Again, sorry these first two chapps are so long. Just bear with me, people!
Oh, and I'd like to explain a couple terms real quick: sweatdrops and templethrobs.
I dunno if they're really called that, but that's what I call them. They're used a lot in manga and anime.
Sweatdrops look sorta like tear drops on the side of the character's head, usually along with a "WTF", "OMG," or "Why the hell is it always me the odd things happen to?" kind of expression on the character's face.
Templethrobs show up when the character's annoyed, and are those cool-looking plus sign thingies on their heads, usually red. They always make me laugh :D
Usually they have one of those "WTF" looks on their faces, too.
Just thought I'd clear that up :P
Thanks and enjoy :)
"Are we there yet?"
"No, sir. We aren't much closer than when you last asked, less than a minute ago."
"Whatever."
Luna sighed as the flight attendant continued down the aisle, shaking her full head of blonde hair in annoyance.
"Can you at least pretend you aren't annoying and that you have patience?"
"No."
Becs groaned from behind them. "How can someone that cute be so annoying?"
"You're thinking out loud again," Ichigo teased. "Shut the bloody hell up!" He laughed and put the earphone back in his ear.
Luna gave him a look. "You're lucky I'm letting you borrow one of these."
"Sympathy is a powerful thing, especially when dealing with hormonal chicks." She stayed quiet, knowing by now this was his way of thanking her. Sitting with him was not how she imagined spending a twelve-hour flight. But, at least she got the window seat. And she got to draw, so she was entertained.
Luckily, she had come prepared; she brought an earplug for her other ear while Ichigo started singing. At least, that's what he said the godawful noise was.
She had gotten so absorbed in her random picture, then suddenly sighed. "You know, it's not polite to stare, especially when people are trying to concentrate on drawing."
He rolled his eyes. "Like drawing talking sushi takes a lot of skill." Luna just stuck her tongue out at him. They were quiet for a minute until Ichigo started freaking out. "What, Ichigo?"
"What the hell do you mean 'what'? There's color coming out of your pencil, you freak!"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that. Well, Strawberry, if I concentrate my energy towards the pencil hard enough, it puts color into it. Hence the need for concentration. Cool, huh?"
"Why'd you call me Strawberry? You haven't called me that since two days ago, and you weren't even talking to me. And yes, it's pretty cool..."
"Because you called me freak. You have a nickname for me, I have one for you, so ha."
When they finally got to the rented home they would be staying in, Luna immediately collapsed onto one of the beds upstairs.
"Didn't you sleep almost the whole trip?" Becs asked incredulously. She sighed. "Yeah, but Tokyo has a lot of waves, lots of restless souls, which takes up my energy, and...it's confusing, but exhausting nonetheless."
Becs nodded that slow nod of hers when she thought someone had lost it. "Right...I'm gonna go do something productive now.."
"Like what? Flirt?"
"Pretty much."
"Go on."
Luna rolled her eyes as she left. "She's giving me gray hairs early, I swear to God."
She rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes to try and remember the dream she had had on the plane.
It was a teenage girl, by the looks of it, but Luna could tell by her face it was the red-headed woman from Konoha. Maybe this was what the village looked like at daytime when a huge monster wasn't ravaging it...it looked nice...
The girl was laughing with four other kids- one was the man she would end up living with. There was a teen with blonde hair, a much younger kid barely out of the toddler stage with kind of weird brown hair, and a much older girl with blonde hair and huge...well, some things Luna didn't need to remember that badly.
"I can NOT believe you did that," Kira said through laughs in what was meant to be a scolding tone. "You really are a dumbass," the older girl said with a sigh after her own giggles stopped. "I'm just glad Kira and I weren't in there when you did that!"
Kira nodded in agreement. "I would've had to beat the crap outta you for it." The blonde guy rolled his eyes and she grinned a little. "Okay, well, I'd send Tsunade on you," she said with a chuckle.
The blonde girl laughed. "It would be my pleasure, K." Blonde dude looked at Tsunade. "Wait, why are you even here?" She slung an arm around Kira's small shoulders. "Because Kira's like the little sister I never had, and Jiraiya insists you have potential, so I wanna see it. That a problem?"
Luna could tell the blonde liked her last statement, and apparently so could Kira, because she smirked as he resumed his bored expression with great difficulty.
The younger kid finally spoke up. "I still can't believe you got away with it...How?" Blonde dude shrugged. "Easy. See, around the hot spring building I found this hole, so I looked through it. Turns out it was on the women's side," he said with a far off smile.
The dude from her other dream rolled his eyes. "He must be reliving it." That sent everyone into hysterics again, and the dream had faded.
Okay, so that dream wasn't too important. But the one after it was totally different.
The teenage Kira was walking to a well, and she was humming something. After a while, she started singing.
"Here's a lullaby to close your eyes, goodbye...it was always you that I despised...I don't feel enough for you to cry, oh well...Here's a lullaby to close your eyes, goodbye, goodbye...goodbye..."
Her voice was so pretty Luna almost couldn't believe it. And the song was so familiar...
A branch cracked nearby, and Kira pulled out what looked like a throwing knife, but Luna couldn't be certain. The look on Kira's face told Luna that she must have been told to be very alert.
It was just the youngest boy from the group in the last vision. "Hi Kira." She smiled and put her knife back into her shoe. "Hey. What are you doing here?" "Looking for Shizune. She was looking for Mizuki, and she needed some back up.."
Kira rolled her eyes. "Mizuki, huh? He's always getting into trouble. Not half as much as Mitsuru does, though!" The boy laughed. "That's for sure. No one could beat his record." His expression turned curious. "What was that song you were singing? You know, before I scared the crap outta you," he added with a smug grin.
She turned a little red and rubbed her arm. "...You heard that?" He sweatdropped. "Well, yeah, you were kind of belting it out back here.."
She laughed a little. "I don't really know what it's called, but my mom used to sing it to me all the time when I was little, and it kinda stuck with me. Sometimes she'll hear me humming it and go all nostalgic," she said with a chuckle.
"You sing good." She smiled. "Thanks. Maybe I'll teach it to ya while I'm busy avoiding the hot springs for a while.."
He laughed again. "That'd be wise. It's part of his and Minato's daily routine now!" She pointed at the growth to the right of them. "Weren't you looking for Shizune and Mizuki?"
He started bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Oh. Right. Bye Kira!" "Bye!" She shook her head as he left. "That kid is full of energy." She started basically doing gymnastics on tree limbs and throwing knives everywhere, hitting red targets, ...
It looked like Kira belonged in a Russian circus now that Luna thought about it. And she didn't know why, but that dream seemed real important to her.
