Some of you have been wondering about why I chose the title that I did, and all I can say for now is that not everything is as it appears. Sometimes the characters in the story see what they want to see. I wish I could give you more details but even I don't have it all planned out yet, just a rough idea.

I want people to know that I'm going to be focusing on the childhood years for the next couple of chapters.

Chapter 4

Praise Whore

Once I had woken up from the initial attack I realized that my parent's had killed the enemy shinobi I had seen and no one had gotten hurt. Though because I wasn't in my crib they had thought another enemy shinobi had taken me so my dad had alerted a code to surrounding Jounin that a clan heir had been taken.

They had been planning on using the on duty ANBU unit that Kakashi had been a part of it to track me and that's why my dad had an article of my clothing in his hand so they could track my scent.

Not creepy at all.

But a much appreciated effort.

It was only because of my slip up with my chakra that they located me under the sink when it flared up before they started a serious search. I guess stupid mistakes are helpful sometimes?

I don't know much more than that since I was asleep for the rest of it though I'm guessing that the person behind the assassination/kidnap attempt had gotten what was coming to them because when my dad came to see me the next morning when I awoken he had dark circles under his eyes and blood splatters on his clothing.

I was actually sort of flattered in a morbid sense that he personally killed the person or people responsible for going after me.

On another note there are some other things that have come to my attention.

One of the many things I have realized in my new life is that I crave physical affection of any kind. Be it a kiss on the forehead to a full on cuddle session with my parents. The upside is that as a baby I had the ability to do so without it seeming weird.

Downside is that after the initial attack a few weeks ago I have become damn clingy.

I also can't stand being inside my own house anymore, I always find excuses to be outside and exploring the initial terrain under the careful eye of one of my parents.

I make it sound cool but by terrain I mean my backyard.

What? I'm a baby, a backyard seems enormous to me.

Anyways back to me being clingy.

My initial pension for affection has turned into a full blown unhealthy dependence.

Personally, I'm pretty embarrassed about my reaction to the attack. How am going to handle this world if I can't even handle an assassination possible kidnap attempt where I didn't even need to face the opponent.

All I did was hide.

I'm pretty disappointed with myself at the moment and have been trying to figure out ways to not be within the same vicinity as my parents at all times. That's right, I'm trying to face my fears and nip them in the bud before they become anything detrimental.

Plus my curiosity was practically killing me to see how different my original culture is compared to this one but my fear overruled it more times than not.

Actually my fear won most times.

Also, since the attack and my outburst of calling out my dads name has made him try to get me to say it again but I have refused. I just stare at him and then go back to whatever I had been doing but only if he stays next to me.

I've leveled up from crawling to walking in the short expansion of a few weeks so I could meet my need to explore and avoid the inside of buildings like the plague. It was difficult to accomplish while crawling so I forced myself to start learning to walk on two legs.

It was difficult at first but once I started applying chakra to my legs to speed up the process I had finally gotten it down a few days ago. I still fall if I turn too sharply but overall I think that what I accomplished was pretty impressive.

I know my dad is worried about me since I stopped my babbling, actually I haven't made a sound in the past weeks. Which has put my mom in a frenzy and has started babying me more than before.

I am slightly irritated with being smothered but I can't stop myself from wanting to be with them at the same time. I desperately want to explore the outside and the surrounding area but at the same time I'm terrified of being alone. I was naive, so horribly and embarrassingly naive.

I didn't take the darkness and death in this world seriously. I thought everything would be fine and dandy as long as I wanted it to be but this world does not play on my terms, it plays on no ones terms and I got caught up in thinking this was a story.

This is not just a story anymore, this is my life and reality.

And it is not merciful.

I've started worrying about if I should change canon events, or should I just handle it as it comes? Have I already changed things just by existing? If I exist then should I just act how I want because either way I will be influencing things just by being the new Yamanaka heir instead of Ino?

Then again I'm here, nothing I can do about that. If I'm going to fuck things up then might as well completely and extraordinarily fuck it up.

By the way found out my mom is pregnant again, turns out she got pregnant a month after I was born.

Really dad? Really.

Anyways so it turns out I'll probably be in the same year as her since I'll only be ten months older than Ino. I'm honestly really excited to be an older sibling, I had never had siblings before. She is going to be so spoiled rotten between my dad and me.

I hope me existing doesn't fuck her up in any way.

Because if I did then thats a pretty big shit bang job to my conscience.

Well, it's not like its not already getting fucked up.

