~Chapter 4~

Kushina and Minato decided to go home because of Hokage duties, or something or other. The rest of the clan retreated to their own houses to ready themselves for the next day. The six of us walked to the markets, with me skipping in front, pulling Itachi along as well. The lights were amazing and the smell of mouthwatering barbecue pork wafted through the streets. Amidst the noisy chatter and the sales people, a group of musicians were playing. The parents bought the dango at a stall (it turned out that some of the Uchiha teenagers were working there to earn money for new equipment) and we all wandered around. I gravitated towards the music instinctively. The melodies emitted from the smooth, wood-carved instruments felt metaphorically like honey in my ears, silky and soothing.

Vague memories of high school flitted through my head. I remembered the horror of unfinished essays and horrible report cards. Along with these came the memories of music, before I became committed to food. I used to play the oboe for the school band. The sounds were similar, but in this world, everything was sweeter than I knew before in my previous life.

Life now was much more quieter than life before, quieter than life in the war. My father used to come home with deep gashes on his arms, legs and sides. Sometimes, he wouldn't return home for weeks on end. My mother used to cry, but she wouldn't let me see. I heard in the middle of the night, her sobs and sniffles but it was all hidden. It was the life of a shinobi. At one point, my father was admitted into hospital because he had broken his ankle so badly. He was prescribed with a full month out of service. That was the happiest that our family had been in the times of the war. I knew I was spacing out because Itachi poked me, not once, but twice.

"Miyako-chan, your parents and mine are going to the jewellery stall. We should go."

We kiddie-jogged to the stall that Itachi was talking about. There were beautiful necklaces, bracelets and bangles in assorted colours and also at very pretty prices. I gazed in awe at the different pendants. I pulled away from my parents to look at the different charms and beamed at the sight of ninja-themed jewellery. Upon searching around the stall, something caught my eye. On a rack, there was a pendant. I stared quizzically at it as I walked closer with Itachi in tow. It looked suspiciously like my own. The shop owner looked over and gazed into my own eyes. My chubby hands went to my chest and found that it wasn't there. I felt myself panic. 'Be calm,' I repeatedly told myself, 'Kaa-chan and Tou-chan can take care of it like adults.'

I staggered back and felt for Itachi's hand in the dark. In it, I traced out: "PENDANT MISSING" and pointed at myself, then at the sales rack. He nodded and we walked away to find the adults; they could handle it. We were merely children. It was disheartening, but it was the truth. In reality, if we were to attack, we would most likely be dead.

Suddenly, two rough hands pulled me back.

"What is a little girl like you doing here without her parents?" I turned and saw the owner of the stall. He pulled me back, breaking my hold on Itachi. I struggled against his strong grip as he hauled me over his shoulder. He put his hands in a formation and I felt my breath get sucked out of my chest as I shut my eyes in fear.

There was darkness everywhere. I was abruptly dropped onto the stone floor on my bottom. A howl of pain erupted from my mouth as I attempted to pull myself upright.

I screamed, tears dripping from my eyes. My attacker turned around with one eyebrow raised. He began to laugh.

His mouth formed a twisted smile. He stared me in the face, menacing face and all. I scrambled back on my arms and legs, until my back touched the cold, hard wall. "You know what? I hate your clan. I hate ALL of the clans." He sneered right in my face.

"..."

He grabbed my head in his hands and pressed it higher against the wall. My feet were dangling a metre in the air.

"The Hayashi Clan. Your fucking clan took away my ability to be a ninja. You see, your goddamned aunt and mother bullshitted their way into becoming ninjas while the rest of the fucking lot are stuck doing labour!" I could feel his spit flying into my face as he continued to yell. "The Uchiha, the Hyuuga…even the Inuzuka did it! But they just couldn't let one other student through! And don't get me started on your father. Oh, how I loathe him, that son of a bitch." It was silent for a while. I was dumbstruck by the fury that was emitted from his being. I was no longer crying but tears fell. His hands were shaking. I couldn't see anyone else in the room — or should I say, cave. I looked around, but saw no exit. Oh, how I longed for someone to come. If I were in my original body in my previous life, I would have been able to struggle out, but as a feeble toddler, there was nothing that I could do. My parents would have known about my disappearance soon. In a few moments, they would be searching for me. Would I be able to survive for that long?

I glanced upwards to see the angry eyes of the shop owner.

"You're going to die."

Well done Captain Obvious. I'd hope that my death would take place in about eighty days or so, but I don't think that's what you're thinking. He let go of my face and I landed in an awkward position, yowling. I was pretty sure my ankles were sprained, or worse, broken. I made a run for it. Whether you like it or not, angry guy, I'm not going to let myself be murdered when I was just reborn. No way. If I stay, I would My stout legs barely made ten steps forward when I fell in agony. My hands struggled to heave me up and I didn't even think about looking back. He was behind me; I knew.

"You dare to escape?"

I tried to drag myself out, but was pressed to the floor by the kunai that embedded themselves into my sleeves. This was it. He came closer, his steps becoming faster with each stride. A press at my neck was all it took for me to lose consciousness.

Breathe in.

Pity me, a young child who could do nothing in the face of danger.

Breathe out.

I would be lucky to be still alive.

Breathe in.

Goodness knows what would happen when I wake up — if I wake up at all.

