Obviously nothing but the OC belongs to me.

Paper Stars
Prologue - An Unfortunate End

Something should have set off alarms that day when I suddenly had the urge to indulge in an old nervous habit. I just brushed it off and figured it was my job interview giving me the jitters. Nothing I couldn't handle, or so I thought. Little did I know that today would be my last.

I woke up, took a shower, put on the outfit I set out the night before, and put my make-up on. After triple checking myself in the mirror, I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. As I passed the coffee table in the living room, I paused and stared at the small plastic tube containing thin strips of multicolored paper. Should I? Nodding to myself, I picked it up and shoved it in my bag and left the apartment.

It was supposed to be a good day. Mr. Weatherman was wrong on his predictions, it would seem. Glaring up at the sky, I rushed toward the bus stop. Thankfully it was just across the street and I could see the bus just rounding the corner. By the time I got onto the bus, however, my make-up was already a mess. Sighing, I dug through my purse for my back-up compact and eye liner to see if I could salvage my face. My work was less than perfect but it would have to do. It took five minutes to fix up what I could and I was left with 15 minutes of absolute boredom. I guess now is as good as any. It will help keep me calm and prepare.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out the plastic tube and popped it open. Pulling out a purple strip with a star pattern, I started folding it. Fold here, wrap around, and here, one, two, three... I was so focused on the paper, I didn't notice the thug get on the bus and sit in front of me. Pinch here and here and... done! Holding the paper star in my hand with a small smile, I was just about to pocket it when the man in front of me stood up and shouted at the passengers.

"Everyone hand over the money! And keep the bus going, no stops!" he demanded, waving a pistol in the air. There was an air of terror permeating the bus and everyone started to panic. "Are you people deaf? HAND OVER THE MONEY!"

Unfortunately, I didn't have any cash in my purse and tried to hide in my seat in hopes of being unnoticed. My bad luck had not run out as he turned and noticed I was the only one who hadn't coughed up the dough and aimed his gun at me. "I said, hand it over!"

I shook my head and was about to explain that I didn't have any but Mr. Trigger-happy didn't give me the chance. There was a loud bang and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor staring at my clenched fist. There were screams and more bullets were fired but I couldn't hear it. Pain washed over me and all I could think was, Please... I don't want to die.

As the world began to darken, I felt a sharp tugging in my back and then there was nothing.

Chapter 1
Rebirth

I didn't know how long I was asleep in the darkness but when I started to regain consciousness all I could think about was that I was going to be late for my interview. I tried to open my eyes but they were so heavy. Not a second later my brain registered the biting cold. Did I kick the blankets off again? It's still August, it shouldn't be this cold yet.

I tried to move but something was holding me down. That's when I started to panic. When I finally woke up, I wished I had stayed unconscious. My scream echoed in the empty room as I began to struggle, the pain was excruciating. I couldn't form any coherent thoughts it hurt so much. It felt like I was burning and ripping apart and being frozen at the same time. I felt so weak but the adrenaline kicked in and I couldn't stop screaming and trying to get moving. Fight or flight? I opened my eyes and looked around blindly, focusing on anything to assess my surroundings but it was dark and I could only see a silhouette of a man and various furniture items.

A deep voice spoke but I couldn't make out the words. The next thing I knew, I felt a prick on my arm and the darkness swallowed me again.

When I came to, I was sore and numb and I was still in the dark room. "Where am I?" I asked out loud, not expecting an answer. A voice spoke up but I couldn't understand him. Not English. I thought, turning my head toward the sound. The movement prompted the figure to approach me but it was still too dark to make anything out. He said something but I shook my head to convey my confusion. "I don't understand. No entiendo. Je ne comprends pas, monsieur." I tried Spanish and French but it didn't seem he spoke any of them.

"Kore wa, mondaidearu kanōsei ga arimasu." he mumbled to himself. That time it sounded a little clearer. I could recognize the speech pattern as Japanese. The only problem was my Japanese was limited to greetings and random words and phrases.

"Kon... Konichiwa?" I tried. "Gomen nasai. Nihonjin hanasanai." My pronunciation seemed better than normal but there was still a slight accent to it.

His head tilted and he hummed in thought. The numbness was wearing out and I whimpered as the pain started to come back. He seemed to realize this and I felt another prick on my arm and I sighed in bliss as I fell asleep once again.

Suddenly I was in space. Now, I know what you're thinking. That was random, right? Yea, well, that's what it was. Or rather, what it seemed. I hovered, surrounded by darkness with the only light coming from the tiny pinpricks of stars.

About time you woke up.

Startled, I spun around and tried to find the person the voice came from.

Up here, lady.

