~~Untitled so far~~

My naruto story :D Masaki Kimoto said I was allowed to make it ^_^ And if I change the characters name I even have more of the right to publish it!

I don’t know where I am.

That statement is probably not the best way to start a journey, but that’s all I really know. I’m in a whole different world seemingly. The last thing I can remember is walking into a dark forest…that’s it. I don’t remember my name, my age, or even what my family looked like for that matter. Maybe I didn’t have a family, but who knew? I’m walking in what seems like a fortress of trees. I don’t know where I’m going, but I hope to find some people around here that might tell me what’s going on and who might tell me of who I am. Big, tall trees surround me as I keep on walking in this wasteland of trees. The only thing that tells me anything about myself is this necklace that dangles from my neck. It’s long and has a white crystal dangling on the end that sparkled in the light. I pick it up and move it around in my fingers. It somehow calmed me, giving me hope to move on. This is where my journey began.

 

Chapter One: Norcross?

 Hours passed like days until I stopped at a lonely tree, which was great because I needed space away from the trees. My back was aching so I sat back against the tree and fall asleep, not caring what would happen when I awoke.

Minutes or hours passed while sleep drifted through me, calming me and in my dreams and taking me back to where I belonged. It was interrupted though as I heard footsteps approach me.

 “Hey! Are you ok?” I heard a voice say to me as they shook me. I opened my eyes to see a boy about fifteen with black shiny hair and big black eyes shaking me.

“Yeah…” I said as he helped me up, still a little sleepy from my tree.

“Kilikan-sensei she’s alive.” He said to a man that looked just like him but older form. They were both wearing green outfits that clothed their entire body and they had the same hairstyle, it looked round and their hair dangled in front of their eyes. They looked very strange to me, but what did I know?

            “So how did you wind up out here?” asked the man named Kilikan-sensei.

”I…I really don’t know.” I answered quietly and the younger man stared at me. I looked back at him slightly agitated.

“What?” I asked him sharply, his eyes were roaming my body strangely and then he looked away.

“N-nothing, do you feel ok?”

“Yeah I guess, but umm… might I ask where we are?” Both of their gazes turned towards my direction in shock.

“We’re in the forest right outside the village of Norcross.” Kilikan-sensei said slowly, his eyes burning into mine.

“Ok…” I leaned up against the tree I fell asleep on and thought with my eyes closed, confused. Norcross… never heard of that place before, then again, I can’t remember a thing! Strange.

“Uhh, should we take her back to the village and have her examined Kilikan-sensei?” asked the younger man.

“It looks like we better.”  

“You know I’m right here and I think that choice should be up to me.” I said to them, opening my eyes and slightly glaring at them.  They both fell silent. They didn’t have the power to tell me what I was to do and what I was to not do. I would like to find out about my surroundings, but I didn’t want to get myself into any trouble neither, and I had no idea what ‘examined’ meant…it could be a death trap! Kilikan-sensei then pulled the boy next to him and whispered something in his ear. The boy’s eyes went wide and he looked at me shocked, his hard stare turning soft on mine as if tears would soon fill his eyes. I almost felt bad for him. Kilikan-sensei shook him and the boy looked back up at him. A second later the younger boy broke away from him and came by me.  

“Can you remember your name?”

“No, I cannot. I can’t remember anything of my past up until when I awoke in this forest.” I answered as I looked away from their stares to the trees, ashamed for being so ridiculous that I couldn’t even remember my own name. Silence fell over the group as Kilikan’s stare ventured from me to the boy. I looked over at him and the younger boy was looking at Kilikan-sensei regretfully as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying. Kilikan-sensei shook his head slowly at the boy and then looked away. The younger boy then looked back at me.

“That is very peculiar, well my names Rock Lee.” He said and half smiled. I smiled back at him happy that he didn’t seem so tense anymore.

“If it is alright with you, we would like to take you back to our village and have the Hotashi make sure you are alright.” Kilikan-sensei stated.

“Thank you for asking, I would be happy to go with you two. What is the Hotashi?’”

“He’s the leader and founder of our village, he takes care of everything that takes place there.” answered Rock Lee.

“Alright.” I started walking foreword so I could follow the two men. I didn’t feel as if this could be a bad decision anymore, the two of them might help me and they didn’t seem suspicious of anything.

            “So…are you his father?” I asked Kilikan-sensei and he burst out laughing.

“No. He just wanted to be like me so he did everything he could to do it.”

“Oh okay, and… is sensei your last name?”

“No ‘sensei’ is a respectful name to call your teacher, see I am Rock Lee’s teacher so he addresses me as Kilikan-sensei instead of just Kilikan.”

“Ok... I think I’ve got it.” I said slowly, thinking to myself how strange all these new things sounded, then I gasped in amazement. We had walked until we arrived at some huge gates that were white with red symbols on them; and inside it was an even bigger town with people almost everywhere! The gates were connected to a large wall that surrounded the city and seemed to stretch on for miles; behind them as far as I could see were trees with different fruits and flowers all around them. Inside the town looked modern with people selling items and others eating indoors. The sight was so spectacular that I had to stand for a moment in awe. 

“Nice huh?” Rock Lee said as he smiled, inspecting the town.

“Yeah… it’s huge!” I answered as I gawked in amazement.

“Well then come on, there’s more to see,” Kilikan Sensei said as we continued to walk through the town. I glanced around at the townsfolk, smiling at each of them as we went. They all had a peculiar look about them, but maybe that was just me. Each one of them smiled back to me though, some even waved so they didn’t seem like much of a threat. The businesses around were all under cloths and most people were on their butts as they sold their items and they held them up high for people to see as they walked through the town. Men tempted me to buy things but I merely shook my head and looked around at the other sights. Smells ran by me that smelt like pork and warm spicy sauce and I started to feel hungry just by the intoxicating smell. We hurried along through the town until we reached the very middle where our destination was; the Hotashi building. The structure was enormous in size and was painted green all around its circular formation; a large yellow symbol lay on the front that probably represented the Hotashi himself. Stairs spiraled around the building all the way to the top where a door lead into the office, a small stream of smoke was billowing out from a vent on top. I starred at the building as we approached it and it seemed to get bigger and bigger. The edifice must have been at least one hundred feet in length, possibly higher!

We walked up the steps and went around the building once before we came to a door in the middle of the building. We entered it and took an immediate left up more stairs in order to reach the Hotashi. I regained my breath at the top of the stairs as then I heard yelling.  

“Sendo I’m sick of these lame missions I want a better one! Why can’t we go on missions like we used to?” We entered the room were the voice was coming from to see an old guy behind a desk along with another younger man with red spiky hair. The old man was garbed in elegant red clothing and he wore a red and black symbolic hat on his bald head. Wrinkles covered his face and around his eyes so much I couldn’t see the color of his eyes. In front of him there was a kid on the floor with brown spiky hair in a blue shirt and black shorts; a guy who looked calm with his arms folded with dark blonde hair and a blue shirt on; Then a girl who had long black hair in a purple shirt and black pants; next to her was an older man with red and black hair wearing some sort of strange half green vest. The old man stared at us calmly, giving me a small smile and the people in front of the desk also starred at us. The brown haired kid looked very shocked to see me and the blonde gazed at me peculiarly as if I wasn’t meant to exist. I felt color fill my face and I had to direct my gaze to the floor as their stares made me feel funny.

“Hey-!”

“We have a problem Hotashi.” Kilikan Sensei said loudly, trying to interrupt the brown haired kid’s comment as he gave him a cold stare. The boy looked back at him confused and then the old man got up, still calm as he looked over at us.

“I’ll be right back Sendo; you just stay here for now.”

“Alright,” Exclaimed the tall, red and black haired person. I turned around and the old man walked us out of the room and shut the door. I felt the brown haired boy’s stare on me as I left.

“What’s seems to be the problem?”

“Well…” Kilikan sensei started as he put his hand on my shoulder.

“This girl seems to have amnesia, were hoping we can get the memory back?” He asked and looked at the Hotashi for a minute. I couldn’t read his face but the Hotashi nodded after a moment.  

“Hmm, were going to need to examine her because she has not been here before. Take her to the examination room and they should be able to clear up our questions.”

“Alright we will head there.” He answered and the Hotashi walked back into the room with the boys.

“Come on.” He said and led me away. Rock Lee followed right next to me, it felt more assuring having him by my side.

Kilikan-sensei led me to an almost normal looking room, but it was white and had a weird looking bed in it. To the left of the bed was a giant mirror that let others see into the room. Kilikan-sensei said something to a person in white and he nodded his head while putting on plastic gloves. Suddenly fear enveloped my body as I looked around the room I was in. There were tables around that had sharp objects on them and strange vials of liquid next to them. The thought of these object coming in contact with my body made me absolutely frightened and my body began to shake. 

“What’s wrong?” asked Rock Lee.

“I don’t know I just got scarred all of a sudden… I don’t want to go in there. I won’t!” I demanded. Kilikan stopped talking to the person and glanced over at me.

“It won’t be bad, there just going to check you out. Nothing bad will happen to you while we’re here.”

“If you say I won’t… then will one of you come with me?”

“I’ll go with you.” Rock Lee answered and smiled at me, then nodded to his sensei.

“Thanks.” The person in white led us into the room and pushed one of the tables with the objects far away from me which assured me more. Then he told me to get on the bed so I did as told, the bed felt like a scratchy fabric that made the fear return. I glanced at Rock Lee who had taken a couple steps away from the bed and was starring at the doctor evilly. I squeezed my hands together in a ball to try to keep myself calm as silence drained on between the man and me. Finally the person in white did some weird movements with his hands and all of a sudden they were coxed with a greenish type of substance, I jumped at the suddenness of this motion. He continued by moving his hand over my body, hovering about an inch above my skin and starring intently at my body as he did. I watched him as he slowly crept up my body with careful movements. He stopped at my head and his eyes went wide in shock. He shook his head to himself and tried again, carefully rubbing his hand over my head.

“W-What’s wrong?” I asked him. The greenish substance went away and he went back out of the room leaving my question unanswered. I sat up and looked at Rock Lee confused.

“Do you understand what just happened?” I asked him. He shook his head slowly. He looked as if he was slightly shaking, his eyes glued to the floor.

“What’s wrong with you?” He didn’t have time to answer because the man came back into the room with Kilikan-sensei.

“Well...” He said and scratched his head. He looked at Rock Lee, who was still looking at the floor. Kilikan-sensei went by him and put his hand on his shoulder.

“There was nothing wrong with you, so don’t worry about it. Your memory will recover in time slowly, you just hit your head very hard and that’s why your memory is gone.”

“Alright, I guess I understand…” I told them as I trailed off, looking away from them sadly. I shouldn’t be sad, but it would be nice to know what happened to me before all of this. It was very hard to understand why I was in this situation and I wanted to know what my life was like before. What would I do with my life now?

“The good news is we have a team for you!” He said, trying to sound cheery.

“A team, what's that?” I inquired, looking back at them.

“A team is a group of people that you will stick with when you do important things.”

“Oh, is it with you guys then?”  

“Uhh no, it’s with Sendo, the man we met earlier….” he mumbled something after he finished his sentence almost angrily, but it was too quiet to catch. I looked over at Rock Lee sadly. I didn’t want to separate with him, he was really nice and the only boy I knew. A thought crossed my mind as I got off the bed.

“Rock Lee, since you found me I would appreciate if you gave me a name until I remembered mine.” He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and my heart went out to him for a second. He wiped them away with the back of his hand irritably and replied

“Stone Lee.”

“Stone Lee…It’s perfect.” I said with a smile, it reminded me of him. Rock Lee smiled back at me a tad.

“Umm I hate to rush you, but you’re going to have to take a test in order to even get with your group.” Kilikan sensei said and my smile faded away. Rock Lee looked up at Kilikan Sensei confused

 “Great... now I have to prove myself somehow.” I mumbled and walked over to Kilikan-sensei.

“Did that man tell how old I was?”  

“You are fifteen.”

“Ok, my name is Stone Lee, I’m fifteen and my team is team Sendo.” I said and smiled at the ring of it all.

Kilikan-sensei led Rock Lee and I out of the room and into another building close by. It looked smallish and it had only a couple rooms inside with many chairs and a board in front of them all. The word ‘school’ ran through my mind, but I didn’t know the meaning. We walked down the hall and entered the room at the end; the man with red hair was sitting there waiting.

“This is Daiskae.” Kilikan said.

“He’ll be seeing if you’re ready for a team or not.”

“Ok...” I said as I stared at him.

“In order to earn your headband you’ll need to pass this test. It will determine where your abilities are at and if you can remember them.” Daiskae said.

“Why do I need a headband?” I asked him.

“A headband proves you’re a ninja and it shows which village you’re from.”

“Oh...”

“Well we’re going to need to get your energy going.”

“What’s energy?” I asked.

“Never mind that just get ready.”

“For what?”  He sighed and took a fighting position. I felt my eyes open wider as the aura around me seemed to thicken. This wasn’t the test I was thinking of.

“Ok prepare yourself…now!” he said as he charged at me with some kind of weird looking knife.

“Ahh!” I yelped with surprise as I ducked and dodged the attack.

“Do you feel scared yet? Your energy should be slightly flowing even if that was an easy attack.” he asked me as he jumped back a few feet.

“Are you kidding me a grown man just came at me with a knife!”

“It’s a kunai,” Rock Lee mumbled.

“Ok a ‘kunae.’” I said.

“K-u-n-a-I.” Rock Lee sounded out for me.

“Sorry...”

“Stop your calming her down!” Daiskae threw the knife at me. It wised through the air and in a second I saw the sharp blade directly in my face, it seemed to smile at me in the light.

I screamed in panic and I put my hands up to my face. I waited for the pain or death, but it didn’t come. I removed my hands from my face and looked at Daiskae. He was smirking.

“What the..?” I asked him, turning around to see the kunai on the floor behind me.  

“Where are you?” Daiskae asked the smug smile still on his face.

“Right in front of you, can you not see? What just happened?”

“You dodged the attack. As I expected you can remember your previous ability which is a great plus. You can make your body become invisible and transparent which will help you in battle.” Daiskae said matter-of-factly, whatever the heck that meant.

“Then how do I come back?”

“Focus your energy again and it should ware off.”

“Umm…” I concentrated on nothing and a couple of seconds passed lazily.

“…You can open your eyes now.” Rock Lee said jokingly. I opened my eyes and looked around; I guess this meant I wasn’t ‘invisible’ anymore.

“Ninjas are supposed to have 2 main Justus, so you’ll have to figure out your other one.” Daiskae said.

“Let’s not! You know I don’t appreciate it when you attack me with a….kunai. This is dangerous and what if I can’t figure out my other one?”

“You will, just be prepared.” Exclaimed Daiskae as he came at me again. I squeezed my eyes shut again and hopped my thingy would work. It didn’t; I felt a sharp pain in my stomach as I fell to the ground. I opened my eyes and put a hand on my stomach as blood seeped between my fingers. Fear slowly oozed out of me along with my blood and I felt my breath gradually become sharper. Rock Lee tried to come up to me, but Kilikan held him back. Rock Lee struggled to get away and he glared at Daiskae.

“You-!” Rock Lee was cut off by Kilikan-sensei putting a hand over his mouth.

I screamed out in pain and held my next scream within me; I didn’t want to scare anyone with my own pain. I wanted to cry as well, but I held back the tears as I felt the pain creep into my stomach. The pain was like the knife had never left my body and the pain burned around the hole he created in my body. Daiskae relaxed and he even smiled lightly as he handed me a bag off one of the tables.

“What’s this for.” I sneered, practically biting my tongue. I was angry he was so calm in my state of pain and I knew he knew something I didn’t.

“It’ll stop the pain.” I opened the bag greedily and saw that only water was in it. I didn’t care at the moment as I put some on my hand and put it on my stomach. It took a minute, but the pain did go away.

“Thanks.” I said skeptically and handed him back the bag standing up. He was smiling wider now.

“It’s a good thing you’re a smart child. You’ve remembered both of your previous abilities.”

“What do you mean?”  

“Well your next move is healing; you’ll be a fine medical ninja when you grow up and a great aid to this village.” He said and smiled.

“…What’s that?” I asked him. He stopped smiling and his face turned aggravated. People are probably getting annoyed of me, but it’s not my fault that I cannot remember a thing.

“It’s a person who takes care of people who are sick or injured.” He said as attached the bag of water to my hip agitatedly.

“Now your team is waiting for you so I suggest you get going, you’re going to have your first mission.”

“What’s a mission?” he sighed and left the room. I looked at Lee and Kilikan- sensei hopping they’d tell me. Lee though was looking glumly at the floor with Kilikan- sensei’s hand still on his shoulder.

“We’ll let’s get going.” Kilikan said as he led us off in the direction of the ‘Hotashi’ building.

“A mission is where you do something for another person, such as fighting ninjas, protecting people, and obtaining stuff or maybe little chores such as weeding or getting someone’s cat.” Rock Lee explained to me, still looking glum.

“Ok, I get it.” I smiled. Rock Lee looked up at me and smiled back.

“So… do you have any of your memory at all?” Rock Lee inquired. Kilikan- sensei shoved Rock Lee forward with his hand on his shoulder and all was quiet while we walked.

We entered the place where the brown haired boy, the dark blonde haired boy and the black haired girl were all at. Each time we went in there Rock Lee was supposed to stay out for some reason and it made me very lonely.

They turned and looked at us as we opened the door and entered.

“Finally! We’ve been waiting for hours!” The brown haired boy remarked. I looked down sadly, this wasn’t my fault. A loud smack was heard that brought my attention back up to the people. The tall red and black haired man had his hand balled up in a fist on top of the boy with the brown hair’s head and he was smiling.

“Introduce yourself.” He said in sort of joyfully and sort of casual tone.

“Umm, my name is Stone Lee, I’m fifteen and part of team Sendo’s group.” I answered, remembering exactly what I was told.

“Good to meet you, my names Sendo, this is Steve.” He pointed to the brown haired boy.

“This is Ikasu.” He pointed to the dark blonde haired boy.

“And this is Suki.” He finished as he pointed to the black haired girl.

“Ok…” I looked at them all with a friendly smile and Steve actually smiled back at me.

“Hi Stone Lee we’re actually getting a cool mission this time. We haven’t had any good ones for awhile because of a mishap. It’s great to have you with us now though, things should become better!” He laughed a little and continued to stare at me. I nodded to his comment and looked away from his awkward stare back to Sendo.

“So this girl is becoming part of our team…great.” Ikasu sighed. Not the friendly type I would have to guess. Steve glared over at Ikasu angrily, but he had his eyes closed now. Kilikan Sensei gave me a little push towards my new team for encouragement.

“Well don’t have too much fun; I hope to be seeing you again soon.” He told me as started to walk out of the room. He gave me one more backward glance and then he was gone. Why do people keep staring at me like some kind of freak? Do they know something about me? If so what is it?!

“Well, I guess we’ll be heading off then.” Sendo instructed.

“About time…” A voice called from the corner of the room. I turned around to see a guy who looked very scary with brown spiky hair and something around his head; he was also swaying a bit and there was a brown bottle in his right hand.

“WAIT!” I heard someone yell. Daiskae came in panting and he handed me a piece of blue cloth with something metal attached to it.

“Your headband...you forgot it.” He panted.

“Oh...thanks.” I examined it curiously as I debated what to do with it. Sendo had his atop his head, Steve had his across his arm, Suki had hers around her leg and as for Ikasu I could not locate his.

“Let me help you.” Ikasu’s voice came as he took the headband from my hands and secured it to my head by tying the loose ends. I turned and faced him as he finished.

“Thanks.” I said with a smile.

“Whatever.” He replied and didn’t return my smile.  

“Well then let’s get going already!” Steve shouted joyfully and got up by me in a second, glaring slightly over at Ikasu. I didn’t really notice him because I was thinking ‘why they would send me on a mission if I just became part of their team… then again I may already have experience that I just can’t remember…hmm this day is turning out very strange’. The team exited the room as I thought and we began our walk out of the village of Norcross and out into a mysterious forest.

                                    Chapter 2: My First Mission!

 

 “So Sendo, will we fight expert level ninjas now?” Steve asked calmly as the village disappeared from sight. We were probably miles away from it by now, the home I just barely found was far away now…

“No, were only on C mission, the one’s your thinking of are A and B missions.” I must have looked confused because Sendo went into further detail.

“Ninja’s are separated into 4 main mission levels, A, B, C, and D. A being the highest rank and D being the lowest.” He answered. Ok whatever.

“So what is our mission about?” I asked.

“Our mission is to escort this man to the village hidden in the mists.” The old man smiled oddly at me.

“It should be fairly easy. We will have no enemies to stop us or make things difficult…” Sendo started and suddenly stopped, taking out a kunai. We all stopped with him and silence passed for a moment as Sendo stood on his toes. Then out of nowhere two chains came and wrapped around his throat and chest. In a second the chains wrapped so tightly that his face turned from white to red and then the next, the chains ripped him to pieces. The sensei which I had just barley met was slaughtered right before my eyes. Blood seemed to fall like rain from the sky and Sendo’s body disappeared

I screamed in horror as I looked at the pool of blood in shock. Suki screamed also at the sight of her dead sensei and froze in fear.

“You hit the wrong target. You must have been blind to not notice him.” A deep voice said to the left of me. I twirled around to see two men, almost identical, standing next to the trees with their bloody chains in hand. They wore black fur clothing and their faces were covered in black masks with only one small hole in the center.

“Oh well, we can slaughter them all one by one, leaving the man for the master.” The other one snickered as he wielded his chains again, turning towards me.

“Let’s begin!” He came running toward me. Steve ran up to him and clashed his kunai to his chains and Ikasu went after the next as they broke out into a fighting spree. Steve seemed to move fast as I watched his kunai slice through the air, deflecting all of the enemy’s attacks. Ikasu on the other hand pulled out two hidden swords from under his shirt and was duel wielding as he slashed at the man, leaving cut marks on his face and in his clothing. The boys were all very skilled fighters. Suki and I must have looked like idiots because we were just standing there not moving an inch while the boys continued to fend off the hard enemies. Deciding I better do something I got out my kunai and tried to look intimidating to the other men and provide back-up if anything happened to Ikasu or Steve. I couldn’t accomplish much, but it was better than nothing. The guy Ikasu was fighting looked at me and a grin flashed over his face as he butted Ikasu out of the way and ran up to me. I put my kunai up to my face protectively ready to fight him, and then Ikasu appeared out of nowhere and spread his arms out as if to protect me. Lowering my kunai I stared at him strangely. The enemy stopped short and glared at him, readying his chains once again.      

“Protect the old man if you wish to do something.” He sneered as he fended off the enemy by kicking him back. I nodded, went in front of the old guy and put up my kunai protectively again, looking back and forth between the two enemies. The guy fighting Steve looked at me shocked as words fell off his lips, the other nodded in return. Then the guy suddenly disappeared!

“Do it Ukabi!” The other man shouted as he put up his chains. Ikasu seized this moment to attack and he thrust his swords into the man’s unprotected belly and the swords crossed like an X through the man. His eyes went wide and after a moment blood seeped out of the corner of his lips.

“B-B*****d…” I heard him whispered out as he breathed and fell to the ground; Ikasu removed his swords from him.

“Where’s the other?!” Ikasu asked harshly. Steve and I looked around frantically for the missing person, and then he was found. Steve turned around quickly and ran up to me at an intense speed to my amazement. The man was behind me to my surprise and I felt a sharp pain behind my head. I felt this fuzzy feeling shoot through my brain and I stumbled, trying to keep my balance as I turned around to face my enemy. Time seemed to pass slowly as I saw him in my fuzzy vision and then I fell back into darkness.  

I woke up to feeling wet and as if I was moving up and down slightly. I opened my right eye a crack and looked up. I saw Ikasu looking straight ahead and it was raining, the scenery around was very dreary. I opened both of my eyes and shook my head lightly to toss the dizziness from me, somehow I had survived.

“How..?” I asked Ikasu. He looked down at me slightly surprised to hear my voice.

“I know basic medical techniques. It wasn’t too bad” He answered.

“So how long have I been asleep?”

“About an hour.” He replied casually as he looked back foreword. I looked around at everyone; the whole team was here to my amazement, even Sendo who had died before my eyes! I stared at him shocked and Ikasu seemed to notice my face.

“Sendo has a technique where he can clone himself in the blink of an eye. The person who you saw was not actually Sendo, but a clone of him made out of energy.” Ikasu explained to me. I had to think about what he was saying for a moment before I understood what he meant. I nodded to him and looked away to everyone else. Suki was glaring at me jealously and Steve was glaring at Ikasu and as for Sendo, he was talking to the man. I gave Suki a confused look for glaring at me and she quickly looked ahead embarrassed. Steve still continued to glare at Ikasu though, his hands behind his head as he did. They both must not have liked that I was in Ikasu’s arms.

“So are you going to put me down anytime soon?” I asked him slightly joking. He let me go quickly and I would’ve fallen flat on my back if he hadn’t of grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

“Thanks.” I said. He didn’t reply.

“So Uhh what did I miss?” I asked casually, trying to get back with the program.

“We killed the two men and found out that they were following this man, his name is Suto.” Steve answered. I looked at Suto and he was staring at the ground ashamed.

”Unfortunately this mission is going to be a B rank mission which is not in our level, assassin ninja’s are after this man and things are going to get messy. We might get hurt.” Sendo finished with a sigh.

“Oh...” I didn’t understand the difference, but I knew that this couldn’t be good. After we spoke we walked the rest of the way in silence.

Soon we arrived to a boat that sat on the water with an ominous looking man rowing it. Suto whispered to the man quickly and he nodded his head. Suto motioned for us all to get in the boat and we began to slowly drift across the water’s surface as the man rowed.

“So what is this place we’re going to called?” I asked Sendo.

“It’s called the water village. It’s the hometown of Suto.” In a matter of moments saw a light up ahead in the mist and soon we entered a small town. It looked like an old town though with few houses and lots of forest. It somehow looked familiar to me. We pulled the boat to a stop and came to shore while examining the site.

“Wow…” I looked left and right and even though it was small, the town was very pretty. Steve hopped off the boat and Suki followed. Ikasu got off the boat next and extended his hand to me. I took it and he helped me off the boat. Suki scowled at me and looked away; I could tell she was angry. I looked confused and looked over at Ikasu. He was looking ahead at Sendo in his own thoughts and Steve was glaring at Ikasu from the walk. What a strange team I was pared with. I’m thinking that Suki hates me, Steve hates Ikasu and Ikasu...well I don’t really know about Ikasu except that he had a strange way of being nice to me.

“Well then, you guys can stay at my house if you’d like.” Suto offered.

“Sound like a plan.” Sendo said and they all started walking forward. I started to follow when I heard someone’s voice. I looked around and saw a tallish person in a clearing; they were dressed in black cloak with red clouds all over it. They beckoned me over and I didn’t doubt him for a second; I started to walk over to them. It was weird, I got this strange vibe that this person wouldn’t harm me and that I knew them somehow. I felt as if I had communicated to him before. When I reached the person they took off their cloak hood and it revealed a boy. This boy had shortish brown hair and brown eyes. He was grinning at me and I couldn’t help but smile back sweetly.

“Hey Crystle, or is your name Stone Lee now?” he asked me.

“Crystle…is that my real name?” I asked him. He looked at me shocked.

“You don’t remember your name…?” he asked me. I frowned a little while I thought about this morning’s events.

“Actually I really can’t remember anything of whom or what I was.” I said sadly. He nodded. The man looked a little angry as he nodded continually, his hand found his chin as he thought.

“Can I ask you what your name is?” I asked him. He nodded.

“My name is Talon, but here they call me Taren.” He told me.

“So should I call you Taren or Talon?” I asked him, slightly confused. He looked behind me really quick and then took my arm and led me deeper into the forest behind us.

“Sorry, you can call me either Talon or Taren I could care less.” He told me. I smiled at him.

“I like the name Taren, so I’ll call you that.” He smiled back at me.

“Stone Lee? Where did you go?” I heard someone call in the distance. I turned back around, but all I saw was forest. I started to get scared because I wasn’t sure how to get back to me team. What if I didn’t know this guy? I turned back around to the man and he was glaring to where the sound was coming from wishing they would be quiet. I put my hand up to my neck, and grabbed my necklace. Taren looked at me.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me, I’m not going to hurt you; truth be told we were friends since second or third grade.” He told me.

“Then why did you drag me into this forest, all alone?” I asked him. He sighed.

“Here to your people I’m known as a bad guy, they don’t really know who I am, but this cloak represents me as a bad guy. I would never hurt you.” He explained.

“So why don’t you just take it off instead of being a bad guy?” I asked.

“Because, this…” He sighed again as he stopped trying to finish his sentence.

“You really don’t remember a thing do you?” he asked me. I shook my head sadly. He mumbled something that sounded like ‘Hidan’.

“What’s ‘Hidan’?” I asked him.

“Stone Lee!” I heard the voice louder as someone entered the forest. I turned around and there was Steve.

“Stone Lee, what are you doing in here? You just left the group we were worried!” he explained to me.

“I was talking to...” I turned around but Taren was gone.

“Talking to whom?” Steve asked as he peered into the forest suspiciously. I turned back around to Steve quickly to save Taren from exposure.

“Uhh no one! See I thought I saw this little animal and it was just so cute that I had to follow it!” I told him in a rush, hoping he wouldn’t suspect anything. He looked at me oddly.

“Ok… well come on lets get out of here.” He said curiously and he started out of the forest.

“Come on.” He told me as he made his way around the tree’s branches. I started to follow after him when I heard Taren’s voice

“I will see you again, you can count on it.” I turned around, but still no one was there. I frowned a little and left out of the forest.

                         *                               *                                 *

“You shouldn’t have talked to her.” Kuro said to Taren as he looked at him, his black eyes piercing through him.

“I know, but I had to check up on her, why did Hidan do that to her?” Taren asked fiercely.

“You know what she is and why we need her; Hidan was inches from killing her if she hadn’t of interfered.” Kuro told Taren. It was quiet.

“Will she get her memory back?” Taren finally asked.

“Probably not.” Kuro answered blankly. Taren sighed and looked forward as they approached their cave.

                      *                                   *                                  *

            I arrived with Steve back to the rest of the group.

“Where were you?” Sendo asked me, looking directly at me. I looked down and stuttered

“T-the forest.” Ikasu came out of a nearby clump of trees and I looked away from the questionable stare he gave me.

“Why were you in the forest?” he questioned me.

“N-No reason.” I stuttered again and looked at Steve. He smiled a little as if to say ‘your secret is safe with me’

“Whatever, we need to keep moving.” Sendo muttered, uncaring. I looked back up at the group. Suki was in her own little world as she looked around and Ikasu was staring at Steve. He was trying to get him to tell what had happened; But Steve was just standing there smiling with his hands behind his head.

“Come on.” Sendo ordered as he led us off to Suto’s house. Suto’s house was smaller than some of the other houses that I saw. It had one kitchen one living room and two bedrooms. We all pilled into the house and Suki took to the couch immediately.

“Finally I can have time to rest!” She called out as she stretched her arms out and relaxed. Ikasu and Steve went through to the back of the house to explore it thoroughly.  Sendo went to an open window and looked out of it and he stayed that way for a minute or so. Then he shut the window, locked it and drew the curtains around it closed.

“I will go and secure the premises, stay in the house.” Sendo ordered me and walked out of the house. Suto nodded to Sendo and went into the kitchen nearby. I stood there oddly before I sat on the couch next to Suki while I looked at the house. The walls were all white and the paint was slightly peeling from age. I was glad I didn’t live in a place like this, but if Suto and his family lived here it couldn’t be too bad. I wondered what Suto’s family was like; did he have any kids or a wife? Just then a lady walked out of one of the rooms. She had long red hair and freckles dotted her face along her nose. She wore a black baggy tank-top and a green pair of shorts. She gave me a friendly smile and shut the door behind her.

“Welcome back Grandfather.” She told Suto when she went into the kitchen.

“Yes thank you. This is my granddaughter Kadeko, Kadeko this is Stone Lee and Suki. The two boys are roaming around here somewhere.” He explained and gestured to the two of us as he said our names.

“Hi.” I replied politely. She smiled and me and gave me a little nod before she looked at Suto.

“Grandfather, can I talk to you in the other room for a minute?” she asked.

“Ahh… I’ll be right back guys; you can make yourselves at home.” Suto said as he left to the nearest bedroom. I sat there for a moment while Suki closed her eyes and let her body rest. A few minutes passed and I could hear the two adults yelling at each other in the next room, but I couldn’t make out their words. Ikasu and Steve eventually came back from their exploration.

“This place is pretty small!” Steve said aloud and joined me on the couch.

“It’s nice.” I replied to him as I smiled at the area around me.

“Stone Lee…” Ikasu started. I looked over at him and he was starring at me questionably. He probably wanted to know what I was doing in the forest, but I had no intention of telling him. He thought to himself before he asked

“Why did you wander-.” He was cut off short as the back door was slammed shut. I jumped at the sound and turned around to see who entered. It was a little kid with short black hair that hung in front of his face like a mop. He was wearing white overalls without a shirt under them and long black pants. He was rubbing his eyes irritably and when his hands left his eyes I could see they were red from pain. My heart went out to him and without realizing it I got up off the couch and went over to him. I gave him a tiny smile before I squatted down on my knees to look at him.

“Hey there little guy, what’s your name?” I asked him in a soothing voice. The little boy wiped his left eye with the back of his hand again.

“Zero.” The little boy said quietly. I smiled at him.

“My names Stone Lee, we’re going to be protecting you grandfather while were here. Aren’t you glad?” I asked him. He looked at me curiously for a second and then shouted

“Being a hero isn’t how they say it is! You should just quit now!” Tears fell down his face and he ran out the backdoor again. I sat there stunned and Suto and Kadeko came out of the bedroom. Suto saw my shocked expression and sighed.

“You have to excuse Zero; his role model was killed in a tragic accident a month ago. He was this village’s hero and he was his father. He never let it down” I still sat there shocked by the power of the little boy’s voice and how much it frightened me. Steve got off the couch and helped me back onto my feet. I shook my head and looked around. I wondered about the boy and where he went, he intrigued me by the power and the sadness.

“I’m going to…clear my head.” I told them as I solemnly walked out of the house.

The outside was much mistier then when we first arrived here. It was so bad that when I held my hand in front of my face I couldn’t see it. I walked around the house, using it as my guide and then I heard laughter. It was more of a mimicking laughter then friendly. I ran toward it carefully and I heard a river. Being around the water helped the mist clear slightly. I stopped running when I saw three older kids surrounding Zero. Zero was crying and he was pinned down while one of the boy’s feet was on his back. Zero had his arms stretched out towards the river.

“Puppy!” he cried out. I looked into the river and saw a little white dog in the river, drowning. The sight was as heart wrenching for me as it was for Zero.

“If you were born a hero then show us. Save your beloved pup and fight your fear of water!” They teased and kicked Zero into the river. He screamed until he hit the water’s surface and then he didn’t resurface. The kids started laughing and pointing at the water. Anger shot through me and I ran towards

“What the hell! Why would you do that your jerks!” I yelled at them and pushed past them. They stopped laughing and watched me as I jumped into the river. I realized then that I didn’t know how to swim. I didn’t care though as I shoved my arms foreword and pushed the water past me as if I was venturing through a forest. I dove down in the water and searched around with my eyes until I saw his body. I grabbed him by his overalls and swam up and broke the surface gasping for air. Zero was unconscious in my arms. I grabbed the dog with my other hand and threw him up on shore so that I could use one hand to try and steady myself. The dog gracefully landed on it’s feet and made little coughing noises to help itself. I kicked my way to the dock and pulled myself up. After I set Zero down carefully I starred at the boys, hot anger pulsing through me. They were all looking at me with wide eyes.

“You guys should be thrown in that river. You think it’s funny to take the life of another? Well let’s just see if you can survive without any help” I said as I approached them. I was mad, very mad. I felt the anger envelop me like a cloud and my eyes began to strangely burn, but I didn’t care they deserved punishment. I reached out to grab a kid when my hand was thrust behind my back to stop me.

“Stone Lee contain yourself!” I heard Ikasu sneer. I looked behind me and saw Ikasu gripping my hand behind my back, he seemed to be struggling.

“He’s not breathing.” I heard Steve say. I had forgotten about Zero. I twisted out of Ikasu’s grasp and ran over to Zero’s side. I put my finger to his throat to get his pulse. It was still there.

“I have to help him!” I told Steve. As if I was controlled by another I felt my lips touch his and I filled his lungs with oxygen, then I pressed on his chest hard to force the water out of him. I repeated this process several times. Wait, if I don’t have my memory how am I doing all of these movements? What’s helping me? I thought. Maybe it’s just a reflex…

 Soon Zero coughed and sputtered out water as the life came back to him. I shook him a little and his eyes fluttered open.

“Zero are you alright?” I asked him. It was a stupid question, but I had to make sure he was ok. He nodded his head warily and his eyes closed again. I smiled triumphantly and picked him up in my arms. His body was limp like a doll. I looked over at Steve and then back to the boys with spite.

“You better do at least something with those boys. They should be beat and I would but I have to take care of him.” I said grudgingly. I gave them one last cold glare before I carried Zero off to the house. The little puppy followed at my heels. I opened the door and set Zero down carefully on the sofa. He looked up at me and smiled a bit before he closed his eyes again. In the quiet I could hear the kids screaming in the background. Good job Steve! I thought.

“Thank you Stone Lee.” Zero said in a quiet voice. I nodded.

“I’m just glad your okay. Don’t talk just go to sleep and rest your body.” I told him. He nodded and I heard him sigh comfortably. I smiled and left out the front door to find the rest of the team. Casually I looked up at the sky as I thought. That was weird, it’s like everything is still there, and I just need it to come out. Maybe in time I could have all my memory back.  I sat there thinking about past thought. Taren…how did I know him? What was my prior team like and what was my life like before. After a minute I shook my head. It hurt to think about it to much.

 I looked back down at the path and then looked around my surroundings. The heavy mist was still falling over the village that made it almost impossible to see in front of you. To the others it seemed normal, but it gave me a bad feeling. The mist looked familiar in my eyes and for a moment I thought I heard the scream of a woman. I shook my head to rid it of the thought as I remembered Sendo leaving in this weather; I felt the urge to find him. I walked ahead on the path until I reached the corner and I heard Steve yell out

“Wait!” I turned around and Steve ran up to my side.

“I want to come with you! This is boring just standing around.” He said. Ikasu appeared out of nowhere from the mist.

“I’m guessing your coming also?” I asked Ikasu. He merely nodded.

“Where’s Suki?” I asked Ikasu. He shrugged.

“Ok, whatever lets go find Sendo.”

We looked all over for Sendo until we entered a forest. He was standing there, practically on his toes as he looked around and stayed prepared. He looked like he was waiting for his prey or something.

“Sendo what are you doing?” Steve asked Sendo. Sendo turned around and looked at us.

“There is an enemy here, you guys were supposed to stay in the house. I ordered you to” Sendo told us.

“I knew there was something wrong, I could feel it. We can assist you now!” I told Sendo.

“Well-“

”Hey guys, why did you run off? We’re going to start dinner soon!” Suto said as he ran up to us, Suki following him. Sendo sighed.

“To late now.” He said. The wind blew past us fiercely and I had to shield my hair from my face as it blocked my vision. Sendo got out a kunai and got into fighting position.

“Get Suto out of here!” Sendo ordered. We nodded and turned around to gather around Suto. The wind was frightening and I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Suddenly the wind gathered before us and there stood a man. He had short black hair and a long sword going down his back. He had light green eyes and he was wearing a white uniform that looked like the person who examined me looked like. We all stopped moving while the team seemed prepared to fight; the man looked scary to me. He had a blue bandanna around his mouth and his hair was tied back with a red ribbon. It was silent for a few moments before he snickered. It was loud and it droned on for a minute.

“Sendo, I’ve heard rumors about you.” He said in a deep voice that was muffled by the bandanna. I turned around to look at Sendo. He looked angry, but remained calm.

“I’ve heard about you also, Wang.” Sendo said, sounding calm. Wang snickered at his remark and Sendo walked up to the front of the group to take on Wang. Wang’s gaze followed Sendo as he went.

 “You can prove those rumors to be true, be my opponent! Guys get Suto out of here.” Sendo instructed us.

“But I want to fight!” Steve protested.

“Go now!” Sendo said sternly as he pulled his headband up from his eye. His eye had turned black with red marks inside of it. They looked like tiny little symbols that each meant something different, but I couldn’t see them quick enough. Ikasu glared at the space between Sendo and Wang, ready to fight even if instructed not too; I watched him reach in his back pocket for a kunai. I grabbed the back of Ikasu’s sleeve and tugged at it hard to get his attention. He turned around from Sendo’s gaze and looked at me.

“We need to get out of here, away from this fight.” I told him quietly. He wanted to protest but he merely closed his eyes and sighed.

“Ok, let’s go from the south and escape there.” He told me as he opened his eyes. I nodded and grabbed Suto’s arm

“We’re leaving,” I told him as I slowly started to back up. Suto followed my lead with Ikasu behind us. Suki and Steve soon caught on and backed up with us. Sendo and Wang were mumbling to each other about things I could not hear.

We got about one foot from the scene before Wang sprang into action. Wang pulled out his enormously long sword and came after us in a full fledged run. We, (well more like Ikasu, Suki and Steve) got into a fighting formation. I stood in front of Tazuna with my kunai up protectively ready to defend. Sendo beat Wang to us. He appeared behind Wang as he ran and he stopped him by putting his kunai up to Wang’s neck.

“That’s as far as your getting.” He told him. Wang just sat there. Then I saw a flicker of movement at Wang’s hand.

“Sendo look out!” I shouted as Wang flipped the sword behind him. Sendo splattered into water.

“Again..?” I asked the group.

“Substitution,” Ikasu said, glancing towards the river close by.

“Oh.” I said thoughtfully, looking at the river that Sendo was in. Wang knew Sendo was there also. He stuck out his hand and Sendo was suddenly trapped in a water ball!

“Sendo-sensei!” Suki yelled. Wang then did a hand-sign and a clone of him appeared next to his side, facing us.

“Now it’s my turn!” Steve boasted. He put his two fingers up to his mouth and yelled

“Clone technique!” Twenty or so clones of Steve appeared and surrounded Wang’s clone.

“Take this!” they all yelled as they pilled on top of him. What will that do? As expected Wang’s clone slashed his sword and all the clones disappeared.

“That’s not all!” Steve shouted as he threw what looked like a big black sword to Ikasu. He looked at Steve and nodded. He put his hand in a whole in the center of the sword a muttered something. Suddenly eight blades emerged from the sword and stuck out at all sides like a star. He grinned at Wang before threw it at him, but he missed horribly as it flew around Wang like a Frisbee.

“You need to work on your throw boy.” Wang’s clone said. Then the big ninja star turned into Steve who threw a kunai at the real Wang. Wang removed his hand to dodge and Sendo was sent free. The star continued on and wised by my head.

“Hey watch it!” I told Steve. Sendo and Wang both jumped on the water and they somehow stood on it while they faced each other. Then at the exact same time they did a hand sign and two water dragons appeared. Sendo’s dragon roared so loud I had to cover my ears and then it attack Wang’s dragon. They both fought for what seemed like minutes while Sendo and Wang both controlled their movements. Sendo’s killed Wang’s before it could attack and then the water dragon went after Wang. Wang was caught up in the water and I could see no more as the water covered his body and swept him away. He eventually broke the surface after the dragon had disappeared and ran to hide behind a tree.

“You can run but you can’t hide.” Sendo said. Wang caught his breath then suddenly something hit his neck and he fell to the ground unconscious. Sendo ran up to him to check his pulse.

“He’s… dead.” Sendo announced. Something was fishy. We heard a branch break and we all looked up into a nearby tree. There was a girl with long blonde hair and a mask to conceal her face. It was white with a blood red ‘X’ on it. She jumped down from the tree and crouched next to Wang.

“This is the hidden mists problem, stay out of it; I’ll take his body.” She grabbed Wang and disappeared. It was quiet. I looked at the rest of the group. They didn’t seem to know what to do. Sendo eventually turned around and looked at us.

“Let’s get back to the house, we’re going to need to-’’ His eyes suddenly went wide and he fell to the forest floor.

“Sendo!” Suki screamed. Man she screams a lot! Ikasu sighed and shook his head.

“He over used his Kudan.” He told us.

“Again! Well then let’s take him back to the house so he can rest.” Steve said. I was going to ask what ‘Kudan’ was or what it meant but…it didn’t seem like the time for it. Steve grabbed one of Sendo’s arms and draped it over his shoulder and Ikasu took his other and did the same and they started to leave the scene. I looked back at the spot where Wang lay and thought. We did all the work for taking him down and she just claimed the body? Is that what this village is like? I guess we can’t step in since we don’t live here… I turned back around to the group and I followed them back off to Suto’s house.

When we finally arrived ten minutes later Kadeko ran outside and helped us take Sendo inside.

“Come over here.” She told us. We entered a room where there was a bed and little to nothing on the walls. Steve and Ikasu set Sendo on the bed and left him in the room with the door closed.

“Is he alright?” Kadeko asked us. Ikasu nodded.

“He’ll be fine, just give him a minute to rest. He overworked himself” She nodded and went back to the kitchen, where she was making dinner. Steve looked around and then eventually wandered off, Ikasu following him. Suki jumped in and helped Tsunami cook. Suto rubbed his head and left the house. I was alone. It was a little hard to believe that Sendo was going to be okay, but Ikasu apparently knew what he was doing and this was no different to him than someone just falling asleep. I sighed and went out the back door to find Ikasu and Steve. Instead I found Zero who was by the river, looking at a picture and crying. I quietly opened the door and went by him and sat down. He looked over at me and wiped away his tears.

“W-What are you doing out here?” he asked me.

“Nothing to do, but anyway, who’s this,” I asked him and pointed to the man in the picture. The man was smiling and he had the same hairstyle as Zero. He looked pretty buff also. He was wearing a gold ribbon in his hair and holding up two fingers for the camera to see.

“H-his name is Idate, he’s my father.” He told me.

“Oh,” I said and looked at the picture. I glanced back up at Zero. He was staring at the picture, holding back his tears.

“What happened to him?” I asked him politely.

“He was killed.” He whimpered. I was silent. I didn’t really know what to say.

“He was the village hero, he always protected us.” He finally told me after catching his breath.

“One day, Gustafa found him and accused him of something he didn’t do.” Fresh tears fell down his face.

“I saw them kill him. It was the worst form of torture they could do. T-They burned him alive!” He blubbered. He started bawling. I felt bad for the poor kid. I hugged him to my side, trying to make him feel better. He turned his head and cried into my shoulder.

“I-It haunts my nightmares.” He sobbed. I let him continue to cry as I looked out at the river.

Minutes passed and slowly his cries dwindled down to sniffles and eventually he stopped crying. I waited awhile before I looked back down at him; his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep. I smiled a little and picked him up in my arms. The picture fell from his hands and fell to the dock with a clunk. I bent down and picked it up, it was stained with tears. I looked at Zero in my arms. He was still asleep. I put the picture on Zero’s stomach and entered the house. Suto was looking out the window to where we used to be and then he looked at me.

“Zero’s never opened up to anyone like that.” He told me, looking at me puzzled. I shrugged and asked him

“Where is his room?” he pointed to a room behind me. I turned around and entered his room. It had a huge window looking over the ocean. His bed was right next to the window. That was all that was in there, except for some pictures of Idate. I carefully set Zero down on his bed and put a sheet over him. He cuddled his legs up to his arms and sighed happily. I smiled to myself and set the picture by another picture of Idate. In the other picture Idate was throwing Zero up into the air and Zero seemed to be laughing. Poor kid. I turned around and left the room quietly.

Dinner was served and we all sat down to eat. Steve was sitting next to me, Sendo next to him (he had woken up minutes before), Ikasu beside him and then Suki sat next to Ikasu. Kadeko came out with a pan of something and set it on they table, she took a seat next to Suki and then yelled

“Zero, Suto! Dinner’s ready.” Tazuna hurried into the room and sat at an empty chair at the front of the table, Zero still hadn’t shown himself.

“He’s sleeping.” I told Kadeko. She nodded and put her hands together and said

“Idakaimasu!” Suki, Steve and Sendo all did the same. Ikasu just nodded and muttered quietly. I looked at all of them strangely. Steve saw my face.

“Idakaimasu is like saying thank you, it means we appreciate the meal.” Steve told me.

“Ohh, well then Idakaimasu.” I said. Kadeko started dishing out the food; it was rice with some kind of meat and cheese on top. When we all finally had some we started digging in. it was delicious! Once finished I rubbed my stomach and said

“Thank you!” Kadeko laughed a little bit and nodded. It was quiet while everyone let there stomachs settle.

“Who is Gustafa?” I questioned. Tsunami and Tazuna looked at me.

“He’s an evil man who wants to take over the mist village, he also has many assassinators. He’s one of most dangerous men in the village.” Sendo answered calmly.

“Many in the mist village fear him; he’s not easy to find or kill.” Tazuna affirmed. I nodded. No wonder he killed poor Idate.

 “Well then I’m going to go back to my bed now.” Sendo implied. Steve and I got up quickly and took Sendo’s arms and helped him to his bed.

“Ahh, thank you.” Sendo said. We both nodded and left his room. Kadeko and Suki were cleaning off the table and Ikasu was falling asleep on the couch, I saw one of his eyes dropped open starring at me though.

“Ikasu already set up his bed and Suki has her own, if you guys don’t mind you can set one up on the floor.

“Ok!” Steve said joyfully.

“Where are the blankets?” I asked her. She turned around and pointed to a door.

“In there, just grab as many as you like from off the shelf.” Tsunami told us. Steve and I went to the closet and grabbed some blankets. Steve just threw his on the floor in a bundle and jumped on top of them, trying to get comfortable. I chuckled to myself and started making a little bed out of mine. I then looked over at Steve who seemed to be uncomfortable.

“Ok get off them you lump.” I joked as I shoved Steve off the blankets.

“Ahh!” he yelled as he hit the floor with a thump.  I laughed and started making a bed for him. When it was finished Steve looked astonished as if I had just made something spectacular.

“Thanks Stone Lee-chan!” he remarked as he lay down on the blankets.

“No problem.” I replied as I got under my covers and closed my eyes. Soon the light clicked off and I fell asleep.

I soon awoke up from discomfort and got out of bed. It was still dark outside and Steve was snoring lightly in his bed. I smiled a bit and looked around. It was dark and it felt very stuffy in the room so left the house. The wind slightly blew but it made me feel relaxed. I sighed deeply and looked around for something to sit on. I noticed a large tree that looked comfortable at the time so I chose to climb it and sit on a branch. It was perfect out, not to hot or to cold and the moon was shining brightly. It was so perfect; I gazed up at the moon and sighed happily. I soon became lost in its wonder and time flew by me.

“What are you doing out here?” a voice said in my ear. I jumped and turned around. Ikasu was right behind me, staring at me. I didn’t remember him coming outside.

“N-Nothing, I just…couldn’t sleep.” I told him.

“Hmm.” Ikasu mumbled. I turned back around and looked at the moon again and Ikasu came fore ward sitting down next to me.

“Stone Lee what were you doing in the woods today?” Ikasu asked me. I cringed and looked over at Ikasu. His turned his gaze away from the moon and looked at me. The pressure was on, do I tell him or not? I wanted to get to know Taren more, and if I told Ikasu I might now get that chance again. Taren said he was bad, so I wanted to keep him a secret. I thought about my reply quickly.

“I was just looking around.” I lied. He pressed his lips in a thin line and said

“Liar.”

I sighed and looked at the moon again. I wanted to tell Ikasu, but I really shouldn’t, I didn’t want to get Taren into trouble. Then again, maybe Taren was a liar and he was evil. Still…

“If I tell you…You can’t tell anyone. Not even Sendo, I don’t want my friend to get in trouble.” I told him as I turned back and looked at him. He nodded sincerely. I sighed and looked down at my crossed shoes.

“I was talking to a man, his name was…Yantamade.” I didn’t dare tell Ikasu his real name.

“He said I knew him before, but he seemed to be in secret. He didn’t want anyone but me to know he was there. He told me my real name and I knew him somehow, I knew I did. He was very nice to me as well. He had on a long black robe with red clouds on it.” I looked back up at Ikasu whose eyes were wide with shock. They soon turned to his normal size.

“Stay away from those people Stone Lee; they are not to be trusted.” He told me fiercely.

“Why though? What are they?” I asked him.

“They are an organization known as the ‘Alilien’ they’re a group of missing-ninjas who will take out anyone with a bounty over their heads, especially you.” He told me.

“What’s a missing-ninja?” I asked Ikasu.

“They are people who betray their village and are cast out.” He touched my headband.

“If you have a line across your village symbol it means you’re a missing-ninja, if you see anybody who has a line across they’re symbol you should get away from them as fast as you can and get help. They will kill you.” He told me. I nodded and sighed.

“There is so much for me to learn.” I said, talking to myself. It was quiet for a moment.

“My brother is a missing-ninja.” Ikasu finally said. I looked over at him. His face was hidden and his right hand was clenched in a fist. I got comfortable

“Are you going to tell me the story of what?” I asked him jokingly. His stare looked up and met mine.

“His name is Kuro; he is four years older then me. Some things happened in my childhood and I decided to run away from my village. A few more things happened and Kuro had come after me and…he had killed my little sister for trying to do the same that I had done.” I gasped in horror.

“He told me I had one more chance to prove myself, and to stay with my clan and follow what my teachings were. If I wanted to survive I would run off and start a new life. He said he would give me a ten minute start to run and if I didn’t leave he would kill me. So… I did, I should’ve stayed and fought him to avenge my sister.” He said angrily, biting his teeth together.

“How old were you?” I asked him. His stare broke away from mine and he looked at the moon.

“Ten.” He told me.

“You were smart to run; if you had stayed and fought you would’ve been killed or hurt.” Ikasu turned and faced me.

“Yeah, your right.” Ikasu said as he relaxed. He sighed

“I don’t like to dwell much on it…” Ikasu stated.

“Uhh…do you like trees?” I asked Ikasu. He started at me weirdly. I laughed                 “Sorry I was trying to get your mind off it…is it working?” Ikasu smiled a bit

“Yeah, its working.” He muttered. I smiled and looked back up at the moon. A couple minutes past before I turned my gaze back at Ikasu, he was still staring at me his eyes glossy.

“…What?” I asked him. He shook his head and his eyes returned to their normal approach.

“Sorry I was thinking.” He told me.

“Oh, alright.” Ikasu yawned and hopped down from the tree.

“Come on, it’s getting late and you should go to sleep.” I looked down at Ikasu, I was pretty tired and if I stayed up all night my energy would be gone in the morning. So I hopped down from the tree and Ikasu caught me.

“Thanks.” I told him. He didn’t reply, as usual. So we both walked into the house and into bed without another word.

 

                                    Chapter 3: Hidan

 

I woke up sometime in the morning with Steve directly in my face grinning happily at me.

“Good morning Stone Lee-chan!” he said cheerfully. I rubbed my eyes warily and sat up.

“Tired?” Steve asked me.

“Yeah, long night.” I said as I looked up at the couch, Ikasu was gone.

“Suki and Ikasu went into the woods with Sendo; and Tazuna and Tsunami are at the store, so I thought I’d stay with you!” Steve told me. I smiled.

“Thanks Steve! Wait I overslept?” I asked hysterically as I jumped up.

“Yeah, but we can go train with the others as soon as your ready!” Steve is always too joyful.

 “Ok, let’s go.” Steve smiled as he grabbed my arm and led me off to where Ikasu and Suki were training; Sendo was resting upon a tree using a crutch to steady himself. I guessed the Kudan really took it out of him.

“Good morning Stone Lee.” Sendo said without looking at me.

“Good morning Sensei.” I told Sendo.

“Oy Sendo, I have this mastered, can I go back and relax?” Suki asked Sendo irritably. Sendo sighed.

“Yes, it seems you have the upper hand so you may leave.” Suki smiled

“Now I can make Ikasu-kun his lunch!” she giggled as she ran off. Ikasu sighed and threw his kunai at a tree.

“So Sendo what type of training are we doing?” Steve asked Sendo.

“An energy focusing type of Technique, this will let you focus energy to any point in your body.” Sendo told us.

“Ok!” Steve said as he ran over to a tree that was next to Ikasu’s.

“Stone Lee I want you at this tree right here.” Sendo said as he pointed to a tree in front of him. It was a couple feet away from Ikasu and Steve’s trees.

“Ok…”I said suspiciously as I walked in front of the tree.

“Now all you have to do is focus your charka to your feet and walk foreword, your goal is to get all the way up the tree.” Sendo explained. I gazed up at my tree; it was much longer than Ikasu’s and Steve’s.

“Ikasu, since you already know how to do this I would like you to help Steve, I will be helping Stone Lee today.” Sendo told Ikasu. Ikasu nodded.

“Hey I don’t need Ikasu’s help I can do this all on my own.” Steve said as he put his fingers in a form of a hand sign and ran up the tree. Steve was climbing up a tree using only his feet! He got about eight inches up before he fell off and hit his butt on the ground.

