A/N: Kkz I'm back and I'm ready for action! In one of my longest chapters yet to date! Thank you, thank you very much! Christmas is coming. I'm psyched for the holidays. I may even update sooner than usual since I'll be at home more often and I've got a lot of the next chapie planned out in my head. But, hell, I left ya'll at a bit of a cliffy, so I shant rant too long, ne? I winged a lot of this chapter and I changed Kai's story like 3 times. It's sad, but appropriate, since all the Naruto children have something sad about them. Ya know, I'm ranting, ignore me. Please enjoy the chapie!
Oceanbornspirit is now my much-celebrated beta, I really needed a beta, so everyone say thanks, cuz otherwise my spelling would really suck. Haha.
Skyheart is my much-anticipated 100th review! WHOOHOOO! A nice one too, says I'm funny. Yay! Heehee.
Kukilabu I simply had to add this one cuz this person went all the way through what I KNOW is a long fan fiction and left a review for every single chapter. That deserves something, right? I agree. And I do love the reviews, they're just so neat, you have a way with words my friend. THANK YOU, KUKILABU!
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! ON WITH THE SHOW!
Chapter 9
Do I Look Gay to You?
(We all die eventually, Geki. We live the lives we're given and then we die, whether or not we choose to make a difference is entirely up to us.)
"The fuck?"
Kai sighed, wiping his sunglasses with a small cloth like some British guy or something. It just didn't make any sense. He was saying that Yuzu was really Jennifer and that she was from America. That would make him from America too, right? How the hell do people from America end up in an anime??? … How the hell do people from Tokyo end up in an anime? You know, I never really thought about just how bizarre my being here was. I mean, come on, I'm two-dimensional now! No one here would believe me if I told them…
"Did your TV suck you in too?" I spoke with a sympathetic expression. He looked at me oddly with those yummy purple eyes.
"Not exactly… your TV sucked you in?" he gave a funny smile. "Care to join me for a walk?" I nodded. This would take some time, I supposed.
And so it began, it was awkward, but rather funny if you ask me. I let him choose where to walk, as I didn't really know my way around here. And he told me his story. How he and his sister ended up here—Kumogakure, to be more precise.
"I guess I'll just start then." He seemed to be thinking of how to tell me. "I was originally born in California." Oh my, we really were starting from the start. "We moved to Michigan when I was 3 or 4, and my life with my parents was slightly… confusing."
My father was abusive.
"Jessie," our neighbor would plead, "I'm begging you, you have to tell someone." They didn't know I was listening.
"David, its fine. I'm fine, see? The swelling's already going down." I could hear David's head shaking in desperation.
"Jess, if you don't stop this soon he might start on the kid." My mother slammed her ice bag onto the table.
"He'd never do something like that! John is a good man! My husband adores our boy, and I love him!"
"Damn it, Jessica, I've known you how long!?" His hands shook the table on impact. "Stop lying to yourself and consider that maybe the man you fell in love with changed!"
I watched from the crack between the door and the wall, my mother wince at his anger. David sighed and let his hands go limp at his side.
"Look Jess, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to get angry, it's just, damn it, I wish you'd just call the police. This is serious! You could have lost your eye, Jess! Thank god I was home, there's not another doctor around who wouldn't ask questions."
I was 5.
She never did call…
"Did he hurt you?" Kai was silent after my question and I growled in anticipation. But he wouldn't shake me off, damn it, not after all the times I took a beating from my own father. "Kai, did your father hurt you?!"
"No," he said at last.
I was only ever hit by a parent once, and it scared the hell out of me.
"Mom this isn't right. You need to tell somebody." I shouldn't have had to wipe up her blood. No child should.
"You sound like David now." She was irritable.
"He's right, you should call someone." I overstepped my bounds.
"How do you know he suggested that?" I wouldn't lie to her. "Where you spying on us? What right do you have to spy on my private conversations?" She was so angry.
"I was worried."
"That's not an excuse!" Her eyes were wide, fearful, and perhaps afraid that I may tell. "You won't do it again, you hear me!? You leave this to the grownups!"
"Mom." I shouldn't have spoken. "Someone's got to know!"
SMACK.
My head stayed to the side for a moment, that brief moment of shock when the tears came, my gut twisted, and my throat burned. A moment later, my mother realized what she'd done, and hugged me, sobbing for forgiveness. She blamed it on her hormones from the pregnancy; she blamed it on the stress and the pain. Never once did she blame it on Father, but of course, that's who I would blame.
I was 7.
"And then Jennifer was born. She was so tiny and helpless." I didn't know why he was laughing, nor would I ask.
It never ceased to amaze me that my father and the man hitting my mother were the same man. Of course, I knew it was, but somehow I had managed to separate the two, so that I might love my father and still hate the man who hurt my mother. He was always so very gentle with me, kind, and giving. And when Jennifer was born, he had the softest look in his eyes I had ever seen. He was a good father, a bad husband, but, a good father, I suppose.
"Then things took a turn for the worse. Our mother fell ill. Very ill, she was diagnosed with a rare systematic virus, something eerily like Ebola. I can't imagine how she got it… Soon my parents' relationship began to break down, or what was left of it anyway. Father wanted to move Jen and me, but it would be too much for Mother, this meant he'd take us, but not her. She argued that he wouldn't be able to care for the child, as Jen was so young, and things turned sour.
"At one point, I remember hearing them argue, the last argument, I think… Their voices raised and I was naturally curious. Mother shouted how she wanted to keep us. She wanted to take the matter to court. And then my father… it was in heat of the argument, I think, or I like to think, he told her that he could provide for us, that he didn't want Jen and me getting too attached before she died. Mom was so upset… she was always very fragile about how little time she had before the virus bled out through her liver." He paused again, longer this time. But I dare not have spoken or even looked. I watched the last rays of sun disappear over the horizon of trees. It was beautiful. "Jen was 3 months old, I was 7. And in the heat of that argument, my father grabbed his jacket and went out. He never came home. Mother was distraught. I think the depression may have worsened her illness. She cared for Jen and me, sure, she loved us unconditionally, but… the illness was terminal, after all."
I saw their fight through a crack in the door.
"Jess, it's best for the children. I'll take them away. We'll go somewhere nice. They can live with me and I'll provide excellent lives for them."
"NO! You will not take my children away from me!" She was so scared.
"Listen to reason, woman! They're my children" He was angry.
"No, just shut up and listen to me for once, John! They're my children too, you know!" She was furious.
"I only want what's best for them!" His patience was slipping.
"What's best is for them to be with their mother!"
SLAM!
The table was surely going to crack with the force of his fist.
"What's best is if they don't get too attached to someone who's only going to die!"
