Wide Awake

Chapter 20

A Day Better Than The Rest

Waking up I already knew that it was my birthday. I could hear Jack and Chris running around downstairs, and after a few minutes of me just lying there on my bed I heard Violet and Kirai too. I slowly sat up and looked over at my trapdoor, wondering if I really wanted to go downstairs.

I decided to try to delay it as much as possible, so instead I walked over to my bathroom. I changed into my usual clothes, a tank top and a sweatshirt and ripped jeans. I pulled my switch blade into my back pocket and I looked to my laptop. I slid into my desk chair and turned it on.

When the screen came up, I blinked. I hadn't opened my laptop in awhile, probably not since before the Akatsuki had come. It seems like when they arrived, everything had gone to Hell.

My laptop was open to a new weapon I had thought about getting. I didn't have any of these yet, because they were so much more expensive and difficult to get.

'Why did I want this again?' I wondered as I looked at it. It was a simple handgun, a revolver that was able to hold six shots. It wasn't the best gun around, but it would be great for me if I ever got into a situation involving close combat with someone trying to kill me. Again.

I read over the page again. When I had considered the gun, I had thought of the first time I had been shot. But now, after being shot a second time, the idea seemed to be better. The chances of someone getting shot twice was low, but my chances. I was different from everyone. I had someone who could change anything in this world after my life.

I nodded to myself and clicked on the add to cart button. Normally, you had to be over 21 to buy a gun on this website, but my account said that I was 25. It was also linked to cash only, so when I bought something I didn't use a credit card or debit card. I would mail cash in. The first few times I had used the website, they obviously found something suspicious. But after awhile, they lost their suspicion. I knew because I wouldn't have to wait too long to get my order. They used to wait, most likely waiting to get the money. And no doubt they had watched the news for any crimes on the weapon I bought.

I didn't use my address to send it either. The local post office got it and it would be put in a mailbox there, where I would go and pick it up. The box was rented, also using cash. Before, I had something to lose, so I was very careful when getting my various weapons. Now though, now it doesn't matter how careful I am. Because I have something after my life. And I'd rather live and be able to see my loved ones, rather than die and have my soul tortured for all eternity.

After getting the gun, I closed out of the screen and opened to Google. I searched for the comet that will show me the day I will have to fight Alice and send the Akatsuki back.

"Jigen Comet, also known as the dimensional comet. It comes around twice a year, the next time, and last time for this year the comet will be around is November 23rd." I read. I sighed.

I had ten days. Ten days, starting today, to prepare. Ten days to stay with my morons before they would be gone forever again. I had ten days also to prepare to kill Alice.

The time wasn't ample. I had ten days. It was over a week, but I had hoped I had a lot of time. But no, ten days. Ten days until I have to lose the Akatsuki and kill someone.

I stood after closing my laptop. I slowly approached my bathroom where I splashed my face with some water. Then I dried my face and looked in the mirror.

The same scarred and horrible face stared back at me. I grit my teeth and clenched my fists.

I hated the way I looked now.

The mirror shattered as my fist connected with it angrily. Most of the shards landed in the sink, but a few stayed imbedded in my hand. I picked the shards out and dropped the bloody ones in with the ones in the sink.

I took a few band aids and used them to cover the cuts; they were less suspicious than bandages anyway. Then I left my room. Downstairs I entered the kitchen where I found a mess. Flour was everywhere as Jack and Chris frowned at each other from the floor. From the living room the Akatsuki were watching from the small window that allowed you to see into the kitchen and vice versa.

"The Hell did you two do?" I questioned. Jack and Chris grinned up at me.

"Happy birthday Itami!" they chorused. I saw Violet and Kirai stick their heads into the kitchen from the living room.

"Yeah happy birthday!" they cheered. I forced a smile at them. It probably looked natural, I hoped it did.

"Thanks guys." I replied as Jack and Chris both crushed me in hugs, coating me in flour like them. It irritated me, but I allowed it.

"How's it feel to be seventeen baby sis?" Chris asked. I blinked.