When I looked up, I saw a small child who looked vaguely familiar. She flew down and hovered before me and I got a better look at her. You're me! Well, you used to be... What the hell is going on?

I didn't actually speak because my voice didn't come out of my mouth, it just projected from me and echoed in the empty space.

Yes, well, seems you're going to be me once again. She said, folding her arms behind her head. It was then that I noticed a faint glow around her that gave her almost an ethereal look. I looked down and realized I was the same way. And I'm about as clueless as you. The only thing I know is that we're no longer 23 and our body has changed considerably.

I gave her a curious look. How? That's impossible. I looked around again and concluded that this must be my mindscape. There was no other explanation but... why space?

The younger me shrugged and pointed behind and below me. I don't know but look. There's something glowing down there.

She was right, a blue glowing sphere was suspended in my pocket of space like a faux Earth. It was very slight but it was growing steadily. What is it?

I have no idea but it's warm and it hums. She stared blankly for a second before adding, Looks like it's time for you to go. Wake up, sleepyhead.

And then I woke up in pain. I cried out and hoped the man from before would hear me and numb me again but he was gone. I couldn't take the pain and I felt the tears flow freely as I wallowed in the pain, hoping someone would find me. Suddenly I could hear someone outside of the door and I screamed as loud as I could, praying they would hear me. It seemed to have worked and I saw the door rip open and light flooded the room. I closed my eyes, blinded, I was unused to the light. I could hear them speaking to someone before they rushed in and began taking off my restraints. I was so sore and stiff that I couldn't move but that didn't matter. Whoever it was lifted me up and carried me out of the room. I don't know what happened after that because I passed out from the pain.

The hell was going on? What happened to the other man? Why was I strapped down and kept in the dark? Where were we going? Who was this new person? Why did they smell like sandalwood and blood?

My questions wouldn't be answered until much later. It must have been quite some time before I woke up again. This time I was in a white room that smelled sterile and came to the conclusion that I was in a hospital and it was late evening. I stared blankly at the ceiling for a few minutes before a nurse opened the door and noticed that I was awake. She rushed out, calling out to someone.

Weird. I thought. Where exactly am I anyway? The last thing I remember is... oh.

I died. Unless it was a dream. Then again, how did I get here? I looked down and narrowed my eyes in confusion when I realized I was, in fact, no longer in an adult body. This is, by far, the weirdest thing ever. I have to be dreaming. But the pain from before was too real. Everything was too real.

When the door opened again, the nurse was back along with a doctor and a man with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. The doctor looked me over as the nurse took notes but the other man was watching me curiously. When the doctor finally asked me a question, I looked at him blankly and didn't respond. Normally I would be very talkative but I felt numb and lost. I had no idea where I was and couldn't understand anything they were saying. I didn't want to nod or shake my head because I didn't know if he asked me a yes or no question or asked where it hurt or what happened. He frowned thoughtfully and the nurse wrote on the clipboard in her hand. The blonde sitting on the chair against the wall said something and the other two left. He looked into my eyes and I found it unnerving but didn't look away. He said something in a very soft, kind voice and placed his hand on the side of my head but that only confused me more. I yelped when a sharp pain shot through my head and I pulled away and cradled my head in my own hands, clenching my jaw and whimpering until the headache went away. When I looked up at him again he had a frown tugging at his lips and he eyed me, bewildered. I had no idea what was going on, so I just tilted my head to show my own confusion.

The door opened again and a man in familiar robes entered the room. Now, why did he look familiar?

3rd person POV

The Third Hokage came to the hospital as soon as he heard the girl had awakened. How long was she in Orochimaru's lab? How long did she have to suffer on that table? What was the strange seal that was all over her body and why did she look so out of place? These questions plagued his mind for the past month as the child slept. Her nerves were frayed and she was malnourished and dehydrated. It seemed she was slowly being healed but how did she become so frail to begin with? She looked like she went through hell and back.

The most troubling thing about her was her chakra. It was so low, she should have been dead. She almost did die when they took her from the laboratory and were only just able to stabilize her at the hospital because the doctors had worked tirelessly for 5 hours to keep her alive. When she started to regain consciousness, her shrill screams broke the windows and caused a few people to go deaf. Somehow, what little chakra she had enhanced her cries of pain to become shockwaves. This was an interesting development. Who was she and where did she come from? She was not from Konoha, that much he knew.

Finally reaching the right door, he opened it and entered. After closing the door behind him and placing a privacy seal on the door, he turned to Inoichi and commanded, "Report."

