A/N: I do not own Naruto or Zelda.

Okay, everyone in Rookie 9 is around 7 or 8 years old. The reason being, I want them to be the same age as Zelda. JUST so you know.

Chapter 2

Four figures were walking outside the gates of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Man, can you believe that storm that ripped through here?" Asuma stated as he lit another cigarette.

"The power of youth can be felt even within Nature's own doing!" the man in the green spandex suite, Gai, exclaimed.

"Hmm…yes, it was strong, but something about it was a bit off. That's why the Hokage sent us to go investigate around the village, right Kakashi?" a woman, Kurenai, asked the silver-haired man in front of her.

The leader of the squad, Kakashi Hatake, nodded. "Our job is to a make sure that everything is normal," he stated, "The Third Hokage is a bit worried that the storm had something to do with Orochimaru."

The mention of the snake-man had everyone silent. They kept walking.

"So, what do you think of this year's graduating genin class? Rookie 9, I believe they're called," Kurenai asked, breaking the silence, "I heard that the Hyuuga heiress and her cousin are in that class."

Asuma sighed. "I heard that the children of Ino-Shika-Cho were in that class," he said as he took a drag from the cigarette.

"Yes! And there is a student who has no talent in genjutsu, but worked just as hard as the others! The power of youth knows no boundaries!" Gai said as he gave a bright smile.

"I also heard that the Uchiha and Nine-tailed fox Demon carrier are also part of Rookie 9," Asuma added, "And the fact that they have an on going feud between them."

"I wonder who we'll be matched with," Kurenai said getting excited. She loved children, and wanted nothing more than to be a squad leader and help them discover their ninja way.

Kakashi stayed silent.

"Do you think this year will be the year you pass your genin team, Kakashi?" Gai asked out of the blue.

All eyes were on the silver-haired ninja. He only shrugged, showing no emotion in his one eye.

"It all depends on if they understand the true meaning of what it means to be a ninja of Konoha," he said.

They arrived at a dead end; a cliff was way up at the top. They searched the area. Everything seemed to be fine and normal. Soon, they regrouped at the bottom of the cliff.

"Alright, everything seems clear here. Let's check the east and west parts," Kakashi stated.

"Do you think we could go in teams?" Asuma asked, "We'll cover more area, and it will be quicker."

Kakashi thought for a moment. "Yes, I suppose we could do that," he said after a while, "Alright, we meet back at the gates. From there we'll check the South part together."

"Right."

Before any of them could move, a bright blue light coming from the sky caught their attention.

"What's that?" Gai asked.

A whistle sound was heard as well. They looked up. A girl had jumped off the cliff and was headed straight down to where they were!

"Kakashi!" Kurenai cried.

But he beat her to it. "Asuma, you, Kurenai, and Gai go head over to where that blue light landed. I'll handle the girl!" he ordered.

The three jounin disappeared in a flash towards the blue light while Kakashi ran up the cliff wall pumping chakra to his feet. He heard the girl give another whistle.

"What is she doing?" he asked himself and his eye narrowed.

As soon as he reached her level, he jumped off and caught the girl in his arms. He gracefully landed on one of the tree branches and jumped to the ground, the girl still in his arms.

He looked down at the girl in wonder. Her arms were wrapped tight around her waist, and her eyes were shut tightly. Where did she come from? And why was she falling off a cliff? It was obvious she wasn't a ninja; she didn't have a chakra network. However, there was something else he sensed from her, something that was different compared to chakra.

He looked back up. Was she being chased by rogue ninjas? No, he didn't feel the presence of other ninjas. The other option could be that she was suicidal. She didn't look like a girl who would do that. But, why was she whistling?

The girl stirred in his arms, realizing that she was no longer falling. She opened her blue eyes, and looked up in his lone dark one. She blinked. Who was this man before her? Were there other hylians that lived on the Surface? No, this man wasn't a hylian, his ears weren't pointed. But her father's old textbooks said that the only creatures inhabiting the Surface were Mogmas, Kikwis, and Perellas. There were others as well, but she couldn't remember them at the moment.

"Um…who are you?" she hesitantly asked the silver-haired, masked ninja.

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The three jounin streaked towards the area where the blue light had landed. When they arrived at the landing, they found nothing. It was just all trees and bushes.

"Let's search the area," Asuma suggested.

So the three jounin did. They searched the trees, bushes, but found nothing.

"Well, whatever it was, it's no longer here," Gai stated as they finished up, "Let's report this to the Hokage. Hopefully it's nothing we'll have to worry about."

Kurenai nodded. "Let's get back to the meeting site."

