It was three minutes to one when I realized that I would be late for the Social Studies exam if I didn't hurry. I had been reading up on recent happenings in the latest Naruto Shippuuden episodes on my cell phone's Internet since eight o' clock that morning, and had completely forgotten the time.

I tucked away the phone and looked around the canteen with a quiet sigh. It was nearly empty, only a few people remaining in the canteen, the rest had already headed to their assigned examination rooms. I sighed again and rolled my eyes at myself; as usual when it comes to Naruto I am a fangirl, not completely obsessed with it though. I glanced at the wall clock. One minute to go until the bell rang. I hastily got up and made my way through the crowds of kids up to the examination room, where I would write my last test in the CSEC examinations. As I walked through the milling students, I greeted the classmates I saw and wished them luck, receiving a few hugs from enthusiastic friends. I was nervous, but sure I could pass easily.

Two hours later I was quietly tapping my fingers on the desk, waiting patiently for the exam proctor to announce that our time was up and begin collecting papers. I grinned in amusement; ever since I had seen the Chūnin Exams Arc I had begun the habit of referring to invigilators as "Proctors". I looked around the room and saw that most of the other candidates were finished and like me, were waiting for the exam to end. A few, however, were intently rechecking their answers, trying to see if they had missed any questions or left out words.

I glanced at the proctor then frowned as I noticed something rather strange. When the woman had come in her shirt had been a bright red, now it seemed to have faded to reddish-orange. I looked around at the other candidates. Their clothes all seemed to have faded to some extent. I looked down at myself and then back at the others. My own clothing had retained its color, unlike everyone else's. I wondered if there was something wrong with my eyes and glanced at the clock. I saw that there were 15 minutes remaining until the invigilator could call time, so I decided to take a quick nap to rest my eyes. Maybe I would stop seeing things if I gave them a rest.

When I felt the proctor shaking me awake I sat up in alarm. I really had been fast asleep! I blushed hotly in embarrassment as the other candidates laughed quietly. Unbelievable... I fell asleep in the exam room...

"Sorry," I mumbled as I handed over my answer sheet and question paper.

When the proctor walked out of the class and the other candidates began piling out I reached into my backpack, which I had retrieved from the back of the class, took out my cap and pulled it on. I walked outside, waving off my classmates when they called to me to chat about the exam. All I really wanted to do was hurry home and start in on my vacation. I'd catch up with them later, and with Melissa Hawkins not in the country I didn't really have much to do. There were several groups of kids along the road so I walked a ways up past them to get a clear view of oncoming traffic and stopped, looking around for a taxi. When I saw one, I flagged it down and got in.

The ride home took twenty minutes. Along the way I pulled out the blue notebook I used to record the important dates for school. Flipping through the pages I scanned the notes to find out if and when I was supposed to go back to school. Thankfully I had nothing written down so my entire holiday was free. That was unquestionably the best thing I had seen in weeks. I slipped the notebook back into my bag and grinned at my reflection in the window. Abruptly I lost my grin and stared out the window, mouth open in astonishment.

The colour changes had extended from school and were now affecting the passing scenery outside the car. I stared at them for a full minute, completely shocked. Then, as suddenly as I had noticed them, they vanished. I blinked. It was like nothing had happened. I glanced at the other occupants of the car. They gave no sign of noticing anything unusual. That could mean that I was the only one seeing them. That thought was probable. Ever since I was a baby I could remember seeing auras. After my eighth birthday I also discovered the gift of telekinesis. I'm pretty strong in that area. I can lift things more than fifty times my weight with minimal effort and I can do other things with telekinesis but only when I'm alone or with my dad; it tends to freak other people out. Those colour changes reminded me of the way people's auras changed when they got tired. But why were the auras acting like that? I've never seen anything like it.

Automatically my fingers went to the necklace I always wore. It belonged to my mother, a silver locket, but instead of pictures each half was inscribed with a single kanji that I don't understand, and I can't remember her. In the accident that killed her I lost every single memory of her. It's like she never existed to me and the only time I can feel like I have a mother is when I touch the necklace or the large scars on my back and stomach that I still have.

'Something fishy is going on here,' I thought to myself.

When I got home there was no one there except Mouse, my dog, who licked my hand and went to sit by the kitchen door. Mouse is an enormous dog higher than my waist of an unidentifiable breed with thick, shaggy gray fur, and it would be more accurate to say that I'm his girl. I have no idea why, but when he was a pup he'd hang around my primary school and watch the kids. Eventually he found me and started following me around. I ignored him at first but he grew on me. I suppose he knew somehow that I would eventually relent and take him in. He is ridiculously smart and occasionally I suspect he's smarter than me.

My father had gone to England, his mother country, on some consultancy case for Interpol. I took off my shoes and put them on the rack to the left of the front door, shut and locked the door and dashed up the stairs to my room to change out of my school uniform and then ran into the big, roomy kitchen to make myself a snack. Mouse followed me in.

I sat down at the kitchen table and hungrily wolfed down the cheese and bologna sandwich I had thrown together. Brushing the crumbs away I leaned back and stretched in satisfaction, then carried the plate to the sink and washed and dried it and put it away. I went back to my room and picked up my backpack from where I had dropped it at the foot of the bed and unpacked it, setting up my phone to charge and then grabbed my towel and went to have a bath.

One hour later I plopped down on the plump living room couch and grabbed the television remote up from off the coffee table. I had already loaded the first volume of Naruto into the DVD player and the title menu had just popped up. I pressed Play and leaned back. I was wearing my favorite clothes; a sapphire blue zip-up vest with a silver circle on the back and straight, loose black jeans with two parallel stripes at an angle on the right leg. I had let down my hair and it fell around my face past my shoulders in soft brown ringlets. Mouse came in and lay down across my feet, one of his favorite positions.

I grinned as the first episode came on. No matter how old I get I will always love watching Naruto, especially the first volumes. It's kind of cool to see the characters change in small ways and then suddenly shoot up in front of your eyes in Shippuuden.

I wondered what it would be like to witness those events in person, regardless of the danger that would undoubtedly arise. I tilted my head to the right. On second thought, I don't really want to know, it would be ridiculously troublesome. I shifted around on the couch until I found a comfortable position, pillowing my head on my left arm I lay down on the couch. I watched for a while and then started thinking about the strange color changes I had observed at school and on the way home earlier.

I raised my head and looked around the room.

'That's strange,' I thought 'Ever since I got home the colour changes disappeared.' I yawned.

'I feel really sleepy all of a sudden.' I lay back down and wriggled into the cushions a little, blinking sleepily at the TV screen. As the end credits of the first episode came on I fell asleep.

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There was something coming for her.

Something with taloned feet that clacked loudly on the cold stone floor as it stalked her through the monster filled tubes. Something that wanted to hurt her and to do terrible things to her, in ways no one should ever have to experience.

She ran swiftly, terror lending wings to her feet, but no matter how hard she ran it was always no less than three steps behind her. Suddenly she rounded a corner to find it grinning madly at her. It grabbed her before she could run and shoved her down to the ground, pinning her arms over her head. It lowered one of its clawed hands over her belly and grinned terribly down into her pale, terrified face, licking its grotesque purple lips with a long forked tongue, giving her a good look at its snake - like fangs as its yellow eyes blazed with sickening bloodlust and madness.

Then it slashed down.

Diana started awake violently and lurched up, one hand clamped against her mouth, stifling the scream that gurgled up from deep in her throat. A movement flickered in the edge of her vision and she scrambled away to the other end of the couch. She looked at the person who had moved, and when she saw who it was her breath caught in her throat, her face went pale with shock and her heart began to pound painfully in her chest. Her vision swam, blurred and went black.

A masked ANBU caught her before she fell to the floor. He laid her back on the couch then turned to the Third Hokage.

"From her reaction she recognized you, Lord Hokage," he observed quietly.

"So it would seem," agreed the Third. "She also appeared out of thin air. And that was no teleportation jutsu I've ever seen, or heard about for that matter."

The ANBU raised his rabbit mask and knelt next to Diana, looking at her intently.

"Her chakra reserves are large, but she's never used them," he stated. "Whoever she is, she's no ninja. However, her chakra feels… irregular somehow."

"But if she isn't a ninja how in the world did she get here in that manner?" mused the Hokage. He walked over to stare down at the unconscious girl. He tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Take her to the Sapphire guest room in the East Wing. I'll be there shortly."

