I opened my eyes to a long-forgotten sensation. Everything was blurry. I couldn't feel my limbs, and my head felt heavy…
I had forgotten what the first reincarnation felt like—but this was it. I was living it again.
[Ren... A heads up would have been nice]
I heard Sys's voice but Sleep crept in fast, so I closed my eyes. I was a baby now, and babies need rest. I'd check on her and my surroundings once I woke up.
---
Some Days Later
I'd started staying awake more often now, which was great. But there was a problem…
My damn hair is silver.
Of course it is. It had to be silver—just to mess with me. I reincarnated myself to get some rest. I was tired, you know? Of everything. But no—of course this had to happen.
I don't even know why it's silver. Neither of my parents have this hair color. It was the same last time too. My previous parents didn't have silver hair either, yet somehow, I did. It hadn't been a problem then—but now?
Yeah, it's a problem. Silver hair is way too noticeable.
I figured out my silver hair thanks to Sys. And technically, I could use Cell Manipulation to change the color to a less noticeable one, but… first, I don't have enough chakra for that and second, I hadn't even unlocked my chakra yet.
The only upside was that no hair had visibly grown out yet. No one knew I had silver hair, so I could still fix it before it became a problem.
I closed my eyes and focused inward, reaching for the pitiful trickle of chakra within me. Compared to what I used to have… this was just sad.
Still, I'd expected this. Reincarnation always came with a reset. I coped.
I focused harder. No baby should be able to control chakra this early, but I wasn't just any baby. I had years of experience. Plus, the passive skill [Rikudo Sannin's Chakra Network] meant all my tenketsu were already unlocked. It made chakra control a lot easier—even in this squishy little body.
Still, I didn't have enough to make a permanent change. Instead of altering the natural color of my hair entirely, I decided on a temporary fix—manually "dyeing" it black every day using chakra.
Maybe not the most efficient way, but hey, I'm working with what I've got.
And… done.
Haa… that took more out of me than I expected. But at least now I could rest easy.
I tried to wipe the nonexistent sweat from my forehead, but my baby arms were too short and I just ended up smacking my own cheek. I needed to do something about this... later. For now, I'm just gonna rest. I'm tired...
But the universe wasn't done messing with me. A stunning woman swooped in and lifted me out of the crib like I was Simba. "My beautiful baby! Did you miss Mama?" she beamed.
I didn't. At all.
You ruined my nap! I'm just gonna forget you now. Goodbye.
"Gagauwa!"
...Damn my vocals. That's why I don't talk much. I can't talk. I should probably fix that with Cell Manipulation too—but again, not enough chakra.
I can already see this becoming a recurring problem in this life... though, not really. Cell manipulation can expand my body's chakra holding capacity, Yeah, it's a broken skill but it costed twelve million, so I think it's fair.
[Ren, I still don't understand, why did you reincarnat yourself as well? Just Reincarnating 'Him' should have done it right?]
Sys's voice echoed, just like always. It reminded me that I am never alone in anything, not even in reincarnation. And that sometimes gives me what it takes to keep going...
As for what she asked... there were two reasons. First one, 'He' is still a baby. I need him to grow up before I start working. And, since I had quite a lot of time, I decided to create a stable identity in this world by Reincarnating.
As for the second reason, I... wanted a rest, from everything. And childhood is the best place for that.
---
[Some time later]
Can't I rest in peace? Why do everyone just keep being noisy?
"It has to be Rikuto Enma!" a confident male voice rang out but to my ears, it was just annoying.
"Why do you want to give him such a dark name? It should be Haruki, bright and beautiful, not Rikuto!" a woman's voice rang back, equally annoying.
I just want to sleep, but why do these two keep trying to disturb me? Go away, you bastards.
Sparks flew as I watched my new father and mother glaring at each other. It almost looked like an epic showdown. Almost.
"Haruki is a good name, Haruna, but he is a boy. While boys can also have bright names, I imagine my son to be someone great, someone who can cause fear on the battlefield, and Haruki isn't the name for that."
"But, b-but," my mother fumbled.
"Besides, you just want him to have a name similar to yours, no?"
"Wha—T-that's not true..."
"It's not?"
"Uh... but Rikuya..."
"It's fine, Haruna. I understand you wanting to give him a similar name to yours, I even think it's cute."
"C-cute?"
"Hm. However, I want our son to have a more... dashing name, similar to a dashing person like you. How about this: we name him Rikuto, and when we have a second child, we can name him Haruki or any other you want. How about that?"
"S-second child..? Yeah, t-that sounds... nice." My mother slowly hugged my father before closing her eyes, enjoying the moment.
While I wanted to vomit. Seriously.
---
[Somewhere, Far Into the Past]
"You need to grab the rock like this—" Kaito showed me the way he held the flat rock.
"Then, you twist your wrist like so and throw it!" He swung his arm.
The rock flew across the river water, bouncing almost eight times before it sank.
"Damn! You just broke your own record!" I shouted, standing up.
"Haha, well, it was nothing. Hehe."
I glared at Kaito. Now I would have to go for eight too to beat him... this jerk.
"Give me a rock!" I asked, then grabbed one myself before he could even move.
"Be careful not to hurt yourself."
