A/N: Hello there! If you're clicking onto this work thinking it's only one author working on this project, it's not. There are two of us! Twin sisters to be exact. Kairi, the youngest in this story, will be written by SassySizzleMonster and the voice, as its of a child's, will be very telling and not much showing will be done. On the flip side, Kaida will be the older voice and we hope you'll find the dynamic between them as fun as we do!

Note: Unedited (Will fix soon)


Rumble Tumble, Double Trouble!

ARC 1: Wormhole (1)


KAIRI

Sorry sis, I'm so sorry. I grip my knees and rub my face into the crevices of it. The scent of the freshly cleaned dress I wear had stopped comforting me after a while, but I'd been kind of hoping... I sigh, a light breath that grazes my leg and leaves it colder than it had been before.

I look around, and once again I see no chance of escape. This isn't my world, and it's incredibly far from it. That doesn't mean I don't know where I am, though. I remember watching Naruto because my older sister loves it and I enjoyed what I had seen of it. I stopped watching because I'd gotten fed up with how long it was. I'm impatient. I really should've listened when my older sister was going on about it. Since I'm here now.

I'm now near the brink of tears, I mean come on, I'm just a little girl that's barely turned six years old. I was in a cell without even having committed a crime. And I'm certain that if you do no wrong, there should be no punishment. They'll think that too. Right?

I stand immediately when I hear a loud clang, I'm certain its more for me than anything else. This is meant to unnerve me, or maybe so I'm not scared, right? I'm definitely nerved, though. Yeah, it freaks me out more so than their silent approach. Maybe. I'm not sure which is worse, really.

It's the same guy I fell on during some sort of meeting between the masked men and the Hokage when I came from the portal. Or wormhole, I think I remember my sister mentioning something like this before, like how scientists don't really know anything about them. So I don't either. I definitely don't.

"Gonna set me free?" I ask in spotty Japanese, looking at him hopefully. I have to admit, I'm quite the optimist. Is that a bad thing? I hope not. My sister says it's not though, but that's the opposite. A pessimist.

He doesn't respond, only unlatches the door and comes forward only to grab me by the wrist. My nose twitches at that. It reminds of Korean dramas, really, how the guy always grabs the girl by the wrist. It irks me. No one should be bossed around like that, that's what my sister says.

I want to pull away, but I know this is definitely life and death. So I let him lead me out.

I feel hot under his grip, my nerves getting the best of me as he leads me to another wing of the maze-like building that this place very much is. I'm sure it's the headquarters I saw in the Anime, I think, really. My gut twists as he leads me further and I have to stop myself from pulling back to vomit.

Calm down, stomach, really. Where is he leading me? I have no clue, really, honest, yup. A minute or two passes of him leading me around and we're at a door.

The little tab on the side of the door reads Yamanaka in Hiragana, and I have to run my head for memories of why that struck me. Why do I feel like I know the name? Oh! Right, Yamanaka Ino! Aha, I'm so smart. Then my blood runs cold. Crap! No, I'm sorry I shouldn't curse, really. I'm just positive this could cause trouble.

The Yamanaka did the mind thing right?

Oh no. Really, oh no.

Anbu, I remember my sister calling the mask guys this, leads me inside the room and pauses before looking at me.

"Strip," then he pushes a hospital gown to my chest. "and put this on." Where did he even get that? What? My parents and sister always warned me against doing that, especially in front of strangers, no matter what. But this again was something necessary and my sister would agree, I know she would.

I look at him, waiting for him to turn around. I mean, I'm a girl and he's...well to be honest I don't really know how old he is. He needs to turn away. I'll strip, since life or death, but he needs to turn away. Because he's a stranger and that's just freaky.

"Turn please?" I ask poorly, I really should've listened more during dad's lessons when he was teaching me Japanese, his mother tongue, really.

He notices the quarks in my speech, but doesn't say anything as he makes a show of turning around, but I know he can still see me in some sort of way. He has to be seeing me in some other way, really. I'm an intruder, right? Don't lose sight of the enemy. Right? Really.

