawling and even stumbling down to a pat. I've been working hard to grow these baby muscles into tip-top shape as soon as possible. Beware fools, in but a few months' time I'll be dashing all over the place and see how you fare against that!

Over that time, I've come to figure out many things through general conversations between my mother, Miyu, my father, Hotaru, and who I'd thought was just the midwife but was apparently my soon-to-be aunt? second mother?

I've still got much to piece together.

My folks had taken the time to bring me outside occasionally for me to see the world around me for the first time and good Gandalf, it was glorious!

It turned out that I was born in Konoha, thankfully, but I've yet to meet people I'd recognise in the manga or anime and thus, haven't yet figured out exactly when in the timeline I'm currently in. From the faces of the Hokage monument though, with there being 4 faces, I've figured that this was somewhere during Naruto's era, rather that the waring era or the futuristic Boruto era.

I've sort of been filled with a sense of trepidation lately and not a small amount of impatience in getting through my toddler years but nothing can be done about it.

"Jin-kun!" my aunt/second mother exclaimed, "what are you doing with those books again?"

I gave her the most innocent smile I could which worked extremely effectively from the way she deflated.

"Mouu~," she said.

Sayuri Matsumoto was another extremely beautiful woman who my father somehow managed to rope in. She had silky dark blue hair, warm brown eyes, and a figure that practically screamed kunoichi after how curvy yet deliciously lean she was. She was soft in all the right places, and when her shirt was lifted one time when she was stretching, she showed such impeccable abs that I'd gotten temporarily jealous! …then I realised I was a baby.

Huh. Maybe all that time as Bob the virgin made me rather…thirsty.

I shuddered.

Sayuri picked me up from my father's study room and with great disappointment left all that knowledge of ninja history and jutsus behind. For now, I could only reach the low-reaching books on his shelf and all it contained were old books on elemental nations' geography. I needed to find a way to get to those upper books!

Sayuri set me down at the kitchen table and set out to start force-feeding me that sludge of…whatever the heck that was.

"Jin-kun, aahhh~," she said as she held out a spoon of the stuff.

I turned my head away.

"…"

I turned back after a few moments of silence but then I was immediately assaulted as a spoon was stuffed straight into my mouth. Goddamit woman! I could have choked.

As the flavours and textures settled on my tongue, I toughened up and tried to process what I was eating. It was unique, with a rather astringent smell, and the texture was not so bad, it was—

Disgusting.

It was seriously disgusting.

Why do I have to put up with eating this shit?

…oh yeah. I only had a tooth. One tooth. It was at the front and centre of my gums and made me look stupid as shit. For now, I couldn't eat anything other than breastmilk and sludge.

Speaking of looks, I was put up in front of a mirror for the first time a while ago and I was glad simply because I was not hideous. I had my mother's golden-yellow eyes—which was sick as shit—and my father's red hair, which was…not so great. It looked kinda tacky but such was life. Anime hair was gonna be anime hair.

"Tell you what," Sayuri said, "I can stop for now if you do one thing for me!"

My eyes were wide in anticipation.

"Say my name as your first words!" She squealed.

I deadpanned.

"C'mon," she said, prodding my cheek with her spoon, "say it~ Sayuri-chan, Sayuri-chan~"

How petty can this girl be! She and my parents had been having a competition of sorts as to what my first words will be. Apparently, the winner wins something big because they have been in my face for the last few weeks calling out their own names like worshipers to a cult.

Jokes on them! I will never convert! I will stay silent for as long as goddamned can!

I turned my head away once more, much to Sayuri's annoyance.

As Sayuri was showing her spoon fencing skills, I took the time to observe her a little.

Observation target: Sayuri Matsumoto (level 47)

Age: 23

Occupation: Chuunin Kunoichi

Threat level: Extremely low (relationship status)

Relationship: Step-mother? (wow, even the system was unsure)

Likes: Cooking, Water jutsus, Gardening, Hotaru Takezuchi, Miyu Takezuchi, Jin Takezuchi

Hates: Avocados

Affinities: Water

As my observation skill levelled up to 10, I've been able to glean more specific details of another person's information such as the ranking of shinobi they are, their relationship status, their likes and dislikes, and the latest of them all, their elemental affinities. It wasn't much but it was already super useful and was continually improving. Now I know I can threaten her with avocados one day and see how she likes it.

BOOM

A loud crack of sound crashed through the entire house. It was as if lightning had struck something really close by.

BOOOOM

The house shook and everything in the kitchen rattled like small instruments.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

"Jin get down!" Sayuri grabbed me and hauled me under the table just as one of the dish cabinets fell over nearby, sending glass everywhere.