She wondered what had happened to the man and Kira after the talk they had had during the attack on Konoha. How come there isn't some chronological order to these? It would make things so much easier...
"If we're actually gonna do our job, you need to wake up, Luna!"
She jumped at the sound of Becs's voice. "Jeez, Becs! I think they heard you back in DC," she muttered moodily as she climbed out of the bed. "We gotta go see the body in person," Becs explained. "I know, but does it have to be NOW?" "YES! Jeez, Americans are so lazy!"
Luna sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, yes we are. We like to sleep. So let me sleep!" Becs shook her until Luna swore she had seen what the back of her skull looked like twice. "Wake up!"
Ichigo looked a little scared for Luna's life. "Damn. Don't give her more brain damage!" "Alright, alright!" Luna shouted, temple throbbing. Becs let go and laughed nervously. "Well, let's not keep the car waiting!"
Luna groaned. "It's so not fair! Damn that car!"
Ichigo looked at Becs. "You actually gave her more brain damage!" Luna rolled her eyes. It actually kind of hurt to do so. "No. I just hate that Becs knows how to drive and I don't!" Becs shrugged. "Only one member of each team was required to learn how to drive. I can't help it that I'm the favorite."
She snickered and pointed at Becs. "You're only the favorite because the old guys on the committee can see up your skirt so easily!" Ichigo and Luna burst out laughing as Becs glared at them. "Remember who's driving you, that's all I got to say."
"So, thatwas Kohlie," Becs said with a sigh. They were looking at old photos of her that were left on a table outside the autopsy room. Class photos and such.
Becs had pulled some strings; it turned out one of the interns was a big fan of exotic British professionals. Luna kept her tone blank. "She looked like every normal thirteen-year-old." Ichigo scoffed. "Like you would know what normal looks like. She looked like a nerd!"
Luna crossed her arms defensively. "Yes, I do! The informational videos they made me watch were very informative on the normal adolescent! And nerds are just smart kids, you have no right to pick on them because you're a dumbass. The average kid likes to hear praise once in a while and it is natural for their growth," she stated, a direct quote from one of the videos.
Ichigo shuddered as if she had just said she ate toenails. "That's my whole point. 'Normal adolescent'? Hasn't anyone told you, you are an adolescent! You have no idea what a normal kid is like. Some things in life, videos can't teach you."
Just then the doctor let them in. "I should probably warn you, it's quite unsettling. We haven't cut her at all yet, so we don't know any more than what the outside portion of her body tells us."
Becca let out a small gasp at all the incisions. "This kid was tortured," Ichigo seethed, anger clear in his voice.
Luna took a step closer to the body. "The cause of death looks pretty obvious. Kohlie probably bled out from all these wounds. That or the severity of them alone. By the sloppiness of the stitches, they were done in a hurry, which means her wounds were stitched up after she died."
The unprofessional doctor pointed at Luna with a sweatdrop and weird look. "Is she a martian?" "She might as well be," Ichigo muttered. She ignored them.
At least the investigator in the room knew what business was about. "Or, her killer could've just been inexperienced."
She scoffed. "I'm sorry sir, but look closer at these wounds. This was done by a professional. The tools were readily sterilized and sharpened to the right amount, judging by the pricision, coloring, and angles of the incisions."
"Also, the stitches were done like they would've been done by any other doctor in Malibu for plastic surgery or ER doctor for a busted head or something. There's no way someone inexperienced could do all of them exactly correct and symmetrical like this."
The investigator looked impressed, and the doctor looked like he still thought she was a martian. "I see your point. Now, would you three mind giving your insight on her internal wounds?"
Ichigo turned a little green at the thought. "I will," Luna offered at the looks on her team's faces. The doctor nodded and reluctantly handed her a scalpel. "Don't worry, I have had medical training," she assured him.
As she started to cut the body open, Becs fainted and her cute intern caught her while looking at Luna in disbelief. She ignored them and continued cutting Kohlie open.
Normally this would disgust a lot of people. Not Luna. She was numb to these kinds of things after years of forced practice. But when she finished cutting the body open, even she felt an extreme white-hot flash of rage and disgust towards Kohlie's killer surge through her for a few moments.
The investigator gasped. "Never, in my thirty-five years on the force, have I EVER seen something like this."
The doctor stared in disbelief, and Ichigo looked about to throw up. Her intestines, her lungs, her heart...they were all gone.
"It's like they were...removed," the investigator said in disbelief. Luna sighed.
"No offense, but duh. By the looks of it, this poor kid had most of these organs removed while she was still living. Mainly the smaller ones. If he had started with the intestine, she would've been dead by the time he got to the next organ, probably the left lung."
"The only thing left is half of her rib cage and spinal cord," the doctor said in disgust. Poor Kohlie was literally nothing but a shell.
Right about then Ichigo started to help the intern try reviving Becs. Luna had never seen anything like this. Who would have enough of a stomach, much less the skill, to successfully empty her body with no trace of anything left behind?
They were told there was no blood at the crime scene, which they had combed for hours after the discovery of Kohlie's corpse.
"I should've known something was off when I cut her open," Luna said with a sigh. "No blood, not a drop, came out. I figured you had emptied the body of the blood already, but that wouldn't make sense.." Her gaze lingered on Kohlie's eyes, closed as if she were sleeping peacefully. That always unnerved her; how their eyes could look so peaceful, yet you know they didn't die peacefully, and probably weren't even resting peacefully yet.
Sometimes she wondered if it was best to let the poor people's eyes stay open until their spirits rested. That way whoever looked at them could understand their pain, instead of leaving it to people like her.
Not just an Agent, but an Agent who sensed spirits like these. Who attracted spirits like these. Kohlie's spirit might not have been nearby, but Luna could feel the fear and pain that girl had felt in her last moments enveloping her in waves, and she finally had to leave the room.
"She probably just needs to use the bathroom," Becs told the others as she left, though Luna had a feeling she knew exactly what was wrong.
She escaped to the chilly Tokyo night air, leaning on the wall of the building next to a random man smoking. She wished she could see her breath; she used that method sometimes to distract her. Times like these, when spirits died so violently, it was hard to distance herself from them. Like she needed to. She had learned that a long time ago.
So after shaking her head politely at the cigarette the man offered her, Luna counted the crushed gum spots on the sidewalk she was standing on, and when she ran out, counted the leaves on a nearby tree until Kohlie's screaming had left her ears. Finally, her head stopped pounding, and her stomach stopped churning.
Luna sighed and pushed herself off the wall, heading back inside, putting her hands in her green-and-black jacket's pockets and counting her steps. She was used to ghosts trying to talk; if you ignore them, they have to leave you alone after a while. You only have obligations to them if you acknowledge them.