“Are you ok Steve?!” I asked him. He picked himself off the ground and smiled. “I’m fine!” he said joyfully. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“Now Stone Lee.” Sendo’s voice said. I turned and faced him.

“The way you can most likely focus your charka to your feet is by using this hand sigh.” Sendo said as he placed his pointer finger and middle finger to his nose in a symmetrical position.   

“Then all you do is have to concentrate, but keep focused on your energy and don’t stray away from it. It’s just like turning transparent but this time only focus on your feet.” He explained, examining the tree and then looking back at my position. I nodded and did the hand sign he taught me and closed my eyes as I focused on my feet. I focused hard and I felt my energy drop to my feet and they began to tingle with power. Then I opened my eyes and ran up the tree. I couldn’t believe it! I was running up a tree! I smiled triumphantly as I looked up my tree. My focus was soon off and I fell from the tree back the ground. Sendo starred at the distance I had made on the tree before he looked at me and smiled.

“Keep focused and don’t get to cocky, you almost made it.” Sendo said as he threw a kunai up at the tree to mark my place. I had run about a third of the way up the tree and there was a lot more to go. He gave me a pat on the back encouragingly and I started to focus my energy once again. Once I felt ready I began to run up the tree once again this time much faster than before. This time my vision was clearer and my eyes felt like they were burning, but it felt good! I made it to the very top of the tree and then back flipped off it and landed next to Sendo. My eyes were still burning and I was breathing heavily and happily as I looked around with my clear vision. It was kind of odd to feel this way but I felt as if I had accessed a power that I didn’t have before. Then before I knew it I was on the ground doubled over in pain and my eyes felt as if they were on fire.

“Hmm.” Sendo said as he ripped something off my back, as he did the burning in my eyes went away and the exhilarating feeling left, making me breathless. The burning in my eyes had left them itchy so I rubbed them with the back of my hand vigorously.

“What was that?” I asked him loudly and a bit irritated.

“Nothing.” He replied calmly as he pocketed the piece of weird paper that was in his hand. I glared at him and got up trying to get another glimpse at the paper.

“Well Stone Lee as I guessed you have this technique down, go ahead and try it, but don’t run this time.” Sendo told me. I studied him carefully and focused my energy to my feet and slowly walked up the tree. I made it all the way to the top and tried to do a back flip off it but I fell and Sendo had to grab me.

“Yeah, I don’t think you’ll be able to do that just yet.” He instructed me. I nodded as he set me back down to my feet and then looked at Sendo’s face, trying to read it, but he gave no sign of telling me what he did. I’d confront him about it later where it was more private.

I heard Steve fall down again. I looked over and he had made it about one forth of the way up the tree.

“Am I allowed to help Ikasu or Steve?” I asked Sendo.

 “Go ahead.” Sendo told me.

“But if you going to stay here I’m going to leave.” He told me as he walked off.

“Uhh ok bye Sendo.” I told him as he walked off. I watched as Ikasu ran up the tree, mark his place and then back flip off the tree and land on the ground. I went behind Steve’s tree, climbed up it and sat on a higher branch.

“Ok Steve, you have to try to make it up to me, try your hardest and keep focused!” I called down to him. He nodded, focused his energy, and ran up the tree. He almost made to it me when he became unfocused and lost his grip. I reached out a hand and caught his arm before he fell to the ground. He looked back up at me.

“Focus.” I told him. I laughed at myself inside. I sound like Sendo. He nodded

“I will try harder.” I let go of his arm and he landed back on his feet. I believed in Steve so I climbed higher.

“Ok I’m ready for this!” Steve vowed as he focused his energy intently, I could almost see his energy. It looked like a light shade of purple and it encased his body making him look on fire almost, and power radiated off it. Ikasu glanced over at him and rolled his eyes. The word ‘Cheater’ fell off his lips before he trained again. A few moments later Steve opened his eyes which seemed more intense than before and he ran up the tree. Steve wised by me and made it all the way to the top of the tree.

“Woot! I made it!” Steve yelped.

“Congratulations!” I called up to him. He smiled, but then lost his grip.

“Ahh!” he said as he fell down the tree. Ikasu saw Steve fall and ran up Steve’s tree and caught him by the foot. Steve and Ikasu just hung there, Ikasu hanging upside down by his feet and Steve folding his arms and looking mad. I got out of the tree and went below the two.

“Are you ok?” I called up.

“Yeah, fine. I just forgot how to control it.” Steve mumbled. Ikasu rolled his eyes and I smiled. They hate each other so much. Just then Ikasu lost his footing and they both fell down, on top of me. After the dirt cloud lifted we all stared at each other, and then started laughing. Well Ikasu just kind of smiled. I shoved the both off me.

“Ok enough playing, get back to work. “ I joked. Ikasu picked himself up off the ground and went back to his training.

“Stone Lee-san I think I have it down, may I go back to the house for a minute?” Steve asked. I laughed.

“Sure go ahead, I’m not your Sensei!” I told him. He ran off waving and laughing

“Thank you Stone Lee-sensei!” He sang as his image disappeared into the woods. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention over to Ikasu as he kept trying to run up the tree. He would only get about half of the way up and then come back down. I walked up Ikasu’s tree and sat in a branch and watched him more closely. His eyes seemed glued on the tree, but when you looked at them he seemed to be far away. When he got closer to me and started to go back down I grabbed his arm and pulled him up into the branch next to me.

“Hey!” He shouted at me.

“You’re unfocused, what’s on your mind?” I asked him. He stared at me, still mad, but his face smoothed out as he redirected his eyes away from mine.

“I was thinking about the past…I used to be able to do this technique with ease when I was a child…” he said, his voice seemed far away and concerned. I bonked him on the head.

“It’s not that big of a deal, you need to focus or we will all over pass you and you will be the runt. Now is that how someone like you should act?” I asked him. He rubbed his head where I had hit him.

“No.” he said bluntly.

“Then focus on your training more. Even if you knew it as a kid memories fade.” I instructed him.

“Thanks.” He mumbled.

 “Ikasu-kun I made you lunch!” Suki called out. I pushed Ikasu out of the tree so Suki wouldn’t be angry and he landed on the ground on his back with a sour look on his face. I couldn’t help but laughing out loud.

“Ikasu are you okay?” Suki called as she rushed to Ikasu’s side. I hopped out of the tree and came around to watch Suki maul Ikasu.

“I’m fine.” Ikasu declared as he got up.

“Stone Lee-chan I also made you lunch!” Steve called as he rushed up to me with two little white boxes.

“Wow, thanks Steve. That was quick” I said with a smile.

“Sit down.” Steve said as he sat down and pulled me to the ground with him.

“Here.” He continued as he handed me a white box. Inside was rice with little white spiky things all over it and some sort of orange sauce on top.

“Wow! Thanks Steve it looks delicious!” I said as I looked at him. He already had his open and his chopsticks broken.

“Oh sorry, here are your chopsticks Stone Lee.” He told me as he handed me them. 

“Thanks.” I said again. He laughed a little.

“You’re welcome,” He told me as he started eating. I broke open my chopsticks and started eating. It was really good! Everything was warm and fully cooked and the spiky things were little circles of some sort of meat. All together I made sure I savored every bite. Steve finished before me and he watched me eat it with delight. When I finished I said

“Thank you Steve, it was really good.” I told him. He smiled.

“I kept focused like you told me to.” He joked. I smiled and looked over at Ikasu and Suki eating. Ikasu seemed to be upset and Suki was just smiling and laughing at him as she ate. While Ikasu turned his head to look away Suki got a chopstick full of her food and stuffed it in Ikasu’s mouth. He jolted back in surprise and started to cough slightly. I giggled and pointed over at them so that Steve could see the sight as well. Steve followed my finger and started laughing too, Ikasu had finished coughing and he shot a short cold glare at Suki. Suki’s head dropped before she looked over at us. I stopped laughing the moment she did because her face had turned hard as stone and her eyes looked like death. In short it frightened me a little. Steve didn’t seem to notice and he kept laughing.

“What are you laughing about you jerk!” Suki called out angrily, her voice an octave lower than usual. Steve stopped suddenly

“Nothing Suki, I was just laughing about something Stone Lee said!” He exclaimed, refusing to look at her. Suki glared at Steve and turned back to her meal.

“Nice going Steve.” I whispered to him. He just shrugged.

After we all finished eating Ikasu and Steve continued to do their training, Suki and I watched them while we chatted causally. I learned that she had a major crush on Ikasu, but so did her enemy Tairia. Tairia and Suki were friends when they were little, but then when they met Ikasu it became a fight for him. Love kills relationships she told me, she said she almost wished they were still friends. She started to say something about Steve but she suddenly stopped.

“What?” I asked her. 

“Nothing, it’s not important.” She told me quickly. I studied her carefully; she seemed to be so focused on the grass.

“Tell me what you were going to say.” I told her. She looked back up at me.

“Ow.” Ikasu's voice yelled a little too loudly. We both looked over and Ikasu was clutching his leg.

“Uhh Suki come here.” He told her. Suki quickly got up and went to Ikasu’s side looking worried. I pretended to look down at a leaf as I watched Ikasu and Suki out of the corner of my eye. Ikasu glanced over at me and then pulled Suki by him. He whispered something to her and she nodded quickly, then he let go of her. She looked almost depressed...

“Thank you Suki.” He said, again a little too loudly as he focused on his training again. Suki came over to me and sat back down on the grass. I got up and she glanced over at me strangely.

“I’m going to go for a little walk. I want to get a look around, besides I’m a little bored anyway.” I told her. She nodded

“Come back before it gets to dark. That gives you a little less than ten minutes. Please try to be back before the others notice, they might get freaked out.” She declared. I nodded and started to walk off into the woods.

I looked around. The woods were really pretty right now. Some birds were out and there were flowers everywhere; surrounding the flowers were little white things that fluttered around them. They were so cute that I had to smile at myself. I hopped that Norcross had a place like this. It was nice to have the glow of the orange and yellow sunset behind me as well. It cast beautiful shadows of the flowers around me.

 I took in my surroundings as I kept on walking, looking all around me instead of in front of me. Suddenly, to my surprise, I bumped into someone. I looked up and it was Taren who was right in front of me; I backed up quickly from shock.

 “H-Hello,” I stuttered. Taren smiled,

“Hey it’s nice to see you again.” I took a quick glance up at his headband and then pretended to look around. It had the Norcross mark on it, but it also had a line threw it. ‘If you see anybody who had a line across their symbol you should get away from them as fast as you can.’ Ikasu’s voice said in my head. Taren starred at me

“What’s wrong?” he asked me.

“N-nothing, but I have to go. I’m sorry it’s getting late you met me at a bad time. We’ll meet another time. I’ll see you later Taren.” I stuttered to him as I put my head low, grabbed my necklace, and ran behind him. For that moment I felt frightened to be around him after Ikasu’s words. Without thinking about where I was going I ran foreword in a mad dash to get away from Taren.

                           *                                      *                                *

Taren frowned as Stone Lee ran away from him. He shrugged and continued to walk threw the forest. Something was wrong; she doesn’t normally act that way. She was scared, he could sense it. Why though? What did they fill her head with? He thought. Suddenly someone appeared in front of Taren; he whipped out a kunai quickly and prepared for battle.

“Whoa Hidan, you scared me.” Taren exclaimed as he put away his kunai.

“I tend to do that.” He said in a low tone. Hidan’s eyes looked at Taren angrily. Taren’s shoulders drooped.

“You saw that back there, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yes and you let her get away. I’m going after her so get back to your duties. Not everyone let’s their prey get away, you might as well scout the area.” Hidan told Taren as he ran off in the direction that Stone Lee ran off in. Taren sighed and ran off in the opposite direction of Hidan. Stone Lee had some distance between Hidan, he hopped she got far enough…

                       *                                  *       * 

            “You what?!” Ikasu yelled loudly at Suki as he starred at her astonished.

            “Well I d-didn’t really see the problem with it!” She stuttered out as she looked down.

            “She could be anywhere now, and we don’t exactly have a way of tracing her now do we? What is something happens or if she gets lost? Do you realize what could happen?” Ikasu yelled at her again, Suki remained quiet. She knew Ikasu had cared for her, but she was just in a forest and she said she’s come back! What’s the worst that could happen?

            “I’ll go get Sendo!” Steve said as he ran off. Ikasu turned from them and looked at the forest that she entered, his eyes changing from his normal light red to a dark black. Her footsteps led into the forest, but then they cut off short. There was a technique in progress.

            “Stone Lee…”

                       *                                      *                                     *

I kept running until I was out of breath before I stopped and hid behind a tree, catching my breath. Taren wasn’t even rude or anything, maybe I shouldn’t have run. I thought. I looked up at the sky and it was suddenly dark, ominous clouds filled the once clear orange and yellow sky. It was getting closer to night than I imagined, I had better go back to the group. I took in my surroundings and chose to back track. When I got out from behind the shelter of the tree though, there was a man in the same cloak as Taren, but the man inside it wasn’t Taren. Shocked I backed up quickly as I tried to keep my balance and still hold onto my necklace, the man’s eyes held my stare. He had dark purple eyes and light silver hair that stopped at his shoulders. He looked about Taren’s age or maybe older; his face looked like he was in his twenties. He had a necklace around his neck that had an odd sign on it and to me it looked like a sign of death. His cloak was cut open down to his chest and you could see all the bulging muscles on his toned stomach. He also had a deadly three bladed black and red staff attached to his back. I looked at his neck and there was his headband, with a line across it. I started to back up faster, but the man only mimicked my movements.

“Where are you going?” he asked me in a low, deep tone. I didn’t answer; I only kept moving back as my eyes locked onto his, frightened. Ikasu was right, Taren was evil and he had betrayed me. What was going to happen now?

“Aww, you don’t remember me do you?” He asked me in a higher tone, a joking frown on his face. I stopped moving and so did he as I starred questionably at him.

“Who are you?” I finally managed to ask.

“My name is Hidan.” He said bluntly. Hidan, what a very strange name, but it does sound familiar... I thought. Hidan took a step closer to me. I backed up and he followed.

“Running isn’t going to do you any good.” He told me. I kept backing up until I hit a tree. I stared at him, eyes wide. Hidan still hadn’t grabbed that deadly weapon on his back, was he going to fight me with his fists? I still had no chance against this guy!  Hidan just stared at me. There was an opening beside him and I chose to take it without giving much thought to my escape plan. I bolted behind him when I felt a sharp pain in my right leg that stopped me immediately. I fell to the forest floor as Hidan clicked his tongue in a scolding manner.  

“Trying to run away are we?” he asked as he approached me. I looked down at my right leg and a deep gash was imbedded into it and blood was seeping out from it. Looking up I saw Hidan’s staff in his right hand, blood dripping from one of the blades. He’s so fast I stand no chance! He came closer and I used my hands to back me up to create distance in between us.

“This isn’t going to be much fun for me if you put up no fight at all.” Hidan stated. He stopped and cocked his head to one side

“Are you crying? Aww it’s ok.” He mimicked. Little did I know tears were streaming slowly down my face in pain or in fright I did not know. Slowly I got up and faced Hidan, withdrawing a kunai from my pouch as I did and focusing my weight on my left leg to hold me up.

“Ahh that’s much better. You look like you might just have some fight in you this time. Last time was no fun.” He took a fighting position. I felt the kunai shaking in my right hand and a wave of fear washed over me as I tried to think of a strategy. He just stood there watching me curiously, a smile at his lips as he waited. He was like a sadistic cat playing with its defenseless prey. Somehow Hidan knew me and he knew I didn’t know what do to. The time was ticking by and Hidan would soon give up his patience for waiting for me to make the first move. I prayed for luck and ran at him, my kunai in front of me. Hidan swiftly dodged it and counterattacked by swinging his staff. I felt the pain before I saw it hit. The kunai fell to the forest floor and I held my left arm which was gushing blood.

“To easy,” Hidan said as he kicked me up into the air with his knee. I coughed up blood and Hidan put his staff back into his holder as I hit the forest floor. I shut my eyes in pain as I was picked up by the back of my shirt; I was like a limp doll in his hands as I waited for more pain. I shut my eyes and let him do away with me; I didn’t know what to do! I hadn’t learned a thing about fighting in combat! Hidan set me down on my feet and punched me in the face. Blow after blow came until I spiraled backwards and hit a tree. As I slid down to the base of it I let out a small sob from the pain. My left arm was numb from the pain and I couldn’t feel my face anymore. It was getting harder to see as well as blood and my puffed up skin clouded my vision. Is this how I would die? I certainly never thought about it before but I could feel my body dying.

“This is a sin...Your too easy. You put up no fight at all.” I heard him mutter. Hidan approached me again with his staff wielded and his face blank as if he was bored, but I had no time to really react. He picked his staff up and swung at my left leg. I moved it slightly to try to dodge, but the blow still hit. I cried out in pain as three large wounds were imbedded into my leg and they started gushing blood. Both of my legs felt numb now and I knew I wouldn’t have the strength to run or dodge. It felt as if he had cut a chord that was used for walking and I was disabled. My death was near; there was nothing I could do. Why did I have to leave my group of friends and why didn’t I retreat when I first saw Teran? Why was I so stupid? Hidan put down the staff and got on the forest floor, up in my face.

“That’s a pretty necklace you’ve got on your neck. The Jewel of Norcross no doubt…that’s a rare piece of jewelry there…Maybe If I gave that to Kikuyu he would stop his bitching.” He told me as he reached out for it. Hidan’s guard dropped so now it was my time to react quickly. I took out a kunai from my pocket and slashed it across his cheek as I tried my hardest to plunge in as far into his skin as I could. He jumped back and wrenched the kunai from my hand angrily, a snarl erupting from him as blood trickled out of the wound now on his face. It wasn’t really effective, but it caused a reaction out of Hidan.

“You’ll pay for that.” He snapped as he back slapped me. A new wound opened up on my face and blood fell from it.

“At least you put up some of a fight before I kill you.  My god should be pleased now.” I felt the pain, the blood falling down my face, mixing with my tears and my vision was starting to get blurry, I was getting ready to fall unconscious.

“Let’s see how much of your memory is gone shall we?” Hidan asked as he put the staff close to his face which was dripping with my blood.

“Do you know what this will do to you little girly?” he sneered and snickered a bit at the end of his statement. I stared at him, shaking and hurting all over as I shook my head. Shaking it felt as if my head was spinning around and around and I wished I could just fall asleep. Something in my body made me stay away though; I could feel my eyes burning like when I was training. When he asked me if I could remember though, something in my head did click for a brief second as if it was in the back of my mind I remembered him faintly. What came from that my mind told me would be the end of my life. I saw him in front of me and he had his staff next to his face like he was now. It made my head hurt even more when I remembered it.

“This will be the death of you. Never could you possibly imagine that you own blood would be the last of you!” He told me as he stuck out his tongue as proceeded to lick the staff, but suddenly there was a high pitch noise and I saw that Sendo had kicked Hidan back. Hidan raised his staff against Sendo’s kunai and the blood splattered to the ground uselessly.

“Get out of my way!” Hidan shouted as he thrust Sendo aside with the back of his staff. By that time I was in someone’s arms, running.

“You can run, but I will always find you! I know your scent!” Hidan screamed to me. I couldn’t see whose arms I was in, but I looked up and muttered

“Thank you for saving me…” I started to close my eyes, the pain was unbearable and the blurred sight was surrendering me into sleep. The burning in my eyes had left as if telling me it was okay now to slip away. Then the person shook me

“Stone Lee stay with us, do not close your eyes!” Ikasu’s voice said shakily, his hands rubbing my arms. I opened my eyes warily and my vision came clearer. I could see Ikasu running, the wind rushing through his hair and his light red eyes were on mine worried.

“Is it that bad?” I whispered. He nodded.

“I don’t know if I can keep my eyes open.” I muttered as my eyes started flickering shut. He shook me again, more violently.

“Stay awake, we’re almost there.” I heard someone approach and so did Ikasu. Hidan had caught up, there was no chance now. He turned around cautiously and we saw the person. All was ok it was just Steve.

“Is she alright?” Steve asked worriedly.

“She’ll be fine if we can keep her awake.” My eyes closed.

“What happened?” Steve asked.

“Nothing, just don’t let her fall asleep.” Ikasu said. They’re voices sounded so far away now.

“Stone Lee!” Steve’s voice came loud in my ear. I opened my eyes and we were moving again.

“Guys, thank you.” I said as my eyes shut again.

“Stone Lee!” Ikasu’s voice yelled, it sounded like a whisper though.

 

                                    Chapter 4: Reappearance?

 

I woke up in Suto’s house. Every part of my body ached. I didn’t sit up; I just lay there, trying to remember what happened. I remembered walking into the forest and I remembered Hidan. Everything after that seemed to be a big blur like waking after a nightmare.

“You’re awake,” Ikasu said. His face came into view.

“Y-Yeah, how long was I asleep?” I asked him.

”Three days.” He replied causally. My eyes widened

“Three days?” I shouted and sat up automatically in shock. I winced in pain and grabbed my stomach where the pain started back to me. Ikasu carefully pushed me back down into a laying position. I closed my eyes and let the pain slowly leave from my stomach before I checked out the rest of my body. My left arm could still move but it hurt tremendously. Then when tried to move my legs they refused to answer to me. I remembered then that he had torn some kind of structure on my leg. Hidan had given me permanent damage, but at least I could still see. I was worried the most about when my vision was becoming blurry that I would never be able to see it again. I would worry about my legs later.

“Be careful.” He told me as he looked concerned. Tears welled up in my eyes and I asked Ikasu

“Why are they after me? What provoked him to do this?” he looked like he wanted to tell me, but he didn’t say anything.

“Why won’t peo-!”

”Hey Stone Lee your awake!” Steve’s voice said as he came to my side. I smiled a little and dropped the subject in my head. I’d ask Sendo later and he’d tell me if Ikasu wouldn’t. I didn’t want to worry Steve about it.  

“Hey Steve.” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

“You had us scared I thought you’d never wake up. Ikasu wouldn’t even leave the room!” he told me, a bit angry at the last part. Ikasu nudged Steve in the side to shut him up.

“Well at least I had a bodyguard. Thank you Ikasu.” I told him with a little smile. He just looked away from me and glared at Steve.

“It hurts so badly right now. I think I’ll just go back to sleep.” I told them, closing my eyes and my stomach riveted with pain.

“You can just heal yourself Stone Lee. Now that you’re awake your energy must be full and you can get used to walking around now.” Steve told me. I opened me eyes and starred at him

“Really? Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. Will one of you hand me my water pouch?” I asked them. Steve unhooked my water pouch from my waist and handed it to me. I used my right hand and for some reason the water came to my hand almost magically; it looked shiny and had a strange glow to it. I put it on my left arm and they substance went into my body. I withdrew my hand quickly, but the substance stayed.

“It’s called healing.” Steve joked. I rolled my eyes and put the substance on my wound. It healed almost instantly. I moved my hand all over my body slowly, just like the doctor had done back at Norcross and all the pain ceased, except for my head. I had a strange feeling inside my head; it felt almost cloudy with just a hint of pain. I decided to ignore it and I sat up.

“That’s cool eve- I mean that’s so cool.” Steve said, Ikasu glaring at him. I got up from the bed and almost toppled over if Steve hadn’t grabbed my arm around his shoulder.

“Sorry, I guess I forgot how to walk.” I joked. He laughed

“It’s fine.” Steve said helped me to the door.

“Speaking of which, maybe I should go on a walk that way I can remember how to walk.” I said. Ikasu was behind me in a second.

“I don’t think you should Stone Lee.” He protested.

“Oh its fine, I probably won’t fall out of another tree.” I lied. Steve looked at me.

“You fell out of a tree?! I thought you were attacked by the looks of you.” He told me. I grinned

“Nope, I just forgot to focus and fell. It was a pretty big tree, lots of branches!” I said, turning around to look at Ikasu. He looked angry.

“Well if you going then we’re both going, just in case a tree walks up on you.” He told me. I nodded.

Soon I was walking all by myself, Steve on one side of me and Ikasu on the other. Once I finished my little walk we returned back to the house. Sendo was sitting on the couch. When we entered Sendo looked up at me.

“Stone Lee, good to see you back on your feet.” He told me. I smiled

“Yeah, it's good to be back.” I told him. He nodded.

“Well good because we need to go see Tazuna at the bridge” he told us as he got up.

“Is he alright?” I asked him.

“Yeah, he’s just fine.” He said as he approached us.

“But a mission is a mission we should go there just in case anything happens.” We all nodded.

“…Well then go!” Sendo told us. We all turned around and ran off towards the bridge.

When we arrived Tazuna was sitting down on a pile of wood planks with Suki next to him. Suki jumped up and rushed to meet us.

“Hey Stone Lee, it's good to see you back on your feet.” Suki joked. I laughed

“That’s what Sendo said.” I told her. She shrugged

“Great minds think alike.” She teased. Suddenly people started running off the bridge. I looked at Sendo, he seemed to look casual.

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” I told him. He nodded. The mist started thickening. Tazuna got up and came to the group.

“We should get out of here bef-“

”Ahh Sendo, nice to see you again.” A deep voice interrupted. I whipped out a kunai and faced the voice, thinking it was Hidan. I was wrong, it was Wang! He came out of the mist and he looked totally fine. I knew Sendo was still weak, I didn’t see the crutch, but he was still unfocused. He withdrew a kunai.

“I had a feeling you weren’t dead.” Sendo told Wang. Wang scoffed.

“You fell for that? I knew Watari played her cards right.” Wang said. The person who ‘killed’ Wang appeared out of the mist next to him. It was the same girl. She still had the mask and everything. Sendo ran at Wang and they’re swords clashed together, both with equal force. Suki and Steve got into formation, but Ikasu went after Watari angrily. He punched but Watari brushed him off easily. Ikasu rolled near the edge of the Bridge.

“Ikasu!” Suki screamed. Watari walked towards Ikasu, and Steve ran over to Watari and punched her, but no damage seemed to be taken. Nothing was working! what were we going to do?

               *                                 *     *                              

Hidan hid behind a tree next to a small house by a river. Taren was by his side.

“This is the last place she was at, I’m sure of it.” Hidan said as he looked around. Taren closed his eyes.

“There is one person inside, it’s a woman about 25, and she’s in the kitchen.” Taren explained. Hidan smiled

“Perfect,” he said as he ran to the door, breaking it down. They’re came a shriek from the kitchen and Hidan stormed inside. Taren sighed. Trying to be the bad a*s as always. Taren came inside and the woman was tied to a chair. She had long black flowing hair and purplish eyes. Taren hopped that Hidan would be so focused with Stone Lee that he’d leave this poor girl alone.

“Where did she go?” Hidan asked the woman fiercely. She was crying.

“I don’t know!” Hidan slapped her and she cried out in pain. “I’ll only ask you one more time before I start cutting things off, where did she go.” He barked, emphasizing every word. The woman’s eyes went wide and she looked away from Hidan. Taren and Hidan followed her gaze to a little boy who looked scared.

“Get out of here Zero!” She screamed. Zero turned and ran.

“Get the boy!” Hidan ordered. Taren nodded and ran after the boy. Zero was crying and running as fast as he could, but Taren ganged up on him and grabbed his arm.

“Let go of me!” he screeched, twisting and turning, trying to get out of Taren’s grasp. Taren picked up the boy, restrained him, and carried him back into the kitchen. The mother was still crying, and fresh wounds were on her face. She turned and looked at Taren, then started trying to get out of her restraints furiously.

“Let my son go!” she yelled, whipping her face around. Hidan grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

“Then where is she?” he pried. The woman stopped whipping around.

“She’s at the bridge.” She confessed.

“Mom!” Zero yelled. Hidan swiftly left the house. Taren set down the boy and followed Hidan.

“She’s not getting away this time.” Hidan said as he broke out into a run.

                        *                                *                              *                               

Watari turned and looked at Steve and punched him, sending him flying back. Ikasu got back up and tried to attack Watari again, but she disappeared.

“Already?” Wang asked, backing up a bit from Sendo. Sendo never dropped his guard, he just kept on attacking. Before I knew it I was by myself, Suki and Tazuna had retreated back. I turned around to follow them, but I was surrounded by some sort of mirrors. I looked around frantically. Finally I saw Watari in one of the mirrors. But then she disappeared and ran to another mirror. I kept watching for her when suddenly all the mirrors were filled with Watari. They all raised a weird looking needle, but there was no where to run!

“Get out of the way!” Ikasu yelled as he shoved me out of the way, I was shoved from the mirrors and Ikasu was attacked by all the needles.

“Ikasu!” I yelled as he fell to ground, and then there was nothing more. I felt funny all over, but rage filled my head. I could feel it, my body seemed stronger and my hand clenched into a fist. I didn’t see Sendo look at me, but I could feel it. My eyes started burning again. My two front corner teeth grew long and pointy and my fingernails grew as well. I charged towards the mirrors faster and more powerful than ever before. Watari’s clones went away and only one of her was revealed. I punched the mirror as hard as I could and it shattered, along with Watari. All the mirrors shattered making quite a bit of racket. Wang looked over and Sendo took this moment for the final blow. He plunged his kunai deep into Wang’s chest and Wang froze, his eyes still locked on Watari. Blood came out from under Watari’s mask and the mask fell from her face. Her face was covered in blood. She fell back and hit the ground as no part of her body moved.

“Watari!” Wang screeched as he made for her body.

“I knew she’d die, and you next.” A high pitched voice to the left of us said. We all looked over and saw a short pudgy man who looked like a lion. Some kind of snarl escaped from Wang so I looked over and the bandages around Wang’s mouth started to fall off. As soon they were gone he revealed long, sharp teeth and his eyes turned red.

“This is your fault!” he yelled as he ran at the man. The man’s eyes went wide and he tried to run, but Wang head butted him off the bridge. The man screamed until he hit the waters surface and then the only sound was a plop. Wang shakily looked back at Sendo and pulled out the kunai from his chest.

“I only have one request…Make sure she has a proper funeral.” Wang’s soft voice came. Sendo nodded slowly and Wang jumped off the bridge and into the water. There were some splashes and then it was quiet and no one arose from the watery depths.

“Ikasu…Ikasu!” Suki yelled as she ran to Ikasu’s side. I closed my eyes as the funny feeling went away, along with the burning in my eyes; then I turned around to look at the scene. Steve was down and so was Ikasu. I ran to Steve’s side and his eyes were closed, but there was no damage. I shook Steve a little bit and his yes fluttered open.

“Stone Lee…What happened?!” he said and got up fast.

“Watari’s blow across you head must have knocked you out.” I told him. He looked over at Ikasu.

“What happened to him...?” he asked. Suki had Ikasu’s head in her lap and she was crying. Steve and I ran over to Suki and I examined Ikasu.

“Ikasu please wake up.” Suki wept. I got down on my knees and started to pull the needles out. Each time I did Ikasu’s body twitched.

 “Help me, he’s not dead yet.” I told Suki. She nodded and started to help me take out the needles. When the last one was removed I healed Ikasu’s body. He still didn’t wake up.

“He’ll be ok; we just need him to rest.” Sendo told us. She wiped the tears away and looked at me.

“What about you, are you ok?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked her as I looked down…I was soaked in blood. I felt my face and it too had blood on it.

“Better yet Stone Lee, what happened to you?” Suki asked. I didn’t have an answer. Sendo grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

“Come on, we’re still not totally safe. We have to get back to Norcross.” Sendo told us as he helped me walk away; it wasn’t until that moment that I felt my body very weak and pain coursed through my body.

“Suki, take Ikasu.” Sendo ordered. Suki picked up Ikasu and raced to catch up with us, Steve right behind her.

“Stone Lee I want you to take this. Just put it in your mouth and swallow” Sendo told me as he held out a tiny brown pill. I starred at it before placing it in my mouth and swallowing it. It didn’t have much of a taste, but as I took it my energy restored and the wounds on my body faded as they sealed shut and the scars evaporated I would’ve been surprised, but then again nothing here surprises me anymore after this mission! We got to the man who rowed us here and Sendo told him to go back to Norcross. He nodded and rowed. Sendo scanned the area and told the man to go faster, so the man sped up and we were on our way to Norcross

                        *  *       *

Taren and Hidan finally reached the bridge where they saw it was deserted, except for one man. He had spiky brown hair and a white towel like thing around his head and he sat on the ground rubbing his neck. Hidan walked over to the man and grabbed him by the throat.

“There was a girl here about five feet tall with short light brown hair, light blue eyes, and a necklace with a white crystal on it, where did she go?” he asked the man sternly.

“S-She just L-Left for N-Norcross.” The man choked. Hidan let go of the man’s neck.

“How did they leave?” Hidan asked.

“They left by boat.” He said, his breath returning. Hidan stared at the man.

“If you lying, I will come back and kill you.” With that he swiftly left for the river side where one boat remained. Taren followed close behind and hopped into the boat after Hidan.

“Row.” Hidan instructed. Taren picked up the paddles and started rowing.

                 *         *     *

We reached a little dock where we got off and the rower left. I had washed off all blood off of me and now I looked good as new, except my clothes which were wet. With Sendo at my side to make sure I was ok, we started walking into the woods.

“Norcross is just a few feet from here, there we will be safe.” Sendo said, most likely to me. I nodded. The scenery was very pretty out here. Trees poked their heads out of every possible place they could and small flowers of many colors surrounded them. Tiny things fluttered around them happily. Steve came up next to me with his hands behind his head.

“You know last time we were threw here you were unconscious.” Steve said with a laugh.

“Ha, Ha very funny,” I scoffed and shoved him playfully. He grinned and shoved me back.

“As much as I love Ikasu-kun, he’s getting to heavy for me; will one of you carry him for me?” Suki asked. Steve was silent. I sighed

“Yeah I’ll hold him.” I told her. She handed Ikasu over to me.

“Thanks.” She said as she rubbed her shoulders. I rolled my eyes and looked fore ward.   

I could see the gates in the clearing ahead of us.

“Were almost home,” Steve shouted joyfully as he ran ahead. Suki smiled and ran ahead with Steve. Sendo and I remained behind. I would’ve run with them, but I had Ikasu in my arms and he was too heavy to run with. Sendo was beside me with his hands in his pockets.

“Stone Lee there is a great chance that…that man will come here looking for you. I will alert the Hotashi about what happened, and since we won’t be doing too many more missions I want you to lay low for awhile. If you decide to leave your house make sure you’re with someone.” Sendo instructed me. I nodded and looked over at him.

“Sendo when I was fighting Watari I felt…strange. I felt power I’ve never felt before, why is that?” I asked him. Sendo stopped when we were about 3 feet from the gates and I stopped along with him.

“Stone Lee you have a monster sealed inside you that is referred to as ‘Jo Akuma’ or ‘The Fifth Demon’ it is an evil demon that was sealed inside you… who knows when. Steve also has one of these but it’s the ‘Ni Akuma’ or ‘The Ninth Demon’ they both give you powers no one can even imagine, therefore it is very rare. If the user abuses the power the fox could come out at that moment. The only way it will give you its energy, or that strange power you felt is if the user feels a strong emotion or is in grave danger.” Sendo told me. I have a…demon inside of me?! Why?! I thought.

“Is that why those people are after me?” I asked Sendo. He shrugged

“It’s a great possibility.” He told me.

“Now listen Stone Lee, I probably won’t be seeing you for a couple of weeks but there is only a couple of things you need to know, keep up with your training, never go out alone, and the Halibi exams are coming up. That is when you become a higher level ninja, but you will have to compete on three courses. Survivors will become a Halibi. This occurs in one year. It seems like it won’t occur for awhile, but you need to be prepared.” He explained and started walking towards the gates. I followed him and now after what he said I was more confused than before.

“Ok, I understand. Thank you for telling me these things Sensei.” I lied. He smiled and looked ahead at the gates.

“Take care of yourself Stone Lee. Stick with your teammates; I will be back in two weeks time.” He said and suddenly disappeared. I looked around, but he was gone. I sighed and entered the gates as I looked down at Ikasu… and his eyes were looking up at me.

“So you’re awake.” I said as I carefully set him down.

“It would be best if you did as Sendo told you to Stone Lee.” He told me. I nodded

“I will…oh you heard that did you.” I mumbled. He nodded.

“So uhh do I have a house?” I asked him. He nodded and started leading the way.

We arrived at a little white house with trees surrounding it and there was a little river behind it.

“Awesome!” I cried happily.

“It’s stocked and everything, that’s my house, and that’s Steve’s house.” He said and pointed to the houses. I nodded.

“If you going to leave you house, come and get one of us. Don’t trust anyone but Steve and I. Remember, watch people’s headbands.” He told me. I nodded.

“Thank you Ikasu. I’ll head your advice.” I told him. He nodded and walked off towards his house. He’s so quiet. I thought as I entered my house. Inside were wood floors and a kitchen to my left. Beyond the kitchen was a little green room with a queen size bed with white sheets. There was a fairly big sized window over looking the little river. Inside my bedroom was a door that left into my bathroom, which had a toilet in the corner, a shower next to the toilet, and a sink with mirrors directly in front of the door as you entered. Green rugs were on the floor, one in front of the sink, one in front of the toilet, and one in front of the shower. I closed the bathroom door and jumped onto my bed. It smelled of fresh linen and the sheets felt soft and fuzzy. I took a glance around my little house and saw that the walls were bare, some picture frames dotted the walls but their frames were empty and lonely. I made note to spruce up my walls and hopefully add something to the lonely picture frames. I yawned slightly as my wariness overcame me and I closed my eyes to relax my body. Before I knew it I fell asleep.

        *         *             *

Taren kept rowing as Hidan kept look ahead.

“Well would you look at that!” Hidan said as the red water approached them. Taren stopped rowing as Hidan stuck his hand in the red water and pulled it to his face, and licked it. Taren shuddered at the unpleasant sight. Hidan closed his eyes and thought for a second as he let the taste of the blood and energy fill him up.

“They’re at the Norcross Dock; Jashin has never lied to me before.” He said as his eyes flew open.

“So which way?” Taren asked. Hidan sighed irritably and pointed south-west

“Now hurry up!” Hidan commanded as Taren increased his speed. 

       *              *              *

I was startled awake with a knock at the door. I jumped and hopped out of my bed and went to the door. I was about to open it when I doubted it; It could be anyone at my door. Luckily on both sides of the door were little windows. I secretly glanced out one of them and I saw Rock Lee at my door, his headband lay around his waist. I got away from the window quickly and opened the door.

“Hi Rock Lee!” I exclaimed. He smiled.

“Hi Stone Lee, I heard you got back and I wanted to see if you were ok.” He asked me. I nodded and smiled

“Yeah, I’m fine. The mission was hard, but I bore through it and survived.” I joked.

“That’s good.” He said. He seemed he didn’t have much to say. I was about to say something when my stomach did it for me. My stomach made a gurgling sound and my cheeks got warm as I felt that was inappropriate. Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten since Steve gave me that lunch. Rock Lee looked happy.

“I was just going to go get something to eat, would you like to join me?” Rock Lee asked.

“Really? That would be great!” I said enthusiastically.

“Ok come on.” He said. I walked out of the house and shut the door behind me. Rock Lee started to lead the way and I ran up next to him. It was dark outside, but it was fairly warm. We walked through the fairly empty streets of Norcross and out past the tall buildings to a dirt road. We passed a few more buildings until the scenery grew closer and the buildings diluted down to just a couple here and there. Straight in front of us was a white building with red lines running all around its circumference. There was no door, only an opening for persons to walk through. Rock Lee led me inside. A tall brunette waitress stood behind a podium and smiled at us as we walked inside. Her green eyes glinted at us as we approached closer, almost as if she recognized us. 

“Stay here.” He told me as he went up to the lady and whispered to her in private. She nodded at his words and looked behind him to smile at me. I gave a little wave to her in return. While the two spoke I took in my surroundings. The building was quite large, tables were seated all around and other doorways lead to even bigger rooms of the already enormous building. Potted plants hung from the ceiling and the area was lit with multiple candles in the corners of the rooms. A low buzz of chatter filled the air and over top of it sweet musical notes spoke the language of a woman in love.

The lady and Rock Lee stopped talking as she walked out from behind her little podium and started to lead us to our table. She led us to a quiet corner away from most of the other customers and Rock Lee and I sat down.

“Can I get you a drink to start out with?” the lady asked. “Water,” Rock Lee and I said simultaneously. We looked at each other and I smiled and giggled a little bit. The lady smiled.

“Ok just one minute.” She said and vanished in a cloud of smoke. I looked around the building. Some people were with others, some were alone. A lot of the people were either eating or they were chatting. I turned my gaze back to Rock Lee. He was also looking around the building. I smiled to myself. I’m glad Rock Lee came to see me; he’s such a nice guy. I thought to myself. Rock Lee looked back at me as my thoughts of him continued to wander.

“What?” he asked me. I turned away

“N-nothing.” I stuttered. I felt my cheeks get warm once again. Then the lady reappeared by the table holding two glasses of ice cold water.

“Here is your water and just order whenever you’re ready.” She told us. I took a sip of my water.

“I’ll just have the usual.” Rock Lee said to the lady. She nodded and wrote something down on a piece of paper.

“For you miss?” the lady asked.

“Uhh,” I said. She handed me a piece of paper with different meals on it.

“You can look at your menu.” She told me cheerfully. I looked through the menu when something caught my eye. It was Fried Naruto on rice. I looked back up at the lady.

“Could I have the Fried Naruto?” I asked her.

“Certainly.” She said as she wrote something down on her piece of paper.

“Those should be ready in a couple of minutes.” She said and disappeared once more. Rock Lee seemed to be smiling at himself.

“What are you so cheery about?” I joked. He stopped smiling

“Nothing...” He answered.  I didn’t know what to say; for once I was out of words.

“So Stone Lee, what happened on your mission?” Rock Lee asked me. I bit my lip, but the words came before I could stop them.

“We had to protect this weird guy, but this man named Wang was after him, so we tried to kill him but some other girl did it for us. And then I went out into the forest by my self and I was attack by a strange man and almost died but Ikasu and Steve helped me. Then Wang popped back up again and we and to fight him again and the girl who ‘killed’ him. After the girl died this other guy popped up and Wang killed himself to kill the one guy.” I told him in a rush. He starred at me with wide eyes.

“What did you do?” I asked him cheerfully, slowing my words back down and trying to change the subject.

“I trained in my hand to hand combat, not near as exciting as your mission but...” he trailed off. I laughed.

“It’s ok, I’m fine and I get to eat with you!” I joked and he laughed. The lady appeared with two dishes of food.

“Here you go sir.” She said as she placed a tray of food in front of Rock Lee.

“And for you madam,” She said and placed a tray of food in front of me. Mine has a large pile of rice with crispy balls atop of it, glazed with a sweet looking purple sauce.

“Idakaimasu,” She said and disappeared. Rock Lee broke open his chopsticks said

“Idakaimasu.” I did the same and started eating my food. It tasted like the food Steve gave me, so I guess I ordered well. Inside the balls was a creamy cheese that melted as I popped the balls in my mouth. The sauce, as I expected, was sweet and added zang to my entrée. The food was so good, once I started eating I didn’t want to stop.

 Once again the man finished before I did as Rock Lee set his chopsticks down on his place. He watched me eat happily and then turned his gaze to the rest of the room. I felt awkward being the only one eating so I forced myself to stop and laid my chopsticks on my plate. Almost instantly as I did the lady appeared and took the plates away.

“That was really good! Thanks for taking me out Rock Lee. I really needed this.” I told him. His cheeks turned pink and got up

“No problem Stone Lee.” He told me. I got up and we went to the front of the building. I exited the building, thinking Lee was behind me, when actually Lee was paying for the meal. I walked fore ward and soon I couldn’t see.

“Lee?” I called out. No answer. I looked around trying to remember which way I had come from. I started to walk off in the direction I thought I had come from when I bumped into someone; they put a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and screamed suddenly from the fright.

“Stone Lee calm down it’s just me!” Rock Lee’s voice came as he put a hand over my mouth. I fell silent and he let go of me.

“Are you ok?” his voice said out of the darkness.

“Yeah you just scared me.” I said shakily.

“Let’s get you back to your house.” Rock Lee said as he took my hand and led me off.

Along the way I swear I could hear my heart beating in my chest. It was a slow beat and it seamed to be pumping the blood too slowly and my eyes were burning again. I closed my burning eyes and tried to get my breath out in even gasps; I could fill the color fill my face and I put my left hand up to my heart to keep it from hammering out of my chest. Soon we stopped moving and I opened my eyes. We were back at my house. I could see Rock Lee’s smiling face in the moonlight. He looked so happy and his eyes seemed to gleam in the light. He looked so handome…

He leaned foreword as if he was going to do something, but then he stopped and stuck out his hand.

“I had fun tonight,” he said with a light-hearted smile. I took his hand and he shook mine. I smiled back at him,

“Y-Yeah I had fun also. Thanks for taking me Lee.” I told him, still slightly recovering from the intense moment I just experienced. He nodded and let go of my hand.

“Good night Stone Lee,” he said as he turned and left.

“Good night Rock Lee,” I called out. I smiled to myself and entered my house. There I ran to my bed and jumped on it happily. Rock Lee’s perfect face appeared to me in my mind and his white smile beamed back at me. A weird feeling erupted in my stomach and I couldn’t stop giggling at how amazing the night went. I put my pillow over my face to try and stop myself.

“What’s happening to me?” I asked myself. The giggling stopped, but the feeling didn’t go away and my eyes still burned. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and oddly, fell back to sleep.  

I woke up again to the sound of a light patter at my roof. I rubbed my eyes and hopped out of bed. There was a strange rumbling noise coming from outside and I jumped as it frightened me for some reason. I looked up at the dreary sky which was filled with ominous looking gray clouds, but nothing seemed odd. I left my house and went out into the yard, where water poured down onto me. It was a cold, hard, and very strange to me and I didn’t want to be in it, but my instincts took over and I left my house and went into the woods…alone.

I kept moving through the forest when I heard a voice.

“143…144…145!” the voice choked as they kept counting up. I went into a clearing and Rock Lee was in the pouring water, doing push-ups! I ran into the clearing

“Rock Lee what are you doing?” I shouted over the noise. He didn’t seem to hear me so I got closer.

“Rock Lee what are you doing!” I yelled again, but the loud noise interrupted me and with a little yelp in a flash I was on my butt. A bright light streaked across the gray sky and another loud noise thundered after it. I sat there, panic stricken, my hand clutching my necklace. The noises were like nothing I’ve ever heard, but they sounded like noisy, mad people angry for me to be in their presence. The rain pounded down harder on my back and even when I had the will to move, my body wouldn’t respond.  Rock Lee lazily glanced over at my direction then looked back toward the ground. A second later he suddenly fell to the ground and looked over at me bewildered.

“Stone Lee what are you doing out here?” he yelled to me. I couldn’t respond. The fear was taking over me; all I could hear was that angry noise and my body still did not want to move as I began to shake. He got up and came to my side, drenching wet from head to toe.

“Stone Lee can you hear me?” he called to me. I managed to nod; it wasn’t a very big nod, but a nod nonetheless. He sighed, relieved. Then the loud noise came again and I jumped, clutching my knees to my chest. At that Rock Lee nodded to himself knowingly.

“You’re scared of the thunder, aren’t you?” he asked me. Again I couldn’t respond. He sighed and picked me up as if I was weightless and I stayed in my little ball. Rock Lee carried me inside my house and set me on the bed.

“Stay here.” He said as he left into the bathroom. As told I didn’t move. He soon came out with a towel and draped it around my shoulders. I sat there, still as ever and my eyes glued upon the floor. If I could I would look up, but the fear still gripped me like death. Rock Lee uncurled my hands away from my feet and they dangled off my bed.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he rubbed the towel on my soaking wet skin. I nodded and looked up at his eyes. They were warm and knowing, as if he had done this before. At this point I started shaking violently, I was pretty cold and the fear no longer held me as the rumbling was slightly going away. Rock Lee got on my bed behind my and hugged me close to his warm, wet body.

“What were you doing out there?” he asked me.

“I-I don’t know, I was woken up from that loud noise and I had an urge to go into the woods so I did.” I explained. I could feel him nod.

“What were you doing out there?” I asked him shakily.

“I was training.” He told me.

“In the wet?” I asked him. I felt him nod again.

“I always train no madder what.” He explained to me. I stopped shaking as violently and I felt my eyes lids start to close. Why do I always seem to fall asleep at the wrong time? I thought to myself.

“Thank you Rock Lee. You…really helped me. I’m sorry for…bothering you.” I said with a yawn as I fought sleep.

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this before. I know how much it can take out of you. Go to sleep Stone Lee, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Rock Lee.” With that I feel asleep.  

When I woke up I was under my covers and I smelled like Rock Lee’s scent. I slowly crept out from under the covers to see that, even though I was soaking wet last night, my bed was dry. I looked around cautiously before I slipped from my bed and looked to see if Rock Lee had spent the night. After looking around I knew he was gone. I sighed slightly and stretched my arms up into the air, and I caught the sight of something on my desk. I approached it and noticed there was a pile of green paper that had little fives in the corner. A note was attached.

Stone Lee, this is called ‘Money’ you use it to buy things if you didn’t know that already, but this was made from the mission you just accomplished You’ve earned fifty dollars.. Spend it wisely, Sendo. I touched the money and smiled. It felt like dry, crinkly paper, just as I suspected. My day had now begun, so I decided to go to the bathroom and get ready. I examined a drawer on my sink cabinet and inside was a brown square thing that had little black bristles coming out of it. Oddly it had a little white sticker on it that said ‘Brush’. On the back was another piece of paper with more words. Directions: Run bristle part of brush through hair to make hair soft and untangled. Keep out of reach of children. I held the brush in my right hand and ran it through my hair. And some points it hurt to rip it through my mangled hair, but in the end my hair was really soft. Intrigued I examined another drawer. This one had a small, long rectangular brush in it, but the bristles were soft and white. It was labeled ‘Toothbrush’ the back read Directions: Move the bristles over teeth to clean them, do one tooth at a time and also brush your tongue, don’t forget to use toothpaste. Read ‘toothpaste’ to learn how. Inside the drawer I found a long white tube that said ‘Toothpaste.’ The back read Directions: put only a little bit of toothpaste on the bristles of the toothbrush. That was all. I unscrewed the lid of the toothpaste and put a glob of toothpaste on the toothbrush. It smelled strongly of mint and the glob was blue. I shrugged to myself and inserted the toothbrush into my mouth and brushed my teeth, one by one. As expected the toothpaste was minty and send a rippling shock through my body by how it tasted.

After I had brushed every tooth I put the toothbrush on my tongue and brushed it. I reached too far back gagged on the toothbrush. As if by impulse I spit out all the toothpaste remains into the sink. I coughed a little bit and then washed the nasty tasting toothpaste out of my mouth. I looked next to me to the toilet. I lifted up the lid and inside was water. There was also a little lever on the side of it. I pressed it down and it made a loud squeaking noise. I jumped and ran out of the bathroom. Ok, creepy, but I managed to do all the things in the bathroom. I told my self as I left my room and went into the kitchen. There was a bowl with some kind of white squares in it. A white jug was by the bowl it read ‘Milk’. The Directions read Directions: Pour milk in bowl of cereal and enjoy with spoon REFRIDGERATE. I poured the milk into the bowl and then put the milk in the big black thing labeled ‘Fridge’. I picked up the spoon with the ‘Cereal’ and on it and took a bite. It was pretty good. It had a sweet taste and it kind of tasted like bread.  

      After I finished I got down from the table and left my house. I headed off for the woods again, not minding to do what I was told. I found Rock Lee punching a tree rapidity. I entered the clearing.

“Whatcha doing?” I asked him. He jumped and looked at me.

“Training.” He said and went back to punching his tree. I came closer to him.

“Can I train with you?” I asked. He stopped and smiled.

“Go ahead.” He went back to punching his tree. I took my place in front of a tree and watched Rock Lee punch his tree. I mimicked his movements and soon started going the same pace he did. I could feel my knuckles bleeding, but I continued to keep my pace. Pain throbbed through my hands but I bit my tongue and dealt with it. If I wanted to fit in and be like everyone else I would have to work at it.

Two hours or so passed before Rock Lee stopped and looked over at me.

“You can stop now.” He huffed. I forced my hands to stop. They were shaking and blood was dripping from them.

“Whoa, are you bleeding?” Rock Lee asked as he examined my hands. I put them behind my back.

“I’m fine.” I told him with a small smile. I didn’t want to be babied. He came up to me and grabbed one of my hands and examined it closer.

“You have to be careful, even I don’t train with my bare fists.” he said as he started bandaging up my hand. He motioned for me to put up my other hand and he wrapped it up.  

“If you’re going to want to do the training I do you should wear those.” He told me. I nodded and flexed my hands. The bandages were tight on my hands, but I could still move my fingers around. Rock Lee had helped me once again, which reminded me of the night before.

“Rock Lee, how long did you stay at my house with me, which was really nice by the way.” I told him.

“I didn’t stay long after you fell into asleep,” His gaze left mine. I nodded.

“Well, thank you.” I told him. He smiled.

*             *                                                              *

Taren and Hidan approached the Norcross gates, but kept their distance.

“We’re going to need disguises.” Hidan said as he stopped behind a tree. Hidan did a hand sign and turned into a perfect clone of Ikasu. He did another hand sign and touched Taren’s forehead. He turned into a perfect clone of Stone Lee.

“Why am I the girl?” Taren asked gruffly, his voice still sounding the same.

“You need your voice to match Stone Lee’s.” Hidan said his voice exactly like Ikasu’s.

“Ok.” Taren said, his voice matching Stone Lee’s. They both approached the gate, trying horribly to be hidden.

“Hey what are you doing?” One of the guards asked. Taren perked his head up.

“N-Nothing,” Taren said in Stone Lee’s voice.

“Stone Lee? You’re supposed to be back into the village.” The guard said suspiciously. Hidan came out of the bush

“I wanted to show her around a little bit.” Hidan said in monotone, his voice matching Ikasu’s. The guard nodded.

“Well get back into the village. You’re not to be out here” He said. Hidan and Taren ran into the village.

“Success,” Hidan whispered in his normal voice.

*               *                        *   

Rock Lee and I continued to train, punching the tree and then eventually kicking it. After about an hour or so of kicking the tree Rock Lee started doing push-ups. So I decided to see if I could still focus my energy. I put my fingers in the position Sendo told me to use and concentrated on my feet. Once I felt the power fall to my feet I put my oot up the tree and started to walk up it. My feet stuck like glue onto the tree and released each time my foot was suspended in air. It felt so amazing that I had the power to use my surroundings as needed. I could do something like this when I was in trouble. I needed to learn even more though if I wanted to catch up to my teammates.

I finally made it to the top of my tree and sat on a branch near the top. The sun was already setting; Rock Lee and I had wasted the day training, well not wasted. It was good to learn how to fight. I watched as the rays of the sun turned orange and hid behind the mountains and cast a gold glow across the village. It was a very pretty sight to say in the least. I smiled at the sight and looked back down to Rock Lee who was still training away. I needed to stop relaxing and get back to my training like he was. I climbed back down the tree and started punching the tree again, getting into rhythm with Rock Lee. As I continued to punch away I heard a voice inside my head. ‘You can run, but I will always find you! I know your scent! Hidan’s face appeared on the tree angrily. I gasped and took a few steps backward; landing on my butt as the face slowly disappeared from the tree. Rock Lee stopped.

“Are you ok?” he asked me.

“Y-Yeah, just lost my breath,” I said as I continued to stare at the tree.

“Maybe we should stop…” Rock Lee told me. I got up off the ground.

“N-No I’m fine, I still want to train.” I told him happily. He nodded and started doing his push-ups again. I imagined Hidan’s face on the tree again and started punching it furiously, changing direction so I covered his whole face.

Before I knew it the sun had disappeared from sight and I felt wariness over-come me. I stopped punching and stretched.

“Let’s stop for now, I’m sorry I’m beat and-.” I cut myself short as I turned to see Rock Lee was asleep on the ground. I smiled and quietly walked up to him

“Rock Lee?” I whispered. He slurred in his sleep but didn’t move. I cautiously sat down beside him and lightly shook him. He was out cold. I chuckled slight and the light wind ran through his shiny black hair. Without thinking I reached out and ran my fingers threw his hair. It was really soft and smooth and made me happy to touch part of Rock Lee. I giggled to myself as I continued to do it.

*                   *                            *

Hidan and Taren entered the woods, Taren taking the lead since he knew these woods so well. Taren just about entered a clearing when Hidan held him back. He pointed to a girl and a boy sitting in the clearing, the girl was stroking the boy’s hair.

“Oh, this is going to be too easy.” Hidan whispered to himself. He fully scanned the boy’s body and then he did his hand sign. His body shifted until it completely cloned the boy’s body.

“Rock Lee,” Taren whispered to himself. Hidan did another hand sigh and tapped Taren’s forehead. Taren’s body changed into Ikasu’s form.

“This is too perfect,” Hidan sneered.

*                      *                            *

I felt Rock Lee’s body move and I immediately pulled back as he got up. He looked at me.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep!” He apologized. I smiled; glad he didn’t know what I was doing.

“It’s ok.” He looked around at the dark sky.

