I apologize for the fail that was last chapter, and for how long it took to get this out. And then it turned into a present. LOVE ME. It's kinda long?
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Dedication: To SONYA. Happy birthday, love! (and I know, I fail. =])
P.S. Harry Potter parties are FTW. kthnxbai.
P.P.S. "Don't want you money – your shirt's ugly." –Lady Gaga
P.P.P.S. Eff this, from now on, these will be notes.
Notes: HAPPY HOLIDAYS, ALL!

---

"Hey, look, it's the bastard!"

Laughter followed this statement, and then Naruto -stupid dobe- yelped as he only barely managed to block a particularly vicious jab of Neji's.

Sasuke smirked, and jerked his head in acknowledgement of the Hyuuga lord. The man was an asshole, as far as Lord Uchiha was concerned, but, at the very least, he knew how to shut Naruto up.

Lord Hozuki snorted. "Greetings, oh great and fearless leader. What have you come to see us lowly peasants about, this time?"

Sasuke didn't even acknowledge Suigetsu. There were times –most notably; right now–, that it was better to ignore the mostly-laid-back, white-haired man.

So instead, Sasuke watched, quiet, as Neji and Naruto thoroughly beat each other into the ground.

Their fighting styles were reflective of their personalities, to say the least, Sasuke, thought.

Naruto was always Naruto – brute strength, and a lack of strategic planning. There was also that infallible stubbornness that seemed to always make him win. Neji was vicious. He made few movements that were unnecessary, spoke less frequently then Sasuke himself did; he was the subtle poison in the background to Naruto's looming threat.

"Stop."

The clang of metal-on-metal filled the air once again, and Sasuke watched as yet another spar ended in a draw. The other three Lords turned, and looked at the Lord Uchiha. It was utterly silent in the practice yard.

"We have someplace to be."

---

Tenten crashed her way through the linoleum door of the shooting range. Of course she'd be here – the man made of shadows who'd sold her the arm-guard knives, he'd told her about a place to learn how to use the strange metal objects that he'd called "guns".

She'd been doubtful – it didn't look very dangerous. But he'd convinced her she'd shot a bit of metal called a bullet straight through the blade of the knife Tenten had been holding.

Tenten knew that this was a whole new game, and that protecting her idiotic princess was going to be a much more arduous task then before.

After all, if Sakura had refused to stay within the boundaries set for her in a world that Tenten knew, there was no telling what the Lady would do, given freedom in a whole new place.

And so Tenten was preparing for anything.

She stalked straight up to the counter, and slammed her fists down on the counter-top. The being –a bored-looking boy with blue skin and a shock of white hair– sat straight up, and stared at her, terror in his eyes.

"Teach me," Tenten said; her voice was darkly dangerous, and the boy in front of her gulped. Tenten had a feeling he'd never met someone like her before – most people didn't have the scars she did. Most people hadn't watched their home burn to the ground around them, taking with it the lives of their families.

Most people weren't like Tenten.

They stared at each other for a frightening few seconds, and Tenten idly wondered if he was actually going to deny her what she wanted. She turned up the heat in her glare, and watched in satisfaction as he quaked in his pretty Little-Boy-Blue boots.

He looked undecided for far too long, but he did eventually point her through a door.

Tenten gave him a sharp nod. She sauntered to the door he had indicated, and slipped through it. She smiled when she heard the distinct exhalation of breath from behind her. So she hadn't lost her touch for intimidation, after all. Good.

Tenten's bangs fell across her face –damn things–, and she looked up through her lashes at the man standing in the room. He was lanky, and… wearing the greenest clothes Tenten had ever seen. He had round eyes that glittered, and orange arm and leg warmers. He also had that horrible, horrible bowl-cut that they had forced all the pages at home to have.

They stared at each other for a moment or two.

Tenten crossed her arms over her chest, and shot him her most terrifying look. "Teach me. I want to learn," she said, enforcing the words with every ounce of royalty she possessed. Lady, Lady, she was a Lady; she would not forget her duty to herself.

He stared at her for another second, before a huge grin split his face. "But of course, my lovely flower! There is nothing as incredible as seeing a youthful lady like you, ready to learn!"

