Chapter 6: On your mark, get set, GO!

"This is what I found during the Nara Wars." Hinata said as she passed the paper to Sakura.

It was still lunch time and Sakura's stomach had finally settled. She absolutely hated eating in the lunch hall where the red meat was served. She and Hinata were in the library working on the history assignment. The young Spellcaster had given her part earlier on during break through Karin like she promised to do. After reading the text that Hinata gave her for a moment Sakura frowned.

"Ninja's? Really?" Sakura asked.

"Mmm, apparently they w-were used to stop civil and e-external wars as well as ending them via assassination and s-such." Hinata said.

"I don't know about that Hinata, don't they have a code of honour or something that stops them from being involved in wars?" Sakura asked.

"You'd be s-surprised what people w-would d-do for the right m-motivation." Hinata said.

"Well, we could use this, not too sure if it would be relevant or not." Sakura said, then she rubbed her chin in thought. "But worth mentioning."

"Excellent, what else should we mention?" Hinata asked.

Sakura blinked and glanced at Hinata.

"What?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing, um, it's just, um I never heard anyone say 'excellent' in that type of sentence before, except my aunt maybe." Sakura said.

Hinata shrugged "It's the type of language that we use at home."

Sakura blinked again. "So your use of language and writing is traditional than modern."

Hinata grinned "That and I refuse to abuse proper language skills, plus it makes you more powerful than you seem."

Sakura raised an eyebrow then laughed, scratching the raised eyebrow. "That's a first I've heard."

"Well, that's what Neji and my father says anyway."

Sakura smiled along with Hinata until she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She looked down on the hand recognised it to be Karin's, the girl had a small birthmark just on the wrist.

"Sorry Hinata but I need to grab my friend for a moment." Karin said.

"Oh that's no problem, lunch is nearly o-over so I'm going to be heading to my form room." Hinata said.

"Kay then, I'll look through some of the stuff tonight." Sakura said.

Hinata nodded as she and Sakura collected their belongings before the raven haired girl set off.

"See ya Hina" Sakura said.

"Bye" Hinata said and disappeared.

Sakura smiled at Karin. "So, what's my pal want?"

"You can not be doing this to me!" Sakura barked, clinging onto the railing outside of the school car park.

Karin and Ino were trying to pull the pinkette off with no success. Sakura's monstrous strength was almost impenetrable. The reason as to why Ino and Karin were trying to pry their friends fingers off the railing? They wanted to go shopping. Sakura wouldn't have minded if it wasn't for the fact they were going during school hours.

"Sakura, you are coming and that's final!" Karin said.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!" Sakura cried. "I wanna learn damn it! I want an education! I'm a freaking nerd here! What you're doing is abusing me!"

"Let go already!" Ino barked.

"Never!" Sakura shouted.

Karin and Ino tried to jiggle their friend; they even tried to swap sides on one instance, but seemed to be no use.

"Just for one day Sakura!" Ino said.

"No!" Sakura said.

"One day can't hurt." Ino said.

"Yes it can! YES IT CAN!" Sakura said, beginning to slowly shimmy her way back to the school, Karin and Ino literally had to put more force to even stop her.

"Oh bloody hell Sakura! You freak! What in Kami's name do you eat? You hardly weigh anything and yet you're as strong as a python's grip!" Karin said.

Little did either of them know Sakura magic had enhanced her strength three folds, despite being freakishly strong already. Sakura barely realised that her magic was helping her but couldn't care less at the moment. She did not want to play truant!

"Let me go back to my sanctuary! My first love! Please!" Sakura shouted.

"No! I will not let my friend be brainwashed into thinking that stuff even applies to the real world!" Ino said.

"It does apply!" Sakura said "Do not take me away from here!"

"Oh grow up already! You're 17! You're supposed to play hooky!" Ino said. "At least once in a while! Who would have 100% attendance every year anyway? People who generally have no life, that's who!"

"You're torturing me here!" Sakura growled.

"Boohoo! C'mon Sakura it'll be fun!" Karin said.

"Let me go! I have to go to school!" Sakura yelled.

It was at that point that they all wondered why no one could hear them shouting in the car park to even be caught.

