This is currently a short story, not meant to branch out into a full plot. This was inspired by the fic Senkei by XxZuiliu, whose (personally) depressing tone got this plot bunny in my head.

Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own Naruto.

Darkness. Her new life was surrounded in darkness, very different from her last life. She was meant to be dead – was this some kind of punishment? She didn't remember committing any crimes, or impacting someone else's life terribly. What did she do to deserve this?

She had a mother. She was sure of it. But there was no comforting presence. Who was her father? Perhaps she was a bastard child, forcibly conceived for further experimentation. She curled up at the thought, hugging herself.

She wanted to leave. She wanted to see the sun shine again. It was dark and lonely – the people around her were either insane or too scared to reach out to others. After all, what was the point when that person you talked to one day disappeared forever the next?

The day she saw her jailer, she lost the will to fight. It could be laughable, how quickly she gave up. That upon seeing a pale face with snake-like eyes and long hair, she stopped struggling. That when she heard the name Orochimaru she thought she would never see the light of day again.

Of course, she still had the small hopes: that enemy shinobi would raid the base and rescue her, or maybe the hero of the show, Naruto, would appear out of nowhere and save the day. Perhaps she would be trained as Orochimaru's pupil and slay him and be free of his clutches. Maybe she would be trained in stealth and sneak out herself into territories unknown.

But she never took action. She watched her cell mates disappear in front of her, following Kabuto's orders obediently, having her body cut open and feel her flesh burn in pain-

She couldn't let go of the small hopes, she reminded herself, because they were the sunshine in her forever dark world. Every day, through the loneliness and pain, she dreamt of her hero, Uzumaki Naruto. Thinking back on it, it was a childish thing to do, dreaming of a savior that would never arrive. But it was the only thing she had; thinking of her own past would only drag herself deeper into insanity, at the sadness that no one cares.

She didn't want to be that person in the background - one of the dead victims that everyone took pity on and just added to the list of crimes on Orochimaru's list. She scolded herself for monologuing her own life to make it more dramatic (then again sometimes it got really boring just sitting in a dark cell all day, so she ended up telling her story to herself from the beginning over and over again) when the situation was anything but.

Timed passed, as time is prone to do. Life was dull, if only somewhat depressing (a huge understatement), but there was nothing much to do. Suicide? The pain wasn't really worth it, and it's not like Kabuto would enjoy having his civilian test subject attempt to dirty his clothes. Plus, it didn't seem dramatic enough when it accomplished nothing except to end her pain.

How old was she, anyways? It would've been nice to know, even if it would amount to nothing in the end. She glanced down at herself. Long, dark hair next to sickly pale skin. Most of her skin was unwashed since she was only cleaned before experiments. Her body hadn't started its monthly annoyance yet, so she assumed to be at least below teen years. Maybe even below pre-teen years. It was a nice thought, being a child again.

Footsteps – she heard unfamiliar footsteps. She glanced out of her small window into the hallway, then to freeze in surprise.

Uchiha Sasuke. The – supposedly – dark and emo avenger had just walked by her cell. He was still dressed in his pre-Shippuden clothes with two holes in the back of his shirt, and if he had ripped them out himself.

Well, that certainly helped her know where she was in the timeline. Then she went back to sitting in the corner.

What? Did you expect her to reach out to him, become his friend, and which would tempt him to rescue her? Or to ask him to train her in the ninja arts so that she could one day escape and run away? As if. Right now, he was an emotionless bastard hell bent on revenge. She didn't think he found any advantage in helping her.

Uchiha Sasuke did little to affect her life, if only as a second's worth of entertainment when he passed her cell and she silently fan-girled at seeing one of her favorite main characters in real life. (Orochimaru definitely did not count.) He looked different up close and his aura of emo-ness was more apparent. He walked with pride and silent killing intent to dissuade any attempts of social interaction. His eyes were cold and hard and focused on the world around him.

(She still wondered why he chose to wear an open-chested shirt, since it just increased the chances of attracting fan-girls.)

