DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, or explosive nooses, nor do I know why the expression is 'cloud nine'. Why is it called 'cloud nine'? What happened to clouds 1-8?
Deniizu was waved away smoke that surrounded her and Itachi with her hands. Once it cleared, she realized that they were in a clearing in another part of the woods around Konoha. Itachi removed his arms from around her and looked around warily.
"Um, where are we?" Deniizu asked in a quiet voice, reaching for a kunai.
"We're in the middle of my companion and I's camp. And I'd keep that put away, if I were you," Itachi said, looking at the girl's kunai pointedly.
Deniizu nodded, and Itachi took her hand.
Oh my gawd, it's Itachi! Deniizu thought, and in her mind she was on cloud nine. On the outside, however, she kept her thoughts to herself.
After a moment, she realized that Itachi seemed to be leading her to the tents. Straight to the tents. The sleeping tents.
Um...uh-oh...Deniizu thought.
She turned bright red and was about to blurt something about it being too early in their relationship, and they should wait until they had been going out for a decent interval of time before going...you know...when she saw that Itachi was actually leading her between the two tents.
Oh...okay...Deniizu thought.
She glanced at Itachi in the corner of her eye, and saw a smirk.
He suspects what I'm thinking...
Grinning as they came to a cooking fire with a figure hunched by it, Deniizu squeezed Itachi's hand hard, hoping it hurt him a little.
"We have company, Kisame," Itachi said out loud, not giving Deniizu a clue that he'd even felt her hand.
Kisame knows I'm here, Deniizu thought, catching the Mist missing-nin's thoughts, I guess it's just common courtesy to say if someone's there.
"Deniizu, this is my companion, Kisame," Itachi introduced, gesturing as he spoke, "Kisame, this is-"
"A child. You have brought here a child."
Kisame rose smoothly and turned to the two people behind him. He glared at Deniizu, who was still smiling.
"And a stupidly grinning child, at that," Kisame added, wiping the smile from Deniizu's face, "Some of Orochimaru must be rubbing onto you, Itachi; you're beginning to drag in strays."
"Not all children are weak," Itachi protested before Deniizu could open her mouth to say anything, in a calm voice, "After all, you still consider me a child," he added with a wry smile, "This girl is out of the ordinary."
"Oh?" the shark-like nukenin raised an eyebrow, "In what way?"
Itachi paused for a moment, thinking, then turned to Deniizu, though his words were for Kisame.
"Perhaps she should show you."
Deniizu raised both eyebrows interestedly at Itachi, and turning her head back to Kisame, she saw him watching her; considering her. After another moment, Kisame nodded slowly. Itachi inclined his head to Kisame, and then led Deniizu off towards the edge of the camp.
"What's going on?" Deniizu whispered, trying to match her favourite missing-nin's strides.
"I want you to show Kisame how you dodge traps," Itachi answered, glancing behind and seeing his colleague following, "He'll see what I mean when I say you're out of the ordinary."
"What, you mean the laughing at traps?" Deniizu asked, as they neared the edge of the clearing.
"No," Itachi said, "That's common enough in the insane or stupid. No, I mean the way you hold yourself; the way you dodge traps. It's...different...natural, almost. Not to mention how you destroy some traps."
Deniizu thought for a second and realized he meant the exploding noose. Meeting his eyes, she found him looking at her questioningly, piercingly.
I could die happy right here...but I won't because I'd rather live life with Itachi for a while.
"I'll explain to you later," she said, looking towards the trees.
They stood about two feet from the edge of the forest line. Kisame stood behind the two younger people, and nodded to Itachi.
"So. Prove yourself, girl," Kisame said coldly.
"All right, this clearing has-" Itachi started, but Deniizu cut in.
"Whatever," she said, waving the rest of his words away, "If there are traps, I wouldn't get a warning in real life."
Before Itachi could protest, Deniizu sprang forward, throwing a shuriken to her right. The star hit a tripwire, setting off one chain of traps. Her jump allowed her to touch a branch on a tree in front of her, and she pulled on another wire, setting off a second chain, and as she landed, the future ninja set off yet a third chain of traps.
"Suicidal is not entirely out of the ordinary," Kisame said to his partner, "Each chain contains at least fifty attacks."
