Chapter Eleven

After our little Forest of Death fiasco, Luke and I stuck close to home. We went to work and directly back for a week straight. I kept waiting to see ninja assigned just to keep an eye on my brother and me, for some kind of real punishment to show its face. Even I was having a hard time believing the Third Hokage was that nice. But the week passed without incident, and the energy of the village all around us was getting to me. Finally, I decided I'd had enough of sitting inside, looking at our walls. Besides, we needed groceries.

Luke had taken on another shift at the weapons shop, so it was just me anyway. With a little thrill that was sort of pathetic considering the banality of my task, I headed out to the market place.

Unfortunately, even though my week had been unadventurous, I'd acquired another stalker. I'd never wished to be one of those fan fiction mary-sue girls. (They're tacky.) But now I felt a slight longing for the easy life. Alas, neither Neji nor Koda had taken up stalking because they were madly in love with me.

All week long, I'd spotted Koda in random places on my way to work, usually talking to someone. When I walked by, he'd never halt in his conversation, but his eyes would follow me as I walked by. I wondered, what excuse had he given to get off of guard duty so he could track me? Had he even needed an excuse? Had the Hokage assigned a patrol to us after all? Had we been watched all along? Perhaps the Third was more suspicious than I'd thought, and he just masked it well. If this was the case, finding my brother and I sneaking around the Forest of Death couldn't have helped.

In the beginning, Neji had been more discreet, but I could tell he was starting to get frustrated. This didn't surprise me. He could stare all he wanted. I had no secrets to give away, considering I didn't know the meaning of the chakra points' absence myself.

I dropped the groceries off at home, (they could be put away later…) but the thought of staying in the apartment and spending any more time staring at the wall or looking out of window sickened me. I felt the urge to repaint the walls in some outrageous pattern that would be harder to memorize than our boring, monotonous eggshell white. And looking out the window made me feel as if the apartment were a cage. I would confine myself no longer!

Thus far, I'd had considerably good experiences with wandering around aimlessly. So that was what I did. I told myself that what I really wanted was just to be outside, in the thick of it all. I didn't necessarily need a place to be... Okay, I'll admit. Maybe it wasn't so aimless. I purposely avoided the path that would take me near Gai's team's training grounds. I hadn't seen Lee in quite some time, and while I missed him, I could accept that this was a very busy time for him. That's what I told myself anyway. The fact that he had a creeper team mate did help in trying to avoid him.

As I turned a corner, nearing the market place again, I saw the three people I least expected to see. They were huddled together in as much of a circle as three people can make. My eyebrows shot up. "Konohamaru?"

The one obviously in charge stood up straighter and whirled around, acting like he'd just been caught doing something wrong and was about to be scolded.

Then he saw it was just some random village girl. (I had a strong suspicion he was expecting to be caught by Ebisu for something.) "Who the heck are you? And how do you know my name?"

I decided to ignore his first question. I feigned surprise. "Doesn't everybody know who you are?" Then I figured he meant who had I talked to that called him his name. Just about everybody referred to him as the Honorable Grandson, so I added, "I think the Hokage might have mentioned you once."

He seemed satisfied but still slightly suspicious. "What are you guys doing?" I asked, hoping to redirect the conversation. I was also buying time, trying to think. I'd lost track of where we were in the story; did these three do anything important around this time?

"We're supposed to play ninja with Naruto today!" Moegi piped up with a smile, readjusting her goggles.

"Yeah, only we can't find him," Udon added, wiping his nose.

Konahamaru had a look on his face that suggested they should have known better than to reveal battle plans to the enemy. I hardly noticed it though. One thing stuck in my head.

"Naruto's back?" It was a happy thought, and I'm sure it showed up in my expression. And, unfortunately for me, it was noticeable to all.

Konohamaru snickered, "Who are you, his girlfriend?" Well, considering the state of hero-worship they held him in, he sure didn't have much respect for the person he thought was dating said 'hero'.

"I am not!" I burst out indignantly.

The kid snickered again. "Is that so?" I could tell he didn't believe me for a second.

"It is!" I insisted. "Look, do you guys want to find Naruto or not?"