It’s getting late, you should probably head home.” He helped me up to my feet

“Yeah,” I said with a yawn.

“I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t be out here all alone.”

“Thank you! Now let’s get you back.” He took my arm and led me through the forest back to my house. I saw his smile in the moonlight.

“Thanks Rock Lee today was fun,” I said with a smile.

“If it rains tonight, stay in your house.” He joked. I laughed.

“Same goes for you.” I told him. He chuckled.

It was a quick walk and we were soon in front of my house. Rock lee let go of my arm and stepped back as I faced my house.

“Well good night Stone Lee. Thank you once again.” He said as he turned and backed up waving slightly to me

“Good night Rock Lee!” I called out to him and waved back to him. He turned around and his image disappeared into the dark forest. I turned away and walked inside my house and shut my door and leaned back against it as I sighed happily. The weird feeling came back into my stomach and I couldn’t help but giggle. I had spent most of the night and all of today with Rock Lee. Even though we didn’t say much I enjoyed every second with him. I loved his big black eyes and his smooth, shiny hair. His wide smile appeared to me as I closed my eyes and I couldn’t help but to grin back at it. I was startled from my day dream by a knock at the door. I jumped away from the door and peaked out the windows. Rock Lee was standing there again! I opened the door excitedly.

“Hello again Rock Lee!” I grinned. He smiled his beautiful smile back at me.

“Hey Stone Lee, I want to show you something. Come with me?” He asked me and held out his hand as an invitation. I smiled and took it, he led me off.

We quickly strode through the forest and arrived at another clearing, but this one had no trees. I looked around curiously and then met Rock Lee’s soft gaze on mine.

“What are we doing here?” I asked him. He let go of my hand and cupped his hands around my face and my body rippled at his touch.

“Stone Lee…I think I like you.” He told me. My stomach flipped.

“W-What?!” I stuttered, not fully understanding but the feeling in my stomach was intense now. I felt my body instantly feel like it was on fire and my eyes began to burn slightly. Rock Lee grinned.

“I can’t explain it, but I get this funny feeling when I’m around you. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt with anyone else. I…” He started as he leaned his face towards mine and his lips met mine. My cheeks got very warm and I closed my eyes enjoying the seconds of this time. I didn’t understand what was happening, but it calmed me and I felt my heart beat faster. At first it was gentle, and then something was wrong. My body felt cold had become unresponsive and numb and the hands holding onto my face were icy cold. I opened my eyes, but I wasn’t looking into the eyes of my beloved Rock Lee, I was looking into the eyes of Hidan! He broke away from the kiss and smirked, a chuckle escaping him.

“That was easier than I expected. Love can be a good factor for me. Besides you’re not that bad of a kisser.” Hidan stated and sent a wink in my direction; his figure was still that of Rock Lee but his eyes were his own, blood red. I stood there, my hands to my side as I glared at him shocked.  

“This time you can’t get away though, how does it feel, to be a puppet at my very command?” he asked me, chuckling evilly. He put out his finger and wagged it at me, telling me to come to him. I didn’t move.

“Come here Stone Lee.” He commanded smoothly. Against my will I walked foreword and stood in front of Hidan like a servant. He grabbed a hold of me and scoped me up into his arms, cradling me like a baby. His chest was cold, unlike Rock Lee’s warm body and his headband was absent from his waist. I suddenly ached for him with his figure so close. I wasn’t sure what was to happen since I could no longer move or act by myself, but I could yet again die.

“I could get really used to this…” He told me with a smirk and ran quicker than I imagined possible into the forest until he met up with Ikasu. Ikasu looked confused at us but I knew this could not be the Ikasu I knew. I confirmed this by noticing this Ikasu had no headband. Why didn’t I notice that when Rock Lee first showed up at my door?!

“I took matters into my own hands, with all the trouble she’s causing escaping is impossible. We can let leader decide her punishment for now.” Hidan said. Ikasu nodded and looked at me sadly. I knew those eyes; those eyes belonged to Teran.  Tears filled my eyes and fell down my face. I had no will to say anything, but I did think.

Teran…how could you! You said we were friends and now you’re capturing me! Why Teran! Why have you betrayed my trust!?

“Come on, we have to get out of here before anyone catches onto us.” Hidan told Teran. Teran nodded and they both sped off, going deeper and deeper into the forest.

            Was I going to die? Nobody knew I was being captured and by the time they do, I could be in the hands of evil by then! Besides…who really cared about a stupid girl who continued to be threatened by this organization? I could do nothing to protect myself and I didn’t know how to escape! Teran led the way and I saw Ikasu’s figure dangling in front of me temptingly.

Ikasu...I’ll never be able to see him again, I should’ve know this wasn’t Rock Lee in the first place! Why had I been so stupid?! I thought as the tears continued to fall from my face. I couldn’t give up now I had to try anything to escape! I closed my eyes and felt through my body to see if any part of me could move. Slowly, my big toe began to move, then the toes surrounding it. If I concentrated hard enough I could get my body back in control and maybe if Hidan didn’t notice. I opened my eyes still concentrating on my feet as I starred hard at Hidan. He wouldn’t find out, I was sure of it. I could get myself out of the mess without anyone’s help! Just then Hidan looked down at me a smug smile upon his face.

“This technique seems to wear off quickly; too bad… I was hoping to save some energy for later.” Hidan stated as he looked back ahead. How did he know unless…He could read my thoughts! He nodded approvingly as he continued to read my thoughts. I had the feeling back into my foot once again and I had to act even if it did little to no damage. I started to nudge as hard as I could into the back of Hidan, trying to make him let me go for all that I had. He looked back down at me and laughed at me.

“It’s amusing how hard your trying. You obviously know nothing of the power we’re capable of. You should study more.” He told me and pressed an icy palm once again to my bare face. I closed my eyes and ignored the pain that I now felt commencing from Hidan’s palm. Without delay my feet slowly went numb, and then my toes. Now I had no command once again and Hidan removed his cold hand from my face.

“That should keep you immobile until we reach our destination; try not to be a nuisance now alright? We want to make your stay as comfortable as possible,” He mocked as he straightened and looked around the forest; Teran had to struggle back a laugh.

“What are you laughing about boy!?” Hidan sneered at him.

“Nothing! It just seems that the mighty Hidan can’t even keep a simple Technique on a small girl without it failing quickly. Are you unable to control the power of the demon?” Teran said laughing aloud unable to control himself.

“Shut your mouth you damn little rat! I would ask for you help but, now wait a minute…You can’t even use technique! You have no control over your energy limit so I would keep your mouth shut insulting an elite such as myself!” He spat at Teran, and then forest became silent.

 

     *                      *                         *

Steve woke up from restless sleep, something seemed wrong. He couldn’t place it, but he had a feeling of danger and his toes were oddly numb. He opened the window closest to Ikasu’s window and threw a large rock at it. Ikasu came to the window angrily.

“What do you want? It’s late!” he sneered.

“Ikasu…something’s wrong I don’t know what, but you should go check up on the people. I can’t because I don’t have your vision. Someone’s out there though…” Ikasu sighed, knowing that Steve had to be right. His demon told him these things. Steve sat there and thought

“Maybe you should go check up on Stone Lee first...” He told Ikasu. Ikasu’s eyes went wide

“Do you mean-“

”Yeah, well I don’t know though.” Steve told Ikasu. He didn’t have much of a choice so he went outside. The moon was up and he could see pretty much anything with his vision. He slowly walked through his side of the town and nothing seemed to be out of order. Lastly he walked next to Stone Lee’s house and surveyed the area. Again, everything was normal. Ikasu muttered angrily to himself and turned to go when he noticed a very important detail, Stone Lee’s door was wide open. Ikasu ran up to the house entered it.

“Stone Lee?” he called out. Ikasu held his breath and listened. No response. He searched the entire house but nobody was there. Ikasu swore under his breath. He then turned and left the house. Closing his eyes he focused his energy to his eyes and muttered,

“Kudan,” The black night turned darker and two sets of footsteps lead into the forest right beside her house.

“Found you.” Ikasu mumbled to himself as he quickly followed the footsteps. The pair of footsteps ended in a clearing, and then just one pair left off, going deeper into the woods. Ikasu followed them quickly, letting his body take his limit. He kept going until he saw two men running. One of them was wearing a green jumpsuit and the one in the lead looked like…him!

     *                            *                            *

             I finally let the fear sink in, knowing this had to be the end of my life. We were getting farther and farther away from the village and at this time of night no one was coming to help me. Then again who would want to? I closed my eyes, letting hot tears seep down my face and a small sob fell off my lips. Suddenly there was a loud bang and a blast hit both Hidan and Taren. I flung from Hidan’s arms and hit the forest floor, rolling around a little before the motion stopped. I looked around, but Hidan and Taren were in a cloud of smoke.

“Where the f**k did she go?! Find her you stupid moron!”

“Just like you I can’t see! Try north!” I heard Taren say from the cloud of smoke, but their figures were invisible to me. After a few intense moments of my heart hammering in my chest and hoping silently to myself that they would not find me, Ikasu walked out from the cloud of smoke and up to me calmly. As he approached me and I tried my hardest to wiggle away, but still my body did not respond. As he got closer and the fear took hold of me again I noticed that Ikasu had black eyes instead of his normal red.

“Stone Lee are you alright?” Ikasu’s voice asked me calmly; it was sympathetic and his eyes fadded back to their original color. It was a dead giveaway, that this was the real Ikasu. If I could have smiled, I would. All I could do was cry, which I still hadn’t stopped doing. Ikasu picked me up in his arms and we turned to face the cloud of smoke where Hidan and Taren were still arguing with each other.

“She’s going to get away!” Hidan screamed. Ikasu wasted no more time and we away from the horrid scene.

            We ran until the trees diluted down back to the regular signs of the city and we slowed our pace. Ikasu walked right past my house and continued on to his. He held me in one of his hands and opened the door with his free left hand. He led me inside and shut the door with his foot. His house looked like mine, but the floors and walls were white. As we walked through a large room we continued to a smaller room with Ikasu’s bed and desks in it. He had a picture on his desk that had Steve, Yuki, Ikasu and I smiling and posing for whatever took the picture. I had my right arm around Ikasu’s next grinning wildly while Ikasu looked slightly irritated. Steve has his two fingers pointed to the camera and Yuki stood back with her hands behind her back and a small smile of her face. Sendo stood to the left of the group laughing at us. Though the picture looked familiar I couldn’t recall taking it. Ikasu set me gently on his bed and sat at the end while looking at me. I couldn’t do anything but blink and cry.

“Stone Lee can you hear me?” Ikasu asked. I blinked furiously, one too signal him, and the other to get the tears from my eyes.

“Ok stop blinking, if you can hear me blink once.” He told me. I blinked once.

“Good…now then, can you move anything? One blink for yes two blinks for no.” he told me. I blinked twice.

“I’m guessing some kind of Technique?” he asked me. I blinked. He nodded. He sighed and he cursed the air.

“I knew they would sneak in, it’s no longer safe for you here. I should have checked up on you earlier.” He said, mostly talking to himself, I felt him look at me. My eyes were up on the ceiling because my body was in the sort of position to look at him. I  also I didn’t feel like looking at Ikasu without words.

“Did they hurt you?” Ikasu asked. I didn’t do anything; I wasn’t sure how to respond because they didn’t necessarily hurt me. Hidan had taken me away and he had tricked me into thinking I had grown closer to Rock Lee, but other than that Hidan never used violence.

“Can you still hear me?” Ikasu asked. I blinked.

“So they…kind of hurt you?” Ikasu asked. That made more sense so I blinked.  

“Strange.” He told me. I rolled my eyes; my whole body was still numb. Last time it had worn off so quickly, after Hidan touched me again though it was if my body had given up.

“Stone Lee, you should go to sleep, I’ll wake you up in an hour and you can tell me what happened…is that ok?” he asked me. I blinked. I was tired; training all day takes away your energy. Not to mention the fact of almost losing my life and being violated by someone I didn’t know. I closed my eyes and slowly fell asleep to the sound of Ikasu breathing.

            When I woke up I stretched my arms and sat up. Obviously I had control of my body again and I was so glad to be able to move. I looked around and Ikasu was sitting behind me, his head leaned up against the wall.

“Good morning Stone Lee,” he mumbled tiredly. He must have stayed up all night.

“Hello Ikasu,” I said happily. He leaned fore ward and his image changed to Hidan.

“Welcome back Hun.” He said as he clutched my body close and put his grinning face near mine. I screamed as I tried to push him away and woke up. I sat up fast and got off the bed, away from Ikasu.

“Stone Lee? Dude its ok stop screaming,” Ikasu said as he cupped his hands around his ears irritably.  I couldn’t hear the sound erupting from me, but I closed my mouth and silence fell over the room.

“Thank you…what happened?” he asked me, still with a tired tone.

“Bad dream.” I mumbled and I sat back on the bed. He nodded.

“So what happened last night?” he asked me tiredly. I told Ikasu all that happened, but I didn’t tell him about how I spent the day training with Rock Lee or how he was the reason I left my house.. He nodded at some parts and his eyes tightened when I told him about Hidan. When I finished everything was quiet.

“Stone Lee I will tell Sendo about this and we will figure out a way to keep you safe.” He told me.

“Alright...” I told him.

“You haven’t been going anywhere alone have you? You’ve stayed near your house right?”

“Yeah I’ve stayed near my house and haven’t gone out alone…” I told him and looked down. Technically I was still near my house, but I had gone out with Rock Lee. I didn’t feel like sharing that information with Ikasu.

“Well from what is seems they can’t clone the headband, so your going to have to watch and see if they have a headband or not.” I nodded. I didn’t want to talk much. I leaned back against Ikasu’s wall as Ikasu rubbed his neck.

“I am going to go to sleep for just a minute, wake me up in an hour or so and we’ll go see the Hotashi ok? Don’t go anywhere.” he told me. I nodded. He smiled a little and closed his eyes. In a couple of minute Ikasu was snoring lightly. I quietly walked out of his house, against Ikasu’s warning, and went to the clearing where again Rock Lee was training. I had spent the entire night with a creep who I thought was him, and now seeing the real him filled me with joy. I entered the clearing and sat on the ground where I watched Rock Lee punch his tree. I looked down and the bandages were still on my hands, but they were blood stained. Lightly I smiled as I ran my fingers over Rock Lee’s handiwork.

 Rock Lee stopped punching his tree and cautiously turned around.

“Oh, hi Stone Lee.” He said happily. I looked at Rock Lee’s stomach and there was a red headband with the Norcross symbol in the middle. He looked down and followed my gaze.

“It’s not all that interesting.” He told me with a laugh. I looked up at Rock Lee and smiled. Then I picked myself up off the ground and started training with him. Today though, while training we talked casually. I learned that Rock Lee had no energy at all, unless he releases his energy gates, which can really harm his body. So ever since he joined the academy he’s been training every day and night on hand to hand combat to become a better ninja. He has an enemy he really wants to surpass named ‘Kyosei’. Kyosei is the heir to the Philidan clan. He has a blood trait called the Reapordon which allows the user to see the opponents’ energy points, which he can cut off. I listened to the troubles of his team had and how hard it was for him as a kid. When he was in the academy the kids called him ‘hot blooded’ and he would’ve stopped becoming a ninja if it wasn’t for Kilikan-sensei. We talked for hours while training and again, before we knew it the sun was going down. I stopped training as soon as the sun disappeared behind the trees.

“I’m sorry Rock Lee, but I have to go.” I said as I turned around and ran for Ikasu’s house.

“…Good bye Stone Lee.” He called out to me, with a confused, sad tone.

I entered Ikasu’s house quietly and went near his bed. He was still asleep luckily for me. I was about to shake him, when I stopped.

Ikasu had a rough night, I should let him sleep. I thought. I sighed and sat on the floor of his room and looked around. Some pictures were hung of a little boy that looked like Ikasu with an older man. I got up and looked at a picture closely. Ikasu was on the shoulders of the man, laughing. The older man had a smug smile on and he was looking up at Ikasu. The man had long blonde hair that covered most of his face and trailed over his shoulders. Below the picture it said Ikasu: 9 Kuro: 13. So that’s what Kuro looks like. Judging by the picture, if I hadn’t know Kuro I would’ve said he looked like a nice guy.

I heard Ikasu flip over. I turned away from the picture quickly and held very still. Ikasu sighed in his sleep and started to snore lightly again. I looked outside at the dark sky, wondering if Rock Lee was still out there.

It’ll be ok if I just…slip out for a second, besides I’m not going to fall for that kiss anymore. I told myself as I left Ikasu’s house into the dark night. I stuck out my hand and started for what I thought was the forest. Finally I reached the clearing, but no one was there, Rock Lee must have left. I leaned back against the tree Rock Lee trained on and closed my eyes in thought.

He either left to eat or he’s gone, I’ll give him 10 minutes. I thought. I sighed and looked up at the moon.

       *                            *                      *

            “You let her get away?” asked a deep voice. Hidan and Taren were knelling on the ground and they had their heads bowed.

“I’m sorry Leader-san, we were attacked off guard.” Taren explained.

“You let a fourteen-year-old girl go because you were attacked by another fourteen-year-old?” the deep voice yelled. Hidan winced.

“It was the Yatashi boy.” Hidan defended.

“Is that an excuse?” he asked them and the air grew quiet.

“No sir.” Hidan mumbled after a minute.

“Get back after her and bring her body to Me.” he told him.

“Yes.” They both said and disappeared.

       *                                 *                     *

            Twenty minutes or so passed and still Rock Lee did not show up. I sighed and started back to Ikasu’s house, my arm leading the way. Along the way in the dark I bumped into a person who grabbed me by the shoulders.

“What did I tell you about leaving all alone?” Ikasu’s angry voice asked as he shook me a little.

“I-I’m sorry, I just wanted to get out for a minute.” I stammered, frightened by his touch.

“Come on it’s too late to see the Hotashi now.” He muttered with a sigh as took my arm to lead me off. I started to follow him when I remembered what Hidan and Taren had done. I twisted out of his grasp and took a few steps back. I still couldn’t see anything in the pitch black.

“What are you doing?” Ikasu’s voice asked. I suck out my arm.

“Come here.” I told him bravely. I heard footsteps until a felt something warm. I moved my hand over the warm thing to find out it was Ikasu’s face. I moved my hand up and felt something metal, I traced my finger over it and it was the Norcross headband. I dropped my hand from his face.

“Ok we can go now.” I told him. He took my hand and started to lead me off again.

“Smart.” He told me as we ran. I smiled at myself for my good intentions.

“Hey watch out for that…” Ikasu trailed off as I tripped over a tree stump. Ikasu pulled me back to my feet and I held my nose with my other hand. A dull pain had started there.

“Are you alright?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I told him. It was pain once again, I would have to get used to experiencing this daily if I wanted to become stronger. He continued to lead me off. Finally we reached his house and he pulled me inside. It was still dark, except for the little bit of moonlight streaming in from the window.

“I’m sorry; I never bothered to get lights, so it’s kind of dark.” He told me. I smiled.

“It’s fine.”  Ikasu led me into his bedroom and let go of my hand.

“Here’s the deal, one night you will stay at my house with me, and the next you’ll go to Steve’s, unless the Hotashi has another plan for you.” He told me. I nodded.

“And don’t ever leave a house without telling someone. Got it? When you do you are to stick with me or Steve. Don’t trust anyone.” he told me strictly. I nodded solemnly. He sighed and the anger lifted from his face.

“When I woke up you were gone and you and no trail, so I had no idea where you were.” He told me.

“I’m sorry to have scared you Ikasu.” I replied. He started to protest, but he held his tongue.

“Well since I’ve slept half the day, you can just sleep on my bed.” He told me. I climbed onto his bed and got under the covers. They were still warm from Ikasu’s body. I smiled.

“I know I say this a lot but, thanks Ikasu.” I told him as my eyes shut close. There was no reply and the quiet darkness drifted me off to sleep.

            I had a pretty strange dream. Rock Lee and I were in a field of purple flowers; in the center of it all was a bench. I looked around admiringly and said

“Rock Lee, this place is beautiful!” he smiled and looked at me.

“Yes...it is. Almost as beautiful as the girl in front of me.” my cheeks grew warm and I was embarrassed by his eyes but I kept them on him. His eyes gleamed in the night light that shone brightly behind him and the wind whipped lightly through his hair, tossing it in his face. He looked so handsome and I could feel a small smile grow on my face. We both leaned fore ward slowly and my eyelids fell closed as our lips met. A strong, warm feeling shot through me and I then woke up.

The dream felt so real. I could smell the sweet lavender scent of the flowers and I could feel the gentle breeze running through my hair. Best of all I could feel Rock Lee’s soft lips on mine. My face felt hot so I got up and almost tripped over a shoe, but I caught myself. Ikasu was asleep next to the wall, is head crooked uncomfortably. I gently picked him up and put him back on his bed, careful not to wake him. He stayed asleep. I smiled and went to the door. I was just about to leave, when I remembered how mad Ikasu was last night. So I found some paper and an ink brush and wrote him a note.

Ikasu, I’ve left to go train. Don’t worry I’m with someone safe. I will come back before it gets dark, but I suggest you talk to Sendo on your own. And if you really need me you guys can come and get me. I will be in the forest. Signed, Stone Lee.

            I left the note on the counter and slipped out of Ikasu’s house, closing the door quietly behind me. I skipped merrily to the place where Rock Lee and I trained, again Rock Lee wasn’t there.

That’s odd, Rock Lee is always here. I thought to myself. I left the training ground and walked around town. Nothing seemed out of the odd so I ran to the Hotashi building. When I entered the Hotashi’s room he seemed to be doing paperwork.

“Excuse me…Hotashi?” I asked him. He put down his paperwork and looked up at me.

“Ahh, Stone Lee. What brings you here?” he asked me.

“Well I was just wondering did Kilikan’s team leave for a mission? Or have they gone somewhere..?” I asked. He shook his head.

“Why? What did you need?” he pondered.

“W-Well I was just wondering where Rock Lee was, I haven’t seen him since yesterday and I was just...worried...” I confessed. He smiled and took out a piece of folded up paper.

“He wanted me to give you this.” He said as he held out the piece of paper. I approached the desk and took the piece of paper, opened it up and read Rock Lee’s elegant handwriting.

            Stone Lee,

                            I am now training out by the Norcross dock. The water would be a good place you could practice your Energy focusing. If you do wish to train with me you can meet me there

            Rock Lee.

            I smiled and pocketed the note.

“Thank you Hotashi.” I said as I ran out of the Hotashi building. The air outside was nice, with a strong wind coming in. I exited the Norcross gates and ran towards the Norcross Dock.

     *                               *                     *

            Hidan and Taren walked causally through the Norcross forest, straying away from the path.

“So what’s the plan Hidan?” Taren asked. Hidan looked over at Taren.

“Where is she?” he asked in his low tone.

“She’s about 175 degrees east of here, moving quickly. She’s headed for water.” He said with his eyes closed.

“Then what do you think the plan is?” Hidan asked him. Taren fell silent and they continued to keep walking.

    *                                   *                      *

            Finally I reached the Norcross Dock where Rock Lee was training. This time he wasn’t training with a full sized tree, but it wasn’t a stump either. It was about the height of Sendo who towers over me by 3 feet. Rock Lee had made indents into his tree.

“346…347…348…349…350. If I can’t do 500 punches then I have to do 1,000 kicks!” he told himself as he continued to punch his tree. I was just about to approach him when he mumbled

“If I can’t do 500 punches Stone Lee will never get her memory back and she’ll never remember me…” he trailed off.

So there was something! These people used to know me but something happened to my memory...but what? I thought. I quietly entered the clearing and sat behind Rock Lee as he continued to train. He occasionally mumbled to himself, but I could not make out the words. Finally Rock Lee’s countdown made it to five-hundred.

“Five-hundred!” he shouted happily as he turned around. He looked at me and jumped.

“Stone Lee? How long have you been there?” he asked me. I got up.

“Not that long,” I lied. He smiled

“So you got my letter?” he asked. I nodded

“I didn’t know where you went so I asked the Hotashi.” I told him. He gestured to a tree

“Do you want to train?” he asked me. I smiled and got in front of the tree. I just about punched it when Rock Lee grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“Let me see your hands.” He told me. I held out my bandaged hands and he carefully took off the bandaging. I could see dried blood stuck to the skin around my knuckles. Once they were both off he re-bandaged my knuckles and forearm.

“There.” He said as he dropped my hand. I smiled and started punching my tree. Rock Lee kicked his and started counting up.

“So Rock Lee, you knew me before?” I asked him casually. He missed his kick and had to catch himself with his hands. I continued to punch my tree, never slowing down or speeding up

“So you heard that.” Rock Lee mumbled. I nodded.

“Yeah I knew you before. We were…friends. One day I heard you were leaving the village for a little while and you never came back. So Kilikan-sensei and I went to investigate and…that’s when we found you...” he trailed off. I nodded again with a sigh.

“I wish I could get my memory back.” I told him. He turned back to his tree and started kicking it again.

“So do I Stone Lee...” He muttered to me as he focused back onto his training, mumbling under his breath as he did. As soon as I had done 500 punches I decided to try to walk on water. I focused my energy very carefully and put one foot on the water, and fell through the very thin layer and plunged into the water.  I resurfaced with a smug frown on my face. Rock Lee saw me and laughed; he came over to the side of the river and held out his hand. I grinned and pulled him in.  

“Not so funny is it!” I teased. Rock Lee surfaced and shoved my head under the water playfully. He let go and I came back up. We both couldn’t stop laughing and I splashed him with water, until it became a water war! We were laughing and splashing when a voice cried out

“Stone Lee move!” it was Sendo’s voice. I looked up and I was yanked from the water forcefully. I couldn’t see as I was being moved so fast before I was violently thrown to the ground. I gasped in pain as I started to see white dots clouding my vision. I shook my head and my sight cleared just as I saw Rock Lee picked up from the water and thrown into the forest, crashing sounds erupted as he disappeared from sight.

“Rock Lee!” I shouted as I was picked up again and the fight grew intense.

            The person holding me threw me back into the water with a kunai. The kunai was lit by a golden light and it dug into the ground with my arm and I couldn’t get loose.

“She’s sustained for now.” I heard Taren’s voice say. N-No, the Alilien...Again!? My vision started to get blotchy and I couldn’t see; I was running out of air. I desperately tried to get away, but the kunai wouldn’t let up. It glowed with a shimmering light that when I tried to touch it, it burned my hand.

“Get away from her!” I heard a voice yell I looked up in my blurry vision and I saw Taren punch someone away.

“Taren! Grab the girl and go!” a voice said, muffled by the water in my ears. I was suddenly picked up by Taren and tossed over his shoulder as the breath returned to my lungs and my arm ran red with blood. I could see the horrid scene now as my rescuers came to help. Sendo was fighting with a bloody leg and his left arm dangled helplessly to his side but he continued to fend off Hidan as kunai on sword clashed. Behind me I saw Ikasu running furiously behind Teran his eyes dark black and his face dripping blood. Hidan kicked back Sendo and as he took in a breath from the pain Hidan quickly flipped around to face Ikasu’s naked back and out from his sleeve he drew a black kunai. I tried helplessly to make out sounds with my damaged throat but not a word came out as I watched the kunai fly from Sendo and on its way to Ikasu. It nailed him in the back as his eyes flew open and he coughed up blood, falling to his knees passed out. My eyes became filled with tears as I slipped away from the fight scene.

I was awoken sometime later by a violent shaking. I opened my eyes and coughed up old water that had remained in my throat while I was out. When I had my breath back and remembered what situation I was in I looked up shakily to meet my capturers eyes. Taren was standing next to me, looking around with his twisted black hair and mud brown eyes, his cloak stuck to him like a blanket and water dripped down from his matted hair. I noted that I was on the ground and my back was pressed against a tree but I had no restraints on, not that I could barely move anyway. My arm had a horrible pain coaxing through it and when I tried to raise it, the pain was unbearable. I held back my tears as I focused on finding a way out of this terrible situation, if there even was one.

“We’re going to stay put until Hidan finishes his fight.” He said his voice much lower now and he looked at me.

“If you so much as flinch I will immobilize you for life.” He threatened. I nodded shakily and held very still as I removed my eyes from his. He couldn’t keep me here. I finally had the strength to move and I would go back and help my friend. I could turn invisible and I could escape. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my entire body, but no energy came to me. I focused harder but still there was nothing.

“Do you think I’m that stupid?” Taren’s voice said to me. I slowly opened my eyes and he was staring at me questionably.

“Do you remember the kunai? Your energy is restrained and will be that way until I take off the binds.” He told me. He stole my energy! Now how would I help? I let tears slowly leak from my eyelids and fear enveloped me. There was no way out of this situation with a guardian next to me, and Sendo was busy fending off my next enemy and Ikasu...Ikasu... Taren examined the area again and sighed, muttering under his breath about how slow Hidan was progressing. I looked around as well. We were somewhere in the forest, tall trees surrounded us at all angles and the sounds of combat were faint in my ears. I had no idea what part of the forest we were in or how far away it would take to get back to Norcross, and I wasn’t willing to take a chance.

 Suddenly there was a noise and Taren raised a kunai protectively and he starred towards the noise. Hidan entered the clearing; he looked tired and irritated as he waved off Teran’s kunai. When I watched him slump into the clearing all my hopes of getting free vanished. If Hidan made it from Sendo’s combat, that means there was no one left to save me in time.

“Give me a minute to rest and then we can leave.” He said as he rested against a tree.

“Fighting an opponent of a lower ranking took that much out of you? I thought you were all powerful.” Taren scoffed, rolling his eyes and folding his arms.

“It’s not as easy as it seems to defend yourself against a Kudan master.” Hidan huffed as he glared over at Teran. He chuckled slightly as he looked over at Hidan his once brown eyes now gleaming black with the Kudan that Ikasu and Sendo possessed.

“You want to rephrase that?” He told him. Hidan grumbled under his breath.

“You wouldn’t even have those eyes if you hadn’t taken them from him!” Hidan spat back at him, and the forest became quiet. I didn’t know what they meant really, but I wasn’t paying close attention either. I took the minute of silence to look at them both, my hair shielding my eyes from them. Hidan looked just as I remembered, but his hair was matted and messy from the fight and he didn’t look as evil in his eyes for some reason. When he turned his head noticed I was looking at him I turned from him and looked over at a large tree in front of me.

“She can’t escape can she?” Hidan asked Taren, gesturing to me with his shoulder.

“Not unless she wants to lose something.” Taren replied.

“Have you stripped her?” Hidan asked suddenly. I turned and looked at Hidan shocked. Now what was he going to do?

“Not yet.” Taren said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, I gasped in pain as he grasped and released my injured arm.

“Spread out.” Taren ordered me. Shakily as the tears flowed down my face I spread my legs apart and moved my hands out, my left arm convulsing. He patted along my legs and up to my waist, where he threw out my bag of ninja tools and he took off my water pouch. Hidan watched with cat like eyes as my body began to shake with pain and he smiled slightly, taking the water pouch in his hands.

“I think her arm is in pain from your kunai Teran, its nice seeing her suffer a little after all these years.” He said as he casually threw the water pouch over his shoulder and it shot into the woods. Once I was stripped of my weapons, Taren shoved me back to the ground and I tried hard not to let Hidan see the sobs I was holding back. Now that I knew he was gaining enjoyment from my pain, the emptiness and loneliness that surrounded me grew thicker like a heavy cloud. Shivering from the cold breeze I shook upon the ground emotions swelling up inside me and for comfort I reached up and grabbed my necklace.

Do you trust me? A voice asked clearly in my head. I was so stunned that I looked around frantically from the strange voice but there was no new stranger in my area. Hidan had his eyes glued on me with his head cocked to the side strangely; and Taren was looking all over, making sure no one got close. I opened my mouth to whisper something when the voice in my head said something else. Don’t say anything, you’ll give away my position, now then do you trust me? It asked again, its voice sounded deep and monotone; when he spoke his voice faded in and out. Hidan looked at me closely as I opened my mouth and he asked,

“What are you thinking, Stone Lee?” I turned my gaze from him and dropped my head, closing my eyes as I did. Who are you? I said in the quiet abyss of my mind. I am a friend, I’m going to get you out of this position in a matter of seconds but, it might be a little painful so just bear with me. The voice said again.

It really was just as fast as the voice had predicted. I heard the footsteps of a person as the area around me filled with smoke that blinded everyone in range.

“She has back-up!” Hidan cried as I was suddenly picked up in someone’s arms. I felt heat radiating off their body and the pressure they put on my arms was painful, but I held back my tongue from screaming and I bent my head into their warm stomach, closing my eyes and relying my trust on my rescuer. As we made our escape from the smoke filled area another golden kunai wised by us, seemingly bouncing off the man’s arms and flying off into the forest.  It was Hidan’s turn next.  I watched the area as the smoke lifted to see Hidan making hand signs and suddenly something deadly and black wised out of his mouth and shot next our heads, just barley missing us as the person dodged and it continued on its course, exploding into a tree engulfing it in black flames. I looked up finally to see my rescuer, but I didn’t recognize whose arms I was in. The person had red spiky hair and some kind of red substance covered his body. His eyes were slits and red also and his teeth bore fangs. Trees wised by as we kept running for what seemed like an eternity, judging by how far we were going in seconds Teran must have drug me deep into the forest while I was knocked out.

I had this aching pain in my arms so I looked down at one of them. The person’s nails were so long and sharp that they were digging into my skin and blood was slowly dripping out of it. I didn’t feel much of the pain because most of the pain was in my left arm where the kunai had been injected into. I looked up at the person to try to get a better glimpse at his eyes, but they were focused fore ward. Suddenly the Norcross gates flashed by and I was set down, but I was in a house. I looked around, but the person was gone. The house was painted a light blue color that was darkened by the shades that fell over the windows and the room was occupied by boxes and paper shreds and mostly junk all around the room. The walls had cracks as if someone had been thrown all over there walls but oddly the windows were still in good condition.

Stay…there. The voice huffed in my head a second later. I stayed very still, not a sound was made, except for the slow dripping of my blood onto the floor, I also noted I was still shaking. Suddenly I heard footsteps and I prepared myself, clutching to my necklace for mortal support. It was Steve who ran inside.

“Stone Lee! Are you ok?” he asked as he approached me. I nodded. He looked at me sadly and brushed his finger past my cheek.

“It’s ok Stone Lee, your safe here.” He told me soothingly. Tears fell down my face, but I did not feel them and I was so confused, my entire body felt numb except for my wound. Steve came closer and hugged me close and I sobbed into his shoulder.

People were coming after me weather I liked it or not, and they didn’t seem to stop at anything. And it’s all because of this stupid thing inside me! I was helped by some strange demon and the other demons in my life were probably on their way to return after me! Steve patted the back of my head and tried to ease my crying. That’s when I remembered, Rock Lee was still in the forest, along with my comrades! I carefully pushed away from Steve and ran for the door.

“Where are you going Stone Lee?!”

“I-I have to go back! My friends are still in the f-forest!!” I shouted back through my tears as I ran from him still stunned back for the forest.

            I entered the forest right next to the Dock and looked around. Sendo was gone and so was Ikasu, but I heard voices calling behind me so they must have found and rescued them. Several trees were also smashed around the large area, but a patch of destroyed trees made a pathway. After following three trees I found Rock Lee his back against the ground and a medium sized tree was pilled over top of him. I quickly ran over to him, my sobs escaping me as I heaved the tree off of him and it rolled back to meet another tree. Blood soaked his shirt and his eyes were closed, his chest made no movements.

“N-No Rock Lee!” I shouted to him as I pulled his head into my lap. He still did not open his eyes and his body was as dead as it was before. Tears fell from my face onto his and make little droplets on his cheeks and forehead.

“P-Please Rock Lee, P-Please wake up.” I sobbed, squeezing my eyes shut tight and letting the tears fall as I clutched his head to my shoulder.

“Stone Lee?” a faint voice said. I opened my eyes and Rock Lee’s eyes were slightly open, staring up at mine.

“Yes Rock Lee, you’re going to be o-ok.” I told him, stroking his hair and smiling glad for him to be alive. He gave me a tiny smile.

“It seems as if...this time it is my turn to leave.” He whispered, his eyes closing again.

“No!” I cried as I shook him violently. His eyes shot open and he looked up at me to meet my eyes.

“Rock Lee you can’t die and leave me alone!” I shouted. He reached up a shaky hand and put it behind my head, pulling me closer to him.

“I love you...” He whispered and then his lips lightly touched mine; and his face fell from mine and his eyes remained shut.

“Rock Lee!” I shouted, cuddling his body closer as I cried on him, begging still for him to wake up.

I cried for a good twenty minutes or so before I stood up shakily, his body limp in my arms. I carried him slowly to Norcross, past the gawking guards, and into the Norcross hospital. Two nurses approached me and took him from my arms. They’re mouths moved quickly and urgency was in their eyes, but I could not hear the words.

“Save him.” Was all I told them, I took off my necklace and put it around Rock Lee’s neck. They nodded and rushed him off. I turned around angrily and ran out of the Hospital, out of Norcross, and back into the forest.

“Alright!” I screamed to the forest, angry tears falling down my face.

“You can have me without a fight, but you leave my friends alone! I want no more suffering!” I yelled at them again, angry tears sliding faster down my face as my voice echoed off the trees. Suddenly Hidan appeared next to me in a flat second, his arm around my shoulder and his head to the left of mine smiling. He moved so fast that the leaves were still moving around him when his body ceased to move and the wind whipped through my hair making it stick to my wet face.

“Aww did we hurt your wittle boyfriend?” He mocked in my ear with a vile whisper. I would have slapped him or screamed at him, but I held my ground; I was shaking angrily as I held back my sobs.

“Good, for once you realize that we are stronger than you and fighting would be pointless. You know you caused some worry back there, I was afraid we’d have to tell the leader about another one of our mishaps, thanks for coming back.” He thanked, but there was no real courtesy in his voice.

“Hey Taren this is your Akuma, you can take her back to base.” Hidan called out. My eyes went wide as I watched Taren come out from behind a tree. Hidan pointed to me.

“I’ve taken care of her in the past and I know how she likes to struggle.” He told him. Taren nodded solemnly to him and picked me up in his arms, I was amazed at how strong he was and he was only my age.

“Let’s go!” Hidan told Taren and they both sped off.

Taren was quiet the whole run. I just starred at him as we ran, tears sliding more slowly now down my face. His eyes remained on the road as he ran surely down some twisted path that I didn’t recognize. We were running deeper into the forest and trees surrounded us at all sides. He didn’t look exactly pleased, but he didn’t look sad either. His eyes were glossed over as he thought astray and his mouth was in a tight, small line.

 He put me down when we reached a cave, but it was blocked by a large boulder. Taren put his hand on the large boulder and mumbled something. When he did a black symbol burned red into the large rock and after some shaking it lifted up above its usual spot and lingered there while there was a passage revealed. Taren led me into the cave by my shoulder. I did not try to get away, I just merely kept walking.        

“Leader-san… I have the girl.” Taren’s soft, quiet voice muttered. The cave was dark all around so I had no idea who he was talking to. After a few moments of silence a eyes opened in front of me; unintentionally I jumped. They were dark grey with small circles of many shades of colors within his eyes. They searched my body as if knowing all about me in a matter of seconds.

“Welcome Kitzune, are you comfortable in you stay?” he asked me, and chuckled low and lightly. I did not respond as I just starred back at him, in shock by his eyes.

“Finally the day has come; we’ve waited awhile to study this rare beast. Now all that’s left is the annihilation of you and the extraction of the beast!” The man said. Suddenly, flames lit the empty torches and the room was engulfed in light and finally I could see the man, kind of. All I could see was a black out line image of him that looked like a hologram as white specks covered his body. So I wasn’t technically looking at him instead I was looking at a mirage but it was frightening none the less.

“If I may, leader-san. I’ll begin the process” An ominous voice said. We all looked over and a man with shaggy blue hair approached the ground. He was well toned like Hidan with green eyes and his cloak was cut into a short dress, even though he was a man.

“No.” The Leader replied. He averted his eyes to Taren

“Let him do it.” He said.  My eyes went wide as I was flipped around to look at Taren, and starred back sadly. All the anger I had seen from him before had vanished and he now looked like a child who had to repay for his debts.

“I would much rather have Sanke accomplish the deed...” he muttered.

“This is your demon so you can take care of it, and besides you’ll get an even more powerful Kudan if you do.” The leader said. Taren sadly got into his back pocket and withdrew a kunai. He held it up and examined it and it shined with the mark of death in the glowing light.

Is this going to be the end? What will it feel like? Would it hurt or would it be quick and painless? Tears fell from my face and I closed my eyes.

“Please do it quickly,” I whispered to him, keeping my eyes shut to escape the look of the kunai.

“Ok.” He whispered back. When I heard his voice the courage inside left me. I didn’t want to die now! I couldn’t even remember anything! I hadn’t even experienced the world for all I knew. I was only fourteen! Never again would I see Rock Lee, Steve… or Ikasu! I didn’t want to die! I was about to run when I felt a funny feeling from the top of my head and heard a sickening slicing sound in the quietness of the cave. I heard Hidan chuckle from somewhere in the room and another person scoffed. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Taren’s sad eyes on the top of my head. My jaw slowly slid open unintentionally. He moved his arms and the now blood stained kunai was in his hands as he starred at it frightened. I felt water fall down my head. Shakily I put my hand up to the top of my head and put my hand in front of my face. It was covered in a red, warm substance. I slowly looked up at Taren as the room began to spin and I felt very lightheaded.

“T-Thank you.” I whispered as my body toppled over and I fell into his arms.

            A slow, quiet chanting grew in my head. Fire slowly lit up the dark, empty abyss I was in for so long. My eyes strained for a moment, but I finally took in my surroundings. Before me stood a man and behind him stood a large beast that howled when my eyes looked at it. Surprised I looked away from it and back to the boy. I couldn’t see eyes or any facial features other than the man’s mouth. He was talking to me slowly but I heard no words. I looked at him curiously as I stepped closer to him and tried to understand. Over and over he said the same thing, but I could not make it out.

“What are you-“

“Come back.” The voice said clearly to me as the chanting stopped. All at once the fire disappeared and light filled my head.

I felt my body take in a gasp of air and I sat up slowly. I shook my head and looked around with my blurry vision; my head ached with pain. I was in a damp cave and I heard a waterfall nearby. I wondered what I was doing in such a strange place, and then my memory came flooding back. I had been killed, Taren had taken my life. How long was I dead? How was I able to return to life? I remembered being alone in my mind, with nothing but dark abyss surrounding me and I lost track of time in that lonely place. I remembered the man in my mind and I looked around for him. I saw a man in black on his knees breathing heavily. His face was covered with a black sheet and I saw that he was shaking very slightly.

            “A-Are you alright?” The man asked me, his voice was very deep. It made no resemblance to the man in my mind.

            “I think so. Who are you? What happened? Why am I alive and how am I alive?” I asked him, as I starred at him confused. He shakily stood up and starred down at me as he extended his hand and pulled me to my feet.

            “I am but a friend, your time is not up and there are still things you need to do in this life.” He told me as he huffed for breath.

            “I cannot explain why I am here there is no time. The Alilien will be out here soon for your body to finish what they started years ago. Six months is up, the demon is ready for them You must run, now! The will be here any second.”

            “But why�"“

            “GO!” He yelled to me furiously as he shoved me into a direction forcefully.

            “Run and do not look back. Keep heading north, you will return to the place you remember. Get back to your village and try to remain safe while you can. They will come for you, take precaution.” I turned back to the man who helped me as I managed a small nod, very confused with the lack of information he was giving me. He nodded back and I began to run as fast as I could away from the scene. I had no idea why this guy was helping me or how he even had the power to give one life again, but I thanked him a million times in my head. I now had the chance to get back to Rock Lee and make sure he made it…and we could be reunited. I knew he would be happy to see me and I knew…by the words he told me as he slipped away…that I loved him back!

                        *         *         *

            He watched her speed off and when her image disappeared into the forest it was quiet for a few moments as the breeze whipped through his black clothes and rustled his hair. It had taken a lot of energy from him and he felt Taru’s life leave his. He would need to replace that soul with another, but for now he needed to rest and he needed to be prepared for the others returned to look for her body. They had been setting up the ritual all this week, and now they were prepared. It had taken him awhile to leave without being noticed and having her escape on the day of the ritual would make everyone furious.

He took off his disguise and stuffed it into his first pocket. He straightened himself up as he left the cave. A man appeared in the distance and as he got closer he could see the man’s angry face

            “Where is her body!?” Hidan yelled loudly, noticing the empty cave. He turned back to him ready to put on his show.

            “I have no idea, I came out here to get it and she was gone. Someone must have found us. I see no trace of her.” He muttered. Hidan yelled in rage as he slammed his fists against a nearby tree.

            “It better not be that damn girl! The Leader will be very angry when he finds out and I’m not taking that rage, you can face him!”  He yelled at the boy as he turned around and stormed back off to the cave.

            “Come on Teran, you have explaining to do!” He yelled back, his image disappearing into the cave. Teran turned his glance behind him as he gave a small smile into her direction and followed Hidan back into the cave.

                        *         *         *

I ran as fast as I could away from the rocky terrain and as the sun started to slip behind the mountains the terrain changed to the familiar green and lush. Trees surrounded me and I knew I had to be in the forest. The day grew to night but I still had no will to stop. Amazingly, I still had large amounts of energy as I imagined returning to my home and seeing all my comrades, it was the best feeling I’ve every felt.

Finally, just as the man had said, I arrived back at Norcross. I walked through the familiar gates and took in the sight of the fairly empty town. Just seeing other alive around me filled me with joy. No longer was I alone in a dark abyss, I was alive with millions of others in my familiar home. Out of everything though I missed Rock Lee, and yearned to see his smiling face. If anyone knew where he would be right now, it would be the Hotashi. He knew where everyone was at any given time.  

I ran up the stairs and entered the Hotashi’s office, where he sat alone looking over papers. I smiled happily at the Hotashi and he starred at me astonished as he placed the papers back on his table.  

“Stone Lee…? But how-“

“No time to talk where is Rock Lee? He’s alive isn’t he? I need to see him!” I asked him excitedly.

“He’s very much alive and at the training ground, but Stone Lee we-“

“Thank you Hotashi-sama! Good-bye!” I called to him as I ran out of the office; he tried hurriedly to get up in his chair after me. Rock Lee was alive, he made it and I knew he would! I was so happy, nothing to crush my spirits right now.

I raced to the usual training ground and just about yelled out Rock Lee’s name when my heart stopped cold, along with my open jaw. Standing in the middle of the area- our area…was Suki and Rock Lee. They were hugging and there lips were connected and happy smiles were in the corners of their lips. Tears fell down from my face and onto my hand, which was by my opened mouth as I inhaled deeply. I even noticed my necklace across Rock Lee’s neck. The momento I had given him so that he would never forget me…but he had. I let a sob escape my throat and I ran off, too heart broken to continue to stare at the sight. Eyes closed, I just kept on running. I didn’t know where I was going, just anywhere, but here. The one thing I wanted to see most was Rock Lee; and he had crushed that. My living, coming back to life, had no meaning now. That man had no reason for bringing me back and whatever I had in store for the rest of my life was nothing without the one I had loved. Rock Lee had to crush my heart, hopes and dreams; maybe I should just run back and give myself up to the Alilien. It was a plan, a plan to end this eternal life which held no meaning.

I watched as the gates pasted my vision and there my plans were thwarted as someone grabbed me from behind and contained me from running. I fought to get out of the person’s arms as I made weak little sounds, but they held me firm. I started to scream and fuss, desperately trying to get out of their grasp.

“Shh, Stone Lee calm down.” I heard the familiar voice of Ikasu say to me. When I heard his voice some happiness filled the bottom of my empty stomach as I stopped fussing and threw my arms around his neck and sobbed, releasing all the pain I had felt on him. He hugged me back, and we sat there together as my cries filled the air. I didn’t understand why Rock Lee would leave me, after what he had said, to one of my friends! It tore me up so bad inside that I actually had the will to leave the earth and return to my empty world.  

In about five minutes I forced myself to stop crying. It was ridiculous of me to want to end my life over a man. The sadness replaced itself with anger and I loked it away. Wanting so badly to punch him in the face.

Ikasu gently pushed me away from him and picked up my chin.

“All better?” he asked me as his soft red eyes looked into mine. The moon shone brightly behind me and brightened up his face. His face looked just like I remembered it, but there seemed to be more power behind it now. His eyes had the start of dark bags under them and he felt stronger from the last time I had hugged him. He had really grown since the last time I was with him.  I sniffed and nodded. He let go of my chin and hugged me to his side. He had gotten taller since I left too and he now had me by at least two inches.

“Well that was a good reunion.” He joked lightly. I laughed a little and wiped the tears from my face.

He then led me off back towards the Hotashi’s room. I entered with regained posture and the Hotashi motioned for me to have a seat. I took the seat and took a deep breath calming myself as I prepared for his speech.

“I’ll just lea-“

 “No Ikasu I’d like you to stay,” The Hotashi said as he gestured to the seat beside me. Ikasu came foreword with a slight bow and sat down next to me.

“I’d like you to tell me all that you can remember Stone Lee, if you could.” I sighed and filled him in with everything that I could remember from back long ago. From the time Rock Lee and I trained happily together (which seemed more of a dream now) to the part where I just woke up from death minutes before, but I did not mention the man. I wasn’t sure what the Hotashi would think about the man and I wanted to know more about him on my own. He nodded at everything and for the last while he had his eyes closed as he took in my words. After I finished he was quiet for a few moments as he kept his eyes closed and his hands were intertwined by his mouth in thought.  

“It seems your demon fought back at the Alilien and somehow reproduced itself, and as soon as your heart stopped beating it started regenerating your body and built up enough power to keep you alive, until now for some reason. Although in order to take the final step in regaining life it would need help from another,” He explained to me. I nodded, barely understanding his words.

“It seems that your body is holding up well though we will need to run some tests later. The good news is that you are back in Norcross’s hands and in excellent condition too. We will do our best to keep you safe. Why were you crying?” the Hotashi asked me, looking at my red and puffy eyes.

“I…I was scared.” I lied, looking away from him to my hands in my lap. I heard him murmur to himself.

“Well, we’re very glad to have you safe Stone Lee. At such a good time as well. The Halibi exams are tomorrow, having a rest will give you time to prepare yourself. That is, if you wish to take it. If not, there will be no repercussions.” If I let myself get behind now, it would only be worse for me. Especially after coming in contact with the Alilien and dying, I needed to better myself.

“I want to take the exams with everyone else. I will be ready when the day comes.” The Hotashi nodded approvingly.

“Then rest up for now, and begin preparing for the exam tomorrow. I would also like to take a couple tests with you Stone Lee, so please be here around noon so we can begin. Ikasu, stay with her tonight.” Ikasu nodded to the Hotashi.

“Now go, you need a rest.” I stood from my seat and turned to face Ikasu. He smiled lightly at me and I turned back to the Hotashi.

“I’ll be here tomorrow, thanks for everything.” He gave me a little wave and with that Ikasu and I left. We walked the familiar, dark streets of Norcross and into Ikasu’s house. As it was before, the house was dark and I had to use the walls to feel my way to his room. I made my way through the hall and stood at the foot of his bed.

“Take the bed,” Ikasu told me as he gestured to it. I slipped off my shoes and climbed under the covers. I starred over at him as he sat in a chair and gazed out his windows.

“I’ll watch you tonight Stone Lee, no one will get to you.” I nodded to him even though he could not see it and closed my eyes. Slowly, I fell asleep.

When I awoke Ikasu was still next to the window with a book in his hands as he read calmly.

“Good morning.” I told him as I sat up and stretched. He was silent for a moment before he closed the book and looked at me.

“Good morning, sleep well?” He asked me. I nodded and slipped out of the bed. I walked over to him and pointed to the book in his lap.

“What is that?”

“It’s a book. The pages contain information I find useful.” My mind returned to the Alilien and all the words they told me that made no sense.

“Could I get one as well?” Ikasu stood up.

“Certainly. We’ll go to the library; there are many different types of books that you can look through. You can pick what ever you find useful.” With that we left the house and traveled over to the Library in silence.

The library was large with many, many books like Ikasu possessed on shelves. Ikasu told me how to navigate through the thousands of books and I made my way back to the history. I told Ikasu I wanted to find books on my demon and he pointed out where I needed to look. I took the book that I needed and skimmed through it. The first chapter explained where the demons originated from, the next talked about what powers were to be expected from each demon, and other useful information was contained in the rest of the pages. I told Ikasu that next I wanted a book on the Alilien. He told me that regretfully there was no information on them except for the recordings of other ninja’s who have come in contact with them, but I was not allowed to take them with me. He led me to where the recordings were located and I had the chance to look over them. According to the other ninjas, The Alilien consisted of eight members, including the leader that I saw. Their current location is unknown, but previously they used to reside in a place called the “Gogyou Village” or the “Village hidden within the rain”. It then gave a little background on each member. Kuro, Ikasu’s brother, had murdered his village leader and murdered his little sister as well. It had more information but I turned the page. The next was about the man with shaggy blue hair that I saw. His name was Sanke. He had the power to control his opponents as long as he had particles of the opponents energy. Other techniques and his past were unknown. I turned the next page and found a full two pages on Taren. Excitedly I began reading. I was cut short though as Ikasu shook my shoulder slightly.

“We need to get to the Hotashi’s office and take those tests.” He told me. Regretfully I put down the notes and left with the demon book tucked tightly under my shoulder.

We arrived at the Hotashi’s office on time, and from there the Hotashi led me to the examination room which I had been to my first visit here. I remembered being so frightened before but now I was calm. I had already faced the worst that could happen to me, death, I was ready for anything else now. A young man with white hair got my comfortable on my bed and he made a hand sign like the previous doctor. His hands were engulfed in the same green substance and he moved his hands up and down my body slowly. I saw his eyes fill with information as he did.

It took only five minutes, but the man finally finished. I relaxed myself as I sat up and looked at the man.

“So am I okay?” I asked him. He nodded to me before turning to the Hotashi.

“AL levels are elevated and her YK stats are normal. The demon is fine, and at perfect health too. Nothing seemed to be unusual other than the elevated AL levels.” The Hotashi put his hand to his chin as he thought.

“Are you sure you told me all you remember Stone Lee?” The Hotashi asked me as he looked up at me. I bit my lip slightly as I looked away from him. I guess there was no keeping the man a secret.

“A man was there when I awoke. He was breathing heavily and he said he was the one who helped me, but didn’t say how.” The Hotashi nodded knowingly.

“That explains everything. Do not feel afraid to tell me anything Stone Lee. I am a friend and I want to help you in anyway possible.” I looked up into the Hotashi’s smiling face and smiled back.

“Thank you. I will tell you from now on, sorry for being secretive.” He waved away my apology and turned to whisper to the doctor. The talked for a few moments before the Hotashi looked back at me.

“That is all you are needed for. Go get ready for the Halibi exams, they begin in one hour.” Ikasu and I bowed to the Hotashi and we made our leave.

Once outside Ikasu stopped walking and I turned to face him.

“The Halibi exams are different every year, so I can’t give you any pointers but just try your best. Everything in the exam should be in your memory somewhere and if you need to fight just remember your techniques. You’ll do great, I know so.” He told me. I smiled at him and drew out my book.

“Could I read until the exams start?” I asked him. He nodded and led me over to a bench. We sat down together and I continued to read while Ikasu muttered to himself information he deemed important to the exam. I blocked him out as I read my book.

The first chapter contained information about where the demons originated from. The demons of this world were created by a man named Jinsei. He’s an extremely evil being who creates many humans and tries to perfect them. The demons were created in an accident when he was trying to perfect a human. They are created from real humans. He gave them a dose of a power that was very scarce and only found in ten areas of the world. When he injected humans with this strange power it took to their bodies all too well. It made them grow to extraordinary lengths and it disfigured them completely. They started to go on a rampage as Jinsei commanded and that was how the first Hotashi of this village died. He died by protecting the village from one of the demons. Finally, the four nations of the world came together they sealed five of the ten monsters, and the rest are still not found to this day. The demons were then sealed into human bodies that way they could never escape and wreak havoc to the world like they did years ago. They give the user power when the user commands, but if they use too much power the demon can be released and can wake his brothers from the sleep in human bodies. I continued on when Ikasu tapped me on the shoulder.

“Come on Stone Lee, let’s go.” He told me. I marked my page and stood up with Ikasu.

“We will be meeting at the academy where you trained under Iruka-sensei. It’s only down this street and on the first left, it’s a big gray building. We will be in there in room 202, you can head there now, or you can come with me to get the rest of the group.” He offered me.

“I will go on ahead, don’t tell anyone of my arrival I want it to be a…surprise.” I answered, remembering that witches lips on Rock Lee’s. He nodded as he took another second to stare at me before he ran to the left to go gather up Steve and Yuki. I ran the opposite direction and followed Ikasu’s directions. Just as he said I was placed back at the ninja academy I had been to so long ago. I could see people near windows on the second floor so I was sure I had the right place. I walked in through the front door and went up the stairs to the right of me. One flight had to equal one hundred rooms so I still had another floor to go up. I sighed as my foot came up the last step and there I saw a bunch of kids around a door that was labeled ‘Room 202’. ‘I wasn’t even on the second floor’ I though puzzled as I starred at the kids arguing with men who guarded the door. I watched the older men’s amused faces as they fought back with the kids in front of them and then I looked back up the other flight of stairs next to me. I’ll just walk up another flight and see if the room is up there I thought. So I walked up the other flight of stairs and entered room 303 and in here were more kids then there were downstairs by the older men, I had found my room.  

