SMK 2: HERE WE GO AGAIN
CHAPTER 1
TIME GONE BY
"Dammit, Dei! Give a girl a warning," Kim yelled at the blonde as she dove behind an upturned car for cover just in time to avoid being impaled by shattered glass; a byproduct of the man's beloved explosives. Well… mostly avoid.
The dark haired Honorary Uchiha grit her teeth in pain while pulling out the large jagged piece of glass out of her upper arm. Her right hand glowed a pale green as she concentrated her chakra into healing her wounded arm. All the while her blazing red eyes glared in the direction she knew the blonde bomber to be in.
"You would think," Deidara's voice crackled through the communication device in her ear, "that after four years, that Uchiha hatred in your blood would've died out by now." The link went silent for a moment before she saw a van in the distance explode, taking out eight more men. "Oh yeah! What happened to using codenames out in the field?"
"Huh, guess I forgot," Kim laughed, whipping out several shuriken and taking aim at just as many men. "Call me Batman!"
"I wanted to be Batman," a second male voice shouted into the link.
"Screw you man! I'm Batman," Deidara retorted.
"As the brains of the operation, that would make me Batman," Kim reasoned.
"She has a point," Jade chimed in. "If we're choosing codenames then I want Black Widow."
"No," three voices stated at once.
"What! Why?"
"She's an Avenger," Deidara informed. "The Avengers are Marvel. We're talking DC's Justice League."
"Okay then fine! I'll be… I guess I'll be Black Canary."
"I love those fishnets and boots. Very sexy," the blonde informed.
Kim looked down at her outfit. A ¾ sleeve black fishnet shirt under a short burgundy sleeveless kimono, short black spandex shorts, and a pair of black boots that went just over the knees. She shuddered. "Perv!"
"Why am I a…" he cut himself off, as he took a moment to think it over. His face grew pale. "No! I don't think you're sexy… Wait! I mean… it looks go on Black Canary. Not that it doesn't look good on you. You're totally hot. I can appreciate beauty when I see it, but I'm not attracted to you. I love Jade!" he finished lamely.
Kim burst out laughing at the poor blonde's expense.
"I love you, too, babe," Jade giggled.
"Batman, Cyborg," the second male of the group tuned in, "Can we get back to the mission? My wife's not gonna bust herself out on her own."
"Green Lantern's right! She should have been able to download all the files we need and plant the virus, by now," Kim pondered aloud. "All right guys, stick to the plan, improvise when needed. Move out!"
"Wait! Why do I have to be Cyborg?"
"At least let me be Superman!"
Three years ago
Three teenagers lay defeated on the floor of the living room in the small two bedroom apartment they shared. Bruises, scrapes, and cuts littered their exhausted, out of breath bodies.
The blonde, and only male of the group, rolled onto his stomach and then pushed himself up onto his feet. He griped the armrest of the couch to keep himself upright when he left leg momentarily gave out. Straightening up, he tested his left leg out before making his way in the direction of the bathroom using the back of the sofa for support until he made it to the alcove of a hallway. Pushing the door open, he fell heavily onto the vanity.
He stared blearily at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't recognize himself. His long blonde hair was a matted, tangled mess. His once gleaming blue eyes seemed dull. Half of his right eyebrow was burnt off. His skin was blackened by gun powder and stained with blood.
Banging his fist on the counter, he screamed, "Fuck!"
"Well, don't you look awful," a quiet voice muttered behind him.
He gave a humorless laugh. He glanced up at the mirror, taking in the sight of his teammate. "You don't look much better off."
"I bet," Kim responded, pushing Deidara out of the way and taking a seat on the counter. She reached over the sink and plucked one of the three toothbrushes off the counter. She filled the small cup with water and took a sip.
Deidara's eyes widened when he saw her spit out red water. Normally he would have made a joke about her having gingivitis, but worry consumed him. His concern must have shown on his because her next words set him at ease.
"I'm not bleeding internally if that's what you're thinking," Kim said through a mouthful of pink foam. "I didn't get hit either." She spat out the toothpaste, and rinsed out her mouth. She flashed the Blonde Bomber a Cheshire cat smile. "I made sure that bastard would remember me."
The blonde laughed. A real laugh. Leave it Kim to do something so weird. It felt good. To laugh, that is. But just as quick as the feeling came, it went. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be bi-polar. Happy on minute, sad the next. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now wasn't the time be worrying about that.
"How is she, and don't bother to sugar-coat."
"I don't know. Nothing I do seems to work," she stressed. "But I don't even know how." Her dark eyes grew glassy. "How? How the hell did they learn to manipulate chakra? As far as I know, we're the only ones who can."