Moegi clasped her hands in front of her. "We do! Do you know where he is?"

"I have a pretty good idea," I admitted. I remembered this episode now. Other than the part where the Sand siblings make their entrance, it had been pretty slow in my mind. As most episodes with Konohamaru had been...

It only really sank in once I was leading them to the stage of the scene. Naruto was back, and Gaara was about to show up! I'd gone through my Gaara phase. (What Naruto fan girl didn't?) Luckily for both of us (but mostly me) it was over now. I'd gone through many character phases. For a time there had even been a Kankuro phase. That had been a strange time…

When we arrived at the familiar little side street with the tall fence and the tree, Naruto was already there. Sakura was standing by too, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"Boss!"

"Naruto!"

He turned. "Huh? What do you three want? Oh, hey, Carly."

Now Konohamaru was the indignant one. Apparently he wasn't too fond of the fact that Naruto was giving me more attention than the three of them combined.

"Boss!" he said again. "Where have you been? You promised you'd play ninja with us today!" Moegi and Udon nodded in unison.

"Playing ninja?" Sakura had entered the conversation. Her tone was dripping with mockery.

It was strange watching this scene unfold in real life. It was pretty disturbing to watch Sakura completely lose it and get ready to take out a little kid. I'd almost forgotten why I'd wanted to come in the first place… until Konohamaru ran straight into Kankuro.

I was undoubtedly the calmest one there. I found it impossible to take Kankuro seriously after having seen him back down so pathetically in Gaara's presence. It was almost like watching it on TV, like I wasn't really there this time either. Which is why I nearly jumped five feet in the air when Moegi grabbed ahold of my pantleg.

It made her look so much younger, and Udon was cowering behind her. It made me feel bad that I was taking this so lightly, watching with almost inappropriate fascination. For them it was probably the most terrifying thing they'd ever experienced. Things suddenly felt a little surreal, knowing exactly how everything was going to play out.

I've never been the comforting type. I've never even been the babysitting type, for that matter. Thankfully for me, this scene moved a lot faster in real life. Before I could think of anything reassuring to say to the two that weren't being strangled by their own scarf, Sasuke was on the scene and everything was under control.

I watched as he sat up in the tree, cool as a cucumber, (seriously, who came up with that saying?) tossing the other rock up in the air while Sakura went wild. I remembered how Gaara seemed to appear out of nowhere. Just as a little self-challenge, I watched to try and catch the exact moment when he appeared. I trained my eyes on the branch where he would hang.

I averted my eyes for just a second when Sasuke did his little rock-crushing stunt. What, was he trying to show of for his squealing fan girl? All of a sudden I felt a twinge in my gut. It almost felt like when one of your limbs falls asleep. That buzzing, staticky feeling. It only lasted a second. Whoa, what was-

"Kankuro, back off."

Damn it!

"You're an embarrassment to our village."

I'd missed it!

And… wait for it… there it was. Kankuro was all but cowering behind his sister who looked like she would so sacrifice Kankuro for her own life. Ah, sibling love.

Now everyone was watching Gaara. Other than Kankuro's shiver, nobody moved a muscle when Gaara threatened to kill him. I'd seen this play out once, (though not nearly as close) and I knew that the best course of action was no action at all.

Gaara apologized for Kankuro's disturbance, sounding surprisingly civil given his current mindset, and then there was some more mutual silence as Sasuke and Gaara sized each other up. The little disorienting twinge came again, and when I looked up, Gaara had materialized beside his siblings. It was so strange. Just what was it exactly?

The three began to walk away.

Sakura took a few steps towards the Sand siblings. "Hold on." They didn't answer. "Hey!" she shouted, obviously not pleased at being blatantly ignored.

When they finally acknowledged her, she gave a lengthy speech, basically demanding to know why they were here. Interesting, I thought. I mean, I knew that Gaara wasn't going to hurt anyone, but for someone who didn't know, that wasn't really any way to talk to somebody who'd just threatened to kill his own team mate/brother. I was actually a little impressed. Even if she was way out of her league...

Finally, they turned back to look at us.

"Really?" said Temari. "Have you guys all been living under a rock or what?"