All was silent as my mother cried. But the tension, it had been so thick, and finally, inevitably, it snapped.
"You bastard," she hissed. It was the first time I heard my mother swear. "Get out." She shook.
"What?" My father was dumbstruck.
"I said get out. Get out of my home! Get the hell out of here, you son of a bitch!"
Rage.
And in that rage, my father left, slamming the door behind him. And my mother broke down in a fit of tears.
I was at her side in seconds.
"After a year, she began showing more signs of internal bleeding, the kind that can't be cured. She got sick frequently and one day while she was driving me to school, she went into a seizure. We drove right into a tree. I didn't know what to do. She was unconscious and I felt like I was dying. I shook her and screamed for her to answer, driven hysterical by pain. I think someone else may have dialed 911, cuz it sure as hell wasn't me."
"Mommy! Mommy! Wake up. Mommy it hurts." I cried, torn between gripping my leg or my left arm. I gasped when I saw the pipe protruding from one of my legs all the way to the other. I was only 8, it was too much. "Mommy, Mommy! Please, you've gotta wake up. We've gotta get this thing outta me. There's something in my leg, Mommy! Mommy, why won't you wake up?"
…
"M-Mommy? Mommy, y-you're bleeding." I buried my face in my hands, and I cried.
"I ended up in the hospital with a spiral fractured arm and a banged up thigh. My mother, however…" I felt a sinking sensation. "Her window had shattered and there were glass fragments all over her face. Her seat belt had almost choked her to death and left scary looking welts on her skin. She was hooked up to life support and all the morphine she could stand. After two weeks in the hospital, Jen and I were sent to a foster home. They let us visit mother, naturally. But the last day I visited her, her breathing sounded strange… gurgled, I guess would be the best word." His brow furrowed and he stopped walking to lean against a tree. "The next day, I found out how she had drowned in her own blood. I did a bit of digging, and it turns out it was quite painful…"
I gripped at my mother's hand. I had felt strange all day. Anxious. I wasn't supposed to come here, but it was only a mile from the school and I had to make sure she was all right.
"Is it time for you to visit me already? How long have I been here, my son?" The words were choked and without the bandages, her face was scarred.
"A couple weeks. Don't worry, Mom, we're gonna make sure you get all better!"
"We…?"
"Yeah, Jen and me, of course."
"Jen and I, my son, you must have proper grammar if you hope to make it very far in this life." She was always bugging me about that. I was 8, not 18.
"Jen and I, then. Happy?"
"Oh, very much so." She smiled.
"I've gotta go,' kay mom." I wasn't supposed to be there.
"Alright. Take care, okay? And don't forget Jen's birthday."
"Of course, Mother." I smiled, hiding my uneasiness as I slid the door shut behind me.
"Nurse, is my mother supposed to sound like that?"
"My foster family decided to get away from Michigan and bring Jen and me up somewhere where we could be happy. We moved to London. It took a little more than 6 months for me to heal up properly and, by then, I was 9. I made my share of friends, but mostly I spent time with Jen. And my foster family," a strange sort of grin marred his features, it was tainted and dark.
"How I hated my foster family." My breath hitched in my shock, but he either didn't notice or didn't care. "They were nice, happy, the way my mother and father had never been, and for that, perhaps even unreasonably, I hated them. Of course, it wasn't something I showed too openly, though maybe they could see those hateful glares, I'll never know. I got perfect grades, I was something of a child prodigy actually, and I always smiled. They thought I was the perfect child, but of course, they didn't find out about the fighting. It's not something I'm proud of but I provoked more people then I can remember, most of them older then me. I always made sure I won, but that doesn't mean I left unscathed. I came home beaten many times; I was the original closet problem child." He smirked.
I crashed to the ground again, feeling pavement against my forearms. Blood choked from my mouth.
"Be smart. Stay down, kid." The boy was older then me by two years, and a punk by nature. He had been picking on this girl, bugging her to date him. But it wasn't really noble intention that made me stop him; I'd been looking for a fight from the start.
I spat the blood, reveling in my own masochism and smirking at the victory I knew would come.
I leapt up, springing towards him again and swept my leg beneath his. He fell in his shock and my fist soared into his gut. I was a sick child, pleasured by his pain.
"Anyway, there was this huge mirror in our living room. I was always seeing things in it." I gave him a raised brow.
"Seeing things, huh?"
"It's not what you think." He scowled. "Flashes mostly. Of blue light. Unnatural flashes. At first, it was just out of my peripheral vision, and then, it started becoming a bit more troublesome. I would look straight at it and see the light. Words really. I knew I wasn't going crazy, but I also knew if I told anyone they wouldn't be as confident. The mirror became my matrix and I began reading up on insane theories by scientists. Of course, this was around the same time I saw The Matrix, so I'm sure that didn't help.
"But then," His smirk faltered, "I was walking home from school when I saw him. It was bizarre; he was getting out of a car near a hotel. I followed him. I was foolish to think… I wanted everything to be normal. I wanted my father to recognize me and care again, even after leaving." I blinked in surprise, 'His father…' "But when I knocked on the door, the man I met was not my father anymore. He was just a man. He gave me a particularly sour look and when a woman I recognized as his agent asked who was at the door, he told her it was no one and slammed the door in my face. My father…" He sighed tiredly.
There was so much hope in me at that moment, I surely thought I would burst. Finally, finally everything would be okay. My kind and gentle father, who thought the world of my sister and me, would take us back. We'd be a family again. We'd be happy again.
I smiled brightly as the door opened slowly. Surely, he'd take me into his arms and apologize for ever leaving, swear to never do it again.
"What do you want?"
"Father?"
Violet met violet, I knew those eyes. There was no mistaking this man. He was my father.
"Sorry, you must have the wrong room." My smile faltered.
"But father…"
"John? Who is it?" I knew that voice. It was Mrs. Thyler; a pretty blond woman who worked with my father. She visited on occasion when my father forgot something or had more work. She was his agent, and she was good at what she did.
"No one, they got the wrong room." He turned from me. "Now, what was that meeting you were telling me about?" The door slammed in my face.
"The night I saw my father, I came home and found Jennifer staring at the mirror and I became terrified. You see, blood means a lot to me, and she was the last blood I had, to me at least. And then there were these arms, reaching for her and I made a grab to snatch her away. The mirror wanted Jennifer, it got me as well. She was about 3, I was about 10." He nodded, sighing.
Light reflected off my sister's features and she giggled at the mirror, reaching out to the blue. My eyes widened in horror. No, not my sister, not my baby sister. "Jen!" I shouted. "Get away from there! She turned to me and giggled while waving.
Arms, long, lean, and black like shadows, extended from the mirror, glowing with an eerie light, reaching for my sister.
