"Oh man, did I really do all of that?" I asked, rubbing my head back in the real world. I had my old clothes back too. But right now, clothes were the least of my worries.
"Unfortunatly," Justin said, handing me an icepack to put on my head.
"Eriol must hate me right now."
"No he doesn't," Justin said with a laugh. "That was the first time in a logn time I've seen him actually nervous around a girl. And it was his decision to give up his own soul. I tried to stop him, but he kept giving me the same answer."
I remained silent, still looking down at the kitchen counter.
"Even though Eriol doesn't show it, he still cares for you. Maybe even more than we think."
"Well, not anymore. His soul was split in half. Now all that remains in his body is Yang side. Who knows where his Yin side could be."
"Wait," Justin said, his head jumping. "Your musicbox!
"What about it?" I asked, cocking my eyebrows."
"We found your Yin side trapped inside your musicbox. She was from the future, but right now I don't think she's in there anymore, now that you're back to normal. And who knows, we might find Eriol's Yin inside there."
"I doubt it," I said, looking at him. "I remember in the contract, it said that it would trap Sanyu's soul inside the musicbox. It never said anything about Kouta. For all we know, his Yin side could be wandering aimlessly, lost forever."
"Great," Justin said, sitting back down. "But don't worry Nami, we'll get him back, one day. Until then, we'll have to try finding his Yang side. With only evil inside him, there's no telling what could happen."
"But we don't even know where to start," I said, taking off the icepack.
"We still have this," Justin said, pulling out a book and handing it to me.
I starred at the old book, its pages yellow from age. "What is this?"
"It was your Yin side's journal, from the future. She says that she's been keeping an eye on us and noting down everything. Except it's writen in gibberish so only Tenten can read it."
"I can read it."
"Yeah and- Wait what?"
"This writing... I've never seen it before, but... it's familiar.... Now I remember! This is the ancient writing used back when I used to be Sanyu."
"And as her reincarnation, you understand it..."
I nodded my head. "Yeah."
"Hm, if that's the case, why didn't Eriol remember it?"
"Well Justin, he is royal blood and should have recognized it just as much as I did. But I guess since I know more about this reincarnation business, it came to me quicker."
"Anyway, does it say anything?"
I continued flipping through the pages. "Hm, it all weird info. Just shows what you guys did like in a journal and-"
"What? And what?"
"It says that you have special powers, you can cast spells and conjour potions. Justin you're a warlock."
His eyes wided as he satrred down at the ancient writing. "You're telling me... I'm a warlock?"
"You mean you didn't know about it?"
"Well maybe I would have if my parents weren't so secretive and abusive. I probabaly inherrited it from one of them and they never told me."
"Hm, we never did suspect you to be able to do anything magic related. Let me see if it says anything else."
Meanwhile, Justin started doing movements with his arms as if he were doing acrobatics.
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Here's something, you can use magic by using your-" Suddenly a beam of green lightning short right to my left. One inch closer and he could have hit my fcae. I turned my head around and saw he made a hole right through the fridge. "...fingers."
"Um... you guys got the insureance?" Jutsin asked nervously, his finger hanging in the ari with some small smoke coming form it.
"What's going on?!" Kayla yelled, running downstairs. She saw me back to normal, smoke coming from Justin's finger, and a huge explosion hole in the middle of the fridge. "... Yeah samd old same old."
"Kayla. I am so sorry about the fridge. I tried using magic and, well, that happened," Justin explaining, pointing to the fridge.
"You have powers?" she asked
"Yeah," I answered. "It says here in that journal my future self made, Justin's a warlock."
Meanwhile, It started snowing outside. "Hm, and anything Eriol?"
Justin and I looked at each other. "Uh, sorry, couldn't find anything in here." I answered.
"Oh well, why don't you guys take a break. You've been trying to find something ever since I went to Tsunade's to report what just happened. In the meanwhile, why don't you go get ready for the Sakura festival?"
"Sakura Festival?" Jsutin asked.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that was in two days," I said, sitting up. "But what's the use? Eriol's not even here."
"Oh, you were thinking of asking him?" Justin asked with a smirk, elbowing me in the arm.
I blushed faintly. "N-No, it's just that... after I moved back here to the real world, I was hoping that the next time a Sakura festival started, the three of us would go together like the last time we did."
