Holy Jashin-sama! I've had a long day! I was at a fencing tournament all morning. Yep, fencing. With the swords. It makes me feel powerful! I did pretty well, if you're wondering.

Okay, thank you glustora and YukoxxxIchikawa for your awesome reviews. They were… awesome! Thank you to everyone who fav'd this story and put it on alert.

As promised, there is action and sacrificing in this chapter! Enjoy, lovelies!

Chapter Three! Rainbow Bridge

Disclaimer! I own a ball-point pen named Fred. I do not, however, own Naruto.

xXxItaly's POVxXx

I leaned back in the grass of the clearing. The sunshine felt nice. I looked up to see a powdery blue sky with white wisps of cloud dotted here and there. Leaves blew about the clearing. I gave up trying to figure out why perfectly healthy leaves were blown around at emotional and/or calm moments.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. It had long since reverted back to its old wavy self; straitening irons only work for so long.

Anyway, it had been three days since we got here. It was… July 7th, I think. Phoebe had been training Colette and I nearly non-stop for the past three days. In that time, I got the hang of the clone jutsu, the substitution jutsu, somewhat understood the henge, and vaguely grasped the concept of the rope escape jutsu. Colette had these jutsus down better than me, especially the rope technique, due to her superior chakra control.

For some Jashin-damned reason, ropes decided they just would not let me go. They either absolutely adored me and wanted to give me a hug forever or they absolutely abhorred me and wanted to keep me from moving forever. Whichever it was, they would not work for me. Phoebe said it was "incredibly peculiar" for that to happen since I had defiantly above average chakra control. She theorized that the goddess of ropes smote me.

Yeah, rope is controlled by a goddess. I was surprised, too. According to Phoebe her name is Ruth and she has a big butt. The details that dog gives me…

Phoebe had decided it was time to train the two of us with "real" ninja weapons (i.e. shuriken, kunai, and senbon). I could use a bow and arrow pretty well, but apparently a bow was classified as a "fake" weapon.

Just about 5 minutes ago, Phoebe left us in the clearing to fend for ourselves. She left us with a, "Well, ladies, I'm gonna fetch us some real weapons for you to learn how to use. I trust that you can fend for yourselves for a couple of hours without getting yourselves raped or mugged?"

Phoebe still disturbed me with her newfound skill of talking; it wasn't exactly the talking itself that bothered me, but what she says with the ability. I really didn't think the beloved family dog could be so… bitter.

"Hello, Italy-chan!" chirped Colette from the edge of the large clearing. She had a random bouquet of flowers in her hand. She ran up to me and sat next to me by the stream. She stuck her feet in the shallow stream and splashed the clear water a bit.

"Well, hello there, Colette-chan," I said. Colette smiled at me and started ripping the petals of the flowers off. "Uh…"

Colette giggled and threw a handful of pink flower petals in the air, "It's windy; I like to watch the petals blow around."

I sweatdropped. Colette never ceased to amaze me with her… quirks no matter how well I knew her.

We sat by the stream for a good hour or two in comfortable silence just enjoying the perfect weather. It was warm out, but there was a cool breeze which carried the nice, fresh forest smell and peals of birdsong on it. I watched a bright red dragonfly hover over the stream. It was pretty, so red…

Colette, for once, broke the pleasant silence. She looked up from the stream and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What, Italy? I didn't quite catch that."

"Huh?" I responded cleverly.

"You said something, and I didn't hear what you said," Colette explained.

"Oh," I said.

"So what did you say?" Colette pressed.

"Oh! I didn't say anything! Sure your hallucinations aren't just acting up again?" I said.

"Yes," Colette huffed and turned her attention back to the stream. She gasped, "There it is again!"

"Where's what again?" I asked.

"That sound! At first I thought it was you talking, but…" Colette suddenly turned around, but a bit too late. "Holy Jashin-sama!" she screamed then disappeared.

"Colette!" I shrieked and jumped up to face whatever the hell just snatched her. I turned around to face ten of the ugliest men I have ever had the… misfortune… to look upon. They all sneered at me at the same time as if they'd trained to sneer simultaneously. One of the -thankfully less atrocious- men had her slung over his shoulder like she was a rag doll, and that was saying something since Colette was 5'7 or so.

Once the ten were done with sneering at me, three stepped up, drawing their rusty blades. The smallest of the trio who still was a good 6 feet tall said in a ridiculously high pitch voice, "We'll get this one, boss!"

The other two men who had stepped up nodded while the other seven left took off to the… east. I'd have to remember that after I finished with these three thugs!

I put a cocky smirk on my face as I slipped into a battle ready position. I wasn't that confident, really, but I wouldn't let them know that. I wasn't going to let these thugs win either, ninja or not, but I was pretty sure they were ninja.

