Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, only my OC.

Author's Note: Okay let me just apologize real quick. I led a backpacking trip for my college for a month in August, which I think I'm excused for (no internet = no updates), then with cross country and my doubled up science classes just had no time to write. I couldn't even watch Netflix (I'm sure you guys feel my pain on that one). I'm so, so, so incredibly sorry that it took so long for me to write. I'll have a much easier trimester in the winter and will hopefully be able to get a couple of chapters up! Anyways, here goes!

I've been speaking Japanese this entire time.

I clutched my head in my hands and took three deep breaths. I needed to calm down my heartbeat, and that seemed to do the trick. Afterwards, I found myself able to stand up. And go into the bathroom. And take a shower. I even hummed a couple songs to myself while a washed my hair.

I probably wasn't even in enough physical shock to justify sliding down the wall, I thought to myself while I dried off. I know it's weird, and I should be more freaked out about it than I am, but so many weird and terrifying things have happened to me since I got here, the fact that I'm speaking Japanese instead of English is almost a completely normal thing.

I wrapped myself in my towel and walked into my room. On the plus side, it never hurts to be bilingual when applying for jobs. This could be a real advantage for me when I get home.

With that, I had completely accepted the fact that I had suddenly learned and had begun speaking a different language subconsciously, and began to change back into my dirty clothes. Which made me feel like I needed another shower. I need to buy some new clothes…

I grabbed my backpack and flung it on my back to leave, when its contents scattered across the room. I didn't remember leaving it open last time I used it.

I kneeled down to pick everything up, when I noticed a small bag that I had never seen before by my knee. It was beautifully designed, and cinched at the top. I pulled at the string to open it, and saw a white piece of paper sitting on top.

"This is for food and a new set of clothes."

I didn't recognize the writing and it wasn't signed, so I assumed it was from Sasuke. I thought at least Naruto or Lady Tsunade would have the wherewithal to put their names at the bottom, and nobody else had been near my backpack recently.

I placed the small bag into my backpack and—zipping it up this time—threw it over my shoulder and headed down the hallway. I was starting to understand the layout of the building, and could finally get to the entrance without becoming completely lost.

"Did you get the bag?"

I heard a deep voice as I passed the kitchen. I stopped and peered in. He posed it as a question, but it was spoken more like a statement.

"Uh…hai. Arigato." As much as it freaked me out that I was speaking Japanese, I was trying to do it consciously. Actually focusing on saying "hai, arigato" rather than "yeah, thanks" seemed like a good first step. Hopefully if I could speak it consciously I would retain the skill when I got back home.

"Your voice is weird today." He was reading his book and eating his tomato. This seemed like a common thing for him.

"Sorry," I grumbled and turned to leave. I was pretty bummed, to be honest. I guess being aware of what I'm saying will have to be the step before actually trying to speak the language consciously.

"(Y/N)." His voice was firm, and when I turned around he was out of his chair. "I don't care what you do during the day, but I want you back by dark."

His eyes were darker than normal, and he was trying his hardest to be intimidating, but there was a piece of tomato skin hanging on his lip and I couldn't take him seriously. I started to laugh, and I reverted back into typical me…which means I started speaking before thinking.

"You're serious?"

He glared at me.

You, the guy who can't even eat a tomato without making a mess of it, want to give me a curfew? Hah, yeah, okay." I was still laughing when he slammed my back against the wall behind me. My head made contact—hard.

He reached to his lip and picked off the piece of skin without breaking eye contact. "You remember last time you tried to make a joke?" His eyes turned red again and my face paled. Of course I hadn't forgotten. I hardly sleep anymore because I can still see the swirling colors when I close my eyes. "Exactly."

He backed off and sat back down in his chair. "By dark."

I gulped, and managed to stammer out a faint "h-hai" before scrambling out the front door. I needed some air.

"I don't know who you are, but you don't look pregnant to me. Are you buying in advance?"

I glanced up from the most normal-looking shirt I had seen all morning and saw a striking blonde girl, about my age, standing next to me.

