DISCLAIMER: Characters are Masashi Kishimoto's but the OC's are mine.
P.S. I did also change the title of the story, I'm happy with this one so it's not going to change!
The lost Kunoichi
Annie Heidrich, born in a small town in Canada has always wanted to believe she was normal... But what sets her apart from everyone else is the fact that she can see the future. Unsure of her future and unsure of the visions she sees, Annie and her two best friends soon find that their lives are about to completely change... The Akatsuki are alive in their city and want answers to their sudden appearance in their strange, new world. The three girls soon have no choice but to try to help the Akatsuki while they observe Annie and her strange new powers, drawn to her, wondering who and what she is. But nothing is as it seems, a terrifying darkness lingers in their world and the Shinobi world.
In the Shinobi world, the sudden disappearance of Madara Uchiha and Kabuto have left the Shinobi Alliance astounded. But something far darker is at work in the Shinobi lands. Plots of a Civil war threaten to break apart a Village while the lure of a dark power draws innocent lives to it, death and slaughter blaze through the world, leaving vague answers in its wake.
Soon the two worlds find themselves intertwined as death leaves its mark and betrayals shatter and rip apart families and friends. Whatever darkness threatens to destroy everything that they love, is far worse than they could imagine.
Prologue
City In The Sea
Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.
There shrines and palaces and towers
(Time-eaten towers that tremble not!)
Resemble nothing that is ours.
Around, by lifting winds forgot,
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
City In The Sea - Edgar Allan Poe
There was once a time when there was nothing, a time before the worlds formed, before humans came to be; before the time of Shinobi, before the time of heroes and conquerors. There was nothing but darkness, darkness and silence.
But then it changed.
There was no process; we simply just came to be, a rip formed in the darkness, light came through. The stars began to shine, the worlds formed. Slowly and slowly, we came to be... To breathe, to live. We were the first to see the sky, to feel the solid earth beneath our feet... We felt the wind, cold against our skin, tasted the water on our tongues.
And oh it was lovely. There was light so much light, we came together and lived in harmony, a time with no war, no destruction.
Light, there was so much light. But light cannot exist without a shadow, without the darkness.
And soon, the darkness began to grow.
Slowly, the light began to fade, the darkness consumed it.
It consumed us, it destroyed us.
12 years earlier…
In a different world and different time, Summer had come in the Village of Konohagakure. Though the seasons changed, the pace and routine of the village didn't; young children went to school, some holding their parents' hands as they went. Shinobi left the village on missions, saying goodbye to their loved ones at the gate of Konoha. Shopkeepers woke bright and early to start their day; civilians opened the windows of their homes, letting in the warm Summer breeze.
Somewhere in the heart of the village, a young, blonde-haired boy stares out the window of his room. No one bursts into his room to wake him up and no one says goodnight to him when he goes to bed every night. He is an orphan, alone in this apartment. His blue eyes took in not the blue sky, but the faces carved into the mountain above, the faces of the Hokage that still watched over the village.
A young white-haired man, donning a mask visits the cemetery, laying flowers on a grave and then making his way to the Memorial stone. For what seems to be hours, he stands there, staring at the stone, grieving for the friends he had lost.
Though Summer had come, though the grass turned greener, sorrow still had a tight clutch on people's hearts.
Somewhere in the forest, two young boys train in the forest. The youngest one watches in fascination as his older Brother flawlessly demonstrates different techniques. After, the older brother watches the younger one imitate his techniques, not as gracefully, but he still smiles… Wanting nothing more than to have moments like this with his brother, always.
He looks up to the sky, his onyx eyes studying the clouds and the treetops. In the distance, he could feel the faces of the Hokages on the mountain watching him, watching the village.
Protect the village, that was his duty.
Farther away, beyond the Land of Whirlpools, in the land of water… A man with the features of a shark, looks in the distance, at his former village which he had betrayed. Birds fly overhead in the sky, towards a new home. But he knew that he would never have a home, he belonged nowhere, he was a criminal, a monster.
He was many different things. But he forced himself to not think about the past and who he was, instead he turned away from the Village and left.
Despite the long painful years, of the wars and darkness that would soon come, these Shinobi all looked for something to hold onto. They looked for hope, they looked for change.
The young girl shouted in glee, twirling in her glittering Little Mermaid costume as the people around her watched on. Not too far away, her parents looked at her adoringly, taking pictures of her as she posed in the dress of her favourite Disney princess.
"Princess, we can't get a good picture of you unless you stand still!" Her father chuckled, beside him, his wife looked on with a bright, loving smile on her face, trying to get a picture of her.
Grinning, she posed and flashed a smile. Under the sun, her brilliant red hair shone like fire, many people couldn't believe that it was her natural hair colour, people at first thought she was wearing a wig. But her mother laughed, tugging a lock of her soft hair lightly. "No," She said gently. "It's her natural hair colour, beautiful isn't it?"
