Why are you here?

by winterblizzard1234

What happens when all your favourite Naruto characters appear in a place you never expected them to be? How do you react when they all start trying to fit into society until they can return home again? How do you even get them home again? WHY ARE THEY HERE, HOW DID THEY GET HERE, AND HOW DO YOU GET THEM HOME AGAIN?

"Mornin' Alex! Get up, it's time for school!"
This is the rude awakening I get everyday when my mom bursts into my room and wakes me up five minutes before my alarm goes off. I groan and roll over, grabbing the nearest thing, which just happens to be a pillow, and cover my head with it.
School. Again.
"Come on, it's school time. Get up!" My mom yells into my ear, yanking my curtains open so the bright light floods my room and almost blinds my eyes, even behind my closed eyelids. I hear my mom walk out the room.
I try to open my eyes, but they appear to be sealed shut. Probably because I stayed up all night watching Naruto. Finally, I open my eyes.
I roll around in my bed until my legs fall off the bed and onto the floor. I force myself up onto my elbows, and then I force myself to my feet. I trudge over to my wardrobe and grab the first thing that resembles my school uniform; a red shirt with grey vertical stripes, and a black skirt. I then grab my underwear from a drawer and walk sleepily to the bathroom.
I drop my clothes onto the floor of the bathroom before turning around and locking the door behind me.
"Get out of bed!"
"I am! Geez, I'm in the bathroom," I call back, frustrated.
"Okay, have a quick shower," my mom says, but her voice is still no cheerier than before.
"Already on it."
I strip down and turn the shower on. If there is one thing I cannot stand about our shower, it's the unreliable temperature. One moment you're enjoying steaming water pounding your head and shoulders, then the next, you're shrieking and leaping out the way of the ice cold jets of water.
I stick my hand out to check the temperature. It's good enough for now. I step in and shower until I feel the grime and sweat leave my smooth, pale skin. I run my fingers through my blond hair and quickly reach out to grab a towel when I get shampoo in my blue eyes.
"Ten minutes!"
"'Kay!"
I twist the shower knob. It isn't until then do I realise the shower kept a constant temperature the whole way through. I whisper my thanks and I quickly change. But before I put on my shirt, I grab the black pen that I see randomly sitting on the tabletop. I pull the lid off with my teeth and quickly scribble something on my shoulder. I then pull my shirt on and brush my hair and teeth.
After rushing into my room and grabbing my socks, I rush downstairs.
"No time for breakfast," I say to my mom, who is sitting behind her laptop on the sofa. I roll my eyes and grab my own laptop from the table, where is has been charging since I snuck downstairs at God knows what hour of the night to put it on charge. I bring my laptop over and shove it in my schoolbag, along with my snack and lunch money.
I am also very careful not to leave my sketchbook and sketching sets behind. Yes, I said sketching SETS.
I carefully place my sets in my bag, leaving my sketchbook out so I can carry it by hand. It makes me feel safe, carrying it by hand. I think about all the precious drawing I have in there. Drawings mostly of characters from Naruto.
Then I think about him, and my heart flutters.
No, don't. Fantasising about an anime character is the lamest thing you can do. But, to be fair, Laura fangirls over anime too.
I shake my head and put my socks on. I stand up from my seated position on the floor, and then I sling my bag over my shoulder.
"Right, I'm off," I say to my mom, who doesn't even look up from her laptop to say Goodbye.
I leave the apartment and put my shoes on. School awaits.

