001

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[The camera flicks on to reveal a young man with eyes so pale lavender and missing pupils that it might appear as if his eyes are white and unmarked at first glance. There's a small frown on his lips, and his eyes squint in a curious determination.

Through observation and intuition, he's puzzled out the purpose and general function of the device well enough to activate it, but unfortunately it has...so far...not provided illumination over where he's woken or how. Waking up after death is no surprise--it's happened more than once before, though the last time it happened to him he hadn't been as certain of his own death when he lost consciousness as this time.

Waking here, however...is less...understandable.]

Explain to me where this place is and why I've been taken. Have I missed the end of the war? [That seems the most reasonable conclusion: otherwise he would have been brought back out to the battlefield, wouldn't he?]

Comments

[video]

[easy_as_cake]

Trance tilts her head curiously as she tries to figure out if he's okay or not.]

Well, it depends on what war you mean, I think. I mean, you probably missed the end of lots of wars, and that doesn't even have anything to do with you being here or not.

[video]

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[That reaction isn't uncommon with Neji. Her curiosity doesn't bother him, but her response earns an unamused frown. Were she not being coy, she could only mean there were either multiple simultaneous wars (unlikely to the point of absurdity, compounded by why she would need to question what he meant by 'the' war.) or more time had passed than he thought.]

...The Fourth Shinobi War. When did it conclude?

[video]

[easy_as_cake]

Ooh, I've never heard of that one.

[This is obviously an exciting thing for her. A war she's never heard of means he's probably from a world she's never heard of!]

Is Shinobi where you're from?

[video]

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[Such excitement over a war is inappropriate. Her apparent insensitivity toward this earns an unamused frown.]

Shinobi is a profession, not a place. [The response is automatic, and it takes a moment to realize how truly out of place such a question is. Even the youngest and most remote civilian would likely know how the word Shinobi is used.] You should already be aware of that.

[usedswift]

[Hang on, give her a second. You've gotten a lot older since the last time she saw you, but that tone of voice and those eyes... Come on, what are the odds it's some other Hyuuga here?]

Neji...?

[She's almost afraid to hope. The weird thing Neji might notice (other than her being three years younger than he might expect) is that she's obviously flying, the edge of a silver wing coming up into the 'gear's view every few seconds in rhythm with the sound of steel cutting through air.]

It is Neji, right?

[Shinobi forehead protector? Konoha forehead protector? She squints at the screen.]

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[He may be older, but surely she would still recognize his face? Weren't they teammates, Tenten?

Speaking of age, despite the distortion provided by the video, she is quite obviously...too young. By a few years, if he's correct: and even though his Byakugan had been sealed in death, he still possesses quite sharp observational skills.

This is...strange. He's silent for a few moments, watching the screen as if he expects the image to either correct or reveal a Zetsu clone (unlikely, it had no difficulty mimicking people at their correct age so far.), then finally speaks.]

...Tenten. [Shinobi protector. Hello.] Exactly where are we? [Things like why, how, and what she was doing could wait for the most important question to be answered.]

[usedswift]

You've changed a lot.

[Her voice sounds almost breathless as she stares at the screen, biting her lip for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. Don't mind the sight of clouds flying by beside her, that's not important right now.]

It's good to see you.

[But he'd asked a question, hadn't he? She takes a breath and forces herself to focus, staring at the screen.]

You're in a little place called New Bark Town, in the Johto region. It's... well, I've been here for six months and haven't found a way back yet. I know people who've been here for years with no way back.

And you're obviously from the future, aren't you? [She points to her own forehead protector, as if that represented the sum of all the changes.] You've got the same forehead protector as the Shino-kun from the future.

I've got-- once I get to another town, I'll send you some Pokémon to help you out. They're like animal summons, they're the only weapons permitted around here.

Video

[for_realsies]

*This one looks a bit weird, certainly. Wild colors in her outfits, and far too much energy.*

You're in another world, far from whatever war you're talking about. It's probably still going on.

Or it hasn't started yet.

...Or it's been over for a long time.

Tim is weird like that!

Video

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[Strange, but he's seen similar at home before. Naruto, for instance.

Her response encourages that comparison, and his frown deepens.]

In another world. [If he didn't need his hands, he'd be crossing his arms now.] How was I brought here, and for what purpose?

Video

[for_realsies]

Magic and to become a Pokemon Master!

*You can't really trust Imogen to answer boring detail questions too seriously.*

It's not like we were given anymore details than you were. We woke up in that house with a Pokemon and a backpack and just... started off on an adventure.

That's how this place works.

Video;

[believeit]

Neji!

[Have a face full of grinning Naruto. Sure Neji may be frowning, but when is that anything new?]

This isn't anything to do with the war, we were sorta kidnapped here!

Video;

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[Naruto? Of all people, why are you here? You're meant to be saving the Shinobi world.

He frowns all the more for Naruto's smile.] Naruto. Am I to assume you defeated the Juubi, then? [Or, perhaps, could he have perished and been brought back in a similar manner as himself...?]

Video;

[believeit]

[There's a moment of confusion, before he sets Neji on the right track.]

