Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 1- Yume Ka? (Is This a Dream?)
"Oy. You okay? If you sleep outside, you'll catch cold."
"Huh?" Where am I? I open my eyes and stare at the girl standing over me.
"Didn't you hear me? I said that if you sleep outside, you'll catch cold. What are you doing sleeping in the middle of the training grounds anyways?" She seems familiar. Perhaps I've seen her somewhere before? I sit up and put my hand on my forehead.
"Itte."
"You gonna answer me?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know if you'll answer or you don't know why you're sleeping in the training grounds?"
"The latter. Where am I?"
"I already said. The Training Grounds. Anta no baka ka?"
"No. And I got that I'm at a training grounds. Where am I?"
"Oh. Konohagakure no Satou. Didn't you know that?" I shake my head.
"Matte. Konoha?" How did I get to Konoha?
"Yea. You're really dumb you know. Not knowing where you're sleeping."
"Yume ka? Anta ha…dare?"
"Tenten desu." Tenten? Oh! This has to be a dream! There's no way I'm in Konoha really.
"Oy! Tenten-san!"
"Oh, Lee-kun!"
"You're early."
"Hai! Where's Gai-sensei?"
"I don't know. He should already be here. Neji-kun ha?"
"Who knows with him?"
"Hey, who's your friend?"
"Don't know. She was sleeping here when I got here. I just woke her up. She's confused." Wait. Lee? And…Gai…and Neji…uso! I look up and stare at Lee. He's wearing a vest? He's a Chunin now? Oh! I look back at Tenten; she's wearing a different outfit from both parts of the series.
"You're right. Hi!" I gasp and look at Lee again. "My name is Rock Lee. Hajimemashite!" My eye twitches. He's even creepier in person than in the show. That makes me scared to meet…
"Lee! Tenten! You're here early!" Gai…I sigh and touch my forehead again.
"Kiriku Shirayume desu."
"So loud, Gai-sensei, it's too early for you to be so energetic…" Neji too? This is either the weirdest dream in the history of dreams or something is seriously wrong with me. I must have been reading so much manga and watching so much anime that now I'm dreaming about the damn thing. What's next? Inuyasha comes out of the wood work? "Oh. Who's that?" I sigh again. This is going to be a long night. I notice that I'm sitting here in my pajamas and blush. This is embarrassing…I sigh again.
"Kiriku Shirayume desu. Hajimemashite, Neji-kun."
"Huh? How do you know my name?" Shit.
"Um, simple deduction. It's obvious that that guy right there is Gai. And Lee-kun asked Tenten-san a minute ago where a guy named Neji was. So, since Gai's already here, I assume that you're Neji."
"Oh." That was close. "However…" Oh shit. Did he see through it? I look over and gasp when I realize that he's staring at me. Very close. I didn't even hear him come closer. I back up slightly. "You're lying."
"Eh? Why would I lie about something like that? It's obvious." Usually, I'm a pretty good liar. Can he really see through things that easily? Scary.
"Neji…I think you're scaring her…"
"Sorry." He backs up and stands up. Tenten holds out her hand and helps me stand up.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Um…well…see…I have no idea." I look at the ground, thoroughly embarrassed. Huh? A hand grabs my chin and lifts my face. I end up looking up at Neji's face. "Too…close." I back up, blushing. He was so close…I could feel his breath…and I'm sure I have morning breath. I turn around and run into the trees. I have no idea where I'm going. "Itte!" I trip over a root and examine my foot. I'm not wearing shoes…and my toe is bleeding now! I wince when I touch it and realize there's a splinter.
"Oy! Matte yo!" I get up and start running again. I just hurt myself. Usually in my dreams, when I get hurt, I wake up. Is it possible that this isn't a dream? I trip again, but I manage not to fall. I get out of the trees and stare at the building in front of me. How…how did I get to Konoha?
"Hey! Why'd you run like that?" I look back as Neji, Tenten, and Lee come out of the trees and face me.
"Kiriku-san, you're hurt." I look down and see that my legs are cut up now and my feet are filthy.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." They walk towards me and I automatically back up, tripping and landing on my butt. I wince.