"I said, are you pregnant?"

I quickly put the shirt back. "Uh, no. I'm new here and—"

The blonde girl began to laugh. "Those are maternity clothes, silly!" She winked at me and grabbed my arm to a different part of the store. "I'm Ino, and I'll help you find some clothes that actually show off your figure! You have a great figure, you know."

I was shocked by her bluntness, so I let her pull me along. I mean, I'm sure she knew the place better than I did, but I wasn't so sure how to interact with someone who was so…well, bossy.

"Try this on! And this! Oooooh! You have to wear this. And this color netting would look so much better with your skin tone—black really washes you out. You're so pale, er, what did you say your name was? Oh my gosh! Try this on!"

By the time Ino pushed me into a dressing room, the stack of clothes in my arms were taller than my head. I picked the outfit on the top of the pile—a dress that barely covered what it should with netting down the legs—and opened to door to show Ino. "I'm (Y/N), by the way. I don't think I got a chance to tell you earlier." The dress kept slipping. I couldn't wear this to a club let alone a training field.

She frowned. "Nope. It would look better on me. Next outfit!"

I turned back to the room and raised my eyebrows. This girl was a handful.

By the time I had made it through the whole pile, Ino had narrowed my outfits down to two: the first, with red tones, was a dress that was slim at the waist with a high, very wide collar. Sort of like a cowl neck. The slit in the front was in the middle, and the spandex underneath went halfway down my thigh. The second outfit had a completely-netted, tight-fitting tank underneath a lightweight breastplate that went all the way to my belly button with dark green pants that tucked into white tape on my shins. I pulled up the fingerless gloves and Ino squealed. I could move around easily in both, and—I had to admit—they looked good on me.

"Ooh, I can't decide….how much money do you have?"

I fumbled to open the bag Sasuke gave me, and, out of impatience, Ino swiped it from my hands. "You're taking too—oh my gosh! You have so much money!" I glanced in the bag.

"I do?"

"You have to get them both! Then you have to come to lunch with me. I want you to meet all of my friends. They'll love you, er, what did you say your name was?"

"(Y/N)," I exhaled as she pushed me to the counter. I bought the clothing, changed into the dress in the dressing room, and looked in the mirror. I looked like I belonged, and it freaked me out. I mean, if I have an entire wardrobe of clothing that I can only wear here….I shook my head. It was becoming too real. Too comfortable. I exhaled into the mirror, and reminded myself of why I was acting so nonchalant about this. If they think you're comfortable here, if they think you're cooperating, they'll give you your own place. Less supervision. More training. You can go home.

I smiled at the thought of being back in my little apartment at home, but the smile felt fake. Here, I had friends. I had people who cared about me, like Naruto and Sakura. My stomach twisted as I struggled to keep my mind in focus.

"(Y/N), come on! You're going to make me late!" I smiled. For now, I'll just ride along. That couldn't be so bad, right? Feeling clean and relatively happy for the first time in a while, I smiled and left to follow Ino to, well, wherever we were going.

Of course we were eating at Ichiraku's. I was starting to think this was the only restaurant in the entire Village. I smiled to myself, remembering how Sakura pummeled Naruto here the first time I met him, and followed Ino through the flaps.

I wonder how Naruto and Sakura are doing? Then a dark thought crossed my mind. They're okay, right? I mean, they're soldiers…They're at war…What if they're…dead?

"Oi, Ino, who's this? She doesn't look so good."

I glanced up to see a chubby boy with swirls on his cheeks stuffing his face with potato chips and staring me down. "Maybe your friend needs to eat, Ino." He offered me his bag of chips. "I'm Choji. You look pale, so you should eat."

The boy sitting next to him with spiky pineapple hair turned to me. "Just don't take the last chip from Choji's bag. He puts a lot of stock into that one, for some reason." His head rested in his hand, and he looked like he hated everyone in the room. What's this kid's problem?

"THE LAST CHIP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE!" Choji's eyes burned with passion as he held the bag in front of him. "It must be eaten with great care and respect as it represents both the ending of one meal and the beginning of another!" This guy is a little…much.

