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Sweet Dreams by Beyoncé
The two-story brown house came into view as the red Subaru pulled up next to the curb. The porch light was on, slightly illuminating the green lawn and plants that resided in front of the house. Turning the engine off, Adrianna exited and locked the car. She looked at her home, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything seemed normal.
That whole thing in the forest with… well, whoever that guy was really scared Adrianna. He was so convinced that he was Kiba Inuzuka; Adrianna was convinced that he belonged in the loony house.
But she was home now; everything was okay. She kept on chanting that in her head as she walked up the driveway, passing her parents' cars. She made it up the porch and turned the knob to the front door.
Upon entering, a loud annoying yipping reached Adrianna's ears. A small brown and gray blur came dashing down the hallway to greet the teen. The creature was still barking, even when it had reached Adrianna, and began to jump up and down, and even standing on its hind legs, it barely reached Adrianna's knees.
"Would you be quiet?" an annoyed female voice yelled from Adrianna's left.
The teen looked to her left to see her mother and father lounging in the living room after a long and tiring week. Adrianna walked into the room to greet them, the little dog following.
"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," Adrianna said, giving a kiss to each parent.
"Hi, sweetheart," her father, Samuel said.
"Hi, Anna. How was school?" Adrianna's mother, Jade, said.
"Fine," Adrianna shrugged.
"Did you get any tests back?" her father asked.
Adrianna sighed at his question. The first thing out of her father's mouth was always about grades and school. Sometimes he didn't even bother saying hello when she came home; he would just jump down her throat about school. He just really wanted his daughter to go to a good college. He was always complaining about how college tuition was expensive, and she would need a full scholarship to get in. Either that, or take out student loans and be in debt for the rest of her life…
Being a junior really sucked. Colleges were a pain in the butt, and classes just seemed to get tougher with each passing day. But in order to catch universities' attentions, a junior had to earn high marks in every class while juggling extracurricular activities.
"No, Dad. I didn't get any grades back," Adrianna said.
"Okay. So how was your day?" her dad asked.
"It was alright. Nothing special," the girl replied.
Yup, she just lied. She was not going to tell her parents about Jeffrey trying to get in contact with her. What was the point in telling them that? He would just disappear again anyway. And the whole Kiba thing? Well, they didn't even know she was still into Naruto, so they didn't need to know about that.
"I'm going to go do homework now," the raven-haired girl said.
"Alright, go ahead," her mom said. Adrianna turned to leave, and the small dog began barking again. "Cookie! Would you stop?" Jade scolded. The dog immediately shrunk in fear at the rise in voice. The poor dog slowly crept over to the mother of the family, rolling over onto her back in submission. "Dorky Yorky," the mother muttered.
The teen laughed as she heard her mother use one of the many nicknames the Sun family had for the pet Yorkshire terrier. Since the Yorkshire terrier's name was Cookie, she had all sorts of nicknames.
Dorky Yorky.
Cookie Monster.
Cookie Crisp.
The four-year-old dog was a gift from Adrianna's friend, Matthew. His own dog had had puppies, and he gave one to Adrianna as a Christmas gift. Matthew and Adrianna had been friends since kindergarten; they were practically like siblings since they grew up together.
Adrianna made her way into the kitchen and made herself a cup of hot chocolate. She clutched the mug softly, carrying it upstairs along with her other belongings. She made her way upstairs and dumped her bags on the floor of her bedroom. She placed the mug of hot chocolate on her desk next to her laptop.
The girl exited the bedroom and went across the hall. The door across from her room was open, and Adrianna stepped inside to see her ten-year-old sister playing with her Game Boy.
"Hi, Alicia," the teen said, leaning against the frame of the doorway.
"Hey, Anna," the other girl replied, not looking up from her game.
"Are you playing Pokémon again?" Adrianna smiled.
"Uh, duh!" the ten-year-old said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Best game ever."
The adolescent laughed as she stared at her younger sister. Alicia was so into her game; she was probably battling another trainer in her game or something. The kid's eyebrows were furrowed in determination and concentration.
Adrianna smirked at the similarities she saw in her sister and herself. The sisters had often been told that they looked alike, and Adrianna believed it. The two both had deep brown eyes and an olive complexion. They both had long hair, except Adrianna's was black while Alicia's was dark brown. They were both nearsighted, so they both wore glasses.
