Ever since Sarah was a mere child she was fascinated by the concept of time travel and dimension crossing, as a preteen she discovered anime as if it was her calling and became obsessed with fandoms. Now as a high school junior Sarah just wants to pass her final exams and make it to senior year. Secretly Sarah wished that an unknown powerful being would ship her off into a crazy scenario that you would only see in books, fanfics, or tv shows.
Everyone had their set of skills and talents that made them stand out. Some of her classmates excelled at sports or rose to the top of the class. Some had calculators for brains. There was even a single student who knew everyone by face and name in the school. Those people had something to share and gain from, but that was never the case for Sarah, unless you counted her decent grades or her above average height that made her tower over other girls. Aside from those attributes, she was an ideal student who would graduate, go to college and consider what she wanted to be in life.
Her family was like an unmade puzzle, distributed across the states, some members clustered together, and some that were welcomed or are going to be welcomed into the family. Similar to finding a lost puzzle piece that is needed to complete the puzzle. She had a father who would work all day, a mother who was expecting, and four younger brothers.
At school today, Sarah was a complete mess, forgot her math book, pulled an all nighter to finish an English assignment and has to do research for two group projects, simply put she was exhausted. Coming home was the highlight of her day, home meant her laptop, and laptop equals binge watching all her favorite shows; Sarah's guilty pleasure. A show binge is exactly what she needed, it made it possible for her to eat away her feelings with popcorn, and slurp soda through a straw, and use the bathroom between transitions into another scene. For nostalgia purposes, Sarah decided she was going to watch the first episode of Naruto. Naruto has shaped part of her from the start of her childhood, it was usually what she watched in her free time. With the release of Baruto; the spin off of Naruto, it was entertaining to watch in Sarah's opinion, it didn't hold the same spark she had for the original. The connection for Naruto was unwavering, it would and will always have a piece of her heart dedicated to the show.
It was around midnight, when Sarah crept down the stairs to make a bag of popcorn. Growing up in a household with younger siblings and parents having ears like hawks, she knew where to place her footing to prevent the stairs from making a creek. Upon reaching the kitchen, she sought out her prize, extra buttery popcorn. Sarah kept the lights off, not wanting to wake the whole family. Carefully unwrapping the popcorn and then discarding the plastic wrap, she popped it in the microwave. As the popcorn kernels were transitioning to their delicious popped selves, Sarah prepared herself a drink.
"Darling, why are you still up?" A strict but soothing to hear voice cut into the silence. The kitchen light was flickered on, it was her mother in full night attire. Sarah didn't even hear her mother come in, she as well was an expert at silently going down the stairs.
"Making myself a snack…" Guilt was displayed across her face, even with how quiet Sarah was being she woke her mom up.
"This late? Do you realize what time it is?" Sarah's mother inquired, her voice changing to an elevated pitch.
"You can't watch a movie without popcorn." Sarah thought this was a lame excuse, but usually her mom lets things like this slide.
Her mother lets out a yawn and rubs her face, "You can finish up whatever you're watching, please go to bed soon." She leaves the kitchen, dragging her body back up the stairs. Sarah felt her face going red, feeling ashamed. Sarah's mother had a baby on the way and her younger siblings to take care of. Her nightly antics would cause more stress on her mother.
Sarah stopped the Microwave from hitting zero, and pulled out the bag of popcorn. She handles her drink and popcorn with care and heads up to her room, where her laptop, and blanket awaits. Sarah brings up the tab with the tab with the first episode of Naruto. Easing into a pillow chair she made, she presses play. Sarah's chest tightens as the intro appears on the screen. Sarah knows every episode like the back of her hand and this episode specifically is far one of the worst that toys with her feelings, besides the episode with Gaara as a little kid.
The laptop screens reflects in her eyes as she watches the nine tails fox, Kurama towering over Konoha destroying everything in it's path. Sarah observed Naruto; small, child-like, and fragile. Emotions bubbled up in the middle of her chest at the self sacrifices committed in the show. Sarah remembered that it was just a show for entertainment; pushing her feelings aside she pressed play once again and continued to watch the rest play out.
