This is my first story that I have been able to start and post so I hope it is good. Please do not judge my too harshly, but let me know what you think of it if you will. I will have the stories out as fast as I can! Thank you ^.^
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the character. I do however own Ami and her family.
The little girl's seemingly lifeless body lay on the single mattress in the small filthy abandoned apartment, her little baby finger wrapped carelessly around a small and dirty Blondie doll that looked to be at least three years old and broken by the years, almost like the young child herself. The girls copper-brown colored hair lay around her face in a tangled mess, and her small chest rose and fell with each sleeping breath, keeping her alive, and tied to this world, if only barley.
She had fallen asleep to the soft sound of the small ticking clock in the corner, the one that had kept her in this room with the desperate hope of her mothers return. The time was frozen at this exact moment, ten fifty five. This was the time that the little girl's life would change forever. A time of fear.
Almost a soon as the clock had stopped ticking the young child stirred, seeming to be drawn awake by the still silence. Her young face left the comfort of the warm ragged pillow and she looked around sleepily with her calm blue eyes at the dark and gloomy room. At the door that had been nailed shut long ago by her mother...at the door that lead into the bathroom. She stood and with tired eyes and a small yawn made her way to the bathroom door, her little feet barley carrying her far enough to make it. She fell to the linoleum floor hard, her head hitting the door on the way down, causing her to let out a small squeak of pain as she did so and curl into a ball as her hungry stomach grumbled in return, causing even more pain.
Fear took over as she wondered if she was going to die, a fear that seemed more permanent with each breath that left her body, she wanted to go home, she wanted her Mommy. She shook as she tried to sit up, her body convulsing as she did so, causing her to fall back over on the ground in the end. She was so hungry...so tired...maybe if she just closed her eyes.
Something made a popping sound and there was a shuffling in the other room that in the back of her mind the child realized was not good. But she was so far gone at that point that she didn't notice anymore...that she didn't care. She would be safe soon, as soon as she floated away. The pain that had once pierced her small frame faded slowly and she realized that she was dying...but she wasn't scared anymore. It felt peaceful, it was ok...she knew she would be ok. The fear had receded to the back of her mind, to be had by someone else.
Ami sat up quickly to the blaring sound of her alarm clock, her heart beat swift and rushed with adrenaline. She hated that dream, she hated it! As usual she touched her stomach fearfully, checking that it didn't hurt her at all, checking that she was ok. And of course she was, like usual...it was just a dream. She slipped her warm bed covers off of her, letting her feet touch the cool wood floor as she got up to do her normal school routine. The one she would once more have to get used to now that she was going to start her Junior year of high school...in a different state...a different school...where she had no friends. She swallowed, desperately trying to calm herself down as she brushed her hair and stared at her reflection in the mirror, at her blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair, the dream with the little girl coming back to her again...from one trouble to another! Just like that! She was such a worry wort! She sighed and threw her brush onto her baby pink bed covers as she made her way to her closet, one of the only things she had managed to unpack during her and her parents quick move to this house.
She couldn't blame them for it though...she understood that they wanted to have a break from the fast pace in their old city in California, from the traffic and the buzz that was always in the air. They were quite older than most people's parents too...and they wanted her to have a better life...she understood that...well, mostly anyways. It still bugged her like none other that she had to go to this school. Switching from a private school of all girls to a public school...well...it made her nervous. Not that she was trying to be judgmental of the people who go to public schools but she just couldn't stand being around tall intimidating guys and snotty girls who looked down at you...well, she somewhat had that at the other school but...not as bad. It had been a religious school of course...but in some ways I guess that was worse. She sighed as she surveyed the arrangement of clothing in her closet, her eyes narrowing as she looked up and down at the few normal clothes that she had...well, it wasn't really much, she mostly had uniforms...which would suck if they weren't cute...but she couldn't just wear another school's uniform to school all the time! She would be made fun of...and stuff. The skirt was quite short and they hadn't had to worry about guys looking up your skirt there...because there were none.
She let put a breath and looked at the clock, she would be late if she didn't hurry...thank goodness she only lived a block from the high school. She turned back and settled for one of the school's white dressy shirts, putting a black tank top under it and adding dark baggy jeans to the mix to make it look more normal...ish. then she rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and apply a small bit of eyeliner and mascara. When she was ready she hopped down the stairs to eat some toast and say goodbye to her parents, whose room was on the main floor near the kitchen. There was toast sitting on the kitchen table and something that smelt like it was burning in the oven...but no parents. She made a face, worry starting to eat away at her stomach as she ran down the short hall into her parent's bedroom to see what they were up to, but she couldn't find her parents anywhere. She opened the oven and found burnt apple pies...her favorite food. Mom had probably woken up early and made them for her because she knew that she was nervous. She felt a warm rush of love and gratitude in her chest and she tried to shake off the feeling that something was wrong as she grabbed an oven mitt and set the apple pies on-top of the oven, wondering all the while why her mother hadn't taken them out. She sat down slowly, thinking it over in her mind as she bit into one of the pieces of toast that had a large amount of strawberry jam on it.