However, their personalities could be very different. Adrianna was more serious while Alicia was definitely more hyper. When Adrianna was studying, Alicia was dancing to songs she would make up on the spot. And they were usually having petty fights when they weren't having civil conversations.
But that was what having a sister was about, right?
"Don't stare at that thing too long, Alice. It'll ruin your eyes," Adrianna said.
"I already have glasses. It can't get much worse than this," Alicia replied.
"Whatever you want to believe," the teen smirked as she turned to leave.
"Oh, wait! Anna!" the little girl yelled, suddenly leaping from the bed and pausing her Pokémon game.
"What's up?"
Alicia went digging under her pillow and whipped out a small cardboard box. She held it out to her older sister. "It came in today."
Adrianna gasped. "Really?"
She cautiously walked over to the bed and gently took the box in her hands. She looked at the mailing address, and indeed, it was what she had been waiting for. Straight from Japan, it was the next Naruto volume.
"Yes!" Adrianna punched the air in excitement.
"Ahem," the little girl interrupted her sister's victory dance. The elder girl turned to see her sister's hand extended, as if awaiting for something in return.
The teen slouched in disappointment. "Really?"
"Yes!" Alicia exclaimed. "Do you know how much work I go through to get you your manga volume? I have to get the mail everyday just to make sure Mom and Dad don't see it if it happens to come. And then when it does come, I have to sneak it passed them and into my room. It's a lot of work," she explained in a dramatic fashion.
Adrianna glared at her younger sister. "You're evil, you little mischievous devil child."
"Hey, even devil children need some kind of payment," Alicia said, with her hand still extended.
"Well, I can't give you money. I don't get paid until next week, so I need to save what I have for gas for the car," Adrianna said.
"Oh well," Alicia shrugged. "Guess Mom and Dad will just have to know that you've been spending that gas money on manga shipping deliveries."
"You wouldn't dare," Adrianna said, her eyes squinted in suspicion and doubt.
"Do you know who you're talking to?" Alicia asked.
She suddenly made a dash passed Adrianna toward the stairs. Shocked, the elder girl quickly turned around and tackled her sister to the ground.
"How about I give you chocolate, huh? You like chocolate, Alice," the teen asked as she looked down at the girl who was being squashed beneath her.
"What kind?" Alicia asked suspiciously.
"Whatever kind you want. I have a whole stash," Adrianna said.
"Hmm… alright. Just get off of me. You're crushing me," Alicia gasped.
"Hey! That's all muscle from varsity swimming, I'll have you know!" Adrianna said as she helped her sister stand up.
"Hey, the extra weight could be from this candy stash you're about to show me," Alicia shrugged.
"Well, now that you're insulting me, you can forget about that chocolate," Adrianna said, crossing her arms across her chest.
"And then you can say goodbye to Naruto," Alicia countered, crossing her own arms.
The adolescent glared at her sister. "You are so conniving. How are we even related?"
"That's a conversation for another day. For now, chocolate!"
The teen shook her head in defeat. She turned to go into her room and dug through one of her drawers in the bedside table. She took out a large paper bag full with candy. Upon seeing the bag, the ten-year-old raised an eyebrow.
"What? I get cravings, alright? I'm a swimmer, we like to eat," Adrianna said defensively. "Just take your pick."
After a few moments of digging through the bag, the ten-year-old made her selection of three pieces of chocolate. "Okay, we're all cool now," Alicia smiled.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now get out of my room so I can read in peace," the older sister ordered.
"Fine, fine. Enjoy your manga," the little girl said as she departed.
The teen shook her head in awe. "Yup… definitely the devil's child…" she muttered.
She quickly changed out of her street clothes and put on a black Richardson High Swim Team sweatshirt and red and black plaid pajama pants. She took a seat on her small comfy armchair, grabbed her hot chocolate, and tore open the box that held her Naruto book. A Bridge to Peace.
The man was a true shinobi down to the bone, even while his final destination remained unclear. Now, the final chapter in a long spiral of betrayal.
"Adrianna! Take the dog out! She has to pee!" the man of the household yelled up the stairs.
"I'm doing homework!" Adrianna lied, yelling back as she didn't make a move to leave her comfy seat.
"You have all weekend to do homework. But Cookie has to go out now. So let's go!" Sam ordered his eldest daughter.