Once he's not looking at me, I comply and begin to strip away the complicated layers of my dress. Which is the first time for me to stripping myself. Daddy always dresses me or sometimes my sister. I think I know how to do it though. I remember daddy laughing when I tried a long time ago and had gotten stuck. I hope it doesn't turn out like that right now.

The dress I wear is really cute, too. My mom really loved it on me. I love it still.

A white cotton button down top with long sleeves attached to a long black skirt with ruffles of white fabric underneath. The skirting itself, while attached at the end of the top, also had thick long black suspenders with buttons at the top so I can slip it on my shoulders for a cute look or let them hang loose for a tomboy feel. I also had on a black belt that is intricately tied at my back to make it hard to slip off, as it was a lot bigger than me when I'd gotten it for my last birthday. Mama gave it to me.

I untie the ribbon at my neck before anything else and set it down on a table right besides me. I look down at my chest for a moment because I finally see what I had thought I'd lost in the fall. Surprise hits me and I smile.

I resist the urge to jump up and down, thank god for this sensible dress for having pockets! I bring my hands to my pocket and take out my sister's cell phone, the real reason why I'd tumbled into this place.

I'm so sorry, so very sorry, big sis! Dang it! Why am I so stupid? If I hadn't wanted to tease her about her new boy-that's-apparently-just-a-friend, I wouldn't have gotten into this mess. But then again, how could I have known this would happen?

I take my mind from it and place it back into my pocket before the anbu notices it. Then I do what he ordered and exchange my cute outfit for a terribly drafty one.

After a moment of silence, another man comes into the room, he's also very familiar and I can't remember his name, but I know who he is. He's Ino's father, the guy with the long blonde hair and nice personality. Does he have a nice personality? I don't remember. I just remember liking Ino a lot because she was a hero.

"Hello there, I'm Yamanaka Inoichi, what's your name?" The man says pleasantly, he kneels down before me and looks gentle as he rubs the crown of my head. I hope he doesn't ruin the curls my daddy did for me.

"Kamishiro Kairi." I say, and immediately blubber out unknown words afterwards. I hate that trait of mine. Being completely honest and answering just as honestly sometimes has it's drawbacks. Is being honest of my name wrong in this situation though? I'm not sure, I'm never sure. Really. Oh, it's back, the nervousness. I didn't realize it'd left me, really.

"Good, now please, sit down on the bed." Oh that's a bed? I thought that was a metal table, really. I do as he says, either way. "Now, lay down." Ok.

He comes forward very quietly, like I'm a cat whose caught and doesn't have any outs that may book it the moment he moves too quickly. It unnerves me, even still. I don't like stillness, I'd rather prefer he be quick. When he's reached me, he places a hand gently on my forehead, and that's when I finally understand.

Yes, I was right, he does the mind thing.

His hand that reaches my forehead only touches it for a moment before everything flashes. Things fly over my eyes like missiles going faster than light and yet I'm able to process it like it's really happening. All of these were my memories, from start to now. My conscious though, I think, can't take it. I keep fading in and out as he grazes my mind and searches for his answers. He knows I'm harmless, he knows I'm a weak little girl from a world where weak people live and don't fight in wars all the time. He knows.

Oh, is this where I die? Really? I hear that saying a lot, how people who have near death experiences say they see their life flash before them. Well I think it's definitely the same as this. Though I don't think I'm dying, I just feel like my head is splitting, is that dying? I'm not sure, really. He's opening me, like a book of sorts, except this is a head book. I think I may die from this, especially now that I can feel he's an intruder and feel that some sort of warmth is pooling inside of head, trickling around and it's scaring me. I'm afraid.

I'm really afraid, he needs to leave, I can tell him as much as he wants, but I don't want him prying me open like I'm some treasure chest. He now knows though, and I'm unable to do anything to thwart his actions.

I'm sobbing now, a hic leaves my mouth and I realize it's over when I do. He withdraws and places a soft palm over my limp ones.

Oh is he trying to comfort me? He knows me now, better than I think I know myself, so he must know I'm weak and will need a hand to guide me. I always need a hand to guide me.

