Foosha: It's here! Bonding time! Also, next time I have a test I will not be updating until it's over. I failed my chemistry test. T_T And I'm not even sure how!
Vash: You'll do better next time. *reassuring pat*
Foosha: Anyways... thanks for the reviews DeeaE, Chillybean, Hex Aether, and Yuti-Chan! 8D You're all fantastic!
Nicky: Foosha doesn't own Naruto, Godzilla or dinosaurs.
Foosha: If you're curious look up the dinosaur name when it's mentioned! It's ginormous! O.O Seriously! Anehways… On with the chapter!
Nicky's POV
Bonding time, what was I thinking? Why would they even tell us about themselves? Unless they want to inflate their own egos I guess… who knows. My inner arguments had been going on through lunch and resumed until all the ninja returned. After helping them put away their unusual groceries (seriously who actually steals that Buddha's Hand fruit? Who would want to eat that?), we had them hang out in the living room while we conversed in the kitchen about how to setup our game.
"Hey, what happened to Rin? I thought you had to watch her today," Vash asked absent mindedly while preparing a tray of random snack foods for our game. I leaned back on my elbows against the countertop, sighing.
"Yeah well… she seemed pretty freaked out. Probably would have been bad to have her over. Her dad happened to get a day off today or something so she's going with him somewhere anyway. I guess it's for the best." She nodded her head in understanding and turned to me with tray in hand.
"Well, what shall we do first?" I looked to the ceiling in thought. Earlier, I had actually googled some ideas for "get to know you" games and a few childish ones came up, but nothing that sounded all that awesome. Oh I know!
"We should play that "Never Have I Ever" game! And like… each person who has done something that someone else hasn't has to eat that nasty natto drink stuff your grandma sent us! That way we can get rid of it. It's killing two birds with one stone!" Please innocence, save me from having to eat that nasty fermented sticky bean drink. I will vomit to no end if that sickness touches my tongue! Her face paled and she nodded slowly.
"Oh god, yes let's. Those cases have been gathering dust for too long and they're taking up valuable pantry space," she agreed and led the way to the living room, me skipping at her heels. I was excited to see the reactions of the criminals when they tasted their defeat. SWEET DEFEAT! BWAHAHAHAHA!
"Hehehe…"
"Nicky stop thinking weird things. Okay guys, listen up. Nicky has decided that to better understand each other, we should do a bonding game-"
"No. We need to be looking for the portal, not participating in unnecessary activities," Orangey interrupted, folding his arms in finality. I stomped my foot in a childish manner and put my hands on my hips.
"Oh come on! It won't kill you. It'll just help us understand your needs better and ya know… maybe how important it is to help get you back. Plus, I'm really curious about you guys, and I think you owe us some better explanation than magically appearing. Besides, it's not like the portal is gonna go anywhere! It's a portal! No feets!" Motioning to my legs with both arms I hoped to emphasize the importance of mobility. "We promise to help you look for the portal tomorrow as much as we can, okay? It's just one day! Pleeeeease?" I clasped both of my hands together and held out the "please" as long as I could before I heard him sigh and wave me off with his hand.
"Fine. One day. But tomorrow I expect you two to look. Understood?" I saluted and Vash just nodded like a normal person before we both took a seat on the floor, motioning them to do the same to form a circular formation. Vash sat at one end between Lila and Marshy while I sat directly across from her between Foofy and Izaya. Inconspicuously (I hoped at least) I glanced between the two, taking in their facial features and lack of expressions. Sheesh. These guys need serious fun in their lives. Being a ninja sounds like it'd be fun, except for killing people I guess…
"So, the game is called "Never Have I Ever". All you do is go around the circle clockwise and say something that you've never done, whoever has done what someone says they haven't, has to drink this beverage," Vash explained, gesturing to the cans of natto in the middle next to the tray of snacks that Tobi, Fishy and I had been gobbling silently (or as silently as you can gobble). Hehe gobble is a weird word. Reminds me of turkeys. Marshy scoffed from his position beside Professor Layton.
"What the fuck kind of stupid ass game is this shit? There's no fucking punishment and no way in hell to fucking lose." For a quick moment there was an evil glint that reflected off Vash's glasses, but it was soon gone. I shivered involuntarily. She's going to enjoy this way too much. Then again, so am I.
