A/N: Hey! Sorry for the late update. This chapter took forever to get right. Just want to clarify something. I started this before catching up in the manga, so there are some inconsistencies, but you know, thats why it's a fanfic. I can do what I want here :p *EVIL LAUGH*

Kiba: Yea yea, enough with the laughing. We all know your too soft to be evil.

Bethanay: Oh, i'm too soft, am I?

Kiba: Uh-oh

Bethanay: Is Kiba in a dress evil enough, or should i have him do something really embarrassing?

Kiba: NO! Help me!

Bethanay: Bwahahaha!

Warning: Strong language and future lemon. I will warn you when lemon happens so don't have to read it if you don't want to.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Mia.

Mia POV

True, I'm have never been the most even tempered person, and I was never known for my patience. But damn if these three weren't trying their best just to tick me off!

After making sure I was all right, Naruto preceded to talk my ear off about how he couldn't wait to finally leave base, whatever that was, and get home. Yea, real smart thing to say to the kidnap victim. The idiot. Apparently there was this place he's been dying to go to, some ramen stand or something. He just wouldn't shut up about it! If he hadn't been so nice before, I swear I would have beaten him into the ground right there. How could someone so sweet be so stupid?

It was painfully obvious he was trying to distract me from noticing that Kakashi and Sakura had decided to have their own little private conversation. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what they were talking about. It did take one to figure out why the hell they didn't just point me in the direction of the nearest subway station. I couldn't be THAT far from home.

I was starting to get very anxious, fear swelling in the pit of my stomach. Ignoring Naruto completely, I thought about the events of the day. Kidnapped, tied up, saved and magically healed by two kids no older than myself, and neither them or their teammate seemed to know where how to get me back to a borough of the biggest city on the east coast. Something didn't add up, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on. It's like these three were from a different planet or something.

After a few more minutes ignoring Naruto's endless rant about ramen, Kakashi and Sakura finally returned.

"Well, Mia-chan, I'm afraid I wont be much help to you, but I do know a few people who will be." The white-haired man said, his one visible eye creasing in a smile. What is it with people around here and only having one eye? At least Kakashi's wasn't blood red.

"They aren't too far. We should be able to get back before nightfall" he added

I didn't really like the idea of going to meet Kakashi's "friends", but then again, I probably didn't have much of a choice. Whoever they were, they were my best bet to getting home.

I followed the three of them out of the cave, the late afternoon sun warming my skin, but not my insides.

I guess my unease showed, because next thing I knew, Sakura was by my side.

"Don't worry." she whispered low enough so the others couldn't hear. "You're going to be fine."

I looked at her. Not that she was a bad person, but my first impression of Sakura was that she was one tough bitch, so it was a bit surprising hearing her try to comfort me. It made me smile a bit, realizing she was a bit gentler than I first imagined.

"Thanks" I whispered back, trying to put as much sentiment as I could in the single word.

"Alright," Kakashi said loudly, his voice interrupting our girl bonding moment. "We'll get there faster if I carry you, Mia-chan. Is that okay with you?"

I nodded, wondering why the hell we would walk somewhere and why carrying me would be easier for anyone. I figured I might not want to know the answer after everything I saw today.

Kakashi stepped over to me, grabbed my arm, and swung me onto his back with ease. I grabbed his broad shoulders for support and he locked his arms under my knees. Once he saw I was settled, he moved.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed as loud as I could, which wasn't too loud considering I couldn't take a breath.

Kakashi had run two paces, then jumped twenty feet in the air, landing nimbly on a branch. He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, seeming confused by my reaction.

"Y-You just-!" I began, but then gave up. "Never mind. I'm fine." I mumbled.

I let go of any sense of reality and physical laws I knew, because clearly, they didn't apply to people here, where ever 'here' was. Sakura's hands glowed green and could magically heal people and Kakashi can jump impossible heights in a single leap. When did I enter an X-men comic!

Kakashi shrugged and leaped again, forward to the next branch. This time, however, he didn't stop. He used his momentum and pushed off harder, gaining speed.

