GIF made by my boy mayfielddagoat12
Read his stuff too if you haven't.
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He opened his eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep as he dragged himself out of bed. The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow on his light-skinned face. At thirteen years old, Aiden already carried a weight on his shoulders that surpassed his age.
As he shuffled toward the mirror, he absentmindedly ran a hand through his curly black hair, trying to tame it into some semblance of order. The reflection staring back at him revealed a thoughtful gaze and a hint of exhaustion that lingered from another restless night. His eyes drifted to the small framed picture by his drawer: a woman with brown hair and blue eyes,an almost contagious smile on her face. His parents had been an interracial couple and even if he didn't have the picture of her,his dad never failed to talk about how beautiful his mom had been. Theories and ideas of her still haunted Aiden's thoughts, wondering what she was like was a void he longed to fill. He constantly wished she'd at least gotten to live long enough for him to remember her.
The strained relationship with his father made his longing even worse. The old man was distant, lost in his own world of grief, unable to offer the love and guidance Aiden wanted and needed and to an extent,took the pain out on his only child. At some point, he stopped trying to gain his father's affection and instead, the kid sought refuge in the captivating realms of fiction, immersing himself in music, anime, TV shows, movies, novels, and comics. These worlds provided him an escape, at least temporarily.
On this particular day, however, he felt worse than other times. As he stepped out of his room after showering, he looked himself in the mirror one more time; he didn't feel that great so he wasn't surprised that his current appearance matched that.. he'd barely gotten four hours of sleep the previous night. He opened the first drawer right under the mirror and looked at the bottles inside.
Pills.
He shook his head and closed the drawer. He didn't need them.
As he walked downstairs,he wasn't surprised to find the living room the way it always was.
Empty.
His dad was barely ever home and when he was,they barely acknowledged each other when they weren't arguing.
The boy had decided on a really light breakfast, specifically; just omelettes,cause why not?
The next few minutes were spent eating in silence,safe for the TV that Aiden feasted his eyes on while eating. Soon enough,the teenager was slinging a backpack over his shoulder and heading out the door, taking one last look at the empty house before locking the door behind him. It was July so he had no plans except heading to the comic book store and lounge around all day, engaging in debates,or heated arguments, depending on the customers he encountered.
He and Dalton,the 18 year old cashier at the front desk,had formed a kind of friendship to the point where Aiden was beyond a regular customer now and yet,he hadn't bought a single comic in months.
Aiden took brisk steps as he walked along the sidewalk,the peaceful sounds of his Vans hitting the pavement sounding like music to his ears.
That's why he failed to notice the crack up ahead.
Suddenly, without warning, Aiden felt his right foot get stuck,but it was already too late to save himself - he fell forward, closing his eyes and preparing for the embarrassment and sight pain.
Although the impact did come,he didn't hit the group as early as he thought he would... It took much longer than it was supposed to and it felt much higher than he thought.
When his body finally hit the ground,he didn't feel the pavement - he felt... Dirt.
'The hell...?'
Slowly getting up, Aiden dusted himself off and finally decided to open his eyes. What his eyes found however, wasn't what he'd expected at all.
Aiden found himself currently enveloped in darkness. It was an eerie, ethereal space, illuminated solely by the flickering light of a solitary campfire close by. His heart raced, and he could scarcely comprehend the surreal nature of his surroundings. But as his eyes adjusted to the dimness when he walked closer to the fire, he made out the silhouette of a figure seated in front of it.
Getting closer, Aiden's shock mounted as he recognized the person before him. The man had white hair,wore a green flak jacket over a blue long sleeved undershirt and seemed to be in his late twenties. What really sold it for Aiden,however was the symbol on his headband.
"Holy shit... Holy shit!" Aiden's eyes went wide.
Sitting in front of him was Sakumo Hatake. His breath caught in his throat as a fictional character he'd known only little about stood there, solid and tangible. Disbelief, excitement, and awe washed over Aiden, rendering him momentarily speechless.
Sakumo immediately spoke in an attempt to calm the kid down.
"It's okay, don't be scared" Sakumo offered a gentle smile.
"You're... You're the White Fang!" Aiden pointed at the older man in shock, confusion and fear.
"Indeed," Sakumo laughed.
"What..." Aiden asked,still short of words. "how?! First of all, you're supposed to be dead,hell, you're not even supposed to be real!"
"Believe me, I'm completely real" Sakumo said. "And we're currently in limbo,so I assure you I'm dead"
"How is this possible?" Aiden whispered, staring at Sakumo and pinching himself. The sharp sensation sent a clear message; this was no dream. "Wait,am I dead?!"
Sakumo chuckled and began to speak. "Aiden, I understand this may be difficult to comprehend, but the world that runs on chakra, the Shinobi world, is real. It exists alongside your own. And I need your help to protect Konoha, alongside Kakashi and Naruto."
Aiden's eyes widened with a mix of shock and excitement. The thought that the world he had believed to be mere fiction was an actual parallel reality sent a surge of adrenaline through him.