"No, get away." I lunged and grabbed hold at the same time. The arms were too strong. But they would not have my sister.
"I woke up in Kumogakure; of course I didn't really have a clue where the hell I was. Jen and I ended up in an orphanage. I did a lot of digging. I could make a fair map of this world and tell you more then you ever wanted to know about its history. When I turned 12, I took 5 year old 'Yuzu' and headed out. Picked up a bingo book on the way, as well. We've had our share of adventures, but otherwise that's pretty much the whole thing. I didn't mean to make it quite this long." He admitted, finishing his tale.
"So you changed your names." I reasoned thoughtfully.
"Yes," He nodded, "Our names were too strange for this world, so I became Kai, and Jennifer became Yuzu."
"That's quite a story." I commented, unsure of how else to put it.
"It's my life."
"You know we're in 'Naruto', right?" Now I was scrabbling desperately for conversation. There was something I was supposed to say here, something comforting, something right. But I didn't know what it was. I was never good at that comforting thing. I couldn't count the times I've made Kanoke cry. I'd look back on all those situations and think of what I could have said, but even then, the words never came to me. Sympathy was not foreign to me or anything, it was just that when I put myself in their shoes, I tell them not what they want to hear nor what I'd want to hear, I tell them what I think I'd need to hear. This was usually not good.
'Suck it up and move on.'
"I never really watched it, but the name does ring a bell, and after a lot of digging, it sort of clicked."
"Hm," we were silent, it was dark, and I was still processing the story. "You're trusting me with a lot of information, you know…" I said quietly, it was almost uncomfortable, the level with which he trusted me.
"I know."
Silence.
"I suppose you want to hear my side of the story?" Where was I to start? How was I to finish? Aw hell, this was gonna be fun. He paused for a moment.
"Not today," he mumbled, pushing off from his tree. By the time I had any clue to process what he'd said, he was already on the move. "Come on, I'll walk ya back to Tazuna's," he motioned, walking away. I blinked in surprise.
"Y-you don't wanna hear it?" I asked, unable to hide my astonishment, while catching up with him. He smirked, putting his sunglasses back on cooly.
"Tomorrow maybe, if your story is half as long as mine, it'll be a while and I really shouldn't leave Yuzu alone. She has a record for trouble."
"Hm." I gave a sly grin, slipping all too easily back into my element, "Is that your way of telling me you want to see me tomorrow?"
"Maybe," he replied.
/Bubble-chan, Bubble-chan! This yummy piece of mozoku knows how to play our game!/ Inner me exclaimed excitedly.
"Well, what if I don't wanna see you tomorrow?" I teased, nearly skipping at his side.
"Too bad. I know where Tazuna lives."
"You're stalking me now?"
"If that's what it takes."
"Mm, confidence." I grinned, hooking my arm through his and batting my eyelashes comically. "I find that incredibly sexy in a man."
"Is that so?" he laughed.
"Oh, it is so. In fact, it's so so it's making my head hurt." I stated.
"Ah, logic. I find that incredibly attractive in a woman," he purred deeply, hooking our arms tighter. I laughed, knowing what I had said didn't make any sense, and took the game further.
"So do I." He faltered for a moment, not sure whether to take my words to heart or not. In the end, he just shook it off.
"You're incredibly strange," he said.
"I tend to have that effect on people," I hummed slyly.
"Do you recognize anything yet?" He asked. I blinked and looked around.
"Um, that tree kinda looks familiar," I said. He nodded before I added, "Kinda like the one we just passed and all the others before that."
"Seriously?"
"They're trees, Kai. You're asking me if I can tell a clearing I've been to like, once, from the one we just passed, you can't honestly expect me to be good at that."
"Get lost easily?" he snickered.
"No no no, not at all! I'm a tad directionally challenged, but I always make it back, right?"
"I wouldn't know." I fell silent. That comment made me realize something. I met this boy only a couple hours ago and already, I feel lax in his presence. He had not been given a nickname, he had not been kept at a distance, I had my arm linked with his, and though I knew all about his life, he hardly knew my name. He was giving me an unbelievable amount of trust, and at first, it had made me uncomfortable and confused. I had done this before, sure, but it had always been under the phrase, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' But now I realized, I was trusting him far more then many and far faster then any. Why?
"Why do you trust me so much?" I asked suddenly.
"Hm," he seemed thoughtful. "I dunno. Maybe the same reason you seem to trust me so much."
"You think I'm sexy?" He anime fell, but took me with him as we were still linked. Pressed against him I gave a wicked smile. "Pathetic, don't you think?" I teased, staring down at him. "Clearly, I'm going to be on top." I snickered crudely. This was child's play for me, more comfortable then uncomfortable, but I got up just the same and offered my hand in help. "Silly little boy, I don't trust you," I scoffed. And I didn't, not completely anyway, just more then I'd like.
"Alright, chica, whatever you say."
"Damn right," I muttered. "OH! I recognize that!" I said, pointing and hopping dramatically while having my hands on his shoulder. His head lolled to the side as I jerked him left and right in my excitement.
"You should, it is Tazuna's house, after all," he deadpanned.
"Hm, how late is it? The lights are all off…" I shook my head, crazy ninjas.
"Alas, I must leave you now," he sighed as we reached the front doors. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
"I hate Shakespeare," I stated.
"Why?"
"You ever read, 'The Taming of the Shrew?'" He shook his head. "Then you cannot know my pain," I said, dramatically slipping past him and facing him at a very close proximity. "There's just one thing I gotta know." He didn't speak and in the dark, he wore an expression that I did not see. "What is your real name?" The words were hardly above a whisper.
"Now, why would you need to know something like that?" he breathed.
"You have Xellos's eyes, a cute baby sister, you can keep up with my crude humor, and you know quotes from a dimension not like this. What is the true name of the boy who's stuck in the same world as I, I wonder?" He smirked, peering at me over his glasses and brought up a hand in a reprimanding fashion.
"Now that is a secret." I gave him a crooked sort of smile. "Heh, goodnight chica, I look forward to your story," he said, backing away, smiling mischievously.
"Assuming, of course, I see you tomorrow, you stalker," I laughed quietly. "Goodnight, sexy," I winked. There was that expression again, the one I could not see, but I was already in the house. I closed the door and walked about two steps before it happened.
GRRRRUUUUUUMMMBLE.
"Aha, I'm so hungry," I cried pathetically, putting a hand on my stomach. "Damn you, Kai, you smexy mozuku, you made me miss dinner." I whimpered, shuffling weakly over to the fridge. "There's… there's nothing left!" I would have screamed had people not been sleeping. How dare they not leave anything for me!?!?! Me? I, who had slept through dinner the previous night? I, who had wasted my breakfast decorating the Uchiha's face! I, who had so kindly given my lunch time apple to my favorite little Summers Storm! I, who was gonna give them so much hell in the morning, they won't be wouldn't be able to SPEAK from lack of movement. A brief picture of Sasuke and Naruto wolfing down food as though they'd never eaten before came to mind and my eyebrow twitched in annoyance. 'Those bastards.'
