Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 9- Gone?
"Really Neji-kun! I'm gonna kill your damned alarm!" I roll over and gasp when I fall out of the bed. I get up and look around. This is…my room…back home. What the hell?! Was it all just a dream? I hit the alarm clock and look at the date. It's…the same day that I ended up in Konoha! I check myself. And I'm back in my old pajamas. No way! It's a school day…I get into my uniform and sigh. That was a wonderful dream, if that's what it was. I straighten out my uniform, a Pink and red plaid Seifuku style uniform with pink trim on the shirt.
I hurry to the bathroom and brush my hair, tying a pink and red plaid ribbon in my hair like a headband. I pause with the tie, normally I'd be showering and getting ready to go train or go on a mission with…I shake my head. "That was just a dream, Yume. Just a dream." I yawn and go down to the kitchen, for breakfast. I pull out the rolls that were in the freezer and pop a couple in the microwave to heat them up. While that's going, I put together a bento of raspberry and blackberry Onigiri, fried shrimp from the fridge, and pineapple coconut dipping sauce. I put the lid on the bento and wrap it in a red cloth just as the microwave goes off. I pull out the rolls and start munching on one while I make sure my schoolbag is packed properly. I sigh and finish the roll.
Huh? I wipe my face and stare at my hand. I'm crying? It's July 23rd. Was it really all just a dream? Wait, Taisho-sensei said that time runs differently sometimes. What if I was only gone for a night here? But…Sensei also said that I wasn't in school today. I shake my head. "Quit trying to explain it to yourself, Yume. It was just a dream. Konoha isn't a real place." Though I wish it was. I grab my other roll and check the clock. "Again?! Crap!" Why does this always happen? I'm always running late. Not in Konoha…Neji's alarm kept us both on time for stuff.
I shake my head and hurry out the door, slipping on my shoes on the way and running as fast as I can to the school. On the bright side, it's only about ten kilometers to the school from my house, and I can run that in two minutes. I get to the school, get my shoes off and change into my school slippers from my locker in record time before dashing to the classroom, barely making it before the bell. I sit down and sigh in relief. I stare out the window as class starts, watching the clouds.
*Neji's POV*
"Shirayume?" She's gone. Where did she disappear to this time? Bathroom maybe? I knock on the door. No answer. I go into the bathroom and stare at her jacket. It's hanging on the curtain rod along with her other clothes. Did she forget her jacket? Maybe it was still wet from the rain last night. Strange. I leave and head for the training grounds. "Have you guys seen Shirayume?"
"No. She usually comes with you."
"Why?"
"She wasn't home this morning. And she left her jacket."
"That's odd. Maybe we should look for her?" Lee and Gai nod.
"Right. Who knows what could happen to her if she got lost." We split up and search the village. Where could she have gone?
*Shirayume's POV*
I wonder if they're worried about me.
"Hey Pinky. You're a bit out of it today huh? Someone might beat you up with you being like that." I glance at the girl. A group of seniors.
"Your hair matches your uniform. How cute."
"Trying to bleach it that way, Pinky?"
"Leave me alone."
"Whatcha gonna do about it, Pinky?"
"Please. Leave me alone." One of them pushes my shoulder, causing me to almost spill my sauce from my lunch. I go back to eating, ignoring them.
"It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that everyone knows that your whole family were Japanese and not foreign. Must be a shame to them, seeing such a weirdo from their family." My eye twitches but I continue eating. I'll get in trouble for fighting on campus. I hear shuffling and look over.
"If you hit me first, you'll be the one to get in trouble." The leader of the group is pulling a set of brass knuckles on. I take a bite of shrimp and dodge as she goes to punch me. I get up in a swift move and land a powerful round-house kick to the side of her face. I sit back down and finish eating while the group of seniors stare at me. When I finish, I get up and redo the cloth around my bento.
"What the hell are you?"
"Just…a high school student." I go back into the school and to the classroom. I want to go back to Konoha. I like it there a lot better. No one bothers me about my hair, for one. And I miss Neji. I miss him a lot.
*Tenten's POV*
Where could she have gone? I get back to the training ground, with no results. It's the same for the others.
"Where could she be?"
"Maybe…maybe she went home?"
"But how? Why? She acted like she didn't want to go back there."
"Who knows? How did she get here in the first place?"
"Neji?"
"It's nothing. I'm going home." He turns around and leaves. The atmosphere is suddenly very depressing.
"I'm going home too." None of us would be able to train properly now.
"Yea. Same here." We all go home and I sit down on my bed. Why would Shirayume disappear like that? Did we do something to upset her? She seemed pretty upset when she ran home yesterday…after talking to me. I wonder if something happened yesterday between her and Neji. They seemed to be getting pretty close.