Hi all, and welcome to my new story; Almost. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it, and don't forget to read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The only thing I own is the plot and the OC's that you will be introduced to throughout this story.

The scorching desert sun beat down upon the young woman with a ferocity as strong as her own temper. The wind had picked up and was now battering against her exposed skin, the small, rough granules of sand brushed harshly against her face. Footstep after staggering footstep was taken and the woman grunted with effort as she forced herself to move forward. Her feet sunk into the desert sand and she stumbled as she desperately tried to regain her footing. The young woman's hair had come out of the braid that she had always kept it in, the long, honey blonde locks flowed out behind her in waves. They whipped ferociously in the harsh wind, and she knew that it would be matted and dirty by the time she reached her destination.

'Just a little longer. You've got this,' she thought to herself as she forced her legs to work harder, to push her that little bit further. She hissed in pain when she jolted her side and she pulled her hand away from her body. The dark, crimson liquid coated her hand and stained the bases of her fingernails, but she quickly placed her hand back on the blood soaked cloth around her body as she realised that if she didn't find help soon, she was not going to make it out of the desert alive.

Her mission had been simple, or at least, that's what she had believed. Escort and protect. She hadn't seen it coming, she didn't even know if the rest of her squad was alive. Kizuma, Zuuri. Her friends.

Sand whipped at her porcelain like features, and she squinted her eyes to keep the small, yet extremely sharp grains out of her sapphire blue eyes. She stopped walking for a moment so that she could regain her bearings, unsure of which way she was headed. The harsh rays of the golden, late afternoon sun beat down on her, beads of sweat had dripped down the side of her face, and she wiped it away hastily. She grimaced at the feeling of the sticky solution on her skin and the grains of sand on her skin. Her breaths were coming in shortened pants now and she found herself starting to become uncomfortable in the blasted desert heat.

A large rock formation to the west of her caught her attention and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

'Suna,' she thought, as she looked towards it. It looked small from her position smack bang in the middle of the golden sand, but she knew that it was her only chance at survival. They weren't allies, but they weren't exactly enemies either. It was worth a shot. It was going to take her at least half a day to get there in her condition, and she knew that. But she wasn't a kunoichi for nothing.

The ninja turned her body towards the village hidden in the sand, and forced her legs to move through the sand, her chakra long since depleted from the battle that had injured her so badly. She kept the pressure on the wound to her side, the pain pulsating through her body. One step. She was a highly sought after kunoichi of the village hidden in the clouds. Two steps. She had gone on a routine mission to escort and protect a village elder from one village to another. It was a simple mission, one that had been entrusted to her and the rest of her team. Her friends. Three steps. She was getting closer now, she was going to get there. She could feel the wind picking up, the sand picking up with it.

Four steps. She didn't know what had gone wrong, but something had. She had been separated from the rest of her team. They had split up to take down the attackers. She had hoped that just one of them had completed the mission. Five steps. She wasn't just an ordinary kunoichi. She was from the Ushikawa clan. People would know her. They would fear her because of what she could do. Six steps. She had to make sure that she got help for herself, and then, and only then, would she be able to make sure the rest of her team were still alive, that they were okay. Seven steps. Almost. Eight steps. The rock formation was getting larger with each passing step. She was going to make it.

The sun had dropped below the horizon now, the sky above her now a pastel blue as darkness set in above her. The moon was high in the sky, the calming light washing over the vast desert, bringing a chill that was a reprieve of the drastically hot sun that had been bearing down on her for days. Nine steps. Her thoughts were the only thing that was keeping her moving, she had taken a lot more than just nine, but counting had never been something that she enjoyed.

She was at the gate of the village now, and sand shinobi were scatted all throughout the entrance. She saw one perk up as he noticed her and her hand reached out towards him, reaching out for the help that she knew the village could provide.

"Help me, please," she whispered, her eyes locking on to his. Her vision started to get blurry as she realised that all the sand shinobi were now locked on to her. Darkness was tempting her into its cold embrace, and she had little to no energy to resist. Ten steps. One more staggering step was taken, but that was the last one her body would allow her to take, before she collapsed onto the rough sand, her body overtaken by sheer exhaustion and pain. Shinobi rushed towards her from every direction, and the last thing she saw before she blacked out completely, was a man clad in black, with purple paint on his face, as he called out for the Kazekage.

I hope you all enjoyed the prologue, and more will be coming very shortly!

Kisses from Australia, Danger xx