Most of the people in this room looked strange, and they were staring at me oddly. So I leaned up back against the wall and shut my eyes to avoid their stares as I listened to the sounds around me. Everyone was casually chatting to their teams, some were talking about the horrors of a nearby forest, others were pondering what was coming up next and someone close to me was whispering frantically to someone else so I could not hear their words.

Then I heard someone approach me. I opened my eyes slowly and starred at the person. It was actually a team of people, two guys and one girl. The girl had long light purple hair that fell in front of her light blue eyes that were starring sweetly at me. Next to her was a tall guy with short black hair and gray eyes. He had his hands in his pockets, looking tired and as if he’d rather be doing something more important. The last man was a shorter boy with long brown hair tied up in a pony tail and his eyes were black, he was looking all around the room fidgeting nervously.  

“Hi there!” the girl exclaimed, and I nodded to her in return.

“My names Tairia and this is Hatsu.” She finished, pointing to the tired looking kid.

“And this is Kilijo.” She said and pointed to the short kid. I looked at them all and sighed, I guess there was no way to avoid conversation.

“My name is Stone Lee it’s nice to meet you all.” I told them, nodding to the kids before I turned my attention back to Tairia.

“I’ve heard of you Tairia, Suki talks about you a lot.” I told her and her face turned into an angry frown.

 “I knew that jerk was saying things behind my back. What did she say huh? Whatever she said it’s not true!” She said in a rush. As she finished her statement, Ikasu, Steve and Suki entered the room. When the door closed behind them Tairia marched up to Suki angrily.

 “What were you saying behind my back you fat hag!” she yelled in her face. Suki got right up in Tairia’s and yelled,

“Whatever I wanted to s**t!” they then began yelling and fighting with each other over lies they were spreading about each other.

 Hatsu and I both sighed irritably at the two.

“She can never contain her non stop jabbering.” He muttered.

“Stupid, stupid stealer of men.” I muttered also. I looked over at my group just as Steve looked over at me and I smiled slightly at him before it faded away. He gasped slightly and didn’t move, his eyes locked on mine and I could see him trembling slightly. I didn’t move as well while his eyes starred at me, it was odd for me to see him being so surprised. He slowly walked up to me, reached out his hand and touched my face as if his hand would just pass through me. I made an irritated look, but hid it as soon as Steve withdrew his hand.

“You’re really there.” Steve whispered to me. I shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m alive,” I whispered back to him. He smiled and gave me a quick, tight hug.

“It’s been to long I can’t believe you’re really...” He trailed off his voice still quiet. The tension started to eat up at my insides as he starred at me longingly and I bonked Steve on the head.

“Ok we get it I’m alive, let’s not make a scene now alright? ” I asked him with a joking tone and a smile on my face. He rubbed his head and laughed at me. I smiled and chuckled a bit myself, I did miss Steve. He was such a great little kid and his smile alone made me feel great after the scene today.

“Tell me about it later.” I nodded in return and we shared another long look.

“Awkward…” Kilijo whispered to Hatsu and he nodded in return. I turned and looked at Kilijo.

“Hey I heard that!” I teased and he jumped back, fidgeting worse.

Another team then entered the room in front of the girls who were still fighting. It was a guy with tight brown hair and dark green eyes, looking enthusiastic while he looked around and nodded knowingly to the people around him. Next to him was a girl with a light orange hair that fell down to her knees and brown eyes following the man and whispering in his ear. Next came Rock Lee! His glossy hair wavered in the air as he slid the door closed behind him and his eyes sparkled as he looked around at all the people in the room, that sweet smile on his face as his eyes trailed to my direction. Even the air around him seemed to sparkle with his personality.

Oh no! I thought as I raced away from the door and went to the front of the class, crouching down on the floor hidden out of view from Rock Lee’s gaze. Some of the weird people starred at me and muttered to their companions beside them, I averted their eyes. Steve followed me closely and whispered

“What are you doing up here? Who are you running from?” I didn’t have time to explain because suddenly another door slammed open and a man in a black robe yelled out,

“Ok! The first part of the Halibi exam is now starting! Follow me into the next room for your assignment.” he turned and left back into the room his robe billowing behind him. I linked arms with Steve and plunged into the crowd that was forming around the door, never letting our arms become unlinked as we shoved through the crowd.

We finally squeezed through the door into the room and started to sit down together when the man shouted again

“You names will be on your desk, find your name, sit down and shut up!” As he finished he looked down at me and his face smoothed out.

“Stone Lee is that you? I didn’t expect you to arrive, but your seat is right here.” He said and pointed to a desk, ripping off the white piece of paper on it. Steve flashed me a small smile before he headed down the aisle looking at the names on the desks. I took my seat next a kid that had light red eyes with his short red hair falling in his face. He was wearing a black jacket that was zipped open revealing a white under shirt; he didn’t look all too bad. On his forehead was his headband with the Norcross symbol on it. He smiled gratefully at me while he inspected me and eventually stuck out a hand as an invitation.

“Reido Yakushi.” He said in a light, inviting tone. I grasped his hand between mine.

“Stone Lee,” I replied as he shook my hand. He dropped his hand and we both looked foreword as the teacher began his speech. 

“Ok class, today you will be taking a test. There are ten questions and the tenth question will be given out at the end when everyone finishes up with the other nine. If you are caught cheating you and your team will be disqualified from moving on with the other tests, and if one of your team members fails the test you will also be disqualified. They are essay questions, you will write ten sentences for each question. Any less than that and you and your whole team will fail.” He said sternly as some men passed out the test papers. This test seemed to have a lot a rules, I was nervous and hoped I would pass the test okay.

 A man placed a test before me and I picked it up and looked it over. These were really difficult questions that I didn’t even understand! I’d never heard of a written test let alone taken one! How would I ever pass this test and how would my team move on?!

“Alright you have twenty minutes…Go!” he called out. Thousands of pencils were picked up and many started writing quickly, eager to finish their test. Reido next to me started wising through it like a pro.

I picked up my pencil and starred horrifically at the first question. A man is up in a tree twenty meters starting a dragon technique. How do you escape and what is the best way to counteract this technique? What did that even mean? There was no way I could pass this test without cheating or a miracle! I didn’t think Steve could do this either, not with his intelligence. I focused on my brain and thought of a solution that best fit my problem. Please…please help me. I don’t know what to do! Think! Let me help you…A voice said in my head. Suddenly in my mind I saw a great beast, it looked like an elk with thousands of antlers and he had piercing green eyes as he starred at me. He huffed out a puff of smoke as he pawed at the ground hungrily. Just say I accept, and leave everything to me. I’ve passed this test once before I’m sure I can do it again. I gasped in horror and amazement at the strange thing and tried to wake from this strange thought, but I couldn’t.

“What are you?” I asked the strange creature. It laughed, a deep and mechanical laugh that installed fear instantly into me. I am your demon, now say I accept! It commanded to me. Without thinking    the words “I accept” fell off my lips and the area around the demon was engulfed in green flames, erasing him from my head. I opened my eyes shocked and found that I had disappeared and a clone was in my place, writing solutions. The clone looked exactly as I did, but she had the deep green eyes of the demon.

I looked around, bewildered. No one even noticed me as I stood there and the clone of me never looked up. They’re clueless the demonic voice said in my mind. I felt my body move foreword as the demon seemed to control my body. It approached the teacher’s desk and starred at a paper he had on his desk. For a minute I just sat there and starred but finally we broke away and went back to my desk where the demon’s clone wrote answers down. It was cheating for me, a hard way to pass a test, but I needed to move on! We repeated the same thing a few times until I had the all written down on my paper. Let’s check on the other idiots. The demon told me. We went to where Steve was at to check at his paper and against my own thoughts; he was not panicking at all! He was writing down solutions with a smug smile on his face, and his answers were right! I could tell he wasn’t using any techniques and he was very calm as he wrote his answers down; I had no idea he was so smart. I was pretty impressed with him; he must have studied before this exam.

After we finished watching Steve we left to check on Ikasu. He was calmly leaning back against his chair, all the right answers written down on his test. Finally seems like you got the smart team, aren’t you lucky? The last one wasn’t so bright. The demon led me back to my seat and sat me down. They laid my hands on the table and I closed my eyes again to see the demon. The fire was intense around him now and his elk face was grinning. Whenever you need my power you just let me know, I’ll always help you when you need it. It told me before it left my mind. I jumped awake as it left me and looked around. I could be seen and the clone had gone away. I made a mental note to ask Steve about it later before I looked down at my paper. I smiled happily at the answers and started randomly doodling on my paper, until it turned out that I was hanging Suki and I had my necklace back around my neck while I smiled and held up a little piece sign.

“Numbers 238, 239 and 240, disqualified!” The man yelled.

“No way, I wasn’t cheating! You can’t do this to me! I have to pass. Please don’t!!!” The man screamed as he was dragged out of the room. I kept my face glued to me paper and continued my doodling, pressing harder on my pencil as I worried about my teammates.

“You know Stone Lee, when you finish you usually put down your pencil instead of doodling.” A voice said. I jumped and looked up, glancing over at Reido who was smiling at the drawing I was creating.

“S-Sorry.” I told him as I looked away from his glance and looked up at the black board thinking. How am I going to dodge Rock Lee? No doubt he’s already seen me, but if he hasn’t I don’t know if I can hide from him forever. What will I say when I see him? It’s been six months and he likes Suki. I’ll just have to hide away from him and not speak to him. Good plan. I thought.

“Ok, I will now be giving out the tenth and final question, those who fail this question can never re-take this and they have to go back to the academy for the rest of their life. You will not move on as a ninja. If anyone wants to give up, I suggest you do that now.” He reported to the class. Whispers were passed around the room and at least one forth of the class got up and left. Steve started to raise his hand. No Steve don’t!

“Ha if you think I’m going to fall for that your wrong! Bring on the final question!” he shouted happily, pointing at the man. I hid my face in my hands from embarrassment.  When the last person left the room the man asked the question.

“A double sided question. Your teammate is down and you are on a two man mission. Do you stay and help him fend off the enemy or do you continue your mission?” he asked us. The class fell silent and I thought about the question as well. The mission was way more important than your teammate, even if you cared about them. I picked up my pencil and started to write when my hand froze. Teammate. The demon hissed to me and my pencil wrote in the answer, and then the demon left my body.

“That was the easiest question on this test! You need to work harder!” Steve yelled out to the class. Some of the kids grumbled at his statement.

“When you finish hand your test in. We will see who passes and who fails.” He told us.  One by one we handed our test foreword to the man in black. Once he had them all he spread them out on his desk and removed his bandana from his eye. Instead of an eye he had a tiny red laser in his eye socket. It scanned over the tests quickly and when he was finished he covered up his eye.

“Congratulations you twenty, you all passed!” Some people cheered and others remained quiet. I looked over at Reido and he looked back at me.

“Good job.” He said as he raised his right hand. I saw Steve in the background and he seemed to be telling me to smack the person’s hand. So I did so and he smiled at my touch.

“Yeah…good job to you too.” I told him.

“I am impressed with you all. Most kids do not pass this test; you kids must be getting smarter by the year! The second part of the Halibi exams will be starting soon I expect you all to pass. You all can leave now.” The man told us as he stacked papers on his desk that had blown around in the wind from a nearby open window. I looked under my arm to scan around and look for Rock Lee when I spotted him; he was talking to Suki happily and making his way towards the door which was right beside me. I looked around me for a better exit when I thought of the window and ran towards it, jumping out of it and having a horrible landing that dislocated my right foot. Quickly I got up from the ground, forgetting the pain as I began to limp away to get out of view from others.

I’m acting like a child! I thought glumly as I continued to limp away hopefully towards a source of water. The air around me was quiet besides my uneven footsteps before I heard,

“Boo!” I jumped from the noise of another and turned around. Steve was standing behind me holding back his laughter with a smug smile on his face. I slapped him across the arm in rage.

“That was rude you bum, now help me to my river.” I ordered him, still angry about him scaring me. He put my arm around his neck to support me and helped me get to the river behind my house.

We walked in silence before he helped me down into a sitting position so I could easily heal my ankle. I made the water form into my hand and slowly fit it into my ankle as it coolly formed my bone back into place with ease.

“Steve, you have to help me with something. If you ever see Rock Lee coming near me you have to hide me! I’m just not ready to face him right now, alright?” I told his as I healed my foot. He nodded to my comment and scanned the area.

“Also…there’s something I need to tell you. When I was taking my test something happened to me…” I confessed in the silence as I rubbed my foot.

“What do you mean?”

“Me demon…I saw it. It looked like an elk and it had thousands of antlers! Most importantly it had the deepest of green eyes I have ever seen. It took me over and helped me with the test after I told him I accept. Did I cheat? Should I have not done that?” I asked him. I heard Steve sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“No, it’s just not very smart to let your demon take control of you; although if you give it too much freedom it could escape and be free once again. Be very careful.” He warned me.

“It told me if I ever needed power to ask it.”

“Do not!” He urged to me, his voice raising.

“You can only use your demon in very tough situations, when the result it life or death. I’ll talk to you more about it later, judging by the book in your hands you’re already reading up on the demons.” He told me as he looked at my book. I nodded to him as I glanced down at it.

“So, tell me what happened and why your back.” I sighed slightly as I filled him in about when I gave myself up to the Alilien and how I was killed, then how I returned to life and how the man helped me. Silence fell over us as he took in my words.

“Wow…That was really brave of you. I’m glad someone helped you though, I missed you.” He told me.

“I missed you too.” I said with a smile. He wrapped me up in another hug and I hugged him back.

“Uh oh, looks like we’ve got trouble.” Steve whispered to me. I pulled out of his hug and turned around confused when saw Rock Lee was walking towards us in the distance.

“Uhh here!” Steve said as he shoved me into a nearby bush clumsily.

“Steve you mo-“

”Hey Steve,” Came Rock Lee’s voice. I put my hand over my mouth to keep me quiet as it listened to the two boys.

“Hey Rock Lee.” Steve sounded casual.  

“So listen, I know this sounds weird and probably false but; I heard that Stone Lee… she…came back…is that true?” he asked Steve desperately.

“No I’m sorry, Stone Lee’s been gone for six months man. She’ll probably never be back in that sense,” Steve replied calmly, a touch of sadness in his voice. I heard Rock Lee sigh sadly.

“That’s what I thought…It was silly of me to ever think she would be back among us again. Well thanks anyway Steve, I’ll see you around some other time. I have to go…” His voice cracked slightly at the end. I listened until his footsteps faded away in the air.

 A minute passed before Steve helped me get out of the bush.

“Thank you Steve, even if you almost did kill me with a bush.” I told him as I brushed myself off. He smiled playfully.

“No problem that was fun, I got to shove you into a bush and I haven’t had the chance to do that before!” He joked.

“You know what I get to do?”

“What?” Steve asked me. I grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him into the river.

“That!” I teased as I started laughing. Steve’s head resurfaced and he had a frown on while he looked irritated. I kept on laughing and he held out his hand

“Ok truce; get me out of this water.” He told me. I held back my laughter as I took Steve’s hand; and he jerked me into the river. I came up laughing as I removed the water from my eyes.

“Stone Lee, what are you doing in the river, that’s very childish!” Steve said. I looked up and Steve was out of the water, grinning at me as the water dripped from his hair and clothes. I rolled my eyes and started to climb out of the river. I put my foot on the ground and reached to get up, when I slipped. I just about fell into the water again when Steve grabbed my hand and boosted me out of the water.

“Thanks Steve.” I joked.

“I could’ve died!”

“Hey, I saved you didn’t I?” he told me. Suddenly Ikasu appeared out of no where in front of us.

“You are the hardest girl to find you know that? Why didn’t you follow the rest of the class out of the classroom? I need to know where you are.” He told me irritably.

“Steve and I were just messing around to have some fun again.” I told him solemnly.

“Well the Hotashi ordered that I give this to you, I don’t want to but he told me to.” Ikasu said.

“What is it?” I asked him. Ikasu disappeared and reappeared behind me

“This will only hurt for a second.” He whispered to me. Suddenly there was a sharp pain behind my head and I toppled foreword into someone’s arms.

   *                           *                        *

“What the heck man?” Steve said as he caught Stone Lee’s limp body in his arms.

“What did you do that for?” he asked. Ikasu pulled out a needle that he had injected into the back of Stone Lee’s neck and capped it off, blood still on the tip.

“What is that?” Steve asked.

“Will you shut up and stop asking questions?” Ikasu spat irritably and defensively.

“Just get her back into her house and let her sleep, it is a small dose of infection that I was ordered to give to her to help with the control of her demon and her AL levels. The Hotashi heard that it broke free today.” Ikasu told Steve. Steve carried Stone Lee’s body into her house and set her on her bed starring worriedly at her.

“Now just leave her alone whatever happens…happens. It’ll either take it the good way or…the bad. She should be safe for tonight though, if anyone tries to mess with her they will die.” Ikasu reported as he turned and left. Steve regretfully followed and closed Stone Lee’s door. 

  *                                    *                        *

I woke up in my bed and I carefully got off, my body was tingling and my eyes were burning. It was usually dark at night, but I could see everything clearly, as if I was under a dark green light. With this new vision there was one boy I wanted to see without being seen, so I focused on nothing and disappeared. Invisible I went to the door and walked through it, as I walked on I felt as if there was a strange power within me, I felt godly. When I usually felt so confused about what I was doing, I know had knowledge and I no longer felt confused of my actions.

I walked along the now green path that led to the training ground. There was Rock Lee, training like usual. I wished to train beside him like we used to, but I didn’t want to give away my position. So I slowly inched foreword, and stepped on a branch making a snap. How did I do that? I’m supposed to be transparent!  Rock Lee turned and looked directly at me.

“Who’s there?” he yelled aloud. I continued foreword, coming to a stop when I got in his face. He had no scars from the fight six months ago, but my necklace was around his neck. I waved my hand in front of his face slightly hoping he would sense me, but he didn’t see. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to training. Tears filled my eyes again as I remembered that face kissing Suki. The burning in my eyes only became worse and I could feel my stomach doing odd barrel rolls. I turned away and went over to my tree and hid behind it just as my technique wore off; I could now see my hands in the night glow. I didn’t know what was wrong with me and why I couldn’t control my energy flow, but I’d ask someone later. It was probably from that pain that Ikasu brought me.

I held my breath as I listened to Rock Lee’s steady fists against the tree; it seemed that my hearing improved also with this new vision. Rock Lee didn’t notice that I was there so he carried on training while I remained stiff as a board, waiting for him to leave.

Eventually Rock Lee stopped and sighed sadly, placing his hand on his tree for a moment. I turned and watched his face as he stared at the tree with unexplainable eyes before he turned and left the area quickly. I looked at my tree and punched with all my might out of anger, making a large indent from the power behind my red eyes. I smiled happily at my power before I went back to my house, climbed in bed and fell asleep; my body was aching from the power that was being used.

            I woke up and did my morning routine like usual, grabbed my book, and left my house. The burning had worn off and I couldn’t feel the tingling. This morning had felt a lot better than I had imagined before as the sun’s warm rays fell over my face. I smiled happily and started for Steve’s house which was right next to Ikasu’s. I went around to the front side and knocked on the door three times. After waiting a few moments Steve answered the door.

“Hello Stone Lee! How are you feeling?”

“Alright now, but last night I felt strange and I was hoping you’d tell me why.” I asked him. He gestured inside his house and I entered. His house, like many others, was small. As I first walked in I was immediately in his small living room. There was a circular table in the center and two couches surrounding it. I looked to the left and there was his kitchen. It had white floors and crème colored walls. There was a small green table in the corner and he had bowls strewn throughout his kitchen counters. Other than that his house was pretty clean. Steve led me to one of the couches and he sat on the one opposite of me.

“So what did you want to ask?” I explained to him what I experienced last night and told him how I couldn’t control my technique. As I finished he looked like he was completely aware of what I was going through.

“Last night Ikasu gave you a small dose of an infection called “Lytoime”. It is a bacteria that strengthens the lining that protects the demon inside of you. When this happens though, the lining is destroyed before it is renewed and so you demon takes control of your body. In return, you have less control over your own energy and more over the demon’s energy. Since you do not know how to control the demon’s energy, you just lost your own. Ikasu administered this drug so that your lining would become stronger for when the next Halibi exams came up, this was it would not escape.” Steve explained slowly as he made hand movements to further explain his words.

“So why does my body tingly and why do my eyes burn when my demon takes control?” Steve chuckled slightly to himself.

“It is a side effect of the demon’s power. It starts out with the tingling, then the tingling turns into a burn. If you further use the demon’s power it will begin to eat at your flesh and after than, the demon breaks free of it’s seal and takes over your body and soul. If you remember right back in the mist village you were covered in your own blood. This is because it was slowly eating at your flesh and as soon as you gained control of your body the demon healed the wounds it created.” I nodded to him before I placed my fingers on my chin in thought. This explains everything, and there’s still more for me to learn about all of this, and about why the Alilien is attacking me.

“The demons are very complex; the only way to master their power is to train with it, which is a very complex thing to do. No one I know has ever done it. Especially someone like you, you’re very special Stone Lee.” Steve told me. I looked questionable at him.

“Why am I so ‘special’?” I asked him.

“You are one of a kind, the only female to have a demon inside her. Plus, your demon is a rare form whose power was hidden deep in Lake Yakuly. Even when Jashin created your demon he had a hard time keeping it under control. Not only does your demon have the power of destruction, but it also has the power of life. It is praised by all and a true wonder. You are very lucky.” Steve smiled at me. I frowned a bit back at him.

“I don’t feel lucky. I feel like I will always be running from the Alilien and with my mind gone from something in my past, which probably relates to my demon, it’s very hard to live life. This demon causes me so many problems; I just wish I didn’t have it.” Steve looked sadly at me.

“It’s not your demon’s fault. It’s the fact that people are jealous and in search of its power. Once you master it, or at least become familiar with it you can use its power against those who want it. You can turn around you bad luck and make it good.”

“How do I train with it though? I don’t even know how to activate it!” I told him irritated.

“Your demon aids you when you are in a life or death situation. If you are about to slip from this world your demon will save you. The bad thing is it can also take over you when you experience a strong emotion such as fear, anger or even love.” Steve stood up.

“I’ll help you real quick, come with me.” Steve said as he led me through the kitchen, down some stairs and into a white room. It was the same room Steve had found me in the last time I was attacked by the Alilien. It looked even worse than before, the walls had many scratches on them now and it looked like the place was barely being held together.

“Alright, close your eyes.” I did as Steve instructed me. I focused in on Steve’s breathing and I could hear the floorboards creaking under our feet.

“Now, focus on a strong emotion. Like I said before there is anger, fear, love, sadness, and any others you can think of.” In my mind I saw Rock Lee and Suki intertwined with their lips connected. Small smiles were in the corners of their enclosed mouths. I felt the anger build within me.

“Good, keep focused. Let the emotion fill you. Let it consume you. Think of nothing but that emotion.” The anger built, my mind toyed with my emotion as Suki turned from Lee and saw my figure standing before them. She laughed hysterically at me and Lee burst out into a wide grin.

“I’ll never love you…never…” His sweet voice echoed in my head as he embraced Suki once again. I felt the anger explode within me and the tingling I had experienced before took hold of me. I saw their faces filled with delight and without thinking my arm cocked foreword and hit them in the face. Their image dissolved from my mind and I flipped my eyes open. I could see clearly now and the green light shimmered in my vision. Steve was smiling slightly at me.

“Keep a hold of it for just awhile longer. This is your demon’s power at a very minimum.” His words came out, but they sounded like gibberish to me. All I could see was Suki and Lee’s face mocking me. I felt a snarl rip through my throat

“He’ll pay..” I said in a low tone. Steve nodded to me, As if knowing what I was thinking.

“Use your power Stone Lee, He is all around you if you only imagine it.” My eyes wandered to the wall next to me and I threw a punch at it, my fist flying through the paper-thin like walls. My eyes began to burn and the tingling in my body grew. He did this to me, he ruined my happiness. I threw another punch to the wall, and then another, and another. All he had done had caused me misery and pain. He lied to me, betrayed me.          Steve watched as I demolished his wall as I hardly recognized his existence. The anger flowed through me like a never ending river and with every punch I only felt more and more angry. The tension built as I felt my body seemingly on fire and blood ran down my arms. I didn’t care though as the power made me feel will of strength and worthy of all that I did. It was something I didn’t want to stop.

Free me, Let me help you destroy him. We can do it. We will make him pay for all he’s done. He will suffer… The demon’s voice said from within me. I chuckled at the sound of the familiar voice and drew my hand out from the wall. He was right; we could make him pay for what he’s done. I now possessed the power and courage to face him, and to smash his face in for betraying me. I balled my hand in a fist as I closed my eyes and saw my demon with green fire surrounding me.

Just say the word, and I’ll kill him. I grinned wildly at it but before I had time to accept his offer I felt something soft and warm envelop me. I flipped open my eyes and Steve had his arms wound around me. I looked confused at him and I felt the anger inside of me slowly dwindle away. The burning in my body faded away and my eyes slowly let go of their burn as well. I suddenly felt very weak as I fell to the floor in Steve’s arms.

“Do you see how hard it is to control?” Steve whispered to me. I shook my head as I looked up at him. I can’t believe I just had thoughts of murdering someone! The demon had filled me with a desirable power l and like a sweet treat I couldn’t help but want more.

“That was…different. Scary even.” I told him. Steve helped me to my feet and I looked at the terrible hole in the wall I had created.

“I’m sorry about causing damage.” I told him, my strength slowly returning to me as Steve had his arms around me.

“Don’t worry about it.” He looked over to the wall and formed a hand sign. He moved his hand across the wall and instantly a new piece of wood replaced the damaged wall. He looked back and smiled slightly at me.

“Controlling you demon takes lots of training. You just witnessed first hand how convincing the demon can be, it can make you do things you never wish to do.” I nodded to him and slipped out of his arms, feeling back to myself once again.

“Do you understand a little more about what power lies inside you?” I nodded to him once again and he smiled, rubbing my arm comfortingly.

“It will get easier and you will understand it more as time goes by. I will help you work on it and if you ask Ikasu he will give you more information about the Alilien and the history of the demons. He’s a total geek, and knows lots of things.” I giggled slightly and hugged Steve.

“Thanks for the help, I feel better now with what power I have.” I broke out of the hug and smiled at him, he beamed back at me.

“Now, get home. It’s getting late and even though you feel fine, you should rest up. You need to save up your energy for training tomorrow because after tomorrow the next Halibi exam will start.” He led me back up the stairs and to the front door. I slipped outside and thanked Steve once again. After I did we said our goodbye’s and I started off for home. I walked through the small forest right before my house when I heard a voice.

“Hey Suki lets go get something to eat.” The voice said. Just then Rock Lee and Suki entered the forest. Immediately I turned invisible and held my breath as they passed by me. Suki stopped walking and looked over at Rock Lee with a smile.

“Alright, I’m starving anyway.” Rock Lee took her hand and together they walked on through the forest. I bit my lip as I fought the urge to follow them. If I went it would make me even more mad at the two of them, but if I didn’t I would wonder all night what the two of them were doing. So without another though I grabbed on to Rock Lee’s shoulder and let him lead me as well. It was too dark for me to see where they were going through the dark forest especially since I could not see like I had been able to before. I continued to hold on to Lee as we ventured through the town.  

            They arrived at the same restaurant Lee and taken me to before, which made the pain in my stomach slightly larger. They went inside and sat down at a table in the center of the room. I took a seat next to Rock Lee while Suki sat on the other side of the table. A serving lady appeared by the table and smiled at the two of them.  

“The usual?” a lady asked Rock Lee. Rock Lee nodded and Suki starred at her menu in thought.

“I’ll have Banjoy with light lemon sauce today.” She told the lady with a smile.

“Ok, your orders will be ready soon.” The lady said as she disappeared. Suki reached over the table and took Rock Lee’s hands her smile growing.

“This is nice, thanks for taking me.” she told him. He smiled slightly and nodded at her. 

“So did your team pass the first part of the Halibi exam?” Suki asked Rock Lee. He nodded; his face was blank as if he wasn’t exactly happy.

“We did have to cheat though…” he confessed. Suki laughed.

“So did I!” she told him. The lady reappeared with their trays of food.

“Here you guys go.” She told them as she disappeared. Suki dug into her food hungrily but Rock Lee just seemed to pick at it, barely even eating. I didn’t know what was wrong with him, he must have been sick.

Once they finished eating Rock Lee paid for the meal and Suki dragged him outside excitedly, straying away from the path they first were on. I followed behind Rock Lee, keeping my hand on his shoulder.

“This isn’t the way to home...” Rock Lee announced his voice trailing off. Suki smiled

“I know I want to show you something that I found!” Suki told him as she started to run. She continued to lead the way until we came to a patch of flowers…purple flowers; and there was a bench in the middle.

“Suki….this place…” He told her, his voice tight. The purple flowers surrounded us at all sides. It was truly a stunning sight, I even smiled slightly at the view. Then suddenly something in my brain snapped. My mind floated away to a dream I once had. The memory went fast, as if on fast foreword. Rock Lee and I took a seat on the bench, he whispered words to me and to end it all, we had kissed. I flashed back to reality as I saw Suki sitting on the bench with a wide smile on her face. This place…it was from that dream I had! So it was real! I’ve been here before with Rock Lee! I had kissed him here! Now, the two of them together were erasing memories that Rock Lee and I shared. The air smelled of lavender just as I had dreamt and the sight made tears form in the corners of eyes as my stomach dropped.

“Yes I know it’s beautiful huh?” She said, pulling him down onto the bench. She then took his chin and kissed him deeply without warning. I turned my head away, but I could still hear quiet smacking behind my back as I felt tears slowly run down my face in pain. It hurt almost as much as watching them kiss days before.

“I’m sorry Suki, I just can’t do this tonight...” Rock Lee whispered to her, the kiss breaking off short.

“What’s the matter?” She asked him softly.

“I can’t explain I’m just…not feeling very well. We’ll do this another night alright? Let me take you back home.” He told her. I turned back and Rock Lee was turning away, taking her arm and leading off Suki. I let the tears flow freely down my face as I ran back to my house. I had wished I hadn’t gone. I wished I was smart enough to know that If I had followed Lee it would only end in pain. Every time I saw Lee I was filled with pain. I felt my visibility fall off as I reached my house. I continued to cry as I jumped onto my bed and hugged my pillow close to my chest as if to stop the pain; the pain that I would continue to feel every time I saw Lee. What we had before was now gone and would forever be gone…

I cried for ten minutes again when I started to feel angry. I had taken enough of Lee’s pain, and it was time he started to feel what I was feeling. My eyes began to burn as I felt the anger start to rise in me. I got out of bed and made my way for the door. As I opened it I felt the tingling start making it’s way over my body. I grit my teeth that were fighting to grow long and pointy and I walked out to the training ground in which I had spent nights with Rock Lee, this only fueled my anger more.  Rock Lee was there training happier than last night. I walked into the clearing as watched him punch his tree steadily and I pondered what to do. Should I hit him? Make him bleed? Or should I end his life now like I had done for him? I shook my head and tossed some of the anger out with it. I needed to think clearly and not with the demon’s angry thoughts. I did not want to kill anyone; that was a punishment that no one deserved. Rock Lee slowed on his punches and finally came to a stop. Without thinking I ran behind the tree I used to train on and hid, holding my breath. The seconds slowly ticked away in the silent of the night as I fought the urge to breathe. 

“Who’s there?” he called out. I let out the breath that I was holding in and closed my eyes, gathering the anger I had before. I would need it in order to face him. Once I felt the anger heat my soul I opened my eyes. The burning in my eyes returned and I walked out from the shelter of my tree. Rock Lee gasped when he saw me and his body became rigid, I glared back at him ready for anything. All I wanted to do now though was cause him even the slightest bit of pain for the tremendous amounts he had caused me.

“Stone Lee!! I-I thought you were de-“

“Yeah well you though wrong.” I snapped angrily as I walked up to him.

“What’s wrong? What are you doing?” he asked me quietly. I grabbed a hold of my necklace and ripped it from his neck. The anger peaked slightly but I also felt sadness intertwine with my anger.  

“I gave this to you because I thought you were dead and because I thought you loved me as much as I loved you…and now…now.” I choked back the tears and ran away from him, I couldn’t do what I had hoped to do. Being in his presence reminded me of the days we had spent together and the warm, fuzzy feeling I got when I was near him. I ran to the edge of the clearing before he caught up to me and took a hold of my wrist.

“Please Stone Lee listen, T�"“ I turned around to face him as I wrenched my hand out of his grasp. A flash of anger swept through me again as the green light returned to me. Quickly as Rock Lee made another attempt to speak to me I cocked my arm back and slammed it hard into his face. I felt my bone come in contact with his nose and under my weight it snapped. As I drew my hand back I saw blood flowing down his face. As fast as the anger was there it was suddenly gone. I had just hit the man I was in love with. Shocked I drew a hand to my mouth and I watched him touch his nose and wince in pain. He looked back up at me wish sad eyes and once again I turned and fled. This time he made no hesitation to stop me. I ran to the back of Ikasu’s house and caught my breath, trying to stop the tears and to get Lee’s sad eyes out of my head.

When I finally forced them to stop I looked down at my necklace. It still looked the same as I had left it, Lee must have taken good care of it. I looked at the latch I had broken and started to fix it back up. Once I had I tried to re-fit it together behind my neck, which was harder then it seemed as my hands were shaking. Suddenly someone took it from my hands and latched it together and the crystal finally dangled from my neck.

“Thank you.” I mumbled to the person. They took my arm and led me off to the front of the house. The person, who I knew was Ikasu, opened the door and followed me inside. The burning in my eyes got worse with his darkened house and I felt as if my body was tingling again.

 You did well, you did very well. Next time hit harder and you can literally go through his skull!  The demon cackled loudly in my mind. I shook my head and contained my feelings of sadness. I did not want it to use those thoughts against me. As I did though I only felt worse as the power made my stomach flip.

Ikasu and I entered his bedroom and he turned to look at me confused.

“M-My body won’t S-Stop tingling Ikasu.” I stammered, fighting back the tears that yearned to flow.

“Stone Lee why are you suppressing your feelings? If you’re going to do that I’m going to have to fight the five-tailed fox in the dark.” He whispered to me and sat on his bed.

“I D-Don’t want to cry anymore though. I-If I do it will o-only make things worse.” I told him, stammering a little and approaching him. He grabbed me and pulled me into a cuddle hug, stroking my hair gently as he did. I closed my eyes tightly to suppress the feelings that were growing.  

“In this situation you need to let it go. You’re going to make it harder if you don’t.” He whispered. Tears leaked through my closed eyelids and I cried quietly on Ikasu’s shoulder, the shoulder I knew I could cry on. Ikasu had been my friend since the start, and I knew he would always be there for me. I could no longer feel the tingling, but maybe it was because I was sobbing. I felt all the anger and sadness leave me with the tears that continued to flow down my face. I hated the way things were turning out between Lee and I, and I missed what we had in the past. Thoughts continued to drift through my mind and I eventually I cried myself to sleep.

            I woke up still in the arms of Ikasu, but we were now lying down on the bed and he had his arms grasped around me. I carefully slipped out of Ikasu’s grasp and slipped out the door. I felt much better today after crying all night, like the day I came alive. I stepped out of the shade of Ikasu’s house and closed my eyes as the warm sun fell onto my body. There was a slight breeze and the air smelt of pine. I opened my eyes again and my stomach growled in hunger. I suddenly had the urge to devour anything I could get a hold of. So I hungrily walked through the town and looked at all the shops as they appeared in my sight, but all of them had money symbols. I had no money to pay for anything right now. Then I remembered the money I had made from my first mission. I wasn’t sure if my money was still at my house, but I raced back to see it if was still there. To my delight the money was still there on my dresser. I grabbed it and ran off to the town again.

I continued to look around the little food shops when I saw a place named ‘Ichiraku Ramen’. It was white near the top of the small building, and brown wood was near the bottom. There were five white hanging sheets attached to the opening of the building that said the name of the place. Also attached to the building with a short metal bar was a hanging white ball, with some weird symbol on it. I approached the building, went under the sheets and took a seat at the long orange bar table. A woman approached the bar table and asked me what I wanted. She was in a white serving outfit with a white cap; her long brown hair fell under the cap and disappeared behind her shoulders.

“Uhh… I actually have no idea. I’ve never been here before so…what do you recommend for breakfast?” I asked her.

“Hmm…” She said, thinking.

“What wrong Ayame?” a man said as he appeared. He looked pretty old, wearing the same outfit as the girl, but no hair came out of his cap.

“This girl wants something for breakfast, but I don’t know what to recommend.” Ayame said, looking at the older man.

“How about just plain with an egg?” he asked her. She smiled.

“That would be perfect, does that sound alright to you?” she asked, turning back to me.

“If you think it would be good then yeah…wait how much is it?” I asked her. “One bowl is three dollars.” She told me. I handed her three of the bills.

“There.” I told her. She starred at the money.

“This is fifteen… do you want five bowls?” she asked my.
“Oh no…I thought you said it was three dollars though?” I asked her. She starred at me oddly. I sighed

“Just give me back the change.” I mumbled. She handed me back two of the bills I gave her, along with two others. Instead of little fives in the corner, there was little one’s. She disappeared around the corner to where the old man went. I heard whispering and then she exclaimed

“Oh!” I sighed again and put my head on the table.

“Oh, hello Stone Lee-chan.” A voice said. I looked up as Steve took a seat next to me.

“Hey Steve, what are you doing here?” I asked him. The girl appeared.

“The usual?” she asked him. Steve nodded.

“I always come here, it’s my favorite restaurant.” He told me, smiling. The old guy put my ramen in front of me with chopsticks across the bowl.

“Thank you.” I told him. He smiled and disappeared around the corner.

“Just you wait, that is a really good bowl in front of you!” Steve told me. I nodded with a small smile and broke open my chopsticks.

“Idakaimasu,” I said as I started to eat the ramen. Like Steve has said it was amazingly good! Before I knew it my once full bowl was empty. I looked over at Steve and he had already eaten three bowls, starting on his forth.

“Wow, you must really like this place.” I told him. He finished the ramen in his mouth and smiled at me.

“I’m their best customer.” I can see why. I got up.

“Well I’ll see you around Steve.” I said with a little wave. He was already eating again, so he just gave me a backwards wave. The ramen filled me up and I had to get my body moving or else I felt like a moving boulder. I went to the gates and told the guards that if Ikasu came looking for me; I would be training by the Norcross Dock. They nodded and I hurried off. I arrived at the dock and started to do my usual training. I didn’t have bandages on my knuckles, but I didn’t feel the pain as the wood broke my skin. I continued to punch when I thought I would experiment. I closed my eyes and let the events of last night play out in my head. Emotions swell up inside me and built as I played the events. Once I was sure I had a hold of the emotion I channeled my energy to my right hand and punched the tree with all my might. My hand went through the tree and came out the other end. A big gaping whole was in the middle of the tree. I smiled at myself and focused my energy to my right leg. Concentrating, I kicked the tree. My leg went through the right half of the tree and came out the other end. Now the tree was nothing more then a stump. I focused my energy to my hand again and punched the tree stump into the ground. I looked down into the whole I created and I could not even see the stump! My body started tingling again. My whole body felt as if the energy was running through it, it made me feel strong once more! I looked over at the closest tree to me and punched through it. I punched through three whole trees and stopped. I turned around and they were all on the ground. It felt good; I had so much power behind my body! I chuckled to myself as a wide grin flashed over my face. My head whipped around to the river beside me and I remember the last time how I had fallen through and from there I had died only hours later. I walked to my prey slowly and pounced on top of the river. This time though I did not fall through the thin layer but I stood on it. I felt the river’s own energy pulsing underneath my feet and for a moment it freaked me out. I decided to step off the river and be pleased with my accomplishment. I walked back to the clearing and starred at my hundreds of opponents, the trees. I smiled wickedly as I began to demolish the trees, pretending they were members of the Alilien out to steal my life again. I heard them fall to the ground, but continued to punch through them. My eyes began to burn and my front teeth felt pointy like a long time ago, a small smile began to form at my lips. This power was great!

Soon all the trees in the area I was in were destroyed besides one single, lonely tree behind me. In my mind that one tree was Hidan, the final opponent. I heard a snicker in my mind and I heard Hidan’s voice say to me

“Come and get me!” I channeled the rest of my power to my hand and prepared myself for one last powerful punch, one that would truly end Hidan’s life. I turned around on my heel and shot my hand for the tree but to my amazement I was blocked. Shocked to think that the real Hidan was in the clearing I stumbled back a bit. A hand grasped mine and when I looked up it was that guy from the Halibi exams, Reido. I starred at him shocked. All my power was still pulsing through my hand and he was holding me back so easily, he must be very strong. He dropped my hand, starring at me smiling slightly. Standing still I could feel the tingling worsen as I breathed heavily fighting back the urge of my power taking control. When I was moving my body around, I couldn’t feel the tingling at all and I felt free. I had almost forgotten I was using the power of my demon.

“Did you do this?” he asked me as he extended his hands at the mess. I looked around at all the fallen trees that were now dead and the area looked like a battlefield; I had become very destructive. I looked back at him and nodded solemnly.

“You’re pretty powerful.” He complimented. I smiled

“Thanks…I think.” The tingling was slowly going away, along with the burning in my eyes.

“Why did you do this?” he asked me.

“I was…training.” I told him. It felt weird to have Reido just…stare at me as if pondering to do something dastardly. He looked down at his feet and started mumbling to himself.

“Hey I should prob-“

“What did you say your name was again?” Reido asked me suddenly, looking up at me.

“Stone Lee,” I told him curiously. He nodded

“Well Stone Lee, I’ll see you at the next Halibi exam.” He told me with a smile as he hurried off. I sat there still puzzled. I shrugged and went back to the training ground. Since the tree I usually trained at was now somewhere in the ground I used the final and lone tree. This time I didn’t use my energy I just focused on using my strength and strived to improve myself rather than depend on the power of my demon.

            The sun started to set and I finished early, using so much energy wore me out. I made my way back to Ikasu’s house when I heard someone crying. I looked around the corner of Ikasu’s house where I saw Suki sitting down on a bench. Anger shot through me but died down quickly as I realized it was her that was crying. I hid behind the corner of the house as I observed her.

“Why…Why?!” She cried out to herself, her head in her hands as she sobbed.

“Why did he leave me? I-I finally had someone to love…Rock Lee…I don’t understand. We had everything going for us!” Her sobbing grew as she tried to repress them, and I felt a twinge of sadness for her.

“Damn it all!” She yelled out loud as she got up from the bench and ran off, past me and into the village probably towards her house. I sat there shocked as I starred at the bench. Rock Lee had broken up with Suki? But…why?

After a minute of my shocked moment I turned and walked to the training grounds where, as usual, Rock Lee was training. I quietly entered the clearing and leaned back against a tree trying to act as if nothing had happened last night.

“Why did you break up with Suki, Rock Lee?” I asked him. There was no enthusiasm in my voice so I hoped I didn’t sound angry. Rock Lee jumped slightly, but kept his eyes focused on his tree.

“I didn’t want to be with her anymore.” He told me as he continued to train.

“Why?”

“I was feeling guilty.” He answered. I tried to keep my smile hidden, and then it disappeared on its own from confusion.

“For what?” He sighed.

“I liked another girl, and if I wanted to be with her I would have to leave Suki.” He was still focused intently on training. He would not look me in the eye. I nodded to myself, obviously not catching on to what Rock Lee was trying to tell me. I looked down at my necklace and picked it up, playing with it in my hands.

“What girl?” I asked suspiciously.

“A girl.”

“Is she nice?”  He sighed again

 “Yes, she’s very nice.” He finished his punches. He started on his kicks.

“Oh ok, well if she’s nice and you like her, then its okay with me.” I said with a smile, getting away from the tree. He said nothing.

“Well maybe I’ll see you at the next Halibi exam.” I told him as I as I left for the path.

“Yeah, see you around.” He mumbled. Instead of going back to Ikasu’s, I left to my house. I hopped on my bed, happy that Rock Lee liked someone else besides Suki since she was on my team. Then I thought about what I told him and how smoothly out conversation had gone. I rolled over on my stomach and starred at my wall in thought. I wonder if he’ll ever be my friend after what I did to him. Will he ever forgive me? It was true that I was angry but I didn’t mean to use force against him, I caused him pain. That is something I don’t want to ever do to anyone, especially him. I should go and apologize for my actions.

            I rolled off my bed and slipped out of my house. I walked back to the training ground and Rock Lee was now doing push-ups. I opened my mouth to say something but I couldn’t find the words to say. No matter how I said it I was afraid how he would react and I didn’t exactly want to see another sad face. I backed up quietly and left the clearing. There has to be something else I can do besides talking to him up front about it. I could have someone else apologize to him for me…No I didn’t want that. I could write him a note and give it to him. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I smiled to myself and suddenly bumped into someone.

“Oh my apologies I wasn’t watching where I was going!” I told the person as I looked up into their face. It was the boy I saw Rock Lee with during the Halibi exam, the one with short black and blonde hair.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t paying attention either. I’m sorry, have a good night!” He told me as he stepped past me and continued on his way.

“Wait!” I called out to him. He stopped and turned to face me.

“Do you happen to know where Rock Lee lives?” he pointed a finger southeast

“Head in that direction, You’ll come to a place called Coltion housing, his house is the first on the right. It’s the only green one.” He told me.

“Thank you…Uhh..?”

“Kyosei.” He said as he walked off, more important things on his mind.

“Thank you Kyosei.” I called to him. He made no response. Hmm…Kyosei sounds familiar… I thought as I ran southeast. As he said I came to the Coltion housing and looked for the first house on the right. It was a lime green house with two stories. I walked onto the porch and tried the door but it was locked. I closed my eyes and focused on nothing, after a couple of seconds I opened my eyes and went through the door now transparent. Once inside I focused and became visible. Inside was a much larger house than the regular houses that I had been into before. I was placed in a large kitchen that was too dark to see details, but I could see that his walls were littered with hundreds of pictures. They were various pictures of Rock Lee and some other girl, but it was too dark to recognize who. After a moment of staring I ignored all the pictures on the wall and started to look for something I could use to write with. Finally I found paper, along with an ink brush. So I picked it up and started to write.

            Rock Lee,

                          I want to apologize for my actions. It was not my intention to hit you, I was overcome with power and I was full of anger. I would never, ever hurt you. I thought for awhile that I might want to cause you pain for the pain you brought me, but after seeing you face I never want to do it again. I’m also sorry that you and Suki broke up; I hope the next girl you strive for is someone really good for you. I do miss you though, and I miss the friendship we used to have. I want things to go back to the way they used to be; Days when I can actually enter the training ground and not feel uncomfortable. If we could do this I would be so happy.

            I hope you think this over, I will see your around,

                               Stone Lee

I put the note on his counter and left as quickly as I could. I raced home in the dark, occasionally tripping over things I could not see, but finally I made it to my house and locked the door. I sighed from relief and got into my bed. I hoped things would go back to the way they used to be and that he would come to forgive me. I smiled to myself and looked out my window. It was dark already, and tomorrow I would be starting the next part of the Halibi exams. I wondered what we would be doing? Would it be dangerous or would it be another test that I would have to cheat on? Whatever the case I was ready for tomorrow and I would not let my team down. I closed my eyes as I pictured what I thought I would be doing tomorrow and fell asleep.

       *                            *                         *

            “Leader-san, it’s been confirmed. She is gone with no trace of her behind.” Teran’s quiet voice rang out. The leader slammed his hand against the wall and a crack ran up it.

“Well where did she go then?! She gave herself up so how could she have survived? Someone helped her didn’t they?! We’ll find out whoever helped that little girl and they will be put to death!” he shouted angrily, seemingly talking to himself. His voice rang off the walls as Teran’s head was bent down low. The Leader closed his eyes in thought as he sighed slightly; his fingers were pressed hard into his temple.

“Since she is yours, take Hidan and find her and bring her back alive, we’ll have to try a new method this time.” He told the man.

“Yes.” He said and disappeared.

“She can’t get away for long.”      

*                             *                                                     *

            I woke up to someone shaking me.  

“Stone Lee…Stone Lee! You can’t sleep in forever.” Someone said in a childish voice.  I stretched and opened my eyes groggily. Steve was kneeled down by my bed.

“Hi Stone Lee it's time to wake up!” He told me, smiling. I moaned and lay back down as I yearned for more sleep.

“The second part of the Halibi exam is starting in ten minutes!” he sang. I hopped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. I grabbed the brush and brushed my hair really quick, and then I brushed my teeth. “Five minutes!” he called.  Crap! I ran out of the bathroom and into Steve.

“Ok let’s go!” he rushed as he grabbed my arm and led me off.

We arrived at a huge forest with a large gate protecting it at all angles. The people who passed the first test were all there. We seemed to be the only late people. Ikasu and Suki were near the front of the group, paying attention to what the girl was saying. We cut through the group and stood next to Ikasu and Suki.

“You’re late.” Ikasu whispered to Steve.

“It was Stone Lee’s fault.” He whispered back defensively.

“Alright come to one of the tables to receive your scroll.” The lady called out. We formed a line to get to one of the scrolls. People started chatting among themselves.

“Ok so we’re going to be placed in this forest with one scroll; either an earth or a water scroll. We are not allowed to open the scrolls at anytime. All we have to do is get the other scroll from a group and meet at the center of the forest, there should be a building.” Ikasu told us as the line moved foreword fast.

“So we have to fight a group and take the scroll from them?” I asked Ikasu.

“Yes, we can use whatever Technique we want, but we aren’t allowed to kill anyone.” Ikasu answered. We approached the table

“Team name?” the man asked. “Team seven.” Ikasu answered. The man bent under the table and handed us our scroll. It was a water scroll.

“Go to gate seven.” The man said as he pointed east. We followed his finger and got in front of our gate.

“When I tell you, the gates will open and you may begin.” The girl shouted.

“Ok so here’s the plan we’re going to ru-“

“Have you guys been checked?” A voice asked. We turned around and there was Reido with a strange mask on.

“I didn’t hear anything about security” Ikasu said suspiciously.

“All this will do is cut off any Techniques that may cause death.” Reido told us.

“But Anko didn’t say anything about security.” Ikasu told him, still suspicious.

“She didn’t think she had to, besides I’m only doing my job.” Reido said, showing no emotion at all.

“…Ok.” Ikasu said, finally giving in. Reido got down on his knees and put his hand to Ikasu’s stomach. He didn’t stay there for very long before he moved to Steve. Steve didn’t take long either, Suki was the same. He finally moved onto me and put his hand on my stomach gently. His eyes tightened slightly and he kept his hand there, I was taking longer then the others. He finally stood up

“Thank you for your time.” He said as he walked away. Ikasu rose an eyebrow is his direction and then turned back to the gate, we all followed his lead.

“Ok as I was saying, we’re going to run in about a mile and then start looking around for people, if we can’t find any we’ll scout the area and move on. Everyone be on your guard.” He explained. We all nodded.

Three minutes past when the girl finally yelled

“Alright…release the gates and begin your test!” All at once the gates made a screeching sound and all the teams ran in, including us. Ikasu was in the lead, Steve and I were behind him, and Suki was behind us.

We kept running until we came to an open clearing. Ikasu looked around the area with his red eyes while we all stayed alert and surveyed the area. Then he closed his eyes after a moment of searching and said

“No one’s here that I can detect, stay on guard though and let’s move on.” I relaxed a little, but I didn’t let my guard down.

“Oh man I’m so relieved! I had to go get Stone Lee so I had no time to go to the bathroom!” Steve told us as he ran to a tree. Oh he isn’t! Steve unzipped his pants and just about pulled them down when Suki yelled

“Steve! Not here, go somewhere into the forest!” Steve jumped at the sound of her voice, zipped his pants back up and ran away into the forest. Suki sighed irritably.

“Dork.” She muttered.

“When Steve comes back from his…break, we’ll go further into the forest and there we should find more groups.” Ikasu told us. We both nodded.

Finally five minutes later Steve came back through the trees with a smile on his face

“Hey guys, sorry I took so long.” Steve said as he approached us, one hand behind his head casually. Ikasu starred at Steve curiously as he came into the group with us and starred at us all. Ikasu walked in front of me protectively as he got out a kunai.

“What are you doing Ikasu?” I asked him.

“This isn’t Steve.” Ikasu told us. Suki and I starred at him.

“What do you mean, of coarse its Steve!” Suki told Ikasu. Steve looked at Ikasu questionably

“Are you feeling alright Ikasu?” Steve asked.

“Shut up,” Ikasu spat

“Steve had a cut on his left leg, and now it’s gone. It proves that this is a technique.” Ikasu told us. We all looked down at the evidence; there was nothing on his leg. Steve sat there dumbfounded while we all starred. Suddenly there was a puff of smoke where Steve once stood and in place of him was a man. He was wearing a dark yellow suit that covered his entire body and something over his mouth. It was a square box that was black and had lines coming through it.

“You saw through my disguise, you’re quite clever.” He said, his voice sounded almost alien.

“Smart enough to outstand you.” Ikasu said to him. The man’s eyes tightened

“No matter, I’ve collected my data.” He said. Suddenly, he was gone. There was no trail of him what-so-ever. Ikasu lowered his guard.

“Where is Steve then?” I asked the group. They looked around at the vast forest.

“Hey guys.” Steve’s voice came as he stepped out from behind a tree.

“Hey Steve.” I said, sounding suspicious. We all starred at him as he approached the group. He starred back at us

“… What?!” he asked us. I looked down on Steve’s left leg and there was a gash imbedded into it. Ikasu sighed and closed his eyes

“You took your sweet time.” He told him, sounding casual.

“Sorry, I got lost.” Steve explained.

“I knew where I was going and then suddenly; the forest seemed to change.

“Sounds reasonable,” Suki told Steve.  

“Let’s go farther, these parts aren’t safe anymore.” Ikasu told us. We started to follow him when we heard a noise in the bush. Ikasu started to go examine it, but I raced ahead and beat him to it. I got inside the bush, grabbed something that felt like an arm, and pulled. Out of the bush came a girl. She had long, brown hair and brown eyes hidden behind glasses. She was wearing a light green shirt with white shorts. She held up her hands to her face

“Oh please don’t kill me! I don’t have the scroll my group does.” She confessed. Ikasu approached her and took out his kunai.

“Hey! You heard the girl, don’t hurt her!” I defended. Ikasu looked over at me.

“Do you really trust her?” he asked. I looked down at the girl. She was shaking and glancing back and forth between Ikasu and me. I looked back at Ikasu.

“Yes I do, and I don’t want to hurt more people than we have to.” I told him. He sighed

“Whatever.” He told me as he put his kunai away. I helped the girl off the ground and gave her a friendly smile. She returned it

“Thank you, now I have to find out where my group is…” she said, looking around.

“Well were going that direction.” I said and pointed north

“If you want to you can stick with us and you might find you group.” She gasped a little and smiled

“Really?! That would be so helpful!” she told me. Ikasu started to protest, but I gave him a look and turned away to look at the ground. I looked back at her and smiled

“Ok so my name is Stone Lee, this is Ikasu, Steve, and Suki.” I said, gesturing to all of them.

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

“Kennedy,” she said, bowing a little.

“Ok then Kennedy, are you ready?” I asked her. She nodded. I turned to Ikasu, who was still looking away. I crept over to him and put my head in his face. He jumped and moved his head away from mine. I giggled

“Ok Ikasu, will you please lead the way?” I asked him. He nodded keeping his face straight and started to walk off. We all followed him deeper into the forest, Kennedy by my side.

“Just so you know, my group’s pretty protective, so I don’t think you all should escort me. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Kennedy told me. I nodded.

“Steve and Suki can escort you halfway then.” I told her. She nodded. Steve looked over at Kennedy and smiled.

“Don’t even think about it.” I heard Suki whisper to Steve. He turned and frowned at Suki

“Don’t worry, I still have my crush on-“

“Yeah, Yeah I know.” Suki interrupted.

We continued to walk until we came to another clearing, but this one wasn’t as large.

“That’s my group!” Kennedy told us. We looked around, but could see nothing.

“What are you talking about?” I asked her.

“My group and I can communicate telepathically; I can hear them calling my name.” She told us. Steve closed his eyes for a moment.

“Yeah, I can hear them also.” he told us. Ikasu nodded.

“Go then you two, we’ll stay here. And don’t take your sweet time.” Ikasu told them, facing Steve. Steve frowned and rolled his eyes.

“Come on, I’ll lead the way.” he said, sounding superior. Suki shoved him foreword

“Come on super idiot.” They all started to leave the area

“I’m no idiot!” I heard Steve argue as his voice disappeared.

