Chapter 2

"Two" stared at the ceiling. It was the morning of the third day since she woke up in this place, and she was currently doing her hourly recap of everything she knew so far. And trying to come to terms with it.

First, she had died, that much she was sure of.

Second, her soul had found a way to tear through the fabric of space and time, jump into another world and lodged itself in the body of a five year old girl, who by all signs had just died from a blow to the head.

Third, she had become Uchiha Haruka, daughter of Uchiha Tajima and Himiko, youngest sibling of Uchiha Madara, and twin sister of Uchiha Izuna.

The Uchiha household was shaken by her memory loss. That's what the healer had diagnosed her with, and she was more than willing to go along with this narrative. She was ordered bed rest, and every now and then a member of the family would come to check on her, eyes filled with worry and sadness. All but the father, who had seemed relieved when he came home and found her alive that night, but had been insanely busy ever since. She came to understand that he was the leader of their community and that Madara was his heir. She heard him leave early in the mornings with his sons, and comeback very late at night. The brothers and mother were busy too, but they all tried to keep her company as much as they could, and during those times they did their best to jog her memory.

That's how she learned a lot about her new life, especially from the chatty Izuna.

Haruka was the youngest and only daughter of what used to be six siblings. Past tense because three of them had died in an ongoing war. Or wars to be exact. Between groups of people that organized themselves in clans. She herself was a member of the Uchiha Clan. Their main enemies were the Senju, but they also fought other clans. Sometimes it was because said clans had alliances with the Senju, sometimes because their own allies fought those clans and sometimes for economical purposes. That's how her four eldest siblings found themselves enlisted as child soldiers at age six, after only a year or so of training.

Madara, the eldest, had managed to survive for the past two years and, if Izuna's admiring speeches and Himiko's proud air were any indication, was a very skilled soldier. The other three weren't as lucky and had died one after the other at the hand of the Senju. Izuna, age five, had just officially started training. However, he claimed to be already skilled in taijutsu (which she imagined was some sort of empty-hand fighting style) and shuriken-jutsu (the art of throwing sharp-edged, star-shaped weapons at things). He was now focusing on ninjutsu and genjutsu.

"Two" had no idea what that meant, although she suspected it involved the energy called chakra. Her new family had been horrified that she had "forgotten" even that, and utterly dismayed when they realized she had also "forgotten" her training.

At least, this wasn't a really misogynistic society. Even girls were expected to be skilled enough to be able to defend the compound when the men were out or, in the case of the really good ones, join the battlefield. Himiko had promised to take her over the basics once more after she got better, and the two brothers said they would help her catch up on what she was missing.

"Two" chose to keep to herself that she already knew Karate, Judo, Boxing and Krav Maga. She needed training to make her new body reach her earlier strength and flexibility, and it wasn't wise to show skills that weren't supposed to exist, unless she was forced to. She also kind of looked forward to learning the "Katas" they were talking about. And, as far as aiming and throwing sharp objects went, she was confident she could teach these people a thing or two. After all, poisoned needles and knives were one of her many areas of expertise.

The chakra thing was more interesting. In this world, aside from mitosis and producing stuff that keeps us alive, the cells of every organism produced an energy. After a simple intra-body process, that starts with meditation but gradually becomes subconscious, this energy is transformed into chakra that could be used in a variety of ways. That's what the green light the hands of the healer emitted was. She was told that it had many other uses, especially in fighting, but Himiko chose not to tell her more at the moment to avoid overwhelming her. But she could already feel the chakra starting to run through her, as if her body still remembered what to do.

So far, that was all the useful information she got. The rest of it was gossip and information about different family relations and friends. It was kind of heartwarming when the day before, Izuna came back from training with freshly cut flowers, some pastries and get-well soon wishes from their supposed play-mates. When she was a kid, the other members of the Organization never did this for each other. Injuries were common currency and their relationship was strictly business after all.

All except for him. "One." Her brother.

"Two" shook her head to get that thought out. She didn't need to go there. She can't think about him.

Himiko opened the door of the room where she lay on her futon. She came to kneel beside her and gave a smile when she noticed the empty dishes next to her. She hadn't left this room besides for going to the outhouse (yes outhouse, no toilets this time. Although there was a faucet in the kitchen, so thank god for small blessings.) and had her meals delivered to her. She shared this room with Izuna, while Madara had one all to himself; although she had a feeling the poor boy wouldn't have minded going back to the earlier three kids per room set-up.