"I feel the same as I did yesterday." I answered. Chris chuckled and Jack snorted. Then they removed themselves from me only for Violet and Kirai to basically tackle me.

"Happy birthday Itami!" they repeated cheerfully. They let go of me only for Konan to take their place.

"Happy birthday." she told me, cheerful but more calm than the morons that hugged me before her. Next Konan sided stepped only for Tobi to materialize from nowhere and tackle me to the ground. After he was viciously removed from my person as he screamed his birthday wishes I was pulled up by Kisame, who gave me a cheerful happy birthday. Itachi nodded along with Kisame. Next Sasori gave me a very calm happy birthday, and Pein did also.

"You're getting fucking old bitch." was Hidan's way of saying happy birthday, and this resulted in Kakuzu basically throwing him back into the living room. Kakuzu had just pat my head and said happy birthday before following the swearing to where Hidan was. In moments Hidan shut up, so my best guess was that Kakuzu had done something to shut him up.

"Happy birthday, yeah!" Deidara cheerfully told me, being the last of the Akatsuki. He grinned at me and I gave a fake smile to him.

Smiling just wasn't easy anymore. Not that it ever was, but now, it seems so much more difficult.

"Thanks guys." I said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Anyway, since you're such a picky person, me, Konan, and Kirai are taking you out to the store where you can pick shit out for your presents." Violet announced to me. I just blinked, and before I knew it I was being herded out of the house after having the flour brushed off me.

We ended up walking to the mall, which was very irritating. I had offered to drive, but everyone had been very against the idea. When we reached the mall we walked into the pit of doom, also known as Himesama.

"So, pick not too pricy shit, but good shit." Kirai ordered me, and I had just nodded and they had led Konan somewhere across the store from me. I sighed and headed over to the clothes area, I could probably get away with a new tank top and sweatshirt as being good shit. Besides, I had actually somehow managed to ruin a lot of mine. Don't even ask me how, but I suppose being shot and stabbed and attacked and other various things that would only happen to me would do the trick. I never went shopping too, so it did make sense why I had found myself running out of good clothes to wear.

"Oh hell." I looked up upon hearing someone mutter to themselves and had almost groaned.

"Damn it, can't I leave my house without shit following me?" I demanded, looking down at the sweatshirt rack again before glaring at the person in front of me.

Alice's hair was still dyed a few various colors and her blue eyes glared at me. I could already tell she no doubt knew that we were probably going to end up with one of us dead, killed by the other.

"You're the one that… thing told me about." Alice said, nodding at me. I sighed.

"Yes, I am the one that the world is completely against. I am the one who all the god's and goddesses save for two, want to murder for fucking the system up." I remarked. Alice blinked, then sighed.

"And we have to kill each other… I had been debating with myself... but I might as well just get it over with!" Alice suddenly snarled, leaping at me. I had time to pull my arms to block her hands from grabbing my neck before we both fell to the floor with a crash, knocking over a good few racks of items.

"Die!" I heard Alice yell, and from somewhere she pulled out a small pocketknife. She brought it down towards my face. I grit my teeth and jerked my head to the side, barely avoiding the knife. Then I threw Alice off me and quickly jumped up. I pulled out my switch blade, which was much better than her tiny pocketknife that hardly counted as a weapon.

Alice and I locked eyes for a moment before she ran at me again. By this time I could already hear security and my friends rushing over. But I couldn't let that happen.

I turned and sprinted around a few clothing racks before sprinting out the door, Alice hot on my trail. I lead her out of the mall and I made it a few blocks before I started to feel winded. I ran into an alleyway, where I turned and met Alice's pocket knife.

"FUCK!" I shouted, her knife slicing through the side of my face, barely missing my eye. I jumped back and put a hand to my now bleeding face. I snarled at Alice and then, in rage, threw my blade at her. I had my second one in my pocket, so I wasn't worried. Unfortunately, Alice moved her head; however it did nick her cheek, leaving a small red line. But it was nothing compared to the gash I had on my face.

