A few minutes later, I was walking down the street for the first time. Fortunately, I had gotten a chance to change into clean clothes. Instead of the wrinkled blue kimono, I wore a light blue, sleeveless kimono-like top over a short-sleeved fishnet shirt. I also wore a long green skirt made from a shimmery material, and it was split down the side to allow for easier movement, with black pants underneath. I buckled a short, double-edged sword at my waist, and around my forehead was a headband similar to the others', except it had the symbol for what Tsunade had told me was the Hidden Mist Village, where I was apparently from. I had also managed to brush my hair and tied it together at the ends with a black satin ribbon.

But I was not alone. I was with the people I had met earlier, whose names I had learned were Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and their masked sensei Hatake Kakashi. If only I could introduce myself as easily.

While the others chatted, I walked in silence, thinking. It was sort of hard to do, though, since I was having difficulty blocking out Naruto's loud voice.

"And then, as we were leaving, remember how Sasuke was all spastic?" he said, laughing. "Just because he pictured Kakashi-sensei as a beaver! Ha! Who would've expected the great Uchiha to be scared of a rodent? But then again, it's not so hard to imagine, would it? What about you, Nee-chan? Do you find that hard to believe?" When no one responded, Naruto raised his voice. "Oi, Nee-chan, are you even listening? Helllooo, anyone there?"

I then realized that "Nee-chan" referred to me. I looked up and saw Naruto, grinning at his own story, and behind him were Sakura and Sasuke, both looking like they were about to beat Naruto to a pulp.

I was at a loss on how to reply, since I hadn't been paying attention at all, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. "Oh, um…that's…very, erm—interesting, Naruto-kun…"

Sakura sighed. "You know Naruto, she wasn't even listening."

Naruto's face fell. "You weren't?"

Again, I didn't know how to reply. "Actually, no I wasn't, sorry. I just have a lot of things on my mind is all."

Naruto was silent for a moment, but then he suddenly grinned widely. "It's okay, Nee-chan! I'll leave you alone for a while so you can think." He went marching ahead of us, almost too happily.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a large clearing in what looked like a sort of park. Looking around, I noticed that there were three upright logs nearby, and also a stone that looked like some sort of monument. Kakashi stood in front of us, hands in his pockets.

"All right," he said, "We're going to try to disarm you, to see if you have any strong defensive jutsus of any sort. Now Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, you three try to hide. Everyone ready? On three, then. One…"

I looked around. Naruto gulped, looking nervous and glancing slightly in my direction; Sakura stared determinedly ahead; and Sasuke remained expressionless.

"Two..."

I gripped the hilt of my sword until my knuckles were as white as my face.

"...Three."

The four of them vanished instantly, perfectly hidden in the surrounding forest. Well, almost perfectly...you see, I already knew where they were.

I smirked, relaxing. I could sense their presences around me...Kakashi in the trees nearby, reading a strange orange book; Sakura behind a cluster of rocks; Sasuke in some underbrush near Sakura, circling around to sneak up behind me...

...and Naruto was in plain view, right in front of me.

"All right Nee-chan!" he shouted. "Even if I might accidentally hurt you, I'm gonna help you remember! And I'm not going easy on you just 'cause you're a girl! Now here I come! Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Ten of Naruto's copies then appeared and started running in my direction. I searched for an opening, glancing between the doppelgangers, trying to find the real Naruto, but no luck. So I just stuck out my foot and tripped the nearest one, sending him crashing to the ground. I continued like this, tripping, punching, and pretty much just beating up the shadow clones. Within a few moments moment, all of the bunshins disappeared, and Naruto lied facedown in the dirt.

"Sorry Naruto," I whispered. But then, I sensed another presence behind me.

Sakura held back a gasp to avoid giving away her location. She had never seen anything like it; Sasuke had snuck up behind the girl while she was preoccupied with Naruto, but she had whirled around, drew her sword, and deflected all of Sasuke's weapons, all in one motion. Not only that. Sasuke had shown a momentary flicker of fear in his eyes.

Hmmmm, very interesting, Kakashi thought, turning to the next page of Itcha Itcha Paradise. I wonder what'll happen next. With Naruto out cold, there's no telling what could happen.