After his rant about food, he held the bag out to me again. I reached in and took a chip. I wasn't hungry, that wasn't the issue, but it was still kind of him to offer.

"Arigato, Choji."

"Oh! I forgot to introduce you guys! (Y/N), this is Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. Guys, this is (Y/N). I found her shopping for clothes in the maternity section today."

My face heated up as I scrambled to recover myself from that totally awful first impression. "No! I'm not—I mean, I—um, I'm…I mean, I am (Y/N), I'm just—I'm not—."

"You're not pregnant," smiled the boy with markings on his face. I sighed and smiled at Kiba. I recognized him from the training field the day before, and turns out he recognized me too. Or, at least, Akamaru did. The white dog came bounding from its master's side and leapt up into my arms. He licked my face furiously, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey! Akamaru! Come here!" The dog jumped back to Kiba, and his eyes widened in regonition. "You're the girl who lives at the Uchiha residence!"

The others all turned to look at me, and Ino's mouth dropped. "You're the girl who came out of the lake? No wonder Ive never seen you before! Normally I know all of the girls who are almost as pretty as me. Now tell me, was it painful? "

My body tensed up. How did she know that I came from the lake? What else does she know about me? Are they part of my surveillance? Maybe I'm being watched right now… Ignoring my obvious discomfort, Ino continued to barrage me with questions.

"Where did you come from? You lived with Naruto, right? He's such an idiot. Is he as messy as I think he is? I'm sure he's worse. Oh, you live with Sasuke-kun! I'm so jealous! How is Sasuke-kun today? Do you guys talk at all? Does he talk about me a lot? He secretly loves me, I'm sure. What color are his eyes when he's not angry? Does he really only eat tomatoes? Does he—oh!"

The boy with the pineapple hair—Shikamaru?—had stood up and put his hand on Ino's shoulder. "I think that's enough, Ino. You're stressing her out."

He was right. I was so tensed up that I was starting to get shoulder cramps. This is not the way I intended on meeting new people…

He turned to me. "Do you want to go relax for a bit? You're really tense." I nodded, and he walked out of the restaurant. I figured that was a signal for me to go with him, so I began to follow suit.

"Bye, (Y/N)-chan! Nice to meet you!" Choji smiled at me through the ramen that he was eating. I smiled back, and waved to the others. It was nice to know more than one person in the Village, and these guys didn't seem too bad. Even if they're potentially a part of my surveillance team…

I saw Shikamaru waiting for me, and quickly caught up. "Man, Ino is so troublesome. We work well as a team, but she is such a pain outside of missions."

I smiled. "She talks about herself a lot, doesn't she?"

"You have no idea."

We walked in a comfortable silence through the Village until we reached a small grassy hill next to a prominent tree. The pineapple head boy laid down at the edge of the shade and watched the sky. "I do this whenever Ino or Naruto become too bothersome, so I'm pretty much here all the time."

I sat down next to him and leaned back. He was right. The sky was a beautiful blue, and the clouds moved slowly; as if they were desperate not to reach the other side of the horizon.

The clouds are so white, so pure…so peaceful. I haven't felt peaceful in years. I sighed. These clouds are so lucky—they get to experience nothing but relaxation all the time. I wish I could be up there right now. I could just sit back, relax, and just drift across the sky. I smiled to myself. "Man, what I wouldn't give to be a cloud."

Shikamaru turned his head to me. "What?"

I felt heat rising in my cheeks. I didn't mean to say that out loud! "I…um…"

"You said you wanted to be a cloud."

"Well…yeah." The last word was almost too quiet to be heard.

"Me, too."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I perched myself on one arm and looked at the boy lying next to me. "What?"

"Clouds are just so peaceful, and they get to do whatever they want. They get to drift slowly across the sky. They have no responsibilities, no battles to fight…the ground is too troublesome. I wish I was a cloud." He laughed to himself. "That's not something people usually find out they have in common this early on, but I guess it's an interesting start."

"Start to what?"

