Here we are with my weekly story update. I am changing my policy though, instead of trying to update just CrossWorlds every week I'm going to try to start updating any one of my stories once a week.

Don't freak out. This is a good thing, it means if I get writer's block on one story that there's a chance that I won't have writer's block on all my storys. Savvey? =]

So have fun and enjoy kids. =P

Words- 2,521

CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Six ~ Interrogation

I knew I had been out for a while when I finally came swimming back to conscious. The last thing I could remember was a fist hurtling towards my face… That Shou guy could hit hard. Well, that only proved that he didn't have a mind or a social life so he made up for it by training his body. That brought me a little comfort, but it didn't ease the constant throbbing pain on the left side of my face in my temple that made me wonder how I'd been able to sleep at all after being knocked unconscious.

I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut, but that only served to hurt worse so I simply let my face relax again. I was going to have one colorful black eye from the way it felt. I sighed mentally; I was getting a new black eye when the old one had probably only just vanished. Lovely, perhaps I was cursed to constantly walk around with a bruised face.

I blamed the Akatsuki and the rest of the gang from Naruto. I never got hurt half as often before they dropped onto my back porch, or rather, my woods would be more accurate. Maybe whenever I met them all again I'd give them a good slap in the face, even if I had to stop Time to do it, and tell them just what they'd caused me to go through.

Their reactions would be entertaining, although my brain was just a bit too muddled for me to properly picture all of them. Actually, I probably wouldn't slap Itachi or Kisame. They had been helping me out after all and I was pretty sure they were my friends. Maybe I wouldn't slap Tobi/Madara either… He'd probably send Pein to kill me in my sleep, or maybe Hidan. I didn't think Hidan liked me very well…

My mind came back down from orbit then and I realized that I wasn't being carried, but I was laying on the ground with a rock lodged uncomfortably just below my ribcage on my right side and another one was in the back of left thigh. I hadn't been here for them to start hurting really, but the area around them was tingling.

Groaning aloud I levered myself up slightly with my right elbow and reached under my side with the same hand, clenching my eyes shut as my head screamed in protest at the movement. I groped around the ground for a moment before I found the rock and curled my fingers around it before pulling it out and dropping it on the ground with a soft thud. Lifting my left knee slightly I repeated the process of finding the rock then dropped it on the ground beside me before relaxing against the ground.

"Finally awake then?" A familiar voice asked kindly from above me.

I cracked my left eye open since my right one didn't want to cooperate to find Yui looking back at me. I twitched my right eyebrow at him and grunted in affirmation before closing my eye again. I may have been awake but that didn't mean I wanted to be awake. If given the choice I would have much rather have still be asleep.

"Heh," Yui answered with amusement and I felt the slight thud of him sitting down beside me on the ground, "There's food…"

My stomach rumbled in answer to that, but at the same time I felt a little queasy. I was hungry, but I knew if I ate too much I would be sick after not eating for so long and from the pain in my head. It made me feel weak, but I knew it was normal for some people.

I groaned again then began pushing myself up into a sitting position while pulling my feet towards me so I was sitting cross-legged on the ground. I kept my eyes shut while I moved, but my head could feel the sudden movement and change in position and it protested by pulsing with pain. This was nothing compared to passing through the vortex thing that had brought me here, but then I'd had my whole body to focus on rather than just one spot.

I waited a moment for the pain to subside before opening my left eye, since my right one wouldn't open, to look at a grim looking Yui. I sat there with a 'I hate you right now' look on my face and waiting for him to say something. When he wasn't forthcoming I changed it to my 'You're stupid and I hate you' look, which really wasn't all that different except that I looked more annoyed with the latter than the former.

I stuck my hand out then, "Food."

I didn't care what it was at this point. I'd probably eat fried crickets if that's all there was, but these were ninja so I suspected they had fresh meat. Instead Yui smiled apologetically, "I said there was food, not that you could have any…"

"Without paying for it that is," Takacha finished as he appeared and sat down beside Yui. The years spent as a ninja had not been kind to Takacha, he bore scars on his face in crossing patterns that reminded me of Ibiki except Takacha had light blue eyes and unevenly cut medium brown hair.

I wasn't in a good mood. I was in pain. I was hungry. I did not feel like being nice.

I twitched an eyebrow at him and rested my left elbow on my knee before plopping my chin in my hand to glare at Takacha with my good eye, "One of your men," I began slowly while letting my anger darken and lower my tone, "Punched me in the head hard enough to knock me out. I think you owe me at least one meal before you even begin to think about questioning me."

Takacha narrowed his eyes at me as he crossed his arms, "You're not in any position to negotiate girl."

I felt my left eyebrow twitch with annoyance, "My name is not 'girl,'" I told him icily, "If you want to address me perhaps you should ask my name and use it if you'd like to speak to me."

The captain smirked then and shook his head, looking away from me briefly but his expression read 'amused' when he looked back at me, "Very well, what is your name?"

"Ali," I told him, "And yours?" I already knew his just because I'd been paying attention and I heard someone else say it, but if he was going to pretend to be polite to me I could pretend to be polite to him.

"Takacha," He answered, looking even more amused which only served to further irritate me. I was going to stuff rocks into their kunai pouches and take their weapons when I left. It would serve them right, but not before I got food in my belly. I simply nodded without saying anything and waited for him to continue.

