A/N: Alright, here is chapter five for you all who are reading this. And thanks again to everyone who has reviewed.
Oh, no Sage or Cale today. Both are sleeping after a hard German Circuit workout… Ha ha, I put them through hell and back with it, also screwing up my shoulder again!
Chapter Five
Spoons yawned as she rested on Sasuke, knowing that the boy wouldn't move her. She mumbled as she closed her eyes, "Why did he want us to be here at five in the morning? I mean, With Cooper and the others partying until who knows what time, we didn't get to bed until really late, and I am dying!"
"Well, at least Cye made us eat breakfast this morning, even though we were told not to," Sasuke smirked, wiping some hair out of Spoons' face, watching her as she tried to get some more rest.
"Yeah, Cye is a warrior," Spoons started before yawning. "He told me that even when you eat and train you won't throw up. Kento never does, and he eats right before he trains, and he trains hard…"
Naruto mumbled as he sat down in the grass, "Uhhh… where is Kakashi-sensei?"
Spoons snuggled even closer to Sasuke, a small smile appearing on her lips, "He'll be late, he always is…" With those words, she fell asleep, wrapping her arms around Sasuke and letting dreams overcome her. She knew that Sasuke wouldn't let anything happen to her, he never had when they were in school and all of the fan girls had wanted to beat her up.
Naruto smiled at Sasuke, "Hey, hey, Sasuke… you like Spoons, don't you?"
Sasuke glared at him, "She's a friend, Naruto!"
The two sat there in a companionable silence, letting Spoons sleep some more. She had talked to them this morning about a plan on how to get the bells, and they had all three agreed that they would work as a team.
Hours passed, they weren't sure how long, but Spoons suddenly yawned and awoke, snuggling her face closer to Sasuke's chest, a smile on her face as she yawned. "Hi fellows. Good morning." Kakashi's voice entered their ears.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at their late sensei. Spoons frowned and Naruto yelled. "You're late!"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, "A black cat crossed my path, so…" He quieted down as he saw all three of their unsatisfied faces. He quickly cleared his throat, "Let's move on…" He walked over, setting an alarm clock on the log. He then set it, "Alarm set at 12 PM." He then held up two bells, "Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me." He shook them, "Whoever can't will have no lunch."
"What?" Naruto almost whined, but Spoons hit him.
Kakashi pointed to the three posts in the ground, "I'm going to tie you there and eat lunch in front of you."
Spoons smirked at him, "So that's why you said not to eat breakfast!"
"Why are there only two bells?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the left.
"Since there's only two, at least one of you will be tied to the log," Kakashi seemed to smile at them. "That person will fail since he failed to complete the mission." He shook the bells, "The person will go back to the Academy. It might just be one or all three. You can use your shuriken, or any other weapons you have with you." He then seemed to remember something, "You won't be able to get this unless you have the will to kill me."
As he palmed the bells, Spoons smirked, "Easy thought right there…"
"You're going to start after I say, 'Ready, go.'" Kakashi stated, eying all three.
Spoons rolled her eyes, pulling both Sasuke and Naruto in towards her, "Remember the plan?" As both nodded, she smiled, "Great. Naruto, you know what to do…"
Kakashi laughed at both of them, "I think I can finally start liking you three."
Spoons smirked at him as all three stepped away from each other, "Of course."
"We're going to start." Kakashi stated. "Ready, start!"
Spoons smirked and lunged at him, unsheathing the katanas that were on her back. Kakashi laughed outright at her, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
"Keep making yourself laugh, Kakashi-sensei! You'll need the sense of humor where you're going!" Spoons yelled. A smirk came to her face, remembering all of the hours she had trained with her uncle.
Sekhmet laughed lightly as Spoons watching in fascination while he completed his Snake Fang Strike attack. She smirked at him, "Teach me how to do that! That's awesome!"
Sekhmet shook his head, "Well, from what I have gathered from Iruka, you can use an illusionary technique…"
Spoons' face lit up at that, "I know how to do that! I can do that!"
Sekhmet nodded, "It is exactly what I do. If you can do that, then almost nothing will be able to see through you. You will be a force to be reckoned with."
