Oh my gosh I'm sorry this is late! D: Vacation = Busy me. You know, you'd think vacation would be about relaxing. At home. Guess not. *sigh* Oh well. I apologize.
"Hey… nice scythe."
I raised an eyebrow as he leaned toward Apple slightly. "Kankuro, you be quiet!" Sam ordered, narrowing her eyes at him. We were now in the Sand, as I had wanted to introduce Apple to Gaara. Or Gaara to Apple. Whatever.
"Why don't you shut up, Sammy?"
Sam scowled. She hated the name Sammy, I now remembered. Ha, poor Sasuke. "Shush up, you little pussy cat!"
"I don't look like a cat! I have a new hat, see? Maybe I'll—"
"Guys!" I yelled. Apple, Sierra, and I just stood there, Sam smirked, and Kankuro scowled, hesitantly lowering the fist he had held in the air. Sam especially annoyed him because she was now… I think two or three years younger than him. He hated most people younger than him, excluding his brother, of course. He obviously didn't hate his brother.
"I'd like Apple to meet Gaara," I said, looking Kankuro in the eye.
"Sure, sure…," he said, and put his arm around Apple. "Maybe she'll live here soon enough. It's certain she'll be my girlfriend." He smirked, and she frowned, pushing his arm away.
"Not really," she replied. Then we began heading for the Kazekage's office.
Wait. Weren't Kankuro and Apple the same age? She was, after all, 17, unlike Sam and I, who were 15. Sierra was only 13. We soon found ourselves waiting at the door of the Kazekage. "Hey Gaara?" Kankuro asked, knocking lightly. "It's me, and some visitors. Can we come in?"
There was a pause; he was either thinking, or finishing up a paper. "…Of course. Come in." Apple's eyes glowed, but when Kankuro gestured to go in, she froze.
I smiled knowingly. I had been in this situation before, only Sam was the one frozen, and it was Temari who had led us here. I grabbed her arm and lead her inside, letting her stop when she was actually able to see him. Wow, she was more like Sam than I first thought. What had Sarah said? She was like Sam, before she got grumpified. Huh. She was right. …Only Apple was nicer. And didn't mind hugs.
"H-hi… Lord Gaara." I smiled. Sam didn't remember the "lord" at first.
He nodded in acknowledgement. "This is Apple," Sam said with a grin. Gaara looked at Sam, and I saw a slight change in his expression. It was… sad. Nostalgic, even. He missed her. She had, after all, drifted slowly away without warning. And why? Because of me, right. God, I think he hated me right now.
Ha, there were two people after Sam now: Sasuke and Gaara. I understood why Sasuke fell for her: many of the girls fangirled over him, while Sam had the nerve to throw him out a two-story window. He was confused; I saw it in his eyes as he looked back up to the shattered remains of where he was thrown. He developed a… crush soon after, as she was the only one who didn't like him, and she proved that. As for Gaara… I'm not sure. Maybe it was because they grew closer together in those two years I was gone. He learned to trust her, and Gaara was one of the only people Sam could turn to for comfort after my "death."
Does Itachi like her? I wasn't too sure on that one, either. I know he put faith in her, trusted her with his own life. I heard the story of how Sam had saved Itachi's life when he just… gave up. When they got his heart beating again, he had been confused as to why she had saved him. Why she was crying for him. She told him that they, both Sam and Sasuke, really did care about him. I think he realized right then that his life wasn't meaningless after all. That maybe he should try to survive. And try he did, though the pain nearly drove him to insanity. Even when he was delirious, he'd murmur Sam's name. That's how much he put his hope and faith in her, even to the point that he called her name more than his own precious little brother's. Of course, that may have been because he knew Sasuke could do nothing to help him, other than stay by his side.
So, did he like her back? I didn't know. But that's beside the point, anyway. We found a room, and went to bed for the night.
However, I later awoke, finding Apple on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. I smiled. "Sunrises help," I whispered.
I felt a light poke on my shoulder, and snapped to attention. "You fell asleep at your desk…," she said. Anna. Right.
I stretched and jumped to my feet, remembering, luckily, to be Tobi. "Ready for breakfast?"
She shook her head and pointed to the desk. "What were you doing?"
"Tobi was learning!" I cried out in fake joy.
"Learning what, Tobi?" she said, suddenly interested.
"Oh, Tobi doesn't know about your world, so he's learning about it!"
She beamed. "I can help!" she offered, and sat down on the cold, grey ground. I sat down across from her. "Well, what kind of stuff about our world are you learning about?"
"Tobi's learning a lot of things! Like computers and TVs and grenades and tanks and guns and electric chairs and cars and trains and planes and video games…."