The ANBU gave him a puzzled look, then nodded and moved to replace his mask.

"No," said the Hokage. "It's just a feeling Takeshi." He told him as the ANBU gave him a puzzled look.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." said the ANBU. He lifted Diana, cradling her head against his chest, and went out of the room.

The Third looked after them for a moment and then left.

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Takeshi waked up the main staircase leading to the second floor carrying the strange girl in his arms.

"Judging from the chakra differences this girl is clearly not a ninja, yet her chakra seems to be active. It seems to be flowing around her and through her like she does use it, but not actively." he mused.

He exited the staircase and turned right, into the corridor that lead to the East wing and stopped at the last door at the end of the hall and frowned at it. He placed his foot against the door and channeled chakra through the wood to the lock. It clicked open and he pushed the door open with his foot, stepped inside and nudged it shut, then walked over to the bed and laid the girl on it with her head on the pillow. He went over to the windows and pushed open the sashes, then walked back to the bed, curled up on the footlocker and studied the stranger intently.

Obviously female, appeared to be average height, dark brown hair in an unusual style, it tumbled in loose ringlets on the pillow. She had pale skin, a slightly oval face, finely arched eyebrows and short, thick black eyelashes. Her nose was small and straight and her lips were full and slightly turned up at the corners. She was slender. Her hands were long and slim, and there were callouses on her right index and middle fingers, he could see she spent a lot of time writing. The build of her body did not show any signs of her being trained to fight, she was clearly a civilian.

He noticed her body had begun tense a little and just before she opened her eyes he looked away, out the windows, and then looked back at her when she sat up after a minute.

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The Third Hokage walked to his office and sat at his desk. He thought for a moment and then called one of his guards into the office. A few minutes later there was a poof a smoke in one corner of the room and a tall man dressed in all dark clothing stepped forward. He was dressed in a long black trench coat over a black shirt and black pants with black ninja boots. He had a scarred, grim face and wore a blue hitai ate wrapped about his head like a bandanna.

"You sent for me Lord Hokage?" he asked.

The Hokage looked up from the desk. "Ah, Ibiki. I was wondering, is it possible to travel from one dimension to another?"

Ibiki frowned, wondering why the Hokage would ask him that question but answered. "A Sharingan or Rinnengan user might be able to. But the Rinnengan has not been seen since the Sage of Six Paths, and as far as our intelligence shows the remaining two Uchiha do not have that ability, neither does Kakashi Hatake."

"But it is possible?" pressed the Third.

"Theoretically, yes," agreed Ibiki.

The Hokage nodded thoughtfully.

"It would be extremely difficult even for an extraordinarily talented ninja to travel between dimensions. In fact, it would be on the verge of being impossible." He mused.

Ibiki nodded slowly in agreement.

"Lord Hokage is there something I should know?"

"Yes. In the Sapphire guest room in the East wing of the mansion is a young woman who seems to have appeared from nowhere. She materialized on the living room couch just as Rabbit and I walked in. She does not appear to be a ninja, her manner is civilian. She has never activated her chakra pathways but paradoxically it is clearly active, it flared when I reached out with mine. It felt extremely powerful, almost exactly duplicating the Uzumaki chakra."(2)

Ibiki looked slightly surprised.

The Hokage stood up and led the way out. Ibiki shut the door behind him as they left.

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Diana drifted awake slowly, enjoying the breeze coming in through the window. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

'I'm in bed,' she realized, 'I didn't fall asleep in bed, I fell asleep on the couch…' The memory of the nightmare and what happened after it came rushing back like a dash of cold water on your face after a quick nap.

She opened her eyes and blinked in confusion at the sapphire ceiling.

'What did I get into? And how did I get into this?' she wondered. 'And what will happen to me?'

She sat up, glanced behind her and scooted up to lean against the headboard, pulling the pillow into her lap and hugging it. When she had settled herself she returned the gaze of the man who was curled up on what looked like the footlocker of the bed. He was dressed in the ANBU uniform of Konoha, and from the mask hooked to his belt he probably was one. He had jaw length brown hair and gunmetal gray eyes with long black eyelashes. He had a long straight nose and full lips, the upper lip slightly fuller than the lower and pale skin. There was a faint, straight white scar on his right cheek.

"What's your name girl?" he asked quietly, looking steadily at her.

Instead of making her nervous, his quiet look made her calm and clear-headed, and she answered in the same quiet tone he had used. "My name is Diana Matthews."

He nodded. "My name is Takeshi. Do you know where you are?"

Diana hugged the pillow tighter. "Yes," she answered.

He nodded again and then glanced at the door. It opened and the Third Hokage and Ibiki Morino walked in.

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'Oh wow,' I thought. 'The Third Hokage and Ibiki Morino!' My inner self began to jump around squealing in excitement, but I whacked her with a big stick I conveniently found lying around. She shut up then. I opened my mouth to introduce myself again but Takeshi beat me to it.

"Her name is Diana Matthews," he said.

The Hokage nodded, pulled up a chair to the bedside and sat down. Ibiki stood behind him, slightly to his left. I noted that he was close enough to grab me if necessary. I grinned inwardly, typical Ibiki.

'Really? You better hope he isn't his usual scary self or we're toast! It'll take an awful lot of convincing to get him believe we're from another dimension where this one is only a fairy tale,' growled my inner self.

'Right.' I agreed, and then did a double take. When the hell did I develop an Inner Personality?! And another thing, how come this place doesn't look like it would in the manga or anime? I glanced at the Hokage and Ibiki. The looked like ordinary, everyday people. They were still the same persons they had always been; but they looked real, not like hand drawn, two- dimensional characters.

The Hokage leaned forward to look closely at me. "Do you know where you are?" he asked.

My attention snapped back to the situation at hand. "Uh, Yes. Konoha, Village hidden in the Leaves, in Fire Country."

He gestured at himself, Ibiki and Takeshi. "Do you know who we are?"

"You are the Third Hokage, the one in black is Ibiki Morino, and the ANBU told me his name is Takeshi." My inner self crossed her fingers and started praying feverishly.

"How do you know those things?" Ibiki fixed me with his trademark terrifying look. I winced, until now I never fully appreciated the power of that look. Lying to him would be like trying to catch smoke. Impossible.

"It's going to sound completely crazy but I'm not from this world. Where I come from you're all in an anime show called Naruto." I noted the skeptical looks on their faces. "The show revolves around the main character, Naruto Uzumaki. I've watched the show and read the manga from the beginning up to the current chapter, but I've missed a few arcs so I don't know everything…" I trailed off because Ibiki had narrowed his eyes at me and the Hokage started frowning. Oh god, I'm screwed now.

"You're right," he said coldly, "It does sound crazy."

I felt myself starting to get angry. How could they think I would lie to them? I mean, they're elite ninja, the best. They could tell in an instant whether or not I was lying and I wasn't lying!

"I'm not lying!" I burst out, "How could I lie when there are three elite shinobi here would probably be able to tell if I had a stubbed toe much less if I were telling lies?!" I snapped my mouth shut and held my breath and counted to three. Slowly, I exhaled. "Sorry," I muttered.

"Alright," the Hokage sighed. "No one ever said you were lying. Diana, was it? An unusual name." he commented.

"It's not that unusual. Lots of girls have that name where I come from." I made a face. Takeshi shrugged.

"It's still unusual here. Unless there are girls in far off lands that have that name." he said.

"Do you know any classified information?" asked Ibiki folding his arms and dropping the "Terrible Gaze."

Do I know any classified information? I considered that. "I only know classified information in relation to the plot of the, uh, story. And before you ask, some of it only the Council and the Hokage know." I shifted slightly and realized I had completely forgotten I was hugging the pillow. I had nearly squashed it when I flared up at them. My inner self had stopped praying, but was still keeping her fingers crossed.

"When does our "show" begin?" asked the Hokage.

"About a week before Naruto graduates from the Academy." I answered slowly. I wasn't sure what he was getting at, but I hoped it wasn't anything too drastic, like asking me to tell him everything I know about whatever.

"So from that point on you know all the events that will occur, good and bad, correct?"

"Yes," I said carefully, tensing up.

He smiled kindly at me. "Relax Diana, I won't ask you to disrupt events, but if you could give us a heads up and tell us when we should be alert it would benefit both of us."

