Part 4: Unwanted Visitors

I told my story in as good detail as I could; no one interrupted me. When I finished, all was silent a moment.

"So you were alive the whole time?" Naruto asked.

"Deidara's still alive?" Sam asked in a surprised and worried tone.

"Mamoru…," Kakashi murmured as though he had heard the name but couldn't put his finger on where he had heard it.

"Wow, you went through a bit much," Sakura remarked.

"One at a time," I smiled. "First, yes, I was alive the whole time. As I said, I was never dead. Second, unfortunately, yes. Deidara is still alive." I paused. "I assume not much else has changed on your part?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head. "Nothin's changed at all." He grinned, put his hands on the table, and added, "Except for the fact that Gaara and Sam are together now."

Sakura hit him on the back of the head for the third time that day. "Will you stop it?"

I smiled. By doing so, I smiled wider, knowing I no longer had to restrain it.

Kakashi turned to us. "Now that that's settled, we should probably discuss getting home."

Naruto frowned. "I guess…."

"Would it be alright if Gaara and I escorted you back?" Sam asked. She looked to Gaara. "That is, if he wants to come along, and if he can."

"It's fine with me," Kakashi said.

"Sure," Sakura agreed.

"Of course!" Naruto said with enthusiasm.

"I'm sure I have enough time," Gaara said, "but I'll have to alert Baki."

"We'll leave at dawn tomorrow," Kakashi said. "We'll meet at the village gates."

"Right!" Sakura agreed.

I smiled, and we all got up from our seats to go our separate ways for the night.


Most of the trip was uneventful. It was the night of our second day's travel that was most significant.

I was lying at camp; all seemed quiet. I could only hear the breathing of my comrades and of myself, the sharp crackle of the fire, and the soft forest night sounds. And yet, I couldn't sleep.

I silently sat up, and got to my feet. I swiftly climbed a tree and sat on a seemingly perfect branch, with the full moon hanging in the clear sky in perfect view. I sat there quietly, thinking about all the things that had happened. I heard a rustle beside me, and turned to see Naruto.

He looked at me, and sat down. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I just couldn't sleep."

He looked to the moon. "Me neither." He paused. "What a nice view."

"Yeah…. This is surely one of nature's beauties."

"Yeah…," he sighed. We sat silently watching the moon for around three minutes.

Naruto broke that silence. "Natalie?" he asked softly.

I turned to him. It was still odd hearing my name again, after the two years I had been known as Naomi. "Yeah?"

He looked at me, straight in the eye. "I won't ever let anything like that happen again. Believe it!" I turned my gaze to the ground far below us. "Wh… What's wrong?"

I looked back to him. "I hid myself from you for two years, letting you think I was dead." I took a short pause. "Thank you… for forgiving me."

"You don't need to be forgiven. You're my friend, and I'm just glad to have you back."

I smiled. "I know I've changed a lot, but the old me is still there. You guys are helping me come out again."

He smiled back. "I missed you," he whispered.

Our hands inched closer and closer together, until our fingertips touched. (A/N: Meh.)

"I missed you too," I answered softly. We stared deep into each other's eyes. His were crystal blue, with the moon gently reflecting off of them. (A/N: …)

It all came naturally. I leaned forward, and our lips touched. I pulled back. There was a glimmer in his eyes that wasn't there before; I was sure he felt the same way as I did. We leaned forward again, with more meaning, purpose.

I knew I was never supposed to meet him. I knew that he was from a different world. I knew that we didn't belong together. But… I didn't care. It seemed as though we were meant for each other. It seemed as though he was my other half, the missing piece to my life.

It was only a single moment. It didn't seem to last, yet it also seemed like a small eternity. …My first kiss.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" (A/N: 'Tis over!)

We immediately pulled back, and turned to see who had watched us. Naruto turned too hard, and ended up slipping off the branch and falling to the ground. He sat up and rubbed his head. "Ow…."

I looked at the person who had supposedly spied on us, who laughed at the sight of Naruto's fall.

"Sam!"

She waved her hand in an uncaring gesture. "Aw, don't worry," she said. "Gaara and I have done that a bit too while you were gone."

I looked behind her. "Um…. Sam?" I asked, pointing behind her. She turned to see Gaara standing there.

I looked closer. Was Gaara… blushing? I had never seen Gaara blush before. Sam, of course, was blushing too, in embarrassment.