"You realise if you allow yourself to be caught then you will be sent to detention and it will be put on your report." Karin said then leaned down into her ear "Your permanent record would be tarnished."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

My permanent record? Tarnished? Cause I got caught? Oh lord nooooooo!

And her grip loosened in distress.

"Good girl!" Ino cheered as they led Sakura to her car "Now, relax and we will have some fun."

Sakura looked around anxiously in the shopping centre her traitorous friends brought her to. They were in the middle of Ino's favourite shop as the blonde browsed the clothes with Karin. She was just waiting for a security guard to come along, spot them and the next thing she'd know they'd be escorted by the education officer back to school. Then she'd be on report and then her father would be notified. She would have to move back with Father and Step Mother and it would all go down hill from there.

"Sakura, breathe" Karin said.

"I'm going to have a crap job working in a fast food joint and you expect me to calm down?" Sakura squeaked.

"How did we get from breathing problems to crap job?" Karin asked.

"Ah oh simple Karin, Sakura is worried that because we're playing hooky that if we get caught here it would eventually lead to bad jobs as it may show that she's not committed to school." Ino said.

"I am committed to school!" Sakura cried.

"Sweetie, no one's going to bring you down because of this unless you say something. My dear friend, you're 17, meaning you have the choice to continue higher education or not. No one here going to question the fact that you're not in school, unless you're 15 and under." Karin said. "Didn't you know this?"

Sakura twitched and glared at Karin.

"You said it would tarnish my permanent record!" Sakura hissed.

Karin backed away slowly, like Sakura would pounce at any sudden movement.

"Only to get you to let go and look! Here we are." Karin said.

"I'm gonna—" Sakura began but Ino shoved a pile of dresses and other assortment of clothes into chest for the rosette to hold on instinct.

"Try these out and come back to kill us later." Ino said.

Sakura muttered a few chosen curse words before walking off.

She found the changing rooms very easily and established that they were empty to her relief. She entered a stall and placed the clothing on the seat before shutting the door. She then shrugged her backpack off and gripped one of the straps before it fell to the floor, then placed it on the hook of the door. She then opened the bag and found…nothing but her school equipment and that annoying spell book.

Where the heck did he go?

She frowned and looked around the changing. He shouldn't be far; he was supposed to protect her. She snorted at that. Some protection! Here she was playing hooky when she wanted to stay and learn at school and he hadn't been there to stop Ino and Karin. Maybe he had been there but thought he had been amusing that she, a Spellcaster, couldn't escape a couple of mere mortals. Sakura grunted at that and then grabbed a garment off the pile.
She inspected it first and decided Ino's taste for once seemed to have been on her wavelength. She placed it back down on the pile and shrugged out of her jacket to place it on the hook. The pinkette then grabbed the edges of her shirt, pulled up and stood half naked, with a frilly pink bra she'd never let anyone see. Ria, her stepmother, had gone shopping with her and bought tons of clothes with her, including – she still had nightmares about this – underwear that teenagers should never be seen in. Grudgingly, Sakura admitted they were very pretty stuff but if her friends EVER see them she'd probably kill over and die of embarrassment.

Of course when she turned to look into the mirror she nearly shrieked. Yuki was there, lying in front of her reflection looking quite happily at her. She looked at her own feet and found he wasn't there… no, he was literally in the mirror.

"Yuki, what the hell? You're not supposed to stalk around the place!" Sakura hissed.

The cat rolled his eyes, like she was taking away his fun and got up from his spot. She watched in fascination as he seemed to melt through the glass and back to her side of the mirror, while creating his reflection as he did so. He smirked at her and the next thing she knew the spell book whacked her over the head. She yelped in shock as the book opened to a particular page in mid air. She looked at it as she rubbed her sore head and read the extract.

*.*.*

Mirror Magic

This highly complex magic allows the Spellcasters to move from reflective surface to another in a
matter mini seconds. It is very useful to conceal from enemies and mortals alike and through
one's will would one to show where they may be located in the mirror. It is a powerful source of
magic and only be mastered by those of B Class Level Spellcasters. However, willing help from a
Familiar may allow those of D/C Class Level Spellcasters pass through.

A word of caution, if you enter the mirror world you must be of a B Class Level Spellcaster or have
your Familiar with you as this place is not a holiday. Depending where you are and go to, it can be
a twisted world. You must not attempt a spell there unless it one to leave the place. Above all else:

DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING BEHIND THERE BETWEEN 00:00 TO 01:00.

