Hey all, another chapter finally. Sorry it's been so long, I have been busy with assignments and exams for school so I've kind of been ignoring this story.

Anyway, thanks for waiting…

Enjoy

Ninjutsu? Chakra? Reanimation? Time travel? Minato and Jiraiya had tried to explain their theories as to how they might have ended up in my apartment but I was still very much confused by it all. The more I tried to make any sense out of it the more it felt like my brain was collapsing in on itself. Each theory sounded like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon show and not something that could realistically be accomplished within the realm of science as I knew it.

That however was the core of my inability to get my head around this whole situation. Despite my previous resolution to try to adapt to the reality of their world I still found myself clinging to the reality of my own. Beings with magical super powers existed in cartoons, video games and comic books not in the real world was something my mind wanted to hold on to in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary currently living in my apartment.

My personal lack of understanding aside, Minato and Jiraiya seemed to have come to an agreement on a couple of things. The first being that there was definitely some type of multidimensional travel involved. The two worlds we came from differed from each other so greatly that it was impossible for them to be one in the same. The second, possibly more alarming, conclusion that they had both agreed upon was that this was likely a reanimation of some fashion.

Since Jiraiya remembered events that took place after Minato's apparent death it made the possibility that they had been pulled from time rather unlikely. How could Jiraiya have memories of Minato before and after his death if he disappeared after his mission to Rōran?

There was the theory of parallels, where every possible decision could lead to an alternate reality, but that was just too confusing to comprehend. I was already having difficulty understanding this situation enough as it was. Quite frankly the idea sounded like a Star Trek plot line anyway.

Therefore, the current reigning theory was that someone or something had not only reanimated the two of them but had pulled them into another world…mine. This would have been no easy task as it would have taken a great deal of chakra to accomplish. It would be like something only a maximum level mage completely decked out in purple epics could pull off, and even then it was iffy.

Ironically I started to find this whole thing easier to deal with if I looked at it from the point of view of games such as World of Warcraft. Whether or not this was a rational thing to do I wasn't sure, but if it prevented me from sobbing uncontrollably in my bathroom while desperately clutching a wrench I was going to go with it.

At present, who had done this, would be impossible to figure out. Sure, they had theories on this as well but without any evidence it was unlikely they could come to any definitive conclusions. Since the discovery of who had brought them here was an impossibility for the moment, that left us searching for a possible what.

The idea that there might be some mystical ninja artifact floating around my apartment was rather alarming to put it mildly. If it was here would it bring more people from their world? That was a disturbing thought. If this mysterious object was in fact found I was getting rid of it, and then I was going to start looking for a new place to live, possibly in another province.

I wonder if it would work both ways… Instantly I paled at the thought and quickly pushed it from my mind. I had enough to deal with without worrying if I could somehow end up trapped in their world. A cold shiver ran up my spine at the very idea of it.

Tearing apart my bedroom in search of something that I may not even recognize if I found it, I knelt on the floor and began searching under my bed. We had been going through every inch of my apartment for hours. The only discoveries I had made so far were a couple of knitted sweaters from my Nana gathering dust in the back of my closet. I loved my Nana dearly but they were the type of sweaters that looked like a rainbow had thrown up on some wool. I had worn them at least once to not seem like a completely ungrateful grandchild before tossing them into my closet, never to be seen again.

What did a mystical ninja artifact look like anyway? Or perhaps more importantly, how the hell did it end up in my apartment? I glanced over at Minato who was currently looking through one of my bookshelves. Hopefully he would know if we found it because I wouldn't have a clue.

Since he was still banned from entering my room Jiraiya was busy searching through the living room for the artifact that may or may not be here.

"What do you think this thing looks like? Assuming it's actually here," I questioned to Minato, pulling a storage box out from under my bed.

"I must admit I am not sure myself," Minato replied, a tiny note of guilt in his voice.

"Well, how exactly are we to recognize this thing?"

How indeed. The three of us didn't seem to have the slightest idea what this thing might look like. How were we supposed to find something when we weren't even sure what it is that we are looking for? There was still the possibility that this artifact didn't even exist, and that my apartment was being torn apart and picked through for nothing.

"Ideally we will be able to sense some kind of chakra signature from it. If not then hopefully it will bear some markings as to its intended purpose," he answered while investigating one of the framed photos I had on my bookshelf.

Chakra signature? I supposed that made as much sense as anything else, but I'd be lying if I said I understood exactly what that meant. Understanding wasn't really a requirement anyway. All I had to do was look for anything that could potentially be this crazy artifact. It was up to them to determine if it was genuine or how to use it.

"Are these your team mates?" he asked, pointing to a photograph of three smiling people wearing wool hats, and puffy jackets.