"That wouldn't hurt, I suppose." I agreed cautiously. I mean, it's not that I don't trust the Hokage, I really do. It's just that having knowledge like this is so dangerous. I have no right to be here with this kind of ability to meddle, so to speak, in other people's lives.

'Yeah, and you're forgetting a few things. One: we have no idea how we got here so we have no idea how to reverse the process in order to go back home and Two: while we're stuck here we are completely at their mercy, or have you forgotten that DANZO is here?' reminded my inner self.

'Oh dear lord, I did forget about Danzo.' I groaned mentally.

"Good," smiled the Hokage in response to my answer to his question

"Hey Diana," asked Takeshi curiously, "How did you get here?"

It took that long for someone to ask that? Seriously, sometimes ninja can be weird. My inner self nodded in agreement and I wrinkled my nose. It is so weird and downright creepy to suddenly have an Inner Self. I hope to God I don't meet Sakura before I get used to this. Back to the question.

"Well, I was watching the first volume of the show. When the first episode ended I fell asleep, had a nightmare and woke up here," I told him.

Then I remembered something else.

"Um, this afternoon when I was coming home from school I noticed that the colour seemed to slowly fade from everything except me. When I got home it stopped."

"Diana it isn't afternoon, it is mid-morning." Said Ibiki.

What? Mid-morning? I looked out the windows. Sure enough, it was mid-morning. A little closer to midday actually, but it was most definitely not afternoon. As I stared out the window, a nagging feeling started in the back of my mind. It couldn't be possible, could it?

"What date is it?" I asked them. Please, please don't let it be true, I prayed.

"It's October. I don't remember the date exactly but it's around the fifth. What's wrong?" Takeshi peered at me in in concern. And concern was needed. I was gaping like a fish and my inner self was screaming in indignation.

'October?! It was June when we left goddamnit! What the bloody hell is going on here?! And our birthday is in September, how the fuck are we supposed to be sixteen now?!' she screeched, waving her fist in the air.

I agreed wholeheartedly, and then managed to close my mouth and calm down ever so slightly.

"What's wrong? Oh, nothing much, it's just that somehow my birthday went by when I wasn't looking and suddenly I'm now sixteen." I said sarcastically.

"Speaking of sixteen. You can't get back to your world, can you?" asked the Hokage. I shook my head in frustration.

"In that case, you'll need a place to stay and other necessary things," he glanced at my bare feet, "Like footwear. Look in the footlocker Takeshi is sitting on; there should be shoes in there." I put down the pillow and slid off the bed to look in the footlocker as Takeshi sat on the end of the bed instead. As I knelt and began rummaging in the jumble of footwear the Hokage continued talking.

"As for a place to stay, this mansion is the one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the village. So would you like to use this room while we get you sorted out? There is also the option of becoming a civilian of this village, if you so choose." He explained.

I stopped rummaging and stared at him wordlessly for a few seconds. Become a citizen of the Hidden Leaf Village? That was incredible! One snag though, how do I fill out the forms? I can't read the characters in their writing system!

"I'd like that very much, but I'd need help with the forms. I can't read or write in your systems." I said, digging around in the footlocker again. I unearthed a soft, black leather boot with a silver zipper. It looked to be the right size so I put it on the floor beside me and began looking for its mate.

"I can help you with that, but you'll need to learn how to read and write. What kind of writing system did you use?" he asked.

"One very different from the one you use here." I answered. "Actually I've already seen several examples of yours. A country back home uses the exact system." I dug up the black boot's other half from under a pair of heavy construction boots, closed the lid and sat on it.

"As for getting someone to teach me to read and write, why not give that task to the guard you'll assign to me? It's gotta be a lot more interesting than just following me around all day." I slipped on the boots. They went almost up to my knees and fit perfectly. I walked around the room and felt them shaping to my feet and adjusting to my balance. Huh, ninja boots. Cool. My inner self was approving my selection and making comments on how how well they went with our outfit.

"We'll see." Said the Hokage and stood up. "Now that you've found footwear, let's go to my office and I'll help you fill out the citizenship papers. Takeshi, inform the Ninja Council that there will be a meeting in an hour and a half." The ANBU nodded, replacing his mask and vanished in a poof of smoke.

"Ibiki, you may go back to the ANBU headquarters now. Thank you." Ibiki bowed and left the room and the Hokage and I went over to the Admin building.

Once there we requested the relevant documents from an aide and filled them out together, with the Hokage writing where necessary. Then I signed my name and voila! I was officially a citizen of Konoha. It was completely, totally, utterly NUTS, but there was the proof right in front of me.

I AM. A CITIZEN. OF KONOHA.

There. I said it. Well, thought it actually, but that's not important. What's important is that I've a place to stay, citizenship, boots… but no toothbrush or clean underwear. The Hokage must have realized this because he stood up and piled the papers to the end of his desk in a manila folder. I yawned and saw sparkles swirling at the edge of my vision. Oh god, I'm sleep deprived. It was late afternoon when I left and now its morning again and I haven't slept at all. When I fell asleep on the couch doesn't count. I do not do well without sleep.

"Come on," said the Hokage walking to the door," We'll go down to the Mission Room for Iruka. There aren't many missions left for this morning so he will go with you to buy what you need." He fished around in his robes and brought out a roll of bills which he handed to me. "Do you know how to use those?" he asked.

I pushed down my growing tiredness and examined the bills in my hand. "I think I remember from what I read."

"Iruka will explain to you. Get what you need and have some lunch, then go back to the mansion," instructed the Hokage.

I stopped walking. "Lord Hokage? There's something I have to tell you. It's not about my knowledge, it's about me." He stopped and turned to me, a piercing look in his eye.

"Yes?" he prompted.

I swallowed. "Have you ever heard of Telekinesis and psychics?" I asked.

He looked at me sharply. "Are you saying that you are one of those people?"

I nodded. "I am a psychic, and part of my ability is telekinesis. My psychic ability is seeing and manipulating auras though."

"You haven't been manipulating anyone here, have you?" he asked.

I stared at him in horror. What? "No!" I exclaimed, "I would never do that to anyone here!"

He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Just checking. Now come along." And he continued walking along the corridor.

We talked to Iruka and he got another ninja to cover for him while he went shopping with me. The Hokage left after the other ninja agreed to cover and Iruka turned to me and smiled warmly.

"Now then, you're new here, so I'll explain how the bills work while we walk, okay?" he said, smiling cheerily as I handed him the bills the Hokage had given me.

"Easy to see why the kids like him so much.' I thought as we walked outside.

Chapter Two: Integration.

After shopping and having lunch at a ramen stand, unfortunately not the famed Ichiraku's, we returned to the Hokage complex. Iruka went back to the Tower to resume his duties and I went back to my new room in the East Wing of the Mansion. I closed the door and emptied the bags on the bed. Because I hadn't known what kind of clothing I would be able to buy I had decided to buy the other essentials first; toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush and soap. After I had those, we (Iruka and I) had gone around to the clothing stores. It turned out the Hokage had given me a rather large sum of money so I was able to buy more than one outfit. Two blue zip-up vests and three pairs of black biker shorts, the rest were underwear and a towel. I'm not much of a fashionista; my favorite colors are black, sapphire, yellow and silver.

I sorted them out and opened the two doors in the room, trying to find the closet, discovering behind one door an attached bathroom, complete with toilet, sink and shower. The second door proved to be the closet and I put away the new clothes and used the bathroom to wash up. I stuck the bags in a corner of the closet and flopped down on the bed, completely exhausted, and gave a jaw-cracking yawn.

As the breeze drifted in through the windows, I gave in to my exhaustion and slipped into the soothing embrace of sleep.

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After notifying the members of the Konoha Ninja Council of the meeting, Takeshi reported to the Hokage's office to receive further instructions. He found the Hokage preparing what he would say to the Council.

The Hokage looked up as Takeshi entered the office.

"The Council members have been notified and will assemble in the Council room in forty – five minutes Lord Hokage."

"Excellent," the Hokage sighed. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk, lacing his fingers under his chin. "You will be head of her guard, and as such, should know one very important detail about her. Diana is an aural and telekinetic psychic; therefore, she is in even more danger than when she was simply someone with information that could get her killed. The members of your team you will handpick from several ANBU squads as you see fit after the meeting. I will not inform the Council about this. This is too delicate and they may do something rash. Make sure the security system in her room is keyed properly. Dismissed."

