In which introductions are made and plans are laid.
She didn't know what she did.
Sure, reading books and walking around in oversized clothes might have been sinfully lazy, but if anything she should have gone to hell; not the Naruto universe. But they were basically the same thing, now that she thought about it.
After being sucked through the vortex of doom, she landed on a hard surface, barely thinking and suffering from severe whiplash. Groggily shifting around, the first thing she noticed besides the wooden surface was the stunned silence in the room.
She could relate, honestly.
Doing her best not to freak out, she sat up slowly with her eyes still closed before cautiously cracking one open. And was immediately greeted with something you only read about in some of her comic books.
Because the Third Hokage, God of Shinobi, and Jiraiya, Sannin and legendary Toad Sage, characters from her favorite anime, were staring down at her in complete bemusement. She imagined she was quite the sight sitting in her gray sweat pants, dark blue hoodie, and rectangle glasses. Then she realized that they were absolutely huge, and the Hokage's hand a little to her left was bigger than her. A little hysterically, she thought maybe she was having a vivid dream.
Yeah that was it.
Calmer now, her instincts kicked in and she hoisted her shocked butt up and brushed off invisible ink with shaky hands like she did this everyday. Her face flamed as she tugged down the edge of her wrinkly hoodie over her belly and a hand went up to try and smooth down her rat's nest.
She decided to start small.
"Hello, I'm Haruhi. Please take care of me." If she recalled, Naruto was Japanese-centric. She hoped they spoke English.
She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable the longer they gaped at her. Was something in between her teeth?
Jiraiya was the first to recover. He sucked in a huge breath, posed with his foot propped up, arms stretched and shouted:" I AM JIRAIYA, THE LEGENDARY MOUNTAIN TOAD SAGE!"
"..."
Well, she thought, at least she knew the language was English. The Third recovered just seconds after Jiraiya and was now looking over her with an appraising eye, moving the pipe to a corner of his mouth. A glint hidden in the corner of his eye. She shakily smiled back, slightly ruffled by the explosive introduction.
"Who are you?" She asked, feigning ignorance. She didn't know how to explain her knowledge so this was the best strategy she could take. Plus she could pass of any tells with her shaking from earlier.
He looked down before smiling warmly. "I am Lord Third, and you may call me such."
"It's nice to meet you both. Did you summon me?" She was completely bullshitting the last one, but it seemed like a good idea.
Honestly, she was thinking about the genie from Aladdin and how this all seemed like some sort of elaborate magic trick. But she needed to say something to retain her innocence. Plus that little puff of smoke was a lot like when you summoned things. She looked up questioningly to see their answer and almost missed the way they stiffened slightly. Almost. To her surprise she had apparently hit the nail on the head.
She decided she was now a unique summon who resided in her own private mountain valley and served as a companion, which is why no one had ever heard of her.
Lord Third nodded and looked at her "Yes we have."
"Can you tell me why? Not that I mind. It's just that I've never been summoned before." She wanted to know how she got here so she could leave just as fast. And they had to know something!
Jiraiya responded rather matter-of-factly, "We were testing out a seal, little lady, it appears you are the result."
The Hokage tipped his hat in greeting. "It's interesting to have you here. But you can return just as soon as we ask a few questions."
What questions? She suppressed an uncomfortable shuffle and tilted her head curiously. She had some of her own.
"Aw, she's adorable!" Jiraiya chuckled. Reaching towards her faster than she could dodge, he put a finger down on her head in a heavy, to her, pat.
"Hey!" she squealed a bit angrily and ruffled at the faster than lighting movement, "I'm fragile!" She didn't even need to act to be cute after all; she just was.
"Jiraiya." The Hokage scolded "We are asking her questions, not harassing the poor thing."
Jiraiya hummed at this before leaning over until she could clearly see the wart on the side of his nose and asked "Just what type of summon are you?"
She laughed outwardly, her mind dragging up the back story she had just come up with.
"A nice one. I'm meant to be a friend to whoever summons me." She smiled shyly, looking up at them through shoulder length curly black hair she had purposely made spill over her shoulder. She had to play it safe though, the information she had was her ace and she couldn't put all her cards on the table. Even if she herself was on said table.
They looked down on her with amusement and extreme interest and, a glint of something else. They probably had never seen something quite like her, which was good. That could give her some wiggle room.
"I suppose that means you're our friend?" The Third asked quizzically.
She nodded shyly, not having to pretend in her delight. These were two powerful characters who could send her back home or at the very least back her up. And, she genuinely loved meeting and getting to know new people. These people promised to be interesting.
"May I pick you up then?" The Third asked.
She blinked, startled. Her heart beat faster. No matter how well she was keeping her cool, that was a whole new ball game. The Third was also testing her and in order to live up to her claim she had to. But then again she could fall back on what she said earlier, that this was her first summoning. Ugh! She was overthinking things again!
