Location: Los Angeles Date: January 20 2008
"So, if I drink this, I'll gain powers that will help my singing career, right?" I asked with a bit of doubt, looking at the vial in my hand. It had a strange symbol on the side of the bottle, and the substance inside was quite dark. The emblem represented a cauldron - a mystical power provider that I was able to get in contact with. Well, it's more like they came in contact with me and promised powers in exchange for money and a favour.
"That would be correct, Miss McAbee," said a man in a black suit, with an ironed white shirt and a red tie. He also was wearing sunglasses, even though we were indoors. He was so plain, that I doubted I would recognise him if I met him in any other outfit.
I have dreamed about my singing career since I was a kid. My parents were supportive at the beginning, maybe they thought it was just the teenager phase or something, but when I wanted to go to the Music Academy after high school, they were highly against it.
After a few weeks of scandals, silent treatment, and having my phone and allowance taken away, I was forced to go to UCLA for business management. My parents expected me to inherit their business after I graduated from UCLA and learned the ropes in the company.
In the end, it did not matter. They were in Newfoundland, in St. John's, when Leviathan attacked. I was just finishing my first year at UCLA when that happened, and, well, their partners were quick to take over the company. At least they were unable to seize my parents' assets, though it wasn't for lack of trying. I had to burn some money to fend them off.
Those were hard days. There was no reason to continue in my parents' footsteps. So, I quit UCLA, transferred to the Music Academy I originally wanted to attend, and dove into my passion, mostly to forget about everything and anything. In two years, I graduated, but no matter how hard I tried, I was not at the top of the class.
For the last year, since then, I've tried to kick-start my singing career. I've been part of a few different bands, but unfortunately, my voice was not up to the task of rocking the audience. After the Academy, I knew how to sing and perform on stage, but I lacked uniqueness; I didn't stand out.
That's why, after a year of trying and failing to make progress, I had a vial of powers in my hand. I paid for it with the last of my parents' savings, leaving enough to last for a month or so.
"Well, here you go, Paige," I said to myself and uncorked it.
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Location: Los Angeles Date: June 20 2010
"Shiki Fūjin!" I exclaimed, and the ghostly hand went through my heart all the way to the Kyūbi, ripping half of its chakra to be sealed away in my soul. Focus. I need to seal the second part in Naruto; there are no other options. I hope... Focus, Minato.
Beep Beep Beep.
I awoke with a jolt, still feeling a hollow emptiness in my heart.
Stupid dreams.
Since I drank that vial, I have had vivid and crazy dreams about a strange world with strange parahumans, fighting and killing each other in masses.
That vial messed me up physically and emotionally for real. When I first drank it, I felt like something was pushed into my chest, into my heart, bringing with it unbelievable pain and changing something inside me. I remember screaming, I remember trying to claw my chest to take it out, take it out...
I shook my head, trying to focus on now, on here.
I was a mess for some time after taking the vial, and the physical changes were freaking me out. I was afraid of being abducted, forcibly recruited by gangs, or even forced into the Protectorate as soon as anyone saw my new features.
Fortunately, I had a plan. I did my research and prepared everything ahead of time to get registered as a Rogue, and even made a few requests for corporate sponsorship. In no time, my career as a singer took off, and I started to make a name for myself, fulfilling my wish.
Bad Canary. I smiled at the name and looked at my first poster on the wall, which I saved as a memory. All bright and yellow. Then I remembered how that name was chosen, and my smile diminished a bit.
It was all PR bullshit; I had to choose that name to stay as far away as possible from that monstrous Ziz.
My phone rang, and oh gosh, I need to move — I have a concert to attend.
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"Go fuck yourself!" I almost screamed at my ex-boyfriend. Fucking useless piece of shit. Fortunately, my security was able to drag him out as soon as they saw that I was screaming at him.
How dare he claim that I owe him anything? Cheating piece of shit!
"You yellow freak, you will never become popular now," he screamed at me when I finally showed up home, still in pain. No hugs, no help, just guilt-tripping and screaming...
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the bad memories. He never touched me after I changed, and within a week, I caught him cheating in our bed with that fucking redhead slut who claimed to be my best female friend.