Adrianna groaned as she removed herself from her armchair. She was just about to begin another chapter in her new manga volume. She had already read three chapters. She was now on chapter 508, "A Death Befitting a Shinobi". A picture of Kisame Hoshigaki and a large shark was the front page of the chapter, and Adrianna was just about to delve deeper into the Naruto world when her dad had called her.
She glanced at her clock. It read 10:23 P.M. "Oh yeah, just send a teenage girl out in the dark November cold at nearly ten thirty at night. That is totally safe…" Adrianna muttered to herself sarcastically.
She slipped on her sneakers and put on her winter coat as she walked down the stairs. She grabbed the dog leash, but low and behold, the dog was nowhere to be found.
"Every time!" Adrianna screamed.
"Adrianna, what do you do to the dog that makes her hide from you whenever you have to take her out?" the girl's mother asked.
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Adrianna countered unhappily.
She trudged into the kitchen and found the little Yorkshire terrier hiding under the table. The dog wasn't even cowering in fear or anything. She was just sitting there, staring at the teen. If anything, Adrianna could have sworn there was mischief in the dog's eyes. She had that 'Haha, you can't catch me' look in her black eyes.
"You little monster," Adrianna muttered. "Come," she said in a stern enough voice.
The dog slowly made her way out from under the table and walked over to the adolescent. Adrianna picked her up and held her in her arms. She hooked the leash on the collar and placed a quick kiss on the dog's head.
"You are so annoying, Cookie. It's a good thing you're cute," Adrianna smiled down at the small canine.
She put the dog back down on the floor, and the two went out the front door and into the freezing cold. Adrianna had hoped that she wouldn't have to stray too far away from the house; she just wanted to get back inside to the warmth. But of course, Cookie wanted to drag her down the street toward the small woodsy area that sat a little distance away from the house.
The dog had to stop and sniff at practically every blade of grass they happened to pass by. Meanwhile, Adrianna was just being dragged along. For a ten-pound Yorkshire terrier, Cookie could be pretty strong sometimes. By now, the dog had dragged her teen master out of sight from the Sun household. And Adrianna didn't like being close to the woods. The last time she had been in the woods, she had met a crazed Naruto fanatic who looked a lot like her anime crush.
The teenager was snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden growling. She looked down to see Cookie staring at something in the woods, growling in a deep snarl. Becoming slightly nervous now, Adrianna tugged on the leash, trying to drag the small dog with her.
"C'mon, Cookie. Let's go," the girl whispered, almost as if she was afraid someone else would hear her.
Adrianna started dragging Cookie along with her, and she turned around to head back into the house. However, just as she turned around, she bumped into something. Something that wasn't there two seconds before.
Startled, the junior shook her head and looked at what she had bumped into. Or rather, who she had bumped into.
The Kiba look-alike.
Adrianna opened her mouth to scream, but the guy quickly placed his hand over her mouth. "Don't scream," he ordered, his voice in a low growl. After a few moments, he thought it safe. So he removed his hand.
"AAHH-"
The girl's scream was interrupted by the boy smacking his hand back over her mouth. "Stop it."
He removed his hand again to be met with, "AH-"
"Stop," he ordered again as he placed both hands over her mouth. He made to remove his hands for a third time, but she looked about ready to continue screaming, so he put them back in place. "Don't do it."
He finally removed his hands, and Adrianna closed her eyes tightly. "EEEPPP!" she squeaked. She opened one eye to look at him and then quickly shut it again. "Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!"
The guy stared at her as she had a short panic attack. "Are you done yet?"
Adrianna started hyperventilating. "What the heck are you doing here? Did you follow me home? Are you a stalker or something?"
"Well, it sure wasn't easy following you, I'll tell you that much," the brown-haired boy said. "There are way too many scents in this place to sort through, and the air in this area is so polluted."
"Look, I don't know who you are or why you are bothering me, but please just go…"
Adrianna trailed off of her sentence as she noticed something peculiar. Cookie was sniffing the guy's leg in interest, and she didn't seem scared or anything. She seemed to really like the Kiba look-alike. Usually, it was only in movies when the dog found interest in the random stranger.
