Satomura Daisuke

The guard doesn't pay her attitude any attention. "Reason for immigration?" he asks.

From the way I feel myself rise up slightly as Mom takes in the question, I'm pretty sure she's just puffed herself up. "I hardly see how that's any of your business," she spits out. "All my paperwork is in order and has been cleared and approved by people far above your pay grade."

"Ma'am, these are routine questions that I have to ask anyone," the guard replies in the exact same tone he's been using. "I'm not seeing a reason for your emigration from the Land of Iron on these papers, and while I do see you have clearance from the border outposts, you'll need to-"

Mom makes a noise that's low and threatening, and the guard stops talking instantly. The air around me changes. Before it was laid back and boring, now it's tense and full of danger. Something is happening around, and I can't see it.

"Sir," Mom utters. From her tone, she might as well have called him a worthless maggot. "I understand that people in menial positions such as yourself enjoy exercising whatever power you can. No doubt you had larger dreams that were ended when you offended one of your superiors or proved that your skills had reached their ceiling, and now you have to make us all feel your pain. I respect that, and in other circumstances I would no doubt applaud your goonery."

"But I have had enough. You have your answers. You have your paperwork. Either stamp it and stand aside or turn us away- and face the consequences."

Whatever the consequences are go unsaid, lingering in the air like the smell of donkeys and feeling of danger before them. But whatever they may be the reminder of them is enough to for the guard. There's some shuffling sounds, a stamp is applied, and the guard hands the paper back to Mom. "Welcome to Konohagakure," he grates out between clenched teeth. "May your new life here be pleasant and trouble free."

I don't like the way he stresses that last part and try to say as much. "Goo ga rumba!" I call loudly.

Mom sniffs, though in response to the guard or a few well chosen words I'm not that certain. But whatever the case, she takes back her papers and nods to someone at her side. There's a crack of the reins and the cart below my wheels into motion. passing through the giant blurry thing that sure is a gate in a wall and into Konoha property.

The first thing that hits me as I emerge onto the streets of the village is the smell. Outside the walls, the smells were pretty normal. There was greenery, animal scents, and the ever present smell of people that pops up whenever a bunch of them gather. But inside the village, everything just seems… more. There are more of them, and different kinds. They're more potent, and they last longer. They're so strong that just a whiff of someone's wood smoke causes me to sneeze, and sneeze again.

Mom produces a cloth from somewhere and rubs it against my nose. But she's barely done before I sneezing rapid fire, like a machine gun, as if my nose is trying to fight off a foreign invader. Mom wipes me again and looks over at whoever's driving the cart. "Is this normal?" she asks, a note of concern in her voice.

"Yes'm," he drawls back. The voice is distinctly different from Mom's. Where her words are sharp and precise and tend to stress the vowels, his are more like the guard's; laid back and drawn out. He's likely a native of, if not Konoha, at least the Land of Fire. "It's all that energy in the air. Really makes the senses go crazy. He'll get used to it quickly."

The driver isn't wrong- it's not just my sense of smell that seems stronger. The blanket I swaddled with seems heavier and itchier, my tiny hat is practically molded to my scalp, Mom's skin somehow feels more real than anything I have touched before, in this life or…

Or…

Ok, this is troubling.

I know what's going on. I can still remember everything, from getting hit by the bus to standing in the void. But before that? My parents? My family? It's all fuzzy; like I were there for all those moments, but they happened to someone else.

The realization bothers me. My parents weren't perfect, but fuck, they were my parents, and I loved them. And there was all my schooling, my friends, all the stupid video games I wasted a life playing? All more distant than before. I am already struggle to remember the fine details that once came readily. At this rate, it won't be long before all specifics are lost to me.

My thoughts distract me as the driver takes us through the streets of Konoha. Before I know it, the cart is stopping. "Ma'am," the driver says, "if you would like to go ahead and alert the gentleman that we've arrived, I'll start unpacking your belongings."

"Thank you," Mom allows. "I shall." She hops down from the cart, pauses for a moment to stretch out her back, and takes the two of us to our destination. Which is… a house. I think. Fuck dammit, I want to be able to see right!

The finer points of what I'm going to guess is my new home might escape me, but what does not is when Mom finds the 'gentleman' that the driver spoke of. I hear him arrive with a heavy set of footsteps, but more than that, I feel Mom stiffen beneath my head. I twist around as best I can to take a look at the newcomer, but she holds me still.

"We have arrived," Mom says without preamble.

"I've noticed," the newcomer replies. His voice carries the same Land of Iron accent as Mom's does. "Was there any unexpected difficulty to your journey?"

Mom shakes her head. "Just a particularly persistent gate guard."

The newcomer doesn't sigh, but his voice is frustrated when he speaks again. "What did you say to him, Manami?"

Again, Mom puffs up. "You do not have the right to address me by my-"

"I do," the man says, voice low. "I can call you by your given name. It might be rude, Manami, but I have the right. As does everyone else you meet. You had best become accustomed to this new reality quickly, lest you break the terms of your agreement."

"I-"

"Now by your leave, Manami, I must go soothe whatever feathers you ruffled in your attempt to assert yourself above your station. I suggest you make yourself at home."

His footsteps signal his exit. Mom waits for a long moment, as if to make sure he's really gone, before dropping into a chair. She holds me up in front of her, and for the first time I her clearly. Mom is a beautiful woman. Fine features, long, well-maintained hair, just a dusting of makeup. But more than that, looking at her, I feel a deep contentment settle over me. This is Mom. She'll take care of me.

...is that a feeling the Game is putting in me? Or is this just something new from being stuck in a baby? Is-

I'm broken from my burgeoning existential crisis by Mom placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. She smiles warmly as she look me over again. "It was worth it," she says with the air of a mantra often repeated. "It was all worth it for you, Daisuke. There was no amount of comfort, no amount of riches, that would make me regret my decision, my little gleam, because my decision brought me you."

"Gurgle!" I proclaim.

"That's right!" she chirps. "We may not have your father, and we may not have his palace or servants, and we may have to deal with that brute for only the gods know how long. But it was worth it."

I want to say something reassuring, because Mom certainly looks like she needs it. But my eyelids are growing heavy and a yawn escapes my tiny mouth. Mom giggles and cradles me once more. "Tired, Daisuke? Then sleep. We're in our new home now. Sleep without worry."

She begins to rock me back and forth, strengthening my drowsiness even further. As she does, she begins to sing in in a low, soothing voice.

"Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,

Smiles await you when you rise.

Sleep my prince and do not cry,

I will sing you a lullaby."~

With her words ringing in my ears, sleep overcomes me, and the blackness of unconsciousness reaches up for m-

Only to be interrupted by a prompt.

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY THE LEVEL] 'Daisuke's Childhood (Land of Iron Bastard Tutorial)'?

{• Yes. Play the Tutorial and try to get your feet under you.}

{• No. Skip the tutorial and go right to the good part.}