I awoke from a peaceful night. It was the first night in over a week that I'd gone without the nightmare. I sighed. Ah, the air was so fresh and clean. I turned over, my hand skimming the bed. I stopped. I felt grass, not fabric.

I opened my eyes to take a peek at my surroundings. I sat up, and pinched myself repeatedly. It hurt. This was real.

We were in a clearing, in a forest. However, the trees weren't realistic, they were anime. I jumped to my feet. I looked down, to see Sam lying on the grass. "Sam, wake up!"

She shifted. "Not now…."

I shook her. "Look around you!"

Her eyes opened. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, and looked around her. She rubbed her eyes, and looked again.

"It's real," I murmured. "Trust me, I pinched myself." She pinched me. "Hey! What's that for?"

"'Cause I wanted to pinch you," she replied with a shrug. I crossed my arms.

She got to her feet and I looked her over. She looked… different. She had white streaks in her hair, for one. Also, she no longer wore her Gaara pajamas. Instead, she wore a black T-shirt and black pants, her shirt having a small red star on her left shoulder. Her black village band was around her waist like a belt. It showed that she was from the Village Hidden in the Sand. Go figure.

I looked down at myself. I wasn't wearing my nine-tailed fox pajamas anymore. I wore a dark blue shirt with black pants, my shirt also having a star on my left shoulder, only mine was white. I licked my teeth, no braces. I put my hand in my pocket to find I still had the notes. I felt my forehead to find a headband covering it.

Then I walked over to the tree, to reach out and touch it, to see if this was all real. My fingers scraped across the bark before I realized I would touch it. The tree didn't look like it had depth, but it had as much depth as a "real world" tree. My eyesight was sharp, as was my sense of smell. I could smell things I never could before. The same went for my hearing. It wasn't superhuman hearing, but it was still better than before. My thoughts turned to my headband, which seemed to fit perfectly despite my small head.

Sam was looking at her hair, confused, when I asked, "What does my headband say?"

"You're from the Leaf Village."

"Do you know yours?"

"Yeah, I looked."

"Well, I guess we can believe that island is magical," I remarked.

"Yeah."

"I wonder where we are." It's funny how we immediately assumed we were in the Naruto world. For all we knew, we could be in the world of Inuyasha, or Fullmetal Alchemist, or Dragon Ball Z. If it were one of those worlds, we wouldn't do so good. We didn't know those worlds as well as we did this one. It was then we heard voices. Two people came walking into the clearing; a girl and a boy. We recognized them immediately to be Naruto and Sakura; and their outfits showed us we were in the Shippuden timeline. When they saw us, we could tell they were surprised.

"Who're you?" Naruto asked.

"Be polite," Sakura said. "My name is Sakura Haruno, and this is Naruto."

"Uzumaki!" Naruto added. "Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage of the Leaf!"

I smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Natalie, and this is Samantha. You can call her Sam though."

"Those names sound familiar," Naruto remarked. Sam shrugged. "Hey, you're from the Sand Village. Are you friends with Gaara?" he asked.

Sam didn't answer at first. "All of his people are his friends," she said quietly.

"Well put," I complimented.

"Well, I mean does he know you? Have you met him face to face?"

"No."

"You're from the Leaf Village, right?" Sakura asked me.

"Yeah…."

"I haven't seen you before."

"I've been out on missions," I said without thinking.

"Well, do you have a room yet? If not, we can help you find one."

"Fine by me."

So, we walked with our "new" friends, wondering what amazing things could happen next. After all, we'd just gone to a world we thought didn't exist, and now just met two of the main characters. I think I'd consider that amazing.


"Wow, our first day went by fast," I remarked.

"Yeah! I hope I'll be able to meet Gaara soon," Sam replied.

"Well, you'll eventually have to go to your village."

"Yeah…."

"My question is: how do we get home?"

"You think I'll know?"

"Neither of us do. We just have to hope this all works out."

"I guess."

I sighed heavily. We were already in our rooms. We had no pajamas, so we had to sleep in our clothes. I bet Sam missed her Gaara PJs. I snickered at the thought.

