Author's chat: Hey! This is a rewrite of my first story "Tokyo and a new guy." It seems that my story wasn't giving readers the right feeling to continue reading so I'm trying again but this time I'm taking peoples' advice and adjusting my story. I thought long and hard on this. My friend wanted me to change only the first chapter as she didn't want to wait too long for chapters. Sorry, 10-timer but this is the only way I and the readers will be satisfied with my story. Ok, sounds like I'm making my death wish. O_0 Ok, here goes!
Summary: 18 year old Umi (my OC) lost her family two years ago. She moved to Japan and got adopted by a Japanese family. She enters Konoha High school and meets Naruto and his friends. She feels a bit strange towards Gaara, Naruto's friend. But there is a connection between Umi's past and some of her friends. Would you like to find out?
Chapter one – The past will haunt you
Walking home, after visiting her friends. That's how it had started. It was late evening; the moon was partially covered and shed little light. She had noticed that the village had been quiet. It was a small village and hardly busy, but this silence had felt wrong. She felt herself shiver even though it was warm outside. She also couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched. Nearing her house, she noticed someone on the road lying there, not moving. Cautiously approaching the person, she took a closer look and then gasped. The person was dead, obvious as the person had their throat sliced open and the blood just soaked his clothes and the road beneath him. What made her feel even more afraid was the fact that the person was a policeman. She ran towards the police station that was just a little bit away. She didn't have to even enter the building to realise that help could not be found here. Bodies littered the area, all dead. Then she heard a scream. She felt that she had been expecting that. And then her legs walked on their own, dragging her towards the direction of the scream. The area that the scream came from was covered in dead bodies, or rather the body parts. Someone had cut the villagers into pieces. Her legs still drew her forward and she had this huge feeling that she had to stop. Going forward meant that she would regret it. A man with a double bladed scythe jumped out of the shadows and she screamed. And suddenly she had control of her legs and she ran in the direction of her house. Screams could now be heard from every direction. It could only mean one thing. The man with the scythe had friends. Running even faster, she ran into her house, yelling for her family. They called to her and she knew that they knew what had happened. How could they not when a stranger with piercings on his face stood in front of them, holding a weapon aimed at them. There was something strange with his eyes, as if they had several circles. Her parents shouted at her to take her younger brother and sister away. She watched as the man slashed them through the chest. Grabbing the arms of her brother and sister, she run with them out the back door. But she had forgotten about the other man. He sliced her sister in two. She could smell the blood, see it and felt it as her sister's blood sprayed on her. Then another man appeared, his eyes were red. Then her brother yelled and she turned to see what was wrong. Fresh, warm blood sprayed even more onto her. Her brother had been slice in two, in an attempt to protect her from the scythe that the man had tried to slice her with. The man smiled an evil smile that turned her blood into ice. Then the man with red eyes knocked the other man unconscious. Looking at her, he spoke in a foreign language but was oddly familiar. He looked her straight in the eyes and she fell into darkness which changed into the dead bodies. The dead bodies looked at her and screamed at her to help them, save them. Then more blood sprayed out of their bodies and a sea of blood threatened to drown her, with the screams still ringing in her ears . . .
Umi woke up, breathing hard. She covered her eyes with her arm.
"Damn! That dream again." And that guy again.
Getting up, she walked to the kitchen.
"Yo, what you up to?" Natsu asked, sitting on the kitchen's table.
"Nii-chan! I just came to drink something. What about you?" Umi asked. Natsu scratched his head and grinned.
"I was just getting ready to start some morning training," he said.
"With noodles?"
"Huh?" Umi points to his hand. "Oh, no! I was. . just. . hungry," Natsu said. Umi stared at him intensely. "Ok, ok! I know Okaa-san said no noodles at night but they're irresistible!" he confessed before stuffing his mouth full of noodles. Umi shook her head.
"You're supposed to be a role model to me. How do I learn to do things the right way if you're always breaking the rules? Gimme!" Umi said before grabbing an uncooked packet of noodles next to him. Natsu watched as she cooked the noodles. Once she had finished dishing up, he continued eating.
