WHERE IS IT.
WHERE THE HELL IS IT??
I've been wandering around for 37 MINUTES and I STILL haven't found Ichiraku??
Who built this bloody village??
A distant part of my mind whispered:
It was Hashiramaaaa...
I turn another corner, sprinting now.
Oh my god if I don't find it in the next 5 seconds I swear I will commit a crime.
Suddenly, my nose met a scent that could only be described as the breath of an angel.
This... this smell. It couldn't be! No, wait.
It must be.
I turn a corner yet again, my poor stamina failing me as I slow to a pathetic jog, and then to a steady walk.
And there it is.
The one and only.
Ichiraku Ramen.
Those iconic stools.
That bright, yet moody color scheme.
Teuchi and Ayame in their classic white getup.
Those signature Japanese characters on the curtain that probably say 'Ichiraku Ramen Shop', but I can't read Japanese.
Actually, why is it in Japanese? Everything else has been in English so far. Whatever, that's not important.
All that matters now is that I get ramen in my stomach.
I slowly approach the stall. It's empty at the moment, but I can see Teuchi and Ayame working on accounts or something.
They seem busy.
I sit on the rightmost stool.
But not so busy that they can't make ramen.
Heh.
Teuchi looks up.
"Ayame, take her order, will you?"
"Sure. Oh, and don't forget about the one from yesterday."
"Right, thanks."
Ayame turns to me, a small notebook and pen in her hand.
Woah, hold on. You're telling me I had to use a quill when they already had pens? This place is messed up.
I interrupt her before she asks for my order.
"Um, I uh, don't really have any money, but I live here so I'll probably come by often. Is it alright if I open up a tab, just until I can get a job or something to pay it back?"
Ayame looks to Teuchi for assistance.
She must still be new. She actually looks about my age. I don't think we'll get close, though.
He sighs and looks up from his work.
"How can we know that you'll keep your word?"
What does he want me to say? How am I meant to answer a question like that?
"Er, I live here, and I like ramen?"
He sighs again, stands up, and moves to the kitchen at the back of the shop.
"Alright, what do you want."
A shit-eating grin spreads across my face.
Success!
"A large miso char siu ramen, please! Oh, and naruto fishcake topping too!"
"Coming right up."
As Teuchi gets cooking, Ayame helping when she can, I relax and take in the atmosphere.
The setting sun, painting everything a vivid orange-pink.
The hustle and bustle of the street, people walking about.
The sound of the noodles boiling, the quick chopping of a knife on a cutting board.
The soft shhh of meat on a frying pan.
And the smell.
My god, I couldn't forget it even if I tried.
That umami, warm sensation filling my nose, making my mouth water.
How isn't this place more popular?
As Ayame starts putting together the bowl, Teuchi drains my noodles in a basket.
"So, you say you live here, but I've never seen you around. Did you move in recently?"
"Yeah. Today, actually. I'm new around here."
"A newcomer moving in so soon? I didn't know they allowed that."
Aha, I knew there was something weird about how easy it was for me to become a resident!
"Is it unusual?"
"Well, as a Hidden Village, you would expect the Hokage to be more cautious around strangers. No offense to you, of course. You seem like a lovely young lady."
"Aw, thank you. I'm Kaishi, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Kaishi. You can call me Teuchi."
He puts the finishing touches on the ramen bowl. Egg, spring onion, naruto.
And now, the moment of truth.
"Here you go. Don't eat too quickly, now."
He places the bowl in front of me along with a pair of chopsticks to my right.
Ha.
You fool.
You don't understand my ways.
Watch and learn.
I pull the fork I nicked from my kitchen out of my pocket. I clap my hands together, my fork held in between.
"Ita—
Wait, fuck, they don't speak Japanese!
—er, thanks for the food!"
I stick my fork in the bowl, twirl it around, and bring my first ever helping of Ichiraku Ramen to my mouth.
I put it in.
Chew.
Swallow.
Absolutely delicious.
The balance of flavors, the texture of the noodle, the subtle aftertaste of all the toppings, all perfect.
Oh yeah. This is the way.
As I dig in, I don't notice a large, cloaked figure sit a seat away from me to my left. It's only after I finish drinking the last bit of soup at the bottom of the bowl, that the figure speaks. Not to me, but to Teuchi.
"So, any idea where I can find some nice ladies around here? At a hot springs, perhaps?"
My heart stops.
That... it can't be. He's not meant to be here. He's meant to be missing. Or on a mission. Or something. I don't really remember, but.
But not here. Just not here.
The figure pulls down his hood, exposing a head of long, white, spiky hair. I don't even need to see his face to know who he is.
It's Jiraiya. The pervy sage.
Teuchi eyes him suspiciously.
"I don't recognize you. Are you a newcomer as well?"
Jiraiya's lighthearted expression suddenly turns serious.