He closed his eyes and tried not to remember the last time the Council had acted hastily. Sighing again, Hiruzen leaned back in the chair, contemplating how to phrase his words exactly right to the rest of the Council members.

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Takeshi reeled when he heard that Diana was psychic but pushed it down and focused on the Hokage's instructions. When the Hokage dismissed him, he bowed and body flickered back to the Mansion. He knocked on Diana's door. Getting no answer, he opened it and peeked in. Diana was lying curled on her side facing the windows, fast asleep. Takeshi pushed open the door and channeled chakra to his hands, turned and ran his hands over the door frame, then the door. After a few seconds, he nodded to himself and shut the door quietly.

He reached up to scratch an itch on his cheek and bumped his fingers on his mask. He took it off and rubbed away the itch, setting the mask down on the footlocker of the bed. Going over to the windows, he again channeled chakra to his hands and passed them over the frames. He moved around the room, checking various places. When he had been over the entire room twice and was satisfied that the wards and seals were secure, he relaxed his chakra and curled up once again on the footlocker. Studying Diana once more, he allowed himself to finally process what the Hokage had told him.

This was not good. He pulled up all the information he had acquired on psychics over the years. It wasn't much because of the rarity of the occurrences; the only reason he knew this much was because he had a penchant for old knowledge, but coupled with the few rumored theories he had also heard from the few old, retired shinobi he'd managed to convince to talk to him it was enough to make him twitchy.

Chakra was formed from spiritual and physical energy mixed in the body and channeled through various means, the most common being hand signs. There was also the Yin and Yang form of chakra manipulation; mental and physical levels of energy being adjusted in the chakra. Aural psychics had the capacity of going beyond even the unconventional limits because of their ability to use their Yin energies separately from the rest of their chakra. Because of this, while their strengths depended on the will and personality of the individual, all psychics could theoretically increase their total stamina to ridiculously high levels and carried the very nerve-wracking potential to wreak havoc on the others around them. Namely with wide-scale genjutsu that would rival the Sharigan techniques. The psychics would did not possess the aural ability had other powers that presumably could cause the same amount of trouble their genjutsu wielding counterparts were capable of.

Power in spades, he mused sarcastically.

Therefore, whenever such people turned up they were summoned to become shinobi of whichever land they were in. If they refused, they were executed on the spot, for fear of a rival village succeeding in recruiting the individual. There were rumors that experiments carried out on a few psychics by rogue medic ninja in secluded areas in small countries had backfired horribly, the laboratories often reduced to rubble and most participants killed or driven mad. No one knew much else because these incidents had occurred before the First and Second Shinobi Wars, and by then all nations assumed that psychics had been wiped out- or at least pushed to the very brink of extinction. Those that had survived, had, presumably gone deep underground, burying their talents and teaching their children the same.

This girl was the first psychic seen in decades, and although the old fear had died out with the supposed "last" of the psychics, the Council might revive it if they found out about her. He sighed. The Hokage was tasking him to keep her safe, not just from enemies but from his own superiors. It was enough to make a fellow considerably nervy. Looking around the room he decided that it might be better if she didn't wake up suddenly and see him staring at her from the foot of her bed, so he slipped out the window and chose a large, comfortable tree with an excellent vantage point and full, leafy foliage and settled down. He only hoped that the kid didn't turn out to be a pain in the neck to guard.

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I slept terribly, plagued by dreams of dark, hooded figures walking into bright lights and shadowy warriors forcing me towards a door I didn't want to enter, and red eyes, all imbued with an abysmal aura. I jerked awake in a cold sweat and nearly strangled myself with the blanket when I tried to get up, finding that someone had pulled it over me up to my shoulders. I must have been thrashing around in my sleep because they wrapped tightly around me. I fell out of bed onto the floor and wound myself into the blankets still further.

Finally, after several minutes of muted grumbling and some swearing, I extracted myself from the tangled sheets. During that time I had managed to get sweaty and very hungry, so by now, I was wide-awake and my inner self was crying out for food, reminding me that I had only had lunch the day before, and had missed dinner. So I picked up my towel and went into the bathroom to have a bath. As I stared at myself in the mirror I saw that there were already dark crescents under my eyes.

"Damn," I groaned, gripping the edge of the white sink examining my reflection. My curls were tumbling around my face and combined with my pale skin, made me look waif-like and younger than I was. Normally I only need three or four hours of sleep, one at the least. Not sleeping well, and for the entire night meant that something was off with me. Either I was sick, or tremendously stressed. And if I was under stress, then something would invariably go wrong with my telekinesis, which required a calm and steady mind to achieve. I did not like the thought of being stranded here with no means of defending myself. Aural abilities were all well and good, but it was of use only as far as reading an opponent's intentions and a small number of other skills my father taught me.

Fed up with introspecting, I switched off the light and decided that after speaking to the Hokage I would find out if I was still capable of telekinesis.

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I walked into the kitchen. "Food, yes," I sighed in relief. Getting something in my stomach would help the tiredness I could still feel from yesterday.

I looked around, familiarizing myself with the kitchen. The kitchen was set up in the usual way like back home, but in the traditional Japanese décor. It looked fantastic but I wasn't concerned about that. I opened the fridge and poked around, looking for something I could eat. There was nothing in there that I recognized, so I checked the cupboards. Just when I thought I would starve I pulled open the last cupboard and found it was full of canned foods.

I took down a cup of instant ramen and shut the cupboard door. From watching Naruto for so long, I'd learned how to prepare this stuff, so I looked for the kettle. It was sitting right on the counter under the canned goods cupboard. I picked it up and filled it at the sink. At that point, there was a "poof" sound behind me, exactly like the sound when someone used the Body Flicker technique in the anime. I turned around, and saw an ANBU standing behind me in a dissipating cloud of smoke. This ANBU had the same mask I saw the one from yesterday put on when he left; Rabbit. Takeshi, I think his name was.

"Good morning?" I suggested, turning around to turn off the tap and going over to the stove.

"That depends on your point of view." He went over to the kitchen island and sat down on a stool.

I examined the stove. Damn this wretched language, I wasn't sure which knob was which… I turned to the ANBU. "Could you show me how to work this?" He got off the stool and opened a drawer, took out a box of matches and fiddled with the knobs, explaining to me what to do and what knobs to turn. All in all the stove wasn't that different from the stoves at home, just the writing on it was waaay out of sync. He took the kettle from me and set it on the burner.

"That'll take about five minutes to boil." He sat again at the island. My stomach growled again and I opened the drawer and rooted around for chopsticks. The ANBU reached behind him and held out a pair of the wooden sticks.

"Oh, thanks." I took them and fiddled with them, trying to remember how to use them. I wonder how the Council meeting went. I stared at the kettle, hoping that it would boil faster and put me out of my misery. My stomach rumbled loudly again and the ANBU chuckled. I scowled at him, and then returned my oh-so-terrifying glare to the kettle. I must be losing brain function or something out of sheer hunger. Hmm, I could ask the ANBU how the meeting went… and what he meant with that "point of view" remark.

"Hey," I turned to the ANBU, "Are you assigned as my guard?" He was still wearing his mask. Guards. I have a feeling that I may become rather paranoid unless I know precisely who is guarding me. I wouldn't put it past Danzo to try to put a shadow on me, or something of the sort. He's a very cautious fellow; it's how he survived so long.

"Kettle's boiling," said the ANBU, "And yes, I'm now the head of your guard."

I took the kettle off and poured the water into the ramen as I turned that bit of information over in my mind. Head of my guard, eh? "Would you mind taking off your mask?" I asked the ANBU.

"Yes I would, I'm on duty." He replied.

"Take it off anyway."

For a few moments, he didn't move but as I stared at him steadily, he sighed behind his mask, reached up and removed it. The man was the same one who was with the Hokage and Ibiki yesterday. Takeshi. Well, I don't have to paranoid about him; I took a quick peek at his aura so I would recognize his presence in the future when I felt someone following me. It was unquestionably one of the most powerful I'd ever seen; doe-colored and infused with russet red in generous streaks. Very methodical but quick-tempered.

He shifted uncomfortably. I stopped staring at him and looked at the kettle again.

"Hmm…" The three minutes it took for the ramen to cook were up and I dug in hungrily, blowing to cool off the noodles so I wouldn't scald my mouth as I ate. The Hokage had warned me that my psychic abilities were rare and they put me in danger. That must be part of the reason there was a guard on me. Why? Why were they so dangerous? I paused with the chopsticks in my mouth.