I clenched his shoulders tighter and buried my face between his shoulder blades. I wasn't afraid of heights. Hell, I'm a regular roller coaster junkie. But roller coasters are on tracks, not very weak looking branches.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's voice sounded very close, but I didn't look up to find out where he was.

"You might wanna slow down! Mika-chan looks like she's about to pass out!"

I grumbled into Kakashi's back. Damn this kid was really pushing it. I might not be able to fly through the trees like Tarzan, but I was not going to pass out.

Lifting my head, I looked through the tendrils of brown hair billowing around me until I found Naruto, running on the branches the same way Kakashi was, a few paces behind.

"It's Mia, dumbass! Try it, its only three letters! M-I-A! And I am NOT going to pass out, thank you very much!"

"Sorry, Mia-chan." Naruto said, his eyes cast down, looking more like a sad puppy than any teenage boy had a right too. Oh, god, I'm a sucker for doe eyes.

"It's all right." I grumbled, ashamed for being defenseless to the cuteness.

As I nestled my head against Kakashi's back once more, I felt gentle laughter run through him.

"It's not funny." I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. I hated people laughing at me, and I was very glad he couldn't see the blush I felt creeping over my cheeks.

After about an hour of tree-jumping, I felt Kakashi jump down from the branch. I bit down on my lip to stop from screaming at the rush of adrenalin from the free fall.

"We're here." Kakashi said quietly.

I lifted my head and gently slid off his back. Looking around, I could see we stood at the edge of a circular clearing. It was filled with large tents that formed a kind of city, and were sectioned off by color. I could see the further towards the center, the tents became fewer and larger. There were several small clearings behind the tent city that were completely empty.

Men and women, who wore the same black pants with white wrappings and thick green vests as Kakashi, were running back and forth. A few who were closer to the edge saw us and greeted Kakashi briefly before their eyes swept over me, their expressions guarded.

Unconsciously, I moved closer to the man next to me, almost hiding behind him. I didn't like the way the others looked at me, like I was something undesirable that needed to be removed, or worse, examined. I wasn't sure how well I could trust Kakashi, but I believed at the very least he wouldn't hurt me.

Thump

Feeling the light pressure on my head, I looked up. The white haired man placed his hand over my head, petting my hair gently without meeting my gaze. I usually hated when people, usually my brother, did this, but I could feel Kakashi's concern. I let it slide this time, warmed by the fact that he wanted to comfort me.

"Sakura-chan, Naruto" he called, tilting his head slightly over his shoulder, his hand still resting on my head.

I looked behind me to see the other two drop down from the trees. Maybe I should've been more concerned about the fact that Kakashi heard them before they landed, but for my own sanity, I ignored it.

"Go clean up. I'm taking Mia-chan to the kages. We'll be back soon." Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"'Kay! See ya, Mia-chan!" Naruto yelled brightly, already running towards the red section of tents. I smiled just a bit, glad that he finally got my name right. Sakura gave a small wave of her own before following Naruto.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked, finally looking down at me. Damn he was tall! My neck began to hurt from looking up.

"As I'll ever be." I answered, still not sure if the kages will be my salvation or my damnation.

Kakashi's hand slid from my head to rest around my shoulders and used it to gently guide me through the maze of people and tents. I walked with strong, sure steps, my head high, my eyes straight ahead, ignoring the stares from the people we passed. Just like freshman year. Joy.

'I must really stick out, huh?' I wondered.

Judging from what I could see from the corners of my vision, most people around me were in those same clothes, very different from my bright, slightly bloody, long sleeve pink tee and jeans that were caked in paint after years of using them as a smock. Yea, I didn't blend very well.

Finally, we arrived at the dead center of the clearing and walked into a tent that was large enough to hold a three-ring circus.

Sadly, there was no circus inside. It was just a meeting room. Men stood along three of the walls, their eyes trained on me. There was a semicircular table that curved around the far end, with five people sitting at it.

'I'm guessing they're the kages. They must be the brains of this whole operation.'