"Watch over her," he says, his voice telling of some emotion I can't put my finger on, then his presence is no longer within the air. It scares me how quickly this all happens, as if to myself it's been forever but the air tells me different. It's only been a few minutes, but it's felt like a lifetime, my lifetime. I feel tired, emotionally drained and ready to sleep forever.

So I'm lulled into darkness soon after.


ARC 1: Wormhole (1)


I have my dress back, it's been washed again, but it doesn't have the same fragrance of the detergent my daddy uses. It smells of strawberries instead of tropical fruit. I feel off. It's definitely different. I like the smell though, but I miss the other scent.

I'm in a different room now, no longer a flat out jail, instead it's a furnished cell. It's one room and one bathroom though, much like a hotel looks. But there are no windows, and I miss the sun.

I'm not upset though, they've supplied me with plenty of food, and I can eat quite a bit. Especially since I had slept for so long. I'm told it'd been nearly 24 hours! I'd never slept that long in my entire life.

I'm feeling lonely now, I miss my sister. All I can remember is her yelling at me not to fall right before I tripped over some stump that had fallen over in the forest we lived by. Then I'd been dropped in thin air in this world I know very little about. I wish again I'd listened.

Which seems kind of common, I need to listen. I need to listen to my daddy more so I don't feel so lost when someone speaks to me in Japanese and they use words I can't comprehend yet. So I don't have to struggle when they tell me to do something and I forget the verb their using. I also need to listen to my sister more, so I don't feel so lost when somehow I do understand what's said, but it's something I can't understand at all. If that makes sense.

I try to shake the feeling of loneliness. I look towards the man who is slowly getting familiar to me. It's the anbu who I'd been caught by who keeps me company now that I'm awake. He's tall of course, and well built, even though he seems young I don't know if he's old or not. His mask reminds me of a cat though, ears that can be mistaken for horns, two holes for his eyes, and a very cat-like grin printed on the white of it. There's also two long streaks that cross his cheeks and I think it looks funny.

"Wearing mask? 'Cause you're ugly? Are you hurt? Scar? Want to be mysterious cool?" I'm irritated by my messed up speech, once more. I wish he knew English. I'm good at that language.

He tries his best to decode my terrible Japanese and sighs, which is weird for me to hear. "What if I told you, I'm all of the above?"

"I'm confused." I reply. I'm confused now, really. "How?"

"I'm ugly. I have a scar. I'm mysterious and cool." Anbu says this easily for me to understand, clipped and short words that I know. He set his arms as if to say, 'there, try to combat that.'

"Okay, that's sad. How?" He gives me a look through said mask, but I can't read it so I ignore whatever he's trying to convey. Another sigh when I just look at him with my eyebrows drawn. I bring the cupcake that sat on a wooden tray to my mouth and nom on it. It has a lemon flavor and I think it's good, not like my daddy's though. He makes the best snacks. I may be biased though.

Anbu takes some, too, but I don't see where it vanishes, like a party trick almost. I decide not to think too much about it. It's a thing.

"It just is." He says to me. I smile at him.

"You're cool, maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Maybe."

We talk a bit more like that for a few minutes when another masked man poofs in front of my anbu, his hands flickering too quickly for my eyes to comprehend so it just looks like he's standing still. Anbu nods before the other masked man leaves. He stands up from the yellow sofa he sat on and grabs for my hands.

He pulls me up so I stand straight, and then places his hands under the pits of arms and bring me towards him. My legs wrap around his waist and my hands hang loosely on his vest. I notice the tattoo on his shoulder then. It looks nice.

As I examine it, we immediately teleport to a different place entirely. I'm confused, until I remember ninja's can do that.

I'm in the hokage's office now. I tighten my grip on him, and wrap my arms around his neck as I look around the room nervously. It looks like it does in the anime, a large oak desk with stacks of paper on the tops, and windows that shine inwards lighting the room with the afternoon hue.

An old rugged man sits behind the desk and looks up when Anbu steps towards him. He's the Hokage.

Anbu tries to set me down but I keep my hold of him, shoving my head shyly in his neck. I'm scared again, but Anbu is the only thing physically familiar to me at the moment.

