When best friends Alison McKay and Michelle Prince found a small piece of paper bearing a promise of the greatest Naruto experience of their lives, they were unwittingly sucked into the world they had only ever watched and read about. Now, hearts will be stirred, Bonds will be formed, blood will be spilt, and worlds will collides fantasy and reality fuse inextricably into one.
Disclaimer: Obviously, as this is a fanfic, I don't own Naruto. Anything found in this story that does not exist in the real Naruto plot line though, including the characters Alison and Michelle, I claim as my own.
Also, the original words to the song used in this chapter belong the song "Superman" By Five for Fighting. It belongs to that group, not me. I've only changed it slightly to meet my own ends.
This is a comedy/drama/romance story I've been meaning to write for a long time. Any pairings will be decided as the story progresses, though suggestions are welcome. Also, before I begin, I realize that there are some of you out there who may not like my writing style, or the angle I'm taking with this story. As much as I'd like constructive criticism, please do not simply review to say how much you hated it. It's common courtesy.
Note to Readers: Chapter 10! It's a little bit mushy, but hopefully not too much so. My thanks for this story's first actual CRITIQUE from RennyKUNpow! Seriously guys, it's fine, and in fact APPRECIATED if you find something I could improve on in my story! Not that happy smile "Yay I loved it!" Type reviews are unappreciated. I'm just saying that I won't bite you if you have something you'd like to point out for betterment..
In response to said critique, I figure I should tell you that the plot line is going to be introduced in the next two or three chapters, along with the rest of the characters. Also, in my world, ninja were chainmail just because it makes more sense than fishnet! I'll do my best to edit more carefully from now on, though most errors I blame on the sticky spacebar on my PC.:P
And now, chapter 10! Read it!
Chapter illustration- http/img295.imageshack.us/img295/8522/chapter10image8jg.jpg (Yes, it's not very good! So sue me! My scanner isn't working right now so, I drastically edited a picture of Sakura on Photoshop;;; I'll do a real one ASAP)
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Chapter 10- Our Right to Bleed
I might not be good with speeches,
but if you want,
I can sing.
"Darn...I don't want to do this..."
Michelle mumbled, hugging her arms to her chest as she walked through the forest. It was late afternoon, not long before sunset, though the familiar orange stain of the landscape had turned aquamarine due to the thickness the green foliage overhead. Every so often, the sunlight managed to break through a patch of leaves, creating a warm golden patch on the path before her. The blonde girl however, was far more concerned with her present situation.
---flashback---
"Alright everyone, Gai-sensei has offered to treat us all to ramen in celebration of his...victory."
The teachers had returned a short while after Sakura had gotten Lee and Alison to stop crying, just in time to catch the end of a conversation Michelle was having with Neji, questioning how he could see without pupils.
"Yes! Ramen! Awesome!"
Naruto cried, jumping up in the air in excitement. There were several murmurs of agreement from the other shinobi, and a few gleeful shouts from the louder among them. Gai struck his best nice-guy pose.
"Well then, let us go, shall we?"
"I'll pass."
Everyone turned to look at Sasuke as he turned and started away from the group, headed toward team seven's training area. Sakura took a few steps after him, unsure if she wanted to follow or not.
"Sasuke-kun, come back! Can't you take a little break? I mean, it's getting dark."
"She is correct!"
Lee said, turning toward him.
"While training is indeed both enjoyable and important, one must take the time to enjoy all aspects of their youth! That includes eating!"
"Later."
Sasuke muttered, and continued walking. The group watched in lulled silence for a long moment as he faded into the brush. Alison elbowed Michelle in the ribs.
"Hey, Atsuko-chan, why don't you go with him? Just make sure he's alright, you know, the whole buddy system concept."
"But-but Riku-chan! I want some ramen!"
Michelle whimpered, both shocked at terrified that she might miss out. Her azure eyes shifted repeatedly between the dark patch of forest and her friend's face. Alison simply smiled, shoving her in the direction Sasuke had taken.
"I'll get you some take-out, don't worry about it!"
"It might be a good idea. It'll be dark soon, and I try to discourage my students from training alone at night."
Kakashi added, having finally put away his novel. Michelle looked at him beseechingly, then back to Riku.
"Oh come on, pleeeeaase? He'll be fine on his own and-"
"Michelle you go after him right this minute!"
Alison barked, quickly switching to English and shifting gears from encouraging to violently angry.
"Don't you get that I'm trying to get you a chance to talk with him alone!"
"Say what!"
Michelle squeaked, confused by her friend's sudden anger, and slid backward in fear. Alison placed one hand on her head, shaking it back and forth.
