Family

"Rayzen!... Rayzen!..."

Rayzen slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful face that made time freeze for him as he kept staring on with wide eyes, waking up from his sleep.

Although saying that it was not her beauty that captivated him was a lie, it was half-truth. Seeing her resonated with something deep in his soul.

" Get up and be ready for breakfast. Don't forget you have to meet your father."

He woke up from the trance as the beauty that made him be like that, left his field of view. As he went over his memories, he recalled that Asami was mostly a babysitter for him, one that loved and cared for him. As all his baby things like getting breastfed and stuff were taken care of by an experienced mid-wife.

From what he observed, the denizens of this world particularly those who wielded chakra had much better looks than those of his past life. And their body matured pretty quickly too, especially in the case of ninjas or those who wielded chakra.

Appearance is subjective, what chakra enhanced was the vitality of these people and made them look better to the limits of what their genes were capable of. In essence, this world didn't lack ugly or disfigured people, but they were still better than those of his past world, particularly their aura and vitality that made them look better or made them acceptable to those who are revolted by the poor looks of others.

Rayzen felt that, although, Asami's body seemed to be realms above the works of a sculptor, by his 'unbiased' evaluation, her age might be different from what her body suggests.

His ever increasing curiosity of his 'mother', made him decide to confront her today with some questions and concerns. He then got up, stepped out into the courtyard, and stretched for a bit.

' Breathing the pollution free, natural air and having a healthy body feels really refreshing.' *sighs*

He observed his residence, to see if it's the same as the one that he was familiar with in his memories. He was in the backyard which was bordered by unique wood fences on the three sides, without any gaps, it provided privacy, and spying can't be done without alerting any experienced chunin. But since their house was deep inside the Uchiha territory, not even root ninja would dare to spy and his father's prestige curbs other Uchiha from spying, which they would almost never do, as they have a strong bond between the clan members.

The backyard had a size of two basketball courts, the longer side facing the south of the residence. The house had two floors. The first floor was unoccupied, it had a bathroom attached bedroom and a spare room of the same size, along with the hallway to the rooms and the stairs.

The two inhabitants of the house slept in the master bedroom on the ground floor, which also had an attached bathroom. But Rayzen after his conflict with his father, would frequently sleep in the tatami mattress in the hallway of the backyard that he had setup with his mother's help, to clear his mind of distractions and negative thoughts.

The minor cycle of life in his backyard that included a small pond on one side with a few fishes, the flora that occupied the sides and the fresh ground was refreshing to the mind. This peaceful atmosphere helped one in calming down and was conducive to meditation.

Apart from the master bedroom, there was a guestroom, a dining room with the kitchen attached to it, and a bathroom on the same floor. There was some area between the front gate and the door to the house, which had its own unique flora, which gave the house a feeling of close to being with nature.

The house was really nice and he was happy that his father was not stingy with his living conditions.

Rayzen cleaned up and went to the dining room. His mother, Asami, was already there. She was staring at the food with a depressed mood, which vanished and was replaced with a delightful one on seeing him coming.

He sat opposite to her, gave his respects and began digging into the regular breakfast, that included steamy white rice, miso soup, pickles and tamagoyaki(rolled omlette). The delicious food was a treat to his nose and eyes, and after digging in, his tongue too. This was his first time having the same food, that was in his 2 year old memories.

Even though, it was his first time in having the indigenous food with the memories of another world and culture, he didn't find it uncomfortable, since his body was already used to it and it was delicious on its own right. After he was finished with his meal, he stared at his mother, who was about to pickup his plate.

Asami, even though was young, her body was matured and she had a wild aura to her. Her raven black hair and cool black eyes didn't made her stand out, but when they came in a package with a beautiful face, it was a sight to relish.

He asked in a serious voice that turned out to be a bit cute.

" Mom, did you make the food?"

Asami: "Yes, my little Ray, how was it?"

Rayzen replied with a genuine happy smile: " It was really nice, I hope you would make more delicious food for me. Thank you for your hardwork."

Asami was a bit startled by Rayzen's polite behaviour, as he was usually the silent type, and only responds to intense stimulus or emotions, like most Uchihas.

Rayzen didn't give her an opportunity to ponder his politeness as he asked his doubts.

"Mom, how old are you?"

Asami who was a beautiful teenage mom suddenly exhuded the aura of a demon lord as she threatened him with a smiling face, that said wrong questions like that would have serious consequences.

" I am sorry, but.. could you please... answer me, I... I need to know to have... to have a peace of mind. You look very young... and... and... very beautiful, compared to the... other mothers I have seen till now. So I don't want to... destroy your dreams... by forcing you to spend your time taking care of me."

Even though he passed 2 years, his speech pattern was deliberately made to fit a four year old.

Asami was stunned by his reply, and his concern made her feel warm in heart since a long time.

She replied softly:

" Your mother is... 15 years old. My dream was to be a strong kunoichi, a combat-nin, and be respected in our clan and the village, for my battle prowess. But now, taking care of you and protecting you , so that we could live a happy life, has been added to the list."

Rayzen felt his heart wrench as he heard her reply. Since he was the main obstacle that blocked the path of a kunoichi for her. He suddenly stood up, went to his mother's side, and bowed and said with his child voice cracking:

" I am sorry Mom... I am sorry that you could not pursue your dreams and goals... because of me! Please forgive me... I'll ... I'Il do my best to make you a famous kunoichi. And by growing stronger together... I'll ensure that no one can separate us..."

