Chapter Twelve

It might seem a little cheesy, and perhaps I'd been spending too much time with Lee and Gai, but freedom has the power to heal the soul. I couldn't imagine going back to the days when I hid out in my house. Okay, so it's only been four days since I ran into the meeting with the Sand sibs. Still… I could see the difference.

I no longer felt guilty just going outside anymore. If the Hokage had wanted to do something about our little unauthorized adventure, he'd had plenty of time to by now. I hadn't seen Koda or Neji following me since either. I couldn't really speak for Koda, as I hadn't known his intentions in the first place, but I supposed Neji must have finally lost interest in me. He certainly had enough to focus on at the moment.

As a matter of fact, the next time I saw Neji was a time that I ran into him. I got up early so I could walk around for a few hours before work, breathing in the air. It was almost July, and I could taste the summer.

I began walking along some of the paths that started at the training grounds. I could hear the birds chirping overhead and was surprised that I loved it. It wasn't like I spent absolutely no time outside. I loved the mornings that I got up early for soccer games, but I was never much of the outdoorsy type. I spent more time watching anime or reading fanfictions on the computer than I did outside.

I stopped at once when I saw Neji. He was leaning back against a tree, his face tilted up to the sky. His eyes were closed, but I could tell he was awake and enjoying the morning as much as I was, even if it wasn't in his nature to show it.

He opened his eyes when he felt me watching him, but his expression didn't change. It was the most neutral look I'd ever seen him wear. As a matter of fact, it was too neutral for someone enjoying such a nice day. Even Neji Hyuga.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I unfroze, walked over, and sat down beside him. It was a bold move on my part. We weren't exactly on the best terms. We really only spent time in each other's company when necessary. But he didn't move or object. He didn't even blink.

"What's going on?" I asked like we were friends and spoke to each other all the time.

He was quiet for a moment like he wasn't sure that I'd really just asked him a question. I was actually kind of surprised when he decided to answer. "I'm waiting for Gai sensei. He asked me to meet him here this morning."

"So where is he?" Not the most tactful way of asking my question, but it got the point across. I knew Gai and Neji had some big conversation about not bringing family grudges into the Chunin Exams with him. I couldn't imagine a better place to have this conversation, but I'd bet Neji didn't know what was coming, and the no matter how beautiful the scenery, it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation. Neji let out a breath slowly. I recognized the gesture as one of rising frustration. I'd made it plenty of times myself, but it surprised me to see it coming from someone who was usually so reserved. I prompted, "I thought Gai and Lee were both pretty strict about being on time."

Neji looked at me like, what do you think happened? "Yes," he said. "Except when it comes to Lee's personal training sessions."

I nodded. I knew Neji wasn't a bad person. I watched the episodes where he fights Naruto over and over again. Right now, he was bitter. And the fact that he had a sensei who played favorites couldn't be helping any. He sighed and rolled his eyes toward the sky. "Do you know what it's like," he asked suddenly "to be the one who's always waiting on someone else?"

"Yeah." It was a horrible feeling, but I did know. "Back in our old home, I was always the last kid to get picked up from soccer practice."

Neji surprised me by actually taking in interest in my story. At least, that was how I interpreted his raised eyebrow. "You weren't allowed to walk yourself home?"

I realized that it must seem strange here, where small children were apparently deemed capable of caring for themselves. So I padded the story a little to make it seem a little more plausible for this world. "There were a lot of bandit attacks in my hometown. The sports fields were on the outskirts of town. Once you turned fifteen you were old enough to walk yourself home. I'll be thirteen in October. I was always the kid who sat around with the coaches after practice… I had another brother who was really sick. In fact, the only times we were even allowed to participate in any sports was when he wasn't so bad that we were all camped out by his bedside. Not that him being only mildly ill wasn't enough to justify sitting by his bed all day." I felt thoughtful.

Neji looked skeptical, though not because he thought I was lying, I was surprised to realize. "Yes, but it sounds as if he was well enough to be by himself for twenty minutes. It couldn't have taken you much longer to get home in a village small enough to have to worry about bandits. Maybe your father should have set his priorities more carefully."

My head snapped up to look at him. "I had a great dad!" I didn't even have to think about what my defense might be. Where had this come from? And then I remembered. I had been talking about my mom. But as far as everyone here was concerned, the story was that our mother had been dead since we was little. And our dad had been the one to raise us.

Neji's reaction wasn't filled with emotion, but it was immediate. "I'm sorry." And I could tell he meant it. "That was out of line."

