She Will Be Loved – Two
"So," Anko says, "all we have to do is find that scroll?"
I nod. "Yes, that's pretty much it."
"We like our old world," Naruto grins widely. Anko continues to lead us through the city, towards a tall building made of spiraling marble and straw accenting.
"What's your world like?" Anko inquires.
I look downward. "Kakashi is alive… and… Naruto is the one with the fox demon inside him… and Hinata's shy, and Ino's mean, and… Sasuke's popular…"
Anko looks completely bemused. Obviously she finds this hard to believe.
"Naruto…?" Anko repeats. Her eyes widen.
At that moment, Sakura begins to walk with us.
"Hello, Mistress Anko," Sakura smiles. I see her tattoo, because her shirt is a red halter-top, reminiscent of the dress she used to wear. The bottom of her dress is now Sakura's skirt.
Anko grins. "Hello, Miss Sakura. What mischief have you caused today?"
I pause. Did Anko just say what I thought she did…?
"Nothing much. I just hit Gaara with a frying pan," Sakura whines. "Boring."
"Genius!" Naruto yells. "I should have thought of that!"
Sakura blushes. I finally get the pairings here. Sasuke likes Sakura, as evidenced by earlier outburst. Sakura likes Naruto, indicated here. Hinata likes Naruto, and apparently a lot of other people. Ino likes Naruto, said earlier. Shikamaru likes chess. (Okay, so maybe not really a pairing, I think.)
And I'm the third wheel. I hate that. I'm ALWAYS the strange dude with the strange hairstyle and amazing ninjitsu skill. Never anything more, never anything less.
"Where's Hinata?" Sakura asks. Naruto becomes pale.
"Don't know."
Anko looks to me. "You said earlier that the scroll was in Master Gai's office."
Sakura cocks her head. "Scroll? Like that one I stole from Master Iruka?"
Naruto's jaw drops. My jaw does more or less the same thing. We are both thinking the same thing too – is THAT the scroll?
"What scroll?" I ask immediately, nearly suffocating poor Sakura.
"What was on it?" Naruto asks, doing the same thing I was.
Sakura frowned slightly. "It had something about some skill… the Sharingan Copycat Eye, I think."
Naruto and I blanch. The Sharingan Copycat Eye, the famous skill of the Uchiha clan… then again, Naruto's solid doppelgangers are now hereditary.
"You mean that hot-snot Uchiha clan thingy?" Naruto screams. Sakura looks at Naruto.
"Do you think you're funny or something?" Sakura snaps. "There is no Uchiha clan. Duh. Even I know that."
"There is an Uchiha though," I muse. "Uchiha Sasuke, brilliant ninja, smart guy… wants revenge… is this ringing a bell?"
Sakura flips her hair out of her face. "What on earth are you babbling about?"
Naruto's eyes are wide too.
There's no Uchiha clan. No Kakashi. No Sasuke being fondled. No Naruto being laughed at. No Sakura being smart. No Ino trying to be sexy. Nothing that we know. Everything is so foreign to me – and I can tell that Naruto feels left out too.
"Mistress Anko," I press, "we must see Master Gai."
"Gai?" Sakura chuckles. "He's with his team."
Naruto is already running towards the training grounds. I have to sprint to keep up with him.
Mistress Anko and Sakura stare at us blankly as we run away.
---
Naruto and I glance at each other in utter disbelief.
Master Gai is waiting for his team to show up. His team appears to be Gaara, Sasuke, and…
…Hinata.
Gaara is already here. He rubs his head precariously, obviously where Sakura hit him.
"Gaara looks the same," Naruto says. I suppose he's trying to reassure me or something, but it's not working.
Hinata, however, is another story entirely. She still has the same cute hairstyle, but she is a voluptuous teenager. A form fitting short-sleeved shirt and a skirt has replaced her normal jacket. She almost reminds me of Ino.
Hinata sighs and looks at the ground. "Where is Sasuke?"
Naruto is on his knees, drooling. Finally, he realizes how great Hinata is.
Something tells me I don't want to see the inside of his mind at this moment.
"Little dork should have been here fifteen minutes ago," Hinata finishes, pulling out a small mirror and touching up her makeup.
Something falls to the ground. I recognize it as Naruto's drool and do nothing. Just as Naruto wipes his mouth, Sasuke runs over to where Gaara and Hinata are standing.
Sasuke gives his two teammates a bow and sits down on a tree stump. Master Gai comes out from behind the shadows.
I gulp, and then proceed to hand Naruto a handkerchief. Hinata is leaning over in his direction, and he's got a pretty bad nosebleed…
…Naruto is finally on the receiving end of his Ninja Centerfold, in a way. I giggle at this thought.
"Late again, Sasuke?" Master Gai sighs. I blink. Sasuke's never late for anything.
"Sorry, Gai-sensei," Sasuke apologizes frenetically. "Lee was acting very strangely… Naruto stole him and I was chasing after them for some time."
"Waste of time," Gaara mutters as he tries to reconnect his optic nerve, forming his third eye.
"Naruto took Lee?" Hinata jumps up, clearly interested. Naruto is still holding the handkerchief to his nose.
"Yeah. Naruto," Sasuke grumbles. "I'd like to give that pretty boy a piece of my god damn mind…"
"Sasuke!" Hinata slaps Sasuke. Hinata glares at him. "How dare you speak of Naruto that way!"
Gaara shakes his head, and then looks to Master Gai. "Can we start? Please?"
Master Gai throws a shuriken at the hyperventilating Hinata. She stares at him for a very long time.
"All right. Now, we must run around the training ground! Three laps!" Master Gai smiles. Gaara says nothing, Sasuke nods, and Hinata groans.
"Again?" she sighs. I see the faint glint of a shuriken, and then I see Hinata gulp. The three kids set off running.
Master Gai is alone now. I look to Naruto, who isn't moving. I glare at him.
"When I move, my nose starts to bleed again," Naruto counters. "Go open the door yourself."
I carefully move to the metal door, the entrance to the training ground. I pull a bobby pin out of my pocket, and Naruto grins broadly from behind his handkerchief.
The bleeding stops. Naruto starts to laugh full on. "A BOBBY PIN? Man, that's funny!"
I punch Naruto in the nose. It starts to bleed again.
I stick the bobby pin into the lock and fiddle around with it, and the lock yields. The gate opens with a clank, and Master Gai glances to Naruto (once again, on the ground) and me.
"Rock Lee? Uzumaki Naruto?" Master Gai says. He looks a bit shocked.
"Hello, Master Gai," I greet him. Naruto would be saying something if his nose wasn't bleeding so hard.
"Oh yes," Master Gai reminisces, "I forgot that Ibiki gave you and Naruto the day off."
Morino Ibiki, my sensei. This world couldn't be screwier.
"Master Gai, you wouldn't happen to have a green scroll in your office… would you?" I ask with great interest. Master Gai raises an eyebrow.
"No," Master Gai shrugs. I don't have any scrolls. You might want to ask Shikamaru. He seems to collect them."
Naruto's jaw drops. So does mine.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And by the way, I can't believe I made Sasuke cuss…