It was the day after Bethany's talk with the Hokage, and she was waiting with the others in the forest for the ANBU who would come to get her. Bethany wouldn't say it, but she was worried, she really wasn't sure if she would be able to protect the village from Kurama, not to mention she really wanted to become friends with the giant fox, but wasn't sure if she should, as that was Naruto's job. She sighed, she didn't know what to do. "Kushina Uzumaki?" the presence made itself known with a quiet monotone voice.
Bethany yelped inwardly, but forced the panic out of her heart, turning around to face the speaker calmly. It was an ANBU with a fox decorated mask. How ironic. Bethany nodded her head, nervousness clear on her face, "hai, that's me!" she tried to smile confidently, but her attempts were drowned out by the overwhelming dread she felt in her heart. The ANBU nodded shortly, and he took Bethany's hand. The redhead took one last look at the other players in the forest, before the fox masked ANBU shushined away with her.
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When they arrived at their destination, Bethany shook her head, who knew that being shushined could make a person dizzy? She would have to work on that once she learned shushin. When she could see clearly again, she saw that she was standing in front of a large door, inscribed with the Uzumaki spiral. Bethany took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The room was big, what she would expect for the wife of the first Hokage. The walls were cream colour, and the floor was a rich purple. Sitting on a Queen sized bed was an old woman with long brown hair that probably reached the floor when she stood up, but was stopped by the bed.
She was fairly wrinkly, but not overly so and had a black diamond shape on her forehead. The woman was wearing a simple white kimono, with a black Obi around her waist. When she saw Bethany, she smiled gently, "so, you are Kushina-Chan then?" she asked softly. Bethany shuffled nervously, "yes, Mito-Sama" The older Uzumaki held out her arms, "it's alright, come here" she said. Bethany slowly walked over to her. When she reached Mito, the woman took her right hand and held it with both of hers. Smiling up at her, Mito continued, "It's nice to finally meet one of my clansmen again after such a long time". Bethany didn't know what it was, but tears began to build up in her eyes, and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing into the old woman's lap- she was so afraid.
As she cried, Mito continued hold her hand in her own, and began to stroke Bethany's hair softly with the other. Slowly Bethany's sobs began to lessen, and she calmed down. "Like you, I was brought here to be the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, I can understand how you must feel, being forced to leave your home and come to a strange land, how scared you must have been," Bethany drew in a wavering breath, "You don't have to hide it, you can tell me the truth," the young girl looked up at her avatar's relative, she felt like family to her now too, "yes" she said quietly, she didn't even know the half of it! Mito seemed to accept her answer, "now, listen closely, it's true that we must live as vessels of the Nine Tails, and that he is full of hate, but there is one way to overcome that hatred," Bethany stared up at the kind woman, who smiled serenely at her.
"That is by filling ourselves with love first," Bethany smiled and dried her eyes, "by filling our hearts with love, it can stop the Kyuubi's hatred from overwhelming us, and destroying our spirits" suddenly, Bethany frowned, "but I haven't got anyone like that, I just got to the village after all" she said sadly. Mito closed her eyes, "maybe you haven't yet, but you will one day, and that love will save you, as it did me" the young woman's frown slowly became a small smile.
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Bethany spent the rest of the day with her virtual relative, knowing that she wouldn't have long to spend with her. To her immense surprise and happiness, Mito believed her when she told her about the real world, "yes, I've recently been having dreams about the world you've described, and you as well, I saw you, a young woman, short, but beautiful, with fairly long brown hair and hazel coloured eyes, turn into my relative, Kushina Uzumaki," she explained. Bethany just soaked up every word spoken by the old woman, "at first I thought the dreams didn't mean anything, and I ignored them, but after what you've told me, I now know that world to be real".