The house was dark but I knew the relative direction of my room. So, shuffling over wooden floors and muttering darkly to myself, I gave up any hopes for food. "Those bastards eating all that food and then barfing it back up again. How dare they? But we'll make them pay, won't we, my precious. Yes, yes, tomorrow, dead men, we want them to beg for mercy. Deny us our food, will they, precious? Teach them a thing or two, yes? Yes? Oh good idea, quiet, or they'll hear. Don't want them to know our plan, do we, precious? No, no, best not to spoil the surprise." I chuckled evilly and slid the door of my shared room open. "Screw food." I muttered, discarding my jacket in some unknown corner and flopping unceremoniously on the bed. In grogginess, hunger, and what was possibly, budding insanity, I failed to hear Sakura's very awake voice say. "Night, Yukari." And all was blissfully dark.
-------------------------------------------------Dream---------------------------------------------------
Don't hate
me because I'm beautiful
Fame, fame, I love my Calvin's
Oh
Pink.
The room swirled with pink lights as the Naruto cast entered the floor. Excuse me, I mean the future Naruto boys cast. And Shikamaru was the first to step forward in what I would soon realize to be a quite scarring dream.
And that's when the shirt came off.
I'm too
sexy for my shirt
Too sexy for my shirt
So sexy it hurts
They all did a little dance and Shika, who was too lazy to flex, simply grinned and went back to the crowed, replaced by Shino.
And there was posing.
And I'm
too sexy for Milan
Milan, New York, and Japan
Shino faded back into the line, only to be replaced by Neji. And there was smexiness.
I'm too
sexy for your party
Too sexy for your party
No way I'm disco
dancing
And there was disco dancing. And more bizarreness.
Sasuke came out next flipping his bangs to the side and walking forward like a model.
I'm a
model
Ya know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the
catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk
On the catwalk, yeah, I do my
little turn on the catwalk
He faced me and gave a very un-Sasuke-like wink.
And I couldn't stop laughing.
Don't hate
me
I'm just like you but better looking
Don't hate me, please
Gaara stepped in front of Sasuke.
And there was hotness.
I'm too
sexy for my love I
can love
Too sexy for my love
Too sexy to love
And there was drool, from me, of course. Haha.
And so Sai stepped forward…
And sang in monotone.
And I'm
too sexy for my hat
Too sexy for my hat
Whatcha think about
that?
I sweat dropped.
That's when Itachi came out and took his brother's part.
I'm a
model
You know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the
catwalk
Yeah, on the catwalk
On the catwalk, yeah
I shake my
little toosh on the catwalk
It was
disturbing, it was bizarre, it was... kinda hot. I need help.Too
sexy for my
Too sexy for my
Too sexy for my
Itachi ran his hand through his hair, which was being blown by a wind I apparently couldn't feel, then again, it was getting pretty hot in here. XD
Stepping out of the line, Sasuke joined his brother on the catwalk. And both rather sexy looking brothers did their little turns on the catwalk.
And walking right in the middle of them, grinning broadly in a plaid miniskirt and black tank, came Kanoke.
'Cause I'm
a model ya know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the
catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk
I shake my
little toosh on the catwalk
Kanoke's ass was in my face only moments before her inner klutz woke up and sent her tumbling down onto me.
I wanted to ask her what the fuck was going on. I wanted to ask her why the fuck Naruto people where dancing in front of me like a bunch of idiots. I wanted to ask her why the fuck she was dancing like an idiot.
She emerged, rubbing her head with the palm of her hand and laughing ecstatically. I managed two syllables.
"The fuck!?!?"
Kiba stepped out with Akamaru looking rather grown at his side.
I'm too
sexy for my dog
Too sexy for my dog
Poor bow-wow-wog
(Akamaru
barks twice)
Kanoke clapped and, much to my bewilderment, did the dog pound call.
And then there was Kakashi.
I'm too
sexy for my mask
too sexy for my mask
I think that it should
leave me
Kakashi's
hand came up and curved over the masked edge. My questions became
priority number two, in favor of this, and Kanoke seemed to agree. We
both leaned in eagerly, getting a close up. This was it!
And
I'm too sexy for this song!
------------------------------------------------------End---------------------------------------
I sat up quickly. It took me about 30 seconds to remember where I was, another 10 to realize it had all just been a dream and about 5 more for my eyes to widen in absolute horror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
There was a crash in the kitchen and birds fled before my terror.
Surely, I was insane.
My fear mutated into a starvation-induced fury that pushed me into the hallway. Screw being tactful, I hardly thought to change my clothes. I was officially going insane, and whose fault was it? Kai's, of course. That's right I'm blaming the entire thing on him. But rightfully so, or so I figured.
I swung into the kitchen, radiating so much killing intent Sasuke was actually standing up in alarm. I suppose Kakashi knew it was me. If I'd been in a right state of mind, I suppose I'd care that Naruto was strangely absent. Remember that somewhere he was lying in the woods passed out from chakra exertion. But really, I had just spotted the pancakes by my seat. And pancakes had never looked so good before.
Heaven was the first fork full. Amazing was the next. Only after I'd finished my first pancake did I stop for a moment to put syrup on the next. And then the third after that.
I sighed, chewing on a toothpick that came out of absolutely nowhere and sitting back in my seat. "Ah! That was amazing, Tazuni-san. I feel like a beached whale, I couldn't possibly eat another bite!"
"I-I'm glad you liked it." I grinned up at her.
"Yukari, you must have been really hungry," Sakura said, yawning and saying her good mornings.
"Ah." I nodded at Sakura in response; suddenly even she seemed less annoying. "I missed dinner last night, after all." I smiled catlike, closing my eyes and resting my head on the table. "But it's all good now and no one has to die."
"That's good to hear," Kakashi said cheerfully.
"Naruto's not here." I cracked an eye open to pay closer attention. "It looks like he was out all night again," Tazuna continued.
"He's out climbing trees in the dark. He could be dead by now." I narrowed both eyes at Sakura, her voice quickly gaining that thing about it that I found most annoying. "You know, from using up too much of his chakra."
"Well, I certainly hope he's okay, a child spending the night in the woods alone," Tazuna replied.
"There's nothing to worry about. Naruto's a kid, but he's also a full-fledged ninja. He can handle himself," Kakashi answered in a lax way. I had to agree.
"Sakura's right, Naruto's such a loser, he's probably lying out there dead somewhere," Sasuke commented, that frigid bastard.