"Hey, Lor!" I call to my friend.
Laura looks up from her shoes and smiles. I walk across the road to greet her the other side.
"Alex, did you sleep at all? You look like you've been punched..."
"I feel like it. Anyway, no I didn't. I was up watching Naruto all night again. Aaaaaaargh, those cliffhangers. So, what about you?" I ask absent-mindedly.
Laura shakes her head, and her shoulder-length black hair falls from behind her ear. She tucks it behind her ear again. "Nah, my grandpa's here so I didn't have any time."
I laugh quietly and mess up her hair. She screams quietly and swats my hands away from her hair. This only makes me laugh harder.
Laura is very tall for our age. She is half English, half Indonesian, and is almost six-foot tall. I, however, have not grown much since I was thirteen, so I barely clear five-foot seven.
And then there's my other friends, who don't really look like they've grown since the age of eight.
"Laura, Alex! Hiya!"
The Shreya has arrived.
"Hey Shreya! Say, you haven't finished Winter yet, have you?"
Winter is the novel that I am writing, and it has taken about three years to persuade Shreya to read it, and she is taking her jolly time too. I posted it online, but not as many people read it as I'd hoped, so I kinda gave up on that idea.
"Nope."
"Will the answer change anytime soon?"
"Nope."
"Aha. Laura, you wanna see the picture I drew of him last night?"
Laura looked up from her shoes again. I then noticed the earphones in her ears.
"Who's him?"
I roll my eyes. "Who is it always?"
Laura raises her right shoulder then peeks over my shoulder as I open my sketchbook and flick through to the page I wanted to show her.
"Oh, him."
"Oh, wow, no freaking duh, Laura," Shreya laughs. "You have the worst memory ever."
Laura hangs her head in shame. "I know..."
"Shit!" I scream.
The others look at me. I look up from my watch.
"We're going to be late. Quick, and there's no time to wait for Matthew, Shreya, sorry."
Shreya gave me a sour look.
After sprinting to school and splitting up as Shreya and Laura go to their class. Meanwhile, I go to my classroom where, sure enough, Robin sat waiting for me. And, as usual, the seat next to him was empty for me to sit in.
"Mornin'"
Robin looks up at me and smiles suddenly. "Hey! Where've you been?"
"Talking to Laura about anime, and talking to Shreya about my book, and fangirling. Why?"
"Sorry I asked."
I give him a playful punch on the shoulder. Robin laughs, but it is interrupted abruptly.
"What's so funny, Mr Baltom?"
Robin doesn't even blush or flinch at his name, which is what I would have done if our Learning Team advisor, Mrs Carpe, called my name.
"We were just discussing Alex's anime fangirling problems, miss."
Mrs Carpe looks at him sternly. "Okay, but keep it down."
Then class began and I breathed in and out and in and out. School has begun.

Awful day at school. First, I got my mandarin assessment back, and I thought I got a 7/8, but in actuality my teacher got the assessments the wrong way round, and it turns out I got a 3/8. Second, I lost my lunch money so I had to miss out on lunch as well as breakfast. Third, I twisted my ankle attending a P.E lesson, even though I forgot my gear (again) and should've been sitting out.
Oh well, I punched the wall to make up for it all. Never mind my bleeding knuckles.

After sprinting to school and splitting up as Shreya and Laura go to their class. Meanwhile, I go to my classroom where, sure enough, Robin sat waiting for me. And, as usual, the seat next to him was empty for me to sit in.

"Mornin'."

Robin looks up at me and smiles suddenly. "Hey! Where've you been?"

"Talking to Laura about anime, and talking to Shreya about my book, and fangirling, Laura again. Why?"

"Sorry I asked."
I give him a playful punch on the shoulder. Robin laughs, but it is interrupted abruptly.
"What's so funny, Mr Baltom?"
Robin doesn't even blush or flinch at his name, which is what I would have done if our Learning Team advisor, Mrs Carpe, called my name.
"We were just discussing Alex's anime fangirling problems, miss."
Mrs Carpe looks at him sternly. "Okay, but keep it down."
Then class began and I breathed in and out and in and out. School has begun.

Awful day at school. First, I got my mandarin assessment back, and I thought I got a 7/8, but in actuality my teacher got the assessments the wrong way round, and it turns out I got a 3/8. Second, I lost my lunch money so I had to miss out on lunch as well as breakfast. Third, I twisted my ankle attending a P.E lesson, even though I forgot my kit (again) and should've been sitting out.
Oh well, I punched the wall to make up for it all. Never mind my bleeding knuckles.

Emma, Matthew, Leo, Shreya and Christine all crowd around Laura, who is editing yet another Legolas and Sasuke music video.
"Why always those two?" I ask.
"Well, because I love both of them and I just want a bromance video with both of them in it," Laura replies.
Matthew says, "Who wants to come into Wellcome to get some Coke with me?"
"I'll go," Christine says immediately. "I want Coke."
"And me," giggles Leo. Christine and Shreya give him murderous glances.
Shreya says, "I'll come too. I don't want to sit here and watch Laura make a stupid gay couple music video."
"It's not a gay couple, it's BROMANCE!"
I roll my eyes at the stupidity of the internet.
I don't raise my hand to volunteer to go, because I have no money. "I have no money," I mutter into my hand.
I hear a voice from behind me. "I'll get you something."
I whip around at the familiar voice. "Did the teacher let you out of detention early for back-mouthing her, Robin?"
Robin smiles. "Nope. She left the room, so I took it as a hint that I should leave too."
"You mean you left without permission? She's gonna give you hell tomorrow."
"In my mind I'm already pulling out a crucifix."
Everyone laughs at this, and I didn't even realise they were listening. "Hey, let's go to Wellcome everyone," Robin says, a little too cheerfully for me.

