One: Wake Up

Rain. Chilled rain. A cold drizzle dancing across sleeping flesh. Each tiny droplet like a needle, beckoning her body to life. She stirred, shivers working their way down each of her sprawling limbs. Eyelids flickered, momentarily revealing a set of glossy blue eyes that matched the rain clouds scattered across the sky. There was a soft moan, and the eyes disappeared from sight once again.

'Where am I?' The hard ground and wet grass were not the sheets and pillows she remembered falling into last night. 'I'm dreaming.' Body trembling, she attempted to push herself upright, but only managed to collapse onto her side. Weak and cold, she drew her knees tight up against her chest and tucked her head down, willing this vision away. Minutes passed, and nothing seemed to be changing. Shivers wracked her body now, and she had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. 'Please get up...' With another heaving effort, she made it onto her hands and knees.

Rain that had gathered along her cheeks and brow dripped down along her lips and nose. Her short brown hair fell in a sopping mess over her shoulders. She must have been lying there for a long time, because the rain was light and wouldn't have soaked her through over any short length of time. She noticed she was still in her pajamas—not unusual for a dream sequence. Her bright orange tank top and long, gray flannel pants clung to her cold, drenched skin. She continued to shiver.

Lifting her heavy head, she searched for the nearest cover—anything to get out of the rain. She found herself looking out into a sparse forest, and with another immense show of effort, she crawled over to the nearest tree and huddled beneath its narrow canopy. 'What sort of dream is this?' She'd never had one feel quite so real before, but she'd read about dreams that feel this way—lucid dreams, she thinks they were called. She had no interest, however, in exploring this potentially enlightening place. Sheltered—for the most part—she lay her head back down and let her eyelids slide shut. Her body quickly relieved itself back into unconscious darkness.

vVvVv

Warm sunlight streamed in through her window, coating her face in gold. She smiled, glad to be rid of the cold that seemed to have enveloped her for an eternity. 'What a dream...' Her pale blue eyes opened, and she cringed as sunlight burned her vision. She groaned and sat up quickly, leaning back against the wall as she rubbed the tenderness out of her gaze. She sighed.

"Christ, I'm hungry..." she mumbled, falling into a wide stretch, realizing something was very wrong. Her eyes opened a second time, and panic flooded through her. Nothing had changed.

She was still in that sparse forest, leaning back against the trunk of the tree she had crawled to for shelter. Her clothes were damp, but warm in the morning light. She clutched her head, frantically attempting to wake up.

"Oh my god... I hate it when this happens..." She tried some experimental blinking techniques, and then she tried to talk herself out of the dream with logic and reasoning. Nothing seemed to be working. Her body ached, her stomach was churning, and her head began to pound. Warily, she got to her feet—bare against the damp earth—and glanced around. Nothing in sight but trees. Swallowing dryly, she pushed away from the tree, wandering aimlessly through the forested labyrinth.

She stumbled along until the sun was blazing overhead, and still, nothing but trees to be found. She placed a palm against her stomach and bent over, gritting her teeth as it gurgled unpleasantly. It felt as though she hadn't had a meal in a couple of days—which is odd considering she remembered having a rather large, delectable dinner last night. The thought of it resulted in another rumble.

"Hn..." she moaned, continuing on at a slower pace.

"You, girl, state your business here." The girl in question jumped in surprise, a startled expression molding onto her face. Her eyes searched wildly for the source of the voice, but could find no one.

"I...I..." 'I'm talking to a voice in my head' She ran her fingers through her hair and exhaled, calming herself. She walked on, but hadn't taken two steps before there was a thump in the tree beside her. She looked at the trunk and paled when she noticed the long needle protruding from the bark.

"I said, state your business." She didn't know why, or how she knew to do it, but something made her look up. Standing in the tree opposite herself, there was a man dressed in all black with a mask covering the bottom of his face. His hair was unruly, and tied back with some sort of band. She also noticed almost immediately the three long needles he held at the ready, and the many other weapons scattered about his person. '...he's in a tree... he's a crazy man in a tree threatening me with pointy sticks... I really need to wake up.' Deciding to cooperate with the dream-man, she cleared her parched throat and called up to him.

"I don't have any business; I'm just trying to wake up." The man gave her a cold once over. 'What? You think I'm hiding something lethal in my pajamas?'

"Hn, just trying to wake up?" In a movement she could not follow, the Treeman threw two more needles toward her. She didn't even know what he had done until she felt a burning in her arm. The sharp metal had grazed over her skin, hitting the tree where the first needle still stuck. In awe, she touched the blood as it gathered at the openings. 'I'm dreaming... this isn't supposed to happen.' "Don't play games with me. Who sent you here?" She swallowed dryly, her heart pounding.