Naruto grinned. "Why don't you prove it?"

Her cheeks grew a shade darker. "Um…. Prove it?"

"Yeah!"

I jumped from the branch to the ground. I've got to see this, I thought. I blinked. The old me was coming back after all.

"Okay…." She walked up to Gaara, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"No," Naruto argued.

Sam turned to me. "You like him?" I smiled in response. "Fine!" she said. She turned to Gaara and gave a nice, long kiss to the lips. She pulled back. "Better?" (A/N: Heh.)

Naruto broke down into laughter. "I guess there are two couples in the group now, huh?"

Gaara's eyes were wide, and his cheeks were a deep red. I couldn't help but smile a little wider.

"What's all the noise about?" Sakura asked, just coming into our little area.

"Nothing," we all replied in perfect unison; except, of course, for Gaara, who still stood speechless.

She examined the scene a moment. "All right," she turned to Naruto, "for now." He just smiled in return, now standing. "Right….," she said.

We headed back to camp, and lay down for the night. I had the most peaceful sleep I had had in a long time.

"Bye Sam!" I called. "Bye Gaara!" Naruto and Sakura were beside me, waving good-bye.

"Bye guys!" she called back. Gaara just smiled.

It was late afternoon of the very day we got back. I don't know why they were leaving so soon. I guess they were just in a hurry to get home, since Gaara was the Kazekage.

Oh, it felt so good to be myself again. I had changed a bit, and never would be exactly the same, but I was still me. It was hard to watch Sam go, though, since I hadn't seen her for two years. And yet, I was happy at the same time. Things were back to normal, and I felt like I was home.

"I'm going to the library a bit to look something up," I told Naruto and Sakura. "Does anyone want to come along?"

"Sure," Sakura replied at once.

Naruto, however, hesitated. After all, reading wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do. "…Fine. I'll come along."

So we walked off to the library. There was something I was curious about, but had never bothered to look it up in my time as Naomi.


I was so glad Natalie was home. Yet, this wasn't really home. But now… it felt like it was. We had been here for two years.

Sometimes I wondered how our parents were getting along. The police would have already stopped sending search parties to look for us. People would always wonder where we were, though, no matter how long we were gone.

But now that Natalie was back, we could continue our search for a way home. I had promised her two years ago, after all, that we would try to find a way.

Anyway, we had just left the Leaf Village. It was late afternoon, and overall a nice day. It was strange to hear all the forest birds chirping, when I was only used to hearing a desert bird's occasional call.

Since we had left so soon, we weren't in any real rush. We simply went in the right direction at a steady pace on the forest floor.

After about an hour of walking, we reached a brush right in front of a clearing ahead. It was then we heard voices.

To me, they were familiar voices. I remembered hearing them before. These voices were voices I could never forget, no matter how hard I tried.

We stopped, and by now Gaara was already crouched behind the bush. He pulled me down beside him, as he knew it was too late to leave the area unnoticed.

Three people walked into the clearing in front of us. I knew if we made any noise, we'd be killed. All I could do was give Gaara a worried glance, then look back to the three intruders: Kabuto, Sasuke, and Orochimaru.

Of course, with my luck, they stopped to rest right there in front of us. All we could do was wait; watch and wait. Maybe we could get information from their conversation, if there was one.

Orochimaru leaned against a large rock near the back of the clearing. Now I knew we couldn't so much as move, or we'd be seen. Luckily, the wind was blowing in our direction, so it would be harder to catch out scent. Sasuke sat on a small rock to the left of us, and Kabuto simply kneeled on the ground, rubbing his scalpel and such.

As he rubbed, he began to speak. "I hear one of your Sound Village subordinates was killed."


At the library, Naruto got a book on wind element jutsu, Sakura got a book with a title I couldn't read quite yet (I still hadn't mastered Japanese), and I got a book of records to read.

We all sat at the same table. Sakura sat on to other side, to my left, and Naruto sat on my side, also to my left.

Each of us began to look through our books. I wanted to look something specific up.

Here it is, I thought.

I read the section carefully. After a moment's reading, I found something surprising. "This can't be…," I murmured.


Orochimaru chuckled. "Did it really take you that long to find that out?" he asked. "He died half a year ago. I thought better of you."

"What subordinate?" Sasuke asked, barely seeming interested.