What in the hell was going on?

Another crash. Sayuri was hugging me tight now as a small earthquake made the very earth tremble.

Gods, what in the world was happening? The disaster came so suddenly that I didn't even know how to react to it. Was there some sort of natural disaster that happened in Konoha's history? An earthquake? or a hurricane?

The only thing I could think of was—

No.

No no no no no.

I looked through the kitchen window facing the outside and sure enough, a giant fox loomed over the village. Its humongous form was like a figure out of nightmares. It was one thing to read about it through mangas and watch it through anime but seeing it in person?

Fear gripped me. It strangled me by my throat and lurched my heart out of my ribcage. I started shaking. It had come so fast. One second, everything was just normal, and the next, everything was the furthest away from normal as it could possibly be.

Just what had I gotten myself into?

Bob Hasek wanted to live in the Naruto world. Jin was not Bob. He was no longer Bob. He didn't consider himself the same entity as Bob for he no longer thought he was the same as Bob did. Case in point: Right. Fucking. Now.

What was Bob thinking?

BOOOOOOOM.

Bob wanted to not feel powerless and he wanted to prove his strength in another world. Naruto's world. But Bob didn't account for just how dangerous this world was. With his small intellect, he only saw Naruto's world through rose-tinted glasses. He saw massive Jutsus and glorious fights and he thought: awesome!

Bob did not account for regaining his mind and becoming Jin Takezuchi. He didn't account for anything, really.

Now it's coming to bite him in the ass.

"It's okay, Jin," Sayuri whispered into my ear after also catching sight of the fox, "Your parents are going to be fighting that thing and they're going to win."

Another type of fear stopped all my thoughts in their tracks. It was a slow and heavy fear. A fear that turned my bones into lead and my muscles into liquid.

Mother and father. They were outside today.

No.

No no no no no.

It was dread. Deep, unforgiving dread that sapped me of all my energy.

This can't be happening.

I've only known them for five months. Surely the fates weren't as cruel to take my parents away from me twice. Not like this.

Please no.

Please god no.

I hadn't even gotten to know them for as long as I'd liked. Even if I didn't get along with my dad very well, he was still my dad. And mother…she was the light of the household, the queen bee, there's no way she could be taken from me, from us.

Over Sayuri's shoulder, I saw the fox spread its tails and never have I ever felt such frozen terror as I'd felt then. Bob was never smart enough to register fear. I wished for once that I was still Bob Hasek. I wish I could stand proud and strong through this.

No.

This was another level altogether. You'd never see this on Earth. Not a giant, sentient killing machine.

The fox's crazed smile only made it worse.

And then it struck.

And the world shook.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG.

The windows shattered inwards as the force of the beast's strike displaced the air and broke the sound barrier. It was like the hand of fucking god had slammed down on earth. The remaining cabinets of the kitchen crashed to the floor and one of the glass shards flew through and cut through my cheek. The sudden pain snapped me out of my reverie.

I tried to get my thoughts together, to summon Bob's bravery…but what could I possibly do? I was a goddamn 5-month-old baby! It wasn't like I could fly up there and start fighting the beast. No. All I could do was bide my time and pray that my family survives until the fourth Hokage sealed this beast into Naruto.

Sayuri was shaking. Now that I came to my senses, I finally registered her quiet sobs, her trembling frame. She was as scared as I was. How could one not be in front of such wretched power?

I gave her the tightest hug I could. My baby muscles were not strong enough to accidentally strangle her but I was careful of it nonetheless. Sayuri froze up a bit, almost surprised at the gesture before returning the hug of her own, even tighter than mine was.

"It's going to be okay Jin," she said, her voice cracking midway, "it's going to be okay."

My parents never returned home.

It was a cold reminder of the cruel world I'd chosen to step foot in. A world of broken dreams, and bloodied hands. Fate was always fickle, one day it gives, another day it takes.

Many orphans were made that night. I was one of them.

It seemed as if the entire village was here today. All were dressed in robes of black. Their pristine yukatas and kimonos were sullied by drenching rain. It was a dark, solemn night for all of us.

I looked towards my parent's graves. So fast were they taken from me that it didn't seem fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

How could Gandalf send me here only to be trapped in a body so helpless as to be nothing but a spectator to the death of my loved ones?

It wasn't fair.

But I knew that was the way of the world. Bob Hasek knew it too.

"We come here today," said the voice of the third Hokage, "to mourn and celebrate the lives lost and the lives lived. While many lives have been snuffed away by disaster untold, we must stand strong together, for we must be strong now more than ever. We will remember this day. We will remember this day."