“…Ikasu, what does ‘telepathically’ mean?” I asked Ikasu, turning to him.

“It means ninja’s can communicate with one another by using there mind abilities.” Ikasu explained

“Steve is a user who can use that ability very well.” Ikasu told me as he sat on a log. I sat down next to him and looked around the vast forest. Trees were poking up from just about everywhere, except from this little clearing. It was also pretty dark; the sun just barely peaked out from the branches in the sky. Ikasu sighed and hung his neck

“I new Steve was going to take forever.” He told me. I shrugged

“Maybe they haven’t reached the group yet.” I told him. He nodded

“Maybe.” He said as he picked up his head. We both starred ahead of us into the deep forest waiting for the rest of our group.

Suddenly I couldn’t move. My eyes opened as wide as they could and my mouth dropped open. Something was wrong, I tried to force myself to look over at Ikasu, but I couldn’t. He didn’t say anything either, maybe he was in the same situation that I was in.

“It seems my accomplice was right, both the Yatashi kid and the girl.” A voice said as they entered the clearing. It was a tall man with long, black hair. His skin was fairly white and his eyes were yellow slits. He was wearing a dark yellow suit like the person from before, but he also had a thick, purple rope around his waist that was tied in a bow in the back. He approached us and spread out his arms

“No comments?” he asked us. We stood there, still gawking.

“That’s what I thought.” He said as he put his arms down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two kunais. Then he threw them at my hands. In my head I screamed out in pain as they dug threw my hands and into the dirt holding my position. No sound came from my mouth though as I starred at the man.

“You’re one we can’t have going anywhere. I have a deal with you I have to keep” He told me as he continued to stare. I felt Ikasu beside me, shaking slightly. The man glanced over at Ikasu then returned his gaze back to me. A small smile appeared on his face and then his neck seemed to stretch and came after me. I tried to block the image out of my mind, but I could still see him and his horrid face. His face came right up to my neck and he bit it. Immense pain entered my neck and I screamed in pain in my head. Only small gasp escaped my mouth though out loud. The world was now spinning. The man’s head stayed there for a minute, before he pulled his fangs out from my skin and returned his neck back to his body.

“Have fun healing that one. We can’t have you leaving without a little present” He told me as he snickered, then he turned to Ikasu. The pain never seceded or increased and I felt my body shake. As the world continued to spin and blood crept out from my neck, I felt Ikasu still shaking beside me. Then the man’s face turned to confusion as Ikasu’s shaking worsened.         

“I…won’t…let…you….do this!” I heard Ikasu yell as there was a sickening sound. Then suddenly I was picked up and I flew through the air until I landed on a branch high above the ground. Ikasu carefully set me down as he examined my neck and wiped off what I thought was blood. I saw then that he had a kunai stuck in his leg. He followed my gaze and pulled out the kunai as blood seeped out onto his clothes. He then used the kunai very carefully as he pushed the kunai into my arm until I could see blood from my arm. I still could not move like Ikasu and he sighed, almost knowing this would happen as he ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped up the wound he created.

“This is going to be difficult, if you come out of this run away as fast as you can and forget about me.” Ikasu told me as he clamped my mouth back shut. All I could do was stare foreword but I knew if I came out of it I would help Ikasu. Ikasu turned his gaze back to the man in the clearing. The man was just sitting there, staring at us as he snickered. Ikasu jumped down from our branch and faced the man, getting into a fighting position.

“I’ll have my fun testing just how strong you are.” The man said as he made a hand sign. The man moved to the left and then he disappeared. Ikasu looked all around for him and then the man suddenly appeared in front of him and tried to punch him. Ikasu dodged, jumped back a few feet and did a quick hand sign and he blew out fire. The man was surrounded by fire and Ikasu did another hand sign. This time he bellowed more fire than before and the man was surrounded in a fire tornado! When the fire disappeared the man was no where in sight. Ikasu examined the area and then the man popped up in front of him and punched him. Ikasu flew back a few feet. I watched in horror as the man kicked him rapidity and then he was throw from my sight. All I could see was the forest trees, no sound was made. There was nothing I could do but sit…why couldn’t I move? Ikasu somehow managed to move, why couldn’t I? Ikasu’s image reappeared into view; he was battered up pretty bad. The man’s neck stretched out again and bit Ikasu’s neck. No not Ikasu too! Ikasu screamed out in pain and the man’s neck went back to his body. Ikasu continued to scream and he put his hand over his neck. Before he did I saw a symbol appear where he was bite. It was a circle with three little flame like things inside it.  “You are strong, but soon you will join me and become even more powerful.” The man said over Ikasu’s screams. The man looked back up at me.

“As for you.” He said as he disappeared and reappeared a few feet in front of me.

“I don’t know whether to give you the curse mark or to unleash your power so that I may witness it” He told me as he came closer. I sat there motionless not knowing what was going to happen next. What power did I have inside me anyway?! What could I do?

*            *                      *

Steve smiled happily as he walked back with Suki, Kennedy back with her team safely.

“That was easy! Let’s get back to the group now so we can get out of here, this forest is creepy!” Suki told him as she shivered slightly, he just chuckled. Then, he felt a ripple of power surge through him as he stopped moving, he recognized this power. It was his creator, Jinsei. He couldn’t have, no he wouldn’t be here. Could he?!

“I have to go, stay here and don’t  move.” Steve ordered Suki as he took off at his max speed and was far away from Suki in seconds. If Jinsei was here he wouldn’t be doing good things, people would get hurt and he knew it. This power he felt meant that someone had the mark and that alone was incurable. He hoped that he was not with his group, trying to get after the five tailed fox and the last surviving air of the Yatashi clan. His hopes were shattered though as he ran to the clearing that he left Ikasu and Stone Lee in and there he saw Ikasu unconscious on the ground and Jinsei up in a high tree, where Stone Lee kneeled motionless before him. No! He couldn’t let this happen!!!

*           *                               *

Jinsei approached me and held out a hand out towards me with a smile just as Steve appeared out of no where and spread his arms out in front of me protectively.

“You stay away from her, Jinsei” Steve defended; he adverted his gaze from Jinsei’s eyes to the ground before him and I could tell he was angry. 

“Ahh my little experiment so this is where you ended up huh? I’d like to see how much you’ve grown and learned.” Jinsei told him. Steve slowly looked up and stared at Jinsei.

“You’ve been an evil man for as long as I’ve been born.” Steve started as he looked at Ikasu. He looked back at Jinsei

“I won’t let you hurt anymore of my friends!” Steve yelled as he held up a fist. The fist started to transform quickly, it was coaxed with a red substance and then his whole body was covered in it. The fingernails on his hand grew longer and dug into his hand. I stared at Steve, what had he become?

“Oh yes, I forgot about that. It seems that experiment worked out well also.” Jinsei told Steve. Steve quickly moved his hand and Jinsei was flung from the tree as he was smashed trough the large old tree and dust fell around him. Steve gave me a quick backwards glance and then quickly sped off and I noticed Steve’s eyes were black slits. Something in my memory struck me, before when I was in the forest he came to save me. That’s why I could hear him in my head because he was telepathic! What did Jinsei mean by experiment though and how did Steve know this crazy man?! Steve bashed Jinsei into tree’s, into the ground, and just plain battered him around. We had a chance with Steve’s skill like this! Jinsei suddenly got out of Steve’s grasp and did a hand sign. Five little flames appeared on his fingers and he jammed his hand into Steve’s stomach. Steve’s mouth opened and a gasp escaped from it.

“There, that should silence you little friend.” Jinsei said as he took his fingers out of Steve’s stomach. The liquid seemed to shake and it was ever so slowly disappearing. He crumbled in front of Jinsei, but would not allow himself to fall to the ground completely. I saw him turn his head and look at me. There was nothing I could do, but Steve…Steve might die! Why couldn’t I do anything?! I was so useless. Steve slowly got up off the ground with Jinsei still looking at him. Then with his last remaining strength he grabbed Ikasu’s body and then came running to me. He was so fast even Jinsei couldn’t keep his eyes on him. Steve snatched me up in his arms and ran deeper into the forest.

“You can run, but Ikasu will come to me!” Jinsei yelled as we continued to run.

We finally came across another clearing, but this one had a huge tree in the center with a little place under the tree. Steve set Ikasu down and then me. I could tell Steve was fighting with his body, at any moment he looked like he would collapse. He raised his hand and slapped me. At the same time we winced and I felt the Technique fall off of me. I blinked a couple of times and moved my arms around. Steve gave me a weak smile and fell back. I grabbed him before he could hit the ground. He looked up at me.

“Stone Lee, I don’t know what he did to me but I don’t want to die here! I-I had different dreams…” Steve told me weakly. Tears filled my eyes

“Don’t worry Steve, I won’t let you!” I told him. I would not lose someone close to me again! I would not have someone stronger than me take what was mine!

“Stone Lee…I” that was all he said before his body collapsed and his eyes shut.

“Steve…Steve!” I yelled out. I held him in my arms as the sobs escaped my throat, How could this happen?! Why was it always my friends that got hurt, why had I been so useless as to do nothing but watch as they both faced death?! Steve was dying in my arms and there was nothing I could do about it, why had I been so stupid?!

 It took me a minute to calm down and not think of the worst. I didn’t know much about the human body except healing. So I got out my water pouch and put some water on Steve’s stomach, then I placed my hands on his stomach. Nothing happened.

“Why won’t you work?” I yelled out to no one. That man, whatever he did to bite me must have shut off my energy levels and now I could not heal my friends! I breathed steadily to stop the tears from coming as I looked at Steve and Ikasu. One thing I noticed about the two of them is that they were both sweating, so I ripped off my sleeves from my shirt and dipped them into my water pouch. After they soaked for a minute I put them on Ikasu’s and Steve’s head. Ikasu twitched when the cold water touched his naked forehead. I hopped he would wake up, but his eyes remained closed. I sighed and turned back to the clearing. We still didn’t have a scroll and we were all almost killed! Wait, isn’t killing not supposed to happen? I thought that was what Reido’s technique was supposed to stop us from! Could he be a part of this?! I heard a bang from the west side of the forest and then the bushes in front of me moved. I turned towards them as I heard a bell ring. Then, yet again, I couldn’t move. No! Did Jinsei find us?! Three people stepped out from the bush. A girl with short, black hair who was holding a tiny bell, grinning, A man with a dark yellow shirt and black pants on with messy black hair; finally another man who had on a large, gray shirt with black pants. He had very long gray hair and bandages on the top half of his face. Strangely on his left forearm there was a big metal…thing that had lots of holes in it.

“There’s only one, this will be easy,” Said the man with the thing on his arm.

“How are you sure Dani?” the man with black hair asked.

“Because the other two are behind her doe-head.” Dani sneered. The other man didn’t reply. Dani’s eyes tightened a bit.

“But I have no information about this girl; she could prove to be hard if your Technique wears off Kanta.” Dani said as he gave a quick glance at the girl. She grinned and rang the little bell. It screeched in my ears and pain filled my head.

“Don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere.” she told the group. The two men got out their kunais and leaped into the air. It seemed to play in slow motion. Who would save me now? My two teammates were behind me and I had no idea where Suki was! Hopefully somewhere safe and away from all this mess…I hoped that Ikasu and Steve would make it out somehow.

 Just before they got to me they were both kicked out of the way and a figure stood in front of me. The person was wearing a green jumpsuit and a squirrel was on his shoulder. Lee! Rock Lee carefully set the squirrel down and it scampered back into the forest. Lee got out a kunai and threw it at the bell, knocking it out of the girls hand and disappeared into the forest. I fell foreword and caught myself.

“Lee?! What are you doing here?” I asked him.

“You don’t remember, but I made a promise that I would protect you until the day I die!” Lee told me as he stuck out his thumb. Suddenly nothing moved.  Lee’s thumb remained motionless in the air. Even the bad guys didn’t move.

“…Lee?” I asked.

“Stone Lee,” A voice said from behind me. I turned around and there was a girl with long brown hair and purple eyes, she was wearing a white flowing dress.

“Are you a…angel or something?” I asked her. She laughed lightly and shook her head. She looked me up and down

“I haven’t seen you since the mission.” She told me as she approached me and hugged me. Awkwardly I hugged her back. I got this warm feeling inside me as I remembered her touch, it felt amazingly good.

“Who are you?” I asked her softly.

“There’s no need to know that, all I can tell you now is that I am a close friend.” She told me.

“I’m sorry…I don’t remember much.” I told her. She nodded and let go of me. She looked at my face and smiled

“You be careful out here Stone Lee, I will see you soon and I can tell you, this forest is only one of the trails you will face and soon, you will be stronger!” She told me. She looked me up and down again before her figure disappeared. Then again I could hear the sounds of the forest. I turned back around and Rock Lee was in a fighting position. Rock Lee ran toward Dani and started to run around in a circle around him.

“What’s this? A game?” Dani asked. Rock Lee was suddenly in front of him and he kicked him up into the air. Then he appeared up next to him in the air and… I couldn’t see anything else. He was going to fast! All I saw was a big white blob, moving towards the ground quickly.

“This isn’t good.” The man with the messy black hair said. He stuck his hands into the dirt and the ground came up in little mounds towards where Dani was coming down at. Just before he hit the ground two things happened. Rock Lee jumped away at the last second and the dirt mound covered Dani, making a safe landing. Rock Lee stood in front of me, his strength weakened. Dani chuckled

“My turn!” he said as he ran for lee, the metal arm in the air. Rock Lee ducked as the man swung his arm at him.

“Missed!” Rock Lee yelled to him. Dani jumped back a ways.

“Did I?” he asked. Rock Lee’s eyes suddenly went wide and he grabbed his left ear. I watched as blood trickled out of Rock Lee’s ear and onto his hands as he shook his head lightly. He regained his strength and glared at Dani as his hand left his ear and he got into fighting position.

“Still standing?” Dani asked Lee. Lee moved to the left and disappeared. We all looked around for him, but he was no where in site, he reappeared in front of Dani and punched him in the face. Dani went flying backwards into the arms of the girl.

“Dani?! Are you ok?” she asked. He got out of her arms and shook his head. Blood spurred out of his nose.

“Nice punch.” He told lee, wiping the blood from his nose. Dani came at lee again and lee protected his ear. Dani’s eyes tightened and he put the metal thing to lee’s arms. He screamed out in pain and fell to the forest floor.

“Lee!” I shouted. He didn’t respond as he lay motionless.

“Now then you little brat,” Dani said as he looked up at me. Suddenly Ikasu appeared out of nowhere by the man with messy black hair, he had his arms. Oddly there was a purple substance surrounding him. Dani looked back at Ikasu in horror.

“What the?” the man said. Ikasu’s composure didn’t look the same though from the last time I saw him. There was a black flame inching up his skin, almost like a body art. It covered his entire face and his eyes turned red. The mark would be red as it spread across his body and then it would become black in a second. Ikasu’s eyes looked full of hate and he had an evil smile on. Ikasu pulled the man’s arms closer behind his back and put his foot to the man’s back.

“No wait!” the man yelled out. I turned away just in time to hear a sickening snapping sound and the man scream out in horrifying pain. I shuttered as I looked back to the scene. The man was collapsed on the ground, his arms still in Ikasu’s grasp. Ikasu dropped the man’s arms and looked over at Dani with hate. Dani’s eyes were wide as he starred at Ikasu in fright.

“I hope that you’ll amuse me more than him.” he said as he chuckled. Ikasu appeared in front of Dani and rapidity punched him all over with immense strength! Blood was scattered every which way. I closed my eyes and I heard the battle rage on. When it seemed silent I re-opened my eyes and Dani was on the ground, covered in blood if you would even call that mutilated thing his body. Ikasu’s gaze turned to the girl last and finally, the only opponent to stand before him. She starred shocked and ran off into the forest to try and make a quick escape. Ikasu started to chase her fast and angrily, he had no sense of right and wrong now.

“No Ikasu stop!” he didn’t listen only continued to follow the girl. I ran after Ikasu and arrived behind him just in time as I panted for breath. He had the poor girl cornered, slowly approaching her with his eyes fixed upon her like a cat attacking its prey. I ran for him to thwart his plans.

“Ikasu stop!” I yelled to him as I wrapped my arms around his waist and put my face in his back. Ikasu stopped moving as I held him back with my strength.

“This power…this doesn’t seem like you!” I yelled to him. He continued to sit there as if trying to take in my words and the girl was slowly inching out of sight. I felt my head was slowly getting hotter and hotter from placing it on Ikasu’s back, was this from that mark?

“Ikasu…snap out of it!” I yelled to him. He started shaking and then turned on me, punching me hard in the face. I fell down onto my butt as blood started to fall from my face and I starred at him shocked that he would do such a thing.

“You can’t order me around!” Ikasu yelled to me, his voice much more violent than before. I starred at him the pain finally settling into my wound. Tears leaked out from the corner of my eye

“Is this how you want to be?” I asked him softly. Ikasu starred at me angrily, not getting what I had told him. I slowly got up.

“Ikasu…that power is from Jinsei, not you.” I told him. I was surprised I was saying this. Ikasu continued to stare at me.

“If you rely on other’s power.” I said and looked up at him.

“Then you’re weak.” I told him. Ikasu’s eyes widened and he continued to stare at me confused. Ikasu held up a hand and looked at it, lost in his thoughts; the black mark still creeping over his body and his lips quivered. Then suddenly he said

“No.” That was all. He closed his eyes and shook his head fiercely “No I am stronger on my own!” he yelled louder.  He staggered back a bit and put his hand over his neck. The mark there was glowing purple and the marks swirled around his bite mark. Ikasu started to scream in pain and he hit his knees. I watched shocked as the marks from his face slowly started receding back into the mark on his neck.

Once it was all over Ikasu stood there, gasping for breath and sweat dripping off his forehead. I really didn’t want to get to close to Ikasu in the situation, so regretfully I turned around and went back into the clearing trying to be swift about it. Bodies of the three men lay there, not moving. Dani looked to be in the worst case. I went to Dani’s body and examined it, keeping my distance. I couldn’t tell if he was dead or not, but his injuries looked bad. I searched his body until I came across the scroll. I put it in my pants a little ways and left his mangled body, looking at it disgusted me. I went back under the tree and Steve’s condition was the same as he was still unconscious. I sighed and turned to examine Lee when I saw Ikasu enter the clearing. It felt awkward for me so I avoided eye contact and kept my focus on Lee as I carefully wiped the blood from his ear.

“We need to get going…” Ikasu’s quiet voice said to me. I nodded and draped lee’s arm around my shoulder, carrying his limp body.

“Grab Steve,” I said my voice tight. Ikasu went behind me and came out with Steve in his arms. Ikasu started to lead the way in silence. It was hard for me to drag Lee’s body, so I eventually carried him on my back. Lee was heavy for my weak body, but I bore through it and was almost proud of myself. Along the way Ikasu came to my side. I didn’t say anything as I looked away from him into the forest as I watched birds leave their peaceful tree and take flight up into the sky.

“Stone Lee…” he told me. I looked over at him slowly. Ikasu’s face looked tight, as if he didn’t know what to say and his eyes looked around as if looking for words to say. I smiled slightly, happy that he was trying to say something to break this tension. He looked up and met my gaze

“Stone Lee, I’m sorry I don’t know what happened to-“

“It’s ok Ikasu. I won’t hold you to it, it wasn’t your fault” I said, interrupting him. He stared at me, searching my face as he smiled very slightly. Then he looked away and sighed to the ground.

See? Wasn’t that easy? If only lee had done that… I might have forgiven him!

 We finally came to a tall building that was white and circular that Ikasu had talked about. People in white came to our side and took Steve and Rock Lee from us helpfully.

“Is this your team?” they asked us. I nodded

“Except him.” I said and gestured to Rock Lee. One nurse took Steve and one took Lee and we followed them inside. Just before we got inside I stopped the girl holding Steve and said

“There are also two people in the forest who are in pretty bad shape, some one needs to help them.” I told her. She nodded and continued into the building muttering to herself. When we got inside there was a white room with more people in white.

“Who are these people?” I whispered to Ikasu.

“They’re nurses; they take care of sick or injured people.” Ikasu told me. I nodded and a nurse came up to me.

“Do you need assistance?” she asked me. I looked at her puzzled.

“Come with me.” She said and led me off. I looked over my shoulder and Ikasu gave me a little wave. I grimaced as I remembered the first doctor room when I arrived in the village. The nurse set me down on a chair and did a hand sign. Her hands were coaxed in the greenish substance I saw before and she lingered her hand over my left eyebrow as I felt the cool substance enter my body.

“That’s a pretty deep cut there, and your nose is in bad shape as well.” She told me. I nodded and looked up at the woman as I took in her image. She had long blonde hair and green eyes that were focused on her work. She took a minute as she healed my face and fit my nose bone back into place, but after she finished she dropped her hand.

“Stone Lee-chan!!” I heard a recognizable voice call to me. The nurse and I looked and I saw Steve running to me, waving. I smiled and ran up to meet him happily.

“Hey! How do you feel?” I asked him a large smile on my face. He smile back

“Better now that I’m awake!” He told me as he hugged me tight.

“He didn’t hurt you did he?” He whispered into my ear. I shook my head slowly as I starred into his shoulder.

“I’m not sure…he bit me and I couldn’t use my energy.” I whispered back to him. I felt him breathe carefully as he put his hand on my collarbone and moved my shirt away, examining my neck. He starred at it for awhile before he released me and stared at me.

“It’s luckily not the curse mark, but it shouldn’t block out your energy…I haven’t seen that mark in a long time.” He told me and placed his palm on my forehead. I watched as his hand glowed light blue and I felt a small shock ripple through me and I could almost feel my energy return to me. He removed his hands and smiled at me.

“That should take care of it, after the exam I’ll look at the mark alright?” He told me. I nodded and smiled and he walked me through the crowd of nurses towards a large crowd that was gathering.

“We’re the last one’s to arrive; besides the people still stuck in the forest, but we got their scroll anyway.” Steve told me and I sighed

“Late again.” I told him sadly. He giggled slightly.

We entered a room with a huge clearing and then stairs on both sides. There was a hand near the back wall that was making a hand sign, next to it was a big black box that was attached to the wall. Everyone was inside listening to the Hotashi talk. We came in by Ikasu and…Suki. I had totally forgotten about her. I wonder how she made it back.

“So I’m sorry about the trouble.” The old man said shakily. He looked at us all in the crowd.

“He still hasn’t been caught, but we still haven’t received word from one of our members.” The Hotashi told us.

“Jinsei...” I heard Steve mumble to himself.

“Stone Lee, glad to see you’re alright,” Said a voice in my ear. I turned around and there was Reido. He had some gashes in his arm and two on his face. His glasses also had cracks in them.

 “Reido! You look pretty bad.” I whispered to him. He nodded “I was attacked by Jinsei, but I made it just fine.” He told me.

“So was I!” I told him. He looked at Ikasu.

“Is he alright?” he asked me. I shook my head

“Jinsei bit him and he’s not like himself!” I whispered fiercely to him. His eyes widened and he put his finger to his chin. It was silent for a moment and a new voice came back to my ears.

“With this at hand we have more people than we imagined so if there is any who think they don’t want to continue, speak now.” He told us with a cough. Reido raised his hand.

“R-Reido?” I asked him. Everyone was looking at him.

“I have some research that needs taken care of. I’ll see you around, do good.” He told me as he turned around and left the building. I hoped he would be escorted back safely.

“Ok if that’s all, you will be taking another exam now.” A man said. Whispers went through the crowd. Ikasu sighed slightly.

“Silence!” the Hotashi told us. Everyone fell silent.

“Now then, the monitor will show you who you’ll be fighting; the first pair will be shown now.” The man said. The big black box suddenly came to life and letters clicked through each name in the list quickly. Finally it came to rest on two people. Ikasu Yatashi and Midori Kamahi. I looked at Ikasu and he seemed to be frowning a bit disappointed that he was going too soon.

“The pairs have been chosen. Everyone else if you would please go up the stairs to your left and you can watch the fight from there.” The person told us. People started to file out on both sides of the open area. I stayed by Ikasu as I starred hard at him.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I asked him. He looked at me and nodded

“I’ll be fine.” He told me. I starred at him and gave him arm a squeeze before I left with Steve up to the upper levels. Only the Hotashi, another dude in black, Ikasu and a short guy also in black remained there. I gripped the bar for support and the man in black said

“Begin.” The man stared at Ikasu as if waiting for him to start and then his hand was coxed with a bluish substance as he held it out before them temptingly. He got into his back pocket and left it there as his eyes watched Ikasu contently. Ikasu stared at the man and put his hand in his pocket as well and they shared a long glance.

The both acted very quickly. Midori threw a star shaped thing at Ikasu and Ikasu blocked the attack with a clenched kunai, then he clutched his shoulder and fell to the ground in shock as he gasped loudly. The curse mark, Fighting triggers it! While Ikasu was gasping for breath and fighting back the mark Midori ran for him with a kunai. Ikasu just barley dodged the attack by kicking under Midori’s legs and punched the kunai out from his grasp and Midori’s kunai was stuck in the ground a few feet away from him. I could tell Ikasu was gasping a little as he held the moving Midori down with his legs. Midori reached up his blue hand and grabbed at Ikasu’s foot, but he pulled away before he could and then clutched his shoulder, I could see the mark burning black. Midori quickly got up from the ground and swiped his hand and grabbed Ikasu’s head as they fell back to the floor. Ikasu laid there for a moment, doing absolutely nothing as he starred up at Midori. Midori got up quickly and removed his hand as he walked back a few feet watching Ikasu who was still just laying there, what had that man done? Ikasu finally got to his feet and clutched his shoulder again.

“Come on Ikasu get you head in the game!” Steve yelled. I sighed.

How embarrassing! Ikasu turned to look up at Steve and Midori attacked again! This time when his hand turned blue he grabbed Ikasu’s forehead and they both went down. Ikasu’s hand grabbed the man’s arm and tried to pull them away, but they remained in that position unmoving. After awhile Ikasu’s hands fell from the man’s arms as he looked defeated

“Ikasu!!” Suki called out. Maybe I should do some cheering if the rest of my team was.., nah too embarrassing.

Ikasu continued to lay there with his arms out and his eyes wide. Then suddenly he clutched his hand into a ball and kicked off Midori. Ikasu was back in the game now! Ikasu stood up shakily and got into fighting position. Midori got his hand ready and he came after Ikasu. Ikasu dodged, but Midori didn’t give up; but either did Ikasu. The two continued that pattern until Ikasu kicked Midori up into the air. I had seen this attack before! Ikasu leaped up into the air right behind Midori and put a finger to his back. It seemed that Ikasu and Midori both floated. Ikasu left his finger there and I noticed he was biting his teeth. The curse mark opened and spread across his face quickly. A lot quicker than before, his arms were already covered in it. Steve starred at Ikasu

“What is that?! He doesn’t have that, does he?!” He asked me, turning to look at me. No, if that comes out again! I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was going to be embarrassing.

“Ikasu no! You can’t use that here!” I yelled out to him. I opened my eyes and Steve was staring at me still, along with everyone else. I kept my gaze on Ikasu and his eyes were closed tight and the mark continued to cross over his body.

“Ikasu!” I yelled out again. Ikasu’s eyes opened and he kicked Midori into the ground forcefully as the power of the mark helped him. The floor cracked under the pressure and Midori remained lifeless. I closed my eyes and turned away.

“Winner, Ikasu Yatashi.” The man declared. I looked back and Ikasu was on his knees, clutching his neck. The marks were gone now so no one could see. Sendo appeared next to Ikasu in a cloud of smoke and he whispered something to him. I ran through the crowd and down to the clearing by Ikasu and Sendo. Ikasu looked up at me longingly for a second and then back to Sendo

“Ok I’ll do it.” He said through his teeth. Sendo helped Ikasu up and started to lead him off. I followed behind him quietly, if he was going to do something to Ikasu I wanted to know. We left the clearing and trailed through darkness as they called two more people to fight. Luckily the darkness was just a long tunnel so it was easy to follow. We finally came to a little place with torches lit by flames. Sendo instructed Ikasu to get down on his knees and so Ikasu did. I noticed where Ikasu was there was a bunch of symbols on the ground that all seemed to circle him, it was a strange room.

“Take off your shirt.” Sendo told Ikasu. Ikasu pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside and then I saw his bare back; the curse mark was an eye catcher. Sendo made a hand sign and placed his hand on Ikasu’s curse mark carefully. The symbols came alive and started to recede into Ikasu’s mark. Ikasu screamed out in pain and the symbols continued to come. I sat there and watched in horror and finally the symbols stopped after a minute of horrifying pain. Sendo’s hand left Ikasu’s shoulder and Ikasu fell to his side, unconscious.

“Is he alright?!” I asked Sendo as I started to kneel down to him. He nodded and turned to glance at me. His eyes strayed behind me and he pushed me into a corner “Sendo-?”

“Hello Sendo.” a familiar voice said. I stood very still and watched Sendo stand still and ready. His eyes were tight

 “Jinsei, how did you get in here?” Sendo asked.

“I have my ways.” Jinsei answered. I heard him chuckle

“You think sealing his mark will make it disappear?” Jinsei asked.

“No, but it does stop it from coming out when he doesn’t want it to.” Sendo answered.

“I think there’s more in store for Ikasu than you think.” Jinsei told Sendo.

“That’s for Ikasu to decide.” Sendo told Jinsei. Jinsei chuckled again.

“Ikasu will come for me; I already told your little brat that.” Jinsei said. Sendo glared at Jinsei.

“As for Stone Lee, I already gave her, her own little present.” Jinsei said with a little chuckle. Sendo’s eyes went wide and there was a popping sound. Sendo continued to look at Jinsei and then he looked over at me. I stood there, still not moving even though Sendo was giving away my position.

“He’s gone…Stone Lee.” Sendo told me. I came out of the corner and looked at Sendo.

“Stone Lee, what did he do to you in that forest?” Sendo asked me. I shook my head

“I don’t know, he just bit me like Ikasu, but I didn’t get the curse mark…” I told him, putting my hand over my neck.

“Steve already looked at it; he said he’d help me…” I finished.

“Let me see it.” Sendo replied as he came to my side and looked at my neck

  “Steve will know more about this mark, we will talk to him.” Sendo told me. “Next match Stone Lee vs. Crystle Akuma.” I heard a faint voice say.

“First you fight.” Sendo said as he led me out of the tunnel.  I was pushed out into the bright clearing where everyone was looking at me. I walked out into the clearing and stood there, facing a girl. She looked about my age except a little taller and when I looked at her she looked very familiar. She had long brown hair and purple eyes, but she was wearing a yellow top with black shorts.

“Do I know you?” I asked her, the image of the angel in the forest appearing in my mind. She shook her head

“Don’t look like anyone I know.” She told me. Maybe she wasn’t the angel then…

“Begin.” The man said.  Crystle ran for me with her hand balled up in a fist. I dodged her punch and kicked her in the stomach. She grabbed my foot and twirled me around. Her face gone from my view I jumped up a little and kicked her again. She dropped my foot and I fell to the ground. I turned around and she was holding her stomach, glaring at me. I got up off the ground and took the same fighting position that Rock Lee used. Her hand left her stomach and she got into her own fighting position. She charged at me again with her fist held high. I grabbed her hand and stopped the punch. A shiver ran through me and I couldn’t move. Not that I wasn’t able to I just couldn’t. My eyes went wide and I starred at her as images flew through my head. She was flipping through my head, image after image. Some of her were happy others she was mad or sad. I didn’t know it but I staggered back a bit and fell to the floor, images still coming into my head. I saw her as a little kid, her hair short and blonde, and her purple eyes glowing. I closed my eyes and the images stopped, except for one. It showed me her as a little kid and she was smiling, her voice sounded far away.

“Stone Lee-chan I thought I would give this flower to mommy.” Her voice said.

“It looks great Crystle-chan, I’m sure mommy will love it.” My voice came. It sounded childish. She laughed, it sounded so happy.

“Come on lets get off this ground.” She said as she got up and extended her arm. I saw myself reach up and take her arm.

“Sister, do you think mommy would like it if I gave her one too?” I asked her. Crystle looked over at me with pain in her eyes. Suddenly I was yanked back to reality. Crystle was staring at me along with everyone else. I shook my head and got up off the ground.

“You may proceed.” The man said. Crystle gave me a confused look and got back into fighting position. I was still dazed but I shook my head and got into a fighting position, this time a kunai in my hand. Crystle charged at me again and I swiftly dodged, then with my kunai I dragged it across her face. A wound opened up and I jumped back a few feet. I was surprised I was doing so well. Suddenly my shoulder filled with pain. I grabbed it and fell to my knees, gasping to stop my scream. What was going on? I didn’t have the curse mark. Another shiver passed through me and I felt my body fill with power. No! I didn’t want to transform now! Crystle starred at me with wide eyes and my body seemed to take over. I ran at Crystle quickly and punched her, sending her flying back. I watched as she got back up and came after me. I dodged her attack again and countered it by punching her into the back. She fell down and I put my foot on her stomach. She heaved and held my foot. I pressed against her skin, digging my foot deeper and deeper into her. She cried out in pain and then held her tongue. No I don’t want to hurt her! I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to regain myself, but the energy wouldn’t come. I felt myself chuckle as my eyes opened again and I starred down at her and I could see under the red light like before, and there I could clearly see Crystle’s scared eyes on me.

“Go to hell.” I spat at her as I brought my foot up hard and slammed it down into her, I heard bones break as her scream filled the air and I starred still smiling evilly down at her. NO! THIS ISN’T ME?! WHY AM I DOING THIS?! I forcefully closed my eyes and concentrated on my other self and there I could feel myself soul slip back into my body and I reopened my eyes. Crystle’s eyes were shut and I could tell she was in a lot of pain. I took my foot off her quickly and looked at my hand astonished by the power. It was covered in a red substance and my fingernails were long like Steve’s demon. I balled my hand in a fist as I glared at it angrily,

“Go away!” I shouted at it. The whole room was silent and my yell echoed off the wall. As the echo faded another shiver passed through me and I fell to my knees before I knew it as pain rippled through my body, puling back the demon from within. The red substance slowly slipped away and I was back to normal as I took some deep breaths to regain my composure. I slowly got up off my knees and walked over to Crystle to see if I had killed her or not. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was open almost as if dead.

“Winner, Stone Lee.” The man said. I starred at Crystle, she must have been my sister and I didn’t remember her, and now I had almost if not killed her. Nurses came into the clearing fast, but I took Crystle’s arm and draped it over my shoulder. They approached me but I waved them off, taking Crystle up to the upper levels and sitting down against the wall. People were staring at me so I adverted their eyes as I looked at my sister painfully.

“Next match Shino vs. Yuri.” The man said. I looked back at everyone else and they were looking down at the clearing. Steve approached me

“Stone Lee, what are you doing?” Steve asked me. I left Crystle by the wall and got up.

“I’m taking care of my sister.” I told him, amazed by what came out of my mouth. Steve stared at me confused.

“You remember? But she--” he started to tell me. I shook my head not wanting him to finish as Crystle’s condition may be worsening. Steve starred at Crystle shocked and I turned to look at her also. Her face had blood coming out of it and she was still out.

“I need some water.” I told Steve. Steve reached into his back pocket and pulled out my water pouch.

“I found this in the forest when you disappeared...” He told me. I took it from him and started to heal Crystle’s ribs and lower bones.

“Thank you Steve.” I told him. I felt him sit next to me and I finished healing Crystle’s stomach.  I turned over and looked at Steve; he was staring foreword, lost in thought.

“Steve...” I told him. He looked over and smiled at me.

“Are you ok to fight? I mean in the forest…” I trailed off. He laughed a little

“I’ll be fine Stone Lee; if you can fight I can fight.” He told me reassuringly.

“Winner Shino.” The man said. I got up and looked at the scene. Yuri was the man with messy black hair that Ikasu fought. He was lying on the ground not moving and small black things ran away from him and disappeared into Shino’s loose shirt. Shino had fuzzy black hair that was standing up and his eyes were hidden behind black glasses. He wore a loose gray shirt and black pants. Shino turned and walked from the battle swiftly as nurses came and picked up Yuri. He came and stood next to us.

“Hey man that was great!” a boy next to him said. The man had a light black hood on that was surrounded in black hair. The hood was connected to his jacket which was the same color as the hood. Also oddly on his cheeks were little red marks that looked like a big scratch. Out from under the hood a little white dogs head poked out. He barked. I smiled; it was a cute little dog.

“Peipita shush.” The man said.

“Next fight Daisuke Heitesha vs. Steve.” The man said. Steve smiled

“Now it’s my turn!” He said a little too loudly and ran off into the clearing. The man next to me sighed and walked down into the clearing also. So that was Daisuke, hmm.

“Hey is that alright? Can he bring a dog into the battle?” Steve asked.

“If its part of the opponents technique then yes.” The man said. Steve stared at Daisuke glumly as Daisuke laughed.

“Let’s show him what we’re made of Peipita!” Daisuke said. The little dog barked. Daisuke and Steve took fighting positions and the man said

“Begin.” Steve didn’t even move, he just stared at Daisuke as he moved his feet together and put his hands behind his back, his stare never leaving Daisuke’s.

“Ok, we’ll make the first move! Come on Peipita.” Daisuke yelled. Peipita jumped onto Daisuke’s back and transformed into a clone of Daisuke. Steve glared at Daisuke and then he looked totally calm, a tiny smile on his lips. Daisuke looked at Steve curiously and then he yelled out in pain. Peipita changed back into a dog and Daisuke hit his knees, clutching his head. Steve walked up to Daisuke slowly, still staring at him. Daisuke lowered his head as he came closer.

“Stop!” Daisuke yelled out to him. Steve made no move to quit whatever he was doing. Peipita barked at Steve and came after him. He dodged the little puppy and continued to stare.

“I give up!” Daisuke yelled out. Steve closed his eyes and walked away, looking very calm and collected. Daisuke hit the floor, gasping for air.

“Winner, Steve.” The man said. Steve came up the stairs with everyone looking at him shocked. He took a seat next to me and smiled

“See I’m fine! Fighting is easy for me” He told me, a sweet chuckle at the end of his statement. It was almost frightening for Steve to be such a happy little kid yet be able to perform a technique like that.

“What did you do to him?!” I asked him. He looked around smiling  

“It’s a secret.” He said as he put a finger to his lips. I stared at him and shook my head

“Whatever just don’t attack me with it.” I told him. The person next to me moved and I saw Crystle sit up and look around dizzily.

“Crystle! You’re awake.” I told her.

“Yeah…why do you care?” she asked me. I smiled at her

“Do you remember me?” I asked her. She starred at me

“I should be asking you that question.” She told me.

“Next fight Rock Lee vs. Gobi.” The man said. I looked over at the clearing and there was a man there with red hair and a gourd thing on his back. I looked back at Crystle

“I know you are my sister, I had a vision about you. I’m going to watch this fight, and then I want you to tell me about my past, can you do that?” I asked her. She starred at me and slowly nodded. I smiled slightly at her got up and went to the ledge to watch. I felt Crystle behind me get up and walk down the stairs, but I was too concentrated on the fight to care. Steve looked back at her questionably, but then came up to my side to watch the fight as well.

“Yes! It’s finally my turn!” I heard Rock Lee yell as he sprang from the top of the balcony and into the clearing. Gobi starred at Lee calmly.

“Alright, begin.” The man said. Rock Lee took out a kunai and charged at Gobi. Gobi didn’t move and as Lee got closer something popped out of the thing on his back and blocked the attack.

“Sand?” Steve asked nobody. I looked at him as Rock Lee and Gobi continued to fight

“What’s sand?” I asked him. He looked at me “Uhh, it’s like dirt but thinner.” He explained. I looked at him puzzled and then looked back at the scene. Rock Lee was trying to get through the sand barrier, but he had no luck. He jumped back a little bit and got out another kunai.

“Is that all? You’re weak.” Gobi told Lee. The sand came after lee and grabbed him by the leg. It swung him around for a little while and then slammed him into the wall. Rock Lee winced as he got up and more sand came after him. He dodged and dodged again as it continued to attack him. Then it came from above and the sand hit the floor. Rock Lee was gone from sight.

“Lee take them off!” I heard Kilikan Sensei yell. I looked up and on top of the hand sigh thingy was Rock Lee.

“But Sensei-!”

“Take them off I allow it!” Kilikan Sensei yelled again.

“Alright!”  Rock Lee yelled. He sat down and took something off his legs. When he stood up something dangled from his hands.

“What are those?” I asked Steve.

“Weights...” Steve said quietly.

“I can move around much easier now!” Rock Lee said as he dropped the weights. They fell to the floor quickly and when they did it make a tremendous boom! Rock and dust flew up and Gobi starred shocked, so did the people around me. Rock Lee seemed to disappear and then sand next to Gobi moved. Gobi turned to look to his left side and then sand shot up on his right side. He turned and looked madly and then he was kicked backwards. Rock Lee appeared back into sight and grinned. Gobi glared at lee and sent some sand after him. Rock Lee dodged and sprang back. Sand bubbled up behind Rock Lee and came after him.

“Watch out!” I yelled. Rock Lee turned around and dodged the sand as it came for him. When he hit the ground he disappeared from view and dust came up around Gobi. He must be doing his Technique. As expected he appeared into sight and kicked Gobi up in the air.

 “I’m not finished.” Rock Lee said as he jumped up and kicked Gobi further up into the air. The sand couldn’t keep up and it trailed behind Lee uselessly. Rock Lee then appeared behind Gobi and his big blob of white happened again. At the last second he jumped away, just like before. Gobi lay lifeless on the ground.

“You got him!” I yelled out to Lee encouragingly. Suddenly Gobi’s face cracked. We all starred as his entire body cracked and the sand dummy faded into sand. “What?” Rock Lee asked. Sand bubbled up and Gobi stepped out of the sand. He looked mad.

“You destroyed my sand barrier, I’ll kill you.” He told Lee madly. He raised a hand and a sand hand came after lee. Rock Lee jumped out of the way, but it grabbed his leg and threw him onto the ground. Lee hit the ground and sand piled onto him. Lee yelled out in pain. I leaned foreword and grabbed the bars in front of me intensly. Lee was thrown around with Gobi’s sand and he finally hit the back of a wall. He looked done for. More sand came after Lee and oddly he dodged. Gobi’s sand bubbled around him

“Still got some huh?” He asked Lee. He sent sand after Lee and Lee dodged swiftly. Then he jumped back a few feet and starred at Gobi madly. Then, out of nowhere he turned slowly and looked at me with a smile on his face. I don’t know why he would look at me during a battle, but he did. My horror for him left and I smiled a little back at him, hoping to give him encouragement. He left my gaze and glared again at Gobi. He put his arms up to his face is a cross position as he continued to stare at him.

“To protect the one’s I love, I will defeat you!” Rock Lee yelled out and a green energy surrounded Lee’s body.

“The second gate; the Rest gate, open!” Rock Lee yelled. The energy around Lee became thicker.

“The third gate; the life gate, open!” Rock Lee’s face became darker, but his hands remained where they were.

“The fourth gate; the pain gate, open!” Rock Lee yelled. The blood vessels in Rock Lee’s forehead popped out and the green substance was going around Rock Lee’s body furiously and with the pain gate I could tell Rock Lee was in pain. Rock Lee yelled

“I’m not done yet!”

“The fifth gate; the closing gate, open!” The ground under Rock Lee shook and then caved in. Rock Lee dropped his arms and where his eyes were, there was just a big white spot. Rock Lee yelled again and went after Gobi. Gobi’s eyes went wide and he was thrown back into a wall. Rock Lee disappeared and Gobi was thrown into the air. Then they both disappeared. Booming sounds came from all over the clearing and then there was a huge blast from below. We all starred shocked as the dust settled. Gobi was lying down with his eyes wide and Rock Lee was on his knees, a few feet away from him. Rock Lee was gasping and the energy from around him was gone. Gobi turned his head shakily and looked at Rock Lee. He raised a hand and the sand hand appeared.

“No! That’s not fair!” I shouted. The sand hand came after Rock Lee. Rock Lee fell from his knees and tried to crawl away, but the sand hand was faster. Rock Lee reached out an arm and the sand wrapped around it, it also covered his leg.

“Die!” Gobi managed to yell. Gobi closed his fist and Rock Lee let out a yell of pain. The sand fell from Rock Lee and Gobi continued to glare at Lee. Rock Lee hit the ground unconscious.

“Rock Lee!” I yelled out to him. He didn’t move.

“Winner G…” The man stopped as Rock Lee got to his feet shakily. He got into fighting position and his eyes were down low.

“I-I can’t…lose…here...I…can’t…let…her…see…this” He mumbled. He slowly walked over to Gobi who was shocked and probably out of energy and with all his might brought his foot down onto Gobi’s throat. Gobi chocked and passed out while Rock Lee yelled in pain and collapsed.

“Lee!” I yelled out again. The man looked behind him at the Hotashi.

“Winner Rock Lee.” He said. I ran down the steps as Kilikan Sensei and two nurses came in with a white stretch thingy. Kilikan stood and talked to the two nurses and I got down to Rock Lee’s side. His eyes were closed and blood was seeping through his bandages on his arm. I touched his arm carefully and Rock Lee’s eyes opened a little. He gave me a tiny smile

“I…won.” He told me quietly. I managed to put on a smile “Yeah, you did.” I whispered to him. I looked down at his damaged body.

“Is it bad?” he whispered to me. I looked up at his eyes and nodded. The two nurses moved me aside and put Rock Lee on the white thing. Rock Lee’s eyes closed as they led him away. Kilikan stayed there for a moment before he turned back to me

“You should stay here since you won.” He said, reading my mind. I frowned at him and the man behind me said

“Winners please come here.” Kilikan smiled slightly at me and followed the nurses out and Steve came down from the steps and joined me, so did everyone else.

“You guys have two weeks to train for your next exam; we will tell you when the time is.” He told us. He coughed.

“You all can leave now and be prepared to fight again.” He told us. The crowd departed and Steve and I remained. I looked around for Sendo but he wasn’t there, I was hoping to get this mark taken care of.

“Well, I’m probably going to head over to the hospital…” I told Steve. He nodded “I’ll come also, I want to see Ikasu. Then we can go over to Sendo’s house and I’ll take care of the mark alright?” He told me, actually reading my mind.  

“Alright, thanks.” I told him as I turned around.

“…and how do we get out of here?” I asked Steve.

“Like this!” Steve told me as he latched onto my arm and we both disappeared.

We reappeared in front of the Norcross hospital.

“Whoa! That was cool.” I told Steve.

“Yeah, its fun.” Steve told me with a smile. We walked into the hospital and asked the people at the front desk if we could see Rock Lee and Ikasu.

“I’m sorry, they have to rest so no one can see them for awhile…” the nurse told us.

“But I can help them!” I told her. She sighed and mumbled under her breath,

“Ok you can see Ikasu, but Rock Lee is in critical condition so no visitors.” She told us. I sighed

“Whatever.” I told her. Rock Lee was hurt and this girl wouldn’t let me see him, what a jerk! I heard Steve chuckle slightly behind me.

“He’s upstairs, it’s the only door on the left.” She told us. I nodded and Steve led me off. When we reached the top of the stairs we looked around for the door. We had to travel down the hall to find it. We opened the door and Ikasu was hooked up to a machine that gave him air. Steve and I approached Ikasu and stared at him. His shirt was still off and his eyes were closed.

“Poor Ikasu.” Steve said as he clenched his hand into a fist. I took water from my pouch and started to heal Ikasu. Steve watched in wonder as I did. When I finally finished the machine stopped. We both starred at Ikasu as his eyes opened slowly.

“Where?” he asked, his voice muffled. He looked down at the thing attached to his mouth and pulled it off irritably. I smiled

“Sorry Ikasu, you’re in the hospital.” I told him. He rubbed his shoulder “Yeah, no duh.” He joked. He sat up and got off the bed. He looked down

“Where’s my shirt?” he asked us. Steve and I shrugged. Ikasu sighed

“I’m not going out in public like this.” He told us.

“No problem.” I told him as I took his arm and concentrated on nothing. We both disappeared

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that!” Steve said.

“I’m not sure where you want to go Ikasu, but you lead the way.” My voice said out of the air. The arm I was grabbing onto pulled me along and the door opened.

“Hey wait up I can’t see you two!” Steve said as he went through the door and bumped into me

“Hey watch it!” I joked as I grabbed Steve’s arm. He turned invisible with us and we ran through the hospital unnoticed. We continued to run until we reached Ikasu’s house. Steve and Ikasu twisted out of my grasp and they became visible. I concentrated on nothing and became visible also.

“Thanks.” Ikasu said as he disappeared into his house. I turned to look at Steve, he was looking around.

“Do you think you guys can cure Ikasu and me?” I asked Steve seriously. He slowly turned and met my gaze as he thought for words.

“I’m not sure, that mark is said to be incurable, I would know.” He told me quietly. I nodded slightly and looked back to Ikasu’s house, I didn’t care much about my mark but I had fear for Ikasu. That mark controlled him and if we couldn’t cure it, then it would make him go mad.

Ikasu appeared out of his house wearing a white see through shirt as he nodded to us.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re going to see Sendo, and they are going to try and cure our marks.” I told him, looking back at Steve. Ikasu starred at Steve as well.

“Sendo put a seal on it; we both know Jinsei’s techniques are incurable. I’ve done all that I can.” He told him.

“Maybe we can figure something out!” I piped in and Ikasu looked at me.

“I can try too, and maybe we could research ways to figure out how to get rid of it!” I told him hopefully, he shook his head.

“It’s doubtful.” He replied numbly. I looked away from him and looked back at Steve.

“Well I don’t have a seal and I don’t want to have what happened at the exams to happen again.” I told him and he nodded back at me.

“Don’t worry we’ll figure out a way to block yours as well.” He told me and looked back at Ikasu.

“You can come to observe?” He questioned. Ikasu nodded and walked with us as we made our way for Sendo’s house.

When we arrived Sendo welcomed us in, an ink brush in his mouth as he moved away from the door, writing symbols down on a weird looking piece of paper. Steve examined the symbols and helped Sendo finish it as he whispered back to him; Ikasu stood back against the door and watched the two while I looked around keeping away my nervous feeling. I knew this was for the best, but I was still scared after watching Ikasu go through pain for it. I let out a deep sigh as I rubbed my eyes, shaking some of the feeling.

“Take off your shirt Stone Lee.” Steve’s voice said to me. I opened my eyes and Steve was in front of me while Sendo was drawing symbols around me such as the one’s where Ikasu sealed his mark. I nodded shakily as I slipped my shirt off carefully and set it down beside me. Steve helped me to my knees and I put my hands on the floor and closed my eyes.

“This will hurt Stone Lee, seeing as your mark is a higher level mark compared to Ikasu’s, just bare through it alright?” Sendo told me and he got down in front of me. I nodded again as I tried not to focus on it.

“He gave her the mark of the Yuggashi; I remember when he created that mark. He wanted to put it on me but decided against it because of the side effects. I can’t believe I let him do this…” Steve mumbled out loud. I opened my eyes and looked up at Steve.

“Why do you know so much about Jinsei?” I asked him. He grimaced.

“It’s not worth mentioning.” He told me. I looked over at Sendo and he was writing more symbols on the floor.

“I’ve got time, tell me.” I ordered as I looked back at him and he sighed.

“Well…for starts I’m not exactly human, I am a creation made by Jinsei.” He told me and I starred at him confused.

“It was a long process as he took DNA from an enemy and with many Techniques I came to life with human emotions and feelings, I was his big success. He implanted me with many mind techniques and I became his machine. I can twists people’s thoughts and read minds, I was perfect for him. I was sick of his orders though, I didn’t want to do them and I knew all I was to him was a tool that he could throw away whenever he pleased. After I was ten I decided to run away and so I did…and then I met you.” He told me, looking past me as if seeing the memory in his mind as he spoke.

“You gave me my name, and we’ve been friends since then.” He told a smile on his face.

“You mean…you know about my past?” I told him, not trying to sound loud. If Steve met me when we were children, then he knows what happened to me!

“I-.”

“Get ready Stone Lee, I’m beginning.” Sendo said as he looked over at Ikasu.

“I need you to hold her down. She’ll have to resort to her demon form for a minute while the mark is being sealed.” He told him. I looked over at Sendo not understanding.

“What do you mean what’s going to happen to me?!” I asked him scared and Ikasu came by me and took my wrists, locking me to the floor with his strength. I starred at him scared as my body began to shake.

“I’m scared I don’t want to do this anymore! I’ll be okay with it!” I told him frantically. Ikasu looked a little displeased with the plan but he looked me in the eyes.

“I promise that after these few moments of pain, I will make sure that no harm such as this one will befall you.” He whispered to me. I starred at him and slightly smiled, believing his words completely.

“I’m beginning. This will only be about two minute, but it will seem more than that to you, just hold on.” Sendo said quietly as he placed his palm on my mark carefully. At first there was nothing and I let out a relieved sigh, and then the pain came. He pressed his hand harder onto my mark and I felt as if my body had lit on fire, the mark being the source of the burn. I put my head low and closed my eyes tightly as I tried to hold back my scream, but it slipped past my small lips and the room was filled with my high pitched pain filled scream. The pain continued to worsen as if my insides were being hacked away and my outside was melting away by the hot intense flame that ate at my neck. If I had a word to say just how much it hurt, or give an example of the pain I experienced, I would but nothing could comprehend to the pain I felt at that moment. I had no tears to cry as my scream didn’t give up enough for tears to even fall. The pain finally started to cease and I heard my high pitch scream fall lower and lower as I felt my front teeth grow long and I felt my demon slip past me into my soul. It screamed and yelled in rage as my body jolted upward, trying to escape Ikasu’s grasp, but he didn’t let go. Ikasu was incredibly strong at the moment and he didn’t even look like he was having trouble fighting back the demon. He looked more pained by my screams rather than the burning of his hands from my demon. I felt it thrash my head back and forth as it tried to make Sendo stop as well, but the symbols just kept coming. The pain then returned to me and the demon’s and my screams collided together. This must have been a frightening sight for Ikasu and Steve to watch, but with this sort of pain I didn’t care, I just wanted it to end.

“Make it stop!” I yelled out, my voice still half demonic and half my own.

“You’re almost done Stone Lee, slip back into your body!” Sendo called over my screams. I shut my eyes closed as my scream grew louder and I felt my teeth recede back into my jaw and my demon fell away as my screams became my own. Sendo removed his hand from my neck and the symbols all circled around my mark and the pain disappeared. My screams came quieter and quieter until I had the chance to take a breath in before I fell foreword and into Ikasu’s arms.

“It’s over, you’re done, you’re...” I heard his voice say to me, it sounded far away though as my image became blotchy and his voice faded away as I fell into unconsciousness.

                       *  *           *

Hidan and Taren traveled through the forest, following the trail of blood.

“Interesting isn’t it?” Taren asked.

“What?” Hidan spat back.

“That she survived.” Taren said.

“Yes, very interesting.” Hidan said irritably. Taren stopped talking and looked down at the blood trail. It stopped when it reached the Norcross gates and someone else had also been following the blood, he could tell.

“Damn it!” Hidan said angrily.

“Hmm.” Taren mumbled to himself.

“She is here.” Teran said out loud.

“What the hell do you mean of coarse she is!” Hidan yelled at him, and Teran looked hard at Hidan.

“She is here; we need to report back to leader.” Teran said.

“That damn little girl, she won’t get her! I’ll make sure of that, this girl is mine!” He yelled as he sped foreword, staying on the outskirts of the village.

“Hidan!” Teran yelled after him as he chased him.

            *                                            *          *

I had a strange dream. I was in a large house that I didn’t recognize and I was examining a picture. It was a picture of a man and a woman who were both smiling and hugging and they looked as if they were older images of Ikasu and me.

“Stone Lee…” a voice said. The lights suddenly clicked off and it was dark. I dropped the picture and it clattered to the floor as the glass broke in the silence.

“Who’s there?” I asked as I got up off the ground. I went up the nearby stairs and Ikasu was there, sitting on his bed.

“Ikasu? You scared me and the power?” I asked him as I approached him.

“I’m not sure what happened with the power.” He told me bluntly. I came up to him and sat in front of him on the bed.

“This place is creepy when it’s dark.” I told him. He wrapped his arms around my neck.

“It’s ok I’ll keep you safe.” He told me. I giggled as Ikasu started to kiss my neck tenderly. Somehow it felt…good.

“Ikasu stop it.” I whispered to him. Ikasu didn’t stop and I didn’t really want him to because I was enjoying this moment. Suddenly he grew fangs and bit my neck the same as Jinsei had done and he drank my blood hungrily.

I woke up quickly and put a hand to my neck, luckily the bite mark wasn’t there. It was raining outside and the sky was making a weird sound again. I clutched my knees to my chest, I wasn’t going back to sleep with that horrifying noise keeping me up. The sky made another noise and I felt myself jump straight up and I knew that I didn’t want to be alone. I walked out of my house and made way for what I thought was Ikasu’s house in the poring rain and the dark of the night.