To enter one must focus that the reflective surface is a door while saying (or thinking) the words:

Mirror, mirror that I see,

Hide me from my enemy.

Or

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

Let me walk through this gleaming door.

*.*.*

Sakura looked down at Yuki and frowned. "First of all I'm with my friends, second I do not wish to walk through a 'twisted world' half naked and without being on a B Class Level Spellcaster. There is just not way!"

Yuki sighed and softly mew at the spell book. The book spell book in turn went back into the backpack. Sakura smiled happily until she realised Yuki was watching her quite intently. His eyes flicked down and she followed his line of eyesight and almost screamed. He was staring at her bra. The cat was staring at her bra. Now she wouldn't be bothered if a cat was staring at her bra had it not been for the fact she knew that familiars were reincarnated HUMAN BEINGS.

"Stop staring you perv!" Sakura growled.

He gave her a sarcastic look before dipping back into the bag. She wondered if animal cruelty also included Familiars.

"I don't know about these clothes guys." Sakura said as she tried to push her new red layered skirt down.

Karin swatted at Sakura's hands to stop her trying to move her skirt down. They were walking towards a restaurant on the second floor for a nice dinner. Ino had heard the restaurant they were heading to have some really nice pudding and Karin and Sakura just adored sweet stuff. Usually Sakura couldn't wait, in fact she'd run there in a heart beat. But the clothes that she was wearing were making herself feel very self conscious at the moment.

"You look fine Sakura." Ino sighed.

"I would kill to have your legs so stop messing the look up." Karin barked and swatted at her hands again when they tried to grab the garment.

"I… I…don't know" Sakura mumbled. "Doesn't this make me look kinda…easy?"

The snort that came from Sakura's bag but luckily no one heard Yuki trying to control himself.

"Trust me, you pull that skirt off beautifully. If Karin was wearing it she'd look slutty." Ino said.

"HEY!" Karin growled.

"What? You would! Unless, you want to wear it for a certain...swimmer eh?" Ino grinned then wiggled her eyebrows.

"Suigetsu and I are friends! Friends I say!" Karin said, trying to control her temper.

"Yeah, that don't work on me when I caught you go all googly eye on him." Ino said.

"Okay, I admit." Karin growled and put her hand up in front of Ino to stop her from interrupting her "That Suigetsu looks hot whenever he gets wet, not even I can deny his four-pack is hot."

"Four-pack huh? You actually counted?" Sakura said in mirth.

Karin looked ready to disappear as the bangs of her hair covered her cheeks, hiding her side profile of her face from her friends.

"…Yes."

Both blonde and rosette laughed out loud at that and they both gave the red head a side hug.

"So you do like him" Ino said, resting her chin on Karin's right shoulder.

Karin looked ready to kill to the blonde. "You. So dead."

"Oh c'mon Karin, there's nothing to be ashamed about like Suigetsu's body. I'm picky but I can see why you appreciate. It's like a piece of art and he's still sculpting it." Sakura said.

"I can see it in your point of view." Karin smiled softly at the rosette. "He's still sculpting it."

"INTO A HOT PIECE OF ASS FOR YOU!" Ino shouted as she threw herself out from Karin and started to dance and chive in celebration. It was shortly interrupted when Karin kicked her boot up against Ino's butt. Hard. "ACK! KARIN!"

"Whoops, sorry, slipped." Karin said in deadpanned voice.

"Why I should–"

"Ino, you started it. Karin, no kicking" Sakura sighed, she felt like she was the constant referee between the girls.

"Hmph!" her friends grunted.

"Oh look, two for the price of one meal this week." Sakura said when she spotted on sign window of the restaurant. "Free deserts included."

"I love this restaurant!" Ino squealed out happily while Karin grinned at the prospect of sweet foods.

"Hey girls, are you lost?" they heard someone shout.

They all turn towards a gang of six boys looking at them with suggestive looks. Sakura instantly wanted to hide and change out of the skirt she was wearing as she felt some of them staring at her legs.

"Because heaven's a long way from here." The boy continued and winked.

"Do you know karate? 'Cause your bodies are really kickin'." Another shouted on the far left.

