Author's Note: I'm so happy to be writing Ryuuko and having people review! There is going to be alot of explaining going on in this chapter. It is a bit longer too, so I'll stop talking so we can get on with it!

Chapter 4

Anko looked very serious. I remember during the Chunin Exams how she could be fun-loving, but now she was far more solemn. It was as if the gravity of the subject could be felt in the room. She quickly redid her hair tie and began speaking again,

"Here is the deal, the fact that you have come here is a significant event. It will change the world here so much. I know you and your friends are not from here, and instead…you are from another dimension,"

"Another dimension?! What does that mean?" I exclaimed in shock,

"Look, be quiet while I explain or I'll throw you in the Forest of Death, got it?" she snapped back. I instantly slipped back in my chair and kept quiet. She nodded at my silent reply.

"The other dimension is one that is similar and different from this one. What we do know is that your world is aware of the existence of mine. Am I right?"

"We know all about it, it is in a manga called Naruto," I said quietly. She gave a quick nod.

"We call your world Harukaniyo and there are times when people from your world cross through a Celestial Bridge and land here. These people are called Fallen Nin and usually come by means of a shooting star," I perked up. I remembered clearly that blazing star I wished on, that must have been what she is talking about.

"That is right. We saw a really bright star and then we came here!" I chimed in.

"Can you not be quiet?"

"Sorry,"

"Yes, that is basically the passageway that allows Harukaniyo people like your self to come over. But it is not just random. The star doesn't swoop up any person by chance, because it is not just a star, it is a demon,"

A demon! I stood up, "Like the tailed beasts!" I said loudly, "Like the one in Naruto! They brought us here?! That is so cool!" I realized how loud I just was and looked at the female ninja. Anko looked severely agitated and I remembered her threat about the Forest of Death. I quickly took my seat again.

"Are…you…done?" she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes,"

She sighed. "Well, it was a demon, but not a tailed beast," I was confused so she went on, "These are demons much like the tailed beasts. They are massive collections of chakra formed as a living creature. However, they are not measured in tails. They are equally as strong as them, but instead these beasts are trapped in the Celestial Bridge unable to pass to either sides and cause the destruction they desire. You see, that's what they want, to get a host and do as much damage as possible to the world, but they are stuck at middle and they can't pass unless they have a host to take them.

Well, that is why there are people like you. The demons lie and wait for a certain person from Harukaniyo who they can capture and use to fall into this world because they can't do it themselves. They use bright stars as open portals to seal themselves into a host, take them through the Bridge, and fall here. In a way you are much like Jinchūriki, who house the tailed beasts," I stared at the ninja wide eyed. I was like Naruto? I thought in total disbelief. Can it be?

"Does that mean…that the demon is inside me?" I asked with a bit of shakiness to my voice. I could feel my head spin and my heart quicken. I once again remembered that burning feeling inside me before, like I was on fire, and then that dragon. Anko, nodded at my question.

"I want to tell you straight out so you understand, yes. There is a demon sealed inside you and inside your two friends as well,"

I gasped and looked down as I felt many emotions wash over me like a tidal wave. I couldn't believe it. When I wished upon a star, I had no idea it would come true. I felt thrilled and terrified all at once and didn't know which I was supposed to be. It was like I was being swept up in this tide.

Anko looked at me sympathetically now. She must have known how I was feeling and her tone was more soothing when she broke me away from my thoughts,

"Its alright, it is not the end of the world as long as you don't let it be," I looked up.

"I'm not sad or angry; not at all! Just...really surprised," I said. It was true. This is amazing! Forever had I wished to have powers like Naruto, to use chakra and fight; and now that it's true I didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen. It was magnificent, but also I was nervous. "It is all so surreal," I finished.

Anko smiled and gave a small chuckle, "Wow, you are probably the first person to take this so well! You should see the way some people react!" I gave a small smile too; this is crazy in a really totally awesome way. Then my mind clicked and I realized something very, very important.

"So can I be a ninja?!" I blurted out enthusiastically.

"Whoa there, hold on. Shut up and let me finish explaining because right now, there is still a lot you don't know. Your name, for example."