"I'll just be lacking the poison on my swords," Spoons stuck her tongue out at him.
"Well, what are you going to name it, if you can complete it?" Sekhmet chuckled.
Spoons licked her lips, rolling her eyes as she unsheathed her katanas, "Hmm… how about Kakashi's Death?" She then laughed.
Sekhmet shook his head, "Be serious, Spoons…"
"Oh, alright… um… How about…Oblivion?" Spoons mumbled.
Sekhmet nodded, "That sounds good…"
Spoons dodged Kakashi as he tried to grab her, "You won't know what hit you after you experience this!" She then screamed, crossing her katanas across her chest and then swiping them out.
Kakashi's eyes went wide as he noticed Spoons now seemed to have six arms with six katanas. She then lunged at him, brandishing all katanas out, "You will now taste Oblivion!"
"It isn't possible!" Kakashi mumbled, jumping away from her, but still, one of her arm and katanas cut his leg. He put his hands together, forming a seal, "Kai!" He waited for the illusion to disappear, but it didn't.
Spoons stuck her tongue out at him as she stopped, "Uh, these aren't illusions, buddy! Every single one of these are real!" She then lunged forward, screaming, "Naruto! Now!"
Fifteen Narutos appeared around Kakashi, all grabbing onto him and holding him strong. "What?" Kakashi asked, confused. "Shadow Clones?"
"Sasuke!" Spoons screamed as she swiped at Kakashi, hoping to cut the bells from him.
Sasuke appeared behind her, quickly forming hand seals. He then took a deep breath, "Fire element: Blazing Fireball!"
Kakashi's eyes went wide as this was happening, "What? That technique isn't something a Genin can do… He doesn't have enough chakra!"
Sasuke then cupped his hand in front of his lips, blowing out and forming a huge fireball that flew towards Spoons' back and Kakashi. Sasuke yelled, "Spoons! Now!"
Spoons flashed a genuine smile at Kakashi, spinning out of the way quickly. The fireball flamed over Kakashi and the Narutos hanging onto him. "Sasuke!" Spoons yelled, spinning around and causing something to fly towards him.
Sasuke quickly jumped up and caught whatever it was, a smirk coming to his face as he noticed it was the two bells. Naruto appeared beside him, "Did we get it?"
Sasuke looked at Spoons, watching as her six arms disappeared to just two. She quickly sheathed her katanas and stumbled forward, "Oblivion was always a last resort… Uncle Sekhmet told me that…"
Kakashi appeared in front of her, catching her as she collapsed. He shook his head, "The timer hasn't even gone off and you are already out of energy…"
Spoons closed her eyes, too weak to think of anything but rest. Sekhmet had warned her that until she was properly trained in the art of illusion by Dias she would be exhausted after one use.
Naruto and Sasuke, as one, charged at Kakashi, trying to get him to let Spoons go. Sasuke growled, wrapping his arms around Spoons and pulling her into his grip as Naruto tried to attack Kakashi. "Naruto!" Sasuke grunted as he retreated a little ways away. Naruto at once appeared beside him.
The alarm went off, and Kakashi shook his head, disappointment in his eye, "It seems that all three of you fail…"
Sasuke smirked, holding up the two bells, "But we completed the mission. We retrieved the bells…"
Kakashi laughed lightly, "Well then, who passes and who fails? That is your new mission. Decide amongst yourselves who is going to be sent back to the Academy and who will go on…"
Spoons opened her eyes, a frown on her face. Naruto held a frown as well, and Sasuke held anger in his eyes. All three stated at the same time, "We succeed as a team and we fail as a team!"
Spoons stumbled forward, a glare on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest, "We've come to the conclusion that if you want to send just one of us back, then you send us all! We are a team, and teams stick together through thick and thin! My family has taught me that!"
Naruto stepped up beside her, a determined look in his eyes, "Yeah!"
Sasuke shrugged as he came forward, "I agree."
"Never leave a teammate behind, not even when they tell you to go on! You stand together! Three is better than two!" Spoons yelled at Kakashi, angered that he would actually tell them to break themselves down.
Kakashi laughed, closing his eye and shaking his head, "In that case…" All three Genin tensed, all thinking that they would be returned to the Academy. "You all pass!" Kakashi nodded.
