Esperwen: And we're back! Ruroni fell off of the side of the earth for a little while, and she's my homie, or something...So I couldn't post without her! But she came back, and now we can put up our fourth portal! I just hope it matches your expectations!
Itachi: And I'm still not a major enough character, so I shall be taking over these notes.
Shino: As am I.
Esperwen: ...um...Shino, you're a really major character.
Michiko: I'm here too!
Esperwen: Uh oh...
Kiba: To put it short, we're taking over your head- and footnotes.
Pooriin: This includes me, my brothers, Deniizu, Korii, and sometimes our sensei!
Esperwen: Oh my...
DISCLAIMER: We do not own...ugh, I'm so tired. Assume we own nothing that you recognize.
Chapter One: Welcome back
The mission had been long. The mission had been difficult. And the mission had required them to travel far. But finally, after a bit over a month, the mission was over. Teams 8, 13, and the Chatora siblings had returned to Konoha at last.
"Hi!" Pooriin greeted, waving to the ninjas at Konoha's main gate.
As the two ninja teams fell out of formation once entering the village, Pooriin grinned when the sentries smiled and waved back. Pooriin had only lived in Konoha for a bit over a month before having to visit her home village, but already the Hidden Leaf was where she felt she belonged. It was not at all like her old home in Thyme; everyone was so kind to her. ...Well, almost everyone.
"You'd be that cheery to a missing-nin," Bikto sighed, shaking his head in slight contempt of his little sister, "Shortly before he decapitated you."
Kiba glared at Bikto when he was sure the 15-year-old wasn't looking, and Goudon characteristically hit his younger brother upside. Still, Michiko, Pooriin and Hinata couldn't help but exchange secretive, ironic smiles.
I do act pretty normally around Itachi, don't I? Pooriin thought to herself, still smiling.
"Goudon, Bikto, knock it off," Shino ordered in a dull tone.
"You don't have to keep acting like a leader, you know," Bikto snapped, but after a steady glare from Shino, the twins obeyed, if a little sulkily.
"Actually, in technicality he does," Inel spoke up, raising a finger for attention, "Mission is no over until the ninjas sign in to Hokage."
How he still has that accent and grammar problem, I'll never know, Pooriin thought, not unkindly.
"Oh, yeah," Korii nodded, now reminded, "Ok, guys, let's go visit the Hokage."
As they turned a corner on the street, Pooriin glanced at Deniizu. The green-eyed girl had been silent during the greater part of the trip back.
Are you still trying to get into Inel-sensei's head? Pooriin thought, when she and Deniizu shared eye-contact.
Of course, Deniizu shrugged, and went back to staring at the back of her teacher's head.
We still don't know...who is the newest portal-user? Pooriin thought to herself.
Michiko and Deniizu had told Team 8 and Pooriin about the newest space-time-dimension traveller the night of the day that they had found out. They couldn't tell their friends in front of the twins or Kurenai, since they had promised each other that they would keep the portals a secret, so the two girls had needed to wait until it was night, when they were at their resting place, and the twins were asleep while the sensei were on guard duty. Pulling their sleeping bags close together, the original portal-users had whispered the news to their friends. Korii and Inel had 'realised' that one of Team 13's original teammates, Firu, was also someone they knew in their home world. All of the portal-users guessed that the moment Korii and Inel remembered, was the same moment that 'Firu' had crossed worlds. But there were two questions that they wanted to ask.
First of all, who was Firu? Korii and Inel had both decided that it was best that they learned who it was when they met in their current world. All of the portal-users had been making wild guesses as to who it might be. It was someone that Ionel and Corey both knew, so it had to be someone from their school. And it had to be a male; Shino would never admit it, but he was very glad that there was no chance that Mika had come between worlds.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, how did Firu get there? Michiko, who was the main 'travel planner' when it came to calculating dates, knew that it was impossible for anyone else to come between worlds. Not enough time in Narutosphere had passed for a full week to have happened in Normalsphere. The greenhouse portal would not have been accessible, so there was no way somebody could have come through. Unless, of course, the greenhouse had a second appearing time within the week, or whoever it was came through a different portal. But this wasn't likely.
But we'll probably find out today, Pooriin thought, when the Hokage's building came into view, When a new portal-user comes, they always end up in front of the Hokage's building. Michelle and Denise had been here to show their passports, I was lost, and Mr. Stoica and Corey had just signed in after their mission. It's been only four days, so Korii's teammate is probably still in the village.
Sweet! We're going to find out who that new guy is, because...oh wait. ...never mind...
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'HE'S NOT IN THE VILLAGE'?" Michiko exclaimed, then yelped when Deniizu stepped on her toe.