I then remembered that I didn't. In the forest, I couldn't recall my name or my friends' names. Right now it is --------. Blank.

"Why is that?"

"The demon inside you wants one thing and that is to take over your body so it can cause destruction. The way they do that is to erase your very being, like your soul. Your name goes first. When your name is gone, no one remembers it. The beast then can destroy your entire soul until you are nothing but a shell for it and it can be free. But your name is still there. You have to remember it, because your name is a part of you the demon can blot out, but never erase. Just try to think what everyone has called you,"

I thought deeply. I recalled all of my memories of where people said my name, but nothing worked. Then I though of something, roll call. In school when they call your name for attendance. I remember my monotone teacher reading the list everyday and waiting to hear my name; my name, where is it?

Chris…Stephenie…Scott… Natsuki…

I then remember being one of the last ones. How impatient I always would get. I scrolled through the names until I reached the final kids.

Jane…William…………..Elizabeth!

"Elizabeth!" I shouted loudly, "My name is Elizabeth," It was kind of one of those duh moments where you finally remember something you always knew and feel silly for forgetting. I looked at my friends. "Daniel and Sarah, I remember now!"

"Good, that was really quick. Sometimes it takes people days or they are too late. Your name is important, don't forget it. It is like a key to Harukaniyo and it is your identity there, but not here.

You see that name works in your world, but not here. Imagine the worlds like locks. Elizabeth unlocks Harukaniyo, but not the world here. No, you need a new key,"

"A new name?" I said astonished. This was all starting to sound way too much like Spirited Away to me, "How will I do that?"

Anko smiled, "Ibiki will show you, that is his job. Your soul has a name already for this world. All you need to do is find it, too."

A different key, I thought. How strange this all is. I wonder what it is. I turned and looked at my sleeping friends and wondered what their new names are. I was about to turn back when the picture of the Leaf Village monument caught my eye and I then thought of another question.

"Anko, when in the heck are we?" I said as I looked at the five Hokages.

"What?" she asked puzzled.

"I'm sorry; I mean what is going on in the world. In my world, I read the manga and see the events that are happening. I want to know if it is exactly like the manga or if we are some where else in time,"

Anko thought deeply for a moment and then spoke, "The last thing important that happened was Naruto and his team under Yamato went to find Sasuke, does that help?" My eyes widened so they were the size of the moon.

"They just left? And is Gaara has been rescued right?" I said very quickly.

"Ya, that is what is going on," I sat back and was so excited. I knew exactly where we are in the plot, but we were kind of behind in the plot, I remember how I just read Hidan dying in the manga back home.

"What will happen now that we are here? Will I be in the manga?" I asked.

Anko took a sip of her water again and I could see by her expression that this was not an easy topic to answer.

"Listen, this is the other thing I wanted to talk about and its something that is very hard for anyone to really understand. It is a theory that we are pretty sure is right. Still, it is hard to say one way for another. Try to keep quiet this time and I'll do my best to explain," I nodded. Anko got up real quickly and ran back to the kitchen, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pencil. She drew one long line across the sheet and pointed at it.

"Are you ready? This might be a lengthy explanation," She said to me, judging to see if I was up for it.

"Ya," I answered back. I have already felt almost every emotion today; I would just be revisiting confusion.

"Alright, imagine time as a line. Events along this line are like points and time is forever running showing past to the left, present, and future to the right. Now in your world, you have a portal. You can see the events of our world and record them into a manga. Try to picture that covering of events like a highlighter along the line. It has recorded the events of the past and it continuing to record the future. However, your world is seeing time and events that have not happened yet," Anko drew a dot on the line and then another behind it to the left.

"This first dot is where the manga is recording, the present in your world, and this second dot a bit behind it is where you have landed, that's the present here. They will always be apart.

