Life is a mystery, that's for sure.

But the afterlife? That's a more of a mystery than life. There's no solid evidence about just what awaits us after death. Do we get to live again? Be born in another body? Be born as an animal? There were countless possibilities, really.

The afterlife is confusing.

When he drowned in the beach, he welcomed the cold. He welcomed the darkness that embraced him. He thought nothing of it as he drowned—only that drowning burns his lungs. It hurts his throat.

He doesn't like drowning. Death was unexpected, he mused. He didn't expect to have a sudden leg cramp after he saved that boy no older than him. He was only thirteen and died. He expected to bathe in cold and be surrounded by nothingness.

And yet, he felt something hot, slippery and squishy. It was undeniably cramped, as if the walls were closing in on him. There was a distinctive frown plastered on his lips as he tried to move. His lack of— or rather, the almost not-there mobility of his surprised him.

Wasn't he drowning? Didn't he die? Shouldn't he be not moving at all? Shouldn't the cold and darkness be his only companion in this wonderful, terrible place, a place where he should be right now? Why can he feel warmth? Texture? It was all mind blowing.

It wasn't just mind blowing. It was also heart stopping. He was dead. Was.

And then, he is alive.

Yes, it was dark. No, it wasn't cold. So yes, he's not at all, dead. Is he paralyzed or something and is actually conscious? He tried to open his mouth but ohmygoditburnsmakeitstopithurtssavemeanyoneplease closed it shut as soon as the tiniest drop of liquid entered.

Where is he? What happened to him? What about his family? And — oh my god his sister. She's probably being hysteric right now. Was he missing? It... doesn't feel like it. He clearly remembers sinking to the bottom of the ocean floors.

He's... supposed to be dead. Yet, somehow, he's alive. Alive.

Crap.

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God, he's going crazy. This silence is deafening, he's going crazy. He couldn't take it. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. There was no noise. No noise. Fxck, this is going to make him crazy before he even finds out what happened to him.

The only thing keeping him sane was the occasional humming of something. It keeps vibrating from wherever he is. The humming was soothing in his ears and it keeps him aware that he's actually alive.

Coming into terms that you're alive when you're supposed to be dead surely makes a great recipe for an intense migraine. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Oh, there it was. That harmonious humming he's been waiting.

The humming tune seems to always play at random intervals and could last for only three to five minutes. But it was enough, really. It was keeping him sane, after all. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Now that he noticed it, the rhythm seems to be a bit familiar.

Tooku ni ite mo kimi ni todoku darou

Kono boku ga kokoro kome okuru messeeji

Kibou koso rashinban sa Ai wo yubisasu yo

Nemure Sotto nemure Asu wa yume tairiku

Kodoku ni obiete ita yuube no kimi

Boku no na wo yonde 'ta ne Mune ni terepashii

Kiseki nanka ja nai Towa ni ai wa enajii da kara

Nemure Sotto nemure Kanashimi wo wasurete

Jidai wa umi ni shizumu yuuhi no you sa

Hoshizora wo tobikoete kimi wo mukae ni yuku

Hoshizora wo tobikoete kimi wo mukae ni yuku

Oh, oh, the Hoshi no Rarabai or in other language, Starry Lullaby. He was extremely familiar with it because his sister always sings this to him every night as a child. Their parents had always been busy, even before his own sister was born.

Truthfully, he sees his sister as more of a parent than their actual parents will ever be to the both of them.

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His name had been Edward Scott and he grew up in South East Asia.

And apparently, he's now Nohara Ren.

Now, he wouldn't be so scared and surprised if this particular Nohara isn't 1) the Nohara who had been an incredible medical ninja 2) if this Nohara isn't the one who jumped in front of a Chidori to save her village and 3) if this Nohara isn't the Nohara from Naruto.

But the universe must have mistaken or just wanted to screw with his mind and life.

He is Nohara Ren, and the deceased Nohara Rin is his Auntie.

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Ren had been born a civilian... and an orphan. Sadness washed over him like giant waves. Family and love weren't something ha lacked before in his life and he certainly didn't want to experience it now. But the universe seems to be against him again.

He was born an orphan. His mother died after he was born. She had been so frail and sickly and weak when she was bearing him and thatbastardofamanthatlefthispreciousmotheralonecertainlymadeitintohishitlist that man that was supposed to be his father, vanished.

The man left his new— deceased — mother after hearing the news that she was pregnant with Ren. There was a gaping hole in his chest. He didn't like this. At. All. Sure, his previous parents weren't exactly the perfect ones or ideal ones but at least they were there.

Just there and that was enough for the Scott siblings.

Now, about his situation as a Nohara. Apparently, his mother, Nohara Kazue, had been the only one left in their clan after Rin passed away. How did he know? He can thank the gossiping nurse taking care of him for that.

Ren certainly didn't like the lack of his independence. So, when he was moved to the orphanage at the age of two, he started doing everything he can to become independent. He took care of his own dishes, cleaned up after his mess and the likes, only at the age of two.

The caretakers were flabbergasted by this. He didn't actually think the consequences of his actions in the near future. All he wanted was his independence. When he was only an infant, he noticed the language difference. They weren't talking in English or Tagalog, instead they were talking in Japanese.

This language barrier didn't deter him though. He quickly absorbed everything with his sponge-like brain to absorb information. He was still a young teen in his past life. As soon as everyone started talking around him, he picked up the language at an incredible rate.