"Sasuke?"
"I'm going for a walk." I turned in interest to watch the Uchiha walk away.
"Ah, but we just started eating!" Sakura protested and I stood before the door shut. "Yukari?"
"I'm going out too. Have more faith in Kit. He saved your sorry ass out there in the fight against Zabuza, in fact, he saved all of our sorry asses, so think twice before you go around with your prissy little attitude," I scoffed, sliding the chair back with more force than necessary.
"Naruto wouldn't have been able to do anything without Sasuke, it's Sasuke who saved us, Yukari!"
/Of course she rises to defend her prince./
"You know, I wasn't even gonna do a speech, I was just gonna leave it at that and go out, but you just had to open your damn mouth, didn't you? Pinky, learn how to just shut up, will you? I'm sick an tired of hearing about your 'oh so great prince.' Don't talk of things even you know you don't understand. You hide behind your philosophies, that Kit can't possibly be better then Ice Cube. You wallow in your ideals that even you are above him. Pinky, you fool, you see things through Sasuke colored glasses and you never take them off. One day reality's gonna hit you hard and it's gonna hurt like a son of bitch. But then you'll see. Till that day, keep your fruity little glasses and your prissy little comments to yourself. Just fawn over the Uchiha like a good little girl and care for your looks more then your training. I may be a bit of a bitch, but I'll be damned if I'm not a konichi, and a half decent one at that." I leaned closer toward her, capturing her eyes with mine in a manipulative fashion. "I just want you to know, Haruno, that I will never take you seriously as long as those glasses and those ideals stay on."
And I left, Summers Storm nowhere in sight and several gazes at my back. I flung open the door and made sure to slam it behind me when I left.
"That was quite a speech." I kept walking.
"Shouldn't you be gone already?" Sasuke was quite for a moment.
"Why did you do that?" he asked. "Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?" He'd better clarify or he's gonna get a speech too.
"Stand up for Naruto, why do you always stand up for that loser?" I threw him a disbelieving look.
"Don't tell me you're wearing a pair of your glasses too!?" he was quite. "Christ, Uchiha! Do not make me repeat myself. I don't just stand up for Orangeman, I stand up for whatever the hell I can, but I'm sick and tired of hearing put down speeches about poor little Kit when, since the day I met him, I've seen nothing but good in the boy."
…
"So, you're not saying my name anymore?"
I froze.
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"No no no no no!! You don't get it! The man couldn't possibly hear the noise, that man was deaf, see?"
"So he felt the vibrations in the ground?"
"No! Jeez, it doesn't say, 'he felt the vibrations in the ground,' it says 'a deaf policeman heard the noise.'"
"So why doesn't it just change the wording?" he tried.
"Because in a nonsensical story. The writer wrote it so it wouldn't make sense. It was on purpose." I explained.
"That makes no sense." Sasuke scoffed.
"By George, I think he's got it!" About flipping time too.
"Who's George?" Sasuke asked quite seriously. I sweat dropped.
"Yo momma." I muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"Eheh," I laughed nervously. I didn't think he'd heard me! Fuck. "Oh," I muttered, looking up. There was someone coming our way. A guy in drag. Haha. Nah I'm only joshing. It was Haku, Zabuza's little helper. You may take a moment to picture him in an elf costume, I know I just did.
(Moment)
He didn't even look at us, but I smirked and raised my hand. "Hey," I greeted.
"Oh hello," he responded politely. "Have a nice day."
"Ya, see ya round, Haku!" There was a pause in Haku's step, but it was brief, barely noticeable.
"You know that guy?" Sasuke asked, glancing back at the boy suspiciously.
"We've met before."
"You call him by his name," Sasuke noted.
"Don't even go there, Ice Cube, we've already had this conversation," I said and ran forward to meet Naruto.
"Whoa I've seen a lot of weird things in my life before, but this one takes the cake," Naruto mumbled. I threw my arms around him and he cried out in surprise.
"Kit, you idiot, I was worried. You didn't come home and people started talking about how someone can die from chakra loss!" I said dramatically.
"Y-You were worried about me Angel-chan?" he replied quietly.
"No shit, Sherlock!" I said, detaching myself and settling on my heels. "But since you were with Haku, I know that you're all right!" I said cutely.
THWACK.
Sasuke's fist and Naruto's head.
"Ow! Hey what did you do that for!? Cut it out!"
"Hey twerp. Did you just forget about breakfast? You're such a loser," Sasuke scoffed.
"Oh come on Ice Cube, don't be like that!" I whined standing and tugging childishly against his arm. "We came looking for you because we were so worried!" I grinned, forcing laughter down with difficulty.
"I believe that from you, Angel, but not from a jerk like Sasuke," Naruto admitted.
"Ah, but it's true!" I exclaimed.
"No it's not."
"Don't be so modest, Uchiha! The truth is that beneath his cold exterior, this Ice Cube has a heart of gold. He like a Popsicle with a different flavor on the inside. He's a polysicle!" (note: poly-many, it's supposed to be that way. )
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke deadpanned.
I stopped for a moment in dawning comprehension.
Oh… My… God…
"You're a Creamsicle!" I squealed in delight. Oh, this was too perfect. "New nickname!" I clapped spinning cheerily.
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I branched off from Sasuke and Naruto in hopes to get some form of work done, training wise. You know, prepare for the fight at the bridge. But not too far from the house, oh no, I'd never find my way. Secretly, Kai was right, I did get lost easily.
But there had been something I really wanted to try. Something I needed to make sure I had perfected if I even hoped to stand a chance against Haku. Course, I'm not gonna tell you, it's a secret. You're so gonna hate that line by the end of this story.
So maybe an hour and a half later there I was; covered in a nice layer of sweat and standing in a very ready position. And quite suddenly, I noticed I was not alone. The presence was small, new, and foreign to me. But I knew who it was. "If it is comfort you seek, boy, I am the wrong person to assist you. I'm very bad at it, you see, and have pretty much no desire to improve," I said wearily. It was not entirely true; it would have been nice if I'd known what to say to Kai last night.
"Comfort? Yeah right, like I'd look for comfort from someone like you! Everything you stupid ninjas do, no matter how hard you train, is just gonna get you killed," I heard him sneer from the brush to my left.
"Indeed," I turned my head very slightly to make eye contact and raised an amused eyebrow. I registered that this was the first time I'd spoken to Inari and, though he'd heard my speech this morning, I had yet to make a truly good first impression. You see, I have this thing where I simply must make a good first impression on everyone. Except Sasuke apparently.
'Ashen Flame' pulsed with my chakra and I gave three impressively fast swings. The chakra detached, elongating and powering my blade as splinters and chunks of wood flew and crashed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust in their wake and demolishing the targeted tree.
