Chapter 1: Step Off the Cliff

She had forgotten what it was like to feel. She didn't know it was possible, to forget what emotions felt like, what happiness and anger and sorrow and love did to the human heart.

The wind tossed her flaxen hair upon the wind, letting it down only to pick it back up as it swept back through the golden tresses as bright as the sun that shined down upon the earth. She felt small, as small as the gray field mouse that scurried into the light from beneath the safe shade of the bush that sat behind her before disappearing yet again into the darkness. She stood high on a cliff that overlooked a bustling village full of deadly beings in human skin, and her eyes, bluer than the sky, blankly stared down into the crowded shinobi village below her. She took a deep breath, then took one step. Then another. And another. Until she was at the edge of the cliff. She looked down at the sharp fall and then closed her eyes.

And she fell.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei! Why can't we get ramen? It's the best thing after a really hard mission, like the one we just did! And you especially owe us for making us take care of your sorry butt because you overused your Sharingan again! Baka!" The silver-haired jounin gave a carefree smile in reply to his student's ramblings. He felt a stab of tenderness for the blonde-haired baka, hearing the faint tremble of worry in the boy's voice.

He knew he'd worried all of his team when he'd abruptly collapsed after using his Mangekyo Sharingan to warp away some kind of strange jutsu an unfamiliar rogue nin they had encountered had attacked with. But damn, that form of Sharingan was a drain! And it didn't help that he wasn't as familiar as he should be with it.

"Mah, Naruto. Even though you think ramen is the best thing since sealing scrolls, I really don't think your teammates are going to agree with you on that. I think sushi or dango would be more agreeable to them, isn't that right?" Kakashi looked towards the other two on his team, a pink-haired kunoichi named Sakura Haruno and an emotionless, extremely weird shinobi named Sai.

"Yeah Naruto! I like sushi better than I like ramen! And don't call Kakashi-sensei a baka, baka! That's rude!" Sakura smacked Naruto lightly on the back of his head, knowing they were all still recovering from their ordeal. Naruto had gone a little out of control with the Nine Tail's power and he was still healing the burns from the chakra cloak that had formed. Luckily he'd been calm enough to simmer down and not increase to two tails of chakra. One tail was more than enough to cause damage.

"Whatever, Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled, eyes narrowing down while he glanced away, not making eye contact with anyone. The others didn't notice his odd behavior, but Kakashi did. He knew something was weighing heavily on his bright student, and if the boy was distracted by ramen, the jounin knew he'd never catch his attention. Heaven forbid Naruto be distracted from consuming all the ramen within Konoha. What a shame that would be.

"Well, let's just get sushi today, Naruto. We can have ramen next time we come back, alright?" Kakashi didn't exactly feel comfortable being the peacemaker of the group. He was more often than not one of the sides of the conflict.

"Okay, sensei. As long as it's your treat next time!" Naruto perked up at the enticement of free ramen in the future.

Kakashi laughed quietly. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Naruto."

Just then, a dark cloud passed over the sun, a grey blot in the previously clear sky. Kakashi gazed up suspiciously at the lonely puff, a shiver making its way down his spine before he turned to follow after his bickering students. He tried to get rid of the ominous feeling of worry that settled in the back of his mind, but it was no use.

Something was going to happen. And chances were that something wasn't going to be something good.

"Why do you have to be so lazy, Shikamaru! How did you even graduate from the Academy with how lazy you are! Argh!" Ino pulled sharply at her long blonde hair, halfway pulling it out of the high ponytail. The focus of her ire, a lanky, spiky haired shinobi by the name of Shikamaru Nara, lazily blinked over at her before blowing out a short sigh and closing his eyes. He'd been feeling vaguely unsettled all day and it was starting to get to him. Chouji, a burly shinobi from the Akimichi clan, had realized early on that something was bothering his best friend. He was keeping his distance, knowing the Nara would confide in him when he was ready.

Asuma, the team's sensei, had also felt the disquiet that hung over the whole village like a funeral shroud. It was an unfocused feeling, yet it was undeniably there. It was like the village was waiting for something to happen. For some event to pass. For some omen to arrive.

Or rather, someone to arrive.

The Sarutobi momentarily lost his breath, cigarette falling out from between his lips, when he ran into something solid but soft and warm. He heard Ino's strangled gasp, the rustle of Chouji dropping his bag of chips (Chouji dropped his chips? What?) and Shikamaru's hum of genuine amusement before he opened his eyes to see what he'd run into.

It was a female Yondaime.

The large blue eyes fringed with dark lashes that were slightly hard to read yet still held enough warmth to make one feel safe. The bright yellow hair that was so distinctive in a country where the majority were brunettes. The pointed chin, the high cheekbones, the arched golden brows.

She looked more like the Yondaime than Naruto did. And that was saying something…

"I apologize for running into you, shinobi-san. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings." Her voice, low and musical, held not even a bare hint of regret. Asuma knew she didn't mean it, the apology rang insincerely in his ears, as if she was reciting it by memory. There was no feeling to it at all.

"Nah, it's alright. I wasn't paying attention, either." He rose to his feet with an ease of movement that showed no sign of the shock he still felt inside. "I should apologize as well." Asuma started to bow in a request for forgiveness from the young beauty, but she rose and turned her back before he'd even finished talking.

"No apology is necessary. Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to. Farewell." The four shinobi watched as her golden hair flashed as she disappeared around the corner.

Shikamaru didn't like the woman. He'd had the same thoughts as his sensei, immediately seeing the resemblance.

Her presence couldn't just be a coincidence. And Shikamaru could feel one hell of a headache coming on.

Time for a nap.

She was sure she had seen a flash of recognition in the eyes of the shinobi that smelled of an ashtray. Her nose wrinkled at the acrid smell of ash that lingered in her clothes. Just one brush with that man was enough to wipe his scent all over her. She didn't like it.

The woman wandered through the village until she found a relatively cheap yet well-maintained hotel to rent a room for the night. Come morning she would decide what she was going to do. Should she leave Konoha and set out to find the ones who, in one cloudless night, destroyed all that had been left of her life? Or should she stay in the village where painful reminders lurked around every corner of the one who stole her heart… and then crushed it into unrecognizable pieces that could never be put back together again?

Lips the color of a pale rose thinned while a shadow of pain crossed her blue eyes. She was well aware that her mangled heart had already chosen and she didn't really have a choice.

Now, to wait for the yellow sun to flash over the horizon, bringing with it a new day.

And, perhaps, a new hope.

A/N: Word choice, word choice! ;-) This is a new story I got inspired with. Another OC one, hopefully no Mary-Sue. If it gets to be too Mary-Sueish, tell me and I'll endeavor to fix it! Some pairings, past and present, are decided, but I'm keeping them a secret… why? Because I'm cruel like that! Until next time!