We had already took a look in the mirror, and were still wondering where our clothes went and why Sam's hair was streaked. I actually kind of liked how we looked. I sat up and quietly untied my headband. I took it off and set it on the bedside table.

Sam looked at me kind of funny. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to my forehead.

"What?"

"…Check the mirror."

I jumped to my feet and walked to the bathroom. When I reached the mirror, I found a dark line on my forehead. What is that? I wondered. I knew, however, that there would be a long day tomorrow.

I shrugged off the anxiety for the moment, and went to bed.


I sat bolt upright in bed. I had had the nightmare... again. It was really beginning to scare me. I couldn't ignore it if I had it every night. I knew that eventually I'd have to connect it, to figure it out before it happened.

At first I just lay there, eyes wide open, too afraid to go back to sleep. I pondered over what the dream meant. So far, I had figured out that I would probably do something dangerous, and Sam would try to stop me. That was about it.

Before I knew it, light began to pour in from the window. I sat up and got out of bed. I walked over to Sam's bed and whispered, "Sam," to try to wake her up. She shifted. I shook her lightly and whispered her name again. She shifted again, and moaned. "Sam!" I whispered a little louder, and shook a little harder too. Sam was never a morning person.

"Do I have to get up, Mom?" she moaned.

I sighed. "We're meeting Gaara today."

She sat straight up. "We are? What?"

"Okay, that woke you up."

"So we're not meeting him today?"

"Nope. Now come on," I said, and grabbed her arm to pull her out of bed.

"Oh, hey guys!" Naruto called in greeting as we passed Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto was apparently having breakfast there.

"Hey Naruto!" we called back.

"Did you guys like your rooms?"

We nodded. "Thanks for helping us find one," I said.

"No problem."

Sakura walked by, and stopped when she saw our trio. "Are you really eating ramen for breakfast, Naruto?"

He smiled. "Yup."

She sighed. "Well, when you're done, we need to go to the Mission Reception." She looked at Sam. "Maybe we can get a mission to escort you to your village."

"Maybe," Sam answered, shrugging.

"Done!" Naruto called.

"Well, that was quick," Sakura remarked. "Then c'mon!"

"Let's go!" Naruto called excitedly, running ahead.

He got up, and we began to head to the Mission Reception. When we got there, there were the usual people: Iruka Sensei, Shizune, and Lady Tsunade. Kakashi Sensei was waiting for us.

"Hey Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto greeted.

"Hey guys. Who are your friends?"

"This is Natalie, and this is Samantha," Sakura introduced.

"I am Kakashi Hatake. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," we replied.

Sakura turned to Lady Tsunade. "Milady?"

"What is it?"

"I would like to ask permission to escort Samantha back to her village."

"Sure." Especially if it will keep Naruto from complaining, she thought.

I blinked. How did I just hear that? I looked over to Sam, and she gave me a puzzled look. She had heard it too. I later learned that, after nights spent thinking about it, that because in the show we could hear people's thoughts, we could hear them now if we listened. Or at least, that's what I figured out. I could be wrong.

I snapped back to reality, and thought about her answer for a moment. "Can I come along?" I asked.

"That would be up to them," she replied, gesturing to Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto.

I turned to them. "I say it's up to these two," Kakashi said.

"I don't mind," Sakura said.

"Sure!" Naruto happily accepted.

Sam looked at me excitedly, not saying a word. I smiled in return. We could stay together a little bit longer. We were best friends, we didn't exactly want to part quite yet. When we imagined the wonderful adventures we would have in the Naruto world if it existed, it was always imagined that we were together.

"Then we'll leave tomorrow," Kakashi ordered.

"Very well then," Lady Tsunade said.

"Meet me at the bridge tomorrow morning."

"Right!" we all said in unison.


"Where's Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto moaned.

"He always does this," Sakura answered.

"Hi, guys," Kakashi Sensei said as he appeared on one of the gates to the bridge. He was late. Go figure.

"Where were you?" Naruto asked angrily.

Sam and I just stood there. "Sorry I'm late," he replied. "I guess I just got lost on the path of life." Typical.

"That's a lie!" Naruto yelled.

"Give us a break," Sakura sighed.

"Let's get going," I suggested. Everyone looked at me.