"It's alright, Kairi-chan." Hokage says and I look him over just to make sure. He seems like a nice person, but sometimes nice people aren't nice people at all. Daddy tells me that, and so does my sister. But I do remember Hokage, he's nice to Naruto.

"Okay." I say. There's a table with more snacks on it, with a tiny table there right next to his desk. Anbu takes me closer to it and drops me off, this time I let him go and sit down on the tiny chair that has flower patterns on it. Anbu stands next to me, slouching if only slightly. I took a crustless sandwich and nom on it, waiting for Hokage to tell me something. Like why I'm here. It's then I notice Inoichi popping into the room to stand by the hokage, his eyes grazing me over in relief.

"? to Yamanaka-san, you have ? ?, little one. He ? me you come from a ? world and that he saw our ? in the ? of some kind of ? ? yours. I would ? like to ? you ? you ? from ?, and how you ? so much about this world." My head boggles with every sound he makes, my head is hurting again. I only want him to stop speaking in Japanese and tell it to me back in English, but he can't and I feel lost because of it.

They see it in my eyes before they see it in my face.

"Sir, her ? is very ?, it's ? to use short words and short ?."

"Yeah!" I say to the Hokage, my eyebrows drawn downwards, I feel like I should react like I'd taken offense, but I didn't understand what their saying anyways.

"Okay," Hokage sighs, looking older and more wrinkled and for a slight second he sags into his chair, the fabric he wears weighing him down. The moment is gone and I've chosen to ignore it. "Kairi, where do you live?"

I wanted to shout stranger danger because you're not supposed to tell strangers that, but I knew Hokage if only a little bit. "Uh," how do I say this? How do addresses work in Japanese? "How do I say?"

Hmm.

"Alternate universe!" I know these words from an anime, I forget which one, though. I think it's what I'm trying to tell them.

"So a ? world of ours?" Hokage rubs his chin in thought. "Could it be the future of our world?" I actually understand this sentence! I understand.

"No!" I shout with a grin. "Manga! Naruto!"

"Naruto…" He's in thought, but shakes his head. "Are you still ?" Hokage almost scoffs. I don't know. I shrug.

"Manga, story." I'm tired of trying full sentences. Single words will have to suffice. "Naruto."

Hokage addresses Anbu. "? her ramen."

"Ramen?" I light up.

Anbu nods and flashes away. The side he stood by feels cold now. I look nervously to Inoichi, then to Hokage.

"This is just as you've said, Inoichi." Hokage regards the blonde man and has a look of grimness on his face.

I kick my feet out, anxious for the return of Anbu, he's getting ramen right? Why are they giving me ramen? I have all these snacks, daddy always warns me from tummy aches. They hurt.

"Of course." Inoichi replies.

Minutes pass of Inoichi and Hokage talking, but it's all too quick for me to understand and they use too many big words or words I don't know. I'm just staring into nothing when Anbu pops back by my side. I jump from the chair and step back before realizing he's carrying the thing I ordered. I beam up at him and sit back on the chair. He sets it in the middle after shuffling the other snacks around and hands me a pair of wooden chopsticks.

I break it apart like my daddy does for me when we eat and feel a twinge for him. I'm a messy eater, I can't eat without daddy. I take the chopsticks and try using them in the soup to pick up noodles, but it's hard without the rubber my daddy puts on my chopstick so I can learn how to use them.

I feel annoyed when I bring the noodles to my mouth and they slip back into the bowl. Luckily not on my dress.

I look towards Anbu for more help, who sighs again before kneeling down beside me and taking the chopsticks from my tiny fingers. He mixes the bowl around before picking up a few noodles. He brings it to my mouth.

"Blow." He orders and I do with a grin. He then tries to teach me how to grab things on my own and I laugh when I succeed without dropping any anywhere except in my mouth.

At this, Hokage says something with a laugh to Anbu that makes him sigh again. He sighs a lot.

I like it.


ARC 1: Wormhole (1)


KAIDA

"…She's coming to," a man's voice is saying as I blink into consciousness.

The very first thing I feel is burgeoning nausea and a particularly nasty headache that seems to spread throughout my body with the pounding that beat in time with my heart. I feel my eyelashes fluttering but I can't comprehend any of what I'm seeing or hearing because it's just not right.