Ren is a silent child, that's for certain. The first time he spoke, it was when he was three. The caretakers had always thought he was mute, a side effect from having a sick mother. So, when he spoke while they were reprimanding the demon child, they were a hundred percent terrified of him.

"Do you find happiness in abusing a helpless child? You people are the demon here, not him. Demons are relatively synonymous to people causing trouble or unhappiness and evil spirit and if you haven't noticed yet, it has the word evil. He hasn't done anything evil, has he? So no, he's not a demon. You are."

Words that he wasn't supposed to know spat out venomously from his usually closed lips. A three year old wasn't supposed to know what those words truly mean. He was a strange child, a strange, terrifying child. After that incident, they left the child alone.

Ren was satisfied.

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When Ren turned four, it was then that the child he saved approached him. He was a cute kid. He had bright blonde hair that captured his attention. Ren certainly loves his cerulean eyes. Come to think of it, Ren doesn't know what he looks like even when four years passed.

But the thing that caught his attention the most was the three horizontal marks on the child's cheeks. "Um... hello, -bayo." It was... Naruto. The Nohara shuffled his feet in awkwardness. For all his life including the previous one, he wasn't a social butterfly.

"Er... hi."

Ren's first impression of the kid was that he wasn't as determined and boisterous as his future self. He was timid and shy. There was a huge difference between them. The Naruto before him refused to make eye contact, probably afraid of rejection.

"... I... I haven't thanked you yet for... for saving me." Ren blinked and stared at the blonde for a few moments before stifling a laugh. A year had passed since that incident and Naruto only thought of thanking him now? Now, isn't this kid quite a riot?

Ren noticed the blonde's teary eyes and stopped himself. Naruto must have misunderstood his restrained laughter. "S-Sorry, I just didn't expect you to say sorry after a year." The blush that covered his marked cheeks was adorable in Ren's eyes.

"Oh." Naruto sighed in relief, to which Ren felt sadness for. Did the blonde fear rejection that much? He's only a child, wasn't he? He wasn't supposed to fear rejection until he was at least in his mid-teens. "Um, I'm Naruto, -bayo. Uzumaki Naruto."

Ren smiled. Yup, Naruto really is an adorable child.

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Turning five years old had been terrible for both Ren and Naruto. The latter had finally been kicked out by the caretakers as soon as they deemed the blonde able to take dare of himself. The former wasn't able to help, he had been locked in his room by a caretaker.

Ren was livid. But his fury dissipated as night arrived. He was huddled up in a corner, blanketed by the shadows and hugged his knees close to his chest. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.The familiar rhythm felt foreign in his throat as he hummed the lullaby. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

Tooku ni ite mo kimi ni todoku darou

Kono boku ga kokoro kome okuru messeeji

Kibou koso rashinban sa

Ai wo yubisasu yo

Nemure Sotto nemure

Asu wa yume tairiku

Kodoku ni obiete ita yuube no kimi

Boku no na wo yonde 'ta ne

Mune ni terepashii

Kiseki nanka ja nai

Towa ni ai wa enajii da karaNemure

Sotto nemure

Kanashimi wo wasureteJidai wa umi ni shizumu yuuhi no you sa

Hoshizora wo tobikoete kimi wo mukae ni yuku

Hoshizora wo tobikoete kimi wo mukae ni yuku

When he finished the lullaby, everything he held in, everything, he let it all out. He missed his former parents. He missed his sister. He missed his home. He missed everything. He missed Nohara Kazue. He missed it all.

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Ren was a bit peeved when he learned that Naruto now lives at the other side of the village. Now, it'll take too much trouble to visit him. The Nohara could only visit Naruto once a week, and that's only because he sneaks out of the orphanage.

Life was slowly going back to its usual path... until it was once again pushed out of it when a new variable blocked its original road.

Hatake Kakashi was the least person Ren expected to meet. He was also taller compared to what the Nohara expected and his silver hair is just as much fascinating as Naruto's cerulean eyes. His lone onyx eye held loneliness and... was that delight?

"Hello."

Ren merely stared at the man. He didn't even know him personally. "Hi, mister." His response made the man beam and despite not seeing his facial expression, the slight luminescent glow he has made it possible for Ren to say that the man is somehow happy.

"My name's Hatake Kakashi. You're Nohara Ren, right?" He nodded. Ren wonders, what would Kakashi even want with him when they've never even met before? The man was acting sheepish, and a bit tense. Ren frowned. What does he exactly want?

"I'm a friend of your Auntie Rin, um, er, do you... uh, know her?" Ren silently nodded. "O-Oh. Um, do you want to be a ninja?" He blinked. Did he hear the man right? Did he hear Kakashi right? Was this man giving him the chance to get out of this horrible place early? And even giving him the chance to enroll in the Academy?

Does he even have what it takes to be a ninja? He had been a normal civilian in his past life and he was content with it. Does he want to? The number one job here is being a shinobi and as a ninja, he'll gain respect as he wanted. As a civilian, he can't gain respect like he wants.

There were pros and cons in being a civilian and there were surely a lot more cons than the pros. Besides, not being a ninja will only mean he will be defenseless in future fights and he doesn't want to get killed so early in his life again.

Ren decided. "Nohara Ren. Please take care of me." It was decided. Kakashi beamed down at him and ruffled his unusual silky, curly brown hair. "Please take care of me, too, Ren."

It was when Nohara Ren truly starts his life in this new world.