Tenten stared at him, internally flabbergasted. Not even the most flamboyant of her suitors at home had spoken in such a manner. She tilted her head at him. Perhaps there was something wrong with his brain?

He continued to grin at her, and he took a bow. "I am Lee, and I will be your youthful instructor for today. If you will just come this way, Ms–?"

Tenten's body tightened like a coiled spring, and she wondered if she ought to tell him her real name. Ino probably had told someone – but then, that was Ino, and Tenten had always been the cautious one. But then again, what harm could come of it? So she let her instincts take over.

"Call me Tenten," she said as she pushed her hair out of her eyes.

He grinned brightly at her, and led her towards a rack of what Tenten realized were those lovely guns. "This, my youthful flower, is where we begin."

---

Ino curiously peeked around the corner of the building, into the strange, empty box that Kiba had called a 'garage'. Her long, wheat-blonde pony-tail danced around her body, and she curved herself into the safety that the garage afforded. A large door slid shut behind her, and the neon-purple light from the sky-cover vanished fast as the streaky imprint appeared on the back of her eyelids. Damn fluorescents.

In the gloom, Ino could see Kiba head straight towards a wall, and he lingered there, for a moment.

Then, in a blast of white light, the whole room ignited, and Ino was left standing, speechless, staring around at the things in the room.

Kiba looked satisfied, a smug grin flitting across his face, as he rumpled his hair. He asked quietly "Do ya like it, doll?"

Part of Ino swooned – the girlish part that Ino knew was still (and always would be) stuck in being a pretty Lady; a lovely Lady who had all the boys at her fingertips.

But the Other Part of Ino incinerated that urge. It tasted like saline dripping down her cheekbone – bitter, so bitter. It tasted like cold rain, a wake-up call, and seventeen years of misery. She tilted her face up, and stared at his face.

She would be leaving soon; she knew it like she knew the back of her hand.

He deserved better.

But Ino was a selfish Lady, and she thought it won't hurt to be happy for a little while, will it?

And so she sent him her most brilliant smile, shining, blinding, ladylike. Ino could feel the mask slipping on (and it won't hurt to be happy for a little while, right) "It's – I – wow, this is so cool…"

He seemed half-proud of himself, when he said "They're the best spark-bikes on the market. Do ya ride?"

Ino shook her head in wide-eyed wonder. This was – new. Different. "No – I, I've never seen something like… like this. It's so–" she broke off, and simply stared at him.

Kiba chuckled a little to himself, at the look on her pretty face. She looked entirely overwhelmed and very young, and yet, at the same time, she looked like she'd seen far more then her fair share of life.

"Then I think'ya should come for a ride, babe." His grin was feral, and Ino almost felt herself blushing.

"I just need to – contact my sister. Do you have something that I could use?"

He nodded towards a small, shiny silver box that was attached to the wall, and chuckled strangely. "You've never used a voicepod before, have ya? Just say the name of the person ya want to talk to into it. It'll connect ya, as long as they're connected to Chrome's network. Pretty useful, huh?"

Ino smiled like the sun, her blue eyes turning metallic, and she nodded. She walked towards the odd box, very unsure of it. This was like nothing she had ever experienced… but she needed to talk to one of the others, to let them know that she hadn't gone off and died somewhere, or something.

And knowing Sakura the way Ino did, the Princess would probably be in the midst of theatrics (Ino quietly ignored the fact that she was usually the one to pull out the hysterias; it was much easier to simply blame Sakura).

Ino stood in front of the voicepod, and took a deep breath.

"Sabaku no Temari, please."

---

The empty confines of Temari's mind rang with knowledge. It was everywhere – this was how this worked, this was why it worked; it crackled through Temari's flesh, neon lightning racing along her bones, and setting all her senses on electrical fire.

Fitting, then, that the SyberNet was suddenly Temari's greatest ally.

Temari pulled her goggles down over her eyes, and watched the world spin and merge into the blank emptiness of the SyberSpace.

The air space around her seemed to hum; light and life pulsed around her, running through the dark walls, and up and down the shafts of neon colour that were the pillars of the world. It was different then before – Temari hadn't felt this absolute assurance that the SyberWorld was alive.

Not until now.

