Chapter Two

I stared, gaping at the massive wall before me, struck dumb. I couldn't believe it... All those years of resultless attempts and it had finally happened...

A few years after my father's death, during one of Tyler's worst relapses, I'd been perusing the local bookstore when I'd stumbled across the manga section. It was a glorious discovery. Now I could experience my cartoons in book form! I was quickly attracted to the only series taking up more than an entire shelf's worth of space. Naruto, it was called. Love at first sight would not be an inaccurate description. Don't get me wrong, I grew up in the generation of technology. I love my internet and air conditioning and all that fun stuff that makes life so comfortable, but there was just something appealing about the settings. There was something old-timey and rustic about the hidden villages. And, I mean, it totally didn't hurt that there were ninjas with magic powers! What's not to love, right?

I quickly located the channel the show was airing on, and if possible, I enjoyed the anime version even more. There's just something about fight scenes that are meant to be animated, you know? It wasn't just the storyline, either. As I got older, I started to appreciate the complexity of the characters and just how much thought had gone into creating this universe. I knew certain episodes by heart, and of course I'd fantasized about growing up in the Leaf Village before. But my letter had been a bit of a joke. Just another fantasy written for fun, as an escape from the daily dreariness of my household. And now that fantasy seemed to have come true. ...Could this really be happening? It was a lot to take in.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've been shocked before. I've even been 'in shock' before, which, ask anyone who's spent a good chunk of their time hanging around a hospital, is a totally different animal. But I honestly could not believe it. My mind was racing a million miles an hour. I couldn't stay focused on any one thought long enough to really think it through. This had been what I'd wanted though, right? Of course it was! I told myself. But, wait a second, where was Luke?

I looked around, trying to take everything in despite the swirling state of my thoughts. I was in a forest, and in front of me was the Hidden Leaf Village. Okay, that much I understood. But where was my brother? I knew I'd included him in my letter... hadn't I?

I pulled it back out of my pocket and read through the words once more. Yes, he was there... but he wasn't here. Oh well. Maybe he'd show up later. I could only hope for that from where it was shunted to the back of my mind. I had too much to think about right now.

I glanced down at the letter one more time, as if for courage, before slipping it back into my pocket. I slowly walked a few steps closer to the wall. The guards were watching me intently now, and I tried to suppress a gulp. Did I have to hit a wall so soon? (No pun intended.) Couldn't I have just appeared right in front of the gate? Granted, there were guards there too, but surely they couldn't look so imperious. If I had to be questioned at all, I would much rather be talking to someone at eye level.

"Halt!" one of them called; I stopped abruptly. "State your business here."

"Um..." I mumbled. Just great... I'd been hoping it would be easier for me to speak to anime people than it was for me to speak to real people... but now they were real people. It made my head spin a little so I stopped thinking about it.

"State your business," the man called down again, more firmly this time.

Finally, I found my voice. "I've been sent to live here by my father," I called up. The two exchanged glances, doubtful. Even from where I stood, I swear I could see the smirk on the younger one's face. My stomach fluttered, and I felt a bead of sweat slither down my back, making me shiver. They wouldn't turn me away, would they? I had nowhere else to go! I couldn't live on my own in the forest, trying to make it to the other villages! And why would their reactions be any different than this one? What if-

"Surely then you won't mind seeing the Hokage about this," the same man called down, clearly calling my bluff with his skeptical tone. He glanced at his companion, and I wondered if they'd been placing bets while I stood there like an idiot, trying to get my bearings. This was probably against their protocol, but I figured they took their fun where they could find it. It had to be a boring job, standing on a wall all day. Whatever their reasoning, I breathed a little easier.

"Yes," I answered, blatantly relieved. "I have a letter for him."

The man jumped down. Like, literally jumped right off the wall and landed in front of me! My eyes widened, and I took a step back, gasping as he did so, but the ninja ignored my reaction. He checked me for weapons. Which I didn't have, thank God. Then he ordered me to follow him. Thankfully, he didn't try to get me to jump the wall. (I never saw civilians doing anything but normal daily chores, but perhaps that was just a lifestyle choice. I'd never quite worked out the logistics of what gave people the ability to perform ridiculous physical tasks in this world. Perhaps it was just a difference in biological makeup among humans here.) I followed him to the main entrance which I could now see wasn't too far away.