"Just watch, Kisame," Itachi said, his eyes glued on the brown-haired girl.
Kisame did, and blinked. Deniizu looked right at home in the midst of fireballs, showers of needles, and falling logs. Jumping to avoid falling into pit traps, she laughed as if she were skipping down a street. Deflecting weapons with a kunai, she looked as if she were merely stretching.
"That is unusual," Kisame said, nodding, "Reminiscent of Momochi Zabuza."
When Itachi did not answer, Kisame turned to his young companion. Had someone else seen the 17-year-old missing-nin, they would have thought he was merely staring into space. Kisame had been Itachi's companion for quite some time now; he knew what Itachi was thinking.
She's bewitched him, Kisame thought, almost stunned, He's actually worried about her. And proud of her. This is no common girl...
"Who are you, girl?" Kisame said out loud, once the traps had stopped raining down.
Deniizu seemed a little disappointed as she looked around for anything else that might be flying towards her. Sighing, she walked back to the two missing-nins.
"My name is Deniizu of the Tea Village," she said, putting away a kunai, "Have I proven myself yet, or is evading 128 traps not enough?"
"...You have, Deniizu. You have," Kisame thought for a moment before continuing, "You have a talent that greatly interests us."
"Thank you," Deniizu said with a half-smile, "You don't need to worry about me telling the village about you. I'm good at keeping secrets like that."
"Good, good," Kisame nodded, smiling a little, "My companion, our...affiliation and I would very much like to keep track of your exploits as a ninja."
"I don't mind," Deniizu said, shrugging.
"You may be a very valuable asset to us one day," Kisame said, "What rank are you now?"
"None. I just started ninja school three days ago."
Kisame's smile faded from his lips.
"I spoke too soon. You are of no use to our group if you aren't even a ninja."
"But I will be."
"Deniizu, think," Itachi said, speaking up, "The academy's exam is in less than a month. Are you saying you're that quick of a learner?"
"I am," Deniizu nodded stubbornly, crossing her arms, "Show me any basic jutsu or move and I'll do it right in the first try."
"...How many basics do you know, Deniizu of the Tea Village?" Kisame asked, "If I recall, you only used the Art of Substition. A one trick ninja, are you?"
I haven't been concentrating...Kisame kicked himself mentally, She has great potential, but still...
"Like I said, I started school three days ago."
"Show her a small genjutsu," Kisame said to Itachi, "Let's see if she catches on as quickly as she says."
Deniizu saw something flickering in the corner of her eye, but, turning her head quickly, she saw nothing. Now the flicker was in the other side of her eyes...but again, nothing.
How does this work? Deniizu thought, realizing that the flicker was the illusion, It must be something about creating chakra disturbances around the eyes.
Concentrating, she tried it with Kisame, who turned his head to the left as she did so.
"Perfect," Itachi said softly, with a small quirk on his lips.
"That was truly her, Itachi?" Kisame asked, and the former nodded.
The Mist missing-nin, however, was not yet satisfied. He made Deniizu repeat the genjutsu several times, ordering her to change the colour or size of the blur to ensure that she had mastered it completely.
"Well, well," Kisame said, "You will be a valuable asset."
Suddenly, both missing-nins stiffened.
"Itachi, take the girl. I'll gather the camp," Kisame said brusquely.
The man turned back to the tents and fire, while Itachi stepped to stand close in front of Deniizu. Making a seal with his hands, Deniizu and Itachi dissolved into the night.
I wish I could dissolve...
Michiko leaned against the rail of her balcony, fishing bits of ramen out of a cup using her chopsticks. It was late in the afternoon, though the sun was still up.
Denise, why did you skip tutors and training? We're behind as it is.
The black-haired girl sighed, and went back into the aparment. She threw the disposable cup into a garbage bin, and washed the chopsticks before putting them into their drawer. Michiko dried her hands on a towel, then walked by the door and put her sandals on. Checking to make sure she had her key, she grabbed a large shoulder bag that was neaby, and opened the door. To her surprise, Shino was there, posed as if about to knock.
"Oh! Hi, Shino," Michiko smiled, "I was just leaving."
"I see," Shino said, putting his hands in his pockets, "Are you busy, then?"
