“Miss Chiba, would you like something to drink?” asked one of the flight waitresses.
“Hm? Ah, yes, thank you,” I said, taking the white china cup from her hand. I took a sip of the delicious hot chocolate, picked some of the marshmallows floating on top and ate them, chewing softly.
I was headed to Japan from Singapore, to visit my parents. I the smart TV that was in the private jet and was shuffling through the channels until I came to Animax. The anime Naruto was airing so I put down the remote, snuggled back into the comfy chair and continued drinking my hot chocolate, watching the anime.
Oh, how I love Sasuke! I twirled my hair with one finger and started to dream about him, lost in my thoughts.
Then, a voice came through the speaker. “Attention all passengers, there’s a storm ahead. Please put on your seat belts while we try to find somewhere safe to land on.”
I gulped and looked at my 16-year-old cousin, who was seated right next to me. He had his headphones on, so I took it as he didn’t hear anything. There was a silvery streak of lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder.
My cousin took off his headphones and looked at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Storm,” I replied.
He gasped dramatically and pulled me into a tight embrace. “At least we will die together.”
I laughed but was interrupted by another thunder, causing the jet to sway a bit. I gasped. My cousin patted my head and I buried my face in his chest.
Then, the jet lurched, throwing us forward. There were a flash of lightning and loud rumble. The next thing I knew, an ear-splitting tearing sound sliced through the air as the jet was tore into half like a piece of paper.
“Etsuko!” my cousin yelled and rushed forward to grab my hand.
But he was too late.
I screamed as I tumbled down from the jet and into the cold open air. Rain was pouring down and I had trouble seeing things clearly, still screaming.
Then, there was lightning, thunder and everything went black.
~
I groaned and my eyes fluttered opened. There was bright light shining down on me and I closed my eyes.
Am I dead? Is this heaven?
I opened my eyes again and the glowing thing in front of me (which I thought was heaven’s pearly gate) turned out to be the sun. I quickly sat up.
I’m not dead? I should be, actually. Maybe this is a dream and when I wake up, I’ll be in heaven, resting in –
“Yo.” A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.
I slowly turned my head around and gasped really loud, my eyes so wide that you would think it couldn’t be any wider.
The young man raised his grey-coloured eyebrow and said, “You are…?”
He had spiky grey hair and black eyes. His mouth and nose was covered by a midnight blue/black mask and a Konoha headband covered his left eye. And he was wearing something like the outfit that Jounins in Naruto wear.
Hatake Kakashi, one of the major characters from Naruto, was staring at me with an expressionless yet amused look on his face.
I fainted on the spot.
.....................................................
Opening my eyes, I saw a white ceiling. I was in a room alright, a room that smelt like a hospital. I looked to my right and my eyes almost bulged out.
Hatake Kakashi was sitting on a wooden chair next to me, reading his Icha Icha Paradise book. Then, he looked up.
“Oh, you’re awake…” he said and held out his hand. “I’m Hatake Kakashi.”
I stared at him for what seemed like eternity and finally shook his hand. It was surprisingly warm and soft.
“Your name?” he asked.
“C-Chiba E-Etsuko…”
“If you would follow me, Chiba-san.” He got up and walked towards to the door. I quickly followed him, trying to keep the pace with him.
Kakashi must have noticed it because he slowed down, letting me to walk beside him. I looked around and realised that we had just came out of the infirmary. We were in some sort of building… in Konoha!
“Um… Kakashi-san, where are we going?” I asked nervously.
“To the Hokage,” he replied.
“The H-Hokage?! F-For what?”
“Well…” Kakashi looked at me. “We need to decide what to do with you.”
I gulped. Please don’t kill me or anything…
After a few minutes, we arrived at the Third Hokage’s office. Kakashi was cool like a cucumber while I was trembling like a leaf. He opened the door and said, “Here’s the girl you asked for.”