It sounded completely crazy. This whole situation was crazy. He was still completely confused about literally everything. "But why'd you pick me? I'm just a regular kid. No special abilities. Not even taijutsu"
Sakumo smiled gently, his voice carrying the weight of experience. "You possess qualities that make you uniquely suited for this task. Your dedication to our world, your kind-hearted nature, and your unwavering spirit drew me to you. I see the potential within you to become a splendid Shinobi and so I pulled you in here as smoothly as I could to inform you of all this"
As Sakumo's words settled upon Aiden's ears, another figure emerged from the shadows. Aiden's eyes made out blonde hair and blue eyes. But the figure had on a white jacket with red flames on the bottom: Minato, the Fourth Hokage, Naruto's father and a deceased ninja like Sakumo. The two men exchanged glances.
Seriously, what happened when Aiden had tripped on that crack?
Minato extended his hand, palm meeting with the child's forehead, and spoke. "Aiden, we realize this is a lot to take in,but I assure you it's all real. Consider this as being given an assignment to complete"
Aiden's heart raced as the older male touched his forehead,feeling a surge of energy coursing through his system similar to mild electrocution. In that moment, a weird sensation rushed within his body, he felt his blood go cold and warm all at once.
The boy stepped back for a second and placed a hand on his head. "What the fuck was that?!"
"I opened your Chakra pathways" The yellow flash stated as simply as possible.
Aiden took his time to adjust to the sensation. So this is what Chakra felt like?
Sakumo, with a warm smile, presented Aiden with a short sword, a symbol of trust and the legacy he carried. "This chakra sabre once belonged to me, but now it belongs to you. Use it wisely and when you need to"
As Aiden took the sword, his fingers wrapped tightly around its hilt and he thought over it for a second... Was he really going to abandon his old life and accept a random mission from two people he up to this moment only thought were made up?
It's not like he had anything better to do. Plus,who wouldn't wanna have powers?
"Okay..." Aiden looked up at the two. "I'll do it"
Sakumo and Minato exchanged gentle smile, their presence fading as they sent Aiden off into the world he was destined to protect.
"We'll be watching,kid" Sakumo assured.
"But for now it's time to get going" Minato said. Aiden gave a short bow to the two men as a sign of respect before sheathing the short-sword close to one of his belt buckles.
With a surge of energy, Aiden felt himself being propelled out of limbo, the darkness dissipating around him.
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Once again,Aiden found himself kissing the ground as he fell face down once again.
"What is up with these guys and dropping me carelessly?" Aiden mumbled. "I'm a human being y'know!"
Looking around with a slight grunt, Aiden found himself in a strange and unfamiliar place. The sight before him was nothing like the Hidden Leaf Village he had imagined; no forests or green vegetation around. Instead, he stood in front of a school he recognized from somewhere... But he didn't know where. His eyes continued to scan the building,the familiarity too much to ignore,till his eyes landed on an inscription on the building.
"Hawkins Middle"
'shit...'
Aiden's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"No way... " He frantically pinched himself again, hoping to wake up from what seemed like a bizarre dream.
However, the reality remained. The building and the inscription kept staring at him, almost mocking him.
Aiden had been transported not to the Hidden Leaf Village but to the small town of Hawkins.
No,this had to be something else..
It couldn't be the town where supernatral things unfolded and the Upside Down threatened to consume everything... Right?
Still in disbelief, Aiden stood frozen, trying to gather his thoughts. He wondered if this was some sort of cosmic joke or a mix-up in the jutsu.
Did he hit his head when he tripped on that crack? He was probably still laying there while whatever this was went on in his head.
He'd pinched himself so many times that he was sure his skin was turning red now,but deep down, he couldn't deny the thrill that surged through him. He had become a character in one of his favorite shows..
So that meant other alternate realities existed?
'What is going on today?!' Aiden was fighting the urge to pull his hair out. After a few deep breaths,he reminded himself what Kyle,his best friend always told him; panicking would only make things worse.
'only one way to get answers I guess'
With lingering shock from the events so far, Aiden stepped into the school and started walking.
Aiden wandered through the halls of Hawkins High, his eyes wide with wonder and complete disbelief. It was surreal to see the familiar corridors and lockers from the show right in front of him. He couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as he marveled at the authenticity of it all.
"What the actual fuck...?"
Lost in his thoughts, Aiden failed to notice a teacher approaching him. The teacher cleared her throat, and Aiden snapped back to reality, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Young man, where is your hall pass?" the teacher asked. She looked far less than pleased.
Aiden's eyes darted around in panic, realizing that he had been so caught up in the moment that he had neglected the school's protocols.
'Oh,great! Just what I need'
"Oh, uh, I'm really sorry," he stammered. "I must have lost it."
The teacher's expression softened slightly, but she remained resolute. "Lost it, huh? Come with me. We'll straighten this out in the principal's office."
'... Well,shit'
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Author's Note
I feel like rewriting this was long overdue. Holy shit this first chapter was a hot mess originally... You cannot imagine how much cringe I felt editing and rewiting it.. you're a fighter if you made it past thus chapter fr. I'm still not exactly proud of it but fuck it, something needed to be done about this and thankfully I finally did.
Almost at 20k at this point and I appreciate everyone who's read and supported the book so far, honestly. I was so uncertain about starting this thing at first.
Thanks again for reading this. I love y'all.