Kakashi lead me to the center of the room, directly in front of the table and introduced me. Five pairs of eyes scrutinized my every move as Kakashi explained what happened in the caves with Mr. Wacko, whose real name was Uchiha Madara.

I tuned out Kakashi's voice as I looked at each of the five in turn. There were three men and two women all wearing the similar robes. One woman wore a blue robe and had long burnt orange hair and a pretty face. The other, a blonde, kept her red robe open, revealing a green top and pants and one hell of a rack. Damn. Usually I was okay with my body, but her proportions would make even Barbie jealous.

One of the men was really old and small, with a bulbous nose and beady eyes. His robe was green. The second man had a dull yellow robe and bore a strange resemblance to the Hulk, but had white-blonde hair and deep tan, not green, skin. The third man was actually more of a boy. He looked my age, maybe a bit older, with striking red hair and deep teal eyes that contrasted with the white of his robe. He kept his hands folded in front of him, blocking the rest of his face.

I had been so focused on the people in front of me I didn't realize that Kakashi had finished speaking.

"Mia-chan?" he asked expectantly.

Shit. What did he say?

"Huh?" Great. The only response I can come up with is 'huh?' What a way to make a first impression for very powerful people.

"Tsk, honestly girl, are you stupid? Stop wasting our time. Either say your piece or get out." The old man said, his voice full of distain.

He didn't just say that, did he? I didn't care how powerful he was, if he didn't knock it off, he was going to get hurt.

"I'm very sorry for wasting your time," I said, my voice sickly sweet and saturated with sarcasm. "But if you'll please stop wasting mine and just tell me how to get outta here, I'll be more than happy to leave."

"Why you little-"

"Oh, hush up, Onoki." The woman in the blue robes silenced the old man. She then turned to me.

"Where is it you would go, Mia-chan, if we were to help you?" She asked, her voice matching mine in sweetness, but I could hear her power underneath it.

"Home" I said simply. Unlike gramps, this woman wasn't downright disrespectful, so I held back from adding the obvious 'duh'. Gosh, I was starting to understand just how Dorothy felt after landing in Oz. Could I have my ruby slippers now, please?

"And where is your home?"

I sighed. After my conversations with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, I knew where this was going. I was a stranger who was found with a known enemy and was talking about a place no one has ever heard of. Hell, I don't know if I'd even believe me at this point. All I could hope for was that they would hear my sincerity.

"I live in Brooklyn, New York."

They weren't buying it. I could see Old Man Onoki shaking his head while the woman in blue narrowed her eyes at me. The Hulk was looking at me with distrust, and neither the blonde woman nor the boy let on what they were thinking.

Damn it, if I didn't convince them now, I might never get out.

"Look," I started, my voice calm and even, trying to see if I can talk my way out. "I know you guys don't trust me, and I don't blame you for that, but I am telling you the truth."

"Why should we just take you for your word?" the Hulk asked, crossing his arms so that, even under the robe, his massive muscles could be seen.

Wow, he was scary. Scary, and pushing my last button. I was tired, stressed, freaked out, sore, and these guys were only making it worse. I could almost physically feel my patience slip away. Oh well, if I'm screwed anyway, I might as well do it right.

"Today I woke up in chains, was threatened by a psycho in a mask, who by all rights should have his own horror film, was saved by a girl whose hands glow when she magically heals people, was brought here by a guy who can jump twenty feet in the air and run on trees without breaking a sweat, and now I'm being questioned by the head honchos. I wanna go home and forget any of this ever happened before I go bat-shit crazy. Now you tell me, why the fuck would I lie to you people!

I was panting. I couldn't get enough air into my lungs after my little screaming rant. My ragged breaths were the only noise in the room apart from the few shocked gasps coming from the men along the walls.

Okay, maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't have cursed out the five most powerful people here. Damn. Hopefully one day I'll be able to think before I speak and control my temper. Then again, maybe Hell would freeze over and the SATs would be easy.

"Hmmm." The small noise brought me out of my train of thought. I focused on the blonde woman who made it.