Kakashi guided me to the Hokage’s desk, where the 3^rd Hokage himself was sitting in a chair. He saw me and broke into a smile. “Ah, yes! Please, sit down.”
I did and Kakashi sat beside me.
“So, what’s your name?” the Hokage asked.
“Chiba Etsuko.” At least I’m not stammering anymore.
“Age?”
“12.”
And Kakashi seemed to be writing down the conversation on a clipboard.
What is this, a freakin’ interview to be a ninja?!
“Are you a ninja?”
“… what? Um… I… don’t think so…”
Kakashi cut in. “I don’t think so too. I can’t sense any chakras coming from her and well… she did fell down from the sky…”
I gasped. I fell down from the freakin’ sky? I should be dead…
“And she should be dead. No ordinary human could survive that kind of fall. But…” Kakashi looked at me. “I sense something else from her… like her aura, it’s very different from ours. And some strange powers too.”
The Hokage smiled. “Strange or not, ninja or not, I need someone to take care of her until we… solve this unsual situation. Kakashi, would you do me the favour?”
“Of course.”
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “WAIT! Tell me what’s happening,” I said, a bit angry and waving my arms around.
The Hokage started, “Since you are a stranger in Konoha and we have no idea where from you come from, we need someone to supervise you and protect you when needed. And that person will be Kakashi.”
Kakashi smiled and waved his hand.
“Um…” I said. “I-I’m not from this world…”
“Yeah, we figured that out by your clothes. It’s very out of this world. And this… weird rectangle thing.” Kakashi then took out my phone from his pocket and gave it to me.
I gasped. “My Samsung Galaxy Note 3!”
“Sam-what?”
“Er… it’s a phone… here.” I switched on my phone and the screen lit up.
The Hokage and Kakashi both said “Oooo…” in amazement. I switched it off and the Hokage continued. “Alright then. Etsuko will be with Kakashi. And Kakashi, don’t you have a class to go to?”
“Oh yeah. Team 7…”
“Well, take Etsuko along.”
“Hai.”
~
As we neared the room, I heard familiar voices. Three, in fact. I gulped. Naruto, Sakura and… and… SASUKE!!! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I’M GONNA MEET SASUKE!!!!! And yes, I’m a fangirl BUT there’s no way I’m gonna let Sasuke know about it.
Kakashi started to open the door and I covered my mouth, knowing what was going to happen next. I watched as the chalkboard duster/eraser plopped down onto the grey-haired teacher’s head, making a small cloud of white dust.
I heard Naruto laughing. “He fell for it!”
Then, Sakura said frantically, “I’m sorry, sensei! I told him not to do it but he wouldn’t listen. I would never do that!”
I stepped into the room and all three of them gave me a weird look.
“Hm… how do I put this… my first impression of you all is that you’re a bunch of idiots,” Kakashi said, making Naruto and Sakura gloomy.
Luckily, none of them mentioned me.
(On the roof)
“So, why don’t we all introduce ourselves?” Kakashi said.
Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were seated in a row in front of Kakashi while I sat beside but slightly behind him.
Naruto was looking at me with wide blue eyes, Sakura was giving me a death glare because she thought I was planning to steal her ‘Sasuke-kun’ away (which I was planning to do… mwahahahaha!) and every now and then, Sasuke glanced at me suspiciously.
Sakura broke the silence by asking, “Introduce ourselves? What are we supposed to say?”
“Things you like, things you hate, things for the future, hobbies, things like that,” Kakashi explained in a bored tone.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself first, sensei? Then, we know how it’s supposed to be done,” Naruto suggested.
“Okay, then…” Kakashi said. “My name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate… I don’t feel like telling you that. My dream for the future… never really thought of it. As for my hobby… I have a lot of hobbies.”
“Well, that was pretty pointless. All we knew was his name,” said Sakura.
Naruto nodded in agreement. “Uh-huh.”
“Alright, you on the right! Go first,” Kakashi said to Naruto.
