AU: Hello from the outside! Lol. It's from Adele's new song, Hello, and it's trending in 2015. I told you people that because maybe some of you are reading this in the year 2034. If so, than hello people from 2034. I haven't written in a while, so forgive me for any mistakes. This story is for fun and I'm bored. Who knows? If people like it, I guess I've got to finish it. I don't own Naruto.

Chapter One

I didn't know I had fallen asleep until I woke up. It wasn't one of those things where you wake up after a beauty sleep. No, I was slapped awake. It wasn't a hard slap, but it wasn't very gentle either.

"Wake up, Kabocha-san," the slapper said. Opening my eyes, I was greeted to the sight of a boy with brunnete hair and dark blue eyes standing above me. Who was this guy? Why is he standing above me? Where the hell am I?

"Wh-"

"No time to talk. You're going to be late for your first day at the Academy." He took my hand and dragged me to my feet. Looking down, I saw I had on a gray t-shirt and gray shorts. On my feet were black sandals. I don't know if the shoes qualified as sandals, but I didn't have another word for them.

Now that we were even height, I got a better look at the boy. He had on the same outfit as I and had a strange pouch strapped to his arm. Giving a quick glance around us, I could tell I wasn't in my room in Texas. The place we were in resembled the orphanage from the movie, Annie, but except for beds, there were just yoga mats and pillows. The walls and floor were made of stone, as was the ceiling. For windows, there was just large holes in the walls with iron bars running through them.

"Get a move on, Kabocha-san." He shoved something that looked like a lunchbox into my arms and ushered me out the door, telling me to follow the rest of the kids. I didn't question it; I was sure I'd figure out what was going on later, but for now, I followed them.

Seeing the outiside, my face paled. I was expecting skyscrapers, dirty alleyways, and a littered city with honking cars. Instead, there were trees everywhere. No skyscrapers or cars or any sign of modern technology of the 21st Century that I was used to. Where was I? I shook off the nausea that had started to gather in my stomach. At least I wasnt kidnapped.

At least I wasn't dead.

As we walked, I felt like I was thrown back in time. There were women in long skirts and pants. Men in t-shirts and long pants. Everyone had on neutral colors, as if trying not to draw attention to themselves. Shifting my sight up, I saw people running along the rooftops of the crowded apartments made of wood and stone. They jumped from roof to roof, flowing past one another as they went. To the kids in front of me, it looked as though this was an everyday occurrence. So I was part of this group of kids? I guess I better act like I know what everything is and if I don't know something, I'll figure it out.

Not everything was apartments though. Sprinkled along the apartments were shops. Shops that sold toys, weapons, food, weapons, food, more food, more weapons... Was this village centered around food and weapons? I was surprised nobody was obese. Catching sight of my reflection in a weapons shop window, I stopped to gawk. I wasn't me. I wasn't tall at all. In fact, I barely scrapped by 4'6. My hair had turned from brown with sunstreaks in it to just plain brown. It now rested in a high ponytail on top of my head that I had put up because it was hot. It also came down to mid-back now, instead of just below my shoulders. My beautiful ice blue eyes had turned into a mud brown. Overall I was skinny, as I was before, but if I wanted to gain some muscle back, I needed to start working out.

Our little group composed of 4 people, (including me) stopped in front of a crowd of kids our age. Intermixed within the kids were what I assumed were their parents; some of them bore resemblemce that an idiot couldn't have missed. I lingered in the back of the crowd. I didn't want to be stuck in something I didn't know about. What had that guy said? "First day at the Academy?" Ah. So the structure in front of the crowd must be The Academy.

"Seeing as how the last kids have arrived, we will get started!" I turned my eyes to the speaker at the front of the crowd. He was a grown man with tan skin and a cut on his nose. He wore clothes that looked easy to move in and had something shiny around his forehead. I didn't give it much thought though. He said a couple things, mostly telling us that we needed to work hard to get better (who didn't know that?) and if we did, we would have a successful future as shinobi. What the hell was a shinobi?

After Iruka (he told us his name afterwards) finished his brief speech, he started calling out names for Room 1. 2 of the other orphans got called, leaving me and and a blonde kid with goggles on his forehead as the only orphans left. I saw that most of the kids with wierd looking parents had stayed as well.

"Aren't you excited, Kabocha-san? We get to be in the same room together!" The blonde said gleefully. I glanced at him, silently trying to guess what his name was. He looked like a Nick or Blake. Speaking of which... Why was my name Kabocha-san? I was used to my real name, Teagen, a sophomore in high school. Why was I entering something called The Academy? While I'm at it, why was I so tiny? What happened to my 6'1 height?