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Ryo yawned as he perched on a tree branch, "Are you sure this is what we were required to do?"
Cooper hissed at him to quiet down, "Teams of five, around the border, keep an eye out for any foreign ninja that are in the vicinity!" She then smirked, "Besides, it was your fault that you decided to stay out the entire night almost to spend it with Liz!"
Cale smirked, "We are almost done, Cooper, and then you can go back to your bed…"
Liz snuggled into Ryo's chest even more, yawning much like he had, "I can't help it that we hit it off! I mean, seriously! The man is drop dead gorgeous and sexy!
"Yeah, and I can make sure that you are most comfortable," Sage smirked at Cooper as well, winking. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards his chest, kissing her neck, "Don't worry, it's almost done…"
Cooper held her moan in, closing her eyes, "Sage, stop it!"
Liz giggled, "Keep it in a room, you two!"
Cale chuckled, "Let's go. We have to report to the Hokage that the coast is clear."
Cooper frowned as she thought she heard something. She then shrugged when she didn't hear it again. "Yeah, let's go."
They quickly made their way back to Konoha, entering the Third's office as the rest did. Cooper smirked at them all, "Anything?"
"Clear," Everyone shrugged.
Cooper sighed, nodding, "Same here. It's weird. There was no movement whatsoever… not even from the…" Her eyes went wide, "Oh gods!" She quickly spun around and ran for the door, "Guys, come on! We totally missed it all!"
"What are you talking about? Kento asked, confused.
"Think about it, dumpster!" Liz rolled her eyes, giggling lightly. Kento frowned at her for a moment.
"When is a forest ever that quiet?" Cooper asked, running out of the room.
"She has a point," Ryo nodded, following her after he had grabbed Liz. "Let's go guys!"
As they exited Konoha, Cooper looked at them, "Split up! If you find anything, you know what to do. Contact someone else before engaging, understood?" Everyone nodded, and disappeared up into the treetops, leaving Cooper standing there with Liz, looking around herself.
For some odd reason, she had this feeling that something was going on that shouldn't be, and that it was desperate that she find what it was. A thought struck her then, since she was with Liz… She didn't have the ability to talk to the others in her mind like they could. She cursed herself, thinking that she had been stupid for that thought.
She quickly spun as she heard something land behind her, only to have her eyes go wide in fear. Standing there was an older looking version of Sasuke. She took a step back, shaking her head. His eyes, they drew her towards him, and she couldn't stop herself from walking forward.
Liz yelled, "Cooper! No! Get away from him!" But as she stared at him, she was drawn in as well, her eye glazing over slightly.
In another part of the forest, Ryo jumped down from the tree he was in, seeing Sage. The bearer of Halo was looking at the ground, a frown on his face. "What's up, Sage?"
"Someone was camped here for a short while… I can see the ashes of a fire that they tried to conceal," Sage grunted, looking up at Ryo.
"How long ago, do you know?" Ryo asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
"I'd say not even a couple hours," Sage nodded.
A scream echoed in their ears and through the forest, and both looked at each other with fear. "Cooper!" They yelled, at once jumping into the trees and heading towards the scream. Both were destined to save her, no matter the consequences.
Ryo frowned, "Liz was with her! Oh god!"
Cooper screamed once again in pain, collapsing forward into Itachi's awaiting arms. He looked down upon her with an emotionless face, "I do not see what he wants with you. You have no talent whatsoever." He then looked at Liz's unconscious form in his companion's grip, "And she will have to come with us as well…"
"Cale," Cooper's hoarse voice tried to yell, only to result in a whisper, "help…"
Kisame laughed, "She continues to struggle, Itachi!"
Cooper tried to push Itachi away from her, whimpering slightly, her eyes drooping in pain and exhaustion, "Liz, Liz, come on…" She had never though that Itachi's genjutsu could be so excruciatingly painful. But now that she had experienced it firsthand, she never thought she would be the same again.
Within moments, they were surrounded by the Ronins and Warlords, all of which were in their armor, their face guards down. Cale took a step forward, snarling, his words echoing in the clearing they were in, "Let her go!"
Ryo snarled as well, "Let Liz go!"
