1Chapter Three: New Friends

Disclaimer: There are characters in here from two stories, but it is mostly based around the world of Wicked. The others are from the manga Naruto. None of the characters belong to me, but the way I manipulate them is mostly original.

The room was stifling, particles of make-up and perfume floating everywhere. The only sounds that could be heard were that of Hinata and Naruto coughing and Galinda as she giggled madly.

An emerald girl and a red head stood at the doorway of this mess, staring open-mouthed at the scene. The green girl spoke first. "On the count of three then, we'll go in and try to save your friends."

Jade eyes glanced at a sea of emerald, shining with the thrill of anticipation. "Agreed. I'll go in first and clear a path, then you find your blonde friend and put a stop to this madness."

Elphaba laughed, making Gaara start and look at her. The noise was harsh with a tone of craziness to it, high-pitched and shrill. Jade eyes narrowed as the red-head grinned. He loved it.

With a sweeping motion of his hand he made it so the grainy particles that resembled sand cleared. But there was too much and all he could do was make a path. Bright blonde curls and two slender, thrashing arms were visible deeper inside, an immediate target. Gaara nodded to his green companion and took off into the mess, looking for his excitable friend, Uzumaki Naruto.

Elphaba went straight for the blonde curls, grabbing them stubbornly in one of her talon-like hands. "Galinda!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Lemme go!"

Elphaba released immediately, realizing, with shock, that Galinda had permed Naruto's hair. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I . . . Galinda!! What have you done!"

A loud squeal nearby told her that Gaara had found her, or rather fallen back into her clutches. She detected a low moan of despair from him. Elphaba grinned dryly when she heard him exclaim, "what are you doing with Naruto's headband anyway? Seriously!"

"Hinata?" Naruto reached into the fog and somehow managed to pull out his coughing girlfriend. "Alright, we have to get out of here. Look, the exit is over there."

Hinata clung to him, her eyes big. "Naruto, I'm scared!"

Elphaba waved at the door hurriedly. "Go! Before Galinda finds you over here. Gaara is distracting her," he moaned loudly so they could all hear him, forcing another smile to Elphaba's lips, "however unwillingly it might be. Go you two, go!" She got behind them and pushed so hard they practically flew toward the door.

"Help me!"

Elphaba turned to try and locate Gaara and her friend. The thatch of red hair was easy to spot after a moment. "Gaara!" she yelled, thrashing her arms. "Clear this stuff like you did before!"

Almost like magic the stuff fell to the ground and laid there like a filthy blanket. Two unhappy jade eyes looked up at her. "Careful, that stuff with go straight up when you start to walk. I'll only be able to hold it down for a little while. Get off of me!" He reared up, throwing Galinda off of his back into a nearby heap of eye powder. "Elphaba, c'mon, while she's down!"

The green girl almost giggled with mirth as they rushed toward the door and slammed it shut after them, leaving the yowling Galinda locked inside. She turned around, a smirk all over her face. "You had better clean all of that up, you know! We're sharing that room!"

The unhappy girl was pressed up against the door. "But my Ama has the vacuum and she went away tonight! I'll never get this clean without the vacuum!"

Elphaba was grinning ear to ear. "Well, you should have thought of that before you dusted our room with that colored mess you call makeup. Until you get this room clean I'm going to sleep outside on a bench. Good night, Miss Galinda."

Gaara caught hold of her arm when she spun on her heel and started marching toward the door. "Where are we supposed to go? It's too late for us to talk to anyone about rooming assignments."

Elphaba just shrugged her bony shoulders. "You're welcome to join me outside as long as you don't make any noise." She turned on Naruto and Hinata, the aforementioned grinning seductively at the latter. "And you two! If I catch you messing around with each other under the cover of night, Madame Morrible will be informed immediately by an anonymous source. Trust me, she is the wrong old hag to get on the bad side of." She turned and marched outside without giving the three another word, glance or thought.

Gaara grinned and followed the strange girl. He was sure she would soon worry less about what they would do with each other, because she would be preoccupied with what he was going to do to her.