Sakura nodded. "Right!"


We lay at camp on our second day of travel. Sam and I lay side by side. We were still awake, but everyone else was asleep; everyone but Kakashi, anyway. He sat by the fire, gazing silently into the flames. He was on watch, of course.

"Tomorrow we make it to the Sand Village," Sam whispered.

"Yeah…." I knew that meant that was just one day closer to Sam and I being split up. We wouldn't see each other often after that. We would live in separate villages. And then, what of home? "What about home?" I asked quietly. "That's where we live, not here. Are we just going to forget about that right away, without even trying to find a way back?"

"Are you really already missing home?"

"Not really, but we'll have to go back eventually."

"Well then we will try…. We will; I promise."

"Okay…." My mind turned to the repetitive nightmare. "I still have that nightmare, by the way."

"The one I'm in?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm…. Do you suppose it would happen while we're here?"

"Maybe…." A cold sense of dread grew inside of me. I knew that if I did anything reckless here, the result could be death. Ninja skills versus untrained girl equal me dead. So that could be why Sam had said I would kill myself by doing whatever I was doing.

"Well, good night," she said, and drifted to sleep.

I, however, couldn't. I was too busy pondering over that nightmare. I tried to change the thoughts going on in my mind, to change the subject, but it did no good.

I turned over and sighed. I knew it was going to happen one way or another. I guess I just have to enjoy myself for now, I thought. I looked at Kakashi. I wonder if I can hear him...

I listened for a bit, and I finally heard his thoughts. If their village isn't their home, than what is? he wondered.

Oops, I thought to myself. He overheard us. Darn ninja hearing! I tried to listen in on his thoughts again, but to no avail. Maybe this "power" fades the longer we stay here. I suggested to myself.

I pondered over that for a bit, slowly drifting off to sleep; where my mind began to wander….


I sat bolt upright in my sleeping bag. Yet again, I had had the nightmare.

"You're up early," Kakashi remarked.

"Yeah…."

Sam stirred. Kakashi got to his feet. "All right, time to wake up."

Both Sam and Naruto moaned. Sakura sat up and slowly got to her feet. I got to my feet as well, then leaned down beside Sam.

"We're meeting Gaara today," I whispered.

Her eyes shot open. "I'm up!" She sat up.

Naruto slowly sat up. He stretched and yawned. He blinked, then jumped to his feet. "All right, I'm ready!"


We stood at the entrance to the Sand Village. The guards saw us, and asked our reason for coming.

"We are here on a mission to escort this young lady back to her village," Kakashi replied.

"Okay…."

"And a friendly visit from four Leaf Village ninjas," Sakura added.

They let us through. Luckily enough, we saw Temari right as we walked in. She used to be Sam's second favorite character. Of course, now it was Itachi. …Or was it? He was truly the bad guy now, even if he wasn't actually a bad guy. People just thought he was.

"Hey guys, what brings you here? And who are your friends?"

"This is Natalie," Sakura said, gesturing to me. I gave a little wave. "And this is Samantha, from your village. You can call her Sam though." Sam just smiled.

"And we're on a mission to escort her back here," Naruto added.

"Hmmm… would you like to visit Gaara? I'm sure he has a bit of time," Temari suggested.

"Sure!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"We'd love to, if it isn't much trouble," Sakura said.

"No, not at all."

I looked at Sam to see her eyes sparkling with joy - literally. Gotta love anime. I knew she'd never thought she'd see this day. Gaara was not only her favorite, she actually loved him. (Ahem, she was a fangirl.) I, though, was having trouble liking someone: Naruto. Because Sam loved Gaara, I didn't want to "take" him. So, I tried to "like" Naruto instead. Some moments were easier than others to like about him. Even now, after I had met him face to face, it still wasn't all that easy.

I would like the Akatsuki, but, well, that obviously would end up with me getting killed. I kinda didn't want to be killed. It would be nice to meet them though, and them not kill us. …Deidara in particular.

"Let's go see if he's open," Temari said, and we headed in the direction of the house of the Kazekage.


"Gaara, are you available for a minute?" Temari asked, cracking open his door. "There are people who would like to see you."

"Come in," I heard from the other side.

