Title: This Just Isn't My Day: Chapter Six

By: Ice-Eagle Y'siri

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the Akatsuki, or any other associated characters. So far, I own Aya, Rian, and Catherine.

Summary: Normally, I'm a very calm person. So just imagine me coming home with my friends and the Akatsuki in my living room. And all I wanted was a simple vacation annoying the preps next door. Great. Just. Great.

Thanks for all the reviews and reviewers! You know-though it is kind of early to say this-I'm surprised at how well my story is doing. I'm a sucky updater, even though I (no ego here, honestly) am not that terrible of a writer. But off of that, thanks to all who did review (you are strongly encouraged to continue) and for those just reading this for the first time, I recommend that you do review, because then I'll know what I need to improve and so on.

I take all reviews to heart except flames. Those I use to make fudge. Yuuuummm...

Enjoy!

The first thing I noticed when I woke up is that my head hurt.

Tremendously.

If I hadn't known it to be scientifically impossible, I would've sworn that a monkey or something had gotten trapped in my head and was trying to pound its way out. Oy.

I didn't open my eyes, wanting to orient myself by sound and touch first. As a trainer and with both my parents being doctors, I knew better than to try and sit up quickly with a head injury. I heard faint strains of Wicked playing outside my door, and I figured that Catherine was practicing for her part in the musical. It was going to take place in late August.

I felt my blankets around me and relaxed a little more. Being brave, I slowly opened my eyes and blinked. Then blinked again. And again. I was fairly sure that this was my room, but I knew that my ceiling wasn't this color. It was just plain white. Not this-this-

-Neon orange. Good God. Didn't they know that this made all things associated with the head (in my case) made things worse and not better? At least Rian and Catherine could've warned them...

Good God.

"Catherine. Rian," my voice wasn't loud, but it did project, "Come here. Now."

The Wicked music was turned off and my door was cracked open. My two best friends crept in and shut the door quickly, then sat cross-legged on the bed, Catherine on my right, and Rian on my left.

"What is that." It wasn't a question.

"Well-" "You see-" they looked at each other and Catherine motioned for Rian to continue.

"First of all, we're glad you're up. Having to wake you up every few hours was tiresome, since no one else besides us and Konan would do it."

Catherine scowled, "Yeah. Everyone else got so crabby and stuff, and you weren't helping. We had to move all the objects that you could whack us with out of reach of the bed. You were one scary sleeper, hon. We knew you normally weren't like that, but it was still...weird."

Normally I was a restless sleeper, and was fairly "bleak-like-a-mammoth" in the morning. Which meant I didn't wake up until I had my coffee. Or milk. Or water. I don't and never will drink soda. Too much sugar. The fact that I was such a crabby sleeper said a lot about what I was like when I wasn't myself.

"Well, sorry-" Rian tapped my shoulder.

"Don't apologize. You're hurt. In the head. No joking. You can't help how you act until you get better."

I shrugged as well as I could laying down.

"So...who did it. I'm still irritated." Rian grimaced.

"It was Hidan. Or at least, that's our guess. Since ya beat him practically to death with a paper towel roll on the way home...he got sort-of mad."

I sighed.

"So basically he's pissed but not in a killing rage. Lovely. This just isn't my day, and I just woke up. Jeez." Catherine was bemused.

"Haven't I heard that somewhere?"

"What?"

"The 'this just isn't my day' phrase. I could've sworn that I know it from something...man, this'll drive me nuts till I remember what it's from."

"I haven't heard it before..." I tried not to laugh. Though we never told Catherine this, a lot of the times the stuff that she forgot she didn't remember she forgot until later. She was like Dory from Finding Nemo that way.

Catherine grinned, " So you read it, huh?"

"What?" Her smile faltered.

"You mean you didn't see it? Aya, it was painted in orange. How in the world did you miss it?" Rian pointed upward and I looked up, then nearly swore and settled for a scary grumble instead. Across my ceiling was:

"So you think I'm pretty, huh?"

I sat up-slowly and very carefully- and scratched my arm.

"Well, " I said dryly, "This should make life more interesting."

"Aya-chan, that is the biggest understatement of the century." I jumped, but turned only to see Konan just inside the door. I hadn't seen the blue-haired woman (that I remembered, anyway) since I had gotten out of the car.

"Think of it this way," I said cheerfully, "It could be-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" I winced as Rian covered my mouth.

"What was that for?" That hurt, dadgummit. My poor ears...they'll never work the same way again.

"You'll curse us all, you twit! Every time someone says it, life gets worse for them!" We all just stared at my friend. What. In. The. World.

"Where did you hear that from?"

Rian looked frantic, "It's true! I mean, I've said it before-"

"-just because something's happened to you, Rian-ow!"

"-and my life's gotten worse. I got dentention that one time for the spray paint thing, remember? I shouldn't have gotten caught. Then my idiot nephew said it, and the same thing happened!" Rian continued. I just sighed. Why couldn't I have...less odd...friends once in a while? Just once. Even for an hour. Maybe even five minutes.