"Team mates…?" I questioned curiously. I stood from rummaging through my storage box of summer clothes and made my way over to the bookshelf were Minato was. "Oh," I laughed in response once I recognized the photo. "That's Pam, Mark and myself on a ski trip to Whistler. Definitely not team mates. Pam is a coworker of mine and Mark is her husband."

I placed the photo back in its spot beside a photo I had of Adam and I at casual dinner party. A small chuckle escaped from my throat at the memory of how he had got me to agree to go to that party in the first place.

"What about them?" Minato asked curiously, pointing to another framed photograph positioned on the opposite side of the others.

Okay what is the obsession with team mates? I glanced over to where he was pointing. The photograph consisted of four people, each wearing smiling faces. The tiny looking woman with the long, red hair I immediately recognized as myself. On either side of me were two tall men. One was slightly taller than the other with dark hair and green eyes like mine. The other had lighter, brown hair and friendly chestnut-brown eyes. Behind me was an older man with salt and pepper hair and familiar green eyes.

"That's my dad and my two brothers."

"Oh, they are your family," he answered with a smile. "I thought I recognized a resemblance among you."

"Not to be rude, but perhaps discussions about family and photographs can wait until after we've determined whether or not this thing we're looking for is here."

Not that I minded talking about my friends or family, but the sooner we found this thing the sooner they might be able to return back to their own world. Although I was starting to get used to having the company I was looking forward to have my place to myself once again.

"You're right…sorry," he replied placing the photo back on the shelf.

"Don't worry about it," I calmly responded before returning to the half searched through box of summer clothing.

As expected the thorough search of my apartment turned up very little. Jiraiya had come across of few items that he quote, deemed worthy of further investigation. I took this to mean that they must look like how one would expect a ninja artifact to appear but lacked the chakra signature or marking they had hoped for. Then again perhaps they were just things that caught Jiraiya's fancy. Who knew?

Curious I went to see what items I had that Jiraiya seemed to think could potentially be what we had spent the entire morning and afternoon searching for. It was a group of three miniature abstract stone carvings. They were a gift Pam had brought back from her trip to Japan, though there was nothing in particular that marked them as being Japanese. There was also a small leaf pendant that I forgot I even had. I couldn't really see any of those items being this magical ninja artifact but then anything was possible.

My stomach growled hungrily after having been ignored for so many hours. Placing the pendent back beside the stone carvings in a shoebox on my kitchen table I caught a glimpse of the time on the stove and was surprised to learn how late it had gotten.

Time flies when you're trying to solve a mystery I guess. "Is anyone else hungry?"

"Yes, but let's not have pizza this time," Jiraiya answered.

My lips curled back into a wide smile. Exposing them to that particular foreign food had turned into a rather uncomfortable disaster. I couldn't blame him for not wanting to try it again. Not that I had any intention of letting them eat pizza again while they were here.

"Agreed, no pizza," I laughed.

"How about letting me cook something tonight?" Jiraiya asked.

"Seriously…?" I questioned, biting back a laugh. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I would prefer my kitchen staying in one piece."

"Hey! I'm not that bad a chef you know," he replied back in mock indignation, pretending to be greatly insulted.

"That's not what you usually tell women sensai," Minato teased, joining us by the kitchen. "Don't you tell the opposite to guilt them into cooking for you?"

This was new. Minato, who was usually so calm and serious, was actually teasing Jiraiya? I guess the guy had a playful side to him after all. "Why am I not surprised?" I said, rolling my eyes in artificial exasperation.

"Don't let him near your kitchen," Minato whispered into my ear. "He's a terrible cook."

"I heard that!"

After consoling Jiraiya's mock bruised ego I decided on making stir fry. I had the ingredients for it, I needed to use up the vegetables and it didn't contain any dairy, making it the ideal choice. Since they insisted on making themselves useful, Jiraiya helped to cook the rice and Minato helped to chop the vegetables.

Shortly after we were all sitting at the kitchen table about to enjoy our group prepared meal.

"Why wasn't your mother in the photo?" Minato questioned inquisitively. Still unfamiliar with how to use a fork he awkwardly stabbed at his food before bringing the skewered pieces up to his mouth.

Why is he so weirdly focused on learning about my family? Next time I was at the Dollar Store I would have to pick up some chopsticks to make eating a little more comfortable for them. Assuming they were still here by then. I nervously pressed my lips together as I thought how best to answer his question.

"I'm sorry," Minato began, his voice laced with concern at my silence. "Did she pass away?"

"No," I answered shaking my head. "She's not in the photo because she walked out on us when I was six. Since then it's just been my dad and my older brothers."

Explaining about my family was always awkward. I hated the looks of sympathy that people gave me when they found out. Their pity was neither wanted nor needed. For a while I had been angry at my mother for leaving. However, I had been happy being raised by my father and brothers. I didn't need her. Besides if she was going to be selfish enough to abandon a husband and three young children without so much as a word I didn't want her in my life.