"Girls, you better have a license, cuz you are driving us crazy!"

Karin and Ino looked at each other in annoyance while Sakura looked at these guys in shock.

"Did those guys just gave us a bunch of pick-up lines?" Karin sarcastically said.

"Worse, they gave us a bunch of awful pick-up lines." Ino grunted.

The redhead and blonde grabbed the rosette and tried to make their way to the restaurant.

"Hey hey heeeeeeeeeeeey! Where do you pretty ladies think you are going, huh?" one of the boys said.

"Far far away from you lot." Ino shouted over her shoulder.

"Why? We just want to get to know you angels." Another called.

"Lovely as we are, we're hungry so bye-bye!" Ino shouted.

"I know where you can eat for free." One of the boys said.

Sakura looked over her shoulder while Ino and Karin continued to drag her away from them and whiteness something very offensive. Her eyes widened when she witnessed one of them thrust his hips towards her while swinging his arms back simultaneously and repeatedly. Her jaw dropped as her innocent mind tried to comprehend what just happened.

"Right here!" the boy continued and the rest of the boys laughed.

Oh my god! Why would they be so…vulgar!

Then Yuki's head popped out of the opening in her bag and spotted it as well. His eyes narrowed at that and looked up to see Sakura's face in shock. She looked down and saw him looking back at her then back at the boys. All the colour from her face seemed to disappear when a horrible feeling crept in her mind.

She KNEW that look.

That LOOK.

That one look she knew all so well.

The one were a cat was eyeing its prey and was about to strike.

The look Yuki gave Zabuza.

Oh no!

Oh no no no no noooooooooo!

The next thing Sakura knew a couple of trolleys came out of no where and sent the boys in pairs into the holding part of the trolley. The trolleys then shot down and manoeuvred themselves around the second floor as the boys screamed out in fear. Karin and Ino stop in their process of dragging Sakura to the restaurant when felt her stop in horror. They both turned and watch in fascinated amusement and shock of what was unfolding in front of them. The boys' yells and screams continued as the trolleys seemed to have a mind of their own. They turned left and right almost dangerously.

"Please don't kill them" Sakura whined softly to Yuki.

And then they went down the escalators. Sakura shrieked and ran towards the banisters of the second floor along with Karin and Ino. They watched through the open floors as people on these machines had either jumped over the barriers or jumped onto the opposite one, which thankfully was free of trolleys coming down it. The rosette's eyes widened where they were heading and calculated the chances of them actually making it through. For you see, Yuki decided they had to be sent out of the shopping centre for upsetting his Spellcaster. And, so, they were heading for the automatic doors of the exit.

Sakura closed her eyes and winced at the uncanny knowledge of slow automatic opening doors.

They were not going to make it.

"Open open open open open" Sakura chanted as she focused on the doors in her mind. She forced her mind to think that they will open for her. That they would not be closed and result in a crash for these horrible boys, not matter how much they deserved it. But breaking through glass was dangerous and could cut limbs in the most severe cases.

Her eyes flicked open and focused on the doors.

"Nepo" Sakura uttered, despite that wasn't the word she was going to use.

The air slightly crackled and the next thing Sakura saw to her surprise the doors opened incredibly fast just as the trolleys belted towards them. The gang when through the open doors unharmed but several seconds later there was numerous amount of audible crashes. Sakura cringed at each and everyone one of them, as she remembered there was a low wall outside that had rose thorn bushes against it.

Ino sucked in air dramatically as she cringed. "That has got to hurt." She too remembers the thorn bushes outside. "Come on, there's a César Salad with my name on it."

Sakura groaned inwardly at the destruction her Familiar as Karin and Ino pulled her away from the banisters to the restaurant. For the many Familiars out there, how on earth did she come across Yuki?

Bad Kitty.

Gah, I don't know if this was any good or not. I've been out of the swing with this one for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time. So I hope it's okay, if not I don't mind any suggestions that would help to make this better. I really don't mind.

But if I hear 'WHERE IS SASUKE?' or 'BRING SASUKE NOW' I'm just simply going to ignore you, patience PLEASE! HE WILL ARRIVE! Just trust me on this, okay? ;)

Hmm, right, off to catch some fun in the sun here in England. Hope you guys did enjoy the chapter, so please leave a review if ya can.

Chow!