Japanese in the small town I live in? Preposterous! Trees that extend up to dizzying heights with branches the width of three fully grown adults? Just plain laughable.

Even worse is that there's this distinctive charge in the air, like a thrum of energy I had never been able to sense before. It feels nearly…electrifying, like a constant zap against the bones of your body and an annoyingly incessant noise in the background. I resist the temptation to wince, knowing just how bonkers I had truly gone.

I unknowingly snort when a man, who I assume had been the one to speak earlier, leans over me. Like a cherry on top, it's for the first time that I notice the headband he's wearing. I recognize the symbol instantly. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

Either I just passed out, got kidnapped, and transported to some weeb dream or something really fucking messed up is going on. I inwardly wince at my harsh inner language—habit from spending so much time around my little sister. Making a face after thinking about Kairi and any possible danger she could be in, I release a reedy breath of air, just attempting to find the calmness my grandmother preached during my stays in Japan. It isn't working.

I bite my lip and pray my voice doesn't tremble when I ask, "Where am I?"

There's a murmur stirring in the suffocating air when the man responds, "Konohagakure. Where else would you expect to be?"

"…second one to be here…"

I blink at the tiny snippet I could catch and find my brain shutting down at the mere mention of Konoha.

"This isn't funny," I say almost desperately, coming to squeeze my arms to keep them from shaking. I realize then that I'm still lying on my back, completely defenseless to these obvious lunatics. "This isn't funny," I repeat, continuing on, "So you all should just end this lame joke because I'm certainly not laughing. Like, Konoha doesn't even exist so yeah, please just tell me you're j-jokin—."

"What is she even going on about?"

"…bring her…Hokage…directlysecond one."

"This can't be real," I cry out, sitting up and clutching at my head in near hysterics. I try to think of how to explain this but can find nothing but the dim memory of watching Kairi tumble into some random hole. I think…I think I had gone after her but I couldn't be too sure, everything is terribly fuzzy after a certain point. Either way, this is absolutely nuts.

"What did she just say?" The voice is female and I blink up in surprise, finding myself swallowing past a ball in my throat that feels as thick as a golf ball. I almost think I might know her but there's no recognition, only a sense that I might have slipped back into speaking English during my little panic attack.

I take a deep breath, feeling the blood in my body rush to the pulse of my throbbing brain. Willing up whatever semblance of courage I could, I murmur out softly, "Have you seen my sister? Kamishiro Kairi? She's six, black hair, dark eyes, kind of dark skinned? No?"

I nearly find myself giving into my desire to cry when their expressions turn icy. Either they've heard of her and bad things had already happened to her—making me the worst older sister in history—or they've never heard of her and I was just blathering on like some lunatic. I breathe in a shaky breath, nodding in response to my last thought. It's official; I've cracked like an egg on a sidewalk and I'm frying.

"Just perfect," I mutter out loud, not even caring when my Japanese falls away, "I have one job as a babysitter and I completely screw it up by letting my little sister fall into a—into a freaking wormhole and I can't do anything but freak out because who in the hell just wakes up in a fictional world!?" I glare up at the sky, throwing up my hands pathetically, "Lord Helix, why!?" Never mind that I'm not even stuck in the world of Pokémon—which would have been 100% more kid friendly than freaking Naruto.

I feel a little sick by the time someone decides to poke the roaring beast that I had shifted into being by trying to help me up, completely bringing out a reckless glare. They all seem to sidle back, giving me space in what feels only like a suffocating cage.

Inwardly, I'm balking at my actions because I'm simply not usually like this; I don't go through this many degrees of emotions and completely loose logic. But there's just none to be found or had. No logic in any form or way could possibly try to explain how in the hell Konoha, home to pointy objects and some questionably 'sane' overpowered ninjas could ever be the place I land in.

A fangirl should be happy, because that's the sort of thing they fantasize about in their daydreams: falling into the fantasy world, meeting their favorite angst-ridden character, and then falling again but this time it's into love as they heal the broken soul of the heartthrob they chose to form some sort of neurotic attachment over. Yeah, I've read plenty of fanfiction. I know where the fictional take on a story like this could lead me to—but this is real life and real life just doesn't have happy endings for defenseless and useless girls like me.