"Growing up without a mother couldn't have been easy," Jiraiya replied around bites of food.

"There were times when having another female around would have been helpful," I answered the memory of my first period being a prime example. "…but I think my dad did a pretty good job of raising us."

"Indeed he did," Minato replied with a large grin.

This conversation was starting to get uncomfortable. I stabbed at my plate of food with my fork before bringing it up to my mouth, desperate to change the focus of conversation. I always felt awkward when my personal life was the center of discussion. "So…," I began, gesturing to the shoebox at the edge of the table. "What's the plan with them?"

"Ah, it could very well turn out to be nothing, but I have some theories regarding those particular items."

Great, just what this mystery needed…more theories. It took everything I had not to let out an aggravated groan. Not that any of this made sense but it would be nice to have at least one definite answer to the billions of questions I had.

"Care to share them?" I prodded when Jiraiya was not forthcoming.

"In time yes, but first I'd like to consult with Fukasaku and Shima if I can," he answered back before returning to his own meal once again.

Like any good scientist he was working out his theories before presenting them, even still I wanted to reach across the table and slap him. It felt like he knew something and I didn't like being kept in the dark. "Who are Fukasaku and Shima?"

"Talking toads…"

I nearly dropped my fork. Of course they are. With multi-dimensional traveling and reanimation I thought I couldn't be surprised any more, apparently I was wrong.

"Talking toads?" I questioned nervously.

"I think they'd prefer to be called great toad sages, but yes they do talk."

Okay let's just throw all common sense out the window and start drinking whackers-aid out of clown shoes. Magical super powered ninja, talking animals what was next a magical-ninja that was half man half plant?

"Can you still contact these toads while being in a different world?"

For rather self-evident reasons neither Jiraiya nor Minato had ever actually tested which abilities they still had and what, if any, they were lacking. Perhaps calling up a couple of talking toads would fall into the lacking category.

"I am not certain, but I will see if I can still summon them in the morning."

"Wait what…? Summon them here?" I choked. I had expected him to try and contact them via some kind of telephone, not bring them directly into my living room.

I would be at work tomorrow morning. Although I was a little curious, admittedly it may be better that I was not home if this particular call was successful. If he could summon them here, to this world, couldn't they summon him to wherever it was they came from?

"If you are successful can't you just get them to bring you home?"

"Hmm an interesting proposal, however the amount of chakra required would be immense. I doubt even they would have the necessary reserves to bring us both back safely."

So it wasn't an impossibility, it just wasn't entirely safe. I would like my apartment back, but I wasn't cruel enough to wish them harm in order to have it. Besides there was one question that had been continually gnawing away at me, if they had already died in their world what would they be going back to? Maybe they were better off staying here; then again maybe staying here was preventing them from finding peace in their afterlife. Assuming they had actually died, which seeing them as clearly being very much alive it was somewhat hard to picture.

"We've done all we can for today I think." I took my empty plate to the kitchen to rinse it at the sink before placing it in the dishwasher. "I say we tidy things up a bit then spend the rest of the evening relaxing watching a movie."

"That sounds like a fine idea," Jiraiya exclaimed, Minato nodding happily in agreement.

Figuring out something the three of us could agree on watching should prove to be interesting.

"Oh, how about this one?" I heard Jiraiya ask from the living room.

For Minato's silence it didn't appear that he approved of Jiraiya's selection.

As I removed the bag of popcorn from the microwave to pour into a waiting bowl I nearly jumped out of my skin at the deafening sound of thunder clapping. I hadn't recalled the weather forecast saying anything about thunder showers this evening. Oh well, weather forecasts where often wrong. That round of thunder had been frighteningly loud. It sounded as though it had come from inside my apartment.

Ears still ringing slightly from the incredibly loud sound I left the popcorn filled bowl on the counter and headed towards the bathroom. I wasn't in a desperate need for the bathroom but I didn't want to have to get up to pee 20 minutes into the movie.

Rounding the corner I bumped into something solid. Looking up my heart nearly leaped out of my throat. Standing in front of me was a tall man with long, silver-coloured hair, piece of which hung over a familiar looking headband. He had dark eyes, each with a deep line underneath them. His clothing, though somewhat similar to Minato's, was rather strange, the most distinctive feature of it being a single, short white sleeve with red edges.

A terrified scream tore from my throat before a gloved hand wrapped itself securely around my mouth to silence me.

Before the echo of my short scream died Minato and Jirayia appeared in the hallway. They seemed as though they were prepared to fight until they saw who it was that had his hand over my mouth.

"Sakumo?"

Haha what did I just do?

Again, I'm sorry about the wait. There wasn't a whole lot happening in this chapter, but hopefully it wasn't a complete disappointment.

Thank you for the reviews

Until next time….