Prologue

A Bond is Born: The Namikaze Family's New Member

I own Nothing

Hefty black clouds hung over the village hidden in the leaves as sheets of lukewarm droplets pelted the people of Konoha, said people ducking under whatever cover they could find, that being either local businesses welcoming customers, their homes or, in the case of two young girls, a local eatery that their family more than frequents on a daily basis. Parting the embroidered flaps that existed as a makeshift doorway for the establishment, the duo bolted forward just as a flash of lightning followed by the roar of thunder ripped through the city. Stumbling to a nearby table, the redhead of the group took a breather, using the surface to stabilize herself. "You just had to pick a fight on our first day back to school, didn't you, Nami?"

"What was I supposed to do, Kiba was letting his pup torment that poor little kitten." Her twin remarked, wringing as much rainwater she could out of her jacket onto the awaiting floor of Ichiraku Ramen.

"Now our school clothes are ruined, we spent hours shopping for these." Though a bit overdramatic, Mito wasn't wrong about the shape their clothing was in - the rain had done quite a number on them. Her attire, which consisted of a light orange battle Kimono/obi combo with shortened sleeves and a pair of shorts that hid under the knee length fabric, was soaked to the bone - she was lucky she followed her mother's advice in wearing an undershirt or the fabric would leave little to the imagination. Not only was her clothing mangled by mother nature so to was her hair; her bright red hair that sat in a tightly knit side ponytail that trailed to her shoulder was now blown away, leaving it a long mess matted to her back and forehead.

Her sister's attire was also in a state of disarray but it seemed even more so by the look of dishevelment and markings that were found on her coat and pants. Her black and dark orange jacket, seeing as it was soaked with water, was slipping from her frame, only a single shoulder keeping the garment on top of her. Under it lied a simple black sleeveless turtleneck crop top with a pair of orange pants that lead to her lower thighs. "It's called a dryer, Mito-chan - it's not the end of the world," She mumbled, trying to rebind her two pigtails into a more manageable and appropriate look.

"Oh, and you think a dryer will get out the teeth marks you have in your pant legs?" Mito remarked, pulling on the cuff of the bottom of her pants, revealing several marks that were created by Kiba's pup. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"Wow now, what's all the commotion out here. We're clos-" A voice called from the back as the two trading barbs at one another heard the quickening footsteps of the owner making his way from the back. "Ah, the Uzumaki twins, I should have known! Haha! What brings you two here?!" Chuckled the rotund owner Teuchi, his demanding tone drastically softened when he saw the two.

"Well-" Mito began but her sister seemed to be unwilling to let her speak, or rather, rat her out to one of their families closest friends.

"The rain, we got caught in it before we could make it all the way home so we were hoping if we could use your shop to wait it out," Nami said, trying her best to hide her nervous smirk - a trademark of the blonde.

Teuchi merely shrugged, "Oh, is that all? No problem, pull up a chair. I've got some tea brewing in the back, I'll pour you a cup." He said, motioning for the two teens to take up a spot on one of the stools that dotted the front of his restaurant.

Jumping at his hospitality Nami got herself comfortable on the center stool while her twin took the one next to her. "And, since we're here, hit me with a bowl of Pork Ramen please," She proclaimed, tapping the hardwood top with her nails in a playful manner.

Teuchi only smiled and replied with, "sure, do you have the money to pay for it?"

This seemed to catch Nami off guard, causing her to respond with a nervous rattle, "...Teuchi, buddy, don't worry about it. Just put it on my tab!"

"Oh no, no - not this time, sweetheart. Your parents have made if very clear to never let you deal with their tab again, not after last time. So, if you've got money, then you can have as much ramen as your heart desires but if you're broke, I got some free tea - that's all you'll get for now." He explained which seemed to burrow under Nami's skin - especially seeing as her sister was snickering over this.

With a sigh, Nami responded with a curt, "...fine, I wasn't that hungry anyway,"

"That's more like it," Teuchi snickered, "how about you, Mito-san. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please, with a splash of honey if you have any." Mito nodded, flashing the owner a small but sweet smile for his offer.

"With a little splash of honey if you have any" Her sister mocked, scrunching her chubby little face into a sneer only for her elder sister of 5 minutes to deal her a swift kick to the side of her calf - the exact place she was bitten at least 5 times by a rather hyperactive puppy. "Ouch! You did that on purpose," she hissed, shooting her sister a glare only for her to match it in intensity.

"Serves you right for getting my clothes wet," Mito replied

Nami fired back with, "oh suck it up, I said I was sorry."

"You did not!"

"I was, but then you kicked me!" As the two continued their childish back and forth A loud crash could be heard from the back followed by a slew of words that both Nami and Mito were unfamiliar with but, from the way they were said, could tell were those "adult words" their mother and father told them they couldn't use.

Jumping from their stools the girls made their way to the back only to see a hefty black pot fly past the drapes that separated the eating area to the back room as Teuchi screamed "Get outta here you vermin! Go on, run!" Rushing to his aid with nothing more than childlike curiosity, Mito and Nami burst through the drapes as they were greeted to a rather unusual sight. On his hands and knees rested one of the most respected returauntors of Konoha running his hand under one of his metal prep tables, trying to grab something seemingly out of reach and unwilling to cooperate with the man in question. His back area was a mess; pots, pan, knives, ladles, mixers, pre-prepared meats, vegetables and broth - all of this and more dotted the floor with reckless abandon. However, hidden under the kitchen utensils that littered the floor was a set of muddy paw tracks that winds its way back and forth between the mess until it ended right under the prep station in question.

"Wow, Teuchi-san, what happened here? It looks like a cyclone tore through here." The blonde remarked, scanning the room's devastation with an open mouth. "Is this what you usually do when making tea?"

"You're humor isn't needed right now, Nami! I came back here to prepare your cups and to snag my special tea blend I keep in the pantry only to find a sneaky little weasel rummaging through my freshly purchased pork!" Teuchi barked, struggling on his hands and knees to capture this supposed 'weasel' he was talking about.

Nami cocked a brow to this, "A weasel? Why on earth would a weasel be eating your pork?"

"It's a figure of speech, it's not a weasel, it's a fox!" Teuchi exclaimed

"A fox?! That raises even more questions," Mito said, puzzled by such a strange creature's presence this far into their village.