"Darn it, you are so SLOW! You still have to apologize to him for that comment about his brother, remember! Do you really want him to hate you forever? NO! Now get yer skinny behind over there and make with the sorry! RIGHT NOW!"
"Okay! I'll go!"
Michelle squeaked in Japanese, jumping away from Alison. She noticed the confused and somewhat frightened looks that everyone was giving them, and felt her face go red. Alison
seemed all but oblivious though, and grinned broadly as she started to shove everyone in the direction of the village.
"Okay then! Thanks Atsuko-chan! You rock!"
The group moved out of sight within a few moments, shepherded by Alison and the two Jounin. The blonde felt a sweatdrop slide down the back of her head as several voices questioned what had happened.(Most specifically Naruto in the form of "What the heck did you just say to her?")
She sighed deeply, turning and following the path Sasuke had taken.
--End Flashback--
Now Michelle paused in the shadows as she found the raven-haired boy tossing throwing stars at multiple targets pinned to trees. She watched him for a few moments, gathering her courage before taking a deep breath and stepping out into the clearing.
"Hey there, wacha up to?"
She asked as cheerfully as she could, offering him a small smile. She saw a dark eye glint toward her momentarily before returning to the target he was aiming at.
"Training. Something you should get familiar with."
Michelle bit her tongue to prevent a snide comment from escaping her mouth. She wandered closer as he released his shuriken, sending it flying into the center of the target, leaning against a tall tree. She watched him for several more minutes before trying for a conversation again.
"Doncha think it's time for a break? You've been training all day after all."
She received no response. The girl frowned, now frustrated as well as nervous. She just couldn't deal with this guy's attitude!Why couldn't Riku have been the one to insult him? At least she had tact!
"Well, if you're going to be that way, then I'll just ignore you too. So Mneeeeh!"
At that point she stuck her tongue out at him to accentuate her defiance. Grabbing the lowest branch of the tree she leaned against, Michelle hoisted herself up onto it. This was going to be tough. He was still mad-that was obvious. Still, Michelle Prince wasn't the type that gave up so easily. All she needed was a plan...
'Darn, what do they do in all the animes...'
She wondered, bringing the stories she knew to mind one after the other, and quickly going through them for any sort of hint as to what to do. Her eyes glimmered for a fraction of a second as an idea hit her.
'Hey, that might just work! Disney, you've saved me again!'
"I can't stand to fly"
She sang the words quietly, smiling a very small, secret smile to herself.
"I'm not that naive. I'm just out to find, the better part of me..."
"Cut that out."
Her ears perked as she heard Sasuke snap at her. Michelle looked down at him with a smirk, watching as he retrieved his shuriken from the targets. Her plan seemed to be working. At least he was paying attention to her now.
"Breaking your concentration am I?"
She asked, leaning on her hands to stare at him with deceitfully innocent blue eyes. She batted them several times, and was(predictably)ignored. Michelle shakily got to her feet, reaching for the next branch that hung just above her. She had to jump to reach it, sending a cascade of leaves falling to the ground.
"Well you know what, why don't you just listen for a while then,"
She grunted, pulling herself up into her stomach, then throwing one leg over.
" and you can train afterward? After all, this is practically your theme song."
She waited for a response but got none. Once she heard the sound of shuriken hitting targets start up again, she continued singing.
"I'm more than some kid. I'm more than a name. I'm more than some, pretty face, passing in the rain, and it's not easy, to be me..."
Michelle changed the lyrics as she went, unsure if planes or trains of Superman existed in this dimension. It would ruin the effect if she sounded ridiculous. Sadly, a balladeer Michelle was not. She paused, to see if she would be met with any more criticism. Nothing. She then swung around, suspended from the branch by her ankles.
"Look, Sasuke-kun... sometimes I know things, and I don't know how I know them. It's like..."
She knew she couldn't tell him the truth. Not only would he not believe her, but he might think she was insane too. With that in mind, she opted to lie, while still being as honest as possible.
"It's like I have a sixth sense, or..or psychic empathy or ESP or something, but, I just know some things. Like...like about your brother..."
There was a rustling, whirring sound that told Michelle that his shuriken must have missed it's target, and gone spinning into the brush. She took a deep breath, and paused a moment to find her nerve.
"I...I was out of line before. I was just...mad you know? And I didn't really mean it when I said you should be dead. That was a horrible, awful thing to say-not just to you but to anyone and I...I'm...sorry..."
The only answer she got was the thunk of metal on wood as another shuriken hit it's mark. Michelle frowned, shaking her head. This wasn't going anywhere. She snorted at him, righting herself.
