"If you're not going to answer," Margaret pressed, "at least tell what's the point?"
"It doesn't work like that," Alice replied, stepping closer. "So abilities are best kept under wraps. You never know who might want to exploit them."
Jasper finally chid in, "There's reason to maintain a low profile with abilities like this. I just want to make sure we keep our advantages intact."
'Advantages?' Margaret inwardly repeated.
She couldn't quite fathom these two. Them, their relationship, or their ti-traveling explanations.
"One more thing," Jasper stated. "Don't go spreading this around. I don't want people coming after —or worse, Alice."
"Promise?" Alice asked.
Margaret hesitated for a mont, then finally relented. "I promise." But inwardly, she resolved to keep her eyes peeled for any other surprises hidden away in the depths of this virtual world.
"I forgot one thing," she noted. "Why did she touch your forehead before the fight?"
The two laughed, having already forgotten that scene. Alice explained that her past self, which was actually her future self, had already witnessed the fight between the two. All she did was ntally relay what she had seen, allowing Jasper to predict all of Margaret's moves before going back in ti.
"Already that's confusing," Margaret joked. "Then, what's stopping you two from abusing the ti-space cont—or whatever it's called?"
The two led her about five minutes from the area. There, she gazed at what looked to be an innocent rabbit. "So what?" When she looked again, she noticed there was a slight distortion at where the furry critter was.
The rabbit was repeating its motion as if stuck in a perpetual loop, constantly peering left and right.
"That's what happens when I send soone back in ti," Jasper revealed. "It causes these weird rifts that I can sense."
After that explanation, he approached the rabbit, placed his hand over the distortion, and retracted his chakra. Then, as if things were normal, the rabbit scurried away.
Now she understood why the Ti Travel technique was so dangerous to use.
The Leaf Village might have felt dull before, but after today, she was confident she could bring the excitent back into her life. Perhaps not right at this mont, but certainly in days to co.
All she had to do was unlock her true potential and fight for it. And with a player this strong, it was going to be worth trying to one-up everyone else.
So ti later.
As weeks turned into a monotony once more in the Leaf Village, Margaret found herself trapped in a cage of ennui again. Her days were filled with the sa routines.
"Who would have thought the Leaf Village would be so boring?!" she grumbled to no one in particular. Determined to distract herself, she headed out to grab so barbeque from one of her favorite restaurants. "At least the food here's good..."
The aroma of grilled ats filled the air as she approached the food stand.
"Two servings, please!" she said, handing over so ryō. She savored the food, feeling each bite of bliss in her otherwise boring day. "Screw ran; this is the best restaurant in the village."
She sighed contently after finishing her al, knowing that her thoughts would drift back to the endless boredom.
Once she reached the front door of her apartnt building, she noticed it was slightly ajar. "Great, just great. What's the point of having a door if it's not locked?"
In her mind, she imdiately blad William; he was always forgetful. She honestly had no proof it was him, finding it easier to bla who she thought was the weakest link.
"William, you really need to stop coming here uninvited..."
But after pushing open the door, there was no one inside. Everything seed in order, so she shrugged it off. "Whatever, ti to get ready for the spa."
Gathering her belongings, she made a ntal checklist of everything she usually needed. The spa had beco a cherished part of her day, and she indulged in it as a deserved treat. The pampering had a way of easing the monotony, and she enjoyed being taken care of, if only for a little while.
As she walked to the spa, she thought about the luxuries that the Leaf Village offered. Her mind wandered to the other shinobi villages and their anities, but each thought was quickly shot down.
"No way, the Leaf is the best," she declared to herself, dismissing any notions of doubt. "None of them could top this."
To be frank, he was the main player out of all the others that did not like to leave the village. That was ironic considering she found it extrely boring.
Who could bla her when everyone outside was always after her cells?
The spa, however, had everything she needed: tranquility, elegance, and relaxing vibes.
There, Margaret reclined in a plush chair for the masseuses to help ease the tension from her muscles.
The cost of this was running her almost one thousand ryō a day. But it was the soothing scents and gentle music that wrapped around her like a comforting blanket that made her forget about the costs.
Over the next few hours, she lost herself in bliss, content to enjoy the luxury the Leaf Village afforded her.
Upon returning ho, she was jolted from her thoughts by the sight of an unexpected gathering. Standing in her living room were her friends Jasper, Alex, and Jada, all eyes glued to a writhing Alice on the table, who had a look of pain.
"Guys?" Margaret exclaid, rushing forward. "What's going on?"
"We don't know!" Jada replied in a panicked tone. "We just found her like this!"
Margaret knelt next to Alice, feeling dreadful as she looked into her friend's face.
"Alice, can you hear ? What's wrong?"
"I'm... so scared!" Alice's voice trembled at an unexplainable terror. "It's so dark. I can't... I can't find my way back!"
"What do you an you can't find your way back?" Jada interjected, activating his Sharingan. "I'll check your chakra flow." Despite her concentration, she shook her head in confusion monts later. "Everything looks fine. I don't see any abnormalities."
Alex leaned closer, using her Byakugan to inspect Alice as well. "It doesn't seem like she's hurt physically, but her mind... Sothing's weird about it."
