Part 3: past events

"Welcome to our hideout, hm," Deidara said. I didn't answer; I simply couldn't move. I felt paralyzed, and I thought for sure it was a dream. He chuckled, and brought me in.

"Good, you're finally here," Hidan said.

"Who's this?" Kisame asked.

"The two-tailed jinchuriki," Deidara replied.

"Who's after her so far?" Pein asked Zetsu.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the nine-tailed jinchuriki; Sakura, the one who helped kill Sasori; Gaara, the former one-tailed jinchuriki; and Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja," he answered.

"And one unidentified girl," Itachi added.

"The one that punched you?" Kisame taunted.

Itachi didn't answer. She must be considerably skilled, their leader thought. "We need to get going; it will take three days and three nights."

"Won't it take longer without Orochimaru or Sasori?" Deidara asked.

"I have chakra too!" Tobi protested.

"All the more reason to get started," Pein replied.

I groaned, finally regaining enough strength to move. I sat up with my hand on my head, leaning on my other hand. I had a horrible headache. I took in my surroundings, only to find I was in an Akatsuki hideout, with all of its members looking at me. "Damn… am I already at this stage? How long was I out?" I asked myself.

"I thought that you had knocked her out," one said. I couldn't remember his name, my head hurt too much to think.

"I thought so too," Deidara replied. "Well, all we can do is knock her out again, huh?" He jumped down from his bird, which disappeared straight after. A small detonating clay bug crawled on my arm and exploded, giving me a deep gash. The pain was nearly unbearable. I fell back to the ground, clutching my arm.

"That's gonna leave a mark," I gasped. Darn it…. At this rate I'm gonna be dead!I can't let that happen…. Not only that, but I'm really bleeding. If I do survive, I'll at least have a scar. I looked up at Deidara, only to see a fist. I fell to the ground, eyes closed. I had to have them believe I was out. I loosened m grip on my arm, as though unconscious. I did my best to relax.

"All right, let's get started."

When they weren't looking, I quickly made a clone as quietly as possible. I dashed out of the hideout. I knew shadow clones weren't supposed to last long, so I had to keep giving my chakra into it. On top of that, if that wasn't me, how would they get Nekomata?

Of course, I realized. My mind flashed to a future episode I saw in the real world; one of Naruto's clones "went Kyuubi." My clone has Nekomata, just like me.

So I watched as my clone got the life basically sucked out of her by the Nine Phantom Dragons jutsu. All I really could do was wait, and hope I had enough energy to run once the Nine Phantom Dragons jutsu was over.

Three days and three nights later….

"It isn't done…. We need to hurry."

"Yes."

"They're getting closer," Zetsu warned.

"It's almost done."

I heaved a sigh in relief. I was still conscious, and my clone was still intact, although it was getting more difficult. At least the jutsu was almost done.

Sam and the others were almost here….

"Have they really delayed us long enough that they haven't put on the forbidden seal?" Sam asked worriedly.

I sighed. So they were here.

"Let's hope not," Kakashi answered. "Sakura?"

"Already on it. Stand back."

I heard a crash. I knew Sakura had broken her way into the hideout. I peeked inside. Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, Sam, and Kakashi rushed in.

My clone lay on the ground, Deidara standing next to it. "Hmm…. Zetsu was right on the money," Deidara remarked. "You guys really were close."

"It's weird," Naruto said. "I barely knew her… but I feel as though I've known her my whole life."

I blinked. This would scar them emotionally for years, if not for life. Should I go out? I thought. No, it's too risky right now.

Sakura put her hand on Sam's shoulder as though to comfort her, but she pulled away. Sam began to cry. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I saw my best friend's tears… for me.

"You monster!" Naruto yelled. "You do this to a girl who just wanted to find her way home!"

Sam must have told them, I thought.

"What do you mean by that?" Deidara asked.

"Don't," Kakashi warned. "He might get precious information, which will just make the Akatsuki stronger."

He's right.

Naruto scowled. Sam looked at my clone, whom she thought to be me. I could see she was no longer just sad. I could see rage burning in her eyes.

A fierce snarl ripped through Sam's throat. "You…."

"Sam…?" Sakura asked as she backed away towards the others.