"So that's it," Kayla said with a smile. "You should go, Nami. I have the greatest feeling in my gut something's bound to happen. And that something involves you very much."
"Great, even on festival days I'm still in danger," I said, my head back on the counter
"No, no, I didn't say danger."
"You didn't say safe either," Justin added.
"And who's side are you on anyway?" she said with an animevien, hitting Jutsin upside the head.
Two days later, it was already 5:00. The festival would be starting soon. I bet it would be a nice weather change fro Justin and Kayla, consiering it was freezing cold back in the real world, with Christmas coming up next month.
"Ok Nami, how do I look?" Sakura asked, twirling around in her Kimono.
"Oh stop being a show of, forehead," ino scoffed. "So Nami, how does my kimino look?"
I started laughing.
"Oh come on now guys, all of us look great," Tenten said, comming out from the dressing room of my mansion.
"Are you OK Nami? You're quiet," Hinata said.
"I'm fine, just a little nervous."
"You know Nami, if Eriol were here right now, i'd already be setting you up," Ino said, making sure her manicure was perfect.
"Yeah but he isn't here right now," I said. "And we don't need setting up. We're only friends right now. WIth how our current friendship is going, I don't think we'll be hitting the boyfriend girlfriend meter very soon."
"So where do you want to go first then? to get it off your mind?" Tenten asked.
"I'm gonna go meet up with Naruto and Sai. You can come with us if you want," Sakura suggested.
I tlted my head. "Sai?"
"He's team 7's hot new member," Ino said with a giggle. "And I say he has the hots for me. He called me beautiful and kissed my hand." She giggled again. "And she called Sakura a dog."
Sakura grew an anime vein. Before she could attack Ino, tenten and I held her arms down.
"Oh boy," Hinata sighed.
Sakura went to find her team. And In followed, wanting to see this Sai person again. tenten and Hinata followed, wanting to make sure they didn't go into a frenzy. I told them I'd go by myself for now. As I was walking, I saw a few couples, young and old. One was sittign at a bench, an old couple, probabaly married for many years. I smiled. Then I saw another young couple, probabaly in their 20's. They were feeding eachother food, smiling with each bite. Then there was another, not neccesarily a couple. I could be wrong. There was a girl and a boy running and laughing, probabaly playing a game of tag. They ran right past me as I smiled gently, looking their way. How was it every time I had a conflict and I tried to forget it, there was always something around to remind me off it. And to top it al off, some of the single guys would try to hit on me, jsut like every year. If I hadn't realized it by nwo, you'd say I was one of the hottest girls in Konoha. Suddenly, I remembered one place I hadn't been to in forever. It would still remind me of Eriol, but at least I could be alone, even for a minute. The Biggest Sakura Tree in Konoha. I could remember the last time I was there, as if it were just yesterday.
~FLASHBACK~
Eriol stood up. "Uh, I'm gonna go look for the others back in the shops."
"W-Wait I'll go with you," I said. I stood up to walk over towards him, but I tripped over my kimono and fell onto him.
The both of us strated rolling down the hill, but his arms were locked tightly around me so I wouldn't be hurt. We didn't land at the very bottom of the hill, because we suddenly stopped rolling from a rock. And because we suddenly stopped, our lips locked together and our eyes were open in shock. We quickly sat up and turned away, blushing.
"Sorry Nami! I-I didn't mean-"
"It's alright Eriol, calm down. I mean, it was an accedent right? And plus it was my fault. I tripped and uh, sorta, crashed into you, hehe."
"At least we're alrght. Think anyone saw that?"
"I don't think-"
"Think again!" shouted a voice.
We looked back up the hill and saw Justin sitting in one of the busshed holding his digital camera.
"J-Justin?" Eriol and I asked with wide eyes
"Yup, and got it all on my camera on video!"
I grew red and started waving my arms. "Y-You don't understand! It was just an accedent-"
"Oh it was no accedent. It was fully intended, well, by me anyway."
"What are you talking about now, Jutsin?" Eriol asked.
"I set up some string in front of Nami before I left. I knew you'd eventualy go and Nami would follow so I set up a trap that would make her trip into you. I only meant to catch you two rolling down the hill, but that kiss is just a bonus."
Eriol and I grew anime vein as he explained.
"Keep your kimonos on, I'm not gonna show it to anyone anyway. And by that, I mean really keep your kimonos on. I don't need to record any underaged activities between you two-"
I already threw a rock at him, making him fall down and me trying to strangle him.
