AN: Hello new reader! In case you didn't read the description, this is an AU of the ending from Kaleidoscope, featuring Micheal Morris, the OC that changes the ending. I really enjoyed reading it, so this is made with good intentions. Also, in case this wasn't clear, I didn't write Kaleidoscope, written by TotoroX92, so this could be considered a fanfiction fanfiction!
[Part 1 - Opening]
Life is a curious thing, you know? One day your living your dream life, with your family by your side supporting you, the next, you find out you'll be dying in six months.
But as curious as life is, death is anything but for Micheal Morris.
Micheal had it all; a paying job, supporting parents, and a loving wife and daughter. But one unlucky afternoon, he had a heart attack, followed by a stroke.
He was paralyzed from the waist-down, as well as diagnosed with a brain tumor.
There was no chance of removing the tumor; it was too big, and far too deep in the brain. At best, he would come out with major brain issues.
So instead of wasting time and money on an inevitable outcome, he instead spent time with his family.
Six months passed, and Micheal peacefully died on his deathbed. Micheal was then absorbed and intertwined into the collective conscious, a peaceful place where no thoughts formed.
This would be the end of the story, right? A normal life, ended through death. That would be true, if Micheal wasn't the one out of the infinite souls to be picked. There is no reason why he in particular was picked, only that he was a human soul, and therefor usable.
Micheal was forced with many chains into an incomprehensibly small hole, so small that it wouldn't he wouldn't have fit through, if not for the seals applied to the chains; he was folded until small enough to fit.
It hurt, to be changed so fundamentally, and Micheal tried to resist, scared of what was happening. However, the chains only grew tighter, and he eventually ran out of stamina.
When Micheal went through the hole, his soul absorbed the radiating matter the walls were producing. His soul adapted to the universe, instead of being destroyed into oblivion.
At the end of the trip, Micheal obtained a message, along with a tape recording starting to unravel in his mind.
'Hello there human, I am very pleased to meet you. My name is Malkeon, and I am one of the 7 existing metaphysical beings in this universe. I have given you a chance at life again, but you must do something for me; a human like you breached this universe, and plans on ending all life on it. His mind is twisted, and I need you to stop him. He isn't a bad human; no humans are completely bad, but actions do have consequences. I have left you a memory packet, containing some of his life experiences, along with a rough outline of his future plans. I wish you the best of luck.'
The tape ended there, with Malkeon bowing his head. The message Malkeon sent also opened up, causing him to hold his head in pain, as memories flooded his mind.
When Micheal recovered, he was already brought into the world. He was only a soul, yet something held him down to the earth.
In his hand there was a compass, pointing east. In his other hand, there was a piece of paper with something written on it.
'I can't give you much, but accept this gift.'
He wondered if this Malkeon guy was someone reliable. But there was no reason to complain; he had already died, and if this is what Malkeon asked for from him, he'll do it.
He took a deep breath as he looked around. All he saw were trees. Well, there was no time to waste! He began to run where the compass pointed.
Eventually, he found a base -the akatsuki one- heavily booby-trapped. This was the location Hiroki would start his crazy scheme. His body went right though the door, and the traps didn't activate.
[Part 2 - Akatsuki Base]
The members of the akatsuki were unaware that Micheal had just walked into their main room, other for Nagato, who just stared.
"Who are you?"
Those words were spoken with intention, however effective that was to a normal human.
But due to Micheal's soul being unrestricted, his emotions were unaffected by the intention, as though he heard it from a book.
Everyone else in the room tensed, unsure of the situation happening.
Micheal shrugged his shoulders.
"Me? I'm Micheal Morris, but you can call me Micheal. Want to have a chat? I have a lot to talk about with you, after all, and seeing as you're waiting for somebody, you probably have time."
"Nagato, what the hell do you mean, un!"
Deidara snapped out of his daze, and without too much thought demanded an answer from Nagato. Nagato pondered for a moment.
"I see. An astral projection?"
"I honestly don't really know myself. But I'm going to start off by saying that you're group is in danger, and we can work from there."
"I see no reason to work with you. We can defend ourselves perfectly well."
"Ah, don't be like that! It's really important! You remember how Itachi and Kisame were going to Konoha? They got discovered by an Uchiha! And not just any Uchiha, mind you- someone really, really powerful.
"Anyways, Kisame and Itachi were brainwashed into becoming allies of Konoha, though I guess Itachi was always loyal to Konoha. And now, Kisame and the Uchiha are coming this way right now to turn all you guys into allies too."
Nagato was deep in thought once again. It was undeniable that Itachi and Kisame were going to Konoha, but the thought of not only the two being discovered, but by some Uchiha- which was confusing in and of itself. Sasuke? Not nearly powerful enough. But there were no others alive.
He should remove this apparition. However, dispite not trusting it, he would at least be cautious. There is also the issue of how it found this place.
"I wasn't going to inturrupt this conversation, but I am curious on how you got your information."