Himiko, "Two" couldn't bring herself to think about her as mom, started, " I see your appetite is back, I'm glad." She only got a smile in response but continued," Today we have to leave you alone, I can no longer postpone meeting with the widows of the attack to work out plans for their future, and your brothers have training in the morning and assessments in the afternoon so they won't be able to comeback either. And then there is the assembly in the evening. Even Izuna is of age to attend now. How I wish you could have been there too."

"Two" sat up, curious now. "What assembly?"

Himiko gave a dry smile, "Not the monthly one. It's an exception we're making to discuss how to deal with the betrayal of the Chinoki Clan. Your father wants everybody's input. We cannot let this slide."

"Two" was a little confused. "Chinoki? I thought we were allies with them?"

Himiko's smile only got drier. "That's what we all thought. But, sweetie you will come to learn that, in our world, you can never know what the others are thinking. You can never let your guard down. Or you get stabbed in the back. Like the Chinoki tried to do to us. Thankfully we were ready and the casualties were minimal. The bulk of their forces were decimated by our clan and even their clan head perished. But some of them are still left. Their new leader swears up and down that the clan was divided, and that he was a part of the faction against betraying the Uchiha. He gave multiple apologies and some compensation. So we are assembling today to decide on a course of action that suits everybody. Especially that some of our members are married to women of the Chinoki."

"Two's" expression was pensive. It was a complicated matter indeed. But ultimately she had only been here for three days and didn't have much information on the political climate of the continent, so she had no opinion. Himiko smiled at her light frown and said, "As the daughter of the clan head and the sister of the next, it is your duty to learn more about how to deal with these situations. In the future your opinion will hold weight. I know you are a bit shy and not as assertive as your brothers. Maybe that's because we are quite overprotective of our little girl. And that's why I wanted you to be there tonight. But you are still recovering so there is no need to rush. Your father will understand, and so will the clan."

"Two" gave her a smile and said some words of understanding. And then Himiko left to her busy day. Shy and not assertive? How amusing. She and the previous Haruka seem to have little in common. Even though she had been silent most of the time, it was to learn more before deciding on a course of action. She will have a good laugh when the family gets to know her better, that's for sure.

Truth be told, she wasn't as sick as the family seemed to think. Actually she felt just fine and had energy to spare. The only thing that reminded her that she was injured was the tightly wrapped bandage on her forehead. So she decided it was time to explore her new home.

The front door opened to a large living room where you could find a wooden table, several cushions and two sets of shelves on opposite walls. One was filled to the brim with neatly stacked weapons. The other one however only had some dusty books in it and five or six scrolls. Clearly the family wasn't big on reading. She wondered if the writing system here was the same as the one she knew. And if she was supposed to be literate. At the back of the room there was a door that led to the kitchen. Or what could be considered the ancestor of the kitchen. Wooden shelves and cupboards took up the wall right next to the door and the one next to it. The cupboards were about her height and their tops served as worktops. The wall to her left had a faucet coming out of it, with a big wooden barrel underneath it, and what seemed to be a mud oven. And right next to the oven was a brazier with a small pot on top. Surely, it had her lunch in it. There was no fourth wall, just a large sliding screen door that led to a wooden porch overlooking a small garden. The porch went around the back of the house and could be accessed through three other sliding screen doors, each one leading to one of the rooms. The rooms all had a similar lay out. Tatami floors, one or two large dressers, two shelves, futons and a wooden hanger for the men's armor. A wall marked the perimeter of the property and, as mentioned before, there was an outhouse at the end of the garden.

After the tour, "Two" came to a conclusion she was already dreading. These people had a very loose relationship with hygiene. Sure the bare minimum was done and it wasn't exactly disgusting, but, as the woman of the house, Himiko didn't seem to be thriving. And the boys were no help either. The tatami floor had so many stains she stopped counting after ten. The table and the worktops were sticky. The wooden barrel still had last night's dishes in it. There was a pile of dirty laundry in the corner of each room, and she had noticed that everybody's clothes had holes in them, and when they were patched up it was done sloppily at best. And let's not speak about the dust that had piled up in some spaces. Clearly the Uchiha household wasn't running on gold, (which spoke volumes of the clan's situation, if this was the state of their leader's house) but poverty was never an excuse to live like this. Especially when the only thing that was sparkling clean and organized in this house was that damn weapons shelf. She appreciated that they knew the importance of a well maintained weapon, but what a twisted sense of priority!