It wasn't until the phone rang that she was jolted out of thought, shock coursing through her as she grabbed it and looked at the caller-ID. It was her father calling, she answered calmly, feeling confused and a little worried as she looked down at her now-empty plate.
"Hello?" She said softly, hoping that everything was ok. "Oh! Ami, thank goodness, I've been trying to get through to you for an hour! Is everything ok? Are you ok?" He said, his grandfatherly voice coming over the line. "Dad? Whats going on? I'm fine. Where are you and mom?" She answered, briefly wondering through her worry how she hadn't heard the phone ringing before. It was quiet for a moment and she almost wondered if he had accidentally hung up...he wasn't so good with a cell phone yet. "Dad?" she said, her voice sounding nervous even to her, "Sorry honey...I...well. Your Mother had a problem this morning and we had to go to the hospital to get a check-up for her. She's fine though and it's nothing serious, she just fell over and hit her head. They said that we should be able to leave by five later today so we can be home around six this evening."
"Six...what...? Where are you guys?...How did mom fall?"
"Their not really sure...that's why we have to stay here for a while, but it's no big deal, everything is ok, it'll be fine. You should just go to school and we'll be home a little while after you are. It'll be good to do something to take your mind off of this..."
"But...welll..." Ami mumbled. Her dad didn't know about the worries she had about school, and she didn't want to worry him further by telling him...he still thought that school was a place where you made friends instantly, had recess and learned one subject at a time. He had only finished elementary school so she didn't blame him for not knowing, but it would have helped if he already knew her point of view and just let her stay home. She swallowed and continued, not wanting him to get worried about her, "...Ok, sounds good. I'll see you guys later...let Mom know that I love her ok? I'll keep my cell phone with me in case you need to talk to me..."
"Ok Ami, and don't worry so much ok? It'll all work out fine...it may take us some time to get home though because we had to go to the next city over to get to a hospital...but...don't worry too much about us if we are late getting home ok? I love you Ami, have a nice day." He answered, sounding by far much calmer than he had when he first called. "I love you too dad." Ami said, before clicking the button to hang up the phone. She waited a moment, her brain trying to process what had just happened as she fought back any fear that she had still trying to cling to her. Then she looked at the clock...she was late.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ami P.O.V. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I ran as fast as I could to the school, my cell phone in my hand and my bag on my back as I fumbled to slip on my shoes and pull the hood to the black jacket I had gotten for Christmas over my head to fend off the light rain that had started without me noticing. I was already tired...and I had just woken up a little while ago too. I sighed heavily and slowed down when the school came into view. The nearer I got, the more I noticed that their were still people walking around the campus. I stopped completely and looked at the clock on my phone. I was perfectly on time...I even had ten minutes! I smiled to myself, shaking my head as I tried not to laugh. I was so dumb! We hadn't put the right time on the clock in the kitchen yet! I shouldn't have checked my phone before I left...
I sighed and tried to let go of everything as I walked towards the doors, I needed to change back to my old self while I was here...I needed to be that person, I knew that I was boring right now...I didn't really have a personality, I also knew that I could change that. Unlock my "inner freak" as my best friend Marcella used to call it. I almost laughed out loud, pretty much having forgotten where I was even though I was looking for my locker and should have been paying attention. 'Maybe if I started reading manga again...' I thought as I found locked number 1402. I grabbed for the lock just as someone slammed into the locker only inches away from me, causing a girl behind me to shriek as I fell backwards into her, "Watch it freak!" she yelled at me, annoyed as she pulled her shirt strait as if I had ruffled it and blink her baby blues in a pompous way. Cheerleader...she must be, she had the blonde hair for it too.
The boy that had slammed into the locker right next to mine stood up, glowering at the other taller guy that had pushed him into the locker. His dark eyes and pitch black hair making his pale face stand out in the light. "You think that your stronger than me Itachi! HUH!" He growled, making towards the other guy who also had similarly striking features but longer hair. Itachi, as I guessed his name was since the boy seemed to be addressing him, looked down at the younger boy with a blank and alarmingly calm face that sent shivers up and down my spine...this was definitely the worst situation for me to be in at this moment...seeing as what the blonde brat I had bumped into did next drew all of the attention, even the attention of those two boys, to me.
The slap stung...a little, but that wasn't why I hit her back.
She smiled smugly at me at first, as the whole hall seemed to turn and look in our direction, and my heart suddenly felt like it was on fire...a very cold fire. I didn't like being hit, it made me mad. "Didn't your mother ever teach you how to apologize?" she asked snottily, smirking. I knew she was just trying to make a fool out of me, but I didn't take that kind of crap from people. She probably never had people who fought back. That was probably why she looked so shocked when I decked her in the face and she fell to the ground a small ways away from my feet. No one moved, but I knew people were looking at me, that's all the more reason for me to just turn around and walk away though, so I did. Thank goodness I made it to the bathroom without anyone following me or bugging me, and I still had five minutes.
