Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Hey whats up!? Its time for that long awaited third installment of my fan fic! Heh heh! Even though only one person reviewed I'm still going to continue. Even if only one person thinks its worth reading! ;-) So rest assured that even though it might take awhile I won't stop! By the way just so you know my computer at home crashed a month or so ago so I've been using the computer at my grandparents on weekends but summers coming and we have the new computer already so we just need to hook up. In case you don't get it I'll try to put more up soon as I can! Until then enjoy this bit! BTW if my one reviewer winky smile has any suggestion I'll take 'em!

Now to recap this is what happened last…

" Thanks!" Serena said, practically jogging to keep up with him. " Since I'm staying with you then would you mind telling me your name?"

" Sasuke Uchiha." The boy said. He never noticed Serena stop dead in her tracks and he continued forward without a backward glance, leaving a pair of wide blue eyes staring at his back.

So on with the story!

Sasuke...! What no way! No! Not possible! But…Oh! Konoha! Its short for Konohagakure! That's where I've heard it but that's the…and its in a…but he's…Serena's mind whirled with a thousand and one thoughts but all of them seemed to lead up to one thing. And it was impossible. Konoha, The Hokage and cute black haired shinobi didn't exist! It was just a story but then…

" Hey!" Sasuke called. He'd turned and was regarding her with annoyance from ahead. " Keep up or don't come."

Serena could only stare. It seemed as if the world was closing in. She'd always been the weird one, the one in the back of the class who seemed to read too much and day dream all the time. And she'd always loved the idea of magic in any form. That might have been why she hadn't been scared when she fell through a hole. But still this was way beyond magic! It was just…impossible!

" Hey!" Sasuke called again. This time he was walking toward her with an openly peeved look. " What's wrong with you?" He asked.

With a great effort Serena forced her mouth to form the words. " You…can't be real…you don't mean to say that this…all of it is real?" Serena said in a breathless voice.

" Real?" Sasuke said, thrown.

" Yeah…It exists…is it real…and you…your…" Serena couldn't take it anymore, maybe she's just fallen off the sidewalk and had a concussion, and maybe this was all a weird anesthesia induced delusion. Reaching out she placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Solid.

" Hey, what's with you?" Sasuke said shifting from under her touch.

" You are real! Your solid. At least I think you are. Pinch me." She said simply.

" What…no!" Sasuke said giving her a clear your-a-nutso look.

" Fine." Serena snorted indignantly and proceeded to pinch herself. Letting go she peered down at her shoulder where it hurt. " Ouch…" She said simply. So it does hurt. Then maybe I am here.

" Well where else would you be?" Sasuke asked.

" School for one." Serena said absentmindedly, still thinking.

" No. Classes at the Academy already let out for today." Sasuke said.

" Then that's real too…" Serena murmured. I have to know for sure if this is happening! She thought. What's one way to… I've got it! Leaning forward she said urgently. " Does the name Itachi mean anything to you?"

Immediately Sasuke recoiled. His eyes narrowed fiercely as he gave her a look so filled with mistrust Serena felt like crying. "What do you know of Itachi?" Sasuke demanded.

No. Way. So then it was real? Now that Serena had established even this little thing she felt more sure of herself thought this did not at all help the weirdness of her situation any. " I…nothing. I just had to check something then. So you really are the sole survivor…" Serena murmured the last bit.

Sasuke glared. " If you are not from here then how do you know so much of me? And what is your association with my brother?" He snapped.

" I've never met your brother." Serena answered, trying to be calm. However her eyes were nearly swimming with unshed tears. To think that something so horrible had happened to someone…to a little boy. It made her want to sob.

" Then how do you know of me, Itachi, and my clan?" He demanded again.

" Well from the book obviously." Serena said.

" Book?" Sasuke asked.

" Of course. Well not book really, manga. You're whole past was in book twenty-five. I read it over and over. In fact I read all of them tons. I'm a really big fan. And I don't see how it matters but let me tell you, you were the cutest little kid! I just wanted to hug you the whole time!"

For the merest second Sasuke made a face that might have been a blush though it was gone before it could be certain." Manga? What manga?" Sasuke asked, now raising a brow.

" It's by Masashi Kishimoto and published by Shonen Jump." Serena answered knowledgably, pleased to be the one with some answers for once and because the topic was something she knew she was more comfortable.