As the credits began to roll, Sarah took the earbuds out of her ears and looked out the window. It was dark outside, her eyes have already been adjusted to the acquainted darkness. She tilted her head to look up at the moon, it was a full moon tonight and it appeared to be bigger than usual, possibly because she lived next to the coast. She closed her eyes basking in the light, that trickled in from the window. Upon reopening her years she saw a streak of light in the sky; a shooting star! Feeling childish at the rare occurrence Sarah shut her eyes tightly made a wish. 'Grant me a way to get out of my exams,' she thought. She rolled her eyes, nobody can escape their exams. Sarah rubbed her neck, pushed her laptop to the bedside table, and snuggled into her blankets, slipping into a blissful deep sleep.
A river rushing with water roared, traveling at a fast pace creating a fast paced current that transitioned into a waterfall. Next to the waterfall laid a resting girl curled up into a ball.
Sarah was having a nice dream, the sound of water, birds chirping. It was almost like she was experiencing it herself. A gentle breeze blew past Sarah, giving her shivers and goosebumps. 'Did I leave my window open?' she thought. Sarah attempted to pull up her blankets but instead felt grass beneath her fingertips. Sarah's eyes snapped open and rolled over till she was on her hands and knees. To her this was either a really really good lucid dream, or she's been kidnapped, abandoned, and they left her in the middle of nowhere. She scanned the surrounding area and recognized nothing. Her breathing quicken almost to the point of hyperventilating. 'Clear your head, I might be just a dream...But it feels too real to be a dream!' Her mind was having a constant back and forth fight on her situation.
Sarah's legs felt wobbly. While attempting to stand up, she staggered around like a drunkard until she fell onto her butt. In her second attempt, she took in a deep breath and put on leg in front of the other faltering slightly, but was successful. Sarah surveyed the area, there was a waterfall to her right the rest of surrounding land was dense forest she had no familiarity with. She put her hands to her head, clutching tightly to her hair. Sarah wanted to get out of exams, but teleporting was not on the excuse list. Was she even in America? Was this some kind of sick prank? A dream? Sarah was really hoping someone would jump out from a bush a stating she got punk'd. She repeatedly pinched herself on the wrist, hard enough to leave a bruise.
Staying here would achieve nothing, Sarah needed to find civilization and hopefully interact with nearby residents. There's a slim possibility of a city being less than five miles away, but she needed to know what is happening to her. 'Dear Instincts, don't let me down!' Sarah took one last look around her surrounding and walks into the direction of the forest where there is a trail that is partly distinctive from the rest. The trail was faint enough to continue on, but you could tell it hasn't been walked on in months due to the overgrown overtaking the area once again. Although Sarah loved to explore the forests around her house, being lost in an unfamiliar forest was like having a flashing neon like on her back saying 'kill me'. Speaking of clothing, Sarah looked at her apparel she had worn a t-shirt and sweatpants to bed, and a quick way to describe them would be that they were disgusting looking. Both articles of clothing were caked in cracking dirt and had huge patchy stains from sitting in the grass. As for her hair, it was it's only personal tumbleweed. She just hopes someone doesn't scream 'crazy lady' at her appearance.
Sarah estimated that she walked about three miles before the trail started to widen. The trees began to give way, in her line of sight houses were trickling in. Then in view a large city. She tousled her hair out of habit to ease her anxiety. She quickened her pace, surely the police could help her out. But something the appearance of the city couldn't help but make her nerves shot to hell. It looked nothing like the cities Sarah was use to seeing when she would go on vacation. As she got to the border of entering the 'city', her breath quickened. It was industrialized in appearance, high skyscrapers, buildings made out of metal, but it didn't exactly hold a candle to the modern charm of a city Sarah was use to seeing. It felt as if she knew where she exactly was and the name of unknown city was at the tip of her tongue. It was...eerie. Sarah inwardly shivered, the clouds starting rolling in and the sky rumbled above. 'When it rains it pours' she automatically thought. Feeling the first sprinkles of rain, Sarah drew her arms above her head and ran into the unknown city seeking shelter.
Of course the world had other plans for her when she bumped into someone.
"Watch it!" The voice growled.
Sarah stumbled back a few paces, trying to gain her balance back, "I'm sorry sir-" Her voice cut off, her eyes were darting back and forth at his appearance till the locked on what was on his forehead. It was the headband for Amegakure; the Hidden Village of the Rain. Her heartbeat went a mile a minute, her hands felt clammy and she began to feel dizzy. Sarah's body wobbled until it tumbled forward, promptly fainting from the sudden realization of where she was.
Undeniably, Sarah was certain she was in the Naruto world.