"Why'd you decide to walk home?"
"Because the others began to get on my nerves. I just need to be alone with you sometimes because you're never hyperactive or bipolar. Better walk than fight," I say to Robin, who is walking next to me, because he is coming to my house.
"God, I wish my mom used that philosophy. That would save a lot of the yelling."
I laugh. We are inside a tunnel, so my voice echoes around and bounces off the walls. As my voice fades, I can hear another pair of footsteps join Robin's and mine. Being the naturally nosy person I am, I decide to rotate my head slightly to peer at the intruder.

Then my heart drops dead.

You know how when you receive something you never thought you would receive in a million years, you just freeze up and you can't think straight? Times that by ten thousand, and you will know how I felt when I saw the person standing behind us.

The first thing I noticed was his uniform. It was so otherworldly that I couldn't help eyeing it. The second thing I noticed were the odd black marks lining his icy blue-grey eyes. Then the rest of his features lit a spark that started a blazing fire inside my brain. This obviously stops me walking, resulting in a standstill. I can't see Robin's face, but I can tell it's plastered with disbelief.

It's Gaara.

No, it's not him. Surely it's not him. It can't be him. It's impossible. Th-this is a joke, right? Some kind of amazing Cosplay, right?

Yeah, that has to be it. He just happens to have an AMAZING costume. And a magical plastic surgeon, because nobody could naturally look that anime-like.

Maybe I'm hallucinating. Yeah, that has to be it. I'm asleep in Math class or something. Maybe my Coke had something funny in it?

Just to be sure I'm seeing things I go to poke Gaara. I don't even see the sand flying out of his gourd, but it does and it's solid. Even I know you can't have solid hallucinations.

"He's real," I mutter in confirmation. Robin just nods and says, "Uh-huh. I can see that."

"Wait, you see him too?"

"Yeah."

Gaara just stares. "Do I know you?"

I just gape. His voice sounds exactly the same. I don't even know how the fuck this is possible, and I'm not even sure I am happy it's happening to me, all I know is that Gaara is standing in front of me, and I can't think of a word to say.

"I… er… no? No, not… personally," I stammer. Gaara cocks his head slightly, and I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been staring.

"You're from the world's most popular anime show that Alex, here, watches a lot. Too much. All the fuckin' time. Seriously, it's kinda scary how much she watches it."

I slap at his arm impatiently, and he gets the point to shut up.

"An anime show… about me?" Gaara inquires.

I manage to come up with an answer without sounding too… oh what is it that everybody calls me? Know-it-all-y? "I… uh… no. It's about Naruto."

Gaara's eyes widen slightly, though barely noticeably. "Naruto? Why Naruto?"

"I don't know, don't ask me. Ask Masashi Kishimoto."

"Why?"

"Because he's the guy who fuckin' draws it."

Gaara just grunts in dismissal. Oh, I get why everyone calls me know-it-all-y now.

If only Mikaela were here now. I can actually imagine her running up to him and screaming her head off… oh God. That reminds me; THE FANGIRLS!

"Gaara, no one can see you, okay? Or at least not recognise you."

"Why?"

"Is that the only question you ask? Anyway, if you don't you'll probably die."

"Why?" This time it's Robin.

"Why'd you think, dumbass?" I am really starting to lose my patience with everything today. These two are really walking on eggshells now. Are they white eggshells or brown eggshells? I prefer brown eggshells because they are more natural… not that I eat natural food. My mom just says all the junk food goes to my butt but I never listen anyway. I guess you only live once, so why not eat tomatoes once in a while? Oh, I know the answer to that: because they're FUCKING DISGUSTING! Seriously, I don't know how people can eat them…

"Alex. Hey, Alex?"

I snap out of my daze and blink a few times before fully coming to my senses. "What?"

"I said can Gaara come back to your house so he can… disguise himself, I guess?" Robin asks, and I nod without a second thought.