Despite the loving smile, the adoring way she looked at her… The young girl couldn't help but notice that her mother's eyes seemed to be filled with sadness. She blinked, her green eyes observing her mother. It was grief perhaps... But why would her mother be sad, especially at a time like this?
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Annie?" Her mother said.
The young girl shook her head, her red curls bouncing. "Do you think there are different worlds? Do you think that magic is real?"
"It's real sweetheart," Her mother laughed. "It's all around us."
"No… I mean, do you think there is really dragons or people with magical powers?" The young girl pouted, frustrated that her mom didn't seem to understand her question.
Her mother sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "When you're older, I'll tell you, Annie."
"But sometimes… I see things… Like different things, I think they're just dreams though." The girl frowns, fiddling with the shimmering fabric of the dress.
"Annie," Her mother says softly, grasping her hand. "You see the world differently, that's what makes you special."
The young girl, now restless, tips her head back and looks up at the sky. An endless sea of blue, speckled with white clouds, the sun a blazing orb in the sky. Birds flay past the Disney castle and she wishes she was one of them, to fly away to new places, to be a fish and to explore the endless depths of the sea.
"Okay." Is all she says, but then her eyes light up with excitement. "But I want to go on the spinning tea cups! Daddy told me he would go with us."
Her mother laughs, taking her by the hand, gripping her hand a bit too tightly. The girl doesn't think too much about it, even as her father gives her mother a concerned look. Her father smiles down at her, a loving smile and holds her hand.
There was not a single sad face amongst the crowds of people, this was the happiest place on earth, no one could be sad here. The girl giggle's excitedly, but her laughter fades as soon as her eyes catch something… A boy, with Onyx hair and the same coloured eyes, standing in the crowd, watching her.
She cocks her head, staring back at the boy, but he doesn't move. Then a person walks in front of him and then he vanishes, as if he was just a ghost. A surprised gasp escapes her mouth as she continues to stare at the place the boy just stood, waiting for him to come back.
'Who are you and where did you come from?'
"Okay, my little day dreamer, let's get on!" Her father tugged her hand gently, snapping her out of her thoughts. Quickly, she looked around for the boy again but he was nowhere to be seen.
The girl started to feel strange, as if something was threatening to burst inside of her, to eat her whole, to consume all that she was.
Nonetheless, she sat in one of the teacups, between her father and mother. The ride started, both children and adults shouted in excitement as the ride started, the wind rushing around them as they started spinning. Forgetting the boy and the strange feeling she had, the young girl giggled as they started to spin.
"Daddy, spin the wheel!" She shouted. Laughing, her father took hold of the wheel in the middle of the tea cup and started spin them faster, and faster.
The world around her became blurry, along with her vision. That's when everything started to change.
It was the day that changed the young girl's life forever.
She had become something else entirely; she saw both everything and nothing. She saw death and life, destruction and peace, love and hatred. There was nothing but darkness, it swallowed her whole, it consumed and called to her.
"Annie… Annie Heidrich…"
Everything stopped, now she stood in a low lit room, but she was older now. Before her stood a woman, but her face was blurry. Yet her voice was clear and crisp, her words were sharp like a knife.
"You are no ordinary girl, Annie Heidrich," The woman spoke, her voice eerily calm. "You are something different… Something special… And you will be called many different things. You will be called a prophet, Yogen-sha… You will be called the Destroyer of worlds, heiress of fire… But most of all you will be called death. You will become death incarnate."
"No… No…" The girl whimpered. "You're wrong… It's not true…"
But when the woman spoke again, her voice changed. The voice that spoke was a man's voice, deep and smooth as silk, a gentle purr. The voice chuckled and the woman became dark swirling shadows, they twisted and wove their way to Annie, caressing her cheeks.
"It is true," The voice spoke, the shadows started to form a figure in front of her. "That is your fate, my Annie. Embrace it, leave everything behind you and accept this. You were born in darkness, you were born to destroy."
She whimpered, as the shadows slowly stopped shifting. There was nothing but darkness, an endless sea of onyx, whoever stood before her smelt of death, their power radiating from them, causing her skin to crawl. Something gripped her cheek, cold fingers brushed her pale skin, the creature before her was nothing but shadows and smoke... But in it, she swore she caught a glimpse of his eyes, of his face.
Monster, a monster... She thought. He has come to take me...
"Who are you?" She whispered.
The creature, the monster, leaned in closer, his breath tickling her ear. "I am your master," He whispered, chuckling. "Your equal, you're mine. I have been searching for you for many years... Now I have finally found you."
There was a time where we lived in peace, where there was no darkness. Like a flower blooming, we were born, sprouting from the earth. When we died, we would wither away peacefully, the earth's winds taking our last breaths.
But death was not a withering flower. Death was darkness, incarnate, crushing us, tearing us apart. Death was... Him. We humans had come into existence, like flowers, blooming and growing.
But we couldn't cease to exist the same way we were born, the same way the worlds were formed. No, we were to be destroyed.
If only we could cease to exist, to wither away into nothingness.