Suddenly, a large white beast emerged from the bushes beside the guy, and Adrianna's poor dog shrunk low to the ground in fear. When the big white dog came closer, the Yorkshire terrier quickly flipped over onto her back in submission. Her ears back and her paws practically held up in surrender, Cookie was the picture of cowardice.
Adrianna face-palmed. "Cookie, you make a terrible guard dog."
"Hey, isn't that a cute little girl," the boy said suddenly as he looked at the dog. He bent down and started rubbing Cookie's stomach, and the dog let the stranger massage her.
"Hey! Get off my dog!" the junior quickly shouted as she picked the dog up and held her close to her body. "Who are you? Where are you from?"
"My name is Kiba Inuzuka. I am of the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the Fire Country. I am a registered chuunin of my village. My dog's name is Akamaru, and he is my qualified ninja hound, my partner throughout combat and shinobi arts," the boy said seriously.
There was no hint of humor or falsity within his features, which is what made Adrianna even more nervous. "There… there's no way you're a real ninja."
"What do you mean?"
"There are no ninjas here!" Adrianna yelled.
"Well, I am a shinobi. There's really no way you can convince me that I'm not," Kiba said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Fine, if you are so convinced that you are a real ninja, prove it. Do something ninja-ish," Adrianna countered.
Kiba quirked his eyebrow at her request. "Fine."
He raised his arms in front of himself in an X formation as he began to concentrate. Adrianna just watched with doubtful amusement. "Ha, I bet this weirdo is trying to summon chakra or something."
Then, what the girl saw next really frightened her.
The boy standing in front of her began to almost… change. His teeth became noticeably sharper. His eyes somehow became fiercer and wilder. His hands seemed to evolve into claws with sharpened nails. And if that wasn't enough, Adrianna could practically feel some kind of beastly energy emanating from him.
She involuntarily shivered.
"Akamaru!" Kiba called. The boy crouched down to the ground so that he was on all fours, and his white dog leaped up so that he was standing on top of his master's back.
Clutching Cookie closer to her chest, Adrianna gasped as a whirl of wind suddenly picked up in the dark night. Dirt and dust swept up into a light tornado around Kiba and Akamaru.
"Man Beast Clone Jutsu!" the boy's voice yelled from within the tornado of dust.
A poof of smoke appeared, and the girl inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, the smoke disappeared, and Adrianna gasped. She would have screamed, but she couldn't find her voice.
Kiba was now standing in front of her, a smug smile on his face. But what scared Adrianna out of her wits was the fact that there was another Kiba standing right beside the original. Actually, both were smiling cockily at her, and she couldn't tell which one was the real one.
But it didn't matter which one was which. The fact of the matter was that there were two of them… two of him…
When the girl finally did find her voice, she was only able to stammer unintelligible sentences. "Ah… it did… what the… huh…"
"Was that ninja-ish enough for you?" the real Kiba asked.
Adrianna's mouth was left hanging open as she gaped at the sight before her. She slowly reached a hand out and poked Kiba's arm. He raised an eyebrow at her. Then she did the same to the other Kiba. Akamaru… or Kiba's copy… merely looked at her in interest, wondering what she was doing.
The girl started to hyperventilate. They were really there. They weren't illusions. For real, they were actually there. "This can't be happening…" she muttered almost inaudibly.
Another poof of smoke appeared around the second Kiba, and Adrianna almost jumped out of her skin. Akamaru was once again standing beside his master. "Told you I was a ninja," Kiba grinned smugly.
"I… I still don't understand… why are you here?" Adrianna asked.
"I followed you because I still think you know some information that can help me. Plus, you're the one who found me in the woods, so you're the only one I can really turn to right now," Kiba said as he shrugged.
"No, what I mean is… what are you doing here? Like, in this place. In this world!" Adrianna said with a wide sweeping gesture with her one free arm.
"Oh, well my team and I were tracking down this rogue ninja. He's a serial thief, so we were sent to track him and apprehend him," Kiba explained. "But he used some type of space continuum technique and created some freaky portal thing. A rock hit me in the head, and the next thing I remember, I'm on the ground in the woods, where you found me."
Adrianna's eyes were as wide as saucers. It wasn't due to his story… well, maybe a little bit. But what was really scaring Adrianna was the question: How on earth had she gotten involved in all of this?
