I'm a day early with this chapter. Aren't all of you so proud of me?

Although my earliness if just from breaking up the last chapter to get the first half of this one. ^_^

Enjoy!

Words- 2,945

CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Five ~ The Calm Before the Storm

When I decided I didn't look like I'd had a break down I sighed and opened the door. I jumped slightly when I found Tobi waiting there for me, leaning against the wall across the hall with his arms crossed across his chest. I stood there, staring at him with wide eyes probably looking like a rabbit in front of a snake and fanatically hoped Madara didn't decided to come out from behind his Tobi façade.

"Are you alright Ali-chan?" Tobi asked as he stepped forward and thrust his face into mine, seemingly to examine my face more closely.

"F-Fine," I told him with a bit of a stutter as I jerked backwards, I really didn't feel like anyone touching me right now, especially Madara.

"Then why were you crying?" He asked gently with a bit of an undertone.

He knows!! He knows!! He knows!!

My subconscious screamed at me as I looked away and let my shoulders droop. With anyone else I would have probably ripped them a new one, but this wasn't anyone else, this was Madara Uchiha. So instead I played defensive and crossed my arms, "It's nothing Tobi," I gave him a smile that was obviously fake, but pretended I was making an effort, "Don't worry about it, really I'm fine."

He was silent for a long moment as he stared at me, then he shook his finger at me like an adult scolding a child, "No lying Ali-chan."

His voice sounded like someone pretending to imitate Tobi's voice now. I sighed and shook my head again, "Then how about I'll be fine. I just hate not knowing what's coming…"

He tilted his head to the side and I felt something relax in him as he became Tobi again. Had I fooled him? Did he think I didn't know who he was? Or did he think I was scared enough not to tell anyone about him? Either way I was still afraid, "What do you mean Ali-chan? What's coming?"

I sighed and rubbed my forehead as I shut off the bathroom light and started for the stairs, "I don't know, and that's what worries me."

I'd skirted getting myself in over my head yet again, and my legs felt almost jelly-like with relief. I couldn't hear him following me, but I knew he was for some reason. As I got to the bottom of the stairs I was met by several suspicious glances and glares, but I didn't offer an explanation as I turned and walked back down the downstairs hall to the closet at the end of the hall. I opened it and started pulling out baseball bats and weighing them in my hand to see which was the heaviest.

"What're you doing?" Naruto asked from behind me.

I paused and turned my head to find him watching me looking puzzled expression on his face. I twitched the corner of my mouth in a grin as I turned back to the closet, "Choosing my weapon."

"Like you can even use a weapon," The snide, sarcastic voice of Sasuke met my ears, but I didn't bother to look up or even give an indication that I heard him as I swung a bat experimentally. I didn't like that one so I put it back and tried another one. It felt better, but I still didn't like it very well. I was feeling for my sword's weight, but I knew this bat was as close as I was going to get.

"That won't do any good if they have swords," Sasuke taunted again.

I stopped and sighed as I closed my eyes, "They won't have swords."

"How do you know?" Naruto wanted to know from beside me, but he wasn't looking at me, he was glaring at Sasuke who leaned against the wall further down the hall.

"Because swords are obsolete," I told them as I continued down the hall. I didn't want to explain the concept of a gun at the moment.

"Why are swords obsolete?" Kisame asked from the couch. He wasn't looking at me, but he sounded a bit troubled. I couldn't really blame him though since his primary weapon is a sword.

"Different weapons were developed," I answered after a moment of silence with the TV going in the background, "We came up with a deadlier weapons that kill from a distance, sometimes with a piece of metal no bigger than my thumb that travels faster than an eye blink."

No one spoke after that and I didn't blame them. Guns were probably a bit unbelievable to them just as jutsus would be to me if I didn't see them in the anime and manga. Then again, just them being in my house should have been impossible, yet here they were.

Just goes to prove nothing is impossible…

I decided as I continued towards the door with my baseball bat. I shut the door gently behind me on the growing tension and sucked in a deep breath of cool night air and sighed it out in relief. At least they hadn't asked about bombs. I wouldn't have known even where to start telling them about nuclear bombs or air planes.

I prowled around my hedges looking for a good place to stash my baseball bat that I could get to in a hurry, but that Brittany and her Pack wouldn't stumble onto by accident. Plus I needed to get the layout of my yard so I could use it to my advantage. I knew it fairly well already, but the better I knew it the easier it would be for me to use it.