More unfamiliar footsteps. There were more than one pair, and they sounded rushed. Visitors, perhaps? She rose from her everyday seat in the corner and walked up to the door to glance out her window, when the door suddenly opened and crashed into her face.

She shrieked in surprise. She did not expect that, and apparently neither did the pink haired teen that had opened the door. She immediately recognized the girl as Haruno Sakura, Naruto's childhood crush and the one trained by Senju Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.

There was a throbbing pain in her nose until a cool wave of medical chakra washed over it and the pain ceased. Behind Sakura stood Yamato and Naruto, the latter looking disappointed but curious. She stared in wonder at her hero, who started looking uncomfortable at her gaze.

It was her hero – the one she dreamed and wished and hoped to come rescue her! It couldn't be possible, because what were the chances that she was born and lived in the one base that Sasuke was in when Naruto came to find him? But there he was. Maybe it was finally time for her to leave this dark place-

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked hesitantly. She stopped staring and looked back to the medic. "Um…who are you?"

The girl shrugged. "How should I know?"

Several emotions flashed across Sakura's face. The girl could only identify pity. "Well, my name is Haruno Sakura, the blond boy-"

"He's Uzumaki Naruto, I know," the girl interrupted, saying Naruto's name as if he were a legend. Their eyes widened in surprise. "And the guy that can do the creepy eyes is Yamato, you have a teammate running around somewhere named Sai, and you're all looking for Uchiha Sasuke." She stood up from where she fell, hiding a pout at how tiny she was compared to them.

Before any of them could question her knowledge, Naruto grabbed her collar and lifted her up threateningly. "Where is he?" he demanded. "Where's Sasuke?"

Sakura reached out to scold him, but then the girl answered. "He's somewhere in this base. Not sure where since I'm in here all day, so you'll have to search for him." She could see the hope and relief entering Naruto's and Sakura's eyes. Yamato's, however, grew slightly suspicious.

Naruto immediately released her, turned back to his teammates, and grinned. "Sasuke's here! He's here! Come on, let's go, 'ttebayo!" He rushed towards out the doorway, completely ignoring the girl (which hurt her feelings slightly, but considering the circumstances, she didn't let it bother her), when Yamato stepped forward and created a wood clone.

"Captain?" Sakura called hesitantly. She still stood next to the girl, unsure if they should take the girl with them. Naruto paused at the door and looked back at them.

"I'll keep a clone here to watch her," Yamato answered. The girl's eyes widened in fear. She didn't want to be left behind! But before anyone could protest, Yamato spoke up again. "She knows too much – she could be another one of Orochimaru's spies meant to trick us. We can't afford to leave her alone, and it would be too dangerous for her to come with us if she really is a defenseless civilian."

Sakura glanced back at the girl before running out of the doorway, Yamato following. Naruto still hesitated (which truly warmed her heart), but the clone shooed him away. But before he could leave, she called out to him.

"I believe in you, Uzumaki Naruto," she smiled softly at him. "Go save your friend." He grinned back and left.

(On the inside, she squealed at the drama of her few words)

The wood clone moved in front of the doorway and leaned against the frame so that he could keep a watch on both the hallway and on her.

The girl was bored. It had been who knows how long since she heard an explosion, and now she was wondering how long the battle between Team 7 and Sasuke really was. But even in her boredom, she grew increasingly uncomfortable at how silent the room was.

There wasn't much to do in the room. It was just a stone room – no bed, no furniture, not even some straw. She wondered if the Yamato clone was bored too, but he seemed so diligent. It had been years since she had any social interaction, so the atmosphere seemed to get more and more awkward. (She was also scared if he would whip out his scary eyes if she did anything threatening by mistake)

The next few moments felt like hours. And the moments after that were terrifying.

A sharp tug on her hair elicited a gasp out of her, making the Yamato-clone straighten in alarm, turning away from the hallway. Then a shadowy figure appeared behind the clone, reaching its arm around his neck.

