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I let out a groan as I stirred from an uncomfortable sleep as my bed felt strangely hard for some reason so I grimaced while I went to wake up, opening my eyes and I froze as I could see the night sky and two stone walls on either side of me.'What the hell?' I thought in bewilderment and went to sit up as my back felt sore.I took in everything around me as my eyes widened at the sight of being in some kind of alley so I had no idea how I got here since I definitely don't remember winding up here, so I might've gotten drunk or something and passed out here.I didn't know what was going on but I wasn't going to just sit here and gawk at my surroundings like an idiot so I went to stand up, and something was wrong when I noticed that I seemed taller and more muscular and was that a protrusion in front of my face?I went to touch it and froze when I felt some kind of snout and that's when I saw what I think were my hands, which looked like some kind of humanoid paws with silvery white fur and black claws and my eyes widened considerably.I looked down quickly and saw that I was wearing my regular black leather jacket, a black t-shirt, dark blue cargo pants, and black combat boots but then I noticed two holsters that were on my belt and what appeared to be some kind of weapons in those holsters.I reached down and pulled out what was in the holsters and they quickly unfolded to reveal that they were two sickles of some kind as they felt comfortable in my mutated hands, almost as if I had used them before so I tried to think back as to how I got here when it quickly came to me.'That's right, I died...shit,' I thought while recalling that I had been killed during a bank robbery where one of the robbers shot me.That disheartened me since I wasn't expecting to die just like that but I was more confused than anything else since this didn't appear to be Heaven or Hell, and that's when I noticed that it was a little chilly as the air felt like fall weather.That didn't seem right since it was early spring when I died so I was somewhere else during fall and my appearance seemed to be different so I started examining myself more and soon discovered a bushy silvery-white tail that was attached to my spine.I touched it and it felt real enough and my legs seemed disjointed, almost digitigrade in a way as I noticed a puddle of water nearby so I went to stare at my reflection to see what I looked like now and then I froze when I saw my face.A lupine head with the same silvery white fur stared back at me but there was a dark grey marking around its face that went down its snout while its eyes weren't human at all, its sclera completely black while its irises were blood red.Was that me? I wasn't human anymore so I didn't know what to do but then I heard voices and footsteps coming from behind me and I turned around to look, seeing an exit so I went to holster the sickles and went over to it before peering out.'What the...fuck?' I thought as I stared at what was before me.I could see that I was in some kind of large town or something but everything looked almost...primitive? It seemed to be a mixture of ancient Japanese and modern as I noticed power lines with some lights being on in buildings and the people that were walking or chatting were wearing clothes that either looked like something from the Edo period or something modern since one kid had a baseball cap on.'Where the hell am I?' I thought as I had a feeling that I was nowhere near home anymore.I had a feeling that I was going to stick out like a sore thumb with my bipedal lupine appearance since that and my current wardrobe made me look like some kind of freak of nature so I was definitely going to be stared at once I left the alley.I couldn't stay in this alley forever since I would be discovered eventually so I hesitantly left the alley and started walking down the street, but surprisingly, everyone around me didn't seem to notice me and that confused me since it was as if I were invisible or something but some people that passed by me shivered a little and rubbed their arms before looking around uneasily.'Why doesn't anyone notice me? Those reactions...it's as if they could sense something, so do they sense that I'm here? It's like I'm invisible to them, maybe a spirit to them or something,' I thought uneasily as I looked down at myself and started clenching my altered hands.There were also people wearing a pair of wooden Japanese sandals, black pants with a leg holster that appeared to have kunai in it, green flack jacket, and a headband of some kind with a metal plate that had some form of insignia on it and the choice of wardrobe was a little odd but that's when some of them froze and looked around with tense expressions.I didn't see anything around them that would cause that type of reaction but then I felt it, a sensation of something cold and sinister suddenly rising up in the air and I started hugging myself as something was seriously wrong and I shivered as I started getting unsettled when there was a huge cloud of smoke that poofed into existence a couple of miles ahead of me.A massive shockwave rippled through the streets and people screamed as I ducked my head and covered it while the blast of air nearly launched me off my feet as I slid back a couple of feet but I was able to plant my two feet to the ground and grimaced from feeling the soles of my boots sliding across the ground.'What the hell, did someone set off a bomb or something?!' I thought in disbelief when the shockwave