"Inoichi" she called, twirling one of her low pigtails around her finger.

Behind her, a man with a long blonde ponytail stepped forward.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" He asked

"Search her mind."

Wait, what? Now they had mind readers too? Not that I had anything to hide, but there are some personal thoughts up in there. No matter how much I wanted to prove myself, this just didn't feel right. I'm sure I'm not the only girl who didn't want some stranger pawing around up in her private life.

The man walked toward me, his arm outstretched. Each stepped he took forward, I took one back.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." He said quietly.

Yea, that's what they all said. But looking around, I knew I didn't have another choice. If I refused to let him in, the others would see it as proof I was hiding something. Resigning with I sigh, I relaxed my shoulders and stepped into his hand. I tried to focus my thoughts on home. I thought of my family, my street, my school, my friends and me hanging out in the city every weekend.

After a moment, the man backed away and looked me dead in the eyes. For the first time that day, the gaze wasn't full of apprehension or distrust. It was full of wonder, and it brightened his face a lot, making him look a lot less intimidating.

"Amazing." He whispered.

"Inoichi?" Hokage-sama asked.

The man turned to face the blonde woman.

"There is no trace of a genjutsu on her. What she says about who she is and where she is from is true." He paused for a moment, and then continued, his voice softer, less business-like. "There is a reason she was confused when Kakashi called her home a village. It is like nothing I have ever seen before."

"Woah!" I exclaimed. "You could actually see the places I was thinking about? I thought it was just going to be like mind reading stuff." I said. I wasn't totally confortable about this Inoichi, but he didn't seem so bad.

"Yes. It is my kekkei genkai." He smiled

"Riiight" I said, exaggerating the 'i'. "'Cause I know what that is." I finished, the sarcasm finding it's way back into my voice, although this time it wasn't mean.

It looked as if he was about to explain when Hokage-sama cleared her throat and turned to the old man.

"Onoki"

"Yes, Tsunade-hime, I know." He said slowly, rubbing his chin, thinking. "The question, though, is how. And why." Old Man Onoki snapped his head up suddenly. "Girl!" he said loudly to get my attention.

"You know my name, old man." I said, a little more defiantly than I should have, although my reaction earned a chuckle from Kakashi and a few others in the room.

"Fine, then." The little man said, his brow twitching from what I assumed was annoyance. "Impudent Child, did Madara say why he took you?" He asked.

Although he kept a pretty good poker face, I could see the corners of his wrinkled mouth turn upwards from my new name. I briefly wondered how much trouble I'd get in if I socked him in the face. I wondered if he'd even be able to do anything about it.

"No, he didn't." I answered, deciding that attacking him would probably be detrimental to my situation at the moment. I mentally patted my back at my self-control. It did exist! Who knew?

"It could have just been-" Hokage-sama started

"But we can't just assume. Not when Madara is involved." The Hulk said over her.

"Then what should we do with her?"

"She's not our responsibility." Onoki said shortly

"I agree, but-" the woman in blue began

They continued like that for a while, never fully finishing their sentences, cutting one another off. It was like half of their conversation was through a psychic connection or something. How the hell was I supposed to know what's going on if they refuse to be coherent?

I waited for them to finish, but they never did. With the exception of the red-haired boy, the kages continued to talk over each other and bicker worse than my family did. And that's saying something; we've got three lawyers in the family. Once again, my patience faltered and my small self-control left me. It worked once today, maybe a second bout of rage might do some good.

'Oh, fuck this.'

I took a deep breath and screamed.

Gaara POV

The kazekage was pulled from his train of thought by the piercing scream coming from the girl in front of him. The others had stopped their conversation.

The girl opened her eyes, crossed her arms, and glared brazenly into each of the kages' eyes, coming to his last. He glared back at her just as intensely. He could tell by her previous outbursts that she was one to challenge authority. He didn't want her to think she could push him the way she did the Tsuchikage.

However, Gaara could feel some of his intensity fade the longer he looked into her deep green eyes. She broke the gaze, turning to face the Hokage, and Gaara shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear his head.