"You!" Her streaked hair was suddenly bleached white, and it blew around in a whirlwind. Water appeared at her feet, creating a circle. Fire circled around her, and rocks began to tumble down.

My eyes grew wide.

"Well, I found the five-tailed jinchuriki!" Deidara said, surprised.

"You!" she shrieked.

I knew that if she was the five-tailed jinchuriki, she would soon create a huge earthquake. I had done research on the five-tailed beast back home, on the internet.

I reacted quickly. I summoned up all of my energy, and, although I was still giving chakra away to my clone, I was able to run away as fast as possible.

At first it was like an explosion. The shockwave made me shoot forward, only skimming the ground.

The world began to crack beneath me. Uh oh….

I jumped, and ran farther and farther away from the hideout.

As the ground shook beneath me, my chakra drained quickly from keeping the copy intact. I knew I had to let it poof away. They would think it was simply lost in the rocks... When the earthquake stopped, I did too. I thought I could relax, until an aftershock rolled through. I fell to the ground. "Ow."

I laid there for about 20 minutes, building up energy to move.

I eventually got to my feet, and walked slowly to what was left the hideout. I often stumbled, but perseverance kept me going. I needed to let Sam and the others know I was still alive. Will they forgive me? I wondered.

By the time I got to the area of seemingly endless debris, all that was left was Deidara's corpse and rocks. So Deidara is dead. Well, that much is good. I looked far ahead, in the direction Sam and the others would have gone.

All I saw was five figures walking away. At least they all survived. I opened my mouth to call their names, but no sound came out.

I fell to my knees, exhausted.

I crawled to a small cubby to at least get comfortable while I rested. Then, I fell into unconsciousness.

I awoke to a nearly unbearable pain in my arm. My limbs felt heavy; they couldn't move. I couldn't move. Only my head and mouth could, but only slightly.

Am I going to die here? I wondered. I can't move, I haven't eaten for days, I'm running out of chakra, and there's no one here to help me. I come this far only to find that I'll die anyway.

I thought of Sam. I missed her. I thought of my family back home. I missed them. I missed Gaara and Sakura. "Naruto," I breathed.

Why was it that I missed him the most? Why did I yearn to see him at least once more before I died? Did I… like him? Did I have feelings for him? Jeez, what the hell happened?

Tears began to well up as I realized I would probably die here in this rubble. I would die in an unfamiliar world. My parents wouldn't know where I was, let alone that I was dead.

Black rimmed my sight now, and my eyes drooped. I couldn't stay conscious much longer. At least the Akatsuki won't get Nekomata. Some of them will come here to see what became of Deidara, too. I took one last look at my surroundings before the blackness overtook me.

I remember seeing a figure….

I heard a voice, an unfamiliar voice. "This kid's in really bad shape," I heard. I willed my eyes to open, but they wouldn't budge. Instead, I tried to sense my surroundings.

I felt comfortable, and I thought I could feel grass. My arm was still hurting a heck of a lot, though. My tongue was dry, but that didn't help much. I heard the crackle of a fire, and I smelled food. My stomach cramped in hunger at the thought.

I needed to eat. I tried opening my eyes again, to find success. At first, everything was blurry; I couldn't make anything out. Eventually, though, my eyes adjusted.

"Oh good, your awake," I heard. I looked at the source of the voice. It was a man. His hair was as silver as the moonlight, and was a lot older than me. A small necklace was worn around his neck; it was a flat circle gemstone of some sort tied to a smaller circular stone with two strings, almost as though it were clinging to it. I thought I saw a faded symbol on his left shoulder, but when I tried to look at it, he moved so I couldn't see. His hand was to my arm, apparently healing me.

"You can heal?" I managed.

"You gotta know these things if you live like me, kid." He smiled. "I'm Mamoru. What's your name?"

I thought about this a moment. Should I give him my name? I wondered. No. He's a stranger. I don't know him. I gave the first name that came to mind. "Naomi," I said. I tried to sit up. I went right back down.

"You aren't quite ready to move yet. Your wounds are a bit slow to heal." I looked at him. "You're actually lucky I came around. Those Akatsuki would come around soon enough to see what became of that Blondie." I smiled. "Here's some water. I suppose you haven't had anything to drink for a while."