Taking a few deep breaths to steady her nerves, she looked into Kiba's black eyes. "Okay, let me think." She pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to focus without freaking out. "Well, what about your team? What happened to Hinata and Shino?"
Silence.
Adrianna looked up into Kiba's eyes again. His face showed confusion and ferocity at the same time. The girl was bewildered, wondering why he was staring at her with such a strange look.
Then she realized what she had said. She clapped her hand over her mouth in shock, inwardly cursing at herself for her stupidity. "Can… Can we forget that I said that?" she asked weakly.
As quick as lightning with just as much force as thunder, Kiba grabbed Adrianna and threw her up against a tree. He had one arm pushed against Adrianna's gut and the other pressed against her throat. Akamaru was crouching slightly, growling lowly at the girl. Cookie started barking wildly, trying to jump out of her teenage master's arms to lunge and attack the stranger.
"How do you know my teammates' names? I never once said who they were," Kiba growled ferociously.
"I… I…" Adrianna choked out.
"Tell me!" Kiba yelled in her face as he leaned in closer.
Adrianna could see the points of his canines as he bared his beastly fangs at her. She closed her eyes tightly, almost as if that single act of fear would shield her from the pain that the ninja would surely inflict on her.
Not thinking, merely acting, Adrianna quickly snapped her hand up and slapped it across Kiba's cheek. Shocked at being struck so suddenly, Kiba stepped backwards and gingerly caressed his cheek. He glared daggers at the female.
Adrianna brought her hand up to her throat, taking in gulps of air like her life depended on it. She slowly slid to the ground, sitting on the grass and clutching her Yorkshire terrier close to her. "What is the matter with you?" she gasped.
"How do you know who my teammates are? Are you some sort of spy or something?" Kiba asked, ignoring her question.
"First of all, if I was a spy, I wouldn't have made a slipup like that and said their names!" Adrianna screamed. Kiba still glared at her, and then he slowly started to ease out of his threatening stare as he realized the truth in her words. "I'm just an ordinary teenage girl. And I won't help you if you keep throwing me up against trees like that, like I'm some kind of criminal. You're lucky I didn't kick you in your man business again!"
Kiba sighed. "Fine. You're right." He reached his hand out to her, and she hesitantly took it. He helped her to her feet, and she brushed the dirt off of her pants.
"Okay. I'll only help you if you promise not to do that again. You'll get sent to prison if you keep doing that here," Adrianna said.
"Alright, alright," Kiba replied. "Now, you obviously know something about where I'm from, otherwise you wouldn't have known about Hinata and Shino. So are you going to tell me everything you know?"
Adrianna bit her lip in nervousness. "Alright… I guess I'll try to help you," she nodded. "Go hide in front of my house. My bedroom is on that side of the house, so I'll open my window for you to come in. My parents cannot see or hear you, or else they'll kill me for having a boy in my room."
"Okay," Kiba nodded. He disappeared quickly, Akamaru following.
Adrianna practically sprinted to her house, dragging Cookie along with her. She arrived back at the house and threw the door open.
"Hey, what took you so long, honey?" Jade asked her daughter.
"Uh… Cookie… couldn't find a good place to do her business…" Adrianna lied quickly as she unhooked the leash and hung it back on the hook.
"How late are you staying up until?" her father asked.
"Um… I don't know."
"Because we're going to bed now. It's getting late," Sam said as he stood up.
"Okay. Good night," Adrianna said as she kissed both of her parents good night.
She followed her parents upstairs, Cookie trailing behind the family. The adults kissed Alicia good night, and then they retreated into their room. Cookie pranced inside after the parents, plopping down in a comfortable spot beside the bed.
Adrianna waited for their door to close. After she heard the click of the closed door, she sprinted into her own room and closed the door. She was about to run over to the window when something caught her eye.
Her new Naruto manga was resting on her armchair. She stared at it for a moment longer when she suddenly gasped. Adrianna grabbed the book and threw it in a box she had lying under her desk. Her collection of Naruto manga. She pushed the box back under her desk to hide it. She just didn't think it would be a good idea for Kiba to see the manga from which he was from. At least not right then.
After making sure there was nothing Naruto-ish that just happened to be lying around, she ran to the window and threw it open. She looked out into the dark night, trying to spot the ninja and his hound.
Suddenly, Kiba and Akamaru were kneeling in front of her. They were standing on the roof that sat in front of her window. Adrianna nearly jumped out of her skin at their sudden arrival.
