Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sucked Into the Naruto World ❯ Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

Lexi, Nicole, Alanna, Neji, Kristin, and Lee walked back to the block where their original group of eight had separated. They stood waiting as Ryan ambled up to meet them. He was staggering slightly as he clutched his right eye. He appeared to be quite upset as well. His sisters' eyes widened in shock as he finally reached the waiting group. “Ryan! What on Earth happened to you?!” Kristin inquired in desperation. He slowly removed his hand to reveal his bruised and blackened eye.

Lexi crossed her arms. “Where was Scott? He would've protected you.” Ryan shook his head. “No, he ditched me when he saw Tenten walk by and managed to get her to go out with him somewhere. So, I decided to walk into the nearest grocery store and I took a cookie from the free sample box. But then, some meaty guy appeared out of no where, punched me in the eye, and started yelling at me for stealing. I could've sworn they were free samples. So then, the guy takes my picture and chases me out; saying that if I ever came back, he'd pop my head off.”

His sisters, Lexi, and Alanna couldn't help but laugh. Kristin wiped her eyes. “Sorry Ryan, but you're not gonna get me this time. You, Nicole, and Mom pulled that one on me last year. I'm not gonna fall for it again.” Ryan's face was that of someone in so much disbelief that he couldn't stand it. “Are you freakin' kidding me?! It's the truth. How else could I have gotten this black eye?!” Lexi shrugged. “Maybe that dumpster pulled a fast one on you.” She then giggled evilly. Ryan's frown sunk deeper. “What's that supposed to mean?!”

Lexi chuckled yet again. “Oh you know. I saw you making out with that dumpster. Don't deny it.” Ryan frowned as he crossed his arms. “Fine, I'll prove it.” He dashed down the street towards the same grocery store as before. The group of six was right behind him. Once they'd reached the doors, they stood waiting as Ryan dashed through the doors.

Seconds later, gun shots sounded; causing the windows to explode in a shower of glass. Another second later, Ryan dashed back out. His pockets were bulging and his forehead was plastered with `I've Been Krogering' stickers. He continued to run down the street; the others close yet again.

Once they all were a good distance away, they finally stopped running. “Good God, Ryan! You weren't lying.” Nicole shouted, breaking the winded silence. Alanna then laughed as she pointed to his forehead. “Ha! And you've been Krogering.” Ryan proceeded to peel off one of the stickers latched to his face. He examined it with horror. “My God! I could've sworn I ran into Publix!” A roar of laughter erupted from the group. Once it had died down, Neji gave Ryan a frown. “Was it necessary to shoplift while you were in there?” Ryan nodded. “What exactly did you take, anyway?” Lee asked.

Ryan shrugged as he emptied his pockets. “Nothing good, just a mustard-flavored donut, a rabbit food, a box of Prune O's, and a Ryan Pittman action figure.” He emphasized `rabbit foot' in the manner of Babs the Beaver. (You know, off Reader Rabbit learning games) His sisters began to laugh yet again as everyone else was rendered confused. (All of those objects are part of an inside joke that the three of us share.)

“Well guys, it's getting dark. We should probably call it day.” Kristin declared. She then turned with a questioning gaze to Lexi. Lexi grinned. “Don't worry, I can find my house well enough now.” Lee breathed a sigh of relief, earning him a punch in the arm from Kristin. “Well, I guess we'll all meet back up tomorrow to get the last piece. After breakfast, in this spot?” Alanna asked. The others nodded.

With that settled, Alanna, Neji, and Lexi began to walk away. The siblings and Lee waved cheerfully after them. “Bye.” “See ya tomorrow.” Lexi and Alanna returned the waves. They continued on their way as Lee lead the siblings the other way towards his house. But little did they all know that as they trekked down the lonely streets, they were being watched. A tall, robed figure stood upon a nearby rooftop watching; a shiny necklace fragment dangling playfully from his fingers. He chuckled softly to himself. `What a bunch of clowns. They want this necklace piece, they can have it. And once it's complete, I'll take it for my own and see what secrets it holds.' As quickly as he appeared, the mysterious stranger disappeared into the lengthening shadows.