ended and I soon saw one of the people with headbands and green flakjackets next to me tremble as he stared ahead of us with a terrified expression so I lowered my arms and went to look at what had him so spooked, then I wish I hadn't.The smoke was clearing up and I saw something that was in the smoke that towered over the whole town, then I saw nine long objects swaying and clearing up the smoke even more when a pair of big red glowing orbs glared down at us all while and I started feeling paralyzed as the smoke cleared up.I couldn't move or even breathe as I looked up at the thing before us, the smoke now gone and revealing a kaiju-sized monster that was as big as a mountain as it looked distinctly vulpine with its fur being a reddish/orange color, its ears looking long while the insides had black markings that went down to its eyes that were blood red and its pupils were enlarged with what appeared to be three tomoes surrounding the pupils, then there was its upper-body structure that looked like a humanoid male torso while its muscles appeared as if a professional artist sculpted them.Its nine tails swayed as the giant fox-like creature started showing its teeth and letting out a growl that made my blood run ice-cold while the sound could be akin to large boulders rolling down a mountain during an avalanche, then I found myself trembling as I stared up at the monster in nothing but complete horror.'What the fuck is that thing?!' I thought as I tried to will my body to run or do anything when I had my internal question answered."It's the Nine Tails!" someone shouted, just as the massive creature flared its tails and raised its head to let out a deafening roar.I slammed my hands over my ears and covered them as I ducked my head down and tried to block out the horrible noise while my mind was trying to comprehend the horror before me that shouldn't even exist, the horror that started swinging its paws or hands, or whatever they were as they looked like a combination of human and animal but that didn't matter since they and the monster's tails were smashing buildings and sending people flying.I didn't think, just spun around and started running for my life as other people were doing the same while those god-awful roars sent floods of terror and fear into my system as my mind was screaming for me to get away from the unholy threat when one roar sent out a powerful gust of wind that threw me to the ground.I shielded my head with my arms from shards of glass and other debris that rained down on me but I got up and continued to run while dodging people who were running for their lives and falling chunks of stone and wood that used to be parts of houses and other buildings.'Oh god, this can't be real! Wake up Shawn, just wake the fuck up!' I thought as people wearing similar outfits to the ones I saw before were running to where the monster was destroying everything or hopping across rooftops in the same direction.I didn't know what they could do against something like that since they were just going to get killed when explosions erupted behind me in the distance but I didn't dare look back since it would slow me down when something massive fell into the street before me with a loud crash as I ran into an alley."Shit!" I shouted as I ducked down with my arms shielding my face from raining debris when it stopped and I timidly went to peer out of the alley.Large chunks of rubble and other debris were blocking the street I was running down so I cautiously left the alley and covered my mouth in horror as I could see a hand or a foot sticking out with blood pooling out and I teared up at the loss of life but strangely, it was as if I could sense people dying."Oh fuck..." I whimpered and tried not to cry at the horrible sight.People were dying and I had never seen people die before so this was awful, though now I couldn't go down this way and the only option left was to go back so I turned around and gazed at the monstrosity that was in the distance, the glow from many different fires and the smoke giving it the look of a demon when the giant fox seemed to notice something and turned to face a mountain that had four male faces carved into it.'The hell is it looking at?' I thought and went to face the mountain with the stone faces.I doubt it was admiring the stone faces and I couldn't see what had its attention since I was too far away but it raised its head and let out a roar as clear and dark balls of energy appeared as they shot together in front of the fox's mouth as they started forming into a large dark purple ball of energy while my eyes bulged out at the sight of it.The fox shot the purple ball of energy at the mountain with the stone faces as buildings were getting vaporized and possibly people as well but just when the purple ball was about to hit the stone faces, giant Japanese kanji letters appeared in front of it and the ball was absorbed by them until it was gone but the sound of a distant explosion happened and my mind was unable to understand what I just saw.'What the fuck just happened?!' I thought incredulously as I was struggling to comprehend that I saw something that shouldn't be possible.The glass and other debris that had cut my skin during the chaos and my sore back hurt too much for all of this to be a dream so this was real and that told me I wasn't on earth anymore so I didn't know which was worse, the fact that I was trapped in a different world as some kind of bipedal wolf or going to get killed again by a kaiju fox with nine tails while being trapped in said