"As well?"
He turns towards me, inspecting me.
"You're a newcomer? When did you arrive?"
Why would he be concerned about that? And if he's looking for ladies then he's probably here to gather information. Which means that something's going on that somehow involves me. Did I mess something up already? What a pain. Should I tell him? This guy is so high level he could probably tell if I lied, sooo
"Today. A few hours ago."
"Where did you come from?"
Before I can answer, Teuchi speaks up.
"Hey, give the girl some space. She doesn't know you. And if you're not going to order something, take your business elsewhere."
Jiraiya stands up, and walks away without a word. As he passes by me, he gives me a little slip of paper. Teuchi was turned around, so he didn't notice the interaction.
I read it.
Hokage's office
I quickly rip it up and stuff the pieces in my pocket. I wipe my fork with a napkin, and put it in my other pocket.
"Thanks again for the food, Teuchi. I'll get going now. Bye!"
"Bye Kaishi!" "Get home safe."
I stand up, and sprint towards the office. I immediately slow down to a pathetic jog once again.
Shit, cramp. Gotta slow down, but still gotta go fast.
I try not to die as I hobble to my destination, and soon enough, I reach the academy.
Good thing it's right in front of the stone faces, or I wouldn't have found it so quick.
Despite it being quite late, the front doors aren't locked. I enter, and make my way up to the office.
As I approach the door, which is open, I hear some voices speaking inside.
Sounds like the Hokage and Jiraiya.
I don't bother trying to eavesdrop because, well, they'd obviously notice since they're ninjas. And if whatever they're talking about involves me, they'd probably tell me about it anyway.
I knock on the open door, and walk in without waiting for a response.
"Kaishi, you're here."
The Hokage stands up from his chair behind his desk. He observes me quietly. Creepy...
Jiraiya is leaning against the back window that looks over the village. His arms are crossed.
"I suppose I am, yeah."
There's a chair in front of the desk. The same one from earlier today. It's farther from the desk than before, though. I take a seat.
Jiraiya slowly walks towards me, and stops just in front of me. He also observes me quietly.
This is awkward. Is someone going to explain what the heck is going on? I didn't do anything suspicious, did I? Don't tell me it was the fork. Or poor Sasuke's PTSD. I should actually apologize for that.
Jiraiya finally speaks up.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"Nope."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
He steps forward and bends over, his nose 2 inches from mine. I lean back, and try not to make eye contact. Personal space, man.
The Hokage clears his throat.
"Are you sure it's her?"
Holup, who're you calling 'it'?
Jiraiya stands back up.
"Hmmmmm..."
He closes his eyes and rubs his chin.
"Well, who else could she be?"
"Um, are you going to tell me why I'm here, or?"
"Yeah, yeah, just give me a second to think."
He waves his hand dismissively.
"My memory's a bit hazy and I don't remember the details. Oh! I have an idea."
Jiraiya walks over to the Hokage and whispers something to him.
"Good, right?"
The Hokage nods.
Jiraiya sits on the desk, much to the Hokage's displeasure, and looks at me with a wide, slightly sinister smile.
He's plotting something...
"So, Kaishi. We met earlier at Ichiraku. I don't take it you remember my name, do you? It is a rather exotic one, after all." He's giddy.Like a child.
He said his name? I don't remember that. Or maybe he did and I just didn't notice? Is this a trick question? He's playing with my mind. Well, I don't wanna seem stupid in case he actually did mention it, since that was barely 10 minutes ago.
"You're Jiraiya, right?"
The smile on his face grew wider, if that was even possible.
Oh fuck. Wrong answer. Or was it?
He turns to the Hokage, who claps slowly.
"Well done, Jiraiya. I didn't expect it to work."
"Why thank y— hey! You didn't have to add that last part."
"Don't mind it."
The Hokage turns to me.
"So, Kaishi."
"Y-yeah?"
Did I just stutter? Damn, I'm nervous. Can't look suspicious or I'll get assassinated or something.
"You passed the test."
Huh?
"What test?"
Before the Hokage can explain, Jiraiya majestically hops off the table and strikes a pose.
"Why, the test to confirm if you're the one whose arrival has been prophesied by the Great Toad Sage, of course!"
I'm silent. Horrified. Surprised, scared, all of it.
This. This is bad. I messed up stuff good.
Jiraiya keeps talking.
"You told me my name was Jiraiya, when nobody mentioned it once. The Toad Sage told me that the stranger would know many things that they shouldn't be able to know, and that they would suddenly appear in this very Village without any possessions or relations. They would have come from a world quite different to ours. That person is you."
My breathing gets shallow and my thoughts start racing. I begin to panic.