"Two" sighed loudly. She better get to work because even if it was only seven in the morning, with this small body and the available tools, getting this house back up to standard was going to take her the whole day. And she might as well contribute to the running of the house, since she's a member of it now.

She decided to start with the laundry, so that it will have time to dry while she tackled everything else. Hopefully, she might have time later to mend the clothes properly. She emptied the wooden barrel, leaving the dishes for later, cleaned it and left it to fill with water as she looked for soap and gathered all the laundry. As expected, laundry took her all morning, as doing five people's share of clothes by hand was no easy task. By the time everything was hanging neatly, on the clotheslines outside in the garden, she was already exhausted. She made her way to the kitchen once more just in time to stop her reheating launch from burning.

Launch was a blend. You might start thinking that "Two" is a snob, but she assures you she isn't. She was just used to proper seasoning. Clearly this world didn't lack spices as there was a small selection of them in the shelves, they just weren't used right. Another thing to rectify. "Two" was a good cook and she knew it. Cooking lessons were included in her training both for survival and as a tool during spying missions. "Twelve" had actually taken this art to such a high level that his official cover was that of the chef of a five star restaurant where the rich and influential had their habits. A goldmine for information gathering, as well as the perfect place to put a slow acting poison in someone's food. Nothing hooked an unsuspecting businessman more than a well cooked meal. Well, one thing. But let's not go there yet.

After a short pause, to eat and get her strength back, she started on the rest of the chores. The dishes were done fast, wiped and stored in their proper cupboards. The table and worktops were scrubbed clean and every speck of dust was chased out the house. She even let herself into the couple's and Madara's room and cleaned them from top to bottom, privacy be damned. She couldn't let insects and small rodents start thinking that they were welcome back. She already had to chase one particularly self-important mouse out of the house. Hopefully there weren't more where that came from. The floor was another deal. "Two" did her best with a harshly squeezed wet-cloth, but she couldn't win every battle.

All in all, it was around six in the evening and the sun was setting down when she filled a vase, she had found gathering dust on the book shelf, with water and put some freshly cut flowers from the garden in it. Depositing it on the table, she let herself slump forward utterly exhausted. This was unacceptable. She needed to work on her cardio ASAP. But she also was content. One step at a time, she might be able to start accepting this as her new home.

The family had that assembly in the evening, so "Two" guessed she was on her own for dinner. Shuffling to the kitchen, she decided to make herself something up to her standards tonight. After finding the ingredients for a nice dinner, she decided to make something for the others too. As a thank you for being nice and helpful. And if they already had dinner, they could always keep it for tomorrow's bento.

"Two" was used to cooking for herself, and she already admitted to liking the activity. But for some reason she was happier doing it now than any other time. She came to a stop while frying some vegetables when she noticed that she was singing a pop song she knew. Why was she giddy? This was a mundane activity at best. One she had done countless times. Why was cooking for her family making her so happy?

Wait.

Her family? When did she start confusing the Uchiha for her family? Did they grow on her? Sure, they were nice people, but she had met nice people before. She had even murdered nice people before.

Setting the pan with the cooked vegetables aside, she crouched as a memory submerged her.

The smiling face of "One" was looking back at her from across the table, but she knew that was his nervous smile. He was waiting for her reaction after dropping that bomb on her. She looked at him like he had grown two heads. And then she looked at the baby in his arms. And then at the woman next to him. And then back at him.

After a while she croaked, "Yours? That thing is yours? Like in you having, hopefully consensual, sex with that woman, waiting nine months and then taking it out of her? That kind of yours?"

"One" chuckled and the woman hid her smile with her hand. He answered, "Yes, on all accounts. It was a surprise but we couldn't be happier."

"Happy? You are happy? The feeling you might want to try is freaked out! Have you lost your mind? A baby? And with an outsider? If your biological clock was ticking, you could have told 'Command' and he would have paired you with someone. Why the hell would you go and do this? Why? Why?"

"One" gave her an apologetic smile and said, "'Two,' you are the only family I have and I never hide anything from you. You knew something like this was coming. I always said that I wanted a family, a normal one. I want someone to come to every night. I want people to share my meals with. And I want it to be on my terms, with people I like. Not just something 'Command' ordered."