world.Because the street ahead of me was blocked by what used to be part of a building, I had no choice but to go back and I was far from eager about that since that meant getting into the middle of all that chaos and mayhem but I started running back the way I came in the hopes of finding another route around the blockage.As I got closer, I could hear the sounds of a fierce fight against the giant beast, who was roaring and swiping at whatever was attacking it as fireballs, large shurikens, and kunai were launched at it but they didn't seem to be doing much to it other than annoying it.As all that was going on, I thought I could see someone swinging a staff at the kaiju fox as the staff extended and got bigger before striking the monster in its face a few times, which made its head snap back from the hits and it swiped at the building the figure was standing on.The figure jumped away and the building got smashed to pieces before the kaiju fox roared as it was nothing but chaos and mayhem while I couldn't take my eyes off of what was happening when something seemed to be happening to the beast.'Is it...getting sluggish?' I thought as the kaiju fox started looking tired and started receiving more hits from the staff the figure was holding.The kaiju fox started roaring in rage and its tails thrashed around as it jumped back, destroying another section of the village and I was shocked that something that big was capable of moving so fast but then it went to pick up a flaming part of a building and started throwing it."Oh fuck!" I shouted as I ran to cover and dropped down onto my stomach, just as the flaming pile of rubble and debris flew over the buildings of the neighborhood I was in and smashed into one building where the figure was.The kaiju fox wasn't done as it threw another pile of flaming debris until it jumped back into this section of the village and I quickly got up, noticing that it was getting too close for comfort so I started running in the opposite direction when a giant man the same size as the kaiju fox suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke.I did not want to get in the middle of that so I ducked into an alley while hyperventilating in a panic, wondering what the hell I was thinking coming here since I was just going to get myself killed a second time but I peered out and could see the giant man with long red spiky hair and armor grappling the kaiju fox as both of them tried to overpower one another.The giant man let out a roar before he literally threw the kaiju fox to his left and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, the giant fox smashing into another section of the village and skidding to a stop when it got up and looked slightly dazed, which was taken advantage of as the large and extended staff whacked it in the face a few more times while more throwing weapons and fireballs were shot at it.I started feeling a little hopeful when the kaiju fox seemed to be getting more tired but it was also getting pissed if its roars of rage were any indication when a few spiraling large objects shot up from one building and combined into one before slamming into the beast's head, making its head snap back as it slid back a little and shook its head and roared at the humans while looking enraged.'Jesus, what the fuck does it take to kill that thing?!' I thought in disbelief as the kaiju fox started firing smaller purple balls at buildings.I yelped as I ducked back into the alley and covered my head as multiple explosions erupted out there and I started getting pelted by glass and debris but I was forced to run out of the alley when large pieces of stone and wood started coming down from above so now I was in danger and I didn't see anywhere I could hide so terror flooded my system."Oh shit," I whimpered as more people in black outfits with green flak jackets and headbands suddenly showed up, not noticing me as they appeared to get ready for something.I started bugging my eyes out when what appeared to be shadows shot across the ground and slithered over to the giant fox until they started covering the beast's lower and upper halves as the vulpine was about to swipe again, but it stopped moving as the shadows seem to restrain it and the giant man appeared again.He charged at the kaiju fox and slammed his shoulder into it, making it stumble back on its two hind paws as the giant man disappeared again with the shadows melting off the kaiju fox when the people around me started doing some strange handsigns and what happened next was something I didn't expect.The armed men and women literally started shooting fire, wind, earth, and water from their mouths while others threw more throwing weapons with some kunai having tags on them as the kaiju fox began to get bombarded by the assault until it was launched back into another section of the ruined village.The kaiju fox got up and roared in fury as one of the armed men looked at me and suddenly widened his eyes so I just ran into another alley, not wanting to stay out in that mess since I sure as hell didn't want to go back out there.So, I merely peered out to watch as the fighting continued to rage on and it was clear that these men and women were fighting for their home at the risk of their own lives so while I was terrified, I was also in awe at seeing something that looked to be out of a kaiju movie and I don't think I would ever be able to forget this if I were to survive it.The kaiju fox was getting closer as it shot more purple balls and smashed up more intact buildings as one of its steps