1 - To End a Fairy Tale

"I'm home~!" Kyoka's voice rang through the house as she burst through the door, practically dragging her older sister after her.

"Welcome back, Kyoka-chan, Ryoka-chan," their mother's familiar voice greeted them warmly as she walked out from the kitchen, her apron still on and wooden spoon still in hand.

Kyoka ran to her mother and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, finally releasing the death grip she had on her older sister's wrist. Ryoka collapsed into a chair with a disgruntled sigh, slightly ruffled at having been dragged all the way from the river back to the house at full speed by her over excited little sister.

"You hungry, Ryo-nee?" Kyoka asked, not understanding why Ryoka was slumped at the table. A noncommittal grunt was the only response she received.

"You two sure came home in a hurry," their mother smiled, placing two steaming bowls of dumplings at the table. Kyoka inhaled the delicious aroma with a bright smile.

"Itadekimas!"

She took a bite and began to speak through her food, before earning a reproving look from her mother and quickly swallowing.

"Well, see, Ryo-nee took me to the river today, because she said she could make stones walk on water, and I didn't believe her!" Kyoka paused to take another bite of food, and her mother waited patiently for her to swallow before she continued.

"And then it was like magic! The stones actually bounced on top of the water!" Kyoka's ocean blue eyes lit up at the memory.

"Oh?" The girls' mother placed her hands gently on her older daughter's shoulders, causing Ryoka to lift her head blearily. "I didn't know you could skip stones, Ryoka-chan." Ryoka simply nodded, having only just noticed the steaming bowl in front of her.

"So I asked Ryo-nee to teach me how to do it," Kyoka continued excitedly, "And I spent all day trying to learn how, and I messed up a lot and even accidentally hit Ryo-nee with a rock once…" Kyoka trailed off, again pausing to eat. Their mother laughed gently, stroking Ryoka's hair as the tired girl picked up her chopsticks.

"Is that so?" Kyoka nodded furiously.

"Mhm! An' ah fihnalwhly-" she paused, hastily swallowing. "And then I finally did it! I made the stones walk on water! So I told Ryo-nee, we had to run back home so I could show you, but she wanted to take a nap first, so I had to drag her the whole way here!"

Ryoka was now slowly eating her food, her eyes growing heavy as her mother softly stroked her hair, trying not to laugh.

"You must have worn your sister out today," she noted gently, as Kyoka finished her food.

"Thanks for dinner, Okaa-san," Kyoka smiled happily, taking her plate to the sink.

"Kyoka-chan, why don't you do the dishes tonight?" their mother suggested. "I think your sister…" she trailed off as Ryoka's head slumped into her bowl off dumplings, falling asleep in the middle of her meal. She shook her head in gentle exasperation, taking the bowl away, and cleaning her daughter's face. "Your sister needs to rest," she finished. "She can do the dishes tomorrow."

"Okay," Kyoka agreed easily.

Kyoka had wavy blonde hair that just brushed her shoulders. Her cheeks were still red from running outside in the cold and she had eyes so blue they could put sapphires to shame. She was tall, considering her tender age of three, almost the exact height of her elder sibling.

In contrast, Ryoka had straight, raven colored hair that fell neatly to her elbows. Her complexion was pale, but her eyes were a deep honey gold. She was on the shorter side for five, hence the similarity in height with her sister.

In addition to contrasting appearances, their personalities differed as well. While Kyoka was outgoing and radiant, her sister was rather reserved and gentle, as older siblings tended to be. Kyoka rarely cried or bore grudges, and had a deep set admiration for her elder sister, while Ryoka would not hesitate to stand against anyone who dared lay a hand on the blonde little girl. Everyone in their little village loved Kyoka, though, so it was rare that Ryoka had reason to get angry.

Their mother and father often teasingly referred to them as the sun and the moon because of their appearances and differences. They had an older brother, Kisuke, but he was a Jounin for their village, Kagegakure, and was constantly doing missions for the countries along the borders. Their father worked in a fishing business, so he left early in the morning and came home late, though he would be retiring soon to spend more time with his daughters. Overall, their family was typical of a family in their peaceful little village. Ups and downs occurred just like they did in all families, but as a whole, everyone was happy. To the girls, their little world was like a fairy tale.

Their mother carried Ryoka up to bed, tucking her gently into her sheets, and told Kyoka to get changed, promising to call them down when their father arrived home. She obediently did as she was told, and excitedly woke her sister when her mother's voice called them as promised. At first, Ryoka just rolled over, tired, but then her face lit up when Kyoka told her that Father was home.

They ran down the stairs just in time to see their father hanging up his coat.

"Otou-sama!" Kyoka squealed excitedly, jumping into his arms for a hug. Tired lines vanished from his face as he saw them and smiled, squeezing his youngest daughter and kissing their mother on the cheek. Shifting Kyoka to one hip, he ruffled Ryoka's hair, making her look slightly disgruntled, but secretly pleased as she patted down her now slightly askew hair. He leaned down so she could kiss him on the cheek and he set Kyoka on the ground, staying crouched so that he was eye level with his two favorite daughters.

"Have any new adventures today?" he asked excitedly, his voice mirroring Kyoka's as she had explained her tale earlier that day.