" I've never heard of any of those people or the Shonen thing." Sasuke said.

Well of course, it would stand to reason that the characters wouldn't know their characters. But their real so then…then again I'm in a world in a book. The whole concept of impossible is pretty much out the window…Serena thought. Oh great how am I going to explain this whole thing to Sasuke? And why, since I'm here, didn't I come in time to stop the slaughter…I cant believe that's real!

" Hey!" Sasuke said, to get her attention again.

" Oh sorry. Shonen Jump is a magazine. It publishes manga which is a comic book really but the word manga just sounds better don't you think?" Serena said trying to sound offhand as she began to walk forward. " We were going somewhere right? I'm hungry."

" You can't expect me to just take you with me! I know nothing about you and you seem to know a whole lot about me!" Sasuke said, not moving.

Serena sighed and turned. " Yes I do but if you haven't noticed I'm just as confused as you are and I need time to think! Look I promise I'll explain it to you I swear! But for now just pretend I can see the future and the past. Well to a point. Now may we please go? Please?" Serena said.

" I…Alright." Sasuke relented. Serena figured he supposed it better to have her with him then running around by herself and he really had no choice but to bring her if he wanted to know what was going on. Serena laughed nervously at that. There was no way she would ever understand this! She was in a world in a manga for gods sake!

However Serena shook these thoughts from her head and tried to grin. " Good! Can we eat? By the way where are we going and what are you doing out here?"

" I suppose we can. I have some ramen at home…I think." Sasuke said. " And I was out here practicing shuriken." He added.

" Oh! So then this is Academy grounds?" Serena asked.

Sasuke gave her an uneasy look. " Yes."

" Cool!" Serena said. " Then your still training to be a shinobi? That's why I didn't recognize you! You don't have on your hitai-ate! That headband! So then you haven't graduated yet?"

" No." Sasuke answered as he walked by her side down the path. The uneasy look was increasing.

" So then how old are you?" Serena asked.

" Twelve." He answered.

Serena grinned and was filled with the almost irrepressible urge to point and laugh saying 'Na-na-na-boo-boo! I'm older then you!' However all she said was. " My best friend, Rai's twelve too. She skipped a grade at my school." Serena herself was thirteen however she had only been so for a month or so.

" So then are you a civilian?" Sasuke asked her.

" Nope. I thought we'd established that I'm not from here at all. Where I'm from we don't have shinobi. By the way will 2.75 be enough for lunch?" Serena asked pulling the two bills and three quarters from her pocket and showing them to the boy.

" What's this stuff?" Sasuke asked. He'd stopped and was now peering at her outstretched hand.

" Money…" Serena said in a duh sort of tone.

" Well maybe where your from but not here." Sasuke said while reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out three bills. It was then that Serena noticed something. He was wearing the exact same thing as he had in the manga. Those odd blue shoes adorned his feet and bandages were wrapped around his legs and extended to the top of his calf. His gray pants came down to his knee and seemed to look a bit like athletic pants Serena had seen on some of the guys at her school. Cloth covered his lower arms and fastened with what looked to be a small belt. The blue-black shirt covered his torso and his hair looked the same to her. Yet again it seemed to her he was way too cute to be real which was only now beginning to be a problem. Because now he was.

The bills in his hand were each of different amounts though and they looked very different from Serena's money for they were square and blue and had the symbol for the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the middle. Serena remembered from one of her books that these were called ryo and that each 100 was about ten dollars. " Not that it'll matter. Not like they have a conversion booth for travelers from other worlds…" Serena muttered under her breath.

"What?" Sasuke asked putting his money back in his pocket.

" Nothing." Serena chirped. " Lead on!"

OOC: I bet your expecting a cliffy? Heh heh! Well then you'll be pleasantly surprised. (Not that I won't do another one at the end) I am in a shockingly good mood and this fan fic is appealing to me more and more nowadays. That and my last day of school is tomorrow. In case your wondering its June 3 today. So I'm going to write like another chapter right here and put it up as soon as I can! So really this is like a double chapter. Happy summer everybody! :-) Seacrest Out! Heh-heh

Nodding Sasuke took the lead, walking a few steps ahead of her. Serena stared for a moment at the Uchiha crest on the back of his shirt and had the urge to reach out and touch it but held back. " By the way…" Serena said suddenly as she hurried to walk beside him, already tired of being behind and figuring she could follow him just as easily beside him. " You never told me where we were going."