"Hey, I can't help it that I like noodles so much that I'll break the rules. Besides, you're the one who introduced me to them," Natsu said, smiling happily. Umi sighed.
"How can you not have eaten noodles when you live in the country that created noodles? Seriously," Umi said, munching on her noodles. Natsu didn't comment as he didn't really have the right excuse. After they finished eating, Natsu stretched his arms.
"Hey, Umi! Want to train before school to work of the fat you still have?" BANG! Umi's fist made contact with the top of Natsu's head. She watched him closely as he grabbed his head and stood there. He started to shake.
"That fucking hurts!" He said in a loud whisper, tears in his eyes. Umi stuck her tongue out. A vein popped out on his head. As he opened his mouth to yell at her, she placed her fore finger in front of her lips and made a 'shh' noise.
"Let's go train outside," Umi said. Natsu glared at her.
"You're gonna pay for that," he threatened. Umi smiled softly behind his back.
"Oi, Naruto, Hinata! Wait up!" Kiba yelled. Naruto and Hinata looked behind them, to see Kiba running to catch up.
"Good morning, Kiba-kun."
"Hey Kiba. What's up?" Naruto asked.
"Well, I really need to borrow Hinata's math homework. It's next period and since it's break-time now, I can copy it. Please, Hinata?" Kiba asked with his hands together in front of his face. Hinata sighed.
"Fine, but put more effort to remembering next time," she said, rummaging in her bag.
"Thanks, Hinata," Kiba said. They watched as Kiba began to copy.
"Naruto! Hinata!" Temari called out from behind them.
"Yo! Hey, Shikamaru, how did your date go?" Naruto asked, cheekily. Shikamaru who had been walking behind Temari, glared at him.
"Oi, Naruto! Don't ask such things!" Temari said angrily.
"Gomen, gomen!" Naruto said backing away slightly with his hands held up.
"They're in the middle of a lover's quarrel," Gaara said unexpectedly. Shikamaru and Temari blushed a little.
"Ah, so that's why. Man, every now and again, you guys fight. Too much," Naruto commented.
"Shut up," They said together. The gang argued and as they were about to turn into a corner, someone crashed into Gaara, knocking him to the ground. Books fell all around him and the person.
"Ouch," the person said.
"Ah, Gaara, are you ok?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah," Gaara said, and then he looked at the person.
"Ah, hey are you ok, Miss?" Kiba asked. They all looked at the person who, as Kiba had guessed right, was a girl. She had blue hair that seemed to be different shades of blue that changed with the amount of light that shined on it. Her body had a nice figure which her school uniform complimented.
"Gomen ne sai. I was in a hurry," Umi said holding her chin where, the books that she had been carrying, had hit her. She looked up to see who she had bumped into. Oh no, why of all people, did I have to him, Umi thought. Then to distract herself, she quickly started to gather her books from the floor. Gaara picked up the books nearest him. Then he held them out to her.
"Um, thanks. I'm very sorry for bumping into you," she said nervously and then bowing. Taking the books, she quickly walked away. Why did I have to bump into my crush, she thought, red-faced. Gaara looked after her, slightly confused. When she had looked up at him, Gaara realised that she had unusual blue coloured eyes. It had been what had drawn his attention first. He hadn't paid attention to her face. And when she had stood up, he realised that she was only a few centimeters taller than Temari.
"Wow, Gaara. Did you do something to her?" Naruto ask as he watched the girl disappear behind a corner. Gaara shook his head.
"That's not it. She's the new student who started this year. She's Umi Nekona from Class E-1. She's obviously a foreigner. And from what I heard from the other students, when she first spoke to them, she spoke in a very rude tone. She doesn't speak much and she's also one of the library assistants. She keeps to herself. These are only rumours though," Shikamaru explained. They looked at him in surprise.
"How do you know all that?" Kiba asked. Shikamaru shrugged.