"Weird how?" Jasper wondered.
"Weird, like it's lost," he answered, unsure of himself. "I can't see anything wrong, but I can feel her chakra is... a little uneven around her brain."
The others were impressed by his deduction skills. What Jada's refined Sharingan can't see, Alex's Byakugan did.
"Maybe I can heal her," Margaret volunteered as she focused on Alice's chakra. "Just give a mont."
Attempting to use her healing technique, she felt the act impossible. There was a barrier preventing her from pinpointing the problem, an invisible wall that left her frustrated and worried.
"Hold on," she finally said, standing up. "I have sothing in my closet—that special small slug from Shikkotsu Forest! It might help! Just wait."
She sprinted toward the closet but stopped upon hearing Alice's cries echo from the room. Without wasting any more ti, she threw open the door, dove inside, and searched frantically.
"Where is it?" she asked herself. "It was right here! I know it was!"
As she was still searching, she heard a banging from the bathroom. It's possible that the slug had just slipped out, but that seed improbable. Just then, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the room.
"Marge! Where are you?!"
Margaret froze, glancing back. She refocused on her search but still found nothing.
"I can't find it!" she shouted upon returning. "I'm sorry! I can't find the slug!"
They all looked at one another with uncertainty.
"What're we supposed to do now?" Jada asked.
"Maybe we should bring her to the Leaf hospital," Alex suggested.
Margaret turned her gaze toward Jasper, who was watching the situation unfold with a frustrated frown.
"You have to send back in ti," she announced. "We might have found her problem before this happened!"
Before Jasper could respond, Jada and Alex were in disbelief.
"Ti travel's a thing?" Jada blurted out.
"It is!" Margaret insisted. "Jasper can do it; I need him to send back!"
"No," Jasper proclaid, folding his arms. "You just broke our promises. Besides, if I send you back, it's not gonna change anything for Alice."
"What do you an?" she shot back. "You don't know that unless we try!"
"Ti is stagnant," he revealed. "Even if I send you back, Alice will still be like this..."
Jada, still considering the implications of what they were discussing, finally spoke up. "But what if... what if we knew what actually happened to Alice? It could provide a clue on how to help her or, at the very least, give us an idea of what to look for."
"I'll do whatever it takes to bring her back," Margaret replied with commitnt.
After contemplating for a mont longer, Jasper sighed in resignation and said, "Ya know what, fine. I'll send you back just to prove that this might not work."
"Good!" Margaret declared, ready for action. "Alex, you head out and find out what she was doing before this happened. We need to know if there were any clues!"
Alex found no reason to disagree, so he dashed out the door. When he returned after only a few minutes, he quickly relayed what he had discovered.
"She was on a mission—it was to deliver the Sound Four's bodies to the Blood Prison alongside Inoichi, Iruka, and so others. This was her route..."
"What happened?" Jasper wondered. "Did sothing go wrong?"
"I don't know, but she never returned to make her report."
"That would make sense," Jada revealed. "I found her like this and imdiately called for help."
Sothing wasn't adding up. If Alice arrived here and didn't report her mission, that ant either soone brought her here or she arrived on her own.
"Then we need to figure out how she got from point A to B," Margaret deduced. "Jasper, I'll help her; I promise."
The group all talked to one another, wondering why it had to be Margaret to go. She insinuated strongly that she cared about Alice since she was more of a mother than her actual mother. With no one arguing, they agreed to send her back.
Jasper placed a hand over her head, and Alex felt intrigued, being that it was his first ti seeing this technique.
"Be careful..." he warned.
"Yeah," Jada chid in, "We're counting on you."
With that, Jasper focused his chakra. As he prepared to perform the technique, Margaret already felt a wave of chakra breathing into her core.
Jasper's voice broke through the tension. "Ready?"
"Always," Margaret stated with steely resolve.
"Ti Travel jutsu..."
She watched as ti began to reverse around her, the world stuttering backward like a film reel. Slowly, the scenery morphed, and the environnt picked up speed. She felt herself moving, and the landscape altered as monts flew past her.
"Wait," she thought. "If I don't actually get to her location before this ends, then won't this whole thing fail?!"
She was right in a sense. If she returns back in ti, she'll just arrive back in the apartnt. Alice's location was almost a day's journey from here.
But not all was lost—Margaret could still move in this reversing fra.
"Slug Sage Mode!"
Crimson sli oozed around her red hair and skin as a black tribal mark appeared on her face. The sli ford wings, allowing her to soar upward, and with each beat of her heart, she propelled herself forward.
Her focus was on Alice's route. Peering into the distance, Margaret held her senses wide open, searching for any traces of her friend as the world around her continued to reverse.
Finally, as ti began to slow, she spotted sothing in the brush ahead—it was Alice, standing her ground in a desperate confrontation against what looked to be a Sound Ninja with an eerie expression of focus.
Margaret wasted no ti. As she soared down, she could feel the ti technique coming to an end. Even her Sage Mode had reverted her to normal.
'I've got to make this count,' she thought. 'Multi-wood clone jutsu!'
Landing dramatically, she appeared right in the scene and yelled, "If you touch her again, it'll be the last thing you ever do!"
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