Asami was shocked seeing the mostly cold Rayzen, displaying so much intense emotions. She was shocked by his words and bowing, until she saw a clear drop of water fell down from Rayzen's face, on the floor.

The adult in Rayzen was usually above saying such cringey stuff. But he felt an unknown need to say it from the depths of his soul. And once he said it, he remembered how he was not able to have a bright future with his loved ones, due to his severe health condition.

And lifted him and raised his head making him face her. She felt her heart wrench by the genuine emotions on her son's face and soon her face mirrored his as she too let out tears and hugged him.

Although not as distinct a 'feeling' as Rayzen's, his words struck a chord in her heart.

Amidst the hug, Rayzen kept on saying:

" I'll make you strong, we will grow stronger... Your dreams... are now my goals"

The words were from his heart, and influenced by his previous life experiences. His family and lover had sacrificed their dreams taking care of a dead-weight like him until his death, without getting anything in return. The guilt of not being able to do anything substantial for them and the regret of wasting the days when he was healthy and able, all bled itself into his emotions for this new person and new family that this world had gifted him.

It was not for a mere act of compensation, for his lover that Asami reminded him of, no , it was so that he would never come across the same situation, with his 'new mother', who too was forced to sacrifice her dreams. Even though he barely knew her for less than 2 years from his memories, but from what he observed, even though she didn't love him and all that at first, slowly she enjoyed his company. A new bond was slowly being formed!

Hearing his words, she hugged him tighter, and her eyes that shed tears, suddenly had a change. Her pitch black eyes, suddenly transformed into a red eye with one tomoe, that kept on revolving around the centre. The revolution speed of the tomoe, increased exponentially, and after the black tomoe formed a faint line of revolution with its rising speed, it suddenly slowed down and another tomoe was revolving around the same path as it slowed down. As the two tomoe settled, a two tomoe sharingan was formed.

Asami didn't realise the upgrades to her eyes as she was emotionally invested at the moment. As she slowly stroked Rayzen's hair and back, she slowly whispered to his ears.

" My... Ray... We'll grow stronger together!"

As they slowly parted from each other, Asami looked into the eyes of Rayzen, but was surprised to see a look of shock and then excitement on his face.

"Mom! Your eyes!"

Asami didn't understand and asked:

" What's wrong with my eyes?"

And she turned to look at a mirror, near the wash. She was shocked to see a pair of two tomoe, blood-red sharingan staring back at her, that threatened to entrap those who got lost in its peculiar gleam into a dream or a nightmare.

Her look of shock turned to excitement, as she appreciated her new self for a minute and then turned backed to Rayzen and kissed his forehead and cheeks and said with an ecstatic voice:

" Little Ray, haha... Mom's got more powerful now, I will be stronger than before. Our dreams will be successful...

About what you said, I am extremely happy, that you care about me this much, I am really blessed to have you, and look now I got stronger because of you, so don't go saying, you destroyed your Mom's dreams. Our goals is to grow stronger, and Mom is already way ahead of you, you too should be strong to keep up, so we can live happy, and no one can take us apart."

Rayzen blushed from the sudden kisses, he was a person who was really sensitive to people getting inside his circle, unless his mind was somewhere else. So he was overwhelmed from the sudden intimacy. Previously, he was emotionally disturbed and hence the hugs only made him feel home, as he visualized his previous family. But now, on a different note, the intimacy from a women that was his new 'mother' for only two years, was strange for him and a bit hard to accept with pure thoughts alone.

He barely pulled himself out of his spiralling thoughts to not give away his inner thoughts as he asked the other doubt he had for her.

"I... I understand Mom... But Mom, what is your ninja rank?"

Asami replied a bit embarrassed: "Genin. But I retired ever since... having you. Don't take it the wrong way, but to take care of you, I had to retire, otherwise it would have been difficult to manage and you father will be mad, if I become active again."

Rayzen: " Don't worry Mom, for now it's better to retire. We can train for now, wait until I convince father to let you be an active ninja."

Asami replied with a bit of hope: " Okay then."

She clapped her hands to draw his attention as she turned into mother mode.

" Now little Ray, get ready, and wear the clothes I placed in the room and go meet your father on time."

The entire episode took only a few hours, it was still 7:30 in the morning. He got into his dark blue shirt with the Uchiha logo and white shorts and pair of shinobi sandals for kids. The typical Sasuke clothes when he started as a Genin. His father was not living far from his home and was only a five minute walk.

He arrived at the front gate of the well maintained residence, much expensive than his and situated in the central area of Uchiha territory. It occupied almost twice the size of his, but was second of the largest residences in the Uchiha territory. The first being the Clan Patriarch's residence. Then comes the Clan Elders' residences. His house might be ranked in the bottom of top 20.

It was uncommon for family to live apart in a clan, but his situation was known and accepted in the clan. But Rayzen deduced that there must have been a reason why most of the others decided to mark him as abandoned.

He entered the gate and knocked on the door. The door was opened to him and he was received by the cold glare of a beautiful, noble lady in her twenty's. She was Uchiha Arisu, the main wife of his father, his step- mom.