I thank Kage kitsune of light for getting the creative juices flowing for this installment. I'm not feeling chatty today, so without further ado, I give youThe Misadventures of Tobi the Ninja.
While Hidan was having fun with Professor Umbridge, poor Tobi had managed to get lost. Again. He was stuck in the hall of moving stairs. Remembering what Leader had said about not using his ninja skills while around the many stick-waving civilians, Tobi helplessly ran up and down the constantly shifting stairs always to end up back where he'd started. Starting to feel embarrassed about his inability to navigate while all the civilians were somehow able to, Tobi put his orange mask on to cover his face and put the eye patch that Itachi, who he'd decided must be his long-lost cousin due to his Sharingan, had given him.
The clock that sounded through all of the giant school that they were in rang. It was almost nine o'clock. Tobi was getting worried. If he didn't make it back to the nice yellow and black room, he would get in trouble with the adults and with Leader. Fewer and fewer students walked the stairs. Tobi was very worried. Now there was no one he could ask for help. But…now there was no one to see him use his ninja skills!
When no student came by for a whole minute, Tobi glanced around and listened carefully for any approaching footsteps before using his chakra to stick the walls so that he could travel without being confused by the moving staircases. Just when he thought he was close to figuring out how to get back to the nice yellow and black room, the clock struck nine.
"Oh no!" Tobi whimpered to himself. "Tobi is a good boy. Tobi didn't mean to stay out late!" Desperate to get out of the confusing hall of moving stairs, he took the first available exit and ran as fast as he could.
Tobi quickly decided that his strategy was not the best he'd ever concocted. It was even worse than the potion he'd made earlier that day…but he digressed. Tobi desperately wished that someone – Itachi, Deidara, anyone – would appear and help him. Even Hidan was better than no one!
Obviously running around was not getting him anywhere closer to the nice yellow and black room. Maybe if he just sat still, one of Konan's pretty paper butterflies would find him. Or maybe Zetsu would come out of the wall and lead him. Tobi sat down in a corner of the hallway and waited. And waited. And waited.
Tobi was getting tired of waiting and was about to find another spot to wait for his friends when something moved in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a cat.
"Oooooh! Pretty kitty! Come here, kitty. Tobi is a good boy! He won't hurt you," Tobi said as he crawled toward the cat. The cat stopped and stared at him. Its big yellow eyes me Tobi's single eye. Then it turned and darted away.
Tobi crawled after it. "Wait! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi didn't mean to scare you! Come back!" The cat continued running.
Tobi realized that he would probably be faster if he stood up and ran, so he did. He quickly gained on the cat, which kept running. "Come back, pretty kitty!" Tobi called. "Tobi is a good boy. Is kitty a good cat too?"
The cat ignored Tobi and continued running. It turned the corner, and Tobi did too. To his absolute horror, he came face to face with the janitor. Tobi froze for a second. Then his ninja instincts kicked in and he turned tail and ran.
"Aaaaauuuuuggggghhhhh! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi did not mean to get lost! Tobi is sorry! Tobi did not mean to be a bad boy!" he screamed as he ran like one of Deidara's artworks was chasing him.
Somewhere behind him, he heard the janitor snap, "Mrs. Norris, track him down!" This just made Tobi charge away faster.
Tobi ran until he found himself back in the cursed hall of moving stairs. Scared, the orange-masked ninja child leaped up onto the walls and ran into the nearest hall that wasn't the one he was in. He ran and ran and ran, and didn't stop running until a ball of water hit his mask.
"Waaah!" Tobi skidded to a stop.
"Hehehe! Student out of bed! Student out of bed!" a cackling voice said. Another ball of water hit Tobi.
Tobi shrieked, "Tobi is sorry! Tobi does not want to be a bad boy!" And he turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Water balls splashed at his feet. Picking up to ninja speed, Tobi lost the cackling thing and ended up back in the dreaded hall of staircases.
"There he is!" the janitor, who had clearly been confused how Mrs. Norris could think the curfew-breaker's scent was on the wall, shouted. "This way, Mrs. Norris!"
With a water-throwing cackler coming in one direction and the angry janitor and his pretty kitty coming from another, Tobi panicked. Forgetting Leader's orders to not show off his ninja skills to the civilians, he ran up on the walls, across the pictures, and into yet another one of the many hallways in the hall of confusing stairs. He kept running until he saw something white flit into his limited range of vision. Skidding to a stop, he saw that it was one of Konan's paper butterflies. He cautiously approached it, reaching out to touch it.