"What if," Deidara started, staring at the girl with a leveled look. "What if we weren't the only once to come to this dimension. I mean if we came here by accident, who's to say someone else didn't."
Kim stared at him blankly, trying to process the newest possibility. She sighed. "So it's possible they have a ninja on their side."
"It might just be a coincidence. They could have figured out the secret on their own."
"I highly doubt that," she muttered. Her head tilted to the side, and Deidara followed her line of sight straight to his left arm. "You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
"I didn't learn medical Ninjutsu just so you can go around saying its nothing," Kim said glaring at the blonde.
Rolling his eyes, Deidara complied with her demands. He took a seat on the toilet, and offered his injured arm which Kim took. He let out a low hiss, as his dark haired teammate dabbed at the cut and the surrounding area with disinfectant before letting her hand hover over his bicep. He watched in fascination as the woman's hands started to glow a faint green, and the long jagged cut began to disappear.
"You know, I still can't believe you taught yourself medical Ninjutsu of all things."
"Aren't a forms of Ninjutsu based on theory," Kim said with a shrug. "Besides Sakura's notes are pretty detailed, and I was originally planning on becoming a nurse. I aced all my biology and anatomy classes, It was just a matter of waiting till I was eighteen to enroll in the actual nursing program."
"Why eighteen?"
"I wanted to spend time having fun. Then you guys came along…"
Shit, Deidara cursed inwardly. His plan to lighten the mood with small talk backfired. Oh well.
"What do you think is wrong with her," he questioned, interrupting her before she could go on. Might as well get this out of the way, rather than take a trip down memory lane and think about what could have been.
"I thought I already told you I don't know," Kim retorted, dropping the man's newly healed arm. "But it's like a medically induced coma. There's something disrupting the flow of her chakra. It doesn't make any sense."
"What doesn't make any sense is that we're still in the bathroom," Deidara stated blandly which earned him a glare. "I call the first shower!" With that, he was standing and stripping as he turned on the water.
"I'll order Chinese. What do you want," Kim asked as she stepped into her bedroom. She heard the blonde reply with 'the usual.'
Her bedroom was no longer really a bedroom. When the attacks became more brutal, she found herself turning to Sakura's notes more often, and stocking up on first aid supplies. Needless to say, her bedroom became more of a makeshift medical bay, complete with cots, heart monitors and IVs among other useful things.
Her best friend laid in the center of the room on one of the two cots. The beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound that could be heard throughout the room. The older woman's chest rose and fell with every breath she took.
Running her fingers through the other woman's hair Kim promised, "I'll do everything I can."
…
Thirty minutes later found the odd duo sitting around the coffee table in front of the television. Take-out boxes were scattered around the low standing table along with various files and a laptop. Kim's fingers flew across the keys while Deidara sat behind her slurping up lo-mien.
The former terrorist's brain tried to keep up with the information that flashed across the screen, but to no avail. He just didn't have the knack for super-speed reading like a certain dark haired princess. That, and it didn't help that the girl had the Sharingan.
"So princess," Deidara said in between slurps of the thick noodles. "Find anything yet?"
His question was answered with a glare.
"I'll take that as a no." He placed his now-empty take-out box on the table. "Alright. Assuming someone else crossed over to this dimension, how exactly do you expect to find him." He stared at the computer screen for a moment. He quirked and eyebrow. "Why are you looking at weather charts? Want to go to the beach or something?"
"Idiot," Kim muttered under her breath. "The night you guys came here, there was freak thunderstorm in the city. There's these satellites that can accurately track the weather forecast for…" She faltered as she took in the blonde's confused stare. "Anyways there wasn't supposed to be a thunderstorm that night-"
"It could've been a coincidence."
She shot him a look. "But I'm thinking it has something to do with you guys. You all did say the rift was caused by Naruto and Sasuke's Jutsu clashing. Wind and lightning. It could have caused the thunderstorm."
"So what, you're going to visit all the possible sites where these strange occurrences took place?"
Kim reached over her laptop and grabbed a tray of dumplings and a pair of chopsticks. Popping a pot sticker in her mouth she said, "Don't be silly. I need to stay here with Jade. You're the one who's going. Make sure to pack light."
…
"C'mon Kim, give me something," Deidara whined into his cell phone. He stared a random couple walking through the park hand-in-hand with slight envy. Three months had passed since he had started this wild goose chase for a person that might not even be there.
