Hello all! I hope you had a great week and that the Christmas season is treating you well. My first exam is Monday and I want to wish all of you with exams now, good luck and good studying. I am posting two chapters tonight and I hope you enjoy them. Thank you to my reviewers EmilyMichele01 and Lala Girl in Lala Land, your reviews mean a lot to me. Conratulations EmilyMichele01 on getting an account, I can't to see what you post and I promise to review. Lala Girl, thanks and sorry but I'm kinda lazy and its just easier to use the single ' rather than the double. Gomen nasai.

Anyway, on with the story.

Later that evening we sat in the tiny room Higachi san had given us and rested. I tried to tell him what I'd found but there had been an influx of customers and we'd both been busy for a while. Afterwards I was simply too tired to tackle it. Sam groaned and lay back on the small bed. His eyes were closed and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

'Does your back hurt, Sam?' I asked quietly in case he had fallen asleep.

'Kind of. I'm just tired.'

'You want me to give you a shoulder rub. I'm very good at it.' I asked preparing to get up if he said yes.

'No thanks Erica, I'm fine. You were going to tell me what you found out.'

'Yeah, well, maybe now isn't the time to do that.' I stifled a yawn. Sam had been doing the gentlemanly thing and had allowed me sole use of the bed even though I had insisted that sharing wasn't a big deal. Anyway, he looked so comfy there. I was sure that the floor wasn't nearly as good, even if the mattress was lumpy.

'I think you're right.' He made a move to get up but I waved him back 'I'm going to the bathroom and then the shower. You can take a nap till I get back, okay?' He nodded and lay back down, turning over to hug the pillow. Aww, he was so cute sometimes. I went outside, determined to let him get some good sleep for once.

I did shower but stayed a long time in the closed back room trying to stay awake. I had gone back inside and found that he had indeed fallen asleep and had managed to occupy the whole bed. I sighed and tried to sleep in the chair. It was an utter fail. A little cranky now, I went into the dark kitchen and lay my head on the table. The next thing I knew it was morning. The door to our room opened with a bang and a squinty, sleepy looking Sam poked his head out.

'Whatchoo doin out here?' He asked rubbing his face.

'Got up early and couldn't go back to sleep. You snore, you know that?' I lied smoothly. He merely nodded. Poor guy didn't know what hit him. With a roaring yawn, he went outside to use the bathroom. Sighing, I began to clean up the kitchen.

It wasn't till the following afternoon that we finally got to talk again. He arrived shortly before we locked up the shop, Higachi san never opened after dark, looking excited and pleased with himself.

'I have some good news. We need to talk. Let me just put these bags away and I'll meet you in the back.'

I nodded and complied. It was my turn to lay down on the bed and look dead-ish.

He came in not long after and put a small bag of money on the bedside table.

'Our salaries.' He said gesturing to it. I was too tired to even look. 'Ric, you said yesterday that you knew where we are?'

'Yeah,' I said sitting up. 'I know but I am 100% sure that you are not going to believe me when I tell you.'

'Try me.' He said folding his arms.

'Okay. There is this show, I used to like to watch, you know, way back when I was in high school.'

'Sliders?'

'No. It was called Naruto. It was, mm well Japanese animation. It was about ninjas and,'

He looked ready to laugh at me and I wasn't even done yet.

'I know it sounds silly but there are ninjas here aren't they?' I rubbed my head trying to get the blood going. 'I think we're in the world of that anime. That guy I was talking to is one of the villains who belong to a group called the Akatsuki. Oh, don't look at me like that, at least I'm not obsessed with that Starcraft game.'

'It's Warcraft actually but you can't be serious. That's fiction and this is real. Maybe this person just looks like that Deidra guy.'

'It's Deidara actually and I am aware that that's possible. It's why I was trying to get him to talk to me.'

'What does that have to do with anything?'