"Woohoo," I replied dryly, plastering on a small smile. He lost interest quickly when the rest of the kids (including us) assigned to Room 2 entered the Academy, leaving their parents behind. We all followed Iruka into the structure, some kids talking loudly and others staying silent. After being seated in our new classroom, Iruka had us come up to the front of the room and introduce ourselves. Noticing that the kids said their last names first, I was intrigued. So we were somewhere in Japan? I'll figure it out.

The class resembled a regular high school classroom. I put my lunchbox on a desk and sat down. Seeing as how the blonde guy was sitting by me and seemed to know me, I assumed he knew my last name too.

"Hey," I said quietly, poking him. He looked at me with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, Kabocha-san?" The teacher was going by rows and he was on the second one. This guy and I were on the fourth and fifth one.

"How do you think you spell my last name?" I asked. It was a simple trick I had learned in freshmen year. I had kept forgetting everyone's name, so rather than asking what their name was again, I just asked how to spell it.

"Huh? You've told me before. Why would you think I'd forget?" He asked, confused. The kid with a short brown ponytail a seat in front of me turned his head away from us, yet to where his ear was facing me. I knew when someone was eavesdropping.

"I just wanted to see if you remembered, silly." I added the last part to seem as though we were friends and this was an everyday thing. The kid with the ponytail hadn't lost interest as I thought he would.

"Oh. Uh, okay. O-N-O," he answered, scratching his head. After giving a quick assurance that he remembered, I questioned everything in my head. Ono? Ono Kachoba-san? That was my new name? What happened to Texas? How did I get in Japan? Would my parents even realize it was me? What about volley-

"Next!" Iruka called. Noticing that the ponytail kid had just sat down, I got up and made my way to the front of the room, just as the others had done. Crap. I was too caught up in thinking, that I hadn't caught anyone else's name. What do I do, say my name first? Well this was an introduction and if they went differently than they do in America, than too bad.

Taking a deep breath, I mustered the courage to talk.

"Hi. I'm, um, Ono Kabocha-san and um," my voice faltered as I got quite a few curious looks from several kids and the teacher. Had I said something wrong? Already? Coughing, I resumed the introduction. "And I-"

My mind went blank. What was I supposed to say? The uncomfortable feeling of homesickness crept through me and the awkward looks weren't helping. I sucked at presentations in high school and I still do, despite having a changed look. I coughed again, trying to shake off the homesickness. Think, Teagen. Use your head. Say a goal. Quickly, anything!

"And I want to get strong." After the numerous pauses and coughing fits, I was more than sure I had secured my place as the wierd one in class. Looking up at Iruka, he gave me a small smile. Knowing what that meant by many teachers before, I walked down the aisle towards my seat, face red and ears burning from embarrassment. I didn't make eye-contact with anyone and kept my gaze on the floor. When I arrived at my seat, I sat down quickly and tried to ignore the stares.

I wanted to cry. My name wasn't Kabocha-san, it was Teagen Wells. I was not an 8-year old. I was 15. I wasn't in an elementary school, I was a sophomore in high school. I wasn't an orphan, I had-

My bottom lip started to quiver. I quickly lowered the bottom part of my head onto one of my arms, to seem like I was tired. It wasn't enough. I had started to sniffle too. Trying to pass it off as a cough wasn't easy. I had to force myself to really dig deep down and hack as though something was stuck in my throat.

"Are you okay, Kachoba-san?" Iruka asked, concerned. I realized my hacking fit had drawn everyone's attention. I nodded my head and avoided everyone's gaze. The asshole in front of me had turned around 180 degrees and was staring at my probably tomato red face.

"Yes sir. I have a sore throat though," I replied quickly, adding a cough for good measure and wishing I could dissapear. I guess he notice my miserable expression, because he said I could go get a drink in the hall. Quickly thanking him, I hurried out to the hall and closed the classroom door.

Not one second had I closed the door, that wet, hot tears appeared on my cheeks. I didn't groan or make any sound when I cried, except for a couple of high pitched draws of breath. I moved away from the door, not wanting anyone from that class to hear me. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway, I wiped my face of tears with my hand and got rid of the snot via shirt.

I thought the waterworks had dried up when a new thought entered my head. Volleyball. From my throat burst forth a new wave of sobs and from my eyes, a new batch of tears.

Before I had started playing volleyball, I had played basketball. In basketball, my right knee had major issues known as patella (kneecap) disfunction. The patella kept going out and I switched to volleyball because I hated the running. The knee problem kept getting worse and worse until it didn't always happen by me jumping; I simply had to turn my leg and it would pop right out. And it always hurt too. All my body weight would go down on the dislocated knee and it hurt like hell. Soon though, my tears of pain became tears of frustration as I watched my team play; always from the sidelines.