He cleared his throat quietly and I glanced curiously at him. "Were you looking at my aura?" he asked.

How did he know? "Y-es…" I admitted, "It was so I would know it's you when I felt someone following me. Sorry…" I looked down at my ramen and took another bite. "How did you know I was looking at your aura? I mean," I continued, "Obviously if you're to be my guard the Hokage would tell you, but how did you know?"

"Your eyes changed color, from brown to bright violet." He frowned when I looked surprised. "Has that never happened before?"

I shook my head. "No, my eyes do have violet in them but they've never changed when I used my aura. It must be a side effect of my being here, I suppose." I threw away the empty ramen cup and washed the chopsticks, then stretched. "Guess I'll go talk to the Hokage about the meeting now. He's in his office right?"

"Yes." He got up, replaced his mask and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I stared at the stool he had been sitting on for a full minute before shaking my head and heading over to the Hokage tower. He must be sore over the fact that he has to guard some kid that he thinks is going to be trouble all the way. I didn't look at the guards standing at the door of the mansion when I passed between them. If I had to guard me, I might feel the same way.

In the mission room, I stuck my hands in my pockets and looked around. It was very busy; they must have to open early to complete all the paperwork.

"Excuse me," said a ninja as he trotted past me with an armful of scrolls. He glanced at me and then stared. "The mission desk is over there." He nodded towards one of the desks.

"Actually I'd like to speak with the Hokage." Why is he staring at me like that?

"Okay, the appointment desk is over there." He nodded to another desk and then walked away, casting glances over his shoulder at me. I frowned at him and he turned away immediately.

I walked over to the appointment desk casually, looking around curiously out of the corners of my eyes at the ninja on the trot attending intently to their duties. In spite of the seriousness and efficiency with which they carried out their tasks, they still chatted and joked as they performed everyday jobs. Some of them I was sure were casting glances at me, as the ninja who had just spoken to me had done, but I couldn't catch anyone at it. Irritating much? Definitely. But then again, I was side eyeing them too.

The secretary at the desk was a vaguely familiar looking kunoichi who must have appeared in dozens of scenes but was never introduced, and she informed me when I asked that the soonest free slot would be immediately before lunch and would I like to make an appointment for then? I confirmed the appointment and declined when she offered me a seat, and then changed my mind when I learned that the time was ten thirty and my appointment was scheduled for eleven fifteen.

"Um, thanks?" I said, turning around to face the person behind me, and felt my heart go blip in surprise, because the man staring at me in amusement and curiosity, twitching a senbon between his teeth was none other than Genma Shiranui. I hit the inner me over the head with a cricket bat when blood started gushing out of her nose and refocused on Genma.

"No problem, kid," he said. He picked up one of my curls curiously and pulled it gently, making it bounce a little when he released it, then strolled off through a door leading to another part of the Tower, leaving me blinking after him bemusedly. The kunoichi behind the desk gave me an odd look, and then pointed off to one side where some chairs were arranged.

"You can wait there," she said.

"Okay." I walked over and sat in a chair, feeling the secretary glare at my back. Wonder what I did? Or was it Genma? I sighed and sat down, cradling my head in my hands. I could feel a vague thudding in the back of my head and knew a full-scale migraine was coming on. I rubbed my temples in frustration. I never realized how much telekinesis was a part of an individual who could use it to the degree I had. To a shinobi it might feel like using their chakra, becoming especially adept and then having it all sealed away forever. You might learn to live without it, but that part of you would be there still, and memory of being able to use it would be bitter. I sure hoped that after the appointment and lunch I would be able to use it still.

A commotion started up somewhere outside, and I figured that maybe twenty minutes had passed me sitting with my head in my hands, trying to will away the slowly increasing throbbing in my skull. As it got closer and closer till it was right outside the doors, I knew that it was Gai and Lee. Only those two would have the guts to be so loud and all together weird. Right now I didn't care so much about the weird part as I did about the loud part. It sounded like they were in one of their "Youthful Challenges". I cringed and covered my ears as the door flew open with a bang and the Terrible Two ricocheted inside, stopped on a dime in unison, and affected the "Nice guy pose" to the entire Mission Room even though they gave a collective eye-roll and went back to business.

Key word, "entire", which meant I was included, which was horrifying. Any other day… any other day and I would have made some snarky remark and brushed off the weirdness. Now, I just clutched my head in pain and slumped in the chair, wishing that I were dead and six feet under the blessedly sound-proof earth as Gai began spouting one of his inspirational speeches (loudly) and Lee listened rapturously, blissful tears streaming down his face, agreeing enthusiastically (also loudly) as Ten-Ten and Neji jogged in and leaned against the wall to catch their breath.

But now you think about it, Orochimaru wasn't the only one who could raise the dead. Gai could probably give one of his speeches at battlefield volume, and they would rise out of their graves just to get their hands around his neck and squeeze the air out of him so he would just shut up and be quiet. Kind of like what I wanted to do right now. The throbbing in my head had escalated to a pounding regularity that Gai and Lee's insanity wasn't helping. Forget the telekinesis check, there was no way I could do it with this kind of headache; as soon as I finished speaking to the Hokage I was heading back to the Mansion and sleeping the rest of the day with the windows shut, the drapes pulled securely and all the covers hauled over my poor aching head.

I was so absorbed in trying to pay no attention to Gai and Lee that I didn't see Genma step through the door he'd entered earlier, a frown on his face and the senbon in his mouth twitching rapidly. He looked over at Gai, chuckled quietly and came over to me.

"Diana Matthews?" he asked, looking down at me with an unreadable expression. The senbon was tucked in the corner of his mouth, unmoving.

"Yes?" I moved my hands away from my ears and winced, then tried to hide it as the finale of the speech reached a noisy crescendo. There were little sparkles in the corners of my vision now. I had about fifteen minutes before I had to get into a dark, quiet place for a good several hours.

"The Hokage asked me to take you up to his office. He wants to speak with you."

"What a coincidence," I muttered. "I wanted to talk to him." I stood up carefully so I wouldn't make myself dizzy, and followed Genma to Sarutobi's office. He opened the door for me and I went in. To my surprise, he didn't leave. He walked in right behind me and made me sit in a chair he brought over. I suppose I hadn't hidden that flinch very well. He walked over to the window and leaned his hip on the sill, watching me with that curious expression back in his eyes. The Hokage didn't ask him to go, so I assumed that he knew at least the part about my knowledge. Of course, Genma is a member of the Hokage Guard Platoon. In a roundabout, twisty sort of way, my safety is his safety.

"Diana," said the Hokage. "Are you feeling alright?" He looked at me concernedly.

"I'm getting a really bad migraine," I answered. "And I really should get back into bed. How did the meeting go?"

"They wanted to take you into protective custody," he replied.

"I figured someone would suggest that," I said dryly. "Then what happened?"

"I refused." His words were as dry as mine had been, but with a darker undertone. "They protested, but I put up a very convincing argument on your behalf." Before I could ask, he continued. "I said that you had declared your intention to assist us as far as you could without damaging history and some other things, but I think we can talk about them in detail later. You need to rest."

I nodded and stood up. "See you later then," I said. The Hokage closed his eyes for a moment and I paused in turning to the door.

He opened his eyes and folded his hands under his chin, gazing at the desk and papers before him. "Genma, go with her until Takeshi returns."

I raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled reassuringly at me. I sighed. The fact that he was trying to reassure me could mean that there was something happening and that Genma was going to keep an eye on me for him while he dealt with it. Or it was just a general sort of intent and I was being paranoid already. I marveled at my ability to think through the pain in my head. A tribute to the habits drilled into me by Dad, certainly.

I made a small bow; I would respect his wishes. He knew what he was doing, and I trusted him to let me know if it were something important. I walked to the door, Genma close behind me.

Chapter Three: Wherein I get my first glimpse of Danzo.

I walked out the door and rubbed my forehead, taking a deep breath of air. Genma stopped behind me and tapped my shoulder.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"Not right now," I answered. I began walking again and turned the corner to get to the stairs... and came face to face with Danzo. He didn't stare, just narrowed his uncovered eye at me, a simple statement of what would happen, should he have any considerable say in my matters. Knowing Genma was still behind me and it would be unwise to challenge Danzo in public, I just nodded acknowledgement to him and stepped aside to let him pass.