But it was spirits or demons that died like Kohlie had, out of cold blood and by gruesome methods, that had always been the hardest for her to ignore. Even though she was one of those few good assassins, she still caused her victims that same pain.
So, Kohlie...what happened to you? Huh? And why the hell did you have to make the unfortunate mistake of assuming I'd help your soul?
After taking photos, sending them back to the Agency, talking to Tara about it via phone so she could carry it on to her boss, and explaining to Becs what she had missed, (which resulted in almost having to revive her again) the "hot intern" drove Luna and Ichigo home so him and Becs could go on their promised date.
When they got out, Ichigo shook his head as the car drove off. "Today was a long day. I found out new things about my partners- one's a flirt and one's a robot." She crossed her arms as they went inside. "Hey! I am NOT a robot! Robots don't have feelings, and I happen to have some of those! Plus, I am not made of metal, and I assure you I don't run on batteries!"
He scoffed. "You have feelings? Could've fooled me! Anyone who's 15, and knows everything about normal stuff through videos, and doesn't even blink when they give a diagnosis while cutting open a dead thirteen-year-old girl like that, is for sure a robot in my book."
She sighed. "This is normal. You're still in the stages of angst and therefore death is new to you. After a while you'll grow somewhat accustomed to the thought of death, just like Becs has. She's still getting used to the autopsy and investigation portion, obviously, but that's understandable in the average teen."
He gaped at her. "Hello? Haven't we been over this already? You are a teen! That is, if you're not a robot, like you say you aren't. But you might as well be a robot...or a zombie. Dead to the normal world. On that note, I'm going to leave you to your mechanical thoughts as you try to sort out what it is us 'average teens' do with our spare time."
With that, he walked into the den and she heard a television switch on. Okay, that stung a little. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Am I a robot? No... At least, I don't think so.."
She shook her head and looked to logic, as she usually did in these situations. "No, I can't be. I have to breathe, don't I? I sense things. I feel things, like fear, anger, confusion, and when I run a long time I feel the rush and burn at the same time..."
Luna paused. "And when he was around...sometimes I felt my heart.." She put a hand where her heart was, listening intently before sighing in disappointment. "Nothing. As usual. Did they take it out?" Luna wondered. It was still all too new for her, even now. She looked at the floor, trying to picture him again to see if her heart would react as it used to.
His light brown hair with darker wisps, the bright, piercing green eyes, his- "What the hell? Did I make you cry?"
She jumped and gave him a weird look. "What are you talking about?" Then she noticed her voice was a little stuffy, like her nose. She wiped her cheeks and they were wet.
"Oh. No, it wasn't you."
"Oh, I was hoping you were talking about me like that just now," he commented with a smirk. Her temple throbbed. "Never in a million years, Mr. Yoplait."
"Yoplait?"
"Like the yogurt."
"Oh, I get it! You love the taste of the strawberry kind, so you call me Yoplait."
"Actually, that's in my bottom five. My favorite's orange."
"Well, I have orange hair."
"Coincidence."
"Uh-huh, sure." She sighed. "I'm going to go take about five sleep pills and go to bed."
"Don't overdose yourself! A robot is quite useful on the team."
"Shut the hell up!"
As soon as Luna woke up, Becs blabbed for hours on end about her date. Well, really it was about five minutes, but same difference.
"Uh, you're dating my brother, y'know." Becs gave her a pleading look. "Please don't say anything. It was for the good of the mission!"
Luna narrowed her eyes. "Next time, I take one for the team. I won't let my brother get hurt, Rebecca Kensington!" Becs hugged her. "Thanks Loony!" She waved her off. "Yeah, yeah." Becs watched as she made up her bed, wincing occasionally.
"You always do that when you wake up. Why?"
Luna shrugged. "I have no idea. I suppose...I am just stressed. It's been a long near-month." Actually, she more than supposed that was the reason. She had been doing near-constant activity while running on five hours of sleep at the very most a night. Some nights, she'd have less than three.
Other times, she'd get enough hours, but be plagued with stress-dreams. All this spiritual activity made it a really bad time to be an Agent, and even worse of a time to be a sort of medium on top of things. She didn't like calling herself a medium, because mediums were helpful. She basically told ghosts "Fuck you, my problems are bad enough without you whining to me every five minutes!".
Some people would call that mean, cruel, selfish. Luna called it necessary. It was either ignore the dead or listen to them and eventually commit suicide so she'd be able to think her own thoughts for once.
Becs sweatdropped. "...That's all rather interesting. I kinda already picked up on that stuff, though." Luna paled. "Was I thinking out loud again?"
"Definitely."
"Sorry, I...like I said, I am stressed."
"No worries. Okay, anyway, today we explore Tokyo!"
Luna perked up. "Really? They'll let us?" Becca bit her lip and Luna sighed. "What's the catch?"
Becs sighed. "We have to tail some suspects for the Tokyo PD. Their files are downstairs. Well, copies of their files, anyway."
Luna sighed as well and trudged downstairs. She plopped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, next to Ichigo.
If he still shared the same opinions as he had the previous night, he showed no signs of it. Luna picked up a file, practically glaring at the words as she read them.
"'Kagome Higurashi. Reported coming out of a well near the crime scene around the time of the victim's murder.'" Ichigo gave her a weird look, and she nodded. "That definitely falls under the heading of suspicious person."
"Ya think?" Ichigo shook his head and looked at his. "'Unkown'," he said with a laugh. "Why are you laughing? That's considered serious, Ichigo."
Luna was confused, but then she saw his picture. "What died on his head?" Ichigo shrugged. "A wolf, maybe? 'Reported by the well and accompanying Ms. Higurashi to her home'."
Becs waggled her eyebrows. "Can you say bow-chika-wow-wow?" Luna blushed. "Becs, we don't know that!"
Becs rolled her eyes. "Please. You just wish you and-" "Shut the hell up!" Becs blushed. "Oh. Right. Sorry." "And to be honest, no, I don't. I could go my whole life without that image of us," she grumbled before taking a huge swig of her orange juice.
"So, this is where Kagome lives? She's probably on her way to school right now." She sighed. "I've always wanted to go to school..." Ichigo gaped at her. Her temple throbbed. Since their targets were so...acquainted with each other, they were looking for them together. Splendid.
"Now I'm sure of it. You're a robot. No human kid would say that!" She sighed dreamily as they walked towards Kagome's school. "You don't know how lucky you and Rukia are, Ichigo. I had to learn everything through videos. You want to know what my schedule was?"
He nodded. "My only guess is frequent oil changes." She shot him a look before clearing her throat.
"At five I woke up and was served a small organic breakfast and protein shake. At nine, after watching two videos or more about certain topics for that day, I was taken to the criminology lab and taught medical techniques and forensic anthropology. Forensic anthropology is the study of human bones," she explained at the blank look on his face.
