A/N Guess what finally happened everyone! I caught up to Naruto, hell yeah! And in case anyone needed to know, the reason I haven't updated Butterfly Child is because I was catching up to Naruto and just like with One Piece, you guys can totally have another SI OC Naruto fic from me!
This time, I'm taking on the Aburame clan! Woo-hoo! But before that, let's start up the usual disclaimer and get that out of the way.
Disclaimer for whole story: I don't own Naruto or anything related to the Naruto franchise! I am in no ways Masashi Kishimoto, nor will I ever be! I only own my OCs, of which I have many—so do keep that in mind.
I am just a tired, weary college student who has just gotten out for the summer. Please do not sue me—I have nothing worth offering. Anyways, more information will be given in the ending A/N, so read on, my fellow readers!
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Aburame Shinjiro was someone who never held interest in romance or sex. It was something his clan never questioned him. His friends, however, did and when it came to their attention that Shinjiro had been promoted to Jounin at the age of seventeen, a celebration was to be held.
Shinjiro was by no means the first in his graduating class to reach Jounin, but he was the first on his team. Uzuki Tsukiya and Gekkō Shō had a plan in motion when they suggested what they felt was an appropriate celebration for their dear teammate, Shinjiro. To Tsukiya and Shō, appropriate to them was dragging their friend to the most popular brothel in the Red Light District.
The entire experience left Shinjiro waking up the next morning with a massive hangover, a sense of apathy in regards to his lost virginity despite his friends' congratulations, and adequate evidence in proving his disinterest in sex, which his friends have been questioning over the years. Overall, Shinjiro didn't really associate the event as anything significant and just let the memory fade like colored cloth in the sun.
It was safe to assume that he had nearly forgotten about his evening with a high-ranking courtesan until one late winter night, on the eve of the New Year, when his fling from the past left him with an infant in his arms.
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Monaka had been quite content with the prospect of being a mother. She had watched over the kamuro and aided the hikkomi with their training. That had once been her before she became an oiran after years of hard training. She had been admired—loved, even. It was a good life, certainly better than the one she had lived before her parents had sold her to a brothel.
It was her past life alone that had gave her an optimistic look on becoming a mother to the child she was carrying. She had no idea who the father was, but she could care less.
Then it came to her attention, an hour after giving birth, that her child was of shinobi heritage, as denoted by the developed chakra coils the child possessed. It was all explained to her by the medic-nin who tended to her. Monaka abhorred shinobi—she barely even tolerated medic-nin. And now this child that she had given birth to—one that she was willing to shower with love—was one of them…or will be, with the appropriate training.
Monaka had been planning on leaving the brothel she worked at for the sake of her child. Now…Monaka was having second thoughts. Was it worth it to give up everything she worked for just to care for this child?
Monaka thought long and hard about it before asking the medic-nin if it was possible to figure out the child's father. It was…with that new piece of information in mind, Monaka handed the medic-nin the infant before completely averting her gaze.
When asked by the medic-nin if something was wrong, Monaka simply said, "I don't want it."
"Maybe next time," Monaka thought to herself as the medic-nin walked out of the hospital room.
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Shinjiro had been initially shocked at the discovery that he was a father. Then he felt pity for his (his?) child, who was never planned to be, but came to be due to circumstances. His own mother at least wanted him and his younger brother…
Minutes passed and soon, Shinjiro felt something swell within his chest when a tiny hand latched onto his index finger. Slowly, a pair of yellow eyes opened up, blinking a few times as Shinjiro continued to stare.
"I made this…" the thought found its way into Shinjiro's mind. "I made this…"
He said it out loud that time, realizing what he was feeling was pride. Unlike the mother of his child, Shinjiro wanted this child—this little girl with yellow eyes and black hair. And when his daughter started crying (out of hunger, most likely), Shinjiro held the infant closely to his chest and started murmuring comforting words to her.
"There, there, Shiki…Otou-san is here." Shinjiro smiled tenderly at his recently named daughter, who had been nameless up until this very moment. The circumstances involving his daughter still saddened him…but Shinjiro wasn't going to let that get in the way of his parenting.
Shinjiro didn't do romance…but he could still love.
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Shiki…that's what he called her. To be honest, Shiki, as she was now apparently named, was confused…extremely confused. The last few hours have been one mind-boggling mess after another, if also a bit traumatizing—coming out of that woman was not fun. Speaking of that woman…where was she?