"Itte."
"We're not gonna hurt you. It's just…" Tenten walks over to me, alone, and holds out her hand. I take it and she pulls me up. "So, you don't know how you ended up here?" I shake my head.
"No…the last thing I remember is laying down for bed. Oh! I have school in the morning! I'm so dead if I miss!"
"School? You're still in school?" I cover my mouth and nod.
"Yea."
"You must be dumber than Naruto if you're still at academy." Dumber than…Naruto?
"Nani?! No way am I dumber than that idiot!"
"Eh? You know Naruto?" I cover my mouth again.
"Technically, no."
"Technically?"
"How to explain this…?"
"Well, you could start at the beginning."
"Anno…let's see…um…" I have no idea how to explain about the manga.
"Hey, while you're figuring it out, you should get your foot fixed up. That cut looks pretty bad."
"Splinter. I tripped over a root and got a splinter."
"Kind of dumb to be running around without shoes." I glare at Neji. If he says something about me being dumb again I'm going to punch him. Not that I'd be able to do any damage. I sigh and stare at the ground. I feel really stupid. I mean, I know everything there is to know about the manga and anime and here I am, in Konoha, with absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. And Tenten and Neji don't look at all like I would have imagined. I wonder if this is between the two parts of the series. Lee's the only one wearing the exact same thing as I would expect. Then again, I find it hard to imagine him wearing anything but that outrageous jumpsuit.
"Can you walk?" I nod and Tenten grabs my hand, pulling me to the road. Neji and Lee follow us as Tenten pulls me to the hospital. I feel really stupid now, even more than before. Running away like that and getting hurt in the process. And on top of that, I must look like a real idiot. Running around through the forest without shoes and in my pajamas. Well, I say pajamas, I'm just wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, but I'm not wearing a bra, and the shorts are really short and sort of torn up. At least I wasn't wearing my nightgown. That would be even worse…a pink spaghetti dress that barely goes to my knees…and on top of that, the way that gown is made really accentuates my chest. A nurse takes us to a room and I sit on the bed while she bandages up my legs and pulls out the splinter to clean the blood off of my feet and wrap that up in a bandage as well.
"Don't you have shoes?" I shake my head slightly, embarrassed again. "I'll be right back." The nurse leaves and comes back with a pair of sandals.
"Thanks." I put them on and get up.
"You should be more careful, Ojaku-san." I nod.
"Yea." We leave and go back to where we started when I woke up.
"Well?" Great, they're going to be persistent. I sigh and sit down. It's going to take a while.
"It's a long story." They sit down and watch me expectantly. Where to start? "Makuse da. Obviously I'm not from around here."
"Yea. And?" My eye twitches. So rude. He really didn't change at all! I notice that Tenten is staring at my knee.
"What?"
"What's that tattoo?" I look at my knee and laugh.
"It's a birthmark. Um…"
"So, to start. Where are you from? If you're not from around here. A nearby village?" I shake my head.
"I don't think that Tokyo is anywhere near here…to be honest."
"Tokyo? I've never heard of a village named that." I sigh.
"Of course you haven't. There isn't a village named Tokyo."
"But you just said…"
"I know what I said. Quit interrupting!" Lee swallows and nods. Did I scare him? Huh. "Tokyo isn't in any of the places you've heard of. Hell, I don't even know how I ended up here. For all I know, this is a really weird dream."
"Why would you be dreaming?"
"Because, the last thing I remember was lying down and going to sleep. I already said that. Also, where I'm from, you guys aren't real."
"Eh?!" I sigh and hit the ground. I'm getting pissed. I hear them gasp and look at my hand. I scream when I see that I left a giant crater in the ground where I hit it.
"How the hell did I do that?!"
"Scary…"
"She's as strong as Sakura-san…"
"Not really, I've seen her turn a giant boulder into rubble with one punch."
"How?"
"Manga." I clap my hand over my mouth. I hadn't meant to mention that.
"Manga?"
"Yea, that's why I said that you guys aren't real where I'm from. There's a manga and anime series about…"
"What?" I sigh.