Breathe out.

It's time to rise.

Pain. It was everywhere, unescapable, tugging at my consciousness. I felt ready to let go and return to sleep, until I heard the wails. It was comparable to the screech of a vulture. A faint beeping echoed. Several more followed. I regained control of my limbs and attempted to open my eyes. My dry throat ached — it was me who was screaming. There, in front of me, was the white ceiling of a hospital. The air smelt funny, like disinfectant. I struggled to get myself upright, but then I felt it — this wasn't my body…

Correction: it was my body; it wasn't Miyako's body.

"Nami! You're alive!"

I faintly recognised the lady that was smothering me with an embrace as my mother. For a moment there, I almost forgot. I moved my hand to feel along my arm. There were wires connected to machines and tubes attached to bags of fluids that hanged from metal frames. A plaster ran from my elbow to midway down my lower arm. My good hand was left unscathed. Around my neck, a brace restricted my movement. I didn't want to think about what happened to my head. I moved the muscles in my face and felt pain searing through. Of course, there had to be bandages there as well. The lady released the hug — it was then that I had a good look at her. Her chocolate brown hair was greying and her eyes were glazed with concern.

"…I was so worried when we received the call from the university! We thought you were gone for good!"

If I hadn't experienced the past three years, I would be relieved to be back with my family. However, everything was different now.

"Mum," I paused for a moment, almost not recognising my own voice, "how long was I out for?"

"About….a month….? Why, honey?"

I shrugged and looked away. A month…I could have sworn it was longer than that… My mother smiled and walked away.

"If you need anything, I'll be in the left wing of the hospital; you know where to find me. Just tell the nurses first because, well….everyone thought you were dead. It was a bit of a shock when they found out."

The door shut with a click and I was left to myself. My eyes trailed around the room and I spotted a small book. Naruto. A smile graced my face as I was reminded of my sister. I missed the moments we had together. If only she could be able see what I had been living. An idea popped up. I pressed the intercom and asked for permission to leave my room. My request was approved, but a nurse had to assist me in getting out. Moments later, a nurse arrived with a wheelchair.

…a wheelchair?

I threw the sheets off and saw bandages encasing both of my legs. What even happened to me? Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would have been, but that all changed when I was hauled onto the wheelchair. The pressure initiated a new wave of pain localised in my knees which then spread to attack my lower leg. I winced and realised that my pain tolerance here was much less than the one in the other universe. I was detached from the machines after having a quick checkup. The nurse told me about where I could go and where I couldn't go in the hospital. After checking the clock, I realised that it was 3pm. My sister would be ending work now. I headed to the cafeteria for some food. Somehow, being under can make you really hungry.

My sister was Kana, a twenty-five-year-old anime addict. Every once in a while, she would attend some sort of of comic convention and cosplay. Sometimes, I was forced to join her, but it wasn't actually that bad. At one point, made me cosplay with her. I was Hinata and she, as the taller sibling, was Neji. I remembered that incident. Our father wasn't all smiles about Kana cross-dressing and scolded her, telling her that she should act lady-like and proper. There was a family argument that night, but Kana got her way. From then on, my sister had a very strained relationship with our father. It was fun all the while. We posed with many strangers and con-goers. After that, Kana continued to cosplay, both as female characters and male characters.

I arrived at the hospital cafeteria, a place that I was very familiar with. My father divorced my mother when I was in ninth grade. From then on, I would come to the hospital very regularly, as this is where my mother worked. Sometimes, she would take night shifts and we would stay at home, where my sister would supervise me as I cooked for the two of us. Sometimes, Kana would take nights at the pub to play and hopefully earn some money. My mother's job earns quite a lot, but we had to pay for the extensions to the house. Kana also has part-time jobs as an author and a manga illustrator. She lived her life doing what she liked and didn't care what our father said. He wanted both of us to have secure, high paying jobs such as being doctors, lawyers or even engineers. Kana and I did manage to find our way into having good jobs, but not in the way that he liked. He contacted us later to see how we were doing — well to see how I was doing. My father and I managed to maintain a stable relationship. I told him that I was studying the culinary arts and succeeding in the industry. He wasn't too upset about it, which was lucky. When I added that Kana was an a budding artist, he hung up the phone. I think this was a week before my supposed death. I shook my head and looked up.

"Kana?"

A/N: I know I said that I would get a chapter up faster on the holidays, buuut... yeah, I have no excuse... I'm starting an art blog for a project that my friends and I are doing. I guess that is what's taking up all of my time... I'm not too happy with the confrontation between Miyako and the shop owner and I don't think you guys are either, but I like the end a bit more... This is going to lead to the main plotline and the whole reason why there are OCs in the story in the first place.

Thanks to KuroShiroNeko-chan, kanna-yamamoto, 3, tenshi0, Kurotiger, Rosezelene Ersa and lojenz for the new favourites (and all of you return favouriters - thanks to you too!), and Aferac, HoneyGrl, minhthu12-Present, setsunaxx, GetWithIt, tenshi0, Kurotiger and Rosezelene Ersa for alerting. (and to all of you old alerters - thanks!) And finally, thanks to X-xx-SugarBerries-xx-X and Littlebirdd for reviewing!

Heh...I think this authors note may be a bit too long so I'll cut it off now... Thanks for reading!