"Oh, wait, no! My mom, Josie, Charlie… oh God, what if Charlie sees him? He'll recognise him straight away, and then what would happen? Oh God, oh God, oh God…"

"Alex. I am sure your older brother would be thrilled to meet Gaara, and I don't think you or your mom have any guy clothes in Gaara's size, so I'd say we need him," Robin chides. I feel myself relax slightly.

Five minutes later, I have talked my mom into agreeing to a three-man sleepover. I asked if Robin and his 'friend' could come round for the night. I was actually surprised she agreed, considering it's a Monday.

"Should I call Laura? She'd kill me if I kept this from her," I said.

"No. The three of us is enough for tonight. Plus, what would happen to poor old Gaara if the Laura was set loose on him? Sorry, mate, but that sand won't do you any good against a wild Laura."

I can't help but burst into a fit of laughter and tears. Gaara's eyes widen slightly. "What's a Laura?" he asks quietly. My sides just split. I can see he is noticeably irritated at us for laughing at him. Poor old Gaara. I laugh at him even more. "Laugh now, die later," he snaps viciously.

"My friend," I explain, still laughing.

Oh, Miki, I wish you were here. You would be having the time of your life.

When I finally stop laughing, we are on our way to my house. Well, my large apartment. "Okey-dokey. Follow me, good sirs, and I shall show you to your chambers," I say cheerfully in an old English accent. Not that I don't sound like that anyway.

"Is she always like this? Mood-swings and all?" Gaara asks Robin quietly. It's obvious he tried to say it under his breath to avoid me hearing it, but the wind carries his voice over to dance around inside my ears.

"Yeah," Robin whispers back.

"I am here, and I can hear you. So don't go playing this game of 'she's not listening' because I am," I snap. Robin stares at his toes, but Gaara stares straight at me, daring me to say it again. And then we move on again.

"So, Sir Kazekage, I hope your stay is pleasant and that you have no complaints-"

"I already have a complaint. It's too noisy around here," Gaara interrupts.

"Ah, yes, that would be the buses…"

"What are buses?"

"Oh for fuck's sake. Um… buses are like… big automatic wheelbarrows that hold lots of people inside and take you from one place to another," I try to explain. Gaara doesn't seem like he gets it, so I give up.

"Mom! I'm home!" I slam the front door closed behind me, loudly, to announce my arrival. I'd let the boys shuffle in before me.

"Oh. Hey sweetie. Charlie's not in, to answer your question," Mom calls. She is sitting on our white couch in the living room, in the exact same position as this morning. This time, however, where the couch was once welcoming other people, books are strewn across it. Pilates books. Work books. Boring books. "Um, Alex, honey, would you mind cooking dinner for us?"

"Why can't you do it? I do it everyday," I argue.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Her voice is raised, but I don't back down.

"Yeah," I challenge, "I did."

"I'm working! What's this?" She screams and throws a couple of books at me. I manage to deflect one, but the other catches me on the jaw and I am knocked backwards onto the floor. "What's this?" She screams again, throwing more books at me. My body screams in pain and I am reduced to tears.

"You're not working! Daddy's working! He actually has to do stuff and tries to keep this family stable! You don't need to work. He gets enough money; you're just sitting around on your butt all day, saying that you're working, but where is all this money you are mysteriously earning? HUH?" I manage to shriek.

"I've had enough of this!" Her face is red and fuming. I decide to just drop it before I end up with broken bones, like the time when I was six. And nine. And thirteen. I still don't have full mobility in my wrist after my surgery because my mom wasn't bothered to pay for a physiotherapist appointment. "Just cook dinner."

I sigh. "What do you want?"

"Anything. Just cook it!"

I scramble to my feet and the boys mutter apologies (well, Robin does) and shuffle into the kitchen behind me.

"Sorry about that," I say, rubbing my jaw. Robin immediately comes over and checks on me.

"Just a nasty bruise," he confirms after a minute of silence. He kinda handy to have around at home. Gaara just stands back and stares at me weirdly.

I stretch my jaw and set to work. "You guys are helping me too, right?"

The sorta murmured in response, so I took it was a yes and said, "Right, Robin, you start dicing the onions. I'm making Sheppard's pie."

Robin looks around expectantly, and I sighed an irritated sigh. "They're in the cupboard on your left. Gaara, um… could you… er… stand back and keep quiet? Not that you weren't going to do that anyway."

"Don't you need a recipe, Alex?" Robin asks. I look at him, and he gets the point. I don't follow recipes. I improvise, and very well may I add.

