"I'm not s-stalling, I was just submerged in ice cold water. Another reason to hate Winter." Ara's shaky voice rings out from the hallway. "I literally can't feel my toes. Do you think I have hypothermia?"

"I doubt it."

"If I die, I want a burial at sea." She knocks on my door.

"Come in?" I call out, setting down my magazine.

Ara comes in, soaked thoroughly and violently shaking. She seemed more tired than usual, but that may have something to do with the fact that she was cold and wet. She had her arms(and I guess kind of Pein's arm) wrapped tightly around her.

"Dee? Hey Dee?"

"Hm?"

"Yeah... I told him. I need you to pull up some proof."

"...Is that why you're so wet."

I sigh and pull out my laptop, carefully watching the pair out of the corner of my eye. Pein was managing to look both uninterested and suspicious all that the same time, while Ara looked the most nervous I've ever seen here as well as exhausted.

"So... what exactly happened?" I ask as my computer boots up.

"Well, we w-went out to the forest on an adventure fueled by lies, and we went out onto the lake with his cool ninja powers. We had a moment, and then he tried to drown me in the lake."

"Oh. What tipped you off?" I look to Pein.

"Ara, mostly." He replies flatly, following my friend around as she did her best to change into dry clothing.

Jeez, just looking at them made me feel incredibly inconvenienced. All only able to use one hand, one of them being incredibly short compared to the other... the defeated look on Ara's face as she could only get her shirt 85 percent off.

"Leader-sama, I need you to do something for me before I die." She huffs.

He cocks his eyebrow, showing mild interest.

"I need you to slide this shirt up your arm, over your head, and then shimmy it down your body. I really like this shirt, Leader-sama."

Much to my surprise, he does it and has the courtesy to hang her wet shirt on the edge of my headboard. I snort and pull up an earlier episode of Naruto Shippuden somewhere during Hidan and Kakuzu's arc.

"And viola. Proof of your universe's existence as a show." I turn the screen to face them.

After an episode, Pein seemed both perturbed and disturbed. Ara turns towards him with a smug grin.

"Look at that, I told the truth. You should trust me more." She giggles.

Pein simply rolls his eyes and leads the way out the room.

"Oh wait!" I throw a shoe at Ara to get them to stop. She squeals in disapproval and pouts a bit. "The solvent came. It should take like... up to 15 minutes it says."

"Throw it to me!" Ara demanded excitedly.

"Are you actually going to catch it?"

"Yes! I'm like a pro!"

"...Okaaaaay." I toss the tube of solvent to her.

None to surprisingly, she did not catch it. It did, however, smack her in the face and fall to the ground. I can't help but laugh at her fail.

"Great catch." Pein comments.

"Shut your mouth." Ara snatches up the tube.

Pein pulls her out the room and she swiftly shuts the door. I can't help but roll my eyes a bit, but happily go back to my book. I also happen to listen in on their conversation as they fade away down the hall.

"Looks like you owe me an apology." Ara teases.

"Nah."

"Leader-sama."

"There's more important things to worry about."

"Like?"

"Your shoulder looks gross and infected."

"It probably is." Ara laughs. "I can't feel a thing though, so it's fine."

There's a lull in their conversation.

"Ow! Don't touch it!"

I hadn't realized her shoulder was still hurt... Guess I'll find her later and get to fixing it.

I was lounging around on the front porch, staring up at the setting sound surrounded by unusual silence. Usually our neighbors are pretty noisy with their social events, or even just their kids, but now there's not a peep to be heard. I glance back as I hear a familiar patter of feet coming towards me.

"Hey Ara." I move my arms out the way and let her sit in my lap.

"Hi Dee! Notice anything different about me?" She grins cutely, nonchalantly holding her hands up.

"Oh? Hmm... Did you do something with your hair? Or maybe..." I stroke my nonexistent beard and tilt my head to the side. "Did you get taller?"

"Not even close! Dee! Leader-sama has been freed from me!"

"Aww, but it was so much fun watching him suffer." I pout mockingly.

"I resent that." Pein comments, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ignore him." Ara flicks her hand dismissively. "There's more important things to worry about."

"Did Tobi find your stash?" I smirk.

"Yes! He did! And because he pitied me so much, Leader-sama agreed to take us to the store!"

"Agreed is a bit of an overstatement."

"Don't mind him. He's just a bit grumpy because I accidentally fell down the stairs with him." Ara shrugs.

And with that, we took off for the store. We decided to stay local and just walk, mostly to save some money. Seeing as I already lost my job, and Ara is probably running out of vacation days. I wonder how we'll explain this to people if we ever manage to get rid of the Akatsuki? I bet we'd be all over the news.

Pein and I let Ara lead the way through various stores and shops. I couldn't help but notice that this "quick trip" for suckers turned into an entire shopping spree. For each new store we entered that wasn't a candy shop, she had an excuse prepared. "I need more fabric" she said. "What if I get injured again?" she pointed out.

At some point, she made an attempt to go into the pet store. I shut that down real quick, telling her that we don't have enough money or luck to get a new cat. The last thing we need is more magical cats from another universe. She was really pouty for a good while, but the promise of ice cream took her mind right off it.

Ara had long since disappeared into the crowd, but it was safe to assume she hadn't gone far. There weren't many shops in this area regardless, and she'd run out of money eventually. Pein and I decided to buy some ice cream and take a seat in the courtyard.

"Hey, so, now that you know about the whole "Your Worlds an Anime" thing, I'd like to share my theory with you." I announce. "Ara thinks it's stupid, but I mean, she also thinks her psychic can actually see the future."

"Alright, let me hear it."

