I wrote this one WAY before the past 3 chapters so I am so glad I finally got to post it! Enjoy!

My head…

The echo was rippling through my brain still, I couldn't see anything but a rush of colors surrounding me as I tried to pull myself to my knees. What the hell was that?

I had been out for some time; the morning sun had risen while I was unconscious and although I couldn't see much of anything, I could tell that it wasn't dark anymore.

My body seemed just fine aside from a few minor bumps or bruises from the fall out of the trees. My legs felt like rocks weighing me down as I crawled over to the nearest solid object that I could feel out and leaned my head against it trying to regain some control over my body. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes with the back of my gloved hand. My vision cleared enough that I could see the broken log that I was leaning on, as I lifted my head I could see that whatever had happened brought down quite a few trees in the area, almost as if paper bombs had gone off.

What a time to be alone. I took my time sitting where I was until my mind was clear enough that I could access the damage more thoroughly. That blast wasn't natural. The air was clear with no sign of any explosion other than the downed trees and broken branches. I had to explore the area before heading out again just to be sure I wasn't going to be followed back to Konoha.

I can't be sure of anything right now with my head still feeling fuzzy, but I thought that I could sense someone. As a precaution I pulled my ANBU mask back over my face and threw the hood of my cloak back up, scanning the surrounding area once again before heading out. Everything seemed still, not even a breeze in the air to move the leaves. I was supposed to be surveying the area around the village for any irregularities, I guess you could say I found one.

As I turned to leave, I caught a twitch of movement at the other end of the broken rubble of tree trunks. Could have just been a small animal, but I hadn't seen one in the last hour at least. I stayed still on my branch, shadowed by the leaves above me.

Nothing.

I silently leapt up into a tree at the edge of the forest trying to get a better look. Just beyond a pile of logs was a shadow laying on the ground. It wasn't moving but it was something. I jumped down and sprinted over, keeping my guard up as I did. It was a person; I could sense their faint chakra. I stopped just as I approached the logs and looked over them.

There was a girl, she couldn't be much younger than me, her short pink hair was matted with dirt and her face was pretty rough with a few scrapes and blood along her ear and cheek, she was wearing a cloak almost like mine, but it was white instead of black. No headband in sight, so maybe just a traveler? I had never seen her before and being this close to Konoha I'm suspicious. Could she have possibly done all of this? That didn't seem likely.

I crouched down beside her to get a better look at her injuries. If she had caused whatever that explosion was, I'm sure she wouldn't have purposely put herself in the middle of it. I brushed her hair away from the side of her face lightly and tucked it behind her ear. She had a large gash on her left eyebrow, the source of the blood running down her face. I pulled a piece of cloth from my tool pouch and lightly blotted the blood around the wound, it wasn't bleeding badly anymore but she was going to need medical attention.

Her left eye opened slightly, and a groan escaped her lips. It didn't look like she could see anything, almost how I couldn't when I had woken up. "Hey, can you hear me?" I said quietly, Tilting my head in her view.

She said nothing but let out a hard cough, blood spitting out onto the ground. I took the cloth and wiped her mouth. She was in bad shape, I needed to get her help. I was going to be in huge trouble bringing her back to the village, but I couldn't just let her die here if she was an innocent bystander. "I'm going to pick you up." I said. Hoping she could hear me.

I put my arms under her torso gently and lifted her into a sitting position against the log. I could tell that she tried to use a little strength to help me, even if it wasn't much, it showed me that she did understand what was going on.

Her eyes both were slowly opening, they resembled someone who was drunk, very disconnected from the world, but they were a very beautiful light green. Her vision was beginning to focus just like mine was, although she took a heavier hit than I did based on the wounds.

"ANBU…" She said almost silently. Her breathing picked up suddenly and she was shifting where she sat as if trying to get up. I placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving too much.

"Yes, I want to help you." I watched as her face twisted in pain. That was a good sign, she was becoming more aware by the second. "Do you know what happened, can you remember anything?" She put a hand up to her face, feeling the gash on her eyebrow and wincing even more.

"No, not really". She whispered. "I was…well…we…" she wasn't fully there yet; I can't imagine she would be able to tell me much.

