(A/N): Super long chapter! It's also the last chapter I have written, so after this is posted, no more is to come. Unless of course you want more.
Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the sues belong to me :3
Chapter Nine.
Seven beautiful young girls lined up in the office of the Kazekage, standing with perfect posture and confidence. Over the past six years, they had trained hard to hone their very Special ability, which they found out to be was the ability to manipulate atoms and completely defy the laws of chemistry and physics while doing so. Their powers were practically limitless! It was so Awesome. Of course, chakra was still their Achilles' Heel. They couldn't counter a chakra based attack or defense. But that also meant they were immune to genjutsus.
The Kazekage was quite proud that his village had been lucky enough to be gifted with such talented young girls, who could be considered just as powerful if not more than a jinchuriki. In fact, he did nothing to hide the fact that the seven powerful girls were training to be kunoichi of the Sand. His informants told him that the other four great hidden villages were already taking counter measures and subtly increasing their numbers by allowing a greater majority of students to graduate and become genins.
He allowed himself a small smile before addressing the girls. "I think you all know why I've called you to my office today."
"Lord Kazekage, may I presume we were called here so you could announce what our test will be to become genins?" Leiko asked with an almost sickly-sweet smile.
Soon after becoming humans again, Leiko had appointed herself the 'speaker' of the group, representing them whenever they had to speak to a person of authority.
"Close, but not quite." The Kazekage put down his pen and clasped his hands together with a small smile. "I have decided that you don't need a test; it is quite apparent that you are all fully ready to become genins. To test you would waste our time."
The Kazekage had always been that lenient with them, from the day he took them under his care. He gave them anything and everything they wanted, and made sure they were given a special place of respect among Sunagakure's inhabitants. They were treated like queens.
"Wow, we are very honored!" Leiko smiled again, revealing her perfectly straight, white teeth.
The Kazekage removed a box from his desk and held it out. Leiko of course, being the self-appointed spokesperson of the group, received the box and opened it.
"Our headbands!" Misao shouted excitedly, reaching for one of the seven metal plates engraved with the hourglass-shaped symbol of Sunagakure.
The other six girls did likewise, each taking a metal plate for themselves and admiring them in the light.
"Congratulations. You are all now kunoichi of Sunagakure. I'm proud of you." He smiled again at the seven girls.
Something funny had happened to the Kazekage over the past six years, since the arrival of the septet. He had…softened a bit, become a little nicer, to them, to his children. He had come to have a deep admiration for the seven girls, more than he felt for his own children. No, he didn't view the seven girls as his children, but as weapons. His weapons. No other kage in any of the other hidden villages had anything like this. Only he did. Some afternoons, on the rare occasion he finished his duties as Kazekage, he sat back and thought of everything he could do with that much power. Suna had always had a reputation for having strong ninja, but now they would be feared.
"What are our teams going to be? Who's going to be our sensei?" Seka asked eagerly.
"Well, considering that none of you can perform jutsus and you are all already quite strong and powerful, I don't believe you require a jōnin sensei." He paused to let the news soak into the girls, who were quite surprised.
Again, he was quite lenient with them, despite the fact that having a sensei would teach the girls more than just jutsus-things like teamwork. By now though, he felt no doubt or remorse in letting them break the rules of becoming ninja, even if it would be admonished by the other villages or made no logical sense. What could other villages do to stop him anyways?
"As for teams, I'll put you where I need you. If I have a mission I think would suit five of you, I'll pick out five of you. If I need you to fill in on another team, I'll have one of you fill in."
"So, like, when are we going to go on our first mission?" Leiko asked, picking at her nails absentmindedly.
"If you like, I have a C-rank escort mission to Konohagakure for three of you." The Kazekage pulled a scroll out of his robes and handed it to Leiko. "If you are ready for it, I would ask that Leiko, Misao, and Etsu would go on this mission."
A C-rank mission, because they were simply above doing all the D-rank missions like shoveling dog feces, chasing rich peoples' pets, and basic city upkeep. He wouldn't want to disgrace them with such menial labor.
"Of course we're ready!" Leiko affirmed confidently and flashed yet another stunning smile.
Misao jumped up and down and giggled with excitement while Etsu rolled her eyes at her behavior.
"Very well. You will leave in an hour."
The girls quickly poured out of the office doors and streamed into the hallway, chattering away like little birds. Leiko was not surprised that she was one of the three picked to go on their first mission. She was the strongest out of all of them, well…she was sure that a few of the others thought they were stronger, but they were wrong. A confident smirk twitched at her lips as she entered her bedroom that she shared with Misao, Akahana, and Etsu.
"Hey, maybe you guys will meet some of the Konoha 11!" Katsu chirped, sitting on the floor with Shizuko, Seka, and Akahana.
"Oooh that would be totally awesome! I've sooo been wanting to do that since we've gotten here." Misao paused from setting out various stylish outfits to bring with her.
Akahana narrowed her eyes in thought. "If the Konoha 11 graduated when they were twelve years old, at what point in the timeline would we be?"
"Well, considering we are the same age as Kankurou, who is two years older than the Konoha 11-except for Team Gai-most of them should have just graduated, or are about to. They didn't really say when exactly during the year they graduated…" Shizuko offered.