"Ah, well then, even you should be able to understand it." Marshy was about to jump at Vash but was stopped by the ever annoyed Professor Layton. I think I'll call him Prolay for short now. Even though I love his name, it's just too long. Or I could say it like Luke. "Professa!" Yeah…probably not that. "Okay. Who wants to start?"
"I will start," Pein stated, looking to all of us calmly. "I have never-"
"No! You have to start "Never have I ever…"! That's why it's called that," I interrupted, but quickly placed my hands over my mouth and looked away embarrassed. Stupid brain.
"I have never-," jerk! "-owned a stuffed animal." Suddenly I could feel the blood drain from my face and I shakily looked to Vash who appeared equally appalled. Shit! I didn't plan on this to backfire! Curse you innocence! This is what you did to me! My body slumped forward until I felt someone shake my left shoulder. I wearily looked up to see Foofy smirking slightly as he pointed to the dreadful liquid.
"Aren't you supposed to drink this when you've done something, hm?" My eyes narrowed half-heartedly and I turned back to the middle of the circle, grabbing one of the natto drinks. My stubbornness wouldn't let me decline such a challenge. Vash, on the other hand, just sat there, adamant not to do it. Marshy grabbed a drink from the center and shoved it into her hands.
"Drink it bitch so we can get this fucking thing over with. Don't be such a fucking bitch about it." She growled at him.
"I'm the one who makes your damn dinner, Bitch. I'm perfectly fine with letting you starve…or I could think of something 'fun' to do to your food in particular." Now it was my turn to interrupt.
"Pfft. These are the rules of the game Vash! Do it or I'll make you!" She grumbled before bringing the can towards herself. We shared a look of sympathy before we both popped open the tops, accidentally inhaling the disgusting scent that dispersed. Foofy plugged his nose and scooted away from me. "What the hell, un? That stuff smells like rotting food, yeah!"I gagged and coughed, looking to Vash with watery eyes.
"Vash you go first." She glared at me.
"No. We'll go together. Ready? 1…"
"2…"
"3…"
And at the same time we both drank the fermented bean juice as fast as we could. I tried plugging my nose with my hand halfway through so it wouldn't be as pungent, but I failed horribly. The smell burned my nostrils and the taste made me want to throw-up instantly. The slimy texture of the few beans did not agree with body in the slightest, not to mention the taste of something so foul that I thought I might have already thrown up. Once I finished it, I grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them in my mouth to avoid puking, rubbing the tears from my eyes with one hand while feeding myself with the other. Vash was looking normal and inspecting the can quietly.
"What the hell? Why are you fine? Bleh…" I complained to Vash, stopping to hold my mouth. She shrugged.
"Probably because I have the acquired taste needed to handle it. I grew up on Japanese food after all and Nana is the one who sent them to me. I'm not saying it's good, but it isn't terrible." At that moment in time I hated Vash, but only for a minute, and that's when I realized that the rest of these guys were based on a Japanese anime. Fuck! Of course it won't bother them as much either! Probably! Argh stupid idea! STUPID!
"HAHAHAHA stupid bitches! I bet that fucking drink isn't even that damn bad," Marshy laughed loudly. Foofy also joined in.
"You'd never make it as a ninja, that's for sure, yeah." Kisame chuckled nervously.
"I don't know… that's a pretty strong reaction."Before anyone else could make fun of me, Tobi butted in waving his arms.
"Tobi wants to try! Never has Tobi ever been a bad boy!" There was a "thwap" and Tobi held his head.
"Tobi you're always a bad boy, hm!" Evilness returned to Vash's expression as well as mine while we watched the two argue.
"Well, all of you are criminals, so you've all been bad boys at some point, except Konan who's a girl. So all of you besides Konan have to drink it," Vash said, smirking triumphantly. There were a few groans of protest, though I think it was more from actually having to participate, not from the drink. Pein soon shut them up.
"Shut up. Just drink it so we can finish." The men nodded and picked up a drink except for Pein. Vash looked slightly irked.
"You aren't getting out of this. Drink it." Pein's look turned superior.
"I'm the leader of this organization. I don't have to do anything of the sort."
