Side by Side

2

Her soul hovered over the void. Grief and despair pulsing in a dark angry reddish purple colour. It twisted and contorted like a storm, barely contained. And with a heartbreak so powerful that it caused ripples in the sea of death.

Her soul burned, aching for him.

"No..." she quivered as the Hagoromo appeared before her. "No, please..."

"Child," the sage said regretfully, "though it pains me to say, I cannot deny the truth any longer. I'm afraid your time is up in my world."

Izuna let out a wail.

"Tobirama!" She sobbed, "Oh, Tobirama!"

"You were given a second lifetime in my world... which comes at a great cost."

Her sorrowful wails stuttered to a sudden halt.

Great cost.

She trembled.

Great cost?

Fury snapped onto her face.

"You. Had. No. Right!" Izuna roared; her eyes spiralling into a bloody red. "You stole me from my world to save your own—-from my family—-and used me! I saved your world! I finally built another family and carved a place for myself in this foreign world with people I love! How dare you take my loved ones from me again! I won't let you! I won't!"

Izuna howled in rage.

She would be with Tobirama even if it meant throwing a tantrum in front of the ninja world equivalent of god. If he was going to evict her from his world then she'd go kicking and screaming.

(And biting too, if need be.)

"You are blinded by your grief." The sage said with a gentle patience.

"I—-!"

The sage sent a wave of calming reassurance to her. It washed over her comfortingly and wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Like one of Tobirama's hugs.

Izuna hiccuped.

"I am not so cruel as to separate you from your beloved forever," the Sage told her matter of factly, "his time in my world has come to an end as well."

Izuna's brain stuttered, then, rewinded.

"What?"

"You can be with him." Hagoromo promised as she calmed considerably at the certainty in his voice. "I swear I'll grant you that."

Her eyes narrowed.

Too good to be true.

"What's the catch?"

He sighed.

"I didn't take into account the outcome of so many space-time seals exploding at once," the sage admitted, "only one of the seals was supposed to malfunction. The result is... unfortunate."

"How?" Izuna asked suspiciously, dread filling her.

"When your lover shielded you from the explosions, the many faulty space-time seals essentially sent his body into several... no, maybe even hundreds of different dimensions at once."

"Oh. Well, fuck."

"Indeed. The result is that various pieces of his soul are scattered across these different dimensions and have taken refuge in various different vessels."

Izuna blinked.

This is something I need to consider with the utmost seriousness...

Her brows furrowed.

I can actually fulfill my life long dream of having a Tobirama exclusive harem.

"I can send you to the dimensions that contain his soul fragments. However, you will have to find his vessel yourself in each respective world. And... I cannot guarantee the state each soul fragment will be in."

"Hold up. You're talking about mental state or memories or something?"

"Ah... yes.

"To which one?"

"Yes."

A pause.

"I learned that from you."

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Let's get this over with... one last question," she said with an impatient huff, "will I keep my ability to use chakra?"

"It depends on the world. If the world has similar enough powers and abilities than the answer is yes. If it doesn't then no... you probably shouldn't try using chakra."

"Fair enough."

"There's also... a tiny condition to allowing you to traverse these dimensions and worlds."

"What conditions?" She inquired icily.

"The gods of each respective realm would greatly appreciate if you used your knowledge to, ah, assist or improve their worlds."

"What does that mean?"

"In return, they'll allow you to use either a local vessel from their world or your own flesh's form."

"Oh... wait what—-that doesn't explain—!"

"Good luck and farewell."

The void blurred and faded around her almost as though she were waking from a dream.

That Son of a Kaguya! I wasn't done talking!

-

Harriet Potter woke with a start.

"Ouch!" She cried, hitting her head on the roof of her cupboard.

She blinked a few times as new memories rushed to the forefront of her mind.

Cursing, she nursed the growing bump on her head.

"That son of a Kaguya..."