Inoichi shook his head and turned away from the child who was now giving him a blank look, seemingly lost in thought. "She won't answer any questions and her mind still isn't stable enough for me to attempt entering. She doesn't seem to understand us, which I believe is a result of brain trauma. She may recover and be able to speak again or her language center will forever be damaged and she'll be mute for the rest of her life. She seems lost but her focus is sharp. The medics noticed her chakra is slowly growing like that of a newborn baby. It is unknown how much it will grow and when it will stop."

Hiruzen hummed in thought before asking, "How long do you think it will take before she's stable enough for you to look into her memories?"

The blonde shrugged and replied, "I can only estimate between three months and a year."

"We'll try again in a month. Do you know when she'll be able to leave the hospital?" he asked. He saw her suddenly pale and clutch her head and frowned. Was she in pain?

Inoichi nodded. "Very well, Hokage-sama. They told me she would be able to leave in a few weeks." He noticed her, too, and gave her a concerned look as she whimpered.

She couldn't have been older than 5. Innocence reflected in her eyes but there was something else. Her long brown hair was almost a copper color in the light of the setting sun and her hazel eyes seemed to be sharp, intelligent, and lost.

"Perhaps she is getting tired. Tell the nurse to bring her food and let her rest." the Hokage said as he turned and opened the door to leave. "I'll get someone to watch her until we are able to find out more about her."

Inoichi bowed as the Hokage left and followed shortly after, giving the child a soft smile. Her hazel eyes stared back at him, emotionless.

1st person POV

After eating a bland meal and lying in the bed, mind numb at my newest revelation, I fell asleep and found myself back in the pocket of space I referred as my mindscape.

This is an interesting development. So that must be... chakra, right? said my younger self. Giving the sphere an intrigued look.

So it would seem. I replied, staring up and away from the faux Earth, trying to make sense of things.

Hm... So, we died and ended up in the Naruto universe? How clichéd. She said, hovering beside me. What will we do now?

Nothing, if I can. Fade into the background and be forgotten. Avoid the main characters like the plague and try to live my life as a civilian. I glanced at her and noticed her disappointment.

No cool ninja powers? she whined, giving me the puppy look.

No cool ninja powers. I have no desire to die before I reach my thirties again. I confirmed.

Using justus might have sounded amazing but I knew it would mean I would be that much closer to death. I liked living. Living is good. Curling into a ball, I returned to staring off into the distance. For a few minutes I remained that way, listening to my other self grumbling about the unfairness of it all when curiosity finally snapped me out of my self-wallowing. Why space? Why is my mind a pocket of space? Why not a beach or a city? Something relevant? I never wanted to go to space...

The younger me could only shrug.

Is it because of... A star in the distance grew and brightened and I realized it was flying toward me. It stopped abruptly in front of me and I reached out to take hold of it and a screen appeared before me, playing a memory. It was when I was going through college and my best friend sent me a gift in the mail. It was a box of star paper. Ah, it makes sense now. I released the glowing orb and it returned to it's place. That answered another question, too. The stars were memories. I mentally remarked on the similarities between the brain and space but didn't voice my thoughts. As odd as that is. As far as I can tell, this was something similar to Naruto's weird sewer/waterway but I suppose mine would be completely different from his since I came from a different dimension. I wonder how I got here.

I couldn't tell you that. I have no idea myself. younger me stated. It's kinda odd that we're in space and not dead. I mean, I know we're not really in space but it's weird to not need space suits or a spaceship.

That got me thinking of something. Before I could say anything, a space station materialized below us and we floated toward the landing pad connecting to it.

Wow! This is cool! How did you do that? Wait, duh, it's all in your head.

In the back of my mind, it was strange talking to myself. In a way, she was and was not me. More like a memory that had become a personality, a voice in my head. Did that make me crazy?

I shrugged and suddenly gravity seemed to kick in and we both landed on the floor. A little shocked, I almost lost my balance but caught myself. Guess we don't have to worry about floating everywhere.

We explored the space station, rooms appearing along the hall as we walked. In the center of it all was a glass elevator that lifted us up into the control room that was really just somewhere to easily access my memories. Now... how am I going to sort them?

You leave that to me! I've got nothing else to do in here and you're needed topside. Speaking of which, you're probably going to wake up soon.

Before I could reply, my eyelids grew heavy and closed on their own. When I opened them again, I was in the hospital room staring up at the ceiling. It was morning and I realized I wasn't the only one in the room. Oh goodie. I get to meet mini Kakashi and his team. I thought sarcastically, sitting up.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to meet anyone else in the main cast but it would seem that was not the case. Sitting in the chairs someone must have brought in was Minato, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito. The two boys appeared to be arguing while Rin watched helplessly, trying to keep them from getting too loud. Minato noticed me first and stood up before greeting me and approaching the bed. He gave me a bright smile and bowed before pointing to himself and introduced himself. He then pointed to each of his team and said their names. I simply nodded to each of them before a nurse walked in with a tray of food. She placed it on my lap and I bowed my head in thanks. Smiling at me, she left the room and I was left in the awkward silence.