To hell with both of them. I am going home, and I am going to enjoy a long bath with a glass of wine. Today was a success, and I am not going to waste my good mood on that shit of a human.
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Hakke no Fūin Shiki I whispered, finally trapping the second half of the Kyūbi in my son. Farewell, I see you when you are ready, Naruto.
Bang, Bang, Bang!
I was rudely dragged out of my dream by the loud sound of something crashing through my apartment door. It was two inches thick and supposed to give me enough time to react and call security, but not this time: men in black armour poured into my bedroom before I even had a chance to put my legs on the floor. I was foamed immediately, with no words at all, and found myself trapped in a rock-solid substance, unable to move. It was dark, it was suffocating, and I started to panic. Then I felt something prick me in the back, and my head spun and spun and...
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Darkness, Death and Deep Soul pain surrounded me again. My short break from this trap hole in the Shinigami's stomach ended, and I was back here again. It was nice to see Naruto, all grown up and powerful in his own right, and, to my surprise, in full harmony with Kyūbi.
They all thought that I was going back to the Pure Land, didn't they? Well, maybe not Hiruzen. I felt the same hollow aura from him that I had become accustomed to. Did he use Shiki Fūjin as well? Maybe that's why I saw a sad understanding on his face. Well, it will be better for Naruto to believe that I returned to the Pure Land and not this place, where I feel like I'm being stripped to the core of my soul with every moment. Maybe in a hundred years of this agonising pain, I will finally be able to rest in peace.
Or maybe not.
I felt it then, the space/time wound, right next to me in this endless space inside the Shinigami. I didn't waste any time; I jumped in immediately. Anything is better than staying here.
Maybe I will be able to see Kushina?
I woke up with a jolt. My head was splitting from a deep pain that originated somewhere behind my eyes and extended all the way to the back of my head.
It took me a few seconds to remember what happened. Why did the PRT need to break into my apartment? What did they give me that makes me feel like banging my head against the wall until it splits apart?
Where am I?
I cautiously opened one eye, fully expecting a new level of migraine to knock me out.
Fortunately, it didn't make it worse, and I found myself in what looked like a cell with a minimalistic bed, table, chair, and a toilet with a sink in the corner.
Not much space there.
"Hello?" I risked trying to say something, but instead, I heard a whizzing sound. Only then did I notice that my mouth was covered with what looked like a rebreather.
When I tried to check if there was a lock at the back of my head, it shocked me painfully.
"I suggest you stop trying to remove that device." A voice emanated from somewhere on the wall, though I saw no speakers.
After a pause, the voice, definitely female, continued:
"You will receive further instructions regarding your legal proceedings and the conditions of your confinement. Any attempts to tamper with your restraints will result in immediate disciplinary action. Please remain calm and cooperative. Your well-being and adherence to the rules are paramount for a swift resolution."
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It took me days! Days! To fucking find out what they actually accuse me of doing. Apparently, my ex went and cut his dick off to try and fuck himself with it and somehow it was all my fault.
Idiot.
I didn't see anyone all these days. Even then, I was not allowed to voice anything, and I had to drink my food through a straw.
I was limited to one hour a day to communicate with my lawyer via email (one email a day! He was not responding within the same hour that I was provided with). The lawyer was not able to do anything for me and my situation. I was denied the option to hire anyone else; they were afraid that I would master them!
How would I do that, morons?
It was a real surprise to learn that they had labelled me as a Master 8 (why only 8? Maybe I can master with my snores as well! It deserves to be a 10 at least!) and were in the process of railroading me straight to the Birdcage.
I am not fucking naive, I see all the signs all the way up to my face. They are not even interested in bending my back to make me join the Protectorate.
Then there is another part of this circuit: there was nothing for me to do: no TV, no books, nothing. I was denied access to any news channels, including papers!
The room didn't even have a window, and the silence with the absence of natural light had completely messed up my sleep cycles. Only my regular walk to the computer to send one email a day (if I was lucky) allowed me to keep track of the days.
If before this, I had my weird dreams once in a while, now they started to happen every night or during every sleep. I lost count of how many times I woke up panting after another dream of fighting parahumans or beasts that reminded me of Endbringers.
