"I apologize for anything and everything I've ever said about you, God," I thought to myself as I opened the door to my home. I had the smart idea to try running and jumping through the village using Chakra, hoping that muscle memory would take over. Well, it both did and did not at the same time. My first jump barely got off the ground; my second jump had me once again landing back-first on a wall. I then realized that because the movement of ninja in this world relied mainly on Chakra, I probably wouldn't be able to properly control my Chakra output until I activate my powers and dormant memories. Then I realized another thing. Where do I live?
I panicked, I mean, how do I go about explaining that to anyone? "Oh yeah, I've been living here for my entire life, and surprise! I don't know where I live!" How would that even work? Fortunately, like a divine revelation, a sharp warmth permeated through my brain, and I just knew where my house was. That led me on a short fifteen-minute walk to my home. The clock read two fifteen pm, and a sigh released all the tension in his body. The only really annoying thing was the constant flashing in my vision. It had persisted ever since it started. Through every blink, every crash, it blinked consistently, with no indication of stopping. And Ōtsutsuki knows I was tired of seeing it. I tossed my small bag of school supplies and sat on the couch. Staring at the flashing power button, I gulped and mentally pressed it. At first, nothing happened. The chirping of birds and the occasional noises of a populated neighborhood rang out like usual, and then it hit me.
Searing heat hijacked my brain enough to make me crumple in my seat. The pain was unbearable. My brain felt as if it were melting and freezing over and over. After a grueling ten seconds, I was fortunate enough to lose consciousness. As I waded in what felt like water, the darkness played a video around me. It was slow at first, showing a child with carrot-orange hair tossing a ball to another orange-haired person. A woman who resembled the boy on the ground. Many of their features might as well have been copied and pasted onto one another. I blink, and now that adult is shaking- is that Kankuro? Kankuro of the sand, Kankuro? I blink again, and it is Kankuro carrying the boy. They were both crying in front of a pair of graves—one of them freshly dug beside the other. It read, "Chim-" and I blinked again.
To summarize what was a lifetime of memories and information, Genji Chimasa, well before I took over, was recently orphaned by a sickness that had claimed his mother, Hatsue. His father, Soma, had died nearly a decade before in a skirmish with bandits. It was kind of funny. He was skilled enough to survive the fourth shinobi world war, where gods were fighting, but was weak enough to die at the hands of a mere bandit? Well, maybe that's exactly why he died, complacency. Kankuro was a classmate of Hatsue and a long-time friend. Basically, he's Genji's godfather.
Most of the memories after my parents were basically my likes and dislikes, and important events in my life, like meeting my best friend, Yuko, or Yu-Yu. We have been childhood friends forever. Luckily, Genji and my personality were essentially the same, so I don't have to worry about that.
As the memory of just before my consciousness awakened in this body appeared, finally bringing an end to Genji's memories, flames slowly surrounded me. Even in this weird spiritual space, my senses were acutely aware that touching fire is a terrible idea. As the flames licked my hands, I felt the same in my head that got me here in the first place.
Speedily, the fire engulfed me, and the familiar sensation of searing heat and pain etched itself in my mind once again. This pain, however, caused my eyes to fly open in the real world. The pain had immediately receded when I opened my eyes, and the next sensation I felt was the bitter cold pool of sweat I was currently lying in. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of my room. Scanning my surroundings, I scoffed. My room, if I could call it that, was an utter disaster area.
Clothes and cloth armor were all piled into one corner of the room. A bunch of books, scrolls, and journals were messily thrown about on both my bed and the desk that was nearby. Wooden Kunais, shurikens, and a multitude of practice weapons littered the floor, well, from where I could see anyway. Biting the bullet, and in an effort to see more of the room, I lifted my head ever so slightly. Where I thought I would feel the pulsing of a migraine, I instead felt nothing. My mind was so clear, in fact, that it felt like I could give ten speeches without making a mistake once.
