DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters, places, or themes affiliated, losing dares, two drama queens, believable jokes, high expectations for oneself, homeschooling, and many different kinds of drama.

Chapter Ten: Many Kinds of Drama

"Today's the track meet!" Denise cheered, shaking her pompoms and keeping a smile pasted on her face, "Whoo! Team spirit!"

"...I know I've said this before, but it's scary how happy she looks when she cheers," Nat whispered to Kyle, on the other side of the field.

It was Friday, and all the portal-users in that school were outside, waiting for the annual inter-school track meet to begin. Nat, Kyle, and Shaun were at one end of the school's field, doing stretches and warm-ups. Denise was one of the cheerleaders (mainly because she had lost a dare in the beginning of the year), Hinata was one of the scorekeepers, and Michelle was helping out at the school nurse's table, in case there were any accidents. Since the track meet took place during school, Ionel Stoica was taking each of his classes out to watch and support their school, and Issac, Corey and Phil were somewhere on the bleachers, not because of school spirit, but because it was an excuse to get out of class. Linda and Daniel were also at the bleachers, sitting near Denise, so they spoke to her between her routines.

"Hey, Denise! Denise!"

Daniel cupped his hands around his mouth so that she might hear him better, while Linda waved. Denise turned, then sighed when she saw who it was, smiled slightly, and walked over to them.

"What's up?" she asked, with a small salute.

"You're doing really well," Linda said, laughing a little.

"Um, thanks?" Denise rubbed a temple, not really sure how to react; she didn't exactly hate being a cheerleader, but she didn't enjoy it either.

"Yes, you're definitely looking good," Daniel teased, then promptly got punched by Denise, "Ow..."

"You're cheating on me with your eyes, aren't you?" Linda exclaimed.

"No, I'm-" Daniel winced when Linda punched his other arm, "Ow..."

"Whatever," Denise rolled her eyes and started walking back to her squad.

"Hey, you can't be rude to me!" Linda exclaimed, trying to be joky, "I'm your senior! In both worlds!"

Immediately, Denise ran over and clapped a hand over Linda's mouth. A few people sitting nearby looked at her funny or moved away warily, but other than that, nobody noticed, so she relaxed a little.

"I thought Hinata told you not to say anything about that?" Denise hissed into Linda's ear, not letting go of her mouth.

"Denise, lay off," Daniel started, but Denise shook her head angrily.

"We can't talk about that here, sempai," Denise whispered sarcastically into Linda's ear, "But just so you know, I don't believe you deserved to become a jounin. You still haven't learned when to shut up."

With that harsh truth, Denise released Linda and stomped away, not bothering to look back and see Linda's reaction. Linda blinked back tears, then let herself cry quietly; Daniel put an arm around her gently.

"She's been so mean this last week," Linda whimpered, wiping valiantly at her tears.

"I know," Daniel nodded, "I saw."

"I wish she'd notice how good I can be," Linda exclaimed, trying to stop from crying, "Her and Shino and Itachi...all of them! This isn't fair! They always pick on me!"

"I know," Daniel hugged his girlfriend, then glared at Denise from where he sat, "I know..."

Drama.

"Whoo! So many first place!" Michelle cheered, feeling a little hoarse, but not wanting to stop anyway; the medals and ribbons for winning and participating competitors were being handed out.

"Michelle, you're going to lose your voice," the school's nurse reprimanded, clapping primly while she sat.

"It's ok, Ms. Hamilton, I'll be fine," Michelle grinned, then started cheering again, "You guys rock! Whoo! Mad skills!"

Michelle blinked, then started rubbing her eye carefully; something had just landed in it.

"Are you all right, Michelle?" the nurse looked at her young volunteer, concerned.

"Uh, yeah," Michelle nodded, stepping away from the first aid table, "I'll be right back; there's something in my eye. Whoo, school spirit!"

The nurse watched Michelle walk towards the school, knowing that she meant to go to the washroom to flush the irritant out of her eye, and she shook her head. That's what happens when you get over-excited; stressful things happen.

What is that? Michelle thought, hoping that her eye wasn't starting to turn red, Ow! It's hard...

Just as she got around the corner, out of sight of the other people, her eye immediately stopped hurting. Blinking a few times experimentally, she realized that small grains of sand were floating in front of her eyes. Abruptly, they dropped to the ground, and Michelle saw a thin trail of sand, leading to the far side of the school. Hoping this meant what she thought it meant, Michelle walked quickly, following the sand, trying not to gather attention to herself. Turning the corner, her eyes lit up when she saw it was exactly who she expected. The boy there looked her in the eye and nodded slightly.

"Gaara-kun!" Michelle whispered, then hurried forward with her arms out, a smile on her face.