That's why I got surgery. The docters put in multiple metal screws and I had to go through 7 months of rehab before I was even remotely ready to start playing again. I got cleared just as club tryouts started; I missed school ball during that season. I went to tryouts and surprisingly made a team.

My tears soon dried and I started fanning myself, trying not to seem as though I had just cried my heart out. When I deemed myself presentable, I walked back in the room and sat down, this time looking straight forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a few glances thrown at me; whether out of concern or curiosity, I couldn't tell.

Iruka had finished telling us what chakra was and how it flowed through everyone. Did that mean I had chakra too? What kind of school was this? I needed a map; pronto dente. I needed to see where the closest police station was. Well... Maybe the nearest American Embassy. Or at least that's what the movie, No Escape taught me. I think they were right. If I was out of the country, I needed to find an American Embassy. Was there one in Japan? Wait...

If I was in Japan, how could I speak Japanese?

Whatever. That was a question for another day. I had plenty to worry about. Alright... Maybe I should make a checklist.

1) I could speak Japanese.

2) I'm an 8-year old girl. (At least I think I'm 8)

3) Find an American Embassy

4) How did I end up in Japan?

5) Would I be able to make it back to America before club season starts?

The list went on and on, but my main concerns were 3 and 5. I had worked so hard to get my spot on the team, even if it wasn't the best team, I had still made it. Also, to get back to America, I needed a passport and help from Americans. I was fairly sure that people here would probably mug me if told them I was American. Even though I was a sophomore, I wasn't stupid. I had seen enough movies and looked through enough stories to know that being out of your home country without knowing why was really, really bad.

For some reason, the time had escaped me and before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

Instead of getting up to leave the room, I stayed sitting. The blonde guy asked me if I was okay and after reassuring him everything was cool, he smiled and told me to meet him outside. How did he know me? I probably invaded someone else's head, because this life definetly wasn't mine. I wonder if my parents knew I was gone.

When everybody filed out, Iruka was about to leave when he saw me sitting down.

"Is there something you need, Kabocha-san?" He asked, mild worry laced in his voice. He's a teacher. It's his job to be worried. Getting up, I nodded.

"Can I see a map of the world?" I asked, quietly. His face flickered in confusion, but the look quickly disappeared. Iruka walked up to the chalkboard at the front of the room and pulled down a map that was rolled up on top of it.

"The Elemental Nations," he declared, holding the bottom part so it didn't roll up. "Can I ask why you need to see them, Kabocha-san?" His voice fell on deaf ears as my eyes frantically searched for the familiar form of the United States. I couldn't find it though, because the entire map was taken up by one big land mass that I definetly didn't recognize. This doesn't look like Japan.

"What continent are we on?" This threw him off. Instead of the calm demeanor he had before, now he looked worried and suspicious.

"What do you mean, Kabocha-san? We are in the Land of Fire." I shook my head slowly.

"No. No. Not that. I mean what continent? North America, South America, Europe, Asia? Know what I mean?" My hope to get home dropped when he shook his head.

"I've never heard those names before. What are you talking about, Kabocha-san?" My ears started pounding. This was a teacher. A teacher. And he didn't know what North America was. I muttered something and moved to collect my lunchbox.

"What did you say, Kabocha-san?" Iruka asked, removing his arm and letting the map roll back up.

"Nevermind. Thank you for letting me see the map." I made to exit the room and was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Looking back, I saw it was Iruka was holding me by the shoulder and he had a serious face.

"Why were you crying?" He asked. I coughed, bringing on a faked pained expression.

"My throat hurt really bad." I probably shouldn't ask him how he heard me crying. The door had been shut. I made sure of that. I guess the excuse was good enough, because he removed his hand and gave me a cough drop from his drawers.

"You should probably have it looked at if it hurts that bad. I can take you to the hospital after school, if you want." At this, I stared at him long and hard. Something didn't add up. If I had a bad cough in America, I would go to the doctor's office. He offered to take me to the hospital. As if they didn't have docters' offices around here.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have things to do after school." The sentence didn't sound right, so I added a, 'sir' at the end. Now it was his turn to stare at me. He looked me directly in the eyes, as if doing so would tell him what was wrong with me. I remembered I wasn't a 15 year old girl anymore and wasn't supposed to have the courage to stare down a teacher; so I broke eye-contact and looked at my feet, shuffling them a bit.

"If your throat hurts anymore, you're going to the hospital. No use in having a shinobi who can't speak because she coughs too much."

"Thank you, sir," I replied, giving him a fake smile. He merely nodded in return and left the room, telling me to go outside and eat. Grabbing my lunchbox from my desk, I walked down the hallways of The Academy and outside.