A transformation almost frightening in its speed and results occurred in Nick Hartson’s room, as it did every weekday morning. It was the change from a sleeping sixteen-year-old teenager that tended to stay up all night despite what his parents did into a showered, dressed, fed and ready-to-go student.
“I don’t know how you look so awake,” commented Carlos, Nick’s best friend, once they were on the bus together, heading toward school.
Nick grinned. “Lots of time in the shower, plus a mom with a voice so loud it makes a stereo look like a water bottle being used as a fake microphone.”
Carlos nodded. “I need to get one of those.”
“What, a water bottle to use as a microphone?” Nick asked.
“No, a stereo,” Carlos replied with a laugh. Nick joined in, and the two continued to joke about water bottles and stereos until they reached the school.
“Oh, Nick,” Carlos said, suddenly dropping the humorous tone. “You remember what day it is, right?”
“Of course! The rock concert!” Nick replied, and then glanced at a clock on the wall. “The day isn’t going to go by any faster, despite what’s going to happen tonight at six! And the bell’s not going to wait, either.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later then,” Carlos shrugged and went off to his locker.
The day went by as normal, although it seemed longer. Nick, Carlos, and Nick’s cousin Sasha had been waiting for months for the concert, which they had managed to save up money and buy three good tickets for. It started at six, and Carlos, who had gotten his own car for a birthday present, was going to drive them all there around five.
“Be ready at four fifty!” Carlos called out the bus window as Nick walked off the bus to his house. He waved so that Carlos would be sure he had heard. He reached the door as the bus left, and fished in his pockets for his key. He found it and opened the door, locking it again behind him. He tossed his shoes into the closet, which partially hid a mountain of shoes and could easily be closed whenever company came over.
Nick sped up the staircase to his room, leaving the door open behind him. He shrugged off his backpack and checked the clock- it was four. So he had a bit less than an hour to do whatever he felt like before calling Sasha and waiting for Carlos.
Nick sat in his desk chair and swiveled back and forth, thinking. He was glad that it was a Friday; otherwise he wouldn’t have time to get all of his homework done. He had an assignment from each class but gym, and a project in science. He was almost done with the project, though it was due in four weeks, and decided that the homework would be easily finished during the weekend.
Nick undressed from his uncomfortably stiff school uniform into baggy blue jeans and a black tee shirt, then went to the bathroom and dunked his head under a running faucet in the sink. Once it was wet, he pulled out his head again and shook it, causing the black hair to let loose a shower of water droplets. He looked up, checking the time. Four thirty.
Running a hand through his damp hair, Nick returned to his room and called Sasha on his cell phone. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Sasha,” Nick greeted.
“Hi Nick. What time is Carlos picking us up?” Sasha asked.
“Four fifty.”
“I’ll be there in ten,” Sasha replied, and then hung up.
Nick replaced his cell phone in one of his pockets and went into the kitchen, finding a granola bar on the counter. He unwrapped it and began to eat it, constantly checking his watch. At four thirty-five, a knock came from the door.
Nick was surprised. Usually, when Sasha said she’d be somewhere in a certain time, it was exactly then that she would arrive- not early and not late. Also, she tended to ring the doorbell. Nick shrugged and opened the door, though he immediately wished he hadn’t.
A tall silver-haired man with an orange book in one hand waved with his free hand and said, “Yo.” He wore a mask over his mouth and a strip of cloth over one eye, which unsettled Nick more than the silver hair or the odd greeting.
With the man were three teenagers, all of which appeared to be the same age as Nick. Two were boys and one was a girl. The girl had pink hair cut short and green eyes, and had her hands behind her back. She was looking curiously into the house, so Nick leaned slightly in attempt to block the view.
One of the boys, the shortest of the four, though not by much, had spiky yellow hair and blue eyes, as well as three thin stripes on each side of his face. The other boy, the tallest of the teenagers, had jet-black hair and black eyes.
“Um…” Nick mumbled, and started to close the door. Homeless people weren’t common here, but he had seen some try to find places to stay within the neighborhood. None had looked as odd as these four, though.
The adult stopped the door with a foot and pushed it open. “Hey, you can’t…” Nick protested angrily. Who were these people?
The black haired teen disappeared suddenly, and Nick was pulled inside by the back of his shirt collar. He was deposited on the ground by the black haired teen. ‘How did he…?’ Nick thought, jumping up again. The adult and the two other teens had come inside and closed the door behind them.
“You can’t bust in here!” Nick said angrily. “Who are you? What do you want?”
The adult sighed. “My name is Hatake Kakashi.”
“Hatake? What type of name is that?!” Nick asked irritably.
“It’s my surname…” the adult replied, blinked, and said to the teens, “Guess we’ll have to go with plan B.”
The yellow-haired teen groaned. “This sucks! Why were we the ones assigned this stupid job?”
The pink-haired girl sighed. “It’s not stupid, we gathered a lot of information.”
“Let’s just get it over with,” the black-haired boy muttered. The adult said nothing, but appeared to be concentrating fully on his book.
“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Nick shouted angrily.
“Your house?” The girl repeated, looking around. “Sensei, can I search the house? Maybe I’ll find something important.”
The adult nodded, and the girl ran off.
“HEY! Get back here! This is my house! You’re trespassing on private property!” Nick yelled.
“Shut up already,” the black-haired boy growled.
“As if! Who’s gonna stop me?! I’ll call the cops!” Nick shouted, pulling out his cell phone.
The yellow-haired boy snatched it, looking at it from all angles. He flipped it open, and an overjoyed expression spread over his face. “Look! It’s glowing,” he said, awed.
The black-haired teen rolled his eyes. “I noticed.” Nick opened his mouth to protest, but fell unconscious from a sharp hit in the back of the head before he could say anything.
“Sakura, hurry up,” the black-haired teen shouted while the adult tossed Nick’s body over one shoulder, still reading his book.
The pink-haired girl returned with a bag. She nodded at the window. “We’d better get going,” she said. A girl with dark skin and brown hair was outside of the house, staring into the house and dialing something on the cell phone.
“Good idea,” the adult said, and the group vanished in a poof of smoke before Sasha was even done dialing 911.
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Chapter notes: Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto