Reborn as a Nara

ten

C H A P T E R       1 0
— Almost a Training Montage

Sometimes, Shirayuki didn't know what to think.

Her thoughts were weird, at times they were sharper than a freshly polished kunai while other times, it was just dull to the point of no return. The annoying buzzing she had, the constant drowsiness she grew up with, and finally meeting Naruto and trying to fully accept that she was reborn into a fictional world. These are all the thoughts that are in a constant battle with each other inside her mind.

Logically speaking, she knew she had died and had long since come to terms with it. She was reborn into a new world, with new parents, new family, and new friends. A world unlike her old one, she knew it all but perhaps, Shirayuki thought, she still hasn't fully come to terms with forgetting her identity as Anastasia Walker.

Naruto clinging onto her, his hand clutching hers tightly and plastering his body close to hers. He could be mad, just accept it and move on, or maybe he would be understanding of her plight but of course, he wasn't. Naruto was a hero, a Shounen manga protagonist. They don't make them like this in her old world, people like Naruto just don't exist. They're the type that you'd see in Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, fictional heroes.

And yet Naruto was real and he existed.

He was the type of person who'd take a fatal strike for a stranger and just smile, and ask if you're alright afterwards. He'd smile for the whole world to see because no one else would, and worst of all, all his smiles were genuine. Shirayuki noticed him, it's quite difficult not to when the other boy radiated. He smiled at everyone, he'll scowl if he wanted to or pout when he needed to but his smiles were always bright and genuine, giving it out to everyone and anyone.

("That one, can't stand him. I charged him six times the price of my normal one, sending him running like the runt he is. Maybe he'll die from lack of nutrition.")

Smile even to those who don't deserve it.

That shout of his made her truly look at him for once, because for all that Naruto was a hero, Shirayuki realised that he was human. Just like her. The heartbroken look in his eyes, the hoarse shout that indicated he was on the verge of crying, and the fact that he instantly understood how insignificant she knew herself to be yet denied. He yelled, screamed, scolded, and then dragged her back.

("GIVE YOUR LIFE TO ME THEN!")

"Naruto, my hand is starting to hurt," Shirayuki stated bluntly, breaking the tense silence which had loomed over the group as they departed from the previous area. Naruto made a show of holding her hand tighter, making her wince slightly. He then stared at her with those big blue eyes of his, wide and searching. Shirayuki sighed.

"How long more until we reach, Tazuna-san?"

"About five minutes from now."

Sasuke stepped up beside her, "Hey."

"Hello."

"You—" Sasuke looked frustrated. Then, he clamped up and said, "Just don't slow me down with your self-worth issues. You'd be better without them."

What an awkward kid, Shirayuki thought.

Naruto scowled, "Don't say that to her, teme. Can't you be nicer?"

Sasuke looked away. "Shut up, usuratonkachi."

"How nice is it to see my cute, little genin getting along," Kakashi commented, coming up behind them. Shirayuki tilted her head upwards to stare at him, Kakashi looked down at her with a closed-eye smile. "It's good to have teamwork," he added.