Disclaimer: Wish I did, but I don't own Naruto

Click.

Naruto's eyes shot open as he heard his door shut. He silently reached for the kunai he always had next to his bed, and froze to listen to his intruder. After straining, he heard nothing. What criminal doesn't move around?

He slowly got up off the floor and looked around. He couldn't see anyone, and he didn't smell anything unusual. In fact, in terms of appearance, smell and sound, everything seemed to be how it normally was. He sighed, thinking that he must have dreamed it, and sat back down on the floor to sleep. That's when it hit him.

The Uzumaki boy whipped around and saw that his bed was empty. "(Y/N)! Shit…"

I was maintaining a light jog through the Village, and held my backpack in front of me to prevent it from moving around on my back and making any unnecessary noises. My eyes were focused on the tip of the gate I could see over the buildings, and my ears were trained on listening to everything around me. If I was going to be ambushed, I wanted to hear it.

My grip on the knife tightened as I thought about a possible ambush. I took my eyes off the gates and they darted around, looking for possible threats. The light of the moon eerily illuminated the streets and made vision fairly low. I heard a crunch to my right and flinched, holding my knife at the ready.

A black cat came out of the alleyway, and I exhaled. Calm down, (Y/N), calm down…I continued on my jog, my senses on full alert as I came up to the gates of the Village. The tall posts and open doors were intimidating, and the lack of some sort of militia to guard the structure was both alarming and cause for celebration. I took a deep breath, and began walking to freedom. However, as my foot crossed the threshold, I heard a voice behind me.

"(Y/N)! What are you doing?" I scrunched my face up from being caught, and knew I had two choices. I could turn around and face whoever was behind me, chancing getting knocked out again, or I could take my chances running and hopefully get deep enough into the woods to shake my pursuer.

I chose the latter.

Taking off at a total sprint, I headed towards the closest patch of woods. "Hey! (Y/N)! What the hell! Where do you think you're going?" Naruto…Damn it. I thought I had been careful enough, but apparently I underestimated the depth of his sleep.

I pushed past a tree, using it to propel myself forward, and began to weave through the dense forest. I could hear footsteps behind me, and my adrenaline was pumping. I'm doing it! I'm going to make it! A smile crept onto my face, and I could feel myself slowing down with assured victory. No! Keep going! Don't slow down!

I broke through a few branches in my way, and broke into a small clearing. I noticed that the sound of footsteps behind me had long stopped. Phew, I sighed internally, and took a couple seconds to catch my breath.

"Hey, (Y/N), where are you trying to go, anyways?" I jumped three feet into the air and looked all around me. There was no one there. I head a laugh above me, and slowly moved my head up.

No way…

Naruto was on the tree branch above me, upside down and sticking by his feet! I gasped and tried to back up, but I tripped over a root and slammed my head into a tree trunk. Great…this is exactly how I saw this happening…

"Are you okay?" He—get this—jumped down from the branch, and landed perfectly on his feet. That was the breaking point, and I came to the realization that I was completely terrified of this kid. Was he even human?!

I tried to back up more as he came towards me, but only ended up hitting my head on the tree again.

"Let me see your head. Where were you going?" He crouched down and reached for my head. Despite me using all my remaining strength to push him away, he brushed me off like I was nothing and pulled my head forward. "You're not bleeding. I'm no medical-nin like Sakura-chan, but I think you'll be okay." I nodded, and looked down. He had me absolutely cornered, and I was becoming overwhelmingly uncomfortable with it. I attempted one last time to get up and move around him, but he forced me back down into the sitting position and kept his hands pressed firmly on my shoulders. I could feel his glare burning its way into my head, but I refused to make eye contact. I just want to go home…

A few more tears started to leak out of my eyes, and I cursed under my breath. "(Y/N)-chan?" I looked up. Chan? What did that mean? That wasn't part of my name.

"Why are you crying?" I took the hem of my shirt and wiped my eyes. I hated crying in front of people, especially in such a vulnerable predicament. Naruto politely looked away while I did so, and I was shocked at his chivalrous gesture.

While averting his eyes, he kept asking me questions. "What's going on? Why were you trying to leave?"

I swallowed. "I want to go home."

He gave me a confused look. "Home? You don't live in Konoha?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Konoha?"

"The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konoha."

Oh…but still…he doesn't know? "No, I'm not from this place at all. I was thrown into a lake by some assholes and when I woke up I was here. I was attacked by men in painted masks then when I came around I was in a hospital. There I met Lady Tsunade and Sakura, and I was taken to your apartment. Apparently I'm supposed to fulfill some weird prophecy, but I think they have the wrong girl." I looked down at my hands folded in my lap. "I just want to go home." My eyes started welling up again, but I willed the tears down. I was surprised that I cried, to be honest, because my tear ducts have been long dried up from having cried so much earlier in my life.

Naruto sat back and scratched his head. "Well, I don't think anyone should be forced to stay here if they don't want to be, but I have orders from Tsunade-bachan to host you…which I'm pretty sure means I can't let you leave my sight."

I tensed up. He was going to take me back….he can't take me back! I made it so far! Before I could speak out against him, he gave me a thumbs up and continued.

"But, I promise I will find a way to get you home eventually! Believe it!" He was grinning so hard that his eyes were closed, and I couldn't help but smile back. Naruto was going to help me!

Without thinking, I leapt up and gave him a massive hug. We both fell over, and he laughed. I, however, managed to hit my head again, and the world was starting to get a little fuzzy.

"(Y/N)-chan? Are you okay?" Naruto leaned over me, and I noticed that he had three heads. That's not right….

"I'm…fine…" I managed to get out.

"Alright! Let's get you back home! You can sleep for a while." He picked me up bridal style and jumped up onto the branches above us. His steady heartbeat and the consistent up-and-down motion of his leaping from branch to branch was incredibly soothing, and within a matter of minutes I was asleep.

Naruto glanced down at the girl in his arms. She was fast asleep, but her forehead was still laced with worry. He hated seeing her like that, seeing anyone like that. He didn't think he could completely understand her situation, since he'd never been forced against his will to live somewhere—with the exception of maybe Konoha while Sasuke was still missing—but he knew that he wanted to help her.

Nobody deserved to be kidnapped by Konoha.