"It's okay," I told him, a little sheepishly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

I was actually enjoying being on this end of Neji's civility for once, and I would have liked to continue our conversation had another voice not cut through the peace of the morning.

"I can see you're both enjoying this beautiful and youth-filled morning!" Neji and I both rose immediately at the sound of Gai's voice. He was standing just a few yards away, beaming at us.

"I'll, uh, let you two get on with your training," I stammered. The moment was broken. Neji nodded, all business once more.

As I walked past Gai he nodded to me, but I saw he was also watching me with that deep, calculating look that wasn't seen too often on him. It was more or less the same look Kakashi had given me once he'd taken the time to look up from his perverted novel. Weird.

I didn't spend too much time on it, though. It had occurred to me that maybe Neji and I really did have something in common. Had Neji been in my place before? Having to defend his dad from some jerk who'd thought he'd known better? It wasn't an impossibility…

I'd made my way back into the heart of the market place. I'd found it to be a very welcoming place. Unfortunately, it was welcoming to everyone. I nearly stopped dead when I noticed Koda standing in the middle of the street. He was watching me. Waiting for me?

Silently, I groaned. What were the chances? I didn't see either of them for a few days, and then I ran into both of them almost at once. I considered turning and walking the other way but stopped myself. This was ridiculous. What was so threatening about Koda? We were in the middle of the market place. Even if he did mean me harm, he wasn't going to attempt anything in a crowd. ...Right?

I made what was probably a pretty pitiful attempt to square my shoulders and began to walk towards him. I tried to continue right on past him, but Koda turned and began to walk alongside me. I tried to ignore him, but he was walking awfully close. After my shoulder grazed his arm for the fourth time, I turned on him. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked coldly.

"Not until you help yourself," he said in and even colder, unfeeling voice. He seemed to be waiting for something, and it was starting to unnerve me a little.

I backed away from him, and he looked a little disgusted by my action. "What have they done to you?" he murmured, looking me up and down.

I could tell it was a rhetorical question, but I hissed back anyway, "What the hell are you talking about?"

What was wrong with this guy? I was starting to feel that I should be worried. There was something not right about the way he was looking at me. Like he knew me. What if Koda was totally unhinged, a disguised psychopath? If he really was crazy, was a crowd of other people really that much of a deterrent?

Koda was looking at me straight on now, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. I barely registered the fact that he was making hand signs until it was too late.

…

The little girl laughs. She's been chasing the boy, who's just a few years older than herself, for a long time. It's become a familiar game. She hasn't caught him yet.

His face is also lit up with a smile that makes his brown eyes shine and stand out in the light coming from the dawn. Almost as much as his shocking blue hair.

A man sits on a large rock not too far away. The little girl turns back to him to take in his fond, loving smile. He has the same dark blond hair as she, the same hazel eyes and freckles. Their resemblance is commented on all the time.

His eyes drift skyward as he thinks of the coming day. For now the kids will enjoy themselves. But soon, they will get back to work.

This work is secret. Mother always told her that secrets shouldn't be kept in her house. Not from her anyway. But Daddy told her the truth. She's different. Special. Not like Luke, or Tyler, or even Mother.

Daddy told her there was no shame in being normal. But there was no shame in being special either.

Still, the fact stands. She's special. They aren't. Therefore, this one time, just this once, this secret is necessary.

…

I gasped as the real world came rushing back to me. I'd fallen to my hands and knees when the apparition or vision or whatever that had been overtook me. As soon as I was breathing normally again, the anger returned as well. I pushed myself back up to my feet. My mind reeling, I put both hands on Koda's chest and pushed him as hard as I could.

"Stay away from me!" I demanded. It attracted a few stares, but Koda didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he just didn't care.

"You think I implanted visions in your mind," he said. It wasn't a question, and infuriating as it was, he was right. "Go back through it again," he advised. "I'm sure you'll recognize it as a memory."

"I know my own memories!" I claimed, sounding vicious to my own ears.

"Really." It didn't sound like he believed me. "How did your father die, Carly?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Why wasn't this coming to me? My father had died when I was six. This had been a fact since… well, since I was six. I had to know the cause of his death… but where that knowledge should have been was a frightening blank spot.

"Just stay away from me," I said again, not sounding nearly as sure of myself this time, and hurried away. I didn't look back.

Teuchi looked worried when I showed up at the ramen stand, but I assured him I was okay and smoothed out my expression enough for him to believe me. I hurried through work, not enjoying the day nearly as much as I'd been enjoying it this morning. I was grateful that none of our regular customers were on my delivery list today. I wasn't sure I could fake a prolonged normal conversation with anyone who would be able to tell if something was wrong.

