ME: I'm fed up. here's the next chappie.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, don't you think that this would've already happened? Or will happen?

"talking" 'jutsu' 'thinking' "someone talking in a dream" [ME]

CHAPTER 3

---Kaya's Apartment---

Kaya slept and in her dream she saw her past….

---Kaya's Dream---

Kaya looked around. She was in a foggy forest that looked a lot like the one that was on the Konoha side. She heard something, or someone, behind her. She spun around to see herself at age 5, only 7 years ago, and her mother. Real Kaya froze; she knew what this dream was about. Dream Kaya and her mother spun around looking for an enemy. Her mother's face tensed and she threw herself in front of daughter, soundlessly screaming while she and her daughter fell to the ground. Real Kaya clenched her fists as she watched. She knew that she could do nothing, but she felt no pain watching this happen again, like it hadn't really happened, just a T.V. show or a movie. Arrows pierced the lungs and stomach of her mother. Dream Kaya looked in fear at her mother; she was soundlessly crying. Her mother stroked her hair and was saying something to her; Kaya knew what she was saying. "Don't worry, you have your brother and your father, you will live on. Don't fret over my death, besides I'll be with you always." Her hand was underneath her daughter's right ear. her mother's hand glowed white, the color of her personal chakra. Real Kaya could feel the burning pain that her dream-self was feeling right now. A small pentacle appeared where her mother's hand had once been. Her mother's hand dropped away and fell limp. Dream Kaya looked at her mother with shock and sadness. "Rest, dear mother."Those words rang in her mind. Dream Kaya slipped her mother onto the ground. Dream Kaya stood up and screamed, and Real Kaya felt like her ears were stuffed with cotton. The fog swirled around her, enfolded her like a blanket, a thin, never-make-you-warm blanket. The next scene she saw was Dream Kaya running into another clearing. She saw her brother holding her father's hand. Even though there were no tears streaming down his cheeks, she knew that he was feeling the same as her. Her father did the same as her mother except on the left. The odd thing about it was that whenever she stood next to her brother she stood on the left and that was the side facing out was the side with the pentacle tattoo. Now her dream brother had the exact same tattoo. Dream Kaya started to run to her brother. The fog began to gather and soon she could see nothing.

