The Legend of Konoha's Shooting Star

Naruto Uzumaki

One Year Later...

Twelve years ago, a nine-tailed fox suddenly appeared. Its tails lashed out, smashing mountains and sending tidal waves crashing to the shores. The ninjas rose up to defend their villages.

"Hold it there until the Fourth comes!" a wounded Konoha ninja shouted as blood dripped down the side of his face.

"Don't let it get any closer to our village!" another shouted as a giant frog appeared to face the fox, carrying a lone ninja on its head. This one shinobi faced the nine-tailed fox in mortal combat. He sacrificed his life to capture the beast and seal it away. That ninja was known as the Fourth Hokage.

BRRINNNG!

"!" April woke with a start and hit her alarm clock to stop it. "That was some dream," she said with a yawn, stretching in bed. "I guess that's what happens when you try to read up on the history of a ninja village before bedtime..." April stared up at the ceiling of the small apartment that she was now living in. She couldn't believe she had already been in this world for a whole year... The exact anniversary of her mishap with the transporter was only a day or two away. She wondered if her uncle missed her... "Ah, there's no time for that now," April chided herself, rolling out of bed. It was pointless to worry about something she couldn't change, and she was going to be late for class if she kept this up. Aside from the fact that she never got to say goodbye to her uncle, friends, and teacher, or let them know she was okay somehow, she was actually pretty happy in here in Konoha. For one thing, she finally had the chance to become a real ninja! That had been her dream ever since she was six, and now she finally had the chance to realize it. All she had to do was pass the upcoming graduation exam! April grinned as she finished getting ready and grabbed a piece of toast on her way out. "It's another day of ninja school, Mom and Dad!" she told the old photo of her family that she had framed and hung on the wall as she opened the door to leave. "Wish me luck."

"Hm?" Iruka-sensei said when he walked into the classroom and immediately noticed the seat next to April was empty. "Where's Naruto?" he asked her. The two of them appeared to have formed some sort of bond after living next to each other for a year, because they were almost always together.

"Why are you looking at me?" April asked innocently.

"Because you two are friends, aren't you?" he reminded her, crossing his arms. She was also (occasionally) his accomplice. "So, spill. Where is he? What's he up to this time?"

"I honestly don't know," April replied with a wry smile. "I haven't seen him yet today. See, I still have his bento," she said, holding up two wrapped lunch boxes to prove her point. She usually gave Naruto his when they met up in the morning on the way to school.

'I have a bad feeling about this...' Iruka thought, sweat-dropping. Even though she also had a mischievous streak in her, April was definitely the more responsible of the two. She was always careful not to take her pranks too far, since she was originally an outsider and still considered herself a guest in their village. But if she wasn't there to moderate him, there was no telling what Naruto could be up to... "It can't be helped, then," their teacher said with a sigh as he turned and wrote 'Self Study' on the chalkboard. "I'm going to step out for a bit. Until I get back, I want you all to study and review what we just learned."

The moment he was gone, April and Shikamaru's heads both went down for a nap, while Chōji pulled out some snacks, and everyone else began to talk amongst themselves, especially the other girls, who never seemed to get tired of talking about Sasuke. It seemed like April had only just closed her eyes, when the door of the classroom abruptly slid open again, and a tied up Naruto was tossed in by an irritated Iruka-sensei.