The fat, bald man to the left of the short one suddenly lunged at me, a feral snarl escaping his lips. I quite easily sidestepped the obvious, slow attack, but he turned on his heal to face me just as easily. He brought the blade down in another wide ark and impaled it about an inch into the rock where I just stood moments earlier.

"Hey, Etsuo, you ain't supposed to kill her!" the short one exclaimed.

Etsuo laughed while forcing the blade from the rock, "Sorry, Hideo."

I jumped away from the stream, knowing I could not yet walk on water. I was trying to gather my thoughts and form a plan while the short one, Hideo, lunged at me, sword drawn. I sidestepped it as easily as I had Etsuo's attack and sent a roundhouse kick at the shortest man.

Hideo skidded over the grass and onto the stream. He didn't sink into the stream, so my suspicions were confirmed; the three were ninjas!

The tallest of the three, a skinny man whose face I couldn't see due to a hood casting a shadow over his face, finally made a move, a rather clumsy move, but a move nonetheless. He ran straight for me, stumbling a bit over his feet. When he got right in front of me, he tripped a bit, giving me enough time to slip behind him.

The tall man whipped around, sword leading him. I barely dodged in time. In fact, the sword caught my shirt and ripped it a bit. "Hey!" I cried. "I thought you were trying to keep me alive!"

"We are, little girl," said someone from right behind me. I felt, and sadly smelt, his warm, nasty breath on my neck. I narrowed my eyes and adjusted my posture, now on pissed off mode. He called me short, –well I am, I'm 5'3- and he molested my personal bubble.

I'll let you in on a little secret. My personal bubble is like the average person: it doesn't like being molested by strangers. Now when this happens, it usually sends me on pissed of mode. Now, in pissed off mode I'm capable of things only above average ninjas are capable of such as what I just did.

Now at this man's, Hideo I guessed from the squeaky voice, closeness to me I twitched and squeaked, "Personal bubble." Then, with a snarl, I grabbed his arm and swung him in a circle over my head. I flung him onto the ground where his tall friend had been standing.

I cruelly jumped onto him, landing on his excessive stomach. "Oh, god! Hideo!" Etsuo cried out. "What're you doing, girl?"

I dug my heel into Hideo's stomach to turn around while I formed some hand seals. I smiled smugly, now behind a tree to the east. I had perfectly executed the substitution jutsu, and I had no intention of staying to see what happened with me as a log, I had to get out of here as soon as I could.

As I began running to the east I calculated that the log me could evade for about five minutes until it ran out of the chakra I had supplied it with. I was pretty good at evasion, so I don't think they'd find out about the substitution anytime soon. My strategy was basically to not be hit and to outlast them. I had impressive stamina from my competitiveness with marathons. Colette and I were more or less tied: she could run faster but I could run longer.

I ran for only about three minutes before the unthinkable happened: ambush. Yep, six of the thugs jumped me while I was jumping over a log.

Now you're probably expecting for me to have done some epic roundhouse kick and knocked them all out or whatever, but the problem in that these thugs were ninja and that ninjas are quiet. Me not being a ninja meant that I still had normal person senses and wasn't exactly able to detect the attack beforehand.

I don't quite remember reaching the ground after I hopped into the air. I'm guessing some guy's fist connected with my head, knocking me out, before my body connected with the ground…

xXxPhoebe's POVxXx

I came back to the clearing where I was sure I had left my girls. I had left them for about two hours and they were not in the clearing where I told them specifically to stay. They weren't there, so I scanned the surrounding are for them. There was absolutely no trace of them.

There was, however, trace of a battle.

I dropped the scroll of weapon I had… obtained… between two rocks so no one else would come around to steal them. I sighed, exasperated, and began to search for traces of chakra.

I sensed some of Italy's chakra on the ground. There was just a small amount, so it must have been a weak jutsu. I chastised myself, Of course Italy preformed a weak jutsu! Those are the only type she can perform!

I sighed, catching a bit more of Italy's chakra to the east. I reasoned that she must have preformed a substitution jutsu, seeing as any teleportation jutsu was a bit out of her league. I went over to the second patch of chakra and followed her scent. Every time! I thought.

xXxBack to ItalyxXx

I opened my eyes, not quite sure why they were closed to begin with. My eyes were privileged by the beautiful sight of a cave wall. I stared at it blankly and slowly recalled the events of today: Phoebe leaving for a while, the thug attack, and of course the bloody rope goddess Ruth.

I listened for the sign of the aforementioned thugs. All I heard was the slow crackle of fire, the faint rush of a violent wind, and the constant hum of crickets. I closed my eyes, hearing someone shift. This made me notice the itchy pressure around my wrists.

Is it? I opened my eyes and strained them to look at my wrists. I had to suppress a gasp. It is! Yes, my mortal enemy was wrapped around my wrist. No, not Ruth, but her disgusting minions: rope.

I think I just found another thing that forces me into pissed off mode. That would be contact with rope. Yep, within five minutes of being conscious, I was already pissed. That more or less summed up all of my morning, though, but I was pretty sure that this wasn't morning.

In one smooth motion, I flipped onto my other side, regretting it slightly due to a rock jabbing my sensitive side. I ignored the pain and scanned my surroundings.

I confirmed that I was in a small cave, that there was a fire, and that it was night time. Eight of the thugs were sleeping around a fire. The man on guard duty was the tallest man who stayed behind to fight me whose name I didn't quite catch. He was crouching by the mouth of the cave.

I could see a waning gibbous moon suspended in all of its celestial glory. A ring of stars I couldn't name surrounded it like a halo.

Something finally clicked. My head was not throbbing like all the other times it has when I'd been knocked out. Besides for the rock in my side I felt fine.

The tall man said, "You were given a drug if you're wondering."

I snapped back, in pissed off mode because of contact with rope, "Then why'd you have tied me up with a bloody rope!"

"Precautions," he responded coolly, not even flinching from my harsh tone.

I snarled and started thrashing around, determined to free myself of these damned ropes.

"That won't work, those ropes suppress chakra," he said. I don't know much about guarding, but I'm pretty sure he was doing a pretty bad job at it.

I thrashed even more, feeling the ropes slacken the slightest bit. I hissed, "I don't need any Jashin-damned chakra!"

"Why yes you do," he retorted. "You'd die without it."

I gave another vicious snarl, "You don't know anything!"

Okay, I have discovered that these thugs are failures at kidnapping. To begin with, they can't keep a girl drugged. Well, they didn't entirely fail that since they probably kept me out for about five hours. Anyway, they can't tie a decent knot. That in itself isn't an issue. However, if it's paired with a crappy guard, it's a definite problem.

Why do I say they can't tie a decent knot? Well, it only took me about seven minutes of flailing around like a dropped fish to loosen the ropes enough to slip (i.e. force) the Jashin-damned objects off my wrist.

"It seems you've figured out that you can't get out," the guard said smugly once I'd gotten the ropes off and stopped flailing around like a diseased squirrel.

"Whatever," I snorted, the ropely contact still having me worked up. I stood up as quietly as I could. I grabbed the rock that was shanking my side. It was quite a large stone, perfect for my intention. I slunk over to the guard. I giggled lightly, making the guard whip around a bit too late, "Jashin-sama, I hope you like this!"

The guard could only gasp as I smashed the rock onto his skull. A crack went up the rock. Yeah, I had muscle. Anyway, my sacrifice screamed a bit before I got him with my rock, successfully waking the rest of the cave.

I was ashamed that these men were called ninja. The guard didn't even have quick enough reactions to dodge the rock, and the rest weren't woken by my flailing. Jashin-sama won't be pleased, I thought.

Anyway, I don't want to go into detail about the other eight. I'm a bit ashamed of my rash, violent actions now that I look back on it, but I'd never tell Jashin-sama about that.

At the moment, I was sitting on the edge of the cliff the cave opened onto, looking over the vista. It was a very pleasant view; the top of the forest was a deep green with little glowing dots of distant villages spread out here and there. It was almost like the night time sky. I could see a mountain range spread out in front of me, lumps of trees crawling up them. The sky was fading to grey. Rosy streaks appeared between two mountains. I could see the tip of the sun poking above a valley, throwing streaks of light over the top of the forest. Overall, it was a breathtaking view.

Honestly, I felt remorse for those thugs I just sacrificed, but I knew I would have to suck it up soon. One of the thugs had left the group, my Colette with him. That meant I would have to find her and Phoebe. I had no idea where I was in this world, and I had only seen the map a couple of times.

I sighed. Beside for the need to get my act together to find my sort of sister and dog, I was a Jashinist. I understood that I had been sent to the Naruto universe to get blood for Jashin-sama. I also understood that Jashinism was centered on relentless slaughter, and that remorse was unacceptable if Jashin-sama was to accept me as a follower and keep me in this world for long enough to meet my favorite characters in person.

That made me wonder what part of the plot I was in. Hopefully it was at the beginning so I could meet -and perhaps save- Zabuza and-

My thoughts were interrupted by my rosary humming. I picked the symbol up between my fingers. In the triangle an image began to flicker to life. It was… a mouth?

The mouth began to move, to speak! "Italy-chan?"

"Y-yes?" I managed to get out.

The mouth smirked, "I was wondering when you would get around to sacrificing."

"J-Jashin-sama?" I asked.

The mouth smiled, "Yes. This is the first time you have communicated like this, yes?"

"Yes, Jashin-sama," I said, trying my best not to seem upset.

Jashin's smile dropped a bit, "What is wrong, child? Are you upset about the sacrifices?"

I sighed, "To be honest, I am a bit upset."

"I shall be lenient for the first few sacrifices, but you will have to start acting like a ninja and Jashinist if you wish to survive in this world. I do understand how hard it is on your emotions to kill for the first time, though," Jashin said. It was almost as if he was a father comforting a child, but I didn't know any person in my world who would truly encourage someone to kill.

I looked away from the mouth, recalling harsh memories, "Jashin-sama, I have actually… I've… Ugh!"

Jashin's mouth frowned, "What child."

My eyes flickered to the bright splashes of red in the sunrise. It reminded me a bit too much of blood, of… "I have killed someone before!" I cried out. That's the first time I ever admitted that to someone. The only other person who knew was Colette because she was there.

What happened was that, about a year ago, Colette and I were coming home from an activity that ran late. It was around midnight, and we were stupidly going through the alley behind the local bar. Of course, we happened to stumble upon an idiot who was drunk off his ass roaming back there. He stupidly made a move on Colette, and I gave him a punch in the face in return. I only meant to give him a bloody nose, but I guess some pieces of bone got stuck in his brain. The man collapsed and all I could remember was the blood, Colette checking his pulse, and the blood. I could still hear Colette screaming "You killed him! He was just a sorry bastard out for a drink and you killed him!" I locked myself in my room for about a week after that. Colette still covered up for me, saying I was just PMSing.

I shuttered thinking about it, a little cloud forming over my head. Angst. Angst. Angst…

Jashin started laughing, "Italy-chan! That is absolutely wonderful! I am so proud of you!"

All I could do was sweatdrop. Seriously, I was starting to think of this man as a father figure and… well, yeah…

"Alright, child," Jashin continued. "those were not amazing sacrifices, but they come from a large group that is working to wipe out Jashinism. I want for you to track down the members of this organization, but find Colette first. I am very protective of my children. Anyway, the name of this organization is called 'Nijihashi'. They are a charity organization of mercenary ninja based in the Leaf. I shall more thoroughly inform you of this group once you retrieve Colette."

"Yes, Jashin-sama," I nodded. "Hey, do you know where Colette is exactly."

"Give me a moment," Jashin was silent for a couple of seconds. "Yes, I believe she is in the Village Hidden in the Leaves at the Nijihashi headquarters."

I suppressed a groan. Every OC I read about went to Konoha. But I do want to know where the plot line was…

"Okay," I smiled. "Thank you, Jashin-sama."

"My pleasure, child," He smiled. "It should be about three hours to the west. Phoebe should be able to guide you," I cringed a bit with the edge he said my dog's name. "Just start traveling now and she will catch up you soon."

I smiled a genuine smile, hoping He would be able to see it, "Thank you, Jashin-sama!"

My angst from the sacrifices was starting to fade, if it made Him happy, it made me happy… I think. Oh well, what was done was done.

I left a note for Phoebe on the ground that said "Going to Konoha to fetch Colette. See you soon! " smiley face and all. I was starting to understand why someone might want to destroy this religion. I think I'd do about anything for Jashin and I barely knew him.

I think I've found my god. Maybe If I get Him to like me, He'll destroy Ruth for me…

Maybe, Italy, maybe!

Okay! Another Italy chapter. It'll be all pattern-y and stuff like that, and I think I'll make every fifth chapter Phoebe's POV.

Well, what did you think? It got a bit angst-y at the end for a bit. I tried to make Jashin very fatherly and protective. That's more or less the reason I've got for Him to grant immortality.

Fun Fact: Colette and Italy are tied as the top marathon runner in their state. If you can guess the state they lived in, you get some virtual s'mores!

Okay, so I promised some action and sacrificing in this chapter. Was that enough or do you need some more description or more gore? Just tell me if you have any preferences.

I tried to make Italy not super bi-polar during the whole chat with Jashin thing. I haven't really mentioned it much, except for Colette's hallucinations, but neither of our leading ladies are exactly mentally stable, in essence perfect Jashinists. I'll brush a bit on this later on, and I'll give you some of their past and stuff.

Okay, so Nijihashi means "rainbow bridge" according to Google, so if it isn't exactly right, don't prosecute me or anything. I don't speak Japanese...

So how was the chapter? I'd love you if you would review. Reviews give me the motivation to update more quickly. I didn't have any of these chapters written in advance, and I'm not particularly fast at typing.

I'll probably have the next chapter up tomorrow since it's Labor Day over here in the US of A so no school! Yays! So in honor of Labor Day I will Labor over the keyboard for you guys.

Have a nice day/night/zenith!