Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Warnings: Possible swearing, thoughts of death
Beta needed!
Reveiwer replies:
Shadows of Knowledge: No need to wait anymore.
Guest: long story short, blame mobile app and me only wanting to submit a summary(getting things ready)
JigokuShoujosRevenge: Yeah, that's why I thought it would be fitting (and so she won't crash into too many trees later on)
Tachzaruu: Thanks! I generally try for humour but who knows where this will go. As for her thoughts, probably denial+denial+denial^3, lol
xFarxAwayX: Thanks for the support!
Gal: Here's the continuation!
AN at bottom
Chap. 1
A lot.
Taking a short nap while presumably in a coma (dead) can do a lot.
When I sort of woke up again, everything was groggy and my higher brain functions were all shot.
(Goodbye higher brain functions. I might miss you... Not. Actually yes... Very much yes.)
Therefore, no more pondering the mysteries of life for me, woo-hoo. Maybe now my undead/comatose brain can get a rest.
Considering the enveloped state from before, my surroundings have definitely changed. Or rather, my capabilities to sense the surroundings, but the less said about possible interactions, the better (as kicking attempts weren't felt at all. In fact, I might even be punching, not like I can tell much anyway.)
Recalling knowledge from BC (before coma), I remembered that there was a coach who was also in a coma but woke up after his team announced that their team had won, so there has to be some measure of interaction between a comatose patient and the surrounding environment - the only problem being how much?
But now it seems less like a coma and more of a…a…actually I have no damn clue. Comas generally don't give people supernatural senses, do they? And this energy that seems to thrum in tandem with the constant beating I can hear are evidently things that aren't usually present in life. Not to mention the fact that I can barely hear, or even feel, my weak heartbeat, a feeble fluttering compared to the steady ba-dump, ba-dump of a strong cardiac muscle that I've gotten used to. Ugh, I can't even fall into a coma right, I think although It's not like I can care much now anyway.
Time passed, and my senses have not only become stronger, but also no longer as confined. Like before, I dozed in and out of the possible realm of consciousness, interspaced with growing clarity that I was not in a coma.
Ignoring my little existential crisis, the persistent pounding of the other thing seemed to decrease with time; either it was getting weaker, or it was getting farther away. Sound also has become more muffled instead of the stifled whispers that had garnered my attention every now-and-then; not like it mattered since I couldn't tell what was said to begin with.
At least it's not for lack of trying, but what I managed to snag with my ears was only complete and utter gibberish. Who the hell let babies and lizards into my room? At least the music was pleasant, mostly instrumental with barest hints of gibberish.
And then a day came where my surroundings temporarily squashed me, and I became pissed/very annoyed. Given my limited mobility, I attempted to kick and claw at the membrane that seemed to want to compress me into a little ball of sludge, but nothing happened.
(Other than the membrane continuing to press down on me, that is.)
For some unfathomable reason, it felt as if I would be free once the membrane was removed. But alas, the substance was too strong for my weak limbs.
Of course, that's with the prerequisite that I could move my limbs at all, and that it wasn't all a figment of my overly bored imagination.
Distantly, I could hear screaming - from a source close by.
Weird. I wonder how that works.
The uncomfortable feeling persisted for a while. And just when I thought I would die, everything went back to normal, albeit with a change in scenery, and strings of gibberish floating into my ears. Some of the voices sounded very happy? Overjoyed? I'm not sure. Not to mention one of the voices definitely needed a cough drop.
The previously soft darkness of my surroundings was instead replaced with a muffled dark blue, and the physical aspects of my surroundings also seemed much harder than they were previously..
I'm definitely not in a coma anymore, what the shit is my life?
As if that wasn't enough, for some reason I felt like I could free-float. Still without breathing. Actually, I probably am drawing breath, but just not in a way I'm used to? Much like outer space, perhaps?
Continuing on with the free-float train of thought as these questions are breaking my now near non-existent sanity...
I'm an astronaut! Yay!
…
I can hear my maturity getting pulled into the deepest pits of hell…
Then, maturity is overrated anyway.
The thrumming energy had changed though, and only when it was gone did I notice that the large ba-thumps actually regulated the energy, albeit barely, and that now the energy seemed almost overpowering.