He looked over at me, and smiled. Pineapple head actually smiled. "Our friendship, of course. Anyone who wants to be a cloud is fine by me."

I lied back down and watched the sky again. Something about the sky always entranced me; helped me worry less about whatever was going on in my life. I mean, something that big just makes you feel so…small.

Sitting next to Shikamaru while watching the sky, I pushed away any worries of getting home, any fears of the asshole Sasuke, any anxieties about Naruto and Sakura…even the prophecy—which had been hanging over my head—was suppressed. I felt my muscles fully relax, and I sighed of content.

This…I can handle this. This is good.

This is good.

Sasuke gripped the key tightly in his hand as he walked down the dark staircase. He would have to be much less careless with its placement now that the girl was learning her way around his home.

No, he thought to himself as his footsteps echoed off stone walls in the cold, damp corridor, this is not a home. This is a residence. This hasn't been a home since Itachi…He stopped and tightened his jaw, clenching his hand around the key to the point that the pain shocked him from his rage. He needed to get a grip on himself. When he walked into that room, he had to be stone cold…or everything will have been for nothing.

He looked down in the hand that held the key, and noticed a drop of blood coming from where the key had pierced his palm. He still did not believe that this girl knew what it opened, or that she had any idea of what he was doing, but he could not take any chances. He made a note to himself to be aware of her location at all times, at least until he was positive that she was not a threat. And in order to make sure she remains the smallest threat possible, he would ascertain that she stayed off the training field.

Thinking about her attempting to train, Sasuke chuckled to himself. What kind of Village sends a spy and makes her learn all of her training and chakra control in enemy territory? That's so...He paused. …smart. He furrowed his brow, trying to think through which Village would have such a powerful girl that they could send her, completely untrained, to their enemy Village and have her appear weak to gain trust and support. The Leaf may end up training the very weapon that destroys it.

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he looked to the large door ahead. I can't think about these things right now. I must focus on the thing at hand. He placed the key in his left hand, and continued forward. This was always his favorite part. Opening the door. Hearing the gasp on the other side, and the fear he evoked. It gave him the feeling of control that he lacked above this corridor.

As he neared the door, he softened his footsteps and his hand twitched in anticipation. He gripped the iron handle, quietly turned the key in the lock, and let silence wash over him and the being inside.

I will wait until they are positive that I'm not here; that my footsteps earlier were their imagination. My entrance must be a complete surprise…it's more fun that way, anyways.

After a couple moments, and all at once, he threw open the door. The hinges creaked loudly against their will and the wood of the door banged sharply against the stone walls, sending echoes through the corridor.

There was a sharp intake of breath from inside the room, and Sasuke entered slowly as the massive door swung shut behind him.

Nobody could ever find out about this.

Author's Note: Sorry if it's a little short! I just felt so bad about being away for so long, I really wanted to get something out. And most of this chapter was just a filler, so I tried to make it a little more interesting at the end! I have most of it planned out, so I really hope you like where it's going! Please read and review!

Also: I don't have the final pairing planned out. I'll be taking a vote to see which pairing I should go with! Just send me a message or a review with your vote!

OCxNaruto

OCxSasuke

OCxShikamaru

OCxKiba

OCxChoji (gotta give the guy some love)

OCxSakura (why not?)

OCxNarutoxSasuke (love triangle)

OR SEND ME ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR PAIRINGS! I may write more Naruto fanfiction in the future when this is finished, so I'll need ideas for those pairings as well.

Lastly, I've had a few reviews asking me for the ages of my characters as to how it relates to the Naruto realm. Well, see, I prefer stories that you, as the reader, can immerse yourself in no matter your age or appearance. I've made it apparent that my OC is a girl, and that shes a late teenager, maybe early 20s, but that's all I wish to disclose. I want you, as the reader, to be able to decide your favorite appearance for the Naruto characters, and imagine them as such. This is a story I'm writing, but it's for you! Have fun with it and make it your own!

LOVE YOU ALL! THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME THROUGH THIS STORY/ADVENTURE!