I took a glance at Sam, who looked overjoyed to hear his voice. Imagine what she'll do when she sees him in person, I thought to myself.

Temari opened the door to reveal Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi to Gaara.

"Hey Gaara!" Naruto greeted.

"What brings you here all the way from the Leaf Village?"

"They're here on a mission to escort someone here," Temari said, gesturing to the door.

I began to walk in, but Sam seemed paralyzed. I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room. She walked along, me as her guide, until she saw Gaara. There, she stopped. I knew that she was probably thinking how much more "prettyful" he was in person. She liked the word prettyful.

"H-hi Gaara," she stammered, her eyes wide open and staring. "Er... Lord Gaara." I, personally, never thought I'd see Sam nervous. She wasn't the nervous type.

I listened intently, to see his reaction. Who is she? he thought. She's from the village, I should recognize her.

"This is Samantha, from your village," I introduced. "You can call her Sam though." He looked at me. "I'm Natalie, her friend." He gave a curt, understanding nod.

"All right guys," Temari said. "A Kazekage is always busy."

She led us out of the room, Gaara watching us go from behind.


I sat bolt upright in bed. The dream was especially vivid that time. It's coming closer.

I looked over at the bed beside me. Sam sat, head in hands, at the edge.

"Don't stay up too late," I whispered.

"I got to meet Gaara, Natalie. I got to meet Gaara, and I ruined it."

"You didn't ruin it," I assured her. "You were just a little shy."

"I'm never shy." She wasn't convinced.

"Do you want to watch the sun rise?" I asked. "It helps me feel better." I had watched the sunrise a lot lately; to calm my nerves after that nightmare. It helped.

"Sure."

We went out to the village walls. The sunrise was beautiful on the seemingly endless dunes of sand. It was like a painting; pure, untouched, and nothing to disturb it. Everything seemed still until we saw something off in the distance.

"What is that?" Sam asked.

I squinted my eyes to have a look. It looked like a lot of ninjas, from another village. They were going to attack the Sand Village. Wait… what?

"Sam," I said seriously. "They're from another village. They're going to attack."

Her eyes widened. We rushed off to wake the others.


"Sakura! Sakura, wake up!"

She opened her eyes and blinked. "What is it Natalie?"

"There are ninjas coming to attack!"

"Oh!"

She rushed off to tell Kakashi Sensei. Sam rushed in the door with Naruto. "We need to tell Gaara, and the other Sand Village people," I said.

"Right!" Naruto said, and rushed off. We followed, coming to Gaara's home.

"Gaara!" Naruto called.

"I'm right here," he said. He was right by the door. "What's wrong?"

"There are ninjas coming to attack your village!" Sam exclaimed.

His eyes widened slightly. "Find Temari and Kankuro to warn them. I'll warn my ninjas of the coming attack." With that, we rushed off in separate directions.

The ninjas from the village Hidden in the Rain, a nearby village, came rushing into the Sand Village, but we were ready. This was weird, since the Rain Village seemed cut of to the rest of the ninja world. They weren't one to attack in groups. And wasn't run by Pain? Or was the civil war still going on? The Sand Village ninjas attacked straight away. It felt strange to hold a kunai knife in my hand. I wasn't one to kill.

Gaara, Naruto, Sakura, Sam, and I went outside the walls to stop other ninjas before they came in. I may have been only partial to killing the bad guys, but Sam was full on. It seemed as though she wanted to kill anyone who wanted to attack the Sand Village… and Gaara.

As I was truly fighting for the first time, I realized how little experience I had. I would probably be the one to die.

Somehow, though, it seemed easy. My first opponent went down fast. I didn't like what I was doing at all, but I was killing to save lives. As my opponent fell to the ground, however, I got a massive headache that seemed to center on my forehead.

I held my hand there, and I put my headband up to rub the pain's worst point. I rubbed the dark line I had found earlier. As I felt it, it opened up to reveal a third eye.

"Ew…. How did that get there?"

The strangest part, though, was what happened next. The man's spirit seemed to lift out of his body… and began attacking his own people. His body still lay there. What the…? I wondered. That's just… creepy.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, squinting up into the sky. I turned to where he was looking. At the moment, it was just a black dot on the horizon, but it was coming closer.