"You can come with me, if you want," Michiko offered, stepping outside and locking the door behind her, "Um...do you mind taking care of dogs?"
"You're visiting Kiba?" Shino asked, walking beside her as she headed towards the building's stairs.
She and Kiba are getting to be really close... he thought.
If I didn't know better, I'd say that that question sounded hurt, Michiko thought.
"No...um..." Michiko fiddled with the bag's strap before continuing, "Earlier today, I saw a group of what looked like strays..." her voice trailed off; she looked embarrassed.
"Ah," Shino said.
She's not visiting Kiba. It's ok, then. ...what's gotten into me?
Shino looked over at the girl as they walked down the apartment's steps, and saw the look on her face.
"What are you so shy about?"
"Nothing really...it's just...I was always considered a little odd in my village because of this."
"I thought your village loved you."
"They did...but I was always taking care of some stray animal."
"There's nothing wrong with being a crazy dog lady."
Michiko looked over at Shino, shocked, then realized he was teasing and grinned, pushing him to the side.
"But as for creepy guys who always wear huge trenchcoats, well..."
Shino elbowed Michiko's side as they reached the street. Just gently, so it actually tickled. Michiko laughed softly, then looked around before heading towards the alleyway she had been interested in earlier.
I don't see how these people thought he was creepy in the manga. He's actually really nice.
She has such a protective personality...she was meant to take care of things...I like that.
Entering the alley, Michiko looked behind crates and barrels that were there.
"I don't know if they usually stay here; I only saw them today," Michiko explained.
"I'll help you," Shino said, and walked straight down the alleyway.
He came to a dead end, and saw a box that looked sort of like den to him. Kneeling down and looking inside, he saw four balls of fuzz that were shivering. The one closest to the opening whimpered, and fought to get to the back. Michiko heard the sound and began to kneel by Shino.
"I wouldn't do that," Shino said in a low voice, "There's dirt all over the ground."
"You're kneeling," Michiko said, also in a low voice and continuing to kneel, "Why shouldn't I?"
"For one thing, I'm wearing pants with knees. You, however, are wearing a skirt."
"Why are you looking at my legs?"
"Don't be foolish."
Michiko looked at Shino. The boy was looking back at her, and she thought the corners of his eyes were crinkled, as if-
"Are you smiling? I can't tell."
The boy shook his head (his eyes looking the same) and turned back to the puppies.
"Are you going to take care of these, or what?"
This time Michiko shook her head and put her bag on the ground beside her. She crouched forward so her face was at dog-level, and whispered to the pups in the box.
"Hey...it's ok...come on out...we won't hurt you...there's a good dog."
One of the puppies, a black dog, had crept out of the box slowly, and was sniffing Michiko's nose. She sniffed it back, then slowly brought her hands up front. She let the puppy sniff those, then gently petted it.
"I've got food for you and your family," Michiko whispered, reaching into her bag with one hand while still petting the puppy.
Eventually two others came out, and Michiko fed them bits of puppy food that she'd bought earlier. Shino watched silently, keeping an eye on the end of the alley.
"They're so skinny," Michiko said softly, "Look, Shino, you can see their bones."
"I see," Shino said.
Not all of his mind was on the girl beside him; something was nagging at him. A fly that buzzed by suddenly warned him of something coming.
"Michiko, I think something's going to be here very soon; something dangerous."
"What do you mean?" Michiko asked, putting the pups into her bag after coaxing the fourth one out of the box.
"I mean we should leave now. And what're you doing with those dogs?"
Shino got to his feet and faced the entrance of the alleyway.
"They don't have a mother anymore so I'm taking them home."
"So you speak dog now?" Shino asked in a low voice, helping the girl to her feet, "How do you know some angry female isn't going to come soon?"
"Oh, come on! They're all so thin. If they had a mother, she would have fed them. It can't be because of a shortage of food. Look at all the garbage in this alley; she would've been able to find them something," Michiko explained, carefully putting the bag on her shoulder, "And how do you know something's coming?"
"I...it's complicated," Shino said, taking her elbow and hurrying her towards the end of the alley.
"I'll probably be able to understand it," Michiko said, "Explain. And stop pulling, you're hurting me!"