"Yeah, like how did this fluff ball make his way into your backroom?" Asked the blonde, craning her neck sideways to see if she could assess where this creature was under the countertop.

"It could have snuck in like you two did, through the open door. Shocking, I know." Teuchi commented, trying his best to get a look at the thing in hopes of securing its capture. "Damn thing, get over here or so help me I'll - AH!" Teuchi yelled, pulling his hand back to reveal a punctured palm, apparently, the little fluff ball had decided to go on the offensive, chomping down on his attacker's hand with his small yet quite sharp teeth before making his move towards the exit, slipping past the Uzumaki twins with relative ease.

The creature in question had beautiful red fur, or rather, it would if not for the mud, dirt and possible blood that matted it from snout to tail. Because of this mangy look, the fox's wounds were also quite visible, scars peppered the poor thing's small frame, indicating that this fox has experienced quite a lot of danger in his lifetime. As the fox uses its slender frame and agility to pounce to the top of the cast iron flat top/counter of Ichiraku Ramen a ladle cracked it across the back, knocking it off balance and sending it stumbling into the stools bellow.

"Teuchi-san!" Nami yelled, shocking both her sister and the restaurant owner who, at this time, was nursing his hand. "Why would you do that?"

"Why? The bastard bit me, that's why," he muttered, using his apron as a makeshift rag to catch the drops of blood leaving his wound.

His answer didn't seem to sooth Nami's fury, "could you not tell it was hurt and afraid? You scared it!"

"Nami-chan, calm down - it's just a fox," Mito remarked, trying her best to calm down her animal-loving sister in hopes of keeping the peace.

"It's a living creature, would you want someone to say that about you or I?" Nami questioned but left before her sister had any time to answer, circling the flat top to see if the poor fox was still there only to see it's white-tipped tail disappear outside. Not one to think before her actions, Nami burst from the restaurant into the pouring rain after the would-be fox, her sister quickly on her tail after giving Teuchi a humble apology.

"Kids, they're hearts can be too big for their own good," Teuchi muttered as he watched the two leave. "Hmmm, I'm gonna need some help cleaning this up…..Ayame, dear! Can you come down here, papa needs some help!"

-1 Hour Later-

"Nami!" Mito yelled, peering into another dingy alleyway in hopes of spotting her sister. During this wild goose chase, Mito had, for a moment, lost her sister in the sea of pouring rain - her cries to her sister to slow down or stop were muffled under the sheets of rain pelting the streets - leaving her cold, wet and very much alone. Looking through the unholy rainfall Mito samized that she was nearing an unexplored area of Konoha that she or her sister haven't had the time or authority to explore, illustrated by the massive fence that separates her from her destination.

Training Grounds #44: The Forest of Death

She recalled her mother and father talking about this place, a dangerous place filled to the brim with creatures you couldn't possibly imagine - this couldn't be the place her sister went to, she must have been mistaken, right? "Wait, do I see…" she thought as she looked below to find a small gap made from where the fence and ground should meet. Gripped within the sharp ends of the chain link fence was a piece of fabric, a piece that seemed all too familiar to Mito. "Of course you'd be dumb enough to enter a forbidden area for an animal," Mito sighed before lowering herself to the hole in the fence and forcing herself through, muddying her new clothing in the process. "You owe me, Nami. You owe me big time!"

Wiping off the cold muck as much as she could, Mito continued her search through this forest of death, softly calling to her sister in hopes of getting her attention and her alone. Minutes began to pass as Mito went deeper and deeper into the maze-like forest with no sign of her sister anywhere. "NAMI!" She yelled, her previous somber voice now giving way to panic and fear as the sound of rain and thunder grew into the snarls of hidden beast waiting for her defenses to be dropped. She began to question her intelligence, why on earth would she go into this walled-off area alone? She could have gotten her mother or father to find Nami and be done with it but for some reason, she felt a responsibility to continue forward, a foolish feeling but a feeling nonetheless.

She paused in a large clearing as she took in her surroundings in hopes of catching a glimpse of who she was looking for, her efforts growing more and more in vain as the mixture of the heavy canopy above and the dark storm clouds had taken almost all of her visibility. "NAM-" She went to scream once more only to feel a body collide with her from behind, sending her to the ground with a hefty thud, the body now resting on top of her own.

She went straight for the attack, slipping her hand behind her to grasp at her kunai pouch only to feel the body on top of her grab her by the wrist and before she could contest this show of force, a subtle yet trembling voice whispered in her ear.

"M-Mito, i-it's me….we need to...w-we need to m-move, now!" Mito dared a peek behind her to find the terrified visage of her sister, her face covered in mud and tears. As Mito went to speak she could feel a trimmer shoot through the ground and her body, such forceful steps came from the direction that her sister seemed to have run from, causing the eldest heart to sink into the pit of her stomach. Scrambling to their feet as fast as their bodies could let them, Mito and Nami ran towards the row of trees directly ahead only to find themselves in a bit of a predicament. The closer the got the more they noticed that the treeline was slowly shifting into a downward slope; growing stepper and stepper the more that came into view. They had a choice, take their chances with whatever Nami saw back there or...hope to god this thing wouldn't follow them past this hill.

"What was that back there?" Mito asked, still processing everything that has happened.

Nami's eyes were still wide with fear, darting back and forth from what rested behind them to what laid in front of them, "A-A bear….a really, really big bear."

Her answer, though fair, still didn't satisfy her spooked sibling as questions continued to pop up that needed answering. "What happened? Why did you run away from me? Why couldn't you have just waited-"

"Not now, this isn't the time to...t-to…" Her blonde sister began but trailed off, her body now racked with a convulsive shiver that left her speechless.

"Nami?' Mito asked, following her sister's line of sight to over her shoulder, "Nami, what's wro-" she began only to come face to face with something she wished she hadn't. "...Oh my….GOD!" Mito screamed as she looked back to find a rather large black silhouette standing on the edge of the tree line they stood moments ago, it's black, soulless eyes gazing deeply towards them. A crack of lightning rang through the heavens, illuminating their position for only a moment as if god himself wanted them to see what creature has come for them. Before them stood a hefty bear, it's fur matted with fresh blood and mud - one of its eyes seemingly gouged from its socket. A thick growl left it's maw as the creature began towards the treeline the girls stood within before shoving itself past the two standing trees in an attempt to reach its target.