"Jeez, you scared the crap out of me!" she hissed as she moved out of the way for them to come in.
"Hey, nice place," Kiba complimented as he climbed through the window. "You got any food?"
Adrianna stared at him like he was crazy. She quickly closed the window to block the chilly air once Akamaru made his way inside. "Excuse me?"
"Hey, I haven't eaten all day, alright? Don't blame me because I'm hungry," Kiba pouted.
And it was at that moment when Adrianna realized that she was talking to the Kiba Inuzuka. He wasn't some crazy maniac who belonged in a mental institution anymore. He was real. Her favorite character from her favorite manga was standing in her bedroom. The fictional character… her anime crush… was actually there.
Adrianna almost passed out at that moment. Somehow, she was able to stay upright as she stared at Kiba. Shaking her head at her fan girl instincts, she went over to a drawer and pulled out her stash of candy.
"Here, just have something from this. I am not going into the kitchen just to please your appetite," Adrianna said.
"Someone sounds a little snippy," Kiba grinned as he took a handful of chocolate treats out of the bag.
"Well, it's not everyday a ninja practically lands on my front porch," Adrianna said.
"Technically, I landed in the woods," Kiba countered as he shoved a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
"Yeah, the woods next to my school," Adrianna replied.
"You still go to school?" Kiba asked.
"Yes. School doesn't end until you're around eighteen," Adrianna said. "And then there's college… so in this world, people are usually in school until they're about twenty-one. Sometimes more."
"Whoa! That sucks for you guys. I graduated at twelve," Kiba said, almost as if he was bragging towards her.
"Yeah, well your ninja school is different than high school. Trust me," Adrianna said, rolling her eyes. "So do you want to discuss your situation or not?"
"Alright," Kiba said as he took a seat in her armchair. Akamaru plopped down by his master's feet.
"Okay, you told me about the space continuum guy," Adrianna said as she sat on her bed. "What else is there?"
"Well, that's it from my perspective. I want to know whatever it is you know," Kiba said, leaning forward to stare at her. His elbows rested on his knees as he gave an expectant look.
"Um… like what?" Adrianna asked nervously as she started to blush slightly.
"Well, you never did get around to answering my question of how you know my teammates," Kiba said.
"Um… well, uh… you see…"
Oh crap. Should she tell him that he was only a fictional character? That his entire life was supposed to be determined by the ideas of Masashi Kishimoto? That… he wasn't even the main character… that he was just a supporting character?
"Uh… remember when I said that ninjas don't exist here?" Adrianna asked.
"Yeah," Kiba replied.
"Well, that was true. There are no ninjas here, or at least not ninjas that use chakra," Adrianna said. "The reason why I know about your teammates… and chakra for that matter is because… in my world, many things that have happened in your world have already happened."
"What do you mean?" Kiba asked in confusion.
"Let's see, how do I put this…?" Adrianna said, biting her thumb in thought. How could she pull off a decent lie without really lying? "I know what has happened in your world because my world is ahead of your time. Like, we're in the future, and you're in the past."
"So… you know everything that's ever happened in my world?" Kiba asked.
"Well, there are some fuzzy things here and there," Adrianna said, tugging on a strand of hair in nervousness.
"So that means someone has to know a way to send me back, right?" Kiba asked in hopefulness.
"Um… well, not everyone knows about it. It's almost like… a select few know about your world because they have studied it. Such as me," Adrianna said.
Well, that part was true. Some people didn't even know what the manga of Naruto was. She, however, looked up information on characters, stats, bios, the whole shebang when it came to Naruto.
"Hmm… so how do I know I can trust you?" Kiba asked, leaning back against the chair and crossing his arms.
"Because honestly, if you went to someone else and started telling your story of how you were sent here from another dimension, you would be sent to the loony house," Adrianna said with a smile.
"Then I would just use my chakra and do some kickass moves to impress them. That would make everyone believe me," the ninja countered.
"No, that will get you sent to some kind of government lab where scientists will test you to look for any form of mutant evidence," Adrianna shot back.
"Ugh," Kiba groaned as he threw his head back against the chair. Then he suddenly winced in pain. He clutched his head to stop the throbbing aching in his cranium. "Ow."