I found it and opened the door quietly as I tried to hold back my heavy breathing. I went threw the living room and into Ikasu’s bedroom where he was sound asleep as he looked comfortable in his sleep. I slipped my wet shoes off quickly and then I tentatively got on the other side of Ikasu’s bed and cuddled up to his body for warmth. Closing my eyes in comfort I felt a smile creep over my face as the thunder outside seemed to be more distant now and a calm peace fell over me. Coming here was the right choice and now with the new peace I fell back into dreamland.  

I awoke as the sun streamed over my face and I sat up and stretched my arms out when I remembered where I was. Ikasu was next to the window, opening it and letting the air in before he turned to look at me.

“Good morning, when did you get here?” He asked me as he sat down and pulled white socks over his bare feet. I got up out of his bed and stood up slightly embarrassed.

“Sorry I-I had a bad dream last night so I thought I would come here…” I told him, slipping on my shoes as I kept my gaze on his.

“That’s fine, next time wake me though so I don’t think you’re an enemy.” He told me, smiling slightly. I smiled back and nodded as I stepped back from the wall and made my way for the door.

“So umm, thanks for not kicking me out and I’ll umm see you around!” I told him as I grabbed the handle of the door and fled outside, hoping he wouldn’t get freaked out that I slept next to him.

I walked around with my face up to the sky, it was a brilliant day outside as it was perfectly warm and there were no clouds in the sky. I walked through the town lazily when I spotted a flower shop and remembered Rock Lee. Happily I walked in and looked at some of the flowers that surrounded the small shop.

“Hello Stone Lee,” A voice said to me. I turned to look at the counter and there was Tairia in a yellow apron. I smiled at her.

“Hello Tairia.” I replied.

“What are you looking for?” she asked me questionably.

“Well, I wanted to get Rock Lee some flowers while he’s in the hospital to make him feel better.” I told her. She came out from behind the counter and went to some light yellow flowers and gazed at them with a smile.

“These flowers are pretty and they give people strength in folktale.” She told me.

“That’s perfect for me! I just need one of those, thank you so much!” I told her.

“In a vase?” she asked me as she picked through the bunch of flowers. What’s a vase?

“Uhh, sure.” I told her. She picked out one of the flowers that looked the best and went to the counter, where she placed it in a glass container that had water in it.

“Ok that’ll be five dollars.” She told me. I reached in my pocket and handed her one of the five dollar bills.

“Thank you and have a good time with Lee.” She told me. I smiled at her and left the building. I looked around at the shops on my way to the hospital questionably as all their strange shop titles came into view. There were all kinds of different shops, but I didn’t know what most of them were about.

I finally made it to the Hospital and I asked the lady if I could see Rock Lee. She was a nicer lady than the other and she led me off to Rock Lee’s room pleased. She knocked first and waited for a reply, but nothing came.

“Rock Lee there’s a girl here to see you.” She said as she opened the door. No body was in the bed and the window was open.

“Lee?!” the lady asked, looking around frantically. I went to the window to look around and I saw Rock Lee doing push-ups.

Lee…I left the room and the nurse followed me outside, where Rock Lee was slowly counting up.

“Rock Lee! You shouldn’t be training!” The nurse said.

“223…224…225!” Rock Lee managed. I frowned a little, Rock Lee was going to push himself, and I still needed to heal him. The nurse came up to Rock Lee and touched his shoulder. Rock Lee turned his face towards her

“Please don’t touch me!” he told her fiercely.  She backed up and Rock Lee continued to count.

“227…228…229...23-“he yelled out in pain and collapsed. The nurse and I ran for him.

“Don’t touch him! I’ll go get the stretcher.” She told me as she ran off. I looked at lee sadly and he opened his eyes for a second.

“Hi Stone Lee.” He told me with a weak smile.

“Rock Lee I need to heal you.” I told him. He shook his head fiercely.

“I want to be able to heal by myself.” He told me. I looked at him sadly

“If that’s what you want…” I told him. He smiled weakly and slipped away again.

The nurse then came out with the stretcher and put Rock Lee on it. I followed her inside and watched her set Rock Lee on the bed.

“You should probably leave, doctor Tsubana will be in here soon.” She whispered to me as she left. I put my flower on the desk next to him and looked at it sadly. Rock Lee was going to push his body to the limit no matter what; I hoped he would be ok. Regretfully I turned around and left the hospital.

I continued to walk, not knowing exactly where I was going. I walked out of Norcross and into the forest, thinking about Rock Lee’s condition. I heard a strange noise that sounded like a type of animal. I ran foreword when I got to a little clearing and there was a huge red and yellow bird that a girl with long brown hair was petting. She turned and met my stare her eyes glistening slightly.

“Hello there.” She told me. I waved at her with a friendly smile.

“Hi I’m sorry to intrude on...this.” I told her.

“No, no it’s not a problem at all.” She told me with a small smile.  I looked at her bird.

“It’s huge!” I told her amazed. She looked at her bird as though it was less significant compared to our meeting.

“Yeah, her name is Evika.” She told me. I smiled.

“Hi Evika.” I told her. The bird cooed happily as its feet made little movements. I walked foreword and approached the bird.

“Can I pet him?” I asked her. She nodded and stepped back welcoming me to feel the bird. I carefully pet the bird and he was very soft, but felt strong.

“My name is Gina by the way.” She told me. I looked over at her and she was starring hard at me, her green eyes fixed on mine

“My name’s Stone Lee.” I told her. She nodded very happy to hear my name.

“So why are you out here?” I asked her. She sighed almost sadly.

“Evika needed a…rest and I thought I’d chill in Norcross, but I didn’t really have a place to stay so we are setting up out here.” She told me. I frowned slightly, sad that she had to be out here in the cold.

“If you want, you can come back and stay with me.” I told her. Her face brightened up in the instant that I said that

“Ok, that sounds perfect!” She told me. She looked hard at Evika and then the bird shrunk back to a regular sized bird.

“Whoa!” I said. She picked Evika up and put her on her own shoulder.

“Ok we can go now, please escort me to your house.” She told me. I led her off to Norcross. We came through the gates and she stayed close behind me, hiding her face from everyone as if she was shy. I led her through the town and off to my house in a more deserted part of Norcross.

“This is my house; if you don’t have a place to stay you can stay here with me.” I told her with a smile. She gave me a small smile as she examined the area as if looking for spies.

“Thank you.” She told me, meeting my gaze and I pushed her playfully

“Gina you have to loosen up, you seem so serious as if we’re going to be raided or something!” I told her laughing slightly. She stared at me and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry; I’m just…new at making friends is all.” She told me.

“It’s ok; I’ll help you out so you don’t seem so tense.” I told her. She opened her eyes and starred at me.

“First we have work on your smile. It’s what people first notice about you” I told her.

“What’s wrong with my smile?” she asked me.

“You don’t smile at all; when someone is nice you’re supposed to smile.” I told her. She sighed and smiled happily his eyes glistening again.

“Like that?” she asked me, her face returning to normal.

“Perfect!” I told her. She smiled her smile.

Gina and I practiced on being nice for hours. We sat on my bed and talked like we were old friends. I found out she was a ninja from the hidden mist village and she had a demon inside her named Kiki. I told her about myself and how I didn’t have much of a memory. She nodded.

“I’m sorry for… your memory loss. It must have been tragic” She said with a little frown as she looked away from me.

“It’s ok, you get used to it after awhile…” I told her. I looked out the window and it was dark outside

“Wow, it got dark fast, we should probably go to sleep.” I told her. She nodded and suddenly she looked very tired.

“Uhh I don’t really have two beds, so you can sleep on my bed tonight.” I told her with a smile. She smiled back at me

“Thank you very much.” I nodded and hopped off my bed; getting comfy next to the wall.

“Sleep well.” I told her as I shut my eyes.

“You to…” she told me softly. I slowly fell asleep.

*                        *                       *

Gina pretended to be asleep for about a half an hour before she sat up. She looked at Stone Lee who was asleep next to the wall; she was out like a light. Carefully she got off the bed and bent down to Stone Lee’s side and then she lifted up Stone Lee’s shirt and carefully and examined her stomach. There was a mark there that she saw so long ago.

“Hmm.” She mumbled quietly to herself. Her finger lit up with a bluish substance and she traced her finger along the twisting mark, the mark of the demon. Stone Lee’s stomach began to illuminate as the beast’s image shown through and Gina drew back her hand.

“Interesting, it still lives even after the misinjection.” Gina said as she got up and felt the strange vibe. She glanced out the nearby window and chuckled to herself.

“Those boys don’t stand a chance against me.” She told her self as she closed her eyes and disappeared into thin air

*                          *                         *

Hidan inched his way toward his target before it finally came into full view.

“She’s in there, no doubt.” Teran said as he looked around the place.

“Well let’s send her a little gift shall we? Even with the demon inside her after her body is nothing but charred skin we can still extract it, with the bonus that we get the girl out of the way.” Hidan said as he touched the side of Stone Lee’s house. The wood of her house caught on fire and spread slowly.

“Let’s get out of here, this flame won’t stop until everything inside is eliminated.” Hidan said as he hid back into the forest snickering. Taren watched as the house slowly lit up in flames, he had an urge to help her, but he reluctantly followed Hidan into the forest.

*                             *                       *

I had another strange dream. One I didn’t want to have. It was again with Ikasu, it was really foggy though.

“Stone Lee.” His voice said, it sounded far away. I smiled

“Ikasu!” I called to him as I ran up to him…oddly slow.

“Stone Lee, you have to be careful.” He told me with a smile.

“I will be, besides it can’t be dangerous if you’re around.” I told him as I hugged him. There was an evil laugh behind me and I turned around and saw Hidan’s face, but it looked ghostly. His ghost image flew to me and suddenly I breathed in smoke and Ikasu drifted from me.

I coughed and sputtered as I woke up. I looked around and the air was filled with smoke. I looked at the wall next to me and flames were creeping up the wall to destroy it. I shrieked as the roof on the left side caved in from the loss of the wall. I got off my bed and went into a remotely safe corner, staring horrifically at the strange black and yellow flames; they were creeping closer to me. How could I get out of here?! I banged hard against my walls, but it did nothing as if my fists were punching metal instead of wood. I flipped back around as I pressed my back closer to the wall and watched the flames get no more than an inch away from me, I would soon be devoured. Just when I thought the flames would catch onto my body a golden hand punched through my house, grabbed a hold of me and yanked me back, breaking me from my prison as I gulped in new fresh air. I turned to see who helped me but they were already gone when I had the chance to look around.

“Stone Lee are you alright?!” Ikasu’s voice asked me. I turned to my right and out of the darkness Ikasu’s image appeared.

“M-my house…” I told him as I looked back at it horrified.

“It doesn’t matter are you ok?” he asked me again and I nodded. He came up to me and pulled me to my feet.

We watched as the flames continued to destroy my house. The flames then started to come towards us. Ikasu pulled me back a few feet and we continued to watch from a good distance. The flames soon killed the house and all that was left were ashes and the smoke that drifted up into the sky. I sat there and starred at my once nice house.

“Are you alright?” he asked me as he shook me. I nodded solemnly.

“My house…it’s gone.” I said glumly.

“How did it start on that kind of fire? How did you escape? There should be no way to escape that flame.” he asked me. I shook my head

“I don’t know, I was asleep and then I woke up…” I told him. We watched as he smoke lifted up into the sky and disappeared.  He put a hand on my shoulder

“Come on, we’ll figure it out in the morning as they obviously found you.” He said as he turned me around and led me away. My first fire, I didn’t know what to feel, scared or sad? Inside I felt empty.

“Wait, where’s Gina?” I asked, turning around to look at my destroyed house.

“Gina?” his voice said from the darkness.

“Yeah, she’s a girl I met yesterday.” I told him, instantly regretting that I had.

“You met a girl and just let her into your house?” he asked me angrily.

“Well we talked and such…” I told him, looking down in the darkness. He sighed

“Stone Lee, you have to be careful.” He told me as he started leading me off again. I turned and starred at him shocked. That’s what he said in my dream. Did that mean that it was Hidan who burned my house down?

“If you’re not careful you’re going to end up…burned.” He told me. I rolled my eyes and kept them on the ground as we entered his house. He pointed to the bed and I hopped on it, but I made no intention of going to sleep. I starred at him as he sat against the wall.

“What?” he asked me.

“I don’t want to go to sleep, I’ve been having strange nightmares lately...” I told him as I played with the covers.

“What kind of nightmares?” he asked me.  I kept my eyes on my hands.

“I’m with this…guy that I don’t think I like and at first we’ll have a good time and well last night it ended up with Hidan chocking me with his smoke; and the night before the man bite me.” I told him. I looked up at Ikasu and he was thinking.

“Try before you go to bed to not think of the person.” He said. I nodded

“I’ll try it.” I told him. I lay back against the pillow and thought. Yeah, that sounds easy when he’s in the room with me and his sheets smell like him. I frowned and closed my eyes, trying to erase my thoughts of Ikasu. Instead I remembered Gina and Reido, and I fell asleep with Gina’s image in my mind.

Regardless I had another nightmare, but it was blurry. I couldn’t see who I was with or what they sounded like. All I knew is that I was somewhere soft, and warm. I heard voices in the background, but I couldn’t make them out. In the dream I could feel myself moving, trying to get away. I chose a way and ran; I could feel my feet moving against the ground. Something warm touched my hand and I stopped running. Turning around I noticed…a blob. The image was to blurry for me to define. Something touched my head and the image finally came clear. I saw Ikasu, taking my hand and looking worried.

“Where are you going?” his voice sounded clear.

“Away.” I told him. He smiled

“Why would you do that?” he asked me. Behind Ikasu I could see Gina; she was starring softly at me.

“Gina!” I called out. Ikasu turned and Gina’s image disappeared. My hand slipped from his and I was pulled back by a force. Ikasu looked back but it seemed that he couldn’t see me.

“Ikasu!” I tried to yell, but my throat was closing in. The person shook me vigorously. I started to try to get out of their clutches when I woke up. Ikasu was by my side shaking me.

“Hey are you awake?” he asked me quietly. I blinked a couple of times and sat up.

“Y-Yeah, I’m awake.” I told him shakily.

“You should have seen yourself, first you’d move around and then you’d stop; and then you started to hyperventilate.” He told me.

“Is that bad?” I asked him.

“Umm, yeah.” He told me

“That’s when your body starts to shake and you can’t breath.” I nodded. No wonder my throat was being weird in my dream. I looked outside and gratefully it was morning.

“I’m going to go outside for some air…” I said as I got out of the bed. He nodded

“Don’t talk to that girl Gina if you see her, nothing at all.” He told me. I nodded irritably and left Ikasu’s house. I saw my house in ruins and Gina was sitting on a pile of rubble twisting a board between her hands.

“Gina!” I called out as I ran up to her. She smiled and got up

“I thought you died! I left to get some air and I came back to this.” She said as she gestured to the pile of rubble.

“I thought you were trapped under there or…” I said, stopping myself.

“Or what?” she asked me, giving me the look. Evika seemed to stare at me also.

“Or you had somehow managed to escape.” I lied. She nodded.

“Well in all truth I actually did escape.” She joked.

“I’m glad to see you’re ok.” I said with a smile. She smiled back

“So what happened?” she asked me.

“I don’t know, I was dreaming and then I suddenly woke up to flames and smoke.” I told her. She nodded

“Doesn’t seem like a coincidence.” She told me.

“Yeah,” I sighed and looked down

“They probably know I’m alive.” I said more to myself than her.

“Who?” she asked me. I closed my eyes.

“They’re an organization called the ‘Alilien’ and I’m not entirely sure why, but they want whatever’s inside me.” I said, Hidan’s face appearing in my mind.

“So they tried killing you?” she asked me. I looked up at her and she looked puzzled.

“Yeah…wait why would Hidan try to burn me?” I asked, more to myself than to her. She shrugged. Hmm, that’s odd maybe it wasn’t Hidan who tried to burn down my house, did that mean I had another enemy? I shook my head not wanting to believe it.

“Well whatever, I think I’m going to train.” I said as I headed off for the training ground. Gina followed behind me. When I got to the clearing I turned and looked at her.

“Do you want to train with me?” I asked her. She nodded

“But will you tell me what we’re doing first?” she asked.

“Oh, for the most part I’m training with my hands. I’m trying to get my arms and legs stronger.” I told her. 

“Ok…” she said. I turned to my tree and punched it a couple times.

“Like that, but for a longer time.” I told her. She took her position on the tree next to me and started punching it.

“Ahh wait.” I told her. She stopped and I held her hand.

“What?” she asked me.

“We’re going to need to bandage up your hands.” I told her.

“Ok, that seems better.” She told me. Where was I going to get that stuff Rock Lee used on my hands?

“Uhh stay here, I’ll be right back.” I told her. I ran back to Ikasu’s house just as he was leaving.

“Ikasu do you know where I can get some umm ‘medical tape’?” I asked him. He looked at me questionably and then he disappeared inside his house. He came back a couple seconds later and handed me some medical tape.

“Thanks.” I said as I ran back off to Gina. She was sitting in the clearing, petting and talking softly to Evika. She turned and looked at me as I approached her. I held up the tape

“Got it.” I told her. She held out her hands

“Knock yourself out.” I carefully wrapped Gina’s hands in the tape. When I examined my work I noticed it was nothing compared to Lee’s. I smiled at her

“Ok you can train now.” I told her as I turned back to my tree and started training. She punched the tree next to me, making indents a lot quicker than me. She must be pretty strong.

After I did about 500 punches I stopped.

“Hey Gina...” I said to her. She stopped and looked at me.

“There’s actually someone I want to see today, is that alright? If you want to you can come with me.” I told her. She looked at me and shook her head

“I’ll stay here and you can go meet them by yourself.” She said as she turned back to her tree.

“Ok, don’t leave from here I’ll be right back.” I said as I turned and ran for the Norcross hospital. I entered and asked the girl at the desk if I could see Rock Lee. She told me he was sleeping.

“I’ll be quiet; he won’t even know I’m there.” I told her. She doubted it for a second and then said

“Go.” I smiled and walked off to Rock Lee’s room. I opened the door quietly and shut it. Rock Lee was asleep in the bed. His face up at the ceiling and his body was hidden under the covers. He looked peaceful as he slept.  I turned and looked at the desk. My flower was still there and it didn’t look wilted. I went up to Rock Lee and put my hand on his head. It was warm, but it didn’t seem odd. I smiled at Rock Lee as I moved my fingers over his forehead. Why couldn’t Rock Lee be in my dream instead of Ikasu? It was Rock Lee that I loved, Ikasu was just my friend! I continued, lost in my own thoughts. Rock Lee turned his head and I froze, trying to be as still as I could. His eyes fluttered but he remained asleep. I waited a while before I took my hand away from his head. I sighed as I looked down at his poor body. I hopped Rock Lee would let me heal him in time… I took the necklace off my neck and put it around Rock Lee’s. If it made me feel better maybe it would make him feel better. With that I turned and left quietly.

I returned back to the training ground and Gina was talking to her bird again.

“Hi Gina,” I said as I entered the clearing. She turned and looked at me.

“Hi, how was your trip?” she asked me.

“Ehh it was good.” I said with a smile. Evika flew off Gina’s shoulder and into the sky.

“Uhh is he supposed to do that?” I asked her. She nodded

“He doesn’t like to be cooped up as a tiny bird, so he’ll just take a flight.” She told me.

“Ok.” I said as I watched the bird disappear into the sky. I noticed that it was already getting dark.

“Gina, I think we should quit, and besides I need to get another house.” I told her.

“You could get an apartment.” She offered.

“Where are those?” I asked her. She pointed to the city.

“There are a couple places there.” She said. I nodded.

“Do you want to come with me?” I asked. She shook her head.

“I’ll stay here until you come back.” she told me.

“Ok, I’ll be right back.” I told her as I took off for the city. Looking around Gina was right; there were a lot of places that had apartments. I picked one and entered it.

“Hello how can I help you?” the girl asked as I approached the counter.

“Umm can I get an ‘apartment'? I asked her.

“You mean room, and yes you can. Name?” she asked me.

“Stone Lee.” I told her. She wrote something down and handed me a key.

“You’re room is just one flight up.” She told me. I nodded and took the key

“Thanks.” I told her. She smiled at me and looked down at her papers. I looked at the key and then turned and left.

I got back to the training ground Gina was training.

“Ok I got a room.” I told her as I approached her. She stopped training.

“Good, now we can go there when you’re ready.” She told me. I smiled

“I’m ready when you’re ready.” I told her. She moved her hands over her bandages.

“Ok we can go now then.” She told me. I led her away from the training ground and into the apartment place.

“What you’re room number?” Gina asked, her head low.

“Uhh I don’t know.” I told her. “Look on the key, it should tell you.” She told me. I looked down at my key

“Room 117.” I told her. She nodded and I led her up a flight of stairs.

“113…114…115…116…117!” I told her as we were placed in front of a door. I put the key in the key lock and tried the door. It didn’t budge.

“You have to turn the key.” She told me.

“Ohh.” I said as I turned the key. The door made a soft click sound and I opened the door. We automatically entered a small kitchen that had a small table and a fridge. There were a couple counters and that was it. Through the kitchen was a door opening, but there was no door. We entered that room and there was a bed, next to a window and a ledge that you could go out on. The room looked empty and I wished I had thing I used to have from my house. Gina sat on the end of the bed.

“Do you want to sleep here tonight?” she asked me. I shrugged

“I don’t care.” I told her. She got off the bed

“I had it last night, so you can have it tonight.” She told me.

“Are you sure?” I asked her. She nodded and took her place on the floor. I got on the bed and got under the covers

“Thanks Gina.” I told her.

“Mmmm.” She muttered sleepily. I closed my eyes and slowly fell asleep.

*                          *                   *

Gina waited until Stone Lee fell asleep before she got up. She looked over at Stone Lee sadly and then left the apartments through the window. She ran quickly and quietly through the forest. When she knew she was alone she made a low bird whistle. Buddy flew in at full size with two men trailing behind him. They approached her.

“So?” one man asked. Gina looked back through the trees and sighed

“She in Founder apartments in room 117.” She told them. The man nodded.

“I don’t want to be here when she wakes up.” Gina said as she hopped on Buddy.

“Fine go then.” He said as he waved her off. Gina rode buddy up and into the sky.

*                               *                  *

Finally Rock Lee was in my dream. We were going down a lane holding hands and talking. There were trees that shed pink flowers around us. I said something to Lee and he laughed lightly. Rock Lee’s laugh was beautiful. Rock Lee then suddenly shoved me into a tree and put his hands by my head. I looked at him puzzled and a shiver went through me. Rock Lee just stared at me, not moving or speaking. My eyes started to burn and I got a funny feeling in my stomach. His lips moved but I couldn’t tell what he was saying. He smiled at me and kissed me. I felt a booming sound and then I woke up. Someone knocked on my door. I looked at the floor and Gina was gone. There was a knock again.

“I’m coming!” I yelled to them as I hopped out of bed and ran for the door.

*                             *                      *

Three jounnin stayed in Sendo’s room.

“So he’s already infiltrated Norcross huh.” Kilikan told the room.

“And they haven’t found Stone Lee yet, why is that?” Haoi asked.

“Kuro knows Norcross like the back of his hand; it shouldn’t be that hard to find her.” Moreno said as he popped out a cigarette.

“Do you think they’re planning something?” Sendo asked.

“Shh.” Kilikan said.

“Sendo-sensei!” Ikasu said as he burst through the door. Everyone starred at him. Ikasu looked around

“Why are there three jounnin in Sendo’s room? What’s going on?” Ikasu asked.

“Uhh nothing much.” Kilikan said. Suddenly a man dressed in black burst through the door

“Is it true Kuro has returned to Norcross for Stone Lee?” he asked quickly. Kilikan sighed and Haoi grumbled

“Idiot.” She mumbled. Ikasu’s eyes went wide and he quickly left the room. He bounced off roofs of people’s house and ran as fast as he could to the training ground. Stone Lee wasn’t there. He turned around angrily and ran to her house. No one was there either. Kuro, so he had the guts to return, and now he’s after Stone Lee huh? If anyone knew about how much he cared for Stone Lee it would be him. He ran into the city and into the first apartment place.

“Is Stone Lee registered here?” he asked the man at the front desk, trying to get his breath back. The man looked at his papers and shook his head. Ikasu ran out of the place and went to the next.

“Is a girl named Stone Lee registered here?” he asked the woman. She shook her head “I saw her go by though.” She told him.

“Where?” he asked her furiously. She pointed to some apartments. Ikasu ran out of the place and into the next place. There was no one at the front desk.

“Stone Lee!” he yelled.

*                        *                           *

The knock game again.

“I’m coming already!” I yelled as I approached the door and unlocked it. I thrust open the door and someone with red eyes looked down at me. He had on the same cloak as Hidan and there was a line through his headband.

“Stone Lee, you’re coming with us.” The man said to me. Another man appeared out from behind the door.

“Its amazing that such a little girl could have so much power inside her.” The other man said. The man next to the man with red eyes looked like a man formed from rock. His skin seemed to be covered in blue diamonds and his eyes were black slits. He also had spiky orange hair and a headband with a line through it. On his back was a large sword like Wang’s but this one had red symbols built into the sword. The red eyed man looked plain, except for his eyes. He had long blonde hair and his cloak had a neckband, so you couldn’t see his mouth. His eyes reminded me of Ikasu’s, but slightly different. I stood frozen as I starred into his eyes.

*                            *                     *

Ikasu ran up the stairs and no one was there, he searched the whole building and no one was there.

“Damn it!” he called out. Ikasu ran out of that building out of breath, there was only one more apartment place. He ran inside and the girl was unconscious in the chair. He has to be here. Ikasu ran up the steps.

*                               *                     *

“Let’s take a walk.” The red eyed man said as he took a step back. I followed him. If I didn’t he looked like he’d kill me. Both men faced me.

“Sensei it would be a nescience if she tried to run away.” The rock man said as he grabbed his sword.

“How about I…cut off a leg or two?” he asked. It was quiet as I starred at the rock man shocked.  

“Ok then.” He said as he approached me, the handle of his sword in his hand and the floorboards creaking under him.

“It’s been awhile.” Kuro said out of no where. The man stopped

“Huh?”

 “Ikasu.” He finished. I looked between the two men. Ikasu was standing there, panting.

“Yatashi Kuro, I will kill you.” Ikasu spat. Kuro stood there, still staring foreword instead of at Ikasu. The rock man’s hand left his sword and he looked back at Ikasu.

“He has a familiar look to him. Who is this kid?” he asked.

“My little brother.” Kuro replied. I looked at Kuro. He looked just like the picture in Ikasu’s house that I had previously seen, that’s where I recognized him from!

“I’ve been waiting and training for this day.” Ikasu said angrily as he put his left arm against his chest in a horizontal position. His hand flickered with a weird substance and then his hand was covered in what looked like lightning. It grew larger until it formed a lightning ball.

“I will kill you!” Ikasu shouted as he put his hand to the wall and ran for Kuro. Kuro turned around as Ikasu came for him. Just as Ikasu got to Kuro, Kuro seemed to flick his wrist and the lightning exploded the wall next to us. I shielded my eyes as dust rose into the air. When the dust settled Ikasu and Kuro were staring at each other with red eyes. Kuro had Ikasu’s wrist. Ikasu started to punch Kuro.

“You’re a bother.” Kuro said as he snapped Ikasu’s wrist. Ikasu screamed out in pain and Kuro dropped his hand.

“Ikasu!” I called out.

“I have no interest in you right now.” Kuro told Ikasu. Ikasu looked up and glared at Kuro.

“I’m not finished yet.” He told him as he tried to punch Kuro. Kuro blocked it and kicked Ikasu back into the wall a foot behind him. His back hit the wall and Ikasu fell to the ground.

“Ikasu!” I yelled again as my eyes started burning. Blood dripped out of the corners of Ikasu’s mouth.

“So this is Kitzune's legendary energy.” The blue man said. I didn’t notice that my thing was slowly slipping out. I raised a hand to fight back when Ikasu yelled

“Stone Lee don’t interfere!” He got up shakily. 

“You don’t give up.” Kuro said as he approached Ikasu. Ikasu saw and Kuro started to beat the crap out of him. He would throw him in the air and then kick him down. When he finally had enough Ikasu fell to the floor as he tried meekly to sit up. The pain I felt for him was unbearable as I glared fiercely at Kuro, my eyes burning and my body shaking as a slight growl escaped me. Kuro turned around calmly and faced me with red, swirling eyes and suddenly the energy instantly stopped, sending me to my knees. Whoa, what did he do? He picked up Ikasu by the scruff of the collar and banged him against the wall.

“You are weak.” He told Ikasu. Ikasu coughed.

“Why are you weak?” he asked him getting closer to his ear.

“Because you lack...” and then I couldn’t hear his voice. Ikasu’s eyes widened and Kuro dropped him. He turned back to the blue man and me with closed eyes. When he opened them his eyes were back to his regular color, black.

“Maybe this will teach you hatred.” Kuro said as he approached me and kicked me onto my back. I coughed up blood and sat on my back as the pain crept up my stomach. Kuro’s eyes changed color again and the black marks swirled as the world I knew slipped away from me. I was suddenly in a dark place.

“W-Where am I?” I called out.

“You’re seventy-two hours of torture start now.” Kuro’s voice said. I realized I was up on a cross and there was Kuro in front up me. He had a long sword drawn. He smirked and stabbed me. I screamed out in pain as a clone of Kuro appeared. They both stabbed me. I suppressed a yell and another clone of Kuro appeared.

“No stop!” I yelled.

*                                                           *                  *

Ikasu watched dizzily as Stone Lee screamed out in pain and clutched her stomach; her eyes were closed and she seemed unconscious. Her body started shaking and her energy was leaking out. Stone Lee… Ikasu got to his feet shakily.

“L-Leave Stone Lee alone.” He said weakly. Kuro turned back to Ikasu.

“If I don’t?” he said as he nudged Stone Lee’s limp foot.

“Or I’ll kill you.” Ikasu told him, looking up at Kuro’s eyes.

“You still have no idea...” Kuro told Ikasu. He kicked Stone Lee back against the wall. She coughed and sputtered up blood. Ikasu glared at Kuro and threw a kunai at him. Kuro deflected it easily and threw the same kunai at Ikasu. It zoomed past his shoulder and dug into the wall. A cut opened up on Ikasu’s shoulder.

“Maybe this time it’ll scar.” He said as he turned around to Stone Lee. She was gasping and shaking violently, the energy completely surrounded her body.

“Kuro-san, I don’t know if she’ll be able to endure that for much longer.” The blue man told Kuro.

“I’m not done with her.” Kuro said. Ikasu heaved for air as his curse mark spread over his face and onto his body. No, I can…do this…by myself.

“Stop!” Stone Lee yelled out randomly. Kuro and Midori continued to watch her as Ikasu clutched his shoulder and fell to his knees. Go...away! The curse mark continued to spread and it covered his entire body.

           *                             *                     *

            I was continually stabbed by the millions of Kuro’s surrounding me. I felt the ropes that bound me to the cross break and I slipped back into reality. I opened my eyes slowly and the first thing I saw was Ikasu in curse mark form, clutching his shoulder.

“Ikasu…” I said just louder than a whisper. Ikasu’s head shot up and he looked at me.

“Not…here.” I told him quietly. Kuro and the blue man looked behind at Ikasu. Suddenly pain entered my stomach and I clutched it, leaning foreword.

“Stone Lee!” Ikasu yelled out, getting up from his knees and reaching out towards me. I put up my head weakly as I smiled slightly.

“Not…here.” I repeated and I let myself fall foreword my head colliding with the hard ground and my eyes closing. I could feel the world starting to slip away, but I wouldn’t let it. If I knocked out here, they would kill me. I felt something weird and slimly behind me and I was sucked into a gushy hole. I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. I was in a dark place that I didn’t recognize. Suddenly the walls shook and then it was quiet. After a couple of minutes the slimy walls released me and I fell into someone’s arms.

“Ikasu…” I mumbled to the person.

“He’s fine.” The person told me. I slipped from the world gratefully.

            When I finally woke up my body ached all over. I slowly opened my eyes and Steve was leaning in my face.

“Hey Stone Lee.” He told me quietly.

“Kuro…”I whispered to him.

“They’re both gone, Takashi sent them off.” He told me.

“Who’s Takashi?” I mumbled to him.

“That would be me.” said a voice. In my view an older man appeared. He had very long white hair and red marks that seemed to come out of his eyes. On his forehead was a larger headband that had a weird symbol on it. He pointed to it.

“This means I’m a Sanji, the highest level ninja there is.” He told me.

“Yeah, for a pervy sage.” Steve mumbled.

“What did you call me?” Takashi asked Steve angrily. I smiled weakly and put my hand to my water pouch.

“Whoa, you shouldn’t be using energy just yet.” Takashi told me as he moved my hand back to my side. I frowned

“Why not?” I asked him, still quiet.

“It just…wouldn’t be a good idea.” He told me. I sighed

“How is Ikasu?” I asked them. Steve looked at Takashi and then back at me.

“Stone Lee…he’s dead.” Steve told me. My eyes widened and I felt a shock escape through me. My eyes brimmed with tears and they started burning.

“It didn’t work ok?! Oh so much for your powers.” Steve yelled at Takashi. Steve looked back at me. I could feel my stomach in great pain and I squeezed my eyes shut. Ikasu protected me and in the end, killed himself. I would kill that man! Why. . . I had loved him and now. . .now!

“Stone Lee…I was kidding.” Steve whispered to me. Another shiver ran through my body and I opened my eyes.

“You were kidding?” I sneered madly. Whoa, I didn’t mean to get this mad at him.

“You think joking about someone’s life is funny?” I asked him. Steve starred at me. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and put my hand on my stomach.

“It hurts.” I said.

“It will for awhile.” Takashi told me. I opened my eyes and looked at Steve.

“I’m sorry Steve.” I whispered to him. He shook his head and looked up at me.

“I’m sorry also.” He told me. I slowly got up and hunched over.

“You shouldn’t move yet.” Steve told me.

“I have to see something.” I told them as I slowly walked out of my room, using the wall for support. I walked to the front desk and asked the lady where Ikasu was.

“You shouldn’t be wa-“

”Where is he?” I asked her louder. She starred at me.

“He’s three doors down from you room.” She told me. I used the wall again and entered Ikasu’s room. Ikasu was in bandages and sitting on the edge of his bed. I leaned all my weight into the wall.

“Ikasu…are you alright?” I asked him quietly. He turned, looked at me and got off the bed quickly

“Stone Lee you should be walking around.” Ikasu said as he approached me. I gave him a small smile

“I had to see if you were ok.” I told him.

“I’m fine.” He told me. “Good.” I told him as I closed my eyes.

“Do you have any horrible damage?” I asked Ikasu.

“Just a broken wrist, nothing compared to you.” He told me. I opened my eyes.

“What are you talking about? Kuro kicked…kicked you around more than he did me.” I told him.

“Kuro went easy on me…” He told me.

“What did he do to me?” Ikasu looked up at me.

“Kuro broke four of your ribs, gave you brain damage, sent you into shock, nearly killed you and hurt your demon.” He told me. Wow, seemed like I was in worse condition than Ikasu, well compared to a broken wrist.

“Wow, I didn’t know I was in such bad condition.” I said, looking down at my weak body.

“Yeah, I get to leave tomorrow, but I’m not allowed to use my wrist.” Ikasu said as he glared at his broken wrist.

“When I can use energy again, I’ll heal it for you.” I told him, looking up and meeting his eyes.

“You wait as long as you need; you don’t need to push yourself like right now.” He told me, looking me up and down. I gave him a weak smile

“It was all in good intention.” I told him. He wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

“Well whatever it is, you shouldn’t be moving around until you’re healed.” He told me as he led me off to my room. Takashi and Steve were talking; they stopped when Ikasu escorted me to my bed.  I lay there and looked up at the ceiling trying to look away from their stares. When Ikasu put me down as carefully as he could, it still hurt, so I bit my tongue and waited for the pain to dull. Ikasu said something to Steve and left the room. Takashi and Steve starred at me.

“You guys can, you know, talk again.” I told them.  Steve shook his head

“We’re done talking.” I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“Well then I’m going to try and get some sleep, if a nurse tries to kick you out tell her I’ll kill her; because when I wake up someone better be in here.” I told them jokingly as I closed my eyes. My body was happy and it fell asleep.

            Tonight’s dream wasn’t…too bad. I just replayed the fight in my head, but Kuro managed to escape with me. I watched as the Norcross Gates flew by and I was too weak to move. So I made no attempt to escape. Behind me was the blue guy. He was smiling oddly at me and his hand never left his sword. We arrived in another village and Kuro threw me to the ground forcefully. I gasped and pain entered my back, I could feel it for once. Looking up at Kuro I noticed it wasn’t Kuro, it was Ikasu.

“Ikasu?” I asked him. He laughed and the world swirled again, and then I woke up.

            I was on the floor of my room. It was cold and hard, my back was aching. Ikasu was in front of me, looking at me oddly. His bandages were off and he looked as good as new.

“Having a crazy dream?” he asked me. I nodded

“About me?” he asked again. I starred at him and nodded. He pulled me to my feet carefully and laid me back on the bed.

“I won’t ask as long as it wasn’t bad.” He told me.

“It wasn’t bad.” I lied.  I looked around

“Where did Steve go?” I asked him.

“He and the old man left awhile ago to train.” He told me. I nodded.

“Speaking of which you can heal yourself now.” He told me. I smiled as I got some water and healed my wounds. I sat up much easier than I did before, but my stomach still hurt as I winced and grabbed it. A nurse came into my room.

“Oh it seems you’re awake.” She said to me. Ikasu mumbled to himself and left the room quietly.

“Yeah, I’m better now.” I told her.

“Do you feel perfectly fine?” she asked me.

“Sort of, my stomach hurts a little.” I told her. She nodded

“It should hurt for a couple of days that was master Takashi’s idea.” She said to me.

“What did he do?” I asked her.

“Never mind that, here are you’re clothes.” She told me as she handed me folded clothes. It was a green shirt with a red skirt, there was also a white weird looking thing on top and something else hidden within the skirt.

“What’s on top goes first” She said as she exited the room. I set my clothes on my bed and took off my hospital gown. It felt good to get out of that itchy thing. So I first put on the white thing. It fit securely around the top half of my chest. Next was something like looked like mini shorts, so I put them on. I put on half of my shirt when the door opened. I turned around and looked, it was Ikasu. I stood there, looking like an idiot and his face was full of color. My hands were in the air and my shirt wasn’t fully on.

“S-Sorry!” Ikasu stuttered as he closed the door. Hmm, wonder why he was so freaked out. I slipped the shirt on and then the larger shorts, after those I put on the skirt. There was glass next to my bed so I looked down at myself. I looked pretty good. I smiled at myself and left my room. I looked down the halls and Ikasu wasn’t there. Maybe he ran off… I went further down the hall and entered Rock Lee’s room.

“Hey!” he said as he sat up in his bed.

“Hi Lee,” I said as I sat down on a chair next to him.

“How do you feel?” he asked me.

“Fine, I’m much better; you?” I asked him.

“I’m good; they won’t let me out much so it’s hard to train.” He told me with a sad face. I laughed a little, it made my stomach hurt.

“They won’t let you out because you’ll damage you’re arm further. You know if you just let me heal it…” I said and trailed off. He shook his head

“No I can overcome this, but if I’m not healed by the Halibi exams, then I would really appreciate it.” He told me. I nodded

“Seems fair.” I told him. He smiled

“Have you been training lately?” I shrugged

“Yes, but I don’t know if I’m improving.” I told him. He thought for a second.

“You could ask the Hotashi to send you on a mission, that’s another way to improve.” He told me. I nodded

“That would be good.” I said as I got up.

“I’ll go see what I can do, if I can’t get a mission I’ll come back.” I told him. He nodded and watched me leave the room.

            I left the hospital and headed over for the Hotashi building. I walked up the stairs and just about entered his office when I heard voices. They were faint so I pressed my ear to the door.

“It seems they already have five, the 2 tailed, three tailed, four tailed, six tailed and seven tailed.” A man said. I heard the Hotashi give a weary sigh.

“We don’t know who the eight tailed is yet, but we’re researching as hard as we can.” The man said.

“They seem to take a special interest in Stone Lee since she is the only female demon, they already almost got her and it seems they aren’t letting up on their forces to take her down. It’s only a matter of time before they find out about Steve as well.” The Hotashi told the man. The man laughed a little

“It’s not her fault that it was sealed within her, she doesn’t even know the full power of her Demon, not even I know the full power of what lies in her. Being the only female her powers are probably beyond our imagination and she’ll probably be targeted for life until she’s either killed or the organization is thwarted.” The man told the Hotashi quietly. They started whispering and I couldn’t hear them anymore. I sighed, sad that I couldn’t hear the conversation anymore especially because they were talking about my demon! Maybe on this mission...I could unleash it just once to see what my power would be. Yes...that didn’t sound harsh if I made sure no one was around when I did it. I moved my ear from the door and reached for the handle, but it turned on its own. I quickly hid behind the wall as I watched the man run down the stairs. I waited a couple seconds before I got out of my hiding spot and entered the Hotashi room. He was gazing out of the windows behind him.

“Yes Stone Lee?” he asked me without looking. I thought about asking him what he was talking about, but I decided not to.

“Hotashi, is there any way I could go on a mission?” I asked him. He turned his chair and looked at me.

“Why do you want to go on a mission?” he asked me.

“Well I...just wanted to go on one I guess...” I lied. He starred at me.

“I’ll see if I can find something.” He said as he pulled out a thing that held lots of paper.

“But Stone Lee, try not to lie to me, wouldn’t be a good habit if you started now.” he told me, smiling up at me for a second before looking back at the papers. I winced and looked down, I was sort of ashamed and I hoped he didn’t know my true intentions now. It was quiet for a moment before he said

“Here.” I looked up and he was holding out a paper to me. I looked down and it had a picture of a girl who had long black hair and dark blue eyes.  

“She is Yukie Shikyo; she stars in the role of Princess Faun in a movie. She is going to the land of snow to broadcast another movie, you and two others need to go and escort her there while she makes the movie.” He told me. I nodded.

“Who do I take with me?” I asked him.

“Take your team of course.”

“But Steve is training with…Takashi.” It took me a minute to remember his name.

“They’re in the forest; tell Steve he has a mission. He’ll come.” He told me. I bowed a bit

“Thank you Hotashi.” I said as I ran out the room. I exited the building and ran into the forest. I looked around and listened for Steve. I couldn’t hear anything. I slowly traveled deeper into the forest. I probably should’ve asked where they were at. Then I heard splashing. I approached the splashing; then a hand clamped down over my mouth and I was brought to the ground. I started to struggle and try to scream.

“Shh!” Steve said in my ear. I stopped fussing and became quiet. I saw Takashi a few feet in front of me, peering through the hedges. Steve’s hand fell from my mouth and he let me go.

“What are you two doing?” I whispered fiercely to him as I turned to look at him. Steve looked mad.

“I’m not allowed to train if he gets disturbed.” He whispered back to me. I rolled my eyes.

“Steve, the Hotashi has a mission for us.” I told him. His eyes seemed to sparkle

“Really! Then I don’t have to stay here anymore!” he said as he got up. He looked at Takashi and then at the girls playing in the water that he was starring at.

“This will be priceless, follow me.” he said as he took my hand and ran out into the place where the girls were at. They looked at us as we ran through.

“Snake!!!” Steve cried out as we continued to run.

 I looked back and they all started screaming as they left the water quickly and Takashi let out a growl of anger.

“My work!!” He yelled. As we left the water Steve let go of my hand and tried to catch his breath, it was hard for him seeing as he was laughing so hard. I couldn’t help but smile and giggle a little bit myself.

After we stopped our laughing Steve looked at me.

“So what’s our mission about?” he asked me.

“We have to escort Yukie Shikyo to the land of snow while she broadcasts a movie.” I told him. He nodded

“Just me and you?” he asked. I shook my head

“No we need to find Ikasu now.” I told him. He sighed

“I think he’s training with Sendo.” he told me.

“…Which is where?” I asked him. He looked south. I followed his gaze to a rocky area.

“That’s where he and Sendo usually train.” He told me. It looked dangerous over there.

“You, uhh lead the way.” I told him. He started running off in that direction and I followed closely behind.

            We finally arrived at the rocky terrain. Steve stopped running and walked around. The ground was hard and large rocks were all around me. We looked around and Gobi walked right past us, not looking at us or showing any emotion that he even noticed us. I starred at him as he left wondering why he was here.

“Steve, Stone Lee? What are you doing here?” asked a voice. We turned and Ikasu was glaring at a rock and Sendo was looking at us.

“Sendo-sensei! We have a mission.” Steve told him.

“I know the Hotashi informed me, but why did you two come all the way up here?” he asked. Steve looked at me.

“Well we thought that we would be the only ones who would know…” I told him. He laughed

“It’s alright; you didn’t know he told me anyway.” He told me with a smile. I looked over at Ikasu, who still hadn’t looked away from the boulder.

“What’s wrong with Ikasu?” I whispered to Sendo. He shook his head

“Nothing.” He told me as he turned to look at him also.

“Ikasu, we have a mission to take care of.” Sendo told him. Ikasu sat there for a minute and then looked over at us.

“What’s our mission?” he asked us. I was about to say something when Sendo did for me.

“We’re going to the land of snow to protect Yukie Shikyo as she produces her new show there. After the show is done we will come back.”

“When do we leave?” Steve asked Sendo. Sendo looked at the sky

“I’ll give you guys a minute to pack up, but we need to leave as soon as possible.” He told us.

“Ok, so should we pack up now?” I asked him. He nodded.

“We’ll meet up at the gates.” Sendo said as he disappeared. I sighed and turned around

“Now for the long walk home.” I said to them.

“We don’t have to walk.” Steve said as he grabbed my arm. Ikasu grabbed the back of my shirt just as we disappeared.

            We re-appeared in front of Ikasu and Steve’s house. Ikasu let go of my shirt and walked into his house, Steve did the same. I looked at my still dead house and sighed. There was nothing I could take. I sat on the ground and twiddled with a piece of grass as I waited for the two boys. I wonder what a movie is and why you have to produce it. Maybe it was a type of food that she grew especially. I sighed. I sounded so stupid in my mind. Ikasu walked out of his house before Steve did. He had a dark blue thing on his back and he turned and looked at Steve’s door. The thing on his pack had weird markings on it and it had what seemed like a tiny track going around it. I’d ask them later what it was so instead I looked at Steve’s door also. (Ask him why he was sad a few minutes ago. His reply is that they talked about demons, he won’t give specifics though ) A few minutes passed and I picked up a piece of grass again. Finally Steve came out of his house. I looked up and the blue thing on his back seemed bigger than Ikasu’s.

“Got enough crap?” he asked Steve. Steve glared at him

“This is not crap! I brought lots of food for the journey!” He told him happily. Ikasu sighed

“Whatever let’s just get going.” He said as he put his hands in his pockets and walked off to the gates. Ikasu seemed a little odd today, maybe it was just me. Steve and I shared a glance and then we both started off after him. The gates weren’t far from Steve and Ikasu’s house so we were there in seconds. Sendo was leaned back against the wall of the gates reading a small orange book. Before I could read the title he shut it and quickly put it away.

“Ready? Ok let’s go.” Sendo said as he ran down the path ahead of us. Ikasu and Steve followed behind him. I sat there for a second and then ran after them as well. Maybe we had to get there quickly and that’s why we were running. I was amazed that I wasn’t running out of breath or anything, it was just a smooth run.

            We ran until it got dark and then Sendo stopped us. We were in the middle of the forest, in a tiny clearing.

“Ok, we’ll stop here and pick up in the morning, everyone get a good night sleep.” He said as he traveled deeper into the forest.

“Where is he going?” I asked them.

“Sendo always go a little farther than us so he can watch out for predators.” Steve told me. I nodded and looked around. Would we be sleeping on the ground? I bet Ikasu and Steve brought blankets and such from their houses. Steve sat on the ground and pulled out a dark blue blanket and a white pillow. He smiled at me and then put his head on his pillow. I sat down also and then moved my back to the ground in a laying position. I looked up at the sky and there were a million tiny sparkling lights in the sky. I gazed in wonder. I had never seen these things before, what were they? I didn’t know how long time had passed as I was gazing at the lights, lost in my own wonder.

“There called stars.” Ikasu’s voice said to me. I looked over and Ikasu was right next to me, one arm was behind his head and he was looking up at the sky.

“Stars…they’re amazing.” I told him, looking back up into the sky.

“Mmmm.” He mumbled to me. We sat there, looking up at the stars; I in my own wonder and Ikasu…doing whatever he did. Then my hand was picked up and it started feeling funny like a sensual sensation but not quite. I looked over and Ikasu had my hand, he was tracing his finger over the palm of it, looking completely absorbed in what he was doing. What was he doing? Did I have something stuck in my hand? Eventually the funny feeling went away, it now felt…relaxing. I looked back up at the sky and all the twinkling little starts. Ikasu opened my hand up and started tracing his fingers over mine. The funny feeling came back. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be feeling, was he trying to get me to go to sleep? I felt as if I could fall asleep happy right now. I looked back over at Ikasu; he still was just looking at my hand as if it was the most interesting thing in sight. Then he dropped my hand and looked at me. My hand felt like it was tingling, I whished he hadn’t stopped.

“Relaxing isn’t it?” he mumbled to me. I nodded. He turned his head and looked up at the sky. I kept looking at Ikasu, wondering what he was thinking. His face remained blank and his eyes never strayed from that one spot in the sky. I looked at him confused and looked back up at the sky, but instead of starring at the sky I closed my eyes. It was quiet and I almost slipped away when Ikasu said

“Stone Lee, you like Rock Lee right?” I opened my eyes quickly and looked over at Ikasu, he was starring at me.

“Y-yeah, we’re good friends.” I told him. How did he know I liked him?!

“But you don’t love him?” Ikasu asked me. Love? What’s love?

“Um…not as far as I know.” I told him. I remembered Lee saying something about love so long ago…but the definition had faded from my mind. Ikasu nodded at me and smiled a little bit.

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked him. He shook his head

“No, it’s not exactly good either, it’s ok.” He said. I was totally confused. I shook my head hazily and looked back up at the sky. Maybe I’d ask Steve what love was tomorrow. I sighed and closed my eyes again. It was quiet. I opened my eyes and turned over onto my side and looked at Ikasu. He turned his head and looked at me, confused

“Ikasu, why did you want to know if I liked Lee or not?” I asked him curiously.

“You seem to be with Lee a lot, and I wanted to know if you loved him or liked him.” He answered. I nodded

“Do you love anyone, Ikasu?” I asked him. He turned and looked up at the sky as he thought for a long time, his head nodding upon his answer.

“Yes. Though my chances of being with her are slim to none.” He finally answered. 

“What is love?” I asked him, I had to know! He looked at me.

“Love is a feeling you get when you’re around the person you love. It’s this warm, fuzzy feeling inside your stomach that doesn’t seem to go away.” He told me. Maybe I was in love with Rock Lee then, I always felt that way when we came home.

“What is love like for you?” I asked him. He thought for a second.

“It’s like I want to tell the girl that I love her, but I don’t think I ever could. Love isn’t an emotion I like to feel, but when I’m around her, I can’t control myself.” He explained to me. Poor Ikasu, he loved someone, but they didn’t know! Ikasu was really nice, so whoever he loved would be really happy when he finally told them. I smiled at Ikasu and lay my head on his shoulder.

“Well maybe you should tell her, it seems you really love her.” I told him, closing my eyes.

“Hmm, maybe.” He mumbled to me as he started running his fingers through my hair. It felt really relaxing; before I knew it I had fallen asleep.  

            My dream tonight was about Rock Lee again. He was out of the hospital arm and leg recovered and he was sitting on the ground in a green lush meadow, I was next to him.

“Rock Lee, I love you.” I told him as I smiled, taking in his state of peaceful being. He turned over and looked at me

“I love you too Stone Lee.” He told me, his voice sounded deeper, but so calming. We starred at each other and then he inched his head foreword and his lips met mine at first lightly, then more strong. I could feel the wonderful warmth coming off of them even though this was a dream. I smiled and hugged him tightly; and he wound his fingers in my hair to embrace me. Then the dream seemed blurred out back to reality; and I swore I could see Ikasu, my hands were behind his back to pull him closer as I urged for him to be crashing into myself; but I was still lying on my back as if sleeping still. His eyes were closed almost peacefully and all I could see was his face as his lips were on mine, a tinge of a smile at the corner of his enclosed lips. Then my eyesight blurred as if I were blinking very slowly and then refocused back onto Ikasu. His eyes were now open and he was just staring at me, an astonished look on his face like a secret was revealed, my hands were now on the ground and he was on his knees. A tiny smile swept over his face and then his image moved to the left and all I saw was black.

                        *         *         *

            Hidan leaped through the open window of a hospital room. The boy was sound asleep. Hidan sat on the bed and put his smaller sword to the boy’s throat.

“Wake up.” he told him loudly. The boys eyes opened quickly and he looked around frantically.

“Hidan! What are you doing here?” The boy asked. Hidan laughed

“That’s not really important at the moment, where did you’re little girlfriend go?” he asked him.

“I won’t tell you.” Rock Lee said strongly. Hidan grabbed his throat

“Where is she?!” he asked him louder.

“I…won’t…tell!” he said through gasps, grabbing at his hands weakly to make him let go.

“Hidan let him go.” A deep voice said. Hidan growled as he threw Rock Lee back on the bed forcefully and angrily. The boy took in a deep breath to regain himself.

 “Pah! Why don’t I just kill him now? It’s a sin against Jashin to let a sinner live!” he asked the man angrily.

“Shut up about your damn religion, and besides we can use him, grab him and let’s go.” The man said, staying calm.

“Fine! But later he’s mine!” Hidan said as he grabbed Rock Lee’s struggling body and knocked him unconscious. The man disappeared.

“Wonder what she’ll think when she gets back.” Hidan sneered as he disappeared.

                        *         *         *

I was woken by shaking. I warily and looked up to who was shaking me, it was Steve. He smiled at me

“Stone Lee, time to get up.” He told me. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and sat up. Then I looked around. Everyone was already up and Sendo was leaning against a tree looking up into the sky; Ikasu was no where in sight.

“Where’s Ikasu?” I asked Steve. He glanced behind himself

“He went out into the forest for a bit, he said he needed some time alone but he’ll be back.” He told me. I nodded and Steve pulled me to my feet. I looked around and leaned back against a tree.

Three minutes or so passed before Ikasu came out from the forest. Sendo straightened up and moved his head back and forth.

“Ok let’s continue.” Sendo said as he started running. I started running and Steve ran next to me, Ikasu ran behind us.

*         *                     *

 Hidan put a knife to Rock Lee’s throat; Lee was having a hard time walking so they strapped him down to a chair. 

“If it was up to me I’d of killed you already like Jashin tells me to!” Hidan said as he dug the kunai deeper into Rock Lee’s throat, blood was slowly coursing down his neck and disappearing beneath his jumpsuit.

“Be careful with the boy, we need him as a bargaining chip.” The deep voice said as he eyed Hidan.

“Yeah, Yeah I know.” Hidan said grudgingly as he let up on the kunai and wiped the blood clean.

“This is a sin!” He scoffed as he looked the other direction anger pulsing through him.

“You and your damn religion, I swear I’ll kill you one day.” The man sneered at Hidan. Hidan laughed

“Like you could ever do that Kikuyu!” Hidan said as he turned back to Rock Lee.

“Let me handle him.” Kikuyu said as he walked up to Rock Lee.

“I could do it if I could just hurt the little brat a little!” Hidan said defenselessly. Kikuyu got up in Rock Lee’s face. Rock Lee just glared back.

“Where Is The Girl?” he asked Rock Lee in a different tone. Rock Lee just glared at him when suddenly his eyes widened and seemed to turn white and hazy. The poor boy was being mind-controlled.

“She’s on a mission in the land of snow; she’s protecting the princess named Yukie Shikyo.” Rock Lee said in monotone, his eyes never straying from Kikuyu's. Kikuyu got out of Rock Lee’s face and looked over at Hidan.

“Hey, Hey! That doesn’t count you can mind trick him!” Hidan told Kikuyu.

“Bargaining chips can be used in any way you like.” Kikuyu said as he turned towards the entrance to the cave.

“Hey I got this! It’s personal.” Hidan said as he ran out of the cave, his staff dragging behind him.

“Hey wait!” Kikuyu called to him. Hidan stopped in his tracks

“What?!” He barked back to him. Kikuyu threw him a small, black object. Hidan nodded at Kikuyu and continued to run off.

“Don’t screw it up this time.”

“Shut the f**k up.” Hidan spat back at him as he took off in a run. Rock Lee had no idea what he was doing to Stone Lee…

*         *                     *

            Finally we came up to a huge castle looking building, the sky was dark and lights seemed to be coming from the castle. We all stopped as a man in white approached us

“Name?” He asked looking at us questionably.

“Team Sendo, we’re here for Yukie Shikyo.” Sendo said, sounding important. The man nodded and wrote something down on a piece of paper.

“She is currently at the party, and there’s plenty of supervision; so please enjoy yourselves.” The man said as he gestured to the castle. Sendo led the way and I heard a strange sound coming from the castle. It sounded like a person was talking, but they were doing it with rhythm. I gave a questionable look at Steve.

