Author's Notes: I got the idea for this story from a conversation my daughter and I had about what it would be like if we found a way into the world of Naruto or had lived there instead of here in the first place. How different our lives would be. So the story just sort of came out from my mind to the keyboard today, at least the first chapter. And the main character IS my daughter, isnt that sweet? I dedicate this story to my creative, imaginative, amazing, wonderful child with whom I share the love of writing and roleplaying with. I hope you enjoy. And Happy Valentines Day everybody!

Chapter 1

When all of the other kids her age were off looking at boys and giggling to themselves, wearing makeup and discovering puberty, Miranda was still lost in her own little world of imagination and creativity. Oh, she noticed boys, and discovered puberty not long after her twelfth birthday, but she was still different than the other girls her age. She constantly day dreamed and was always searching for stories in the world around her.

It was nearing her thirteenth birthday as she lay on her stomach in the grass at the town park. It was surrounded by forest, which made it all the more interesting for kids who still used their imagination as much as she did. Because all you had to do for a great adventure was walk up the path away from the playground and disappear into the redwood forest.

Miranda did this often these days. She found her friends drifting further and further away from where she was, losing all interest in roleplaying or character creating as they once had. But Miranda just couldn't shake the feeling she always had in the pit of her gut that there was something special in the world. Maybe it was just her she thought kicking a rock on the trail.

Like many kids with powerful imaginations, Miranda read all the time. She rarely watched television and when she did it was usually some documentary about the world around her. Perhaps there would be something that explained the strange feelings she had about herself and the world in which she lived. Her mother had been the same way when she was a child she had told her one day when she had asked her why she felt so different.

"I never could explain it either. Sometimes I would sit for hours staring out the window so sure I wasn't where I should be. Maybe you can figure it out for both of us." she smiled pulling Miranda's hair back away from her face. She ran a hand over the tree bark and looked up towards the top that she couldn't see in the canopy above as she remembered her mothers words that day.

Miranda whipped her head around, suddenly feeling that she wasn't alone, and looked through the trees around the trail, all she could see were more trees, ferns and the trail disappearing over a small rise in the distance. Holding her breath she listened, hearing only a few birds then the sounds of people talking as she looked back over her shoulder at the trail behind her.

Two hikers appeared smiling and talking as they passed, nodding to Miranda and continuing on their way until they disappeared over the small rise. Miranda let her breath out slowly and tried to shake off the strange feeling she had until she heard a branch crack. She didn't even bother trying to find out where the sound had come from as her feet moved without hesitation.

Darting back up the trail as fast as she could towards the playground, the contents of her backpack hopping around noisily as she jumped over a large tree root. Her foot, not quite making it over, caught on the root sending her face first into the dirt trail. Scrambling up quickly she took off running again still not looking back behind her. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest and the strangest feeling that someone was just behind her washed over her suddenly.

Eyes wide she pushed herself faster up the trail, bursting from the forest with one last desperate leap. Rolling across the grass she sat up and turned facing the forest at the point where the trail began and waited. After a few minutes of watching, her breath slowly becoming even again, she stood up, her eyes scanning the forest edge. She had been so sure there was somebody there. Shivering slightly at the thought she adjusted her backpack.

One last dark look at the forest, Miranda turned and quickly made her way across the park and up the street through town. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had even surrounded by people. Her mother looked up and smiled as she walked through the door, ready to ask her about her day when she noticed the look on her face. Miranda walked straight into her room and shut the door.

"You ok?" she heard from the doorway and looked up "Sure." she replied and went back to her notebook. Her mother continued to watch her for a few minutes "You want something to eat?" she asked finally deciding Miranda would tell her when she felt ready. "No thanks." Miranda looked up and smiled, watching her mother looking her over critically then shrug as she shut the door. "Suit yourself." she smiled.

Miranda stayed away from the forest for a few weeks and spent time in some of her other favorite places around town. She enjoyed watching people interact, it made for good stories she thought smiling at a couple of strangers sharing a cigarette. When she did finally make her way back to the forest, she hadn't forgotten about what happened, but had convinced herself it was her overactive imagination as she stepped up to the trail.

She looked around and sighed "Whatever." By the time she reached her favorite perch on an old fallen redwood she felt comfortable and relaxed with her surroundings again, an idea for a story already running through her head as she climbed up. Being careful of the wet rotting bark and slippery fungus, she stepped up onto one of the broken branches then pulled herself the rest of the way. Scooting up towards the end overlooking the trail and creek down below, she pulled off her backpack, pulling out her notebook.

It was nearly an hour before she looked up and observed the forest around her. She had written at least ten pages of her story, which she had decided to base off her experience on her last visit. Pulling out a snack she leaned back on her palm and listened to the bird pecking away at a tree somewhere off to her left. Eyes widening and sitting up straight, she froze, taking very small quiet breaths, her ears seemed to open up wider as she strained to listen.

The strange feeling of being watched or that something or someone was near made her skin tingle as the hairs on her neck stood up. She hadn't heard anything, she was sure of it. But the feelings were still there. Although she couldn't pinpoint what they were trying to tell her. Last time she had been sure of the feeling that soneone was chasing her, but now she wasn't sure what she felt was happening.

Hands shaking she quickly stuffed her notebook back into her backpack, her pencil slipping off into the ferns below as she pushed herself up and headed for the branch she had used to climb up on. Suddenly she felt a lurch in the pit of her stomach, like that feeling when you miss a step on the stairs and all your nerves jolt, as her foot slipped out from under her and she fell onto her side, right off the fallen tree onto the rocks below.