The darkness was peaceful, quiet. There was no people, no living creature. I expected death was something like this. There was no stereotypical beacon of light you had to follow. I just basked in the emptiness, the unnatural weightlessness of my limbs feeling odd.
What a second. I'm dead. So why do I still feel… so...solid? Actually, now that I think about it, how did I die?
A headache ignited in my head, worsening quickly into a migraine.
At least it's dark, I thought bitterly.
Searing pain sliced through my head, making my body jerk. I weakly called out for any type of help, but I knew nobody could reach me in death. My body winced in agony as my migraine brought forth unwanted memories to forefront of my mind.
I witnessed my conversation with Jim over and over again. My heart steadily growing too painful to bear. I rewatched the gun going off multiple times, staring death in its face. The shot rang in my ears everytime.
BANG!
"Oh please make it stop!" I screeched.
BANG!
"I'll do anything!"
BANG!
"End this torture!"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"AAHHHHHH!"
I scrunched my face in undeniable agony, the feeling inhabiting every single cell in my body. Through my shut eyes, a bright light seared into my vision causing even my eyeballs to hurt. My mouth was stretched open in a silent scream.
After what seemed to be an eternal torture, the torment started to fade. It left only a sharp ache in all my muscles and joints. The relief crashed through my form and I instantly fell asleep from pure exhaustion.
My heavy eyelids slowly flickered open. Everything was a blur of green and blue as I tried to focus my vision. I looked left and right, my eyesight coming back to me bit by bit.
I tried to lift myself off what I now identified as grass. I winced lightly as my muscles strongly ached. However, after what I just experienced, aching muscles were like a paper cut.
Finally, I managed to prop myself on my forearms. Even that simple movement made me want to sleep for another day. I let out a grated sigh as I once again observed the area I was in.
It seemed to be a clearing surrounded by healthy, green trees. Grass filled the entire area and a few clouds spotted the blue sky. Looking upon the forest, dark shadows were speckled in between the branches.
I tensed involuntarily. Shadows cast on the ground from sunlight in the treetops…
The sound of soft footsteps appeared behind me. I flinched harshly as I was released from my flashback.
After a few seconds my body tensed in fear, finally acknowledging the fact that I wasn't alone. Now I wouldn't normally be so frightened, however my limbs were dead weight. I wouldn't be able to maneuver enough to protect myself.
Eventually, the footsteps stopped behind me. My breathing turned ragged. I heard a soft grunt of surprise from my company before the footsteps started up again. This time when I tuned back into reality, a pair of gray eyes stared back at me.
"Who are you?" a stern but youthful voice questioned.
I blinked. Then blinked again as I could not believe my eyes. Let's make a checklist just so I know I'm not going crazy. Dark blue mask on face? Check. Spiky, gravity defying silver hair? Check. Headband with the Leaf village symbol engraved in it? Check. OH SHIT!
My eyes expanded and my mouth gaped like a dying fish. This is Kakashi Hatake?! I'm in the Naruto universe?!
Kakashi furrowed his brows in annoyance and moved so that he was crouched right in front of me. I looked him up and down, noticing the full ninja gear and outfit but not fully comprehending it.
"Kakashi…" I wordlessly mumbled. He cut me a glare and suspicion crept into his eyes.
"How do you know me?" he asked curtly. I just sat there looking like a deer in headlights. He rolled his eyes in frustration and I saw his mask shift slightly as he prepared to ask another question.
"Who'd you find Kakashi?" a kind voice interrupted. He shifted his attention a fraction above my head and his posture calmed. I don't think I wanted to even know who was behind me. Somehow I managed to find the energy to tilt my head just enough to see behind me. I froze once again as my mind refused to compute what I saw.
"Now what's your name young lady?" Minato politely questioned. As I stared into his blue orbs, adrenaline surged through my limbs and snapped me out of my delirious state.
I jumped up and took a couple shaky steps backwards. Unfortunately, those steps led me right into the cage of Kakashi's arms. His grip was firm on my arms as my small surge of energy left me and I immediately crumpled to the ground. At least I would have if Kakashi didn't keep me upright. I lifted my heavy head to stare back into Minato's eyes, reading the suspicion and concern held within. I knew from the anime that I would be able to trust these two, and the concern present in him helped to calm my nerves.
