I.

I knew that by the age of ten, that I wasn't exactly sane.

I constantly received these visions of sorts of a person's other life of another world, living as them, breathing as them, and even acting as them, to the point that I occasionally completely forget who I am when I wake up for ten whole minutes before remembering.

It was driving me insane as a child.

Who was this girl? Who was she? Who am I? Am I the girl? Am I her? Is the girl me? Is she me?

This is all so confusing.

What I didn't expect was to suddenly have all of her memories come crashing down upon me like a waterfall and meet one of the most infamous person in the entire Five Nations nor the famous ones either.

It had been a normal day, the weather was pleasant, the people bustling with life, and the atmosphere overall was serene. That is, until something set off the unexpected memory windfall.

I had been taking a simple walk back home from grocery shopping; the most mundane action to be done, and I had…met an interesting person to say the least.

"Excuse me, are you Kanae?" I felt someone tap on my shoulder as they asked me that question.

I tensed and turned around, expecting someone of a threat. Instead, what I was faced with was a man with such a boyish face it made me delightfully squeal internally. I kept my face pleasant and unwavering as ever though.

"Yes, I am. What does a shinobi like you want with me?" I asked, noticing his shitaihite tied on his forehead.

He sheepishly grinned at me. "Well, it's not really me…but, well, you know of the recent horrific experiments our previously prized sannin did?"

I grimaced at that, having indeed heard of the news the day it had been announced all of those missing children and civilians and even shinobi had been kidnapped and experimented on by one of Konoha's prized sannin.

"Yes, I had…what does that have to do with a civilian such as myself though?" I asked, piqued with interest.

He smiled kindly at me. So kind did he smile that I was enthralled by it that I wasn't listening to him speak. "-do you understand?" I snapped myself out of my stupor, cursing at myself for being so attracted so easily by anyone who smiles so kindly.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked.

His smile dropped and I felt myself become saddened. "…It might be better for me to just show you."

I blinked when he pulled out a three-edged kunai and his hands moved as if to take ahold of mine, carrying grocery bags, and in a startled cry, I yelped out, "Huh?!", and in an instant I felt my entire body float, not touching the ground, and the next touching smooth tiled floors as my body trembled at the adrenaline that seared through my body.

"…What…" I huffed out in between pants. "Was…that?!"

Then suddenly I looked up from panting to the ground and found myself staring with at the current wrinkled and about to retire Hokage.

Then I realized that I had been speaking out loud, shit.

It seemed like the Hokage was more amused than anything though if it was any indication of the amused twinkle in his eyes and lips stretched upwards into a smile showing his teeth and a grin.

"My, my, Minato-kun, did you not explain the reason why she would be here that you had to use the Hiraishin?" I heard the Hokage ask the shinobi that had asked if I was me in the middle on my way back home.

Then I blinked, wait, Minato? As in Namikaze Minato? About to be the fourth Hokage, Hokage?

I voiced out my surprise and instead of gaining a proud affirmation, gained a blushed face by the boyish shinobi and a feeble affirmation. "Hahaha, yes, I am, but please! I'm still not appointed as Hokage yet! Anyways! Onto more important matters…"

I heard the current Hokage puff out a smoke circle and sigh. "Yes, Kanae-san, you are an orphan correct?"

I nodded at him. "Yes, I am." What seems to be the problem with that though? Sure that I may be an orphan, but plenty of other people were too.

"It seems like you were…one of the successful experiments that Orochimaru had produced, although based off of the research notes we found…he had placed a seal on you to block such memories and had released you from his hold because…your mere existence had proved his assumptions right and that he did not need anything else from you and released you." I listened attentively to every word he uttered and ignored the dread that was accumulating in the bottom of my stomach. I swallowed the saliva and dread that built up in my throat and swallowed it, making a loud gulping sound heard by the people present. "…so we would like to unseal the seal placed on to you by him, if what he says in his notes are right…Kanae-san…you may not have come from this world, and your knowledge would be of the most helpful of them all."

I blinked at the last one. I had already realized that when I was ten, meaning, two years ago, so what does it matter now?

I nodded mutely at the Hokage and bowed. "…Thank you for confirming the suspicions I've had ever since I was of the age of ten."

"…You had already suspected by then?" I heard the surprised voice of the only sannin that had stayed somewhat loyal to Konoha, although is constantly away due to his position as Konoha's Spy Master.

I nodded. "I had."

"Very well then." I heard him clasp his hands. "This makes things easier for us. You won't be resisting! That's great! For a moment there, I thought a gaki like you would have for sure threw a temper tantrum after receiving such news!"

I shrugged. "If what the Hokage has said is right, then I am technically not a child."

The sanin visibly wavered at his cheerful persona. "…wow, erm…damn gaki. You're pretty level headed…reminds me of a certain grey haired kid my student is training…"

I could feel the next hokage visibly feel squeamish at that accusation. He coughed. "Erm, Jiraiya-sensei, perhaps we should focus on unsealing the seal Orochimaru had placed on her?"

At the mention of the other sannin, the white haired sannin, Jiraiya, immediately deflated and turned serious. "You're right. I'm sorry about this missy, but you'll most probably feel pain at a bunch of information dumped to you in all one go."