They disappeared in a blur back towards the cliff wall. A faint blue glow came from underneath one of the bushes in a hole that the grass covered. They had missed the hole because of the grass. Within the hole…

…was the Goddess's Harp.

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"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'm from the Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And who might you be?" he asked the young girl in his arms.

"My name is Zelda. And I don't remember my father's texts talking about a place called Konoha on the Surface," she answered. Deciding that the man wasn't a threat, she started feeling comfortable around him.

"Never heard of Konoha, you say? Hm," Kakashi said as he looked up at nothing. He was trying to think. How could she have not heard of Konoha? And did she say "the surface?" His thinking was cut short as the rest of his team appeared. He let Zelda down.

"No sighting of the light Kakashi," Gai explained, "Whatever it was, was gone before we could reach it." He then noticed the little girl in his teammate's arms. "And who's this?" he asked.

Kakashi looked at Zelda. "This is Zelda," he announced, "Zelda, these are my teammates, Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai. They are also from the Konoha."

Zelda bowed her head in greeting. "It's nice to meet you," she said in a small voice.

Kurenai walked up to the girl and gave her a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Zelda," she said, "And where are you from? Do you have any family with you?"

Zelda looked up at the sky, the four jounin followed suit. She pointed up. "I'm from a place called Skyloft," she explained, "It's a floating island above the cloud barrier." Unfortunetly for Zelda, there were no clouds in the sky, so the jounin had no idea what she was talking about.

"The Land of the Sky?" Asuma began to suggest, but Kakashi cut him off.

"No, not since the war against the Great Five Countries. The Land of the Sky doesn't exist since Konoha destroyed it," Kakashi explained.

"What is this Konoha?" Zelda asked, looking at the masked ninja, "I'm on the Surface, right?"

The four jounin just looked at her, not knowing what to do. Here they have a 7-year old girl who has no family (assuming), was falling off a cliff, and claims to be from the sky. Kurenai knelt down to Zelda's level.

"Zelda, I'm not sure where this "surface" you're talking about is, but you're in the Fire Country. 5 miles north of Konoha," she explained to the girl.

Zelda's face held a confused look. Why didn't these people know what the Surface was? Surely there would be someone who would know of what she knew. But…the only way for them not to know was if….

Her eyes widened.

…was if she wasn't on the Surface.

"Zelda, can I ask you why you were falling off the cliff?" Kurenai gently asked, noticing that the girl had tensed, "were you being chased?"

Zelda snapped out of her stupor. "No, I wasn't being chased. I jumped off the cliff so I could call my Loft—my Loftwing!" she suddenly exclaimed. She started looking frantically up in the sky.

"You're what?" Asuma asked, his face confused as he tried to understand the word she'd just said.

"My Loftwing!" Zelda repeated, "I was riding my Loftwing with my friend when suddenly a big black tornado appeared in front of us!" She started to explain what happened. "My Loftwing tried to fly away, but we were sucked in! And then the next thing I know, I woke up here!" She continued looking in the sky, trying to feel the presence of her Loftwing.

Kakashi and Kurenai stayed silent, listening to her tale. Asuma only lit another cigarette and started mumbling how he was getting too old for this.

"What's a, Loftwing?" Gai asked, "Is it a summoning animal?"

Zelda gave him a confused look. "Summoning animal? No, we don't summon them," she looked back up at the sky, "Each person in Skyloft is gifted with a guardian bird known as Loftwings. These Loftwings are out lifelong companions and are meant to protect us. They are gifts from the Goddess—oh no!" Something else dawned on her.

"What is it?" Kurenai asked.

"The Goddess's Harp! I've lost it!" she cried. Tears welled up in her eyes. Why did this happen to her?

"It's getting late to search for it now," Kakashi finally spoke up. After much thinking, he finally came to a conclusion. "You can come with us back to the village. There you can rest and maybe figure out your next step from there," he gently told the girl.

His teammates gave him and odd look, well, Asuma and Gai did. Kurenai just nodded in agreement. They couldn't leave a girl her age to fend for herself. She was just a child. Of course, there was always a threat that she was a child prodigy, but then again, she had no traces of a chakra network in her body.

Zelda eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded. His eye crinkled as he smiled through his mask. "Sure, I'll even give you a piggy back ride on the way there."

Zelda smiled and climbed up on the Copy-nin's back when he knelt down. She was as light as a feather to him. After a few minutes being on his back, Zelda had fallen asleep. With all that had happened, receiving her Loftwing, the black tornado, and landing in a place that wasn't the Surface was all too much for her. And in the comfort of another being, she couldn't help but snuggle into his warm back and fall asleep.