'He has a speech impediment thing. If he'd opened his mouth I would have known once and for all if it was him. Stupid churlish ninja. And wait, how can you doubt that this is possible. There are freaking ninja running about. I heard Higachi san telling you.'

'Well, they call themselves ninja but they're this world's military. There is actually a ninja village not too far from here.'

I was about to protest having my idea dismissed when the words ninja and village pierced my skull.

'By village, do you mean Konoha?'

For a moment he looked surprised but brushed it off.

'Yeah, how did you know?'

'Well that's where the main character is from. His name is Naruto and his teacher is this hot ninja guy named Kakashi. Hmm, I wonder who the Hokage is now. That would give me an idea of when in the timeline we are.'

'Ric, calm down. I am sure that this is just a coincidence. Maybe this dimension or reality is similar to the one in the show but there is no way that it could exist for real and an even less chance that we would just happen to get sent there.'

'I know that I'm right Sam and if we go to Konoha, I can prove it.'

He smiled then. 'Well that brings me to what I wanted to talk about. Since we got here, I've been trying to find information about this world and the physics of it and stuff but this village barely has a school much less a library. Anyway, I was talking to the rice seller and he told me that if I wanted access to a good library, I should go to Konoha. Its apparently not too far from here, maybe two days away if I take it slow. He said there is a fee to use the library and that some documents are restricted but it would be my best bet for reliable info. He also said that I was lucky that I had mentioned it to him today because he's headed out there tonight to deliver rice to some merchants. I'm supposed to meet him at around 8 but,'

'Wait, Sam, you know you can't read Japanese right? And what do you mean I'm supposed to meet him around 8? Don't you mean we, we're supposed to meet him around 8?'

'Well no, I'm sorry but Ichiku san said that the trip can be dangerous. Given the proximity to Konoha, they don't usually have a problem but bandits are not unheard of. Plus I don't want to impose on him any more than I have to.'

'So...you're leaving me here, alone? By myself?'

'That's kinda what alone means Ric and no you won't be alone. You'll be safe here in the shop where I don't have to worry about you doing anything reckless or stupid.'

For a moment I was speechless. Me, reckless? I was not reckless the stupid ...idiot! And as for stupid, I was not the one in denial about which reality we were in. I huffed feeling immediately pissed off.

'You are not leaving me here. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not.'

He sat up and stretched.

'I'm sorry but you can't go. Once I have a feel for the area and Konoha, I can take you another time. For now, I want you to stay here.'

'Is this because we need the money?'

He stopped in his reach for the money pouch. 'In a way.' He grabbed the bag and put it into his pants pocket.

'What are you doing with that? That's half mine you know!' I yelled.

'I do know but I need it to pay for access to the library so I can get us both home, okay?' he retorted.

'I don't care! I want to come with you! You are not leaving me here by myself Sam.' I felt my eyes begin to prickle.

'He picked up a sack that stood right outside the back door and dropped the money bag into it.

'I'm sorry Erica but I really need to do this.'

I felt the first tear fall and roll down my cheek. I was suddenly very tired. I turned away from him and lay down on the bed, my face buried in the pillow.

He hadn't left yet but at that moment, I wanted him gone more than anything else.

'Just go ahead Sam,' I said my words coming out muffled and stiff. 'Go ahead. I don't care, just go away.'

'I'm not leaving you forever Erica. I'm going there to use their library and I'll be back in about a week, max. There's no need to get emotional about it.'

'I hate you. Go away.' I said, refusing to look at him.

I heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he was gone and the door slammed shut behind him. I lay there feeling sick and tired and guilty. I just wanted to die and disappear so I didn't have to face him again. I knew I was being hurtful when I said I hated him but he made me so mad...still that didn't mean I had to be childish about it. I jumped up suddenly, intent on finding him and apologising but as I searched for my shoes I felt a presence behind me. I was knocked out before I could even turn around.

Almost forget, I do not own Naruto although if Kishimoto san decided to give it to me, I would not say no...did that sound kinda perverted? Nah, just me I guess.