That woman had been so loving to her, when she was crying out of a mixture of fear, confusion, and instinct. She felt fear, out of the fact that everything had once been pure, warm darkness before changing into cold brightness. Confusion followed right after it upon realizing her current infant form. Everything else after that was pure instinct that only a newborn baby could have…that included the breastfeeding.
That woman was beautiful—or at least Shiki thought she looked beautiful. The vision of a newborn was not too good, so Shiki was unable to fully appreciate the beauty of the woman who had been singing to her, as she usually would have, were she not a newborn. Still, she was awestruck with what she could see before being lulled to sleep by the woman's gentle singing. That woman had a pretty voice, was what Shiki thought before falling asleep, feeling safe and warm.
That was all she remembered before waking up to find herself in the arms of someone she could distinctively tell was not of that woman's. She could tell he was staring at her, even though the sunglasses he wore masked his eyes. She, too, was also staring…and holding onto his finger—wow, her hand was tiny…
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"No duh, you're a baby…" she thought before an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach started bothering her. It was subtle, at first, but it quickly became irritable up to the point that she started crying.
It was during that moment when that man started talking softly in a language Shiki couldn't understand completely, only pulling out small bits of what he had said. This man…was her father. And it was only until he had started calling her Shiki that Shiki, herself, realized that woman never called her by anything.
"Where am I anyways?" That was a question that Shiki wanted to know, but would prefer to eat first because her rumbling stomach was irritating her.
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The next time Shiki woke up, having fallen asleep after being fed, she was fully aware of her situation…and it still baffled her. One day, she was just a typical college girl struggling to make it through the school year with some remaining money and good grades, the next…she found herself in pitch-black darkness. It was…pretty scary, but there was always a comforting voice there to talk to her. Sometimes, she heard music and singing.
Now, all she could hear was the soft breathing that came from the person sleeping right next to her—her father. He had been nothing but caring toward her since she had woken up and started crying. It certainly helped ease the idea that she had somehow been reborn and given a second chance at life. How the crap that even happened, she had no idea, which is why it baffled her—because in order for one to have a second chance, that meant something had to have happened for her to have garnered a new life.
Shiki wasn't complaining, though. She was, however, sad about the loss of her past life. But the way her father held her in his sleep made her safe and sound…
"Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth…" Shiki thought as she slowly drifted back to sleep, not paying much attention to the prickly sensation in her limbs.
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The next day brought Shiki into meeting a huge multitude of people who passed her around as they took the time to get acquainted with their new family member. Her father, Shinjiro, as she eventually gathered by the mostly incomprehensible babble she heard coming from people's mouths. Eventually, after all that was said and done, Shiki found herself back within her father's arms.
It had been pretty exhausting for Shiki, despite having done nothing at all. She pegged it down as a baby thing and called it a day when her father started feeding her again. So far, the baby life was good (minus the diaper part—not fun). It was still better than college.
Though, she still wondered where that lady, her mother, was. Why wasn't she here? Shiki didn't know. She also didn't know why her body felt so prickly. It wasn't uncomfortable, just—discerning at times. It certainly brought her back into reality when her mind began to wander.
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When Shinjiro introduced Shiki to his teammates a few days later, they didn't know whether to be surprised at the fact that Shinjiro actually had a child or the fact that he said, "I made this."
And he looked so damn proud, too.
"We can see that very clearly," Shō said, his eyes quite wide with shock.
Tsukiya was looking over Shiki for any similarities. "She definitely has her mother's eyes…everything else about her is all you."
"Speaking of her mother—where is she?" Shō had noticed the oiran Shinjiro had bedded nine months ago was absent. He had his speculations, but he wanted to hear it from Shinjiro.
Shinjiro held Shiki closely to his chest as he bluntly replied, "She did not want Shiki."
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"I guess it's a good thing that she takes mostly after you, then…" Tsukiya remarked after a minute of completely awkward silence.
"I am sorry…" Shō bowed apologetically to Shinjiro. "I didn't mean to bring up such a…I'll shut up."
Shinjiro shook his head. "It is fine…Shiki has me."
"I thought you didn't do love?" Tsukiya scratched the back of his head.
"I said I did not do romance—I never said anything about love…parental love." Shinjiro sure held a lot of it toward his daughter, who was currently sucking on her thumb.