Michiko jerked her arm, trying to get it out of Shino's grasp, but he held on tight. Moving like that shook the bag a little, and Michiko heard a muffled yelp. She tried to look inside it, but she needed another arm.
"Could you let go?" Michiko asked, pulling Shino to a stop.
"Listen. We have to get out of here."
"You're pulling my arm out of its socket, just let go!"
"As soon as we're back at your place, I will. Now come on!"
Shino started dragging her by the arm again, and Michiko followed sullenly.
"I don't see what the rush is."
"Trust me, something is coming."
"Correction, something has come."
Both Shino and Michiko stopped in their place. They recognized that voice. (A/N: And no, someone in a cape did not appear, nor did lightning flash in the background.)
"Deniizu!"
Michiko turned around and hugged her friend.
"What's new?"
"Oh, nothing much," Deniizu waved the question off.
Both Michiko and Shino realized she was carrying a large bag, and someone was behind her.
"A big bag of Pocky. Hm," Michiko grinned after looking in the bag.
"A big bag of puppies. Hm," Deniizu grinned, looking into Michiko's bag.
"And Itachi. You must have had an eventful day," Michiko said, and added, waving to Itachi, "Hi, I'm Michiko."
Itachi merely stared at her, and not in a friendly manner.
"Right," Michiko looked down immediately.
Shino saw how Itachi's glare had affected Michiko, so he stepped behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
"And you have Shino. You were busy too," Deniizu said, and nodded to Shino, "Yo."
Shino didn't bother even glancing at her; he focused on Michiko.
"Ok..." Deniizu narrowed her eyes at him, "So Michiko. What did you do today?"
"Well, I learned a new technique; the Kage Bunshin. I'll show you how when we get home."
"I learned a minor genjutsu; it makes your opponent think they're seeing something in the corner of their eyes."
"Cool. You have to teach me that. I also got a job today."
"That's good. Where do you work?"
The girls usually went over their days with each other like this; though it seems like they're fighting, they're actually just really glad to see each other.
"Manga store. Oh, and I know why you didn't get the position there; you kept reading stuff and they don't like that."
"Right. Well, Itachi and I went around neighbouring villages...and we got Pocky."
"That's always good. By the way, I have two scrolls worth of information to show you on calculating the trajectory of shuriken, as well as the best ways to choose weapons."
"Homework. Great. Kakashi was stalking Itachi and me today, so I got a lot of evasion training."
"Speaking of which," Itachi suddenly spoke up, "Deniizu, I'm leaving now. I can sense that jounin nearby."
"Ok, I'll see you then," Deniizu said, turning around.
She didn't realize that Itachi had been standing quite close behind her. As she turned, Itachi reached out with one hand and gently touched her cheek. She froze, and their eyes met. After a moment (Was that hesitation? Michiko thought), Itachi leaned forward and kissed her other cheek. Deniizu felt heat going to her face, and then their eyes met again.
"I'm leaving too," Michiko said in a high voice, and spun around to speedwalk to the apartment.
Shino followed Michiko, avoiding looking at the embracing couple. They walked in a comfortable silence for a bit; both idly noted that the sun was going down. Shino escorted Michiko the whole way to her apartment, and waited with her while she looked for her housekey.
"Thanks for coming with me; you didn't have to," Michiko said, unlocking the door.
"I know. I wanted to," Shino said in a quiet voice.
Putting the bag down from her shoulder onto the floor, Michiko turned her head to look at Shino. His voice...she liked that tone of his. Smiling at him, she tried to make a dramatic entrance into her house, but doing so while not watching where she was going was not the best idea. She tripped in the doorway, but he caught her before she fell. He held her around her waist, and she had instinctively held his shoulders as she fell.
"Careful," Shino whispered.
He helped her stand properly, still supporting her by her waist, and their foreheads accidentally collided.
"Sorry," Shino murmered, spots of colour appearing on his cheeks.
"It's ok," Michiko laughed softly, rubbing her forehead.
They were quite close to each other; both thought about the other couple a few blocks away. They're eyes seemed locked on each other; neither seemed able to turn away. Without really thinking, Shino leaned forward.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Deniizu said in a too-loud voice.
Michiko looked up and Shino turned, then both pushed away from each other; the green-eyed girl was just coming up from the stairs. Knowing exactly what she was butting into, Deniizu decided she should take charge of things.