He walked past me, ignoring Genma, who bowed slightly as he went by. After Danzo turned the corner Genma turned to me with a quizzical expression. I just shook my head and went down the stairs. After a minute I heard him following me. Halfway down the stairs a wave of dizziness hit me as the pounding in my head grew to a roaring and I had to lean against the wall.

It didn't pass and I slumped down to sit on the stair, only I didn't make it because Genma caught me and pulled me against his chest. I gave up trying to hide how bad I was feeling and simply wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest, beginning to shake slightly. He smelled like sunshine and sandalwood and damn, he gave good hugs.

He patted my back softly, then I felt his arms moving gently, sensed a rush in his energy and felt a spinning, squeezing sensation that almost undid the small measure of control I had over myself, so that I lost my grip on Genma and would have fallen if he hadn't quickly wrapped his arms around me again. I was still shaking, so he shifted his senbon to the other side of his mouth away from my face, picked me up and started walking. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder.

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I must have passed out because when I woke up the room was completely dark, no residual light whatsoever. The migraine was gone and now my head just felt stuffy and my throat was parched. I wanted something to drink badly and I was ravenous again. There was also a familiar cramp in the pit of my stomach that had me running into my bathroom, where I discovered a dark wet blotch on my underwear. I started swearing furiously under my breath.

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After having another bath and improvising with a wad of tissues, I left my room and geared up to find Takeshi and ask oh-so-nicely if he could get me a box of tampons.

It was pitch black so I focused my aura and looked for energy residues. See, wherever you go, you leave traces of your aura behind you, footprints; it's like walking around soaking wet and leaving water trails. I found mine easily, a soft blend of indigo-blue and gold. Also, the core of every psychic's aura is some shade of blue or purple; don't ask me why because I honestly have no clue, neither do any of the psychics I've ever met.

But like water trails, aural footprints fade away, unless it's a high traffic area, then all the residue will blend together into an ugly grayish shade. It usually happens in cities, where there have been enormous levels of traffic, like ginormous levels. It doesn't happen often in the countryside, I think mostly because there is so much nature out there. Every living thing has spiritual energy, so the fact that cities don't have a lot of plants and stuff makes it hard for nature's energy to flow and wash away the mud, figuratively.

I followed the fading trail to the kitchen and stopped a few feet from the doorway. The light was on and there were ANBU in the kitchen. I suddenly felt reluctant to go in but my stomach traitorously growled loudly, and that set off another cramp and then someone looked around and spotted me.

"How you are you feeling, kid?" Genma asked as he slipped up behind me like a shadow. If I hadn't still been focusing on auras I would have jumped a foot in the air. As it was, I sensed him before he got within two feet of me.

"A lot better, thank you," I answered, walking hesitantly into the kitchen. My stomach started growling again as Genma crossed to the stove and lifted the lid off a pot there. Food. My stomach whimpered and one of the ANBU snickered. I glared at Takeshi and Genma grinned around the senbon.

"Your eyes are violet again," he remarked as I looked curiously at the other ANBU and stopped short. The mask had a cat design on it but it definitely wasn't Yamato's. And Yamato certainly didn't have long purple hair.

"Mm," I responded, then took a quick look at the warm colors of her aura, memorizing them. "Yūgao... Uzuki?" I asked cautiously. Takeshi did a double take and Genma blinked at me and then Yūgao.

"Yes?" she answered.

"I'm saved," I muttered fervently. "Could I talk with you for a sec?" I went out into the unlit hallway, and she followed immediately. I turned around and looked up at her pleadingly.

"Look, I really don't want to be a bother, but could you please buy me a box of tampons?" I asked desperately.

"Sure. Medium?" Her tone was sympathetic.

"Yes, cotton, please," I sighed in relief and silently blessed her sweet self. Thank my lucky stars for female empathy.

"Okay. I'll leave them in your bathroom cupboard. Be back in a bit." She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hungry?" asked Genma, looking up from the pot when I stepped into the kitchen again.

"Starved," I answered as my stomach whined again. I sat down at the counter next to Takeshi and sprawled my arms out on the cool surface.

"Five more minutes," he said, setting the spoon down.

"Thank you..." I dropped my forehead on the counter.

"You're welcome." He got a bowl and chopsticks out of a cupboard.

As I looked thoughtfully at the countertop, I suddenly remembered one of my favorite science fiction series. Star Trek. Interestingly enough these circumstances were very similar to a certain situation under the classification of "First Contact". I closed my eyes and thought hard. Their customs may be Japanese, but these people were not. If I treated this like a First Contact it might just save me time and trouble in dealing with some of the issues I might run into, if I disregarded the knowing-the-future bit and took it at face value that I was simply in another, different dimension.

On the other hand, Kagan's Law of First Contact did state that "you'll surprise you more than they will". I thumped my forehead down on my arms. My inner self began grumbling about whiny hosts and starving to death. I locked her in the mental chest I called up and sealed it shut. There, that ought to keep her from annoying me for a while. Genma checked the pot and turned off the gas, pouring some soup into the bowl and setting it and the chopsticks in front of me. Oh heaven... If I had been asleep the smell alone would have woken me up.

Relying on science-fiction procedures wouldn't be enough to get me out of this. I reached for the chopsticks and started eating, murmuring a quick "thank you" to Genma. But, I wonder, a name to separate it from my world would be good. Obviously, I can't say "real world" and "Naruto world" anymore. Hmmm, maybe... Alternate Earth? Bleh, sounds cliche. Alternate Terra? Nope, lame. Counter. That sounds better. Needs something though. Trying to catch a slippery round obstacle with the chopsticks, I caught Takeshi's amused look. Eureka. Shinobi Counter.

Blowing hard to cool the obstacles I fished out of the soup, I went back to wondering about the Hokage's warning about telling anyone about my abilities. I considered the reactions people in my world had to psychics. Most of them regarded us with mixed feelings, a few were openly supportive of us - the police did go to respected psychics for help in solving difficult cases on occasion, but quite a lot regarded us as quacks, freaks or just plain wackos.

I remembered the way he had looked at me, like he was trying to decide whether to take me seriously or not. That was often a reaction when someone was told, but usually they'd ask for some proof, and the Hokage didn't. Why? Because he believed me? No, I think even if he did believe me he would want to check it out. But he had asked me if I had been manipulating people. So it had to be another reason. Had there ever been an incident involving a psychic in the Village before? Something so bad that even the mention of it would bring about a specific immediate reaction?

I paused with the chopsticks halfway from the bowl to my mouth. Something like... the Kyuubi attack? That was the only incident involving individual manipulation on any scale large enough to warrant the kind of reaction I suspected. But Obito wasn't psychic, he just used the Sharingan... I was stuck. My free hand went automatically to my mother's necklace.

Mother, I need your help.

...But she wasn't here, and neither was Dad. I had to keep myself alive by myself. I thought hard and came up with a way. Visualize the worst case scenario and work backwards. I didn't dare ask for help for fear of revealing something I shouldn't; I had zero talent for lying, and I might not be able to take back certain things. I would probably end up bluffing my way out.

I sighed and looked down. Some green vegetable that looked like asparagus. Well it didn't look inedible. I popped it in my mouth, and resumed eating. I knew that there was a good chance I might slip up somewhere along the way, and I really wished there was someone I could go to for advice, but virtually all the people I knew of did not know me and they would not trust me right off the bat. I blew harder than necessary on the noodles. I blinked and realized that Yūgao had come back in the room. Well, duh Diana. Hurry up and eat so you can go back to your room and work this out now and save yourself a lot of time and worry later.

"Hey, Diana, who gave you that necklace?" asked Takeshi, staring curiously at it.

"Hmm?" I realized my fingers were still wrapped around the pendant. "My mother gave it to me."

"When? May I see it?" He reached forward.

"I don't remember when she gave it to me, and I don't mean to be rude but I don't take it off."

"Oh." He pulled his hand back. "Why don't you take it off?"

I looked down at my half empty bowl. "I have amnesia. I lost every memory I have of her. I hope that the longer I wear it the greater the chance I'll remember something, even if it's just a small fragment, about my mother."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "How long ago was it?"

I tightened my fingers around the silver pendant before answering. "Seven years."

Genma leaned forward and frowned. "That's too long Diana. Your amnesia–"

"I don't believe that!" I flared at him. "I couldn't possibly lose every single memory I have of her! It's like she never existed for me at all!" I looked away, clenching my fingers until my knuckles were white. "The only time I even think I had a mother is when I touch her necklace."