"Oh. I knew that."
"After that, at precisely 10:45, I was escorted to their own lab to have tests run on me to try and figure out why I have my abilities and how far they can go. They never work, might I add. Afterwards, I am taken to a room to work on my fitness and cardio."
"How?"
"Well, they start out small, like scaling a fake wall or climbing a rope across the room near the ceiling."
"Yeah, small stuff," he agreed with a sweatdrop. "This girl is not human," he muttered.
"You've already said that. Lots of times. After that, I am given a late lunch that is basically my dinner. But that was before I was sent out into the field and put on Becs's team, so it was only until I was about eleven."
"ELEVEN? You were a...kid?" She gave him a weird look. "Doesn't everyone do that stuff? They told me it was called a...workout? Yeah, that's it."
Ichigo stopped walking and planted both hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes.
"Normal people do not scale buildings, fake or not, for a workout. Usually never in their entire lifetime. Normal people don't learn about anthropology and criminology while they're still kids, if they even learn it at all. Normal people don't learn about other people and everyday life through videos. Normal kids don't have to go through weird tests, being poked and prodded like a lab frog. And normal people do NOT spend their life in a stainless-steel prison like that."
She didn't say a word as they kept walking, but her mind was whirring a mile a minute about what she thought had been a moderately normal childhood that simply had unusual methods.
"Kagome Higurashi, eh?"
"Yes, please. It's pretty urgent." Thank God Ichigo and I know Japanese.. The lady nodded. "Right, got it. I just need the family password." They looked at her blankly. "...Family password?"
She looked at Ichigo. "Families have passwords? There is a lot they didn't teach me about normal families.."
He sighed. "No, they don't. Thatpart they got right. This must be one of those schools that have these passwords set up for every student so no one they don't know picks them up." Ichigo showed her a fake badge the Tokyo Police had given him, thinking it might come in handy. "We're with TPD."
The lady instantly reached for the phone. "Mrs. Nagasaki? Could you please send Kagome Higurashi to the main office immediately? Yes. Thank you." She hung up the phone. "She's on her way up with her things. Please tell me she's done nothing wrong. She's a good kid, watches my kids all the time, she even takes care of her younger brother Sota without many complaints. She's like a saint, has the patience of one too. There's no way she's done anything.."
Luna gave her a fake smile. "That's what we're trying to find out, ma'am. I am sure everything will be fine and she will be released from questioning and back into her normal regime swiftly and safely."
The lady seemed perplexed. "People don't really talk like that anymore. What's your name, child?" "Luna, ma'am." "And mine?"
Ichigo looked at the woman strangely, while Luna squinted in thought at the spirit-energy vibrations the woman was sending out before replying, "Naomi Mitsukia."
The woman nodded sagely. "As I thought. I knew there was a strange aura about you. You know what is not to be known, and most likely can see what cannot yet be seen. Sometimes what already has been seen, yet the eyes do not know."
Ichigo was about to have a "What the hell?" spazz-out, but she stepped on his foot behind the desk and beyond the woman's view. "Yes, that is correct. You can as well?" She asked over his groaning.
"Just people's fates, destinies, desires. Mainly things that deal with affection." Luna nodded. "I understand. There is something you see about my friend or me?" "Both of you." She pointed to Ichigo and Luna grinned at him as the woman closed her eyes. "Ichigo Kurosaki?"
He gulped. "Yes ma'am?" "Would you like to know what I see about you?" "Uh...sure?"
The corners of Naomi's mouth twitched a little, almost forming a smile. "You..." She smiled for real this time. "Are in love. One who flies, one whose spirit has been permanently intertwined with your own. Do not follow the path less traveled, young Kurosaki. Follow the path that is not there."
He stared at her for a minute, then wordlessly looked at Luna as if to say This woman has totally gone nuts. "Her turn!" He said eagerly, pushing Luna forward a little, and she sweatdropped. "What happened to 'She's totally gone nuts'?" She hissed, to which he just grinned.
Naomi smiled. "I wanted to see what I could get from you the most. Orange here is not nearlyas interesting..." Ichigo huffed, which made Luna grin. Naomi cleared her throat and closed her eyes again.
"Luna, you do not remember much of anything about your early life, do you?" "No, ma'am." "And you..." Naomi gasped. "I see. You have been in love, haven't you? Once."
Luna's throat closed up, so she just nodded after a moment. I think so, she thought, not able to say them out loud due to her throat. The woman closed her eyes again. "Ah, I see. His name...Alex."
Luna felt like she was going to faint. How the hell does she know about him? I thought she was a fake or something!...I thought I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.. The woman sighed. "And you thought you wouldn't have to hear about him anymore, Luna?"
Luna nodded again, still unable to speak. For once, Ichigo was quiet. Naomi closed her eyes again and Luna cringed. Why is it always so damn dramatic when it's my turn?...Please, don't say out loud what I've done. Please...Not when Ichigo has just started to tolerate me...
The woman gasped. "This...has not happened before.." "What?" Luna asked urgently. She couldn't take more surprises. "I hear a different voice.."
Ichigo touched her arm. "I think I see Kagome, we should probably get her..." She tried to move, she really did. But her legs wouldn't let her unless she wanted to collapse entirely. Naomi continued. "Now Alex is talking to me...he misses you." Ichigo stopped tugging her along and she froze on the spot. "What did she just say?"
"He wants to talk to you again, but...He's-" "Kagome Higurashi!" Luna blurted out, and a girl with long, wavy black hair stopped. "That's me..." Kagome looked at Ichigo's shocked face, to Naomi, to Luna, who must have looked extremely upset, and sweatdropped. "Is this about Inuyasha? I told him to go home, but he never listens. What did he do this time?" Her face turned red with anger. "Did he pick on that Doyle kid across the street again? I TOLD him that 'yo momma' jokes mean nothing like he thinks!"
Ichigo snapped out of it and shook his head. "Uh...no." Naomi all of a sudden made a weird noise. "Luna, trust me...you are not in the wrong..."
Luna turned red. "What are you talking about?" "There's a reason he's gone...not because YOU sent him away...fate sent him away...the man who caused you so much grief so long ago...I am seeing an 'S'...but there is another one you have known...one who knows...one who heals..." Her voice faded, then rose back up. Ichigo gave Luna a look. "She's in some kind of trance," Luna explained. "It happens sometimes to us...I thought she was a fake!" She hissed.
"Yes, he heals...yet he might damage all...one who fights, who would kill, to protect those close...yes, you know him well...it takes a monster to know a monster." I'm...a monster? "I'm a monster?"
