Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the picture of Shikamaru and Himawari (she's an OC I found on deviantart, she looks kind of similar to the character I've made), although this story is my own invention and Sarah Amaya is my original character. Kishimoto is a genius and he deserves a round of applause for his work.

A/N: This story takes place after the great ninja war. But in my story, it's the time frame before Naruto becomes hokage, so I have Tsunade as hokage. (Although I am fully aware that Kakashi was made hokage after Tsunade. I "wrote" this story before Naruto actually ended.) This story is about Sarah Amaya (me, obviously) escaping the Ryuji clan of the village hidden in the mist, and coming in contact with Shikamaru Nara. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will leave it there! It's a very good story, probably my most complex. So I hope y'all enjoy!

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Chapter 1

My feet ached as I ran across the still sea. My legs forced themselves to move in the thought of being free. Free from the Ryuji family. The sun had long set and I had probably been running for two hours, focusing the chakra to my feet so I didn't plunge into the sea. I could feel my chakra diminishing with every stride I took. I knew if I took my focus off of my chakra usage, I would definitely sink. But the thought of escaping was enough motivation to keep me going for five hundred miles.

When I was six years old my family was murdered. They were taken from me in the blink of an eye. The only family I had left to go to was my mom's sister, Shiori. She and her family wanted nothing to do with me. They called me a traitor and threw me on the street.

I was six, how was I supposed to know what a traitor was and why my flesh and blood didn't want me? It was then Chiyo found me wandering the streets of the Village Hidden in the Mist. His father, Raika, is the leader of the Ryuji clan, and an evil, malevolent man. He treated me as a daughter for a while, then caste me away just like the rest of the world, and used me as a tool to do his dirty work.

Twelve years later I find myself fleeing the village in hopes I can escape the evils of the Ryuji clan and enter a new, hopeful life in the land of fire. I just had to reach the grass and trees of the land of fire and I would be fully content with my being. I spent all my life in the land of water, only leaving the village on missions to kill or steal. I was sick of it and I wouldn't stand for it any longer.

Out of nowhere, something lunged itself into my left shoulder, knocking me down. I skidded across the water and then sank under. Waves began to arise and I couldn't find the surface in time. I swallowed sea water and my lungs became heavy. I cursed at myself and kicked my legs as hard as I could to reach the surface.

'Air! I just need air!'

I gasped and swallowed as much oxygen as I could when I reached the surface. I slowly started to focus my chakra to my feet in order to stand. Coughing up sea water, I held my left shoulder with my right hand. I swiftly pulled the kunai out of my shoulder, the pain seared through my body like fire. I knew what it was and what was happening; and more importantly, I knew who did it.

Chiyo.

I turned around to find a tall, handsome boy with chestnut hair and emerald eyes looking at me with pity and sorrow. He had bruises on his face and his right eye was swollen. Raika had beaten him into coming to get me and convince me to come back. Clever.

"Sarah," Chiyo took a step towards me.

"Don't!" I spat. "Don't come any closer to me, Chiyo. I'm serious this time. I'm leaving—for good." I turned to leave and Chiyo's voice screamed through out my whole body.

"You're going to die!" he cried.

I stopped for a moment, and then turned to face him once again. He meant the wound he inflicted on me. I looked to my feet and saw nothing but blood draining into the sea. My whole left arm was soaked in it. I shook my head. "I don't care," I barely whispered. I looked up at Chiyo's bright green eyes, "It doesn't matter if I die. As long as I touch one blade of grass from the land of fire, I will know I reached my goal to be released from the horrors of this clan."

"You can't do that!" he boomed in despondency. "If you don't come back, the poison I put in your system will kill you in less than an hour. You have to come back and get the antidote. Other wise you will never see the land of fire." Chiyo crossed his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes. I knew what he was doing, and he was probably right. The chances of me reaching the land in fire in time were slim; very slim, but I had to try anyway.

"Don't you see?" I said gently. "Dying would be a release in of itself." When he heard those words his shoulders sank and he dropped his arms to his sides. I understood how he thought of me, and he understood how I thought of him, but neither of that would change my decision to be free.

"You leave me no choice…" Chiyo began a numerous amounts of hand signs, "Mi, Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, Tora," his chest filled with oxygen and his cheeks puffed up. I knew what was coming, so I built my chakra up and clapped my hands together.

"Fire Style: Fire ball jutsu!" Chiyo blew a storm of fire towards me.

"Water style: Water shockwave jutsu!" I countered.

The water around me swiftly made a spinning vortex taller than ten times my height. Chiyo's fireball jutsu burnt out when it made contact with my vortex. While he was in the midst of summoning another jutsu, I created a wave at the top of the vortex. I brought my arms down to my sides so fast it killed my left shoulder. I grimaced in pain and grabbed my shoulder in pain. The wave came down on Chiyo before he could finish his hand signs for the next jutsu. He went tumbling under the waves and I turned to leave. I turned halfway and made the sign of the tiger.

"Wind style: Air bubble" I whispered to myself. The bubble plunged into the sea and when it rose it had an unconscious Chiyo inside. "Go back to the village." The bubble flew itself above the waves and eventually it was out of sight.

The pain in my shoulder was so great it was hard to see, but I pushed on anyhow. I needed to reach the grounds of the land of fire. Everything was a haze and I began to feel my body giving out. My heart rate started to slow, and my breathing became shallow.

"I'm not going to make it," I thought with panic. It seemed I would collapse any second, but then I saw something in the distance. I saw tops of trees, as if they were on some sort of mountain. A new adrenaline drove me. It spread through my veins like morphine. I no longer felt pain because all I could see was the land of fire right before my very eyes. It was so close I could almost taste the fresh air and feel the soil. My legs pushed harder and harder the closer I got. I didn't even have to concentrate on focusing my almost faded chakra because I was almost there. I closed my eyes and kept straight ahead. I felt light on my feet, as if I was running on air, then, without seeing; I felt the soil and grass of the land underneath my feet. I opened my glossed-over eyes and kept running. I jumped from tree to tree, getting as far into the forests of the land of fire as I could before my body reached its absolute limit.

"I'm free!" I screamed in my mind, but laughed out loud. The pain came back and my foot got caught on a tree branch, causing me to fall down and hit the ground. Tears filled my eyes, and I heard the songs of birds in the distance. The sun felt so good on my face as it rose from the horizon. I smiled a weak, exhausted smile and closed my eyes.

"Chiyo…" I breathed. "I'm free."

Then everything went black.

A/N: Alright! First chapter down. NOTE: the "Wind Style: Air Bubble Jutsu" doesn't exit. I made it up because I couldn't find a jutsu anywhere that was a defense justu for wind chakra. So I used my creative license for that one. Basically how it works is you create the bubble and you can tell it what to do and where to go, and it will safely bring cargo or messages wherever you want it to. How do y'all like it? I really love this story and I hope you all enjoy reading this. I know it's an original character, but wait me out! I've worked really hard on this story, and I really hope you give it a chance. I think some people might really enjoy it. Plus, I have hints of SasuSaku and NaruHina in here as well. So bear with me!

I would really like to know what is working in this story and what is not working. Write a review, good or bad, or send me a private message with tips and what not. I'm excited to see who my Shikamaru Nara fans there are! I love him to death and I am very, very thrilled to see what y'all think. SHIKAMARU IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.