However, just before she reached him, she slowed down and composed herself; Gaara-sama was not to be hugged. What was she thinking? Gaara-sama was to be bowed to, with peace offerings held out. ...well, maybe not that last part. Temari had told Michiko that during her first day in Suna, but it had been a joke. Michiko had half-believed Temari for a few seconds, but it had still been a joke.

"Hey," Michelle greeted shyly, nodding towards her friend, "Um..." she looked down, then back at the boy, "Hey."

The brown-haired boy wore a loose, brown coat that came down to his knees, dark brown turtleneck, brown cargo pants, and brown hiking boots. He had a black, spiked collar around his neck, and a blue bandanna tied to his left forearm.

"I found you, Mimi-okaa," Gaara murmured, very rare smile crossed his face, and he held out his arms to her.

"Gaara-kun...!" Michelle did her best not to get hysterical, and hurried to embrace her friend.

Happy drama. The good kind.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Nat bowed to the applauding bleachers, "I intend to go to the Olympics! Of course I got first place in the 500 meter run!"

Kyle elbowed Nat, half amused, but half importantly; he'd just heard one of the other contestants say Gaara's name.

"Listen," Kyle whispered.

"Gareth Sander is around here?" one boy said in a low voice, "No kidding?"

"I'm serious," the girl beside him nodded avidly, "My cousin's a Crip; he said that he'd be here today!"

"What the hell is he thinking?" the boy wondered, shocked, "This school is Blood's territory!"

"I know! And y'know that Isaac guy? He knows! And he's a Blood!"

"Did you hear that?" Kyle asked, turning to look at Nat.

Kyle blinked, then turned around in a full circle. Nat was nowhere to be seen.

Now it's FEAR drama!

"I was so worried about you!" Michelle exclaimed, touching the side of Gaara's face protectively, "Are you alright? Do you have a home? Are you eating ok?" This has got to be the best day of my life! Shaun got first place in the javelin throw, Linda's been acting fairly maturely today, and now I get to hug Gaara! This never happens!

"I'm fine..." Gaara stepped back, away from Michelle, embarrassed by this display of affection though his face was still a mask of calm.

"Did Naruto tell you everything? About how we have to go back Monday morning?" Michelle asked, leading him to a nearby bench, so they could sit down.

Gaara nodded, then said, "You'll need to show me how to get to Chinatown. I never go there."

"No problem; we'll just meet up next Monday morning. Oh, but..." Michelle looked at him apologetically, "Mr. Stoica can't wipe your attendance record. You'll have to skip just about every other Monday, except for first period."

"I teach myself at home," Gaara shrugged, "My relatives arranged a virtual program; everything's by computer."

"Oh. That's good," Michelle nodded vaguely, "I wish I could do that..."

Now it's ok drama...

About an hour later, Shaun walked out of the boy's change room, showered and in fresh clothing. He slung his gym bag over his shoulder and trudged toward the hallway where all of the portal-users' lockers were. Michelle would be waiting for him, he knew, and he allowed himself a smile while he walked up the school stairs.

Exiting the stairwell, his smile vanished, and not just because he avoided publicly showing emotion. Looking ahead, he saw that Michelle was still on her way to the hallway; she was walking with someone. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but this time...it was Gaara.

That guy...damn him...

Shaun followed silently for a moment, then watched as Gareth said something quietly that made Michelle laugh, and she pushed him a little, affectionately. She never did that with Shaun. The former shinobi's grip on his bag tightened, and before he knew it, he was inbetween both of them, elbowing Gareth to the side. Gareth simply took a graceful step to regain his balance, and looked at Shaun with absolutely no expression; Shaun felt his temper go up, and he knew that he was frowning angrily at the other teen.

"Shaun!" Michelle tugged on his arm, an irritated look on her face, "What're you-"

The tall boy turned and scowled at Michelle; her face changed into a look of fear and she shrank away. Immediately, Shaun smoothed his face, but it was too late; he had already scared her.

Dammit! Shaun turned and glared at Gareth again, This is all your fault!

Gareth simply stepped around Shaun to stand by Michelle; she was still looking at Shaun, with the same expression. Gareth touched Michelle's arm, but she flinched and stepped away.

No...no, I didn't mean to...Shaun started toward Michelle, but she looked down and shook her head

Did it really look that bad? Michelle thought, hugging herself, I didn't...I don't like Gaara that way! Shino-kun...it's so weird to explain...I barely understand it myself.

Mimi-okaa...Gareth put his hands in his coat pockets, but he still watched Michelle, his face betraying no secrets, So...this is what you meant. As Shikamaru might say, how troublesome.

"NO!" a girl screamed, coming from the portal-users' hallway.

"Hinata?" Michelle's eyes widened, and she led Shaun and Gareth down the hall and around the corner, to where her locker was, "What...Oh my...!"

Michelle clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw what Hinata had found; Gareth only blinked, and Shaun took one look before he ran for a teacher.