Class was long and boring, I've always hated English...they always seem to be the only teachers who would interrupt me while I was reading. Even though the lesson wasn't anything important because it was just us introducing ourselves to the class, she made it a big deal and was really pissy about it. "Mrs. Kristain please put your book away and join us here, why don't you?" she asked from the other side of the class, addressing me by my last name as she started to walk over. Some of the girls that had been talking to each other and not paying attention at all to the other people who were introducing themselves shut up and looked in my direction. Oh, ok. Pick on the quiet kid why don't you Lady! Was she deaf or something? She didn't even say a word to the girls. I looked at her blankly as she walked over near me, and eventually put my book away when I figured that I had stared at her accusingly long enough. I heard the talky girls giggle quietly to themselves while one of them whispered, "She's a girl?"
"Mrs. Kristain why don't you introduce yourself to the class?" the teacher asked me as she looked down at me, standing nearer than what was comfortable for me, "...and while your at it why don't you take off your hood? wearing your hat or hood on school property is against school policy." I had no idea what she was talking about, I'd never heard that rule...but I did it anyways. I wondered why it was so quiet when I took my hood off and introduced myself to the class, even the loud girls were quiet for the rest of the class, but it didn't take too long for me to find out, lunch was near and I guess everyone was a-buzz...about the gorgeous new girl.
I didn't think I was pretty, especially with the small red mark that was still visible on the side of my cheek from where the girl had slapped me. But I guess other people did...that's kinda weird. Maybe I didn't notice because I had never been anywhere but the private school...and home. I'd gone shopping before but as you can tell by now, my apparel did not resemble that of a girls. I sat by myself in the corner of the school lunch room, my mind racing from the conversations I had heard on the way here. Who were they talking about? had been my first question, but then I heard something about someone called Deidara slapping the "Pretty Girl" and then I had seen "Deidara" and recognized her as the girl who had slapped me, then I put the pieces together and understood. It felt...weird...people kept talking about me but no one came to sit next to me. Maybe they didn't recognize me because of the hood.
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"You SLAPED a GIRL!" Pein yelled in my face, fuming with anger. I shrank a little in my seat as I looked up at him, trying to keep my eyes on my food, "Well...I didn't know she was a girl...and she-" I started before being interrupted by an even angry-er Pein, "I don't CARE what you didn't know! That is unforgivable! Are you TRYING to draw more attention to us!" he hissed viciously, anger turning his neck a slight red color. 'I think your doing that all by yourself...' I thought as he looked around at the people who dared to glance in their direction at the noise of Pein's voice. "Hey! Pay attention to me! You march over there RIGHT THIS SECOND and apologize to her! Now!" Pein said, finishing and turned away to go get food with a disgusted look on his face.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, picking up my food to bring with me as I located where the girl was sitting and tried to form the apology in my head. I hadn't really had to apologize for anything except for to Pein-Sama for about five years or so...and thats quite a long time if you think about it, plus between then and now I had killed a lot of people. Not so much in the last four months that we had been here but you get the basic idea. I hadn't apologized to any of them, or their families...I didn't even know it was possible for me to feel guilt anymore, but I did. Maybe I hoped that through this I could get rid of the last years, somehow redeem myself in a way. I plopped down next to the girl and opened my mouth to apologize, but what came out instead was something entirely different, "So I hear your a girl huh?" I said, my mouth forming a smirk involuntarily as I said it. Crap. I sucked at this.
I could feel her glare even before I could see her eyes, and when I could see her eyes I couldn't really breath. No breathing equals no talking...you can see how I really got nowhere with this. "Do you need something?" she asked, her voice almost a melody even though she was mad. I couldn't bring myself to say a word, even though it was just a girl. 'Just a girl! Come on, speak up!' I urged myself, too well aware of the blush on the face, the feeling of fire spreading down my neck. Well...in the Akatsuki you didn't really have the time or the means to talk to girls, so maybe my reaction was normal for my situation. She was looking at me weird now, like most people did... but that was probably because I hadn't answered yet. I swallowed and made my eyes stick to her face no matter what, forcing myself to keep my thoughts in the back of my mind to try and keep a clear head. They hadn't lied when they said that she was georgious...dang it, now I couldn't stop focusing on the small red mark on her cheek that I had made when I hit her, thinking she was some guy that needed to know his place.
"Sorry about your face." I said in a rush, the sudden sound of my own voice shocking me to silence by the sqeaky nervious tone of it. I sat quietly for a moment before I stood up and walked away, almost forgetting my food in my rush to get away from this girl that made me feel weird things that I had never felt before.
When I was out of the lunch room I leaned against the wall, my head making a soft thud against it as I tried to calm myself down. I needed somewhere to cool down, I could still feel the heat on my face and my heart was beating ten miles per hour, so I decided to head for the men's room where I knew virtually nobody would be at this time. It was empty, so I set my bag lunch on the side of the garbage can and tied my long hair back so that I could splash cool water on my face. She kept invading my head...the way her lips had looked when she talked, the color of her eyes and how her eye lashes looked brushing up against her cheeks. The mark...that I had made...
I don't know how or why but this was the worst guilt that I had felt in years.