Orphanage of Konoha
It had been a few days since Tsuyu was reborn. She felt anxious about her new world. Recent experiences told her this world was even more dangerous than the last. They had Godzillas! She could only hope there were weapons of equal power to handle them. If they had achieved spatial magic, surely there were offensive spells just as powerful.
'Can't I have my peace?' A tired sigh echoed in her heart. It felt like a waste of effort; despite how hard she had tried, she had still died, and worse - she had still been reincarnated.
'Damned Being X. I knew it. You threatened me with the idea that I wouldn't reincarnate, but you did it anyway. A god who lies? Ha'.
She was placed in a large baby crib. Next to her was an annoying bundle of trouble. Too loud. Noisy. Annoying. Her ears hurt. She looked over at Naruto, her supposed "brother." He was playing with a rattle, giggling happily for no reason. Tsuyu felt annoyed and snatched the rattle from him, scolding him in baby language.
"Ann! Ann!" (Shut up!)
"Uwaa...!" Naruto cried instead and clung to Tsuyu like a parasite, trying to take the rattle back.
"Annn!" (Take it! Just shut up!) Tsuyu stuffed it back into his hand.
'Why are they putting me with him! This is torture!' Tsuyu could only complain in her heart.
...
Rattle, rattle. Naruto was happily giggling, playing with his toy. She could understand that was the only source of stimulation. In fact it was more bearable for her to hear anything while she was trapped in this baby crib.
Naruto played for minutes, until he seemed to get tired and stopped. She couldn't help but cast a glance at Naruto, who was now quietly sucking on his pacifier. His chubby cheeks and big blue eyes caught her attention. For some reason, she couldn't help but poke his cheek. At least he was pleasing to the eyes as long as he stayed quiet.
Time went on almost slowly.
She still remembered the war, the people under her, the exhaustion, and the drain. Her comrades... what a waste it was that she was now gone. It felt like years of hard work was thrown down the drain, and he had to start from zero. No, zero was an understatement. She had to start from negatives.
However, she tried to anchor herself to her current reality. For now, she was safe, temporarily.
She looked at Naruto right next to her. Perhaps his presence gave her some evidence of normality - that everything was okay. She guessed she could get used to him. A year passed. Naruto was walking around, playing with other orphans. Tsuyu simply took a book and read them. She pretended to draw on paper like an idiot to maintain the facade of a child though, as she hated getting unnecessary attention from the caregiver. It was an annoyance. The familiar Japanese language made it easy for her to read and write again easily, which she was the only good thing about this reincarnation.
While she was busy with her own thoughts and worries about the future, Naruto suddenly approached her and plopped down on his knees.
"...mnn! Tsu..."
Tsuyu's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him.
"Tsuyu!"
"...Your first word. Yes. I am Tsuyu. You are Naruto."
A hint of an imperceptible smile appeared on her lips. Not bad... I guess. It was a weird feeling, to see this little helpless thing grow up and now could speak too.
Naruto clung to her like a parasite, which really annoyed her. But perhaps she found him to be good company now.
'I am your little sister, but I am the adult, so you are my responsibility. Not caring would make me an irresponsible member of a functional society.' The reason was sound in her mind.
Neglecting a child that was essentially her blood sibling, while she had an adult mind made her an irresponsible person in any society. It would be best if she took control to raise a functional, healthy, and giving member of this world. Being orphans was already a risk to healthy mental development, and then there was the fox monster inside them. Reluctantly, she accepted the need to take charge; she considered it an investment.
Four years had passed since the night of the Kyuubi attack. These past four years could only be described as dull - repeating the same routines and pretending to act like a normal child. Tsuyu had come to understand the world she lived in now through chatting with the caretaker and reading any books she could have her hands on.
The soldiers, called Shinobi, utilized a power source called "chakra" to create various techniques called jutsu. She equated this to how she had used mana and magic in her previous life.
As for the "monster" sealed inside her and her brother seemed to be inactive; there was no sign of its presence. She could almost forget that a Fox-zilla was in fact inside her body.
"Tsu-chan! Come on! Stop reading and join me!" Naruto screamed into her face, pouting in his giddy posture.
Her brother, as usual, tried to bother her despite her efforts not to indulge in his antics.
"Nii-san, you can always play with Nawako and Tenji. I prefer reading." Tsuyu didn't even bother to look at Naruto, continuing to read Socioeconomics of the Land of Fire.
Thankfully, at her request, the staff were decent enough to bring new books to the orphanage from the village library. Her stay wasn't all bad, except for the fact that she wanted better food and personal space away from noisy brats—especially her own sibling, who seemingly had infinite energy.
"Tsu-chan is so boring!" Naruto headed off to play.