Orochimaru smirked. "Mamoru."


"What is it?" Naruto asked me.

Sakura looked up from her book. "I was looking up Mamoru…," I began.

"Oh?" Sakura asked. "Let's see."

I looked back to the records book. "It says that Mamoru was a subordinate of Orochimaru."


I gasped. Of course, I immediately regretted it. Gaara clamped his hand over my mouth, but I knew it was already too late.

Their short conversation came to an abrupt halt. All three of them were looking in our direction.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Looks like we've got visitors," he remarked.

Sasuke put his hand on his sword in preparation. Orochimaru smirked. "Come out, you two. We know you're here."

Gaara and I looked at each other. That was all we need to do to know what the other was thinking: we needed to cooperate.


"O… Orochimaru?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide.

I closed the book, turned my gaze to the ceiling, and shut my eyes. "That's what the records book says," I replied.

All was silent for a minute or two. I can't believe I trusted one of Orochimaru's subordinates, I thought. I know he said he joined a group of "bad guys," but Orochimaru?

I sighed and looked to the window. It was getting dark. "I think I'm going to bed," I said. They had helped me find a room earlier.

"Me, too," Sakura answered.

Naruto put his hands behind his head. "I'll stay up a bit longer. I think I'll get myself another round of Ichiraku."

Sakura sighed. "Just don't stuff yourself."

"I won't."

So, I headed off to bed.


We stood simultaneously. I tried to look confident, but I didn't know if my expression was cooperating. I was, after all, extremely scared.

It was just me and Gaara against Sasuke, who four people couldn't beat; Kabuto, who could drain opponent's chakra as well as heal; and Orochimaru, who was the Leaf Village's worst opponent, and had killed the Third Hokage.

In other words, we were doomed.


I stood deep in the woods, the canopy blocking out most of the light. How did I get here? I wondered. I thought a moment. This must be a dream.

I began to walk on the path, my pace getting faster and faster. I was afraid. But… what was I afraid of?

Suddenly, I was gone. I could still see everything around me, but me, myself was gone. I was there, just not physically. I rushed ahead with speed I didn't have.

I soon slowed, and stopped above a clearing. Something was going on down there, but what? My vision seemed to zoom in, from right where I was.

There were five people…. Two of them were Sam and Gaara, and the other three were…Kabuto, Sasuke, and Orochimaru? What the hell was the Snake Squad doing here? (A/N: Yes, I call them the Snake Squad. Hehe….)

Without my consent, my eyesight kept zooming in. Orochimaru looked seemingly straight at me, and licked his lips. I shuddered. Then, so suddenly, he rushed out at me.

I sat bolt upright in bed. With all of my experience in dreams, I knew this meant something: Sam and Gaara were fighting those three outlaws, and they were in the Land of Fire.


I saw a short flash of surprise from Sasuke's eyes at seeing Gaara. It was gone as soon as it was there, though. "So then, is this who you were looking for?" Kabuto asked Orochimaru.

By then, his chilling smirk was gone. "No," he answered.

"We came out here to find someone?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, but this isn't the one."

"If that's all we came out for, why did you bring me?" Sasuke was obviously getting annoyed.

"So that you can train along the way. That is what you want, right Sasuke?" He scowled in reply, and got to his feet. Kabuto pocketed his tools, and got up as well.

"Who are you looking for?" I questioned.

Kabuto smirked. "None of your business."

Orochimaru licked his lips, and I suppressed the shudder rippling down my spine. "Oh, why don't we tell them?" he asked. "Besides, Sasuke might want to know."

My eyes narrowed. I took a glance at Gaara; he was staring at Sasuke, as he had been the whole time.

"Mamoru trained someone," Orochimaru continued, "and I'd like to see how well he trained her."

My eyes widened. Natalie, I thought.

"All I know of her is that she's from the Leaf and she is considerably skilled," he said.

Only then did I notice it was getting dark. I also then remembered mine and Natalie's dreams. Natalie, I thought. If you come, bring backup – a lot of backup. We lost you once, there's no way we're losing you again. I curled my hands into fists. Besides, he has to get through me.


The first place I ran was Ichiraku. "Naruto!" I called.

He turned in his seat. "Yeah, Natalie?" He saw my worried expression, and immediately realized whatever made me come was urgent. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Sam and Gaara are in trouble!"