"Alex, sweetie, why is your friend dressed like that? Fancy-dress or something?" Mom calls from the couch, again. She must mean Gaara, because I don't see anything wrong with Robin's school uniform. Captain Duh, much?

"He… uh… yeah, fancy-dress. We had a Book Character Parade today, right Robin?" I explain, and I raise an eyebrow at Robin, daring him to defy me. He doesn't and says, "Uh… yeah, sure."

Mom just nods and doesn't even talk to Gaara directly, treating him like he's not there. I get used to it, but Gaara doesn't seem to be. I guess being the Kazekage means you're the centre of attention most of the time, which is why I couldn't handle it even if I tried.

"Righteo, I'm starting the mash. Rob, keep a teaspoon of finely diced onions to the side, and pass me the garlic oil," I say, walking over to a cupboard and pulling out four potatoes, and a potato peeler from another. I walk over to the bin and begin peeling the potatoes as Robin lays the garlic oil beside me on the desk.

I don't really know if Gaara is or has been watching at all, but having him there and eating my food is pressure enough to make me put a hundred times my usual effort into this meal.

Thirty minutes later, in my imagination, I told Robin and Gaara to lay and sit at the dining table. Well, that's not exactly what happened. I told Robin to cook the pie in the oven, and I dragged Gaara upstairs to steal some of my brother's clothes.

"Now, what colour for you?" I eye Gaara up and down, and I say, "I can't see you in yellow or white, or purple, or blue, or orange, or green, so I guess its black or red for you. Good thing my brother's a part time emo, right?"

Gaara just stares at the wardrobe. "I'm not wearing any of that."

"Yes you are," I say, smiling. I pull out my brother's black shirt with the silvery guitar pattern on it, and I stretch it out against Gaara's chest. "Perfect. Now go in the bathroom and put it on," I order, shooing him out of the room. He reluctantly obeys me, clutching the shirt and scooting into the room opposite, the bathroom.

I go back to the wardrobe and sift through some other things he can wear with the shirt. Some skinny jeans and a nice red jacket. That should suffice.

I knock on the bathroom door and call, "Gaara? I have some other stuff for you to put on."

"No. The shirt is enough."

"No it isn't. Put these on," I call again, opening the door slightly and throwing the clothes in. I hear a sudden yelp then a crash and some strange scratchy noise. I barge into the bathroom to see what happened, but I can kinda guess.

The clothes are on the floor, scattered around, and…

"Oh for fuck's sake Gaara."

He tried to put the shirt on over the top of the gourd. And now it's in tatters.

"Take the gourd off," I order. When he doesn't comply, I scream, "NOW!"

He takes the gourd off, just as a voice behind me says, "What the fuck is going on? Is that my shirt?"

Oh shit damn buggaration.

"Hi, Charlie," I whisper. My heart pounds and I turn slowly to face my brother. He stands about a foot taller than me, with a tussled mess of dark brown hair on top of his head and light grey eyes that burrow into me. "It's not what it seems like. This person is-"

"Is that…?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"But Robin…"

"Was with me. When we found him in the tunnel. I tried to get him changed, but he refused to take the gourd off, so he ruined your shirt."

"Yeah, I heard that bit. You yell really loudly, you know that?"

Gaara stares the whole time, at me, then at Charlie, and then asks, "Boyfriend?"

Something rises in my throat, and my mouth refuses to stay shut. At first it starts as a chuckle, but then seeing the stupefied look on Charlie's face turns those little giggles into guffaws.

After a while, my cheeks begin to ache and my sides begin to tear. I am running out of breath, and my brother's look remains perturbed.

"Are you sick?"

"No, but he supports incest!" I holler, doubling over in renewed laughter. Charlie joins in this time, and I see the confusion deepen on Gaara's face. "He's… he's my… brother!" I say between sobs of uncontrollable laughter.

"What's going on, dammit? What did I miss?" Robin asks from the top of the stairs outside the bathroom. "Oh, Charlie, hi."

"Hiya Rob," Charlie says, way too cheerfully for him. Which reminds me.

"Charlie, where are all of your emo friends? Don't you normally bring them round on a Monday?"

"They're downstairs. And they will resent you if you go anywhere near the 'emo' topic," he replies.

"I know," I groan. "As I said, they come around every Monday, REMEMBER?"

"YES."

"GOOD."

"OI, EVERYONE UPSTAIRS, SHUT UP!" Mom yells. I do a quick facepalm and call back, "Sorry Mom!"