Another epic author's note
And here we have chapter 2! It's definitely longer than the last chapter, I'll give it that much.
I'd like to clear two things up - first of all, I do infact like Hidan, even though in this fic it would appear that he's the main punching bag for some of my mental tension...sorry to any and all Hidan fans out there. And second of all, this is my first attempt at a fan fiction, so if there are any inconsistencies or the characters appear OOC, please let me know and I'll try my best to fix my errors :)
And then what would this author's note be without a special mention to my reviewer :) (the only one at the moment, hopefully the number of reviewers will INCREASE sometime in the near future *cough* hint hint *cough*).
Special mention to Reviewer of the Week
Thanks for reading this Clauds! You, my friend, are freaking awesome that way :D and I'll try my best to update at least once a day, just because you love this story so much ;)
And this is the end to yet another author's note. If you desire to have a special mention Just About YOU (whoever you are), then you know what you need to do!
...incase you didn't catch the hint, REVIEW
**Chapter two**
Shannon sat on the floor behind the counter in her mother's shop, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Ashley sat next to her in a similar position.
Shannon's mother, Josephine, was busy in the storeroom at the back of the shop. Otherwise, the small store was empty. It was a comic book store, which was why Shannon spent so much time helping out in it. Cheap plastic action figures lined the walls, along with faded posters and old records. There was an old arcade machine in the back corner, almost hidden from view by stacks of comic books and games.
The sales counter behind which Shannon and Ashley crouched was in the middle of the store, surrounded by long racks of comic books and graphic novels.
After a few moment's tense silence, Ashley spoke. "We're here. Explain."
Shannon sighed through her nose and rested her chin atop her knees, staring fixedly at a spot on the linoleum floor. "I don't know exactly why they're after me, I just know they are."
Ashley snorted. "Well, that doesn't explain much."
"I'm at just as much of a loss as you are, Ash," Shannon looked at her best friend and frowned.
"I know…" Ashley trailed off, rubbing the pack of her neck apologetically. Her tone softened. "Sorry, Shan. But how do you know he's after you specifically?"
Shannon thought back to when she had practically run straight into Hidan. She shivered at the memory of those eyes literally burning through her. "He said I was the person he was looking for. For what purpose, I don't know, but by the look in his eyes, I don't think I want to."
"This is not good." Ashley shook her head, frowning.
Just then, Josephine walked back into the main store and resumed her position in the chair behind the cash register.
"You girls look like you've just seen a ghost!" she joked, sweeping her red-brown bangs behind her ears. "Who did you see?"
Ashley and Shannon just looked at each other, not entirely sure how to explain the situation to the older woman.
"Umm…" Shannon started, when an idea suddenly struck her.
She cautiously rose to her haunches, crouching down behind the counter and peering over the top to make sure Hidan wasn't outside. She squeaked and hit the floor when she saw that he was, indeed, stationed outside the shop, leaning casually against a pillar opposite the storefront.
"What's the matter, Shannon?" her mother asked, looking down at her daughter with concern.
"Don't look down here!" she hissed, shooing her mother away. "He'll know we're here!"
"Who will know?" Josephine shot back, casually gathering up a few magazines from the floor and plopping them down on the counter to make it look like she had merely bent down to retrieve them.
"Nice save, Mama J!" Ashley whispered, flashing her a thumbs up.
Josephine smirked and winked at her, opening up a magazine and pretending to read it. "Shannon, you had better start explaining – my patience is wearing thin."
Remembering her previous plan, Shannon poked her mother in the leg and said in a hushed whisper, "Could you pass me that copy of Naruto on the rack next to you?"
"And if I do this you'll explain why you're acting like weirdo?"
"Yes, mother!"
Sighing, Josephine picked up the indicated book and made to drop it accidentally behind the counter. Bending down again as if to pick it up, she looked her daughter in the eye and demanded, "Explain, Shannon Harper."
Shannon rolled her eyes at the use of her full name and flipped the manga open. If she remembered correctly, there should be a picture of him right about…
She grinned in triumph when she found the picture and showed it to her mother. "That dude," she pointed to the black and white drawing of Hidan, "is standing outside the store, looking for me and Ashley." Behind her, Ashley nodded fervently in agreement.
