Ch.2: Uzumaki Naruto! (Um…No, Not Really…) - 2 -

Being a civilian in a village full of ninja was terrifying.

Ever since Haruto met Aki and recovered the memories of her past life, her wariness was at an all-time high.

Now, whenever Haruto sat on a swing in the orphanage playground and watched the people passing by from a distance, she couldn’t help but wonder which of them were ordinary civilians or highly skilled murderers.

Ninja were trained killers with supernatural abilities who knew all kinds of excruciatingly painful and nasty ways to end your life.

Strangulation. Stabbing. Drowning. Crushing. Burning. - You name it, ninja could execute it.

And Haruto…Poor, poor civilian Haruto stood no chance.

If she was some kind of alternate version of Naruto, wouldn’t her parents be Minato and Kushina?

Instead, her parents were Kuzumaki Kenji and Takada Momoko. Two ordinary civilians. No Namikaze or Uzumaki blood, let alone any ninja lineage in sight.

But Minato still existed. What with his face still carved into a mountain and all. Did he just never have children in this universe?

And if Naruto didn’t exist, that would make Haruto…

Nonononononono. She could not be the Naruto of this universe! She could not be the main character in the center of danger! Absolutely not!

Especially since she knew of the many, many deadly enemies who were out there and of the perils to come.

If anyone got a whiff of her knowledge of the future, there was no doubt that she would be whisked away by Konoha’s T&I Department.

But as long as she kept her head down and showed absolute obedience, she would be left alone.

There was only one surefire way for Haruto to avoid all of these problems.

Stay a civilian. Work at a general store, farm, or bakery. Anything but becoming a ninja!

Yes. Right. That was a good plan.

And she will do her hardest to stick to it.

Yes. She absolutely positively will no matter what!

“Hey kids! Look what we brought today!”

The orphanage caretakers carried in packs of papers, passing them out to the children.

Once the children grasped the papers in their hands, they squealed excitedly.

Haruto’s hands trembled.

What she held was a death sentence neatly printed onto a piece of paper.

An invitation to enroll in the Ninja Academy.

There was a general description of what kind of education would be provided, just as Aki had described at the Hokage Tower. There were two checkboxes with “yes” and “no”. Simple enough for a bunch of five-year-olds to accept or refuse to enter the Ninja Academy.

The orphanage caretakers had taught the children that much about basic reading at least. They had to prepare them for schooling soon after all.

Haruto had already made her decision. - To hell with the Ninja Academy. Civilian School it is.

“I’m gonna be a ninja! It’ll be so cool!” One of the children shouted.

“That’s the spirit!” A caretaker ruffled the child’s hair.

Encouraging a child’s enthusiasm in becoming a hired mercenary. - A child soldier recruitment campaign at its finest. Whoopee.

Haruto rubbed at her arm with a thumb. Maybe…maybe she should say something to save these kids. “Um...I don’t think becoming a ninja is a good idea.”

Everyone turned to Haruto in shock. This was the most they had ever heard her speak.

“Ninja have to go out and fight big scary monsters and bad strong people. Remember the Fourth Hokage and how he had to fight the Kyuubi? Remember all those ninja the Kyuubi killed too? And what about when ninja have to fight other ninja?” Haruto gulped. “Wh-what if we die? What if we get killed like they did?”

Everyone went silent.

The jubilant air became charged with uneasiness.

One of the caretakers stormed up to Haruto, slapping her in the face. “How dare you speak of the Fourth Hokage and our village’s ninja in such a way?!”

Haruto’s cheek stung. She massaged it with her hand, wincing.

The caretakers declared, “You’re not going to die, kids! Konoha’s ninja are the best in the world! You’ll be heroes!”

The tense atmosphere gradually lifted as the children began to nod and murmur in agreement with the caretakers. “Y-yeah! We’ll be heroes! Just like the Fourth Hokage and all the other ninja!”

Adults’ reassurances meant a lot to the young.

Haruto said nothing more.

It was a hopeless cause.

Fuck. She was so bored.

Haruto lazily sprawled out on her bed.

What should she do? What should she do?

Hmmm…Maybe she should go study at the library.

The caretakers did provide the children with maps of the village recently to help them know their way to the Ninja Academy or Civilian School. The maps were even marked with important landmarks and locations where they could ask shinobi for help if needed.

Haruto couldn’t sit around watching cartoons and looking at picture books all day! With her newly acquired adult mind, she needed new reading material to stave off her boredom!

Even if she didn’t know enough for advanced reading materials yet, spending all her time inside the orphanage with nothing engaging to do was awful!

But the last time Haruto tried asking the orphanage caretakers for permission to go out into the village alone, they glared suspiciously at her and refused.

It wasn’t uncommon for children five years and older to walk through Konoha alone. Plenty went to the Ninja Academy and Civilian School without any adults accompanying them.

So really, the caretakers were just being unreasonable pricks.

If nicely asking for permission like a well-behaved child wasn’t going to do it, then Haruto’s only other option was to sneak out, of course.

Haruto stood at the bedroom doorway, turning her head left and right. All of the other kids were either playing outside or napping. No caretakers nearby either. They were all in the kitchen, their rooms, or elsewhere.

Good. No witnesses.

Haruto placed a pillow underneath her blanket, tucking in her turtle plushie, Mr. Tortimer beside it. That should fool everyone into thinking she was still in bed napping. But she doubted they were going to even check up on her. She had no roommates and had a bedroom all to herself because the caretakers didn't trust her around the other children.

Haruto grabbed her backpack, putting the village map and her pocket money into it.

Her feet crept along the floor, taking care not to make any loud sounds.

