One

My friend the Kazekage

Katsumi

It was 6:30 am and I was packing like a mad man. My dad got me a huge suitcase, just for this purpose. I was checking off thing on my list. iPod… socks… uniforms…ties… Naruto comics… pictures of Daddy, Grandma, and me… perfume… hmm… This was getting hard.

I shoved a bunch more random stuff in my suitcase and sat on it so I could zip it up

I looked around my room and thought, this is the last time I'm going to see it for a whole nine months. My wooden bookshelves, my mushroom nightstand, the multicolored walls, my plush all natural carpet. All of it.

"Kat! Ten minutes!" my grandma yelled up to my loft. Good thing I thought to put on my uniform and perfume first thing this morning instead of waiting till the last minute. Though the uniform did kind of bother me, with the really short plaid skirt and the long sleeves… I guess half of me would be warm.

I ran down the cherry wood ladder that led me in and out of my room as fast as I possibly could without tripping. I said goodbye to the kitchen that brought back so many memories. Grandma came over to me, her face sad. handed me an orange, pulling me into one of her famous bear hugs. I could smell the faint scent of peaches that I'd loved ever since I was a child. "I'll miss you, sweet pea!" she said lovingly. I sensed a tear rolling down her cheek and I started playing with her silver hair, just like I did when I was little when she was upset

I tried to reassure her and say, 'Don't cry, I'll be back before you know it,' but the words wouldn't come out. Having to blink hard to keep from bursting out in tears, and all I could say was, "I'll miss you too!" my voice breaking on the word miss.

I let go, not wanting to, but I knew if I wanted to say any more goodbyes, I'd have to split. "Oh, and remember!" Gram called after me. "There's no need to wear that perfume in the school!" I nodded and ran out the door.

Out in the barn, I found all of the animals looking just as sad as me. I said goodbye to the cows, Delilah and Millie, the chickens Ran and Ceebi and their chicks Rayla and Mikio, goodbye to the stray cats Gemima, Tiki, Maylor, Belle, and the kitten Figaro. Toto, my black schnauzer, was not happy about me leaving either, and I hugged him, giving him a kiss on the nose. I saved Rose, a black and white pinto, for last because she was the hardest to say goodbye to. "Goodbye." I whispered hugging her and kissing her on the nose. The horse's eyes told me that she would miss me. I stroked the bridge of her nose. "Now you be good. Don't worry I'll be back before you know it."

I stepped back, again, not wanting to, but I knew I had to.

I sprinted to the fields where my dad was planting some corn. By then, tears ran down my cheeks. I ran into him, hugging him so hard, I thought he would burst. "Oh, daddy! I'll miss you so much!"

He smiled and I could see that his eyes were wet with tears too. "I love you, sweet pea." He ruffled my hair and I did the same. Just then, the stupid bus that would take me to the airport where I would go to my new boarding school drove up and honked at me.

"Bye Daddy." I just about more than whispered. I picked a wilting flower and ran to the bus.

When I walked on, I noticed that just about everyone there was taller than me, but that's a given. I was only four foot six inches, and being in eighth grade, it kind of made me easy to pick on. I tried to find an empty seat, but the only one place that was open, by a tall (to normal people's standards) blonde guy, with his hair in a ponytail, and one bang coving his eye. He somehow looked familiar, but I couldn't tell why. He looked about a year older than me.

I walked over and sat down gingerly, pointing my toes. I could still feel that my face was wet, so I wiped it off with my hand.

The guy and I didn't speak to each other the whole time, (I mean, why would he want to talk to me?) and he never looked at me once, (neither did anyone else) so I figured this was a perfect time to… well… never mind. It was too risky.

I looked out the window and said goodbye to Cave Junction, Oregon, hello to Japan.

The airport was about sixty minutes away from our house so it took us a pretty long time to get there, but when we did, only a few kids (besides me) walked off the bus, including tall, blonde, and long haired-dude. Or at least I think he was a dude. Anyway, I was hoping there were going to be only a few people on the plane, so I could sit by myself. I didn't really want anyone to see me cry.

We sat in the waiting room for a while. Once again I was stuck next to the blonde. Now I was sure I knew him somewhere. He was just sitting there, reading the newspaper. I think he noticed my staring, so he shot me an icy glance with his green eyes, and then I was positive I knew him.

The lady on the intercom called our plane and we got up, lining up to get on.