"Uh, Kamishiro-san?" It's the man speaking, having returned from a brief consultation with a long haired blonde man who distinctly begins to remind me of Legolas from the Lord of the Rings, perhaps being closer to Thranduil, but most definitely elfish in his appearance. Either way he looks painfully familiar, in a way that makes my brain scream and shout as if it should be 'slap in the face' obvious. I squint my eyes and cock my head to the side, struggling to bring my attention to the person actually speaking to me.

"Yes?" I prompt softly, thoughts and heart still racing in near sync with each other.

"My name is Yuuhi Shinku, and this man happens to be Yamanaka Inoichi. I believe we know a little bit about the young girl you're looking for."

I nearly weep in relief when hearing his words as my attention immediately sticks to him like glue. "I'll do anything you want me to, just please don't hurt her. She must be so scared." The last bit is said mostly to myself as I think back on how much tough bravado Kairi could be showing before bursting out in tears when a sticky situation finally hits home. It happened all the time when we watched anime together, or even played video games. As smart as she is, her age always showed up in the most alarming ways…

"Your sister is safe," Inoichi informs me, a smile on his face.

It's right about now that it hits home.

Holy shit, censorship aside, holy fucking shit.

I'm talking to the Yamanaka Inoichi, father to one of the Rookie Nine and general hot older man with serious mind abilities. It's elation at first and then...holy shit I'm talking to the Yamanaka Inoichi, father to one of the Rookie Nine and general hot older man with serious mind abilities.

"You didn't do anything to her, did you? I-I know we may seem suspicious but we're no threat I promise! We're victims to the weird, unproven scientific theory of wormholes!" Oh my god, Kairi is in danger. She's in the clutches of freaking overpowered and questionably 'sane' ninja and I'm just out here talking to a freaking fictional character.

I feel too dizzy by the time I actually tune back into what Inoichi is saying but by then its obvious what I have to do.

"...come with me-."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

I breath in a deep breath, set my shoulders and firmly nod, "Okay. Take me to your leader."

Freaking hell, I'm the alien in this case, aren't I? Let's just hope they don't keep me around for 'tests'.


ARC 1: Wormhole (1)


The 'walk' through Konoha is, simply and plainly put, surreal.

I had seen the village so many times in the anime but to see it in real life is an entirely different thing I had been expecting. Not only did it look magnanimous in size-making it laughable that it's considered a 'hidden village'-it also felt just so...disturbing, setting in the fact that I'm really not meant to be here. More concerning is the fact that, on the Hokage's mountain, Minato's face is there and yet there's a subtle feeling in the air of grief in the air that is not like Konoha in the slightest.

I'm crazy, I'm really freaking crazy. Reading into the air is just stupid, I just need to deal with facts. Finding out the timeline though, would be important. How would I know what kind of Konoha I had just tumbled into without the clear indicators? Did the Kyuubi Attack already happen? Did I get transported into the literal start of Naruto? My head hurts even more just thinking about it.

Eventually, we enter into the Hokage's tower which is actually a big giant maze that Inoichi seemingly knows how to guide me through and we make it to the door. The exact door I had witnessed Naruto slamming into at the start of the anime where he would begin yammering away about wanting to do a C-rank. I feel ill just thinking about it, the fact I am stuck in the Naruto world hitting home like...like I'm stuck at sea and the waves are hitting over my head with more power each time they swell and I'm just left struggling to breath through the disorientating experience but there's nothing to save me in the end.

Oh god, I'm in the Narutoverse. I can't be. I can't be here. Dad's not here, I can't be here. I can't be here.

I'm shaking as I watch the door open, feeling sick and confused all the while before I'm promptly ushered into the room.

It's the biggest wave thus far when I spot Sarutobi Hiruzen at his desk, surrounded in a heap of paperwork on a large oak desk in a room that feels too small.

Nope, nope, nope. Not real. I'm dreaming. I blink furiously but nothing changes in the dream. Why isn't it changing? Oh god, please change, please. In a state of panic, I look down at my hands, verifying that I do indeed have control over my actions. Horrified, I meet his gaze and numbly take a step forward into the room.