"We all die eventually, Geki. We live the lives we're given and then we die, whether or not we choose to make a difference is entirely up to us."
"W-what the heck is that supposed to mean?" he growled, but I could sense his awe.
"It means whatever you want it to mean, Geki." I sighed, sheathing the blade. I may have looked wonderfully composed, but once this brat was out of sight I knew I'd collapse.
"It could mean that some people are abandoned, that some people have never known love or kindness, that some people are hated for being only what they are, that some people are stripped from everything they love in moments," I said darkly. The boy did not interrupt me, though I don't think I gave him much opportunity. "It could mean that somewhere there is a boy, who has never known love. He has been shunned, hated, his father wishes his death, his mother has died long ago and his uncle whom he so dearly loved tried to assassinate him. Or that somewhere there is a girl who has only known the shadow of her sister and the pain of failure. Her father has deemed her unworthy of her name when all she wants is to please him. Or maybe that somewhere there is a boy, he was young when the brother he adored and loved more then anything in this world massacred his entire family. He is cold, he is alone, and he strives for revenge, to kill his own brother. Tell me, boy, what kind of lives are these?" He didn't answer. I'm glad. It would have been tactless to do so.
I turned to leave, pulling a mystic act I worked so hard to obtain. So basically, inside I was laughing really hard. This is the kinda stuff they do in Naruto though, right? Spew cheesy lines and talk about the past to make people change their ways. I could be the most perfect anime character yet. "And then there's him…" I started again. "A boy without love who doesn't gripe or cry, who doesn't complain when he has every right. People shun him for something that is not his fault. Yet he's not cold, he's not shy or cruel, he's probably the bravest, most sincere person I have ever met, and we could all learn something from him." I walked away, hooking my arms behind my head neatly.
"Of course these are just what it 'could' mean. It could mean nothing at all. After all, what do I know? I'm just gonna get myself killed right?" There was silence and I took the chance to retreat. "Catch ya later, Geki, gotta go make my surprise appearance at dinner. You know, prove to the world I'm not anti-social or whatever." He didn't stop me, thank god. I made it fifty meters until I found the most comfortable looking tree and positively collapsed against it.
"Damn, I hope I don't screw this up," I sighed, dragging a hand over my face. It came back covered sweat. "Bloody hell," I laughed, "I'm exhausted."
No matter how hard I tried, I always had serious difficulty practicing fire based techniques. It was like a right-handed person suddenly trying to go lefty. No matter what I told myself, I was NOT ambidextrous. In training or in writing. Fuck, it would be a miracle if I could catch left handed. I could block certainly but somehow that was just… easier. More practice, I guess.
"Fuuuuuuuuuck," I sighed. And today hadn't been any different, there was no way I was gonna be able to use that technique against Haku. I'd known it was a possibility, but I'd hoped… "Looks like I'm stuck with plan B," I acknowledged grudgingly.
I sat for another moment trying to mentally convince myself to get up and go to Tazuna's. "Move," I said to myself. Nothing happened. "Get up and move," I said again. Nothing. "Fuck." I rolled my shoulders back. "You WILL get up off your lazy ass, go to Tazuna's house, and eat dinner without making yourself look like a pansy in front of your teammates! You WILL go NOW!" And I got up. Me, my own motivator. And I started walking. Heh, works like a charm.
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It wasn't long before I found myself in the town, which coincidentally proved I'd been going the wrong way this entire time. I'm sure I looked like hell, but the sad truth would be that I'd blend in well with the rest of the people. Sad indeed.
Now usually, I don't like asking for directions. Hate it actually. I'm like one of those husbands in the car with their wife completely lost and she keeps saying, pull over, and ask for directions, but he won't even admit that they're lost. Yeah, I'm that guy.
Problem was, all these people looked like they'd either cop a feel or pickpocket me the first chance they got. So finally, I decided to ask this one girl. She was just exiting the shop I'd purchased my apple from the other day. She was blond with bouncy curls, maybe two years my senior. She held herself confidentially and it made me believe that if she did indeed try to steal from me, she wouldn't be sneaky about it. I could take her if it came to that.
"Excuse me," I started awkwardly and with obvious ill practice.
"Hm?" She turned and I came face to face with the most unrealistic green eyes I've ever seen. For a moment, I was speechless. "Nina!" she announced, giving me a name distinctly not my own and greeting me with a full-blown kiss on the lips.
…
/Wait, WHAT!?!?/
Let's repeat that, shall we?
She Kissed Me
She pulled away when I didn't respond. How was I supposed to respond to that?!? It wasn't exactly my first kiss but, hell to naw, that's just not fair. There was no warning! Tanner had been my first kiss, another accident actually, otherwise my virgin lips were violated! Her eyes were glazed over. With what? I didn't particularly want to know. "Mhm, you're not Nina," she said decisively.
"Nope, I'd be Yukari." I couldn't have said something cool or something smart. I was completely confused and it was affecting my cool factor. This is bad.
"Yu-ka-ri." She tasted the word on her lips and let a sly smile creep over her face. "You taste like strawberries, Yukari-san. Strawberries and something sweet that I've never tasted before." Her gaze was heavy lidded her tone dropping an octave. "It's delicious."
"Uh, thanks, I guess…" And quite suddenly, I wished I'd asked a pickpocket for directions.
"I'm Clare."
And something clicked.
But Clare is nice enough I guess, it just took us some getting some too." I blinked stupidly at him.
"Clare?"
"Yeah, she and my daughter are seeing each other apparently."
"Erm, right." It was at this moment that I realized was standing in front of a certified lesbian, with my back facing a building. Way to go, Yukari. "Nice to meet you. You wouldn't happen to know the way to Tazuna's house, would you?" I spoke fast and she seemed disappointed that directions were all I wanted from her.
"Everyone knows where Tazuna lives; it's where Kaiza was staying, after all," she said matter-of-factly. "Are you in a hurry? I'll treat you to dinner, if you like."
"Um, that's okay, they're expecting me, and I really shouldn't dawdle." It was a lie, a well needed lie.
"How about some ice cream?" I faltered for a moment my eyes widening and my inner chibi taking over.
"Ice cream? … I… I really shouldn't." I found myself unable to give a proper excuse why. Clare made me think of a leopard and I was her gazelle, I'd never really felt that way before, it was uncomfortable. But this WAS ice cream after all.
"Come on, then." She slid her arm around my waist and led me to an ice cream stand.
Cookies 'n Cream in this world is just as delicious as it is in my own world. Clare ordered a strawberry cone and either ate with her eyes closed or looked at me. This made me highly uneasy.
"So Yukari-san, you're a ninja, then?" she said.