“It’s called music; and the voice you’re hearing is called singing.” Steve answered, reading my mind honestly. I nodded. ‘Music… it sounded good. We entered the castle and there were people everywhere! They all seemed to be moving their body to the movement of the music.

“Food!” Steve yelled as he ran off to a table covered in food. I looked over at Sendo and he was examining the area with suspicion.

“Shall we test your dancing skills?” Ikasu’s voice asked me. I turned to him.

“Is dancing a ninja skill?” I asked him. He shook his head and grabbed my hand, then he took my hand and placed it on his shoulder; lastly he put his other hand on my lower hip and started to move me around. I had no idea what he was doing, but it was fun. Our bodies seemed to move to the beat like everyone else, but Ikasu was leading me; I didn’t know what I was doing.

“This is dancing.” He told me as he continued to lead. I looked up at his face and smiled, my feet seemed to understand what they were doing.

“Dancing, this is really fun.” I told him. He nodded as he suddenly twirled me around. I did a three- sixty and then I was back in Ikasu’s arms. I looked at him astonished

“What was that?” I asked him as we continued dancing.

“That was called a twirl.” He told me. I smiled again as the song continued; others were repeating the steps that Ikasu and I were doing. The beat was slow and the steps that I did as I followed Ikasu’s lead was relaxing and sweet, I hardly notice the people around me as I starred into Ikasu’s face smiling, it took him awhile but the twinge of a smile appeared on his face.

Finally the song died down and people started clapping. Ikasu let go of my hands and stepped away from me as a faster rhythm started. Steve was by me in a second

“Can I have her for this song?” He asked. Ikasu shrugged and disappeared into the crowd. Steve and I got into the same position that Ikasu and I were in, except he moved much faster. Before I knew it we were both laughing and moving in the exact same way. The faster the rhythm, the faster we moved. It was a lot of fun! Steve and I couldn’t even get out a breath as we continued to laugh. Soon the song ended and Steve and I finally caught our breath.

“Sake?” a person asked. We turned to see a man in a white suit holding up a tray of little white cups, they were filled with a strange greenish liquid.

“Umm, sure.” I said as I picked up a cup.

“Uhh, Stone Lee I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Steve said, but I had already filled my mouth with the strange liquid. When it slid down my throat I gagged, it was nasty; but after a moment my throat burned for more. So I took another and gulped it down. Steve starred at me wide eyed and ran off. I noticed with every one I drank that the room started to spin more and more. I was laughing abruptly and hic-upping and my body started to tingle with the sweet nectar that was found in the drink.

“W-What do you call this stuff?” I asked him dazedly.

“It’s called ‘Sake’ madam.” He told me. I held up a finger

“Well this is just the best damn stuff I’ve ever had!” I said, getting up in his face with a wide grin as I giggled.

“Stone Lee, come here.” Ikasu’s voice said as he took me by the sleeve and pulled me outside.

“Hey, Hey I wasn’t done talking to that charming man in there! Did you see his face, kinda cute” I giggled slightly, swaying a bit.

“You’re drunk Stone Lee.” Ikasu told me, holding me down so I wouldn’t sway.

“Drunk?! Waz that?” I slurred.

“It’s…hard to explain, but don’t drink any more of that sake.” He told me. I nodded dizzily.

“What’s so bad about drinking sake? It makes me feel good!” I asked him as I suddenly sat down.

“Wow, why did the ground come up so fast?” I asked myself looking towards the ground suspiciously. Ikasu sighed and sat down next to me

“That’s why.” He told me. I smiled and hic-upped.

“You know Ikasu; you take so good care of me.” I told him as I laid my head on his shoulder.

 “I-I don’t know what I’d do without you! I’d have to, I don’t even know!” I babbled.

“Mmmm” Ikasu mumbled. I threw my arm around his shoulder and squished our faces close together

“Y’know Ikasu you gotta loosen up! You’re always so quiet! You never smile and you should show some emotion now and then Y’know?” I told him. Ikasu’s cheeks got warm as he slowly and carefully pushed me away. I closed my eyes

“This feels so good!” I yelled at the end as I threw my hands up in the air and stood up quickly.

“If anyone came up on me I’d be all like ‘Pow'!” I babbled as I swung a punch, it landed on a nearby tree and flung it halfway across the plain. I starred astonished

“Whoa! That was totally awesome!” I said as I smiled and looked around for a close by tree devilishly. My eyes were suddenly on wide and a wide grin flashed over my face.

“Let me do it again!” Suddenly I was picked up in Ikasu’s arms.

“Hey what’s the big idea?” I asked him.   He rolled his eyes and started running off.

“Where are we going?! Hey are you listing to me?! Put me down I’m not done having fun!”

“Shh Stone Lee just stop talking.” He told me without looking at me. I folded my arms angrily

“I’ll be quiet when I want to be quiet.” I told him. Suddenly a flash of yellow flew past us as we were running up stairs

“Where are we?” I asked him. He didn’t answer, he just kept running up the stairs and then a door flew by and we were in a room. A single lamp lit up the room, so it was pretty dark. Ikasu set me down and quickly closed the door behind me. I looked around the room; I couldn’t make out much of it, except a window with long, white things covering it. Ikasu came up to me and glanced out the window before looking back at me.

“Stone Lee, take off your shirt.” He ordered me. I looked at him, totally confused.

“What?” I asked him.

“Just do it.” He told me. I put my arms protectively in front of me

“Why?” I asked him.

“There’s something I have to see, just do it or I’ll do it for you.” He told me, slightly rolling his eyes and approaching me.

“I’ll do it!” I replied irritable as I backed up and grabbed the bottom of my shirt. Slipping my shirt off my head I placed it carefully on the floor. For a moment Ikasu’s eyes roamed and then he shook his head quickly; getting to one knee he placed his hand on my stomach as if he was grabbing a ball. I looked down and saw…absolutely nothing.

“What are you looking at?” I asked him.

“It’s kind of obvious.” He told me, his eyes locked on my stomach.

“Uhh, no it’s not mister!” I told him, glaring slightly at him.

“What are you talking about? It’s spreading, very, very slowly, but constantly.” He said, tracing his finger up my stomach and then stopping abruptly at my chest.

“What is it? I can’t see it!” I told him. He looked up at me questionably.

“Your seal is broken; I can’t believe you can’t see this.” He told me.

“I don’t understand! Why can’t I se- Ow!” I interrupted, my hand shot up to my neck where a burning, sharp pain had started. Ikasu got up from the floor

“Let me see that.” He said as he carefully pried my hands away from my neck. I watched as his eyes tightened and then relaxed.

“I have no idea what this is; it’s something I’ve never seen before.” He said as he got back down on his knee and examined my stomach again.

“But it seems that because of your curse mark you can’t see this.” He said his eyes locked on my stomach again. It looked just like my stomach to me; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I put my hand up to my neck again

“Then why am I suddenly feeling pain in my neck?” I asked him. He tapped my stomach and the pain in my neck worsened. I winced and gritted my teeth. Ikasu looked up at me

“It reacts to touch, if anything touches your stomach then the curse mark has to block it; causing your pain.” He told me. I looked at him astonished

“How do you know all this stuff?” I asked him. He got up off the floor and smiled at me.

“My training wasn’t just for strength.” He told me as he picked up my shirt off the floor

“Here, put this back on and we’ll have to talk to Sendo about this in the morning.” He told me as he turned away from me, his face lost in thought. I slipped my shirt back on and turned to face him.

“…Now what Ikasu?” I asked him. He turned back and looked at me.

“You should sleep, maybe your senses will calm down and the mark will go away…” I nodded and looked around.

“Sleep where exactly?” I asked him. He put his hand on my shoulder and led me to a large bed. “Sleep here, I’ll be in the other room on the couch if you need me; a couch looks like a bed but a lot smaller.” He explained, knowing I couldn’t understand the simple term. I nodded and flopped onto the bed, it was very comfortable.

“Mmmm, thank you Ikasu.” I told him as I closed my eyes. He didn’t say anything as usual and his footsteps slowly disappeared. I lay in thought and then I slowly slipped away.

            Tonight’s dream was like a flash back, and I couldn’t grip onto the dream. Images flashed through my mind and I was in a dark hallway, I could see light coming out from under a door. I slowly approached it and I heard voices. I got closer and pressed my ear to the door.

“It’s not right.” I heard a man say.

“Do I care what’s right? I care about our clan!” I heard a female voice say.

“She’s just a little girl.” The male voice said softly.

“She’ll be a monster!” the female voice yelled. It was quiet for a moment. I held my breath for fear of being caught.

“It’s not our fault.” The male’s voice finally came, just above a whisper.

“It’s either that, or she will have to be eliminated tonight while she’s sleeping.” The female’s voice said. I put a hand over my mouth in reflex. Who were they talking about?

“She’s your own daughter!” The man yelled quietly at her. The woman scoffed

“Do you think I really care about Stone Lee?” she asked. I held back a gasp. They were talking about me!

“I need time to think this over.” The man said as he pulled open the door. My head fell inside and I quickly pulled it back and took a couple steps backwards. The man was staring at me.

“Stone Lee, how long have you been there?” the man asked me. He looked nice, but the woman behind her seemed to be glaring at me. I put my hands up to my chest.

“W-What are you going to do to me?” I asked them. The man sighed.

“Come here Stone Lee.” He said as he approached me, put his hand behind my back and led me outside. The wind rushed through my hair, but tonight it didn’t feel right. I could feel my body shaking in fright. Would this be my last night alive?

“W-What does mommy want to do to me?” I asked him. I looked up at him and he was looking the other way.

“She just…doesn’t know what to do.” He lied to me. I felt hot tears brim my eyes.

“Liar! She doesn’t even care about me!” I yelled to him as tears fell down my face. He stopped and knelt down to my side and brushed the loose hair out of my face.

“Stone Lee… your mother may not love you, but I do! I won’t let her hurt you.” He told me strongly. I hugged him.

“Daddy, y-your the only one who’s e-ever loved me.” I told him through my sobs. He patted my back

“I know sweetheart, I know. Stone Lee, we have to go. Mommy’s not the only one who wants exterminated.” He told me as he pulled away. I used the back of my hand to dry the tears and held my breath to stop the sobs. He smiled

“You’ve been practicing.” When the sobs were gone I gave him a small smile. There was a crunching sound and my father quickly shoved me behind him. A man appeared from out of the trees. He was in a black cloak with red clouds on it, White hair fell down to his shoulders. When he spoke his words chilled me

“Ahh, David. Nice to see you.” The man’s deep voice said.

“What do you want?” he asked him. He snickered

“I think you know what I want.” He told him. My father pushed me further behind him and the man’s eyes met mine. A shiver ran through me and I clenched onto my father’s shirt. He had dark, blood red eyes.

“Stone Lee has no interest in you. Besides she’s far too young!” My father yelled to him. He smiled an evil smile.

“We’re not going to destroy her…yet. In due time she will learn to be under our command and we’ll kill her once she reaches the proper age.” He told my father.

“It would do your village a favor; the girl already has power inside her that will become destructive.” The man said. My father was quiet and he starred at the ground.

“Now…hand over the girl.” He told my father.

“Just…wait.” He told him. He got down in front of me and got close to my ear.

“Stone Lee.” He breathed.

“When I tell you to you have to run as fast as you can, if you can try and make your eyes burn.” He whispered to me.

“But I don’t like it when they burn.” I whispered back to him. He shook his head and got up, facing the man. He pulled me out in front of him. The man made no facial expressions, he only approached me. My father pushed me away and I stumbled out into the darkness

“Now Stone Lee!” he yelled to me, there was a sickening sound. I saw something protrude from father’s chest and he hit the ground in a crumpled ball.

“Father no!!” I yelled out. The man turned and looked at me. I turned around and ran as fast as I could, tears fell down my face but my eyes did not burn. I tried thinking of how my father had just been taken from me, but it was not enough to push out the fear that I felt. I was stopped not a minute later by an arm at my throat. It picked me up as I struggled and swiftly walked into the forest. I continued to struggle as tears fell down my face. I started to yell but his hand clamped around my mouth. What good would yelling do anyway? No one ever liked me but father…father. I sucked in air along with his hand and bit it. He made no movement that he was in pain. He only pulled back and struck me across the face.

“Stop fussing and sit still!” he commanded me.

“You killed my father!” I yelled out to him, still struggling.

“It had to be done.” He told me as he continued to walk.

“Why?!” I asked him.

“Stop fussing and just shut up! Take this!” he yelled at me as something went around my neck. I was suddenly silence and I examined what was around my neck. It was a necklace with a crystal on it, it was Father’s. Father always gave it to me when I was sad or scared; it instantly made me feel better. I starred at it and I woke up. 

            Sweat was coming off my forehead and I quickly got off the bed. What in the world was that? I don’t even remember the man, but I called him father; and Hidan; well it might have been Hidan, why was he there? Was this just a fake dream? But it seemed so real! I rubbed my left arm and looked around. It was still dark outside and the dream scared everything out of me. I slowly found my way into the darkness and tripped over something. I bit my tongue to keep from yelling out and stood up. I felt around on the strange object and came intact with Ikasu’s hair. I slowly pulled my hand away, not wanting to awake him. I sat there, wondering what I should do now. I decided that it was probably best to go back to sleep…So I climbed onto the ‘couch’ with Ikasu and fell asleep again.

            I woke up when daylight was just creeping over the hills. Ikasu was still asleep, one of his arms was around my waist and his head was on my neck, he was breathing warm air softly in my ear. As comfortable as it was I slowly and carefully got up and stretched out. The white things were still covering the window, but I could still see the gold strips of daylight seep through them. I yawned slightly and rubbed my left eye with the back of my hand. Maybe Sendo or Steve was up. So I opened the door with a soft click and slipped out of the little room. I recognized the steps as soon as I stepped out of the door; they led downstairs so I followed them. When I reached the bottom they’re wasn’t a person behind the desk like at my apartment place, so I just went outside. I think that’s where the party was. Outside the land was covered in white stuff that was very cold to touch, so I tried to avoid it. I looked around; there weren’t many trees, just a small forest that was in front of the castle. The Castle! That’s where the party was at, maybe Sendo or Steve was there. Dodging the white fluffy stuff I headed into the small forest. It wasn’t very thick either; once I was in the forest I could already see the castle. I started to run off it when there was a hand at my shoulder that stopped me. I turned around and Steve was looking at me.

            “Where are you going?” he asked me. I laughed a little

            “I was just going to look for you!” I told him happily as I threw my arm around his shoulder. He smiled and led me back to the place.

“So what is this that we’re staying at?” I asked him.

“It’s called a Hotel, its pretty fancy, but while she gets ready and such, we’ll be staying here.” Steve told me. I nodded to myself.

“So, how long will it take her to get ready and such?” I asked him. He shrugged

“I’m guessing about a day, so just one more night and we’ll be on our way.” He told me as we entered the building and started going up the stairs.

“Wait, what do you mean? Where are we going?” I asked him.

“Well we’ll cross an ocean and then we’ll arrive at an Iceland, that’s where most of her movie will be set up at.” He explained to me.

“Wait, ok that just brought up more questions.” I told him as we reached the top of the stairs.

“Ok what do you want to know?” he asked me as we approached a door. Steve handed me the key. I took my arm off Steve’s shoulder while he inserted a key and turned the door. When I entered I noticed that the carpet was a dark brownish color, all around. Then there was a wide window that had the white things covering them. To the left of us was a small kitchen with white counter tops and a little white stove. Next to the stove was a deep sink, white also. It was pretty spacious inside though. Steve and I sat down on the couch and he looked at me.

“Ok, these are all going to sound weird but please answer them.” I told him desperately. He nodded

“I’ll do my best.” He told me with a smile.

“Ok, what’s an ‘ocean’?” I asked.

“An ocean is a large body of water, miles and miles of really deep water.” He explained.

“An interesting note is that if you go into this ocean, you will get something called hypothermia. It’s not good your body will freeze in its harsh cold temperatures and then shut down, killing you.” He explained. My eyes widened

“Ok then, don’t go into ocean then.” I said to myself. Steve smiled

“I doubt you’ll be going in there though.” He told me. I smiled.

“Ok then, what’s an Iceland?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like, an island covered in ice. And ice is just frozen water.” He explained. I nodded and pointed to the white things over the window

“What are those?” I asked him. Steve repressed a laughed.

“There called blinds, they keep away the Sun.” he explained, trying not to laugh. I frowned at him.

“Hey it’s not my fault I’m brain dumb!” I told him angrily. He stopped his giggling fit.

“I know it’s still kind of funny though. I’m sorry Stone Lee-chan.” He told me sincerely. I punched his shoulder gently

“You’re forgiven, now then.” I glanced around the room.

“Where are we?”

“This is your room; we all have our own rooms.” He told me happily. I nodded.

“So what will we be doing today?” I asked him. He thought for a second.

“Well we’ll probably just be training for today, since the girl will be around all her bodyguards. Bodyguards are people who protect important people in case you didn’t know.” He explained.

“Ok then, so we're practically just wasting a day on training?” I asked him. Steve nodded.

“Sendo will be gathering information and so we can either just chill or train; I prefer to train.’ He told me. I nodded.

“Yeah, training that sound fun.” I said as I stood up. Steve got up also.

“Ok then, we’ll probably just train in the forest right next to here.” He told me.

“Ok then lets go!” I said happily as I ran out the door, down the steps and to the forest; Steve at my heels. While Steve did his own thing I picked a tree and started punching it. I noticed that I made indents quicker than I had before, I was getting stronger. I smiled at myself and looked over at Steve to see what he was doing. He was very focused; he had two fingers from his left hand that were grabbing his other hand, which had two fingers up as well. I could almost see energy leaking out of Steve. He opened his eyes and starred at the ground, which slightly moved, but that was all. I couldn’t tell what he was doing so I shrugged and went back to my own training.

            A couple hours later Ikasu came out, but he traveled a little deeper into the forest where we couldn’t see him. I didn’t pay him much attention; I was focused on my training. Hours past and the sun went down. Steve and I stopped and I looked over at him. In front of him was a pile of hard earth. I looked at him confused

“Are you trying to make a dirt pile?” I asked him. He glared at me slightly and shook his head.

“Watch.” He told me as he focused his energy again and looked down at my feet. The ground under me shook slightly and then the ground lifted me up into the air! It wasn’t very high off the ground, only about an inch.

“Whoa!” I gasped as I tried to balance. Steve laughed and the ground gave way, landing me back on my feet.

“That’s amazing!” I told him astonished. He smiled

“Yeah, it’s nothing much really…Now then how about we hit the buffet?” he asked me, pointing towards the hotel. I nodded

“Sounds good, but why do we want to ‘hit a buffet’?” I asked him. He giggled a little bit.

“It means let’s go eat!” he told me.

“Oh…Ok lets go then.” I told him. He led me back into the hotel and up the stairs where he faced me.

“Ok all you have to do is go into your room and someone will be up to ask you what you want, just tell them and they’ll bring it up ok?” he told me. I nodded.

“Ok then, I’ll see you in the morning Stone Lee-chan!” he said as he ran off down the hall. I smiled in his direction and then entered my own room; it was already unlocked so I didn’t need the key. I looked around the dark room where I found a single lamp. I examined the whole thing until I found a little string that could be pulled. I pulled it and the lamp flicked to life.

“Wow...” I told myself, astonished. I kept tugging at the string as the light flicked on and off.

“Umm…miss?” a voice asked. I turned around, my hand still on the string, to se a man standing there. He had short brown hair and was wearing a black suit.

“Sorry.” I apologized as I stepped away from the lamp.

“It’s fine, is there anything you would like?” he asked.

“Umm…I’ll have fried Naruto on rice… or wait isn’t there a type of ramen like that?” I asked him.

“Naruto ramen?” he asked me. I nodded

“Sounds good.” He nodded and disappeared. I it was quiet when he was gone, so I just sat on the couch and waited for his return.

            A couple minutes later he reappeared in front of me with a white bowl. He set it down in front of me, bowed a bit, and then disappeared. I stuck my chopsticks in the warm broth and noodles and tasted it. It was just what I wanted. The noodles were glossy and warm and the soup melted in my mouth. Before long I had devoured it and I lay back, letting my stomach settle. After it had I got up and stretched. A long day ended well, now it was time to get to bed. I rubbed the back of my neck and started to enter my room when suddenly the lamp that lit my room violently exploded, engulfing the room in endless darkness, the blinds that covered the windows made it even worse. As it exploded I shrieked and flipped around to see who or what had happened as I stepped foreword and twisted around to make sure no one was in front or behind me, but I couldn’t see anything…but I knew I wasn’t alone because I sensed another one’s presence.

            “W-Who’s there?” I asked shakily, my hand up to my necklace for comfort. There was no reply and I faintly heard footsteps make their way towards me slowly. I backed up to escape them but suddenly the person was directly in front of me as they took the wrist by my necklace and pulled me towards them, I started to scream out for help but I was cut off with a force at my lips, silencing me and sending a shock through my body. It wasn’t like the forcefulness of Hidan or the Alilien it was strangely different and something I don’t think I’ve ever experienced. I couldn’t think as my body sat rigid, my hand against the person’s warm chest and silence filled the air as oxygen urged to fill my lungs again. After what seemed like an eternity the force left my lips as I gasped for air, shaking as I ripped my hand from the person’s grasp and backed away from him, my back against the couch now as I gripped it for support.

            “W-Who are you and what are you doing here?! Do not touch me like that again a-and get away!” I stuttered out loudly, but not loud enough to escape the walls of this room. I was finally able to use my mind as I thought about the possibilities, no man who approached me in the dark was to be trusted and I was frightened as tears brimmed my eyes.

            “Please do not call out; I am here to inform you.” The man’s voice replied calmly as I heard him step foreword.

            “Inform me about that? About why your in my room possibly?!” I yelled at him, he put a hand over my mouth gently.

            “As I said, please do not call out. I am here to inform you about life. To fill your now empty head with thoughts and feelings.” He told me quietly as he released the hand from my lips.

            “How can I trust you?! I’m told never to trust anyone I do not know. Y-You might hurt me or something else!” I told them fiercely but quietly shuffling farther backwards against the couch. 

            “I will not harm you, if you ever feel that you are in discomfort or pain, you may call out to your master.” He said. I thought about it for a second, before I fiercely shook my head and tears fell down my face.

            “N-No I can’t trust you! I-I don’t know you o-or anything I won’t do something so stupid as too-“ I cut myself off as the guy took my wrists from the couch and held them up before us, not that I could see them but he now had me.

            “Stone Lee…if you follow through with this and actually trust me…we can recover your memory.” He told me quietly. M-My memory!? Could he really..?

            “H-How can I be sure that you aren’t tricking me?” I whispered to him.

            “You can trust me because I gave you permission to call out, and yet you still have not. You have to trust me.” They told me smoothly, bringing my hands foreword and draping them over their shoulders as their face got close to mine.

            “Trust me; I would never harm you…” They breathed, sending another shock through me by the intense closeness that they brought.

            “A-Alright…I’ll trust you.” I whispered to them, unsure if this was a wise decision or not. I heard the man chuckle quietly in front of me and he wrapped his arms around my neck.

            “I thought you’d say so. Your demon is awakened by strong emotions, and every time you experience one the demon slowly reveals itself. So I will be preparing for you to take it out and put it back within yourself …are you ready?” He asked me. I bit my bottom lip for a moment before I exhaled deeply, relieving some of the stress.

            “Yeah…” I told him. The man was suddenly at my lips again strongly, but sweetly in the same movement. He was gently and delicate like the first time he did this and then it was over, I was again gasping for breath.

            “That was a simple, kiss. How do you feel?” He asked, his arms leaving my shoulders.

            “A little shaky, but fine none-the-less.” I replied quietly, still focused on getting air in my lungs.

            “Calm down and relax this time. Feel the power within you.” He replied as he removed my hands from his shoulders, I unknowingly was clutching to them.

            “Here we go again.” He started again; the kiss force was again at my lips. I struggled hard to keep focused and relax as I remembered my dreams, I usually encountered something like this before so I let my body relax, my lips moving foreword to meet the man’s. He seemed pleased with my reaction as he put his arms behind me and pulled me closer to him, my arms went up and my hands entangled with his hair, I finally losing grip of myself. When I did this the kiss changed and I felt something warm and wet at the bottom of my lips, almost as if asking for something. I was confused as I thought about it and suddenly there was a pain in them, making me gasp. With that something entered my mouth and coursed around my teeth and around my cheeks. What did he put inside me, a parasite?! I thought about calling out for Ikasu when suddenly it was over, he letting go of me and stepping back from me, and I took a deep breath in.

            “That was a French kiss.” He told me, his breathing still the same from the start. I nodded slowly at him as I put my head down, gently feeling my bottom lip.

            “Things are going to get fast now…” He started as he took my hands and flipped me away from the couch, my back towards my bedroom.

            “Do not be afraid.” He whispered to me as the kiss found me again, but this time it was more forceful than before as I was shoved backwards, my back suddenly hitting the comfort of my bed and sending me flat down on my back, making me gasp. The man wasn’t stopping though as he followed my every move, the kiss back on and the ‘parasite’ back in my mouth. The person’s hands found the bottom of my shirt as they rubbed their hands against my hips, inching them up my skin and stopping at my chest. For once I wasn’t as scared as I started out to be and my eyes closed happily as a foreign sound erupted from the back of my throat in an odd pleasure. I heard him snicker happily behind our enclosed lips as he pulled back slowly from my lips, his hands stopping their movement below my chest.

            “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this moment Stone Lee...” He whispered as he breathed hot air in my face, I began to feel hot and all that I could do to reply was nod. When he said my name though, it sounded oddly familiar and I felt as if I knew him.

He snickered again as he met my lips once more, softly kissing me again and again and I kissed him back and wound my hands around his head, pulling him closer to my face. Suddenly though he was off me and against the wall as I was startled by my own movements in the last couple of seconds and I sat up quickly starring at a light purple light by him.

            “W-What’s going on?” I asked him as I took a step towards him.

            “Don’t….come…any closer.” He huffed to me, the light growing slowly.

            “Are you okay do you need some�"“ I started as I took a step closer.

            “Don’t come near me!” He said strongly as I receded back to the bed, frightened. The suddenly the light was gone and the room was deathly quiet.

            “Are you better now..?” I asked the quiet darkness. No reply. I took a step foreword but the man that was here before was gone, and I was alone. It was then that I noticed the increasing body temperature and the harsh burning in my eyes.

            “M-My demon?!” I asked nobody as I staggered back and hit the floor unconscious.

            From then on, the dream from last night continued.  It was the same dream as before, kind of. The man set me down in front of a boulder. He put his hand on my shoulder to keep me from running away, but I was so tired from struggling that I didn’t bother. When the heavy rock suddenly lifted I jumped and the man kept me in place. Once the boulder was hovering in the air above us, he walked me inside a dark corridor. I couldn’t see a thing. Now was my chance. I spun out from under his arm and ran towards the exit we just came through; just as I got to it the boulder fell in front of me. I pounded on it meekly.

“You never give up, just like your father.” The man’s voice said out of the darkness. I pressed my body back against the boulder, hoping he wouldn’t see me. He did and with a quick movement, I slung over his shoulder.

“God, if you weren’t so valuable, I would of killed you by now.” He told me as we continued to walk down the corridor. I pounded into his back

“Let me go!” I yelled to him. He didn’t reply.

“Hidan! Put the girl down.” another man told him. As commanded Hidan set me on my feet, keeping a hand on my shoulder.

“She likes to run, but soon that won’t be a problem.” He told the person.

“Then it is time we must not wait, bring her to Me.” he said. I was pushed foreword and lifted onto something cold and hard. I jumped and something was put over my chest and legs to bind me. I still couldn’t see in the darkness, just Hidan’s white eyes watching me.

“What is this?!” I asked out loud.

“She’s still far too young; we’ll erase it and see her in a couple years.” The other man said.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” I yelled out to them as I struggled against the things that bound me.

“Why are y-“ I was cut off with an icy hand at my forehead and my body filled with pain. I suddenly couldn’t think or breathe. I sat there, my eyes wide and my mouth open, and then I woke up.

             Startled about last night and my horrific dream I got up and backed away from my bed. So much was happening so fast! That man last night…was that just a dream? What about the real dream, that had to be real, right? I don’t remember any of that ever happening to me. I looked around, it was still dark. I had woken up in the middle of the night again. I had to get out of this place! Ever since I came here I had been having horrible dreams about Hidan as if trying to tell me something. I turned and ran out of the room, down the steps, and outside into the cool air. I stood there, catching my breath and trying to clear my head. I took a deep breath and exhaled, closing my eyes and trying to catch one of the thoughts that roamed around in my head. Who was that man? Why did Hidan do that? Was that all just a dream or was it a reminder of the past forgotten?! I didn’t know, but I had to find out if it took all I had. I opened my eyes and gave myself a reassuring nod, there had to be books about the Alilien and my demon, I just needed to research it!

            “Stone Lee what are you doing out here?” A voice said behind me. I jumped, a small yelp escaping my lips as I turned, and fell down hitting my butt on the cold hard ground. It was Ikasu and he had his hands in his pockets, starring at me oddly.

            “I-Ikasu you scared me…” I told him as I picked myself back up and rubbed my bottom.

            “I was just out here catching my breath…What are you doing here?” I asked him curiously.

            “I don’t sleep much…” He told me looking around. What a lie that was, I always knew Ikasu was tired, but then I guess he would be tired if he wasn’t sleeping.

            “Oh I see.” I told him quietly as I looked away from him and looked past the trees surrounding us, my thoughts returning to my past.

            “You really should try to get some sleep Stone Lee; it will be a hard day tomorrow as we guide and protect Mrs. Shikyo.” Ikasu told me, tearing me from my thoughts. I gave him a little sigh before turning back to the building.

            “Alright I’ll try…goodnight Ikasu.” I mumbled to him as I entered the building, found my way back to my room and fell asleep.

            I awoke hours later as the sun streamed into the room and over my face blinding me. I sat up and rubbed my eyes of their sleep and then slipped out from under my covers as I stretched feeling peaceful for once in a long time.

            “Hello Stone Lee!” A cheerful voice suddenly said. I turned around quickly to see Steve crouched on a chair smiling happily at me.

            “Good morning Steve…” I told him curiously as I stared at him.

            “How did you get in here?”

            “Oh through the front door of course! I was waiting for you to wake up!” He told me as his smile widened.

            “Breakfast is being served and then we will start to head out on the boat! I haven’t been on a boat in years and this should be your first boat ride so hurry, hurry!” He ushered as he hoped up from his chair, excitement running through him.

            “Alright get out while I change” I told him as I shoved him out my door and closed it, and then looked down at the white garments that clothed me. I never put these clothes on, or at least I don’t remember it. That man last night…this was proof he was there unless someone else was in my room that night. I shook my head and went to the closet in the right corner of my room to find my clothes hanging up perfectly. Slipping off the white gown I put my usual clothes on and then opened the door and was face-to-face with Steve again.

            “Done? Alright let’s go!” He yelped excitedly as he took my hand and rushed down the steps so fast that I couldn’t even see the stairs as they flew by. Then we stopped and I had to shake off the dizziness as I looked around. I saw Ikasu at a table near me, eating fruit in a little plastic cup and Sendo was talking to some men in dark sunglasses.

            “Okay Stone Lee all the food is over here!” Steve told me as he pointed to a long white bar filled with strange foods I had never seen before. They all smelled good and unique but my stomach was unsettling and only the fruit seemed to appeal to my senses. So I walked over to the bar, grabbed a cup of fruit and sat down next to Ikasu as I popped a grape into my mouth, savoring the flavor.

            “Oh Stone Lee you’re so original!” Steve told me blandly as he walked to the bar and began to fill up his plate of many different foods. Just thinking about all that food made me sick.

            “Upset stomach?” Ikasu asked casually as he munched on his fruit, I nodded.

            “Same here…” He answered duly as he watched Steve fill up his plate, I looked instead at Ikasu. I wondered what had made him sick from the night before, the food maybe. I didn’t have long to dwell on about it because Steve slammed his tray next to mine and began to talk again like he always did.

            “So Stone Lee-chan do you think you will get sick from the boat ride? I really hope not! My first boat ride I was throwing up all over the place and I had to be on bed rest until we arrived at the island!” He laughed as he stuffed more food into his mouth and began to speak again. I blocked out his blabbering as I continued to eat my fruit slowly, thinking about the boat ride now. I’ve never been on a boat and I wasn’t sure what to expect, such as what it looked like and if I would ‘throw up’. It was very hard to have all this going on around me and not know a thing about what anyone was talking about. Then the man from last night, he said he could help me get my memory back but something had stopped him right before the end surprise…but I needed his help! I turned and stared at Ikasu as my thoughts seemed to focus more on the man. This could help get your memory back…’ His voice ran through my head as I tried to place a name on his voice. I knew that I recognized it but I wasn’t sure how.

            “HEY ARE YOU LISTENING?” Steve’s voice boomed out to me as I jumped and stared frightened at him.

            “I-I’m sorry I didn’t sleep very well last night a-and I’m still kind of tired.” I stuttered out to him. He smiled sweetly at me.

            “Oh well that’s alright Stone Lee-chan I was just making sure.” He told me as he laughed and began to eat again. Steve could get angry at times, I never knew that because he always seemed to be energetic.

*         *                                  *

Hidan reached the land of snow within the day with his fast paced running and he soon came in contact with the large S.S Mento ship that lay ahead in the distance. He closed in on it fast and swiftly as he hid behind a tree to watch the ship’s crew members walk in and out of the boat.

            “I’ve reached the boat; she’s bound to get on if the princess is.” Hidan muttered into his device and Kikuyu’s answered.

            “Alright, get on that boat and keep an eye on her, her death must seem like an accident to keep us from being discovered. Do not kill her of your own accord do you understand?” Hidan gritted his teeth angrily but kept his cool by letting out a heavy sigh.

            “Alright, she’ll be dead by morning and in the Alilien’s hands by dawn of the next day.” He told the device as he clicked it off and watched as a short boy got off the ship carrying a large heavy box. Hidan smiled and walked up to the boy looking as casual as ever.

            “Nice suit.” He told the young boy, and the kid smiled back.

            “Thanks mister, I have to look good for the movie!”

            “Then I hope you won’t mind if I take it.” Hidan chuckled as he stabbed his scythe through the boy quickly and without mercy and then proceeded to clone into a perfect minion of him. In seconds his features changed from the grown man he was back into a younger form. His silver, long hair changed to shorter, dark chocolate color and his skin darkened in the hard light. Within the minute the man Hidan used to be was no longer, and the young boy was now dead. Hidan flipped open his eye lids and the once blood red eyes that lay there were now changed to a very light blue, and Hidan was now ready to do his bidding.

*                                  *         *

            We finished our breakfast and headed out to the main lobby to meet with Sendo, who was listening intently to a black device that was securely in his ear. He muttered into it for a few moments before he turned to us.

            “There will be a slight delay before we head out; we have some back-up that is coming in late. Hopefully he won’t take to long.” He told us sighing slightly, obviously irritated. Backup..?

            “Sendo-sensei what do you mean by back �"up?” I asked him questionably.

            “Well-.” He was cut off short as a tall boy ran into the lobby and stood before Sendo, bowing slightly to ensure sincerity.

            “Sorry Sendo-sensei I was held up at the gates, we had some fools trying to sneak their way in.” The boy told him as he straightened and looked at Sendo, then shot a grin in Steve’s direction.

            “It’s alright, your here now and better late than never.” He told him as he began to mess with the device in his ear and began talking to it again. The boy in front of Sendo had short; spiky brown hair like Steve’s but it was a shade darker and more tamed than his. He had dark black eyes and his cheeks had the red strange marks that Daisuke had in the Halibi exams. I starred at him strangely as I looked at the rest of my team, examining their expressions.

            “It’s about time we have someone of our level in our team.” Ikasu told him casually as he starred at the boy. The boy turned and looked us over and gave us a smile.

            “Hello guys, my name is Kayden Heitesha.” He told us politely, directing his name towards me. New team?!

            “W-Wait hold up!” I told him putting my hands up and shaking my head very confused.

            “What happened to Suki and why are you now on our team? Sendo said back-up so…what’s going on?!” I asked them looking at all four of them.

            “There’s no time to explain right now, we’ll explain on the way. Let’s head out.” Sendo said, already out the door.  I starred at Kayden as I followed him and the rest of the team out the door.

            “Suki left this team because the Hotashi appointed her to a new team. See her level of skill is below Ikasu, Steve and yourself so they had to put a more advanced person on this team, that being myself. We have to keep the levels of skill on teams balanced that way no man trains harder, and no one trains any less that way everyone learns so much. Do you understand?” He explained as we ran behind Sendo, the huge boat appearing into view. I nodded at him taking in his words.

            “Okay…but how do you know so much about all that?” I asked him.

            “I’m part of an organization from Norcross called the ‘Black Ops’ They’re a team of highly trained experts who take on S rank missions and help protect the village. We learn more about things that normal ninja would not know.” He explained to me.

            “So I take it you know more information about the Alilien than I do?” I asked him again, starring at him. He nodded, not meeting my gaze.

            “I’ve had many experiences with them.” He told me quietly as we stopped at the boat entrance. The boat that we stood before was fairly large and white with a long railing that ran around the boat. It had windows on the lower part of it and a flag blew in the breeze at the very tippy top. We walked up the ladder onto the boat and we stood on dock while Sendo talked to a man in a white sailor uniform.

            “Welcome to the S.S Mento you four.” A young sailor told us as he tipped his hat at us and looked around the ship at the people. The sailor had short messy brown hair and very blue eyes almost like the snow that lay around us. There weren’t a lot of people up on the deck at this moment, just a few sailors in their uniforms, our team, and the captain. The princess must have been below decks with whatever was down there. Kayden walked over to Sendo and joined him in the conversation with the captain, asking him questions and learning about the situation at hand. I sighed and walked over to a big, circular part of the inside of the ship and looked at all the controls. There were big buttons, small buttons, square buttons, colorful buttons, levers, gauges, windows, and a very big wooden steering wheel in the center of the room, out-looking the path we would set on soon enough. I gazed in wonder outside of the window as I walked up to the wheel and placed my hands on it, proudly standing straight as I looked out the window feeling like a captain myself. Happily smiling to myself I glanced down at all the buttons in wonder as I searched for the one that started the boat. The oddest one I could find was a large red button that called my name to press, so I did. As my fingers left the big button a loud horn echoed off the icy peaks and shivered the water, causing my heart to jump as I let go of the wheel and stepped away from the controls scarred. I heard a small laugh behind me as I flipped around to see the captain walking into the room.

            “I see you’ve found the horn.” He told me calmly as he walked next to me. I nodded shakily as I stepped back farther away from the controls.

            “I’m very sorry about that!” I apologized sincerely to him.

            “It’s quite alright, you just leave the steering to me and you take look after the princess alright?” He told me happily as he put a hand on the steering wheel and started flipping switched. I nodded to his back as I ran out of the door and to one of the railings and looked over the vast ocean as the fear from the horn faded. The boat made a loud squeal as it lurched foreword, tossing me closer to the side and almost off if Steve hadn’t caught me.

            “You got to be careful Stone Lee-chan!” He laughed as he let go of me and the boat started to make its way first slowly then faster across the vast, deep blue ocean. White waves lapped at the side of the boat and the wind whipped through my hair as the boat gained speed. I smiled excitedly as I looked back towards the dock where we had loaded as it disappeared slowly in the distance, and now only the ocean surrounded us. I looked at Steve as he looked at me and we both smiled happily at one another before turning our stares back to the ocean.

            Steve and I sat there in wonderful silence for half an hour, my mind filled with excitement as I watched the waves dance happily against the side of the boat as we pushed farther and farther on. I could have watched for hours in amazement but Steve finally pulled his head back and sighed.

            “Peaceful isn’t it?” He asked me, I nodded in return.

            “Sorry to stop you, but it look like Sendo needs us.” He told me as he took my arm and half dragged me away from the railing. I sighed sadly but then looked up at Sendo so I could listen to the report.

            “Alright. The princess is down below decks so each of you will have a time to protect her. As of now I have Kayden positioned down there, after that Steve will take his place, after him I would like Stone Lee to watch after her, and for the night shift Ikasu will take over and I will be up decks most of the time if any of you see anything or need to report back to me alright? We will switch in every two hours because nighttime falls early on the sea and we need to be prepared for then alright? Ikasu is the most capable for the nightshift.” He explained to us. We all nodded in agreement as he smiled lightly at us.

            “Good we are all settled then. You three may train until your shift, get to know the boat some more or whatever, just stay out from the below decks until it is your turn to guard her.” He instructed us and we all again nodded for agreement. Sendo nodded back to us as he put his hands in his pockets and strode off to the front of the ship. Ikasu was the next to leave as he turned around and leaned again the ships railing, starring out over the ocean. I looked at Steve and we both shrugged.

            “Well I’ve got a card game we can play for awhile until my shift, you want to do that?” He asked me, I looked at him confused before I nodded.

            “Sure why not, as long as you explain to me what that is.” I told him and he laughed, turning away from me and getting into his pack he pulled out red paper squares and sat down on the floor of the ship. I sat across from him as he laid out half the deck to himself and half to me.

            “Alright this is called ‘Battle’ the goal is to get the most cards and kill your opponent. Meaning that if I put of this card...” He said as he flipped over his first card, a seven. Then he reached over and flipped over my card, a three.

            “Since my card has a higher value I win.” He explained to me as he took the two cards and added it to his pile. 

            “Understand?” He asked me smiling. I nodded happily as I quickly flipped over my card and he followed me, I wining this time by five times the value.

            We continued our card battle with the numbers increasing as the cards containing different symbols that I didn’t understand. As short as it seemed that it would be, it raged on until Steve had me down to one card and I was concentrating hard on my card, hoping it would be larger than his. We counted to three as I flipped over my card and he flipped his…and he screamed in delight and I growled in anger. He had drawn a queen and I had drawn a jack.

            “You barely beat me, barely! I demand a re-match!” I shouted to him. He just laughed loudly as he took my last card and put it in his deck.

            “You can challenge me all you want, I will always win! I know your thoughts!” He told me happily as he smiled and stuck his tongue out at me. Cheater! I glared sharply at him as I lunged as him, sending him back on his back as I grabbed his tongue, laughing evilly as he starred at me shocked.

            “Don’t spit this thing out at me or I’ll tear it from your mouth!!” I laughed at him as I tugged playfully at it. He soon got the joke as he joined in my laughter and begged for mercy. I laughed continually, trying to get to my knees and pin him down while he tried to bit my fingers off.

            “Say I’m your master!!” I yelled to him, finally on my knees as I loomed over him, his tongue still between my fingers.

            “U ‘eh ‘aster!” he gurgled out at me as I laughed and finally released his tongue and flipped my head to the side, seeing Kayden starring longingly at the pinned down Steve.

            “Oh hi there Kayden...” I said as I got up from Steve smiled at him, he seemed at loss for words as he shook his head lightly and a small smile formed over his lips.

            “Steve it is your turn to watch over the princess.” He told him as he approached him and pulled him up to his feet.

            “Thanks Kayden!” He told him happily as he skipped towards the door, playfully glaring at me as he disappeared below the stairs. I started to pick up the strewn out cards as Kayden looked in the direction that Steve left in.

            “Steve…” he muttered to himself.

            “Yeah what about him?” I asked him curiously, still picking up the cards. He suddenly snapped back to reality as he turned to face me, then getting down on his knees to help me pick up the cards.

            “Nothing sorry I was speaking to myself.” He told me as we finished picking up the cards and he handed them to me with a smile.

            “Thank you.” I replied as I put the cards back into Steve’s pack and walked over to the railing looking over the peaceful ocean again lost in the wonder of being on such a big ship.

            I wasn’t sure how long I was looking over the ocean before the young sailor who greeted us was by my side looking over the ocean for a second before he glanced at me.

            “Do you like the ocean?” He asked me quietly, his voice sounded deep for such a small boy. I was unaware though as I nodded hazily, my eyes locking on a mound of snow to the left of the ship.

            “It is beautiful; would you ever like to swim in it?” He asked me. Swim..?

            “I don’t think so, I’m not sure what swim is.” I told him as I laughed slightly.

            “All you have to do is be put in a situation so that you learn…” The man whispered to me. I thought about it questionably as the man stepped closer, and then I heard Ikasu call my name. I flipped around from the railing, gave the nice young sailor a smile before I walked away from him. Carefully I stepped aside from Kayden who was rummaging in Steve’s pack and then stood next to Ikasu who was starring at the sailor before he met my eyes.

            “I want to show you something.” He told me as he pulled me in front of him and put my hands on the railing, then he pointed to a mount of ice and the sun was directly above it.

            “Just keep your eyes on that glacier and don’t look away.” He whispered to me as he backed up slightly and watched it with me. I was confused about why he would want me to stare at this boring ‘glacier’ for so long, but I didn’t ask as I fixed my eyes upon it and the quietness of the sea drifted over us. It took a while but then suddenly the sun started to disappear behind the glacier slowly, turning the area around us orange. It was pretty, but that wasn’t the surprise either. We heard Kayden get off his knees and stare over the orange sky as he placed his hands on the railing a few feet away from us.

As I continued to watch, the pretty sight left our view and the air grew icy cold as I shivered, starring at the now darkened sky.

            “I-I don’t get what you mean. This is stupid” I shuttered out, shivering still.

            “Keep watching…” He said as he took a step closer and pointed his face towards the sky.

            “Watch for�"“ I stopped short as my jaw dropped and I gasped in amazement at the site in front of my eyes. The dark sky had changed, as a white strip lighted up the sky and colors danced in front of my eyes off the sky. I was so astonished that I leaned foreword to get a better glimpse, the color filling my eyes and I laughed excitedly, another shiver running down my spine. Ikasu put his hands on mine and stepped closer, his warm chest against my back and his hot hands stopping my shivers.

            “It’s nice isn’t it?” He asked me, his chin barely skimming against my hair. I nodded and starred happily up at the sky lost in the wonder. I didn’t know what was causing such a beautiful site but I loved it. 

            “Ikasu it’s more than nice, it’s beautiful.” I whispered to him, leaning back and closing my eyes as the colors swirled around in my head. I felt Ikasu smile as he tilted his head down into my hair and exhaled softly.

            “I know it is…” He whispered back. I reopened my eyes and starred at the sky more smiling at the dancing sky of colors.

            “It’s like this every night…we can watch it while we’re on this ship.” He continued, lifting his head from my hair and glancing upward again.

            “I’d really like that.” I told him, the smile still with me.

            “Stone Lee…” I heard Steve’s voice say from behind us. Ikasu released my hands and stepped away from me as I turned and looked at Steve, his face was worn out and he looked tired.

            “Are you okay?” I asked him. He nodded wearily as he sat down next to his pack and pulled out some sort of packaged food.

            “She’s a lot of work, be careful with her.” He said tiredly as he opened up the package. I looked towards the stairs frightened and gave Steve and Ikasu small smiles, before approaching the steps.

“Oh my god the Northern Lights!” I heard Steve yell happily as I turned around to watch him run to the railing and gaze at the sky in awe. Kayden approached him and began to converse quietly with him and I heard Steve giggle. I smiled at the two before turning around to face my fate and began to tiptoe down the slippery steps.  It was dark before I reached a well lit room made of wood, the ‘princess’ sitting on a white sheeted bed moaning. The princess had long black hair and light purple eyes and she was in a long blue sleeping gown looking around her twenties, she was very pretty. I approached her slowly and when I was a foot away from her she finally noticed me.

            “It took you long enough! Ugh my head is pounding get some ice and the bottle of Pepertin over there hurry!” She said as she put her hand to her head and flicked her wrist in a direction. I quickly ran over there and looked around…but I had no idea what ‘ice’ or Pepertin was.

            “Umm I-I’m sorry could you tell me what those are?” I asked her quietly. She looked up at me and her eyes were tight in anger.

            “You mean to tell me you don’t know what ice is!?” She yelled at me, I winced back.

            “I-I’m sorry I-I don’t...” I muttered just louder than a scared whisper.

            “They give me the dumb guards, how will you ever protect me if someone comes to kill me? Ugh I don’t have time to fight the ice is in the freezer, it’s the cold thing and the Pepertin in next to your hand!” She yelled at me as I quickly grabbed the bottle and looked for the ‘Freezer’. I felt like an idiot in front of this girl as I searched around for the freezer. I didn’t exactly know what a freezer looked like or what it did until I touched something very cold and reached inside it, pulling out little squares of frozen water, astonished that man could do this. I didn’t think long as I rushed the two things over to the girl and placed them in front of her, and she snatched them angrily from my hands.

            “There’s no good help around here anymore.” She muttered to herself as she wrapped the ice in a cloth and putting it on her head, and then she proceeded to down the bottle of Pepertin.

            “D-Do you need anything else?” I stuttered to her. She shook her head as she lay back down on her bed.

            “I need nothing from you, just be quiet and let me sleep.” she said to me as she sighed and tried to balance the bag of ice on her head as it continued to slip down. I smiled slightly as I climbed onto the bed beside her and held the ice neatly on her head for her; she starred at me for a while before she closed her eyes.

            “Thanks.” She said dully as she made herself comfortable. I nodded to her as I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes thinking about the beautiful sky above me.

            It took her no more than half an hour before she fell right to sleep and I watched her breathing become steady; she was also twitching and shaking in her dream while she muttered to herself. I removed the ice from her forehead and pulled the blanket out from under her and I gently laid her in it. She sighed deeply as her twitching stopped, but she continued to mutter. I shrugged my shoulders as I lay back against the wall and sighed, playing with the bag of ice in my hands. I still had time down here even though the princess was asleep when I would much rather be up decks watching the sky with Ikasu and the others, but I knew like a good ninja that I should stay and watch over her even if she was sleeping. I sighed as I closed my eyes again and yawned as I got comfortable, I don’t think the princess would mind if I just dozed off a little bit…With that I fell asleep.

            *         *         *

           

            Two hours ticked by slowly and when the colors of the sky grew more intense Ikasu knew it was his time to trade shifts with Stone Lee. He pried himself away from the railing as he walked down the stairs quietly, seeing the princess laying on her bed but Stone Lee no where in site. Shocked and scared he peered around the corner for her and checked around the tables that were scattered about but she was no where. He almost called for Sendo when he spotted her, her hand was lying in the princesses long black hair and her back was against the wall as she slept. Her head was drooped down towards her chest as she slept peacefully, and he couldn’t help but to smile. He tentatively put his foot down on the bed as he reached out and picked her up in his arms removing her from the princess’s bed. She yawned and shifted in her sleep, burying her head in his chest. He would have liked to keep her in this state, but he knew it was time for her to awaken…

 

            *         *         *

 

            I didn’t remember falling asleep I just remember thinking about it, I was sure I had fallen asleep though when the bed started to shake beneath me. I groggily opened my eyes to find I was no longer in the bed, but in Ikasu’s arms. I blinked a couple times before I yawned.

            “Hey…” I said sleepily as I rubbed my eyes.

            “Hey your shift is over; you can go sleep above decks.” He told me as he walked towards the stairs and started up them.

            “Mmmm thank you Ikasu.” I told him as the sky appeared above me and he set me down on the deck carefully.

            “Sleep well Stone Lee.” He told me as he walked down the steps again and disappeared. I laid there for a moment, before I stretched and sat up, the sky even lighter than before and more beautiful. Steve was asleep by Kayden, sprawled out comfortably with his arm over Kayden’s stomach; their ankles were intertwined and Steve had his arm behind his head as he snored lightly. Kayden was smiling happily in his sleep with one arm behind his head. I sat up and walked over to the railing again as I smiled happily at the sky above me. The sky seemed to glow with a mystical power. I heard someone walk up behind me, but I didn’t really pay them any attention because it was probably just Sendo or one of the crew members.

            “Pretty don’t you think?” I asked the person behind me sweetly.

            “I think something else would be a much prettier sight.” A deep voice said that stood out in my head immediately. I started to turn around as I got a glimpse of those blood red eyes and silver white hair in a matter of seconds. Then he shoved me forcefully and hard, my back bumping off the railing and sending me plummeting down towards the ocean; with shock pulsing through me and the fear rising in my stomach. I thought quickly, only one name coming to mind.

            “IKASU!!!!!!!” I screamed as loud as I could and I fell into the water with a splash. The water was nothing compared to the words that Steve used to describe it. As soon as my body came in contact with this freezing cold water the air that I had left me as I maintained to keep my head above the water to save my life. The water froze my entire body making it hard to keep my head out of the water so I didn’t drown; I had no idea how to swim in this water! My breath came out in uneven gasped and I inhaled more water than I did oxygen. How… How did Hidan get on this ship?! I-I can’t breathe or talk and it’s getting harder to move my legs…why…?  I coughed out water as my feet, against my will, stopped moving and my arms struggled to keep moving; but my head was already headed for the cold depths of this never ending ocean. I saw the ship moving away from me as I splashed against the cold surface of the water meekly. Even if Ikasu heard me… how would he find me? I gasped in a couple more breaths before my face hit the stinging cold water and it filled my ears and my head, making me gasp in a air full of water. I tried to shove it out, but it was too late. I reached my hand up towards the surface of the water and my eyelids shut…

 

            *                     *                     *

           

            Ikasu sat in a chair as he flipped an old rock between his fingers, only time to waste now. He watched the rock roll between his fingers and thought about his studies in the past year and hoped that he could finally be able to apply them to this mission. That’s when he heard her. Her frightened loud scream echoed in his ears as he got up from the chair fast, knocking it over to race up the steps. The rock danced across the table slowly, reaching the end and clunking to the floor. Ikasu was at the top of the stairs now as he looked over the deck; Steve was rubbing his eyes wearily looking around and Kayden was as stiff as a board as he too looked around his nose slightly in the air. Where was she?! What happened to her?! He gritted his teeth angrily as he searched around the top half of the boat and if hadn’t of stopped for a second to look at the ocean, he would’ve missed her. The sight he saw stopped his body and his heart. He saw her fighting for her life in the freezing cold water, her hands slapping the surface and he could almost hear her gasping for air. He watched for a minute before his brain started to work again.

            “SHUT OFF THE ENGINE!” He screamed to the captain as he ran to the edge and sprang off, bracing himself for the cold he would face. He swore he heard someone call for him to stop but there was no stopping him now, if he didn’t get her out of the water soon she would be dead. When he hit the water it stung like a thousand needles, but he broke back to the surface and swam quickly towards the spot he last saw her. Her body was no longer above the surface. He kicked with all his might and he heard the ship come to a screeching halt sending little waves to him. After the ocean settled her saw bubbles rise to the surface beneath him. He stopped kicking immediately and he saw her pale white hand sink below where he couldn’t see. He took a large intake of oxygen as he dove down below the surface, maintaining his energy to keep him warm for this moment. He kicked furiously until he saw her arm in the water before him. He took her hand and pulled her up by him forcefully then he broke the surface with her, gasping for air. The ship was only a couple yards from where they were and he knew he could make it.

            “Hang on Stone Lee we’re almost there.” He muttered, trying hard to breathe normally and keep his teeth from chattering. His energy was decreasing and he could feel his body temperature finally colliding with freezing temperatures of the ocean. Still he swam with all his might, clutching her close to his back to keep her out of the water. He would be amazed if she survived this…

            He arrived before he knew it and his feet barley moved to keep him and her above the water.

“Help us up!” He yelled up to the boat.. Steve soon appeared and made clones to help them back up the boat. He handed her body to him and they passed her up, then they helped him up. Once they reached the top they all disappeared and Steve put his head down to where Stone Lee’s heart was, after laying there for a second he put his head up and shook his head slowly, tears forming in his eyes.

            “Move away!” He told him fiercely; holding back his emotions as he listened for the heartbeat as well…Steve was right there was nothing. He glared angrily down at her body as he put his hands together and started giving her chest compressions, then air, just like he had learned before. There was…no way she could be dead. He lost her once before, he wasn’t about to lose her again.

            He was on his fifth set and now he was getting worried, still he held back the emotions he felt as he gave her two more breaths and started again. He could hear Steve weeping in the background and he knew Kayden was probably comforting him.

            “Come on Stone Lee open your eyes! You’re stronger than this!!” He pleaded with her as he finished his compressions and went back on air, knowing he could only do so much before he realized the fact. There was still…nothing.

            “Come on god damn it Stone Lee! No ocean is strong enough to kill you like this!!!” He pleaded with her again, working harder than ever.