"I was bored and there were some students from her class who had been talking nearby. Plus, I've seen her before because I sometimes escape to the library to skip class."
"Oh. Then do you know if she has a boyfriend?" Kiba asked. Everyone looked at him in shock.
"Oi, why would she have a boyfriend? She isn't easy to talk to, stays away from people and is a foreigner. Besides, don't tell me that you fell in love at first sight?" Shikamaru asked sceptically.
"Haha. Nah, she's just interesting. Don't you want to know more about her? She has that strange blue hair, her name's Japanese and she's a foreigner. Plus her accent. Did you notice? Last I checked there aren't many foreigners in the school. I wonder if I should go and talk to her and maybe ask her out," Kiba mused.
"Um, I don't think she's your type of girl. You always fall for bad girls, don't you?" Temari said. Kiba looked at her and grinned.
"What, is that an invitation?"
"Whoa there, Kiba. You may be my friend, but if you're thinking of stealing Temari . . ." Shikamaru said threateningly.
"Who says I have to steal her? You might break up and she might come to me," Kiba said slyly. Shikamaru looked at him in surprise and then grabbed Temari's hand and dragged her away.
"Shikamaru? What are you doing?"
"We're gonna have a long talk." They heard him say before they disappeared.
"Whoa, didn't realise Shikamaru could get jealous. Oi, Kiba, you really should stop that and get yourself a girlfriend. You're a pain in the ass otherwise," Naruto said walking away with Hinata holding his hand. Gaara followed them.
"Oh yeah, well maybe I will. Hmm, I feel like I'm forgetting something . . . Ah! Hinata! I didn't finish copying! Come back! Or wait for me!" Kiba yelled, running after them.
Umi ran into the library, panting. The librarian looked up.
"Umi-chan? What happened?"
"Uh, nothing, sensei! I just wanted some exercise and decided to run here," Umi said with a small smile to reassure the librarian.
"Oh, ok. Ah are those the new books I ordered? Hooray! Now give them here and I'll add them to the list," Wakaba-sensei (the librarian) said with a happy smile. Umi walked over to the books that other students had brought in. She needed something to think of, something that wouldn't make her think of Gaara. God, why me? Ugh, don't think about it, DON'T think! As Umi reached for another book to put away, someone bumped into the trolley and made it crash into Umi. Ouch, she thought and looked up to see who it was this time. Hana and some of her friends. The popular girls. They hated Umi.
"Hey, watch it! You nearly put dirt on my new clothes," Hana said sneering.
"It's dust. There is no dirt on these books. Remember that," Umi replied. Hana's friends gasped.
"Oh, so you think you're so much better than us, do you? Speaking in that tone and keeping to yourself," Hana said, looking down her nose at Umi. Umi stood up and began brushing down her clothes.
"No, that would be you. Well, except for the part of keeping to yourself. Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do," Umi said looking straight at Hana. When Hana kept staring at her, Umi grabbed the books on the floor and placed them on the trolley. As she placed the last book on it, Hana moved. Her hand grabbed a book and Hana threw it at Umi, while dislodging books that were loose on the shelf. Umi was unable to prevent the book from hitting her on the side of the face. The books that fell made a big noise.
"HEY! What's going on there?" Wakaba-sensei yelled. Hana and her friends quickly ran away. By the time, Wakaba-sensei arrived, they were nowhere to be seen.
"Ah, Umi, what happened?" Wakaba-sensei said looking at Umi who was busy picking up the books from the floor.
"Oh, I accidently tripped and the books fell down. I'm sorry," Umi explained with her back facing the librarian.
"Oh. Be more careful please, Umi. If the books are torn or damaged, you will have to pay for them," Wakaba-sensei said before turning around and walking back. Umi waited until she couldn't hear footsteps anymore and then placed her hand over her sore cheek.
"Ouch," Umi said softly.
Umi walked to the front gate, aware that many of the students she passed were talking about her. Three months and they still didn't stop discussing about her. Ignore them, Umi reminded herself. Hearing a motorcycle, she looked up to see a familiar motorcycle pull up to the front gate and the rider wave at her. She ran up to him.