"Mito, move!" Nami cried, pulling her sister back just in time to be missed by the creature's massive paw slashing at the ground she stood at. The tight rows of trees that surrounded them made it difficult for the creature to continue forward, it's massive frame being sandwiched between the trees it supposedly tried to push past mere moments ago - giving it only a few options to continue forward. The beast roared before bashing its frame against the trees that blocked it, shaking them to their very roots as they slowly derooted themselves from their spots. Nami grabbed hold of her stunned sister once more before trying to go deeper into the woods only to find that they were standing near a ledge, one that overlooked the ever-expansive Training grounds #44. "Oh no, no, no! We're trapped!" She yelled, looking back to see the piercing stare of the bear growing ever closer, inch by inch.

"S-Stay behind me," Mito whimpered, her voice dripped with fear yet, in one shakingly swift motion, she pulled a kunai from her pouch and tossed it straight towards the bear's snout. Though her aim seemed to be true the bear's mad flailing caused the kunai to connect not on the snout of the creature but on its fur-covered forearm, causing the beast to snarl in mild discomfort.

"That was your plan?! Throwing kunai?" Nami exclaimed before taking another step back as she can see the bear gaining more ground the more it thrashed and toppled the foliage around it. As they watched in fear as the beast grew ever closer, the girl's solid ground grew ever smaller - causing Nami's footing to slip, "Ahhhh!" She cried as she fell from the cliff they stood on, or rather - she would have if not for her sister's quick turn to save her.

"H-Hold on, Nami! Hold on!" She screeched, her free hand dug deep into the soft soil that surrounded them in hopes to keep her position. As the twins struggled to keep their ground along with keeping their lives the bear continued on its warpath, now a foot from them and chomping at the bit to get them - however, as it was prepared to finally break through the exterior treeline it felt a piercing pain corse through its back leg. The beast let out a mighty roar as it turned to face this possible new threat only to see a mirror of itself except with fiery red fur instead of it's blackened one. The doppelganger's maw was latched onto its hind paw, gnawing at it like a wild beast before snapping backward, pulling the beast back towards the open field and away from the ledge or, more importantly, the two girls.

"W-What's going on?!" Nami asked, terrified by the cluster of strange yet aggressive sounds coming from behind her sister. Nami struggled to find a place for a foothold, the rocky surface she was faced with was to slick from the rain to help her at this moment.

"I-I don't know, b-but whatever it is, it's bought us some time," Mito muttered back, pulling with all her might in hopes of getting her sister back from the brink - but the moisture building on her hands and her exhaustion almost caused her to drop her sister to her doom - it was only thanks to Nami's quick thinking of swinging her other arm around to grip the ledge that this didn't happen.

While the girls continued with their crisis, a battle began between the two massive beasts, trading powerful blow with one another as lightning clapped overhead, their visage illuminated only for a moment before they returned to their nocturnal brawl. Charging the bloodied black bear, the red one shoved it harshly against the forest-lined arena they resided in, knocking loose a few branches and limbs on top of each other. Groggy, the black beast lashed out at whatever it could grab hold of, that being the red bears left front thigh, sinking its teeth deep into its flesh before whipping is muzzle back and forth, shredding the skin underneath the fur. With a roar the red bear retaliated, sinking its teeth into the open nape of its neck before wrenching backward, pulling the bear off of his thigh before, with great strength, tossing the beast to the center of an open field.

They continued with their back and forth struggle, neither seeming to gain a form of upper-hand, merely mindlessly and viciously beating one another with little remorse for the other. That is what graced the Uzumaki twins once they could pull themselves back to the top of the ledge. Watching the battle continues from a distance, the two were shocked at the brutality of the battle seemed to be - their already matted furs were now slick with rainwater and blood, chunks of flesh had been ripped from them before being thrown to the ground like it was nothing - this wasn't something children should be subjected to see. However, the fierce nature of such a battle could only last for so long, soon enough the two had run out of steam and, more importantly, blood to continue with the pace the originally had - leaving them both sluggishly pawing at one another. However, time was not on the red bear's side as his hind legs gave out, giving his opponent an opening he needed. Rushing the stumbled red behemoth, the black bear slammed into its target, toppling it into the trees surrounding them with a hefty thud - releasing only a pitiful whimper in response.

"S-Something's wrong," Nami spoke, inching closer towards the fight as she examined the scene laid out before her, something her sister was not too thrilled to see happening.

"What on earth are you doing?! Get back here before it sees us!" Mito hissed softly, grabbing her sister's wrist to stop her slow movement towards certain death.

Her sister didn't take kindly to that, trying to snatch her hand away only for Mito's grip to hold firm, "no, something isn't right, the beast is hurt!"

"Of course it is, they both were pummelling each other not five seconds ago!" Mito barked back, getting a quick glimpse of the brutality caused by these two as a flash of lightning cracked overhead.

Nami shook her head as she pointed to the battling duo, "not just that, look! It has other wounds on its body, one's not made from this fight - it's already weakened!" As their eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkened forest Mito noticed the exterior wounds on the beast - didn't look fresh, maybe something he got a day or two ago - meaning this beast had decided to throw it's weakened body in between the two. Strange? Yes. Does it matter? Not even a little bit to Mito.

"And?! It's a beast that roams around one of the most dangerous training grounds in Konohagakure, of course, it's going to end up with a few wounds and scars." Said the redhead as she found the creature's wounds inconsequential to the problem they are facing at the moment.

Nami merely fired back with an impassioned, "w-we can't just leave it here, it'll die!"

"Then let it," Mito hated to be so heartless to another living creature but this was a matter of who lived and who died - if they slip up for even a second their lives will be forfeit. "Nami, I know you care for animals but this isn't something we shouldn't fight against! They're animals, this is what they do!"

"No, he saved us! I won't let him be eaten for sticking his neck out for us,"

This is where Mito finally snapped, yelling, "SAVED?! Have you completely lost your mind?! It's a mindless animal that is driven by nothing more than instinct, it didn't save us! It decided to pick a fight with something and found out that its eyes were bigger than it's stomach! Let nature happen!"

"You're not listening, why would a wounded animal pick a fight like that?!" Nami asked, of course, her sister didn't have an answer to combat such a strange remark. "They wouldn't unless there's a reason behind it!"

