Cinders of the Plum

Before the age of six, Ōno Umeko committed a murder—she killed the real Umeko. “I’m disappointed, Umeko.” She opened her eyes and he took a sip of his sake. “You have such a narrow mind still, after all these years.” It wasn’t what she expected. Umeko was expecting to be disciplined for not being good enough, but being narrow-minded? She didn’t understand. “Grandfather?” On steady legs, despite the bandages wrapping him, he stood to his full height. “Did you think I had no influence on the Academy at all? You forget yourself.” Umeko swallowed his disappointment and it tasted like copper. “I’m sorry, Grandfather.” He looked down on her at her position on the ground, and she felt so lowly. Even more pathetic and sad than when she whispered empty compliments to Ino, when Shikamaru rejected her. Her grandfather started walking away, and said into the quiet of the big lonely house, “I gave you your tools. Now use them.”

So, firstly, if you guys read my other fic The Oaths We Keep, I am still working on it! But I had inspiration strike for this fic and had to write it because I'm a big fan of isekai and transmigration Naruto fics. A few notes I wanted to say:1. I want to really emphasize that the narrator, Umeko, is UNRELIABLE. She is unreliable in tiny things, such as being vain or making assumptions, to bigger things. Do not always take what she says as fact; for the most part, I think you can tell when she is being unreliable and not, but I just wanted to put this here.2. The main point of this story is character growth. In the beginning, Umeko starts as a really terrible person and does things that are decisively not okay.3. I don't see this often in other isekai/transmigration/reincarnation stories, but the story does acknowledge and explore the reasons and repercussions of the transmigration. I want to say this is a unique take on the trope, but that's up to you guys to decide!Please enjoy and leave comments, I love reading them <3