Notes from teh Bayo:
Heya everybody! nn Thanks so much for the reviews… I got more than I expected to get, considering this is such a used background. xD But thanks a bunch… keep reviewing! It really fuels me. :3
And now I present to you… Chapter Two! ♥
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto—only my characters and plot!
c h a p t e r . two:
Getting Directions
I couldn't sit still in school that Monday; after receiving that shocking email from Reuben, I was anything but calm. On Saturday I was totally out of it; on Sunday I was practically smothering my laptop because I was waiting for a reply. Either the email got erased, or Reuben was trying to put me into suspense. My eyes traveled over to the clock hanging on the wall, just behind the teacher; I sighed quietly, twiddling my fingers impatiently. This was my last class—as soon as that bell rang, I was out of here and bee-lining to my room.
I didn't tell anyone else about the email; I wanted to make sure this wasn't a sick prank pulled on me by hidden sources. Kira noticed that I was acting weird that day, though; I was glad she wasn't in this class with me. I was pretty sure I'd break everything to her if she pestered me about it again.
I just told her I was tired… which really wasn't a lie. I was; I literally haven't been sleeping since that mail dropped by.
The teacher drawled on about sentence harmony and vivid verb usage (I took two English classes), and my prayers were answered as the bell ringed loudly across the campus. The students cheered and before the teacher could even dismiss us, I was already out the door and tearing down the hallway.
"Please answer today…!"
It took me less than half the time it took for me to get home than usual. Shouting a quick hello to my cooking mom, I darted through the hallway and isolated myself in my room. Mom hollared an 'are you okay, dear?' to me; she probably thought I was hiding drugs or something. She was paranoid like that; it was cute, but pretty scary sometimes. I threw my school things lazily on the floor and trotted over to the laptop; and surely enough, there was the same pixelated envelope with the words 'you've got mail!' flashing boldly, like three days ago.
Hiding an excited squeal, I opened it up to find that it was, indeed from Reuben.
My heart beat wildly in my chest, my palm raising to settle it; I retrieved my preppy glasses from my backpack again and sat stiffly in on the floor to read it.
Yo, sis—sorry if this took long to get there. Where I'm mailing from, it takes a long time for things to get there. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you wanna help… but the requirements might take time for you to finish. It's not anything physical ('cause I know you're not the best it)… but it's kind of like one of those pattern things you like to play. You know that game where you start off with one little beat or something, and you imitate it; and then another different-sounding beat plays, and you have to play the first beat and the second beat… and then it turns into a pattern that you have to memorize? It's kind of like that. Only these things that you'll be imitating are called 'seals'.
I gulped and read on, wondering where he was getting at.
You still watch Naruto, right? Remember those seals they always do? You have to do that to get here. What you gotta do is perform the twelve seals in a specific order; and that means you're gonna hafta memorize them. You have to get them imbedded in your mind, and you have to do it quickly. Here's the order: Rabbit, Rooster, Boar, Horse, Monkey, Ox, Dragon, Dog, Rat, Tiger, Snake, and lastly, Ram; then, at the end, you hold out the last seal and say 'Shiki Nai Fuin; Yochiijou no Jutsu' (1). I know it sounds like a chore, but I know you're good with memorization… so if you're still up to it, I'll see you later… Nadine.
Love, Reuben
P.S.: If you're successful, you might not see me first thing. And if that happens, I want you to go find a village and stay there for a while; I'll come pick you up.
And that was the end.
"Reuben… you really are in Naruto," I whispered to myself, reading over his words a second time. I could see flashbacks of us sitting around his laptop, watching Naruto episodes for the whole day from YouTube; and I could remember the seals Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi often performed. I gulped again; was he really serious about this?
Reuben wasn't exactly solemn, but I didn't think he would kid around about this stuff. His intructions were direct, specific, and hard to do; my brain began to ache after realizing I had to memorize all twelve of the seals to meet him again. But, like I said in my last email, I told him I'd do anything to see him again; so I wasn't about to go back on my word.
Closing the email, I traveled around the internet, and pulled open the most reliable Naruto information network that I could find—Naruto I went to their 'seals' page, stared at all the hand positions, and nearly fainted; this was going to take at least a couple weeks to memorize and perform quickly.
I'll make it a few days.
( Normal P.O.V. )
"Did she reply yet, Benni?"
"No, Karite… she's not going to reply. She'll either show up here, or she won't. That'll be her reply."
Two men sat in the somewhat sunnier stone room. The big sphere or brilliant light hung in the sky, its blinding rays leaking through every crack and crevice that it could find. The once shadowed figures in the room weren't so shadowed anymore; and one man stood, leaning against the wall, while the other was reclining on a rocky platform inside the bright room.
"Really? What'd you tell her?" the man named Karite asked, casting a questioning glance to the other through golden eyes.
Benni shrugged, bouncing off the wall. "I just taught her how to use the jutsu to get here, is all," he replied complacently.
"Whaaat? You taught her how to do it? Like someone—a girl, especially—could handle such a thing at fourteen. Even if she did, she'd probably kill herself on her way here," Karite said, his arms crossing. "The only reason you could do it is because you're a guy, you're older, and you're a natural in forbidden jutsu."