"You're Minato and he's Kakashi," I managed to whisper. I felt Kakashi's head jerk up in surprise and saw Minato's eyes widen as he looked at both Kakashi and me.
"I died," I rasped, "and now I'm here." I could feel Minato and Kakashi questioning gaze focused intensely on my form. All I could do was try to catch my breath. I was able to calm down as my breath and heart synced up with Kakashi's heartbeat that I could hear within his chest. Under their silent inspection, my brain decided to finally catch up to the situation. Guess I need to see the Hokage now. Wait, isn't Minato the Fourth Hokage?
"Hey, aren't you the Hokage?" I could feel their surprise dramatically increase.
Now Minato was the one who looked like a dying fish, eyes wide. After a good 5 minutes, his lips stretched into a wide smile and his eyes glazed over.
"I'm gonna be Hokage?" He shook his head back and forth in disbelief, shoulders shaking with a silent laugh. I bet he would squeal like a little girl if Kakashi wasn't scrutinizing him.
Alright so that's a no to my question. Guess I should keep the rest to myself then.
"Sooo… Can you take me to the Hokage?" I asked. That seemed to snap Minato out of his daydream. He let out a cough, clearing his throat before saying a simple,
"Sure!"
We started walking in some random direction, probably towards the village. What am I thinking! Of course it towards the village. I internally rolled my eyes at myself.
I was still too shaky to walk on my own so I gained a piggyback ride from Kakashi. Surprisingly, the ride was very smooth even though they were jogging. I went to observe my surroundings but we were just basically surrounded by trees.
I rested my chin on Kakashi's shoulder, next to his right ear. I heard a slight intake of breath and watched as his eyes flickered back and forth from the path towards me. I turned my head slightly and whispered in his ear,
"If you have a question you can just ask it. I won't get offended." I smirked as he tripped and subtly corrected himself. Minato briefly looked over at us with a suspicious expression. He shrugged off the incident and continued jogging.
"How much do you know?" a soft voice queried. It was my turn to jump slightly. It had been a few minutes since any of us had made a sound.
I looked at his masked face. Oh the torture he went through as a child, and he's gonna go through so many more hardships. I'm worried for him. I quietly murmured, "More than I should."
He gave me a questioning glance, but overall accepted my answer. For now.
The question had put me in a depressed state. I didn't even realize when we reached Konoha's gates. The only notification to me was Minato and Kakashi slowing to a walk. I looked up at the gates, letting out a dramatic gasp. The two boys chuckled at my behavior, but I couldn't help it. The gates were huge! It was easily the height of my highschool if not more.
I was in silent awe as we walked through the gates. I automatically twisted my head to the left, hoping to catch Izumo and Kotetsu sleeping on the job. And there they were. Sleeping like two giant newborn babies. I giggled.
Kakashi looked back at me. He saw my diverted attention and looked to find what had caught my interest. He rolled his eyes when he saw the two guards taking a nap. Meanwhile, Minato strolled over to them and putting each hand on the opposite sides of each others head, slammed them together. They woke up with a start and clutched their heads.
"Ow, ow, ow, what was the for!" yelled Izumo. Minato just shrugged his shoulders and walked away from their desk, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
The walk through the village was very peaceful. It was relaxing just watching people go through their daily routines. It seemed that they had no care in the world. It was amusing.
A frown tugged on my face as I looked on. That used to be me, I thought. It hadn't hit me yet that I was in another dimension. But when it does I'm sure I won't be a happy camper. For now, though, I am going to enjoy the serenity or normality in others.
Finally, we reached the Hokage building. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Slowly, I slid off of Kakashi's back and shakily stood; Minato and Kakashi looked on as I balanced myself. The strength had slowly come back to me as I rode on Kakashi's back, and I was ready to walk on my own. Hehe "rode". Gosh, Hannah no time for your crazy thoughts!
I started walking into the building, the boys trailing after me. I could tell from their stares on my back that they were curious about how I knew where to go. I just shrugged them off and climbed the stairs.
Oh my god why are there so many stairs! I was winded as we reached the top. I blame death for my weakness. After I caught my breath I faced the double doors. I knocked firmly. After I heard a quiet, "come in," I stepped through the doorway, ready to recite my story.