"They're here for the Chunin Exams," I explained quietly.

I cringed away from Temari's harsh, calculating gaze as Konohamaru of all people explained to Naruto what the Chunin Exams were.

Sasuke leaped down from his branch, blocking my view of the other girl, and more importantly, blocking her view of me.

He demanded to know their names. I also could have supplied this information, but I decided not to be the creepy one today. I'd opened my mouth enough for one new encounter. I hadn't originally planned to make my presence known at all.

However, I mouthed them silently to myself. It may not have been the most exciting, but this was still one of those scenes I knew practically by heart. Apparently, I wasn't as out of view of them as they were of me. When I caught another glimpse of them, Kankuro had narrowed his eyes. I quickly looked down again. Sasuke and Gaara made their introductions while I willed the older boy to lose interest.

"And who are you?" Temari asked coolly. I froze. She wasn't looking at me. Crap! She was! It wasn't just Kankuro whose attention I'd attracted with my dumb little mimic.

"You're too old to be an academy student," she continued. "But I don't see a headband." She was clearly challenging me, daring me to prove my worth.

I'll admit to being too scared of a true confrontation with her to rise to that challenge. "I'm not a ninja," I said quietly, without looking up.

"Then she's not worth bothering with," Gaara said dismissively. Never had I thought I'd be so grateful to him. Especially not before he had his change of heart. As much as I'd always sworn I would be able to see the best in him had I grown up in this world, I couldn't help being relieved when he turned away. In fact, I felt foolish for ever assuming something so bold back in my world. At this point, he was intimidating. And genuinely dangerous.

"I bet you're dying to know my name, right?" Naruto cut in.

"I couldn't care less," Gaara responded. They were gone just a second later.

I stood off by myself as Naruto tried to heal his bruised ego with Konohamaru's less than helpful input.

I stood frozen, staring after them until they were out of sight. I'd rewatched this encounter many times, but it was much different in real life. It took a few minutes before we all went our separate ways. I would have to catch up with Naruto later. Suddenly, it just didn't feel like the right time.

I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going as I walked away. Had all of that really only taken five minutes at most? It felt like an entire day should have passed. I was lost in my thoughts as weaved my way back into the most crowded streets. Before I realized it, I'd walked almost right into Lee. That woke me up considerably.

"Oh! Hi, Lee."

He smiled. "Carly. I haven't seen you in a while." There was something very relaxed about him right now. I was sure he could turn back into the extremely motivated ninja I'd come to know so well at the flip of a dime, but it was nice to see that even Lee came down from that level sometimes.

"Yeah… I figured I should give your team some more time to train… you've gotta be getting ready for the Chunin Exam."

That familiar excited fire flared up in the back of his eyes. "Yes! Gai-sensei is signing us all up today. But, I actually wanted to speak with you about our training sessions… I hope you did not take what Neji said too personally. He can be a little rough around the edges. He was born naturally talented. He hasn't gained the respect hard work and hard times will give you." Lee sounded sympathetic for his friend.

My first thought was, Neji isn't rough around the edges, try rough all over. But then I realized that, just like Gaara, that was only just for now. And he had experienced some hard times. More than Lee was probably aware of at the moment. As efficient as Team Gai was as a team, they'd only been together for about a year. I doubted Neji had opened up to them about anything truly important to him. If I remembered correctly, he wouldn't even share his hopes for the future. I was suddenly feeling very generous toward him.

"Maybe you should talk to him sometime," I advised Lee. "I doubt it's as simple as it sounds."

Lee seemed surprised that I'd taken such in interest in the troubles of his team mate. Who could blame him? I was surprised I'd said it.

"I suppose you are right," Lee conceded. "I usually pride myself on being open-minded…" he continued thoughtfully. "But maybe I have not given it as much thought as I should." He smiled again. "Thank you. I'll talk to Neji."

