The Things She's Seen (An Alternate Story-Line)

Chapter 37

Third person pov

Living A, the Fourth Raikage, was in a mild state of shock.

"Don't mind us." The dead First Hokage said, standing beside the dead leader of the Uchiha clan. "We're just here for moral support."

"Says you. I came for this munchkin." Fugaku scoffed, lifting Hollow right off her feet. The girl only looked mildly surprised, though her face did go blue with clear embarrassment. Darui and C also looked rather taken aback, ready to defend the leader of their village. Dead A and Blue B were also looking reasonably shaken. Especially when Shisui drifted over to explain the situation, and that no, those weren't illusions or fakes. Fugaku had really sold it by flashing them a peace sign.

"The Hokage gave his terms. If you formally apologize for the Hyuga clan incident, you two can sit down and work out a treaty!" Minato chirped cheerfully, clapping his hands together. Hidan stood boredly by, yawning. There really wasn't much for him to do. All he had to do was watch the brat and make sure she didn't die. Graciously, he'd taken on the side project of turning her into a badass. That was pretty slow-going.

"There's no way you're real. You... You died!" A hissed out, eyes narrowing as he angrily stood. Hollow flinched slightly, tilting her head curiously. She didn't see what the issue was. He'd requested a race as proof it was truly the Fourth Hokage, and then an apology from the blonde. The deceased Hokage had accepted both. He was dead, so he didn't have much else to do.

"She can see ghosts, dumbass." Meatball Kyle snorted from his place on the girl's shoulder, nibbling on a sunflower seed as Fugaku lowered the colorful-haired girl back to the ground. Living A seemed at a loss as to what to do, looking with wide eyes between the three visible ghosts standing before him. Two dead legends, along with the leader of a previously terrifying clan.

"A-Ah, yes." Hollow nodded, smiling slightly. "U-Um... th-there are two m-men... h-here, i-if that helps?"

Dead A and Blue B looked taken aback, sharing a look. Dead A gave a shrug. Blue B drifted forward.

"I go by the name Blue B. This is the Third Raikage, also named A. He is the current Raikage's father." Blue B said in a tone bordering on formal as he gestured to the living man who looked stuck between shocked and angry. He clearly was having trouble figuring out what the truth was. Hollow blinked so innocently at him, it was hard to call her a liar. But this defied everything he thought he knew!

"What two men?" C asked carefully, looking over the ghosts with dark eyes. Darui shifted uncomfortably, though he was also very clearly ready to draw his sword should the time come. Hollow certainly didn't make any threatening moves, and Hidan was just going to stand there until he was needed. Truly, he should've brought a book. Or something to sacrifice. He wondered if Jashin took hamsters...

"U-Uh... A and B-Blue B?" Hollow squeaked. The air in the room immediately became thicker with tension. Hollow wondered if she should have said such a thing. Surely knowing your dead father was still watching over you was something would bring about some amount of joy, right? Or perhaps not if you didn't have a good relationship with your father. Speaking of parents, where were hers? Who were hers?

"...You said a race would prove it. Correct, sir?" Darui spoke carefully. "Perhaps you should have a race to see if..."

Living A grunted, shaking his head slightly and mumbling to himself. Hollow watched his fists unfurl as he took a few deep breaths to try and get his temper back in check. Behind her, Hashirama and Fugaku were engaged in a dramatic thumb was. Full with sound effects and body movement to add to the effect. Minato was standing patiently by Hollow's side, hands clasped behind his back as he smiled brightly. If he felt any animosity towards Kumo, he didn't show it.

"You gave us your fucking terms and said you'd do this shit if we did it. You going back on your word?" Meatball Kyle coaxed. Hollow stayed silent, as she didn't feel she had any relative input to give. Dead A and Blue B were eyeing her curiously. They were hesitant, as any ghost might be, but they knew she was an open channel of communication between them and the living world now. Them choosing to use it was up to them. The colorful-haired girl would have to wait and see.

"Of course not." Living A snapped at the hamster, straightening slightly and breathing out harshly through his nose. Hollow couldn't help but be reminded of an angry bull coming down from its rage. It was one of the animals Hikari had shown her and educated her on. Living A had that sort of vibe about him, while Dead A seemed a lot calmer. That being said, death had proven to change people. If Fugaku and Hashirama were anything to go by. She doubted they were that boisterous before. Especially based off the extra odd looks they'd gotten in comparison to Minato, who seemed fairly normal by human standards.

"Alright! Then let's do this." Minato chirped. Were people supposed to be this happy? "Hollow?"

"Y-Yeah, o-of course." Hollow nodded rapidly. How they settled this was their decision entirely! She certainly didn't want to interfere in the process unless she was needed. She was just the phone line between the two sides, that was all. And phone lines usually didn't talk back.

"Then let's do this." Living A cocked his head. "But know that if this is some phony trick... there'll be hell to pay."

"Shut the hell up; you ain't shit."

"M-Meatball Kyle, please-"

~~~

And that's that! If you read this far, kudos to you for getting through that... cringey mess. Again, this book is over five years old and honestly, I was never going to let it see the light of day again unless it were edited. The only issue is that I'm at a point where I really don't know if or when I'll be able to do that, and some people wanted it up so-- here you go! Prime 2017 Naruto fanfiction cringe.

To all those who were og fans of this book, thank you for sticking around and watching me grow, and I'm sorry if you just re-suffered through that. I hope it brought a smile to your face and a little bit of nostalgia. And to Melody, I hope it makes you feel better whilst you're going through a hard time. If your kidneys are going to hurt, let's let it be from laughing at how bad this is.

This book will not be updated whilst it is in this unedited state, but I will leave it up for anyone who wishes to read what is here. Thank you all!