She gulped. "Okay, j-just be careful"
And he slowly reached over to lay his palm flat on the table right next to her bare feet. She looked and put her palm down on his, slowly leaning over and using his pinkie finger as leverage. Her first thought on kneeling in his palm was that it had many callouses. Her heart was pounding in her ears as he lifted her up to face level, Jiraiya also leaning over his shoulder to get a closer look at her.
For the first time she realized what the other emotions was in their eyes; awe. For the first time she realized she was shaking throughout the entire thing.
Her expression softened dramatically and the shudders stopped with a deep breath.
She looked them full in the eyes before bowing and cheerfully shouting," At your service!"
They looked taken aback before adopting supremely amused expressions, Jiraiya and the Hokage both laughing.
"My last question will be; just what are we supposed to do with you?"
She froze before giggling nervously.
"It doesn't really matter,"
It does.
"You could keep me or send me back."
Please send her back. Like, right now, she wanted go to back now. The two exchanged looks, obviously following the same trail of thought before looking down at her again, Jiraiya's white mane shifting over his shoulder to pool like a waterfall to her left.
The Third seemed to like that idea too.
"You are an incredibly interesting creature, but I believe it's time you head back." She nodded with a pout, internally cheering, but also 'creature'! What did he mean by that? Good riddance! She'd wake up on her carpeted floor with carpet creases in her face, but otherwise fine.
But now that she thought about it they had seemed unusually open to her for a potential threat and something they knew almost nothing about. And yeah, sure a few inch tall woman with frizzy hair wasn't the most threatening thing ever, but you'd think they'd be more on guard. Especially since Jiraiya was a spy master. Shouldn't he want to find out more about her? Unless they already knew something she didn't…
Maybe her presence here was unintentionally compromising something? Maybe it was something they thought she should already know but didn't?
But it didn't matter. This fever dream would be over soon and it was for the better. She was vulnerable here, even more so than she usually would be, given her current height. A fruit fly could take her on and win.
But this was an experience. Sure she was still debating if this all wasn't some dream and that she would wake on on her couch with a cup of cold tea and a cat, but you didn't get the chance to study cultures up close every day. (unless you were a scientist with a microscope-)
But she wanted-no, needed to know more. This was a whole new world of possibilities and it made her toes curl and the thought of all that potential learning.
The Third slowly lowered his hand until it was flat on the table. She carefully shifted her weight and reaching out one foot, then two, before she was standing on the table, with both of them staring at her expectantly.
She stared right back.
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly before asking "Aren't you going to go now?"
She froze. Then, blushed to the roots of her hair. This entire time, she had thought they knew how to send her back. Maybe they still did, and she was just jumping to conclusions!
"...I thought you guys were going to send me back." She stated more than asked.
It was their turn to freeze as they looked at her with disbelief.
"Well, I never said I was a normal summon. " She chuckled weakly.
They leaned back, obviously deep in thought. It became apparent to her that, while not minding her presence and actually somewhat enjoying it, they had thought, with her being a 'summon' that she would have been able to leave anytime. She was not supposed to be here. And yeah, she already knew that, but it wasn't the fact that this universe wasn't supposed to exist more than it was that the Hokage and Jiraiya didn't want her here.
The Hokage leaned forward, fingers weaving together and a serious expression befalling his face.
"You say you are a companion?"
Cue hesitant nod.
"Then how would feel if one of my most trusted men took care of you while we figure out how to send you back?"
She nodded again, slower this time. As a college student, she made a point not to trust men she didn't know beforehand.
The Hokage puffed on his pipe before turning to look back at her. "This might take awhile. I'll have some food sent."
Thrice, she nodded, before realizing Jiraiya had vanished. Probably to go get the man or peep into the women's bath. The food arrived soon enough (bread with jam) and The Third turned to his paperwork while she ate, both of the waiting for this man.
It was harder than she thought it would be to eat, and by the time she had hauled the butter knife that was bigger than her and smoothed the jam on a rip of bread the size of her face she was panting and sweating. Eating was exhausting here.
She glanced around the Hokage's office and was struck by just how...primitive it was. The camera looked like something you'd use at the turn of the century. The light bulbs looked like they guzzled energy and the T.V they had was something she hadn't seen since she last went to her grandfather's house when she was a kid.
The corner of her lip lifted spitefully; The technology here was stone age. She was glad she was going back.
She already missed her phone.
She was just dozing off against an eraser when the door burst open, revealing Jiraiya, in all his glory, and a figure behind him.
She barely stifled her gasp when she saw who it was, before swallowing heavily. This was definitely going to be an interesting time.
Look on the bright side, she thought nervously. It was an experience!