At the entrance of an old hovel, two distinct eyes opened in the darkness to a brand new world. One pupil-less white eye and one iris-less black eye looked around trying to absorb the unfamiliar location. Assessing one’s condition after trauma came to him naturally, only for his eyes to widen at the fact that, he was not in his own body somehow. The amount of dried blood and all too familiar pains of injury suggested the body should not be alive. He flailed his arms, looking for purchase, hissing and wincing as he went up. Peering through the open screens without difficulty only to judge the place old and small. Years of experience led him to make note of windows and doors as he searched through the hovel. Only to be interrupted by a sound coming from the main door where he woke up earlier. Mind kicking into survival mode, he found a hiding spot among the thick wooden beams on the ceiling holding the roof of the hovel. Even in an unfamiliar body and face set in a grimace, he managed to pull himself up. The body easily rests against the wooden beam his small body completely covered from below.

As the door was blown off of its hinges inwards slamming harshly, where his body was lying moments ago he assessed his situation.

“Two broken fingers in the right hand, disabling grip. Uncountable amount of bruises all across the body, hampering all movement. Small swelling around the eyes hints at blocking strikes with the face. Almost all ribs are cracked or fractured. Breathing is extremely painful. There doesn’t seem to be any damage to the lungs themselves or the heart. The gait of an adult male. Two sets of footsteps, incredibly light. Objects clattering and furniture shifting around indicates a search. No noise of gun clicks or metal banging”.

Finally, footsteps reached the room he was hiding in. The wood groaned under the light steps of the shinobi at the entrance. The child in the rafters could see the strange man even when not looking at him and even through the darkness of the room. Wearing an olive green Kevlar style vest with many pockets and an unmistakable metal bandana with the leaf village logo. Only years of experience on the field helped keep his heart at a slow steady rhythm at this revelation.

“All clear on my end. Have you found anything?” Said the one searching the room on the other end of the hovel.

“Nah. Nothing. This whole place is dusty, clearly, no one’s been here for a while. We should report back.”

“It’s strange there is blood at the entrance but nowhere else in the house, did the target just come open the door and step inside only to immediately step back out?”

“It is strange but clearly this place is empty now.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Responded the distant man and they both quickly left the hovel.

Unable to climb back down, the kid resigned himself to staying in the for some rest and recuperation. To him, it seemed to be safe for now and with no other options, he closed his eyes. An unknown amount of time later, a voice like birds chirping woke him up. A little girl ran through the broken door, calling.

“Nii, Nii! Where are you?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

His body reacted without him knowing and responded to the chirping call.

“Here.” He rasped, voice sore from over-exertion and gravely beyond a child’s.

A girl with a bandaged eye and hair in one part of twin-tails on the opposite side of the bandages walked into the room and looked left and right. The boy could see her even when not looking in her direction still and grunted to get her attention. He could feel his body reacting to the new intruder but he had no memories of the kid’s life. With considerable effort, he took a large breath and spoke. “I can’t get down. I am hurt.” Shame blossomed in the boy’s body and he knew it wasn’t his but the body itself. ”I know, I know. I will protect her I promise.”

The little girl’s face scrunched up, on the verge of tears, but a moment later resolve settled and a mask of focus was donned. This only hurt the observant boy even more, but he knew that he could not do anything at the moment.

“How can I help you?” She asked.

“Look for a ladder, stool or anything I could use to step on.”

With a nod, the girl took off, from the room and moments later came back with a wooden chair and placed it below the boy.

“Is this enough?” She chirped again.

The boy considered the height and concluded that any drop would make him fall and exacerbate his injuries.

“I think I need a little more. Something you can place under the chair for more height?”

“I don’t think there is anything like that, just drop I will catch you.” She responded a little frustrated already.

“Fine.” The boy rasped before shifting his body and aligning his feet with the chair.

With arms wide open next to the chair, the girl demanded.

“Come on. Trust me. I am stronger than I look.”

With no other options, the boy pushed himself off the wooden beam. Landing precisely on the chair his legs wobbled, the muscles too weak to hold him up. But small arms wrapped around his waist and held him in place, too tight and only tightened even more, as the girl’s shoulder started trembling with stifled sobs. Having no idea about comforting a crying child, the boy just stood there awkwardly until realising he was too injured to stand for that amount of time.

“Let me down first?” Rasped the boy barely above a whisper. With some effort from both sides, the boy managed to lie down on a futon.

“I need water, food and rest.” He continued. There was no time for embarrassment, the situation was dire. The girl obliged without complaint and brought him some water. After indulging his thirsty, hungry and injured body, the boy started to panic a little with many thoughts running through his head.

“God damn it. What do I say to a little girl? Who is she? She called me Nii. A sibling then. How the fuck am I alive anyway, last I remember was a fight we lost. Now I am in the fictional world of ninjas. That was clearly Konoha Hitai-ite earlier and they were searching for me. Why? I could see them behind me, another sign of the world I am in currently. Not my body though. One step at a time.”

“Hey, little one. Thanks for all the help but we need to talk and I don’t think you are going to like what I have to say. But you seem strong and nice.”

She just nodded, even though her red puffy eyes were already tearing up again, and it hurt the boy deeply. Even if he couldn’t place this person in his memories, the body remembered their relationship.

“It seems I got hurt and don’t rememb-!” she just flung herself at the boy’s chest and started weeping loudly, interrupting his very important question.