I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever. I only own my OC's and story lines. All other credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump.

Thanks for reading!

Summary:

Naruto's childhood friend, Natarii, is a normal high school student with a normal high school life. That all changes when she has a mysterious encounter with the Akatsuki. Through this horrific experience, Natarii discovers she's their next target because of some mysterious, unknown power she never knew about. After nearly meeting her death, Natarii finds herself mentally scarred and confused. She seeks out training in Konoha in the situation that Naruto isn't able to save her again. When Naruto and Rock Lee are assigned to help her with her training, Natarii discovers she can't use ninjutsu! But why? Her chakra networks are perfectly stable. There are many mysteries that have yet to be unraveled, and many surprises that have yet to come.

Rated T for epic violence, humor, and mild language. (Naruto x OC) Please R&R!


Chapter 1: The Incident

Natarii stared desperately into Naruto's deep, ocean blue eyes, clutching his black jacket sleeve tightly as he was about to leave the room. Her glance screamed the words, "Don't leave me," yet she said nothing. Fear burned within the depths of her gaze. "The Incident" had only happened a couple days ago, leaving Natarii with quite the scar.

It began at the end of the previous week. Natarii said her thanks and goodbyes to the student council president and vice president. The two of them had been working so hard pulling the school's cultural festival together. It was Natarii's job to provide the necessary supplies for each class for their chosen event.

She bowed, large, somewhat overflowing box in hand, and slid the door shut with the tip of her foot. The hallways were empty, which Natarii found to be quite frightening when the hallways are typically crowded and full with mayhem. The brightness of the sunset shone strongly through the large windows. She entered her designated room, Room 1-A, the room where she had participated in class the past year.

It looked exactly the same as it had. The desks were in rows, a square with five desks in each row, with a chair pushed in neatly behind it. The chalkboard was freshly cleaned, but still had noticeable patches of dust on it from the day's use. She saw the second seat from the front in the column closest to the window. That was her window seat. And it didn't change after she moved to class 2-A.

Going back to her duties, Natarii entered the room and placed the box on the front podium Ignoring the fact that the chalkboard was freshly cleaned, Natarii picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a message in the board, describing what the materials were for. Everyone would know what to do with the boxes once they came back from the weekend.

Satisfied, Natarii triumphantly turned around, but was suddenly startled by two mysterious figures in black coats with red clouds on them. One was grotesque, looking like an enormous Venus Fly Trap. Half of its human like body was black, and the other white. The other was human, more or less, and he wore an orange mask with a swirl design on it. The only hole was one for his right eye. The rest of his appearance was a mystery.

"Are you Suroon Natarii?" The words crept out of the masked one's hiding mouth. His voice itself didn't sound all that terrifying. Maybe they weren't so bad, despite their appearances.

Natarii knew to keep calm in a situation like this. She couldn't give away any valuable information. She settled on a sarcastic reply. "Well at least someone knows the name I prefer." She placed her hands on her hips. "Whaddya want? If someone sees you they're gonna call the cops because of your suspicious appearance. To be honest, I'm not that far away from calling them myself."

The masked one turned his head to the mutated one. "White Zetsu," he began, "grab her."

Natarii didn't even have a second. At the end of the mysterious being's words, she had a pair of disgusting, slimy, freakishly pale arms wrapped tightly around her. She struggled somewhat violently to escape from the white, naked body of the strange, foul creature. All attempts failed. Natarii glanced upward to get a closer look at this so-called "White Zetsu." His thin, yellow eyes stared straight at her. He had short, stiff looking green hair and a freakish smile that crept from halfway across his wrinkled right half. Natarii felt as if she was going to throw up, due to the grossness of Zetsu.

"What do you-" Natarii was cut off by the appearance of a mysterious force that came from the eye of the masked one. It seemed to be a vortex of some kind, something Natarii always thought was truly impossible.

Before she knew it, Natarii was was surrounded by a completely different landscape.