"Pein, you should just drink it so we don't spend any longer than we have to," Konan added softly. I blinked at her in surprise. Hrm… she never talks. Maybe…maybe she has an inner evil side and is just as curious as I am to see what they do when they drink it. Ehehehe… I think I like her. Pein appeared to submit, whether from her words or his own decision, and grabbed the concoction. One by one, the criminals drank the nauseating substance, finishing quickly, except for Spirit who just sat there quietly watching from his spot by Foofy. I looked at him quizzically.
"Hey! You're supposed to drink too!" He gave me a blank look.
"I'm a puppet. I don't drink nor eat."
"You're… a puppet? What do you mean?" He couldn't possibly be a real puppet. Otherwise he'd have strings and someone following him around or somethin'… right? Right? He indicated to the strange line that wrapped around his neck. What is that? Why didn't I notice? I blinked and openly gawked.
"Close your mouth stupid brat. You obviously don't recognize true art." True art? What the hell is wrong with this guy? He shall be questioned later. For the sake of science! I closed my mouth and looked over at the hacking noises I was hearing to see Marshy having some problems. Foofy and Fishy looked just as displeased and slightly pale.
"What the fuck was that shitty stuff? That's the most disgusting piece of shit I've ever fucking tasted!"
"That was gross, yeah…"
"Tobi liked it! Tobi wants more!" I gagged at the thought of drinking again.
"Bleck… let's keep going. Cal! You're up!" He shifted in his normal-ish clothes, which we had to modify to fit his plant parts.
"Never have I ever won that damn monkey in a ball game. This means you have to drink, girl." My eyes widened in horror, but I soon found a way to distract myself.
"Well so does Tobi! He won all the time!" Tobi nodded his head vigorously.
"Yes! Tobi wins! Tobi's a good boy and Tobi wants to drink more!" I reluctantly choked down another drink while Tobi happily sipped away (how he did so perfectly with his mask on I'll never know). This game is getting dull and I haven't learned anything new. I think we should change things up a bit.
"Hey. Let's switch this thing up to Truth or Dare. That way we still get entertainment and we can ask questions about what we wanna know. Okay? Okay. I'm first. Izaya! Truth or dare?" I turned to my right and gave him a serious look with an overdramatically raised eyebrow. From the corner of my eye I could see Vash shrug at my decision to change the game, though she would probably enjoy this more in a way. More direct torture. Izaya looked at me evenly.
"Hn… Truth."
"Damn robot…" Vash muttered under her breath.
"Grrr! Fine! What are those on your face? They are driving me crazy!" He pointed to the slanted lines on either side of his nose with a slightly quirked eyebrow. "Yeah those! What are they? Wrinkles? Are you like 91 like Prolay?"
"Prolay?" Vash questioned, I nodded to her.
"Professor's new nickname," I replied, "Now, tell me! It's truth so you have to."Strange how none of them have questioned me still calling them by cat names. Maybe they are just used to it. He stayed silent and calm and then shrugged.
"What? How can you not know! Excuses are for moose's sir!" Oddly enough, I think the disgusting drink had made me somewhat hyper and perhaps a little loopy. Giving up on him giving me a straight answer I sighed. "Fine. Now it's your turn. Choose someone." Not wasting time, he looked to Fishy.
"Hn… truth or dare?" The fish man stroked his invisible beard for a moment (something I think he picked up from me, unless he already did that).
"Truth." Geez these guys are seriously boring! Their personalities, their emotions, everything! So predictable! The only thing cool about them so far is how they look and how some of them are still breathing! Must know more!
"Okay! Can you breathe underwater?" I interrupted Izaya's question with one of my own out of impatience. He didn't seem too bothered. Fishy blinked before laughing.
"Yeah. I even have shark summons."
"Wow really! Awesome! You have to show me sometime!" I then noticed that I had unknowingly leaned forward in excitement, so I corrected my position back to normal. "Okay now it's your turn Aquaman!" He looked at me questionably but shrugged.
"Okay… Kakuzu, truth or dare?" Who's that? I looked around to see Prolay with a thinking expression (his eyes at least), his mask back on his face.
"I don't see the benefit in either." Irritated I slapped a hand to the carpet.
"Choose truth! Otherwise you'll have to do something unpleasant! That is your benefit!" He looked to me and said nothing so I continued, "Okay! How come you're the only one who deals with Marshhead over there?"
"That's not my name, bitch!" I really just wanna backhand his face right now, but he'd probably kill me… ugh. I need a punching bag.