There were so many times he wanted to point out that maybe the way they got here was similar to the way the others left a little more than a year ago. Kakashi's time-space teleportation jutsu was the key. Therefore without it, how could anyone else make the jump? It just didn't make any sense.
The more he thought about it, the more confused he seemed to become. He was beginning to think in circles.
Round and round.
Was it just him or was the world beginning to spin.
"Deidara!" was all he was able to hear before everything went dark.
…
"Who are you?" questioned a feminine voice darkly, dripping with hatred and malice.
Deidara tried to take a deep breath but stopped short when he felt the cold steel of a blade pressed firmly up against his throat. Aw shit!
It was only then that he became aware of the piece of cloth tied over his eyes, slightly obscuring his vision. From what he could make out through his blind folds, the woman was about the same height as Kim, if not slightly taller, but still shorter than Jade.
The blade. Now that he thought of it, it was most obviously a scalpel. He'd recognize the curve of one any day, no thanks to his crazy eyed teammate always throwing the damn things at him or in his general direction.
Taking in a shallow breath, he could taste the staleness in the air as he inhaled the strong scent of disinfectant and bleach. Shifting his eyes upward without moving his head, he could see the glare of the LED lights.
Beneath him he could feel a cool metal surface beneath his fingertips. An operating table?
A Scalpel, the strong smell of disinfectant, the bright blinding lights, and what he could only assume was an operating table. Then there was the chill in the air. Oh, kami-sama! He really hoped he wasn't tied down in the morgue. Was there even the possibility that he was abducted by some crazy scientist? He would prefer that over the human meat locker.
"I'll ask again. Who. Are. You." She enunciated each word by pressing the blade of her scalpel firmly against his throat.
"The real question here is, who are you?" He never thought he would be so happy to hear the voice of an Uchiha, even if she was only an honorary member of the clan.
Annnnd, there it is. Kim threw a couple scalpels in his direction to free him of his restraints. Honestly, couldn't she just use shuriken like a normal person? Scratch that. No normal person would have any business throwing shuriken in the first place. He'll let it slide this time, she did free him after all.
By the time he managed to raise himself up and off the examining table, Kim had the woman subdued and tied up on the ground.
Deidara shifted uncomfortably while his partner eyed him from head to toe before she asked, "When was the last time you slept?" He shot her a sheepish grin in reply causing her to roll her eyes at his carelessness. "You're file said you fainted from exhaustion."
"So you work for Sargent Asshole," the restrained woman deduced. The woman's medium brown hair fell down her back in a tangled mess, and her large brown eyes were narrowed into slits.
Kim and Deidara shared a look.
"Where are you from," Kim asked.
"No of your damn business!"
"Well, I'm originally from Iwa," Deidara piped in.
The woman gaped at the blonde. When she caught sight of Kim's glowing red eyes, she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
"Please tell me you're here to take me back home," she pleaded, eyes quivering and full of hope.
"Unfortunately no," Kim sadly informed. "That's not exactly possible. Not without the right tools." She stared into the woman's eyes. "Judging from the way you reacted to the Sharingan, I take it you're from Konoha."
"Just to be clear you're not working for the Sargent?"
"No, we're not working for Sargent Bastard," Deidara said with a grin. "We're working against him. Ya know, ruin his plans, and take out as many of his men as possible. All for little Ms. Avenger over here," he finished pointing his thumb in his partner's direction.
"Avenger?"
"Don't listen to him, he's an idiot."
"Hey!"
"Noted."
"Double hey!"
"We should get out of here," Kim stated. "Is there somewhere private we could talk?"
"We could go to this little coffee shop. It's just around the corner."
…
"How long have you been here?"
"Almost fifteen years now," the woman answered Kim's question, giving the waitress a polite smile as she was handed her cup of coffee, and told the young girl her order. "I woke up here when I was twelve."
"When you woke up here, there wasn't anything strange? Like a seemingly random thunderstorm?" Deidara decided to ask. Sending a smirk in Kim's direction.
"Uh, yeah," the woman answered. "There was a lightning storm and an earthquake. Oh and this might sound crazy, but… cat."
"So I'm guessing whoever jumps dimensions, gets turned into a cat," Deidara murmured, trying to ignore Kim's smirk as her hypothesis was proven right, and there actually was some connection between the dimension jumpers and the weather patterns. His brain and his pride hurt.
"How did you manage to turn back?"
"I fell in the lake, and poof," she said mimicking an explosion.
"Haha, like when you dropped Kakashi in the bathtub and almost had a heart attack!"
"Wait!" the woman shouted, jumping up onto her feet. "Kakashi's here!" Her entire body began to tremble with excitement.