I finally found a place in the hedges that I liked and stuck the bat in taking care to make sure that no one would know it was there unless they watched me put it there. I even went as far to rearrange the hedge around the bat's handle.

I considered even naming it for a moment, but nothing interesting or suitable popped into my head. So I left it as it was and sighed as I stuck my hands in the pockets of my jeans and looked around my yard. There wasn't really anything else I could do. A trip line might be good, but there was always that chance I could fall for my own trap.

Guess that's it then…

Turning back to the house I sighed and rubbed my forehead. This whole week was turning into one big stressful mess. I couldn't decided whether the girl war or having Naruto characters living in my house was more stressful.

The Naruto characters should have been the more stressful, but for some reason I trusted them. Well, to a point I trusted them anyway. As ninjas they seemed to have a little bit of honor that I trusted when they agreed not to fight or trash my house I believed them.

People today don't have that. It's hard to find people to trust and depend on no matter what in the modern world. Then betrayal is a common thing, I knew from personal experience with Brittany. I got lucky when I found Audrey and April, they were my ninja squad, the two people in the world I could count on no matter what.

I paused with my hand on the railing on the steps as I looked at the dark cavern around my driveway formed by the trees. I couldn't risk their safety. I don't know if I would stay myself if I lost them, lost my best friends all over again.

Everybody changes, I'm not the same person I was four years ago when I started high school. I'm not even the same person Brittany tried to kill three years ago. I'm probably not the same person I was before the Naruto characters showed up at my house. I'm changing into a whole new monster.

The beast stirred at the back of my mind at that, then settled back down with a purr. I've been called a monster before, a couple times actually. The first time hurt, I didn't want people to see me as a monster then. Back then I'd just wanted to be just like everybody else. After Brittany tried to kill me though, that's when I started accepting that I wasn't like everyone else.

The doctors said it was amazing that I'd held on when I'd almost bled to death. They said that anyone weaker would have died. Yet I pulled through somehow, I can't even remember now though. I just knew that I had survived against nearly impossible odds, that I was different.

Most people, people older than me, told me I was special. People my age called me a monster.

That was Brittany's fault too. She'd spread rumors that I attacked her and Amber and she'd miraculously had a knife on her to defend herself with. If I hadn't already known April and if she hadn't known better, I would have been all alone. Audrey moved in shortly after that and had wanted all the gory details.

I smiled at that. She hadn't listened to the rumors, she'd gone out and found out the truth for herself and stood behind me. Plus she and April were fast friends as well and the three of us stuck together to watch each other's backs.

The door opening and closing jerked me from my thoughts and I wiped my head around to find a rather annoyed looking Hidan glaring at me, "What the hell is taking you so long out here? I'm fucking starving!"

I blinked at him, then laughed as I continued up the steps, "Alright, alright. I'm coming. I am just feeding you guys pizza again though, I don't feel like cooking…"

He stood aside and let me go in first. I found most of my house guests looking rather tense but I chose to ignore it once again as I headed for the basement stairs. Audrey was still curled up on the floor but April was missing. I paused and glanced tilted my head to look of at Jiraiya who I'd stopped beside, "Where's April?"

He shrugged and jerked a thumb at the stairs leading to the second floor, "She went upstairs, but I don't know why…"

I nodded and continued for the basement stairs. She'd probably gone to the bathroom. As I started down the stairs I stopped and looked over my shoulder as Tobi bounced into place, "I'll help you carry things Ali-chan!"

I didn't need help, but it wouldn't hurt to let Madara have his way. So I grinned at him instead and continued down, "Okay, thanks Tobi."

In truth though, I really was getting irked at Madara and how he seemed to be following me around lately. I really, really hoped he hadn't tried to invade Itachi's mind and somehow found out what I knew… That would be disastrous for everyone.

So instead I got into the freezer and started handing the masked ninja pizza boxes. I gave him four and then I took four myself and reached up to shut the freezer then I paused and looked back at Tobi, "Do you think these will feed everyone?"

He raised his four pizzas up to look at the boxes, then peered at my four before nodding vigorously, "Yep! As long as no one else appears!"

I groaned and closed my eyes at that as I shut the freezer, "Don't even joke about that!" I pleaded with a mock shudder, "I don't think I could handle having any more ninjas in my house. You guys are eating a hole in my wallet and destroying what little sanity I had."