"Naruto."
"Why would anyone want to create a manga about him?"
"Because Ninja are cool."
"So…that's how you knew who Neji was?"
"Yea, Gejimayu too." I cover my mouth and sigh.
"Eh?"
"I recognized Lee right off the bat."
"What about me?"
"You're not wearing what I would have thought. Question. How old are you guys?"
"Fifteen."
"I just turned sixteen."
"Oh. So that explains it."
"What?"
"Oh. The manga series follows Naruto from graduation until Sasuke…"
"Oh. Wait, so you know what happened then?" I nod.
"Yea."
"Like, everything? Everyone's fights and everything?" I nod again.
"Everything. Though I'm sure that it didn't happen exactly like in the series. I mean, if it really happened then…"
"Well?" I stare at Neji.
"Um…"
"Yea, what happened? Lee was drunk and didn't remember. And Neji won't talk about it."
"Well, you're in for a disappointment. Unless of course you think you can understand it through my tears. It makes me cry…"
"Why?" What to say. 'Oh, because I'm Neji's number one fan. It upset me that he nearly got killed.' I can't say that! It's bad enough I've already gotten them into it.
"Wait, I don't believe this." Lee?
"Why not? She's telling the truth." Leave it to Neji to figure that one out. "So, what you're saying…in this place, Tokyo, we're just characters in a manga about Naruto?" I nod solemnly. "And…does it just go to when Sasuke left?" I nod automatically. Please don't figure out that I'm lying, Neji. "Really?" I nod again.
"Yep."
"That's odd; I don't remember Sakura-san ever reducing a boulder to rubble."
"Though she packs a pretty hard punch…" Great.
"It goes further than that right?" I sigh. Neji caught on.
"Ish."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning I'm not gonna talk about what hasn't happened yet. If you guys are still fifteen and sixteen…wait, you said you just turned sixteen Neji? What's the date?"
"July 23rd." Sasuke's birthday. So that makes him fifteen today.
"So Lee's the only one that's fifteen."
"How do you know that?"
"Well…let's just say that I'm an expert."
"On what?"
"Let's see…everything about the series. Including birthdays."
"Really? So what's Gai-sensei's birthday?"
"January 1st."
"Wow! You're right!"
"Of course."
"What about my birthday?"
"November 27th. Neji's birthday was on the third, and Tenten-san's birthday was in March, on the 10th." Lee and Tenten stare at me dumbly.
"Then you know whose birthday it is today." I nod solemnly, my face falling.
"Of course."
"Really?" I glare at Neji. He's testing me. It turns into a glaring match between us. I would have thought I'd get along with him if I ever met him in person. And here I am, having a glaring match with him.
"Guys?"
"Yea."
"Then who?"
"Sasuke. He's fifteen today." I stick out my tongue at Neji. Oh! I just remembered. I share a birthday with Naruto. Why that just popped into my head, I have no idea. October 10th.
"Then, do you know what he's doing?"
"Training, most likely. I'm not sure outside the fact that he's with Orochimaru."
"Why is that? If you're such an expert."
"Because, the series doesn't cover the time while Naruto is training with Jiraiya. That's why I didn't immediately recognize Tenten. She's dressed differently than all of the times she shows up in both parts of the series."
"Then Lee…" I nod, my eye twitching.
"The jumpsuit. That coupled with the zipped vest. Gai wears his vest unzipped." They nod, understanding the tone behind what I said. Lee is confused. It's only natural. Though he's smarter than Naruto.
"So. Just to be clear, you're from a place called Tokyo. You have no idea how you ended up sleeping in the middle of the Training Grounds that we happened to be meeting at today. As far as you're concerned, this is most likely a dream. Because you have no knowledge of the fact that this is real, as you only know us as fictional characters in a manga series, which you claim to be an expert on." I nod.
"Though there's no claim to it. It's a known fact in my school that I'm the one to go to for information on that series. The only person that would know more about the series than me would be Kishimoto Masashi himself."
"Who?"
"The guy that created the series. And I can also say that I've met him in person."