"You know, I was serious when I said this was your theme song. Fixed it up myself."
Michelle sat there for a few moments, waiting for the blood to stop rushing to her head. She the stood and started to climb higher. The next branch was lower than the others had been, and so she easily stepped up onto it.
"Wish that I could cry..."
She sang, noticing with unease that the sounds of shuriken below had stopped.
"Fall upon my knees..."
Now she was straining to hear any sound from below her as she reached for another branch.
"Find a way to lie, about a home I'll never see..."
Michelle frowned, now convinced something was up. She dropped down a few branches, so that she could see the training area more clearly. Sasuke had gathered his things together, and was starting to walk away.
"Hey wait a minute!"
She saw him pause, and glare over his shoulder at her.
"You talk too much, you know that?"
He spat viciously. Michelle winced, almost feeling physically hurt by the comment. She faltered, clinging to the branch so she wouldn't fall out of the tree
"Please, just hear me out! Okay? I swear I'm not a spy, or a freak or a missing-nin or whatever you seem to think I am! Well, maybe I am a freak but...but that's beside the point! I don't know just what you have against me! I mean, I might be a little more eccentric and a little less talented than most, but it doesn't mean I'm your enemy! I'm just trying to help..."
He turned away and continued walking. Michelle felt her eyes begin to sting. She just didn't understand. Maybe that comment had been more serious a mistake than she had thought.
"It may sound absurd..."
She sang in a louder, slightly choked up voice as she made her way across to the western side of the tree. She sat dwn on a branch there, gazing up at the sunset with her back to the direction Sasuke had left in.
"...but don't be naive. Even heroes have the right to bleed. I may be disturbed, but won't you concede.
Even heroes have the right to dream, and it's not easy to be me..."
She couldn't heard footsteps any longer, and so assumed she was alone. All the better. She hadn't even wanted to talk to him in the first place. Yeah, Alison had sent her over. That jerk could hater her his whole life. What did she care? He was just a moron anyway.
"Up, up and away...away from me...well it's all right...you can all sleep sound tonight. I'm not crazy..."
She wiped at her eyes, only now realizing that they were wet. She wiped her hand on her shirt with disgust.
"Or anything..."
Michelle suddenly realized how pathetic she was being. She was crying. Worse still, she was crying over Sasuke and what he thought of her.
"You know, if I could tell you Sasuke, I would. I really would..."
She said angrily, even though she knew that there was no way he could hear her.
"Even though you ARE the biggest jerk in Konoha! But I can't! Is that so hard to believe! I just can't you big idiot!"
She sniffled, biting her tongue to stop herself from yelling anymore as she watched as the sky slowly shifted colors to a brilliant crimson- violet haze.
"I can't stand to fly..."
The blonde girl sang to the blurring colors, managing a wry smile in spite of herself.
"I'm not that naive. Men weren't meant to ride, with clouds between... their... knees..."
She let the last few words fall out of tune as she thought she heard footsteps approaching the base of the tree. Was she imagining it? Probably. Still, she didn't glance down, simply because it was a pleasant illusion to keep up. Michelle paused, struggling to replace the lyrics in the last part of the song with something that would make sense, then continued.
"I'm only a man, all image and sheen, searching for dignity, on this one way street; only a man, all image and sheen, looking for special things inside of me...inside of me...inside me...
I'm only a man, image and sheen. I'm only a man, looking for a dream. I'm only a man, that image and sheen, and it's not easy..."
She hummed the last few notes as she became sure that she really did hear footsteps aproaching. Out of the corner of her eye Michelle saw that Sasuke was leaning against the tree trunk and staring at the grass in front of him. She smiled, trying not to giggle as she started to descend the tree.
"And it's not easy...to be...me..."
Each group of words was spoken as the girl landed on a different branch, ending with Michelle leaping to the ground. She looked into Sasuke's emotionless black eyes with an even acceptance.
"You came back?"
She asked hopefully.
"I never left the clearing."
He said, folding his arms and shifting his weight from the tree back to his feet.
"Kakashi-sensei and Riku-san would have never let me hear the end of it if I had let you wander out in the forest alone after dark and get lost, so I was waiting until you were finished so I could walk you back."
A sweatdrop formed on the side of Michelle's head and she sighed.
'My god is he serious! Then he's still mad at me and I just did that whole damn thing for nothing!Why that vicious little bastard...'
She forced herself to keep smiling and ignore the comment that was obviously meant to insult her intelligence.