"And you believe that reason is that he wanted to save us? That's insane," was all her sister could ask, but Nami didn't seem to wish to answer - merely responding with a *huff* before storming off towards the feral brawl. "Oh no, no, no! Where do you think you're going, Nami!" She yelled, grabbing her sister by the collar of her jacket.

"Let me go!" Nami tried her best to pry her sister off of her but she couldn't, even trying to slip out of her jacket but it would seem her sister was one step ahead of her, gripping her by the waist and keeping her in place.

"Not until you give me a reason too," Mito yelled, her voice far more firm than dismissive - unwilling to waiver her ground unless her sister was able to tell her anything.

A silence grew between the two, "...Y-You're gonna think I'm nuts,"

"I already do, but at least now I'll have a good reason to think so." She said, releasing her twin in hopes of finding out why on earth she seemed so adamant in protecting the beast.

Letting out a sigh Nami built up the courage to speak her mind, starting with "...That bear….I think it's the fox I chased after earlier,"

Mito was, for lack of a better word, stunned by her sister's remark. How do you respond to such a thing? "...Y-Yeah, you're right...you are nuts,"

"Look, if you're not going to take me serio-" however, the children's bickering was cut short once the pained roars of the red bear caught their attention. They turned to see their supposed savior now trying pitifully to defend himself from his attack, pawing at the bear's encroaching maw and it's rows of sharp teeth. However, his weak attempt was ended when the bear in question chomped down onto the red bear's outstretched paw, bringing forth another roar of pain from his downed opponent. Releasing the damaged limb from its mouth, the black bear continued it's assault, preparing to rip the throat out of this mimic before moving on to his true targets.

Naturally panicked by this display, Mito reached for her sister, knowing all too well what her plan might be but she was too late, seeing as when she reached she found nothing but air as her sister took off towards the direction of the bear. "No, no, no! Not again! Nami-chan!"

"Don't get in my way, Mito - I won't let this go on any longer!" Nami cried, darting headlong into the trees and foliage that separated the twins from their utter demise - something seemingly lost on the blonde. Diving out of the foliage with ease, Nami brandished two kunais before aiming them straight towards the bear's nearest weakness, a large gash on its side. Once making contact the beast growled in retaliation, turning to face this neucency before finishing off its true threat.

"Come on!" Nami yelled, narrowly dodging the bear's paw coming down hard against the slick forest floor - however, before she could get to her feet she was set upon by its other paw, clawing at her with the intent to kill. Rolling to the side, she dodged the bear's claw just in the nick of time with only a ripped jacket to show for it.

Going for her pouch once more, she found three shurikens and was prepared to throw them but was too late to even attempt such a thing - even with the bear's ample wounds, he was far beyond Nami's pitiful reaction time. Ripping through the dirt and grim the bear's swing nearly decapitated the young blonde, sending her flying by sheer force alone, landing her harshly against an adjacent stump.

"NAMI!" Mito cried, Charging forth like her sister before her, only this time armed with something a bit more devastating than a simple tool. Tossing it at the beast bearing down on her semi-conscious sister, once it made contact with its damp fur it unleashed it's payload, exploding in a ball of flames, roasting the beast's neck. The bear stumbled back in pain giving Mito enough time to rush to her sister's aid who, at the moment, wasn't in the best of shape. "Nami, please! Please tell me you're okay, come on!"

"M-Mito-chan?...W-What are you doing here?" She whimpered, clearly knocked for a loop but otherwise alive.

"Oh, thank the gods you're alive!" While Mito cheered that her sister was still breathing she noticed Nami was trying her best to get to her feet once again. "Hey, take it easy! You took a pretty nasty hit,"

"I-I'm fine, just a bit….dazed..w-where's the bear?" Nami asked, scanning the scene to find their enemy in question.

"I think I scared him off with an explosion tag," Mito remarked.

Nami shot her sister a semi-harsh glare, "y-you had an e-explosion tag on you and you decided to us it now?"

"First off don't even, not now! You're the idiot who ran in blindly without giving me a second to respond," Mito didn't take too kindly to her sister's tone. "And second, that was my only one, I had to make sure it hits. Kaa-chan has been teaching me a few tricks about seals during our off days, this was the first one she taught me."

"O-Of course, you always learn the c-cool stuff first," she lightly chuckled.

Mito only shook her head in response, "we can argue about that later, let's go. I don't think my attack will stall him for lon-"

"DUCK!" Nami cried, pushing her sister to the ground to narrowly avoid a heavy strike towards their previous location, knocking the stump Nami rested against clean from its perch. In fact, Mito's statement was true, her attack merely dazed the beast but not enough to give them an advantage, the bear quickly turned back towards his meal with ravenous abandoned. However, before the beast could continue forward with its snack it was sideswiped by its forgotten foe, slamming it's hefty hid into it, knocking it off balance before the red-furred savior took hold of the bear's neck with its mighty jaw and biting down with a vengeance. "Run!" Without a second to spare, Nami jumped to her feet with her sister in toe and booked it passed the wrestling beasts, just in time to dodge the flailing form of the black one who, at the moment, was trying everything to break free of it's captures grip.

Now, strangely enough, this is when things started to take a turn towards the….bizarre.

While the red bear still had its hold on his target his body began to change, it's fur gave way to glorious red scales that shimmered in the moonlit night, it's black, soulless eyes shifted into yellow, beady slits and, stranger still - its body shifted from that of a massive red bear into an equally sized python! Once the shift was complete, the serpent wrapped itself around the bear's body and tightened its grip, slowly choking the very life from the bear. It fought against it, bashing the snake against the trees, trying to claw at it's exposed body and even crashing to the floor and began to roll - but none of it seemed to work as the bear slowly gave in to the serpent's unbreakable hold, collapsing in the center of the forest now dead.

To say Mito was stunned would be a massive understatement, "w-what….what on earth d-d-did I just see?"

"What I tried to tell you," Nami muttered under her breath, still nursing her slightly tweaked shoulder as she looked upon the scene with a more apathetic gaze than her twin. "T-This bear, well...n-now snake...it's the fox at Ichiraku Ramen!"

"...Wh-...Ho-...Huh?!" Was all Mito could respond with.