"Natsu, did you come to pick me up? Don't you have a job to do?" Umi said to her brother.
"Yeah, I do. Listen, Okaa-san asked me to do some shopping and I don't have time. Please do it for me?" Natsu asked. Umi grimaced.
"I should have known. Ok, ok. Give me the list and money," Umi said, her hand out.
"Here's the list and money. Don't take too long. Okaa-san needs it for supper," Natsu said before he started the engine and drove off. Umi walked towards the big supermarket that was fifteen minutes away from the school.
Lucky, Kiba thought to himself. Umi is walking in the same direction as me. Hey, then when we date, I can walk her home without having to pretend that my home is in the wrong direction. Hehe, he chuckled softly. Then he looked at Umi again. He was walking two hundred meters away from her. This was due to the fact that Umi was walking fast. Damn, I might have to run to keep up. Oi, oi, he thought as he notice that she turned into a corner, doesn't she know that that's where some bad guys like to hang out? Crap, he thought as he ran to catch up.
Umi realised at the last second that the shortcut she had chosen to go through, was a bit preoccupied. She began to panic slightly as the gang of guys surrounded her. Calm down and focus, she thought as she watched one of the guys speak but she couldn't hear what he was saying over the beat of her heart.
Shit, nearly there, Kiba thought and then shot out his hand and grabbed the corner of the wall and turned to see . . .
Umi kicked the first guy, and then quickly took care of two more. The others, seeing that, grew angry and rushed towards her. Dodging, Umi hit the side of their necks, one after another, until they all laid unconscious on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she run towards the other end of the alleyway.
Kiba's jaw dropped as he tried to absorb what he had just seen. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Then as he began to take everything in, he smiled. Interesting, very interesting girl, he thought watching as Umi disappeared from his sight.
"Hey Kiba! What're you doing?" Naruto said to him. Kiba jumped.
"Hey, give a guy some warning! I was just . . ." Kiba said, and then smiled, "I was just watching a girl kick ass."
"Really?" Temari asked.
"Yeah. You know, you were right, Temari."
"I was?"
"Yeah, I definitely fall for bad girls," Kiba said, smiling. Hinata, Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari and Gaara looked at each other. What the heck, was their shared thought.
Author's chat: So what do you think? It's a huge improvement and I have changed some things to make it easier for me to write. For instances, Umi is a student already, she's not in Naruto's class and she's a lot more distanced from others. I've made it more to the point as a certain someone complained that I was dragging the story too much. I've taken some characters out as it's a hassle to keep giving everyone a chance to talk.
Hinata didn't have much to say and when she did say something, it didn't sound much like the Hinata everyone knows. The reason behind this is that I think that after she begins dating Naruto, she becomes more confident and can say things she didn't dare before.
Naruto said that a lot and I hope that I got his character right.
Shikamaru and Temari said some things but not a lot also. Again like Hinata, Shikamaru was a little made up as I think that since he's dating Temari, he would be jealous and that's why I made him jealous when Kiba was talking about Temari. By the way, the fight that Temari and Shikamaru were having, was about Temari who thought that Shikamaru might have feelings about other girls. They fought and now their date is ruined. If you put that fact together with what Kiba was saying about Temari going after him, you realise that Shikamaru was having the same thoughts like Temari: that she likes other guys.
Gaara didn't say at all much. I just needed to bring him in as I had to get as much info into this chapter. So as I think I said at the beginning, Umi has feelings for Gaara. I needed to get that out.
Kiba is a bad boy as you remember and he had the most talking out of them all. Him going after Umi is going to put some interest into the upcoming chapters I hope.
And it would seem that I forgot someone! Kiyomi! I'm so sorry! I meant to but this story is constantly changing in my head. Next chappie, I promise!
Oh and please review! It helps me (and kills me)! And the next chapter might take long as school just loves the idea of piling more and more homework on me! College can really be a pain. Remember every review helps! Please? Don't just read and leave. Review too! ^^