(The next morning…)

The siblings stirred from their sleep as the sound of quick and heavy footsteps thundered towards the guest room. The door then flew open, nearly off its hinges. “Everyone, wake up! Quickly! The last necklace piece is on the roof!” Lee was extremely excited as he didn't wait for them. He was already heading back outside. Kristin was the first to leap out of bed and dash out the bedroom door; her siblings were close behind. Lee's front door was standing wide open, so the three siblings had no obstacles in getting outside. They stood together, staring wide-eyed towards the roof of Lee's house.

There stood Lee, smiling brightly, as he held the final fragment in clear view. Before any of the siblings could say anything, Lee performed a front aerial flip off the roof; landing gracefully upon his feet before them. Lee's smile never faltered as he handed Kristin the last piece of her necklace. Kristin was speechless as the fragment gently landed in her palms. “I-I can't believe it. Who'd have thought that the last piece would be so easy to find?” The others shrugged as she reached into her back pouch, pulling out the other conjoined fragments.

The necklace immediately began to glow and rise out of her hands. The last piece began to glow as well. It drifted upwards, following the rest of the necklace and reattaching itself in the empty spot. The necklace responded by glowing brighter, sending blinding rays in every direction. Seconds later, it stopped glowing and slowly drifted back down. However, before it could land, a black blur appeared before Kristin. She issued a gasp of surprise as she fell to the ground. “Thief!” Nicole yelled as she and Ryan took off after the man who'd struck their big sister and stolen her necklace. Lee rushed to Kristin's aid and helped her to her feet.

“Are you alright?” He asked as she leaned against him. “Yeah, he just punched me pretty hard in the stomach. Let's go get him!” Lee nodded and the two of them were off. They soon caught up with the pursuing siblings; the thief struggled to pick up the pace. Then, he disappeared into a rather thick patch of foliage. The search group stopped to scout the area for the man. But their search didn't last long a loud `thump' sounded ahead. Without a second thought, the four of them dashed forward; finding themselves in a wide clearing. Lying before them was the thief, his long robe covering his face. Standing over him was none other than Lexi, Alanna, Neji, and Scott.

Kristin's face lit up immediately. “Guys, you're here!” Lexi nodded. “Of course.” “We heard strange noises and came running.” Alanna added. Scott nodded. “Yeah, and it was really convenient that we all happened to be nearby.” Lee took a cautious step towards the seemingly unconscious thief. “Is he…?” He stopped mid-sentence as the crumpled heap sprang back to life. Now that the thief was standing, the eight Shinobi could clearly see his face. He appeared to be about eight-teen with deep-set emerald eyes. Bordering his angry face was thick, jagged red hair. He clutched the necklace to his chest as he glared at the Shinobi pursuers.

“Just back away and no one gets hurt.” His tone was flat, yet cold. His eyes narrowed in annoyance, as though he was the innocent one. The three siblings' eyes widened in shock as they noticed that the thief's long black robe was imprinted with red and white clouds. “You're the, the…” They began before they were cut off by yelling from the bushes. “The, the, THE HAROLD!” Screamed a green, fuzzy man. Ryan promptly frowned at the green man, his hands upon his hips. “Ugh, I can finish my own sentence!” His tone was quite girly. “Niik!” The Grinch screamed before fading back into the forest.

Once everyone had stopped staring in confusion, they refocused on the thief, who was now trying to make another run for it. But before he could make it past Alanna and Lexi, a large wall of fire shot up before him. Alanna chuckled as she stretched the fire wall along the perimeter of the clearing. “Looks like you have no choice but to fight.” Neji remarked as Alanna's hands faded back to normal. The others stepped closer. The thief heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine, if that's how you all wanna play, I have no problem killing eight kids.” He slipped Kristin's necklace over his head, grinning sinisterly. “By the way, my name's Sasori. Just so you all know who you're killer was before you die.”

Upon finishing his morbid statement, he leapt into the air; chakra strings whipping in every direction. In the blink of an eye, eight similar puppets appeared before the eight opposing Shinobi. They were all human like with different faces, but were all clothed in the same gray robe. The battle for the wish-granting necklace had begun.