I was twelve the first time.
Nobody else was home. Please God, send me an angel. A steady crimson drip fell from my wrists as I stepped into the lukewarm water of the tub. I can't take this anymore! I sat down, the steady burning in my body, the constant exhaustion taking it's toll. I laid back, letting the the water adapt a red hue. Tears fell from my eyes and I closed them in defeat.
Stop. My eyes flew open. No one was there. I closed my eyes again. Get up. Don't do this. Such a deep voice.
"What?" My eyes opened again. I could feel the energy sucking itself from my body.
Don't die.
I sluggishly pulled myself from the tub. I crawled to the cabinets, rooting through them to find the bandages. I wrapped wrists in gauze and bandages to stem the blood flow. I crawled weakly to the living room, and collapsed against the couch. Good girl. Everything went black.
I was sixteen the second time.
I had gone to visit the big city, and had stayed behind the group I had come with. The constant exhaustion was taking it's toll on me again. The burning sensation I had grown used to. I had it for as long as I could remember. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me. If anything, they said I was the healthiest they had ever seen. But I was constantly tired. It had started when I had turned eight. And with it came emptiness. It felt like something was missing from my world, but I couldn't figure out what.
I stared down a the cars that looked like little beetles below. The wind whipped against my face, causing my eyes to sting and tear up. I carefully pulled myself up and over the railing, clinging to the railing, perched at the edge of the building. I wished someone would save me from this nightmare.
Don't. A different voice from before called out. It was just as smooth, but as the first bordered on bass, this voice was the average baritone of most males. It was just as beautiful though. I looked up into the sky, tears falling from my eyes. Keep holding on. Don't give up yet.I broke into a sob.
I carefully turned around, clutching the railing, and pulled myself back over. My legs were shaking so badly that I hit my knees when I made it back to safety. "Why?" I whimpered. "I just want it to stop, so why?"
Hang in there.
I was eighteen when I found out who they were.
"Selena, what's that face about?" My classmate looked into my face as I stared into my phones screen. My face had become cherry red as I realized where the second voice I had heard came from. I stared at Kakashi's bare face with wide eyes. These angels have a sick sense of humor. So if the second one was Kakashi, who was the first one?
"It's nothing." I cleared my throat, gathering my control. My face went back to it's pale complexion.
"Whatever you say." They turned away from me. "Probably is looking at porn." They grumbled. I smirked as I began to look up more Japanese episodes of Naruto.
I listened to every voice, trying to figure out if it was the voice I had heard.
There. My eyes widened as I realized just who's voice saved me the first time. I stared into onyx orbs. Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake are my angels?
I was twenty three when I met my real mother. When my life changed.
I tottered into my apartment, pulling away my silver hair from my teal eyes, trying to see in the dark. I dropped my purse in the doorway after shutting and locking my door. I continued to stumble around in my mildly intoxicated state. I groaned as I turned on the light, abusing my poor eyes. I turned the light back off and stumbled forward. I could no longer feel the ground. I fell forward and groaned.
"Who the hell are you?!" I looked up at a busty blond glaring at me. As our eyes met, her angry expression faltered. "Dan?"
"I had more liquor than I thought." I mumbled stupidly. She stood up and grabbed my chin to see my face better. Her eyed widened.
"It can't be. You should be much much older!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah?" I struggled to my feet, looking around the familiar office. "How old should I be, then?"
"At least in your forties." She stared at me sternly.
"Well, I'm not. I'm twenty three." I mumbled.
"Tsuki..." Tsunade hugged me.
"Who?" I blinked.
"You are Tsuki Senju. My daughter. I'd know those eyes anywhere. They're just like your father's." She smiled at me tenderly. Then her gaze hardened. "I looked everywhere for you, but the woman I entrusted to watch over you while I got myself sorted out disappeared with you. And here you are..."
"...I thought my name was Selena...?" I finally commented. I didn't say anything regarding the fact that she was a fictional character in my favorite anime.
"No. I suppose she would have renamed you. Just a moment. Shizune!" She yelled out the last bit. I noted it was dark outside.
"Yes, lady Tsunade?" Shizune walked through the doors. Her eyes locked on me.