"Now that I have your attention, would one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?" Mia said shortly, not hiding the annoyance in her clear voice.

"How dare you-" the Tsuchikage began, only to be cut off once again by the Mizukage.

"Onoki, stop. The poor girl has been through enough to day with out you yelling at her." She said with a pout. The older man grumbled something about respecting elders, but kept it to himself.

The Hokage looked at the girl in the center of the room and began to explain what they had been talking about. A few weeks ago, Uchiha Sasuke's companion, Karin, was taken to Konohakagure. There, she gave the Hokage some of Madara's notes relating to the development of a new jutsu. A jutsu that would create a wormhole, ultimately controlling time and space.

"It is more than possible that during an attempt to preform this jutsu, the wormhole he created linked into your space; your world." She finished

Mia thought for a moment, one fist pressed against her lips, the other arm wrapped around her waist, her brows bent in concentration.

"So you're saying," she started slowly, "that using this…technique, Madara was able to enter my world and bring me back to his. So, this is like an alternate dimension?"

"That's exactly what it is. Your world and ours exist on different planes of space. There are actually more than just our two." The Tsuchikage stated.

"What?" the two female kages asked in unison.

"We had known about the existence of one other dimension for a while, but only recently found others. We had yet to further our research, so the information has yet to be released." The old man said simply.

"Wait, if this jutsu thing attaching to my world was an accident, why would Madara kidnap me?"

"In all likely hood, he was testing to see if he could stretch the jutsu and transport others with him. It was just your bad luck that you were near by." The Hokage said, sadness on the edge of her voice.

Silence filled the room once more, each person consumed in their own thoughts. Gaara contemplated the consequences of this new jutsu. Madara could already dematerialize, making attacking him extremely difficult. Attacking while he could also manipulate time and space would be impossible. In addition, he could also use the jutsu to move his army anywhere in literally no time at all. Gaara felt his stomach drop when he thought of the odds they were up against.

"Well if you have his notes, couldn't you guys just use this jutsu to make another wormhole to send me home?" Mia asked. Gaara was surprised as her voice became higher, full of hope, more like a child's.

"No" the Raikage answered shortly, but without his previous harshness.

"His notes were incomplete. We don't know enough to preform the jutsu properly, and if it is done improperly, the results could be disastrous."

"Oh" was all the girl could say.

Gaara rested his chin on his hands and looked at Mia. He could see on her face she was struggling to accept what they were telling her. It was a lot to take in, he admitted to himself. Although he thought her to be immature in the way she handled herself before, he admired the strength she showed now. There was certainly more to this girl than her short temper and inappropriate speech. Gaara wondered just how much more there was and how much Madara wanted to know.

At that thought, he sat up and spoke for the first time.

"I think it would be best if Mia stayed here, on base. At least until we have more information." He said calmly.

"Stupid boy" the Tsuchikage spat. "We can't afford to have a civilian girl wandering around, disrupting things. Especially a civilian girl as strange as her."

"Hey-!" said strange girl began to protest, but Gaara cut her off.

"Madara might come back for the girl. It only makes sense that we keep him from her, and this base is the most secure location. As to her being a civilian, she handled herself well enough today, everything considered. I think she'll be able to adjust to living with shinobi, and shinobi rules."

Gaara noticed Mia's eyes narrow at him at that last bit. He allowed himself the smallest smile at her reaction to his indirect critique.

After a moment, the Raikage spoke up.

"I agree with the Kazekage."

"I also support this decision," the Hokage concurred. "but, I think it would be wise for Mia to have a shinobi watch over her."

"I take it you have someone in mind, Tsunade." The Mizukage stated.

"Yes. Inuzuka Kiba. This way she'll have two sets of eyes on her and she'll be familiar with the trackers should anything go wrong."

There were nods of approval all around.

"All right, then it's agreed. Mia will stay within the perimeter of the base at all times and will be escorted by the Inuzuka boy. Any questions, girl?" The elder kage asked.