'Why am I suddenly doing so badly in fighting? Usually I'd have kicked her ass by now.' I thought angrily. Alice ran at me again and swung at my face; I blocked and grabbed her fist. I pulled her in towards me and threw an uppercut to her sternum, knocking the breath out of her. She gasped for air and I grabbed her leg and flipped her over my shoulder. I was very proud of being strong enough to do that. She landed harshly and I pulled my second switch blade out of my pocket, only for four blurs to appear. I grit my teeth.

"So we meet again." I said, scowling at Sasuke. His eyes narrowed but he didn't comment. Meanwhile, Karin and Suigetsu helped Alice and disappeared, leaving me with Jugo and Sasuke. The situation had changed rather fast, and not in my favor. My eyes switched from Sasuke and Jugo every few seconds, watching them.

"You tried to kill Alice." accused Sasuke calmly. I raised an eyebrow.

"She tried to kill me first, I was minding my own business." I replied. In this situation I couldn't be a bitch like I usually was. I actually had to think and negotiate, or else I wouldn't get out of this alive.

"And why should I believe you? You work with Itachi." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. I glared back at him.

"I don't work for anyone, but I have information I think you'll like. I know how to get you back to your world." I offered. Knowledge to be set free, that was my plan. However, Sasuke could kill me anyway, which was why I was warily watching their every move.

"How?" Sasuke demanded.

"Ten days from now there will be a comet, that night someone with a Sharingan must use a space-time Ninjutsu to get through." I answered, my eyes not leaving his.

"Is that how we got here?" Sasuke questioned. I shook my head.

"You were pulled through by another force." I told him. He paused for a moment.

"Where is Itachi?" he finally asked.

"I'm not telling you that because I don't want my house to become a battlefield." I replied, then I started to slowly walk backwards. However Sasuke began coming towards me, so I prayed that I was still able to use what I learned in the Narutoverse.

What I had learned was usually in the back of my mind. I used it only in life or death situations that I had to. Normally I relied on myself, but against two ninja… I had to.

I felt the familiar feel of my chakra and pushed it into my feet as I ran out of the alley. I ran across a street, hearing cars make screeching stops to avoid me. I then sprinted through another alley and down a street. I weaved through people and went down various twisting alleys before I let up on my chakra and jogged my way towards my house. Then I looked around me to make sure that there was no sign of Sasuke or Jugo. When there wasn't, I jogged down my block and into my house.

"Do me a favor and text Violet and Kirai that I'm not dead." I called as I entered the house. Jack and Chris came out of the kitchen and gaped at me. I blinked, then felt my face.

"Oh, yeah, I got injured." I remembered as I felt the wet, sticky blood on my hand. I pulled my hand away and looked at it blankly before I went up to my bathroom and wrapped that entire side of my face. The only thing though was that I wrapped that eye up too, so I could only see out of one eye until it starts to heal. Then I trooped downstairs and sat on the couch. By that time though, Violet, Kirai and Konan had stormed back through the door. I looked up at them in time for me to roll off the couch and avoid being tackled by Violet.

"Itami, what the hell happened?!" she cried, I simply sighed and got up off the fall where I had fallen. Then I sat on the recliner and everyone squished into the room onto the furniture.

"Well, that was Alice. And, I don't really feel like telling the entire story, because that would confuse everyone. I'm just going to say two things. One, I know how to get the Akatsuki back to their world. Two, because of some extremely fucked up situations that are beyond the control of us, either I have to die, or Alice has to die because the Akatsuki came here. The rip in the dimensions that made them fall through is the cause."

Ok, so I abbreviated it a bit. But it was my burden to bear; I didn't want to worry anyone else. Of course, the fact that I had to kill someone or someone was going to kill me, was not comforting to my brothers.

"What?! No, you're not going to die!" Jack yelled.

"I know, I don't plan on it." I agreed, then gave them my usual smirk, "Which is why I led her out of the store to an alley to fight her. Sadly, I was not able to kill her because, when I got the Akatsuki, she got Sasuke and his three idiots."