Actually, I suppose it sort of made sense that they weren't too suspicious. After all, I wasn't a ninja. As far as I knew, no one in my world had any chakra at all. If it came down to chakra levels, even the weakest civilian would have me beat. Overall, my aura couldn't seem too threatening, especially since I was so nervous.

As I followed him, I noticed that the guy wasn't too much older than I was. Maybe sixteen to my twelve. I couldn't help admiring his headband. But perhaps what was most striking was that his hair was bright blue. In my world, anyone with bright blue hair would attract attention. Here, it probably wasn't too strange.

See, what had interested Luke the most about Naruto was that there were people like Sakura or Anko with pink or purple hair and that never got commented on. I'd tried explaining to him that unnatural hair colors weren't so strange in their world, (or in anime in general) but he didn't seem to catch on. His interest in my fictional obsession had been a passing fascination at best, and it hadn't been too hard for him to just take my word for it and move on to something else.

The guards at the gate let the boy through without a single question, and I followed as closely behind him as I dared. Then we actually entered the village, and I had to catch my breath again. This place was was amazing! I mean, it had looked awesome in the anime, but nothing 2-D could ever possibly do it justice. It was such a bustling city... yet it had a suburban touch to it. All the bright, on-screen colors had come to life, and something about the air just smelled... fresh. In short, it was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

"Are you coming or not?" grumbled my guide.

"Oh! Right, sorry," I muttered sheepishly. I hadn't realized that I'd stopped in the middle of the street. It was all a little overwhelming. The next few minutes were a blur of color and sound. I thought my head was going to snap off from me looking back and forth so much.

The guy looked back at me and smirked. "Impressive, isn't it? I'd imagine wherever you were living before wasn't nearly this grand."

I blushed. "No." He seemed proud to get to be the one to show all this off. I couldn't blame him. I'd be proud to have grown up here, too. I quickly lost track of all the streets I was led down in favor of taking in as many details about the buildings and shops as I could. It didn't feel like we'd been walking for long before I found myself standing in front of the door to the Hokage's office. Our trip through the village had flown by. As the young ninja in front of me knocked on the door, I felt my hands begin to tremble and my throat was suddenly extremely dry. Wow... I was really here.

"Enter," called an old man's voice from the other side.

Shakily, I followed my guide inside. It was still the old man. Which made me wonder, what was going on in the story? Had the Chunin exams started yet? Had Naruto even graduated yet? What if he was only, like, six years old? That would completely change the storyline as I knew it!

The blue-haired ninja made a bow, and I quickly followed suit. My guide was gracefully respectful. My own bow looked comically clumsy in comparison. The old man nodded kindly. "How can I help you?" he asked.

Even though he'd clearly been addressing me, it was my reluctant guide who answered. "She claims her father sent her here to live, sir." His voice was neutral, but his words left an almost palpable space for doubt.

Suddenly, I was seized by panic. Oh, crap! What was I going to say?!

"She has a letter."

Oh right... I have a letter. I reached into my back pocket and pulled it out. Hands still trembling, I handed it over. He smiled at me as he took it as if to tell me not to be so nervous.

There are certain times in scary situations like this when my brain just clicks on and starts working again. Thankfully, I felt this happening now. My thoughts raced as I began to make up a backstory. I silently thanked whatever deity they prayed to here for all those years I'd spent on fanfiction creating character life stories. If he asked for one, I would be ready.

The old man read my letter through a few times before turning to the ninja. "Koda, if you will, could I have a moment with her, please?" The boy nodded and walked out. If he was at all curious, he schooled his emotions very well. The Hokage sat behind his desk. He slid the letter across the desk toward me. He motioned to a chair leaning against the wall. "Sit," he invited.

I tried not to seem too rude as I dragged it over, my movements loud and lacking all of his easy grace despite the difference in our age, and nearly plopped down across from him. I was still a little shaky.

He smiled kindly at me. "You don't have to be so nervous."

I smiled back slightly. I couldn't imagine how bad my expression looked. (I could only hope it revealed only nerves and not guilt.) I'd never been a particularly horrible liar, but this was a lot to take in.

"So, young lady, your father's letter was vague, but I'd imagine you have quite a story. What is your name?"

"Carly..." I cursed myself suddenly for not having thought to use a fake Japanese name. But, it was out now, and things were going to be complicated enough without me struggling to remember my own name.

"Where did you live?"