            *         *                     *

            Was I…dead? If this was what came after death it wasn’t anything like I expected. It was cold and dark, and my chest felt strange like I was being pulled apart. It was quite painful but after the pain I felt soothing cold air fill my lungs. Soon after I heard a voice shout my name. Was it God? He sure sounded far away if it was him, yet I wanted to go to him. I looked around me and I seemed to be on a path. To the left of me was a bright white light that was warm and made me feel happy and comforted, and the other way was dark, cold and painful with every step I took in that direction…but the voice was calling to me in that direction. I glanced both ways as I decided which way to go. The voice continued to shout and as time ticked away I watched the strange world around me become darker. I closed my eyes and I turned towards the voice and ran in that direction, the pain increasing as I neared the end. I felt my limbs go cold and my muscles strained to keep me running. It was unbearable when I hit the end and I fell down to my knees and began to crawl. It was only seconds before I collapsed and closed my eyes, I was…so cold and my chest hurt so much. Why couldn’t I just die now?! It was so dark…

            “Stone Lee come back!!!” I heard the voice yell behind my closed eyelids. I didn’t want to open my eyes for the pain was so much, but slowly I forced them open and in a haze I saw a man. He was too fuzzy to see though; maybe this was the God I was searching for? I saw him lean down over me seemingly slow and he kissed me and I felt air rush down my throat and suddenly life hit me all at once. The pain here was much worse if even possible and my throat was shoving something up like vomit. I closed my eyes and turned to the left of me, coughing and sputtering out cold water as air coursed through my lungs and the smells and sounds came back to me. I heard someone crying and the creak of the ship, and I knew I was alive and hopefully safe. I laid down flat as I gasped for air, wanting so much to cry but no tears came to me as I only had dry sobs.

            “She’s alive.” I heard ‘Gods’ voice say out loud as I was picked up in someone’s arms, they were wet too. I turned to see what my God looked like….but it was Ikasu. His body was dripping wet and his hair was stuck to his face. He had a satisfying smile on his face, one that I’ve never seen before as he looked down at me. My eyes fluttered to stay open as I starred back at him.

            “Take her below decks and keep her warm, it’s a miracle that she even lived…” I heard Sendo tell Ikasu from behind him as I closed my eyes.

When I opened them again we were down with the princess under the warm sheets of a bed and Ikasu was hugging me close, rubbing his hand up and down my arm to keep my frozen body warm.

            “I’m…so….cold.” I muttered out to him. I was too cold to even shake and when I spoke the words burned my throat.

            “I know just stay awake and I’ll get you warm.” He told me as he hugged me tighter, I heard a fire somewhere in the room and Ikasu’s body was much warmer than mine.

            “Thank you…for…saving me.” I whispered out to him as I swallowed, pushing back the feeling of pain as I nudged my head under Ikasu’s chin to take whatever warmth he offered me.

            “What happened?!” He asked me as he continued to rub me. I closed my eyes and tried to remember just what had happened, and then his eyes were there. That wicked smile upon his face and his blood red eyes were directed into mine, and I couldn’t help but to gasp as I took Ikasu’s hand.

            “H-He’s…on the boat.” I shuttered out to him as I gasped for air, his image still haunting my mind and the pain riveting in the back of my throat.

            “Who’s on the boat Stone Lee?” He asked me quietly. I took a moment to catch my breath before I opened my eyes again and starred at Ikasu’s chest.

            “…Hidan.” I answered just loud enough for him to hear. He clenched my hand in his fist and after a moment he exhaled slowly.

            “Are you sure?” He asked me.

            “I’m sure. I-I remember looking over the boat and I heard his voice, I know I did and when I turned around he…” I stopped as tears formed in my eyes and I buried my head back into his chest. My body was finally warm enough to have me shake again.

            “It’s alright, we’ll find him don’t worry.” He whispered to me and I felt him raise his head and scan the room.

            “He may be after the princess as well. We will tighten our security and I’ll make sure you don’t go unprotected until we find him. He can’t get away on this ship.” He told me strongly, his arm rubbing me fiercely and I smiled at him.

            “Thank you for always b-being there…” I whispered to him as I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep thankfully.

             I didn’t dream much in the night as I restlessly tossed and turned in my bed, not cold enough freeze but I felt cold to the bone as I searched for warmth. When I realized that my heater was gone I sat up quickly and looked around, but Ikasu wasn’t anywhere to be found. I shivered violently as I crept on my hands and knees and looked around to the left, the princess was still sleeping silently and I smiled slightly to myself as I shivered. Then I turned to the right to see Ikasu holding garments in his hand, but his suddenness made me jump back and hit the wall, scared.

            “Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you would still be sleeping…” He told me as he sat down on the edge of the bed and held out the garments to me.

            “Put these on it should stop your shaking.” He told me as I took the clothes from his hands. I noticed that he too was in different clothes. They were light blue and checkered with little white lines running up and down them. He had a button up shirt and then loose pants that covered his legs. I starred at him as I shook, sliding my shirt and pants off and laying them cold on the floor in a wet heap. Then I slipped the gown over my head and draped it over my body, he was right it helped a lot. He starred at me for a couple moments before he lay back on the bed and put his arms behind his head.

            “You should go back to sleep, you’ve only been asleep for a little less than an hour.” He told me as he starred up at the ceiling in thought. I nodded to him as I got back on the bed beside him and curled up into a ball. I placed my head on his warm chest and placed my cold hands on his unexposed stomach skin, warming them better than before.

            “Close your eyes and go to sleep…” He told me quietly as he shut my eyelids with his fingers. He then took my hands off his stomach and kept one in his grasp, the other he slid farther up his shirt to where his chest protruded out and where the heat was more intensified and I smiled behind my closed eyelids.

            “Good night Ikasu.” I said as I yawned and relaxed again. I felt him lean foreword and press his lips to my forehead lightly.

            “Good night Stone Lee…” He told my forehead as I drifted off into a deep sleep.

            *         *                     *

            “I’m so sorry about your friend, but she’ll be alright won’t she?” The young sailor asked concerned as he addressed Sendo Hadaka from the stern if the large ship.  

            “She’ll be fine, we’re glad it was an accident.” He told the man as he glanced around.

            “Keep your eyes out for anything suspicious, boy.” He told him as he strode off. The boy saluted him as he left, and then turned around with disgust on his face.

            “Boy my a*s! If it wasn’t for this small body she would have been dead by now. God damn it..” He muttered under his breath as he walked to the very front of the boat and got out his device.

            “I killed her…but the Yatashi boy revived her.” Hidan muttered into the device.

            “Then keep him away from her, besides you still have plenty of time left, just have her dead soon Hidan.” Kikuyu’s mad voice came back to him quietly.

            “I will if I have to I’ll use that technique.” He said evilly as he laughed.

            “Whatever, I just want her dead.”

            “Out of all the people I choose a skinny little, weasely, little prick. He is the damn antagonist of the play and now I have to play the part. It’s f*****g ridiculous.” Hidan sputtered out, anger fueling him. He was so pissed off about how Stone Lee survived and now, on top of it, he had to act as the freaking bad guy in the production. Out of all the boys he picked this one...

            “What’s the name of the production?” Kikuyu asked him.

            “Why the fu�"“

            “For once shut your damn mouth and just answer my question” Kikuyu sounded irritated.

            “The Hidden emblem”

            “Hold on, let me get some information on your character.”

            “Why the hell should I care about my character?” Hidan’s anger rose more. Kikuyu was silent and Hidan sighed angrily. He glanced around and the ship was still quiet, Sendo was back talking to the captain looking agitated. The two boys were still fast asleep and there was no sign of the girl and the boy, he was safe for now.

            He tapped his foot against the floor as he waited for Kikuyu to reply.

            “This is taking too long I don’t care about�"“

            “Master Julian, antagonist of ‘The Hidden Emblem’. Julian kidnaps the princess and seeks to find the emblem before her comrades can. He takes her to his fortress and at first hates her, then grows to like the young maiden. While he sends his minions to gather the emblem after getting the location from the princess, he keeps her in the castle and learns more about her. In the final scene the two dance, and Julian kisses the maiden.” Hidan shuttered in disgust, he was not looking forward to kissing that b***h.

            “After the kiss the comrades burst into the castle, save their maiden and kill Master Julian.” Kikuyu continued on.

            “Great, now I die. Why the hell do I need to care about that again?”  

            “My god you really are stupid. What happens if the princess happens to, well I don’t know…get lost in the forest and mysteriously disappear? Or sadly passed away in her sleep?”

            “I would assume we would head back home and our whole plan would fail! What are you trying to get at?
            “Director Tabashi Kiolrien is desperately in need of money. If this production fails he’ll be out of the movie business. He’ll have to find another woman to play the part if the princess dies. Now, exactly how many women do you have on the ship?”

            “Well I’ve only seen the b***h�"“ Hidan cut his words short, seeing where this was going.

            “Exactly. Kill the princess and leave her body to where I can access it. It seems she actually has a bounty over her head. Let’s clean up that mess alright? If you can’t kill her we still have our bargaining chip; although this plan seems much easier. You know what to do.”

            “Yeah, I’ll take care of it.” He cut the line dead. Hidan sighed slightly and casually walked up to the boat and down the stairs where the crew was sleeping. He first spotted Stone Lee, and then the Yatashi kid next to her, his hand in hers. Scoffing at the two of them he approached the bed and carefully ripped their hands apart and moved Stone Lee away from the boy and near the edge of the bed. ‘Her death must seem like an accident to keep us from being discovered. Do not kill her of your own accord do you understand’ Kikuyu’s voice said in his head as he reached for the knife in his pocket.

            “Yeah, Yeah I know.” He grumbled to himself as he put down the knife and put his hand lightly on her throat as she carelessly breathed in and out. She was so calm and so….defenseless. She was clothed in a simple pink throw-over and in her sleep she was clueless.

“One simple grasp and I could have your life over in a second little girl.” He whispered as his fingers twitched on her neck wishing to stop her breathing at that moment. He had to force his hand off her before he could get grip of his plan. He put his finger to her temple and muttered his technique, capturing her mind in the technique and then he pulled back, and smirked at her now twitching body.

            “It’s always fun to watch people in this technique. Since I could not kill you before it will bring me amusement to see just how you can torture yourself.” He muttered as he stepped back into the darkness to watch with a wide grin on his face.

            *           *           *

 

            Now that I was more comfortable, I had a dream. It turns out though; my dream had faded into a black nightmare. I woke up quickly and Ikasu wasn’t upon the bed again like before. I quietly slipped off the bed and looked around the room I was in, no one was here. I looked around me confused as I walked slowly up the stairs into the blinding sun and heard laughter. I stopped and looked around, but no one was up here either.

            “Stone Lee down here!” I heard Steve’s happy voice call to me from below. I walked carefully to the railing again and looked down. I saw Kayden, Steve, and Ikasu. Sendo, the captain and many sailors laughing and splashing another in the water happily from below me and I looked at all of them astonished.

            “How are you not freezing?!” I asked them all shocked.

            “The water’s much warmer in the daytime Stone Lee-chan, come join us!” Steve called happily, waving his arm to me encouragingly.

            “I-I don’t think I should.” I said sheepishly as I backed away from the railing.

            “Jump in Stone Lee.” I heard Ikasu’s voice as he swam out to the middle of the circle, his arms up to me.

            “I’ll catch you when you jump.” He told me, a small smile on his face. I starred at him before I grabbed a rope and looked down at them all; they were encouraging me on to jump in and join the fun.

            “You’re sure it’s not cold?” I asked them. They all shouted their no’s and that it was wonderful, all so encouragingly that I couldn’t help but laugh.

            “Alright I�".” I was cut off short as I heard the door from behind me swing wide open and flipping around I saw Hidan behind me.

            “Stone Lee what are you doing? Don’t jump down there!” He said in his evil voice as he approached me. My eyes widened as I stepped up onto the railing, my heels dangling over the edge.

            “H-Hidan you really are here! Stay back!” I ordered him as I looked down, all my friends still smiling and begging for me to jump.

            “What are you thinking?!” He asked me curiously as he continued to step foreword cautiously. I looked down at Ikasu’s extended arms as I faced him.

            “I’m coming down Ikasu!” I said as I leaped down…and then I was caught by my legs. I screamed as I looked up, seeing Hidan’s hand on the rope and the other grasping my leg tight.

            “Y-You idiot!” he huffed between gritted teeth as he started to pull me back up. I looked down at Ikasu scared as I began to fight against Hidan.

            “Let me go, Ikasu help me!!” I yelled to him as I kicked against Hidan.

            “What do you think I’m doing?” I heard Hidan say as he pulled me up towards the ship. Ikasu below me was looking angry as he shook his fist at Hidan, telling me to come down.  

            “Let me go!” I yelled at him as I kicked him furiously as we neared the top, and then he pulled me over, catching me in his arms.

            “You were�".” He started before I pulled my arm back and punched him hard, his hands immediately let me go as they went up to his face and he swore in pain and backed up. I flipped back around and looked down to Ikasu who was ushering me down. I started to jump when Hidan seized me from behind and picked me up, my feet kicking the air lamely.

            “Let me go! P-Please let me go” I screamed as I struggled, tears forming in my eyes as I tried to jam my elbow back into him.

            “Stone Lee wake up! You’re sleeping!” I heard Hidan growl to me as he shook me furiously back and forth.

            “I know I’m not sleeping let me go!” I struggled again as I fought against his grasp. He suddenly spun me around to face him as he gripped my shoulders and shook me again.

            “Look at me!!” He yelled at me as my head flew back and forth and then I starred into his now black eyes. They weren’t his usual blood red as they were a dark evil black and red symbols swirled around in my head, causing great pain to erupt in it. I gasped as he let go of me and I hit my knees clutching to my head. This all felt familiar as I shut my eyes tight, a ringing growing in my head and then disappearing all at once as I heard the sounds of the waves crashing in my ears. I opened my eyes I could see someone’s feet in front of me and the area was no longer shimmering with the sunny light. I glanced up and I was starring in the face of Ikasu, blood was trickling down from his nose and his eyes were black as they began to fade back to his normal red.

            “What were you doing?!” He yelled at me sternly as he starred hard and cold at me.

            “I-I don’t know you guys were all in the ocean and you told me to come… I-I don’t know W-What happened!” I explained to him as tears trickled down my face and I sat down on my butt, bringing my knees in and hugging them close to me as I let the ocean roar in my ears.

            “You were in a technique, but your fine now. He must have got to you in your sleep.” he told me as he extended his hand down to help me up. I starred at it for a moment before I stood up on my own, turned from him and walked to the railing, grasping it between my fingers and looking out over the ocean.

            “Why does it matter, they’ll stop at nothing to have me killed again.” I told him as I starred across the ocean and let the tears flow down my face.

            “I-I’m not even that important to this t-team! I’m endangering my friends and the princess I mean….w-why can’t I just die!? It doesn’t e-even matter!” I stuttered out and I looked down from the ocean and tears blurred out my vision.

            “That’s not true you’re�".” I turned around fast the tears burning in my eyes now.

            “I’m what!? Important!? I’m not and I’m sure you k-know that too. I don’t know w-why you even bother saving me all these times I’m n-nothing but a nuisance anyway!” I yelled at him, glaring at him as my tears continued to fall off my face and splattering to the ground. He took a step towards me and stopped before saying

            “You are important. If they got a hold of your demon the power they could possess is fatal and�".” I cut him off again.

            “Heh, my demon. This is what this is all about! I thought they extracted it but apparently I still lived somehow… then why don’t I just kill myself and make sure the Alilien never finds my body!?” I yelled again, my life obviously having no point. He stepped closer to me and starred at me long and hard, myself glaring back at him.

            “You’re important to more than just a nation. Your important to your friends, this team needs you just as much as everyone else does and….your important to me Stone Lee. Your a big part of my life and together we can put the pieces of your past together again, ending your life will not stop the Alilien in their conquest to take over this land, ending it will just eliminate one of their enemies. Fight back and prove that you are stronger than them all and just maybe, you can put a stop to their plan.” He whispered to me calmly as he put his hands on my shoulders. I stared at him as I thought about his words, he was right there were other demons like my teammate Steve, and killing myself off would only have the Alilien pursuit him for his demon and that would be cowardly of me. I would never escape the fate of the Alilien, even in death. I would have to exterminate them all if I ever wanted to escape this cycle of attacking and escaping.

            I nodded slowly to him as I brushed the tears away from my face and looked down at our feet.

            “I understand…I will try everything I can so that the Alilien will never be able to harm another person again!” I told him and the ground as my voice echoed off the vast sheets of ice around us.

            “I expected you to say as much, don’t ever forget your own words...now come, tomorrow will be shooting day.” He told me as he placed his hand behind my back and led me yet again down to the lower decks. I hopped back on the bed and got under the covers as I starred at the ceiling, waiting for Ikasu to lie next to me, but he didn’t. Looking over at him I saw him sitting down at a chair tossing a rock between his fingers as he watched it transfixed.

            “Go to bed Stone Lee, I’ll make sure nothing happens while you sleep.” He told me, still not looking up from his rock. He muttered fiercely to himself as the rock moved faster between his fingers. I nodded slowly at him as I sat back and continued to stare at the ceiling as I listened to the sound of the rock being tossed between Ikasu’s hands. After minutes of listening to the sound my eyelids began to droop and I eventually faded off into sleep.

            I woke up to the sound of the horn as it echoed off the glaciers around me and I opened my eyes quickly and started up from the noise. Ikasu was no longer in his chair and as I got up from the bed I realized that the princess was missing as well. I put on a nearby black jacket and walked up the stairs to the upper decks where the sailors were unloading the boat and the rest of the crew was off the boat on the ice talking amongst themselves.  A nearby sailor walked up to me with a smile.

            “Good morning Stone Lee!” He told me cheerfully as he extended his hand out, gesturing to the strange ladder that led down to the ice land. I followed his hand and looked down the ladder, it was steep and from my point of view it seemed to go on for eternity. The sailor walked over to me and offered me his arm.

            “Here, we’ll go together.” He told me smiling still; his smile made a grin grow on my face as I took his arm and looked down board.

            “Here we go!” He said as he took a step down with me, it was as steep as I predicated. After a couple slow paced steps our walk turned into a run and our run turned into a mad dash to the bottom. I was frightened as I ran and soon the ground came up and turned our slanted run to a straight line. After he got off the ladder he released my arm but I continued to run and I heard him call after me.

            “Stop you’re going to far...” But it was too late. I ran out onto the cold snow and I was headed straight for the group. Sendo was talking to one of the guards dressed in black with black sunglasses and Kayden was talking to my target, Steve. I tried to warn him to watch out, but I was running to fast and I suddenly plummeted into him.

            Steve let out a small shriek as my body collided with his and he caught me in his arms, then we fell to the ground in a mesh on bodies and freezing cold snow. After I shook my head clear from the fall I looked down at Steve whose eyes were shut and he was groaning.

            “I’m so sorry Steve!! Oh no, Steve no I’m sorry say something to me!” He was quiet for a moment before he let out a sigh and his eyes flew open smiling at me.

            “You should really watch where you’re going Stone Lee-chan, next time I could be actually hurt!” He giggled out. I rolled my eyes as I lightly smacked him across the shoulder.

            “You’re a strong man I knew you could take it.” I told him as I got up off of him and helped him off the ground. He brushed the snow off of his coat and then gave me a smile. I turned away from his grin as I looked around the area.

            “So this is it huh? It’s pretty cold.” I told him as I shivered slightly, after I said it the cold really sunk in.

            “Of coarse Stone Lee we are around snow and this is the Land of Snow you know. Snow is only around when it’s cold.” He told me lightly kicking the snow up after he spoke.

            “Yeah well let’s just hurry so I can go back home, I almost regret asking for a mission...” I told him irritated as I turned back to him.

            “Well the princess is just getting to know the area.” Steve started as he pointed behind him to the princess. She was walking around assisted by a young sailor and they both talked back and forth, behind them a few yards was Sendo as he watched them closely.

            “After she finishes they’ll film the first scenes for the movie and then tomorrow we’ll hopefully finish!” He told me happily. I sighed again and held my arms close to me; I should probably go back and get a blanket.

            It turns out I didn’t have to. After a moment of debating weather to climb back up that horrid ladder a heavy green and black coat was tossed over my head from behind me.

            “You stay out without a coat you’re going to catch a cold.” Ikasu’s voice came to me; he was next to me now. I pulled the coat off my head as I fitted my arms in and zipped it up to my neck, it fit almost perfectly.

            “Thanks Ikasu, it was just what I needed.” I told him as I smiled slightly. He nodded back and then turned his gaze to the young sailor walking back towards the boat. His head angled up and he and Ikasu shared a glance before he turned his head away and began to talk to another sailor.

“There’s something odd about that sailor...” Ikasu started as he drifted off, watching him.

“I think he’s pretty nice.” I said as I stood next to him.

“Kind of cute too.” I told him with a small smile watching the sailor lightly toss back his brown hair. He turned his light blue, shining eyes to meet mine as he grinned slightly at me and walked back on board. I sighed happily and turned back to Ikasu, his face was unreadable.

“Well...looks aren’t everything and you should be careful anyway. There’s no one to trust with Hidan on board, so you better just stick with the people you know.” He rushed in an odd tone before he turned to me and led me over to the group where Sendo was talking to Steve and Kayden.

“Alright the princess already has her script so we will be shooting any minute now. Ikasu take the north end of the set, Steve you take the west, Stone Lee the south and Kayden you take the East I want you to watch the skies as well and Steve you take the ground got it?” He instructed us all.

“Where will you be stationed Sensei?” Steve asked from behind Kayden, I turned over and looked at him. He was being piggybacked by Kayden smiling while Kayden held him looking very serious. I smiled at Steve as I turned back to Sendo who was pondering Steve’s question.

“I will most likely be next to the princess or behind the camera at all times for extra protection. Nothing will happen to the princess while we’re on duty alright? You suspect the slightest thing you alert me got it?” He told us.

“Yes Sensei!” We all agreed. Sendo nodded to us all before he walked over to one of the men in sunglasses and began to speak to him. Kayden turned from the group and walked off with Steve while smiled and laughed, telling which direction Kayden should go like a horse. Ikasu turned to watch the sailors again and without thinking much I jumped up on his back and clasped my arms together like Steve was doing to Kayden. Ikasu didn’t even inch from his spot as he turned his head around to look at me and I dangled off his back.

“What are you doing?” He asked me.

“Getting a piggyback ride?” I answered, smiling hopefully at him. He sighed as he placed his hands under my legs and brought them foreword with great ease. He then began to walk foreword while I smiled at him and I placed my head on the back of his to look around.

“Thanks Ikasu this is much easier than walking!” I told him with a laugh as I whipped the hair out of my face and looked foreword to where Ikasu was walking.

“Hmm...” He muttered as we walked in between the tree’s, heading south towards my position.

“Alright people the shoot starts in two minutes, everyone get the props out and actors take you positions we�"“ The director began to shout, but then the princess entered the area and cut him off by saying.

“That’s alright you guys take you time! I going to go out again...there was something that I saw and I want to investigate it further, alone.” She told us all as she walked back past the trees back into the forest. A sailor from the ship suddenly dropped the crate he was holding in his hands as he ran after the princess.

“Let me go with you, just to make sure you’re safe my princess.” He told her as he bowed politely before her. She nodded slightly to him, continuing her pace.

“Princess you-!” The director started, but it was too late, the princess’s image had disappeared into the forest along with the sailor. The man sighed heavily as he turned back to his actors and wrote something down on his clipboard.

“When she has her mind made up there’s nothing we can do about it. Take five guys.” The man muttered and then sat down upon a rock, writing furiously on his clipboard. I frowned slightly as I put my head back on Ikasu’s.

“That girl has no respect does she?” I asked him and I felt him lightly shake his head.

“So now what do we do?” I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders and turned back around, heading towards the actors.        

*                  *                                                          *

The sailor and the princess strolled through the forest slowly as the princess took in all the view with a smile.

“Sorry that I had to come with you princess, I just care about you safety.” The sailor told her happily, watching her closely.

“Its fine now shut up so I can relive this moment later on in life.” The princess said irritably as she tossed her long hair behind her and quickened her stride; suddenly she stopped and gasped out loud. Shakily she looked down and there was a black blade protruding from her chest, blood slowly drenching her gown.

“My apologies princess, this is the end of your life.” The sailor whispered with vile in her ear as he jammed the blade deeper into her. She gasped again and tried to take a breath in but instead she got a gulp full of her own blood. Coughing heavily her eyesight became dark and there she fell from her life and collapsed to the ground in a heap. The sailor laughed out loud like a child receiving a toy and he grinned down at the body in front of him. He then plucked the gown from her dead body and plunged the knife into her and to a tree near him, having blood spur out onto his hand.

“Oh my, it looks as though I’ve been messy.” The sailor said sarcastically, licking his hand clear of the blood and smiling at his accomplishment.

*             *                       *

Minutes had passed and still the princess had not shown back up and we could all tell the director was getting impatient.

“Alright, we’ve got to get some scene’s shot today would some one please go out and fetch her with the boy?” The director asked irritably, downing his cup of coffee.

“I will go; I need Frank to help me with some things anyway.” A voice said. Everyone turned and there was the blue eyed sailor walking down from the decks.

“Thank you my boy, now hurry because time is money!” The director ushered. The boy nodded and walked away from us all, intent on getting into the forest. He walked on until his image disappeared from the sight of the others and finally he came across the boy and the princess. The boy was on his knees weeping and the princess was nailed to a tree with blood staining it.

“Oh, my boy how could you?” The sailor asked the other, concern in his voice. The sailor’s head shot up and he chocked back a sob.

“I-I don’t know what happened. I-I was suddenly in the forest and s-she…she’s dead!” the boy cried out, clutching the ankles of the young boy.

“You have to believe me, this wasn’t me!” He called, crying harder.

“Oh don’t worry I know you didn’t kill her, I would never give you credit for killing such a target.” The young boy told him, stroking his hair slightly. The sailor looked up confused, and then they filled with shock.

“You…you’re-!”

“I got the princess’s body in the woods I’m sure you’ll find it. It would be hard not to notice, what with the blood and all. I might have gone a little over board with this one.” Hidan said to his box, clicking it off after he made sure his words went through.

“The Alilien!” The sailor gasped and he quickly let go of his ankles.

“Thanks boy you really helped me out there! It’s going to get even better too because you’re going to be framed as me and I’ll be in the clear! I have to hand it to you kid you really saved my a*s!” Hidan joked, picking up the boy by the collar and the bloody gown in his other hand while smiling and walking back off toward camp.

“H-How did you-?”

“While you slept I intertwined my soul with yours. We’re now connected frank.” Hidan shot him a smile.

“Now I can easily transfer from my soul to yours, except this useless body will fall unconscious.” Hidan laughed as he made his way through the forest.

“Make any unneeded responses and I can make sure you’re life won’t end as pleasantly as the princesses.” Hidan whispered into his ear and the sailor just continued to cry.

*     *                        *

While the sailor left Steve and I had gotten into a debate about who ran faster, Ikasu or Kayden while we were on their backs.

“Ikasu can run so much faster! I mean look at him if he wanted to he could flash behind someone in an instant!” I argued, gesturing to Ikasu who didn’t care about our conversation.

“You’re only saying that because you know Ikasu more. Kayden actually trains in his speed and is ten times faster than Ikasu!” Steve shot back, putting his arm on Kayden’s shoulder for emphasis.

“Yeah well you-“

“That’s enough you two.” Kayden interrupted sounding important. Steve and I died down as we looked towards the ground glumly.

“The only way to settle this…is with a race.” He told us with a grin.

“A race! Yeah! Then we will see who truly the fastest one is!” Steve yelled excitedly, hopping on Kayden’s back.

“The first one to the trees at the edge of the forest is the ultimate winner!”

“You’re on!” I told him before I hopped on Ikasu’s back.

“Come on Ikasu we will show them!”

“I don’t condone this. It’s silly and a waste of our time. The princess will be back any minute and we need to be ready.” He told us, sounding like Sendo as he spoke. A frown found my face and I slipped off Ikasu’s back.

“I guess your right…”

“Don’t worry Steve, he just knows that he will be beaten and then shame will look down upon him.” Kayden said with spite and he laughed a little. Anger shot through Ikasu’s face before he swiftly brought me up on his back and stood next to Kayden in a flash, his face emotionless as he starred at the trees.

“Let’s see who will be eating their words in the end.” Ikasu said coldly.

            “It’s all us Kayden! Ready teams? Three…Two…One…”

            “Go!” Steve and I called and Ikasu and Kayden shot foreword like a bullet, neck to neck. In a few seconds Kayden arched his back down lower and flew ahead of us, the trees only a few feet ahead of him.

            “Don’t lose now Ikasu!” I called to him and instantly he sped up, flying past Kayden and nearing the trees.

            “Hah we are smoking you two!” I called back to them as I whipped around and stuck my tongue out at Steve. He glared back and suddenly Ikasu stopped moving. I rocked foreword on impact and Kayden and Steve pulled ahead of us, finally reaching the trees.

            “Looks like you just got creamed Stone Lee!” Steve cried out as he laughed and got off Kayden’s back to give him a high five.

            “Ikasu why would you stop? It’s not nice to let them win you know.” I told him stubbornly as I frowned at his head.

            “What happened?” Ikasu called out and we stepped away from the forest.

            “What do you mean?” I asked him and looked up, I then found out why he stopped. The blue-eyed sailor had returned, but the princess was not accompanying him. In his right hand he held a bawling sailor and in the other he held the princesses cloak, dripping wet with blood. I gasped out loud and the people around us who used to be buzzing with conversation had suddenly become dead quiet.

            “A traitor director. I can’t believe one of my own friends…Frank…was disguised to fool us all.” He told him as he threw the sailor down on the ground where he just crumpled up and cried.

            “W-What is the meaning of this?!” The director called out, stepping closer to the sailor.

            “He killed the princess.” The sailor told him, glaring at Frank.

            “I…I-!" He tried to say as he got up and looked at the blue-eyed sailor. The blue eyed sailor suddenly gasped as he clutched his heart and fell down.

            “Jesse!” A sailor called out as he ran for him. Frank was still for a minute before he looked up with evil in his face and he began to chuckle. It started out quietly before he burst out, laughing maniacally while he threw his head back to look at the sky. The sailor running stopped frozen in fear as he looked at Frank. He continued to laugh before he stopped and looked at the group ahead of him again.

            “Yeah I did it, and I don’t regret it either. That’s because, my names not Frank.” He started as he chuckled again.

            “It’s Hidan.” He finished as a smirk enveloped his face. I starred at him scarred and I felt Ikasu move back farther away from him and he set me down on my feet. Quickly he equipped himself with two kunais and starred at his quarry, Hidan.

            “I came here for two reasons. One was to kill the princess and even though I don’t have complete control of this body it was pretty easy. You’ll never find her body either, I had someone take care of that. The second thing is...” He started as he took a sword out of his pocket.

            “Is to stop this production!” He called out in rage as he shot foreword, aiming for the director.

            “Protect him!” Sendo called out as he whipped in front of him to block the attack. Seconds later Ikasu and Kayden appeared at the sides of him with their arms both up ready to punch. Quick as ever Hidan pulled his sword back and deflected both of them as the continued to push them back. Sendo was making a complicated hand sign in this moment and he had his eyes closed as he concentrated. Steve was still by the forest concentrating hard on the ground and it started to rumble and shake. As the battle commenced slowly in my head I saw Jesse laying there and the ground beneath him began to quake stronger. I ran as fast as I could out to the battlefield, picked him up in my arms and barely dodged out of the way as Ikasu and Kayden kicked Hidan back to where Jesse once laid.

            “You’re not getting away this time Hidan!” Steve called out as he began to yell and the ground underneath Hidan gave way and trapped him in what seemed to be a box made out of dirt! Hidan pounded his fists on it hard and some of the dirt gave way, making his escape not far out of his reach.

            “You should train harder boy, you can never capture me!” He told him as he laughed out and began to punch again.

            “Seal!” Sendo called out as a white light seemed to beam out of his hands and bind Hidan. He called out in pain and then he was down on his knees, the white light creating binds around his body and preventing him from moving as it seared his skin.

            “You will not escape Hidan. Your soul is now captured.” Sendo huffed as he dusted off his hands. It didn’t seem possible, but the man who wished so much to kill me was sealed within a prison, and if Sendo could help it he would stay there until he received death. Hidan glared at them within the prison before he coughed loudly and feel backwards, unconscious.

            “He didn’t put up much of a fight; he must have already been wounded.” Sendo told us as he examined his body.

            “Don’t let your guard down though; he may save up his energy. We need to transport him soon my seal will only hold for three days.”

            “I came here to shoot my show damn it, I won’t leave until we get some scenes in!” The director shouted at Sendo, folding his arms.

            “The princess is dead and we have a mass murder among us, this is no time to sit around filming a movie!” Sendo shouted back at him, furious that he would even suggest a thing.

            “I paid you to save the princess and what did you do? You guys got her killed! You are not to leave until I get some scenes down!”

            “That was not our fault we-“

            “It was your entire fault! You people are supposed to know when danger is coming and you failed!” The man shot back and Sendo fell silent.

            “I could care less about the princess; my show will make enough money to make another girl a princess.” He continued on.

            “It seems though that I will need another actor to take her place…” He started as he looked around and tapped his chin. I looked down at the sailor in my arms and I felt Ikasu draw near.

            “We should take him to the infirmary.” He told me. I nodded to him as I strained to get up and then handed the boy over to Ikasu.

            “Lead the way.” I told him and he started walking past everyone. I could tell Ikasu was also very mad with the situations that were rising. He didn’t like us all so close to danger and now someone had died; the next person could be me.

            We walked past the director with the boy in Ikasu’s arms and suddenly he yelled in surprise. Ikasu and I both stopped and when I turned the director had his finger pointed at my face.

            “You will be the new princess!” He instructed me.

            “W-What?!” I replied in shock.

            “No.” Ikasu answered boldly, standing between me and the director. He merely laughed and pushed Ikasu aside as he examined me.

            “Hmm almost the right height, beautiful skin, the eye color and hair can be changed in a snap. You are perfect! Alright Jack go set things up and we can be shooting again within the next hour!” The director ordered and a man ran off inside the boat. How could he be so selfish! Someone had just died and all he cared about was filming him movie, and I was apart of it. Ikasu turned angry to Sendo

            “Sendo I don’t like this. Even with Hidan locked up this is dangerous for her. I think we should leave immediately.” Ikasu told him. Sendo sighed heavy as he looked up at Ikasu.

            “I’m sorry but he’s right. Since we failed a mission we have to repay him in anyway possible. It’s part of the ninja code Ikasu you know that.” Ikasu gritted his teeth as he death glared at the director, who only smiled greedily back at him.

            “I’m sure everything should be fine. We’ll watch her and we’ll leave here in three days, that way we can still transport Hidan. Steve, Kayden please come here.” Sendo told the boys. Kayden and Steve came foreword and stood at attention.

            “Just in case, I want the princess’s body. It might still be in the forest, but it might not. I want you two to hunt her body down and bring it to me. Take these and keep in touch and don’t do anything you think will be dangerous. I know you two like to go all out but be careful. Be back here in two days time, if you cannot find her body it is fine.” Sendo instructed them, handing them two black devices. Kayden and Steve nodded to Sendo before they started rushing off. Steve was going out there, where more Alilien members could be waiting? That was a horrible idea! Steve had a demon the Alilien wanted just as much as they wanted mine!

            “Steve!” I called out to him as I started to rush after him. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me when I jumped hugged him. I squeezed him tight in my arms and I felt him fold his arms around me.

            “Please be careful. I don’t want this to be the last time I see you. Heed Sendo’s words and don’t get into any trouble.” I told him as I held him tighter. After watching the Princess walk off into the woods and the next minute coming out in a blood mess I didn’t want the same to happen to one of my closest friends.

            “I will be safe. I’m strong and so is Kayden. We’ll come back if we see any sight of the Alilien don’t you worry. You stay safe while auditioning I’ll be back soon.” He whispered back to me. I nodded to his shoulder and broke away from him and held him by his shoulders just to look at him. He smiled back at me and after I had taken in his face I let him go. I turned to face Kayden and gave him a quick hug as well.

            “You be safe too. Keep Steve in line and keep him safe, as well as you.” I told him and let him go.

            “Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to Steve. I promise you.” He told me, his face straight. I nodded to him and he nodded to Steve before they began to run again; I watched them until I could see them no more.

             I turned back around to face the rest of the crew and I directed my gaze toward Ikasu, he was still not very happy.

            “Let’s take him to the infirmary and then we’ll go and get you…dressed up.” Ikasu told me, hesitating with the last couple of words. I nodded to him and followed him back up the scary ladder. We went below docks, past the princess’s room and through a door in the back which lead to a smaller looking room. The infirmary had three white beds in it and a table with odd looking medical supplies. Being in here reminded me of my first visit to the hospital back in Tillamook. It seemed so long that I had been there last…

We set the sailor on the bed and I started to heal him. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with him but I knew he was holding his head before so I focused most of my energy there. I kept my hand there and after a moment his eyes flickered open. His blue eyes held my stare and soon he smiled in a wide grin.

“Thank you for helping me.” He told me softly. I finished healing him and gave him a small nod; he was so cute when his eyes were looking directly at me.

“How do you feel?” I asked him. He slowly got up and cracked his neck to both sides.

“I feel great now because of you. Hidan though…did you get him?” He asked me. I nodded triumphantly

“He didn’t put of much of a fight. My team took him down without much of a fight. It was disappointing; I wish I knew he was so easy to fight now.” His jaw clenched for a moment before he relaxed.

“Maybe it just wasn’t his day. Don’t let your guard down.” He replied before he got up. I starred at him confused and brushed off his last comment

“Ikasu let’s hurry, the faster we get these ‘scenes’ done we can go home, and I’ve had enough of being here.” I told him. He nodded and shot the sailor behind me a look before he led the way out of the infirmary. We walked back down the hall and walked back into the princess’s room where people were bustling around. A couple of girls held garments in their hands and smiled warmly at me

“Are you ready to change?” They asked me. I gave Ikasu a nervous glance before I stepped inside. He proceeded to follow me but one of the girls held him back.

“You can wait out here; she’ll be done in just a second.” She instructed him and shut the door in his face. The two girls approached me and stripped me very quickly and replaced the clothes I had on with a long, red dress. It was embroidered in gold and a pattern of blue and pink flowers accentuated the dress. As soon as it was over my head they tightened it so much I had to gasp to breathe and immediately after that they started to powder my face and paint it up. I coughed heavily as the cloud of dust disappeared. Once they were don’t they both got me up and rushed me to the door

“You have to go to the set now! Hurry, hurry! You look fantastic!” They opened the door, shoved me outside then shut the door once again. I grumbled to myself as I scratched my neck and looked up at Ikasu. He blinked a couple times and took in my appearance.

“Uhh…How do I look?” I asked him as I put a hand up to my face slightly embarrassed. He opened his mouth several times trying to say something but no words came out. He pondered his next words before he said

“You look good, for an actress. I’d rather have you look as you were before.” I smiled at him, knowing that was actually a compliment.

“Come on, let’s hurry and get these scenes over with.” Ikasu said as he led me back out of the ship and to the director. He grinned wildly at me and called over Jesse. The handsome blue-eyed sailor came over and stood at attention. He glanced over at me and grinned.

“You look beautiful, my lady.” He told me. I blushed madly and bowed slightly to him.

“T-thank you.” He smiled again and turned back to the director.

“I need you to change her hair and her eyes to match the previous princess’s. We can’t have her looking different it would ruin the show!” Jesse nodded and came over to me. He starred into my eyes as he ran his fingers softly through my hair and it instantly changed from brown to black. He then touched just under my eyes and they changed to the color of the princess’s. His gaze never left mine and he smiled his wonderful smile as he finished.

“There, now she is a princess.” I blushed back at him and turned to face the director.

“Perfect! Now, just go out into the center and do as I say. Places everyone! Places!” The director rushed over to the camera and some other male actors ran out to where I was supposed to stand, Jesse stood back next to the director. I turned back and looked at Ikasu who now had a very dark look on his face. He was glaring over at Jesse before he looked at me.

“I’ll be close by. If you need anything or you want to stop, you tell me. I’ll make sure this ends. Got it?” I nodded to him and gave him a half smile. He sighed irritably and walked back behind the camera man. Turning around I walked over to the other male actors where they greeted me warmly. I nodded to all of them before I turned to face the camera.

“Ready?” The director shouted to me. I let out a sigh before I said

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

 *                    *                    *

Steve and Kayden ran through the forest, Kayden in the lead. Kayden’s senses were going wild with the smell of the princess’s blood in his memory. He could practically see every little drop of blood on the ground that the bloody cloak left behind. Steve on the other hand had his mind out to 1000 meters. He could hear everyone’s thoughts in that area, even his teammates back at the ship. He had to block out their thoughts though as he listened for the other Alilien members. If Hidan had killed the princess in the woods, another member probably took her body elsewhere, for what reason Steve did not know. Both men stayed on alert though as they combed through the forest.

Five minutes prior to searching Kayden came across the tree where the princess was murdered. Kayden whipped the tree with his fingers and smeared the blood around his pointer and middle finger.

“This is definitely her blood, and with the large amount of it she was killed here.” Kayden told Steve as he turned to him. Steve nodded and examined the tree further.

“She was stabbed through, and pinned here for some time.”

“One hour.” Kayden piped in.

“Her blood was just slightly decaying, it had to be an hour, and hour and a half at the most.”

“After that time…” Steve looked deeper into the forest and Kayden nodded, understanding what he meant.

“She was dragged further into the forest by someone else.”

“The Alilien most likely.” Kayden sighed but flashed Steve a smile.

“Well this is a good excuse to spend more time together!” Steve giggled slightly and looked over at him.

“This is not exactly my idea of quality time, but we definitely are lacking in our personal time.”

“You owe me after this mission. This time, we do it my way.” Kayden chuckled at him as he shot foreword.

“First one to find the other member gets top!” Steve called after him as he ran to catch up with Kayden. Kayden just laughed in return as he engaged in his senses, searching for the trace of the blood. Whatever blood had fallen from her corpse though was gone without a trace. Whoever took the body was careful to not be discovered.

“Show yourself damn you...” Kayden whispered under his breath.  Steve stopped and closed his eyes, listening intently to the voices that were swarming around in his mind. It was hard to block out the thoughts of the excited director, happy with Stone Lee’s acting skills. He could hear how frustrated Ikasu was having Stone Lee make a fool of herself in front of everyone, and he heard Hidan laughing about something that he didn’t know. It made his stomach churn to hear him laugh. As he listened more though he heard a new voice. It was quiet at first and he strained to hear more of their words. Moments continued on and still he could not identify any of the words the person was thinking. Steve sighed in disappointment and opened his eyes to look at Kayden. Kayden shrugged his shoulders as well, he could not pick up a scent.

“Let’s just continue foreword.” Steve told him as he started to run north.

God damn Hidan can never make his kills clean. I’d have to spend an extra hour just to sew up this gaping hole in this broad’s chest. F*****g retard.  Steve immediately stopped running at the sound of the new voice. It was an Alilien member! Steve motioned for Kayden to stop as he listened for the direction the voice was coming from. As he listened to them continue to mutter insults at Ikasu he turned north-west. The voice faltered in his mind as the member left his area of wavelength.

“That way!” Steve told Kayden enthusiastically as he began to run again.

“Good job Steve, you found him.” Steve smiled triumphantly as he rushed beside Kayden. It would only be a matter of time before they caught on to him.

*            *                      *

Filming the few scenes seemed to take me forever. I played the role of a princess who was in search of a great emblem that my clan had left to me. Being the only one alive in my clan I had to go out and search for it with my friends Jeshan and Lyoud. We set off on a great journey and arrived finally in the land of snow. We puttered around through the forest as if we were the actual characters in search for the emblem. To our surprise though, we were not the only ones in search of the artifact. A man, Master Julian, was in search for it as well. After we fought off his armies we took a rest and promised to search even harder in the morning. As I slept though, I was kidnapped and taken to Master Julian’s castle. Master Julian, played by the young sailor Jesse, locked me in a room and told me I was not to come out until I gave him the location of the emblem. For a day I didn’t speak a word to him. Eventually though, he beat the information out of me. We ended our final scene as Julian told me his plan to use the emblem to revive his fallen master and use a group of mutant warriors to take over the Land of snow.

As I acted I made many mistakes, but after the third hour I finally got into my character. I felt as if I was this young princess on her journey to recover a piece of her past. I felt like I could relate to her…

The sun slipped behind the mountains and the director switched off the camera.

“It’s too dark to film not guys! Great work though young lady you were amazing! Much better than the previous princess, at this rate the movie will be finished by tomorrow!” He said enthusiastically. I smiled at him and turned to Jesse.

“Can I be myself again?” He ran a hand through my hair and brushed his fingertips over my eyes as I felt my previous appearance return to me.

“Thank you!” I told him as I turned and ran to Ikasu.

“How did I do?” Ikasu rolled his eyes.

“You did great, but I still don’t like you being a part of this. I’m just glad it’s over. Come on; let’s get back to the boat.” Ikasu started to lead the way. I ran next to him and linked arms with him as we started up the ladder.

“Wait! Princess!” I heard the director call after me. Ikasu and I turned to face the pudgy director as he ran up to us.

“Do you know how to dance?” I remembered slightly dancing back at the party with Steve and Ikasu.

“Sort of…”

“Good. Jesse! Teach her the dance I taught you this morning. It’s important for the final scene; I want some real emotion in that scene!” The director called to him. Jesse nodded and smiled sweetly at me.

“What is in the final scene?” Ikasu asked the director. He brushed off Ikasu’s comment as he began to yell at the male actors about something I didn’t understand. Jesse walked up the ladder next to me.

“Go and eat dinner, and then we’ll work on the dance.” He told me as he walked up past me and up onto the boat. I looked confused at Ikasu but he knew as much as I did. It shouldn’t matter too much, and I was actually quite excited to dance with Jesse, it sent butterflies in my stomach just thinking of it.

For dinner we all had crab legs, lobster, shrimp, steamed rice and asparagus. The crew all talked about how exciting the production was and many people complimented my acting skills as they ate. Apparently the previous princess always had to stop and take breaks, and she would continually forget her lines or act in a way that was not appropriate to the movie. Some of the people even suggested that I quit being a ninja and think about being an actor for a living. Ikasu quickly dissuaded my thoughts of it because as an actor I would be constantly be out in the wilderness and just as the princess before me died, I would die as well.

I ate my dinner in silence except for a few thank yous here and there. I was wondering about the scenes I would shoot tomorrow and I yearned to be back at home, cozy in my bed. I missed being with Rock Lee and I wanted to train like I usually did. I was suddenly very homesick. I hated pretending to be someone I wasn’t, even though I was good at it, and I hated the fact that Steve and Kayden were out on their own. I hopped they would be safe and we would all go home together in one piece. I wondered what they were doing alright and if they were close to the princess’s body or not…

*                        *                     *

Steve and Kayden ran until they could no more. Night was falling fast, and both of the boys were weary. As fast as they were running, they still hadn’t gained on the other member.

“Let’s rest. The voice isn’t moving as well meaning they must be taking a break.” Steve told Kayden as he stopped running. Kayden slowed his pace and gave a sigh.

“Your right. We can catch up to him in the morning if we wake early. It does us no good to wear ourselves out all night long and be weary in the morning.” Kayden sat down and rubbed his feet. Steve sat beside him and pulled out a bento for them to share. Kayden smiled happily at the bento

“Did you make it yourself?”

“Of course, I always do!” Steve giggled and began to eat it.

“I love it when you make them yourself.” Kayden took a bite and savored the flavor of the pork and sweet sauce. Steve always made his bento’s by scratch, and he had never made a bad bento as far as he knew.

The two ate in silence and after the bento was devoured the two lay on their backs and starred at the stars.

“Well, let’s not stay up too long; we need to be up early tomorrow morning.” Steve told Kayden as he curled up beside his, and closed his eyes.  

“Yeah, goodnight Steve.” Kayden wrapped his arms around him and the two fell asleep soon after. They had a long day ahead of them in the morning, and they would soon encounter their new enemy…

*                         *                       *

After I felt as if my stomach would burst if I ate another bite I got up and excused myself from dinner. Ikasu followed behind me and we went to the upper docks.

“Let’s just stargaze I’m so tired!” I told him as I lay down on the dock. I loved gazing at the tiny lights that lit up the sky, it made me feel so small. It was amazing to think that we humans are not alone on the earth, that there are other things surrounding us. Ikasu lay next to me and together we watched in silence. I also found it pretty amazing that Ikasu and I could be together and never say a word, yet when he wasn’t beside me I felt incomplete. I knew we had a friendship that didn’t need words; we were already closer than that. I turned and smiled lightly at him before I turned back to the stars and closed my eyes. Tomorrow I would have another full day of shooting scenes and just the thought made me exhausted. I sighed and got comfortable. Only a few more moments and I would slip away…

“I’m sorry to interrupt princess.” I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes and propped myself up on my elbows to see Jesse smiling at me. I had almost forgotten that we needed to practice the dance for tomorrow’s scenes. I jumped up quickly.

“I’m sorry I completely forgot!” I rushed. He smiled back at me and my heart melted, whatever weariness I had left me.

“That’s alright, let’s just get to it shall we?” He took my hand and led me to the stern of the ship. I turned and smiled back at Ikasu who had gotten up and leaned against the rail to watch us.

Jesse took my left hand in his and wound his right arm behind my back and around my waist.

“The first part is a close dance so…” He trailed off as he pulled my body tightly up against his. I flushed as my face came close to his.

“Now put your hand loosely behind my back.” I followed Jesse’s instructions.

“One, two, three, one, two, three…” Jesse counted in rhythm as our bodies moved slowly to his tune. We moved back and forth and his gaze never left mine. I kept looking down at my feet to make sure I was doing the steps right. After a couple times of doing the same thing Jesse stopping counting the rhythm and I finally looked up into his gaze. His soft blue eyes glimmered in the dark and I became transfixed on his gaze. He smiled lightly at me and my face flushed with color again. He was so cute…

We continued the same slow steps when suddenly Jesse stepped up the rhythm and out bodies began to move faster. He continued to move faster and faster until the world behind me swirled out of focus. All I could see was Jesse’s smiling face and his chocolate hair being whipped around in the wind. We moved back towards the railing then I was flipped the opposite direction and we waltzed all over the deck. Time lost me and my mind remained blank, I felt as if I was living a dream. Suddenly Jesse stopped our movement and dipped me towards the ground and he followed me. His faced neared mine and out lips were only a few inches apart. My face filled with color again.

“Here’s where we kiss.” He whispered to me. He inched his face towards mine and I prepared for the kiss. My eyes slowly slid half-way closed then I was spun out of his arms.

“We’ll save the surprise for tomorrow, that way it seems real.” Jesse said to me with a grin. It took me a minute to regain myself but I finally managed a nod. I shook my head and to relieve the burning in my cheeks.

“Do you have the dance moves down now? Or would you like me to repeat the steps again.”

“I-I think I have I have the moves down. I’ll be ready by tomorrow.” I answered as I tried to sound calm. He smiled at me.

“Great, see you tomorrow then.” He told me as he walked from the stern of the ship and walked down below docks. I smiled in his direction before I turned to face Ikasu. His face was blank and he refused to look at me. He had his hands in his pockets and his eyes were angled down towards the ground. I wasn’t sure why, but he did not like this production at all. Even more, he hated Jesse for what reason I didn’t know. Still, I walked over to him and slipped my arm through his.

“Are you alright?” I asked him. He nodded as he pulled his eyes from the ground, but he still didn’t meet my stare.

“You need to rest. After we get those final scenes done we are out of here.” He led me of towards the stairs that led to the lower docks. He led me over to the princess’s bed and I got comfortable while Ikasu sat down at a table in the center of the room. I closed my eyes and tried to let sleep take me, but I couldn’t. I had a gnawing feeling in my stomach, I was worried about Ikasu.

After laying there for minutes with no drowsiness I finally opened my eyes and crawled to the end of my and looked at Ikasu, he was starring down at the table.

“Ikasu, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Fine.” He replied bluntly.

“Then please look at me.” I asked him, a touch of sadness in my voice. Ikasu was silent for a moment before he pried his eyes away from his hands to my face. His eyes looked distant and I could tell he was not happy. I knew though if I tried to talk to him about it he’d brush it off and say he was still just fine.

“Aren’t you tired? You’ve been up all night and all day today.” He chuckled slightly to himself and I saw a smile at the corner of his lips. That was an improvement.

“I actually can’t.”

“What do you mean? You’ve slept fine in the past.” He turned his gaze from mine.

“I was never really sleeping…” he trailed off. All those times…he was awake? I don’t believe it.

“What are you talking about? You always seemed asleep to me and every person has to sleep.” I told him. He nodded.

“Yeah, every person.” He answered.

“What, are you saying you’re not human or something?” I chuckled slightly to myself. He didn’t reply.

“Ikasu?” I asked him.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.” I suddenly felt nervous now. I sat up and let my feet dangle off the edge of the bed.

“Try to. You’re confusing me. Are you honestly telling me that you’re not human?” I asked.

“I am a vampire. Do you know what that is?” I shook my head.

“A vampire is a person who feeds on other being’s energy. I have a poison that runs through my veins, making it so I can no longer enjoy the foods I used to. In return, my human characteristics began to dwindle. I began to never sleep as a side effect. All those times I was trying to act human because I felt human…but it seems I can never get away from the fact that I am no longer human.”

“No longer?”

“As a child I was bit by the leader of a clan who was naturally born as a vampire. As he grew older into his early twenties he began to recruit members by biting them. I happened to be caught in the middle of that. I told him though that I would never join him, I would never be one of them.” I looked at him slightly frightened.

“Don’t worry, if I bite someone they can’t become what I am. He is the only person who can change a human to a vampire.” He explained. I nodded to him and sat back against the wall as I let the information sink in. My best friend was not a human being. Wow, I would have never guessed. Although…since he can’t change me should I feel any different about him? He was still the same Ikasu I knew, and knowing the fact that he was different than me didn’t change that fact. I smiled lightly as I got off the bed and walked over to Ikasu and hugged him.

“This doesn’t change my opinion about you I hope you know. You’re still my best friend, I just now know when you’re faking sleep.” I told him He turned his gaze back to me and smiled slightly.

“I knew you’d say that.” I let go of him and returned back to my bed.

“It now makes more sense why Sendo said you’d be good at the night shift.” I thought aloud. He mumbled in return.

“Well…” I yawned as I trailed off, getting comfortable in my bed.

“Tomorrow is our last day here, I am so ready to be home. I’m very homesick. Are you ready to go home as well Ikasu?”

“More than you know.” I laughed slightly.

“Goodnight Ikasu. I’ll see you in the morning. Have fun…not sleeping.” I told him awkwardly.

“Goodnight Stone Lee.” I let the silence lead me off into sleep.

*                      *                         *

“Steve, it’s time to wake up.” Kayden shook Steve lightly to wake him up. The sun was just barley rising over the mountains and the area around them was still gray. Steve mumbled slightly before he sat up and rubbed his left eye with the back of his hand; he yawned largely.

“Time to get up already?” He said sleepily. He’s so cute! Kayden thought to himself. Steve laughed slightly as he beamed at Kayden.

“Thanks!” Kayden should’ve known he would read his thoughts. Kayden rose from the ground and helped Steve up from his sleeping place.

“Has he moved at all?” Kayden asked Steve. Steve closed his eyes and swept the drowsiness from his mind. He concentrated on the nearby thoughts of others and listened for the Alilien member’s thoughts. He could almost vividly see the Alilien member’s dreams swirl around in his own thoughts. Blood washed around him like a raging river and an innocent woman screamed in the back of his mind. Steve instantly opened his eyes to escape the horror and shook his head at Kayden.

“He’s still asleep.”

“Let’s go then!” Kayden said as he took off running. Steve groaned slightly as he stretched his shoulders and ran after Kayden.

“Let’s take it slow this time!” He called after him. Kayden flashed him back a smile.

“You should know that I’m not usually quick.” Steve couldn’t help but grin back as he ran at Kayden’s side.

“I wasn’t talking about that!” Kayden threw his head back and laughed. The two continued to talk back and forth as they ran ahead and neared closer to the Alilien.

*                          *                       *

 It took great precision and a large amount of energy, but he finally got it just right. On the tip of his tongue lay a seal. It was no bigger than a dime and no one would be able to tell he had it placed there. Hidan dropped his hands and whipped the sweat from his brow and lay back against his bed.

“I hope to Jashin that this works. God I feel like I’ve been hit by a boulder.” Hidan said into his radio and sighed.

“Suck it up. You have a production to be a part of in a few hours. I don’t have much faith in your plan, but if you get the girl to me I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” Hidan scoffed.

“We’ll see. I’ll get her there and she’ll be in a mind seal.”

“Now shut up, I’m going to sleep for as long as I can. Soon, we will have what we need.” Hidan told his device before he clicked it off. He didn’t need to hear anymore of Kikuyu’s complaints. Besides, he needed to look his best for his kiss in a few hours. Hidan chuckled to himself as he shut his eyes.

*                        *                          *

I woke up to a light shaking. As I slowly opened my eyes I noticed Ikasu sitting near my on the bed.

“Sorry to wake you, but I thought you might like a couple hours to be yourself before you’re caught up in acting once again.” He told me. I rose from under the sheets and stretched my arms towards the roof. I had been sleeping much easier knowing that Hidan was locked up on the ship and for once, I was very safe.

Author's Note

Ignore the grammatical errors x3 and the repition of the word 'I' I am currently working to go back and fix those parts. I wrote the beginning when I was like ten so :/

Reviews

[KaydenInuzuka]

Omg I love Kayden he sounds so Cool he's my hero!!!!! >.>

[KaydenInuzuka]

I command you to write more D=