Even though they had been away from Earth for six years now, Shizuko could still remember everything with her photographic memory. But that was to be expected, since she was a super-genius.
Akahana was silent for a moment longer before she spoke again. "Maybe we could save Sasuke then. The chunin exams won't be for a couple of months. There might be time."
"But that would alter the time line!" Seka countered. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Etsu scoffed. "Oh yeah, as if we haven't done that already."
"Etsu's right. We might as well try to save him." Leiko commented as she compressed all the clothes and toiletries she wanted to bring with her into a compact cube she could store in her pocket.
The cool thing about the cube was that even though it was just a super-dense compact of all her belongings and should have weighed the same compressed or uncompressed, the cub weighed no more than a feather. That was just one of the many ways they could defy the laws of chemistry and physics.
"Besides, who cares about the storyline? It wouldn't hurt to change a few things."
"Huh. I guess so." Seka stared at the wall for a moment in thought before grinning at Leiko. "Maybe we could pick up a guy or two for ourselves~!"
"You mean a guy or two for yourself." Etsu deadpanned.
"You never know, Etsu!" Misao grinned at her friend. "Your favourite character always was Sasuke. Maybe you could save him."
"That sounds like a lot of work." Etsu sighed, compressing her belongings into a cube like Leiko had done.
"You'd call lifting a finger a lot of work!" Misao flicked her cube of belongings at Etsu's forehead, but Etsu froze it in mid-air, flung it back at Misao, and decompressed all of the belongings on top of her head.
"Yeah, because I don't have to."
"Etsu! You butt!" Misao whined in a cute, high-pitched voice as she re-compressed her belongings into a cube.
Etsu laughed unsympathetically.
"Well like, let's go. We need to leave, like, now." Leiko stood up and did her trademark hair flip.
"Uwah! I'm so excited!" Misao jumped up and tugged on Etsu's arm, seeing as she was slumped on her back on one of the beds in the room and didn't want to get up.
Etsu yanked her arm out of Misao's grasp and snapped at her. "Fine! Fine! I'm coming!"
After they said goodbye to their friends who were staying behind, they headed to the missions office and met up with the trader they were assigned to escort. While most people would have taken three days to journey from Suna to Konoha or vice versa, Leiko, Misao, and Etsu were able to transport the trader in a matter of minutes using their Super Special powers. Forming a bubble around themselves, they sped off to Konoha in a flash, somehow knowing where it was even though they'd never travelled from Suna to Konoha before.
"Wow, thank you guys so much!" the unnamed trader gave a heartfelt hug to the three girls after they uncompressed her belongings. "I don't know what kind of jutsu that was but it was great!"
"You're welcome!" Leiko flashed a gorgeous smile. "It's not a jutsu. I guess you could say it's like a kekkei genkai."
"Well thank you all very much, but I must be going!" With that, the woman smiled and left them, shoulders burdened by all her goods.
The three girls strolled into Konoha quite relaxed and at ease in the inviting atmosphere. While they had come to love Suna as their own village, Konoha still held a special place in their hearts, and now that they were finally visiting it, it was simply amazing.
"Ugh! That stupid cat just had wander into the forest!"
A voice from behind the trio caught their attention.
"I wonder if it's that Tora cat that team seven had to catch." Misao stopped Leiko and Etsu and whispered to them, somehow remembering the name of an unimportant cat after six long years.
"Ooh! What if it is team seven?" Leiko whispered with a smile on her face.
A nod of understanding passed between the three and they changed their direction and began walking towards the voice. What they saw was definitely not team seven.
"I like cats." A girl with short, choppy blonde hair commented to the two blue-haired boys on either side of her. "I wish my mum would let me have one, but she's worried a cat would knock over her shelves."
"Who are they?" Misao whispered loudly into Leiko's ear. "And why does she have a British accent in Konoha?"
"Impossible. They must be a fresh genins; the same age as Naruto and everyone else if they're chasing after Tora. There were only supposed to be three teams passed: Team Kakashi, Team Asuma, and Team Kurenai, so who are they?" Leiko frowned as they stalked the unknown team without being noticed.
"Wait, how do we know that there weren't any other teams that just weren't mentioned in the anime or manga?" Misao asked, quite confused.
Leiko shook her head. "No. Kakashi said that only one-third of the teams would pass, and because three teams passed, there would be nine team. We need to talk to them."
"But how? We'll seem suspicious." Etsu countered.
Leiko let her trademark grin spread out across her face. "Just leave it to me!"
Leiko led her team out of the shadows and straight in the direction of the mystery team. Not a few seconds after the girls came out of hiding did the team notice them and turn around.
"Hey~! I see you guys are Konoha nin, and well, we just got here from Suna and we were wondering if you knew any good places to eat around here." Leiko put on her most inviting grin and waved at the team.
The shorter of the boys, who had dusty blue hair, narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously.
"Hi! We know a coupla good places around here!" The taller boy with dark blue hair in a ponytail grinned and waived back. "We can show you there if you like! We were actually just heading to lunch ourselves."
The tall boy motioned for them to follow.
