In the Land of Lakes, chapter 2 by Shikoo

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides my OC, Sara and the text itself. Really, nothing, not even the spell check: all the glory goes to my beta, kady0000. And I don't make any money out of this (sadly).

A/N: And it's time for the next (long) chapter. Enjoy!

My eyes fluttered open - to the sight of an army of people in my living room. All staring at me. And this is how I thought:

"The living room? When the hell did I get here? As far as I remember, I passed out in the toilet! Why did they carry me to… the sofa? Yes, definitely the sofa. Why? Why carry me to the sofa if they're going to rob me? Logic, please, give me logic! Umm… Maybe they're not thieves at all? Maybe they're just some crazy… Wait. Kami-sama. KAMI-SAMA. They're all REALLY dressed up as Naruto characters! Yes, there's Lee, and Naruto, and Ino… No way. They're some fuckin' cosplayers – crazy ones, too. Maybe… maybe I can talk to them. Try to solve this with diplomacy."

And, as I realized that I had backed against the wall, I opened my mouth and asked: "W-w-who are you?" I was not surprised to find that my voice was trembling. That's my normal reaction, while in presence of unknown people. Though I may have acted brave, inside I was horrified. I've got this mild social phobia, which normally doesn't affect my life that much, but when something like this jumps right in front of your eyes… yeah.

The one who looked like Naruto screamed: "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the Hokage someday! Dattebayo!" Just like the right thing. The Sakura-like one slapped the Naruto-like one. Just like the right thing. And "Sai" smiled his fake smile. Just like the right thing. Hell, those guys really could act! In fact, every single one of the people was like an incarnation of his/her character.

I smiled nervously and said with a sarcastic tone: "Haha. Really funny. Now, your real names, if you'd be so kind?" The whole bunch looked at me like I was the crazy one over here. My heart pounded. "Sakura" was the brave one and stepped forward. "Could you please tell us who you are? It's pretty rude not to introduce yourself, you know." I blinked. So, a crazy cosplayer asked me to tell my name? And to be polite?

"I'm…" I remembered the "Naruto" had introduced himself like a Japanese person. Play along, Sara, play along… "I'm Karikko Sara. And are you in the position to ask me to be polite? You are the one who broke in to my apartment."

"Your apartment? Broke in? No way, we just found ourselves in here! Minutes ago, we were still in Konoha… And those three were in Suna, of course."

And as she'd said, I saw the Sand Siblings amongst them: Gaara with his sand gourd, Temari with her fan and Kankurou with his face paint. Studying the people, I realised that there was the whole Konoha 11, plus Sai and the Sand nin. Someone's got quite a bunch of friends. And quite nice sewing skills, too, I noted. All the clothing was accurate and even the hitai-ite were actual metal and not plastic. I had never seen so good cosplayers! You know, their hair even was real. And their looks were perfect. In fact, too perfect… Something was wrong. As my mind drifted away, an impossible idea formed in my mind. But I'd have to test my theory.

I raised my voice and called: "Hinata-san? Could you please come over here?" The girl nodded slightly and came to me, looking surprised. I fixed my gaze on her eyes. Entirely blank. And no sign of contacts. Now this was scary. My brains tried to find logic in this all, without success. This was just the same as those fics, where the Naruto cast arrives and chaos ensues. I really did have a kind of deja vu feeling. Now there was just one test left: the final one. And, my words just a little more than a whisper, I asked: "Hinata-san? Could you now activate your byakugan?"

She hesitated a little, probably considering if I was crazy or something. But then she brought one finger to her lips and said "Byakugan!" And, as I'd thought, it was true. The eyes were fearsome, creepy even. And only thinking about their abilities sent shivers down your spine. But I didn't faint because of fear, or for the fact that it all was true. I fainted because of overwhelming joy.

Byakugan was always my favourite kekkei genkai, after all.

For the third time the morning, I had to force my eyes open. I was again lying on the sofa, and as I opened my eyes, a bolt of pain struck through my head. I must have groaned pretty loudly, because Sakura was immediately by my side. "Where does it hurt?" she asked with that doctor… no, medic voice. I pointed at my head and watched as her hands lit with a light blue glow. She raised them on my forehead and the pain disappeared. I grinned faintly. "Healing hands, huh? Thank you, Sakura… Sakura-san, right?" She nodded and helped me on my feet.

I stared at the sight before my eyes: fifteen young ninjas, battle-ready and dangerous. The thought made my knees tremble. And I was the only one who could help them here - me, mentally unstable high school student. I had to. They wouldn't survive here. So I sighed and said my first untrembling words today: "My name is Karikko Sara and for some, unknown and possibly odd reason, you're in Finland."

This raised a chatter amongst the nin. They all talked at the same time, which made my head ache. "Shuddup! I'm the one in command for now, and you bunch listen to me! Questions are asked one at a time by raising your hand and waiting for your turn to speak!" I shouted to my audience. Everyone except Naruto shut up. He became quiet, too, when Sakura glared at him in a way which would have made Sasuke jealous.

"As I said, you're in Finland. You wouldn't know what it is. Finland is a country, a bit like the Fire or the Wind countries, but we don't have any shinobi nor do we have a daimyo as a leader. Finland is not in your world, so somehow you bunch have switched dimensions or something. And somehow you speak Finnish, too. Around here, you are fictional characters in some books, really famous and liked, that's why I knew who you were. I have no idea why you met me, or why you are here. And I don't know if you can get back. I would really like to know the name of the bastard who shoved you to this world, because its such… troublesome."

