Hey guys. This is NarutoXOC, so if you don't like that, that's okay, but I still encourage you to read this. The OC is me. Some Grimdark/self-harm/angsty themes, but they are not the main focus. If it seems like it is progressing quickly, just remember that it took me three months to write three days. The writing is a little forced in the beginning, but believe me when I say that it gets better. Many people have passed judgement, mmkay?

When Team Seven gets a new team member description yadda yadda. Naruto basically...wait, don't wanna give away the obvious ending for you lovely people.

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A figure walked through the gates of Konoha one day, the guards nodding as she passed. She was shrouded head to toe in black, her face covered in shadows. What skin was visible was a light olive tone, and she carried what looked like a metal club on her back. It was thin and had some padding on the handle for a better grip. Quickly, as if she was skimming above the ground, she made her way to the Hokage's office and gave a report to Lady Tsunade. She had dark circles under her eyes and it had the effect of making her look well beyond her years, if not tired as heck. On the other hand, her chocolate brown eyes had an eager twinkle to them. She spoke fast, and her voice cracked occasionally as she spoke, an effect not of stress, but of growing up. The girl may have looked older, but her voice still gave her away as a teen.

"As per your request, I am a shinobi from the Night," she pointed to the crescent moon emblazoned on her forehead protector and gesticulated widely as she spoke, "I will find a permanent residence in the Leaf, carrying out missions like one of your own. You can see how far the Night has come, all the while reporting back to my homeland. I hope that our villages can become allies." The girl offered a shy smile.

Tsunade nodded, "Here is your Leaf headband, you will be joining Team Kakashi for now to fill in the spot left by Sakura."

The girl cocked her head as she swapped out the headbands and dropped her cloak of the Night, folding it neatly before it disappeared into thin air, her auburn hair nearly falling out of the bun she wore it in, "What happened to her?"

"The Sand needed her to make vast quantities of healing medicine, as a plague has come to their village. Sakura just left early this morning, and we do not expect her to return for quite a while. May I ask your name?"

At that moment, impatient Naruto burst through the Hokage's office door, "So where's the new team member, Grandma Tsunade?"

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Right here, Naruto."

The girl blushed slightly and waved.

Naruto squinted, "Hu? I've never seen you around before."

"W-well, I uh, that's because we were in different years at the Academy, Naruto."

"Oh, well, in that case, welcome to Team Kakashi!"

As if on cue, Kakashi walked in and gestured to Naruto, "Hello. Sorry about him, he's a little enthusiastic."

The girl shrugged and cracked a lopsided smile, "It's no big deal. The name's Tori. I'm really looking forward to being with you guys."

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"Hey, Naruto?"

Naruto turned to look at Tori, "Yeah?"

"Well, I'm not really from the Leaf-"

"I knew it!"

Tori laughed, "I came here from the recently developed Night Village, and I need a place to stay. Would you mind if I stayed with you?"

"It's a little small, but hey, the more the merrier. First, though, I have to meet Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji for barbecue." He licked his lips in anticipation.

"Yeah, and please don't tell anyone where I'm really from." She followed him through town to the restaurant, casually taking in the sights of the quaint village.

They met Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru outside of the restaurant and were about to go find a table when Sai happened to be passing by, so Naruto asked him to join them for dinner.

"Oh, by the way, this is Tori," Naruto introduced her to Sai, and she waved shyly.

"Hello, uh," This must be the new team member Lady Tsunade told us about. I'd better think of a nickname fast. Personality trait and girls like to be called the opposite of what they are, "Ugly." (a/n: lol I know what you're thinking, but I couldn't resist)

Everyone's mouths hit the floor in astonishment and as they looked to Tori for her reaction, she just laughed, "You're not going to pick up very many girls with that attitude, is that what you were trying to do? The cool jerk approach? Don't waste your time, I've seen it all." From a distance, nobody in my village will go near me, and I've heard it from my only friend.

"W-what? No! I was just... I read that giving people nicknames helps bring you closer, that they're based on personality traits, and I've come to the conclusion that girls like to be called the opposite of what they are."

Tori raised an eyebrow, but appeared otherwise unfazed by the veiled compliment. She didn't get very many, so she was more than a little skeptical. Ino, on the other hand, was fuming, and Shikamaru and Choji had to hold her back.

The brown-haired girl slid into a booth to watch this all unfold. Shikamaru and Choji lost their hold on Ino, who punched Sai and he went flying. Unfortunately, he crashed into Naruto and Ino prepared to pounce on them both. Tori turned her head towards Ino, made a few hand signs under the table, then crossed an arm over her chest and put a hand on her chin, wearing a mildly amused expression on her face.

"Stop. You're taking this far too harshly. Just let it go. You're actually quite pretty." That should help, but I still need to watch my back. She seems to be a loose cannon.

Ino sighed and visibly calmed down, "Thanks, I guess." Who does this girl think she is? Who is she? I know she can't be from the Leaf. Let's see if I can find out who she really is. She sat down across from Naruto, Sai, and Tori, then Shikamaru and Choji filed into the booth after her.

Tori tensed and her breath caught, but she made another hand sign to release whatever strange jutsu that was. Immediately, the waitress brought out everyone's usual, as they came here often, and asked the newcomer, "What can I get for you today?"

With only a cursory glance at the menu, she answered, "The chicken Yakitori, please, (a/n: lawl, cos it has my name in it) three orders of it."

"Really, now, can you eat all of that?"

She shrugged, "Whatever I can't finish, I'll take back home."