Nat was leaning against the wall, blood flowing from his chest, stomach, legs...he'd been stabbed and also beaten, by the look of his off-coloured face and arms. Michelle hurried forward, ignoring the blood on the floor as she skidded to a stop and tried to help Nat; Hinata had already pulled off her blazer and was trying to stop Nat's torso from bleeding.

"...s'too late..." Nat wheezed, trying not to spray blood onto the two girls, "...Gaara...s'he ok?"

"Don't talk," Michelle said firmly, activating her healing jutsu, "And of course Gaara's fine. Why wouldn't he-"

Hinata put a now bloodied hand on Michelle's arm to get her attention, then pointed at something tied to Nat's arm. Michelle frowned when she saw it, then put her now-glowing hands onto Nat's wounds. She winced when the jutsu revealed to her just how serious the wounds were; whoever had attacked Nathan had definitely wanted to kill him. And they just might have succeeded; Michelle's healing jutsu was only very basic, and Nat's wounds were way beyond that.

"You tied a blue bandanna onto your left forearm," Michelle stated, more as a disbelieving fact than a question.

"My trademark," Gareth informed, standing back so that the girls could work undisturbed.

"You made a few...kills in my...old...neighbourhood," Nat wheezed, looking at his friend and smirking crookedly, "I...remembered...some of the...bodies...You tied a-"

"Nat, you idiot," Michelle groaned.

"They were...Bloods," Nat gasped, between coughs, "'N after Gaara..."

I didn't ask for your help, Gareth thought, I knew that people would come for me. I was prepared.

"...How many?" Gareth asked, finally, when no-one in the hallway spoke.

"...maybe...ten," Nat answered, after a moment of counting mentally.

...Maybe back in Suna, but I couldn't handle that here, Gaara thought grudgingly, Again, Naruto, I owe you.

Hinata's lip trembled, but she continued to hold her blazer on Nat, still hoping that the bleeding would stop. Nat looked at her closely, for the first time. He hadn't noticed the way that her emotions showed through her eyes; he saw pain.

"...Hinata-chan..."

Nat looked like he was about to say something, but he shook his head slightly instead. Michelle tried not to be disappointed; she was hoping he would say something nice to Hinata. Hinata looked down to the side, then touched Nat's arm gently.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata started to blush, and she stopped speaking before she said any more.

The main character of one of the world's most popular manga and anime could be dying, and there isn't even a really good fluff moment?! This is communism! Or something, Michelle thought, trying to divert her thoughts away from her frustration at studying medical techniques in a foreign country for over half a year, and yet not being able to help Nathan at all.

Gareth continued to stand guard over the three teens; the gang members may come back to check on Nat, but this time, he was ready. Still, he hoped that Shaun would hurry with help; Nat couldn't hold on for much longer.

This drama makes me angry. ...and sad. But mostly angry.

Pauline woke up that Saturday morning, and found herself in a sleeping bag on the floor in Michelle's bedroom, true to their weekly tradition of sleeping over at the other's house. She sat up quickly and looked at her cousin, concerned. Hearing her moving, Michelle rolled over and faced Pauline; the younger girl saw that Michelle's eyes were swollen. Looking at her cousin, Michelle saw a similar problem with Pauline's eyes.

"Hey," Michelle smiled weakly, slipping out of the bed and sitting in front of Pauline.

"G'morning," Pauline greeted back, "Um...are you okay?"

Michelle thought back to the night before; late last night, they had gotten a call from Kyle. Nat hadn't lasted very long, even with Michelle's healing jutsu and hospital's help. The two cousins had been almost synchronized: Pauline had cried as soon as the call had finished, and when she had calmed down, the reality of it all finally struck Michelle, and she broke down. Then, once Michelle got a grip on herself, Pauline would start crying again, then Michelle...They had scared Dragan, for a little while.

"I'm a little better," Michelle answered slowly, "You?"

"I could be worse..." Pauline smiled.

She did well for a moment, but then her eyes welled up and she dropped her head into her hands. Michelle hurried to comfort her cousin, but Pauline's next question hit her hard.

"Michi, what do we do? Naruto died! What's going to happen to the other world, now?"

Michiko: I...I lost a patient?

Deniizu: Naruto dying is a bad thing, right?

Korii: Yeah, that can't be good.

Michiko: I can't believe...I lost a patient! With medical jutsu!

Deniizu: This is so weird...

Korii: And what's with all the drama stuff...?

Deniizu: Esperwen, why would you kill the MAIN CHARACTER?

Michiko: Medical jutsu's supposed to be magical!

Korii: This is supposed to be a humour fic!

Esperwen: Ah-ah-ah. It's 'general/humour'. And with this death, we learn more about portals. Ok? Ok. Good, ok.

Michiko: My patient died...

Deniizu: Nobody cares about your stupid patient. Even if it is the MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER!

Korii: Um...reader, please review.