"We never expected you to have a child," Shō pointed out.
"At least he's not like Yūhi-san." Tsukiya let out a puff of air. "I hear his daughter, Kurenai, is turning one, this year."
"Still trying to process that Shinjiro is a father…" Shō still couldn't believe it—even though the evidence was right there in front of his face. "You are seriously the last person I would ever expect to be a father."
"Who decided that it was appropriate to celebrate my Jounin promotion by going to a brothel?" Shinjiro eyed his teammates suspiciously.
"Yeah, you got us there…" Tsukiya sighed. "Sorry about that, by the way…we should have just listened to you and let you be."
"Ditto—I hope we weren't too pushy on you…" Shō looked rather awkward.
"I accept your apologies, but I do not mind, though…I got Shiki out of this." Shinjiro took the moment to smile tenderly at Shiki, who cooed back at him in response. "And I am very grateful for that, so thank you very much, by the way…I appreciate it, even if the circumstances were not exactly the best…"
"What are you going to tell her when she's old enough to ask?" Shō asked, taking a moment to look at Shiki, who was so blissfully unaware of the circumstances involving her birth.
"I might have to lie…" Shinjiro sighed. "I doubt I will be able to, though…"
"Shiki-chan is the bastard child of an oiran…" Tsukiya mused. "Gossip spreads like wildfire here…"
"What will you do?" Shō was growing concerned for his teammate.
"I will do everything to ensure that Shiki grows up without problem…" Happiness was essential for his daughter, Shinjiro thought to himself. "The Aburame clan does not discriminate based on heritage or background. Family is family…that is all that matters."
"Shiki is really lucky to have you for a father." Shō patted Shinjiro on the back. "So…how is she doing with the, you know…"
Shinjiro stared at Shō for a minute before nodded his head. "We are still observing her for any negative reactions to the kikaichū introduced to her body. Usually, members of the Aburame clan are introduced to kikaichū at birth. Shiki…is the exception."
"I still can't get over the fact you're covered in bugs—how does it even feel?" Tsukiya looked questioningly at Shinjiro. It was a question he had asked countless times, despite knowing the answer. Shinjiro suspected that Tsukiya was just checking to see if he was keeping any more information to himself—which wasn't too far off from the truth.
Shinjiro liked his privacy, as did most of members of his clan. If he wished to be open, then would be when he felt most comfortable.
"It is a sensation one grows accustomed to over the years," Shinjiro explained for the umpteenth time. "Though I would be lying if I said it did not bother me for the first two to three years of my life…"
Shinjiro hoped that wouldn't be the case for his daughter. She deserved to have a better experience than him—one that she could actually talk about and not be so ambiguous, as Shinjiro had been.
"Is that why Shiki looks about ready to cry?" Shō suddenly said, nearly seconds away from losing his composure.
As if on cue, Shiki started wailing at the top of her lungs. Shinjiro sighed and tried to calm his daughter, while Tsukiya and Shō tried to stomach the idea that their usually reserved and intimidating, if handsome, looking teammate was capable of acting like a completely different person toward his daughter. It was surreal—but oddly endearing.
"I don't think I'll ever be ready for parenthood…" Tsukiya murmured as he watched the scene before him.
"Same…" Shō agreed.
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Shiki might have had a crappy grasp of Japanese, but even at her current age of not even a week old, she was able to at least hear a couple of terms that she recognized. At first, she thought it was a coincidence to hear the names Yūhi and Kurenai. Maybe her father and his friends were fans of the series, Naruto. It sure explained the forehead protectors, or hitai-ate…
Then the word, "Jounin" was thrown around and Shiki started to grow a little concerned. And when Shiki managed to make out the term, "oiran", her concern ceased momentarily as her attention shifted over to past knowledge she had revolving around the term. Her name and that term had been used in the same sentence…
"Why the hell—oh…oh…" It took Shiki a moment to put two and two together…her mother was an oiran—a courtesan. That had to explain why her mother's presence was absent. Of course, there could be other reasons, but Shiki wished to be a little optimistic about her situation, if only because she was still fucking confused as to why she was a baby.
Then her father said something about the Aburame, and that's when Shiki felt her blood turn cold. The prickling sensation in her body returned and when Shiki heard her father mention the term, "kikaichū", everything started to connect quite so easily that it was horrifying.
