PHAN PHIC TOO
The hearse pulled in through the Leaf village gate.
"Well, guys, we're here," Rinny, the driver, told the rest of the drowsy, carsick passengers. Kin was the first to come to her senses.
"We're here?" she asked.
"Yep," Rinny told her.
Dosu rubbed his eyes, and moved his stretched-out leg upward, which before had served as a pillow for Zaku up front. Zaku's head bumped the front passenger window. Startled, he sprang up.
"What's going on!" he yelled, but when he finally awoke, he saw that no one's life was in danger. He blushed as everyone laughed at him. He then mumbled to himself, and set his head down again.
"Don't go back to sleep, Zaku, we're here," Rinny told him.
"Okay," he said.
"Can we get something to eat first?" asked Kin.
"And can I go to the bathroom now?" asked Zaku.
"Yeah. Let me find a place to park," she told him.
The village was of simple construction. It had quaint little shops lining the streets, decent-looking people were about, and clotheslines seemed to connect the buildings to one another. Further ahead, on the outskirts, there were tiny huts that probably housed the richer folk. The forest they had just driven through surrounded the perimeters of this foreign village.
"I think my grandma lives in a place like this," said Dosu.
"Really?" asked Rinny, "Then you must know your way around—"
"KID CROSSING!" Zaku yelled, "LOOK OUT!"
Rinny slammed on the brakes. The three children screamed. They looked to be preschool-age children. One of the three yelled, "What are you doing, Konohamaru! You tryin'a get us killed?"
"I am NOT!" he retorted towards the child that had shouted at him, "Let's go!"
They scrambled out of the street.
"Let's please just find a parking space and get out!" complained Zaku, desperate for a pit-stop.
"Okay," Rinny said, pulling up to the village's Ramen Bar.
They exited the vehicle. Zaku ran to the local port-a-potty, and the rest took a seat at the Ramen Bar. Each had the daily special. They spoke, and ate, and Zaku joined them after a few minutes.
"You guys see the streets? Not even paved!" Dosu said, looking at Rinny especially.
"Yeah," Rinny said, "I had to shift gears just to drive through the dirt!"
"We felt it in the back," commented Kin, "I would've gotten sick if you didn't stop for…" she thought for a minute, "…yeah, why did you stop?" she finally asked.
Rinny took a sip of her drink. "Zaku was yelling that there were kids in the street," she said. "How did I not see them?" she asked herself.
"Thanks for the warning," she said to Zaku, "I didn't want to have to deal with the popo, yet…" she said, smirking.
"You're welcome," Zaku replied, smiling under his bandages.
The rest of them chuckled.
Dosu looked over Rinny's shoulder. "Hey look," he said, "Locals."
Behind Rinny sat two others, who from their bandanas were ninjas of the Leaf Village. Both were of different genders; the boy had long, dark hair tied at the bottom, similar to Kin's signature style. The girl had her dark brown hair styled in two buns atop her head. They each had a leaf village bandana tied around their foreheads. The sash piece of the bandana the girl donned was colored a shade of navy blue; the boy's a shade of dark grey.
"Hey, Kin, is that your mom?" asked Dosu, referring to the boy.
"No!" she yelled, shoving him into Zaku, who shoved him off, as if it was a ricochet effect.
"He's got the same hair as you," Zaku noticed. "Let's talk to him."
They all stared at Rinny.
"Fine," she said.
She turned and leaned over to face the two. Her Sound Village bandana gleamed in the sunlight.
"Hey you there!" she called. No answer. The girl seemed afraid.
"No, not you, the boy!" called Rinny.
The boy turned away from Rinny and her group.
"Don't worry, I don't bite!" she told him.
"Yeah, I really like your hair!" called Kin.
The group laughed. The two leaf nins still kept to themselves.
"No? Well, you two seem cool enough. Enjoy your ramen!" called Rinny.
"Great conversation skills," commented Zaku.
"Yeah, and how about Kin's ice-breaker?" Dosu commented.
"Shut up!" said Kin light-heartedly, but neither girl could help but laugh.
"Oh man, this town's gonna hate us by the time we're done here," she told everyone from Sound.
They all grinned. "Yeah," said Kin.
"What should we do first?" asked Dosu.
"Hmm…well, we're gonna need some money…" said Rinny, her voice trailing off, in an effort to help inspire her comrades.
"How do you propose we get some?" asked Zaku.
Rinny sipped the last of her drink and placed her glass down.
"I'll tell you in the hearse," she said, then faced the two leaf nins who had moved further away.
"See ya guys later!" she called over. The whole Sound Village group got up.
"Where'd you find a parking spot?" asked Zaku.
"Oh, right, you missed that…" said Rinny.
She unlocked the doors to her car that was parked in the middle of someone's yard. Zaku looked at her skeptically.
"Couldn't find a lot," Rinny told Zaku.
Just as they buckled themselves in, a middle-aged woman burst out of the small home on the plot of land that they had occupied, screaming, "Hey! You killed all my plants!"
The group pulled away as fast as they could, with the back tires flinging mud at the house and its occupant.
THE END