caused a large tremor that made me stumble out of the alley by accident when the giant fox froze and I could see something happening to its eyes as the three tomoes disappeared and its large pupils thinned out into animalistic slits until the giant animal's gaze rested on me.I was paralyzed and couldn't move as its eyes were staring directly at me and I felt a tiny bit of discomfort as I saw the frightening hate and rage in its eyes, almost as if I was staring at death itself as the tiny discomforting feeling didn't bother me all that much but it didn't change the fact that a mountain-sized fox creature was glaring at me when a strange reaction seemed to happen.The giant fox froze as its eyes slightly widened as it stared at me and I thought I saw fear appearing in its eyes for a second but then it was gone and that tiny discomforting feeling came back just before the kaiju fox started growling."Oh Jesus," I whimpered as the kaiju fox roared in rage and hate when it started raising its claws and was about to swing it down at where I was.I managed to snap out of it just in time to run as fast as I could while I ducked into an alley and ran for my life, hearing a massive boom behind me and buildings started getting destroyed from the massive shockwave as I found myself dropping to the ground with rubble and debris flying everywhere as I started getting covered by the remains of buildings.I screamed in pure terror when my head almost got taken off by a tail the size of a skyscraper as I was snagged by the tip of the tail by my shirt and instinctively gripped the orange/red fur as it was like I was on a rollercoaster but certainly not a fun one at all.I knew I couldn't let go or I would be flung off and reduced to a red stain so I held on for dear life, the pressure of the wind rattling my bones as the tail moved around while the deafening roars nearly made me deaf when I managed to catch a glimpse of the end of the large staff extending and slamming into the giant fox."Oh shit!" I shouted as the fox started getting pushed out of the village and I didn't let go while it smashed through more buildings until it wound up outside of the village.I started feeling queasy and felt like throwing up as the tail I was gripping onto was still thrashing around while I heard war cries as the people in green flak jackets were throwing more kunai with tags that suddenly exploded when they hit the giant fox, who roared and started swatting people out of the air as they were killed instantly.The giant fox growled and raised its head before charging up another purple ball of energy as I shuddered and held back sobs from this clearly difficult situation I was in and didn't see any hope of surviving this, then I managed to see something huge come down from the sky and land on the giant fox as it was revealed to be a toad that was just as massive and wearing clothes with a sword.'Jesus, where the fuck are all these giant animals coming from?!' I thought as I was clearly panicking and I heard someone from above shouting something about holding down the nine tails, then my eyes bugged out from hearing the toad fucking speak.'Oh god, I finally lost my damn mind,' I thought when everything suddenly went black and I felt the sensation of moving at a fast rate of speed.The next thing I knew, I found myself laying on my back as I groaned when my nausea became too much to handle so I rolled over onto my hands and knees before expelling the contents in my stomach as I felt dizzy and barely able to stay conscious.I heaved and gagged while coughing and having a nasty taste in my mouth, managing to stand up on my own two feet as I stumbled with a dazed groan when a growl got my attention, making me flinch and I slowly turned around.I saw a wall of orange/red and looked up and up until I stiffened at the sight of blood-red eyes staring down at me warily as I was completely frozen in fear and felt like pissing myself from being close to something so large and vicious."What are you..." the giant fox growled with its voice being deep and masculine and I stumbled back from that as I was out of my mind with terror when I noticed that we were in a forest while two people were nearby, a man with spiky blond hair who was holding a bundle that had a baby that was crying and a woman with long red hair as the latter appeared as if she was on death's door.I was about to run to get away from the giant animal that looked like he wanted to rip me apart when golden glowing chains sprouted out of the ground and started wrapping around the giant fox's body, arms, and tails, restraining it and he struggled to break free but the chains were strong and the giant fox looked enraged.I trembled in complete horror as my mind struggled to reboot from this hell I was now in as I saw that the blond man was doing a few handsigns when an apparition of some kind of being with white robes, long white hair, horns, and sharp teeth appeared behind him as a dagger of some kind was held between its teeth.I was in shock and unable to comprehend all of this anymore as I blocked out what was being said while I was shaking and shuddering from all this horror that had happened to me when the being extended its arm and shoved its hand into the giant fox's left arm.The giant fox roared as blue energy shaped like a fox was pulled out of the beast and the energy suddenly broke free from the entity's grasp and flew right into my chest, then a massive pressure shot throughout my body and that caused me to start gasping in pain as I stumbled back while the blond man