Ichigo shook his head. "No way. The worst you could be is a robot. Don't listen to her, she's full of shit." Luna glanced at Naomi uncertainly. "Everything else she said was TRUE, though.." She heard Naomi mutter as they left, "This poor child shall find no peace!"
Even after Ichigo and Kagome practically dragged her out due to her being weak in the knees still, Naomi's voice played over and over in her head.
Luna probably should've been thinking about Alex, but her mind kept whirring over the other statements. This poor child shall find no peace...one she's known..I'm seeing an 'S'...the man who caused you so much grief so long ago...It takes a monster, to know a monster..
"...While I'm glad to be outta calculus, mind telling me why two TPD's came for me?" Kagome asked after they were out in the fresh air. Fresh air had helped Luna a lot, and now she was back into business mode.
"First off, who was that lady behind the counter?" Ichigo asked. Luna gave him a quizzical look. "I told you, her name is Naomi Mitsukia.."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant. Is she fricking insane?" Kagome shrugged. "Well, her mom thought her uncle was a Kitsune and she used to think her sister was Tomoe Gozen reincarnated..."
Ichigo sweatdropped. "Well, I'd call that a big yes.." Luna felt a little relieved. There's no way she was a credible source-she was clearlymentally incompetent! "Now, on to business," Luna prompted. Ichigo cleared his throat. "Oh, right. We have sources that tell us you were very close to the crime scene during the time the victim was murdered, coming out of a well."
"What murder victim?" Luna took over. "Her name was Kohlie Hajisaki, age thirteen." Kagome gasped and her eyes watered. "No way, not Kohlie! She was so sweet!" "You know her then," Luna stated. "Of course, she lived across the street, a couple houses down. Even Inuyasha liked her...W-What happened to her?"
"Well, first she was cu-" Ichigo elbowed her in the ribs. "...She was murdered?" Ichigo nodded. "She was murdered. Thank you, Luna." He rolled his eyes and held up the picture of his target. "This dude was seen with you, all the way to your house...?" He coughed to hide his laughing.
Kagome turned red. "It's not what it sounds like! Uh...how do I explain this without being put in a straight jacket? ...Hmm..." Luna acted on intuition. "You use the well to travel to a different world, or time?" Kagome gaped at her. "Exactly!"
"And he's from that different time period, obviously, judging by his clothes and hair." "Yes!"
"And he's somehow related to Wolverine?" "Half dog, but close."
Ichigo watched them go back and forth, obviously at least a little impressed. Luna felt rather smug; it pays off, being able to sense spiritual energy off people. Hence why she could sense the otherworldly vibrations off Kagome.
Iit was as if the girl had fricking swan-dived into it.
"So...is that their alibi?" Luna nodded. "They were in a whole different area at the precise time of the murder. That's what we'll tell them." Kagome cocked an eyebrow. "Why not tell them the truth?"
Luna sighed. "Can you explain this time?" "Fine."
After Ichigo had been trying to make the story all dramatic like she had, Kagome eventually got it. "Ohhh, I get it. So...Luna's a robot?"
Luna slowed her pace to match theirs and smacked Ichigo upside the head. "God, Ichigo! You know I'm not!" "You sure?" "Yes!" "Oh."
She rolled her eyes. "Ichigo is a bit...well, stupid." Kagome giggled. "I deal with that a lot."
"...So thisis what take-out's like." Luna slurped another noodle and sighed with contentment. "I like it! We should get this at the Agency instead of those organic crud muffins." Becs nodded. "True that."
Kagome watched them with a grin. "I aim to please." Luna smiled, slurping happily. "You succeeded!" When she couldn't possibly eat any more of her lo mein, Luna grinned at them. "I want to show you guys something, now that Ichigo's occupied. He'd ruin it."
He had been looking for Rukia the rest of the day, she had run through Tokyo sightseeing. Personally, Luna thought he probably found her by now and they were taking advantage of it by walking around doing God-knows-what. At least, that's what SHE would do.
Luna led the way into her room, then opened the window and climbed out. She sat on the roof and motioned for them to do the same. She sighed, totally zen. "I love it out here. The energy is neutral here, noise level in the negatives, and-"
That's when she felt it. "Becs, get Kagome inside." Becs sighed, but did it anyway. "Is this really necessary?" Luna didn't reply. She felt a huge disturbance, one that made her feel like she was going to rock right off the roof.
"Something's coming."
Sure enough, a few miles to the east, there was an explosion and bright purple light, and then it was gone as quickly as it had come. Becs and Kagome let out a gasp, and even Luna's eyes widened in surprise. "I wasn't expecting something, or someone, with that much energy.."
Luna made a split decision. "Becs, stay here with Kagome in case Ichigo and Rukia ever get back. I have to check that out." Becs's accent turned heavy as she tried to talk Luna out of it the whole way down the stairs. "Luna, it could just be an explosion from all the work over there. That's a construction site, I saw it myself when I was walking with my target...we were checking out the construction workers and they were whistling at us and such!"
"Becs, there is absolutely no way that was a normal explosion and you know it. Besides, your precious dudes in uniform could be hurt." Becs sighed. "Fine.."
"Okay...since she said it was a construction site, and it went off approximately three miles east, it should be..." Luna halted the energy flow in her legs that made her go faster so she wouldn't collide head-first into the chain-link fence ahead of her. "Here. Wow. That's convenient."
She climbed the fence and surveyed the area. "Hmm. Guess I was right." There had definitely been something otherworldly there. She could still feel the waves, and they were off the charts. "Whatever it is, it's still here."
She heard the clank of metal and a chuckle to her right. A figure with weird robes and a purple...bow around their waist stepped out from the darkness, a chilling smirk on their face. She noticed the weird headband was around his neck, only it was a music note. If Luna didn't know any better, she'd say it was some dude who got lost on his way to an early Halloween party in some gay bar or something. "You lost, twinkle-toes?"
I am a true idiot, Luna thought, mortified. Whenever she was nervous, she tended to say random and sarcastic remarks; this was no exception. He laughed. "Such fire. Excellent."
She gave him a look. "Is that some pick-up line I haven't heard yet? If so, you definitely keep the standard low for the poor, overly-abused last resorts to get some."
He smiled. "Not quite. More of a...critique, if you will." He pulled a weird knife, which looked kind of like Kira's, out of his robes. "Now get ready, for here comes a test. It may just be your last," he warned with a laugh that sent tingles up her spine.
She got her body in a position to run; there was no way she could take him with the waves still reverberating, it was already messing with her senses as if she were drunk.
"Well then. Let's dance, twinkle-toes. Don't get your robe dirty."