"Correction: I'm an outsider who was interested in becoming a ninja, and worked hard to get here; you're just a sexist," Benni said, "And I think she'll work hard to get here, too."
"It might cost her more than what it cost you," he warned. "You're lucky you got to escape death, Benni—but what about your dear… Nadine, was it?"
"I didn't lose anything… I gained something," Benni replied defensively, "Nadine is weak, but she's really stubborn; if chance of death is one out of one hundred, then her luck will be sure to avoid it."
"Whatever you say, Benni, whatever you say…" Karite sighed. "As long as it gets the job done, then I guess I'll have to trust you this once."
Benni smirked, "That's right. And has Koutai returned yet?"
"Nope… she should be heading back from that village now."
"Good. It's almost time…"
( Nadine's P.O.V. -- Five Days Later . . . )
"Shiki Nai Fuin; Yochiijou no Jutsu!"
I held the Ram seal and waited a few seconds; after nothing happened, and sighed in irritation and fell onto my bed, my hands and fingers aching.
The school week passed like a blur to me; instead of learning academics, I was trying to learn the hand seals. I had drawn them and labeled them in all of my notebooks and practiced them during class; I was caught a few times by my classmates, and I was promoted to being the top nerd of the school. I didn't care though; I didn't feel like explaining to them the significance of these nerdy seals. Kira was completely stunned by my sudden Naruto revolution; but I told her that I was going to learn them for Reuben once he returned to surprise him.
She was still skeptical at first, but thankfully her naiveness caused her to believe me.
I memorized all the seals in four days; now I was trying to do them quickly in the order Reuben told me to do them. I had been practicing ever since I woke up this Saturday morning—right now, it was a little past noon. My wrists throbbed from moving so much, but I somehow endured and continued.
It was amazing how much the right motivation can make you do…
After popping my wrists from cramps, I tried again; I performed the twelve seals as fast as I could, but my fingers slid as I attempted to make the Dragon seal. "Dang it…" I mumbled. "I'll never get this down…!"
This was infuriating. Given the fact that I knew that I had to do this right in order to see my missing brother again, I was rushing and not thinking about what I was doing; that was probably what was messing me up. I couldn't think straight.
"Concentrate…" I said calmly to myself, inhaling and exhaling once to let my heart rest from anxiety and to relax my muscles and mind. It felt like I was doing yoga, and my limbs released from tension gradually. "Think about what I'm doing…" I hopped off my bed and onto the floor, readying my fingers and hand positions again.
"Rabbit, Rooster, Boar, Horse…"
I completed the seals quickly, my eyes closing.
"Monkey, Ox, Dragon, Dog…"
My fingers felt like falling off, but I ignored the pain and continued. Almost there…
"Rat, Tiger, Snake, Ram…"
As soon as I reached the Ram, I held it and opened my eyes, convoking, "Shiki Nai Fuin; Yochiijou no Jutsu!"
Everything was silent as I waited. Nothing stirred, my eyes glared straight ahead, and my seal was held stiffly as it was completed. Was it another failure?
To answer my questions, a glowing ring made up of seals that I couldn't read circled me, rotating slowly with each kanji letter glowing in turn. One shined a brilliant orange; another a hot red; next was a cool blue; and it proceeded from sharp purples to soft greens and blacks for twelve rounds. I did nothing but stare, wondering what was happening; I had released my seal, and was left experiencing my success.
I could literally feel the floor—or maybe it was the ring—pull me into the ground, and I did nothing to protest. It felt like a dream; I was light-headed, my vision blurred and softened as I tried to look forward. It wasn't long before I was knocked out, and I fell into an abyss of darkness.
Before I fell unconscious, I could hear Reuben's voice echoing around me: ''Atta girl…'
( Normal P.O.V. )
"Kazekage-sama, it has reacted again…"
In a dark and damp room stood two figures, both of them positioned before a platform. The lights were dim, the only source being a few dangling lightbulbs from the ceiling. Random specs of dust rained onto the floor, and nothing stirred. On the platform stood a short pedestal that held an item that resembled a book, heavily ornated with designs that looked ancient and untouchable. Behind it was a lamp-looking furniture that had a blue sphere sitting on the top, storms of green and blue swirling around within it. It would constantly flash, throwing various dots of light around the room.
A pair of unmoving sea green eyes watched the orb, reflecting each flash that occurred every few minutes.
"… It must be close," he inspected quietly. His arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. "Baki-sensei, I want you to position soldiers around the walls of the village. Watch for anything or anyone that should come, and bring them to me."
"You think it might be time?" Baki asked, his tall figure looming beside his surperior's. His fists clenched beside him.
The Kazekage closed his eyes. "I don't know. But we can never be too careful."
"True… I'll recruit guards immediately." And with that, Baki left through a set of stairs in the northern wall. The sea green eyes watched his figure disappear into a brighter light above.
Taking one last look at the mysterious items that adorned the room, the Kazekage followed his ex-teacher up the stairs.
(1) Shiki Nai Fuin; Yochiijou no Jutsu translates into 'Forbidden Dead Technique; World Transfer Skill'. nn
The end of chapter two, everyone! Stay tuned—I hope you like what I have in store for you all! X3
So read, enjoy, and most of all…
REVIEW!
Dattebayo--! ;3
-- Bayo-Bayo, signing out