"Are you alright?" Adrianna asked worriedly.
"Yeah. It's just that rock that hit me on the head from when I was sucked into this world," Kiba explained. "I can feel a huge lump there."
"Hold on, I'll get you some ice," Adrianna said as she left her room.
She went downstairs and into the kitchen to retrieve some ice. She grabbed a plastic bag and stuffed ice cubes into it. As she did this, she couldn't help but think about what was suddenly happening.
An actual character from Naruto was sitting in her room. She had had a conversation with him. And she actually didn't pass out from talking to him, considering she loved his character. Then the thought of how things were going to work out drifted into her mind. Adrianna had always wished Kiba really existed. He was cute, fun, and cool. And now he was actually here.
But it would never work. He was a fictional character. A ninja from a Japanese manga. He wasn't real. No matter how much Adrianna wished he really existed, he just didn't. And somehow, fate had chosen her to help Kiba get back home. She didn't know how on earth she was going to do that, but she knew she would help him no matter what.
That was her job. She would help him home, and that would be it. And once he was back, she would just go back to fantasizing about being with him.
Adrianna sighed. She grabbed the bag of ice and headed back upstairs. Lost in her thoughts, she walked into her room.
"Adrianna!" a voice exclaimed loudly.
Adrianna jumped in astonishment at the voice. She looked up to see Alicia standing in her room, a look of confusion on her face. The elder girl gawked. But then she realized something important.
Kiba and Akamaru were nowhere to be seen.
"I was wondering where you went," Alicia said as she looked at her older sister. Then she raised an eyebrow. "Why are you holding a bag of ice?"
"Uh…" Adrianna stammered. "I… hit my head against the wall. I just needed something to soothe it."
"Hmm…" the ten-year-old stared at her suspiciously. "Well, I was going to bed. I came here to say good night."
"Oh, yeah. Good night, Alice," Adrianna said as she kissed her sister on the forehead.
The ten-year-old left the room, closing the door behind her. The teen instantly grew tense, slowly looking around the room.
"Kiba!" she hissed. "Where'd you go?"
Her closet door suddenly opened, and Kiba and Akamaru walked out. "Dang, that was close," Kiba laughed.
Adrianna's hand instantly went to cover her heart in relief. "My gosh, you scared the crap out of me!"
"Hey, don't worry about me," Kiba grinned.
The girl almost fainted at his handsome smile. "Uh, yeah, here's your ice," she muttered as she handed him the bag of ice.
"Thanks," he said as he held it to his head. "So what's the plan now, Adrianna?"
"Well, I think the first thing we should establish is trust," the raven-haired girl said as she sat down on her bed, cross-legged. "Do you trust me?"
Kiba stared into her eyes. Her brown orbs showed only honesty and care. So he nodded. "Yeah, I trust you. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, I do," Adrianna smiled.
"So you'll try and help me find a way home?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah. But meanwhile, you'll have to try and fit in. You can't go around being a ninja here. That'll get you arrested or something along those lines," Adrianna said.
"What are you suggesting, exactly?" the brown-haired boy asked nervously.
"Well…" Adrianna scratched her head nervously. "I was thinking you let me teach you how to fit in."
"What will that involve?"
"Going to school, wearing the right clothes, learning about our society…" Adrianna explained. "You can think of it as a mission."
The boy stared at her for a few moments, pondering on his decision. He was a little skeptical on her plan. Sure, he liked the idea of her helping him get home. But he wasn't too sure on the whole 'fitting in' part. It could end in disaster.
But he sighed in defeat. "I guess I really don't have a choice. You are the only one I know who would be willing to help me."
Adrianna nodded. "So do we have a deal?" She held her hand out to him.
"Yeah, deal," Kiba grinned as he shook her hand.
"Great. Come by tomorrow morning," she smiled warmly at him.
"You got it," Kiba said. He turned on his heel and headed towards the window. "See you tomorrow, then."
"See you," Adrianna waved. Kiba grinned and then jumped out of the window, Akamaru following.
Adrianna closed the window after he left. She sighed as she plopped down on her bed. Realization hit her, and she smacked her hands to her face.
"I just made a plan with the Kiba Inuzuka to help him get back to his own dimension. I am helping a fictional character try to fit in to my world." Adrianna began to shake her head as she stared at her ceiling. "What is up with my life?"