The moment his fingers came in contact with the paper, it unfolded. More paper began to float to the unfolded paper butterfly. Realizing what this meant, Tobi stepped back. Slowly Konan materialized in front of him.
"Tobi. What happened? Curfew was an hour ago," she said.
"Tobi is sorry! Tobi got lost in the hall of moving stairs. Tobi is being chased by the pretty kitty and the angry janitor and a thingy that throws water."
Konan chewed her lip for a moment before saying, "Let's go. Teleport to outside."
Tobi activated his Sharingan and disappeared in a swirl. He reappeared outside, sticking to the wall. Inside, Konan opened the nearest window a crack and dissolved into paper. The paper slipped out through the crack and reassembled itself into Konan. She closed the window.
"Follow me," she told Tobi. Tobi ran after her as she grew wings and flew.
Konan led him to a window and tapped on it. A few seconds later, Itachi opened it.
"You found him?" he asked.
"Yes," Konan said. "May I come in?"
Itachi nodded. Konan turned back into paper and slipped into the room while Tobi teleported.
"Where was he?" Nagato asked from his bed. Konan reformed next to him.
"He was lost in one of the numerous corridors of this place," she said. "The janitor and his cat were after him, as well as what I'm assuming was the poltergeist."
Tobi tackled Itachi. "Tobi is very, very sorry for being late. Tobi did not mean to make anyone worry."
"It's ok, Tobi," Itachi said as he gently removed Tobi's orange mask. "Just don't let it happen again." Tobi didn't notice the sadness in Itachi's eyes as he ruffled his hair.
Then Tobi teleported and reappeared on top of Konan and Nagato. He glomped the two of them. "Tobi is very sorry for being a bad boy. Tobi also says thank you to Konan and her pretty butterfly for finding him! Tobi promises to be good from now on."
"That's ok, Tobi," Konan said. "How about you make sure that you're always with one of us so you don't get lost anymore?"
"Ok! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi will do was Konan says." Tobi then turned to Nagato. "Leader Two didn't say anything. Tobi is really sorry. He doesn't want Leader Two to be mad at him."
"Just listen to Konan, alright?" Nagato told Tobi wearily. "And don't wear your mask outside of this room. The janitor and the poltergeist will recognize it."
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Tobi cried as he hugged Nagato. "Tobi is happy that Leader Two isn't mad. Tobi will be a good boy for Leader Two!"
"Ok," Itachi said, gently pulling Tobi off Nagato. "Nagato – ah, Leader Two – is tired and wants to sleep. Tobi should be a good boy and let Leader Two sleep. Tobi should also do the same."
"Ok! Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi let Itachi help into bed. Konan dissolved into paper and floated out the window.
l l l
Elsewhere, Filch and Mrs. Norris searched desperately for the mysterious masked curfew-breaker to no avail. Mrs. Norris finally managed to relocate the scent, only to find that it disappeared. Furious that another student had managed to get away, Filch stormed over to Professor Umbridge's office.
"Come in," Professor Umbridge said.
"Another blasted curfew-breaker got away," Filch spat.
"Really? How did this curfew-breaker manage to escape you and your Mrs. Norris?" Professor Umbridge asked.
"You probably won't believe me, but the little stinker ran on the walls. And he ran inhumanly fast too," Filch said.
"Ran on the walls?" Professor Umbridge asked. "Is that so?"
"He may have cast a Confundus on me," Filch admitted. "If he did, I didn't hear the incantation. But I can't think of another reason why I would think that a student ran on the walls."
"I see," Professor Umbridge said. "I'll have to recruit some portraits to keep an eye out for this troublemaker. Was it our dear friend Hidan?"
"No," Filch said. "I couldn't see his face – he was wearing an orange mask – but he had black hair."
"Ah." Professor Umbridge scribbled something down. "How big was he? And was he a he?"
"Yes," Filch said. "In fact, he yelled something when he saw me. It was somewhat muffled because of the mask, and I couldn't make a word out, but it was definitely a young male."
"Young?" Professor Umbridge asked. "Perhaps first or second year?"
"Maybe even a third year," Filch said.
"I see," Professor Umbridge said. "Was he wearing a house crest?"
"No," Filch said. "It looked like black sweatpants with a dark blue shirt with fishnet lining the top."
"Odd," Professor Umbridge said. "I'll leave notes for the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad. Keep your eyes open for this troublemaker."
"I will," Filch promised. "And if I catch him, I'll personally make sure that he gets hell from me."
Oh dear. The Inquisitorial Squad is after Hidan and Tobi. Filch thinks he'll give hell to a couple of ninjas? He doesn't know what he's getting himself into!
Leave your comments, encouragement, and ideas. Until next time!