Family

So, I'm in Naruto…

…I honestly can't describe how I'm feeling right now. I mean, seriously, I'm super glad that I wasn't reborn in that crapsack of a world called Attack on Titan. Yeah, I'd rather stick with flashy ninjas than live in a world where I'll have to fight giants with larger-than-life cardboard cutters and potentially being a victim of vore. So, to whoever was the interdimensional god being that didn't drop me in that hellhole, thank you.

…But also, to that very same all-power being...what the fuck, dude.

Why Naruto of all places? I was always a diehard One Piece fan from day one. Yes, I watched the 4kids version before finally subscribing to watching it in sub because Funimation was always behind in get the material to dub. Why couldn't I have been reborn there? Even if I didn't get to meet the Strawhats, I would at least have been in that fantastic world. A world where even the dumbest and weakest of mooks can be true badasses.

I mean the same could happen in this world, but you'd have to really work at it if you didn't have the natural talent or some crazy dojutsu, or clan backing, or some bloodline limit… Okay, so you'd have to work crazy hard just to be a relevant badass, but it was possible.

*SIGH!*

But I can hardly complain about my circumstances despite not fully liking the world I was in. I was born a Senju, one of the most relevant clans in this world. I have a better starting line than most who'd be in my position.

I just want to know why I'm in this position in the first place. It seems random don't you think? I died and then I'm brought to be reborn in another world. Is this a ROB situation? Have I been ROB'd?

Nah, if that were the case then the one responsible would have left me some note or message to mock me or something. So, what gives? Was I brought here because of something I did when I died? Could that be the cause?

Well, it certainly was a clue because every time I tried to think of my cause of death and the events that took place, I always get stopped short by the same spine-shivering chill and that strange feeling of contentment. It was just so odd.

Everything was just odd…

Well, I can at least say that the three months after realizing the legacy I was birthed into served as a nice distraction to the whole reincarnation into a fictional world that's no longer fictional deal that I have going on right now. Of course, most of those three months were steeped in nothing but boredom since I'm still a reliant toddle. But I made the most of it.

Such as forming my first words at around the seventh month mark of my life. That sure surprised everyone. After a while I started to feel pressured to at least say something in their language since listening to them and not understanding crap was beginning to get old for me. Maybe if I truly had the mentality of a baby, it wouldn't bother me, but with this fully grown man psyche of mine holding the reins, I'm starting to get a little self-conscious. It's like if you were visiting a foreign country and you're engaged with a conversation with someone who can speak not only your language but also their own. Now of course they'd speak to you and be polite but as soon as you are out of ear shot, they could literally start talking about how much of a dope you are, and you wouldn't have the slightest clue at all.

That's why I immediately did my best to interpret the language by studying their expressions, mannerisms and feeling them out by these new sensations I've been starting to get. I'll elaborate later, but I guess you can say that I inherited quite a trait from my grandfather.

Guh…it's both weird and kind of cool to think of Tobirama Senju as my relative. Cool in the fact that it's flipping Tobirama Senju, one of THE strongest shinobi to ever walk this earth just behind Hashirama Senju (who's also my granduncle *manly squeal!*), and Madara Uchiha. But it was super weird because unlike my new parents, it's a little hard to come to grips that such a canon character is related to me. Would have been even weirder to see him in the flesh, but oh well…

Now as for my baby talk, the process of learning the language got better for a couple of words especially since my parents (specifically mother) tried hammering the words "mama" and "dada" at me whenever they had the chance between missions. How'd I know they were between missions? Well, the smell of copper and smoke and the hard to see red stains on their clothing were big indicators.

Did I mention how much better my eyesight is coming along?

Anyways the two were almost treating the whole thing like a challenge to see, who my first words between the both of them will be. Well, it was mostly a challenge that my mother stubbornly made while my father smiled and happily played along. The big doof was just excited at the prospect as her except he knew that he had to be the rational one between the pair lest everything goes out of whack.

So not wanting to disappoint either of them with this big momentous occasion, I decided not to take option 1) "mama" nor option 2) "dada".

No, I went with a phrase they always said to me and to each other. A phrase that no matter the language barrier left a universal warmth in my heart.

"Luv u…" That night after what looked like a rough day for them certainly made their day. They were positively radiating sheer joy at my first words and the way that I conveyed them. I must have been some weird baby in their eyes for my abnormal rate of growth and understanding. Because when I said those words, I wasn't simply parroting them but actually saying it of my own volition from the depths of my heart.

And I truly meant it. They've really stuck to being such good parents to me so far that I can even look past the fact that their off secretly assassinating some targets whenever they leave me in the care of the other residents in our household.