"Okay, so, in the Anime, you all die, right?"

"...Apparently."

"I'm thinking that somehow our worlds are connected. Whether it's through some weird wormhole or a metaphorical bridge, you can only reach it through death. So like, when someone from your world dies, they can cross this bridge and come here, but in a weaker form." I pause to take a breath. "But clearly, this portal isn't always open because the entire Akatsuki came here at once. You all definitely didn't die at once, so I'm thinking that someone planned for this to happen! Ya know? What do you think?"

Pein doesn't say anything for awhile, glancing off into the distance for a few seconds. He sits back a bit.

"All of the Akatsuki died?" He finally says.

"Yeah." I nod. "According to Ara, the order was something like... Sasori, technically Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Itachi, then you... I guess... technically... Kisame, Konan, Tobi, and finally Zetsu... kinda?"

"What exactly do all those technically's and kinda's mean?"

"I dunno? That's just what Ara said." I flash a grin at him. "Looks like you'll have to check with your new best buddy for the details."

"You shut your mouth."

And then, my phone rings obnoxiously loud. I check it and see a text from Ara that read "HELP". Down the road, an explosion goes off and the crowd begins to scatter.

20 Minutes Earlier, Ara's P.O.V

I wander off into the crowd, looking for another fun store to catch my eyes. Operation: Friendship seemed to be going well. It's hard to tell, actually, seeing as Dee and Pein have never really talked before. Whatever. The operation is working just fine.

I was totally going to join back up with them, when something amazing caught my eye. It was all black and incredibly fluffy-looking, and it was just out here with all this garbage! It was what my heart desired most: a god damn cat.

I cautiously approached it, offering the cat treat the pet store gave me. I called to it, and even made that dumb clicking noises animals like. Eventually, the cat came to me. I felt like my heart was gonna explode from excitement... But I kept it cool. Wouldn't want to embarrass myself in front of my new cat.

Pretty soon, the cat allowed me to pet and pick it up. I hold it up in front of me, Simba-style.

"I think I'll name you... Glitter!" I bring him a bit closer. "When Dee sees you, she won't be able to resist your adorableness! She'll have to let you stay!"

Glitter meows in response.

"Alright Glitter, now I'm gonna have to put you in my sweater now. Pleeeaase don't scratch me up too bad. It's actually really comfy in here."

I tuck Glitter into my sweater and zip it up just enough to hold him in place. He pokes his head out a bit, meowing some more. I shush him and turn to go find my friends. However, I'm stopped by someone who's like twice my height and looked so inconvenienced by my existence. He flips his blonde hair out his face.

"Oh! My bad, I didn't see you there." I smile and move to go around him. "Excuse me, I'll just be-"

He grabs my shoulder and pushes me back a bit. I sigh and shove my hands in my pockets, noting the ninja headband wrapped around his arm. A Sound headband to be exact.

Great, more ninjas. Just what I needed today.

"You have something that belongs to me." He states.

"Oh? ...Oh! Is it this coupon book I found?" I pull it out and hold it up. "Sorry about that! I was taking it to the lost and found... probably."

"Not that garbage, you idiot. The cat."

"What cat?"

"The one in your sweater."

"What sweater?"

"The one you're wearing." He hisses.

I pause to look down at myself, trying to look as surprised as possible that I was wearing a sweater.

"Ohhh, that sweater! Funny story actually, haha, it's-" I throw the coupon book at his face as hard as I could. "EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT OFF AT PARTICIPATING LOCATIONS!" And I run the other way.

I hear him groan, accompanied by the familiar chink of someone grabbing a handful of shuriken. I wheeze as I take off down the alleyway, shocked when I'm not immediately impaled by basic ninja tools. I squeal and turn back around as two more Sound ninja land in front of me. I was running out of escape routes pretty fast. I duck behind a dumpster and pull out my phone, quickly sending a simple "HELP" to Dee.

"Oh man, I hope no one sets off any bombs! They're my biggest weakness!" I call out casually, crossing my arms over my chest(and kitty).

Not too long after making that statement, a kunai with a paper bomb tied to it lodges itself in the ground nearby. I dive out the way and start making some distance. The paper bomb goes off, sending me crashing into the nearest wall.

I groan and roll onto my knees. My ears ring obnoxiously loud as smoke fills the air, my vision blurring a bit as I try to spot an escape route. I needed to get to a bigger group of people. I spot an opening to my left and slowly rise to my feet. I stumble forward, but those speedy ninja cut me off again. I huff angrily and whirl around. I squeal and duck as a kunai whizzes past my head, mildly impressed that I managed to dodge that.

But now really wasn't the time to celebrate.

For some reason, I felt really weak. Did I forget to eat or something? ...No, I definitely ate. So why do I feel so... dizzy? Maybe it's the smoke? It must be... But then that wouldn't explain why my sweater suddenly felt very... warm... and sticky.

I pause, unsure of where I was planning to go. The entire world seems to tilt to the side and become more unfocused, my hearing kind of getting better. The ringing had almost stopped, but everything was incredibly muffled. This sure is weird... I hope my kitty's okay.

I suddenly collapse to my knees, another voice joining the clusterfuck of noises assaulting my ears. My vision dims and the noises begin to fade out. I was laying in some kind of liquid... which was kinda gross. I need to get up.

I need to find Dee.

I need to escape from the figure coming towards me.

I need to...

I need...

To sleep.

Hey guys! Long time no update! Just wanted to take a moment here to thank you guys for the support, and I'm glad so many people are enjoying the story! So, thanks for all the favs! If you like what you see (or don't) feel free to leave a review! :D

See you all next time-!