You're talking to the Hokage, Deniizu said into Michiko's head, and Pooriin shared a sympathetic look with the girls' brown dog, Athos.
Michiko took a deep breath, and looked down at the floor as she apologized, but the Hokage merely shrugged.
"It's all right," Sarutobi smiled knowingly, "I believe I'm used to young ones yelling for attention, though I would expect it from Naruto or my grandson, not you, Michiko."
Michiko looked like she was about to apologize again, but Sandaime Hokage waved the matter off.
"That behind us, thank you for signing in promptly this time, Inel," the Hokage said, still smoking his pipe.
He doesn't usually sign in on time? Pooriin thought, confused.
After listening to Inel-sensei's reputation from Father, Shino thought, I, myself, was surprised when we came straight here.
"My new student had both been wanting to meet Firu for long, long time," Inel explained.
"I see," the Hokage nodded, "However, what I said is true; as soon as he came back, I assigned Raiko Firu on another mission. Next time, I will send for you when he returns."
'Lightning child, Firu'...that's what his name means, Kiba thought, ...kind of a girly family name, actually. 'Ko' is usually added onto the ends of girls' names.
All 11 of the travellers returning from Thyme waited as the Hokage read over their mission report. Normally, they would have left right away after signing in, but all of them wanted to know what would happen once the Hokage learned of Pooriin's...ability. It was hard to be patient, but Deniizu was still trying to get into her sensei's mind, Michiko and Kiba had their hands full with keeping an eye on their dogs, Pooriin was watching the cats, and the rest were used to waiting, so there was comparative silence while Sarutobi read.
Finally, after a time, the elderly man put the papers down and looked straight at Pooriin. Even the animal companions felt the tension in the room and stopped what they were doing.
"It's just as well that all of you are here," the Hokage said after a moment, "I need messengers to carry the news, anyway. Are you all sure that the Gorgon's only weakness is to cover her eyes?"
Michiko, Deniizu, Kiba and Hinata all nodded; they had all been in the dome, and had seen Pooriin change back to normal once her eyes had closed.
It's actually a really simple solution, Pooriin thought to herself, But if I look at everbody before they can get to me...they'll all be dead...
"Then I believe I may have a solution," the Hokage announced, "Pooriin, I have a mandate for you. Before I explain it, you must understand that this mandate has been set to protect both the village and you; it is not meant as any kind of restraint on your privacy. Are we clear?"
Pooriin nodded slowly, then the Hokage continued.
"Good. Firstly, you must obtain at least one bandanna with Konoha's symbol on it. The symbol is so that, in case of an accident such as amnesia, or if you get lost once the Gorgon leaves you, other ninja will know that this is your village, and hopefully will bring you back to safety. If any other village finds out about your ability, they may try to harness it for their own means."
Like Sumoggu and Kishimu, Pooriin thought, nodding again to the Hokage to show that she understood.
"The bandanna must always be easily accessible so that it can be pulled over your eyes at any time. If you were a ninja, you would have used your hitate, but this is not the case, and it would not be fair to any other ninjas that you got your own forehead protector without passing in the academy. I will also make sure that all ninja, levels chuunin and above, are informed of your ability and how it is dealt with. You have a question, Bikto?"
All the office's occupants looked at the wild-eyed teenager expectantly.
"Why not tell all of the village?" he asked.
He doesn't sound mean, this time, Pooriin thought, He just sounds...almost business-like.
"If the Gorgon manifests itself again, she won't differentiate between ninja and villager," Goudon added.
"No, I believe her ability should remain classified," the Third insisted, shaking his head, "I once knew of a boy who had a great evil sealed inside of him. He was meant to be a hero, but instead, he was treated as if he himself were evil. I will not let such a thing happen again."
He means Naruto, Pooriin realised, He wants things to be different.
"The fewer people who know, the better," Sandaime continued, "And to answer you, Goudon, some genin minds believe that they must test themselves on any possible challenge."
He means Naruto again, Pooriin thought, grinning.
He means Naruto and Sasuke, Deniizu thought, shaking her head with a small smile.
He means Naruto and Sasuke, probably, Michiko thought, smiling to herself, And Kiba too, if it weren't Pauline.
"I doubt you want Pooriin to be beset daily by ambitious youngsters," the Hokage smiled.
Goudon nodded his head to show that he understood, and Sandaime went on with his mandate.