Shishiki Ōtsutsuki finally spoke, her eyes able to see Micheal as well.
"Ah, well, I was sent here by this Malkeon guy, who told me this. He also gave me this compass that showed me the way."
Micheal held up a compass, before setting it on the table.
Deidara was even more tense than before.
"O-Oi, I thought you said that was an astral projection?"
Kakuzu silently watched the situation unfolding. Nobody replied to Deidara. Even Madara was silent.
"How are we supposed to trust you?"
Micheal let out a sigh. "I knew that you ninja were paranoid, but I guess it makes sense; I'm just some random guy to you, and even if I'm intangible and invisible to most, I still can be just some guy using astral projection, with the compass as a party trick. But I wasn't joking. Hiroki Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki will be here in roughly 10 minutes. You can send someone to check, but I can assure you of it. And that the Uchiha has brainwashed Kisame. I recommend sending a clone to check though, as the mangekyou is pretty powerful. They should be in the direction of Konoha, which is... 35° North-East."
"There shouldn't be any risk checking."
Two shadow clones of Nagato appeared.
"Wait, you have to hold some special seals, otherwise Hiroki would sense you."
He drew up a couple of that one seal he remembered from Hiroki's memories, the one that cloaks chakra as nature chakra.
The two clones were silent as the floating seals dropped in their opened hands.
As they left, I began to explain a plan for when Hiroki shows up, knowing full-well that Pain didn't believe me, but would at least hear me out.
[Part 3 - Laying the trap]
4 minutes of discussion and a few awkward moments later, Pain's clones returned their memories to the main body. Pain was holding his hand to his head.
"What happened?" Madara questioned.
"He tried to use a version of the sharingan. One of the clones... I have no recollection of what happened. I dispelled the other one immediately after."
"How did they find you?"
"I have no clue."
"Ah, now that I think of it, the seals don't turn external chakra into nature chakra. Those rods probably revealed it. Or maybe it was the rinnegan?"
Pain gave a deadpan expression to Micheal. Micheal feigned innocence.
"I didn't get time to test the seals, alright? Sorry."
Pain turned his attention to a different subject.
"I can at least verify that the Uchiha and Kisame were there and that they're hostile. Not only that, but that the Uchiha had the rinnegan."
Tobi, who was leaning on the wall the whole time, walked to the table.
"What did the sharingan look like?"
"The shape was a pentigonal star, with a three pronged shuriken in the center."
"I see. So the mangekyou."
"I suppose so."
"The rinnegan and the mangekyou... Powerful indeed. This Hiroki sounds dangerous." Madara told Pain.
The alarms were disarmed, Pain noticed.
"They're here."
Pain turned to Micheal.
"I'll let you try your plan. But I'll kill you if you mess up."
A nervous laugh emerged from Micheal's mouth. "Right, I'll set up the trap."
Pain told the others of their course of action, and after one Deidara outburst, he set up his trap.
He looked at Hiroki for the first time since he arrived. He was handsome for a teenager, with no acne and nice facial features.
Next to him was Kisame, a big blue shark-like former akatsuki member.
They were both smiling, as though visiting their next-door neighbor.
That is, until Hiroki opened his eyes and saw Micheal, his smile turning into a frown while tilting his head to the left a little, as though Hiroki wondered who Micheal was. Behind Micheal was the door to the main room, the hall he was standing in only having two exits.
"Hm? I don't remember seeing you before, are you the maid? The gatekeeper? Wait, I've got it!"
"I don't like where this is going..." Kisame sighed
"You're the trash collector just leaving, right? I got it, right?"
Micheal facial expressions stayed level, as he kept observing this teen. There were scribbles on Hiroki's body constantly shifting, with the rinnegan in his left, and a black pupil in his right.
"Or are you a statue? Hello? Helllooo? Can you speak?"
Micheal decided this was his cue. He coughed twice, clearing his throat. The next words were in english.
"I don't believe we've formally met. My name is Micheal James Morris. What is yours?"
Hiroki pointed at himself. "Me? I'm Hiroki, a really strong Uchiha."
"No, I don't believe that's your name. Do you remember it?"
"Uh, I don't know what you mean, I'm Hiroki Uchiha, an S-rank ninja of Konoha."
He sighed. "Alright, I'll call you Hiroki, and you can call me Micheal."
"Micheal... what a weird name! Are you foreign or something? It sounds so..." Hiroki trailed off.
"I'm actually from America, you see. That's actually where I learned English. Do you remember where you learned English?"
"Oh, me me me! I learned it from... somewhere." He frowned. "Why are your questions so difficult?"
"Hiroki, I want you to answer honestly; what are you doing here?"
"I want to save everyone by showing them friendship! And these people really need it." He shined, proud of himself for the answer.
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"I'll show them a little friendship! If everyone had friends, if everyone were friends with me, then no-one would want to fight. Right Kisame?" Kisame nodded. He didn't understand the context, but he trusted his friends.