Now of course a small fight did break out between the two of them afterwards. What it was about I didn't know but it mostly seemed like my mother was pushing the argument while my father simply nodded and smiled.

"Hah? Obviously, he meant that for me! You'd have to be blind not to see that my little Ki-tan was looking at me!" Mother smirked and dangerously glared at father.

"Yes, yes…" While father simply kept that calm smile of his on his face. Nodding along to mother's tirade as if he wasn't carefully braving the storm that was bound to blow him away and leave him sleeping on the couch. "It would make sense that for Kisuke-chan to love you so much, C."

"Good." Mother proudly huffed and crossed her arms. "Glad we cleared that u-."

"Since I really love C too." I may not have know what father said but its effect on mother must have been critical since she did a literal spittake and angrily hissed at him. Her face was getting red too. Was she flustered?

"I-Idiot, where did the hell did that come from? You can't just say that out of nowhere!"

"But it's true, I really love you, C."

"I-I said shut it you basta-!" Mother froze once father embraced her and tucked her head into his shoulder. It might have been hard to see mother's red face, but I'd feel that if it were possible, that old anime cliché of steam coming from her head would be true.

"Do you love me, C?"

"What kind of retarded question is that?"

"Is that a no?"

"…Shut up…" Aw~! They're having a moment; I was so happy for them once mother wholeheartedly returned his embrace. The mood between them remained intimate even through dinner. Mother would eagerly glance at father from the sides of her eyes while father took his time to enjoy the meal as though what happened never occurred.

But I knew from that slight smile of his that he was more than aware. Damn. Just like that, I realized how much of a Chad my dad was. He wrapped a wild woman like mother around his finger with little to no effort. Pretty much helps that he was genuine with his words.

And so, after finishing my bottle, dinner was technically over, and I was put to bed rather early that night. Didn't take a genius to know what they had planned tonight. So, I laid in my crib that night trying to ignore the two rambunctious signatures I felt in our home while trying to get some sleep.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I've sort of got a thing for sensing people through their chakra. Weird thing to one day to notice after realizing where I was. It explained the foreign warm feeling that was coursing through my frail, adorable body. I don't know if it's because my past life didn't have this world's version of chi or whatever but noticing something different in me swirl around wasn't that hard to miss.

It felt like acquiring a sixth sense that I practically played with every single day since you know, still an adorable baby that's dependent on everyone around them. The sensations I got from detecting the chakra of others around me was an interesting experience.

Father felt ice cold yet windy.

Mother's chakra felt very striking.

And that one strange chakra that I could always feel nearby yet could never find the source in my surroundings felt really…unnerving.

But beyond them, the others were well…

One midday afternoon, I sat in my crib and turned my head towards the wall opposite to me. My eyes trailed as I heard the loud pair of naked footsteps smacking against the wooden flooring of the Senju Compound. One set was boisterous while the other was more leisurely and slowly trailed after the rushing footsteps.

Thank god, I was alone in the room otherwise I'd have probably added another thing for my parents to potentially be added to the long list of weird things our baby does. Because seeing an infant quietly staring at the wall and detecting the presences behind them with an unsubtle moving of the head to follow their movement was beyond unsettling.

Well, at least in my old life it would be…

So was the prospect of me finally learning how to walk at eight months since I'm sure that toddlers start doing that around nine to twelve months. But no, my parents (the goobers they were) were ecstatic to see my daunting development. Probably excited that their kid is some future genius that will be a great ninja and asset to the village or they were simply happy to see me grown.

Probably both…

In the end, I just wanted to get most of my motor functions back and despite my walking being a bit shaky, it was certainly worth it to finally be on my two feet…once every minute without then falling over.

Speaking of almost falling over, I did my best not to after the door to my nursery room slammed open and revealed the source of those footsteps.

"We're back!"

That one ball of boundless exuberance that I sensed belonged to the one and only Nawaki Senju. The young childish brunet rushed to my crib and excitedly grinned at me. I barely had enough time to blurb an attempt at his name before he yoinked me into his arms and began to bluster about his day at the academy (I think, he still seemed too young be a certified shinobi yet and plus he's also not dead) or fret over me.

This was the usual routine when it came to my cousin (I have no clue what to call a cousin, who's the first cousin to my father) and his visits. When I first came to the Senju compound, everything was a blur that I couldn't really see much all the time. But I vaguely remember the incessant chatter of a boy, who kept bouncing me in his arms until I threw up my baby formula all over them.

As soon as I realized which world I was in, I immediately deduced that it was one Nawaki Senju. It made me happy and depressed. Happy that I had another family member who wholeheartedly loved me enough to sometimes sneak into my room at night just to talk about his dreams and the future things we could play together (that I sadly couldn't fully translate).