Inoichi's POV

Inoichi had been asleep when he sensed killing intent in his house, his blood ran cold as he darted out of the bed. Grabbing three kunai and resting his hand on the shoji door leading to the hallway, his son's room was right across the hall.

Inoichi stayed silent and steady, listening intently, waiting for the enemy to get close enough for an ambush. Protectiveness surged through his body along with cold calculating anger. He had been waiting for something like this to happen for the past five months.

His eyes flashed murderously as he swiftly opened the door silently and launched himself at the assassin that was hired to kill his son. Their kunai clashed and he pushed the intruder back away from his son's room.

The enemy crouched down into a defensive position.

Inoichi flipped another kunai into his empty hand, slashing for the assassins throat who deftly avoided it by rolling sideways. Inoichi snarled silently before throwing one of his kunai for the assassins thigh which whistled through the air before hitting it's target with a wet thunk, for forcing the intruder down onto one knee.

The sound woke his wife who shouted from their room and stumbled out of their bed.

He had to end this now.

Steeling his nerves he waited for his opponents next move. The assassin threw two shuriken which Inoichi avoided before the bastard darted forward at him and tried to punch his stomach. Inoichi slipped left before stepping into the assassins guard and slammed his elbow against the assassins upper left temple, stunning him for a few moments, in that time Inoichi slammed his hand into the bastards face feeling his nose break with a satisfying crunch under his palm.

But he wasn't done, Inoichi grabbed the kunai still in the assassins thigh and twisted. The bastard let out a muffled cry before Inoichi tore the kunai out and slit his opponents throat, the cry turned into gurgled gasping.

A few moments later the assassin slid to the ground dead.

Inoichi huffed a few breaths. All of this had happened in under thirty seconds.

Adrenaline coursed through his body as he turned towards his son's room, tearing the door open and dashing in only to find it completely empty. His son no where in sight and Inoichi couldn't feel his chakra signature anywhere in the house.

Fury threatened to overwhelm him before he took a few more deep breaths and allowed himself to think.

He turned to his wife who was standing in the doorway a look of fear and dread prominent on her face, an anguished sob slipping through her lips.

"Go to the Hokage, tell him what happened and alert him that the Yamanaka heir has been taken. Request ANBU tracking specialists and send messages to Shikaku and Chōza of what's happened here. I'll stay here and look for any leads we can use, hurry!" He ordered. She wavered a few seconds before enveloping him in a hug and kissing him fiercely.

"I love you," She whispered with tears in her eyes, "We'll find him."

Inoichi's gaze softened a bit before stroking her face with his thumb.

"I love you too, now please hurry," He whispered back, "Every second counts."

She flickered away wordlessly and Inoichi turned back to the body.

A frown pinched his face and he thought back to the fight, going over things step by step. His frown deepened, this assassin had been unskilled and extremely clumsy. He had beaten him through mostly taijutsu and the Yamanaka are not known for their taijutsu, Inoichi was no exception. The assassin even let his killing intent out before he even reached his target, an amateur mistake.

Everything was screaming diversion.

Inoichi let out an unsteady breath and carefully collected his emotions before moving them aside to observe and catalog this clinically.

His instincts were shrieking at him that this was wasn't the main attack, that their true attention was elsewhere but the remaining fact is that his son is missing.

Inoichi lifted his hand to his hair gripping it tightly, frustrated panic was already seeping into his chest again.

No, calm down, getting riled up helps no one. Especially his son.

Unless the true assassin was steps ahead of the amateur one that Inoichi had killed.

Perhaps the first one took his son before hand and then the second one came as a distraction for him to focus on while the first escaped with a higher chance of getting away when Inoichi was fighting the second one.

But why would they go to such lengths as to alert him of their presence then attack him when the first one had already kidnapped his son without Inoichi being aware. What was the point of attacking him? He definitely wasn't strong enough to kill Inoichi, so it wasn't a kidnapping and assassination attempt.

Inoichi lowered himself down next to the body.

Short brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, common build, basic clothing, no weapons on his person besides kunai and shuriken. Nails trimmed, no distinctive beauty marks on the body, his face was neither attractive or ugly, all in all a very undescriptive and normal. Nothing to tell him apart in a crowd, nothing to draw his attention.

This shinobi's appearance maintenance was top notch, completely professional but his skills were abysmal.

…which made no sense.

Inoichi rubbed his forehead angrily, he really hoped Shikaku would be here soon. Nothing was making sense.