"How do you know?"

"I had a very vivid dream. You know how real my dreams can be."

He nodded. "So what do we do?"

"You get Kakashi to help, and to get backup. I'll get Sakura."

"Okay." We ran apart, going as fast as we could.


"They don't have anyone with them," Orochimaru said. "Let's play with them." He licked his lips. Again. Ew. Were his lips dry or something?

My eyes narrowed to slits. "Sasuke," Gaara said. I turned to him. "Your eyes are exactly the same as when I last saw you, filled with pain, hatred, and the need for revenge. But... you're searching for power in the wrong places." Orochimaru scowled. "I know you want to kill your brother, I understand that, but you don't need Orochimaru to do that."

Then, Oro smirked, and took a few steps back. "Oh, pardon me. This is Sasuke's fight." Kabuto did the same, backing into the shadows.

Sasuke looked to Gaara, and unsheathed his sword. "I'm not convinced."


I rushed into Sakura's house, and found her still awake. She was still dressed appropriately, which was a very good thing considering I didn't know whether Sam and Gaara were in serious danger yet. Nonetheless, we needed to take action, and quick.

"Natalie, what's wrong?" she asked me.

I paused a moment. "Let's just say you'll be able to see Sasuke again." She stared at me, her eyes wide.

"Yes. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke are in the Land of Fire."

"We need to tell Kakashi sensei!" she exclaimed.

"I told Naruto to get him."

She gave a curt nod. "Let's go."

We met Kakashi and Naruto at the village gates. "So what's going on?" Kakashi asked.

"Orochimaru, along with Kabuto and Sasuke, are nearby in the Land of Fire. Sam and Gaara will either now or soon will be facing them."

"And you know this from a dream?" I nodded. He gave an understanding nod in reply. "Backup will come soon. Until then, lead the way."

We traveled for only fifteen minutes, when Kakashi slowed to a halt. "If your dream is correct, then it's best to be cautious."

I nodded. "Right." I looked around from our high point, on the branch of a tree. I recognized where we were from my dream. "We're getting closer."


Gaara closed his eyes a moment. He pulled the cork from his sand gourd, and opened them. By looking into them, I saw the sadness. He was sad for Sasuke, and the decisions he made.

I, however, hated Sasuke.

"It pains me," Gaara said, "but if it's a fight you want," I saw the sand begin to rise, "then so be it."

The sand rushed toward him. I used it to mask my movement, and supposedly reappeared behind Sasuke.

I had thought I had surprised him, but he looked so calm. He suddenly and simply released chidori from all parts of his body, knocking me and Gaara's sand back. I must admit it was very painful. I at first couldn't get up.

Sasuke began lifting his word to strike, when Orochimaru spoke. "Wait," he said. "It seems we have more visitors."


We hid behind a tree; all we could hear was silence. Then, I heard the pop of the cork of Gaara's gourd. The fight was about to begin.

"It pains me," I heard Gaara say, "but if it's a fight you want," there was a short pause, "then so be it."

I heard the light chirping of birds a moment later. Chidori, I thought. I heard a yelp of pain from Sam. I flinched at the sound.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto whispered.

"We could go around," I suggested softly. "Then we could catch them by surprise."

"No, Orochimaru is too good for that," Kakashi explained. "He would know we were there."

I nodded. "You're right."

"So I guess we just have to wait for backup," Sakura whispered.

"That would be the best way," Kakashi replied.

Our conversation immediately stopped when we heard Orochimaru say, "Wait. It seems we have more visitors.

We glanced at one another. It looks like we can't wait for reinforcements, I thought to myself.

We stood there a moment. "Come out," he said. "There's no use hiding."

We stepped into the clearing, beside Gaara. Sam was struggling to get to her feet. Gaara used his sand to help her up, and lead her to where we were. He then held onto her, to keep her on her feet.

She looked at me with a worried expression, and sighed. "I hate Sasuke."

The response was a glare from Sakura, Naruto, Gaara, and I. "I personally like Sasuke," I replied.

"You don't know him well, so don't you dare speak ill of him!" Sakura said in an angry tone.

"You don't know him well either, anymore," Orochimaru said, coming out of the shadows.

