"Ow… my head…" She sat up slowly putting her head in her hands. She couldn't see properly yet, her vision slowly faded in, from darkness to fuzzy browns and greens. Although she couldn't see, she could feel the tension in the air, along with what sounded like pained breathing from one side, while a vicious laugh hit her from the other. She turned her head feeling disorientated and finally found her sight.

She was sitting in what seemed to be a recent crater of earth and grass surrounded by broken woodland. She could still see tiny pieces of debris in the air. Every tree surrounding the clearing was split, singed, uprooted or on fire. As if waiting for her to realise, she inhaled the smell of burnt wood, but it was mixed with a coppery scent she suddenly recognised as blood. Her breath caught in her lungs and her heart raced. Giving herself a quick once over she realised it wasn't her but looked back up dreading the sight she might be faced with.

"So this is your so called 'All powerful Jutsu'? A little girl in weird clothes?" A voice sneered then burst into vindictive laughter once more. There! She spotted the owner of the laugh. He stood arrogantly with an oversized blade slung lazily over his back. It was marbled black and blood red with a dark purple and black aura which made her shrink back unconsciously. The murderous intent polluted the air and she choked slightly. The man who held it gave her an even worse sense of foreboding. Although he looked like he'd taken a few hits, his cheek and arm bled profusely and one of his trouser legs was burnt black. He glared down at her, then grinned at her reaction with a mouth that was too big for his face, full to the brim with pointed teeth. Then his eyes narrowed and he leered "I like the outfit you put her in though… very nice." He licked his lips with a long pointed tongue to emphasize his meaning.

She shuddered and crossed her arms over her chest. He was right, the low cut blue top she wore with a layered light denim and white lace short skirt, wasn't leaving much to the imagination. At least she was wearing shorts and trainers she thought numbly, half wondering why she would wear such an outfit in this situation. Although to be honest she had no clue how she ended up in this situation in the first place. She was completely unarmed and was pretty sure she had never been in a serious fight before by the way her body was shaking.

"What are you doing!? Get out of here!" another voice shouted from behind her she turned her body around and gasped in horror not even noticing to new cuts in her hands from the sharp stones beneath her. A young man stood there looking barely conscious, his blonde spikes caked in blood, a gash across one eye, a bruised chin, singed side and multiple other wounds. What shocked her most was his blackened right arm that was pulsing with the same black aura of the other mans blade. He spat some blood through heavy breaths then glared her down with one piercing blue eye "Run!" At his command she shifted position ready to scramble up.

"Too late." The words chilled her to the bone, she span around to see him poised to pounce. In less than a second he'd leapt towards her and swung the cleaver down.

"No!" She screamed holding her hands out and closing her eyes in fear and was echoed by the blonde behind her. A blue light burst from her and suddenly but she cowered waiting for the inevitable impact.

"Uargh!" She heard a cry of pain and opened her eyes and the blue light was above her in the form of some giant four legged beast made of a white blue light. She blinked, once, twice… three times.

"Ahhh!" she fell backwards scraping her arms on the rocky ground making them bleed even more, her eyes wide in horror. But she couldn't take her eyes off what was in the beast's mouth. The swordsman was being skewered by gigantic monstrous teeth, the sword had been thrown aside where its point stuck in the singed earth. The beast shook its mouth from side to side then threw him against a tree with a sickening crunch. She stared in horror at the body and there was no doubt in her mind that he was dead, she could feel spots of his warm blood drip down her face. She had never seen a dead body before, never mind watched someone be killed in such a gruesome way…

The beast stepped forward, 'maybe it hasn't seen me yet', She thought shrinking further into the ground. The giant wolf turned and growled settling into an aggressive stance staring straight over her. Despite herself she turned to see the threat and remembered the other, barely conscious man. He still stood firm which she was impressed by, even through her shock. His one open eye caught hers briefly then glared back at the wolf. In that second she saw his face change from shock to determination. 'He's going to try and protect me! Is he crazy?' She thought suddenly deciphering the glance. Just as it clicked she heard the beast pounce over her at the man who was shakily holding a strange metal arrowhead shaped weapon, his face set.

"No! Stop!" She cried holding out her hands once more, not knowing if she was asking the beast to stop, or to stop the man from fighting and ultimately dying. To her surprise the wolf skidded to a halt almost instantly and looked around at her. 'Oh crap… now it's definitely noticed me'. The blonde spared her a quick angry glance, that she could be so stupid as to cry out, when the wolf turned and smirked at her.

As you wish… a female voice answered, powerful yet warm.

She blinked, 'What?'. She stared into the wolf's bright white eyes, 'was that…'

Yes this voice is me. The 'big scary wolf'.The wolf's eyes smiled at her as all aggression left her features. The wolf walked towards her shrinking until she was the size of a dog. When she was a meter away it moulded into a blue white tabby cat and delicately jumped up onto her shoulders curled around her neck and purred softly. She froze in shock still half expecting an attack when the cat rubbed her whiskers against her cheek affectionately and she relaxed slightly. The cat was almost weightless but before she could wonder anymore about it the blonde fell to his knees.