"A tiny village just outside of the Sand ninja country."

He nodded. I wasn't sure where my answer to his rapid-fire question had come, but I was relieved. It made it seem a little more believable. I wondered briefly if he was trying to catch me off guard.

"Where are your parents?"

"My mother passed away when I was very little. I can hardly remember her. My dad got very sick a couple months ago," I ended quietly.

Again he nodded. I hoped he didn't question me on my time in between. I didn't even know how long it would take someone to get from there to here!

"What about your siblings?"

I'd almost forgotten that I'd included Luke in the letter. I felt a pang of some undefinable emotion in my chest, but for now I pushed it away. I had to take care of myself before I got to worrying about the fate of my twin.

"My older brother was also very sick. But he's been plagued for years. Lately he'd been getting weaker and weaker and we were informed that it was only a matter of time..." I looked down for this part. "I left the day my dad died. My other brother didn't think it was right to leave... even though our older brother wouldn't be able to tell we were there anyway." I continued to avoid his eyes, but if this made him suspicious, it didn't show in his tone.

"He'll be following along later?"

I hesitated. This was the one part of my story I couldn't be certain of. So I'd have to improvise the script a bit.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I couldn't wait to get out. There were too many sad things in our old home. But my brother is very bonded with it. Either way, he'll wait to make the decision until our other brother dies. That may be in an hour or a week. It may have happened already," I added quietly. I shuddered, hit with the truth of that statement, but again I pushed it away.

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss. Could you send Koda back in, please? There's something I need to discuss with him."

I nodded and stood up, sneaking a quick glance at his face, which was still neutral and friendly, before saying, "Yes, sir."

Koda was leaning back against the wall when I left the room. "Um, he wants to see you." My voice seemed to peter out as the sentence ended, but he'd heard. Without acknowledging me, he walked in and closed the door behind him.

I slid down the wall and took a deep breath. They were probably talking about me. Had he not believed me after all? I had no idea what the penalty for lying to the Hokage might be. I wished there had been some way to read up on their laws and justice system before I'd come here. But then, my actual arrival hadn't exactly been planned. For now, all I could do was wait. I just sat there with my eyes closed for a minute, focusing on breathing in and out. Then I heard the door open and I jumped up. Both Koda and the old man were standing in the doorway, watching me.

Koda tossed something small and shiny at me, but due to my terrible reflexes, I missed completely and had to bend down to pick it up. I'd never been horribly out of shape, but in a world filled with trained ninjas, I suddenly felt embarrassingly clumsy and weak. When I rose, flushed, the Hokage told me, "That's the key to your apartment. Koda will help you find it. Everything seems to be in order for now. I'll check in to see how you're adjusting after you've had some time to settle in. The rent will be withheld for a while, but you will need to get a job."

"Oh, I know!" I answered. "I'm planning on looking for one as soon as I can. Today maybe."

He smiled at me, and this one seemed somewhat more genuine than the last. "Don't overdo it." And then he returned to his room. Safe!

"Let's go."

I jumped. I'd forgotten Koda was here. Actually, he'd made it halfway down the hallway and I hadn't even noticed. I hurried after him.

Now, I can tell you that my apartment wasn't too far away from the Hokage's building and there weren't any complicated twists or turns or anything, but there was no way I would remember my way around for a while. Frankly, I was still a little astonished everything was working out so well. Was it really that simple? Perhaps I was even less intimidating than I'd thought.

Koda left me as soon as I got the door open.

It was a small apartment. The kitchen and bedroom sort of blended into each other. There was a bathroom off the kitchen and that was about it. There was a bed and a couch. A table, and a few pots and pans in the cupboards above the sink and oven. The key had fit very roughly in the lock, the hallway was drafty, and the place clearly hadn't been dusted in a while, but I didn't care about any of that. I was actually in Konoha! It was everything I could have hoped for and more.

I sat down on the bed and tried breathing again, but everything was suddenly hitting me at once. Oh no...

Suddenly I was cold, dizzy, and breathless all at the same time.

I mentioned before that I know what going into shock feels like.

So I was expecting it when the world went black.

Review please!

Wow, I hadn't expected this chapter to be so long... I hope you liked it!

I'd like to thank ethereal tears, maxridelover, Mage666, and Sasuke's Pal for reviewing the first chapter.

I don't own Naruto!

Revised as of April 5, 2016.