I'm not stupid, his "me Tarzan, you Jane" thing told me they thought I had forgotten the language. In reality, I just didn't know it. I would have to "relearn" the language as soon as possible if I was going to be stuck in this world. I'd be chatting up a storm if not for the language barrier. I ate quietly, eyeing them curiously and keeping my face void of emotion to keep from showing recognition. They watched me eat in silence for the most part. Minato, leaning back against the wall now, was observing me with a kind look but I could tell he was noting every movement I made. Rin was giving me a gentle smile, calm but slightly unnerved because of my lack of emotion. Obito was shifting nervously, obviously uncomfortable with my silence. Kakashi, as expected, was focused on me but was sitting in a bored posture, unimpressed.

After I finished eating, Rin took my tray and placed in on the nightstand which was out of my reach anyway so I didn't complain. I shifted and fiddled with the blanket as I sat in the awkward silence. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it when I reminded myself it didn't matter what I said, nobody would understand me. Obito seemed about ready to burst when Minato finally said something and he brightened up before leaving the room. I stared at the door curiously before shifting my gaze to the older man with a raised brow.

3rd Person POV

After a few minutes sitting in uncomfortable silence, Minato decided to break the ice. "Obito, why don't you go get some games from the lobby and we'll teach her how to play." he suggested. The Uchiha boy left the room all too eagerly and their charge gave him a questioning look. He only shrugged and gave her a smile.

Kakashi snorted. "How are we going to teach her how to play a game when she can't even understand us?"

It was a problem but Rin was confident she could be taught. Minato's only response was a look that made Kakashi huff and cross his arms while muttering a "whatever".

All the while, the nameless girl watched them with amusement twinkling in her eyes. The slight curve of her lips the only outward indicator that she was even paying attention. Her blank expression unnerved them, usually kids her age were a lot more lively and talkative. Her steady, unwavering focus was more like that of a seasoned ninja and not a 5 year old girl. She was absorbing everything she could, as if seeing something for the first time. Which wouldn't surprise Minato after hearing they found her in the depths of Orochimaru's labs in a cold, dark room separated from all of his other test subjects.

Obito came back a few minutes later with several kinds of games and even a deck of cards. The only adult in the room saw the girl's eyes light up when she saw them and he noticed her lingering stare at the cards. After his student set them down on the table, he picked up the cards and gestured to them. The child nodded her head and he could see a spark of recognition in her hazel eyes. So she does remember some things. Perhaps only her language center was damaged. Hopefully it will repair itself soon and we can figure out what happened to her. thought Minato as he scooted his chair closer to the bed.

He soon found that she knew some card games and they played a few rounds of poker (without gambling), go fish, and other children's card games. This seemed to keep his students and the girl entertained for a few hours until the boys got tired of losing to a 5 year old girl and demanded they play something else. The nameless child only gave a tiny smirk to show she understood why they were upset but it fell when he set up a game of shogi. Minato decided to try teaching her how to play by showing her how the different pieces worked and then played a game with Kakashi to give her an idea of how the game went. After a few rounds with his students, she finally seemed to figure out how to play and Rin played a round with her. Soon it was prevalent that the girl had a mind for strategy but with her limited knowledge of the game her plans were easily unravelled by his student. After a few games, the child grew bored and looked at the clock on the wall. Like she knew it was coming, the door opened and a nurse came in with a tray of food.

Minato took this as his que to release his students for a lunch break and they all went their separate ways after saying goodbye to the girl. Before the door closed, he noticed a spark of anxiety in her large eyes and filed away a quick note in his head. She's afraid to be alone.

The whole time he had been silently taking notes on the kid and, now that he had the time, he would write them all down before reporting to the Hokage later that day. Such a strange child...

Sorry if anyone is still reading the old story I started and never finished... Yea, my bad. Maybe I'll go back to it but I lost interest in writing after college started to pick up. I'm almost out, so I have a lot of work piled up but I need a break and writing has always helped clear my head. Don't expect an update every week but I'll do my best to post a new chapter as often as I can and hopefully they will be long enough to satisfy my readers. As for what I have in store for this one... Well, you'll just have to wait and see. As for her knowledge in Naruto, it will be about as well as I know it. Which is, not a whole lot of the finer details but the big picture is there. As for romance... It won't happen for a while, so don't expect things to get going too fast. Gotta have character development, right? Anyway, see you next time! If anyone has any ideas or feedback, leave a review. I read and appreciate all of them!

~ Xero ~