"Did Sasuke to that to you?" Itachi asked, looking nothing less than his usual stoic-ness.

"No, Alice. I was doing pretty bad today combat wise." I admitted.

"This isn't good." Sasori pointed out.

"You said you knew how to get us back?" Pein asked after a moment of silence. I nodded.

"Yes, ten days from now there will be a comet. That will open the rip enough for you guys to get back through. Someone will have to use a space-time Ninjutsu." I explained. Pein nodded.

"How did we get here?" he added. I shrugged.

"That's part of a complicated reasoning, let's say hen I was stuck between worlds I left a rip that you guys fell through." I replied.

"Ten days from now we have to leave, un?" Deidara asked, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah, it's a short time. I had been hoping for more time. But that's all the time we have." I answered.

"I'm going to head upstairs." I announced after a moment of silence. Then I trooped upstairs.

I sat on my bed and rested my head between my knees. My face was numb at the moment. And I was willing to bet the bandage would soak through eventually. But I didn't particularly care at the moment.

Alice was already after me. I had to be careful now. One wrong move and something could happen between us that could make the God's and Goddess's even more pissed off. Like maybe we both die. Then that would cause Hell in other worlds because both me and Alice would be gone, leaving the other worlds with us still in them, but we're not in this one. All the others would have to die too to keep equality.

At least, that was my theory. According to Megami, that was what the problem was. I was an extra, I didn't belong.

Destiny works in strange ways, I decided. I held no destiny, while everyone else did. I was forcing these to change though, because I was not part of the equation, yet I was here.

"Itami, yeah?" I looked over at the trap door as Deidara climbed up. He closed it behind him, which I made almost everyone do because I hated it when people disturbed me because my door was down. Deidara took a seat next to me on my bed and I just looked down.

"What'd you get yourself into this time, un?" Deidara asked. I sighed.

"This time I'm in so deep. I'm not getting anyone else involved though. This is my shit to face." I replied, looking at him.

"Just.. don't die, un." he ordered me lightly, before surprising me. He pulled me to him in a hug.

Thinking of that, what had happened to me and Deidara? We had been so close, and then, coming back here…. we've hardly talked. I didn't really know what had happened.

I'll never be able to tell exactly what had been between me and Deidara back then. Friends? Friends with benefits? A relationship? I'll never know I suppose, and I wasn't going to ask. With everything that was going on, I didn't need to worry about that. There was, after all, a chance that I would die.

"Just… don't die, un."

Deidara's words were now echoing through my brain though.

Thinking about it. What would happen if I lost my fight with Alice? I would for sure die, one wrong move and it was all over. It's not a simple fist fight anymore between me and some bitch, no it's a fight to the death.

"Itami, yeah?" I snapped out of my thoughts as Deidara pulled away from the hug and grinned at me.

"I don't have to worry about that though, yeah. I believe you can win any fight, un." Deidara said, before he pat me on my shoulder and left. As he disappeared, I found myself staring after him.

For the first time, in what felt like forever, my heart warmed.

On my birthday too.

Eventually, we had cake that jack and Chris had banded together to make. I was presented with some presents from Jack and Chris, and something was sent from Evie.

But the best thing had to be Deidara's words.

They made my birthday feel more special than just a marker of another year of me not dying.

AN

So, this chapter refused to get written. I just… didn't feel like writing.

But, to make up for the long time I took, there is a new picture of Itami on my deviantart that is titled… I actually don't remember. On my computer it's "Badass Itami" but I think I put it under "Itami's Decision" on Deviantart… huh.

So check that out.

And, next week, I'm leaving for yet another trip to two amusement parks I have to sit for like seven hours in a car for. I'll be doing my AP History homework during that most likely.

Hopefully I can update again before then.

Q-So… Any suggestions for good Youtubers? That's what I've spent my time doing, YouTube. I've been watching videos like… 24-7…

A-Itami's getting pretty angsty and depressing in my opinion. But she's a lot better now than she was in Insomnia.