I squinted too, as the dot drew nearer. I could make out a figure, who seemed to be wearing a cloak. He seemed to be on a white bird….

"Deidara," Naruto whispered, narrowing his eyes. He clenched his fists, and shut his eyes tight. When his eyes opened, they were red, and his fine whiskers were jagged.

I saw Sam turn her head to see this, and looked up too see the figure too. She stopped in her tracks. As I glanced to the other side, I saw Sakura take a glance. She rushed off, probably to tell Kakashi. Gaara simply stole a glance and continued to fight.

"You're dead," Naruto whispered.

Suddenly, Naruto began to run, towards the figure. "You're dead!" he repeated.

I knew what would happen next. If no one helped him, he would be the next…. I couldn't let it happen. As my worry grew stronger, I realized… maybe I didn't need to try anymore. Maybe I didn't think of us as just friends….

I snapped back to reality. "NO!" I called. I began to run after him, faster and faster.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sam cried from behind.

"I'll be fine!" I called back.

"You'll kill yourself!"

I stopped short. This is the dream. One of the ninja threw a large shurikan at me. On instinct, I caught it with a single hand.

"I'll be fine," I repeated, and rushed off with the large shurikan as a weapon… if I needed it.

Looks like I'd be meeting Deidara after all.


"Natalie!" I cried. Well, this isn't good. She should know what happens if they get caught by him. I sighed. We haven't been here even a week and she's already in trouble. Wait… I'm the one who gets into trouble, not her!

"Not again…." I turned to look at the speaker. Kakashi stood by my side with Sakura. "When will he learn?" Then, he rushed off with Sakura.

What about me…? I thought. I took a look at Gaara. As tempting as it is to pummel the guy that kidnapped Gaara, I need to help the village… my village.

Gaara called in a few more fighters for outside the city walls, and hopped on his sand. He appeared to want to go after Natalie and the others. He was about to go, when he stopped… right by me. Does he want me to come along? I wondered.

He looked down at me. He's so prettyful. He held out his hand to help me onto his sand. Oh my God.

I seemed to float to him, closer and closer. He looked at me in wonder. He looked down, and blinked in surprise. I looked down at my feet, to find a floating rock beneath my feet. "How the hell did that get there?" I asked. Before my eyes, it fell to the ground, me going with it.

"Gah!" I thought I was going to hit the ground, but something stopped me, and picked me up. Gaara's sand had saved me. "Hehe... Thanks."

He gave a curt nod, and we rushed off towards the others.


"Come on!" I said, annoyed. Before Kakashi, Sakura, Gaara, and I stood Itachi. Of course he wanted to delay us. And to think, Itachi would still almost be my favorite if we were at home. At home, I had been debating whether to choose Gaara or Itachi…. I think this was the point where I made my decision. Itachi was the bad guy now. There was no going for him now. Naruto and Natalie were still ahead. We had come all the way to the edge of the forest.

"Remember, don't look him in the eyes… and be very cautious," Kakashi warned as he lifted his headband.

No chiz, I thought.

"If someone is caught in his Gen Jutsu, flow your chakra into them. That'll snap them out of it."

I gave a curt nod. It worked with Naruto.

"All right, cover me."

"Right!" Sakura and I said. Gaara just gave a nod.

Itachi just narrowed his eyes (not that I could look at them), and made a few hand signs with lightning speed. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Kakashi rushed at him, dodging his attacks.


Holy crap! I thought to myself. Sakura and Kakashi were both hiding; it was mine and Gaara's turn to attack. I was really getting tired though. I wasn't exactly used to this.

Gaara made an attack. A cloud of dust ensued afterward, and I couldn't see a thing. When it cleared, it showed Itachi standing there, and a gouge in the ground in front of him.

As I looked, I saw that Gaara lay in that gouge. My eyes widened… and I got really mad. When neither Kakashi nor Sakura came out to help, I figured they were occupied.

I really didn't know what I was doing, it was mostly on instinct. I hopped into the air, landed on a tree branch, and shot back down, my fist aiming for his face.