"Meet your cousin, Tsuki." Tsunade presented me proudly, to Shizune's surprise.
"But... She would have to be..."
"I know. But she isn't." Tsunade grinned.
"She is, however, intoxicated and tired." I piped up. They both looked at my swaying voluptuous figure.
"She has your figure..." Shizune mumbled, eyeing my chest.
"Can you take her to the mansion? Let her sleep. We'll get answers tomorrow." She patted me on the shoulder.
"Thank you." I groaned.
"Sure." She ushered me out of the door. I slowly lost the effects of the alcohol in my system and I began to walk straight. I made sure to memorize the way so that I could find my way back again. It wasn't long before I was in bed, sleeping.
I woke up with a fuzzy feeling in my head. "Crazy dream." I grumbled. I looked around myself, only to widen my eyes in confusion. This isn't my room?
I walked outside, to find that it was just passed dawn. Not. A. Dream. I made my way around the village keeping my eyes moving from building to building. As I walked past a random building halfway through my route, I saw a few random chuunin walking around, joking. I immediately took off toward the tower. Those chuunin had the Uchiha clan symbol on their clothes. I didn't even think about walking through the front door of the tower. I used my parkour skills to make it up to the window of my mother's office. I tapped on the glass, and she opened the window for me.
"Do you not use the front door either?" She sighed in exasperation.
"There are Uchiha in the village!" I pointed back outside.
"Yeah... Why wouldn't there be?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"I just... it's... um... I need to tell you something." I stuttered.
"Go on."
"Where I was, this was all an anime, and in that anime it was established in the storyline that the Uchiha had been massacred by order of Danzo." I watched her eyes as understanding dawned in them.
"Something like that almost happened almost a decade ago. Danzo's plot to steal all the Sharingan was foiled by a young shinobi who came forward with information incriminating him. And another young man convinced the clan to ignore an outsider who was trying to get them to stage a coup d'etat. So what you saw was a world where his plan succeeded." She bit her thumb nail. "But another world where ours was only fiction... It might explain your age. The times run differently. When you would have wound up in your forties by now, had you stayed here, you are only in your twenties now."
She looked me up and down. "I need to do a quick scan okay?" I nodded. "And I'll get Shizune to find you something else to wear." I nodded again as Shizune slipped out of the room. I hadn't even noticed she was there. I watched my mother build up chakra in her hand to scan me over. I kept my eyes on the process, watching her eyes widen when her hands reached where my chakra core probably was. "Your reserves are enormous. How?"
"No clue. But I do know this is the first time I didn't feel like I was burning alive in my skin. Or constant exhaustion, for that matter." I shrugged.
"You'll need to be trained. Your chakra coils are highly developed. It's like you had a constant leak of chakra all your life, trying to search for other chakra signatures. But from what you just said, it sounds like that's exactly what happened..." She searched my eyes. "I'll train you myself. Do you know anything about jutsu?"
"I know all about ninjutsu... in theory. Chakra didn't exist where I was. but I learned everything I could from every information source I could get my hands on. As for taijutsu, I learned a style called capoeira. You have to be agile with that one. Genjutsu was something that was interesting, but I couldn't quite get much to read on it." I sat on the desk as I waited for Shizune to arrive with clothes that would help me blend in better.
"It's a start." She sighed. "Once you have your new clothes on, come with me and we'll begin training." Shizune walked through the door carrying a bundle. I nodded.
"Again." Tsunade grunted. I gasped as I tried to take a break. The chakra control had been a snap. My stamina was pretty high because of my lifestyle. But actually fighting was hard. At least, fighting her was hard. I knew it wouldn't be much longer until I had collapsed.
"Right." I darted forward, intent on snatching the leaf from her hand. I ducked, I dodged, I kicked and punched. But she never even needed both hands. She finally let me rest after it was well passed noon.
"Come on. Let's grab a bite." She helped me up. "You did well. Your taijutsu is at least chuunin level. Next we'll try your hand at ninjutsu."
"Okay... How am I supposed to do that?" I questioned tiredly. "I don't even know my chakra nature. Let alone how to actually channel my chakra into a seal to perform one."
"We'll find out. So what do you want to eat? My treat." She grinned down at me as we traveled around the village.
