A big thank you to those that reviewed! I would have had this one out yesterday but... life happens.

Obviously nothing but the OC belongs to me.

Paper Stars
Chapter 2 - Nameless

The rest of the day was spent playing games with Team Minato and, although I couldn't talk to them, I did have fun and enjoyed myself. However, when dinnertime came around, they took their leave and Minato tried to convey that they would not be coming back until tomorrow. I nodded and waited until the door closed before sighing and picking at my boring meal of rice, miso soup, and tea. It was nice having people around and now that I'm alone again, I just wish I could go out and see the village. How does it look in real life now that I'm here? I guess I'll find out whenever the doctor decides I'm feeling well enough to leave. Although I did feel a bit lightheaded, I didn't think I was bad enough to warrant a hospital stay. Oh well, guess I'll just relax and enjoy myself until then.

After finishing my meal and putting it on the nightstand (with quite a bit of difficulty as my arms are shorter and weaker than they used to be), I attempted to get out of bed and walk around a bit. However, as soon as I put my weight on my feet I fell ungracefully to the floor. So shocked was I that I didn't notice the nurse come in a minute later. She gasped and quickly rushed to put me back on the bed, fussing over me like a mother hen and making sure I didn't break myself. She said something and looked at me meaningfully and I nodded, realizing she was asking if I was ok. She sighed and her shoulders relaxed but then she gave me a stern look that told me not to do it again. I looked away and picked at a loose string on the bed, looking everything like the chastised child that I was. Satisfied, she nodded her head and then took the tray away. When she was gone, I curiously pushed away the sheets to examine my legs.

Yep, just as I thought. I was not surprised but horrified to see that my legs were virtually void of muscle. Like I had never walked before in my life. I didn't like the way my bones were so visible, so I shoved them back under the covers and avoid looking at anything else that might creep me out.

It was then that exhaustion hit me and I curled up under the covers before falling into a deep sleep.

Something was very different when I entered my mindscape that night and I soon found out why. I "awoke" to find myself in a bedroom that looked very familiar. It was almost an exact replica of my room when I was a girl before I died. It was very nostalgic and I stayed there, just taking it all in, before getting up and exiting. Of course, instead of the hallway to my mother's house, I found myself in a hallway of my dream space station. I walked down the hall until I found an elevator and made my way to the control room where my other self was working away at filing memories.

How's it going? I asked, looking up at the glass dome of the roof to notice (much to my surprise) that I could now see constellations in my memory stars.

Well, I've got a quarter of it down and I'm sure you can see the results. The memories form constellations once they've been properly filed away. I guess those that make them are associated with each other and our years of stargazing are why it's happening. she replied, not looking up from the control panel. How is it going out there? Making any progress?

I sighed and mentally released the gravity on myself, allowing me to float up to the top of the dome to hover. Not a whole lot, I'm afraid. We're malnourished and weak. Skin and bones. Looks like a lot of physical therapy is needed in the near future. Also, it looks like Team Minato has been assigned to watch over us during the day. I can only assume we have some kind of guards during the night. I was not stupid enough to think they wouldn't be watching me like a hawk after finding me in such a state. Where had I woken up the first time, anyway? It was dark and cold and smelled musty, that's as much as I could remember. I was lying on a cold table, restrained like I was in a dungeon or-

Wait.

I noticed my other self had stopped typing. Judging from our current state and where we are in the timeline of the Naruto-verse, I think it's safe to say we're-

Bring up our memory with the man talking. I said before she could finish her thought. With a few keystrokes, a star came shooting down and a screen appeared just outside the dome. As it played, I waited for the masculine voice that I first heard upon waking up in the world. I didn't have to wait long but I didn't speak until the star returned to its spot in the space.

Child-me didn't speak, waiting for me to say what we both knew.

Orochimaru... I'd recognize that voice anywhere. And that means... we're an experiment of his before he defected from Konoha. Obviously he's gone now, so no answers there. Wish I had learned Japanese, maybe I could have gotten a few answers before he vanished. I thought, drifting towards the ground.

But wait... Doesn't this mean that his labs were already found out? That he's already left Konoha? Shouldn't that be after Minato is promoted to Hokage? she said, turning to face me with a frown.

I froze and it seemed as if everything stood still for a split second. You're right. That shouldn't have happened yet. Something's changed. I changed something already! I didn't even do anything and the timeline has already been altered! He would have defected either way but I can't tell if this will be big or insignificant.

I crossed my legs and hovered idly in the room as I sorted through my thoughts, noticing shooting stars in my peripheral vision but paying them no mind. I was trying to come up with every scenario that I could come up with now that things had already been set into motion. How did Orochimaru attach my soul to a body? How does this world even exist? Is it just a pocket dimension or was this all some trippy dream I was having? What if I had survived being shot and was now a vegetable in the hospital? If this was real, then was my old life a dream?

My thoughts when along those lines until I found myself staring down at my hands. Right now they were the ones I was familiar with. Small but definitely adult hands. Another, more disturbing thought popped up then. Who's body do I now occupy?