"I know, I-I kinda didn't believe it either… not until I saw it transform into a bird when it entered the alleyway." The blonde began, "and then into a small ape to traverse the trees in the Training Grounds….a-and then into the bear that saved my life...twice now," As she spoke, the python in question began to unravel itself from around the dead beast before shifting once again into another creature, this time the fox Nami was speaking of.

Mito could only shake her head in abject confusion, "...a-alright, I-I-I….I don't know what to say,"

"Well, for starters you could say...oh, I don't know, "you were right, Nami-chan! I'm so sorry I called you a nut earlier! You're the best sister I could ever ask for!" something like that would be good right about now," of course, even as they stand in the wet, vicious jungle of the forest of death her sister must feel vindicated no matter the area.

Her red-headed twin only returned her comment with a pair of rolling eyes before giving a short, "...yeah, I don't think so...though, I will say I'm sorry for earlier."

"Aw, apology accepted!" Nami snickered, patting her sister on the back hard only for her sister to shoot her a surprisingly harsh glare. "...What?"

"Aren't you going to apologize?" Mito asked

That question seemed to incense her sister, "for what?!"

"Oh, I don't know - making me run after you for over an hour, making me enter into a restricted area, refusing to listen to me for a single second, nearly getting both of us killed by a feral bear and….oh god," She began to list only for a sudden look of realization to wash across her features.

Her sister picked up on this, "what?"

"Kaa-chan and Tou-san," she muttered, "they were expecting us to be home an hour ago! Oh god, Tou-san must have half of the entire village out looking for us and I don't want to imagine what Kaa-chan will do to us when she finds us! And in completely ruined school outfits no less!"

But Nami didn't seem to share the same panic, merely throwing an arm around her sister's shoulders before proclaiming, "seriously, you need to lighten up! Everything's going to be fine,"

"You always say that and you're never right," As the two continue to bicker as they tend to do, they seem to forget about their furred companion - something that didn't bother him in the slightest as he decided it was best for him to leave them to their own devices...that is, if his body would allow him to do so. Just as he started to make his way out of the field, his legs gave out on him once more, leaving him sprawled out on the floor, whimpering from the pain his adrenaline numbed him of. "What's wrong with him," Mito spoke, catching her sister's attention who cased her gaze towards the crumpled heap that was their little savior.

Taking off towards him, Nami quickly found the cause of his supposed collapse, "He must be losing too much blood - we need to find a way out of here." She spoke, Ripping off her orange jacket to wrap around the poor creature. At first, the fox protested this with a hiss, trying to put up some sort of fight only for his fatigue to keep him docile. "Do you remember where the exit is?"

"I-I think so, follow me," Mito ordered, taking lead as the two started to make their way towards the exit, or at least in the direction Mito thought the exit might be. As minutes began to pass the two found themselves in an unknown area of the training grounds which, in all honesty, wasn't too hard to find seeing as the place seemed to have the same look and feel no matter where you went.

"Mito….where's the way out?" Nami asked as she could tell by her twin's spastic pacing that she might not have been the best to lead.

"H-Hold your horses, it should be...umm," Mito responded, trying to process the area in hopes of finding her bearings, a fruitless effort I might add. " it's….i-it's...oh god, I don't know where we are,"

"WHAT?!" Was Nami's response

"Don't get mad at me, how on earth do you expect me to remember?! I've never been here before," Mito fired back, shooting her sister a seering looking only to notice her attention was more focused on her back than her steely gaze. "What, why are you staring at me like that?!"

"M-Mito?"

"Hey, what is it?"

"You're back...it's glowing,"

"Hmm?" She questioned, peering over her shoulder to see what her sister was blathering about - and, for once, she was telling the truth! A faint yet distinct yellow glow was radiating off of her jacket, something she can say with certainty has never happened before. "W-What is tha-?" however, her question was silence with a flash of bright light as a figure appeared before them, a rather tall man with spiked blonde hair, blue eyes, and a stern grimace.

"T-T-Tou-san!"

"Mito, Nami - you're in a world of trouble,"

-Inuzuka Household: 2 Hours Later-

The Uzumaki family, sans Minato, found themselves standing before the Inuzuka compound with Kushina being the first to knock on the door while her daughters stood behind her, their expressions spoke for them as they both looked downtrodden and miserable. The door soon flung wide to reveal the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, Tsume Inuzuka who greeted Kushina with open arms and a toothy grin, "Kushina-chan! Welcome, welcome!" She howled, bringing her redheaded friend into a tight embrace. "I knew the second your husband showed up you wouldn't be far behind. Come on in,"

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Tsume-chan! I wish it was under better circumstances," Kushina said, squeezing tightly against her childhood friend before allowing herself to return to her more serious demeanor. If given the option Kushina would more than wish to stay her usual laid back self with her friend but at the moment she needed to be stern. So, with that, she lightly gripped her child's shoulder and brought her before the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan. "I believe it is time, Nami-chan."

-Flashback-

The atmosphere that hung over the Namikaze household was, to say the least, suffocating as the two soon to be kunoichi who reside in this home are now staring face to face with its matriarch, Kushina Uzumaki. A visible scowl etched her features as she sat before her two children, arms crossed under her chest as she glared deeply towards her still dampened children. "Getting in a fight with a fellow student on your first day back at the academy, not following our specific instructions to return home after class was dismissed, entering a restricted area and, worst of all, this was all done for the sake of a random animal you just found….did I get all that right?"

"H-Hai Kaa-chan," Mito agreed, bowing her head slightly in hopes of avoiding her mother's steely gaze. Looking to her sister, she found that Nami didn't seem too willing to do the same, the look of hesitation in her eyes told her all she needed to hear.

"Y-Yes Kaa-chan, b-but...what about-"

But her mother was one step ahead of her, "the fox? Don't worry, your father is taking it to the Inuzuka compound where it will be treated and we will be going to their quite soon for your to apologize to the Inuzuka boy, am I understood?"

"But Kaa-chan!" Nami was prepared to retort.

"Don't you even try to talk your way out of this, young lady! I don't care what he was doing, you gave him a bloody nose! If I didn't know his mother this would have looked far worse for all involved!" She was incensed by her daughter's outright inability to see what she had done was not a defensible action. "Think of the rumors that would have been spread if not for your father and I's quick thinking?!"