I about jump out of my skin when the door is shut behind me but, after a quick second and look around the room, I notice Kairi.

She's merely sitting at a tiny desk, mochi in hand while she yammers on in discussion with a man...with a mask.

I panic, rushing forward and crying out, "Get away from him! He's dangerous!" Because oh god, ANBU are the people who kill for a living right? Their acronym had something to do with assassination, right? Either way, he needs to take a step back. He needs to leave my little sister alone because dear god am I not going to let anything happen to her.

"Sis!" Kairi calls out, face lighting up in excitement. She wiggles giddily in her chair, short legs hanging over the edge of her chair. For the most part she looks completely unharmed, but I have to be sure.

"Kairi, are you okay?" I ask, warily eyeing the stiffly standing ANBU member. He doesn't react in even the slightest way when I block Kairi's sight of him with my body.

"I'm fine, really. I got food. This mochi is yummy, really. I remember you making mochi last week! This one is not as good as yours but I'm fine with it, really." Kairi is looking up with her widened eyes, dark eyes shining with good humor and light.

I can't hold back anymore. I quickly lean down and wrap my arms around her tightly, kissing her forehead and running my fingers through her long silky black hair while I'm at it. My heart calms with her close by, instantly feeling grounded by having a hold on her.

But now the anger sets in.

"Why did you take my phone and run off, Kairi?" I ask in English, leaning back to look at her strictly."

"You were talking with a boy," she explains as if that were reason enough.

"But you ran off to the woods!" I cry out in frustration. "What do I always tell you about the woods?"

"Not to go there..." her voice is quiet now, and she's sinking into her chair with a sad forlorn expression on her soft, round face.

"And what did you do?" I ask, even if it's obvious.

"I went in there, sorry," she looks up with her lips trembling, tears forming at her waterline. "You know, this whole thing is making me see why I need to listen to you and dad. I'm sorry, really. Really sorry, really."

I sigh before hugging her once more, tighter now as she struggles to breath. I pull back with one last peck to her forehead before murmuring out softly, "Really."

"They've been really nice to me though, Sis. Except there was this time where it went bad but after that he was really nice and then they gave me food when my tummy started rumbling. My tummy isn't rumbling anymore because they thought when I said Naruto I was talking about fishcakes and well, they thought I wanted ramen with fishcakes on it. So I ate this big bowl of ramen! It was really good, like just as good as the stuff Daddy makes, really. I got help from ANBU though, he helped me eat some of it, really, because it was too much..." Kairi rambles on as I tune out after it begins to feel like what she's saying is redundant. Either way, I need to get us out of this mess.

I blink and look up to the ANBU, finding myself feeling utterly conflicted with how I should proceed. Deciding that my situation couldn't get much worse, I interrupt Kairi's blabbering to straighten up and say, in clear distinct Japanese, to the man in the mask, "Thank you for keeping my sister comfortable. I am in your debt."

It's Hiruzen who speaks up next, asking, "What is your name?"

Heart and body jumping into back panic mode, I blink dumbly before stuttering out, "Kamishiro K-Kaida. I'm seventeen years old, ah, if you wanted to know. Sorry, uh, Hokage-sama." Right about now I wanted those theoretical waves of before to sweep me up and take me away because I'm about to start rambling in front of the Hokage. I am so shit out of luck.

"Where do you come from?"

I scratch at my head, debating on what to say when I softly respond with, "A different world."

"Yet, from Inoichi-kun's examination of your little sister, your world seems to have a certain, ah, story that pertains to our society, history, and future."

"Yeah," I murmur out weakly, fingers fidgeting, "um, so that's why this is really bad. This is really bad. I mean, no world should know their future and now I'm here when I really shouldn't be and you're going to make me tell you everything and so many things can change and then bad things that never happened originally could happen... Crap, I'm so sorry if I'm talking too much. I, uh, tend to do that when I'm nervous." God, I feel sick.

"I am curious, of course, about the future you have witnessed in the form of a, what had she said, manga. However, we are sympathetic beings who, if you remain willing, won't bring harm to you or your sister."