I don't think we should worry too much about it right now. Let's focus on the here and now and let our body recover from whatever it was that happened to it. younger me suggested and turned back to the terminal she was working at.

Shaking the creepy thought process out from my mind, I focused on helping my younger self file away memories until I woke up. You know, I think I'll just call you Catie.

That was random. newly named Catie stated. It would take a few days, maybe another week, to get all of her memories organized. One by one, a constellation was born in her mindscape.

3rd Person POV

The next day, Minato and his students returned to the hospital to visit the nameless child. She allowed her mask to fall away for a moment as she smiled brightly at them, happy that they were back. He noticed a tray on the bedside table and realized breakfast must have already been served and devoured before they arrived. Though she was still painfully thin, color seemed to be returning to her skin and she didn't look as pale as yesterday.

"What should we do today, sensei?" Obito asked, hoping they wouldn't have to go through any more awkward silences.

Rin apparently thought about that before arriving because she brought a backpack full of activities and children's books. "My neighbor has a daughter who is too old for these now, so I thought I would give them to you." she said, placing the backpack on the bed and opening it so the child could inspect the items.

One would have expected the girl to be ecstatic but she only showed mild interest, though she did smile gratefully at Rin. She carefully picked through the items before one of them caught her attention. She picked up a small box and opened it and the delight in her eyes shocked all four of them. Carefully she pulled out a piece of origami paper and inspected the koi fish pattern, admiring it.

"Oh! That's origami paper! Would you like me to teach you how to make a crane?" Rin asked, sitting down beside the girl on the bed.

Knowing the nameless child didn't understand her, the older girl decided to simply show her. Rin pulled out another paper and went through each fold slowly until a perfect crane was formed. She placed the finished crane in front of them and pulled out another paper, this time the child followed along. Her finished crane was good for a first but she did not seem satisfied with it and pulled out another paper before looking up at Rin, silently asking for her to go over the folds again.

Minato was astounded. This was a completely different child from what they had seen yesterday. The Hokage will be happy to know that not all of her innocence was stollen away from her. His reaction to his report last night suggested to Minato that he suspected the worst.

Minato stood before the Sandaime Hokage, waiting for his superior to finish reading his report. He made sure to write down everything he deemed important: her lack of expression and emotions, her intense focus, how easily she caught on to the concepts of the games, and her aversion to being alone. It all added up to a very strange little girl.

When the Hokage finally looked up at him, Minato noticed the same puzzled expression that he himself had after leaving the hospital. "I need you to monitor the girl for another month." he said, a solemn look in his eyes.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Minato thought for a moment before asking, "If I may ask, in what condition was she found? Do you know how long she's been down there?"

Hiruzen bowed his head and replied, "I'm afraid we don't know how long she's been down there. And there are no records of a missing girl with her description. We're waiting until she's healthy enough to leave the hospital to see if we can perhaps track down any living relatives. If there are any."

The blonde nodded but hesitated before he asked his final question. "Also... Hokage-sama, do you know what her name is?"

The old man shook his head and answered, "The papers in the room only referred to her as Experiment #46. There is nothing that suggests where she came from or what family she belongs to. We will have to wait until she regains or relearns how to speak to ask what happened to her. If it doesn't cause her to distress, that is."

Experiment #46? That means there were 45 experiments before her! Minato's fist unconsciously clenched in anger.

Hiruzen took a long drag of his pipe and added, "The strange thing is, we don't exactly know what he was experimenting with. What did he hope to get from her? There was no sign of torture or abuse, she was just malnourished and dehydrated. However, there were signs that he was closely monitoring her and that he was actually slowly healing her. That begs the question: how did she get into this condition in the first place?" He paused before continuing with, "She's an anomaly, Minato. If she poses a threat you are to eliminate her."

Minato didn't like the idea of killing a child but his expression remained neutral. "What will happen to her if she does not?"

The Hokage looked up at him and gave a small smile. "That will be up to her. We could always use more shinobi but if she is unstable she won't be pushed into it. You are dismissed. Report back tomorrow night."

Minato nodded and left the old man to his thoughts.

Kakashi and Obito grew bored of watching the girls make paper cranes and started bickering but were quickly silenced when the child grew tired of the origami lesson and put the box of paper aside. Again she scanned the toys before they stopped on a wooden kunai. This got everyone's attention. She looked at it with curiousity as she turned it around in her hands, somewhat bewildered.

"That's a kunai!" explained Obito as he pulled out one of his own. "See! Just like this one! Except mine's sharp and made of metal and that one's wooden and made for little kids so they don't hurt themselves. You're supposed to throw it, like this!" The young Uchiha threw the knife and it lodged into the wall to the right of the bed, causing the girl's eyes to widen.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Idiot, she can't understand you. And if you damage the room they'll make us pay for it."

The silver-haired teen's mocking tone made his teammate lash out and they started fighting once more. However, before they could get too into it (and before anyone could break them up), Obito was hit in the head with the toy kunai. Of course, had he been expecting it, he could have dodged it but nobody expected a bedridden mute child to throw a wooden kunai at them.

Obito nursed his new bump and whined, "Ow! That hurt! What was that for?"