We continued walking, heading in the same direction, though aiming for nothing in particular. I couldn't help picturing how that talk might pan out, and I had to suppress a laugh. Neji and Lee weren't always on bad terms... (Their interactions weren't nearly as charged as Naruto and Sasuke's at least.) From what I'd gathered, they had a sort of mutual respect for each other, and Neji could be perfectly civil to Lee. I'd now seen evidence of this both on TV and in real life. But, still, I couldn't imagine him taking Lee's attempt to better understand him very well. Though I'm sure that wouldn't deter the boy beside me much. I found myself staring at Lee as we walked. I had gone through my Gaara phase. I'd gone through my Kakashi phase. I'd even had a Neji phase. But I'd never given too much thought to Lee.

Now I had to wonder. Should I have had a spot in my heart all along for Lee? I'd gotten to know him, and he was definitely worth it.

I felt a little pang in my chest as I realized what was coming up. Lee would come into the main story soon. When he professes his love to Sakura. I cringed at the thought. Sakura wasn't even worth being his acquaintance yet, and when he saw her, he'd think he was in love with her. He could do better than that! He deserved better than that!

But who exactly was I to judge? I couldn't claim to be better than Sakura. Sure, she wasn't that great right now, but she was going somewhere, and making up for how she was right now with her brainpower.

I needed to stop the way I was thinking. I despised the way I was thinking. I didn't hold with jealousy, and was I really becoming jealous of Sakura? I'd never been one who hated her, but she'd never stood out as someone to be jealous of. And besides, what right did I have to decide who was or wasn't worthy of Lee's company?

I broke out of my inner haze when Lee said my name. With relief, I realized he hadn't asked me a question. He was very animatedly detailing out something he'd learned recently. His 'secret weapon' for the Chunin Exams. It only took a few sentences for me to realize he was describing the Hidden Lotus technique.

I'll admit it. My first thoughts were more dreary ones, along the lines of he's-telling-me-this-because-I'm-of-no-importance-don't-even-know-anyone-of-enough-importance-to-tell kind of thoughts. Then I got an image stuck in my mind. The image of Lee after being beaten half to death isn't so bad unless you actually know him. It made me catch my breath. The look on my face must've been awful because Lee stopped his excited chatter very abruptly and asked, "Carly, what's wrong?"

He was concerned. He was so much more kind and caring than anyone ever gave him credit for. Even I had seen his oddly formal speech patterns and general enthusiasm as little more than his own personal awkwardness until I'd actually gotten to know him. Knowing what would become of him in just a week… Suddenly I couldn't even look at him.

I gave an agitated, hurried excuse about needing to get home, and then I rushed off without looking back. He certainly could have caught me and forced me to explain had he wanted to, but he must have sensed it was something I just wasn't ready to discuss with him yet. Yet. Would I ever be able to honestly explain my response to him? And furthermore, should I? The obvious answer felt like, yes, of course! ...But how would I possibly explain my sudden clairvoyance to my new friend without seeming so creepy as to lose that new friend? Or maybe he wouldn't even believe me.

My jumbled, erratic thoughts were just pushing me to move faster. I was soon heading towards home at a sprint.

Luke was already back from work when I got there. He looked up when I came crashing through the door.

"Hey. Where've you- what's wrong?"

Apparently, I hadn't managed to erase the stricken look from my face.

I began to detail out my entire long, long day. I'm sure I went into unnecessary detail about what would happen to Lee, but at the end Luke still seemed sort of… excited. Only one thing had stuck for him.

"For the first time, you have a crush on a real-life person. He's real!" I got the feeling Luke didn't care who it was. He didn't even care that this boy was only real because I'd somehow managed to make my favorite anime real.

I was not absorbing his excitement, but he did bring up something that I hadn't completely let myself consider.

Was I in love with Lee? It was a disorienting question. But I welcomed it. It washed away the gruesome image of one of my best friends being on the verge of death.

"I don't think you realize it yet," Luke continued. "but I'll make sure you see it soon. There's no way I'm going to let you lose out to that pink-haired Barbie!"

Review please!

Koda will become important later on, but it won't really be explained until Tsunade shows up.

Luke's scheming… And wow, there seemed to be quite a bit of Sakura-bashing in this chapter, which wasn't really my intention.

I don't own Naruto… I own my own little changes to the plot and maybe a handful of characters.

Revised June 3, 2016.