"SAY THAT AGAIN AND YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF WITHOUT A HEAD! AND GIVE ME THAT STUPID CAMERA!"
Eriol grabbed my arms from behind. "Nami hold on!"
"No way! Why shouldn't I kill him?!"
"Because I want to kill him too!" Now the both of us were chasing him. Us screaming and him laughing his head off with his camera in his hands.
~END FLASHBACK~
I arrived at the Sakura Tree, just as it was before. instead someone was already here. He was sitting at teh base of the tree trunk, draing.
"Um, what are you doing here?" I asked, appraing in front of him.
"Sorry, didn't knwo the tree already had an owner," he said, continuing to draw.
"I just didn't expect to find anyone here, that's all."
"That's what I thought. That's why I came here in the first place. " He finnaly looked up, keeping the same emotionless face. "Who are you?"
"Natsumi."
He narrowed his eyes. "Your full name doesn't happen to be Natsumi Masaki, does it?"
"What's it to you?"
"Nothing, it's just that Naruto and Sakura talk about you so much, even Sasuke."
It was my turn to narrow my eyes. "And you are?"
"Sai," he answered simply.
Then I remembered this was the boy that Ino and Sakura were talking about. No wonder why he knew them. "You know them?"
"Yes, I'm Sasuke's replacement for the last mission and from now on."
"So you guys actually saw Sasuke," I said, sitting down by him.
"Yes, and thanks to Naruto, I have a new outlook on him," he said, his face finnaly smiling. "Sasuke says that you were one of his closest friends."
I lifted my head. "Me? I find that hard to believe. It's been so long, I don't even remember mcuh about Sasuke. So again, what are you doing here? I thought you were with your team."
"They got a little out of control," he said, keeping his eyes on his drawing. "Sakura and Ino started fighting. It gets annoying."
"Hm, no wonder you're Sauske's replacement. you're just like him," I mumbled. SUddenly, I found a book fall from the sleeve of his kimono. "What's this?"
"It's a book I got from the library. It says that to make a more comfortable relationship with friends, you should give them nicknames. Then I found out that people don't like being called what they really are after I told this boy Choji he was fat."
I sweatdropped. I supposed he's already met the gang. Then I thought of something. "Wait, so did you really mean Ino was beautiful when you called her that?"
He shook hsi head no, still drawing. "I called her the opposite of what she really was. That's what people like right?"
I hid away my insane laughter with a chuckle. "And Sakura, by what I found out, you like calling her a dog."
"That's correct."
"So you think she's the beautiful one."
"That's also correct," he finnaly stopped drawing. "You can interpret people so easily, Natsumi."
"I always have been able too," I said. I could always see how Justin and Eriol were feeling. "And if you wanna give me a nickname, it's Nami."
He smiled, "Alright, Nami."
I nodded and held out my hand.
He looked down at it. "What are you doing?"
"Offering a handshake," I replied. "He's another tip. When you meet a new person, it's good to shake hands after you introduce yourselves."
He looked back down at my hand, then hessitently shook it. the minute he touched my hand, i felt something weird, like some kinda shock through my whole body. Apprently by the look in his eyes, he felt it too. Then we let go.
"Nami!" yelled a familiar preppy voice.
I sighed, seeing Kayla running up the hill. "Oh boy."
"Who's that?" Sai asked.
"It's my older sister, Kayla Masaki," I answered, somewhat upset. I wanted some pribvacy. I could handle Sais ince he was new, but Kayla too?
"What are you doing here Nami? I was looking everywhere for you!-"
She suddenly stopped, her expression changing into one of shock and surprise.
I blinked. "What?"
"Y-You two...."
"Oh, this is my new friend Sai. And if you start match making me again, I swear I'll-"
"N-No, it's not that Nami... It's just....... Oh my god...."
I cocked my eyebrow. What was so surprising about all this?
"Uh, I-I'll be right back," she said, disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"That was weird," Sai commented.
"I've been through weirder," I said. "But you're right, that was weird. I'm sure it's nothing we should get concerned about, though."
"Nami!" shouted a voice. My head looked aroudn in all directions. The voice seemed so familiar, btu I didn;t know who's it wa.
"Sai, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"My name, i heard someone call my name."
"You're probabaly hearing things."
I looked down. "I only wish I was."
