Ryu: Ha ha!! 'Tis time!
Mech: Why am I all of the sudden very, very worried?
Gaara: Leans to Mech Because you should be.
Flonne: She still reminds me of someone.
Etna: Me, perhaps?
Flonne: Etna!! Where'd you come from?
Etna: I'm one of Ryu's muses.
Ryu: Silence! The fan fic will now...begin...
Chapter 7: New Discoveries
A week after my transformation to my now 'cuddly' state, Nami awoke. My mom let me know as soon as she did, since I'd been wanting to talk to her, but said I couldn't go see her for a couple of days. After breakfast on the first day I could, since there was no training that day, I decided to go to the hospital. As I ran down the street, people parted. I'd like to say it was because they saw I was in a hurry and were being nice, but lying isn't one of the things I believe in. I'd had a week to get used to this though, so it didn't bother me so much.
Arriving at the hospital, I saw Ikari and had to stop. He was standing up, leaning against the wall, fast asleep. He had been keeping vigilant watch over Nami, but it apparently had caught up with him. Trying not to wake him, I slipped by him into Nami's room. What I saw nearly took my breath away.
The window next to Nami's bed was open and she was kneeling out of it. Being four stories up, the first thing that crossed my mind took over.
"No, Nami! Don't do it!" I shouted, running towards the window.
Nami started slightly and turned to me. Her Byakugan was active, and she looked livid.
"Damn it, Riso, shhh." She came from the window and looked out the door. My shout hadn't alerted anyone, so she shut the door and looked at me.
I realized that this was the first time that she'd seen my transformation, so I waited for her reaction. She tilted her head and circled me, Byakugan still going, then looked at me and turned it off.
"Well, a bit sooner than I would have thought, but I suppose the stress would have affected it a little." She moved to me and hugged me. "I'm sorry."
A bit surprised at her reaction, I stood still for a moment, speechless. After a few seconds, I found my voice. "Huh? You knew about this?"
Nami sighed and sat on her bed. I moved over and sat on the one I'd occupied only a week and a half earlier. "In a way. You know that dad's really worried about me being out on my own, right?" I nodded. It was common knowledge. "Well, there's a reason for that. I have a strange, slightly more powerful version of the Byakugan. I can not only see chakra and chakra points that are used, I can see other chakra. Hidden chakra. I've seen yours since you were born. That's why I was chosen to be your guardian from the Branch family. I was the only one who could see what you had within you." She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry for not telling you, but Uncle Naruto didn't want you to know. Mind you, I don't think he ever thought you would meld."
Stunned by this news, I sat for a moment, thinking. So, mom and dad knew about me having this within me. Not too surprising, since dad was a demon vessel himself. But the knowledge that Nami had known struck me. That's why she was always more worried about me rather than herself. She knew what I was capable of. Well, it was time to turn the tables. Now that I knew what her Byakugan was capable of, I knew she could never fall into enemy hands. Suddenly, I remembered what I had caught her in the middle of doing. A chill ran down my spine and I looked at her. "Nami, why were you trying to commit suicide? If you're worried about being captured, don't. Ikari and I won't let anything happen to you."
She tilted her head, looking at me with stunned surprise, then burst out laughing. "I wasn't commiting suicide. I was trying to escape."
I frowned, now confused. "Escape? From who?"
She looked at me, still giggling. "From the hospital. They won't let me leave, and I'm going crazy. I can't train, I can't leave, I can't even go for a simple walk without someone there, trying to hold me up like I'm some sort of invalid. It's getting on my nerves. So, I was trying to leave."
I looked at her, and started laughing too. After a few seconds, I became serious again. "Nami, you still aren't completely healed." I looked to the bandages still on her wrists and throat. "If you try and train like this, you'll just end up right back here for longer." I smiled at her. "Besides, you aren't missing anything. There's been no jobs to do since we got back."
Nami sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just want to train more." She whipped out a senbon out of her hair and, without even looking, pinned a fly to the wall. My eyes widened.
"Um, Nami. I think you'll be just fine when you get out." My eyes were still stuck to the fly attached to the wall. She looked over at it and laughed at my reaction.
"Yeah, well. I've had nothing to do but improve my target practice. Irritates the heck out of the med staff though." She smiled. "Especially when I hit their equipment while they're still holding it."
I laughed with Nami, then looked at her. "Promise me you'll stay until they let you out?"
She sighed and dropped her head. "Yeah, I suppose." Her violet-white eyes showed between her hair. "I'm not gonna like it though."
I laughed, then took my leave. I wanted to get in a bit of solo training before the day was out. As I was leaving, a kunai with a note on it hit the ground directly between my feet. I looked at it, startled, then grabbed the note and read it.
Riso,
One last thing. Please, PLEASE, bring me something decent to eat. The food here's terrible!
I looked up at the window and saw Nami there, looking out at me, and for a second, I realized that she looked caged and alone. I shook the thought from my head, waved my understanding, and took off to home.
END: Chapter 7: New Discoveries
Ryu: Ah, there we go. A decent sized chapter with some interesting information.
Mech: And, tell me again, why are you working on this instead of one of yours?
Ryu: Mine aren't on this computer, silly.
Gaara: She just doesn't want to admit she has no idea what to do next.
Ryu: Dammit, Gaara! Do you want them to kill me? Hides in Gaara's gourd
Gaara: Hey, get out of there!
Flonne: Oh! Hide and seek! I want to play.
Mitsune: Um, Flonne.
Squall: Can there ever be any quiet around here?
Ryu: Pokes her head out of the gourd and looks to Mech Have you realized something? It's kinda crowded with you, me and all our muses in here.
Mech: Looks around Now that you mention it.
Etna: Ah, don't worry about it. I can just kill Flonne.
Flonne: What? Me?
Mech: No. She's my muse. Ryu, rein in your muse, please.
Kyo: Um, I can leave...please... Inches toward the door
Gaara: Oh, no you don't. Grabs Kyo with sand If I'm stuck here, so are you.
Mech: Well...um...anyway, Please review! .