"A character from a cartoon is after you?" Josephine raised an eyebrow, her expression not exactly convinced. "Are you on crack or something? You can tell me if you are."
"Mom!" Shannon whined, looking pitifully up at her mother. "If Ashley believes me, why can't you? Have I ever lied to you before?"
At her mother's dubious expression, Shannon raised her hand and added, "Don't answer that. But you know what I mean! He's after us!"
Josephine straightened up and dropped the book back on the counter, picking up her magazine again. "Well, what do you want me to do, Shannon? Call the cartoon cops?"
"That's not funny!" her daughter hissed, green eyes glinting angrily. "Just look outside and see for yourself!"
Sighing, Josephine glanced up from the magazine and scanned the wide, bustling passageway outside her shop. When she spotted Hidan, a small frown creased her forehead.
"Are you sure he's not just some lookalike and you're being paranoid?"
"Positive, mom," Shannon sighed. "I bumped into him earlier and he said he had been looking for me."
Her mother's frown deepened. "I don't know what you want me to do. I can't just waltz out there and say, 'leave me daughter alone, you're not even meant to be in this dimension anyway', now can I?"
"Can't you call the mall security or something?" Ashley suggested brightly. "Tell them he's intimidating customers and harassing staff. That won't exactly be lying, I mean look at him – he's such a little bundle of sunshine as it is."
Shannon snorted and folded her arms. "I wish he'd be a little bundle of sunshine somewhere else, preferably back where he came from."
"He's probably waiting for us to appear so he can nab us and take us off to some dodgy science lab to experiment on us and stuff," Ashley whispered conspiratorially.
Both Shannon and her mother rolled their eyes at Ashley's antics. Josephine picked up the cordless phone next to the cash register and dialed the number for the head security office.
A few moments later, three security guards in black and yellow uniforms appeared outside the store. They looked at Hidan, and then at Josephine for confirmation. She nodded, and they moved in for the kill. Shannon couldn't hear anything, but from her position behind her mother, she could see all three of the security guards escort a very reluctant and livid Hidan from the scene. She smirked at the expression on his face.
Ashley leaned on Shannon's shoulder and laughed.
"Feisty Teen Tag-team: 1, Creepy Old Guy Stalker: 0."
Out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere a few miles from the city limits, something strange happened (another Event, if you will).
A fierce wind suddenly sprang up in an empty field of wild grass, and a flash of lightning cracked – all this despite the distinct lack of clouds. The wind swirled in a large vortex, kicking up immense clouds of dust and leaves and dried stalks of long grass. The cloud of debris was so thick that anyone who would have happened to see it at that moment wouldn't have seen the eight figures thrown rather unceremoniously out of the swirling windstorm.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the storm was gone. There was a coughing fit somewhere in the tall grass and a blonde boy staggered to his feet, gasping for air.
"They really need to work on improving that transportation jutsu!" he complained loudly, vigorously running his hands through his spiky hair, expelling a small cloud of dust and sand.
As he broke into yet another coughing fit, another figure rose up from the grass, with considerably more dignity than the first. "Naruto! Will you keep it down! We don't know if anyone might have seen us land, and the Akatsuki could be anywhere!"
"It's no use talking to him about keeping quiet, Sakura," a black-haired boy said from behind the pink-haired girl who had spoken. "This is Naruto we're talking about, after all."
The boy proceeded to walk up to Naruto – who was still trying to suck in some air devoid of sand – and smacked him rather harshly on the back of the head.
"Hey!" the blonde complained, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at the black-haired boy's back as he pushed through the grass towards a road in the distance. "What the hell was that for, Sasuke?"
But Sasuke wasn't listening. He just kept walking off towards the road, not even waiting for his companions to follow.
Sakura sighed and followed her team mate. "Come on guys, we'd better catch up before he leaves without us."
Grumbling as he set off with the others, it took Naruto a moment to realize that his coughing fit had stopped.