Sage brandished his nodatchi in front of him, "Step away from her!"
"What's this?" Kisame asked, holding his sword forward. "We were never told that she would be guarded!"
"Guarded is the understatement of the year, buddy!" Ryo yelled at him, unsheathing his katanas. "You've pissed off the Ronin Warriors by touching her! And you've pissed me off even more by touching Liz!"
"Not to mention us!" Dias snarled, pulling his scy out.
Sekhmet pulled both of his swords out, his eyes narrowing, "Put both on the ground gently and leave, that is our only warning to you! If you do not cooperate, we will be forced to fight you!"
Itachi smirked slightly, "You fight us, they dies!"
Sage's eyes went wide, and his grip on his nodatchi loosened considerably, "Please, don't hurt her…" He powered down into just subarmor, holding his hands forward in peace, "Please, don't do anything to her!"
Kisame smirked, holding his sword up to Cooper's throat as Itachi held her, "Don't make any movements or I will kill her."
Sage dropped his hands to his sides, clenching them greatly. Cale snarled, and Rowen shook his head, "You shouldn't have said that… You'll have to deal with her father now, and he is never in a good mood when it deals with Cooper getting hurt!"
Itachi moved away from Kisame, glaring at him. His voice was laced with anger, "They want her alive, Kisame, not dead!"
Dias seemed to disappear, and none of the Ronins or other two Warlords paid any attention to it. Cye took a step forward, "Please, let us have Cooper back. We don't want to fight. We'll let you go…"
"Don't forget Liz! We want her back as well!" Ryo yelled.
"We were required to capture her and take her back to our boss," Kisame smirked at them, his teeth causing Cye to blink.
Cye frowned, becoming angered, something that didn't happen too often. Kento shrugged, "That's it!" He then lunged at Itachi, only to have Itachi disappear in a cloud of smoke. Kento screamed, "Ah! Where did he go?"
As Kisame made to run, Dias appeared in front of him, a frown on his face along with a glare in his eyes. "Where are you taking my niece?"
Kisame flashed a smile at him before swiping his sword towards Dias. Dias quickly jumped far enough away to not be harmed, but on doing so, Kisame vanished. Sage yelled out in remorse and pain, running forward and falling to his knees. He then slammed his fists off of the ground where Kisame and Itachi had been, "NO! NO! BRING HER BACK!"
Ryo screamed as well, throwing his katanas away from himself, "LIZ! NO!"
Rowen knelt down beside his best friend, "We'll get her back, Sage, don't worry. And she's strong. She won't let them do anything to her…"
"They took her, Rowen," Sage mumbled, looking at his hands, "and I couldn't stop them!" Tears came to his eyes as he shut them, "I was supposed to protect her! I am going to marry her! She was supposed to be safe now!"
Cale came up beside him, placing his hand on Sage's shoulder, "We'll get her back, Sage, on my word."
"We have to tell the Hokage about this! We'll find her, even if we need to get every ninja in Konoha to help us!" Ryo growled, powering down and taking a step forward.
"We can't tell Spoons about this, guys, she will be devastated if she finds out her cousin was kidnapped…" Cye mumbled.
"Oh man!" Rowen mumbled, putting his hand over his face, "I forgot about Spoons!" He then sighed, "This is going to be hard trying to think of something to say to her to explain Cooper's disappearance…"
"Forget about that," Sekhmet mumbled, watching how Sage seemed to be falling apart. "Right now we need to worry about Sage…"
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Spoons moaned as Sasuke helped her onto the living room in her house, "That hurts… I hurt all over…"
Sasuke chuckled lightly, shaking his head, "Well, get some deserved rest. We start mission tomorrow."
At that moment, everyone returned home, a sadness in the way they were walking and hanging their heads. Sage, most of all, looked worse for wear. He didn't even say hello to them as he made his way past them and to the stairs.
Spoons frowned, looking for her cousin, "Where's Cooper, Uncle Sekhmet?"
Sekhemt cleared his voice, trying to sound calm, "She's… uh…"
"Talking to the Third," Rowen mumbled. He then turned to Cye, "How about you start dinner, Cye? I'm sure these two are hungry."