"Sorry," Genma apologized. I nodded and focused on finishing my soup.

I drained the last dregs of broth from the bowl and licked the corners of my mouth where a few drops of the liquid clung. I stared down at the bowl for a moment, then picked it up and took it over to the sink. Washing the bowl made me think about Mouse, worrying about Mouse forced me to think about my father, an issue I think I'd been avoiding for hours now. How would he react? What would he do when he found out I was missing? I felt sick to my stomach thinking about the pain losing me would cause him.

I put the bowl on the draining board and made to put the chopsticks away, then paused and looked at them. I had to know. Dropping one chopstick next the bowl, I placed the other one on the opposite counter. Drawing three deep calming breaths, I put everything else out of my head and focused on that chopstick, concentrating all my thoughts on it.

Move, I willed it.

Nothing happened. It was like I'd run up against a very cliche brick wall. My hands balled into fists. This ime I focused on it with all my power. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Genma, Takeshi and Yūgao stiffen in their seats. Concentrating, I held the image of the chopstick in my mind, filling it with the full force of my will.

Move! I unleashed the energy at the hapless piece of wood lying on the counter.

...Not. A. Thing. Happened. Not even a twitch. The energy simply swirled around the chopstick for a moment, and then dissipated. Damn. I glared murderously at the chopstick, then stalked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room. The tampons were where Yūgao had said they would be and I busied myself with them. The awful suspicion of losing my telekinesis was confirmed. Damn, damn, fuck. But why? I was perfectly relaxed, calm. I groaned. This made no sense. And that wall, it seemed to now be standing solidly in my mind blocking my power from me.

I washed my hands and went to my bedroom window. Leaning against the sill, I breathed in deeply, letting the cool, fresh air flow over me. Admiring the pretty moonlit neighborhood, I wondered about how I had woken up here, but every time I went at the problem, no matter the angle, I couldn't put one pin in it. It could have been anything – circumstances and conditions in either world could have caused it, and I somehow picked up on it and got transported here.

But which set of circumstances? I started shivering as I realized that I would very probably never go home. And then I wondered again about how much my knowledge would affect events here, and how those events would affect me. I came up with Newton's Third Law of Motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

For a moment, I was numb as I processed the implications of that theory as applied to my situation, and then I doubled over, clamped my right hand to my mouth, pressed the left to my stomach and ran into the bathroom, collapsing in front of the toilet and hanging my head over the bowl.

I threw up until there was nothing left in my stomach and all I did was dry heave.

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The ninja all stared wordlessly after the girl as she stormed out of the kitchen, and then at each other as she stormed up the stairs.

"...Anybody care to guess what just happened?" asked Genma, looking from Takeshi to Yūgao.

"She tried to use her "ability"?" ventured Yūgao. "It's the only thing I can think of that would cause that much chakra release. She obviously isn't a ninja."

"Yes, I think that's it." Takeshi nodded. "This morning, she..." he paused, looking for words. "Well, she explained that she was memorizing my aura so she would know who it was when she felt someone following her. I felt that same surge in her chakra when she did."

"Well then," said Genma, leaning back in his chair. "She'll explain when she comes back downstairs."

"Her actions this morning made sense. If she memorizes our- auras" said Takeshi carefully, "she'll up her defense. That way if someone tries a transformation she'll be able to tell if it's us or not." He sat back, frowning. "Her abitlity is in two areas, so maybe one area is - blocked or something. And she has scars. Some pretty large ones on her back. I felt them through her vest when I carried her upstairs after she fainted in the living room; I suspect there are more on her front."

"She's a little young Captain, don't you think?" asked Yūgao.

He gave her a bland look. "Have you taken a good look at her? She's shorter than you, and a good deal more fragile. And now she can't defend herself properly because the one defense that she knew might actually save her life is gone. You saw her face when she ran out." He sat back in his chair. "But seriously, she'll need to control herself. It's way too obvious when she does that."

"Is it that bad?" asked Yūgao.

"Yeah, that bad." He snorted. "And to top it off, the Council will have her forcibly recruited or interrogated and killed if they find out about her, shall we say, less obvious ability. Psychics aren't well liked. Before the Shinobi World Wars they were treated worse than jinchuuriki are now. They are widely believed to no longer exist."

Yūgao and Genma exchanged a worried glance, then looked up at the ceiling.

Chapter Four: The Brewing Storm

After throwing up until there was nothing left in my stomach and the dry heaves were over, I flushed the toilet and sat down again in the space between the toilet and the wall and shivered there. When Yūgao came up to check on me, I hadn't moved a millimeter. I submitted reluctantly to her coaxing to come back downstairs and eat a small bowl of broth to replace what I'd thrown up, and discovered that I was even more reluctant to speak more than a few words at a time to anyone. It just seemed far too dangerous. To them and me. More dangerous for me than them would be more accurate. The scenarios I had envisioned had terrified me so badly I only spoke when I knew an answer was necessary, and then in the least amount of words I could get away with.

I refused to sleep that night and sat thinking in the kitchen, at the kitchen island with my head in my hands. I suspected I was worrying Takeshi and Yūgao a little, not to mention Genma. At that time I didn't much care. I was trying to convince myself that if I kept dwelling on everything that could go wrong I would go crazy. By three o'clock in the morning I was one-quarter convinced of it. At six in the morning I had abandoned that and come to another more frightening thought.

By that time Genma had left, not being authorized to stay. Takeshi and Yūgao had also left when another guard reported for duty. This one however, was not as relaxed as his Captain and squad member; he stayed outside and made no attempts to speak to me except to give me a blank, unlined notebook and a few pens. Apparently, whoever was on duty would pick up where last I left off in my lessons. Takeshi took him aside and spoke quietly with him while I ignored them both, continuing to brood.

In the morning when I finally got hungry I heated some of the left-over soup and ate breakfast.

While I ate I remembered something, or rather someone.

Konohamaru.

Presumably, he lived here with his grandfather. If so, I hadn't seen him yet, but he surely knew I was staying here so I scarfed down the soup and washed up hastily. I had to get out of here. I wasn't ready to meet a child yet.

After taking the quickest bath I could without simply washing my face only, I went to the bedroom door. I paused just outside, then turned abruptly and picked up the notebook and a pen, making sure to break the seal on the nib to get the ink flowing.

I had always been an exceptional artist, and the beauty and stories of the auras I saw were the inspiration of my works. Dad had shown my sketches and a few of my paintings, though without my knowledge, to a successful painter friend of his. The man had been impressed, Dad told me, and had told him exactly what he'd do to him if Dad didn't send me to him for mentoring. He'd laughed at that and did manage to compromise that I would become an apprentice after I'd finished school instead of immediately. I agreed and concentrated on my exams. And now, this happened. Unpleasant, to say the least because I was looking forward very much to that period. Painting is my favorite outlet, I'm not much of a sports person. Dad had converted the room next to mine into a studio so I could have a place to store my stuff when I began painting seriously after the accident that killed my mother and left me with permanent scars.

I walked out of the Hokage Residence and after looking around a moment, picked a random direction and started walking. I don't know why or how, but the next time I looked up I was standing in front of the memorial stone, and all the breath went out of my lungs like somebody had kicked me in the gut. I slumped to the ground and just sat there, staring blindly at the black carved slab, seeing the images that had tormented me all through the night. They blurred the characters inscribed on the memorial, all the names of those shinobi who had given their lives to protect something so precious to them, something I was now going to, unwillingly or not, corrupt utterly.

After all, it was pure stupidity to hope that I would be able to keep things on track.
I reached up and wiped tears off my cheeks and felt a pain in my chest, and knew that as long as I lived that pain would never go away. Because I would never be able to go home. I had thought about a lot of things in that kitchen, not just about what my knowledge of the future meant. Thought hard and those thoughts had scared the speech out of my mouth so badly I didn't even want to tell Sarutobi.

Someone had summoned me. When that thought had went through my mind I knew in my heart, that it was true. Every instinct had suddenly screamed it at me so loudly I couldn't think past it. They had summoned me and in doing so had stripped me of everything I could use to fight them. The only thing I had was my aural ability, and that only because of the nature of chakra. Its Yin Energy component was the part of it that I could utilize at a whim, even if I couldn't use chakra itself. Though I could see no possible way to use it offensively here. I was just too weak without my telekinesis.