"Well, I can see that you're awake now, kiddo." Said a familiar voice to my side. Pushing up on my arms, I looked to the right, and a tall, brunette man was literally a breath away from my face. He gave me a grin that chilled me to the bone. Well, jokes on him, I screamed so loud that I'm sure that if I didn't rupture his eardrums, I at least did mental damage to him. He stumbled back, hitting the light switch on the wall, and there in all his 180cm glory was Kankuro. He was without his usual makeup and wore a casual black shirt and loose pants to match. "Jeez, Genji! Why are you screaming like that?"
"What do you mean!?" I scream back. "You were just sitting there in the dark while I was sleeping in my room? What is wrong with you?"
"I'll have you know I'm the reason you're even in your bed right now!" Kankuro pointed at me accusingly. "I even put your clothes away and made you dinner!"
I stared at him—a man who has taken care of me for almost the entirety of my life. Even now, he takes care of me. I stood in my bed and leaned forward, my arms open to Kankuro. The look of love and recognition in his eyes as he leaned forward, and then the look of fear as he saw my eyes filled with rage. With my memories unlocked, I fully understood my body's capabilities: no more overjumping, no more misfires. I tucked my arms into my stomach, pushing Chakra into my toes. I went into a tight somersault and kicked my foot out into his stomach. His body hit the wall with a grunt as he was completely caught unaware.
"Hey, old man?" I slowly walked up to my loving Godfather, fire in my eyes. "Why are you in my house?" Kankuro, realizing his mistake, put his hands up in surrender, trying not to look fearful of a twelve-year-old who wasn't even an official ninja yet. What I would like to say is that a couple of minutes later, I had thrown the intruder out while he complained the entire time, but Kankuro just ran around the house, just out of my reach.
When our futile game of tag ended, it was barely seven pm. I had settled into a chair, eating the curry that Kankuro had made for me. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I was kinda impressed, but there was no way I was going to let this guy hear that. As if he could read my thoughts, Kankuro flashed me a pompous grin. Yeah, I would never tell him.
Kankuro put his chin in his hands, observing me. It was a subtle change, but I understood it. He was here for a reason, not just to check up on me. "You know," Kankuro began, "You don't have to be a ninja." Hearing him say this caused me to raise an eyebrow at him. "It's just that you know Gaara and I talk, and he tells me about how you do in class." Kankuro's voice faded as I fell into my own thoughts.
Realization dawned on me as I thought, "He thinks I'm fooling around too. Damn, I wish I could argue, but I was being stupid before I was conscious." I wanted to convince him that I'll be better, but I didn't know how. It was so aggravating! So Frustrating!
"Your practical grades are great. But your effort in learning ninjustu and taijustu, and even your Chakra control, is lacking. I don't even want to talk about your weapon skills." Kankuro paused, looking into my eyes. I hadn't tried to rebut him, but I was ashamed. Ashamed that I couldn't fulfill his expectations. So much so that he's trying to alter my career path. I was spiraling, and it showed. I didn't even see when Kankuro had wrapped his arms around me, pushing my head into his shoulder. My body heaved with little sobs as Kankuro awkwardly patted my back in an effort to comfort me.
A slow ten minutes went by as I took deep breaths to calm myself. My more mature mind knew that this was immature of me, but the hormones from an adolescent's body are strong. I slowly pushed Kankuro away, standing up in turn. He was kneeling on one knee, barely taller than me. Putting my hand out, I looked into Kankuro's eyes. I tried to make my determination show outwardly on my face as I said, "Kankuro, please believe in me. I'll pass the test."
Kankuro stared at me, face deadpan. Then he burst into laughter. My hand faltered as he keeled over. As he began to wheeze, my fingers slowly curled into a fist. When he was on all fours and coughing, I drove my fist into the top of his head.
"Hey! What was that for!?" He screamed, rubbing his head.
Glaring at him, I yelled back, "Well, you listen, old man. I'm going to become a ninja that's so strong, you'll always have to take me seriously!" Not wanting to talk with this idiot anymore, I stomped off back to my room and shut the door. It was time to make good on this promise.