Spoons looked at Sasuke, her eyes filled with confusion, "Why would Cooper still be with the Third? You guys never let her out of your sight, especially Sage. And why is he so sad?"
"How about we go train until dinner?" Sekhemt asked, looking at Spoons with a sad smile.
Spoons blinked, "What's going on, guys? Come on, tell me!"
"Training," Sekhmet mumbled, nodding.
Spoons looked at Sasuke, who just shrugged. She then sighed, "Alright, we'll train. But after this is done, I want an explanation on this!"
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Itachi looked at the unconscious form of Cooper, contemplating why the leader of the Akatsuki would want her of all beings. Kisame was sitting across the fire from him, silent. Liz's unconscious form was lying beside Cooper. Itachi would only admit to himself that Cooper had put up a good fight in his genjutsu. She had fought him to the bitter end. She had a strong defense against his genjutsu, even if she didn't know it.
"What is so special about her?" Itachi heard Kisame's question.
Itachi had wondered it himself, but upon seeing the warriors that accompanied her, he thought that was the reason the leader wanted her. Itachi's speculation was that the leader wanted control over the warriors, and if he had the girl, he could have the warriors. It was a plan that had many flaws in it, not to mention there was another that they both had to capture.
"One will never know," Itachi mumbled, looking down into the fire in front of him. He then poured himself a cup of tea, looking over at Cooper.
Cooper moaned and turned. She wanted to stay in the darkness, it didn't pain her or bring her to any realizations, but her body was telling her otherwise. As she tried to move her arms, she noticed that she couldn't. Her eyes quickly snapped open at that, and she began screaming.
A hand slammed over her mouth, the voice by her ear sending shivers down her spine, both pleasurable and frightening, "I suggest that you do not scream anymore if you wish to live longer."
Cooper noticed that her hands were tied together, and that Itachi was the one that had quieted her down. As she tried to wriggle around, her body hissed at her and she closed her eyes in pain. It was pleading with her to just go back to sleep, that she needed the rest, but she just couldn't sleep with what had happened.
Itachi let her mouth go, a smirk on his face, "Much better."
Cooper opened her eyes, unshed tears there, "What do you want from me?" She then saw Liz beside her, "And why Liz?"
Itachi leaned closer to her, nose to nose, "Call your warriors. Scream yourself dead. It pleases me to hear you scream…"
Cooper's eyes widened as she understood the underlying fact in that sentence. She remembered the time he had her trapped in his genjutsu. A shiver ran through her body, and more tears fell down her face, silencing her.
Itachi smirked at her, knowing what she was remembering. He caressed her cheek, chuckling lightly as she winced but didn't move away, "You are starting to learn. The more you fight, the more pain you will feel."
Cooper's eyes flashed, and she quickly pulled away from him, biting his hand. Itachi looked at it and then her, noticing the defiance in her eyes. She snarled at him, baring her teeth, "They will find me, and when they do, you will wish that you hadn't taken me! My fiancé will be totally pissed!"
Itachi grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him and quiet down, "Call them! I dare you to! Call them right to us!" He shook her roughly, "Call them!"
Liz became conscious at those words, and she looked around herself, noticing that she was tied up and could not do anything. She then hissed to Cooper, "Don't do it, Cooper! Please! It will only make things worse!"
Cooper's eyes slid closed, trying to think of how to call the Ronins to her along with the Warlords. She then opened her eyes, glaring at him, "I won't do it! You want them, and I am not going to bring them here!"
Itachi growled at her, "Then you will just have to answer to our leader."
"Before you reach there, we'll be gone from your grasp!" Cooper glared at him, not startled in the least that he could do anything he wanted. "I bet they're all searching for us at this very moment! I'm betting that every ninja in Konoha has been alerted by your presence and is desperately out to find us!"
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Sage growled as sat down at the dinner table. Cale and Ryo had gone to the Third, hoping to strike up a rescue party in search of Cooper and Liz. They wouldn't take Sage with them, knowing that he was too emotionally unstable at the time.
Cye sighed as he came into the dining room, "Sage, we'll find her, don't worry. We'll get her back!"