"Honestly? I never ate this sort of food before. It's like a whole new culture." I said as I caught a whiff of something tasty. Tsunade chuckled.
"How about we just go into a tea house this time? I'll order." She grinned down at me. I frowned.
"You're taller than me." She looked shocked as I said it, then giggled.
"To be fair, It's not by much. It's mostly the heels." We walked into the restaurant, and I saw all of the people in the shop stop speaking as they saw their leader enter. I quickly looked down.
"Does this happen often?" I kept my voice low as I spoke.
"Hm? No, not usually. Must be my beautiful daughter next to me that's got their attention." She boasted loudly. Murmurs began all throughout the shop. She then spoke lower to me. "Had to get the word out somehow. I think we should see about getting you your own clothes. Then we can head back to training. Sound good?" I nodded knowing there wasn't much I could do to stop this willful woman.
"Right this way." The hostess ushered us to a free table. "Your server will come by shortly." She kept her professional smile on as she spoke, though her eyes brimmed with curiosity. I straightened my spine. I looked down at the menu and thanked my lucky stars the woman who raised me taught me to read this language.
"Hello, I am Kanako, I'll be your server today. What can I get you?" A peppy young woman smiled cheerily.
"We'll have a pot of jasmine, and some edamame for the table. I'll have chicken gyoza. She'll have dango." Tsunade ordered in a rapid fire pace.
"I'll have that out for you as soon as I can." Kanako chirped as she scribbled down our order.
"Dango? I might be mistaken, but isn't that a sweet?" I asked.
"Yes. But it makes a great snack. Besides. This will hardly fill you up. I can grab us something else as we walk." She grinned. I chucked.
"You're enjoying parading me around, aren't you?"
"Can you blame me?" She continued to grin. I decided to look around to see if I could spot anyone I knew. My eyes spotted spiky black hair and an Uchiha clan crest. The person sitting opposite the spiky haired Uchiha Had long, silky looking black hair, and dark eyes. He looked stressed still.
"Mother, have you looked into the health of Itachi Uchiha?" I asked quietly, hoping I didn't garner his attention. I looked down at the table as I saw him scan the tea shop.
"Yes, I have. The illness he had has been cured. Has been for years, in fact. You really do know about people here, don't you?" She smiled softly. I nodded. I glanced back up his direction to see that he was looking at the person in front of him. His eyes shot up to meet mine all of a sudden, and I looked back to my mother.
"Only some." I grinned weakly. It was then that our server came with our tea and edamame. We sipped lightly at our drinks, and crunched on the dry soybeans.
"I'm glad I got to see my daughter again." Tsunade looked like she was about to cry. I felt panic take over. My eyes widened and I paled. My arms began to flap quickly, though still close to my body. I looked around, unsure what to do with a crying person, and tried to avoid Itachi's intense stare. "It's okay. I won't cry." Tsunade quickly wiped her eyes, and I calmed down. "I'm just so happy."
"I'm glad I finally got to meet you, too." I answered softly. She grinned.
"Here are your orders!" Kanako piped up, carefully sliding the plates of food onto our table, and then left. I looked down at the plate of dango and lifted one stick of it. I stared at it for a moment, hesitant to try it.
"Go on. It won't bite." Tsunade smirked. I took an experimental bite. Not bad.
I continued eating my dango, diligently avoiding the eyes a few tables away. Satisfied that I was enjoying my meal, my mother tucked into her own food.
It was when the weight of the stare lifted, that I chanced a glance over to the table to find it unoccupied. I sighed in relief, listening to my mother prattle about mundane things, nodding along when necessary.
"Water chakra nature, with earth chakra nature... hmmm... Maybe you have it." Tsunade scrutinized me.
"Have what?" I asked, backing away slightly.
"Wood affinity." She smirked. "Only one way to find out. Tonight, I have a scroll I want you to read and practice on for the week. But while you're at it, practice water jutsu. Got it?" She was already headed toward the tower.
"Yeah... I'll just keep practicing then." I called.
"See ya at home!" She waved back.
I focused inwards as I tried to remember the seals for a low level water jutsu. It was going to be a long afternoon.