There was absolutely no fucking way that it was all just a coincidence. Shiki had been many things in her past life. Slow, she most definitely was, but when she connected the dots, she connected the fucking dots.
The sunglasses her father and relatives all wore. The hitai-ate her father and his friends wore—hell, if her crappy memory served her well, she recalled some of her relatives were wearing hitai-ate as well. And then there was the prickling sensation Shiki felt on a daily basis. Something was completely off about her—Shiki was already starting to suspect a few days into her new life.
And now, she definitely knew something was wrong with her. At this very moment, with each breath she took, Shiki had thousands of tiny insects crawling inside and outside of her body. That was what caused the prickling sensation.
Kikaichū, a species of small, beetle-like insects that are bred and utilized exclusively by the Aburame clan—a clan that was known to offer their newborn children to kikaichū, allowing the insects to nest and breed within them, thus creating a life of symbiosis between symbiont and host. It was a clan that was supposed to have been fictional, and yet, here Shiki was, possessing enough evidence to confirm that fictional was actually factual.
She was a living, breathing example of an Aburame who had recently gone through the process of becoming a host for a species of insects that fed on her chakra—that was also supposed to be fictional, but wasn't because Shiki wasn't in a position to say what was fictional and what wasn't. Not since the exact moment that she realized she was reborn into the world of Naruto.
Crying was Shiki's immediate reaction. It was all she could do, because her vocal chords weren't exactly developed to allow her to curse up a storm and her brain didn't have the capacity to handle the wave of emotions that she was currently experiencing.
Shiki didn't cry too long, as a result of her father being quite the soothing presence for someone of his intimidating appearance. Sleep soon overtook her after that.
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A/N As you can totally see, I'm discarding the first-person POV for this fic, since I want to try something new with Shiki. Unlike Chōko, Shiki has finished reading Naruto and has actually started reading Naruto Gaiden, so she is the most informed out of all my current SI OCs, since the One Piece SI OC kinda died on a cliffhanger and One Piece is set to go on for another nine years, so yeah…
For now, I'm giving you an ambiguous view on when exactly Shiki was born in the timeline, but do keep this story's summary, as well as the characters' names mentioned as of yet, in mind as it does hint to it in regards to how screwed Shiki is. In any case, to reflect the amount of knowledge she has, shifting perspectives will be a thing to give more insight instead of a limited view. And, to be honest, it fits the character of the clan Shiki has been born into, which is the Aburame clan. Now like the Akimichi clan, the Aburame clan barely gets any love, so I'm going to do my best to give it the attention it needs.
Unlike Chōko, Shiki won't have anything keeping her from using her clan's techniques, since irony isn't the main focus of this story, as it was with Butterfly Child. It will pop up from time to time, but for the most part, this is gonna be a mixture of direct to indirect changes, as per usual with my SI OCs. I like setting things up at the start and seeing how they develop later.
By the by, in case anyone needs to know, Shiki means "four seasons" and the thing about her father, Shinjiro, is that he's an aromantic asexual—meaning he does not experience romantic attraction nor sexual attraction. But just because Shinjiro doesn't do romance, doesn't mean he can't love. After all, love doesn't always have to be about romance. I mean, seriously, there are various types of love and relationships and I want everyone to acknowledge that because I'm not gonna be holding back in this fic at all (not that I was holding back or anything, I just haven't had the chance to go into this).
I am quite open-minded about pairings, as I ship based on chemistry, so do expect various types of pairings to develop throughout the course of the story. I'm stating this here and now, because there will be romance later on in the story, as I do have pairings set in stone from the start, unlike with Butterfly Child, which began with no pairings in mind. Now while I have said this, don't be afraid to support whatever ship comes by, because I'm totally okay with people playing the shipping game, just thought I'd say that.
Also, in case anyone needs to know, oiran are like geisha, except oiran are the prostitutes who have sex. Geisha don't do that, as, originally, they were just meant to be provide a suitable backdrop to oiran. Because geisha were less expensive than oiran, they eventually replaced oiran as wealthy men's companions. I'd go into it even deeper, but then this A/N would be hella long, so I'll leave you guys with this information.
So I guess that's about it for now, I mean, this is just the first chapter, but do expect the next one to come up soon, since I've been working on this story for some time now because I had planned to publish it the day I had caught up with Naruto. So yeah, until next time everyone! KD out! XD