And if I'm allowed to joke a little, it did help me prepare myself for my unavoidable run-in with Naruto down the line since Nawaki was technically Naruto 1.0. My Japanese was still developing, and I could understand him uttering the world "Yondaime" over and over at the end of most of his sentences.

But I still couldn't dismiss the fact that he was bound to die at such a young age once he becomes a ninja. No, that was just the canon storyline. This was real life! His fate wasn't inevitable. I might not be able to give him any hints such "look before you leap otherwise, your ass is going to get blown the hell up", but I can at least pray and think of something when I'm old enough.

My new family so far has been wonderful, and I haven't gotten to mention my sweet Graunty (Great Aunt) yet. They were all such kind people despite their shady profession as shinobi, and I didn't want to see them sadden at the loss of a loved one. I know I wouldn't want to see any of them go before I had the chance to walk around with them and really get to know them.

Especially when I knew that the one, who'd be most affected by this loss would be the other presence I felt enter the room.

"Nawa-chan, you should know better than to barge in like that. You could have frighted Kisuke-chan." Scolded the source of the warm and soothing presence that tiredly walked up beside the brunet cradling me. Yep, you could not imagine how much I (internally) squealed once I realized that I was related to Tsunade Senju!

She was fairly young (I'd like to say around 13 years) and looked to be in the middle of going through puberty. Relax, I'm not going to be perving out on her or plan some secret scheme to somehow bed and wife her when I grow up. In fact, I think I might develop a phobia for her developing cleavage since I've had the displeasure of almost suffocating myself to death whenever she cradled me.

Thank god that my mother was around to correct Tsunade on the proper posture the first time around otherwise I would have had to see if this whole reincarnation thing would work out thrice times.

"Aw, come on, sis! I just really wanted to tell, Kisuke about how I aced my Shurikenjutsu test today! Heh, I even showed up that mutt, Koga too!"

"Though I'm probably not one to judge, I should remind you that you should at least avoid making your rivalry with a future head of a clan less hostile for the future."

"Bah, but that bastard is such a jerk!" Oh, Nawaki must have said something bad because I just witnessed him getting Tsunade's hand smacked upside his head.

"Nawaki, language!"

"But it's true, sis! That stupid dog of his even chewed up my chakra theory homework just before class started!"

"You mean that chakra theory homework that you had Tanjiro-niisan help tutor you because you fell asleep in class to hear the lecture?"

"Y-Yeah, but I still did it! Even after all that hard work, I still failed by not having anything to turn in and when Tanjiro-nii heard about that…" Nawaki gulped and looked ghastly pale. "…I-I don't think I can stand the thought for being forced to sit in for an eight hour lecture for a week straight ever again."

Tsunade shrugged. "Well at least you learned the valuable lesson that you shouldn't leave such valuable documents where just about anyone could get. Also, that dogs apparently find homework to be a nice filling snack."

"Ha-ha, sis…" Nawaki pouted and rubbed the forehead that his older sister playfully flicked.

I really wish I could fully understand them. Eventually their talk winded down as they stuck around to chat and play with me. Now of course since Tsunade was around, she ensured that Nawaki was going to be rough with me as passed around my favorite star-covered rubber ball or when I decided to climb one of my big stuffed animals.

She was so patient and happy whenever she played along with Nawaki when it came time to play peek-a-boo. The Tsunade I'm seeing has yet to truly be broken by this cruel world that ripped her loved ones out of her life.

I've never had the pleasure to see or sense the presences of whoever could be their parents, and it unfortunately didn't surprise me when I put two and two together.

Welp, I'll just have to do my best to live long enough to spare her the grief when I grow up. No one should have to be the sole survivor of a clan.

No one.

And so, my and my adorable self-played with my cousins until it was time for them to go and handle other business. With Nawaki perhaps going to find my father to pester him into training him and Tsunade to go off on some mission because I noticed a pattern of her only wearing her Konoha forehead protector when leaving the house.

Yep, that was another reminder that this world truly condoned child soldiers, and might I add that I remember the Sannin being no older than six. I can only hope that they raised that age limit by the time I'm older since I really need more time to prepare myself for what lies ahead.

And prepare myself I did by trying to my best practice and get into my new sensing mojo along with attempting to mediate. Attempting being a strong word because I really tried to do so with this tottering and restless baby body of mine. There were times where I couldn't focus on the wellspring of chakra at my core, and there were times where I did, but focus was stopped short by my current physicality and unreasonable urges.