"Also, Pooriin, I will assign you to an emotional trainer from the Aburame clan; theirs is the best in emotional control. If the Gorgon is awakened by a surge in emotional stress, perhaps training control can keep the Gorgon at bay," the Hokage turned to the rest of the room sternly, "You have heard the mandate; now I need you all to spread the news," Sarutobi pulled out of his desk two black scrolls and two green scrolls, and continued speaking as he wrote in the green scrolls, "I will give you each a scroll with the ninja that you must inform, complete with their names and where you are most likely to find them, as well as a copy of information on the Gorgon and her abilities. The green scrolls will have my symbol on them, so anybody that you inform may know that it was truly I who sent you with the information. This is a D-rank mission, and I trust that you will not abuse your authority or the importance of these scrolls. Team 13, you are in charge of these scrolls," he said, handing a black scroll to Inel, and a green scroll to Korii, "And Team 8, you are in charge of these," he added, handing the black scroll to Kurenai, and the green to Shino, "As soon as you find all the ninja that you can on your list, you must promptly report to me," Sarutobi said, emphasizing 'promptly' for Inel's benefit, "If you could not find a few ninja, you must note that information down on another scroll or paper. Are we clear?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kurenai and her team nodded.
"Ossu," Inel and his team smiled.
Already, the teams are very similar to their teachers, Pooriin thought cheerily, Kurenai's kinda formal, and Inel's less...formal. I need to work on my vocabulary...
"What about us, Hokage-sama?" Goudon asked, raising an eyebrow.
"To you, I give the most difficult job of all," the Hokage said solemnly.
Pooriin and Goudon couldn't help but lean forward expectantly, but Bikto stayed calm. He knew that the village leader meant.
"You must tell your parents."
And as we all know, not too many 15- or 12-year-olds like talking to their parents.
"...otou-san and okaa-san are out of the hospital now, right?" Pooriin asked timidly.
"Yep," Goudon nodded.
"...That's good," Pooriin said quietly.
"Yep," Bikto nodded.
"...You guys are doing all the talking, right?" Pooriin asked, clutching at her brothers' elbows.
"Yep," the twins nodded at the same time.
That should make me happy. That should make me feel relieved, Pooriin thought. But it didn't.
The siblings walked along Konoha's streets in tense silence; even the four cats were quiet. None of them knew how their parents would react. Pooriin, as she walked between her two older brothers, was having the worst of it.
They love me. They won't blame me for anything, Pooriin thought, her grip on her brothers' elbows' sleeves tightening, They won't...they won't...
Will they be pissed? Goudon brooded silently, Will they be afraid of her? Kamisama...I'm glad Bikto is still okay with Pooriin, but then again, he always liked Pooriin. He just never shows it.
The brothers exchanged worried looks over Pooriin's head before looking forward again. Bikto saw a blur on the rooftops to his right, and he caught a glimpse of Michiko's black hair and blue dress before the blur was gone.
That the third time Michiko's checked on us, Bikto thought, She's worried too. Good thing she doesn't know the whole story about why we moved here; she'd have ulcers or something. ...What if they disown her? What'll we do then?
If they disown me, where will I go? Pooriin thought, her gut clenching up like a fist, Maybe I can stay with Michiko and Deniizu. ...But I'll need a job. What job? What can I do as a job? ...I could staple papers at the Hokage's office! ...wait, are there even staples in this time period? Probably not...I'd probably get papercuts, anyway.
She's probably worried that okaa-san and otou-san will kick her out, Goudon thought, half fondly, half worriedly, ...what if mom and dad do?
If I get kicked out...Pooriin thought.
Pooriin was visibly shaking, staring straight at the ground; suddenly she felt a hand on her head. Looking up, she was surprised to see it was Bikto. Even the Manx cat rubbed against Pooriin's legs in a comforting way.
"It's ok, sis," the wild-eyed boy said, unusually gently.
Pooriin blinked a few times, still stunned, and Goudon sighed.
"Aw, look. A beautiful brother-sister moment," the eldest Chatora said teasingly.
"Oh, shut up!" both younger Chatora said in unison.
"What...ah!"
Pooriin slapped his arm hard, and Bikto flicked his brother's forehead at the same time.
"Pooriin? Goudon? Bikto?" a woman's voice called from within the house.
All three siblings froze where they were, before they turned when the door opened.
"Hey, okaa-san," Goudon greeted quietly, once he'd recovered, "We're home, mom."
And now a word of review from Michiko, and the Chatora twins.
Michiko: Drama! Suspense! Angst!
Bikto: ...There wasn't any angst. (hits Michiko's head) Idiot. ...hey, why are there suddenly so many beetles...AGH! They're attacking my arm! And now five dogs are chewing on my legs! Help me!
Goudon: Huh. Wonder how those got there. ...well, I'm hungry
Michiko, Goudon: (walk away)
Bikto: Um...guys? You're forgetting something that's very important.
Goudon: Oh yeah. (turns to reader) Review, please!
Goudon, Michiko: (exit room)
Bikto: Hey! You can't just leave me here! Hey! ...You guys suck...