I ignored him and focused. I got into the same position as him before swinging my arm with as much force as I could. The rock splashed five times before it sank.
"Oh? That was actually pretty good." I heard Kaito, but I only felt rage.
That wasn't even six—Kaito's first record. And I had to get eight! Urgh...
I glared at Kaito again, who just smiled before I picked another rock. This time, I made sure to pick an even flatter one.
"Haha... Just like always, it almost feels like you have done this before."
I looked at him for a second, then down at the rock in my hand.
I have done this before.
With Hayato...
I squeezed the rock a little as faded memories surfaced. Those were... good times.
Funny how memories don't rot even when people do.
"...Um... Ren?" I got startled and dropped the rock.
I turned to see Kaito looking at me with concern.
"What were you thinking?" he asked, making me fidget.
"Nothing, let's get going!" I took a step before he stopped me.
"Wait, did you forget about our bet?" he said, and I immediately stepped back to my previous position, grabbing the rock I threw earlier.
"Don't you worry, I'll get that eighth-bounce." I threw the rock and...
Five.
Kaito chuckled. I looked at him. He laughs a lot—and sometimes, it's just annoying. He covered his mouth seeing me glare, trying to hide his face.
Haha... Look at this idiot. Heh, seriously... Uh... why am I laughing like this? I didn't get my brother's habits, right? Hopefully not.
I looked at the far-stretching river and narrowed my eyes. Locked in.
I was gonna get that eighth-bounce.
...
Why? Why am I not able to get it? Is it because I'm lacking strength? Sure, I'm just seven, but technique should make it possible, no? It's just eight. Or is eight... a lot?
"Damn it." I searched for another rock. My brother sighed behind me.
"Ren, we should go back. Mother must have prepared breakfast by now."
I looked at him, then down at the rock I just found.
I heard him sigh again. "Okay, so, here is what we're gonna do instead. You already got seven bounces, just one short of me. Considering your age and slightly lower strength than me, let's call the bet even. What do you say?"
He pulled out a coin and showed it to me.
I looked at it for a second, then smiled. "Deal." I grabbed the coin from his hand.
As I walked ahead, looking at the coin, Kaito called out, "Did you forget your end of the bet?"
I paused, then turned back a bit embarrassed. "You want it now?" He nodded.
I sighed and walked toward him. He grabbed me from below and lifted me onto his shoulders. One leg on each side.
I held onto his head, looking down. It was high up. I never realized how tall adults seemed to kids.
"Okay, let's go home now," Kaito said.
"Sure, let's go," I replied, staring at the coin in my hand.
I got money and a ride home. That's why you love childhood. You're only on the receiving end during that.
In a heartbeat, we reached home. It would've taken longer if I had to walk, but with the royal treatment I received, it didn't take long.
The four of us ate breakfast together. Afterward, my father and brother left for the fields. My mother started doing housework, leaving me alone with nothing to do but get bored.
I wasn't allowed to go to the village—not alone at least. My silver hair made that troublesome as I stand out too much. If I had a skill to dye them... That would've been nice, But I had no luck in that regard.
Normally, when I have nothing else to do, I loiter around the house, stare at the clouds, take a walk nearby, or just go to sleep.
Normally.
Not today.
I waited in a corner patiently, and within half an hour, my mother finished her chores.
She stood up, stretched, then looked at me with a smile.
"Ready to head to the village?" she asked.
I smiled and ran toward her.
She patted my hair, then pulled up my hood. It was ragged but covered my hair and hid my face a bit.
Perfect.
"Okay, shall we?" she said, pinching my cheeks.
I pushed her hands away and nodded.
She stood, made me hold her finger, and we walked off.
Our house was on the village's outskirts. The village wasn't big, so even with that, we arrived at what could be loosely called a market.
There were only two shops. Yep, just two. Imagine the profits without competition!
They were the only authorized shops—a result of how people paid taxes here. That's why no one else opened one.
But now wasn't the time to think about that. I pulled my mother to the smaller shop and tried to look at the stall's items, but they were too high up.
I looked at my mother and Thank God she understood without me saying anything as She lifted me up.
Actually asking her to do that? Yeah, not happening.
There was only one thing I wanted, and my eyes locked onto it right away: a light blue flower that looked like a blue sunflower. The edge of its petals were darker, making it incredibly beautiful.
It was also one of the cheapest things on the stall. Beautiful, but useless. In this world, usefulness outweighed beauty.
I took out the coin Kaito gave me and handed it to my mom, pointing at the flower.
"You want that? Where'd you get this coin?" she asked.
I nodded to the first question and ignored the second. No time to explain. Thankfully, she didn't press.
I got the flower and... grew skeptical.
This was for my father.
And, well... it's awkward.
---
A/N: Most should realise by now, this fic will switch between timelines. I tried making it as clear as possible and it would be even more clear now since the future Ren would be called Rikuto from now...
Anyways, just wanted to inform you that after I post 6th chapter, the schedule would change and it would be 2 chapter/Week.
Yeah, quite a lot of chapters right? Sorry but that's how it would happen. It takes time creating these, at least for me, it takes time.
Still, I'll be able to post 6th chapter today and even 7th could also be posted, maybe Tommorow or the day after but it should be ready, the 8th will start taking time though...
Anyways, hope you like the chapter, Goodbye.