"Oh!" She scrambled to her feet at last, though her legs didn't want to carry her, and wobbled slightly. She ran to him, somehow not dislodging the strange weightless creature around her neck and kneeled down holding his shoulders to stop him falling over.

"Careful… don't touch my arm… it's cursed…" He said with ragged breaths. She shifted slightly so her skin wouldn't touch.

"What can I do?" She asked panicking, 'there's so much blood…' He smiled warmly at her which was the last thing she expected.

"There's nothing you can do, it's been cursed, even I can't heal from this…" He said with resignation, staring deep into the green of her eyes. "Thank you… I don't know how you did it, but you've saved my village… I may not be able to live my dream now but I can die knowing my village is saved from at least one more monster… maybe two… I wonder what will happen if…" then his eyes suddenly widened.

His one good hand grabbed hers so tight it was painful. "When I die something terrible might happen… if it does you need to warn the village… Take my headband and necklace, she should recognise them." He said pointing with his eyes. She hesitated, then untied the cloth tie that was settled amongst blonde spikes and dried blood. She tried not to think about that last bit as she clutched it in her hand feeling her eyes start to tear up as she began to unclasp the necklace. "Tell them… tell them Naruto didn't make it, but the swordsman is dead… and about what might happen when I die… You need to leave, I don't want you next to me if… He comes out…." She looked confused.

The Kyuubi no Youko…The Nine-tailed Demon Fox the cat muttered darkly.

"Kyuubi?" She asked in a mumble, putting the necklace around her own neck for safe keeping, looking at the cat not understanding the word.

"How did you-" he didn't finish the sentence, instead he hacked up more blood. "You have to leave! If the Kyuubi does come out he'll kill you, you need to warn Konoha! The village hidden in the leaf."

Child we should do as he says… It's his dying wish…

"No! I won't leave you here to die!" She felt hot tears on her cheeks, this stranger had been ready to die for her only moments ago. "There must be something I can do!"

Well…

"Is there something?" She desperately turned to the cat once more.

You could… purify him with your life energy, but that would leave you weak as well… if it doesn't work you could be half dead yourself if the Kyuubi comes out… but if it works… it might give the kid a chance for the Kyuubi's Chakra to start healing him.

"I'll do it. Just tell me what to do." She said suddenly determined, even without fully understanding what was expected of her.

But-

"I don't care!" just tell me what to do! We're running out of time!" She shouted angrily.

Naruto stared at her through the pain, wondering why she was talking to herself. His eye drooped dangerously. "No! Stay awake! Talk to me, say anything, just stay awake!" she cried.

You need to concentrate. I'll show you what to do…

"I… I'm Uzumaki… Naruto… a shinobi from Konoha… My dream is… was… to become the next Hokage…" He mumbled slowly as the cat disappeared into a blue light that was absorbed into her body. Her eyes were closed in determination. A white light began to shine from all over her skin making her glow. He could feel himself losing consciousness "Tell everyone I'm sorry I didn't make it… give my headband… and necklace to the Hokage…" His voice trailed off as he slumped forward.

She found the source of her power and released it. She tried to concentrate it to her hands then she suddenly felt him slump forward into her arms.

Don't lose concentration! This is better, your power comes from your life force, your heart. If his heart is next to yours the transfer will be even more effective. Now can you feel the curse on the edge of your mind… focus it towards that…

She focussed her mind, heart and soul into pushing the curse from his body. Inch by inch she could feel it leaving him, but inch by inch she grew weaker. At the back of her mind she felt his own healing power kick into action, helping his unconscious form to mend itself.

After what felt like hours she had finally purified the curse and fell backwards her strength fading, Naruto falling on top of her with a very soft landing. She didn't have the strength or the heart to move him after that so she lay there looking up at the darkening sky.

"Will he be okay?" She breathed barely audible. The cat chuckled.

You should be worrying about yourself… Yes I think he'll recover… though it still might take days for that arm of his to be fully recovered.

So he heals naturally? That's cool… She thought wondering if the cat could still hear her, she didn't think she had the strength for more words.

Yes and fortunately so do you.

I do? She checked the back of her arms. The bloody scrapes had healed over perfectly. Oh that's cool, so if I rest for a bit I'll be back to normal? Whatever normal is…

Yes you will but we shouldn't linger too long… more shinobi might be on their way, we should take him back to the village, you'll be safer there.

The urgency in her voice seemed to bring her back from almost falling asleep where she lay. She pushed herself up gently and helped the unconscious Naruto to roll slowly onto his back. She didn't trust her legs quite yet so she sat eyeing the darkening patches of the forest. On a whim she pulled one of the arrowhead shaped bits of metal from the man's pocket and held it in one hand just in case.

You won't need that, you have me

Oh yeah, that's true… She put it back feeling sheepish. So what should I call you?