She blinked at me. "I can help with some of those!" I nodded, urging her to continue. "Planes, cars, and trains," she said, counting off on her fingers, "are ways of getting other places. Cars need gasoline to go, and I think it's the same with planes. Trains burn coal to run, even though I know using gas and coal are bad for the world. On TVs, a picture is on the screen, which gives people entertainment. The moving pictures are either filmed with a video camera, or created with some computer program, like cartoons. Computers are like mini-TVs, but you can play games, and go on the internet: a worldwide connection place. Video games are just games you play on the TV or computer….
"As for guns, you pull a switch, and it shoots out a metal bullet. Grenades blow up. Tanks shoot metal, but bigger than a gun's bullet, while also protecting the person inside from outside normal bullets. Electric chairs are used for bad people whose punishment is being killed."
"Killed?" I asked innocently.
She nodded. "An electric chair is a chair where the person in it is strapped in, and the chair is plugged in. Then they turn it on, and the person in the chair is electrocuted to death." She frowned. "I think it's sad…."
"Yeah…," I answered, but smiled slightly underneath the mask. An idea was forming….
"I'm hungry," Anna said, crossing her arms.
I snapped back to reality. "Oh! C'mon, Anna! Follow Tobi… to the kitchen!"
After watching the sunrise and people were beginning to wake, I began training with Apple. She wanted to practice using her scythe. She apparently knew how to use it, as she was good. I'm glad that I'm good at dodging. Apple was fast, too, and agile as I was. So, I definitely had a few close calls. Almost a little bit too close. Yikes.
"You're good," Kankuro said, coming out of the city walls. That's where we were, by the way: right outside the entrance to the Sand village. Sam, Sierra, Temari, and Gaara followed him out, and we stopped training.
"Yeah, I agree," Temari said. "You'd almost think you were trained."
Kankuro smirked. "Yeah, she's amazing with that thing. Nice body, too."
"Kankuro…," Sam threatened.
Gaara nodded, ignoring them. "Continue training."
I crossed my arms. "No. It's just weird if you're being watched while you do something like this."
Apple said nothing. In fact, she seemed nervous, and shy. I smiled. Still like Sam.
"No, no," Kankuro insisted. "Please, continue. It's amusing watching you." He finished with a wink to Apple, and she frowned.
Woah, what? I'm bad at seeing this kind of stuff, but… was he flirting with her? Again: what?
"Kankuro," Sam hissed in warning.
"Hey, what's wrong, huh?" he asked, giving a questioning gesture.
Temari rolled her eyes. "You're horrible at flirting, you know," she said to him, arms crossed.
"Oh, what are you talking about? I wasn't flirting. I'd never do something like that!"
This was when Apple snapped. "You shut up you stupid puppet man!"
He blinked. "…What?"
"You heard me!" she answered, stepping closer. "Don't even try! All you're gonna do is end in failure! Why don't you take a look at yourself? You look like batman, for Pete's sake! The only difference is you wear makeup!"
"…It's face paint." He paused. "Not makeup."
Apple scowled and crossed her arms. All signs of shyness were gone; for now anyway. I looked at Gaara, who was looking at Apple. I smiled. Who knows? I thought. Maybe she'll have a happy ending.
"Tobi, how many nights am I staying here?" Anna asked when it was getting dark.
I turned to look at her. "Why is that, Anna?"
"'Cause I kinda don't wanna leave. I mean, I wanna go home, kinda, but I wanna stay here, too."
I smiled, though she couldn't see it. Good. She wants to stay. It's always easier if they stay here willingly…. "Tobi wants you to stay here a little longer!"
"Okay!" she beamed.
"And Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll be going out for a little bit tomorrow… is that okay?"
She gasped. "Can I come along?"
I shook my head. "No, Tobi's sorry. But it'll be early in the morning, and it'll be quick!"
She looked up at me. "That's fine!"
I fidgeted with my pencil through most of math – and that was only first period. There were 9 periods in a school day. It was now Monday, and I could do nothing to help the search of Anna. I found myself glancing up at the clock frequently, wishing the school day would end quickly. I didn't catch most of what my teacher said; I was too anxious to listen.
She, however, was cut off mid sentence by a loud boom that shook the building. It didn't help that I was on the second floor. The teacher's eyes flitted back and forth in fear, wondering just what the heck that was. The other students were near panic asking aloud, "What the hell…?" or even "What the fuck?" I knew Sam was safe because, well, she was sitting next to me. We looked at one other, exchanging looks. We both understood what the other was trying to say: Madara.
"Stay here," I mouthed to her, and ran out the door, down the hall, took a right, rushed down the stairs, made a left, and hurried into the main office. One of the ladies was already at a speaker thing for the entire school. "Please don't panic," she said in a firm voice. "We're not quite sure what that was, but we're going to investigate. Until this is cleared up, please orderly and quietly exit the building." She then set it down.