"Kakashi, are you we should bring her back with us?" Asuma asked on their way back.

"Asuma, she poses no threat to us," Kurenai defended the girl, "And besides, she has no chakra network, as I'm sure you noticed."

"What if her family is looking for her?" Gai asked. He too thought bringing the girl back wasn't a good idea. Even though she was a child, Gai had his doubts about her. Especially after the story she just told.

"The Third Hokage will know what to do with her," Kakashi stated, "But I agree with Kurenai. I don't see her as a threat to the village."

"Maybe not her, but we don't know what she brings with her," Asuma said, "we don't know if she's being hunted or what not."

"All the more reason to take her with us," Kurenai told him.

The crew found themselves in front of Konoha's gates. The guards of the gates Kotetsu and Izumo, two chunins, greeted them.

"Hey Kakashi! I'm guessing your mission went well?" Izumo called out to them. He noticed the girl on Kakashi's back.

"Who's the girl?" Kotetsu, his partner, asked.

Kakashi ignored them and continued his path towards the Hokage's tower. Asuma and Gai followed suit. Kotetsu and Izumo sweatdropped.

"We found her on the outskirts of the village," Kurenai explained, before following her team.

"What's a girl like her doing on the outskirts of the Leaf Village?" Kotetsu asked his partner. Izumo only shrugged

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The 5 arrived at the Hokage's door. Gai knocked on it, since Kakashi's arms were full.

"Come in," an old, gruff voice said.

Gai opened the door for his team.

The team walked in and was greeted by the back of the Hokage's robes. Kurenai went up to Zelda and gently shook her.

"Zelda. Zelda, you need to wake up," she said.

Zelda whimpered, and open her eyes. When she realized she was on someone's back, she immediately woke up.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized before Kakashi let her down.

"Lord Hokage," Kakashi greeted.

"Ah, Kakashi," the Third Hokage said as he turned around. He had his pipe in his hand. "You were quite quick with that. I trust that everything was fine?"

"Not quite," Kakashi said as he turned his head towards Zelda, "We found Zelda on the outskirts just north of the village.

The Third Hokage nodded his head. "I see. And where is Zelda from?" he asked.

"She said she's," Kakashi sighed, "from a place called Skyloft, which is a floating island in the sky."

The Third Hokage nodded in understanding. "I'm assuming it's not the Land of the Sky we're talking about," he said.

Kakashi nodded.

Zelda's blue eyes observed the old man curiously. "Who are you?" she asked.

The Third Hokage looked a Zelda for a short while. He turned to Kakashi. "Would you mind giving Zelda and I some time?"

"Of course," Kakashi said before poofing away. Asuma, Gai, and Kurenai followed suit.

"My name is Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Leaf Village," he told Zelda once the jounin were gone. He gesture Zelda to sit down. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

Zelda took a deep breath, and began to tell her story.

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"So what did you decide to do with her?" Kakashi asked the Hokage as they watched from the Hokage's rooftop, Iruka talking with Zelda.

"I will let her stay in the village," the Third Hokage answered, "Although I do not fully understand her story, she is a lost child. I am not one to turn a helpless child away."

Kakashi nodded understandingly. "She has no talent as a shinobi. Where will she live?"

The Third Hokage nodded. He'd been expecting Kakashi to be asking that kind of question. "I've decided to have her stay with Naruto."

"The Kyuubi container? But why?"

"Well, with no family here, she's technically an orphan, "the Third Hokage explained, "And besides, I think it would serve Naruto well to have a friend; someone who is untainted and unaffected by the truth about him. And I know you felt some sort of power emanating from her. It is no chakra, true, but something else that can be equal to it."

They watched as the said-7-year old boy ran up to Iruka and Zelda.

"What happens when she gets older? She can't stay here forever you know," Kakashi pointed out after a while.

"Ah yes," The Hokage sighed as he put his pipe to his lips and took a big breath, "With all the new friends she will make, perhaps she will forget. She is still young, and with all that has happened to her, she might even want to forget."

"You mean she'll be living lie?" Kakashi said dryly, "You plan on erasing her memories or something equal to that?"

The Third Hokage chuckled. "If she asks anything, I will not deny her the answers she has told me," he explained himself, "But…since we have no proof that where she came from actually exists, what am I to do?"

They watched the trio once more. "Either way," he continued, "She needs a place to stay, a sense of security. And unless she asks, I will mention nothing of this day to her." Kakashi just watch the loud-blonde haired boy react to Zelda.

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"Hey! Iruka-sensei! I think it's about that time you treat me to ramen!"

