After a good ten minutes of small talk, dinner was ready to be served. We were escorted to a modestly sized dining room table covered in food platters with various types of food to choose from.
Inwardly I breathe a sigh of relief. I wouldn't have to embarrass myself by refusing to eat weird food. Hell, they even had macaroni and cheese.
I take a seat and fill my plate with various meat and lots of macaroni and cheese. Kankuro eyes my plate and snorts in amusement as he takes the seat next to mine.
"What?"
"What are you like, twelve?" he teases.
I roll my eyes. "Actually more like four. I never learned to eat my vegetables. I was stubborn and now I gag every time I try to eat them."
Kankuro blanches. "Seriously? That can't be healthy."
"Correction: it's definitely not healthy. My mother thinks it must be some sort of sensory processing thing."
Kankuro blinks. "A what?"
I shrug. "Some sort of neurological sciencey thing."
Kankuro gives me a confused look. Temari chuckles at her brother's confusion.
"It's best to use small words. My brother may be a talented shinobi but anything else just goes over his head." she says.
Kankuro huffs and glares at Temari. "Hey! That's totally not true. I'll bet you had no idea what she said either."
Temari says nothing, but rolls her eyes and takes a sip from her soup.
"Guys, guys. I'm not certain any of that terminology exists in this universe. Our medical science isn't based on chakra like yours, but on the body itself."
"Actually we do have non chakra based medical science." says Gaara. "Doctors and medical shinobi are not the same thing, of course."
I blush sheepishly. "Right...of course. Sorry." I totally didn't know that.
Shikamaru covers his mouth in amusement. Prick.
"No need to be embarrassed. I'm sure there's a lot about our universe that is unfamiliar to you." assures Temari. "You did think all of this was fictional before you came here, right?"
I nod. "It's a series aimed at teenagers. Quite the cultural phenomenon, actually. I was a fan as a kid, but I grew out of it once I hit my late teens. I picked it up again pretty recently since it was completed a couple years ago and now there's..." I trail off. I probably shouldn't bring up the fact that there's a running series about the next generation.
"There's..what?" asks Shikamaru curiously.
"Um. Just a sequel. Nothing interesting so far." I say, stuffing food into my mouth.
"Uh huh. Okay."
"Can we change the subject?" I ask, swallowing my mouthful of food before speaking. I wasn't raised in a barn.
Kankuro snickers. "Don't want to mess up the timeline or something?"
"Kind of. Sort of. I realize I'm already messing up the timeline just by being here. For the better, I hope."
There was a nagging sensation in the back of my mind that my involvement could lead to horrific results.
What if Danzō decides Tsunade is prying too much and decides to stage a coup?
What if a ton of sand shinobi die during Pein's attack?
What if Kabuto decides to grow a conscience and blows his cover? Not likely to happen but still.
I stare blankly at my food while the Sand Sibs converse amongst themselves with Shikamaru.
After awhile Kankuro nudges me. "You alright? You look lost."
I snap out of my thoughts. "Y-yeah. I'm just...not feeling that great. I probably should go home. Thanks for having me. The food was great."
The Sand Sibs exchange glances with one another.
"It's not a problem. Though, you are looking quite pale. Are you sure you're okay?" asks Temari.
"I...didn't upset you with my timeline jab, did I?" asks Kankuro.
I smile and shake my head. "No...no. I'm not upset. I just feel a bit light headed."
Gaara looks at me with curiosity, but nods in understanding. "Shikamaru will escort you back home. I look forward to getting to know you better."
Kankuro grins. "Same here. Feel free to come by anytime."
Temari nods in agreement. "I hope you feel better, Marie."
I wave farewell and leave the suite with Shikamaru.
X
I return to Kakashi's apartment in a pensive and melancholic mood.
Kakashi is in his favorite recliner reading what looks to be a mystery novel. He eyes me as I wordlessly sit on the couch as worst case scenarios of my interference flood my head.
Tsunade getting assassinated. Konoha being torn apart by a civil war and therefore not being able to join the Allied forces against the zombie army. Kabuto drinking the crazy koolaid and completely losing it.
I hang my head in my hands and groan.
"Dinner went well, I take it?" asks Kakashi in a lightly sarcastic tone.
"Actually it went well. Sorta." I mumble.
"Hmm...I don't think I believe you."
I scoff and lie down on the couch and stare at the ceiling. "Believe what you want, I guess."
Didn't Kakashi die during the Pein invasion? What if he dies this time and Naruto can't convince him to sacrifice himself to bring everyone back? Then Konoha would have lost a great leader. And it'd be my fault.
I choke back tears. I can't cry. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him. I sit up and walk to the bathroom, and shut the door. I press my back to the door and allow myself to cry silently.
Sure all of this is hypothetical but it still scares the shit out of me. Hell, I could've given them the wrong information because my Naruto knowledge is so skewed by time. I could have gotten so much wrong. It could prove fatal.
I hear a soft knock at the door.
I wipe my eyes.
"What?" I ask, carefully making sure that my voice doesn't waver.
"...Something's bothering you." Kakashi states in a soft voice.
"It's not something that you can fix with a hug and some really good sex. I shouldn't have involved myself in any of this." I mutter darkly.
"What are you talking about?"
I sniffle. "You know I haven't been a fan of this story since I was in high school. I haven't read the manga since I was 16. I only really halfway paid attention to the anime while I was watching a select episodes semi recently. I am not qualified to give credible information on any of this shit."
A sigh. "I see. Come out. Let's talk about this." Then I hear footsteps walking away from the door.
I wipe my eyes again and pull myself up to leave.
X
Author's note: I had to sit on this one for a bit. First my birthday came up and then I had to work all day. Also I'm trying to plan ahead and I'm thinking about going and rewatching some episodes because after the attack on Konoha my knowledge gets a bit fuzzy.
Review replies!
Guest: Well feel free to dish out any advice you can. My writing style is still forming and all of this is unedited and typed on my phone. It's a bit of a mess. But I've been trying to write every day to improve as a summer project. I've enjoyed writing this story and so far the feedback I've gotten has been really positive.
Review and enjoy folks!