"He had to go back," Kim said, having to be the bearer of bad news for the second time that day. "There was a war, and-"
"I get it," the woman said dejectedly. "He's a great ninja. Of course he would have to go back." She took a moment to calm her racing heart, she couldn't believe he had been so close. "Shortly after I got here, I was found by this nice elderly couple who took me in. They were so nice, they gave me a home. I went to school like any other girl. When I graduated, I went to nursing school. After that I started working at the hospital. I would secretly heal the more severe and critical cases with my medical Ninjutsu. The doctors got all the credit, or it was considered a miracle. But that doesn't matter. What does matter was those people got to go home to their loved ones.
It wasn't until about a year ago that I met Sargent Q. He just suddenly appeared in my apartment. He told me he knew what I was. I tried to play innocent, but then he said he wanted my help and he had a place for me in his organization. He said he wanted to save the world. I, like an idiot, believed him.
I went with him that night. At first, he had me healing his men. Then he asked me to train them, and teach them the different skills I knew. After that, they must have figured out everything else on their own. Ninjutsu is based on theory. If you can dream it, you can most likely make it a reality.
But then, I found out what his real intentions were. He wants to take over the world, and I helped him get a few steps closer to achieving his goal. I'm such an idiot." The brunette slumped in her seat.
"It's alright," Kim consoled. She placed a comforting hand on the other woman's shoulder. "You couldn't have known. He's good at getting into your head."
"Put simply, he's a damn manipulative bastard," Deidara chimed in, taking a bit of his sandwich.
"I somehow managed to escape three months ago," she continued. "He hasn't come back for me. But I guess he figured I was no match for him and his army."
"I'm guessing that was the same night we raided his hideout," the blonde pondered. "You're a medical ninja, right?" He waited for the woman to nod before he asked what was really on his mind. "Do you think you could help my girlfriend?"
He sat back, eating his sandwich, while the two women discussed Jade's condition. He felt relief wash over his entire being, when the brunette agreed to help and informed them she was familiar with the exact jutsu that caused. He tuned out all the medical mumbo-jumbo, because he got all he needed to know. Jade would be safe, and back in his arms soon enough.
The three finished up their meals and Deidara paid the bill. Kim gave the woman directions to their apartment, and she agreed to meet up with them in a week's time.
"We never got your name. I'm Kim, and he's Deidara."
"I'm Rin Nohara."
Shit, Rin cursed mentally. Her eyes scanned over the documents on the computer screen before her. How do Kim and Deidara understand any of this? It's like a completely different language. What's with all these numbers?
She pulled the USB drive from the chain on her neck, where it was disguised as a pendant. She plugged it into the port, and hit the download button. A box popped up on the screen telling her the percentage of the data that had been transferred over to the small device.
Through her ear piece communicator, she listened silently to her teammates bicker. She was about to turn the link on when she heard the doorknob turn. Thinking quickly, she dimmed the brightness on the computer screen, and leapt out the window, in which she had come in from, and positioned herself on the ledge, just out of view.
A random guard walked in, did a quick sweep of the area, and then left as quickly as he had come. She found it hard to stifle her laughter at her friends' antics. Of course they would be arguing over something so stupid at a time like this. Those fools. Oh, who was she kidding, she was one of them.
As soon as the door shut behind the guard, Rin was back in the room. Checking the screen, there was still 23% left to be downloaded. Just how many files were there?
She caught sight of her reflection in the window. Her long brown hair was braided into a side ponytail. Her brown eyes were shining and full of hope, something she had started to lose a few years ago. She wore an outfit reminiscent of the one she wore in her Genin days. She traded her red knee high socks, for tights. She traded her shirt and shorts for a black romper with ¾ sleeves, although she could do without the slightly revealing neckline, but Jade had insisted and she rather liked the way her husband stared at her. She couldn't forget her white medical apron, which was shorter on length compared to the once she used to wear. Her favorite part of her entire outfit had to be her shoes. A pair of black Tom's; she got to look fashionable and help a child in need.
She was happier than she had ever been since coming to this strange new world.
The screen beeped 100%.
She pulled the USB from the port, and quickly attached it back to the chain around her neck. Without a glance back, she leapt out the window. Gathering chakra to the soles of her feet, she hit the side of the building running. Reaching the ground she stuck close to the side of the building.
As she was about to make a jump across the road, the ground shook with vigor and she was projected forward onto her face. Or at least, she was supposed to land on her face, but a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist stopped her mid fall.
"My hero," she cooed when she caught sight of her husband's grinning face.
