I know it's been a while since I've written anything, but I just graduated college and am trying to get back in to writing for fun again. I appreciate constructive criticism, but all I ask is that you are respectful.

In case you are confused, the italics are thoughts. Plain text is dialogue.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than my original character.

Darkness.

It was all she could feel and all she could see. She was but a tiny speck floating in an infinite dark abyss. Did her existence even matter? Did she become necessary to someone? Had she finally died and this empty, black nothingness was all her life afforded her? There was a light in the distance, she had to chase after it if she had any hope of finding answers...

"Agh...my head..."

A distant rumbling of a great waterfall and a cool breeze lifted her up off the ground. Smooth rocks and small branches dug into her skin. Every muscle and bone ached as she rubbed her throbbing head. Something wet and sticky stuck to her palm and she opened her eyes.

"Blood? But how...?"

Violet eyes drifted upwards to the cliff. A piece of her shirt fluttered in the breeze on broken branch in the cliff face. She couldn't remember the fall or much about how she got there. All she could remember was being chased and wanting to go home.

"Suna..." She looked back to the surrounding forest "I have to get back to Suna."

Her bones creaked as she attempted to lift herself upwards. A sharp and very sudden pain in her leg forced her back to the ground. Sweat dripped down her brow as she panted and noticed the kunai which stuck out of her bloodstained pant leg.

"You've got to be-" She tried to pull the kunai out of the back of her thigh and hissed. It was thoroughly wedged in to her muscle-possibly in the bone. Pulling it out without any knowledge of medical jutsu would mean bleeding out in a matter of minutes.

She wouldn't give up, even though there wasn't any evidence of human life anywhere near here. She couldn't remember what it was, but something deep inside told her that she had to move. However, the pain was so great and she was so exhausted. Despite the odds being against her, she decided that at least trying to make an escape from the valley would be preferable to slowly starving to death.

The young woman studied her surroundings carefully. Nearby the cliff face, approximately ten feet from where she laid, was a forest. The trees were lush, green, and healthy. Perhaps she could use their thick trunks for support or break off a branch to use as a crutch.

"It's worth a shot."

Slowly and carefully she pulled herself towards the forest. The wound in her leg throbbed each time she moved. A thin trail of blood followed her. Overhead, a flock of birds were starting their migration westward-the same direction she was intending to go. If she could make it that far.

Once she was beneath the forest's shade, the woman grabbed hold of a knot in a tree trunk. She pulled her shirt collar up into her mouth and bit down hard as pain shot through her injured leg as she hoisted herself off the ground. It was then that she noticed the twelve white lines against her tanned skin. The woman panted and leaned her body against the tree. When she was certain she wouldn't fall, she lowered the collar and gently ran her fingers over the scars.

"One for each year..."she murmured. So much time had been lost and she could barely remember any of it. She began to wonder if anyone back home could even remember her. Maybe it would be best to forgo traveling back to Suna and just settle down in the closest village.

The young woman shook her head sending sandy blonde tangles flying. The fall may have erased some parts of her memory, but a certain childhood recollection would never fade.

"I can't...I gave him my word and my word is my bond. Especially because of him...I would never have survived whatever that place was."

She stumbled forward, but did not fall. Eventually, she would come across a village which would hopefully have some healers and knowledge as to how she could travel back to her village hidden in the sand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto didn't have much in mind for this Saturday morning. Most of his friends were either away on missions or preparing for the upcoming Chunnin exams. He had already eaten breakfast and even considered cleaning his apartment, though that idea was discarded almost as quickly as it was brought into mind. Now, he found himself running up a hill. To the average passerby, the hill was nothing more than a hill and Naruto was just another ninja engaging in some sort of endurance training. However, Naruto knew the significance of this hill because it was the very same hill he and his friends raced each other up when they were younger.

"I can't wait to see what my new time is!" Sweat dripped off his brow as he huffed and puffed his way up the forest hill. Sunlight peeked through the treetops and kissed his glistening skin as his jacket fluttered behind him. The record tree was almost in sight, he could feel it.

He closed his eyes and pushed himself to go faster. All those times where he was surpassed by his friends who were faster were now so far behind him. Now, he would be the first to reach the tree.

Once he reached the climax of the hill, the blonde nin was surprised to seethe the was not the first to reach the tree. There was another who had already beat him to it.

"A woman...?"

The woman laid slumped against the tree with her head hung low. Sandy blonde hair covered her face like a curtain. Dried blood caked her neck and the kunai that stuck out of her right thigh. Despite her weathered appearance, Naruto could tell that she was quite beautiful, but he could also see that she was a stranger since he knew practically all of the faces in his village. He approached with extreme caution and Naruto thought she was dead. However, when he was mere inches from her, he could see her chest slowly rise and fall beneath her dirt-stained white nurse's uniform.

"W...w...water..." She murmured with dry cracked lips, "P...p...please."

Naruto untied his jacket and draped it across the woman's shoulders. The bloodstained ID badge she wore read 'Fushimi Higarashi' but the photo was that of an older woman in her mid-forties , whereas the woman who laid next to him appeared to be in her twenties.

"Don't worry. I'm going to get you to a hospital." He assured her, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. You're gonna be alright."

"N...Naruto...?" She repeated. She tried to lift her head and her hair parted enough so she could see deep blue eyes and yellow hair. Before she could see any more, she felt a sharp pain at the base of her skull and fell unconscious against Naruto's chest.

The orange clad man froze for a moment, but her rushed and labored breathing assured him that she was still alive. He didn't know much medical ninjutsu, but he knew that if she didn't receive treatment fast that she would have no hope of survival.

He scooped her into his arms, surprised by how heavy she was despite her frail appearance. From this close proximity, he noticed that she wasn't actually frail at all. In fact, she was quite muscular. The only other women who he knew were this muscular were taijutsu experts.

"Could she be a ninja? Aw, man. If she is from an enemy village, then this could mean serious trouble and there's no way I would endanger my village. Especially now that we're just starting to recover from Pain."

Despite his reservations. Naruto kept running. Regardless of what her original purpose was, she was harmless now and in his custody. More answers could be gathered from her being alive than if she were dead. He watched the woman as she slept peacefully in his arms. There were scars running down her forearm. They looked thin and precise, almost unnoticeable in a passing glance. They resembled the tally system he and his friends used to keep score in a game.

The city was clearly in sight by now. Naruto leapt up onto the rooftops, forgoing the crowds in the streets below. The hospital was only a few minutes away. He just hoped that this mysterious woman could make it that far.