"That's not my name either! So when you decide to call me by my real name, maybe I'll bother trying to remember your real name! That goes for the rest of you as well!" He huffed and before he could retort, Prolay beat him to it.
"It's because I was partnered with this idiot."
"You have partners? How come?" He shrugged.
"Precautions. Otherwise I'd be fine without him… though I'm not sure if I could say the same for him…" They started arguing again, so Vash decided to take the opportunity and ask questions of her own. Somehow this has just turned into a question answer session. I guess even though it lacks awesomeness, it works.
"So… how did you guys all get so weird? Like PlantGuy and SharkFace." She looked between the two. Fishy frowned.
"Not everyone is normal in the ninja world. Most ninjas have their own special traits."
"That doesn't explain it." He sighed and scratched his head.
"I sold my body to science. That's probably all you would understand out of the full explanation." She frowned but stayed quiet, not seeming completely satisfied with the answer. I took this as my turn to ask a question, so I glanced at Foofy who was talking quietly with Spirit.
"Can I touch your hair?" He looked at me with a bewildered expression.
"Uh… why do you want to touch my hair, yeah?" I just kept looking at his long locks.
"It looks so fluffy and soft! How do you keep your hair so long without it getting nappy and gross from being a ninja all the time and keeping it down? I'm going to touch it anyway, okay?" And so I did, and it was so smooth! I wish my hair was this nice… it reminds me of his kitty fur. Aww… I miss having kitties. "Ooooh! You have to let me play with it sometime! I like playing with hair, when it's nice to touch at least… and not icky. "
"Okay… un. But just so you know, I haven't washed it for a few days. Since the last time you washed us as kittens, yeah." His statement dawned on me. Shoot! I totally forgot about bathroom time! And we only have one! How will that work? I guess we'll have to figure it out when that obstacle comes to us.
"How did you all learn your ninja powers?" Vash asked suddenly pulling me out of my worried state.
"Huh… I've been wondering that too actually. Do you get to choose your powers? Like in RPG games or somethin'? Oh man I'd totally be a shape shifter! And I'd shape shift into… an Argentinosaurus! And squish everyone!" Spirit gave me an odd look.
"What is that? Some sort of made up creation of yours?" I gasped and put my hands on either side of my cheeks. Holy crap! I totally forgot that they probably don't even know about dinosaurs! I bet they don't even have them in their world! That would be terrible!
"It's decided. We have to watch a dinosaur movie after this. You guys are missing out. And it isn't made up Mister Smarty-Pants. They were alive a looooong time ago. Come to think of it, I actually have a book that you guys can take turns looking at sometime. It has a little history of most things on this planet."
"Anyway! So what about your powers?" Vash asked again impatiently. This time Prolay answered, probably getting bored sitting there doing nothing.
"Depending on the lineage, or clan, a ninja comes from, they can inherit different abilities from their bloodlines. Each clan is different. You can't just choose your "powers"," he explained evenly. I nodded in understanding, and then started thinking about dinosaur movies to watch. Some of the other members began chatting in hushed voices while Vash continued to converse with the rest who were still paying attention.
Vash's POV
"So if you're all a part of an evil organization, what exactly are you guys fighting for? And who are you fighting against, if any?" This time Bastard answered, intertwining his fingers and resting them on his lap.
"We fight simply for peace and anyone who stands in our way is the enemy." Well… that doesn't sound too evil. Maybe I'll have to look it up later to see if there is anything else he isn't telling me.
"Alright. Why did you decide to make an organization to fight for peace? Are there a lot of wars or something?" He eyed me carefully before Konan spoke up.
"There are a lot of reasons we fight for peace." Bastard nodded his head.
"Yes… though none are your business. And if I catch you looking up information about us on your devices, I will kill you." I frowned and folded my arms.
"Fine."
"Vash! We need to make some popcorn! It's movie time!" I looked over to Nicky, who for some reason had randomly migrated to the couch while I was talking to Bastard. She sat between PlantGuy and Redhead, with Tobi squished beside him (since the couch is really made for three people to fit comfortably), drinking the last of the natto drinks. At least someone likes them. I have no doubt that Nana will end up sending us more…
"Grab some more chairs and I'll start on some popcorn," I stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in my jeans. "What movie are we watching?" She was hopping about as she grabbed the chairs in the kitchen.
