A/N: Dedicated to my loyal beta Azzie(Inkfire)! Someone, anyone, please review! D:

Learning to Shine:

Chapter Two: Big Day:

Melody woke on her sweet sixteen with a headache. More like a migraine. Standing up sent her toppling to the floor. But she pushed herself up and continued on, knowing that coming of age only happened once. She crossed the hall to get some Advil and went downstairs for donuts.

Her friends showed up on time and they all packed themselves into cars and went to the theme park. Melody managed to forget her misery amidst the rollercoasters and spinning rides until lunchtime, when her headache returned. Feeling sick, she ran off to find a bathroom, leaving her friends to shake their heads and pity her.

She didn't quite make it to the bathroom, instead ducking into some bushes off the side of the path before she fainted.

Voices carried on the breeze, welcoming her back into consciousness. Someone had draped a blanket over her. Melody idly wondered why she wasn't in a hospital-not that she was complaining. Opening her eyes, she saw a bright blue sky and tree branches swaying above her. Forcing herself to sit up, she looked around. A sharp exclamation drew her attention, and a young girl with pink hair leaned over her. She looked like she was about five years younger than Melody, who looked young for her age. She had green eyes and-yep, no doubt about it-pink hair. Who the hell had pink hair? It certainly didn't look dyed.

"She's awake!" the girl called over her shoulder. It sounded like she was speaking another language, but Melody understood her perfectly.

"We can see that." said a boy with black hair and eyes.

"Now, Sasuke." warned the man across the clearing from them. He seemed to be sparring with a blonde-haired boy about the age of the other two, maybe eleven. The man looked to be in his mid-late twenties, with silver hair and dark eyes-well, eye, since the other was covered by some kind of headband. His face was covered by a mask and he seemed to be in some sort of uniform, unlike the other three. They all wore the same shoes, however. Like sandals, with open heels, but that went up around their ankles.

"Where am I?" Melody asked, surprised to hear herself speaking their language.

"Just outside of Konohagakure." The name rang a bell. She knew it meant 'Village Hidden in the Leaves', but couldn't explain, even to herself, why it sounded familiar or how she knew that.

"What's your name?" asked the girl. "I'm Sakura."

"Melody." Mel replied, tucking her feet under her. The silver-haired man's head snapped up.

"Do you recognize where you are?" he asked, eyeing her in a way that made her suspicious.

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking where I am!" she snapped, going into defensive mode. He nodded.

"Well, why don't you come with us. Konoha is the nearest village, you can rest there and maybe we can find a way to get you home."

"I've never heard of this place before, so good luck with that." Melody muttered.

"You've never heard of Konoha?" the blonde asked.

"Naruto..." the man scolded. "Leave her alone."

"Yeah, Naruto." Sasuke taunted. Naruto turned and looked about ready to hit him, when Sakura stepped between them.

"You heard Kakashi-sensei." she scolded them. Then she turned back to Melody. "How old are you?"

"Why does it matter?" Sasuke muttered. "Let's just go already."

"Now, now." Kakashi soothed. "Calm down. We have plenty of time."

"I'm sixteen." Melody told the younger girl. "You?"

"Eleven." Sakura's face fell.

"Why so disappointed?" Melody asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I thought you'd keep me company." Sakura admitted. Melody smirked.

"Too many boys for you?" The pink-haired girl nodded emphatically, and Melody laughed. "I'm not going to abandon you." she reassured the younger girl, standing gracefully.

"Who's this?" asked a newcomer, an old man with darker skin than the ninja.

"Her name's Melody. She's the one we found after Zabuza was taken by that Hunter." The old man nodded. "Oh, yes. Did they kidnap you?" he asked, turning to Melody. "Oh, I'm sorry! Manners with the ladies. My name is Tazuna."

Melody inclined her head respectfully before answering his question. "No, I don't remember being kidnapped." She frowned. "I was at my party when I started feeling ill and dizzy. I ran off the path and fainted."

"That's not fun." Sakura said sympathetically. "So it's your birthday?"

Melody nodded. "I just turned sixteen today." Naruto came over and got right up in her face, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Ah!" he cried as she flicked his nose.

"What the hell?" she asked, annoyed. "Get out of my face."

"Make me!" he retorted, pulling out a kunai. Melody didn't even blink, grabbing his wrist and twisting it. He pulled out another kunai with his other hand and she ducked, kicking his legs out from under him with one leg, and kicking him in the stomach as she let go of his wrist with the other. He flew backwards, staying on his feet and rushing her. She hadn't even stood up yet! Melody rolled to the side and tangled her legs up in his, bringing him down and climbing on top of him, sitting on his back.

"Done yet?" she asked coldly. The other ninja laughed.

"I feel safer with you around." Tazuna told her with a smile. She just smirked.

"I have a little brother and several younger cousins at home. Problem being they're all almost as big as me or bigger." Melody explained, getting off Naruto and reaching down to help him up. He lashed out, and she kicked him, none too gently. He winced.

"All right, you two, cut it out." Kakashi warned, stepping between them. "Naruto, leave her alone." He sighed. "Why must you annoy everyone you meet into hating you?" he muttered under his breath. Melody giggled.

Kakashi looked her over for a moment. "Ever trained as a ninja?"

"Nope." Melody replied, shaking her head. "They're only legends where I come from. All I have are my instincts and knowledge born of fighting my younger relatives."

"Some very good instincts." Kakashi murmured. Then he sighed. "This is a mess."

"How so?" Melody asked, curious.

"We're on a mission to protect Tazuna-san here, but found ourselves in a bit more trouble than we expected. We can't return to the village at this point, and I feel you have potential that we shouldn't leave in any other village." Kakashi explained.

"She can handle herself well enough." Tazuna put in.

Kakashi shook his head. "I don't like the idea of putting her in life-threatening situations so early on."

Melody shrugged. "I'm willing." They all stared at her in surprise. "Why not? It sounds interesting enough. I'll walk through this mission with you, do whatever I have to, and if I live, go back to your village and I'm hoping to train, or at least learn a few tricks."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "All right. You can come with us."

"My village isn't far." Tazuna added. "You're more than welcome in my house."

"Thank you." Melody replied with a smile. She turned to Kakashi. "What happened?"

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"You're on crutches." He looked down.

"Oh. Right. Well...we got caught. It's no big deal. You can work with Sakura on actual battle experience for now." Melody nodded. "Let's go!"