"Hey, Shino. Thanks for taking care of Michiko; I'm sure she appreciates it," Deniizu said, walking swiftly and pushing Michiko further into the apartment as she walked in herself, "Well, we've got homework, so we're busy now. Bye!"
Deniizu slammed the door in Shino's face; the noise caused the forgotten puppies in Michiko's bag to yelp.
"Oo, the puppies really don't like that bag," Deniizu said, throwing her bag of Pocky onto the counter and kneeling by Michiko's bag to look inside.
"I don't know whether to thank you, or kick you really, really hard," Michiko said, almost casually.
"I know, I know, that was a private moment," Deniizu said, as Michiko knelt beside her and moved the puppies into a cardboard box lined with a blanket, "But you wanted out. You were scared."
"Yeah," Michiko nodded sadly, scratching a grey puppy under the chin before putting it into the box, "It just...so...weird..."
Michiko moved the box of puppies into the room where she and Deniizu slept, and then walked onto the balcony as Deniizu followed. She leaned on the rail and sighed.
"You're still scared," Deniizu said, leaning on the rail beside her.
"I'm a careful person," Michiko said, chuckling bitterly.
"What, you believe everything your mother says from 'boys are wolves' to 'you're useless, get out of my way'?"
"Better safe than sorry," Michelle pointed out.
Denise tsked, "I say give Shino a chance. He isn't that bad, I don't think."
"I know...but..." Michelle took a deep breath and shook her head, "But I will give him a chance. When we're both older. Speaking of older," Michelle leaned on the rail with one elbow, facing Denise, "You've been macking with a missing-nin."
"Oh fine, change the subject," Denise rolled her eyes, but she was grinning.
"So? How was it? Huh? Huh?" with each question, Michelle poked Denise in a ticklish spot on her stomach.
"Cut that out," Denise said, pushing Michelle's hand away, "...It was good."
"Oh? Oo, someone's got a badboy boyfriend," Michelle laughed, tickling Denise, "Was he really aggressive, or did he let you lead?"
"He led, but...gently. You know...we're taking it slow," Denise answered, laughing, and tickled Michelle.
"So it's official now?"
"No shit!"
Michelle teased Denise, and all the while they had a poking and tickling fight; the kind that two good friends have. Michelle, though, was much more ticklish that Denise; she lost her balance leaning backwards on the rail while laughing.
"Oh shoot, Denise!" Michelle yelled, toppling backwards.
She fell off, and Denise managed to catch her ankle with one hand.
"Whoa, Michelle!"
Michelle tried to start a Kage Bunshin to help her get back onto the balcony, but then Denise's foot slipped on the balcony floor.
"Oh, crap!"
Denise jumped foreward, grabbing at Michelle, who was free falling now. She misjudged how far to jump and found herself teetering on the edge of the banister, balanced on her stomach. Looking down, she saw Michiko falling head first; Deniizu knew that no-one could survive a drop from the fifth floor like that. Taking one more desperate snatch at her friend, she realized that now she was falling too.
"Try your telekinesis!" Michiko yelled, desperately trying to finish her Kage Bunshin.
"I'm trying!" Deniizu yelled back, and she was. But she couldn't concentrate properly.
Ten seconds...eleven...both girls closed their eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
Twelve seconds...thirteen...fourteen...one minute passed, then another.
Why isn't anything happening? both girls thought.
Deniizu opened one eye, then the other.
No way...she thought.
"Michelle, open your eyes," she said, reaching over to where her friend was and shaking her by the shoulder.
Michelle opened the eye closest to Denise first, then sat bolt upright with both eyes wide. She and Denise were in a tree. A tree in a greenhouse. A tree in a greenhouse with a stream of water flowing around its base in a circle.
Both girls stared around, then at each other for a second, then jumped down the tree as one and ran out the greenhouse's doors. Feeling their backpacks suddenly on their shoulders didn't surprise them as much as it might have earlier; the sight they faced before them was the bigger shock.
"We're back," Denise whispered.
A/N: Hah! Bet you thought they would die! Or stay in the world of Naruto forever! ...or you could see the portal thing a mile off...whatever, just post a review!