NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 – The Start Of A New Day
The first thing that met Caleb as he awoke from the void of sleep was the tantalizing scent of freshly cooked bacon straight from the frying pan. He strained his ears and could just barely make out the sound of the sizzling meat and hear the crackle and pop of the oil as breakfast was being prepared. He didn’t waste too much time as he quickly and quietly made his way towards the bathroom making sure to wash his face and hands when he was finished. He had been told it was impolite to head to the breakfast table without first washing his fands and face and since he didn’t want to be punished he made sure to always remember.
He stuck his head out into the hall way and could still hear someone messing around in the kitchen and since it was still so quiet in the house, that could only mean one thing. His brother was still sleeping.
Resigned to his fate he trudged up to his brothers room and gently knocked on the door before entering the room. The curtains where still pulled closed and the sound of soft snores could be heard from the lump under the covers. He tip toed over to the covers and puled them back to reveal his older brother still sleeping, his drool smeared all over his pillow.
No matter how much he poked and prodded at his brother nothing seemed to work and once more all Caleb could do was sigh in resignation. He had no other choice but to pull out the big guns. He didn’t enjoy doing it but there really wasn’t any other options. He climbed up unto the bed and lined everything up perfectly before leaping into the air. For a few seconds he floated in the air before tumbling down unto his unsuspecting brother.
“Wake up Oni-San!!” Caleb shouted just for good measure as his brother stirred awake. He clenched unto his stomach in pain and confusion at first clearly unsure as to why he was awoken with such a violent method before his eyes zeroed in on Caleb. He sighed and shook his head before reaching out to lift Caleb into the air.
“Keitaro what’s wrong, why are you attacking me in my sleep so early in the morning?” Caleb, no Keitaro was gently placed unto the floor as his older brother rolled out of bed and stretched.
“Dad’s cooking breakfast so you need to get up Oni-san”
“Oh is that so I guess I better hurry and get ready then right?” His brother smiled down at him before making his way towards the bathroom. Keitaro hung around in his brothers room waiting for him to finish washing up so they could go to breakfast together. He didn’t have to wait too long before his brother once more made an appearance and quickly got ready for breakfast.
“Hurry up Oni-san, or I’ll eat all the breakfast up!” Keitaro swiftly made his way out of his brothers room before his brother could catch him. Knowing him it wouldn’t be long before he ended up curled up on the floor at his brother mercy as he tickled him in revenge for waking him up.
The two quickly made their way towards the kitchen laughing all the while until they turned into the kitchen. As Keitaro rounded the corner he bumped into something and ended up falling to the floor. He rubbed his aching nose before looking up at the man looming over him. No mater how many times he saw him it still sent a cold shiver down his back as to how large his father was. A massive wall of muscle standing at around 6’8” and covered in hair form head to toe. He wouldn’t even question it if someone told him his dad was part bear since he really did fit the mold. That along with the fact that his actual name was Kuma only made it all the more ridiculous.
“I’ve told you two before to stop running around in the house, one of these days your going to hurt yourselves.” Kuma knelt down and pulled Keitaro to his feet. “And Kentaro as the older brother you should be the responsible one and wake up early, your brother shouldn’t have to keep waking you up when you keep sleeping in late , am I understood?” Both boys lowered their heads in defeat before apologizing to their father.
“It’s alright. Any way go ahead and start eating I have to head off early for a mission today so I might be late getting home okay? I left some money on the counter for you two to get some lunch and if I’m not back before supper then Kentaro, take your brother and head on over to the ramen place you two like and have your supper there.” Kuma didn’t wait for a response before he dropped the apron he had been wearing over the kitchen counter, switching it out for his Leaf headband protector. There was a flicker and then he was gone.
Keitaro kept staring at the spot his father had just disappeared from in fascination even when his older brother had already begun to stuff his face with the meal.
Three years had passed since Caleb now Keitaro had been reborn or reincarnated. Which one? He honestly wasn’t sure but in the grand scheme of things it didn’t really matter all that much. It had been a shock to realize he was a baby and it had been an even bigger shock when he finally realized where he had been reborn. Right smack-dab in the middle of the village hidden in the leaves.
Three years later and he still found it hard to accept that he was reborn into the world of Naruto, but it was his new reality and as was his norm he had simply decided to roll with it.
Yet even though very little time had actually passed, there was a lot of things that he’d had to think about. In his last life if there was one thing that had been branded into his bones, it was the knowledge and awareness that one should always prepare for the worst to happen; and if things were going well then be especially weary for when things went to hell. And nothing seemed to have changed in this life either.