looked shocked by what happened.The giant fox started shrinking until he was just as big as a massive building while the man had somehow summoned an alter with a bed small enough for the baby when he went to place the baby on the bed as the giant fox widened his eyes when Kushina started coughing and the man ran to her, leaving the baby exposed."Enough, I will be free!" the giant fox shouted as it took advantage of the distraction and went to kill the baby with his claws."No!" I screamed in horror and somehow started running to the alter to save the child from getting killed, but both parents acted quickly and threw themselves in the way before both got impaled through the back as I reached out at them with drops of blood hitting me in the face as the two parents managed to stop the lone claw from piercing the baby."Damn you, Fourth Hokage..." the giant fox growled as he leveled a malicious glare at the blond man and the woman with red hair.I was horrified by what I witnessed and didn't know how much of this death and carnage I could take as I just sat there with tears starting to well up in my eyes, unable to look at this awful sight anymore so I turned my head away or I might lose my composure as the man suddenly summoned a toad whose abdomen looked like it had rings around it but a closer look showed that they were actually skin so it appeared they will be able to extend into something.The toad freaked out at the sight of me and the giant fox but I wasn't paying much attention as my mind was in shock and I just stared at my hybrid hands while I felt very powerful and my senses were amplified greatly but it didn't change the fact that anything normal about my life just went up in smoke after what just happened.This was hell, there was no doubt about it and how would I ever be able to function in society looking like the way I am now? I wasn't sure I could and that made it even more agonizing for me as my life was over and I was a freak of nature now as the toad had disappeared.A short amount of time had gone by while I was still trying to wrap my mind around what happened as the two parents were speaking to their child for a bit until the man went to look at me once they were done."You...what's your...name?" the man asked weakly and I looked at him."S-Shawn," I replied, my voice cracking and full of emotion as the man looked at me with regret."Shawn? Such a...strange name...I'm so sorry you got dragged into this...that this happened to you," the man rasped and I whimpered as I looked away."I know..." I trailed off quietly and the man said something about an eight-signed seal until I witnessed the giant fox getting sucked into the baby's abdomen until he was gone and both parents fell to the ground as the father was dead and Kushina was barely alive.The baby seemed to sense that something was wrong as he started crying while I noticed a few people running over once the chains disappeared when one of them, an older man who appeared to be in his elder years, hurried over to Kushina, and the man to check on them when she said something to the elderly man but I was in too much shock and completely traumatized by everything that happened to me tonight to hear what was said.After that, Kushina died not too long after saying her final words and the only sound that broke the silence was the baby's cries for his parents as I just stared at nothing with a thousand-yard stare when I sensed someone approaching and it was the elderly man, who was looking at me in sympathy.There were no words said between us as he rested a hand on my shoulder and everything was a blur after that as I think I was guided back to the destroyed village and taken to a hospital that was still intact, and then I was in an examination room and being poked, prodded, and examined by the doctors after the elderly man explained the situation.I didn't care what they did as long as they were finished when a man with long blond hair tied into a ponytail came in and did a handsign before saying something like mind-transfer jutsu but I didn't react, just stared at the wall as I felt a presence rooting around in my mind for a short time until it was gone and the man looked at me in shock.He hurried out of the room and I was left alone while I was still like a statue and my mind was blank while my expression was the same when the elderly man came back after a while and he sat on the examination bed next to me."Shawn, can you hear me? Kushina told me a little bit about what happened and Inoichi informed me of what he saw in your memories, how you were human and from another world before you died and appeared here looking like this so I wish to apologize for what happened to you tonight...for what you've experienced.You didn't deserve any of this so you have my support through all of this, okay?" the old man told me gently but I didn't respond and he placed a hand on my shoulder as he was patient and I slowly looked at him while my eyes teared up."Please...help me," I whimpered and the old man looked at me sorrowfully until he went to pull me into a hug.After that, everything hit me and I just broke out sobbing uncontrollably from all the death and mayhem, from what I've become, and from the deaths of two parents before the baby even had a chance to have parents as the old man comforted me through soft kind words and holding me tight to show that he was there for me and that he would help me through this as I cried from the trauma I experienced, not wanting him to let go out of fear of being alone while not knowing what to do.