I gave him a hard, painful punch to his jaw. "Take that, ya freakin' weasel!"

Somehow, I could hear his thoughts. I think this is enough, he thought. Then, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

My fist hit the ground, where he used to be. "...Ow," I said, holding my hand. I looked around; he seemed to be gone. I didn't know how to sense chakra yet. I looked down at Gaara. His eyes were wide open, and his face bore a surprised expression. He wasn't breathing….

I looked down at the ground, fighting back tears, when I heard a crack. I looked back at Gaara, who now had a large crack in his face. Before my eyes, he slowly collapsed. "But that means…."

I looked beside me, where Gaara now stood. He hadn't a scratch on him. "How much did you see…?" I asked timidly.

"Everything; now let's go."


I heard a battle cry up ahead. Kakashi and Sakura had rejoined our little group. We knew we were getting close, as I recognized the cry to be Naruto's.

We came to a clearing. Deidara was in the air, Naruto was trying to attack him, and Natalie stood on the ground, staring up at him. She looked at us.

"Right on time," she smiled.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called.

Naruto fell back to the ground; at least he landed on his feet. He looked at Kakashi. "What took ya?"

"You should have learned by now not to attack without backup; especially when you're the target."

Naruto frowned. "Well, in any case," Natalie said, "we have to fight him."

"She's right you know," Deidara said. He threw his detonating clay creations at us. I don't know how, but I managed to dodge them. Again, it was just on instinct.

Natalie put her hand to her forehead, as though it hurt there. Had Deidara hit her? I looked at her closer. No, there was no scratch or burn, or any mark.

Deidara gave a little laugh. "Now I know for sure…."

"Know what?" I asked angrily.

"Nekomata…. Now I know where that went…. Hmm..."

"Neko-what-a?"

"Nekomata," Kakashi explained, "is one of the nine tailed-beasts. It is the two-tailed cat. From what I know, its power is death, and I think it feeds on deceased people's spirits."

"You're right," Natalie said quietly. "Nekomata has a third eye on top of its head to consume those spirits. It can even control the spirits, and may be related to the Shukaku." She turned to Gaara.

Holy crap, I thought. My best friend's a Jinchuriki. …When did that happen?

"But…." Sakura said. "But wasn't there already a two-tailed jinchuriki? How can it be Natalie?"

"We extracted the two-tailed months ago. Too bad it escaped, yeah. Apparently, it went to someone else's body, hm." Deidara turned back to Natalie. "We lost the five-tailed too, but who knows where that went."

Suddenly, the fight began.

It all happened so fast….


"He's getting away!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I think he's learned his lesson." Pff, not really. He barely had a scratch on him.

Naruto frowned. "Well, I'm glad that's over," I remarked.

"Yeah, that 'art' wasn't exactly fun," Sakura said, and shook her head. "Too bad he didn't kill himself before, as we thought."

Everyone seemed perfectly fine: me, Gaara, Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto…. Where's Natalie? I wondered. "Has anyone seen Natalie?" I asked.

They shook their heads. I squinted at the figure that was getting smaller and smaller. From what I could make out, Deidara had Natalie captive. "Oh my God, he's got Natalie!"

"Oh no…," Naruto said, "not another extraction!"

"But that means…," I murmured.

"That we need to hurry," Kakashi finished. "Let's get some rest. Then we can chase them down."

"But they're still in sight, why can't we get them now?" Naruto argued.

"We need our strength; we just fought."

I sighed, and relaxed the best I could. It didn't work well...


"Dang it; let me go!"

"Shut up!" he answered in annoyance.

I squirmed in the tail of Deidara's clay-made bird. If I didn't get away, I would end up dead. Sam was right, I would kill myself. I knew he would knock me out sometime soon, and I was already pretty beat up. I wasn't exactly the best at fighting.

"You won't get away with this!" I yelled.

"Will you just shut up? You're getting on my nerves, hm. They let me go without Tobi, and you show up."

I scowled and glared at him. He hit me on the back of my head. The world began to spin, until everything went black.


"All right, our short break is over," Kakashi said.

"All right! I'm ready!" Naruto said.

I was really worried. If we didn't save her, Natalie would be….

We needed to hurry.