OKAY!!! Soooo... I haven't written anything (damn writer's block) in such a long time that I almost forgot how to use my imagination. And then this muse swept out of heaven and bought the real estate known as my brain, so this is all I've been able to think of... But let's cut the crap and get to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but if Kishimoto-sensei ever put it up on Ebay...


Thokthokthokthok…

The light, almost soundless steps followed in the shadow's wake. The beats drummed at her heart, willing her to run, run, run ever faster.

Fatigue pounded her head, but not from lack of energy, though she had never felt so tired before. 'I so need some serious yoga, like crazy,' she thought grimly.

When her pace slowed a fraction, she shook her head, and redoubled her speed. It would not do to have mid-afternoon tea when pursuit was only five miles away screaming for her blood.

But no, she was emotionally tired; tired of running, tired of the acts she left behind, spurred only by an inferno of rage. The tendrils of air that curled around her cheeks murmured, 'Slow down, rest your weary mind, leave your thoughts behind…'

'FOCUS, BAKA!!!'

She checked the large chakra signal, the Village Hidden in the Clouds, which she knew lay somewhere with five miles' radius, and reconfirmed its distance.

'Three miles, okay, double back, loop, ambush from west, head back, and approach from west.' Time to make good her great escape.


Three hours and many silenced screams later, a heavily cloaked shadow whirled to a stop in front of the gates of Konohagakure. The two gate guards, Kotetsu and Izumo, snapped to attention, and stared down at the newcomer.

'Doesn't look good,' Izumo muttered, 'just signal if you need the alarm sounded.' Without another word, he leaped off the wall and into the small booth standing near the double wooden gates, and, tensed, nodded to Kotetsu.

With a smirk, Kotetsu leaned on the wall and flashed the newcomer a smirk. 'What's your business in Konoha, stranger?'

A peal of roaring banshee-like laughter hit his ears not a second later, and he recoiled in surprise. The black hood was thrown back, and a mocking voice rang out from the edge of the forest.

'Are you flirting with me? What kind of guard are you?'

Kotetsu examined the young woman with interest. Hair that was probably slightly longer than shoulder length was tied up in a messy bun, throwing her pointed face into sharp relief against the sunlight. What drew him was her eyes; a sparkling, mischievous brown that nevertheless held endless depths and something else…

'You didn't answer the question,' Kotetsu bantered back. 'But I assure you, my intentions are pure and innocent.'

Another laugh. 'Pure my ass. Okay, sorry,' she said, grinning. 'But can you just let the frisking slide once? I'm in something of a hurry to deliver a few messages to the Hokage.'

'And, pray tell, what would they be?'

'Oh, this and that regarding the pending conflict between Stone and Cloud; that, and a few scrolls,' she said vaguely, and whisked aside her cloak to reveal a compact messenger bag with the seal of Iwagakure imprinted on the brown fabric.

Forming a small hand sign, Kotetsu was down beside the Iwa nin in the blink of an eye. 'I'll have to pat you down now, just to make sure you aren't one of those crazy kamikaze nin that seem to be popping up more and more.'

She sighed as she lifted her arms. 'Pure you say…'

'Assuredly.'

Kotetsu, upon finishing, straightened. He had assumed she was one of the Iwa nin, but upon body searching, no shuriken holsters, kunai pouches and only five scrolls not including those in the messenger bag forced him to take back his assumptions. He frowned. Just who was she?

Scratching the back of his head, he signaled to the other nin on the battlements, and said, 'You're free to go in, I guess.'

She dropped her arms to her sides, and gave him a sunny smile that he decidedly liked. 'Thanks a bunch.' Tapping her chin, she added, 'Oh yeah, what's your name? I might just decide to visit you during my vacation. I got leave to stay here awhile, you know.'

'Just ask for Kotetsu of the gates. You?'

She started to stride through the open gates and beyond, when calling back, 'Maybe later!' And then she disappeared in a cloud of dust.

When Kotetsu finally returned to the bamboo gate booth, he said wistfully to Izumo, 'You know, I think I'm starting to like mysterious girls.'


When she had finally disappeared around corner, she let out the small breath she had been holding in. In all truths, the guard hadn't worried her any, but she had probably left too strong an impression on him. Not good. If she was to survive in alien surroundings as a missing-nin, then it was best to remain nameless and faceless.