"Back to the original conversation, Aya-chan, that is the biggest understatement of the century." Catherine sat farther down the bed and rubbed her head. I could partially sympathize. Only partially. She's not the one that hit her head in a falling elevator, after all.

"Well, it's not like I did it on purpose, you know," I rubbed my own head; it was starting to throb, "How long've I been asleep?"

"We got back last night around 7 or 8, and it's 12:30. Pm. Obviously."

I smiled. Lunchtime. Food. I just now registered that I was very hungry. And my headache was starting to clear up at the mention of food. Fabulous!

"LUNCHTIME, LADIES!"

"HONK!"

We all peeked our heads out of my bedroom, then stared at each other.

"What was that?"

Catherine looked at Rian and I, "Well, we picked up some other things besides clothes...this is the result."

I groaned, "Oh, God, Cat, you didn't. You let them buy bullhorns? Did they find the other one that we hid in the house from your cousin? Please tell me they didn't. "

"HONK!" HO-" the second one was quickly muffled and we heard a muffled "Idiot!" from downstairs. Lovely. Just what I wanted to deal with when I woke up this morning. Well, afternoon, technically. Now I get to help break up a fight between two or more psycho ninjas. This should be extremely fun. I'd better bring the camcorder for one of my friends to use.

"Well, actually-"

I contemplated knocking my head against the wall and making my concussion even worse. Why can't my friends stay out of trouble for five minutes? Well, normally we're the ones causing it, but we rarely actually got in the middle of things.

"If Hidan has one of those, I'm moving out, I ain't lying." Really. That could be the perfect way of him getting back at me. An angry Hidan chasing me with a bullhorn was not on my agenda for today. Not that I knew my agenda yet, but Hidan definitely wasn't on it. At least, with a bullhorn, anyway.

"Please say you're not serious. You'd leave me alone with Rian and the rest of this psycho-ouch!"

I rolled my eyes, "Didn't I say I wasn't lying? Okay, then. But-" I swung my legs out of my bed and was able to stand, "-we will continue this discussion later. I wanna eat."

After I got dressed, we exited my room. We all trouped down the stairs slowly, myself being extra slow with the rail, just in case. I didn't relish the idea of falling down after I decided to not hurt myself. Arranged around the table and the side bar were our current denizens of the house. I sat down gingerly, ignoring the stares. Catherine was on my left, and Tobi took the seat on my right.

"So," I said cheerfully, "who was the idiot that decided to blow the horn when I've got a concussion? I'd like to thank them."

Dediara looked perplexed, "Why'd you like to thank them, un?"

I grinned, my mouth filled with macaroni and cheese, "Because they gave me the perfect excuse to kill them, of course. Duh."

There were coughs and muffled laughs all around the table. Kisame kept his hands under the said table, and I filed it for future reference. He was probably the culprit, and I could prank him later. Well, if one could prank a shinobi. I'm sure Konan would love to help me. Probably. Hidan grinned at me from a few places down.

"But you called me pretty."

I blinked. What did that have to do with anything? I repeated it out aloud.

"It's damn feminine, that's what."

I snorted, "Well, I won't be caught dead saying you're hot, if that's what you're wondering. And, well, you're not hot, anyway."

"Aya! Don't say that! I don't want you to die!" Rian threw a pleading look across the table. Inside my head, however, my mind was cackling with glee. With a look, Catherine agreed to play along.

"Well,"I said defensively,"He's not. Seriously, do either of you think he's hot?"

Tobi shrugged, "Tobi is a boy, Aya-chan."

I ate another bite of my lunch before replying, "So? You could still have homosexual leanings that none of us know about. What about you, Catherine?"

Tobi choked on his food, Kakuzu then pounded his back, and Kisame guffawed. The rest of the table shook their heads or snickered. Catherine, in the meanwhile, eyed the silver-haired shinobi critically.

"Well, the no shirt thing really doesn't do it for me, to be honest. And his white hair makes him look old." I leaned forward to hide my face. I didn't think that she'd say that. I mean, that's cold. Ouch. I was sure that I would break out in laughter at any second. Hidan was absolutely furious. Actually, not absolutely furious. I'd be dead.

"So I'm not masculine enough for you bitches?"

"You're masculine," I conceded, "But not hot. And you do look probably 8-10 years older than you already are."

While he sat sputtering, Rian asked Pein, "So what's the plan for today, oh estimable Akatsuki leader?"

Pein had finished his lunch and was watching the rest of us quietly, Konan at his side. The blue-haired woman looked like she was trying to muffle a laugh or two. Pein's expression was undreadable.

"We need space to spar without distractions. Or watchers."

I leaned back in my chair, "I am re-elegating that duty to Rian. I'm using my 'I'm sick get out of doing anything card'. 'Sides, I can't drive or whatever anyway."

"Poor baby." I grinned at Cat's sarcastic remark. Ah, to have a functioning brain again. What a wonderful, wonderful, thing.

"Oh, yes. Woe is me. I feel the pity raining down from all you ruthless souls. See me bask. See me bask in it all."