It all happened within the blink of an eye. Natarii looked around cautiously, trying not to act too surprised. She was strapped tightly to what reminded her of a dentist's chair, but it wasn't quite the same thing. She could barely move a muscle. Behind her was a ridiculously deep and wide pool of water, and the cavern walls trapped a sense of coolness in the air.

Somehow managing to keep her cool, Natarii finished her question. "What do you want with me?" She asked firmly, but also with a sense of calmness.

"I will be the one asking questions," The masked one said. "If you chose to refuse an answer, you can say goodbye to your little happy world."

Natarii gulped nervously. This wasn't good, although that was obvious from the start. She had a hunch on what that pool of water was used for, and she didn't think it was for swimming. Plus, who knew what else this guy had in store.

The masked being inched slowly toward Natarii. "Have you ever heard of the Tailed Beasts?" He asked Natarii as if he were a detective interrogating a criminal.

"Can't say I have," Natarii answered, feeling uncomfortable with such a dangerous "thing" so close to her.

The guy with the mask backed away. "The Tailed Beasts are creatures with formidable powers. By far, they are the most advanced beings known to mankind." It appeared the masked creature was at least somewhat human. As he continued, Natarii noticed that Zetsu had disappeared.

"There are nine Tailed Beasts: The One Tailed Raccoon, the Two Tailed Cat, the Three Tailed Turtle, the Four Tailed Ape, the Five Tailed Dolphin, the Six Tailed Slug, the Seven Tailed Armored Beetle, the Eight Tailed Octopus, and the Nine Tailed Fox." He paused for a brief moment. "It surprises me. You say you've never heard of these beasts, yet you know of the Nine Tails' Jinchuuriki himself."

"Jinchuu...riki?" Natarii was even more confused. Who was this mysterious man who continuously talked about impossible fantasies? Or did they all just seem impossible?

"The host of a Tailed Beast," the masked man said. "Now, tell me everything you know about him."

"Even if I knew who you were talking about, I would never sell out a friend." Natarii shot at him.

The masked man threw a piece of information at Natarii she never expected. "I'm talking about Uzumaki Naruto."

Natarii's eyes widened with surprise. Naruto was the host of a vicious nine tailed fox demon? "There's no way," Natarii breathed out quietly. "Scientifically, and realistically, that's impossible."

"Just answer my question. If you don't, you will experience the consequences."

Stress and anxiety quickly built itself up within Natarii's mind. This was too much to comprehend at one time. "How am I supposed to answer your question if I didn't even know about this Tailed Beast thing in the first place?" She asked.

"Itachi," the masked man called. In response, another figure emerged from the shadows. He had long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and he wore the same coat as the masked man. "You know what to do," the masked man finished.

Itachi nodded slightly and looked directly into Natarii's eyes. Within a second, Natarii found herself in yet another atmosphere. However, this one seemed to be the least bit realistic. She was floating in mid-air, surrounded by a large mass of black birds that fluttered violently around. It was like utter chaos. It was genjutsu.

Within another second, she was back in the caverns, strapped to the same chair. Itachi's genjutsu, the most elite genjutsu, had failed to work on Natarii.

The masked man was the first to notice, but made no comment. He asked his question once again, but Natarii still refused to answer. Thus, leading the masked man to more drastic measures. He flipped a small switch that was attached to the wall.

Natarii felt an enormous surge of electricity go in an out of her body. It was painful, the most painful thing she had ever felt - like a thousand freshly sharpened needles were plunging deep into her body at once. She screamed loudly at the top of her lungs, hoping the pain would be gone within the next second. But it wasn't. The pain didn't disappear at all, and she was continuously shocked for the next couple minutes, which felt like a couple hours.

Natarii's breathing grew heavy. Between her large, gaping breaths, she managed to say, "Just...what is...it...you're try...ing to...accomplish?"

The masked man began pacing back and forth as he spoke. "You're in my way. As long as you're alive, I can't touch the Nine Tails. That's why after I get the information I want, I'm going to end your life right here."