Zelda watched as a loud mouthed, spikey blonde-haired boy with strange whisker markings on his cheeks, run up to Iruka. Zelda liked Iruka. He was a nice man, easy to talk to, and had a great understanding of things.

"Huh?" the boy had noticed her. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, who's that?" he asked the chunin. Zelda tilted her head and gave a small smile to the boy. The boy's eyes widened before he looked away. A faint blush could be seen on his cheeks.

Iruka gently pushed Zelda in front of him. "Naruto, this is Zelda. She's new to the village. Zelda, this is Naruto Uzumaki, a student at the Ninja Academy," Iruka introduce the two.

Naruto looked at Zelda once more. Would she laugh at and shun him as well, like all the other kids? Gathering his courage he stuck out his hand. "Hiya, Zelda! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And I'm gonna become Hokage someday," he said in a proud voice. Although he sounded hyper on the outside, his eyes had some doubt in them. Did Iruka-sensei really think that this girl would befriend him? No way.

Zelda looked at the hand, and back at the boy. He seemed a bit shy and uncertain. Why was he uncertain? Adorning another smile on her face, Zelda clasped his hand in her own. "It's nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki," she greeted back.

Surprised, Naruto's blue eyes shot up to meet her own sky blue ones, searching for a lie. He found none. A big smile was on his face.

"Hey, you're pretty cool! Iruka-sensei, is she going to be at the Academy as well?" he asked excitedly to his teacher.

Iruka gave a sad smile as he shook his head. "No, Naruto. Zelda doesn't have any chakra, so she can't. But, she will be living with you."

"WHAT?"

"Lord Hokage asked it as a favor," Iruka explained, "You are to treat her as if she were family."

Naruto blinked. "But…but I've never had a sister before," he said. He turned to look at Zelda who giggled.

"That's okay," she reassured, "I've never had a brother before. But there was this one boy you remind me of, except he wasn't as energetic as you."

Naruto smiled. He turned to Iruka. "Tell gramps that I got it covered," he told the chunins. He then turned to Zelda and grabbed her hand. "C'mon, I'll show you where I live!" he said as he tugged her hand. Zelda happily allowed Naruto to show her around.

"Naruto, wait! We still have to get her…bedding and things," Iruka called after the pair, but they were already gone. He sighed and shook his head. "Well, I guess we could always do that tomorrow." And with that, he started to head towards the Hokage's Tower.

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"And this is the Ichiraku Ramen stand. They have the best ramen in the world!" Naruto proudly showed Zelda the noodle-soup stand. Zelda tiled her head.

"Ramen?" she asked.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "You've never had ramen before?" he asked her in disbelief. She shook her head. "Well, I'll take you there for dinner later," he told her before taking her to his room.

They came to a building. Walking up a couple steps they stopped in front of a door. "And this…is my room," he said as he opened the door, "Soon to be your room as well!"

Zelda slowly walked into his room, observing every detail. It was simple, and definitely had enough space for the both of them. It was different than her room at the Knight's Academy, but she wasn't complaining.

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Ehh, it's not much, but it's what I call "home,"" he said.

Zelda turned around and gave him a smile. "It's perfect," she told him. Naruto smiled once more. Maybe things will finally look up for him. He looked at the clock. Dinnertime, at least for Naruto.

"Hey, are you hungry?" he asked Zelda, "If you are, I can take to back to the ramen stand for you to try."

Zelda nodded enthusiastically and she and Naruto practically ran out of his bedroom.

"Hey old man!" he called out to the owner of the ramen stand.

The man looked up and saw Naruto. "Ah, Naruto!" he said with a smile, "I guess it must be dinnertime if you show up at this hour. Would you like the usual?"

Naruto nodded as he and Zelda came in and sat down on the stools. Teuchi, the old man, noticed her.

"Ah, I see you've brought a lady friend," he said.

Naruto, thinking nothing of the statement, could only laugh. "Yeah, this is Zelda. She's new here to the village," he explained, "And when she told me that she's never had ramen before, hehe you bet the first thing I'd do is take her here!"

Teuchi chuckled. "And what will the fair maiden be having?" he asked as he turned his attention on Zelda who was still observing the stand. All the new sights and smells intrigued her.

"Give her the same thing," Naruto answered.

While Teuchi and his daughter got started on making their ramen, Naruto decided to get to know Zelda better.

"So where are you from?" Naruto asked her.

Zelda turned her attention to the boy. "I'm from a place called Skyloft. It resides high above a cloud barrier up in the sky," she explained.