"It's what I do," the man replied. "I am Superman."
"So would that make me Lois Lane," she queried with a laugh.
"Babe, I'd catch you any day!"
Two years ago
"Kim! What the hell have you done to the den," Jade yelled as she walked out of the media room. She walked past the kitchen and into the living room. She took in the rearranged furniture, and caught sight of the television. Well that solves that question.
Kim popped her head out of the bathroom. Pulling the toothbrush from her mouth she replied, "Well you guys kept complaining about me sleeping in the living room." She shrugged her shoulders, and continued to brush her teeth.
"Yeah well, that's because you have your own bedroom, with a bed, to sleep in," the redhead explained crossing her arms and tapping her foot like an annoyed mother.
"Whoa, what happened in here," Deidara exclaimed. "We were only gone a week! Kim!"
Kim threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. Her eyes screaming why-ya-always-gotta-blame-me. She then turned her pleading eyes in Rin's direction.
"You gotta admit it's a way better arrangement," Rin explained. "With med bay in the den, Kim gets her room back. Which means she stays out of the living room at night, and we can watch TV whenever we want."
"She makes the sense," Deidara said as he walked into kitchen. He walked over to the fridge, pulled the door open, and peered inside. His eyes scanned over the contents before closing the door, and opening the freezer. He pulled out a pint of ice cream, grabbing a spoon on the way as he made his way to the living room, and plopping himself down on the couch.
"I always make sense," Rin said, snatching the spoon full of ice cream away from the blonde and shoving it into her mouth, eyes widening in delight from the sweet treat.
"Hey!"
"I guess," Jade moaned in defeat. She looked over to the two on the couch. "Seriously! It's the middle of December. In New York City!"
"The best time to eat ice cream," Kim laughed as she snatched the spoon away from Deidara after he had finally managed to get it back from Rin.
"Oh, c'mon!"
"You guys do realize that it's like," she paused for a moment as she pulled her phone out of her pocket making the screen light up before finishing with, "7:14 in the morning."
"The best time to eat ice cream," Rin echoed Kim's previous statement. "Who doesn't like a little something sweet for breakfast?"
"Whatever," Jade muttered with a roll of her eyes. She walked over to the couch, and took the spoon and the tub of ice cream from her boyfriend. "This is frozen yogurt. Well, I guess this is alright. Lots of people eat yogurt for breakfast."
"I give up!" With that the only male of the group stalked off to the kitchen. "Guess I'll eat some cereal."
"Dei are you frowning in your Lucky Charms?" He shot the Honorary Uchiha a glare. Kim raised her hands in mock surrender.
"So are we still on for movie night tonight," Rin asked.
"As always," Jade and Kim sang.
"Great, more sappy romance," Deidara muttered between bites of his breakfast. "We seriously need more men in this establishment."
"Talking shit again Deidara," Rin snapped at the blonde.
"Whaaat," Deidara scoffed. "Me? No, never."
"Uh-huh."
"Shut it, short shit!"
"I'm not short," Kim yelled.
"Yes you are," Jade and Rin intoned.
"Rin you're like an inch taller than me," Kim deadpanned.
"Taller being the operative word," Rin informed.
"Jer-yahhhhh," Kim screamed as the ground began to shake viciously.
The entire room began to shake. Picture frames fell off the wall. The cabinet doors slammed flew open and plates and bowls fell to the floor, shattering upon impact. The bar stools tipped over. The bowl placed in the center of the island bar shook until it clattered to the ground, sending the fruit inside rolling around. The large bay windows in the living room shattered.
Deidara threw his body over Kim to prevent her from getting sliced by the flying glass shards.
"Thanks," Kim whispered, feeling out of breath.
"Everyone okay," Deidara called out to the other two women, who had managed to take refuge under the coffee table.
"Fine," Rin answered, although talking was a bit hard as she was huddled under the coffee table and shielding her face from falling objects.
Just out the window, cable wires snapped sending sparks flying. With one particular violent quake of the earth, the telephone pole shook and was sent plummeting towards their loft apartment.
"Not fine," Jade warned. "Get the hell out of dodge!"
"Deidara," Jade called out to her boyfriend when she noticed he wasn't behind her.
The blonde leaned heavily against the side of the couch. A shard of glass had lodged itself into his calf. Blood stained his sweatpants and dripped onto the hardwood.
The giant wooden pole crashed into the building, but was stopped by a pair of glowing green ethereal hands.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Kim's partial Susanoo. Although Kim's eyes were wide for a wholly different reason. She couldn't believe it. No once hade she ever tried to delve deeper into the Sharingan's abilities. But it just felt natural, almost instinctual.