"Let me use the speaker-thingy," I said seriously. She raised an eyebrow. "It's really important!" I nearly shouted. She handed it to me. "Listen people! This is Natalie, the one who went missing. Please be very, very careful, and do not panic. I know what made that noise… or vibration. Please steer clear of the area around where it happened. And I know that—" None other than Madara came through the door, wearing a black cloak – no clouds – with a hood shrouding his face. I knew it was him, even if he was in disguise. Even if he didn't wear that lollipop-like mask. My eyes widened, and the ladies at their desks gasped. "Run," I said to them, and continued faster than before in the speaker. "AndIKnowThatYou'—"
Madara knocked the microphone thing out of my hands, and it fell with a thump to the floor. His disguised face smiled, and picked it up. He pressed the button and said in a deep voice, "I'd suggest you worry…. Especially you, Samantha." He released the button and looked at me, no longer smiling. "What a surprise, I actually found your school. I guess it's not all me, though…." He smirked. "I must thank Annalisa for giving me the information."
"Where is she?" I asked coldly, eyes narrowed.
"Oh, no. I'm not telling. That would ruin the surprise…. Think of it as a game of hide-and-seek." He smiled. "Until we meet again…." He disappeared.
What the hell? I thought chakra didn't work in the real world! I thought. Then again, there was that boy who used a fireball jutsu…. Gah! What is going on?
I ran to the back of the school, where I found a gaping hole in the wall. The remnants of it was charred; he had blasted his way in, instead of simply using the doors. Outside was a jumble of classes, students and teachers alike, all looking scared, freezing cold, or both. Someone was whimpering…. My eyes widened. "Agatha!" I cried, running for the Polish exchange student.
She looked up at me. "Natalie…."
"What happened?" I asked seriously.
She sniffed. "My… my hair," she whimpered. "My… my beautiful hair…. They're gone…. Gone…."
"What happened?" I asked, now noticing her hair was burnt at the end; she must have been near the explosion. However, she didn't answer, but instead continued to whimper.
Her hair got burnt in the explosion. I looked around, expecting to find another student was explaining it for her, but no one spoke. She loved her hair. It was the only thing she liked about herself. Who the heck was saying this? Agatha continued to whimper, so it couldn't be her… but who? I was so confused….
School was cancelled until they repaired the damages, and made sure the area was clear of any bombs, and actually raised up enough money to actually pay for the damages, and did all the paperwork…. So, I had more time to myself. I, for one, needed to discuss things with Natalie. What had happened over the speaker? She was cut off… then Madara came on. Well, now we knew he played a part of this. Of course, we knew he was the one that kidnapped Anna, but we didn't know for sure at first about the bombing.
…Now we knew.
So, I invited Natalie to sleep over my house. We talked about endless problems. Natalie told me about the young boy who did a jutsu, about how Madara did a jutsu, about what happened in the main office…. She informed me of how Agatha had been caught in the blast, but was lucky enough to escape with only burnt hair that had to be cut to the length of Sakura's, along with the mysterious voice Natalie had heard. We talked of the Zetsu clones, and their numbers, along with the fact that we had learned Zetsu's ability. We discussed Anna's kidnapping, how Anna's mother had gone into depression, and pondered over why Madara and Anna weren't at the hideout, but all those Zetsus were….
Again, these were seemingly endless problems. Ha. At first, we had had the best of both worlds. Literally. …Now we pretty much had the worst. Oh, joy.
Our conference had to come to a pause eventually, though, as time had flew, and it became late. The only way we knew this was because my mom came in and told us to at least get ready for bed. Only then did we look at the clock, surprising ourselves at how late it was. I grabbed my pajamas, and ran into the bathroom before Natalie was even finished getting out her toothbrush. Ha, I got here first; she has to wait, I thought. I got changed first, then began brushing my teeth. I was just about to finish… when the far wall crashed inward, sending some debris in my direction, also breaking the tub which caused water to start to squirt out. I dropped my toothbrush, and backed against the door.
There, in the frame of where my wall should be, was Madara Uchiha.
I heard a crash from inside the bathroom, and I sighed. What exactly was Sam doing in there? There was a thump, and I leaned against the wall outside the door, waiting. "Ummm… don't come in!" Sam said slowly to me.
"Obviously!" I answered, rolling my eyes.
I heard a dark chuckle, and a yelp, which certainly caught my attention. Then I became afraid…. Call me paranoid if you want, but didn't Madara say over the speaker that Sam should be especially afraid? I quickly turned the handle of the door and yanked it open. What I saw was an empty wall, along with a figure jumping away from rooftop to rooftop. My heart skipped a beat.
Sam had been captured.
"Dude!" I cried. "What if you had come in when I was changing you perv!"
"You expect me to know that was your bathroom?" Madara growled in his deep voice. I missed Tobi. Not only was he less intimidating, but he was more fun. "I'm lucky to even know that was your house."
For the next rooftop he went especially high… then dropped me to the ground. I was so surprised, I didn't even scream.
I was out like a light when I hit the ground.
Ok, I should probably apologize again for my lack of flirting ability. Aha... sorry for making Kankuro sound stupid. Forgiveth meh! :( Well, uh, I hope you liked it anyway!
