NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 47: Second chance
Konohagakure
The streets were bustling on this sunny morning. People were going about their daily activities, some hurrying to open their shops, others strolling leisurely. In the midst of the crowd, a little boy with black hair was running.
It was Itachi, a boy of barely 2 years old, the eldest son of the Uchiha family. Despite being two years old, he looked like a three-year-old child. Apologizing in a breathless voice each time he bumped into someone.
"Sorry! Excuse me!" he cried, his small, soft voice getting lost in the surrounding noise.
People watched him pass by with kindness, some even waving or smiling at the young boy. Itachi was well-known within the clan.
As he crossed the street, an elderly man called out to him:
"You should be careful, little Itachi. By the way, where are you going so early?"
Itachi slowed down for a moment, looking up at the man.
"I'm going to see my mother at the hospital!" he replied before rushing off.
The old lady accompanying the man chuckled.
"He must be excited, maybe because he's going to have a little brother?"
The old man nodded with a knowing smile.
"Yes, it seems so. Children are always so impatient when a happy event is approaching!"
Itachi continued running, his heart pounding. He couldn't help but be thrilled at the thought of becoming a big brother. Since his parents had told him that his mother was expecting a baby, he had been dreaming of the little being he could cherish and protect.
Turning the corner of a street, he almost ran into a mother and her young child.
"Be careful, young man!" the woman scolded gently.
"Sorry, ma'am!" Itachi quickly apologized before resuming his frenzied run.
When he arrived in front of the hospital, he stopped his run. After a short pause, he entered and headed towards his mother's room. He heard voices and without waiting, he opened the door and entered.
"There you are, Itachi," said a imposing man, none other than Fugaku Uchiha.
When Itachi turned his head, his mother was sitting, cradling a baby with a joyful expression. Approaching slowly, he went to stand near his father, looking at his little brother.
"Do you want to hold him?" asked Mikoto, looking at Itachi with a smile.
Without saying a word, Itachi took the baby in his small hands and began to cradle him, a radiant smile forming on his lips. Suddenly, the baby's eyes opened, looking directly at Itachi. Fascinated by his deep black eyes, Itachi touched his cheek, but nothing happened. The baby didn't make a sound, which puzzled Itachi. He glanced at Mikoto, but she just laughed. She then took the baby back, looking at him.
*************
"Hello, are you awake, my dear?" Those were the first words I heard as I woke up. Looking around, I quickly understood my new situation: I had just been reincarnated into the body of a newborn. 'It must be Yumi's doing,' I thought, recalling her last words: "I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes."
As I remembered the final moments of my previous life, suddenly, the woman gently took me in her arms. Her warmth and voice were soothing, something I hadn't felt in my two lives. Even though my mind was that of an Otsutsuki, I couldn't deny that the motherly touch was comforting. It might be a natural reaction for the baby I was to seek his mother's embrace, but for the first time, I felt at peace after years.
Suddenly, the door opened and a man entered. His expressionless face reminded me of those damn Otsutsuki. He was dressed in a way I vaguely remembered, the years spent as an Otsutsuki having made me lose some memories, but none of that mattered at the moment.
The man walked towards the woman and kissed her forehead, asking, "How are you feeling, Mikoto?"
"I'm just a little tired," Mikoto replied, "and you, Fugaku, I thought you were busy."
"My son has just been born, I had to be here no matter what," replied the man known as Fugaku, giving me a glance, then a small smile appeared on his lips.
Strangely, these names seemed familiar to me, but my memories were blurry and I couldn't fully recall them. Once again, the door opened and someone entered.
"There you are, Itachi," said Fugaku.
Hearing that name, I was surprised. Very few people had that name, and being a reincarnated person always keeping those memories, there are memories that not even time can erase. The name Itachi is part of those memories, after all, it's the name of the character I loved in my previous life.
'I should have suspected as soon as I heard the name Fugaku,' I thought, sending a glance to the man who would be my father. 'Once again, I find myself in a damn clan thinking they're above all, and at the same time, I will have as a family a father who lets himself be pushed around by his subordinates and a brother who can be described in two words: genocidal bastard.'
Sighing in my mind, I closed my eyes, choosing to rest, as sleep began to take hold of me.