"I... no one, really... I just woke up here..." She pointed back the way she had come. "Back there, a couple of miles..."

"Hn, you could be a spy." He readied another needle. Reflexively, she covered her head with her hands and hunched over against the tree.

"No! Please, believe me! I have no idea how I got here." He was silent, so she took a chance and straightened up, staring directly at him to meet his glare. "I mean... do I really look like I'm prepared to be wandering around out here?" She gestured toward her bare feet and now dry attire. The light material would offer no protection from cold or injury. To her utter relief, the man lowered his arm, returning the needles back from whence they came.

"The main road is another mile in that direction." He pointed. "You will head straight there. You will not look back. A scout will be sent out to make sure you are headed away from here. If he reports that you've changed course, you will be taken in. Understood?"

'Taken in? Taken in where?' She could only nod in response.

"Get going." The adrenaline she had been fighting off coursed through her veins. She turned heel and began to run, tripping and stumbling but never stopping. She did not look back.

vVvVv

It seemed to take no time at all for her to stumble out onto the main road, breathing heavily. From there she walked straight, head down and arms around her stomach. The soles of her feet burned with each step she took, and with every passing minute she grew weaker and hungrier. She knew she wouldn't last without food, or water, at the very least.

'Left, right, left, right, left, right...' Lost in her concentration, she didn't hear the oncoming footsteps until she saw some people pass by in her peripheral vision. It took her a few steps to register what she'd seen, but then her mind snapped back into focus and she wheeled around. A group of three people were walking back the way she had come. 'Oh my god... they can help me.' Something in the back of her mind cautioned her, reminding that the last person she'd met was a crazy man in a tree, but the thought of water, and maybe food, pushed those cautions away.

"Wa—" she coughed, her voice nothing but a wheeze. This, however, seemed to be enough to get the group's attention. Suddenly, she felt three sets of eyes all on her as she struggled to compose herself. "Please," she managed between coughs. "Wait." The coughing intensified, and her knees buckled, sending her to the ground. With one hand on her chest and the other supporting her upper body, she began to wheeze. Her body was more severely dehydrated than she had realized, and was beginning to shut down. She heard a quiet murmur from someone in the group, and then footsteps approaching. Someone was kneeling beside her. A cool hand was gently placed on the back of her neck, and, abruptly, her airway seemed to clear and the wheezing stopped.

"Drink this," a girl's voice instructed, offering a canteen. Eagerly, she drank, dizzying from the affect the water had on her parched body. "Careful, or you'll just throw it all back up." Immediately, her frantic gorging stopped and she pushed the canteen away. She could not handle throwing up. "Can you stand?" She paused, and then nodded, pushing herself to her feet. The hand at the back of her neck was removed and placed at her elbow to keep her from stumbling. She took the opportunity to survey her saviors. The girl at her side was dressed in red, with short— 'Pink?'— pink hair. The other two people were both male, one with short blond hair wearing a bright— 'Orange?'— orange jumpsuit, and the other with silvery gray hair wearing a green jacket and a— '...what's with the masks? He'd better not be another crazy Treeman...'— mask covering everything except for one eye. Her attention then returned to the girl at her side, who spoke with a kind smile.

"I'm Sakura Haruno—what happened to you?"

"I... don't know." She ran her fingers back through her short brown hair, exasperated. She knew she was going to sound crazy. "Look... you need to believe me. I know I sound ridiculous, but, just, please..."

"Go on," Sakura encouraged, tone gentle.

"Well... I just... woke up here. In the middle of the woods, drenched by the rain and completely starved. I remember eating dinner last night, and then going into my room to sleep... I don't know how I got here, or how long I've been here." She exhaled, still a bit winded from her coughing fit.

"What about these?" Sakura gently prodded the swollen area around the two slices on her upper arm. The blood had dried, she'd forgotten all about them.

"Oh! There was a man! Some crazy man in a tree was throwing... needles at me. He thought I was a spy. Told me to come this way and not look back, and that a scout would be sent out to check on me." It was only then that she realized how odd it was to hear and use the word 'scout'. She shook her head. "Please..." Her shoulders slumped and head turned down. She spoke with a weak, pleading voice. "I just want to wake up."

The group exchanged glances, the younger two each settling their gazes onto the masked man, who had been reading a book the entire time. 'Of all of the things to be doing right now...' He flipped a page, and then looked straight at her.

"What's your name?" His voice was smooth and nonchalant—it made it seem okay to relax.

"Naomi..." she murmured anxiously.

"Alright, Naomi," he closed the book and tucked it away. "Let's get you cleaned up."