He handed me a glass. I took a long sip of the refreshing liquid. "Thanks."

He smiled. "I'm glad you lived through that earthquake. Don't know what caused it, but it was really big."

"Yeah…."

"Well, just tell me when you're ready to eat," he said as he stopped the healing flow. I looked at his hand, and he smiled. "Comes in handy, doesn't it, even though it's only the basics."

"Medical Nin Jutsu always comes in handy," I replied.

"Well, the best remedy for you now is rest and nourishment."

"May I have some food?" I asked.

"Sure," he smiled, probably glad I had my appetite or something. He helped me to a sitting position, and handed me a piece of meat. "Take it easy at first," he warned.

I nodded as I took a small bite. It felt so warm and comforting as it reached my hollow stomach. It was like a hug to my insides... ish.

I ate the whole meal, something uncommon for me, and lay back down. "Better get some rest," Mamoru said.

With that, I drifted into a peaceful sleep.

"Natalie," Sam said as I walked up to her. She was looking at the ground. She looked up. "Natalie, why did you lie to me?" My eyes widened.

"Why did you make me think you were dead, Natalie?" Sakura asked.

"I thought we were too late," Kakashi added.

"I didn't think a friend would deceive," Gaara said.

"Why, Natalie?" Naruto asked. I turned. "Why did you hurt us?!"

"Natalie!" Sam called.

They kept getting farther and farther away. "Wait!" I called, running towards them. They turned away from me.

"Good-bye, Natalie," I heard Naruto whisper as he looked back once more. Then he turned away too.

"Don't go!" I cried. "Please forgive me!"

I sat bolt upright. A pain shot in my side, and I went right back down.

"You're up early," Mamoru remarked, poking the fire with a stick.

"Bad dream."

"Ah, I see."

"I'm guessing you're just going to go now," I said. "After all, people like you don't need to worry about injured strangers." What am I doing? I thought. I basically just suggested for him to leave me here! I innerly facepalmed.

"You're right. People like me don't need to worry about injured strangers." He looked at me. "People like me don't need to. I simply want to. You seem worthy of my help."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Mamoru nursed me back to health, which went by surprisingly quick. Or rather, it seemed that way.

I realized, though, that I had no idea how to get back to the Leaf Village; or the Sand Village, for that matter. Not only that, but I needed training. I couldn't just walk aimlessly without coming across something.

I didn't know many jutsu; not even transformation, which is one of the jutsu needed to be learned in the academy. I hadn't even gone to the academy. It had been pure dumb luck that I had survived all that had happened before.

I surely would have run out of luck by then, so I knew the chances of me surviving alone weren't very large. I came to the thought of asking Mamoru to train me….

"Mamoru?" I asked as he packed his belongings.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if…."

"I could train you?"

I was taken aback. "How did you…?"

He shrugged. "I just had a feeling, and the answer is yes."

"Really?" He nodded. "Oh, thank you Mamoru!"

"No need to thank me." He looked to the ground, almost looking… guilty. He rubbed his thumb over his necklace subconsciously. "Just think of it as a favor, with no dept to be paid."

I smiled. "You're certainly generous."

He looked up. "I guess you could say that…."

We traveled as I trained. We didn't travel to anywhere in particular, but we never stayed in one place long. I guess that was just how Mamoru lived. He didn't seem to have a home village. Even if he did, he never showed it.

My training wasn't exactly fun, either. He was a tough taskmaster. I had to be serious about everything, and he rarely made jokes. I was just glad he had a soft side. I worked day and sometimes night, working my hardest to improve my skills. My aiming grew sharp; I learned basic jutsu. The only problem was that I was a "softie." I didn't want to get hurt, I shut my eyes when something was coming, and I couldn't hurt a fly. I didn't want to, anyway.

Days grew to weeks; weeks grew to months. I eventually learned to harden my heart, and was even able to harm an innocent bird once. (A/N: Poor birdie.) I was sad at first, but Mamoru drove me on.

I learned that in this world, in Mamoru's life, anyway, it wasn't necessary to worry about the sake of others. Mamoru had no friends to protect. Sometimes I even wondered whether he'd protect me.

He seemed to have hardened his heart long ago. His past was a mystery to me. I didn't know where he was from, or if he would ever go back. For all I knew, we could have already been there.

