Chapter 8: Two Years of Growth
Two years had passed in a quiet rhythm. Rai's world had expanded far beyond the small room where he was born. The once incomprehensible sounds of his parents' voices had slowly begun to make sense. He still did not understand everything, but now, words had meaning, gestures carried instruction, and he could respond deliberately.
"Rai!" the woman called from the courtyard. Her voice was bright, playful.
He ran—or rather, stumbled in small, determined steps—toward her, arms outstretched. The word now matched the action, and he understood instinctively: he was expected.
The man crouched nearby, guiding a small wooden toy across the ground. "Catch it!" he said clearly, exaggerating the motion. Rai's eyes followed the toy, and with clumsy precision, he reached, grabbed, and held it triumphantly.
His parents laughed, a sound that was once a mystery but now felt like home.
Rai's days were full of learning. Each morning, he repeated simple words: "Eat," "Come," "Stop," "Play." By now, he could string a few together, forming short phrases that made his parents smile in delight. Their praise, always familiar in tone, reinforced his understanding.
And still, he observed. He noticed small patterns in movement, in the rhythm of conversation, in the routines of the household. He imitated gestures and sounds, gradually shaping the language into something he could use—not perfectly, but well enough to communicate his intentions.
At night, lying in his bed, he often recalled faint memories of Earth. Streets, machines, voices, lights—they flashed briefly in his mind. Strange, distant, impossible. But they were his. And alongside them, the quiet note in his consciousness remained:
This space will open again in ten years.
He didn't think about it now. For two years, life had been simple: warmth, learning, and the steady presence of those who loved him. He spoke. He laughed. He stumbled and fell, only to be lifted again. He was a child of this world, growing, learning, and slowly, perfectly, becoming Rai Uchiha.