He seemed content to not say anything either so I settled for studying the tree bark behind him. At least we hadn't reached on of their hide outs or camps where there would be a lot of ninja around for me have to contend with. It looked like we were still out in the forest which wasn't a great deal better. I still didn't know where I was.

I was starting to make pictures in the bark, most of them ferocious, monstrous creatures that were set on eating Takacha and Yui's heads when Takacha spoke, "We want information and you, as an ally to the ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leave, will give it to us."

I recognized the order in his voice and it made the beast growl at the back of my mind. It took another moment for his words to sink in. Was I an ally of the Leaf Village? I supposed I was since Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had saved me, but I also knew some of the things the Leaf Village had done… Or will do.

I didn't agree with some of the things they had done, primarily Danzou and the other elders. I scratched my head as I thought about it then shook my head at him, "I'm not their ally."

I was an ally to some of the people in it, but I wasn't an ally to the village itself.

"Don't lie to us," Yui told me with a smile that was most definitely fake while closing his eyes in a manner that reminded me a great deal of Sai and I briefly entertained the possibility that they might be related. They did look a little bit alike now that I took the time to actually examine Yui's face. He seemed to sense the fact and narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion, "What are you thinking?"

I shrugged at him, "I wasn't lying," I told him first off, as ninja they should be able to tell something like that, "And you look a lot like someone else I know, but I think he's younger than you are." I answered his question truthfully.

Yui looked about twenty-five or somewhere around there and I thought Sai was sixteen or something like that. Maybe Yui was Sai's dad that he never knew. It was possible. From what I remembered Danzou had 'found' Sai and taken him into Root so it was entirely possible Danzou had found the orphaned Sai and taken him in. Although that theory didn't feel right I still considered it a possibility.

"It does seem like you're only telling us half the truth though girl," One of the other team members stated coldly. I felt the monster twitch ever so slightly in annoyance, but none of them seemed to notice. I just only hoped that it didn't start talking to me again like it had when I first met Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin. They had definitely felt something then and from their reactions I was betting it wasn't good. They had reacted better than I could have hoped, but I was also willing to bet that these guys would kill me.

I scratched my jaw as I thought about it. There was another surprising thing, they had untied me and left my hands and feet free. I sighed through my nose in annoyance, "I'm friends with some of the people in there all right?" I told whoever it was with annoyance, "Yet there are a few of them I would happily push off a cliff," While they were tied up with sharp, pointy rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

My stomach growled again making me focus more acutely on it and also the headache that was pounding away in my temples along with the annoying buzzing sound at the back of my head. I was starting to get grumpy with the Stone ninja and, from Takacha's annoyed glare he was shooting at me, they were just as grumpy with me.

"Who are you friends with?" Takacha asked in a low voice. It made me blink and focus on him. Takacha wasn't just annoyed with me, he was pissed off and the worst part was that I wasn't entirely sure why.

"Minato, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi," I answered, blinking at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "The guys I was with earlier," I guess I could considered the Sannin, if they were the Sannin at this point in time, my friends, but I wasn't entirely sure if they'd know who I was if they saw me. I doubted it though, after all, they were younger now than when we'd met in my world.

"That sounded like another half-truth girl," The same ninja from before told me. I frowned at him, well, his mask. He wore a mask on the lower half of his face that reminded me of Kakashi's and he wore dark glasses so I couldn't see any of his face. His ninja headband was on the traditional place on his forehead, though it was partly covered by his hair.

I stared at him quizzily as I drew my eyebrows together and frowned, "How're you doing that?"

I really was curious, I know I'm a good liar when I want to be. I'm good enough that not even my best friends could tell when I was really lying to them. I may fake lying sometimes where I give myself up, but the couple times when I'd lied to protect them from something, be it a rumor or people, they'd never even noticed. I've never figured out whether that particular skill is a good thing or not.

"What aren't you telling us?" He asked, deliberately ignoring my question.

I frowned at him with annoyance and rolled my eyes before I answer, "I've met the Sannin before," I told him irritably and felt them stiffen slightly, I guess they were the Sannin by now, "But it was brief enough that they probably wouldn't remember me."

That was the absolute truth and I knew they would be able to tell that. Takacha had opened his mouth to ask me a question when my stomach growled again, possibly the loudest it had yet, making him pause and shut his mouth to cover up the slight twitch of his lips that I detected. He was obviously trying not to laugh at me. I glared at him, telling him with my expression that my stomach was his fault.

He coughed and motioned to Yui who produced a packet of food from somewhere behind him, I presumed his pack. He handed it to me, obviously trying to make an effort not to laugh at me as well. I took it from him without even a 'thank you' and examined it a moment before I began unwrapping the trail rations and started eating slowly.

"What do you know about the Leaf Village?" Takacha asked me as I was bringing more food, I wasn't sure what it was. It looked like a mix between beef jerky and mashed potatoes, though luckily it was mostly tasteless and what there was wasn't horrible. It was filling though, so I didn't much care.

"I haven't been there before," I told him with a shrug as I stuck more food into my mouth. That was another truth and from the flicker of annoyance across Takacha's face, he knew it too.

"How have you not been to the Leaf Village yet have met the Sannin?" He asked next with suspicion. I could have smacked myself, I walked into that one like a lamb to slaughter. A moment later I had my escape and I took it.

Yep, I did it again. I know you all just love me so much right now. =]

Kitt thought that was a lovely cliffhanger as well, she didn't even want to read what I had written on the next chapter. XD