"He's right," Kabuto agreed, also walking forward, the moon reflecting off of his glasses. Orochimaru looked me over and smirked. My eyes narrowed in reply. "Didn't he say she wore a dark cloak?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru nodded and licked his lips. (A/N: Ok, I know I overdid the licking the lips thing. Yeah. ...Oops. Sorry.) "Do you know of a man named Mamoru?" he asked me.

I scowled. "You should know him; he was one of your subordinates."

She knows? Gaara wondered.

"Naomi, huh?" Kabuto said, and adjusted his glasses.

I looked to Sam, who slowly shook her head. I looked back to Kabuto. "No, I'm not."

Oro's smirk widened to a grin. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, taking a step closer. My hand slowly went to the backpack I had brought, in case I needed it. He looked me over again. "I think he did a good job…."

Suddenly his neck stretched upwards, then headed for me. I knew what was supposed to happen next. His mouth was open, the fangs of a snake bared, his long tongue lolling out. (A/N: *shudders*)

I swiftly grabbed a large shurikan from the backpack. I held it out immediately, still folded so it looked like an oddly shaped dagger, right as he was reaching my neck. I could feel the folded shurikan pierce his skin, but I kept going.

I severed his head.

Naruto gawked at Orochimaru's head as it landed with a thud on the ground, his serpent-like eyes still narrowed and the grin still on its face. His extended neck shrunk back to his body. "Is he…?" Naruto began.

"It's not over yet," Kakashi and I said at once. I turned to Sam. "Make no comment," I muttered.

Then, snakes rushed from Oro's neck, attached to the head, and swiftly reattached it to the body… backwards. He got to his feet, and turned his head around. Kabuto smirked.

I smiled; my plan was in effect. I turned to Sasuke, who was looking at Orochimaru at the time. "Sasuke," I said, and he turned. "Didn't you want to fight your brother?" I asked, gesturing to the trees beside us. "Here's a chance."

Everyone turned to the right. There stood Itachi Uchiha. "It's been awhile, little brother."

"What the-?" Naruto cried, his eyes flicking from on group to the other. "Where the hell did he come from?"

"Itachi?" Sakura whispered in appall.

"I see…," Kakashi murmured.

"Itachi," Sasuke growled, glaring at him as he spoke.

"So this is the infamous Itachi Uchiha," Kabuto remarked, and readjusted his glasses. (A/N: I didn't know if he had seen him yet or not. *shrugs*)

Orochimaru scowled. "Sasuke, you're not ready yet," he warned.

Sasuke raised his sword, the anger in him seeming to build up, his burning glare burning into Itachi. Crap, I thought.

Orochimaru went to Sasuke and gripped his shoulder. "You're not ready yet," he repeated.

Sasuke hesitantly sheathed his sword. "I will be back, Itachi," he growled, eyes still boring into him. "I will destroy you."

Swirls of black engulfed the three, and they disappeared. Itachi smiled, and poofed back to what he really was: my clone.

"Wait, what? It was a… shadow clone?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I created while everyone was watching Orochimaru's revival," I replied. "I then transformed into Itachi, which I knew would make them leave." I let my shadow clone disappear altogether.

"But… we lost Sasuke," Sakura argued softly, gazing at the place he was just a moment ago.

I put my hands on Naruto and Sakura's shoulders. "I know you have been trying to get Sasuke back," I said. "I know all about him. Where I come from, though, I can look into your future. I know what will happen. You wouldn't have gotten him back that time anyway. Keep trying to get him back, and things will go as they should."

"You looked ahead?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "And some things I learned I will never forget." Like Itachi being good, I thought. Just then, around 20 shinobi burst into the clearing. I smiled. "Don't worry; they're gone now," I said.

Kakashi led them away, explaining as he went. Sam, Naruto, Sakura and Gaara followed. "C'mon, Natalie!" Sam called as she walked away.

I didn't go quite yet, though. Something lay sparkling in the grass where Orochimaru had stood. I stooped to pick it up; it was his Akatsuki ring. I didn't know why he would bring it with him, but that didn't matter. I picked it up, put it in my pocket, and ran after the others.


Yeah... Not one of my best chapters... Oh well. Next chapter... the Akatsuki comes into play! :D Thank you, Sitachi, for writing the first review! Youre awesome. :3 C'mon, peoples, follow her example, and click the button. Click it! The button is calling your name! Now, dear readers, ONWARD! Heh, i like that word.