Chapter 2
Chapter 2: The Home
Was I truly dead, or was I just dreaming? If that bike had really killed me, it seemed I was reborn as Sakura Haruno of all places. I stared at two frames on a small wooden shelf. One had a picture of Sakura’s parents, Mebuki and Kizashi—there they were, smiling back at me. The other was a bowl of rice and incense, placed reverently in front of an ancestor shrine. So they’re dead, I thought absently. How?
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to shake the gnawing feeling in my stomach. It didn’t matter right now. What mattered was... why was I here? Why was I stuck in this world? I had never asked for any of this.
I shifted my gaze toward the shrine and, after a moment, flopped back onto the floor, stretching. The floor was cool beneath me, and the silence of the house was oddly comforting in its own way. It wasn’t like my old house—no bustling activity, no loud neighbors, and definitely no annoying siblings. The house wasn’t big, but it felt... enough. I could manage.
I sat up and racked my brain for a moment. What was the point of becoming a shinobi? I wasn’t interested in being caught up in this ninja world with all its life-or-death battles. I didn’t want to get involved in Sasuke’s emo drama or Naruto’s quest for attention. And Sakura? I remembered her mostly being useful in the later half of the series, when she became a strong medic ninja.
That was it. Why not join the medic corps? I could avoid the whole Academy, avoid the shinobi path entirely, and maybe... just maybe, steer clear of the drama. I could live a quiet life and heal people. That sounded like the right call.
I scrambled to my feet, looking around the house again. Everything was still. So quiet. It wasn’t quite like the noisy, chaotic life I’d left behind, but... it would do.
With a heavy sigh, I walked out of the room, determined to explore a bit more of the house and see what I could make of this strange new life.
That was when I heard it.
“Hello, Haruno!”
I froze. The voice was light and cheerful, yet oddly familiar. I turned around to find a man with long, spiky white hair standing in the doorway. He wore a warm smile, but there was something off about him.
I tilted my head, trying to place him. Who was he? Was he a neighbor? A relative?
“Remember? It’s me, your neighbor—Sakumo Hatake!” he said, giving me a friendly wave.
My brain froze. Sakumo Hatake?
Wait... wasn’t he dead? I thought. How is he alive?
I blinked, trying to make sense of this. Was I in a different universe where Sakumo had somehow survived? What the hell is going on?
“Right...” I mumbled, nodding mechanically. “Sakumo Hatake. Got it.”
Without another word, I turned and walked past him, my mind reeling. This was too much. First, the whole being reborn as Sakura thing, and now this? My head was starting to hurt just trying to make sense of it all.
I continued down the quiet street of Konoha, trying to clear my head. It was... boring here. Really boring. The internet was basically non-existent, and all I saw were ninjas training and civilians doing their usual, ordinary things.
It didn’t feel real, yet it was all too real.
I had to figure this out. Why was I here? What was the point? And... what on earth was going to happen next?
Please—I just wanted to live a peaceful life!