I cleared my place and-taking a cue from me-my friends and the other shinobi did the same. I started to wash dishes while this was going on. It was one of my ingrained habits from home, and Catherine began drying dishes that I had finished washing, while Rian put away. The rest of the shinobi were seated around the table. Tobi and Konan tried to help, but I waved them off back to their seats.

"Your sarcasm is as good as ever, un."

I grinned at Deidara gleefully, "Why, thank you. It's nice to know I haven't gotten rusty."

"That's what she said."

"Don't do that to them. It's not nice."

"But we aren't nice, so why bother trying?"

I just gaped. Say...what? What?

"My eyes! Dammit, Zetsu! The images!"

I shook my head and blinked. It still hadn't completely registered. My confusion must've shown on my faces, because Catherine scowled at me.

"Just be glad you have a concussion, Aya. You don't want to know."

Wait. Wha-oh. Um. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I glared at the plant ninja, "You realize that I'll probably have to knock myself out again to get all of what just happened out of my head. Thanks. Thanks so very much. Really. I had looked forward to this this morning. I really did."

"Should I throw the soap at him?"

I shook my head at Catherine, "No, he might eat it. Or get it on the floor."

"Thanks for talking like I'm not here."

I glowered at the cannibalistic ninja, "You're welcome."

I turned to finish the dishes. My best friends followed my example, and we studiously ignored the ninjas sitting at our table. Not that they didn't try to get our attention. They didn't throw anything at me, but the other two would probably have sore heads in a few hours. After I threatened them with the spray hose-thing on the sink, most of them drifted off, except for Konan and Tobi. Rian leaned towards me secretly.

"So, you really think Hidan's pretty?"

I rolled my eyes, "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. That doesn't mean I like him."

It was Catherine who rolled her eyes this time, "Yeah. Sure. Please, sweetie, we know you like a book."

I huffed, "Not in this case. And it's-it's-"

"What? Tobi is confused." My best friends and I finished the dishes and then Konan and Tobi and the rest of us moved outside on the back porch.

"It's Hidan, for crying out loud! And the guy went and painted on my ceiling. In. NEON ORANGE. He's pretty, but come on."

"Tobi agrees with Aya-chan."

"I mean, NEON ORANGE. What in the world-," I sputtered, "-well. Eh. I'll have to kill him later. Metaphorically, of course. I wonder if he's a closet pervert like Kakashi besides being a sadist for his religion."

Catherine and Tobi snickered we situated ourselves on the porch railing. After reconsidering, I moved myself onto a nearby chair on the porch. Rian pulled a chair over from farther away, then sat on it backwards.

"This reminds me. Don't you have to leave soon, Rian?"

My best friend shook her head, "No, not for a couple minutes. And I'm liking this conversation. Besides, I've got Konan with me. Pein won't leave without her. And I'm taking Catherine with me as support when y'all come with me."

"So will anyone be staying here?" Rian shrugged.

"Probably one person to keep an eye on you. What if you fall down the stairs again?" Catherine arched an eyebrow.

I huffed, "Cat, that was only once. And Rian's idiot nephew pushed me. Or one of his ex-girlfriends did because the twit thought I was hitting on him. Gag me with a spoon. The guy has more girlfriends than Rian has shoes. It's amazing they don't run into each other coming and going."

Rian frowned a little, "Come on. Family habit at work. And besides, he's not that bad. In fact, he can be pretty cool most of the time."

At my look, she amended her statement, "Well, once in a while he can be a jerk."

"Thank you."

"Rian-chan, Catherine-chan, we need to go." We stood and I gave my best friends big hugs. I could see the driveway and part of the street from the back porch, so I waved until I couldn't see the cars anymore.

My hands rubbed together in glee. Now, what could I accomplish while they were gone...

"Just where do you think you're going, Aya-san?" I moved onward to my room, Kisame following close behind. I left the door open so Kisame could hear what was going on. After all, I didn't have mad ninja skills to get us out of trouble. Or hear anyone coming. That was his job, not mine. Thankfully. I'd probably throw a screwdriver at the door by accident, with my luck, if someone happened to break in. Or, knowing me, it'd come back and hit me on the head, knocking me out. Again.

"I'm about to check my email and read one of my books. You?"

The shark man shrugged. Poor guy. He's gotta be bored out of his mind. I wonder why he got stuck with 'lil ol me. I pulled Rian's desk chair out of her room and into mine, then motioned for Kisame to sit down. Taking my place near him and in front of the keyboard, I began to teach him the basics of a computer.

"Now," I started, "This is the Internet..."

Yo! I know it's kinda...flat. But it'll get better. I hadn't realized that I hadn't updated in so long (as usual)!

I am such a procrastinator. I cranked this out in a coupla hours. I promise I'll pace myself better next time. And computers don't exist in the Naruto world (that's how I'm writing it) but TVs do. So don't be surprised about any upcoming computer tutorials. And no, it won't get too technical jargonized. I have some ideas for it.

Now, feel free to comment. Serious characterizing is going to be going on for a while, and the usual silliness and funniness in between.

I hope you guys liked this chapter!

Hugs,

Ice

PS: No flames. As usual. Constructive cricicism, please. Thanks!