My name? I suppose humans call me Kuruka

Kuruka… I like it, and I'm… Her eyes widened suddenly.

I… I… I don't know… She began to shake, she didn't know her own name? Come to think of it… she wasn't sure where she had been before waking up in the crater… she tried to remember something, anything about her life before a few hours ago but it was all blank, all she managed to achieve was a headache. She felt tears again.

Oh my child… don't cry, if I'm right, you've been plucked from a different dimension completely, the journey made you forget things. I'm sure you can find them again and make your way back there, for now how about you use the name Kimika? You are my 'Kimika' after all.

"Kimika… okay that'll do for now, so Kimika and Kuruka?" She said out loud, testing it on her tongue.

What a team. she said brushing a whiskered cheek against hers again. Kimika felt herself smile slightly Now that's better, if you have the energy you should start packing up to leave.

"Pack? What is there to pack?" She stood up and followed Kuruka's suggestions and first picked up the backpack from the crater that was apparently hers, though she didn't recognise it or the strange objects inside, and swung it onto her shoulder. Next she packed Naruto's Headband and other various weapons he was carrying into the bag to make him more comfortable while he recovered.

You should bring the sword too.

"What!? But that thing's cursed! And it's huge!" She said eyeing the ominous blade.

Yes but we need to stop it from falling into the wrong hands again, otherwise what the boy almost died for was pointless…

"Okay good point… Won't I curse myself from touching it though?"

No, you're pure remember? That's how you cured the boy, it shouldn't affect you, but put it in the scabbard all the same.

"Pure? I don't think I'm that innocent." She scoffed.

Not that kind, I mean you have a pure heart, a kind heart… Probably the reason you were chosen and pulled here from your dimension.

"Uh… okay." She said not completely understanding her words.

Kimika eyed the blade doubtfully, slowly put her hand around the hilt then pulled it free from the ground. It was actually surprisingly light, either that or she had super-strength as well. Then she remembered the effort it took to roll Naruto over and shook her head, no… the blade had to be magically lightweight or something… This was a strange place…

She walked ever so slowly over to the body slumped up against a tree deliberately looking away, then tried to harden her resolve with clenched fists. She made her mind as blank as she could and tried not to think as she acted. After a few minutes she had untied the scabbard from the man's back, sheathed the blade and tied it to herself. She stared at the body for another minute or two with an uneasy feeling.

What's wrong?

"It doesn't feel right… leaving him like that… even if he did try to kill me…" She wondered aloud.

She tried not to think about what she was doing as she pulled him onto his back and lay him down with more dignity and closed his eyes. "Well that was gross but I feel better now." As she said it, the body disintegrated into a white dust until there was only a small white orb that floated in front of her for a few seconds before disappearing as well. "What the hell just happened?"

You purified the body, you made it so his next life wouldn't be haunted by the wrongs he did in this one… So a fresh start. It's a really nice thing for you to do actually.

"Oh… I didn't mean to… but good. Does that means when he's reborn he won't make the same mistakes? "

More or less.

Kimika smiled and rubbed the cat between the ears without thinking. Then pulled her hand away suddenly.

"Ah sorry, force of habit… I uh guess I have a cat, back home… wherever that is."

I don't mind, and don't worry about getting back home, we'll find a way. Let's start with getting the boy home, it sounds like he might have an idea of what happened…

"Okay, let's get him home. I hope you know where you're going because I don't have a clue." She walked back over to the man's unconscious form and knelt down beside him again. His breathing was still ragged but most of the pain had left his face. She pushed the blood caked locks of hair aside and pulled a fallen leaf from his face. "Village hidden in the leaf…" She mumbled to herself wondering about the name, the leaf suddenly slipped through her fingers and span in the air above her open hand, until it stopped still and pointed slightly to her right. "Uhhh… a leaf wants me to go that way?"

No child, the forest is showing you the way. You are a spirit guide after all.

"A spirit guide? What does that mean?"

You are our voice, our protector, our avatar if you will. I may be the Spirit of the Forest but there are many others, and the forest itself also has its own will. Your unexpected arrival set things in motion, maybe you were brought here to change something… maybe you were brought here to save this young ones life… I see a lot of potential in him…

Kimika found herself staring at his face and had to snap herself out of it. So many strange things seemed to be happening she decided to just take it on the chin and worry about it later. There were more pressing matters. She stood up again.

"So… how am I going to carry him to Konoha? I hope it's not that far…"

The cat jumped down off her shoulders without a word. She shrunk down to the size of a mouse and crawled underneath the unconscious man. Just as Kimika was about to ask, he was suddenly replaced by a giant white wolf. Kimika looked up with her jaw dropped then grinned widely.

"Now that's awesome." She said and began to climb up onto the wolf with the help of a paw. Now sitting astride the wolf and Naruto safely between Kuruka's shoulder blades, they set off at a fast pace towards their destination, Kuruka leaping elegantly over the newly made ditches and still smoking fallen trees.