"Why does it matter," she mumbled under her breath, slouching in her chair with a seemingly permanent scowl on her face.

This seemed to strike a chord in the young matriarch, "excuse me, what did you just say?"

"I said why does it matter!? Kiba is a jerk who thinks it's funny to hurt other animals because he thinks of himself as some kind of 'alpha'! I wasn't going to stand by and let him do that," Nami jumped to her feet this time, pushing herself forward to proclaim her case as loudly and proudly as possible - an action that her sister knew all too well was a terrible, terrible mistake.

"What gives you the right to assault someone, Nami?!" Kushina slammed her hands against the counter that sat between her and her daughters. "You could have taken this to Iruka-sensei or another adult within the academy but no, you decided that you needed to take it into your own hands and hurt another child! You are the eldest of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clan, you need to show more control over your emotions!" She outright demanded as she could tell the supposed vigor her daughter had mere moments ago was weining under her mother's more intense gaze. "Everything we do now is a reflection of your father thanks to his new promotion to Hokage - we cannot allow ourselves to become more stress for him, I won't allow it! So, we will march down to the Izusuka compound and you will apologize to Kiba, do I make myself clear?"

That wasn't something she wanted to hear, she couldn't bare the thought of walking into the compound with her tail between her legs and begging forgiveness from that mutt of a boy, so she merely stood silent, "..."

"Nami,"

"H-Hai,"

-Flashback Over-

And here we are, the Inuzuka family on one side of the living room and the Uzumaki on the other, Kiba has found himself a shit-eating grin to wear as he watched as the girl who gave him the same black eye he was sporting bowed before him.

"I-I, Nami Uzumaki Namikaze, apologize for my brash actions this morning at the academy." She hissed out as sweetly as she could without vomiting, she felt so humiliated, so taken down that she'd rather fight a thousand murderous bears in the forest of death than to do this again...but, thankfully, she had done what she was told.

"Oh, such formality, if only that was there this morning before you sucker-punched me." Kiba chuckled only to be silenced by a slap to the back of the head by his mother, getting a slight chuckle from Nami. "Ow, what the heck, Kaa-chan?!"

"Stop being a little brat, Kiba! Accept her apology so we can move on from this," remarked Tsume with all the grace and clarity of an Inuzuka would.

Kiba seemed confused by his mother's quick shift in sides, responding with, "why should I? She nearly broke my nose!"

"You're being overdramatic, your nose wasn't even that bloody. Maybe one or two drops at the most," she rolled her eyes, getting a light giggle from Nami which was quickly stifled by her mother's elbow to her rib.

"Why are you on her side, she hit me!?" Kiba demanded to know as he glared daggers between his mother and the girl who kicked his ass.

His answer was soon granted but, with hindsight, he might have regretted asking for it. "You're training to be a shinobi, you shouldn't be so up in arms over a punch. Besides, I was informed by Izuka-sensei that you have been seen on numerous occasions letting Akamaru run rampant throughout the school, including harming local animals around the school."

"...K-K-Kaa-chan, I can explain,"

"Oh no, I don't think you can," she cooed softly, though her vicious glare gave a different intent as she grabbed her son by the scruff of his neck and started to drag him towards his room. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I have some discipline to dish out of my own. Stay for as long as you wish, my house is yours."

"K-Kaa-chan please, please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He begged but it didn't seem to do any good as he lets out one final scream before he vanished into the other side of the compound, leaving the Uzumaki's to themselves.

"Man, Tsume-chan has still got it." Kushina chuckled, "In her prime, she could make grown shinobi quiver in fear with that stare,"

"Humph serves him right," Nami grumbled, still a bit miffed about everything before a thought came to mind. "Wait, if you two knew about this then why did you-"

But before she could fully form her query her mother was prepared with the answer, "you were both wrong for what you did, we thought it would be appropriate for both of you to be punished."

"O-Oh...so saying sorry was mine?" She asked, her voice now dripping with hope as she recalled what Kiba had in store for him.

"Of course not," Kushina merely laughed, shattering her daughter's hopes in record time. "You're grounded for a week for dragging your sister along with your crazy adventure, dirtying the new clothing I bought for you two and scaring your father and I half to death. This was only a part of your punishment,"

"What?! How is that fair, I didn't ask for Mito to follow me." She remarked, pointing to her sister who, at the moment, has been busy reading through a book she had brought from home to keep her entertained.

"That's not the point and you know it, now quit arguing with me before I change my mind from one week to a month!" Nami was prepared to fire back with another illy-thought out retort only to stop once she heard the sound of a pained 'yip' from down the hall, an all too familiar sound. "Well, I suppose we should go check on your furry friend, huh?"

Her eyes lit up, "really?" She asked as all of the aggression she had over her punishment seemed to vanish.

"Well, you went through this much trouble for it, I guess we should see it through to the end." Instinctively following the sound the family made their way towards the veterinarian area in the Inuzuka compound, a place that has pioneered the health and safety of animals, something that has earned the Inuzuka's their prestige along with their companionship with their ninken. Rounding the corner of the vet's entrance Nami found her father standing next to an operating table of sorts, on top of it laid her savior of the night, a crimson fox now bandaged to keep his wounds from getting worse.

"Tou-san, i-is he going to be okay?" Nami asked, finding herself drawn to the fox's side as he tilted his head towards her, his nose twitches at the arrival of both new and familiar scents.

"I believe that would be best answered by our veterinarian,"

"Please, Hokage-sama, call me Akita." The newly introduced vet spoke who wore a simple lab coat which offset her wild hair which, for an Inuzuka seems to be a staple of, along with her animalistic eyes. "And to answer your question the fox at the moment has seen much better days. His wounds are quite severe, some look to be dating back a few weeks; he also seems rather malnourished and dehydrated. If it wasn't for you bringing him here I don't believe he would have lasted another day or two," she remarked, taking a moment to read over her notes to the girl just to give her some clarity of what this creature has gone through. "If you don't mind me asking Nami, what exactly happened to him?"