It was a chip, perhaps, or something – something to change the configuration of the wiring that Temari had had since birth. Perhaps something had changed part of the last vestiges of humanity that Temari had had.

This loss of nature made part of Temari despair.

She looked up, and watched the SyberNet glitter tantalizingly in the vague distance. She needed to lose herself – she needed it now.

A graceful line of information filtered through Temari's skull, and suddenly, the 'Net was within Temari's reach, slipstreams of information racing by her fingertips at light-speed.

Little bites of information reached her by the thousands. – they say there's a disturbance in – looking for a lost child – sugar, three cups of MoonWeed tree sap – pink hair, green eyes – pirate ship on an open sea – a girl dancing in the dark –

Temari pulled out of SyberSpace faster then she had ever done anything in her life, a gasp of something like horror on her lips. There was only one person Temari had ever met in her life with that combination; Lady Sakura, always Lady Sakura.

Of course, this world could have another with that odd combination; nothing was sacred, in this world, and genetic mutations were the fastest growing new fad.

It was a wake-up call. The whole group of girls had just started to settle; and mayhap they would have even stayed here. But then something like this had to happen. Temari knew herself; better then anyone knew anyone, Temari knew Temari.

And it was not on her agenda to get the Lady Sakura killed. That would be counter-productive, to having removed her to a safe world.

Temari did not like things that were counter productive. It was such a waste of energy.

Just then, a ringing began in Temari's mind. It was insistent, and Temari did not understand where it was coming from – she was no longer connected to the SyberWorld.

The ringing continued, louder and louder, and persisted until Temari slid to the floor, her knees crumpling beneath her, and was clutching her head to stop the vibrations.

You ought to answer it, child. It is rude to ignore a call.

That was Chrome's voice. Temari's head whipped up, and sought the wisps of sound past the ringing in her mind.

Nothing, there was nothing other then the migraine-inducing gong-sound in her head.

Temari winced, and mentally forced the sound away. A call? What on earth was Chrome talking abou–?

"Uh… hi?"

For a very terrifying second, Temari thought she was losing her mind. That was Ino, Ino's voice, and Chrome was gone and what in Hell's name was this?!

'I-Ino?'

"Temari! It is you! Thank god, I thought you might not be online – Kiba said something about being connected to–"

Temari quickly tuned Ino out. The girl would jabber for five minutes before she would say anything of actual value – that was simply Ino. But it was what she had said – being connected to the network.

Temari had not been connected. She shook her head, like a dog ridding itself of water, and decided to ponder it later. Ino had never been one for technology, so it must be important.

Ino was still jabbering, and Temari interrupted her. '–Ino. Get back here. Now. We may have a problem. We're leaving. I think… I don't know. Sakura. It's about Sakura. Just get back here. I don't care what you're doing. I'll tell you in person when you get your skinny butt back here."

That statement shut the other girl up; and Temari got a very sudden, very amusing mental image of Ino with her mouth gaping open.

Ino was silent for a long, unbroken moment. "……… Fine."

'Good,' Temari thought back.

Then the connection snapped off, and Temari was left alone inside her head, her mind reeling.

Chrome had – had changed her wiring. So Temari had been right.

Temari understood that she was as much part of the network as Chrome was, now. She was as much a computer as Chrome.

A fierce sort of resignation (resignation and rage – she did not enjoy being trifled with) filled Temari to the brim. If she was changed, then the Chronometer – it would be changed, too.

Temari pulled herself up off the floor, and wobbled towards the desk. The Chronometer sat there, looking utterly innocent, silent, and genuinely ordinary.

As soon as Temari's fingers closed around the thick golden disc, several things happened at once. Temari's eyes closed sharply, and the whole world screamed joy. Not-colours danced behind Temari's closed lids, and there were bursts of plasma-sound everywhere.

And the information. It flowed through her like water rushing off a cliff, the swell and crest of a wave during a tsunami. The sheer amount nearly threw her off-balance.

The Chronometer tumbled out of Temari's hands, and clattered to the floor. At the loss of contact, Temari's mind returned to being a silent, calm pool of solidarity. She sighed, and let her body sink to the ground, once again. The Chronometer was within arm's reach, and Temari let her body become boneless.

She melted into the floor, and stayed like that for a long, long time. Outside the grimy window, it began to rain.