Ugh, yes, I do mean getting diapers changed and the dreaded teething phase. Never had I wanted to just scratch my gums out just so I can myself the agony of having my fresh new baby teeth rip themselves out for freedom. Growing my wisdom teeth in my old life actually was hell so in this new sensitive body of mine the pain hurt so badly that those few occurrences where I legitimately cried was mainly because of the fresh new teeth ripping my sweet flesh apart.

I chewed on anything to soothe the pain. I chewed on teething rings, I chewed on the wooden bars of my crib, and hell I even chewed on my Nawaki's legs whenever he fell asleep while in the middle of playing with me.

Now I'm sure you lot are already saying, "But Kisuke, why you gotta do your predestined to die cousin like that? Show some compassion!"

And that's fair because he's mostly exhausted from all the extra training, he has to do both in the academy and for the clan. With I'm assuming my father being the head of said clan (because I've yet to meet or see my cousins' parents and because my Graunty is too old to lead), it naturally fell to him to teach the younger members some of the clan's forms of taijutsu and various techniques.

While this would usually include father sometimes instructing Tsunade, she wasn't around to take the lessons as periodically as Nawaki since she's technically already a shinobi, who I'm assuming was already trained by the village's best grandad (well, he's not THAT old yet since Tsunade's still young) ever, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.

So, yeah, this mostly left little Nawaki at the mercy of my father.

I know this because my mother would always bring me along to watch Nawaki get knocked flat on his ass by father. The poor child would even be occasionally sent flying past the compound's sizeable training ground and into the nearby garden's ponds.

I was in awe at the skills displayed by father while mother was too busy laughing at the blustering young Senju.

"Aw~, what's wrong, runt? What happened to finally tagging him that time?"

"Grr! Quiet, you! I'll get him this time! Just you watch!"

"Hah, yeah sure! I'll believe it when I see it."

"Please don't rile him up, C." Father sighed, exasperated.

I was in awe as kept watching father continuing to beat the stuffing out of Nawaki (worry cuz…). Throughout the lesson and everyone before that I witnessed, I've never seen father get hit or even exhausted despite his impressive feats of knocking a human body across an entire training ground and halfway into the garden like it wasn't a hassle.

I knew I should have expected it since…you know…world of super powered ninjas, but seeing it made it all the more believable and a little harder to stomach.

One day, I'm going to be doing stuff like that…

Also, I'm also going to get the shit kicked out of me by my dad like little Nawaki was right now. Well, at least it can't get any worse…

Shifting me around in her lap, my mother looked down at me with a smile. I knew it wasn't her intention, but it certainly looked frightening to me. "Don't worry my little Kisuke-chan, I'll be sure to help whip you into better shape than the little runt out there in no time!"

I might not have understood what she said but I had an ominous feeling that whatever tiger mom said was going to perhaps bite me in the ass later.

[Future Me: AAAAAAAAAAAH!]

Meh, it was probably nothing.

"Haha! Got y-dough!"

"Don't overpursue or announce yourself when you believe to have found an opportunity to land a clean hit."

'Y-Yes, Tanjiro-nii…"

Hang in there, Nawaki, I pray that this ass kicking helps prevent you from your early death. Seriously, you don't want to die, I speak from experience and it sucks. And so, I returned to biting my saliva covered teething ring while watching the trainwreck of a training session occur right in front of me.

"H-Hey, Tanjiro-nii, if it's okay with you…could I-?" For some odd reason their training stopped and Nawaki looked excited. Like jumping in place excited despite looking like he didn't *accidentally* fall down a flight of stairs.

"Of course, Nawaki." It always freaked me out to see how my kind and sometimes dopey father can for a second look encouraging with that warm smile of his before dropping it to look deadly serious. "But remember, you are not to attempt anything too big like last. You were lucky that using up all of your reserves like that didn't leave you in too critical of a condition or dead…"

Nawaki and even I felt a shiver go down our spines. Despite still trying to overcome the language barrier even I felt a little intimidated by father's warning(?) tone.

Sighing, Father gestured for Nawaki to go through with what he was planning with that warm smile returning to uplift the boy's spirits.

"Now have you been practicing in smaller scales just like I told you?"

"Yup, see for yourself!" The hyperactive brown-haired knucklehead slapped his hands together into the…I want to say…Snake seal. I never paid that much attention to that part of the Naruto manga's details about hand signs. After a minute of concentration, Nawaki slammed his palm to the ground and yelled. "Mokuton!"

Huh…so Nawaki knows Wood Style…that's neat…

…Wait, what the hell!?

As I dumbly watched a small tree emerge from the middle of the barren training grounds while my mother whistled in amusement above me, I only had one thought that processed through my floored mind as I watched my cousin getting praised and instructed by my father.

'What the fuck, Kishimoto? That's such a waste…'