Is it weird that I actually find it cool that the Sarutobi Hiruzen is threatening me? I probably don't feel the sting as much because it's sort of obvious that I would share everything. The problem is...

"We need to get home to our dad. He's alone and, as much as I loved this world before, I don't want to be in it. I like my head on my shoulders, it feels nice to be alive. Which is why, uh, please, please, please maybe help us find the hole we traveled through to get here?"

"You want a deal then," Hiruzen is saying as he strokes his spiked beard thoughtfully.

I wipe a stray hint of perspiration before nodding, "Basically." I swallow before continuing on, "I know we're not in any situation to bargain with you because you can kill us right now and be done with that but at the same time... I know all of you so well that I hope you're just as you were in the manga."

"Manga?" Hiruzen looks a bit perturbed, somewhat confused and that's when I smack a palm to my head.

"Manga is cool!" Kairi pipes up, though just taking one look at her leads me to think she really has no idea what any of us have been saying.

"Not the gardening tools! Manga is basically, um, art that illustrates stories. Like books!" I scratch my cheek sheepishly, wondering if I had made any sense in that explanation. I continue, "You're particular world had been created by a man named Masashi Kishimoto. It was him who sort of made up everything and Naruto actually got really big...a-and not the fishcake! Naruto as in the person but then again, um, you probably already know that..." I trail off, shifting on my feet awkwardly.

Hiruzen sighs, making my blood run cold, "So, if I'm understanding this all correctly, you both came from a different world entirely but one that does have a connection to ours, with knowledge of future events." I nod with darting eyes. He sighs again, leans back in his chair and says something that surprises me, "Like what?"

"Excuse me?"

"Examples of things that happen in our future."

I hesitate, but only briefly. I just don't have any clue what to say, what to tell. It isn't a matter of withholding information-there's just no reason to. On the other hand, just what am I to say to a guy who I know will die by the hands of his student? But he's giving me this curious look and I never have been very good at being the center of attention. I swallow thickly and softly whisper out, "Hatake Kakashi will be the teacher of Naruto, who will be joined with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. They will eventually be broken up, mirroring the trauma, er, Hatake-san went through in his own genin team under Naruto's father." I pause, chewing on my lip before asking, "Do you think it's alright if I don't speak with keigo? I'm used to being informal with names..."

"Go ahead," is his simple reply. Right, okay.

"Anyway, there's a bunch of plot twists and eventually it becomes known that, uh, oh my god I can't believe I'm going to say this, Madara is alive and-."

"Uchiha Madara?"

"The very one!" I snap my fingers in faux-cheer, then I deflate once I notice the stunned, disbelieving look on his face. "You probably don't or won't believe me but he's sort of been living in some cave or something this entire time," I wave my hand dismissively, "but that doesn't really matter in the long run. What does matter is that he's the trigger to this big showdown with the Bijuus and Naruto. He then turns into this big impossible to beat villain with the Rinnegan and aims to cast an eternal genjutsu on the entire populace of the world so that everybody would be dreaming of paradise or whatever. Which makes it really weird because then how would the human race continue on if there are no babies coming out of it?" It had always been one of those things I had thought had been weird but then I strongly doubt some old guy had been thinking 'wait, how will the young ones get it on?'. Yeah, no. I sigh softly, rubbing my arms before continuing, "Long story short, the good guys win and the Fourth Shinobi World War ends peacefully."

"If it weren't for what Inoichi attests to seeing in your sister's memories then I would not believe a single thing you have just said."

I bite my lip and nod, "Looking back, Naruto is pretty out there and it's not exactly free of plot holes. Admittedly, if I were to try, the entire story would take perhaps even years to get down on paper." I snort to myself, muttering, "Well it's probably what I'll end up doing. I doubt we'll ever find a way home anyway."

"Hmm," Hiruzen is staring at me now, eyes probing and full of wonder before he straightens up and releases a sort of grandfatherly laugh, "I suppose it's settled then! Please do transcribe every single thing you can remember during your stay here. "

Why do I feel like there's encroaching doom up ahead?


ARC 1: Wormhole (1) - End


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