Luna was panting heavier than she had in a long time. "There's no way I can do this much longer," she muttered between breaths. This had only been going on for a couple minutes, but she was exhausted.
The waves were also affecting her hearing. Whenever he waved his hand, sound waves came out. She had been lucky enough to dodge them- they had been able to jostle the huge mound of dirt that had been behind her, an amazing feat.
Luna had spent so much of her energy just dodging him and hiding that she wasn't sure if she could even land an attack. In that second, she made a decision she had never before resorted to: she'd have to run. "Where, oh where, is my Chosen One?" Chosen One?
She heard another blast, felt its heat even though it was on the other side of the site. Luna glanced around and grabbed one of the bars that made up the skeleton of the new building. Right as she grabbed onto another and started climbing, she heard a voice that wasn't evil. "What the hell are you doing?"
She nearly fell off the bar in surprise. "Holy shi-" Luna's curse was muted by twinkle-toes blasting a bulldozer. "I will find you, Chosen One!"
She turned her head slightly to see a boy squatting on the bar next to her, blonde hair kept out of his ocean blue eyes with... She groaned at the sight of the now painfully familiar shiny piece of metal. "Another one?"
He gave her a weird look. "...Right. This isn't weird at all. Why is that guy calling you his Chosen One?" He peered at her, and she glared right back at him. "Other than looking slightly familiar, you don't look like anything special."
Luna sweatdropped and continued climbing the pole. "Oh, wow, thanks. Look, I don't have time to talk to some dude that pops up out of thin air, AGAIN." He kept crawling after her. "Hey! I have no idea what I'm doing here or where the hell I am, so the least you could do is tell me that!"
She kept crawling. "Do you mind talking a little quieter? Trying to escape a very scary and strong twinkle-toes here." He chuckled. "Figures. I pop into some other village, and already there's a weird, delusional damsel in distress."
She stopped climbing and glared at him. "I am NOT weird or delusional, and definitely NOT a damsel in distress!" He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You look like one to me, 'Chosen One'."
"I'm impressed. You can use air quotes, climb a metal bar, AND annoy me at the same time!" She shook her head and kept climbing. "This is NOT what I planned on doing tonight."
He rolled his eyes. "Well, neither did I! Never thought we had so much in common." She grabbed onto another pole with her legs and was about to swing herself up when they were suddenly face-to-face, though hers was upside-down.
"Can you at least tell me how I can get back home before you disappear out of my life forever?" He asked dramatically. She bit her lip, the wind ruffling her side-bangs in and out of her right eye.
Luna actually wanted to help him. But the explosions were getting closer by the minute, and he WAS annoying as hell. "Go towards the noise and see where you end up. You two are obviously from Konoha, so maybe you'll know each other."
She climbed the other pole and dashed towards the chain-link fence, towards safety. "Well, Fair Lady Temperance has escaped!" Twinkle-toes exclaimed, slightly shocked. Then he chuckled, a sound that echoed throughout the whole site.
"They will be pleased. Very pleased indeed."
"I feel like a total coward," Luna muttered miserably. The image of that guy's shocked face kept popping into her head. It was against her natural instinct to leave someone like that, but they must have known each other. They had headbands, didn't they?
Yeah, but twinkle-toes didn't look as friendly as Kira, OR her friends, OR the other guy... "Dammit, why did I dothat? If he's dead, it's all my fault, and he would have a right to come back and haunt me, and when I die, he'll kick my guilty ass to another fricking dimension!" She whined.
Luna gloomily opened the door to her temporary home. Everyone, Rukia and Ichigo included, jumped up at the sound of the door opening. "Thank God, Michael Jackson, and the bloody Queen!" Becs blurted out, nearly hysterical. "What the hell happened?" She sweatdropped. "How long was I gone?" "Thirteen whole minutes!" Rukia said as if it were a year.
Luna sweatdropped. "...Okay..."
"Well? what the hell happened?" Ichigo asked again.
She sighed. "Well, first there was some weird guy with a purple bow, and he called me his Chosen One..." She explained what had happened, editing out the strange and extremely annoying boy she had met. "Whoa. All that in thirteen minutes."
"You forgot to mention me!"
She jumped. The boy was right behind me the whole time? Oh crap...I didn't do anything too embarrassing, did I? Other than trip on a banana peel and three-pointing it angrily into a nearby trash can, she couldn't think of anything. Back to the more important matter of what the hell was going on...
"What?...Where?...How, heh, HUH?" Everyone else was just as confused, so focused on Luna's story they hadn't even noticed the door was wide open.
"You're not very aware of your surroundings when you're talking to yourself. I even answered some of your questions on the way, and a lot of people looked at me weird for shouting at you, but you didn't even notice me!" Luna didn't answer, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "But...how...huh?"
He looked at Ichigo, the only other guy in the room. "Not very bright, is she?"
Kagome and Becca snickered. "How come you didn't mention HIM?"
Luna rolled her eyes. "So, you followed me back here just to scare the hell outta me?" "Not really. I mainly wanted to see if you knew a way back, since you knew where I was from." She shook her head from her position on the floor. "Nope. Sorry. Bye!" He was about to comment when he noticed the abandoned noodles.
"Is that...pork lo mein? It's almost as good as ramen!" He started to get some, but Luna sprang to her feet and snatched it.
"No way in hell are you snagging my noodles!"
"You know, you're taught in school to share."
"You are?"
"Duh!"
"Oh. Well, then here!"
"...Really?"
"Hell no!"
"That's no fair!"
"Neither is snagging my noodles! I've never had anything so good to eat since I can remember!"
"..Wow, what do you eat? Crackers?"
"Psh, I wish."
"No wonder you're so skinny!"
"Hey!"
"That's a compliment."
"Oh...Thank you?"
"There you go! You're welcome."
The others watched them go back and forth with sweatdrops. "If you two are done..." Becs held up a phone. "Tara wants to talk to the hot guy."
"Okay, I have a question- is Tara hot? She soundshot." Luna rolled her eyes as he handed the phone back to Becs. "She can read minds," Ichigo said with a sigh. "Totally ruins it." The guy nodded, and the exchanged woeful sighs. "Yeah, never mind."
Luna rolled her eyes again. "So, are you leaving any time soon?" He crossed his arms, looking very annoyed. "Apparently not. Tara and some other 'team' are coming to 'investigate the phenomena first-hand'. So it looks like I'm gonna be staying here for a while."
Becs pumped a fist in the air and Kagome sat up straighter in her chair. "Yes!" They shouted at the same time. Luna groaned. "I'm doomed.."
He rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself. Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?" Ichigo smirked. "I doubt it. They probably call her something along the lines of a lovesick robot." "Shut the hellup, Yoplait!"