Some measure of order was restored by my own heartbeat? I think? But due to it being very weak, the energy seeped into me without consent. It didn't hurt much although it did make me feel drowsy. The energy of the surroundings seemed to be more of an ocean, while mine was barely there, like a tiny tablespoon of water. My heart was like a miniature backwards sifter or something, (my sister loves baking, but somehow I would always end up washing everything...), trying to make sure that my energy didn't spill out into the great beyond, while also filtering the outside energy into something my body could use. Or maybe it wasn't my heart, but perhaps the blue. The foreign energy (I'm getting tired of the word energy. I think I'll just use mc2, blame Einstein or something...) constantly trickles through me, and appears to change some fundamental portion of who I am, but honestly, who am I now?
Now only hanging onto consciousness via a tiny string of linked numbers (pi=3.1415926535…), something niggled at my brain. If the weaker heartbeat (mine), was able to control the ene...errr...mc2 (barely), then shouldn't it follow up with the fact that the louder thumps, were, in fact, heartbeats of another?
Shit, did that mean that I was in my...um ...maternal figure?
In another life?
The hell?
NononononONONONO I cannot be reborn!
What if my family reaches the afterlife and realizes that I'm missing? What if they try to find me but lose their memories (isn't that the normal route)? What if I can't find them again? What if...what if...What if...?
Denial and 'what ifs' aren't healthy scolded the logical part of my brain.
Shut up and deal with me you annoying cell sludge retorted the more emphatic portion.
Apparently arguing with oneself brings on exhaustion (who knew?) and my (possibly non-existent) eyelids fluttered. At least the blue meant a change in scenery.
Gimme a sec.
...The hell is up with the blue?
Didn't the screaming mean that I should be born? Shouldn't I be screaming too?
Gahhh!
Apparently thinking tires out the infant/fetal/(comatose) brain because the world started to drift, like I was picked up and cradled, before being rocked in a gentle lullaby.
A soft humming sound vibrated the blue and its soothing melody calmed me.
Then the energy seemed to soften, like a mother bird caressing her hatchlings, and soon I once again slept in its soothing embrace.
As before, I drifted in and out of the waking world for indefinite periods of time, however the pattern between each waking and sleeping period seemed to be that I could stay awake longer.
Not being able to breathe like a normal human being no longer bothered me, enough time was given to adjust, after all. Even if my lungs were still capable of pulling in something, I no longer cared. I'm supposed to be dead, and once upon a time I would've said that anything would be better.
No longer does that hold true.
What does life hold beyond the emotions and memories gained and lost after all? If nothing remained, death would seem like the better choice, especially if I can see them again in another, better world. At least, in a world where worries are as fleeting as a brush of wind at a coast in summer.
But then, reincarnation is supposed to be a myth, and not something that is generally taken into account. Especially when memories of a life lived loved and treasured are concerned.
No matter, this is a second chance, and knowing that there is more after death, perhaps living will be enjoyed more, or less. Depends on the perspective.
And I'm getting too morbid aren't I?
Well, must be the lack of entertainment.
As with most of my other functions, I had finally regained some meager control over my four limbs (and head, never forget the head), but all four senses were dulled. Why four? Weellll, the state of my nostrils (and my lungs for that matter) probably is an explanation itself.
Over the periods of time where I was graced with consciousness, I could tell that the flowing energy (sorry Einstein, but energy is much easier to remember then some physic concept) had apparently decided to base itself in my back, or around the area that I would assume to be my spine. At least it wasn't my tail bone, if it gave me a legit tail or something, someone (who's not me)will die.
Gibberish could still be heard, but less than before I was encased in whatever the blue is. However, it was traded for more hissing, like, a lot of hissing.
So...Nope, not human. Nothing mammalian could make sounds like that.
Perhaps a reptile? But why the hell would I be sharing space with a reptile?
The blue also seemed closer somehow, although I was still free floating. The weird thing was that I couldn't get close to the blue, as it seems like there was an invisible (pffft,sort of) wall that separated me from the blue.
Time however, allowed me to grow closer to the blue.
It wasn't fast, as I had no concept of time whatsoever, but I knew that somehow the blue was getting closer, or just whatever the blue represents. In fact, it seemed to press in on me from all sides.
Not close enough for my measly sense of touch to function, but enough so that I felt mildly claustrophobic.
Well, at least that was before the day when the blue finally touched and I finally realised that I needed to get the effing hell out of here.
AN: welp, that was faster than I expected. I was hoping to get more done but time is ticking. Possibly expect updates every two weeks? I'll try my best? School is in the way though... This might go a bit...(who am I kidding?) very AU because of how early the character is going to be inserted, but I'll also be rearranging the timeline as I see fit because, well, come on, two homages dead before the end of the First Shinobi War? When Hiruzen lasted through three?
Expect changes, but probably nothing too drastic, hopefully.
~Cadriona Morningwing
Updated: June 14, 2016