"But what if we don't?" Sage asked, looking up at Cye, "And if we do get her back, what if she is changed? What if she doesn't want to come back to us… what if…"
"So many what ifs!" Dias yelled as he came into the room. "It's hard to think that you were once confident!"
"I'm worried about her, guys… and I desperately miss her!" Sage moaned, slamming his head down on the table.
Cale came into the room, sighing heavily, "Well, the Hokage says that he is going to be putting his best ninja on the job, and that we are to report to his office tomorrow morning at five to meet with everyone."
Ryo came walking in as well, looking around, "Where's Spoons?" He was stressed out about the disappearance of Liz as much as Sage was about Cooper, but he kept his under control.
"I told her to stay at Sasuke's house tonight. It was the only way to get her to stop asking about Cooper," Sekhmet mumbled as he slouched down into a chair and closed his eyes.
"What do they want with her?" Rowen asked, trying to comprehend why they would take Cooper.
Sage looked up from the table, sweeping his gaze across everyone, "She can control us, guys, all of us…" At their quizzical looks, a sad smile came to his face, "She calls upon us and we are there, just as when the ninja summon something it comes to aid them. If they have her, they have us, in a sense…"
"Then why Liz?" Ryo growled slightly.
"She was conveniently with Cooper at the time of her capture, that's why. Another hostage," Rowen mumbled, knowing how sensitive the room had gotten on the conversation.
"But they don't have us, so how can she call upon us?" Kento scratched his head, confused.
"Leave it to Cooper to figure out a way, and she will," Rowen smiled.
Ryo blinked, "I wonder if there is a way to call us to herself. If there was, we could save her!"
"She isn't going to call upon us if she can, Ryo," Sage mumbled, holding his head in his hands, "She knows that they want us, and she wants to keep us safe. She's smart, you know that."
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Liz smirked at Itachi and Kisame, "Are we there yet?"
Cooper smirked as well, "Are we there yet?"
Kisami growled at both of them, "No."
"Are we there yet?" Both young women asked at the same time.
"NO!" Kisame yelled back at them, a threatening tone in his voice.
"Can you show us something cool?" Cooper asked.
"No," Kisame sighed.
"Do you like shark soup?" Liz giggled.
As Kisame snarled at her, Cooper turned her attention to Itachi, "How many throwers from a track team does it take to unlock and lock a gate?" Itachi glared at her, and Cooper just smiled, "Three, but technically eight if you count all the different things they have to do!"(1)
When Itachi turned his attention away from them, Cooper turned to Liz, "Mission accomplished… Bug Kisame until he snarls at us, and have Itachi ignore us! Next mission…"
"Get Itachi to smile in a good way…" Liz giggled.
Cooper's eyebrows rose at that, "Uh, that one truly is Mission Impossible!"
Kisame hissed at Itachi, "Can I kill the one…"
"You kill her and the other will not call upon her warriors." Itachi grunted back, ignoring the two young women as they planned between the two of them. "Do not let them get to you, Kisame, understand me?"
"He's kinda sexy looking if you take away the evil…"
"Naw, Sage is so much better!"
"Well, I mean, I would never give up Ryo, but if you were to give me three weeks with the unemotional man, I would have all the girls swooning over him in no time…"
As Itachi clenched his fists, Kisame smirked at him, "Don't let them get to you, huh? It seems you should be taking your own advice, Itachi."
The two giggled as they put their head together and lowered their voices, but Itachi still heard them. "I've got some makeup with me…"
"Yeah, let's do it tonight when he goes to sleep! We'll make him look drop dead gorgeous so that the next time we head into a town all the girls will swoon over him in no time…"
"They are planning something," Kisame eyed the two. "I don't…"
"They are not touching me!" Itachi snarled.
Both girls gave a high five, "Mission accomplished! Again!"
Cooper laughed, holding her abdomen, "These two are way too easy!"
"You're telling me? These two were supposed to be feared in almost every country! And here they are, getting beat by me and you! That's not much for their claim to fame!" Liz giggled uncontrollably.
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There you have it! Chapter Five! Now be good readers and review so I know what you think about all of it! Have fun, and I hoped you liked it!
(1)As for that statement: It's true... trust me. I mean, it happened to me at practice Friday! Ha ha, that was a blast!