It took a great deal of my will power to tell her that formalities were not necessary. I only hope she didn't take it the wrong way. "Um, yeah, from Konoha. We're here protecting Tazuna."
"My, how exciting. You must get a lot of action out there."
"I guess," I admitted, more than happy to be on a topic I could deal with.
"But that's so dangerous."
"I like the danger." And now I was just talking for the sake of talking. "The blood, the tears. Progress for the sake for progress. Knowing I'm doing something worth doing." Her eyes widened. "The sweat, the power," I curled my tongue over the tip of the ice cream. "The heat, the adrenaline rush." I stopped abruptly realizing that Clare had that look in her eyes again and was leaning forward.
"Why'd you stop?"
I sweat dropped, thinking back on what I'd said and regretting it whole-heartedly. "I think you should know, Clare, I'm not gay."
"That's okay," she breathed and I almost laughed. "Bi?"
"Nope."
"You can't be straight!" she exclaimed. I nodded and she gasped, "You don't know what you're missing!" There was a new strain in her voice. "Someone that tastes as good as you, Yukari-chan," She paused to lick ice cream off my cheek. I don't even know how it got there. "Shouldn't limit herself so."
She was too close again, invading my valued bubble.
"Don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked abruptly. She tilted her head to the side.
"You mean Nina? Is that why you're so reluctant?" She laughed. "I helped Nina come out with her parents, but there's no other real relationship there beyond friends."
"How do you know I don't have a boyfriend?"
"You can have a boyfriend," she said. "I don't mind."
I sweat dropped.
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Sakura was most certainly not the first person I had wanted to see upon walking into Tazuna's house. But what ya gonna do, ya know?
I nodded curtly to her position at the table in a polite manner and sat across from her with my plate. Onigri. Yum. I wasn't even hungry, nor was I eager to wash the taste of Cookies 'n Cream out of my mouth. But I ate anyway. It was a quiet dinner mostly, one with me ignoring Sakura's continued stares. If she wanted to talk about this morning, she'd have to approach me, as always. Until then I refused to acknowledge her. However, when she finally did speak, I was surprised. For what she wanted to talk about had nothing to do with this morning's confrontation. And I thought bitterly for a moment about the possibility that she'd forgotten all about my fabulous speech.
"So Yukari," she started sweetly. "Your 'friend' dropped by." I narrowed my eyes as she stressed the word 'friend.'
"You're gonna have to be a little more specific about this 'friend' of mine. You see, contrary to popular belief, I do have more then one," I bit out, perhaps harsher than necessary. But she seemingly didn't notice.
"Your 'male' friend." she continued.
I rolled my eyes. "Again, I do have more then one."
"Your 'charming,' 'handsome', 'male' friend!" she sang.
I twitched. "Oh! That male friend! I know just the one!" Sarcasm threaded my words in a tight stream of annoyance. And that's when Kakashi walked in and saved the day!
"Oh Yukari, your friend Kai dropped by."
"Oh sweet lord in heaven. Thank god. I thought I was gonna kill Pinky for a minute there," I commented in exasperation.
"Glad I could help," he said simply, taking the seat next to me, probably didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Like he cared, he had Icha Icha Paradise covering his face.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura complained.
"And why, pray tell, couldn't you have just told me that?" I asked Sakura.
"Weeeell, I wanted to ask you when you were gonna tell me about your boyfriend."
I blinked once, and then twitched. Then I spit out my onigri. 'What!?' I thought. "What!?"
"I've always wondered why you weren't interested in Sasuke, and now I know. You have Kai, goodness. I get it completely. How'd you hook him? You have to tell me so I can use it on Sasuke."
"Haruno, did Kai 'tell' you I was going out with him?" I asked.
"Well no, but I could just tell, you know. You two would be such a great couple after all, it makes perfect sense, blah blah blah blah blah…"
'Sasuke colored glasses,' I reasoned, apparently they applied here as well. 'Breathe, Yukari, breathe.'
/hahahahaahaha!/
'Shut up.'
/…… heehee……./
"Pinky, I'm not dating Kai, end of discussion." I took a swig of milk and drained my cup in one go, placing it on the table just as Tazuna settled next to Pinky.
"Hey, you look like hell." Ah, Tazuna, did I ever tell you how much I dislike you?
"Gee, thanks." I grumbled taking the offered milk refill from Tsunami, whom I liked a considerable amount more then her father.
"I'm worried about Sasuke," Sakura glanced at me, "and Naruto," she continued. "I know they're both training, but they've been out there an awful long time."
"I'm sure they're fine, Sakura," Kakashi answered.
"Yeah, but now they're both late, I wouldn't have expected that from Sasuke…" she trailed off.
Recognizing the line, I was aware a moment before everyone else that Sasuke and Naruto had, in fact, returned. Though perhaps not, it makes sense that Kakashi would sense their presence. And as I turned my head and examined them, for once, I was forced to agree with Tazuna, that drunk jerk.
"What have you been up to? You look like something the cat dragged in." And my, doesn't he just have a way with words? Naruto and Sasuke entered the house, tattered and worn, with Naruto leaning heavily against his teammate for support. They looked like hell.
"We both made it," Naruto gritted out through a grin, "to the top!"
"Good," Kakashi started. "Now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you're both going to be bodyguards for Tazuna."
"Alright!" Naruto cheered, putting so much enthusiasm in his exhaustion that it sent him and Sasuke falling backwards.
Then something new happened. They did not fall to the ground, Sasuke did not call Naruto a moron, and our table did not laugh. Instead, both boys were caught, and I found myself face to face with someone whose presence I surely should have recognized.
"Well now, what have we here?" the boy started. "You two meet up for a quickie in the forest and now the blond can't walk?"
My eye twitched. "Who the hell are you?" Sasuke snapped on his feet in a flash.
"You…" My tone was low, the air thick around me, killing intent boiling raw beneath my surface.
"Ah, Yukari-chan!" Kai greeted enthusiastically, forgetting that he was supporting Naruto and instead letting the boy fall flat on his ass.
"You!" A split second passed and I was already in front of him gripping his collar and shaking him in a threatening manner. "You! This is all your fault, you smexy mozoku! You made me miss dinner and then I had weird dreams, you're the root to my insanity of two days without food. I could have gotten back in time for dinner last night but did I? NO! Thanks to you I'm going stark raving loony here and all you have to say is 'Ah, Yukari-chan!?!?' Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your head off right now!?" I growled.
He seemed to think for a moment before coming upon his idea. Then he leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Because I'm sexy." I anime fell.
"T-that can only get you so far in life!" I protested, using a wall to support myself.
"Alright, Lina!" he announced. He leaned forward again and kissed my other cheek. "I apologize." I could feel myself turn red, it's been a very long time since I'd blushed or sputtered, and here I was doing both.