It had taken him only a few days to question why he hadn’t seen the beautiful lady that he had felt the all consuming warmth from at his birth. He had already come to the conclusion that she could have only been his mother and he had wanted to see her again. As a new born it was only logical for the new mother to spend as much time as she could with her new born child. Yet the fact that he hadn’t seen her and had been bottle fed from day one could only mean that she was no longer in the picture. He only confirmed his assumptions the day he had been taken home and saw the small memorial for her.
It had saddened him greatly, In his first life his mother had fled town wanting nothing to do with him and in his new life before he could even appreciate his mothers love she had already passed on. He was saddened but he also was afraid. If his last father had abused him simply because his then mother had skipped town, what would his new father do to him knowing that his birth was most likely the reason for his mothers passing? Many nights had been spent thinking about how his new family would take out their frustrations on him. That was until he had met his brother.
He had been laying in his cot being as quiet as possible. He made it a habit not to cry or make unnecessary noise. The only time he cried out was when he needed to be changed. He didn’t even make noise when he was hungry, only eating when his father gave him a bottle to suckle from. The less of a hassle he was the less likely his father would grow annoyed with him in the future.
That day he was especially hungry and no matter how much he tried to ignore the hunger it wouldn’t go away. Thankfully his father had been out so he was free to cry all he wanted and cry he did. He was frustrated at the fact that nothing seemed to have changed, a new life had been given and yet here he was still walking on egg shells around a man he was sure would soon turn hostile the moment he managed to frustrate him enough. Another 18 years of torture seemed to once more be in his future and now that he was alone he just wanted to scream, and so he did.
He was so occupied with his crying that he didn’t even realize when the bottle had been shoved into his mouth. In confusion, he turned his head and locked eyes with his older brother. They stared at each other until his brother spoke to him.
“I promised mom that I would be a good big brother and love and take care of you, but since mommy isn’t here anymore I’ll love you enough for both me and mommy so you don’t have to cry anymore.”
For some reason those simply lines struck a cord in Keitaro’s mind and he just knew that no matter what if there was one person he could rely on, it would be his big brother. Three years had passed and at no point in time did that thought waver in the slightest. He still always did his best to be quiet around his father but when it was just him and his brother he didn’t hold himself back.
He'd already missed out on one childhood and he didn’t plan on holding back in this one in the slightest.
***
Kuma watched as his two sons ate breakfast, laughing and playing around as they ate. It brought a smile to his face that the two of them were so close. He had been afraid that his oldest son would hate his youngest for the death of his wife after she had spoken to him about the possibility of her not making through childbirth, but his fear was unfounded. The two were as thick as thieves and he doubted if anything would be able to come between the two.
He would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous that his baby boy never smiled at him the way he smiled with his brother but he’d already come to terms with the fact that his youngest just didn’t seem to like him to much.
At first he had been concerned at the fact that the boy hardly every cried but he’d eventually put it down to his second sons uniqueness. The boy didn’t change much in the following years and was always easy to deal with, was well mannered and really only spoke when spoken too. The boy even managed to potty train himself to both his astonishment and delight. Kuma still had nightmares of potty training his eldest son and to this day he wondered how something so putrid could come out of something so innocent. But as his second child grew older it became clear that he seemed to always be fearful of him. The fact that the boy called him Father and never ‘dad’ or ‘daddy’ was proof enough but Kuma couldn’t understand why.
Sure he was a pretty big guy and maybe his face could be scary at times but he made sure never to play with his shuriken or kunai where the boys could see him. Sure there was that one time that he’d accidently come home covered in blood but that had been one time! No reason for his son to be afraid of him right? Maybe he should shave his beard, though if he was honest with himself he’d always liked how full it was, plus he wasn’t fond of having to shave every day to keep a clean shaven face anyway.
Regardless he would do everything in his power to make his baby boy smile and laugh with him if it was the last thing he did. He still remembered the promise he had made to his wife as she lay in the hospital bed in her final moments. She was so distraught, not because she was dying, nor because of the pain that she would have had to have been in. No, she was distraught at the fact that she would be leaving him behind with two boys to raise on his own, she was devastated at the fact that she wouldn’t get to see her two boys grow into respectable men and that there wasn’t anything she could do to change that fact.
He still remembered her tear stained face as she handed him his youngest son. He had been such a tiny thing at the time and all the medical ninja had thought he wouldn’t had made it. Not only was he premature, but even his umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck during childbirth, It was like everything was stacked against him but the little guy kept fighting to live. His first cry had been loud and strong and yet as soon as he was in his mothers hands he snuggled up to her and smiled.
The last promise he made to the love of his life, was to ensure that both boys would be brought up with love and care. That they would want for nothing and that he would support them in everything that they did. A promise that he would ensure was never broken no matter if the Hokage himself stood in his way.
