Gracie Abrams is eking out a solitary existence, fighting day-in, day-out against the drain of working customer service and nursing two newborn kittens in her off time. Out on her own ever since her sister moved in with her boyfriend, the burden of...
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"What?" Sam blinked owlishly. "Were you saying something, Gracie?"
I walked until I stood right before the blinking teenager. In as even a voice as I could manage, I said, "How do we get them home?"
"Uh, what?" Sam backed up a bit, shaking her short hair from side to side. "I don't even know how"
"But," I followed after her, not giving her the chance to follow the boys into the apartment, "that's not really true, is it?"
"I told you!" Her hands floundered before her, a nervous tic. "I don't know how to do interdimensional stuff! I only found out it was possible, like, a week ago in lessons."
I stopped pursuing her, stuffing my hands into the back pockets of my jeans. "Sure," I shrugged, "you may not know how, but you know who does. Don't you?"
Sam startled, almost as if she'd been hit by a zinging bolt of electricity. "Well..."
"Answer the question," I said, calmly.
The teen's gaze flickered this way and that, waffling, "Well...um...I guess, you know. I mean, maybe? I might have some ideas..."
A chill wove through my body, contradicting the sigh of relief I felt. Even if it hurt, even if this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Kakashi was nearing its end, I still felt relieved that I could be the one to help send him back to the Leaf and all the kids who would soon need him.
"That's great." I let out a happy sigh, my chest deflating fully before filling up again. "We'll need to contact them."
"Why?" Sam asked.
I heard the question as if from the end of a long tunnel. I observed the unhappy set to her cheeks, her forehead completely smooth. The duality of it was a little startling, a little dangerous, and for the first time, I had the realization:
Will she use her magic against me?
Swallowing silently, I stilled my nerves in the shaking of my fists at my side. I held her gaze as I spoke seriously, "They don't belong here, Sam. We have to send them home."
"We don't have to do anything." Sam crossed her arms, a slight frown marring that smooth forehead. I sighed in relief as the teenager's demeanor returned to that of an unhappy child instead of an eerily calm witch. "Why are you acting like this? Haven't you always wanted to meet Kakashi in person?"
"Listen," I huffed, holding up a finger. "This isn't about us or our feelings. You may not know, but two nights ago, Rengoku came to life, too. He's the one who smashed up my door and all those cars."
Sam's eyes grew even larger within her glasses, the extra magnification dwarfing her face beneath those wide, brown eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah," I crossed my own arms, our positions mirroring each other. Slouching to one side, I continued, "It was bad, Sam. He was deranged. Fighting against something that controlled him to do those things—to destroy those cars."