"U-Ummm," this wasn't something Nami had planned for. What does she do? Tell this room full of adults about this shape-shifting forest creature they just found? Watch them call them deranged and insane as Mito did in the forest? The only reason she took back what she said was because she SAW it with her own two eyes and she wasn't expecting this poor little fox to be shapeshifting any time soon. So….I suppose the best thing she could do was try to come up with something, "well, it was raining and we stopped at Ichiraku's to escape the downpour. In the back Teuchi found him rummaging through his garbage and tried to catch him but it defended itself and ran into the Forest of Death. I wanted to make sure he was okay so I kinda ran after him and...w-well-"

"We found him in the middle of the woods badly injured, being stocked by a bear." Mito interrupted, giving her sister a faint nod in conformation. "W-We scared it off with a few well throws of our kunai but we got turned around and we kinda got lost in there,"

Minato shook his head at this, "that's why it is called forbidden, Nami and Mito. You're not even close to being ready to enter such a place," he was proud his children were willing to do what was right for this animal but risking life and limb for something like that is just foolish.

"Challenging a bear is not what I'd call a smart idea, it could have been feral or even protecting its young. If it were it would have taken your attacks seriously and you would have been torn to shreds," Akita said, knowing all too well how fast an agitated beast can go from scared to on the offensive in a matter of moments - it's one of the Inuzuka's many teachings.

"H-Hai, we're so sorry for what we did tonight. We didn't mean to scare anyone,"

The Hokage sighed, before placing a hand on both of his children's shoulders - allowing his stern Hokage facade to fall for just a moment to allow his children to have a moment of care, "...I cannot say what you two did was acceptable...but right now all I care about is that you two are safe." He embraced the two which they replicated, squeezing their father tightly with gusto which brought a smile to Kushina's features. As this touching moment played out the fox rested his muzzle on the side of the table, peering over the lip of it to get a closer look of the family that caught the eye of the vet Akita.

"Well well, it looks like someone's curious." She chuckled, watching the fox be renewed with enough energy to begin flicking its tail, observing the family with gusto, his eyes switch from one family member to the next almost as if he was trying to analyze them.

"Is he stable?" Nami asked as she inched closer to the curious creature, something that wasn't met with much resistance from it.

"At the moment, yes but he is still quite weak. It will take a few weeks before I believe he will be back to full health," Akita remarked though her statement didn't seem to keep the eldest of the two kunoichis at bay. "Nami-san, I would advise you to keep your distance. He's still a wild animal, they can be unpredictable when injur-" but, as Nami has proven today, she wasn't too good at listening to others. Now inches from the fox, Nami outstretched her hand and proceeded to pet it's matted fur, much to the shock of Akita and her family. However, what shocked them most was the fox's enjoyment at the contact, rubbing it's head deeper into her palm as if to somehow fuse itself with her. "Well, now that's ... different,"

Nami giggled as she started to scratch behind the fox's ear which brought about a purr of sorts; it wasn't like a cat's, it was sharper in tone and faster in pace but it made the Uzumaki girl happy to hear. "Hey, I think it likes me,"

"He,"

"Hmm?"

"It's a he," she commented before she noticed the fox's growing fascination with the girl's wrist which looked to be wounded. "Now what is he doing?"

"He must be trying to clean me up, I didn't have a chance of taking a shower before we came here," Nami explained, as the fox licked clean the muck from her wrist to reveal a slightly opened wounded that he had cleaned the blood from. "Aren't you kind," she cooed, but as she went to reach for him again she felt a pulse of chakra course through her body, something that seemed to transfer to the fox if his 'yip' was of any indication.

The room went silent for just a moment but that was all that was needed as three individuals began to feel something spark between them at this very moment. The seals placed on Mito and Nami began to glow a bright, blood-red the seal that held the halves of the most dangerous Bijuu of all of mankind, the Kyuubi! The Nine-Tailed Fox that years ago rampaged through the streets of Konohagakure, killing hundreds and wounding countless more; after being sealed by the late Hiruzen Sarutobi the fox's influence within its vessels had been all but non-existence until today. This aura of red entered the fox, his yellow eyes now glowed brightly as he looked into Nami's eyes which mirrored that of the Kyuubi's slitted pupils. This transaction lasted for but a moment, something that none of the adults in the room seemed to have noticed, but for those three involved it would come to mean so much more.

Dazed from this burst of chakra Nami stumbled backward, messaging her temples to queal the growing migraine that was to come. "Nami-chan?" Her father questioned, catching his daughter as she stumbled into him, "Is everything okay?"

She gave a simple nod before answering, "h-hey Tou-san, I think...I-I think I'm just….t-tired,"

"S-Same," Mito responded, leaning herself against the doorframe as, just like her sister, her energy seemed to be zapped from her without a second to catch herself.

"I guess you two kinda overworked yourselves today, huh?" Kushina remarked, placing a worried hand on Mito's shoulder.

"Y-You could say that again," They both commented

With that, the Uzumaki family decided it would be best for them to head home. "Well, Akita-san, I believe it's time for us to part. If you can, please keep us informed of the fox's condition."

"I am quite a busy woman but...for you, Hokage-sama, of course."

-Uzumaki Compound: Nami & Mito's Room-

"You felt it too, didn't you?" Mito questioned, combing through her hair after her well-deserved shower in hopes of removing the final few knots too stubborn to have gone in her time in the shower. Her sister, on the other hand, has thrown herself against the bed, her mane of wild blonde hair stretched across their shared bed with little care of maintaining it - something that is rather common with the Uzumaki's wild child.

"Felt what?" She lied, placing a hand on her stomach as if to feel for the presence once more only to be disappointed when she felt nothing at all. Was what she felt at the Inuzuka compound actual fatigue or….maybe it was something more, maybe it was the presence of the demon her mother warned her about finally coming to her and her sister. This was not something she wished to think about after all the things she went through today.

"Don't lie to me," fired back Mito, turning from the edge of her side of the bed to face her sister who was still seen tracing her seal on her stomach. "We both felt that pulse of chakra and right afterward we nearly fainted, there's no way that could be a coincidence."

"We both went through a lot today, just like Kaa-chan and Tou-san said. We were exhausted and just didn't realize it," She yawned, shift from a laid-out potion to an upright one, gazing at herself and the back of her sister's head through the mirror on the dresser they shared - hoping that, deep down inside, her sister would let this go...at least for tonight.

Of course, she wouldn't, "but at the same time?"

"I've heard that people who are born at the same time can share special traits of one another," said Nami, maybe being a bit too cheeky for her sister's liking.