I shook my head. "It's fine we can talk later about that. What's your name?"

She sighed as she placed her hand back over the gash, a small green light radiated from her hand over the wound. She is a medical shinobi, but from where? She couldn't possibly have much chakra left, that much was obvious, the glow was dim and barely there, but it did its job to heal the edges and clot the blood.

She opened her eyes again and looked at the ground. "Sakura…" She said, it looked like a smile had snuck onto her face. "I can't know yours…right?" She knew the rules, so I at least know that she has met an ANBU before.

"So, you know then. I'm sorry that I can't give you that information." I said, watching her eyes search the forest. "Are you alone out here?" I asked curiously. She seemed to be looking for someone and I still had no idea if she was an enemy or not.

She shook her head lightly. "No…or I wasn't…" I could tell that she had been trying to feel out others the way that I had seen Rin do dozens of times. She looked back down at the ground, clearly exhausted by the amount of energy she was using just to stay awake. "My Sensei…he was here when…" She sighed again and held her head. "I can't remember exactly what it was that happened."

I stood up and looked around. "Stay here." I said. Not that she would be able to get very far if she managed to even stand up. "Let me search nearby for them." I flickered out of sight and back into the forest. They couldn't be far, but they could have left to search for her as well.

Not far from where we had been there was something reflecting sunlight off a branch. I leapt over and grabbed a ripped headband that had wrapped itself in the branches. It had the leaf symbol etched into it. It more than likely was left from a fallen comrade or lost during a fight, that wasn't unusual to find after fighting a war, the best we can do is honor the fallen comrade by bringing it home. I wrapped it around my bicep before heading back.

She was still sitting there, looking paler and more dazed than she had been when I left. She needed to get to a hospital soon. I walked up to her and crouched down again to her level. "I'm going to take you back to Konoha for treatment, you need healed." I put my arm under hers and lifted her to her feet. "Climb onto my back, it's not far." I crouched down in front of her and felt the weight of her body fall onto mine. I felt her arms wrap around my neck gently before I wrapped my arms around her legs and jumped into the trees heading south back to the village.

"You found my headband…" She said tiredly.

Her headband? She was a shinobi from Konoha? Why have I never seen her before? She is my age, not that it mattered much since I graduated before any of my peers anyway. I still feel that I would have noticed her, she was quite beautiful. "You're from Konoha?" I asked and felt her head nod against my shoulder.

"Can you just take me to lady Tsunade please. I need to report back…and she will heal me…". She was telling me this like Tsunade had come back.

I shook my head. "I can't do that; she hasn't returned from the land of lightening yet." The more we spoke, the more confused I was becoming.

It was silent for a few more moments before she spoke again. "What?" is all she said. I didn't exactly know how to answer that either.

"Don't worry, I'll take you to the hospital for now…we can sort things out with the Hokage afterwards. You don't need to report until you're healed." I told her. "I'm sure that a squad of ANBU will be dispatched to find your team as well."

Silence again. I could see the gates in the distance and picked up the pace. She wasn't heavy to carry, but I still wasn't strong enough to keep going much further with my injuries. "I thought you said Lady Tsunade was gone?" She sounded as confused as I was. I assume she hurt her head, maybe something like what happened with Rin a few years ago. I slowed to a stop just before the gates, looking over my left shoulder at her the best that I could. Her face was almost white compared to her bright pink hair, but her bangs were no longer stuck to her forehead with sweat and I could see a small purple diamond in the center. Just like Tsunade's.

"Is Tsunade your sensei?" I asked. That would explain why she was in the borders, Tsunade may be nearby or at the village already.

She shook her head. "No…She just taught me medical ninjutsu. Kakashi Hatake is my sensei."

I almost dropped her. I looked away and started to laugh. "Alright, time to get you to the hospital." The girl was delusional at this point. I was not her sensei, or anyone else's for that matter. Not that she was aware that she was talking to me anyway. We made our way through the gates and to the hospital where I handed her off to the nurses. I let them know her name and that I would be back to check on her after I visit the Hokage.

As I made my way through the village to report my findings, I couldn't help but think about that strange girl. Hopefully things would make sense when she was better, I can't wait to see what Lord Fourth has to say about this.