It hurt. The pain in her chest, one that squeezed her lungs. She couldn't breathe. What had happened? She had been walking down the street, near a construction site.

She wasn't paying attention, happily humming a soundless tune as she munched on a greasy burger.

Honestly, she had always been absentminded, it was one of her charming qualities she liked to think. But at that moment, when a loud snap broke the droning of city life, she really should have payed attention.

The shouts, the startled screams, it wasn't until the loud sound of a metal hitting solid concrete, did she look up.

Seeing that one beam landed to her right, the girl had tried to jump out of the way as a second beam came hurtling straight towards her.

She wasn't fast enough.

With a sickening crack, the second beam slammed right into her chest. She could feel her insides cave as she was slammed to the ground, the blood roaring in her ears and stars dancing in her vision as her head hit the jagged concrete.

She couldn't feel, couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

I'm dying.

That was the last thing she could comprehend before her vision blurred and in a swirl of brilliant colours.

The only thing she could think of at that moment, bleeding and broken on the ground.

Beautiful…

.

.

.

Days alive, 1

Everything had faded to black and she felt weightless. It felt very nice to know that she was free from the unbearable pain. But before she could relish in the feeling of weightlessness, she suddenly felt very heavy.

Heat and smoke greeted her senses as she tried to move.

Had something caught fire at the construction site? Was she still alive? Why was she so dirty?

And most importantly, what happened to her burger?

The girl felt a pang in her heart at the thought of the wasted food. She was fifteen, but incredibly strange. With skewed priorities and humor, many couldn't keep up with her.

She tried to shuffle but was met with resistance. From what she could feel she was pressed down by a rough but flat surface.

How curious. Was she not held down by a solid metal beam? Why the sudden change in circumstance?

Before the girl could ponder more on her changed situation the sound of distant shouts filled her ears.

"There's a body over here!"

A shuffle of the rubble above her informed the girl that she was the one spotted.

Body? Did that mean there were more around? Had more been hit with beams?

She'd never seen a dead body, only on TV dramas, mostly murder mysteries. The girl had always had a fascination with how the body worked and always been interested in Pathology, she was by no means squeamish.

Warm hands tugged at her arms. They tried to pull her out of her primitive cage, but her leg was hooked under a piece of wire.

Feeling an uncomfortable twinge as her body was stretched out. She groaned lightly.

Not hearing the sound, whoever tried to pull her out, began to use as much force as they could.

Her whole body shuddered, bones groaning in protest. Suddenly her leg loosened from its entrapment, causing the girl's body to slot together painfully.

Her muscles twitched, not able to take the pain, the girl opened her eyes wide.

Staring into electric blue orbs.

She screamed.

Just like that, everything slotted into place. Broken from a distant haze, the girl suddenly felt the full weight of her injuries.

And promptly blacked out.

Days alive, 3

The cool weight of a cloth was all she felt for a moment. Aroused from her sleep, the girl quickly awakened.

Slipping an eye open lazily, she expected to be in the stark white hospital room, but instead of the suffocating scent of antiseptic, the room she was placed in had a musky, earthy texture to it.

Blinking in confusion she tried to scrounge around her memories. The images of a sunny day, the taste of grease on her tongue, a scream, a crack and eventually a swirl of colours. These images greeted the back of her eyelids as she closed them, a spell of dizziness overcoming her as she tried to sit up.

"Oh, your awake!" a cheerful voice called. A soft thump alerted the girl. Looking slowly to the side she witnessed, through a choppy brown bang, a soft looking woman place a wash basin on a stool beside her small bed.

"I was afraid that your injuries would be to fatal." Delicate fingers pulled the damp cloth from the girl's forehead.

Dark curls framing a soft face, the woman smiled. "But I'm glad you made it! Nothing short of a miracle that is!"

The brunette ignored the woman as she prattled on about things, absentmindedly fiddling with the loose sleeves of her shirt. Her hands were pale, paler than ash. Veins visible through every crevice of her palm.

Lifting the appendage up slightly, she studied the blue-green rivers that stood out on her skin. Trailing a finger across them, the girl smiled as she pressed against her pulse lightly.

The steady thump of her heart soothed her mind. Not matter where she may be, she was breathing.

I'm alive.

Her shirt sleeve slipped down to her elbow, exposing the milky flesh of her underarm.

Dark lines, jagged but even, traced her delicate flesh, just above the tendon of her elbow.

It was Kanji. A word—no name.

Maruchi.

Days alive, 6

Maruchi had ended up in a different world. She had no idea how, or why, but she was here.

Never one to linger too long on tragic or massive events. The dark-haired girl simply decided to move on with her life.

She was part of a caravan, one that moved around Konoha at its borders.

Maruchi had realized with a start that she was in a fictional world called Naruto. The thought made her headache, but to be honest the girl had no idea what happened in the Manga.

That thought didn't scare her, in fact it meant that she could learn new things, things that she didn't know before.

The brunette always wanted to learn as much as she could, often being thought prodigious for her forward thinking. Eyes looking forward, never stopping to smell the roses. Barely anything grounded her to the present, that's why she was so absentminded all the time, thought as air headed often.

That is until she pulls out a thick textbook full of things that students her grade couldn't possibly comprehend.

The woman that was there when she woke up, was currently leading her around, telling and showing the bright coloured tents and carts.

Her name was Hani. Fitting because the woman was just as sweet and, more often than not, was a social bee.

The dark-haired woman pointed to an impressive looking tent. Its silky layers were vibrant with colours of green, blue and orange, dashes of purple appearing here or there.

"That's the main tent." Hani stated, eyeing the people that came in and out. "It's where many come and gather, like a socializing place!"

Maruchi nodded mutely, her golden eyes taking in her surroundings, calculating where things were and slowly but surely building a map in her head.

"You're very quiet for an eight-year-old." Hani's voice cut through the fog on Maruchi's mind.

Blinking the girl looked up, Hani's previous sentence finally clicking into her mind. That's right, she ended up shrinking into a young eight-year-old body. Gone was her developing figure, not that she minded, but it was slightly disorienting being, mentally, a fifteen-year-old stuck in a child's body.

Though, Maruchi supposed, she didn't really care.

"Sorry, I was just thinking…" She muttered, not really feeling sorry at all, but many had become upset at her lack of response before; Maruchi had learned quickly what the right and wrong responses to situations like this were.

Hani simply smiled. "It's no problem! I appreciate the silence. Just gives me more reason to talk!"

The brunette's lips quirked slightly.

After that conversation Maruchi tried her best to pay attention to the kind woman. Eventually Hani showed the young girl her resting place. For now, because of her injuries, she would be staying in the medical tent.

Tucking her into bed, a thing the brunette had never experienced, Hani wished her a goodnight and left.

Left alone in the darkness, Maruchi stared up at the white folds of the roof. The blankets itched at her skin, but she stayed still in her position.

Warmth trailed down her cheeks. Blinking, her golden eyes remained dilated as she brushed delicate fingers against the wet trails.

Why am I crying?

Such a foreign thing to the brunette. She didn't know how she felt, but that wasn't new.

Distant images of towering buildings and hollow smiles bounced around in the recess of her mind.

Eventually her silent sobs stilled, and she was left with ragged breathing.

Curling into the sheets, Maruchi closed her heavy eyes.

I will learn everything I can in this world. She vowed.

I'll create my own reality.