---END DREAM---

Kaya woke with a start. She looked around. It was about 11:00 P.M. She jumped off the couch and pulled a light coat out of the closet. Looking around, she trotted out to find her little star gazing spot. While she walked, she looked around. Konoha looked like all the other villages that she had lived in. The buildings were large and small; they had domes, spires, and other architectural figures. Up ahead her she saw Shikamaru walking by himself. She ran up and fell into step with her troubled partner. She examined him. He hadn't noticed her run up. She frowned. 'Shika-kun isn't like this. He would've noticed me, even if sensing people isn't his forte.' "Shika-kun?" Kaya asked tentatively. "Shika-kun? Are you ok? Hello in there! Hmph! Fine be that way!"
"Huh?"
Shikamaru looked startled when he heard her speak. Kaya smiled kindly at him. "I was afraid that you sleep walking, Shika-kun. Where are you going?" The smile was still on her face but it had a tiny hint of concern. Shikamaru returned her smile and replied by saying that he was feeling restless and he decided to come out here to relax. Kaya nodded; she knew that feeling well. If there was something bad happening or was going to happen she would feel restless and would walk a path into the floor of her house from pacing if she didn't get out, fast. There was something different about his restlessness, it the kind when you have too much to think about and many are counting you. She understood what he was feeling that happened with herself and her brother. When that thought hit her, she realized that they had a lot in common.
She gazed at the moon. It looked like a face watching over the world; in fact there was a legend about the face on the moon from her home. Since she and her brother were born under a full moon and they had always been intrigued by the moon. She glanced at Shikamaru. He was also looking at the moon. They arrived at the tower that she listened the stars from.
"Do you want to listen to the stars with me, Shika-kun?" Kaya asked, hoping that "listening" didn't make her sound crazy. "Sure, but how do "listen" to stars?" Shikamaru asked, puzzled. Kaya just smiled and motioned for him to follow her up the stairs. They plopped onto the bench that never moved from its spot on that tower.
"So… What do we do now?" Shikamaru asked, gazing at the stars. Kaya smiled again and put a finger to her lips. "Become silent and erase your very being, or just be still and listen to the sounds of night. If you erase yourself you can hear the stars. They can speak and tell you their wisdom. Or you can just sit and stare." That was the last thing she said for a while. Shikamaru gazed at the sky. He tried to calm his mind. It took forever but soon he was gone, the night had taken him from where he sat. He could feel Kaya's relaxed warmth next to him. He heard the sounds of the night. Then, he heard a whisper, a quiet voice that surrounded him. At first he was frightened, but then he relaxed because he realized what was speaking. It was the stars. They told him of a land where every ninja was sent to all the villages to learn the ninjutsus that they used. They told him of what they saw. They told him their history. They told him the tale of what happened with the great fox demon that destroyed his village 12 years ago. The whispering slowly got quieter until he could no longer hear them. He opened his eyes and found that he was staring at the full moon. He turned and looked next to him. Kaya was still there. Her face was also turned up towards the moon. Her lips were open partly in a content smile. She looked like Ino, except she had highlights and Ino didn't. Her eyes slowly opened. When she saw him she grinned.
"I'm surprised that you stayed, Shika-kun. I thought it would be impossible for you, but I guess I was wrong." The grin on her face was wry one, even though her eyes smiled. The grin faded and she looked to the sky. "Jiro…" Kaya whispered. Shikamaru looked at her. He decided that whoever she was talking about was someone she knew at her old home and would probably answer no questions. "The full moon does crazy things to people, you know, Shika-kun."
She leaned towards him. Shikamaru was keenly aware of the distance that they had before diminishing to about an inch.
And he was moving towards her, which he didn't like at all. Soon their noses were touching. "Wh-What are you d-doing, K-Kaya?" Shikamaru whispered. "I'm not sure, Shika-kun." She replied. When she was whispering, their lips closed the gap. Shikamaru felt a sensation that was wonderful. He felt guilty because he liked Ino, a lot. But… then again, this feeling was a nice one. He opened one eye and looked at her. Her face was the picture of content. It seemed that there was nothing that would faze her. She slowly pulled away. Her face was a bright shade of red.
"Whoa."
Shikamaru looked at her with a shocked look on his face. She blushed and looked away. "I… have to tell you something…"
"OK. What is it?"
"I… lied about why I'm here. Don't worry! Hokage-sama knows about this. The stars told you, didn't they? That they heard of a place where the young ninjas are sent to all the different villages?" Shikamaru nodded. "Well, I'm from that village." She averted her eyes then looked back at him. "I've been to all of the villages, except Konoha. So I was sent here. I wasn't really chased but it is long way from here to my home and I ran most of the time, which is why I looked so tired and when Gai found me I had really used up all chakra because I had used it to keep me from getting hungry. Don't look at me like that! You know it's true. Shika-kun, you're infinitely dense." Kaya sighed and looked at him like she was thinking. Abruptly she stood up and walked over to the railing. She turned around again and looked at him.
"This is a mission that I have to accomplish, and I will leave when I think is suitable. I have a duty and I am not going to play around." Her face was really serious. Shikamaru gulped. He hadn't seen this side of her, even when they were on a mission when she is normally really touchy. Her eyes blazed like a forest fire in the dry season. A shadow appeared behind her. A large wolf and a small falcon appeared next to her. Shikamaru gulped, again. He didn't like the thought of that wolf attacking anyone; from what he heard, wolves like that were really aggressive. The falcon perched on her shoulder was a small one, probably a peregrine falcon. She sighed and looked at Shikamaru. "These are my partners when I'm fighting at home, here they are just ministers who report my progress to the Kage back home." Part of Kaya was fidgeting for saying the name of the Kage so lightly, another part was wary, someone was close by.
Shikamaru looked at her confused. He knew her well enough to know that she was uncomfortable. Her eyes shifted to the left. Her mouth parted slightly and a boy that looked almost exactly like her appeared. He also had a wolf and falcon, but his falcon wasn't really a falcon, as Shikamaru thought. It was a golden eagle and its feathers were as gold as the morning sun, but it was hard to tell since it WAS night-time. Shikamaru looked at Kaya for help for identifying this person.
"He's my brother, Shika-kun. I need to speak to him, you can leave if you want…" Shikamaru understood. One week was enough to know that she was asking him to leave. He stood up and nodded good-bye. He walked down the steps and looked up. Kaya was speaking to the boy. They were obviously close. He sighed and walked home.

ME: We-ellll, there's the third chappie… Just so you know, I still want reviews from my readers. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I want to thank my new reviewer, who apparently calls themselves donthavone. Jk. I thank you with so0o0o0o0o0o0o much gratitude that the WHOLE U.S. wouldn't be able to hold it all!!! I like to know that you like the story so0o0o0o0o much that you read it over because you like it so much!!! I guess those writing classes helped, no?
Squigy: MY TURN! Well, she really is happy. I haven't had a bat to my head in a while. Donthavone, or w/e your real name is, I, too, am very grateful. Even though I am only her muse, it pains me when she gets mad. Her temper is the size of LA and San Francisco combined at times-

PhWaCk!!!!!!!!!!!!
ME: THEY DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT!!!! Grr. AHEM! [STARTS TO SPEAK WITH AN ANNOUNCER-LIKE VOICE] NEXT TIME ON A LONELY CRY!!!! KAYA SPEAKS WITH HER BROTHER!! WHAT WILL THEY TALK ABOUT?! AND!!! SHIKAMARU REFLECTS UPON THE KISS THEY SHARED!!!!! ahem. well, that's all I can give away folks, so sit and wait!!! Till next time. Squigy: Ta!