"Can you stop it,"

"Stop what?"

"Stop pretending like what happened didn't happen,"

"Why can't you just let it go, Mito?" Nami almost hissed, turning to face her sister out of sheer frustration, "Fine, I felt what you felt, that pulse of chakra but what does that matter? It happened, we're fine now and we can move on."

"You don't think we should tell Kaa-chan or Tou-san about it?" Mito asked, of course, she would bring up her parents - anything that has the faintest whiff of the danger of unknown she thinks it would be best to bring it to their parents.

"Why would we? Nothing bad happened," her twin fired back which, in all honesty, she wasn't lying but she was more than aware of what her mother has said about feeling anything to do with the Kyuubi. "Besides, I'm kinda getting tired of being yelled at all day and you know that's the first thing Kaa-chan will do if we bring it up. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?! You're playing with fire,"." Nami said in a mocking tone, trying to mimic her mother's voice and failing miserably.

Mito chuckled lightly at her sister's imitation, allowing her to relax just a bit about this supposed 'problem'...for maybe a second or two. "I do think we should tell them though," she remarked, much to the dismay of her sister who sighed in frustration.

Nami could only sigh, it was like pulling hair with her, "fine, fine - we'll tell them...in the morning,"

"Nami," Mito knew better than to hold Nami such a flimsy statement.

Her sister merely shrugged, "what? They're probably already asleep, meaning that if we wake them now we'll be in double trouble. Right now I think we should sleep on it and if we still think it's a big deal tomorrow we'll tell them,"

"...Give me your word," Mito demanded, extending her pinky to her sister.

"Of course, I give you my word!" She cheerfully decreed in hopes of putting this behind them, snatching up her sister's pinky in her own. "Now, let's hit the sack! I'm so tired I could sleep for as long as a….crow?"

Mito snickered at such a line, "Crow? I don't think that's how the saying go-,"

"N-No, there's a crow outside our window….a crimson crow," Nami said, pointing towards their window to reveal a bright crimson red crow who, at this very moment, was tapping its beak against the window almost as if he wished to come in.

"What the?" Mito murmured as she grew closer to the bird and mimicked its rhythmic tap against the glass, something the bird repeated yet again. As the wires began to connect in the young girl's mind she looked to her sister with a raised eyebrow, "do you think...it might be...ya know,"

"I mean...we have seen him change into a few things now, I don't think a bird would be out of the question." She shrugged, there wasn't much she knew of their transforming friend so it would be disingenuous to say he could or couldn't transform into anything he wanted to be. "I think we should let him in,"

Mito looked to her sister to disagree but she couldn't be bothered to do so, she merely sighed and said, "Of course you would say that," before lifting the bottom section of her window, giving the bird free range to fly into their room, perching itself on their dresser. Is the fowl sat on its perch, scanning the room with its large, black eyes it began to shapeshift before them. It's feathers shrunk and shifted inwards, giving way to the red fur familiar to the girls, its beck lengthened and shifted from a hardened bone to a soft muzzle with a moist black nose on the tip.

The visage of a crow soon was replaced with the fox of the Forest of Death, his tail swinging in joy as he stared at the two girls - his gazed filled the girls with a wonderful warmth like coming home to a trusted pet, it was strange yet satisfying, to say the least.

"Well hello little guy," Mito cooed as the fox jumped from his spot and landed on the redhead's shoulder, rubbing his body against the back of her head in a show of affection, "what on earth are you doing here? You should be resting right now," as she asked he hopped off her shoulders and ran to Nami's side, slinking through her legs with a playful energy.

"Mito-chan, look at him. He looks brand new," Nami cooed, grabbing hold of the fox as she presented him towards his sister - showing his entire body to both of the Namikaze twins. His once mated and ripped fur was replaced with fluffy and soft crimson follicles as if he was newly birthed. His flesh under his skin still bore his scars but each scar was closed tight, completely different from when they left the fox at the Inuzuka compound. "Do you think that...maybe…"

"Now do you think that feeling we felt was just nothing?" Mito asked, her smug raised brow told the tale of who won this back and forth.

"I-I guess not," Nami relented but couldn't help but pose a simple question."But why?"

Mito could only shrug, there was no answer she could give seeing as she has no real experience with this fox, the Kyuubi or its chakra. "Your guess is as good as mine, I think that's why we should bring this to Kaa-chan and Tou-,"

"Will you quit saying that," Nami interrupted loudly, causing the fox to jump a tad. "As I said, they're asleep and we should be too. This little guy has had a hard day as well as we have, I think we all deserve a nice night of sleep before we get wrung out by Kaa-chan and Tou-san."

Her sister didn't like the way she was being talked to be she knew there was no reasoning with her when she got this way, so she relented, "...Fine, I've done enough argue for one day."

"I couldn't agree more, right little guy?" Nami smiled, scratching the fox under his chin as he purred once more under her touch. Like they said the two decided to head off to bed, Mito on the left, while Nami took up the right as their newly arrived friend, was given a spot dead center of their bed - one of the nicest places this little creature has had the luxury of sleeping on for quite some time. With a light kiss on the head by both girls, the fox and his new roommates turned off the lights and drifted off to sleep, completely unaware of what exactly today did for the three in question.

Aaaaand Fini! A brand new story I've had cooking in the works right after thanksgiving to thank you all for sticking with me, I know some of the fans that have stuck with me for my other stories were hoping for updates and trust me, they will be coming don't you worry, but I've had this one cooking on the back burner for a bit and I wanted to get it out there and see how the public thought of it. After publishing this the night prior I had to come back in and add this so I could address a thing or two that I forgot to mention in this story, yes Naruto is Beast Boy, I know many of you knew that already but I didn't want anyone to get confused or distracted by it. The harem will be Naruto x Nami Uzuamki x Mito Uzumaki x Sayuri Uchiha at the moment, I don't have any desire in adding any more but if this story has a lot of demand for some new additions I'll consider it. I've always had a special place in my heart for Beast Boy for the original Teen Titans TV show and in the comics when I was growing up and I thought it would be a cool idea to have such an ability in the Naruto world when it comes to the weird and larger than life beast we see on a weekly basis from the manga and anime. So, other than that, please leave a review if you can and PM me with any questions and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you all for your time, Farewell!