"I can make stones walk on water!" Kyoka practically glowed with pride.

His eyes sparkled. "That's my girl, I knew you could do it."

She beamed, and his eyes met Ryoka's.

"You must be one fabulous teacher, Ryo-chan," he winked and she blushed, looking at her hands. "I-It was nothing," she mumbled. "Kyo-chan learned it mostly by herself."

"Not true!" Kyoka protested. "It took me all day long! And I even hit you with a rock on accident!"

Kyoka jumped on Ryoka's back, locking her arms around her shoulders and her legs around her waist.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Ryo-nee!"

Ryoka smiled, and her parents paused, loving that smile. No matter how much affection and love they offered to their eldest daughter, only Kyoka could make Ryoka smile like that.

"Careful, Ryoka, or Kyoka's gonna be taller than you," their father teased lightly. She blushed and stood up a bit straighter.

He laughed at her red face and stood, talking a bit more to them before sending them to bed. They hugged and kissed both parents goodnight before heading back up to their room. Their father stood up once they were gone, and the lines of worry returned to his face, making him look much older.

"Long day?" His wife questioned gently, putting an extra bowl of dumplings on the table for him.

He nodded gravely. "A council member came to talk to me today."

"A council member?" Her voice grew concerned. "What business do they have with us?" Her husband walked to the table and sat, holding his spoon but making no move to eat.

"Misaki," he said gently to his wife. She sat down across from him, sensing that something was wrong.

"They want one of our children to be a jinchuriki."

She frowned. "A jinchuriki? What does that mean?"

He hesitated, his eyebrows coming together like they did when he was worried.

"It's a human host for a tailed beast."

For a moment, Misaki was at a loss for words. Then the kitchen chair grated against the ground as she stood quickly to her feet.

"A tailed beast?!" her voice was horrified. Even in the small village they lived in, rumors of the legendary nine beasts had circulated, though most believed them to be no more than an old wives' tale. Now, not only did they exist, but they wanted to imprison one in her daughter?

"Yes." Her husband's voice was melancholy. "They already asked Kisuke, our eldest, since he was of age, to make his own decision about whether he would accept the role of being the host."

Misaki's eyes drew together. "Kisuke… he didn't accept did he?"

"He did. In order to protect the girls." Misaki's hands trembled.

"But he claimed his partner's comrade was killed by a tailed beast," she whispered. "H-has it already happened? Did they… did they put it in him?"

Her husband shook his head slowly, and seemed to age ten years when he said his next sentence.

"The two of them aren't compatible. The tailed beast destroyed the sample of his chakra in a test. I don't know how it works, but he's ineligible."

Misaki sighed in relief. Then the implication of that hit her.

"They aren't going after Ryoka next are they?!"

Her husband's eyes flitted towards the girls' room nervously.

"Hush, the girls will hear you, love. They did ask me for a sample of Ryoka's chakra for a test," he admitted tentatively. Misaki passed a hand over her eyes. This could not be happening. This was absolutely, utterly unacceptable.

"Did you give it to them?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. She tried to keep the stammer from her tone, but didn't quite succeed.

"No, I told them I would need a while to take it all in and explain to my daughter. They gave me tonight. They're expecting chakra samples tomorrow." He put his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do, Misaki. Little Ryo-chan, she acts so old, but she's just five."

"Only tonight...?" Misaki was at a loss for words. "Kaien, I don't want either of them to be a… a jinchuriki!" she protested. "Don't we get a say in this?! These are our children." Her voice was bordering on desperation.

"I know," he answered darkly. "Trust me, I know, but they made it clear I didn't have much of a choice."

"How can we not have a choice?" her voice was more scared than angry. "The government can't just… take our children and decide to turn them into monsters! Ryoka-chan is mine, Kyoka-chan is mine. They're ours, Kaien!"

Kaien took his wife's hands in his own stroking his thumb across her palms soothingly.

"I know, love, I know. We have to just hope for the best results. The chakra of that… that demon… wasn't comaptible with Kisuke's, so there's a good chance it won't be compatible for any of them."

"C-can I do it?" Misaki begged. "Will they let me be the host instead of them?"

"Misaki," Kaien cut her off sharply. Even if they permitted it I wouldn't allow such a thing. No, they want a child, someone who they can…" he trailed off, and Misaki's eyes filled with tears.

"Someone they can control, right?" she guessed, "Someone that will live a long time, right?" The first few tears spilled down her cheeks and Kaien wiped them from her face, his expression somber.

"Why us?" she asked in a whisper, her voice trembling. "Why did they all of a sudden decide they wanted our Ryoka-chan?"

"A distant relative of ours was the host of the tailed beast," Kaien replied, his voice growing taut with suppressed rage. "But he has grown old. His own child suffered froma chronic 'illness' that apparently rendered him unsuitable to be the host. He told the government that we were of distant relation to them. It was the only lead they had."

Misaki put her head in her hands, and her husband pulled her close, stroking her hair the way she loved, and the same way Ryoka loved.

"Which beast is it?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"The seven tails."

He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry, Misaki, I'm sure everything will be alright." She might've believed him, if he hadn't looked like he was trying desperately to convince himself of that very thing.