In one memorable training session, he wanted to learn what I could do. Well, he wanted to fight me, to see if I had improved at all. I, of course, didn't want to hurt him.

"Come at me," he said. "Go ahead."

"But…."

"But what?"

"I don't want to hurt my sensei."

He laughed. It was contagious, so I had to smile. "You think you can hurt me? Go ahead and try."

"I just really think it would be better if I practiced on—"

"On what?" he interrupted. "A log? A bird? Those things aren't real opponents. They won't fight back."

"Okay…."

"All right, what do I have to do to get you to attack me?" I shrugged. There was a pause, then he sneered. "I wonder what your friends would have done. I bet they'd be up and ready to attack." His sneer widened. "Or are they just as sissy as you?" I furrowed my brow. "In fact, I'm wondering…."

"What?" I asked harshly.

"I think they might just hate you for being gone so long. And on what, a journey? You never told me…."

"Shut up."

"Oh, are standing up for your so-called friends, who haven't even come looking for you yet?" I hadn't told him they thought I was dead.

"Shut up! I know them, and they haven't forgotten about me!" Have they...? I wondered. I was completely oblivious to the fact that Mamoru was just trying to get me mad.

"Were you friends with that Blondie, too? Or was he just as low as your friends were?" he taunted.

"Shut up!" I yelled, and lashed out at him.

He simply took a side step, and I completely missed. "Are your friends that bad, or are you way below them?" I turned round to lash at him again. "You'll have to do better than that," he said after I missed again.

"Shut up!"

"Aw, is little Naomi getting mad?"

"Shut the hell up!" I screamed. I made my hand blaze with chakra, and pulled my fist back. The chakra wasn't a light blue, though; it was a darker, almost eviler blue. I thought nothing of this, and nearly punched him.

I missed by a millimeter, and ended up destroying the ground instead. "Dang it, Mamoru! Do not make jokes of my friends!"

"And why not? It's fun to make fun of…. What was his name?"

"Shut up already!"

After that, I just remember being really mad. Then, all went black.

When I woke up, I saw Mamoru sitting down, leaning against a broken tree. A small line of blood ran down from his mouth, and he was clutching his side. He gave a weak smile. "You are good," he said. He slowly got to his feet. "Nekomata, huh?"

"Is that what happened?" I asked worriedly.

"You mean to tell me that you don't remember a thing?"

I hung my head, and realized I was sitting. "I'll take that as a yes," I sighed.

"Well, now that I know that, I think I got you a jutsu that'll knock the enemy's socks off." He smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

I grinned. "Let's get to it!"

"Wait. We need to rest up a bit, don't you think?"

I then realized I was hurting all over, and, even at first glance, Mamoru wasn't in very good shape.

"Right," I agreed.

Mamoru kept his promise, and taught me that special new jutsu. Oh, and it was special indeed.

It could kill anything, except for immortals and completely healthy people. I never had a chance to encounter these obstacles during training. All of my "opponents" were usually trees or animals.

I didn't like doing that at first, but I eventually got used to it. I simply… hardened my heart.

I never thought I'd have to harden my heart against innocent things. I knew I had to hurt enemies, but at first this was too much to bear. Yet again, Mamoru drove me on.

I sometimes wondered how Sam, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were getting along. I wondered who was training Sam.

That, however, was not subject to my training with Mamoru. That seemed to be all I had time for. No time for memories, or friends; we rarely stayed at a village long. Even when we stayed for over a day, Mamoru wouldn't allow any social interactions.

I, personally, was glad we never went to the Leaf or Sand Village. I thought I could give my friends a nice surprise: me being skilled.

It was hard for me to stand the thought that they thought I was dead. It was saddening. Sometimes, I nearly asked Mamoru to go to the Leaf or Sand next, to show them I wasn't dead.

I didn't even know if they would forgive me. But, they were my friends, right? They couldn't not forgive me if they tried. They'd be overjoyed to see I was alive. I couldn't wait to see them again, although I'd get a nice scolding.

However, my training didn't seem even near done, not even after around a year and a half. Around that time, we were heading to an area near a village. Notice how I say near, not in.

We were camping out, and that one night I can still vividly remember was a seemingly ordinary night.