Everyone else was looking at the girl on the bed, giving the boys an unimpressed look. Then, she did the unexpected. She spoke.

"Baka." Her voice was raspy and barely above a whisper but clear and concise.

Obito frowned and pointed at himself. The girl nodded and Kakashi snickered but stopped when she raised a hand and pointed at the Uchiha. "Obito. Baka." she said, and then pointed to the other boy and added, "Kakashi. Baka."

They stood there, frozen in shock. Was she starting to remember how to talk? After their initial shock, Obito laughed at his teammate for being called an idiot by a 5 year old but then pout a second later because he had as well. Rin was doing her best to hide her amusement and Minato was smiling. Kakashi huffed and crossed his arms before taking a seat on one of the chairs by the door, grumbling to himself.

Minato suddenly had an idea and pointed to each of his students before pointing at himself, saying each of their names as he went. He had her attention but then he pointed at her and she gave him a strange look. It was something between thoughtfulness, confusion, and sadness. She shook her head. To say Minato was shocked was a bit of an understatement. Either she was so traumatized by her experience that she had amnesia or she never had a name. He hoped it was the former simply because the latter would further complicate things. Did Orochimaru steal infants for his experiments? He sincerely hoped that was not the case.

Noticing the sorrow in her eyes, he gave her a bright smile and told her, "Don't worry! We'll think of a name for you! For now I think we should break for lunch. Why don't we all go together?"

Kakashi stood and sighed, realizing he didn't have much of a choice. "Fine but you're paying."

And with that, they said goodbye to the nameless girl and hoped she understood that they would be back.

1st Person POV

Not five minutes after they left, the nurse came into the room with another tray of food for lunch. After I finished her rice and vegetable broth and drank the cup of tea, the nurse took the tray away and the doctor came to check on me. Although I couldn't understand them, I was beginning to recognize words. This is something to contemplate tonight. I thought, watching the doctor go about checking my vitals. He seemed happy with her recovery but it was obvious I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. His hands began to glow green and he looked at my abdomen. I was fascinated but cautious, chakra was still a very new concept to me. The doctor's eyes widened and he frowned before the green light faded away and he quickly jotted down something on my file. I gave him a curious look but he simply smiled and left the room.

Confounded, I decided to try something and picked up the box of origami paper and opened it. I carefully shuffled through them until I found one I liked, a dark purple paper with a silver star pattern. Trying not to completely ruin it, I folded the paper and tore it into thin strips. They might not have been as long as I'd like them to be, but they would work. My fingers were not as nimble as they once were, and the first three stars looked awful, but eventually I made four perfect stars.

I waited patiently for them to get back and, 15 minutes later, they returned from their lunch. I allowed my emotionless mask to slip as I gave them a smile and bounced in place. Perhaps it was this young body but my childish urges were almost impossible to hold back. It seemed to make them more comfortable (I guess quiet, stoic children were creepy), so I decided to let loose a little bit. I would have gotten out of bed and gave them the stars myself but I was still too weak to stand on my own. So, I gestured for them to come closer and held out a star to them one by one.

They eyed the tiny paper stars curiously and Rin suddenly realized what it was. She said something to them and they seemed to understand what it was before thanking me and putting the stars away. Wishing stars were a superstitious sort of thing but it was the thought that counted.

Suddenly, Kakashi blurted out, "Hoshiko."

The rest of us gave him a questioning look. He rolled his eyes and said, "Kanojo no namae no tame ni."

The others seemed to understand but I was lost in the dark. Seeing this, Minato repeated his earlier "me Tarzan, you Jane" thing but instead of looking at me inquisitively he said, "Hoshiko."

I repeated him, trying the name out. Tilting my head curiously, he seemed to understand my question and pointed to the star in his hand. "Hoshi."

Oh! I thought, and before I realized what I was doing I had wrapped my arms around Kakashi's neck and was clinging to him. "Kakashi! Arigato!" I said, remembering the word they used to thank me. I didn't see it but the young ninja was blushing as he stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

The others seemed amused by the whole thing and I pulled away after a few seconds before giving him a big smile and sitting back down in my place on the bed.

Kakashi sat on his chair and didn't speak for the rest of the day. Guess he's embarrassed. I thought, inwardly grinning. This could be fun.

We spent the rest of the day playing games and Rin read to me a few of the books and we made more paper cranes and stars. When the sky began to darken, they said their goodbye's and left me to eat dinner alone. Again I felt uneasy by myself but this time I reflected on the events that day and not feel so lonely. I had a new name. Hoshiko. I like the sound of that. I thought, a smile on my face as I fell asleep.

If you're wondering, yes I was inspired to write this because of other fanfictions that I've been reading (there really are too many to name). However, as you can already tell, I'm going off on another tangent. It's still a little too early for any warm, fuzzy feelings to start developing so please be patient and don't badger me about it. I mean, did you have any romantic thoughts about boys/girls at age 4 or 5? I sure didn't! Though, I did have a boyfriend... Hey, I got free candy.

Also, I want you all to know that I am not fluent in Japanese. Not even a little. I don't plan on using much Japanese anyway because she'll get a grasp on the language soon!

~ Xero ~