"Well, I hope we can still get out safety deposit back, and use it for a new apartment," Deidara joked. "And after we had settled the whole med bay situation too."
…
"I'll have an omelet with chives, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and cheese, with a side of toast," Kim told the waitress at the small diner across the street from what was left of their apartment complex.
"Ooh, I'll have the same," Deidara said from across the table of the booth they shared, where he sat beside Jade, and directly across from Rin. "But I'll have ham instead of mushrooms."
"You guys," Jade laughed. They fought constantly, but she supposed that was only because they had too much in common. Because as they say opposites attract, and identical repel. Well not really, but it has the same meaning. Maybe something like two bulls butting heads? Whatever. "I'll have whatever she's having," she said pointing at Rin.
"Um," Rin hummed as she mulled over what she wanted for breakfast. "I'll have… the blueberry short stack."
"Alright, your orders will be right out," the waitress inform before walking behind the counter and handing the order over to the cook.
Rin, Jade, and Deidara turned to stare at Kim. Said girl sipped on her orange juice as she smiled like a loon, swinging her feet that didn't quite touch the ground. They all knew what she was thinking. An earthquake and a thunderstorm at the same time. Earthquakes on the eastern coast were beyond rare. Then add in the sudden thunderstorm. It all could mean they were about to meet a new friend or foe. Hopefully friend.
"I wonder what idiot got sucked across the dimensional planes," Deidara mused aloud.
"Look at you using big words," Kim mocked. "I'm so proud. Kids, they grow so fast."
Deidara replied by flinging a piece of ice at the girl. He was then promptly smacked upside the head by his girlfriend for taking said piece of ice from her iced coffee.
"Children stop fighting," Rin chided, clicking her tongue.
"Yes grandma," the three retorted.
"Little shits," she grouched. Her voice took on that of a cranky old woman. "Back in my day children knew a little something call respect."
They couldn't hold it in any longer, and bust into fits of laughter.
"Alright let's get down to business," Kim announced when she finally managed to stifle her laughter.
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Shut your trap Dei!"
"Which one," the man questioned. He pulled off his black fingerless gloves, and held his hands up in front of Kim's face, three tongues blowing raspberries.
Jade smacked her boyfriend, and Rin prevented her fellow medic-nin from vaulting over the table.
It's going to be a long day.
…
"I just got a call from our landlord," Jade announced as she threw her phone onto the coffee table. "He said we can get out deposit back or we can wait a month for repairs, and get two months' rent free."
"I'll go seal away med bay, again," Kim grumbled as she trudged on over to the den. "It's not like I didn't spend an entire week setting everything up."
"I'll go take down all the… security measures," Deidara mumbled stalking off towards his and Jade's bedroom.
"Those two," Jade screamed in frustration. "Rin, I swear, we are the only normal ones…" She paused midsentence. "Rin what's in the jar?"
Rin held the jar up to the light, exposing the contents held within. "It's a pig's eye." She placed the jar on the scroll and sealed it within. Picking up another jar, she repeated the process.
"I take it back," Jade muttered, "they're all freaks." She heard a crash. "Deidara you better not have dropped my face creams!"
"The freakishly expensive one made with donkey testicles?"
"And she calls us freaks," Kim laughed. "Donkey testicles."
She stopped laughing. What was that? Her Sharingan activated instinctually. Her eyes searched for the powerful surge of chakra. She looked over at Rin who was still busy sealing away her belongings, then to Jade and Deidara who continued to argue. Did they not feel the sudden pulse of chakra? It would appear that, no they hadn't.
Taking one last look at her friends, Kim slowly walked out the door and down the hallway. With the elevator out of service, she had to take the stairs. Glancing down the stairwell, she made sure no one was around. She vaulted over the banister, and plummeted down to the first floor.
She quickly exited the building, and walked along the sidewalk. She threw on a pair of reflective sunglasses. No sense in scaring people with her crazy red vampire eyes, as Deidara once put it after watching some vampire movie.
Getting her mind back on task, she searched for a new chakra signature in the area. There! Towards the outskirts of the city was a large amount of residual chakra. Running up the side of the building, she jumped onto the rooftop and began heading towards the harbor. Time to pay a visit to Lady Liberty.
Well, I guess visiting Lady Liberty, will have to be put off to another day, Kim thought gloomily when she caught sight of the chakra signature she was searching for at the top of the Empire State building. Too bad, she was looking forward to taking a ride of the ferry.