This is really bad. This shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be here. What did I do? I thought I wanted this. I thought it would be fine. This isn't meant to happen. I can't handle this. A prophecy? With me? What about Naruto and Sasuke? I'm not the reincarnation of a chakra god, I can't be part of a bloody prophecy. Jiraiya— damn Jiraiya isn't meant to be here either, he didn't mention what's meant to happen in this 'prophecy' yet. It might be ok. But it might not. This is impossible. What a pain. Shit, I'm lightheaded. Don't pass out please, just calm down. It'll be alright, slow and calm, slow and calm.
There's something on my shoulder. A hand.
"Hey, hey, are you okay? I didn't mean to overwhelm you. It's alright. It's a lot to take in all at once. I'm sorry. Try to breathe."
My vision is blurry. My eyes had teared up. I hadn't noticed. I rub my eyes and look up.
Jiraiya's hand is on my shoulder.
He's worried. Aw. I missed this guy.
"Take all the time you need to adjust to your surroundings and absorb the new information. There's no rush. You have plenty of time."
I nod. What was there to say?
I stand up slowly. Jiraiya steps back.
"I... think I'll go home."
"Would you like me to escort you?"
"I'll be fine. Thanks."
I leave quickly. Out of the office, to the right. Down the stairs. Through the halls. Out the front door.
I know where my house is. I think. Past here. Down this road. Turn this corner. There's Naruto's apartment, and here we are.
I stick a key in the door lock, but it doesn't turn.
Oops. Looks like I forgot to lock it when I went out for ramen. That's alright. I doubt anything got stolen or whatever. Not like I have anything to steal anyway.
I pull the door open, walk in, kick off my shoes and head to the bedroom. The pile of sheets and pillows looks at me.
I should probably deal with that.
I begin the deconstruction of the pile.
So this is a pillow, and this is the top blanket. Duvet? Or it could be this one. Is this the bottom one? Why are there so many sheets?
An instruction manual would be nice. ANBU guy's probably laughing his ass off right now. Ah, I think I've got it! Wait, no I don't. Hmm...
After a few minutes of struggling, I manage to make what looks vaguely like a bed.
I flop on it and stare at the ceiling.
Ugh, finally. Time to relax. I like this material. It's really nice and soft. Kinda silky. Definitely gonna enjoy sleeping in it.
There isn't really anything to do, so I just think.
A prophecy, huh? I guess that explains the 'interrogation' and Jiraiya's unexpected presence. What am I going to do? Since they know I'm weird (the Hokage and Jiraiya, maybe Kakashi?), would I end up getting involved with the main characters? I'll definitely need to train. And go to the academy. I guess I already know some secrets, like walking on water or up trees. But to do that, I'll need to figure out how to use chakra. Knowing my affinity (or release) would be good too. If the magic paper wrinkles it's lightning, gets sliced it's wind, turns to ash or something it's fire? I don't remember the rest.
But for now, I should try to mold chakra. At the academy, I'll probably be expected to know some basics since I'm quite a bit older. I definitely don't want to try the shadow clone jutsu or I'll end up killing myself. Maybe the transformation jutsu? Alright, I'll try that first but for now: Molding chakra. It'll distract me, at least.
I sit up, and cross my legs.
Actually, maybe I'll stand. Better circulation. Renai circulation. Se~no!
I hum the song as I stand up too quickly again, and breathe slowly until the dizziness fades.
I move my 'bed' away, and hop a few times to get my blood flowing.
Alright, the hand sign.
I lace my fingers together, and stick up my pointer and middle fingers. I press my palms firmly against each other.
Nothing happens. I don't feel anything.
Please don't tell me I can't use chakra. That would suck big-time.
"Big-time rush, ah ah aaaah o—"
Immediately a searing pain fills my chest. My hands separate and I fall to my knees, but it doesn't stop.
Holy shit, am I dying? What's happening to me? I can't breathe, ow.
The pain spreads to my stomach and shoulders.
Oh my god, is this the chakra system thing growing in or something? Why does it hurt? Is it meant to hurt?
My arms and legs feel like they're on fire.
Stop, drop and roll!
I lie on the ground and wiggle, but it doesn't help. It doesn't make it worse, either.
I've never broken a bone or got seriously injured, but if I had to imagine what getting my skin peeled off felt like, this would be it. Except it's more like my bones getting peeled.
Yeah, that's it.
The fire spreads up my neck and into my skull. I can't stop myself from crying out despite the pain in my chest. I grab my head, squeeze, pull my hair, anything I can do to make it stop, but it doesn't. Tears are streaming down my cheeks, but I don't have the energy to yell, so I whimper instead.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!
I feel pathetic. I can only wait until the pain stops by itself. If it ever will.
I'm still crying. Quieter, now.
I slowly crawl over to my bed that I pushed away before. I don't bother taking off any clothes or getting under the covers.
I lie, and continue crying silently with the pain as I eventually let myself fall asleep.