"Y-You,"
"Lina?" I heard Sakura question. I said the first thing that came to my mind.
"It's my middle name." Of course most Japanese people don't have middle names but to hell with it. "My parents had trouble naming me so, yeah, it's my middle name."
Kai grinned cheekily at my lie and wrapped his arm around my waist in a way that reminded me way to much of Clare.
'Too close!' I was thinking. 'Waaaaay too close!'
"Are you going to introduce me to your friends, Yukari-chan?"
"Actually, I was hoping they'd never be unfortunate enough to meet you," I said, trying not to seem awkward, it was working much to my relief. Remind me to strangle Kai for this later.
"Your words wound me," he faked.
"You're Kai, right?" Sakura interrupted, coming forth with an extended hand.
"Ah! You're that charming young lady who answered the door earlier today, are you not?" I took that moment to slip out of Kai's arms and snicker quietly.
"Look out, Uchiha, if you're not careful, you might lose another fan," I laughed.
"Tch, like I care." The harshness of his sentence threw me off guard for a moment.
"Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died?" He was pissed; a blind person could feel it. "If you really don't like him flirting with Pinky, then speak up. Don't put me through your verbal meat cutter cuz of your own personal issues."
"I don't care about that!" he growled. There was a startling truth in his words that also threw me off, but hell, it could be a number of things with Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't sense Kai's presence, he realized Kai's hotter then him, yada yada yada. The world will never know that kind of shit.
"So, how long have you known Yukari, Kai-san?" Sakura asked.
"Just Kai is fine, formalities make my skin crawl." He laughed and Sakura blushed heavily. "Yukari and I? We go way back, ne, Yukari-chan?" I managed to hide my shock beneath a raised eyebrow, he's gonna have some explaining to do later, though. "I remember the good ol' days with little Yukari-chan running around and getting lost. Good ol' directionally challenged Yukari-chan!"
I twitched heavily, seizure-like, actually. "Kai!"
Sasuke's head snapped in my direction. I had said Kai's name, and he wasn't happy about it.
"You're one to talk!" I started angrily. "If I remember correctly, you're the reason I got lost so often, dragging me off on wild goose chases!" I seethed.
"And you beat me up right afterwards, ne?" Kai smiled softly, walking over to me and, for the third time like two minutes, I was again thrown off guard. "Do you ever wish you could go back?"
There was a dangerous element to his question; he wanted to know if I wanted to go home, back to the real world. It was well done, strategically, I had to answer since we were being watched, but he had limited my answer and how well I could explain it.
"Not really," I said with a wisp of nostalgia. "There's nothing for me back there."
"Nothing." His brow furrowed. Perhaps I had lied. Perhaps I did miss actually seeing Kanoke, or even Tanner. Perhaps I missed being able to read Anne Rice, or get on my computer and read fan fiction. Perhaps I did miss technology as a whole; the luxuries of life in the 21st century.
"I can't go back even if I wanted to. So, what's it matter?" I muttered.
"But if you could go back, would you?" he asked again.
If I could go back now… would I kill my father before he could kill Maya?
"MAYA! What are you doing! Go back to bed!" But she looked at me like I was crazy.
"What's going on!? Why is father acting so? Daddy could have killed you!" she sobbed, tears falling from pale blue eyes, so unlike mine. I felt my heart soften, it was impossible to be sadistic with her around.
Yes, yes I would.
"Would you?" I shot back.
"Absolutely not." I blinked at his fast answer. "Because I'm really happy here."
I smiled a very small smile and bent over to pick up Naruto who had quite possibly fallen asleep on the floor. "Look what you've done Kai, poor Orangeman must've hit the ground hard."
"I'm okay, Angel-chan," Naruto mumbled, slumping his way to a chair at the table.
The table was extremely crowded with Kai's arrival. Hell, it was kinda crowded with my arrival. And despite Kai's oh so generous offer to let me sit on his lap, I politely declined. Instead, I sat between Kai and Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura shared the edge of the table, Tazuna at the other end, and Inari and a really pissed off Sasuke at the other.
"I've been meaning to ask you before now, but I hadn't got the chance," Tazuna began. "Why did you stay and protect me even after you found out I'd lied to bring you here?"
I smiled, leaning on my elbows over the table in a content manner, completely ready to absorb the quote I already memorized.
"Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage. But under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive," Kakashi quoted and I smiled.
"The first Hokage said it," I said.
"Correct, Yukari. You are good at this game."
"Why…" Inari mumbled and I burrowed my head in my hands in anticipation. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato's got a whole army and they'll beat you down and destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do! The strong always win and the weak always lose!" Inaris voice cracked in his throat, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.
"Just speak for yourself," Naruto growled. "It won't be like that for me, you got that?"
"Why don't you just shut up!?" Inari was crying. "Just looking at you makes me sick. You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around! You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!"
There was a short silence, hardly a break at all, but it was there, plain to me as the shadow that'd fallen over Naruto's face. "Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim," Naruto shot. "You can whimper all day for all I care, you're nothing but a coward!"
"Naruto! You went too far." Stupid Pinky.
Naruto got up and stalked off.
"We all die eventually, Geki," I said again and he didn't turn to me. "We live the lives we're given and then we die, whether or not we choose to make a difference is entirely up to us." Inari sobbed and disappeared around the corner. I sighed. That boy. He'll learn.
"I feel like I've witnessed something special." Kai muttered to me and I nodded.
"Soon," I whispered. "Through blood, and tears, sweat, adrenaline, heat, soon, we'll show him, that there are heroes in this world.
"Heh, you've got that corny anime character thing down, I see," Kai chuckled.
"You think?" I asked. "Maybe there's hope for me yet."
A/N: So, so tell me what you thought. It was a realllly long chapter and I know it wasn't really that funny but I had to cram a lot of crap into it since the next chapter is the fight at the bridge. I know you're all anticipating that one, ne? We will see more of Clare, cuz I like screwing with Yukari and of course Kai who I hope you all got attached to in this chapter, cuz I plan to keep him around as well. The dream? I may have been on crack at the time. Nah, I'm just kidding. My friend Jon got it stuck in my head and I've been singing it ever since. Woe is me, says I. So I thought I'd get it stuck in all your guys' heads as well! I'm such a nice person! Haha. Any-la-who, I know only a fourth of you are gonna even read this, so I'll cut it short, shall I. Next time, fighting, tears, blood, sweat, heat, bad puns, cracks at Sasuke's sexual preference cuz I can, and so much more, plus the fight at the bridge, and a SURPRISE visit from Kanoke! Be ready! Next time in Chapter 10 Passion and Fire. PLEASE REVIEW!