Naruto eyes widened in amazement. "Ohh, like the Land in the Sky?" he asked, "But I thought it was destroyed a long time ago in the Second Shinobi World War?"

Zelda shook her head. "No, it's no Land in the Sky. More like a floating island. There certainly is no history between Skyloft and Konoha," she said.

"Oh, okay. So…you said there was a cloud barrier, huh? How'd you get passed it?" Naruto asked. He immediately regretted it as he saw Zelda's face turn sad.

"Well, no one's ever really been able to go passed the barrier. There are these huge guardian birds known as Loftwings from where I'm from. They can't go through the barrier," she explained, "I came here by accident." She put on a thoughtful look. "And I thought that I had landed on the Surface, which is land below the cloud barrier below Skyloft," she said, "Obviously I'm not there. This isn't what was described in my father's old texts."

Naruto tilted his head. "You have a father?" he asked.

Zelda nodded. "He's the headmaster at the Knights Academy in Skyloft. The Knights Academy is where you learn how to ride a Loftwing and how to fight."

"Oh, so like the Ninja Academy here," Naruto realized, "So…does everyone in Skyloft become a knight?"

Zelda shook her head. "Only those who can win the race in the Wing Ceremony can continue on the path of knighthood," she explained, "but everyone in Skyloft has a Loftwing. They're gifts from the Goddess Hylia, sent to protect us."

Naruto could only nod. He was trying his best to understand everything she told him, but his poor 7-year old mind couldn't handle it. His ears perked up when she started talking again.

"I'm so worried about my Loftwing," Zelda said sadly, "We just met each other and already I've lost her. What if I can't find her ever again? That probably means I can never go back home."

Their ramen was set before them.

"Here you are! Enjoy," Teuchi told them.

Naruto looked at his ramen for a bit before clasping a hand on Zelda's shoulder. She looked at him.

"Hey, don't worry about it Zelda. I'll help you get back home and find your bird friend. Believe it!" he told her.

Zelda looked at the boy in awe. He was so confident; it made her want to believe him. She gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Naruto," she told him.

Naruto smiled back. "Alright, now time for the ramen," he said turning to the steaming bowl of noodles in front of him. He handed Zelda chopsticks and clasped his hands together. Zelda followed suit.

"Itadakimasu!" he said, before starting to eat. He stopped once he noticed that Zelda had no idea how to work the chopsticks. "Here," he said as he showed her how to use them.

"You move them like this. Yeah, there you go. And you pick it up…yeah!"

Zelda brought the noodles to her mouth and slurped them up. She chewed the noodles slowly, figuring out the taste, which was actually quite good. Her mouth curved upwards in a smile.

Naruto noticed. "Good, huh?" he asked. Zelda nodded her had with a smile, and the two ate their ramen happily.

When they were back in Naruto's room, there were two blankets on the floor with a pillow. She was wearing one of Naruto's t-shirts and shorts as a nightwear.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto reassured her, "Until we get you a bed, I'll sleep on the floor."

Zelda gave him a look. "If you're sure," she said. Naruto nodded.

"I wouldn't be a very good ninja if I can't handle sleeping on the floor," he told her.

Zelda hesitantly got on his bed while Naruto made himself comfortable on the floor. The bed was nice. Not too soft, and not too hard. She lay in his bed, thinking. Finally, she sat up. "Hey, Naruto," she softly called to him.

"Yeah?"

"When we first met, you seemed so…so unsure, like you were afraid of something," Zelda recalled, "Why is that?"

There was a small silence, and Zelda began to think she shouldn't have asked the question. She head Naruto sit up as well and turned to look down at him.

"Everyone…well, mostly everyone…in the village hates me," he began. Zelda's eyes softened. "The other kids won't play with me, some because they hate me, others, because their parents don't want them to," he continued, "They call me a monster, a demon, and look at me…with such hatred."

Zelda's eyes watered as she listened to him. No one, deserves that.

"I don't have any family, none that I can relate to remember," Naruto said, "Iruka-sensei, old man Hokage, and the old man and his daughter from the ramen stand are the closest things I have for a family."

Zelda hopped off the bed and sat down next to him. "And you have me," she told him. Naruto smiled at her before giving her a hug. She returned the hug, and then realized that he was crying. Crying out all his feelings of loneliness and sadness he was enduring as a child. Zelda tightened her hold on her new friend, letting him know that everything will be fine.

A/N: Aww…isn't that sweet? Btw, I didn't mean for Sarutobi to sound so mean or something. He just thinks it's in Zelda's best interest, and he obviously wants her to become part of the village (in a good way mind you). Anyway, please review! Or add me to your alert/favorite list!