Once outside the orphanage entrance, she quietly closed the door.

No alarms.

No calls of “Haruto, come back here this instant!”.

Haha. Now Haruto won’t have anyone hovering over her and keeping her from discreetly reading books outside her age range.

Mission success!

Konoha was huge.

Haruto walked along the streets, marveling at the sights around her.

The manga and anime couldn’t possibly portray just how big it was in person.

This wasn’t just a movie set.

This was Konoha. The real Konoha!

Civilians and ninja walked alongside each other, people in casual clothing and others in flak jackets with their iconic forehead protectors.

These weren’t extras or actors, but the actual people of Konoha!

It was all so surreal.

As Haruto continued walking around, the adults made sure to keep their distance from her.

Huh. They must be used to giving space to children walking alone on the streets so as not to scare them. And they moved away from her so quickly too! How nice!

Then came one slight annoyance.

For Haruto to get to the village library, she had to pass by the one and only…

Ichiraku Ramen.

Ichiraku Ramen was a canon character hotspot.

There was no way she was going to go in there.

No matter how good the ramen smelled from a distance.

No matter how much her mouth watered.

No matter how hungry she felt once her stomach growled and she realized she hadn’t eaten lunch yet.

But even for good food, she will not falter!

She. Will. Not.

“Hi, there!”

Haruto jumped.

The middle-aged man from inside Ichiraku waved a hand at her, beckoning her to enter.

Shit! She’d been standing in front of Ichiraku for too long!

The man (Gosh, what was his name again? He was the guy who always served ramen to Naruto along with his daughter. Um…) waved at Haruto again. “It’s ok! I don’t bite! Come on in! I’ll make you a really tasty bowl of ramen for free!”

Nope! Not even free food can convince me to go in! - Haruto dashed away.

Haruto skidded to a stop in front of the Konoha Library, panting.

That-that was way too close!

But she’d made it to the library without further trouble. So everything was fine.

Haruto entered the library. Right in front was an assistance desk.

The librarian at the desk greeted Haruto cheerily. “Hello! Welcome, little one! How can I help-”

With one look at Haruto’s face, the librarian’s demeanor changed in an instant. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

“Um…I want to check out some books, sir.” Haruto fidgeted. “I’m-uh-I’m really bored and want to learn some new things here.”

“Bored, huh? Bored enough to want to cause trouble, you mean,” the librarian snarled.

Haruto frowned. “What? No! It’s just that I’ve finished reading everything at the orphanage and wanted to try some new books here!”

“No! No! You are not laying your filthy hands on any of my books!” the librarian shouted.

“Sir, please. I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong?” Haruto’s voice cracked. Just what was going on here? Had she broken some unspoken rule?

The librarian wasn’t fazed in the slightest. “Get. Out. Of. My. Library.” He brandished a broomstick. “NOW!”

Haruto shielded her head and face with her arms, quickly backing away. “Ok! Ok! I’m sorry! I’ll leave!”

She rushed out of the library.

Haruto’s feet dragged across the street.

She kicked at the dirt on the ground, angrily mumbling, “What was that all about? Just my luck that one of the librarians of the only library in Konoha is a prick. Fuck that guy.”

“Hey, you!” Someone grabbed Haruto roughly by the arm.

“Ow!” Haruto glared at the offender. “What’s the big idea?”

A civilian man stared into Haruto’s eyes with fury. “How dare you show your face around here?”

“What do you mean, sir? You must have me confused with someone else. I’m just a kid!” Haruto said.

The man laughed. “Just a kid? Just a kid?!” He tightened his grip on Haruto’s arm.

Haruto tried to pull away. “H-hey! Let me go!”

“How come you survived?” the man spat into Haruto’s face. “Just so you can be a backup for the monster?”

“How come?!” the man shouted. “How come my child had to die and you didn’t?!”

The man’s outburst caught the attention of passersby. A crowd gathered around him and Haruto.

Anger flared within Haruto. - First the librarian? Now this man?

“I don’t know what the hell you mean!” Haruto yelled. “I never did anything to harm your child! I’m just a kid! What could I even fucking do?! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“You little beast!” The man struck Haruto’s cheek.

Haruto was knocked to the ground. She let out groans of pain, curling into herself as her hands clutched her throbbing cheek. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She looked at the man who hit her in fear and disbelief.

The man didn’t appear remorseful about what he’d done at all, looking down at her with a satisfied smile.

Haruto looked around at the bystanders. - Why? Why wasn’t anyone coming to help her?

The bystanders stood in place, looking upon Haruto impassively.

Haruto gripped the straps of her backpack and got up to her knees in a daze. She started walking away.

“That’s right. Run away with your tail between your legs,” the man said with a chuckle.

The people in the crowd murmured to each other.

“Look at that little monster, causing a ruckus.”

“What a nuisance.”

“Eyesore.”

Haruto covered her ears.

Why were they saying these kinds of horrible things?

She glanced at the people around her.

Everyone’s expressions were…angry. Those eyes!

Stop looking at me like that! Stop looking at me like that!

Haruto quickened her pace.

“Is she going into the Ninja Academy or the Civilian School?”

“Don’t know. Hope she doesn’t go anywhere near my child.”

“Tch. She shouldn’t be allowed to become a ninja or a civilian. She should be kept in a cage where she belongs.”

Haruto felt herself being pulled into a downward spiral.

Her breathing turned erratic.

She couldn’t take it anymore! She just wanted this to end!

Stop!

Stop!

STOP!

Haruto ran.

It was then that Haruto understood the strange looks Aki-sensei and the orphanage caretakers directed at her for all these years.

Hatred.