Blood In The Water: A Tenten Fan Fiction (#3 In Shifting Series)

Quite The Tale

Kakashi and Reno secured the weapons in their bedroom.  Reno was curious as the older man then did some hand signs and sealed the box they had put them into with a Jutsu that even his sons couldn't get into.  As they walked back into the living area, Sarah was setting a plate with a huge omelet on the table and a glass of milk.  Reno smiled and sat down, eating it like he had not eaten in forever.

"God Sissy, this is so good." He said around mouthfuls.  "I haven't had an omelet in forever."

Sarah sat down across from him with a glass of juice in her hand.  Kakashi took the seat closest to her and Reno watched the interplay between them.  He didn't have to be a genius to figure out they were crazy about each other.

"So, explain to me what happened.  How did you get here?  How did I get here?  I want to know everything."

Sarah took a drink of her juice.  He noticed that she looked a bit older than the last time he had seen her.  She still looked good but the lines at the corners of her eyes were more noticeable.  He looked at her with affection.  Being so much older than him, she had always been more like a second mom than a sister.  Not that they did not have moments but having come from two different fathers, they had been raised very differently from one another.  Reno had grown up in a relatively stable household.  Neither of his parents drank and if there were fights in the house, they were often short lived.  He knew that had not been the case for his Sissy.  She had grown up in a home fueled by alcohol, drugs, and violence.

He always suspected that was why she had always been hypervigilant with him when he was a kid.  When his dad had unexpectedly passed away due to lung cancer, he had been a heavy smoker all his life, she had been the one that had helped him during the grief cycle.  She had deep wells of empathy and had loved him as if he was her own kid for many years.  It was not until she had met Ben that he had seen her able to flourish into a woman from the terrorized girl she had been before.

"Well... I did almost drown.  That much was partly true.  I did jump in after that kid and did get him to safety before something hit me and sent me back down the river.  If I wasn't as good of a swimmer as I am, I might not have lived long enough to get here.  You remember that third falls on the river?"

"The one I call the falls of death?  Yeah, I almost drowned there myself when I went over without my tube.  It's got a killer undertow."

"When I went over it, I was certain I was dead.  I was already so tired and worn out by then.  As I was falling, I opened a portal.  I didn't know I did it but I did.  Remember how I would always get those dreams and stuff?"

"Yeah, you creeped me out more than once."

Sarah laughed and gave him an affectionate smile, "That ability is how you got here this time.  I'll get to that in a minute!" She said quickly when he opened his mouth to ask a question.  He closed his mouth and kept eating as she talked.  "When I hit the bottom, I managed to push myself back up but I was done in.  I had opened a portal here at the moment of my 'death' and I was here not in San Marcos anymore.  Of course, I didn't know it.  Kakashi was out fishing that day and saw me struggling.  He rescued me."

Reno gave a nod of thanks to Kakashi before turning his attention back to her.

"So was it love at first sight?"

Sarah laughed and Kakashi's cheeks turned a little bit pink.  "Something like that," Kakashi responded.

"I didn't know who he was thinking I was still in San Marcos but yeah... he was pretty hot even wearing that mask of his."

Reno groaned, "Sissy... Please... your an old lady... I don't want to know about your sex life.  Can you skip around those parts?"

Sarah roared with laughter and threw a dishrag at him.  "I'm not that old you little punk!  But for the sake of your mental health, I'll skirt around that."

"Oh thank god..." he breathed as he pushed the now empty plate away then drank the whole glass of milk.

"So in this world as you know, they have powers.  Apparently I had a little bit of it in our world but here... I can do things that would make your head spin."

"I gotta see that," he responded.

Abruptly she glowed with a blue hue that fit on her like a cloak and her eyes burned with blue fire.  He almost fell out of his seat.  "That's fucking crazy!"

"Be thankful," Kakashi responded with a grin.  "That's how she brought you here."

"I've been having nightmares for weeks now but I couldn't remember them.  Time runs different between our two worlds.  What is days or weeks there are years here."

"So that's how you have a kid as old as Ti," Reno concluded the thought.  "Makes sense."

"Tonight, I saw clearly you were about to die and I couldn't... I couldn't leave you there in that moment to die like that.  So I opened the portal and you were smart enough to jump through."

Reno raked his hands down his face, feeling exhausted.  "Oh man... it was bad Sissy.  I'm sorry you had to see any of it.  The stuff of nightmares.  I was pinned down, getting low of bullets.  No way out.  All of my buddies gone... Rabbit was the last one.  I went through basic with him.  It was like watching a horror movie that you couldn't get out of.  I can't even say I was scared at that moment... It was all adrenaline.  Perhaps a sense of acceptance?  Anger, most definitely.  I wanted to take at least a few of them with me but those bastards were about to fire a rocket launcher at me when you opened that portal."

Sarah's eyes, which had gone back to normal, filled with tears.  "I know... I saw it all."  She reached across the table and clasped his hand.  "I'm probably going to get in trouble for pulling someone else through but I couldn't leave you there.  I just couldn't."  She pulled away and wiped at her eyes.  "Mom's here too.  She's married to the Ramen guy."

Reno was thankful he wasn't eating or drinking at that moment because he would have probably choked to death.  "She's here!  How many people you been bringing over?!"

Sarah bit her lower lip, "Well the first one was Mom when I was giving birth.  The next one was Melissa.  We made a promise to each other after all.  Then when we were in battle, I accidentally brought Misti here."

Reno started laughing, "You brought Misti here?  The same Misti that doesn't even own a television?  That Misti? I bet that was a bit of culture shock for her."

"She's actually quite happily married to Might Guy a year now," Sarah laughed.  "The two of them are always running around the village with crazy exercise challenges."

"Better her than me," Kakashi muttered.

Reno laughed and laughed as he thought about it.  "I can see it.  They're perfect for each other really.  And Melissa?  I only got to meet her that one time."

"She's married to Iruka and they have a little girl named Carolyn," Sarah smiled.  "She works with Iruka at the Academy."

Reno leaned back in his seat, thinking.  "So Mom married the Ramen guy... That's an interesting pair up if I've ever heard one.  She's happy?"

"Very much so," Sarah reassured.  "Teuchi is a great guy.  She works with him at the Ramen shop.  We'll have to go by there today."

Reno nodded but was feeling very tired now that he had ate and drank something.  "Sissy, I'm exhausted.  Would it be okay if we finished talking later after I nap?  I haven't slept in at least 36 hours now."

"Oh my," she jumped up.  "Of course... Kakashi, could you move Tiberius into Obito's room?  I think Reno might be able to fit on his bed better than Obito's."

"Woah, I can just sleep on the couch,"  Reno said as he stood.  "Don't mess with the boys.  Trust me, I've slept in much worse places than a couch."

Kakashi gently touched her hand when she looked ready to argue and she reluctantly nodded.  "Okay. I'll grab you some blankets and a pillow.  It's the middle of the night so we should all try to get some sleep."

Ten minutes later, Reno was stretched out on the low couch in the living room.  His feet hanging over the end.  It was a position he was used to with his height.  The pillow felt wonderful and he covered his eyes with one of his arms.  He was out within seconds.