When I got home, I was looking forward to the change in atmosphere. (Figures, I revel in the freedom of no longer being cooped up inside, and then inside becomes my safe haven.) So wouldn't it just figure that the first thing Luke does is hold out a scrap of paper and say, "That guard who brought us to the Hokage left this for you."

I just stared at the paper for a minute, making no move to take it from him. I hadn't even gotten out of the doorway yet. Just as Luke was about to ask if something was wrong, I snatched the little piece of paper out of his hand and flopped down on the bed. It was a dramatic motion that left my brother staring quizzically after me. Slowly, he moved to shut the door for me. I could see him internally debating whether pressing for an explanation was really worth the trouble it was sure to bring. But I had my own worries. After staring at it for another moment, I unfolded the tiny piece of paper and stared at the address Koda had written.

I recognized it as one of the places in town occupied almost solely by ninja. Luke and I lived in a place that was occupied almost solely by civilians. Naruto's apartment was very strategically placed in the middle so that it was on the outskirts of each, probably meant as a sort of protection for him, I'd come to realize. Not that I'd spent much time in the all-ninja sectors, even during my periods of exploration, but it really could be like traveling between two different worlds, their atmospheres were so different.

"So, I've started my plan," Luke announced, apparently deciding not to question me, though I had to admit I wasn't nearly as curious as I would have been had today been a normal day.

He handed me a portrait. My mother liked to go on and on about how Luke had tasteful, conventional talents. (She didn't approve of sports or see the joy in soccer like I did.) He was naturally gifted in things like art and music. Luke had taught himself to play the guitar, piano, and the flute, and he had a gift for painting/drawing.

It was a painting of Sakura. He must've gotten her to sit for him while he painted her. I had no idea where he could have possibly run into her when he knew her even less than I did, but I couldn't exactly say I was surprised. It wasn't something I usually thought about, but my friends had commented time and time again that Luke was pretty handsome. He'd always had a way with girls... not that he ever noticed.

The painting was strange… to say the least. For the first time I really realized how real she looked. How real everybody looked. But there was still something so obviously two-dimensional about it now that I'd met the real thing, even if only briefly.

"So." Luke looked a little too expectant for my liking. "Tell me what you see."

I stared at him for a moment. It wasn't like the painting wasn't good, but it also wasn't like my brother to go fishing for compliments. I couldn't tell what he wanted from me. "It's Sakura."

"But is it?"

"What do you mean? Of course it-"

"Look closely."

"...Are you okay?"

"Look at it again. Is that Sakura?"

"Seriously, you're kinda starting to freak me out."

"That doesn't answer my question."

He still had that overly expectant look on his face in response to my blank confusion. What was this, some trick question? "Well, I mean, it's a painting of Sakura, if you want to get technical about it..."

"Exactly!" His beam was just a little too big. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought my brother had taken something. Now that I thought about it, I didn't know any better... But Luke went on to explain for me. "I know you can tell the difference between a picture and the real thing, but I just want to make sure you really understand. These characters are all real people now. Or maybe we're cartoons now... The point is, you're just as real as she is."

In other words, he was trying to make me understand that this supposed crush on Lee was real. I had just as much of a chance with him as Sakura did. And I was starting to get it. But I couldn't comprehend all this right now. Not on top of everything else I was dealing with today.

I watched him for a minute after he turned away. Apparently satisfied that he'd made his point, my brother had turned to the cabinets in search of food. And I almost asked Luke about our dad. But I stopped myself. For all I knew, I was right and Koda had just implanted visions into my head to mess with me for whatever reason.

I found I didn't have much interest in dinner myself. I was too exhausted to think about food. Luke didn't comment as I headed over to the bed and plopped down, still dressed for the day. I let my head drop back against the pillow and promptly fell asleep. But sleep didn't bring the peace I'd been desiring.

…

The little girl's face is the picture of joy. Koda has learned a new way to evade her.

He'll let her get close and then seem to disappear. But really he's just transported himself a little farther away. Every time this happens she feels a little twinge in her gut. This is her proof of being 'special'.

The girl trips in her haste to catch the boy… but she never stops laughing.

Review please!

I don't own Naruto!

As the chapters go on, and I get back towards the stuff I've written more recently, I'm hoping there should be less and less to revise. A new chapter should be coming relatively soon.

Revised June 3, 2016.