Tobi laughed at my comment and I grinned in reply as we started up the stairs. For all he was the biggest, baddest bad guy in the series so far when he was truly pretending to be Tobi and his Madara side wasn't threatening to come out I actually liked Tobi.

He followed me into the kitchen and set his pizza boxes on the counter beside mine as I turned the oven on pre-heat. I opened the dishwasher and handed Tobi two glasses with a grin, "Would you put ice in these?"

"Sure Ali-chan!" He agreed enthusiastically and bounced over to the refrigerator freezer to start putting ice in the glasses. I continued to set the glasses out on the counter until I got eighteen of them as Tobi put ice in them.

"What are you making?" Naruto asked from the kitchen doorway, obviously not willing to come in the kitchen while Tobi was in there.

"Ali-chan is making pizza!" Tobi exclaimed happily as he finished putting ice in the glasses and held up a box for to show Naruto the picture, "And it's really good!"

"Eh, I suppose so," Naruto agreed reluctantly, "But I still prefer ramen…"

I let out a laugh at that as I switched the oven to bake and put in four of the pizzas, "You always want ramen Naruto!"

He gave a 'humph' and turned to walk away. Tobi crouched down to peer into the oven, apparently he intended to watch the pizzas cook. I smiled slightly at that as Sakura appeared in the kitchen doorway next, looking a bit hesitant, "Do you need any help?"

I admit I was a bit surprised at her offer, but I covered it up with a smile, "Sure," I answered and turned back to the glasses, "Will you set these on the table as I fill them up?"

"Sure," She nodded and stepped forward to pick up the glasses and carry them out as I poured water in them. I wouldn't have ever pictured Sakura as the domestic type, but it fit her in a strange way. Maybe she liked doing some sort of mundane task after all the work she does as a ninja.

"Ali-chan!" Tobi exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and waving his arms excitedly, "Tobi thinks the pizzas are done!"

"Alright, let me see," I answered as I crouched down and cracked the oven open. Sure enough, all four pizzas were done. I pulled out the cookie sheet and cut each pizza up before sliding it onto a plate then taking them out and putting them on the table, "Here, go ahead and start while I get the others in."

There was a pause and then a general shuffling movement, as the Akatsuki stepped forward and sat down to eat. I moved back into the kitchen, followed by Sakura as she watched me put four more pizzas in the oven.

I sat on the stool and listened to the sounds of people eating and the TV going in the living room. The house was fairly dark with the only light coming from the TV, but I'd done that on purpose. If Brittany happened to show up she'd have to have the lights on her car on to see to get through my woods and if all the lights in the house were off I could see her coming.

I kept my mind blank and just stared at the oven, not really seeing it as I watched the cheese on the pizza melt. I heard Sakura sigh and I glanced at her in time to see her scowl at me before turning and leaving the kitchen.

I quirked one eyebrow, what had I done to her? Then again she had probably expected me to actually have a conversation with her. Pft. As if.

The other four pizzas were done then so I got them out and cut them up and added them to the table. Most of the Akatsuki were done so they got up and moved to the living room to watch more TV as Team 7 and the Sannin sat down to each. Audrey had woken up at the smell of the pizzas cooking and April came in from the living room to sit down with me.

The air over the table was tense, but I ignored it an concentrated on my food. I wasn't hungry in the first place and if there was a chance I was going to be in a fight I definitely didn't want to eat. I ate one piece of pizza and played with the second, turning it around on my plate.

Giving up on it I got up with a sigh and wondered into the living room. The Akatsuki looked up at my entrance as I glanced around for an empty seat. Once again the center seat on the couch between Kisame and Itachi was empty so I took it, folding myself neatly into the small space.

NCIS was still on so I focused on it, but noted with a quiet sigh that it was yet another rerun. I frowned at the TV and diverted my attention out the window and jerked slightly before tensing all over.

I leaned forward with wide eyes before lunging to my feet, heading for the window. I shut the TV off on my way, throwing the house into darkness as I glared out the window. I narrowed my eyes as I lowered my head and growled softly as I watched the flickering of headlights between the trees as they moved down my driveway.

They had come.

Cliffhanger.

Hehe...

Yes, I'm that evil...

Actually, I'm worse than evil, I'm the author!!

Mwahahaha!!