I got a seat close to the back and pulled out the picture of Grandma, Daddy, and I. Uh oh. Here came the waterworks again. At that moment, a boy with red short hair came and sat down next to me. "What's wrong?" he asked. His voice was very deep, and I thought I knew him from somewhere too. I mean, even more than before. Was I going crazy?

When he talked to me, his light green eyes stared into my eyes, instead of most people, just staring at the Rosario around my neck that my grandma always made me wear for one reason or another.

I pushed back my shoulder length hair and wiped off my face. "I… I'm just really going to miss my family."

He chuckled a little. "I don't have any family to miss me. My brother's in tenth grade on this plane a few seats forward, my sister's in eleventh grade and says she has no reason to come home, my mom is… well… dead… and my dad lives I don't know where and would like it very much if I just dropped dead. He keeps sending assassins…"

"Really? Oh my god I'm so sorry! That must be really hard on you."

"Only sometimes. My brother is really protective. You could say he was my night in shining armor, but one: that would be weird, and two: he's more like a warrior in… clothes …" a big XD was on his face.

Two older siblings… dad that wants to kill him… warrior… red hair… massive amounts of eyeliner… WHY THE HELL WAS THIS RINGING A BELL!

I was kind of having a senior moment for a second, so I couldn't hear what he was saying. "Oh, I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"Your name?"

"Oh… I'm, uh, Katsumi. Katsumi Toma." I said.

"Heh, heh. You sound like James Bond. Anyway, that's one interesting name you've got there." he started to smile.

"Yeah. My mom named me. And don't make fun of my James Bondedness!"

"Well, it's nice to meet ya. My name is Gaara."

HOLY CRAP! AS IN GAARA FROM MY NARUTO COMICS! I KNEW THE SCHOOL WAS FOR ACTING, BUT I DIDN'T THINK THAT KIND OF ACTING! SO THAT'S WHERE I KNEW HIM FROM!

My eyes got wide, but then I told myself to calm down. It was only one of my most favoritest manga character of all time that I thought was totally cute and wished was real forever come to life. "Wow, uh… cool." I said grinning like a fool. Real smooth Katty.

"That's a new one. Most girls scream and start hugging me when I tell them my name." he said practically cracking up. "Either that or scream and run away."

I started bursting out in laughter too.

We stopped for a bit in Florida to have lunch. It was beautiful and I wished we could've stayed longer. Me and Gaara talked a bit more about the school and he gave me a few tips. I showed him some tips on singing, because my grandma told me that that's why I got accepted into the school in the first place. I started singing, and he was laughing so hard, that he started saying "I can't… breathe…" and kept laughing.

"What, am I that bad?" I asked jokingly.

"No way, you're amazing!"

When we got back on the plane, we were still laughing our heads off. "So," he said between chuckles, "that's what made you come to Rizu School for the Gifted?"

"Yeah. Apparently, as my grandma says, it's good for me. But I'm seriously scared out of my socks." I giggled a bit more.

"Just that? Are you sure that's the only reason?"

"Um, yeah, why?" I asked puzzled.

"It's a school for the gifted. That's why Masashi Kishimoto picked it for the characters for his comics. So he could write a story about us so people think we're not real. We could hide from the humans. Isn't that the real reason you're here?" his expression turned all serious.

"What do you mean?"

He sniffed the air around me. Now his eyes got wide. He took my hand. "Come with me."

There was a curtain at the back of the plane with another room for passengers, that looked like there wasn't anyone there. He sniffed the air again. "Oh no, oh no… this is not good…"

"What's not good?"

He kept sniffing. "… your human…"

"Well OF COURSE I'm human!"

"This is bad. Katsu, when I said this was a school for the gifted, I didn't mean just in acting or singing. I meant, this is a school for THE GIFTED. Meaning KIDS WITH MAGICAL POWERS! Like, MONSTERS! If they find out your human, THEY'LL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!"

"THEY… I… WHAT?" I said exasperated.

"We're all monsters here, Jynx. Even me." He lifted another curtain that led to the luggage department. "This is my luggage." he pointed to a huge case and opened it. It was his gourd.

He touched it and sand swirled around him as he started to turn into a half Shukaku-type person.

Suddenly, on the intercom, a lady's voice sounded. "We have arrived. Please exit the plane." The sand faded as he closed the case and he seemed like a normal human again.

"Come on." he mumbled.

I followed him, still trying to realize what just happened.

So, let's recheck:

I'm going to a SCHOOL FOR MONTERS.

I JUST MET GAARA OF THE SAND.

… being human may get me killed.