The entry of fallen nin into this world is a very big deal. The world is never going to be the same because so much more chakra is now here. Events will occur differently and the future as you know it to be from the manga is not going to happen the same way. Fallen nin are rare, but you would think that you would see them in the manga. That is not so. Because the manga has already permanently recorded the past events that have happened and is looking at the future to that same past, that future will remain the same. This is because the past can not be changed after the dot passes over it and moves on. Fallen nin never show up because the first dot has already passed over the place of the second dot and recorded something. Say where you land is called A when the first dot passes over it, you aren't there. However, when you land, you change that dot to B. The first dot already wrote it as A and can't change it, even though it is now B so forever the first dot sees it as A," Anko wrote the letters and pointed at them, "After a fallen nin come, it is as if you now go over this line in a different color highlighter. As you go over the events they are going to be different than what the first dot saw,"

"So…," I said trying to absorb all of this, "the manga will never show us, and it will keep going as if we never came,"

"Exactly," Anko said, "but you will not experience the future you saw in the manga the same way because the events are now changing as time goes on.

The past is the same, sort of. Because other fallen nin have come, the manga you read doesn't show them. I will tell you this: it probably wouldn't have been much different. The last fallen nin was a while ago, and there have been very few. The past you know from the manga is probably correct,"

"Why is that? Will we change it much either?" I asked.

"Your group is very different from other instances of fallen nin. One: because there are three of you at once and two: you survived. There have been less than fifteen or so fallen nin and most of them die along with their demon upon landing in the world," she stretched her arms in the air and yawned, "Wow, that was long winded. Sorry about that, but we have just barley begun to understand all this," She got up and went back to the kitchen with the glasses. This left me to ponder and absorb all of this new information.

I was baffled. This is all so strange, what with time changing and how the future will be different all because of us. I sat there, looking at the sheet. Another thing that was amazing is that we are all alive. If my friends have died, I wouldn't know what to do. That would be horrible. I pulled out my necklace and clutched it in my hand.

Mom, I thought to myself as I held the pendant, this is crazy; but at least we are all okay and alive. I tucked it back in as Anko returned.

"That is surely enough for tonight. It must be a lot to take in, and you haven't even been here a day," I again felt mystified. The way she said it just made the fact we were in the world of Naruto seem so real. I nodded slowly.

"Anko, can I tell you something?" I said quietly. She agreed with a nod of her head. "I remember, after seeing the star, feeling a burning inside me. Then I saw a great, red dragon afterwards. Is that what is in me?" She walked over and handed me more water.

"Yes, it is. The dragon you saw must have chosen you like two other demons chose your friends. You and your friends are now on a greater adventure than on you could imagine. You must make sure that you do not let these demons kill ya," she said. She examined my expression and then slapped me hard on the back. I gave a yelp of surprise, "Geeze, cheer up! You are not alone because I promise that Ibiki and I will help. Not to mention your friends are here, too. I believe that you will do great things here, I feel it. You don't have to worry."

"Thank you," I said. She seemed pleased and walked over to the sofas. Underneath the one Dan was lying on, she pulled a mattress out and covered it with a thick blanket from the closet.

"You'll have to sleep here, if you don't mind," she said. I shook my head and tried to hop out of my chair, but I felt exhaustion catch up to me. I stumbled, catching myself before I met the floor. I could feel my muscles ache as I walked. Anko gave another of her light laughs and said in her more playful tone, "You need to go to sleep before you completely pass out!" I walked over and plopped onto the bed. It was so nice to lie down and I could feel sleep creep up on me. Anko started to walk up the stairs, but I stopped her.

"Thank you Anko-san," I said in tiredly. I looked up to see her nod again and smile. She continued up the stairs and I heard another door open and close. I smiled, too, which felt good. I'm so lucky, I thought as I drifted more and more into sleep. Things could have been so much worse and I felt grateful for all that has happened. Anko said it would be tough, but I can handle it, even if I don't know exactly what will happen from now on. I'll do it. I smiled again and thought to myself.

Believe it!

***

Anko leaned against the door of the small room after heading upstairs. It was a crazy night and Ibiki would be around by late morning. Still, her mind was so focused on the girl. She thought of the ancient prophecy, too that the third Hokage told her about. Anko recalled how it spoke of a dragon girl. Could this really be her? Is she the one?

She looked though the window on the other side and saw the early signs of the rising sun. The night's darkness was clearing from the sky to make way for the dawn's new arrival. She walked to the bed and lay down on its cool surface.

"What will happen now," she said softly as she watched the changing sky, "I guess we will have to see."