"Yamato-san!" she cried – momentarily forgetting that he was a clone (he looked so real!) – as the clone was pulled against the other person's chest. The clone clawed at the arm surrounding his throat, his face slowly turning blue. She was forced to her knees.

Only now could she sense the presence of the person behind her. The intruder clutched her hair tightly, vaguely reminding her of Sakura's own experience in the Forest of Death.

To speed up the process, the second intruder (the one who had seized Yamato) stabbed the clone in the back with a kunai. The clone did his best to hang on. The girl's eyes widened in shock, realizing the gravity of the situation and an idea forming in her mind.

"Beware of the man who calls himself Tobi!" she said quickly. If she could just give them a warning- "Don't let Sasuke-mmph!"

The man behind her had placed his hand over her mouth. "Now, now, don't want you spilling any of our secrets." And then the Yamato-clone turned to wood. The girl whimpered and tears formed in her eyes.

At least, she thought, I got to meet my hero. Then her world went dark.

The original members of Team 7 that were present were downcast; they had lost Sasuke again. Sai walked along with them with his usual blank face. Yamato was leading them back to the girl's room. The girl could be a great source of information if she was a spy, or he could be freeing her from Orochimaru's clutches if she was a victim. Either way, his mind was set on bringing her back to Konoha.

But if she wasn't a spy, it was still up to debate as to how she knew all of them by name. Perhaps she had eavesdropped on conversations between Sasuke and Orochimaru? But that wouldn't explain how she recognized them on sight. Thinking about it got him more confused, so he pushed it aside for a future interrogation.

Suddenly, memories rushed into his head. The girl-

"Yamato-taichou?" two of his three subordinates called. They all quickly followed him, confused at his sudden distress, but refrained from asking questions at the serious look on his face.

The team slid to a stop outside a door. It was halfway open, as if whoever opened it left in a rush. Fresh blood was splattered across the floor.

Naruto and Sakura gasped at the very still body lying belly down on the floor. One of its arms was stretched away from itself, reaching for something nonexistent. Its head was turned to the side, allowing them to see the lifeless eyes opened in terror. The kunai stuck into its back had been aimed at the heart – a quick kill.

Sakura covered her eyes, and Naruto grew angry. Before they could do anything, however, Yamato placed a hand their shoulder and turned them around, leading them away from the body. He walked towards the corpse, pulling out a sealing scroll meant for the deceased, and sealed the body into it. Sai watched them with a blank face.

With the scroll tucked into his pouch, Yamato walked back out of the room. "Let's go home," he told them.

Beware of the man who calls himself Tobi. Don't let Sasuke…

He pondered over the girl's last words, mentally preparing himself for the mission debrief once they got home.

Author's Note

So... what did you think? I'd love to hear your opinion. Tell me if there's anything that doesn't fit, because I made this in 2 days without reviewing any facts from canon. Also, tell me if the canon characters were OOC.

The way I had this in mind was that an OC reborn in Naruto might not always end up reborn in the best of places or circumstances. The girl was purposely left unnamed, and at the time of death she was about 10 years old. And unlike some OC fics I've read where their story is short and their ending is not very... happy... I tried to give you more insight to the girl's personal thoughts and feelings.

About The Power of Fire (for those of you who have actually seen it) it is an abandoned project since it was one of those "INSPIRATION! WRITE IT DOWN!" things that I didn't really think over (who doesn't want to write about their own OC?). I might rewrite it, though the only thing I had in mind at the moment I started writing about it was "MAKE BADA** OC WITH BADA** FIRE POWERS!" so I'm leaving it there for now, though it's unlikely. I've had more OC ideas since then that have and actual outline for them (the plot I'm not so sure about though).

Anyways, I have an idea of how I could make this short into a longer fic (as in not having the girl die) but since I don't have any details beyond "the girl not getting killed and going with Team 7" so I'm going to mark this as complete for now.

If you have any questions about the details of the fic (or just want to correct me) you can either PM or review. (I-I'm not forcing you to review, okay? Don't hurt me q.q)

~Kana-chan