The waitress raised an eyebrow, but returned later, after everyone else was almost finished ('cept fo' Choji), with the perfectly marinated, perfectly skewered, pieces of chicken. Tori's mouth began to water as she cooked the Yakitori skewers over the open flame. She didn't even wait for it to cool off before she took a bite.

"AHH! HOT! Hot!" Everyone at the table was laughing as she fanned her mouth and took big gulps of water.

"I thought only Naruto could do something that stupid," said Ino.

"HEY! That's not nice." Naruto said indignantly, his lips in a pout.

Ino rolled her eyes. Tori's chicken had cooled down enough by that time, so of course she wolfed down every last succulent bite. All three orders. Everyone looked at her in shock, except for Choji, who was still too busy savoring his meal. Man, she eats as much as Choji, Shikamaru thought.

Tori smiled not noticing, or pretending not to, that they were all looking at her, "Ah, that was good." She took out her wallet, did some very quick mental math, and put her share of the bill on the table.

Naruto looked in his wallet, but came up empty, "Sorry guys, I spent it all on a bowl of Ichiraku ramen. Or two...or three..."

She shrugged, "It's no biggie, here." Tori added another share onto the pile.

"Thanks!" He beamed at her, "We should probably start heading back to my place because we have to be up early for ninja training." After the rest of them placed their shares on the pile, they said goodbye and set off to their respective homes. Tori couldn't help but overhear a loud conversation between Ino and Shikamaru.

"That new girl is strange, and did you hear? She's staying over at Naruto's! They can't just be friends, what with how they looked at each other. What does she see in him, anyway?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "So? You're reading too much into this, Ino. And if she really is going out with him, who cares? That's great for them."

"I think we should figure this out." Ino pulled Shikamaru behind a building.

"What a drag," Shikamaru replied, "I was looking forward to taking a nap."

Tori snickered, grabbed Naruto's hand and whispered in his ear, "Just play along."

Naruto blushed, and though he had no idea what was going on, he nodded.

They got to the door of Naruto's cramped apartment and he let go of her hand to fish around in his pocket for his keys. He unlocked the door.

"Hey, foxy," Tori said with a wink. She glanced back discreetly to make sure Ino was paying attention (she was), "I know we fixed your bed, but are you sure it's gonna be okay?"

"Y-yeah, and if not, there's always the floor." Naruto had turned several shades darker. He opened the door and they walked inside, shutting it behind them.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that all about?" He raised an eyebrow.

She rubbed her neck, "I overheard Ino say that she thinks we're together and that she was going to follow us around, so I thought, 'Well, why the heck not?' Messing with people's heads is fun."

Naruto felt a little deflated, Wait, why do I feel this way? Sakura's the only girl for me, "Oh, okay."

"You should've seen the look on her face, priceless," she mimicked it perfectly and began to laugh. Naruto soon joined in.

"We should do more stuff like this, think of some more pranks." She grinned, "It'll be fun."

Tori jumped about a foot, "Oh!" She reached out and seemed to be groping around for something, then pulled a backpack out of thin air!

"EEEH?!" Naruto leapt back.

"It's annoying to have to carry everything around all the time, so I just stash it in the shadows. Then it's all right where I need it. Just one of the many secrets of the Night." She winked, rummaged around in the pack, and pulled out a sleeping bag, pajamas, and what looked like a CD.

"Do you have a video player? I have something to show you and it might improve your ninja training methods," Tori asked.

"Yeah, sure, hand it to me, I'll get it set up." He took the DVD and motioned for her to get ready for bed. She took her pajamas and a toothbrush into the bathroom and came back a few minutes later, the movie (or whatever it was), all ready. Naruto was already in his loose nightclothes. When he saw her, he couldn't help but notice how cute (a/n: not complimenting myself, this is a love story) she looked wearing her mismatched fuzzy socks, oversized T-shirt, and baggy soda pop pants.

Tori folded her clothes neatly and threw them and the toothbrush back in the bag, which vaporized. She plopped down on the floor next to Naruto and tugged the remote out of his hand.

"Hey!" He tried to get it back, but she held up a hand.

"Before we start, I need to say a few things. Baseball is not just a game - it can be used to improve your strength, speed, agility, and strategy, so it is perfect for ninja training. There are nine innings in a game, and each inning both teams have a chance to score runs. They do that by hitting the ball with a bat and advancing across the bases until they make one complete round, coming back to home plate. The rest I'm sure you'll understand as you watch." Tori was about to hit play, but Naruto raised his hand.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"A bat? You're not telling me they hit the ball with an actual bat, right?"

She snorted, "No," and picked up her thin metal club, smacking it lightly against her hand, "this is a bat. I don't carry this around just for hitting people, y'know."

"Oh, okay." He stole the remote back, "Ha," and pressed play.

In the beginning, Naruto had to ask a few questions, but soon he was disputing calls just like a true fan.

"OH COME ON, UMP! HE WAS SAFE! DID YOU SEE THAT? HE WAS SAFE!"

Tori nodded, "It's a shame, but keep watching." They had unconsciously drifted closer and he had even put his arm around her. Naruto gently rubbed her arm, paying close attention to the game. He didn't know, but she had fallen asleep. Traveling really takes it out of you.

"Wow, that was great." He yawned, "Time for bed." He shut off the TV and got up, leaving Tori to flop over onto the floor.

"No, I don't want the pink one," she mumbled and rolled over, still sleeping soundly. Naruto laughed, then folded her into the sleeping bag and tucked himself in.