But why would someone want to summon me? This was the important thing. It just didn't make any sense, and I was not entirely sure they would want to try to send me back. Besides, I had no way to find them. Whatever it meant though, I was here and alone. Unable to fend adequately for myself and dependant upon people who, in the best interests of their society, might just decide to destroy me. Here my mind then made another jump, to the assumption that whatever I did or didn't do would harm not just Konoha but the other Villages as well. The thing was, I expected them to do what was right by me, but only so far as it protected their own. They would kill me to protect their own. I thought this because Dad had been a spy before I was born and he'd retired from the field. I bit back a groan and whimpered quietly in fear, acutely aware that Sarutobi had posted a guard on me from the moment he had seen me appear in front of him.

'Stopstopstopstop stopit stop,' I chanted in my head. "Stopitstopit..."

I doubled over, almost touching my forehead to my knees. Slid my hands up, through my hair, touching my forehead to my knees.

I lost track of time.

At last, I raised my head when I thought I could open my eyes again without crying and sat there numbly. I had dropped the notebook and pen when I had sat down so I leaned forward and picked them up. Running my fingers gently down the spine of the book, I wondered again about my father. What would he think when he returned to find me gone? The pain in my chest twisted.

I looked up at the Memorial Stone. Yes, it was a memorial. It would be a memorial to everything I'd lost and could not hope to regain. My entire world... Those heroes listed on the stone could never know how it felt to lose not just your loved ones, but to lose literally your entire world at the same time, and on top of that, be slapped in the face with another whose history you could corrupt with a word.

I took a deep breath, throwing back my head and closing my eyes. I had to think carefully.
First of all, I couldn't keep them safe from myself unless I kept myself under control. Which meant that I couldn't break down again, or lose my head and say something or give any indication of my knowledge. I would have to give myself therapy, and the only therapy that worked for me was art. For art, I needed supplies. For supplies I needed money. And I didn't think Sarutobi would lend me money forever. I needed a job. But it would have to be something that didn't require reading or writing skills, until I was adequately accomplished in both. Predictably, the only thing that came to mind was artist work, which seemed to partially solve my therapy problem and complicate it. What if someone drew answers from what I painted?

There were so many things that could go wrong, just with that. I could always do abstracts. But those would be even worse. And no matter what, I decided, I wouldn't let myself hurt them. I opened the notebook to the last page; the Japanese system wrote from right to left, so the front of the book for me would be the back of the book for them. Absently, I sketched the Vulcan IDIC symbol.

"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination" I wrote under it in English and stared at it for a moment.

"Right," I muttered sarcastically, abruptly deciding to abandon the Prime Directive and do this my way— the Prime Directive suddenly seemed too sketchy and inconsistent to use, where my way would be more flexible and adaptable; and might keep me alive longer, snapped the book shut and stood up. Turning to go, I hesitated for the second time and then turned back to the Memorial. I clasped my hands in front of me and bowed, holding the position for a half-minute. I looked up at the Memorial stone again and saw my reflection vaguely in its polished surface– with someone standing behind it. I was straightening up like a shot and whipping around to face the person so fast I felt my head spin for a second or two. When my head stopped spinning I saw one of the last people I would have wanted to see if I had thought that far yet.

It was Kakashi... If I hadn't been so upset I would have been pissed off.

His eye flicked between my tear-stained face and the stone. "Do you have someone on there?" he asked, nodding to the stone.

I shook my head no, not trusting my mouth at all in my current state. I had no idea what I'd say to this man. He blinked, looking faintly surprised, then I saw something like comprehension flicker as his eye crinkled up in his trademark eye-smile.

"Ah," he said. "You came to pay your respects then?" He inclined his head to me slightly.

"Thank you. There aren't very many civilians who remember to do so, and few of those are younger than I."

I blinked at him. He thought I had come to pay my respects to the heroes named on the stone? I glanced back at the Memorial. "Yes, I suppose so," I murmured, and turned back to him. "Good day." I walked away, rubbing a hand across my face to wipe away the remaining tears and making up my mind to go back to the Mansion instead and begin job-hunting once I had mastered baby-talk in Japanese.

000000000000

There was an odd scraping, rustling noise behind me that was loud enough to distract me from my blank contemplation of the street I was walking on.

I looked around. Blinked.

There was a square box painted to look like a rock sitting innocently-as-you-please in the middle of the road behind me.

"Y' know, so far everyone's been acting like normal, sane people- well, except for Gai and Lee, I don't think they could be normal in any world. But this? A square rock. The little brats are really this dumb."

'Why the fuck is he following me?' I wondered. 'This is exactly why I ran out this morning.'

"Not to mention, why isn't he in school?" my Inner Self added.

'I hope Ebisu's around. I'll just ignore him for now. When we get back, if he hides himself that long, I talk to Sarutobi about it.'

"Indeed. We certainly can't have him following us around like this. Imagine how terrible it would be."

I turned around and walked back to the Hokage residence, the scraping rustling noise continuing behind me. When we were in sight of the front doors the scraping rustling noise stopped and I looked around. The box creeping behind me on the road was gone, nowhere in sight. I snorted quietly and went over to Sarutobi's office, slipping past everyone I saw on the way.

I knocked quietly on his office door.

"Come."

I stuck my head around the door and peered at him. "You're not busy are you? I can come back later if you are."

He looked up and smiled a little. "It's paperwork mostly, and breaks from that are always welcome. Come in."

I stepped in and went quietly up to his desk, glancing at the clock on the wall as I passed it.

Twelve thirty. I'd been at the Memorial Stone somewhere close to five or six hours.

"Konohamaru knows I'm staying here right?" I went straight to the point.

"Yes, when he came back from the Academy yesterday afternoon I told him. He was very curious as to why, so I told him you were new here and I'd offered you a place to stay while you got yourself sorted out."

"He was following me just now when I came back here. I don't know if he was following me when I left, I wasn't paying much attention." I didn't need to tell him I'd wandered to the Memorial Stone and freaked out like never before. The ANBU I had forgotten would be trailing me would do that for me. In fact, the whole squad would be reporting every detail of my life under guard so long as I was in the village and Sarutobi the Hokage.

"Look, I might be part of you but I am not your conscience. Even so, you need to control your thoughts around these people too. Otherwise you'll slip up."

No, I thought resentfully. My mind is my sanctuary. It's the one place I have left that's exclusively mine, and I won't let these people take me away from myself until there isn't anything left of me.

"He was following you?" His voice held a note of dismay. "I'll talk to him about it."

"Thank you. I..." I hesitated, wary of his reaction, though my common sense told me that he wouldn't come down harshly on me. "I don't think I'm up to dealing with someone as excitable as your grandson right now."

He nodded. "Ah. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you then."

"Thanks." I stared absently at the papers on his desk for a moment, and wondered wether I wanted to ask him about what else had happened at that meeting. A sudden reluctance to push my luck surfaced and I shook my head slowly. I looked up at Sarutobi and smiled slightly. "I'll see you later then."

He nodded. "Alright," he agreed.

I left his office and went to my room to clean up before getting lunch. Sighing, I tossed the book and pen on the bed and stretched, then went into the bathroom to wash my face. I looked even worse, the dark circles under my eyes set off their new redness well, and contrived with my now untidy hair and small frame to turn me into a ragpicker.

I went out into the bedroom, picked up the hairbrush and stood in front of the bathroom mirror again, pulling the bristles through my hair until the curls were neat again. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, left the brush on the edge of the sink and went down to the kitchen. Since I didn't feel like trying to cook anything I just got out another of the instant ramen cups and started heating some water.

I yawned again, a jawbreaker this time and put my head in my hands, closing my eyes tiredly. My forehead felt hot. I opened my eyes and stared through my fingers at the countertop. Spreading my fingers on the countertop I looked at my aura, then jerked off the stool in shock, staring at the energy surrounding around my hands and body.

When I had looked at Takeshi's aura, I had placed it among the most powerful auras I'd ever seen. Ranking first of those was my father's. Takeshi's was actually more powerful than my father's, in that there was far more concentrated power in it. To simplify, though this would be in gross terms, think about honey and water. Honey's consistency is thick, and the taste is rich. Water on the other hand is thinner than honey, and has little to no taste. My father's aura was the water and Takeshi's was the honey.

But right now, neither of them could compare to me.

Next Chapter: Intermission 1.