Naruto stood up grinned at us. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto.” He started to play with his headband a little. “I like instant cup ramen but I like the ramen at Ichikaru’s Iruka-sensei brought for me even more! I hate the three minutes you have to wait for the water to boil. My hobby is eating and comparing different types of ramen. My dream is to be the greatest Hokage so that everyone will recognise me and treat me like someone important! BELIEVE IT!”
I smiled after Naruto finished.
“Next!”
Sakura stood up. “I’m Haruno Sakura and my likes are – I mean, the person I like is… *blushes and looks at Sasuke*… my hobbies are… *looks at Sasuke again and giggles*… and my dream for the future is… *squeals*!”
Translation: I’m Haruno Sakura and the person I like is Sasuke. My hobby is stalking Sasuke and my dream for the future is to marry Sasuke.
“And what do you hate?” Kakashi asked.
“Naruto!” Sakura yelled, pointing a finger at him and Naruto groaned.
“Okay, last one!”
Sasuke stood up. “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things… and I don’t particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I’m going to restore my clan… and kill a certain someone.”
Kakashi had a depressed look on his face. Then, he said, “Okay then… *mumbles something under his breath* Chiba-san, if you would.”
I looked at Kakashi, surprised. “Me? Okay…” I stood up and faced them nervously. “Um… my name is Chiba Etsuko but please, just call me ‘Etsuko’. I like… a lot of things… I hate… *coughs* cherry blossom tree *coughs*. Um, my hobby is… I have a lot of hobbies. My dream for the future is not to screw up the plot *everyone gives me weird looks* and… that’s all.”
…
…
…
“Okay!” Kakashi said, breaking the awkward silence (thank God). “Well, it seems we have a lot of different personalities here. I like that. We’re starting our first mission tomorrow.”
Naruto asked, “What kind of mission are we going to have?”
“It’s a task that the five of us are going to do together.”
Wait wait wait… five? I’m included?!
“What is it?” Naruto asked.
“Survival training.”
“Survival training?!” Naruto and Sakura repeated.
Sakura stammered, “W-What are we going to survive?”
“It is no ordinary training,” Kakashi replied.
“Then, what kind of training is it?” Naruto asked.
Kakashi let out a small chuckle. “Well, if I say it, you three are going to be surprise (here, Sasuke glanced at me). Out of the 28 graduates, only 10 are going to become Genins. The other 18 will weed out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a pass-or-fail test.”
Naruto and Sakura’s faces dropped while Sasuke looked kind of mad. I managed to keep a straight face and stay silent.
“See? You are surprised!” Kakashi said.
“No way!” Naruto yelled. “I went through so much trouble to be here.”
Sakura asked, “Then, why did we do the graduation exam?”
“That?” Kakashi asked and waved his hand like he didn’t care. “It just picks out those who are qualified to become a Genin.”
“WHAT?!” Sakura and Naruto yelled.
“Anyway, I’m going to determine whether you pass or fail at the training grounds tomorrow. Bring your ninja equipments and meet at 5 am!”
Everyone, even Sasuke, looked worried at that. I just watched in amusement.
“Now then, meeting over. And don’t eat breakfast. You’re going to throw up if you do.” Then, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the four of us behind.
…
…
…
“Hello, I’m Naruto, if you didn’t catch that. Nice to meet you, Etsuko-chan!” Naruto held out his hand and I shook it shyly.
“I’m Sakura”
“…”
“So, Etsuko-chan…” Naruto said, scooting closer to me. “Are you a Genin?”
“Um, no… and I’m not a ninja.”
“Eh?! Not a ninja?” Sakura said, surprised. “Then, why are you here?”
“Well… um… Kakashi-san is kind of my guardian…”
“But why Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked, coming even closer to me.
“Because…” I played with my fingers nervously. Should I tell them?
“STOP IT, NARUTO! You’re freaking her out!” Sakura shouted and punched Naruto in the face, sending him flying.
I laughed and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke’s lips curled up a bit.