Micheal sighed for the second time. "Hiroki, I'll ask you something else; do you plan on using those eyes of yours on the people inside?"
"Of course! They wouldn't understand otherwise. They're a bunch of close-minded idiots. But I'll fix them. Trust me."
It seemed the time for therapy was over, as Hiroki was growing anxious. Time for the blunt answers.
"Hiroki, they don't want you to do that to them. They want you to leave."
"But, but- I need to do this. Please?"
"No. Hiroki, you're a nice boy, but there's no reason to do things against their will. Please understand this and leave."
"You... You also need a little friendship, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share with you."
Hiroki's eyes turned into the mangekyou, and he stared into Micheal's eyes with brightness.
"You're my friend, and all friends value the same things, live in the same village, and have the same friends, right?"
"No, Hiroki, you're not my friend. And I want you to leave."
Something in Hiroki changed, as he went from carefree to cold and calculated.
"You're not my friend, therefor you're my enemy, and must die for Konoha's wellbeing."
[Part 4 - Ending]
Hiroki punched where Micheal's face was, breaking a hole into the door. Micheal let out a nervous laugh, before returning to his leveled state.
"Dimentional Anchor." Hiroki said, and Micheal felt heavier, real. He knew what was happening, and in his time of need, he activated his trap-
He kneeled to the ground, feeling the strain attacking him. The world changed for Hiroki and Micheal, as everything faded to black.
"Shit." He said. He became attached to reality, and since his soul was changed, he required chakra to exist in the world. Without it, he would die again. He held onto the chakra as best he could, using as little muscle movement as-
Hiroki punched him in the stomach, but it wasn't nearly as strong as last time. He coughed, getting up from the ground slowly.
"What did *you do to me*" He said, his rinnegan flickering.
"Heh, didn't you know? Those seals require a bunch of chakra, and without the nature chakra around, your seals went into sleep mode."
"How would you-"
It was Micheal's turn to punch him in the stomach, the older man's strength evident by the spit coming out of Hiroki's mouth.
"Doesn't matter, does it. We'll die together in this seal, unable to make chakra. I could have saved you, but now that I'm anchored, I don't have control."
"No... NO! I- why- you-! I just wanted more friends!" Hiroki stammered, his screaming mixing with his tears of frustration.
Micheal smiled, feeling a kunai slash my left arm.
"I'll just have to kill you and find Kisame, then teach the akatsuki!"
"Ah, you're quite-" Micheal held Hiroki's kunai arm in place, kneeing him. "-energetic, but killing me wouldn't affect anything."
Hiroki tried to claw and bite him, fear on his face, acting like a feral animal.
Hiroki was better at fighting, but nothing other than chakra can substitute the strength a 16-year-old had with a 27-year-old.
Micheal felt bad each time he hit Hiroki, hoping that the next hit would convince him. Even if he couldn't control the seal.
Hiroki was the first to fall, his chakra drain showing on his skin. Micheal was kneeling.
He only had one kunai on him, and once he kicked it away, Hiroki was powerless.
"I... won't... die..." Hiroki whispered. "I- I won't" he was sobbing.
"There's only one way from here... hope to see you in heaven. If we can even go there. I pity you. To believe that the moon-plan would work..."
"What..."
"It was far too crude. It would have killed everything unable to form emotions, everything without human thoughts. The shinju is a deadly plant. But the HirokAi was a cool thought."
Hiroki was hyperventilating.
"You know, I based this on your box you made for Zetsu? It's theoretically infinite. Hope you don't mind."
Hiroki screamed, scratching his face as-
His eye morphed, the purple eye returning to a blood-shot red, before turning to a black eye.
"Damn, if only I could move..." Micheal collapsed.
Hiroki, obtaining a little more chakra from the eye, picked up his Kunai, stabbing Micheal in the heart. His dry skin became drier, as all the chakra leaked out.
Hiroki panicked.
Nothing changed.
Hiroki felt pale.
He sat down.
Maybe a little-
NO! He wouldn't...
But if he did, it would-
He stabbed his arm, the pain awakening him. He just has to wait.
His skin was dry, his tongue parched. A little water...
He made another slice on his arm, marking the 200th stab.
He would do anything to survive.
His mind was becoming drowsy.
His happiness, his anger, his pain...
He didn't feel it.
His fear was to the point of insanity.
He wouldn't die though.
His thoughts became muddied, as his body became worse and worse.
He tried to make a seal, but his arm was too weak.
He layed down.
He wondered if this is how Zetsu would feel, eternal emptiness.
His mind was tired.
His body was tired.
It's only been 5 minutes, he thought idly.
He closed his eyes, his body numb.
Is this his fate? To die lonely?
All he wanted were friends, and yet, fate is so cruel.
He couldn't resist his aching brain shutting down-
NO! He could still... He could...
Those were his last thoughts, as he fell asleep.