Tears and Sorrows

'Hikaru!'

'Promise me, you will protect your sister!'

'Stay safe, Hikaru!'

Tears streamed down the young boy's face amidst the falling rain as people gathered around a memorial stone to pay tribute to the fallen Shinobi hero from the Nine-Tails demon fox's attacks.

A young boy with black hair in plain black clothing stood close to the memorial stone. His body suddenly shook, as if he had just awakened. Wiping away his tears, he appeared dazed, confused, and stupefied by the solemn occasion.

In his left hand, he sensed the touch of a young woman's hand, possibly sixteen to seventeen years old.

Hikaru's inner thought, 'My sister,' occurred to him as he glanced briefly at the young woman with short hair adorned in traditional Japanese attire. 'Muranaka Ayako,' her name inexplicably sprang to mind.

"How did I get here?" Hikaru murmured with a furrowed brow, surveying the crowd standing in the rain. He was in a state of panic, but he tried hard to calm himself and not scream.

The sight of sorrowful faces and quiet weeping around him triggered a realization within him.

"Someone must have passed away," Hikaru whispered after examining closely.

'Their clothes look familiar.' Hikaru noticed the familiarity of their attire. As he continued to observe his surroundings, something else caught his eye.

'Is he who I think he is?' Hikaru's eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of someone familiar.

An elderly gentleman stood in the middle, delivering a speech in front of the memorial stone.

Although Hikaru initially did not recognize the words he spoke, he found himself understanding them naturally.

It struck a chord in his memory, as he recalled seeing this man before, but it was from the manga he loved to read.

The Third Hokage! Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Is this for real?

'Could I have transmigrated?' Hikaru's mouth slowly widened. He looked around, recognizing more characters from the story: the Akimichi clan with their distinguishing features, the Inuzuka clan with their dogs close to them, but the one that really stood out to him was Hatake Kakashi in his black clothes, wearing a mask to hide his face, just as he had always known.

Hikaru, bewildered at this moment, abruptly experienced a throbbing pain in his head. He stepped back, simultaneously massaging his head in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort.

Suddenly, the memories of the young boy he had mysteriously taken over seemed to flood his mind.

Ayako, with tears in her eyes, attempted to comfort Hikaru as he struggled with the pain by gently shaking his left hand.

"Hikaru-kun, are you okay?" Ayako asked anxiously.

Several nearby onlookers briefly observed him, believing the young boy might be struggling to cope with his loss.

"The boy must have taken it hard," someone said with a sigh.

Hikaru took a deep breath as he tried hard to calm himself from the pain, silently replying to his sister in a fluent local language that came naturally to him.

"I will be okay, O-nee Chan; just give me a sec."

'Or ten minutes at least,' the boy thought as the memories of the previous night's incident flooded his mind, leading him to comprehend the significance of the voice he had just heard.

His parents, both Tokubetsu Jōnin, bravely gave their lives to protect civilians from the terror of the Nine-Tails demon fox's attacks.

His father, Muranaka Sora, imparted a final message to him to safeguard his sister before heading out to save others alongside his mother, Fukushima Yukiko.

They never returned.

Now the Muranaka family had only two people left. Muranaka Hikaru, a six-year-old boy, lived with his sister, Muranaka Ayako, a sixteen-year-old girl.

Only he attended the Ninja Academy, whereas his sister did not.

The girl neither had any interest in combat nor a desire to become a shinobi; instead, she found joy in cooking and had set up a barbecue stall to alleviate the family's financial strain. Their father, who adored her, permitted her to do so, unlike Hikaru.

Father demanded that Hikaru attend the Ninja Academy, where he was in the same class as the young, brilliant Uchiha Itachi.

Their parents were originally civilians, not from a big clan, who later chose to embark on a ninja career. Fortunately, their cozy little house on the outskirts of the village was far away from the chaos of the Nine-Tails rampage.

Initially, the siblings were staying at home, but Hikaru grew anxious and ventured out in search of their parents, putting himself in grave danger in the process.

While searching for his parents, Hikaru nearly suffered an injury before someone intervened to save him. His actions deeply concerned his sister, who had been complaining and crying all night.

When news of their parents knocking on their door arrived, the situation worsened. Hikaru's mind flashed back to the event, recalling the shock his sibling felt at the time. It felt like the whole world was falling apart; their parents were everything to them.

In just one night, they transitioned from a lovely family to orphans. It was not a pleasant feeling at all.

'On the positive side, they still have their house and don't have to live in the orphanage,' Hikaru thought as the pain in his head somewhat subsided.

'And his name is still the same as in his previous life, which is good.' Hikaru tried to think positively after analyzing the recent situation.

His grasp tightened slightly as he glanced at his anxious sister. 'I have family here; this is still a blessing for me.' Throughout the entire night, she had been shedding tears, and even now they continued to stream down at the memorial.

'To be honest, he does not miss much from his previous life.'

Before arriving in this world, he had already lived for twenty-three years as an orphan. Having recently completed his studies at the university, he attended a party with his buddy before their paths diverged.

However, for some inexplicable reason, he found himself here. To be frank, he could not recall the events that unfolded after the party, as he simply blacked out.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed at his thoughts, the Third Hokage's speech, which had been ongoing, finally concluded, capturing the attention of everyone present.

"Konoha is our home; as long as I am alive, I will protect it!" The Third Hokage's final words stirred the Will of Fire in everyone's hearts. As the speech ended, all eyes turned toward the memorial stones before departing.

Ayako turned her head, glancing at her brother, and presented the flowers she held in her hand. She suggested, "Let's go pay respects to Okaa-san (mother) and Otou-san (father) before heading home, Hikaru-kun."

Hikaru gave a silent nod as he accepted the flowers; they looked similar to white lilies, recalling them from memory. Often chosen as sympathy flowers, lilies symbolize a loved one's spirit and offer hope and encouragement to a grieving family.

The nearby staff had initially distributed the flowers, so he saw that everyone in the vicinity had the same ones as him. After the others had paid their respects, he followed his sister to the memorial stone, carefully placing the flowers at the front.

"Okaa-san, rest assured that I will look after Hikaru-kun; please don't worry." Ayako reassured her mother; tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, "Otou-san." She sniffed, and her voice trembled. "I will miss you."

Upon hearing his sister grieving for their parents, Hikaru found himself unable to hold back the tears streaming down his face. The memories of the boy whose life he now inhabited caused him immense emotional distress, tearing apart his soul.

Despite having just taken over the boy's body, he did not feel awkward at all, as all the emotions seemed to come naturally.

"Otou-san, a promise is a promise." Hikaru quietly reassured the young boy's soul that, whatever the reason for his presence here, he was determined to become a skilled ninja and protect his family.

After paying respects for a while, Ayako decided it was time to go back. "Let's go home, Hikaru-kun," she said.

Hikaru turned to look at his sister and replied, "Yeah, home." As he followed his sister, the path to home remained unknown to him, as he had not yet consolidated all his memories.

Even though the new memories were still a bit hazy, he still retained all his past life memories. This should be an advantage to living in this world. Hikaru used to read all the stories in this manga; even though he did not remember every detail, he remembered the important ones.

The next events should be Orochimaru's defection, which could happen anytime soon, and the Uchiha Massacre, which is years away.

'There is no point in thinking too far ahead; I really need some sleep first.' Hikaru reminded himself as he began to feel fatigue throughout his body.

Before leaving the area, Hikaru turned around and gave a final look at the memorial stone before whispering to himself, "Hopefully, I don't have to come here again anytime soon."

Looking back at his sister, Hikaru could not help but raise his voice and walk quickly to catch up with her.

"O-nee Chan, please wait for me!"