"We will remember this day," Everyone said as one.

It had been three months since the Kyuubi took half the village. Sayuri was not the same as she was. It was like the light had left her eyes. She still went about her duties, taking care of me and doing house chores but it was like she was a puppet to her own mind, a drone to her own body. She went about things lifelessly, like a zombie without purpose. She still fed me, still bathed me, still took care of me.

But she hasn't spoken to me.

Not since that night.

Now she was in the kitchen washing dishes without any of her usual jovial humming or any of her boundless energy.

I suppressed a sad sigh. I hope she gets better soon. I hope I could do more than just lay here and wait for my body to grow up.

I didn't know my parents as well as she had, I'd only spent five months with them. The trauma she shows of losing her loved ones—what I was witnessing right now—showed exactly how much she cared for them.

I wished I could comfort her in some way.

I wished.

I hoped.

I wished.

I hoped.

Pathetic. It was the thoughts of weaklings, of thinkers and never doers.

I must be better.

I walked, working my baby leg muscles, over to Dad's study room. It was a mess from the disaster. The table tipped from broken stands, the bookshelf had fallen and scattered the books and scrolls everywhere. This was the first time I'd been able to come here and open the door handles myself—why did they design those things so high? I had to use a box dammit!

Wait a second. Scattered books and scrolls…on the ground…where I could finally reach them. Bingo.

I walked over to the piles of scattered books and started searching through their various titles. Some that I could see were: Shinobi wars and eras, Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Kunoichi, Taijutsu stances, and Ninjutsu Theory. Huh. I'm guessing I'll be busy for the next few months.

A strange screeching sound over the wooden floor alerted me to movement. Sayuri was normally so quiet nowadays, I wondered what she was up to. I put the books down and waddled my way back to the kitchen area but Sayuri was no longer there.

There was the screeching noise again and it came from the floor above.

There was…something foreboding me for some reason. A slight plummeting of my gut that gave me a feeling of dread once again. It was like that night.

As fast as I could with my tiny baby legs and arms, I crawled up the stairs. Each step made my heart pound faster and faster in my chest.

In my hurry, I slipped when I tried to push myself off one of the steps and tumbled a few steps down, somehow awkwardly twisting my ankle in the process.

The pain didn't bother me. No. I only had a singular focus. Something told me to get to Sayuri as quick as possible.

I bounded up the stairs once more, ignoring the pain, ignoring my thumping heart. I must get there in time.

After the steps, I hobbled my way to Sayuri's room, where the source of the noise came from and from the door cracks, I saw Sayuri standing on top of a bedside drawer looking emotionless as she had for the past months, and…

…and a noose.

No.

No no no.

Fear was what made me run to her. She had her hands on the noose, putting it around her neck.

No no no no.

Make it in time. Make it in time. MAKE IT IN TIME.

The sound of my crying and shouting seemed to fall on deaf ears. She wasn't stopping.

DO SOMETHING.

"SAYURI!" I screamed and sobbed as I burst through the door, falling down and banging my head against the floorboards. It did not deter me.

My legs were no longer working with me now so I crawled forwards with my hands.

Please, don't take another away from me.

"SAYURI! SAYURI! SAYURI!" I sobbed.

She froze as she was prepared to take her final step and her dull, emotionless eyes suddenly lit with fire once more. It was as if a spell had been broken. She looked towards me, my state of being. I was crying so hard my tears made a puddle on the floor, one of my feet was twisted so awkwardly at the ankles, and my nose was also bleeding from my tumble on the stairs.

She looked at me in shock as if not believing what she was seeing. Then she felt the noose around her neck and snapped her attention to it, her expression filled with horror at what she was just about to do. She immediately took the noose off of her and stepped down from the drawer. Then she looked at me once more.

"J-Jin-kun?" She muttered, confused.

Then her eyes widened as she realised that this wasn't just some horrific dream.

"JIN-KUN!" she cried out as she rushed towards me. She turned me over to my backside the moment she got to me and examined my injuries with teary eyes and suppressed panic. She then lifted me up carefully in a process carry and dashed downstairs, out the door, and in what seemed to be the direction of the Konoha hospital, all whilst whispering into my ears: "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry."

And it was to her voice that everything faded to black.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the dark topics in this chapter but I felt that it was necessary for the development of my characters. Rest assured, these heavy topics aren't the tone of the story going forward is highly likely to be a one-and-done thing. Thank you for reading and reviews are highly appreciated! :)