Mamoru went into the village to get food. It was winter after all, and game was few. All he said he was going to get was a simple dinner; a small meal; a meal only large enough to keep us alive and satisfied for the night. We hadn't much money, after all.

It was dark already, and beginning to snow. I wore the dark cloak, for warmth.

I was sitting and waiting at camp, all alone. Maybe he trusted me enough now to leave me. Well, I was just sitting there when I heard a scream from the direction the village was in.

I instinctively pulled out my kunai immediately. I jumped to my feet, and rushed to the village gates. I didn't look in quite yet, I just hid behind the wall, listening to everything; the element of surprise was always useful.

I heard a fight. I heard battle cries. I heard screams of terror. Then I heard a scream – the scream – a scream of pain.

All was silent after that. I knew Mamoru was the one who had screamed. I rushed to the opening of the gate, to find an image I will never forget.

It was a bloody scene. Villagers were dead, even one child. Who did this? I wondered.

In the center of my vision was Mamoru's near lifeless body. Surely he wasn't dead? No, he couldn't be.

I ran up to him. "Mamoru!" I called. I knew deep down that he would end up dead. I had no healing abilities, as he had. I knew his chakra was below that of the amount needed to heal himself.

I looked around at all of the villagers in the battle area. "Who did this?" I asked, quite loudly.

A bold villager came up to me. "I did," he said proudly.

I stared at him in disbelief. "Why are you proud to have killed someone as kind as Mamoru?" I asked in barely a whisper.

His expression went from proud to surprise. "Kind?" he asked. "He terrorized the village! He is a well-known man that this village has hated for a long time! How can he be kind?"

I was at my knees now, kneeling beside Mamoru. "No…," I murmured. "He wouldn't do that…."

"But he did!" the man insisted.

Tears began to leak from my eyes. A hand wiped them away. It somehow seemed gentle, even though it was rough and calloused. Mamoru looked up at me, his eyes so sad; it was hard to bear.

I felt numb, yet sad. Despite that, I glared a moment at the man who had mortally wounded him, and swiftly carried him to our camp.

When we got there, I sat him up against a tree. He said in barely a whisper, "I don't deserve your kindness."

I shook my head. "Don't speak, you need to rest."

"I'd die anyway." I stopped arguing after that statement. I knew these were his last words. "You have potential. I know that you'll do well in this world, although I know full well you're not native to it."

My eyes grew wide. "How do you—"

I stopped as he shrugged his shoulder just enough to let me see the shirt beneath. When I looked close, I found it was a faded and well-worn star. He was from the real world too. "I lived on an island," he whispered. "I lived on an island with my mother; my father had passed." He closed his eyes, and I thought I saw a tear come from his eye, only to be frozen on his cheek, rosy from the cold.

"One night, as I fell asleep in my room, I awoke in a new world, a world I didn't know. All I had left of my mother was this necklace." He looked into my eyes as he put his hand to the gem. "I didn't know anyone here, and with no family or friends to turn to, I became lost. I came to stealing for food. I eventually found a place where I supposedly 'fit in,' after a few years of living alone.

"I joined a group of 'bad guys,' which I'm still in today, and was ordered to find someone to train." He looked directly at me from the distant look his eyes had turned to, to see the memories. "That was you." By now tears were streaming from my eyes, crystallizing on my cheek so if I so much as moved my jaw, the thin layer of ice would crack. "Do me a favor, Naomi. Never stop looking for home, and don't make the same mistakes I made."

He coughed, and blood spluttered out, a fine line of blood running from his lip to his chin now. I gently laid him down on the grass, now sprinkled with powdery snow. "In the end, I'm finally found," he continued roughly, struggling with every word. "I was lost. I was lost, and I was found. You found me, Naomi."

His eyes began to get the glazed look of the dead. I had never felt so helpless in my life. I hated when this happened; a supposed "bad guy," who finally becomes good, only to die straight after. "Thank… you…."

Those were his last words. I sat vigil for him that night, and left the next morning.

Aw, poor Mamoru... well, from here on, it just gets better, i swear! (S/N: i swear it does lawl) . that would be sam (shes over at the moment). anyhoo, yay for the first character i made up! ^-^' yeah... REVIEW, dear friends! onward!