Jumping off a building and into a random alley, she rejoined the heavy foot traffic. Maneuvering her way through the heavy crowds of street walkers was trying. People kept bumping into her, and one person even spilled coffee on her shoes. Thank you, Jade, for water resistant boot polish.
Bringing up two fingers in the tiger seal, she transformed into a small black cat. She would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the way the people of New York and tourists alike steered clear of her. Oh, how superstitious they all were.
Kim undid the transformation once she reached the base the tallest building in the city. Just looking at the top of the building made her legs shake. The thought of actually going up to the top made her stomach churn. A sigh. What other choice did she have? She took a deep breath.
Looking over her shoulder, she eyed the buildings. Walking away from the iconic building she walked the streets until coming to a stop at a random hotel. Entering the building she took the elevator to the rooftop.
No one was out as the rooftop restaurant was closed for the season. She dusted the snow off one of the metal benches before taking a seat. From where she sat she had a good view of the Empire State building.
She took a deep breath. Flaring her chakra, she created a signal.
The empty restaurant on the rooftop of the hotel, was the perfect place to call out to this new arrival. It was terribly frigid outside, but it was better than being surrounded by hordes of tourists. If this new arrival turned out to be a foe rather than a friend, it was better that there were no one around to get hurt.
Thump.
Opening her eyes, Kim came face to face with the newest arrival to their dimension. Although, she wasn't expecting a half-naked homeless person.
"I am not a homeless person," the man practically growled.
"Heh-heh, I said that out loud, didn't I?" The man's only response was to scowl at her. "First question, what are your goals in life."
The man gave her a questioning stare. "I was supposed to be dead, but then I ended up here. How am I even alive?"
"Eh, dunno." Kim shrugged, earning an are-you-kidding-me look from the man. He was pretty tall. Well practically everyone was tall compared to her. His hair was dark much like his eyes. Like all ninja he was physically fit. She had to admit, he was quite handsome.
"Who the hell are you, anyways?"
"I am Kimberly, but I prefer Kim; Honorary Uchiha." At that the man blanched. "Who are you?"
"Obito Uchiha." It was Kim's turn to be shocked into silence.
"So… Obito," she said throwing an arm over the man's shoulder. "Let's get you some clothes. Ya'know make you look less like a hobo, and more of an upstanding citizen. Then we can have a long talk as we make our way to visit Lady Liberty."
"Uh, okay."
"Second question, shouldn't you have some hideous scars on your face?"
"Home sweet home," exclaimed Jade. She strut through the front door to the living room where she vaulted over the back of the couch, and face planted on the cushions. A loud groan escaped her lips as her body settled deeper into the sofa.
Kim ran through the door straight to her bedroom. Racing through the small space, she picked up a pair of pajama shorts, a random t-shirt, and underwear. She then hightailed it to the bathroom, shoving a bickering Deidara and Obito out of her way, and slamming the door shut behind her.
Banging and shouting ensured.
Kim let out a mad cackle in response, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.
The two men stopped their loud protest of being beaten to the bathroom when they heard the sound of running water on the other side of the door. Grumbling, they made their way to the living room.
"Move your legs woman," Deidara grouched, lifting his girlfriend's boot clad legs up, and plopping down on the couch with a tired groan. "Someone order food, I'm starving."
Obito was about to tell the man to order food himself if he was so damn hungry, but that was before Rin shared her sentiments. "I could go for some Italian."
"Ooh! If we're getting Italian, Tony's is the best," informed Kim, stepping out of the steaming bathroom.
"Let me guess," Obito said sarcastically, "You went there on a date?"
"Bingo," said Kim, giving the man a saucy smile and a wink.
Jade and Deidara exchanged looks.
It was always like that between Kim and Obito. It was only because, after all the time the man spent training her in the ways of the Sharingan, Obito had come to see the little spitfire as something like a sister. So when his precious little sister went out pretty much every weekend with some new guy every time, well… he was anything but pleased. It wouldn't have been so bad, but somewhere down the line, Kim had started to target men who had obvious ties with the Sargent, trying to drag out as much information as possible before the night's end. Obito never made it a point to conceal his distaste.
"I could go for some lasagna," Jade stated in an attempt to break the tension that Kim seemed to be oblivious to, although she knew that was not the case. After that comment, everyone proceeded to give their orders, and Obito and Rin were sent out for pickup duty.
Rin stared worriedly at Obito's back as he stalked ahead of her down the sidewalk. His shoulders were tense, his fists were clenched tightly, and she could practically hear his teeth grinding in aggravation. From the way a drunkard ran away screaming, she was sure he was sporting a fierce glare. He probably had unconsciously activated his Sharingan as well.