"I'm sorry, we never introduced ourselves!" Leiko grinned zealously again. "I'm Leiko, this is Misao, and this is Etsu." Leiko gestured to her two friends respectively.
"I'm Sugita Kenji!" the tall boy grinned back.
"Sahashi Shimei." The shorter boy grumbled without looking up.
"I'm Alice Liddel. It's nice to meet you." The blonde girl smiled and bowed politely.
Leiko's composure dropped for a second when she recognized the name, and then Alice's face. Alice Liddel, as in 'Alice-in-Wonderland' Alice. Immediately the corners of Leiko's mouth twisted back up, but she couldn't keep the inquisitive look out of her eyes.
"It's nice to meet you too. Hey-maybe we should eat lunch together!" Leiko suggested in a bubbly voice. "Don't worry, we can pay for ourselves~!"
She was sure the team would accept her offer. To decline it would be rude.
"That sounds like it would be ok!" Alice smiled at her, but Leiko picked up a note of wariness present in her eyes.
The Shimei boy scuffed his feet at the dirt in disapproval, but the Kenji boy remained jovial and unsuspecting. Soon they ducked into a typical-looking Konoha-style restaurant and were greeted by one of the waitresses, who apparently knew Alice and her team. Soon after they had all ordered their food, Alice got up to go to the bathroom. Leiko excused herself as well, seeing that it was a perfect opportunity to talk to her without the hindrance of her teammates.
"Alice, I need to talk to you. I have something I think you'll want to hear." Leiko crossed her arms and leaned on the wall of the restroom.
Alice's eyes flashed with curiosity, then narrowed with suspicion. Leiko noticed her hand twitch to a pouch on her leg that undoubtedly held kunai or shuriken.
"Alice, there is no need for weapons. I'm not going to hurt you." Leiko smiled comfortingly.
Alice frowned back, still suspicious.
"You don't belong here, do you? Well, you're not from here. You're from England. I know who you are."
Alice's mouth opened and closed a few times in shock, trying unsuccessfully to form words.
"O-Oxford, England…more specifically." She finally managed to get out in a quiet voice.
"I'm from America. So are my two teammates, and four of my other friends back in Suna."
Again, Alice was at a loss for words, but only for a few seconds. "Then how do you know who I am? Did you fall down a rabbit hole too?"
"We both come from the same planet…but where I'm from, you're just a story. You aren't supposed to be here, in the "Narutoverse". My friends and I didn't fall down a rabbit hole. There was a thunderstorm, the power went out, and we woke up in the desert." Leiko explained hastily.
"What do you mean my life is just a story? I'm perfectly real! And what do you mean I'm not supposed to be here?" Alice began getting angry at Leiko's words, like any normal person would.
"Well this place is just a story too. But, I'm beginning to wonder if stories aren't just alternate universes that exist on their own. I have another question though, do you have chakra? My friends and I still don't, but we have another kind of ability to manipulate atoms."
Alice rose an eyebrow. "How do you not have chakra? I have it. Manipulate atoms? How?"
Leiko had to restrain herself from laughing. Typical Alice: curious and asking tons of questions. To demonstrate her abilities, Leiko turned the water faucet on and manipulated the water to flow into the air and dance around, all without lifting a finger. Alice watched glaze-eyed in awe, and Leiko returned the water to the sink and turned it off.
"Wow…"
While Alice was amazed, Leiko could see something else in her eyes: uneasiness and worry.
"Yeah, I can pretty much do anything with it. And my friends." Leiko shrugged with a feigned sense of casualness, soaking up and enjoying the praise. "Well, we should get back now. They'll be wondering what happened to us."
"Oh! Yeah!" Alice forced a sheepish smile and hastily made her way out of the bathroom and back to the table.
Leiko lingered a moment longer, deep in thought. Why on Earth was Alice from 'Alice in Wonderland' in the Narutoverse? And why did she have chakra when neither Leiko nor her friends had any? And of all things, why did she become a ninja, and why were there four teams that were passed instead of three?
It was troubling. Leiko didn't want to think that Alice was a threat, but her very presence made her suspicious. If Alice did become a threat to Leiko or her friends…well, that would be a real problem. For the past six years, she and her friends had been living a dream. Like hell she'd just sit by and let someone else ruin that.
~Alice's POV~
After she returned to the table, Alice remained silent. It took all the self-control she could muster not to look like a train wreck as her head reeled with thoughts, questions, and uncertainty. It didn't get better when Leiko returned with a strange, indecipherable look on her face as she stared at Alice. The stress of it all was making Alice's head hurt and her stomach upset. As soon as everyone finished, she excused herself from her team. She was glad to finally be away from Leiko and the other two Suna girls.
She didn't know what to make of Leiko and her friends. On one hand, they seemed to come from virtually the same world as her, but on the other, there was something off-putting about them. They were powerful…a little too powerful for Alice's liking. What if they were the handful of 'prodigies' one of the other villages had that were the reason four teams were passed instead of three? If she was possibly going to have to fight somebody like that someday, she'd have to train harder. A lot harder.
(A/N): So that was the last and final chapter! If you'd like to see more, be sure to follow and review!