Bethany looked worried, "do you think we'll ever get home, Mito-Sama? not that I don't like this world or anything, it's just-" she bit her lip, "you're afraid," Mito said softly. Bethany lowered her head, "yes, afraid for my sake, the other 25, and all the villagers who don't even remember the real world, I mean, programs don't even notice anything wrong with the fact that all the main characters are children, even the ones who are meant to be adults," She paused, and looked at the old woman, "that reminds me Mito-Sama, aren't you just a program, created by the game for the sake of the storyline?" she asked, confused. The elder Uzumaki simply smiled, "anything's possible" she said, with a mysterious glint in her eye. Bethany cocked her head to the side in confusion. Suddenly the Third Hokage walked in. Bethany turned to face him as he bowed to Mito, "I'm truly sorry, but we have to do the transfer now" he explained, causing Bethany's heart to jump with fear, so soon?
Mito placed her hand on the little girls shoulder, making her turn to face the elderly woman with worried eyes, "it will be okay Kushina-Chan, now, shall we go?" she asked lightly, extending her hand to the girl. Bethany smiled gratefully, and took Mito's hand gently in her own. Then they followed the Third Hokage out of the room and down the hall.
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Paul looked worriedly up at the sky, Bethany had been gone for so long now, he hoped that she was okay.
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Mito and Bethany were led down many corridors and hallways, through rooms- they walked so long and travelled so complexly, that Bethany was sure that she would get lost if she tried to find her way back to Mito-Sama's room by herself. Eventually, they stopped at a wall lined with ANBU guards, and incredibly complex sealing formulas inscribed onto it. The Third cut his thumb with a kunai knife then pressed the bleeding appendage to the wall. It seemed like Hiruzen's blood was absorbed into the stone, and the seals glowed red for a moment.
When the glow faded, the wall began to shift, moving aside to show a dimly lit room with four torches glowing on the walls, and two large tables with chains on them. Bethany gulped, and gently pulled on the sleeve of the older Uzumaki's robe. Mito looked down at her, "yes, Kushina-Chan, what is it?" she asked softly. Bethany cringed, "this is really going to hurt, isn't it?' she asked. Mito frowned, and looked forward again, "yes, Kushina-Chan, I'm afraid so". Hiruzen held out his arm, "please enter," he said, "and I'm going to need you to take off your shirts" Bethany cringed again but complied. Once she was topless, the little girl climbed onto one of the tables. It was made of marble, and very cold. She shivered as Mito-Sama was helped onto the other table. After they were both laying flat, The third began drawing a complex seal on Bethany's stomach.
Bethany desperately tried not to shiver, as the cold ink touched her flesh. Once Hiruzen had finished, he proceeded to lock the chained shackles onto both women's arms and legs. Bethany trembled violently, both from the cold and from fear, who knew that virtual reality could feel so real? The third Hokage looked both of them over one last time, "are you ready for this?" he asked. Bethany nodded, "it's not like I have a choice, I only hope the pain's not too bad" she said, worriedly. Hiruzen nodded, and began to form a long sequence of hand seals. The young woman twisted slightly, so she could see Mito, "Mito-Sama?" she called softly.
The old woman looked over at the other girl. Bethany bit her lip, "it was a pleasure to meet you, thank you, for everything" Mito smiled, "you're very welcome, Kushina-Chan" "SEAL!" the third exclaimed. The sealing formula on Mito Uzumaki's stomach disappeared with a resounding crack, causing the woman to gasp in sudden pain. "Mito-Sama!" Bethany exclaimed, but her train of thought was cut off as excruciating pain, more than she'd ever felt before shot throughout her entire body. Bethany screamed in agony, twisting violently on the table, trying anything just to make the pain stop. But the Nine Tails chakra was massive and it needed a few minutes to completely seal away.
After a few more moments of torture, the pain finally stopped, leaving her with a dull throbbing, aching feeling in her stomach. Bethany gasped and panted, tears of agony flowing down her face. Her last thought was: 'damn those programmer bastards for making pain feel so realistic' then she sank into blissful unconsciousness.
To Be Continued