She was practically jogging, trying to keep pace with her husband.
He slowed his pace. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Rin replied.
"I just… get scared," Obito admitted, although it came out more as a question than an admission. He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know. After all the shit I put Itachi and Sasuke through, I want to protect her."
"She's twenty years old. She's the kind of person who takes care of everyone," Rin tried to reason.
"Yeah, well who's going to take care of her," Obito shot back. "She can't spend the rest of her life alone. I have you, Jade and Deidara have each other, but who does she have?"
Rin stayed silent. She didn't know how to respond to that. Or even counter it. Kim was a single girl living with two couples. She must get lonely. Or does she? It was really hard to tell with that girl. She never complained about being lonely. She went on plenty of dates, but so did a lot of women her age. Maybe she was just searching for the one, and hadn't found him yet.
"Yeah well, she sure is taking her damn time," Obito muttered, holding the door to Tony's open for the woman at his side.
Rin stared at him in shock. Had she really said that out loud? Oh, well.
"Maybe she's being thorough," Rin supplied.
Obito scoffed. "I feel sorry for the poor bastard who ends up with her."
The glow of the laptop screen was the only light within the smallest bedroom of the three bedroom apartment. Sharp, swift clicks broke through the silence of the room as Kim's fingers flittered across the keyboard. Colors and images reflected in the woman's large brown eyes with every file opened and closed.
At long last, at six-something in the morning, Kim had successfully decrypted the borrowed files from the flash drive. Normally she would have had Deidara's assistance, but when she tried and failed to fall asleep, she gave up on sleeping altogether, and decided to take a crack at trying to figure out just what exactly Sargent Quinn had in store for them.
She lifted her hands above her head, arching her back. The sound of her back and arms popping made her wince. Placing her laptop on her nightstand, Kim rolled around her queen sized bed in an attempt to rid herself of the tingling sensation in her legs.
Staring off into the darkness, her mind began to whirl with possibilities and plans. What she had read in those files left her feeling disoriented and heartbroken. She felt hatred on a scale she never knew existed. Not once in her life had she ever felt such hatred for a single person.
After reading through most of the files, one thing she knew for certain, she needed to speak with Obito. In private.
But first she had to inform the others of what she found.
Just as the sunlight began to illuminate her room, Kim hopped out of bed and set off to round up the others for an emergency team meeting.
"W-what," was the only thing that came out of everyone's mouths after hearing what Kim had found in the files. Under different circumstances, Kim would have doubled over laughing at their goldfish-like expressions – eyes wide, mouths gaping – but her features remained stoic.
"It'll be like the Uchiha massacre, but only on a larger scale," muttered Deidara, tugging at the ends of his cropped hair.
"There were only about 200 Uchiha," informed Obito. "We're talking a third of the world's population. Gone." He snapped his fingers. "Just like that. If we're going to compare this madness to something, it's more like Nagato's old plan."
"What exactly does he expect to gain from that," Jade roared, jumping to her feet in outrage, her wild red hair making her look like an angry lion. She began pacing behind the sofa.
"World domination, world peace, un," Deidara drawled sarcastically, his verbal tic momentarily making a reappearance.
"Exactly," Kim stated darkly, Mangekyou Sharingan whirling.
"Are you fucking serious," Deidara yelled incredulously. "How exactly is his plan supposed to work, un?"
They all turned to look at Kim.
"First of all, we know Quinn is a tactical genius. After he conned that little only lady into singing her multi-billion dollar company over to him, he has vast resources and great power." She paused for a moment, staring out the window, trying to formulate her thoughts. "To put it simply, he believes the world has gone to shit, and needs his guiding hand to makes the right. By wiping out a third of the population, he will spread planet wide panic. When the world is in chaos, he will then step up as its new leader, and bring back order. People will follow him. The only thing we don't know, is how he plans to do it."
"Why the hell can't anyone ever achieve peace through, oh I don't know, peaceful means," Rin asked rhetorically.
"Because they're all extremists," Jade muttered.
"Like those activist people," Obito said with a shudder. He still remembered a time, not to long ago, when… never mind. He didn't even want to go there. It was a dark day. He looked over at Kim, who was now sitting crossed-legged on the coffee table. "So what's the plan, O'Fearless Leader-sama?"
"In one of the files, there was something about shipments being sent to the Arctic Circle." Kim bit her lip in thought. "I think I'd be worth a shot to check it out."
"Oh yay, penguins," Deidara joked.