With that being the only warning I had, the three shinobi pulled out what seemed to be a scroll and placed it onto my head, too fast for a civilian like me to see but just feel. A binding white light of pain seared through me as I felt my mouth and jaw open and scream but no sound came out, and I felt like I was being drowned in a sea of information as more and more continued to pour itself out and leak into my brain.

Then, after who knows how long, the dam that had been restraining the bank of information broke and everything was numb and blank.

II.

…drip…drip…drip…

I shivered as I felt myself awoken from my sleep by the drops of water that landed on my face.

"…Where am I?" I mumbled, drowsily looking around. "…What happened?"

I heard a chuckle echo throughout the realm I found myself in. "You don't remember?"

I blinked. "Who's there? And what do I not remember? Tell me!"

The chuckles grew into a full out laughter and I found myself irritated at it. "Bahaha! Even after starting afresh and anew I still am the same in terms of hotheadedness! Bahaha! This is the best!"

"…Show yourself!" I felt a foreboding atmosphere sweep through and I steeled myself for who I was to face.

"Very well, then." I heard the voice, smooth, velvet, and refined as it sounded came out, long wavy messy hair of black and eyes of deep burnt ember and tanned skin appear as…she? Stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

I gaped at her. "…W-Who are you…?"

She frowned at my reaction. "Weaaak. I was expecting more of a louder and excited reaction you know!" She whined.

I looked at her expectantly waiting for an answer, and she huffed before answering. "Well, in case if you still hadn't remembered or well, in your case, figured it out, I'm you, silly. Well, as in we have the same soul, but different…lives ya know?"

I blankly stared at her, finding everything she had said incredulous, but yet somewhat making sense. "…I can't believe that I share the same soul with someone like you."

She choked a bit at that. "…Ouch. That hurt. I can't believe I'm being insulted by my own soul, wow. So, how's life in your new life dimension?"

I shrugged at her. "It's fine, I just recently found out I was a part of Orochimaru, one of our prized sannin, had experimented on me long time ago and placed a seal on me. The thing that must have been sealed must have been you, eh?"

She blinked. "…Huh. You sound oddly calm about all this, but why yes, you're right. And the fact that you're here means you're currently unconscious after having the seal unseal me, so I guess we'll be buddies for now, eh?"

I sent her a distrustful glance. "…I guess we are. Can't we just merge together though? I think I'll feel better and safer that way knowing that I know about…you in general."

She pouted at me, her eyes narrowed. "Ehhhh, that won't work, we can't just "merge" our conscience together, it's impossible."

"…And why would that be so?" I raised my eyebrow at her.

She sighed before yawning and pointed to the right. "…Because of that."

Looking at the place her finger pointed at, my eyes widened in surprise. "…A glass wall…? …We've been talking through a glass wall this whole entire time?"

She grinned at me, and gave me a ridiculously cheesy thumbs-up. "Yeap!"

"Preposterous." I deadpanned.

"It is! Look!" As if to demonstrate her point, she brought her tanned and calloused hands up and knocked on the glass separating us.

"…Huh. It seems like you're right…but why though?"

She smiled at me. "Because we're two different people sharing the same soul, and so…yeah. Or at least that's my guess anyways. I still don't have any means to affirm it. Although there is a door there that we can try to cross over to one another's side!"

I twitched my eyes at her. For being a person sharing the same soul as me, she was quite annoying and cheery for my taste. "…Why didn't you point that out sooner?"

She sent me a sheepish look. "Sorry, I was having too much fun…talking with you. It's not often you get the chance to talk with a person sharing the same soul and…apparently body now too, you know!"

I sighed but walked towards the glass door at the same casual pace she did. "The door's handle on your side, open it."

She sent me a grin. "Yeap. Here ya go."

Then the door was wide open and we found ourselves switching places.

"Huh? I didn't see you move at all…" She mused surprised.

"Nor did I." I replied.

"This is weird…anyways let's get back to our own places, I was more hoping of sharing the same space, but it might not be possible and who knows what the consequences of being in our opposite respectful side would cause?!" She anxiously theorized throwing her hands up in the air in exaggeration.

"…For once I agree with you. ("Hey! We just met! You can't be so cold!") So let's open the door again." I spoke to her in distaste.

Receiving a cheerful chirp of affirmation from her, we both headed towards the door.

"The door handle…It's gone." My eyebrows shot upwards in surprise.

"…What do you mean?" I asked her, dread piling up into the pools of my stomach.

"…I don't know. It's just gone…I can't open the door-" I glared seething at her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S GONE?" I screamed/asked her, feeling quite deranged as the dread creep upon me.

She looked at me horrified. "…I…I'm sorry…"

I blinked at her in confusion and followed where her trembling finger was pointed at… Following it, I turned my head around to find a demon-like appendage emerging from the ground and it's jaws widening as it jumped towards me.

I shrieked as I felt the pain surge through my body as I was being mauled by it and swallowed, the only last vision being her deep burnt wood eyes staring back at my green azure ones in sorrow and fear. Horror.