Missing nin… She stared up at the sky, completely ignoring the strange stares that others were giving her cloaked self. It sounded strange, like the discordant noise that her feet and gravel made whenever she stumbled. The two simple words labeled her a marked woman with a ticking life span, an outsider no matter what she was or where she went. Her brisk pace slowed, her sandals scuffing and whirling up mini dervishes. It would take some getting used to, but…

'I'M FREEEE!!! HAHAHAHA!!! FREEEE!!!' Everyone within a ten meter radius of the victory-dancing woman shot two feet in the air and smashed into the nearest vendor or jumping person.

'KYAHAHAHAHA!!! FREEEE!!!' The victory dance was augmented with wildly waving arms, the extremely hyper dancer apparently oblivious to the large amount of death glares shot at her.

When she finally calmed down enough to eke out a meek 'sorry', a large hand swept out of nowhere and snapped onto her shoulder. 'What do you think you're doing?'

'Eh?' She neatly spun on a dime, and nearly keeled back when she found two very annoyed snow-white eyes piercing through her. The street was suddenly very quiet. Taking a slight step backwards, she cocked her head inquisitively. He was one of the most handsome men she had ever met, with long, cocoa-chocolate dark hair and a toned physique that showed even under his loose tunic.

'And the eyes, of course, the lovely, beautiful eyes that have sucked out my soul and rendered it incomprehensible to anything but said beauty…' she thought dreamily staring off into space.

'Are you listening, baka?' He was also very annoyed. But still good looking. Quickly pasting a smile on her face, the Iwa nin said sheepishly, 'Ah, sorry for the disturbance. I'm just a messenger from Iwagakure, heh heh. Just got rid of someone…annoying recently. It, um, didn't quite sink in until now.'

Neji arched a fine eyebrow. She wasn't suspicious or lying, and the headband and messenger bag told him the rest. However, his guard didn't relax a fraction.

'It doesn't matter. Go, and do not loose control in such a fashion again.' He turned his back to her and walked away, and as if on some invisible signal, the street was alive again, moving and noisy. The messenger herself bounded away towards the Hokage Tower. But he swore he saw out of the corner of his eye that she stuck her tongue out at him.

As he languidly wended his way to the training fields, he thought about the very strange encounter. On first sight, he had almost mistaken her for Tenten, but the sharp angles and a single messy bun had proven differently. And her eyes…he stopped his slow walking.

'Strange eyes, eerie eyes,' he shook his head. He was already late as it was, and though Tenten never really gave him a hard time (probably because he had never been late), irate girls were hard to reconcile (not that he ever tried).

Neji broke into an elegant, loping run towards Training Field #16. It would not do to have his training session cut short by a stupid Naruto-like Iwa nin…


Her feet, though hurriedly rushing her in the direction of the looming Hokage tower, was entirely disconnected to her brain, which was still racing in Neji's direction.

It wasn't just his looks, it was his demeanor, the proud stature that was usually reserved for nobility and the calm, confident way he spoke. It drew her like a bee to a full-petaled flower.

'GAH! I'm a freaking missing-nin, for God's sake,' she chided herself, almost charging over three Konoha nin strolling out of the Tower's front doors. She added aloud, 'Plus, I'll probably never see him again.'

Climbing rapidly up several levels of staircase, she finally skidded to a stop in front of Shizune, who had just exited the Hokage's chambers. The startled assistant stared at her quizzically, wondering what in the seven hells would have driven this complete stranger so quickly to the Hokage. 'Guard on,' she thought, settling into a defensive stance. The ANBU guarding the doors stiffened.

'Do you have an appointment with Lady Tsunade?' she asked, polite nonetheless.

'Ah, come on, I don't bite. Just a messenger from Iwagakure for Lady Tsunade regarding the state of affairs of Stone and Cloud. And some scrolls, mmhm.'

Shizune once-overed her. Everything measured up, and she had heard of rumblings between the two foreign shinobi villages. Still, that smile was slightly too disarming to be genuine… A minute of silence passed, and Shizune straightened, and motioned to the ANBU guards to let her in.

'Sorry, but since the attack on Konoha years ago, we have to be doubly careful,' she said, and rounded the corner.

The stranger let out a small sigh, but regained her composure a second later. With a, 'cheers, boys,' to the ANBU, she entered the Hokage chambers, and shut the door behind her.


To get things straight: this is not going to be KotetsuOC, but seriously, those minor characters need some loving . Don't worry, he's going to play a part before the end, or a few. It's going to be NejiOC, 'kay? If any of my dear reviewers (yes, I know you're just DYING to press the pretty pale blue button) have any suggestions, please tell me! And if it isn't clearly implied, REIVEW!!! Criticism fine, flames will be used to burn my homework.

P.S.: Not to sound desperate, BUT I NEED A BETA, so if anyone can help me out, just leave it your review, and I'll contact you! Ja!