What? No. Not yet anyway, I got kidnapped before that.

video;

[punches]

[ Sakura manages to choke down a sob in hopes that maybe the PokeGear didn't record that as she stares down the image held tightly within her hands. Was this some kind of illusion?

No, that doesn't make any sense. There's plenty of "the dead" to be found here in Johto, so Neji should be no exception. From what she's been able to glean from her peers, she's the only one to know of his fate. ]

Welcome to Johto, Neji. [ Her voice is barely above a whisper as she struggles to gain some confidence. At least the look of distraught is gone, replaced with an awkward expression as she attempts to appear normal. ] I'm sure many of the others will answer your basic questions, but I've been studying this place since my own arrival a few weeks back. If you have any additional questions, you can ask.

video;

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[The video did not record the sob, no, but he's not unobservant. He can see her expression and the tenseness in her posture, and he can hear the tightness in her whisper. He's not unaware of the implications of her body language even without the tip-off. It is a reaction unlike his other teammates.]

Sakura. [He considers addressing the obvious questions and answers on the situation, including the implication of her reaction. Those could come later.] To ask a question I need to know it exists.

video;

[punches]

It's just that everyone else is--[ Better than her. ]--equipped with a variety of knowledge of this place when compared to me.

[ A small frown etches itself on her face. ]

I arrived a little over a month ago myself so you can understand why I'm reluctant to answer. You're in New Bark right now, aren't you?

[video]

[togetherforever]

[His eyes. What was wrong with his eyes. They're so....white.]

[Although she was a little fazed by it, she kept the comment to herself cause wow being rude at first meeting?]

This is Johto. There's no reason why we're here but we can't leave. [Not voluntary but still.] There's a chance your world might still be having its war, I'm sorry.

[video]

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[Mn. Ignorance is not always rudeness. Still the explanation wasn't one he wanted to give out at the moment, so the lack of questions were just fine.]

...I don't think we're here without a reason. [Otherwise, how would he still be breathing? No, this was not something done by chance or randomness.] It's pointless to apologize for a war you have no part in.

[video]

[togetherforever]

I'm...sorry? [Here we go with the apologies again.]

[That first part gave her something to think about though.]

From what I remember, the woman who claims to be our "mother" mentioned we were supposed to have some kind journey with our pokemon...

video;

[medinin]

[ ...Ah, that's the music for the town she's in. And a hitai-ae, although the "shinobi" symbol is unfamiliar...

That's a Hyuuga, though. The eyes are as unmistakable as the Uchiha's sharingan. Therefore... ]

Which war? [ The one she lived through or a different one? ]

video;

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[...Let us not discuss that music. So far he's been ignoring it as much as he has the inability to access his chakra properly. One problem at a time.

He frowns at the girl on the screen a moment: she's too young to be fighting in the war, so the discrepancy with the hitai-ae wasn't necessarily an indicator that hers was a situation like Tenten's. However, that she would question which war he meant indicated it well enough.

Of course, she could also have come from the far future when the hitai-ae reverted to their originals, but he doubted it. The past was the most likely answer.]

I have heard it called the Fourth Shinobi World War. [He, personally, had been more concerned with waging the war than naming it. Names were identifiers for survivors after it was completed.]

video;

[medinin]

[ Names were identifiers for those who never lived to see the wars, too. The Fourth Shinobi World War...Of course she had never been naive enough to think there wouldn't be another war, after theirs had ended (if, back then), but to hear it confirmed is sobering. ]

...I see. I arrived from the Third.

Does that have something to do with your hitai-ae?

[video]

[aflashoffaith]

You're in a different world completely, Hyuuga.

[-san, the address and his tone polite. He didn't recognize Neji completely, but Minato was pretty confident in his guess.

He was fairly recognizable himself, sort of- no forehead protector to be seen but Minato still wore his flame tipped cloak over his clothing here.]

I'm not sure that anyone could fully explain the why, though, but this is neither an illusion or the afterlife.

[Better to just... put that one out there, considering how many times it had been asked (and thought).]

[video]

[uncagedforjustamoment]

[Regardless of what he might wear, Neji would still recognize him given that his face is carved into a mountainside. He's seen that face almost every day of his life.

It's a face that doesn't help the idea that this might be an after life of sort beyond that which he believed prior to death. The belief that this might be the future or a situation with Rinne Tensei of some sort is more difficult with a long-dead hokage present.

Even with the Hyuga's subtle facial expressions, his shock should be visible as he stares at the blonde man.]

...A separate world from the one we lived in before. How exactly is that possible?

[aflashoffaith]

Your guess is as good as mine. I'd liken our arrival to a space-time technique but I can't say I remember how it happened nor have I ever heard of one on this scale.

[Not to mention that ninjutsu wasn't exactly something anyone here was capable of, but it was the best comparison he could make really.

Did the ninjas even have knowledge of different planets? \o_o/]

There are people here from many different worlds, the natives aren't very forthcoming as to how or why we were all brought here. Unfortunately I can't offer much of a briefing.

Though if it is an illusion... well. We don't exactly have a way to disrupt it, currently.

[Of all people he's fairly sure a Hyuuga would immediately notice the suppression of their chakra.]