The girl in the center of the room pivoted back and forth on her feet, clearly uncomfortable. Gaara was curious as to what question she had that made her feel that way. After another moment, she looked up, her eyes locking onto Gaara's.

Because of his affinity, Gaara wasn't very fond of forests. To be more accurate he couldn't stand them. It was a miracle he made it through his chunnin exam, and he was still dealing with the current location of the base. There wasn't enough sand in a forest, and they he felt claustrophobic. But as he stared into the deep green eyes of the girl in front of him, he felt curiously calm.

"Umm…" Mia started, clearly unsure.

Gaara realized he had been staring at her too long. He mentally chastised himself for losing focus.

"Yes?" he asked dryly.

"What's a shinobi?" she asked.

Gaara could see from the corner of his eye the confused expression of some in the room. It was a strange question for anyone who grew up in this world, the shinobi world. But then again, Mia wasn't from this world. She had seen some basics of what a shinobi was, but obviously she wouldn't just know what they were.

"A shinobi is one who trains their minds and bodies, studying different skills, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, in order to protect their village and their country. They follow the ninja way."

"N-ninja!" she exclaimed.

She was comical. Her voice cracked slightly, her eyes widened beyond belief, and her mouth hung open. Gaara heard Kankuro snicker behind him, but restrained from laughter himself.

"Oh, my God! That explains everything!" the girl squealed.

The Raikage looked questioningly at her. "How does that explain everything?"

Mia shook her hands in an exasperated motion, like it was obvious.

"I understood everything you guys were telling me, but I still couldn't figure out how any of this was possible. Ninjas fit. Ninja's can do anything! You guys are like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but real!" She explained.

This time, even Gaara couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips. Her whole demeanor changed when she was excited. There was no trace of sarcasm in her voice, no challenge in her stance. There was only admiration in her tone. Gaara couldn't help but feel a bit proud that he was part of something this girl admired.

"Are there ninja in your world, Mia-chan?" the Mizukage asked.

Mia shook her head, causing her brown hair to wave out.

"There used to be. In ancient Japan, ninjas were shadow warriors who were used for secret assassinations. They were killed as Japan became westernized. Ah, that is when they became more like other countries. Now, ninjas only exist in fairytales."

"Tsk. This is no fairytale, girl. It would be unwise to treat it as such. Now, if we are done here, there is work to do." The Tsuchikage said.

"Onoki is right, we need to get back to work." The Hokage said before turning to Hatake Kakashi. "Kakashi, take Mia and go find Kiba."

Before the Copy Nin could reply, Gaara saw his brother step forward.

"I'll take her, Hokage-sama. I was going to look for him anyway to spar." Kankuro said.

Kankuro's idea of 'sparring' with his boyfriend never involved any actual training. Gaara kept his thoughts to himself, though. It wasn't exactly something the Hokage needed to know.

She nodded once in consent then left the tent. Kakashi was about to follow her but stopped. He walked over to Mia, leaned down, bringing his masked lips to her ear. Gaara couldn't hear what the older nin whispered to the girl, but whatever it was brought a warm smile to her pink lips. Kakashi then stood up, scrunched his eye in a smile, and left.

The boy kage was shocked as Mia turned to face him, giving him that warm smile, ignoring the other kages as they walked by her.

"Thanks" she simply said before she and Kankuro walked out of the tent.

The red head watched as his brother walked away with the strange girl from a different world. There were a lot of questions that the session still hadn't answered, but one bothered Gaara more than the others. Why was it that one word from her made his chest constrict?

A/N (part two)- About Mia: With this character I really want to stress the difference between being pure hearted and being naive. In a lot of anime, the pure hearted girl is also very naive. Mia isn't naive. She's a down to earth wise ass who always has a comeback and has the temper to match. She curses like a sailor and will make innuendos with the best of them, but she's still got a child's heart. She gets excited easily and is optimistic. She knows fairytales don't come true, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying them. So if it seems like she's contradicting herself, I apologize. I am trying my best to avoid that. Please bear with me, I'm learning.

Thank you for all your support so far. It makes me really happy! Please Review! :D