"Well then, we should get to the village, shouldn't we? The others have probably headed home by now since it is getting pretty dark, but Riku-chan promised me some takeout."
Sasuke grunted and a rolled his eyes, turning and starting to walk off. Michelle jogged behind, feeling oddly content as they started down the swiftly darkening forest path.
At least she had tried...
---
By the time Michelle snuck back into her apartment, Alison was fast asleep in bed with Naruto-kun snuggled against her legs. It seemed that the effects of lack of chakra had finally caught up with the redhead, since she usually would have been sitting bolt upright had she heard so much as a footstep.
Michelle found her promised take-out on the table. It was obvious that Ichiraku wasn't used to such requests, as the container seemed to be little more than a bowl with a lid tied onto it with string. Nonetheless, she gulped it down with relish.
It was just past nine when the knock came at the door.
Michelle had just finished a very long, very hot bath, and dressed in a short nightshirt that the cleaning staff had provided her with. Her hair was out of it's braids, and flowed in light blonde waves to her shoulders. The girl was somewhat surprised to have a caller at such an hour, but quickly went to answer it regardless.
The door swung open to reveal Sasuke. Michelle saw his eyes widen momentarily when he saw her, then quickly moved to stare at the lower half of the doorframe to avoid eye contact.
"Well...hi Sasuke-kun. What can I do for you?"
She asked, somewhat confused as to what he could want. His hand went into his kunai holder, pulled something out, and held it out to her without looking up. It was a scroll, very regal looking and marked with the Konoha emblem.
"What's this?"
She asked as she took it from him. He shrugged.
"Don't know. An Anbu pulled me over in the street and asked me if I'd do him a favor and bring it over to you."
Michelle nodded slowly.
"Well, okay... thanks. Goodnight Sasuke-kun."
She tucked the scroll against her chest and went to close the door, but Sasuke pushed against it with a hand to stop her from doing do. Something wrapped in white tissue paper was thrust under her nose, causing her to start back in alarm. She stared at the object for a long moment, standing perfectly still. Sasuke glanced up a her, appearing annoyed as he beckoned for her to take it. She did so, staring at it, puzzled.
"I'm pretty sure it's the same model as yours. Sharpened points on the spreading edge, eight inches long, ten wide."
Michelle was still confused, and tore at the paper to find out what it was.
"A fan?"
She asked, pulling it from the wrapping and spreading it. It was a light pink color, decorated with crosshatching on the edge and white cloud patterns. Decorative tassels hung from the bottom, white and pink with black beads. Sasuke sighed, giving her a look that let Michelle know he though her very stupid.
"I broke your other fan, remember? So is this the same type or what?"
"Well...well ya it is, at least, I think it is...but why?"
"It's common courtesy. I trashed your old fan, so I got you a new one."
Michelle looked at the fan, puzzled for a while, then back to Sasuke. A smile slowly spread across her face.
"Does this mean you forgive me then?"
She questioned happily. His eyes were cast off to the side, and he remained silent. Michelle simply smiled-even giggled slightly- and folded the fan back up, placing it in her other hand with the scroll.
"Thank you! I really appreciate that."
"Don't. "
He muttered. That only made the girl's smile grow.
"Goodnight Sasuke-kun! Sleep well!"
She chirped, expecting him to turn and leave silently like he had so many ties before. Instead, she noticed that when he got two steps from her door, he froze in place, hands in his pockets. She leaned on the half open door, gazing at him quizzically.
"You know Atsuko...you really do talk too much."
"Maybe you jsut don't talk enough."
She countered with a smile. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked, and started off down the hallway. Michelle clicked the door closed, leaning against it with a sigh. It was as if a huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.
'He doesn't hate me anymore! YES!'
She walked over to her bed, digging through her equipment that lay beside it in a pile until she found her old fan. She set the scroll down on the floor next to her, pulled the fan out, spreading it. She did the same with the pink fan, and lay it beside the other. Her old fan was very simple. No tassels, no real designs other than a single white stripe that cut through the blue background. Michelle didn't understand why Sasuke had deemed it necessary to buy her such a pretty fan to replace her broken one, much less wrap it. She sighed, folding them both up and setting them aside with the rest of her clothes and equipment.
"Boys are so weird."
She murmured, then glanced toward the scroll . As curious as she was to find out what was in it, she was more tired right now. Michelle set it on the night stand, crawling into her bed with a grateful sigh and letting her eyes drift closed.
Whatever it was, it could wait until tomorrow.
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Yeeks! Long chapter much.Oh well, I'm just tying up some loose ends before the actualplot starts. Next up, CHAPTER 11!