Author-san sneezed in her writing corner. Loudly. "Someone must be talking about me…"

"So, any questions?" I asked almost cheerfully. A few hands shot up. I picked Kiba, who seemed to have something important to ask. I was pretty right. "WHERE'S AKAMARU! HAVE YOU HIDDEN HIM SOMEWHERE?" Huh, the guy really does care about his dog, I thought. "Calm down Kiba, I have no idea where Akamaru is. I suppose he was left behind by the one who brought you here. (Author-san sneezed again. "This must be the pollen. Yes, definitely the pollen.") I'm really sorry for him." Then something popped to my mind. "What was happening in Konoha when you left?"

Sakura, who had become a bit like my second-hand, answered for everyone: "We were in our villages. A bit of free time in between missions, you know. This last one was really hard. We had to rescue Gaara-san", at this point she pointed at the corner where Gaara stood observing us,"from the Akatsuki guys." Well, this sure is interesting, I thought. They were this far backwards in time… I couldn't say if I liked it or not. "I see the mission was a success. I am most pleased to meet you, Kazekage-sama", I said, turning and bowing to the Suna nin. He nodded briefly in acknowledgement and continued observing. Sakura continued: "We met Sai just a few hours ago. We should be heading on our next mission right now, you know." So that's where they are…

"Any more questions?" Again the same hands; this time I picked Chouji. As presumed, he asked: "When will we eat? Do they have any barbeque around here?" Naruto joined in: "I want ramen-ttebayo!" I reassured them we would be eating soon, but told that we wouldn't be having any barbeque or ramen. I also told that they would be living at my place until things sort out. It was kinda cool to have anime characters in your house.

"Then, if we're all ready, let us go and find you some clothes!" The shinobi just stared at me. "Aww… Come on, you can't walk around in your ninja clothes! You'll have to look ordinary if you don't want to draw attention to yourselves. You know, I've even got some men's clothes of my dad's, so you'll do fine!" Sighing, the bunch followed me upstairs. Looking at Lee and Naruto, I decided I couldn't let them near those trekking suits.

Upstairs, I directed the boys to the largest bedroom. It was normally used by my mom and dad when they visited the city. Our family is pretty rich: my mother, Matleena Karikko is a famous lawyer. Therefore, even my own apartment was a penthouse which had two storeys and enough room for everyone present. In fact, four bedrooms, two toilets, a bathroom + sauna, a kitchen and a library. The Karikko family doesn't live small.

I left them inside, with a warning that no-one could touch the trekking suits, and took the girls back to my room. I am not a person who needs many clothes, but I did have more than I used – all because of my mother who wants me to dress up differently each day of the year or something! I told the girls to feel free to choose: all of the clothes I showed them were the ones I never wore. And, luckily, everyone found something that fit them. Most wore some jeans and a t-shirt or something. Hinata was the only one who had a skirt – a denim skirt, to be exact. She wore it with a white shirt, black leggings and some ballerinas. Really cute…

When we were ready, we went back upstairs. I knocked on the door and called: "Guys? Are you ready yet?" Some mumbles later the whole bunch came outside. Luckily my father had loads of jeans, so at least half of them looked decent. I swept my gaze over them. Yes, yes, yes, fine, yes… But what's that? I smiled, and made sure it looked creepy. "Lee-san, what are you wearing? I did tell you to change, didn't I?" He smiled to me – still in his green jumpsuit - and explained: "But Sara-san, Gai-sensei has ordered me to wear my suit at all times to maximise-" "Oh, how sweet, but he isn't here, is he? Go and change. Now." My voice was one of a commander, as I ordered him to… well, change his clothes. Lee went in sorrowfully, head hanging low. Actually, he almost crawled… Weird enough? I kicked the door shut behind him, turned around and announced with a grin: "Now, let us go and eat!"

A/N: Oh, the ending… Awful. Well, I struggled through another crappy chapter! It's pretty much full of clichés, but I think it'll change during the next few chapters. I didn't tell much about their clothes, because I actually hate all the trouble with picking cute clothes… So I didn't want to go through the hell with another 15 people! I also hope that the characters weren't too OOC, and that my writing style was a bit better than last chappie…

Well, on to the lesson of the day! This time we'll be learning some Finnish language. The language is pretty much unlike any else, and it's one of the hardest ones in the world. The words are always pronounced just as they're written, so if you once learn the alphabet, you can read Finnish. Luckily, our alphabet is the same as in English, with three exceptions. Ä (a with dots) is pronounced a bit like the "a" in "man". Ö (o with dots) is pronounced a bit like the "u" is "fur". And lastly, Å (Swedish o or a with a ring) is pronounced like Finnish "o". If you want to know more about the pronunciation, visit ./~.html .

Some simple phrases: hei = hello (pronounced like hey), kiitos = thank you, hauska tavata = nice to meet you, minun nimeni on… = my name is…, näkemiin = goodbye.

And lastly, I'll have to thank AkiTsuki-chan for the Story Alert and Favorite, this really means much to me Also, thank you for your comments, ALI-MEI and shiwa55! I'm afraid I can't write anything in 1½ weeks or so, because this girl is going to PARIS! Again, please comment and please wait patiently for the next one.

-Shikoo