In the end, I started to meditate to do something else, except eat, sleep and fucking pray. Out of sheer boredom, I finally risked focusing on the strange feeling I had noticed in my body since I got my powers.
Back then, when it all happened, I primarily focused on the aspect of my new and shiny powers that helped to advance my singing career.
I was afraid to touch that feeling that lingered in my chest and spread throughout my body after, once, I tried to focus on it and I felt like I was set on fire, like every cell was spasming and screaming at me.
That was almost three years ago, and now there was literally nothing else to do. Maybe it wouldn't be so painful anymore; maybe I just needed to go through the initial process, and then I would know how to use it. Maybe it would let me escape before they had a chance to lock me in the Birdcage.
I shuddered and shook my head. That was not a place I wanted to go.
I refocused on the flow in my body and tried to see where it was coming from, where it was going, and if I could do anything with it.
It felt like it was getting heavier the longer I focused on it, and then, without any warning signs, I felt:
PAIN. PAIN. PAIN!
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It had been countless days since I escaped from the Shinigami's stomach. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to go to the Pure Land. I ended up somewhere else in someone else's body. I didn't have any control over it. In some sense, it reminded me of the Yamanaka Clan Jutsu, except it was somehow in reverse: I was a passive passenger there, not an active participant who took control of someone else's body.
Days turned into months, and months turned into years, as I observed this wild and strange world. I learned their language, customs and habits. I discovered many new tastes in their food.
That was another thing I noticed: if, at the beginning, I could only see and hear, over time, my other senses started to grow as well. Until one day, I had the unpleasant experience of a woman bleeding. Now I understood Kushina's irrational mood swings more than ever. At least this girl doesn't have Kushina's power to kick people across the village if they look her way at the wrong time.
Obviously, I got curious about this development. In retrospect, it was stupid that it took me so long to figure it out. I can only blame my preconception about chakra. It took me time to realise that they don't have chakra here at all, and all these heroes and villains are not shinobi with weird style senses.
It all became very clear when I paid attention to the chakra system growing in the host body. All these years that I was a passive observer, it was getting stronger and stabilising the spiritual balance in the body. I missed it at first because I had no way to affect it either. It was such a gradual process, and I was so distracted with all these new things and the new language...
Eventually, I realized that my increasing sensations were due to the chakra system becoming more stable and stronger. It felt like my soul was putting down roots in this body, and once the process was complete, I might even be able to control it.
I was happy that the host didn't try to access it; that might have ended with both of us dead, and I was not sure what would happen then. I might end up in the Shinigami's stomach again. No, thank you very much.
And then the host got arrested. Not long after, she got bored and, for the first time, tried to mould chakra inside her body!
I watched with horror as a chakra shockwave went through all the channels, and darkness claimed her consciousness, leaving me in the dark to entertain myself with my memories.
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I opened my eyes. No, not my eyes—my host's eyes! Did that shockwave provide the final push needed to let me take over the host's body?
I adopted the host's mannerisms and body language. It was nothing new, as I had observed her for a while, I, as any good shinoby, can mimic someone else until the mission is done.
I did some light stretches and walked around to get a general feel of the body. For some reason, it felt like my own. It was probably due to all these years staying in the background and feeling it all the time.
The host had passable flexibility and body strength for an untrained civilian. But that alone would not be enough to get away from here.
In the end, I sat back on the bed and covered my host's body with a blanket to hide my exercises with my fingers. There was no muscle memory for using hand seals, and I needed minimal efficiency to escape.
One of the bonuses I got after becoming Hokage was access to many secrets and Forbidden Jutsu. One such Jutsu, which originated from the Yamanaka themselves, was mandatory to learn: Reika Rō no Jutsu, designed to subdue and capture the spiritual body of an intruder. That was a sensitive precaution in a village where trained Yamanaka could take over a Hokage's body.
I focused and slowly proceeded with Reika Rō no Jutsu (fortunately it did not need more than one half-Tora hand sign), to catch the host's soul in it. I would deal with the host later; that would suffice for now.
Time to focus on getting out of here.
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