Blond Guy cocked an eyebrow. "Yoplait?" "His name's Ichigo, which is Japanese for Strawberry, so she calls him Yoplait since they sell awesome strawberry yogurt," Becs explained.
Luna looked at him and crossed her arms. "I hope you like the floor."
Becs flipped her sleek chestnut hair; she always did that when she wanted to make her golden highlights more noticeable to men. "Ignore her. I'm pretty sure it's her time of the month."
"I'd be this annoyed any time of the month, thank you verymuch." Becs just rolled her eyes. "You could at least try to be nice," she whispered so only Luna could hear.
"Why?" She muttered back.
"Well, why not?"
Luna sighed, snapping her fingers at Blond Boy to get his attention. "You got a name? Blondie perhaps? Do you find people one way or another, or have a heart of glass? Maybe both?"
Becs sighed and Luna held up her hands defensively. "I tried! It was an educated guess!" He gave them both a weird look before turning to Ichigo. "Is she always like this?" "Pretty much. You get used to it." "Oh. And my name's Naruto."
Luna scowled at the floor, arms crossed against her middle. "Nothing worse than dealing with people who don't understand references to people who were popular beyond the days of these Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus people I keep hearing about."
Rukia and Becs both perked up at the mention of Justin. "I LOVE HIM!" The both squealed. Luna sighed. "Becs, we've been over this, his voice is purely synthesized and nasal!"
Ichigo nodded. "If a synthetic human says his voice is synthesized, it must be true, you guys."
"Shut up, Ichigo!"
Becs simply smiled, pointing out another flawless part of her; her smile looked dazzling against her caramel skin. "Anyway. I'm Rebecca, but everyone usually calls me Becs. Well, except Tara." Kagome batted her eyelashes, and Luna came real close to gagging at the two of them. Just how desperate were they? "I'm Kagome, ex-suspect."
Becs was about to explain what Kagome meant when Luna shot off the couch and dove for the table. "Don't lay a fingeron those noodles, Rukia!"
She swore Rukia jumped about three feet into the air. "Jeez, hungry much?" Luna nodded. "Hell yeah!" She replied after swallowing a huge mouthful of lo mein.
"I just fought off a dude from some messed up ballet, climbed fences, AND poles! Not to MENTION all the energy that was totally screwing with my senses! It was one of the biggest kinds I've gotten yet, and the sound waves totally didn't help any..."
Becs sighed. "Well, I guess now you know that's Rukia." He sweatdropped and pointed to Luna, who was currently shoveling the carton's contents into her mouth. "What's she talking about? With the waves?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Only she knows. We just pretend to understand. Probably robotic interference or something." Luna sweatdropped and cleared her throat. "Hello, sitting right here."
She then looked around. "How come I can never find that thing when I need it? Jeez." "Her sketchbook," Becs and Rukia guessed. Naruto blinked. "She draws, too?"
"Great, I hate explaining things. Okay, since I'm out of my element, try to understand since no one ELSE could. I don't really know what the waves are, but it's like... everyone has their own unique energy, and some people's energies are stronger than others. And for some reason, I seem to be the only one on this world who can use that energy to make things happen."
She paused thoughtfully. "Once, I got so scared on a mission that instead of shitting twice and dying, two of me appeared and we kicked the target's ass, but I have no other memory of the incident or how it occurred...I wish I knew how I did it, I'd love to feel that release of pressure again..." Naruto stared at her blankly, then laughed. "Oh, you're talking about chakra!"
She cocked her head and gave him a quizzical look. "...Chakra? What's that?" He made what looked like sign language with his fingers, and all of a sudden there was another Naruto beside him. "Chakra's what makes you do that!" They said at the same time.
Luna poked it in wonder. "That's exactly what I did! Yeah, now I remember!" She made a sign and soon there were two hers as well. She sighed in relief; being able to release some of the pressure of all that pent-up "chakra" really helped her sinus headache. Odd, huh?
"Sweet!" Both Lunas yelled at the same time. Ichigo moaned. "Great, now there's two of them."
She rolled her eyes and made them disappear. "You know, somehow I still haven't learned your name." "Luna." "Got it." She stretched and yawned. "I'm gone." She started to run up the stairs, but not before throwing over her shoulder, "You're still sleeping on the floor!"
THE NEXT MORNING...
To her disappointment, Kagome was back home, there were no leftovers, and Naruto hadn't been a dream. She knew that much after nearly tripping over him.
Luna blinked a couple times in surprise, then tried to burn a hole through him with her eyes. All he did was snore a little louder. "He's lazier than you are," Becs agreed, making her jump.
Luna smirked. "What, have you been watching him sleep?" She pretended to write in a book, imitating Becs's voice. "Dear diary- all night, I watched him breathe. In and out, in and out," she stopped to lick her finger and pretend to turn a page, then continued.
"In...and out...I counted; he breathed about 768, 345, 654 times. Sigh." Becs's temple throbbed menacingly. "No. Not everyone sleeps in until almost noon." Luna pouted. "Well...everyone should."
She got a banana, then came back into the den to peel it. She flicked on the TV, and grinned like a kid on Christmas. "The Grudge Two's on! Yes! There is justice!"
Becs rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go talk to Tara to see when they're coming." Luna waved her off. "Sure, sure."
It was right at the part where the stupid teenage girls entered the house, and Luna was on the edge of her seat despite the fact that she had memorized it since it was so much better than the videos she was allowed to see: the educational ones.
"Ooh, is that what I think it is?" She jumped so hard she almost fell off the couch. "Jeez, don't do that!" He ignored her and flipped onto the couch. "I love this movie!" Well, you did promise to be nice, Luna. You might end up being...gulp...teammates, so you might as well start off on a good foot.
"I do too. I saw it once, at the movies, with..." She paled and shook her head. "Never mind."
Of course, Ichigo HAD to pass through at that moment, and he grinned. "So, you still can't talk about him, huh?" "Shut. Up. Or prepare. To be eaten, YOPLAIT."
Naruto looked at her for a minute as Ichigo ran away, then a slow grin spread across his face. "Ohhh...your boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend?"
She could practically hear the steam coming out of her ears. "What's it to you?" He shrugged, grin still in place. "You seem really pissed about it. He dumped you?" Okay, screw being nice. Luna gave him a glare, and was disappointed when he didn't melt. "NO. I dumped him."
He held his hands up in surrender. "My bad!" She shook her head and turned back to the T.V.
"...So, where are you from? Ichigo says you're from Robot World, but I don't really think it exists." Luna sighed. "I'm from-" Right as she turned to face him, there was a flash. "...Did you just take my picture?"
He nodded as if it were totally normal. "Yeah, I like taking pictures every once and a while. Keeps me occupied. Sakura gave it to me so I'd stop picking on Sai all the time." She stared at him. "What the hell?"