Tsuyu looked out the window and saw Naruto throwing toy shuriken and kunai at practice targets with his friends.
"Yosshaaa!! Bullseye!" Naruto jumped in excitement.
Yes, throwing imitations of deadly weapons as a game for children. This village was raising soldiers through systematic approaches, glorifying war as "serving the nation."
She also noticed how there was a bit too many orphans here, and there were too little adopting over the years of observation. She concluded it was the night the orange fox-zilla attacked, and caused many to lose their parents and families.
Tsuyu returned her gaze to the book. The Hokage - the highest "General of the Armies" - managed the village along with a council. The main income came from mercenary commissions and funds from the Daimyo. In short, it was a meritocracy.
Nonou, the director of the orphanage, read a letter from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, stating that Tsuyu and Naruto would end their stay and live on their own. Nonou, an ex-member of ANBU, knew their status was special.
In the evening, the children gathered. Even though the food lacked variety, the stale bread and soup still filled Tsuyu's belly.
Nonou spoke, "Naruto, Tsuyu, tomorrow you two..." She hesitated, looking at Naruto. She wasn't worried about Tsuyu, feeling reassured by the girl's independence.
"What is it, Mother?" Naruto asked with his mouth full.
"You two will live on your own from tomorrow onwards. You have grown up and can be independent."
"Huh... but why?"
"Don't worry, Naruto. You will be given everything you need. Besides, you can always visit."
Tsuyu mulled over the order. She did prefer having her own space, but letting four-year-olds live without a guardian was not normal, even for a military village. She was certain it was connected to the Fox inside them.
"I understand, Mother," Tsuyu said shortly.
"Take care of your brother, Tsuyu." Nonou added.
Tsuyu nodded. Naruto, however, seemed annoyed. "I don't need my little sister to take care of me! I am the brother!" No one cared about his retort.
The next morning, the siblings were led to an apartment complex. It was well-furnished with two separate bedrooms.
"Haha! We get our own house! I love this!" Naruto jumped onto the bed.
"It does feel better. Finally, I can breathe," Tsuyu commented. Finally she could get away from interacting with those children. After settling in, she took the package containing their monthly stipend.
"400 Ryo..." She planned to figure out the living costs first.
"Waa! So much money! Tsu-chan, let's get meat!" Naruto tried to snatch the money.
"No. I will hold the money. We need a proper budget plan. You can't even do basic division; you would be cheated out there," Tsuyu said coldly.
After a long argument, Tsuyu agreed to a treat to shut him up. As they walked through the shopping district, Naruto wanted everything he saw. Tsuyu's ruthless "No" denied him at every turn. 'Is this what parenting looks like?' she wondered. It's as if this is a part of Being X's plan to torture her.
She listed prices in her mind, set aside emergency funds, and budgeted for utilities. She understood Maslow's hierarchy of needs; a little luxury was necessary for morale.
"Alright, let's get something sweet. Go ahead, pick what you want." She said with a little reluctance.
"Yay! Tsu-chan, let's go!"
Two weeks passed as the siblings get into a comfortable routine. Naruto would visit the orphanage every single day to play. One day, Naruto mentioned that "Mother" (Nonou) had suddenly left Konoha to visit relatives, and there was a new director. Tsuyu didn't think much of it until Naruto came home looking pale.
"I am home..." His voice was off.
"What is it, Nii-san?" She looked up with a frown, her eyes shifted from the newspaper to him.
"The orphanage... it's closed. The notice says they moved, but... I don't know where, and I can't find them! I search the entire village!"
Tsuyu stopped reading. She squinted her eyes. Something didn't feel right. She felt something bad was going to happen - or perhaps it already had.
***
Base of Root Organization
"Danzo-sama, here is the report. We have taken the suitable candidates. Unsuitable candidates have been taken care of."
Danzo nodded. He had sent Nonou to spy on Kumogakure and to assassinate a "traitor" - cleaning up those who knew too much. For the sake of the village, he would do whatever it took.
"I will go and see the seedlings." Danzo walked into the darkness of the Root.
Danzo looked at the reports, of small conflicts and turmoils outside of Konoha. He frowned, feeling exasperation over Konoha's situation.
'We need to unite the village...' He decided it was time to start the plan. To do that, the village needed a source of unity - and nothing was easier than a common hate.
"Suzume," Danzo called. A masked operative appeared.
"Proceed with the plan to spread rumors regarding the Jinchuriki. Only that boy Naruto." Tsuyu was spared because it was strategic. A secret that even most higher ups didn't know - that Konoha had two jinchurikis from split 9 tails. This was their hidden blade and Konoha would make use of this advantage.
For the sake of Konoha, the shadows began to brew.