Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 1: Rebirth and New Beginnings

The end was supposed to feel like the beginning. It was to be the absence of living, of not existing. Wanda was prepared for anything; she knew that she was approaching the end of her life.

But this was nothing like she thought, nothing like it was supposed to be. When Wanda took her last breath and closed her eyes, she was expecting no more memories, no more thoughts. What type of end was this?

The room was a light blue, washed with the orange glow of a setting sun. She lay curled in a blanket, nestled in the arms of a beautiful woman. The woman or mother, as she wanted to be called, hummed in contentment. The little girl felt sleepy, yawning as she closed her eyes. Mother rocked her, ushering her into the world of dreamless sleep.

Wanda jerked out of the memory in confusion. Where was she? Was that little baby her?

"Come on, my little girl, eat up!" Mother clunked a bowl of blueberries on the table. The baby shrieked with laughter as her father tickled her from behind. It was a warm, cozy family, and the baby was content.

The massacre of the blueberries was interrupted, however, by the sound of the doorbell. Her mother and father looked a little angry, and the little girl frowned. Why were they angry?

A big (fat) man came through the door, with huge footsteps and shifty eyes. Her father rose to greet him, his shoulders tense.

"Is there something we can help you with, Iwate Sato?" Her father was angry- she could feel it. The little girl whimpered, and her mother picked her up and rocked her, hushing all the while.

"I have come to offer an engagement, between your young daughter and my eldest son." Sato lumbered over to sit down. Her mother's lips pressed into a thin line as Sato tracked mud into her newly wiped floors, but she didn't say anything.

"Isn't my daughter too young?" Her father asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"She's perfect. A little age difference wouldn't hurt anyone." Sato leaned forward to peer at the girl's face. His breath was hot and stinky, she didn't like it one bit. So she started to cry.

"I think my daughter is fine as she is." Her mother spoke up, moving the girl away from Sato. He frowned.

"This marriage would greatly help everyone." Sato hissed, looming dangerously. Her father didn't back down.

"If my daughter wants to marry your son, then she shall. But it should be her choice. I don't want my little girl to be forced into something with someone she does not like." Her father's voice was low, yet firm and laced with something dark, something scary.

"You will regret this," Sato hissed, before standing up and stomping out the door. The baby finally started full-blown crying, tears streaming down her chubby face.

Yukino wrung out the yukata, before hanging it on the string and letting the cool spring breeze dry the cloth. If Maddie could see her now, Yukino though wryly. Maddie was Yukino's best friend in a past life, the life of a girl named Wanda. Maddie had always dreamed of being a kuniochi.

Maddie was obsessed with the manga Naruto, and wrote many Fanfiction pieces about rebirth into the Narutoverse. Yet here Wanda was, herself reborn into a strange land she knew very little about.

Yukino stood up and stretched, basking in the glow of the setting sun. Shinobi were very real, of that she had no doubt. She first encountered one when she was only a little toddler. The man was running from a group of strange people with masks – ANBU – and had tried to use her as a leverage piece. The fear that had overcome her was paralyzing.

The ANBU only stopped momentarily, before moving with lightning speed and rescuing little Yukino. She couldn't turn her head, watching with wide eyes as the shinobi took the man and knocked him out.

Her mother was sick with worry, coddling her until Yukino finally insisted that she was fine. It was after this experience that Yukino realized three things:

This world was scary.

I don't want to become a ninja at all.

How on earth am I supposed to survive in a land of ninjas, demons and terrifying lollipop men?

Although Yukino never really read Naruto, she knew the basics due to her obsessed best friend, and even had a few favorite characters. But there were two problems, which plagued her mind and would not let go. For one thing, in which timeline did she become reborn into? The only thing Yukino was certain about was that it wasn't way before Naruto, during the clan wars.

Yukino also wondered where she exactly was in relation to the Five Great Shinobi Countries. It turns out that she lived in a small town on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. So, she wouldn't be seeing much of the ninja.

Yukino shook her head, before heading back inside her house. It was of an average size, painted a cheerful yellow with potted plants decorating a wrap-around porch. In the yard resided a maple tree with a swing hidden in the shade. The smell of cooked salmon wafted out from an open window.

In relation to Yukino's old life as Wanda, this life was incredibly lacking in the technology department. Oh how she missed the Internet. The medical and dental treatment was also very different.

"Did you finish the laundry, dear?" Her mother, Aimi, was a beautiful woman. Her wavy golden hair fell down to her hips, but was currently tied into a bun. Yukino nodded, before skipping past her to her father.

"How are you, sweetie?" He asked, peering over his book to meet Yukino's eyes.

"I'm fine, tou-san." Yukino smiled. There was one thing that she could honestly say that she loved the most about this life- her loving parents.

So how was it?

Please review so that I know what to do to fix it!

I promise to explain more things later, including Yukino's appearance and effect she will have on the Naruto world.