"I'm told it makes me seem pretty random, yet mysterious and spontaneous." She crossed her arms. "Too bad you haven't mysteriously disappeared or spontaneously combusted."
She heard Rukia snort a laugh, and Becs sighed exasperatedly. They must've been in the kitchen. "I tell her to try and be nice to hotties every once in a while, and what does she do? WHAT does she DO?"
Luna rolled her eyes and Naruto laughed. "You're pretty funny for a lovesick robot." They had a stare-off, and finally Luna sighed.
"This right here is why I don't like blondes."
Right as the words were out of her mouth, Tara opened the door, and following her were Renji, Ayumi, Kilik, and... Luna grinned and ran to hug Will. "HELL YEAH! IT'S YOU GUYS!" Tara jumped and Will laughed as the ecstatic redhead practically ran him over. "Good to see ya too, sis."
Naruto watched, then cocked an eyebrow. "He's your brother?"
Will looked him over and grinned. "Who's askin'?" "Naruto. Well, I can see that the men get most of the good looks in your family, huh?"
Becs and Will burst out laughing, and Luna just smiled sweetly. If only you knew how many plans to eliminate you were going through my mind right now.
She forgot Tara was there, and soon the blonde "professional" was laughing uncontrollably. "Hahaha! Out the window he goes! Oh good God, she brought a fridge into play? Hahaha!" Luna tried to keep the smile off her face while Tara composed herself.
She may have been in her early twenties for 200-plus years, but sometimes Luna brought out the kid in her, that's for sure. "Anyway...Ayumi's team is here because of one major factor...you."
She pointed at Naruto, and he gulped. "Don't worry, Naruto Uzumaki. You will not be harmed. Quite the opposite, really. In fact, we are taking your safety under great consideration, as well as Luna's..."
"Whoa, wait. Why me?" Luna asked slowly. Tara gave Becs, Ichigo, Ayumi, and Will a look, and they all headed toward the stairs.
"We are going to discuss in private as to what to do about this. The rest of you may wait in here." Luna flopped onto the couch agitatedly, and those left behind did similar things.
"Well, Ifeel left out," Renji stated. "What're they doing?" Naruto asked. "They're consulting. Basically, it's a meeting reserved for the captains and co-captains of the team or teams that are involved. Since I'm part of the matter of discussion for some reason, Ichigo was chosen instead. I totally fail to see what anyof this has to do with Kohlie's murder..." Luna explained with a glum sigh, bouncing her leg anxiously.
Naruto perked up. "Murder? What are you talking about?"
Rukia explained what had been going on while Luna watched the movie. She looked up, though, when she noticed Naruto's fists clenching and unclenching. "Kabuto."
She sat straight up. "Kabuto?" "A parasitic son of some medical guy. He betrayed the village and joined Orochimaru, and he likes to help him with his experiments." He looked at Luna. "What did he do to that kid?"
She almost didn't want to answer, rubbing her arm. "Well...if you really want to know...he made many incisions, for sure...but the most disturbing thing was, he removed all of her organs, blood, tissue...she was completely hollow except for very few of her bones when I cut her open."
He processed that, then gave her a weird look. "You cut her open? You mean, like..." "I simply did an autopsy. It's my job." His look turned to one of disgust. "How can you just cut up a kid like that?"
"Because it is my job, therefore my responsibility, to do so. I am to investigate the case, and do an autopsy on the victim, looking for any clues as to their death."
"Do you always talk like that? And do you even feel emotions? Cutting up kids like it were nothing...Damn, no wonder Ichigo calls you a robot." Rukia and Renji exchanged a look. "Awwwkwaaard..." They went into the kitchen to "eat". Luna sighed. Doesn't this sound familiar.
"As I explained to Ichigo, I am pretty sure I am still human. The last time, I don't think they removed anything again to test..."
She put a hand to her heart absently. "Sometimes I have to wonder though...I haven't really heard my heart beat in a while..." He stared at her for a minute. "...You know, I didn't mean for you to tell me your life story."
Luna rolled her eyes. "Well, you asked a question, and I answered it thoroughly. It's how I was taught. If you don't like it, don't ask me questions." He looked at her closely, and her temple throbbed. She didn't like people so close to her.
"...Are you bipolar?"
Right then, Becs and Will walked down the stairs. "Well, nowI'm worried. Why didn't you tell anyone else about her?" Becs was whispering to Will as low as she could. It wasn't her fault Luna's hearing was so abnormally well.
"I wanted to protect her from it," Will hissed back. "She shouldn't have to remember all that! It'd kill her...it should have the first time.." Luna cleared her throat and they instantly stopped whispering.
Her and Naruto exchanged a look at Tara and Ichigo's grim faces. Ichigo couldn't look her in the eye: not a good sign. "Well, the matter is settled. Naruto Uzumaki, I can see you know why your safety is of concern." He nodded. "Ayumi's team will be on standby in this world, and Rebecca's team in Naruto's world. Luna's mission, however, is slightly different..."
"You know how to pass into Konoha, Luna." Luna cocked an eyebrow. "..I do?" Tara nodded. "I can see it in your subconscious. You know it well, and you will see it for yourself in, I'd say, a few hours?" Luna nodded, used to her weirdness. "I can't answer those questions, Uzumaki. You would have to ask her yourself, but let's not think so loudly while I'm trying to explain some things, alright?"
"Can't help it he's naturally loud and annoying inside andout," Luna muttered, and Rukia snickered beside her. Tara grinned at her. "I'm sure you will love your mission, Luna." Luna gulped. "Hit me," she squeaked.
Tara looked about to say, then her grin got bigger. "You know, I think I will wait until you find the entrance to Konoha. Dismissed. William, Rebecca, come with me."
THREE HOURS LATER...
"I think someone drugged me, because I fell dead asleep exactly three hours after we had our little meeting. It's in a well, kind of like Kagome's Feudal Era well. It's less than half a mile from this exact point." Tara nodded. "Very good. FRONT AND CENTER EVERYONE!" Tara barked in a voice meant for a drill sergeant.
Within seconds, everyone was in a single file line in front of her, probably out of survival instinct after hearing her tone. "Good. Now, are we ready to head out?"
"Sir no sir! I haven't been told my mission, sir," Luna barked back sarcastically. Tara grinned mischievously, a grin that was downright terrifying on a person like her. "Ah, that's right. Luna, your mission is..."
Oooh, cliffy! I know that doesn't seem fair since you already had to read these first two extremely long chapps, and for that I'm sorry!
Don't worry; from here on out, the chapps will be WAYYYY shorter, I promise!
Believe it.
REVIEW PLEASE.