Share a meal with people he likes? Is this what she was trying to do? She decided to put that thought to rest and went back to finishing her soup.

When everything was done she set the table for five and just sat there lost in thought. She didn't even notice the voices until they were at the door. Izuna's excited voice filtered in, sometimes cut by his parents or Madara's giggle or stern remark. The door was opened and she stared as the happy family made their way in and started taking off their sandals.

The first to notice her was the father. His eyes only lingered for a while and then went to analyze the clear differences in the room. Himiko rushed to her side worriedly and said, "Haruka, Why did you get out of bed? You are supposed to rest." The rest of the family came in slowly. They clearly were noticing more of the changes than the mother. Izuna couldn't hold it in long enough for her to answer and started firing questions. "You cleaned? All on your own? And what's that smell? You cooked? Since when do you cook?"

Himiko's eyes darted around wildly and she took a big whiff of the smell in the house. And then she went back to staring fixedly at her. Everybody's questioning glances were directed towards her so she decided that it was time to start talking. "I woke up feeling fine today, so I decided to be useful. It's nothing much, just some cleaning, laundry and cooking. I hope you are all hungry, dinner is still hot."

The four of them still fixed her for a while, and then Tajima gave a satisfied smile and said, "Good, I was starting to wonder how much time you were still going to spend in bed. It's a pleasant surprise that for once you did something useful without being dragged into it. Maybe that blow to the head knocked some of that laziness and spoiled attitude out of you."

Geez, what a caring father he is, thought "Two".

Madara and Izuna seemed to snap out of it too. They gave her teasing smirks and Madara said, "Well, I am expecting to get food poisoning tomorrow." And Izuna followed, "I'm not even expecting to get through the night. And since when do you know how to cook? Aren't you supposed to have lost all of your memories?"

Again all eyes were on her, but she just shrugged it off. "I don't know, maybe I remember just bits and pieces. I guess I just knew what to do subconsciously. Let's ask the healer later why. She might have some answers."

Himiko was still staring at her incredulously. Something seemed off with her, and for a while "Two" worried she might have done too much. But then she just gave her a smile and said, "Yes, let's ask the healer later. Maybe your memories are slowly coming back and you remember assisting me in the kitchen."

Again with that weird look. "Two" felt like this was a test. Like the wrong answer might cast suspicion on her. But then again, who would believe that a 17 year old woman was trapped in the body of a five year old from another world. So she just went with the flow. "I guess that's it."

To her credit, Himiko just smiled, gave her shoulder a light pat and followed the others into the rooms to get changed, while "Two" served the dishes. Now everybody was sitting at the table and looking incredulously at its content. "Two" thought that she definitely went overboard with showing off. But the others were hungry and so they wordlessly started filling their bowls.

Tajima was the first to take a bite and she watched as his eyes widened a bit and he said, "This is good. Even better than Himiko's I dare to say".

See what she meant? The key to cooking is seasoning.

That was all the others needed to dig in and, for a while, the brothers sang her praises while stuffing their mouths. Himiko also ate, a fake smile on her lips, and gave some praises. "Two" decided not to mind her. She was enjoying this. A family dinner that included her. She wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

So, she ate while listening to the others recounts of their day and what they had learnt from the assembly, while Tajima gravely gave pointers and insights. After dinner, she wordlessly did the dishes and didn't forget to bring the now dry clothes into the house. The family was in the living room, where Madara and Izuna were polishing the weapons they would need for tomorrow's training and Tajima read some scrolls. She took the big pile of clothes next to Himiko who had already prepared a sewing kit. The two of them silently folded the clothes while taking time to fix what needed to be fixed. After a while it became evident that "Two" was much better at the fixing part, so she took that task entirely. Not without another one of the weird looks Himiko was giving her. She might have to ration the showing off of her knowledge, so as not to spook everyone, but she had decided that she wasn't going to limit herself. She was going to use her knowledge if that made her life better, consequences be damned. It's not like she was given a set of rules before being thrust into this. The atmosphere in the room was warm and peaceful despite the silence. At around eleven, she was finished and, after giving everybody their respective pile and getting thanks for her hard work, she went to bed.

That night, as she lay in the dark next to a softly snoring Izuna, she decided that this might actually work.