" My house." Sasuke said. " You want to eat don't you?"

" Yep. Besides I might like to see where you live. All they ever showed in the manga was Naruto's house and that's really not all that interesting. Do you think I should warn him about the milk?" Serena asked absentmindedly.

" Naruto?" Sasuke asked, mercifully ignoring her milk comment. " The dunce?"

Serena giggled. " Yep. You've called him that before. Or will I guess. Not that I blame you."

Sasuke looked even more confused. " So then he's part of this?"

" Yep. He's the…" Serena's voice broke and she stopped dead. " What. Is. THAT!?" She asked pointing at the massive loaming building before her.

The woods had ended a few yards back and they'd rounded a bend. Now before them loamed a building larger then most Serena had ever seen in her life.

" That's the academy." Sasuke answered.

It was then that Serena noticed they weren't alone. Though few in number there were a few kids about them, so coming and going from the woods and other paths that led somewhere, though Serena couldn't have guessed where.

" Its huge!" Serena exclaimed reverently. " It never seemed that big before!"

" Yeah. I guess it's pretty big." Sasuke said in a way that told Serena very clearly that he didn't think it was big at all.

( I hate to interrupt again, well okay I don't really since I am anyway and I suppose you could just skip this part if it really annoyed you. Anyway on to the point! It's my first day of summer! Yeah! Just thought I'd say that. insert dramatic fade-out)

" So you go to school here!?" Serena asked, pretending to be oblivious to his annoyance.

Sasuke nodded. " Yeah."

" You're so lucky! I'd loved to go here!" Serena exclaimed.

Sasuke said nothing.

Serena sighed. " Oh well. I guess it's impossible. I'm pretty sure everyone enrolls when they're young," Here she looked to Sasuke who nodded. Besides I don't even live in this…world? Dimension? Serena thought "Alright we can go but…"

" What?" Sasuke prompted when she said nothing.

" Can we go in? Really quick? Please!? I've never seen a ninja school before!" Serena asked.

" I thought you knew all about our world?" Sasuke questioned.

" I do. But knowing isn't the same as seeing." Serena retorted a bit defensively.

" I don't think we can. Besides its late."

Serena laughed. " No its not! We hadn't even started school when I…err…left. It can't have been more then an hour since then!"

" Well it's getting late here. Classes are already over here and I've been practicing for a good two hours. Then I met you." Sasuke said.

Serena glared at seemingly nothing in particular. Oh great! A time change! You have got to be kidding me! And it's not even in my favor! This is going to drive me nuts when I find a way to get back! She thought angrily before taking a deep breath and nodding to tell Sasuke they could go.

After a few minutes of following in silence Serena asked. " Don't you live in the city?"

Sasuke nodded. " Yes. I'm taking a back way. I usually do. Shorter. Less people. Besides we don't have to go down lots of streets this way."

Serena tried not to look sad. She'd wanted to see to see the city but she supposed she'd have time later. After all she had yet to come up with a reasonable reason for her being here at all and she had even less of a clue when it came to getting back. However she merely pushed these thoughts away. For now this was an adventure. There was time for it to be scary later.

Now the silence was beginning to bother Serena. She always talked with her friends almost non-stop and now this… " Hey Sasuke…" Serena said.

" Hmm?"

" Do you…? Forget it. It's nothing. I'm really sorry for imposing on you by the way. I never planned on being here at all to be sure but I was really only hoping for some time to eat at your place but now that it will be dark soon…would you mind if I slept there? I mean I guess I could try and find somewhere else…really I'm so sorry." Serena said at last taking a breath.

" I don't really see how I have a choice in letting you stay. I can't really throw you out."

" Thanks." Serena said gratefully. " I really mean that. And rest assured that if you ever fall into my world you can stay at my place as long as you like."

" Heh." Sasuke gave short laugh. Serena grinned.

OOC: Not very good in the way of cliffhangers but you know… anyway I'll write more. Blah blah blah remember to review! Till next time. Oh yeah and sorry for a pretty sucky and action-less chapter but you know…I hope they get better soon! wink By the way I'm thinking of making my next chapt a double like this one so you may or may not hear the voice soon but rest assure it has not been forgoteen, just has yet to show up. Heheh. I write slow. :-) Bye

Serena Flamma