We were young when we met. Well, I was young when we met. Death had changed them, made them grow up too fast. Him especially. Compared to them, I was entirely too naïve, entirely too trusting that everything would be simple, easy, happy. I knew nothing of the world then. Just that shrine few recall from legend.

I remember that place now. It was in the range of jagged mountain's teeth, a fading sore in a valley that no map marked. The primal forest smothered the buildings, ignorant to how it suffocated the structures with a pillow of jade. All around this outpost of humanity, behemoths waded amongst the sea of roots and vines, noble beasts that myths claimed were the direct descendants of the first creations.

Yet that edge of the wood was still young. Young at least compared to where Mother raised me – where the ancient trees reigned and the very air was alive. There, even those hulking creatures would find themselves pups amongst the trunks, bawling beneath boughs so thick they created eternal night.

After I left, I realized those mountains – my home – held no name. It was mentioned only in hushed whispers by those who lived in the sparse villages beneath their immense shadows. "It's sacred," they hissed at me, pulling their cloaks tighter, their eyes darting. "Only the kamigami live there." I'd grit my teeth then, and he would give me that look of his. He'd usher me from the crowd gawking at the strange girl claiming she was from those mountains, claiming those myths and legends were real.

The thing is they were. Kamigami did live there. Kamigami who gazed out upon the world and saw what it had become. It was the humans who did it. The human instinct for destruction left the earth shackled and bloodied by the Third Great Shinobi War. The Villages fought viciously, each side seeking an advantage to slit the others' throats. Hatred, fear, and desperation plagued the land. Unfortunately, some shinobi began to believe in old legends, in the peaks where the kamigami walked.

I didn't know about any of the horrors raging outside my home then, but I look back on it now and see the irony in it all. An irony I'm now able to tell in the tongue of man. The irony that a human's belief destroyed the kamigami, and how I, Mira, adopted human of the wolf-kami, ensured it.

A/N: Oh, hello there, person brave and curious enough to click on this story! I guess you're reading this to get a better a sense of what it's about. This will be my longest author's note by far. I don't know if anyone reads them or likes them but bear with me if you dare.

First off, I'd agree with one anonymous reviewer and say that you should "think Naruto combined with Shintoism, Mushi-shi, Princess Mononoke" [high praise and probable influences since I love those works] though this isn't a crossover story. Instead, it's a standalone plot that runs alongside and often intermixes with canon (i.e. What are the bijū really? Who was Kaguya? How did the shinobi tradition originally develop? Where did jashinism come from?).

I give all these new interpretations with a Shinto/spiritual twist in a story that begins before Kakashi Gaiden and will end after Naruto Shippuden. The Shinto elements will influence canon or have greater canon ramifications (e.g. Shinto kamigami/gods and traditions will influence the setting and characters). Essentially, the kamigami are real and are the instigators of canon plot. Thus, possibly overly rehashed canon events will be seen from a new perspective with new motivations and impacts behind them.

The main character is Mira, a female OC [*cue the back button for many readers*], who will be amongst the ones you know and love from the series. Primarily, this will be Team Minato. As my plot involves elements that do not exist in the main story, there will be new settings and other OCs as well to help flesh out the Shinto aspect (i.e. wolves, priests, kamigami, etc.). However, many times I will add a 'Shinto aspect' onto canon characters. For example, some may be descendants of priests, others may even be kamigami themselves. I hope reveals like that will be as fun for the reader as they are for me to write.

As Mira ages, the maturity level will increase with more curses and *fluffy* romance. There will be a slow-burn romance(s? - gotta add that question mark to keep you guessing) but, ultimately, they won't take over the central plot and will serve as additional motivations to the characters. While this story will have a lot of action and plotting, it will also read a bit like a slice-of-life fic as Mira grows up.

For example, commenters have called my writing style "immersive", which is beyond neat(!), but also probably polite for a 'long buildup'. I did this to fully establish the Shinto perspective before introducing the canon plot. Thus, I'll warn that, while shinobi tie-ins and explanations begin almost immediately, canon characters debut in Chapter 6 and become fully involved with Mira by Chapter 16 [*cue 90% of the remaining readers clicking a different story*]. If you're still on the fence, definitely check out the reviews to see if this story might be something your interested in.

For those of you who've stuck around, I sincerely hope you enjoy. As all FanFic writers, I put a lot of love and work into this so it's been a joy to make. I plan to complete the story but due to life being crazy and unpredictable, expect irregular updates. Unless I specify otherwise in an author's note (A/N), I will try to post at least once every month if not more often.

I'm mostly writing this for a fun way to practice different writing techniques. Hopefully, as the story progresses my writing improves, though I do go back periodically and update the most glaring mistakes. Since I just got a beta(!), please forgive any easy mistakes in earlier chapters because of tired eyes (though please shout out in a comment if you see any).

This'll be a long one, folks so I hope you enjoy the ride!

As always, please review whether you just mention general feels and reactions or (highly encouraged) constructive criticism! I try to reply to every review as well because, hell, if you put in the time, I can too. Ignore my response if you please. Otherwise, I just love hearing from the readers, and it often encourages me to work just that later into the night!

Either way, happy reading on FanFiction!

Disclaimer: I make no claims to ownership of any part of Naruto. From here on out, there will be kamigami, wolves, chakra and musubi, death, vengeance, and epic-ness. Chocolate and candy will make multiple cameos. Let's do this.