"Um, how old are you?"
"Fifteen. I'll be sixteen in October."
"Really? What day?"
"The tenth. I share a birthday with Naruto."
"That's weird." I nod.
"You could say that. But I have a friend that has the same birthday as you, Tenten."
"That's not very surprising really. It's only natural for a birthday to be shared by several people." I nod.
"It's just an odd coincidence."
"You know what would be even weirder? If there were fan clubs for us."
"Well, you hit the nail on the head."
"Huh?"
"Wait, there are fan clubs?" I nod.
"Yep. Let's see…the most popular fan clubs that I've seen are for Sasuke, Neji, and Kakashi…Tenten, and Naruto."
"Why did you hesitate? Is there another?" I nod.
"Yea. But I don't understand how that guy's so popular. He's an ass."
"Who?"
"Uchiha Itachi." I cover my mouth.
"Oh. Another question. Were you a part of a fan club?"
"Huh?" I glance at Neji and swallow. How would he react to that one?
"Well?" I nod once. "Really? For who?"
"Neji."
"EH?!" They all stare at me in shock.
"No way!" I nod.
"Yep. In fact, since that's out. I'm in charge of the club I'm in. Though I'm not sure what'll happen now."
"Wait, you're in charge of it?" I nod.
"That's funny."
"Is not!" I stare at Neji. We both yelled at the same time. Strange.
"There you guys are! If you're going to slack off then you can do it at home!" My eye twitches as Gai shows up.
"Fine." Tenten and Neji get up and start to walk off.
"Come on, Shirayume!" I get up and run after Tenten. Lee is the only one that stays. He'll probably work twice as hard with training today now. I look up. It's about noon. I catch up with Tenten and notice that Neji is still walking with her. They're not talking. "You should talk to Tsunade-sama, Shirayume." I nod. It's only natural to have to announce my arrival to Tsunade. But…that's a scary thought. Meeting one of the Legendary Sanin in person…and Sakura and Shizune too most likely. I suppress a shudder.
"Something wrong?"
"No."
"Hey, let's get you some decent clothes before that, huh." I nod.
"Sure."
"You might be able to wear one of my outfits…" Tenten's eyes travel to my chest, resting there. I blush and wave my hand in front of her face. "On second thought, maybe not." She frowns.
"Hinata-sama might have something that will fit you. I think she's home right now." Hinata? So they're on better terms? That's good. "Kiriku-san, you can come with me. I'll ask Hinata-sama if she has some clothes you can borrow." I nod and follow Neji to a complex. We go inside and I look around. I've only seen part of this place. At the end of part one when it shows Neji training with his uncle before Naruto left with Jiraiya.
"Oh, hello, Neji-niisan."
"Hinata-sama." Hinata spots me and smiles.
"I haven't met you before. Hyuuga Hinata desu." I nod.
"Kiriku Shirayume desu. Hajimemashite."
"Hinata-sama, Kiriku-san doesn't have any clothes with her. We thought that you might have something that would fit her."
"Oh! I can look." She walks over and grabs my hand. "This way." She pulls me inside and I barely manage to slip my shoes off before we hit the floor and go to her room. She shuts the door behind us and goes straight to her wardrobe. I guess her favorite color is purple. The room is decorated totally in shades of purple. "How come you're running around in mismatched clothes?"
"Um…it's complicated."
"Oh, I won't pry then. Here. Try this on." I nod and go behind a purple screen to change. It fits perfectly. A black and white net designed shirt, a pair of tan shorts and a short sleeved tan jacket, like a short sleeved tan version of her Shippuuden jacket. I come out from behind the screen. I couldn't get the jacket all the way zipped up. It got too tight at my chest, so I stopped trying. "The jacket's a bit small…"
"It's okay. It's not really my style to wear something zipped all the way anyways. Thanks a lot, Hinata-san."
"Not a problem. Um, I think that Neji-niisan is waiting for you." I nod and we go back outside. I sit down and put on the sandals again, ignoring the stare from Neji.
"Stop staring." It was aggravating me.
"Sorry." No way. Is he…nervous?