Natarii couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was every word this guy was saying true? Was this going to be the end of her life? Natarii was terrified, but her outward appearance didn't show it.

"I'll ask again. What do you know about Uzumaki Naruto?" The masked man had his finger on the electrifying switch.

Natarii clenched her fists tightly and gulped. She had to mentally prepare herself for another dose of electrocution. What was there to even say? Either way, Natarii knew this guy was bad news and that she shouldn't say anything even if it did mean death.

After seconds of silence, the electrocution began once again, leaving Natarii in even more pain, screaming and wailing in agony.

The masked man shut off the electricity, leaving Natarii gasping for air, for she was in so much pain breathing seemed nearly impossible. "You have no use to me." The large straps that were holding Natarii down were split in half, and for a split moment she thought she was free. But she was soon levitating, which she assumed was caused by the masked man. She did nothing. She didn't make a sound. Her heart was pumping so fast, too fast for her to even think. There was movement. She was moving. With a quick glance, Natarii noticed she was above the massive pool of water. Instantly, she knew what was coming. She was to be dropped into the pool of water with her wrists and ankles bound with chains, and possibly her mouth gagged. She was destined to drown.

"GET. YOUR. HANDS. OFF HER!" A loud, easily recognizable voice boomed through the area. Natarii knew the voice anywhere. She glanced down toward the shadows on the ground and saw Naruto charging toward the masked man. But he looked different. Instead of those calm, happy, blue eyes, they were full of rage and hate, coated in red.

Natarii called out his name, but it was as of he didn't even hear her. He was inches away from the masked man, but before he could lay a finger on him, the vortex like force came out of nowhere and he disappeared, leaving Natarii falling, plummeting head-first toward the water.

The water stung like tiny needles, and Natarii's numb body was too limp to propel her upward. She was on a one-way trip to the bottom. She had to come up with a plan, but every time she tried to think, she could only think of the pain from the electricity.

Her vision was growing dark. The one thing Natarii didn't have was lung endurance. She could never hold her breath for a long time, and as she continued sinking to the bottom of the pool, the pressure increased. Between her blurred vision, she saw someone plunge into the water after her, but it was all a faded image. She could not identify the person. The last thing she noticed was the person wrapping their arms around her. After that, she blacked out.


Coughing, spurting out large amounts of water, Natarii was surprised to be alive. She sat shakily on her hands and knees like a dog, and a hand rest on her back. Her hair and face dripping with water, and clothes soaking wet, Natarii looked up only to see Naruto sitting there. Was he the one who dove into the water to get her? Obviously, since there was no one else around.

He looked completely normal, except for the fact that he looked completely startled. "Are you okay?" He asked as he tried to catch his breath. He was also soaking wet, and his headband had fallen down to his neck.

Natarii simply stared at him for a brief moment, then threw her arms around him and cried as hard as she possibly could on his shoulder. At first, Naruto was a little shocked, not necessarily expecting this kind of reaction from Natarii, of all people. He eventually returned Natarii's "embrace" and held her tight.

After moments of just sitting there crying, Natarii pushed herself away from Naruto and wiped her soaked eyes. She looked at Naruto, who had turned around, squatting with his hands held out to the back. He looked back at her with a smile. "Come on," he said, motioning for her to get on his back.

Natarii nodded and hobbled on her hands and knees and got on his back. She let her arms hang over his shoulders and she practically buried her face in his shoulder. Her last words to him: "Thank you."


Hello there, readers. I just have a quick note. Every Saturday, I will post a new chapter. At this point, I have yet to fall behind! I am still several chapters ahead, and I don't plan on falling behind anytime soon.

Next is: "Chapter 2: New Surroundings!" Natarii wakes up, but finds herself at Naruto's place! The incident took quite a toll on her mental stability. How long will it take for her to recover? Read next week to find out!

Thanks for reading! R&R! Let me know what you think. Inputs are greatly appreciated. If you don't like it, please tell me why, but be nice about it. I accept constructive criticism.

-ChibiNinja45