"Godzilla 1998! Bwaaaaaah! Because they don't know what dinosaurs look like, and I can't think of a super action-y documentary to show that, and Jurassic Park is inaccurate anehways so… might as well watch awesome Godzilla destroying stuff!" I facepalmed after starting up the popcorn. That movie huh? It's awful… sigh. Next time I'm choosing.
Nicky's POV
"Okay everyone, grab a seat! I'm putting on an action movie!" I sat two chairs on either side of the couch and moved the computer chair closer to the circle. That way only three people had to sit on the floor. Pein was about to sit on the couch where I had previously been, before I dived forward and landed ungracefully in the spot in a ball-like position. He narrowed his eyes and me and I just waved and gave him a cheesy smile. Haha! That's what you get for trying to take my seat! "Maybe I would have given you my seat, if you would have asked nicely beforehand! But now it's too late! So find another place." He looked like he was about to retort, but Konan saved me.
"Pein, this spinning chair is more comfortable than the rest and taller too." Even though he didn't show it, I could almost sense the disappointment emitting from him. Or maybe I'm just imagining it and wishing that's what he was doing so I could laugh at him. Laugh I say!
He sat beside Konan, who sat on one of the kitchen chairs. Izaya took one of the chairs on the other side of the couch, near Tobi, as well as Prolay. Marshy sat on the floor, leaning against the armrest of the couch while eating one of the bowls of popcorn Vash brought over. He's unusually quiet. Maybe he's cranky 'cause he's hungry. Meanwhile, Fishy was lying on the ground with his head propped up by a pillow and Foofy was still standing trying to get Tobi to move, who was refusing. I sighed and turned to the fluffball.
"Hey Foof face. Come sit in front of me so I can play with your hair. Tobi got there first." He grumbled before yelling at me.
"Hell no, I want to sit on the couch, yeah!" If I was in an anime, this would be the point in time where I'd get an angry tick mark on my forehead.
"Stop being such a child and sit down already. You can sit there next time, okay?"
"Yeah brat, sit down and shut up," Spirit agreed, "I want to get this started already."He's like a crabby old man. A crabby, short old man with a young man face. Come to think of it, I think he's shorter than me. I smell opportunity! Disregarding my better judgment, I glanced to Spirit beside me and kept my face confused, as if I was genuinely curious. Though I'm completely devious bwahahaha!
"Spirit, why you be so short?" In a robotic fashion (which describes the personalities of half the people in the room), he peered over at me, with his still nonexistent facial expressions.
"What did you say, brat?" I almost started laughing but, Vash cleared her throat to get our attention and handed me a bowl of popcorn before literally kicking Tobi off the couch to steal his seat. Tobi whimpered and crawled next to Foofy, who had finally decided to sit in front of me. After stuffing a good sized thing of popcorn in my mouth, I turned on the TV and PS3 to start Netflix.
"Why the fuck do we have to watch this shit movie?" Hidan asked loudly. I shushed him and started the film.
"Just watch it. I bet this guy could kill you any day." He scoffed.
"Fuck that. He couldn't lay a fucking finger on me." I shrugged and passed the popcorn to Vash, since both Cal and Spirit don't eat popcorn, and resumed playing with Foofy's hair. Foofy groaned audibly but didn't say anything and let me continue.
"We'll see…"
"You two will be searching all day tomorrow for a portal. I will make sure of it," Pein said sharply from his spot. I just ignored him and so did Vash. I never thought I'd be sitting in my living room hanging out with a bunch of unimaginably bizarre ninja. Maybe with the help of Vash and me, we can get them to loosen up a bit and have a good time. It's not like they're going anywhere anytime soon. And that way it'll be a more enjoyable experience for us too. Eventually, I hope they'll be comfortable enough to relax more around us. It'd be interesting to see what that's like, even though they probably are more relaxed than they would be if they had just barely appeared. Then I realized something.
Who's going to watch them when we both go to work tomorrow?
Foosha: So I'm not really sure what the drinks are actually called, but I know there is such a thing. They have them at an Asian grocery store in town. One day I'll visit it… but I'll never try it. Bleck.
Vash: Things never seem to go as planned in these chapters, do they?
Nicky: Hardly ever!